In an age when most bands are contentedly treading water Nottinghamshire’s Chaos Bleak have hit on a unique sound and, quite rightly, they’re pushing it to the max. Existing someone between Killing Joke and The Sisters Of Mercy, their debut album A New Age Of Darkness is an explosive effort that signposts great things for this post-goth trio.
The brief, retro introduction that is ‘Outer Twilight’ creates a rather ominous, oppressive tone that will continue to reverberate throughout A New Age Of Darkness. Since forming barely 18 months ago Chaos Bleak have been busy releasing a steady stream of singles and the most volatile of those follows in the shape of “Return/Revenge”. The musical equivalent of a Molotov cocktail it’s a song that’s made to soundtrack civil disobedience as the synths wail siren like, the drums march between speakers as if the riot squad while guitarist Trevor Bamford stirs up trouble by lobbing explosive riffs into the fray.
Featuring past and present of bands such as The Angelfire Project, Crimson Brigade and 13 Candles, Chaos Bleak have a wealth of experience but they’re certainly not resting on past glories. There’s a definite goth influence (no surprise with their long roots in that subculture) most notably in the dark atmospherics, but there’s the gritty urban realism of Killing Joke that’s delivered with the hammer blow of Godflesh. It all adds up to a hefty sound that’ll ensure A New Age Of Darkness will sate even the most bloodthirsty goth whilst also pulling fans of metal and industrial into the bands orbit.
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The sleeve which houses this album is a pretty good indication of the sound contained within: like a scene from 28 Days Later it’s dark yet contemporary. Avoiding any lyrical cliches the blasphemous “Door To Nowhere” will find Chaos Bleak tossed in the lake of unquenchable fire while “Watch The Night Sky” raises its sights to the heavens for a fine piece of retro sci-fi. Under a gibbous moon Chaos Bleak take the listener by the hand and guide us through the horrors of the last century from the trenches of World War One (“Empty Morning”) to the storm clouds gathering over Weimar (“Funeral In Berlin”).
If I make this Notts (unholy) trio out as being all doom and gloom then that’s unfair because there’s moments of brevity such as “Beneath The Moon” (a light-hearted celebration of the goth subculture) which shine a little light into Chaos Bleaks shade. “A Drone In The Darkness” is another succinct instrumental to bookend the album and finds Chaos Bleak, after their brief visit, mysteriously vaporised to other dimensions.
Sometimes in the world of music the stars just seem to align and everything falls into place. Released in the midst of the coronavirus crisis that’s certainly the case with A New Age Of Darkness, an album that’s sent to document these troubled times.
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A New Age Of Darkness is released by Nightbreed Recordings on 28th January 2021 via Bandcamp and other streaming services.
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