German symphonic metallers Beyond The Black have made quite a name for themselves. Since 2015, Beyond The Black have been weaving lyrics filled with hope, love, and inner struggles into their metal, and it's gathered quite an audience - 377 thousand monthly listeners on Spotify, and tracks with over twelve million streams. "Break the Silence" is the band's sixth full-length album, so I'm expecting that BTB has mastered their craft, and "Break the Silence" should be a culmination of such.

The album begins with "Rising High," a melodic hard rock track with a scatted chorus. It could be in another language, but no language I've heard of. The chorus is blessed by Jennifer's clean, intelligible delivery of fun but basic lyrics. The instrumentation is melodic, but has an alternative tinge that gives it a little kick. Still unsure of what's going on with the chorus, but a pleasant track indeed. "Break The Silence" opens raw and bass-heavy. The song is theatrical and power metal-lly. A perfect combination. That statement right there sums up the track pretty well, as there aren't a lot of memorable moments in the track besides the clock sounds during calmer parts. Up next, "The Art Of Being Alone" features Eurovision participants and gothic metal icons Lord of the Lost. As you'd expect, the tone shifts to a more symphonic and gothic sound, with Chris Harm's rich tones pairing with Jessica's light and airy voice. Surprisingly, Lord of the Lost brings out some harsh vocals, proving that when a song features LotL, it's an improvement. Speaking of featured artists, "Let There Be Rain" features Gergana Dimitrova. Gergana is a member of The Mystery of the Bulgarian Voices, a Bulgarian choir. I thought the decision was pretty random. It worked, as the choir and Gergana threw some Bulgarian lyrics into the mix, which I greatly appreciated. The ethnic addition elevated the track exponentially for me. There is a key change (ugh), but I still enjoyed the song. "Ravens" starts as an acoustic-infused ballad with some pretty lame lyrics about ravens, the sky, and whatever else you can think of. Some riffs poke through and become more apparent as the song carries on.

"The Flood" starts the second half of the album off with trance-y metal. A robotic voice asks you if you're ready for the flood, and I may not be. The voice is actually annoying me. A weaker track of the album. "Can You Hear Me" features Asami, the vocalist of Japanese heavy metal band Lovebites, and she adds some Japanese to the language bank. This track leans further into trance metal, with heavy electronic elements and vocals that I thought were really strong. Another highlight of the album is a song with a guest artist - what does that say about the band? "(La vie est un) Cinema" is clearly in French, so a fourth language is now included. The song is synth-forward, and that damn robotic voice returns. A male voice is present, too. "Hologram" is plenty melodic and nice on the ears. A fifth and final dialect, German, is used in "Weltschmerz." A very calm song, with violins and hushed vocals. It's nice to hear a proper slow song after all of the metal I've been through.

I am not surprised by the number of listeners and fans Beyond The Black has. Their music is commercial, but flavorful, especially with their plethora of languages and styles used. Each song on "Break the Silence" is catchy and upbeat in its own way, so practically any listener will grasp onto it. While nothing on this LP is outright amazing, it's an entertaining listen for sure. I'm glad metal like this has reached some mainstream appreciation.