October Falls has been around since 2001, but it's one of those acts that not many people have even heard of. With the sudden spike in the whole Viking Metal scene, and Folk Metal finding more serious acts to take the place of the one gimmicky bands that had put the style on the map, acts like these are becoming more recognized and embraced then usual, but many still hide in the shadows of obscurity. Why that is remains a mystery, but with A Collapse of Faith, it appears it's time for October Falls to step out into the spotlight and receive the praise they deserve.
A Collapse of Faith is a very dark and well composed Folk Metal album, one that fans of bands such as Moonsorrow would come to willingly embrace. The album is composed of three songs that are composed in a manner befitting on various Progressive acts such as Opeth, with the first two tracks pushing towards twenty minutes in length for each, while the last track, "Part III", winds up closing out the album in just under five and a half minutes. "Part I" and "Part II" rely heavily on the atmosphere being set through various methods, such as the generally dark atmosphere that one could argue shows melancholic traits with Pagan Black Metal acts, as well as through various nature sound effects, such as running creek beds in "Part I". All of this comes together well to compose solid, long length tracks that won't lose the listener for a second, but also engross him/her in a very dark, and at times rather epic-sounding world.
Another way the band effectively sets the atmosphere of this release is through the use of acoustic guitars. October Falls has done both Metal inspired material, as well as acoustic-based music. A Collapse of Faith, much like their recent material, takes the band's Metal side, but nicely layers it over a soft acoustic foundation. This may not seem like anything major, but hearing the acoustic guitars in the background, especially during the more epic moments of the guitar playing, such as around the sixteen minute mark of "Part I", just makes things sound more harmonic, and further pushes the Folk Metal aspect of the recording, setting a fantastic atmosphere through this ambient tactic. There are also acoustic bridges utilized on each song that seemlessly merge the heavier, darker Metal aspects of the songs together, extending the songs in the long run without the tracks actually coming off as seperate songs entirely.
There actually winds up being no real need for the songs to even be cut up into pieces outside of conceptual reasons. The album flows nicely from one song to another through the use of the acoustic bridges mentioned earlier. This even applies to the end/start of new songs, as "Part II" is bled into from "Part I" through the use of an acoustic piece that is played against the running creek bed sound that is utilized throughout much of the album. But, that is the only issue with this release, really. While the music doesn't become repetitive, the pagan effects do. It's nice to hear the bridges being utilized throughout the songs, but for the most part it's the same running water effect for roughly the same amount of time with the same acoustic guitar chords being played over them. It would be nice to see a little more in the line of acoustic in the songs during these breaks, but the overall atmosphere of the album more then makes up for it, causing them to not seem as repetitive as they actually can be. The closing to "Part II", however, features a beautiful, yet simple, piano piece against the sound of rain, which is the effect utilized the most in his song as well. There is also no real bridge into "Part III", as "Part II" concludes with that piano piece, then "Part III" just immediately slams right in with a matchingly heavy, as well as faster, sounding Metal piece to close out the recording.
Of the three songs, however, "Part II" stands out on the release, but mostly due to the overall heaviness of the track. As "Part I" bleeds in, one would expect something along the lines of that song without being complete mimickery. However, "Part II" actually winds up being far more intense and heavy in comparison, and by doing so winds up losing some of the dark atmosphere that "Part I" had set for the album. This isn't to say it's a bad song, but the ambience and atmosphere that was crucial to "Part I" being so amazing and epic begins to get lost. "Part III" also increases the intensity, though as a conclusion track to this opus it is to be expected, and the chords wind up still holding a similar atmospheric composition and performance to that of "Part I", with the bass truly playing a vital role for it's five and a half minutes, though closes with the same water effects that "Part II" utilizes, leaving the very end of the song to be a little less then what one would expect.
A Collapse of Faith is a fantastic piece that Folk Metal fans will simply eat up. The atmosphere of the recording is perfect and sets a very dark tone to the natural underscore of the album that pushes things right along, leaving this an album from October Falls that, once again, does not disappoint, as well as makes a great starting point for any fan to hop on with. While the effects that really make this album do wind up becoming a little repetitive after a while, and the very end of the album doesn't quite live up to the anticipation that much of the epic music composes, it's still a rich, fantastic release that is well worth taking some time with.
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