One of the more imaginative and disorientating bands to come out of the basement metal scene of the new century, the eight piece ensemble Cream Abdul Babar delivered their defining statment of anguished avant-crush with this 2002 album. The eleven songs on Catalyst feature hypnotic, tension-filled dirges and twisted noise-rock riffage surrounded by atmospheric electronic drones and loops, tortured screamed/snarled vocals from two different singers, and blasts of harsh pedal-noise damage. Reminds me of a rougher, weirder, more irreverant Old Man Gloom. Along with the spacey keyboards and electronics, CAB also utilize trombone, whose low, subtle honking adds another layer of gloom to the tunes. Terrific noise-rock influenced dirgecore that maps out alien terrain, like a quirky mixture of Melvins crunch, Jesus Lizard's herky jerky rhythms, Neurosis' slow building dirge metal, and Coil's ominous electronic constructs. An awesome, often-overlooked album that flew under most people's radar when it came out, highly recommended to fans of experimental post-hardcore/metal.