Classy rock from the band formerly known as Adrenaline.
Known as Adrenaline until the end of 2009, Silent Victory have been regulars on the UK live scene for the last six years. Sound wise possibly the best comparison for this outfit would be FM, not because their sound runs too close to Steve Overland and Co., but because there are huge dollops of melodic rock blended to a more blues infused guitar style, which really adds some depth to the music. In fact Silent Victory manage to amass a collection of melodic rock influences into a sound that is reassuringly familiar, without ever actually relying too heavily on any one source for inspiration. The sparkling guitar pairing of Des Walsh and Tony Rimmer, who also handles vocals, are ably assisted by Neil Humphrey on bass and Dave Aindow on drums, while keyboard player Rob Bakewell almost steals the show from the duelling guitars with his bright bursts of melody and layers of atmosphere.
Album opener ‘Life Is Hard’ kicks in with a wonderfully evocative UFO style blues lick that oozes class, before a driving riff, which is backed by some great keyboards, makes you sit up and really take notice. It is a simple formula, however when Silent Victory hit their stride, it is extremely effective and with songs like ‘Ain’t No Shame’ or the heavier ‘Last Man Standing’, one that is hugely enjoyable. There are only two real chinks in the Silent Victory armour, the first of which is a slightly too bass heavy mix that steals a tiny bit of the impact from the melodies the band fire out. Secondly are the vocals from Rimmer. He certainly has the power and punch required to front this type of band, however his penchant for hitting the highest notes he possibly can, often leaves him just a little too exposed and on the odd occasion he doesn’t quite strike the note he is striving for. That said when he reigns himself in a little he has a really charismatic delivery.
What does make ‘No Sacred Ground’ more interesting than many debut albums is that Silent Victory aren’t afraid to mix things up a little. Swirling atmospherics, pounding bass and fade in vocals make ‘Stone Dead’ feel like a less intense Queensryche, while ‘Stranded’ is a wonderfully poised ballad that is so beautifully paced and constructed that all the usual clichés are easily avoided. When Silent Victory do pull the more straight on melodic rock licks out of the bag, as they do on the excellent ‘Can’t Live Without Love’, and ‘Adrenaline Rush’ the sound is strongly reminiscent of a slightly heavier Outside Edge. If you enjoy classy melodic rock that doesn’t want to be completely restrained by the genre lines that tag suggests, then this is an album well worth picking up (the physical CD version comes with an excellent bonus track ‘Waste Of Time’) and one that suggests big things for this band in the future.
Steven Reid
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