Headdown, Austin, Texas' hidden gems, first began to cause a buzz in 2001 with a demo that documented a young group with a hunger for savage alternative metal. One of the most apparent faults of this early material was their rather blatant admiration for Nothingface, and while they had perfected being a gritty imitation, they never allowed listeners to actually see their genuine talent. Their debut album, "Anatomy Of The Collapse", reveals a young band focused and confident, learning from their past mistakes and nearly erasing all traces of the awkward shakiness that once reared its head. It is clear that with their debut the band have worked diligently to expand upon this savage, metallic approach, and the time spent tweaking their sound has come as a tremendous benefit in defining their true musical identity.

While they occasionally hint at the once prevalent Nothingface influence, they have also improved upon their hard rock scope to incorporate frontman Kris Owen's wide vocal range with a flair for epic songwriting. The album orbits around two readily different textures, as their lengthy alternative metal sermons are separated by brief excursions into multi-textured sound effects. These moments seem to mark the group's more experimental desires, as the 1-2 minute interludes have a more industrial approach that reveals a pattern of steady corrosion, often spiraling downward into an indecipherable blur of mechanical noise. These atmospheric inclusions help break up the otherwise impenetrable wall of sound that Headdown clearly excel at, as the songs captured here never fall below the 5 minute mark and actually grow longer as the album progresses. Christian Gallo's heavily distorted guitar rips through each cut with tenacious force, searing each song with his metallic crunch, yet he appears equally adept in manufacturing more intricate textures with prog undertones, as is the case on the primal "Impulse Remedy". While the group are clearly capable of constructing impressive explosions of modern metal, this enormous design at times feels excessive. "Focal Point Blur" becomes bloated with the continuous surge of heavy tones, and though the galloping double bass thrust that finishes the song is exquisite, the track could have benefited from having a few minutes shaved off of its running time. These moments are quite noticeable, yet rarely affect the overall flow, as the band stride through these songs with a confidence and vision uncommon for a group at this early a point in their musical journey.

To compare the group's past material with the songs found on this album is to compare night and day. Their fledgling demo had all the nuances expected for a young band learning their way, as opposed to this dynamic vision of modern metal that they have returned with. The depth of this album is stunning, as they have somehow lined each song with a sense of introspective soul-searching and overwhelming intimacy. Owen's mic skills have grown exponentially since their earlier outings, though he does have a tendency to lapse into a wail that brings to mind older Tool or Ultraspank. While this may be an area that could stand to be slightly adjusted, it is a minor flaw on an otherwise outstanding epic record. The expansive design this album has taken carries a feeling of immensity without resorting to overly complex song structuring, as the band instead focus on stabilizing a very basic metal style and stretching it like an elastic band. Such adventurous songwriting so early in a band's career usually serves in only exposing a group's weaknesses; yet these men seem insatiable when it comes to crafting such vicious monstrosities. As a result, when the album plows forward you can detect that they are in fact settling into a surprisingly fluid groove. With this album, these men have unveiled a new avenue for hard rock to devour. In fact, with such a ravenous appetite for modern metal and propensity for immense songs, Headdown may have once again proven the old adage 'everything's bigger in Texas'. Such an elaborate musical panorama may exclude listeners that prefer more direct slabs of metal, but the time it takes to immerse oneself in "Anatomy Of the Collapse" is time well spent.