My Silent Wake

My Silent Wake
Origin	Weston-Super-Mare, United Kingdom
Genres	Death/doom, doom metal, gothic metal, folk
Years active	2005-present
Labels	Bombworks Dark Balance
Associated acts	Ashen Mortality, Seventh Angel, Century Sleeper, The Other Window, The Drowning, Paramaecium, Attrition
Website	mysilentwake.co.uk
Members
Ian Arkley Kate Hamilton Tank Mike Hitchen
Past members
Alan Southorn Andi Lee Steve Allan Jasen Whyte

My Silent Wake are a British gothic death/doom metal band who were formed from the ashes of Ashen Mortality. Ashen Mortality were formed in the early 90s in Halesowen, West Midlands and were active for a further 11 years. When the band split in 2005, three of the members went on to form MSW. The band was formed in the spring of 2005 in Weston-Super-Mare in North Somerset. Initially the band was created by Ashen Mortality co-founder Ian Arkley with other ex Ashen Mortality members Jasen Whyte and Andi Lee. Alan Southorn and Kate Hamilton also joined within the first few months. My Silent Wake have many other elements to their music; as well as doom/death they have influences from folk, medieval music and progressive/psychedelic rock. They have released three albums and a split album on Bombworks Records in America with a fourth album released in 2010 on Dutch label Dark Balance.

History

Formed in 2005, the band recorded and mixed a self-titled EP the same year and released in limited numbers. The EP gained them a contract with Bombworks Records in America. The debut album Shadow of Sorrow was recorded afterwards and released in 2006.^[1] In 2006, My Silent Wake recorded a double album entitled The Anatomy of Melancholy, which featured two discs, one of doom metal and one of mainly acoustic songs.

The band started playing live in 2007 and played in Switzerland, Norway,^[2] and the UK. Due to a wrist injury, Jasen was unable to drum live, so Steve Allan (who also co-produced and engineered all the recordings) stepped in on live drums, whilst Jasen provided additional vocals. Steve Allan became a full time member of the band and, along with Jasen, recorded some drums for the third album, which was recorded in March 2008. The third album, A Garland of Tears, was released in September 2008.^[3] Powerplay magazine gave the album eight out of 10 points, and Kerrang! gave it four out of five points.

In 2010, the band released a split album with The Drowning titled Black Lights and Silent Roads, their last release on Bombworks. My Silent Wake signed a record deal with Holland-based Dark Balance and released their fourth full length album entitled IV Et Lux Perpetua. MSW also supported Norway's In Vain on a nine-date European tour which coincided with their appearance at Holland's Dutch Doom Days and included other festival dates. Steve was replaced by Tank from Seventh Angel for the tour and Jasen left the band at the end of the year.

2011 sees the line-up of the band change again with the departure (possibly temporary) of Andi. The touring line-up for the year is Ian, Kate, Tank and Mike Hitchen (Also of The Drowning). Mike filled in for Andi in the past at some gigs. A compilation of rare material was released in June on Dark Meadow. This includes some early live songs and some unreleased songs. The limited edition CD sold out within a few days. The departed members of MSW all left on good terms and due to other commitments. Any may return at some point.

MSW are writing for a future project right now and recently played at this years Doom Over London II festival. Jasen joined the band on stage with additional vocals for this performance.

Ian has also been busy playing with Attrition recently.

Members

Current

• Ian Arkley (lead, rhythm and acoustic guitars, ebow and vocals) (Also a member of Seventh Angel, Century Sleeper and The Other Window, contributing guitar to Attrition, Ex Ashen Mortality, Paramaecium)
• Kate Hamilton (bass guitar, clarinet, keyboards, piano, recorder, cello, vocals and zither)
• Tank (drums) (Also a member of Seventh Angel)
• Mike Hitchen (guitar, vocals) (Also a member of The Drowning)

Former

• Alan Southorn (bass guitar) (Also a member of The Other Window)
• Jasen Whyte (drums, cymbals, percussion and vocals)
• Andi Lee (lead, rhythm and acoustic guitars, mandolin, bass and vocals)
• Steve Allan (drums, engineering and production)

Discography

• My Silent Wake (demo) (2005)
• Shadow of Sorrow (2006)
• The Anatomy of Melancholy (2007)
• A Garland of Tears (2008)
• Black Lights and Silent Roads (2010)
• IV Et Lux Perpetua (2010)
• Rare and Live Recordings Vol 1 (2011)

References

1. ^ "My Silent Wake". Union Black. Archived from the original on 2008-02-03. http://web.archive.org/web/20080203082411/http://www.unionblack.co.uk/advent2007/22_mysilentwake. Retrieved 2008-03-27. 
2. ^ My Silent Wake profile at Norwegian Nordic Fest's page^{[dead link]}
3. ^ Sharpe-Young, Garry. "My Silent Wake". Rock Detector. http://www.rockdetector.com/artist/uk/weston+super+mare/my+silent+wake. Retrieved 2008-03-27. 

External links

• My Silent Wake on Myspace
• Official site