Review: Daughter - Silhouettes

Silhouettes is the 2^nd release by one woman black metal band Daughter. It is 6 songs and an intro track, somewhat many for an EP. This could probably have been released as a full album, and I feel this warrants a review as an album.

Listening to the album several times, I enjoy the pacing of the album, alternating between slow extreme metal and more melodic, doom focused songs. The connecting red thread in the songs being the extreme shrieking vocals. The songs are conveyed with great emotion, making the listener perceive some of the struggles that are detailed in the lyrics (I'm also very happy that lyrics were included in the EPK I received).

The songs on this album have many elements from black metal and dark metal, making me think of bands like Enslaved and Immortal, as well as Primordial and in some instances Paradise Lost.

To keep the songs interesting there are also many melodic elements, both on guitars and synthesizers. Using them both to create melodic and atonal atmospheres makes me think of Norwegian avant-garde bands like Arcturus as well as Finnish melodic doom bands like Marianas Rest and Throes of Dawn, and Swedish melodic death metal bands like Dark Tranquillity.

There is a progressive aspect to the album that absolutely makes this more than just another black metal album, and I find I need to listen to it several times to fully discover the elements of the songs, something I really enjoy.

The recording of a trans rights demonstration on the end of the last song was a nice touch.

Production-wise this release has mostly a good mix, but a bit wet to my taste. This has probably to do with the songs being soundscapes recorded by one composer rather than each several instrumentalists wanting their parts to be heard distinctly. Still, I enjoy the layering of instruments, particularly guitars, that play different themes or rhythmic figures and fuse together to make the complex songs.
In many ways, the production is very underground, but it is still pleasant to listen to, making it clearly not a demo, but an album I would enjoy seeing on physical formats.
I hope to hear more music from Daughter, and hope also for live performances of these songs in the future!

Follow Daughter on instagram and buy the music upon the release the 18th of March on bandcamp !
It will also be available on various streaming services that pay the artists far too little.
Daughter is part of London Metal Coalition, consisting of over 55 bands working together to keep the metal scene alive in London and make it an inclusive, positive place for all metalheads