It baffles me how some bands are just criminally under-appreciated or just unknown to many. Sinister is one of these bands. The band put out 3 great death metal albums in their debut and then went into a bit of a streak of mediocrity then disappeared until the early 2000s. Granted, Savage or Grace is the worst thing the band released but after that, we had two awesome albums in Afterburner and this one. What strikes about The Silent Howling is the brutality and how it's meshed with a great sense of melody without sacrificing the brutality or falling into ridiculous, overbearing keyboard flourishes. The stupidly awesome melodic flair of Summit of Sacrifice and the last two minutes of the title track is the perfect example of what this band is capable of. Fucking brilliant. I dare say The Silent Howling is one of the best brutal death metal songs ever.