___ _ _ ____ _____ _ _ ____ ___ __ ____ ___ / __)( )_( )( _ \( _ )( \( )(_ _)/ __)( ) ( ___)/ __) ( (__ ) _ ( ) / )(_)( ) ( _)(_( (__ )(__ )__) \__ \ \___)(_) (_)(_)\_)(_____)(_)\_)(____)\___)(____)(____)(___/ _____ ____ ( _ )( ___) )(_)( )__) (_____)(__) ___ _ _ __ _____ ___ / __)( )_( ) /__\ ( _ )/ __) ( (__ ) _ ( /(__)\ )(_)( \__ \ \___)(_) (_)(__)(__)(_____)(___/ Fourth Anniversary Mega-Issue ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CHRONICLES OF CHAOS e-Zine, August 12, 1999, Issue #42 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 Contributor: Matthias Noll NOTE: For more Chronicles of Chaos information, check out the 'Details' section at the end of this issue. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Issue #42 Contents, 8/12/99 --------------------------- * Editorial * Loud Letters * Deadly Dialogues -- Suicidal Tendencies: Of Skateboards, Suicide and Pepsi -- Tiamat: Within the Sun's Own Shadow -- Borknagar: Bullshitting With Borknagar -- Jesus Martyr: Sex, Drugs and... Porno? -- Children of Bodom: The Chil'un Must Rise -- God Dethroned: Eden Must Burn * Album Asylum -- Various - _A Tribute to Hell: Satanic Rites_ -- Akercocke - _Rape of the Bastard Nazarene_ -- The Atomic Bitchwax - _The Atomic Bitchwax_ -- Black Funeral - _Moon of Characith_ -- Cirith Gorgor - _Onward to the Spectral Defile_ -- Darkane - _Rusted Angel_ -- Deviate - _State of Grace_ -- Dismal Euphony - _All Little Devils_ -- Dominance - _Anthems of Ancient Splendour_ -- earthtone9 - _Off Kilter Enhancement_ -- Ebony Tears - _A Handful of Nothing_ -- Various - _ECW Extreme Music_ -- Empyrium - _Where at Night the Wood Grouse Plays_ -- Entombed - _Monkey Puss (Live in London)_ -- Extol - _Mesmerized_ -- Fantomas - _Fantomas_ -- Fornever - _We Whom Are..._ -- Goddess of Desire - _Symbol of Triumph_ -- Godgory - _Resurrection_ -- Katatonia - _Tonight's Decision_ -- Lacrimosa - _Elodia_ -- Various - _Lobot Manual_ -- Lunar Aurora - _Of Stargates and Bloodstained Celestial Spheres_ -- Machine Head - _The Burning Red_ -- Marduk - _Panzer Division Marduk_ -- Merciless - _The Awakening_ -- Mlehst - _The Difficulty of Crossing a Field_ -- Mortician - _Chainsaw Dismemberment_ -- MO*TE - _Stash_ -- Nagelfar - _Srontgorrth_ -- Various - _Needlepoint_ -- Novembers Doom - _Of Sculptured Ivy and Stone Flowers_ -- Obscenity - _Demo-Niac_ -- On Thorns I Lay - _Crystal Tears_ -- Satyricon - _Intermezzo II_ -- Sephiroth - _Cathedron_ -- Skepticism - _aes_ -- Soilwork - _Chainheart Machine_ -- Suicidal Tendencies - _Freedumb_ -- Summoning - _Stronghold_ -- Tormentula - _Submit Your Unworthy Soul_ -- Undertakers - _Live in Brutality_ -- Unholy - _Gracefallen_ -- Unusual Sickness - _Sounds of a Shattered Soul_ -- Valse Triste - _Turha Ruokkia Ruumiita_ -- Viking Crown - _Unorthodox Steps of Ritual_ -- War - _We Are War_ -- Various - _White: Nightmares in the End_ * New Noise -- Exhumator - _Condescentions From the Dark Side_ -- Forcefed - _Special Places_ -- In Grey - _Seasons Change_ * Chaotic Concerts -- Milwaukee Metalfest XIII -- Milwaukee, Here I Come Again, by: Adam Wasylyk -- Paul Peruses Wisconsin's Finest, by: Paul Schwarz -- Assorted Assertions, by: Adrian Bromley & Alain Gaudrault -- Canada: No Church-Burners Allowed! Emperor in Canada -- U.S. of A.: Church-Burners Are People Too: Emperor in the USA -- Facing the Breton Storm Season: Nile, Cryptopsy and Co. in France -- Pigs Feet and All Things Yummy: Nile, Cryptopsy and Co. in Germany -- Take Your Stein, and Ramm It! Rammstein and Soulfly in Canada -- Let Your Soul Fly Away: Rammstein and Soulfly in the USA -- White Trash Convention: Ozzfest '99 -- Bruce Is Back: Iron Maiden in Toronto -- Averse Conditions Inhibit the Endless Usurp of Filth -- Did You Ever Know That You're My Hero? His Hero Is Gone in Toronto * Writer's Wrath -- MTV: Music Television or Money Television? * What We Have Cranked * Details =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= _____) / /) , , /) )__ _(/ _/_ _____ _ // / (_(__(_(__(_)/ (__(_(_(_(/_ (_____) by: Gino Filicetti Look who's back... your long silent editor has returned to say a word or two about life, love and the pursuit of happiness. Well, maybe not today, since all of our thoughts, all of our hopes and dreams, and yes, all of our heart and soul should be pondering the fact that Chronicles of Chaos, the most magnificent e-zine ever to walk the face of the Internet, is celebrating its fourth birthday. Alright, time to turn off the cheese-O-matic and deflate my over-inflated ego and be serious once again. Today marks four years of Chronicles of Chaos. Four years of hard work and lots of unrewarded toil, for a gang of misantropes who chose to associate themselves with this publication. They are the ones who see to it, that the best possible writing is output each month in a consistent fashion. But is not writing for CoC a reward in and of itself? Personally, I must say yes, even though I haven't written an article in over two years, being a part of CoC isn't something I would soon trade in. Perhaps the best part of CoC is working with a fine group of people who are a blast not only to chat to via email, but to drink heavily with as well. This is to all the people who've contributed to Chronicles of Chaos over the past four years, without you, I'd be no where in a hurry. And what of you, loyal reader. Out of our original lot of 80 subscribers, I'm more than curious to know how many are still with us. And even if you weren't here since the beginning, oh so long ago, I want to thank each and every 1700 of you for sticking with us, and showing the rest of the internet that quality is what survives and flourishes, not flashy web sites with a shite-load of graphics. I think I've gushed enough for another year entirely, but I just wanted to set down on electrons that which I've known since the beginning: that without the many great people who've read and contributed to CoC in the past, I would be nowhere right about now. Cheers to everyone, the next fours years should be a blast. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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: Thu, 08 Jul 1999 From: "S.R. Prozak" Subject: Re: Chronicles of Chaos #41 (1/3) howdy, i'm writing in response to gutterboy's comments requesting more reviews for "christian metal". let me ask: why? and then present my points. 1) earth, a bluesy band, changed to be black sabbath to reflect the band's belief in the occult; its nihilistic power chord riffs were to many an indicator of total breakdown of social order. 2) metal bands from the heavy metal to current day have been fascinated by any combination of the following: ancient mythology, battle, technology, magic, drugs, hate, war, death. 3) some bands, such as black sabbath, led zeppelin, morbid angel, slayer, venom, hellhammer and all of black metal, are either explicitly satanic or use satanic metaphor to express a _post-christian_ existence. 4) death metal is composed of elements of both heavy metal and hardcore, one of which is romanticist and the other of which is ideological/political, each as its own "subculture," or dissident group within social expansion. 5) our world is in deep doo-doo. briefly: we're destroying most of our natural forest land, destroying temperature and atmospheric purity regulators at the same time we commit erosion and runoff to slaughter our streams. the level of industrial pollutants in the world is at an all-time high, as our industry with no regard for human life pays workers minimal amounts to create worthless plastic products and dump the toxic waste generated somewhere obscure. we die of cancers as our corporate owners laugh. metal was founded in 1969, at the height of the cold war, to get beyond conventional thinking. a different way was needed - different from the normal moralistic, prudish, commercially-driven value system that became the hallmark of the western nations to combat "godless communism." at a time when everything was falling apart, we were doing everything "right" according to conventional Judeo-Christian dogma - which failed - hence we have metal. as usual, however, the Christians are waging a propaganda war against us with "metal" bands that emulate non-religious bands, churn out a similar product, and then claim it's art. it's not. it's pure propaganda. no self-respecting metal magazine should honor in any way "Christian metal," as that is adding insult to injury by not only tolerating their brainwashing, but encouraging others to do it! i've debated gutterboy on these points before, and he has conceded every time by withdrawing from logical debate. more attention paid to this issue in the metal community would point out how ludicrous, paradoxical and dishonest "christian metal" is and why serious metalheads avoid its disease. respectfully, s.r. prozak Immortal Death Metal http://www.anus.com/metal/ - reviews http://www.kcuf.org/ - metal radio http://www.evilmusic.com/ - mail order JOIN US... WE ARE THE FUTURE Date: Sun, 11 Jul 1999 From: Todd Crawford To: Pedro Azevedo Subject: help, music is dying I get COC 'zine emailed to me. I notice that you do the doom reviews. My favorite bands/albums are MyDyingBride, Anathema's "Serenades," Disembowelment, Acid Bath, Katatonia, Septic Flesh, The Cure's "Disintegration," and other individual songs, Lycia, Ordeal, and Hades. The rest of the music world has failed to compare to these bands according to my taste. There are a few others that are worthwhile, but I am desperately seeking something new. I've heard some of the bands from Austria already. I'd like to find some more music like Lycia and Ordeal; something that sounds like a soundtrack to "Bladerunner," or a Shadowrun film (that has not been made of course). I am looking into Current 93 and Endura now, but I know that I do not generally enjoy any of the Cold Meat Industries projects. I don't know what other specifications to give you. I am looking for something progressive, but not too fast or upbeat. Something involving a mixture of non-American metal, ambient, jazz and maybe folk. If you have any recommendations, please respond. You may post this in COC 'zine's next issue. Tod C. Date: 9 Jul 1999 From: David Guerreiro Subject: Attention Loud Letters Hail to all living souls. In the COC #40, Adrian Bromley gave a 9 to the latest Hypocrisy album. I strongly disagree. This is the best Hypocrisy's album ever made, and I haven't seen any bad aspects, so why rating this album with a 9??? Peter Tagtgren is a musical genius, the best musician of the 90's and a talented guitar player. Every thing he does is art. We can't afford to loose this man. A 10 was the minimum score to be given. If you like Hypocrisy don't forget to visit my page at: http://welcome.to/hypocrisy Date: Mon, 2 Aug 1999 06:51:38 +0530 From: Sunil Subject: Attention Loud letters This is a good magazine and I've been into this from it's very beginning, but I have not been able to get any information regarding a band called 'RIGOR MORTIS'. Not just CoC but I have not found anything about this band in any other magazine. Considering its technicality and the musical complexity, it is one of the most underrated bands in the history of Extreme Metal. Their self-titled album is what I call 'the height of technical Brutality' because no other band can be so technical and yet retain its extreme brutality at the same time.I've never heard anything like this. If any of you out there knows anything about RIGOR MORTIS please let me know. Sunil =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= A R C H E N E M Y O F D I C T A P H O N E S ? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ by: Paul Schwarz Some of you may recall that in my interview with Arch Enemy's Mike Amott last month, I commented many times on my dictaphone cutting out, to the point where our esteemed Pied (Lead) Piping Editor commented that I needed a new one. I will now explain what was actually "going wrong" with my dictaphone. I have a function on my dictaphone called VAS (Voice Activated System); it is on a switch with "pause" and "off" also being options. For the duration of my Arch Enemy interview the VAS function was, unbeknownst to me, on and thus the dictaphone would happily stay on while Mike was speaking, since his voice comes through the phone at a decent volume, but when I spoke, or occasionally when Mike went quiet, the thing would shut itself off. I kept banging my dictaphone on my desk to "get it started", which seemed to work. Of course it was because of the noise it made, not that I was "fixing" it as I thought at the time. The story is amusing if you picture it, but also a lesson to aspiring interviewers out there: beware of VAS, you can lose interviews to it if you accidentally turn it on. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= __ \ | | | | _ \ _` | _` | | | | | | __/ ( | ( | | | | ____/ \___|\__,_|\__,_|_|\__, | ____/ __ \ _) | | | | _` | | _ \ _` | | | _ \ __| | | | ( | | ( | ( | | | __/\__ \ ____/ _|\__,_|_|\___/ \__, |\__,_|\___|____/ |___/ O F S K A T E B O A R D S , S U I C I D E A N D P E P S I ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CoC chats with Mike Muir of Suicidal Tendencies by: Paul Schwarz By 1982 the band "Suicidal Tendencies" had begun to make some impact on the lives of hardcore, punk and metal followers in Los Angeles' Venice Beach area, the same band had also topped Flipside magazine's end-of-year polls, winning in the categories of "worst band" and "biggest assholes". They went on to produce 1983's hardcore classic, _Suicidal Tendencies_, but were plagued throughout their career by the perception of them which is summed up by the results of that Flipside magazine poll. This was due in part to the outspoken honesty of frontman Mike Muir (which had a tendency to piss people off), the rumours claiming the band were "thugs" associated with some kind of Venice Beach street gang (which led the LAPD to prevent them from playing in many venues in the LA area), the group's sarcastic and humorous image (which led them to be thought of as somewhat goofy) and the subsequent attitude which certain areas of the press took to them (that they were a joke). Still, the band built up a considerable and rabid following and produced some brilliant albums in addition to the aforementioned self-titled debut before things came to an end with 1994's _Suicidal for Life_. In the Spring/Summer of 1997 news filtered through to me that Suicidal were back together, and -damn- did I get a buzz out of that. Finally, it would be possible for me, one who had only recently pledged his allegiance, to see the band live! I waited and waited and very little news actually reached me of what, if anything, Suicidal were doing with their time and reunion. Being the cynic I am, I figured this was a half-assed reunion deal and that the band would disappear into oblivion in an unspectacular second break-up before they made it to the UK or I made it to a place they might be playing (a la 1997's Exodus reunion which ended early this year). Well, it just shows how wrong you can be. Suicidal are currently set to play England's Reading Festival in August and are also setting up a London date for some time in September. They have also, out of the blue as far as I'm concerned, released a new album, which takes the title _Freedumb_. However, I was still skeptical, but after this conversation with the manic Mr. Muir, I was more than restored in my confidence that the band are back, and back with a vengeance. CoC: How would you describe the new record, _Freedumb_, for longtime Suicidal Tendencies fans who've followed you guys for years, who are pretty happy about this new comeback record? Mike Muir: Basically, what we're doing is quite a different approach than what most people are. Like in America we don't have any ads for the record, and we're taking the approach of kinda the way we started off. Fortunately here we're on the Warped Tour, which means we get to play in front of a lot of people, and a lot of the people that we're playing in front of -- I'd say the vast majority -- never heard of Suicidal Tendencies because they're sixteen years old, they're fourteen years old and five years ago [when Suicidal split], they were nine years old. Basically, we have the approach that if we can't win people over by them hearing the music, then we shouldn't be a band and rather than doing a bunch of advertising before the record comes and have people going "Oh, Suicidal's back, I'd better go buy the record", there's going to be a lot of people that even come to these shows that are like, "I've seen Suicidal, I saw you seven years ago" and after we play they're like "Fuck!", and they go out and buy the record and they're going to be playing it for their friends and go, "Have you got the new Suicidal record?" and they'll say "What, they've got a new record?!", "Yeah, check it out!". So they actually hear the music rather than buying it from what happened in the past. So we've felt it's actually the best situation that we've had that. In comparison, in different places we had to do different things. Like in Japan, it's the only place we're actually on a major and it's been our best selling record by far -- and we've always done really well in Japan. We have a belief that it's a fucking great record, the reaction that we've got has been incredible from the people that have gotten it and the reaction is the type that we want: a lot of people that hopefully won't like it are the kind of people we don't want to like it and people that we want to like it fucking love it and Suicidal; the only way we're going to be effective as a band is not how many records we sell but how many people that actually hear the record are fucking screamin' "Suicidal", and that's what's going on right now, so we feel really good. CoC: You were saying you felt that people who went to your live show would be convinced enough to buy the record and really enjoy it. So obviously you think it will not only appeal to the old Suicidal Tendencies fans, because it's you guys, but it'll also appeal to fans of metal or hardcore who are around today. Do you think it'll impress them because it's maybe going beyond what other records of this type are doing these days? [This was a suggestion and not a reflection of my opinion of _Freedumb_ at the time. -- Paul] MM: I think it goes back to where we started. There's a lot of people that won't like it, and they won't like it for the wrong reasons, and the people who will like it will like it because they'll hear it and they'll go "Fuck", and compare it with what else is out there and they'll think it's better than what's out there. That's what we like to do and that's the number one reason why people used to like Suicidal -- because of the music, you know? And the reason why they didn't like it is because "Oh, that fuckin' singer's an asshole", "I don't like the way they look", "They're not this..." or "They don't follow the rules", or that kind of thing -- or they didn't hear the music. So we take it that way: the people that love us is because of the music and what we stand for and so I think that's far more important. Over the years, in the past, we've been exposed as so many different things, a lot of which we I don't think we actually should have been, and now we're very comfortable going about the way that we are now, which I think is going to be far more effective. And I don't believe everybody should hear Suicidal, and I don't believe everybody should like Suicidal, and I think this is the type of record to re-establish us the way we want to be established. CoC: Would you say that you were unhappy at all with the way Suicidal Tendencies ended up before you guys reformed, the _Suicidal for Life_ album, the end of the band? Were you unhappy with that as a final album, or were you unhappy with the fact the band didn't continue? MM: Well, with _Suicidal for Life_ I knew it was going to be the last record I did, that's why it had "shit" or "fuck" in the title of every song on the first side of the record: basically it was because I didn't want to do a commercial record and go on and it made it pretty obvious, you know. Lookin' back, anybody who can't figure that -out-, is not too -bright- [I have the feeling this was directed at me. -- Paul]. So, basically, fortunately there is a lot of changes that were made. I didn't think we'd get back together, but the situation as is now is a situation I never thought would be possible. I'm having a damn good time, you know. We did the Warped Tour in Australia and that was the most fun I've ever had in the band, it was the best tour the band's ever had and it was the most fun I've ever had in my life. Now, if you can say that about your last tour, you're doin' somethin' right, you know. I think this tour is the same situation: I'm havin' an incredible time, I know why I'm here and it's great, you know. I couldn't say that before, I could say before, "Oh, the tour's doing a lot for the band", but it wasn't doing anything for me or it wasn't doing anything in the sense of what I thought should be accomplished. I think right now everybody's -proud- of being in the band and they're also -happy- to be in the band and feel lucky to be in band, and that's the best thing in the world. CoC: With your label, you've come back after quite a while and you're on Nuclear Blast, certainly in Europe I believe, which seemed to me like an unusual label, simply because Nuclear Blast began as a death metal label and that's the way I've known it. I was wondering why you chose them and I was also wondering what you thought of the interesting fact that other old bands like yourselves, who've come back, have signed to Nuclear Blast -- well, SoD have come back, and Manowar are signed to Nuclear Blast. MM: Well, first of all we didn't sign to the label, there's no label that we signed to, the only label we signed to, like I said, is in Japan -- we're on EMI. The whole thing is, we weren't going to sign to any label, we're not going to be on any label but our own. Basically the deal is they're distributing the record, they're buying the records from us and stuff and basically to make a long story short: in America, that's where we have the most control, we know exactly what we want to do, other places you can't, we're not there, we can't follow it up as much. And basically with them [Nuclear Blast] it's because there's one guy who's fuckin' hounded us for two years and to be quite honest I never would be on a label like that, there's not one record on that label I would listen to, I fuckin' hate heavy metal, I hate whatever that other stuff is they call. CoC: Death metal? Black metal? Which metal? MM: Whatever it is, all I gotta say is we've got a song called "Hippy Killer" and everybody should hear it. So, basically, I'm not afraid to go in front of the enemy, you know what I mean. Fuck it, you know. I told the guy and all those dudes [at Nuclear Blast], "There ain't one record..." -- they gave us a bunch of records and we threw 'em all out the window. It was like we were driving down the freeway, we put it on, heard it, threw it out, try the next one, throw it out , so we said as far as we're concerned everything on there is garbage and people get beat up if they listen to that stuff where we're from. So, they know, they know we think it sucks. CoC: OK. I was wondering, then, since you were saying about the running of your own label, etc., I noticed you have a site on the Internet which is full of information, etc.. Are you guys aiming to go the way of the many bands who aim to reach total independence from a label via the Internet: to put out music, as much as possible, on the Internet, and put out records because there are still people who aren't on it. Is that an ideal thing for you, to be able to just control it all in that way? MM: Well, as far as the Internet goes, specifically -- I've been kind of following it for a while because of, well, some people told me, at Sony, they go, "Well, in two years this is going to be, you'll see what's going to happen". That was five years ago and I think a lot of people grossly mis-state what the Internet is going to be, I think it is very important in the sense of my nephew's and niece's all learn on computers and stuff, that type of situation. And especially for areas which in