BURN IN SILENCE are from Boston, signed to Prosthetic Records, and have production on their debut album "Angel Maker" courtesy of Ken Susi. Do not run away, this band and their first disc are not what you are thinking. Sure, Prosthetic is an imprint of Metal Blade that concentrates a little more on chug, and Ken Susi no doubt appears courtesy of too much whiskey and "sick break downs, brah!", but BURN IN SILENCE have turned in one of the strongest NWOAHM releases in quite some time.

This sextet have done things right, with "Angel Maker" as a whole being a truly bludgeoning affair without a lot of posturing or posing. You can almost see them smiling while they play, instead of looking like they are about to beat down the front row. Right from the get go, the lead off track "Letters From An Epitaph" sets the pace for the album. The pace is above all fast, but also with a healthy dose of true Metal flavour - the aural equivalent of Old Dutch Jalapeno and Cheddar potato chips… It's everything you expect and then bam! - something in there hands you your proverbial ass while your lower jaw dislodges and gesticulates on the floor like a Parkinson's patient trying to do the worm.

Keyboards also figure prominently in the sound of BURN IN SILENCE. Honest, don't run away. Historically, especially in Metal, keyboards serve to accentuate not a whole lot. Unless your band is DREAM THEATER, CHILDREN OF BODOM, or maybe SONATA ARCTICA, the keyboard increases the overall weakness of a sound and is provided for filler purposes only. With "Angel Maker", BURN IN SILENCE take the keyboard and make it into an instrument. Each and every song has keyboards that add atmosphere and depth to the compositions, an eye in the storm of all the blast beats and Progressive Thrash that simply abounds. FEAR FACTORY springs to mind more than once, most obviously in "The Age In Which Tomorrow Brings" where the clean vocal line could be done by Mr. Burton C. Bell himself. Elsewhere there is plenty to sink one's teeth into, with meaty riffs that have no use for sinewy excess and everything is, to quote the lyrics, "in a nice little package." That package is made more impressive by the off time beats used, versatile vocals, and a great rhythm section. This album is recommended, and I hope to see more from these boys in the future. One high seven.