COLLECTOR
“Liberation’s Fall”
Melodic Death Metal
Self-Released(2018)
A bit of melodeath here, a pinch of Megadeth there and you’ve got a solid foundation for Collector to build upon.
Funny how fate works: when a young band working on their debut album contacted a legend that is Warrel Dane to do a guest spot, they probably never could have imagined that his performance will also be his last recording, as the beloved singer tragically lost his life. It might sound harsh, but in the modern age when enjoying music is much closer to consumerism and everyone and their mother has a band, having your name shared by the biggest metal media outlets, even if it is due to a tragedy, is a bittersweet luxury. It also puts an enormous strain on the young guys in Collector: do they have what it takes to make a name for themselves or will they forever stay “that band Warrel Dane sung with before he died?”
Their debut album “Liberation’s Fall” certainly puts the band on the right track. A mixed bag of influences, “Liberation’s Fall” features a lot of recognizable genre tropes. A bit of melodeath here, a pinch of Megadeth there and you’ve got a solid foundation for Collector to build upon. What their sound might be missing is a unique identity, but since this is only their debut the band still has a way to go before they develop a sound they can truly call their own.
The album features a number of contributions from a couple of big shots in the metal world. Apart from Dane who lends his hauntingly majestic voice to the tragically ironic “End This Life”, the song also features guitar contributions from his former bandmate, Chris Broderick (also of Megadeth fame). Vicky Psarakis of The Agonist also makes an appearance in the opening track, “Between the Two Demons” providing a melodic contrast to frontman Sinan’s harsh vocals.
The entire album features aggressive riffing lined with atmospheric keys that set the mood and give the release a unique atmosphere. And while the songs are engaging and the riffs keep your head banging, you can see the band tried to fit as many ideas as they could into some songs, making a couple of them unnecessarily long. Still, even at over an hour, the album is still enjoyable for the most part.
Of course, there is a lot of room for improvement on “Liberation’s Fall”, from the arrangements to song length and the vocals, but overall “Liberation’s Fall” is a solid debut from a band that has yet to make a name for themselves and form a style they’ll proudly call their own.
