Review by Shadowdoom9 (Andi) for Rollins Band - The End of Silence (1992)

In 1986, punk legends Black Flag split up. Less than a year later, former vocalist Henry Rollins formed a new band, Rollins Band. After two post-hardcore albums, he decided to turn their sound into a progressive form of alternative metal in the 3rd album...

1992's The End of Silence showed a new era for the band since getting signed to Imago Records. Prolific producer Andy Wallace helped bring life to the production and gave Rollins' vocals a chance to be in front of the line of the compact sound. His once-punk-filled audience has expanded to more than just that. The album attacks with his well-focused writing that would make anyone outside the Black Flag fanbase want more.

First track and single "Low Self Opinion" has the menacing vocals of Rollins as he sings his vicious lyrics. All that continues on in the next song "Grip". Then "Tearing" is another excellent single. It has caused Rollins' work to spread to MTV and metalheads. I didn't need "You Didn't Need", which sounds closer to the earlier punk of Black Flag.

Then the band switches gears to a more progressive sound with "Almost Real". They switch back and forth between the slow march of Godflesh and the mid-tempo pace that Mushroomhead would later have, while obviously not having any of those bands' industrial aspects. "Obscene" has a little more progressiveness, and I guess that's part of the spark needed for later progressive bands like Sikth. "What Do You Do" is another long track, but shorter than the previous two, lasting 7 and a half minutes, and it has really foreshadowed many bands and artists imitating the instrumentation and vocals.

"Blues Jam" is right in the name, a 12-minute blues jam. However, that's way too long and improvisational. Rollins' vocals seem to flop a bit, but the soloing by Chris Haskett work well as the best part of the track along with the doomy atmosphere. Literally the Black Sabbath "Warning" of this album. "Another Life" rocks out as another alt-metal piece. The closing epic "Just Like You" hits hard and progressive for 10 minutes, leading up to a final slow chant of "RAGE!... RAGE!... RAGE!... RAGE!..."

The former vocalist of Black Flag, Henry Rollins made a solid alt-/prog metal album with his band. The End of Silence opened the gates for metalheads and alt-fans to explore the music created by this talented man from the 80s punk scene....

Favorites: "Low Self Opinion", "Tearing", "Almost Real", "What Do You Do", "Just Like You"