Olkoth - At the Eye of Chaos

Don’t let Olkoth’s genrefication fool you, as Metal Archives claims them to be Black/Death Metal - this is a tech death band through and through, taking pages from the likes of Nile and Hate Eternal to create a wall of brutal, intense riffage, combined with a thousand mile an hour blistering yet atmospheric solos, that all comes together to sound as though they are summoning a beast from within the earth’s core.

Based out of Columbia, South Carolina (just a stone’s throw from Nile’s birthplace in Greenville), this four-piece have ties to Hideous Divinity and Lecherous Nocturne, among many others, and this full-length dropped this past May to a surprising lack of buzz. The reception for this record should be louder than the record itself, as it is some of the freshest and most exciting death metal to grace our ears for quite some time. It’s not often a band can come along and drop their debut and sound as though they have been playing together all their lives. That said, Olkoth did form in 2016, taking until 2019 to release their first demo before being signed to Everlasting Spew - who are putting out some great releases by the way. I’d be remiss to mention that the band has one other tie to Nile, and then I promise I will shut up about their similarities - see, for a little while Olkoth had Brad Parris on bass - who played on Nile’s most recent effort Vile Nilotic Rites (and also wrote one of their live staples - Snakepit Mating Frenzy!) - anyway that’s enough of the Nile comparisons - but just know, if you like Nile, you will be more than happy with this record.

Olkoth released four singles in the lead up to At the Eye of Chaos, and each and every one of them is to die for. The first of the singles, Eidolon in the Flames rears its head at track 6 on the LP, and features a great dissonant motif and marching drum line throughout, and uses the rest of the time to burrow into your skull with crushing riffs and killer vocal lines. Alhazred, the album opener was another single, and this one might just be my favourite on the entire 35 minute album, they start strong, and believe me - they don’t let up. Alhazred is mental, it’s all over the place in the most technically proficient way, with evil sounding chords ringing through its chorus, and impossible-to-play sounding riffs carving their way through the remainder of the song. You really have to listen to it after finishing this review, or during, it’s a new heavy.

The entire 35 minute run of the album is choc-full of impressive riffs and stunning instrumentation - whatever instrument you like, you’re going to have a good time. Here’s hoping they follow up with a big tour, with these skills they are probably just a few years away from headlining, they just need the traction - so go listen, go tell your friends, and go buy their music.

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For more on Olkoth, visit the following links: Spotify | Bandcamp