SILENCE

After showing the world just what Jono were capable of with Requiem, the band went on to expand on the same principles while adding more depth and grandiosity to their performance!

While Requiem was an excellent album, I felt that there was too much of a contrast between the faster melodically inclined material, the ballads and symphonic compositions that felt like they were performed by a completely different band. Even though I highly enjoy all sides of the band's repertoire, there was a lack of coherency between them. I am happy to announce that this is not the case with Silence where every single composition feels like it has been performed by the same collective. The album features a clear ambition to unify the many sides of the band, in some cases within one and the same performance.

I have been mesmerized by this band's ability to constantly create high quality melodically driven compositions boosted by equally skilled musicianship. Silence has quite a few of these moments scattered all throughout the album with Wasting Time, Your Bread and The One To Blame being the most obvious examples of instantly recognizable tracks that one just can't stop listening to. But even though these shorter and quirkier compositions manage to build the groundwork for an excellent album, it's actually some of the quiet moments that make this album a true gem for fans of progressively inclined rock music. I'm talking about tracks like magnificent Clear and the seven minute Opus which is a multi-suite in the great tradition of Bohemian Rhapsody. It took me quite a few spins in order to uncover the magic behind these two compositions so don't be impatient if you don't happen to enjoy them at first.

Jono manages to keep their unique sound throughout Silence but there are a few moments that sound as if their influences get the limelight, especially on Turn Around which sounds very influenced by ABBA while In My Life picks at Supertramp and Queen. Overall, these influences don't take away from my experience since the material and the performance make these compositions sound very original in their own right.

I highly recommend Silence to fans of art rock bands like Supertramp, 10cc, A.C.T and Queen. It will be interesting to see if Jono will be able to top this album in the future, especially considering that they have so far never managed to disappoint me with their material!

***** star songs: Wasting Time (2:49) Your Bread (3:38) In My Life (5:00) Clear (4:58) The One To Blame (3:03)

**** star songs: Man Of Misery (3:02) Can We Make It (4:17) Turn Around (4:56) Opus (7:09) Josefina (1:17)

77/100 for Jono's Silence. These guys live on Sweden's largest island, Gotland. I can't help conjuring film footage of Ingmar Berman's Island and all the art going on. Midnight sun, fun, and half my 2000's progressive rock collection comes from Sweden. What's in the water? Johan Norrby is the lone singer and leader, although you can hear guitar connections and percussions from the "Within Temptation." boys.

Silence is a fun album. Puts me in a good mood. I listen to Silence more than I should. Johan has a Ronnie James Dio accent, and is prone to vocalize like Freddie Mercury ( As when the Mercury drops low). Lots of songs I can sing to- crowd swaying anthems, circuit mid 80's Dio sans Diablo . Silence is good when it's loud, but it may be better in the quiet moments. Jury is still out on Jono, but I bet these guys are good live. I want to see and hear more. I've listened to the addictive "The One To Blame" twice a day for a week. Three times on weekends, so I'll put blame on JOhan NOrrby and his/their prog metal anthem surprise. Fans of Dio and Queen should check out the "Silence"

Four stars...Excellent addiction to any progressive rock collection

Jono is a lightly prog flavored hard rock band from Sweden with an irresistible and infectious sound. The first association you might draw would be that they share some characteristics with Queen. Theatrical vocals with emphasis on melody while rocking the house with a display of great musical skill. Other bands that came to mind were A.C.T and Presto Ballett.

The general mood is uplifting but also offers a healthy amount of depth. The arrangements are wonderfully over-the-top, serving a meal of guilty pleasures wrapped in a great sounding production that adds even more fun into the mix. The occasionally Brian May sounding guitar work is a treat and snappy drums which I was sorely missing with Queen. Another thing that sets them apart from many others in a very positive way is in the song writing. They successfully avoid the flaw of many other bands especially in the hard rock/AOR genre that one often has to wait for the chorus to get to a redeeming portion of the song.

It has been a long time since I found a rock band of this kind of music style that could get me excited. I found both their albums "Requiem" and the latest "Silence" to contain some excellent tracks.

Any nitpicking or room for improvement? Besides wishing that they had printed the lyrics in the booklet I can say there isn't much, but it wouldn't be me if I didn't have any 2 cents to add: I generally preferred the up-tempo rockers over the ballads and I could imagine the vocal harmonies to become more distinct as well as more room for instrumental interludes. But this is really no complaint as much as personal wishful thinking.

Anyway, this was an exceptional find - Thank you, Jono!