Artist: Sircle Of Silence 
   Title: Sircle Of Silence
   Label: Escape Music

Back in 1994 and 1995 two albums slipped somewhat unnoticed in the usual media haunts, but on the underground scene the debut release 'Sircle of Silence' and its follow up 'Suicide Candyman' were making waves, although not quite the tsunami needed at the time.  So now Escape Music are putting things right be re-releasing the bands two albums on double disc package.

If the name of 'Sircle of Silence' is somewhat foreign to you then the name of frontman David Reece shouldn’t be, as he is the voice of the only Accept album not to feature Udo and he was also the voice behind 'Bangalore Choir' with 'Sircle of Silence' bending more towards the hard rock of Accept, rather than the more pop stylings of 'Bangalore Choir'.

The first of the albums is the bands debut release simply entitled 'Sircle Of Silence', which believe me is far from being that.  Things get underway with the excellent ‘Color Blind’ and instantly the quality of Reece's vocals shines through as he just erupts, unleashing those powerhouse pipes of his and with Larry Farkas’s superb guitar work, you wonder why the music gods over-looked such a powerful rock force.  When these two collide, all hell breaks loose.

The full of Melodic Metal continues with ‘Talk To Myself’, again with Reece pulling no punches on the vocal front as he is once again a force to be reckoned with.  Farkas gets things underway with the pounding drumming of Jay Schellen not far behind, then when Reece takes up the mike, the track just erupts and blows you away.

And thus the power and majesty continues with ‘Bring Me A Miracle’ and ‘Pieces Of A Fallen Star’, before eventually slowing down a touch with ‘Craving’.  I mean just a touch as to hold back that vocal would be criminal.

On ‘Angels Cry’ is more of the same, gentle start but then things build up into a crescendo of power enthused guitar riffs and hammering rhythm section, all wrapped around Reece’s vocals.

The Melodic Metal just keeps coming in waves with ‘Death By A Word’ and the superb ‘Livin’ Above The Law’, with Farkas spewing out some monstrous riffs once again as he does on the next on ‘Landslide’, as the band mix slow and up tempo vibes superbly but it’s the sheer excellence of Farkas’s guitar work on the last couple of tracks that has really impressed me.

It's back to the no nonsense rock n' roll with the almost Jake E Lee Ozzy era guitar work of ‘Dancin’ On The Sun’, and the haunting and almost anthemic ‘Words Get Lost’, before the album closer ‘Slow Burn’.   

The album was one of the finest debuts of the era and it's criminal why things didn’t kick off big time for this band.  If they were to release this album as a debut today the response would be phenomenal I’m sure. 

After hearing the debut it's quickly on with the follow up ‘Suicide Candyman’, again it’s the lead of Farkas and the vocals of Reece that make their mark from the off with the title track ‘Suicide Candyman’.  This album is a little heavier than the debut but still the intensity and commitment to Melodic Metal are their finest, this time with more headier bass riffs and a more dominant drum section.

Where as the debut had that Accept-esque feel to it, the second album is definitely in the Skid Row 'Slave to the Grind' vein, with its heavier bass sound.  That same heavy bass is carried on into ‘Gonna Die Laughing’, this time with Reece sounding like Ronnie James Dio in parts, with the pummelling drums of Schellen really making their mark on this one.

‘Walls and Bridges’ attacks from the off with Reece again producing some powerful vocals behind those now familiar Farkas riffs.  The metal is more full on on this release than on that of their debut and continues with the darker and powerful ‘Nobody’s Sacred’.  The tempo is definitely picked up with one of my favourites of this album ‘Nine Lives’ with that air of funky bass matched by the rolling drums all going to make this a definite winner for me.

Another track that really floats my boat is superb ‘Some Day Never Comes’, this time Farkas brings a little funky guitar into the mix.

Away from the pummelling metal comes the gentle tones of ‘Sail Away’, a real slice of Melodic Rock that stands up to anything the genre have put out today and shows Reece can bring it down when the need arises.

It's back to the harder stuff with ‘Gift Horse Mouth’, with this one in very Sabath-esque with its big bass sound, but when Farkas breaks into a solo it's all 'Sircle Of Silence'.  This one is almost Stoner Metal, such is its heavy tone, whereas ‘Maria Elena’ is piano and bass in perfect harmony on this instrumental.

We’ve had almost everything on this album, with two more tracks to go would there be any surprises left?  Well by god you better believe it!  First it's ‘No Turnin’ Back then it's gung ho all the way to the end with the double bass attack of ‘Drive The Nail’, which ends another great album.  As I said before, why weren't this band huge and what made them stop?  Surely there is a call for the band to reform because the world needs bands like these to blow away the cobwebs and inject a little venom into the music business.

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