Paul Kitchener of Silen discusses gear, influences, and new EP “The Emperor, the Fool, the Devil”

Paul Kitchener, bassist for the UK-based progressive metal trio Silen, offered insights into their recent EP, The Emperor, the Fool, the Devil, and the technical aspects of their music.

Kitchener spoke about his choice of instrument, the 5-string Dingwall Combustion bass, explaining its significance in achieving the band’s distinctive sound. “I’ve had a few 5-strings before, but the multi-scale neck on this really helps keep things tight and fast for our low tuning (AEADG),” he said. “Good intonation is important when I play the really higher notes too. I also love how perfectly the transmitter for my Boss WL-50 fits with millimetres of clearance.”

The Dingwall Combustion bass guitar features a swamp ash body modelled after the Custom Shop Afterburner, with a compact and lightweight design for comfort and balance. The five-piece maple neck incorporates Ralph Novak’s fanned-fret system, providing fast playability over two octaves. Equipped with Dingwall FD3n pickups and a 3-band preamp with Quad-tone pickup selector, it delivers a versatile sound palette. Enhanced hardware includes a custom bridge system and modified Hipshot tuners for improved performance and stability. Dingwall strings, designed for multi-scale instruments, ensure optimal balance and tone.

When discussing his equipment setup, Kitchener emphasized the importance of versatility in their sound: “Being a three-piece allows for a lot of room sonically, so we try to make our options for sound be as dynamic as possible to better suit the song. So I mentioned the wireless already, that goes into the brains of my board, my Boss ES-8 Effects Switcher. It’s great for turning multiple pedals on at once as well as easily changing their ordering. On the rest of the board is a lovely reverb from Earthquaker Devices called the Dispatch Master, then the Darkglass ADAM does all the grunt, compression and tuning, and I’m trying out the Fundamental Delay from Walrus Audio. I’m quite happy with that, we don’t play to a click so I needed a delay pedal with tap tempo to change timing on the go. Finally, all that goes into a Gallien-Krueger Fusion 1200S and an Ampeg PN-410HLF. After years of an Orange full stack, I’m all about keeping things light.”

Kitchener’s approach to basslines is heavily influenced by seeing TOOL live, which reshaped his understanding of the bass guitar’s potential: “It sounds daft, but it took me to see TOOL live in 2019 to truly appreciate just how much Justin Chancellor is actually doing on bass. Not a fret goes to waste. Especially at what I heard someone call ‘The dusty end’ of a bass guitar, with all the top end lead melodies. The intro to Wisht was originally all on guitar but when I tried it on bass a few octaves up, it sounded so eerie and haunting in comparison to Dean’s low drones. A testament to Dingwall’s incredible intonation, every time I play it live I brace for something being out but it’s never let me down. There’s something about those high bass strings that I love the sound of, like they almost sound like a piano sometimes. As far as the rest of my bass lines, being an over-thinker, I tend to overwrite and overcomplicate sections initially, and then as the band runs through sections again and again, I start taking away parts that I don’t think support the overall vibe of the song and keep it relatively simple.”

On the creation of their latest EP, Kitchener attributed the seamless collaboration within the band to their long-standing relationship and intuitive communication. “Dean [Hanfrey, vocals/guitar] is a prolific riff and melody writer. He throws away more songs than he keeps. He and Frazer [drummer] have been in various bands together for probably close to 15 years now doing different metal genres, but they know each other’s thoughts and moves. It’s really something being in the room when Dean starts playing something new, repeating it, not saying anything about what he wants us to do. Then me and Fraz start adding what we can hear and 20-30 mins later, no one has said a word and we now have a good chunk of a new song. I’d say that’s what we’ve gotten a lot better at over the years: communication. Both verbal and non-verbal. It’s a bizarre feeling but I imagine other musicians know what I’m on about. Our latest EP is us advancing that methodology when it comes to writing as well as still keeping to our admiration for all things nature, good and bad.”

Kitchener’s entry into Silen is both unique and amusing. Initially listing himself as a guitarist on joinmyband.co.uk, he switched to bass to increase his chances of joining a band, leading to his audition for Silen. “I decided to change my profile to ‘Bass Player’; how hard could bass be, right? The next day, I was asked to try out for Darkeye (Dean and Frazer’s band before Silen), and I thought, brilliant! They sound awesome… I didn’t own a bass! So, on my way to the audition, I picked up a cheap 5-string. I think it was a Squier Jaguar (a big Mastodon fan, and I knew Troy played the Jag shape). I rocked up to the audition and got to it. I’m pretty sure there was still clear film on the pickguard. Also, I was the first bassist Dean had ever told to ‘turn down’, and I stumbled my way through their songs, doing basic root note stuff, but I got in! Fast forward a few years, and we pivoted to writing more progressive songs, deciding to change the band completely to Silen.”

You can order The Emperor, the Fool, the Devil at this location.