With The Hypercosmic Paradox, Chaos Over Cosmos pushes its technical and cosmic vision further than ever. In this interview, the mastermind behind the project discusses the album’s creation, influences, and uncompromising artistic approach.
Serial Metalbums: Can you tell us how Chaos over Cosmos was born? What was the initial idea or vision behind creating this project?
Rafał: Chaos Over Cosmos started somewhere between 2015-2017, but the idea had been in my head for a long time before that. After struggling with keeping a stable, performing lineup and facing difficulties working with other people, I decided to handle everything myself. That way, I wouldn’t have to make any creative, time, or other compromises, and I could fully express myself musically. That was the initial idea - having the freedom to realize my musical visions and ambitions without any limits.
Serial Metalbums: Why did you choose to develop Chaos over Cosmos as a one-person project? What does this format allow you to express musically and conceptually?
Rafał: It allows me to express musically and conceptually exactly what I want, without any limitations. That’s why I decided to make this a one-person project. When I work with vocalists, they have some musical freedom, but they also get certain guidelines from me and, most importantly, clear instructions about where the vocals should appear. Everything is planned by me, from the compositions to the sound.
This gives me creative freedom. I’m not limited by other people’s opinions, and I don’t have to compromise my ideas, so what I create is fully my own, fully honest music, without outside influence. Another aspect is that I don’t have to worry about any logistical issues with arrangements. If I want a song to have 25 guitar tracks and 15 synth tracks, I can do it without thinking about how to manage it live: how many people would perform with me and how to organize them, haha. As a one-man project, it’s just me and my ideas, with no limits.
Serial Metalbums: How would you personally define the sound of Chaos over Cosmos? What elements do you consider essential to your musical identity?
Rafał: Well, I’d define the sound of Chaos Over Cosmos by a few elements that I see as essential to my musical identity. First - guitars - highly technical guitars, with lots of shredding in the lead parts. Second, a cosmic atmosphere that gives the music a vast, expansive feeling, kind of science-fiction vibe. And third, a specific, almost dehumanized tone that makes the whole sound quite unusual. I feel like these three aspects are what people associate with my music the most.
Serial Metalbums: Which musical influences—both within and outside metal—have shaped your approach to songwriting and atmosphere?
Rafał: My influences mostly come from progressive and technical metal bands like Obscura, Necrophagist, Symphony X, Scar Symmetry, Animals as Leaders and many more. I also really enjoy jazz, and I’m a huge fan of guitarist Allan Holdsworth, who had a massive impact on my own search for the right guitar sound. He’s very smooth, very fast, and fluid, and he was a big inspiration both in my playing and in shaping the lead guitar tone and the long post-production process.
I also draw a lot of inspiration from classical music, which helps me create technical guitar parts. Classical virtuosos are just as important, if not more so, than guitar-specific influences for me. I believe there’s still so much you can bring into metal music from classical inspirations. Of course, there’s something like neoclassical metal, which I also enjoy and which inspires me, but the potential for inspiration from classical music is much broader, and I’m sure of that.
Serial Metalbums: Looking back at your first three albums, how do you feel the project has evolved musically and conceptually over time?
Rafał: A big change happened after the first album, which was more of a classic heavy metal mixed with old-school progressive elements, even with some space rock. After that first record, the shift was quite radical, with the music becoming much denser and way more technical. From album to album, this direction deepened, but without any revolutions, keeping the same core elements I mentioned before. It’s a reflection of my own musical fascinations, explorations, and challenges.
Serial Metalbums: Can you walk us through the writing and recording process of your latest album, The Hypercosmic Paradox? How did it differ from your previous releases?
Rafał: I already have my well-established way of working on music, and I approached The Hypersonic Paradox following that path. First, I composed the entire album because I don’t like recording track by track; I prefer to have everything finished and get a bigger picture of the whole record. It was the same this time. I don’t improvise much, so about 95% of the material was recorded exactly the way I composed it.
As you’ve probably noticed, vocals play a specific role in my project - they’re more of an addition to the music than a main instrument. That’s why it’s important for me to have everything very precisely prepared instrumentally first, even small additional structures in the compositions. For this reason, vocals are always added absolutely at the end, once all the instrumental demos are already recorded.
The whole composing and recording process was long, definitely the longest in the history of Chaos Over Cosmos. I think composing alone took me well over a year of really active work, which is quite a long time for material that’s just over half an hour. There’s a lot happening in the album, many structures, and I composed it quite meticulously, so it took some time. Recording also took a lot of time because the material is very difficult, and I’m very picky - as always I decided that only the very best tracks, exactly the way I wanted them, would make it onto the album, nothing is random.
Post-production also took a lot of time. Getting that smooth sound, setting effects, and kind of “weirding” and futurizing everything. A good analogy is something I heard from a black metal band once, that they like to make the sound a bit “ugly” in post-production to give it a specific character. In my case, it’s the same approach, but it’s not about making the sound ugly, it’s about cooling it down and dehumanizing it. In summary, every stage of making the album, from composing, through recording, to post-production, took a long time. As always, I was meticulous and very picky, haha.
Serial Metalbums: How do you view the current metal scene today, both locally and internationally?
Rafał: I don’t really follow the scene on my own, but I often come across bands by chance, through reviews on sites by reviewers I know and like. That way I stay fairly up to date, and it seems to me that the level is high - there are a lot of interesting niche bands.
By the way, I want to take this opportunity to show respect and appreciation for you and others who take the time to write about music, because that’s really key for the scene - maybe not so much the international one, but definitely the more underground side. Sorry for the digression. And well, a band I’ve been keeping a very close eye on in recent years is Blood Incantation. Their concert next year, which I’m going to, will be a very big musical event for me.
Serial Metalbums: What can we expect next from Chaos over Cosmos? Are there already ideas or concepts taking shape for future releases?
Rafał: Expect the unexpected, haha! But seriously, it’s still too early to talk about plans - we’ll see what happens. I’ll definitely let you know!