Catch 22 – Soulreaper: Evilution/Devilution

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Metal On Metal Records
Produced by T.J. Berry & Steve Bodner

American traditional metal outfit Catch 22 signed to Metal On Metal Records for their fifth full-length release, after self-releasing three, and their Awaken album finding a home on Molten Metal Records. The last of the self-released albums, in 2007, was part one of what would become a two-part epic called Soulreaper. The second part is the album for Metal On Metal, but they have also licensed the first part to them, making the Soulreaper: Evilution/Devolution release an extensive double CD.

Only vocalist and guitarist T.J. Berry remains from the trio who recorded the first album, and the two years between the discs have seen a huge improvement in the band’s sound and songs. Closest to Iced Earth for much of the first disc, but the superior production and thicker, heavier guitar tones (openers Crawling and Never are truly crushing) on the new songs bring in elements of early Black Label Society, Lions Share and Mystic Prophecy, along with a huge leap forward in song writing.

After the absolutely devastating first three tracks the middle of the disc is a bit too forgettable. Not bad, just not particularly stand-out; ordinary heavy metal, no more, no less. Some songs, like T.F.A. (which stands for “total f**king annihilation”) are a little clichéd in their over-zealous attempts to be mean and heavy, but they’re all solid. The band then come back into their own with the quick-shifting emotions of Greed (I Can’t Believe), which is really two songs in one. The first three-and-a-half minutes are entirely acoustic built around the telling line “we are fighting for greed”, and the final three minutes are heavy and angry, built around the “I can’t believe” subtitle.

This is followed by the impressive, but disappointingly short Cycles of The Sick trilogy (the whole thing is only just under eight minutes long). Complex instrumental Summer’s Reign, with an interesting melody which sounds like a fairground theme, takes up the first minute, followed by three minutes of driving metal in Season of The Witch, and closing power ballad Winter’s Call, which links back to the instrumental at the end.

The thing the first disc really had going for it are T.J. Berry’s solos (and immense instrumental Rising), but the new disc is a lot better, and in truth is the main reason to buy this. The song-writing is better on the whole, the production is a huge step up and the riffs are a cut above.

“ superior production and thicker, heavier guitar ”

Tracklist:
CD1 – Soulreaper / Cyberchrist / Atlantis Rising / Dis Con Nec Ted / Drown / War Song / Swimming With Sharks / Doomsday Scenario / - Innothing - / Rising / Damned For All Time
CD2 – Crawling / Never / Vertigo / Saviour Self / Lies of The Sinner / Killing Floor / T.F.A. / Greed (I Can’t Believe) / Summer’s Reign / Season of The Witch / Winter’s Call

Photo(s): Bill Strickler

Written by Andy Lye
More: Albums, Heavy Metal, Catch 22