CHAOSPHERE

"Chaosphere" is a very appropriate title for this album. The disc it is on isn't technically spherical but circular, it does however contain complete chaos. Here is a list of words that come to mind when listening to this album: Annihilation, assault, chaos, destruction, brutality, slaughter, trauma, unholiness, absolution, apocalypse etc.

I am a huge fan of extreme heavy metal and have heard a fair few bands heavier than your average Dream Theater, Pantera and Metallica sounds, even some heavier than Opeth and other death metal bands. I am not sure whether this is death metal or not but whatever it is it is the heaviest album I have ever heard in my life. It's not just the heavy guitar work that makes this heavy but it's also the subtle undertones. Technically albums like "Catch 33" and "Nothing" should be heavier since they are have lower tuned 8 string guitars, but its the whole structure of this album that makes it seem heavier to me. This album contains classic mindblowing complex time signatures and powerful riffage. The bass and drums are also heavy as hell and Jens really pushes his vocals to even heavier aspects.

"Chaosphere" is a journey of non stop brutality. It displays roots of both prog and thrash metal but it is a less technical display of thrash metal here. Look to the first two albums for some proper thrash. "Chaosphere" goes beyond thrash and death metal by creating a huge math metal, complex and calculated assault. This is the new heavy metal and Meshuggah are the kings of this, even better than fellow proggers Cynic who also dive into these sorts of complexities. The complexities of this album is what blows me away and what I think makes it the heaviest album I have ever heard.

The songs here are played quite fast, as well as the savage vocals which leave you with no room for breathe. There are no weak tracks on this album. Perhaps some of the riffs are a bit repetitive yet still mezmerizing. My favourite tracks are "Concatenation", "The Mouth Licking What You've Bled", "Sane" and "Elastic". These are the heaviest tracks which display the best vocal works.

The tracklisting and structure of the album is really clever. The first 7 tracks are endless brutality to a degree where you are so blown away by this assault that you don't think it can get any heavier. They save the heaviest track til last. "Elastic" is 15 minutes of absolute annihilation. Most of the song is brutally heavy yet it also has a weird experimental middle section that is long and builds up paranoia. This trick is used on "I" as well but not as well. It was also done at the end of Fantomas "Delivrium Cordia" album, yet this kinda failed as it was far too long and repititive and didn't go anywhere.

The middle section of "Elastic" is a bunch of weird chiming sounds that get faster and faster, building up paranoia as you know it is gonna explode into a brutal climax but you don't know when. Once it reaches top speed it suddenly slows down and catches you off guard leading into absolute slaughter. This is the only track that has ever left me exhausted. I think it is so heavy that it did me some psychological harm!

"Chaosphere" is a big step up for extreme heavy metal and overall a masterpiece. Not only is the music excellent but the intellectual structure of the music is something that add's amazingness to this album. Highly recommended if you can stomach your music being this heavy!