Review Summary: Lasting only 12 minutes over 7 tracks, The Collapse is a perfectly sized chunk of maddening mathcore that just needs to expand on its quieter moments
Frontierer is the side project of Sectioned (UK) guitarist Pedram Valiani, though here he isn't just resigned to guitar duties as he handles all the instrument and production, leaving vocals to Chad Kapper of A Dark Orbit. Unsurprisingly, Pedram sticks to what he knows best as Frontierer share a similar style to his other project, specifically an affinity for chaos.
It’s the almost exact same brand of chaos as Sectioned (UK), as Frontierer revel in clear production, pummeling blast-beats, a pissed off vocalist and sharp, clean, whinnying guitars. Not that this is a bad thing, as Pedram definitely knows what he’s doing as he carefully orchestrates his guitar to whine, pulsate, oscillate and generally sound like a dystopian siren at all the right moments. The Collapse stays true to its name, as chunky riffs break, shift, fall apart, assimilate again and then disintegrate, coming and going within seconds before being replaced with something just a chaotic. The best parts of this EP are when Pedram’s guitar work takes the forefront, such as in the title track which features this escalating riff that sounds as if some electric beast is rearing its apocalyptic heads, set over an ominous, ever building repeating riff. This technique of background, atmospheric guitar work with a furiously scattered hardcore riff set over it is commonplace on The Collapse and that's not a bad thing at all.
But the moments when Pedram isn't at the forefront are almost nearly as good, as he provides excellent groundwork for Chads vocals to shine. Epileptic riffs and chaotic drumming slam along in monstrous rhythms to provide brilliant undercurrents for Chads strained, demented shouting which, although not massively impressive or varied, is consistent and extremely forceful. However, this does leave Frontierer somewhat lacking as the drums/guitar/vocals approach becomes monotonous. Glitch-like skips and strange, ethereal-ambient sounds occasionally flicker in to give some respite from the onslaught, the best example of this being the end of the 2nd track, where guitar feedback fades out as melodic bass helps calm and smooth the segue into the 3rd track. But these moments are few and far between, usually lasting no more than a few seconds, leaving me wanting more really.
Arguably, Frontierer are just making the same noises that bands like Psyopus, Car Bomb and Danza have been making for years now. The lazer like guitar-screams are not entirely original but unlike those other bands, Frontierer are wonderfully focused and know when to use them. The songs never stray out of 2 minutes keeping the chaos to its acceptable limits. Tracks flow into each other and Pedram does a good job of making sure the music never peaks then tries to peak again. Frontierer works on a lot of small build-ups and releases (or more appropriately a lot of little collapses), and is all the better for it. Lasting only 12 minutes over 7 tracks, The Collapse is a perfectly sized chunk of maddening mathcore that just needs to expand on its quieter moments
