ALBUM REVIEW: Khaos – Icare

ICARE may well be one of the most intense bands out there. The Swiss group combine elements of grindcore, black metal, death metal, post-metal and even post-hardcore. The results are devastatingly oppressive – shock! Their second full-length album Khaos is a record so bleak and so heavy that it draws few parallels even from within the world of extreme metal. Originally written in 2016, their first year as a band, the group initially didn’t intend for it to be performed live. In fact, it wasn’t until they signed to Division Records in early 2020 that they decided to revisit the material and rework it into a version that could be shared with the world. And thank goodness they did.

Khaos comprises three groups of three tracks, marked out by their differing titles. Calling these sections ‘thirds’ would be a little misleading however. The first three songs combined don’t clear three and a half minutes. On the other hand, the final two alone account for well over half the album’s hour-long runtime.

The record kicks off with the short, sharp and savage title track, followed by Cauchemar and Emmuré. These three songs show the band’s most obvious grindcore side. With pummelling blast-beats, squealing feedback, and guttural vocals, they draw comparisons to bands like FULL OF HELL and PIG DESTROYER. They also quickly assert the band’s unnamed drummer’s technical ability. On these tracks, as on much of the album, he lays down breakneck blast-beat after breakneck blast-beat. He also shows a nearly inhuman mastery of quickfire double kicks. All three songs are so oppressive and give listeners a good idea of just how heavy ICARE can get.

It feels almost ridiculous to say, but Khaos is a record which becomes more accessible as it goes on. After the bludgeoning, blistering grind of the opening tracks, the album’s middle section introduces some elements which are more easy to grab onto. The songs in this section are all still punishing, but definitely less impenetrable than those which came before. Fourth track Naissance, Décadence features some more noticeable riffs and lead guitar parts, as well as a more mid-paced breakdown. The same is true for the next song, and definite highlight, Déliquescence Déchéance. It’s a little more dynamic, and even sees the band introduce some clean guitars. It’s also where their black metal influences start to poke through – more on that later.

The evolution continues on sixth track Reviviscence, Sentence, with even more dynamics and increasingly discernible melodies. It also features an intensely bleak outro which brings to mind the tortured post-hardcore of a band like ENVY. By this point, it’s clear that everyone in ICARE is deeply capable, but their vocalist deserves a special mention. As the music on Khaos evolves, so too does his performance. At first, he deals almost exclusively in the low guttural vocals common to grindcore and death metal. But, as time goes on, he introduces more variation to his style, often opting for more tortured higher screams. All in all, he serves as a captivating presence, adding cohesion to this genre spanning record.

Khaos‘ final three songs are where ICARE‘s post and black metal influences are most obvious of all. As mentioned, these pieces are much longer, and afford the band plenty of space for dynamic variation. They’re also comfortably the most melodic tracks on the record. At points, and especially on seventh track L’Eschatologie Cosmique Du Jardin D’ Éden, they’re even quite beautiful, something listeners surely wouldn’t have expected from earlier tracks. Here the band draw comparisons to masterfully atmospheric bands like BLUT AUS NORD, AMENRA and WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM.

The album ends on the breath-taking 20 minute epic, Le Dernier Souverain Du Royame Déchu. It’s a towering, expansive post-metal masterpiece which still has plenty of the black metal touches which came before. For a long song, it also does a great job of keeping listeners interested. It may feel worlds away from the record’s visceral opening, but there’s no denying a common thread of bleakness and emotional intensity. In many ways it’s a perfect ending to an album this ambitious.

Ultimately, Khaos is a staggering record. On it, ICARE achieve something few bands ever do; the album comprises over an hour of some seriously extreme music, but somehow doesn’t feel too long. This is largely down to the record’s stunning flow. While the start and the end sound almost nothing alike, at no point do the band take any wild left-turns. Instead, they bring their listeners on an emotional and evolutionary journey. It’s a triumphant success, and with an album this good we can surely expect to hear more from ICARE in the years to come.

Rating: 9/10

Khaos is out now via Division Records.

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