Review Summary: While weighted down with subpar tracks, Kingdom of Salvation's "Lost in Chaos" has its share of gems.
Formed in Germany,
Kingdom of Salvation is a four-piece death/thrash band, which like
De Lirium’s Order, incorporates a strong sense of melody. Their first full length (and so far the only one) is, in all sense of the phrase, their own work. Being unsigned must be somewhat of a drag, since all recording responsibilities fell upon the members themselves. That isn’t to say, however, that this isn’t worth a listen.
At it’s core, “
Lost in Chaos” has a bit more death metal influence than thrash, mainly due to the melody, which is used in good faith. While most still feature trademark thrash riffs from thick palm mutes (“The Flames of Revenge” and “Salvation Denied” come to mind), others tend to take the path of intricate riffing. This is evident alone just from the calm, soothing intro to “Crusader”, before lead-guitar work eventually takes over. Jussi, the vocalist and also one of the guitarists, also implies a bit more of a death metal edge to his vocals, which are essentially just throaty rasps and shrieks.
Opening with “The Flames of Revenge”, an instant highlight, Jussi and David create a hard-hitting rhythm section, which is then heightened by Jussi’s shrieks of “
A tormented soul awakes, reborn in the flames of revenge!” and a melody infested solo. Most of the songs follow in similar suit, with the grinding, palm-mute fest “Salvation Denied” and by-the-book thrasher “Tyrant of Terror”. Jussi, who really only utilizes one vocal range throughout the whole album, holds his own on songs like the title track and “Replacing the Damned”, where his rasps bellow out clear. There’s a good deal of atmospheric touch on this album, but it’s usually only found in the intros for a brief period. “Exit Human – Enter Machine” utilizes a keyboard to make its mark before the band blasts in with a tale of technology destroying mankind with lines like “
Running, hiding, no escape. Assassins made by your own hands!”
Most of the songs featured on “
Lost in Chaos”, however, lack a “holding force” to listener. While the album has its strong points, one of the weaker aspects lies in the fact that there’s too many average tracks and not enough standouts. “The Flames of Revenge”, “Lost in Chaos”, “Replacing the Damned”, and “When the Sky Turns Red” have instant hooks, which make them subsequent to frequent and repeated listens, but the rest of the album doesn’t feel as strong. Most of the tracks, of which “Betrayal” and “Tyrant of Terror” come to mind, come off as just filler. Another glaring problem would be the lack of solos. Jussi and David are clearly skilled guitarists, as evident from their lead work and solos on the title track and “Replacing the Damned”, but only half of the songs actually feature one. It’s not enough to damper the experience or hurt the album, but would’ve been nice to see more of them.
“
Lost in Chaos” shows promise for the band, but it’s held down by sub-standard tracks. This really is, however, the first step for the band (besides a demo) and it does shine in many areas, such as their lead work. It also proves that they are capable of writing great songs, such as “Replacing the Damned” or “Lost in Chaos”. In a few years, it’ll be interesting to see what they mold themselves into be, because it seems like the only place they can go, with their talent, is up.
Overall – 3/5
