‘Black Sheep’ and ‘Wolf and Raven’ has plenty of good guitar and keyboard interplay and steady bass playing. There are some slower tracks such as the sinister and slightly disturbing ‘End of this Chapter’ and the thoughtful ‘Replica’ where the singing is at it’s best. The first two tracks ‘Weballergy’ and ‘Kingdom For A Heart’ and track 7, ‘Respect the Wilderness’ are similar. Good pacey riff with decent solos, nice keyboard fills and powerful drumming. The music is a mix of progressive rock, some heavy stuuff and some classical influences. Plenty of tight musicianship, speedy, rthymic drumming, some good emotive singing in the quieter tracks, decent bass and good guitar work.

The performance of the band is good throughout the cd. The guitar playing is higher in the mix with crystal clear riffs and solos which are not wild but well played and enjoyable. The sound is very good, making many of the tracks better than the studio versions. I feel this is one of Sonata Actica’s best cds.

This cd was recorded live in Tokyo in front of what sounds like an enthusiastic audience helping the atmosphere of an already very good cd.

Sonata arctica silence album