Aedifice - Catalyst

The old-school industrial resurgence has been going strong thanks to such romping and raving bands such as 3TEETH and Youth Code. However, with the bigger acts also come a lot of smaller projects who are either yearning for a spot next to them or who look to surpass those giants in supremacy. Crawling out of the shadows is Seattle's Ædifice (whose lead singer I've recently interviewed) who bring forth the aforementioned old school industrial sound. What's most exciting about this band, however, is that their daring debut album Catalyst is due out in three days and I'm here to tell you all about it. 

The cover art does not go out of its way to tell you much about the band itself; it's a simple object with Ædifice's logo on it over a black background. Where Catalyst does speak for itself is in its music. 'Benediction' starts off the album as a bit of an introductory song. Good industrial beats meet a synth ridden synth score with appropriate but incomprehensible vocals - perhaps it's a sample. 

'Prey' comes in next and brings in crunchy guitar mixes and stomping beats. The vocal work mainly stays in the shouting zone with a slight echo attached to them. 'Stray Sheep' flows in next but has a faster, industrial meets drum'n'bass style about it. 'Ritual' blends a few acoustic elements alongside whispering vocals that build straight up to the screaming once more. 

'Zeitgeist' brings forth a decent club song that would go well in any DJ's setlist, while 'Greatest Show On Earth' allows slower, crawling synths and piano work to take over the album for a brief while. The slow pace doesn't last at all as 'Carnival of Heaven' brings back heavier elements - even with a hip-hop oriented influence. 

'Where The Wild Things Were' is perhaps the first mistake on the album I found thus far. Ædifice is really, really good at keeping their songs unique and branded with their industrial sounds and differing vocals. However, the crushed and distorted vocals found on 'Where The Wild Things Were' reminisced one too many cybergoth/harsh EBM outfits. I'm not saying that this can't be done well, it's just that Ædifice lost their identity with this song. Following this, however, was 'Illuminated' which brought us back into familiar Ædifice territory. While not the strongest song on the album, it still refreshed me.

Slamming on the brakes, 'Dawn' crawled in with what seemed to be doom elements taking over the guitar but had similar electronic beats playing over them. 'Ash' and 'Onyx' were the standard flare you'd come to expect from Ædifice by now, but the final song and title track was very well done. 'Catalyst' brought together elements that I had not seen on the previous songs - even if in a minimal amount - but this is what the album began to need: A song that would break new ground and allow a different mood and feel. 

While I can write off some songs on Catalyst, I still think the overall product isn't too shabby. Production values and mastering could have probably been a tad bit better, but I'm sure that's something Ædifice will iron out before long. For a debut album, though, Ædifice have cranked in enough energy and angst to give themselves a spot in the industrial scene. I'll be keeping my eyes on them. 
Jun 19 2016