“Selvet er en sump.”
Kollapse was originally recommended to me as a direct comparison to KEN Mode‘s latest album. Looking online, this parallel proved common, which makes sense given the sludge metal and noise rock labels often applied. With AR being the first from the Danish trio since 2021’s Sult, it offered my first foray into their sound. From Void, one might except a plummeting pit from which no light escapes, which to little surprise we get quickly.
Lead single “Autofagia” follows an instrumental track one to act as the proper intro to the album. The title certainly hints at the tone its naming after cell death and the tone delivers. While all lyrics are in Danish, limiting my full comprehension, the atmosphere presses down immediately. Built primarily around a repeating, sludgy sequence with an angular chord structure, it quite directly lives up to the KEN Mode comparison. Some of the transitions are a bit clunky, but the first “a-ha” moment comes about halfway through when the lead guitar takes center stage for about a minute atop a buzzing bassline.
The next track and second single “Død” starts a bit less aggressively, but still quite heavy. The start-stop nature of some tracks prevents settling in, which surely is an artistic call. Slower on the tempo, it does tend to rely on similar tricks in the name of building mood. That mood, of course, being “the gnarled feeling of emptiness” according to their Bandcamp bio. From an aesthetic standpoint, mission accomplished very early on, but the challenge comes with providing sufficient variation.
“Form” follows suit with one of the stronger compositions, most excitingly when the low end falls away. For a few seconds, the lead riff and vocals carry the affair, and maintain face in doing so. The drums and bass crash back in shortly thereafter, making for a crescendo when the lead jumps back on top. These moments appear here and there throughout AR, pieces to hold onto in an overall murky pool.
Then “Dekomposition” appears, a behemoth of a song where its biggest shift is the two minutes of ambient noise it contains. Despite a great sense of internal rhythm as all the best sludge does, it doesn’t quite justify its length. Similarly, “Kokon”‘s notability lies tied up in its sparse piano outro.
At risk of its second half dragging, finisher “Transformation” takes its time winding up with nearly three minutes of introductory plucking before launching into the song proper. It does the job of closing up shop well enough with a slower-paced, sludgy affair that just sort of stops, which sure fits thematically.
All told, to answer the original question, AR certainly wears its influences proudly. It stands on its own as a competent sludge record with strong sense of self. While it might lack for memorable moments, it does deliver a highly depressing package agnostic of language – a notable accomplishment in its own right.
6.5/10
Kollapse – AR comes out this Friday, March 8th on Fysisk Format with pre-orders here.