Dynamics and darkness: 'This Is What It Feels Like'.

This Is What It Feels Like - A slow, burning anthem where atmosphere meets raw release.

Ed Silva, a songwriter and guitarist, started Cries of Redemption in 2007. It is a recording project that fiercely values music above all else and is totally independent. After performing in Atlanta's live circuit, Silva intentionally stays unknown and without social media, allowing the music to be the only way people know him. Playing with States of Matter first made him a great live performer before he started composing darker, more atmospheric music. Through platforms such as ReverbNation and Kompoz, Silva has united hundreds of artists worldwide in collaborations. The project is a mixture of modern rock, nu metal, and cinematic elements that, while controlled, still have a very forward, leaning sound that aims for longevity rather than hype.

This Is What It Feels Like is a story told with intent and carefulness.

Early on, it is clear that Cries of Redemption (COR) have a great handle on dynamics. Producer Billy Babcock surrounds the song with spacey guitar sounds that provide a broad emotional setting for Maria Duque. Her first appearance is gentle and almost ritual, like, enticing the listener into a floated, somewhat hypnotic, unawareness. As more and more elements are added to the music, the changeover to the chorus happens with great dramatic force, thus mirroring the theatrical darkness of Ghost and yet keeping the identity of COR.

The scream by Silva at the very centre of the song gives a sense of release rather than simply being an impact point. The reason behind the song's rise is actually its harmony: the delicate and the fierce are able to exist with one another without being overshadowed. With the help of the orchestral elements, multi-layered voices, and well-controlled tempo, the song displays that COR is not only about the sound power but also the emotional build-up.

We got the chance to interview 'Cries of Redemption', and this is how it went:

1. Your music, first philosophy rejects the modern hype culture, what motivated you to take that path so early on?

I am a true believer that a song should stand on its own. I cannot prop up a bad song and Cries of Redemption from the start was never meant to be commercially viable. But I stayed true to my word and 19 years later (Cries of Redemption celebrated 19 years on February, 10th 2026) there is no “public” hype about COR that involves me, gimmicks or anything to that nature.

Cries of Redemption’s music is directed to a very small segment of listeners. COR songs are directed to the castaways, misfits, bruised and battered. These people can smell BS from a mile away, so trying to hype the music would have an opposite effect on the very people to whom these songs are intended for.

Cries of Redemption is not pop, it is not catchy and it was never meant to be. But it has messages and truths in it that are aimed at some people I feel would benefit from listening to it. If for no other reason than knowing they are not alone.That they are not crazy and what they feel is real and shared by others. But they must connect with the music, not with me. I am not that interesting to start with.

2. How did your live circuit experience in Atlanta impact the emotional depth in COR?

Well, I lived “the rock and roll lifestyle” to its fullest (minus the money) in my heyday. I must say that being in a band is like being in a marriage with however many members there are in the band. It is hard and emotionally draining. Super fulfilling, there is no doubt! But it demands a little bit of your soul each time you rehearse and perform together.

When I created Cries of Redemption, I had zero desire in performing live. Hence why I started (and remained) as a recording project and opted to invite friends to sit in and paid session players to help me finish songs.

From my very first band, I was always the songwriter with the exception of a couple of bands where I just filled in occasionally. But bands that I was officially a member of, I always wrote all the songs. That posed a major problem because I wrote songs with lyrics in mind. However, the vocalists always wanted to write the lyrics based on what they felt. As a result, in my opinion the songs always felt disjointed and/or incomplete. Often they did not connect with the reason they were written in the first place. But being in a band means you have to respect the creative aspirations of all members. Even if you don’t agree with it 100% of the time, which no band member ever will. Especially members who are deeply involved in the songwriting process. Otherwise, you’ll have to be a tyrant and it won’t be long before the band collapses on itself.

By becoming a solo project, I was able to have control over the lyrics. Regardless of whether I, or someone else wrote them for me. That helped a lot. Today, I can say the lyrics match the music and the songs feel whole.Finally, everything feels and sounds like they belong in the same song. That would not have been possible if Cries of Redemption was a full blown band because I would have to defer to others’ creative aspirations and desires which would most likely collide with mine.

3. You've been anonymous for years. Does that creative distance affect how you write or release music?

Not at all. Were it not for the insistence of friends and family, Cries of Redemptions would die with me in a storage device somewhere. The reason we are even having this conversation is because a lot of people in my inner circle felt I should make my music public, if for no other reason than for posterity.

Besides, the creative process is still the same. Since I have to do everything from writing the songs and lyrics to producing, mixing and mastering, I am alone at all times. The only times I have contact with others in the creative process is when I am ready for one of the vocalists to lay their tracks. Only then there is some quick back and forth to make sure everyone is on the same page.

4. With more than 800 collaborations on Kompoz, what qualities do you consider before agreeing to a project?

I am still a proud member of Kompoz and will forever be for as long as they are around. The truth is, I have not been that active since 2018. I did collaborate in a few tunes here and there but nothing compared to how prolific I was between 2013 and 2018.

