Chaos Inception – Vengeance Evangel Review

A very strong argument can be made that over the last few years, no label has brought more top quality death metal to the masses than Czechia’s Lavadome Productions. From the forward-thinking work of Heaving Earth and extreme violence of Garoted to the molten lava (hey) vibes of Beyond Mortal Dreams, the label has a knack for finding bands the world over that excel in the deathly arts. More than that, they tend to find bands that go hard above all else, because there isn’t enough time in life for lazy-riffed death metal, right?

Say it with me: RIGHT.

Another member of the Lavadome roster that comes at you with weapons confidently brandished is Huntsville, Alabama’s Chaos Inception. Like several of their labelmates, Chaos Inception isn’t going to lull you into a drunken stomp with a bunch of rudimentary grooves. Instead, they’re going to come right after you with the intent of doing maximum damage at all times with violent riffs, hammering blasts and double-kicks, bad attitude and often rapid fire growls, and a weighty bass sound you rarely hear in death metal. On album three, Vengeance Evangel, that all translates into them absolutely bringing the beastly goods.

Chaos Inception’s sound is based on death metal that sits at the ideal crossroads of snazzy riffing and ill intentions. First up is a whole boatload of Hate Eternal in the form of twitchy riffs and rapid blasts. Splice that with a fair amount of Tucker-era Morbid Angel (only speed it up about 30 clicks), a bit of Nile in the melodies, and even some Azarath in terms of how unrelenting it can become. But the kicker? The kicker is that it’s all presented in a bit of a dirtbag production you’d more expect to hear from a band like Autopsy. The rhythm guitars are scuzzy, the drums sound like real drums (this isn’t a Pete Sandoval clickfest), and that bass is as thick and omnipresent as Lemmy’s Rickenbacker rumble. It isn’t exactly an extreme contrast, but it definitely gives the album a touch of uniqueness it might not otherwise possess.

Most importantly, however, is how Vengeance Evangel doesn’t have a lean moment over its 41 minutes, with a few tracks managing to stand out as extra next level. Chief among those is second track “Falsificator.” If the opener sets a good impression of how much Chaos Inception means brutal business, “Falsificator” lets the listener know that business is going to be a ferocious onslaught of hammer-pull riffing, relentless blasts, blink-and-you’ll-miss-them solos, and an undeniably infectious touch that ought to bring a delightfully demented grin to many a riff-hungry face. It’s a ballsy move to put such a track so early on an album, but the band clearly knew what they were doing when they followed it up with a murky and muddy instrumental in “La Niebla en el Cementerio Etrusco” and likely the album’s catchiest song in “10,000 Dead By Pincer.” Go ahead, try to resist screaming along to the chorus of the latter; you’ll fail. The muscular syncopation of much of the riffery and heightened shred of the soloing don’t hurt either.

Showing off the band’s more technical side (but don’t call it “tech”) is “Ultima Exitium,” a song so loaded with spiraling, ascending lines and unyielding blasts and you might miss how deftly Chaos Inception handles the transition out of a very fine solo. “Thymos Beast” also smartly handles its complexities, from the Azagthothian opening guitars to the much busier solo section and into an effective and timely descent into much slower material, complete with extra deep guttural vocals, of course. So sure, these four boys can play like gangbusters and get downright malicious, but they also possess some pretty smart songwriting craft, which is ultimately what elevates this record over countless other bands trying to carve out a place in today’s extremely crowded death metal landscape.

Chaos Inception is downright sly in how they blend their colossal strength, technical flair, and brushes of sophistication with a very live-in-the-studio vibe. Vengeance Evangel is an evening at a dusty, musty club that leaves you feeling like you could conquer the world, and Chaos Inception is the type of band that shows up looking rather unkempt before playing absolute circles around whichever bands are unfortunate enough to have to follow them. This record represents yet another recent win for Lavadome, and a glorious beatdown from Chaos Inception that you’ll want to relive over and over.