Into The Unknown - 'Breaking The Silence'

(Vigilante Records)

Into the Unknown are marketed as symphonic rock, but personally I’d brand them with the Hard Rock tag with an emphasis on the harder edge. Their sound is heavily influenced by Eighties hard rock especially the sound emanating from Germany and Europe in that era, especially the crunchier heavier stuff, think along the lines of Doro for example.

‘Breaking The Silence’ is a definite step up from the band’s debut which I found a little lacklustre at the time. Once again though I feel the impact of the songs is let down by a really rough and ready production – on one hand I understand it as these songs are destined for the live arena so the rawness is key to how it will sound live but I feel the songs recorded impact would have benefitted from a smoother and more luxurious production.

Throughout ‘Breaking The Silence’ I was extremely impressed by vocalist Lucie Holzlova’s performance and found her voice far more memorable than on the debut. This time around I was really taken with her and found the more emotive pieces really enjoyable. There is a lot of emotion packed into these songs and Holzlova does pour her heart out. Most notably on the Ballads like ‘Back In Time’ where her voice has a raw and emotional quality to it which is very touching.

On the whole ‘Breaking The Silence’ contains some well-crafted songs although I felt opener ‘Pandora’s Box’ wasn’t an obvious choice to start and I feel ‘It Is What It Is’ would have been a more instant song to hook listeners in. ‘I’ve Had Enough’ is one of the albums strong standouts with an impressive performance from Holzlova on its potent vocal melodies. You can tell the bouncy rockers and anthems will kick some serious earhole live, the Doro influenced ‘Are You Ready’ and ‘Live Your Life’ are just two prime examples!

I really want to love Into The Unknown and I get what their about and as rule I thoroughly enjoy this style of rock, but there is just something about the band that keeps them feeling second tier. I think with a few tweaks an already good band could become extremely impressive in the mainstream. All that said it is still an enjoyable album with plenty of memorable songs that anyone with a penchant for female vocalists should give some time to listen to.

7/10

Essential Track - 'I've Had Enough'

Review by Woody