As soon as I started gathering info for this album, I noticed it has already been released half a year ago. Now, was the promo copy delivered to the distributor(s) late enough, was it sent to us even later or was it a combination of both? Hope the Platitude are not yet to release the follow-up these days! Anyway, due to the out-date of this review, let's sum it up in brief.
Platitude is a weird name for a band, raising self-esteem questions. They hail from Sweden and focus on a rocking 'prog' Metal style with lots of depression in it. Having no info on the band's two previous releases - 2002's Secrets Of Life and 2004's Nine (both on the Scarlet label) - what I heard was on good basis for the likes of this style. The melancholy of 'lighter' Conception, the instrumental drift of Dream Theater plus a dose of pomp/AOR elements (Saga, 80s Kansas etc) is the path to this quintet.
Beautiful production - done by the infamous Tommy Hansen (TNT, Helloween and a thousand other bands/albums) - supports the music nicely. There are enough good hooks, the vocals are warm, 'travelling' and sentimental, the guitar work is simple yet ample and the rhythm section is as fluent as the genre requires. The album should be a good choice for autumn holidays near the sea, or during highway driving on a foggy March evening. The more you listen to the album, the sooner you'll discover its valuable 'heart'.
Nothing groundbreaking; still, if you want your 'prog' Metal mixed with the unique voice of Roy Khan and the atmosphere of e.g. late Asia/Spock's Beard, then Silence Speaks is for you. A really good release.