When DC Cooper was ousted from
Royal Hunt, a legion of prog metal fans felt nothing but sadness. It was a tragic day on the rock news wire. The announcement of DC creating a new collaborative project called
Silent Force was met with much enthusiasm however. And upon the release of their first cd, most hearts sank at the music presented within. The majesty and melody of Coopers other endeavors had been washed clean in favor of a poor imitation of Judas Priest. Metal didn't get much more straight forward than this, a deep cutting disappointment in light of his past appearances. "Infatuator" followed a short span later and kept chugging at the typical metal style. Utterly average and many wrote the band off as a practice in boredom. "Worlds Apart" came several years later and showed a more polished and determined band. A band that projected new ideas and entertained a bounty of melody, stark changes from their humble beginnings.
Now we have the fourth chapter,
"Walk the Earth" and by far is it their finest yet. Songs are streamlined melodic metal, power fueled at its heart, and lavishly entwined with the progressive spirits of yesteryear. The production is fat and bold, allowing for the force to be felt and the prog intricacies to shine through with equality. DC Cooper's voice is strong and poignant, reaching down into the emotional depths to pull up pristine performances that are easy to get caught up in. The songs are also kept to reasonable lengths, bite sized portions of power metal that are easy to listen to casually, no need to clear out some of your schedule to make sure you have proper time to devote to letting it all sink in.
Just a few of the highlights include the inspirational midtempo groove of
"My Independence Day" with its simple but addictive melodies and rhythm guitarwork from Alexander Beyrodt that's reminiscent of a metal minded George Lynch. It just has that wicked bite to the electric nipping tone.
"Save Me From Myself" sports the sorrow soulful side of DC, the warmth of his voice spilling over the song like broken beams of sunlight spreading over the quiet waters of a sleepy stream. Thick and epic,
"Walk the Earth" is a striking metallic piece that expertly plays both sides of the coin. Sudden booms of sheer rippling power, bristling guitars and rising synthesizer contrasts with soft progressive passages of reflection and haunting keyboard work. The chorus is also memorable, bold, elegant and catchy.
"In From the Dark" is a showcase for the musicians, being an indulgent work that has each showing off repeatedly. Electric soloing bounces off the walls and competes with DC on even ground. Cooper is hitting the highest of notes here, vocally hitting the shrieking ceiling. The layered keyboards set loose like a caged beast to run just as wild as the free riffing axe create a
Royal Hunt minded atmosphere.
"Goodbye My Ghost" is sad and theatrical, a compact track that gets its point across with minimal effort and sounds great just as it is.
"Blind Leading the Blind" milks the political angle and is shoved forward with a thunder thumping rhythm section and spectacular vocals by Cooper. A Middle Eastern air creates a distinctive opening sequence for
"The King of Fool" which is otherwise just a fast paced headbanging rocker, hints of neoclassical wankery wafting to the surface, with few other defining features. Well other than DC's emotive vocal acrobatics.
Not everything here is picture perfect. The opener,
"Man and Machine" is a rather typical piece for the genre and certainly nothing overly special. Others also tread average ground, not standing out nor being horrible. They fall in that shadowy middle section which is hard to pinpoint. Boring choruses and uninteresting song structures are to blame, for the performances are surely right on point.
"Picture of a Shadow" presents itself as a good example, being a thunderous pounding song, but something we've heard a million times before. Screaming vocals, urgent to the point of riding an adrenaline high pacing. Its fast, heavy and absolutely too familiar. All the carrying on and metal shoved in your face for every waking second does not a great song make. Luckily these are the exception and not the dominate force on
"Walk the Earth".
Silent Force's fourth disc is definitely worth a look for fans of the power metal genre. It packs quite the melodic punch and as an added bonus, has the golden voice of DC Cooper to guide it on towards hopeful fields of glory. While originality neglects to bleed through every vein, there is just enough to go around to make this an easy recommendation for the power hungry. Cooper has done better projects and likely will again in the future, but for now this is a nice disc to tide you over. Atleast until something comes along to let his full talents shine once again, as
Royal Hunt and that one off solo album did in the past. Solid, assuredly pansy-free music from start to fin.
Written by
Alanna Tuesday, March 27, 2007
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