Review: Onyria – Break the Silence

Break The Silence Studios (2015)

Reviewer: Peter Scallan

Onyria are a female-fronted symphonic metal band fronted by vocalist Helena (no surname?). I don’t really know much about the band as very little information came with the album but I did get the lyrics! I believe this is their first album having released only single songs most of which have been covers. It also looks like they are self-starters so respect to them for that. But I could be wrong!

The album opens with ‘Sleep No More’ which a mid-paced stomp driven by guitar and keyboards which reinforces the symphonic metal tag. The song itself is well written and produced, but right from the get-go I am struggled with the piercing tone of the vocals. Next up is ‘Revenge’ and which is similar to the opening song in feel and if I am honest, the vocals for this song really grate on me. Helena has great range and power but the tone of her voice is just not for me at all. Next up is ‘Prisoner of the Mind’ which opens with some gentle piano and equally gentle vocals. It then builds into a power ballad of sorts. The vocals on this are much more palatable as the range in which Helena is less likely to bother dogs! ‘Fake’ opens with piano and spoken narrative and rushes headlong into pacey rocker. While it is different from the other material, for me this is just very mediocre and just doesn’t do it for me. Approaching the half-way mark we have ‘My Addiction’ which has a symphonic opening before speeding off and then breaking down into a half-time beat. Again, the song is well conceived but is just lacking in a truly symphonic arrangement such as those with the latest Kamelot release, which is truly symphonic.

‘Save Me From the End’ kicks off the back straight on the album and opens with piano and vocals. This turns out to be a ballad with Helena putting a more controlled performance and sounding a little Kate Bush in places, although the irritating tone rears its ugly head a few times. Overall, this is an excellent song and head and shoulders the rest of the album. The power is lifted for the opening bars of ‘Damned’ which then breaks down into a verse carried by piano. This is another well-structured song and the vocals are less piercing except in places. By now a pattern has developed as the opening for the next song (‘Afterlife’) is piano and vocals before crashing into a big guitar riff. Clocking in at around five minutes it doesn’t really excite me. As its title suggest, ‘Lagrimas De Cinixiu’ is not sung in English and is sung in Italian, which I assume is the mother tongue for Helena and the band. It features vocals from Quilo, who sounds like Papa Lazarou from the League of Gentlemen and I was waiting for a ‘Hello Dave’. Not surprisingly I struggled with this song also. Last and by no means least we have the final song ‘Don’t Forget Me’. It opens with crashing cars and then breaks down into delicate piano and vocals before Helena decides it is time for some shrill, piercing high vocals. The tone of the vocals when in the lower registers in this song is in places very sultry and for the life of me I can’t understand why she doesn’t use this more often. The song itself is again well structured, but by the time I got to the end of this album I was compelled to listen to it again.

This is album is well played and produced and a quite some thought has gone into the songs, but overall they just don’t do it for me. Don’t get me wrong I am hardly a symphonic/power metal guru, but in the last year or so I have had the privilege of reviewing some really outstanding releases in this genre, namely Kamelot’s Haven and Stratovarius’ Nemesis. Therefore, on that basis, this album falls well short of the competition. Added to that, I really do struggle with the piercing almost screechy vocals of Helena who some really nice touches but seems intent on singing somewhere around the level of the ozone layer. Just not for me I am afraid but if symphonic/power metal is your cup of tea it may just pluck your bow!