Collapse under the Empire - Fragments of a Prayer

  by Andy Cassidy

published: 14 / 9 / 2012

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Review

I became hooked on Collapse Under the Empire after hearing the first part of their planned double concept album 'Shoulders and Giants' towards the end of last year. 'Fragments of a Prayer' is not the keenly awaited second half of that project and the Hamburg duo are very keen to stress that neither is it an interlude – rather it is an album separate from that project to be enjoyed in its own right. After three minutes of opening/title track 'Fragments of a Prayer', I found myself hooked anew. There is a cinematic quality to the duo’s recordings which is simply breath-taking in its scope, power and elegance. This is perfectly displayed on the opening track, where textures build and fuse with dramatic beats to complete a musical coup de grace which is overpowering in all the best possible ways. Second track 'Breaking the Light' is rather more conventional, opening with 'Joshua Tree'-era U2 style guitars with synths added to the mix to flesh out the aural scenery. As the track continues, the emphatic lead guitar comes to the fore and shrinks back time and again, allowing for other guitar motifs, piano, and what sounds like synth bells to take the lead. While it is undoubtedly the incessant guitar which drives the track, it is completed expertly by some fabulous drumming and some wonderfully judged and executed synth work. Fourth track '180 Seconds' is a mini-masterpiece (sadly, though, it lasts longer than 3:00, but I guess us pedants can’t have everything). Urgent drums and programmed synth make for a real rush of a track, an adrenaline-driven 'Mission Impossible' for the post-rock generation. My favourite track is 'The Beyond'. Owing as much to Brian Eno as it does to Mike Oldfield, nowhere on the album is the duo’s cinematic style of composition more obvious and accessible. This is music for a movie that has yet to be made, a 'Blade Runner' meets 'Braveheart' epic. Like its predecessor, 'Fragments of a Prayer' is music to leave listeners breathless. Buy this album, turn off the lights and allow your mind to be swept along on waves of exuberance and sheer gorgeousness. Simply majestic.

Track Listing:-

1 Fragments of a Prayer
2 Breaking the Light
3 In the Cold
4 180 Seconds
5 Closer
6 Distance
7 Opening Sky
8 The Beyond
9 When the Day Fades Away
10 The Great Silence

Band Links:-

http://collapseundertheempire.com/
https://www.facebook.com/collapseunder
https://www.youtube.com/user/collapsee
https://plus.google.com/10165759186287
http://www.last.fm/de/music/Collapse+U

Label Links:-

http://www.finaltune.com/artists/
https://twitter.com/FinaltuneRecord
https://www.facebook.com/finaltunereco
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYihZ
https://plus.google.com/11193975333939