Silverstein Deliver Consistent And Fun Post-Hardcore Once Again With ‘Pink Moon’

Canadian post-hardcore scene staples Silverstein have returned with the second part of their double album, ‘Pink Moon’. This marks their first release since part one of their double album from earlier this year, with ‘Antibloom’. It dives into the band’s strong suits once again, and the vibes continued from the previous record to here. 

The record starts off with a ballad type of intro song, with “I Love You But I Have to Let You Go”. It’s an interesting vibe to start off the album with, but it makes sense looking at it with the full product. The keys at the beginning of the track I think are really cool, and the melodies throughout feel very 80’s inspired. 

We follow up with the first single from the record, with “Negative Space”. The riff comes in extremely hot, as it starts up the pure adrenaline and energy. It feels like a very modern sounding song from this band, and ultimately what you’d come to expect. I love how the guitar tone during the chorus sounds punchy and it makes for a cooler sounding song. Vocalist Shane Told sounds absolutely vicious in his delivery of lyrics during the verses. And the breakdown is quite solid, to where I can see this going over well live with their fans.

We reach the second single of the record, in “Drain the Blood”. The bass by bassist Billy Hamilton really stands out right out of the gate here. I appreciate the chorus here being heavy and all screams, it makes for something different and works well on this song. It gives off the vibes of different past eras from this band as well. And of course, Rory Rodriguez from Dayseeker’s feature really elevates this track to a whole other level. It’s got another solid breakdown, something they’ve really improved upon throughout their career. I appreciate the lyrics all being a metaphor for going against AI in the music industry, it comes through nicely and passionately. 

We follow up with a more hard-rock leaning type of track, with “The Fatalist”. It’s another song that feels in line with what Silverstein have established themselves as this far in their career. I can imagine this song for some reason being in a soundtrack of a car chase, it just has that vibe all the way through after multiple listens. And I love how chuggy the guitar tone sounds during the breakdown on this song, it’s once again very fitting for it. 

We follow up with one of the best tracks on here, with “Widowmaker”. It’s got a banger of an intro, and the guitar parts actually feel reminiscent for me of older Silverstein. It contains one of the catchier choruses on here and the first part of this double album. Shoutout to the guitar by both guitarists Paul Marc Rosseau and Josh Bradford, because it’s great and goes hard during the bridge especially. It’s just a great song overall and makes for one of the best on here.

We follow up with a more melodic leaning track, with “Autopilot”. It’s not one of my favorites, as the chorus leaves a little to be desired as I wish it stood out more. But there’s still plenty to enjoy here, like Cassadee Pope’s feature. It’s short solid and her harmonizing with Shane sounds really awesome. The bridge also feels very 2005 coded for this band, and it’s without a doubt the best part of the song. And the layered vocals we get at the end is a nice touch as well. 

We reach the penultimate track and my favorite song across both parts of the double album personally, with “Death Hold”. It’s the catchiest one in my mind as well, since these melodies are doing overtime. It’s such a clean sounding track, and I love how the melodies feel very pop influenced (during the chorus especially). Shane sounds absolutely killer singing these lyrics and just all the way through really. This one also gives me vibes of some of the modern post-hardcore bands as of late. 

We reach the end of the record with a fitting closing track, with “Dying Game”. The main guitar part here feels so 90s alternative based, that it’s cool to hear be included at the end of this album. And I appreciate the acoustic guitar being present during the background of the chorus, it makes the song overall stand out. It feels right to bookend the album with this track and the first one, being more non-traditional songs for the band. 

I would say ‘Pink Moon’ makes for another solid addition to Silverstein’s ever growing discography. And it also feels like a fitting part two to ‘Antibloom’ from earlier this year, as fans should be pretty satisfied with these two albums as a whole.