There’s not a lot to say about Kataklysm that hasn’t already been said. Not so much a band anymore as an institution, Kataklysm have been treading the boards since 1992, and, in that time, they have become one of the leading lights in extreme metal, releasing devastating classics like ‘in the arms of devastation’ and ‘prevail’. Back with their twelfth album, Kataklysm have lost none of the fire and the fury that makes them so beloved. With producer Mark Lewis (of Cannibal Corpse, Devildriver and White Chapel fame) on side and Andy Sneap on mixing duties, the album was already set to sound immense, but it is fundamentally Kataklysm’s ability to weld extreme metal brutality and taut melodies that makes this one of the band’s most impressive albums even when considered in the light of the band’s impressive past achievements.
Opening with ‘breaching the asylum’, a tough, mid-tempo beast that carries a somewhat nihilistic thread through its chorus of “there’s nowhere left to live, we’ve lost all compassion”, Kataklysm lose no time in reasserting their presence, and it’s notable that they are one of the few bands who have successfully carved out their own unique sound within a scene crowded with bands, each vying to rise to the top of a mountain Kataklysm conquered long ago. With a scything riff, ‘The black sheep’ is a monumental bruiser augmented with just a touch of studio polish to give it a modern edge. A hi-tech track with guitars that appear to be trepanning the listener, this is Kataklysm at their brutal best and you can’t help but feel that a band with so much experience shouldn’t sound this fresh, this hungry for domination. ‘Marching through graveyards’ opens on a creepy note, with subtle atmospherics giving way to a churning death metal riff underpinned by Oli Beaudoin’s pile-driver rhythms. ‘Thy serpent’s tongue’ is a darker, deeper, grinding beast that lashes out with blood stained claws, Oli indulging himself on the kit whilst Maurizio Lacono delivers his trade mark roar with customary relish. Easily one of my favourite death metal vocalists, his guttural bark has both potency and clarity, a rarity within the genre. ‘Vindication’ is a faster track, a searing blast of mechanistic death metal delivered with clear-eyed intensity and untrammelled rage by a band who have truly become the masters of their art.
Demonstrating a level of ferocity that is more commonly associated with an act just starting on their journey tempered only by a dedication to perfection that comes from years of experience, ‘soul destroyer’ is a blistering beast of chrome-plated riffs overtopped with Maurizio’s astonishing roar. ‘Carrying crosses’ emerges from a single phased riff, crawling, blinking in the daylight, to unleash an unstoppable force that washes away all in its path. ‘Shattered’, in contrast, opens with a single chord, played with infinite power, before the band slowly allow the piece to develop into a monolithic grind capable of levelling a city block. Few bands are capable of wielding the single-minded power of Kataklysm in full flow, and even after twelve albums, the band still tear into the opposition with all the power of a fresh young fighter on the warpath. Even so, there is melody here and the more melodic guitar that drives the song forward means that listeners will remember the track long after the disc has spun to a halt. ‘Hate spirit’ is a punishing number, marching across a blackened landscape cutting a swathe into all before it and offering Stephane Barbe an opportunity to show off his impressive bass playing skills. ‘The world is a dying insect’ closes the album out in epic style, offering up six minutes of melodic, atmospheric death metal that emerges from atmospheric clean guitars to deliver one last body blow to the listener. It’s a stunning and varied track that perfectly draws the curtain down on one of Kataklysm’s finest moments to date.
Kataklysm have spent many years building themselves a solid fan base and an exceptional reputation and they deserve their hard-won respect. Always powerful, their music has a melodic edge that makes each moment memorable without ever detracting from its metallic power. It is a difficult balance to achieve, and yet with each subsequent album Kataklysm further refine the formula. On ‘of ghosts and gods’ Kataklysm have achieved a level of monstrous perfection that most bands only dream of, and even when one considers the utterly crushing ‘prevail’, there is a strong argument that ‘of ghosts and gods’ is Kataklysm at their very best. If you’re an extreme metal fan you’ll not want to be without ‘of ghosts and gods’, it’s as if the band sat down to consider what a best of Kataklysm would sound like and then filled the album with all new material. Every moment is a carefully considered, beautifully crafted and perfectly played colossus of death metal, and it showcases Kataklysm at the very top of their game.
