Catch 22
is easily the largest musical departure for
Peter Taegtgren
and crew, a risky maneuver in the often claustrophobic underground
death metal
community. The songwriting all accentuates big choruses that tend to stick in your head with minimal effort to have it do so, and a dramatic melodic intervention envelops the record in a newfound air of accessibility. The disc is far from limp-wristed -- the crunching guitars still soar over the vocals, which are actually occasionally sung and not shrieked in addition to grandiose instrumentation -- but the disc title says it all: progress and be called a sellout by cliquish devotees; write the same album again and again and be called boring, the classic catch 22. Well, this record is also a classic catch 22, even if some fans fall away. ~ Brian O'Neill