Band:	BleakHeart
Album:	Silver Pulse
Style:	Shoegaze, Doom metal
Release date:	May 2024
A review by:	AndyMetalFreak

01. All Hearts Desire
02. Sinking Sea
03. Where I'm Disease
04. Let Go
05. Weeping Willow
06. Falling Softly

BleakHeart definitely know how to live up to their band name.

BleakHeart formed back in 2016 in the US as a doom metal band that incorporates elements of shoegaze and post-metal into their style, and their band title should be an obvious indicator as to what kind of mood they seek musically. Back in 2020, they unleashed their full-length debut Dream Griever, which was a fitting album name as it turned out to be just as dreamy and grievous as the title suggested. Now, they return 4 years later to present their sophomore effort Silver Pulse, and leading the line-up is frontwoman Kelly Schilling (vocals/synths/bass), who has teamed up once again with guitar duo JP Damron and Mark Chronister, along with latest addition Kiki GaNun (vocals/synths); the band also introduces session drummer Joshua Quinones to the fold, as well as various artists who perform a range of string instruments, ranging from viola and violin to cello.

Silver Pulse is a relatively short album, with only a 35-minute running total across just 6 tracks, and its theme reflects on a melancholic journey loosely based on vocalist GaNun's personal life experiences with dynamic disability. However, it can also act as a personal journey from within our very selves, as it expresses pain and suffering regarding disease, loss, and unknown certainty, and how we can seek hope and understanding in powers beyond our grasp. As such, you can expect this to be an emotive and heart-wrenching musical experience.

The album begins with "All Hearts Desire", which very much follows the band's dreamy shoegaze signature sound established on the debut. The song is mostly at a pedestrian tempo, with a heavy, slow doomy main riff, deep pulsating bass, slow powerful drum beats, mesmerizing background synths, soft gentle piano melodies, and, of course, Kelly Schilling's hauntingly angelical singing partnered by Kiki GaNun's equally haunting, ethereal backing vocals. All these elements are beautifully arranged to create a breathtaking melancholic soundscape, but this is only the beginning, as each track that passes leads you further into the depths of satisfying tranquillity.

One of the album's most striking features is the introduction of wind instruments, and although their involvement is minimal, they still bring a strong and beautifully melancholic presence when heard. The one song that, for me, stands out most of all is "Weeping Willow", as it contains some of the album's strongest moments, from wonderful acoustic and piano melodies, to one of the finest build-ups I've heard this year. I fall for this build-up every time by the way the tempo begins to increase, as the instrumentation gradually becomes heavier, and the vocals turn slightly more aggressive, but still never quite reach breaking point, instead coming to an abrupt halt. As I've already mentioned, the album is short, so you'll find it's over before you know it, but at the same time the length works out ideally, since it doesn't drag on at any point, so you shouldn't need to worry about the slow, dreamy, tranquil ambience drifting your weary eyes off to sleep; instead it refreshes your soul before you head back to face your grim reality. There's not a huge amount of variation here regarding songwriting, instead being quite repetitive in that respect, and the pace never exceeds a steady mid-tempo either, but that's not the point here; think of this music as a quick therapeutic fix if you wish to forget any troubling situation going on in your life.

Overall, Silver Pulse will likely slow your pulse down; it's not made for a headbanging session, but for any metalhead with the desire to ease off the extreme end of metal, or wanting to take time out for a half-hour relax, or maybe simply wanting to reflect on any tragic circumstances that could be festering within your soul, then BleakHeart could prove to be a welcome therapy session for you.