Chaos Over Cosmos - 2025 - The Hypercosmic Paradox

(33:27; Chaos Over Cosmos)

Track list:
1. Nostalgia for Something That Never Happened 4:32
2. When the Void Laughs 9:13
3. Event Horizon Rebirth 8:31
4. The Cosmo-Agony: Requiem 9:47
5. The Fractal Mechanism 1:24

Line-up:
Rafal Bowman - guitars, programming, vocals
Taha Mohsin - vocals


Prolusion.
Poland based band Chaos Over Cosmos started out back in 2015, and in the decade that they have been active they have released a good handful of albums and EPs, with their first output appearing in 2018. Their latest production is the album "The Hypercosmic Paradox", which was released in the fall of 2025. This is their fourth full length album, and was self released by the band.

Analysis.
While I describe this venture as a band, it would appear that Chaos Over Cosmos first and foremost is the creative vehicle of composer and musician Rafal Bowman. But whether the case is this or that, it is a strikingly singular creation we get in this case. With a very defined and distinct sound.

Progressive metal is the style explored here, and it is a case of a strikingly technical sounding take on this style of music we get here. The common denominator throughout are high paced movements executed with mathematical precision, with a firm and strikingly tight delivery. But rather than allowing the guitars to dominate the landscapes explored, despite being an essential feature, it is a cold and clinical futuristic synthesizer presence that define this production as far as mood and atmosphere is concerned. Which obviously fits in very well with the album title as well as the names of the individual compositions here.

The synthesizers are also used liberally as a lead instrument in their own right, besides often being present as a constant mood and atmosphere provider. A very distinct presence at that, which gives this album a distanced feel that ties in very well with the precise, technical instrument details.

Rather than allowing those precision movements to dominate throughout we do get compositions that ebb and flow quite a bit. Elegant, flowing passages alternate with the high paced technical precision work here, chugging passages as well as layered and more majestic peaks come and go, and as a striking contrast to the elegance as well as the mathematical precision we get distorted, barked and somewhat gruff vocals that adds a chaotic element to the proceedings. The chaos over cosmos if you like.

This all adds up into an experience that exists a little bit beyond or to the side of more conventional productions. It is the ebb and flow between contrasting elements where the vocals as a chaotic presence acts as an additional contrast to these again that is the captivating combination here. And alongside the very distinct, cold and futuristic synthesizer sounds we get an end result which is strikingly striking, to put it that way. Music of a kind and a nature that will have much more of a niche appeal I suspect, a treasure for those who get it but perhaps a tad too unusual and too distinct have a more general and broad appeal.

That the album concludes on a brief, gentler dub-tinged synthesizer note is a fitting and relaxing conclusion to this otherwise tight and challenging production too, in addition to showcasing a songwriter that probably can expand this striking musical universe in a number of different directions if he so desires.

Conclusion.
If you fancy a variety of progressive metal that is geared more towards technical precision paired with elegant movements, then this is an album that you probably will find to be generally appealing, and in particular for those with an affection for futuristic sounding moods and atmospheres of the kind that is cold and strikingly distinct in nature. This is a solid production in my book, and probably quite the mesmerizing experience for the correct audience.

Olav "Progmessor" Björnsen, December 2025

Links:
https://www.facebook.com/chaosovercosmos/