Quite a stunning package here… Already split-up US Black/Death Metallers CATHOLICON, that was formed in 1994, and ceased to exist in 2009, made one hell of a respectable career during those 15 years when the band was still destroying and desecrating the holy ground by a good bunch of demos, full-lengths and a couple of compilation CDs. Before the year 2009 reached its end, CATHOLICON wanted to offer one more release for the fans – and this final last release of these relatively unknown Black/Death Metal veterans CATHOLICON, was baptized by a fitting name, OF AGES PAST, containing of 11 tracks all in all. Presumably, the band’s long career is sort of culminated on OF AGES PAST, in which the band sounds more refined and balanced when it comes to their song structures. CATHOLICON sounds probably at their heaviest on this recording, having put quite a lot emphasis on their unorthodox Death Metal side, while still maintaining their roots deeply in Black Metal. It’s a good combination of both actually, keyboard parts giving listeners a reason or two to compare them to early ACHERON, which they occasionally tend to remind me of here and there. The cover version of SODOM’s ‘Remember The Fallen’ sounds different but still noticeable yet very good nevertheless. As for the bonus DVD-ROM disc, it contains an ultra-massive amount of CATHOLICON’s material from the band’s entire career – over 27 hours of demos, rehearsals, live recordings, unreleased studio outtakes, some recordings of side projects of the CATHOLICON members, live videos and even one short XXX-rated video. It took a couple of extra days from me personally to wade through all this extra material, but it was still worth it (well, at least most of it), giving me a chance to realize how CATHOLICON were evolving and shaping up their own somewhat distinctive sound over the years before calling its quits on July 31, 2009. If talking about things of more essential, this could probably be one of those because it offers a very professional glance through the entire lifespan of these obscure and now defunct US Black/Death Metallers CATHOLICON. www.myspace.com/catholicon