the past, you know, Third World countries, etc. -- they have access to it and stuff and it's a way for people to get information. As far as actually being a vehicle for selling stuff, every year people make predictions about what's going to happen next year and they never come out right. I think it's going to take quite a while before people are actually, effectively selling on the Internet. If you're a small group, you can do good because no-one's going to want to buy your records anyhow, no-one knows who you are, but as far as being on a mass scale, being effective, there's a lot of big groups that've tried that where they've said "This record's only going to be on the Internet", and they don't sell any records. So I think the Internet is more effective as far as disseminating information and stuff, and there's a lot of people, in that case, who say, "I've just got a computer, and I just put "Suicidal Tendencies" in there and "boom!", I found your website, you know, and I didn't even know you guys got back together". So, it gets a lot of information out and it's an important vehicle, but I don't think it's an end-all. CoC: The actual reformation itself happened two years ago. I haven't obviously been following you that carefully, I guess, since then. How much have you done since then, because I haven't noticed a lot done on you guys in the press, and why in particular has it taken quite a while to get a record together? MM: Basically, one of the things that we didn't want to do was to put a record out and say "We're back together, we're putting a record out and we're touring", you know. I think that's the approach most people deal, and that's a definite lack of sincerity, you know, it's more of the job type thing. What we did is -- there's a lot of places we haven't been able to tour to or we've been there once and we went to a lot of places like South America, etc., and basically we've been touring around so people can see what we're doing before the actual record comes out, so that we know we can get back a solid base the way that we wanted to be. I felt that was important before the record came out so that we had a certain amount of people that kind of understood what Suicidal's about so they could lead the way to the new people that get in there. We found that very important going back, like when we toured with Queensryche in America, that was a situation where they were the most played band in America on the radio and on MTV and there were a lot of places that we'd never played before that we played with them and you'd walk in the hallway and after you played they'd go "aaahhh": they'd be running after you and stuff, but the places we played with Queensryche which we'd played many times before -- like in the major cities --, you know, someone would see, they'd come up, they'd say "Hey Mike, what's up, how ya doin'" and you'd talk, and everybody else who'd see, they would be like "Hey, how're you doin'", you know. So it was an atmosphere which was much more conductive to what we think is good. So I think that's very important, that you have that base, and the same thing carries over on this tour [The Warped Tour], there's always a certain element there, that are very familiar with Suicidal, and they go off and people see it, and so you can see the difference between when, quote unquote, "the other punk bands" play and they're skippin' around. I don't know what the fuck they're skippin' for 'cause I ain't skipped since kindergarten. And then when Suicidal plays, it goes off, and then you see the people scramblin' to get the fuck out of there, you know, and I think there's a lot of symbolism for that with Suicidal: a lot of people don't belong, and if you play on skippin', and you feel like this is going to be the same as the next band, you're fuckin' mistaken, and you're going to find out real quick. That's what we call as "the instantaneous baptism and celebration of Suicidal". So when we start, it goes off, and I think people realise right away, Suicidal is not just another band, and I think that's an important lesson everybody should learn. CoC: So from that I draw that the new "punk" movement, the very short-lived punk movement, is not to your liking? MM: No, I really don't think it is punk and I think -that- is a great opportunity for us. I mean, when we started everyone said we weren't punk, so we don't really give a fuck, but I'll tell you what: the unfortunate thing is that there are a lot of people who use that word and think it is synonymous with cool. You know, [say] "I like -punk-" [and you're] fucking cool, aren't you? And it's like they can name every fuckin' goofy band that never should have been a band as far as I'm concerned, you know. So for us, if it's a situation and we already find this "Oh well, Suicidal, they're "bad"", yeah, OK, we're "bad" but you fuckin' suck, so FUCK YOU! That's what we say. CoC: About the UK, you guys are heading back here for Reading [yearly alternative rock festival held over three days the last week in August in Reading, England -- Paul] and you're lining up a London date for September. How long is it since you guys last played here? MM: A long, long, long time. Some people would probably say not long enough, but... CoC: Well, I wouldn't be one of those, but how do you feel about coming back to the UK and what do you think about your fanbase here and music here in general? MM: Well, I'll be honest, you know -- which has always got me in trouble --, I've never understood, when we went there a couple of times, why we went there. The way I was brought up, my dad said, "You don't do anything just to do it, there should be a reason to why you do things", and those are the few times where I kind of felt that there was really no reason for us to go there, especially in comparison to what was going on. Let me say, every other country, every record we did would sell more and more, and England would sell less and less. And then on the other side, just with press, I remember the first time I did press, in England. I had to have some of my English translated for me because I don't know what the hell they said that I said, because they're havin' me using English expressions, [I'm] like, "What does that mean?!" and they go "You said it" and I go, "I didn't say it, I don't even know what it means!". So it was an interesting experience, I went, "Man, people do things different over here". CoC: That sounds like an experiment in lazy journalism to me. MM: Yeah, yeah, and stuff. So I just kind of like tripped out. I go, "You know, I piss people off enough, and that's just what I say, you don't have to twist it around so I don't even understand what I'm saying", but I look at it this way: it's been a long time and, you know, we should go there, there's a lot of people that are English that you'd see in Europe that would have to go a long way to see you in France or whatever. Basically, I don't think we have much of a following there at all, and I think in a sense that's good because now we can try to actually start all over and see if it makes sense to go back, and I think that's an obligation that we owe all the people that have supported us 'cause they've gotten the short end of the stick in comparison to other places and so I think that there's definitely a lot of people that I owe it to, to support the band in a non-ideal situation. I think also being on the Reading thing, it gives a great chance for a lot of people to see us and I think they're going to realise that this is a far different band than the band that they never heard that they thought they knew what it was. CoC: Sounds like you've had the force of pre-judgement put against you a couple of times. MM: Oh, we did. I mean, going back, and a lot of times you shouldn't have it, but I remember: each record, different stories. One was a guy who wrote us a letter saying he was playing one of the new Suicidal records, I can't remember which one it was, and he was like [to his friends], "Check it out, I got this new band", blah blah blah, and they're like, "Oh fuckin' yeah, that's great". And afterwards he goes, "That's Suicidal". He said everybody dropped their heads and goes, [puts on depressed deep voice] "oh". They were all bummed, you know. So, it's kind of like that situation, but I think it's been so long and nobody really knows who we are now, so it's a good place to start over, you know. Ideally all you want to do is be in a situation where people are going to judge you for your music. If they don't like it, they don't like it, I don't expect anyone to sit there and go "I don't like this but I'll buy the record". So on an even basis I think it's all good and I know, like I said, in Australia the majority of the people were like twelve or thirteen years old, they didn't know who the fuck we were, and it went off big time. And I think that on a pure musical sense, if we don't have what appeals to, like, English people, we shouldn't be there and we shouldn't go back, and that's a real simple thing, you know. CoC: I have no idea where you guys are billed at Reading at the moment, I have no idea what kind of following you guys have, but I'll be there cheering you guys on... MM: I think the whole thing is, like we say, it's not who goes to see you, it's who goes home talking about you. CoC: Agreed. MM: And I think that's where we've been real effective and we can be real effective. I think that is kind of the situation where, in a way, we're kind of the underdogs. A lot of people don't know who we are, they go expecting to see certain bands, and they have to kill their time, so it's like, "Fuck, there's a band playing, I'll go check it out 'till my band comes on". And I think a lot of times they find out their band was not the band they thought it was anymore. So that's one of the great things, it enables us to sneak up on people, whereas before I think that one of the things that turned a lot of people off on us was that there was always the people that liked Suicidal -- they didn't like 'em, they loved 'em, "Suicidal! Suicidal!". And so people kind of felt like they didn't belong because they weren't into the band, they didn't know who the band was, and they'd just see all these people going crazy. So they felt alienated and in this kind of environment there's not really that fanatical part. In LA or places like that there still is, but there isn't that fanatical element [at a festival like Reading] so everybody gets to see it on their own basis and I think that really helps us out. And to be honest, I'd be disappointed if it didn't go over really well, you know, 'cause I'd like to be able to come back and, ironically, a lot of the people we always worked with, the producers and people at the label, were English. And no one ever understood, they always said, "You know what? Your going to be huge in England", you know. They always said, "I don't understand how you sell so many records here, there and there and you don't sell records in England", so ironically it's kind of funny. A lot of people say it's my fault, but... CoC: England is a funny country and people [in general] are funny about people who are honest, that's just life sometimes. [From here Mike and I had to part ways because of time constraints, and thus the interview ended. -- Paul] =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= W I T H I N T H E S U N ' S O W N S H A D O W ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CoC interrogates Tiamat's Johan Edlund by: David Rocher With their very brutal indeed first effort _Sumerian Cry_ (1991) set aside, Tiamat have devoted their now ten year long career to fusing the grinding low-case harshness of death metal with the ethereal tones of occult, atmospheric music; and it is probably this songwriting ideal which has constantly marked their albums with a certain form of touching fragility, as if Tiamat's music was constantly only just in maintaining its balance on the sharp edge of the wall between two musical genres. As they disclosed, in 1997, their rather unpleasantly surprising _A Deeper Kind of Slumber_ [CoC #21], Tiamat certainly lost a vast part of their following, as the heart-touching melancholy of tracks like "A Caress of Stars" (_Clouds_) or _Gaia" (_Wildhoney_) receded before more dreamy electronic sounds which many earlier fans failed to comprehend; for this reason, the release of their 1999 vintage _Skeleton Skeletron_ was as eagerly awaited as it was almost feared. Revelling in atmospheric cold-wave and gothic tones, Johan Edlund's latest collection of material is yet another surprise for Tiamat's following, and definitely not what one could have expected as a sequel to _A Deeper Kind of Slumber_, though I admit it has, in my eyes, actually failed to equal the beauty of Tiamat's former works. Regardless of my personal appreciation of Tiamat's new musical style, the opportunity to drift through a whole decade of violent atmospherics with soft-spoken mastermind Johan Edlund -- the only original member of Tiamat remaining in the band -- was an offer I could not sanely have turned down; and thus spake this very introspective musician... CoC: I kind of lost track of Tiamat after the release of _A Deeper Kind of Slumber_, so could you tell me what's gone on since the release of this album? Johan Edlund: The album was released in April '97 and we played a lot of festivals here in Europe that year, almost every weekend for the whole Summer, then we made a headline tour in the fall, which began at the end of September and continued until mid-November. Then we took a year off, basically -- we did nothing last year, just relaxed, tried to work on new songs, and we didn't really work hard until maybe November last year, when we started to work on the new album. CoC: I guess _A Deeper Kind of Slumber_ was perceived as a pretty surprising change in Tiamat's style, which also happened to come in after a long period of silence, so how was this change accepted by the fans? JE: It was very different, actually, some people really liked it, and some people were pretty shocked or maybe even pissed off about it. But I think it tends to get harder for us not to change, and I guess some people don't know what to expect from us, which is something cool -- if you think you know us and you know what to expect, you will probably be disappointed, because we will prove you wrong! CoC: So you wouldn't really want to release albums in the ways of Bolt Thrower? JE: We can't, really, we don't know how to do [that] -- sometimes I wish I could recreate the sound from an album we have done, but I actually don't know how to do that, so... So much is changing around you, and you develop as a musician, so I don't think it's really possible. CoC: I perceived Tiamat's evolution as being equally important as Samael's, for instance -- what do you think of the way they have moved on to their very atmospheric, electronic sound? JE: I think it was really the best way. It sounds very natural. I've known Samael for a very long time, we toured with them for the first time back in 1991, and I used to trade demos and stuff really long ago, so I've been following them even before they were signed to Century Media, and I think the steps they took were always very cool. CoC: Compared to _A Deeper Kind of Slumber_, _Skeleton Skeletron_ sounds a lot more gothic -- how did you change to this kind of music? JE: It's not really that I've been listening to a lot of gothic music, it's more that I really try to work at writing good songs, and songs you could almost play on an acoustic guitar and sing at a barbecue. The last album was a big experiment in sounds, we had a lot of new toys back then that we wanted to experiment with -- programs, keyboards and stuff --, it was all very exciting. But this time we did not feel the urge to do that, and I thought it would be more challenging to try to write very strong songs; and then, it just happened to turn out to sound maybe more like some English bands from the middle of the eighties than Pink Floyd -- Joy Division, Sisters of Mercy, of course... CoC: And about your new line-up -- Lars Skold played the drums on _Wildhoney_ and _A Deeper Kind of Slumber_, and I'm familiar with the name Anders Iwers, but I can't remember his musical history... JE: He used to play guitar in Cemetary, and he was actually in Tiamat during a tour back in 1991, as a session member, so both members have a very long history with us. CoC: When you tour now, what kind of audiences attend your concerts now that your music has evolved the way it has? JE: We haven't played live with this album so far, so that's going to be interesting to see. It's working pretty well in the gothic scene, gothic DJ's are sending in reports that they play "Brighter Than the Sun" every day, it seems to work pretty well there, and I hope we can keep the old audiences as well. It has always changed, actually, it was strange to see when we toured on _Wildhoney_ and _A Deeper Kind of Slumber_, the audiences were always pretty mixed, actually. And I think that's pretty cool, anyway. CoC: _Wildhoney_ seemed to be a concept which was oriented around nature -- can you tell me more about this? JE: We'd just had a big discussion with some ex-members -- actually, we almost split the band before _Wildhoney_; there were five guys, and me and the bass player decided to continue, as we didn't share the same opinions about how we should continue. So me and the bass player decided to do something which would really be a lot closer to what we personally listened to at that time -- Pink Floyd and a lot of bands from the '70s, like King Crimson... And the problem was we were not experienced enough, or talented enough, to recreate the sound of Pink Floyd or so... So we started to do something interesting, I think, because we were in a way a death metal band that wanted to sound like Pink Floyd, and we did not really manage it, but we ended up somewhere in between. That made a very original album, that is actually probably even better than blue-printing one of your favourite bands. It's a bit of a happy failure, because you struggle for something -- I mean, I don't consider myself as a very talented musician, I don't have it from birth; if I have to come up with something that sounds good in the end, I have to struggle a lot, I really have to fight for it, and that's what I meant about "recreating a sound". When you're gifted, you always know what you are doing -- well, I'm not always aware of what I'm doing, I just work and work until something comes out, that sounds cool, and I don't really know where it's going to end! CoC: So you're not in complete control of your songwriting, then... JE: No -- it's very uncontrolled, actually! I enjoy that! CoC: You said you couldn't decide to recreate the atmosphere of a particular album -- when you look back upon previous Tiamat releases, what album would you like to be able to recreate? JE: I don't know, actually... Maybe I was wrong. Maybe I would not like to do it, I would just like to know -how- to do it, but I don't think I would, anyway. But I was proud of _Wildhoney_, that album had something special. Being objective, five years later, there are a lot of things that could have been changed, but it's useless, because the album worked in the end, it's a cool album -- and if something was objectively not very good, I could live with that. CoC: Many Tiamat fans say that _Clouds_ is your best album to date -- how do you feel about that one? JE: It's really a bit of a sad album, because that's when we had those problems with the old line-up. To me, our albums are more like memories, I'm a little nostalgic about the memories of the past. I don't really think so much about how the albums actually sound, because I don't listen to them very often, but when I talk about an album like _Wildhoney_ or even _Sumerian Cry_, then I get very bright memories, because we had a good time. When I think about _Clouds_, actually, that was the hardest time we had in the band, with the most arguments, it was also when business really started to enter the picture, with money problems and stuff... I'm a little bit sorry to say it, but to me, _Clouds_ is a bit of a problematic album, but not for the sound or the songs -- we still play songs from it --, but the making of it was pretty hard. CoC: I guess the Satanic lyrics on _Clouds_ and earlier works seem quite far by now, so how do you feel your beliefs have evolved to this day? JE: If I would say something very positive about _Clouds_, I think that I wrote some of my best lyrics at that time. If I now read the lyrics to "A Caress of Stars" or the title song, I sometimes wish I could write that again, so I guess that means I still completely stand behind what I wrote at the time. CoC: Does this mean that on _Skeleton Skeletron_, the cover of "Sympathy For the Devil" is to be understood in the sense that you still have "sympathy" for your earlier material? JE: It has a lot to do with the title, actually; I think it's such a killer title, and I think that I was also a little bit annoyed in the past that people thought we had left our beliefs on _A Deeper Kind of Slumber_. And therefore, I was working on a song of my own, for which I wanted to steal just the title, and I thought that maybe we should just cover that song, because it's a great one. Although Mick Jagger's lyrics are pretty ironic, for us, I think that the title is a message to tell our audience that we're still pretty much the band that they used to know years ago. CoC: I don't have the lyrics to _Skeleton Skeletron_, so what do the lyrics on this album deal with, mainly? JE: They're more about life, actually, not so much about death or dreamworlds -- especially on the last tour, where I've been trying to build up some kind of dreamworld --, and this is more of a way of dealing with more down-to-earth things. It's been influenced by what we have seen during the ten years of being a touring rock band, dealing with the things you've gone through, like drug problems... _Wildhoney_ was maybe a drug-influenced album, and now I can look back on times like that and write about it from an objective point of view. Therefore, I think it's something positive -- although the topics are pretty gloomy, in a way, it's still positive, because you look in from the outside, and are now out of it. CoC: Concerning the lyrics on _Wildhoney_, I'm still rather puzzled by the lyrics to the song "The AR" -- they're very cryptic and strange lyrics. JE: The AR is the original pentagram from the Sumerian tradition. It's the five-pointed star, where one point is heading upwards, like a symbol of man, you know, like the Da Vinci sign? So it was pretty much about that symbol -- I was very much into symbols at that time, and how very strong they could be for people. CoC: Was the fact that you mentioned the aryan race in this song related to the strength of symbols developed by the third Reich, I mean the way in which they literally defied their army and the war? JE: Not at all, actually. Of course, I've been asked this question before, I knew I would be asked this before I decided to use the lyrics. The thing is that the AR was the original pentagram, and it was also short for the sign of the aryan race. The symbol was called like this by the people who lived some 5000 years ago in the place now called Iraq. I didn't want to censor myself, because I knew that this could be understood wrongly, now, in this century, but I thought "that's not what I'm writing about, so even if people get it wrong, I'd better explain it and stand for it". I didn't want to change it, and now, I'm stealing the chance to explain this to your readers. CoC: Okay! Tiamat have now been going for a whole decade, as _Sumerian Cry_ was released back in 1990, so how do you feel about the way the metal scene has evolved in the '90s? JE: I don't know, actually, I'm not very well informed nowadays, I'm very focused on working with my songs, and I don't feel connected to a scene, I must say. I don't read magazines too often -- it's not that I'm not interested, but I just happen to do other things most of the time. Last year we didn't tour, and we started to have longer breaks in between the records, so we had time off from the band, in which I do completely different things, you know, like watching football, enjoying life a little bit... On the other hand, I meet quite a lot of bands here, I meet Century Media bands that are managed by the same manager as ourselves, and these few last days I've been out drinking with Lacuna Coil, which I think is a really good Italian band, and later tonight Nevermore are going to come here and we'll probably go out bowling, so I meet them all. But you know, we bowl -- we don't talk metal music too much! CoC: When you look at your music and state of mind now, how do you feel when you reconsider the really brutal times of Treblinka? [Tiamat's original name, under which the 1987 demo _Crawl in Vomit_ and 1989 _Severe Abominations_ 7" EP were released. -- David] JE: It seems very far. It was a good time. Of course we were naive, but we were young as well, so you're allowed to be naive when you're that age! CoC: Tiamat is the Sumerian equivalent of Satan, who was slain by Marduk -- do you feel this name still fits the band? JE: It does, because for me it symbolised the darker parts of yourself, and it's something I always tried to get out in my songs. It's not easy, it's sides of you that are hard to deal with, and writing lyrics is like a therapy, you know? And you see, therefore, it fits! CoC: What can we expect from Tiamat in the future? JE: I hope this album does well so we can go on an European tour pretty soon after its release... apart from that, I really don't know! CoC: Last words? JE: You're in France, right? The distribution's starting to work well, and I look forward to France, actually, because we were never that big there, and I hope we can change it with that record, as there are a lot of plans for us now -- I hope they're good! Enjoy the Summer, and see you on tour! