Review by Saxy S for Slave Agent - Silent Universe (2024)

It's another thrash album review. You know what that means...

This St. Catherine's based band have not been around for very long, but their second studio album, Silent Universe, recently crossed my radar and figured it would be in my best interest to give it a couple of spins.

Silent Universe does have some bright spots; the biggest of those being the compositions themselves. For a thrash metal album filled with riffs and guitar solos, Slave Agent have given this album a lot of variety. I'm sure those who have read many reviews of mine in the past are sick and tired of hearing me harp on variety and giving the listener a chance to breathe. I have made it no surprise that albums that give me one intensity for an entire runtime are not fun to listen to, so leave it to an obscure Canadian band to rectify this. "Ripped in Two" has a slow and deliberate groove that persists throughout the song and leads to some very poignant guitar grooves and vocals, and how this groove evolves throughout the track is very well done. "Dying Worlds" is a cool, relaxing interlude that allows the listener to calm down following the first three tracks, only to be hit by a proverbial truck with "Betrayer" and especially "Slaughter at the Gate".

I did not mind the production of Silent Universe. It certainly has that old school thrash sound that is driving in reverb, which works well for the more straightforward songs, but Slave Agent are lacking when they try to get more progressive. Without a prominent bass in the mix, it can start to go flat when the guitars are getting away from their chugging riffage and instead option for more guitar solos or leads. Not surprisingly, this is most egregious on the closing track, "Alien Tomb," but it does show its ugly head sparingly on other tracks like "Ripped in Two".

TL;DR: if you like the technicality of bands such as Autonoesis, but wanted them to be a little less black metal, more thrash, and less Opeth, then perhaps Silent Universe by Slave Agent can satisfy. I know that as a whole, Silent Universe is an album I will return to, but I'm not sure how much. 

Best Songs: Betrayer, Ripped in Two, Slaughter at the Gate