CATHOLICON

Billed as the "Satanic elite of Louisiana," Baton Rouge's CATHOLICON have been leaving paths of scorched earth since 1994. "Treatise on the Abyss" is the band's third full-length album and follow up to the whirlwind of lost souls that is "The Death Throes of Christianity". Those yet to discover CATHOLICON's unique brand of calamitous black/death metal should realize that a journey through one of the band's merciless musical assaults is treacherous and potentially nerve damaging. "Treatise on the Abyss" continues the trend, albeit in a more focused way arrangement-wise and with a better production.

Musically, while the occasional dark melody can be heard beneath the rubble and the use of a crushing groove riff gives the listener a brief respite periodically, most of the time you'll feel as though you are in the eye of the hurricane. Swirling riffs and lethal explosions of schizoid drumming rarely allow one time to achieve any sort of balance, and yet the more you listen the more willing you are to crawl back into the inferno. Keyboards/synths, courtesy of main man Blasphyre, are heard throughout and add a tremendous amount of nefarious atmosphere. Songs like "Enemies of the Faith" speed along like a perpetual car crash, only to deceive the unknowing into believing that one particularly sick groove will last long enough for you to catch a breath; it won't. Mixing it up nicely, "Battle Hymn 666" is chock full of cool parts, including grooving jams, and the kind of slow and evil plods that gives you the unsettling feeling that what's coming next won't be pretty. All the while vocalist I.N.R.I. shrieks and spits venom like a man possessed; his delivery is quite like anyone I've ever heard in the black and death metal genres.

"Treatise on the Abyss" is surely not for everyone, as CATHOLICON will likely agree. The intention is to destroy all that is holy and leave the listener in a permanent state of disorientation. Assuming you can stomach the twists, turns, and unapologetic malevolence of the beast, "Treatise on the Abyss" should provide you with a musical experience unlike any you've experienced. Lose yourself in this one and hope for the best. You won't come away whistling a happy tune.