Chaos Divine
The Human Connection

By Lips McConoghue

It’s fair to say that I am not the biggest fan of Prog rock/metal. So much so that I nearly didn’t review this CD, purely as I felt I didn’t have the understanding of the genre to give it credit that it may deserve. What this Chaos Divine disc proved to me is that I do know when something is good no matter what ‘pigeon hole’ you want to put it in and this CD is VERY GOOD.

This is the sophomore release for the West Australian quintet, engineered by guitarist Simon Mitchell with mastering and mixing by acclaimed Swedish producer Jens Bogren (Katatonia, Opeth) giving it a European feel.

The disc opens up with the truly epic ‘One Door’, a moving tribute to singer David Andertons late father. You can feel the honest emotion in Andertons incredible vocals. Sitting somewhere between Fear Factorys, Burton C Bell and early Ozzy Osbourne his exceptional range and diversity make it unfair to compare him to just one style, one minute singing like an angel, and next growling like a jackal from hell.
The disc continues with mature, well structured songs, a polished international-class sound and flawless execution with every member at the absolute top of their game. The tom tom sound is probably the best I have ever heard and the guitar tone is awesome, providing a fantastic showcase for fellow West Aussie Perry Ormsby, who endorses the band with his locally produced axes.

Where a lot of bands from this genre seem to get caught up their own assholes, Choas Divine has not forgotten the art of song structure, melodies and dynamics. Always interesting and never self indulgent I could rave on and on and run out of superlatives to describe how good this music is.

Being Perth based myself I am ashamed to admit that I have never seen the band live. This probably has something to do with the tag of being Prog-Rock. Whatever the reason, I intend to rectify this at the first possible opportunity. Choas Divine have proved that maybe you can teach an old dog something new…as this old rocker has been converted.