Album Review: ‘Chainsaws In Paradise’ by Luke Black

Serbian singer-songwriter Luke Black (stage name of Luka Ivanović) has been releasing music for quite a while, including both singles and several extended plays. Last year, he participated in the Serbian national final Pesma za Evroviziju and won the ticket to the Eurovision Song Contest with his song ‘Samo mi se spava’. This track became the first single for his debut album Chainsaws In Paradise, released on May 24th. 

The first song on the album is ‘God’s Too Cool’, a single first released at the end of 2023. The track opens with the violin before Black starts singing about how God is missing from the party. At the half-a-minute mark, a techno-inspired beat drops that continues into the next two verses. Ivanović’s distorted vocals sing how “God’s too cool while the club is on fire”. On Instagram, Ivanović referred to this song as an “unanswered prayer”. There is so much going wrong in the world, yet God does not intervene. If God exists, he’s above it all, or as Ivanović says, “too cool” to come down to earth and put on his party hat. Throughout it all, the song switches between its beat and the string instruments. The track makes for a perfect one to rave to, exactly the kind of party spoken about in the track – the one that God is not attending. For the final two verses, the beat is toned down to make way for Ivanović’s vocals to shine through. The track ends with a continuous repetition of the title in distorted vocals. 

The album then moves on to the single that was last released prior to the full release, ‘Drinking Jack with Daddy’. It starts off with a spooky introduction in which Ivanović lets out an evil laugh. In the first verse, in more of the already signature distorted vocals, he sings that he “wanted to be killed because of you, daddy”, and in the pre-chorus, he follows this up by saying “but no matter, I love you”. It may be interpreted as feeling like one has to love their parents despite the hurt they may have caused. The techno beat drops before the chorus, which repeats the song’s title several times. In the second verse, which is way more intense than the first, Ivanović sings how he was “just another soft boy trying to go hard for his daddy”. It is a common idea that boys have to become ‘real men’ and never show any of their emotions. At the end of the first, Ivanović tells his dad to “fill his glass and pray” before the listener is treated to the sounds of the beat dropping, a clock ticking, glass breaking and the trigger being pulled. Presumably, the idea of having to be tough turned the protagonist into a killer, pulling the trigger on his daddy rather than himself. 

From the dark sound of ‘Drinking Jack with Daddy’, the album turns to the more upbeat ‘Glitch’. In line with the title, the song compares humans to machines that glitch. In the catchy chorus, Ivanović sings “I turn me off and on and off and on…and then I become happy again” – resetting himself like one would a robot or other machine. “Am I just like a machine that needs a charge?” Ivanović asks in the second verse, continuing the metaphor. While the song is extremely fun in sound and makes one want to get up and dance, the text is actually quite dark and speaks about poor mental health and wanting to find a way to feel better – a common theme in Ivanović’s music. The track ends with high-pitched vocals repeating the chorus, set to the same fun beat.

The fourth track on the album is Ivanović’s Eurovision song, ‘Samo mi se spava’, which many will have already heard. In this hyperpunk track, Ivanović sings about how he wants to sleep forever through all the bad that is happening in the world. It is unique on the album as it is the only track that includes Serbian lyrics – not only in its title but also in the second verse. Furthermore, it makes use of video game-like sounds and catchphrases. After the first verse, Ivanović yells “Game over, bitch!” before one hears the sounds of fingers snapping and an 8-bit videogame soundtrack. After the second chorus, a robot states that “this ends now” before the beat drops with Ivanović shouting out several words of things ruining the world, such as “guns” and “violence” in his distorted voice. The song ends with a fast-paced techno beat. 

The title track ‘Chainsaws in Paradise’ continues the video game theme. First performed on Pesma ze Evroviziju earlier this year, the song is a round two of the fight against the boss. In the introduction, the Japanese word “tatakai” is spoken, which translates to ‘fight’. Set to the sound of intense electric guitars, Ivanović opens the song by singing “woke up a little more likely to end it all” because of a monster inside his head. Before the first chorus, he screams the word “Chainsaw” in dirty vocals before singing the actual chorus in clean vocals again. In this track, he’s busy fighting the monster in his head, of which he states in the second verse that it “could have been me all along”. The distorted, screaming vocals add to the horror of it all, especially in the second part of the second verse and outro. Ivanović sings in the chorus that “it took a bloodbath to realize that I put the chainsaws in paradise”. With the word ‘paradise’, he alludes to his own mind, which he destroyed with chainsaws. This is by far the darkest and most metal song on this album, which interestingly enough is followed up by the two slowest ones. 

