Lifetime is the debut album by CHAOSSTAR a freshly formed band that hails from Slovenia. My hunch based on the symbol of infinity in the album's artwork 'told' me that this review would not be a stroll in the park. Indeed, the design of the lyrics booklet carries a 'chaos-like' atmosphere bringing to mind the fractals theory or the scientifically famous 'butterfly effect.'
So, with all these in my mind I was kind of challenged to hit the 'play' button on my CD player to see whether my thoughts and feelings were on the right direction.
When the hard sounding intro entered I felt waves of panic closing in! Not another DREAM THEATER wanna be I thought and waited patiently to move to the next one. Devil's Whisper came (it actually interrupts the intro) to free me from all lurking claustrophobia. The electronic samples play a strange game along with the industrial sounding guitars. The high pitched and kind of harsh vocals showed up and to my surprise made me think of CIRITH UNGOL! The heteroclite music experience becomes even more difficult to differentiate and label when the underlying NEVERMORE influences surfaced up! I mean this is total chaos when it comes to influences and to the attempt to describe CHAOSSTAR through their musical ancestry. Things get heavier with Hurricanes Of Madness where the guitars hit hard with twin MAIDEN-like melodies while the solid-as-hell rhythm section kicks you in the teeth through the hearty bass guitar sound. Fortunately, (for me) the Progressive shadow makes discreet appearances in the guitar leads and the irregular tempo changes without overloading the music that after some CD spins becomes clearer and thus enjoyable. Actually, what I really like here is the classic Heavy Metal finishing touches that get more 'attention' through the JJ's vocal signature.
The impressive fourteen minutes of Lifetime V-XVIII are the definite highlight of the album. This track follows the atmosphere of the intro but it suddenly turns in to a Heavy epos with various additions (female baking vocals, non-metal instruments) that manage to keep the complexity in a tolerable level without losing the general straightforward feeling. Melody comes in its grandeur during the clean guitar break where the excellent arpeggios join forces with some more hard hitting bass guitar.
I won't continue to comment the tracks of this album and I will dare you to visit the band's MySpace to listen yourself this fruitful musical experience. CHAOSSTAR say in the biography that We don't take the highway, we take less known paths and more colorful shortcuts and guess what? The have succeeded 100% by making an album that one loves to sink his teeth in! Forget the 'Progressive' label I mentioned and let yourself get lost in CHAOSSTAR's chaos...
PS: In On My Way you can also find some almost brutal vocals...