Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Silence Review

Release Date: May 9, 2000
Label: Roadrunner
Genres: Alternative Metal, Emo
Number Of Tracks: 12
With few choruses to speak of, the band literally pile drives the menacing material into the ground.

Sound:	10
Lyrics:	9
Impression:	10
Overall rating:	9.7
Users rating:	9.8
Comments:	8

overall: 10

Reviewed by: VeloriumCamper, on may 04, 2006

Sound: Glassjaw is unlike any band that you have ever heard before. The intensity of Glassjaw's debut full length "Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Silence" will never be matched again. From each song to the next, you are on the edge of your seat begging for mercy as Daryl yells lyrics at you, you couldn't even think up, backed by pounding guitars led by Justin Beck, and drums to hold everything together. Daryl grew up in New York a flat out Hardcore kid and his past experience definitely came to light on this album, in a very positive way. One of the most interesting aspects of this album is how Glassjaw can take a song from complete chaos to melodic bridges and choruses that have you singing along. // 10

Lyrics and Singing: Glassjaw's lyrics are some of the most eerie and mind captivating lyrics you will ever see any Hardcore band write. With lines like "Suck on the end of this dick that cums lead" and the repetition of "Who you f--king now? You f--king whore!?" shows the obvious frustration and raw emotion in Daryl's lyrics. What makes them great is how real Daryl's singing and screaming his. His screams are not forced, they aren't placed at certain spots, they just come to him becuase of the incredible amount of emotion. Daryl's voice is also one of the most recognizable voices in Hardcore/Pop (Head Automatica) today. You could pick his voice out of a crowd in a second, which is a good thing (although Simon Cowell might not like it? Oh well). The lyrics match the music almost too perfectly and hit you hard. I don't say this too often, but for this album I will, Daryl's singing and lyrics on this album are almost perfect and the raw emotion and frustration that flows on this album will never be recreated again. // 10

Impression: Compared to "Worship And Tribute", their second full length release, "Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Silence" easily takes the cake, although "Worship And Tribute" is very very good. As you can obviously tell from the previous sections, the emotion, frustration, lyrics, and pounding guitars really drive me to place this album as one of, if not my favorite album of all time. I can honestly say I hate absolutely nothing about this album, and feel that nothing more could've been done to make this a greater album. If this album was stolen or lost, I would definitely buy another copy, hell, I would buy 10 copies if I needed to. // 10

overall: 9.3

Reviewed by: scousertommy, on december 21, 2005

Sound: The style on this album is a near un-recognisable blend of hardcore punk, metal, nu-metal and even emo. Glassjaw have an in-describable style of their own that to this day continues to defy all attempts to label and categorize it. Dissonant, overdriven chords and scathing, yet catchy distorted lead melodies are prevailent on this album. Most of the lyrics on the album were written during Daryl's stay in a children's ward in a hospital with Krohn's Disease. The mood is dissatisfied, to say the least and the music is in accordance with this. The sound on the album is far from 'easy listening', but when in the right frame of mind, the music takes you on nothing short of a glorious rollercoaster-ride of melancholy and rage. // 10

Lyrics and Singing: Described by many as something of a concept album, Daryl Palumbo's lyrics focus almost entirely on failed relationships and essentially all of the shit he had gone through regarding girls up to that point. The title track; "Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Silence" encapsulates the lyrical mood of the entire album. The ever-cryptic lyrics detail Daryl's darkest hour during his first serious Krohn's disease lapse at the age of 18, at the outset of which he was unceremoniously dumped by his then-girlfriend. The album approaches climax during Daryls furiously tortured screams at the end of the track. The music feels like a seamless extension of the mood of the lyrics, with frankly unpleasant dissonance and moody ambience coupled with emotive lead melodies figuring heavily. // 8

Impression: As the album grows and deepens in quality for the listener, you will find yourself favouring completely different sets of tracks on the CD. For the Glassjaw initiate, the most enjoyable songs to begin with are "When One Eight Becomes Two Zeros," "Ry-Ry's Song," "Piano" and "Her Middle Name Was Boom." As the cathartic power of the music takes hold, one finds oneself enthralled by the raw emotion of "Lovebites And Razorlines," "Pretty Lush" and "Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Silence." To cap it all off, as an afterthought of the whole episode is the hidden track "I'm Sorry"; a melancholic anthem of regret which follows two minutes of soothing white noise. This album is a slow-burner and I really mean that. For the most part, this album is actually difficult to comfortably listen to initially. It takes time to grow on you and that time spent is deeply enjoyable. It engages the listener like no other music. It takes a long, long time for the music to lose it's impact, the album is still an effective and potent body of music for me to listen to, well over six months after I first heard it. If the album were somehow lost to me, I wouldn't spare a single second in re-acquiring it. It's that essential. // 10

Comments

[gjaw006]

probably the greatest cd i have ever bought. this cd is amazing. i love it to death. they are my favorite band without a doubt..i think anyone should give this cd a chance...its seriously an amazing cd.thats all i can say.....

[MachineHeart]

to velorium camper or whatever. these guys arnet just hardcore. they have other styles too.

[VeloriumCamper]

Oh yeah I know, they incorporate all types of genres into their music, I was generalizing though, and speaking of the background of Daryl and the rest of the band.

[Give_em Hell]

this cd is ****ing awesome!

[justchillin21]

Glassjaw at their best, some of the best lyric work I've hear in any album.

[xConverge]

best post hardcore album, bar none

[washburn085]

Lets see... 6 years after I first got this album and it still ranks #1 to me. Best album ever. This is what music is about.

[warlock_shred]

Whats krohns disease???