All Is Chaos

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.