Cataplexy "...Lunar Eclipse, Chaos To The Ruin..." CD Japan version Bonustracks!!

This edition added 2 bonus tracks from "Fields of the Unlight" (2003).

When someone tells me X band is a black metal band from Japan, I automatically think of either some experimental black weirdness (Sigh, Magane) or a black/thrash band in the vein of Sabbat, Abigail etc. I honestly couldn't say that I've heard a very memorable straightforward black metal band from the country. Until now. I don't know much about the band Cataplexy itself. I do know they formed back in the early 90s and released a few demos at the time. Then they released an EP in the early 00s and then finally got to release a full length 2 years ago. I haven't heard any of of their material other than this album but I can safely say that if they sound anything like this, they could've gotten a huge fan base if they released a few full lengths in the 90s.
Their music can be described is as mainly old school black metal with hints of the more new school depressive style. Koshiro Matsuo provides vocals which help in achieving this. He mainly sticks to the traditional high pitched shrieking but sometimes goes into a lower pitched mode which really adds to the sad atmosphere. In general, his vocals aren't too special but his execution is pretty much perfect. The groans, the shrieks, the wails, there's absolutely no fault I can find in them.
As for the instrumentals, no one's really a virtuoso at their respective instrument, but they get the job done and do it well. The tremolo riffs are just killer. They sound so mournful and melodic, yet so dark and aggressive. You can really feel the anger and hatred the band gets across through these riffs. The rhythm riffs keep the songs moving and are very solid as well. The drums sound is rather distant, like many old school black metal acts. Yes, there are a lot of blast beats. However, unlike many modern black metal groups, it never feels like the tunes are actually driven by the blast beats, or 'blast fests' as some people would call it. There are quite a few fills and pattern changes in the drumming which keeps things interesting. The bass can barely be heard and obviously never stands out but it's never really missed either.
As the album has hints of DSBM, you'd expect it to have at least a few slowed down moments. But nope, the album is pretty much completely up tempo. But surprisingly, it never sounds monotonous, mainly due to the over abundance of riff changes and different drum patterns. The atmosphere produced is wonderful. Hatred, melancholy, sorrow, grief, disgust and pain are all felt so genuinely through the music. But there's also a dark and evil side to the atmosphere which the 2nd wave of black metal pioneers perfected. The production is really good for the most part. It gives the album a raw feel but never makes it a pain to listen to at any point. Everything is very clear (other than the bass). My only complaints would be that the snare drum sound can be pretty thin and in turn, weak sounding and the songs, due to their length can become tiresome to listen to sometimes. But the album's accomplishments by far trump it's negligible flaws.
Anyways, '...Lunar Eclipse, Chaos to the Ruin...' is highly recommended if you like 2nd wave black metal and/or depressive black metal. It has everything you would want in a glorious black metal release. Crushing tremolo riffs, illustrious atmosphere, commanding vocals and a production job that doesn't assault your ears but doesn't sound glossy either. This is definitely some of the best black metal I've heard from Asia.

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