1) Silentium is a gothic metal band whose songs often talk about love, pain, sorrow, and yearning. The band formed in Jämsänkoski, Finland in 1995. The band currently consists of Riina Rinkinen (female vocals), Juha Lehtioksa (guitars), Toni Lahtinen (guitars), Matti Aikio (bass, vocals), Sami Boman (keyboards, vocals), and Jari Ojala (drums).
Silentium's first demos and EPs have been released in tape format, and their albums have only been released in Europe and some Asian countries, although Silentium's last single (Dead Silent) has been uploaded to some Finnish music legal sites to download worldwide.
The story of Silentium goes back to December 1995 into the ashes of a death metal/gothic metal band called Funeral. From the remains of Funeral, keyboardist Sami Boman and original vocalist Matti Aikio created Silentium by adding violin player Jani Laaksonen, guitarists Toni Lahtinen & Juha Lehtioksa and drummer Jari Ojala into the line-up. Silentium's first recording was the four-song-demo-tape "Illacrimó" which was released in the end of year 1996. Their second, six-song Ep-tape "Caméne Misera" was released in 1998 and featured female vocals by Tiina Lehvonen who then became a permanent member of the band. This second tape caught the attention of Sami Tenetz who was at the time setting up his record label Spikefarm. After some negotiations Silentium signed a deal with Spikefarm and their first Spike-release "Infinita Plango Vulnera" in 1999 had the honor of becoming Spikefarm's first CD, NAULA001. The record also introduced the new drummer, Janne Ojala.
"Infinita Plango Vulnera" got extremely good feedback, pleasing goths worldwide, as did its successors, the 2001 CD "Altum" and Altum's little sister, the "SI.VM E.T A.V.VM" mini-CD.
Silentium headed to the Walltone studios of Savonlinna, Finland in January 2003 to record their third full-length album "Sufferion: Hamartia of Prudence". This was the first time they decided to use a non-member producer for their album: Tuomas Holopainen of Nightwish. "I felt I needed an outsider's view for my songs and Tuomas crossed my mind. He's definitely one of the greatest song writers in the scene, and has also showed interest towards our music. While Nightwish was on a break, he also had the time and the passion to do this project.", says Sami. Before the recordings took place Silentium suffered a major setback: Tiina Lehvonen took a time-out from Silentium for personal reasons. The leading part of Prudence in "Sufferion: Hamartia of Prudence" was then given to Anna Ilveskoski, and a second female vocalist Maija Turunen (ex-Avernal Oath) was also asked to join the recording process. Mixing of the album was done in February 2003 by Walltone's Tuomo Valtonen and Tuomas Holopainen. "Sufferion: Hamartia of Prudence" was then finished by Mika Jussila at Finnvox studios, and the results are unlike anything heard on the field of melodic goth and doom before. It is not just a melodic metal work, it's also a theatrical music experience, a tale of the star-crossed lovers Antracone and Prudence written and performed by Silentium in a true Shakespearean style.
In 2004, drummer Janne Ojala announced he's got a lack of motivation and is leaving the band. Also Jani Laaksonen and Anna Ilveskoski, who already gained the status of permanent vocalist, left and the whole band lived on the edge for awhile. But the guys didn't want to give up and the help was found surprisingly near; the original drummer Jari Ojala was willing to join in again and Riina Rinkinen (ex-Caledonian) joined to replace Anna. Anna, Janne, and Jani were later known to form their new band Evilion.
Silentium's fourth studio album, "Seducia", was released in Finland on January 25, 2006, worldwide on January 27, 2006 and in Germany, Austria & Switzerland on April 23, 2006. It is their first album which features the appearance of the new female singer Riina Rinkinen. The album has so far spawned two singles: Frostnight and Dead Silent.
Official site: http://www.silentivm.com
2) SiLENTiUM is an Indonesian folk ballad band. Founded in Jakarta, SiLENTiUM started with Zen (guitar), CJC (vocal), Aristo (bass) and Bentar (percussion). They described their musical genre as minor/light and cited REM, Pearl Jam, Iwan Fals, Live, Death Cab for Cutie and Bimbo as their influences. Their musical style derived from minimalist acoustical guitar, bass and percussion with socio-cultural/political themed song lyric. SiLENTiUM released their debut record as a part of Sang Pemimpi movie soundtrack latter in 2009. By March 2010, SiLENTiUM released EP titled Post Scriptum, with 6 songs. The first single was Lawan, released earlier in February 2010.
