COMPASS (Steve Newman) – A Silent Symphony (2023)

Aside from his own melodic rock band NEWMAN, British musician / producer Steve Newman created side project COMPASS as the vehicle for a different musical ambition. This was to be something very different both musically and lyrically from anything he had created before, with the freedom to move across genres and not be pigeonholed within any particular musical style.
After a 2020 debut album to great acclaim by the music press and fans of both the Melodic Rock and Metal genres, and a strong second effort, now 2023 Newman’s COMPASS are back with “A Silent Symphony”, a much darker album this time around but still very melodic.
Never quiet to explore new sounds, “A Silent Symphony” add some electronics, a harder edge on some tracks, and a modern melodic rock approach on a couple.
Wrapped by an impeccable production sound, the album has been mastered by legend Rolf Munkes (Michael Schenker, GUN, Bonfire) and he has done a monster job on it.

As mentioned, COMPASS mixes several styles with ease, resulting into an interesting sonic output. Take ’80s Rush, Saga, some It Bites and of course Newman as reference, however this band is pretty unique.
The first trio of tracks are the ones featuring a more experimental delivery with added electronics, putting clear this band isn’t looking for a radio hit, but deliver something to discover. The darker songwriting goes on par with overall concept of the album about the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.
However tracks like ‘Into the Unknown’ are pure melodic rock, with substance.

A lot of crunchy heavy melodic guitar abound and Steve comes up with some killer riffs and arrangements – there are also a lot of nice solos. Ben Green’s voice sound great, clear, fuller, as well as the meaty bass lines all over the record.

The two previous COMPASS releases already delivered quality progressive rock / metal music with melody, and while this new effort “A Silent Symphony” isn’t as immediate, it’s a much more expansive, intriguing record plenty of surprises, well written arrangements, skillful performances and a stupendous production / mix / mastering.
Highly Recommended

01 – We Have the Power
02 – Xenon Gods
03 – A Silent Symphony
04 – Bridge of Death
05 – Into the Unknown
06 – The Suffering
07 – Liquidators
08 – A Dystopian Wasteland
09 – Age of Progression

Steve Newman – Guitars, Keyboards, Vocals
Ben Green – Vocals
Dave Bartlett – Bass, Vocals

BUY
newmansound.com/Compass.htm