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= B U L L S H I T T I N G W I T H B O R K N A G A R ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CoC interviews Borknagar by: Adrian Bromley Sure Borknagar's third release _The Archaic Course_ has been out for a long time now, but its powerful array of melody and harsh realms of blackened metal, doused in hard rock sensibility, surely still ignites the passion within all those who still have it in their CD player. To say the least, _TAC_ is a brilliant album (much stronger than their 1996 _Borknagar_ debut for Malicious Records or their 1997 Century Media debut _The Olden Domain_) that helps keep the ways of metal strong and mighty. Borknagar is about passion and the unveiling of emotions one song at a time. By phone from Century Media offices in Santa Monica, California comes the call from guitarist Oystein G. Brun, founding member of Borknagar and prime innovator in helping mould the band through various line-up changes and studio sessions. He's been with this one-time side project, now full-scale band, from the get-go and has aimed at making Borknagar a well-known name within the metal world. At the end of the band's much anticipated U.S. tour with Emperor and Witchery, Brun is excited, to say the least, at the last few weeks of his metal life. He has a lot to talk about. "It was a great time for us on the road, playing all those places we had never been before", quips Brun about the tour. "We had some so-so shows, but then we had some great shows. We have great memories from many shows." When asked about the band's material live and how it has shape-shifted over the past few months and on tour, Brun says: "We've been gradually getting the sound going as the band goes along. I mean we've really worked this material hard. It's great to be able to work on songs and bring them from a studio into the live environment. The music for us has changed a bit 'cause two members quit a while ago and we have two new members, Nick Barker [ex-CoF] on drums and Simen [also of Dimmu Borgir] sings and plays bass, so you can obviously see where they bring in their own character to our material. It's been an interesting moulding of material for us over the last little while." He adds: "We cut out a lot of the acoustics and other stuff from our live set and focused on just keeping it simplistic and being true metal. It's a great time for us on stage." One thing that truly stands out from Borknagar -- at least with this release -- is their unique way of working the ways of metal music. The band's strengthened grasp of eccentricness and raw pairings of heavy metal thunder makes Borknagar come off as something out of the ordinary. While some write them off as too odd, those who follow this band will tell you that's the key to what they do. "Like you said", he states, "it's always been about us doing something that is unique sounding. Our music flows in many ways and some bands can handle that and some can't. We're one of the lucky ones, I guess?... We added a fresh feel to the music scene, I believe. Many people have told us that before and I'm beginning to see that a bit. It's always easy to follow what people are doing, but trying to keep focused on what you want to do can be an obstacle." He continues, "Passion has always been something I have related Borknagar's music to. This is my input, but I think our feelings come out loud and clear and I think people who really get into this music, it's hard to put it aside. I think our music has some value to it." And Brun knows the importance of coming overseas to play, realising that the pulse of much of the metal fans and music industry lies in North America. "I've always wanted to come over to the United States and take in the culture and just have a good time. It seemed like the right thing to come over and play with the band. I've been working hard and pushing Century Media for a long time to make this happen and when it did we were all excited to be able to come over and play the shows and be part of the Emperor shows." Any sightseeing? "Oh yeah... we had to do that stuff while in the States. I'm having a blast. While in New York we went all over the city and saw the World Trade Center. We had a chance to go visit Niagara Falls and also while here in Hollywood we checked out all the sites and many bars. Jens [other guitarist] and I even rented a car and drove down from San Francisco along the great Pacific Ocean coastline. It was a great drive and to see the ocean -- that was great!" With the record being out for so long, Brun acknowledges that the band is currently working on material. "We are already toying with many ideas. How far off is it from what people know -- who knows? It's surely coming together well. I mean progression has always been an important factor for me when it comes to writing material for this band. It's a key factor. We have 50 minutes of material already and we plan on heading to the studio in the coming months. It's different in many ways from what we have done before, but it also keeps the elements and vitality of Borknagar's sound within the material. There has been a definite transition with our material from the first album to the second one up to this one and I'm glad to have that, though in saying that, the essence of Borknagar is present on all the releases." He finishes: "I think the fourth album will definitely aim at being more harsh and raw, with much more screaming vocals than we have used before. We need to experiment a bit more with ideas but it all seems to be working out quite nicely. I think people will be into this as they have been with our past work." =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= S E X , D R U G S A N D . . . P O R N O ? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CoC interviews Jesus Martyr by: Adrian Bromley Just one listen, my friends, and you'll be hooked. Hmmm... more like crushed. To the faint of heart, if you can't handle an abundance of sex and powerfully-charged metal chaos, then stay clear of the debut disc _Sudamerican Porno_ from Argentina powerhouse Jesus Martyr. Bible thumpers, you've been warned. This sexually obsessed, powerfully intact industrial metal machine band -- consisting of singer Santiago, guitarist Martin, drummer Guillermo, bassist Bruno and keyboardist Hugo -- has managed to snag a deal with Repulse Records and spread their leper-like ways of painfully sadistic metal numbers to the metal legions of the world. It's a tough regime to ignite, but Jesus Martyr has the goods to do so. One of the main spokesmen of Jesus Martyr's intentions is guitarist Martin. He discusses the abundance of sexual, pornographic ideas and themes spread throughout the recording. "Our lyrics are mainly inspired by the ways of philosophy and religion", he starts. "I studied philosophy as a career and everything I read and learned influences me to come up with such material, or at least to try to get the ideas into the main source of what we do." He adds about the pornography element, saying: "We didn't use porno in its contemporary sense throughout the record. Maybe in some areas, but to note, the word "pornography" in Greek means something like "to write on bitches" and our album is no more than a chronicle about the South American bitches, like media, institutionalised religion and political parties, for example. All of them are looking for a bit of power and money, just like bitches. Like I mentioned before, we have many topics in our lyrics; sex is an important part of it, but this album is very personal and introspective, everything has a different meaning when it comes to the lyrics I write." What's the band's take on today's society and censorship? Martin starts: "I hate everything that has to do with having your rights taken away, and to express yourself is one of them. Argentina (and Latin America in general) has a long history of situations like that arising, military governments did what they fucking wanted with the rights of the people, they didn't even respect some people's right to live. You wouldn't believe the history we have to deal with from 1945 to 1982. Argentina's society suffered a lot and now it is in transition into something better; so nowadays things are quite different, but democracy in this part of the world is as fragile as crystal. In two months we are voting for a new president and all the candidates are shitty!! Argentina is a wonderful country, but the political parties here are nothing but clowns. Our society has unfortunately lost all its combative spirit with the terrible economical situation and the unemployment that is oppressing us and taking our strength. We'll see what happens..." Initially starting out as Martyr in 1994 and over the years demoing new material (with elements of hardcore, death, punk and the like moulding into their current sound) and adding a keyboardist, things are looking much better for the band now as they start to work more with Repulse. It's looking pretty good currently. "We did everything you can imaginable to get the name out in the beginning", tells Martin. "But we were really stupid, as we just looked for labels in Argentina and all those idiots (that now are distributing our CD!!) didn't want to release it at all, saying it was "too uncommercial" and nonsense like "it is in English, it won't work". Fortunately, Repulse came into the picture for us, but it was totally by chance. The fact is that we gave a tape with eight songs from our _Sudamerican Porno_ to a guy who had a label in Chile, he showed it to Repulse and then they offered us a contract. We took our time in getting back to them and luckily when we replied they were still interested in our CD and it all worked. They are doing a good job. We have another album coming again through Repulse next year." While most foreign bands seem to do extremely well in Central and South America, very few bands south of the United States (other than Sepultura, Angra and maybe Overdose) get proper exposure and make something for themselves. It's a hard scene in South America. Martin explains. "The musical situation in South America in general is not really bad. Brazil has an incredible scene. On the other hand, in Argentina heavy music is exactly the same as anything else, it's in crisis, about to collapse. The scene is really big and we have lots of bands, but the economical situation is really destroying every chance to do something and music is no exception. Fortunately, we are being lucky and our CD is selling okay. We're happy and are now gaining a lot of fan support which is stemming from good press. I think we are in a good situation right now and it should be that way 'cause we worked a lot to achieve this. I'm glad it all has turned out 'cause this time last year we were on the verge of splitting up. Things weren't working. It's all turned around for the better and we can only be happy with the exposure and respect that Jesus Martyr is getting from metal fans worldwide." =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= T H E C H I L ' U N M U S T R I S E ! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CoC interviews Children of Bodom by: Adrian Bromley "We didn't know shit about anything when we recorded our first record _Something Wild_", starts guitarist/vocalist Alexi "Wildchild" Laiho over the phone from Finland. "It was all just thrown together. The writing, the recording and everything else that came along with it. We weren't even expecting to sell 1000 copies of the record. But something clicked and people picked up on it. We were onto something." About the writing process for the debut disc, Laiho says, "I came up with a lot of ideas for what we were going to do. But when we went into the studio we were pretty fast to hammer out the ideas. It came together very rapidly. We didn't really take our time. We didn't care too much to hang around in the studio, 'cause we would have lost that feeling of intensity, not to mention spending too much on studio time." The band -- which also includes guitarist Ale Kuoppala, drummer Jaska Raatikainen, bassist Henkka Blacksmith Seppala and keyboardist Janne Wirman -- have recently put out their second full-length through Nuclear Blast America called _Hatebreeder_, a continuation of where they left off with their debut disc, a record chock full of black metal-tinged operatic assaults, coated with heavy duty guitar solos, haunting keyboards and well-textured sub sections. So what was the mentality going into _Hatebreeder_? Pressure from the label? Pressure to compete with the success of the debut disc? Laiho states: "There could have been a lot of pressure going into this record, but I had to block out all of that to make this record. I had to focus on music that suited what we wanted to do, rather than what people expected. I'm happy with the final result. We have gotten a lot of experience since _Something Wild_ came out with all the touring we have done and just living and surviving in this music business. I think we have improved as musicians and I for one have improved as a songwriter and that's good to see." On the topic of song writing and studio work, he says, "Writing material takes time for me. I go through phases to write material. I will usually be able to write for two months, and then my mind will be blank for writing for the next three. It gets stressful when you are trying to work on material and nothing is coming to you. The studio is a great place to be. It's where a lot of things change for bands when they are recording. A lot of ideas shape shift in the studio. When we go into the studio I make sure that we have the general idea and we work on it from that point on. Sometimes it takes just the smallest idea to help fuel some creativity and alter a song or chorus. I always record everything I come up with in the studio. Who knows where I can use it down the road." One reason why Children of Bodom seem to stand out from the rest of the pack is their intensity and the band's unique blend of metal both old and new. Laiho agrees. "We have a lot of black metal tendencies, but most of the stuff we play has a lot of old metal influences. It's heavy metal with black metal tendencies. We have classical metal influences, too. Our music is an amalgamation of many musical styles." "We're not afraid to venture out and play music with massive guitar solos and melodic harmonies. We're not afraid to do any of that, but the key thing that needs to be done is to do it with a definite feel for it. Don't just add it into your sound for the hell of it or 'cause it's the flavour of the month. Growing up and learning guitar, I was heavily into the works of Yngwie Malmsteen and Steve Vai. That was a reason why I focused on doing cool guitar soloing on both records. I keep our music pretty straightforward. I don't want to hear a certain band and want to sound like that. I want to do what comes natural and keep it simple. I think it's more interesting if songs have very technical parts. I get off on that." "It's funny to watch all of these bands out there try to jump on a certain sound and try to play it sincerely", says Laiho. "You can see right through them most of the time. I mean, take for example HammerFall [another Nuclear Blast band -- Adrian]. They play '80s-styled heavy metal, you know, hero metal. It's cool and all to be doing that, I mean, we have our own share of '80s influence too running through Children of Bodom, but after they came out all of these other metal bands either came out of the woodwork and starting playing that style of metal or bands added that sound to what they were already doing. It's stupid." He finishes, "Musicians should always play music for the love of it. If it all comes down to how much money you can make with a certain type of music and that appeals to you, then I suggest you leave this business. We don't need that kind of band. There are already enough bands competing out there. I want my band to make it in this business and I don't want any uninspired or rip-off bands keeping me from getting there." =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= E D E N M U S T B U R N ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CoC interviews God Dethroned by: Adrian Bromley It's not really a crusade. It's more like an attitude. God and religion needs to be cast to the wayside and God Dethroned singer Henri Sattler wouldn't have it any other way. "There are a lot of reasons why we write so many lyrics against Jesus and religion", starts Sattler from his home in Holland. "I think religion is just an opinion and not a law. The Bible has been written for people to use as a guide to lead a normal life, but the church used the Bible to enforce these laws that it states onto people, telling them what they can or cannot do. I think that's wrong. So in my lyrics I take passages from the Bible and try to make them more down to earth. I try to spruce them up a bit, add some chaoticness to the story lines and really go against the stories that people emphasise as wholesome ones. That's what we're all about" "I love this style of music", confides Sattler. "I can't get enough of it. When I wake up in the morning the first thing I do is put on music. Black metal. Speed metal. Grindcore. It's no problem. This is my life and that helps me continue on what we do as a band (rounded out by other blasphemers Jens, Roel and Beef). I don't need to copy other music. I just get inspired to write all of the time. I pick up a guitar and write. It's an easy process. In order to do this and be an honest musician, you just need to be yourself and write from what you believe in and not what others tell you to do. God Dethroned listens to no one but themselves. It's always been a rule for us." About the new LP and the last record (1997's _The Grand Grimoire_), he comments, "I think we pretty much continued on where we left off. I think we made a good album with _Bloody Blasphemy_", says Sattler. "We didn't know what kind of reaction we would be getting, but so far it's been very good. It's pretty much the same type of record: brutal and fast. We will always be playing music like this and there will be no, I mean NO, way of compromising and slowing things down. God Dethroned is about being fast and brutal. People expect that from us and so do we." And what of today's metal scene? Sattler's thoughts? "There are a lot of good bands out there, but there are a lot of other bands out there that play a certain type of music 'cause it's popular. A few years from now, all those bands will be gone and only the good bands are going to be left. When you compose your own songs and do your own thing, it takes a while to become a popular band. You have to really work to gain a fan base and sell records. That's what God Dethroned is. We don't copy anyone and no one is like God Dethroned." As one would expect, a name like God Dethroned (much like the name Rotting Christ) is bound to anger many people as the band releases material and tours. What kind of flack or negative attention has the band received throughout the years? "It's always been steady", laughs Sattler. "People can't get enough of us or our name. Christian organisations always try to shut down our shows, but we live in a liberal country, so we can say what we want. They try and it never works. We are always in the papers over here 'cause we are a popular band and there is always someone trying to hurt or say bad stuff about what we do. We don't care. We get exposure. One time these organisations even approached the Minister of Justice over here and requested that she forbid our concert. It never happened." He ends, "People can say all they want about what we do. It's their say and that's fine. But we too have a right to go out and promote our views about religion and what have you. Our music and lyrics say it all. We don't mess around. We tell it like it is and fans of God Dethroned like that. That's good enough for us." =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= _____ .__ ___. / _ \ | |\_ |__ __ __ _____ / /_\ \| | | __ \| | \/ \ / | \ |_| \_\ \ | / 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! Various - _A Tribute to Hell: Satanic Rites_ (Full Moon Productions) by: Aaron McKay (3 out 10) Having purchased this dual disc compilation at a favourite haunt of mine in Florida, I had very high hopes for it. It is widely known among most of my friends, to a large degree, that I appreciate Acheron's music very much. -Not- his theories, but definitely his music. Hell, Richard Christy of Death's _The Sound of Perseverance_ fame played with Acheron! Not getting off on a tangent, but I think that is one of the deepest unifying characteristics of the genre we all enjoy -- the music is the tie that binds, regardless of personal philosophy or religious ideology. That said, Acheron is a favourite of mine. So, when I picked up _A Tribute to Hell_ and saw "Evil Dead", speaking of Death, by Acheron listed as disc two's track 16, I thought "SHIT YEA!" Choosing to cover probably the most influential metal band, Death, from _Scream Bloody Gore_, I thought to myself that I couldn't go wrong with this. To say I miscalculated is putting things mildly. Don't get me wrong, the three points I -did- give this compilation comes almost solely from Acheron's cover of "Evil Dead". The other .5, maybe a full point, comes from the fact there is an impressive number of groups here exhibited for the fans. Some notables are unreleased tracks, according to FMP's homepage, from Mayhem, Naglfar, Ever Dark, Apollyon, Sacramentum and Burning Inside (also with Richard Christy on drums and keyboards). The list of awkward, heavy-handed tracks is much more elaborate, if not longer: Mysticum's "Eriaminell", Ash's "The Descent", Mastiphal's "Summoned Howling" and Melechesh's "Desert Pentagram". Most of the remaining tracks, 32 in all, range from adequate to slightly above average, but no true stand-outs other than the aforementioned few. The insert booklet is eye-pleasing, but not too informative. Also, do you think it would have killed Full Moon Productions to state -anywhere- a date when this fucker was made, recorded, or otherwise dreamed-up?! Damn! All things being equal, don't waste your time, energy or money on this unless you feel an overwhelming compulsion to have these tracks that, apparently, are not released elsewhere. Akercocke - _Rape of the Bastard Nazarene_ by: Paul Schwarz (9 out of 10) (Goat of Mendes, May 1999) Though the eight second introductional proclamation and slightly lacking (particularly where the drum sound is concerned) production should give this record a little less than the nine out of ten I have bestowed upon it, the potential for brilliance which the music contained on _RotBN_ possesses gives me license, I believe, to "break the rules" in order to more likely draw your attention to this different and uncommonly good black/death-type metal band. Akercocke, at the core, are violent and ripping death metal which draws black metal comparisons via the kinds of atmospheres the riffs create and the passing similarities one can detect to Cradle of Filth's _The Principle of Evil Made Flesh_ (which, though primarily regarded as a black metal record, is certainly strongly death metal influenced). Furthermore, Akercocke do not merely blast it out with the best, they also incorporate searing noise/industrial elements into songs and interludes and thus succeed in adding a fresh dimension to their extreme metal base. The aforementioned "blasting" is also not Akercocke's only way of expressing themselves using only their basic instruments. Though the majority of the album is fast and sung with pronounced "unclean" vocals, "Marguerite & Gretchen" is a creepingly slow, bass guitar dirge led experiment, utilising vaguely choral sounding melodic vocals, which certainly breaks with the traditions of the other influences Akercocke display. The lyrical themes are Satanic, but (unlike many a "Satan!"