Published on May 31, 2001
In all of my high school days listening to heavy metal, I don’t
ever remember getting into the death metal band Obituary. I might
have one of their cassettes floating around in the Pierce Memorial
Archives – cripes, Elvis himself could be in there somewhere, and I
wouldn’t know about it – but I’ve never had a burning desire to
pick up the band’s entire discography.
Trevor Peres was the guitar sound behind Obituary, and he brings
his talents to his new group, Catastrophic. Their debut album,
The Cleansing, is the kind of disc which will make you
admire how this band refuses to be locked into one particular style
of metal. But they are also the kind of band who will challenge you
to read the lyric sheet to understand the messages they’re trying
to get across. While some songs are left to be a bit cryptic,
Catastrophic challenges people to think – and that’s a refreshing
change of pace.
The band – Peres, vocalist Keith DeVito, lead guitarist Chris
Basile, bassist Brian Hobbie and drummer Rob Maresca – could have
easily settled into a co-existence playing nothing but speed metal,
and they undoubtedly would have done well. But this band seems to
know that a well-rounded musical diet is better for everyone
involved, and they dare to slow things down and – egads! – throw
the occasional melody into the mix. It’s a different way of
thinking about metal – and it works well. For every
balls-to-the-wall track like “Balancing The Furies,” there’s
another track that keeps balances in check, such as “Hate
Trade”.
But what separates Catastrophic from many other groups is that
there is more to what they’re singing about on
The Cleansing than your typical gloom-n-doom associated with
this kind of metal. I admit I could be missing the point of one or
two songs, as Catastrophic occasionally dive into the cryptic,
leaving some songs open for individual interpretation – for
example, is “Messiah Pacified” a song promoting some kind of
religious belief or backhanding the actions of those doing their
actions “by the motions”?
The messages in other songs are not as hard to decipher, from
the decrial of preaching the gospel of intolerance (“Hate Trade”)
to the warning of the environmental damage we’ve done coming back
to bite us (“Terraform”) to the declaration that we’re trying to
take science too far (“Balancing The Furies”). DeVito’s vocals are
occasionally obscured by the style of music that Catastrophic
plays, but he’s surprisingly clear for the balance of time. Whether
you listen to what DeVito is singing or you read about it in the
liner notes, Catastrophic challenges you to think.
The Cleansing is an entertaining listen, especially for fans
of thrash metal (and, undoubtedly, Obituary). and pushes the
envelope of how people will think of this style of metal. Who
knows? You might actually like using your mind for recreational
purposes.