Polish death metallers Nex bring to the violent table with a rhythmic and groove driven approach while still being as heavy and fast as their peers in the extreme genre. The World Collapses does somethings right by passing levels of heaviness that suit any headbangers needs but falls short in areas of doing enough that sounds distinctive.
The on the nose introduction, Introduction to the Silence, has an eerie start that feels dangerous. The drums start shooting away in the background with light guitar work starts this album off in the right direction and into a seamless transition into the first song, Silence.
The next few songs Silence, Hate, and Wide Horizon blend together for the most part with similar structures and similar sounding tones of the instrumentation. Exile’s vocals have a nice blend of that classic death metal sound with a modern take. The mids are clear and as brutal sounding as I like, but nothing catches me with any of the guitar, bass, or drum work. Some nice rhythm and headbanging speed, but not much substance.
The second half of the record has some of the same issues, but the guitar work throws in some impressive solos in God and more complicated riffs in tracks like The Industrial Democracy. These last five songs all bring together more variety to the structure instead of the typical pummelling approach that too many groups tend to do in this scene.
The mix of intense speed and slow, groove and rhythm have an even blend. The closing track Circles fittingly concludes the record. The longest song that starts off ominous before pounding away at my ears with relentless violence before ending on an extended instrumental segment that slowly fades away.
The lyrics have a thought-provoking substance that is often seen in the modern metal scene. Instead of traditional brutality for shock value, something goes more in-depth to a more relatable level. While topics like religion get beaten to death, Ten Tables of Faith and God make it work without feeling redundant. The words never feel overly repetitive and weave together with the music in a way that feels right.
Nex has a lot of potential with their creative artwork and the beats that get hit just right. More ambiance and atmosphere like the intro would elevate the overall sound of The World Collapses. Nothing overly elevated or groundbreaking happens over the 33 minutes of heavy tunes, but that is okay. For those looking for something simple and fulfilling then it will be right for you.
Score: 6/10
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Special thanks to Rogue PR for getting things set up for this review.
Tristan Zelden 