Along with Massivivid, Dear Ephesus, and Grammatrain, Stavesacre is one of the few awesome bands you'll probably never hear of. Collective happens to be a compilation of the best of the best. It's got a fusion of punk and metal ("Tranewreck"), melodic metal anthems ("Gold and Silver," "Keep Waiting"), foot-tapping metal masterpieces ("Threshold," "Rise"), and even an X cover ("The Hungry Wolf").

There are a couple of quirks to this album, though. Colt. 45 is normally a four and a half minute song, but it somehow got mixed with "Zzyzx Scarecrow" to make a 10 minute song while the last 50 seconds of "Zzyzx" is a sperate song. Plus, there's the oddity that is "El Mariachi." The band starts cracking up over a maracca in the middle so they have to start over.

All in all, Collective is a fine example of Stavesacre's work.

JFH Reader Review: written by David Larkin, 12/3/05, for Jesusfreakhideout.com