While this shall be the 15th Kataklysm album by vocalist Maurizio Iacono and guitarist Jean-François Dagenais, the 13th by bassist Stéphane Barbe, it’s the first by new drummer James Payne. And I must admit to being impressed by his enthusiastic delivery and precision. The fact that the Canadians have been at this for over 30 years is a testament to the quality of the music, sure they may have slowed a little since their early days of northern hyperblast, but that doesn’t mean that James isn’t blasting on every song, the guitars are just able to produce more melodies now.
The album kicks things off with some amazing footwork on “Dark Wings of Deception” as the rumbling bass and guitars slip in to bolster the sound, but once the aggressive vocals join the fray things pick up, but somehow, they also step back for some melodic picking while the cymbals crash, and the snare is pounded emphatically.
The title track “Goliath” keeps the tempo high, with Maurizio’s vocals take on a slightly raspier hew as he spits out the lyrics at pace.
The little triplet blasts on “Die as a King” work perfectly on the slower parts of the song to differentiate the speed used during the verses, which is manic to say the least.
“Bringer of Vengeance” is almost ballad-like in comparison, using a chunky groove orientated guitar rhythm with the drums waxing and waning to keep things heavy rather than fast.
There are some black metal screeches on “Combustion”, which I’m sure is what death growls should sound like if set alight, but thankfully the deeper growls prevail.
The drums run amok on “From the Land of the Living to the Land of the Dead” as the guitars chase them at high speed, needing the breakdowns to allow for a slight respite before blasting off on their journey once more.
Slowing things down… for the intro, we have “The Redeemer” showing that they are able to take a melodic riff through its paces without it losing its character and being all the heavier for it.
“Heroes to Villains” works its magic the other way around, by starting off blisteringly quick, then reining the guitars in as the drum tempo slows to add a melody to the riff.
A rather doomy sounding riff on “Gravestones & Coffins” lets the vocals rise to the fore as the rapid kicking thumps out behind them to pronounced effect.
The album ends with “The Sacrifice for Truth” which intensifies the melodic components without skipping on the angry vocals as they are roared out over the slower bridges and beautiful basslines that breaks into a solo before a mellow lead accompanies it, only to build itself up once more to end things the way the album the way it began. Intensely.
Sure, I’m a fan, but that shouldn’t detract from the fact that this is superb album with more melody to drive home its more brutal components.
(8/10 Marco Gaminara)
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