Review: “Self titled” by Chiaroscuro

The story goes that vocalist and lyricist Cassiopeia and guitarist and song writer Nick Temoshok met during a brief stint in a local Baltimore band. They found themselves sharing a different vision and soon separated from the pack to start afresh and create a project that was better suited to their creative thought process. That project is Chiaroscuro, a five piece Melodic Death Metal outfit that takes it’s name from the contrast of light and shade in drawing and painting. Seeking like minded musicians the duo found percussionist Adam Smith, bassist Ben Baris and live rhythm guitarist Clay Baucom and after a self produced demo was released last year, local shows were undertaken to build their reputation. Building on those foundations a debut EP was recorded, produced by Wes Walker at Eternal Rapture Studio in Aberdeen Maryland and adorned by a piece of art titled “The Maniac Father and the Convict Brother are Gone – The Poor Girl, Homeless, Friendless, Deserted, Destitute, and Gin Mad, Commits Self Murder” from the “The Drunkard’s Children” series, Plate VIII (1848) by George Cruikshank…

“Chiaroscuro is a converging point of careful study and artistic impulse, conducted through an interpretation of melodic extreme metal forms” – Cassiopeia

Back in 2003 when the first wave of American Metalcore rose to surface inspired by the Gothenburg sound of Melodic Death Metal, a band like Chiaroscuro would have been thrown on the funeral pyre of bands labelled as being part of that scene. In reality, while the guitars to bare similarities to the early works of that scene and records like “Forever Scorned” by It Dies Today, for the most part this is much more furious and ferocious burnt offering. Opening cut “Sunbeat” finds Cassiopeia offering up dry, raspy and shriller than most Death Metal style vocals, ranting and raving through the lyric sheet as if possessed by a demon hell bent on a tidal wave of destruction. Who provides the deeper, darker vocal moments that precede the solo remain a mystery, the vocal layering and blast beats put to good use. It’s the kind of music that Furnace Festival was made for so when “Hekatomb of Malevolence” comes in swinging, it’s no surprise that the intensity of the sonic abrasions has been turned up a notch. It’s as if a metaphorical log has been thrown on the fire as a warped sounding solo rolls down the ear canal and Smith blasts his way out.

Cut from the same cloth as early works from The Black Dahlia Murder “Unbridled Darkness” bursts into life like a geothermal spring loaded with dark melodies and twisted thorns. The guitars are rich and vibrant in places, providing the textural soundscape on which the savage vocal performance sits, the restless and relentless drumming taking a leaf from the book of Black Metal with its stature. Weaving a little more complexity into the tapestry “A Song for Ghosts” is perhaps the most powerful statement piece of the offering, playing with the fire as a scalding solo melts the fretboard. A perfectly executed false ending allows for an avant-garde moment that circles the drain of Jazz before returning to normality with the power of a sucker punch. There is no doubting the talent that this five piece have at their disposal and in some ways listening to this record reminds of listening to “The Silent Circus” by Between The Buried And Me for the first time. It’s not a question of what they have done but one of where they go from here and if they can maintain the beautifully struck balance between light and shade on their next batch of sonic creations [8/10]

Track Listing

1. Sunbeat
2. Hekatomb of Malevolence
3. Unbridled Darkness
4. A Song for Ghosts ​

“Self titled” by Chiaroscuro is out 28th March 2025 via Unholy Anarchy Records and is available over at bandcamp.