Self-described as "northern hyperblast," Kataklysm plays a mix of technical death metal, grindcore, and more melodic, Scandinavian-tinged black/death metal on this album, their fifth full-length.
The songs here combine the aforementioned styles in a logical, non-schizophrenic fashion within each song, resulting in a coherent yet also relatively diverse album, at least as far as this type of extreme metal goes.
Drummer Max Duhamel's percussion work is especially notable for its variety of rhythms, as he switches fluidly from blastbleats and double-bass onslaughts to slowed-down death metal grooves and the occasional triplet-based shuffle rhythm.
And while there are a few overly familiar-feeling riffs here and there, the songwriting is consistent and solid; only "Tormentor of Souls," with its annoying vocal catch phrase, comes across as subpar.
On the whole, this is a good effort from Kataklysm, and due to its more melodic nature (compared to their earlier work), it makes a good intro to the band for listeners who are skeptical about the more extreme end of death metal.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Il Diavolo in MeMaurizio Iacono | Kataklysm | Play | 03:25 | 7 MB | 26 MB |
| 2 | Damnation Is HereMaurizio Iacono | Kataklysm | Play | 04:34 | 10 MB | 34 MB |
| 3 | Shivers of a New WorldMaurizio Iacono | Kataklysm | Play | 04:07 | 9 MB | 31 MB |
| 4 | Manipulator of SoulsMaurizio Iacono | Kataklysm | Play | 03:42 | 8 MB | 28 MB |
| 5 | WoundsMaurizio Iacono | Kataklysm | Play | 04:54 | 11 MB | 37 MB |
| 6 | What We EndureMaurizio Iacono | Kataklysm | Play | 04:56 | 11 MB | 37 MB |
| 7 | When Time Stands StillMaurizio Iacono | Kataklysm | Play | 06:15 | 14 MB | 45 MB |
| 8 | Era Of The Mercyless (Roma: Part 1) | Kataklysm | Play | 03:31 | 8 MB | 27 MB |
| 9 | As The Glorious Weep (Roma: Part 2) | Kataklysm | Play | 04:12 | 9 MB | 32 MB |
| 10 | Mould In A Breed (Original Uncut Version) | Kataklysm | Play | 06:03 | 13 MB | 46 MB |
| 11 | Whirlwind Of Withered Blossoms (Demo Version) | Kataklysm | Play | 05:15 | 12 MB | 40 MB |
| 12 | Feeling The Neverworld (Demo Version) | Kataklysm | Play | 05:58 | 13 MB | 44 MB |
| 13 | The Orb (Original Uncut Version) | Kataklysm | Play | 02:32 | 5 MB | 19 MB |
| 59 mins | 137 MB | |||||
| 59 mins | 453 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bernard Belley | Mastering |
| 2 | Jean-Francois Dagenais | Engineer, Guitar, Mixing, Producer |
| 3 | Max Duhamel | Drums |
| 4 | Maurizio Iacono | Composer, Vocals |
| 5 | Kataklysm | Arranger, Primary Artist |
| 6 | Louis Legault | Assistant Engineer |
| 7 | Markus Staiger | Executive Producer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |