___ _ _ _ ___ | _>| |_ _ _ ___ ._ _ <_> ___ | | ___ ___ ___ | | ' | <__| . || '_>/ . \| ' || |/ | '| |/ ._><_-< / . \| |- `___/|_|_||_| \___/|_|_||_|\_|_.|_|\___./__/ \___/|_| ___ _ | _>| |_ ___ ___ ___ | <__| . |<_> |/ . \<_-< `___/|_|_|<___|\___//__/ CHRONICLES OF CHAOS e-Zine, November 19, 1998, Issue #35 http://www.interlog.com/~ginof/coc.html Editor-in-Chief: Gino Filicetti Coordinator: Adrian Bromley Contributor/Copy Editor: Pedro Azevedo Assistant Copy Editor: John Weathers Contributor: Andrew Lewandowski Contributor: Alain M. Gaudrault Contributor: Brian Meloon Contributor: Adam Wasylyk Contributor: Paul Schwarz Mailing List provided by: The University of Colorado at Boulder NOTE: For more Chronicles of Chaos information, check out the 'Details' section at the end of this issue. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Issue #35 Contents, 11/19/98 ---------------------------- * Loud Letters * Deadly Dialogues -- My Dying Bride: The Bride No Longer Wears Black -- Malevolent Creation: Malevolent Mass Murdering Maniacs -- In Ruins: Repairing the Ruins -- Jag Panzer: Mastering Their Metal * Album Asylum -- 00 Species - _Anatomy of a Robot_ -- Absu - _In the Eyes of Ioldanach_ -- Avenger - _Shadows of the Damned_ -- Bastard Noise - _If it Be Not True_ -- Benighted Leams - _Astral Tenebrion_ -- Blood Axis - _Blot: Sacrifice in Sweden_ -- Bob Marinelli / Flutter - _Fun & Games_ -- Centinex - _Reborn Through Flames_ -- Ciborium - _Colossal Crags_ -- Crackdown - _Rise Up_ -- Dementia - _Answer_ -- Deranged - _High on Blood_ -- The Dillinger Escape Plan - _Under the Running Board_ -- Dimmu Borgir - _Godless Savage Garden_ -- Earthtone9 - _lo-def(inition) discord_ -- The Elysian Fields - _We... the Enlightened_ -- Enslaved - _Blodhemn_ -- Enthroned - _Gothic Disturbance '98_ -- God - _From the Moldavian Ecclesiastic Throne_ -- Gooseflesh - _Welcome to Suffer Age_ -- Gothic - _Touch of Eternity_ -- Gothic Sex - _Laments_ -- Grief of Emerald - _Nightspawn_ -- Various - _GRRRR!!: Extreme Music From Vancouver_ -- Hexecution - _Beyond All Evil_ -- In tha Umbra - _Descend Supreme Sunset_ -- Infamy - _The Blood Shall Flow_ -- Interitus Dei - _Lonely White Idols_ -- Iron Monkey - _Our Problem_ -- Legenda - _Eclipse_ -- Lucid - _Lucid_ -- Makrothumia - _The Rit of Individuation_ -- Malevolent Creation - _The Fine Art of Murder_ -- Mundanus Imperium - _The Spectral Spheres Coronation_ -- My Dying Bride - _34.788%... Complete_ -- Naglfar - _Diabolical_ -- Nasum - _Inhale/Exhale_ -- Night in Gales - _Thunderbeast_ -- Nothingface - _A Guide to Everyday Atrocity_ -- Odhinn - _From a Splendorous Battle_ -- Queens of the Stone Age - _Queens of the Stone Age_ -- Radakka - _Requiem for the Innocent_ -- Raise Hell - _Holy Target_ -- Resurrecturis - _Nocturnal_ -- Sad Legend - _Sad Legend_ -- Savior Servant - _Savior Servant_ -- Suppression w/ Facialmess - _Collaboration_ -- Thy Serpent - _Christcrusher_ -- Training for Utopia / Zao - -- Twin Obscenity - _For Blood, Honour and Soil_ -- Vanilla Ice - _Hard to Swallow_ -- Zimmer's Hole - _Bound by Fire_ * Chaotic Concerts -- Enchanting Draconian Melodies: Moonspell, Therion and Darkside * What We Have Cranked * Details =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= M""MMMMMMMM dP M MMMMMMMM 88 M MMMMMMMM .d8888b. dP dP .d888b88 M MMMMMMMM 88' `88 88 88 88' `88 M MMMMMMMM 88. .88 88. .88 88. .88 M M `88888P' `88888P' `88888P8 MMMMMMMMMMM M""MMMMMMMM dP dP M MMMMMMMM 88 88 M MMMMMMMM .d8888b. d8888P d8888P .d8888b. 88d888b. .d8888b. M MMMMMMMM 88ooood8 88 88 88ooood8 88' `88 Y8ooooo. M MMMMMMMM 88. ... 88 88 88. ... 88 88 M M `88888P' dP dP `88888P' dP `88888P' MMMMMMMMMMM This is the column where we print those lovely letters our readers decide so graciously to write us. Whether they be positive, negative, ignorant or just plain spelled wrong, you can rest assured that they'll be here in their original form. If you'd like to see your own letter here, e-mail it to and enter 'Attention Loud Letters' in the subject field. Hopefully all letters received will be featured in upcoming issues of Chronicles of Chaos. Date: Fri, 2 Oct 1998 01:45:51 EDT From: Trendend2@aol.com Subject: Your Death Across America Review Hey, I haven't ever had a problem w/ your mag...until now. First off, I saw the Death Across America tour, and I thought Oppressor blew them Cryptopsy off the stage. But, the main point I wanted to make was the Oppressor now has 3 albums out, just like your Cryptopsy...so before you go knocking a much better than mediocre band like Oppressor, get your facts straight man!!! Later.. chris Date: Wed, 14 Oct 1998 From: Napoleon Buonaparte Subject: "Attention Loud Letters" Hail! If you guys there from Coc were only from Croatia you would give alot of hehe to Castrum and not 8 of 10. I wish that there was some law against copying mellodies of another groups and old national mellodies here in Croatia... I think that I have made myself quite clear. That`s all. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Correction ~~~~~~~~~~ Last month, if you recall, I reviewed a band "called" Lycanthropic. They are -actually- called Lycanthrope; sorry for that unfortunate mistake, guys. I had also misplaced their contact address, which is as follows: Contact: P.O. Box 085531, Racine, WI, 53408, USA WWW: come.to/lycanthrope mailto:mc42@rocketmail.com My sincerest apologies go to the band for any ground they may have lost due to my error. It was unprofessional and should not have happened. Sorry. -- Paul Schwarz =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= __ \ | | | | _ \ _` | _` | | | | | | __/ ( | ( | | | | ____/ \___|\__,_|\__,_|_|\__, | ____/ __ \ _) | | | | _` | | _ \ _` | | | _ \ __| | | | ( | | ( | ( | | | __/\__ \ ____/ _|\__,_|_|\___/ \__, |\__,_|\___|____/ |___/ T H E B R I D E N O L O N G E R W E A R S B L A C K ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CoC chats with Aaron Stainthorpe of My Dying Bride by: Pedro Azevedo In the past, the bride could have been described by words such as Mary Shelley's: "She was dressed in mourning; and her countenance, always engaging, was rendered, by the solemnity of her feelings, exquisitely beautiful." However, the bride has now forsaken her antique black dress of delicate lace and sensual shape by far less engaging modern everyday clothing. She appears to no longer be dressed in mourning, nor do her feelings seem solemn; her beauty can only be seen occasionally and does not seem unique in the way it used to be. Leaving these metaphors behind, you may wish to read my review of My Dying Bride's new album _34.788%... Complete_ in this same issue before you indulge in my phone interview with the very nice person that vocalist Aaron Stainthorpe seemed to be. You will find in this review my reasons for writing this last paragraph and also for the title of this interview: indeed, it is as if the bride no longer wears black, and only time will tell if she ever will again. The title of the interview could also be explained by simply looking at the new album's colorful artwork, though. Nevertheless, regardless of my feelings about the new album, everything My Dying Bride did in the past, especially up to _The Angel and the Dark River_, guarantees that this rather huge interview would always have to focus more on My Dying Bride itself than on this new album and line-up changes in particular. CoC: First, I'd like to know what you aimed to become, as a band, about six or seven years ago, in your early days as My Dying Bride, while playing that peculiar style of doom/death metal in _Symphonaire Infernus et Spera Empyrium_ and _As the Flower Withers_. Aaron Stainthorpe: Nothing, really. We didn't have any goals or dreams, we just formed like any other band and we thought "wouldn't it be cool to do a demo tape", and then we did one, and then we thought "wouldn't it be cool to do a record", and we did one as well. It just seemed everything we thought would be cool was coming true! We were really very lucky, but we never dreamed that we'd ever go on tour in foreign countries or sell thousands of records worldwide, we never dreamt about that. So I guess because we never thought it would ever happen, that's one of the reasons why we've never been accused of being arrogant rock starts. We still hope the next album does well, but we're not that bothered if it doesn't do very well. It's like a hobby for us. We enjoy doing it, but our lives don't depend on the band. We don't take it -that- seriously; we do love being in it, of course, and if the band would split up we would all be very unhappy, but we thought, "we'll get together, write some interesting music and see how it goes"... that's been the way we've always thought. When we finish an album, we think it sounds good, we like what we've created, let's just see if other people like it. CoC: With _Turn Loose the Swans_, the band introduced a much greater element of dark romanticism to their doomy music; what was it that made you choose that path? AS: I'm not really sure; we knew that when Celtic Frost disappeared and turned into a glam rock band, we knew there was a market there for this sort of over-the-top avant-garde band, someone who were doing something a bit weird and unusual. Paradise Lost were doing similar-ish kind of things, but I don't think they had this more romantic edge. We definitely worked for that gothic appeal, and I'm not really sure why. It was just an interesting theme. Of course with the violin being there as well, that always had a very romantic, very sombre feel to it. So we were always going to sound like that, really. CoC: Many say that _Turn Loose the Swans_ is the best My Dying Bride album ever [it still is my favorite], and most of those who say it agree that your mix of death vox and clean parts, together with the especially emotional, bleak and desperate instrumental side, was what made it so special. What do you think about that praise of your mixing of death and clean vox and why did you never repeat it? AS: I wanted to try something like that, with the clear vocals and the death metal vocals. It was just an experiment that I enjoyed doing, because I can't play an instrument, so I need to vary the vocals a bit to try and make them more interesting. That was just our second album, so we were still a very young band, and we didn't really know what the future held in store, we didn't really think about it. We weren't really concerned how well we were doing. It was quite an experimental album; a lot of people could have hated it, we didn't really know, we just played music we liked to listen to and hoped we would do OK. A lot of people say that was one of our best albums, I think because of the time it came out -- there was very little like that in the scene, and people like unusual things, people like very interesting bands. Again, it's quite similar to Celtic Frost, who were a bit over-the-top, with some operatic parts, big heavy keyboards, massive chords, everything. Celtic Frost and Candlemass disappeared, these were some of our biggest influences. We basically took some of their ideas and re-mixed them into our own ideas and we just came out with the My Dying Bride sound, which was great for that time, that particular era in 1993. People just weren't used to that, because at that point death metal was probably at its height; you had bands like Death and even Slayer, I think they were much bigger back then than they are now. Everybody was in a death metal band and we were doing this really weird shit. I think it blew some people away, they really thought it was fantastic, really unusual, really original. But the reason why I haven't done that again [the clean/death vox combination] is because we don't like to repeat ourselves too many times, we're always trying to find new ideas, trying to be a bit more original, trying to keep fans interested all the time. I don't want to keep doing albums over and over again. With the due respect, we could record an album that sounded like _Turn Loose the Swans_ tomorrow, but we don't want to because we've done that now; we want to move on and obviously some fans are going to say "that was their best moment, now they're not so good", but they will say that about every band. We're no different; we're trying our best. That was a different era, this is a new era we're in now, that's the way it goes for every band. CoC: With _The Angel and the Dark River_ came a more experimental version of My Dying Bride, but still a very sorrowful one; back then, you played some excellent concerts (such as the one featured in the _For Darkest Eyes_ video), and it may very well be that the blend of songs from _TLtS_ and _TAatDR_ portrayed My Dying Bride's finest years. What is your opinion on that? What are your memories of those times? AS: Very good memories; we've hardly had any bad shows, we've always enjoyed ourselves, most of the time. Even back then, when we only had three albums out, it was very difficult to pick which songs to play, because obviously some of the songs were very long. We already played for over an hour and a half and only nine songs... It was very difficult to pick which songs from which albums to do, and it's getting even more difficult now, because now we have five albums out. But when we do sit down and we pick the songs that we're going to do for a new gig, there's obviously going to be at least one from the first album [_As the Flower Withers_], there'll be a couple from _Turn Loose the Swans_, a couple from _The Angel and the Dark River_, a couple from _Like Gods of the Sun_, and obviously most of the new album. But most bands, again, have to do that; we could do an entire set of _Turn Loose the Swans_ and _The Angel and the Dark River_ stuff, but that's not what we're doing now, we're moving on. I know people like that stuff very much, but they have to respect the fact that we're not going to repeat ourselves, we don't want to do the same sound over and over again; we must move on. CoC: You mentioned still playing a song from your first album in future gigs; do you mean you'll keep finishing your concerts with "The Forever People" like before? AS: Yeah, we always do that one. But we were thinking about doing "The Return of the Beautiful" again... CoC: That's a very long song... AS: Yeah. Well, we thought about dragging it out of the early '90s and giving it a bit of late '90s feel, but we never got 'round to that. We may do it on this next tour, but it's an old song, it'd take a lot of practice, but there is no reason why we can't do old songs again. We will do the older songs, but like I said, it's very difficult to pick which ones. Even if you have a setlist of old songs, you always get people screaming for one song that's not on your setlist... That's always the case, and afterwards people say "Oh, why didn't you play "Vast Choirs"", or something, because we've played so many other ones... CoC: _Like Gods of the Sun_ then brought renewed heaviness to your sound, but lost a bit of the doom. Was that your purpose when you released it? AS: Yeah, that's actually possibly the only album we planned, because normally we just write stuff and we put it on record; we don't really know what the sound, what the finished product is going to be like. For _LGotS_, we knew that so many bands were leaving the guitars very low, you almost couldn't hear any guitars at all, in some supposedly heavy metal people's records, it was just keyboards, bass and vocals, and we thought it was wrong -- why did they bother getting a guitar player if you can't hear him? So we made a decision to make sure _LGotS_ was a very heavy album, so we had to have low and ultra-heavy guitar chords, down-tuned, and we mixed it so the guitars would be right in your face. We purposely made that album less experimental in favor of pure heaviness. CoC: What's your favorite MDB album? Please name only one, instead of using a generic "every album is special" answer... AS: We loved all the albums when we did them, at the time, but when you look back now... I mean, we're proud of the ones we've done. Some of the songs, we hear them and say "oh, we could have mixed that better", but my favorite album is _The Angel and the Dark River_. It's a very interesting album; there's all sorts of things going on. I love "The Cry of Mankind", the way it kicks off the album... it just goes on and on and on... it's one of my favorite songs to perform live as well, so that was a good time for My Dying Bride. It's still a good time for us now, we're still enjoying ourselves, but it was at that point, when we did that tour -- we got on the Iron Maiden tour as well at that time, and we thought it was absolutely fantastic, being on a tour bus following Iron Maiden around Europe... that was a good time for us. CoC: Looking back upon your albums, you are satisfied with them, then? AS: Yeah. Well, I always look back at the albums and say that we could have done something this or that way, but when I listen back I listen especially to the vocals, obviously, and I'm becoming more confident now, so when I listen back I sometimes think it's terrible, I could have done that much better now. This is one of the reasons why we thought of doing "The Return of the Beautiful" again. CoC: With clean vocals? AS: I was thinking about mixing death and clean vocals, because there are some lines which would sound great with the new vocals, because they are much more emotional and they needed to be sung in a proper voice -- because there's only one emotion when you're screaming out death vocals, and that's anger. [I personally disagree, though. -- Pedro] Even when you're trying to sing a nice sweet line, if you're doing it in death metal style, it's just anger all the time. So it'd be nice to do an old song now that I'm confident enough to sing the lines how they are supposed to sound. But overall, I'm quite happy with the things we've done. There's always the production, we would have always liked to have done the production better. But we are pretty much happy with the songs themselves. CoC: Present day now. What are your personal favorite bands and what does MDB generally listen to? AS: God, we listen to so much weird shit now, it's crazy... it's difficult to keep up to date with what's happening with the metal scene at the moment, because the metal market is so wide now... I like straightforward metal, like Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Motorhead, and then you've got what we do, sort of morbid doom goth metal. Then you've got black metal, industrial metal... it's such a huge area, it's almost impossible to keep up with who's doing what and what the latest trend is, so we really try to avoid that. We don't want to see what's trendy, in case we're tempted to try a little bit. So we try to avoid the metal scene, because to relax we don't want to listen to similar stuff to what we play, we'll listen to something completely different. Depeche Mode are still my favorite band, they have been for a number of years now. I also like The Swans, who unfortunately split up, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, who have been getting better and better, I think. Calvin [one of the guitar players] loves a lot of that hip-hop/house stuff, Prodigy... he's obviously crazy. I think Andy [the other guitar player] is still a big fan of what one might call solid