SINGLE REVIEW: HEART OF A COWARD - COLLAPSE
Since emerging onto the scene at the turn of the decade, ‘Heart Of A Coward’ have been one of the most consistent and celebrated outfits in the UK metalcore scene. Combining savagely technical riffs with crushing vocals and melodic hooks, they have successfully pushed further with every record culminating in the brilliant 2015 release ‘Deliverance’. When lead vocalist Jamie Graham announced his decision to leave the band in 2017, the rest of ‘Heart Of A Coward’ decided to continue to push forwards and hastily started holding auditions for a replacement.
Fast forward one year and ‘Heart Of A Coward’ are back with a new vocalist Kaan Tasan (of ‘No Consequence’ fame) and a new single ‘Collapse’ as well as news of an upcoming 4th album in the works. Replacing band members is never an easy task and it is always doubly challenging when it comes to replacing a vocalist, however the band were adamant that “By no means did we want a carbon copy. We wanted someone that could give the band a new lease of life”. In ‘Collapse’ Tasan certainly fills that description. Instrumentally, ‘Collapse’ is instantly recognisable as a ‘Heart Of A Coward’ song; the technical djent style riffs and colossal breakdowns remain prominent, however Tasan’s vocals are a very different beast to Graham’s earlier work. Whereas Jamie Graham would focus more on the lower register with his harsh vocals, Kaan Tasan sings in a much higher register, likewise Tasan’s clean vocals are considerably higher and clearer. This is by no means a criticism; in fact it is highly commendable for Tasan to nail his colours to the wall and refuse to simply replicate the styles of his predecessor. ‘Collapse’ definitely takes the band in a more radio friendly direction, but that is to be expected with their first release in three years and is not necessarily an indication of what the upcoming album will sound like. Whilst it remains to be seen how well Tasan is able to pull off the earlier back catalogue in a live environment, we are more than happy to have ‘Heart Of A Coward’ back and eagerly await to hear what comes next.
