Serenity – Then Came Silence (1995)

September 1, 2022

I got given this tape by someone at Leeds Deathfest in either 2009 or 2010. I can’t remember who it was, which is really annoying – it may have been someone from Lazarus Blackstar. But anyway, it was one of the dudes who played in this band too. I never really played it all that much, always losing interest after a few songs. I decided this week to finally play through the whole thing and I just can’t get into it.

The music isn’t an issue. It’s a tidy go at the British template of doom metal that was so prevalent in the 90s, but I just can’t get into the vocals at it. It’s not that the fella can’t sing or anything, he reminds me of Goatsnake’s Peter Stahl in many ways, I just don’t think it really works with this kind of music. I had a similar issue with Kroh’s debut record, before they switched to the female vocals / occult rock vibe. I don’t know why, but it just doesn’t work for me.

It was nice to look back at a time and a place whilst listening to this, though.