metal stuff, he still likes a couple of Kiss songs, he's still a big Slayer fan, he's still pretty straightforward metal. I have no idea what Bill [Law, the new drummer] listens to, he's only been in the band for a few months; I think he tries to keep up with the scene, but there's so many magazines featuring so many different bands now that it's almost impossible to keep up with who's doing what. CoC: In spite of that, I'd like to know your opinion about the current doom metal scene. Which bands do you know, which ones do you like, which ones don't you like? AS: Well, I'm not going to start saying that I don't like this or that band, obviously... I'm a bit too diplomatic for that. I don't know, call me sad if you like, but I still like old stuff like Sodom. Now I think it's either black metal -- Emperor are good -- or... I don't really follow the doom part too much, because, like I say, around the _Turn Loose the Swans_ time, or _The Angel and the Dark River_, a whole load of new bands developed playing similar stuff [to those albums], a lot of bands ended up getting violins and female vocals. So we didn't want to listen to stuff that sounded similar to MDB, we want to listen to something that doesn't sound like My Dying Bride. We lost most of our links with the doom scene altogether, I have no idea who's doing what these days, and I'm not all that interested. I know bands like Moonspell, Tiamat and Therion are doing very well, but I couldn't tell you any of their records. CoC: What's the meaning of your new albums' title? AS: We always picked album titles that we thought were interesting, and I think this is one of our more interesting album titles. Basically, the number 34.788% is supposed to represent the amount of time mankind has spent on Earth so far, so we still have 66% or something, sixty whatever percent, left to live. Calvin, the guitar player, had a dream one night, and this number was always in his head in this dream. He dreamt that mankind had lived for 34.788% of their time on Earth. It's complete fiction, a dream that Calvin had; he dreamt that mankind was spiraling towards a technological armageddon. He thought our lives were speeding up, accelerating all the time because of computers -- what will the world look like a hundred years from now? Then Calvin had this weird premonition that it would look like either "Blade Runner" or there would be total armageddon, and it would just be mankind living in caves again. He seems to think that when everything is run by computers, some terrorist group will release some major virus that will wipe out all the machines, and because we have been depending on computers for such a long time, we would then be left in complete darkness. Anyway, it was a crazy apocalyptic dream, but it was quite interesting, so we thought we'd use that number that stuck in his head as the album title. CoC: How would you define your new album, musically speaking? What did you aim to achieve with it? AS: We didn't aim to achieve anything; like I said before, the only album we wanted to achieve anything with was _Like Gods of the Sun_. We wanted that to be a really heavy, straightforward album. With this one, we created one song at a time, with no real thought of how it's going to sound. The guitarists will come up with a couple of riffs, then we'll put some drums to it, I will have absolutely no idea what vocals I'm going to do... sometimes the lyrics will come first, sometimes the music comes first... it's almost like a total jamming session, and at the end of it there's an album. We're only now beginning to get a feel for the album, because when you create each song from every single note, it's difficult to get a fan's point of view, because we know exactly every single note that's going on in the song. So we analyse and criticize our songs, we don't listen to them, whereas fans just put it on and enjoy it. We can't put our music on and enjoy it, because we've created it. It's too difficult, we can't really enjoy it that much. I still can't get a feel for what the album is all about. On the last few albums, you get a whole feel; I can picture in my head what the album should be like, but for this new album I can't picture where we were going. But that's also quite nice, because it means it isn't a typical rock album, it's so diverse you can't actually focus on it. The influences are coming so thick and fast, it's so blurred you can't focus on what the band are trying to do. I like that point of view. CoC: What is the main emotion that you'd like the listener to feel with your new album? AS: Varied, again, because we tried to make each song sound individual this time. People would tell us, on past albums, that they would put the album on and it would fell like one massive song, one giant doom metal track, and we wanted to change that for this album, so we made sure that we mixed each song completely differently and never had the same settings for two songs. We wanted the songs to stand up on their own and we didn't want people to say that the album sounded like one whole song. When I wrote the lyrics, I didn't want them all to be exactly the same, I wanted them to be a bit more interesting. The lyrics are definitely a lot more straightforward on this album; I've tried to get rid of a lot of the poetry. Again, this is just an experiment -- I'm not saying I got rid of all the old stuff forever, this is an experiment that may fail and may succeed, I'm just going to wait and see. I quite enjoyed doing this style, but I wasn't 100% happy, so I could almost guarantee the lyrics for the next album will be completely different. I had no idea what the album was going to sound like, I'm still finding it difficult to tell you what the album actually sounds like now. CoC: In my opinion, there's much less sadness and doom in the new album than in anything MDB have done before, especially the older material... AS: But we certainly tried to experiment a bit more, because we're becoming more confident and more brave, we don't mind stretching the boundaries of acceptable rock music anymore, you know. We want to push and to stretch people's imaginations. And you also have to remember that there's no violin on this album; the violin was always a very sombre, melancholic sound. When you take that important element away, the doom feel is gone. CoC: But there are plenty of bands out there who don't use violins and can still play some very depressive doom... AS: Yeah, that's true, but we've always had the violin, so it's going to make a bit of a difference. CoC: What was it that made you play such doomy music before that doesn't seem to be inside of you anymore, at least not so much? Because even _As the Flower Withers_, which didn't have much violin, was very depressive, and this new one isn't. What was it that changed in your life in the meanwhile? AS: Not much, I think... to be honest, it's very difficult to say... I think it's got more to do with experimenting. I think that because of the long gap between the last album and this one -- and we were criticized on the last album for not experimenting, our fans expected more unusual things... I mean, we generally don't listen to our fans , we like to write the kind of music we want to hear, we don't care what other people think -- but we did take on board the criticisms of the last album. People loved it for its heaviness, but it just wasn't experimental enough, people expected more. So we thought, for this album, "we're feeling confident, our fans want it, let's experiment more". I don't know why, but the experimentation wasn't doom-oriented. In the past, I think subconsciously we always felt we had to write doom music -- and we enjoyed doing it, but I think in the back of our minds we always thought "yeah, this is doom, it's got to be doomy, the doomier the better, everyone loves melancholic stuff", but now we're starting to really open up and starting to think that we can still do doom, but in a different style. Even "Heroin Chic" is a very bizarre song for a heavy metal band to do, but it's not a happy song; it's still a very bleak, very desolate sounding song; it's not melancholic, but it's desperately angry, it's a sad black song. CoC: I don't personally think so, not for me... what was the basic idea behind that song? AS: We liked it; we thought we would do one song which would really shock, we wanted to do one song that everyone would talk about -- not necessarily because it was good, or even bad, but because it would be interesting. When we first came up with the concept, we thought: "Can we do this? Everybody will crucify us..." Then we thought: "That's exactly why we should do it, then!" We don't need the money, you know, we don't care; we thought: "What the hell, nobody will be expecting it, it will shock everyone -- old fans, new fans, the record label, the magazines, everyone. So let's do it." And we did it, and we really enjoyed doing it; we've even rehearsed to the point where we will play it live. Oh yeah -- whether our fans like it or not! CoC: Well, but when you pay to go to a concert, you'd expect the band to play what the fans want to hear... AS: We always try to promise our fans that what you hear on the record is what you get live. Sometimes it's very difficult to do that, so we've had to use tapes in the past. But we try to get most of what you get on the record live. CoC: How does that song relate -- although I guess it's not even supposed to relate, anyway -- to the essence of the dark, doomy band that My Dying Bride have always been before? Did you ever think of MDB as a dark, sombre entity? AS: That's a good question, it's difficult to answer... We don't really have any pre-conceptions about what My Dying Bride is all about. We enjoy being in the band, but it doesn't rule our lives; we don't hang on every single note we play, we don't read every review of the album, and if they're bad we don't get really depressed... The band, to us, it's fun, you know, it's a hobby, we enjoy it and other people enjoy it, and that makes us feel good. Of course we're not keen on getting bad reviews... But at the end of the day, we'll just look and say "Well, we liked it..." Who cares what all those people think... So we don't have any pre-conceptions of what the band is all about, and that allows us to introduce such extremities as "Heroin Chic", because we don't think "oh, it's gonna shatter the whole image", we just think that we can experiment, because we always have; our fans know from time to time My Dying Bride can get a bit out of control, and I think some of them expect that. They wouldn't have expected the exact style of "Heroin Chic", but surely expected a couple of bizarre things on this album, and they're going to get them. CoC: I heard you say once that you made up the lyrics for one of the new tracks as you went along. Did that happen in "Heroin Chic"? Are you happy with them, from a My Dying Bride point of view, considering how different from the usual they turned out to be? AS: Well, it wasn't "Heroin Chic", actually, it was "The Stance of Evander Sinque". Originally, I wanted to do a song about a crazy person (the music was already written), and so I wanted to act the part of the insane person. I wanted to put a couple of microphones in the recording room, get really really drunk and just scream and shout about mad stuff, just totally complete shit, for ten minutes, and then we could pick out the more interesting parts... It's actually a very difficult thing to do, because obviously I'm not insane, and it's very difficult to act insane -- I thought it would be very easy, especially if I was drunk, but we tried to do it for hours and hours and in the end we gave up, because it sounded like someone pretending to be insane, and we could never get it right; I'm just not a good enough actor. So, at the end of the day, I said "fuck it, I'll write some proper lyrics for it, and then I will just moan and scream and shout", like a 50-50 deal, so that's what I did. So half the noise on "The Stance of Evander Sinque" is just me acting crazy. CoC: Do you have some kind of an European tour planned yet? AS: Not yet, but we're not going out this year, because we feel there are too many bands at this time of the year going out on the road. October, November and early December, everyone in this genre of music is on the road at the same time, and it gets very congested. We've done it in the past, we've toured at this time in the past, and we would follow Cradle of Filth, Moonspell, Therion, Paradise Lost, Type O Negative... We would follow all these bands and they would follow us, and you would see the same posters in every venue... We have a couple of summer festivals we might be doing; we might be doing Dynamo and the Graspop. So I think we will start the tour around February or March next year, when hopefully everyone else will be sick of touring. CoC: What are your feelings on the departure of your drummer, Rick Myah, and his replacement with Bill Law [formerly in Dominion, who have broken up]? AS: Bill's been great. Rick left basically due to illness. Every tour we did, Rick was always very ill and we had to cancel many shows in the past towards the end of tours, because Rick just couldn't take it. Touring basically was killing him. We were on tour with Dio in America last year, and it was a long tour, and he didn't even get out of bed, he was very ill. He would drum some nights, and he would come off stage and he would be totally wasted, he'd be white, and he couldn't move, and he'd be shivering all the time, and he couldn't sleep... It was really worrying, so when we came home for a break, we went to see the doctor, and the doctor said he couldn't do anything else but rest for two months. We were due to fly back out, in fact to Alaska, to do the second part of the Dio tour, and we had to cancel it, unfortunately. And Rick basically said: "Look, the touring is killing me; I have to stop." So we all sat down and discussed it, and Rick basically said: "I want to leave, I can't do this; if I stay in the band, I cannot tour, and I don't want to hold you back." So we said: "Well alright, if you're gonna go, you're gonna go..." But it was a difficult decision, because he had been in the band since the first day. So when Rick left, we were desperately looking for a new drummer, but we didn't actually get one until this year, when Bill, who used to be in a band called Dominion, who split up... CoC: Is he going to be a permanent member now that Dominion have split up? AS: Yeah, he's in the band now. We knew Bill was around, because we were good friends with Dominion. We saw Bill in the studio and we thought he was really cool, and we asked him if he could help out. We asked the other guys in Dominion if it was OK, and they said it was cool. And then Dominion split up, and Bill was already rehearsing with us, so we asked him if he wanted to join us and he said yes. He's filled with so many interesting ideas... he's a fountain of... not wisdom, but great interesting ideas, because he's obviously new to the My Dying Bride camp, and although we do try to come up with interesting original ideas ourselves, when an outsider comes in, his ideas seem so much more interesting, because we're not used to the way he talks, we're not used to the way he thinks. He's great. CoC: When Martin Powell [keyboard and violin player] left MDB, the official reason was that he intended to go on with his musical education and wouldn't have time to be in a band anymore. However, I heard that he just joined Anathema, which suggests musical differences between him and MDB. What was the real story? AS: Well, he is not -in- Anathema. We've seen the press, and all the press is wrong, actually. No one's going to believe me, but I was with Dave Pybus, who now plays in Anathema [new bassist, replacing Duncan Patterson]; he's a very good friend of mine, lives just around the corner from my house, and after they played a couple of shows in Turkey [with Martin], I went to see Dave, because he actually runs the My Dying Bride fan club as well. I asked how did Martin cope, and he said it was alright, he didn't like some of it, he loved some more of it. And I asked if he had joined the band now, and he said "no, it's complete bullshit"; Anathema don't want Martin to join, and apparently Martin doesn't want to join them. They are going to use him for their next studio album, and they're using him for the live performances, but they don't want him to join, and apparently he doesn't want to join. We were obviously surprised when we saw it on the press, that Martin had joined Anathema... CoC: But if he's going to play with them live and record an album with them, then he'll be practically joining the band, at least temporarily... AS: I guess so, but it's entirely up to him. He actually told us as well, he told us ages ago that he wanted to leave after the next album, because he thought his time with My Dying Bride should soon be up, since he's been doing basically the same thing for the last six or seven years, the sombre violin. He wants to try something a bit more interesting, and he might see that Anathema are doing more interesting songs than us, so he wants to go over and help them out; he doesn't say he wants to join them, he thinks joining might be too much of a commitment. I believe he's back in university, trying to do a college degree, but maybe the temptation to get out on the road is a bit too much sometimes. CoC: Anathema were a bit of your "brother band" back in the _Serenades_, _As the Flower Withers_, _Turn Loose the Swans_ era. How do you relate to Anathema? How do you view their career? AS: We don't like Anathema, we never have... CoC: The music or the people in the band? AS: The people, we think they're all idiot. I can say this to you now with confidence, because they know. Because we've had so many fights with them that it's absolutely crazy. People think, because we're on the same label and we played a similar style of music once, that we must be great fans, but we're not -- we've always hated each others' guts. Don't get me wrong, I think Danny [Cavanagh] is fantastic, I could easily go out and have a few beers with Danny, and it would be great; he's a really intelligent guy. But for some reason, when all of Anathema are together and all of My Dying Bride are together, it's just constant fighting and everybody hates each others' fucking guts... CoC: Why? AS: It's just chemistry, you can't expect to get along with everybody. We get along with a lot of people, but we just don't get along with them. I don't know why, it's just one of those things, there's no chemistry there. But they know it, we read the interviews that they've done and they say we're a bunch of [I honestly have no idea what Aaron said here, totally unknown expression to me -- Pedro] and they hate our guts, and we say exactly the same thing. It's a love-hate relationship, and we just hate them more than we love them. CoC: Anyway, you and Anathema have always seemed to have some sort of lifetime contract with Peaceville. I mean, I don't think anyone pictures you signing for another label. Do you think such a move might ever happen with MDB? AS: Yeah, I think so, I don't see why not. It's difficult to predict what's going to happen in the future, but as I mentioned, we don't live on every single review of My Dying Bride. If the albums stop selling and the record label says: "Look, we can't afford to keep you anymore, nobody's buying the records..." If they dropped us, we'd be very disappointed, but we'd still continue and we'd be fairly confident to get another deal. It would depress us for a couple of months, but I'm sure we'd fight back. CoC: So you don't see the other possibility, of you wanting to move to a bigger label instead of being dropped? AS: I don't think that would ever happen. Even now, Music for Nations and Peaceville ask us to try a more radio-friendly song, and we just laugh in their face, because My Dying Bride do not write anything for anyone else, we just write our own shit. And if we moved to a bigger label, they would definitely say "you must write radio-friendly songs, at least two three minute songs with a nice hip chorus", and we would just laugh and walk off. So I think there's absolutely no way we would move on to a bigger label, but we could easily move to a smaller one. CoC: What do you think My Dying Bride will be playing or doing five years from now? Any chance of a really sad doom album coming out in the meantime? AS: I don't know, it's really difficult to say, we don't plan anything like that. I would love to do a real over-the-top miserable album, but it's difficult. All of us in the band still love the real heavy guitar sound, and sometimes it's just nice to speed the tempo up a bit and make it sound a bit like _Master of Puppets_, kind of heavy riffing guitar, we love all that stuff. I know the rest of the band very well, and they say it's very difficult to play heavy guitar very slowly, because it's so tempting to just carry on and thrash out some tunes... So it's a difficult thing to do, but I would love to do a really over-the-top album, maybe a vampire-style album... I mean, Cradle of Filth are doing all that shit now already, so even if we did it everyone would just say we were just copying Cradle, so there's no chance we could do that now. But I think we may become even more experimental, we could be one of these crazy bands who just disappear up their own experimental anus... Because we do everything so self-centered, so selfish, we listen to nothing and do it all ourselves, we could end up writing such bizarre shit that only we like it... But it's impossible to tell what the future holds for us. CoC: Any last words to end this interview? AS: Well, not really... I've got a bit of a cold at the moment, so my nose is all blocked up... Well, I wanted to say: don't be afraid of the new album. I know that because of the album title and the artwork a lot of older fans will think we have turned into some techno piece of shit, but we haven't; it's still My Dying Bride. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= M A L E V O L E N T M A S S M U R D E R I N G M A N I A C S ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CoC interviews Malevolent Creation's Phil Fasciana by: Paul Schwarz It has been a long time coming, but at last the best part of Malevolent Creation's "classic" line-up has rejoined to bestow on the world another mighty amalgamation of brutal death metal music and sick, violent lyrics. This new monster goes by the name of _The Fine Art of Murder_ and is the first to feature original vocalist Brett Hoffmann since 1993's _Stillborn_. Rob Barret, now thankfully out of Cannibal Corpse (who feebly claim he was not good enough, bullshit!), is also welcomed back after six years. With longtime bassist, and some time vocalist, Jason Blachowitcz out of the band, Gordon Simms was drafted in for bass duties. The drums are handled by Dave Culross (who played on 1995's _Eternal_) and, of course, Phil Fasciana is, as ever, leading the charge into battle. It's not that _In Cold Blood_ (last year's release by the band) was disappointing, far from that, but this new album still stands out as being better, and is surely their finest record since 1992's _Retribution_ -- if not their finest overall. Phil Fasciana, always happy to answer a few questions about the band in which he has been the only constant member, is certainly happy to be working with such professionals once again. One thing that has been in the air since it was announced that Brett and Rob were back was a return to the sound of _Retribution_. "Well, me and Rob were putting together another album with Brett [and] people say "aha, _Retribution_". We like that album a lot, but we didn't necessarily -intend- to make [the new album] sound like that." However, he concedes, "some of the songs, their structures, two guitars playing different things at the same time, are similar to that sound and style, and Brett's singing again, of course." But rumors aside, the most significant thing about _The Fine Art of Murder_ is not its similarities to the band's previous work, but its differences. One of those differences is in the album's producer: this time it's Brian Griffin (Broken Hope). Why Brian? "I heard some other shit he did before; I wasn't too into the Broken Hope CDs, he'd done Hateplow's CD and we were really happy with that." But it's more than his skills: "We had some problems with other guys [with whom] it wasn't a very comfortable situation. Working with Brian is really easy, 'cause he's a musician, he's easy to get along with, he's a guitar player, he's pretty cool and he's affordable." Another difference is that a few of these new songs are slower, longer and more melodic. "When we listened to how long [some of them] were, we went "Holy shit! We've fucking got some Iron Maiden songs here!" Some songs came out quite long, but not like they've got a million parts -- there's maybe four or five parts." Though he carefully adds: "A lot of the album has a lot of our normal three, three and a half minute stuff." However, even these tunes contain differences, as Phil explains: "There's a lot of guitar harmony stuff that we should have done on songs in the past that could have given them more depth." I guess the question now is why did Malevolent Creation need to add something new into the mix? "Well, we've put out a lot of albums, and you can't constantly repeat yourself. There are other parts of metal you can explore without becoming "wimpy". There's nothing on _The Fine Art of Murder_ that is -pop- or -rock 'n' roll-. Everything there falls into a heavy metal format." But the reasons go beyond Phil's will to change. "Me and Rob play together really well; we grew up together. When the two of us get together, we're like two old style heavy metal guys that grew up playing this stuff. Now it's cool, because we never really sat down and worked out some guitar harmony parts and tried other things to sound different [before]. It brings a different sound to the record." He continues: "Rob always has good ideas. I show him something, he'll show me something he's going to do over that, it's fucking cool -- I would have never thought of something like that --; or he shows me something and vice versa. There's no ego conflict or anything. We just have fun." And it isn't just Rob and Phil who are having fun on their guitars. The title is "a little bit of both" sarcasm and seriousness. Phil expands: "Brett's lyrics were always based around realistic death, not fantasy shit. Having him back in, [we] have some fucking intelligent lyrics again. That shit comes to Brett naturally. He's obsessed with war, watches the news fuckin' all day long. He's obsessed with really bad things. I think the real world is more horrifying than anything you could make up; the best stories are the real ones. We're not talking about comic book heroes." This album provided the reunited _Retribution_ members with a common goal. "We said: "That's it, we gotta just put out the fucking most murderous thing we can." We [decided] every song had to be completely all out murder. That's the way we got fired up. The lyrics are fuckin' amazing." So is it back to the old days? Not quite. "There are less lyrics. I remember [Brett] used to throw out a whole song in one line. But that was his style. We didn't know what the hell we were doing. Now he's put it into a catchier thing and repeats parts over and over, it's a little bit easier to remember." Staying on the subject of lyrics, I quiz Phil about _Eternal_ and one particular song, "They Breed", with which the band had a few problems. "The song was basically about scum. It didn't really point a finger at any certain race, but at the end of the song it said the word it said, "you fucking nigger"." To many, this made the band racist, but Phil explains the context: "In reality, [now] "nigger" just means a fuckin' slacker." But the word's appearance wasn't planned, at least not by Phil. "It was such a violent fuckin' song and Jason was supposed to say ["you fucking gave us"], but we were doing the vocal tracks and he just did it and it just sounded so much more convincing." Convincing, but maybe not helpful: "We did have some problems with it and as soon as that happened I said to him: "That's it for any kind of shit like that." I think a lot of people took it the wrong way." Phil makes sure to explicitly state: "We're not racist." Whatever Phil may have said at the time, these problems were not to go away, and things came to a head last year while the band was on tour in Germany. "Jason was wearing a KKK shirt [on stage]." The result? "People started freaking out, throwing shit at him and flipping him off. I told him [before the show] that if he wore the shirt I'd fuckin' kill him, and when I left the venue, man, people were throwing bottles at me, we had all our merchandise returned, people were calling us "Nazis" and "scum", they wanted to fuckin' kick our ass!" As you might imagine, Phil didn't take this kindly; the result... "When I got onto the bus and he was fuckin' laughing about it, I fuckin' beat the living shit out of him." This would explain Jason's absence from Malevolent Creation. "When we got home, he quit. He couldn't live with the fact that I did that to him." Continuing on the subject of his former bandmate, Phil says: "The kid is fuckin' unstable, he does a lot of stupid things and says a lot of stupid things that in turn made me look like a fuckin' idiot, so the only way to resolve it was for me to punch his head in. And it worked and I haven't talked to him since. " So the old was out and problems had left the band for good. Well, not quite, actually; Dave Culross' inclusion in this album's recording line-up, though heartily welcomed, was not planned -- the reason? Read on. "It was really weird. We had a drummer down here and he's really good and fast. The one problem was [when we recorded the album] the really fast double-bass parts were kinda screwy." And when they got to the mixing studio, "[...] they put triggers on the kicks where you can hear 'em crystal clear, they were -fucked up-." There was only one solution apart from ditching the record altogether for Malevolent Creation: "We knew that Dave had just quit Suffocation and was in New York. We told him: "We'll get you out here, we'll fuckin' show you all the songs..."." And they were lucky. "He said: "You got me at a good time, I don't have to work, my girlfriend's out of town -- let's do it"." For those of you who've heard the man in action, I am sure the decision needs no explanation; but for the rest of you, Phil elaborates: "He's a total professional. Rob never got to play with Dave, and he was always the best, I never had a problem [with him]." So did Dave make the grade? Stupid question; he seems to have gone above and beyond for this one. "In three days he learned thirteen songs, recorded them, and he was out of there on the fourth morning. It's unbelievable." Dave is pretty happy with it too, it seems. "He fuckin' loves the album. When he heard the whole thing, he was like, "I can't even believe I played on this, it's great"." So will this be sufficient encouragement to get the master onto the tour too? "We really want him to do it and it is up to him now to see if he's available to do it. If not, we have a couple of guys we could use to tour but, I mean, I think we'll be able to coax Dave into it." This album is Malevolent Creation's sixth in eight years. Does Phil regret anything they've done and does he listen to his own past works? "To be honest with you, I don't listen to any of them anymore, I don't have the urge." There's a pretty good reason for this, though: "I listen to them so much before we go to record them that by the time we record them and get it done -- and I listen to it about 50 times after we finish the album, you know -- I burn myself out on it." Of course nearly every band has a personal low; for Malevolent Creation it will always be... "_Stillborn_, 'cause that was a time when the entire band was fuckin' it. It was totally falling apart. I think just me and the other guitar player John Ruben knew what was going on. Jason was a mess, Brett was a complete mess, his life was all fucked up and he wasn't sounding too hot, and our drummer Alex [Marquez] was just getting worse at the time. On top of that, we recorded with people that were just complete idiots and everything about the album was just fucking shitty." So mistakes were made, but Phil does have plans to somewhat right some wrongs: "We were thinking of re-recording some of those songs with the line-up we have now. Played a little bit faster and a little more aggressively, those songs would probably sound pretty cool. We might throw some on an EP or something." Regardless of their extensive back catalogue, Malevolent Creation have been an influence to many a new band appearing on the scene over the last couple of years, but what originally influenced Phil? "My influences are British metal, of course -- Judas Priest, Iron Maiden. Then Mercyful Fate. Then you get into Slayer, German metal -- Destruction. Stuff like that I was always into. That's what always started us off, to me." To the extent where Phil feels "It seemed like when we did the first few albums we didn't really have "Our Sound"." Phil's not going to start copying those he influenced, either: "I still look for influences in the older metal, as opposed to new death metal stuff. So much has been done already. I can't really see somebody who can blow everybody away with death metal [influences]. So that's why I have to bring older parts of metal into it." As Phil points out, "You can play a melodic guitar riff and throw a blast beat underneath it, and it could sound fuckin' killer! Influence-wise, I'd have to say older metal, of course, a lot of two-guitar bands." Malevolent Creation, like so many other death metal bands, have suffered at the hands of labels. They were signed to Roadrunner and dropped when the label decided they'd only retain death metal bands with the commercial potential of Sepultura. Pavement, their current label, have gotten bad rap from some bands (Crowbar, for example). Where do Malevolent stand with regards to labels? "I would say Pavement seems to have been promoting us a lot better lately, we have a good deal over in Europe now, on System Shock in Germany." As regards the past, "With Roadrunner we always used to get some royalty cheques and stuff." As regards the present, "We have yet to make shit money from Pavement, which is something our lawyers are looking into now. We're not getting paid fucking what we should be getting paid, put it that way." The band are also at a crossroads now: "This was our last album with Pavement and, unless something drastically changes, I don't see us staying with them. It's more likely we'll sign a deal with System Shock." System Shock is a division of Koch International and house Vader, among others. "Those people really push their records. When I was over there I couldn't believe how much advertising they had done for Hateplow and Malevolent. The guy from the label even put together the new album for us. I hung out with them for a week and did interviews and they were fucking great." With a year as musically good for death metal as this, one would expect more people to sit up and take notice all over the place. "I know that metal is always good in Europe. I just wish more people would see it like that over here." And, in true '80s fashion, Phil takes the line that "Metal will never die, there's always people out there like me who need to hear it. We'll always listen to it." I guess the other thing we'll want them to be listening to more specifically is _The Fine Art of Murder_. I have drooled on about it, but let's hear Phil's view. "If anyone was familiar with us in the earlier days, it is like _Retribution_, but taken to the fuckin' extreme. We just hope that people enjoy it as much as we enjoyed putting it together." He adds gleefully: "It's a 56 minute assault of metal." And if that isn't enough to make you go get it, I don't know what is. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= R E P A I R I N G T H E R U I N S ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CoC interviews In Ruins by: Adrian Bromley Few albums this year have impressed me as much as the stunning debut _Four Seasons of Grey_ from Philadelphia black/doom/gothic metal trio In Ruins. While I gave it a modest (7 out of 10) review in Chronicles of Chaos #34, the more I listened to it the more I enjoyed what the band was doing with their music. It has totally grown on me over the past few weeks -- a definite highlight for 1998 and for sure one of the best releases Metal Blade has put out in some time. In my review I stated: "[...] In Ruins manage to also break away from a stereotypical (and sometimes boring) metal mood and break out, capturing a very solid metal sound, placing high interest in flamboyant guitar riffs and a heart-pounding groove", and also that fans will appreciate the "hard work and sweat" that "has been put into this LP". When talking to lead singer / guitarist / lyricist J. Michael, it isn't hard to see that statement ringing so true. Michael is a real workaholic, determined to work his band to the best of their ability while also nurturing the band's sound and making his music seem so effortless. It's mastery of metal, I tell you, folks, influenced highly by the ways of '80s metal bands like Venom and Celtic Frost, but heavily doom-laden and inspired somewhat by the darkened ways of black metal tendencies. In Ruins offers a bit of everything. "I like what we are doing because no one out there is really doing what we are," he starts. "Not to say that we are doing anything unique, there just seems to be something different with us. A bit of doom and black metal ideas mixed up with gothic sounds. We're proud of what we have done here and people are letting us know that." So true. Lately, the band (rounded out by bassist Jason and drummer Sean James) has developed a buzz and people are talking about them. Michael's reaction to the sudden interest with their debut disc? "I am glad it's working that way. I wanted to make a record that was cool in all ways possible. I wanted it to be very intricate and elaborate, but not shoving guitar techniques down your throat. I didn't want to have songs lose the listener." _Four Seasons of Grey_ truly showcases a band willing to explore multiple styles, yet harnessing them so tightly together that the overall package prospers from such ideas being pushed forth. This record truly stands out from the rest over the last year or so. He agrees as well. "Yeah. We want it like that. We put a lot of work into the structure of the record and all the songs that went along with it. That seems to be the main characteristic of this debut record: structure. This is, after all, our debut disc, and we wanted it to work. I didn't want people listening to our music and walking away not remembering a song. So we made sure some of our work had melody and was memorable. It paid off in the end, I think. This band took a long time to evolve. A lot of the music here is from 1994, when we were the same band, just playing different metal music. It was pretty much the same, but over the years our music writing techniques have shifted and finally fallen into place with this disc. I'm happy with the way things turned out. I have modest expectations of where I want the band to go. I just want to be able to make another record." He adds: "It took four and a half months to record this album. There were weeks when I would go into the studio for just two hours a day and just do bits and pieces. That is just wasted studio time, if you ask me. I do have my own studio here where I do a lot of the groundwork for the record's material. Layering of guitars and drum tracks and doing keyboard work. Next time I want to make sure we get the recordings done fast." And new material ideas? "I don't think it will be very far from what we have done here. Like I said, the ideas of what we want to do as a band are here, it's just a matter of getting all of it to work. We just have to get things focused. We need to just work out the glitches in the ideas we have and bring them into worthy material for the effort." Seeing that In Ruins are relative newcomers to the metal scene, what kind of work ethics has the band focused on to get somewhere in this business? "I think for any band out there coming out right now, you really need to have a unique quality to what you are doing," he explains. "We need bands like that out here right now. A few years back all of these bands were copying one another and it hurt the metal music scene. It made the scene stagnant. It's hard for a kid to part with money for albums when all of the bands out there sound the same." The topic shifts to the album title and the band name. "The album title represents somewhat of a metaphor for darkness. I wouldn't call us a depressing band. We just wanted to have a darkened element to what we do. As for the album cover [which depicts an old castle alongside a lake during night fall], I did that on the computer. It was a photo of a castle I had taken and I just created the island and lake around it. And about the name of the band? That was just something that came about. We actually changed the name of the band when we were in the studio. We used to be called Black Thorns, but there were like six or seven other bands called Black Thorns out there. So we changed it. As for In Ruins, it was a hard choice. Just try and sit down and come up with a name for a metal band nowadays. Everything cool is taken already. I actually have this cool photography book by Simon Marsen, who did some cool Cradle of Filth photography work. The book is called "In Ruins" and that probably somehow subconsciously influenced me. I had a list of band names, that one just stood out." "Also," he adds, "I wanted a cool, majestic sounding name. I didn't want to have a name that would paint us into a corner. I didn't want a name like Rotting Christ, whom I like, but you've kind of gotten yourself into a corner with a name like that." Interesting to note, In Ruins have never played live before. Michael is eager to get out and play. "We've done all the studio stuff and jammed a lot, we just never got out and played before with this band. We all used to be in other bands and played out, just not with In Ruins. We had to add two extra guys to help out with the band and we may decide to sequence the keyboards. Who knows? I am just bored with studio stuff and writing. I want to go out and play. We had the opportunity to do so while in the studio, but it just didn't seem right. There is really no black metal scene here, so playing shows is kind of hard. You'd be lucky to draw 30 to 40 people to your show. We'll get out and play and hopefully soon get onto an opening slot with a band. I'd love to play with Mercyful Fate. That just seems right and would be fucking cool." =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= M A S T E R I N G T H E I R M E T A L ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CoC interviews Jag Panzer by: Adrian Bromley Jag Panzer are lucky. Very lucky. While the band has been around for fifteen years, they could have easily written off their careers back in 1993 when their promising but ill-received effort _Dissident Alliance_ failed to ignite metal fans. The band kept on demo-ing material through the next few years and eventually got the interest of Century Media, who signed them up. In 1997, they released the crushing and hypnotic _The Fourth Judgment_ to rave reviews and just a mere eleven months later the band serves up another heaping dose of progressively-charged metal in the form of _The Age of Mastery_. Powerful? Yes. Revamped, regrouped and in control, Jag Panzer is on the prowl again. "Man... it has been a busy last few months for us," starts guitarist Mark Briody over the phone from his home state Colorado. "Making records. Touring. Interviews. It's all been good." But it hasn't always been this good, especially a few years back. Right? "Yeah. It was a total surprise for us to get back into the groove with the record [_The Fourth Judgment_] and signing to Century Media. We had to start from square one again, but that was fine with us. We started gaining fans again and things just seemed right to make this an important thing in our lives once again. I was surprised on the whole effect that this record had. I was quite pleased." "Having such a strong release and support, that carried over into the making of _The Age of Mastery_. We were gung-ho about doing another record. I thought that, by doing a record so rapidly after the success of _The Fourth Judgment_, that there would be a backlash to us, but it was actually the opposite. We did really well out of the starting gate in Europe. Making records so back to back was something new to us, as people had known us to be a band to make and put out records several years apart. This record has done really well for us and that is great. Both records have done well when they came out. This record has done a bit better than the last one in response, though I could care less about which gets more recognition, as I like both equally." And the reasoning for a new record in just eleven months? Was it rushed? "I don't think so at all. It seemed like the right time to follow up the success of _The Fourth Judgment_. Had we not been a band that had been playing together for so long, it might have turned up bad. But it didn't. We felt very comfortable doing the record quickly -- not to say I would want to do another record every eleven months, but it's a learning experience and a fun one at that." "Doing this record was such a blast for us. Before we went into the studio, we all talked about doing whatever the hell we wanted on this record. Everyone was going to do whatever they wanted to do and add it to the record," quips Briody. "If Harry wanted to scream his head off on any other song, that'd be cool. Our drummer wanted to do a fast double-bass tone. We went ahead and did so. We improvised a lot on this record and it ended up with a strong, fun vibe." About the success in the last few years, he states: "We are just starting to see how good of a band we really are. While on tour, we were totally in sync with one another. We worked well, better than we have over the last few years. We all had this amazing attitude from the get-go and knowing just how much fun it was to be in a band. That really transcended into this record." He adds: "Things have changed for the band over the years in terms of our musical preferences, but our general focus has been all along the same lines for each band member. We know what we want to do. It's all very simple, because we all get along so well." The band -- guitarist Chris Broderick, drummer Rikard Stjernquist, bassist John Tetley and singer Harry "The Tyrant" Conklin -- have no qualms about being perceived as an old school-style band (i.e., veterans), but live large in the notion that they are as good as any other band out there nowadays. "I can't really see us being an old band. Our stuff is new and fresh. It's not stagnant. Our music is very pleasant and in charge. We're not doing the whole "retro-revival" thing. We're playing music the way we see fit to do so." "Our music has a lot of elements in it," explains Briody. "We have elements of progressive metal, speed and a bit of that '80s sound happening. It's great to be able to do that and make it sound so good. So many bands out there nowadays try to incorporate a style into their music and sometimes it seems contrived. If they do it for artistic reasons, it's OK because they want a part of it, but if they do it to just fit in, then I have a problem with it. We've never tried to tail coat any other style or sound. We're always about doing our own thing and dabbling into other areas if we seem fit to do so." After so many years, how does the band stay focused to do this? "Playing music together comes so naturally for us. Even though we had years of not having a record deal, or no fan mail coming in, or no singer [Conklin had left the band], we still jammed a couple of times a week. We did this regardless of not seeing much success. It was about just hanging out and playing guitar and jamming for us all. It was just fun. I still do have fun. I wanted to do this ever since we had our first band in high school and were able to play "God of Thunder" by Kiss the whole way through. That was when I knew this was our calling -- to be a full-time band." One thing that runs deep for Briody is fan contact. His love for talking to fans is a big deal for him. It's all about being accessible to your fans, he notes. "I love doing press and having fans read about us. It's a good way for them to know what we are all about. I also do a lot of correspondence with our fans over the Internet. It's great to be able to talk to them and answer all of their questions. I like going on news groups and chat channels under the moniker of Jag Panzer and just talking to fans about our music and metal music in general. It's a great way of exposure for your band and to just be able to see and hear how people feel about music in general." =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= _____ .__ ___. / _ \ | |\_ |__ __ __ _____ / /_\ \| | | __ \| | \/ \ / | \ |_| \_\ \ | / Y Y \ \____|__ /____/___ /____/|__|_| / \/ \/ \/ _____ .__ / _ \ _________.__.| | __ __ _____ / /_\ \ / ___< | || | | | \/ \ / | \\___ \ \___ || |_| | / Y Y \ \____|__ /____ >/ ____||____/____/|__|_| / \/ \/ \/ \/ Scoring: 10 out of 10 -- A masterpiece indeed 9 out of 10 -- Highly recommended 7 out of 10 -- Has some redeeming qualities 5 out of 10 -- You are treading in dangerous waters 3 out of 10 -- Nothing here worth looking into 0 out of 10 -- An atrocious album, avoid at all costs! 00 Species - _Anatomy of a Robot_ (Dementia Records, 1998) by: Gabriel Sanchez (7 out of 10) This is the second main noise output from this Grand Rapids hardcore/crust band and it shows quite a level of overall improvement in sound and composition. This time around, 00 Species chooses to focus less on just using delay effects and various "spacey" sounds and work more towards the layering of different noise to produce some very dark and, at times, harsh noise. While most of the early tracks on the first side of this tape show a lot of the progression, the second side is more typical of the earlier 00 Species work. While not particularly bad, they lack the progressive mixture of different sounds and the harsher atmosphere the earlier pieces created. For a relatively new noise act, these guys are showing an incredible amount of self improvement, and with some more steady releases displaying the type of work found on the early tracks, 00 Species could easily begin to rival the works being put out by the more "known" Americanoise artists out there. This is definitely worth checking out if you are a fan of the Bastard Noise / dark ambient type sound or want some easy ways to get into the genre with some darker, less harsh works first. Contact: Dementia Records, 104 Diamond SE #1 Grand Rapids, MI, 49503 Absu - _In the Eyes of Ioldanach_ (Osmose, September 1998) by: Adam Wasylyk (7 out of 10) Those Texan blasphemers are back! A four song EP, _In the Eyes of Ioldanach_ features new material that boasts a slightly different sound production-wise, but musically it's traditional Absu: thrash/retro influenced blackened occult metal! A couple of tracks are re-recordings, one being "Never Blow out the Eastern Candle", a track that was exclusive to the _World Domination_ compilation put out by Osmose a couple of years ago. To be honest, this re-recording plain sucks, it's a lame take on an otherwise great track. If they wanted to put this track on _ItEoI_, it should have been the original track untouched and not this. _ItEoI_ is by no means an essential purchase, but if you're a big fan then this should tide you over until they release the next full length, which will hopefully come out early next year. Avenger - _Shadows of the Damned_ (Bestial / Breath of Night, 1998) by: Alex Cantwell (6 out of 10) Since I have not yet heard Krabathor, this Avenger release is my first exposure to metal from the Czech Republic. The vocals are in a black metal style, but the music is very heavy, chunky stuff, although with really cool melody lines throughout; very reminiscent of _The Karelian Isthmus_ era Amorphis and aggressive like early Grave, with the exception of the opener "Preludium", which is a NYHC romp. Good production (especially for a 16 track recording) and a killer guitar tone add to the depth of the music, which is all performed by two guys: Honza Kapak (drums, bass, vocals) and Petr Mecak (guitar). Although it is a cassette-only release, the inlay design is very pro looking and the cover is a painting by Albrecht Altdorfer from 1528 (not that you care, it just looks cool). The words are all in the Czech language, but unfortunately there are English translations printed as well, which totally ruins the mystique and reveals the blasphemous content and juvenile nature of the lyrics, therefore lowering the rating from what the music alone deserves. Bastard Noise - _If it Be Not True_ (Vermiform Records, 1998) by: Gabriel Sanchez (6.5 out of 10) What began as a very promising full blown venture into noise with their split release with Merzbow has now degenerated into a hit/miss collection of ambient-esque experimentation tracks. This massive 90 minute double CD release from Bastard Noise seems to show off less of the group's ability to produce some very creative minimalist noise but their inability to distinguish between such work and absolute repetitive slop. The easy highlights of this disc come in the form of the band reprising their "screaming over noise" bits which they produced so well with the _Our Earth's Blood_ series. The expression of Bastard Noise's dark message through this means impacts the meaning clearer by forming images of blackened chaos in the listener's mind with the noise, before dropping their battle axe of truth between one's ears. While these tracks work very well on the disc, they seem to come few and far between the collection of sloppy tonal works. The main downfall of the group is the over dependency on delay pedal effects to produce the sound. While such use of delay effects helps add an extra "flavor" to a track, they tend to grow repetitive and overbearing if used as the driving force behind a composition. At times Bastard Noise attempts to loop in new sound mixtures, but only then do some of these compositions rise beyond the level of "overproduced slop" to "average". The band would have done itself a favor to cut this release back to only one disc and drop many of the shorter, less enterprising pieces in favor of more in the areas they seem strongest in (i.e., "screaming over noise"). While this isn't a total washout, with the positive aspects of this disc being extremely good, it is the abundance of sub-mediocre pieces which serve to bog this down to a purchase only die hard fans ought to make. Contact: Vermiform Records, P.O. Box 603050 Providence, RI, 02906, USA Benighted Leams - _Astral Tenebrion_ (Supernal Music, June 1998) by: David Rocher (0.5 out of 10) Whoah Fallen One, hail the mighty return of the new flamebearer of black metal intellectualism -- or to be quite sincere, behold Mr. Bean go black metal! Albeit beginning with a nice-ish eerie intro, _Astral Tenebrion_ rapidly degenerates into one of the most outrageously laughable "black metal" fiascos I have ever witnessed -- along with the works of Darkness Enshroud, Judas Iscariot and a few others, of course... Lame riffing (or rather, electrified strumming) is monotonously hammered home by a binary beatbox battering which even succeeds, so poor is the sound, in blocking out most of the strings. Add to this tonedeaf metallic mess the hilarious deadpan "operatic" vocals (reminiscent of the inarticulate sounds one may gurgle whilst undergoing a tooth extraction...), and the feeble "wannabe futuristic" approach to black metal this one-man project tries to cook up, and you have one of this decade's greatest metal crashes, compared to which Arckanum's latest opus is a display of genuine virtuosity. Blood Axis - _Blot: Sacrifice in Sweden_ by: Adrian Bromley (6 out of 10) (Cold Meat Industry, Sep. 1998) As haunting and as interesting as this record may seem, it becomes quite bland and forgetful after numerous listens. Noise/soundtrack themed music is the main focus here, with Blood Axis chilling its attack with somber, soft-spoken numbers and then raising them with some intriguing, yet overused, sounds and noises. It's okay, but I don't think it matches other works from some of Cold Meat's cool roster, like Puissance and Ordo Equilibrio. As I've said hundreds of times before, fans of the band may dig this, but non-fans may be bored after a listen or two. I'm a little in-between. Bob Marinelli / Flutter - _Fun & Games_ by: Gabriel Sanchez (8.5 out of 10) (Distorted Vision Records, 1998) With noise, just like most genres, it isn't always the "big boys" who are producing the best material these days. Two relative "unknowns" of the noise scene, Bob Marinelli and the rookie group of Flutter, come together for an amazing split release that not only stands on the level of so many of the genre's top names, but puts others to shame at the same time. Marinelli's noise assault is in a state of constant motion as the sounds enter and leave the mix before one's brain can even get an entire lock on just what it is listening to. If there was ever a composition that exemplifies the complete and total lack of barriers, patterns, and reasoning in noise, this is most certainly it. On the flip side, Flutter work hard to match Bob Marinelli's level of pointless