EHP 0.32: Mass Movement Of The Moth / The Catalyst 200666 CD/LP [ purchase cd ] [ purchase lp ] Pressing Information: 1000 CDs 200 red w/ white splatters 500 grey An eleven song collaborative split of apocalyptic proportions from two of DC/VA's most fierce and twisted young bands. Mass Movement Of The Moth returns with blast after contagious blast of synth-driven, psychedelic post-hardcore, while The Catalyst sludge through their latest offering of kerosene-soaked, in-your-face noise-punk/grunge. Song order switches from band to band allowing no side A or side B to keep the collective rock apart. Limited edition LP features blasphemy amazing full color artwork, gatefold packaging, and colored vinyl. For fans of Born Against, Pg.99, claymation, Camera Obscura, Melt Banana, and the movie Labyrinth (especially the scenes with Ludo). Full US tour June & July 200666. TRACK LISTING: 1. Panic Don't Panic 2. Hotel Fever 3. Three Ring Binder As Makeshift Monster 4. Stuck In The Segue 5. Thirsty Like Water Thirsty 6. The Trickery Of Tom Sawyer 7. Smoke Crack Worship Satan 8. Swallow The Black Fabric 9. Eating People Is Easy 10. Lightning 11. Jesus Garcia REVIEWS: The Communion (Ellen) What to do when you've 5 odd tracks by two ace bands and want to release them both?? Stick them on one release as an alternating split mega album, that's what! The alternating of one song by each band makes for a bit of a confusing listen at first, although adds to the kind of distorted, irregular feel both bands seem to put forward. Whilst they could be seen to be cut from the same cloth, each band remains quite distinct. The Catalyst might have the edge for me personally, with six tracks here of uncompromising, almost brattish punk rock which feels as dense and dark as it does viscious, whereas Mass Movements of the Moth offer five tracks of slightly lighter and dancier, synth - lead, angular post-hardcore. Stand-out tracks include, surprisingly, The Catalyst's intstrumental track, the almost psychadelic and trippy 'Thirsty Like Water Thirsty', and Mass Movement of the Moth 's very San Diego/GSL etc 'The Trickery of Tom Sawyer'. Although saying that, all eleven tracks here are worthy of inspection if you like anything from filthy punk rock to synths to jerky post-hardcore. Hardcore Sounds (Wade Coggeshall) "Two Thousand and Six Six Six" pairs two of the Beltway’s most vicious and intrepid noise merchants. The Catalyst practices a pummeling bash-and-roll that turns the volume to bleeding. Their eardrum-rupturing trash art is best exemplified on tracks like the squalling "Panic Don’t Panic," the frazzled and intense "Smoke Crack Worship Satan" and the ramshackle hostility of "Eating People is Easy." Mass Movement of the Moth is just as adept at the audio terrorism as The Catalyst, but they add synths to give their music an ironic twist - devilish keyboards to go with the guitar-based siege. Songs like "Hotel Fever" and "The Trickery of Tom Sawyer" sound like happy-go-lucky jaunts through some carnivalistic hell. On "Stuck in the Segue," a serpentine bassline and garbage-disposal hooks share space with synths that bring out the space cadet in all of us, or at least the gothic side. Because this split CD has both contributors trading off on each song instead of grouping each on one half or one side, the psycho merriment made by both is much more integrated, making this one tense listen. Both bands contribute a "sonic interlude" to "Two Thousand and Six Six Six."The Catalyst conjures an otherworldly melody on "Thirsty Like Water Thirsty" that features its own wicked sorcery. This instrumental must kill in concert. Conversely, Mass Movement of the Moth’s "Lightning" is all in good fun. Though its palette is heavy on the rock, it could score the montage to a 1980s John Hughes coming-of-age flick. The blasphemous artwork by Ashley Arnwine - complete with red-eyed and fanged priests and nuns - make this a release that definitely stands out. But no matter how iconoclastic "Two Thousand and Six Six Six" may seem, it’s really skronk that’s all mirthful in its loudly obnoxious way. Think of The Catalyst and Mass Movement of the Moth as noise with discernable structure. And a lust for life. Delusions Of Adequacy (Joe Davenport) Crazy motherfuckers. You give two spazzy hardcore groups a split CD where they alternate tracks and indulge in some near psychedelic breakdowns and see what happens; it's bound to yield some interesting results. I was vaguely familiar with Mass Movement of the Moth before this split but had never heard The Catalyst. Surprisingly, both bands end up smelling like roses on this release. To be honest, at first I couldn't tell which band was which and almost thought that maybe the two had teamed up and recorded all of these songs together. The tracklisting on the back and inside the record gives no indication as to which