-screaming release) also show evidence of having had both thought and time put into their writing. Akercocke have produced a dark, distinctive and somewhat original record; they have been let down slightly by production as many unsigned bands are, but their talent and potential shine through and make _RotBN_ the best release from an unsigned band I have heard this year. Contact: Akercocke, 97 Victoria Rd., London, N22 4XG, England http://www.dialspace.dial.pipex.com/georgesabellicus mailto:akercocke@hotmail.com The Atomic Bitchwax - _The Atomic Bitchwax_ (MIA Records, July 1999) by: Adrian Bromley (8.5 out of 10) If there was one band out there that really got me going from first note these last few weeks, it has to be the music of Atomic Bitchwax. Based on highly volatile rock grooves meshed with stoner rock-like deliverance and really "out there" ideals, Atomic Bitchwax is the saviour for all those fans out there wanting something new to take in. Well... spread for "Big Daddy", baby, 'cause the lovin' of music on this nine-song release is so rich it'll leave you craving more. With guitarist Ed Mundell of Monster Magnet, ex-Godspeed/Daisycutter bassist Chris Kosnick and ex-Slaprocket drummer Keith Ackerman along for the ride, you couldn't choose better co-pilots. Far more instrumental than some might think, Atomic Bitchwax rock solid every way they can on their debut disc. Black Funeral - _Moon of Characith_ by: Alex Cantwell (1 out of 10) (Full Moon Productions, June 1999) This was seriously disappointing. I was a happy man when this arrived in the mail, because the cover looked menacing and I knew from previous listens that the music of Black Funeral was uncompromising, raw black metal. Well, _Moon of Characith_ is nothing like that. Gone the way of Ulver and Dodheimsgard, only far more incriminating, Black Funeral is now on some kind of ambient/techno/noise trip that can be described in one word -- dumb. The whole CD is a sort of minimalist keyboard kind of thing, with some gay beats thrown in for bad measure. I am not anti-ambient at all, and if this was good ambient, I would complain only a little bit -- but this is just sad. The killtaker is the female vocals, which are nothing but strategically placed moans and groans. Black Funeral (or Michael Ford, but now includes Shanna LeJeune as well) has in the span of a few short years gone from "vampyric" black metal, which was dumb in concept but produced some good music, to this Mortiis wannabe stuff. How's that for artistic integrity and longevity? Contact: Full Moon Productions, 2039 Roxburgh Court Lakeland, FL 33813, USA mailto:fmp@fmp666.com Cirith Gorgor - _Onward to the Spectral Defile_ by: Paul Schwarz (6.5 out of 10) (Osmose, May 1999) Cirith Gorgor pound out some violent and intense black metal at speeds which are above the average, and score browny points for the intensity and sheer violence they display with this approach. This assault is underpinned with a competent use of melody which traces the passages of the hard riffs underneath the blasting (and also frequently and creatively breaking) drums. Unfortunately, the vocals are painfully faceless and compound _OttSD_'s core problem: lack of variation. _OttSD_ doesn't vary enough over the course of its ten tracks to keep me interested for its forty two minute duration. If brutality is your thing, though, you could certainly do worse. Darkane - _Rusted Angel_ (WAR Music, June 1999) by: David Rocher (10 out of 10) Despite the mild letdown that Carnal Forge's _Who's Gonna Burn_ [CoC #36] embodied, WAR Music releases on the whole prove to be damn good news; and Wez Wenedikter's songwriter extraordinaire breeding ground has indeed once again provided the goods above all hopes. Fusing technical Swedish death metal tones with the violence and unbound aggressiveness of late eighties' Bay Area thrash, Darkane's first and essential effort is a ruthless slab of extreme metal that successfully recaptures (and doesn't merely rehash) the power and industrial inhumanity of Meshuggah, the frantic violence of Razor, the raucous low-case heaviness of Carcass and the jaw-dropping duelling lead guitar virtuosity of Arch Enemy, all this sealed within the fathoms of Darkane's own brilliant songwriting style. While the string section lead by axemen Christofer Malmstrom and Klas Ideberg and bassist Jorgen Lofberg never ceases to develop fantastic ideas and technicality oozing with utter heaviness, ex-Armageddon skinsman Peter Wildoer -- arguably one of the finest and most technical extreme metal drummers out there -- provides the backbone to the constant breaks and syncopated rhythmic parts with his complex, pounding drumming and sparkling cymbal play; Darkane's fantastic vocalist Lawrence Mackrory demonstrates with what ease and precision he shifts from angered thrash vocals, akin to Razor's Bob Reid's, to high-pitched grating black metal screams, to thick, phlegm-churning death metal roars. With a good production, _Rusted Angel_ would have been a great album, but Darkane have chosen to ignore the usual Abyss and Fredman studios, and recorded this offering in Upssala's Dug Out studios, with the mighty production genius Daniel Bergstrand at the mix... This results in a production which is absolutely -stellar-, loud, crunchy, clear, thick, powerful and perfectly balanced, and which makes _Rusted Angel_ the definitely cardinal release it is. Sweden's new extreme masters Darkane are technical, violent, varied and catchy way beyond what words can describe -- I've seldom heard metal get better than this, and I don't recall many first efforts having instantly burnt me to a crisp the way _Rusted Angel_ has done. Above all doubt, one of 1999's, and probably this decade's, finest death metal releases. Buy or die. Deviate - _State of Grace_ (I Scream Records, June 1999) by: Adrian Bromley (7.5 out of 10) It's quite easy to see why this popular Belgium hardcore/metal outfit has been going strong 'n' heavy since their inception in 1991. Their production value alone says "experienced", and the overall deliverance of the band is monstrous. Much like the works of veteran hardcore acts like Earth Crisis, Hatebreed and Integrity, Deviate always seem to be able to muster up enough spark and solid rhythms to keep the record tight and in control. While the record does sway from time to time with generic sounding hardcore "-isms", it's the power hitter songs like "Dawn of Mankind" and "Empty World" that clear away from that, that hit ya hard 'n' heavy each time out. On a whole, the disc rocks, just a few ideas that seem to lack attention in the song writing process. Go mosh! Contact: http://www.iscreamrecords.com Dismal Euphony - _All Little Devils_ (Nuclear Blast, May 1999) by: Adam Wasylyk (8.5 out of 10) This album was a total shocker to me. Not having cared much for their prior releases, _All Little Devils_ contains a definite sound departure; less bombastic and more concentrated on catchy choruses and smoother riffs. Gone are the traditional, raw black metal days in favour of a more polished product. This exudes total class. My admiration for the band revolves around the female vocals, which are actually quite good (considering the many so called female "singers" in other black metal bands I've had the displeasure of hearing), the new vocalist (whose name I'm unaware of) gives the album a certain amount of charm. Once tracks like "Rage of Fire", "Victory", "Psycho Path" and the title track enter your ears, they won't leave your head any time soon. For once, a band that diversifies their sound and succeeds. Dominance - _Anthems of Ancient Splendour_ (Scarlet, 1999) by: Pedro Azevedo (8 out of 10) Despite what the album title might lead the potential buyer to think, this isn't much of an "epic" album as far as the usual preconceptions about the usage of great keyboards and various classical instruments are concerned. In fact, despite the very reasonable keyboard intro and outro, there's nothing especially epic about _Anthems of Ancient Splendour_, as this is basically guitar-driven blackened death metal -- not that guitar-driven music can't be epic, of course, but this particular album is relatively normal. Title-induced misconceptions notwithstanding, this Italian band plays very competent and quite dynamic and varied blackened death metal and reaches some especially good moments during "Immemorial Iced Lake" and "Engraved", thanks to effective rhythms and riffs in the former and guitar work in the latter, together with a competent vocal delivery. Dominance occasionally remind me of The Elysian Fields' excellent _We, the Enlightened_ in the way they use some slight influences of black and Swedish metal in their basic death metal sound, even though the similarities don't go far (The Elysian Fields opt for a doomier and more classically influenced style, which is generally not the case here). Though I don't know what happened with the production during the second half of the track "Anthem of Ancient Splendour", the band sounds very determined throughout _AoAS_ and have succeeded in creating a good album overall. earthtone9 - _Off Kilter Enhancement_ (Copro Records/PHD, July 1999) by: Adrian Bromley (9.5 out of 10) In a day and age where metal music has been run through the ringer so many times and nothing seems fresh or innovative anymore, it's nice to see bands like Nottingham, England's earthtone9 surface into the picture. I raved about the last record _lo-def(inition) discord_ [CoC #35], and I'm gonna rave about this one too. These guys fuckin' rule. There is no question in my mind that this band has got to be one of the most eccentric and hard sounding ones out there. With shades of Coalesce, VoD and Cave-In bringing up the hardcore front, the waves of adrenaline that earthtone9 disperse to the listener are no doubt inspired by such versatile acts as Neurosis and Tool, but they manage to add their own flavour and groove to the mix. The result? One happening cocktail mix, my dear metal friend. It's an incredible ride to take upon yourself with each listen, as the music of earthtone9 really seems to radiate an ethereal vibe at times, allowing you, the listener, to cautiously sit back and take in the music content of this band, taking into account their breathtaking deliverance and tight musicianship. Get hooked on tracks like "I Naugal Eye" and the stunning work on "Simon Says" and "Grind and Click". I know, I know... I'm babbling on about this band, but this stuff is the shit. This comes highly recommended and easily in my top ten of 1999. Ebony Tears - _A Handful of Nothing_ (Black Sun Records, June 1999) by: David Rocher (8 out of 10) The possibility, back in 1998, that there would be no sequel to Ebony Tears' rather unequal 1997 debut _Tortura Insomniae_ [CoC #30] (this being due to the fact that members Johnny Wranning and Conny Jonsson wanted to concentrate on their power/thrash project Dog Faced Gods) wasn't really something I was losing any sleep over. Admittedly, _Tortura Insomniae_ did feature a few cool, enticing tracks (that were mainly catchy thanks to the adjunction of nice violin playing) but the album was generally let down by an excessively weird production, perfectible songwriting and Johnny Wranning's annoying vocal style, that unceasingly shifted from death to black and back, and then suddenly mutated into brutal raucous tones -- all this for no apparent reason, right in the middle of a phrase. With _A Handful of Nothing_ however, Ebony Tears have placed the emphasis on aggressiveness and efficiency, and basically recorded a second album that, in my eyes, has the enjoyable, spicy taste of a "no more mister nice guy" kind of declaration. Conny Jonsson's guitar work now bears the stigma of thrash-influenced death metal riffage a la Gothenburg, Johnny Wranning has put and end to his iffy experimenting with vocal styles to concentrate on a rasping, aggressive form of singing, and the violin, which I can only guess was finally perceived by the band as being a misplaced element in their music, now only appears on one single track (the short, distorted instrumental piece "Erised"). Solidly welded onto the thick skeleton of the powerful and fast drum playing (syncopated double bass drumming galore!), the bass and guitars are now given all necessary leeway to develop alone the catchiness and appeal that the violin offered on _Tortura Insomniae_... and it works like it never did before! _A Handful of Nothing_ has turned out to be a catchy, energetic and violent album that never loses its firm double grip on power and melody and shows -vast- improvement on Ebony Tears' earlier songs. Not only will fans of their first output definitely recognise the band with this new effort of theirs, but _A Handful of Nothing_ is also quite able to appeal to metalheads who had failed to be keeled over by the cool, but nonetheless rather "tepid" music played by Ebony Tears so far. Various - _ECW Extreme Music_ (Earache, July 1999) by: Paul Schwarz (3 out of 10) This is a compilation of extreme music tracks chosen to musically represent Extreme Championship Wrestling. Harry Slash and the Slashtones' "This Is Extreme" provides an intro, and a boring one, of sorts to this comp. It is followed by a remix of White Zombie's "El Phantasmo and the Chicken Run Blast-O-Rama" which is nearly the same as the original, and, additionally, tedious in the extreme (sic). This record contains a virtual plethora of covers, and I will tackle these collectively and comparatively now. Kilgore, Motorhead and Anthrax all, in my opinion, chose very poorly the covers they were to contribute. "Walk" by Pantera and "Enter Sandman" and "Phantom Lord" by Metallica are their respective contributions and, in my view, there is a lot wrong with the mere principle of these bands doing their chosen covers. In Kilgore's case, no-one should be covering a seven year old tune by a huge-selling band, and you certainly shouldn't be covering what is probably their most popular song. The cover adds nothing to the original -- which is hardly a classic in itself, it just happens to be a song a lot of people can get into. Motorhead should not be covering Metallica in my view, and I'd certainly say that, again, the most overplayed and popular song from the band's most successful record is hardly a good choice. Anthrax's error is not as much the choice as the execution. I would have thought the point of covering a really old, cool and heavy Metallica track would be to show up the band's current commercial direction by churning out a ripping version of the track; instead, Anthrax play a competent cover but add nothing in vitriol, heaviness or depth to the original, even though I imagine they have access to way more money and time than Metallica had to do _Kill 'Em All_. The final insult is John Bush's vocals, however, which fit so badly it is almost embarrassing to listen to. What's interesting is that I think if Anthrax and Motorhead had swapped Metallica songs, we would have ended up with a much more satisfactory pair of covers. Bruce Dickinson turns in The Scorpions' "The Zoo", which is not a track I am familiar with. It is a bit tedious but seems decently done. Megadeth's "Trust (ECW mix)" is not dance-beat infused but seems only to be an extended instrumental: it's boring. Tres Diablos is a Pantera offshoot band which I think features all members except Phil Anselmo. Some upfront, Primus-esque bass work makes it somewhat interesting, but overall it is somewhat simplistic and uninteresting, and has sections where the band simply fall back onto Pantera trademark riffs, rather shamefully. Monster Magnet's "Kick Out the Jams" (from the promo-only _Space Lord_ EP) is energetic and worthwhile: probably worth checking out if you're a big Monster Magnet fan. The remaining bands are Earache's own. Morbid Angel's godly "Prayer of Hatred" (from my favourite record of last year, _Formulas Fatal to the Flesh_) is included and Cathedral and Iron Monkey also turn in tracks. The Cathedral track is from their most recent _Caravan Beyond Redemption_ disc and is much better than I had expected out of the band since losing track of them after the tedious _Supernatural Birth Machine_ and patchy _Carnival Bizzarre_ albums. The Iron Monkey track is cool and extreme doom-type stuff which reminds me of Sleep's recent _Jerusalem_ disc. Overall, a lot of unnecessary and boring covers and remixes mean that nothing unreleased from here is worth picking it up for, while its value as a sampler is limited due to the small number of quality album tracks included. Empyrium - _Where at Night the Wood Grouse Plays_ by: Pedro Azevedo (7 out of 10) (Prophecy Productions, June 1999) This entirely acoustic release by Empyrium is not a very surprising move for them considering the acoustic components of _Songs of Moors & Misty Fields_ [CoC #30], but I expected something more consistent overall and also better as far as the second half of the album is concerned. Perhaps I expected too much because of the excellence of _SoM&MF_, but still the opening title track was quite promising. Simple acoustic guitars, a flute melody, then a deep male choir in the background with normal Empyrium clean vox on top and some simple percussion towards the end. Very atmospheric and pleasant. The second track, "Dying Brokenhearted", is also quite good; similar to the first, minus the percussion and featuring only some whispered vox, and overall very based upon acoustic guitar work, like most of the album. The next track, "The Shepherd and the Maiden Ghost", features more sombre spoken vocals and some cello, which could have been used much more frequently and effectively, in my opinion. The fourth track, "The Sad Song of the Wind", is indeed a sad song, again based on acoustic guitar and sombre vocals, plus some more flute. The spoken vocals work quite well, whereas the results achieved by the chants vary considerably. From this point onward, however, things are never again as interesting as before. The acoustic guitar starts to become somewhat repetitive and nothing very interesting is added, culminating in the rather strange eighth track of this 32 minute long release, "Many Moons Ago..." -- a very medieval/folk-sounding song that seems rather out of place here. The atmosphere created by the first few tracks is partially lost by now and _WaNtWGP_ ends with a new version of "When Shadows Grow Longer", originally from their previous album, with a lot of chanting and an acoustic guitar background; nothing very remarkable when compared to the original. Though not excessively similar, _WaNtWGP_ isn't far from some of what Ulver did with their own acoustic album. Ulver's _Kveldssanger_, however, is overall superior, thanks mainly to the fact that the album doesn't start to rapidly lose interest or atmosphere after its midpoint, as is the case with Empyrium's. Overall, I expected something sadder and more sorrowful (the first four tracks do get quite close to that) and also more stirring -- in the end, those were the main elements that Empyrium achieved to make _SoM&MF_ so great, and I expected the band to somehow re-create them in a different way with acoustic instrumentation better than they did in the second half of the album. Still, the first half, though not entirely as brilliant as I expected, is nevertheless very good and the second isn't anything terrible at all, just average; it's just that, coming from Empyrium, I feel that _WaNtWGP_ could have been better. Entombed - _Monkey Puss (Live in London)_ (Earache, June 1999) by: Adam Wasylyk (6.5 out of 10) You would think that a live Entombed album recorded during the Gods of Grind tour would be a good album. You'd think that, right? How disappointing it was to give _Monkey Puss_ a few spins and never feel the energy or satisfaction an Entombed gig always brings (evidenced by their mind-blowing performance in Toronto on their _To Shoot Straight..._ tour). Despite covering some great material ("Stranger Aeons", "Sinners Bleed", "Evilyn", "Left Hand Path"), they actually came off sounding tired and uninspired. Who would have thought? Also the recording of the gig can be faulted, you can actually hear the quality improve and go down within a single track. To be brutally honest for a moment, Earache should stop trying to make money off bands that aren't on Earache anymore (e.g. Carcass) and look to the (bleak?) future rather than trying to recapture past glories. Guys, as opposed to releasing best-ofs or live albums, why not go out and sign a new and fresh metal band!?! Now there's an idea. Extol - _Mesmerized_ (Endtime, June 1999) by: Alex Cantwell (7.5 out of 10) To accompany Extol's brilliant 1998 debut _Burial_ [CoC #34] comes _Mesmerized_. It features one totally new song ("Enthralled"), a newly recorded version of "Prodigal Son" from the _Embraced_ demo, a previously unreleased song from the _Burial_ sessions ("Storms of Disillusions"), industrial remixes of "Burial" and "Renhetens Elv" by Sanctum, and an ambient remix of "Work of Art" by Raison d'Etre. The cover art is once again done by Kristian Wahlin, and is very similar in design to the _Burial_ cover, but with a different painting. The CD is a cool digipak and, like _Burial_, falls under the art direction of the brilliant Samuel Durling. The new song is a killer -- very technical, with many different parts. If this is a clue into the future sound of Extol, current fans will not be disappointed at all, because "Enthralled" is sleek and razor sharp. The immediately recognisable difference in the newly recorded version of "Prodigal Son" is that it is downtuned from where it once was, so it sounds much different. Disappointingly, the intro is not done with acoustic guitar like the demo version. The biggest change, though, is that they have created two entirely new parts in the middle of the song. "Storms of Disillusions" features guitarist Ole Borud on clean vocals, but they are distorted through the whole song, which adds an interesting atmosphere. This track also has a guitar solo in it -- something that they haven't attempted since their very earliest recordings. Although I think Cold Meat Industry's Sanctum has interesting music, I don't care much at all for these "industrial remixes" that they did here. Only a few riffs or vocal lines from the original songs ever surface in these musical dissections, and the final product seems patchy at best. The "Work of Art" remix by Raison d'Etre (also on Cold Meat) is actually really cool because it is basically just one ambient droning sound for the whole duration of the track, but as is stated inside, uses only original sounds, so I guess that they didn't use any of the parts from the original, and you sure can't hear any. While these industrial remixes are somewhat interesting, they take up half the CD -- valuable space that could have been used for more original Extol music, which is why I didn't rate this CD higher. Nevertheless, this is essential for the Extol fan and very recommended for