One of the bonuses of being a reviewer is that it forces you out of your comfort zone, and as one who listens to an unhealthy amount of death metal, this is a good thing.  Looking for a change I grabbed the debut album from In the Silence.  This album was actually released last summer, but the initial run sold out almost immediately, and Sensory Records jumped in to give the album a proper release.  It’s a good thing, as any fans of melodic, progressive metal need to track this thing down.

If you dig Dream Theater, Falloch, or Opeth’s album Damnation, you’ll know exactly what you’re getting here: soaring clean vocals and top notch musicianship from artists who have a true passion for their craft.  Vocalist Josh Burke has an absolutely amazing voice, and it’s easily the highlight of this album as it’s the driving force for the whole ship.  It’s moving to watch the band build up to one of his soaring, epic choruses, as evident on track 2 and 4, “Serenity” and “Beneath These Falling Leaves”.  It almost gives you chills it’s that heartfelt and powerful.  He also knows when to back off, as the many solos in this album balance Burke’s vocals perfectly.  The band also tastefully steps up the heaviness just a bit, as evidence track 6, “Endless Sea”, which helps to keep an album that stretches to almost 45 minutes from overstaying its welcome.

Following the instrumental at the halfway point, I do have to say the latter half of the album lacks the powerful presence of the first.  Closer “Your Reward” starts out with an odd, atmospheric tone that shows the band experimenting with their style.  It gets better about halfway through, but is easily the weakest track on here.  But that being said, this is an amazing debut album and definitely a band to keep an eye on.  Also check out the artwork, which is a great fit for the almost unsettling power and atmosphere this album puts forth.

[Visit the band's website]

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