Finally another Death Metal entrance in my personal yearlist! Almost the year had gone by, but The Chasm came to serve a very delicate dish of authentic and honest Death Metal that will make you drewl upon first listening. I have to be honest here, a friend of mine told me to gave this band a listen as he was quite impressed by their older releases. My thoughts of The Chasm since then were that they had the ideas and control over their instruments, but somehow it didn’t came out right for me. ‘The Spell of Retribution’ is a sarcastic title as it got “classic” written all over it and laughs in my face for ignoring the band too long.
The Chasm has reached a state of absolute maturity, helped by a decent label and production, but moreover by 11 songs that stand tall and pride. Crafted by hardworking men, these melodic and moody songs are epic stories in their own right. No single riff is a mere filler, hell no, every single note makes up an important part of the whole magnum opus ‘The Spell of Retribution’ is.
The structures they’ve chosen are not the ones from more simplistic metaltunes and the shortest song is still around 5 minutes long. This doesn’t mean it’s very hard to get in to, it means you’ll be sitting on the edge of your seat waiting for what’s next to come. This is Death Metal in a refreshing, but still recognizable way. It has an authentic “old-school” vibe as it hails the good old days of (Death/Thrash/Doom) metal. Never just covering those days, but respectfully utilize the best of those days, The Chasm more then blend in their own South-American identity and created the first classic album I’ve heard since years.
Even the whole concept of the album is well thought off. Just take the coverdesign, all items on the cover have a particular meaning. Together with the songs that handle about the concept of spiritual freedom and ancient heritage among others, this album is huge. Not an easy task to make a lengthy, original and appealing album, within the boundaries of Death Metal. The Chasm pulled it off.
No bullshit people, get this one or you’ll be missing the (Death) Metal highlight of not only this year, but years to come.
