Artist: Silent Force 
   Title: Walk The Earth
   Label: AFM Records

'Walked The Earth' is the fourth album from Alexander Beyrodt’s Silent Force and the band's first release on AFM Records and is a true return to form by the band that once again feature not only the power driven guitar work of Beyrodt, but also the vocal prowess of DC Cooper, the bass skills of Jurgen Steinmetz, the pounding skinsman Andre Hilgers, and completing the line-up Torsten Rohre on keyboards.  The band have also once again called upon the production skills of Dennis Ward to add his Midas touch to the album.

The album opens up with a true taste of what Power Metal should stand for with the outstanding ‘Point of No Return’.  A real tour de force with one of the standout features of the track being the vocals of Cooper, who's voice was just made for metal, as this album proves not just on this track, but constantly throughout the whole opus.  It's easy to see why he was heavily fancied to take over the frontman role from Rob Halford before Ripper Owens was in the frame.

Thing continue along the power metal road with another powerful assault on the senses, this time with the riff laden ‘In From The Dark’, before one of my favourite tracks off the album the awesome ‘The King Of Fools’.  A song that starts off with a gentle repose before the track really kicks off with the now trademark guitar of Beyrodt, then the motivating force that is Coopers vocals take over on this metal monster, all backed by the pulsating rhythm section of Steinmetz and Hilgers, all interlaced with the sinuous keyboards of Rohre.

Things retain the same high standard of musicianship with the masterstroke that is ‘The Child Within’.  A real classy piece of melodic metal this one as Beyrodt conjures up his magic once more.  The pace just changes a bit as the band go for a more goth-metal feel with the mood ridden ‘Goodbye My Ghost’, before really slowing things down with the down-to-earth tones of ‘Save Me From Myself’.  A track that reminds so much of something Iced Earth would do.

Then it's back to the meat and bones metal of the album as things pick up once more with ‘My Independence Day’ and the up beat ‘Blind Leading The Blind’, with Beyrodt’s guitars shining through once more.

With the album almost at a close it's time for something really special with the excellent ‘Running Through The Fire’.  A track where Beyrodt is really let loose as he shreds like a demon on this one and with Cooper at his most powerful best, together they really make this track something magnificent.

The album comes to all to abrupt close with a real metal fest the mighty speed riff laden ‘Picture Of A Shadow’, which rounds off another great album by Beyrodt and the boys and one that rates highly on my albums of the year so far. 

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