BREAK THE SILENCE may be a young band but there is nothing amateurish about their full length debut, Near Life Experience. The band has nailed down a distinct sound with their fusion of melodic punk and the razor sharp delivery of metal. Simply put, BREAK THE SILENCE have got what it takes to rise to superstardom. Near Life Experience is just one of those records that you put on the first time and know it’s good. They don’t just strum simple chord progressions and rehash the same tired, melodic punk riffs. They’ve got a knack for writing strong songs with varied dynamics. Dan Wintercorn is a strong vocalist indeed with his yin/yang delivery of catchy melodic vocals and death metal screams. His harsh vocals are undoubtedly, directly inspired by famed throat shredder, Tomas Lindberg (ex-AT THE GATES). And speaking of Mr. Lindberg, the band pay homage to AT THE GATES with a faithful cover of “Slaughter of the Soul.” It’s refreshing to hear a band pay homage to the aforementioned death metal legends with a cover rather than blatantly ripping them off in their own songs. Overall, BREAK THE SILENCE have scorched the competition with Near Life Experience. Now the real test is to see if the people will recognize this. (Hopeless Records)