Metal go getters CATALYSIS formed back in 2016, releasing a couple of EP's along with a debut album expected this summer! The band talks of their content of material, wanting to play again, and how they are coping with this pandemic at hand.
1. Please tell us about the history of your band and its members.
Catalysis was formed from the ashes of popular Scottish metalcore band, Excellent Cadaver. Guitar duo, Drew (Cochrane, lead guitar) and Paul Hudson were sitting on a bunch of songs and wanted to put them out, so felt that the natural thing to do was to start afresh. They recruited former Athenia drummer Calum (Rennie, drums), vocalist Sam Field and Steven Merchant on bass. This 5-piece started writing and recording together late in 2016.
Col (MacGregor, vocals) then joined on bass after his previous band, Dirty Judas, fell to the side, replacing the band's bass player, at this point on bass and backing vocals. Soon after, Drew's long running collaborator and friend Paul stepped back from live music to concentrate on other things and so Drew contacted Sean (Ramson, guitar) who had previously played bass with him in Excellent Cadaver to recruit a replacement guitarist.
Catalysis then released their debut EP 'Into the Unknown' with this lineup at the end of 2017. The EP was well received and with it came the opportunity to travel and tour.
In 2018, Sam rejoined a previous band and began vocal coaching and he found it increasingly difficult to commit the time to Catalysis and his time as vocalist came to an end. He was replaced by Col, who had been the lead vocalist in his previous band.
As this quartet, Catalysis released their second self-titled EP to consistently positive review and reached the final of the Scottish Metal 2 the Masses competition. They toured every corner of Scotland and ventured out into Europe in the summer in of 2019, returning to start the recording of their debut full length album.
At this point, towards the end of 2019, as Col became frustrated trying to manage bass and increasingly complex vocal duties, Catalysis recruited Kenny (Valentine, bass) to pick up the live bass. After only a couple of performances, the rest of the band were so impressed with his attitude and commitment that he came on board full time in the spring of 2020. This was just as the finishing touches were being put on the album, Connection Lost.
2. What’s the origin of the band’s name?
Drew (lead guitar) has always liked it as a name. It's kind of fitting that he brought the name as he is the catalyst for most of the band's development and that which is produced by introducing a catalyst is catalysis.
3. Where is the band based out of and what is your music scene like there? Are there any local bands you could recommend?
We are based in the Dundee/Perth area of Eastern Scotland but having toured and built contacts throughout Scotland we would now claim to be based firmly in the wider Scottish Metal scene.
As for bands, wow.. Scotland has loads of great bands right now and it would depend on which of us you asked! We have played with the likes of Dog Tired and Solar Sons, who are excellent. Centrilia, as well, are worth a mention. Razor Sharp Death Blizzard, Burning the Dream. There are loads more, Scotland’s underground metal scene is in a pretty decent state just now.
4. How would you describe your style?
We are probably best described as a breed of groove and thrash metal, mixed with some death metal and metalcore elements.
5. What have you released so far and what can someone expect from your works?
Catalysis have released;
Into the Unknown EP (2017)
Catalysis EP (2018)
Into the Unknown is a dark brooding metalcore/death crossover with thrash tendencies.
The self-titled EP introduces more classic metal in its lead guitar work and focuses on a more solid groove/thrash base.
The debut full length, Connection Lost (due to be released July, 2020), is a development of our sound and includes an incorporation of all that we have done before but making it bigger, heavier, darker and more intense. At its heart, Connection Lost is a groove/thrash album, but we venture into a variety of sub genres to give moments of brutal discordance juxtaposing the moments of harmony.
6. Do you have any new music in the works?
The album, Connection Lost is due out in July of this year.
7. How about playing shows and touring, have anything planned out?
We had planned on heading out into the continent again this summer to promote our album, but Covid-19 has put pay to that. We also had a release show booked for our album that was building some momentum. We will just have to try and pick up what we can when the world reverts to some kind of normality.
8. What plans do you have for the future as a band?
I think for all of us, touring in mainland Europe was one off our bucket list, and we’d love to do that again especially now having Kenny on board. Having also played Aggressive Music Fest in Czechia, we are now very keen on playing a big stage like that again, so another festival date would be a goal for sure.
9. Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?
We sell physical copies of our music through Big Cartel, and you can get our music on iTunes, Amazon, Google, Spotify and the like. We are also now releasing some of our new album through YouTube. Just make sure and search Catalysis band. If you don’t include the band bit, you’ll end with an interesting lecture on chemical reactions but not so much metal.
10. What is it you’d like a listener to remember the most when hearing your music for the first time?
We are just five guys from the East of Scotland with jobs and families. We love music and invest a considerable amount of our time and money into producing music we love. We are not trying to be anyone else, this is just part of our story. We hope you enjoy what we have to say.
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