Catacombe - Memoirs

by Cosmo Lee

If in 2008, you asked me to hear an instrumental NeurIsis band with a drum machine, I would sooner have asked to be shot in the face. Luckily, I gave Memoirs (Poison Tree, 2008) a chance. It's gorgeous and suspends my cynicism about the NeurIsis sound. Admittedly, it's unoriginal. Later Isis is an obvious influence, especially in the rocking parts that don't quite rock. So is Mono in the tremolo picking.

Memoirs

But bands can utilize the same ingredients differently. Catacombe deploys NeurIsis' requisite clean tones and big riffs with refreshing directness. No interminable buildups, just passage after passage of sure-handed melodies. Like Year of No Light, Catacombe isn't afraid to go for the emotional kill. Bright hooks, dark chords, soaring lines - the contrasts are vivid.

The band is actually just Pedro Sobast; one gets the image of him stepping on a distortion pedal and flooding a room with colors. Though Sobast should check his guitar's intonation, his drum programming reasonably approximates human playing. But these are technicalities. The songs are what matter. Anthemic and moving, they stick in the head and heart. Does Portugal have more of such hidden treasures?

Buy:
Catacombe (CD)
Poison Tree (MP3)

Black Cobra, Corpus Christii, Vader, and more

Up at Decibel, I have reviews of Blotted Science (new project of Ron Jarzombek), Devian (new project of Legion, ex-Marduk), and Rigor Sardonicous (slower-than-slow dooooom), as well as a feature on Portuguese black metallers Corpus Christii, whose recent record Rising is sick-sick-sick. The print version (#41, At the Gates cover) also has my live review of Neurosis/Earth/Saviours on NYE.

Black Cobra - Red Tide
Corpus Christii - Stabbed

At Metal Injection, I have reviews of The Great Deceiver (Tomas Lindberg's almost-nu-metal project), Polish behemoths Vader, mighty SF duo Black Cobra, Hot Topic pinups Bullet for My Valentine, and Strapping Young Lad clone The Arcane Order.

The latter's album is noteworthy, as it is a digital-only release in the US - from Metal Blade. CD's are available in Europe, but not in America. Metal Blade must have done a cost-benefit analysis and decided that CD's generally weren't worth manufacturing. Instead, the label has outsourced distribution to iTunes, Napster, et al., not even selling MP3's on its own site (yet). Metal Blade is the first major metal label I've seen do this - but I'm sure it won't be the only one.

The Ladder - The Mindless and Complete Stain

The Mindless and Complete Stain (on Good Enough for the Escape) is the debut EP from Portuguese band The Ladder. It's rough around the edges, as most debuts are, but it's quite creative and exploratory. I'd be surprised if the band doesn't find more widespread recognition soon.

The Ladder's sound is a little hard to describe. American deathcore comes to mind, but with much more emphasis on the "death" part; some of the half-speed grooves almost feel like breakdowns, thus earning the "core" tag. Melodic technical death metal is also part of the mix; some riffs in "Movement in the Treeline" and "Failure" feel like latter-day Neuraxis. Meshuggah is a very strong influence, particularly in "Recall." Whether intentional or not, there's black metal in the tremolo picking in "Close the Window," and "...Cycles" has a majestic middle part that recalls Agalloch. One song even experiments with acoustic guitars and gypsy-esque violin!

The Ladder - Recall
The Ladder - Movement in the Treeline

Thus, the EP feels a little unfocused because of its diverse influences. But it's also never boring except for the unnecessary cinematic intro and four minutes of electronic noise at the end. Incidentally, the clicky drum sound is one of the worst I've ever heard. You know how sometimes song intros go through a filter to sound like a tinny radio before dropping into the actual song? At first, I thought that was what was going on - but it stayed that way. Doh!

However, these are merely rookie mistakes. I firmly believe that once the band tightens up its songwriting and gets an actual recording budget, the results will be devastating. The band is starting to write its first full-length, so keep an eye out for that. If you don't live on the Iberian peninsula, you can pick up the EP through the band's MySpace or its label's webstore.