(((((OPENmind/SATURATEDbrain)))))

Friday, 7 April 2023

KOLLAPS\E

Band: KOLLAPS\E
Genres: Punk / Post-Hardcore / Post-Metal / Crust / Doom / Sludge

Related artists: ?.
Country: Helsingborg SWEDEN
Years Active: 2020-present
For fans of: Isis, AmenRa, The Monarch, Sarin, Ikaray, I Am A Curse, We Are Among Storms, R. Josef, and Eretia.

Label(s): Trepanation Recordings / Evil Noise Recordings / Clouded Mind Records

It's not often I get an email nowadays with a band that lines up as nicely as KOLLAPS\E and their 2023 push for the seven-song behemoth known as 'Phantom Centre'. Stretching across post-hardcore and post-metal with some crust/doom/sludge injection, there's no way fans of Isis and AmenRa won't be eating this up. Chugs and discordant/evil riffs are ever present here, as are vocals dripping out of a cement mixer, but you've also got some well-placed serene parts like the mid-section in opener "Era" that is bookended by some excellent stop/start textbooks. All-in-all most tracks create a very intriguing journey that climax in glorious fashion. "Uhtceare" is the album's most gargantuan track as it both clocks in at 8:35 and hits like a slow-falling anvil. "Anaemia" will appease fans of AmenRa with it's brooding, dark, and hypnotic swing, while my personal favourite "Radiant//Static" leans heavy on the 'Oceanic'-era Isis. A truly fantastic debut album!

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DISCOGRAPHY

2023 - Phantom Centre cassette/cd LP (stream/buy here)

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(2023) KOLLAPS\E - "Radiant//Static" (from 'Phantom Centre')

https://youtu.be/Vaf_BPg_qTY

(2023) KOLLAPS\E - "Beautiful Desolate" (from 'Phantom Centre')

https://youtu.be/1OQ_0-rdyeg

(2023) KOLLAPS\E - "Era" (from 'Phantom Centre')

https://youtu.be/D5ONt5DmPPc

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KOLLAPS\E additional links

Linktre.ee

Bandcamp

Facebook

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Wednesday, 29 March 2023

* THE MONARCH full live set + ANTLER *

THE MONARCH / ANTLER / CHUNKASAURUS

@TERMINAL BAR in NANAIMO on March 25th, 2023
Live Show Review

So first things first...I'm old. About a week ago my back acted up again and I was unable to stand for more than 30 minutes. Although it was on the mend, by the time The Monarch got off the stage, I walked back to my vehicle, took a 15-minutes sit-down in my car, and then walked back to the venue to catch Chunkasaurus...they hadn't even started setting up. So I left. I was pretty bummed but I'm also glad I was self-aware enough to negate further injury, and I am stoked to say that now I'm back to 100% and could watch a show for hours with no issue. Therefore, there is no Chunkasaurus review because I didn't get to see them.

ANTLER

This local band opened the show and they have some serious chops, with all members being very proficient at their instruments, but the vocalist and backup singer/bassist both had very, very good voices to the point where I was pretty blown away that I was witnessing the layered melodies live in real-time. Unfortunately I took a video of what I considered to be the slowest and weakest of all their songs, but it's still really good! Hopefully I'll get to see them again and I can record one of their bangers which amalgamate the stylings of Incubus and Alice In Chains but did it without the cheese that I find buried in some alternative music.

(2023) ANTLER live

https://youtu.be/CcDAnC5kecg

Bandcamp

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THE MONARCH

The reason I went to this show was because after discovering these local post-metal heroes (thanks Trez!) I had been itching to see them live. Did they disappoint? Fuck no. They were incredible and the crowd responded in turn, smashing out a ridiculous 40-minute set that included a Thrice cover and their brank new single "God I Hope". The two singles from the band's new album are absolutely sensational and bring to mind Isis, Sarin, Mares Of Thrace, Moving Mountains, and the like, providing lush soundscapes, menacing screams, massive chugs, and even some gorgeous clean-sung vocals. I hadn't planned on filming the entire set but they were just so damn good I pieced together the videos and have embedded it below with track titles. If you haven't checked out THE MONARCH yet and even slightly enjoy those previous bands then you are missing out!

(2023) THE MONARCH Full Set

https://youtu.be/YK6pgr1B27U

Bandcamp
Facebook

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Monday, 27 March 2023

A NEEDLE UNDER THE NAIL

Band: A NEEDLE UNDER THE NAIL
Genres: Punk / Hardcore / Metal / Metalcore / Metallic Hardcore / Math Metal / Mathcore

Related artists: Bloodbather.
Country: Pembroke Pines, Florida U.S.A.
Years Active: 2017-2019 / 2022
For fans of: Thank You Driver, Under The Pier, .gif from god, Stasis, Black Matter Device, A Mourning Star, Letters To Catalonia, (early) WristMeetRazor, The Kidnap Soundtrack, Thumbscrew, Unearth, Ed Gein, Loftus, (older) Vatican, Jukai, Hanging Moon, and Long.Way.Down.

Label(s): Wax Vessel / The Coming Strife Records / Arduous Path Records

So I'm pretty attached to the Wax Vessel movement and have followed every release they've put out. So why...why did I miss A NEEDLE UNDER THE NAIL? I dunno. My only guess is it came out during a lengthy deathcore run of releases and I just mixed them up with another band I'd checked out. Regardless, I'm here now after swapping songs with label founder Nik and he pointed me in their direction after hearing Long.Way.Down., and I was flabbergasted to find out I'd missed my chance at this incredible double-EP discography release. Luckily I run Zegema Beach Records and just traded away a test press of something for one muhahahaha (pictured above).

First off regarding this 'Demo 2017' release, I fucking love it. Despite finding the vocals a tad one-dimensional (except when they utilize dual screaming) the balancing agent is that the instrumentals are absolutely massive. Speaking of instrumentals, I like this even more than the subsequent EP as the chugs are so heavy that the walls shake, the onslaught of panic chords are as frantic as they are piercing, and the drums/bass are also super loud in the mix so the entire thing reverberates like a bomb explosion. My personal favourite off this is the second track "Red Shift" as those guitars in particular are so goddamned catchy whilst simultaneously destructive. I'm having a hard time with comparisons, regardless I think this release has some similarities with early SeeYouSpaceCowboy, Letters To Catalonia, and Long.Way.Down. but with much lower/heavier vocals, although I'm sure the metalcore fans have much more accurate ones. Oh and look at this fucking cassette art, be still my heart. 💓

The band's final foray into ridiculously awesome metalcore/mathcore was 'The Third Impact' EP. This thing is insane. First of all, although the instrumentals are more versatile, recorded more clearly, and the production is cleaner, they lose some of the oomph that the previous EP had. Despite that one complaint (not really a complaint lol) the vocals on this release are waaaaay better and fall in line with the stuff that Thank You Driver are doing currently (that goes for the instrumentals as well). Opener, title track, and my pick for strongest track is "The Third Impact" which just goes so fucking hard yet injects more melody and stable transitions, making it perhaps the best song they ever recorded. The rest of the EP follows suit with really groovy, mathy (but not of the ridiculous variety), just enough to perk your ears up whilst simultaneously kicking your ass and making you dance.

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DISCOGRAPHY

2017 - Demo 2017 cassetteEP

2019 - The Third Impact cassetteEP

2022 - Imprisoned Outside the Universe 12"LP (listen/buy here)

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(2017) A NEEDLE UNDER THE NAIL - "The Red Shift" (from 'Demo 2017')

https://youtu.be/1DjG1kDY_DU