Catalyst
Self Titled EP

May 2011
Released: 2010, n/a
Rating: 3.5/5
Reviewer: Metal-Rules.com UK Team

Catalyst has made a very interesting record/demo here. When the time comes, they can brutalize your ears with pounding drums and riffs. But they have a great penchant for tension and release. The clean tone on this album/demo is great, very melancholic in tone and vibrant. The thing about this demo is what seems like samples taken from movies or speeches, it provides a running theme throughout the album which I like, especially for the calmer sections and tracks. I’m not sure where any of it’s from or weather its original samples, but it does a cracking good job.



The use of tension and release on this record has been used to near perfection. Tracks like Protocol 1+2 demonstrate this perfectly, before dropping back into the heavy riff madness of NS 404 (Wandering). This for me is a superb album if you like straight up heavy metal that bounces and also if you like your progressive shifts and melancholy in your music, these guys manage to border these two distinct styles and blend them into a very interesting ear soup.



The production quality of this record is great in itself, everything sounds clear and crisp in the madness and very refined in the calm. The song quality is also of a high standard, the hard rock/metal parts are great, rocking and totally “bounce your head to” material.



Overall assessment: Interesting, when rocking, it’s rocking, and when it’s chilling out, it’s very dark. The strength of this album keeps growing the longer it plays, a definite one that you must devote some time to listen to, it’s worth it!