Chasm, The - Procession to the Infraworld (2000)^{Release ID: 2503}

The glory days of The Chasm started with their third album, Deathcult for Eternity: The Triumph, which had its strengths but wasn't the legend it was made out to be by some websites. Maybe the big flaw was that it was too long? Well, with the 40 minute fourth entry, Procession to the Infraworld, I knew that wouldn't be a problem. All that mattered was what it would sound like.

I expected so many different things from this album considering what the band had done in the past and its diverse genre-tagging across the internet. But the first thing I noticed was cleaner production. THAT is a very hit or miss thing in death metal. Why it's true that the most famous death metal album, Symbolic by Death themselves, has some of the cleanest production death metal has ever been granted, I've met lot of death fans who prefer the dirty stuff. So the real question was, can this album justify the production with its heaviness or not? Well, either I just wore THAT ONE right pair of headphones, or the heaviness of this album, while not obsessive like Deathcult, was more than good enough to get by.

The opener, Spectral Sounds of the Mictlan, was really just a good instrumental intro that ran for three minutes and did a good enough job. But the magic began on The Scars of My Journey. The instruments were well-produced and well-played, but I found the vocalist just a little difficult to hear in comparison, so there's that. Already not a perfect album, but satisfactory. The song was heavy as all crap, anyway, and the black metal influence mingled perfectly. The audio problem was fixed on the third track, At the Edge of the Nebula Mortis, which wasn't quite as progressive and used its melody more sparingly, which brought out a lot of the thrash factor. So the first three tracks gradually got better and heavier.

After the third track, the high quality stays consistent, as the riffage displayed is nothing short of incredible, especially in Return of the Banished, which handles its progginess and occasional subgenre-shifting perfectly. Unfortunately, around Architects of Melancholic Apocalypse (I actually typed that title?) you kind of know what to expect by that point, despite the fact that the musicianship is still peak musicianship for death metal. So, even though you don't have anymore surprises, you will likely still have a great time.

The production and musicianship of Procession to the Infraworld beats the previous album by a country mile. But the real reason this is such a treasure is because it handles so many different kinds of metal so well and so lightly that it feels like the band can play multiple genres without even noticing. Among the progressive structures we have traces of melodeath, meloblack and thrash here. This is one of the finest death metal albums I've heard, and I'd recommend this to anyone as a good intro album to death metal since it handles so many kinds with peak consistency.

95/100

I first became aware of Mexican outfit The Chasm through a South American tape trader way back in the mid 1990’s & didn’t mind their first couple of doom-laden death metal albums, particularly their 1996 sophomore effort “From The Lost Years…”. But it would be more than a decade before I’d return to the band & discover that they’d become somewhat of a cult artist in the underground extreme metal scene while I’d been busy indulging myself in the electronic music scene. 2000’s “Procession To The Infraworld” (arguably The Chasm’s most highly regarded work) would be the first of The Chasm’s classic period releases that I'd investigate & it didn’t make as big an impact on me as I’d expected upon first listen. Thankfully, I gave it some time & was warmly rewarded for my patience.

“Procession Into The Infraworld” isn’t the most clinical death metal record you’ll find. Instead, it goes for a much looser & more chaotic approach to both its production & execution. The musicianship isn’t amazing to be honest. Antonio León’s drumming is certainly pretty ambitious however the incredibly clicky kick drum sound is particularly unforgiving & showcases Antonio’s technical failings fairly obviously while the lead guitar work is performed at a pretty basic level & is one of the weaknesses of the album. The complexity of the song-structures is quite impressive though with The Chasm rarely sticking to the one riff for more than a few bars which gives the album an urgency that it might not have possessed otherwise. Daniel Corchado’s vocal performance offers great variety & a significant amount of menace which gives some of the less imposing tracks a little more underground credibility too. Those of you who are familiar with Incantation's "Diabolical Conquest" album might be pleasantly surprised at the alternative directions he takes here in comparison to the more consistently deep & guttural contribution he made to that particular late 90's classic.

Musically, “Procession Into The Infraworld” isn’t the most brutal death metal release you’ll find & it doesn’t have the darkest atmosphere either but neither of those comments should be taken as negatives. The Chasm’s more death metal inclined riffage sports a uniquely Mexican edge that’s got plenty of room for melody without ever crossing over into melodeath territory. It reminds me a lot of Corchado’s early 90’s band Cenotaph’s 1994 sophomore album “Riding Our Black Oceans” & also 2009’s “Sub Altris Caelis” record from fellow Mexicans Infinitum Obscure which was more than likely influenced by it. But if you allow yourself to ignore all of the genre-tagging you see online, close your eyes & focus on what’s really going on, you’ll notice something really interesting because at least half of the guitar work on this release sits more comfortably under the black metal banner than it does under a death metal one & I feel that this element is deserving of the "blackened death metal" label. There are loads of dissonant open-string arpeggios going on that wouldn’t feel out of place on a Satyricon or Burzum record & there’s a thrashy edge to some of it that’s not all that dissimilar to Immortal’s “At The Heart Of Winter” album too. But the major influence I pick up from “Procession To The Infraworld” is that of Swedish melodic black metal gods Dissection with the same sort of complex melodic movement being employed consistently across the tracklisting. It’s this ever-changing combination of accessible black metal melody & more meaty death metal chug that give this record its widespread underground appeal in my opinion.

On paper, “Procession To The Infraworld” isn’t exactly in line with my usual death metal preferences however it’s hard not to admire the integrity in its concept as it really is an unabashed statement on the strength of the underground extreme metal scene & it’s this characteristic that allows me to overlook its flaws. There are some really strong tracks included here but it’s really only closer “Storm Of Revelations” that sees me reaching tier one levels of admiration. The rest of the album is very consistent but the lack of precision & polish in the performances I mentioned earlier combines with a greater concentration on melody than I’m usually comfortable with to see me reeling my adoration in a bit. There’s no doubt that this is a strong record. It’s just not the classic that some people would have you believe it is.

For fans of Dissection, Cenotaph & Infinitum Obscure.

Fittingly, I get to finish my Horde Clan challenge on a high note.  Mexican death metallers, The Chasm are the brainchild of Daniel Corchado of Cenotaph and at one time Incantation fame.  The version of death metal that the band plays lies rooted in the influence of a variety of bands from Morbid Angel to Nocturnus, from Funebrarum to Deceased.  For every moment of raging death metal there's a horrific, cosmic absurdity  there underpinning some of the proceedings here also.

The sonic chaos that the band invokes throughout Procession to the Infraworld is blinding.  The leads soar and swarm at the same time, enveloping the listener and asphyxiating any remnant of silence in their path.  The riffs are equally smothering and consuming, crawling over your flesh like plague infested arachnids.  Check out At the Edge of the Nebula Mortis for a great example of this.

Corchado's vocal style is different to the one he deployed with Incantation on Diabolical Conquest, having an almost Abbath like feel to them at times.  Considering that this album was released a mere two years after he worked with the legends of death metal, the versatility that he is able to display is great and the performance here feels very measured and calculated to maximise the vocal's emphasis in the bigger picture of the overall music.

Between Corchado and Viterbo the guitar work here is excellent displaying variety and surety in equal measure, never flashy or showy but always entertaining in weaving the album's own particular tapestry of cosmic chaos.  Antonio León on drums does a superb job also in making the percussive elements of the record sound robust and vigorous throughout, using subtlety where required and power when called upon also.  The solo for Return of the Banished is a perfect example of when the guitar is allowed to breathe by the other instruments.

I don't know where the Infraworld is precisely but I am joining the procession to get there if this is what the soundtrack is going to sound like!