Hailing from Denmark, the trio self-describes as “informed by existentialism, expressionism, and personal tribulations, KOLLAPSE dig deep. Throat shredding vocals, and loud, heavy drum work is the basis of their sound. The band embodies the gnarled feeling of emptiness deep in the pit of your stomach – a tortured scream against the bleakness of the world.” The album has seven songs. The title track is first; a short introduction to the album, full of deep bass guitar notes and anguished screams.

 “Autofagia” is next. The deeply low and slow sound really kicks the feeling of hopelessness into gear. They paint a landscape of endless grey, with frigid air and no sun in sight. It would be akin to living in Antarctica for six months straight. “Dod” is equally heavy and weighted. It feels like the equivalent of someone piling the weight of the world onto the shoulders of one man slowly until he can’t cope anymore, and it beats him down, burying him forever. “Form” is a desolate affair. The music is nearly devoid of melody, making it cold and sterile, and the vocal screams are constant, making them a constant reminder of the horrors of life.

 “Dekomposition” is an eight-minute opus of emptiness and a reflection of how that really feels in a person. The meaty bass notes provide much of this feeling, and the dissonance in the guitars adds depth to an already crushing situation. “Kokon” has a faster moving pace, but at this point in album, the fears, insecurities, and troubles are adding up ten-fold, and one wonders what the final blow will be. The final nail in your coffin is “Transformation.” It’s made up mostly of just clean guitars, but I don’t believe I have ever heard something so desolate, and so complete in its mission. The end is nigh.

 Overall, I found this Post-Metal album to be as bleak and forsaken as anything that I have heard this year. One of the best parts of the music is that thick bass guitar…this is an instrument that can really drive home feelings of isolation and emptiness, and man does it ever. Combine this with the tortured vocals and bleak guitars, and you have a recipe for total black isolation.