36 Crazyfists - Collisions And Castaways
Underrated metal crew return with ace new longplayer
If reviewers got a penny for every time a press release said the band in question’s new album was “heavier and darker than ever” we could type our critiques on keyboards made of gold, so it’s an immensely pleasant scenario when such a sentence is not just right, but something of an understatement. 36 Crazyfists new record will break you.
Following the obligatory intro sequence, ‘In The Midnights’ opens up into a squall of chest-rattling drums and lacerating vocals. The 36 Crazyfists you know is still there – the unique singing voice of Brock Lindow comes swooping in for the chorus – but this is the first salvo of an altogether more ferocious assault. And so the album continues, with the likes of ‘Whitewater’ and ‘____’ surrounding the melodic sections with walls of metallic noise that cover a broader range than before; from the more familiar metalcore chug to a more traditional metalcore likely to crop up on a Devildriver record. ‘Anchors’ sees appearances from their buddies Adam Jackson (Twelve Tribes) and Raithon Clay (Plans To Make Perfect) for a suitably pummelling monstrosity of a track, though the band prove themselves capable of more than one tactic with ‘Caving In Spirals’, a mellower track that still bristles with menace. In fact, for all the ferocity, it’s this track and similarly slower closer ‘Waterhaul II’ that steal the show.
This album sees a marked improvement in the lyrical content; when you can decipher Lindow’s monstrous screaming, you’ll find more personal lyrics than before, something easily connectible to the passionate force with which each song is delivered. Their method of attack is almost overwhelming, but that’s as much 'Collisions and Castaways'’ weakness as it is its strength; a few different shades would improve it – changes of pace and intensity would make it unbeatable. Nevertheless, it’s an album that stands toe to toe with their first two releases, and presents a blistering, passionate new fire driving Alaska’s noisiest sons.
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