Register Forgot login?

© 2002-2024
Encyclopaedia Metallum

Privacy Policy

The Chasm > From the Lost Years... > Reviews
The Chasm - From the Lost Years...

Endlessly afloat in a tideless sea - 80%

EzraBlumenfeld, January 19th, 2021

By no means is From the Lost Years... one of The Chasm's greatest achievements; but it's impossible to deny that it's a major step up from the meandering Procreation of the Inner Temple from the previous year. In the time between their releases, band leader Daniel Corchado seems to have ironed out some of the glaring issues that made his band's debut so unsatisfactory. This is the album where their more well-known sound began to develop; and though it wouldn't be truly perfected for another half of a decade, it is at least unavoidably apparent that these are the same musicians who recorded a slew of titanic masterpieces several years later.

The songwriting here is much stronger than on The Chasm's previous effort. The overall pace is much slower than what they would later settle on, but there are moments of elevated intensity; listen to the unusually dynamic "Deathcult for Eternity" and how it rapidly switches from high-tempo blasts to more doom-laden atmospheric passages enriched by beautifully simplistic acoustic guitars. The riffs throughout From the Lost Years... are catchy and fun enough; none of the weird wandering that Corchado had been messing around with only a year earlier remains on this album. My biggest gripe with From the Lost Years, though, is how inexplicably long it is; at over 75 minutes in length, it's a bit of an exhausting experience and would have benefitted from being trimmed down a bit.

The central focus here is definitely still atmosphere, but the method of creating the dark ambience so central to The Chasm's sound had evolved for the better at this point. The punishing riffs paint a dark landscape, to which the unbridled slop and dissonance of Procreation of the Inner Temple could never hold a candle. Corchado's menacing vocals, drenched in reverb, occupy a space in the mix that only in modern times has become a standard for death metal; swampy and sinister, they float up periodically from the murky riffage to emit a torturous scream. Essentially, the voice is used more like an instrument; literally nobody is going to be able to decipher what Corchado is saying without the help of a lyrics sheet, so it just feeds more into the mood of the album.

While not great, the production too is a step up from Procreation. Every instrument is at least audible, and the guitars have taken on a much thicker and dominating tone than before. The bass can be discerned with surprising clarity, though the drums remain mostly obscured by the increased presence of the other instruments. It's not a perfect mix in any way, but it does benefit the music to a noticeable degree.

From the Lost Years... is where The Chasm stepped up their game and started playing good music. Though I listen to it minimally because of the long shadow retrospectively cast by a handful of its successors, it's a strong release with good riffs and good songwriting. It also fits more comfortably into the death metal subgenre, and does away with the feeling of trying to be too many things at once. Though it is quite long and is less-than-ideal in the production department, there's nothing about it that should stop me from enjoying spinning it every couple months or so. This is where The Chasm first found their signature sound; but it would take two more albums for that sound to be developed into something truly awe-inspiring.

Favorite songs: "The Gravefields," "Deathcult for Eternity," "An Arcanum Faded," "Torn (by the Sunrise)," and "My Tideless Seas"

A river flowing into darkness - 65%

vk66, June 21st, 2020
Written based on this version: 2013, Digital, Lux Inframundis Productions (Remastered)

When I wanted to sum this album up in one line, I thought this was Chasm's version of "Considered Dead" but that's just not accurate. From The Lost Years is an album that is fighting for an identity, a life of its own. One year after an excellent debut, The Chasm returns to provide a boat with Charon as the ferryman. This is an evolving entity of ideas, sounds and direction. It's not a very straightforward death metal release if I can call it that. This is an amalgamation of the eventual dark path that Agalloch inherited, the angst that Dark Tranquillity eventually lost and the so called "mid-eastern" elements on Elvenefris.

