,- _~. ,, ,, /\ (' /| || ' || || (( || ||/\\ ,._-_ /'\\ \\/\\ \\ _-_ || _-_ _-_, /'\\ =||= (( || || || || || || || || || || || || \\ ||_. || || || ( / | || || || || || || || || || || ||/ ~ || || || || -____- \\ |/ \\, \\,/ \\ \\ \\ \\,/ \\ \\,/ ,-_- \\,/ \\, _/ ,- _~. ,, (' /| || _ (( || ||/\\ < \, /'\\ _-_, (( || || || /-|| || || ||_. ( / | || || (( || || || ~ || -____- \\ |/ \/\\ \\,/ ,-_- _/ CHRONICLES OF CHAOS e-Zine, February 13, 1999, Issue #37 http://www.interlog.com/~ginof/coc.html Editor-in-Chief: Gino Filicetti Coordinator: Adrian Bromley Contributor/Copy Editor: Pedro Azevedo Contributor/Asst. Copy Editor: Paul Schwarz Assistant Copy Editor: John Weathers Contributor: Alain M. Gaudrault Contributor: Brian Meloon Contributor: Adam Wasylyk Contributor: Aaron McKay Contributor: David Rocher Contributor: Gabriel Sanchez Contributor: Alex Cantwell NOTE: For more Chronicles of Chaos information, check out the 'Details' section at the end of this issue. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Issue #37 Contents, 2/13/99 --------------------------- * Editorial * Loud Letters * Deadly Dialogues -- Bathory: The Countess' Favorite Band Lives On! -- Aura Noir: Of Thrash and Trueness -- Ritual Carnage: The Great Eastern Trendkill -- Night in Gales: A Night to Remember -- Madder Mortem: Crimson Dreams * Album Asylum -- Another Nothing - _New Breed_ -- Apophis - _Heliopolis_ -- Aura Noir - _Deep Tracts of Hell_ -- Autumn Tears - _Love Poems for Dying Children... Act I (Reprise MCMXCVIII)_ -- Bewitched - _Hell Comes to Essen_ -- Bob Marinelli / Facialmess - _Split_ -- Castigate - _Bring Me the Head of Jesus Christ_ -- Cauldron - _Tampering With the Unnatural_ -- Claymords - _... More Sombre Than Life_ -- Daemon - _The Second Coming_ -- Darklands - _A Memory of You_ -- Descend - _Beyond thy Realm of Throes_ -- Dichotic - _Collapse Into Despair_ -- Dreamsfear - _Prelude to Destiny_ -- Droys - _And if..._ -- Evoken - _Embrace the Emptiness_ -- Flotsam and Jetsam - _Unnatural Selection_ -- Forced to Decay - _Perkussive Perlokution_ -- Various - _Full Moon Productions Sampler CD_ -- Groinchurn - _Fink_ -- In Solitude - _Eternal_ -- In the Woods... - _Strange in Stereo_ -- James Murphy - _Feeding the Machine_ -- Lasse Marhaug - _Audio Explosions Every 10 Seconds_ -- Madder Mortem - _Mercury_ -- Morningstar - _Hell_ -- MO*TE/TADM - _Split_ -- Nomad - _The Tail of Substance_ -- One Dark Eye / Macronympha - _Split_ -- Overlife - _Between Passion and Madness_ -- Path of Debris - _In the Eyes of the Basilisk_ -- Power of Omens - _Eyes of the Oracle_ -- Puya - _Fundamental_ -- Rok - _This Is Satanik_ -- Sacramentum - _Thy Black Destiny_ -- Salutary - _Violated Holiness_ -- Shango - _Metal Mafia_ -- Sinister - _Aggressive Measures_ -- Soil - _El Chupacabra!_ -- Suicide Culture - _Suicide Culture_ -- Tefilla - _Grievous Anguish_ -- Temple - _Bloodletting_ -- The Protagonist - _A Rebours_ -- The Rita - _Crusty Etruscans_ -- Thorazine - _C17H19CO2S1N_ -- Trail of Tears - _Disclosure in Red_ * New Noise -- Apocalyptic - _Apocalyptic_ -- Bill the Death Metal Cowboy - _Rustling Up Some Metal_ -- Crucifer - _III_ -- Sirius - _... The Eclipse_ * Chaotic Concerts -- Like Fathers, Like Sons: Black Sabbath, Pantera, Slayer, Megadeth * 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: Mon, 28 Dec 1998 From: Eugene Boitsov Subject: Thanx Hail to CoC from snow-ridden, frost-bitten, crisis-crippled Mother Russia! You guys are doing a great job! I've tried a lot of shiny, colorful Web-zines to rummage for information (mostly reviews), but CoC is the best in this respect. Always the bull's eye. Just imagine that there is only ONE shop in Moscow (about 11 million people) where one can get black/grind/death/doom CDs or tapes! Hordes of metalheads listen to a dozen of commercial bands, not even remotely suspecting about the existence of such Maestros as Primigenium (Spain), Tartaros, Fleshgrind (Brasil), etc., and I wouldn't know shit from piss if not for your sniper-like reviews. Thank you no end, Eugene Boitsov, Moscow Date: Mon, 18 Jan 1999 From: gajo Subject: Attention Loud Letters Greetings to the CoC team, you're still the best thing ever! In the previous number (36) you've wrote about the new Sepultura in a positive and negative way, which is very good, but it left me undecided what should I do (buy the album or not). Sepultura's been my favorite band since their release of Schizophrenia, and when Max left the band I thought everything's gonna be OK, but I guess it won't be :( I have bought SoulFly's first album and I was a little bit disappointed, since the A side was quite boring, and the B just couldn't make me get all my anger out. Because of this I still haven't bought Sepulturas' "Against", because they still are my favorite band, and I don't want to have another disappointment and turn to Aaron Carter or even worse: THE SMURFS. So, could you just tell me, based on all opinions and charts and stuff like that: is Against a good album? Thanx, Csaba gajo@eunet.yu Date: Wed, 20 Jan 1999 From: djkelt@earthlink.net Subject: yea! killer zine bro, Hats way the hell off for the BT interview. I dig the fact that the stuck with Karl (Martin is a wanker). I do miss Andy, but the drums were decent just the same. Why does Boltthrower rule...cause "if it aint broke, dont fix it!) Please Please...do you know of anywhere I could pick up a Boltthrower longsleeve. If not, do you at least have an email of somewhere I could contact the band to get one?? also does Alex have an email addy? Thanks alot for kicking my ass Date: Tue, 19 Jan 1999 From: Iain Pattinson Subject: Enslaved new album In your interview with Enslaved in issue #36 you asked Grutle about the noise at the end of Blodhemn and he didn't tell. Well I reckon I know what it is. I think it is someone roller skating in a dark-damp tunnel with the mix really low so you can't hear it to well. But with headphones you can distinctly hear when the wheels of the roller skates hit the concrete floor. Of course I could be wrong! Iain. Date: Sun, 17 Jan 1999 From: Janek Hellqvist Subject: CoC Thanks for a great issue of Chronicles of Chaos (#36), but please don't forget to upload it (and the updated index file) to the FTP server! I have all past issues of CoC on my hard drive, which makes it easy to look through the review without going online or even starting the mail program... I only need to do a quick search through the index file and the view the right issue in a text editor. Feel free to share this tip with the CoC readers if you think it's useful (I do!). :) Date: Sat, 30 Jan 1999 From: Minda Lapinskas Subject: Attention Loud Letters Aye! Hey, I was reading your CoC since issue 32 or something and never came round to writing some comments. Basically, I always wanted to say how fuckin' good it is, loads of fresh intviews and well-written reviews, but when I was just ready to stay as another anonymous and appreciative reader I spotted a major fuck up and just thought "I must tell to those dudes!" yeah, well, so in CoC #36 I'm reading all these reviews and all of a sudden I see some poofter named Alex Cantwell slagging PURE METAL band SCEPTER for being what? TOO METAL?? Now, c'mon, everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but this Alex dude goes on about his family, kids, job, viewpoints and what made me really angry he starts to PRAY! This is way too much!! The bloke p'bly never understood what Metal is all about anyway and I believe STYX was his fave band. He thinks that metal must be created according to his views and then he'll like it, right? No "bad" and "wrong" lyrics that'll make your kids scarred and wife angry? That's just a load of shite!!! I mean, SCEPTER dudes p'bly are laughin about that idiot and me getting all hot over it, but I feel I must say that their album "I'M Going To Hell" is definitely one of the most catchy, no-bullshit, ass-kicking METAL releases from last year! Sure, it has CELTIC FROST and MANOWAR vibes shining through, but it's damn heavy, right?! I was doing Wounded zine for 6 years and during that time heard lots of good and bad bands, and believe me - SCEPTER will fucking RULE!!! It's because they put their hearts into Metal, unlike those materialistic and oh so politically correct cunts who are criticizing them. That's about it, keep up a good work and take it easy!! Cheerzz to Paul Schwarz for excellent and truly intelligent reviews. Smokin' regards, Minda "Plix" Lapinskas mailto:wounded@takas.lt =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= __ \ | | | | _ \ _` | _` | | | | | | __/ ( | ( | | | | ____/ \___|\__,_|\__,_|_|\__, | ____/ __ \ _) | | | | _` | | _ \ _` | | | _ \ __| | | | ( | | ( | ( | | | __/\__ \ ____/ _|\__,_|_|\___/ \__, |\__,_|\___|____/ |___/ THE COUNTESS' FAVORITE BAND LIVES ON! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CoC talks to the legendary Quorthon by: Adam Wasylyk A band that needs very little introduction, Bathory's influence on metal today is undeniable. With their contemporaries, bands like Celtic Frost and Possessed, they've carved a path of aggressive, hateful music that bands still follow and adhere to today. But unlike the aforementioned bands, Bathory aren't done quite just yet. Not by a long shot. Bathory's music has been well documented over the years, from its early primitive black metal to its intermediate Viking metal period to its latter day speed/thrash metal. The Jubileum compilation albums (I and II, released in '92 and '93 respectively) showcased material from all of Bathory's albums up to _Twilight of the Gods_, accompanied by rare or previously unreleased material. Bathory's newest release, _Jubileum Volume III_, contains material from the past five years (off _Requiem_, _Octagon_ and _Blood on Ice_) along with more unreleased and rare material, the highlights being "Satan My Master" and "Witchcraft", two tracks recorded in the early '80s that never found their way onto any official Bathory recording. Like the two previous compilations, _Jubileum Volume III_ features music from each stage of the band's existence (black, thrash, Viking, etc.) which fans should definitely take the time to check out, and gives the uninitiated a way to hear why this band is a legend to many. Quorthon is a bit restless as of late. Along with watching hockey on TV, which he can't do without, he informs me that he, along with the rest of Sweden, is "buried under six feet of snow". He also lets me know that this release has been one of the less promoted albums in Bathory's history, so I got the impression that he really wanted to get all of his points across and give me the full story on what's happening with the band. Here's what he had to say. CoC: Tell me about the new Bathory release, _Jubileum Volume III_, and what your thoughts are on it. Quorthon: When the first two Jubileum albums came out, they were to celebrate Bathory's ten year existence. We thought, at the time, "To celebrate ten years, wouldn't it be great to put out some sort of compilation album?" It was also a good idea to put it out at that time, as I didn't have too many ideas for the next Bathory album, and my mind was also in the solo project as well. Now celebrating fifteen years, we're doing basically the same thing with the exception being we're not looking as far back as we did with the first two Jubileum albums; we're just picking tracks from the past five years. I dug deep in the archives to find some demos and stuff that were worth releasing. There were two tracks there recorded before the first album was even recorded, in a proper studio. We figured that the fans would really like to hear what we sounded like before anyone had heard of us. So that's what the album's about; to celebrate fifteen years and give our loyal fans a peak into what we've done the past five years and what we did before with some unreleased stuff. CoC: With the release of this record, does that mean that the Bathory vaults are now officially clean, or have you left room for a Volume IV? Q: Well, there's plenty of shit down there! We're just sort of airing what you could call the least "stenchy" parts. Whenever I talk about a new album I say "the new slab of shit" and people were getting the idea that we thought that Bathory was just shit. Well, the archive is of course full of shit! I don't know whether the fans would really like to hear the black metal album that was never released, the Viking album that was never released... There was an album recorded between two other albums that was never released, there's a lot of projects on tape that were never released. Of course, if there would be a substantial amount of people in another five or ten years who would like to hear that, it wouldn't cost much to put it down on disk. CoC: Could you go into some detail on the tracks off _Jubileum..._, like personal highlights or why some of the tracks were chosen? Q: Actually, the fans are responsible for the track listing. For the first two [volumes], what we did was ask a lot of people whose opinion we trusted, people who wrote us who we were sure weren't just trying to flatter us and tell us that everything we do is great. We asked them if they'd like to sit down and check out the albums and write down which five or six tracks they'd like to hear on a future compilation album. We did just about the same thing this time. They picked their favorite tracks off the last album and [tracks from] the last five years, and I filled out the rest of the CD by including six unreleased tracks, some of which were recorded during the _Requiem_ and _Octagon_ recording sessions. CoC: It has been a few years since Bathory released new material, since the last two releases have been _Blood on Ice_ [originally recorded in 1988/89] and now _Jubileum Volume 3_. What do you have in store for fans as far as newly recorded material? Q: Actually, someone just told me recently it has been three years since anyone heard anything new from Bathory. I can't believe it has been three years, as it's felt like just one year. But sitting down and thinking about it, I've realized that I've been doing so many different things and being involved in so many projects that have nothing to do with the side project or Bathory. Probably what I needed was to get away from it all. You need to feel aggressive and the hunger when you write music, and that hasn't been the case for the past three years, so we said "The hell with it! We won't do anything until we feel that hunger again." As far as material for the next album, I have a bunch of songs, probably a hundred, which we have been working on to a certain extent. We haven't added vocals or guitar solos or anything, just [outlined] the basic tracks. And they range from everything; from the most hell-paced stuff we've ever done to some experimental stuff. So as far as the next album [goes], it's hard to put a finger on it and say this is exactly what it's going to be about; probably a combination of all sorts of stuff. CoC: Did I hear you right? A hundred songs? Q: Yeah. Three years... a hundred songs. Sure. CoC: So, specifically, how does the new material compare musically to _Octagon_ [Bathory's last official studio album]? Q: I'm going to talk to a lot of fans whose opinion I trust, through e-mail and letters, and try to make out, at street level, what the fans would probably want to hear. Because every time Bathory release an album, 50% of the record buyers will be disappointed because they'd want the black, Satanic shit, hell-paced stuff. And the other 50% would want the Viking, slow, heavy with sound effects and twelve minute songs. Regardless of what the Bathory album sounded like, it doesn't feel good to have 50% of your potential record buyers being disappointed when you've been working for a couple of months in the studio. So the combination of both sides of Bathory would be a very good solution, but with a new 21st century sound or approach to the material. CoC: Any idea on when it could be released? Q: The first time Black Mark was making it public that a new Bathory album was going to be released was in August ['98], then they said October, then January, February and now March or May. That's just another way for them to say that Bathory hasn't entered the studio yet! Winter isn't a great time to record an album, since I would be riding my bike to the studio, as I don't have a car, so the Summertime is more likely, or a place where we wouldn't have to spend a lot of money. CoC: Has an album title been chosen? Q: We had an album title during the summer, _Nemesis_, but then I found out the ex-Slayer drummer produced an album with the same title [referring to Grip Inc.]