Amidst the relentless assault of new releases, it’s surely a breather to come across a live album. Don’t think I’m hopeless with new releases, but in the ever-expanding pool of countless offerings, it’s always fantastic to receive something live. And NIHILO delivers just that. Their latest live album “Chaos Unleashed” was released in early 2025, a first of its kind since their formation during 2003, in Bern, Switzerland. Honestly whenever Switzerland is mentioned, my mind always drifts to HELLHAMMER, CELTIC FROST, MESSIAH, SAMAEL, CORONER. These pioneers possess such a formidable influence that I must have overlooked (as if, someone still need to look out more! pun intended) some quality Swiss acts came post classics later era, except for BOLZER in the recent past. NIHILO proves to be one such band, having already playing for over 20 years and building a robust discography with four full-length albums, several EPs, singles, splits and compilation. This speaks volumes about these Swiss maniacs who calmly solidified their foothold in Death Metal, and uncompromisingly playing their rousing blend of old school Death, Crust and Grinding Metal. Though, to my dismay, the release notes provide limited information about where this live set was played, the line-up and which releases the tracklist covers. So, been content with with only the limited detail available on Bandcamp sites, which shares its as ‘powerful Death Metal on a live gig’ and from the release picture, I found that it was recorded live at KIFF, Aarau back in February 2024. And, with further deeper look into their discography it says that the tracklist played here, taken from their more recent releases with a heavy presence of tracks from the 2022 album “Resolution” and 2018 album “Doom”. The older EPs and singles particularly for tracks that seem to be live staples like ‘Infected’, ‘No Fire Zone’ and ‘Antichrist’. Then, as soon as the first track, ‘Deliverance From Death’ kicks in with some quick rants in their native tongue, you get a taste of what’s inside – a fantastic slab of traditional and crushing Death Metal played fiercely, possible in front of a packed horde. From there, as the next tracks ‘Abysmal Pain’, ‘Infected’ and ‘Made Of Lies’ graze ears, it’s sufficient to say these Swiss maniacs express themselves most fully in their live performances. The sound output is strong, brutal and filthy, lending the music just enough rawness to satisfy any fan of old school Death Metal. The guitars are crunchy and lethal and the drums have that slightly steely sound, giving the output an extra measure of raw and punching liveliness. The vocal delivery deserves special praise, which sound like someone brutally choked and almost dying without any water. With their effortless switching from brutality to mid-tempo pounding in each track, they command for making heads and necks roll sadistically. No wonder these maniacs jam a lot, possibly beside some stunning Swiss mountainsides or gorges, with unlimited material to fuel their quest of playing Death Metal. The remaining tracks, ‘Fueled By Suspicion’, ‘Deceptive World’ to ‘No Fire Zone’ and the closer ‘Antichrist’, come and go before you realize the band played 11 numbers within just 35 minutes. They surely meant to be there only to play relentless and unleash chaos upon the crowd, possibly best revealed in ‘No Fire Zone’. The production and quality mixing must have played their parts, but the line-up on this was formidable on stage, and this live record supports that. With a stunning cover artwork to get possessed, this record is now available in digipak CD format (four pages booklet) and assuredly deserves many spins from all who saw this fantastic performance live and to any fans of Death Metal, only to assert that NIHILO is a band to follow moving forward. Find out more about the band and label here: www.facebook.com/nihilometal, www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61563068500501