Rating: 8.5

Country: USA

Release Date: 2005

Track list:
01. Dimension 303
02. False sense Of judgement
03. Illusions Of hunger [mp3]
04. Erased
05. Dead time
06. Executioner
07. Sit On this
08. Overkill
09. Solution
10. Hopeless
11. Miserable Existence
12. Waste Time
13. Realize
14. Brink Of Extinction
15. Long Live The Circle Pit
16. Loser Punx
17. Left For Dead
18. Outro

Band Website: Catheter

Catheter - Dimension 303

Vocals, Guitars: Jeff
Bass, Vocals: Donovan
Drums, Vocals: H Murder

Hooray! For 'tis the second full release from Catheter, the hysterical Grindcore trio from Denver. Catheter have of course fulfilled the usual requirements of releasing a sizeable discography of split 7" vinyls and multi-band split CDs, so here's their latest full length. Before I go on, I must stress that you should never judge an album by its opening track, and that little rule-of-thumb certainly applies here. Having heard the first song, I foolishly assumed this was another yawnsome riff rehash, but the material that followed gave me the vicious drubbing I duly deserved for such cynicism.

What we have here is strident and succinct Grindcore, shoved directly up your arse without a single thought for the already livid haemorrhoids that dwell therein! The band perform expeditiously, armed to the teeth with saw-like riffs and forearm straining blasts, maintaining the rapid phrases effectively before introducing the wonderful nod-worthy breakdowns. As you may have already guessed, the vocalisations consist of glottis butchering, artery rupturing outbursts, ranging of course from gruff, filth-choked gutturals to frenetic squealing.

Shunning the trite and tiresome option of packing their album solid with unimaginative variations upon one or two already well-worn central ideas, Catheter bespatter their canvas with a broad selection of Grind hues, encompassing Crusty elements, snatches of Blur/Fastcore, bits of Powerviolence and a few Sludge daubs. Without going into too much depth regarding comparisons to other acts, Catheter reminds me of early Nasum, commingled with cheeky chunks of Terrorizer, Disrupt and Benumb, along with a few globs of AG and maybe Eyehategod as well. Their inspirations are clear yet they build and elaborate upon them, adding their their own distinctive
charm to the grouping of influences instead of just borrowing 'n' cobbling. Much like the bands mentioned, the band do not rely upon hackneyed gimmicks to further the impact of their music. No guts-galore autopsy snaps, no silly vokills, no 'puzzling' song structure or time signature twattery, no patience-testing movie sound byte intros, no misogyny or homophobia, just wholesome, satisfying GRIND.

A key advantage of owning 'Dimension 303' is its ability to withstand multiple listens. The songs are straightforward enough to allow instant catchiness, their skilled construction and energetic delivery maximising the overall appeal and charisma of the work. Where many albums must be given 'repeated listens' in order for the listener to unravel reams of technical braggadocio before gaining even so much as a snifter of actually getting into the material, this one obliges me to return to it simply because its an entertaining and ultimately addictive recording. This is aided by the production, which is clear and representative yet retains the correct level of grain, grime and raggy edge in order to capture and convey the forthright structure and raucous performance.

Because this is such a stout, high-impact album, offering plenty of good, honest Grindcore entertainment, there is little for me to pick holes in, therefore it achieves a high rating. The continuous stream of releases unleashed by innumerable labels leaves one spoilt for choice, and purchasing one can often be a hit and miss, pot luck affair, so I'm always glad when the result is a one such as 'Dimension 303'. Do buy.

March 28th, 2006