THE CATALYST FIRE

I first encountered the Australian outfit Dead Letter Circus when a friend sent me a copy of This is the Warning, their first album, and I was immediately hooked by their powerful melodic neo-prog/punkish wall of sound. I was very stoked to hear that a new album was coming out in 2013.

The Catalyst Fire disappointed me, in large part because their first album had so much promise. The massive wall-of-guitars sound and distinctive vocals are still present...but somehow between the first album and this one the guys seem to have become so concerned with the technical side of songwriting that they forgot about pure musical appeal. Most of the songs seem more complex than strictly necessary, overthought and overworked, which detracts from their interest. It took me many listens to even be able to recall the song when I read the song title...they really do sound alike, with the possible exception of "Lodestar", the best track on the album. The album is decent, but not gripping.

I will say that the LPs might be some of the most spectacularly beautiful I've ever seen, both the limited-edition picture disc and the glorious coloured vinyls. I do not regret buying those.