Album review : SILENCE WITHIN – The Eclipse Of Worlds

Ulterium Records [Release date : 06.12.24]

On their third album now, Slovakian Power Metal band, Within Silence have reached the point where their grasp is the equal of an ambitious reach.

From the moment the opening track, ‘Land Of Light’ cranks up into sonic action, to the album’s last dying notes, all the pieces fit.

Yes, there are shades of Iron Maiden (The Mist, The Treason) and echoes of Stratovarius (Divine Power, Eclipse Of Worlds) running through the album like a trail of breadcrumbs, stopping off every few minutes to put a fresh spin on the genre.

But it’s clear that the band have developed considerably over those three albums. The writing is taut and honed to a sinewy strength, the melodies are memorable and the lyrics are for adults.

What impacts you most is the fact that there’s a rigour to the band’s music, hidden behind fluent, impressive playing, most notably on ‘Broken Thorn’ and the big ballad ‘Battle Hymn’.

Writer/ guitarist Richard Germanus and vocalist Martin Klein will get the plaudits, and deservedly so, but it’s unquestionably a band album.

And it’s also an album that’s greater than the sum of its parts, even if one of those parts, the robust and thunderous, 12 minute closing track, ‘When Worlds Collide’ threatens to overwhelm all that’s come before.

But it doesn’t. Instead, it complements the preceding tracks, using social commentary to provide the song with a steady emotional pulse, and it works a treat. ***1/2

Review by Brian McGowan

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Power Plays w/c 9 December 2024

In this sequence we play ‘The Best of 2024′ GRTR! reviewer selections

Featured Albums w/c 9 December 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2024 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2024 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2024 (Singer Songwriter)