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The Chasm > Conjuration of the Spectral Empire > Reviews
The Chasm - Conjuration of the Spectral Empire

An arcane metal masterwork. - 94%

Empyreal, December 3rd, 2015

Conjuration of the Spectral Empire was one of The Chasm's most hailed albums back in the 2000s, and it was worth the time it took to get into it. This is a kingly work in which every piece fits together perfectly. There's no fat on this, and all the songs are put together in the best, most engaging way - that's really the most clinical, plain, direct way I can say this is a fucking classic, so I'll go with it.

The Chasm's albums work as long-form metal constructs, not at all accessible, that just take these meaty, hooky riffs and wrap them in long, arcane song structures and let the music play out with no hurry. This is very laborious and structured music, and the riffs and songs are all incredibly well written, with biting, sharp riffwork and searing leads and Daniel Corchado's inimitable croaking rasp laid over top. There's a sense of the epic here foreign to most death metal. Unlike a lot of extreme bands who go for a faster, dirtier, punkier style and try to end their songs quick and punchy, The Chasm takes the blistering death/black metal riffs and applies them to a trad metal style, with long, galloping, glorious instrumental passages like something out of a Maiden or Manilla Road album. This was the band at their peak songwriting mastery. Every song absolutely rules, but I have to single out “Travelling Through Chaos” as an absolute triumph, with great riffs and a fluid, volcanic structure that explodes from the speakers. Both of the instrumentals that close out the album are great too, with each riff and note building upon that which came before and into a dark metal sorcery spell.

The album is a complete, whole work and can really only be taken as a full album – the songs range from fast blazing death metal to slower, more mournful tracks that get by on wistful leads and doom riffs. All the riffs fucking kill without exception – chugging, galloping slabs of steel each and every one. What strikes me is how little posturing there is about this, so little in the way of flash or gimmicks. There are no guitar-hero solos and no drastic sonic switch-ups just to draw attention to any one aspect of the album or one musician – it all runs together into a maelstrom, an alchemical blend of riffs from Hell and long, winding, pounding epic songs that take you on a sort of dark, soul-searching journey. There's a sense of foreboding and dark majesty about this. The whole thing feels grand and important, and every note feels vital and heavy.

It's just good, rootsy, elaborate heavy metal, refusing to really be confined by any one subgenre, and in that unwillingness to be confined, there is a deep love for the craft of heavy metal of the most obscure, weird, wonderful kind. Any fan of real old, epic metal will love this. But really you should already know about it anyway.

So Sleepy... - 25%

demonomania, July 2nd, 2007

So Sleepy…

25%

I’m not just writing this review out of spite, or to bring the average score of this album down. I’m writing it because I really don’t think these guys have released the greatest death metal album ever (in fact, it’s not even in the top 1000 greatest death metal albums ever). Let this review serve as a warning – The Chasm is not every death metaller’s cup of tequila. Or White Russian, for example.

Of course, because I faithfully read the new reviews every day at Metal Archives, I saw that this band got one great review after the next. Going on that, I put some time and effort into eBay to pick it up, and excitedly threw it on when it arrived. What first strikes the ears, or maybe fails to do so, is the production. Sure these guys are totally independent/small label/from Mexico, but that doesn’t mean everything has to sound muddy and muffled. While elements stand out here and there, overall the mix is very claustrophobic, kind of an early 90’s Morrisound studio feeling to it. Needless to say, that doesn’t help matters. This was released in 2003 – our standards for death metal production skills are higher than this. Even a real no label group like Apocalyptic Visions has a meatier sound on disc than this. It’s not like the listener is lying on their new Oriental rug, listening to audiotapes of someone bowling, per se.

Then we come to the vocals. Let’s just lay it down flat - Daniel Corchado sounds like a slightly more death metal Araya and that is not good. Not good at all. Lots of bad high “screams” that your drunk uncle might make if he found out he was growing a vagina on his forehead. Or maybe like the screams Jeff Lebowski lets loose when the nihilists throw the ferret in the tub. The low vocals are kind of mid-ranged, and nothing special. But those screams, oh lordy, those screams need to be excised immediately.

Now on to the tunes. While I have no doubt these guys are great musicians, they are not great songwriters. I feel little atmosphere or progression from these tracks, except the first one and “Soulstorm.” What I do feel is…sleepy. I’m not kidding – I tried to listen to this all the way through two or three times to see what everyone was ranting and raving about, but I always fell asleep. I can listen to the first five tracks, or the last five tracks (gritting my teeth the whole time), but never the whole thing in order without feeling a wave of tiredness wash over me. Like when Jeff Lebowski gets drugged by Jackie Treehorn.

So yeah. Like Donny getting killed, this album is a bummer. But like so many young men of his generation…or maybe the phrase “don’t believe the hype” could sum everything up. If you want an old school killer death metal band with technical skills, try Morbid Angel. While not every track is bad on here, it just fails to capture the listener’s interest. If you believe Bunny kidnapped herself, this is not the disc for you. If you want to step “over the line” into mediocre death metal, then by all means pick it right up.

And “The Big Lebowski” rules, by the way.

The Greatest Death Metal Album Ever - 100%

TheSomberlain, February 3rd, 2006

The Chasm release perfection part 2. Wow, I did not think The Chasm could top Deathcult, but they did...in some ways. It's too hard for me to say which is actually, from a compositional stand point, the better album since they both sound very different. I personally like Conjuration a bit better than Deathcult, mainly because it's faster, more aggressive and has three instrumental tracks. But it's not really fair to compare Conjuration to Deathcult. They are two very different albums.

