CHRONICLE – Welcome the Darkness

Chronicle is a hard-hitting metal outfit hailing from my windy Danish hometown, namely the red-neck haven known as Frederikshavn. It was quite by chance that I stumbled on this very promising act while browsing on Bandcamp. The band consists of four young dudes and «Welcome the Darkness» is their first official release, but sinister rumors indicate that new songs are currently being vomited forth and will see the light of day later on this year. Anyway, let us get back on track and focus on «Welcome the Darkness», shall we?

4 songs constitute this EP and they are all rooted in aggressive, energetic, and intense death/thrash, but one can tell that the members are inspired by quite a few different bands in that some of the melodies and rifs sound somewhat akin to old Metallica, Slayer, and even Iron Maiden here and there. Speaking of Iron Maiden, check out the bass-driven introductory riff to «For Our Fallen Ones» and tell me that that does not sound like something that Maiden could have come up with when at their most progressive and sprawling? Also, bands such as Devildriver and Sepultura come to mind in some places, but I hardly consider Chronicle a rip-off by any stretch of the imagination. While they may lean heavily on certain bands here and there, I am pretty damn confident that these guys will forge and hone a sound and identity of their own in the years to come. That is merely a matter of time. Mark my goddamn words!

Musically speaking, Chronicle is a tight unit and «Welcome the Darkness» is pretty fucking well-produced and solid all around. The riffs are sharp, the drums are punchy and awesome, and the bass is suitably present and audible. I do think that more varied vocals would benefit the music, but they a neither bad nor lame, so this is just a minor complaint on my part. There is a lot of potential and enthusiasm present on this EP, and it will be very interesting to see and hear how the band will progress in the future. Support these guys!

«Welcome the Darkness» is available on Bandcamp:

http://chroniclemetal.bandcamp.com/releases

https://www.facebook.com/ChronicleOfficialBand