ALBUM REVIEW: 156/Silence – ‘From A Distance’

When 156/Silence guitarist Jimmy Howell says about their new album “Nothing is ever off the table,” you’re inclined to believe him. They’ve not been averse to a bit of a shake-up in sound in recent years, beginning at mathcore and winding up with metalcore and post-hardcore tinged with nu-metal. 2024’s People Watching proved it could have legs, though to say “Nothing is ever off the table” about that is a smidge exaggerative. It’s more applicable to From A Distance, where that path has opened into Deftones-esque loftiness, industrial textures and even darkwave production techniques.

The depths of that can be seen on the song Collateral with its appearance from Crippling Alcoholism frontman Tony Castrati, a band who share more with Joy Division and Depeche Mode than anything orbiting metalcore. The contrast makes for one of the album’s best moments, though, in the cross section of crushing factory machinery, firm nu-metal and an unfriendly, pseudo-gothic aura. For as often as -core bands like to claim ‘experimentation’, it’s nice to have one that actually seems to know what that means.

If that’s too new and scary for you, though, don’t worry—From A Distance is still recognisably in its genre. The likes of No Arms and Secret Room fly their metalcore flags proudly, albeit still swatched with nu- and alt-metal for modern convention’s sake. For something a bit more daring yet not too outside the box, Swept From Under (Call Of The Void) reclaims some older, angular metalcore, while Phoenix Dies is actually a really strong replica of 2000s post-hardcore.

That being said, there’s never a feeling of comfort coming from 156/Silence. The iced-over production makes sure of that, almost to the point of uncanniness that the band don’t totally know what to do with. It’s most jarring on initial exposure, where the album can feel strangely dreary and directionless. It takes repeated listens to shift that, too; From A Distance is not immediately gratifying by any stretch. And even then, there are the bits that just refuse to gel, namely Jack Murray’s clean singing. This is a newer part of 156/Silence’s kit and with how rough-hewn it still is, you can tell. There’s a flat meekness to them that’s totally disparate from the likes of Order & Entropy and Proxy Idols, no doubt aiming for that Deftones vibe and landing way off the mark.

For the most part, though, From A Distance keeps a good grip on how to avoid stagnation within its metalcore framework. Rarely is there an ‘obvious’ direction taken without something to augment it or make it more interesting, such is the creative fertility of 156/Silence. Cannon Fodder has the dual boons of a low, dirty slither to further shape its big metalcore and the most that The Devil Wears Prada’s Mike Hranica has screamed in recent memory. Elsewhere, the gradual melodies present on An Early Exit and the title track feel distinctly un-metalcore, thus bringing a further two axes of diversity where plenty of bands would struggle with one.

Even then, From A Distance isn’t amazing or anything. It’s a bit clumsy and off-centre in a way 156/Silence aren’t swift enough to fully recover from, coupled with how much an effort it takes to click in the first place. But in yet another woeful period for mainstream / adjacent metalcore and alt-metal, something that requires a bit of patience and thought is deserving of praise on principle alone. From A Distance does actually feel new and distinct, and there’s certainly goodwill to be gleaned from that. Whatever comes next has some real stern stuff to work with.

For fans of: Thornhill, Boundaries, Cane Hill

‘From A Distance’ by 156/Silence is released on 4th September on Pure Noise Records.

Words by Luke Nuttall