Review: CHAOSBAY „Boxes“

Zur deutschen Version der Review geht es hier.

Band: CHAOSBAY

EP: Boxes

Genre: Progressive Metalcore

Duration: 20:52

Release: 13.01.2022 (digitally via Circular Wave)

New year, new music! That is probably the thought the guys from CHAOSBAY had who will release their new EP Boxes on the 13th January!

The EP will contain the two previous single releases Y and Lonely People as well as three new songs which we’ll now give a closer look.

Boxes starts with the song The Prophet, a song that introduces a new CHAOSBAY sound by using robot-like sound distortions for the vocals. Already at this point, you’ll realize that the four guys from Berlin and Kaiserslautern are not only striving for fulfilling the expectations set for them, but rather to surpass them. The song itself has become my new favorite CHAOSBAY in the past weeks.

The interplay between growl-like Shouts and clean vocals mixed with precise drum play, combined with the fast guitars, makes this song an absolut hit.

As seen and heard in Lonely People and Y, the topic chosen for this EP is the on-going (and worsening) digital neglect and the resulting problems which are heightened by social media.

The fourth song on this EP is called Ivory Tower, a title I really appreciate on the metaphorical level!

The comparably more pop-like chorus didn’t quite convince me, but I really like the way they managed to weave the song’s components together including a really nice and well-done guitar solo.

Finishing off this piece is the song Willows By The Lake which is almost like a ballad. It impressively demonstrates that they don’t always need to be higher, faster or further in order to show their true potential. They are not abstaining from using heavier parts, the guitars are very impelling and even with these components they manage to make the song sound more sensitive than we know them to be. You can really get lost in the melody.

Overall we can see in these songs that we are at a start of an awakening of sorts: The EP, to me, is more Metalcore than Prog Metal. CHAOSBAY are following the path they set for themselves when they released Lonely People. It is still the CHAOSBAY we know and love, but one that has evolved and that is exactly why I’m so looking forward to the next album!

CHAOSBAY are:

Jan Listing – vocals, guitar

Matthias Heising – bass

Patrick Bernath – drums

Alexander Langner – guitar