IAN ARKLEY - Lead & rhythm electric, classical and acoustic guitars, lead vocals, ebow.
KATE HAMILTON - Bass guitar, cello, piano, keyboards, recorder, harmonium, clarinet, vocals, zither, lead corset
ANDI LEE - Electric, classical, acoustic and bass guitars, mandolin, vocals, ebow, embarassing photographs, kilts
JASEN WHYTE - Drums, lead vocals, percussion, cymbals
STEVE ALLAN - Drums, percussion, cymbals, sound engineering (Steve Allan is proud to be endorsed by Stagg Cymbals)
Former members:
ALAN SOUTHORN - Bass guitar
Guest live vocalists in the absence of Jasen:
Devin Shaeffer (Once Dead) at Nordic Fest 07, Mike Hitchen (The Drowning) Hobbits WSM Nov 07, James Moore (The Drowning) Hobbits WSM June 08 (Jasen normally provides additional vocals live, but cannot be present at every gig due to his insistence on living in London.)
Guest rhythm guitar in the absence of Andi: Mike Hitchen (The Drowning)
Influences
IAN's influences and likes include: Trouble, My Dying Bride, Black Sabbath, Celtic Frost, Dead Can Dance, Bauhaus, Empyrium, Cult Of Luna, Neurosis, Paradise Lost, Type-O-Negative, Led Zeppelin, The Blood Divine, Pink Floyd, Sunn O))), Napalm Death, Monster Magnet, The Who, The Cult, NFD, Fields Of The Nephilim, Marillion, Obituary, Candlemass, Judas Priest, Hawkwind, The Ozrics, The Revolutionary Army Of The Infant Jesus, Iron Maiden, Virgin Black, Antestor, Mazzy Star, Nick Cave, Sisters Of Mercy, Tim Booth (James), Mike Oldfield, Leonard Cohen, New Model Army, In The Woods, folk and mediaeval music. Influences also include things such as; woods, castles and cathedrals, good films, friends, faith, lack of faith, sadness, beauty, despair, hope, love, doubt, fear.
JASEN'S influences are: Absurd2, Arcturus [Sideshow Symphonies], Believer, Benea Reach, Bloodwork (UK), Dead Can Dance, Death [Symbolic, Individual Thought Patterns], Decarsus (RIP), Drottnar, Enslaved [Ruun], Extol, Killswitch Engage, Kings X, Koop [Waltz for Koop], Living Sacrifice, Meshuggah, My Dying Bride, Paramaecium, Pestilence [Spheres], Strapping Young Lad [The New Black], Tourniquet.
Others: the art of conversation, beauty, bit of footie, decay, electronic devices/hardware/software, exploring, friends/loved ones, good movies or a series, love, radiography, tea and coffee, the things that make us grow.
KATE'S influences are: Dead Can Dance, Mazzy Star, The Mediaeval Baebes, Hildegard Von Bingen, John Tavener, Fairport Convention, Henryk Gorecki, Empyrium, Vaakavandring, Antestor, Leonard Cohen, Tim and Jeff Buckley, The Guild of Funerary Violinists, Virgin Black and all other music that makes me switch off from the world, even when driving, which can prove dangerous....
ANDI'S influences are: Leonard Cohen, My Dying Bride, In The Woods, Celtic Frost, Black Sabbath, Darkthrone, Mayhem, Emperor, Ephel Duath, Neurosis, Candlemass, NIN, Slayer, Daylightdies, Monolithe, Tori Amos, Ozric Tentacles, Mahler, Bartok, Ligeti, Rolf Harris (best version of Stairway ever)
Sounds Like
Doom/death metal with goth, mediaeval, folk, black, progressive and experimental elements. Our music generally appeals to fans of My Dying Bride, Paradise Lost, Agalloch, Katatonia, Anathema etc...
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My Silent Wake's new album "A Garland of tears" will be released on Bombworks records. There are also t-shirts available to coincide with the release of the CD.
Buy My Silent Wake's new Album "A Garland of Tears" and other merchandise direct from the band! Click on the Images to go to the MSW web-store.
Note: Orders must be paid for using PayPal, and will be processed by ByteMatrix Limited.
My Silent Wake was formed from the dying embers of Ashen Mortality in May 2005 by Ian Arkley (Seventh Angel, Ashen Mortality, Century Sleeper, Paramaecium, The Other Window). He was joined by ex members of Ashen Mortality, Andi Lee and Jasen Whyte (Bloodwork), and also Alan Southorn (The Other Window) Kate Hamilton joined just prior to the recording of the debut album. The newest member of the band is Steve Allan who has joined on drums. Steve also did the sound engineering on all MSW recordings.
