I bought this album back in 2003 (that is more than 10 years after its original release) mainly driven by my newly (at that time) acquired adoration for anything US Hardcore and Punk. Having listened only to Damaged till then, the iconic Black Flag album where Henry Rollins was also fullfilling the vocal duties, the comparison with The End of Silence generated a mixture of disappointment and awkward feelings. You see, to my young, untrained and thus "immature" ears the complexity of The End of Silence was conflicting with the direct and "In Your Face" approach of Damaged (of course some months later when I purchased and listened to My War, then suddenly the artistic endeavours of Henry Rollins were set under a new perspective for me...)
The CD was eventually "shelved" and any subsequent listenings were rarely continuing after the first 3 songs (the more direct and shorter ones in the album). It took me eventually several years to reconcile and give this album another chance and (not so) miraculously there was a total change of heart and mind about it.
The whole The End of Innocence is a celebration of musicianship. Hardcore, Punk, Metal, Doom, Blues, Jazz and Funk, all are harmonically and ingeniously combined without compromising the energy and ferocity that the songs generate not even for a single minute! The two longer songs of the album, the 12-minute Blues Jam and the 11-minute Just Like You are the most intense ones (contrary to my original perception about the opening triplet) and finally I have the "maturity" to acknowledge this. The double-CD version that I own contains as closing song of the first CD, a live recording of Next Time where the acid-Jazz and Funk influences of Henry Rollins are more clearly displayed.
It took me some time to reconcile with this album which has since then become one of my favourite ones. I am happy that my impulsive younger self had instinctively made a wise choice here...