Corey from Litany (the Skinny Puppy news site) sent us this review he put up recently. Besides the review, you'll find some news on the upcoming Tear Garden release. Thanks again to Cory for helping us out.
"...The electronic and live instrumentation on this album mesh with kaRIN's ethereal voice to form a sound that includes dashes of industrial, goth, glam, and shoegaze yet is altogether new."
keep reading for the full review
We've posted another great review that's come in from the U.K., this one from the Zeitgeist site. It makes us feel all warm and fuzzy. Thanks goes out to Stuart A. Hamilton.
..."It's another fabulous extravaganza in the history of Collide, by far the best darkwave / electro-goth / insert appropriate genre here release of the year, and one of the best albums of the year in any genre you're likely to hear. Go get it now."
Another great review has come in for Two Headed Monster from Morpheus Music, thanks to Paul.
Check out the entire review here.
...it's worth the wait - all of the controlled chaos, the thick catchy riffs, the inventive programming and crepuscular mystique - it's all here only even more well-produced than before."-Paul at Morpheus Music
Review #3 for Two Headed Monster is in from vAlien/DJ Commando LABELLA. Val is from Belarus and was kind enough to translate it into English for us, as our Russian is a bit rusty.
His English translation of the review can be found on our reviews page. The original review is in Russian and can be viewed here.
"...this is the most diverse, multi-layer, mature, hard, and complex record of (Collide). Shatteringly beautiful album!" -DJ Commando LABELLA
This Sunday (Oct. 12th) we'll be at a live chat at Auralgasms online. 10pm-11pm EST. (7pm-8pm PST)
The show Aural Bliss will be playing a Monster Track =). They have a live chat room that we will be hanging out in. The last time we did it it was pretty fun. Come and hang out with us =).
Another review for Two Headed Monster is in. Check it out here, at Fazer Magazine.
Thanks Mike Bax
Here's a little excerpt
...a totally unique listening experience. If you’re willing to jump on for the ride, Two Headed Monster will take you places most commercial releases cannot - and that’s right into the minds of it’s two creators. Another thought: Collide are not a band you want to rip into your computer at 128 bits and expect great things from. Two Headed Monster is headphone music of the highest order. Don’t sell yourself sort and accept truncated computer files as a means of playing the CD. Collide is some heady stuff - so treat it as such.
So this was a long time in coming...after many, many, many hours of work, updating and lots of help in design and overall planning from our very smart and very wise friend, Dave Keffer, we have a brand new website!!
It's got tons of stuff on it...check it out and see. We would love to hear your thoughts. Thanks Dave...we love you long time.
Tune into Dekadance on KSCU 103.3 FM (Santa Clarita CA) for an online simulcast airing Friday, Oct 3rd (tonight) from 9pm until Saturday, Oct 4th at 1am Pacific Daylight time when the fabulous E.O. will be featuring Collide and spinning the new CD, as well as lots of other Collide and Secret Meeting material.
Thanks E.O.!!!
We are thrilled to present Two Headed Monster. The official release date is September 23rd. Pre-sale starts now!!!! The first 200 people to order from our store also get a free signed poster of the album. Aside from the two of us, some of our friends were kind enough to lend their talents to the CD, including Danny Carey from TOOL and Dean Garcia of Curve, as well as all of the Collide live band, Rogerio Silva, Kai Kurosawa, Scott Landes, and Chaz Pease. We look forward to sharing it with you and the rest of the world. Please help us get the news out.
We are getting soooooo close to being finished Two Headed Monster that we can almost taste it. We hope that you are as excited as we are. Mastering is done and we just finished up artwork... for an official release date of September 23- 08!!!
Next week or so, we will give you a sneak peek at the cover and the track list. For now, we just wanted to keep you up to date. If you haven't been checking out our blog on MySpace (myspace.com/collide) you've been missing out on some of the daily happenings during the last few months.
Also, to find about about the latest Collide information, please make sure you sign up for the Collide newsletter by sending an email to newsletter@collide.net.
If you think you're already signed up but haven't seen anything in a while, send us an email to sign up again (maybe your email address changed?)...or check your spam folder, as we are using a different program the past couple of months to send out the newsletter. Sometimes we send out newsletter with sales from our Noiseplus Music store, or special announcements that only newsletter subscribers may hear about, so sign up now!
There was someone who turned in a piece of artwork to the last Saints & Sinners contest. Although it was not right for the contest, we did like the artwork and are going to include it on the CD. The piece was called Collide Angel. Would the person who submitted the piece please contact us at collide@collide.net We lost your contact and we want to make sure we give you credit on the CD and we also want to make sure to send you a copy when it's done. When you e-mail us, please include artwork so we know you are the right person and your mailing address.
Lastly, please help us spread the news...this time more than ever we need all the help we can get getting the word out there.
Finally an update on the new Collide CD. After three years of work, we are getting closer to the end. We can almost taste it. As you have probably realized with us by now, everything takes awhile. To us, the most important thing is to make something that we really believe in and that just takes time. The vocals are now complete and we are in the final stages. It always feels strange when you are coming to the end of something that you have worked a long time on... like something you do not want to let go... yet can't wait to let go of. It's not over yet...we still have some finishing up details to do, we will keep you updated.
It will be called... Two Headed Monster.
Lots more news to come...so stay tuned.
For those of you who are interested in seeing Collide live..the DVD is a great way to get that experience in your own living room. The DVD is packed full of stuff...a full live concert, an interview (funny if we do say so ourselves), photos, videos, and an acoustic performance. To get a taste of what's on the DVD we have posted a trailer on our video page.
