Chasmbound are a young New York-based one-man army, formed in 2014 by Jun and now debuting with Sourpop via Montréal-based Deathbound Records. This first album was produced by Jun and engineer Jaime Marcelo, and mastered at GAB Recordings with Garry Brents. It’s recorded with the assistance of two additional session vocalists (A. Toussi and R. Gill), and the whole album lasts for about half an hour.
With Chasmbound, Jun brings a very catchy / catching mixture of Melodic Black Metal, math-injected Metalcore, sludgy Post-Hardcore and guitar-based Shoegaze / Post-Rock. It’s remarkable to notice the fine equilibrium in between aggressive extremities and a melancholic and melodious character at the same time. Of course it has to do with the variation in melodies and structure (cf. the different tempos within each single piece, with fine-elaborated tempo-changes going on). But when talking about variation, there is no reason not to mention the few Ambient / Dark Wave-alike intermezzos, the mechano-industrial influences at the background (cf. the drum programming, for example) or the synth-created additions, like that trumpetty sound in the short instrumental Bergen St. or the jazzy aspects in Sepia Is The Dream; the extremely wide range of elements and influences from all corners of the musical spectrum…
Despite a huge dose of aggression, I think that quite everything is spiced with a huge level of Pop Music-alike subtleties. I’m pretty sure the album’s title does refer to that aspect. The other part of the title, ‘soar’, well, it’s quite evident too that there is a sourness going on, a frustration on behalf of modern city’s life. This easily focuses on the lyrical concept, with each composition being nailed on ‘a scene set in a metropolis’. And it also defines the catchiness of the vocal / instrumental totality. As said, it’s quite harsh and intensive, but at the same time extremely accessible for a new generation of (Metal) fans.