Surrounded by Silence (song)

Last updated
"Surrounded by Silence"
Single by Design the Skyline
ReleasedMarch 12, 2011
RecordedMarch 2011
Genre
Length4:12
Label Red Island
Songwriter(s) Design the Skyline
Design the Skyline singles chronology
"Surrounded by Silence"
(2011)
"Break Free from Your Life"
(2011)

"Surrounded by Silence" is a song by the deathcore band Design the Skyline. The song was self-released by the band on March 12, 2011. "Surrounded by Silence" was covered by a considerable amount of music journalists, whom described the track as one of the worst songs ever.

Contents

The song was included on Wax Vessel's 2021 release of Galactical Celebration as a bonus track. [2]

Recording, production and music video

During March 2011, the band recorded the video for their single 'Surrounded by Silence' with local production team Red Island Productions. [3] The setting of the video consisted of the band playing on a set that rendered a forest. Other scenes in the video include the band playing in a cave with prop snow falling down on the members, which was designed from potato flakes and small pieces of cotton. [4] The song was recorded with Red Island Productions and recorded and released in March 2011. [3]

Criticism

Both the band and the song have received a lot of criticism for the former's appearance and the latter's sound. [5] [6] [7]

The magazine Thrash wrote "that attention [for the band is] mostly negative due to the song [style] itself as well as the outward appearance of the band." [5] Sergeant D, a writer of MetalSucks, wrote "I almost feel bad that nobody told these kids that scene is dead, because they probably think they are going to be rockstars." [6]

In an interview about the criticism, Design the Skyline stated "At first [it bothered me, but] it [does] not anymore. People don't seem to realize that the "Surrounded by Silence" song was just a demo song and not every band sounds their best on their first demo, you know? And it's crazy how much it blew us up!" [7]

Personnel

See also

Related Research Articles

Mortification is an Australian Christian death metal band which was formed in 1987 as a heavy metal group, Lightforce, by mainstay Steve Rowe on bass guitar and vocals. By 1990, in the Melbourne suburb of Moorabbin, they were renamed as Mortification with the line-up of Rowe, Michael Carlisle on guitar and Jayson Sherlock on drums. Mortification has released fourteen studio albums, three compilation albums, three extended plays, six live discs, one demo album, one box set, and several videos on major record labels such as Nuclear Blast. As one of the earliest internationally successful Christian death metal bands from Australia, they served as an inspiration for later similar groups.

Ronald J. McGovney is an American semi-retired musician, best known as the original bass guitarist in the thrash metal band Metallica from October 1981 to December 1982.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arsis</span> American metal band

Arsis is an American death metal band from Virginia Beach, Virginia, formed in 2000. The band is currently signed to Nuclear Blast.

<i>Dead Heart in a Dead World</i> 2000 studio album by Nevermore

Dead Heart in a Dead World is the fourth studio album by American heavy metal band Nevermore, released in October 2000. In a style comparable to a darker, heavier Queensrÿche, its songs range topics such as criticism of drug possession penalties to rejection of religion. The album also features a cover of Simon & Garfunkel's hit, "The Sound of Silence". It is also notable for being Nevermore's first record utilizing seven-string guitars.

Byzantine is an American heavy metal band from Charleston, West Virginia, that was formed in 2000. As of March 2016, the band consists of frontman and co-founder Chris "OJ" Ojeda, Brian Henderson (guitar), Matt Bowles (drums) and Ryan Postlethwait (bass). The band has released three studio albums on Prosthetic Records along with two independent albums. Byzantine is known for its unique sound and modern, "forward thinking" musical style which explores different musical territories and song structures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grim Reaper (band)</span> British heavy metal band

Grim Reaper were a British heavy metal band from the new wave of British heavy metal era. The band was formed in 1979 in Droitwich, England, by guitarist Nick Bowcott, and there have been numerous lineup changes over the years, with frontman Steve Grimmett being the longest running member, from 1982 to 1988, then 2006 until his death in 2022. They are best known for several of their 1980s songs, including the respective title tracks from their first three albums: See You in Hell (1983), Fear No Evil (1985) and Rock You to Hell (1987); each of those songs gained notoriety in the 1990s for appearing on Beavis and Butt-Head. After disbanding in 1988, the band reformed in 2006 around Grimmett, and due to legal issues surrounding the rights to the original band name, they went by Steve Grimmett's Grim Reaper. Two albums under that name – Walking in the Shadows (2016) and At the Gates (2019) – were released before Grimmett died in 2022, after which the band disbanded again.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deathcore</span> Fusion of death metal and metalcore genres

Deathcore is an extreme metal subgenre that combines death metal with metalcore. The genre consists of death metal guitar riffs, blast beats, and metalcore breakdowns. While there are some precursors to the concept of death metal fused with metalcore/hardcore elements seen in the 1990s, deathcore itself emerged in the early 2000s and gained prominence beginning in the mid-2000s within the southwestern United States, especially Arizona and inland southern California, which are home to many notable bands and various festivals.

