All Is Chaos

Despite looking like a Limp Bizkit album cover, All Is Chaos became my friend quickly for several reasons. The first is that it was given away for free with a music magazine at the time of its release, which is always a bonus and especially so considering that I was a student back in 2011. The second reason is that the style is not something I would have sought out by myself, this kind of atmospheric sludge metal not being the first subgenre that springs to mind when asked to name my favourites, particularly if the band is as little known and obscurely situated (Belgium is not really a centre of anything except chocolate production) as Steak Number Eight. The final reason, and the one why I'm still happy to listen to All Is Chaos now, is because it's a good album, though not exactly the most straightforward one to get your head around.

The style, in the first place, is not the most uncommon, artists like Isis and Cult of Luna cutting a similar figure on several of their full-lengths, while Neurosis are probably the reason for this kind of music existing in the first place; however, Steak Number Eight take the atmospheric sludge metal classification quite literally, opting for huge, slamming sludge riffs that battle against post-rock melodies and chord patterns, while some of the material here is more specifically post-metal, shimmering and glimmering in more spacious vistas. That still sounds reasonably par for the course until you realise that the four-piece have decided to juxtapose a song like 'Dickhead' (more on that in a minute) against the soft swelling of 'Track Into the Sky', which ticks along like Mogwai are taking Coldplay out for a long walk in a place where there are no choruses, just vast snowy hills and rivers. The lushness of the latter part of the album is smooth and glorious, building the sense of inner love and peace that post-rock is supposed to do when it's not boring you half to death, while the distant vocals of Brent Vanneste drift and rise on the back of the steady climb of guitars and echoey choir.

On the other hand, you remember I said that I would return to 'Dickhead', because that will be your first impression of the album as it squalls into life and a posh lady says, "I say, your head is somewhat shaped like a banana," before crunching into the kind of riff that initially aided my expectations of finding nu metal with rapping. That the riff develops into a swinging sludgy groove is fairly irrelevant too, since Vanneste begins screaming the first verse like his throat might rip, providing the aural nugget that goes as follows:

"One time two times three times that I shoot you down
But now you can suck my fucking cock
You dickless motherfucker
You can suck my dick if you don’t like my shit"

It's...erm...not exactly poetic, is it? And this from the band who would later glide and croon their way into 'Track Into the Sky' and 'The Perpetual' with all the grace of a regal swan. I'm going to defend 'Dickhead' though on the grounds that it feels really fucking awesome to shout those lyrics out of the window regardless of their juvenility, which - lest anyone need reminding - was precisely what Steak Number Eight were at the time, writing this album at the ages of 18 and 19. Therefore, the rather aggressive opening ('Pyromaniac' doesn't exactly do knitting in the corner) is an effective way to lead into an album mostly filled with earnest songs that make you feel good in other ways, as if the unified experience of All Is Chaos were to lead from pure blind anger to a position of understanding by the time of the calmer conclusion.

In my mind, there's another point that marks 'Dickhead' out as more than just an attention-grabbing statement. Listening to the way in which the band build that expletive-riddled verse into a six minute song (there really aren't any more lyrics, only a rhythmic repetition of "Banana, banana, banana, your head looks like a..."), the creativity that is necessary to make such music captivating is fairly obvious, something that can't be said of all the post-metal songs that follow. Certainly 'Drowning in Your Blood' is interesting and 'Trapped' really touches a nerve, but the post-rock parts tend towards similarity, not only to their influences but also to themselves, meaning that there is not as much content on offer here as 66 minutes should offer. That said, looking ahead to 2015's Kosmokoma, the band had reinvented themselves as progressive metal thinkers, doing battle with Mastodon, Gojira, and Burst as much as the Isis contingent. The only song here that explores that territory is 'Man Vs Man', a medium-intensity instrumental, and perhaps 'Pyromaniac' at a push, since it submerges from a vitriolic opening to end up in quite a different place after an odd interlude.

The calmness of post-metal is thus not always present during this album, though one might say that we were warned by the title. If you can stomach 'Dickhead' (perhaps the wrong expression, but whatever), there's a lot of calmer material later on and a surprisingly liberating atmosphere achieved by putting the two styles side by side. Although this isn't the finest post-metal album you can get your hands on and nor the most interesting place to experience Steak Number Eight, the majority of this is well worth your time. Just be careful you don't singe your eyebrows.

