#1 - Music

All  Live Photos Courtesy of Andrea Marie Chvatal

If you know me well personally, nothing in this post will truly come to a surprise. If you don't, well... just keep reading.

Before I came to college- in fact the whole reason I decided to pick Mass Communications as a major was because I was interested in the music industry. Specifically writing and the public relations aspect of it. After two and half years of studying this major my interests have broadened, but the topic of music is something I am still passionate about. I chose a band's album that I am a huge fan of, and something I could write about easily. This is all a drawn out explanation of why this will probably be my longest post for this class.

Silent Planet is a band that is truly hard to describe. I may be biased, but I feel like they are bringing something new to their genre. There is a lot of debate about what genre they are exactly. A quick google search lists these as the genre types they may fall under: "metalcore, progressive metalcore, post-rock, christian metal" Their fans like to use words such as "collegecore" and "poetrycore" as a way to describe them. This is because of the complexity of their lyrics. Fans like to joke that they always learn something after listening to a Silent Planet song the first time. Every album so far even has footnotes!

The Night God Slept

Everything Was Sound

When The End Began

Silent Planet released their third album, When The End Began, on November 2nd, 2018.  The band has been known to focus in on social issues such as sex trafficking, persecution and oppression of minorities, PTSD and several other mental health issues among many other subjects. Picking my top five songs of this album was a lot harder than I could have even imagined. Instead of ordering them from most favorite to least favorite, I organized them in the order that they are placed on the album. 

#1- The New Eternity 
Thus Spoke transitions into The New Eternity. The vocalist, Garrett Russell describes the song to be "examining the points in history at which human desire for innovation dwarfs our need for connection and awareness of morality." This songs speaks on behalf of several periods of history- namely Nazi Human Experiments, Agent Orange, and Operation Ranch Hand, amongst others. The New Eternity is currently the band's most popular song on Spotify. 
My favorite lyrics: 

"We've come too far, we've come too far, we've come too far, it's all I know.The darkness didn't die, no, we brought it home."

The New Eternity Track by Track    
#2: Northern Fires: Guernica 
Being the first single of the album, Northern Fires set an example for the entirety of When The End Began. The single was the first released in almost two years, and left fans wanting more. A newer style of vocals on this track makes it perfect as the first choice. The song discusses the Spanish civil war. While lyrically it is wonderful, the change of pace in the musical aspects of the song is what makes it one of my personal favorites. 
Lyric Dissection     Northern Fires Track by Track
My Favorite Lyrics: 

"The victor writes the story, more often burns the manuscript. Set fire to a pyre cremate the crimes that they commit."

#3: In Absence
The most different musically, and the most classroom friendly song on the album is In Absence. Even though it can be deemed, "radio rock" the lyrical content is heavy hitting as ever. This song is about what it is like to watch someone suffer with a memory disorder such as Dementia or Alzheimers. This song is powerful and personal on many levels. 
My favorite lyrics: 

"I'll turn with your reversing clock and describe the color when you can't see the sunrise."

In Absence Track by Track    Lyric Dissection 

#4: Firstborn (Ya'aburnee)
If I could summarize this song into one word it would be emotion. It follows the heartbreak of a parent losing a child. I've never personally been in that situation, but as someone that has been in the opposite circumstance the song captures grief so accurately it can be hard to listen to. 
Firstborn Track by Track   Lyric Dissection
My Favorite Lyrics:

"I'll try to write you to rest.
Plant you inside my prose."

 #5: Lower Empire
"Bind the wrist, cut the tongue, call it Liberation." The first few words of the song introduces the premise of the song; nationalism and nativism and the harmful effects of both on real people. This song almost seems like a succesor of Native Blood, a song on the earlier album The Night God Slept. Lower Empire urges you to be open minded and listen to those that may be suffering around you due to the increasing amount of assimilation in the United States. The song is also one of the most interesting musically by combining new riff styles and synethisizers. 
My favorite lyrics: 

"Until you see your reflection through the scope of a weapon, nothing will ever change."

Lyrics Dissection Lower Empire Track by Track

Honestly, I know I said I would limit it to just my top five, but I think that it would be unfair to not include this one last song. This song is also the last on the album and ties it up well. Depths III was a highly anticipated song that many fans looked forward to. Not only did it finish the Depths trilogy, but added another musical style new to Silent Planet into the mix. Joined with inspiration from Dante's Divine Comedy and perspective of Russell's own life, Depths III takes on a life of it's own. The song deals with depression, faith, and connection. Depths III is the perfect way to end an album about so many unjustices because it explains there is a reason for pain and suffering and the journey to believing that. 
Depths III Track by Track  Lyric Dissection
My favorite lyrics: 

"I am the wind, the be and the stillI am the Depths, the Immeasurable Will 

And when I awoke in that garden 

Lord, did you see me as I was dreaming?"