Customer Reviews

Kollapse

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

 

 

Breach has finally closed the circle. after the noisy post-core of "it's me god" and the complex sonic architectures of "Venom", these five guys explore another unknown musical territory, where metal, hardcore, noise, post rock, punk can be put together to create something that can only be defined simply breach-sound. The feel of the entire album is dark, though some moments are filled with anger ("old ... player, murder kings and killer queens") and some other are more reflective and introspective (as in "big strong boss", "teeth out" and the marvellous title track), and this "two faces" of kollapse could be found in the fact that only half of the tracks are sung (well, the harsh vocals can't destroy the magic dream-like atmosphere of a piece like "seven"!!!), though the singer (Andre), when he screams, is the essential compound to some pieces: "mr marschall" without that oblique lyrics, probably it would not be so much terrificant!!! Well, Kollapse is a masterpiece and probably it is the record which will give more commercial response to the band, but perheps it's not as fascinating as it was Venom: that record was more "physical", more terrificant and - not much surpringsly - heavier than Kollapse...it seems that Breach here have losen a few of their darker intentions in order to follow the way toward experimentation...it would be a problem for next Breach's album but by now the result is simply magnificent and I'm glad for this!

Breach were an underrated, forward thinking band who pre-dated and helped to shape the sound of the European wing of what people now call "post-metal". It's a silly term, seeing as most of its principal exponents actually began as hardcore bands. But "post-hardcore" apparently was already taken. Personally I go for "progressive hardcore" where I can, but enough banter - 'Kollapse' is one of the finest albums I've ever heard, heavy or otherwise.

By the time they released this, their final album, Breach seem to have mastered their own dynamic range beyond the standards of previous works (which were all very good, but the listener's experience was limited to that of being hit in the face by a sledgehammer covered in caustic acid). The drumming is particularly good - on several tracks the tight hi-hats and tribal toms raise the bar to new levels of sophistication in the genre. Good rhythmic touches are often the hooks that sink deepest into the listener and Breach know it. The opener 'Big Strong Boss'* is exemplary of this - an immediately memorable drum beat followed by a controlled release of twin guitars, leading each other through intelligently structured quiet sections, loud sections, alternating between harmonic and discordant lead lines that hang over the ends of bars and drop down into choppy riffs before climbing again. Three or four tracks are tightly constructed in this way; exhaustive, involving and never predictable.

Even more remarkable is how this stream-of-consciousness, progressive approach is applied to the more vicious hardcore-inclined tunes. '...Player', 'Murder Kings...' and 'Lost Crew' are as intense as anything from their older albums but so much more tightly-wound and slick, they become jaw-dropping in parts.

In their native Scandinavia, Breach are afforded the high regard they deserve, and in a fair world they would be spoken of in the same breath as Converge, Botch and Cave In. Their legacy is a standard bearer of how far hardcore-based music can go, and 'Kollapse' is itself a model of how brute force, emotional resonance, experimentation and technical chops can be combined to virtual perfection.

(*Since first posting this review, I have discovered that 'Big Strong Boss' is an explicit reference to a Swans track of the same name. I like how Breach do this - release a totally slaying, groundbreaking record containing a song with the EXACT same name as another by a different totally slaying, groundbreaking band. On their previous album 'Venom', they had a song just called 'Black Sabbath'!)

Kollapse is a worthy sequel to Breach's first album, Venom. I first became aware of Breach from a friend who was really into Neurosis. He told me that Breach sounded somewhat like them, but included more experimental instruments and rhythms on their disc Venom. Kollapse has taken that formula even further, and it incorporates some truly odd songs with their tried and true dense, angry, metal. I was very disappointed when I found out that Breach had called it quits after Kollapse, because this was a band that had the potential to revolutionize a whole genre of music. Instead, they gave us a taste of what the future could sound like, and then left us hanging. If you are a fan of of the dense metal music of Neurosis and Meshuggah, then I'd recommend you discover Breach for yourself.

it's a shame that this is the last recording that will ever surface from the mighty breach. expanding on their previous efforts, breach push the boundaries of heavy music, and music in general. at times pounding and apocalyptic, only to calm the storm moments later and capture the listener in waves of hypnotic sound. to say that the production on kollapse is thick and dense is a gross understatement. at times i would swear that there are 4 bands playing, perfectly executing the song and creating a coalesce of noise. words cant describe this release. buy it and find out.