It's music without a voice, meaning Bushwhack has no frontman, no singer. The music is allowed to speak for itself and it is expressive, conveying emotions and impressions adroitly. The duty roster for Bushwhack is as follows: Brandon Green on bass guitar, Frank Sacramone, keyboards and sampling, Ben Shanbrom on percussion, and Jamie Van Dyck on guitar.

These four are terribly talented, as evidenced by the ostentatious liner notes. They feature photos of each band member and a detailed list of the instruments they each play. Yes, something like this is usually included in a record's liner notes. These just seemed overblown. They seem more interested in appearing to be brilliant and ferocious, than actually sounding so.

Bushwhack, the word, can mean "to clear a path through thick woods" or "ambush." This band doesn't seem to be "clearing any path" through the 'thick wood' of progressive metal or rock - although it should be noted that they aren't really prog metal, but rather hard rock with a classical orientation. Some of the material contained on their self titled release is reminiscent of other progressive metal bands. Bushwhack, the band, is basically Dream Theater Lite.

"In Silence" opens the record but it seems to be a poor choice. It's a boring and quiet song that doesn't truly showcase the potential of this band and certainly does not preview what's to come.

"Sever the Sky" is a fun song, a decent confluence of metal and a little funky jazz. "Guacomole" is another good track. It has an excellent pace and a good mix of keyboards and guitar. The key word there is mix.

Many of the other tracks are diluted by too much keyboard. "Guacamole" and "Mariachi Massacre" both feature a fabulous splash of timbales with the latter song containing a Latin vibe along with some cool Gershwin-esque rolls. Those few splashes of extras are exciting, but also too few and far between.

"Sea of Tranqility" was a cool song. Yes, the word tranquility is missing a "u" in the title. A little research on the phrase "sea of tranquility" yielded the following. It's the name of a region on the moon. It's also the name of a website that focuses on, get this, progressive metal. If you're into acupressure, the Sea of Tranquility is a region around your breastbone. With the name "Sea of Tranquility" so ubiquitous, perhaps that's why the song name is actually spelled without a "u" - just to set it apart. As a side note, applying pressure on that region of the body allegedly relieves anxiety, anguish, etc. This track is fairly calming; like an actual sea, the song has gentle waves of sound that put you at ease.

The musical ability contained in the band is undeniable. This is their first production and it sounds clean, crisp, professional and a little predictable. All the tracks feel like they have the same pacing and very similar sound. The guitar doesn't feel like it does anything above standard riffs and, as already noted, the keyboard just weakens the ferocity — or the attack — of the songs.

But they are very young. They have the ability, and the longevity ahead of them, to continue with their vision of classically inspired rock music sans vocalist. They should by all means continue their attack.