chaos with their digitally contorted harsh noise collage. Using everything from sound loops to pop/dance song snips, Flutter's sound remains as harsh and energetic as ever. Once again, there is no way for one to even lock a pattern onto the brutality as it is constantly flying from patterns of high pitched beeping to sub-woofer blowing rumblings. The bottom line is that this release demonstrates the purity of noise: no communication, no patterns, no boundaries. Just plain and simple electronic ejaculations of sound that shatter the ear drums but soothe the soul, all at the same time. Contact: Distorted Vision Records, 300 West Fourth St. Mt. Carmel, PA 17851, USA mailto:tgbob@sunlink.net Centinex - _Reborn Through Flames_ (Repulse, July 1998) by: Paul Schwarz (7 out of 10) As you may recall, I reviewed _Reflections_ [CoC #26] and felt that Centinex's main problems were lack of looseness (due to the use of a drum machine, as I found out later) and a somewhat unoriginal musical formula. Well, Centinex are still using a drum machine and they still sound the same; however, this time 'round, their songwriting, and even drum programming, has improved immensely. The band is still sticking to their "we are being true to old-Swedish-death-metal" excuse for not sounding even vaguely different from the status quo, but originality, or even creativity, are not what I am awarding them marks for. The simple fact is that _Reborn Through Flames_ is listenable, heavy and well constructed. Their leads still ring true and some of their melodic segues and occasionally main riffs are also cool. If they could rid themselves of the flat, predictable sound the drum machine, I would guarantee a great improvement. Why have I given them a 7 out of 10 again, you ask? For two reasons: 1) not changing their sound at all and almost re-using riffs (e.g. "The Arch of Serenity"); 2) including a -terrible- cover of Kreator's "Under the Guillotine" in the middle of the album (programmable CD players or fast reactions recommended to avoid this abomination). One thing I like about this band is that they always have a dark atmosphere; I just wish they could harness it better. The problem isn't their playing or production -- Tomas Skogsberg has done a sterling, though generic, production job. It's the band's attitude. Either they can't think of anything else to do or they can't make the leap of faith to do something more interesting and original, or at least not do the same thing as last time. Ciborium - _Colossal Crags_ (Independent Records, 1998) by: Pedro Azevedo (8 out of 10) Having found Ciborium one of the most promising bands featured in Independent Recs' _High Radiation 4_ compilation [CoC #33], I approached this Portuguese band's debut _Colossal Crags_ with interest. As it turns out, most of the material here is about as good as their _HR4_ track, and occasionally better. The style brings no surprise after knowing the compilation song: atmospheric death metal, technical enough, mostly fast and with plenty of pace changes. Keyboards are fundamental here, and manage to remain sober and efficient most of the time. Together with the pace changes, the dynamic nature of the music and the catchiness of some sequences, they keep the listener interested. The strong death vox suit the sound quite well, as the keyboards tend to often dominate the mix. The drums could sound a bit better, by the way; same for some of the guitar parts, but this varies a lot. Nevertheless, the overall sound is very acceptable and the music is very listenable and enjoyable. Be warned, however, that this album is only 30 minutes long; my rating is therefore based upon the assumption that it will not be sold at full price, which fortunately appears to be the case. Contact: mailto:ind.rec@esoterica.pt Crackdown - _Rise Up_ (Diehard, October 1998) by: Paul Schwarz (6 out of 10) "Never", the first track on _Rise Up_, is one of the best Biohazard songs written since the release of 1992's fan favorite _Urban Discipline_. A pity, then, that it was written by and appears on an album by Crackdown. However, since Evan Seinfeld sings lead vocals (yes, lead vocals) on this and two other tracks on this eleven (including bonus) track album, the similarity is less surprising and more acceptable, at least with regard to the vocals. Crackdown thankfully do not try to mimic Evan's vocal style throughout the course of the rest of the album and instead opt for the partially screamed style of My Own Victim or B.F! Musically, My Own Vicitm and Biohazard's respective styles are the ones most liberally referenced on _Rise Up_, with a small nod to Bloodlet's style on "Knife". Not much is new, although a well executed build-up of a repeated melodic vocal lines provides a brief break from the hardcore norm. So, for your money you get 38 minutes of mostly derivative but well produced and played hardcore. However, an added bonus must be the last official track, "Make a Change". Against a background of thick (but soft) bass, hip-hop compatible drumming and occasional jazz-derived guitar fills, it once more features Evan Seinfeld, but this time he blesses us with his attempts to rap. Through his usual infantile rhyming (e.g. "In your city or your town, these are the motherfuckers called Crackdown"), Evan tells the story of how he and Crackdown "hooked up". I can just see Evan bopping, gesturing and rapping this out: that image provides comedy worth an extra review point. As with all hardcore, live is where it matters and if the band can play, these songs will come out good -- as good as My Own Victim's do for example. However, if you're looking for hardcore's new innovators, you won't find them in Crackdown. Dementia - _Answer_ (Kaly Productions, October 1998) by: David Rocher (8.5 out of 10) Dementias' previous album, _In Core of the Dark Ages_, despite being plagued with feeble sound, was a reasonably convincing demonstration of the fine brand of atmospheric death metal this talented French six-piece have to offer; their new CD, _Answer_, picks up where _ICotDA_ left off, greatly adding depth, variety and technicality to Dementia's already praiseworthy style. An amazing amount of creativity literally oozes from this band, as their music switches from melodic speeding blast-beat sequences to rushing axe attacks underlined by thunderous double-bass antics and calm passages somewhat reminiscent of Pink Floyd -- all this clearly showing the potential that lies within these versatile musicians. Firstly, _Answer_ is technically impressive, offering beautiful guitar leads, an impressive display of skin-bashing, and great rhythmic riffing -- for which the jaw-dropping version of "The Flight of the Bumblebee", converted into an incredible high speed riff, stands as an example. Secondly, this album has more depth to it than many so-called "atmospheric" bands can ever hope to create; the fine use of inspired keyboard-driven orchestrations brings a touch of aether to sharp walls of raging electrified strings, thus creating Dementia's very personal blend of violent metal, that lies somewhere between Carcass at _Heartwork_ times, Coroner in their _Mental Vortex_ years and present-day fine death metal combos such as Dark Tranquillity... nothing less! Deranged - _High on Blood_ (Regain Records, September 1998) by: Adrian Bromley (7 out of 10) Holy fucking ball busters Batman! Deranged are surely high on something. This is one of the most ball-crushing records to land on my disc player in some time. While not totally groundbreaking, Deranged have the knack for kicking out goods with true velocity and aggression. Take note of songs like "(eroti)kill", "With the Silence Came Horror" and my fave "Razor Divine". _High on Blood_? I think not. This album shreds and I think the title should be more like _High on Speed-Aggression-Anger-Hatred_. Give it a whirl if you feel up to it. Almost as crushing as The Haunted's debut -- almost. The Dillinger Escape Plan - _Under the Running Board_ by: Alex Cantwell (7 out of 10) (Relapse, 1998) A short CD gets a short review. In all of its eight minutes of glory, The Dillinger Escape Plan mauls the listener into mere pulp, bruised and charred. This is grindcore with hardcore influences taken to the extreme, and played at a totally out of control pace. Three songs of total chaos: breaking glass, blast beats, growls, yells, sirens, and circus music leads. I couldn't imagine a full-length. Dimmu Borgir - _Godless Savage Garden_ (Nuclear Blast, July 1998) by: Paul Schwarz (5 out of 10) Dimmu Borgir found huge success, including a German chart placing, with last year's _Enthrone Darkness Triumphant_, so seeing a thrown-together cash-in compilation appear around the same time this year to keep up interest until January, when _Spiritual Black Dimensions_ is released, is not altogether surprising. For your money you get 41 minutes of music. About 12 of them cover the two new tracks, which, though not of lower quality than the majority of the material on _EDT_, are also not standouts, but instead standard keyboard-augmented, thrashing-guitar-black-metal tracks, as is Dimmu Borgir's current trade. I hope the new record is more different from _EDT_ than these tracks suggest. Now it gets ugly. "Raabjorn Speiler Draugheimens Skodde" is one of two old re-recorded tracks; it's damn good, but it appeared on the digipack edition of _EDT_. It might be "rare", but strike one track / five minutes for those who own the digipack, such as myself. Additionally, re-recordings should be -bonus- tracks, not part of any album or compilation. An Accept cover is next, of "Metal Heart" from their piss-poor, samey album of the same name. It is a proficient and enriching cover: they actually make melodic German metal sound vaguely evil -- well fancy that! And uglier. Three live tracks, two from _EDT_ and "Stormblast", close off _GSG_. If you're into having three odd live tracks, and if you're ever going to get the occasion to listen to them, then these are well produced and surprisingly bring out all the elements of the band's sound (I can't tell if it is overdubbed): soft keyboards, harsh vocals and razor sharp drums and guitars. They also contain some amusingly schlock style comments from Shaggrath. However, ultimately, I can't see this getting more than a few cursory listens and then being quickly abandoned in the wake of a new album, because of its cobbled together nature. Earthtone9 - _lo-def(inition) discord_ by: Adrian Bromley (9 out of 10) (Copro Records, September 1998) Managing to mix the aggression of a hardcore/metal act (such as Earth Crisis, Coalesce or Vision of Disorder) and the ultra cool vibes of bands like Tool or Acid Bath is no easy task, but the quintet calling themselves Earthtone9 have done so -- and quite well, may I add. Strong bass lines, some nifty guitar work and searing vocals package a smooth romp into the wonderful world of aggressive metal here. You see, as similar sounding to the above mentioned bands as they may be, Earthtone9 manage to add their own flavor to the fold -- a wicked mix of eccentric vocal styles and some out of this world grooves. I am really starting to appreciate more and more bands that set the musical style they play on the edge, balancing between common musical directions and then occasionally dabbling into some uncharted territory. Tool are a good example of that and that's the primary reason why they are high up on both Gino's and my own fave band list. Not a bad moment on this record from what I can hear. Caring to open up a bit more to the music you digest? Then get this. Contact: Copro Records, P.O. Box 4429, Henley on Thames Oxon, RG9 1GH, UK The Elysian Fields - _We... the Enlightened_ by: Paul Schwarz (8 out of 10) (Wicked World, October 1998) With _Formulas Fatal to the Flesh_, _Our Problem_ and _The Haunted_ already polluting the extreme music community's collective ears and promising new material from Earache's old favorites Napalm Death and Cathedral on the way, it appears that the label is not declining into a mediocre, alterna-metal one as many of us feared it was. With the recent formation of Wicked World, an offshoot which some feel needn't exist, Earache have tried to tackle head-on the task of adding some of today's quality black metal talent to their roster. The Elysian Fields prove that Earache are up to this challenge. _We... the Enlightened_, The Elysian Fields' second album, presents a band with a considerable grasp of their style and the balls and skill to produce a good black metal album. _WtE_ is ample proof of this. Though the boundaries of black metal have to be stretched like so much elastic to include a band such as The Elysian Fields, it is still appropriate to describe their style. What is best about this band is their desire to diversify their sound and their ability to pull it off. They utilize a huge range of orchestral and folk instruments, presumably from samplers, in each song. Blending in parts of electronic music with some intense percussion sections (check out "Until the Night Cries Rise in Your Heart") is just a portion of the band's appeal that I find particularly endearing. Add the fact that the production of _WtE_ is superb and you have a rather impressive album on your hands. If there's a problem, it is that however well-produced, well-executed and well-meant the music the band produce is, not all of it is to my own personal taste. Enslaved - _Blodhemn_ (Osmose, October 1998) by: Paul Schwarz (9 out of 10) For followers of complex, high-quality black metal, _Blodhemn_ (meaning "Vengeance in Blood"), Enslaved's fourth album, must rank as one of the most anticipated of the year. As one of the few bands who are clever enough to successfully challenge Emperor, Enslaved impressed many with last year's _Eld_, the long awaited follow-up to their classic _Frost_. Whereas _Eld_ witnessed the band become yet more epic (embracing the Viking metal stylings of Bathory's _Hammerheart_ to some extent) with an increase in the use of melodic vocals and atmospheric keyboards, _Blodhemn_ instead swings the stylistic pendulum in the opposite direction. Consisting of only 38 minutes, delivered over nine tracks, Enslaved have shortened their song lengths hugely from _Eld_'s sprawling epics, and produced faster, harder and more vitriolic tunes in a more "traditional" black metal style. Though this originally struck me as an unwelcome step back, I persisted in my listening of the album and found, to my relief, that Enslaved still have a musical goal which is as interesting as ever. Though the album's primary focus is tight and insanely fast rhythms, laid down by the hugely talented Dirge Rep and coated with biting guitars to match, Enslaved have not abandoned the many elements which made _Eld_ so brilliant. The Tolkien-inspired intro illustrates that the band have not lost any of their ability to manipulate keyboard atmospherics, whereas the songs, though on first listen seemingly only bludgeoning, have a similar and intricate array of different vocal lines, guitar melodies, finely constructed solos and just solid, well-written core riffs. To put it in a nutshell, Enslaved have brutalized their sound and made their delivery more concise. While there are still a million and one things you won't find on an album by the Morticians of black metal (Marduk, Dark Funeral), there is every bit as much impact and fury. This is quite an achievement by Enslaved -- in fact, I don't think I have heard an album which mixes brutality and atmosphere as well as this since Emperor's _Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk_ and, though I think it has nothing to do with their switching to the Tagtgren/Abyss production, this has a more powerful sound than Emperor's excellent, though somewhat overrated, second album. Enthroned - _Gothic Disturbance '98_ (Independent, 1998) by: Brian Meloon (9 out of 10) Although there have been some rumors of a re-formation of Florida's Nocturnus (mostly from unreliable sources), until they actually do get back together, these guys are as close as you'll get. Enthroned (from northern CA, USA -- not to be confused with the Belgian Enthroned) recently got a new singer / bass player and decided it was a good opportunity to re-record the songs from _Gothic Disturbance_ [CoC #21] along with some older songs and put them on CD. This was definitely a wise move, as this recording fixes some of the problems with their previous release. In particular, the playing is much tighter and the production is better. However, the guitar solos still have a trace of the "I'm playing as fast as I can" syndrome, and the guitar tones in the solos sometimes seem out of place. Other than that, the production and playing are excellent. The guitar and bass work is technical and tight, and the keyboards are especially well done: knowing when to play along with the guitars and when to do their own thing. All of the songs feature a technical sci-fi death/thrash style very similar to the one pioneered by Nocturnus. The complexity of the music, the way the guitar lines are put together, and the interplay between the keyboards and the guitars, all are reminiscent of Nocturnus. Enthroned seem to be a little thrashier (i.e., more like _The Key_) and slightly less technical, but their music is still much more complex than most death metal bands. This is a must-own for fans of Nocturnus and all fans of technical or sci-fi death metal. Contact: ENTRONED, 2231 Nobili Ave., Santa Clara, CA, 95051, USA mailto:blast7@aol.com mailto:tenebre@davis.com WWW: www.mother.com/~tenebre/enthroned.htm God - _From the Moldavian Ecclesiastic Throne_ (Bestial, 1997) by: Brian Meloon (8 out of 10) God hail from Romania and play melodic doom, along the lines of Tiamat and Paradise Lost, but I find them more interesting than either of those two bands. Although their music is slow-to-mid paced, it changes regularly enough to avoid the plodding monotony trap that doom bands can fall into. Their base style is melodic doom, with some sections that resemble Viking metal. The contrast between the two styles is interesting, and not really as jarring as you might think; they make it sound like a pretty natural fit. The vocals help to smooth out the contrast, as they are either grunted, rasped or sung in the "goofy" style that is common in Viking metal. Each of these styles is used throughout the disc, helping to unify it. The keyboards are used to good effect, typically acting as an equal partner to the guitars. God's lineup includes a full-time viola player, who really adds to the atmosphere the band creates. The playing is very good, and the production is top-notch. Overall, they're very impressive for the style that they play: it's nothing that hasn't been done before, but the arrangement and development are first-class. If nothing else, it's high quality material, and deserving attention from fans of melodic doom. Gooseflesh - _Welcome to Suffer Age_ (Goldtrack, September 1998) by: Pedro Azevedo (6 out of 10) This MCD's first track sounds so much like a mix of Sepultura and Machine Head that the replacement of most of these influences by a rather Kyuss-like sound in the second track can be quite surprising when you listen to _Welcome to Suffer Age_ for the first time. Gooseflesh then continue to assume various identities, more or less obviously, throughout the three