Break the Silence
“Near Life Experience”
(Hopeless Records)
Break the Silence’s newest release shows what happens when just the right amount of metal is mixed with heartfelt sincerity and wonderful musicianship. While Break the Silence has the ability to snap your neck with their ferocious metalcore attack, they also are able to incorporate more hooks than your dad’s tackle box. When you add in the soaring harmonies that occasionally make a cameo, you’ve got yourself a winner.
Lyrically and vocally “Near Life Experience” shines, as the tone is heavy and hurried without ever coming across as defeatist or nihilistic. As far as singles go, “Iris” is as furiously driven as anything you’re likely to hear, and “Moving Day” as poignantly defining as anything put out by The Descendents in recent memory. At the Gates’ “Slaughter of the Soul” also gets a noteworthy cover; it’s as metal as you remember it being. The ability to transcend genres effectively is not one you stumble across very often, so take advantage of Break the Silence’s work and pick this one up.