The album opens up decently with "The Gravefields" but nothing much is really happening right away. This is your regular Chasm affair but the first solo, an out of tune spawn of hurry sticks out like a sore thumb. Although this song does provide an insight into what comes about, this is perhaps a weak intro to the album in my opinion. The situation deteriorates with "Secret Wings of Temptation". It starts off like a story promising a view into the vision, I really wanted to love this but the ideas seem incoherent from a distance. Getting carried away with The Chasm's music is easy and particularly so when it happens in the moment. They surely satisfy a metalhead's thirst with the execution alone but to me what makes an album great is the aftertaste it leaves. The sonic journey it takes you that you want to be engaged again. I don't mind these two tracks, some of the riffs are quite catchy and the passages dark but I could honestly do without them, they make a decent effort but don't quite let you glimpse into the vastness of what the rest of the album has to offer. They're decent songs on their own, no complaints but I'd rather kick off things by skipping them.

Of the many things on this album, I'd like to talk about the acoustic passages/overlaps with riffs. As much as they add the melody, the way song #3 I, Pathfinder opens is spectacular (very Elvenefris like), spiritually this is the closest sound to what Lykathea Aflame sound like and I absolutely dig what's happening here and how the acoustic notes collide with the subsided heaviness. This song left me thinking, how does one envision such a piece? This is a very emotional affair, it's grief and the confusion of existence being coupled into a dirty bare bone tone. I'll have to call out one particular aspect of the musicianship here, the drumming. The fills are exceptional and the drumming is just accurate. This isn't time keeping, this is building the momentum of the underlying message whilst adding to the agony. Objectively however, the general riff quality has also come down, the acoustic pieces get too loud eventually and overpowered everything else in the mix. I have mixed reactions to the entire Side A of this release. That's not to discount the music in entirety but one seldom finds coherence in such an evolving sonic scape.

The next track Deathcult for Eternity has completely embraced the middle path between the acoustic guitars and brutality. It's interesting they choose to push this forward, lowering the vocals in the mix. It works really well from this track onward. The vocals show a standard pattern and are just as expected, nothing in particular to point out or highlight. They fit the music well, often weaving between background and foreground. Every time, just as needed. This is perhaps the most standard department on the entire album.

Jumping onto Side B, we encounter the shortest song of the album which loses all the acoustics and pummels through the formulaic death metal song structure. The band seems to have meandered through a maze of ideas on this album. Side A has a lot of fresh ideas either executed in excess or just put in badly which thankfully erode as we move on. Side B is where this album exclusively shines in my opinion. The song writing hasn't jumped up leaps and bounds. The songs just sound more well put together. The generic riff quality is back to shine, there are also a slightly dissonant themed passages that fit well into the music. This is the side where the band dwells down into their individual dark depths to bring out a little extra into everything they bring to the table. Yes, if you think about how memorable most of the riffs or the drum fills are, you might not be able to immediately highlight a considerable pieces. The song "Procreation of The Inner Temple" is a sudden surprise which sticks out. A beautiful confluence of sounds akin to a journey being undertaken into lands unknown.

As experimentation strays from the main line, Side B shapes to be an excellent successor to The Chasm's debut, on point riffs, stellar atmosphere, a dark brooding theme of self and identity. This is a soundtrack to the journey to the mind. It isn't necessarily the best available death metal, it's surely first for the fans who love this sound and The Chasm as a whole. The deterioration of the genre had already begun by 1995, this album doesn't necessarily spring new life or immediately hold the attention of the fans. This album grows on you and occupies a space between the dark metal releases that over populate the current release calendar. This is easily one of the earliest dark metal releases in history. Being a quality slab adds to the historical importance for sure. Musically though, this album shines in parts, it brings to life primitive touches of brilliance and often fades into background of mediocre mixing of ideas. A quality release but this will always be in the Tier 2 of albums unfortunately due to The Chasm not being able to fully realise the multi dimensional journey the album begins with. Not the first choice of The Chasm albums I'd pick from a line up.

A profound effort - 84%

colin040, July 11th, 2018

I’ve got the idea that even within The Chasm's fan base, From the Lost Years... isn’t exactly considered to be a favorite so perhaps this couldn't have been more aptly titled than it is. Having that said, this album does have an ancient quality to it, something plenty of other extreme bands had an ear for back in the early 90’s, such as early Amorphis as well as My Dying Bride.

