siLLy puPPy One of the indicators of a brave new world is the fact that bands can now congregate remotely and create albums together without the members ever even meeting in person! Such is the case for the Polish / Australian project CHAOS OVER COSMOS which is the brainchild of guitarist, bassist, keyboardist and drum programmer Rafal Bowman (the Polish side of the equation) who created his project in 2017 and has released two full albums and two EPs. Originally pairing up with Spanish vocalist Javier Calderón, in 2019 Josh Ratcliff replaced Javier and together the duo set forth to craft one of those what i call space metal albums. You know, the kind that mixes the clean vocal driven complex compositional approach of progressive metal along with the immediacy and abrasiveness of metalcore, death metal and power metal. Add to that an eerie atmospheric presence sweeping the backdrop of the stellar guitar workouts and you are in for the perfect metal soundtrack for a journey to the farthest reaches of the solar system and beyond!

THE ULTIMATE MULTIVERSE is a bit confusing in its status as some databases list it as an album whereas other tout it as a compilation. In many ways it is both but in general it’s a compilation of the two EPs released before with some changes such as re-recorded guitar parts, better production and an overall tidying up of aspects that perfectionist artists go bonkers about. That seems to be quite the thing in extreme progressive metal. Whatever the case, THE ULTIMATE MULTIVERSE plays as a fully functioning album in its own right with six track that add up to nearly 42 minutes of playing time. The album has found a home on the Narcoleptica Productions label and finds Rafal in good form with an endless array of stellar technical infused guitar chops that exist in the nebulous betweenness of power metal, progressive metal, technical death metal, metalcore with touches of thrash and neoclassical workouts.

Upon first listen i wasn’t overly impressed as these types of albums seem to be a dime a dozen as millions of dedicated musicians have crafted some excellent music over the lasts few decades however with a few more spins this all really started to sink in. With most progressively infused techy metal, it requires multiple exposures to really comprehend the true nature of its inner nerdiness. While much tech metal can be completely abstract and take a drive down Meshuggah Avenue, CHAOS OVER COSMOS is careful to keep the melodic aspects of death metal at hand as to create a modicum of accessibility as not to scare off any potential listeners. The beauty is that is is only slightly melodic and the chaotic aspects are not far behind. The melodic touches mostly come from the cosmic synth backdrops that provide the perfect drone effect upon which the rampaging guitars and bass can stomp upon. While there is no drummer and the entire album features drum machines, you’d actually never know it because Rafal has masterfully incorporated it into the fabric of the musical experience.

Generally speaking THE ULTIMATE MULTIVERSE is almost like two albums transposed upon each other. It comes off as a lost Fates Warning album with progressive compositions with clean vocals the allow variations in the dynamics that include space rock sleepy moments as well as heavier metal outbursts that offer power metal sensibilities with classic metal and neoclassical guitar wankery however the extreme parts of the metal are fueled with death metal and metalcore extremities which allow a much faster, louder and more dynamic display of metal aggression. The keyboards are mostly subordinate to the guitar, bass and drums providing an atmospheric backdrop and there are no crazy wild Dream Theater type keyboard solos however this restraint actually works in the album’s favor as it forces you to focus on the guitar aspects while the atmospheric flows tweak your perceptions. For basically a one-man project with the addition of a vocalist, THE ULTIMATE MULTIVERSE is an impressive slab of competent metal majesty that comes across as professional and carefully crafted. If there is any weakness of the album at all, that would probably be that this project doesn’t stand out of the crowds as much as i would hope so hopefully CHAOS OVER COSMOS will expand its creativity to include a WOW factor that this one is lacking. Still though, excellent extreme tech metal album all the way through. Perhaps bands like Obscura are the closest comparisons.

UMUR "The Ultimate Multiverse" is a compilation album by multi-national progressive metal act Chaos Over Cosmos. The album was released through Narcoleptica Productions in June 2020. The material on "The Ultimate Multiverse" is compiled from the EP's "Chaos Over Cosmos (2019)" and "II (2020)". Chaos Over Cosmos is a duo project consisting of Joshua Ratcliff (vocals) and Rafał Bowman (all instruments and programming), who live in Australia and Poland respectively. The two have never met in person, so all parts are recorded individually and then put together for the final release. The band released their debut album "The Unknown Voyage" in 2018.

Stylistically the music is melodic metal featuring elements from melodic death metal, metalcore, power metal and progressive metal. While there are a lot of differences between the two acts, I think an act like Into Eternity is a valid reference, at least to some point. The tracks on "The Ultimate Multiverse" sounds a bit like they were composed to be played and listened to in instrumental versions, and sometimes the vocals seem like an afterthought. The instrumental part of the music is very busy and especially the omnipresent fast melodic guitar runs and futuristic synths/keyboards dominate the soundscape. The programmed drums are decent, but not more than that, and it´s another example of a release featuring programmed drums where a human drummer could have added so much more to the music. It all becomes a little too sterile, because of the programmed drum sound and stiff playing style.

There´s nothing wrong with the musicianship though, and especially Bowman is an incredibly skilled composer and musician. He knows what he is doing and he is more than capable of playing the adventurous and technically challenging pieces he composes. If he could learn a little restraint and not play a million notes almost constantly throughtout he release, I´d say there is a chance that he could compose some extraordinay material in the future. The material on "The Ultimate Multiverse" is interesting, futuristic sounding, and overall of a good quality, but the vocal parts need to be better integrated and not sound like they were forced upon tracks which were originally composed to be played in instrumental versions. The vocals vary between growling, screaming, distorted with effects raw vocals, and clean vocals. None of the vocal styles are particularly original, but they get the job done and they are generally decent enough.

So upon conclusion "The Ultimate Multiverse" is a bit of a difficult album to rate and describe for that matter. It´s eclectic and adventurous, and there are some very impressive technical playing here and some beautiful melodic parts, but there are also some sterile programmed drums, and vocals which feel a bit like an afterthought and which aren´t particularly interesting, so there are both good and not so good features on the album, and a 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating isn´t all wrong.