Rob's Best: #9: Kodan Armada - A Collection Of Songs

Released: June 22, 2004

This is one of the greatest screamo records I've ever heard and I mean screamo in the traditional sense a la bands like Saetia, Neil Parry, and Orchid rather than what people call screamo now like The Used or I Set My Friends On Fire (who, incidentally, rival brokenCYDE for one of the worst bands ever).  But I digress, A Collection Of Songs is essentially just that, a collection of songs taken from their one EP, and the few 7"s they released over the years.  It's their only real full length record, and it plays almost like a retrospective (which, at this point, it is since they broke up years ago) with short recordings of between-song banter from live shows explaining the meanings behind the songs interspersed throughout. 

None of this has really told you anything about the music.  They play an abrasive, cathartic, and emotive form of hardcore music.  They tend to write either relatively short bursts of chaotic noise like "Cops", or much more epic songs that push the boundaries of tension and release that build into an unstoppable fury like "No Has Never Had Three Letters" or "Butterfly Effect".  There was a period a few years ago where I listened to only this record for about a month straight and I was constantly surprised by the discovery of new melodic nuances.  These songs are dense with layers that only reveal themselves after repeated listens, much like Dillinger Escape Plan.