band is playing which songs. Paul at The Perpetual Motion Machine informed me that this was not the case. So for those of you out there that may need this information, pay attention for a second. The first track is The Catalyst, and the second is Mass Movement of the Moth. It alternates back and forth like that between the bands for the entirety of the disc. Both bands play a similar style of post-hardcore with keyboards - not full-on grind like The Locust but more akin to the group An Albatross, especially considering that both groups employ weird hallucinogenic breaks like the aforementioned band. One can definitely hear a little sludgy Karp riffage in there and maybe also the nihilistic attitude of early Black Flag and Born Against. It's loose and seemingly a little sloppy but endearingly so. Personally, I found the references to one of my personal favorite icons, Satan, in the title and artwork a refreshing change from the plethora of shitty pseudo-Christian emo bands so prevalent these days. I'm giving these hellraisers credit for cranking out a great record. Scene Point Blank (Cory) Released by two stellar labels, Perpetual Motion Machine and Electric Human Project, Two Thousand and Six Six Six is a split between two up and coming Virginian bands, Northern Virginia's Mass Movement of the Moth and Richmond's The Catalyst. Two Thousand and Six Six Six is a very collective effort, with the bands switching from song to song instead of having an A side and B side. The bands recorded together in April, and each band serves up an instrumental track to go along with their unique brands of hardcore. And while each band still seems to be searching to reach their full potential, Two Thousand and Six Six Six is still a very solid record. Mass Movement of the Moth continues with to keep the releases rolling with Two Thousand and Six Six Six, and also manages to keep evolving as a band as well. Unlike previous efforts, the bands ditched their death metal growls for a catchier, post-hardcore sound. While it is certainly a different and calmer Mass Movement of the Moth, it is definitely not a worse Mass Movement of the Moth, as the band continues to deliver as each new record is released. While the vocals may have changed, the sound is still synthesizer filled, with the bass and guitars complementing it very well to give the sound a more complete feel. Mass Movement Of the Moth's only slipup comes in the middle of the record with "The Trickery Of Tom Sawyer", where the vocals simply seem to die as the song goes on until it feels like it is behind the music, leaving for a very drawn out feel. The song is easily forgotten though, as the band's instrumental effort, "Lightning," comes up next to steal the whole album. The pop based, synthesizer filled, electric piano laced song is the best on Two Thousand and Six Six Six, and a great way to help finish the album. On the other side, or at least every other song, The Catalyst delivers a brand of punk that straddles the line between hardcore and grunge, making for a very distorted and unique brand of music. When the band is on, they are definitely on, and as a young band show their great potential. With "Panic Don't Panic", "Smoke Crack Worship Satan", and "Jesus Garcia", the band is able to draw out their songs lyrically and musically, which leads to a very exciting, genre bending result. However, besides these songs the band seems to still be searching to reach the standard set by the songs mentioned above. With "Three Ring Binder As Makeshift Monster " and "Eating People is Easy", the band only writes a few lines of lyrics and relies more on their intensity to carry the song through. However, when the band is able to develop their songs, they show they are a force to be reckoned with in Virginia hardcore. Smother.net (J-Sin) editor's pick Amid all the retarded hubbub over June 6th 2006 was a tremendous release from DC and Virginia locals Mass Movement of the Moth and the Catalyst. Available as a CD or limited edition colored vinyl, "Two Thousand and Six Six Six" is noisy punk with grungy raunchy rock and chaotic song arrangements. Both bands collaborated in the recording together in April of 2006 with Lance Koehler at Minimum Wage Studios which has seen Stop It!! and Pink Razors record there. Mass Movement of the Moth employ stripped down punk with chaotic textures, synth-driven madness, and huge guitar bluster all of which boisterously tell tales of their high energy attack and crusty grinding percussion. The Catalyst deliver rangy noise-punk with experimental rock vibes and psychedelic walls of guitar effects and distortion for some great blues punk rock that has its wicks soaked in alcohol and illegal psychedelics. Unlike other splits, this one finds each band switching song order from song to song. And unlike many splits, this one is absolutely essential.