When most people think of Canada … nothing comes to mind (no offense Canadians). However, Canada’s quintet, Silverstein, has continued to surpass each album they put out. Their new release, A Shipwreck In the Sand, is the perfect example of new material with the same old style.

Silverstein decided to try and make A Shipwreck In the Sand unique by making the entire album a story; much like other bands such as Boys Night Out’s album Trainwreck, and Coheed and Cambria’s saga. The album (and story), opens up with “”A Great Fire”” which sounds a lot like the opening songs from their albums When Broken Is Easily Fixed and Discovering the Waterfront. The song is filled with hard guitar parts and lead singer, Shane Told, setting the mood for the story, which is one of heartbreak and anger, as he screams “”I’ll never be what you wanted, what you thought I would be.””

This album features three guest vocalists and in the next song, “”Vices,”” Liam Cormier (lead singer for the Cancer Bats), lends his vocal talents. This song has a catchy chorus, which also hints at what is taking place in this part of the story: “”Seven seven with a lime will keep me safe, long enough to stop the thought of your embrace inside my head. The lies that I’ve been fed. Throw it back behind my lips, the pain is gone. Line ’em up and knock ’em down, the night goes on and on and on, to let me cope with this disaster.””

The fourth song, “”American Dream,”” is one of the top three songs on this album. The song opens up slow and speeds up. Also, Silverstein does a really good job of mixing their phenomenal guitar skills with a catchy chorus: “”We get through this feeling it, keeping it, holding it in. We go through this over and over again.””

Silverstein incorporates two songs on their album, “”Their Lips Sink Ships”” and “”The Tides Raises Every Ship,”” which contain little or no singing, but serve the purpose of being songs that segue from one train of thought to the next. The song “”I Knew I Couldn’t Trust You”” is very good in that it speaks about being betrayed by someone who you thought was your best friend. The chorus, catchy as always, is what we all wish our “”best friends”” would say to us instead of lying to our faces: “”I’ve let you down so many times, but I can’t ever tell you this, there’s no forgiving it. I promised you I’d always be there but that couldn’t be less true. It’s the worst thing I could do.”” The second guest vocalist is Scott Wade of Comeback Kid and he lends his vocal talents in “”Born Dead.””

Both “”Born Dead”” and “”We Are Not The World”” do a great job at criticizing the world that we live in today with lines like, “”Dead and rotting bodies fill the fields in the east. There’s no respect for life; it never stops. Is this what makes us free?”” and “”We fight for billionaires who bomb our city streets (armed to the teeth). Divide the youth for corporate greed, here’s to the propaganda””. The other two top songs are “”You’re All I Have”” and “”The End.”” “”You’re All I Have”” conveys the frustration of still having feelings for someone you wish you didn’t still have feelings for. “”The End”” features the third guest vocalist, Lights. This song is semi-acoustic and Shane Told and Lights do a great job going back forth with their vocals, which makes it feel like two people are actually saying these things to each other. The two remind me of bands like The Forecast, Nine Ninety Seven and Straylight Run. Overall, this album is a must have for any Silverstein fan.

Rating: *****