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Don't check the alphabet. There are still only 26 letters, and
'black' isn't among them. However, the 'black' letter, according to
The Letter Black, refers to our past mistakes and how to avoid them
in the future. Formerly Breaking the Silence, the recent Tooth & Nail
signee, combines girl-fronted rock with an alternative edge on their
debut project Breaking the Silence EP. Now considering the EP's cover
photo along with the genre, it's important to ask yourself a question:
Does Fireflight and their album Unbreakable ring any bells?
Unlike Breaking The Silence's only album, Stand, The Letter Black is
fully fronted by Sarah Anthony; a departure from the days when Sarah
and her husband, Mark, would split time fronting the songs. Now, on
the EP, Marks vocals are limited to background vocals which show up
the strongest on "Hanging by a Thread." While solid on half the rock
tracks, Sarah's vocals flow their best on the softest and most
melodic song, "Best Of Me." Although many may not find that "Moving
On" or "Hanging By A Thread" are terribly original, both are solid
rock tunes. However, in an attempt to raise the intensity in both
"Collapse" and especially on the finale "Perfect," Sarah overextends
her vocals and the final result is not pretty.
Despite a few tracks which deal with personal conflict which remain
outside the listener's sphere of comprehension (save the basic
outline), the songwriting is fairly simple. "Perfect" is essentially
a heavy worship song ("I know that you are beautiful/as a scarlet
sunrise/so perfect to me") as it describes some of God's attributes,
while other songs address the singer's trust in God and our need for
a savior ("Collapse" and "Hanging By A Thread" respectively).
It was really handy to have artists like Fireflight, Flyleaf, and
Plumb to offer another option for those who didn't want to take a
chance on other girl-fronted rock acts like Evanescence. Since The
Letter Black has now set the only diverse aspect about the band
behind them (Sarah and Mark's duet) it leaves their slick, but
generic music a little lacking. While Breaking The Silence EP isn't a
bad start for The Letter Black, the failure for the group to break
the mold doesn't leave their EP terribly compelling.
- Review date: 9/14/09, written by Nathaniel Schexnayder of Jesusfreakhideout.com
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As one of the newest signees to Tooth & Nail Records, The Letter Black is seemingly the
label's answer to the female-fronted hard rock five-piece Flyleaf. While it would be unfair to state that The Letter Black
is just another hard rock carbon copy, unfortunately, the band does little to make themselves unique in their genre.
Besides the not-always fresh sound they carry, Sarah Anthony's vocals, while passionate, can be a little irritating at
times. They're not atrocious, or even bad, by any means, but they don't tend to vary enough, and an unpleasant,
out-of-place scream on "All Of Me" doesn't help things, either. On one hand, the lyrical content here is nothing but
commendable, but on the other, I just wish it was delivered better than it was. Some hard rock fans will find plenty
to love about The Letter Black's Breaking the Silence, and as an EP, one need not invest too much to check them
out. But for now, the quartet has some maturing to do before they become a real force to be reckoned with in the Christian
rock circle.
- Roger Gelwicks of Jesusfreakhideout.com
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Record Label: Tooth & Nail Records
