Live review from Love / Death / Metal:
1. Sunset Coloured The Clouds
2. Far Beyond Infinity
3. Unweaving The Rainbow
Opening the night at Love / Death / Metal is new doom metal group Chimeras, a band that impressed Chris B on socials enough to get invited to join The Underground’s Heavy canon. True to the genre, they perform just three songs across half an hour’s set, easing in slowly and softly with Sunset Coloured the Clouds. Vocalist Fraise sounds classically trained, evoking Evanescence’s Amy Lee in her gothically operatic style.
Mouse’s cymbals shimmer behind her, Winnie and Kin’s guitars twinkle, and there’s a spine-tingling sense that something is about to happen. When guitar distortion finally cuts through, the tone darkens like sun slipping behind cloud, but the song never quite commits to its own tension and it peters out.
The funereal Far Beyond Infinity leans further into solemn territory. Almost orchestral, its guitars sit thick with tremolo, delay and chorus, sculpting a wide soundstage, though neither quite pushes through the mix as strongly as it might. Still, the mood lands, engulfing the room in a reverb-laden gloom.
Unweaving The Rainbow offers the climax of the set. A droning backing gives way to firmer riffing and the room visibly stirs. Fraise alternates between operatic lines and a guttural growl as the band cycles through chords and arpeggios around her. Then, in the last five minutes, she steps off stage and becomes the observer. Winnie holds down the rhythm while gearhead Kin takes the opportunity to let rip and showcase his skills over Mouse’s crashing drums.
The set’s vibe was cohesive, but more rehearsal and attention to the narrative of the song would lead into even more exciting territory. It felt like there was an itch that wasn’t scratched, but Chimeras showed lots of promise and, with a little more attention paid to their song- and stagecraft, we’d expect them to rise quickly on the scene.
-El Jay
