There's stuff that just comes out of nowhere and you really need a few listens to get into the whole thing. "Of Ghosts And Gods is more intricate, there's more going on. J-F is a melodic guitar player, he loves melody and groove. We like doing things as fast as bands like Fleshgod Apocalypse or Krisiun, but we don't want to be a blastbeat band from beginning to end. On this new record we decided that we're not going to try an impress anybody with speed or how heavy we can be, we're just doing what we love on one record. 'At The Edge Of The World' is catchy and melodic, and that's the appeal of that song. But, if we play songs from that record live like 'At The Edge Of The World' or 'Push The Venom', they're two mandatory tracks now. I don't think there was any complexity behind it. "Not the last one, but Heaven's Venom was more of a traditional Kataklysm record. Is that to say Kataklysm played it too safe on the previous album, Waiting For The End To Come? ![]() ![]() This new record is very honest that way." We need to be what we've always been a band that takes its sound and brings it to another level by doing it our own way. We want to keep our fans happy, but we realized that's not us. We didn't want to gamble too much because it's hard to be out there trying to make a living off this. ![]() I think we played it a bit too safe on the last few records. In Kataklysm's case it may recall Prevail and Heaven's Venom, two albums that received mixed reviews upon release. Things are changing dramatically in the business so we need to come out with something really fresh and new."Ī comment that often scares a band's diehard followers. This record is the one we need at a time when we really need to step up and deliver. It's really hard to keep people with you, so if they've been around this long it's because we're always trying new things. We're on our 12th record, and I don't know if I've ever followed a band for 12 records (laughs). "This is the first time we tried something like this, moving around a lot," Iacono says. Not only did they bring Sneap on board to accent Dagenais' efforts, Kataklysm took their creative process on the road and recorded the music in Texas, Montreal, Florida and England. Ultimately, the motivation behind Of Ghosts And Gods was that well worn tale of a veteran band bent on keeping the music fresh for themselves and the fans. You can tell there's a lot of work behind this music, both from us and from him." When you mix a record some producers are done in one week. We went back and forth because he'd send us a mix, we'd say it sounded great, but he wanted to do more work on it. "One of the things with this record is that we spent so much time on it. As a Kataklysm fan you wish he would have jumped on board a few albums earlier once you give the new album a listen or five. If you're a Sneap fan it comes as no surprise to hear he succeeded in beefing up Kataklysm's already crushing sound for Of Ghosts And Gods. For him to grab the new Kataklysm record was great." We were lucky he even picked us because Andy is in high demand, and he's turned down some big bands. We wanted someone that has a good name, sure, but we also wanted someone we're a fan of. "J-F is a great engineer, but when you do everything yourself sometimes you lose the ability to be 100% on the ball because recording and mixing is such a long process. "The reason we went to Andy Sneap to do this is because we thought the combination of him with J-F (Dagenais/guitars, producer) would be great," Iacono begins. Either way, the accolades can be attributed to Kataklysm burning whatever tattered rulebook they've been using for the last several years, and the addition of producer Andy Sneap (Testament, Accept, Arch Enemy, you name 'em.) to their creative arsenal. As a Kataklysm album it has been dubbed their strongest in years, taking into account that the shock and excitement of being nailed to the wall has blown some minds into paste. As melodic death metal goes it has rightfully been tagged as being on par with At The Gates' stellar comeback, At War With Reality. We are, of course, referring to Kataklysm's latest slab of violence Of Ghosts And Gods, a thundering, seething fuck off of an album if there ever was one in the band's catalogue. ![]() And frontman Maurizio Iacono couldn't be happier.
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