Album: "Storm"
Label: Metropolis Records (2004)
Style: EBM / Synth-pop
Songs: 10

Reviewed by: Darklight

Tom Shear is back with another excellent Assemblage 23 (A23) release. This Storm album basically continues where 2002's Defiance left off, so if you're expecting a whole new A23 sound you're not going to get it. What you do get are ten immaculately composed nicely placed traditional sounding A23 songs that are easy to get into and enjoy.

If you're familiar with the music of A23, you will feel right at home here as things haven't changed a whole lot. That's not to say there's nothing different between this album and previous A23 material, but the changes are quite subtle and won't be immediately noticed.

Tom Shear's father commited suicide in 1999, and Tom poured a lot of his pain from that unfortunate loss into his 2001 Failure album making it a rather dark musical journey. But the A23 sound lightened a bit on 2002's Defiance album bringing in more upbeat moods and pop structures. And this direction is taken even further on this Storm release.

While the songs here still feature the serious tone that A23's music is known for, it also has a lot of light melodies and pop sensibilities. However, unlike previous A23 albums, there's not really any slow songs. Every song is energetic and driving with frantic electronic programming and heavy beats. But even though the songs move at a fast pace, they don't come off as simply club music. This is due to the deep and powerful feelings and emotions Tom delivers with his lyrics.

As with all A23 albums, there are a few songs on this Storm release that really stand out and grab my attention. My favorites are "Let The Wind Erase Me", "Complacent", "You Haven't Earned It", "Apart" and "30KFT". The closing song "30KFT" especially stands out, and is one of the best closing songs I've ever heard.

This is definitely the most consistent A23 album yet. While it somewhat lacks the variety of previous A23 albums, it still manages to deliver some of the most mature and polished work Tom has ever done.

Album: "Defiance"
Label: Metropolis Records (2002)
Style: EBM / Synth-pop
Songs: 10

Reviewed by: Darklight

Tom Shear proved on his previous Assemblage 23 (A23) recording Failure that he’s a masterful song composer. Tom takes elements of EBM and synth-pop and includes them with his own dark passionate feelings and emotions. The outcome is mature genuine electronic music for both the mind and body.

Tom continues his superb songwriting on this Defiance release with even greater maturity. This overall album feels more structured and tightly put together than his past efforts. The crisp, clean, polished production of the songs make them enjoyable to listen to repeatedly. The mixture of club tracks and ballads is nice for variety.

Tom has an amazing deep clear voice, and sings with confidence and power. You will be hanging on his every word as you move to his infectious electronic/synth music. The programming, sampling and melodies in the songs are done immaculately. Multi-layered electronic sound effects and beats compliment well orchestrated keyboard harmonies as Tom sings along perfectly with emotion.

There’s no filler on this disc. This is a solid ten track album not featuring one bad or out-of-place song. The layout of the tracks couldn’t have been done better; allowing this recording to flow smoothly from start to finish. There’s just the right amount of balance to everything. You get a good batch of club tracks ("Opened", "Drive", "Blindhammer", "Document" "Light", "Maps Of Reality") as well as a good batch of more relaxed emotional tracks ("Cocoon", "Fallen Down", "Horizon", and "Lullaby").

If you’re already a fan of Assemblage 23, this CD is a must. If you haven’t discovered A23's music yet, this would be a great place to start as it’s a bit more accessible than past albums.

Album: "Failure" (2001)
Label: Gashed!
Style: EBM
Songs: 10

Reviewed by: Darklight

Since the debut release by Assemblage 23 (aka Tom Shear) was such a fantastic album, I really had no doubts that this follow-up wouldn’t be amazing as well. However, I wasn’t prepared for how good it actually turned out.

While "Contempt" featured a lot of great songs, there were a few that were less than stellar. But each and every song on this "Failure" release are just as quality as the next. From the opening track “Naked” to the closing track “King Of Insects” I was in complete awe the entire time.

Tom Shear delivers feelings and emotions in a genuine and powerful way that really shows through on each track offered here. When a song can make you teary eyed due to its passion, you know that you’re listening to something special.

Tom’s father took his own life in 1999. A lot of this album deals with the pain of that unfortunate loss. One song in particular “Disappoint” deals with this issue in its lyrics.

Tom is an amazing song writer creating lyrics that flow together perfectly. Everything is combined and mixed flawlessly to create an end result that is immaculate.

The songs here range from dark and dreary to upbeat and catchy to angry and aggressive. The music is a work of art with multi-layered electronic programming, orchestrated melodies and solid driving bass beats. Tom’s vocals are deep and clear delivering his words perfectly.

My favorite tracks are “I Am The Rain”, “House On Fire”, “Tried”, “Disappoint” and “Silence”. No fan of EBM or synth-pop music should miss out on this amazing disc.

Album: "Contempt" (1999)
Label: Gashed!
Style: Electro-industrial/EBM/Synth-pop
Songs: 13

Reviewed by: Darklight

Assemblage 23 is the solo electro-industrial/EBM/synth-pop project of Tom Shear. This debut CD of his is simply incredible in every way possible. The production value is top notch, the track layout is perfect, and the remixes are excellent. While it's usually rather easy to distinguish American electro bands from European ones, that is not the case with Assemblage 23. Upon hearing these tracks you might assume that Tom Shear is from Europe as his music has the same European sound as acts such as Apoptygma Berzerk, Cleaner, Covenant, Endanger, Neuroactive, VNV Nation, etc. However, Tom Shear is American. It's obvious that he really did his homework before compliling this CD as all of the elements that make this style of music work are included here. The songs combine frantic multi-layered electronic programming/sequencing/sampling, dramatic orchestrated keyboard melodies and powerful deep male vocals that sing with passion and emotion. The rhythms and beats are solid making each track a club floor packer. There are changing moods presented in the songs giving them a lot of variety allowing everything to stand out. There really is nothing to complain about here. If you enjoy clean and polished electro-industrial/EBM/synth-pop music, this Assemblage 23 CD can't be missed.