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Fifth actual full-length for this band (not counting live CDs or the re-release of "Sorcery" and their first EP). After enjoying "Serenity In Fire" so much earlier this year, I knew I had to get after some more stuff by this superlative band. "Epic" is a vague sort of concept album about ancient Rome, but the theme seems used more to explore philosophical issues than to write about the standard 'Gladiators Kill While The Legions March' sort of thing.

Kataklysm call what they do 'Northern Hyperblast', and I certainly can't argue with that, as this is some furious blast-speed drumwork slamming into a wall of slaytanic riffs and topped off between two-tones screech and growl vocals. As on later releases, I do not care for the higher-pitched screams much, but they can't stop this awesome music. The cool thing about Kataklysm is they do not take speed as an excuse to not write good riffs, or to make their music nothing but a featureless blur. They write killer riff after killer riff, and they cram about a zillion of them into each song. Plus there is rather more dynamic than you would expect going on here, and there are slower, chunkier parts to break up the omnipresent blastbeats, not to mention quite a bit of melody. So do not let the 'hyperblast' tag make you think this is some kind of gridcore hybrid here. No sir, Kataklysm are just one of the best extreme metal bands around, and it's time they got more credit for it. Highly Recommended.