Dazzling Killmen
Face Of Collapse

One of the most frightening and violent bands of the '90s; the vastly underrated Dazzling Killmen released their little masterpiece, "Face of Collapse," in 1994. An explosive mix of noise and math; tons of scorching lava brought to the ears of the poor listener, with an intensity, ferocity, and devastating viciousness that would have few equals throughout the decade. Nick Sakes, Darin Gray, and Blake Fleming (yes, the very first drummer of The Mars Volta) are the architects of this cataclysm. Simply an earthquake translated into music, from which we are transported and overwhelmed, unable to resist, incapable of reacting. We can only hope that it all ends soon and pray to escape the danger.

The opening "Staring Contest" seems almost mocking, with its false start, hinted at again and again, that devastates when least expected. Tremors of unheard-of proportions, an impenetrable wall of guitars, and Sakes' shouted screams, halfway between Yow and Albini, depict an apocalyptic scenario, an apocalypse that is already on earth, from which we cannot escape. The complex and sophisticated scores and repeated time changes are the aspects that most distinguish them from bands like Unsane and Jesus Lizard, and instead of scratching, the guitars prefer to stun, resonating with certain sounds typical of Helmet. "Bone Fragments" is the track that showcases the band's skill, the chameleonic ability to vary a different number of structures within the same piece. Overflowing accelerations, pauses, bewitching bass lines, almost funk, alternate for over five minutes, overloading our tensions, our neuroses, preparing the ground for the final explosion of our tormented psyche. "My Lacerations" is like holding your breath for a minute and a half; instead of water, you have to fight the noise. "Blown (Face Down)" is almost erudite, like being angry at the world and laughing about it, rather than spitting out one's wrath, one's anger. But it's just an exception; in fact, it almost seems to want to make you believe the storm has passed. My dear ones, it is not so. "Windshear" helps you catch your breath before the lethal final triptych. "Painless One" raises the tension and finds the leading motif that had been lost; the title track unfolds through thirteen harrowing minutes of deafening cacophony, tasked with thoroughly pulverizing us. The coup de grâce is delivered by "Agitator", with an epic, almost prog-influenced gallop.

Many extreme bands of today owe much success to these Missouri guys. But none of them have ever remotely brought to mind the sonic debris of "Face of Collapse." A small flower that extinguished itself, which I have humbly tried to bring back to light. This time the earthquake has truly passed, but it's as if I am still being hit by it.