Last Collapse

The Fallen (2003)

Scott

"Last Collapse?" eh, I'll put this one at the bottom of the pile. I know it's some half-ass pop-punk / emo act. I just don't know if I can stomach anymore of that garbage.

Ugh…*Play*.

Looks like I was wrong once again!

This band actually portrays a sound that's more like Strung Out decided to kick No Fun At All out of retirement. Melodic hardcore swarming around your head, directed by a burly voice, dragged down by lackluster production. If Embers Record's was able to beef up the quality on these six recordings I'm sure quite a few people would have noticed these guys on the punk rock radar. Opening things up is "Therefore" a subtle drum beat carries in the intro just like Thrice's "All That's Left" before guitars latch on accompanied buy a killer bass hook. Everything begins to fly when the forceful Andrew Bermudez shoves his vocals in, from that point the remainder of the EP ceases to slow down. Standing out with high marks above the other songs is "The Valley of Failures" and it's pretty much right here when the band is faster and harder than most hardcore bands could handle that I pray these three very talented guys are granted a larger recording budget in the future. Of course they're not perfect though and could very well come off as cliché and sloppy to some listeners, see "Today We Falter," but that's nothing time and a few more practices can't heal.

Last Collapse isn't re-writing the scene, in fact I know you've heard this sound a million times already, they follow the typical punk meets metal formula. Mixing parts Thrice, with a little Rise Against, and even some Good Riddance on the side. This just happens to be a surprising and slightly refreshing debut to come out of nowhere that fully demands you turn up the speakers to full blast. A little buzz and an extra push in the right direction will do wonders for this band's career (and maybe find them a decent web designer).