Album Review: Kaoteon – Kaoteon

It took seven years for Lebanese metallers Kaoteon to follow up their debut with 2018’s snarling Damnatio Memoriae, during which time core members Anthony Kaoteon (guitar) and Wallid Wolflust (vocals) emigrated, sick of the conflict, censorship and division in their home country.

Now based in The Netherlands, the band’s swift, self-titled follow-up burns with a singular focus to smash such borders, one volcanic riff at a time. They ravage through Gardens Of Midas, as Wallid’s bloodshot howls ring out, while the bulldozing beats of legendary At The Gates drummer Adrian Erlandsson propel things forward like a jet engine.

Elsewhere, the echoing, blackened guitars of Catharsis In Union has shades of Behemoth, both in their grand scale and the feeling of defiance at their core. And while it is an album that lacks a truly standout song to rally behind, on the whole, this is a muscular showing from a band with plenty of venom.

Verdict: 3/5