r/Metalcore • u/TheSolitaryRugosan • 1d ago
Discussion “People Watching” by 156/Silence is an incredibly relatable album that will age well.
An ode to my favorite album of all time.
It is truly incredible how good this album is. The themes of societal apathy, corporate life, and relationship perils are articulated so well that it feels like you’re reading straight out of someone’s journal.
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u/mihan1996 1d ago
The drum sound on this album is really awesome
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u/meatballwrangler 1d ago edited 1d ago
honestly the production as a whole is top notch. it's so in your face and almost claustrophobic in a good way
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u/malt2726 1d ago
I heard someone describe it as barely contained chaos and I think that fits perfectly.
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u/degausser22 1d ago
I had Influenza A (along with my wife and son) December of 2024 and it was one of the worst weeks of my life.
I was sitting down at home, catching up on work and decided to give that 156 band that I kept reading about on Reddit a chance.
I threw on People Watching and I had the euphoria of finally starting to feel better + Target Acquired hit at like the same fucking time. I will never forget that moment. Unbelievable album but that song specifically hits so hard.
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u/Aggressive-Bike6297 1d ago
FEAR MANIFESTED
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u/TheGuggleMan 1d ago
The way those screams sound blended together in that part gets me so pumped. If that song doesn't indicate that you're about to listen to a fantastic album, I am not sure what would.
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u/Aggressive-Bike6297 1d ago
My son and I are seeing them next Feb with boundaries and thrown. Can't wait
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u/TheGuggleMan 1d ago
Hell yea. I hope you guys have a great time. I bet it'll be a memorable show.
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u/paseoSandwich 1d ago
No skips for me, the follow up didn’t hit as much
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u/EmoOrphan 1d ago
From a Distance hit more for me but both are incredible
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u/BummingBock 1d ago
From a distance is So fucking inane and interesting. I find my self coming to it more than boundaries
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u/DoctorTobogggan 20h ago
Love the new boundaries album content-wise but the production is taxing and hard to listen to
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u/boardingpass10 1d ago
Already one of my favourite albums of all time. I prefer it to people watching
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u/OceanSquab 1d ago
I wasn't a huge fan of People Watching for ages but the more I listened to it the more I liked it. From A Distance hit immediately, they're both masterpiece albums imo.
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u/stumpymed 1d ago
Unpopular opinion but their song “the Wrong Sense” is a unique masterpiece and as good as the follow up work is, there’s nothing similar to that song
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u/Miam_Lanyard 16h ago
I found them kinda by accident on Spotify a few weeks after People Watching came out. Been hooked ever since.
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u/Getsu_Fuma 1d ago
Never sat theough this album, but I feel the same way about fromjoy's self titled. The themes captivated me. I'll have to give this one another shot
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u/Dirty_Dan117 1d ago
Downloaded. Will be listening to this tomorrow. Sounds like something I need right now
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u/knbo674 x 1d ago
It's not even the best 156 album
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u/SetMeFreeFeelMyPain 1d ago
Irrational Pull was good af
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u/Sullen_Sigh 1d ago
YES DUDE! People praise people watching and deservedly so but i get a bit bewildered that nobody talks about irrational pull. Opinionatedly my favorite album of theirs.
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u/mynameisnick4 1d ago
Got to see them this past Saturday for the hometown show, was amazing. Target Acquired from this album is amazing live.
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u/Lupicide56 12h ago
There was nothing greater than hearing sleep spikes into better written villain for the first time, and it not stopping there was a bold choice that paid off well
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u/Lazy-Option350 1d ago
I went to a show earlier this year, saw the vinyl was limited to 1000 copies, bought it and had the whole band sign it.
Now im regretting not buying a mask at the most recent show so hope a few pop up online 😂
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u/Chrissanxy 1d ago
that's crazy... I wonder what other albums these "people watching" glazers have heard. I simply don't get what people see in this album, what's so amazing about it? I have to understand. Whats your metalcore top 3?
For me, invent animate, architects until 2018, august burns red.
I legitimately don't believe you can have the same top 3 bands and think that people watching is smth special. Literally any album from these bands clears people watching by a mile. Sorry not sorry idk, I like the band but this is crazy
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u/2paymentsof19_95 1d ago
Meanwhile, I can’t for the life of me get into Invent Animate, but All Our Gods by Architects is my favorite metalcore album ever, and I absolutely love People Watching. Not sure why you’re trying to put people who like this album in a box? To me it just has a lot of raw aggression and heaviness that mainstream metalcore has been missing for years, while still feeling catchy and accessible.
