Nothing less than a conspiracy to infiltrate and integrate into the empire’s hierarchical hand then assuage the plebian hordes via syncretism early Christianity’s reshaping of western society should be seen as opportunistic erasure, a live burial of heathenry and pagandom beneath a falling empire. The gift of the fathers of the church was always a back-handed smothering oppression, freeing all minds from the intimate bonds of mystery cults and aligning them under the instruction of a new lineage of self-appointed divine. Although Rome, Italy-based blackened technical death metal quartet (trio on album) PATRISTIC do not present their history-minded venture through the organization of the old cult as directly antagonistic their depiction of spiritual and political turbulence is fitting theme for the impressive dichotomy at the heart of this debut full-length album. ‘Catechesis‘ is both ethereal and militant in its search for order within chaotic times, an unusually patient yet brutally cracked-through work which carries its own well-developed empyrean loft as prime distinction.

Patristic formed by way of Enrico Schettino (Hideous Divinity, ex-Hour of Penance) who’d been putting the project together since 2018 or so but wouldn’t fully realize the concept and collate the writing until the pandemic hit in 2020. He’d soon brought in J.G.P. from Bedsore on vocals and due to an abundance of free time they’d made the side-project official at that point, realizing the core idea as a duo per a substantial EP release (‘Apologetica‘, 2022). In review of the EP I’d described their sound as “a very lightly dissonant touch to a brutal blackened death metal sound, something vaguely like Ulcerate in terms of the greater dramatism applied to a high standard of performance.” going on to describe the scale of their riffs as grand and their approach appreciably technical for a blackened death metal band. I’d felt they were mostly there in creating a sound that was fitting for the concept at hand. Consider that Mark I line-up tentative alongside its sound as much would change in their realm beyond 2022.

With the former vocalist ducking out to focus on his main band not long after ‘Apologetica‘ released Schettino would go on to enlist Nocturnal Depression live drummer Sathrath soon after (ca. 2023) and the two would ultimately co-write this LP together. From there Frostmoon Eclipse and Liber Nvll vocalist L.S. was recruited and that core trio put together ‘Catechesis‘ that same year with most everything save the mix/master (via Michael Zech) complete. This Mark II configuration now more clearly defined both theme and sonic intent as Patristic hadn’t necessarily completely outlined their course on that first EP. While this result is logical in its evolution we can reasonably consider this album a very different result, an exaggeration of said introduction at the very least.

Upon approach there is no escaping the sense that Patristic‘s guitar work and pace is now distinctly in the maestro’s realm, that we can and should expect a technical and brutal marvel in the hands of Schettino and one that shies away from organische underground-blackened spectacle. That said the empyrean atmospheric loft achieved on parts of ‘Apologetica‘ survive and expand throughout for a surreal yet high-brained venture overall. Knowing when to hit the throttle and when to pull back into atmospheric float really is the key to this dynamic, the effect is simple enough but profound in its crushing ‘n floating movement enough to impress any fan of technical death metal. We’ll find immediate example of this in droves as album opener “A Vinculis Soluta I” rolls us through its first few minutes of regalia-waving preamble ’til the rupture of their work connects right at the three minute mark. From that point the connection made between the walk-up, the colonnade of riffs to follow and how they all coalesce into one grand statement should effectively communicate the sea-change found on ‘Catechesis‘.

A concept-driven band generally creates an expectation of grand designs, or, an experience which is neatly written and considered in ambitious hands and while this is the case within the walled and warrior-brained realm built by Patristic I’d just as well assume this record was created as a less constricting pathway for the guitarist/founder to direct. What I mean is that when the riffs hit they don’t laze around, wilding through frantic and generally well-related glom of aggressive harass via jet-fueled yet cloud-drifting longform pieces which are surprisingly voluminous, a complete remedy to the suffocation this level of brutality tends to bring in any form.

Sure, any ardent Hideous Divinity fan will appreciate the tension of the more brutal sections of each song here but this is yet intended as a blackened death metal experience which, at face value, takes inspiration from the third-gen descendants of the ‘orthodox’ black metal movement one could otherwise compare in effect to The Order of Apollyon or the general glut of occult black/death to release beyond ‘The Satanist‘ in the mid-2010’s. Though this is a more ‘modern’ experience in some respect the inspiration taken from that sect of black metal is more evident as we carry on and experience the sprawl beyond “A Vinculis Soluta” and set foot deeper within the larger second tome/title track(s).

While “A Vinculis Soluta II” in particular brings a broader sense of surrealistic movement, which the four parts of “Catechesis” elaborate in exponent, it is its use of foaming and feuding dissonance in dramatic phrase that begins to show the listener the full range of what Patristic‘ve worked up on this album. From that point “Catechesis I” begins the process of extrapolation, creating a less densely prepared practicum of forms and functions introduced. While there are fantastic moments on each of these movements the door to this new reality is fully opened by “A Vinculis Soluta II” and reopened within the brilliancy of “Catechesis II” where the pace slows to an insistent gallop to start and steadily works toward a foundation shaking blast. This is where the narrative side of the band’s idea is most direct and for my own taste the unique hand of the album is most loudly glowing with insight. “Catechesis III” carries that tension over directly, pouring out its aftermath outside of time its mind-churning transition which exists in tonal limbo between outro and introduction for its first minute or two. The connection between these two pieces might be my favorite part of the listening experience overall.

With that said you’ll probably be contemplating the talents of the drummer first and foremost, appreciating the cadence of the vocalist and how much room he’s left for the riffs to breathe, and admiring the cataclysm-sourced production values which give this recording both spacious climes to inhabit and direct intensity apropos of atmospherically rich technical death metal. I’m not sure this high-precision state will sate the senses of black metal fans who seek raw production values, and this isn’t an intensely experimental or dissonant release, but there is a particularly fine meeting of skillful craft, well-shaped atmosphere, and history-minded theme here for folks so inclined. Granted I only generally understand the theme of this record and haven’t read the lyrics so there is some additional depth I cannot address in full.

For how quickly ‘Catechesis‘ came together it is a remarkably polished extreme metal release from every considerable angle. The album art (via Manuel Scapinello) is just alright from my point of view and I wasn’t immediately sold on the full listen for the sake of how differently its scope/sound compares to ‘Apologetica‘ but the sum of these things made for an engrossing experience most every time I picked it up. Despite the somewhat familiar hammer applied to blackened death found here Patristic make a thrill of their exploration to the point that the end product is entertaining as a believable leap and a bound beyond thier starting point. I didn’t find an incredibly deep connection with it and still found some pieces either tentatively set or forgettable within the grand scheme of things yet there is no denying the skillful craft at hand, much less the thrill of their tread between loft and ruinous aggression. A high recommendation.

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