Unlike a lot of other popular metalcore bands in the scene, Silent Planet have arguably never had a true breakout song or moment. This isn’t a slight against the band at all – their thought-provoking and lyrically profound brand of progressive metalcore has been remarkably consistent through their four full-length albums to date – but it can be argued that Silent Planet deserve many times the dedicated fanbase they have already. A band that asks questions of the listener is an uncommon thing, to be sure, but one that pushes the boundaries with each album they release is another thing entirely. Doing both makes you a rare breed, and it’s with that in mind that their new song “Antimatter” may well be the band’s breakout moment.
Owing to the band’s consistency as well as a somewhat new electronic and ambient undercurrent, the numbers for Antimatter check out so far. In just 3 weeks since its release, the single has racked up just over 1 million streams on Spotify (for context, “Trilogy” has 5.3 million), while the video’s racked up 323k views on YouTube. Not too shabby at all. The song itself is well worth listening to, of course. In fact, the evolution on it overall might just capture a new audience. While experimenting with different genres within the framework of their overall sound is nothing new for Silent Planet, the song manages to bounce and pulse with a different (yet still familiar) energy that brings to mind oft-forgotten bands like Innerpartysystem. In a way, it almost feels futuristic – and it’s certainly no regression.
Lyrically and from an artistry perspective, it’s not like Silent Planet have changed. In fact, this might be the evolution that Silent Planet need to have a true breakout moment in their career. Considering they’ve been around just over a decade now, few bands are more deserving of a reward than Silent Planet. While the matter of whether a band or musician “deserves” something is another debate entirely, but the fact is that Silent Planet have been writing songs that discuss everything from the survivors of nuclear weapons dropped in Japan to more personal topics like post-traumatic stress disorder – and their lyrical depth speaks volumes about the mission they’re on.
