Dundee metal band Catalysis has a new studio album in Betrayer, out now, alongside new single ‘Kingmaker‘.
“‘Kingmaker‘ is the opening track to our sophomore album, Betrayer and the fourth and final single to be released from the record,” announced the band. “As soon as the track was written, we knew it would become the opener for the next release – The track embodies everything we love about metal drawing huge influence from the worlds of thrash and melodic death metal, the song showcases pure aggression and speed, paired with huge, infectious melodies. This is Catalysis at our most visceral, ‘Kingmaker’ is sure to be a live favourite.”
Betrayer features ten blistering tracks including previously released singles ’Gallows’, ’Gone’, ‘Mea Culpa’ and ‘Kingmaker’.
The band has also recorded a four minute album breakdown piece with Drew Cochrane talking about how the album came together. You can check out the video here at RAMzine.
Speaking about the new album, the band said; “‘Betrayer’ is a culmination of 18 months of hard work behind the scenes, crafting and refining our sound to deliver the perfect Catalysis blend. A band who have never been afraid to wear our influences on our sleeves, we’ve dug deeper into those influences than ever before to create our most varied yet cohesive record yet.
“Having released our debut full length, Connection Lost, during the 2020 pandemic and subsequently being unable to play shows to promote the album, we decided the only thing to do was push forward – and the result of that was our 2021 and 2022 EP’s Relicta and Innova.”
About writing the new album, they said: “The writing of both of those EPs, as well as the hectic live schedule around their releases really helped us solidify and refine our sound – what works well live, which songs are live favourites etc, and how to work collaboratively when writing, and we took all of this information on board when writing for Betrayer”.
On looking back on what they have achieved thus far, they said: “Having had an incredible year in 2022, with several landmarks for the band including the release of Innova, an appearance at Bloodstock Open Air and winning Best Metal at the Scottish Alternative Music Awards, Catalysis felt that we really had something to prove with our next release, and a real need to keep the momentum up and carry that success forward into the future.
We wanted to enforce a strict all killer, no filler approach to the writing sessions – working more closely and collaboratively than ever before. Each and every song on the record has been crafted with love, and poured over with a fine toothed comb to make sure it’s exactly as we envisaged it.
“We couldn’t be more proud of the collection of songs we’ve brought to the table this time – it covers all the bases you’d expect from a Catalysis record – there’s a ton of thrash and groove, and as always a strong sense of melody, but we’ve definitely experimented a bit more with structure and style on some of the tracks.”
For Betrayer, the band also decided it was time to try something new production wise, commenting: “So this time, we worked with Norwegian mixer Hans Petter Solen, a departure for the band after four subsequent releases with Mendel Bij De Leij at the helm. As has always been the case, the record was self-produced and engineered by guitarist Drew Cochrane. The band recruited local artist Mark Cruncher for the cover art.
Featuring Col MacGregor (Vocals), Drew Cochrane (Lead guitar/vocals), Sean Ramson (Rhythm guitar/vocals), Paul Edwards (Bass) and Calum Rennie (Drums), Catalysis do indeed have a busy touring schedule, with dates set for now through to August next year, with the band due to make the Irish debut.
CATALYSIS TOUR DATES
23/02/24 – Aberdeen, Krakatoa
02/03/24 – Glasgow, Ivory Blacks
29/03/24 – Ireland – Dublin Fibbers
30/03/24 – Ireland – Belfast Voodoo
31/03/24 – Ireland TBA
27/04/24 – Glasgow, The Flying Duck – Long Arm Fest
04/05/24 – Bolton, Alma Inn. Support for Damnations Hammer.
17/08/24 – Gateshead – Get Heavy Festival
31/08/24 – Swindon – Deprivation Festival
