By Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Red Hot & Latin: Silencio = Muerte is another installment in the Red Hot series of charity albums designed to promote AIDS awareness. "Latin" doesn't necessarily mean that the music falls into the traditional boundaries of Latin music -- after all, there's no way the Brazilian metal band Sepultura could sound anything other than brutally heavy -- and many of the tracks are Latin songs performed by the likes of David Byrne, Laurie Anderson, Fishbone, Cibo Matto, and Hurricane G. Musically, the record spans everything from Latin jazz and Latin dance to rock, reggae, and folk. It's an intriguing blend, for the most part, and while some of the tracks fall flat, most succeed, and the record is certainly a charity event worth checking out.