Chapel Of Disease | website | facebook |
Released on January 16, 2015 via FDA Rekotz
Chapel Of Disease have caused quite a stir on the death metal scene recently. Approaching from a purely old school angle, their debut album Summoning Black Gods was a refreshing burst of inspiration in an otherwise stagnant scene. Floundering on its past glories and struggling to find a way forward, the death metal scene needed a short sharp shock and it looks likely that Chapel Of Disease may well have given it. Of course this could could have been a one off and their follow up may just be another death metal album.
Except it’s not and in The Mysterious Ways Of Repetitive Art the band may well have defined what death metal can be for a new generation. Still chock full of old school riffs and growling vocals and blast beats it also has a sense of experimentation and resolve about it that is not unlike Carcass’ work on Heartwork. It is music which seeks to expand on a previous palette whilst keeping purely in genre conventions.
And so it is that you get the phenomenal opening track ‘The Mysterious Ways’, which is a five and a half minute instrumental. It builds up to the requisite riffs, but also brings in slight melodic interludes and calm moments. This is used to great effect later on as ‘Masquerade In Red’ demonstrates why Chapel Of Disease are more than just another death metal band.
Of course we get the full on moments such as ‘The Dreaming Of The Flame’ and ‘Symbolic Realms’, but even here they are approached with a progressive intention. A simple chord or tempo change opens these songs into new realms and serves the band well. In theory they have just carved themselves a career in doing what they are doing.
This us no simple career move though and the intention and passion that runs through the course of the album is excellent. You can sense a band on the cusp of greatness and it’s sometimes very hard to shake that nagging feeling that this is their Ride The Lightning. Who knows what they will do next.
So, this is a death metal album that transcends boundaries and for the good or bad of the genre, we should first respect the singular intention behind the album. You’ll be hard pressed to find a more invigorating metal album of recent times and for all its brutality it is also purely enjoyable. What is obvious us that Chapel Of Disease have outgrown their roots and we have possibly the most exciting metal band to emerge since those early days of thrash and death metal.