It should be noted that From the Lost Years... isn’t exactly a hammering effort. It’s not really the album you’d put on to piss your neighbors off. Compositions alternate between metallic fury and arcane acoustic fragments which would probably cause confusion rather than a knock on your door (or a stone through one of your windows, if you will.) Having that said, it took me a while to figure out what’s going on here and anyone looking for a quick death metal fix should look elsewhere. The Chasm were never your ordinary death metal band and this is yet one of their albums that simply prove why: dealing with unorthodox song structures From the Lost Years... reminds me a lot of Darkthrone’s Soulside Journey. Both albums deviate from the usual verse/chorus format. Instead of relying on choruses, you get riffs taking the listener on a journey that resurrect from time to time within a track to keep things back on track.

From the infernal journey of ‘’The Gravefields’’ to the foreboding ‘’Deathcult for Eternity’’, there’s something so suspenseful about From the Lost Years... that I find it hard to resists its power nowadays. Partially this is due to the vocals – Daniel Corchado’s cries of torment sound raw and human, not unlike a young Jonas Renske, but never become over dramatic or distracting. Vocals aside, it really comes down to the compositions that are impressive by their adventurous yet calculated nature. ‘’Secret Wings of Temptation’’ recalls early Amorphis at first with its exotic soundscapes but offers many different textures. Other highlights include The dreadful ‘’I, The Pastfinder’’ which features emotive leads so convincing they could conjure a funeral march whereas ‘’Ascencion of Majestic Ruins’’ opens up with a spellbinding riff most doom metal bands could only dream of writing. Ending the album on a serious high note, ‘’My Tideless Seas’’ switches between blackened tremolo riffs and sweeping quasi-doom riffs that could have appeared on Katatonia’s very early material.

To be honest, The Chasm lose their focus from time to time and while I can’t blame them for just that, it doesn’t help that the most uninteresting material follows up to each other during the album’s second half. ‘’Procreation of the Inner Temple’’ doesn’t really go anywhere and lacks the suspense that’s present otherwise. On the other hand, ‘’An Arcanum Faded’’ and ‘’Torn (by the Sunrise)’’ take far too long before they start to pick up and suffer from some filler-y riffs. Regardless, From the Lost Years... is a huge step forward compared to the band's debut, which seemed more concerned about atmosphere than actual riffs. It's not quite as vicious as Deathcult for Eternity: The Triumph, but as riff driven as it is atmospheric and that's makes it work so well.

What A Waste - 43%

OzzyApu, July 14th, 2009

…and I quote: “Let it be known that this was my introduction to The Chasm, so I’m not holding it to the standards of their later releases. However, I will hold it to the standard of production for death metal albums at the time” – Me in my review of The Chasm’s debut album.

All I can say is go shove that statement right up a Mexican whore’s ass. I’m now holding the rest of The Chasm’s discography to the standards of the debut. From The Lost Years was surprisingly hard to find on the Internet, but I was able to find one link in the catacombs of a unique porno site (I don’t want to relive that experience). From the first run until now, I have constantly heard this timeless music be butchered by the dull, uninspired, mundane, bland, boring, unexciting, and just downright fucking stupid production direction. This album sounds like dogshit compared to the last album, which is messed up considering the production on this album is better than that one.

However, the debut had tons of things going for it: obscurity, cryptic mysticism, supernatural depth, and complete pandemonium on a leash. With this sophomore effort the band has managed to keep their style of music, but with this production job I’m astounded at how uneventful it all sounds. It’s just… dull, god damn I can’ replace the word with anything else – its just so… dull. It’s the only thing that prohibits me from really getting into the music, which otherwise isn’t bad at all – captivating as the debut? Not quite, but still an interesting adventure into the jungles of Hispanic decadence.

It takes sitting through half of the album before I really settle in and get to actually feeling for the songs. By this point everything I’ve heard before just flew over my head, but the song I arrive at, “Ascencion Of Majestic Ruins,” continues the epic progression of melody, doom, and flourishing creativity. Most of the songs trod along in a doomy fashion, and since every song has layers of depth to them… well to put it bluntly, it’ll go on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and you’ll still be sitting there feeling more tired, and more sleepy, and more exhausted, and your eyelids will feel heavier with each passing second.

