New 36CF Album/History of the band and my love affair

Last month 36 Crazyfists deployed an album called Collisions and Castaways. 
With sadness in my heart I say goodbye to Mick Whitney, who left the band to raise his kids and be with his wife. He was the bassist of the band for all of their releases except for their first EP way back in the mid 1990s.  I've seen the band live three times, they were the second band I ever saw live, to this day the only band I listen to where I met one of the members and the only band big enough to play tiny venues (see what I did there?) with 20 people and still put on an amazing show. I'm saying all of this to include my bias and my love for the band on here before I get into reviewing any of the album.  That being said I have to confess I have a flyer from my first show in a frame and I own at least 5 36 Crazyfists t-shirts and I own every song they've ever released including rare EP, demos, and non-US only releases and remixes on iTunes. 

Band History

The entire band originates from Alaska, which was awesome before Palin ruined it. 30 Days of Night almost canceled her out but not quite. They started as a five piece but one member was killed by a drunk driver and the other guitarist quit.  They then regrouped with Mick Whitney and continued making music with him until 2009. They now write and record as a 3-piece with their guitar tech Buzzard playing bass live.

Discography

Boss Buckle EP (1995) [I have a digital copy missing 2 tracks, copies are impossible to buy less than 500 exist in the world--I've heard--and most of them are cassette]

Suffer Tree EP (1997) [I have a digital copy, complete, also not possibly to buy due to rarity, there isn't even a picture of the album art on the internet...the entire internet]

In The Skin (1997) [Complete digital copy, I've heard rumors that these can be found but for over 100 dollars per copy and I've never actually seen one]

Demo (1999) [Circle the Drain, Chalk White, All I Am, One More Word are all on this as it served as the prototype for Bitterness the Star]

Bitterness the Star (2002) [First major release by Roadrunner, most notable song is probably Slit Wrist Theory, which is the only song drunk chicks shout for at concerts even now. The UK release features the song Crutch which is rumored to be a cover but its totally unclear if it is, 2 demo tracks, and a demo for the song Disarray which never got on any official release.]

A Snowcapped Romance (2004) [Most noted for At the End of August and Bloodwork, which was featured on the terrrible movie Resident Evil 2 soundtrack, video is hilarious and features Juliya from former FUSE awesome shows about metal before the channel had its balls removed. There is a bonus track version on iTunes that features Workhorse, Sad Lisa, Mother Mary, and Digging the Grave, all coveres released on other albums together after all these years.]

Destroy the Map EP (UK only, I haz a copy, 2005)[Released to generate interest for the single Destroy the Map popular in the UK, it was never released as a single here, nor was the EP actually sold in stores here, it features 2 covers and the UK radio edit for the eponymous song. I'm thinking about putting my copy in a safe as, again, the internet seems to not know anything about the cd even though I have it in my possession.]

Rest Inside the Flames (2006) [For reasons unknown to people who are sane, Roadrunner decided that since 36 does so well in the UK but not so amazingly in the USA (even though they had videos up on MTV2 and FUSE for a good while and sold decent amounts of cds) they were going to release all of the bands records as UK only releases, so this cd was a international only CD for months before I got a copy. Many people simply imported copies from amazon.com, but eventually 36 quit roadrunner for this infraction and set up a small distribution of the cd through DRT/BroShip to throw the cd to America, this remains the only CD I dont have an actual copy of because of this and I just haven't ever bought a copy for some reason. ]

-Mother Mary, Far Cover--This song is confusingly released as a bonus track on this album but is sometimes listed as being on  A Snowcapped Romance such as on iTunes.-

The Tide and its Takers (2008) [Released as their first try on Ferret Records, this is probably their heaviest and was the biggest departure of sound from their previous releases yet. They sounded all new and every song has a depth to it that is just somehow different than anything they'd done before that. This cd actually generated somewhat of an interest in the band for the first real time in the american metal community.]

The Oculus EP (prerelease bonus, 2008) [Being a prerelease whore I was issued this cd that contains  the two singles from TTaiT and a cover of the song Criminal Justice.]

Under a Northern Sky DVD (2009) [Features a documentary of the band splitting between the live show in their hometown of Anchorage with splits of the wilderness of Alaska and the band's feelings on their home and footage of the band when they were teenagers. The content with the amazing direction and editing makes this DVD the best band related DVD I've ever seen, its a piece of art on its own and I never expected that.]


and finally Collisions and Castaways (2010) [This cd seems like it would be their last cd in a way, because it is a culmination of all of the styles they've presented in all of their other releases mixed together in a more somber and artsy style. Some songs seem to reference other songs from the past, as if you'd only catch it if you already knew the other albums by heart.  It's an incredibly odd sounding album and its a quiet somber release with bouts of loud screaming and double kick drum. It goes from classical style to heavy metal to rock and even has pop like choruses in it. I always expect 36 Crazyfists to come out with the new album that changes their style and inevitably I would hate it and have to pick a new favorite band (see Killswitch Engage, All That Remains) but they somehow didn't disappoint me with this release.  I unwrapped it, ripped it, put it in my cd player in my car and I haven't tired of it yet. It should also be noted that this is the only CD I completely forgot about and did not somehow prerelease, and that pre release came with signed booklets, and I'm sad as a fanboy.]

That is all I have to say about that.