KATAKLYSM
KATAKLYSM “Goliath”
By Dr. Abner Mality
Time for another KATAKLYSM album and to once more ask the question: will this band ever escape the second division of death metal? Well, I don’t think “Goliath” will quite get them there, but it’s actually a forward step on the path. There’s nothing radically different here from the style of thick groovy death metal the band has been doing for the last 15 years or so, but there seems to be a real urge to kill and lay waste to all around them here. The energy level is higher than it has been and the tracks are truly pulverizing.
A lot of this can be chalked up to new drummer James Payne. KATAKLYSM has wallowed through a Spinal Tap like assembly of drummers since the great Max Duhamel left the band, but only now do things feel like they’ve got the man. Payne’s constant ravaging drum assault propels the brutality of “Goliath” but he’s capable of more than just straight blasting. I would work extra hard to keep him on the stool.
There are times like the ferocious beginning to “Die As A King” and the blast beats of “Dark Wings Of Deception” where this goes almost back to the beginnings of the band...this is KATAKLYSM at its most rapid. Elsewhere, there’s plenty of that super chunky downtuned riffage of more recent times, best heard on the title track and “Combustion”. The guitar tone has a lot of the heaviest nu-metal and core breakdown to it so if you have an aversion to that kind of production, steer clear of this. Maurizio’s vocals are as angry as always and give things a hardcore feel.
“Goliath” does run out of gas in the last third. “Heroes To Villains” is pretty cooky-cutter, “Gravestones and Coffins” has a thick groove that’s uncomfortably close to nu-metal and “The Sacrifice of Truth” tries to add epic melody but falls kind of flat. It just seems like KATAKLYSM don’t have it in them anymore to do an album that scorches from start to finish, but this one definitely has some head-wrecking moments.