Catacombe - Kinetic review
| Band: | Catacombe |
| Album: | Kinetic |
| Style: | Post-metal |
| Release date: | December 10, 2010 |
| A review by: | BitterCOld |
01. Grundsatz
02. Supernova
03. Anna-Liisa
04. Memoirs (Extended)
05. Cavalgada Épica
06. Mockba
07. Sequoia
The problem with atmospheric/instrumental post-rock/metal is that the ethereal nature of the music often makes it enjoyable yet fleeting. Albums can come and go, be a pleasant experience, and yet still be kind of, uh, forgettable. It's the sonic equivalent of Chinese food? you consume it, you enjoy it, and maybe an hour later you find yourself hungry and go rummaging the fridge or cd collection for something a little more solid.
Catacombe's Kinetic falls into the post-rock genre trap. I've listened to this album several dozen times since getting my first "Awesome Package Of Musical Awesome" from Solitude/Slow Burn back in January. Despite repeated listens, I don't think I can adequately describe much by way of the music from memory. It has nice, quiet, beautiful Mellow Moments ? followed up by someone stomping on the tube fuzz pedal and kicking the intensity up a few notches.
However, what I can tell you about the release is that at a time when I am suffering from post-rock overload and looking at an Explosions In The Sky cd elicits the same response I get when waking up with the proverbial railroad spike buried in my skull after a five bar, 15 pint bender and seeing a half empty, room temperature bottle of Ranger IPA staring at me from the nightstand:
NEVER. AGAIN.
Yet last night I popped it in for a spin when settling down to read another couple chapters of Android Karenina, enjoyed it, and about 40 minutes later when it ended, I got up and hit "play" again. Who knows, I might do it again tonight.
Catacombe do it really well. They manage to craft beautiful music, even if difficult to describe. Kinetic is kind of like Ulver's Bergtatt ? it is thoroughly enjoyable, you're enjoying it, and its over so fast you are wanting more. Which I guess also kicks back to the Chinese food analogy from earlier.
If you dig the genre, this is definitely worth checking out. If you're new to it and are considering dipping your toes into the post-rock pool, seems this is a pretty solid release to start with.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 8 |
| Songwriting: | 8 |
| Originality: | 6 |
| Production: | 9 |
 | Written on 18.05.2011 by BitterCOld has been officially reviewing albums for MetalStorm since 2009. |
Comments
Comments: 15
Visited by: 202 users
| MechanisT Account deleted |
MechanisT
Account deleted
Sounds interesting, this. I think I'll give this a go. Although, I swear I saw this ? thing in a couple of your previous reviews too. It's getting a bit old, in my opinion. No offence meant.  Good job on the review.
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| BitterCOld The Ancient One Admin Posts: 15287  |
Written by [user id=109200] on 19.05.2011 at 01:20 i have started using the "Mellow Moments TM" to refer to those quieter ambient or mellow passages in albums which are difficult to describe and have started showing up with increasing regularity in the albums i have been sent to review. the "tm" bit is a joke that i 'trademarked' the phrase. when pounding out reviews (i'm averaging 5 a month this year) of similar style music it becomes harder and harder to avoid using the same terms. i have found it a quick and succinct way to sum up difficult to describe passages in music. i'll waste time racking my brain for the appropriate wordings when someone has passages that so motivate me. it's hardly the only word or term that gets used to describe a musical phenomenon that gets recycled.
---- get the fuck off my lawn. Beer Bug Virus Spotify Playlist crafted by Nikarg and I. Feel free to tune in and add some pertinent metal tunes!
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| MechanisT Account deleted |
MechanisT
Account deleted Written by BitterCOld on 19.05.2011 at 01:34 Now that I have some insight into why you do that so frequently, I have no qualms with your "trademarking". Thanks for the explanation.
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| VPeter Posts: 1450  |
After a hour you get hungry again? what kind of stomach do you have? Each time when I eat Chinese food I'm full for the next 7 hours.
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| Rupert Posts: 469  |
Written by VPeter on 19.05.2011 at 03:11 What kind of stomach do YOU have?
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| Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Staff Posts: 21306  |
Written by Rupert on 19.05.2011 at 06:37  Seriously, that shit goes through you quicker than McDonald's. If it fills you for 7 hours you might want to see a doctor.
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| VPeter Posts: 1450 |
Written by Troy Killjoy on 19.05.2011 at 07:24 Really? I always order this Chinese dish with fish wrapped in dough together with some rice and sauce but they always give way to much at my Chinese restaurant. Obliviously it doesn't take 7 hours but I still remain full for quite some time.
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| Paradox Lover Account deleted |
Paradox Lover
Account deleted Written by VPeter on 19.05.2011 at 14:35 No offense... But that was just a metaphor...  Or maybe you go along..? :O
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| malaikat Posts: 405  |
"Android Karenina", huh? Did you like "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies"?
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| BloodTears ANA-thema Elite Posts: 11835  |
I'll probably check this one out. Didn't know this Portuguese band.
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| Merchant of Doom Posts: 702  |
Quite a good album, despite the fact that I'm not very fond of instrumental stuff... I agree with the mellow moments metaphor... it's quite inoffensive music, great for reading non-challenging stuff...  Ah, and the song titles really are random...
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| VPeter Posts: 1450 |
Written by [user id=118027] on 19.05.2011 at 19:37 I know, I just felt like responding to it. And now because of it I'm hungry for Chinese food.
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| Parasomnia Posts: 50  |
Written by [user id=118027] on 19.05.2011 at 19:37 Hmmm... i like how there is a conversation about Chinese Food on a Metal Storm post hahaha!!
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| Pyramid God Posts: 184  |
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| tea[m]ster Au Pays Natal Contributor Posts: 5266  |
Ha, just picked this up and rec'd it in the post/sludge/atmo thread. How the fuck did I miss this. I like it a bit more than you Craig 
---- rekt
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