If you haven’t heard Chronocide before, allow me to summarise them for you in three words: Nihilistic Miserable Intensity. “Nothus” and “Eversor” formed the band in 2008 and spent most of 2009 working on material, releasing a 4 track demo and then in 2010, they finally unleashed their debut album – the solitude of man. It’s been 5 years since I first heard this brutal sounding slice of blackened grind crust and after a long wait, it is finally time to hear the latest instalment of misery from the band who literally are killing time.
From the off, this album picks up where the debut left off. An intense, crushing noise hits you right away as “Burial Of The Dead” opens the album and it barely gets going before it starts to play with your feelings, leaving you with a slight sense of despair. The maelstrom doesn’t stop here either. This album just keeps getting more twisted, harsh and darker as it progresses. Colossal drums, haunting and ominous lead lines and heavy as fuck rhythm work providing the backdrop to vocals which are delivered with a ferocity similar to that of Thomas Lindberg, it could best be described as Emperor meets Lock Up meets Anaal Nathrakh. Just all kinds of evil, hopeless and brutal. The frantic feel continues through the next few tracks and really hits a high on ‘Martyrs And Victims” before letting up at “Perfect Slaves” which acts as the mid-point of the album. Although it is not as ferocious as the previous tracks, it’s still harsh and intense sounding but has a more sinister feel to it than a despair filled one.
It picks up once again with “There Is No Revolution” and keeps the intensity going right through to the closing track. “Armor” stands out as a penultimate track, going to a more ominous approach with some real venom behind the delivery, but what makes this track possibly the best on the album is the female vocals which provide a real contrast to the harsh as fuck male vocals and when the pair combine, it is hellishly beautiful. The album closer, “What The Thunder Says” slows the pace right down, going for a heavier, more doom filled approach and the slow, colossal sounding, heavy as fuck riffs just roll over everything in their path. If the ferocity of the album hadn’t worn away at you, the crushing riffs of this one should crush what is left. Dissonant at times, relentless in its heaviness and just a miserable sounding track, it proves a fitting end to a crushingly heavy album.
“Meditations” is one of the most intense and brutal sounding albums you will experience this year. Creating a real miserable, hopeless and despair filled sonic landscape which could very well be a bleak look on the future of humanity, Chronocide do not pull their punches as they hit you hard and don’t stop until you’ve been beaten into submission. Terrifyingly grim and fantastic sounding, it’s well worth picking up.
(8.5/10 Fraggle)
Leave a Reply