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KATAKLYSM Names Drummer OLI BEAUDOIN Permanent Member Of Band

Manos Spanos
Montreal, Quebec, Canada-based death metallers KATAKLYSM have issued the following statement: "We are here today to announce that Oli Beaudoin will remain behind the throne as the drummer for KATAKLYSM on the next album and future tours. "Max [Duhamel] has informed that he cannot continue or return to the ranks at this time due to physical health issues. "KATAKLYSM welcomes Oli on board as we forge on. "Max remains our brother and will always be a part of KATAKLYSM. Those who saw him in Montreal playing 'The Road To Devastation' with us at the end of the show saw that even with severe pain the boy still has the chops to perform. We wish him well and know our paths will cross again." Max Duhamel explains his decision to leave the band: "After facing my problems head on this last year and having many sessions of therapy, I'm glad to say I have my alcohol intake under control now. I can happily have a beer or two here and there, or none at all, and totally be functional without any worries. I'm a much happier man and more focused than ever. I do terribly miss my boys in KATAKLYSM (the touring and making albums with them etc.), but while I was under therapy, I decided to fix other issues with my health as well: the physical part this time. "I always had shooting pains in my left arm, but I dealt with it in silence and kept it from everyone. Sometimes it would go numb and my wrist and entire arm would lock up during concerts. It gave me anxiety and made me angry, which didn't help my mental state. "I'm currently going through rehabilitation to restore my arm to the best of its abilities, but I cannot give the KATAKLYSM songs justice at the moment. It wouldn't be fair to the boys, and it wouldn't be fair to the fans and myself to continue. I need to take care of my health 100% before I can consider playing on a pro level again, like I know I'm capable of doing. "We will see what the future holds. "There's always a surprise in the air waiting to happen. "I'll keep in touch with all my fans and friends through my personal Facebook. "Thank you for the incredible support and all the kind words; they really helped to lift my spirits during these hard times." Adds Oli Beaudoi: "I'm stoked to now officially be welcomed as a permanent member of KATAKLYSM. The last two years with the guys have been a real blast. J-F, Maurizio and Steph are coolest bandmates I've had the chance to be with. The last album we wrote together in 2013 also proved that we share a common musical vision for this band. I'm just thrilled to pursue this endeavor and help push this band to a new level for the years to come." KATAKLYSM has recruited Tommy Jones (TESTAMENT, DEATH ANGEL, EX DEO) to direct the video for the band's rendition of the SACRED REICH classic "The American Way". Jones previously also worked on KATAKLYSM's "Iron Will" DVD. KATAKLYSM's version of "The American Way" is taken from the band's new album, "Waiting For The End To Come", which was released on October 29, 2013 in North America via Nuclear Blast. The artwork by Eliran Kantor (TESTAMENT, HATEBREED) was featured on the deluxe digipak and LP versions of the effort. The cover by Peter Sallai (SABATON) was featured on the standard jewel case and limited edition cassette tape versions. The follow-up to 2010's "Heaven's Venom", "Waiting For The End To Come" was recorded by KATAKLYSM guitarist Jean-François Dagenais, who has previously worked with MALEVOLENT CREATION, MISERY
04 min read

Kataklysm
Waiting For The End To Come

Panagiotis Karagiannidis
One of the most improved bands of the previous decade was surely the blasting Kataklysm from Canada. Especially after the release of ‘’Epic-The Poetry Of War’’ where their former affinity gave its place to more focused songwriting, the band each time released amazing albums that were many times better than the previous ones and made it real hard for the fans to choose their favourite.
05 min read

KATAKLYSM Guitarist: ‘I Feel Like The New Album Is Our Best Work Of Art’

