Controlled Collapse

"Injection" (Album, 2007)

Press releases that accompany items sent to DSO for review rarely offer an objective insight into the product being promoted. However, the one sent with this debut album from Poland's Controlled Collapse did. To begin with it accurately observes: "Those who normally steer clear of the brutal, heavy sounds of bands such as Hocico, Agonise, Amduscia [and I'd definitely add Suicide Commando to this list] should give Controlled Collapse a chance" - I'd totally agree with this. As one who tends to be usually underwhelmed by the harsh, noisy, electro/EBM field typified by the Suicide Commando sound, this album has a far greater range that is usually found in the genre (Liar partially calls to mind the now defunct man(i)kin) and will appeal more widely than many of the stuff released by the bands listed above.

Further perception from the press release comes especially from the following extract: "The project owes a far greater musical debt to material in the vein of early Velvet Acid Christ". In places, this is really spot on. I'm a big fan of VAC, and the early stuff in particular, and I can vouch that this isn't marketing nonsense but, indeed, an accurate and objective insight into what you can expect from parts of Injection. A certain Mr Kr-Lik lies at the heart of Controlled Collapse, responsible for all the music, lyrics and vocals (yes, they are still gruff and distorted!). However, there are a couple of exceptions to this rule with a couple of notable guest vocalists/lyricists. Psyche's Darrin Huss provided the lyrics for Dreams but on Fulfillment he also delivers the vocals. Meanwhile, Flesh Field's spunky Wendy Yanko supplies both lyrics and her voice on Solitude (one of the best tracks on the album). At it's best this is like VAC on top form, other times it wavers and its distinctive edge is lost amid the usual suspect trademarks of the genre. This is a hard one to rate, as the high spots (Intro, Selfless and Solitude) do stand out, but on balance I think its probably 6/10.

Rob Dyer (July, 2007)

Official Controlled Collapse website: http://www.controlled-collapse.com