. So the new title is _Destroyer of Worlds_. I read these science fiction items that laid as a foundation to the manuscript for the movie "Independence Day". It was also from a Hindu script; when Oppenheimer constructed the atomic bomb, so it exploded in the Nevada Desert, he said "I have become death", [which] is also from that Hindu script. CoC: Since the last time we talked there have been a couple of Bathory tribute albums released. One being the Metal Invader tribute _Hellas Salute the Vikings_ and Hellspawn Records' _In Conspiracy With Satan_. I was wondering if you had a chance to hear either and what you thought of them. Q: I heard the Greek one [referring to _HStV_]. I found it very, very exciting to hear the bands play Bathory material. I was very surprised and happy that [the bands] sat down and worked their guts out to make it as close as possible and yet be their personal interpretation of the material. The [Hellspawn] one I haven't heard yet, but I understand there is some court stuff going on between Black Mark and the persons responsible for the _In Conspiracy With Satan_ tribute album. I don't know whether that will be on the market for a long time. Those who actually bought it should hold on to it, as probably they're going to cut down the release or the availability of it. CoC: It's actually quite good; it contains some of the bigger names of black metal, like Emperor, Marduk, Satyricon... Q: I know Black Mark got a copy of it, but they sent it to their lawyer for an upcoming trial, so I haven't myself heard it yet. I understand a lot of those young or second/third generation black metal bands that are getting some coverage in these magazines contributed a Bathory track. What [Hellspawn] did was use the Bathory logo and goat head, which is copyright stuff. We tried to discuss with them about two years ago, "You can do this and that, but you cannot do this or you cannot do that", as far as copyrights, logo types and registered trademarks are concerned. Down the line, they didn't meet our agreement, they went their own way, cut the communications, and the album just appeared on the market, opposing everything we had been talking about. CoC: And finally, do you feel added pressure when writing new material, with these high expectations being placed on you by fans who consider you a legend? Q: It's an added pressure, yeah, but you have to realize that that pressure or legendary status comes from what's in the past, and for anybody to compare the past with the future is a mistake. When there's a new Black Sabbath album, with the exception of the new live one, I sort of say "What's better than the old days?", so I instead think about their stuff from '72/'73. So, from that point of view, I'm certainly making those same mistakes myself when I'm referring to some groups as well. When people say "the good ol' days" as far as Bathory is concerned, they're thinking about the '80s. That's a long time ago, that's more than ten years ago, and in some respects more than fifteen years ago. You have to look into the future. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= O F T H R A S H A N D T R U E N E S S ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CoC talks to Appolyon from Aura Noir by: Paul Schwarz A "new" genre has, in recent years, appeared in the extreme metal community. "Retro-thrash", as this backward looking genre has been dubbed, has given birth to bands, such as Inferno and Bewitched, who wanted to re-create the '80s thrash metal feeling, though unfortunately many bands used the same riffs to do so. Many of these "retro-thrash" bands are made up of people who also play in black metal bands in Norway or Sweden. Since any fool knows that the Norwegian black metal scene of the '90s was heavily influenced by '80s thrash bands ("Satanic" or otherwise) like Celtic Frost, Bathory and Venom, it is curious that, with "retro-thrash", some black metallers seem to be stepping back into their past, instead of using their past as a stepping stone to the future. With their debut album, _Black Thrash Attack_ [CoC #21], Aura Noir seemed to be heading down the "retro-thrash" path, though in much more style and with more skill than the majority of the "retro-thrash" scene. Late last year, their second full length _Deep Tracts of Hell_ [reviewed in this issue] saw the light of day on Hammerheart, a new label for the band. Blasphemer, of Mayhem fame, who played bass on _Black Thrash Attack_ and toured with the band, took no part in _Deep Tracts of Hell_. _DToH_ features only Appolyon (Dodheimsgard) and Aggressor (Ved Buens Ende, Inferno), who have been the core of the band right from the start. They have always been a little different, too: Appolyon and Aggressor each write half the songs, sing and play guitar on half the songs (the ones they write), and play drums on half the songs (the ones they don't). Thus, each record is an interesting (though not intrusively noticeable) mix of their two writing, singing and playing styles. This songwriting core of the band has not changed for the making of _DToH_, but the sound has. Aura Noir have added a vicious black metal edge to their sound. They haven't lost the thrashy brilliance of their debut, but they also haven't let their previous musical formula stagnate, so that now, instead of "BTA vol.2", we have the aggressive, thrashy, blackened mass of metal that is _Deep Tracts of Hell_. Appolyon (who I sometimes refer to by his "nickname" OJ), relaxing in Norway's Elm Street (the gathering place for a number of the black metal scene's musicians), happily answered my questions, even though he had to fight off small winged beasts to do so in any comfort. CoC: Could you give a brief history of Aura Noir, for those who may not know the band, and how the "project" came about originally? Appolyon: That is always a hard question, because I don't know. I get confused. It's me and Carl Michael (Aggressor). He actually started it and it was meant to be a side-project from -- he plays in Ved Buens Ende. This was supposed to be even stranger music than Ved Buens Ende was. He did some songs, he went to the studio with them, and he wanted me to help him with some guitar stuff, which I did. And, I think, while we were in the studio, he figured that "Hey, I don't wanna do this anyway, so let's just play old thrash metal. No one else does that nowadays and everybody should like it." So, we started playing thrash metal, black thrash metal, and (I can't remember when this was, but should be '94/'95 or something) we released our first album, on the Norwegian label called Hot Records. That was a mini-CD called _Dreams Like Deserts_. After that we did some gigs here in Oslo and since we were only two guys we had to have some other guy on stage with us to fill in. We asked Blasphemer from Mayhem and he wanted to join us, and suddenly he was in the band. Then we changed labels to Malicious Records Germany and we made a new album, _Black Thrash Attack_, with the new line-up and everything. Now we have just released... umm, what's it called? [With sarcasm in his voice as he looks at my t-shirt, adorned by the album cover] _Deep Tracts of Hell_ on Hammerheart Records. Blasphemer is not on that album because he was in the States [with Mayhem]. CoC: So has he left the band? A: No, he hasn't left, I think now he's back again. Even though he may not be on further albums, he will always play live with us. CoC: So he will certainly be there for the live playing? A: I think he will be in the band for the next album. CoC: With this new album, in comparison to previously doing _BTA_, how do you think the music has changed, how do you think it has developed from _BTA_? I think _BTA_ is a little catchier, it's in a slightly different style. A: I think, at least, Carl Michael's songs are more complex than on _BTA_. And also, both our songs are somewhat harder -- it is more black metal, actually. That's, I think, only because old thrash metal, the good thrash metal riffs, are starting to get well used by now. CoC: Used up. A: Yeah. But there are also some songs that are even more catchy maybe, some of my songs, the slow ones. But I don't know; some people say this is our best album and some people say _BTA_ is the best one. But I think maybe if you put both of the albums together and take the best songs from both of the albums it would be our perfect album or something. CoC: On the album, and in previous times, you've always swapped instruments, you and Carl Michael, from drums to guitar and vocals; why did you choose not to have a concrete "set-up" for doing the band, is it because you both enjoy doing both things? A: Yeah, more or less, and also it's easier in the studio, 'cause we don't practice that much, so we just make half the songs each. So if he makes a song I will play drums and he does all the rest, and the other way around [for me]. So we don't have to rehearse that much before we go into the studio. But it's also probably mostly because we enjoy doing both things. CoC: Do you think that makes a big difference to the vocals on the album, because there are two different vocalists throughout the album, or do you think it still sounds quite consistent? A: You can hear, at least now, our songs are quite different. I think it is more the songs [than the vocals]. It doesn't sound that boring, you know, with different vocals. Not that it's boring to hear one vocalist throughout the whole album, but, maybe -- I don't know. CoC: How do you feel Hammerheart is supporting you with touring and general promotion? A: I think they've done a good job so far. We haven't heard -- we only just released the album, but we have already been on tour, which was the main reason why we left Malicious Records: because they didn't want to send us on tour. We think it is very important for every band to go on tour if they have something to show on stage, and we consider ourselves a pretty good live band, so it's very important for us to go on tour. I think they [Hammerheart] have treated us well, but, you know, it's only just been released, so we don't know anything about -- yeah, I think we sold 3500 after one week or something. [OJ makes a point about the sales which didn't come out on my tape, then adding "at least they're out there". -- Paul] CoC: That's cool. So, you've also got an upcoming tour with Vader, Malevolent Creation and some other bands? A: Yeah... our record company guy said that he hoped to get us on that tour. We don't know anything yet. We hope so. CoC: You said when you wanted to do Aura Noir you were doing old thrash. What, of your older influences, influenced you and Carl to do old thrash, and how does it differ from the other bands you do, like Dodheimsgard? [OJ is bothered by a fly and attempts to exterminate it.] A: Could I have the first part of the question again? CoC: Sure. What were you influenced by when you were doing something that was thrash based? A: Bands? I don't know if we both listen to them, but Kreator, Slayer and everything. Early German stuff, but I don't think we are just influenced by all of them [but by] good music in general. We think... it's confusing me, this fly shit. [More flailing at the fly on OJ's part.] We just make riffs and we try to make as good riffs as possible and it's just coincidental that they sound very similar to old stuff. I don't know how to explain this, I could do it better in Norwegian. CoC: To put it a different way, do you think Aura Noir fit into being a "retro" band, do you think they belong to a scene which is quite current now, or do you think it is just a retro-thrash band? A: No, it is not just a retro-thrash band, because there is sort of -- it is sort of a black metal band, but, you know, we consider the old thrash metal bands black metal, or at least very influential, or should be, for a black metal band. People have started to play all this moving shit, not shit, but um... it goes in another direction now, most of the scene, so we thought "Let's do the aggressive thing again", 'cause we think that this kind of music gives us the most black metal feeling. CoC: Does Aura Noir conflict with your other bands, either yours or Carl's? A: I was a bit sceptical about Dodheimsgard, 'cause we use synthesizers and now we will use... drum programming on our next album. But I was in the studio, a couple of days ago, and heard at least one of the songs, and did the basswork, and it sounds really great, so I don't think so, I am just nervous that... I -was- nervous that it would sound too melodic and too nice. Because it would be sort of treason or betrayal, to say that in Aura Noir interviews. I think this Dodheimsgard [album] sounds so different, but still very aggressive. CoC: So what would you say to people who haven't heard Aura Noir, who are thinking of checking them out? Who would you say should check it out and what would you say generally... about the band? A: What would I say to people who want to check it out? CoC: Or who read this interview or whatever and think "hmm, maybe I'll check that band out." [I turn my dictaphone off and OJ takes a while to think and kill flies.] A: If you like old thrash metal bands, you should check it out, at least. If you don't, if you're only into the new wave of black metal, you should either check us or the old thrash metal bands, and maybe them first. Really old, like Slayer, Kreator and stuff, of course, everybody should have heard of it, but really the first album of all those guys -- Destruction, Sodom, whatever. Then check us out. It's really aggressive music, the way it should be played. I think our strongest side is maybe our live act, so come check out the shows as well. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= T H E G R E A T E A S T E R N T R E N D K I L L ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CoC chats with Damian Montgomery of Ritual Carnage by: David Rocher Many bands suddenly seem to be developing pretentious ideals of bringing the "true spirit" of heavy metal back to life, and merely use this new philosophy in life as a pretext to rip the sleeves of their jeans jackets and align a few simplistic, unimaginative riffs and solos. However, Ritual Carnage's first offering, _The Highest Law_, stood out among the tasteless mass of generally lame revival/tribute bands, with its sweaty, ultra mean leather n' spikes attitude, simple but incredibly addictive songs, and, last but not least, its excellently cliched cover. Obviously enough, bassist, grunter in chief and band mastermind Damian Montgomery proved to be an authentic, no-frills, poseur-bashing, nun-devouring kind of gentleman, an enthusiastic metalhead truly in love with the lifestyle he preaches... and unquestionably practises. The following interview was heroically performed during Driller Killer's soundcheck in Le Gibus, in Paris, France, with the assistance of the mighty Joey Jaffrezic ("JJ"), who co-hosts the Breton radio show "Metal Invasion". CoC: What is the history of the band? Damian Montgomery: I started the band in 1994 -- I formed it, so it's kind of my band. The original members didn't last too long; the first bassist was a Finnish guy living in Japan, and he went back to Finland about a year later, and our first drummer had another band -- he couldn't dedicate himself to [Ritual Carnage] full-time, so we went separate ways. While I was doing Ritual Carnage, I was also playing with another Japanese band called Tyrant [signed on Singapore's Pulverised Records -- David], and I left that band just before they recorded their album -- I had more confidence in Ritual Carnage. In 1996, [we found] Eddie, our guitarist, and Hamaii, our drummer. They had a band called Krakkbrain, that had been together for quite a while. After it broke up, I told them what I wanted to do with Ritual Carnage, so they joined, and Shige, our other guitarist, joined the band this February. On _The Highest Law_, I play guitars; we had a bassist at the time, but he left the band in July due to personal problems, so I'm doing the bass and vocals right now. Eddie and Shige do the lead guitars. CoC: How did you get signed by Osmose? Were no American or Japanese labels interested? DM: Actually, there are no labels in Japan at all that do anything for any extreme metal bands. After we recorded the album in January, I sent four songs from the album to labels we respected, but... from the beginning, we wanted to be on Osmose, we love all the bands on the label. I don't think there are any poseur bands on that label, which is very important -- and Osmose was the first label that contacted us, about a week after I sent it out. We had other offers that we didn't follow, because we wanted to be on Osmose, period! So -- it's a dream come true! CoC: How did you choose the name Ritual Carnage, and your album cover? Don't you think they sound kind of cliched? DM: The name was actually something I thought of years ago, probably back in the early '90s. I got the idea from a newspaper, something about Algeria, the crazy Muslims killing all the people, and there was the name Ritual Carnage -- so I stole it. CoC: What about the album cover? DM: I guess we're not offended to hear it's a cliched jacket, but back when we were young -- I'm 32 years old -- [we listened] to bands like Manowar, Saxon, Motorhead... it's -that- metal image we wanted. The '90s metal image has kind of worn out a bit. CoC: There are quite a few bands now who play '80s metal with a '90s edge to it, pretty much like Children of Bodom; do you appreciate this kind of music? DM: Yeah, I like Children of Bodom, and I really like '80s metal more than the brutal stuff -- I'm not really into brutal music, I like -real- heavy metal you can bang your fucking head to! I like those bands... but they really need to give the keyboards up! CoC: Don't you think keyboards have a place in metal? DM: Not in heavy metal! JJ: Black metal? DM: