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.
Serpentized
Silentium Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Rip open my wrists and set me free
Seed of the serpent feeds upon me
It eats in us all unless we become thee
Pour poison in my veins and I'll still be breathing
Impure with your sin that I'll be feasting
Driven and drowned by your strength eluding
Wipe away our fear
Pour your strength in me
Slip under my skin and poison me
Sweet drop of your bane is slowly bemusing
Venomizing the earth, I'll be joining with Thee
Elude and reign, fill the earth, we are breeding
I'll slip under your skin and strangle you
We'll be crowned to the world, join us now you weak fool
We'll be here beyond end we strong, brave and few
So let me into your veins, let me join in you
The sun of heaven forsaken and weak
Too feeble to met all your evil and bleak
Crest of light, I have lost, bloody spoil to knee deep
Wipe away all the fear and all the weakness in me
Let the world as we know, purify from it's filth
With poisonous teeth all the earth we shall sweep
Take this power of mine and we'll be shedding our skins
The forbidden fruit tasting sweet from your lips
Wipe away our fear
Pour your strength in me
Kiss me and you'll be serpentized
Kiss me, sweetheart, close your eyes
Kiss me, you shall be my bride
Kiss me and let me hypnotize
I am the tickle in your spine
I am the perversion of mind
I am the first and the last
I am the pain and the lust
The lyrics of Silentium's song "Serpentized" talk about the danger of succumbing to temptation and allowing oneself to be controlled by evil. The lines "Slip under my skin and strangle me" and "Slip under my skin and poison me" suggest that the singer is willing to be completely consumed by the powers of darkness, even if it means losing their own sovereignty. The lyrics also allude to the biblical story of Adam and Eve, with lines like "The forbidden fruit tasting sweet from your lips" and "Seed of the serpent feeds upon me."
The repeated refrain of "Wipe away our fear / Pour your strength in me" implies a desire for power to overcome fear and weakness, but it comes at a cost. The singer is willing to "feast" on sin and be "venomized" in order to gain this strength. The lyrics suggest a sense of seduction and allure to the dark side, with lines like "Kiss me and let me hypnotize" and "Sweet drop of your bane is slowly bemusing."
Overall, the lyrics paint a picture of a struggle between light and darkness, good and evil, and the danger of giving in to the latter. It's a cautionary tale about succumbing to temptation and the allure of power, even if it means losing oneself in the process.
Line by Line Meaning
Slip under my skin and strangle me
Come close to me and dominate me completely
Rip open my wrists and set me free
Break my chains and liberate me from all the restrictions
Seed of the serpent feeds upon me
The evil within me is growing stronger and taking control of me
It eats in us all unless we become thee
The wickedness within us will consume us unless we give into it completely
Pour poison in my veins and I'll still be breathing
I'll survive on your malevolence and it won't kill me
Impure with your sin that I'll be feasting
I'll indulge in your depravity and make it a part of me
Driven and drowned by your strength eluding
Your potent force overpowers and submerges me
I'll wallow in your cruel caress I'm desiring
I'll revel in your ruthless touch and I yearn for it
Wipe away our fear
Eliminate all our apprehensions and insecurities
Pour your strength in me
Infuse me with your power and dominance
Slip under my skin and poison me
Invade my body and mind with your malice
Sweet drop of your bane is slowly bemusing
Your toxic influence is intoxicating me gradually
Venomizing the earth, I'll be joining with Thee
We'll spread wickedness everywhere and I'll join your cause
Elude and reign, fill the earth, we are breeding
Evade those who oppose us and rule the world, our kind will multiply
We'll be crowned to the world, join us now you weak fool
We'll become kings and rule the world, submit to us you weakling
The sun of heaven forsaken and weak
Even the divine force is powerless against our evil
Too feeble to met all your evil and bleak
It's too weak to confront and overcome all the pain and malevolence
Crest of light, I have lost, bloody spoil to knee deep
I've lost all goodness and morals, I'm neck-deep in violence
Let the world as we know, purify from it's filth
Let's cleanse the world of its impurities
With poisonous teeth all the earth we shall sweep
We'll spread evil all across the world with our vicious force
Take this power of mine and we'll be shedding our skins
Join me and we'll change ourselves entirely to adapt to our wickedness
The forbidden fruit tasting sweet from your lips
Indulging in evil is pleasantly satisfying
Kiss me and you'll be serpentized
Submit to me and become evil like me
Kiss me, sweetheart, close your eyes
Submit yourself to me and don't resist
Kiss me, you shall be my bride
Pledge yourself to me and become my partner in evil
Kiss me and let me hypnotize
Surrender to me and let me control your thoughts and actions
I am the tickle in your spine
I am the seductive force that tempts you
I am the perversion of mind
I am the manipulation that distorts your thoughts
I am the first and the last
I am the beginning and the end of all evil
I am the pain and the lust
I am the intense desire for pleasure and suffering
Contributed by Elizabeth S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.