Chronicle – Where Chaos Thrives
Release Date: 19th May 2023
Label: Mighty Music
Bandcamp
Genre: Melodic Death Metal, Technical Death Metal, Thrash.
FFO: The Black Dahlia Murder, Children of Bodom, Revocation, Allegaeon.
Review By: Rick Farley
Denmark’s high energy, melodic death metal band Chronicle sits very comfortable with the description of The Black Dahlia Murder meets Allegaeon meets Children of Bodom, just without the keys. If the combination of hammering melodic death, technical thrash elements, relentlessly fast drums, soaring virtuosic solos and catchy guitar harmonies are your jam, look no further than to these Dane’s third full length album, Where Chaos Thrives.
The band consists of (guitar/vocals) Lars Bo Nepper, (guitars) Sebastian Skousgaard, (bass/vocals) Jacob Wammen, and (drums) Jari S. Holopainen. All highly competent musicians who shine through on the technical aspect of intricate but catchy as fuck song writing. This has a complex feel without sounding of huge amounts of wankery. Chronicle are the modern version of complimentary styles blending together with a hellish energy and restrained virtuosity. At times this does hinder Where Chaos Thrives to some degree, simply because the record itself, as a whole, occasionally feels a little disjointed. It struggles to fully manifest itself as having a unified direction. It often reminds me a little too much of the three previously mentioned bands and takes far too long in finding its own voice. What it lacks in overall originality, Chronicle does make up for in sheer ferocity, this record sounds fucking angry and is worth every bit of headbanging it will induce.
With tinges of black metal on the second half of the record, and little bits of moody ethereal melodies, it starts to feel less predictable. Grandiose blackened elements lead tracks like New Dark Age into fresher realms. Huge walls of dense darkness hulking over punishing blasting marks a switch in moods from thrashing to terrifyingly menacing that will eventually lead to silky harmonized guitars that trail out to the end of the track, makes this as an easy choice to keep going back to. It’s Life Erasure though that stands out the most, where the dark undertones truly align and become clearer in identity. Ultra-fast catchiness, undeniably fierce riffs, and huge amounts of melancholic melody light this track up. Midway through, the bass glides along like an unpredictable snake while the guitars solo, soaring over top, the crestfallen melodies forcing the listener into a trance like state. Horror Unearthed is a savage beast of gymnastic style riffs that lead to quick tempo tremolo picked guitar lines that are pure black metal nastiness. Trading from raspy screams, low gutturals, shouty gang vocals and the occasional pig squeal give the vocals a lot of personality and is the most defining strength of the record.
The production is full on punchy and thick. At times it feels like a slug in the jaw with the crunch of the guitars and the low end of the mix. All production, mixing and mastering was handled by Tue Madsen and comes across at times like a weighty freight train. The atmospheric, almost apocalyptic artwork was masterfully done by Samuel Nelson and seems to capture the mood of the record.
Where Chaos Thrives is not going to set the metal word on fire, but honestly it doesn’t really have to. It’s an energetic bashing of crunch, fierce anger, and atmospheric moodiness that is very enjoyable. The problem is, when you have a sound that sometimes treads too close to some other legendary bands, you’re always going to be compared to them and judged against their best work. This results in a lot of good bands being lost in the shuffle. Which is unfortunate because this is definitely a worthy album to put in your collection. Despite its stylistic flaws, Chronicle will surely please most metalheads and should be spun often. 
(3.5 / 5)
