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PaperThin Magazine: ’A Deafening Silence’ review
Category: Music
the Amend*
A Deafening Silence
[CD]
Metal is subjective. That much I'm aware of. It's also extremely hard to pull off seriously hard metal, without sounding cheesy. Plus you have the added pressure of trying not to sound like an emo brat. Let's go to the checklist to see how theAmend did with their latest, A Deafening Silence:
Hold the gouda: Check. Ballsy vocals: Check
Now that that's settled, let's now move onto the album.
If I had to compare Brian Thomas', lead singer for theAmend, vocals to anyone in the outer scene, the closest match would be Jacoby Shaddix [aka Coby Dick], lead singer of Papa Roach. Moreso lovehatetragedy and after era, than on the Infest and previous albums. In fact, the influence of Papa Roach is steadily apparent throughout. Though there does seem to be a dash of A Perfect Circle's guitars here and there. Even so, the influencers that theAmend cull from are just a sprinkling of what they present with A Deafening Silence. theAmend puts a twist on those forebearers, and make a sound all of their own.
A Deafening Silence is a very strong record. It's not completely on the metalcore side of the fence. You can actually understand the lyrics. That said, it does not sound like some Barry Manilow cover band. The music has some heft. Some weight. Some freakin' huevos. Sure, there are some moments where we hear tinges of heartbreak. Those moments feel honest, unlike a 13 year old pissing and moaning about the world o' poo that they traipse through on a daily basis. With Thomas it feels real. Like he lived through it, and is contemplating how bad/good things were once upon a time. Which is nice for us, the listener. Bad for him, the guy who had to go through the murk and mud to bring us those words.
The vocal performance shouldn't outshine the tremendous musicianship by the band behind Thomas. Their abilities are the strong backbone that make theAmend a step above. They take chances. Sure, the songs are shorter tunes. Those small capsules of time are compacted. They are overflowing with forceful, duel guitars, and a beefy bass and drum combo.
Back to the beginning. When metal is done right, it's great. Other times it can be downright scary... and not it a good way. Hearing crap metal, like Murderdolls [though I've only heard their debut album] makes my ears bleed... again, not in a good way. theAmend accomplishes where many others have failed. There seems to be a good trend here in Knoxville, as far as metal bands are concerned. They are a diverse lot. Many of them jogging right along side theAmend in their ability to make good, heavy metal music. Hopefully that trend won't be over saturated, bringing with it wank ass, cheesy poofs of bands.
* This is not a typographical error. Everywhere I see theAmend's name it is spelled that specific way. So all you designers roll your tongues back up in your mouth, and put your red pens back in your shirt pocket. - Paperthin Magazine
Discography
2007: A Deafening Silence, 2008: The Let Down EP (produced by Brett Hestla of Dark New Day and Creed)
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Bio
Since their inception in early 2006, the Amend has been on a non-stop mission to bring their unique brand of rock to as many people as possible through explosively high-energy live shows. As a 5-piece band, each member brings to the table a variety of influences from the obscure to the mainstream, the culmination of which gives The Amend their distinct but unified sound.
The Amend is comprised of five friends, united by their love for music and their obsession for creating and performing it. For over a year and a half, bassist Bryan Abercrombie, guitarists Seth Rowlette and Ryan Hughes, drummer Matt Sharon and frontman Brian Thomas have worked to develop a style of music that represents not only the individual members themselves, but also the band as a whole. This expression was realized in their debut album, “A Deafening Silence”.
“A Deafening Silence” was recorded in October of ’06 when The Amend traveled to Chapel Hill, NC to work with Al Jacob and Mitch Marlow (former guitarist for Classic Case and touring guitarist for Filter) of Warrior Sound Studios. On a tight time line The Amend recorded the entire album in 10 days and the final product "A Deafening Silence" was a huge success selling 500 copies instantly!
Since the official release of “A Deafening Silence” in April of 2007, The Amend has played throughout the entire south east, sharing the stage with chart topping bands such as Evans Blue, Sick Puppies, Days of the New, Day of Fire, American Bang, and Luna Halo in strong support of their newly released album.
In December of ’07, The Amend took a break from the touring circuit and the guys were invited to Orlando, Fl to work with producer of Framing Hanley and vocalist of Dark New Day Brett Hestla. While there with the aid and ear of Brett, The Amend recorded a 4 song EP titled "The Let Down". The EP showed that The Amend is more than what was captured on "A Deafening Silence" and in January 2008 they were declared one of the top 20 unsigned bands in the Nation to know by Tunelabs.com and in March of 2008 became tunelabs featured artist. Not only this, in July '08 The Amend were picked in a Nation wide battle of the bands to play the Ernie Ball stage at the Atlanta, Ga Vans Warped Tour. Proving that The Amend are no let down at all and making a statement that this band will not just fade away, but be a force to drive perfect melodies and unforgettable riffs in the hearts of all.
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