This is the third release from international metal act, Chaos Over Cosmos, who’s track record consists of intense, technically riffs, sci-fi synths, and plenty of mind numbing guitar solos. If you’re somewhat familiar with their previous releases, you won’t be too caught off guard here. A lot of the same characteristics are there, and the figurehead of the band, Rafal Bowman’s iconic guitar playing is easy to point out here. But, I really feel like this is the band truly becoming more comfortable with their out put as this is the most solid release of theirs yet.
Right off the bat you can’t help but become overwhelmed with Rafal’s dense guitar playing. Its impressive how many notes he can fit into one song, and the riffs seem endless. At times, rather mind numbing, but I found it so fun to listen to and hear the twists and turns all through out. I really feel as though his guitar playing helps build that sci-fi atmosphere that permeates all through out this album, The mental imagery of a spaceship flying through celestial bodies or hover crafts zooming through Bladerunner-esque super cities, is what first comes to mind when hearing his playing. When you couple that with the added synths for extra texture and ‘oomph’ to the music that helps it push a long. When compared to previous releases, it almost feels a lot more tighter and focused, really pinning down on the technicality side of it all. This release is also heavier than previous releases, sporting more blast-beats, fitting in more growled vocals and a more urgent atmosphere than before.
KC Lyon, who provides the vocals for Chaos over Cosmos, does really well on the album. The vocals are gruff and harsh, but I feel blend into the background a bit too much. They get lost in everything else going on in the track (especially with the guitars, they over take everything.). KC’s brother, Keaton, on the other hand provides clean vocals for the third track, Navigating By Moonlight, which I feel is the best track off the album. It touches just about everything the band had in mind, from the celestial atmosphere, to the brutal blast beats, and of course the endless riffage.
This is a solid all around metal release. While, my personal taste doesn’t fall into the tech-death kinda side of things, this was rather enjoyable to listen to and it really shows how much effort the band puts behind the music despite being continents apart. I know a lot of people who come to this site prefer their simplistic and endlessly brutal black metal, but a change from the norm is always welcome, and Chaos over Cosmos is a good starting point to not be so overwhelmed by technical death metal. Give it a listen if you’d like, I know I certainly enjoyed my time with it.