In the Meet The Band spotlight this week is the Montana one-man death/doom metal project Collapsed Vein. Their debut album is Pain Communion. Kevin George introduces us to his band.
Chad Bowar: Give us a brief history of Collapsed Vein.
Kevin George: Collapsed Vein started in 2013, though for a long time it existed more in the background as sort of a dormant thing I’d work on in my free time. I wrote most of the early material during nights — usually driving around alone, processing things while listening to doom and death metal. Eventually, after starting to flesh out some songs, I started asking some people to get involved but they would usually flake or the vision just wasn’t working.
After being let down by enough people for this project as well as others I’ve got in the background, I decided I wanted this to rest completely on my shoulders. I wanted it to be grounded while not egotistical like most people would ride out a “solo” project. I figured it’d be a sense of accomplishment to complete something like this from the ground up, and if it failed, it’d be entirely on me. Over the years it took shape slowly, and after a decade of writing and refining, I felt like it was finally less than terrible enough to put out.
Describe the songwriting process for Pain Communion.
Most of the writing took place overnight, often during my hours of lull while working or just from being used to existing on graveyard shift. Those long shifts and nights off gave me the chance to let ideas surface without much pressure. I didn’t approach this project with a formula — I just let whatever flowed out of me while dorking off, trying to capture the goods here and there.
Over the course of a decade, between all of my other musical projects, I just kept writing riffs. If I came home with an idea or a melody stuck in my head, I’d try to get a project open on my recording program or even just record it with the phone. I wasn’t worried about structure or forcing anything to go too fast, was mostly just worried about giving too many gifts to the gods by not recording shit. I still have a huge archive of riffs and parts that didn’t make it onto this release; some may surface later. I just followed the weight of whatever wanted to be written.
What will be your strongest memory of the recording of the album?
Probably tracking drums at the At Home In Hell rehearsal space in Great Falls, where I have all of my studio equipment set up. There was a LOT of caffeine involved. I spent a good chunk of time making sure the room was tracking with the right vibe — something raw and honest, with nothing too polished or fake feeling. I was really trying to go for a Steve Albini/Neurosis drum vibe, as best as I could with my resources. It was exhausting and definitely a challenge to track everything myself, especially drums.
That’s not something I’m normally known for, and it took a lot out of me. But it ended up feeling kind of ritualistic in its own way — just grinding through it, trying not to fuck up. I set up a laptop in the room with me, and had it remote desktop into the other room on the Mac that was recording everything, pretty much as a remote controller. Once the drum tracks were finished, there was a real sense of accomplishment. I’ve kinda messed with drums for many years but this was my first endeavor performing on a recording with them.
What was the biggest challenge in its creation?
Doing everything alone. There’s freedom in that, but also isolation. There were plenty of moments of self-doubt — especially with vocals and drums, since those aren’t really roles I’m known for in my other projects. It was unfamiliar territory, and there were times I questioned whether I could pull it off. Towards the end of everything, these were points I really tried to take my time with and force myself not to rush it.
But pushing through that discomfort ended up being a good thing. It forced me to trust my instincts and just commit to the work. The result isn’t perfect; like most doom albums, it’s got plenty of flaws, but those flaws make it feel a little more human. I tried to make it organic, as that was more important to me than an overproduced product. I have other projects for that.
How would you characterize its style/sound?
At its core, it’s death-doom but it pulls from a wider pool of influence than just the usual slow-and-sad or stoner formula. There’s a lot of weight from the hardcore and sludge world. Bands like Yob, Neurosis, and Triptykon had a big impact on the pacing and the overall tone. It’s heavy in a raw, unrelenting way; not just slow for the sake of being slow. There’s also a strong focus on atmosphere. Heavy guitars, deliberate tempos, harsh and strained vocals… but the pipe organs and choirs probably do the most to set the tone.
Those elements weren’t just dropped in as background — they were meant to feel somewhat confrontational. Taking sounds you’d normally hear in a church and using them for something darker and more grief-driven. I’m not trying to reinvent anything, but I do hope it comes across more like a funeral dirge than just another exercise for the genre.
What inspired the album title?
Pain Communion felt like the right phrase to encapsulate everything the record is about. It reflects the idea that pain, in all its forms, becomes something almost sacred — a ritual we all go through, something we carry, share, and sometimes even grow from. The record deals with grief, isolation, and spiritual collapse, so the title works as a kind of offering to anyone who’s experienced those things. It’s a bleak sacrament.
It’s also a subtle nod to Opeth’s Pale Communion. That album title was stuck in my head one day, and I started thinking about what “communion” might mean when it’s tied to suffering instead of salvation. From there, Pain Communion just stuck. Humanity is wired for grief and disappointment, everyone is inherently obligated to swallow some down from time to time as a tax for existence.
What lyrical topics do you cover?
