Ah, the holiday season - a season filled with joy, laughter and presents. But for the die hard Black Metallers in KVLTIST, the holiday season is filled with Our Lord and Saviour, Lucifer. Releasing this album in the Yuletide December month, "Catechesis" will certainly freeze the cockles of your warm, Christmas-filled heart.

The welcoming, ice-cold embrace of the album comes in the form of "The Devil's Catechumen" which treats us to an eerie, atmospheric few moments before assaulting us with some Black Metal carnage. But it doesn't click with me. Now, don't get me wrong; it's not bad. I feel as though it sounds exactly like every other mediocre up and coming Black Metal band. The vocals are low toned and almost guttural sounding while the guitar and drum work does not stand out to me; they're fast and slightly creepy but there is nothing new and nothing pushes the boundaries.

Now, you may be thinking "but a band doesn't need to push boundaries, not every band can". Of course, you're right. But KVLTIST prove that they can and, quite frankly, are very good at it. The best and most memorable parts of this album come when KVLTIST are being a little... Weird. Take, for example "Darkest Light From Glaring Shadows". During this song, they go from blistering speed and aggression to uncomfortable moaning. Yes, you heard me, moaning. For two whole minutes there is uncomfortable moaning. Another prime example of their ability to be weird is "Oblation" which is nine minutes of pure weirdness interchanging with carnage. It doesn't feel like we're listening to a nine minute song at all with all the tempo and mood changes, and to be honest, it's the only track that really stands out of the album for me.

The sound on this album is your typical Black Metal sound. There isn't too much depth and sounds almost hollow; which isn't a bad thing. It adds to the effect. Certain songs on "Catechesis" have a tendency to let the vocals run the show. The vocals should blend in like an extra instrument and certain parts of this album seem to completely forget that aspect.

It is the time of year where us writers are compiling our "Top 10" lists and are all secretly on the lookout for those great end-of-year releases that may be able to make us rearrange our lists to accommodate them. While "Catechesis" is an enjoyable album at times, I can't help but feel like this was a mediocre attempt and they are still figuring themselves out. I look forward to their next release, but for now "Catechesis" just doesn't push my buttons.