Cataract "Great Days of Vengeance" CD
[Lifeforce]
Damn, here's some killer metalcore from Switzerland, and this is way better than their last record that I heard. They still remind me of All Out War at times, but they've got more energy, and this time they're also throwing in a heavy dose of classic Swedish death metal (not the overly melodic stuff, think early Entombed or Dismember with more of a hardcore flare). The vocals are consistently throaty screams that rest in various levels of the midrange, occasionally leaning more towards a spoken delivery for brief spurts. They do flirt with some of the trappings of melodic Swedish death metal, but they use such influences far more tactfully than most, and balance out their forceful dual guitar harmonies with a little bit of dissonance, tons of crushing rhythms, and even some great solos (see tracks like "Rest" for all of the aforementioned elements). The title track is a slower and darker instrumental, even bringing in some unexpected keyboard textures. "Scars" introduces some singing vocals, which aren't that bad, though I honestly don't feel that they're necessary, especially since they're so rarely used. As far as the sound goes, the drums are a little bit too rigid and the bass doesn't really make itself known, but the guitars are heavy and excellently textured and the vocals sound forceful. The mix actually keeps the drums in check so they're not a problem at all, therefore my only real suggestion would be to turn the bass up significantly. It sounds pretty good as is, though. And I like the layout here. The front cover is especially nice, with a simple illustration of two angels holding a skull with banners that show the band name and album title (modeled after the style of old Albrecht Dürer prints or something) and similar images appear elsewhere. The layout is all done in a greenish/brown tone with lots of old photographs and ragged torn paper and faded images. The booklet begins with a brief quote (uncredited) about "the final war", and the lyrics continue that theme to a lesser degree. "The humans are breeding for what they'll be bleeding, When the machines take control we've lost our soul, Technology took its place set back the human race, What was to be our future divides our human culture, The screen took our privacy, bios is the premier key, For profit and great fame who is to blame?" This is good stuff. If all contemporary metalcore bands were so effectively fusing the classic framework with modern twists like this, I would be a far happier man. This still won't be for everyone, but it's definitely worth checking out for fans of the genre that are tired of sloppy playing, bad recordings, and lazy songwriting. Because this CD avoids all three of those pitfalls. (7/10)
Running time - 40:30, Tracks: 11
[Notable tracks: Rest, Scars, The Dying]
Lifeforce Records - http://www.lifeforcerecords.com

This review has been displayed 1837 times.