For the next month (until June 15th) we are having a contest for Saints & Sinners which is the line of handmade accessories and clothing designed by kaRIN and handmade here at the studio. We are looking for some new artwork that we love. We know that lots of you are creative and we want to see what you can do. There are no restrictions, it could be Collide related, or not.
The winner will be chosen and we will make you a custom Saints & Sinners shirt, or ID case (your choice) and your artwork will be featured in an upcoming newsletter.
So send us your artwork entry here.
If it is something that we absolutely love (we are fussy) and would like to possibly add on to the line, we will ask you if we can license it from you and pay you $200 in trade from the Noiseplus store, or make $200 in special custom pieces for you.
Meanwhile in time for summer...Saints & Sinners girls tank tops and boys T-shirts are on sale for an extra special price. This will be for a limited time.
We finally have The Secret Meeting "Shooting Laser Beams" CD super single for you. "Shooting Laser Beams" is the second single from the album Ultrashiver, and clocks in with over 64 minutes of music.
The single also includes the song "Deep Freeze", a bass-heavy, previously unreleased song.
Also included is a remix of "Blacker Than Blue" by the Humble Brothers. (The Humble Brothers for those who don't know, include Ken Marshall, responsible for many of the Skinny Puppy mixes over the years, as well as remixes for tons of artists from Lincoln Park to Rammstein).
The remixes included on this single range from dancefloor ready club to industrial, ambient, downtempo, and a few in between.
We handpicked these remixes from over a hundred that were turned in. Thanks to the remixers involved. If you liked Collide's Vortex album, you will surely love this.
A special acoustic version of "Shooting Laser Beams" is also included. This special version has a newly recorded vocal and Rogerio de Silva on acoustic guitar.
Collide also made it to the cover of Mexican print magazine Gotica (in last months issue)
There is also a photo spread inside and a feature interview. (We're still (as of 9/2008) trying to get our own copy of this magazine, so somebody send us one!!.)
"The Secret Meeting is where you arrive when Curve meets Collide, in a state that flexes between sharp pangs of emotion and deliciously blurred oneness with all things. From the first intriguing vocals and vibrant effects in "Touch", this music coaxes walls to fall, relaxes your muscles and your mind, and encourages you to move and to breath deeply. Ultrashiver is going to be mindblowing on a big, floor-shaking sound system. Vocalist kaRIN has never sounded silkier, stronger or more sensuous, playing with tempting and focused harmonies alongside Dean Garcia's overarching palette of pulsing, sliding, bouncing guitars and bass. Galvanized by programming master Statik, songs such as "Beautiful Noise Machine" and "SoulCreeper wrap up a full range of textures and tricky mood changes into a luscious, seamless experience so carefully brought together that it feels effortless. -- thanks to Carolee
"Somewhere out there in cyber space, in between social networks and porn and eBay, a beautiful 21st century baby has been born. "Ultrashiver" the result of a cross-continental collaboration between kaRIN and Statik of Collide and Dean Garcia of Curve, is something rare, a newborn with a mature outlook on life. Dreamy, delirious, reeking of atmosphere and heavy with lush layering. The Secret Meeting create songs which are like looking into a very deep well. There is mystery and darkness and a sort of a silky stillness. Languorous industrial beats and often eerie electro experiments are teamed with guitars at times swirling at times jarring, and often just quietly beautiful, while kaRIN's sultry yet searching vocal meandering intoxicate. This is one secret best shared." -Sarah Cosgrove
"The Secret Meeting is the combined efforts of kaRIN and Statik of Collide with instrumental help from Dean Garcia formerly of Curve. After listening to this album, I concluded that a more perfect mixture of artist's could not have been more beautifully matched. The music is very reminiscent of both bands (showing the striking similarities they both share) but the music still has its own unique qualities. kaRIN's voice is seductive, soothing, and at times her voice sounds like Toni Halliday (former vocalist for Curve) almost to the point that I first thought it was Toni singing! The music itself is a union of trip-hop grooves, lush electronic atmospheres, and edgy bursts of distorted guitar. Both Garcia and Statik's compositional genius is a force to be reckoned with on this album. Having lent their talents to such acts as TOOL, Eurythmics, Skinny Puppy and many more, you can only imagine what they have achieved together on "Ultrashiver". This album could have stood as a Collide or Curve release individually in some respects, but the interplay between these very talented artist's has forged something just as beautiful, full of emotion and totally captivating that pay the utmost homage to both bands." --Craig Harvey
"Combining the talents of California darkwave electronic duo Collide and former Curve programmer Dean Garcia seems like a pretty promising match, as both acts have specialized in swirly mixtures of moody yet sensual grooves and aggressive electro-rock. Ultrashiver is quite possibly some of the finest and most developed work yet, from either camp. Ranging from the subtly-layered vocal melodies of the percussive "Touch" to the delicate and melodic closer, "Imaginate", which bursts into a swell of epic noise and drums grooves alongside the sweetly mysterious vocals of kaRIN, this transcontinental collaboration flows beautifully. Echoes of Curve lurk within the dubby electro-with-guitar-feedback of "Every Little Thing," wheras Collide's penchant for ghostly texture and bold grooves envelop "Beautiful Noise Machine." Fans of edgier dance-rock with heavenly voices will find immediate sustenance in The Secret Meeting. Wonderful music, and if you doubt me, check out their website (www.thesecretmeeting.net) and hear it for yourself." -Rob Wickett
