PROTOTYPE

If you like the music of Fates Warning or Psychotic Waltz, but feel that it lacks a thrashy 'bite', Catalyst from Los Angeles-based metal act Prototype may be right up your alley. Although I'm not yet familiar with the band's earlier material, this 2012 observation for Nightmare Records strikes me as an interesting and progressive take on the modern thrash metal genre. Catalyst does have a few noticeable setbacks, but the overall quality of the release makes this a very recommendable purchase for fans of thrash metal and progressive metal alike.

When it comes to tying Catalyst down to a single genre tag, it can get a bit challenging. Although I would label Prototype's music as progressive thrash metal if I were asked to describe it, the band bears no resemblance to contemporary acts like Meshuggah, and also sounds quite different from the progressive works of late eighties' Metallica. I get a bit of a nu-metal impression from Prototype's music, and a good portion of Catalyst sounds like a cross between Fates Warning, Disturbed, and Metallica - as a fan of all three of these bands, that's certainly not a bad thing at all, and I really dig the band's aggressive and modern thrash sound combined with a progressive attitude.

While a lot of the music here consists of fairly conventional riffs, abundant time changes and sections with clean guitars add a progressive vibe to the music. A lot of the lighter portions of the album have a jazzy edge (this can be heard in some killer tracks like "Communion", "Gravity Well", or "The Ageless Heart of Memory"), and this diversity adds a nice change of pace to Catalyst's otherwise standard modern thrash sound. It's during these sections that Catalyst really shines, and if I could make one suggestion to Prototype for future releases, it would be to actually expand a bit on the progressive side of their sound - parts of Catalyst do lack memorability, and I think even more variation could help make the album's hour-plus running time here seem a little less daunting.

Although Catalyst may have benefited from a slightly shorter running time, I think Prototype have still cooked up an impressive effort this time around. The band's very modern and progressive take on thrash metal is bound to have a wide appeal within the metal community at large, and it's this transcendent style that makes Catalyst an easy recommendation. While I can't comment on how this chalks up next to the band's prior offerings just yet, I can say that I'm impressed by this very solid and professional album.

"Continuum" is a lot thrashier than Prototype's first album. However, their technicality and musicianship is still very noticeable. There are certainly alot of thrash elements on this album. Lots of, very fast, tremolo picking, blistering double bass and blazing guitar solos. However, give it a listen and you will hear these guys not only know how to play their instruments but they understand music.

Every instrument, the guitar, bass and especially drumming are all amazing. I was particularly taken with the drumming on this album. The opening song is pretty straightforward thrash and has quite a metal solo in it, however you can also hear the technicality and their is a beautiful slower section in the middle. Perhaps my favorite on the album.

Sea of Tranquility is an acoustic instrumental and another highpoint on the album.

Seed is a great example of awesome guitar riffs, amazing drumming and wonderful composing skills.

Synthespian is another great song that displays the bands technicality and sounds a lot like something Fear Factory would produce. Devotion is another song along these lines, (though without sounding like Fear Factory) and you can hear some of the best drumming on the album.

However, Probe is the weakest song of the album and personally I don't like it. It is just boring and I can barely listen to the vocals. The vocals are another sour point about this album. They are not the worst, but they are certainly not the best. While he has some great moments he has some terrible ones, Devotion is particularly notable. A great song but whenever the vocals kick in I have to really strain to make it through. However, I really like his vocals on Undying, not too over the top. Vocals are the weak point of this album in my opinion, though the technicality and musicianship of these guys is great, and the songs are well built.

For those that can tolerate some heaviness and metal I'd give this album: Four Stars

Pure technical power metal bomb!This kind of album really makes to spin the world!I cannot say that I am a technical power metal fan,but this album has something to offer to no matter music fan something serious to dig!It's the fact that PROTOTYPE's music is really well done,extremelly technical,really metalized and ESPECIALLY with excellent vocals!This fact is making the difference,undoubtedly!Vince has an excellet voice and this guy can absolutelly sing!The drummer -DAMION RAMIREZ -is monster-it's rare to hear such an extreme drumming frenzy during the whole album,a pure lesson for all the kids who want to learn an unbelieveble skilled double pedal action and intense using of the cymbals!Scarry indeed! TRANSCENDING VELOCITY is a true lesson in this direction and,maybee the highlight of the album!I told that fans of extreme technical metal in the vein of DEATH,CONTROL DENIED,ATHEIST or CYNIC will have plenty of satisfaction in listening this type of album!The brutal parts remind also of NEVERMORE,in fact I think that the best comparison that can be done about PROTOTYPE's music is with the sensational band NEVERMORE!!!I cannot really see the progressive part of the compositions ,but the high quality of the music ,the impressive technical skills and changing rhythms,and overall the strong compositions focused on melody are obvious,being really diverse and sensational produced,with a magnificent crystal clarity of each instrument!TRAVIS SMITH's cover is well done too and we ask ourselves why this so talented band doesn't has a wider recognition and popularity?2010 seems to be the year os a new PROTOTYPE album,the original drumer is back in the band and all seems to be good for this killer band!CONTINUUM is a fantastic album,highly recomandable for power metal muisc lovers with strong technical skills!4 STARS to a blastering album!