(Power Metal) Circle of Silence - The Rise Of Resistance - 2013, FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Niklas Keim - Vocals
Björn Boehm - Bass
Peter Suppinger - Drums
Christian Sommerfeld - Guitars
Tobias Pfahl - Guitars

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I was introduced to German power metal band Circle Of Silence with their promising but flawed third album The Blackened Halo, and now two years after that one they have returned with their latest release The Rise Of Resistance, and it’s clear they’ve made the improvements necessary to start living up to their potential. Their last album was very good in bursts, but on the whole it was plagued with too many inconsistencies to hold up on a thorough listening, particularly the vocals, which sounded great on some songs and a bit weak on others. So going into this album I was hoping they could improve on their songwriting and that their vocals would be more consistent, and thankfully both of those things have come to pass.

When it comes to describing Circle Of Silence and their overall sound, the first obvious reference point would be fellow Germans Mystic Prophecy, as they play a similar style of very thrashy power metal with the punchy riffs being the driving force behind their songs, making them even heavier than the average German power metal band, though on this album they have evolved and become a lot more balanced, and that’s what separates them from the aforementioned band. For example, take the first single “One Moment Of Hate”, which starts off with the typically killer guitar sound and aggressive vocals, then delivers an epic soaring chorus, the likes of which can only be heard on a true power metal album. Many of the songs on The Rise Of Resistance have this same type of balance, between being very rough yet still having the epic melodies and vocal moments you’d expect from the genre, making for a great power metal album with some obvious thrash elements to it.

I mentioned the vocals being a slight problem on their last album. Well, this time around singer Nick Keim sounds a lot stronger the whole way through, and now his vocals only range from very good to excellent. His rougher vocals were generally his strength before, and on this album he does those as well as ever, if not even better, but now he uses a lot more clean vocals as well, and in that area he has improved greatly as he’s now capable of delivering the types of epic choruses a power metal singer must be able to do in order to make a band work.

One problem I often have with this type of aggressive power metal is one of variety, or lack thereof, in that with most similar bands I often have a hard time staying interested the whole way through an album because I find the riffs eventually start blending together and there’s usually nothing else to look forward to. That was somewhat true of The Blackened Halo, but thankfully on this album the songwriting is a lot stronger and more consistent, and I find even the slower, more crushing songs vary enough to keep the momentum going. There’s also a fair share of surprises, with “Mind Conspiracy” starting out with some strange sounding slow-paced verses that sound completely unlike anything else on the album, before the song eventually turns into an epic mid-tempo anthem with one of the best choruses on the album. On the whole, the slower songs here are much better than I expected, with “Slave To The Greed Machine” in particular being a kick ass song with some awesome riffs.

Fans of speedy power metal don’t need to be concerned though, as songs like the blazing opener “Blood Of Enemies”, the particularly thrashy “An Oncoming Storm” and the extremely epic “We Rise” will certainly get your pulse going. In fact, as good as the slower songs are they’re definitely the exception and not the rule, which is a good thing because this way they can stand out a lot more. For me, the highlight of the album is easily the closing track “The Architect Of Immortality”. It starts off slow, with Nick sounding awesome with his calmer, more expressive vocals, and for the most part it serves as a power ballad. Then a surprise comes midway through, and from that point the song keeps getting better as it goes along.

If their previous work showed signs of unfulfilled promise, then The Rise Of Resistance is where the true potential of Circle Of Silence can really be heard, as they have stepped up their game and delivered a very strong album of thrashy power metal that is sure to please fans of Mystic Prophecy, as well as anyone who wants a power metal album with awesome riffs and a distinct lack of cheesiness, while still being epic at times.