Well, even the "symphonic" stuff... The band that used a keyboard to the best effect was Emperor, on their first album, it was fucking perfect! It wasn't too loud, it wasn't too soft, it was great! But now, well... the way Cradle of Filth use them is pretty cool, but you've got to be careful with how you use them. JJ: Since Loudness, Japanese metal seems to be having difficulties exporting to Europe and America. How do you explain that? DM: From my point of view -- I'm not Japanese, so I don't know what the Japanese think of it, but I know the guys in the band don't like Loudness, they laugh at it, and I do too! The early '80s just totally -fucked- metal; the big record companies and stuff did it all for fucking money, you know, and I can't look at a band like Loudness and say "Wow, they were great!" I think it was a band that was nothing original; I guess the thing that helped them a lot was that they were Japanese, that's what made people become interested in them. To an extent, I think it's the same for Ritual Carnage, Tyrant and Sigh. Westerners have an interest in the East, you don't hear a lot from bands from there, so when something comes out, people look at it, and think that even if it doesn't have a lot of originality, it's not westerners playing it -- and that draws a lot of interest. CoC: Why is it that so many old, unsuccessful metal bands seem to have great success over in Japan? DM: I think that's another thing with the record companies, they really push [bands], and after a record company pushes one and puts it in the kids' minds and fans' minds that they should listen to it, they do! And I think that, to an extent, it's the same with Ritual Carnage, because we're busting our ass to promote the record in Japan, and it's selling very well. We haven't had somebody to promote us in Japan, we're doing everything ourselves; and the most influent record chain in Japan, Discunion, really like the band, and they're really helping us. CoC: What do you think of the practice that consists in releasing Japanese versions of CDs that feature between two and five bonus tracks when compared to the European version? DM: I think it's fucked, I think the West should get them too. Another thing with Japan is when they release those CDs with the bonus tracks, they're paying an extra five dollars for the CD, so... Our CD sells in record shops for about 17 or 18 US dollars. JJ: Your first album is extremely fast and violent; don't you think it can be dangerous releasing this kind of a first album, as if Slayer had first released _Reign in Blood_? DM: Well, it was weird, the way everything in the band formed the way it did... Our first drummer really held us back from our capabilities. We had so much we could do, but he didn't want to play fast stuff, so when Krakkbrain broke up, Eddie joined the band, and we still had our old drummer -- and we knew that he wasn't going to work out, so we had him leave the band, and then Hamaii joined, and we just started with the real aggressive stuff that we wanted to do, and that's what came out! I mean, we didn't say "hey, let's do something like _Reign in Blood_!" I think you can get so much more done in a song if you just fucking cut out all the bullshit, just go right at it, and that's what we did! Most of our songs on _The Highest Law_ only have five riffs at most, and a couple of songs only have three riffs -- so you can just work with three to five riffs, and do killer stuff! CoC: What do you think of the way cult bands like Metallica, Slayer and Sepultura have gone? DM: Ah, I fucking hate it! I was really pissed when Metallica fell -- I can tolerate them up to _... And Justice for All_, but after that, if they want to go the money way and live off the band, that's their choice, but at the same time, they're loosing fans -- they've lost me! We do a Metallica cover ["Hit the Lights"] because we love their first album, but... it's the same with Slayer, I was really disappointed with the new record, there's a couple of really aggressive songs, but on most parts, they sold out. I love _Divine Intervention_, but on the new record, it sounds like they're rapping or something, you know, ta-dam, ta-dam, ta-dam! -- like Machine Head and Korn and stuff like that. I was really pissed off that -they- did that. And even in style, they've just gone... I love the metal style, man! The leather, the spikes and shit like that -- I bought the first Slayer record, not because I knew what they sounded like, but I looked at the back and saw what they were wearing, and thought, "this must be a killer!" JJ: To me, Saxon's _Unleash the Beast_ was one of the best albums of 1997, a comeback to true heavy metal; did you listen to it? DM: Yeah, it's cool, I like it. It's a lot better than some of their older stuff. But I think the best comeback -- they're on the same label as us -- was Exciter's _The Dark Command_. I'm so pissed off that so many magazines just turned their backs to that album, it's fucking brilliant, man! Razor, they released _Decibels_ last year, well, it's a piece of shit; Infernal Majesty's released a new album, which is total shit. But the fucking Exciter is a killer, I love every song on that album, it's great, man! JJ: Do you know Nasty Savage have reformed? DM: No way?! JJ: Really! Last September, they played at a gig in Germany. DM: Killer! Ritual Carnage used to do a Nasty Savage cover, "Metal Knights"! CoC: Yeah, heavy metal is resurfacing now, with wimpish bands like Ratt and shit like that who are reforming... What do you think of this new trend in the metal scene? DM: Well, to me, Ratt are not a fucking metal band, that's -not- heavy metal! I come from the early '80s -- heavy metal, to me, was Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Saxon, stuff like that. I'm not into any of that Los Angeles bullshit, it totally killed true heavy metal. CoC: And what do you think of the endless succession of trends in metal? DM: When I played with Tyrant, I told the guys in the band that we should do something a little different, and put some more heavy metal influences into it, because black metal has hit its peak -- you can't go anywhere else with it. I told them that they should try something different, but they weren't interested, they'd rather go the way they did. I knew it was gonna happen, and I predicted that; a big example was Immortal's _Blizzard Beasts_, they totally went over to more of a death metal sound. JJ: What do you think of the bands on Osmose who try to give older metal a second life, like Bewitched or Demoniac? Do you like them? DM: Oh yeah, I fucking love Bewitched, they're one of my favorite bands, actually! CoC: How is extreme metal perceived by the masses in Japan? DM: Actually, it's unbelievable, the American record companies have so much money and so much fucking power in Japan, that they force it into the kids' heads to listen to stuff that is so fucking boring it's unbelievable! I did an interview with a German magazine, and they said most Germans laugh at Helloween, but in Japan, they're fucking -huge-! They sell out all their shows, and it's just the record companies that are influencing this. JJ: How did you convince Eric Rutan and George "Corpsegrinder" to play with you? DM: Well, I first met George back in '96, when Cannibal Corpse toured Japan. We hung out, drank some beers and traded a few letters, and when we recorded our album, in January, Cannibal Corpse were recording their album at the same time, so when they were mixing their record, we were hanging out with them and bullshitting... They were mixing the Sacrifice cover, and I told George we were doing an cover of Onslaught. And he said "great, man!", and I just said "hey, wanna sing with me on it?" and he said "allright". And I met Eric in a record store, we started talking, I asked him if he wanted to play leads too, and he was all up for it, so it was cool! JJ: I have heard that when Deep Purple played in Japan in the early '70s, the Japanese crowds were very still, and I'd like to know if things have changed. DM: It wasn't even the early '70s -- when I first went over [to Japan] in 1988, Anthrax came over, and I went to see the show. It's the security, with the insurance and responsibility; if people start stagediving and stuff and get hurt, they can sue [the organisers]. It was the security and promoters, they wouldn't let people leave their seats! Morbid Angel and Death all came over and played in venues that were basically free for all -- you come in, you're on your own, there were signs and stuff saying that they were not responsible if you got hurt, so people knew they had better not stay in front if they couldn't handle the intensity -- but it's pretty crazy! CoC: Your CD mentions that you "vomit on Buddha, shit on the star and desecrate the cross". You only mention monotheistic religions, what is your opinion on forms of paganism? DM: I don't know -- the religions that I attacked on the album are the ones that affected me. I've grown up around religion, and when I first went to Japan, I was in the military -- my grandfather fought in World War II, my father was in Vietnam -- so I joined the military basically out of respect for them, you know? They did something for their country, and in America, there are a lot of religions -- obviously there's Christianism and Judaism, but [there are] also Muslims, and Hindus, and Buddhists, and I lost an awful lot of respect for those religions -- they can live in America, but -they- would not do anything for their country. I'm not a right-winger or anything like that, but those religions, the laws and stuff that they follow are out of hand, if you ask me. For example, everybody right now is dealing with the Asian collapse in the economy, most Japanese are Buddhists, but these supposedly Buddhist businessmen are totally fucking greedy, and they caused all these scandals and rip-offs -- they've fucked the whole country, you know? JJ: I have the impression you are a kind of father for the other members of the band; am I right, are you a kind of leader for them? DM: Yeah, obviously, I have to do everything here, because none of them can speak English, but I'm not the leader to say "hey, you do this, you play that!" Basically, the songwriting and the image we want for the band is what I have control over, but they live their lives and do what they want. But as far as the songs are concerned, when they write a riff, I may tell them "I don't think it's Ritual Carnage-sounding" -- I make that decision, if it's Ritual Carnage or not, so that's basically what my leadership within the band is. CoC: I guess you are getting new material ready; what's it going to be like? DM: Our music's still gonna be aggressive, like on _The Highest Law_, but the Judas Priest and Metallica influences will definitely come out more. With _The Highest Law_, we went back to our roots, but on the next album, we plan to use those roots and go back even a little bit further with it all, new wave of British heavy metal sounds and stuff like that! CoC: What do you think of bands that don't really seem to evolve, like Iron Maiden? DM: Well, I don't know... Even off the latest stuff by Iron Maiden, there are good songs, but there's also stuff that I'm bored with. But I have no problems with their song structures and the way they arrange their music -- if they did it any differently, it wouldn't be Iron Maiden! CoC: Like Bolt Thrower. DM: Yeah, like Bolt Thrower -- I think the new album's fucking brilliant, you know? I think they're a great band, and they're a good example of a band that stays by its original sound. They might add a couple of little things, but you still know it's Bolt Thrower. CoC: Concerning the attitude you demonstrate on your album, what do you think of all these bands that try acting "evil"? DM: When it gets real childish in the interviews and the kids try to sound like they're larger than life, I think that's really so cheesy! I personally believe in Satanism in the same ways as King Diamond does, you know? I feel that I am my own god and creator, but I feel that a lot of these bands, like Graveland, they take Satanism and make it sound like it's a game. But I look at Satanism as intelligence and rational thinking -- when I see something I don't like, I can just laugh at it, and not attack it to the point that it gets stupid and brings out the unintelligent side of me. CoC: Okay! Last words? DM: I hope everybody likes our record... Our next record is gonna be just as good, definitely better; if you like lead guitars, there's gonna be twice as many leads -- everywhere I'm not singing, there's gonna be leads, so it's gonna be a real fun album! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= A N I G H T T O R E M E M B E R ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CoC interviews Deutschland's Night in Gales by: Adrian Bromley When I first heard German metal outfit Night in Gales' debut for Nuclear Blast, titled _Towards the Twilight_, I was taken aback by the band's aggressive, yet melodic, music. Think In Flames mixed with At the Gates and you pretty much get the idea of their debut disc. The band explored many cool ideas within the LP and showed that they had worked hard as musicians to make sure their abilities shined from every angle. I was impressed, to say the least. I'll be honest, though, upon hearing the band's quickly assembled follow-up _Thunderbeast_, I was miffed by the fact that the band had latched onto a stronger, volatile attitude with the music, more aggressive and raw in every aspect, thus losing the melodic tone throughout the release. Had the band shot themselves in the foot by moving onto a new sound? Was the death metal style infiltrating their melodic metal angle? Who knows? It was a mediocre effort in my mind, until I gave it another chance. How do I see the LP now? As an excellent homage to fast-paced death metal, with a pinch of melody thrown in for good measure. The band edged out their soft side, gearing things up for a riotous ruckus for the most part. I'm hooked now more than ever. "This record seems a bit rushed at times", admits bassist Tobbe Bruchmann early on in the interview, "but that's the way things go. We were touring extensively with numerous bands and just needed to get some ideas into the studio. When we had some time we went in and here is the final result. We wanted to get this out as fast as we could, to show the fans that we really enjoy making music. I am totally satisfied with what we did here. There is so much more here than what we did with the last record." "The new record is being worked on as we speak", admits Bruchmann, "but we need time to get things going and then properly record. The music has to come from our hearts before we can attempt to record [the album] properly. There are a lot of ideas flowing right now, it just takes time to get them to take shape." Bruchmann and the rest of Night in Gales -- guitarists Jens and Frank Basten, drummer Christian Bab and singer Bjorn Goobes -- couldn't be happier with the way things are headed for the band. "We are just so happy to be back out there with [new] material. Showing people that we mean business. It's tough to keep people interested with what you do. Hopefully people take note of what we did here with _Thunderbeast_." One thing Bruchmann is adamant about with his band is to avoid following trends. His love for trendy bands is non-existent. "We aim to focus on our influences, rather than what the new sound of today is. We are one half heavy metal band, the other half a brutal death metal band. It has a bit of melody and harmonic guitar lines, paired up with a serious death metal overtone. There are not a lot of bands here in Germany that sound like we do. Many go with the trends. That's just not us. We'd rather stick to our roots and influences and bring that back into the music that we create." "It's been a great last few years. The band's musical skills have developed quite a bit over the years", he says. "The new material, compared to the old stuff, sounds much better. It sounds better, we played better and even the production is top notch. When we were starting out early on with our debut 7" and demo CD _Sylphlike_, we were a little ignorant of how things worked. We wondered how to get the sound and production to sound so good. It was a learning experience and I think with _Thunderbeast_ people will hear that and see that we mastered the art of making music. We've brought changes to this band, but not enough to [fuel] the notion that we jumped on any trend. Fuck going with trends. Music is about creating your own ideas. We follow that philosophy, I wish others would too." =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= C R I M S O N D R E A M S ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CoC interviews Sigurd Nielsen of Madder Mortem by: Pedro Azevedo Madder Mortem's first full-length _Mercury_ [reviewed in this issue] reveals another Norwegian band whose lead singer is female, but a band that is not only very talented, but also determined to avoid falling into the synth dependency that most of the genre's bands have. In a way that occasionally brings to mind early The 3rd and the Mortal, Madder Mortem's music is based on guitar work and the female