Ah, Born/Dead is one of the more notable crust/hardcore bands in the vein of groups like Tragedy (kind of but I would not say this is a good comparison as Born/Dead is a beast all to themselves. They also adhere to a heavy political message in their songs. Touring is also a huge part of this band as they play all over the world bringing their relentless music and politics to people as often as possible. The Final Collapse is the band's second album, and while I enjoy them when I catch them live, Born/ Dead and their heavy and bruising style still has not quite won me over on record; possibly, The Final Collapse will finally do the trick.
The opening animal calls that peek through the haze of feedback and noise that presage the reverb drenched bass line sets up an ominous mood for "Barricades" that although a strong track, really is missing a heavy bottom end sound (it is there but is rather thin sounding). But, the song's blazing tempo is a sure asset though as the guitars sound absolutely vicious. "Years of Death" is the shortest "ballad" that might ever be written as it is clearly a much slower and musically less caustic while clocking in at well under a minute. The title track surprisingly lacks real teeth as the music is just an even keel while the vocals do not add any kind of real dynamicism; this lack of a kick in the teeth type visceral slap to the senses by the music is my real surprise as expecting a more biting performance from a band that has it live does not seem to unreasonable an expectation.
"Anamnesis" is one example of how great Born/Dead can be with the two vocals trading off to add a strong rapid fire vocal dynamic (and with powerful lyrics dealing with an veritable sense of realization and loss of hope like "The avarice of man's supposed progress has left us exposed/ It is my point of anamnesis that it's never going to end") while the bass and guitars sound as though they are working together to create a more cohesive arrangement that is more like the gut punch the band can deliver (and I was hoping for out of the record). The dual vocal attack really kicks in on "Sirens" (a cover of a song originally written by Cress) as the guitars and vocals just coalesce into one of the best tracks that the album contains. The emotional level is much more evident than in other songs available elsewhere on The Final Collapse. "Eulogy" continues the effective dual vocal attack while espousing feelings that many feel "Disillusion surrounding me
It's like I am Drowning or lost at sea", and the song greatly benefits from the seeming increase in emotional energy and expression that comes through while listening to it.
The Final Collapse is another small disappointment on a personal level as Born/Dead provide another album of well crafted punk songs with lyrics that serve to deliver serious political messages, and while the album gets increasingly stronger as it progresses, either the production or the dynamic use of the band just kills the emotional impact that the record could have at times. That perfect storm of an album is yet to happen for Born/Dead; I can hear it that they are just about there to break through because the sound is there, which so many other bands never seem to find or acquire, but having a whole album that just blows listeners away from start to finish is just proving to be a bit elusive. Still, the last half of The Final Collapse is well worth listening and gets more of their live energy across than on previous efforts (as well as the first half of the record); if political punk rock is your bag, do not miss this record.