‘Winter Dahlia’,  also a previous single, is “a poem about internal and global shivers” as Ivanović teased the song on Earth Day. It’s an ethereal, nostalgic, dreamlike track in which one can hear the sounds of lasers and glitters in the verses before the chorus turns into a choral array of voices singing about keeping the winter dahlia safe. In the second verse, Ivanović sings how he “could see a thousand stars but now they got devoured by the smoke”; a clear nod to pollution and climate change. The song’s bridge is entirely spoken word, a poem about “a flower rare, in solitude misplaced”. The track talks about how nature is being destroyed and the earth is losing its life as a result. 

Next is ‘Helium’ – fun fact: Ivanović teased this song by responding its title to a fan who asked “Which Luke Black song am I?” on Twitter. The song opens with the piano and strings, accompanied by very high-pitched beeps in the background throughout. The break-up song talks about Ivanović wishing he “had a helium balloon” to float away from all the pain with. Building up slowly, he seems to be flying through the sky before stating that he is actually “stumbling down” in the chorus. For the outro, the drums kick in ever so slightly, sounding like thunder in the sky. “Helium, take me further to the safety” Ivanović sings, wishing to be drawn away from this heartache. 

The techno and nu-metal sounds of the album continue on ‘aNGeL M3TaL’, which opens with a fast-paced piano jingle before the voice-over yells “fight”. This track might be a continuation of the video game being ‘played’ in ‘Samo mi se spava’ and ‘Chainsaws in Paradise’. Throughout the track, Ivanović is mostly yelling out words such as “redemption” and “celestial”. It might be a reference to the Angel from Sailor Moon, the character being spoken about as one fighting against evil. It is a very interesting track both in terms of its lyrics and sound, using electric guitar riffs and techno beats mixed together. 

In ‘Lobotomy’ Ivanović talks, literally, about getting a lobotomy as a way to forget “a love like this [which] is so damn evil”. The funky sound of the song again stands out against the dark and gory lyrics. Ivanović sings about a “drill in my brain” to the happiest beat ever, making for a funny, yet iconic contrast. The second verse is almost rap in terms of how fast it is, before diving into the choral pre-chorus. After the second chorus, the track goes into more of a nu-metal direction with electric guitars and techno sounds. A voice in the background screams out “hello, so pleased to meet you” and “hello, wish I didn’t meet you” one after the other. The entire song talks about a love that has left the singer scarred to the extent that he wishes he could get his brain rewired. 

The ’happy sound, not so happy lyrics’ continue on ‘I’m so Happy’. Ivanović was inspired by Lily Allen and Nirvana while writing this song – the shortest song on the album, actually – in which he repeats the sarcastic phrase “I’m so happy” a dozen times. The first verse sounds quite lo-fi, with Ivanović singing that there are “people throwing bombs around me, but I just smile”. As he opened the song by stating he “drank his meds”, this verse – and, well, the entire song – sounds like he is in an altered state of mind, medicating to feel better. 

The final song on the album is ‘Only Your Love’, which opens with a slow first verse and the tinging of the piano. “There’s a spotlight at the end of the tunnel” Ivanović sings, seemingly going into a more positive direction at the end of everything. He shared the lyric “only your love is paradise” on his Instagram with the Spotify Wrapped 2023; it seems like this track is meant for the fans. While Ivanović “cut ties with the angels”, those who love and care for him are there to “pick him up”. This is a very upbeat song, sounding like a soundtrack to the summer, and is an adorable way to close off this collection of songs. 

The entire Chainsaws In Paradise album was produced by Ivanović and Shurk, who shares his love for nu metal and technology. Several themes are evident throughout, including video games (as a way of escaping reality), mental health, and robots. It is a lovely collection of modern and experimental work that one can rave to, yet also cry to. Some of these lyrics will hit close to home for many listeners – pretending to be happy while you’re not feeling great at all on the inside is very relatable. Ivanović will be taking his album on a tour throughout several European countries this June – make sure to catch him live if you get the chance, as his performances majorly add to his music’s aesthetics. 

Written by: Mandy Huibregtsen

Edited by: Marieke Weeda