<i>Ember to Inferno</i> 2003 studio album by Trivium

Ember to Inferno is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Trivium. It was released on October 14, 2003, through Lifeforce Records and was produced by Jason Suecof and the band themselves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trivium (band)</span> American heavy metal band

Trivium is an American heavy metal band from Orlando, Florida, formed in 1999. The band comprises vocalist and guitarist Matt Heafy, guitarist Corey Beaulieu, bassist Paolo Gregoletto, and drummer Alex Bent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heathen (band)</span> American thrash metal band

Heathen is an American thrash metal band originating from the San Francisco Bay Area, active from 1984 to 1993 and again from 2001 onwards. Despite never achieving commercial success, the band is often credited – alongside Exodus, Testament, Forbidden, Death Angel and Vio-lence – as one of the leaders of the Bay Area thrash metal scene of the mid-to-late 1980s, and they have gone through several lineup changes, leaving guitarist Lee Altus as the only constant member. To date, Heathen has released four studio albums: Breaking the Silence (1987), Victims of Deception (1991), The Evolution of Chaos (2009) and Empire of the Blind (2020).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Becoming the Archetype</span> American heavy metal band

Becoming the Archetype is an American heavy metal band formed in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1999. They have released six albums on Solid State Records. Dichotomy, which was released in November 2008, sold around 2,300 copies in the United States in its first week of release, according to Nielsen Soundscan. The CD debuted at No. 18 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the top 100 of the Billboard 200. The band was part of the new wave of American heavy metal. After 2012's I Am, the band went on an indefinite hiatus. In 2022, however, the band reunited with the lineup of Jason Wisdom, Seth Hecox, and Brent “Duck” Duckett.

No-Big-Silence, originally known as Aggressor, is an Industrial metal/rock band from Estonia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cynic (band)</span> American progressive metal band

Cynic is an American progressive metal band formed in Miami, Florida by Paul Masvidal in 1987. Masvidal original served solely as the band's guitarist, but later took over as lead vocalist and chief songwriter. Cynic incorporates elements of progressive rock, alternative, and metal.

<i>Enter the Grave</i> 2007 studio album by Evile

Enter the Grave is the debut album by the English thrash metal band Evile. Released on 27 August 2007 in Europe and on 25 September in North America and Japan, the album received generally favorable reviews and entered the UK Rock Chart at number 33. It was produced by Flemming Rasmussen and recorded at Sweet Silence Studios, Copenhagen, Denmark. Rasmussen had produced three Metallica albums, which raised the profile of the album's release. The track "Thrasher" was included on the 2008 Earache Thrash Pack, a downloadable selection of songs for the music video console game Rock Band.

Corpus Christi was an American Christian metal band from Cincinnati, Ohio. The term "Corpus Christi" is Latin for "body of Christ," which fits the band's Christian lyrics. They were signed to Victory Records. The band has been featured on TVU's weekly countdown show, TVU's Most Wanted.

Design the Skyline was an American avant-garde metal band from Corpus Christi, Texas. Formed in 2007, the band originally was known as Extra Large Kids during high school and recorded demo songs while playing in their local area under this name. In 2011, the band gained international attention after being signed to Victory Records with their song "Surrounded by Silence" and its accompanying video, which was so negatively received to the point where the band gained a considerable exposure. The negative reaction was generally due to the song's key structure and sound changes, as well the band's overt "scene" image at the time.

<i>Nevaeh</i> (album) 2011 studio album by Design the Skyline

Nevaeh is the only album by Design the Skyline. It was released on August 16, 2011 through Victory Records.

<i>Beating a Dead Horse</i> (album) 2015 studio album by Jarrod Alonge

Beating a Dead Horse is the debut studio album by YouTube comedian Jarrod Alonge, self-released on May 26, 2015. The album features seven different fictitious bands created by Alonge to satirize the tropes and characteristics of alternative music genres such as metalcore, post-hardcore, pop punk, emo, progressive metal, hardcore punk and others.

Undertaking was a Hungarian thrash metal band formed in Budapest in 1988. The band consisted of György Killan, Viktor Jakab and Imre Esztári (drums). Undertaking was active for only about a year, yet it became one of the most successful bands of the Hungarian thrash metal scene at the end of the 1980s. The members organized and ran the wildly popular monthly thrash metal event that operated under the banner of Thrash Mosh Club in Újpest (Budapest) at Ländler Jenő Művelődési Ház where they were the house band. The 7-song demo recorded in December 1988 titled V12BB4U and was distributed through mail order and small independent record shops. Singing in English made it next to impossible to have their music published through any official channels of the socialist Hungary of that era. Despite their popularity, Undertaking broke up at the end 1989 due to inner frictions. They played their last show at Vienna's Rockhaus opening for Rage.

Light Unseen is an American death metal and grindcore band that originated in San Marcos, Texas, United States. The band was founded by local Texas death metal and grindcore veteran Christian "Shun" Marthiljohni of Diminished, Southern Front, and The Monk. Marthiljohni hired on his friend Adrian Trevino to take over drums. The band signed with Nosral Recordings in January 2018. Light Unseen has been compared to Tortured Conscience and Antidemon. Currently, the band is signed with Rottweiler Records.

References

  1. "Design the Skyline - Nevaeh (album review)". Sputnik Music. June 21, 2012. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
  2. "Galactical Celebration | Extra Large Kids". Bandcamp . Retrieved February 15, 2024.
  3. 1 2 Guerrero, Richard. "Corpus Christi metal act's viral video landed group record deal". Corpus Christi Caller-Times . Retrieved October 31, 2011.
  4. Weingarten, Christopher (2011). "Profiles – Bands to Watch: Design the Skyline". Revolver . p. 43. ISSN   1527-408X.
  5. 1 2 "Design the Skyline - Naevah". Thrash Magazine. 2 March 2012.
  6. 1 2 "Victory Records Signs Design the Skyline [via Time to Warp 2008]". MetalSucks. May 17, 2011.
  7. 1 2 "Design the Skyline Interview". Hero (via Tumblr). Archived from the original on 2012-04-25.