Review: “The Silver Lining Between the Stars” by Chaos Over Cosmos

Following the success of 2020’s “The Ultimate Multiverse“, an incredible critically acclaimed affair that saw Polish multi instrumentalist Rafał Bowman alongside Australian vocalist Joshua Ratcliff as Chaos Over Cosmos, the return of the project with “The Silver Lining Between the Stars” is as much of a highly anticipated release as they come. Founded in 2017 the project has created Science Fiction themed Progressive Metal with Electronic and Melodic Technical Death Metal touches to create something that is both a challenging and rewarding listen. Once again, the vocalist has changed between records and this time out American KC Lyon replaces Ratcliff, who in turn replaced Javier Calderon from Spain. It remains hard to imagine that the project is one that is done completely online by two talented musicians who have never met each other in the flesh but instead trade files and ideas in a meeting of the minds only possible with the advance of technology in the internet age…

The Silver Lining Between the Stars” comprises five epic stories of interstellar serial killers, introspective wendigos and nihilistic criticisms of religious institutions all based in a Galaxy filled with organized chaos with Lyon offering foretelling’s of death and destruction while depicting a range of elaborate deceptions both devious and cunning that could easily be the work of Isaac Asimov or Ray Bradbury, in places perhaps even tipping the hat to some great writers of the genre. Each of them is a stunning piece of work with Bowman creating a soundscape of multi layered guitar melodies in the vein of Intronaut, August Burns Red or Erra, accompanied by ambient synths, a rampaging drum machine and powerhouse rhythms. “Violent Equilibrium” is a 10 minute plus opener of gargantuan proportions that blasts us off into the World Chaos Over Cosmos have created with Lyon’s vocals that don’t come into play until the half way point sounding uncannily similar to those of the dearly departed Wayne Static of Static-X fame. The guitar work is stunningly vibrant, bursting with complexity and nuance, the tapping sections of “The Last Man in Orbit” adding a real gravity to the dense polyrhythmic base while the underpinning synths provide that textural depth that makes everything as deep as an ocean. The way the music switches elegantly from calm and tranquil to cold and sinister with stunning atmospheric effect is so brilliant there is a point where you might struggle to believe that this could be the work of a single person as the vision and forethought to create something as complex as this is can only come from a Master at work. Dedication, time and energy has been poured into creating something what is jaw dropping and can not be under estimated; so much so that when some Fear Factory esq riffs appear in “Control ZED” they sound almost lazy in comparison with the rest of it and stand out like a sore thumb. That being said the track is an absolute blinder, the finale a tour de force of Progressive Tech-Metal at its finest. The same can be said of the aching beginning of “The Sins Between the Stars“, which for the first 90 seconds or so would have you thinking you might have been zapped into something else with a beautiful clean vocal from K.C. Lyon over some meandering melodic and melancholic guitar work that builds back up to the more traditional sound of the project, accompanied by guest Keaton Lyon adding the brutal lows over 10 minutes of epic grandeur. The only possible complaint about this project could be the use of a drum machine as opposed to real thing with some oddly flat moments of snare or inhumanly fast driven parts that even the great Kevin Talley (ex-Chimaira, ex-Dying Foetus) might struggle to keep up with but in all honesty there is so much going on here that you might struggle to notice it in the wave after wave of sonic expression. If you listen to one album in the Progressive Tech-Metal genre having never listened to one before, then make it this one; it’s an absolute piece of otherworldly beauty [8.5/10]

Track listing

1. Violent Equilibrium
2. The Last Man in Orbit
3. Eternal Return (instrumental)
4. Control ZED
5. The Sins Between the Stars (ft. Keaton Lyon)

The Silver Lining Between the Stars” by Chaos Over Cosmos is out now and available over at bandcamp

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