After the success of previous album All Is Lost, Maryland-based pagan doomsters Yatra return not only with their fourth full length studio release in three years but with a complete overhaul of their original sound. The crawling fuzz of their earlier albums is all but gone here as the band rejuvenate themselves, adding thrashing death metal with a blackened edge to their own particular brand of doom-laden sludge.
From the band’s faster, more aggressive approach all the way down to the revamped logo, Born Into Chaos (Prosthetic) changes everything. Unafraid to tear up the rule book and go again, at one point the trio even came close to changing their name entirely. So while All Is Lost may have hinted at future changes, …Chaos doesn’t mess about with any of that subtlety, hitting you right from the off with the scathing ‘Death Cantation’ and ‘Born Into Chaos’, the former showcasing frontman Dana Helmuth‘s venomous riffs and inhuman rasping vocals, the latter featuring a slow doomy section and measured bursts of tremolo picking.
After the chaotic brutality of ‘Wrath of the Warmaster’, drummer Sean Lafferty dominates the pulsating ‘Terminate By The Sword’ as his complex drum patterns reinforce Helmuth’s powerful riffs and Maria Geisbert‘s pummelling bass. Animalistic blackened death metal meets Slayer on the savage ‘Reign of Terror’ while ‘Terrorizer’ is basically Black Sabbath with chainsaws and blastbeats. ‘Omens of Fire’ destroys all before it with a thunderous groove and a riff reminiscent of ‘Nuclear War’ by Canadian prog-thrashers Voivod before furious, lurching closer ‘Tormentation’ ends matters with an almost playfully violent display of wanton destruction.
Boasting a sturdy mix by Noel Mueller (Foehammer, Myopic), an occasionally breakneck pace, and piercing guitar solos which leave you wanting more, Born Into Chaos is a bold step forward in Yatra’s evolution. A violent rebirth which – as usually happens with artistic choices such as this – could potentially split their fan base down the middle but could also ultimately result in the opening of many newer and wider doors.
Buy the album here: https://yatradeath.bandcamp.com/album/born-into-chaos
7 / 10
GARY ALCOCK