“Chaos Habitual” dives into cycles of desire, damage, and self-realization. In this interview, Broken Romeo unpack the song’s emotional spark, cinematic world-building, and the evolving vision behind Infirmus Orbis.
1.
“Chaos Habitual” feels both urgent and emotionally charged. What was the first
spark or event that inspired the song’s central theme of destructive habits?
Honestly, the spark came from watching someone I cared about get pulled under
by their own patterns — the kind of habits that start out looking harmless and
end up steering the whole ship into a wall. You see it happening in slow
motion, and you want to pull them out of the fire, but they keep running back
into it.
At the same time, I realized I wasn’t exactly innocent in all of it. We all
have those cycles — relationships, addictions, impulses — whatever your poison
is. “Chaos Habitual” was me holding up a mirror and admitting that sometimes
chaos isn’t something that happens to us… it’s something we participate in.
So the song came from that collision: watching someone spiral, recognizing my
own mess in theirs, and turning that emotional car crash into something loud
enough to feel, and honest enough to cut through the noise.
2. The track has a cinematic intensity that fits perfectly within your
Infirmus Orbis film series. How did the visual concept influence the
songwriting or production process?
The visuals absolutely shaped the song from day one. Infirmus Orbis is this
broken-world narrative — neon, smoke, desperation, human connection hanging on
by a thread — and “Chaos Habitual” was written to live inside that universe.
Before we even nailed down the final riffs, we already had scenes in our heads:
rain-soaked Tucson nights, flickering bar lights, Chaos Girl caught between
desire and self-destruction.
That atmosphere pushed the music to feel bigger and moodier. The guitars had to
hit like headlights cutting through a storm, the drums had to feel like someone
running from themselves, and the production needed that sense of danger and
beauty in the same frame.
The visuals didn’t just influence the track; they set the emotional
temperature. Everything we built sonically had to match the look of the world
we created.
3. Broken Romeo often balances melody with menace. For “Chaos Habitual,” how
did you approach crafting that tension musically? (Technical Version)
From the start, we wanted “Chaos Habitual” to sit in that space where melody
feels inviting but the foundation is constantly shifting. The verses stay in a
minor key with suspended and unresolved chord shapes — just enough instability
to keep you leaning forward. The guitars there are cleaner, with modulation and
light delay to give them that cinematic shimmer.
When the chorus hits, the harmony opens up, but the tension doesn’t disappear —
it just changes form. We layered thicker overdriven guitars, blending parallel
distortion paths to widen the sound without losing articulation. The drums sit
slightly ahead in the verses to create anxiety, then drop into a grounded
groove for the chorus. The bass leans on half-step movement and gritty
upper-mid growl to keep that uneasy undercurrent alive.
Vocally, we added a low-octave shadow track throughout the song. It’s subtle,
but it fills out the spectrum and adds weight — like another presence following
the melody in the dark.
All of that combined — the harmonic shifts, rhythmic unease, tonal contrasts,
and that low vocal layer — gives “Chaos Habitual” its balance of sweetness and
threat.
4. You explore obsession and self-destructive cycles in the lyrics. How personal are these themes for the band, and did any real-life experiences shape them?
These themes hit closer than we sometimes admit. “Chaos Habitual” came from the spaces where beauty and damage blur — those moments where you know you’re feeding a fire that’s burning you, but you can’t quite let go of the heat. We’ve lived through that, individually and as a band.
Some imagery came from watching people we care about repeat the same spirals and realizing we’ve walked those same circles ourselves. It’s that mirror effect — seeing your own flaws reflected in someone else’s downfall. The song became a way to translate that feeling into something melodic instead of destructive.
So yes, it’s personal — but not in a confessional way. More like a shared human ache. “Chaos Habitual” is us putting those shadows into words and trusting that whoever hears it has wrestled with their own version of the same ghosts.
5. The single lines up naturally with bands like QOTSA, Royal Blood, and The Cult. Were there any sonic influences or references that guided the tone of this track?
We appreciate those comparisons a lot because those bands really know how to command atmosphere and groove. While we didn’t sit down trying to imitate anyone, certain influences naturally seeped in. The desert-rock edge of QOTSA, the tight low-end punch of Royal Blood, and the moody melodic sensibility The Cult does so well — all of that shaped our instincts.
