The Chasm

Deathcult for Eternity: The Triumph (1998)

Deathcult for Eternity: The Triumph is an excellent piece of narrative song-writing that is full of impulsive, naturally flowing music. The key to the songs here is that they develop organically and have a free-spirited sense that avoids coming across as either forced or directionless, something that is the downfall of many bands who try to escape the verse/chorus format. Arguably on this album The Chasm have managed to find the perfect balance between their early impulsiveness and their later transformation into more of a consciously planned song-writing machine by the mid-to-late 2000s.

The Chasm adroitly merge aggressive Speed/Thrash influenced riff wizardry with a deep understanding of melodic development, allowing the band to create extremely dynamic structures that make use of multiple styles, shifting effortlessly between Death Metal, Doom Metal, Black Metal and Progressive Metal. This allows the band to create multi-faceted moods, which honestly do feel like a journey into the netherworld and beyond, narrated by vocals that alternate between rough Death Metal growls and high pitched falsetto squeals. The melodic sections often take on the 'epic' feeling of heavy metal, but different chord progressions, scale choices and a more improvisational, free-flowing approach give the band a distinctly darker, gloomier and more ancient vibe. 

In between fits of chaos and destruction, the album takes on a prominent introspective, slower nature that is more reminiscent of slower forms of Metal like Doom Metal, but with less minimalist techniques. In these sections the band ponders more closely the issues of preparing for Death and the afterlife (of which Daniel Corchado was reputedly obsessed).  This is melodic Death Metal that retains the emphasis on Death, without a single trace of the sugary Iron Maiden riffs that often plagued the Swedes in the mid-1990s. It's dark, majestic and vast in its scope.

The most impressive facet of this music is the band's ability to create multiple peaks and falls within the songs, adding greatly to its unpredictability and its sense of journey. All of this is achieved by painstaking degrees over-nearly an hour of music without recourse to a single hook or catchy riff/chorus. There are few Metal bands that can boast of pushing the limits of their song-writing to this degree. Even better is that they pull this off with a very even consistently across the entire album.