other interested parties as well. Contact: Endtime Productions, PO Box 17142, SE-402 61 Gothenburg, Sweden mailto:endtime@durling.com Fantomas - _Fantomas_ (Ipecac Records, June 1999) by: Adrian Bromley (8.5 out of 10) If singer Mike Patton (ex-Faith No More) isn't committed to an insane asylum after authorities hear this LP, I don't know what'll happen to him. He's off his rocker! He's flipped his lid! Comprised of equal shares of insanity, mayhem and brilliance, one can't go wrong with sampling the work of Fantomas. Don't be afraid, kids. With a supergroup of henchmen helping out in the wings -- ex-Slayer / Grip Inc. drummer Dave Lombardo and King Buzzo and co. from The Melvins --, this lil' puppy really socks it to ya. Put this on, sit back and listen to the madness unfold. You'll never get the image of Patton running around the studio screaming incoherently out of your head. In short, nothing sounds at all right here, but inexplicably it all works out in the end. Contact: Ipecac Records P.O. Box 1197 Alameda, CA. USA 94501 Fornever - _We Whom Are..._ (, 1999) by: Adrian Bromley (7 out of 10) Omaha, Nebraska quintet Fornever have two things going for them right off the bat: 1) Brian Griffin (Broken Hope / En Sinfonia) producing and 2) an interesting array of material that spawns many genres of metal music (from death metal chants to doom/gloom riffs and choruses). That said and done, prepare yourself to journey into the solidly played five-song outing from these heavy hitters. Get ruffled up by the intensity of such songs as "Divine Immortal" and "Purify" and drawn into the stirring closer "The Garden of Never". While not perfect throughout, for the most part the styles represented here are in good hands. It's good to see a band step above the normal realm of metal music every once in a while, especially a relatively unknown band like Fornever. Solid work from a band that obviously worked hard to get where they are. No doubt they will have a future. Contact: http://www.fornever.com mailto:fornever1@hotmail.com Goddess of Desire - _Symbol of Triumph_ (Metal Blade, 1999) by: Adrian Bromley (5 out of 10) Sounding like a mix between the sinister stylings of death metal and older Slayer (circa _South of Heaven_) / Megadeth (circa _Peace Sells..._), the music here just seems to roll forward, no real variety thrown in. Sure it's brash and rockin', willing to give a wallop to the head every so often, but had this record had songs as bitchin' as the women adorning the CD inlay, then maybe it would have been more of a "Triumph". Godgory - _Resurrection_ (Nuclear Blast, April 1999) by: Paul Schwarz (5 out of 10) _Resurrection_ is a disjointed, though well produced, album created by more-than-competent musicians. The opening title track begins with a gothic-sounding keyboard atmosphere, which is then interspersed with big crunchy bar chord strums and pounding drum hits. The vocals which soon enter are growled, though these do vary to being spoken or clean, but not tunefully so. Strangely, this doom-like song is followed by the 100% Gothenburg death metal sounding "Crimson Snow". Though _Resurrection_ continues with songs more in the vein of the first from here on, there is still variation. Current-Hypocrisy-esque riffs emanate from a few songs while gothic atmospheres and symphonically catchy choruses are a fixture in most of the remaining tracks. The end result lacks identity, but my problem with this release is that none of the music is anything to get excited about. Closing _Resurrection_ with a cover of Accept's "Princess of the Dawn" was definitely a bad move, however. The end and beginning of an album are quite significant things in my view and to have the last memory of your album in someone's mind being someone else's song seems like a bad thing to me. Godgory have poured salt in this wound by choosing an album closing song to cover and by doing a cover which is pretty unexciting, though its attempt to combine the crunchy guitars and gothic tendencies of Godgory's music into the Accept original is partially successful and certainly daring. Overall, though, this is little more than an average album. Katatonia - _Tonight's Decision_ (Peaceville, September 1999) by: Pedro Azevedo (8 out of 10) If I knew every Katatonia album except their 1998 effort _Discouraged Ones_, I would have been seriously surprised, or even baffled, by _Tonight's Decision_. However, considering its predecessor _Discouraged Ones_, Katatonia's first album for Peaceville becomes a bit more of an expectable output, though that will most likely not be very clear during the first few listens. With guest Dan Swano somewhat unremarkably replacing Jonas Renske on drums, the biggest changes, or at least the most immediately apparent ones, concern Renske's vocals: still clean vox only, but different. These differences are quite hard to describe, as his vocals are rather varied throughout the album, but they're basically more "sung" than before; often less sombre, softer, apparently not as doomy. With time, though, a lot of it ends up sounding quite doomy after all; nevertheless, some of Renske's vocal delivery failed to convince me this time, some of his experiments didn't turn out so well and a few tracks suffer from that. As indicated by the once again superb and meaningful artwork, the album still carries an overall atmosphere of doom in its own way, differently but effectively, though perhaps not quite as much as before. But as I listened to _Tonight's Decision_ again and again, I gradually overcame most of the impression of strangeness and awkwardness I initially had. A few of the song structures are somewhat more complex than before, though the album is overall still mostly simple structure-wise. Several tracks tend to successively reveal themselves more worthy than initially suspected with each listen, but there are still enough less than brilliant choruses, passages and vocal arrangements here to keep the rating down to an 8 out of 10, as quality varies a lot within most tracks, from brilliant to somewhat unremarkable and misplaced-sounding. Instrumentally, Katatonia's current direction is hard to pinpoint, as it varies considerably from track to track: "Right Into the Bliss", for example, sounds quite like _Discouraged Ones_-era Katatonia; "A Darkness Coming" reminded me of present day Anathema; and a lot of the album reminded me of nothing in particular, not even earlier Katatonia. Not to say that this is all completely different, nor clearly less metallic than before -- typical Katatonia guitar elements still pervade a lot of the record --, but this -is- overall considerably different from _Discouraged Ones_ and after being given a generous enough chance it can prove itself a very good album. It's just that Katatonia have done better than "very good" several times in the past, and that's only occasionally the case here. Lacrimosa - _Elodia_ (Hall of Sermon, 1999) by: Alex Cantwell (6 out of 10) This is interesting, as it features the London Symphony Orchestra throughout its entirety, and was apparently composed entirely by members of the band. Of the eight tracks on _Elodia_, there are two kinds of songs: those where the orchestra performs the vast majority of the music and those blending Lacrimosa's metal/rock with the orchestra, sometimes to astounding results. All of the lyrics are in German, and the male and female vocalists both have powerful voices. They don't sound so good, though, especially the male vocals, but they certainly are powerful. The music is enjoyable, sometimes giving way to huge, lavish orchestral parts, and other times crushingly heavy. Another interesting thing is the fact that I had never heard this band previous to receiving this in the mail, and it seems that it would be quite an undertaking to hire the London Symphony Orchestra. Is Lacrimosa huge in Europe or something? How could an underground band afford something like this? Well, I don't have answers to those questions, but I can say that this is powerful music in its own right, and I would enjoy hearing a similar undertaking from any metal band who thinks they could pull it off. Contact: mailto:hallofsermon@compuserve.com Various - _Lobot Manual_ (Lobot Music, 1999) by: Gabriel Sanchez (6 out of 10) Hey look, a noise compilation... with no liner notes. Fuck Lobot Music then. When I open up a compilation, I want to see liner notes with artist addresses, thank yous, and a bit of background (hell, I'll settle for 2 out of 3), not "Lobot Manual - For more information write to:". When I purchase the fucking CD I want the fucking information in my hands while I listen to (what I hope to be) good noise. Oh well... where is ranting going to get me? At least the noise is going to be good... right? This compilation is a fine example of what happens when you put together the hoi polloi generic garbage noise/power electronics artists and have absolutely no big time names with uhm... let's see... TALENT to carry the lot. After running down the list of artists, I came to the conclusion that I had pretty much no idea who just about any of these people were, where they were from, or what sort of style they mingled with. Instead, I found myself bouncing from track to track holding my breath and hoping that it wasn't going to be even cruddier than the one I just finished with. There are some artists who take steps in the right direction towards making this mildly enjoyable, such as Dyslexis Coup's opening track and one followed a few tracks later by Dysthemia Scars. Flutter shoots out with a piece which hits just around average for them, though I found myself highly amused by the use of R2-D2 as a source sound. The rest of the compilation (as mentioned above) is throw away, though even the cruddiest bands have a few seconds of interesting noise here and there. I hear the profits for this are going to Food Not Bombs and the guys who made it are real nice... oh well. Buy it for that, or move on, I say. Contact: Lobot Music, 808 F St. #309, Davis, CA 95616, USA Lunar Aurora - _Of Stargates and Bloodstained Celestial Spheres_ by: David Rocher (7 out of 10) (Kettenhund Records, May 1999) Already Lunar Aurora's fourth full-length effort, _OSaBCS_ is a hateful offering of epic, very symphonic and warlike black metal that testifies to this German band's growing identity; indeed, despite the fact they never lacked musical qualities, Lunar Aurora had so far not always succeeded in being personal enough for them to really stand out among the plethoric black metal tide. This new album should, however, open all eyes to these black metallers' sincerity, as their violent blend of bellicose rage and eerie melody continues to refine, even after the metal scene has seemingly turned its back on this now rather breathless blackened metal genre. With a suitably murky, yet interesting and appealing production, the music contained on _OSaBCS_ is intricate and very varied, as serene atmospheric passages brutally transform into epic extremist assaults, carried by spectacular drumming and tight guitar playing; Lunar Aurora's main quality is that they don't merely rely on overwhelming facile keyboard melodies to turn lame guitar riffs into supposedly appealing and accessible tracks the way Mystic Circle do. No, Lunar Aurora actually consider synthetics as the very flesh of their songs, on the same level as the strings, drums or vocals, and in fact retain a considerable level of violence and harshness throughout the whole of _OSaBCS_. Even though symphonic black metal has been worn down to its weakest expression by countless bands making excessive use of single-fingered synthetic wannabe virtuosity, Lunar Aurora have proved, in my eyes, how faithful they are to this genre and its origins, a faith which truly haloes their art with a most occult and baleful light. Machine Head - _The Burning Red_ (Roadrunner, July 1999) by: Jody Webb (9 out of 10) In the past, I respected Machine Head because I thought they had their own sound, which I am finding to be an increasingly rare thing the more CDs I hear. But I never liked the music enough to be a fan. Now that _The Burning Red_ has seared my stereo, things are different! Rob Flynn has delivered what I consider to be the finest Machine Head album to date. While demonstrating the wisdom to avoid the staleness trap, Flynn simultaneously shows his deep talent by writing songs that are different -and- good. What it means is that Machine Head has mostly moved on from the simple, crushing tracks like "Ten Ton Hammer" to craftier cuts such as "Nothing Left". Fans, do not be distressed! The songs remain thick and muscular, and continue to feature that signature high pitched scream from the guitar pickups. In fact, the band achieves a supreme crunch on "Exhale the Vile". The only negative comment I have here concerns the notable influence from Korn on two of the songs. Did the new guitar player, Ahrue Luster, bring some baggage with him? Fortunately, it is a well done Korn sound, but whoever was responsible should check that baggage at the door next time. Finally, I never thought this before, but Rob Flynn has a great voice. Actually, he has a couple of great voices. I didn't know he could sing. I didn't know he could do throaty death metal. I sure didn't know he could rap. And I didn't know he could force his lungs to the point of failure, which happens on "The Blood, the Sweat, the Tears", at the end of which Flynn gasps "I'm gonna pass out..." before a collapsing sound is heard in the studio. _The Burning Red_ is balanced and good, through and through. My only question is, what is this fascination with burning things? Marduk - _Panzer Division Marduk_ (Osmose Productions, May 1999) by: David Rocher (9 out of 10) Allegedly and undoubtedly Marduk's most violent opus to date, _Panzer Division Marduk_ definitely has the devastating heaviness to match its uncompromising pretences! In a mere half hour of devastating, insane lightspeed brutality, Marduk have succeeded -- and with slightly more finesse at that than the blatantly unsubtle cover art suggests -- in spawning an album so massively aggressive it almost makes Immortal's ruthless masterpiece _Pure Holocaust_ sound like atmospheric black metal... The elements that concretely make the monstrously hostile deity _Panzer Division Marduk_ sound that much more aggressive than the Swedes' two latest efforts, namely _Heaven Shall Burn..._ and _Nightwing_, is that the powerful rhythm section lead by Fredrik Andersson and B. War does indeed move with greater velocity than it developed on _Heaven Shall Burn..._, but the greatest impression of speed is undoubtedly due to Morgan Hakansson's faster and more aggressive guitar lines, and the way in which Legion once again screams his baleful, unearthly grating vocals over the strings' saturated sound. Marduk's appointed guru producer Peter Tagtgren has once again graced this maelstrom of aggression with a very fitting sound that rings loud, sharp and powerful, and that greatly enhances the thick aura of malevolence and brutality emanating from _Panzer Division Marduk_. After worrying many fans with their rather mitigated 1997 album _Nightwing_, Marduk have this time again demonstrated that they are still, and beyond all doubt, the "fist in the face of God" Legion has claimed they are -- _Panzer Division Marduk_ is an outrageously warlike and totally unsubtle slab of pure hate, and an intense and very murderous new chapter in Marduk's blasphemous career. As Immortal so justly phrased it, "only the music of the truly dedicated will survive", and Marduk have once again clearly shown, if there ever was a need for this, that their charred, evil mark will undoubtedly remain seared deep into the poseur black metal scene's hide. Merciless - _The Awakening_ (Osmose, May 1999 / 1990 reissue) by: Paul Schwarz (7.5 out of 10) The praise I have heard bestowed upon this slab of violent thrash probably led me to expect too much out of it. I expected a vaguely original and crushingly crisply written late-eighties death/thrash assault, but what I got was a somewhat painfully Kreator-esque collection of fast thrash songs which, though well-written, are nothing special. Riffs, rhythms and vocals remind one instantly and strongly of Kreator while the pessimism of lyrical passages like "Don't wait for tomorrow / 'cause there is none" indicate clearly the period this was made in. To be fair, _The Awakening_, though far from being essential or classic, is a pretty fast, heavy and well-written late-eighties thrash record with decent lyrics, and worth checking out if you're looking for something to keep your _Extreme Aggression_ and _Beneath the Remains_ discs company. Mlehst - _The Difficulty of Crossing a Field_ by: Gabriel Sanchez (7 out of 10) (Bandaged Hands Produce, 1999) _The Difficulty of Crossing a Field_ is another in a long line in the latest noise trend of using CD-R as a means of releasing material. While I don't mind the format at all (in fact, the quality of the recording is much better than that of previous analog methods), I am starting to get in a bit of a tiff over the lack of originality in the packaging; most notably the sleeves for the jewel case. There is no information about the recordings, the artists, where to contact them, etc.. Just a dot matrix printed graphic with some cheap font logos. I know it is my duty here to inform you about the contents on the disc and not the package, and I do apologise, but... well... damn it's annoying! Anyhow, as for the noise itself... standard Mlehst. There's plenty of atmospheric style noise with a heavy minimalist overtone to the whole deal. If one is popping this in and expecting a harsh lesson in spontaneity and chaos, you bought the wrong damn disc. If a more laid back and surreal experience raises your Bismark, then by all means take a ride on the Mlehst express (though I must confess it moves more like a turtle with polio than a rip roaring steam engine). In all honesty this type of deal isn't my cup of tea, so I hope I did not ruin anybody's day by not fingering my own anus over it. It's perfectly acceptable for what it is. Final word. Mortician - _Chainsaw Dismemberment_ (Relapse, July 1999) by: Paul Schwarz (0 out of 10) Boring, uninventive, unnecessary. Three words which have always applied to Mortician, and which fit _CD_ like a glove. That said, this is the closest to enjoyable slab of Mortician I have yet listened to. If you are as yet uninitiated to the "delights" of Mortician, my advice would be to stay that way. However, if you want to know what you're letting yourself in for should you decide to indulge in the dubious pleasure of listening to _CD_, here is what will await you. Mortician produce death metal of a distinctly fuzzed-out, dirge-like quality. The structures mimic early grindcore/death bands like Carcass and, though mostly conducting themselves at lightning speeds (attained with the aid of a drum machine), Mortician also ear-mark the likes of Celtic Frost and Autopsy as influences by virtue of occasionally slowing their pace and attaining a more sludge-based sound. They constantly intersperse various obscure and classic horror movie samples into their albums to serve as intros of sorts for songs. For the record, the above mentioned bands to whom I compare Mortician, are themselves bands I respect and like very much, so explanation is needed as to why, though sounding somewhat like them, I think Mortician suck so supremely. Mortician's riffs are boring, almost beyond belief; the epitome of bad grindcore death. They lack any creativity when placed in a late-nineties context, and do absolutely nothing but bore seven shades of shit out of me. They don't invigorate, convey emotion; anything. The structures for songs which they employ are similarly unexciting, there is nothing creative or endearing, and I feel only the most primitive of minds could have failed to come up with structures of the complexity Mortician utilise. The drum programming is atrociously boring and lacking in creativity (there's that word again), no impressive breaks or rolls, nothing to excite, just percussive 4/4 smashes, occasional standard rhythm playing, and blast beats all the rest of the way. Will Rhamer tops it all off marvellously by barfing and grunting his way (like a man committing illegal acts of buggery with a wild animal, who is not sure whether his actions sicken or excite him) through this 48 minute (minus samples) trip through a death metal dumpyard of reused riffs, tired old lyrical themes and the out of date, decaying idea that brutality is all that a death metal album needs to be good. A number of people have proclaimed that Mortician are "cult" when I express my extreme dislike for them; being "cult" is no excuse for being crap. _Chainsaw Dismemberment_ richly deserves a 0 out of 10. It sets out to achieve very little in a time when death metal has come so far I would have thought we'd be in a position to demand more than just brutality out of it, and doesn't even succeed in its one stated aim: to prove Mortician are the most brutal band on the planet. They are not. They instead embody the kind of pig-headed idiocy that holds music in general, and styles like death metal especially, back. If you want brutality of a similarly short and sweet variety, I suggest you check out Assuck's _Misery Index_ or Nasum's _Inhale/Exhale_, just two of the hundreds of records more brutal and just plain -better- than anything the primeval intelligence of Mortician could ever come up with. MO*TE - _Stash_ (Solipism, 1999) by: Gabriel Sanchez (6.5 out of 10) Before I begin this review, let me just say that MO*TE entertains me. In fact, I have yet to hear a MO*TE release that does not fulfil this task. However, what MO*TE has yet to do is intrigue and challenge me. Unfortunately, this release proves to be no different. _Stash_ appears to be another in the long line of noise which Fumiyuki has sleep walked through and paid little to no attention to any use of innovative recording techniques, source sounds or effects. The noise contained on the disc proves to be solid as always and certainly leaves no room for any complaints; however, I cannot shake the feeling that there should be something more to all of this than the harsh, albeit simplistic, mix of dark tonal works and various walls of crunching feedback. As I stated in the beginning... entertaining, but hardly intriguing enough to make me shit my pants over. So where does this place _Stash_ in the great hierarchy of noise recordings? Who knows... but certainly no place more lofty than anything else that has been put out by MO*TE in the last couple of years. Much like Merzbow's _Tauro Machine_, this is a release only die hard fans may want to take a look at if they have a few extra dollars laying around, but I suggest the casual fan move on as there are better things being put out in the same vein and style as MO*TE's work. Contact: Solipism, 26 S. Main #277, Concord, NH 03301, USA Nagelfar - _Srontgorrth_ (Kettenhund Records, May 1999) by: David Rocher (8 out of 10) Nagelfar's 1998 debut, _Hunengrab im Herbst_ [CoC #29], had introduced this German three-piece (not to be mistaken with proud Swedish Dissection heirs Naglfar, who are signed to WAR Music) as a sincere, unpretentious band who had closely studied the art of black metal referrers such as Bathory or Darkthrone, and had neatly integrated these sources of inspiration in their own personal songwriting. Once again carefully balanced between cold-blooded Norwegian harshness and atmospheric grandeur, _Srontgorrth_ contains five long tracks, among which are two finely reworked versions of excerpts from Nagelfar's demos and one from their first full-length. However, fans should not be disheartened by this fact, as the rewritten and replayed tracks have been treated with great respect and conviction, and this new recording truly grants them a second life, with new and stronger arrangements, improved playing technique and a few great new ideas in the domains of melodies and song structures. The two entirely new tracks are what you could logically expect from Nagelfar, with the track "Kapitel Vier, der Winter: Trummer" being an innovative experiment in electronics for the band. As a definite non-fan of technoid interludes in metal albums, I must admit that this track, however, plays