KATATURA from Chemnitz present their debut album "IN TWO MINDS".
The promo sheet states that this is a band that plays complex grooves, calling their style "Complex Groove Core" and starting where others stop. There is truly no false modesty here, especially for a debut. So, is this a new rising star or just an attempt to capitalize on a young band?
Well, musically, the five from Chemnitz are certainly not bad. They know their instruments, which is evident, and that’s not a bad thing. However, while listening to the record, the atmosphere doesn’t really build up. The songs, which are in the mid-tempo range, are too similar, the growly vocals are too uniform, and one often finds oneself asking, "What is the band trying to tell me with their music?" Complex grooves sound different to me. Undeniably, it’s not musically bad, but it is too monotonous. If I advertise with complex grooves, I expect more than just good drumming and bass playing.
KATATURA's vocals fall into the black-death-metal category, while musically they are somewhere in the experimental mid-tempo nirvana. This is neither metal, nor hardcore, nor doom, nor drone, or anything else. The sound is dark, sometimes even threatening, but that’s about it.
This can certainly be credited to the band, but it also makes it difficult to categorize the sound and thus to know what to do with the band. Good approaches aside, they are sitting too much on the fence here.
Those who enjoy experiments should cautiously give the band a try. Everyone else will find it very difficult to connect with KATATURA.
