Swiss metal outfit Chaoseum are a band that should be on your radar.
Or maybe they already are.
They only recently put themselves in my crosshairs when I received their latest album The Third Eye which was so good I felt compelled to reach out for a chat.
Forming in 2018, Chaoseum put out their debut album First Step To Hell that same year which led to a quick succession of tours with Soulfly, Eluveitie and Tarja. Along the way the band parted ways with their original vocalist and enlisted guitarist C.K. Smile who made his debut on 2020s album Second Life. Despite never having fronted a band before, Smile soon stamped his authority on Chaoseum's music before they slowed momentarily with the acoustic album Second Skin during lockdown.
It was a brave, but confident release from Chaoseum, which endeared their music to a new legion of fans who are now carrying Chaoseum further up the ladder to global domination.
With The Third Eye having been out for just over a month, HEAVY sat down with Smile for a look inside Chaoseum.
"We have had a lot of great comments," he smiled when asked how the new album has been received. "We are very happy and have had many good reviews. All the ratings are good, the comments are good. That means for the next album we have to kick your ass more hard (laughs)."
We press Smile to explain the musical components of The Third Eye.
"We tried to be a little more dark," he measured, "something a little more dark, or mystic. That's why the album is called The Third Eye because it talks a lot about death in many different ways and many different points of view. On one song I'm talking about killing somebody and on another song I'm talking about being a ghost. In another I am talking about my funeral - that's Dance On My Grave - I'm talking about my funeral how I want mine in the future (laughs). Everyone dancing on my fucken grave and having a big party. That was the subject of the album. I know it's very cliche because death is so metal, but it easier to talk about it for this album."
In the full interview Smile talks about the musical influences on The Third Eye, finding your own sound within Nu-Metal, the beautifully produced title track, the early days of Chaoseum, his coming in to the band as vocalist, learning how to best use his voice, their acoustic album and why they did it, the genesis of the band name, coming to Australia and more.