With an average age of 18 between the four members and the sheer choice of band name, Steak Number Eight are enough to raise an eyebrow at. ‘Steak Number Eight’... It sounds confusing, illogical and perhaps even foolish but also strangely interesting. This summarizes a pretty sound definition of the music the young Belgium’s produce: bizarre yet appealing. They won a quick catapult to the music industry by winning Belgium’s most popular rock contest flanked by a prospective debut, and after All Is Chaos was released came bigger tours and chaotic shows.

In essence, All Is Chaos lives up to its name. If you’re looking for the maniacal mayhem with brutal changes in direction that people may associate with the word ‘chaos’ then you’re listening to the wrong album. This is the sort of chaos that is (purposefully) uncoordinated and erratic that takes each song on an unpredictable journey. The nine minute Track Into The Sky establishes this effect perfectly. The main focus of the song is atmosphere. Sometimes it’s almost lonesome with the crisp barking and shining singing creating a comforting aura. The wall of sound towards the end shields the abandoned harmony as the climax builds up, where Brent Vanneste’s chanting echoes throughout your heart till the end.

Steak Number Eight can fluctuate between their post rock lighter sides to their swamping lyrics at the smash of a cymbal; sometimes within the same song. The instant sludge bomb smacks you in the face during Stargazing. There are some menacing riffs and fidgety melodies within this track but the airy vocals add bluesy feel to the most radio-friendly song on All Is Chaos. What do you get if you mix a Baroness melody with Chino Moreno singing? It’s Black Fall. Most post rock tends to grow and climax as the song drifts on but with Black Fall there is no real climax- it just maintains a coherent level of curiosity that peaks in drastic moments such as drifting ambience, sullen grooves or yelling vocals.

The backdrops of glistening melodies heighten Vanneste’s uplifting vocals and the bass is most evident to give an underlining rumble of solemnity about The Calling. However on occasion there is a little too much added effect to them. Occasionally in All Is Chaos they are made to sound distorted or distant however the mature power behind the cries is stripped because of this slight over-production.

The adolescence of Steak Number Eight comes across mainly through the lyrics. Dickhead essentially is about a penis and includes a chorus of repeated “Banana, banana, banana…” But their juvenile nature is masked behind truly mature music. The same song is introduced with meaty sludge riffs and flexible atmospheric passages. Some grooves would even slide nicely into a Gojira song. Post rock glides stand alongside Kvelertak riffs on Pyromaniac but the childlike lyrics of “I’m going to burn you down…. Is it your doggy is it your daddy…” add a quality of innocence and undeniable fun about Steak Number Eight.

Steak Number Eight is a metal band out of Belgium and a highly talented one for that matter. Having randomly stumbled upon this album while on a trip to England, I was fearful that this would be some kind of metalcore-style crap. Thankfully, it wasn't and it completely blew me away the second I hit play.

It's mix of brutal, monstrously heavy sludge riffs and smooth, atmospheric leads, and with its surprisingly bearable vocals it really caught my attention. The fact that this band is so young and have already achieved an impressive level of musicianship is something few bands can get away with. They won a massive battle of the bands contest in their native land and the resulting success included touring across western Europe and the release of their debut album, 'When The Candle Dies Out'. A few years later, they coughed up what is a serious one-upped version of that album, 'All Is Chaos'.

This release kicks off with one of the funniest lines I've ever heard: "Your head is somewhat shaped like a banana... bananahead!"

After that, it just slaps you in the face with its heavy riffing, all on the first track, 'Dickhead'. The riffs are sludgy and violent, but they then change into soaring and equally atmospheric leads. The whole album is completely unpredictable, changing from sludgy to smooth in a matter of minutes. The vocals, unlike most sludge albums, are accessible, but still are rough with its share of screaming. It's a complete mindgame from start to finish. A lot of the songs are slow and even surprisingly quiet. There are some interesting moments that give the album the ability to consume its listener and throw him/her into a nightmarish and almost adolescent state of mind.

Steak Number Eight have succeeded in getting away with an original sound and passionate vocals with lyrics speaking of personal experiences and feelings. This is highly recommended to anyone looking for something different. 'All Is Chaos' is definitely on my list for best albums of 2012.