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Tracklist
1. Like Angels Weeping (The Dark)
2. Let Them Burn
3. Crippled & Broken
4. To Reign Again
5. It Turns To Rust
6. Open Scars
7. Temptation's Nest
8. In Words Of Desperation
9. Road To Devastation, The
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Along with Cryptopsy and Goreguts, Kataklysm was one of the first death metal bands from Canada to reach worldwide notoriety. The early part of the band's career consisted of insanely fast grind with inhumanly low death growls mixed with screaming, quasi-black metal backing vocals. This style came to be known as the 'Northern Hyperblast.' Near the middle of the band's career, Maurizio Iacono took over vocal duties, and the group added some dimensions to their sound. By focusing less on speed and brutality and more on thick grooves, higher pitch vocals (easier to understand), more melody, shorter beats, and more hooks; these Canucks have etched their name into a wider metal audience. They have undoubtedly picked up a larger fan base by touring with Danzig and getting a good amount of airplay on The Ball.
The style that the group started experimenting with on 2000's 'The Prophecy' has progressed to the point of perfection with this year's 'In The Arms of Devastation.' Kataklysm has developed most in the area of song writing and musical composition. Although there are some tracks where drummer, Max Duhamel leads the way for a furious death metal charge like 'To Reign Again' and 'Temptations Nest,' these are only parts of the whole. The pummeling double bass and speed riffs are more memorable and conspicuous than earlier efforts such as 'Sorcery' because of their composition. They no longer jump headfirst into blazing speed; instead, they spend more time building a riff.
'To Reign Again' illustrates this concept the best. The said song opens with an acoustic interlude followed by a stalwart, palm-mute chug. This riff is like a train building momentum before hitting top speed, which is what lies in store on the next part of the song. Just as this track superbly builds tempo, it also breaks down rather well in the chorus parts.
Yes, this album has choruses. Many classic death metal albums like Cannibal Corpse's 'The Bleeding' have choruses. Kataklysm's choruses like 'Temptations Nest' are sure to get a live crowd into aggressively shouting, 'This is my life, these are my dreams, this is my…TEMPATION.' This chorus breaks down in near modern hardcore fashion. The Hatebreed crowd could really get into this one.
'It Turns to Rust' shows the group further expanding its musical horizons with Iacono recording a duet with Kittie singer, Morgan Lander. Since Kittie's nu-metal inception, these fatale fems have gone into death-metal laden territories. By providing the hellish screams on this track, Lander sweeps away any doubts fans may have of her capacity to execute this type of music. Her ability to voice the single syllable 'RUST' for several seconds after the chorus breaks is phenomenal.
As mentioned before, 2005 was a great year for the band. This year will be even better with Kataklysm alternating as a headlining act with Poland's, Vader on the Metal Crusaders Tour. More tours of this scale are sure to follow. In addition, a video for 'Crippled and Broken' was recently completed and will air on The Ball. The video's theme and images are intense. There is no other way this video could turn out because 'In the Arms of Devastation' is intense! This album is sure to be one of the most essential metal albums of the year, regardless of genre.
Review by: Darren Cowan
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Comments
BUNKER - 2006-02-19 17:04:35
K KARAJO
PONGAN MUSIKA KUAL ESCUCHAR PA PODER OPINAR!!! | DEMONYH - 2006-02-14 09:44:04
TODO SOMOS CAMINO AL INFIERNO
OK
VAMOS SALIR MUNDO DE LA LUZ IREMOS ALA OSCURIDADDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
| Death1989 - 2006-02-13 00:29:14
These guys are good, but their first album was still best of all |
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