Search - Collide :: Some Kind of Strange

Some Kind of Wonderful Relief

Clarissa | Ontario, California | 07/14/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As of today (and next to Garbage), Collide is hands-down my favorite group. Seeing how the majority of today's rock is dominated with alternative-punk and wretched nu-metal, you can't help but turn in the opposite direction, desperately seeking something raw, inventive, and untouched by the masses. I hate to be blunt and concise with my point here but most music being played on mainstream radio reek of something other than smell. A slew of acts out there inevitably destined for one-hit-nothings can learn a thing or two from groups like Collide if only they'd open their minds and stop listening to the greedy guys above them who are simply interested in making money and then moving on to the next big thing. The music industry is hardly about talent anymore and that's why so many underground artists are being recognized now (Evanescence is a perfect example of that) as a wonderful relief to the less deluded. 'Chasing The Ghost' is a brilliant masterpiece and will probably never be passed in magnitude but 'Some Kind of Strange' is a worthy follow-up and I think all the 5-star reviews prove that. Leading lady kaRIN is an amazing songstress with an incredibly sexy voice that is sultry, evocative, dark and sensual. And don't you dare compare her with any other singer because she's got her own unique sound and she cannot be duplicated... Swirling in and out of Statik's instrumental arrangments, kaRIN is multi-layered and even more haunting amidst the 'noise'. You have your heavy melodies with harsh, distorted guitar riffs and powerful drum percussion (note of interest: cEvin Key of Skinny Puppy and Danny Carey of Tool are guest musicians on "Euphoria" and "Somewhere") but in the blink of an eye the texture changes to lush, acoustic atmospheres. "Inside", for instance, is a slower jazz inpsired tempo drop, showing growth in diversity as Collide strive to assort their mix a little, but without driving their fans away. 'Some Kind of Strange' is a cross between the rock-oriented 'Beneath The Skin' and the industrial-tinged electronica used on 'CTG' but it isn't until "Temptation" and "Complicated" that you hear them shift in the direction of their gothic roots, which twist to fit the gloom of their lyrics."

Good but repetitive

mysanthropyk_overlord | USA | 01/30/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I don't like much electronic/darkwave/whatever this is music, but this group is pretty straight. Their music could be really hypnotic if the whole album didn't sound like one long song. All of the songs are played at the same tempo and really lack a whole lot of distinguishing features. I've heard some of their other stuff and might buy other albums because they sound more varied than this one. Basically, if you only listen to one or two songs at a time, this is worth having in your collection. If you like a lot of this kind of music, then you probably already have this, but if not you'll love it."

Some Kind of Masterpiece

Jon M. | Arcanum, Ohio | 05/13/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"By nothing less than an accident I discovered Collide through the Litany.net website, which is normally a Skinny Puppy news site. I blindly followed a link to the Collide website (Collide.net) and for some unknown reason I purchased this album without ever hearing any of their music before (my PC speakers are broken so I was not able to D/L any of their sample music). I can only say that I am exceedingly glad I did buy this CD.
While the vast majority of the music is synthetic none of it ever falls into any of the boring molds that so many electronic bands seem to fall into these days. Instead they seem to progress into their own dark waters by utilizing slow pulsating rhythms, which can border on hypnotic, along with subtle injections of harsh static-like distortion to create a most unique balance. Effortlessly flowing over this musical landscape is a feminine voice that I can only describe as simultaneously erotic and devious, (in a pleasantly intriguing sort of way). While unfortunately the music of Collide may be to unconventional for mass consumption the fact you are reading this suggests you have an active interest and I would suggest you take the plunge and purchase this audio journey into the outer limits. I promise you will not be sorry."