Finding new, high-caliber metalcore can be a daunting task in 2020, but the genre is alive, well and hopefully avoiding unnecessary sung vocals. That being the case, it was a breath of fresh air when Pittsburgh’s 156/Silence appeared a few years ago. The young band embody similar characteristics to early 2000s metalcore like Zao and Converge with splashes of beatdown and melodic hardcore in the vein Modern Life is War.
It’s all on display with new song “Upset/Unfed,” a new single from their forthcoming Irrational Pull album, which begins in a burst of shrieking, blasting high-speed insanity before transitioning to a more melodic section that caps off with a raging breakdown. 156/Silence create a tangible feeling of tension at the end of the song, leaving space to wonder what the next song on the album sounds like.
“‘Upset/Unfed’ is a song of defiance, representing anyone taken advantage of or maltreated unfairly throughout the course of their lives,” singer Jack Murray tells Decibel of the track. “Some things can’t be forgotten. It’s how one deals with said adversity that truly defines a person. Eat or be eaten. The video was compiled from footage we shot during our Canadian tour with Black Tongue, VCTMS and The Machinist. It was a long, grueling tour for us but it’s one we’ll never forget.”
Check out the video for “Upset/Unfed” below. The album is out on June 5 and pre-orders are live now along with the album’s title track.