Serenity in Fire

Kataklysm | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 9, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Nuclear Blast Americ
• ASIN: B0001D0FS8
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #130,089 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kataklysm have proven themselves with this one, July 9, 2004

By 

NocturnalFrost (Blashyrkh) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Serenity in Fire (Audio CD)

This album took me by surprise to say the least.I was expecting run of the mill death metal with insanely fast drumming,which sounded ok.As soon as I listened to Serenity In Fire,it just blew me away with its sheer diversity.There is a strong black metal influence in several songs such as "For All Our Sins" and "Under The Bleeding Sun",and there are songs like "As I Slither" and "The Night They Returned" that are very rhythm oriented,which is going to make these songs very brutal when played live.The drumming on this album is mind blowing,and it sounds like a machine gun very frequently.Even people who don't like metal,much less extreme metal have dropped their jaws at the speed of the drumming.The drum production is too clicky,but when the music is this good,production doesn't matter.Kataklysm have really stepped up on this release and shown their superior songwriting skills.Every song is memorable and never fails to keep your attention.Where as I had seen Kataklysm as extremely overrated before this album,now I have a newfound respect for them.Serenity In Fire is easily one of the best releases of the year,and is an essential purchase.I'd even go as far as saying that this would be a great introduction album to real extreme metal for those Nu metal idiots.It has great songwriting skills but still rips your face off at the same time.Get this album now!!!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent death metal, November 15, 2004

By 

Jtranquillity (Bethpage, TN United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Serenity in Fire (Audio CD)

This is my first Kataklysm album and it won't be my last. I usually hate death metal that has a deep monotone voice but kataklysm's is tolerable because you can still understand what he says. Plus, there is plenty of higher pitched death vocals to accompay this although it does sound like an angry affleck duck. But the standouts here are the guitar and drums.

Some of the most slick, most catchy guitar riffs i've ever heard are presented on this album. Somehow, their player plays this stuff and keeps it memorable. The riffs are not that brutal at times, adding a hint of melody to it. The drummer is great, some of the fastest double bassing i've ever heard. He adds a very very strong back bone to the music and adds to the heaviness to the songs.

The lyrics are not up to even death metal standards and some of the songs are too short. If they would flesh things out some more, they would be truly great band. All in all, top notch death metal, go buy it. the title track is one of the best death metal songs i've heard.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Quality stuff, December 3, 2007

By 

A. Stutheit "Teyad" (Denver, CO USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Serenity in Fire (Audio CD)

There are certainly more innovative and unique-sounding bands out there, but you'd be hard pressed to find one that has mastered the craft of brutal yet simultaneously melodic death metal better than Kataklysm. Their seventh studio album, 2004's "Serenity In Fire," finds the perfect equilibrium between musicianship that's nothing short of impeccable, honest-to-god catchy hooks, heavy and melodic riffs, contagious grooves, upper and lower-register vocals (a la Deicide's Glenn Benton), completely blown-out, grindcore- worthy chaos, and slow(er), fairly restrained tempos. The result is ten intense, urgent, and energetic (though never wild or out of control), super compact, and exceptionally memorable songs which are wound tighter than clocksprings, but also always manage to retain a concerted accessibility and easy-to-digest quality.

Track three, "As I Slither" (the album's lead single and video), is about as catchy a song as you'll ever hear in death metal (just try to get that spine-tingling chorus out of your brain!), and "For All Our Sins," a blistering, thrashing punch to the throat with vocal tradeoffs between Kataklysm mainman Maurizio Iacono and Hypocrisy's Peter Tagtgren, are two of the biggest highlights on hand here. Later on, "Blood On The Swans," which boasts crunching, groove-oriented guitars and an awesome, insanely fast and furiously crushing ten-second long drum solo that sounds like a jackhammer on steroids (trust me, this is one for the ages), and "Under The Bleeding Sun," which is bolstered by strong, churning riffs, black metal-lite vocals, and an unexpectedly great, blazing melodic solo, are also killer cuts. Elsewhere, set opener "The Ambassador of Pain" interlocks hooky, punching riffs with machine gun blast beats to create a very propulsive and punishing rhythm, and also includes a memorable, shout-worthy chorus; and "The Resurrected" and "10 Seconds From The End" are noteworthy for their excellent crescendos -- they repeatedly build from blinding blasts to fiery, mid-tempo thrash riffs and back again.

The main drawback to "Serenity In Fire" is its mechanical, often-borderline-robotic musicianship. Plus, as mentioned before, Kataklysm have never been the most original band out there, so most listeners will probably get the feeling that they've heard it all before. Shortcomings or not though, this is another accomplished, enjoyable, and satisfying release from these Canadian hyperblasters, thus making it a perfect fit in their discography, and a worthy addition to every metalhead's record collection.