Chaos in Paradise - "Let the Bliss Remain" [EP] (2011)

[ChaosinParadise]

Lançado dia 4 de Junho de 2011. Fica aqui aberto o tópico de críticas e comentários.



Tracklist:

01. Inertia
02. Sign of Deliverance
03. Awareness
04. The Hunter
05. Beyond the Horizon
06. Sanzu River

[ChaosinParadise]

Review da Via Nocturna:

"Quando a 15 de julho de 2010, aquando da nossa review à demo de estreia dos Chaos In Paradise, dissemos que os Chaos In Paradise têm um enorme potencial a explorar e desenvolver, dificilmente imaginaríamos o salto qualitativo que a banda conseguiria dar para este seu EP. Desde logo, e à partida, as referências verificadas na sua estreia homónima ficam completamente esmagadas por um aumento de peso e agressividade, nomeadamente ao nível vocal. Isto implica que o epicentro deste terramoto se deslocou no sentido sueco das influências. No entanto, registe-se que já na demo a banda possuía bases rítmicas muito fortes. Só que agora o poder espalhou-se aos vocais, ao mesmo tempo, que as estruturas se tornaram mais dinâmicas e criativas. Por isso, aconselha-se aos mais incautos ouvintes que se protejam de alguma radioatividade que a banda portuense vai libertando. Este é um EP poderoso, muito coeso, cheio de garra e feeling, que volta a apostar (como já tinha acontecido em Chaos In Paradise) num turbilhão sonoro cheio de pormenores estruturais e rítmicos interessantes. Para esse salto qualitativo anteriormente referido muito terá contribuído a estabilidade da formação e a melhoria ao nível do processo produtivo. Isto sem esquecer, o natural incremento de uma identidade própria."

Fonte:
http://vianocturna2000.blogspot.com/2011/06/review-let-bliss-remain-chaos-in.html

[ChaosinParadise]

Review da We Love Metal 7.5/10:

"Having formed in only 2008 I was quite impressed with the career path these young musicians have taken. Starting like many bands do, they were friends playing in a garage that realized they might have a sound that is on to something. Instead of automatically hitting the road and working out the kinks they wrote some material and self-released an EP for free. With the mediums out there to get your music around this is a great way for new people to hear your music at no risk to their pocket book. With the EP out and people seeming to dig it the band did some shows in their local area of Portugal and gained some necessary road experience to understand if they wanted to move forward or squash the whole idea.

When this year rolled around and the band started writing new material for a full length to be released in 2012 I guess the question answered itself. The EP we are looking at today is being heralded by critics as a major improvement to CHAOS IN PARADISE and shows their willingness to learn and adapt. With the impressive sound and constant quest for better quality the band is looking forward to touring internationally. Let’s see if LET THE BLISS REMAIN backs up those aspirations.

Review after the warp:


We start with INERTIA with an eerie opening that is created with some unexpected piano work. The song is very atmospheric and sets the mood for something bad to happen that never does. The song does create a great feeling comparable to the emotional elements of doom metal and we see some excellent guitar work near the end.

SIGN OF DELIVERANCE has the band sitting back and just jamming out the song. With some very ragged bass in the background we hear some very tight and crisp female vocals that allow her to flow into an awesome higher register scream. The vocals are very strong. I personally prefer the higher range or scream over the mid-range work, but SARA is definitely going to be a voice to watch once she learns where she is most comfortable and the material is written to highlight that.

For the head banger in me the band provided THE HUNTER. SARA’s vocals absolutely steal this song and her work in the melodic chorus shows her musical talent aside from just being a vocalist. The song is built around an incredible rhythm if you can get to it. The strong vocals and chorus don’t blend well with the rhythm so the song at times can seem off or confused.

CHAOS IN PARADISE turns up the aggressiveness in BEYOND THE HORIZON. This song once again features some great jam spots and is completely in your face. The rapid fire of the song adds to the aggressiveness; I just wish the vocals were a step higher as it would have put song over the top for me.


For a very young band CHAOS IN PARADISE caught my ear. The talent voice and strong musicians are only going to grow and become stronger as they get around more experienced talent on the road. Once they start writing material that is geared towards their strengths they are definitely going to be a force to reckon with. As for the current piece LET THE BLISS REMAIN I recommend picking it up as we all like to own a piece of heavy metal’s future.

