We all make mistakes. We are all guilty of forgetting something, doing something wrong, or missing something entirely. Of Course, some mistakes are bigger than others, and some affect us in ways that we may never fully understand. Luckily, most are minor and not life altering regret fests. One of many I made recently was sleeping on a promo from Neuenhof, Switzerland modern metal band Silent Circus. The band has been around since 2010, and released their debut album, Into the Silence, in 2011. I vaguely remember hearing some of it. Their sound reminded me of Trivium at the time. Since then, ex-Freedom Call/Symphorce guitarist Cédric “Cede” Dupont has joined the fold. His recording debut comes on the band’s latest, Rise and Fall, released January 27, 2017 via Universal Music.
What initially drew me to the album was the cover. A huge elephant’s head with dead eyes flanked by the two biggest of the big cats, a lion and a tiger, all set in black and white, as you can see above. Then you hit play and the album cover is secondary. Opening track ‘Inner Voice’ drops some chugging riffs and a heavy back beat to get you immediately bobbing your head. When these guys hit, they hit HAAAAAARD, and fall off, so as to not overdo it. Examples of this are songs ‘Affection,’ ‘My Return,’ and ‘Burning Down.’ Vocalist Peter “Pit” Haller’s scream/growl fits perfectly with the aggressive grooves. Then the melody hits you from out of nowhere, with a hook from AOR albums of old. I’m talking annoying commercials type hooks that get stuck in your head and don’t go away. Tracks like ‘Indifferent,’ the title track, and ‘Surrender’ will be rattling around your brain for a while. Haller’s clean vocal bears a resemblance to Sahaj Tocatin. It’s not quite as powerful, but the tone is eerily similar. Songs like ‘Breathing,’ ‘Today,’ and ‘Save Myself’ really show what he’s capable of. Thanks to the vocal recording/production of Lars Christen (Pegasus, Bastian Baker, James Gruntz, etc.) and mixing/production of the entire album by the award-winning and Grammy-nominated producer Sky Van Hoff (Caliban, The Sorrow, etc.), Silent Circus sounds as good on Rise and Fall as they possibly can.
Modern metal is a good tag for Silent Circus. Their mixture of equal parts Killswitch Engage and Ra with just enough keyboards to keep it proggy is a lethal combination. This helps the album be a no skipper, so it’s super easy to hit repeat. We all make mistakes. Don’t repeat mine and sleep on Silent Circus and Rise and Fall, or you might regret it.
Songs:
01. Inner Voice
02. Affection
03. My Return
04. Indifferent
05. Burning Down
06. Rise and Fall
07. Agony
08. Surrender
09. Breathing
10. Today
11. The March
12. Save Myself
Playing Time: 45:10
Release Date: January 27, 2017
Label: Universal Music GmbH
Website: www.silentcircus.ch
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