Chaos Over Cosmos - The Hypercosmic Paradox
More like “The Hyperactive Paradox” lmao gotem.
It took me a good 3 years, and a lot of prologues that amounted to “I don’t like prog, but…”, but we have finally reached the point where I can confidently say I enjoy prog metal in some capacity. Admittedly, it does come with a handful of caveats, as is the case with developing a taste in anything. Although I generally enjoy checking out stuff I’ve not had the (dis)pleasure of familiarising myself with, I find myself gravitating towards this particular strain of prog that has a sci-fi theme, which more often than not bleeds into the music itself.
Enter Chaos Over Cosmos, and their 2025 release The Hypercosmic Paradox. It’s a release that at a glance ticks the boxes I have when it comes to checking out progressive metal, namely the theme. For all intents and purposes, the spacey veneer of the cover definitely set up some expectations, and seeing as I prefer going in blind when it comes to albums, I came in fully prepared for an ambitious work that’d take me on an epic journey across space. And I did get that, kinda.
While the album does conjure up images of cosmic sci-fi, it’s done more through a relentless barrage of virtuosic lead work, its intensity bringing to mind more spaceships tearing through the void at the speed of light, rather than the infinitude of the void itself. Few songs here display that better than the opener, “Nostalgia for Something That Never Happened”, which actually started the whole experience on the wrong foot for me. It’s 4,5 minutes of hyperactive shredding that races towards a nonexistent finish line, occasionally broken up by some synth patches that attempt to build up atmosphere, only to get obliterated by the rest of the music in the span of a few seconds. Considering how this and the outro are the only tracks that aren’t north of the 8 minute mark, I braced myself for the most exhausting half hour imaginable.
Thankfully, the longer compositions here do not suffer as much from this, as they get a bit more breathing room. The pace is still furious, the drum machine and choppy guitar riffs working overtime to keep the energy high, as well as provide a launchpad for the solos, but it all feels more thought-out and less “let’s cram as much as we can in the shortest amount of time possible”. Our first epic of the three, “When the Void Laughs”, makes the most out of its duration, and the inclusion of vocal verses provides an anchor point for the listener, especially since the melodeath riffing is nowhere near as complicated as the fully instrumental passages. This simplicity is exemplified by this album’s guest vocalist, Taha Mohsin, whose mid-range barks and growls do bring to mind a lot of the melodic metalcore bands of the aughts, albeit without the cleans (thank God for that). He doesn’t provide a chorus to latch on, but his presence contributes to the brutality of the material, especially when the guitars actually become more involved in tandem with his presence, as seen on “The Cosmo-Agony – Requiem”.
Excessive as this release might be though, it does have its calmer moments, which coincidentally are also the ones that manage to stick in the mind. After all, it’s easier to remember 20 notes instead of 200. Even the lengthy solo sections have these brief moments of relative calm, which do manage to stand out, despite their fleeting character. Their suspended character makes them feel akin to the excitement that precedes a roller coaster drop, and nowhere is that more noticeable than on the aforementioned “The Cosmo-Agony – Requiem”, which by all other accounts is an absolute scorcher of a track. It’s a perfectly flowing piece, each transition from riffs to solos being measured and executed perfectly, to the point where I’m tempted to excuse just how erratic the music as a whole is. There’s a single solo that is comparatively chill when compared to the rest of the shredding presented here, and its sustained segments are actually some of the most memorable here. Generally, it’s hard to see The Hypercosmic Paradox as anything but an endless parade of guitar pyrotechnics, but it’s one that for all its excess is perfectly conducted and marshalled. If only the rest of the instruments had been as adventurous as the six-stringers, seeing as their role in this for the most part is auxiliary, whether that’s through contributing to the low end, or being an extremely punishing metronome. You can’t help but wonder just how much more unhinged this release could have been had everything else been played to the same excessive degree as the guitar.
Also, what’s up with the little electronic outro? Don’t get me wrong, it sounds pretty nifty, but I honest to God can’t understand where it came from, and it’s done by the time it starts to register. I do have to give it props for being a chill palate cleanser, especially in opposition to what the rest of the album sounds like. That being said, it might’ve actually made for a better interlude, especially when taking into consideration how perfect the finale of the penultimate track is. That final breathless sprint toward the finish line is undercut by this little ditty that, like I said, is pleasant, but ultimately feels tacked on.