vocalist does not perform any duets with a growler (as a matter of fact, there are hardly any male vocals to be found). The result, thanks to the band's musical skills, is refreshing and very enjoyable. I e-mailed drummer Sigurd Nielsen some questions about his band and _Mercury_; here is the result. CoC: What's the meaning of your band's name, Madder Mortem? I suppose it has something to do with madder, the plant? Sigurd Nielsen: Hmmmm... I've never heard about the plant. [Madder is indeed a plant, the colour obtained from which dyes as "crimson madder", which explains what you are about to read. -- Pedro] Agnete [Kirkevaag, vocalist] was the one who created the band name and she got it from one of the colours her father uses, as he does some art painting. Madder is actually some kind of red colour. If you were to translate it, it would be "red death", but the name isn't meant to be that way. We decided to go for it because it sounded cool and not for what it means, because "red death" doesn't describe what we do. CoC: What was the idea behind _Mercury_'s cover, an autumnal image with three dark figures walking beneath some trees? SN: The idea behind the cover wasn't anything in particular. We wanted a cover that didn't look like it had been made entirely on a computer. It was natural to use photographs. If you see our full cover, it has a lot of these red/orange pictures all taken at the same place. In the back, you have the text printed on a composition of many pictures in blue. They make a great contrast effect with the red/orange ones. The pictures were taken in Norway at a place where they've just built a twenty meter high protection over some ruins of a medieval cathedral. You can see this building made of glass and steel inside the cover. I think there is a lot of harmony between the cover art and the music. CoC: You have released a self-financed MCD called _Misty Sleep_ in 1997; since then, you have signed for Misanthropy and released your first full-length album, _Mercury_. Was everything as smooth for the band as this indicates, or did you have any problems finding a label and releasing a full-length album? SN: To be honest, I think it all went too smoothly. I see bands struggling so much to find a label and all that. We've just been concerned with making the music. Misanthropy gave us a quick response after we gave them our demo CD, and we were very satisfied with that, of course. CoC: So are you happy with Misanthropy Records now? SN: As I said, we were happy and we still are. They give us a lot of artistic freedom. The only thing they control is money. They really have a good promotion network and give their bands a lot of support that way. Another positive thing is that they only sign a few good bands, instead of a hundred shitty ones. CoC: What would you say your musical evolution was since the MCD, considering that some of its tracks have been included in the full-length _Mercury_? SN: We've had time to work on our material very much, so every song you hear on _Mercury_ has gone through a long process, during which we have tried to be as critical as possible. Our goal was to make the songs come out exactly the way they should be. We achieved this on _Mercury_, I think. CoC: How satisfied are you with _Mercury_? What areas will you try to improve the most in future recordings? SN: Right now, I don't listen to the record at all. I need to get away from it for a while before I can say what I really think about it. A lot of things happened in the studio; good things and bad things. You'll never be satisfied enough while you're working in the studio, but what is important is to think about the whole production. That way, I'm very satisfied. CoC: There are, of course, many Norwegian metal bands using female vocals right now. However, you don't depend on keyboards as much as most of them do; there's more guitar work in Madder Mortem than usual in the genre. Some of the album's softer parts even remind me of early (i.e., Kari Rueslatten's) The 3rd and the Mortal, whereas most bands in the genre nowadays opt for a more "symphonic" sound; but your sound is usually quite different from most of what's being done in the genre right now. What are your thoughts on all this? SN: I'm glad you don't categorize us as a symphonic band. We started without a synth and that way we discovered what sounded good without one. After a while we wanted the synth, but only to improve some parts of the music. We have never used the synth as the basis for a song. It's very easy to move in the wrong direction with a synthesizer, and this way we've done well, I think. The effects should be added, not used as a basis. The 3rd and the Mortal does this very well. CoC: What are your plans for the near future, now that _Mercury_ is being released? SN: We will do anything we can to tour with another band. Apart from that, we are already rehearsing new material. Right now, we are preparing our release party in Oslo. CoC: Any concluding remarks? SN: Nope, since I'm extremely tired right now. Have a nice one... Contact: mailto:drugis@hotmail.com =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= _____ .__ ___. / _ \ | |\_ |__ __ __ _____ / /_\ \| | | __ \| | \/ \ / | \ |_| \_\ \ | / 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! Another Nothing - _New Breed_ (Chord, February 1999) by: Adrian Bromley (7 out of 10) After a lot of the stuff I heard for this issue of CoC, it was refreshing to put on and listen to Another Nothing. It was intense, in-yer-face noise core metal music that didn't pansy itself upon the notion of being a metal wanker with their material, as did some of the music that I reviewed in this issue. This is music that really stands strong on its own, each track glistening with powerful concoctions of ample noise and metal parts, with a definite knack for adding eccentric quality to the sound here and there. For the most part, Another Nothing really repeats what a lot of bands out there are doing (V.O.D., Converge, Hatebreed), but it's the band's gritty character that sets them apart within numerous tracks on _NB_. Choice cuts: "Still the Same" and "Facade". I'm pretty sure this'll be a band that'll have a future if they play their cards right. Contact: P.O. Box 15793 Philadelphia, PA USA 19103 WWW: http://www.chordrecordings.com mailto:toodhype@aol.com Apophis - _Heliopolis_ (Morbid, November 1998) by: Paul Schwarz (7 out of 10) Despite the Egyptian styled (though somewhat poor) cover artwork, Apophis are not, as I initially suspected, a clone of Nile. Apophis' sound has some grounding in the melodic Swedish death movement, but with deeper vocals than is typical for, say, In Flames, and less vitriol than those of the more brutal side -- A Canorous Quintet would be a prime example of this. Doom metal is an influence and affects the progression of their playing most; they use melodic chords, as opposed to the more percussive brutal death style, and tend to choose downward progressions. An overall comparison I found prominent was to Hypocrisy, on their last three albums. Apophis are not as skilled as Hypocrisy but they do attempt, and are sometimes successful in, combining keyboards, catchy riffs and melody. "Behold My Arrival" borrows from Hypocrisy without sounding like a rejected b-side, while "Reincarnation of the Serpent God" nails a catchy vocal line and backs it up with a solid riff in a Hypocrisy-reminiscent fashion. Overall, _Heliopolis_ mostly lacks sparkle -- by the time you are into the final ten or fifteen minutes it is beginning to drag and some of the songs suffer from being somewhat excessively long. Apophis nail some solid riffs, show overall technical proficiency and combine brutal playing with a good use of melody (including some pretty good, and often slow, lead guitar work). Unfortunately, Apophis don't excel sufficiently in any of the styles they choose to play to beat those who have come before them. So, when they augment a heavy riff with keyboards, for example, the thought that goes through my head is "It sounds good, but not as good as Nocturnus." Apophis have dared to set out on a difficult path, and for that I give them credit, but they are not finding the journey to be without difficulty. This is their third album; I haven't heard their first or second, and though they should be picking up the pace by now, I think _Heliopolis_ could be their final stepping stone to doing a truly worthwhile album. Contact: Morbid Records, Postfach 3, 03114 Drebkau, Germany fax: (0) 35602/20636 WWW: http://www.morbidrecords.de mailto:morbidrecords@ranet.de Aura Noir - _Deep Tracts of Hell_ (Hammerheart, December 1998) by: Paul Schwarz (9 out of 10) This release conclusively proves to me that being heavily influenced by '80s music doesn't exclude you from being able to make an album which is both endearing and relevant in 1998. _Deep Tracts of Hell_ reeks of the '80s, it reeks of the black, twisted roots which '90s black metal had in the last decade's early innovators, but it also shows its youth in that it doesn't preclude the '90s scene and does have a distinctly modern aspect to its primary, overall old-school, flavour. Appolyon and Aggressor's songwriting is tight, with the alternating they partake in (see the interview in this issue for details) giving the album all the more colour, rather than making it seem disjointed, as I had feared might be the case. OK, fair enough, _DToH_ is not really original, it is not like this style of music has never been tackled before; it has, and by greater and lesser bands, but the fact remains that _DToH_ is a raging, catchy and more than worthwhile near-40 minute ordeal of thrash metal excellence. Contact: Hammerheart Rec., PO Box 277, 6300 AG. Valkenburg, Holland mailto:hhr@xs4all.nl WWW: http://www.xs4all.nl/~hhr Autumn Tears - _Love Poems for Dying Children... Act I (Reprise MCMXCVIII)_ (Dark Symphonies, November 1998) by: Pedro Azevedo (9 out of 10) This re-release of the originally limited to 2000 copies Autumn Tears debut is a fine opportunity for anyone who is unaware of the band's existence (or just doesn't have this CD) to discover the _Love Poems for Dying Children_ trilogy. Of course, for those who originally did buy the first edition, this may be considered rather unfair, since this reprise features better production, new artwork and a new song -- enough to make this better than the original, but probably not enough to justify a purchase for someone who owns the original version on CD. Then again, those who do own that first version don't actually -lose- anything because of this re-release (they'll still have the limited edition, in a strange way), and those who are interested in beautiful, dramatic, dark classical music potentially have a lot to gain. Following the brilliant opening track "They Watch With Closed Eyes", "Ode to My Forthcoming Winter", "One Tender Kiss (The Lost Seasons)" and "Carfax Abbey" are especially good, but the other songs (namely "The Eloquent Sleep" and "And Then the Whispering...") are also quite good, making this album highly enjoyable from start to finish. Skilled keyboard playing and talented male and female vocals combine to create excellent atmospheres and very enjoyable music throughout the album; the female vocals are, again, like in _The Garden of Crystalline Dreams_ [CoC #23], especially remarkable, although there Erika doesn't perform any black vox here. Also included is a new song, which promises a superb third act and features the new lead female vocalist -- Erika will perform only guest backing vocals on the next album. Although I find Erika's vocals just slightly more enjoyable, Jennifer seems perfectly able to handle the task. As for this reprise, I strongly recommend it to those who are prone to enjoy this kind of music and didn't purchase the original version. Bewitched - _Hell Comes to Essen_ (Osmose, December 1998) by: Paul Schwarz (3 out of 10) I saw Bewitched on the tour on which this live document was recorded. As my review [CoC #28] indicated, I found Bewitched to be an impressive live band. Since that gig I got hold of their most recent _Pentagram Prayer_ album and, though a little too backward-looking for my liking, I found it a catchy and marginally worthy retro-thrash workout which utilises melody well. _Hell Comes to Essen_ combines ten tracks from their live concert in Essen in 1997 with the unreleased "Sabbath of Sin" (to be on their new album in a different version) and a cover of "Born to Be Wild" in a thrash style. Unfortunately, although Bewitched had impact when I saw them live, this live disc really has little musical attraction. The songs are different, this is Bewitched "entirely live" apparently, but most of what is different is worse. A lot of the skilled melodic manipulation, which is what makes the songs on _Pentagram Prayer_ worthy of note, is lost and replaced by thrash metal rage and drive. I am beginning to find the owning of live albums hard to justify in any case, and in this one I think point is lost. "Sabbath of Sin" is a decent, catchy and melodic thrash number, but it's far from special or massively different from Bewitched's other output, and only serves to show how weak the songs sound, performed live, on disc. The "Born to Be Wild" cover is, as always, no patch on the original and is the kind of thing which, ironically, would sound better pulled off as a surprise at the end of a live set. I can't find a reason to recommend this to anyone. Bob Marinelli / Facialmess - _Split_ (Distorted Vision, 1998) by: Gabriel Sanchez (8.5 out of 10) As much as I am open to covering as many different acts as possible, it is hard not to keep returning to past favorites when their output is this damn good. Distorted Vision Records brings together the chaotic noise workings of Bob Marinelli with one of Japan's leading (and somewhat unsung) noise master Facialmess. Marinelli's side provides more of the excellent fast paced sound swirls that have made him (in my mind) one of the single best artists in the United States today. The collage of noise provided can best be described as the beautiful sound your '86 Ford Taurus' factory speakers make as the busted tape deck devours your brand spanking new Winger cassette while you simultaneously experience the thrills of a ten car pile up accident occurring right in front you. In other words, it is nothing short of orgasmic. Facialmess, in turn, slow the pace down a bit while still providing a number of quick changes to their sound and still managing to kick up the harshness another level. Everything from boomy bass explosions, therapeutic feedback, and distorted voice manipulation for good measure come dancing out of the audio channels, not giving two shits or a flying fuck what poor creature's ear drums are in their way. Could this be love? I think so. This is definitely a release any noise junkie will want to get their grubby little hands on, not to mention newbies to the genre fixing to kick back, relax, and blow their $2,000 speaker systems. Contact: Distorted Vision Records, 300 West Fourth St. Mt. Carmel, PA 17851, USA mailto:tgbob@sunlink.net Castigate - _Bring Me the Head of Jesus Christ_ by: David Rocher (2.5 out of 10) (Pavement Music, December 1998) Now, there's not much in this vile world that may even hope to equal the exquisite pleasure of wrecking your neck to the roaring axe attacks and battering rhythmic assaults of a titanic death metal album. And, quite naturally, this is precisely what makes sitting through half an hour of the pathetic, discordant gruntfest named _BMtHoJC_ such a tedious act of abnegation. Castigate claim to be brutal; I merely call this messy -- somehow, I just don't see that being "brutal" is an excuse for each musician to seemingly be trying to race through his part faster than anybody else. Castigate aren't -always- worse than some bands out there, but with the great number of high-level violent/brutal death metal acts the actual extreme scene is graced with (Cryptopsy, Malevolent Creation, Dying Fetus and others), paying attention to this gurgling, immature, rampaging metal field trip would be nothing more than a waste of everybody's time -- but then again, the lads and lasses who called Suffocation's _Breeding the Spawn_ a great death metal album will probably crave for _BMtHoJC_... No big deal, really. Cauldron - _Tampering With the Unnatural_ by: Adrian Bromley (1 out of 10) (Headrush Records, January 1999) I hate it when bands -try- to be metal and think they're doing a good job. Cauldron is one of those bands. This is the band that gets the first shellacking of 1999: they stink. The rock/thrash metal style is horrible, the vocals are so cheesy and the band's originality is non-existent. Where did this band go wrong? Many places. The key to bands starting out should be that you can offer something new and fresh to the metal scene. Not the case here. Listening to this is as bad as shitting your pants. It's an awful mess and you don't know what to do with it. Contact: 712 Pemberton Detroit, Michigan 48230 mailto:cauldron_metal@hotmail.com Claymords - _... More Sombre Than Life_ (, 1999) by: Adrian Bromley (8 out of 10) Not sure how to make out the music of this bizarre outfit from Norway. It's a lil' bit country and a lil' bit rock 'n' roll. (I'm