Chaos Bleak
Assassins Of Silence
Seventh Hell Recordings
In a case of perfect serendipity, it feels as if Nottinghamshire’s Chaos Bleak have been sent direct from the netherworld to soundtrack our turbulent times. In an age plagued by famine, war and pestilence, their songs beat a warlike tattoo that’s in lockstep with a planet perched precariously on the precipice of destruction. Fortunately, such conditions are fertile ground for great music, and that’s exactly where Chaos Bleak step in, their third album, Assassins Of Silence, being the sound of the oppressed rising up and throwing off the shackles. With introduction ‘UFO Over Aspley’ lighting the taper, the album explodes into life with ‘Emerald’, a highly flammable track powered by a riff which rolls on tank tracks, a rhythm section that detonates as if a series of depth charges, and vocalist Piers delivering lyrics like an insane general or an evil ringmaster (take your pick). However, Chaos Bleak are far from one-dimensional, and their fusing of goth rock to a post-punk punch affords them a lot of freedom as they shape-shift and mutate over fourteen diverse tracks. Chaos Bleak began life as a question, namely, what would Play Dead sound like had they formed in 2019? The answer is Assassins Of Silence.
https://www.facebook.com/chaosbleakband
Review by Peter Dennis