Broken Silence – Discerning The Times (Japan Edition+[Retroactive Records remaster]) 1995 , MP3 CD w/Scans

Artist: Broken Silence
BROKEN SILENCE may be one of the most overlooked bands of their time. Formed in the Hawaiian Islands in 1989 coming from the Christian Rock scene, the band rose to local fame. It was there they met Daryn Hinton, the former manager of Stryper / Holy Soldier. Impressed by all BROKEN SILENCE members skills as songwriters and performers, he worked with the band on their first EP and introduced them to producer David Zaffiro, former Bloodgood guitarist, and producer of Holy Soldier.
Known not only for their strength of conviction, but also as one of the few Rock bands to ever come from Hawaii, BROKEN SILENCE notoriety soon reached the shores of the mainland. The band was courted by several record labels but never quite found the right fit.

In spite of the changing music industry, this critically acclaimed album was originally released as an EP, later re-released in Japan as a full length album titled “Discerning The Times“, and finally appeared in America; this 2011 Retroarchives Edition features all 13 tracks digitally remastered by J. Powell at Steinhaus.
With David Zaffiro’s hand at the helm, it’s no surprise that BROKEN SILENCE’s sound production is of the highest caliber. Zaffiro even recruited Broken Silence’s vocalist Daniel Ysais to sing on several tracks on Holy Soldier’s second album.
“Discerning The Times” is so good that No Life Til Metal webzine writer Scott Waters (Ultimatum) wrote; ”Broken Silence is one of the greatest melodic metal / hard rock bands that you have never heard. Every song on this album has a killer hook, jaw dropping guitar solo, and phenomenal vocals”.
Indeed, this is an awesome hard rock album we dare to affirm ‘A Must Have‘ in your collection.

Broken Silence brings much more musical depth and substance than many bands of the time, a sentiment echoed by other reviewers that use Dio and early Queensryche, Skid Row and Dokken as points of reference.
It all starts with songwriting, which highlights a technical flair of the kind you will be challenged to set aside with repeated listen.

Just consider the album’s heavier material, consisting of “Streets Of The Empty Soul”, “Naked”, “Innocent Kill” and “Broken Crowns”, four essential songs emphasizing equal parts hooks and raw aggression. “Break The Silence”, “Follow The Leader” and “Higher” gravitate towards a more melodic hard rock direction (without sacrificing quality) while “Not Love At All”, “Ready To Go” and “Seasons” take a laid back almost ballad based approach.
In between you will find an acoustic based number, “If I Love”, and groove driven piece, “Free”, along with the tempo changes characteristic to “Hard Times”.

To pull off music of this form, a top of the line vocalist is required and such is what we have in Danile Ysais. Other reviewers reference Michael Sweet (Stryper) and Mark Slaughter (Slaughter) when inviting comparison. Guitarist Bryon Jacobs is right up there with contemporaries Oz Fox (Stryper), George Lynch, Dave Amato, or producer David Zaffiro. The rhythm section of drummer Ace McFadden and bassist Ric Rodeheaver performs competently as well.

Producer David Zaffiro lends his trademark polish while allowing the bands natural heaviness and grit to stand out in the process. The perfect balance is struck in that the project sounds neither overproduced nor like a thin and muddy sounding demo.
Those familiar with Zaffiro’s singing from his post Bloodgood solo projects will recognize his voice in the backing vocals to several tracks, most notably “Ready To Go” and “Follow The Leader”. Zaffiro also plays a role in songwriting in helping to compose 5 songs here.

Once more, Broken Silence ads up to one of the great melodic metal / hard rock bands most people have never heard of. And it is too bad because music this good should not go unnoticed.
Credit Retroactive Records for making ”Discerning The Times” available again.
A Must Have

Tracklist:
01. Streets Of The Empty Soul (04:03)
02. Higher (03:30)
03. Not Love At All (It’s My Heart) (04:58)
04. Naked (05:07)
05. Ready To Go (04:43)
06. Free (03:59)
07. Innocent Kill (03:35)
08. Break The Silence (04:24)
09. Seasons (04:12)
10. Hard Times (03:26)
11. Follow The Leader (04:31)
12. If I Love (04:04)
13. Broken Crowns (04:23)

Line-Up:
Daniel J. Ysais – vocals
Byron Jacobs – guitars
Ace McFadden – drums
Ric Rodeheaver – bass

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