Good but nothing new
Another dip into the ever-growing tombola of metal has produced Germany's Maroon. They've been chocking out music in one form or another for eight years, and I wondered why I had never come across their name before. Although they have a pretty dull, un-metal mantle, Maroon are as brutal as they come, however they're just as brutal as all the other brutal bands out at the moment, and hence this is their problem. They're just another brutal band to throw on to the brutal pile, there's little on this brutal CD that sets them apart from everyone else. Maybe if the scene they were aiming for was in its infancy they'd stand out and perhaps reap greater success. But trying to squeeze into an already bloated genre is doing themselves no favours. There is some quality on this disc and some different approaches to album structure, but nothing that sets them apart from all the other heavy European bands.
Firstly the production sounds like that knock off Daniel Bergstrand production. The snare is deep, the guitars are brutal, the bass is prominent, anyone who has listened to In Flames and Soilwork's latest offering will know what I'm talking about. It is having this copy-cat production that really holds the band back. Of course it sounds great and extremely 'in your face,' but with their song writing style similar to that of the aforementioned bands, you could be forgiven into thinking that you were actually listening to In Flames rather than Maroon.
This may sound harsh but it's the reality of making music. When a scene explodes both fans and press take the originators to their bosom. They will then welcome the next batch of bands into their homes with open arms, because what's better than having a band playing a new style of metal? Having two or even three bands playing that new style of metal. Unfortunately Maroon could be, for me anyway, the twenty-eighth band playing this style melodic death metal. Taken on its own merits, 'When Worlds Collide' is a good album and has certainly spent more time in my stereo than the latest In Flames record. But the willingness to stay within it's own genre will undoubtedly cause it to have a short life span.
Opener '24HourHate' is a good thrash 'em up, as is 'And if I lose, welcome annihilation,' but it's the short acoustic break of 'Sirius' that was the biggest surprise on this disc. It brings the proceedings down to a minimalist state before blasting in with the album's strongest cut, 'Wake up in Hell.' 'Arcturus' splits the album up further and it's quite a neat trick especially if all your songs are written from the same nucleus. Andre Moraweck's vocals are a bonus to the band handling both the growl and clean vocals well. It was also nice to hear the dulcet tones of Mercenary's Mikkel Sandager on 'Annular Eclipse.'
'The Omega Suite pt.II' was another good change of pace. It's a keyboard driven number that are almost unheard of on such albums as these. 'Sword and Bullet' and 'Vermin' are just the average thrash fare and certainly don't live up to the quality at the front end of this album. Another acoustic break is then followed by 'Below Existence', which is a great song to finish off an album. It's slow, heavy and moody, and also contains some great cymbal work from drummer 'Nick Wachsmuth.'
"When Worlds Collide" is a good thrash-a-thon but there's nothing here that you can't find on an album by Darkane, Soilwork, Inflames, Dark Tranquility, At the Gates, Duskfall, Fear my thoughts etc...the list goes on. If a rocking hermit, who had been sealed in wine cask for the last ten years, heard this album he'd no doubt find it a good listen. But with the overkill of bands into this melodic death metal thrash I fear 'When Worlds Collide' will just get lost amongst the also-rans. Perhaps this is an unfair fate for this fairly imaginative release, but this is the price you pay when you don't try and break down those musical boundaries.