7.5 OUT OF 10 HORNS"

Fonte: http://www.welovemetal.com/newsite/word ... ss-remain/

[ChaosinParadise]

Review da Brutalism 4/5:

This is just the start of what melodic
metalcore- female led- Chaos In Paradise have to offer. Like the namesake, it mostly involves clean singing with harsh yells but not Angela Gossow from Arch Enemy copycat. It sounds more like Otep (on her recent work) or Light This City with a harsh scream and beautiful, rock oriented vocals. Highlight tracks include "Sign Of Deliverance" for the melodic chugs of the guitars that can either be furious and heavy, or slow down a bit for some more complex and lively sounds such as during the solos. "Let The Bliss Remain" invovles a very catchy chorus and a great soft interlude that evolves into some great musicianship that isn't too fast and easily digeistible, further allowing the band to show off its talents. The opening instrumental- "Inertia"- is symphonic at first and builds up, heightening atmosphere and pulls listeners into the music right from the start. However, at the same time it stands as an oddity compared to the rest, but maybe that helps it stand out as well.

The only downside is this EP is only six tracks and before one knows it, it is over. However, even within only six tracks this proves Chaos In Paradise is a very talented band with lots of variation between heavy and softer parts in each track. The balance reflects the natural gravitation of the music in trying to reach all the good aspects of metal, and on top of that the great production and vocal talent such as on "Sanzu River" really makes it a treat. Chaos In Paradise very well could become one of those leading bands in metal alongside the likes of groups such as Eyes Set To Kill, Kittie, or In This Moment while still having their own' sound' in just a short amount of time. They just need to keep doing what they're doing with 'Let The Bliss Remain.'

4/5 stars

Fonte: http://www.brutalism.com/content/chaos- ... iss-remain

[ChaosinParadise]

Review da Raven Heart Music - 8.25/10:

"In the Autumn of 2008, Portuguese Melodic Metalcore band CHAOS IN PARADISE started taking their first steps in a small garage in Oporto suburbs, where Alex and Quik began to outline the identity of the band. After a few days, they started searching for other musicians to complete CHAOS IN PARADISE, and after a while they found Pedro for guitar, 19 for bass and Sara for the vocal parts. Fast forward to 2011 and the band present us with this EP. To my ears, this is one for fans of In This Moment, with Sara giving us clean and screamo vocals. The album tends to lead us into a false sense of security, with opener 'Inertia', being a quiet intro before 'Sign of Deliverance' fires it's way out of the speakers with all guns blazing. 'Awareness' offers no let up with pounding drums and Sara's awesome clean/screamo vocal style, together with a cool melodic chorus. 'The Hunter' (one of my faves on this EP) offers no let up and has another cool chorus showcasing the more melodic style of Sara's voice, plus a quieter dreamier interlude mid song. 'Beyond The Horizon' and 'Sanzu River' close this little opus, the latter being a very melodic number. To summarise, okay, this has been done before, but if you like music in the style of In This Moment, this is worth checking out (their facebook is here), 8.25/10 (Dave)"

Fonte: http://www.ravenheartmusic.com/products-group-85.html

[ChaosinParadise]

Review da MetalFrance 3/5:

"Chaos in Paradise voit le jour en 2008 de la volonté d'Alexander Andrade (guitare) et de "Quik" (batterie) à Porto, Portugal. Très vite ils accueillent Ricardo Barros dit "19" à la basse, Pedro à la guitare et Sara Valente au chant. Loin de l'image que beaucoup se font du Metal à chant féminin, Chaos in Paradise opère dans un style de Death Metal progressif avec leur EP Let the Bliss Remain, composé de six titres, fraîchement sorti ce mois-ci. Pourtant, le premier titre instrumental nous plonge dans une ambiance mystérieuse illustrée de quelques notes de piano et de guitare acoustique qui pourrait tout à fait nous mener sur la fausse piste d'un Metal gothique et mélancolique.

Les moments de répit se font rares sur cet EP, chargé d'énergie, quitte à donner une impression de désordre à première écoute. Sara Valente n'a pas froid aux yeux et alterne chant clair maîtrisé (qui n'est pas sans rappeler celui de Cristina Scabbia, chanteuse de Lacuna Coil), et hurlements dignes de Björn Strid de Soilwork. On note dès Sign of Deliverance de nombreux changements de tempo et de contre-temps qui peuvent, encore une fois, déstabiliser l'auditeur et le perdre dans cet océan de cris à s'en détruire les cordes vocales, de batterie et de guitares déchaînées. Toutefois, le groupe ne tarie pas de mélodies intéressantes, comme sur The Hunter, qui débute sur de douces notes de synthés, avant de renchérir en agressivité et en grunts occasionnels, pour enfin terminer sur une très bonne démonstration de guitare soliste et de chant passionné.

C'est sur une musique très Rock alternatif et sur une voix très douce que Sanzu River, le dernier titre, commence, compensé par des passages où la guitare est bel et bien présente, sur un tempo plus lent que la majeure partie de la maquette. Le moins que l'on puisse dire, c'est que Chaos in Paradise ne cède pas à la facilité et s'essaie sans cesse à des structures complexes qui feraient rougir le classique couplet-refrain-couplet-pont-refrain. D'un point de vue plus général, on regrette la prod à la qualité tout à fait relative, où la voix est parfois gâchée d'échos déplaisants; cependant, on espère que Chaos in Paradise bénéficiera d'une qualité supérieure pour la sortie de leur premier album, prévu courant 2012. Un groupe, donc, dont on attend beaucoup pour la suite de leur carrière et qui promet d'évoluer vers quelque chose de plus travaillé afin d'affirmer leur identité."