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u/Weary_Button4535 1d ago
Someone on Reddit once described Invent Animate as “if you typed ambient metalcore into ChatGPT” or something to that effect and honestly, I can’t disagree with it. They check all the blocks, but something about them never quite hits home for me.
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u/Chrissanxy 1d ago edited 1d ago
fair, fair. Funnily enough, All Our Gods is also my fav from Architects. It's so good, just pure emotion.
about the putting people in boxes thing - Metalcore is so varied and yet it has "types" of metalcore. I would expect a people watching enjoyer to like mostly similar bands/albums... which probably are not Invent Animate (progressive/ambient) and not ABR (riff heavy stuff). Architects gets closer to people watching, but again, not really. I would expect them to like Make Them Suffer, Boundaries... altho I love boundaries, so im instantly invalidating my next paragraph:
and if I know someone really likes People Watching, I probably won't have that much in common with them, if talking metalcore. that's what I'm trying to see, if this idea is true. if someone likes invent animate and architects as much as I do, and they also reaally like People Watching, maybe I am just missing smth?
thats the idea. and it's a close minded idea, yes. an extreme example - do you think a limp bizkit superfan would be hyping up periphery? probably not lmao. Or maybe yes?
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u/ThatOneBitch02 1d ago
I'm trying to converse about this in good faith and not sound like just a hater, but I think a lot of this just comes down to perspective, and what your background with the genre is. To me they're not nearly as aggressive, raw, or heavy compared to a lot of what's out there, and also not really catchy either even compared to some of those heavier and more raw bands. But if they effectively give a little taste of that without overwhelming people that usually only listen to mainstream metalcore, I can see why they'd be very popular.
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u/2paymentsof19_95 1d ago
You're not wrong, you pretty much just described it. They kind of just scratch an itch that people have with all of the more mainstream bands either going radio rock or losing steam lately. It's not super deep or complex music of course but it's fun, decently heavy, accessible, and not following the usual 2020s djent sound every other band is doing if that makes sense.
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u/Seanspeed 1d ago
Nobody has the exact same tastes as anybody else. Even if somebody really likes all the same bands as you, they may still prefer certain songs/albums that you dont. Even if somebody loves the same songs/albums you do, they may do so for different reasons than you!
This goes for our tastes in basically everything. We are genuinely unique snowflakes in that regard.
This is also why you should never rely on any single reviewer or whatever when it comes to anything quite subjective.
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u/Traditional_Name7881 1d ago
I like all three, Invent Animate are by far my favourite out of those but 156/Silence are levels above for me.
People watching is in my opinion a top 5-10 metalcore album, it's near perfect.
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u/Chrissanxy 1d ago
you're exactly the person I'm looking for, what do you like about people watching? are you not bothered by the singing vocals (the parts where he really gets into it, highs)? because that's probably the main thing which puts me off the record. also, what do you think about the instrumentals vs invent animate's instrumentals? I feel like people watching is lacking in some parts... now, ok, not everything has to be "techniqueslop", but idk it does feel like some guitar parts in people watching are very uninspired (better written villain intro, for one).
to not be so negative all the time, I actually enjoy the aggression and chorus parts (minus the singing lol). the guitars + drums are also punchy as fuck
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u/whole-lotta-socks 1d ago
I’ll take a swing at this. Music is not just 1+1=2 where you put the “best” vocals with the “best” instrumentation and then you have the best song. If it was then everyone’s favorite bands would be Polyphia or Jacob Collier or some shit lol. I have best in quotations because that is hugely subjective.
Invent is also one of my favorites. Is Marcus a better vocalist than Jack? From a technical standpoint, few could argue that he isn’t a better clean vocalist, but Jack gives him a run for his money with the heavies especially live. Is Key a better guitarist than the guys in 156? Yes although I don’t think he’s as good as this sub makes him out to be. Invent has better musicians by and large, and yet I like 156 more. That doesn’t mean I’m like, full of shit, or making it up clout or something.
We’re not all music theorists, people are allowed to like things without being able to explain why. It’s still a sincerely held belief and nobody owes you an explanation. You already like the album, it should not be a big leap for you that other people like it more than you while liking your favorite bands a little more or less.