With Conjuration of the Spectral Empire, The Chasm continue the style that they started on Procession to the Infraworld and the Reaching the Veil of Death EP. More aggressive, more brutal, a bit thrashier, and melodic in a different non-doomy way. Listen to it on good headphones, there is just so much going on! Daniel Corchado and Julio Vitterbo with this album join the twin-guitarist hall of fame (with Murray/Smith, Sherman/Denner, Tipton/Downing, and Nodtveidt/Zwetsloot).

The album starts off with Deathcult Arrival, which is THE greatest instrumental intro EVER in the history of metal! Hell the only instrumental that is better than this is the last song! The Conjuration explodes with some fast riffing and a nasty scream from Corchado. The riffing is relentless and rarely slows down. There are solos all over the place on this song, and they all shred! Dark Cloud is next and the riffing onslaught continues. Another nasty Corchado scream in the beginning, and some thrashy riffs come in. The riff at 2:00 is just a monster! Corchado and Vitterbo trade off some nice solos from 3:10-3:44. Another great song. The Ecstasy of Pain and Destruction has some slower parts in it but still keeps up the speed for the majority of the song. More of the same: great everything! Brand the Mournful Liberation starts off very slow and melodic and has slower riffs and slower leads but then gets insane at 4:10. At 5:14 more jaw-dropping riffs kick in. The song slows back down until the end. Incredible stuff. The sixth song Master of the Arcane Torment is more mid-paced then the previous five. Just more insane riffs and solos. I know I keep repeating myself from song to song but you really have to hear this album. Then you will know of all the greatness I speak of. Travelling Through Chaos (I, The Pastfinder II) is very old-school Chasm sounding for the first two and a half minutes. The lead from 0:20-1:29 is simply put, beautiful. Melodic in the doomy way. Another lead kicks in at 1:59-2:30 and is just as beautiful. The original I, The Pastfinder was on the From the Lost Years... album, but this version sounds very Deathcult-ish. There are a few more melodic and beautiful leads up until 5:06 when it just explodes with godly-like riffs and solos until the song ends. Fucking briliant. The next song Reveal the Truth is the shortest song (not counting the next track which is a short instrumental that leads into the album closing instrumental). The song starts off fast, gets slow, then mid-paced and then ends fast. More of the same greatness. A Soulstorm Bleeds Over the Horizon starts off very slowly for the first minute and six seconds until a breathtaking solo is played until the song ends at 2:24 leading into the next track, the 9 and a half minute epic album closing instrumental. Holy fucking shit! This is the greatest instrumental I've ever heard. This is epic! Better than Transylvania (not really epic, but still amazing), better than The Call of Ktulu, better than The Ultra-Violence, better than Orion (such an overrated song by the way, but seems to be most "metalheads" be-all end-all instrumental). This is instrumental perfection! There's really nothing else to say about this song. I'm not even gonna point out specific riffs and solos. This is my favorite Chasm song. This song is brilliant from beginning to end (but the same can be said about the entire album really).

This album, Conjuration of the Spectral Empire, is mandatory. Even if you loathe death metal the guitar work and brilliance of this album will convert you over and if you are a Chasm fan then I'm sure you already have it. This album is my favorite death metal album and one of my 5 favorite albums of all time. Up there with The Somberlain, Storm of the Light's Bane, Powerslave and Darkness Descends. A true fucking masterpiece! Buy it! Now!

"Expulse the Weak and False from our Once Mighty Empire, Banish and Destroy their Feeble and Pathetic Forms of Existence, Because they have Never Understood the Immense Aura of this Crusade..."

The Chasm give me my first taste of honor/glory - 100%

aportaltonowhere713, December 23rd, 2004

Conjuration Of The Spectral Empire was my first Chasm cd, I bought it around last October/November…At first, the idea of trying to digest 7 minute songs wasn’t too appealing, but luckily I took Miguel from Spellbound’s advice…I plunged in and entered The Chasmcult…It took me a few good listens before I could even begin to grasp this complex, but simply amazing album…The first track, Deathcul Arrival, is just that, the arrival of something truly unique and imaginative…somehow The Chasm keeps me interested for five and half minutes, something that most bands would fail miserably at if they tried to make a five and half minute instrumental, this first track sets the mood for the rest of the album perfectly…Next up, the track The Conjuration takes you on a ride thru the spectral empire, while The Ecstasy Of Pain And Destruction totally destroys you with speed and aggression. Brand The Mournful Liberation and The Master Of Arcane Torment can be summed up by one of Daniel’s lyrics: I’m The Master Of Arcane Torment And My Feelings Are Fucking Lost! The first minute and a half of Traveling Through Chaos makes me want to drive my car off the highway right smack dab into a tree doing 100 miles an hour…Those leads are some of the most beautiful and depressive I have ever heard…Reveal The Truth takes shows you that The Chasm can play as fast and as tight as any other death metal band…A Soulstorm Bleeds Over The Horizon has some more beautiful sounding leads and very cool sound effects…and to top all of this off, these guys close this album off with the absolutely EPIC 10 minute instrumental Procession To The Infraworld, this song leaves me speechless, this band takes you up and down and all around, I love the clean guitar tone use in this instrumental as well as the other songs that it is used on too. Antonio is truly a master of his drum kit, his drum fills never get boring and as others have said and noticed, he never creates the dreaded wall of noise. Daniel’s songwriting and guitar playing are as amazing as ever, and Julio’s just as good as Daniel, which makes the guitar work awesome, even the bass playing stands out on this cd as well as their other ones. This is for the REAL and TRUE supporters of the Deathcult, enter if you dare!