(Andy Synn has found another new favourite and would like to share it with you today)
Every single thing we’ve ever been taught was a lie
The truth we know is the history written by people with money meant to keep the poor weak and preventing us from breaking the barrier between classes
They created the illusion that this country is all powerful and untouchable
Creating the god complex in our minds and being forced to break habits we never want to admit we have
We’re witnessing it first hand
We’re witnessing the collapse of the infinite
This is how Colorado Metallic Hardcore crew Eyes of Salt introduce their debut album, Collapse of the Infinite.
So, obviously, if you prefer music that leans more towards escapism than activism this one may not be for you.
Helpfully describing their sound as “a blend of melodic tension and metallic weight” – combining the biting riffs and heavyweight grooves of Incendiary or Ringworm (“No Redemption, No Salvation”) with the impassioned intensity and infectious hooks of Comeback Kid or Shai Hulud (“Flower of Pain”) – the group have really come out all guns blazing, musically, vocally, and lyrically, on their new album, ensuring that every track makes an instant impact and leaves a lasting impression.
Whether that’s in the form of the punchy duck ‘n’ weave of “No Greater Truth” or the frantic riffage and crushing climactic breakdown of “The People Are Hungry” – which, if you were in any doubts about the band’s position on things, features a strangled cry of “The one percent are a fucking disease!” – or the punky melodic energy and vibrant gang vocals of “Don’t Shed Your Tears”, there’s no shortage of heart-felt, hard-hitting material on offer.
The clanking weight of the bass in particular helps adds some extra metallic muscle and some noodling nuance to the low-end side of the band’s sound, while the haunting fretboard harmonies and compelling counterpoints that add some clever contrast to the chunky, churning fury of “We Are Not Exempt” or the aforementioned “The People Are Hungry” ensure that there’s always something more than initially meets the eye (or ear) going on.
And even when the band push things out towards one extreme or another – consider the rabidly thrashy attack of “MELT” on one hand and the brooding melodic introspection of “Terms and Conditions” on the other – it never feels as though Eyes of Salt are stretching themselves too thin… they’re just showing what they’re capable of.
In the end then, Collapse of the Infinite is all about unity… not just the band’s unity with their peers (with the album featuring appearances by members of Turn Cold, Ruiner, and The Warriors, among others), or the impressive unity and clarity of purpose found between the music and the lyrics (which really can’t be overstated), but also the call for unity against those who would see us kept desperate and downtrodden for their own benefit.
Because you have to remember:
There’s no war but the class war
And there will always be more of us than them