Genre : Chaotic hardcore
Released : September 2nd, 2022
Label : SharpTone Records
FFO : Code Orange, Knocked Loose, Vein.fm
I first discovered 156/Silence back in 2020 with their sophomore album "Irrational Pull" to which I immediately took a strong liking and who struck a cathartic chord with me at the time of its release given the personal inner turmoil I was going through back then.
I think it's safe to say their vocalist Jack Murray has one of the most unique styles of vocal delivery in the whole scene at the moment which is one of the defining factors that sets 156 apart from their peers along with the quality of the intense and visceral wordsmithing being spat so venomously in a way that feels real and authentic instead of just being a facade used as an excuse to just sound tough and heavy.
Where "Irrational Pull" focused mainly on sounding as visceral and in-your-face as possible, "Narrative" although maintaining the band's signature style of auditive agression, implements the usage of background electronic layers a bit more to create atmosphere and has some added moments that further explore melody in order to create an increasingly varied listening experience. Something which their last year's EP "Don't Hold Your Breath" did a great job at progressively introducing and works wonders as a link between both albums.
There's no crazy overly-technical stuff going on here but everything hits with real intent and there's a good few jaw-dropping moments during the album whenever a massive riff comes in backed by booming sub bass and the vocals and drums join in to create some of the most cataclysmic sounding hardcore this year.
As their third full-length release, "Narrative" doesn't deviate all that much stylistically from the band's previous work so far, which is exactly what you would expect from a band at this point in their career.
However, in an ever-changing, fast-paced and infinitely busy landscape such as the current state of the music industry; 156/Silence might have to consider what are they going to have to do next to maintain the appeal and freshness of the sound they've established so far. I'm sure that is something the band is well aware of and given the quality of their output ever since 2017, I'm confident in the fact that they will be able to maintain their status as one of the more exciting bands in the genre alongside some of the obvious bigger players, perhaps even outclassing them in the future.
Although for the time being "Irrational Pull" remains my favourite material from them (possibly due to the "discovery" factor and the personal attachment to it), "Narrative" despite playing it relatively safe for the most part, is still one of the major hardcore releases this year alongside the likes of Vein, Wounded Touch and Ithaca to name a few and is one you shouldn't be skipping as a fan of the genre.
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