Chaos Invocation is a black metal band from Germany, who formed in 2004. Their latest release, “Wherever We Roam…” is their fifth full-length album; they have also released one demo, a split and a compilation.
This album straight up destroys in the best way possible. It’s against the grain of everything and there isn’t one moment where the band decides to compromise on anything. It’s focused on it’s blackened atmosphere with a razor sharp degree that should come as no surprise but still highly impressive.
With all that being said, it has an unique feel to it and it’s approach separates itself from its influences and other bands in the genres. It’s a smart album that presents its chaos in an intelligible way and with much purpose. The compositions are extreme but engaging and exciting all the way through. The energy across the eight song, 45 minute runtime is both maddening and infectious.
The opening, and title, song begins with clean notes and a surprisingly emotional guitar solo before it builds up to a proper black metal rager. But it is the little details like that, that make the songs stand out and put the band a cut above the rest. The song itself has an atmosphere that is gripping, perpetually hurting towards oblivion.
On some songs, such as “Golden Gates and Terren Light,” there exists a delicate balance between extremity and melody. The song’s opening riffs exemplify that while offering a catchy intro that makes the song gripping from the beginning. Around the 1:22 mark, another melodic passage, with spoken word gliding over it, is yet another moment where the band steps outside the cold sphere of which they live before jumping back inside. The final half is amazing, what with the drums complimenting the riffs to drive the song towards its epic conclusion.
“No Throne Withstands,” takes this idea of the band living in two worlds simultaneously and just runs with it. The first part is raw, blackened power but the lead guitar peppers the song with just enough intricate detail to change its whole dynamic. The leads appear again near the end, making the song all the more engrossing and insane.
A weaved tapestry of clean notes begins, “This World Wants Us Dead,” and it unfurls itself for over a minute then grows into a melodic passage, where the bass in particular is a highlight. This intro builds upon itself wonderfully for over two minutes. Then the hell gates open and all the rich darkness comes pouring in like an inferno. After the four minute mark, a murky atmosphere permeates the structure, offering a simple but effective solo that effectively winds the song back up to its blistering speed with some clean vocals, which hit as hard as the extreme style.
The final song, “Engravings of the Quivering Pedestal,” is one of the straightforward songs on the album but it still finds elements to put on display, such as the fucking awesome bass. The groove in the mid-section keeps the tempo rolling while opening the song enough for a somber guitar solo to display its emotional burdens.
Chaos Invocation’s “Wherever We Roam,” is a confident display of blackened elements that aren’t afraid to go where needed, to allow the dark moments to shine a different shade of black.