joking! That's a Donnie & Marie saying. IGNORE!) Anyway, this trio of musicians really do go out on a limb and bring quite a vast array of ideas and sounds into the fold with this six-song recording. From the darkened ways of black metal onto thrashing / speed metal injections and a varied gothic overtone scattered throughout, Claymords really gets the blood going. You're excited when you hear this. Also, the band's vocal style (very death metal-ish) makes their punch just a tad bit stronger, as songs like "Breathe With Me", "First Convulsion" and "Aftermath" plow over you like a freight train out of control. Variety is the true masterpiece of this outing. A label deal is not far off. Contact: Nils Ivar Martila, Wiers Jenssens V. 33 b N-5030, Landas, Norway mailto:claymords@online.no Daemon - _The Second Coming_ (Diehard, February 1999) by: Paul Schwarz (8 out of 10) _Seven Deadly Sins_ did seem to have its five minutes of novelty fame and then, at least for me, sink without a trace. It surprised me that a second Daemon album appeared at all, so imagine my shock when I found that I really liked it, too. _The Second Coming_ still reeks of old Entombed (Nicke Andersson's departure has not altered this), but not only is there more depth to the Entombed-a-like songs, many songs also draw on somewhat different influences. As a result, _TSC_ doesn't sound like an inferior Entombed album, a syndrome which _SDS_ suffered badly from. It probably helps that Daemon are now, at least to me, a better listen than Entombed with their current output. Unfortunately, "My Kingdom Is a Sacred Place", with its attempts at soft/loud dynamics, doesn't really work, and the record clocks in at just under half an hour, if you exclude the "Symptom of the Universe" cover, so it is far from a perfect purchase. Additionally, if you are looking for _Clandestine_-esque material, you'd do better to investigate A Canorous Quintet, Impious or others of Sweden's new breed. However, if the longing for "new" old (as in mid-period) Entombed is already suffocating you, _The Second Coming_ is one of your best options and it's a damn rocking album in its own right to boot. Darklands - _A Memory of You_ (Heathendoom Music, February 1999) by: Adrian Bromley (1 out of 10) If Peter Steele of Type O Negative ever had a kid brother who wanted to rock out, start a band and be like his big brother, this would be his band. Unimaginative gothic rock/metal that really goes nowhere at all. Like a cat in heat moaning on a fence in your backyard, Darklands need to get a shoe (or something a lot bigger) thrown at them to make this atrocity stop. Blah! Contact: Box 36, S114 79 Stockholm, Sweden WWW: http://www.surf.to/darklands mailto:heathendoom.music@swipnet.se Descend - _Beyond thy Realm of Throes_ by: David Rocher (7.5 out of 10) (Black Lotus Records, December 1998) The Greek four-piece Descend were until last year known as Epidemic, a thrash outfit whose two releases _Artificial Peace_ and _Industrial_ proudly displayed their noble influences -- early Kreator and Sacred Reich, two bands for which Epidemic actually opened live. Despite their name changing, Descend's musical influences obviously remain pretty much the same, although this fine mid-tempo melodic death/thrash now bears the mark a certain melancholy. The ten tracks of _BtRoT_ are creative, finely constructed with hard, rapid low-case riffing -- fans of _Pleasure to Kill_ and such works of art should definitely cast an ear on this band -- and nice melodic leads, and cleverly include alternating schemes of quiet, mildly sorrowful parts and all-out rushing thrash assaults. In fact, the only real loss on _BtRoT_ is due to the mix, which tends to completely drown the already rather "tame" guitar tone in the rabid vocals, which in turn get to be a little invasive. The precise drumwork is also sadly a little feeble in the mix -- nonetheless, it goes to show that if _BtRoT_ had been granted improved means and therefore a more powerful sound, we would be facing a crushing release indeed. However, Descend's first offspring leaves great room for further evolution, and that is definitely an asset not many present-day bands may claim to detain. Dichotic - _Collapse Into Despair_ (Discorporate Music, January 1999) by: Adrian Bromley (9 out of 10) Okay... my ass has been kicked. Holy mother from hell, is this powerful stuff from Eastern Canada (Halifax, Nova Scotia, to be exact). No remorse and no regret is etched in the minds of all those taking part of the musical ways of impressive outfit Dichotic. Slamming down a driving force equal to that of a tornado, Dichotic lash out at the listener with fierce death metal anguish, rallying behind killer riffing and a vocal style that could peel paint off a wall. Are they this good? Yes. Many others I know are praising the ways of this truly talented band and it's definitely worthy of going ape-shit over. The band just totally delivers with thunderous numbers like "Solely on Opposites", "Heed to Instincts" and "Love Stained Splatter". Saviors of metal in Canada? Who knows... but at least they're making their mark. Death metal fans who itch for sheer power and a touch of variety, look no further. Canadian bred, yet death metal led. Stunning record. Others should have their asses kicked by Dichotic. What are you waiting for? Contact: Discorporate Music / Dichotic, 2476 Robie Street, #8, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3K 4N1 Canada WWW: http://is2.dal.ca/~rfguy/dichotic/ mailto:guy@cs.dal.ca Dreamsfear - _Prelude to Destiny_ (Ill-Omen Records, November 1998) by: Pedro Azevedo (6 out of 10) Although this is described in the promotional material as power/thrash, only the first song, "Ruins", comes close to fitting such a description. The next two songs, "Bleak Horizons" and "As Darkness Falls", are mid-paced and semi-doomy, and the last song of this nearly 30 minutes long MCD, "Burning Bridges", even sounds a bit too much like a "power ballad" for my taste. Dreamsfear are from Ireland, but the doom elements in their music are completely different from those of the excellent, and also Irish, Primordial. (Speaking of doomy influences in Dreamsfear's music, one of the band members is actually wearing a My Dying Bride t-shirt in the band photo, which is unusual for a power/thrash band -- and the t-shirt is even from the _Turn Loose the Swans_ era!) Anyway, after the reasonably well done but not very interesting opener, "Bleak Horizons" shows those doomier elements. The clean vocals seem more effective here than on the opening track, and the song itself generally flows better. However, the track that I ended up enjoying the most was clearly the third one, "As Darkness Falls", which combines what the band does best in each of the first two songs. The chorus is especially good, although simple. In the booklet, the band thanks "everyone involved in the recording and production of this misadventure" and also "almost everyone of you for your lack of belief and encouragement, without which this would not have been possible". Well, I don't know how serious they were when they wrote that, but I personally do think that there may be hope for Dreamsfear -if- they concentrate on the kind of music that constitutes the best parts of this MCD -- namely some of "Bleak Horizons" and "As Darkness Falls" -- and find better ways to keep the heaviness level sufficiently high. Droys - _And if..._ (Polymorphe, 1998) by: Brian Meloon (8 out of 10) Droys hail from France, and this is their second release, following 1995's _Experience_ MCD, which was released on the now defunct X-Label Records. Three of the four tracks from _Experience_ are on this release, though. Their style is technical thrash, in the vein of bands like Quo Vadis, Obliveon (_From This Day Forward_) and Sadus (_A Vision of Misery_, especially). Their vocalist has a slightly distorted shouting style, which reminds me of U.P.'s vocalist on _Mindfailure_. There are some clean vocals, but they are used sparingly. Although I find the vocals one of the weaker parts of the album, they don't make the music unlistenable. The songs are usually quite fast. Occasionally, the parts are very technical and experimental, but at others it's just straightforward thrash. They do some very nice melodic and acoustic interludes, which gives the album a fair amount of diversity. They also sprinkle melodic elements throughout the heavier sections. I particularly like the way the guitars harmonize complex parts, as well as the way they develop sections using harmonies. In general, the songs flow pretty well, although at times they cobble riffs together without a clear purpose. The playing is great on all counts, with the guitarists and bassist handling even the most difficult sections competently. Even the guitar solos are done well; they're appropriate and tasteful. The band is very tight, and the parts are difficult enough to make that quite a statement. The production could be a little better, as it's lacking in power. It's clean, but could be fuller and heavier. While I wouldn't call this album essential, it is a very good album, and is recommended for fans of technical thrash. Evoken - _Embrace the Emptiness_ (Elegy, 1998) by: Alex Cantwell (8.5 out of 10) Evoken play doom of such crushing magnitude that it takes the listener straight into the depths of sorrow, or something like that. I just can't review a doom album without sounding like an A&R guy from a label, I guess. Like all well composed doom metal CDs, _Embrace the Emptiness_ is grandiose, yet subtle; beautiful, but dark; it's also dreadfully heavy and clocks in at over 70 minutes with just seven songs. Evoken also make use of keyboards quite a bit, creating sombre atmospheres and dark soundscapes as the backdrop to these tales of sorrow and tragedy. The sound is huge, and the rhythms sometimes become bombasts; cannons of war. In the thirteen minute long "Ascend Into the Maelstrom", there is even a guitar solo -- a rarity in doom metal for sure. The vocals are primarily growled, but sometimes a monotone clean vocal style is used. The lyrics are poetic in form; each song being a different path toward sorrow and woe, and although written for fantasy, the emotions are real. The cover says a lot about this CD. Lacking a flashy logo, it is simply a black and white photo of a figure draped in black shroud, knelt before a tombstone in an ancient graveyard of burial mounds, uttering last regrets and grieving. Contact: Elegy Records, 248 Lakeview Ave., Suite 319 Clifton, NJ 07011 USA mailto:Elegy666@aol.com Flotsam and Jetsam - _Unnatural Selection_ by: Adrian Bromley (7 out of 10) (Metal Blade, February 1999) Well, it just seems to be going pretty good for Flotsam and Jetsam these days. Over the last few years, the band has managed to put out some quality material, breaking away from the generic sound of metal music and adding their own sound/style into the fold. Their last LP _High_ was a kick-ass record that fueled the intensity of their music with rampant sounds of complicated riffs meshed with a sinister vocal snarl. It was addictive. With _US_ we see F&J continuing on with their trademark sound, but venturing off just a tad bit with the material and not being afraid to add some eccentric ideas into the fold. Y'know? Make the music breathe some creativity every once in a while. The production is clear and, when mixed with a truly intense guitar sound, _US_ sounds top notch. Fans of the band will no doubt be pleased and other metal music fans will probably dig it as well. Forced to Decay - _Perkussive Perlokution_ by: Paul Schwarz (7 out of 10) (System Shock/Pavement, December 1998) This is strange stuff. Though I hear hints of the hardcore-apocalypse style of Bloodlet and elements of Neurosis, especially with the chosen acoustic style, Forced to Decay can, to some extent, be termed "death metal". They owe nothing to the Floridian take on the style, being totally devoid of bass heavy production or relentless kick-drumming, but do hark back to those of a more death/grind persuasion. Vocals alternate between very harsh screaming and quite melodic singing of sorts. When you listen carefully and "explore" _Perkussive Perlokution_, it is pretty interesting. The use of dynamics is commendable, though not unique, and the overall feel the album emanates is one of discomfort, which seems likely to have been one of the aims. Ultimately, my problem is that it doesn't strike the right balance with me. If the band achieved what they were trying to, then I have insufficient interest in their chosen style of music. Forced to Decay seem to have put quite a bit of effort into this with some success, and that is always commendable. Various - _Full Moon Productions Sampler CD_ (Full Moon, 1998) by: Alex Cantwell (8.5 out of 10) I was surprised by the quality of the bands on this sampler. Full Moon Productions is perhaps more known for being a distribution service than a label, and this sampler should provide some exposure for all of the bands that they have signed. Their line-up is varied, but not so much in musical style as in talent. You have your standard black metal in Diaboli, Soulreaper, Mysticum and Algaion. You have your blackened thrash from Hades and Primigenium, but the standouts in this category and for the album as a whole would have to be Swordmaster and Indungeon, whom I liked way more than I thought I might -- both do an incredible job of blending old with new. Everdark and Argentum play Satanic dark metal, with a Yngwie protege playing leads for the latter. Some people appreciate black metal in its rawest form, and I'm not opposed to it; I just hate the bad production that accompanies it. Such is the case with Black Funeral, a one man project of "vampyric" black metal that is simple in form and not flashy in the least bit. Apollyon is the angle of the bottomless pit of hell, but in this case I suppose it's just an extremely fast black metal band. There is something that puzzled me, though, and that is that there are three instrumental tracks from Abruptum, Lord Wind, and Octinomos, which I thought were strange to find on a sampler CD. Are these tracks representative of what their entire albums sound like? Who can know? The Lord Wind track is actually another highlight, with its medieval instrumentation. All in all, this CD provides a good sampling of many quality under-exposed underground bands. Contact: Full Moon Productions, 2039 Roxburgh Ct, Lakeland, FL 33813, USA Groinchurn - _Fink_ (Morbid, October 1998) by: Paul Schwarz (8.5 out of 10) If you, like me, were feeling the first pang of jonesing for more of Brutal Truth's brilliant brand of grindcore when the news that the band had split surfaced, then you, like me, need some Groinchurn in your life. Groinchurn borrow from New York's finest in parts, but the main comparison between the two bands lies in the raw talent, not the exact sounds they produce (although, as the mark indicates, Groinchurn still have a while to go before they match the masters). _Fink_ unleashes some mean beasts from Grindcore Heaven (or Hell?), like the simple "Being Ripped Off", the blasting "The Clock Is Ticking" or the warped playing style of "Generic", which proceed to mangle any unsuspecting listener's mind for 36 odd minutes. A little humour, a lot of rage, and a touch of the eclectic make Groinchurn one of the world's premiere grindcore concerns. Contact: Morbid Records, Postfach 3, 03114 Drebkau, Germany fax: (0) 35602/20636 WWW: http://www.morbidrecords.de mailto:morbidrecords@ranet.de In Solitude - _Eternal_ (Grade / Independent Records, 1998) by: Alex Cantwell (8 out of 10) In Solitude have been around since 1995, but this is their first full-length album. They play very creative, keyboard driven European metal that is mid-tempo throughout the entirety of _Eternal_. The music is very well played, and I say "European" because, as everyone should realize by now, European musicians create melodies and guitar lines that no one else would ever think of. The songs are all very catchy after a few listens, but the standout is "My Daisy", which has a killer, killer riff and is not a song from the Dukes of Hazard. The backing vocals definitely take some getting used to, as they are sung in a trembly, gypsy-sounding style, but they help to set this band apart. My opinion is that the main vocals are holding this band back, but they have the potential to be improved upon. During vocalist Sergio Martins' good moments, hints of Nick Holmes (Paradise Lost) can be heard. Contact: Independent Records, Rua Sa' da Bandeira, 311-10T, 4400 Gaia, Portugal mailto:ind.rec@esoterica.pt In the Woods... - _Strange in Stereo_ (Misanthropy, February 1999) by: Pedro Azevedo (7 out of 10) _Omnio_ [CoC #25] is an outstanding album, but one that requires plenty of listens in order to fully appreciate its quality. As I listened to its successor _Strange in Stereo_, I kept that in mind; however, it turns out that _SiS_ overall just isn't as brilliant as _Omnio_. The songs are generally shorter than before, but apparently quite loosely structured; strange arrangements abound, although fortunately the results are usually good and often contribute to a reasonably pleasant atmosphere (i.e., not a happy one), and some