Once again a promising new crusher got unleashed by Cold Blood Industries. With their debut Storm Of The Horde the Dutch newcomers of KATAFALK aim to roll up the scene. But this should be a difficult terrain though, because one of the biggest chunks in the scene – God Dethroned – they already have in their own (label) ranks. Also in general a lot of Brutal Metal bands are coming from the Netherlands. So it will be hard to get matched with them all the time and to step out of their shadows.
But hey … the guys already started out pretty smart. First of all Storm Of The Horde is not a Brutal Death Metal album. Yeah, it is brutal, aggressive and its blast parts nail you down in a pleasant regularity. But while doing so they blend Death, Thrash and classic metal elements very skillfully, whose riffs even reminds me a bit of Judas Priest like on Aesthetic Vampires - which wickedly kicks ass. Although the guys kill pretty fast all the time they never achieve ICE speed. So you don’t get nailed down just by endless thrashings. KATAFALK also attaches importance to variety like cool guitar solos which reminds me sometimes of Slayer (Birthmark 666) and even some dapper melodies (Blind Envy). But they never go over the top. Brutality and heaviness are the rules! At the relevant Death Metal riffings you can find typical Florida influences as well as some typical Swedish roots like a la Dissection.
Only 3 tracks on this album hit the 3 minute mark, ergo Storm Of The Horde is a fresh, crunchy and entertaining record with a running time of 36 minutes on 13 tracks.
Sure this album is not perfect. The beginnings of the tracks sound pretty similar. You may think it’s just a break and the song goes on. Only a view on the player’s display gives you a clue thru what song you are running right now. And of course you can’t deny bonds to various old heroes. Yet Storm Of The Horde is a well done and entertaining album with lot of good moments and a good production. Anyway, KATAFALK got off on the right food. Anything promising? ... Yeah, indeed!

Katafalk