HARDWARES

Ready to tear down the kingdom of poseurs, taking the world by storm after two years of relentless touring, the catastrophic creators of chaos known as Kataklysm continue to decimate and denigrate. Known for their northern hyperblast and resounding intensity, they seldom mitigate from their tried and true tempo of knowledge. Ready to prevail upon the senses with more sonic insanity, poised to penetrate the fragile frame with resounding punishment - a chained-down, power-push - Kataklysm deliver the goods with a devastating clarity. With a career spanning well over 15 years, these death dealers know how to catapult into our awareness with words and melodies which elicit a conditioned response. Pounding into our hearts and heads, these skull-shredders issued a new era of death, creating malevolence and spawning a whole wicked seed of imitators. Kataklysm still suffocate the competition, with brutal annihilation. The title track establishes the corporal jigsaw quandary, namely that death is imminent. Indeed “death is certain” is an overarching theme personified throughout, as are concepts of war, hate, and hypocrisy. Fans know what to expect, and Kataklysm serve their base interests. I was relatively ignorant to their sound, having missed them live countless of times (hey opened many great shows including the first leg of The Invaluable Darkness Tour with Dimmu Borgir and Unearth). When the CD rotates, a revolution of rebellious anthems, I’m reminded of the glory days of acts like Malevolent Creation, Suffocation, early Deicide and Brutal Truth. Lead vocalist Maurizio Iacono enunciates with a certain clarity, but not necessarily a terrible certainty. Guitarist Jean-Francois Dagenais, who also produced the album, works well with Jason Suecof who did the mixing. There are plenty of sore-searing leads and time changes adding to the mayhem and magick. All songs crush and kill; fans of the band won’t be led astray by their disease, lest Nile finally write another masterpiece. Standout tracks include ‘Prevail’, ‘Blood In Heaven’, ‘Taking The World By Storm’ and ‘Tear Down The Kingdom’. The CD concludes with an instrumental called ‘The Last Effort’.