CHAOS OVER COSMOS

"A Dream if Ever There Was One" is the third full-length studio album by multi-national progressive metal act Chaos Over Cosmos. The album was independently released in November 2022. It´s the successor to "The Silver Lining Between the Stars" from August 2021 and features the same duo lineup who recorded the predecessor in Rafał Bowman (Guitars, Bass, Keyboards, Programming) and vocalist KC Lyon. Keaton Lyon performs guest vocals on "Navigating by Moonlight". "A Dream if Ever There Was One" features six new compositions (40 minutes of music) and four previously released tracks in slightly different versions (new vocals, remastered and/or with added studio editings and effects), which adds up to an additional 24-25 minutes of music.

Stylistically the material on "A Dream if Ever There Was One" continues the futuristic sci-fi oriented progressive metal style of "The Silver Lining Between the Stars". It´s technical music featuring fast-paced riffs, even faster melodic lead guitar work (sometimes neo-classical influenced), well programmed drums, omnipresent futuristic sounding synths/keyboards, and aggressive screaming vocals on top (and occasional clean vocals). Some of the riffs/rhythms and especially the vocals belong in core territory (or 90s melodic death metal higher pitched screaming territory), but most of the instrumental part of the music is fast-paced and technical progressive metal. This is for those who enjoy their music busy and incredibly fast...ultra fast...ridiculously fast. The velocity is insane. You can of course program drums to play as fast you like, but especially the guitars are played at at impressive pace throughout the release. On the basis of that I´m not sure if Bowman isn´t also partically a mechanical being (a cyborg). It´s impossible not to be impressed by the blistering shredding which the listener is treated to (as the band write on their Bandcamp in the liner notes to this release: "Expect inhuman, technical and modern prog metal.").

The cold sci-fi atmosphere works well with the band´s songwriting approach although it can all at times get a little sterile and digital sounding. A little less polish and a bit more rawness to the production could have provided the recording with a bit more soul. When that is said I´m still highly entertained throughout the album´s playing time. The tracks are complex in structure, something new and exciting is happening all the time, the performances are on a high level, the sound production suits the material, and upon conclusion "A Dream if Ever There Was One" is therefore another high quality release from Chaos Over Cosmos. A 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives).

"The Silver Lining Between the Stars" is the 2nd full-length studio album by multi-national progressive metal act Chaos Over Cosmos. The album was independently released in August 2021. It´s the successor to "The Unknown Voyage" from 2018 although the band have released a couple of EPs and "The Ultimate Multiverse (2020)" compilation album in the years between the two album releases. Chaos Over Cosmos is basically a one-man project featuring Polish musician Rafał Bowman (and a revolving door of lead vocalists) who plays all instruments and handles all programming on the album. American singer KC Lyon is new in the lineup on "The Silver Lining Between the Stars" and he replaces Joshua Ratcliff.

Stylistically the material on "The Silver Lining Between the Stars" is technical/progressive metal with screaming aggressive vocals and clean vocals on the closing track "The Sins Between the Stars". Blistering fast-paced lead guitar themes and solos, heavy riffs, keyboards/synths and well programmed drums. The album features a futuristic sci-fi atmosphere which is further enhanced by the lyrics and the cover artwork.

"The Silver Lining Between the Stars" features 5 tracks and a total playing time of 35:11 minutes. Opening track "Violent Equilibrium" is an almost 11 minutes long composition and it´s an unconventionally structured song too, as it´s fully instrumental for the first 5 minutes before the vocals kick in. Already at this point it should be obvious to anyone listening that Bowman is an extraordinary musician and a skilled composer too. My jaw drops several times during "Violent Equilibrium" and that continues on "The Last Man in Orbit" (which is a slightly more synth heavy track) and on the instrumental "Eternal Return".

Chaos Over Cosmos could easily have opted to continue down that path on the next two tracks, but here´s where Bowman throws in a couple of surprises as "Control ZED" features a couple of more simple and catchy moments, which at times sounds almost punkish (while still being a very technical and progressive track), and "The Sins Between the Stars" shows the band in an even more eclectic mood, as it´s a slow building progressive track featuring many different sections and atmospheres, and as mentioned above also clean vocals.

The album is a well produced affair, and I think the programmed drums are well arranged and pretty well sounding too. The only flaw is that the hi-hat sometimes has a digital tone, but it´s a minor flaw, and the programmed drums overall work well. Upon conclusion Chaos Over Cosmos have made great advances in terms of songwriting (although there are times when the different sections feel a bit disjointed), performances, and production values, and "The Silver Lining Between the Stars" is a high quality technical/progressive metal release. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives)

One of the indicators of a brave new world is the fact that bands can now congregate remotely and create albums together without the members ever even meeting in person! Such is the case for the Polish / Australian project CHAOS OVER COSMOS which is the brainchild of guitarist, bassist, keyboardist and drum programmer Rafal Bowman (the Polish side of the equation) who created his project in 2017 and has released two full albums and two EPs. Originally pairing up with Spanish vocalist Javier Calderón, in 2019 Josh Ratcliff replaced Javier and together the duo set forth to craft one of those what i call space metal albums. You know, the kind that mixes the clean vocal driven complex compositional approach of progressive metal along with the immediacy and abrasiveness of metalcore, death metal and power metal. Add to that an eerie atmospheric presence sweeping the backdrop of the stellar guitar workouts and you are in for the perfect metal soundtrack for a journey to the farthest reaches of the solar system and beyond!

