France's Birds In Row are not a new band by any means, but just recently are making their presence known in the U.S. of A. "Collected" is a compilation of sorts, comprised of the band's previous EP's "Rise Of The Phoenix" and "Cottbus". I had the chance to catch these guys at Union Transfer in Philly with Converge and I was pretty impressed with their set.
From an audio related standpoint, everything sounds fucking great. The guitar is jagged and in your face, the bass is sludgy and thick, and the drums are perfectly balanced, as the kick drum pounds through without overpowering the snare. These are things that actually can make or break a record for me. While the mix sounds great, don't think this is some overproduced French hype band.
These dudes can be raw as hell, and the vocals are the proving point. Frontman Bart's voice sounds at points like its on the verge of completely blowing out, and its nice to hear a real scream rather then one with safe technique from some dvd. After the instrumental opening of "Among The Ashes", shit gets seriously quickly with "Colossus" and doesn't really let up until the mid-album interlude.
A fan of any of the newer "dark" hardcore bands like Rise And Fall, Oathbreaker, Loma Prieta, and others will easily get into Birds In Row. Its best to jump on the ship now, as the band is preparing its Deathwish Records debut for later this year.
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