A concept album you say? Well very basically, the story is centred on the diary of a girl who committed suicide, which is discovered by her father, who gets to finally know her through it and therefore laments the coldness of their relationship together when she was alive. This accounts for the few samples of violent arguments which dot the album, which also hugely confused me at first with their supposed randomness; but once understanding sets in after a few spins, “Posthumous Silence” moves through with all the seamlessness of an Oscar winning film. Even after the first listen through, I was finding tracks which stood out to me, urging me to start listening again straight away – something which I rarely ever do for fear of tiring out an album.

But if album concepts bore you, don’t worry – either way, SYLVAN simply presents a wonderfully moving collection of stirring melodies and themes, contained within a story which doesn’t dominate the experience; only enhances it for anyone interested enough to delve into the lyrics. This makes for some great extremes, although on the whole, the album is weighed more towards the lighter than the dark, or rather, lighter than heavier. The style is reminiscent of PAIN OF SALVATION and of PORCUPINE TREE, but more in terms of the vocal technique and range, which, I have to say interests me much more than Steven Wilson’s I’m afraid and even I’m shocked to hear myself say that. Marco has the ability to conjure up such passion with so little volume in one song, such as the middle in “Message From The Past”, whilst accompanied by some very poignant keys I must add and then explode with vigour in other songs like “Forgotten Virtue”. This is what reminds me of Daniel Gildenlow and a happy reminder it is indeed.

The style of the music does take the album in quite a ballad-like direction, perhaps a little too much for me, although it is done very effectively – “The Colors Changed” is as anthemic a prog ballad as ever one could wish for. That being said there are still plenty of examples of long progressive passages and very calm moving sections too, which I’m particularly fond of. And how could I forget to mention the heavy parts; despite not being too keen on “stop-start” riffing in general, there’s something inexplicably groovy I find about the main riff on “In Chains”. And as if the numerous contrasting styles and moods weren’t enough, with a certain amount of flair, the title track, which is also the ending track winds the whole album off by gathering the greatest and most important themes and musical motifs together to bring the whole album to a wonderfully evokative climax, that once sent a shiver down my back.

And so when the story concludes, one is left moved but slightly dissapointed, simply because the last 70 minutes of innovative song-writing has come to an end... time to stick it back to the beginning? I think so. So if you’re looking for great melodic prog, you definitely couldn’t go wrong with “Posthumous Silence”, it’s a winner and I’ll certainly be after some more albums from these guys. (Online July 15, 2006)