Masterpieces – The Sound Of Silence

“Hello Darkness, My Old Friend…” –

The immortal journey of a song through time

There are songs that don't just creep into your ears, but etch themselves deep into your collective memory. "The Sound of Silence" is one such song. It began in 1964 in a quiet room with an acoustic guitar, carried by the fragile, almost whispering voice of Paul Simon – a song about speechlessness, alienation, and the missed conversations of our modern world.

But it took a year for this melancholic trick to become a worldwide hit. Columbia Records took the song, gave it a rock instrumentation—without Simon & Garfunkel 's knowledge—put it in an electric guise, and sent it out into the world. The result: Number 1 in the US, top chart positions in Europe—and a place in eternity, as Rolling Stone would later confirm in its list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.

Since then, "The Sound of Silence" has been covered countless times. But one version has managed to pay respect to the original while simultaneously opening up a new emotional dimension: Disturbed . In 2015, the metal band released a dark, monumental reinterpretation whose controlled power provoked goosebumps. It reached number 1 in Austria, number 2 in Germany – and has been streamed, discussed, and admired millions of times worldwide.

And then—without any walls of guitars or double bass—came Pentatonix . Their 2019 a cappella version is a masterpiece of sonic reduction: five voices, no instruments—and yet a symphonic echo of emotion, precision, and reverence.

Pentatonix, named after the pentatonic scale with five notes per octave, have long been among the world leaders in their genre. Millions of albums, three Grammys, and YouTube videos with more than 100 million views—a global phenomenon of vocal artistry.

In their version of "The Sound of Silence," reverence and innovation merge. It's not just a cover. It's a declaration of faith. To music. To history. To silence – which sometimes speaks louder than any words.