CHROME WAVES
CHROME WAVES “Earth Will Shed Its Skin”
By Lord Randall
Let’s just get this out of the way to start with. The term “post-“ anything has begun to rub me very much the wrong way when it comes to genre identifiers. Yes, yes, I understand, due to the seemingly endless sub-sub-subgenres commingling in some bland incestuous orgy of redundancy, you “need” defining terms to guide you toward artists/bands that might be of interest. I get that.
My true contention is that the prefix “post-metal” has been deep in glut for years now, much the same as the progressive scene experienced in the ‘70s.
Chicago’s CHROME WAVES have been at it for a bit over 10 years now, and “Earth Will Shed Its Skin” is its fourth outing. Here’s hoping… “Forward” shambles, well, forward, and I’m already unimpressed. Half-hearted tempos, Insert MASTODONIC Chord Progression Here, Insert Wash Of Keys And Harmony Vocals Here, Insert The Drummer Here, and it’s all. Just. So. Boring. Beginning with a somewhat driving rhythm, shocking for the style, “Under The Weight” fuses blackish rasp to an almost arena rock-era SATYRICON vibe, and I find myself if not ready to buy in this early, at least intrigued. Could I have misjudged? Moments of AN AUTUMN FOR CRIPPLED CHILDREN (early) and KATATONIA (later) arrive, welcomingly, and it appears the trio is adept at songcraft when they want to be.
“What Desperate Looks Like” walks by, an attractive person, sure, but not really fanning ember to flame, if you get my drift – a pretty, empty shell, nothing inside of interest, but “The Nail” reclaims. Gothic rock undertones, insistent, a ride which, once begun, must be seen through to its end, waves of histrionic guitar slashings and a surprisingly straightforward rhythm our captors, more THE MISSION UK than SISTERS, the former always having been a more overtly “guitar” band.
“Earth Will Shed Its Skin” is a ride, to be sure, and certainly more worth taking than I’d imagined at the start. I don’t know that I could see myself coming back to this one frequently, but, in the “post-“ world, many have done worse.