There’s a lot to be said about the sheer evocative sounds that post-rock can unearth and Collapse Under The Empire are among the most representative bands of this music genre. If you like post rock, you like Collapse Under The Empire, and vice versa. Very easy, very true.
Well, in case some of you still don't know who they are, Collapse Under The Empire is an instrumental, post rock duo from Hamburg, Germany. The band formed in 2007, when Chris Burda and Martin Grimm got together to develop their own music. Looking at their discography there's no doubt that they have been very productive since 2008 when they released their first EP Paintball and I became a fan of them.
In 2011 they released Shoulder & Giants that is the first part of their most ambitious work and those of you that were waiting for the second and last part of it, can finally be rewarded with the release of Sacrifice & Isolation, later this spring.
Shoulder & Giants and Sacrifice & Isolation are, together, the proof of their talent and their power to completely blow your mind with their sound that can be tagged as electronic post-rock. With the new record, in particular, we can enjoy the typical post rock sound with that electronic vein that few bands can assemble so well. Chris and Martin are master in this and it's very easy to understand it.
The two-part concept album deals with the themes of human existence, freedom, isolation and death. All these different themes are explored in both parts of the work as also in The Silent Cry ( Review Here) the EP they released last year to shorten the waiting time before Sacrifice & Isolation. In particular the finale to the band’s two-part series is about isolation and death, two themes that don't leave any room to hope. There's no light and, should you find a sign of it, you have a great imagination!
The upcoming record is maybe their darkest album to date, full of dramatic and unsettling sounds. Sacrifice & Isolation is also their most experimental work. It can be seen as divided in two parts: the first one that is more electronic meanwhile the second part is definitely heavier. It's like if the melancholic synth pads and the electro beats of the first songs slowly leave the stage to the apocalyptic guitar riffs and the live drums.
Sacrifice & Isolation is an adventure through ten movements where the German duo mix styles and give to post rock a cinematic dress that is really enchanting.
To present the album the band recently released the single 'Stairs To The Redemption' with an accompanying video directed by London-based Dan Tassell giving the perfect images to the music. Through a surreal journey through a mysterious future landscape realized into the London’s Battersea Power Station. Set in the future, the station is the only monument that remain as it is but inside there's an experimental and extraordinary world that move under the watchful gaze of The Scientist who brought the building to life.
'Sacrifice' and 'Isolation' are the first two tracks that play the role to bring you into the new music journey and have both a strong melancholic vein. Sometimes they are pretty post-rocky, sometimes are more cinematic demonstrating the duo's electronic leanings.
'Massif' seems the intro of the following 'Lost' or where the song explodes. The intro, the explosion of energy and the decline happen all in about six minutes per song. Apart from the opening track, the other tunes are all around the six minutes and this is something not very post-rocky and that I appreciate: in the end, why waiting so long when you can burn right away? Music lovers will recall that awesome collection of post rock goodnesses entitled Ode To An Unspoken Movement released at the end of last year that kicks off with 'Lost'.
The dark mood that permeates the whole record is very dense in 'Awakening' where the drum sound is the soundtrack to solemn march into the abyss. The apocalyptic guitars and the electronic beats create the tension and a certain point it's like if the duo is celebrating the party of the end. The multitude and collision of feelings this song can create is beautifully strange.
'Light In The Distance' is the example of that electronic post-rock that distinguishes the band's style that can be considered a well conceived mix of styles. The beats placed throughout this song and the other tunes are catchy and the drumming really helps make the album what it is.
Even if dramatic, I love the sense of space of 'What The Hearth Craves For' and its melancholic, resigned tone. The loveliness of 'The Path' is where you can find peace.
Sacrifice & Isolation is a gorgeous experience and really a mature piece of post-rock music.
The track 'Lost' can be downloaded via Bandcamp. All the revenues from the digital download go 100% towards the organization Rainforest Rescue. This is the way Collapse Under The Empire choose to support the worldwide organization in their continuous work of preserving the rain-forest and saving the animals, plants and people living there.
