There’s no sign of life – and there’s no sign of hope if Finland’s Doom Metal act CATALEPTIC would have all the power to determine our future. Grim, dark, dismal and massive sounding stuff this is on the band’s first studio album, titled "Strength Within" – and what’s even better, it’s been carefully composed and crafted as well, crushing you by the weight of sorrowful and melancholic atmospheres that this record is full of. It’s perhaps a little bit odd but every time when I hear a new Doom Metal band that comes from Finland, I expect it to be no less than somewhat magnificent – and I am happy to say CATALEPTIC doesn’t make any exception to that known recipe either. There’s some unexplained magnetism in their Doom Metal, in which guttural and bowels upside down turning death grunts, incredibly powerful and harmonious guitars and pleasingly audible bass parts – and many other elements as well, have all been done in a very detailed way – to make the whole record truly to stand out as its own breath-taking wholeness. Keeping this record only under a big magnifying class it becomes very evident that the Finns have something unusual special in their drinking water that the others lack for. Which other way could this be explained, I just don’t know. Little spoonfuls of KATATONIA’s "Brave Murder Day" album, tiny pieces of PARADISE LOST’s "Shades Of God" record, hints of RAPTURE’s (Fin) "Futile" album – and some slices from INSOMNIUM’s brilliant doomsphere are securely tied up with this record, but undoubtedly there are even a fair host of some other names of bands or records that may cross one’s mind when giving a listen for CATALEPTIC’s amazing debut album. A song called ‘Reckoning’ – the 3rd track on "Strength Within", is simply pure brilliance and sheer genius from start to finish; I myself never get tired of pushing the repeat button after the song has come to its end. You absolutely gotta listen to this album in order to believe my shameless eulogy on this very promising newcomer to the worldwide Doom Metal scene. Then you are surely about to leave all your skepticism behind your thoughts, realizing how darn excellent this Finnish Doom Metal band CATALEPTIC actually is. Oh, and please don’t forget to tell your friends either from whom you heard first about them – thank you. www.cataleptic.tk, www.nosignoflife.com