Holy Shit!… is what you’ll say multiple times when listening to the upcoming release Chaosmos by none of than tech death legends, Origin. Yes, I did start the review with swears but give Chaosmos a listen and you’ll agree that it’s more than justified. Origin has transcended to another realm of consciousness with their latest release. This is intelligent technical death metal at its absolute best, and in my opinion, it’s also Origin’s greatest release to date. Chaosmos can easily hang with any in the tech-death game and teach them a thing or two.
Formed in Kansas USA in 1997, Chaosmos is the 8th full-length release from Origin, who’s made a name for itself for its uncompromising integrity of sound. This is the band’s 3rd release with the current line-up of Paul Ryan (guitars & backing vocals), Mike Flores (bass & backing vocals), John Longstreth (drums), and Jason Keyser (lead vocals). Chaosmos is due for release on June 3rd, 2022, on Nuclear Blast. PUT THAT DATE IN YOUR CALENDAR! Everything that you thought you knew about tech-death before that date is null and void.
In true Origin fashion, the album launches into a wall of noise with Ecophagy. OK, I get this – a solid tech death song, right? Oh no, this is so much more. There are multiple timing changes throughout the song and a seismic shift at about 2 minutes 20 seconds which is awesome. The drum beat leading into the change will have you headbanging and Jason’s vocals are flawless. This is such a complex song, really the entire album is, with elements of Indian influence. If you shrunk the album to a representation of itself, then Echophagy is that. Such is a reflection of the album in its entirety.
Following on we have Chaosmos which is the title track for the album. Chaosmos continues the theme of multiple timing changes and then another gigantic leap in the mid-point. This seems to be a theme for the album, each song feeling like two songs seamlessly meshed to make one kick-ass song. As they say, the sum of the whole is greater than the parts and that’s certainly the case for Origin.
Other stand-out moments include technical guitaring wizardry during the intro to Panoptical, just in case you forgot how incredibly talented they were. Cogito, Tamen Non-Sum will have you going ‘Woah’ at about 3 mins 20 seconds – there are all of these unexpected moments that make you stand up and take notice. The intense drum beat during Decolonizer and the section at 4 minutes will absolutely destroy life. Nostalgia For Oblivion is a beast of a song with the familiar chug that runs throughout the album. Heat Death is the longest track on the album and a perfect way to finish. This, more than any other, feels like a multitude of songs grafted together to form something better. Somethings stronger. The song finishes hauntingly and teases a build-up at the end – urging you to hit replay.
“The music of Origin is a fusion of order and disorder. Our music is viewed as a meaningless assemblage of infinite perspectives” – I couldn’t think of a better way to summarise Chaosmos than by quoting Paul Ryan directly. To the casual listener, this is an album of disorder, but like anything that appears chaotic, there’s a deeper pattern than just on the surface if you’ll just chip away the skin. The effort that must’ve gone into this album to pull it off with such ordered chaos blows my mind. It’s progressive tech death at its absolute finest and sets the benchmark for others to follow.
Tracklist:
- Ecophagy
- Chaosmos
- Cogito, Tamen Non Sum
- Panoptical
- Decolonizer
- Cullscape
- Nostalgia For Oblivion
- Heat Death
Origin: Facebook
Release Year: 2022
Label: Agonia Records/Nuclear Blast
Category: Album
Country: USA
Reviewed by Phil Bergersen
