Tech Death Thursday: Katholik – “The Chariot”
Time to get meaty.
Katholik (not Catholic, as they are quick to assure you) had the great misfortune of releasing their first demo in the middle of March of 2020, right as COVID began picking up in the US. Understandably, they’ve flown under a lot of people’s radars- partly by design, as they decided to forego promotion while people were losing their health and livelihoods- but no longer. Katholik has spent the past three years honing their craft and pouring time and effort into the studio, and today, we’re bringing you the fruits of their labor. “The Chariot” is the opening track from their upcoming full-length debut, Entropic Evolution, and it’s a god damned ripper.
Longtime Toilet readers will be sold by the lyrics talking about shitting oneself uncontrollably pretty much right out the gate, but I understand that might not be enough to convince the wider tech death world. For the rest of you, approach this with the same mindset as you would Hideous Divinity or Cytotoxin. They toe the line between tech and brutal death, constructing a monolith of vile shred atop a foundation of relentless drumming. The pummeling diminished riffs are occasionally broken by spots of dour melody, echoing the darker moments of bands like Vale of Pnath and The Black Dahlia Murder. It’s the total fucking package, and it’s about damn time these guys got their due.