Album Review: Dead Letter Circus - The Catalyst Fire

There is plenty of pressure on Dead Letter Circus with this release. As well as the usual weight that comes with a second album, it's also the first without their original guitarist and, coincidently or not, comes within weeks of the long-awaited Karnivool album – a band whose void from the scene they have more than filled in recent years. Despite this burden it would appear that DLC like a challenge because The Catalyst Fire is everything you expect: powerful, energetic, uplifting and inspiring.

Changes endured in the last few years have not affected their sound. There is less of the electronic influence you might expect from gaining a keyboardist and new lead guitarist Clint Vincent shares the distinctive tone of founding member Rob Maric. As a first single, Lodestar completely captures the essence of the band and album. Kim Benzie's vocals soar, Vincent's guitar is elevating and it has a glut of power and drive. Opening track, The Cure, is hypnotic and immediately delivers the message that The Catalyst Fire will pick up lyrically where This Is The Warning left off: “We are the slaves who object in silence”, and a demand to “Show me where the progress exists without the protest”. Alone Awake features that DLC signature combination of slow heavy moments contrasted against fast-paced frantic melodies that leave you visualising Benzie bouncing on stage to a chanting crowd. Tracks like Say Your Prayers, I Am and Lost Without Leaders are all equally compelling and further develop the album's mesmerising feel.

The Catalyst Fire is self-assured, confronting and formidable but always, as we have come to expect from Dead Lead Circus, affirming and dynamic.