?Burnin? the Ice? is a one-off collaboration between Nick Cave and then burgeoning German screechy art punk combo Die Haut. Their debut, it was recorded in that magical post punk year of 1982, when Cave still had a full time gig singing with the Birthday Party, but he was more than willing to lend his trademark bark and howl to 4 of the 7 tracks of likeminded barbarity. Though billed as an instrumental group, and a pummeling one at that, Die Haut often used guest vocalists--Blixa Bargeld, Lydia Lunch and Jeffrey Lee Pierce among them--and it could even be argued that they sometimes got in the way of things, but Cave deftly proves otherwise. His every contribution is stellar, not to mention rabid to the core. For fans of Birthday Party, early Gun Club and of course Die Haut; the CD comes enhanced with video and live clips from around the time of its initial release. 7/10 -- Lee Jackson (9 June, 2005)