The minor sound to the soul month. STOA return with ‘Silma’ after seven years with international line-up. The new album of the music philosophers surprises in more than one way. Surprising is the release of ‘Silmand’ itself, a sit was very silent around STOA for the last 7 years. Fans will be happy that STOA mastermind stays true to himself with his fourth album either. Besides the usual melancholy, unusual pop rhythms found their way on the diverse albums, but the typical STOA sound is still distinct. The vocal lines harbour some surprises as well. For once there’s the angelic voice of singer Mandy Bernhardts, known from the live performances of the band; on the other hand, the voices of three guest singers sound on ‘Silmand’.The first voice belongs to the Australian multi-instrumentalist Louisa John Krol. The Dutchman Peter Nooten (Ex-Clan of Xymox) could be engaged for ‘Silmand’ as well as the Leipzig-based Ralf Jehnert (Love is Colder than Death). With ‘Silmand’ an album for the calm moments in life was created, for cuddling, to get lost in thoughts, to philosophize. The sound of STOA deludes to seek the inner sadness and to fly away with it on angel wings. The dark side of the human soul is unveiled, without falling into clichés. The melancholy gets touched and the soul gets musically caressed.
A foretaste on the new STOA album is provided with the songs ‘Hanuz Nist’ and ‘Broken Glass’ on the band’s official MySpace profile. One of the songs on ‘Silmand’ was already used as film score. ‘Silmand’ means soul month. With it the month September is titled in an almost forgotten German dialect. Olaf Parusel says “Besides the strength and spirit of the summer, the September harbours a shimmer of the autumn’s melancholy. A glimpse of winter’s implacability all life will retreat to. Of course, the album is suitable for all months of the year. How about a glass of red wine while listening to it?
Tracklist ‘Silmand’
01 - Sakrileg
02 - Broken Glass
03 - La Lune Blanche
04 - Daar
05 - Iter Devium
06 - My Last Way
07 - Palldium [Night]
08 - Ways
09 - Modesty
10 - Hanuz Nist
11 - A Drinking Song
12 - So Many Clouds
13 - Tacitum
Source: Newsletter
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