The Spell of Retribution

Now this is more like it! Signing with a proper label and recording 2004's Spell of Retribution in a suitable studio not only helped the Chasm obtain a professional-sounding album, it served to reinvigorate their songwriting. To put it as gently as possible, the preceding Conjuration of the Spectral Empire, besides sounding like it was recorded in a broom closet, had shown worrying signs of creative stagnation that not even the Chasm's innately complex songwriting seemed capable of overcoming. But, thanks to their seemingly bottomless (as in a chasm — get it?) stash of battle-ready metal riffs (fit to rival latter-day epic thrashers Dark Angel), and a renewed commitment to slapping them together in unexpected combinations, the Chicago-based group may have found a way out of their labyrinthine conundrum. The proof, as they say, is in the pudding, and, with its cycling melodic lick, opening instrumental (some things never change) "From the Curse, a Scourge..." harks back to heavy metal's more innocent, categorically undiluted old days. Moving right along, recognizably challenging material like "Conqueror & Warlord" and "Remains of the Covenant" mark a return to the Chasm's clever and inventive, multi-part works of old; the melodic doom passages of "Retribution of the Lost Years" resumes the band's long-running "I, the Pastfinder" series with memorable and emotionally complex results, and "Fortress" affords one of the most dazzling displays of full-on speed-thrashing to be found in this or any other decade. Cherry-top all these with frontman Daniel Corchado's enduring dedication to penning ever-obscure, but thoughtful, occult-based fantasy metal lyrics (as evocative as anyone who actually reads heavy metal lyrics could ever expect), and the Chasm's reputation for meticulously crafted thrash/death/black metal would appear to be reestablished. In other words, Spell of Retribution is a clear return to form.