January 27, 2012
#8: Capsule - No Ghost Capsule, a hardcore band from South Florida who are under no circumstances to be confused with the Kpop act, have been around for several years now. I have a friend who moved to Richmond from South Florida several years ago, and he’s known the members of Capsule since right when they started playing together. Therefore, I’ve been hearing about these guys for a long time. I’ve always liked their music; their early EPs, which were collected in 2010 on a self-titled LP released by Robotic Empire, were an enjoyable mix of hyperspeed, mathematically complex hardcore and occasional extended melodic passages that were nearly the antithesis of their standard sound—long, quiet, easily understandable, and often quite pleasant. Unfortunately, the transitions between these two modes of musical operation were anything but smooth in the early years, a situation that reached its nadir on their first full-length release, 2008’s Blue. That album’s first side blasted through five full-on grind attacks in the space of seven minutes, then moved into a lengthy instrumental interlude that peters out after ten minutes or so, before picking up on the flipside of the album and continuing for something like eight minutes more. Things finally returned to the heavy end of the spectrum for the last four songs on the album, which last a little less than ten minutes, but by that point, the flow of the album has been hopelessly disrupted. I liked the vast majority of the songs on Blue, but I have never been able to enjoy listening to it in one sitting. Thankfully, No Ghost solves all of the problems that had been inherent in Capsule’s sound a few years before. Their revamped lineup is probably a big part of that improvement; original drummer/second vocalist Eric Hernandez has assumed bass duties, with original bassist Ryan Haft becoming the band’s second guitarist. This restructured lineup removes a great deal of the burden that was once placed on the shoulders of Colin Smith, the band’s main vocalist and originally their only guitarist. Between Eric’s increased vocal presence on this album and Ryan’s ability to contribute a lot of the lead guitar parts that were once Colin’s responsibility, Capsule’s three original members are able to churn out a thicker, more balanced sound. The percussion contributed by former Into The Moat drummer Matthew Gossman also benefits, as Capsule’s current drummer no longer has to worry about vocal parts, the way Eric did when he was playing drums. Of course, “current” is a bit of a misnomer—Gossman left the band shortly after this album was recorded, and replacement drummer Derrick Flanagan has since left as well. Their website currently features a blank space under “members” where their current drummer’s name should be. And as much as I liked the original three-piece Capsule lineup, I sure hope they don’t eventually elect to solve this problem by moving Eric back behind the drums. The sounds Capsule explore on No Ghost represent a quantum leap from their earlier work. Eric and Colin often sing together, either trading lines or singing in unison, and there’s a strong melodic presence in their vocals that wasn’t there before. What’s more, with both Colin and Ryan writing guitar parts now, the clean, quiet guitar riffs that used to require instrumental interludes in order to be unleashed are becoming more seamlessly integrated into Capsule’s overall sound. In fact, No Ghost is their first release that doesn’t feature any extended instrumental breakdowns; instead, the songs move from fast, hectic, off-time riffing into more straightforward, melodically oriented sounds without needing to create some sort of huge shift in mood. It used to seem more like Capsule were building songs out of riff-shaped building blocks; on No Ghost, they’ve learned to construct unified songs. The best moment here is “Future World Citizen,” one of the longer songs on the album at four minutes in length, which starts out at breakneck speed, moves into a more straightforward but still heavy and complex chorus, and finally drops into a midtempo drum break over which one guitar plays quietly. Colin and Eric sing in harsh yet passionate tones, preparing us for the impending moment when all of the instruments drop back in at full volume. The final minute and a half of the song is given over to a driving, uptempo riff that is played in 4/4 time and contains both distorted crunch and undeniable melody. Capsule’s previous work could have been accused of schizophrenia; on No Ghost, they’ve created a single, fully realized sound, which results in a vast improvement for an already excellent band.

#8: Capsule - No Ghost

Capsule, a hardcore band from South Florida who are under no circumstances to be confused with the Kpop act, have been around for several years now. I have a friend who moved to Richmond from South Florida several years ago, and he’s known the members of Capsule since right when they started playing together. Therefore, I’ve been hearing about these guys for a long time. I’ve always liked their music; their early EPs, which were collected in 2010 on a self-titled LP released by Robotic Empire, were an enjoyable mix of hyperspeed, mathematically complex hardcore and occasional extended melodic passages that were nearly the antithesis of their standard sound—long, quiet, easily understandable, and often quite pleasant.

Unfortunately, the transitions between these two modes of musical operation were anything but smooth in the early years, a situation that reached its nadir on their first full-length release, 2008’s Blue. That album’s first side blasted through five full-on grind attacks in the space of seven minutes, then moved into a lengthy instrumental interlude that peters out after ten minutes or so, before picking up on the flipside of the album and continuing for something like eight minutes more. Things finally returned to the heavy end of the spectrum for the last four songs on the album, which last a little less than ten minutes, but by that point, the flow of the album has been hopelessly disrupted. I liked the vast majority of the songs on Blue, but I have never been able to enjoy listening to it in one sitting.

Thankfully, No Ghost solves all of the problems that had been inherent in Capsule’s sound a few years before. Their revamped lineup is probably a big part of that improvement; original drummer/second vocalist Eric Hernandez has assumed bass duties, with original bassist Ryan Haft becoming the band’s second guitarist. This restructured lineup removes a great deal of the burden that was once placed on the shoulders of Colin Smith, the band’s main vocalist and originally their only guitarist. Between Eric’s increased vocal presence on this album and Ryan’s ability to contribute a lot of the lead guitar parts that were once Colin’s responsibility, Capsule’s three original members are able to churn out a thicker, more balanced sound.

The percussion contributed by former Into The Moat drummer Matthew Gossman also benefits, as Capsule’s current drummer no longer has to worry about vocal parts, the way Eric did when he was playing drums. Of course, “current” is a bit of a misnomer—Gossman left the band shortly after this album was recorded, and replacement drummer Derrick Flanagan has since left as well. Their website currently features a blank space under “members” where their current drummer’s name should be. And as much as I liked the original three-piece Capsule lineup, I sure hope they don’t eventually elect to solve this problem by moving Eric back behind the drums.

The sounds Capsule explore on No Ghost represent a quantum leap from their earlier work. Eric and Colin often sing together, either trading lines or singing in unison, and there’s a strong melodic presence in their vocals that wasn’t there before. What’s more, with both Colin and Ryan writing guitar parts now, the clean, quiet guitar riffs that used to require instrumental interludes in order to be unleashed are becoming more seamlessly integrated into Capsule’s overall sound. In fact, No Ghost is their first release that doesn’t feature any extended instrumental breakdowns; instead, the songs move from fast, hectic, off-time riffing into more straightforward, melodically oriented sounds without needing to create some sort of huge shift in mood. It used to seem more like Capsule were building songs out of riff-shaped building blocks; on No Ghost, they’ve learned to construct unified songs.

The best moment here is “Future World Citizen,” one of the longer songs on the album at four minutes in length, which starts out at breakneck speed, moves into a more straightforward but still heavy and complex chorus, and finally drops into a midtempo drum break over which one guitar plays quietly. Colin and Eric sing in harsh yet passionate tones, preparing us for the impending moment when all of the instruments drop back in at full volume. The final minute and a half of the song is given over to a driving, uptempo riff that is played in 4/4 time and contains both distorted crunch and undeniable melody.

Capsule’s previous work could have been accused of schizophrenia; on No Ghost, they’ve created a single, fully realized sound, which results in a vast improvement for an already excellent band.

5:09pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/Z-FUayFTIkX0
(Notes: 1)
  
Filed under: Top 20 of 2011 
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