A lot of the lyrics explore spiritual decay, mortality, and the collapse of organized belief systems. I was really drawn to things like the Cadaver Synod: the historical event where the church literally dug up a dead pope, dressed him up, and put him on trial. It’s absurd, grotesque, and drenched in symbolism about power, guilt, and the ways institutions try to control death and memory. Some songs are rooted in specific observations. “Overwhelmed With Bereavement” was inspired by someone who worked at a hospital I used to work at. They never acknowledged or spoke about their mother when she was alive, but after she died, they started using her death as a convenient excuse — for attention, for sympathy, for getting out of work. It felt performative and hollow, and it stuck with me as an example of how grief can be twisted.
“Deviant Burial” came from reading about how archaeologists sometimes find old graves where the dead were buried with restraints, chains, or weapons left in the corpse out of superstition that they might rise again. That kind of fear-driven ritual fascinates me. Some of it is also just my own judgment of organized religion; not so much against anyone having faith, but more the way institutions have manipulated fear to maintain control and profit over millennia. It’s less about condemning belief and more about exposing how that belief has been twisted into systems of power. This was also my first full effort stepping into writing lyrics and handling vocals myself. It was a leap, but it helped me build the confidence to keep doing this kind of work going forward.
How did you decide to cover “The Eternal Idol,” and how did you approach the arrangement?
I’ve been a fan of Black Sabbath since I was a kid, but especially all of the albums that came out while I was growing up just as much as the rest of them. The Eternal Idol is one of those records that gets brushed aside because it came out in that mid-to-late ’80s glam era, and a lot of people just write it off because Ozzy or Dio weren’t on it. It definitely has some of that ’80s cheesiness in the production, but the songwriting is phenomenal. Same goes for Seventh Star. That album is criminally underrated, and I always felt like the title track in particular deserved more attention.
When I was picking something to cover, I wanted it to fit the tone of Pain Communion without picking something predictable or already given enough attention by others. That song is practically already a doom song, so I didn’t have to twist it too far. I just tuned it lower and beefed it up vocally, with organs instead of synths. It wasn’t about reinventing it — it was more about pulling it out of that ‘80s sound and giving it some actual weight. Hopefully it gets a few more people to revisit that era of Sabbath, because there’s some serious gold in there.
What led you to go the independent route for the album release?
Pain Communion is being independently released via the Bandcamp page, which gives me the ability to handle digital distribution as well as mailing out physical copies. At this point in time, I’ve chosen to stay independent so I can retain full creative control over every aspect of the project from the music and visuals to the release strategy and timeline. I had contacted a few labels, but I had to stay realistic that I not only had little expectation of them showing much attention to a new solo-type doom project (a whole recipe for being ignored!) but also that even if I did get an offer, it likely wouldn’t be much of an offer as of yet. I didn’t work with a traditional record label for this release, mainly because I wanted to establish the identity of Collapsed Vein on my own terms.
I’ve seen other bands rush into label deals too early and lose momentum or end up bound to contracts that don’t serve them. That said, I’m not against working with a label in the future, as long as it feels like the right fit philosophically and creatively. For now, doing a self-released promo through DIY means like Bandcamp offers me the flexibility I need to get the music out into the world without compromise. It’s a DIY route, but that fits the spirit of this project — something personal, unfiltered, and wrought from the ground up. The biggest challenge here is that maybe I could have enjoyed having help from a label with PR and distribution. I’ve sent hundreds of emails at this point and spent a lot of time trying to find where I can get some interest dredged up. That’s how I found Heavy Music HQ!
What are your goals and expectations for the album?
Honestly, the main goal was just to finish it and get it out into the world. After spending over a decade working on it, there’s a sense of due diligence involved. Like, if I’ve put this much time and energy into making an album, it only makes sense to give it a real release and try to get it in front of as many people as possible. That’s the baseline expectation, at least from myself.
I’m not trying to hype it like it’s going to “change the scene” or go viral or anything. It’s a doom record; it’s heavy, it’s slow, and it’s probably not for everyone. But if it resonates with a few people who appreciate the kind of atmosphere and weight I was trying to build, then great. That’s a win. And if it leads to more opportunities down the road — vinyl pressings, splits, or future releases — I’ll take that as a bonus.
Do you have any plans to put together a live band to play shows?
It’s not off the table. I’m involved in a few other bands that keep me pretty busy, but if the right people stepped up and were committed to doing it justice, I’d be interested. I wouldn’t want to compromise the atmosphere. So if it happened, it would need to be immersive, maybe even theatrical. Until then, I’m happy keeping it as a studio project and focusing on writing and promotion. I have had a few friends drop mentions that if I ever wanted to do something live that they’d help out. We’ll just have to see. I would much rather do a couple events with this than ever worry about placating every other small time show offer. I want people to want to see it, not be forced to sit through it yet again every couple of months.
How is the metal scene in Kalispell and in the state of Montana overall?
