(TheMadIsraeli embarks upon a new reviewing project . . . as he will now explain.)
How many of you have ever gone back through a band’s discography (particularly a band with a semi-lengthy one) in order to attempt to re-evaluate your opinion about the music of said band? I do this from time to time and enjoy doing it quite often. People who know me know I’ve done this with Pantera and Between The Buried And Me multiple times (bands who will just never win me over no matter what). In the case of some bands this process has caused me to change my opinion, though in others (as noted) my opinion has simply been reaffirmed.
Doing this with Gojira recently caused me to regain my appreciation for them again, and it was in doing that that I got this idea in my head. NCS readers who are interested can follow me on my journey as I do this.
So, let’s outline how it will work: I pick the band. I tell you my opinion of said band before I begin the process. In listening to the music, I won’t so much review their albums as just weave a stream-of-consciousness thought blanket, and then once we get to the end of the discography, I’ll state my reconsidered opinion.
So what band is going to be my first victim?
Kataklysm.
This band seems to be a touchy subject. The people who love these guys LOVE THEM, and the people who don’t seem to think they are shit, or perhaps outstandingly mediocre at best.
I haven’t listened to Kataklysm in a long time. I sort of gave up after In the Arms of Devastation when I realized they had definitively sunk into the most boring melodic death metal I could recall hearing. Something about the music by that point had become utterly unremarkable, and since then I don’t recall even hearing any singles of new material that wowed me either.
However, I remember a time when Kataklysm were feral, sinister, and outright corroding. I haven’t listened to their first albums in a good five or six years, so I figured this would be a perfect candidate for the beginning of this series.
In the meantime, I want to hear readers’ thoughts on Kataklysm. How do YOU feel about the band as a whole? Are they good? Have they ever been good? If you feel they blow ass nowadays, what do you think happened?
Stay tuned.
14 Responses to “HIGHER CRITICISM: AN INTRODUCTION”
Leave a Reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Kataklysm’s “Taking The World By Storm” track was on a Nuclear Blast sampler several years ago. The opening riff of that song is what kept me listening to metal, even though I really didn’t like the growled vocals of Kataklysm. But I stayed for that (still very catchy) guitar riff.
I still give the credit to Kataklysm for getting me into the world of metal guitar, even though I wasn’t won over to metal vocals until Equilibrium’s folk metal album Sagas.
Every song I’ve heard by Kataklysm I’ve liked, although I haven’t listened to an entire full album by them yet.
In the Arms of Devastation is actually one of the albums that really got me into the darker and heavier side of metal and prompted me to collect much of their back catalog. They haven’t been in my listening rotation much of late, but that’s mostly due to the large quantities of new music I’m continually discovering (much of which I can attribute to visiting this site on a regular basis). Or perhaps I have become a bit bored with them and simply don’t want to admit it… Either way, I do still enjoy their music when I get around to listening to it and I would like to see them live again. Although I did see their other incarnation, Ex Deo, live recently and found it fairly unimpressive; partially due to the awe-inspiring performance of Inquisition that preceded them and the incredible energy that Melechesh brought to the stage. Hmm, I seem to be getting a bit sidetracked…
Long story short, Kataklysm: I’m a fan.
Houde-era Kataklysm is some of the most ferocious, deranged shit I can think of. To this day, I can count the amount of bands who even approach the sheer insanity of that Kataklysm on one hand. After Iacono took over, the band really became Kataklysm in name only. As of now, Kataklysm is little more than a sleep aid that goes rather nicely with the melatonin I take. Thankfully, we still have Internal Suffering, the likes of whom manage to capture the general sound and vibe of Houde Kataklysm rather nicely.
I saw Kataklysm with DevilDriver, Unearth, and some band I can’t remember quite a few years ago. They were really fucking fun live but I’ve found every Kataklysm album I’ve listened to to be soul crushingly generic. There’s some good riffs here or there, even some good songs along the way, but by and large when I get done with an album I have no recollection of it beyond “well, I think parts of that may have been enjoyable.” I should note that I started with Serenity in Fire so I very well may be missing out on their best material. I’d be interested in giving this a go along with you.
Pretty sure the band you can’t remember was the headliner: Dimmu Borgir. Odd that they’s be the one’s you forgot. This is the last time I saw Kataklysm as well, quite some time ago.
meh.
Heard of, never bothered with.
I like Kataklysm. Though they’re essentially Hatebreed with blast beats and a bit more nastiness.
I have enjoyed all their albums, though have a particular fondness for the period from “Epic…” onwards. Which probably puts me in the minority here. I love their bulldozing grooves and catchy as plague riffage.
They do have a tendency to repeat themselves though, or occasionally bulk out their albums with filler (I’m looking at you here “Prevail”), and Maurizio does have some very awkward phrasing… he sometimes rushes to fit too many words into a line, or sometimes delivers them surprisingly awkwardly, but when they hit the sweet spot. Yep, I’m a fan.
I kinda reacently discovered kataklysm, and i very much enjoy it. I do not know alot fo their music, but I enjoyed the Iron Will compilation, with the title track probablo being my favourite. Good track to do some heavy ass Deadlifts to. I like the heavy fast and angry Kataklysm. That being said, i much prefer the epics of Ex Deo.
Kataklysm kicks ass. I really don’t know what’s not to like. Very friendly guys as well. I saw them on their last tour, they spent over an hour after the show talking and taking pictures with their fans, and had a few beers with my friends and I. Make sure to listen to Shadows and Dust and Heaven’s Venom in your musical travels.
Not familiar with their older material so I can only comment on their latest release: it stinks. Very boring and lacking soul. I seem to remember the production being far too clean. I was just monumentally bored to say nothing of their back catalog. Hope you aquire whatever enlightened perspective you’re seeking on this journey of yours. Good luck.
Boring. Canadian. NEXT.
As most have stated above, the majority of the albums I’ve heard have been dull and forgettable, except maybe one or two tracks, per album. An example of this would be, “Blood In Heaven,” off the Prevail record. It’s a mid-tempo head banger with great melody and an unforgettable chorus. I tend to take the one or two good songs off their last few records, toss them on a playlist on the ole’ ipod and forget about the rest. However, it must be said I caught them live on Summer Slaughter back in 2007, I think it was, and they are a lot of fun live with great energy and sound. I really enjoyed seeing them and would definitely go to another show if they were on the bill.
On their first couple albums Kataklysm were something else. Now they are something other than something else and that something is a big ol’ turd