I, The Silhouette
I, The Silhouette are fast becoming the UK’s next major metal act and they are already smashing the boundaries between genres. Their reputation for insane live shows is propelling them to the top, quicker than even they could imagine. This band are talented, new and undoubtedly brilliant. Mercury investigates this rapid rise to fame.
Squashed together in their current rehearsal space (guitarist Tom’s bedroom) the boys look like a small time wannabe metal band, but they are far from wannabe’s. Each member brings something unique to the table. Vocals are provided by Ryan, the baby of the band at just 17 brings a Randy Blythe meets Ian Kenny type quality, which is truly something special. Guitarist Tom delivers technical genius, channelling the great Misha Mansoor of djent gods Periphery. Bassist Jamel gives the band the hardcore punk edge that really makes them powerfully different, and adds the raw live energy styled on bands such as The Chariot. This band may seem like a motley assortment of genres but the sound really works. The original drummer could not keep up with the energy, so the revolving cast of drummers keeps the audience guessing, but each one seems better than the next.
When asked why they are special, the band said “We are just passionate about music; we enjoy all these different genres so we wanted to make something a little bit out there that no one had heard before. I think people like that about us.” They were right; with a full UK tour and various festivals under their belts they are certainly attracting a sizable following. “Fans are great; they are what makes the live shows so fun. They are the partly reason we make music.” Influenced by bands such as Deftones, Converge, Periphery and the mighty Carcass, the boys were always bound to have such fanatic worshipers.
It has not been all hard work for the band though; they only started writing songs a month after they formed. “Our chemistry is too good at times, sometimes we mess about so much we never get anything done. We seriously needed to knuckle down.” Watching them rehearse it is clear how much they have progressed music wise, but they are still teenagers, throughout the interview they sing songs about steak and kidney pie and try to kill each other with air bazookas. It has to be said the band are up for anything regarding the live shows. “At shows there is always someone bleeding by the end, we had a girl who broke her nose last week and some cracked ribs. No one ever seems to care though, because they all have a good time. We like to see people who are missing teeth but come up and tell us how fun the show was, if you’re bleeding we know we did a good job.” Jamel shows us his most recent performance injury, “I smashed by elbow on the amp, after the show I had to go to A&E. That’s a sign of success.”
