ALBUM REVIEW: Order Of Chaos – Descent

Grindy semi-blackened death metal mixed by the legendary Kurt Ballou and mastered by the equally brilliant Brad Boatright. That’s essentially the elevator pitch for Order Of Chaos by DESCENT, and for many that’ll be all they need. The sophomore album from the Brisbane-based five-piece is a sharp, sadistic record of intensely focused ferocity. Its eight tracks may not do much we haven’t heard before, but they’ll definitely obliterate those dreary January cobwebs.

With chaos quite literally the order of the day here, DESCENT waste no time in launching into album opener Tempest. No frills, no drawn out intro – just swift sonic violence. Within the opening minute alone the band prove they have all the essentials locked down as they veer from hair-raising blast beats to chug-heavy riffs with an all-round guttural brutality. As you’d expect given the producers on hand, it all sounds brilliant too. Brendan Auld and Josh Kane‘s guitars are razor sharp, while drummer Kingsly Sugden cuts through with a crisp, crushing heft. Naturally, bassist Jim Dandy plays more of a supporting role, but they still grant the record a crucial low-end grounding. It all comes together as a weapon of considerable force, one whose impact rarely dulls over the record’s tight runtime.

After Tempest, DESCENT largely stick to a similar lane throughout Order Of Chaos. Honestly, why mess with a winning formula? By injecting their death metal with both blackened bite and some hardcore and grindcore sensibilities, the band let each individual track stand on its own two feet even if the overall impression is one of relatively unwavering savagery. Vocalist Anthony Oliver in particular ensures that his listener’s attention never wanders too far. His performance is impressively versatile, mixing both stomach-churning gutturals and ear-piercing fries as the band grind away behind him.

As much as DESCENT remain in attack mode throughout Order Of Chaos, there are moments where they at least mix up their weapon of choice. Third track Resolve for example leans into something a little more expansive without losing any of its overall oppressive feel. Elsewhere, Fester pauses its HM-2-laden blasting for a gradually building atmospheric break which only heightens the impact of the pummelling when it resumes. It’s moments like these which again bely a higher standard to what DESCENT have to offer. Yes, they can bash their listeners over the head as hard as they like, but they’re also clearly aware that there’s more than one way to make things heavy. Hopefully they’ll take this further going forward, but for a sophomore release even these little hints offer plenty of promise.

Keeping the runtime to a sensibly lean 29 minutes, DESCENT clearly know when to make their exit. In doing so, they leave listeners with an album which doesn’t outstay its welcome and whose bite never really softens. Most should have a good idea of what to expect from Order Of Chaos before they’ve even hit play, and it definitely doesn’t disappoint. If you’re looking for early proof that death metal’s fine form will continue in 2022 then here you have it.

Rating: 8/10

Order Of Chaos is set for release on January 14th via Brilliant Emperor Records.

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