Within Silence
Return From the Shadows

Within Silence return from the shadows with their second album, their first album was released in 2015 so it is an up and coming band in the dawn of their career. Perhaps that is why we can overlook the obvious borrowing of things from favourite bands like Sonata Arctica, first I even thought they had a Sonata Arctica cover on the album but that isn’t the case. You could however be inspired by a lot worse bands than Sonata Arctica, but I think that it is rather obvious who inspires these guys and they don’t really offer many surprises on their anticipated second album. Anticipated according to the press sheet and when listening to this band I can see why they could be anticipated by some.

It is melodic power metal in the vein of band like said Sonata Arctica, Stratovarius, Theocracy and their likes. Catchy songs with choirs and symphonic elements are what these guys have to offer us, the production is good and the vocalist is rather average for the genre. The songs are of the usual variety for an album of this genre and there are no surprises, other than perhaps them plagiarising some favourite bands. With a playing time of about an hour the album is quite long but I still think it feels acceptably long, perhaps thanks to a good quality production.

And it is not only the production that is good, I think the album as a whole is a good and if you like myself enjoy power metal it is most likely that you will find this to be an enjoyable album. I know I have enjoyed listening to it. But as a critic it is difficult to be fully positive as it is an album that doesn’t really offer anything we haven’t heard before and more than I enjoy this album I tend to think of how enjoyable it would be to listen to albums like Ecliptica and Silence, even Ghost Ship – and I loose a bit of my interest in this album. It is good but not really a memorable album and I am not so sure that I would fully recommend it, sure I recommend that you have a look at it if you like power metal but be aware that there are better choices out there.

In the end I think this is good stuff, an album that will be liked by power metal fans, especially those who like the similar bands we have mentioned in this review. Not really a standout album that will go down in history but I have still enjoyed listening to it and with some experience there is a chance that this band will find a fresher voice that will make them even more interesting. The band may have returned from the shadows but I think that this album, though good, probably will remain in the shadows.

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