Mostly, we followed where the song wanted to go. As the riffs developed, the tone leaned darker and heavier, and we trusted that. If listeners hear shades of those bands, we take it as a compliment — but ultimately, we were just chasing what felt right for “Chaos Habitual.”
6. Your vocal delivery on this track is especially intense. Did you try any new techniques, approaches, or emotional directions when recording the vocals?
I approached this one with more restraint and intention. Instead of belting everything, I let the emotion shape the delivery. Some lines are almost whispered; others crack a little — that contrast mirrors the tension in the story.
We added a low-octave vocal layer beneath the main take. It’s buried, but you feel it. It gives the vocal more body and tension, like a darker voice trailing the lead.
Emotionally, I stopped “performing” and just lived inside the story: obsession, cycles, self-sabotage. I let some imperfection show — breath, grit, cracks. That honesty mattered more than flawless takes.
So the approach was a mix of technique and vulnerability.
7. How does “Chaos Habitual” fit into the broader narrative of Infirmus Orbis?
Within Infirmus Orbis, “Chaos Habitual” is where the symbols of the world turn inward. The neon, storms, shadows — they stop being scenery and become reflections of internal cycles. It’s the moment where Chaos Girl realizes the chaos around her mirrors the chaos inside.
Earlier songs map the path:
– “Beautiful Mistake” — the spark of temptation.
– “Cobra Woman” — the embodiment of the pull you can’t resist.
– “Wait For Me” — the emotional fallout.
– “Revolution” — the world cracking the same way the characters are.
All of that leads here. “Chaos Habitual” is the hinge — the moment of self-recognition. Not triumph, but awareness. The moment a cycle becomes visible.
8. The production is heavy, tight, and atmospheric. What were the biggest challenges or breakthroughs in the studio?
The hardest part was balancing weight and clarity. Early mixes got muddy fast. The breakthrough came when we carved space for each element instead of trying to make everything loud at once.
Getting the low-octave vocal layer and the heavy guitars to coexist was another challenge. EQ and sidechain solved the overlap without losing impact.
The drum sound was a breakthrough — tight, pulsing, like a heartbeat in a dark alley. Once the bass locked in with that, the track found its spine.
We avoided big reverb washes and used tight, lived-in spaces instead. It made the world feel real, not cinematic-for-show.
Once everything had its lane, the song became what it wanted to be.
9. You’ve been a force in the Tucson rock scene for years. How does your environment influence the darker, cinematic direction of your newer work?
Tucson has a way of shaping you quietly. The desert surrounds you with enormous, honest landscapes, and eventually that seeps into the music. The wide-open spaces, dusk drives, monsoon tension, quiet neon-lit streets — all of it creates a natural moodiness.
Tucson’s music culture matters too: desert rock, Latin-influenced bands, borderland rhythms. That mix gives you permission to explore atmosphere, grit, and tension without fitting neatly into one lane.
We’re just trying to translate what this place feels like into sound.
10. With the new single leading toward your next full-length release, how would you describe the evolution of the band’s sound?
The evolution didn’t feel planned — it felt summoned. Infirmus Orbis emerged like a story waiting to surface. Each song arrived independently, but they kept pointing toward the same storm.
As the world grew more fractured — and life inside the band got complicated too — the music darkened, deepened, and carried more truth.
Now we have three songs left to finish. They feel like the final pieces of a prophecy we didn’t know we were writing. Once they’re complete, Infirmus Orbis becomes the full landscape.
It feels less like we wrote this journey and more like we uncovered it.
11. Broken Romeo has always been known for high-energy live shows. How will “Chaos Habitual” translate onstage?
We haven’t been onstage as much lately — life got complicated. But working on “Chaos Habitual” reminded us how much we miss it.
It’s an instinctive track: quiet build, heavy release, natural momentum. It feels made for a room full of people leaning in.
So even though we’ve been quieter live, this is the kind of song that makes us want to get back out there. It belongs on a stage. And we’re looking forward to giving it that life again.
12. What can fans expect from the remaining Infirmus Orbis releases?
The remaining pieces are written and partly recorded, but they’re still revealing what they want to be. These songs feel discovered, not constructed.
Musically, they go deeper: darker, more human, more honest.
Visually, the world sharpens.
Conceptually, the final tracks bring clarity without closing the door.
Fans can expect a sense of completion — the full landscape finally coming into focus, shadows and beauty intact.
James Turpin of Broken Romeo (@brokenromeo) • Photos et vidéos Instagram
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