CRUSHER Magazine: punk/metal/hardcore/industrial--review: Assemblage 23

Known primarily for his depressingly beautiful "Disappoint" (off of 2001's Failure), Shear found a simple formula with that release. Build a solid beat, overlay it with pretty keyboard lines and sing personal lyrics in his distinct voice. Assemblage 23 (which is Shear alone in studio, and with a small group on the road), gains a rapport with listeners by being honest. Shear wears his heart on his sleeve as he struggles with his loneliness, his relationships and the post 9-11 world. They certainly derive powerful emotions, but they don't permeate the songs nearly as much as Shear's sorrow from his father's suicide did on Failure.
Musically, Defiance is a dark synthpop release that sets a sullen mood. While the beats per minute range from 70 to 150 over the course of the album, the atmosphere is laid back. Shear uses everything from simple tom-tom hits to thick electronic break beats that he layers and builds much like a trance DJ. The result is an array of hooks that keep the listener cruising along as Defiance drives through a grey, drizzling dusk.

	ASSEMBLAGE 23 DEFIANCE METROPOLIS	LINKS: metropolis-records.com
	Industrial music as a genre is very broad-based. It contains everything from ambient noise to battering gabbo. Amid the electronic chaos DJs churn out single after single trying to find a groove that can flow over dance floors and get people moving. Tom Shear is one of the few that seem to be able to do it again and again.
Known primarily for his depressingly beautiful "Disappoint" (off of 2001's Failure), Shear found a simple formula with that release. Build a solid beat, overlay it with pretty keyboard lines and sing personal lyrics in his distinct voice. Assemblage 23 (which is Shear alone in studio, and with a small group on the road), gains a rapport with listeners by being honest. Shear wears his heart on his sleeve as he struggles with his loneliness, his relationships and the post 9-11 world. They certainly derive powerful emotions, but they don't permeate the songs nearly as much as Shear's sorrow from his father's suicide did on Failure. Musically, Defiance is a dark synthpop release that sets a sullen mood. While the beats per minute range from 70 to 150 over the course of the album, the atmosphere is laid back. Shear uses everything from simple tom-tom hits to thick electronic break beats that he layers and builds much like a trance DJ. The result is an array of hooks that keep the listener cruising along as Defiance drives through a grey, drizzling dusk.
----Scott Olivenbaum