ASSIGNMENT – With The End Comes Silence (2026) *HQ*
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German metal / hard rock / prog metal band ASSIGNMENT will release their latest album ”With The End Comes Silence” on Massacre Records. The new CD showcases Assignment’s refined songwriting approach, focusing on tighter structures and elevated production quality, while maintaining the diverse influences that have shaped their sound over the years – from classic metal to progressive metal and hard rock.
The album features standout guest contributions, including unique Thomas Vikström (backing vocals), Marco Ahrens (lead guitars on “Fallen”, “Beyond Recognition”, “Angel of Berlin”, and “With the End Comes Silence”) and DGM’s mastermind Simone Mularoni (lead guitar on “The Curtains Fall”).
This is a focused, immersive prog metal work plenty of melody, an emotional, thought-provoking metal experience that reflects the state of a world in turmoil while celebrating the enduring spirit of the genre. And it’s a pleasure to hear true prog metal riffs, unpolluted, just clean melodic at it should be.
Synchronized sophisticated harmony spots highlight specific parts of the songs that take a heavier, more Dio-esque song like “Beyond Recognition” to another level of appreciation, especially in terms of the classic Rainbow-esque keyboards against some soaring melodies while the guitar lay down epic heavy riffs as a foundation.
Chaotic components start off “Angel of Berlin” before taking on a more straightforward progressive context, a lot of Savatage / Mob Rules atmosphere penetrates the musical hooks fueled by some triplet riffs and theatrical choirs, guest lead guitarist Marco Ahrens (Poverty’s No Crime) very thoughtful in his note choices.
Intertwining song-lengths from an average five-minutes through “Nothing to Say” to a longer almost nine-minutes for the title track pays massive dividends for the group to color these songs in dynamic directions, facing forward one song at a time. Even Simone Mularoni (DGM) gets a chance to flex his axe skills through a lead break on “The Curtain Falls”, another adventurous effort featuring piano/bombastic keyboards and a bevy of interesting time signature twists to lead listeners on this Symphony X-like odyssey, Diego Valdez using all facets of his smooth low register to higher levels of conviction.
Assignment balances their natural progressive abilities with prominent power riffs plus hooks that fans of Threshold and those other already mentioned bands expect in this material.
”With the End Comes Silence” is another solid outing for these gentlemen – sure to give audiences a couple of new staples to treasure when they play out live.
Highly Recommended
01 – Fallen
02 – Nothing to Say
03 – Beyond Recognition
04 – Those Words
05 – The Tower
06 – Selling My Soul
07 – Call for Heaven
08 – Angel of Berlin
09 – With the End Comes Silence
10 – The Curtains Fall
Diego Valdez – vocals
Goran Panić – guitars
Heiko Spaarmann – bass
Michael Kolar – drums
Pre order:
napalmrecords.com/english/assignment-with-the-end-comes-silence-digipak-cd.html