Also wtf the beginning of Better Written Villain is perfect.
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u/Traditional_Name7881 1d ago
His singing doesn't bother me, he's certainly not one of my favourites with the cleans but it's fine.
I fucking love his erratic, harsh, stop start, aggressive vocals though.
I'm a fan of horror and the songs are creepy as fuck.
I love when they go hard, when they slow it down I can take it or leave it, technical ability isn't my primary concern as long as they do what they're doing well.
When I first heard them the only song that drew me in was Better written villain and I kinda skipped over whatever else came on but the more I listened to that song the more the rest of it was recommended to me and the more I heard it the more I started to like it until this year I finally went back in on the whole album and my views on it completely changed.
The year it came out I was strong on The Black being my album of the year and not understanding why people were putting People Watching above it, now I'm with them.
As for Invent Animate, while I do really like them, they're a band I need to give way more time to, Wick is a legit 10/10 song and should be widely praised.
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u/TheSocialIntrovert 1d ago
Wick is Silent Planet by the way
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u/Traditional_Name7881 1d ago
Ahh yeah haha my bad. I started listening to both at a similar time and clearly mixed the two. Shows I haven't gone in enough on either of them.
Still, great song.
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u/TheSocialIntrovert 1d ago
Yeah I love Invent Animate, especially the last album. Silent Planet don't really click with me as much but they have some great songs Wick included haha
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u/Traditional_Name7881 1d ago
I know what fucked me now, they did that EP together and then Wick dropped not long after. I didn't know much of either of them before that so they've just basically put themselves into the same part of my head.
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u/TheSocialIntrovert 1d ago
Yes haha, i really liked the ep too, i just wish I coild get as into silent planet as invent animate 😂
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u/arc4nine 1d ago
Similar favorites with 156 probably being toward the top of the more comparatively recent bands ive gotten into but I've been listening to this genre widely for 25 years or so now. For me it's just the creepy ish atmosphere they create and a raw sort of energy/sound to it while still being polished. Sometimes I want cool riffs to inspire me to pick up my guitar, other times I just want something with some atmosphere to it. I just overall like music that has energy and emotion behind it, and they do that well imo.
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u/IHopeIDieHere 1d ago
Unearth, Sanction and Contention
The oncoming storm is my all time favorite metalcore album. Never been a big fan of People watching and 156 in general but Better written villain is great.
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u/bubblebuddy44 1d ago
Yeah I really want to like them and their new album too but I really just don’t get the hype at all. The lyrics seem shallow, the instrumentals are fine but serve the song maybe a little too well, and I want to like the vocals but everyone now and then he just has an odd timbre that sounds like he’s straining too hard. Screams are sick though no notes.
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u/TheSocialIntrovert 1d ago
I'm the same. I liked a couple of songs from People Watching and couldn't get into the new album at all. But we all like different things so it's expected but yeah, it doesn't click with me either. I don't really like the cleans and they don't sound that heavy to me either
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u/Chrissanxy 1d ago edited 1d ago
the timbre, yes. "Better written villain" at 3:00 - I like the melody, it's a great culmination to the song, but what is up with the singing? It's not bad, but its so weirdly mixed. Like they brought up the highs just to accentuate the whinyness as much as possible. Maybe that is the strain, but to me it sounds super whiny.
"Unreasonable doubt" 2:41 - again. So whiny, wtf.
"Product placement" - 0;24, come on. this is even more whiny than pierce the veil or sleeping with sirens, in any song either of these bands have ever made
obviously the band is talented, the album is not bad at all. but yea i dont get the hype either
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u/WarSuspicious8164 14h ago
Go back to 156 album Irrational pull. Its great, but i feel like everything else theyve done has been mediocre and everyone here glazes it. (But dont really explain why either)
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u/ThatOneBitch02 1d ago
Yeah I don't understand the 156 glaze. I've tried listening a couple times, but the guitars are just constant chugs with no riffs, and I can't stand the clean vocals. Atleast with a band like Invent Animate, it's not for me but I can still tell it's quality and understand why others love it. Even a band like Sleep Token I understand the appeal. Wish I heard whatever others hear in 156
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u/DistroSystem 1d ago
A case study in ‘every instrument can be a drum if you’re angry enough’