It’s funny, sometimes today’s music critics call “melodic metal” what would have been called power metal back in the early 1980s. Take Silent Force’s opening salvo, “Caught In Their Wicked Game,” on their new album Rising From Ashes, for instance. It has the old-fashioned tag “power metal” written all over it. Silent Force’s Michael Bormann has intense vocal range and the song has a swift and strong composition with real metal power behind the riffs.

Other songs, like the energetic “Before You Run,” “Kiss of Death” and “You Gotta Kick It,” have the power riffs working a nice balance with the melody and quality vocals — an instinct taken from Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow playbook.

Although, there’s no doubt about it, Silent Force does have its overdose of melody at times — more than power metal bands of the past. “Circle of Trust” and “Living To Die” have the metal guitar but the melody does really take over. Think Rising Force without the histrionics of Yngwie Malmsteen. Maybe adding a dash of the band Europe instead.

Silent Force have been around since 1999 when the talented guitarist Alex Beyrodt founded the band. Unfortunately, the band eventually disbanded and it has been seven long years since their last album. Hopefully Rising From Ashes will give them the incentive to endure for years to come.

(AFM Records)