Customer Reviews

Beneath The Skin

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As the reviewer below says, it is beyond comprehension that this band is not as well heard of. A friend of mine, with well developed musical taste heard me cranking up the title track ( a superb cut) and said " Oh my G*d- what is that?"

Its that good. No, its better.

Despite what the sad soul below said, this is not mindless pop. To call this pop is like calling Britney Beethoven- totally wrong. Souring, grinding electronics, amazing sound scapes, and a lead singers voice whos depth and talent of voice will leave you, literally ,breathless. This is an incredibly good album, not only for Goths , or fans of industrial rock, but anyone who knows what exactly makes a good band- passion, purpose and talent.

If you want a comparison, gentle reader, try a blend of Tool, Tori Amos and Curve. Kind of. Collide deserve a much wider audience, but we live in a world where people buy Eminem albums, so I guess they may not get the recognition they so deeply deserve.

I just don't understand it. I guess Collide missed the boat when it came to publicity or something. Maybe they didn't pay off the right person to get some airplay. It's almost criminal, in my opinion, that this band isn't a lot bigger... and that I only heard of them 3 months ago.

These two (kaRIN and Statik) are absolute geniuses. Statik shows expert musical manipulations with every song, and kaRIN's voice is drop-dead gorgeous. And they are both inventive with the styles they use throughout all the music. There are no two songs here that sound the same, but a very impressive variety, ranging from the noisy jackhammer of "Beneath the Skin" to the peaceful flow of "Deep" and "Black"...

This album has it all... it's accessible without being cheezy, and beautiful without being bland... For more proof listen to the samples here and the (full-length) samples on Collide's homepage. It'll blow your damn mind. Then buy the CD's and support a band that should be a legend... and hopefully will.

"Spiral revelation, morphis of change
What a sensation
Growing in form.
Imagination, opens the door
In-between spaces
Oh dear she explodes..."

I honestly can't imagine a single soul not enjoying the music of Collide but for those who don't like them, or for those who haven't had the opportunity to hear them yet, well I pity you for you're truly missing out! I've been buying a lot of industrial/goth-related music lately but none have affected me the way that Collide has. Statik (producer/mixer) and kaRIN (vocals/lyrics) are simply brilliant when it comes to getting beneath the skin for the music they create is sure to send delicious chills down the spines of all who listen!

The lyrics are like dark poetry set to music but when kaRIN lends her lush, breathy vocals to the haunting words she concocts, a sensation unlike any other is sure to close around you as she weaves her delicate spell around her attentive follower... Of course it is very important to have an equal balance between the voice AND the instrumentations so, unleashing their intricate magic, Collide adds some grinding guitars to the mix which dance around leaping flames of industrial/electronic beats!

Now, because of poor sound quality, I am sadly obliged to give this album a star below what it probably deserves. The songs in themselves are all amazing as they showcase the potential that Collide is known for but the production (which is probably due to a low budget) kills the whole experience! And while it angers me to know that Collide will most-likely never gain the recognition or the following in which they rightfully deserve, I consider Collide to be one of my all-time favorite bands and am looking forward to all future releases!

I also recommend the fabulous 'Chasing The Ghost', which has better sound quality than this, as well as 'Distort' which features some incredible remixes from 'Beneath the Skin'.

After hearing more recent and very appealing work by Collide, I wanted to start at the beginning (Beneath the Skin) and move my way up. Something about the contrast of sugar-sweet female vocals with whipping electronica drew me in. First off, don't be fooled by their over-the-top gothy cover art and webpage design. Though the music has a haunting quality to it, it's certainly not over-the-top in any sense.

Collide's sound is a mixture of darkwave and industrial--some songs with a dance quality, others with more of a swaying feel. The production production approach by Static is something softer than VNV Nation or Apoptygma Berzerk, but harder-hitting than Depeche Mode, with Karen's vocals comparable to Love Spirals Downwards or Miranda Sex Garden.

A couple of my favorite tracks on here are "Falling Up" and "Dreams and Illusions." "Falling Up" gives you the feeling of having a heart attack amidst a crowded church, with it's fast-paced, choir-like background and the sense of being carried away. "Dreams and Illusions" has a mysterious quality to it, as the title conveys. "Beneath the Skin" and "Violet's Dance" put you inside a torture chamber. "Deep" sounds like industrial and more metal with a light sexual quality to it, with the buzzing guitar background serving like a voice. I'm not sure that the last two remixes contribute much to the album, though.

Karin's vocals, throughout much of this album, are basically and elevated whisper. I'm wondering if maybe they weren't too downplayed--sometimes the lyrics are too indistinctive to understand. I don't like the words feeling masked like these; it makes them seem unimportant. It tends to be to much "beneath the skin" when it could be surfaced. Another small critique is the over-repitition of background patterns, but that tends to be my critique with a lot of music, including music I love. After this album I can say I'm a new fan of Collide.

this is an excellent CD - industrial music contrasted with the ethereal female vocals. music is a bit haunting, with a harder edge. a bit of variety, with some slower songs (pandora's box), danceable beats and harsher guitars (falling up). i also recommend their CD of remixes "Distort."

