There’s an angular severity early in Chorosia‘s new single, “Hands, Switchblades, and Vile Vortices,” which heralds crunch to come on their new EP, Stray Dogs. Set to release on Sept. 15 through Grazil Records and Kvlt und Kaos Productions, the follow-up to the Vienna-based four-piece’s 2021 A Call to Love long-player is listed at 35 minutes — longer than some albums, if not Chorosia‘s — and the self-harm-themed track is the first audio from it, taking its basis in a heavy slogging sludge rock informed by death metal and able to establish that kind of declarative presence even before shifting into its speedier midsection. They use the chorus well amid various guitar solos, and if you don’t find the subject matter disturbing, the inability to place Chorosia easily within a given metallic microniche might do the trick. Either way, it’s nasty stuff.

The video came down the PR wire today with the following:

CHOROSIA – Stray Dogs EP – Sept. 15

Pre-orders open now: https://chorosia.bandcamp.com/album/stray-dogs

Chorosia is a prog/post-sludge metal band hailing from Vienna, Austria. The band was founded in 2017 by Anto Pranjić (guitars/vocals), Florian Zeus (guitars), Christian Umkehrer (bass), and Gregory Reinig (drums). Already the following year, in May 2018, Chorosia independently released their first album. The self-titled debut was welcomed with positive reviews by various underground music critics, some even naming it an honorable mention for the metal album of the year.

After doing a number of local dates to promote the album which included playing before or after various well-known names such as Crowbar, Dopelord, Yob, Neurosis, Black Tusk, and the Skull and a self-booked 8-day tour through southern Europe in 2019, Chorosia released their sophomore studio effort entitled “A Call To Love” via Grazil Records. “A Call To Love” marked the band’s departure from the traditional sludge sound into a more experimental ground. Combining elements of sludge, doom, grind, and even folk music, online critics often struggled to put a genre tag to the album. Instead, they praised it for its creativity, weirdness, and even strange beauty.

The band’s third studio endeavor, EP entitled “Stray Dogs”, deepens the experimental efforts. It’s a 35-minute prog/post-sludge odyssey that pushes the envelope of the genre. The band’s signature blend of compelling instrumentation and growling vocals consumes the listener by the raw power of its transformative intensity. Set to release on September 15th via Grazil Records and Kvlt und Kaos Productions, Chorosia’s “Stray Dogs” is set to be their most successful release yet. Save the date and brace for impact!

https://www.facebook.com/chorosia
https://www.instagram.com/chorosia.doom
https://chorosia.bandcamp.com/

Chorosia, “Hands, Switchblades, and Vile Vortices” official video

Here come Chorosia out of Wien with a reminder of how fine the line can be between sludge, doom and post-metal when you have a band willing to screw with the formula. “Seeds of Hate” is the four-piece’s first single from the upcoming sophomore full-length, A Call to Love — and no, that contradiction isn’t being ignored — which is out Oct. 22 on Grazil Records as the follow-up to a 2018 self-titled debut, and by the time you’re ready to think you’ve got a handle on the dirt-coated roll they undertake with willful repetitiveness and the post-Scott Kelly raw-throat vocals that accompany, the Austrian outfit are already gearing up to smack you in the face with a NWOBHM-style guitar solo.

A Call to Love continues to play out in this somewhat unexpected stylistic blend, keeping one foot in ambience with cuts like “Dune Messiah” and “Hope Country” and the other foot on your throat with the opening title-track — don’t let me spoil it; I think it’s meant to be the biggest surprise of all — as well as extended pieces like “Innocence” and the closer “Star Veins.” There’s some metal in there for sure. Not always the friendly kind.

Bottom line? “Seeds of Hate” is more ‘heads up’ than ‘full summary’ when it comes to the rest of the album, but as it’s my first experience listening to Chorosia, it immediately made me want to investigate further. Perhaps you’ll find the same.

Background info and audio follows:

Chorosia – A Call to Love – Oct. 22

Chorosia is a progressive sludge metal band from Vienna, Austria founded in 2017. The band is composed of Anto Pranjić (guitars/vocals), Florian Zeus (guitars), Christian Umkehrer (bass), and Gregory Reinig (drums). So far, Chorosia has released one album in 2018.

After doing a number of local dates to promote the album (which included playing with various well-known names such as Crowbar, Dopelord, Yob, Neurosis, Black Tusk, and the Skull), the band had decided to take their music on a tour in 2019. The self-organized tour consisted of five packed shows in eight days in central and southern Europe.

In 2020/2021, due to the global pandemic the band was stopped from going on another tour which had been planned for southern Germany. However, using the circumstances and the time on their side, Chorosia has written and recorded their second album which consists of 9 songs clocking in over 60 minutes of new music. “Seeds Of Hate” is the first single off the upcoming album called ‘A Call to Love’ coming out on October 22nd. Grazil Records will release the album on CDs and Tapes and digitally.

Chorosia:
Anto Pranjić – guitars/vocals
Florian Zeus – guitars
Christian Umkehrer – bass
Gregory Reinig – drums

https://www.facebook.com/chorosia/
https://www.instagram.com/chorosia.doom/
https://chorosia.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/grazilRecords//
http://www.instagram.com/grazilrecords
https://www.grazil.at/

Chorosia, “Seeds of Hate”