Metachaos by Alessandro Bavari

Metachaos
by Alessandro Bavari
Sound by  Jeff Ensign, aka Evolution Noise Slave

A powerful film depicting the darker side of human nature in an abstract style, Metachaos uses a masterful soundtrack to highlight the visuals.   Opening with a metalic crackle not unlike keys opening a door into a different reality, the sound then rumbles, with long smooth tones and voice tones matching the white blocky machine structure as we move into it.  White human figures float in this place.  This contrasts with the sound accompanying the earthy dusty soil and organic figures, a crackly crunching sound, with constant wind blowing across the plain.
At around 1:55 there is an explosion, leading to a moment of intense stillness and rumbling, before the driving rhythm at 2:30 starts.  This matches the black spikey moving creature which is destroying all it touches.
Moments of intense stillness contrast with the agitation of the highly energetic rhythm, these seconds of peace are like the eye of the storm, a pregnant pause before the chaos erupts once more.
At 5:00 the wind blows, rumbling is heard, and the sound of stone on stone moving, crunching together, bodies moving and rattling before the 5:30 return of the rhythmic beat, low pulsing this time with higher wavering tones.  The layers gradually build up in sound and intensity.  At 6:30 there is the sound of screaming then quiet at 6:34.  The rhythm returns, but quiet at 6:45 with a rumble and high frequency, then the rhythm comes back relentlessly. The screaming returns with greater intensity at 7:00 leading to a climactic point in the visuals and the sound around 7:30.   At 7:44 there is an explosion, falling back to the wind and the sea as the film ends.

One element I find particularly interesting in this soundtrack is the textures which convey the contrasting environments and give a sense of physically being there, the crunching, the wind blowing, the sound of stone moving, the screams and screeches.
The way the energy is organised is skillful, in the sense of pulling back from the relentless rhythm with bars of silence, to enhance the energy when it returns, and the build-up which still allows for a climax at the end, despite keeping a sense of intensity throughout.  The quieter parts allow us to hear the wind and the crackling, and reset our ears to hear anew the agitated rhythms and sounds of the faster sections.
The contrast between the sound of the white blocky structure with the gently floating figures and the sound of the chaotic outdoor primal energy is interesting.  It sets up tension between the two at the start, which is broken down by the three figures falling from the sky who break open the structure with lightning like roots which shoot from their hands.  The sound when the jagged roots appear is harsh and crackling like electricity sparking.

There are sections where there are lots of high frequency sounds such as the crackling or high synth notes, but interspersed with times where there are mostly low frequencies, such as the quiet sections or the rumbling after the explosions.  This gives the effect of your hearing being affected by a loud sound, like a kind of temporary deafness after an aural assault.  Despite the multilayered sounds and the intensity and energy, the listener never gets fatigued with the sound, as it shifts and keeps you always listening for where it is going.
The soundtrack, with the visuals, take you deeply into this intensely disturbing world where chaos drives forward with a relentless energy, destroying and mutating all in its path.