This is when I’d like to introduce the “Genesis To Genocide” Syndrome, although I can’t really diagnose it as such since it only stays true to the case of one song. This syndrome, named after the Deströyer 666 song, places the blame on one song that literally goes nowhere, takes forever to finish, and exhausts the listener to the point where they can’t finish the rest of the album. Now while no track on this album lasts as long as said song, they all feel like they take forever to finish and having to sit through them all isn’t worth it as much as I’d hope.

The leads on this album are far between melodic, thrashy, wretched, and epic – unchanged from the debut in formula but sounding different thanks to the more recognizable production job. Corchado himself, aside from letting out a rare Halford-like scream, places the burden on very ornate vocals that have character in their feebleness. They aren’t all too powerful, but they aid the music in retaining a more hidden persona. Bass sounds like it’s on the run since you can hear the actual plucking, so it’s constantly moving and doesn’t really have any lasting impression on the music. This usually occurs before a rhythm takes a hold of each song, so it isn’t a lasting problem (take the instrumental track, for instance).

Drums I can’t decide on and that’s mainly because it fluctuates: they sound much weaker, with toms and cymbals hardly a part of the music and double bass deeply embedded in the mix. However, on other occasions both the drums and bass guitar be just fine, particularly when other guitars aren’t playing a major role. All playing patterns between guitars, bass, and drums are in no way clichéd or simplistic, but somewhat technical, morbidly intellectual, and hint towards a cultural aspect that most of us will never get to experience first hand.

So wow, this album had a lot going for it until they jacked up the production. It’s less stellar than I’d hope, but it doesn’t kill my optimism for later albums, especially since I was big on the debut. Don’t let it get to your head that I’m going to judge this band solely based on Procreation Of The Inner Temple, but let’s just say that I was expecting a little more ingenuity for a band who I damn well know are capable excelling in all fields, not just one. Though hmmm, I am harshly comparing this one to the debut, but on its own I still find it a boring listening experience (with moments).

Dark death metal perfection! - 100%

natrix, April 12th, 2007

I am VERY hesitant to dole out perfect ratings, but I feel that From the Lost Years certainly deserves it. The Chasm is a melting pot of all sorts of metal genres, and never lets up when it comes to quality. Apart from the spacy debut, this is probably the most diverse they have ever been, and I mean that in the best of ways.

This is what Opeth can only wish to be: songs with zillions of different moody sections, layered acoustics, crushing riffs, coherent song structures, and above all it's heavy as fuck. On the subject of song structures, none of them here are the same, and oftentimes a main melody will show up at a different place in the song, slowed down or played in a different key (see "I, the Pathfinder). This keeps the songs with a real epic, driving feel, but there are a lot of surprises and twists. This is also the most melancholic album I have ever heard, easily ranking up there with My Dying Bride, Silencer, and early Bethlehem.

"The Gravefields" starts things off, gloomy and slow, reminscent of black metal crossed with vintage doom, but speeds up to a driving riff, before breaking into a killer old school metal break. "This must be, my lost kingdom!" screams Daniel, after a gong sets the groove in motion. And in a way, you are entering a kingdom of pure fucking metal, a place where all the old metal gods are revamped and channelled through your speakers in some multi-headed beast.

"Secret Wings of Temptation" is instantly catchy with that intro melody. Here we get the layered acoustics, which also show up on the next song, "I, The Pathfinder." The latter song is very slow, definately total doomy death metal. And just when you think things can't get any gloomier, doomier and dark, "Deathcult for Eternity" oozes out of the speakers. The first riff is an insidious, simple six note melody that takes you straight into the fucking abyss, before you get slammed with some jarring harmonics, very similar to Immolation. And right after Daniel proclaims, "forever I'll ride, on the planets, outside!" you are thrust into the black hole of all riffage...distrubing whammy dives surge up like Lovecraftian horrors to tear apart your mind. Luckily, you then get an acoustic break to breathe, before the song continues.

"Ascension of Majestic Ruins" is another slow number that evokes images of spelunking into Mayan ruins, especially with that echo-y acoustic passage near the beginning.

