When Reasons Collapse – “Dark Passengers” [Album Review]

Maybe I’m doing the genre a disservice but I can’t remember the last time I heard a female fronted deathcore band let alone one as potent as Parisian quintet When Reasons Collapse. Going for the jugular straight from the off, Dark Passengers is an unforgiving, relentless blast of modern death metal.

After a quick intro, Dark Passengers kicks off proper with “No Time For Regrets” and it doesn’t take long for you to realise that, in vocalist Cristina, the Parisian shredders have themselves an absolute gem. Putting most metalcore/deathcore vocalists to shame, the vocalist has a vicious set of pipes on her that match her band note for note. From throat-wrecking screams to guttural roars, her abrasive vocals fit seamlessly into the brutal metal of tracks like “Breaking The Silence”. In fact, it has to be said that every track on Dark Passengers is delivered with the kind of flawless ease that is usually associated with seasoned veterans. Futhermore, while the spine of Dark Passengers is brutal metal, the band have enough intelligence to pack out the album with enough hardcore gang vocals and moshy grooves to stop it sounding samey throughout. Having said that though, When Reasons Collapse are at their finest when they’ve simply got their heads down and they’re bashing out the kind of metal that just begs for a massive circle pit.

On the downside, there isn’t anything on Dark Passengers that could be classed as particularly original but when the end result is as downright nasty as the material on this album, there is no reason to hold that against this French outfit.

Track Listing:

01. All Roads Lead to Chaos
02. No Time for Regrets
03. Breaking the Silence
04. When Reasons Collapse
05. Past in Peace
06. Come to Me
07. Our Way to Oblivion
08. Doomsday
09. Bitterness and Grief
10. Anesidora
11. Dark Passenger

Run Time: 39:34
Release Date: 12 January, 2015