very pleasantly and contains some very enthralling atmospheres which violent metal tones can't necessarily claim to invoke. Producer Andy Classen has once again crafted a fine sound for this release, that is definitely no typical black metal production -- aggressive, grating guitar lines evolving over a clear and intelligible rhythmic background, with an optimal dose of keyboards and vocals. Nagelfar's second full-length is once again a humble, yet excellent black metal release, that should not fail to appeal to open-minded black metal addicts who care to see intelligence fuse harmoniously with extreme songwriting. Various - _Needlepoint_ (Varicocele Records, 1999) by: Gabriel Sanchez (7.5 out of 10) _Needlepoint_ proves to be another in a long line of noise compilations which features tracks of sheer brilliance that make you want to stand up and shout to the world, "I'm a noise fan, and I'm damn proud of it!" while delivering others that send you on a mad dash to hit the fast-forward button. In the case of _Needlepoint_, however, they have wisely divided up their compilation. The first side features the sultans of swat themselves with artists such as Kazumoto Endo, Stimbox and Skin Crime topping off the list, while the second dives straight down (way down... keep going... hit the bottom? There you go...) into the realm of ambient-esque, atmospheric noise. So basically one is left knowing that side 1 equates out to "Good, Great, Wonderful!" and side 2 is sitting somewhere between "Turn This Shit Off" and "Johnny Fetch My Gun". Some may state that atmospheric noise has its place and I tend to agree it does have its place... in the dumpster out back. When one is treated to such masterful work such as that of a Kazumoto Endo or Skin Crime (who I should note win extra Brownie Points (tm) for titling their track "Mountain Dew Is My Life's Blood"), it is hard to stomach the works of artists who revolve their entire overly drawn out tracks around just a handful of sounds. While the compilation certainly doesn't feature the worst atmospheric styled noise I have ever heard, even the well executed style falls short in long run. It is by the good graces of some divine force that the first half of this compilation delivers on such a high level that those artists who are collected together for the second half are easily laid to the wayside and forgotten about. The compilation as a whole is well worth purchasing for the first side alone, which leaves an entire back side to be used for dubbing your friend's Sugar Ray CD or getting a nice static infested version of Pearl Jam's rip-off of "Last Kiss" from your local Top 40 station. In that sense, I suppose it's not all that bad after all. Contact: Varicocele Records, 503 E St., Davis, CA 95616, USA mailto:varicocele@yahoo.com Novembers Doom - _Of Sculptured Ivy and Stone Flowers_ by: Adrian Bromley (8 out of 10) (Martyr Music, July 1999) With the walls of My Dying Bride crumbling at an alarming rate (a new member leaves every month -- what gives?), solid gothic-laced / death metal / doom ensemble Novembers Doom picks up the slack of its notable idol and so eloquently carries the torch with conviction and passion. Beneath the powerful pounds of doom sonic overcharges rests a shining hope of collective ideals and brilliance. Novembers Doom captures a world of doom that has yet to be explored. It's groundbreaking and versatile at the same time. Take to heart the state of metal music, and forget all as the music of this band captivates your mind and soul. Piece by piece, Novembers Doom's architecture helps create a perfect foundation for the band to work from. Much stronger than their debut mCD, the self-released _For Every Leaf That Falls_, this release is a wonderful array of musicianship that helps etch their work into a wholesome format. Once again, I bow to Novembers Doom. Obscenity - _Demo-Niac_ (Morbid Records, May 1999) by: Paul Schwarz (7 out of 10) I doubt that the two Obscenity demos (_Amputated Souls_ and _Age of Brutality_) which make up this release are, as Morbid Records claim, "the most demand rarity's in the Death Metal scene" (direct quote), but for their time (1991 and 1993 respectively, I believe) they are not too shabby. The first, _Amputated Souls_, begins with the same sample of singing used, bizarrely enough, at the beginning of hip-hop group The Fugees' hit 1997 track "Ready or Not" (which I'm told is from Enya) -- this does make it a little confusing at first, but mostly what this intro does is illustrate (through its full, pronounced sound) how tinny the sound of _Amputated Souls_ is. Musically, it is somewhat derivative, even for the time, and overall offers little but nostalgia for Obscenity fans to get excited about. _Age of Brutality_ is much better. I really like the pulsing drum sound achieved on this release and though the songs are, again, not light years, or even a hair's breadth, quite honestly, in front of the death metal fore-front of the time, there are still some good leads, well performed brutal vocals, and insane, powerful drums, to kick you in the ass. Definitely one for fans of Obscenity, and also worthy of investigation if you are particularly nostalgic about your death metal. On Thorns I Lay - _Crystal Tears_ (Holy Records, June 1999) by: Pedro Azevedo (7 out of 10) Neither of the two albums I heard from this band before the release of _Crystal Tears_ impressed me enough to make me want to become familiar with them, but in both cases On Thorns I Lay seemed to be searching for something special, a sound and style of their own; they just didn't seem to be having much success -- at least not apparently. Still, their new album's title track opener made me think that On Thorns I Lay might have found something really interesting this time; but while this doesn't sound too much like any other band in particular, it's not extraordinarily innovative, either. They currently play a very soft sort of metal with male and female vocals, and it is their use of a violin that is mainly responsible for the album's best moments, especially the excellent title track I mentioned before. The problem when you have such a fine opener, however, is that the rest of the album doesn't quite sound so good anymore, and that is clearly the case with _Crystal Tears_. Some more interesting passages do appear, but never again is a similar level of quality reached. The music is at times somewhat doomy, but always in a very soft way, with mellow guitars, keyboards and the aforementioned violin. The quality of the male vox varies a lot, and so does that of the music itself, as tracks like "Enigma" and other miscellaneous passages sound quite poor compared to the title track or "All Is Silent" -- clearly the album's best couple of songs. Still, most of the album is at least average, and then it also contains those two especially good songs. Satyricon - _Intermezzo II_ (Nuclear Blast, May 1999) by: Adam Wasylyk (8 out of 10) The first recording for their new label Nuclear Blast, _Intermezzo II_ is a good indicator of the future musical path of Satyricon, which is a slightly more advanced sound in comparison to their last LP _Nemesis Divina_. The lone new track, "A Moment of Clarity", boasts a more mature songwriting approach, utilising speed with some seriously moody parts. The cover of Sarcophago's "Irni" is probably one of the fastest Norwegian black metal songs I've heard in a while. It's one of those tracks that by merely thinking about it gets you excited. Simply awe-inspiring. Also a re-recording of "Nemesis Divina" can be found, along with an ambient track created with the help of Thorns' S.W. Krupp, which if listened to too many times can warp the mind. Clocking in at around 20 minutes, if you can find a good price for it I highly suggest picking this up. Sephiroth - _Cathedron_ (Cold Meat Industry, June 1999) by: Adam Wasylyk (8 out of 10) Sephiroth exemplify the best qualities of a Cold Meat Industry band. Boasting an ambience sound with chilling and unforgettable musical passages, this is the sort of musical experience you never forget. What's great about this music is you can turn the lights off and let the music take you to places, from the highest peaks to the darkest recesses of the soul. I'm not the biggest fan of this genre, but Sephiroth have encouraged me to give more of this type of music a try. Not for the close-minded metalhead, but for the individual who desires to travel without leaving the room. Skepticism - _aes_ (Red Stream, 1999) by: Aaron McKay (8 out of 10) What a nice evenflow feel this mCD by Skepticism has running through it, like a predator on the prowl at dusk. Self-titled "emotionally artistic funeral doom", Skepticism has more to offer, I believe. Unabridged, unqualified passages absorb the listener concurrently through the nearly 28 minute, one-track composition. Resonant cymbals splash with timely washes of despondency. Guitar usage is at a minimum, serving to intensify the feeling of the distraught progression of the passage. I was first exposed to Skepticism on Red Stream's _To Live Is to Ever Be in Danger_ compilation. The chosen track for that release was "Pouring" from the _Aeothe Kaear_ 1995 demo. While both are beautifully crafted pieces, the _aes_ mCD track is more mature and directed. "Pouring" has a sound more equitable to death funeral doom, specifically due to the gravel-style vocals present and a forging tempo, where _aes_ tries to stake a claim to a babbling brook through a dank forest feel. Skepticism is a band to be embraced. I intend now to wait patiently for their next full-length release. Soilwork - _Chainheart Machine_ (Listenable Records, September 1999) by: David Rocher (9 out of 10) Soilwork's 1998 debut, _Steelbath Suicide_ -- a fine taste indeed of these Swedes' technical, melodic and thrashing death metal --, had succeeded in whetting many a metalhead's appetite up, owing to the large helping of energetic, addictive metal it offered. And now, as Soilwork are poised to unleash their second effort, _Chainheart Machine_, be prepared to be more than merely satiated! Ten seconds into an industrial, grating techno beat, the title track "Chainheart Machine" kicks in with crushing rhythmic heaviness, midway between At the Gates' glorious masterpiece _Slaughter of the Soul_ and Carcass' referential milestone _Heartwork_, before exploding into breakneck blastbeat velocity, that then instantly recedes before rumbling double bass antics, loaded with catchy, energetic and melodic riffing, seared with Speed Strid's furious, foaming-at-the mouth vocal delivery. As the nine tracks of _Chainheart Machine_ unfold, from the raging speed of the title track to the mid-paced heaviness of the hymn "Spirits of the Future Sun", through to the light-footed, melodic string-picking riffs of "Millionflame", lightspeed virtuoso guitar leads tinged with an almighty '70s aura furiously give chase to intricate twin axe attacks, uncompromisingly demonstrating how increasingly mature and personal Soilwork's own style is growing -- more than just another flock of sheep in the once again organically expanding death metal landscapes, these deathsters have grafted something special to the now trademark Gothenburg sound and shaped it according to their own will and sound... and judging from the ease with which Soilwork first asserted their style with their 1998 vintage, and have now succeeded, anno 1999, in giving their musical scope far greater breadth, their readily disclosed potential seems yet far from having reached its peak... Stimbox _Caveat Emptor_ (Solipism, 1999) by: Gabriel Sanchez (8.5 out of 10) "Let the buyer beware..." a wise piece of advice handed down from antiquity but one that only half applies in the case of Stimbox's second CD release. One must beware of any Stimbox output in the sense of what it could do to one's stereo system, sense of hearing, and/or social life if played too loudly, but at the same time one can always rest assured that any big heaping dose of Stimbox noise is not to be loathed but embraced in a most loving manner. Stimbox's Napoleonic approach to his noise has always intrigued me for a number of reasons. There are no attempts made at being distant with the sound or using guerrilla tactics to sneak in sound bites here and there; leaving the listener's mind as quickly as they came. Instead, Stimbox masses together his noise in one beautiful formation, bows his head down, and charges strait in with no second thought. There is a Romantic beauty to this free spirited attitude of how to deliver a package as sensually accosting as Stimbox in the form that he does. There may very well indeed be great care and planing behind this full forced assault, but the ranking strategist never lets out any of his secrets. Instead he watches from his mount, distanced far away from the scene of battle, and smiles as his mustered army of madness takes the day once again. Formulaic? Perhaps... but still marvellously effective. Contact: Solipsism, 26 S. Main #277, Concord, NH 03301, USA mailto:stimbox@idiom.com Suicidal Tendencies - _Freedumb_ (Suicidal/Radiation, May/July 1999) by: Paul Schwarz (8.5 out of 10) This was a difficult record to put pen to paper on and judge, but I have finally managed it, and I think I have got it right. What ST have essentially done with _Freedumb_ is regressed back to the roots of their self-titled debut and beyond to an even more basic punk formula. _ST_ may have been a raw and primal hardcore punk album, but it had melodic twinges and metallic elements which, for me at least, enhanced its impact immensely, creating a tumultuous, rolling snow ball of angst, black humour, sharp social commentary and pure unbridled rage which was also ridiculously and infectiously catchy. _Freedumb_ certainly has rage and also dynamics, and definitely retains the outspoken, opinionated lyricism which ST have long been noted for. Songs like the title track opener, "Ain't Gonna Take It", "Scream Out" and the proclamatory "Hippie Killers", among others, embody the spirit of true US hardcore and punk, resurrecting the sometimes criminally forgotten spirit of such bands as Minor Threat and The Misfits. The less all-out tracks like "Naked", which often employ a stronger dynamic and also brief flirtations with more alien musical styles, such as the one with ska on "Half Way Up My Head", also work most of the time and overall _Freedumb_ is a very listenable and enjoyable album. But, and you knew there was one coming didn't you?, there is something missing from _Freedumb_. It falls short of being as great a record as _ST_, _How Will I Laugh Tomorrow When I Can't Even Smile Today_ or other ST classics, and also of being as great a record as I feel this classic band could have made in 1999. The trademarks of intricate bass work, raging guitars and Muir's impressive vocal tirades are all in place with maybe only the supremely catchy vocal melodies and solos of oldies of the ilk of "I Want More" or "Suicidal Failure" missing. However, it is mostly the overall feel of _Freedumb_ which doesn't quite attain the heights the band have previously reached. No songs here can match a cut on _ST_ and win hands down, which to be fair is something that can be said about many hardcore or punk albums made in the last fifteen years, but even putting this somewhat harsh comparison to one side and taking the style and songs of _Freedumb_ for what they are, the record as a whole lacks the seamless cohesion and endearing flow ST have previously achieved, especially with their debut. This is still one of the best hardcore punk albums the '90s has brought forth and it is a good record in its own right, but out of a new ST record? Me, I want more. Suicidal Tendencies - _Freedumb_ (Suicidal Records, May 1999) by: Jody Webb (7 out of 10) The sole original cyco Mike Muir has concocted a high octane combustion of punk and thrash that jolted me from the first spin. By the time they blasted out the last note of the fifth track, I was hailing this as the comeback of the year. Somebody located their songwriting ability and breathed new life into it with punk! There is not a trace of the generic metal or gratuitous funk bass churned out on the mediocre _The Art of Rebellion_. Indeed in true punk form only a handful of songs reach past the three minute mark and as I write I find myself wondering if there is even a guitar solo on _Freedumb_. On the other hand, the flip side to punk is the risk of degeneration into sameness, and unfortunately Muir was unable to keep it fresh. After a few songs this album begins to go in one ear and out the other. Suicidal has returned to the energy and aggression captured on _Suicidal Tendencies_, but the music here lacks depth and the forgettable lyrics never approach the irreverent, off the top of the head classics found on that first masterpiece. Some of this kicks major butt, though, and I would be lying if I told you that great songs like "Freedumb" or "Cyco Vision" were not my anthems for the summer. Summoning - _Stronghold_ (Napalm Records, June 1999) by: Adam Wasylyk (9.5 out of 10) Combining black metal influences with an ambient backdrop, Summoning have created something truly special here. Never the ones to sound predictable or similar to their contemporaries, Summoning proudly walk down their own path of musical genius. This type of music can't be faked, the emotions and atmospheres that Summoning create are unparalleled on any release thus far this year. Soaked in keyboards, _Stronghold_ is one of the better albums I've heard to fully utilise them. At times majestic and at others chilling, an entire spectrum of emotions are explored in the full hour of music here. A sure top 10 entry of 1999 in my books, Summoning's new piece of work won't go unnoticed in the black metal / ambient scene. This can't come more recommended. Tormentula - _Submit Your Unworthy Soul_ by: Adrian Bromley (8 out of 10) (Speakeasy Records, July 1999) For those of you out there looking for beautifully sculpted songs, songs that speak as if angels had crafted them, allowing you to take rest and take in the sounds, then go look elsewhere, assholes. Fuck that pansy shit. Ravenous female trio Tormentula play the raunchiest, most sadistic doom-laden sounds to hit the circuit in some time. The massive screech fest spawned from these vixens, called _Submit Your Unworthy Soul_, is a slapfest to society's morals. Fuck everyone. Hail Satan, have a brewskie and kick it out like you're a gun-toting nut job on a mission to kill. Mama warned us about women like these, boys. Bring it on Tormentula! Contact: http://www.speakeasyrecords.com Undertakers - _Live in Brutality_ (Nocturnal Music, May 1999) by: Paul Schwarz (6 out of 10) Live albums are generally put out as contract fulfillers, cash-ins or alternatives to best-ofs. It's a fact, let's face it. This is not to say I don't enjoy them sometimes, because I do, sometimes. A live album from the underground, though, is a dubious prospect. Are there really enough fans of a band as small as Undertakers to warrant a CD containing five live originals, one SoD cover and two remastered demo tracks with a total running time of twenty eight minutes? [According to sales figures of this, there are, since I am informed that it has shifted 500 copies in two weeks -- Paul.] The live sound on this is surprisingly good, the material is mostly new and as yet unheard, the SoD cover is well performed and the demo tracks have been given a professional sound, but if I were scoring solely value for money, you could knock four to five marks off my rating. Contact: Via B. Longo 211, 80147 Napoli, Italy http://members.tripod.com/nocturnalmusic mailto:nocturna@tin.it Unholy - _Gracefallen_ (Avantgarde Records, May 1999) by: Pedro Azevedo (9 out of 10) Unholy have changed. The painfully slow, often repetitive, dirgeful music that they usually played before isn't quite as much so nowadays and the band has even incorporated a substantially greater amount of female vocals and keyboards than those found on _Rapture_ [CoC #31] (vocalist/keyboardist Veera Muhli is now a full-time member of the band). But if you're thinking that Unholy now play in the same league as The Gathering, you're very wrong. Unholy have changed, but only for the better, and this doesn't include a reduction in doom. The female vocals are as simultaneously soothing and sombre as on _Rapture_'s "For the Unknown One", which is what a lot of the music on _Gracefallen_ sounds closest to, while the keyboards only contribute further to the depressive metallic atmospheres Unholy create. As I mentioned above, this isn't as extremely slow, repetitive or dirgeful as before, though those adjectives are still valid for _Gracefallen_; but this -is- deeply doomy and remarkably, relentlessly crushing, thanks to the hugely heavy guitars and death vox that are also part of this painting of desolation. Just listen to "... Of Tragedy", "Daybreak" or the skull-pounding "When Truth Turns Its Head", for example -- I am nigh unable to pick highlights from _Gracefallen_'s first six songs, they all deserved to be mentioned. This is remarkably powerful music and truly superb doom metal. Unholy have basically succeeded in picking the best elements from _Rapture_, improved them and mixed them with new, -adequate- elements (something that many bands miserably fail at), reaching a much more consistent result than before with more going on in the music throughout the album's nearly 63 minutes as well. -This- is a fine example of "progression", a word nowadays spoken and/or written so frequently whenever a band changes for the less extreme (which is definitely not the case here), often almost regardless of the actual quality of the result. _Gracefallen_ is the best doom metal album to reach my ears since Evoken's outstanding _Embrace the Emptiness_ and the main reason why I'm not giving it a 10 out of 10 is that the album tends to lose a lot of its grip during the last three of its nine tracks -- mainly "Haoma", but "Seeker" and "Athene Noctua", although good, aren't quite as great as the rest, either. "Athene Noctua" provides an adequate, though somewhat excessively repetitive, end for the album. Still, this is definitely one of those albums that is excellent despite simultaneously being quite different from the norm, which ultimately makes it even better. Unusual Sickness - _Sounds of a Shattered Soul_ by: Adrian Bromley (5 out of 10) (Nuclear Blast / PHD, April 1999) A little uneasy at times, Unusual Sickness kicks out the jams as we have heard so many times before. With a sound reminiscent of old school Slayer/Metallica mixed with the modern Bay Area thrash sounds of Machine Head / Skinlab (though lesser in influence), it doesn't take long for the band to sound familiar. Oh, the joy! At many times throughout this Mexican trio's record did I think I was actually listening to a Slayer disc. Sounds flattering, I guess, but also a real knock on their own material, eh? I don't know... I am just thinkin' it's great and all to show respect to metal pioneers, but striving to work someone else's material seems a little wrong and no doubt boring. Good for a few licks here and there, Unusual Sickness takes on a more "usual" metal sound as the record finishes up. Despite the less than spectacular review, I must say some of those guitar riffs smoke more than President Bill Clinton's cigar. Contact: Unusual Sickness, Nicolas San Juan 1340, Col. Del Valle C.P., 03100, Mexico, D.F. mailto:usickness@hotmail.com Valse Triste - _Turha Ruokkia Ruumiita_ (Solardisk, July 1999) by: Pedro Azevedo (5 out of 10) Looking at the album cover and seeing a band name such as Valse Triste, I expected to find some sort of doom metal here. However, _Turha Ruokkia Ruumiita_ turned out to be Scandinavian (more specifically Finnish) punk/crust containing 21 tracks that last for a total of 28 minutes, so I was just -slightly- misled by the album's appearance. Not being familiar with this specific genre (nor with any kind of punk in general, for that matter), I still enjoyed some of the material here, which is a good sign, but quality varied very significantly from track to track -- and that spans from the musical quality itself to production. The Finnish language doesn't seem to work too well here, at least compared to the Norwegian I'm used to from