fine atmospheres are occasionally achieved. Although the musical ingredients are somewhat similar to _Omnio_'s, they are mixed in a very different way: there is basically much less metal and more experimentation now, which is hardly a surprise nowadays. Contrarily to what has been happening with several other bands recently, this choice had (and still has, for future albums) a lot of potential with In the Woods..., considering _SiS_'s best moments, but unfortunately the female vocals and classical strings aren't used as frequently as I would have liked. Most of my reasons for saying this can be heard in "Basement Corridors" and especially "Cell", not to mention _Omnio_. The same can be said about the metal elements (is this really the same band who made _HEart of the Ages_?), which also sound rather weak as well. Nevertheless, quality is kept high during the first six tracks, but after the sixth track (of twelve), the album tends to quickly lose the listener's interest, which is the main problem with _SiS_. Although the first half of the album has some excellent sequences, _SiS_ is hardly ever as great as _Omnio_, and it's also a much more irregular album quality-wise. Overall, I expected a lot better from the band, but _SiS_ is still a good album. In fact, a whole album as good as _SiS_'s best moments would have been excellent, and, in my opinion, that's what the band should aim to achieve in the future -- which, considering _Omnio_'s overall quality, is by no means impossible for them. James Murphy - _Feeding the Machine_ (Diehard, January 1999) by: Paul Schwarz (8 out of 10) I would be lying if I said that I had -not- expected James Murphy's newest solo album to be technical work-out. Despite penning a number of great riffs while doing stints (often short) in such bands as Cancer, Obituary, Death, and more recently Konkhra, it has been James' often ridiculously good and, particularly, complex leads which have, in a Spinal Tap-ish kind of way, become his trademark. It is hard to know what I should have expected from _Feeding the Machine_. Despite making quite a name for himself in the death metal scene, James has shown over the years that he is also heavily thrash influenced as a guitarist. It is the thrashy side which shows itself on _FtM_, which to some extent is one of my regrets about the album. Groove-ridden thrash is what one might term the musical extreme of _FtM_ riff-wise. Songs like "Feeding the Machine" and "No One Can Tell You" have the hardest riffs and the hardest vocals on the album, and there is still a considerable amount of melody in these. The majority of the time, though, solid chugging riffs are not what James opts for. Many of the tracks are instrumentals and the riffs on these are rarely basic metal ones (except in cases like "Race With the Devil on Spanish Highway", where a simple riff is used to bring attention to complex percussion). "Oddesy"'s acoustic passages are reminiscent of Rush and on this track and "Epoch" (in fact, on most tracks, a singer is forsaken), riffs are almost not present and are replaced by technical runs. This often works very well, though the runs can boggle the mind. Progressive elements, like "spacey" keyboards and guitar synths, as well as jazzy breakdowns, also show themselves in the instrumentals. The sung songs, which contain the simple repetitive riffs (though they also usually feature exceptional technical backdrops), can be the weakest tracks. The vocals and lyrical content on "Visitors" are both very poor and the song itself is ponderous. "Feeding the Machine" and "No One Can Tell You" get the best mix of the two and feature my favorite vocal performances, from Clark Brown (Geezer) and Chuck Billy (Testament) respectively. Assessed as a whole, I find the album good, and of course technically stunning, but lacking in flow and also confused. The basic riffs are never that stunning and the technical passages are often only good to marvel at and less easy to actually enjoy in the proper sense. James doesn't get close to capturing the mix of death metal, progressive elements, jazz and technicality which Cynic completely mastered, though I wish he had, and I think that if he were to intentionally go more in this direction in the future, he would, judging by _FtM_, be one of the most likely people to succeed as Cynic did. Lasse Marhaug - _Audio Explosions Every 10 Seconds_ by: Gabriel Sanchez (6.5 out of 10) (Extraction, 1998) With a title like that, you'd almost be expecting a (dun dun dun) noise concept album! However, instead the album (mis)treats its listeners to rather simplistic (though at times interesting) tracks of noise which tend not to feature many changes, but luckily don't drone on too long. In some senses, this album is a borderline case of that fine noise/ambient hybrid which so many artists are diving into these days, though at others there is a clear distinction with the harshness and attempts at using some elements of sound varying and textures (including a noise standard pornography sample of some fine young lass doing her best to fake orgasms). At best, the tracks featured on here can be called harsh surrealism, though perhaps that is taking a step a bit too far in a positive direction. For Lasse, this is the same old deal which any previous fan of the project can easily identify with, and perhaps even herald as one of the better recordings of the artist out there. However, on the grander scale of judging noise, this is a better than average work that is screaming for some better work on the audio sequencing and changes so it may take a leap forward into the more prominent circles of the field. Bottom line: good, but nothing to go sucking the artist's dick over. Contact: Extraction Records, PO Box 1213 Quogue, NY 11959, USA mailto:irzine@aol.com Madder Mortem - _Mercury_ (Misanthropy Records, February 1999) by: Pedro Azevedo (9 out of 10) Although Madder Mortem play a form of doomy metal with female vocals, they did not choose the more symphonic path that several bands have been taking lately. Instead, _Mercury_ reminds me more of a generally heavier version of early The 3rd and the Mortal at times. In "He Who Longed for the Stars" and "The Grinding Silence", two excellent tracks, the resemblance is uncanny, although the rest of the album doesn't suffer too much from lack of originality (at least considering most of what comes out these days). Like The 3rd and the Mortal, Madder Mortem don't depend on keyboard melodies as much as other bands in the genre, although _Mercury_ does have plenty of melody, too. It comes mostly from the guitars and good vocals, as the keys take a secondary role and the guitars are the main instruments behind Agnete Kirkevaag's very enjoyable voice. Nevertheless, although they may not use keyboards as frequently as one might expect, they're still very well handled and planned ("These Mortal Sins" being a fine example). Acoustic parts are also occasionally, and successfully, thrown in. The band seems more concerned with creating their own music than with following trends, something that applies not only to the instrumental part but also to Agnete's very interesting work. Although there are exceptions to this description, there is a lot of melancholy and emotion in _Mercury_, which is very important, as well as musical quality to back it up. Except for the weaker "Remnants" and some other occasional sections that appear during the second half of the album, the quality level is usually very high and there are plenty of delightful moments scattered throughout _Mercury_ that contribute for a remarkable overall result. Morningstar - _Hell_ (R.I.P., 1998) by: Alex Cantwell (6 out of 10) These lads from Finland play basic '80s thrash that some would deem as being "classic sounding", while others would say it was generic, outdated, boring, redundant, etc.. I seem to fall in the middle somewhere, because while this CD had me playing air guitar and headbanging through its entirety upon my first listen, I must admit that the music is a bit redundant. I do have to say, though, that I haven't heard a thrash album like this in a long time, and some of the songs hearken memories of Celtic Frost's _Morbid Tales_, especially "Metalstorm". Most of the songs are okay, but then there are some stupid ones as well, such as "Speed Demon", "Heavy Metal Heretics", and "Booze and Hate", which happen to be the first three songs -- things can only get better from there, I suppose. Although played well, the mistitled _Hell_ (there's really nothing about "hell" on the whole CD) is comprised of basic thrash, so unless you've really been jonesin' on Xentrix and Detritus lately, I would say "pass" on this one. Contact: R.I.P. Records, P.O. Box 41182, Chicago, IL 60641 USA MO*TE/TADM - _Split_ (Uncut, 1998) by: Gabriel Sanchez (8 out of 10) This fine split release from Japan's MO*TE and Canada's finest noise artist TADM gives the listener two complete tapes, each one featuring that particular artist's work. MO*TE's tape begins with an interesting wail with a variety of surrealistic audio layerings and channel flipping before breaking into the usual crunchy noise / cosmic sound mix that is the cornerstone of MO*TE's mighty antimusical style. MO*TE even manages to hit Incapacitants level a number of times for "incoherent, unpatterned, harsh noise". Impressive. TADM chooses to kick of his madness very low key before ripping a gigantic hole in the silence. TADM also share the philosophy of placing no restrictions on the chaos one can produce with noise, and, in doing so, creates two mighty tracks which are filled to the brim with stunningly beautiful layers of static, feedback, and at least a half dozen other electronic pissings. With each passing moment, the track seems to scream "Fuck you!" to the plethora of "noise" artists who try to pass off second rate power electronics slop as the latest, darkest, most evil sound around. You want evil? You want destruction? You want to feel like someone just belted you in the testicles with a jackhammer? TADM is your hook-up. This split release is most certainly one intended for the hardcore noise junkie, as anyone less would find this type of release to be uncivilized. Great shit. Contact: Uncut, 56 Takahisa, Yoshikawa-shi Saitama 342, Japan Nomad - _The Tail of Substance_ (Nomadic Hell, January 1998) by: Paul Schwarz (7.5 out of 10) Pulling straight into the pummelling fast lane of bass-heavy death metal riffing out of their serene, orchestrated intro, Nomad ask for around 45 minutes of one's time to show what they can do. A lot of the time Nomad do little, in the sense that they chug along, in the sense that much as they have good riffs, they really give you nothing too out of the ordinary. However, there are quite a few times, and they stick in your head, on _The Tail of Substance_, where the band do something memorable. They pull some great leads out of the tumultuous hat of their sound, and execute good build-ups. Of course, like many Polish bands these days, it seems (Yattering, Vader), the band utilise Andy Bomba's considerable talents at the production helm and thus no subtleties are "lost in the mix". The band also avoid sounding like a Vader or Yattering-a-like via their songwriting or Bomba's production, which scores them additional points. I do feel the band could be less arrogant than attempting to give their style such a unique and defining moniker as "Nomadic Hell Metal" and I hope that there was some element of humour behind this press release statement. A pleasing start and a debut which will be interesting to look back to. Contact: Nomad, PO Box 69, 26-300 Opoczno, Poland One Dark Eye / Macronympha - _Split_ (Spite, 1999) by: Gabriel Sanchez (8 out of 10) Americanoise pioneer Joe Roemer brings two of his projects together for an excellent split which delivers the dark crusty ambience of One Dark Eye with the unrelenting, unyielding pure aural assault of Macronympha. When I first popped this into my tape deck, I had fully anticipated One Dark Eye being along the lines of other "harsh ambient" acts whose sound, while unarguably brutal, tends to get punishingly boring. One Dark Eye, however, features a number of interesting changes through their electronic composition of mental madness. The sounds are surrealistic enough and employ enough minimal repetition to keep it ambient, but the harshness mixed with the occasional unexpected change makes the piece a highly enjoyable antimusic experience. On the flip side of this tape, Roemer's Macronympha once again tear the house down with one gigantic noise thrust that will leave any listener who has the testicular fortitude to withstand the brutality craving for more. This is worthy to check out not only for the amazing noise captured on tape but also for the fact it brings together two sides of Roemer's creative personality which retain their own distinct features but also retain all of the harsh qualities which has brought him so much praise. Contact: Spite, PO Box 51653 Kalamazoo, MI 49005, USA mailto:mononanie@aol.com Overlife - _Between Passion and Madness_ (Goldtrack, 1998) by: Alex Cantwell (4 out of 10) If the music wasn't very good thrash, this would have no redeeming value at all. Overlife can pretty much be described as Queen gone metal with a Spanish accent. That's all I can say. Contact: Goldtrack Records, P.O. Box 37062, 28080 Madrid, Spain mailto:goldttrack@arrakis.es Path of Debris - _In the Eyes of the Basilisk_ by: David Rocher (7.5 out of 10) (System Shock, December 1998) Path of Debris' first effort, despite the band's less-than-convincing name and the album's dramatically feeble cover, reveals a potential in this band that is far greater than in the average trivial newcomer death metal act. Path of Debris' epic heavy/death metal is graced with a clear, powerful sound crafted by producer Andy Classen, and this greatly enhances the power the nine tracks of _ItEotB_ deliver. Even though the song structures are on the whole fairly predictable, and the arrangements definitely do not stand out as the most original I've heard to this day, the musical efficiency of these Germans is pretty impressive, even if all songs do not always stand out as being equally interesting. Path of Debris' huge metallic wall of sound is mildly tempered by interspersed keyboard parts (church organs, epic percussive elements and eerie synthetic veils of sound), which are never overused, and therefore never make _ItEotB_ sound cheesy or effeminate a la Dimmu Borgir. These lads definitely know how to write a raging, bombastic death metal track, and my guess is that their next efforts, if they turn out the way they should, should have these guys standing somewhere near the front of the overcrowded death metal scene -- so don't cheese out, people! Power of Omens - _Eyes of the Oracle_ (Elevate, 1998) by: Brian Meloon (8 out of 10) Power of Omens are from San Antonio, Texas (USA), and play a dark style of progmetal. All of the standard progmetal elements are here: a Geoff Tate-ish vocalist (who is quite good), long songs with long instrumental sections, keyboard solos, the obligatory Dream Theater (_When Dream and Day Unite_ era) and Queensryche references, etc. However, one element that sets Power of Omens apart is the darkness of their music. The tone is more like _Operation: Mindcrime_ or Vauxdvihl than happier bands like Altura and Shadow Gallery. There are some happier moments, but the overall tone is dark. Their style is moderately diverse: the album retains a consistent sound, but still manages to throw in enough different material to avoid getting monotonous. In particular, the almost-20-minute "Test of Wills" offers many interesting stylistic changes and some excellent development. The songs generally flow very well; it's clear that the band put a lot of effort into arranging the songs, and they're far above other bands in their genre in this respect. The music frequently uses keyboards for added atmosphere, but also for the countermelodies and the occasional solo. The drumming is very good, although a little more complex than the music seems to deserve, but his playing is very solid and quite interesting. The guitar work is excellent; it's melodic, precise, agile, and even occasionally flashy. The bass work is quite good as well, showing a higher profile than usual: he takes a few fills here and there and keeps up during the fast parts. While the production could be a little stronger, it's at least clear, and all of the intricacies of the music are audible. Overall, this is an excellent debut, if not terribly original, and I look forward to future releases from this band. Contact: WWW: http://members.xoom.com/PowerOfOmens/ Puya - _Fundamental_ (MCA, January 1999) by: Jody Webb (8 out of 10) Those looking for serious headbanging inspiration or technical wizardry should look elsewhere, but adventurous listeners should read on. Puya is a Puerto Rican foursome displaying an intriguing combination of metal and latin music. _Fundamental_ may throw you for a loop at first, because one does not expect a pounding riff to segue into a tasty salsa beat, but that is the core idea on this album. The band opts to alternate between the two styles most of the time, although some meshing does occur at points. The