The third studio album in many careers has been the 'breakthrough' record in terms of career longevity. For many Metal consumers, you only need to look at IRON MAIDEN or METALLICA and think of the worldwide impact efforts like "The Number of the Beast" and "Master of Puppets" made on the fans, catapulting their status and inspiring generations of future musicians. Hailing from France, the Power Metal quintet DEAFENING SILENCE have now arrived at this pinnacle point in their career - taking their time in pushing quality over quantity as "Scapegoat of Ignorance" is their third full length album in their 18 year history.

When many think of Power Metal visions of happy melodies, persistent double bass and twin guitar harmonies abound. Do not forget that during the 1980's, American acts like LIEGE LORD, METAL CHURCH, and SANCTUARY developed their own brand of power/speed riffs, combining soaring multi-octave vocals and tempos that made fist pumping and chanting mandatory. The latter template is the one this band employs, fluctuating between power/ semi-speed fare like opener "The Call" and "Soldiers of Fortune" and culturally-oriented to mid-tempo anthems that serve as call to arms numbers like "Under Siege" and the 7 minute plus "Dereliction of Duty".

The positives include a great dynamic balance between clean and dual harmonic skills for guitarists Gabriel Palmieri and Guillaume Corsale - their abilities are not necessarily neo-classical / shred worthy, but there appears to be a lot of superior melodic nuances in a fashion heard with JUDAS PRIEST or the aforementioned METAL CHURCH. Check out the understated ballad "Farewell" and the heads down battering you'll gain from the doom to speed riff-tastic "Of Iron and Fire" and I would imagine many will simulate their best work in an air guitar fashion. Also noteworthy is the rhythm section action- flashy when necessary during the faster material and also open-ended with a little bit of progressive-minded flair on "Carved in Stone".

What could be a deal breaker in the full on appreciation of DEAFENING SILENCE lies in the high falsetto screams of Nicolas Griette. It is one thing when you are a Rob Halford or Warrel Dane and can convincingly reach the stratosphere without cracking - but his ideal range is more middle register a la Mike Howe, because the piercing notes during "Death Squads" or the aforementioned "Dereliction of Duty" sound very cringe worthy. I will say that the vocals are more than tolerable a majority of this record- just be aware that he needs to stay within his strengths on future recordings.

"Scapegoat of Ignorance" should gain a minor splash in the hearts of older 80's Power Metal fans, those people who remember when traditional sounds were taken to another level of musicality without being purely about aggression and speed for speed's sake.