The Blackened Halo

While the power metal genre of heavy metal is one of the largest with thousands of bands spanning the entire world, there are always some which break into the scene with a thud and a crash, while some create no waves at all and fall away just as quick as they arrived. It is also rather difficult to stand above other power metal bands, due to the fact that they all pretty much follow the same scrip and structure. That’s why when a band raises a few eyebrows and gets the fist pumping from metalheads, it’s more about how the aggressive guitar riffs, pounding drums and soaring vocals that we’ve all heard before makes the difference in that instance. And with that said, I introduce German power metal band, Circle Of Silence.

Formed in 2005 by bassist Björn Boehm and guitarist Tobias Pfahl, Circle Of Silence (remaining members include vocalist Niklas Keim, drummer Peter Suppinger and guitarist Christian Sommerfeld) produced two albums that were independently self-released back in 2006 and 2008 before German heavyweights Massacre Records signed the emerging youngsters. The result, Circle Of Silence’s 3rd album, entitled ‘The Blackened Halo’, released in April 2011. In the same vein as other top power metal bands such as Rage, Primal Fear and Mystic Prophecy, the album is driven prominently by hardened guitar riffs, powerful hooks and supreme solos.

‘The Blackened Halo’ is not all just balls to the wall power metal, with traces of melodic metal and modern heavy metal thrown into the mix. Vocalist Niklas Keim (who sounds a little bit like Peavy Wagner, but with a higher delivery) is an exceptional singer, whose style also includes melodic and emotional tendencies that coincide with his aggressive, powerful and gritty vocals. It all makes for an excellent balance, particularly when a track is of a thunderous pace and you need an angryish voice to grit your teeth to when playing the air guitar. Kudos must be given to producer Vagelis Maranis, who has done a brilliant job with the production of the album at his studio, Maranis Studios. Every instrument sounds larger than life, crisp clean sound with much depth and richness, which for the majority can make a difference on whether an album makes the grade or not.

The disc bursts in life with the thundering opening track, “Synthetic Sleep”, containing double bass fury, heavy guitar riffs and catchy melodies. A memorable chorus and a fine soaring melodic performance by Keim are all additions to a kick ass track, while an intricate solo tops it all off. Thrash riffs accompany the furious 80’s throwback sounding track “Exception”, another standout, while the catchy “21 Grams” again contains pounding drum beats, powerful guitar chords and riffs and aggressive vocals by Keim.

Continuing on, the title track “The Blackened Halo” is one of the best on the CD. Hard, aggressive and lightning quick, this is a track that your head will not stop banging to. The sing-a-long chorus slows down a bit in tempo, becoming more melodic, but again goes back to full throttle once the next verse kicks in. Like the previous tracks before it, an excellent solo is featured in the middle. Aggression is word of choice to describe the kick ass “Never Forget”, with an incredible riff onslaught at the beginning of the track and then continues on for the remainder. There are again more thrash metal elements in the song, while Keim sings with furious anger and spite throughout as the tempo never shifts from its ball-busting speed.

“Reflections” starts differently than the other tracks, with a soft acoustic opening that makes you think this could be the mandatory ballad of the album – but no, a groove-filled heavy riff takes over and the aggression continues with no let-up. The acoustic guitar riffs return in the back end of the song, with a nice sombre passage featuring melodic harmonies from Keim, to make for an impressive and creative track and yet another standout. Other tracks on ‘The Blackened Halo’ that get the two thumbs up include the brutal and bombastic “Redesign”, the powerful and melodic “Until The Worlds Collide” and the furious pounding of “Left To Die”.

Overall, I was astonished and beyond impressed by Circle Of Silence and their breakthrough 3rd album. Some power metal releases go by silently like ships in the night; however ‘The Blackened Halo’ blows everything away and packs an almighty punch that hits you quite hard. Riff lovers will be beside themselves to hear of this CD and I urge them to rush out and find this disc as you will not be disappointed. Obviously those power metal fans who enjoy the work of Rage and Mystic Prophecy (among others) will be chompin’ at the bit to get their hands on this as well. This is one of the best albums by far for 2011, with no filler or weak tracks to speak of whatsoever, and a brilliant production to mirror the quality of the metal created by very talented musicians. Circle Of Silence have hit the big time with ‘The Blackened Halo’ and let’s hope these guys will be in the scene for many more years to come, releasing more albums like this one.

Originally written for www.themetalforge.com