CIRCLE
OF SILENCE - The Blackened Halo (2011)
Massacre Records
If you can’t be original, at least you have to be
passionate and armed with good ideas. This is the third release of the German
power metal band CIRCLE OF SILENCE and, interestingly enough, it was also their
first album for Massacre Records, following two independently released records,
Circle Of Silence (2006) and The Supremacy Of Time (2008).
The guys are certainly not original at all. Something
that doesn’t bother me, especially when a band has enough inspiration, energy
and good ideas to make the familiar sound enjoyable. And CIRCLE OF SILENCE have
what I need in order to enjoy their album.
Their sound, I think, is more U.S.-metal oriented, in
the way that BRAINSTORM sounds too, although the German identity of the band is
still obvious. Having as their basis the 80’s monsters like IRON MAIDEN, JUDAS
PRIEST and SAVATAGE, their music also carries influences from later power metal
and heavier contemporary acts such as CAGE and ICED EARTH. There are also
moments where the aggressive guitar work and rhythmic attack bring thrash metal
into the picture, giving the material a harder edge than the term “power metal”
alone might suggest. Contemporary reviews likewise pointed to a mixture of
power, traditional heavy metal and thrash elements rather than a strictly
formulaic approach.
The album is built around the two-guitar attack of
Tobias Pfahl and Christian Sommerfeld, with Peter “Pit” Suppinger providing the
necessary double-bass drive and Björn Boehm holding down the rhythm section.
The production puts the guitars firmly in the foreground, while keeping the
rhythm section powerful and clear. The result is a sound that suits the band's
aggressive material particularly well.
Their singer, Nick Keim, is another important part of
the band's identity. His voice is not the typical clean and high-pitched power
metal delivery. Instead, he has a rougher, angry and more aggressive tone,
something that gives an extra boost to the passionate playing of the band. His
approach has been compared by contemporary reviewers to singers such as Peavy
Wagner of RAGE, while his gritty delivery also gives the songs a more
traditional heavy-metal character.
The album contains eleven tracks, beginning with the
aggressive “Synthetic Sleep” and continuing through songs such as “Left To
Die”, “Exception”, “21 Grams” and the title track “The Blackened Halo”. “Never
Forget” brings another dose of aggression and thrash-flavoured riffing, while
“Reflections” introduces a more restrained opening before returning to the
band's heavier sound. The closing “Until The Worlds Collide” is one of the
longer compositions on the album, helping to give the record some variation after
the predominantly direct approach of the earlier tracks.
It is this directness that works in the band's favor.
CIRCLE OF SILENCE do not seem interested in reinventing power metal or
pretending that they have discovered something completely new. Instead, they
take familiar ingredients, play them with conviction and give the songs enough
energy and melody to make the formula work. For a listener who is already
familiar with the genre, there will certainly be many moments that sound
familiar, but there is also enough passion in the performance to prevent the
album from becoming simply another anonymous power metal release.
It is hard for me to imagine that CIRCLE OF SILENCE,
with their new album The Blackened Halo, will disappoint any fan who wants to listen
to some good, straightforward and energetic power metal. Actually, this album
made me curious about how their previous two releases sound. I will try to find
them and check them out too.
Till then, this one will keep me good company.
Nick Parastatidis
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