Chaos Moon for Experimental/Post-Metal

Chaos Moon is the atmospheric black metal brainchild of American multi-instrumentalist Alex Poole, who performs under the nom de guerre Esoterica. Formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 2004, the group has since relocated to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As Poole is the sole constant member in an ever-shifting lineup, Chaos Moon's sound has taken a non-linear path through different forms of depressive black metal, incorporating doom, ambient and shoegaze influences.

After accruing three years' worth of material through his former black metal project Ringar, Poole's debut LP, Origin of Apparition, and its sister album Languor Into Echoes, Beyond were released in mid and late 2007 respectively. While Origin demonstrated a more aggressive and caustic approach, the critically acclaimed Languor - an early masterpiece in the nascent so-called "blackgaze" genre - leaned more towards reflective post-rock and post-punk, with ambient interludes and evocative, textural guitar work referencing coldwave bands such as admitted influence Asylum Party and 4AD dreampop stalwarts Cocteau Twins. While Poole collaborated with vocalist/synthesist for the duology, the lineup would shift for 2009's Beauty. Darkness. Chaos. split with Frostmoon Eclipse and Benighted in Sodom, with Enfold Darkness drummer Jack Blackburn joining Poole for their three-song contribution. 2011's independently-released The Ouroboros Worm EP showed the band experimenting with a more avant-garde direction, with Poole once again handling most of the instrumental duty, with Blackburn once again on drums accompanied by his fellow Enfold Darkness bandmate James Turk on bass and Nathan Kite of The Many performing vocals.

Dissatisfied with the direction Chaos Moon were taking, Poole formed the new band Esoterica the same year with Blackburn and his brother Steven on bass, releasing a handful of splits and EPs as well as one-full length before ultimately disbanding in 2016. Poole would simultaneously resuscitate Chaos Moon in 2013 with the self-released Plaguebearer's Gift EP, featuring tracks recorded before the break-up, and this time featuring Benighted in Sodom's Matron Thorn on vocals. With a renewed sense of inspiration during his time writing for Esoterica, Poole released Chaos Moon's third full-length, Resurrection Extract, via I, Voidhanger Records in 2014, refining the post-black metal sound pioneered on Languor Into Echoes, Beyond, with vocals provided by Jon Rosenthal (bassist of Stellar Descent and Starless Domain).

A more stable lineup began to take shape in 2015 as Jack Blackburn and Manetheren vocalist Eric Baker became permanent members, with the latter performing on the 2015 EP Amissum. After two unsatisfactory efforts to record and master the band's fourth LP, Steven Blackburn was invited into the fold as a full-time member and to assist with the writing process, and the third attempt ultimately proved successful. Issued via Blood Music, 2017's Eschaton Mémoire showed a further expansion of Chaos Moon's sound, introducing marked inspiration from long-time influence Emperor (namely In the Nightside Eclipse) and atmospheric sludge metal.

Chaos Moon come highly recommended to fans of Mare Cognitum, Weakling, Lantlôs, Wolves in the Throne Room, Alcest, Darkspace, Spectral Lore and Caïna.

"The Ouroboros Worm" EP (2011)

"Languor into Echoes, Beyond" (2007)

"Resurrection Extract" (2014)

"Eschaton Mémoire" (2017)

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