Capsule - Blue

Capsule
Blue
(02.2008, Robotic Empire)
File Under = Progressive Hardcore

We don’t get around to hardcore music very much around here, but that isn’t due to a lack of affection for it. At the very least, Sassigrass and I have both had pretty strong ties to the genre and regard it with some sentimentality. However, as times progress, angst subsides and genres dissipate. At least that is the way it seems. I am so far out of touch that I really have no idea what is coming out of the hardcore scenes nowadays. That is probably one of the reasons that this little gem took such a long time finding my ears. Regardless of how long it took to find, Capsule’s Blue is an absolutely magnificent moment, not only for hardcore (or metalcore or whatever) but in terms of music as a whole for 2008. From the first burst of ravishing energy on “True Blue,” the palette cleansing introductory track, through to the album’s end, Blue is perpetually visceral. The album is the debut from Capsule, who apparently have been around for awhile. The time the band has spent together isn’t lost on Blue. The album reeks of a seasoned group of very skilled musicians bent on harboring in the apocalypse. I think one of the things that I am most happy about here is the production. Everything feels fairly gritty and jagged which is probably one of the reasons that it's on Robotic Empire. The vocals are buried deep underneath the guttural guitars and propelled by a grainy rhythm section. It feels kind of like Botch via City of Caterpillar. Capsule takes notes from both with mind melting blasts of super technical metal influenced hardcore as well as expansive drifting moments floating amidst the chaos. Using the best aspects of their forbearers along with their own batch of nuances, Capsule has revived my adoration of an entire genre by producing one of the most dynamic records that has been produced in it for some time.

-Mr. Thistle