Review: Chaotian - Effigies Of Obsolescene

There's something to be said about death metal from Denmark, especially Killtown bands. It seems just hailing from there automatically gives any band a leg up on the competition. Chaotian is certainly part of this and showcases as much on their debut album Effigies of Obsolescence.

Formed in 2017, Chaotian quickly made a name for themselves with two killer demo/EP's in 2018 and 2019 respectively. These were compiled on the release Festering Excarnation by Dark Descent Records and Me Saco un Ojo. Naturally, this garnered the band even more attention and a buzz going for what they would do next. 

Effigies of Obsolescence delivers and then some. Coming across as a band that has been here many times before, there's nothing rookie level about this LP. It runs the full gamut of all the death metal adjectives you can think of. It's dark, murky, brutal, barbaric, monolithic, foul, meaty, deadly, cavernous, rotten, you get where I'm going here. It checks off all the boxes one could want from a death metal release. 

Heavily rooted in old school death metal, Chaotian aren't one to simply rest on the genre's laurels. Sure, you'll hear Immolation and Incantation influences, but they don't fully pin the band down. While OSDM may be running rampant now and getting a bit watered down at times, Chaotian quickly establish they are ahead of most of their peers. Sure, they're not reinventing any wheels, but they are making a damn good wheel! 

It's hard to find flaws in this release. The quick and heavy rhythms bludgeon you over and over, with doom lurking in the shadows watching the whole thing and occasionally popping out to strangle you as well. The massive sound this three piece makes is remarkable. The recording is clear in the best ways, not overproduced and plastic sounding. You could tell me they recorded it in a damp cave surrounded by piles of dead bodies and I would say, "yeah, that sounds about right."

In a scene nodding so hard to the old school that its head may fall off, it's not easy to stand apart. Chaotian are out here demanding your attention and deserving of it. 

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