aaamusic | On 18, Jun 2013

For those who don’t remember One Minute Silence they were one of the few British metal acts in the premier league of metal in the late 90s early 2000s. Mixing rap with metal. Starting off really like a hardcore, slightly heavier Rage Against the Machine but in later albums mixing complex time signatures and elements of Tool. The songs never lost their heaviness or energy no matter how much melody or experimentation was thrown into the mix. One thing the band also had on their side was their monumental live shows. Touring with all of today’s big names in American metal and then went on to be a great headliner too. That with a strongly outspoken frontman Brian “yap” Barry. Some could accuse the band of pushing their political views a bit strong at times but whatever your opinion was of them, you had an opinion. That’s what mattered. All the band ever wanted was for people to observe their surroundings and question them.

Things started unraveling after the underrated third album One Lie Fits All which was released on a smaller label and didn’t get the promotion of their past albums. They went from being, if anything, over exposed to having no exposure at all. With news of the reunion I was worried if the band could recapture what they once had. Whether or not the world had moved on. When death metal came back into popularity for example, of course the older bands reformed and were met with glee by the younger generation who missed them first time round. At this time there are NO new rap-metal bands. So I wondered how the band would fit in.

After recapping on their albums, some stuff has aged terribly but most has aged wonderfully and it became apparent how ahead of their time the band were. It was a pleasant surprise, upon listening to the Fragmented Armageddon, to find that the band are brought right up to today. The band’s vision hasn’t changed a bit. Their message is the same and in today’s climate more relevant then ever. The intricate song structures are better then ever. They’re odd at first but reward repeated listening. The first three tracks all take the formula of slow, atmospheric and even mellow to explosive climaxes. The songs bonce back and forth and get really infectious. Brain rants rather then raps. Given long spoken word passages at rapid speed rather then ending every line then a rhyme. Opening track ‘Fruit From the Lie’ and ‘You So Much As Move’ are the highlights. There are two remixes which you can take or leave. The end track is a nice mellow track that really has potential for radio play. It’s nice to see the other side of them too.

This a great taster for their upcoming full length album which I for one can’t wait for.

★★★★★

Joe Denby