Chicago-based post-black metal unit Chrome Waves have been at it in some capacity in 2010, but when guitarist and band mastermind Jeff Wilson stepped away from Wolvhammer and Abigail Wilson last year, he decided to take the band full time. That entailed recruiting new vocalist/guitarist James Benson to the cause before recording A Grief Observed, their first full-length.
The members’ collective experience with groups like the aforementioned as well as Apostle of Solitude, Nachtmystium, Krieg and a slew of others shines through clearly with songs like “Past the Lights,” which combines the harshness of black metal with ethereal melodies and clean singing to dramatic effect. The song—and the whole album—thrive because of Chrome Waves’ ability to balance those disparate worlds.
Wilson explains that the accompanying video had to remain true to the band’s core, which is simple and focused on the music.
“This song screams to be a performance video and we just couldn’t deny breaking out of our comfort zone by doing one,” he offers. “Maybe we aren’t the typical modern metal band playing a million notes or going beyond 200+ bpm, but we’ll be happy to take the Lemmy template… We’ll play loud and we’ll play rock ‘n roll.”
A Grief Observed is due out on March 1 via Disorder Recordings, but you can listen to “Past the Lights” now. Be warned: you’ll want to listen over and over.
