Salome's Wish are an Atlanta band who make dark, heavy, late 80s guitar rock type of music. Think Siouxsie and the Banshees or The Cult, and you're not too far off the mark. The guitars are loud and power chord-y while still being slightly echoed, the bass is the main driving element of the songs, the drumming is loud, and the vocals are straightforward and, well, actually sung.

It's the voice that sticks out to me the most. These days it seems that most people sort of speak their vocal parts. I guess that's some bleed over into the rock world from the rap world. But, anyway, lead vocalist Sue (no last name given), does not speak her parts. No, she belts them out, singing from the diaphragm, and sounds like she has some training. It really works for me, and it makes me think about how much i miss actual vocals, real singing, not half spoken muttering. Dammit, she can sing, and this EP lets you know that. I, for one, appreciate it.

That said, there are 5 tracks on Den of Thieves. Let's examine each of them.

The EP starts off with Perfect Poison, which features very Cult-like guitarwork with some monstrously thunderous drumming. The voice here starts off okay, then, towards the end of the song, she gets really deep and Siouxsie-like. It's a decent rocking tune, and is pretty catchy.

The next song, Disguise is a piano-driven ballad. It's a little slower, and doesn't really impress me that much. Not to say it's bad, it's just not noteworthy.

The third song, Blue Line is pretty good. The basswork here is funky, and the guitar uses a hint of wah-wah for a slightly 70s sound. I don't really care for the drumming in this song though -- it's flat and too loud for the other instruments. However, Sue puts in a good vocal performance, and overall this is not a bad tune.

The next two tracks, though, take the sound of Salome's Wish further into the 80s. Silver Lining features spacey keyboards, echoed guitar, and a nice forefront vocal performance that reminds me of the Siouxsie album Superstition. Sue does fine vocal work here, and this song really works for me.

The final tune, Icebox, is another ballad. This time the guitar is nicely echoed and kinda slow, like something from the early work of The Church. The bass riff here is pretty nice and loping as well, and of the two ballads on the EP, i think this one works better.

Overall i think that fans of the vaguely gothy, big stadium rock of the late 80's will find much to enjoy here. Den of Thieves is not a bad little EP. However, i recommend catching Salome's Wish in concert, as their sound translates really well to the stage. I think they sound even better in concert, but that's not meant as a dismissal of this EP.