... CHAOS ECHOES "Tone of Things to Come"

After the split-up of Bloody Sign about two years ago, brothers Uibo (Kalevi on guit/voc and Ilmar on drums/voc) are back with an amazing new band, named just like their third and last album : CHAOS ECHOES, nothing hazardous at all in this moniker choice...

Oh, first, let me remind you that Bloody Sign was (one of) the best DM band coming out from France in the first decade of this final century; consisting of just 3 albums in 15 years of existence, their discography was in my opinion the most consistent in terms of composition, evolution and uncompromised personality... This last album, Chaos Echoes, was their most extreme and unpredictable too, a gate opened towards more hellish experimentations with the addition of two like-minded guys named Stefan Thanneur (bass/voc) and Etienne Testart (guit/voc... also in Children of Doom and Evisceration !).

In fact CHAOS ECHOES did things quickly, geographically splited in various parts of France, the 4 maniacs just rehearsed a couple of times all together and then directly entered the Grillen Studio in Colmar during 3 days to record this 6 songs affair that is this incredible "Tone of Things to Come" !

The result is pretty unique believe me; have you ever thought about an ultimate mix of Death, Black and Doom Metal with evilized vocals, an old-school and experimental edge at the same time, not forgetting a commanding aura that make the overall terribly infectious ??? A band that comes with a heartly-felt evil sound made of old recipes and fresh mushrooms... A band that can be a new NECROS CHRISTOS or PORTAL, soulful and devastating.

First song "Rise" is a good introduction to this new tortured world that will soon be yours, the most classical song in its structure I would say, with a fast desecrating tempo and yet a solid drum performance that makes a lot in the mood creation. All along the album there's lots of tome work which adds a ritualistic touch and even in the fastest parts Ilmar succeed to surprise, just listen "Black Mantra" and you'll also wonder if it's a human playing or not ! Another surprising thing in Rise is the apparition of vocals at the very end of the song, this is before all a MUSICAL project (at least towards the execution of this debut) but they could be a bit more present considering their general quality, for the guys know perfectly how to share them depending of the different moods.

Starting with a mystical atmosphere, then sinister, "The Innermost Depths of Knowledge" is a vicious mid-tempo, oppressive and malevolent, it's penetrating your soul to end in a devilish dementia.

One can not forget to speak about "Interzone I" and "Interzone II", short interludes enhancing the dark and mystic atmospheres with ambient effects which we also can find here and there in "normal" songs...

Back to this "Black Mantra",a real highlight, it has it all : a slow and doomy introduction with an horror feeling, that suffocating up-tempo, brillant solos (a constant quality here) which sometimes remind some early moments of Morbid Angel, there's a succession of solos in this song between Kalevi and Etienne that is amazing (the more rock'n roll background of Etienne is even giving a slight groovy tone but that's really brief !). I'm not surprised that Michel Dumas is a fan of the band ;)

Talking about Doom, last song "Weather the Storm" can undoubtedly be ranged in the genre and is more the result of the darkest and most hallucinating sound experimentations of the guys; trippy and still nicely menacing, it closes this first studio experience too quickly and let a strange little bitter taste or maybe it should have not been placed at the last row because not the most representative of their originality, richness and unpredictability.

Anyway, even if too short, this is a stunning surprise and if you like Blackened DEATH Metal with Doomy atmospheres and largely above the average musicianship, an album you should in no case miss ! This year has been exceptionally rich for the french scene but along with the new album of Northwinds I place this "Tone of Things to Come" above everything else; now let's hope that this is just a beginning and that 2013 will bring more from this lethal quatuor.

http://chaosechoes.org/
https://www.facebook.com/chaosechoes