Fonte: http://www.metalfrance.net/chroniques-a ... -remain-ep

[ChaosinParadise]

Review da Metal Imperium - 8/10:

"No ano transacto fiz a review da demo de estreia desta banda relativamente recente, criada em 2008. Ai dei conta de um grupo com alguma qualidade e potencial, mas que teria de trabalhar mais a nivel de composição e adicionar um ou outro elemento que tornasse o som da banda mais atracativo. Dei pistas do que poderia dar mais argumentos à música do colectivo portuense: um pouco mais de peso junto das boas melodias criadas e mesmo a junção de uma voz masculina para algumas partes guturais, ou gritadas. A banda nessa altura já se encontrava a trabalhar neste EP e escrevi que mostrando já outra maturidade e com uma produção mais a sério (a produção da demo foi caseira) o novo trabalho do grupo poderia superar largamente o primeiro lançamento apresentado.
Após ouvir este EP percebi imediatamente que tudo o que disse aquando escrevi sobre a demo foi concretizado. Há mesmo momentos mais pesados (embora a melodia continue a ser a principal arma do colectivo) e há várias partes gritadas mas o mais surpreendente é que é a vocalista Sara que além de cantar (e bem) neste EP, as faz! Não conhecia esses dotes por partes da fronwoman da banda nacional, ela que grita com grande convicção, num registo parecido com Maria Brink. Mas é no registo cantado que Sara mais brilha neste trabalho, demonstrando uma clara evolução e mais segurança em relação ao que conhecia da mesma na demo.
Se a nível vocal a principal referência é a vocalista de In This Moment, a parte instrumental também faz lembrar a banda norte-americana, mas sente-se principalmente a influência de Killswitch Engage. Se na demo a sonoridade dos Chaos in Paradise já apontava para o metalcore melódico, este EP dá certezas quanto à direcção musical do grupo. Destaca-se Sara pela sua notável progressão mas o resto da banda também evoluiu bastante.
As guitarras estão muito bem na criação de melodias e solos muito mais memoráveis e contangiantes do que na demo e a secção ritmica assumiu neste EP um papel muito mais preponderante.
"Inertia" é uma introdução, sendo que "Awareness" e "Sign of Deliverance" foram os primeiros temas deste EP a serem dados a conhecer pela bandas nas redes sociais e são de facto os melhores deste trabalho, mas seguidos de perto pelas penúltimas e última faixas. O terceiro tema "The Hunter", está na mesma linha dos restantes, mas um pouco abaixo, não tendo nada de errado, simplesmente não tem melodias tão cativantes nem refrão tão "orelhudo".
De referir a excelente produção de Paulo Lopes nos SoundVision Studios que deu a qualidade sonora e definição que os temas precisavam.
Os Chaos in Paradise estão de parabéns pela brutal evolução demonstrada em "Let the Bliss Remain" e deixam aqui muito boas indicações acerca do que poderão fazer no seu álbum de estreia. Gostaria de ver a banda futuramente adicionar ainda mais algum peso às suas contagiantes melodias e de ouvir Sara utilizar com maior frequência o seu "novo" registo gritado, mas tudo isto sem excessos para não desvirtuar o som da banda.
Nota: 8/10"

Fonte: http://www.metalimperium.com/2011/07/ch ... mains.html

[ChaosinParadise]

Review da Femme Metal.net – 91/100:

"Coming from Portugal, the band Chaos in Paradise play riff heavy progressive power metal. The songs on this self-titled demo feature plenty of stellar guitar work, some very good, soaring vocals by frontwoman Sara and 4-songs and 17-minutes worth of intricate, heavy and passionate music. The songs are heavy and the band incorporate some great melodic moments as well.
The demo opens with "Dawn", a fast paced guitar driven track that really kicks things into high gear. One of the many impressive things to consider is the great guitar work provided by Alexander and Pedro, as they work in conjunction with the powerful vocals of Sara.
Next up is the complex "Heading North" which really fast became my favorite song on the demo. The final two songs "The Meaning of Being Imposed" and "Antagonized" really add to the great quality of the songs.
Chaos in Paradise are another band that I wasn't at all familiar with prior to hearing this demo. The results of the bands hard work are undeniable and the songs are very well written and had an immediate impact.
These 4-songs have a live and energetic quality to them as well. I am sure they sound great in a live setting and that comes through loud and clear on this recording.
Rating - 91/100"

Fonte: http://www.femmemetal.net/chaosinparadisedemo10rev.htm