15 October 2019

CATACOMB VOICES

One man (or...one genius?) bedroom drum machine metal from São Paulo. Sole member Rudolf, The Proud offers up seven doses of full throttle black/power metal as CATACOMB VOICES with incessant leads and a song construction/delivery that almost makes it seem like this year's debut release was created as one long piece - many songs have no end, just a quick fade, and some start the way with no real beginning. High end and anxious, the solos border on comical even though there's nothing whatsoever to suggest that there is a tongue in this cheek. 
There's a fine line between innocence and brilliance, and I think in this case the purity of vision helps to blur that line. Repetitive drum machine stomps and relentless hammer-on sweatpants riffing isn't exactly most people's idea of a good time, but it feels real here....it feels honest. Most of the evil conjured by Rudulf's prior entity SOVEREIGN has been supplanted by driving metal power, though the vocals still serve up a demonic edge and CATACOMB VOICES seem to be in a constant struggle for clarity, which is part of what makes it sound so real. Basically...I'm in. 



1 comment:

Veneficus Malus said...

man what can i tell you the guy is real, he lives underground, he works as an grave digger, he pays to record his albums and he doesn’t even see the release, he makes sure it’s always for the underworld and he really wants to fuck society and the commercial. My best regards to Rudolf and his screams in the dark!