Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 03/14/1994
Dazzling Killmen made some extremely intense and unique
rock music in the early '90s and
Face of Collapse is the high point in their brief discography. Their sound clearly draws on
hardcore punk, but the funky,
jazz fusion-influenced rhythm section, comprised of
Darin Gray (an accomplished solo performer who has collaborated with
Loren Mazzacane Connors) on bass and
Blake Fleming (who went on to play in
Laddio Bolocko) on drums, and the creepy, almost gothic guitar interplay of
Nick Sakes (now of
Sicbay) and
Tim Garrigan almost make
Face of Collapse into a
prog rock record, albeit a bludgeoning one. Songs like
"Staring Contest" and
"Agitator" hurtle forward with driving, odd time rhythms and violent guitar stabs, while the epic, ten-plus-minute
"In the Face of Collapse" builds more ominously to a torrential payoff. The vocals of
Nick Sakes range from an anguished screech to a creepy spoken-word delivery and his dark, oblique lyrics add to the overall mood of dread.
Face of Collapse is a milestone for underground extreme
rock in the '90s and should be experienced by fans of everything from
Slint to
the Dillinger Escape Plan to
Rush.
~Henry M. Shteamer, All Music Guide
;)
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