3) Silentium is a black metal (early) and dark ambient (later) act from Vologda, Russia, formed in 1996. Later became Binan Ath.
4) Silentium is an ambient / dungeon synth project from Ukraine, formed in 1988 by Vladislav "Munruthel" Redkin (also member of Crystaline Darkness, Finist, Коло, Munruthel, Nokturnal Mortum, Piorun, Suppuration, Thunderkraft, Вече). A demo tape titled "The Ancients' Wisdom" was released in 1995.
5) Silentium was a black metal band from Berlin, Germany formed in 1993. Released a 5-track demo in 1994.
Beyond
Silentium Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Shred with a lie
Sweet lips decay
Forever mine
Grandeur of hilt
Do not bear guilt
Eyes wide to see
Your madness in me
In the lanterns pale and sulphur air
My senses frail, no longer mine.
Solace of rage, blinding embrace
My sweet heart to bleed apart
Foil too painful, shent and wreakful
To hear or bow to any god's law
Their eyes so hollow so hollow
Their words so shallow so shallow
Her innocence ravished, by whom is this done?
Such cowardly curse, second to none
My demons ensnared me with torture and strife
And now it all ends here by god or a knife
I'm beyond horizon, on the ocean of flame
I'm numb and paralysed never feeling the pain
No one can hurt me now, I've left all behind
Beyond of all hope and fear, this void so divine
The lyrics of Silentium's song Beyond are quite cryptic, but can be interpreted as the reflection of a person who has been deeply hurt, emotionally and physically. The first stanza talks about someone's innocence being destroyed by a lie, and their sweet lips decaying, hinting at a sexual assault. This person becomes the possession of the singer, who sees madness in himself because of it. The second stanza talks about the singer's senses being fragile and not his own, showing that the trauma has left him mentally paralyzed.
The third stanza talks about rage being the only solace for the singer, and that his heart bleeds apart. He finds it too painful to accept anyone's else's authority or faith. The fourth stanza suggests that someone or something has broken the singer's trust and ravished someone's innocence. He is tormented by his personal demons and is contemplating ending things either by suicide or divine intervention. The final line suggests abandonment of hope, leaving everything, good or bad, in the past.
Overall, the lyrics suggest a person's descent into emotional turmoil and trauma, and the subsequent erosion of their sanity and confidence.
Line by Line Meaning
Her innocence lay
Her purity was taken from her
Shred with a lie
Through deception, innocence was destroyed
Sweet lips decay
Lips that were once gently sweet, now rotting away
Forever mine
The love, although immoral, will remain forever
Grandeur of hilt
The magnificence of the sword's handle depicts nobility
Do not bear guilt
Do not feel remorse for the past
Eyes wide to see
Open your eyes to see the truth
Your madness in me
Your insanity has become mine
In the lanterns pale and sulphur air
In the faint light and fumes of sulfur
My senses frail, no longer mine.
My senses are weak and no longer under my control
Solace of rage, blinding embrace
The comfort of anger that has completely taken over
My sweet heart to bleed apart
My beloved heart is breaking into pieces
Foil too painful, shent and wreakful
The pain of betrayal, causing destruction and havoc
To hear or bow to any god's law
Choosing to ignore or reject any divine law
Their eyes so hollow so hollow
Their eyes are devoid of emotions and life
Their words so shallow so shallow
Their words hold no depth or meaning
Her innocence ravished, by whom is this done?
Who is responsible for this despicable act?
Such cowardly curse, second to none
This cowardly act is absolutely unforgivable
My demons ensnared me with torture and strife
My personal demons have trapped me in anguish and suffering
And now it all ends here by god or a knife
It will all come to an end by fate or by one's own hand
I'm beyond horizon, on the ocean of flame
I have passed the limit and entered the realm of fire
I'm numb and paralysed never feeling the pain
I am numb and unable to feel pain anymore
No one can hurt me now, I've left all behind
I have left everything and everyone behind, therefore nobody can hurt me anymore
Beyond of all hope and fear, this void so divine
Transcending all emotions, reaching an emptiness that is divine
Contributed by James R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.