Kataklysm, In The Arms Of Devastation
Now here’s a case of when an album’s art work does the selling for them. Kataklysm has been around long enough that you would think that I would have purchased an album of theirs by now. Nope. Not even close. This is the first one. I had heard plenty of their material, but was just never motivated enough to go out and grab a disc or two — until now.
I’d heard a few tracks off their latest (and eight or ninth release in their history) but it wasn’t until I took a good look at the album art while passing through the store one day. It’s pretty damned slick. I do like me a good demon surrounded by destruction scene on my albums.
So the art is cool. So what. How does this latest release differ from their other stuff? To keep it short, it really doesn’t. And that’s what this band has going for them — they are consistently on their game, dealing out melodic death metal as repeated blunt force trauma like no other. Maurizio Iacono’s delivery is just devastatingly on point, hitting the low end guttural roars just as easily has he hits the higher range screams to help punctuate his point. JF Degenais and Stephane Barbe create soaring riffs and crushing blasts throughout the entire disc. And last, but not least, Max Duhamel delivers hyper fast blasts of doom at all sorts of angles leaving you drooling for more.
Like Angels Weeping (The Dark)
The opening track on the album is probably the best, musically. It’s not my favorite, but it serves up everything the band has to offer. Starting off with a quick sound clip, the band immediately rolls into a huge riff and then utter chaos ensues as Iacono’s vocals kick in. There is plenty of mosh in this one with galloping riffs and intense drumming. The band shifts up the pace slightly throughout the track — transitioning from full on blasts to chugging doom.
Let Them Burn
“Let Them Burn” has a great riff to open it up before a huge scream from Iacono and enough double bass blasts to level a small town. Iacono’s range is most impressive on this track. He hits the low end, depths-of-hell growls just as smoothly as he hits his torturous higher pitched screams.
Crippled & Broken
The band changes it up on this one, delivering a wall of despair in a slower, more deliberate chugging manner than the previous two songs. The chorus is great on this one.
To Reign Again
My first thoughts when this one started was, and I quote, “Ah shit, a friggin’ instrumental! Now!? Damn those Canadians…” It was at this point that the band reached on out through my speakers, grabbed a handful of my hair (what’s left of it) and gave me an impromptu curb stomp on the edge of my desk. This one has a more dramatic feel to it as it’s not a full on controlled chaos. Iacono’s delivery at times reminds me of Bolt Thrower‘s Karl Willetts.
It Turns To Rust
I remember the CD packaging having mentioned a guest vocalist, but couldn’t remember what it had proclaimed at the time of this review. Now, I know it was Kittie‘s Morgan Lander. It’s almost impossible to tell her apart from Iacono’s higher end screams, but the subtle difference is a nice change.
Open Scars
Iacono lets loose with a nice scream before continuing along in his deeper delivery as a driving riff and beat push you along to the edge of a chasm. There is some good soloing on this one.
Temptation’s Nest
I love the slower delivery and crushing backing vocals on the chorus. Overall the song is probably the slowest on the album, but equally as powerful. It’s a nice change up from the hyper blasts of the previous songs.
In Words Of Desperation
A riff similar to one on the last song is a nice tie-in that carries the albums momentum at a breakneck pace — literally. I’m pretty sure I may have crushed a vertebra at one point on “Temptation’s Nest.”
The Road To Devastation
The final and longest track on the album is also the most melodic. The opening sequence of riffs has a softer delivery and Iacono sticks to his higher range delivery as his primary attack. He utilizes a deeper range for the highlights, reversing his vocal formula from the rest of the album. It’s a nice change that just shows how versatile these guys can be.
~ ~ ~
Add the superb production of this release to the band’s unflinching consistency and you’ll be damned to find anything wrong with it. In The Arms of Destruction is tightly played and, well, just plain destructive. I’m glad the album art caught my attention enough to shell out some green for this one.
Favorite Tracks:
Pretty much all of them
Additional Notes:
n/a