In many ways the sister release to Ashes in the brittle air, down to the similar cover art and the parallel sources of inspiration (the Paula thanked in Ashes' liner notes for "caring inspiration" here gets credit for "destroying my faith"), Chaos ratchets up the lyrical intensity even more strongly than before. Given how intense Rosenthal generally is anyway with his words, this may seem a hard task to accomplish, but one listen to the lengthy, majestic album centerpiece, "The Hypocrite Is Me," will confirm it -- Herrera delivers a lyric of deep self-loathing with command, while the music backing him is an intense series of rumbling electronic tones matched at the end by a great, gently reverbed violin solo from guest performer Vicki Richards. Another number of note is "Tear Love from My Mind," a piano-driven piece that provides a gentle showcase for Julianna Towns, the main female vocalist on the album, who has a slightly wider range than Kenny-Smith but generally provides the same haunting singing approach to Black Tape's material. Herrera gets another excellent moment for himself with "Pandora's Box," a slightly rockier number for the album, but not by much. As is par for the course with Black Tape records, many guest performers appear throughout the record, including Black Watch violinist/singer J'anna Jacoby, providing only strings here, and longtime Rosenthal collaborator Pat Ogl singing and playing guitar on "How Can You Forget Love?" a quietly stately, simpler number that is also one of the more memorable. - Ned Raggett

Believe it when I say that listening to this album with leave you motionless, in a dreamlike state of mind. Its atmosphere is so intense, it makes you feel like you're dreaming. A Chaos Of Desire represents exploring the possibities between gothic, classical, and ambient music. What most of this LP enforces is thought of tranquility translated through musical mean. It's melodies are full. Vocals are very opera-like but concise and haunting. It's underscore is definitely peaceful. It's not often that collections like these appear in such full context of simplicity in thought and manner. Death in June and Current 93 are both examples of comparisons, but what makes this collection different is that it's feel is more relaxed and ethereal instead of religious or malevolent. What is most impressing is that live and electronic instruments work hand in hand along with the opera-like vocals which is rarely seen in any ambient or gothic music collections. A Chaos Of Desire is an ambient texture full of glory, and peace with instrumentalism.

#37: Melancholy streams of electronics and strings, with either floating female vocals or gothic male intonations - reminiscent of certain Dead Can Dance pieces (especially guest vocalist Loren's reading of the title track), although without the mysticism, scholarship, and anachronistic plunderings. These pieces are contemporary interpretations of the gothic mind set, and the lyrics are often maudlin and self pitying: try "shine shuddered light into my eyes / I cannot escape, unending lies" from "The Hypocrite Is Me." The music itself is a pleasant depressive drone, and certain songs - "Pandora's Box," with its busy rhythm, guitar, and Roxy Music-like melody, and "Tear Love From My MInd," with its piano highlights and SkinnerBox's Julianna Town's fine singing - are good listening no matter what your genre preferences.