In June 2005 the first recording took place at Kewsound in North Somerset. The 2 song EP which comprises over 16 mins of music was recorded in just 10 hours. One of the songs from the EP 'Encircle' appeared on the cover CD of the Nov/ Dec edition of Zero Tolerance magazine and positive reviews have appeared in many magazines and webzines inc. Terrorizer, Hellride, and Zero Tolerance.
In November 2005 My Silent Wake recorded their debut full length album (again at Kewsound). The album was recorded in just 4 and a half days and with the inclusion of the EP tracks weighs in at over 79 mins of music. The artwork was created by Rex Zachary, who has worked on albums by Opeth (Deliverance) among others.
After work on Shadow of Sorrow was complete, drummer Jasen Whyte began to suffer from a painful wrist injury which meant that playing live was not an option. The band decided to use the time to write and record the follow up to SoS. During early 2006 My Silent Wake began working on an ambitious double album project, the first part of which built on the crushingly heavy sound that they had developed since their formation. The second part aimed to capture a different mood, using almost entirely acoustic instruments and largely recorded live in the studio. The songs showcase the musical abilities of the band, and the more reflective and diverse set of songs are equally heavy in their own way as the more traditional metal songs of the first part.
The resulting double album "The Anatomy of Melancholy" was released by Bombworks records on the 24th of April 2007, and pre-shown to the audience at the 2007 Elements of Rock Festival in Uster, Switzerland, where MSW made their debut live performance using Steve Allan on drums (Steve co-produced and engineered both albums). Jasen continues as a member of the band contributing joint vocals live and an increasing number of vocal parts on the cds. Steve is now a full member of the band and Steve and Jasen both played drums on the follow-up to The Anatomy of Melancholy, which was recorded in a few days at the start of March '08.
During 2007 My Silent Wake filmed two promo videos for a future DVD release with director Andrew Spencer. In the autumn, the band completed a mini tour with The Drowning and they also played Nordic fest in Oslo, Norway. Last year saw My Silent Wake play their first London gig with Norway's Drottnar and the recording of the third album, which has now been released on CD and Vinyl. The artwork for the new album has been created by Matt Vickerstaff, who has created covers for My Dying Bride amongst many others. Last Autumn, My Silent Wake toured again with The Drowning, and also with The Prophecy this time - two of the best doom/death bands in the UK. They also played last year's Nordic Fest along with Ian's re-formed Seventh Angel. The band also recorded a cover of Attrition's ‘Two Gods’ for an Attrition tribute album being released by Martin Bowes very shortly.
Some future plans include the recording of a split album with The Drowning and a compilation album/DVD.
Praise for "A Garland Of Tears"
KERRANG! magazine (Reviewer Paul Travers)
A FINELY CRAFTED SLAB OF PROGRESSIVE DEATHLY DOOM.... a classy and highly impressive work. KKKK (4/5) (Reproduced with permission) Kerrang! issue 1245 Jan 24th 2009
METAL.DE Webzine (Reviewer Markus Endres)....well-groomed, epic and really fantastic Death Doom/Gothic Metal..8/10
METAL HAMMER UK (Greg Moffit)...Weston-super-Mare's woebegotten denizens have crafted a fine slab of atmospheric gothic doom....flashes of palpable brilliance...
TEETH OF THE DIVINE Webzine (Reviewer: Shawn Pelata)
The band deftly combines elements of Doom, Death and Folk Metal utilizing four vocalists while creating waves of melancholic mastery....The whole album has a bleak, sad vibe about it....Sonically, there’s a slightly raw, almost live feel about it that does nothing but add to the appeal of the music.
UK METAL UNDERGROUND / www.unionblack.co.uk 9/10 Review by Digideus
...Quite simply, this is one of the finest albums I have heard all year from all genres of metal. Its albums like this that would totally demolish any preconceptions I ever had about the "Big" bands" showing that there are still artists out there capable of competing with the big boys on their own playing field. Bands like Anathema, Opeth and Paradise Lost had better watch their backs, because My Silent Wake have BETTERED them all with this album..
TOM AND MARY'S WEBZINE....The band from England cuts its own path far from well worn alleys. Therefore I am rendered as speechless as I was in the dark days of fall 2007, when I tried to review "The Anatomy of Melancholy". Blessed are those who find the door into this bastion - for they behold a dark ocean, a universe of tears in which they are to find a handful of hope. He who surrenders to this task will prevail.
Rating: 12++/12
KronosMortus.hu: 10 out of 10 pts.
Medazzarock.ch: 10 out of 10 pts.
Tollbooth.com: 4.5 out of 5 pts.
Metal-District.de: 9 out of 10 pts.
UKMU / UnionBlack.co.uk: 9 out of 10 pts.
Concreteweb.be: 85 out of 100 pts.
BurnYourEars.de: 8.5 out of 10 pts.
Kerrang! Magazine: 4 out of 5 pts.
Stormbringer.at: 4 out of 5 pts.
Metalzone.gr: 80 out of 100 pts.
