The Night God Slept

The Night God Slept
Studio album by Silent Planet
Released	November 10, 2014
Recorded	2014
Genre	Metalcore, post-hardcore
Length	32:43
Label	Solid State Records
Producer	Spencer Keene, Daniel Braunstein
Silent Planet chronology
lastsleep (1944-1946) (2014) The Night God Slept (2014)

The Night God Slept is the first studio album by Los Angeles-based metalcore band Silent Planet. It was released on 10 November 2014 through Solid State Records. The album was co-produced by guitarist Spencer Keene and former Volumes' member Daniel Braunstein.

Background and history

After the band released the EP lastsleep (1944-1946) in January 2014, they set out to record their first full-length album.

While the songs "Tiny Hands (Au Revoir)", "Darkstrand (Hibakusha)" and "Wasteland (Vechnost)" had already been included in this EP, the other tracks were previously unreleased.

On May 17, 2014, the band announced the completion of their upcoming album,^[1] which the band announced on July 13, 2014, to be released in fall 2014 through ″an artist-friendly record label who is allowing [them] to retain full creative control."^[2]

On September 14, 2014, they announced the album to be released on November 11, 2014. On September 19 they dropped a hint pointing towards the new album name by posting the link http://www.thenightgodslept.com on their Facebook page. On September 24, 2014, they confirmed the name of the new album to be The Night God Slept and revealed that the album would be released on November 10, 2014, through Solid State Records.

The band then succeeded to post new songs from their upcoming album to their Facebook page, starting with "XX (City Grave)" on September 30, followed by "Native Blood" on October 23, "firstwake" on November 2 and "Depths II" on November 5.

The lyrics tell different stories, mostly told through the eyes of woman protagonists, as explained by the band's vocalist Russell:

We see a lot of cultural misogyny in music, certainly in heavy music. Women in heavy music are caught in a binary - they are either written as a ‘good’ moral, ideal woman or a ‘bad’ sinful, tempting woman - but almost never written from their own perspective. What links all of the women in our songs is that they ultimately have to make difficult decisions under the systemic oppression of their coercive ruling forces. Forces which include government, authority figures and the society they live in.^[3]

Songs

• "XX (City Grave)" deals with the modern day crisis of sex trafficking in America.^[4]
• "Native Blood" speaks about the history of Native Americans, for example 1830's Indian Removal Act and 1887's Dawes Act.^[5]
• "Tiny Hands (Au Revoir)" is based on the story of Marguerite Rouffanche, sole survivor of the Oradour-sur-Glane massacre on 10 June 1944.^[6]
• "firstwake" discusses the contrast between the intentions of Christianity as opposed to the global perception of Christianity in America.^[7]
• "Darkstrand (Hibakusha)" tells the story of a mother and a child being ripped apart by a layer of rubble as the bombing of Hiroshima ensues.^[8] (Hibakusha (被爆者) is the Japanese term used to refer to the surviving victims of the Nagasaki and Hiroshima bombings.)
• "Wasteland (Vechnost)" deals with the morality of the Soviet Union's victory in contrast with having suffered more casualties than any other country during World War II and the Soviet Union's views on religion.^[9] (Вечность (vechnost) is the Russian word for eternity.)

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Alternative Press	[10]
HM Magazine	[11]
Indie Vision Music	[12]
Jesus Freak Hideout	[13] [13] [13]
Substream Magazine	[14]

Awarding the album three and a half stars from Alternative Press, Dan Slessor writes, "these leanings grow perhaps a little too pronounced and the band’s personality grows somewhat fuzzy, but when they are at their best they are gripping."^[10] Geoff Burns, giving the album four stars for Substream Magazine, states, "Throughout the aggressive breakdowns and double bass moments, the album is lyrically insightful."^[14] Rating the album four and a half stars at HM Magazine, Collin Simula describes, "It's musical, challenging, heavy and truly surprising."^[11]