Enter Chaos Over Cosmos, and their 2025 release The Hypercosmic Paradox. It’s a release that at a glance ticks the boxes I have when it comes to checking out progressive metal, namely the theme. For all intents and purposes, the spacey veneer of the cover definitely set up some expectations, and seeing as I prefer going in blind when it comes to albums, I came in fully prepared for an ambitious work that’d take me on an epic journey across space. And I did get that, kinda.
While the album does conjure up images of cosmic sci-fi, it’s done more through a relentless barrage of virtuosic lead work, its intensity bringing to mind more spaceships tearing through the void at the speed of light, rather than the infinitude of the void itself. Few songs here display that better than the opener, “Nostalgia for Something That Never Happened”, which actually started the whole experience on the wrong foot for me. It’s 4,5 minutes of hyperactive shredding that races towards a nonexistent finish line, occasionally broken up by some synth patches that attempt to build up atmosphere, only to get obliterated by the rest of the music in the span of a few seconds. Considering how this and the outro are the only tracks that aren’t north of the 8 minute mark, I braced myself for the most exhausting half hour imaginable.
Thankfully, the longer compositions here do not suffer as much from this, as they get a bit more breathing room. The pace is still furious, the drum machine and choppy guitar riffs working overtime to keep the energy high, as well as provide a launchpad for the solos, but it all feels more thought-out and less “let’s cram as much as we can in the shortest amount of time possible”. Our first epic of the three, “When the Void Laughs”, makes the most out of its duration, and the inclusion of vocal verses provides an anchor point for the listener, especially since the melodeath riffing is nowhere near as complicated as the fully instrumental passages. This simplicity is exemplified by this album’s guest vocalist, Taha Mohsin, whose mid-range barks and growls do bring to mind a lot of the melodic metalcore bands of the aughts, albeit without the cleans (thank God for that). He doesn’t provide a chorus to latch on, but his presence contributes to the brutality of the material, especially when the guitars actually become more involved in tandem with his presence, as seen on “The Cosmo-Agony – Requiem”.
Excessive as this release might be though, it does have its calmer moments, which coincidentally are also the ones that manage to stick in the mind. After all, it’s easier to remember 20 notes instead of 200. Even the lengthy solo sections have these brief moments of relative calm, which do manage to stand out, despite their fleeting character. Their suspended character makes them feel akin to the excitement that precedes a roller coaster drop, and nowhere is that more noticeable than on the aforementioned “The Cosmo-Agony – Requiem”, which by all other accounts is an absolute scorcher of a track. It’s a perfectly flowing piece, each transition from riffs to solos being measured and executed perfectly, to the point where I’m tempted to excuse just how erratic the music as a whole is. There’s a single solo that is comparatively chill when compared to the rest of the shredding presented here, and its sustained segments are actually some of the most memorable here. Generally, it’s hard to see The Hypercosmic Paradox as anything but an endless parade of guitar pyrotechnics, but it’s one that for all its excess is perfectly conducted and marshalled. If only the rest of the instruments had been as adventurous as the six-stringers, seeing as their role in this for the most part is auxiliary, whether that’s through contributing to the low end, or being an extremely punishing metronome. You can’t help but wonder just how much more unhinged this release could have been had everything else been played to the same excessive degree as the guitar.
Also, what’s up with the little electronic outro? Don’t get me wrong, it sounds pretty nifty, but I honest to God can’t understand where it came from, and it’s done by the time it starts to register. I do have to give it props for being a chill palate cleanser, especially in opposition to what the rest of the album sounds like. That being said, it might’ve actually made for a better interlude, especially when taking into consideration how perfect the finale of the penultimate track is. That final breathless sprint toward the finish line is undercut by this little ditty that, like I said, is pleasant, but ultimately feels tacked on.
Ultimately, <i>The Hypercosmic Paradox</i> is bursting at the seams with ideas, but not all of them manage to take permanent residence in my mind palace. Doubtless it’s geared towards those who like their prog with a healthy heaping of intensity, and are unwilling to put up with anything that isn’t the band shredding throughout the runtime. The mission is clear, it’s executed perfectly for 31 out of those 33 minutes. Admittedly, it’s not what I’m after when it comes to this stuff, but it did manage to endear itself somewhat over multiple listens. As much as I admire its excess though, I can’t help but wonder what would happen if it didn’t smother itself repeatedly in its efforts to stun the listener. The moments that keep me coming back are the ones that manage to break out of the chaos and catch a breath, and it’s a pity that there aren’t more of them. Then again, with a package as laser-focused as this, it’s hard to add or subtract anything without radically altering the existing structure, so who am I to judge?
Highlights: Event Horizon Rebirth, The Cosmo-Agony – Requiem
Rating: 70%
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