remaining tracks. The point when the whole mixture becomes their "own" sound -- like almost every band as original as Gooseflesh like to say after naming their already obvious influences -- is very subjective. But I never really demand immense originality anyway, unless we're talking about something like a clear rip-off. So this Swedish band still gets an average score for their mostly very unoriginal, for my taste rather uninteresting, but nevertheless competent and well produced effort. Contact: Goldtrack Records, PO Box 37062, 28080 Madrid, Spain mailto:goldtrack@arrakis.es WWW: www.arrakis.es/~goldtrack Gothic - _Touch of Eternity_ (Bestial, 1997) by: Brian Meloon (6 out of 10) Although their name is Gothic, these guys don't play goth; they play semi-melodic doom. I can't say that I find their style very interesting, my main complaint being that it's just not dynamic enough. The clean vocals are one of the main weaknesses: he's way flat at times, and doesn't have enough range. As a result, the vocal lines tend to be very monotonous, which coupled with the slow-moving music makes it very monotonous. They also use shouted/grunted vocals, which are much more effective. The production could be better, as it's muddy, adding to the music's monotonous sound. The playing is good: while the music isn't very technically demanding, they handle it competently. The guitar solos (especially Emil's) are very good: they are tasteful and appropriate, even adding some flash here and there. Most of the music is very slow, with only a handful of mid-paced sections. I think that a few more fast sections could have helped to give the songs a better sense of purpose. Most of it is also very simple, and while some of these sections are effective and memorable, they tend to repeat them too much. It's almost as if these guys aren't really sure if they want to be heavy or melodic, and ended up not quite getting enough of either. Overall, this isn't a bad release; I just don't find it very satisfying. Gothic Sex - _Laments_ (Repulse Records, September 1998) by: Adrian Bromley (7 out of 10) Shades of Type O Negative and Moonspell come to mind within the first few moments of _Laments_, though it slowly becomes a much bolder sounding record. Interesting sound passages and vocal styles coupled with dark ambient playing really bring a well-defined character to Gothic Sex. It's erotic and all-out dark in truly interesting fashion. My favorite aspect of the record seems to fall into the realm of the guitar work. While not the best guitar work I have ever heard, the imagination and creativity of the guitar playing seems to add a strengthened finesse to the resulting product -- in "Laments" and "Alone in the Dark", for example. Dark passages of emotion and uncertainty run deep here as _Laments_ caters to the dark side of the human psyche. An interesting record that'll have metal fans wanting to dig deeper into their already darkened hole. Grief of Emerald - _Nightspawn_ (Listenable, October 1998) by: David Rocher (9 out of 10) As the overwhelming black metal tide finally ebbs away, all it leaves in its wake is a small number of quality, sincere bands, and a vast cohort of wannabe-evil cretins, who rely more on satanic imagery than on music itself to boost their sales and ego -- do this while you can, nerds, for the time is nigh... Take a look at a band photo of Grief of Emerald, and you will quickly notice the absence of inverted crosses, blood, corpsepaint, naked women, evil goldfish, satanic cheesecake or anything like that. Simply, this quintet deliver a style of music that can effortlessly be identified as Swedish black metal, but have somehow succeeded in gracing a now worn-out style with their very unique touch. They faithfully capture the intense, evil, unhealthy guitar feel of Morbid Angel on their masterpiece _Domination_, blend it with atmospheric, dynamic, nearly aggressive keyboards that sometimes yield the power and majesty of Emperor's _In the Nightside Eclipse_, and at other times produce the insane, eerie and unnerving feel you find on Tartaros' _The Grand Psychotic Castle_. As to the roaring, dark black metal vocals, these burn an extra scar in this blackened picture, and the masterful collision of all these elements fuses into a hateful, baleful, bombastic and technical black metal assault, graced with a potent death metal touch, whose unearthly, grandiloquent force is definitely enthralling. Various - _GRRRR!!: Extreme Music From Vancouver_ by: Adrian Bromley (8 out of 10) (Hevy Devy Records, Sep. 1998) Finally a killer compilation surfaces with nothing but Canuck talent on it. Finally. Not since Ed Balog's _Utopian Vision Music Vol. 1_ surfaced has there been such a good array of metal / extreme music bands from Canada to crank up and listen to. Amazing shit here. From the label started by Strapping Young Lad weirdo/mastermind Devin Townsend comes the vicious and extreme music assault of bands from Canada's West Coast -- music ranging from high-powered industrial charge to noise-infested rock outfits and hardcore-based bands. This baby has it all. Aside from the killer SYL tracks here ("Oh My Fucking God" and the unreleased "Centipede" -- though it can be found on the live SYL LP _No Sleep Till Bedtime_), there is a lot of interesting ditties to go around. The best of the unreleased or unknown bands has to be the ultra-heavy Subversion. I still have their demo and it's even more powerful now. They are Canada's Brutal Truth, if you ask me. Other notable numbers include the weird offering from Punchdrunk called "Tug the Tapeworm", the scary noise ensemble of "Krickets" by August Frost and Cystem's "Divided Process". I'm very proud to see HDR put this out. I await more unsigned talent to be showcased in future HDR compilations. Contact: Hevy Devy Records, P.O. Box 44116 Burnaby, B.C., V5A-4Y2, Canada Hexecution - _Beyond All Evil_ (Copro Records, September 1998) by: Adrian Bromley (4 out of 10) Sounding like a really mediocre death metal outfit who only jam once a month, Hexecution are the epidemy of what most young metal acts sound like when they start up. No real direction, just some heavy guitar work, drums and growling vocals. Sounds like second rate Benediction at times, and that's not much of a compliment. It's only a three song EP, but I'm hoping the band revamps their take on metal music and aim to have their own sound (or an interesting one at that!) next time they surface in Chronicles of Chaos. Contact: Copro Records, P.O. Box 4429, Henley on Thames Oxon, RG9 1GH, UK In tha Umbra - _Descend Supreme Sunset_ (Art Music, 1998) by: Pedro Azevedo (7 out of 10) In spite of the relatively high number of struggling young black metal bands that have recently popped up all over Portugal, very few of them have made it as far as the release of a full length. In tha Umbra are one of these and, although somewhat flawed in some areas, this 50 minute long debut of theirs is quite acceptable. The guitar work in this mid-paced black metal release reminds me of early Cradle of Filth -- a clear influence for the band, at least considering some of the lyrics and nice (although unoriginal) layout. The music, however, doesn't carry much of those gothic influences. But back to the guitar work: even though it's nothing brilliant technically, it's usually quite effective; the problem is that the album suffers from poor production, especially as far as the guitar sound is concerned. It may be that the band themselves have opted for this rawer sound, but it's their loss: the raw effect wasn't very well achieved and ended up harming the guitar work more than creating a better atmosphere, at least in my opinion. Keyboards should perhaps have been a more frequently used solution in this album; the keyboards in "Like Ravens 'Neath Nightskies", for example, make all the difference, reminding me of Osculum Infame's brilliant "The Nine Ghosts of the Ring of Power" and the rest of _Dor-Nu-Fauglith_, in which the keyboards were often missed when they were silent. It may be true that more keyboards would end up softening the intended raw feel of both albums a lot, but that's no excuse for the weak guitar sound. If the guitars were able to make the music sound strong all by themselves, then the need for more keyboards would certainly diminish. Despite this and the rather mediocre death vox, "As Dusk Weaves the Night", "Flowers for a Funeral", "Like Ravens 'Neath Nightskies", the title track and also the epilogue carry that certain raw appeal more successfully than the others and flow quite well. The other tracks generally tend to contain several weaker sequences, but this is still an interesting debut album. Contact: WWW: www.artmusic-pt.com Infamy - _The Blood Shall Flow_ (Qabalah/Repulse, 1998) by: Aaron McKay (4 out of 10) Well, I'm not about to tell anyone that I didn't struggle with this one more than just a little bit. On one hand, I like Infamy's style of self-dubbed "extreme brutal East LA style death/grind", but on the other hand, I have been more impressed by other groups. I understand that Infamy has been on the underground circuit for quite some time. They definitely have a firm grasp on their chosen lot in music. As I listen to _The Blood Shall Flow_, I hear large amounts of Morbid Angel _Alters of Madness_ era influenced overtones and passages. The two guitars without a doubt drive this band forward with a certain hot-knife-through-butter approach. Cool, but not particular to Infamy alone. "Onslaught of Carnage" and "Cryptobiosis" provide the highlights on _TBSF_. These two songs -solely- manifest the talent inherent in Infamy. Both are powerful and equivalent to restrained Armageddon. The impulse behind "Onslaught of Carnage" is almost unspeakable, pausing long enough to surface the prowess of the bass guitar lurching the song further down the listener's ear canal. Likewise, "Cryptobiosis" boasts thrashy shreds and pounding rhythms. I must mention now, as I come to comment on the vocals as hoarse growls spewing forth illustrative massive carnage, that, it is my understanding, Joshua "Jagger" Heatley (bass/vocals) is no longer with us. The disc sleeve and the Repulse website list his death on March 5, 1998. Honestly, my condolences go out to his friends and family. As for Infamy's _The Blood Shall Flow_ release, I would have to say it is more for fans only. Interitus Dei - _Lonely White Idols_ (Bestial, 1997) by: Brian Meloon (7 out of 10) One problem with compilations is that you only get one chance to make an impression, and this impression may not be accurate. When I first heard these guys on the Bestial compilation [CoC #33], I thought "atmospheric doom/black metal". After a more complete listen, I now find them more similar to bands like The Gathering. It has the same melodic guitar-driven base style, with keyboards used to round out their sound. Their music isn't a carbon copy, but it's about the same level of heaviness, and the female vocals give it a similar sound. What they change about that base style is an Indian/Arabic influence and more varied keyboards. The keys feature a good variety of tones and textures, and remind me of what's done in atmospheric black metal (Nokturnal Mortum, Mundanus Imperium, etc.). Both grunted male vocals and angelic female vocals are used. Most of the music is competently performed, with the exception of the guitar leads, which sound a little cheap, both production-wise and from the fact that they're a little bit off. Other than these parts, the production is excellent. I can recommend this for fans of The Gathering and similar styles, as it has enough good parts to offset the weak ones. Iron Monkey - _Our Problem_ (Earache Records, October 1998) by: Adrian Bromley (9 out of 10) Iron Monkey return with a blistering follow-up to their self-titled six-song EP. With some nasty and vulgar cover artwork (censored now, I believe?!), the doom-laden growls of consumption and utter aggression spark forth from the band's latest effort with a detonating blow to our skulls. Powerful waves of unbelievable momentum keep things chaotic here from start to finish. This band is warped, yet oh-so good. From frazzled growled vocals to sickened slabs of anguished wails and chuggish riffs, England's Iron Monkey do the unspeakable and penetrate us with its venomous claws. And as bad and disgusting as it may seem, the ravaging we get from the blatant ass-kicking is worth it. Are there any bands out there so violently charged? Maybe, but Iron Monkey do it just as well, if not better. Legenda - _Eclipse_ (Holy Records, September 1998) by: Pedro Azevedo (9 out of 10) This second Legenda release is a successful attempt at perfecting the style of music found on their debut _Autumnal_, which is achieved essentially through the inclusion of three fast-paced songs that add more variety (_Autumnal_ was rather excessively uniform) and the improvement of their musical choices. The sound is very similar (recorded at Tico Tico again), and fortunately Luttinen hasn't forsaken his raspy vocals. The only track that features clean vox (performed by a guest singer) fits quite well within the album, however, although this particular song is too long for its own good. The music is still mostly mid-paced, sometimes doomy, and strongly based on keyboards. Some songs are guitar-driven, however, and these transitions are well achieved (i.e., you have to pay attention in order to notice it, rather than end up finding yourself wondering where did those keyboards go). Of the three kinds of songs found in _Eclipse_, my favorites are clearly the faster ones and the doomier ones, but the catchier songs are all still quite acceptable. The digipak only carries lyrics for the title track, which, if you think of most of _Autumnal_'s lyrics, probably isn't much of a loss. The main feeling throughout _Eclipse_'s 50 minutes is that it is a very smart album: smart melodies, rhythms and overall sound. Even though I might personally subtract a mark from the 9 out of 10 rating mainly because the album is still too song-oriented for my liking (the song structures aren't exactly challenging), credit must be given to Legenda for blowing away most of the softer dark/gothic metal competition with _Eclipse_. Lucid - _Lucid_ (, 1998) by: Alex Cantwell (6.5 out of 10) This music reminds me of Leaderdogs for the Blind and newer Moshketeers, with a bit of Machine Head thrown in. Basically, this is well done modern metal, which is great, but listening to all twelve tracks in one sitting might be considered too much of a good thing. It's like being beaten twelve times in a row. Most of these songs are strong enough to stand on their own. This is plain and simple aggressive music that will send ya a-thrashin' around yer room. The drums are triggered, and so they almost sound like a drum machine, but that actually gives the music a slight industrial tinge, which works for them. Makrothumia - _The Rit of Individuation_ (Bestial, 1997) by: Brian Meloon (7 out of 10) Makrothumia didn't make a good first impression on me with their song on the Bestial sampler [CoC #33], but I'm glad I gave them a chance with this offering, as it's worth a listen. They are dubbed "progressive death metal", and I can see now why that label was chosen. The closest comparison I can make is to Pan.Thy.Monium, but Makrothumia aren't as weird or as advanced. What's similar about the bands is their base style: experimental death metal with keyboards. The way the keys are used is similar: they're used as a backing instrument, but the way they interact with the guitars is novel. The riffs are of the semi-melodic variety: the melody isn't the focal point, but they're not unmelodic either. The vocals are pretty standard grunted death vocals, but have some interesting variations. Unfortunately, the production really isn't that good: it's muddy and more like black metal production. This gives the album a very drab sound and makes it hard to really get into on the first few listens: it all sounds the same. After a few listens, you start to pick up things that you missed before. The playing also adds to the black metal sound, as it's not as tight as it could be. While I don't think this offering is quite "there" yet, it does show potential, and I look forward to their future releases. Malevolent Creation - _The Fine Art of Murder_ by: Paul Schwarz (9 out of 10) (Pavement, October 1998) Yes, they've done it at last. I think Malevolent Creation have been building up to this triumph since _Retribution_ deafened ears and froze hearts with its cold, calculated death metal massacre six years ago. Having picked themselves up after the disasters of _Stillborn_, Malevolent Creation produced two good albums, one being last year's _In Cold Blood_, but always failed to do two things: top _Retribution_ in the all-out classic brutality stakes, and change in a way that really showed a new side to them. Though it is questionable if _The Fine Art of Murder_ quite tops _Retribution_ in brutality, it is by far their most impressive musical step forward in their history. Whereas the first four tracks, on first listen, seem not to change a thing in the band's formula, repeated listens to and consideration of the album brings you to the realization that there is so much more going on than there ever has been before. The toying with melody and harmony in songs which are primarily bludgeoners, like "Manic Demise" or "Instinct Evolved", is astounding once examined. This is not to say none of it is basic. Malevolent Creation still have all that thrash, harsh-and-hard guitar riffing; it is just used more sparingly and consequently to greater effect. The real achievements on the album are "The Fine Art of Murder", "Fracture" and "Day of Lamentation", which almost totally lack MC's trademark speed but are still both great to listen to and as brutal as ever -- the melody sees a damn good look in, too. Malevolent Creation haven't overstepped the mark, they haven't "wimped out" -- they've diversified. Sure, they're not producing anything innovative in the genre-leading stakes, but while still staying true to everything we've come to expect from them, they've gone the extra yard and successfully pulled plenty of new elements into their well-established approach. The full benefit of their current line up (Rob Barrett, Dave Culross, Phil Fasciana, Brett Hoffman, Gordon Simms) has been realized. Long live the killers; if they can keep this kind of musicianship present, they can keep up the spree far past the year 2000. Mundanus Imperium - _The Spectral Spheres Coronation_ by: Paul Schwarz (6.5 out of 10) (Nuclear Blast, September 1998) Hey, it isn't as bad as I had feared. Mundanus Imperium are another of Nuclear Blast's recent signees who embody the spirit of metal from the '80s, as opposed to the label's original, '90s centered roster. I think it is fair to say that Hammerfall's unprecedented success is very likely to be the reason why Mundanus Imperium got a deal with Nuclear Blast, but this is not to say they are necessarily unworthy of a record deal -- though whether they suit -my- vision for Nuclear Blast is another matter. Mundanus Imperium can be quite well described by the label "symphonic metal". Overall, the guitars tend to mutter in the background with only occasional full power-chords, the majority of the guitar work being palm