COLLAPSE THE SKY – WHITE FLAGS
Collapse The Sky have been regulars on the Norwich scene since 2016, with White Flags being their third album.
Refreshingly, they describe themselves as a metal band, with no mention of any of the (seemingly ever increasing) sub-genres. And yet, this is far from straight-ahead metal. Vocalist Lee Margaillan's guttural death grunt vocals have more in common with hardcore and death metal than, say, an Iron Maiden style air-raid siren. There’s heavy, belligerent bass from Karl Morse whilst Flynn Green and David Lawrence pile in with aggressive riffing and soaring solos. Star of the show, however, may be the pounding D-beat, blastbeats and relentless double-bass attack from drummer Luke Fowler.
Foundations combines grindcore with death grunts, soaring guitars and swooping keys. Dream Catcher is ferocious but the guitar solo could almost be a Queen outtake. Blessing adds a touch of Slayer to the mix. My highlight is the industrial grind and Middle Eastern influenced guitar figures of Who I Am.
A little bit more variety and maybe some lighter moments wouldn’t necessarily go amiss but that is just me being over-critical. This is a damned fine album from a local band that I need to see live as soon as I can.
8/10
