A Breach of Silence is a power core outfit from Brisbane. They are set to release their third studio album, entitled Secrets, on February 24.

My timing for this review was a bit poor as it was paired together with me preparing for Opeth’s once-in-a-lifetime show at the Opera House on Monday evening, so it’s been a contrasting week to say the least. However, as soon as I heard the first track, Falling Away, I knew that I wouldn’t have much trouble getting into this band, that was previously completely unknown to me.

The initial excitement lasted for about four songs, then it felt like the music partly fell victim to the “core curse”. I have listened to the album seven times so far, and yet there are songs that I for the life of me can’t remember.

This being said, a big part of the material is top shelf stuff, with The Revelator being one of the clear highlights. I’m no fan of The Weeknd, but the cover of Shameless that is featured on this album is incredibly well done and it grabs hold of your brain in two seconds and remains there for days.

But there are also a few songs that I find myself wanting to skip in favour of better ones. Sugar and Spice (it’s just as cheesy as the title makes it out to be) was a main perpetrator.

One of the biggest positives about this band is Rhys Flannery‘s vocals. Musically, we’re not on any ground-breaking level, but Flannery’s soaring and powerful vocals is what makes A Breach of Silence stand out in a way that few bands in the genre could ever hope to do.

Overall the production is right on point, and it’s no surprise that Fredrik Nordström (In Flames, Bring Me The Horizon, Opeth) was involved with this record. Other than the fact that the album is a bit rough around the edges, this is one of the better core bands I have discovered over the last few years.

I mentioned Falling Away before. I might be wrong, but it just feels like the band spent a lot of time and energy on getting that song right, and the music video’s message is also so important. I believe that a band who’s imbuing their music with actual meaning in this genre has got a pretty decent head start when it comes to “making it”. I will keep my eyes on these guys and I wish them all the best.

Pre-order Secrets here