The Silver Lining Between the Stars (Artwork based off The Lagoon Nebula photo taken by Prabhu Astrophotography, www.prabhuastrophotography. Edited by Rafal Bowman) — *The Silver Lining Between the Stars* (Artwork based off The Lagoon Nebula photo taken by Prabhu Astrophotography, www.prabhuastrophotography. Edited by Rafal Bowman)

The Silver Lining Between the Stars Album Review

July 30th, 2021

The realities and fantasies of space: Loving someone from the Moon and back, dreaming of becoming a space cadet, hearing Freeza constantly berate the audience that he can breathe in space and that you can't, to the priceless advanced photos of the Sun, the darkened colours of a Black Hole, and the vast feel of loneliness one can imagine and feel being on a desolate planet. Space is a place and a concept that we have learned a monumental amount over the past half-century, and yet we still don't understand or know a whole lot more about it, but the nostalgic moments of how we imagine space, and how it makes many of us feel, still a powerful concept.

One band that strives to take the concepts of the space nebula, vacant planets, and astonishing galaxies, and create a unique Metal mixture with it, Chaos over Cosmos. Formed in 2015, originally in Poland and Spain, eventually relocating to Australia and ultimately in the US, guitarist/keyboardist and programmer Rafal Bowman's vision for creating a musical, glowing foundation of Science Fiction, combined with Progressive Power Metal, eventually into having a Melodic Death Metal sound. With 2 studio albums and 2 EPs under Chaos over Cosmos's belt, the band would be releasing their latest album, out on August 1st, The Silver Lining Between the Stars. I got the chance to listen to it, not heard their previous material as of now, but was generally curious to hear this unique Metal band.

Pulling no punches, the 5-track record starts with a 10 minute+ epic track, "Violent Equilibrium." One of the brightest aspects of the record, can be found within the first few notes. Hearing the keyboard play consistently different roles throughout the music, from playing in the background to provide atmosphere, to set off a counterpoint, or in this song's case, harmonizing with the guitars. It had a MIDI-like feel combining with the higher notes, and it created a feeling of stargazing and drifting your thoughts beyond the planet you reside. I enjoy hearing instruments take life on their own accord, and not be kept in a box of what it's "role" is supposed to usually be. Throughout the first half of the track, was purely instrumental, the technical aspects of Chaos over Cosmos were on full display, with the guitar work shredding alongside a swift blastbeat.

Unfortunately, the drum programming felt too buried in the mix, especially when more rapid tempos were present. The guitar work, while flashy and exquisitely played, the lack of setups from the previous keyboard moments left the music to feel rather generic, in comparison to the beginning of the song. Also, the vocals come in right around the 5:27 mark, having a different sound the rest of the time, feeling it could have been two separate tracks. Although, the 17 second long scream from vocalist KC Lyon was nicely done and would have Peter Tgatgren himself smile in approval. You can hear the those cosmic elements in bits and pieces, but the rest of the song felt like somewhat standard Melodic Death Metal. Despite being the first track, I wasn't initially impressed.

But those feelings changed immediately with the most memorable and fantastic track on the record, "The Last Man in Orbit." The elements that Chaos over Cosmos desires to express, show, and tell, beam in gorgeous, dazzling colours. The intro took a life on it's own, with the rhythm guitar's sustaining riff mixing in with the remarkable sounding keys. This is exactly what I was waiting for. The starting riff at the :32 mark taxis you a fast ride on the street avenues of the Milky Way, beautifully catchy, off a different rhythm, showing how well Rafal's MIDI/guitar notes work, extremely well. It seems to me, the album's optimal speed is mid-tempo, allowing the drums to sound powerful but not lost in the mix, with the instruments present creating the space journey within your fiber and being. Too many outstanding passages to mention here, from the emotional glory heard from 1:43 - 2:21, with the Lyon's vocals fitting in the pace, like a just opened Powerglove, to the sudden soul-hitting solo, right after that beautiful transition right at 2:22. Grand, hopeful, sealed in my memory, this is Chaos over Cosmos at their finest. The ending sequence from 5:16 on to the end, a picture capturing someone's journey into orbit through the piano sequence played, followed by a subtle breakdown with the guitars played slightly softer. The absolute highlight of the entire record, bar-none.

The rest of The Silver Lining Between the Stars ended with 3 additional tracks, particularly the instrumental "Eternal Return", another homage to "The Last Man in Orbit", in regards to creating that wonder into Extreme Metal space return. It's evident the music breathes greater when slowed down, even slightly. From the 2:22 to 2:50 sequence, the quality picked guitar solo, alongside the dreamy celestial void you feel from the keyboard break, it just represents what the band's goals are, and endgame to their signature sound.

"Control Zed" wasn't able to keep my attention fully, somewhat more like the first song, which drifts apart their space influence, to a more somewhat standard Melodic Death Metal act. Although "The Sins Between the Stars", was a solid ending to the album, roughly 10 minutes, less "Space-y", but more of a slower tempo, and it still works. Overall, Chaos over Cosmos, 3 albums deep into their still young career, are creating a unique brand of Progressive Power/Death Metal, incorporating a brand of the space universe influence, that is rarely heard.

The beauty, twists and turns, imagery, feel of void and vastness, nostalgia, all fit the various descriptions of what human society views the colourful wonders of space, and what it inhabits. Chaos over Cosmos does just that, through an interesting and detailed Metal lens. Although the first track takes time to get used to, the middle part of The Silver Lining Between the Stars, is personally for me the strongest and most enjoyable songs on the record. KC Lyon's vocal contribution and Rafal Bowman's glowing vision of multi-instrumentation and key emotional songwriting, still left me impressed, and awaiting their craft continuing to be honed in, perfected, and added detail for their next album to be something even greater. Fans of Progressive Metal will certainly enjoy The Silver Lining Between the Stars.