What do you want us to hear?
French-Canuck four piece Kataklysm have been around for donkey's years now forming way back in 1991 when death metal was arguably approaching its creative peak. They have managed to battle through the numerous peaks and troughs experienced by the sub-genre including, happily, its recent resurgence.
Waiting for the End to Come is the band's twelfth album and doesn't exactly finding them mellowing with age. Setting their stall out early with opening tracks Fire and the wonderfully to the point If I was God...I'd Burn It All which rages with plenty of kick drum and thick guitars. Under Lawless Skies mangles a Fear Factory verse style riff into a metalcore chorus and is probably the most melodic offering on the record whereas Real Blood – Real Scars is an effective ball of despondency. Shorn of the usual sonic filth - Waiting for the End to Come employs a distinct production - and with singer Maurizio Iacono's fairly clear vocal style (for the genre I mean, he's not an opera singer or anything) and society focused lyrics, Kataklysm come across as more thrash on this record.
Like much metal there aren't many answers to be found to Kataklysm's problems here. For instance, on the aforementioned If I was God... they are just wiping the slate clean but who knows what comes afterward? "If you don't care, why should I? Set this world on fire!" and that dismissing of humanity rears again on Like Animals: "You're an animal!" Kill the Elite is a more interesting one given that metal scenes can coalesce into (self-appointed) elites and Iacono likes to privilege individual struggle. However, Kataklysm's disgust reaches out to the concept of a ruling cabal manipulating all and sundry too - tinged with conspiracy, obviously: "there's no way out of here...Kill the elite. One by one. Darkness falls upon us. We are the light of rebellion." Not that they are doves as the every man for himself rhetoric of Under Lawless Skies demonstrates.
The highs of this record are hard to pinpoint as the song-writing tends to lean on common themes and sounds (man vs world lyrics, blastbeats, chugging riffs, the odd melodic chorus) and the homogenous production creates a samey experience. Waiting for the End to Come is a competent but not inspiring album suggesting Kataklysm are as much a part of the throng; that they aren't necessarily the stand out individuals they might aspire to be.