30 years of destruction has come from North America as the combined force of Kataklysm have laid waste to the world for the last 14 albums and countless trips around the globe. Some may know singer Maurizio for his Ex Deo project or his recent solo album but his scream has been at the forefront of Katakylsm since 1998 but he along with Jean-François Dagenais founded the band back in 1991 (though they didn’t release an album until 1995), as long term bassist Stephane Barbe joined in 1998 and has been a constant since.
It’s this trio that are the creative force behind Katakylsm, and Ex Deo as it happens but unlike the Roman project there is a streak of viciousness with their main band, the destructive assault now heightened by the addition of James Payne behind the drums who brings a background in death and thrash so his blast beating on the title track, an throughout the album is relentless, he must not be human. 15 albums in and you know Kataklysm are going to do; throw wave after wave of violence at you, with biting distorted death riffs/grooves, with melodic guitars layering the furious rhythms of tracks such as Die As A King. Mixed/mastered by Chris Clancy with assistance from Colin Richardson, both being geniuses of the modern production techniques, though Richardson is more aligned with the classic era too, you can hear everything, the bass getting a lot of love.
Bringer Of Vengeance for example reminds me of Slipknot while From The Land Of The Living, To The Land Of The Dead obliterates you with industrial-tinged death, Gravestones & Coffins trying it’s hand at the doomy/occult laced with blasts of death metal. Goliath is a brooding, surging album ripping out your throat with aggression one minute and then slowly building up fear and tension the next (The Redeemer) as they come to tear you apart again. Kataklysm have adapted their sound throughout their existence but on the last few records they have really become an extremely potent force. Goliath is old school with a modern gleam, the addition of a new drummer making it a towering exemplar to other bands of their ilk. 8/10
Hail The Sun - Divine Inner Tension (Rude/EVR)
Divine Inner Tension is the sixth album from Hail The Sun. From California, they remind me a lot of The Mars Volta/At The Drive-In, Fall Of Troy fused with Coheed And Cambria and the supporting info for this record tells you that they will appeal to fans of all of these bands. It's a spot on description of what is contained on these 12 tracks, Divine Inner Tension is proggy, very proggy time signatures change at will, the playing is technically gifted but it's also streamlined and poppy.
As soon as Tunnel Vision Alibi gets us moving you can hear the virtuoso playing from the first moments as huge choruses are sung in a resonant nasal falsetto perfected by Geddy Lee, Claudio Sanchez, Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Joey Eppard of the often overlooked 3. The fact that Donovan Melero sings these colossal hooks and passionately screams while playing drums is incredible, the percussion parts of this album not the easy kind, check out the tribal/Latin rhythms on Mind Reader. The other three members of this band are comprised of the harmonic guitars of Aric Garcia and Shane Gann, lighter on 60-Minute Session Blocs or Feeble Words then heavier with tracks such as Maladapted or Tithe.
John Stirra joining Melero as the backroom of these tracks, his bass a prominent part of the frenzied Chunker. It sits on Kris Crummett's shoulders to lend his critical ear to the production of the record, making it sound joyous, the band admitting this is the first record the band have written that isn't from a place of despair, Melero realising he doesn't have to suffer to create, collaborating with his band members and co-writers Allen Casillas and Joe Occhiut (Ice Nine Kills). With a real mix of songs that straddle math/prog rock adding lots of pop melodies. Divine Inner Tension is the album that will see Hail The Sun reach their next evolutionary leap. 9/10
To Kill Achilles – Recovery (Arising Empire)
When I see post-hardcore in a genre tag I do shudder a little as that to me a lot of the time can be interchanged with emo. The genre/fad that totally went over my head, but seems to have never really gone away. Thankfully To Kill Achilles tend to have more of the hardcore than they do the post. A track such as When The Lights Go Off, is ripe for frenzied dancing in a pit. Gaining comparisons to Architects and Counterparts, To Kill Achillles are definitely at the harder end, mostly, they bring woozy electronics on Blue and Living In A Memory, the clean/harsh vocals on …And I’m An Addict and No Love Is A Crime, while Fifteen Years is cut from the FFAF cloth.
As with a lot of post-hardcore bands their lyrics are drawn from real life experiences, sometimes sad, others cathartic, aggression and sincerity going hand in hand to speak those who are invested in band. They call it a journey towards positivity, the opposite of their last few albums which spoke of mental exhaustion and isolation, Recovery is about the journey towards restitution, towards reclaiming those parts of life that drag you down and rising above them. The foursome play music that is punchy and biting but has depth to it, check out Ghost Town’s lead guitars as Mark Tindal’s vocals taking from Enter Shikari’s Rou Reynolds, if a little more ragged. Recovery belayed my fears of fringes and angst, by bringing maturity and purification of demons and insecurity. 7/10
Lancer – Tempest (Fireflash Records)
Signing to German label Fireflash Records, Swedish trad/speed/power metal band Lancer have joined the likes of Tailgunner and Holy Moses. It's an album that introduces Jack L. Stroem on the mic and Pontus Andrén behind the kit coming six years after their previous record. This third record has altered their sound a little here, production wise I'm not quite sure what they're trying to do as it's quite bass heavy but also feels a little quiet, perhaps attempting to sound like those 90's Kamelot or Hammerfall records. Now I'm all for a band trying to get authenticity but Tempest sounds a little weird, it flits between highlighting different instruments as if it's like a slightly warped tape. Maybe they are trying to make is sound dark and moody but it doesn't suit my ears.
You do sort of adjust to after a while menaign that you can hear that Lancer are a band that write good power metal songs in the German style of bands such as Helloween/Freedom Call and of course Swedes Hammerfall. There's moments like Entity where things move towards AOR, but it's on tracks like Out Of The Sun where the are at their best. Tempest has been a long time coming but it didn't click with me as much as it should. Still you should check it out of you like classic/power metal. 6/10
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