REVIEW: 156/Silence - From A Distance

Following the breakthrough success of 2024’s People Watching, 156/SILENCE return with From A Distance, a record that finds the Pittsburgh quintet further refining the dark, cinematic identity that has become central to their sound. While their previous releases have often thrived on unpredictability by jumping between metallic hardcore, mathcore chaos, and experimental detours, their sixth album feels like a band narrowing their focus. Rather than throwing every idea at the wall, From A Distance immerses itself into the particular atmosphere of the beauty within a world collapsing in on itself.

The album opens with Control Burns, immediately establishing this world 156/SILENCE intend to create. A chilling spoken-word introduction gives way to ominous electronics and a slow-burning instrumental, before the band’s familiar heaviness crashes through. It is an effective opening statement, introducing an album that feels less like a collection of individual songs and more like a carefully constructed soundtrack to something much darker. 

No Arms brings a more immediate modern metalcore groove, blending nu-metal influence with the band’s more melodic instincts. There is a clear confidence in the way 156/SILENCE incorporate cleaner vocals and more accessible hooks following the success of People Watching, though they never fully abandon the aggression that has defined their career. This balance between melody and brutality is where the band’s evolution becomes most apparent.

An unexpected highlight of the record arrives with An Early Exit, a track that sees 156/SILENCE embracing a dreamier, almost ethereal approach. For a band so often associated with crushing breakdowns and chaotic intensity, its willingness to slow down is a reminder of the creative freedom they have built for themselves. It perfectly embodies guitarist Jimmy Howell’s statement that “nothing is ever off the table”. Rather than feeling like an unnecessary detour, the track feels like a natural extension of the band’s growing palette.

The influence of horror media is clear throughout, with the band embracing the uneasy tension of games like Silent Hill and Resident Evil. This distinctly gothic edge to 156/SILENCE’s interpretation of metalcore culminates with Collateral and the inclusion of CRIPPLING ALCOHOLISM, a gothic post-punk/noise band far from the realm of modern metalcore, adds an unpredictable edge to the track’s snarling vocals and frantic pacing. Similarly, Mike Hranica’s appearance on Cannon Fodder feels like a fitting collaboration, bringing together two bands that have long occupied the darker corners of modern metalcore. Where bands like THORNHILL have explored atmosphere through shoegaze textures and progressive songwriting, 156/SILENCE approach it from a darker, more hostile angle, replacing dreamlike melancholy with something closer to a psychological thriller.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrYC2qWhP6E

However, From A Distance is at its most interesting when the band allows themselves to step outside of their established formula. Order & Entropy and Swept From Under (Call of the Void) both lean heavily into cleaner vocals and atmospheric songwriting, creating a more spacious and vulnerable side to the band. These moments may not hit with the same immediate impact as their heavier material, but they demonstrate a willingness to experiment rather than simply recreate the sound that earned them a larger audience. The latter track in particular captures the album’s darker themes, exploring intrusive thoughts and the overwhelming presence of negativity with a sense of genuine unease.

Thankfully, the closing stretch provides one of the album’s strongest moments. The title track, featuring Alex Reade of MAKE THEM SUFFER, acts as the emotional centrepiece of the record. Vocalist Jack Murray describes the track as “a love song” and “probably the most Twin Peaks-inspired song” on the record - a bizarre pairing at first glance, given that few things immediately spring to mind less than romance and David Lynch’s surreal nightmare world. Yet somehow, it makes perfect sense within 156/SILENCE’s universe. Beautifully melancholic while still carrying the weight and atmosphere that defines the album, it feels like the culmination of everything 156/SILENCE have been building towards. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esErpDw9X6M&feature=youtu.be

The album’s greatest strength is also its greatest weakness. By committing so completely to its bleak, cinematic identity, From A Distance rarely breaks the atmosphere it creates. The immaculate production ensures the mood is unwavering with huge guitars and the delightfully unsettling energy throughout, but by the latter stages, individual moments begin to bleed into one another. When the band do step outside that shadow, as on An Early Exit and the title track, the contrast is immediately striking. 

From A Distance is not 156/SILENCE reinventing themselves once again, instead, it is the sound of a band fully embracing one particular corner of their identity. At its best, that focus creates some of the most atmospheric material of their career. At its weakest, it leaves the record feeling trapped within its own darkness. Beneath the crushing guitars and sinister soundscapes, From A Distance is ultimately a record about vulnerability, connection, and the difficult process of confronting the darker parts of ourselves. Yet even when the songs begin to blur together, the ambition behind them remains clear - this is a band still searching for new ways to make heavy music feel unsettling.

Score: 7/10

From A Distance will be released on 4th September 2026 via Pure Noise Records.

Words: Adrian Chapman

Photos: Errick Easterday