Review by Alex on September 12, 2018.

Nexul hail from El Paso, Texas, USA. They play a very loud, frenzied, drum and guitar riff driven, skull-pounding brand of black/death metal. They incorporate a respectable degree of frequent rhythmic syncopation and sudden variations of speed into their music in order to add diversity. As if that's not enough, Nexul goes as far as printing the lyrics of the album in a misrepresented form; meaning, they are not arranged in the manner it is being delivered vocally.

The album is just above 39 minutes in length and possesses some of the creepiest interludes in the form of instrumentals, computerized sound effects and daring spoken words of witchcraft. Paradigm of Chaos takes small breaks playing a bit of doom at various segments throughout the course of the album. The drum toms are echoing at times and contrasting to most black/death metal releases I have heard. The toms on Paradigm of Chaos sound similar to that of the toms heard on albums such as Mayhem's De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas and 1349's Beyond the Apocalypse. Everytime I listen to it I discover something new that I may have missed below the multiple layers of guitar work and fucking mental drumming. This album glorifies Leviathan and at times I get the impression Nexul may be trying to summon such a mighty entity from the sea. If that is the case, then I can see it happening one day if Nexul continues to shake the lower regions of the earth with their disturbing style of playing black/death metal.

Paradigm of Chaos resurrects memories of when I first heard 1349's Demonior. I was left spellbound. The relentless and precise pounding of the drums by Alal'Xhaasztur mixed with the stringed madness of Lux Vexillifer and N. Bhairava showcases skill and excellently directs the listener to heavy, doomy breakdowns and at times unexpected shifts in song pattern. Xaosforos's bass sections are more audible on the slower doomy parts of the album which should be expected by anyone knowledgeable enough in the field of doom metal. Nexul has crafted one of the most outstanding pieces of black/death metal in my opinion. Currently, Paradigm of Chaos sits in the number 6 position in my black/death metal collection just under the mighty Archgoat's The Apocalyptic Triumhator. Tracks such as "Hexecration", "Dark God of Paradox & Eternal" and "Drowning Sephiroth" demonstrate multiple instances of divergent sections of musical witchery. The vocals are primarily echoing death metal barks and at times when exclaimed, expel an early "Corpse Grinder" of Cannibal Corpse vibe.

The production of Paradigm of Chaos is exceptionally clean. Although most black/death metal bands aim for a very dirty dissonant sound, Nexul opted for a more approachable sound. However, by doing this the listener can hear the skillfulness of every musician who contributed to the construction of this chaotic, hate-filled piece of art. 

Nexul makes it very clear that they are not to be taken lightly or passed off as just another band within the black/death metal genre. If you have a fixation for fast, piercing guitar riffs, hectic drumming, husky, abysmal vocals and demonic occult literature, then Nexul is the band you should be investing your time and money in. I hope there is more to come from Nexul in the near future.

Rating: 9 out of 10