CD, Malignant Records, 2010
www.malignantrecords.com
Opening with “An Introduction to Black Holes” it’s immediately evident that we are in for something bleak and oppressive or positively crushing; there really are no surprises here as this does exactly what it states on the tin. There is no sound in space, none whatsoever, so this release leaves it all up to the imagination, just what if there were and in some respects coming across thematically similar to “Sleep Research Facility” and their utterly soul crushing “Nostromo”; it’s the closest comparison I can muster.
The sound Collapsar produce is not too dissimilar to that of a ship soaring through the cosmos on some doomed journey, and that is all too evident within the title of the album; a movie that has been tagged as “The Shining” set in space, and using this album as a soundtrack is all too familiar a term to state that up there no one can hear you scream.
“Beyond The Event Horizon” is particularly bleak, dragging on the age old sources that all good dark ambient albums play with, whilst giving way to airy fresh grating spaces of sound that cut through the treacle like rumbles and help carry the atmospherics along, giving a distinct edge to the proceedings leaving no space for tedium along the way.
There are elements to this release I would alter; I like albums of this ilk to flow better. Yes the tracks are great individually but they just seem to stop short and not gently meander into each other, giving it too much of a stop/start nature and, in turn, halt the feeling of getting totally sucked in, which is a pity because this lot certainly do have the knack and know-how when it comes to creating something that can stand out and rival their peers.
Interesting and as black as it comes, with just a few edges ironed out this could have been a classic.
[8/10]
— Tony Young