CD Review: A Moment Of Silence - The Silence Is Harder

CD Review by Adam Wujtewicz

Though most angry young musicians have pointed their style towards tough-guy hardcore or noise rock there are still the select few who realize that a big riff and mid tempo pounding drums can show just as much aggression. A Moment Of Silence is one of those bands and they’re set to release their debut CD The Silence is Harder. I would bet my bottom dollar that there is a double meaning there....

There is a great deal of grunge worship on this record. The vocals are vaguely Chris Cornell-ish while the music sounds more like Alice in Chains, especially on the track “Valek”... or the Undertow era of Tool like on the track “Retina”.  The big difference between the records of the early to mid 90’s and The Silence Is Harder is the production.  This record is slick sounding, which usually wins over a bigger audience but it also takes a lot of dimension away from the guitar and it sometimes loses the bass in the mix.  On the plus side of that coin is that Reid's drums are clear as a bell and punch through everything, keeping you tuned into where the song is headed. 

The vocals are probably the biggest part of the slick sounding equation.  They are always out front and this puts pressure on vocalist Tony to sound just as ferocious as the instruments, a task which he successfully completes.  Even though the vocals are a touch too loud for my taste most people like the singer’s thoughts to come across loud and clear.   

The one thing that most people will write off as fluff, (even though I think it shows a great deal of character), is the weird and nonmusical track #7 “Untitled”.  It’s just background noise and it only lasts 1 minute and 19 seconds but it proves to me that they were thinking of this release not as a collection of songs but as an album.  They use this track to give the listener time to breathe before the home stretch of the record. 

Even though the production doesn’t showcase it, the songwriting on this album is what makes it worthwhile.  The loud-quiet-loud approach, and the bass lines that seemingly jump around the big guitar chords are what set this apart from another teenage rock bands demo. 

You can snag the new CD The Silence Is Harder from AMOS directly from the band or purchase and download it here: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/AMomentOfSilence

---> AMOS/NL FACT: AMOS guitarist Marissa Mazzotta, 18, attended The Berklee College of Music summer program in 2009 and was the first student to utilize the Phil Agins Berklee School of Music Scholarship. Phil Agins was the lead guitarist of New London's Royale Brothers, who passed away suddenly in April 2008; the scholarship was set up by his mother and brother in his honor. Marissa continues to be a strong supporter/team member to help further the scholarship.