Chaoseum - The Third Eye

Labels: Self-Released

Formats: Vinyl/CD/Digital

Release Date: 04 Nov 2022

Tracklist:

1. I Sexy Zombie

2. Unreal

3. Dance On my Grave

4. The Third Eye

5. Fly Away

6. My Wonderland

7. Welcome Home

8. Until The End

9. Sanctum Cinerem

10. What If

Switzerland, a country lauded for it's most well known extreme metal exports Hellhammer and Celtic Frost, isn't one that spawns a lot of bands nowadays (though I'm probably not the most clued up on their modern day scene). Chaoseum are one of the most recent bands I've come across and late last year they released their most recent album The Third Eye. Citing their sound as being somewhere between nu-metal, metalcore and industrial metal, I was especially intrigued as I'm trying to write about a broader range of metal this year. This is their third album, following 2018's First Step To Hell and 202's Second Life.

The nu-metal term is dying one minute and then alive the next. The US is leading the way with bands that carry it’s influences into their music, yet Europe also has it’s share too, including Chaoseum. Their sound on opener ‘I Sexy Zombie’ sits somewhere between Korn, Fear Factory and Threat Signal for me. It’s certainly not offensive on the ear, with crunching industrial guitars, groove-laden percussion, orchestral melodies and vocals that flip between both clean, and harsh.

There’s an impact to Chaoseum’s music that does grab you even though ‘Unreal’ invokes the aforementioned Korn a bit too closely at times. I’m not being critical of the band here as it’s fine to wear your influences on your sleeve, and I may be off the mark with the comparison but that’s what I hear. With that being said though, the guitar work really stands out especially during the solo towards the end. The glitchy electronic intro of ‘Dance On My Grave’ is exhilarating and highlights the industrial side to Chaoseum’s music, though it doesn’t hide their penchant of Americanisms. It is a bit hard to tell that they’re from Europe at times, especially thanks to some questionable lyrics here and there.

Eastern musical tones break things up on instrumental interlude ‘The Third Eye’, which is also curiously the album’s title-track, leading straight into ‘Fly Away’. There’s an obvious comparison I could make at this point but instead I want to appreciate what I’m listening too, as despite all I’ve said so far, it’s very listenable and I’m sure many of you will grow to appreciate it for what it is too. This song in particular is more mature musically. In no time at all you’re being thrust into the album’s second half with the stirring vocal harmonies of ‘My Wonderland’. More grooves and some pleasing off-kilter rhythms seem to drag The Third Eye away from it’s nu-metal leanings and down a darker path. It’s excellent to be honest.

This half is definitely more enjoyable than the first half to me (but then again music and opinions are subjective). ‘Welcome Home’ contains angsty atmosphere and melodies that give way to a great up-tempo verse/chorus-like passage. The rest of the song follows in the same vein pleasingly (despite my neighbour upstairs trying their best to drown it out with overly noisy movements!). ‘Until The End’ comes across as a very personal song lyric-wise and because of that it tugs at your emotions more so than others on The Third Eye. It’s more like a ballad and there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s isn’t much longer though before Chaoseum whips out their Korn impression again on penultimate song ’Sanctum Cinerem’ and despite my cynicism, there’s nothing really to dislike about it at this point. 

Closing song ‘What If’ starts with what sounds like a sample that’s a bit weird but not out of place. It leads into a song that shows Chaoseum at their melodic best. It leads me to think that they’re still finding their true sound. Musically they’re pretty spot on and when they’re not trying too hard to sound like their American influences, on ‘Fly Away’ and ‘Welcome Home’ for example, they’re excellent. Ultimately, there’s much more to love about them than to dismiss. Let me know what you think!

You can stream and purchase The Third Eye digitally below:-

Physical CD and vinyl copies can be purchased via Chaoseum's online store here - https://chaoseumstore.com

Chaoseum - https://www.facebook.com/chaoseum