Super Cool Album!!!
Elton Lee | Boston, MA United States | 11/11/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is an incredible album to listen to. Unlike its predecessor, Silence is soft, soothing, catchy, melodic and most importantly SUPER COOL! I found ACT just a few years back when Last Epic was released that was just an eye opener for me as ACT is band of multi musical genre blending progressive elements with aor melodic rock. At times it was heavy and technical but on the other hand it was also soft, soothing to the ears and playful indeed. It has string elements composed into their song writing which gives it a different side to what the band is capable of. It was just so cool to listen to them. Now with Silence the album title matches with the overall feel of the album. At first it was like oh my god this sounded like pop music but once it grows in you, you'll be singing all day long!! Great lead voice and background vocals from the band. Keyboards play an integral part of the band's music. Still there are progressive elements thrown into the mix but it is just on the softer side. If you just want to relax and enjoy something cool this is it!! Highly recommended! It never surprises me that it is the Sweds that did it again. Get it!"
Falls Just Short Of Their High Standards
Dave_42 | Australia | 01/13/2007
(3 out of 5 stars)
"It was three years between albums, but at long last the 4th A.C.T album, "Silence" has been released. The Japanese release was on June 21st of 2006, and the rest of the world had to wait until October. This particular item is the Enhanced CD which includes the bonus video of A.C.T performing "Mr. Landlord" in concert. With three strong CDs already to their credit, this fourth release is hoped to propel the group onto the international stage.
This CD returns to the format of their first two CDs where they have a number of individual tracks, followed by a longer work made up from shorter pieces or movements. There are 10 individual pieces, including some very solid tracks such as the opener "Truth Is Pain", "This Wonderful World", "No Longer Touching Ground", and "The Voice Within". The longer piece is called "Consequences" and is made up of 9 tricks, including several strong pieces such as "Joanna", A Father's Love, "Memory To Fight", and "A Wound That Won't Heal". Overall, in many ways this is the most accessible album that A.C.T has done, but it also falls a little bit short of the previous three.
The band A.C.T includes members Jerry Sahlin (synthesizers, lead and backing vocals, vocoder and deck of cards), Ola Andersson (electric and acoustic guitars, lead and backing vocals), Peter Asp (bass guitar, synth bass and bass pedals), Herman Saming (lead and backing vocals), and Tomas Lejon (drums and percussion). On this album they have as guest musicians "The Acting Orchestra" which includes Tomas Ebrelius (violin 1), Hanna Hajslund Hansen (violin 2), Catharina Holm (viola), and John Löfgren (cello). In addition, Kenny Sahlin provides additional lead vocals on "Puppeteers" and Martin Hedin is the angry customer on "Call in Dead".
I have listened to this album repeatedly since purchasing it, and as with their previous works it does get better each time, but it does lack the great tracks which the prior CDs had. So, while this CD will probably earn the group a larger audience, the long-time fans are probably going to prefer their earlier releases. I would put this album at around 3 and ½ stars, but as Amazon doesn't allow that I have to round down to 3.
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Track Listings (19) - Disc #1