October Falls – A Collapse of Faith

On a mid-summer night in July, the heat literally blisters through my house as if the air conditioning, that was set on 70 degrees, is merely non-existent. The waves of heat punch my face over and over until it’s to the point that I can’t take anymore and I have to A) jump in the pool, B) take a very, very cold shower or C) throw on some October Falls and let the imaginary rain from Finland wash me away. The experience I’ve had with October Falls ranges from very ambient/folk records that M. Lehto released when it was his solo project, all the way until now with “A Collapse of Faith”. “A Collapse of Faith” is borderline folk/ambient/dark metal with a tiny pinch of black metal thrown in for good pleasure. The only reason I really put this record into the black metal genre is because it has those distorted guitar elements in sections that will really set the gloom and coldness into your chest.

So, as the heat from the Arkansas summer rip my face to pieces and melts my skin so much that it’s to the point I want to jump off a huge cliff, “A Collapse of Faith” saves the day. With the way this record flows so gently and easily, most would say that it’s just one forty minute song, only chopped up into three different tracks. I have to agree with that statement, only because if you never glance at the device this record is playing on, you’ll never know when one song ends and the next starts. Tracks that last nearly nineteen minutes in length are godsends, only because if I didn’t have nearly half an hour songs, I might blow a ton of shit up with so all the rage that short songs provide me with. “A Collapse of Faith” provides me with calmness and atmospheres that make me wish it would rain and pour for days on end while I lay in the middle of the yard just enjoying every drop of rain that hits me.

The piano and acoustic sections in this record are the two things that shine the most, in my opinion. Although I love how heavy, raw and gut-filled the heavier sections are, the slower, more classical sections are what grabbed me by the heart and had me wanting to marry this record from the start. Normally, I would try to paint some form of picture for all you guys and gals but in all honesty, the picture is already painted and I can’t describe how beautiful the world is that October Falls created with “A Collapse of Faith”. I’ll say this, the landscapes are very high, mountains that peak into the clouds, oceans that are free from all evil and foggy beaches that are glorious to relax in while the sprinkles fall from heaven.

In a state where the summers are beyond humid with temperatures hitting a hundred an twenty with the heat index and winters that are cold as balls, I need something to cool me down and heat me up from time to time. October Falls’ “A Collapse of Faith” is exactly what I ordered for the job. It provides me with an escape route that not many records have been able to do and I’m very pleased that this record has surpassed the expectations I had for it.

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