ALBUM REVIEW: At The Eye Of Chaos – Olkoth
Comprised of some of South Carolina’s best underground musicians, OLKOTH may not have been active for a very long time, or gotten much recording under their belt so far, but what little they have accomplished already has marked them out as one of the most talented and visceral death metal acts in the US. Combining a variety of elements from across death metal, the band’s sound and style, as first showcased on their 2019 debut demo, is incredibly eclectic, whilst being equally tight, punchy and focused, resulting in music that is as imaginative as it is catchy. Their fantastic debut album At The Eye Of Chaos is a vicious statement of intent that has a lean, punishing sound with very little, if anything, in the way of filler.
Alhazred is an incredibly impressive start to proceedings, with epic, melodic guitars, intricate drumming and bellicose vocals creating an intense yet punchy sound right off the bat. Coupling together aggressive death metal and sinister blackened tropes, this is also an extremely dramatic track that sets the listener up for the rest of the album perfectly. Incendiary Prayer retains the tight musicianship and underlying ferocity of the opener, with the angular and frenetic shifts within the sound making for a much more visceral offering. The belligerent roar of the vocals carves through the mix, creating an authoritative and menacing focal point around which the slick and rabid guitars and drums are interwoven.
The Resurrectionist, with its jarring, chunky groove, is much more rhythmic, but incorporates lots of time changes to help keep things interesting. It makes for a slightly more progressive take on death metal, with the spartan leads and gutturals adding a few hooks into the mix, although the muscular undercurrent of the rest of the music is more than enough to make this compelling. Thousand Faced Moon continues in a similar vein, with thunderous, percussive drums and disjointed guitars developing a powerful feel straight away. It has more chaotic bursts of brutality peppered liberally throughout, capturing a form of catchy dissonance that grabs listeners’ attention.
To Eat Of The Lotus has a slower burning, mid-paced quality to it that, along with the brooding riffs, makes for a more immersive sound that fully utilises the measured tempo to craft a song with a lot of emotive weight in amongst its denser moments, lending a darker and almost cinematic edge that makes this quite unlike much of what has preceded it. Eidolon In The Flames opts for a blisteringly fast style and leans heavily into the discordant elements at the core of the guitars, pairing cacophonous, demented sections with expansive, cavernous passages that make this dizzying and ethereal in equal measure.
Lords Of The Kali Yuga, similarly nauseating in its feral speed and musical prowess, pushes the album’s sound into borderline tech death territory, whilst still being firmly anchored within a slick and punishing blackened death metal sound. This is a song that takes the music to new heights of musicianship and intensity, with a whirlwind of unrestrained guitar work and precise drumming, and the vocals adopting an acerbic feel as well. The title track is another unflinching, energetic and frenetic slab of death metal not unlike the previous track; it introduces a sharper, catchier approach back into the guitars, again showing that even at its most savage, OLKOTH‘s music is incredibly punchy and memorable, closing this album on one of its more polished and imaginative offerings.
At The Eye Of Chaos is an exceptionally impressive debut album that boasts a lot of great musicianship, with the end result arguably being one of the best debut records from a death metal act in recent memory. One of the album’s strongest points which helps make it so singularly brilliant is the wide-range of influences and styles that feature within it, meaning that no two songs sound completely alike, from the tech death finesse of the final two tracks through to the more blistering blackened death touches of Alhazred and Incendiary Prayer. It means each of these eight songs feel like stand out songs in their own right, giving this an incredibly lean and focused sound from start to finish that makes it even more impactful. This album marks an extremely strong start to OLKOTH‘s musical journey, and hopefully whatever they have planned for the future is at least on par with what’s presented here, because they’ve all but nailed it on their first try.
Rating: 9/10
At The Eye Of Chaos is out now via Everlasting Spew Records.
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