_{Mike LePond is best known as the bass player for Symphony X but in 2014 he established a side project called Mike LePond’s Silent Assassins which released an album of the same name. The band’s second album, entitled “Pawn and Prophecy” was released through Frontiers Music on 26th January. I included the track “Hordes of Fire” on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 2nd February.}

_{There are only 8 tracks on the album, but the title track runs to over 20 minutes and is inspired by Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’. Mike LePond plays bass and rhythm guitar throughout the album with Alan Tecchio (formerly of Seven Witches) on lead vocals. Lead guitars for the first 7 tracks are shared between Lance Barnewold (Fate Breaks Dawn) and Rod Rivera.}

_{A host of guests appear on the epic title track “Pawn and Prophecy”, including LePond’s Symphony X bandmates Michael Romeo on guitar and Michael Pinella on keyboards. The female vocalists include Veronica ‘The V’ Freeman (Benedictum), Noa Gruman (Scardust), Phyllis Rutter (Eynomia) and Andry Lagiou.  (Interview with Veronica Freeman from 2015 - http://www.rockradioni.co.uk/interviews/2080-ni-rocks-interview-with-veronica-qthe-vq-freeman.html )}

_{Check out the band’s Facebook page for more info - https://www.facebook.com/mikelepondssilentassassins/}

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_{About “NI Rocks Recommends”}

_{The simple idea behind “NI Rocks Recommends” is to acknowledge and promote some of the great music being submitted to Rock Radio NI. I'll not be giving marks or ratings or analyzing the tracks in great detail; just telling you something about the artist and the album. It’s a personal recommendation to go check something out, not a traditional “review”!}

_{My musical tastes cover most things rock; from the not too melodic to the not too heavy. The albums that I’ll be recommending are those that you’ll hear me playing tracks from on my shows on Rock Radio NI.}

_{Check out NI Rocks on Facebook – www.facebook.com/NIRocks or Twitter - www.twitter.com/NIrelandRocks}