
Sustained with dignity
-- Catalyst --
28/07/2019
Stijn Daneels

Album genres:
■ | Progressive Metal |
■ | Death Metal |
Album artists:
■ | Jeroen van Ranst | Vocals |
■ | Philip Pedraza | Guitar, backing vocals |
■ | Aaron Onghena | Guitar, backing vocals |
■ | Benjamin Onghena | Bass, backing vocals |
■ | Jannes Lemaitre | Drums |
Review written by Stijn "Metal Shredder" Daneels.
[METAL SHREDDER REPORTING]
I first
encountered Catalyst about a year ago when lead guitarist Philip introduced me
to a couple of his band’s songs (such as the enjoyable track “Delirium Nostrum”).
I also saw them in March this year as the opening band of the inaugural edition
of Detonation – A Day Full Of Metal and I had a fun time seeing those five well-dressed
guys on stage! A couple of days ago the band released their latest single, “Sustainable
Dignity,” on YouTube and once again Philip asked me to share my thoughts. And
since we’re now also shredding singles, here it goes!
[SHREDDING BASICS]
“Sustainable
Dignity” is the fourth YouTube released song from the Belgian progressive death
metal band Catalyst who started in 2017. Compared to their earlier songs like “Debt
To The World” and “Delirium Nostrum” this is a significantly shorter song
(clocking in at just 4 minutes) and in my opinion, it’s a choice for the better.
The main weakness I felt in Catalyst’s earlier material was that they were some
parts that felt like pure filler, such as an unnecessary monologue in “Delirium
Nostrum” and a dragged out 30-second opening jam in “Concrete.” Parts like
those could’ve been cut shorter or out entirely so that the juicy meat of their
respective songs would have been served much earlier.
Fortunately,
“Sustainable Dignity” starts off strong with a crisp main melody followed by
short guitar, bass and drum solos in quick succession before vocalist Jeroen
starts barking! One thing I quickly noticed about Catalyst’s new song is that
it moves at a smoother and tighter pace and so Catalyst’s strengths are now
much more visible. One of those strengths is Jeroen’s flexible vocals. In certain
sections of the song he goes for a rough, snarly voice while in others he goes
for clean, melodic singing. Actually, his clean vocals remind me of Serj Tankian’s
from System Of A Down. In fact, this entire song has a SOAD feel to it, with
the frantic rhythms and the politically and socially conscious lyrics.
One other
thing that I particularly enjoy about Catalyst is Philip’s guitar solos. As in
all other Catalyst songs released thus far he grinds out some beautiful soaring
riffs from his battle axe. Aside from that, “Sustainable Dignity” feels like a
more aggressive and harder hitting song than Catalyst’s earlier material yet it
still maintains the sophisticated edge that’s present in all of their songs
thus far. It’s a delicate balance between death metal rage and progressive artistry
and I’m glad to say that with this new track Catalyst has further improved on
this part as well.
[SHREDDER SCORECARD]
8,5 cataclysms
out of 10. With “Sustainable Dignity,” Catalyst shows a clear positive
evolution in their songwriting and presentation with a tighter written and overall
heavier tune that will certainly make a few heads banging! The tasty meat of
their previous songs remains, but the unnecessary fat has been effectively cut
out. I’m very curious to hear how they’ll further build on this type of classy
metal. Here’s the studio video for “Sustainable Dignity.” Enjoy your Sunday
night!