E.P. Review: Catacomb – Back to Unknown Kadath
Reviewed by Dan Phipps
With a history dating back to 1990 Catacomb are a French death metal act who in the early 90’s had a number of demo releases with a very strong influence from the work of H.P. Lovecraft within their lyrical and artwork themes. Following a couple of periods of inactivity Catacomb reformed in 2018 and have decided to re-record their 1993 cult demo In the Maze of Kadath which is to be released on 12” vinyl. This new recording which is titled Back to Unknown Kadath serves as an appetiser for the bands long awaited debut full length.
Catacomb plays a style of death metal which incorporates a lot of symphonic touches, in the same way symphonic black metal acts use keys to set a background atmosphere within their records, Back to Unknown Kadath has that same feeling. The classic yet still fresh old school riffs are layered over the symphonic sections to create a very full sound. The opening track “The Key” is a great example as Catacomb incorporates almost choir like symphonic sections at points, where these sections are not as heavy in the mix the band unleash a range of extremely tight and vicious riffs.
The vocals of Benjamin Bussy offer an extremely clear and powerful display which compliments and suits the band’s playing style. As Back to Unknown Kadath progresses the band's high octane death metal is continuously on show, the guitar work switches from pure adrenaline into fantastically crafted lead work with the click of a finger. The drums are not flashy but are solidly crafted to match the rest of the energy of the band.
What these re-recorded tracks prove is that good song writing does not age. The four tracks have a good energy, they have awesome riffs and even better leads which sound fresh even though they were originally written 30 years back. I was not familiar with this band prior to reviewing this release but will definitely be looking back to those early demos and await new material from them.
