When I listened to female-fronted bands during the last few years, the singers were either excellent growlers or they had an angelic voice with classic background. There seemed to be little in between, hardly any singers with a more "traditional" metal voice, notably exceptions are for example Kobra Paige, Skye Sweetnam, or Brittney Slayes. All have one thing in common: they are from Canada. So is BREAKING THE SILENT and their front woman Mariame K follows the good old metal style of singing: clean, predominantly high-pitched voice with occasional screams. Founded in 2016 in Edmonton, Alberta; their first EP "Breaking The Silent" was released in 2019 and supported by an European tour last year. The sound is best described as a mix of heavy/power metal with speed and melodic thrash metal elements. Be prepared for a technically very solid metal sound with classic guitar solos, fast drum sequences, and a female voice that fits perfectly into that sound.

The opening track "Thou Shall Rise" is old school metal. It convinces with melodic guitar riffs, changes in tempo, guitar solos, and solid bass play and drums. The voice of Mariame K with her variation and some occasional growls gives the song an extra dimension. "Cry Of Fear" continues in that way though the song is faster, a bit heavier with more speed and thrash metal parts in it. Shane Oranchuk adds a bit more double-bass on drums and Mariame K adds a few more growls into the mix which gives the song a more modern touch. There are a few breaks in tempo throughout the song and I really enjoyed listening to it. Check out the official video with the link given below. "Sacrifice Of Mind" sounds a bit different compared to the first two songs. There are more breaks, more variation of guitar riffs including a technically comprehensive guitar solo. The song contains less thrash metal parts compared to "Cry Of Fear" but sounds nonetheless very compact and aggressive.

"Breaking The Silent" is a promising debut of a promising band. Fans of melodic thrash and speed metal will like it. Its backbone is an old school metal approach but the band mixes this up with modern elements, variation in tempo, melodies, guitar riffs, and vocals. They benefit from a very talented singer and her versatility and vocal range gives BREAKING THE SILENT something extra. The production of the debut EP is solid, however, with only 3 songs and a length of ca. 13 minutes, I would have liked to have one or two more songs on the release. If BREAKING THE SILENT are able to build up on this EP and release a full length album soon, I am sure they can establish themselves as a melodic thrash/speed metal band not only in Canada, but also internationally.