Artist: Catacombe
Title: Kinetic
Type: Album
Label: Slow Burn Records

As lovable as the trends are (currently Lazarus AD is proving the NWOAHM scene is dying a painful gargling death, along with Five Finger Death Punch hammering the nails into the coffin), there’s a lot to be said for the slow and steady. By dint of long introduction which befits the particular style, it’s time to introduce Catacombe to the post-metal party. They’re vocal-less, which is a big plus point, especially in a world where a perfectly good The Ocean album was ruined by shoe-horning in some warbling tit to get across some tedious concept or other.

Anyway, Catacombe have a somewhat more easy going style than the likes of Cult of Luna or ISIS; the riffing is a lot less dense that those twin titans, which is somewhat detrimental to the all enveloping effect that this genre at its very best should have. Perhaps it’s the production not being thick enough, but the contrasts they’re pushing for between sections in ‘Cavalgada Epica’ feels a bit hollow. The delicate passages aren’t delicate enough, or the sense of claustrophobia from the repetitive riffs when the overdrive kicks in isn’t profound enough to draw you into the Catacombe universe. And that’s an endemic problem though the album. While the heavy elements don’t quite work, there are some successful parts to the album: ‘Sequoia’ has a recurring narrative motif that is echoed throughout in a consummate display of skill. In the same way as Pelican, there’s an expansive air in the chiming interlocking leads and complimentary riffage that really show off the strength of Catacombe as a unit. Sadly, this come as the last tune on the album, which is a bit of a disappointment when you realise you’ve just sat the rest of it without much of it making an impact.

The fact is, Catacombe as they stand just seem to lack the charisma of their contemporaries. They don’t so much swoop and dive and climb as merely bend the knees a bit. ‘Memoirs’ has a good churn, but doesn’t hypnotise you, or draw you into an intricate narrative in the same way as the depths of ‘Oceanic’ does. Ultimately, there’s a lot of potential on here, but until they can really plumb the depth, Catacombe are only half-way there.

http://www.myspace.com/catacombeband