One of the best peace-post-punk records to come out of America in the 80′s was created by San Francisco unsung heroes TRIAL & the name of their classic album is Moments Of Collapse. This band started out as a young peace punk band in the early 80s, but by ’84 their sound really started to develop into something more akin to post punk. TRIAL’s anarcho punk roots ran deep – their singer John was the younger brother of Matt from Crucifix; Chris, their drummer, played for Crucifix; & Cyrnai was once a member of the Sleeping Dogs, the 1st American band signed to the Crass label. Moments Of Collapse was a testament to the band’s creative spirit – the opening track, “Lobotomized Visions,” is a dense wall of industrial dirge that’s sound can never be dated. John’s lyrics were written from somewhere deep within his heart, but he wrote them in a way that we all can be touched by them. Songs such as “Unshackled In The Garden” have this eerie neo-folk vibe about them; his voice seems like a haunting fog rolling over the hills. TRIAL was not afraid to experiment with sound: how it could be bent, stretched & deconstructed, then built in to something new. Every song on Moments Of Collapse drips with damaged emotion, these are compositions that have layers of cold built around a warm skeleton. The drumming on this album is a voice unto itself; the way Chris plays, it’s like he is speaking different languages for us to decode. If you are into post-punk & would like to hear a record that was created from the heart, for our hearts, then TRIAL’s Moments Of Collapse will build your future. So now all you have to do is do whatever you have to do to find this album on vinyl!
sascha valkyrie androgyne
January 26, 2014 at 12:31 am
So, so, so good! I’m not old enough to remember when this band was active, but I discovered this a number of years ago, and I’m glad to see this LP getting recognition for the classic it is!
headovmetal
October 15, 2013 at 4:31 am
What a GEM!