Yeah, I already announced my last review for this year the other day, but something came up – something so great that I need to write one more review for 2025. You see, Einstein figured out that the faster you go, the slower time passes for you. This phenomenon, called time dilation, is something very close to the feeling you get when you listen to some of the tracks on the new album, “The Hypercosmic Paradox,” released on December 15th, 2025, independently, by CHAOS OVER COSMOS, the musical outlet founded in 2017 by Krakow-based multi-instrumentalist Rafał Bowman. His previous offering, “A Dream If Ever There Was One” (2022), was quite an impressive sonic exploration into the depths of guitar-driven, progressive tech-death, and this new endeavor probes further into the quantum alchemy of blistering riffs that assault you at breakneck speed. Like last time, the songs are composed by Bowman while the vocals are outsourced to a guest musician – this time to Pakistani vocalist Taha Mohsin, who is also responsible for the lyrics. The funny thing here is that I’m not exactly a diehard fan of ultra-fast riffages but rather a proponent of the notorious “Less is more” approach when it comes to music. Yeah, sure, even Yngwie Malmsteen has had his moments back in the day, but my overall taste in music tends to lean more toward moderate tempos and the empty spaces between notes. So, there must be something very special in Bowman‘s approach to shredding that makes his music stand out very much in his favor from the rest of the rapid-fire guitarists. I reckon it has something to do with the dystopian themes of the songs, as well as the fact that he does not sound as though he is trying to play fast for the sake of playing fast. Let’s plunge into the new album to figure out what this endeavor is all about.
In less than 15 seconds, the opener hits you in the face with some über-fast guitar shreddings that sound like lasers beaming at you at the speed of light. Even the programmed drums follow suit and drop some frantic double-kick rolls in a matching tempo. The impact is something closer to video-game music than progressive metal, to be honest, and it works rather nicely – even the song titles suggest something science fiction-related, so this excessive approach makes sense. I couldn’t help but reflect on my recent playthrough of the highly acclaimed Mass Effect trilogy; even though its soundtrack was very different overall from this sonic blast, some of the franchise’s action-packed scenes could have used music exactly like this to emphasize the adrenaline-driven high points in the storyline. (Note to self: this beast shall be the soundtrack of my next playthrough!) Another thing that I couldn’t help but notice rather early on was that, contrary to those traditional, neo-classically tinged fretboard gymnastics à la Malmsteen, here the guitar licks are not so much about running up and down the fretboard according to some ancient counterpoint rules as fast as possible. The rapid-fire guitar licks are more about creating a specific mood. For instance, the fast guitar lick starting around 1:11 goes on for over 30 seconds with very little variation, with the staccato riffage and bassline doing all the heavy lifting in terms of atmosphere. Finally, the section grinds to a halt and gives way to a brief, ambient passage. There is something rather Baudrillard-like in the way speed is put to good use on this album. He once wrote that speed and acceleration are merely the dream of making time reversible, a hope that by speeding up time, it will start to whirl like a fluid. Listening to this guitar extravaganza, time certainly feels like it. It’s like Cypher describing the Matrix code to Neo – I do not hear the individual, funny little notes, but rather the proverbial woman in the red dress.
The absolute standout track in all this guitar mayhem is the one in the middle, entitled “Event Horizon Rebirth.” In this track, the balance between beefy riffs and soaring arpeggios is just perfect. Especially among heavy-metal guitarists, speed has become something of an end in itself over the years, but this album is one of those rare selections in which speed actually equals energy and excitement. Then again, Bowman‘s guitar tones of choice sound on occasion almost as though the motifs were played with some state-of-the-art analog synths fed through a guitar pedalboard. I reckon such tone preferences might be the deal breaker for some, but as a semi-retired keyboard player myself, I like this approach very much! They say that, even with astounding skills and technical mastery, there is a cost to the integrity and inherent beauty of the compositions themselves when instrumental virtuosity is brought front and center, but that’s not the case with these songs. Then again, I guess it helps if you’re into both the technical death-metal aesthetic and video-game soundtracks. If there is anything to complain about, even slightly, I reckon these bangers would have sounded even better with real drums, but I have to say that, along with MESHUGGAH‘s brilliant “Catch Thirty-Three,” these five songs comprise one of the best albums to ever implement programmed drum tracks.
Lastly, it would be a crime not to bring Mohsin‘s vocals to the spotlight, as well. His gutturals sound every bit as beefy as you would expect from such a brilliant tech-death offering. Here and there, his throaty delivery triggered some haunting CULT OF LUNA flashbacks, even. So, all things considered, “The Hypercosmic Paradox” wrapped this year with a proper blast, leaving us curious to see what CHAOS OVER COSMOS might be up to next. The thing is, the brief closer is a breakbeat-driven, ambient synth epilogue that leaves the listener wondering what it would sound like if Bowman were to opt for a bit more electronic soundscapes in the future. Well, y’know, something akin to THE ALGORITHM, but with even more guitar punch… not that there’s anything wrong with his current approach. I guess Malmsteen was right, after all – sometimes more is definitely more.
Written by Jani Lehtinen
Tracklist
- Nostalgia for Something That Never Happened
- When the Void Laughs
- Event Horizon Rebirth
- The Cosmo-Agony: Requiem
- The Fractal Mechanism
Lineup
Rafał Bowman – guitars, synths, bass, drum programming, backing vocals
Taha Mohsin – vocals
Label
Independent
Links
https://www.facebook.com/chaosovercosmos
https://chaosovercosmos.bandcamp.com/album/the-hypercosmic-paradox
