Organized Chaos – Divulgence (Self-Released)
Tuesday, 26th December 2017
Essential to progressive metal is embracing the vast influence landscape available to explore diverse viewpoints and channel said information into a creatively enticing style. When you get a description of Serbian quintet Organized Chaos as ‘experimental emotional climate change climax-oid’, expectations and ears perk up for something special. Beginning in 2005, they’ve released a full-length Inner Conflict in 2011, plus a follow-up live album prior to this second studio full-length Divulgence. Growing from a project out of founder guitarist/vocalist Vladimir Lalić into an active outfit, its understandable that the prolonged time frame between releases hasn’t been wasted after numerous playbacks.
The key to successfully capturing attention beyond cursory intricacies and technical prowess lies in the crevices or grey areas that many progressive metal musicians fail to consider. That can be in a light jazz meets funk/hip hop stance as far as percussion to guitar/bass interplay for the instrumental sections within “Ache” (featuring a guest solo from Toronto guitarist Nick Johnston), or an intriguing Gregorian-like chant sequence against brooding, low-key vocals for the tension-filled, stunted roller coaster “Broken Divine” with an added assist from Haken keyboardist Richard Henshall. Against the heavier passages where there can be djent-oriented rhythms, a melodic underpinning of some stature appears, be it in the multi-part vocal harmonies or bright electric guitar passages through “Apex” that allow your ears to feel refreshed one listen or one hundred airings in. Sprinkling in everything from acoustic strumming, expansive keyboard orchestration, lower register choir action, even handclaps beyond the narrative nuances and it’s clear that these seven tracks can clearly be considered progressive metal in nature – but not pinned within a normal Dream Theater, Pain of Salvation, or Rush platform.
Vladimir gives Organized Chaos that rapturous, riveting singer necessary to drive home the songs in a captivating, alluring manner. Not typical in any shape or form, everything from Freddie Mercury to Devon Graves comes into play in his theatrical, versatile shifts, twists and turns – hypnotic when necessary on the furious passages for “Hide and Seek”, but bone-chilling and measured with his words on “The Mask”, the closer featuring jazzy bass solo breaks and female duet melodies from Branislava Podrumac. Reasonable to process at 37 minutes, Divulgence has plenty to offer the progressive metal listener, and should be essential to all followers of the genre.
Organized Chaos official website