THE ULTIMATE MULTIVERSE is a bit confusing in its status as some databases list it as an album whereas other tout it as a compilation. In many ways it is both but in general it's a compilation of the two EPs released before with some changes such as re-recorded guitar parts, better production and an overall tidying up of aspects that perfectionist artists go bonkers about. That seems to be quite the thing in extreme progressive metal. Whatever the case, THE ULTIMATE MULTIVERSE plays as a fully functioning album in its own right with six track that add up to nearly 42 minutes of playing time. The album has found a home on the Narcoleptica Productions label and finds Rafal in good form with an endless array of stellar technical infused guitar chops that exist in the nebulous betweenness of power metal, progressive metal, technical death metal, metalcore with touches of thrash and neoclassical workouts.

Upon first listen i wasn't overly impressed as these types of albums seem to be a dime a dozen as millions of dedicated musicians have crafted some excellent music over the lasts few decades however with a few more spins this all really started to sink in. With most progressively infused techy metal, it requires multiple exposures to really comprehend the true nature of its inner nerdiness. While much tech metal can be completely abstract and take a drive down Meshuggah Avenue, CHAOS OVER COSMOS is careful to keep the melodic aspects of death metal at hand as to create a modicum of accessibility as not to scare off any potential listeners. The beauty is that is is only slightly melodic and the chaotic aspects are not far behind. The melodic touches mostly come from the cosmic synth backdrops that provide the perfect drone effect upon which the rampaging guitars and bass can stomp upon. While there is no drummer and the entire album features drum machines, you'd actually never know it because Rafal has masterfully incorporated it into the fabric of the musical experience.

Generally speaking THE ULTIMATE MULTIVERSE is almost like two albums transposed upon each other. It comes off as a lost Fates Warning album with progressive compositions with clean vocals the allow variations in the dynamics that include space rock sleepy moments as well as heavier metal outbursts that offer power metal sensibilities with classic metal and neoclassical guitar wankery however the extreme parts of the metal are fueled with death metal and metalcore extremities which allow a much faster, louder and more dynamic display of metal aggression. The keyboards are mostly subordinate to the guitar, bass and drums providing an atmospheric backdrop and there are no crazy wild Dream Theater type keyboard solos however this restraint actually works in the album's favor as it forces you to focus on the guitar aspects while the atmospheric flows tweak your perceptions. For basically a one-man project with the addition of a vocalist, THE ULTIMATE MULTIVERSE is an impressive slab of competent metal majesty that comes across as professional and carefully crafted. If there is any weakness of the album at all, that would probably be that this project doesn't stand out of the crowds as much as i would hope so hopefully CHAOS OVER COSMOS will expand its creativity to include a WOW factor that this one is lacking. Still though, excellent extreme tech metal album all the way through. Perhaps bands like Obscura are the closest comparisons.

"The Ultimate Multiverse" is a compilation album by multi-national progressive metal act Chaos Over Cosmos. The album was released through Narcoleptica Productions in June 2020. The material on "The Ultimate Multiverse" is compiled from the EP's "Chaos Over Cosmos (2019)" and "II (2020)". Chaos Over Cosmos is a duo project consisting of Joshua Ratcliff (vocals) and Rafał Bowman (all instruments and programming), who live in Australia and Poland respectively. The two have never met in person, so all parts are recorded individually and then put together for the final release. The band released their debut album "The Unknown Voyage" in 2018.

Stylistically the music is melodic metal featuring elements from melodic death metal, metalcore, power metal and progressive metal. While there are a lot of differences between the two acts, I think an act like Into Eternity is a valid reference, at least to some point. The tracks on "The Ultimate Multiverse" sounds a bit like they were composed to be played and listened to in instrumental versions, and sometimes the vocals seem like an afterthought. The instrumental part of the music is very busy and especially the omnipresent fast melodic guitar runs and futuristic synths/keyboards dominate the soundscape. The programmed drums are decent, but not more than that, and it's another example of a release featuring programmed drums where a human drummer could have added so much more to the music. It all becomes a little too sterile, because of the programmed drum sound and stiff playing style.

