Between the Buried and Me's debut album for Victory Records, The Silent Circus, showcases a great amount of diversity for a metal band, very similar to heavier bands like Opeth and Dillinger Escape Plan. One minute the band may be playing thrash metal and the next they're flowing into death metal growls and thick guitar riffs. They certainly show a mastery of the hardcore and metal styles that many bands their age can take a lot longer to understand. The metal take on things can seemingly change in a flash as lead singer Tommy Rogers fleshes out his vocals and utilizes the keyboards to create something that sounds more like it should be on a Smashing Pumpkins album. This might make some fans of heavy music grimace in objection, but there's definitely a lot to be encouraged by with The Silent Circus. ~ Kurt Morris

• Genre: Rock
• Format: Vinyl
• Released: 7/31/2012