review by: Mladen Škot
Right before I started writing for Maelstrom, one of the tips Roberto gave me was that I don't have to be a walking metal encyclopedia — all I had to do was to say whether I would buy the album or not. Now, with ordinary albums, it's an easy task — listen to an hour or so of music a few times, see if I like it, explain how much and why I do or do not... and that's in. However, this release defies the concept — I haven't listened to all of it yet. Why? Because it contains one DAY of music. If this isn't value for money, then I honestly don't know what is.
After 15 years and three albums, Catholicon have decided to split up. For all those who have been following them, Catholicon members I.N.R.I. and The Shape are already working on the debut of their new band, though at this point we're not completely sure about the name. Anyway, even though Catholicon are no more, they are going away with a bang. Of Ages Past is actually a two-disc set, the first one being the album itself.
It is amazing. This writer's first reaction was — an apology to our American readers — that it doesn't sound like an American album. Then, we realized that it doesn't sound like any other album we've heard before, from any country.
Nobody does this and gets away with it. Catholicon did. Now, the riffs are simple, but standing in front of the listener in an inverted, screwed, yet monolithic way. They sound great and persuasive, and they are always there. Of Ages Past doesn't have filler parts. But trying to decipher the riffs defies logic as the drums are doing their best to stir them away: Again, the drum beats are nothing complicated but they are anything but obvious.
The drummer can play, but apparently doesn't know the obvious thing to do and always plays something else... and makes a damn great job of it. As if the rules don't exist. With just guitars and drums, Of Ages Past is mercilessly chaotic. When you hear what I.N.R.I. is doing, it becomes impossible. The singer is hurling a barrage of narrative screams, apparently without any logic or method, but bloody fast. But the screams ARE logical, and after a few minutes, Of Ages Past becomes a miasma. There are straightforward parts, but they quickly become tangled, more labyrinthine and, in the end, transcendental.
Maybe it was an accident? No. There are way too many otherworldly moments here to blame it merely on accidents. It was done on purpose and with a method. And the purpose would be hammering another nail in the coffin of Christianity. Simple as that, and as serious as it can be. Just read the lyrics: nothing vague or between the lines, and everything you never wanted to hear (if you are a religious person, of course). Simple, intelligent elaborations on how and why — but flaming, burning and screamed into an abyss of instrumentation.
Catholicon (which means something like universal cure or remedy) weren't one of your average bands with people in them just happy to play music and have fun. This is a soundtrack to the last hour of Christianity. Catholicon may be gone, but you can keep listening to this disc set until its purpose is fulfilled.
The second disc is a DVD. Since you're reading Maelstrom you probably have a computer as well as a DVD-ROM. If you don't have it, you need it, if only for this DVD. It contains twenty-four hours of music. You get the albums, the pre-mixes, post-mixes, side-mixes, demos, rehearsals, live recordings, the lyrics, the live videos, the artwork, the side projects, two Absynth albums, the Blasphyre material, Peckernut, Temple of Amon and — believe it or not — a porn video. We're not saying it's all awesome, but it's definitely "all": everything Catholicon or its members ever recorded. Warts and all. They weren't the best looking band around, but the audience lucky enough to see them was even less aware of what they had in front of their eyes.
Seriously, we're under the impression that, even though everyone has, sort of, heard of Catholicon, very few bothered to listen to their music. Maybe they were too serious? Not pretty enough? Not SAFE? Too direct? Not from Florida but from Louisiana? You thought that all the anti-religious talk is just for show, like horror movies? No it isn't. And, if you're not serious, why do anything at all?
This is the way it should be done, and the early albums prove that Catholicon were consistently exceptional and one of the best bands the States ever had. This release, Of Ages Past, is your chance to catch up. Do it. (10/10)
review by: Joshua
Alright, from way down Leesiana way, our favorite purveyors of anti-Christian aural sodomy (sans lube) have managed to set aside the King Cake long enough to debauch us with long player number four.
Released on December 25 (nope, they never miss an opportunity, do they?) Of Ages Past, Catholicon’s swansong, offers up a CD of noxiously infernal excretions in addition to an absolutely ridonculous DVD-ROM comprising pretty much everything the band and its members have ever committed to tape or hung on their mama’s ‘frigerators... more on that little Cerberus puppy later.
Ever seen the movie "Jacob’s Ladder"? It’s a supreme mindfuck of (perhaps) hallucinatory terror and psychoactive aftershocks. Midway through, Tim Robbins’ titular character is at a party that, through his eyes, very slowly dissolves into a bacchanalian horror show that goes completely sideways, everything bathed in strobe lights and fisheye views, dancing party goers wrapped in out of control gesticulations, reptilian tails peeking from under skirts and spikes erupting from mouths. What makes the scene so damn frightening is that plays out like a wading-through-molasses nightmare punctuated by brief bursts of comparative speed that offer false hope of a mad dash for sanctuary. It’s really no surprise that the scene culminates with Jacob a writhing, screaming heap on the floor.
Making your way through Of Ages Past is kinda like that.
What’s most intriguing is the production and arrangement tact taken this time around. The previous album, Treatise on the Abyss, found the band honing their black metal attack to such a degree that it was more of a blackened grind record; that album’s sharp production gave it a deceptively high-end feel, pure razor-gliding-through-flesh misery. This time out, however, the production is oddly muted, as if the contact mics were overlaid with a scrim of dust and buried under the floorboards during the recording process.
It’s a weird-ass decision and pays off handsomely for two reasons. Tangled up in that that sonic murk, anything that manages to struggle up to the surface — INRI’s shrieks, guitar squeals, Blasphyre’s keyboard intrusions — stands out in stark relief. Couple this with song structures that veer to and fro under clandestine guidance and you’ve got the perfect intersection to delve into the aforementioned nightmare scenario.
Full speed ahead stops short in nasty head-through-windshield-abruptness, swirling rhythms that offer no reprieve, opposing riffs, desperately elongated notes, murmured voices, obscure samples... the only plan here is that there is none, making it all the more unnerving in its effectiveness.
As for the DVD-ROM, if I had less of a life I’d take the time necessary to delve into every nook and cranny of the Catholicon oeuvre. I’ve gone through it piecemeal and will continue to, but if you want to lock yourself away some weekend and drown yourself in every available demo, rehearsal tape, live show, alternate mix, different version, band member side project and a (ahem) "music video," starring the very game Misty Haze getting double teamed, have at it.
Well done, gentlemen. See ya’ll in hell. First round of po’boys and beer is on me. (7.5/10)
