Over a millennium ago, the Vikings emerged silently from their native Denmark and made their presence known to the world that lay before them. Similarly, BENEATH THE SILENCE are pretty much unknown in the world of metal, but after listening to the Danish five piece, I can tell you that they have the potential to make a similar marking on the world! My first thoughts were ''wow, these guys have got the production down to a tee". Because they clearly know what they're doing in the studio. I particularly enjoyed the symphonic elements in both "All I See", and "Break You" combined with the metalcore style rhythmic components. Mette is fierce on vocals. I can feel the emotion in her voice as she belts out powerful note after powerful note. She really has some pipes! I want to say that the band remind me of WITHIN TEMPTATION but with more metalcore and progressive elements.

The pace slows down for "In the Shadow of Your Eyes". This is definitely a slow, much more synth heavy song, with Mette's voice again being a central component. I wonder if she had a part in writing this song and built the song around this very impressive vocal line. "Take Me Over" definitely ups the ante with the progressive components. Forget 4/4 time signatures and 12 bar blues. This really a djentastic (is that even a word?!) offering. I'm particularly impressed with how the band have captured the bass and guitar tones, which really do cut through crisp and clear. Nice work. I particularly enjoyed the variety of vocal textures here too. What's up next? If I thought this song was djentastic (yes it is a word!), "Open Wounds" definitely feels much heavier with the guitars, whilst that bass tone is just straight up dirty and nasty, in the best way possible! The vocal melody is definitely the most memorable of all at this point of the album.

The band up the ante again with the heavy guitars in "The Taste of Bitterness" whilst expertly incorporating synths to add some extra dimension. Nice! "Wide Awake" is next. A much slower and quieter number in parts, this is definitely the most emotional song so far for me. For me, this song portrays those emotions and feelings we may experience when you're marching through metaphorical hell and feeling trapped. In this moment, you just want to scream and to be rescued. I think this is Mette's strongest performance yet, which is really saying something. No need for flowery or poetic lyrics; she's gone down the simple yet effective route, and it's worked perfectly. The progressive metalcore onslaught continues with "Over the Edge" and "FEAR" with more unique synths, chugful riffs (I'm definitely making words up now!) and soaring lead vocals. I can definitely see BENEATH THE SILENCE's signature brand and sound emerging now. I thought a big finish was needed for this monster of an album. On it's own, "Nowhere to Go" is a solid track, summing all the elements that have been on display throughout this album and what's unique about the band. A fair end to a strong album.

It's hard to really think of many criticisms to be fair. Although one thing stands out to me. I thought the production was spot on, and eluded to this earlier in the review. As it progressed further, I did start to wonder if it was a little overproduced. Could they replicate this in a live setting? I hope so, because this gift needs to be shared to live audiences. BENEATH THE SILENCE seem like a sleeping giant at the moment, just waiting for their big break. I sincerely hope that this review can help them in some way in getting that big break, because they really do have something special and unique, something that could shake up the music industry.