Silent Force
walk the earth

The Silent Force was formed in '99, with the aspiration of giving a personal impression to power metal; and in part they succeeded, mainly thanks to the contribution of D.C. Cooper, an excellent vocalist with an operatic background. Alongside him, we find Beyrodt on guitars, Steinmetz on bass, Rohre on keyboards, and Hilgers on percussion.

"Man & Machine" opens the album with a splendid guitar solo with echo effect and other samples that, together with the artwork, evoke the stellar space; following this, the percussion kicks in at power frequency, while the vocal lines are slower and paced on low notes (Cooper's trademark) with his good range; the lyrics, on the other hand, explore speed as a metaphor for power, which so many seek, making them fitting for the proposed genre. The keyboards are beautiful and effected like the guitars.

The following title track starts imposingly, then becomes a lullaby with slow acoustic and keyboard chords; the vocal lines are very beautiful and harmonic, delivered with a light timbre, again accentuated on the low notes. "Point of No Return" becomes a little faster, and features a wonderful melodic change that gives goosebumps, the pinnacle of the entire album, with fitting lyrics that I quote: When you finally wake up, you cry a tear that shakes up, the inner workings of your twisted mind..is it someone who will hold you, oh, someone who will scold you, someone who will talk sense into your life...when your dreams have failed you, oh, the world moves on without you, is there anyone you can turn to now? ..when you finally wake up, you cry....Next is "In From the Dark", always fast, with inspired vocal lines again but especially performed by a great singer, who shifts from the medium range, brief high passages (where he is not equally strong) and repeats some verses. "The King of Fools" takes a stand against those with a presumptuous attitude and remains fast with beautiful effects that add brilliance to the sound. Always present and excellent are the keyboard solos, which reinforce the impression of being in space or the future.

Another interesting track is "Goodbye My Ghost", punctuated by the excellent keyboardist at a slower frequency, with a beautiful chorus still sealed by extended lows. It then reaches what I consider to be the best song on the album, namely "Save Me From Myself", slow and marked by acoustic guitar and perfect vocal lines, with a drum passage as well, while the lyrics are sad and pertain to the inherent struggles of the soul. I won't mention the other songs mainly to avoid going on too long, and because, in my opinion, they don't present other surprises; instead, summing up the album, I attribute great merit to D.C. Cooper, equally to whoever took care of the effects, while formal compliments go to the other band members, capable of navigating well within this somewhat closed genre. I conclude by saying that the CD also includes a video cover of Judas Priest (where Cooper was passed over for Ripper Owens) "You've Got Another Thing Coming".