minor latin percussion and unmistakable signature of brass horns in the latin parts contrast nicely with the chord oriented mid-paced metal grooves, resulting in a thoroughly listenable album that won't burn you out after a couple of songs. The Spanish speaking vocalist attains a catchy vocal prosody, and he certainly turns the tables on us English speakers, making me appreciate what it must be like when kids in other countries listen to their Iron Maiden CDs. Recommended listening includes "Oasis", "Fake" and the title track. Rok - _This Is Satanik_ (Osmose, December 1998) by: Paul Schwarz (2 out of 10) The crazy Australian who fronts death metal band Sadistik Exekution now releases this, his first solo album. With others of considerably more lengthy pseudonyms in tow (The Imposter, Princess Heinkel Hellfukker, Hellaxe Snot Hammer and Piston Thunderblood), he ploughs through nine tracks in only just over 30 minutes. In this short time, there is about 25 minutes of standard songs. This material is mostly reminiscent of (early) Venom, though it is not up to the same standard, and other raw thrash bands. Other than this, the album is filled up by what I would call a lot of unnecessary and very unexciting tracks. "Fukked" is a load of bad organ playing with a guy screaming in mock agony behind it and then shouting, in what I find a rather amusing Australian accent, "Fuck off with your pufta, fuckin' keyboard, fuckin' shit". This would be a trashy album in any case, but when I got to track eight ("Multidimensional Mentality") and found that it was a total rip-off of Celtic Frost's "Danse Macabre", I was ready to smash the disc into pieces -- it irritated me that much. I guess the fact that "Pestilence of Insanity Backwards" is a total Frost rip-off song shouldn't really have surprised me after that. Though the album's beginning seems to have some good, straight ahead thrashy metal tunes, none of it is an original formula, there are a whole shitload of bands who can do it better and I don't imagine, considering the riff rip-offs I -have- managed to spot, that all of these riffs are original anyway. If you have -every- drunk and angry thrash album in existence and you're -still- not satisfied, maybe there is a reason for you to want this. If not, I can't see a reason to fill space with it. Sacramentum - _Thy Black Destiny_ (Century Media, February 1999) by: Paul Schwarz (7.5 out of 10) The Swedish four piece are back with their third offering of Swedish death/black metal. Since 1997's _The Coming of Chaos_, Sacramentum seem to have dropped many of the black metal-isms of their sound and, today, sound considerably less like Dissection and considerably closer to Dismember or Unleashed. The band have also opted for a more frenetic approach on many songs ("Shun the Light", "The Manifestation"), really displaying their technical competency. This is not to suggest that the album is entirely fast -- in fact, _Thy Black Destiny_ has a better overall dynamic than _The Coming of Chaos_ did. The band have also thankfully opted to leave out of the equation any kind of pointless outro, a symptom _The Coming of Chaos_ -really- suffered from. Sacramentum have improved considerably in my eyes, and, although they still aren't a patch on classic old bands (Dissection, Dismember, etc.) or equal to the cream of the newer crop (A Canorous Quintet, Dawn), they occupy the middle ground of the scene with a certain degree of dominance. Salutary - _Violated Holiness_ (The Corner Company, 1998) by: Alex Cantwell (6 out of 10) _Violated Holiness_ is the first release from Holland's Salutary, which is actually their demo on CD, plus four live tracks. In their bio, Salutary falsely compare themselves to many great bands with which they have nothing in common. That is not to say that they are a bad band; they are just smiling upon themselves perhaps a bit too much. _VH_ features primarily thrash, or what the band refers to as "thrashcore", that is played well and successfully drew me in, but it seemed as though I had heard it all before. Detritus' _Perpetual Defiance_ comes to mind frequently during a listen. The vocals are shouted/sung, and for a short time in "Hysterical Manifestation" backed by growls. The live tracks, two of which are also part of the four studio tracks, actually have good production, but the guitars are noticeably out of tune. The professional layout helps the overall package, and I will keep an eye on these guys, as they have reportedly gotten heavier. Contact: The Corner Company, P.O. Box 1039, NL-2410 CA Bodegraven, The Netherlands mailto:Arjan.Nihot@tip.NL Shango - _Metal Mafia_ (Back Room, 1998) by: Alex Cantwell (0 out of 10) This is a joke, right? According to all the literature they sent me, Shango is the best thing since freakin' sliced bread. Not so, says me. If there is one thing I still respect about Metallica, it's that in their tour programs for the "black album" tour, they printed all of their bad reviews, which I thought was not only hilarious, but also proving that they had some humility. Then here comes some band called Shango (heavy name, huh?) sending me all of these reviews about how they will be the next big thing, and that their music is just really great. Nice propaganda, boys. In summary, _Metal Mafia_ is terribly generic, lame "metal", and, in my opinion, is the worst thing I've heard in 1998. Shango is a garage band that should never have had the privilege of recording a CD. Contact: Metal Mafia USA, 1330 54th St., Brooklyn, NY 11219 mailto:MetalMafia@aol.com Sinister - _Aggressive Measures_ (Nuclear Blast, December 1998) by: Paul Schwarz (7 out of 10) Sinister use a formula similar to the one used by Malevolent Creation on 1992's _Retribution_ to construct this latest offering of brutal death metal. The sinister (pardon the pun) intro is followed by a relentless volley of pummelling, percussive riffs, vocal lines and drum thwacks. Sinister are no match for the likes of Malevolent Creation in the consistency department; they pen some good riffs ("Beyond the Superstition" highlights this fact), but they also fall prey to many a boring guitar line (the title track, "Emerged With Hate") and the one-facedness of the vocals does little to help. The rhythm section is more than competent but does little creatively to assist the overall effect, or lack thereof. Sinister have done better than this, as have many greater bands, but there is still a mean streak and a number of good riffs present which place Sinister far above the mass of mediocrity which dwells at the bottom of the death metal scene's collective barrel. Soil - _El Chupacabra!_ (MIA Records, January 1999) by: Adrian Bromley (8 out of 10) I know there has been some talk amongst some of my metal friends and esteemed music critic colleagues that they really didn't dig this music too much, found something wrong with what Soil was doing with this five-song EP or what have you. But I gotta be honest with you kids, this is the shit! Busting out with the incredibly reckless "F-Hole" and continuing on with the ultra-heavy "Broken Wings", Soil have done nothing wrong here. It's all good shit. While the EP tones down the aggression towards its middle half, offering another look at the band's musical ability, the band ends in style with a thrashy rock 'n' groove ditty called "Two Cent Friend". A great offering and a band I'm definitely marking down as one to watch for as 1999 unfolds. Suicide Culture - _Suicide Culture_ (, 1999) by: Adrian Bromley (7 out of 10) The band's demo from last year, a three-song sample of what was to come, was a good mix of Slayer-like riffs, intense vocals and a real solid groove. The full-length LP showcases just where the band was headed with the demo material. From start to finish, the material off Suicide Culture's debut disc kicks you in the teeth, leaving you bloody and scarred as they tread all over you and even kick you when you are down. Brutish momentum helps make this metal charge electric over and over again. Good marks also go out to the band's solid song writing. Choice cuts: "Mothercursedearth" (off their demo) and "Puncture". A worthy thrash metal band to give into. Contact: P.O. Box 807566 Seattle, WA USA 98107 Tefilla - _Grievous Anguish_ (Fear Dark, 1998) by: Alex Cantwell (8 out of 10) Tefilla are quickly becoming known in their homeland of The Netherlands and beyond as a rising force in metal. I was very shocked upon my first listen of _Grievous Anguish_ as to how high quality it was in musical as well as production value. I always get excited about hearing new bands, and this is a band that I will remain excited about for some time to come. Tefilla's guitar sound is remarkably close to fellow countrymen Decision D's, a feat which I thought impossible, since it is such an original sound. Another comparison must be made to Decision D, and that is the abundant use of bizarro-world chords that make for some interesting songs for sure, especially when the moodier parts roll in. It is good when a band can lay technical music, but make it accessible and memorable to the listener, which this release accomplishes; no problem. This band should have a good future ahead of them, as they play emotionally fueled, technically proficient metal that will appeal to the hard metal fan, as well as the hardcore fan. Contact: Fear Dark, Chopinlaan 30, 2742 BJ Waddinxveen, The Netherlands mailto:feardark@hotmail.com Temple - _Bloodletting_ (, 1999) by: Adrian Bromley (8 out of 10) Another one man outfit (see The Protagonist review) and I am wondering, as Ned Flanders on The Simpsons might say, "What's the dealio?" I am all for one man outfits, there just seems to be a large abundance of them out there nowadays. Do bands even exist anymore? I guess with computer / studio equipment becoming more affordable, almost anyone can do this. But few can pull it off, right? Case in point, the latest offering _Bloodletting_ from Austin, Texas-based Temple. Produced, recorded and written entirely by metal head Dan Temple, his solo outfit is basking in strong songwriting and some very intricate arrangements. Throw in a killer, off centered death metal rasp vocal style and you've got the goods on Temple. The key to the success of this solo project is Temple's knack for keeping things tight and in-yer-face, something quite easy with Temple's jaw dropping thrash/speed metal flare, touched up tightly by death metal-esque arrangements. It's not about wanking off and showing what he can do, but about having the balls to keep people going from the get go. I'm all for artists like Temple that need to express themselves with their music but don't come off all pretentious. All guts 'n' glory here. Check out "Before You Die", "Murder in the Black Hall" and "The Followers". Dan Temple should be proud of his work. The Protagonist - _A Rebours_ (Cold Meat Industry, January 1999) by: Adrian Bromley (8 out of 10) With a definite knack for themes based on tragedy and the passions of sombreness comes the eloquent ways of The Protagonist, a one man outfit that shines ultra-bright in the creative department. Well-orchestrated arrangements, mixed with enchanting violin work and rumbles of drumming, echo throughout this release, drawing the listener further in as each arrangement is played. This is powerful music to explore, though music that only the die-hard ambient/orchestral music fans would pick up on. I can't see the classic death metal fan really getting into this, though many metal heads out there do have a wide spectrum of metal music. Some do -- not all. Anyway, The Protagonist glides with eloquence through its eight tracks, never really slowing down. Reading like an epic motion picture soundtrack, _A Rebours_ is packed to the hilt with brilliance, just waiting for the many who give it a spin to fall head first into the emotions displayed here. The Rita - _Crusty Etruscans_ (Spite, 1998) by: Gabriel Sanchez (7 out of 10) Canadian crunchy noise master Sam McKinlay's The Rita initially impressed me with their track on the Mother Savage compilation _Underground Canada_ and this release proves to be no exception. The Rita outpours one massive assault of some of the crunchiest, low-end noise you are likely to ever hear. The sound chooses not to alter itself or even fluctuate, but remains a steady stream of sub-woofer rumbling harshness from start to finish. While no one can certainly call The Rita the most dynamic noise artist out there, one has to respect their desire to stay unyieldingly harsh. Despite the lack of broad accessibility, The Rita are certainly worth checking for those fans of other similar low-end noise artists such as Macronympha or fellow Canadian artists TADM and Knurl. Contact: Spite, PO Box 51653, Kalamazoo, MI 49005, USA mailto:mononanie@aol.com Thorazine - _C17H19CO2S1N_ (, 1998) by: Miika Kuusinen (7 out of 10) These six tracks on this advance tape are taken from the fourteen song debut of Thorazine, a young band whose name will get bigger for sure. One could easily imagine that everything has been done in the death metal genre, but bands like Thorazine are expanding it and taking it to whole new dimensions. The album topic deals with the end of the world and the music fits the feeling more than well. It is cold and rather technical, yet not in the Fear Factory vein, where industrial and dance elements are mixed with the aggression. Thorazine are technical, they use two vocal styles and the songs are mainly mid-tempo with hypnotic drum patterns. They almost remind me of VoiVod gone death metal around _Killing Technology_ or _Dimension Hatross_. Thorazine takes a lot from the listener as it isn't easy listening, due to complex song structures, weird rhythm and tempo changes and songs that end abruptly. Bands like Thorazine and Nile are needed to stir up the bowels and gore of the otherwise quite stagnant death metal scene. Contact: WWW: http://bbs.tdp.net/thorazine/ mailto:matilda@tdp.net (Don) mailto:drifter@tdp.net (Shane) Trail of Tears - _Disclosure in Red_ (DSFA Records, December 1998) by: Pedro Azevedo (8 out of 10) Despite Theatre of Tragedy's apparent departure from metal with their mediocre _Aegis_, the number of new bands using death and female vocals as well as keyboards in metal has been remarkable lately. Trail of Tears are another Norwegian band who have chosen those basic ingredients for their music and, similarly to what happens with most other new bands in the genre, tried to add just a little something of their own -- in this case, mainly Helena Iren Michaelsen's vocals, which are more varied than usual (in "The Day We Drowned", for example), including some impressive operatic vox, which I feel should have been used more often throughout the album. Trail of Tears also use some -relatively- heavy and busy guitars and faster parts, and, similar to their labelmates Within Temptation, their music can get quite "bombastic" at times. Although the second half of the album is overall inferior to the excellent first half (enough to make them lose one mark), Trail of Tears' debut album still flows well enough. _Disclosure in Red_ offers plenty of musical quality and well achieved arrangements, even some traces of originality here and there, and it can be very enjoyable. