CD review KATAKLYSM ‘Unconquered’

Canada-based Metal force Katakylsm release their new longplayer ‘Unconquered’ as we speak (read). It’s their 14th longplayer in the bands long history, a story that started nearly 30 years ago in Montreal, Quebec.

‘Unconquered’, a well-chosen title for the world we are living in in right now, has an approach of brutality beating filigree. Kataklysm’s newest has its nuances but first of all it’s a blastbeat and high speed that characterize the sound of Canadian Metal veterans. These trademarks are reflected in ‘The Killshot’, the lead-off song on ‘Unconquered’. The racing track is more than a wake-up call after having pressed the ‘Start’-button.

With ‘Cut Me Down’ the grooving aspect of Kataklysm pushes to forefront, a trademark being the base for ‘The Way Back Home’. The latter has also a more melodic approach, in the context of Kataklysm’s music. Quickly jumping back to ‘Cut Me Down’ means also to mention that Kataklysm could win over Wolfheart’s Tuomas Saukkonen for a guest vocal appearance which adds to the thrill to the smashing tune.

‘Focused to Destroy You’ satisfies with a lot of density before a raging tempo takes over again with ‘Defiant’. However, it feels like the band being ahead of themselves here. As a counterpart ‘Icarus Falling’ brings back a moderate pace but also reflects with a ‘off the shelf’ approach . The final thrill is missing and there is hope that the closer ‘When It’s Over’ turns the page. It’s a sinister ending of the album that shows two sides of a coin. There is the extremely fast top half of the album that reflects a lot of Kataklysm we know. The bottom half of the tracklist though is in general a bit slower, more groove focussed and still aggressive.

‘Unconquered’ is an album that feels a bit ‘unfinished’ to a certain extend. Not in the sense of sound and production. All is pretty well done in this field. It’s more that ‘Unconquered’ leaves you with a question mark of where things are going in the future. Kataklysm’s 14th longplayer is by no means a bad delivery. It’s just not a real highlight either the guys added to the books.