Ready To Take On World
Having come together four years ago after the demise of their previous bands, Sweden's A Silent Escape had one objective; to make music fun again, an objective they seem to be far surpassing. With one album already to their name, the quartet are now set to release another offering in the form of Black Heart, an album that straddles metal and hardcore with ease, throwing out intricate riffs stapled to melodies to entice whilst still packing enough of a mighty punch to have heads banging in glee.
Not ones to ease you into things, A Silent Escape kick things off with the in your face juggernaut that is Gone. Loud, brash and brutally infectious, Gone is all but begging for a crowd to be unleashed on, undoubtedly this is a track that will see fists pumping in their air and mosh pits erupting. But A Silent Escape haven't shown all their cards just yet as the album progresses to offer more gems. Ferocious and appearing to work on the basis that the only way to go is at full speed, title track, Black Heart more than gets the blood pumping. Probably the stand out track, it is here where the Swedish five piece seem to come into their own brandishing raging riffs alongside beats that literally punch you in the face, all tied together by vocals that manage to scream and wail whilst retaining a melodic edge that somehow makes this heavy hitter as catchy as a pop track. From this we are treated to When The Last Song, that manages to marry fast paced beats with riffs that tenderly bring an almost dirty blues quality to the song before the Swedish band reveal a chorus that demands you sing along, making way only for the brutal fury of The Light that bleeds effortlessly into the epic striving brilliance of Gagball, showing once again the dynamics for the band in all their glory.
Sadly Black Heart is only going to be released on digital format which potentially could limit its audience, a shame when A Silent Escape deserve to be heard by more than simply the hardcore enthusiasts that this release is likely to reach. That said, this is an album that can hold its own, that stands head and shoulders above similar bands within the genre and as such shouldn't find any problem making waves in the music world. Let's just hope the Swedish outfit reach more listeners and as such make more of a tidal wave than a mere ripple.