The Chasm - Farseeing the Paranormal Abysm

October 1, 2009

Reviewer: Matt

The five years since their last album were well spent; The Chasm has created a monster of an album in Farseeing the Paranormal Abysm, among the very best albums of their storied career and unequivocally among the best metal albums of the year.  Any misgivings, rationalizations, or priorities that may have prevented you from investigating The Chasm previously, I hereby deem unfounded and inconsequential. 

The Chasm in the mid 1990s unleashed a string of classic albums that propelled them to the top of the Mexican death metal scene.  The Mexican metal scene regrettably never achieved the prominence of the American and European death metal scenes even as the latters declined, as black metal and Gothenburg melodic death metal conquered, respectively, the underground and the mainstream.  Remarkably their seventh record, Farseeing the Paranormal Abysm is a testament to The Chasm’s immense talent and unwavering dedication, as they persevered through a record label collapse and relocation to the United States, starting their own record label and continuing to release some of the best and most criminally overlooked metal of their time.

What so demands respect for The Chasm is their limitless supply of fresh and invigorating songwriting within an identifiable career trajectory.  From their early death-doom days to their mid-career black metal flirtations to the epic melodicism of their most recent releases, The Chasm has maintained a clear vision of their art and a peerlessly prodigious gift for composing intellectually advanced, incomparably memorable riffs, developing and refining their songwriting vocabulary with each album.  Farseeing the Paranormal Abysm continues that tireless tradition of songwriting excellence in the most epic and contemplative album of their career.

Picking up approximately where its predecessor, the predictably excellent The Spell of Retribution, left off, yet out-classing and out-composing that album in nearly every regard, Farseeing the Paranormal Abysm is a meditation on death, an astral projection transcribed into the language of modern death metal and a musical wormhole to a cosmic netherworld.  Occasional subtle use of keyboards, multi-layered melodies and riffs, and advanced narrative song structures contribute to the transcendent atmosphere.

All The Chasm’s strengths are on full display here: the spiraling, emotive melodies; the dizzying musicianship; the vast array of incredible riffs.  It’s an epic album; all tracks but a short interlude, exceed six and a half minutes, and two tracks exceed eleven.  Vocals are surprisingly sporadic, featured only on four of the eight tracks, but The Chasm sacrifice no emotion, intensity, or heaviness by focusing on the instruments.  Indeed, the infrequent use of vocals and the clear production (finally The Chasm secure a production to match their ambition!) allow the riffs to remain the central focus, and their twisting procession captivates the listener’s attention with like a message from the cosmos beamed directly into the brain.

Farseeing the Paranormal Abysm is a work of tremendous scope and ambition, and is an unqualified success.  One of the best albums of the year, and a must-have for every fan of progressive, melodic, or death metal, The Chasm’s latest is simply superb.  Consider yourself privileged to live in the times of this fantastic band.

Release Date: September 15, 2009
Label: Lux Inframundis

TRACK LISTING

1.  Entering a Superior Dimension
2.  Callous Spectre/
      Vehement Opposition
3.  Fiery Rebirth
4.  Farseeing...
5.  Structure of the Seance
6.  Vault to the Voyage
7.  The Promised Ravage
8.  The Mission/Arrival 
      to Hopeless Shores
(Calling The Paranormal Abysm)

Total playing time:  62:06

*By clicking "Submit" you agree to the following Terms of Use. You agree not to post any material that is obscene, slanderous, or threatening, or that may violate any law of your country of origin or the United States or of international law. Should you wish to restrict viewing of your email address by third parties, you must select "Hide My Email." You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Metal Psalter from any claims, actions, suits, damages, or other costs arising out of any breach of these Terms of Use.

*Comments: