Echoes Of Silence (Original)

I would say that "Echoes Of Silence" is one of The Weeknd's most underappreciated works. I feel like it dives into a more somber tone compared to House Of Balloons and Thursday, this mixtape was literally made to drive at night or listen to in the rain. The transitions between songs are also not talked about enough as it wasn't as mainstream back in 2011 as it is now, and it feels like a real fluid experience. There are a lot of underrated gems on this mixtape that provide entirely new experiences if you are a Weeknd fan and never checked it out. To start out with "D.D." I feel like The Weeknd was the most successful at creating a true homage to Michael Jackson, and I would say it might even be better than the original if The Weeknd had the same electric guitar Michael had on Dirty Diana. "Montreal," one of my personal favorites, is an amazing song and incorporated the catchy French lyrics really well. The entire atmosphere is rich with the harmonization of The Weeknd's voice on multiple layers adds on to the already expressive lyrics. Next up is "Outside," genuinely one of the most underrated songs of The Weeknd's entire discography and lots of long-time fans give much praise to this song. Forget what you knowwwwww, make yourself at homeeeee. Man listening to it right now there aren't many songs like it, it's a shame he hasn't performed it in years. The hypnotizing beat, everything is amazing. "XO / The Host" was the first song I immediately liked when I first listened to this mixtape a few years ago, the rap-esc flow with the super percussion-heavy beat has a fast-paced melodic tune that I had in heavy rotation, and has some lyrics referencing songs from House Of Balloons as well. Although it is not my favorite on the mixtape anymore it still is amazing. "Initiation" unfortunately would be my least favorite track on the mixtape. It is definitely a very different melody many would be used to from The Weeknd with his voice-deepening effects and creepy instrumental, I know many big fans may not be happy to hear it but yea it has never made it in my rotation like the rest of the songs on this mixtape. "Same Old Song" was a song I did not like at first, and after some time I grew to understand the song more, it is very simple and doesn't really have much super crazy vocal expression compared to other songs of this era. But the pre-chorus and chorus I fell in love with over time and I think works well with the relatively simple instrumental, and has since become one of my go-to's on the mixtape. Juicy J's cameo at the end is cool as well. "The Fall" is another underrated gem of The Weeknd's discography, the super epic build-up starts in the first verse, with the fast paced flow going into the pre-chorus is pretty good, and the chorus has some amazing symbolization relating to The Weeknd's past, saying he has been at rock bottom before and isn't phased of it happening again, his career either takes off or it doesn't. The rest of the song is amazing until the Outro as well. "Next" is a pretty lowkey song, still a song I enjoy a lot, the dark piano and humming sets the tone nicely, the percussions are similar to the build up with XO / The Host, but I feel like first verse was better, and the general build-up to the chorus is the best part of the song. I love the outro parts as well. "Echoes Of Silence" the self-titled song of the mixtape is the slowest song and one of the more somber songs of The Weeknd's entire discography, I love the soft piano, and the slow flow he follows. Although it may not have some of the most memorable moments, some of the slow parts that include pauses in the middle of the song are one of the best verses on The Weeknd's discography, rounding out this masterpiece very well. I did not forget about "Till Dawn," although it is not on the original mixtape, but it is one of the better songs, with a super addicting flow, and a great instrumental. The manipulative aspect of The Weeknd's music really shines in this song, he really tries to get inside of the head of the person he's talking to/about, and has some really clever lyrics that I come back to a lot. Overall with "Till Dawn" I give the final mixtape of the Trilogy a 9.5, one of the most consistent projects The Weeknd has released, with only one song I don't really revisit, if you haven't already and are a big Weeknd fan, this one has lots of moments you will fall in love with, although it took some time for some of the songs to click for me as well.