"Our Time Will Come..." may sound cliched, but not when you hear such a monumental opening riff. This is a fucking rager of a song, a metal anthem for the new milenium, complete with blast beats, and a punishing, churning break. "The secrets of ancient feelings, and metal...to kill those, who dare to offend," would be kind of lame coming from say, an English power metal band, but with Daniel's slightly accented roar belting it out, you'll raise your fist high in the air. Then you get a Tom Araya-esque scream right after it, despondent and menacing.

Things are real weird on the track "Procreation of the Inner Temple," which happens to be the only instrumental on here. It's got an odd time signature, kind of a waltzy feel to it, although it's more disturbing than danceable. When you throw in this strange, cheesy sounding synth in the middle, it feels like you're trapped in some whacky old horror movie.

"An Arcanum Faded" and "Torn (by the Sunrise)" are a bit more representative of where The Chasm would be headed on their next album, and are shadowed by the final song. "My Tideless Seas" closes things off in the most epic of ways. The riff that shows up at 2:05 is my favourite on here, something so beautiful yet so deadly, like a final shaft of sunlight before being plunged in total darkness brought on by a blood curdling scream by Daniel...holy shit, just all the neat moods in this song is reason enough to buy this album. You can almost feel yourself floating off into bloody red sunset in shark infested waters as this thing fades into the din.

For personal performances on here, I can't pick out a single one that is a weak point. Antonio Leon is one of the best drummers out there, and this album can prove to you exactly why. His attack is more jazzy, quite technical, and maybe even a little inspired by Latino rhthyms. Certainly one of the best and most original drum performances I've ever heard on a death metal album. Daniel and Erick Diaz (from Serpens Aeon) both churn out heavy, chugging riffs, tremolo picked sections, and some simplistic but catchy melodies. You can usually pick out some key influences such as Possessed and Black Sabbath (a few of the melodies sound totally inspired by Iommi's double tracked escapades), but The Chasm seamlessly melds this all into something all together different. Daniel's vocals are varied and his high pitched screaming adds a great new dimension to everything. Even the bass playing, by Daniel, is well done, and even though it's not godly, it sticks out and really drives the songs along or even provides another layer of melody. Oh, the lyrics may have too many adjectives in them, but there is quite a bit of dark introspection throughout.

The overall atmosphere on here is fucking dark. Think Candlemass, early Mercyful Fate, maybe even Black Sabbath's debut...the production is dirty as well, not a polished job, rounding out the overall dingy and depressing feel to the album.

Bottom line: Perfection.

A Slight Glimpse of What Would Come - 93%

TheSomberlain, February 3rd, 2006

The second album from The Chasm is very similar in sound to the debut. The bass (played by Daniel Corchado) is still very strong and the guitars (as with every album/song) sound amazing. Daniel Corchado's vocals sound great and he varies up his style quite a bit, his screams are always fucking good! From the Lost Years... is a pretty long album, 10 songs at about an hour and ten minutes. I usually don't like long albums as very few bands can make an hour plus album that can hold my attention. But very few bands are The Chasm. A lot of ideas that would be perfected on the next album start out here. The longer more epic sounding songs. The depressive yet beautiful melodies. The debut touched on it, this album added to it, the next album would master it.

The Gravefields is very melodic and has some beautiful riffs (this song would get re-recorded on the Reaching the Veil of Death EP). I, The Pastfinder has some nice mellow parts which work well with the song. Ascension of Majestic Ruins is a beautiful song with some less harsh vocals in it and a nice solo. An Arcanum Faded is the best song on here with great riffs and another nice solo. My Tideless Seas ends the album and is the longest track at almost 9 minutes. More melodic riffing and the best solo on the album at about the 3 minute mark.

From the Lost Years... is another solid release from The Chasm, but is only a small preview of what would come. Still on it's own, not comparing it to their other albums, From the Lost Years... is a very good death metal release and well worth finding and owning.

"We Create our own Destiny Embracing the Ecstasy of Pain and Destruction to Set our Spirit All Free Forever..."