Cataract

Cataract

Written by: AP on 19/08/2008 14:58:05

In the ten years of their existence, Cataract never really got around to breaking the ice, so let me introduce them to our less dug-in readers. Cataract is Metal Blade's Swiss protégé, a five-piece ensemble that supposedly plays metalcore. A quick listen to the group's extensive catalog, however, will reveal that the metalcore stamp is just an excuse to hide critics' inability to categorize them. If it was any other band, this would of course sound delightfully positive, but the nature of Cataract's music renders it otherwise. If a self-titled release is intended to mark the album of band's career, then Cataract's chances at ever making a breakthrough are slim.

This is it; this is the best they've got to give, and it's not pretty. Now I'll defy the critics and reward Cataract a well-deserved label: generic metal. With a sound that extracts all the wrong elements of numerous subgenres, Cataract do to metal what makes most metalcore so unbearable. It's like they've paid a visit to some imaginary music factory where riffs and breakdowns arrive in bundles on production lines. Such is the character of Cataract's pick n' mix. They've thrown in a death metal intro here and some thrash there, washed it over with a few breakdowns and blast beats, and tried to wrap it all up with the attitude of hardcore and created an album that, if it were any heavier, would collapse on itself.

It almost feels like the product of a lack of anything other stuff to do; making brutal metal for its own sake. What this does is divorce such quintessential things as creative energy and emotion from Cataract's music, leaving behind a lethargy best cured by a shot to the head. There's just nothing to come for here, not even the technical proficiency these kinds of bands usually sport. I've been listening to this record on and off since its release and have yet to find moments where I even raise an eyebrow. I don't even remember what songs I've just heard or what happened in them, and we all know that's just not right. A review written on Cataract's autopilot.

4

Download: Snake Skin

For the fans of: Hatebreed, Himsa, Sepultura

Listen: Myspace

Release date 24.03.2008

Metal Blade

Provided by Target ApS

Related Items | How we score?
Comments
comments powered by Disqus

Legal

© Copyright MMXXIV Rockfreaks.net.