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Ankara, Turkey isn’t exactly known as a hotbed of heavy metal, but that’s where Collector was formed in 2010, under the name “Ecstacy”. They adopted the name Collector the following year, and in 2014, the band relocated to Boston. They’ve now just released their debut album “Liberation’s Fall”, and it’s an impressive melting pot of various styles of metal, with some bona fide guest stars in the late Warrel Dane (Nevermore), Chris Broderick (Act Of Defiance, ex-Megadeth) and Vicky Psarakis (The Agonist).
It’s hard to ascribe a label to Collector’s brand of metal. They incorporate a wide range of influences, and they effortlessly weave various styles of metal into their songs. A thrashier Hatebreed with hints of prog metal is the best description I can come up with, but better check out the samples below and make up your own mind.
Collector is selling their album themselves from the website https://www.collectorofficial.com/, along with various collectibles that range from the usual (CD’s, T-shirts, posters, etc) to the unusual (lyric sheet on papyrus) to the head scratching (custom condoms). I couldn’t find the album on iTunes or Spotify, so obviously the band is counting on word of mouth and physical sales to make a name for themselves, a rather bold strategy in this day and age. The band will also donate 10% of all income towards the education of the children in need, a worthy cause in itself.
Why do I mention this? Because if you head out to their official website, all you’ll find is a shop. No bio, no photos, no news or tour dates. Just a shop. Now, I’m a KISS fan, so excessive merchandising is nothing new to me, but I find it weird coming from a new band. Especially when the music is good enough to stand on its own.
Metal fans, check out Collector. It’s worth your time.
He's also a regular contributor at the excellent news site Montreal Rampage
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