UMUR "Pathology of Murder" is the 2nd full-length studio album by US death metal act Catastrophic. The album was released through Napalm Records in January 2008. It´s the successor to "The Cleansing" from 2001, although the two full-length albums are bridged by the 2005 "Born into Bondage" EP. Catastrophic was formed in 1999 by Obituary guitarist Trevor Peres and most of the Pyrexia lineup who recorded the "Age of the Wicked (1997)" album. Bassist Chris Basile already left Catastrophic after the recording of the debut album to reform Pyrexia and he was replaced by Joe Cincotta for the recording of "Born into Bondage (2005)". There´s been one more lineup change since the release of the EP as Peres has left to concentrate on Obituary. "Pathology of Murder" was therefore recorded as a quartet with Cincotta handling both bass and second guitar.

Stylistically the material on "Pathology of Murder" is still hardcore infused death metal but it´s a matter of course that when a capacity like Peres leaves and takes his distinct sounding guitar tone and playing/writing style with him, that things will change and indeed they have changed. The heavy grooves and Keith DeVito´s commanding aggressive growling vocal style still occasionally make me think of Obituary, but on this release, it´s more an influence than an integral part of the music. It´s brutal, it´s heavy, and it´s groove laden death metal delivered with caustic aggression.

My ears don´t completely agree with all the production choices made, but overall "Pathology of Murder" is a well sounding album and the sound production suits the material well. Said material is well written and effective too and upon conclusion "Pathology of Murder" is a good quality release. It´s up for discussion if Catastrophic have lost some of their unique sound with the loss of Peres, or if they are in fact more unique sounding now because Peres presence and distinct sounding guitar tone inevitably led the listener´s thoughts toward Obituary on the first couple of Catastrophic releases. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Born into Bondage" is an EP release by US death metal act Catastrophic. The EP was released through Merch Mania Productions in May 2005. It bridges the gap between the band´s debut- and second full-length studio albums "The Cleansing" from 2001 and "Pathology of Murder" from 2008. Catastrophic was formed in 1999 by Obituary guitarist Trevor Peres and most of the Pyrexia lineup who recorded the "Age of the Wicked (1997)" album. There´s been one lineup change since the debut album, as bassist Chris Basile has left to reform Pyrexia. He is replaced here by Joe Cincotta. The other Pyrexia guys opted to continue with Catastrophic instead of returning to Pyrexia and they managed to convince Obituary guitarist Trevor Peres to stay onboard for the recording of "Born into Bondage", although Peres reunited with Obituary in 2003 and was probably already busy with writing and rehearsing material for Obituary´s comeback album "Frozen in Time (2005)".

Stylistically the 5 tracks on the 19:37 minutes long EP continue the brutal and groove laden death metal style of "The Cleansing (2001)". Not surprisingly the music sounds like a combination of the ultra heavy and groove laden old school death metal of Obituary and the brutal and hardcore influenced death metal of Pyrexia, and fans of both acts should find a lot to enjoy here. Lead vocalist Keith DeVito has a strong voice, and an aggressive and very convincing growling delivery. I personally think he is one of the great and sadly often forgotten gems of the death metal scene and his praise should be sung much more often when speaking of great death metal vocalists. He brings so much power and passion to the music and he has a raw commanding delivery which means you can´t do anything but listen when he opens his mouth.

Peres has always had a distinct sounding guitar tone, and it´s no different here. His riff style and contributions to the songwriting can not be mistaken, but the Pyrexia guys also add their touch to the material. Overall "Born into Bondage" is a quality death metal release by Catastrophic and while it may not be a revelation or a grand development of the style, it´s a solid release featuring some really effectful brutal grooves and heavy riffs. It´s also a relatively well produced release and a 3.5 star (70%) rating isn´t all wrong.

UMUR "The Cleansing" is the debut full-length studio album by US death metal act Catastrophic. The album was released through Metal Blade Records in March 2001. Catastrophic was formed in 1999 by Obituary guitarist Trevor Peres and most of the lineup who recorded Pyrexia´s 1997 "Age of the Wicked" album. Obituary had a longer hiatus between 1997 and 2003, and Peres needed a project for his creative output and therefore teamed up with the guys from Pyrexia and formed Catastrophic.

Stylistically the material on "The Cleansing" is exactly what´d you´d expect it to be, if you´re familiar with Obituary and Pyrexia. Peres has such a distinct sounding guitar tone and playing style that it´s impossible not to think of Obituary on the tracks that he wrote for the album, while Pyrexia´s heavy and aggressive hardcore influenced death metal style is heard on the remaining tracks. Lead vocalist Keith DeVito has to be one of the most aggressive, raw, and powerful sounding death metal vocalists on the scene, but maybe that´s because his vocals are actually more very brutal hardcore shouting, than actual death metal growling. Every word he sings is intelligible and delivered with great passion and conviction. The tracks are predominantly heavy and groove laden death metal, but Catastrophic are also able switch gears and play both fast and blasting sections.

"The Cleansing" features a raw and powerful sounding production, which suits the material perfectly and the musicianship is on a high level on all posts too, so upon conclusion it´s a good quality death metal album. Some tracks are more interesting than others, but the overall quality is relatively high and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.