Crossover mish mash claptrap
I started the day without any idea of the existence of an Italian hardcore scene, but it's now lunchtime and I'm listening to a second band from that scene. Chaos Conspiracy, hailing from Benevento, is an experimental crossover band, mixing hardcore punches with some acid grooves. Crossover bands are all well and good but they largely fail because they're neither one thing nor the other. Fans of either side of the crossover tend to like that sort of music because it has a certain groove, contains certain melodies or aggression. The reason a fan listens to a type of music is it fulfils a certain niche in that person Bands that heavily mix a couple of styles tend neither satisfy or impress both sides of the crossover leaving themselves a little alienated. Rap and Metal was a successful crossover, perhaps over done by the end of it's existence but it shows that if a song is strong enough then the crossover will work.
Of course what it all boils down to are the songs themselves, are they any good? Or are they just a poor collection of crossover ideas that sound good initially, but soon become tedious as the listener gets fed up with the one idea. Chaos Conspiracy, unfortunately, are the latter. The hardcore isn't hardcore enough and the acid grooves, although initially appealing, soon become boring because they don't contain any real melody. The album 'Out of Place' starts off really well, opener 'Red Mask' has a gorgeous guitar tone. It is half distorted and complements the acoustic, biscuit tin drums very well. It has a stoner feel to it, which increases when Enrico's gentle high pitched vocals washes over a tom and phased guitar verse. The problem that immediately hits you is the poor mix, namely the drums, which are too loud and contains a snare sound that is too boomy for the subtle passages Chaos Conspiracy are trying to convey.
The drum grooves are impressive but they tend to take too much away from the music, they are both too loud and too busy in all the wrong areas. 'Upset Eyes' follows and has a psychedelic opening that is enhanced with the groove ridden bass line and subdued drums. The chorus kicks in loud, obviously, but this is a good example of how the crossover works, it is the strongest cut on this disc full of exciting parts, especially the spaced out reggae style middle break. The quality of song dips with 'Nonentiry', which is just your basic heavy chord riff and acid funk verse. Neither part is catchy or hook driven and at this point Enrico's vocals were seriously struggling underneath the drums and even the rest of the band. Track four, 'Shadow of the Flow' begins well with a drum groove start and a metal riff, but then goes into the same acid funk verse already used three times on the album. As soon as I heard it I played the previous songs again, and it sounds like Chaos Conspiracy are milking the idea for what it's worth and it's only the fourth track.
The messy 'Sinful Mirror' is fairly likeable but I was wondering where the brutal claustrophobic noise-core, as described in the press release, was. The title track suffers from being both rubbish and poorly produced where as 'Prayer for your Silence' might have been ok, if the vocal line had some sort of melody rather than the muddled mumblings and incoherent shouting it was given. Again, the metal grooving riff and funky verse trick is played again on 'Coldest Time', and if played on it's own may have gotten a better response from this reviewer, however in the context of the album it's pretty dreary.
Apart from the first two tracks and a smattering of ideas this album is as dull as crossover style music gets. It's neither inspired nor full of good solid ideas. Devoid of melody and foot tapping hooks it tries to impress the listener with funky, spacey, psychedelic riffs, coupled with some half-baked metal stylings. The fact that it sounds like a cheap demo doesn't help matters, but I think even recorded in the best studio with an infinite amount of lira, 'Out of Place' would still be shoddy.