Falling Leaves - The Silence That Binds Us

Falling Leaves is a melodic death/doom metal band based in Dubai who formed in 2009.  Their latest album, “The Silence That Binds Us,” is their second full-length album—and their first one in 12 years. 

Surprisingly, I’ve never heard of the band until now but I hope they don’t wait another decade or so to release something because “The Silence That Binds Us,” is a fantastic piece of doom metal.   It also has Paul Kuhr (Novembers Doom) on guest vocals so that’s another plus.  The band’s own vocalist, Bashar, is just as effective and emotional in his deliveries as well. 

The album’s atmosphere is brooding and melancholic, but it isn’t overly slow or plodding as some doom, as it remains very energetic with the death metal side of their influence.  But it isn’t oppressively heavy either. If anything, it’s quite spacious and open; that works for the album because it has heavy Gothic influences too, particularly with the keyboards.  Speaking of keys, they aren’t anything flashy or complicated, but they are oftentimes layered and beautiful.  

Ariel is an expert at knowing if his keys need to be simple or more involved and he gives each song exactly what it needs.

Ali’s bass is just as versatile—he is melodic when needed but can bring on that lovely doomy thickness when the song calls for it. Ala and Fadi guitars are majestic, these guys can do everything and are a large part of the album’s atmosphere.

Dan Swano’s production is just flat out amazing but I wouldn’t expect anything less.  He captures every little detail and makes the album sound open while still retaining the essence of doom’s nature. 

The opening song “Carvings,” kicks things off with a surprisingly fast paced and aggressive riff.  The spoken word vocals are well integrated into the songs and pair especially well with the keys.  I like how pervasive the drums are, keeping the song heavy to help balance the atmosphere created by the keys. Paul’s clean are perfect for the thick, suffocating riffs that he casts off from.  I’m really impressed by the growls and screams as well, perfectly pitched without taking away from any one element. 

“We Are Alone,” is one of my favorites on the album.  I like the slow and ambient keys that unfurl themselves like the rising of the moon.  The steady crunch of the guitars, spoken word vocals, and clean keys give the song a heavy Gothic doom feel and I’m all here for that.  The song settles into a solid groove when the death growls kick in, making the six-minute song feel far less in length.  And that’s the key to this album:  its pacing is pretty damn good to be so long because there is just one song under six minutes.  But this song, and all the others, uses the time well and every second counts. I really like the melodic solos that piece this song together, the proper way to use lead guitar. 

“Shattered Hopes,” is another doomed out banger.  The opening guitar wastes little time in getting up to task, the world building is sprawling early on which pulled me right into the song.  About halfway is a beautiful and mournful passage that is one of the highlights of the entire album. I also like how it ramps up suddenly afterwards, casting out fantastic death growls and subtle keys into my earholes.  The last minute or so is sweeping and epic as the band reaches and surpasses new heights.  

The final song, “Re-Silence (Part III)" is a mostly soft ballad but it’s a great way to end the album, a sort of cooling off after the nonstop crushing of the previous songs.  It’s written very well, all the clean elements interacting with each other until the songs boil over near the end with heavy guitars that devastate the atmosphere.

All in all, Falling Leaves’ “The Silence That Binds Us,” is an album with an incredible depth and huge replay value.  Definitely one of the best doom albums in this second half of the year. 

Rating: Excellent