In the last few years Silverstein have launched into the upper echelon of the "screamo" genre and have gained quite a following. One of the best rewards they could give to their fans was the reissuing of their two prior EPs. While 18 Candles: The Early Years is a pleasant visit to the past, it simply doesn't deliver like it should.

First off, there aren't many new songs here. 18 Candles features two songs twice and several songs that were later re-recorded and featured on When Broken Is Easily Fixed. In the end there are only six new songs here. I guess it was only inevitable, but it does kind of flaw the release.

However, this is still a good release that is sure to satisfy fans of Silverstein. "Waiting Four Years" is a rather traditional emo song with some rather catchy vocals. A majority of the newer songs don't showcase the faster-paced tempos or screaming that's present on Discovering the Waterfront. But with lyrics like "Your life lives half a nation away, my heart hurts so. I believe letting you go was the biggest mistake of my life. What did I do? Alone and confused. What can I say? What can I do?," Silverstein is sure to retain all of their teenage fans.

The true highlight of 18 Candles are the alternate version songs from Discovering the Waterfront. "My Heroine" and "Call It Karma" each sound good as acoustics and all of the live songs are top notch. The pure fury and emotion of "Bleed No More" is easily the reason to get this release. Even WiL of Aiden can't ruin this song. Unfortunately, they end the album with the laughable, house/techno version of "Smile in Your Sleep."

So yeah, this isn't the perfect collection ever. But it's good enough for the fans, so if you like Silverstein, I highly recommend 18 Candles: The Early Years.