Promo 2010

I'm surprised that Chaos Injected were never able to get their ducks in a row and secure a record deal, especially considering how well their style should appeal to the Soilwork and Scar Symmettry crowds. Instead they spat out a succession of haphazard demos before going into what appears to be indefinite hibernation. This 2010 promo is the last we heard of the band, and it stands to reason that it is the most polished and agreeable output of theirs. Chaos Injected are concurrently schizophrenic and charismatic, with a predilection for extremely cornball clean vocals and riveting leads that shine like a veritable supernova. Sort of like later Blood Stain Child at times, or to name drop some lesser knowns, Timecry and Starforge.

And just like Timecry, Chaos Injected fall prey to common pitfalls through reliance on the more exultant fare. "Rapture," which earned the pleasure of one of the most ridiculously over the top music videos I've ever seen, rushes to the admittedly capable clean vocals, yet simply chases its tail elsewhere. Some twinkling keys buttress a decent-enough breakdown around the halfway point, but elsewhere the song simply drags. Of the remaining two songs, "The Departure" has the most promise. Still, the band struggles to bridge the gaps more often than not. The riffs are sorely lacking in creative construction, filling the background with all manner of powerchord filler that we are all too familiar with by now. The resonant and spacious atmospheric bits of "Rapture" prove that the band can enthrall in this format, but they fail to capitalize on just as many opportunities. It's a mixed bag for sure.

And while I definitely remained engaged throughout the demo, I'm not sure if the band could have stretched these ideas competently enough to fill a full length album. The harsh vocals are simpering and lackluster, and some sections appear almost swollen with a smattering of random ideas. Clean vocals, synths, free-form instrumental breaks; all of this is great but simply butts heads with what remains of the metal constituent of Chaos Injected's sound. This is hardly a revelation given this particular epithet of melodeath, but these deficiencies remain. The dense undertow of the band's collective instrumental capability grants them some measure of leniency, but we simply need more killer riffs to buoy the experimental remainder. To go positive, I do enjoy the clean vocalists emotive and smooth tone, even though his voice sounds largely untrained. The keyboards are also exceptional, befitting the band with some measure of momentum and progression that enrich the capable leads.

I doubt we will hear anything more from Chaos Injected, as the lineup appears to have largely fallen apart. While not a huge loss, I do think that they had more to offer to the overspilling Finnish melodeath scene. Whether or not that tickles your fancy, the few songs that the band did manage to record do hint at promise. The band's tone is honest and not overly polished. Pleasant, but undoubtedly flawed. Cautiously recommended to modern melodeath fans.