Extreme times cause people to churn out extreme forms of music. Danish act Chronicle hail from the northern part of the country, together since 2012 blending an interesting mix of old-school thrash, melodic death, black and a bit of the Finnish melancholy aspect to the table for their second full-length Demonology. After a few passes it’s easy to discover a higher level of intricacy and musicianship enhancement that when added to the main melodic aspects gives this material serious depth and charm.
Using a mixture of electric and acoustic instruments to flesh out their ideas when called for, it’s evident that the four-piece love a mixture of Scandinavian and North American influences that intertwine to be technical and forward thinking one minute, while not forsaking those harmony/melodic runs necessary to hook the listener track to track. Songs such as “Living Hellscape” and “They Have Returned” can slice and dice through brutal blasting and speedy riff combinations, in such a way where Children of Bodom collides into The Black Dahlia Murder. The twin tremolo aspects and drop on a dime transitions bring about classic Swedish melodic death reminders, while bassist Jacob Wammen injects some fluid, progressive twists against the guitar combinations of Sebastian Skousgaard and vocalist Lars Bo Nepper. Shorter bursts of relentless intensity allow Chronicle to get back into The Haunted-like savagery, as “Reset to Zero” features gang-like chorus screams and matching acidic venom bursting through the voice of Lars – the gallops and circular spider web guitar activities sure to appease all metal mavens. And those who love prolonged melodic death instrumentals that feature intricate bass solos or clean ambiance diversity, look no further than the six-minute plus “Perpetuation of Addiction” for progressive and harmonic entities that keep ears alert and brain matter sharp while bringing the heavy to the table.
Add in the seasoned production, mixing, and mastering tools at the hands of Tue Madsen through Antfarm Studios, and you’ll know that Chronicle keep the melodic death/thrash genre alive and kicking. Demonology takes a lot of 90’s extreme metal, puts it through some current technical musicianship parameters, and out pours these songs ready to tear you up limb from limb.