36 Crazyfists – Collisions and Castaways
Press “one sheets” and bios, while helpful, are usually a bit skewed and biased. Essentially, they’re helping to sell an album; and honestly, what label/publicist is going to say “well, this album really isn’t one of the band’s best, but we want people to buy it anyway.” After all, the music business is just that – a business. So when I read that 36 Crazyfists’ Collisions and Castaways is “Arguably the band’s heaviest effort to date”, I thought, “Yeah, that’s what these things always say.” I certainly didn’t expect it to be true.
36 Crazyfists has been around for a while. Not quite as long as, say, Slayer or Ozzy (who may or may not be a giant Weekend at Bernie’s puppet). But still, sixteen years is nothing to sneeze at. Collisions and Castaways is the band’s sixth full length album for these Alaskans, who are often known for their frontman Brock Lindow’s distinct voice – a voice so distinct that it seems to be quite polarizing among listeners. While his vocals have been evolving since 2002′s Bitterness The Star, they are definitely more diverse on this album than ever before.
As Collisions and Castaways starts, you are introduced to “In The Midnights” via an instrumental intro that’s roughly a minute and a half long. Once the song kicks in, though, it really kicks in. While it’s not one of my favorites on the album, it still offers up all the things I’ve come to love about 36 Crazyfists: prominent double bass, a memorable hook, Brock’s trademark clean vocals, and well, simply put, heavy when I want heavy, and melodic when I don’t.
“Mercy and Grace” begins in a very subdued manner (much the same as “Skin and Atmosphere” from 2004′s A Snow Capped Romance), but don’t mistake it as lethargic. Just as soon as you’ve grown fond of its slow pace that’s blanketed with Brock’s twisted vibrato, it briefly shifts gears into metalcore overdrive. This song changes pace so often it’s nearly impossible to keep up with. And I love every second of it.
One of the strongest songs on the album, “Anchors”, is easily a favorite of mine. It suffers from a severe, yet aurally satisfying case of multiple personality disorder as it moves back and forth from its crushing, up tempo verses to its sluggish, demented chorus. The variation in just this song alone is exceptional, and is beyond the scope of anything in the band’s discography prior to this album. Yeah, it’s that good.
“Reviver” is your standard 36 Crazyfists song – not that there’s anything wrong with that, but you’ve certainly heard it before. It just doesn’t serve up any of the diversity found throughout the rest of the album. The track that follows, “Caving In Spirals”, would have to be the weakest song on the album in my opinion. It trudges along through the first verse and into the chorus with very little momentum, and never really goes anywhere. Brock’s vocals sound unappealing throughout most of the song, which was a bit of a disappointment for me.
What “Caving In Spirals” lacks, “The Deserter” more than makes up for. This massive beast of a song delivers a heaviness like you’ve never heard from these guys before. It assaults your eardrums to the point where you doubt it could get any more brutal. Then you hear something…different. Gutturals. On a 36 Crazyfists song. And while they’re not used often, they add a depth to the track that you didn’t even realize was missing. I was so taken aback when I heard them, I had to check to make sure I was still listening to the same album. This song is pure metalcore perfection, and an absolute must listen. My description simply cannot do it justice.
The last track, “Waterhaul II”, is (obviously) a follow up to A Snow Capped Romance‘s “Waterhaul”. It begins and ends with captivating instrumental work that spans nearly half of the track, and also interjects midway through the song. The instrumentals combined with the brutal heavy vocals and serene clean vocals make this song a pleasantly exhausting atmospheric journey. Side note: if you let the album loop back to the beginning, you’ll find it flows seamlessly.
With the exception of “Caving In Spirals” and “Long Road To The Late Nights” (the only fully instrumental track), I really can’t find anything to complain about with Collisions and Castaways. This album is 36 Crazyfists at their best. Quite frankly, I cannot think of a better way to spend ten bucks.
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43 Comments
June 24th, 2010 at 9:45 am
Great job! BEST album since A Snow Capped Romance in my eyes.
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June 24th, 2010 at 9:58 am
I will be honest the only record I listened to fully by this band was Bitterness The Stars vocal approach was unique enough and Carl of Nora and Ferret at the time was nicely done (its no wonder why they signed to Ferret later, Carl also used to work at RR). After that I only been listening to the myspace tracks feeling just ok with them typical screams, but the rock vocals still detail what was done with their debut record.
Getting back the new song seem to have more melody, more atmospheric to me. I may check this record out.
Also to add this record is being released in the U.K by Roadrunner.
My score would have been more of a 3.0 just overall but as a band 4.5 is fitting a better album this time.
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Lee replied:
June 24th, 2010 at 10:07 am
How can you rate an entire album when you’ve only heard one song? That’s ridiculous. People who base their opinion of an entire album off of one track (no offense) have no idea what they’re talking about. One track (good or bad) does not make an album.
