Katalepsy

Astral Tomb – Soulgazer Review

Astral Tomb – Soulgazer Review

“Good brutal death albums ruin your day. You swing your fists and frown, letting the caveman slams and moist leads saturate your eardrums in a coat of red mist as the mosh-pit hysteria results in a few too many lost brain cells. Astral Tomb does just that, featuring all the hallmarks of a good slam/goregrind/brutal death album: opener “Transcendental Visions” fitting this to a tee, the thirteen-minute opener reeks of Carcass-meets-Devourment-meets-Blood Incantation gore in its brutal emphasis on excess.” Star tombs, raw wounds.

Katalepsy – Terra Mortus Est Review

Katalepsy – Terra Mortus Est Review

“Ah, death metal, my old nemesis. This style and I have never quite seen eye to eye on things, which I think comes down to me not having an especially high tolerance for prolonged brutality. I like rhyme and reason, order, and all things calm and sane. So given that, you might wonder why I would read the words “Russian brutal death metal masters Katalepsy return with their devastating new record Terra Mortus Est” and think “sounds good to me!” Honestly, I would too.” Insanity and Terra.

Unfathomable Ruination – Enraged and Unbound Review

Unfathomable Ruination – Enraged and Unbound Review

“Death metal is not a subtle art. Brutal death metal doubly so. Brutal, technical… well you get the point. Unfathomable Ruination exemplify this dearth of subtlety in name but belie it in their music. Their sophomore effort, Finitude, stands as one of the decade’s most punishing yet memorable death metal albums, punctuating each of its songs with a constricting riff or winding lead that seared it instantly into the mind. A great deal of the album’s success came from the band’s shrewd dispensation of show-stoppers, always releasing just enough brilliance to keep the listener wanting more. Apparently unwilling to rest on their laurels, Enraged and Unbound lives up to its predecessor’s unpredictable brutality.” Ruination as hobby.

Fit for an Autopsy – The Great Collapse Review

Fit for an Autopsy – The Great Collapse Review

“I had shit to do, so I showed up to see Lorna Shore and decided to head out before Fit for an Autopsy took the stage. I’d listened to Absolute Hope, Absolute Hell, when it came out a few years back, and though I definitely liked it, the album was a bit too unfocused to stick around in my rotation. I figured the band wasn’t going to play anything I really enjoyed. I fucked up.” Regret about missing an autopsy? That’s metal.

Vulvodynia – Psychosadistic Design Review

Vulvodynia – Psychosadistic Design Review

“Back in high school, metal fans, me ashamedly included, compared our chosen genre to classical in its proficiency and complexity, and laughed at the other “dumb” genres for their lack of “intelligent” lyrics and themes. What intolerable pricks were we. I can confidently say that, had I been in that woefully immature mindset currently, I would not have enjoyed anything about Vulvodynia. Their second full-length Psychosadistic Design is everything the intelligent pretentious types love to hate: it’s loud, it’s obnoxious, it’s hilariously over-the-top in its lyrical effrontery, and it chugs more than someone getting perpetually annihilated at beer pong. And honestly, I haven’t had this much fun with slamming brutal death metal in years.” Slam the torpedoes, full chug ahead!

Katalepsy – Gravenous Hour Review

Katalepsy – Gravenous Hour Review

“Slam’s audio palette isn’t especially varied. The death metal setup – already instrumentally optimized for a pretty particular group of timbres – tuned down and sometimes pitchshifted into an almost inaudibly low register doesn’t give you much to work with in terms of tone diversity, which is why so many slam bands have tight, grating snares and so many slam riffs go all in on pinch harmonics. And when Katalepsy go all in, I mean all in.” Go big or go home.