6th December 2023

Review: “Every Scream Became a Whisper in the Dark” by Break Fifty

Fusing together their love of classic late 90s elements with breakdowns and creating a hybrid blend of Hardcore influenced Nu-Metal, Break Fifty first arrived on the scene back in 2017 and able to hold their own with Beatdown and Deathcore bands they specialised in reducing venues to rubble. Unleashing an unholy trinity of singles in 2019 which earned them 135k Spotify streams alone they were on a high but under the surface things weren’t right and they disappeared in 2020. Their return in July 2023, rejuvenated with a new line up came as something of a surprise, a new EP described as “a profound and deeply personal narrative of the band’s journey through childhood trauma” does not…

The drama begins with “B50“, a 90 second burst of turbulent violence that serves as an introduction piece to “I Still See You“, dredging up the corpses of Gloom Metal acts from the wave that Loathe spearheaded with “The Cold Sun” like God Complex or Lotus Eater. The eerie first 30 seconds having that punch of the self titled Slipknot record from 1999 before the Molotov Cocktail explodes showering broken glass shrapnel into the ear canals of the discerning listener. That makes way for the anvil heavy attack of the aforementioned opening track proper, break beats and razor sharp riffs conjoined to a savage throat splitting vocal performance from Angus Roberton who cathartically vents with feral ferocity. The irony of that is there are moments in this one that have two step ability. Punching like a prize fighter on the way to a first round knock out “A Familiar Face (of Someone I Never Knew)” brings the staccato riff breaks and plays on nausea inducing tension, reaching and touching the void into Nu-Deathcore in the process. Heavy, complex and unsettling it’s a beast that will keep you awake at night offering a glimpse at struggles and resilience and then snatching it away in utter bedlam. 59 second interlude “Jitter” feels like a glitch in the matrix, a moment from a low budget horror film builds on the unnerving momentum and grips like a vice before the break beats smash it into a million pieces. Compared to the bands previous material, these new cuts feel tighter and more atmospheric, the jagged edges sharpened to ensure maximum impact.

“Absence” then hits like being broadsided by a juggernaut on the freeway, another break neck cut with a dark energy and infectious groove. Chugging and lurching this adrenaline ride is one that you don’t want to stop but this band specialise in short sharp shocks of turbulent emotion and it has to make way for another incendiary burst in “A Red Glow“. A ferocious and frenetic cut with an undertone of nostalgia for the self titled KoRn album as the clank-y bass is allowed to bleed through gaps in the guitar work. The dark energy of this one is unreal and while 90’s break beats rise to the surface towards the end they ensure it’s a couple of minutes that you’re never going to forget. Needless to say “Dreamland“, a cut which finds the band joined by Ben Mason of Bound In Fear, was always going to be the heaviest moment on the record and the fact that the bands shared stages in the early days probably helped get him on board. A bombastic nightmarish vision that finds Roberton and Mason going toe to toe with intertwining vocal moments makes for a lethal dose of pure evil. Mason produces some Slam vocal inspired blood gargling moments in perfect contrast to the shriller tones of Roberton, all the while the turbulent storm of the sonic hellscape crashing against them with the power of a wrecking ball. Nu-Metalcore? Nu-Deathcore? Who cares? This is an anvil heavy cut that decimates the weak and then flows into conjoined twin “Second Skin” as if they were one and the same. Another bomb blast of sonic destruction which circles the drain of catharsis with its full fat, high caffeine, adrenalized groove laden soul, the lyrical title track explodes with abrasive riffs and pulverising percussive battery before ending with the sound of the basement door closing once more… [8.5/10]

Track Listing