There's nothing wrong with the musicianship though, and especially Bowman is an incredibly skilled composer and musician. He knows what he is doing and he is more than capable of playing the adventurous and technically challenging pieces he composes. If he could learn a little restraint and not play a million notes almost constantly throughtout he release, I'd say there is a chance that he could compose some extraordinay material in the future. The material on "The Ultimate Multiverse" is interesting, futuristic sounding, and overall of a good quality, but the vocal parts need to be better integrated and not sound like they were forced upon tracks which were originally composed to be played in instrumental versions. The vocals vary between growling, screaming, distorted with effects raw vocals, and clean vocals. None of the vocal styles are particularly original, but they get the job done and they are generally decent enough.

So upon conclusion "The Ultimate Multiverse" is a bit of a difficult album to rate and describe for that matter. It's eclectic and adventurous, and there are some very impressive technical playing here and some beautiful melodic parts, but there are also some sterile programmed drums, and vocals which feel a bit like an afterthought and which aren't particularly interesting, so there are both good and not so good features on the album, and a 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating isn't all wrong.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives)

The passion for music cannot be limited by borders and chaos or cosmos is living proof of this. The Polish Australian project is currently made up of guitar virtuoso and multi-instrumentalist Rafal Bowman and singer Joshua Radcliff.

Lead of track Cascading Darkness features a mischievous play between synth and some interesting but pleasant riffs showing a very versatile combination of different elements between them with a mix of melancholic growls and lyrical singing with the two vocal styles being mixed together. The album continues with what is probably my favorite on the album, a song called One Hundred. This song starts out with a calming feeling, with sounds of rain and thunder, this is until the song brings back the magic with ambient synth harmonies infused with some science fiction vibes, extremely melodic guitar lines and a clean vocal. The third song Worlds Apart is a heavier song. The progressive guitar parts give the song a feeling of being worlds apart which is as appropriate as its name. It is really a dense layered and gloomy song with the over-the-top solo providing some melody in the second half. Definitely another highlight of the album. Consumed continues the album with an intensity that is full of positive energy. There's a lot to take in with this song. The song is full of energy and melody as once again Bowman shows his virtuosity as a guitar player while Radcliff provides some growls and some clean vocals that highlight his capabilities as well. The fifth track on the album We Will Not Fail escalates and grows in Intensity as it progresses. The final track of the album is called Asimov. It is an instrumental and the shortest song on the album. This closing track has a very sedate start and a beautiful melodic solo. As an instrumental song it gives you a story to listen to and the changing tempo gives the song a voice. Giving fans of the heavier side of progressive metal something they would definitely appreciate.

Rating-83%

Recommended Tracks: Cascading Darkness & One Hundred.

And now, for a return to music reviews, at least to some degree, so what better way to kick things off than with a requested review? Anyway, in general I've always had a problem with the prog metal scene, and believe that it's one of the genres to have stagnated the most of all, with many bands simply following a very bland formula based largely off of long songs and showing off their technicality rather than having writing that I find engaging. This album however, manages to be an example of a band following a lot of conventions of prog metal, not even adding too much new, but executing it well enough for it to be quite enjoyable regardless for a variety of reasons.

I feel what this album does quite well is how most of these songs take from different types of prog metal, not really adding much of a spin on things usually, but demonstrating some great skill in the various aspects of the genre. Tracks such as Cascading Darkness have a clear focus on the harsher side of prog metal, with the harsher vocals combined with breakneck riffs, providing a sense of urgency to the song. I really like the cleaner sections throughout the album as well, with the vocal effects put on it giving it a spacey, ethereal quality that I'm a big fan of, as it's executed quite well in order to give the album some genuinely engaging qualities. It's One Hundred that I personally consider the best track here however, due to how different it sounds at points, along with being genuinely emotionally powerful in parts. The heavy use of synth in parts of this is prominent enough to almost give it a synthwave aesthetic that I'm a big fan of, which is paired really nicely with how powerful the chorus is, being immediately ear catching and kinda moving, something that I find quite rare in prog metal.

The final track, Asimov further demonstrates the fact that this is a deceptively versatile album, being an instrumental track that evokes the sort of cold, futuristic atmosphere of bands like Animals As Leaders, but also demonstrates the great instrumental side of the band greatly. The guitarist is able to belt out some killer solos throughout without ever feeling as if it's excessive enough for the music to just feel like a lame vessel for pure wankery, a balance which I consider absolutely essential to good prog metal. I've also got to mention the fact that despite the fact that these are programmed drums, that they sound extremely good in general, not just feeling as if it's repeating the same few loops over and over, but actually having enough variation in the playing that I don't think I'd be able to even slightly tell that these were programmed.

Overall, I'm always glad to be shown prog metal that I genuinely would listen to again in the future, especially lately, since I love being proven wrong about probably disliking an album. definitely something that I'd consider a worthwhile listen overall, as while it may not be something that reinvents the wheel or anything like that, it's very solid prog metal with some great, spacey atmosphere to go along with it. Chaos Over Cosmos definitely has the potential to become something great if they step out of their comfort zone a bit more, but even as is, I enjoy this quite a bit and would recommend to those looking for some well put together prog metal.

Best tracks: One Hundred, Cascading Darkness

Weakest tracks: Consumed, Worlds Apart