Label: Nuclear Blast
Genre: Death Metal
Release Date EU: August 11th, 2023
Line Up:
Maurizio Iacono
Jean-François Dagenais
Stephane Barbe
James Payne
Tracklist:
1. Dark Wings Of Deception
2. Goliath
3. Die As A King
4. Bringer Of Vengeance
5. Combustion
6. From The Land Of The Living To The Land Of The Dead
7. The Redeemer
8. Heroes To Villains
9. Gravestones & Coffins
10. The Sacrifice For Truth
Longtime metal institution Kataklysm followed pretty much of two-years pattern when it comes to album releases. For their newest strike, ‘Goliath’, the French-Canadian powerhouse allowed themselves a three-year time span to finish work on these ten new songs, that provide a total running time of a bit more than 40 minutes.
The association of goliath means something big and huge. Now, the album, called ‘Goliath’ is in a way a mighty piece of music, penned by Maurizio Iacono and bandmates. Fueled by the current state of planet and human society, ‘Goliath’ is a raging piece of music which becomes apparent right at the beginning when Kataklysm ignites a blast called ‘Dark Wings of Deception’.
Compared with most of the other tracks on the album, the opener is rather long and touches a five-minute playing time. Solely the closer ‘the Sacrifice of Truth’ takes things in step further while all the other songs are telling the tale in three minutes. Regardless of that, each of the songs shows an unbound energy and aggressiveness this kind of music needs. What the opener shows is a change of gears. Kataklysm sailed for a few years on more moderate-pace waters while ‘Dark Wings of Deception’ comes as a blast right out of the speakers. This might have to do with the latest addition to the line-up too. Drummer James Payne adds some blastbeat power to the sound of the band, challenges the four-piece and allows Kataklysm to re-connect to the earlier days.
Next song on the list is ‘Goliath’, the title track. While the savage craziness continues the song comes with a bit of a slower pace. Iaconon harsh vocals and the thundering riffs are the key components of this track that is with less than three minutes a boiled down metal anthem.
Groove and a high pace are what defines ‘Die as a King’, a song that took a while to unfold its beauty. The grooving components remain when it comes to ‘Bringer of Vengeance’, a tune that fires on all cylinders, while the chorus is made for fan-chants during live shows.
‘From the Land of the Living to the Land of the Dead’ isn’t only the longest song title on the album but also combines layers with aggressiveness.
‘The Reedmer’ creates a counterpart to the previous song. Especially the beginning of the track, with its slower pace; acts as a sinister intro before the song unveils its brute character after one minute.
My favorite song on the album is ‘Gravestones & Coffins’. Kataklysm stay in a moderate pace and puts the grooving elements into the spotlight. Although equipped with merciless firepower, the crawls into your mind and the embedded breaks act as a musical accelerant.
‘Goliath’, this title can be seen as the dysfunctional world outside and the album being the “David”, battling back with raging sounds and a stand-up approach. Kataklysm’s 15th studio album is a great next step and since the previous release ‘Unconquered’ felt more like an unfinished in-between album it is the newest offer by the Canadians that shows a clear musical direction again. Horns up.
First published on Markus Heavy Music Blog
Written by: Markus Wiedenmann
Rating 8/10
About Author
