Search - Silent Force :: Empire of the Future

Melodic power metal featuring D.C. Cooper

Justin Gaines | Northern Virginia | 02/16/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"When vocalist D.C. Cooper was unceremoniously dumped from Danish progressive metal band Royal Hunt, I was pretty upset. After hearing D.C.'s great solo album though, I figured Cooper was a powerful enough vocalist and songwriter that he was really better off without Royal Hunt, and could pretty much do whatever he wanted in the metal world. What he chose to do was form the power metal band Silent Force with ex-Sinner guitarist Alex Beyrodt.



Released in 2000, Empire of Future was Silent Force's debut album. I was expecting something along the lines of D.C.'s solo material or work with Royal Hunt, so I was initially a bit disappointed with this album's straightforward power metal approach. After a few listens I developed a better appreciation for the album. There's definitely a Primal Fear/Sinner tone to the album, which isn't a surprise given Beyrodt's roots, as well as the obvious appreciation for Iron Maiden and Judas Priest. Cooper's vocals are incredible as expected, and it's easy to see why he came so close to becoming Judas Priest's singer when Rob Halford left the band. Empire of Future is undoubtedly a hard charging metal album, but it's a metal album with melody, as well as some progressive touches. Having Dennis Ward (Pink Cream 69) on production duties gives the album an additional edge.



If you're already a D.C. Cooper fan, then you definitely need to check out his work with Silent Force. This album should also appeal to fans of power metal in general, and German power metal in particular. It should also appeal to fans of progressive metal (I'm thinking Angra and Vanden Plas here, not necessarily Pain of Salvation or Spiral Architect) and melodic hard rock (like Pretty Maids and Pink Cream 69).



PS - I had the good fortune of seeing Silent Force at what I believe was their only US performance (at ProgPower USA III in 2002) and I can happily tell you that they are every bit as impressive live as they are on disc."