Outburn Magazine: 8 out of 10 pts.
Powerplay magazine: 8 out of 10 pts..
Rock Tribune magazine: 8 out of 10 pts.
Bloodchamber.de: 8 out of 10 pts.
DarkSide.ru: 8 out of 10 pts.
Heavy-metal.de: 8 out of 10 pts.
Holysteel.com: 8 out of 10 pts.
Nocturnalhall.com: 8 out of 10 pts.
Neckbreaker.de: 8 out of 10 pts.
Metal.de: 8 out of 10 pts.
RawAndWild.com: 8 out of 10 pts.
Schwermetall.ch: 11 out of 13 pts.
MusikAnSich.de: 16 out of 20 pts.
Lordsofmetal.nl: 78 out of 100 pts.
Metalglory.de: 7.5 out of 10 pts.
The-Pit.de: 7.5 out of 10 pts.
Babylonmagazine.net: 7.5 out of 10 pts.
HardSounds.it: 74 out of 100 pts.
MusikReviews.de: 11 out of 15 pts.
Helldriver Magazine: 5 out of 7 pts.
PowerOfMetal.dk: 72 out of 100 pts.
Rock Hard magazine: 7 out of 10 pts.
Silentscreamzine.com: 7 out of 10 pts.
I edited my profile with a Mac!!
All reviews reproduced with permission.
View our acoustic profile for more music from M.S.W.
Apologies for the generic message but we wanted to let you know that our new album, "Tales Of Absolution + Obsoletion" is out now and available directly from us! We have uploaded the first 2 singles for your enjoyment, please let us know what you think...
Please check our August tour dates and visit the official site when you have a moment. Your support is truly appreciated!!
No acoustic instruments, that's a pity! I'll bring my own guitar, so you can play on him if you want. He has a very nice "full" sound. I guess he is also sad sometimes, because he's always being picked on. See you there!
I think u'll enjoy this one. It's pretty cool but also a little creepy too LOL. You'll need to follow these directions EXACTLY to get the proper results. Put the followwing into the address-bar of your web-browser. Type ur favorite number between 1 and 999 & then type a dot & then type your favorite color & then type a dot & then type one word that best describes your mood & then type a dot & then type the word retwistic & then type a dot & then type com & then click enter. Let me know how it turns out for you.
Wow, yeah, that would be awesome! I will bring my acoustic guitar (called Mjolnir) anyways, though I guess you will have some acoustic instruments as well, but if someone wants to lend it its okay. Haha, it feels a bit liked it would be blessed then, just like someone would consider a handkerchief held by the pope blessed. It feels a bit the same.
Last year we had a beautiful night at the lake, a litlle mist covered the lake with a natural veil through which natures beauty still shone in a marvellous way, the full moon clad everything in silver robes...it was almost supernatural. I hope such a night is ours (if the My Silent Lake fest, fest sounds cooler than party, that sounds a bit shallow, in my opinion, is in the night) for the My Silent Lake fest. It will be great anyway. I will try to get as much fans as I can get together, you've got quite a lot of them here in the Netherlands.
Hurray! I just saw on the website from the Flevo Festival that you were coming to play there. That's great to here. Now I definetely want to be there. I'm so joyful I could dance around the house! (My brother was already wondering who was making such strange noises, which some very excited ones.) Anyways. I hope I you still have taste for cookies? I had an idea, though one may call it strange, but, there's a great lake there, so I thought "hey, let's have a 'My Silent Lake' party there. We can sit at the beach, eat cookies, and be totally silent (though I don't know if that would make it feel lake, I mean, like a party. Well, that was a crazy idea of mine. It's gonna be so cool^^ Can't wait to see you live again. Will you also play some acoustic songs?
Hurray! I just saw on the website from the Flevo Festival that you were coming to play there. That's great to here. Now I definetely want to be there. I'm so joyful I could dance around the house! (My brother was already wondering who was making such strange noises, which some very excited ones.) Anyways. I hope I you still have taste for cookies? I had an idea, though one may call it strange, but, there's a great lake there, so I thought "hey, let's have a 'My Silent Lake' party there. We can sit at the beach, eat cookies, and be totally silent (though I don't know if that would make it feel lake, I mean, like a party. Well, that was a crazy idea of mine. It's gonna be so cool^^ Can't wait to see you live again. Will you also play some acoustic songs?
Hi MY SILENT WAKE Don't miss the opportunity to play at the world's biggest festival for upcoming bands! Play at the best and biggest venues in your country. Sign up your band today at www.emergenzanordic.com Hope to see your band ON stage! All the best Emergenza Festival
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Hurray! I hope so to. I read an email from first paradox, the metalshop that was also at the fear dark festival, that said you would be coming. They were already promoting you...but I guess it's still a guess if you will come. I hope with you you'll be there!
