Album Review: Silverkord – Auguries of Ruin

Will Miles london band Silverkord have returned to follow on from their spectacular debut ‘Liquid Air’ with another heavy rock masterpiece ‘Auguries Of Ruin’.

Lead vocalist/ guitarist Will Miles states:

“’Auguries of Ruin’ is an album I began officially writing in January 2020, however a number of the ideas and riffs had started accumulating as far back as May 2018. All the demos were completed by October 2020 so Ravi and I started planning to record everything in our home studios, which involved buying a lot of expensive gear. It took around 4 months to track and mix, finishing in late April ‘21, and the album was then mastered by Maor Appelbaum in LA.”

The album was recorded and mixed entirely by vocalist Will and drummer Ravi Kesavaram (My Vitriol) in their separate home studios as part of the album recording sessions, in 2021.

Will goes on to state:

“‘Auguries of Ruin’ really is a huge step forward for us sonically, what you will hear is a far more advanced sound and performance, and more expansive songs that lend themselves to the song themes. Many of the songs are loosely based on my obsessions at the time with space, the universe, and science fiction, and using this kind of visual landscape to portray or delve into various themes and struggles with mental health and isolation.”

The heavy dirge of ‘Behind The Sun’ with its low slung rhythms and ear piercing vocals are what Silverkord are all about. The dirty grunge base that allows Will Miles the ability to lay down some killer vocal tracks. Second track ‘Cassini’ has a weird mix of hypnotic almost chanting vocals over some off the wall drumming from Ravi Kesavaram before the track blows up sonically into a death metal screamathon. Miles really does have a crazy range. His screams become a whirlwind of noise.

‘Bury Me Inside’ has a more traditional grunge sound and the likes of Soundgarden spring to mind. The drumming once again impresses with the relentless pounding that really gets under your skin. These guys are all about the song with no one going above and beyond what the track needs. They create a wall of sound that you feel as much as hear.

There’s no escaping that voice thought. With ‘Levity’, Miles uses his voice as another instrument, rising and falling with an almost spiritual vibe. The intense music switched off for ‘Million Eyes’ as the album is allowed to breathe on the slow and sinister sounding verses. The verses are the only bit toned down though as the mayhem continues when the chorus explodes in a biblical showering of screams and guitars.

The foot to the floor frantic energy of ‘Enemy Of Mine’ is the undercurrent of the whole album. Its like been shaken for an hour and you cant help but be affected by it. Verging on unhinged its a groovy little number when the guitars get down to it. The furious vocal outbursts and grooves continue with track ‘Pulse’

‘Obits’ closes the album on a high with a floating opening verses again anchored by some proper accented drumming. It’s the shortest track on the record and acts like a cool down period bring the listener safely down after half hour of physical activity. These guys must be amazing live.

Auguries of Ruin demands its price in blood and is more an experience the you feel physically then aurally. It doesn’t let up apart from a few moments during the verses of ‘Million Eye’ and ‘Enemy Of Mine’ And it’s not like its short and sharp tracks. The tracks on the album often break the 5 minute mark with only a few tracks going below. Some real talent has gone in each one that they don’t just become a mushy boring mess. The album is heavy but not so muddied that you can’t pick out what each instrument is doing and of course what Mile’s is doing with those vocal cords. Excellent stuff.

Check out the albums opening track Behind The Sun, below:

Find out more via the band’s Website or Facebook

Read our interview with singer/guitarist Will Miles here