On their previous releases, recorded as collaborative affairs with The Mission’s Wayne Hussey and The Awakening’s Ashton Nyte, the music from Beauty In Chaos took on a distinctly goth influence. This double shot from Michael Cirovolo and friends takes on an entirely different guise. Not only does Cirovolo take the helm instead of enlisting a high profile guest vocalist but, musically, the material takes a huge swerve into a musical landscape that fans mightn’t expect.
‘God’s Gonna Cut You Down’ and ‘Get Down Moses’ are thematically linked via a religious theme, but were originally recorded by two very different, but highly influential figures. The former was popularised by the legendary Johnny Cash (a definitive recording appears on his posthumously released ‘American V: A Hundred Highways’ album), and although BIC’s rendition doesn’t quite summon the darkness of the original Man In Black, it’s a decent recording in its own right. The heavy stomp remains as a core feature, and the melody is easily recognisable, but in terms of everything else, Cirovolo has rebuilt the piece in a heavier fashion. The acoustic guitars are now full on electric, and taking on a cinematic tone to pierce through the rhythmic backdrop, they now sound like something bridging the gap between an Ennio Morricone spaghetti western score and Nick Cave’s peerless ‘Red Right Hand’. The darker tone works, and especially so when you take the vocal into consideration. Replacing Cash’s world weary croon, this recording finds the lyric delivered by a husky narrator, stylistically sitting somewhere between very raw Americana and garage rock. It’s a case of any changes remaining tasteful, but different enough for Beauty In Chaos to call this their own – or at least a heartfelt tribute to something inspired by a deep cut from a Federale LP.
‘Get Down Moses’, meanwhile, hits the listener with a garage based guitar, but then almost instantly veers off into a hard edged reggae riff that pushes the bass to the fore. The original recording by Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros already had a reggae undertone, but Cirovolo’s decision to make that the overriding style works in the arrangement’s favour. It’s also allowed him to feature a brass section rather prominently, resulting in a very natural sound and a great vibe. In this case, the vocals aren’t as passionate, or as distinctive as Strummer’s own, but Michael still sounds like a performer who genuinely believes in the material. What this lacks in the lead vocal department is made up for by a great bassline which fills the track with an unwavering groove, and some bright sounding backing vocals that lift the arrangement considerably. There’s a good chance that some of the BIC audience might be hearing this number for the first time here, and with that in mind, Michael isn’t as much offering a Strummer tribute as providing a community service.
Both of these performances owe very little to previous Beauty In Chaos works, and yet both still sound, in the main, really strong. Even with vocals that mightn’t be a match for the originals, there’s a lot here to love, and the fact that Cirovolo has been able to take such a massive musical swerve as this, and yet still serve up something of potential interest to the BIC fan base, is testament to his broad talents. That said, if these recordings inspire a few people to backtrack and explore the recordings by Johnny and Joe, then that’s even better. A recommended listen.
November 2025