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The self-titled debut album from a new black and doom project, Chrome Waves are a trio composed of Stavros Giannopolous (the Atlas Moth), Jeff Wilson (Nachtmystium) and Bob Fouts (the Gates of Slumber). Heavily blackened and beautifully atmospheric, the record displays both a light touch and a heavy mood, like a delicate sketch made with a piece of charcoal pulled from a funeral pyre.
The songs flow into one another with inexorable forward momentum, like the seamless transition from "Hearts of the Feathers" into "Height of the Rifles." In fact, a great strength of Chrome Waves is the transitions, which all feel as smooth and organic as a joint fitting into its socket. Two of the six songs on the album are entirely instrumental, but far from breaking up the momentum of the record they provide valuable moments of introspection before the intense, harsh vocals return. Each song is expertly constructed, but the genius of Chrome Waves is the way in which the individual pieces are juxtaposed against one another. Each piece recontextualizes and supports the tracks around it, making the album much more than the sum of its parts and a sheer joy to listen to, from a structural point of view.
Chrome Waves are an example of a coterie of incredibly talented musicians pooling their creative efforts to make a truly stunning piece of musical machinery. It is incredibly exciting to think of what they will produce next.
[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]