This album has the credentials to make it special. This is the 7th recorded album by Trauma, a senior Polish Death Metal band who’ve been around since 1992. “Archetype of Chaos” was recorded at the Hertz Studios, whose list of clients is like an encyclopaedia of Polish metal.
The excitement doesn’t end on reading the mouth-watering credits. This album is a masterpiece of marching Death Metal. Thundering darkness is the constant underscore as it runs from killer riff to killer riff. It has that same power, authority, movement and majesty that you would associate with Behemoth or Vader. Trauma are at the top of their game here. Tracks like “The Slime” exude violence but as a listening experience it’s still pleasurable. This one is a creepy piece of warmongering, if that doesn’t sound too strange. It’s like music from a punishment camp but hard as it is, it’s always appealing. The drum twirls. Always relentless, it marches on imperiously. Melody is not missing either and this forms a major part of its attraction, without ever compromising on brutality. Polish bands don’t compromise on brutality. The track “Cortex Deformation” defines this album. Nothing short of an onslaught, it takes the album forward with its shredding ferocity and pace. There’s an air of danger as the track enters a sinister but no less violent phase. It’s gripping stuff Great guitar solos mingle amongst the brain-damaging slaughter. The bombardment of guitars and drums is constant. The sub-structures are interesting. This is total headbanging material. What’s even better about “Archetype of Chaos” is its interesting quirkiness which could unbalance the dark ambiance but not here. The blend is right. “Tabula Rasa” is more unusual. An industrial element meets the more familiar Death Metal. This track is exotic in its complexity. Trauma know how to create atmosphere. Evil is in the air on “Portrait of the Lies”. “War Machine” is another sharp, layered Death Metal anthem. Its twirling and roaring tones are punctuated by a section of Aeternus-style sinister, creepy voices. Quality and imagination attack you from the outset to the final, crashing assault of “Destruction of the Demented World”.
My immediate reaction on listening to this pulsating album was to listen to it again. “Archetype of Chaos” has no obvious weaknesses. It is utterly engaging. For rampant and honest Death Metal with total authority, look no further.
http://www.trauma.art.pl
http://www.myspace.com/traumaprofile
http://www.witchinghour.pl
http://www.myspace.com/witchinghourprod
