Mike Lepond's Silent Assassins - Mike Lepond's Silent Assassins

Published October 11 2014

*=Staff's pick	Apocalypse Rider Red Death* The Quest* The Outsider Masada Silent Assassins Ragnarok The Progeny Oath Of Honor*

Genre	Heavy Metal	Alan Tecchio	Vocals
Tracks	9	Michael Romeo	Guitar
Running time	57 Min.	Metal Mike Chlasciak	Guitar
Label	UDR	Mike LePond	Guitar
Release	26 September 2014	Mike LePond	Bass
Country	USA	M. Romeo (programmed)	Drums
Producer	Mike LePond	Michael Romeo	Keyboard
Similar artists	---

This is the first solo effort by Symphony X's talented bass player Mike LePond. He has, perhaps rather unsurprisingly, decided to put a distinct bass sound to most songs and the bass is also pushed a little bit higher in the mix. I generally have to compliment him on his choice, although it might seem like it's really some sort of an ego boost of his. I really like the sound of the bass having a more prominent position in heavy metal though, since it quite often in this day and age isn't given the power to stand on its own anymore.

Reportedly this record is built on his own past and present influences. Occasionally this matter is pretty evident throughout the disc, although it certainly doesn't have a negative effect on the end result. Quite frankly, much of these small similarities to other stuff is perchance a little borrowed and definitely not stolen, the way I see it. Even if this effort naturally isn't groundbreaking, I still think LePond, who personally wrote all music and lyrics, is a little innovating when he's pulling the strings to create new songs out of supposedly old things.

We're offered 9 songs and to summarize, 8 of them mainly belong in the heavy metal vein with a few elements of US power metal and the residual track is a ballad called Masada. The skilled bass player is able to get a solid groove to the songs, but still I miss the last drops to make the album hit hard. It has to me no fillers or songs that's clearly inferior to the rest. Nevertheless it fails to convince me of its total greatness, since I miss the huge songs that can make a record jump from rather good to great or even to awesome. On the whole, a satisfying effort without killing edge.

Performance	Originality	Production	Vocals	Songwriting
6	5	6	6	6

Summary
6 chalices of 10 - Tobbe