Review Summary: Just putting this up again because it got deleted last time.
myspace.com/catherine
Catherine is...
Nick Bradwell - Vocals
Robert Tobin - Guitar
Julio Garcia - Drums
Steve Barboza - Bass
Taylor Rearick - Guitar
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Jesse Alejandrez - Guitar (He was apart of the recording of "The Naturals")
Catherine is a metalcore band from Sacramento, California who released their first album "Rumor Has It: Astaroth Has Stolen Your Eyes" in 2006 and received much positive criticism. Then in August of 2007, they released their sophomore album, "The Naturals" which brought a lot of different elements to the table. Although, as things would have it an important lineup change in the band had to be made. Switching vocalist Bryan Lemasters to Nick Bradwell. Even with the talented Lemasters gone, I believe Nick couldn't have been a better replacement. Bringing a much more of a "progressive" sound to Catherine, leaving the more "brutal" sound in the past.
"The Naturals" is filled with downright ridiculous guitar riffs and double bass-driving breakdowns. Some of the guitar licks on this album is just absolutely amazing. Brining riffs you'd hear by Protest The Hero, or even Dance Gavin Dance, to the table. And as seen on the last album Julio Garcia is no disappointment on the drums, actually being one of the most interesting parts of the band. "Rumor Has It" was a genuine example of what Catherine was capable of on creating catchy hooks while still keeping it heavy, and they still haven't lost it.
The album starts out with a 7-second filler track titled
"First Time" which is, I suppose Nick, walking into the recording room and starting the song. The point of the intro is trying to show people that yes, he is the new vocalist, and yes, this is what he is capable of. The blend from
"First Time" straight into
"The Naturals" is pretty nice and gets you hooked straight into the song. The song starts out heavy, fast, and to the point as the drums are kicking and Nick is at the top of his lungs. Naturals also gives a good showcasing of guitars as it is quickly exampled early in the album with beautiful harmonizing between Robert and Jesse. The song ends with a sort of old-school type Catherine breakdown, and shoots straight into
"Tailor", where you are again met with more nice guitar work and also some of the very absent singing found on the rest of the album.
"Light Brite" starts up and is one of the more heavier songs on the album, with a beautiful breakdown about a minute in with Nick shouting:
"Screaming whispers yes you hear me
Freed from your eyes
Screaming whispers yes you hear me
We'll bring their demise"
The song ends on a weary note with a continuous drum roll and fading, repetitive vocals. Not one of the better endings, still a solid song nonetheless. Next is
"Dear Elizabeth", one of the instrumentals, and plays with
"Fallacy” the same way “LATNEMURTSNI” and “Is It Tomorrow Yet?” did on “Rumor Has It”. Like I said, Catherine brings superb musical work this time out and really shows it off throughout the album, but here is where it shines. The 50 second build-up into
“Fallacy” could not have been pulled off any better and really sets a new flow to the album.
“Fallacy” is actually one of the more popular songs from the album and you can see why. It does have some catchiness to the verses. What we also see is another middle-of-the-song Catherine like breakdown. While these are in almost every single song, they never get old, or at least to me they don't.
“Thou Art A Villain” is next and you start to feel a heavier, faster pace on the songs from here. Villain is my favorite song on the entire album, it just has an epic feel to it. Another minute-in breakdown, and possibly one of the best endings to any song I've ever heard. The song ends with sort of a sing/scream duo of
"There's no heroes, There's no heroes. You'll have no such luck this time!" speeding up and eventually fading out. When the song ends you felt as if you just got hit, preparing you for the next song
"Let's Pretend Like It's 1910", which is arguably the 2nd heaviest song on the album.1910 has fast verses with some speedy vocals. And if you guessed it, yes, another breakdown. No worries though, this is the best one on the album.
The album ends with 2 tracks that sound just a little different from the rest.
"To Be Specific" clocks in at a mere 2:04 and has some weird synth effects with dim vocals. Probably a song you will find yourself skipping the more you listen to the album. The final song makes the previous 2 minutes forgivable by clocking in at 5:16, making it the longest song on the album.
"Praise The Night Time" brings back that Catherine sound, but still not one of the better songs on the album. It just seems a bit scattered and thrown together. Though the drumming and some of the harmonizing does make the music pretty enjoyable, it still doesn't make the cut. It does make a powerful ending with one final breakdown and a weird synthed-out drum roll that just fades.
Overall, this album is a great pickup and does indeed do justice to the first album. Nick proved he is a valuable replacement and can do his job well. Musically, Catherine has expanded and has become better as a band and presenting themselves. I am very excited for new stuff in the future. My rating does stop at 4.5 because I think a lot of the album does produce the same sound at some point. An example would be the guitars constantly harmonizing and never really making any breakthrough riffs. The album also only clocks in at a mere 33 minutes with only 8 solid tracks, but goddamn are those 33 minutes enjoyable.
FYI, these guys would be a pretty awesome live band just because of the musicianship and breakdowns.
Best Songs
- The Naturals
- Fallacy
- Thou Art A Villain
- Let's Pretend It's 1910
Pros
- Clean musicianship
- Nick brings a new sound to the table and does it well.
- Good songwriting and structure.
- Superb drumming
Cons
- 2 Instrumentals, leaving only 8 full tracks.
- Nothing really....
Thanks a lot. Feedback is much appreciated.
