Select Page

Rendezvous Point – Universal Chaos

Rendezvous Point – Universal Chaos

Rendezvous Point - Universal Chaos

  • Rating: 8/10
  • Release Date: 24 May, 2019
  • Label: Long Branch Records
  • Musicians:
    Geirmund Hansen - Vocal Nicolay Tangen Svennæs - Keys Petter Hallaråker - Guitar Gunn-Hilde Erstad - Bass Baard Kolstad – Drums

Four years after their stunning debut album “Solar Storm” (2015), norwegian modern prog metal shooting stars Rendezvous Point are finally back with their sophomore effort entitled “Universal Chaos”.

Coming up with equally strong material after debuting with such a bomb is never a small feat. But I was even more excited after the first three singles hinted towards an equally impressive second album.

Opening up with those three singles, “Universal Chaos” starts off naturally strong with the songs we already came to love during the last weeks leading up to the album’s release. ‘Apollo’, already known from their tour with Haken a few years back cooking things up with its unreleased tension. ‘Digital Waste’ shocking us with a Geirmund Hansen suddenly singing about an octave lower than we are usually used to before Nicolay Tangen Svennæs slick synths really fire things up and Petter Hallaråker shredding his way out of this song, a guaranteed new live favorite.

Just like the title track, ‘Universal Chaos’ is riffing and grooving away like there’s no tomorrow (that bass sound, Gunn-Hilde Erstad!) and making an insane unison tapping lick sound extremely chaotic and extremely tight at the same time. And then Nicolay’s synth solo over the bridge, arriving that tad early to the harmonic change that makes it sound even more eargasmic. Another shredding lead guitar outro from Petter, and those first 15 minutes of the album already leave us quite exhausted.

Rendezvous Point – Apollo (click here if the video above does not play)

That’s maybe what they thought as well, because now the approach seems: and now for something completely different. Ok, maybe not that different after all, but the alternative vibe I am getting from ‘Pressure’ just doesn’t seem to sit too well with me.

‘The Fall’ starts with a hypnotizing bass groove and dreamy vocal harmonies, slowly building towards – a mysteriously subdued climax. And a chugging outro riff. A sick bass synth not completely unlike the one in Leprous‘ ‘Mirage’, makes ‘The Takedown’ stand out again an ends that middle triple of songs on a strong note. A classic Rendezvous Point song.

Rendezvous Point – Digital Waste (click here if the video above does not play)

The remaining triple leans heavily towards the experimental side of things again. ‘Unfaithful’ sporting a Muse-like straight forward groove all the way through with Geirmund at his most angry. ‘Resurrection’ kind of introducing jazz harmonics to the Rendezvous Point world in quite a spectacular fashion. And finally ‘Undefeated’ ending in a repeated chorus that sounds like something Imagine Dragons might have done back when they were still playing rock music.

Rendezvous Point – Universal Chaos (click here if the video above does not play)

Rendezvous Point seem to subvert our expectations on their second album by taking the term ‘progressive’ seriously, yet I am still not sure if I am able to follow them into every experiment. At the end of the day, “Universal Chaos” is still a strong sophomore effort from the five Norwegians that shows their diversity and willingness to experiment.

It goes without saying, that the performances of all five of them is top notch, as they are all highly skilled players and have a strong voice on top of it all with Geirmund Hansen. Even though I still need a little more time to digest “Universal Chaos”, I’m eager to see them live again and I can’t wait to witness which direction they will choose in the future.

Tracklist:

  1. Apollo
  2. Digital Waste
  3. Universal Chaos
  4. Pressure
  5. The Fall
  6. The Takedown
  7. Unfaithful
  8. Resurrection
  9. Undefeated

About the Author

Dario

Co-Founder of The Progspace - Dario discovered the world of Prog upon hearing "Shine on you crazy diamond" for the first time at the tender age of 12 around the turn of the millennium. Coming from a musical family and brought up with classical music, this seemed to be the logical next step. Attended the school of www.progulus.com from 2002, delving into both directions: catching up with the history of already more than 30 years of progressive music as well as always staying up to date with the newest prog sounds. He loves meeting like-minded people and enjoying live music at a concert somewhere in Europe.

What’s Hot?! – Our latest Weekly Playlist

Releases of the Week – Spotify Playlist

A lot of news happen on Facebook: FOLLOW US!

Progtalks by The Progspace

Listen to our newest episode right here!

Progtalks by the Progspace
Or tune in on your favorite podcast app!

About us

ico-2 We’re a group of Prog-lovers who started a journey to share with you our thoughts about albums, concerts, tours and festivals, the photo galleries of the Prog concerts we visit, as well interviews with upcoming or established musicians or prog-related people. Follow our Facebook page for frequent updates and news around the Progniverse.

Read more…

Archives