While attending St. Thrashricks 2024, I was talking with someone about reviews. It was between sets and I was just jotting down some notes on my phone. Sadly, I can’t remember that person’s name, but they mentioned that their band just released a demo for their band Chiaroscuro. So I offered to write a review for their demo, and they showed me their Bandcamp. It’s a short four-track demo, running about 15 minutes. In my mind, that is a pretty good number of tracks and runtime for a demo.
So the art for the Chiaroscuro demo is alright. I mean, it’s a demo; demos tend not to have intricate artwork. That being said, I feel like this demo’s cover could use a touch more. Like a design wrapped around the outer edge, or something small between the band name and the title. That little extra element could really help it stand out. The only other thing I would change is the positioning of the logo and title. I’d bring those down a touch, so they are more centered with the background. But honestly, those are kind of nitpicks. As it is, the cover does what it needs to do.
The demo starts with, “Sunbeat”, the longest track of the four. It begins with a slower, more brooding death metal sound that adds in some touches of metalcore. By the time the verse starts, the sound is more metalcore than death metal, and the vocals lean toward black metal. The black metal vocals can be a touch hit or miss for me to be honest. There are some death metal moments later in the track, like the deeper vocals sections, which I think works a little better. The guitar solo is really well done, albeit slightly overpowering compared to the rest of the song.
“Lover’s Heart” follows, and leans back toward straight-up death metal. The black metal vocals here are a bit better than the previous song. They sound less restrained, and a bit more clear here. The guitar solo is good once again, but the guitar seems to sound a little distant at other points in the track. “Lover’s Heart” closes with a more melodic death metal sound, a la Dark Tranquility. There is a lot going on between the first two tracks alone, which I’ll circle back to in a bit.
“Unbridled Darkness” kicks off the back half of the demo, with a fairly blackened death metal riff. However, it quickly transitions into a more black/thrash riff for the verse in the vein of “Beyond the Permafrost” era Skeletonwitch. Honestly, that alone makes it my favorite track of the demo, even if it’s the shortest track of the demo. The solo here is decent, but it’s not my favorite. The black metal vocals are a bit better here, though I wish there were some hints of death metal to them.
Closing out the demo is “A Song for Ghosts”, opening with a post-metal sound? (Maybe it’s post-black? It’s a little hard to tell.) The riffs have some vibes of Arsis meets Dethklok, with a touch of metalcore too. There is a brief acoustic section around the 3-minute mark, which admittedly felt a touch out of place compared to everything else in the demo. Its brief moment here is the only time on the demo we hear something like it. The vocals are neat here; I think the more death metal vocals are a better fit overall for this track. Additionally, the song as a whole feels more balanced in how it’s mixed.
Overall, there is a lot going on in the Chiaroscuro demo. In my mind, that is both a blessing and a curse. There are a lot of great things to work with here, like the guitar work, death metal vocals, and overall mixing. But, I feel like this demo is trying to do a little bit of everything. And in trying to do a little bit of everything, it’s stretching itself too thin and not staying with me.
I made comparisons to four other bands, with very distinct sounds and styles throughout this piece. Trying to blend all those together, while ambitious, I just don’t think works for me. I can’t entirely tell what this demo is. Is it blackened metalcore? Is it blackened death/thrash? Or is it post-metal with hints of prog, death, and metalcore? Is it something else entirely? I just don’t know, and because I don’t know, this demo falls to the wayside, while other releases catch and retain my attention.
It’s just not for me, even though there are things about this demo that I like. However, I recognize that one person’s “meh” is another’s “where the hell has this been all my life!?”. I think there might be an audience out there for this group. Maybe I’m just not the audience for Chiaroscuro. And, honestly, that’s okay.
Chiaroscuro can be found on Bandcamp, Facebook, and Instagram