Cataract [PA] (CD - 2008)

While Switzerland may be famously neutral, there's nothing middle-of-the-road about blistering Swiss metalcore band Cataract. Smashing the gates open immediately with unbelievably intense first track "The Separation of Life and Time," the band rarely lets up for the rest of CATARACT's 10 tracks. "Snake Skin" rides a heavy groove as sinuous as the song's title, and "Burn at the Stake" is a swarm of stinging hornets drawing blood. The only relief comes from the slow, majestic dread of the final song "In Ashes," every bit as heavy, but with a little less vein-popping fury than the rest of CATARACT.

To the unenlightened, Cataract may come off like your average, ordinary-sounding metal band. But metal experts will be able to detect that the Swiss group borrows equally from several different metallic subgenres -- thrash, doom, and hardcore metal -- as evidenced throughout its 2008 self-titled release. However, the group's most notable influence appears to be the good ol' Southern boys in Pantera, as evidenced by the Dimebag-esque riffing and Anselmo-like hollering that comprise "The Separation of Life and Time," "Choke Down," and the mostly instrumental (except for a few well-placed tortured screams) "Tonight We Dine in Hell." Five full-lengths into their career, Cataract still stick largely to the same sonic game plan they've embraced all along -- and there appear to be no sudden musical shifts in sight, as evidenced by this solid yet unsurprising release. ~ Greg Prato minimize