| CD REVIEW Collapse 7 |
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Band: Collapse 7 Collapse 7 were formed in 1992 under the name of Scent Of Paradise in Vienna, Austria, by Mario Klausner (aka Reverend Mausna) (v, b) and Werner Freinbichler (g). With a friend supporting the duo on drums, Scent Of Paradise released a first demo, Solitude, which brought an old stylish form of Doom-Death Metal. Shortly after however, the band decided to follow a more Brutal Death Metal direction, and the duo decided to change its moniker into Pathetic (early 1995). After a rather successful second demo (the first as Pathetic), called As We Fade,Gerald Huber joined as permanent member (1996). Around that time, Mario joined Belphegor, and a few years later, in 2001, he also became member of Pungent Stench, and both he and Werner joined Hollenthon’s live line-up. Hollenthon’s Mike Groeger from his side became Pathetic’s new drummer, and after changing the moniker into the current one, Collapse 7 recorded the first album, In Deep Silence (Napalm Records, 2004), recorded with Mudbreed / Hollenthon / Kreuzweg Ost / Pungent Stench’s Martin Schirenc behind the knobs. In 2008, the second album, Supernova Overdrive, saw the light through the band’s current label NoiseHead Records. In 2010 the band started recording their third full length, and after finishing this one, Mike decided to leave. Doomsday Odyssey starts with a short industrialised intro (Prolog), yet soon transforms into extremely heavy and pounding Death Metal with a massive wall of sound. Forty eight minutes of varying and modestly experimental early nineties-oriented Death Metal is what you get again. Doomsday Odyssey combines the best (or at least: better) elements from both former full lengths, still characterised by an own specific approach. This third full recording is the band’s most varying, most mature and most professional one to date. The songs are very firm and solid, with lots of variety in melody and tempo. The technically skilled members do indeed create a ‘menacing, thunderous and melodic Extreme Metal Orgy’ (quote stolen from the label’s info sheet), which results in a collection of nothing but highly interesting Death Metal monsters. More than once, Collapse 7 inject these songs with original ideas, like some samples, atmospheric acoustic passages (like the rather melancholic start of Dead Cold Triumph), a few progressively technical riffs, both blasting and doomish parts, some keyboard lines, or even a blackish guitar sound (like Shades Of Death). The most extreme and fastest pieces do sound somewhat mechanical from time to time, mainly due to the unstoppable drum patterns. 87/100 Ivan Tibos. |