Section A
Wall of Silence

Six years has gone since Sacrifce, Section A’s latest release, and now they are releasing their fourth album that has been given the name Wall of Silence. This album is said to follow where Sacrifice left off, heavier and more straightforward but with the signature Section A Sound, whatever that means. Torben Enevoldsen is the man behind this project, a very competent musician and he in turn has enlisted some very competent musicians for this album, like new vocalist Nicklas Sonne who is amongst others known as the vocalist of Malrun. But there are others as well and add to that a quite interesting, attractive and futuristic cover art and one would imagine that this is a fantastic album.

Power progressive metal is a label often used to describe bands ant I think that is quite true when describing these guys, it reminds me of some German but perhaps most by Italian power progressive bands like DGM or Eldritch if you are one who wants specific examples. Wall of Silence is a very well-produced album with a strong vocalist who fits the soundscape very well, and it feels competently made. In fact, the entire album feels like a great production with a rather varied music content spread out over nine tracks – I think it is very difficult to find much negative to write about the quality as it is difficult to argue against such a solid production. You could however, argue when it comes to the originality aspect of the album because it is difficult to claim any originality for it and one also feels that the band could drive up the tempo a little bit more as it feel slightly held back, almost cautious. Some writers with sharper pencils could argue that the band does not dare to leave the path of comfort and sticks to the tried and tested at the cost of novelty, I wouldn’t say such a thing.

My spontaneous thought when I first heard the album was that it is good. Then after a dozen plays it still feels the same, like the album does not grow for each time I hear it – kind of like it is lacking a bit of depth. It is like the album is lacking that little bit extra that makes a good album great. But perhaps I should not complain too much as this album is great in its best moments, unfortunately it is not all of the album that is the best moments but some of it feels a bit like filler material just to add minutes to the album. It feels a little bit flat at times. I miss drive and energy, that which makes Eldritch such a great band, it is like they are missing a little bit of that final edge that can change an album from good into something really memorable.

Fans of Section A will most certainly love this album as it is what this band has always been about, and there is no complaining about the quality. I just miss a little bit, but the best tracks: All that Matters and Pray for Freedom, are both excellent songs and those are really memorable. I think that it is a well-made album, maybe a tad flat but I am very sure that the fans will love it and maybe that is all that really matters in the end.

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