When I first listened to A Breach of Silence and their debut album DEAD OR ALIVE, I thought. Good, solid music, but not something I could listen to every day. For me, DEAD OR ALIVE was a mood album. I had to be in the mood to hear it.
I have been very fortunate to get my hands on A Breach of Silent’s sophomore album THE DARKEST ROAD and it is definitely not a mood album. I can listen it all day.
The Southerner in me says, “dang ya’ll!”
The Rocker Chick in me says, “this album is kicking me in my imaginary balls.”
The release date for THE DARKEST ROAD is October 7th and was produced by Fredrik Nordstrom & Henrik Udd who have worked with the likes of Bring Me The Horizon, In Falmes, Hammerfall, Opeth.
THE DARKEST ROAD is 14 tracks of melt your face off rock or if you’re a category/genre person, 14 tracks of melt your face off metal/powercore. A Breach of Silence definitely did not suffer from the epic and sometimes curse laden sophomore slump.
They start off strong with the song “TPNE” (“The Party Never Ends”) which just latches onto you like the talons of a vulture would.
The title track (possibly one of my favorite songs on the album) “The Darkest Road” opens with these fantastic lyrics, “It’s not enough to know I’m breathing. I’ve gotta feel like it all has meaning. I couldn’t cope with the easy path so I’ll take the darkest road and hope I last..” which are also the chorus and it’s those lyrics that stick with one throughout the song. For me personally, it’s a way of knowing that sometimes the easy path is the worse path to take.
Being a fan of the Eighteen Visions SoCal/Orange County music scene, “Vultures,” the 3rd track takes me back to the beginning of that music scene. The song is catchy, mind numbing and in your face. It’s a brilliant mix of sing-a-long chorus, screaming, singing, and showcases the bands musicality. I want to say I hear double everything: bass, drums, guitars, vocals but I know in reality it’s not, but it’s pretty amazing to know that only 6 guys have created the sound of what sounds like a small army!
“Silhouette” like “Vultures” is just damn catchy. Between the two, I can’t decide which is my favorite.
What do you call a “ballad” from “powercore” band? You call it “Immortal” by A Breach of Silence. For old school metal fans who know the power voices of Geoff Tate of Queensryche circa OPERATION MINDCRIME era, Phil Anselmo of Pantera in “Cemetery Gates”, and Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden you can easily hear the influences of the like on A Breach of Silence in “Immortal” and while we’re speaking of old school metal, there’s a part in “Krazy Bitch” that is signature 80’s metal scream and I can’t tell you how shocked and happy I was to hear that falsetto ear piercing note! It took me back to my teens in one note!
To wind down THE DARKEST ROAD, A Breach of Silence gives us “Time Still Remains” a piano driven song to help us catch our breath and to stop our head from banging. A perfect ending to getting your ass kicked for 13 previous songs.
Fans of A Breach of Silence will not be disappointed with THE DARKEST ROAD. For people that don’t know A Breach of Silence from their previous album, I’d like to introduce you to your new favorite power core band. You’re welcome.
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