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= __ __ _ /\ \ \_____ __ /\ \ \___ (_)___ ___ / \/ / _ \ \ /\ / / / \/ / _ \| / __|/ _ \ / /\ / __/\ V V / / /\ / (_) | \__ \ __/ \_\ \/ \___| \_/\_/ \_\ \/ \___/|_|___/\___| If you have a band, don't forget to send us your demo with a bio if you want to be reviewed; our address is included in the zine's header. Scoring: ***** -- A flawless demo **** -- Great piece of work *** -- Good effort ** -- A major overhaul is in order * -- A career change is advisable Apocalyptic - _Apocalyptic_ (5-track demo) by: Paul Schwarz (**---) This demo contains death metal which is set very solidly in the American template of the style. Cannibal Corpse, Deicide, these are the bands which have most influenced Apocalyptic, or at least the bands whose influence they have shown in their own recorded material the most. The riffs are generally derivative, although a somewhat rolling drum style allows for the occasional break or fill to be of some interest. The production isolates drums, vocals and guitars from each other, leading to a disjointed feel. One bonus is the occasional solo: some of these are not just standard widdling-by-numbers but actually have had some thought put into them. The vocals, unfortunately, only enhance the disjointed, uninteresting feel by being almost completely the same throughout the entire demo. There is hope for Apocalyptic, but they have a long way to go and a lot of catching up to do. Contact: Penas, c/o Errebalbur No. 6 3o c, Ermua (Bizkaia), C.P. 48260, Spain Bill the Death Metal Cowboy - _Rustling Up Some Metal_ by: Adrian Bromley (*****) (Scratch Bladder Productions) It's always a pleasure to hear new material from Bill Sannwald. It's been a while since any of the material he has sent me has been reviewed in Chronicles of Chaos. Well people, it's time to give praise to his detailed and hard work once again. While I got two demo tapes in the mail (his black metal outfit Meth will be reviewed in the next issue), I opted to review _RUSM_ only 'cause of its very eerie sense of musical madness. And for the fact that it is his -BEST- work to date. While _RUSM_ is pretty much in the same vein as a lot of Sannwald's projects (meaning the absurd oddness like his Amish Mafia project), _RUSM_ is truly a gripping and totally weird outing. I love it! There is the powerful aggression of the guitar tones, run amuck by some serious DJ scratching, sinister vocals and a total off-the-wall amount of sound clips. Fuck! I even hear rapping. It's mayhem and Sannwald (the crafty lil' fuck that he is) wouldn't want it any other way. You truly have to give this a spin to see how Sannwald's wheels of creativity continue to move forward in blistering fashion. Sannwald, take a bow. Is there anyone out there that is so dedicated to making music? I think not. Cheers! Contact: 3538 Paseo Salamoner, La Mesa, CA 91941, USA mailto:Keirka@hotmail.com Crucifer - _III_ (4-track demo) by: Miika Kuusinen (**---) Judging the band by their name, I was expecting to get vicious '80s dirty thrash, but boy was I wrong. Apparently this is Crucifer's third demo, so we aren't exactly talking about a new band here. After listening to a couple of songs, the band's style has been defined as something like a mixture between hard and street rock with some influences from '80s thrash. The melodies and song structures are hard rock-like, yet the guitar work owes quite a lot to '80s speed/thrash. Riffs aren't catchy, yet they manage to sound quite mean and dirty. The whole concept is rather interesting and original, but unfortunately the result seriously lacks attitude and power, which are essential for music like this. The production is clear and clean, but perhaps partly because of this the "kick ass" feeling and atmosphere is never there. Clean and a bit amateurish vocals do fit the music, but like the rest of the music, they do not manage to boost up the aggression and energy level. Overall, the music leaves you desiring something more and tastes as refreshing as tepid water. Contact: Crucifer c/o Anders Custafson, Glasmastarv. 7 S-12553 Alvsjo, Stockholm, Sweden mailto:crucifer3@hotmail.com Sirius - _... The Eclipse_ (4-track demo) by: Nuno Almeida (*****) Let me start this review by saying that this release blew me away! It's very hard to find a new band achieving this kind of quality in such a short amount of time. _... The Eclipse_ is Sirius' second release, after an instrumental promo version of "Fiery Strife at the Cosmic Gates of Armageddon", released a few months ago. Although clearly influenced by the likes of early Emperor, Setherial's _Nord..._ and Limbonic Art, Sirius don't follow the copycat approach that is so common nowadays. Instead, they picked the best parts of Emperor's and Setherial's frozen landscapes, Limbonic Art's majestic symphonies, injected them with their own style and created the best demo I've listened to in years! The music is very fast and very tight most of the time, with agonizing high-pitched screams from Lord Gornoth, interluded with slower acoustic guitar and clean/whispered vocals. Keyboards play a major role in Sirius' music, as beautiful orchestrations and melodies flow throughout the entire demo. After "Fiery Strife..." and "Out of the Serpent Line" comes a beautiful instrumental synth piece, "The Quest for Dreamfore Essence", and "Unveiled the Path of Algol, the Riddles Beyond the Stars", the demo's best track, in my opinion. The production is the only flaw, but it's quite acceptable for a demo. Having been released by Andromeda Creations, who already carry Angrenost under their wing, is almost enough proof of Sirius' quality. Killer release! Contact: Carl Draconiis, Quinta das Flores, Lt 12, 6C, 2670 Sto. Antonio Cavaleiros, Portugal mailto:Draconiis@geocities.com Contact: Andromeda Creations, PO Box 366, 2775 Carcavelos, Portugal Phone/fax: 351 1 4562292 maito:kosmosis@mail.telepac.pt =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= ____ __ __ /\ _`\ /\ \ /\ \__ __ \ \ \/\_\\ \ \___ __ ___\ \ ,_\/\_\ ___ \ \ \/_/_\ \ _ `\ /'__`\ / __`\ \ \/\/\ \ /'___\ \ \ \L\ \\ \ \ \ \/\ \L\.\_/\ \L\ \ \ \_\ \ \/\ \__/ \ \____/ \ \_\ \_\ \__/.\_\ \____/\ \__\\ \_\ \____\ \/___/ \/_/\/_/\/__/\/_/\/___/ \/__/ \/_/\/____/ ____ __ /\ _`\ /\ \__ \ \ \/\_\ ___ ___ ___ __ _ __\ \ ,_\ ____ \ \ \/_/_ / __`\ /' _ `\ /'___\ /'__`\/\`'__\ \ \/ /',__\ \ \ \L\ \/\ \L\ \/\ \/\ \/\ \__//\ __/\ \ \/ \ \ \_/\__, `\ \ \____/\ \____/\ \_\ \_\ \____\ \____\\ \_\ \ \__\/\____/ \/___/ \/___/ \/_/\/_/\/____/\/____/ \/_/ \/__/\/___/ L I K E F A T H E R S , L I K E S O N S ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Black Sabbath, Pantera, Megadeth, Slayer, Soulfly At Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix, Arizona on December 31, 1998 by: Jody Webb I am outside, in line and buying my ticket, when the tribal chant starts, tipping off everyone outside that Soulfly is taking the stage. Phoenix is Soulfly's base of operations, you might say, and, as such, I could read the anxiety on some of the prisoners' faces, myself included. Actually, I was barely containing some cursing, because I was stuck behind this threesome of 40 year old Ozzy fans who were dicking around and making me miss Soulfly! The deciblage increased and, wasting no time with courtesy, I grabbed my ticket and rushed for the gates. I got inside and was knocking down slowpokes and pumping my fist while running down through the stands onto the grass to the stage. I jump in a big swirly pit but I've never seen so many Soulfly fans. The sound was bad, the guitars were noise, but I didn't care much because the atmosphere was balls out. Jump kick! About midway through their set, the tribe breaks out the drums and busts into a percussion jam with some guy who looked suspiciously like Chino Moreno of Deftones. Then Marcello Rap breaks his bass, but like I said the sound was so bad I don't think anybody but the bass tech noticed. The quote of the set was Max Cavalera's patented "Fuck hootie and the blowfish!" For interested parties, here is the set: "Eye for an Eye", "No Hope = No Fear", "Bleed", "Spit" (Sepultura), "Tribe", "Bumba", "Attitude" (Sepultura), a medley ("Headup" (Deftones), "Territory" (Sepultura), "Cockroaches" (Nailbomb)) and "No". During the interlude I had a chance to survey the scene. Crowds didn't just fill the ballpark. They packed it. A seasoned friend of mine on the event staff estimated the crowd at forty thousand! Accompanying the big crowd were big names in metal. Reported to be in attendance were Rob Halford and Rob Zombie, as well as members of Tool, Anthrax, Coal Chamber and others. The stage was on the field, about 1/3 of the way out from the center field wall, and facing home plate. Security had set up the moat-style barrier that is common in big shows. I heard there was supposed to be a marching band competition at the stadium the next day. Hah! Good luck with the grass. The stadium dome was closed, which made the already bad acoustics downright cavernous. The PA loudspeakers were not beefy enough. They were the right size for an arena, but not a stadium. Between the stage and the sound pavilion things were loud enough, but way back at the seats just on the edge of field, the show was kinda quiet. Well, if you consider 100 decibels quiet. In other words, no need for plugs if you have to have it LOUD, like me. Chants of "Slayer, Slayer" echoed through the joint and finally Tom Araya and company commanded the stage. At first, I was just loitering far back from the action, waiting for the right song to inspire. The sound is atrocious, worse than Soulfly, but the frenzied fans indigenous to these habitats don't seem to care. Envision a violent European soccer riot. A friend observing the melee from one of the sections above noted: "I counted twelve distinct pits all at the same time!" By the third song, the engineers had improved the mix from atrocious to not so fuckin' good, and somebody starts a fire at the center of my pit, burning off discarded cups, t-shirts and hats. Flames dance six feet into the air and atmosphere is pure exhilaration. Setlist: "Bitter Peace", "Death's Head", "War Ensemble", "Die by the Sword", "Stain of Mind", "South of Heaven", some song I didn't know, "Dead Skin Mask", "Mandatory Suicide", another song I didn't know and "Angel of Death". Now the Megadeth fans started in with their rally calls and pressing forward to the barrier. For the first time in the evening, the house lights drop. A loud cheer resounds. The PA blares a brief symphony piece which the band has adopted. Dave Mustaine hammers out the first notes of "Holy Wars" and it's on. Even though I don't like Megadeth very much, I think the first two minutes of "Holy Wars" is the baddest moment in metal. I get a neck workout of Schwarzenneger proportions. Megadeth has a tendency to be shrill and scream at the ears, and tonight was no exception for the first couple of cuts. Finally the guys behind the boards got things right. Guitars were crunching, drums were punching, and metal was in full force. These boys just don't draw the ferocity out of people like Slayer, though, and the crowd reflected the more civilized behaviour that I'm sure the stadium staff preferred. You know, the ones that don't light fires and shit. My chief complaint here was the band's tendency to engage in long masturbatory sessions with their instruments. Thanks to the fans who helped me identify the songs as they were played. Nobody knew what one of the songs was, but Mustaine at least gave us a clue: "This ain't no Shania Twain!" Setlist: "Holy Wars", "My Darkest Hour", "Reckoning Day", the song nobody seemed to know, "Hangar 18", "Secret Place", "Angry Again", "Sea Wolf", "A Tout le Monde", "Almost Honest", "Trust", "Sweating Bullets" and "Peace Sells". Now some serious stuff was afoot. Roadies hoisted a large Pantera banner boasting "Hell Patrol". A country song was played over the PA, no doubt a taunt ordered by Phil Anselmo himself. At last the terror from Texas took the stage and blitzkrieged the place with the pulverizing "Domination", an excellent choice for opener. Though I'm not much of a Pantera fan, the spirit of metal possessed me. I slammed full steam into the nearest 250 pound mosher and blasted 'em backwards. Then somebody steps on the heel of my shoe, I raise my leg, and my goddamn Nike vanishes into thin air! After a brief search in a state of confusion, I give up. Argh! Fucking livid, I skulk into the stands and plop into a bleacher seat. I wanted to just go home. I mean, some people may be saying "So what, you lost a shoe, why would that stop you from having fun?" Bah. They need to walk a mile in my shoes, haha. Losing my shoe at this show was like being at the biggest drinking convention of the decade and then losing your mouth or something. You can't mosh. You get scared about stepping on sharp objects. You can't take a leak unless you like the sweaty urinal stew on the ground in the john. But allow me to show my professionalism by changing the topic from my woes back to the show in progress. Logan Madder from Soulfly did a cameo vocal on "Walk", then Scott Ian from Anthrax and Kerry King from Slayer appeared to help bang out "Fucking Hostile" and "This Love". Anselmo revealed plans to release an album in '99 and offered up an excellent line at the end of the set: "It's new year's, everybody eat pussy until your jaw breaks." Set: "Domination", "New Level", "Walk", "Becoming", "Use My Third Arm", "War Nerve", "Fucking Hostile", "This Love", "Cowboys From Hell" and "Mouth for War". In the interlude, several strangers remarked: "Dude, I think I saw your shoe. It got chucked." Thanks for the pointers, you fucksauce gobblers! While I contemplated my next move, I realized an event of major gravity was about to occur. I pressed myself into the crowd, heading for the barrier, recruiting an army of teens and twentysomethings, while the old timers in the crowd protested vehemently. Above the stage, a video screen sprang to life with photos and film of Sabbath in the '70s, while sound bits from the first eight studio albums played over the PA. Then "Supertzar" was played from CD over the PA, light effects began to weave magic into the air, and poof, BLACK SABBATH. The eerie beginning of "After Forever" cranked out at full amplification, the most brutally crushing push pit ever commenced, and I was in the thick of things with my silly one-shoed self. After being trapped in an unimaginably dense sea of people for the opener, I crowd-surfed to a safe distance to witness the madness. The sound was right on and the effect amazing. Unearthly heaviness had been achieved. Johnny Osbourne was up there conducting the crowd with his customary "Let me see your hands! You are number one!" Thankfully I wasn't looking when he mooned the audience! Butler and Iommi botched a few parts and it was pretty funny to watch Osbourne trying to get Iommi to laugh whenever he messed up. Bill Ward pounded out a rockin' rhythm or three and seemed to actually have learned some new tricks, sporting a double kick attack on a song or two, not to mention the catchy solo he knocked out. I tell you, that guy has as much to do with the Sabbath groove as anyone. Just look at all the rappers over the years that have stolen his many tremendous beats. The boys kind of missed the point of the show and played right on through the stroke of midnight, not skipping a beat. As they were closing with "Paranoid", I noticed a draft but could not find the source until I looked up and saw the stadium dome parting. Then a fireworks display went off right inside the building, creating so much smoke I couldn't see more than fifteen feet. Sabbath left the stage, the house lights stayed off, the song "Changes" was played over the PA, and I experienced 36 hours of mild tinnitus. Setlist: "After Forever", "Into the Void", "Snowblind", "War Pigs", bass solo, "NIB", "Faires Wear Boots", "Killing Yourself to Live", "Electric Funeral", "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath", "Lord of This World", "Black Sabbath", a medley ("Sweatleef", "Symptom of the Universe", "Supernaut"), drum solo, "Iron Man", "Children of the Grave" and "Paranoid". =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= W H A T W E H A V E C R A N K E D ! ! ! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Gino's Top 5 1. Black Sabbath - _The Ozzy Osbourne Years_ 3-disc compilation 2. Bethlehem - _Sardomischer Untergang un Zeichen irreligioser Darbietung_ 3. Absu - _In The Eyes of Ioldanach_ 4. Pitchshifter - _Desensitized_ 5. Sheavy - _The Electric Sleep_ Adrian's Top 5 1. Queens of the Stone Age - _Queens of the Stone Age_ 2. Tchort - _The Heavens Are Showing the Glory of Tchort_ 3. Zeke - _Zeke_ 4. Faith No More - _King for a Day, Fool for a Lifetime_ 5. The Gathering - _How to Measure a Planet?_ Brian's Top 5 1. Gorguts - _Obscura_ 2. Power of Omens - _Eyes of the Oracle_ 3. Droys - _And if..._ 4. Nomicon - _Yellow_ 5. Oxiplegatz - _Fairytales_ Alain's Top 5 1. Zimmer's Hole - _Bound by Fire_ 2. Oppressor - _Elements of Corrosion_ 3. Devin Townsend - _Infinity_ 4. Ocean Machine - _Biomech_ 5. Jerry Cantrell - _Boggy Depot_ Adam's Top 5 1. My Dying Bride - _34.788%... Complete_ 2. Bathory - _Jubileum Volume III_ 3. Katatonia - _Discouraged Ones_ 4. Defecation - _Purity Dilution_ 5. War - _Total War_ Pedro's Top 5 1. Anathema - _The Silent Enigma_ 2. The Elysian Fields - _We... the Enlightened_ 3. Enslaved - _Blodhemn_ 4. In the Woods... - _HEart of the Ages_ 5. Carcass - _Heartwork_ [In Ruins' _Four Seasons of Grey_ incorrectly appeared in 9th place in my top 10 of 1998 (CoC #36). In Battle's _The Rage of the Northmen_ should have been there instead. Due to a mistake of my own, Sculpture's _Like a Dead Flower_ was left out (I thought it was a 1997 release). It should have been ranked at number 6. -- Pedro] Paul's Top 5 1. Cynic - _Focus_ 2. Exit-13 - _Smoking Songs_ 3. A Canorous Quintet - _The Only Pure Hate_ 4. Manowar - _Hail to England_ 5. Spinal Tap - _Spinal Tap Soundtrack_ Aaron's Top 5 1. A Canorous Quintet - _The Only Pure Hate_ 2. Ancient Wisdom - _The Calling_ 3. Epoch of Unlight - _What Will Be Has Been_ 4. Ablaze My Sorrow - _The Plague_ 5. Ripping Corpse - _Dreaming With the Dead_ David's Top 5 1. Amon Amarth - _Once Sent From the Golden Hall_ 2. Rhapsody - _Symphony of Enchanted Lands_ 3. Nokturnal Mortum - _Goat Horns_ 4. Grip Inc. - _Solidify_ 5. Running Wild - _Masquerade_ Gabriel's Top 5 1. Bob Marinelli / Facialmess - _Split_ 2. Various - _WWF - The Music Vol. 3_ 3. One Dark Eye / Macronympha - _Split_ 4. New Order - _The Rest of New Order_ 5. Humectant Interruption - _Internal Feedback_ Alex's Top 5 1. Extol -_Burial_ 2. Deuteronomium - _Street Corner Queen_ 3. Galactic Cowboys -_At the End of the Day_ 4. Katatonia -_Discouraged Ones_ 5. Tefilla -_Grievous Anguish_ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= _____ __ __ __ | \.-----.| |_.---.-.|__| |.-----. | -- | -__|| _| _ || | ||__ --| |_____/|_____||____|___._||__|__||_____| 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 e-mail: ei94048@riff.fe.up.pt -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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 #37 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.