DVS Records sure has the ability to spot talent when they see it. This relatively new label also signed Chrome Shift and released their excellent Ripples In Time album (reviewed here at Metal Reviews a few months back). They seem to be looking for great new progressive metal to sign and they've got another potential winner here with Holland's Silent Edge. Formed in 1997, the band released a demo in 2000 and had a very successful appearance at ProgPower Europe in 2001.

Silent Edge is a progressive metal outfit whose music also has elements of power metal infused into it. The musical style and song structure really brings bands like Symphony X and Dream Theater to mind with the intricate technical riffing and odd time signatures. The guitar work is solid and thick sounding and is not at all buried in the mix. Most tracks feature great big guitar riffs with lots of organ and synthesizer and in a few instances, extended and very technical instrumental breaks. Speedy guitar and double bass riffs grace a few tracks with slower pounding heavy rhythms featured on others. Neo-classical styles of fast guitar and synthesizer scale runs are heard on a few tracks namely, Savage Symphony which really sounds like something from the Trilogy album by Yngwie Malmsteen. The musical and vocal melodies are solid but the vocal delivery style of their lead vocalist, Willem Verwoert is really the only weak point I can find with this band. His voice sounds good for a few songs but on others, his sometimes off-key wail and warbly falsettos don't quite measure up to the talent of the other band members. He sounds like he should be singing for a more straight ahead hard rock or 80's style metal band as he doesn't have the power and range needed for the type of music this band plays. The songwriting style is great and I really like the music of this band, but improvement is needed in the vocal department to punch up the calibre of this band into the big leagues with the other heavy hitters in the genre (o.k. enough baseball metaphors!!).

Guitarist Emo Suripatty is one excellent guitar player and his playing is the highlight of this album. Great thick, technical and heavy riffs are found on most tracks with many also featuring some great expressive and soaring lead work. Also, his abilities as a classical guitarist really shine on the track The Curse I Hold Within. The keyboard work is top notch as well as the drumming and bass playing and although the album has a great production overall, the drum sound could be a little more powerful than it is.

Lots of great atmosphere, great harmony and melody as well as lots of extended instrumental sections and abrupt tempo changes make this band a great one to listen to. Musically, they really can't do much better as they have almost perfected the progressive metal style but with improvements in the vocals, they would be a force to be reckoned with in the progressive metal world. A fine effort for a debut album and if you're a progressive metal fan, you'll love this stuff.