Unless it was something off the chart crazy or a tune beyond my playing abilities, I never rejected a request to collaborate when asked. I was always humbled by being invited to join collaborations.

But since I enjoy writing my own songs, of the nearly 900 collaborations I am in, 742 (and counting) were initiated by me. So more often than not, I was the one doing the inviting. If you check my profile on Kompoz, you’ll notice a pattern. I collaborated almost exclusively with the same people. In Kompoz, after a while, you just click with some people and making music together just becomes natural. There are folks who enjoy collaborating with as many people as possible. I enjoyed the stability and predictability of collaborating with the same people as often as possible.

A good 75% of my collaborations were/are kept private and most of what you are hearing today are songs that were written between 2013 and 2018. I have written some songs since then, but most of the material you are hearing is me unloading a backlog from hell. For that reason, let me warn you that you will likely see me releasing a tremendous amount of music frequently. If I were to stick to one song every 6 weeks and one album a year as recommended by some folks, I will likely die and release maybe 25% of what I have.

So my goal is to release one song every four weeks, a four to five song EP every three months and a 12 songs album twice a year. At that pace, I believe that in three years I’ll be able to unload everything.

5. The track delicately manages to balance tenderness and fierceness. Was that duality planned from the beginning?

If you listen to my songs, they all have the same characteristics. All songs have ultra melodic female vocal parts and then I do a screamo at a strategic part of the song to reinforce a point. All screamos are purposeful and I try to keep it to one, no more than two. On a few occasions I may do a full verse.

I literally adopted this style from Sevendust’s “Morgan Rose” who is a master of the art of doing it at the right time for the right reasons. I won’t go as far as saying I am copying him, but I was surely inspired by him. I started experimenting with it a few years ago and I felt it served the song, drove the point home and added to the tension I believe are inherent of the songs I write.

All screamos would make the songs sound like crap and if the female sang 100% of the song without it, it would sound too soft. The duality is a feature, not a bug. It is intentional.

6. About the 2:30 point, the song changes drastically. What was the idea behind that moment of release?

I’ll share a little secret with you. Check out the length of my songs. That will give you an idea of its structure as far as verses, bridges, choruses and what not. If you listen closely, you’ll notice a pattern. Based on the song’s length you can determine the structure, and by the structure you can guess with confidence where the screamo will go.

That is done to emphasize or reemphasize something the vocalist just sang and also break the softness and add grit to the song in order to maintain COR’s metal edge.

7. COR mixes modern rock, nu metal, and cinematic vibes. How do you prevent the sound from feeling too crowded?

I’ll be 100% honest. I am not a trained musician, much less a trained producer or sound engineer. I do believe I have an ear for what sounds good or right. When you have trained, ultra-melodic female vocalists like COR does, it is important that their voices be front and center while not softening to the song too much.

If you listen closely to my mixes, you’ll notice the bass and drums are like a mule kicking you in the chest. Since those are bottom frequencies, they do not impact the frequency the vocalists occupy. I tuck everything else under the vocals and only let it out when there is no singing. That creates the dynamic that ensures the song remains metal or at least hard rock without overpowering the female vocals or causing them to have to compete for room.

By establishing a solid bass and drums foundation early on, then laying the vocals next and filling the spaces “around” the vocals and never over them, I ensure the bottom is solid. That gives the impression of “vastness” and width that would not be there if I were to allow everything to be too hot in the mix. As a guitarist, it is tempting to want to turn up the guitar tracks. But that is the cool thing of getting older. When you are young, you want your guitar ultra loud, regardless of whether it serves the song. As you age and wise up, you realize a good some is made of the sum of the parts and not by any particular instrument. Since all my lyrics carry a message of “lived experience”, it is paramount that they be articulated and heard as clearly as possible.

For instance, the only reason I added a strings ensemble and a lead violin to “This Is What It Feels Like” and turned the guitar more into a textural and percussive nuance, was that I could not come up with a guitar part that complemented Maria Duque’s vocals. Initially, my guitars either collided with her vocals or simply did not add anything of value to the song.

Being fully aware of that, I swallowed my pride, lowered the guitar tracks and played a simple textural/percussive pattern and crafted the strings ensemble and lead violin parts. That not only gave Maria Duque the musical support she needed but also complemented her vocals. I crafted the delivery of the strings so that they shadowed the rise and fall of her cadence. In the end, it turned out to be precisely what the song needed.

8. Having built such a carefully curated catalogue, what does the long-term legacy of Cries of Redemption mean to you?

Cries of Redemption was started with the best of intentions. Because I sing about sensitive topics, it was always a balancing act between sharing the songs while ensuring I was not exploiting the suffering of others. In fact, that is one of the main reasons why I always felt reluctant about taking the project public. How do you convey a message to the people who can benefit from hearing it while making sure their pain is not being exploited? In my case, I started writing lyrics in deep metaphors that the people who need to hear the message can piece through and the people who don’t can make of it whatever they want the lyrics to be.

I want the legacy of Cries of Redemption to be a project that helped me restore my sanity, and helped me cope with the most challenging times in my life and its message went on to help others do the same with their lives.