muted. Keyboards (or guitar synths) are Mundanus Imperium's preferred form of expression. As simple power-chord riffs tick over in the background, complex and flowing piano sections, organ atmospherics and various other wind and string instruments comprise the lines of melody which carry the songs. The drums vary between AC/DC simplicity and double bass passages with some interesting fills. Though what I have just gone over does not comprise anything I wet myself over, it makes for a pretty decent mix. The bad aspect of this release, at least for me, is the vocals. Though the vocalist is not "bad" -- he's not out of tune or lacking power --, his style is infuriating, to say the least. It reminds me somewhat of the sound of the new Iced Earth album, but with more "yeahaeaaaahahh"s and note shifting than I can take in a single sitting. As I say, it is better than it looks, but the space theme on which it works seems pretty lame: for futuristic rock you still can't do much better than Rush's _2112_. I think as futuristic metal goes, Nuclear Blast would've been better off signing Nocturnus when they were still around; but gripes aside, this is a decent record. My Dying Bride - _34.788%... Complete_ (Peaceville, October 1998) by: Pedro Azevedo (7 out of 10) When I reviewed _Like Gods of the Sun_ over a year and a half ago, I gave it a 10 too quickly -- its metallic reinforcements (relative to _The Angel and the Dark River_) made me overlook a few faults that the album does have. But although _LGotS_ was somewhat inferior to its predecessors (certain tracks much more than others), it didn't necessarily mean that MDB wouldn't be able to reach the quality of their older releases again. After the departures of drummer Rick Myah and especially keyboard/violin player Martin Powell (now linked with Anathema), it seemed less likely, but still possible. However, it turns out that this new release is, in my opinion, inferior to every album MDB have done before. Almost everything in _34.788%_ (title, artwork and most of the lyrics and music) shows very clearly that a new direction has been, consciously or not, chosen. Sadness, melancholy or dark romanticism can scarcely be found in their music now, which should mean a lot to most fans. Not to say that the album is -happy-, though, it just tends to sound very neutral and emotionless. This is what is worse about the album -- this loss of the deeply emotional band MDB used to be. The music could at least have been remarkable enough for the album to still be really enjoyable; however, for the most part it's just above average metal (hence the 7 out of 10 rating), although frequently rather repetitive. "The Stance of Evander Sinque" stands out as the best track and "Der Uberlebende" as the doomiest (but nothing special by MDB standards), but the album practically ends here, at track three, with the exception of a few more passages later on. The rest is made of three relatively unremarkable tracks and "Heroin Chic", which is a song that will make many MDB fans feel very sad -- not because it's especially doomy, but because it contradicts so much of what MDB used to be all about. The new drummer performs well enough but doesn't stand out, while the synths are a mediocre replacement for Martin's violin and keyboard. As a result of all this, for me, My Dying Bride are no longer the special band they once were, even though this album is of reasonable musical quality. People keep saying bands must change with time, regardless of the quality of their past work. Well, sure. Go ahead. Sometimes it works -- Anathema, for example, have changed a lot and still managed to put out four excellent full length albums (regardless of which one is the best), and I could mention many other bands here. For example, Katatonia's _Discouraged Ones_, different as it is from the band's past efforts, contains not only musical quality but also the sadness that is fundamental in Katatonia, even if in a different form -- just like what happens with Anathema. That just doesn't happen with _34.788%_. My Dying Bride's classic albums, however, shall always remain as such for some of us while we await better days for MDB. Naglfar - _Diabolical_ (War, July 1998) by: Paul Schwarz (8.5 out of 10) Damn, this stuff is intense. I decided to give their Tagtgren/Abyss produced debut _Vittra_ a cursory listen in the wake of _Diabolical_'s release and found it to be a good debut, though a little derivative and uninspired. Three years on from that and we have _Diabolical_ -- solid proof that touring and just being in a band for a time should make people better musicians, more effectively able to comunicate their message to the masses. Though it bears similarities to Dissection's inimitable style, _Diabolical_ makes up for what it lacks in any real originality in the incredible energy which seems to literally course through its sonic veins, touching every drum break, beat, guitar riff, lick or vocal line with its life invigorating qualities. The kind of power this inspires in me reminds me of Children of Bodom's recent masterful debut, and although Naglfar are certainly on a more "evil" musical path than Children of Bodom, the two can bear a lot of comparison. They both have a talent for combining keyboards into their intense sound well, for example. Naglfar cannot match their deceased overlords yet, but they have time on their side -- they're still young, and they already beat a lot of the remaining competition (see Raise Hell), although as I have already pointed out, Dawn are the only band who can at present even reasonably sit on Dissection's vacated throne. Nasum - _Inhale/Exhale_ (Relapse, July 1998) by: Paul Schwarz (8.5 out of 10) This really is one of the very few grind albums, especially recently, which manages to conform to two criteria which so often seem mutually exclusive: a) more than half as many tracks as minutes; b) excellent music. Nasum are treading the straight-to-the-point path of Napalm Death, Carcass and others of their pioneering ilk trod ten years ago. BUT, and that is a big "but" in more than just the size of the type, Nasum are not a band living in the past. Nasum stand out with respect to both the sound they have captured and the quality of the music they produce. One asset: their production. _Inhale/Exhale_ has a refreshing death metal edge to it, and this edge is somewhat Swedish in its deathliness (unsurprising, considering Nasum come from Sweden), but also possesses that essential hint of rawness which all great grind/crust needs -- can you imagine a "clean" _World Downfall_? Nasum's basic frame is the simple, mostly three chord, guitar and bass progressions, and virtually unrelenting drumming, which is the essence of grindcore. BUT what they have a firm grasp on is the manipulation of other drum beats than the blast snare and more guitar chords than the Sex Pistols could remember. This is still pretty stripped down, it's still the virtual antithesis of Steve Vai or Yngwie Malmsteen (and the vocals are still harsh enough to strip the enamel from your teeth), but it isn't boring, which is exactly what so much grindcore ends up being. Many of these songs nail a catchy groove ("The Masked Face", "I See Lies"), not in the manipulative mosh-core fashion of Machine Head or Biohazard, but simply by putting together rhythms and vocals which I catch myself repeating periodically at various intervals. The other technique which turns up (most notably in "Shaping the End") is the addition of a varying melodic guitar line behind the intense, unrelenting grind-punk sounds, which gives the album a further angle of attack. _Inhale/Exhale_ is excellent, unrelenting and interesting grindcore, an uncommon blend from an uncommonly good band. Night in Gales - _Thunderbeast_ (Nuclear Blast, September 1998) by: Adrian Bromley (7.5 out of 10) I was really expecting more from Night in Gales with this record. The band's previous effort, _Towards the Twilight_ (their debut for Nuclear Blast), was a solid record that showcased a true melodic side to metal music, harnessing old school styles (Helloween) and the elaborate and technical side of death metal (In Flames, Katatonia) in one package. The new record seems a bit rawer and grittier. The band's use of melodic overtones has since been lessened and now seems to be a slight reminder of their past work. While I am strongly for bands exploring new routes within their musical agenda, I do stand firm on bands shifting their sound a good deal. They alienate the listener and that's what has happened here for the most part, though some of the guitar work here is totally mind bending. Check out numbers like "Perihelion", "Thunderbeast" and opener "Intruder". Crushing riffs touted on by gruff vocals make for some dynamic sparks throughout the record. A mixed review for a band that really has potential. I'm still a fan, but just wish their roots had stayed firmly planted. Good record, though. Nothingface - _A Guide to Everyday Atrocity_ (DCide, 1998) by: Jody Webb (9 out of 10) Nothing juices me more than hearing some major ass kicking from a bunch of unknowns. Nothingface's latest disc is no exception. Although _A Guide to Everyday Atrocity_ is the band's second offering and follow up to 1996's _Pacifier_, I see no reason why the band should not pretend _Pacifier_ doesn't exist. Neither does vocalist Matt Holt, whom I interviewed. "I never felt _Pacifier_ represented us well and we all hated playing it live," says Matt; "we love this new record." And rightfully so, I say. The guitar, drums, and bass congeal into a massive weight that steamrolls the listener and often grazes the fringe between rock and metal. The harmonies present in the choruses bring to mind Soundgarden in their _Bad Motor Finger_ era, while the chugging and grooving verses and breakdowns afford an analogy closer to Kilgore or Stompbox. Matt likes to alternate between singing and shouting, which may throw the listener for a loop, because on some cuts he shouts the entire song while on others he does nothing but sing. Holt explains: "I don't have a formula for when to do what, like, to sing during a chorus or scream when the guitar is angry. I follow my instinct and do what comes." The production is close to ideal, and at the slight cost of dipping a bit into bass heaviness, you can usually hear exactly what bassist Bill Gaal is doing, which is often using his four string to good harmonizing effect rather than simply doubling the guitar parts. My only qualm here is that the cuts start to sound a bit the same, but with the consistent high quality, it turns into one long awesome song, sort of like Slayer's _Seasons in the Abyss_, which on CD is all run together. On a final note, the most relevant factoid is: _A Guide to Everyday Atrocity_ has greater time of possession on my discman than either the new Death or Sepultura platters. Odhinn - _From a Splendorous Battle_ (Napalm Records, August 1998) by: Pedro Azevedo (6 out of 10) The fact that Odhinn was formed by two former members of In Battle seemed enough to make this MCD potentially interesting. The first two tracks, indeed, can be described as "In Battle meets Deicide". Mostly fast, harsh, aggressive, and, although somewhat far from the level of In Battle, still good stuff -- especially the second track. The other two tracks, however, are very different. Although musically they're not much worse, they suffer from a terrible production: muffled, weak, capable of nearly ruining the music (which isn't bad), at least for me. Plus, it happens that I started listening to In Battle's excellent self-titled debut at the same time, and its superiority really didn't help me to enjoy this MCD. Nevertheless, considering the first two tracks, a properly produced full-length could be interesting. Queens of the Stone Age - _Queens of the Stone Age_ by: Jody Webb (7 out of 10) (Loosegroove, 1998) Attention all Kyuss fans -- the crew is back in action. Well, sort of. Josh Homme from Kyuss has regrouped and released this self-titled effort, a collection of fuzzy guitar work that may just satisfy that Kyuss jonesing. Be warned that Queens is a bit more song oriented, structured, and not replete with jamming. There's also this hispanic thing going on in the liners and song titles that I can't figure out, which I'm pretty sure wasn't part of Kyuss. Regardless, for some solid rockin', give a listen to "Regular John", "If Only", and "How to Handle a Rope". Or for a more trippy experience, spin "You Would Know" or "You Can't Quit Me Baby". Radakka - _Requiem for the Innocent_ (Century Media, September 1998) by: Adrian Bromley (7 out of 10) It becomes quite apparent with one or two listens that Radakka are a very exploring and innovative band. Not really going for a trendy sound at all, the music of Radakka holds its own weight with some impressive guitar work and powerfully triumphant progressive ways that could gain interest from the Queensryche and/or Fates Warning fanatics out there. With a bit more blunt character and sound like Iced Earth, Radakka are quite capable of turning up the momentum a notch or two when needed be. But there are some drawbacks to what Radakka do, primarily as far as variety is concerned. As innovative as it may be at times, the album is overshadowed by several bland moments, bringing the positive vibe to a stand still at times. But it's a minor flaw. Killer vocals by singer Jon Dobbs (especially in "Still a Stranger" and "Whore") makes this album great when it has to be. Raise Hell - _Holy Target_ (Nuclear Blast, September 1998) by: Paul Schwarz (8 out of 10) I imagine I am not the first, and I am sure I won't be the last, to say that if Raise Hell sound like anyone, especially anyone significant, they sound like Dissection. I am surely also not the only person to have expected them to sound like another Dis... band from seeing their promo photos. Still, when a band are as influential, and as good, as Dissection, one expects a great number of bands to mimic them on a number of different levels. Some do it poorly and others do it rather well; Raise Hell fall into the latter category. Yes, admittedly, most of what makes _Holy Target_ so appealing lies in the similarities it bears to _Storm of the Light's Bane_, but Raise Hell still salvage nearly all their dignity through good playing and the penning of a very consistent and melodically complex album. The production further helps in bestowing _Holy Target_ with a sound as viciously spiked and bullet-ridden as the band's wrist and waist adornments, respectively. Overall, Raise Hell are lucky that Dissection are no more. They aren't on top of their pile -- that position belongs to Dawn --, but they are also very safely away from scraping the bottom of the barrel and, along with others such as Taetre, could be elevated further in the future. Resurrecturis - _Nocturnal_ (Diamond Records, 1998) by: Pedro Azevedo (5 out of 10) "From brutal death to atmospheric dark", they say. I was curious to hear how they would manage to do that, since the combination is potentially very interesting. The result, however, is that this CD often sounds more like a compilation of different bands, except for the obviously constant production characteristics from track to track. But when you go from normal death metal to groovier death, faster, relatively brutal death, thrash/power vocals, clean singing and softer parts (once even keyboard/strings only) with female vocals, it's not easy to avoid that compilation syndrome I just mentioned. Ressurrecturis fall right into that trap. The female voices, for example, are acceptable, but sound so totally out of place in the album that just don't contribute for the final result. The variations I mentioned to the death vox are inconsequent as well, and, at times, even annoying -- way too much thrash/power vocals and very poor attempts at clean singing. These Italians still made a few better sequences that save the album from a lower rating, but the music never rises above average quality and the production doesn't help much. There's just too much in this album that sounds out of place and the music is never good enough to overcome that problem (mediocre songs like "Dark Moods" definitely don't help). Ressurrecturis seriously need to get an identity of their own. Contact: Diamond Rec., Postbus 2166, 1620 Ed Hoorn, The Netherlands Sad Legend - _Sad Legend_ (Hammerheart, September 1998) by: Paul Schwarz (7.5 out of 10) Hammerheart are always digging up various musical graveyards to bring us some truly underground stuff, and they've done it again with this Korean black metal band. Though not a phenomenal band, either in their originality or skill, Sad Legend are talented at both writing chunky, melodic black metal tunes and interweaving their "Korean Traditional Music" into these black metal tunes. In fact, nearly all of this album was played by one member, Naamah, but it strangely does not suffer from the concentration-on-one-instrument syndrome which so many albums conceived in these conditions have. All instruments amply play their respective roles in bestowing _Sad Legend_ with a somewhat individual character and certainly make it a pleasant, if not entirely invigorating, 40 minutes. The band's production is great, unflawed by the tendency bands have to go for "that raw sound" (or to just not have the money to afford more than a tape player to record their stuff on). Overall, a very promising debut coming from an unusual source. Savior Servant - _Savior Servant_ (Dominion Records, 1997) by: Aaron McKay (8.5 out of 10) Subtract a point or two from the score if your entire CD collection consists of nothing but Broken Hope, Napalm Death and Massacre, with only Dimmu Borgir's _Stormblast_ for mood inducing delectability. I feel the need to quote Sacred Reich here by way of "31 Flavors", from 1990's _The American Way_ release, when Phil Rind articulates: "There is so much for you to choose; don't just be a metal dude; it's cool (fool)." Very much like labelmates Mercury Rising [CoC #34], Savior Servant provides a magnificent lion's share of straightforward power metal. I will say this, melodic passages run wild through this release. Often, throughout the song, overwhelmingly thick guitar passages are harshly paused, in lieu of which are used much softer acoustic harmonies. Leonardo Cancela's vocals remind me of a hybrid blend of Brian Troch from Cyclone Temple's _I Hate Therefore I Am_ period and the late Ray Gillen of Badlands. Impressive vocal work indeed, second only to the successful accompaniment of fellow New York bandmates Rob DeForge (guitar), Eric Weingartner (bass), and Chip Rainone (drums). Now and again, I am reminded by this release, at certain points, of Forced Entry's _Uncertain Future_. I will grant you Savior Servant are dramatically less heavy than Forced Entry, but still the argument can be made for the comparison. A very nice feather in SS's cap too, I might think. I must, at this point, convey that the production on this disc is unbelievable. But what did I expect from a guy that produced both Screaming Blue Messiahs and Stewart Copland? Ernie Wilkens' efforts at Sea Front Recording for this release deserve at least a mention, if not an ovation, depending on your open-mindedness. Take this to heart, you could be that -enormous- individual that stood in front of me at the