Kataklysm is a Canadian death metal band. They have released fourteen studi… Read Full Bio ↴Kataklysm is a Canadian death metal band. They have released fourteen studio albums, one EP and two DVDs as of 2020. Kataklysm won their first Juno Award (Canadian equivalent of the Grammy) for best album of the year in the "heavy metal" category for their 2015 album Of Ghosts and Gods. The band's albums have charted throughout the world, including the Billboard Top 100 in the United States.

Kataklysm was formed in Montreal, Quebec in September 1991. At the beginning of their career, they were known for their fast and technical brand of death metal, known as the "Northern Hyperblast". Nuclear Blast soon took notice of the band in 1992 after noticing the band's debut demo The Death Gate Cycle of Reincarnation, which gained significant praise from the underground metal scene. In 1994, Kataklysm signed to Nuclear Blast and released their first EP The Mystical Gate of Reincarnation, followed by their debut album Sorcery in 1995. This was followed in 1996 by their second full-length album Temple of Knowledge, which they accompanied with their first music video for the album's track, "The Awakener". Following the release of this album however, founding member and lead vocalist Sylvain Houde departed from the band. This, as Houde himself confessed, was due to the emotional effects surrounding the end of his romantic relationship. Subsequently, the band's bassist Maurizio Iacono replaced Houde as vocalist, ceding his duties as bassist to Stephane Barbe. The band's musical direction shifted from being primarily spearheaded by Houde to both Iacono and founding guitarist JF Dagenais instead.

In 1998, the band released their third studio album Victims of this Fallen World, (Iacono's first as vocalist) which has been noted as incorporating a more groove-oriented and melodic musical style of death metal. The following album The Prophecy (Stigmata of the Immaculate) released in 2000 consolidated this style, lessening the chaotic nature of their work thus far and incorporating greater influences from thrash metal. The band's 2001 album Epic: The Poetry of War added further melody to the band's approach to death metal and the band continued to gain attention and positive critical reception. In the following year, the band released Shadows & Dust, which has been viewed by critics as one of the band's most successful releases because of the overwhelmingly positive reception the band received and the increase in sales compared to the band's prior releases, being the first album to chart in countries such as Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and featured one of the band's most recognisable tracks: "In Shadows & Dust".

Two years later, in 2004, the band released Serenity in Fire. The album was notable for the absence of drummer Max Duhamel, Kataklysm's drummer, being temporarily replaced by Martin Maurais, due to injury. The album was again positively received and featured two of the band's best known tracks: "As I Slither" and "The Ambassador of Pain". Duhamel eventually recovered and played on the band's eighth studio album, released in 2006, titled In the Arms of Devastation. The album was a considerable success, with sales exceeding 50,000 units and saw the band's highest charting entries thus far. The band's following album, Prevail, continued to display the band's growing popularity, with sales again exceeding the 50,000 mark. The album's single "Taking the World by Storm" also became the band's most highly viewed track on YouTube, with over three million views.

The band released their 11th studio album Waiting for the End to Come on October 29, 2013, followed by their twelfth album Of Ghosts and Gods on July 31, 2015, both to high praise. The band's thirteenth studio album, Meditations, was released in June 2018. The album gained their first album to chart on the Billboard Top 100 charts, positioning at #61, alongside being their highest-charting album in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the band's native Canada.

Kataklysm released their fourteenth studio album Unconquered on September 25, 2020. Three weeks before the album's release, the band announced drummer Oli Beaudoin had left the band and was replaced by James Payne.

Studio albums
Sorcery (1995)
Temple of Knowledge (1996)
Victims of This Fallen World (1998)
The Prophecy (Stigmata of the Immaculate) (2000)
Epic: The Poetry of War (2001)
Shadows & Dust (2002)
Serenity in Fire (2004)
In the Arms of Devastation (2006)
Prevail (2008)
Heaven's Venom (2010)
Waiting for the End to Come (2013)
Of Ghosts and Gods (2015)
Meditations (2018)
Unconquered (2020)

I Remember
Kataklysm Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

From the light that blind my eyes
The fire burns inside
From the memories of
Looking into your eyes
I felt your pain
The sadness of your soul
A life of broken dreams
A heart of gold

I can't believe...
I remember
Like it was yesterday
I remember
I saw you slipping away
I remember
Like it was yesterday
Your blood flows through mine
I'm a part of you
That will never die
The tears in your face
The tears in mine

It will never be the same
But the memories remain...

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Kataklysm's song "I Remember" evoke strong feelings of loss and grief over a loved one who has passed away. The opening lines "From the light that blinds my eyes, the fire burns inside" set the tone for the song, as it suggests that the singer is internally conflicted and struggling to come to terms with their emotions.

The memories of looking into the eyes of the deceased loved one are leading to the singer feeling the sadness of the soul and a life of broken dreams. The next line "I can't believe" suggests that the singer is in disbelief or shock at the loss of their loved one. Despite the passage of time, the singer remembers the person who has passed away with the intensity of an event that occurred yesterday. The repeated refrain of "I remember" underscores this point and serves as a reminder of the strength of the memory that continues to linger on in the singer's mind.

The line about the blood flowing through the singer's veins and being a part of the person who has passed away suggests that they still feel a deep connection to the person who has gone. The line "It will never be the same, but the memories remain" serves as a bittersweet reminder that, while the individual is gone, the memories of them continue to live on.

Line by Line Meaning

From the light that blind my eyes
The overwhelming feeling he experienced that left him momentarily blinded

The fire burns inside
The intense passion he has for this particular memory

From the memories of Looking into your eyes
The specific memory that he's referring to; a time when he looked into someone's eyes

I felt your pain
He sensed the emotional pain of the other person

The sadness of your soul
The deep sorrow that was present in the other person's soul

A life of broken dreams
The other person had a life full of shattered hopes and expectations

A heart of gold
Despite all of the sadness, the other person had a kind and generous heart

I can't believe...
He's in disbelief about the events that took place in that memory

I remember Like it was yesterday
The memory of that moment is still very vivid in his mind

I saw you slipping away
He witnessed the other person's decline and eventual departure

Your blood flows through mine
He feels a strong connection to the other person, almost as if they're family