Manos Spanos
The Rock Pit recently conducted an interview with guitarist Jean-François Dagenais of Montreal, Quebec, Canada-based death metallers KATAKLYSM. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below. The Rock Pit: The new album, "Waiting For The End To Come", sounds fantastic, lots of groove and heaviness and melody. Can you tell us a bit about how the album came together? Jean-François Dagenais: We wrote this album seperately. Basically we all live in different cities now. I'm based in Dallas, Texas and Maurizio [Iacono, vocals] is in Chicago and the other guys are in Canada, and for us the writing process was... It's easier now with technology and the Internet and stuff. So I started writing riffs on my computer and then I would send that to Stephane [Barbe, bass] over in Canada. He would add to it and write more and send it back to me and I would take that and send it to the other guys, to the drummer [Oli Beaudoin] and Maurizio. We wrote all the album pretty much like that, or at least 80% of it, and the last 20% we got together in Canada in the same room and pieced the last part of the puzzle together. It worked pretty spontaneously. We went into the studio and worked for another month and a half and a couple of weeks to mix and before we knew it we had the album finished and ready to go. I'm pretty happy with the results, I feel the stars were aligned on this one. We were looking back at things and I like the way it sounds and I like the way the songs are structured and pieced together and the performance of everything. I gotta say everyone gave their 200% so I'm very happy about that. The drums are flawless, the bass and guitar tracks I'm happy with and Maurizio's vocals are outstanding. I'm really happy with it. The Rock Pit: Looking back on your back catalogue, there's a bit of progression from your earlier albums going to the later albums. Is it a conscious decision to go forward and try different things for each album or has it happened naturally over the years? Jean-François Dagenais: I think it's the journey of an artist that you try to do your best with what you have and the way that you paint at a certain point in time. As a musician, I like to think that we have gotten better over the years and you improve your skills on your instrument and also improve your skills as a musician, like the way you see songs and structures. Basically, we try to do our best on every record. For me, I got to do every album like it's one of my kids. You try your best and you want to do your best with it and it comes out the way it comes out for different reasons. I think you can see the musical journey and progression from a young artist in the early '90s trying to learn or master his art and then you get better at it and you go from there. I feel like the new album is our best work of art musically and also songwriting-wise and also on our instruments. I think it's the best performance everyone gave in the studio,so I'm very proud of this album. The Rock Pit: The lyrics on this album have a bit of a statement on how the world is right now. As a guitar player, what inspired you for this album?
05 min read

KATAKLYSM: New Song ‘Kill The Elite’ Available For Streaming

Manos Spanos
"Kill The Elite", a brand new song from Montreal, Quebec, Canada-based death metallers KATAKLYSM, can be streamed in the YouTube clip below. The song comes off the band's new album, "Waiting For The End To Come", which will be released on October 29 in North America via Nuclear Blast. The artwork by Eliran Kantor (TESTAMENT, HATEBREED) will be featured on the deluxe digipak and LP versions of the effort. The previously released cover by Peter Sallai (SABATON) will be featured on the standard jewel case and limited edition cassette tape versions. "This other version of the new art made by Eliran Kantor represents a more iconic and epic approach,” commented Iacono. "A man representing all of humanity, shaking the foundation of existence and ultimately beginning the process of destruction. The main foundation is depicted here as the famous KATAKLYSM 'tribal sun' logo. It does not represent the end of KATAKLYSM by any means; more the beginning of a new era after the end of a certain existence." The follow-up to 2010's "Heaven's Venom", "Waiting For The End To Come" was recorded by KATAKLYSM guitarist Jean-François Dagenais, who has previously worked with MALEVOLENT CREATION, MISERY INDEX and DESPISED ICON, among others, and mixed by Chris "Zeuss" Harris (SUFFOCATION, HATEBREED, ARSIS). As previously reported, KATAKLYSM has recruited ex-NEURAXIS drummer Oli Beaudoin to sit behind the kit during the recording sessions for "Waiting For The End To Come". Beaudoin is also playing all of KATAKLYSM's currenty announced shows.
02 min read

KATAKLYSM Frontman Slams ROLLING STONE Magazine Over ‘The Bomber’ Cover Story

Manos Spanos
Vocalist Maurizio Iacono of Montreal, Quebec, Canada-based death metallers KATAKLYSM has weighed in on yesterday's top story: the controversial Rolling Stone cover featuring alleged Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. According to Fox News, the issue, which hits newsstands Friday, features an picture of an unsmiling Tsarnaev above the bolded legend "The Bomber." The subhead promises to reveal "[h]ow a popular, promising student was failed by his family, fell into radical Islam, and became a monster." Writing on his Facebook page, Iacono said: "Rolling Stone magazine: If they had to put something, they should have put his brother's blown up face on the cover with 'this is what happens to idiots' instead they put this fucker and glorify him, looking like a rockstar. "Really? I'm not a reader of this mag, but I've known it all my life and always saw it as the pinnacle of 'if you're a musician and you make the cover of Rolling Stone, you made it big time.' It took AC/DC their entire career to make the cover of this mag because they were snobbed by them, [yet it only] took this kid some explosives and guns.
01 min read