Interview by Kris Peters
The pairing of Evergrey's Tom. S. Englund and acclaimed US-based pianist/composer Vikram Shankar (Redemption, Lux Terminus) might at first seem like a strange combination, but once you have taken the time to digest the sheer beauty that is the music of Silent Skies things fall easily into perspective.
Over the course of two previous albums Silent Skies have set about dismantling convention and expectation by painting sonically rich landscapes of musical clarity that resonate long after each listen.
The band returned earlier this week with their third album Dormant, an album which shows yet another metamorphosis of their combined vision.
Shankar and Englund both spoke with HEAVY on the eve of the release of Dormant.
"We think that it's our best statement yet," Shanker obliged, "and a level up pretty much in all of the ways that characterize what we do."
"We spent, honestly, an unhealthy amount of time on this album," Englund added. "We've been into every detail, because that's something we really enjoy doing. Now it's time to leave it for the world to enjoy instead of us having to be in it and fiddle around with stuff that we no longer can affect. Hopefully people enjoy it. Honestly, we are super, super happy with what we have accomplished on this album."
In the full interview, we discuss Dormant musically, the singles released and how they represent the album as a whole, new elements on the album and ways they approached recording, the cinematic aspect to their music, how Dormant differs to the first two albums, how much musical growth Silent Skies have left in them, more about Vikram and his musical pedigree, why they started the band, future plans and more.