Johannesburg-based industrialised thrash metal machine Chaos Doctrine’s long awaited third album has been set for release on Friday 26 April 2024, with the official launch show on the 27th of April. The album is called Bellum and follows on their self-titled debut (2018), the EP ‘The Chaos Chronicles Volume I’ (2019), and their blistering sophomore ‘and in the Beginning…. They Lied’ (2021).

Bellum promises to leave a scorched earth in its wake, with 9 tracks delivering everything we have come to expect from Chaos Doctrine – and a whole lot more. Bellum means ‘war’, and war is indeed what you get. What this album brings you is a sonic journey where Chaos Doctrine has unapologetically experimented to expand their repertoire exponentially, without either compromising their distinct sound or forgetting to deliver on what they do best.

Chaos Doctrine has always been vocal about their philosophy that every album they produce must be better than the previous one. This applies not only to the songs, but also the technical production. Bellum was recorded, mixed and mastered by guitarist Alec Surridge in the band’s own Gemini AD Studios, and sees a vast progression in production quality from its predecessor. Alec explains:

"This album has been a learning curve for us from both a creative and a technical production perspective. With all of us being utmost perfectionists, I wanted to make sure that we deliver a high-quality album, one that is polished enough to bring life to each of the individual songs, without losing the rawness that is fundamental to our music. Bellum represents virtually countless hours of recording, listening, tweaking, re-recording, and re-tweaking every second of every track to do just that. There is no template when it comes to Chaos Doctrine – every song is unique, and so the production of every song has to be unique too. This always pushes back our release dates, but we refuse to compromise on our sound!"

We first received a taste of Bellum in 2022 when the band released the thrasher ‘Lifting the Veil’, reminding us of their ability to deliver very heavy thrash metal underpinned by gritty industrial that melts your face. Lifting the Veil kicks off the album, representing a radical departure from the preceding two albums’ extended industrial intros. Vocalist Dr D explains:

"Bellum brings a mix of the best that our fans expect of us, and the best of us challenging the creative confines of our style and collective musicianship. Lifting the Veil sets the tone for this: by pushing the album directly into a shredder featuring some of Alec (Surridge)’s best guitar solo work to date, you know immediately that we mean to crush skulls with this album. There is no room for warming up, and no reprieve!"

Next up is a constantly shifting epic known as ‘Trial’. The band promised to challenge their boundaries and this track is Exhibit A in a rapidly growing pack of evidence. Every piece of this monster introduces elements that the band have never done before, each stamped hard with the Chaos Doctrine seal. A brief gutteral solo vocal drops you into a spiral of seemingly off-tempo skin-ripping riffs before descending into a Dante-esque and discomforting journey of symphonies and choirs, constantly offset by bone crushing death metal.

‘Building the Ultimate Tank’ gives us the first trademark Chaos Doctrine creepy intro on the album: a short-lived descent before all hell breaks loose with staccato thrash metal galore. Before you know it, a grim dystopic picture is being painted by a hypnotic bass riff, relentless industrial clangs and podium-like vocals that dig dirty fingers deep into your brain.

You try to catch a breath but no such luck. ‘One of My Bad Days’ gives you thrashing beats from drummer extraordinaire Jason Eedes, introducing tales of mass murder devoid of guilt and apology. This track was released as the third single from the album in July 2023 and was heralded by Metal Hammer as one of two Best New Metal Songs of the Week and 100 Best New Metal Songs of the Year. ‘One of My Bad Days’ is what one would call an instant Chaos Doctrine classic: merciless thrash/death metal with notable hints of their signature industrial, polished off by a vocal performance that doesn’t yield until the very end and a masterfully executed guitar solo.

Four tracks in, you may have had a moment to wonder about the album artwork. Like all its predecessors, Bellum brings us a visual assault that matches the barrage inflicted on our ears. The album cover comes from the mind and pen of bass guitarist, backing vocalist and band visual artist Phil Carstens, who explains:

"Centred is a biomechanical Lord Shiva, amid his 'Rudra Tandava’ cosmic dance of creation and destruction. The background tells a story of violent degradation and decay. Framing it all is a timeline, reflecting forgotten and exploited history that have made its way into the band’s lyrical content since our beginning. The lyrics to ‘The Destroyer’ tell the whole story!"

Why are we looking at album artwork when we should be discussing track 5? In Phil’s words lie the answer! ‘The Destroyer’ hits next, telling the story of nuclear destruction interpreted as Lord Shiva’s wrath. The track is another that takes the band to new frontiers, delivering a mid-tempo melodious offensive that encapsulate an unnerving bow-played sitar and consummate Chaos Doctrine grooves.

The orchestral introduction of late 2022’s single ‘Martyr’ brings a brief respite to the listener. Two versions of this song hit the airwaves before, known as the ‘Clement V’ mix, and the ‘Jeanne D’Arc Mix’ (which featured the vocal prowess of Capgras Delusion’s Laura Cayzer). Both versions enjoyed much critical acclaim, including the same Metal Hammer honours outlined earlier for ‘One of My Bad Days’. Bellum brings us a remastered version of the ‘Clement V’ mix, which introduced for the first time Chaos Doctrine’s ability to deliver a doomy number complete with clean singing and intricate symphonic arrangements. The Jeanne D’Arc Mix, in turn, will make its appearance on the band’s next EP, tentatively set for release early in 2025.

As the acoustic outro of Martyr gently fades, the ultra-aggressive, ultra-fast ‘Heretic’ feels like being hit by a bullet – or a bullet train. Shredding guitars, blast beats and old-school death metal vocals are immediate. The shelling is briefly interjected by a superb interlude of perfectly mashed groove and melody before the lecture in Egyptology is completed through another barrage of heavy artillery. Drummer Jason describes the track:

"Heretic is a brutal lesson in the next level of heaviness that Chaos Doctrine is capable of. It is undoubtedly the heaviest and fastest track we have done to date, and pushed us all to our physical limits in its delivery. This is why we decided that it would be the fourth single from Bellum: it is a crazed testament to what we do, who we are, and what we can do!"

Eighty miles out, six feet deep. This is ‘86’. Another track to be led by the band’s gritty industrial groove experiments, it puts the pulsating boom of a dark techno track in the front, driven by uncompromising riffs and grinding death metal vocals. Short, thrashy, and catchy, ‘86’ happens like a baseball bat to the back of the head.

The album comes to an end that feels premature, yet deserving, in ‘CiviLIESation’. Like ‘Trial’, this track is an epic journey through diverse soundscapes. After an industrious orchestral introduction offset by grinding riffs, the vocals return to the podium, picking up where ‘Building the Ultimate Tank’ left off to paint grim views of contemporary society. A barrage of symphonics is interrupted by scathing barking death metal interludes before the track’s climactic end serves as a fitting conclusion to the album.

Bellum gives us Chaos Doctrine at their finest: boundary-pushing industrial-infused extreme metal. It represents a new level of maturity for the band from every conceivable angle: song writing, musicianship, creativity, freshness, delivery, production. As with its predecessor, it also delivers a track for everyone: regardless of your preferred genre of metal, there is something on here for you. Make sure it reaches your ears…. And the ears of everyone you know.

Find Bellum on all major digital platforms on 26 April 2024 or get in touch with the band for a physical copy, and look out for the supporting merchandise campaign with FreakFlag,com. Spread the Doctrine, today!