Black Sabbath / Motorhead / Morbid Angel show on the University of Maryland's campus for all I care, but if you, as a sincere metal worshipper, have -ever- said to yourself, "Damn, that (pick one: Queensryche, Iced Earth) song ain't half bad," then maybe a listen to Savior Servant might be something that you won't hate. SS are a powerful quartet and certainly worthy of 38 minutes and 17 seconds of your time, at least once. Suppression w/ Facialmess - _Collaboration_ by: Gabriel Sanchez (7.5 out of 10) (Clean Plate Records, 1998) While this at first appears to be a collaboration EP, the liner notes don't really dictate exactly who did what on which tracks. Because of this, I am taking my best guess at who is controlling the noise based on each artist's previous work. The opening track on this EP's first side is an obvious Facialmess recording, featuring one gigantic shot of pure sound energy that raises, collapses, and rebuilds itself back up in a continuous spastic motion. Like with most fast paced harsh noise, it becomes impossible after a few seconds to get any exact mental grasp on the sounds, as they are ever changing and choose never to manifest themselves again in proper order during the recording. The second side is much more choppy, with Suppression trying their hand at noise with "The Average Citizen Is a Cheap Tart". While Suppression's noise style mixes in well with their grindcore, it is very poor on a stand alone basis. The mix of the track is very uneven and seems to resemble more of just a lot of guitar sounds with a mixture of screams. Facialmess manages to fire back, however, with another excellent piece of noise, this time letting the feedback control the track while dropping a load of other electronic crashes and sputters into the mix. The track has a slight Masonna feel to it, with all of the feedback and rumbling mixtures, though not nearly as chaotic. The bottom line on this release is that it's geared more for a Facialmess fan more than anything. While Suppression is an excellent grindcore band, their abilities in the noise area are lacking. This is still well worth getting for both of the excellent Facialmess pieces, however. Contact: Clean Plate Records, PO Box 709, Hampshire College Amherst, MA 01002, USA Thy Serpent - _Christcrusher_ (Nuclear Blast, July 1998) by: David Rocher (10 out of 10) Three dark spirits once again leave the pinewoods of Finland to unleash an occult, antichristian assault unto us... Very similar in style to their previous masterpiece _Forests of Witchery_, _Christcrusher_ embodies a deceptively slow, intense requiem of vehement antichristian hatred. Mystical, occult lyrics combine with enchanting funeral hymns to create a very doom-like style of sorrowful black metal, fuelled by an underlying rage that is nearly tangible. The only exception to the melancholic, sometimes even ethereal, yet uncontrived expression of rage burnt onto this CD is the searing, no-holds-barred title track "Christcrusher", that would without doubt earn its stars on Immortal's _Battles in the North_, so strikingly similar to the Norwegian trios' style are the tight, crushing riffing and vociferating, rabid vocals. To some extent, this track embodies the lethal black thorn in a bunch of poison flowers, whose suddenly unrestrained violence heaves forth the tense, threateningly calm atmospheres of the other serenades on this absolute masterpiece. To cut it short, _Christcrusher_ is definitely one of the finest, most emotional releases of the year 1998 E.V., as was _Forests of Witchery_ two years back -- buy or cry. Training for Utopia / Zao - (Solidstate, 1998) by: Alex Cantwell (8 out of 10) With both of these bands releasing incredible albums earlier this year, this EP is very cool indeed, as it features two new songs from each band. The common factor that links these two bands, besides their friendship and mutual respect, is the fact that they are both pushing the limitations of the "hardcore" moniker way past what would be considered "hardcore". Training for Utopia's intent seems to be putting complete musical holocaust to tape, and presenting them as "songs". The two new "songs" on this EP do have something like a form, which is a change from the aural barrage heard on _Plastic Soul Impalement_, but still have the required measure of chaos needed for a TfU composition. Zao keeps making strides toward death metal, and their two additions to this EP stand out from the material on their previous release _When Blood and Fire Bring Rest_, in which they grind a bit harder, but at the same time are not quite as drastically aggressive. The handclaps add an interesting touch, too. A very cool collaboration of two groundbreaking up and coming bands. Contact: Solid State / Tooth and Nail Records, PO Box 12698 Seattle, WA, 98111-4698, USA mailto:webmaster@solidstaterecords.com Twin Obscenity - _For Blood, Honour and Soil_ by: Paul Schwarz (6 out of 10) (Century Media, October, 1998) There is a central difficulty I have with this release. It lies, and many of you may find this a strange statement, in the record's similarity to early Burzum. I am not a big fan of _Burzum_ and, although, it is better than this second Twin Obscenity album, the aspects I don't like about it are almost identical to the aspects I don't like about _For Blood, Honour and Soil_. The penchant which the makers of both releases have for repeating riffs is not a style I find either release carries off too well. On _Hvis Lyset Tar Oss_, Vikerness used these very same elements to create an album which, of its kind, is virtually unparalleled in quality, but, as this and other releases illustrate, achieving this is not easy. Twin Obscenity don't opt for the super-raw sound of _Burzum_, or Vikerness' unmistakable vocals, but they do add a few nice instrumental touches and toy successfully with female vocals. The production has pattering double-bass "hell hammers" (old Arcturus), Hellhammer's big, echoing Mayhem tomms, clattering snares and a melodic tinged guitar distortion and playing style. When you put the 90% raspy vocals on top, it just isn't anything special, just average. I think albums toying with a style which relies so much on a perfect mix of conditions, both musical and extraneous, need far more spontaneity than is in evidence on _For Blood, Honour and Soil_ which, continuing the Burzum comparisons, is a title containing themes the Nazis, and especially SS, toyed with. Whatever the band's stance, I am sure that if they piss on an altar or rough up a priest, Michael Moynihan will put them in his next book and make them all some money. Vanilla Ice - _Hard to Swallow_ (Republic, October 1998) by: Brian Meloon (5 out of 10) Vanilla Ice is back. You might wonder what a rapper is doing in the pages of CoC. Well, his new album is very different from his previous efforts. And you know what's really hard to swallow about this album? It isn't terrible. On the surface, this album comes across as a more rap-influenced version of Korn. The Korn-isms are rampant, from the low-tuned guitars to the rip-off riffs and the use of acronyms in song titles; he even screams "Korn" in one song. Upon deeper inspection, you realize that this album actually features a good variety of styles. Although he shows his influences quite clearly, there is enough original material for him to avoid being labeled as a complete rip-off. He uses some reggae in one song, as well as some pseudo-industrial and some gloomy "introspective" parts. His vocals span the range of shouts, screams, spoken parts and, of course, raps. His raps are as bad as you remember them: so bad that they're pretty funny at times. Of course, in keeping with the self-aggrandizing hyper-machismo of rap, he usually raps about how cool he is and how many records he sold. He also includes the soon-to-be-classic line "ICE ICE BABY! ICE ICE BE-AHHHHHHHHHHHH-CH!" Fans of Korn, Stuck Mojo, and other rap-influenced metal/hardcore bands should enjoy this, provided they can put aside their preconceived notions and do as Mr. Ice says: "sit back and just listen to the music." Zimmer's Hole - _Bound by Fire_ (Hevy Devy Records, September 1998) by: Adrian Bromley (9.5 out of 10) Where the fuck are all these great Canadian bands coming from? Holy fuck! Jesus Christ, this is heavy shit. I almost shit my pants when the opening number began. Like a mix between Brutal Truth, Strapping Young Lad and Ministry, Zimmer's Hole really lay the sicko shit on real heavy. This is stuff the PMRC warned us metal buying kids about. Offensive sounds and lyrics are abundant here, not to mention that absurd and extremely grotesque manner of the band's presentation of material on the disc. (Don't ask. You'll have to hear it!) Anyway, I'm feeling a little sick and violated at this point in time while cranking Zimmer's Hole and writing this review. Is this good? Of course it is, if you are into something waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay out of the ordinary. Let the ringleaders of madness within Zimmer's Hole -- El Smooche, Bangsley Star Nipples, Sickie Moochmaster and Dr. Heathen Hooch -- take you on a little trip into their perverted world. Zimmer's Hole are about as fucked up as you can be on record and still pull it off. A wacked-out and extremely enjoyable record for the masses to give in to. Contact: Legion of Flames, 1856 Pandora St. Vancouver, B.C., V5L-1M5, Canada =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= ____ __ __ /\ _`\ /\ \ /\ \__ __ \ \ \/\_\\ \ \___ __ ___\ \ ,_\/\_\ ___ \ \ \/_/_\ \ _ `\ /'__`\ / __`\ \ \/\/\ \ /'___\ \ \ \L\ \\ \ \ \ \/\ \L\.\_/\ \L\ \ \ \_\ \ \/\ \__/ \ \____/ \ \_\ \_\ \__/.\_\ \____/\ \__\\ \_\ \____\ \/___/ \/_/\/_/\/__/\/_/\/___/ \/__/ \/_/\/____/ ____ __ /\ _`\ /\ \__ \ \ \/\_\ ___ ___ ___ __ _ __\ \ ,_\ ____ \ \ \/_/_ / __`\ /' _ `\ /'___\ /'__`\/\`'__\ \ \/ /',__\ \ \ \L\ \/\ \L\ \/\ \/\ \/\ \__//\ __/\ \ \/ \ \ \_/\__, `\ \ \____/\ \____/\ \_\ \_\ \____\ \____\\ \_\ \ \__\/\____/ \/___/ \/___/ \/_/\/_/\/____/\/____/ \/_/ \/__/\/___/ E N C H A N T I N G D R A C O N I A N M E L O D I E S ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Moonspell, Therion and Darkside at the Hard Club, Gaia, Portugal October 25, 1998 by: Pedro Azevedo Before I start describing what happened in this concert, I must question the decision of giving such a superior band as Therion a support role. This could have been a double-headlining concert, with Moonspell still closing the show, but without them playing for almost twice as long as Therion -- this is most infuriating because, regardless of musical preferences, it will definitely be much less likely that Therion will ever return to Porto than Moonspell, who have obviously also played here before. Maybe Moonspell -had- to be headliners, from a commercial point of view, but their on-stage time and Therion's should have been much closer (to say the very least), even if the majority of the audience may have been there mostly for Moonspell -- which is far from unquestionable, too. Anyway, Therion should have definitely been given time to play longer songs such as "The Siren of the Woods", "Clavicula Nox" and "Draconian Trilogy" if they wanted to. Many of these thoughts were already in my mind as a premonition, while I traversed the lugubre surroundings of the Hard Club and admired the enchanting nighttime view of Porto across the river. At 9pm sharp, Darkside entered the stage and faced an expectably packed house. The sound was as great as usual in the Hard Club, and Darkside took advantage of that fact to promote their new album. This band was previously unknown to me, and they turned out to be able to deliver a very acceptable 25 minute long opening for the concert. Playing some competent mid-paced death metal with decent use of keyboards, they improved after an average first couple of songs; the next two were slower and doomier and the finishing song was quite good live, too. The first draconian melody, the intro to "The Rise of Sodom and Gomorrah", announced Therion's arrival. What really surprised me was the massive crowd reaction to everything Therion did: almost everyone seemed to be carried away by Therion's music, as the crowd movement throughout and the cheering before and after each and every song proved. Lead by Christofer Johnsson, Therion delivered an outstanding performance. Having brought three female vocalists and putting the recorded orchestral parts to very good use, their live sound was excellent -- far from disappointing and furthermore helped by a strong drum sound. Sarah Jezebel Diva (I assume it was her), Martina Hornbacher (from Dreams of Sanity) and a third female singer unknown to me (who might have been the other Dreams of Sanity vocalist, but I'm guessing) performed excellently, with confidence and quality as the two main adjectives. Therion opened with "The Rise of Sodom and Gomorrah", followed by the acclaimed "To Mega Therion", "Birth of Venus Illegitima", "Wine of Aluqah", "Cults of the Shadow", "In the Desert of Set", "Invocation of Naamah", "Black Sun" and finally the well-chosen "Riders of Theli" as an immensely demanded encore. A setlist practically without a weak link and an absolutely delightful and truly uplifting performance. What a shame it was only 50 minutes long. Moonspell started their 90 minutes long show with vocalist Fernando Ribeiro wearing some sort of religious cloak during "Let the Children Cum to Me...". After getting rid of the outfit, Ribeiro led Moonspell into songs like "Opium", "Of Dream and Drama (Midnight Ride)", "Second Skin" and so on throughout the expectable choices from _Irreligious_ and _Sin_. Things got much more interesting towards the end, with "Vampiria", "Mephisto", and "Alma Mater" as the finishing song; it was interesting to notice that "Vampiria" and "Alma Mater" were the two songs the audience seemed to cheer the most. Nevertheless, the crowd sang along and generally reacted very well during the whole show. Fernando Ribeiro suggested that "Alma Mater" should become the new Portuguese national anthem, saying he believed most of the audience identifies much more with their song than with the current anthem, and the vast majority of the crowd seemed to entirely agree. Too bad that "Alma Mater" turns into a much weaker keyboard-based song live; is the guitar part really that hard to play live? Anyway, Moonspell came back for "Awaken" and "Full Moon Madness" as encore and "Raven Claws" as a second encore. Thanks to the sound quality, the very reasonable track choices (more _Wolfheart_ would have been great, but...) and the increased aggression injected into the rather bland and average _Sin_ songs, Moonspell played a very decent show. Still, I would have traded all of Darkside and Moonspell for some more Therion; I would even have settled for trading 20 minutes of Moonspell (especially _Sin_ songs) for 20 more minutes of Therion -- this would leave the two bands with an hour and 10 minutes each, with Moonspell still finishing the concert as "headliners". This would have been a much fairer compromise between concert quality and presumed band status, in my opinion, but enough of that. Finally, it goes without saying that it was a heartbreaking loss for me that Anathema couldn't play in this concert like they were supposed to. The official reason was the departure of bassist Duncan Patterson. If only that departure had been postponed for a couple more months... =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= W H A T W E H A V E C R A N K E D ! ! ! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Gino's Top 5 1. Various - _Gummo: Soundtrack_ 2. Marilyn Manson - _Mechanical Animals_ 3. Absu - _In The Eyes of Ioldanach_ 4. Brujeria - _Matando Gueros_ 5. Rob Zombie - _Hellbilly Deluxe_ Adrian's Top 5 1. Zimmer's Hole - _Bound by Fire_ 2. Queen of the Stone Age - _Queens of the Stone Age_ 3. Deranged - _High on Blood_ 4. Punisher - _Disillusioned_ 5. Nashville Pussy - _Let Them Eat Pussy_ Brian's Top 5 1. Opeth - _My Arms, Your Hearse_ 2. Enthroned - _Gothic Disturbance_ 3. Dawnbringer - _Unbleed_ 4. Aurora Borealis - _Praise the Archaic Lights Embrace_ 5. God - _From the Moldavian Ecclesiastic Throne_ Alain's Top 5 1. Dying Fetus - _Killing on Adrenaline_ 2. Bolt Thrower - _Mercenary_ 3. Dark Funeral - _Vobiscum Satanas_ 4. Cryptopsy - _Whisper Supremacy_ 5. Black Sabbath - _Reunion_ Adam's Top 5 1. Fear Factory - _Obsolete_ 2. Brutal Truth - _Need to Control_ 3. Cryptopsy - _Vile_ 4. Gorgoroth - _Destroyer (About How to Philosophize with a Hammer)_ 5. Gore Beyond Necropsy - _Noise-A-Go Go!!!_ Pedro's Top 5 1. In Battle - _In Battle_ 2. A Canorous Quintet - _Silence of the World Beyond_ 3. Incantation - _Diabolical Conquest_ 4. Legenda - _Eclipse_ 5. At the Gates - _With Fear I Kiss the Burning Darkness_ Paul's Top 5 1. Cryptopsy - _Whisper Supremacy_ 2. Malevolent Creation - _The Ten Commandments_ 3. System of a Down - _System of a Down_ 4. Obliveon - _Cybervoid_ 5. The Grateful Dead - _The Grateful Dead_ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= _____ __ __ __ | \.-----.| |_.---.-.|__| |.-----. | -- | -__|| _| _ || | ||__ --| |_____/|_____||____|___._||__|__||_____| Homepage: http://www.interlog.com/~ginof/coc.html FTP Archive: ftp://ftp.etext.org/pub/Zines/ChroniclesOfChaos --> Interested in being reviewed? Send us your demo and bio to: -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= CHRONICLES OF CHAOS 57 Lexfield Ave Downsview Ont. M3M-1M6, Canada Fax: (416) 693-5240 Voice: (416) 693-9517 e-mail: ginof@interlog.com ---- Our European Office can be reached at: CHRONICLES OF CHAOS (Europe) Urb. Souto n.20 Anta 4500 Espinho, PORTUGAL -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= DESCRIPTION ~~~~~~~~~~~ Chronicles of Chaos is a monthly magazine electronically distributed worldwide via the Internet. Chronicles of Chaos focuses on all forms of chaotic music including black, death and doom metal, dark/ambient, industrial and electronic/noise as well as classic and progressive metal. Each issue will feature a plethora of album reviews from a wide range of bands, as well as interviews with some of the underground's best acts. Also included in each issue are demo reviews and indie band interviews. HOW TO SUBSCRIBE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You may subscribe to Chronicles of Chaos at any time by sending a message with "coc subscribe " in the SUBJECT of your message to . Please note that this command must NOT be sent to the list address . AUTOMATIC FILESERVER ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ All back issues and various other CoC related files are available for automatic retrieval through our e-mail fileserver. All you have to do is send a message to us at . The 'Subject:' field of your message must read: "send file X" where 'X' is the name of the requested file (do not include the quotes). Back issues are named 'coc-n', where 'n' is the issue number. For a description of all files available through this fileserver, request 'list'. Remember to use lowercase letters for all file names. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= End Chronicles of Chaos, Issue #35 All contents copyright 1998 by individual creators of included work. All opinions expressed herein are those of the individuals expressing them, and do not necessarily reflect the views of anyone else.