The singular entity known as JBS, partially responsible for such sonic aberrations as Encoffination and Father Befouled, unleashed this romp into chasmic turmoil upon the world last year. Justin has been increasingly busy the last half of the previous decade building and implanting himself in series of pitch black projects which dabble in various doomy death metal flavors, and this most recent experiment appears as Redolent of Spheres as channeled through the form of Chasm of Nis.
This is a fairly new branch in his sound repertoire I believe even if it’s not new to the genre. I can certainly say I’ve enjoyed the bare and desolate treks he helped structure in Encoffination over the years however I never ventured into Father Befouled often, and I only just was made aware of this newly incarnated aural nightmare this year. Having only listened to it for a short period of time comparatively I’m enjoying it far more than the standard death formula of Father Befouled, and those who think Encoffination to trudge far too much (not me) will find this project to be more engaging, chaotic, and lively.
Its a short venture and while it isn’t so unusual in terms of style at this point in the game, this bloodied death shard is ultimately a dark, worthwhile experience for those who love the twisted spires that Portal’s warped cult have erected (ie Grave Upheaval and Impetuous Ritual). If you know his other stuff there’sobvious Incantation influence everywhere and that is no different here. While the direction of Redolent of Spheres is clearly tainted by those act’s influence Justin’s own style can be made out too, as Chasm of Nis does well in sewing the hopeless “bell toll” crawling doom descent from Encoffination with stretching dissonance — emerging with a sound that while not too unfamiliar does well in constructing a suffocating cocoon you’ll eagerly embrace.
Overall it’s the chunk in the middle made of two 5 minute writhing sessions that is the main attraction here while the intro/outro (“From Beneath”/”Residuum”) dabble with some ambient drone; nicely framing the release and doing well to boost the atmosphere but neither are notable compared to the core here. The first brings forth groaning spacy drone leading to rising alien frequencies and a sample while the latter pulses, shimmering and brooding like a warning beacon.
The vocal duties are not all that different from his work in Encoffination: cavernous, rough, low growls that dominate the soundscape, looping with the echoes of the riffs and drums. Outside of his other solo projects Vomitchapel and Winds of Old Justin usually handles guitar and vocals but here at least he takes up the drumming quite well. Cymbals sound fine but the rest of the kit is a little muffled, which creates this kind of increased clausterphobic vibe to the record as the rumble muddily underneath.
“Archaiciasis Ænfernal” is presented as a formidable torrent of darkness, churning painfully in a chamber which echoes each scratched and tremolo picked riff, every shattering cymbal and tom blow, and every tattered groan. The cyclonic structure and force of this first track does not leave much evidence it is helmed by one guy. The doom is subtle, expressed in the ritual drumming in the beginning as he dredges up his Encoffination background, painfully drawing out the riff before a rupture — and this becomes the focus, the tangled fervor growing and receding through downtuned, bent tremolo wails. Like Impetuous Ritual the complexity (while not as intense here) is buried under the cacophony but it is there and quite significant. There’s a few breaks in the ravaging, the pacing switches by the end and feels very much like a Portal riff; the drumming feeling distant like an avalanche but slow. The pace ticks up briefly at the end before we’re introduced to the second half of the demo.
“Œnemic Subjugation”, opening with a lone tom slam, slows things down further. In the first half of the tumult breaks down into creaking notes, very similar to Incantation at first but becomes even more ominous, darkly melodic. He plays with these couple of riffs a few times as the drumming soliders onward at a different pace, creating a stormy foundation the rusted notes float in. The chaotic crawl is resumed not long after, dragging dissonant powerchords through darkness before returning to the fading notes. While it’s not packed full of ideas it is a crusher and has loads of discord to drown you in, fading nicely into the outro.
Chasm of Nis succeeds in creating an oppressive and warped sound, and I suggest you check them out if you enjoy the recent hordes of occult death laying siege to the underground. It will be interesting to see how well they can sustain the formula over an LP and if it will further differentiate itself from the likes of Impetuous Ritual from that point. I think the potential is there, and JBS can clearly carry the burden of working all instruments so I’ll be waiting on the next batch of sounds he births through Chasm of Nis.
If you want a copy of the limited cd version of this wicked release then you might be out of luck by now, but I suggest you click your way to the Archasm Releasing store and grab one if they haven’t vanished. No doubt a new record is in the works so follow them on facebook for other information.
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