Silent Force - Walk the earth 4/5
Reviewed: 3-16-07
Tracklist:
1. Man & machine
2. Walk the earth
3. Point of no return
4. In from the dark
5. The king of fools
6. The child within
7. Goodbye my ghost
8. Save me from myself
9. My independence day
10. Blind leading the blind
11. Running through the fire
12. Picture of a shadow
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Germany’s Silent Force have returned with their 4th full-length CD, entitled ‘Walk the earth’. American vocalist, DC Cooper is undoubtedly the face of Silent Force, with his exceptional voice and brilliant range. The ex-Royal Hunt singer formed Silent Force in 2000 with ex-Sinner and ex-Primal Fear guitarist, Alex Beyrodt. With 3 solid CDs under their belts, ‘Walk the earth’ is now here and is set to continue the band’s trend of solid sounding, melodic power metal.
I am still fairly new to Silent Force and have only heard one of their CDs in its entirety, that being their 2nd CD, 'Infatuator'. I have heard bits and pieces from their first and 3rd CDs however, and so far I’ve enjoyed most of what I’ve heard. With looking for comparisons to other bands, Silent Force does have similarities with bands such as Masterplan, Kamelot, Brainstorm, Sinner and Stratovarius; but doesn’t sound exactly the same as any of those bands.
‘Walk the earth’ has a nice mix of tracks, including fast-paced rockers, mid-paced numbers and slower ballad-type songs. One thing that all the tracks have in common is catchy choruses. Of course, D.C. Cooper is again outstanding on vocals and guitarist Alex Beyrodt continues to show off his skills as a great axe man.
Silent Force seem to have found their niche on how they want to sound after their first 2 CDs. From ‘World’s apart' (3rd CD) and now with ‘Walk the earth’, Silent Force have settled nicely and becoming much more consistent. The quality of the songs on ‘Walk the earth’ is exceptional, with hardly any weak points or dull/boring moments. Production is another high point here, as it is pretty much flawless. Strong, full-sounding and crunching guitars and bass, and drums that don’t take over the tracks, whether being too deep or too light. Sound-wise, nothing less than crystal clear. And all this capped off with DC Cooper’s outstanding vocals, sounding as perfect as ever.
Although the tracks on the whole CD are very good, some of the top standouts are as follows:
The opening track, “Man & machine” starts things off with a bang. After a slow start and a slow wailing guitar, you hear the opening riff and song rumbles along with double bass-pummeling and DC Cooper’s aggressive yet soaring melodic vocals leading the way.
The title track, “Walk the earth” is another great song. After a crunching start with the drums and guitars, the song suddenly turns soft and slow, with Cooper's voice sounding angelic, especially with a piano playing in the background. This is short-lived however as the main part of the song kicks in, and we are in for another fast-paced masterpiece with a very catchy chorus and a ripping solo.
“The king of fools” starts out with a awesome opening riff after a short acoustic intro, and the song rocks hard, with DC Cooper giving us a singing lesson. He breaks out the high-pitched wails in parts during the song, which kicks total ass. We are treated with yet another top-notch guitar solo and one of the best and catchy choruses on the CD. The very next track, “The child within”, is a mid-paced song, which chugs along very nicely with 80s sounding beats and riffs. Again, the chorus and Cooper’s vocals are the highlights. “Goodbye my ghost” is another mid-paced rocker, with down-tuned crunching guitars, heavy bass and eerie sounding keyboards. The song contains gothic rock elements and would fit nicely on any Entwine CD. Cooper’s voice stays low and melodic throughout the track and is rather different than the other tracks on the CD.
I won’t spoil the fun by giving away the entire track description, so I’ll leave the rest for you to discover. Overall, I am greatly impressed and surprised with ‘Walk the earth’. Hearing ‘Infatuator’ back in 2001, I enjoyed the CD, but it wasn’t anything spectacular. But now, Silent Force have found their sound, mainly since their 3rd CD and have improved a hell of a lot. DC Cooper is reason alone to check this band out if you have yet to do so. If you are a fan of the bands mentioned earlier, and including other bands such as Primal Fear, Edguy and Judas Priest, you will enjoy Silent Force.
Take a bow, Mr. Cooper and Silent Force. You have made one top-notch CD here and certainly deserve all the praise you will receive.
SEAN
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