Montana’s scene is kind of like a metro scene, but stretched across the fourth largest state in the country. There’s definitely passion and a strong sense of brotherhood among many of the bands here, but it’s also really scattered. You’ve got to drive several hours just to play another show in-state. It’s not like the East Coast where you can hit multiple markets in a weekend inside a 100-mile radius. Here, it’s all spaced out, and that affects everything: touring, crowd draw, exposure. Weather slows that down even more, to where many bands won’t travel as much during the winter. A lot of the local bands are very proud of their place in the Montana scene, which is cool to see, but at the same time, there’s a tendency for some folks to get a little too comfortable just staying within that scene. There’s not always a push to look beyond state lines.
That isn’t unique to Montana, but it feels more pronounced here because of the physical distance between cities and the limited options for growth unless you’re willing to travel constantly. Fans here tend to save their money and energy for the bigger touring acts, which makes sense since we don’t get nearly as many of them as other places do. But it can make it hard for local shows to consistently draw support, especially in towns like Kalispell. The Flathead valley has always felt a little isolated compared to Missoula or Billings. They try to put stuff on here, but turnout can be rough because nobody really wants to drive all the way up.
It makes building momentum a challenge. I’ve been part of this scene for a long time now, and I think that’s part of why I’ve never really settled into just playing here. Every band I’m in is based somewhere else. I’ve been traveling just to stay active musically for over 15 years. I’ve only ever played with one band locally here in Kalispell. So yeah, there’s heart here in Montana. But it’s spread thin, and you’ve got to really want it if you’re going to make anything happen consistently.
What are some of your non-musical interests and hobbies?
Almost everything I do outside of work ends up being tied to music in some way. If I’m not writing or recording my own material, I’m rehearsing for one of the other bands I play in which usually means working alone, since I have to travel just to meet up with them. I don’t get a ton of proper “hobby” time because most of that’s carved out just to keep up musically. And when I do have downtime, I usually end up watching videos on how to improve my recording abilities, or figure out ways to do promotion more effectively.
I don’t really ever have much of a budget to throw at this stuff, so I’ve had to figure out how to do a lot of extra things myself, like videos and artwork. That alone takes up way more time than I’d like to admit. Sometimes I’ll play a game or zone out with a movie if I really need to unplug, but honestly even then, it’s usually just to zone out before I dive back into whatever project’s on deck next. It’s not a balanced lifestyle, but it’s the one I’ve built over 30 years of doing this.
What’s the best thing you binge-watched recently?
When I actually do get time to sit down and watch something, it’s usually with my girlfriend. We’ll pick a theme and run with it for a minute until we burn ourselves out on it. Most recently, we’ve been on a World War II kick — stuff like Band of Brothers, Fury, Midway, Saving Private Ryan, all of that. Before that, it was a string of anime-style shows like Castlevania, and before that, we went through a bunch of Viking stuff. Outside of those stretches, we usually fall back on “murder porn” documentaries. Just something to unplug from my normal thing and get a chance to hang out together.
What’s currently in your musical heavy rotation?
I don’t listen to a ton of music outside of what I’m already working on, to be honest. Between writing, recording, and rehearsing for multiple bands, most of my listening time gets taken up by my own stuff or things I’m involved in. But when I do get a little room to breathe, I usually fall back into the heavy, weird, or atmospheric. Lately that’s been a mix of YOB, Crowbar, Hypocrisy, Triptykon, Cattle Decapitation, My Dying Bride, Enslaved, Novembers Doom, Today Is the Day, Sepultura, Blut Aus Nord, Decapitated, Emperor, Pig Destroyer, Celtic Frost, High on Fire, Dying Fetus…stuff like that. Just a good spread of doom, death, black, sludge, and industrial that still holds up after years.
The more bands I always felt close to that have members dying, the harder time I have listening to them out of not wanting to lose my nostalgia for them. Had that happen with Nevermore and Type O for a while. I also tend to dig into stuff that is a little more avant-garde, bands like Kaleikr, Obsequiae, Fange, Fyrnask; stuff that is a bit more obscure. Sometimes, I’ll even listen to classical or funk. My girlfriend makes me listen to Eminem and Kendrick Lamar when we are on the road together. Just kinda depends. When I’m not buried in my own projects, that’s the kind of material that usually pulls me in.
Anything else you’d like to mention or promote?
If anyone wants a bearing on what else I do past and present, you can check out my Metal Archives page. It’s a pretty accurate reflection of the various bands and projects I’ve been involved with over the years. And of course Pain Communion dropped April 18th. You can find Collapsed Vein on Bandcamp, Spotify, and all the usual platforms.
Feel free to reach out or share it with anyone who might resonate with it. Lastly, thank you to anyone who spent the time reading this and took an interest in what I do. I’ve been at this a long time, and if my personal torment brings out something that others can connect with or enjoy, then it’s been worth it. And thank you to Heavy Music HQ for having me aboard — really appreciate the opportunity.
(interview published April 19, 2025)
Listen To Collapsed Vein – “Children Of God”
