KATAKLYSM - Of Ghosts And Gods

July 29, 2015, 8 years ago

(Nuclear Blast)

Jason Deaville

Rating: 9.0

review black death kataklysm

KATAKLYSM - Of Ghosts And Gods

Like the ten plagues of Egypt summoned forth by Yahweh - the god of the Israelites - against the Pharaoh of Egypt, each and every slab of destructive metal might on the new Kataklysm album, Of Ghosts And Gods, is a reminder that these long-running Canadian musical extremists are to be worshipped and feared. Taken as one cohesive package of melodious pestilence, Kataklysm manages to turn rivers to blood while devouring a dying sun with hordes of disease-ridden locusts. With crimson gore flowing across the land, Maurizio Iacono and crew march forward into battle in a never-ending assault at staking their claim to the throne of melodic-yet-brutalizing death metal. Of Ghosts And Gods, fittingly, opens with a sound-bite of Ramesses II bellowing "I am the God! I am the God!" - a deadly admonition to all those who are foolish enough to challenge his providence. With the war cry invoked, the opening track "Breaching The Asylum" launches into one of the year's finest riffs, and continues its assault with an addictively-epic, Swedish-inspired verse. 

Not since last fall's exquisitely-crafted At War With Reality - the jaw-dropping rebirth of At The Gates - has a band even come close to recreating the true magic of early '90s melodic death metal riffage... until now, that is. Kataklysm, with Of Ghosts And Gods, have unflinchingly asserted their relevance in this extremely fickle realm. Swedes or not, track two, "The Black Sheep", with its fuck you-inspired verse, where Maurizio barks in his Tomas "Tompa" Lindberg-like voice "I won't be like you. I won't conform. I'd rather die... I'm the black sheep" is an early, yet immediate, indication that these guys have effortlessly created a modern classic - one which deserves to stand alongside illustrious legends half a world away. Just as the intro to the album implies, the remaining eight tracks follow a similar path; a path which confronts all nay-sayers and critics head fucking on. I must admit, I was once one of these pundits, having become skeptical and jaded of my fellow Northern Hyperblasters somewhere along that battle scarred path. I now stand tall - proud - ready to vanquish all that stand in the way of the effective Canadian killing machine that is today's Kataklysm.



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