Search - Kataklysm :: Mystical Gate of Reincarnation

This album has me speachless

06/29/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The goosebumps haven't left me yet...This album is a masterpiece....Any deathmetal fan should own it...There music is tight and nothing can come close to it....To bad the singer has been replaced. But overall they are the best deathmetal band ever!!!! Long live hyperblast!!!"

The Northern Hyperblast is preparing for war.

Ben Stubbs | Australia | 05/21/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"My first foray into the intense experience that is Kataklysm came a couple of years after this EP was originally released. The band's debut full length album "Sorcery" beat me around the head severely in 1995 and although it lacked precision and could be considered chaotic and even messy, it was enjoyable due to its downright ferociousness . This 4 track release is fairly similar in style and substance. Brutal death metal with unusual drum patterns and insane vocals. The early vocalist for Kataklysm (he left after the band's 3rd album) was definitely an angry young man. Demonic growls and screaming agony while often completely disregarding structural rhythm altogether. It's a performance worthy of attention, even if it's near impossible to follow the lyric sheet at times due to his unique approach. As earlier mentioned, the drumming is also a bit different, spasmodically galloping and blasting, seemingly breaking restraints whenever the listener tries to get a grip. It's nowhere near as precise nor incredibly fast as Max would produce in years to come, but instead displays a sense of adventure that comes with uninhibited youth.



"The Mystical Gate of Reincarnation" is certainly not without its charms. I enjoy it in the same way that I enjoy early Kreator or Sodom. It's not similar in style, but like those band's in their primitive days, Kataklysm's aggressive attitude and sheer heaviness easily made up for some lyrically and musically immature writing. Unlike the aforementioned veterans, the thing that stops me from calling this essential is the EPs lack of hooks or anything to hold on to for that matter. There are a plethora of riffs flying all over the place and each track changes form several times without ever obeying a common theme to keep the listener onboard. There's a brief respite when the tempo shifts down a notch for "Shrine of Life", yet I find it the least interesting of the 4 tracks. Album closer "The Orb of Uncreation" is the highlight of the album and best represents the path these Canadians would travel after this entertaining if flawed debut. The Northern Hyperblast was only just getting started and preparing for war."