The Chthonic Chronicles

The Chthonic Chronicles is the latest album released by Bal-Sagoth, and is one of the best they’ve released in their career. I’ve listened all of their releases, except for the demo, and I say that they have been evoluting very fast. Some flaws here and there, but they’ve managed to correct this in this album. Bal-Sagoth has reached a new level with The Chthonic Chronicles, making more melodies, being more orchestrated and more symphonic. Byron finished this hexalogy in great style, but it’s not perfect yet.

Byron’s voice, as before, is spoken and screamed, alternating between the two in some tracks. The spoken voice looks less altered than in the earlier albums, which is good, and kind of bad. Good because it achieves more realism, and kind of bad, because it takes off some of Bal-Sagoth’s orchestral and theatrical characteristics, but it does not alter the quality of the album. The raspid, and screaming voice is louder and helps adding the black metal style to the songs. It’s also more powerful than it was on the previous albums. The Maulding brothers also do a great job in this album. Chris plays the guitar very skillfully, and the sound of it is heavier and crunchier than before. Jonny is one of the best keyboard players I’ve ever heard, and goes along with Chris, also playing the keyboard skillfully. It looks like a real orchestra instead of being played by one person by multiple recordings, and the result is good. As some symphonic black metal bands, the bass is almost inaudible, so I don’t really know what to say about Mark’s playing, although I expect it to be great. Dan Mullins is a great drummer too, applying fast beating to the songs, and fast blast beats like in “Arcana Antideluvia”. Unfortunately, he leaved the band for My Dying Bride, but he does a great job there too.

The album opens with the first of obligatory instrumental tracks in Bal-Sagoth’s albums, “The Sixth Adulation of His Chthonic Majesty”. It’s not quite an instrumental track, because of Byron’s little speech some time after the beginning, but it’s okay. Blasting off is the following track, “Invocations Beyond the Outer-World Night”, which shows how the band has progressed as all of these years have passed, returning triumphantly 5 years after Atlantis Ascendant. Great riffs, great lyrics, but there is something missing yet. “Six Score and Ten Oblations to a Malefic Avatar” follows, with more emphasis on the guitar at the beginning and the middle of the song, which ends kind of abruptly, leading to an haunting outro. Going on with an old story is “The Obsidian Crown Unbound”, which continue the telling of the tale that began on the Starfire album. It’s the most orchestral track on the album, with heavy symphonies and riffs, giving an early end to this story. Sad thing, I was beginning to like it. Anyway, proceeding,

Here is the outcast song of the band. Outcast because of its style. “The Fallen Kingdoms of the Abyssal Plain” begins with a rather strange symphony that it would fit a climax more than it would fit an intro. But then there is the techno sound. I felt like I was listening a track from the “Extreme-G” soundtrack, it’s very electronic. But I don’t avoid the song, I like it. Returning to the album’s normality is “Shackled to the Trilithon of Kutulu”. It’s the heaviest track of the album, representing the chaos of what would be a Cthulhu invocation. There’s a lot of chugging guitars and less symphonies. Just in this song. There has to be a calm track in every metal album, unless it’s grindcore or death metal, but that’s another thing. “The Hammer of the Emperor” is the “calm track” of the album. More like less heavy. It has more emphasis on instrumentality than the lyrics, or vocals, which are only the spoken ones. “Unfettering the Hoary Sentinels of Karnak” follows, being an prequel to “The Dreamer in the Catacombs of Ur” on Atlantis Ascendant, and also has that Egyptian feel, like the other track.

“To Storm the Cyclopean Gates of Byzantium”, another instrumental track. This time, it’s more what I would call “imperial”, always making me remember Star Wars or The Lord of the Rings. One of the most epic tracks they’ve composed. Ah, a Viking-like track. “Arcana Antideluvia” has that Viking feel, but in lyrics, as they tell of a voyage by the seas. Ends rather abruptly, but has already fulfilled it’s part on the album. “Behold the Crimson Vaults of Cydonia” is the last non-instrumental track, and is one great track. In my opinion, they should follow with the band, doing this style of songs, because they’re better for them. Of course this album and one or two before are excellent releases, but they’re moving towards a less heavy style, like an extreme power/symphonic metal. I don’t know if this is their target, but… Well, in short, I wouldn’t like the change very much. Just to finish, “Return to Hatheg-Kla” ends the album, also ending the cycle of the multiverse stories of Bal-Sagoth. More an ambient track than a symphonic, follows the haunting style of “Hatheg-Kla” from Black Moon. Well this ends my review of this album, and I hope that Bal-Sagoth get much better than they already are now. Can’t wait for the next album.