Giving the album four and a half stars at Jesus Freak Hideout, Scott Fryberger says, "The Night God Slept is an excellent label debut".^[13] Michael Weaver, awarding the album four stars from Jesus Freak Hideout, writes, "The Night God Slept is a strong entry into this year's heavy music pool."^[13] Indicating in a four and a half star review for Jesus Freak Hideout, Dylan Minson states, "The Night God Slept is a really fun, frantic and intentional record".^[13] Brody Barbour, signaling in a four star review by Indie Vision Music, describes, "this album is phenomenal".^[12]

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Well"	3:00
2.	"XX (City Grave)"	2:52
3.	"I Drowned in the Desert"	1:28
4.	"Native Blood"	3:53
5.	"Tiny Hands (Au Revoir)" (featuring Natalie Nicoles of Branches)	3:51
6.	"firstwake" (featuring Joel Quartuccio of Being as an Ocean)	4:14
7.	"Darkstrand (Hibakusha)" (featuring Sean McCulloch of Phinehas)	3:17
8.	"First Mother (Lilith)" (featuring Rory Rodrigues of Dayseeker)	2:35
9.	"To Thirst for the Sea"	1:06
10.	"Wasteland (Vechnost)" (featuring Nathan Mead of I, of Helix)	3:29
11.	"Depths II"	3:13
Total length:		32:43

Personnel

Silent Planet Garrett Russell – unclean vocals Spencer Keene – guitar, producer Thomas Freckleton – bass, vocals Mitchell Stark – guitar Igor Efimov – guitar Alex Camarena – drums

Additional personnel Daniel Braunstein – producer Natalie Nicoles – guest vocals on track 5 Joel Quartuccio – guest vocals on track 6 Sean McCulloch – guest vocals on track 7 Rory Rodrigues – guest vocals on track 8 Nathan Mead – guest vocals on track 10

Reception

Alternative Press gave the album a 3.5/5 star review, favoring the general atmosphere of the album and as well as the instrumental work, but criticizing the lyrics.^[15]

New Noise Magazine gave the album a 4/5 star review, saying the band might seem a bit generic at times, but praising their lyrical and musical passion, predicting Silent Planet to be "the next big thing in metalcore".^[16]

Indie Vision Music gave the album a score of 4/5 with a user rating of 4.7/5, calling the album "one of the elite albums of 2014", however criticizing the stand-alone instrumental tracks and the "premature" ending.^[17]

References

1. "Facebook", retrieved on 12 November 2014.
2. "Facebook", retrieved on 12 November 2014.
3. "Solid State Records | Artist | Silent Planet", Solid State Records, retrieved on 12 November 2014.
4. "Silent Planet - XX (City Grave)", band's Facebook page, retrieved on 12 November 2014.
5. "Silent Planet - Native Blood", YouTube, retrieved on 12 November 2014.
6. "HM Exclusive: Silent Planet premieres ‘Tiny Hands’", HM magazine, retrieved on 12 November 2014.
7. "Song premiere: Silent Planet, firstwake", Metal Insider, retrieved on 12 November 2014.
8. "Facebook", Ark of the Covenant 's Facebook, retrieved on 12 November 2014.
9. "Silent Planet - Wasteland (Vechnost)", YouTube, retrieved on 12 November 2014.
10. Slessor, Dan. "Silent Planet - The Night God Slept". Alternative Press. Retrieved July 4, 2015.
11. Simula, Collin. "Silent Planet - The Night God Slept". HM Magazine. Retrieved April 22, 2015.
12. Barbour, Brody. "Review : Silent Planet - The Night God Slept". Indie Vision Music. Retrieved July 4, 2015.
13. Fryberger, Scott; Weaver, Michael; Minson, Dylan. "Silent Planet, "The Night God Slept" Review". Jesus Freak Hideout. Retrieved July 4, 2015.
14. Burns, Geoff. "Review: Silent Planet - The Night God Slept". Substream Magazine. Retrieved July 4, 2015.
15. "Silent Planet - The Night God Slept", Alternative Press, retrieved on 12 November 2014.
16. "Album Review: Silent Planet – “The Night God Slept”", New Noise Magazine, retrieved on 12 November 2014.
17. "Silent Planet – The Night God Slept | Reviews | Indie Vision Music, Indie Vision Music, retrieved on 12 November 2014.