Hailing from Austin, Texas, death metallers Cathexis with their rapaciously scintillating debut album Shades of Apocalypse seem to be settling themselves for an all-out assault on the world of metal. From friends who spent numerous years listening to and absorbing a wide expanse of metal, they have developed and honed their creative natures and skills into one of the more exciting and riveting death metal introductions to come our way this year.
Now consisting of vocalist Ian Bishop, guitarists Chris Hillam and Sam Kang, and bassist Mason Weber, the band officially was launched last year and went straight to work on their debut album, the mighty Shades of Apocalypse. Self-produced and driven by technical craft and consumptive weight and intimidation, the album is a startling heralding of a band you can only assume you will hear a lot more of as they only get better, the small pockets of strong acclaim and eager responses it has already garnered showing we are not alone in that thought. The full September release of the album will only be fuel to that waiting fire one suspects if not right now certainly ahead.
The release opens with a dawning of epically suggestive rhythms and a threateningly brewing ambience, its touch and suasion the 
portent of something greater and soon realised when Inheritor of the Weak erupts to its full height. With riffs and rhythms dangerously provoking the ear and sonic grooves lashing themselves to the onslaught, the vocals of Bishop though as expected in many ways, reign with guttural and uncompromising supremacy whilst equally utilising a temptation which gives clarity to their venomous words and abrasive delivery. The song itself is a torrent of firm rugged beats and scarring riffs with flare for invention, and though it does not ignite any major fires as such, it is an impressive and intensive lead into the album.
From the ‘scene setter’ everything raises up a level or two with the introduction of Oscillation of Destruction. Bitch slapping the ear from the start with drums and vocals, there is also an immediate twist of tempting toxic grooves and open adventure that winds itself around the imagination, leading it through an ever shifting corridor of intensity and carnivorous antagonism lined with melodic flames and sonic paintings. Bruising and seductive the track manhandles the passions straight into the title track which too goes for the jugular from the start, though with a more premeditated pace as it locks its muscular jaws tightly around the senses with crippling rhythms and lethally caustic riffs. Its early presence is pure predatory ferociousness drafted into a narrow vicious lure and has little problem in securing submission from ear and emotions. This is elevated by the quarrelsome bassline which is given its lead to entice the passions further before the song once again launches explosively at the listener.
Imagining that things could not get any better Prostration soon shoves that thought aside as it drags the heart to greater ardour with a web of grooves within a cage of rhythms which are lorded over by the ever impressive attack of Bishop. Almost teasing and taunting the senses with expertly sculpted sonic technicality and rhythmic enslaving before ravishing its victim with a torrent of insatiable and unrelenting riffs, the song impresses further with each twist, its merger of riveting guitar enterprise and rhythm cast invention sealing the deal with rapture the price.
Both Dethroned by the Pernicious and Immobilized by Consumption unleash their individual and exhausting intensive and ingenious wars upon the ear, the first carving its name in flesh with rigorous animosity and deceitful charm meshed into another carnally bred cyclonic fury whilst its successor rakes over the wounds with just as a violent and imaginative intent coated in barbarous invention. The textures and depths conjured and explored by the band is breath-taking but it is all done within the infernal unrelenting savagery which leaves, as with this song and album, the senses basking in blood soaked bliss.
You will not be surprised to read that the closer Celestial Pathogen continues the exceptional provocation, the track a final clawing and ravaging of the senses and passions, though strangely like the first track one which seems less prone to adventure than others. It still provides a blistering finale to a mouthwatering encounter from a band that is destined to greatness. Cathexis and Shades of Apocalypse, two names you need to register and investigate as soon as physically possible.
https://www.facebook.com/CathexisDM
10/10
RingMaster 04/09/2013
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Humanity, ex-Burgul Torkhaïn, ex-Ashura) and vocalist Brédin (Decline Of Humanity, ex-DSK, ex-Tridus Elasticus, ex-Altered Beast) in 2010, the band has already impressed and set out a formidable stature with the also Kaotoxin released Get Infected EP of last year and another spilt, Snuff Fetish Infection earlier in this. Their contribution to this release is as uncompromising as ever and arguably their most vicious and corrosive presentation yet. From the opener Old-School Traditional Butchery, the title telling you all you need to know, the band let rip a furious creative maelstrom which buckles knees and has synapses weeping. The first song is a torrential shower of crippling rhythms and devastating riffs speared by flesh failing sonic malice and grinding grooves which strip layers and skin from the senses. With an equally malicious dual vocal attack it is a mouthwatering blood curdling introduction which only is a portent of what is to come.
Next band up is F Stands For Fuck You, and it has to be said the band right away kidnapped the passions and emerged as our clear favourites on the release. Making their recording debut on Miserable Fucking Society Split, the St-Etienne trio of drummer Kevin Foley (Sepultura, Benighted, Nervecell, Mumakil, The Seven Gates), vocalist Adrien Guérin (Benighted), and guitarist Alexis Lieu bring an inventive and scintillating breath to a central grindcore heart. From the growled squall of vocals marking the start of Zero, the song twists and writhes with imagination and lethally infectious hooks and grooves driven by excellent rhythmic enterprise and skill of Foley. The track ignites a ‘light-bulb’ in the passions almost instantly and has them celebrating something fresh and magnetically compelling. Thrusting waspish grinning grooves through the ear from the start before roughing up the same victims with bruising intensity and desire, Sound Of Nothing continues the impressive offering from the band before both Fit and the sensationally riveting metal cored The Dead Men stomp and rampage on a swollen appetite with further furies of creative ingenuity and lung sucking energy. Debatably more hardcore than grindcore for these tastes with the band reminding at times of Irish bands Gacys Threads and Lantern For A Gale, both tracks set up a greater hunger which is immediately satisfied by the best song on the whole release.
not worry about making gentle introductions, well gentle anything as their five slices of rabid violence soon show. The Marseille quartet is pure anger and vitriol which pours uncontrollable from their first track Summoning Chaos right through to the last. The song opens with a menacing spoken vocal upon a slowly dawning ambience though it has no time to take hold as the band expose a heavy handed oppressive breath and launch into two minutes of unbridled sonic and vocal animosity. It is a nasty destructive confrontation which leaves senses and thoughts running scared and satisfaction widely awoken.
primal swarm of caustic animosity in bestial form. Entwining its ferocity is a waspish groove which licks addictively at the ear to raise the strongest seduction, the drum work of Pialoux is an unrelenting tempest of craft and fury. It is a towering start which secures full want and need to dive deeper into the release, its invention and unpredictable underbelly a teasing discovery beneath the more demanding surface which offers and gives more with each encounter.
The track immediately engulfs the ear with the outstanding keys and craft of Delin, their embrace a soaring pull of the senses into the heart and sky of the song where they find the fine vocals of Erix courted by accomplished guitar flames and an inviting bass stroll. Whether the song offers anything new or unexpected, which can be applied to the album as a whole, can be debated between AOR enthusiasts and the more casual visitor, but undoubtedly the skill of the band and poise of the song leaves the senses more than eager to indulge the album in greater depths.