Customer Reviews

Presets

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I really liked Posthumous Silence (though it reminds me a little too much of Incubus who, in-turn remind me of the great Faith No More) and X-Rayed but have to agree with the reviewers in wondering what the heck happened to this band!?!

It seems like they changed their whole sound in order to conform to some marketing concept and have now become "Vanilla Rock"!!!!! That is the title I have given to a certain phenomenon going on here in the States where all the so called alt-rock-metal bands SOUND EXACTLY THE SAME. While they are certainly producing listenable songs, when one of them initially comes on the radio I have NO IDEA whether I am listening to 3 Doors Down, Puddle of Mud, Breaking Benjamin, Nickelback or any one of a dozen other clone bands unless the DJ names them!!!

That is what this reminds me of...with a little late 90's Radiohead thrown in for good measure. Absolutely NOTHING stands out and except for one single track; I wouldn't even know I was listening to the same band that wrote Posthumous Silence!!

Come on guys, you are capable of so much more............

Let me first say I'm a HUGE SYLAN fan. That being said,maybe I got spoiled by the utterly incredible Posthumous Silence, Artificial Paradise and even X-Rayed. After digging the first track, One Step Beyond, Presets falls incredibly flat.Ballad after slow ballads dictate the rest of it.It seems so simplistic after previous efforts.Maybe after making PS, which is very deep and complicated, they needed a break because these guys are much to talented to put out something so uninspiring.This is the first Slyvan cd I find myself skipping tracks trying to find something that moves me.Still a huge fan and will always buy what they put out and have faith they will get back to previous form next time. Three stars for the first and last track,everything in between seems like filler.

this cd is one of the best cds ive got this year , the song former life is fantastic with that chorus which just sticks in your head and songs like one step beyond, cold suns,presets, oh yeah they are all great. look just buy it and you can thank me later.

Great album of great musicians; I almost love classic prog or new prog like Marillion and the latest Anathema, but the power prog, with a metal influence of the band is played very great and emotional . A must have, like Posthumous silence

A lot of people have criticized this album. Yes, I do know the feeling of failed expectations. I have experienced it so deeply back in 1986 when after falling in love with the music of The Cult - Love I could not wait for another month for their follow up release. When the Electric has finally showed up in 1987. . . I was heartbroken. A lot of you guys have felt the same way about Presets. I was a bit disappointed in it after my first listen. First of all, unlike going commercial the way of The Cult, Sylvan just needed to take a few deep breaths after the Posthumous Silence experience which had to be so emotionally draining for Marco Gluhmann and the band. Posthumous Silence might be one of the ultimate progressive rock albums of all times structuring so well the build ups and outbursts of emotions and alternating them with the calming moments. Presets is mostly calming and yes, I probably agree with so many of you, 3 or 4 songs should not have found their way into the album. These are the songs which in some of your ears have destroyed the album. As you have probably learned in life...it is good to be able to look at things from a prospective different from your own. In fact such ability could often define our growth. Marco is such an incredibly sensitive soul; please give him a break...You are throwing away a baby with the bath water. Go listen to the title song again and again and again. Actually try to listen to songs I recommend 7 times, it is a great number. Presets might be one of their best songs, period. How about One Step Beyond and Former Life? They are both great. So we have 3 great songs here already, over 27 minutes of music. For me it is often enough to call an album great and I prefer albums with 3 great songs over albums with all songs pretty good. Especially in this decade when unlike in the 1970's you don't have to drop that needle in between songs. I actually think that Signed Away is very good and we should give Cold Souls and Transitory Times a chance to work their way into us as well. If it was not for 3 or 4 songs which maybe should not have been included and if they were exchanged by the hard sounding songs a lot more people would probably love this album and value it as much as I do. I have a feeling that you are not the only person who started reading this review simply to find out more about the freak who would give this album 5 stars. Remember, nothing helps us more in the end than the ability to be able to change our mind...after it has already been set.

Where have I heard that title before. Anyway, so it's alot of ballads, but it's how the ballads are presented. Lush, melodic harmonies are actually pretty good. I'm a new listener to this band, kind of stumbling upon them. I listen to RPWL and you could say their last cd was, well, enough to put you to sleep (I believe I reviewed it). With that said, as far as I'm concerned each cd from an artist needs to be different from the last. When they all start sounding the same then you might as well just buy the first one and leave it at that. Every cd out there is personal opinion and this group presents something a little bit different with this release and quite enjoyable from my point of view. Is it heavy enough, I don't know. I'm a big Dream Theater fan and each release is different from them, but still sticking to their roots, relatively speaking. Some like each release and some don't. That's just the way it is. Happy listening.

This is contractual obligation formula non-sense. You can't distinguish this from anything else on psuedo FM rock radio today. I own over 1,000 CDs and this one is trade bait. Sylvan, if they ever had anything to say, are all out of ideas.

Were these guys named after the WWE wrestler with a very short career or vice versa. I am filled with a great emptiness.

Great CD. The music is catchy and clean, without anything I'd consider terribly age inappropriate for teenagers and above. It has some very interesting lyrics, and I'm glad I stumbled across it. I'd definitely buy more Sylvan CDs based on this one alone.

I loved this album, it is soft, great lyrics, and the vocals are awesome.
I recommend this album to everyone who wants something for the deepest point of their souls.

This has to be one of the best CDs I have in my collection. Compelling lyrics, melodic beats, strong voices, it has everything one would come to expect from a "real" progressive band. I have all their CDs now and just have to simply say they are one of the best unheard of band in a long time!