Chaos Cosmogony

Before the universe came into being, with matter assuming temporal (time) and spatial (structural) dimensions, there was chaos in which matter existed in an infinite void where there was no distinction between darkness and light, or between heaven and abyss. This is the premise behind "Chaos Cosmogony", exploring the state of existence preceding the birth of our universe, from Bangladeshi death metal quintet Chronicles. These guys play a very steamy brutal style of death metal whether it's doomy slow or insanely fast, often in the same song, topped with deep guttural vocals dripping with saliva filled with corrosive venom. Though "Chaos Cosmogony" is not a very long demo release, it's packed with six tracks (two of which are short ambient / acoustic guitar pieces bookending the entire recording) of tight and consistent musicianship that showcases clever song-writing skill and a flair for catchy riffs and rhythms. Both the singing and the musical performances can be very theatrical with the band having an ear for whatever maximises an atmosphere of hideous and grotesque evil.

The mini-album proper starts with "Primordial Atrocities", initially a full-on flood of steaming death doom guitar magma that explodes into blast-beat frenzy, scrabbling riffs, sinister droning rhythms and a monstrous roaring voice exulting in the mayhem. Right up to the end of the song riffs upon riffs are piling up and at various points the rhythm veers from death metal thrash-out to ominous drawn-out doom drone to pop-friendly head-banging groove mania. Likewise, "Wit Bedlam" messes with your head by starting fast and furious and then slowing down the same riff into something jerky and ugly in the middle of what otherwise would be a speedy, thrashy jam dominated by hard-hitting and hard-working percussion. Indeed, throughout this work, the music often veers from more straight-ahead melodic death metal into moments of shrieking hysterical lead guitar derangement or thunderous doom riffs spreading an evil, stifling dark miasma while the vocals rejoice and revel in the steaming stench. Apart from "Wit Bedlam" which sticks to a few riffs and repeats them throughout, most songs are constantly changing and rarely if ever return to earlier riffs or rhythms.

Even though this mini-album demo explores what the pre-universe might have been like, with matter in a formless state, the whole recording is actually amazingly clear in its production, so much so that every instrument, even bass (which follows the guitars and drums closely on "Wit Bedlam"), can be heard very distinctly. As songs are short and jam-packed with riffs, they can be a bit hard to tell apart but repeated hearings can reveal details of how riffs can be sped up or slowed down to create different moods and even suggest different extreme metal genres at work. Given that the Chronicles musicians are working with a minimal instrumental set-up and basic recording and production equipment, the fact that they have produced a brutal and punishing death metal recording with steaming, evil-smelling doom elements is astonishing. This is due to the hard work they must have put into polishing their song-writing skills, listening to other bands and discovering what makes other people's songs work, and rehearsing together often enough to become a fast and tight unit.

If Chronicles were let loose on better instruments and recording equipment, in a studio with all the right acoustics necessary for their brand of crushing music, there'd be no stopping them on their path to global domination. They have the talent to succeed and in their home country they have probably had to overcome a lot of obstacles and setbacks just to stay and play together. Anyway, for the time being, until Chronicles release their first album (which at this time of review the band is working on), we have "Chaos Cosmogony" as a punchy forerunner of what is likely to come.