Hailing from the sunshine state (Florida), “YMB” A Catalyst For Destruction are sure to put their mark on the death metal scene. With about three years of experience as a band under their belts, the local death metal titans have unleashed their latest album entitled “Inexorable Authority”. Though they are a local act, A Catalyst For Destruction have created a monstrosity of a production filled with malicious vocals, skull crushing guitar work, and pulverizing drums.
A Catalyst For Destruction capture a true death metal ambience as well as incorporating hints of deathcore throughout the production. During the initial album listening, I had concluded that if Beneath the Massacre, Abiotic, and The Faceless had somehow gotten together and produced offspring, A Catalyst For Destruction would be the result. A unique blend of breakdowns sprinkled within the production serve as a palate cleanser and show off the diversity that this band possesses. There were times where I had felt that guitar solos had overpowered the accompaniment of the band, leaving them in the dust. The absence of an instrumental song was not necessarily a deal breaker for this production, but I would have enjoyed hearing an instrument only tune. Fast riffs are cool, but it is nice to see a band change it up once in a while and see a side of them that isn’t normally presented.
From the moment the first track plays, the listener can already tell that the production is going to be death metal. The track is entitled “Trout Man”, which only makes me think of the fish people in the Spongebob Squarepants TV show. If you can get past the name, the musicality and musicianship in the tune is almost mesmerizing. The riffs are incredibly technical and catchy. You can not help but crack a bit of a smile at the end of the tune which eventually turns into a full grin by the start of the second song.
As the album transitions into “Wielding Mass Destruction”, I felt as if the drums had some conflict with the guitars. I didn’t get the impression that they were on the same page idea-wise. The song that I had felt was more of a “filler” was “Proceeding Adanna”. Perhaps it was because it was the shortest tune, but I did not feel this particular song memorable. In “Blood of a Serpent”, the vocals definitely needed to have more dual layered screams and growls. It could have brought so much more of an infernal element and taken the song to the next level. “Exhausted Existence” starts off with a sound clip that I was not too fond of, transitioning into a breakdown that seemed forced to fit in. This was the only song that I felt had breakdowns in it for the sake of having breakdowns. There were way too many for my taste.
The overall production quality was done very well. All the instruments were generally mixed well (except for some solos). A Catalyst For Destruction leave the listener in a state of pure euphoric sonority. The technicality had blown me away. I was not expecting the guitars to be as mechanical as they were. The riffs were enough to make anyone who was listening to the songs bang their head. The vocals sounded as if they were coming straight from Hell. They had such a powerful punch and had shining moments on the album.
Overall, “Inexorable Authority” was quite a treat to listen to. There were parts that weren’t to my particular liking, yet still managed to impress my ears with the other various components of their original style. The album scores an 8.5/10. “Inexorable Authority” encompasses true death metal style and emotion which seem to be forgotten by many bands today. With some more experience, who knows what the future holds for them..
“Inexorable Authority” was released on March 31, 2012 independently through A Catalyst For Destruction.
