A breath of fresh air
shmitty01 | ? | 10/18/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Hardcore today has become stale and boring. Everybody now draws their sound from some influences of another hardcore band in the past that was groundbreaking(see early Zao albums for a good example). Melodic hardcore isn't much different. Most melodic hardcore bands follow the same format: melodic guitars and clean vocals with a heavy breakdown midsong and some screaming. Narcissus could be classified as a melodic hardcore band, yet they defy the conventions of the genre. Instead of copying someone else's sound, they have managed to create a sound all their own. The vocals(both clean and screamed) do not sound like anyone else who has already done it. The guitar also has it's own unique sound. There is a heavy amount of ambience to the clean parts and the keyboard at the beginning and end of songs. The breakdowns have a sort of groove oriented heavy thrash sound to them. It's hard to describe. Narcissus has been perfecting their sound for a while now. New Wave Techno Homicide was mostly heavy with occasional clean parts. Becoming Leviathin was mostly clean with some heavy parts. This album seems to be a mixture somewhere in between. It is both heavy and clean, but more leaning towards the Leviathin sound. Although some comparisons could be made to other melodic hardcore bands like Haste or Silverstein, Narcissus is a very unique sounding band. Crave and Collapse is not a dissapointment at all. I was left wanting more when I got Becoming Leviathin. I found myself fully satisfied after listening to this album. It is 13 solid, great tracks. If you like melodic hardcore, this album is a must own. Hopefully, abacus will do a good job distributing and promoting Narcissus. They deserve it. A bunch of great guys with an original sound."
Simply outstanding
Frankenchrist | USA | 06/19/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"For what turned out to be a breathtaking and utterly epic album, "Crave and Collapse" was a swan song for a band that is no longer together. Originally released in October of 2003, "Crave and Collapse" withdrew some of the fundamentals of hardcore and enhanced it with a progressive and seemingly graceful edge that was the equivalent to an album put out by bands like POISON THE WELL, THURSDAY and even EARTHTONE 9. Unfortunately, this will be the last vestige of a band that played their music with style and demanding conviction. This excessively precise album weaved in and out of hardcore beatings in between a crystal clear layer of ear popping melodies. This two-fold method is part of a currently popular flavor as we all know but NARCISSUS designed their songs to be fortified with more passion and power then their counterparts. Considering the album length that rings in at around 61 minutes, you are assured an honest effort from the band even though at times, it might have been somewhat too large in scope. It was a shame that such a piece of work will more than likely fall on deaf ears and may never receive the respect it deserved. Show some love for a band that was on the cusp of something huge and pick this one up."
Track Listings (13) - Disc #1