Rating: NNN
Montreal’s Kataklysm have earned their reputation as one of the country’s most consistent metal bands. (They certainly don’t have a problem dropping hyperbolic stuff like “They leave critics stupefied and the world begging for more” on their online bio.) While they’ve accomplished a lot within a kind of melodic, progressive death metal framework, you can’t help but notice that their 11th album sounds like they’ve found their comfort zone and aren’t about to leave it.
That’s not to say that Prevail doesn’t pack a punch. The tempos leave little room to relax drummer Max Duhamel goes from thrash speed to explosive blast beats amidst pounding double-?kick work, and the vocals remain satisfyingly guttural and dominating, thanks to good production. However, there are far too few honest-?to-?goodness jaw-?dropping moments of technical virtuosity and raw fury to make this anything truly extraordinary.
Kataklysm play Friday (June 6) at the Opera House.