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Jen replied:
June 24th, 2010 at 10:15 am
I was wondering the same thing….
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June 24th, 2010 at 10:45 am
Sounds promising, i really liked their last album, hope this one is that good too
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June 24th, 2010 at 3:56 pm
Killer review, as always. Can't wait for the album to come out. I haven't followed a band in the last 10 years as much as I have 36 Crazyfists, and handful of others like Lamb of God, Chimaira, All that Remains, etc.
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Lee replied:
June 25th, 2010 at 6:05 am
Thanks brother! Much appreciated!!!
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Filip replied:
July 22nd, 2010 at 9:48 am
I just finished listening to this amazing album and i`ll put it on replay. This is clearly top notch as we all expected.
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June 24th, 2010 at 11:43 pm
Great review Jen! I've never really been into 36 Crazyfists, but I think the review and samples have definitely made me want to check this out.
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June 25th, 2010 at 4:13 am
Awesome review Jen. Quite well written. Consider me excited for this release.
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June 25th, 2010 at 11:37 pm
This guys voice irritates the hell out of me. Despite that, I liked both A Snowcapped Romance and Rest Inside the Flames. But I must say their last album was both disappointing and just plain boring in comparison. Hopefully, we have better written tracks on this album, and from the review it certainly looks that way.
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Jen replied:
June 26th, 2010 at 2:51 pm
That's why I said his vocals are quite polarizing. Either you love them or you hate them. I remember the first time I ever listened to their first album Bitterness The Star. His vocals really grated on me to begin with, but they grew on me the more I listened. I wasn't a huge fan of their last album either really. A Snowcapped Romance is easily one of my favorite albums of theirs. Hopefully you'll be pleasantly surprised with Collisions and Castaways. Obviously I was!
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June 26th, 2010 at 2:54 pm
And thanks mozil, Andrei, Luke, and Anthony for the kind words. (And Lee, as well…of course)
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June 28th, 2010 at 4:50 pm
Wow this sounds amazing, I cant wait!
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June 30th, 2010 at 12:42 pm
In all honesty, this album sounds like it's turning out to be another typical and deriative metalcore album we've all heard hundreds of time. Which saddens me, because 36 Crazyfists had a really distinct style. Of course, I'm only judging this based off the previews, and the single 'Reviver' is the only more trademark 36 Crazyfists song I've heard, with the trade-off of it sounding very radio freindly. I hope I'm proven wrong and that this album actually does warrant that 4.5!
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Lee replied:
June 30th, 2010 at 1:48 pm
Wizz I can promise you this, Collisions and Castaways is THE heaviest album 36 Crazyfist have made. TRUST ME! Ive been a fan since their demo days and have been put off by a few of their albums. This album is very very good
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Jen replied:
July 1st, 2010 at 11:16 pm
Wizz,
This album is still very true to the 36CF style, it's just heavier than before. Hopefully you'll agree.
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July 2nd, 2010 at 11:16 am
I agree with Jen. When I first heard bitterness the star I actually was not that excited about brock's vocals. However, after giving a serious listen to that cd as well as a snow capped romance, I became a HUGE fan of them. I honestly, feel that my fav cd so far is a toss up between a snow capped romance and rest inside the flames. I did enjoy the tide and its takers, however, I found that there were certain songs I skip when listening to the cd. I just ordered collisions and castaways online and should be getting it soon. I CANNOT wait. Also, if no one has seen 36 crazyfists live before, PLEASE go and see them. They are one of the best liver performers I have ever seen and I have been to see A LOT of bands.
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Jen replied:
July 14th, 2010 at 11:17 pm
I want to see them live!!!
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July 10th, 2010 at 12:56 pm
I hope you guys are right! Their last album left a little to be desired and I've been waiting for another great 36CF record since A Snow Capped Romance & Rest Inside the Flames. How would you compare the chorus'/singing to those two albums? On Par? Obviously Brock has done some great work on those two melding heavy vox with clean ones so I'm hoping this album is no slouch in that department.
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July 14th, 2010 at 4:09 pm
How are you guys the only review for this record so far? How did you even get the album? Lol. Heard the preview tracks on Amazon sounds great. Caving in Spirals sounds really good as well for a slower song. Just because its not exactly metal or doesn't evolve passed maybe just being a normal rock song doesn't make it bad. I really hope the clean vocal melodies are up to par with the rest of the record as well. Anyway really looking forward to it cant wait!
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Jen replied:
July 14th, 2010 at 11:15 pm
We got it from the band's publicist. Not sure why no one else has reviewed it yet. Seems like some sites take way too long on album reviews. We don't waste our time around here!
The more I listen to "Caving in Spirals", it's really not that bad. Brock's vocals are just unappealing to some people, more so in that particular song. It's not a terrible song, though. Thanks for commenting, Kev!
