Chapel of Disease - Echoes of Light

Angry Metal Guy 50

Evolution is hard to avoid. Humans evolved over the eons, and each individual evolves as they grow older and experiences the outside world (except for Steel and Doc Grier). Bands inevitably evolve as well as members grow in ability and outside influences creep into their sound. It seems evolution eventually finds every band to some degree (except Sodom). That brings us to the fourth album by Germany’s Chapel of Disease. If a band like AC/DC seemed especially resistant to change over their career, these oddballs had an open-door policy, progressing from a fairly traditional death metal sound toward ever more proggy, spacey soundscapes with each successive release. Echoes of Light continues this trend, moving the band further away from their OSDM roots and out further into prog environs. As Echoes of Light unfurls, you will hear 70s prog, shoegaze, dream pop and all the things in between. You might even catch fleeting glimpses of metal too. Your appreciation for what Echoes of Light offers will entirely depend on what you go in looking to find.

The album opens with three songs pushing or exceeding the 8-minute mark, so you know Chapel of Disease have a lot of ideas they want to air out. The opening title track comes to life slowly, offering a mild rock sound that becomes more and more urgent with gothy guitar work eventually joined by the death-lite barks of Laurent Teubl. It’s not all that far from what Tribulation and Moonspell did before, but it’s mellower and more restrained. Much of the song length is occupied by subdued noodling and introspective pluckery, with little here to remind you these chaps were ever a death metal band. Even the blast beats that erupt toward the end feel neutered and domesticated. Much more engaging is album high point “A Death Though No Loss” where the band puts their foot on the gas and brings more aggression to the coffee house open mic night. The guitar work is urgent and sharp, and this one feels more “metal.” It reminds me of Morbus Chron and though the band can’t resist musical side quests into snoozy, dreamy segments, it’s still a pretty entertaining number. “Shallow Nights” changes gears radically, taking you straight into Lake of Tears mopey goth rock and stranding you there as the band dabbles in grey moods and rainy day ennui. It’s pretty but it gets quite dull by the end of its 8-minute run.

“Gold/Dust” offers an interesting blend of the band’s many influences, shifting between goth rock idioms, Alcestian dreamy, shoegazery, and more urgent metal-adjacent guitar play. It’s the one song here I wish was longer, where I spent the rest of the time wishing other songs were shorter. By the time the album winds out, you realize Chapel of Disease is as far away from their death metal roots as they’ve ever been. Echoes of Light is not only less OSDM, it’s way less metal of any kind. This is a proggy, dreamy goth rock album with metal seasoning, and that’s okay if that’s what you like. The album sounds great, with a warm, inviting production where everything is crystal clear and vibrant. The 42 minutes don’t feel overly long, but certain songs do.

Laurent and Cedric Teubl are talented guitarists capable of mining numerous genres for inspiration, and they throw a lot of diverse styles at the wall throughout the album to see what sticks. A lot of what they do this time has roots in goth rock, with a goodly amount of shoegaze and dream pop inspiration in their strumming as well. I hear a lot of Anathema, Alcest, Lake of Tears, and Deafheaven, but very little in the vein of death metal. Laurent’s vocals drift from rough barks to clean croons, and he does the material justice, but I find myself wishing for more aggression from him. Maybe I just want the things that the band already left in the past, which makes that a me problem.

I’ve enjoyed the evolutionary process that Chapel of Disease underwent from 2012 onward, but with Echoes of Light, it seems they’ve reached a new form that no longer resonates. It’s all well executed and showcases the band’s creativity, but the absence of aggression, edge, and intensity makes it a harder sell for those who crave a bit more FIIIII-YAH!! Interesting, but no longer within my wheelhouse because I’m an unevolved ape beast.



Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Van Records
Website: facebook.com/chapelofdisease
Releases Worldwide: February 9th, 2024

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