Chaos Synopsis - Art Of Killing (2013) - Pitiless death metal with a few big surprises - 80% (21/02/13)

Usually, I'm not at all into all too brutal metal genres such as death metal and that's why I hesitated to check out the Brazilian band Chaos Synopsis. The interesting concept about the lives and works of famous serial killers all around the world and the fact that the band also mixes thrash metal elements into its sound convinced me though to give this release a spin. I happened to be pleasently surprised by this album. Despite its pitiless speed and very raw vocals, the band employs many gripping thrash or even groove metal riffs that stayed on my mind.

The opener "Son of Light" is sheer madness with its heavy and thundering riffs, its unchained vocals and its discordant but addicting guitar solo. The band takes no prisoners right from the start and they managed to immediately get me on their side as I was truly impressed by this brutal energy. I kept listening to the album and it only got better despite two or three fillers. "Rostov Ripper" includes a mid tempo groove part that comes as a welcome break from all the insane speed passages. "Bay Harbour Butcher" has a very cool and almost scratching or slightly unclean guitar sound in some passages and even a few almost doom metal orientated riffs. This song is very diversified but nevertheless energizing and the first true album highlight. The band should write more of this unpredictable high quality material in the future.

My favourite songs are though still to come. "B.T.K. (Bind, Torture, Kill)" is a song that still impresses me a lot. It opens with great thrash metal riffs and a few interesting drum fills and variations. The vocals don't vary that much but fit to the brutal topic and the pitiless music. The middle part suddenly includes a few discordant southern rock or blues chords performed by a slide guitar or something similar that remind me of ZZ Top. A few more modern riffs and sound experiments can also be found in the second half of that track before it ends with that intriguing southern rock guitar sounds once again. "Monster of the Andes" starts with a very dominating bass intro before heavy doom metal riffs kick in and give the song a very sinister atmosphere. The opening moments are very intriguing but the band shifts a little bit too quickly to its usual death and thrash metal style. These four guys definitely have some talent but should elaborate a more complex song writing from time to time.

The biggest surprise though comes at the end. The band finishes its album with the great instrumental title track that includes elements of many other songs you have heard before but mixes them into something completely new and unique. The opening moments are very calm and atmospheric and have a few dominant bass guitar parts. Soon, thrash metal parts kick off but they remain in this genre without touching the death metal spectre which I personally like a lot. Sliding guitar parts with a slight blues rock touch can also be heard again. New elements such as string passages and a short retro heavy metal guitar solo still leave me stunning. Some passages come back once in a while and serve as a thought out guiding line but the band employs many ideas and includes many changes in a running time of over six minutes. Even though this is an instrumental song and by far the longest track on the release, it's probably the most entertaining piece of music on this record. It includes multiple changes and requests some time to grow but it still has a coherent structure. The song ends as original as it started in form of a chilling acoustic guitar closure. The four musicians definitely prove their talent in this song and I hope they will do similar stuff once in a while in the future. This track alone is worth the favourable rating I gave this surprising release in the end.

Fans of death metal with a strong thrash metal influence should definitely get this record. Other metal fans might be surprised by a few blues rock elements and especially by the outstanding album closer and title track that could even please to progressive metal fans. I'm glad I gave this record a chance and discovered a true little treasure. In the last few days, this album had a few spins in my stereo and will surely get some more of it in the near future. If somebody who is very sceptical about death metal in general as me already gives this album such a great rating, what might the true death metal fans say? Well, I guess you should just try it out...