If you were considering Collide and never heard them before, don't expect something that is going to fit in with everything else but expect something that is going to knock your socks off. The only music I'll listen to round the clock is Collide, a pair of headphones and a moderate volume level in a dimly lit room will set a wonderful mood for you to listen to Collide. All their albums have a similar feel and I would suggest Some kind of Strange Chasing the Ghost and Beneath the skin for someone who has the more open mind, Vortex is an Album I believe anyone can love its not as abstract as the others and is wonderful for dancing and I can guarantee once you hear vortex you'll want to hear everything else. Though I'm glad to have heard their original music first. Collide is probably the first of a new breed of music not rock nor techno. Abstract music is not something you come by often and this is THE BEST.

On a first glance Collide might seem to some people as 'just another one of those Evanescence type bands'. It is true that both bands are fronted by expressive female singers with any other members being male but the similarities pretty much end there and this is never better demonstrated than with Collide's 1996 debut release, 'Beneath The Skin'. An album so intense and powerful that you would have to be quite brave to dismiss it with the aforementioned observation.

Album opener 'Violets Dance' with it's creeping, swirling intro and sporadic beats is a song that deserves to played at maximum volume and i, personally, would expect this particular song to be amazing live. It is followed by the pounding, atmospheric title track 'Beneath The Skin' and its joyfully claustrophobic sound and seductive vocals. Next is 'Falling Up', which begins with pounding drums and vocalist KaRIN's commanding singing before bringing you into a tumble of emotions and dirty guitars!

This is followed by the quite frankly, beautiful, 'Deep'. The albums stand-out track is another song which I can imagine being quite an experience to see live with its gentle, shimmering guitar parts and its warm, rich vocals. When the song ends you cannot help but continue to have it still playing in your head even though it is proceded by two of my personal favourites. 'Black' is a dark and almost painfully bleak song with a downright epic bridge that never fails to take me over on every listen. KaRIN's hypnotic and angelic voice has you really believing the depression portrayed before the next song creeps up out of nowhere, it feels. 'Strange' has an incredible fast groove to it with its pulsating guitars and spikey beats. It is the most 'dance' song here with a whirlwind of crazed synths.

Next up is the thumping and juddering 'Dreams and Illusions'. Sounding so gentle and pretty but frightened at the same time. There is a certain sadness in the synths that, along with the pure, glittery singing, that pushes the emotion here to breaking point. Listening to this song is quite an experience and again, its a song that you are still going through when the next one emerges. 'Have Faith' sneaks in with its increasingly severe synths. I find it to be quite a positive feeling song and much can be said for gentle, flickering funkiness and silvery vocals that come into play throughout it.

'Pandora's Box' is the song which comes after. So dark and eerie with a pushing, almost twisted sense of quiet terror and it is followed by album closer '95&5' which has a similar feel with its deathly emptiness and haunting vocals. Added on the end are two remixes which i have to admit are quite darn good. Until i was introduced to Collide I was never turned on much by different mixes of songs but because theirs were so good i now am more open to them. The Christ Analogue remix of 'Deep' is truly awesome with its flicky, juddering beats and statiky, quivering synthesisers and its a good contrast to the original without taking away its feeling. It is also completely different to the Subconcious Remix of 'Beneath The Skin' by Cevin Key which has a more club feel with its icy yet bubbly jumpiness.

Collide do not fit into any category or genre. They do take on board various different elements of certain types of music... dance, industrial, rock, pop, electronica and a whole lot more all while continuing to create in a world of their own. They are a genre all in themselves. Some songs are more danceable than others and some songs are happier than other ones but every track leaves you with overwhelming emotion before being taken on another journey with next one. Above everything, 'Beneath The Skin' makes you think. It makes you think about life, love, pain, beauty and everything else in between. Vocalist KaRIN sings every song as if she is living it right there and then. Her heartfelt singing and lyrics genuinely make you feel as if you are taking these journeys together.She has more in common with the likes of Kate Bush (if you have to make comparisons) than any young flavour of the week girl you might see on the cover of Kerrang! magazine. We must also not forget music maker Statik, her partner in Collide. He takes his talent and his influences and makes them into something much more special than you could ever imagine.

If you enjoy music that speaks to your heart, your mind and your soul then this is the album for you.

I don't know why this band isn't famous. I have 4 of their cd's and love each one. They have a unique sound. I really recommend listening to them.

Beneath the Skin was a lovely surprise for me.. something comparitively different that the others, and yet... brimming with that same luxurious dark sound I was used to. I bought Collide's cds out of order, and if I remember correctly, this one was the third I purchased. Of course, none of us know exactly what to expect from any band from one cd to the next, but that's half the fun! And when it came to this cd.. I was thrilled to find that this awesome band had once again captured my attention in a HUGE way.

If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times.... brilliant!!

Dark ambience with the perfection of kaRIN's voice as counterpoint. Amazon (or someone) should put this group on a "must have" list. If you like to be in on great bands that almost no one's heard of, check these two out.