Search - Letter Black :: Breaking The Silence

New Band on the Rise!!!

Davo | Washington, DC | 09/22/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I had a chance to listen to The Letter Black's album and I am impressed. To be on tour with Skillet, Hawk Nelson, and Decyfer Down, you have to be talented and they are. I am looking forward to their EP. 6 Songs for around $5, so worth. Get your copy today."

Great Potential Here

Matthew Robbins | Ohio | 09/30/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The Letter Black, formerly known as Breaking the Silence, have to know the Flyleaf and Fireflight comparisons are coming. It's inevitable, given the limited amount of female-fronted hard rock bands. TLB's six-song EP, utilizing the band's old moniker, Breaking the Silence, showcases Sarah Anthony's impressive vocals and the band's crunchy guitars well. The song-writing, though not overly inventive or lyrically-astonishing, presents six enjoyable straight-ahead rock tunes. If these are representative of what the band is capable of producing with consistency, then TLB might have a modestly successful career ahead of them.



"Moving On" and "Hanging By A Thread" are a good first two songs to introduce listeners to the band. You can't help but think of Flyleaf's Lacey Mosley as Anthony's powerful voice accompanies the driving guitars and baselines, but she clearly has talent worthy of the comparison at least. She strikes a great balance between aggression and beauty on the majority of the album. Interestingly, however, on "Best of Me," the aggression is completely gone. The song is pop-infused, and I couldn't help but picture Michelle Branch singing (I know, out there. Anyone even remember her?). The song is extremely catchy, but it seems a little strange in the context of what comes before and after it.



The rest of the tracks are more in the vein of the first two. The closer, "Pefect," was one of my favorite, as they managed to mix the beautiful and aggressive elements in their music well. There's some interesting guitar work on this collection, and the songs are solid. Lyrically, things stay pretty vague, and most of the songs could have numerous interpretations. Not that that's a bad thing, but I just prefer when at least of few of a band's songs tell a specific story or delve into a particular feeling a little more overtly.



Overall, I found the collection enjoyable, but I'm not sold that it will have staying power. Other than "Best of Me," with its ridiculously catchy chorus, none of the songs really stayed with me after listening, which is interesting because that song is very different stylistically than the rest. I'm not sure the people who would really enjoy that song will like the rest as much, and vice-versa. Sarah Anthony has a great voice, though. I'm sure many will be attracted to the band because of that voice and the solid guitars. Others will write them off as Flyleaf wannabes or worse. The EP format gives Tooth & Nail the ability to more cost-effectively gauge which response will outweigh the other. I'm hoping it's the former, as I think there's quite a bit of potential with this band and I'd like to hear more than these six tracks."

Good stuff

Chadrock | 05/08/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"picked this up in store as discovery and because price was right for discovery ($5). asked the clerk and he said heavier than Fireflight (at time I was anticipating their new release) and I thought great. Good stuff, just imaginge Fireflight stripped and the heaviest just a little harder and that is this release."