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Kev replied:
July 15th, 2010 at 4:29 pm
And thank you for answering
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July 15th, 2010 at 7:14 am
Sounds like there is a lot more variation in the vocals this album, can even hear shades of Bitterness the Star in some of the previews on Amazon, which is awesome. Can't wait for this to come out, pretty disappointed with the last album
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Jen replied:
July 16th, 2010 at 2:37 pm
Absolutely! The variation in the vocals is amazing on this album. Unlike anything they've done before.
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July 16th, 2010 at 6:40 am
I can't figure out why so many people were disappointed with the tide and its takers. That album was so heavy! Yet, it still had the same amazing melodies that you always expect from 36 crazyfists! IDK 36CF just really can't do anything wrong in my eyes… I'll be seeing them a week from this monday for the 4th time. I am really excited. If you all have not seen them live make sure you catch them on this tour with After the Burial, another amazing band.
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Jen replied:
July 16th, 2010 at 2:42 pm
I didn't hate The Tide and Its Takers. I just didn't love it, either. It just didn't resonate with me for whatever reason.
Thanks for commenting!
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July 20th, 2010 at 3:18 pm
I was just thinking the other day that if these guys didn't do something different with this album, they were pretty much going to be lost on me (not big on Brock's vocals)…thus I was hoping they would bring a different element of heaviness, and he'd change up the vocals a bit. This review was pretty much exactly what I wanted to hear, thank you!
Here's to hoping I enjoy the album now, lol.
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Jen replied:
July 22nd, 2010 at 8:15 pm
If you're not big on his vocals, the album could still be a miss for you. There's definitely some new stuff going on on this album, though, so give it a chance.
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July 27th, 2010 at 9:36 pm
All the hooha in the Avenged review means I've actually discovered this album is out, because somehow I'd failed to notice they had a new one coming (I fail as a fan).
I think Brock's vocals are one of the reasons I like the band actually. I saw them support someone a few years back, and I couldn't see a thing (I'm short) but I could hear this voice and it was awesome.
I loved A Snow Capped Romance, and I did enjoy the last one although not to the same extent, so here's hoping I like this one as well. You've written the reivew as a fan I think, and that makes me think that I will like it indeed.
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Jen replied:
July 27th, 2010 at 9:51 pm
It's okay, Katey. Sometimes it's hard to keep up with – even for us.
If you like Brock's vocals, then you should love this album. If you check it out, be sure to let us know what you think. In hindsight, I should have given it a 5/5.
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July 28th, 2010 at 12:01 pm
I saw them on monday they were great. I also bought the cd and listened to it about 3 times. I have to say I like it. But I feel as though they still haven't top ASR or RITF. The cd to me sounds very similar to the tide and its takers. The song structure, the vocals, the riffs, in general sound a lot like they just copied their last cd. Again, I am a die hard 36CF fan so I still love it but I am just being honest about it. I feel that a 4/5 rating would be accurate for this cd. I did really enjoy it and I am probably going to keep it in my CD player for a little while and it will probably grow on me more. However, my first impressions 4/5.
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September 2nd, 2010 at 1:37 pm
"The Deserter" makes your face bleed! made me check out http://www.myspace.com/acrossthesun. The Guest vocalist in this song, check out their Pestilence and Rapture EP.
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September 2nd, 2010 at 3:29 pm
Wow! Gr8 stuff i really admire 36 Crazyfists.
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September 2nd, 2010 at 6:50 pm
Great band and an even greater album. I can't wait to see these guys on tour with Straight Line Stitch.
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Jen replied:
September 2nd, 2010 at 10:53 pm
Lucky! Two of my favorite bands!
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September 2nd, 2010 at 7:32 pm
I don't know, I just couldn't get into this album. I loved The Tide and It's Takers but I just can't get into this one… Any suggestions on where to start on this album? Kthnx.
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Jen replied:
September 2nd, 2010 at 10:54 pm
Have you really sat down and spend some time with it, Josh? That would be my advice.
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September 2nd, 2010 at 10:51 pm
Thanks everyone for all the comments. This album gets better every time I listen to it!
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September 7th, 2010 at 2:22 pm
Excellent review! This is definitely one of my favorite albums from 2010. I've been a fan of these guys since A Snow Capped Romance was released in '04, and they have remained one of my favorite bands ever since. Hopefully this is the one that finally gets them noticed.
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Jen replied:
September 7th, 2010 at 2:33 pm
Yeah, no question about it…it will be on my list of top albums for 2010 too! Thanks for the kind words about the review!
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September 25th, 2010 at 4:12 pm
Fuckin heavy! Good to see these guys are still kicking and screaming.
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July 15th, 2011 at 5:50 pm
great band. enjoyed every release they’ve had and they’re only getting better. thank God for Alaska. great review!
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