black metal, though most of the vocal delivery doesn't help much. Despite some good passages, the music didn't do much for me, even though I was willing to give the album a fair chance, regardless of the fact that it belonged to a different genre than those I choose for my everyday listening pleasure -- as long as it contained some well crafted sonic violence. However, being used to more captivating and also more extreme music as far as aggression is concerned (in which that aggression is also far more focused and much better applied to the music itself), the rest of the elements here are all far from able to stand out by themselves. Fans of the genre may be interested, considering some of the material here, but this doesn't have much to offer to anyone seriously into extreme metal except a different attitude towards music, which _Turha Ruokkia Ruumiita_ didn't help me personally feel more attracted towards than I was before. Contact: Solardisk, Box 50, 90251 Oulu, Finland Viking Crown - _Unorthodox Steps of Ritual_ (Baphomet Records, 1999) by: Aaron McKay (10 out of 10) This should be short and sweet, kiddies! I couldn't have been any more impressed with this -killer- release if "Anton Crowley", Viking Crown's sole member and co-member in Necrophagia, came over to my place and laid down this sensationally brilliant effort before my very eyes. Originally recorded in 1994 under the efficient executive production of Killjoy, also of Necrophagia, "Anton" was -so- ahead of the black metal curve for U.S. bands that it confuses reality. Songs like "Satan Ruler of Earth", "The Judas Goat" and "Invocation Towards the Conjuration of Black Souls" should give you some idea of the direction of Viking Crown's sound. It's all here, boys and girls -- black metal blastbeats, warped and twisted vocal screeches tempered with low-end esophagus work, and tireless, unyielding guitar conflagrations. If you don't like this -- you should stop reading my shit! ALL HAIL VIKING CROWN! Contact: Baphomet Records, P.O. Box 282, Wellsville, OH 43968 USA War - _We Are War_ (Necropolis Records, May 1999) by: Paul Schwarz (3 out of 10) Well, all I can say is "Thank God I don't have to listen to this ever again". Though not religious, I feel that God needs to be figuratively thanked for the fact that when this review is finished _We Are War_ will not again be spun by me (except maybe to laugh at it briefly with colleagues and friends), since Satan seems to have had some hand in forging "The ultimate anti-Christian, anti-human musical statement". What that above quoted press sentence is supposed to entail I don't quite know, but judging by the music which spews forth from _We Are War_'s bullet-adorned CD, "The ultimate anti-Christian, anti-human musical statement" is a boring, derivative, solely-brutal black metal record on which songs fade out like they're taken off rehearsal tapes and certain misguided Scandinavians decide attempting to cover Sodom's "Bombenhagel" is a worthwhile way to take up time. The three out of ten you see above is only there because "We Are War" and "Kill God" are actually quite decent songs; however, were these removed from _We Are War_, not only would you be left with a mere twenty minutes of original material, you'd also notice my score drop by at least two points. War are summed up very well by the titles of their own albums if you replace the word "war" with "boredom" and "boring" on _Total War_ [the band's first release, CoC #29] and _We Are War_, respectively. [Thanks to Count Gnat for help with that last sentence. -- Paul] Various - _White: Nightmares in the End_ (The End Records, 1999) by: Aaron McKay (9 out of 10) What a great forum, once again, for The End Records here with this nine-song release. The previous compilation came into being in February '98 (if memory serves me correctly), so now we welcome this as the new testament to The End -- _White: Nightmares in the End_. Four tracks, counting the newcomers, Love History, harbinger the tomorrow for the label; in other words, material not yet available taken from upcoming releases. The Greek Odes of Ecstasy's "Abstract Thoughts", taken from their soon to be released sophomore CD, start off this musical conglomeration. It has a less metallic bend to its texture. More harmonious and not as guitar slanted and even kind of doomy. I like this new path the band has ventured down. Next on the listing for the CD is Sculptured with their song "Snow Covers All" from an album unfamiliar to me, _Apollo Ends_. Remembering back a way, I seem to recall listing Sculptured's _The Spear of the Lily Is Aureoled_ as one of my top 10 albums of last year. "Snow Covers All" did not disappoint me a single bit! Another advance listening from a forthcoming effort is delivered by Mental Home. "Stained" is a "mix" off the as of yet unreleased _Against the Sun_. Not getting to see Mental Home at the Milwaukee Metalfest, due to Visa troubles, was a -huge- let-down, but this song makes certain strides to curb that frustration. EXCELLENT! As I patiently await Love History's full length effort, "The Gleam of Midnight Sky / Smell of Tears" is pacifying for all of their 11-plus minute track. Truly a most welcome addition to The End's line-up, more or less in the vein of Sculptured or Scholomance, but having an identity unto themselves, I assure you. Powerful! Agalloch next commands the listener's attention. Please read Brian Meloon's excellent review of this group in CoC #41. Superior song here -- very superior! Mistigo Varggoth Darkestra, also reviewed in issue #41, has a great excerpt of the intimidating blackened track "The Key to the Gates of Apocalypses". This "clip" of the song, if asked, I -also- would have chosen to place on this compilation. It more than demonstrates MVD's musical wingspan of diversity. Naturally, The End could not have placed -all- of the band's 72 minute track on _White_! As an aside, I understand that MVD went into the studio and recorded the entire album straight through in three hours. Now that is my idea of knowing what you want! Missouri's Scholomance, track seven, provides the most eclectic, progressive form of death metal on this compilation. Warmly placed sound clips together with Scholomance's unique style, which is very impressive indeed. Epoch of Unlight's "Conflagration of Hate" from _What Will Be Has Been_ (interview in CoC #39) is still one my personal favourite tracks off their stunning release. They absolutely -slayed- as a three-piece unit at the Milwaukee Metalfest! Awesome! The last song on _White_ is Nokturnal Mortum's "Perun's Celestial Silver" from their coming effort _Nechrist_. Actually utilising the "extra" instruments, not the typical guitar/drum/bass work, even thought all these are present in -finely- crafted form, but instead speaking more to the woodwind instrument heard at the beginning adds volumes to this track. I anticipate the rest of _Nechrist_ will be this masterful and brutalizing. Seek out this compilation, people. New stuff, new bands, but the same effort on The End's part -- to "find the best metal music from around the world and work hard on spreading it everywhere". Mission accomplished, gentlemen! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= __ __ _ /\ \ \_____ __ /\ \ \___ (_)___ ___ / \/ / _ \ \ /\ / / / \/ / _ \| / __|/ _ \ / /\ / __/\ 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 Exhumator - _Condescentions From the Dark Side_ (3-track demo) by: Nuno Almeida (****-) This band has quite a history. Formed in 1989 in Minsk, Belarus (then still a USSR republic), they managed to release three albums. Because of their very poor distribution, Exhumator crumbled to pieces, with various members leaving the band. In 1994, they recorded the _Sacrificial Bleeding_ demo, but before they had the chance to release it, their vocalist Vadim Akimov died. They released the demo anyway in 1995 but didn't print the lyrics to the title track; I suppose in consideration to Vadim. I have this demo and although the music is good, brutal death metal that can be compared to Cannibal Corpse and Deicide, the sound quality is very bad. That ruined the power and strength that the music might have had. Later that year, the band decided to move to Belgium, where they recorded this three track demo last year. The style is basically the same, with a little more growled vocals. The production, however, is better. On this demo, they also recorded the track "Sacrificial Bleeding". Although I'm not really a big fan of brutal death, I liked the demos and hope the band gets up on their feet again now that they are in a new country. Contact: Alexander Bourei, Rue Seutin, 43, 1030 Bruxelles, Belgium http://www.chez.com/helleven/exhumator/ (Also reviewed in Ancient Ceremonies #3 -- http://come.to/ac-zine/) Forcefed - _Special Places_ (8-track demo) by: Adam Wasylyk (***--) Wearing their musical influences on their sleeve, it's obvious that bands like Slayer had a huge impact on the sound of Canada's Forcefed. Meshing elements of death, speed and thrash metal, at points Forcefed sound like an amalgamation of influences, rather than an unique entity onto itself. However, what we hear on _Special Places_ can't simply be written off. Able to write a cool tune, more than half of the eight (!) tracks on this demo are quite good, which contain the odd sound byte and even a live track. Ex-Brutal Truth bass grinder Dan Lilker apparently had a hand in the production of this demo, and I'd be lying if I said his work was any better than on the thousands of demos presently circulating around the scene. The sound is a bit underproduced, but it never deters the attention from the music which is key. I rarely review demos, but I felt that Forcefed are really onto something and I wanted to tell it like it is. I definitely look forward to hearing future releases by the band. Contact: Forcefed, Box 5115, Pembroke, ON, K8A 6W4, Canada mailto:forcefed@mailcity.com In Grey - _Seasons Change_ (4-track demo) by: Pedro Azevedo (****-) Though Sweden is easily one of the most productive countries nowadays as far as metal is concerned, gothic metal has never been a genre Sweden has been renowned for. In Grey are one of the bands who struggle against that situation, and they have been doing that for quite a while now -- since 1992, _Seasons Change_ already being their fourth studio recording and possibly their last independent release. Not that there is anything mindblowing about it, it's just that the band already shows signs of enough professionalism and musical quality to justify a label deal. Though not innovative, _Seasons Change_ still provides an entertaining listen; some of the second track, "In Heaven", brings to mind Anathema's latest works, and those specific sections are quite well done. This isn't to say that there aren't some bland riffs or rather average passages here, but In Grey usually manage to come up with something that will carry the song onward quite well most of the time, usually a more melancholic guitar or keyboard passage or a more atmospheric part. All the band members play very competently throughout the demo (not that the music is ever very complex anyway) and the clean vocals are generally good (especially the spoken parts). Complete with a nice cover and with the CD-R recording providing some help for the very decent production, _Seasons Change_ is a good demo from a band that seems quite serious about their music and has its share of talent. They still need to focus it better to make a more consistent record -- mainly improve the more metallic side of the guitar work and keep a stronger feeling throughout the whole record instead of throwing in more "rocking" tracks such as "Like This", which isn't a bad track in itself --, but _Seasons Change_ is nevertheless quite enjoyable and unusually well performed for a demo. Contact: Dennis Liljedahl, Uttinivagen 3, 129 38 Hagersten, Sweden mailto:dgcreative@swipnet.se http://listen.to/ingrey =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= ____ __ __ /\ _`\ /\ \ /\ \__ __ \ \ \/\_\\ \ \___ __ ___\ \ ,_\/\_\ ___ \ \ \/_/_\ \ _ `\ /'__`\ / __`\ \ \/\/\ \ /'___\ \ \ \L\ \\ \ \ \ \/\ \L\.\_/\ \L\ \ \ \_\ \ \/\ \__/ \ \____/ \ \_\ \_\ \__/.\_\ \____/\ \__\\ \_\ \____\ \/___/ \/_/\/_/\/__/\/_/\/___/ \/__/ \/_/\/____/ ____ __ /\ _`\ /\ \__ \ \ \/\_\ ___ ___ ___ __ _ __\ \ ,_\ ____ \ \ \/_/_ / __`\ /' _ `\ /'___\ /'__`\/\`'__\ \ \/ /',__\ \ \ \L\ \/\ \L\ \/\ \/\ \/\ \__//\ __/\ \ \/ \ \ \_/\__, `\ \ \____/\ \____/\ \_\ \_\ \____\ \____\\ \_\ \ \__\/\____/ \/___/ \/___/ \/_/\/_/\/____/\/____/ \/_/ \/__/\/___/ M I L W A U K E E , H E R E I C O M E A G A I N ! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CoC covers the Milaukee Metalfest XIII at the Milwaukee Auditorium in Milwaukee, Wisconsin Friday and Saturday July 30th & 31st, 1999 by: Adam Wasylyk Thinking about the 13th instalment of North America's premier metal festival leaves a bittersweet taste in my mouth. Not that those in attendance (at least 4000+, including CoC scribes Adrian "The Energizer" Bromley, Paul Schwarz, Alain Gaudrault and Aaron McKay) necessarily had a bad time, as many of the 160+ bands demonstrated that metal couldn't be further from "dead". But what lingers in the mind is how much better it could have been. Early drop outs (Morbid Angel, Manowar, Machine Head) and last minute ones (mostly Scandinavian black metal in the form of Satyricon, Marduk, Mactatus and Mental Home) gave a lot of metal fans something to feel shitty about. But many bands promised to play showed up and proceeded to kick some major ass. Including mine. Originally scheduled to take place at the Wisconsin State Fair Park, this plan was eventually dropped due to bureaucratic bullshit and a last minute venue had to be found. No better place could have been found than the Milwaukee Auditorium, air conditioned with plenty of space for four stages and a large vending area. This may have been a blessing in disguise, as Milwaukee's temperature on day one of the festival was over 100 degrees Celsius, which would have made for a day in Hell (however appropriate that may sound). [100 degrees Celsius, eh Adam? I guess you guys had no trouble boiling water in that mosh pit! -- Gino] Day one featured a varied array of acts, catering to a number of metallic tastes. The gang arrived at approximately 4pm, well rested and ready for some great metal. The first band I saw worthy of mention was Chicago's Ember. Not what I remembered them to sound (and look) like, I was thrown back for a moment as I came to the realisation that this was the same band that sounded like Enslaved (in my ears, anyway) at last year's Fest. Boasting a smorgasbord of influences, it was metal all right, but difficult to nail down exactly what kind. The vocalist ranted like a madman, while the drumming kept things moving and tight. Cool stuff. Fellow Canadians Kitty took to the Bruce Hall (the main stage) to a curious bunch of onlookers, most likely more interested in the band being comprised of four hot chicks rather than what they sounded like. "Do you wanna hear some cunt metal?", the blonde in the band yelled at the audience. "Hell yeah!" Meshing metal with alternative rock/punk influences, surprisingly it sounded pleasant and eerily pleasing. "Do you think I'm a whore?", one of the brunettes in the band yelled at the audience. "Hell yeah!" Surprisingly, they had a larger crowd than some of the upcoming acts, although it's doubtful that it was because of their musical integrity. The Relapse stage would prove to be the place to be for a large part of Friday. The first band to pique my curiosity was Bongzilla, the band not two feet away from a bong or a copy of High Times. Playing their brand of sludgy metal with vocals from Hell, they played a variety of tracks from their new album _Stash_ which the crowd on hand lapped up merrily. Next up were Dillinger Escape Plan, who have created quite a name for themselves as a live band. Going nuts as soon as the first chord was stuck, these guys never let up from beginning to end. Playing hardcore sped up a thousand times, the start/stops and off time signatures really messed with my head. Disorienting, to say the least. Today Is the Day never fail to disappoint, and Milwaukee #13 was no exception. Steve Austin must be troubled; I've seen no front man for a band this pissed off and agitated. Taking the mic into his mouth to accentuate his screams, Austin's performance would prove to be the highlight of their set. Fucked up noise metal. Gotta love it. Another fellow Canadian band Solus ended up following Soilent Green, but unfortunately didn't retain much of their audience. Playing to a mostly empty Relapse stage, it didn't stop the band from playing an energetic set of metal with death influences. Having heard some talk about wanting to catch their set, I was surprised by the lack of people on hand. But with three other stages playing at the same time, it was bound to hurt many bands in attendance. After checking out one song of The Gathering, it was time to see why Brazil's Krisiun have such a cult following. Hearing but one song showed me why this band are so popular in the death metal underground. The Morbid Angel-isms combined with a go-for-the-throat attitude made the band's half an hour set both exhilarating and exhausting. Occasionally bland because of too much speed where better control of tempo would have been more favourable, overall Krisiun won the packed Kilbourn Hall over in spades and will hopefully come back to these parts soon. Norway's Twin Obscenity made my worst of the Fest list, simply because they seem unable to write a song that one can remember after it's over. Containing a keyboardist who was nice to look at but looked totally out of place, the band seemed uncomfortable and couldn't excite the half capacity room, many of whom I followed out the door. Wish they stayed home, to be totally frank. Time conflicts soon became too painful to bear, as both Oakland's Neurosis and Sweden's In Flames were scheduled to play at the same time. But due to a delay on the Kilborne Hall stage, I was able to check out half of each band. Neurosis, with their brand of hardcore/noise/metal accompanied with movie screen backdrop depicting downcast and incomprehensible images almost made me unable to tear myself away to check out the Scandinavian act. In Flames put on a good show, but not knowing some of their material may have hampered my potential enjoyment. Highlighted by "Episode 666" and playing tracks from their new album _Colony_, I was glad to have gotten the opportunity to see them, knowing they most likely won't be back for some time. The Misfits, who I surprisingly enjoyed (contrarily to many I would later speak to), closed out the night. Being completely unfamiliar with their material (apart from the tracks Metallica have covered in the past) and having heard their fans sing along with the band made me wish I wasn't so. Oh well, ho hum. Mass quantities of beer would be consumed on this night, with our own Paul Schwarz having a bit too much and paying for it the next morning. Rookies! Day two wouldn't start for us until 3pm, missing as many pay-to-play bands as possible. Unfortunately, I was to miss Markham, Canada's Rotting, who I later heard played a powerful set of brutal death metal to a near-packed Kilborne Hall. Victory's Shutdown followed on the Bruce Hall stage where they played a 20 minute set of speed/thrash metal -- for some reason, the band like to label themselves "hardcore". I can honestly say I didn't hear ONE OUNCE of hardcore, just dated metal music. Sure they may look hardcore, but they don't play it. Whatever. Back to the Relapse stage, which contained more great bands to check out. California's Benumb kicked some major ass, playing 30 second to one minute blasts of pure aggression. Effortlessly meshing hardcore with grindcore elements, it's music that the hardcore kids can appreciate and the metalheads can get into. Vocalist Pete Ponitkoff's face was beat read by track two, and ready to explode by the set's end. Fucking intense the whole way through. Sweden's Nasum proved that grindcore is an international way of total brutalization. Featuring drums on full blast with a bassist who was unable to stand still for even one second, they played a number of tracks (that I could discern, anyway) from their _Inhale/Exhale_ debut on Relapse. Not playing the full half hour as originally scheduled, they did however make an impression on the audience, that of an auditory representation of a charging bull. Intense, to say the least. Atrocity played a cover of Tears For Fears' "Shout". 'Nuff said. A death metal phenom if there ever was one, Nile had no problem proving to the Milwaukee audience why they're one of the more intense live acts around. Playing a number of tracks from their highly acclaimed _Amongst the Catacombs of Nephren-Ka_ (climaxing with "The Howling of the Jinn"), the drumming was spectacular while all four members contributed vocally to the malicious onslaught. One of the best bands to play the Fest, hands down. Holland's Sinister sounded (to me, anyway) to be the fastest of the 160+ bands on hand, with guitaring that's really something to behold. The beer was starting to kick in, so song titles started to become a blur, but Sinister's tight musicianship and good sound could never be forgotten. Quebec's Gorguts showed 'em Yankees how death metal is really played, despite being a member short. Playing without Steve Hurdle, it did have an effect on their sound as the technical brilliance exhibited on _Obscura_ didn't shine through as when I last saw them as a complete band. Not deterred, they played a good half hour to a sizeable crowd who showed their appreciation appropriately. Closing out the show was Greece's Rotting Christ, who were only able to play about four songs until the promoters pulled the plug. Playing mostly new stuff with one track being an older one, they travelled too far to play such a short set. Almost a disappointment to see them for such a small amount of time, I've never been a fan of RC but I've recently culled my releases by the band to give 'em another listen. Who knows, perhaps they'll get another chance to play America. I just hope it's sooner rather than later. And just like that, the festival was over. However, this year wasn't just about the bands. It was also cool to get to talk to people about metal, this coming from someone who's from a town where death metal is only starting to get the attention it deserves. Accompanied with some great pot and lots of beer (excluding American beer, which could generously be called "piss water"), it truly made it a year to remember. Incidentally, the talk recently has centred around Holland for Dynamo 2000 for the CoC crew. We'll keep you updated. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= P A U L P E R U S E S W I S C O N S I N ' S F I N E S T ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CoC covers the Milaukee Metalfest XIII at the Milwaukee Auditorium in Milwaukee, Wisconsin Friday and Saturday July 30th & 31st, 1999 by: Paul Schwarz Introduction ~~~~~~~~~~~~ This year's Milaukee Metalfest went through so many "last minute" (as in last month) problems that it was looking at one point not simply that it would be one big anticlimactic disappointment, but that it would not happen at all. The first line-up casualties this year were the headliners, with Manowar and Machine Head both cancelling mere weeks before the Fest was to go ahead. Rumours suggest that Machine Head pulled out due to the "extreme" line-up of the Metalfest ("Didn't want to play with too many death metal bands" was the way it was put to me) and Manowar wanted more money than was offered. Another possible explanation, however, is that Jack Koshick (Metalfest organiser) put these bands on the bill before a contract with them was signed and thus the bands may never have been set for Metalfest in the first place. In any case, the fact stands that high-profile headliners were not what Metalfest ended up with this year and thus Neurosis / The Misfits and Cradle of Filth were the more low-key lynch-pins for the two days of music and metal madness that the 5000 or so attendees were treated to. This year a venue shift was also planned. The idea was to take MMF outside to the Milwaukee State Fair Park, but when legal wrangles forced Koshick & Co. to fight a court battle over the right to hold it at this venue, a court case which was lost, the decision was made to move the festival back indoors, though not to the Eagles Ballroom where recent Metalfests have taken place, but instead to the Milwaukee Auditorium, a large, air-conditioned complex which housed all four stages with ease. To be honest, the oppressive and ludicrously humid weather made this new location a godsend; I think if MMF XIII had been held outside it would have been a painful and very unenjoyably hot experience. With a venue in place it was time for a few more bands to pull out, with Satyricon, Marduk, Morbid Angel, Nevermore and Solitude Aeturnus all cancelling, some mere days before the event was to go ahead. All this taken into account, then, it was with some trepidation and much pessimism that I made the trip down to Milwaukee for the second year running. Heading down with colleagues and generally respected metalheads is always fun, and in traditional fashion the festivities began the day before the festival itself, with beer being consumed, jokes being cracked and great dialogues being had, long after Thursday night had faded into oblivion and the early hours of Friday morning had come upon us. Thus, sickness and headache greeted me on Friday as I prepared for a day of excruciating volumes and sweaty rooms, but this did not manage to stain the two days of music, which, at points, were almost revelatory. The four stages this year's Fest played host to were an Arena-style stage, Bruce Hall, two medium sized rooms adjacent to each other, Kilbourn Hall and Juineau Hall, and an upstairs seated and furnished conference room, Plankington Hall, which was where Relapse had their sponsored stage. Moving between these was relatively unhindering and even the climb to the upstairs Relapse-sponsored stage was no hassle. Though the three apart from Bruce Hall got a bit hot once a large number of people were crammed into them, in general the air conditioning made things at least bearable, certainly a comparison to previous Metalfests. But hey, enough of my yappin'... let's buggie! Friday 30th July ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After walking around the venue to check out the layout, various rooms, stages and tables full of merchandise, the first band who I actually took time to watch were ...And Here I Lie. They had a doomy feel to their music, most commonly chugging along and sprinkling melodic runs sparingly into the dirge-like mix, and reminded vaguely of the style of _The Fourth Dimension_-era Hypocrisy. Vesperian Sorrow took Bruce Hall's dauntingly large stage next and were quite the unusual combination of factors. Would you believe in the existence a black/death metal band with keyboard backings and an European feel who come from Texas and dress like a hardcore band, with Texas leaning like chequered shirts thrown in for good measure, who are signed to the Dutch death metal label Displeased? You wouldn't, would you? Well, Vesperian Sorrow are just that and, to be fair, they were also actually pretty decent despite their unusual image. First on my list of bands I -intended- to check out were Chicago's Ember, who seem not only to have taken a slightly different musical path of late with their _Concession_ EP but also seem to have had an image change for good measure. A few supporters I know of walked out of Kilbourn Hall right after they walked in because they assumed that Ember weren't Ember. However, the few songs I caught sounded good and, despite emphasising the more punk leanings the band have recently taken on (especially with their cover of The Misfit's "Earth AD"), showed that they still have the power to kick some ass in the live arena. From The Depths followed Ember and impressed me mildly, showcasing a good range of dynamics and utilising melody well. Their highly appraising demo reviews in previous issues of this magazine were not overzealous, judging by tonight's performance, though I did leave briefly to get an opinion on the band currently whining their way through a set on the Bruce Hall stage, London Ontario's Kittie. This band are to me a female, punk/riot girl version of the Death Kids, with attention-grabbing stage antics, novelty status and painfully average music in abundance: I left quickly in mild disgust. By this point in the day stages were already running late, a problem which would persist and become increasingly more agitated as the festival progressed, and so I arrived at the Relapse stage a bit before Bongzilla hit it and during the last few minutes of Fall's set. Fall seemed to be a death-tinged grindcore band who had achieved a good sound and had the confidence to play competently and look good on stage, and thus were worthwhile, though a long way short of a stand-out. Bongzilla's sound filled the air and created a similarly encapsulating feel to Burn the Priest last year. However, like Burn the Priest, I found their music (which is of the stoner/Eyehategod variety) to be similarly uninteresting after prolonged listening. The same syndrome of heading for one band, finding they were late and thus catching another occurred when I came across Centurion on the Kilbourn Hall stage. Their take on _Harmony Corruption_-era Napalm Death / Massacre's _From Beyond_ was unastounding, though still suitably powerful, but Epoch of Unlight, who I had come to see, were a lot more worthy of my time. Having only heard rumours of their talents and no actual music, I was pleasantly surprised to be impressed by Epoch of Unlight. They play a technical mix of American death and European melodic death and possess more than a hint of black. The singer's vocals are thankfully far beyond inconsequential, as can sometimes be the case when a technical melee is on the cards, and in any case the band's technical prowess and occasional use of breakdowns was a pleasure to watch. Epoch are certainly a band I will be making an effort to hear more of in the future. Today Is the Day kicked my ass for a man. Once again (this is the third time I have witnessed them and also the third time I have gotten a severe ass-kicking) they totally slayed live. Their sound was utterly raw though devastatingly clear, shoving the sporadic guitar work and insane drumming right in the audience's collective face. Steve Austin was once again a visual, musical and emotional focal point with his intense motions, mike swallowing and generally anguished presence enhancing the feeling of anger, disgust and fury which the spastic tones of Today Is the Day inevitably convey to the listener. Once again a highlight of the Metalfest and certainly the best band to play on Friday. Unfortunately, stage conflicts meant I could only catch a song and a half of Solus' set, but what I heard sounded as proficient and deadly as their past live appearances and their recently unleashed _Universal Bloodshed_ album. Krisiun were my reason for leaving Solus. These Brazilian deathsters have a lot of thrash, a lot of technical prowess and a recipe for musical insanity in place on their records which led me to expect a live performance would be almost unbearably intense. I was a little let down. Though playing powerfully and well reproducing tracks from both _Black Force Domain_ and _Apocalyptic Revelation_, Krisiun lacked a fine-tuned clarity, especially in the vocal department, which meant that much as their impact was intense and violent, it did not draw the listener into their violent soundscape like their albums have that wonderful ability to. Granted, the spiralling solo-work of the single guitarist was captivating and the drum work was, especially in parts, astoundingly complex, but the performance was not the extra one up on their albums I had hoped it would be. Neurosis' performance on the main stage, Bruce Hall, was similarly disappointing. Though projectors were present and a good sound was in their possession, Neurosis were not the life-changing spectacle live which I had been told so many times they are (and unfortunately they didn't play my personal favourite track, "Locust Star", either). At points I was drawn into their set enough to really live and breath the experience in the way I had been told would be the case, but they were not enrapturing enough to stop my mind from constantly wandering and pulling me back to the rather ordinary reality of just watching a band perform their material. I watched Neurosis' set, I enjoyed it, but I did not live it, and that was a shame. Watching all of Neurosis led me to miss the majority of In Flames, who I am told were pretty astounding this evening. I was not convinced by the selection of _Colony_ tracks and old favourite "Behind Space" which I heard, and though I will admit In Flames were good, I found their stage presence a little lacking. The night came to a mushy halt with The Misfits. Though their spikes, muscular physiques and unusual make-up and hairdos made for an imposing stage presence, which was backed up by their energetic jumps and runs around the stage and an impressively crunchy sound, they became somewhat tedious after fifteen or twenty minutes on stage and played an overabundance of recent or soon-to-be-released material, somewhat neglecting older classics. They also spent a ridiculous thirty minutes sound-checking, which was irritating, to say the least. Overall, The Misfits weren't that much of a disappointment since I hadn't expected a great deal from them, but they were a disappointing end to the first day of music at Metalfest XIII, and were certainly no substitute for Manowar. Saturday 31st July ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Today began at 17:00 for me with Lividity's appearance on the Kilbourn Hall stage. For the record, bands today started at 11:00 (yesterday it was 16:00) so we missed quite a considerable chunk of music, though nothing we -knew- was going to be any good apart from Toronto's own Rotting, who we meant to see but arrived late for -- sorry, guys. Lividity I had gone to check out solely because I had been told their stage comments relating to female genitalia were funny in their brash, offensive tone. I wasn't let down. Though the proceeding music was always -very- unexciting American death metal, proclamations like "This song is -Pussy Lover-!" or "This song is about getting fucked in the ass", chantings of "Show your pussy" from band to audience and comments on how the band hope the audience enjoys their new album capped off with "Ladies, we hope you blow your guys to this" kept me entertained, to say the least. That final comment resulted in an immediate middle finger salute from one female member of the audience, which is pretty much how I felt towards Lividity by the end of their set, with regards to both their music, their comments and the novelty of them that they seem to be exploiting for commercial gain. Next up on this same stage were New York's Withered Earth, a band I am not only familiar with but also one whose music I enjoy. Their set was good, with a decent sound backing the band up and good performances turned in by all, though the drummer should be mentioned specially for his subtly excellent cymbal work. The band captured a good groove live and pulled off their various breakdowns and song dynamics seemingly with ease. I will admit their somewhat hardcore-like appearance threw me off somewhat, judging by the distinct death metal sound they have, but it certainly made no difference to their impressive performance tonight. Next up were Pessimist, a band who certainly -do- wear their death metal stylings very much on their sleeve, or rather in their leather trousers, bullet belts and toned physiques. However, the band are more than just an imposing physical presence; their technical brand of brutal death is also an imposing musical force to be reckoned with and they certainly impressed me more than expected in their short 20 minute appearance. Late running stages again led me to catch bands I had intended not to bother with, and I would have been happy to do without Exhumed, who were still grinding at the Relapse stage when Nasum should have been on. Exhumed are bearable but painfully generic and derivative and not that exciting to watch live. Nasum were quite a contrast. Though also a grindcore band, their songs are far better written, their anger is more affectingly obvious and their attitude seems more professional. Though they had a few sound problems which cut into their set and not every moment captivated me, their overall effect was devastating, especially when they played "The Masked Face" and its follow on. I was only able to catch one song and a half of Dying Fetus (who were almost as viciously devastating as usual, even in that short time) despite leaving Nasum early to catch them, as a late running Kilbourn Hall but on-time Bruce Hall meant that Usurper were starting only five minutes, instead of half and hour, after Dying Fetus. Usurper were no kind of compensation for missing even three minutes of Dying Fetus, let alone over half their set. The singer's Tom Warrior-isms can become almost embarrassing at times, while his attempts to invigorate the crowd in-between songs had him sounding like a monkey. Additionally, the band played neither "Necrocult Part 1" or "Dead of Winter", which are surely some of their best songs, and the other members were not even close to stunning enough to offset the singer's inadequacies. Disappointing and close to just plain bad. One thing I was going to make sure of today was that I saw The Chasm, and this led me to go into Juineau Hall (for the first time this weekend!) early and thus catch some of Lorde of All Desires' set. They seem to be decent, keyboard backed melodic death, with a gothic tinge, and though unexciting were far from offensive. However, I had come to see The Chasm, and my waiting was not without reward. Beginning with the vicious one-two of "Revenge Rises" / "Drowned in the Mournful Blood", The Chasm slayed and were one of the best bands of the weekend. Though some of the melodic, and especially acoustic, intricacies of the music showcased on their latest _Deathcult For Eternity: The Triumph_ album didn't come out live, their Slayer-esque stage appearance and similar live impact made them a deadly force to be reckoned with. I missed two songs of Atrocity (who I was quite hyped up to see) to watch all of The Chasm, but to be honest that was definitely the right decision: Atrocity were a big disappointment. The two songs I missed were '80s covers; Atrocity played two more before I left and another one as I was leaving. The old material they played was poorly chosen in addition to the fact there wasn't enough of it, with the title tracks of _Blut_ and _Wilenskraft_ getting an airing along with "Necropolis" from _Hallucinations_ (which they played nearly two full times due to sound problems which cut off their first, nearly completed, attempt to play the song). Atrocity were just that today: an atrocity, and, to paraphrase one of their covers, sets like these are the things -I- can do without. Fortunately, changes in set times did mean that I didn't have to miss the beginning of Nile because of spending time watching Atrocity and thus I saw South Carolina's Egyptianally innovative death metal gods perform for the third time this year. Playing without samples, Nile began with "Barra Edinazu" and followed up with "The Black Hand of Set", "The Howling of the Jinn" and "Pestilence and Iniquity" before I looked at my watch, realised Immolation were about to play, and somehow managed to extract myself from Nile's enrapturing aura. Nile were astounding, with a truly inhuman presence imbuing them and making their set an experience far above simply watching a band play their music live. Despite Nile's near-godly presence, I in no way regretted leaving them to see Immolation. As some of you may already realise, Immolation are a personal favourite of mine and they have also just released what will surely remain as one of 1999's death metal triumphs: _Failures For Gods_. From beginning to end their set was as violent as it was moving; Immolation injected me with the primal energy of pure enjoyment as they raged through "Once Ordained", "No Jesus, No Beast", "Under the Supreme", "Unsaved" (cut a little short by sound problems), "Into Everlasting Fire", "Dawn of Possession" and the ultimate closer (which also closes _FFG_), "The Devil I Know". Immolation were most certainly the band of the Metalfest for me this year; I bow down before them and shake with the anticipation of seeing them live in London, England early in September. After being flattened by Immolation, I waited a while to check out Cradle of Filth, tonight's headliners. After a long and drawn out classical, organ tinged intro, the band hit the stage with a rather mushy sound and I quickly became bored and headed to the other stages to see what else was on offer. Upon finding nothing of interest at that point, I went back to the main stage a while later to catch Cradle finishing "Dusk and Her Embrace", then playing new track "From the Cradle to Enslave" and then beginning "The Twisted Nails of Fate" before I again got bored and headed off to the Relapse stage to see Gorguts. Of course, they were in a wholly different class. Though second guitarist Steve was absent, Lemay and his two remaining compadres managed to very convincingly pull off a captivating set. Many tracks from their warped and brilliant _Obscura_ were aired along with "Stiff and Cold" from _Considered Dead_, and though they weren't destroyed by Steve's absence, there were times in the _Obscura_ material where one felt that something was certainly missing. All in all, a great set but one which could have been better. The last band I caught this year were Rotting Christ, who took the Kilbourn Hall stage nearly an hour later than scheduled. This being the Greeks' first time ever in the US, it was gratifying that their presence was as strong and energetic as when I saw them support Deicide in London back in February. However, the band were cut off after less than twenty minutes because the festival had a curfew time which had been reached. With police around the building, the organisers obviously didn't want to risk problems, and thus, despite crowd and band protestation, Rotting Christ were unceremoniously removed from the stage. This was the ultimate end result of a very late running stage. I think time and thought should be expended to avoid similar problems in the future. Conclusion ~~~~~~~~~~ This year Metalfest was an overall success. The second day in particular presented enough great bands and stunning performances to offset the disappointment of so many cancellations, even of bands I was dying to see. The jury is still out for me as to whether four stages is a good thing. To be honest, I only went to three most of the time and even these provided and had the potential for enough clashes to really get on my nerves, so I imagine four stages all with bands I was interested in would have been near to impossibly irritating. The late running of the stages, especially Kilbourn Hall, should be fixed just to make it possible to know when you can see a band and to prevent what happened to Rotting Christ happening again. I know it seems like quite a demand, but giving each band their time and absolutely no more would be the best solution, otherwise there's often one who pays for the delay in the end, and thus the fans also pay. Additionally, I would like to say thank you to Relapse Records for providing food and drink for some of us in a nice secluded room and of course for once again bringing so many of their bands, some of whom were among the best at the festival, to Milwaukee this year. To close, here are some funny things which happened or which were heard at Metalfest, apart from those things, such as Lividity's stage comments, which have already been mentioned. 1. A rather dishevelled-looking person sitting in a corner holding a sign saying "Will put out for food and shelter". 2. One person screaming "Kill -all- the Christians!" after leaving a band in Kilbourn Hall. 3. Will Rahmer of Mortician, who decided that one woman idly stepping on a flyer needed to be stopped, and thus went and kicked her on the foot to get her to move off the flyer saying "Excuse me, can you move your foot, please?". She moved it. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= A S S O R T E D A S S E R T I O N S ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CoC covers the Milaukee Metalfest XIII at the Milwaukee Auditorium in Milwaukee, Wisconsin Friday and Saturday July 30th & 31st, 1999 by: Adrian Bromley & Alain Gaudrault ADRIAN'S ASSUMPTIONS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Well... it could have been a disaster, a really big one, but thankfully it wasn't. I am glad to say that the group of us who made our way to this year's Metalfest (which included CoC-ers Adam Wasylyk, Alain Gaudrault, Paul Schwarz and Aaron McKay) made the best of the time there. With many headliners cancelling in the weeks/days leading up to the festival (Satyricon, Machine Head, Manowar, Marduk) and with promoter Jack Koshick in a complete frenzy trying to fight action by many to ban the festival from the original festival area of Wisconsin State Fair Grounds, who knew if this was going to happen. But it did and even though the festival had moved back indoors (to the bitchin' Milwaukee Auditorium complex) and bands had cancelled, all those who made the trek from the North were pleased with the end results. This was the third time I have gone to this festival, four times if you count the inaugural March Metal Meltdown in New Jersey last March, and I must say I had the most fun this time. It rocked! Here is a quick summary of the good and bad points of Metalfest XIII: THUMBS UP ~~~~~~~~~ Bands: Today Is the Day, In Flames, The Gathering, Bongzilla, Nile, Benumb, Lorde of All Desire, Gorguts, Immolation - The *nice guys* in Cephalic Carnage - Doing the "W" at Thursday night's drinking fest - Those funny Chris Bruni-isms - Perkins (good wholesome American food) - No last minute cancellations during festival - Meeting friends and colleagues and just hanging out - Meeting CoC-er Aaron McKay (could you be any taller?!) THUMBS DOWN ~~~~~~~~~~~ Bands: Mortician, Internal Bleeding, Earth Crisis, Atrocity - Fuckin' long ride home - The border stop (GRR!!) - The 100+ degree heat - Mediocre service at Perkins at 2am - Not much leg room in mini-van (11 hours plus is a long time, kids!) - Having to deal with housekeeping at 10am - Having to hear Adam Wasylyk whine about my snoring all the time ALAIN'S ASSESSMENT ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THUMBS UP ~~~~~~~~~ Dying Fetus -- truly the highlight; kicked... my... ass... Neurosis -- a THC-lover's visual and aural delight, a feast for the senses Soilent Green -- can't stop gushing about these guys Nile -- even without much of their effects Today Is the Day -- new drummer astounds, Austin as fucked as ever Sinister -- tight, crushing, and luckily, great sound Gorguts -- despite Hurdle's absence; Lemay's fret-work is sheer beauty Immolation -- even with iffy sound Morgion -- new material a bit weak, but great set Summon Indecision The Chasm Lord of all Desires Solus -- keep an eye out for these guys, tres death/speed cool Cephalic Carnage -- for providing much-needed weed! Milwaukee Auditorium -- far better than The Eagles Ballroom Guy heard shrieking "Kill all the Christians!!!" while walking about Guy with "Will put out for food and shelter" sign THUMBS DOWN ~~~~~~~~~~~ No-shows by Man-O-War, Marduk, Satyricon, Incantation and Morbid Angel The Misfits -- Michael Graves *cannot* sing Mortician -- for consistently putting out Moron Metal Flotsam & Jetsam -- mediocre set, pointless Sabbath cover wasting time Cephalic Carnage -- for not being as good as their weed Spotty sound (what else is new?) Scheduling skews (ditto) Food vendors (for being rip-off artists) Cheapskates with "spare change for beer" signs =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= C A N A D A : N O C H U R C H - B U R N E R S A L L O W E D ! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Emperor, Witchery, Borknagar, Peccatum and Divine Empire at the Reverb in Toronto, Ontario, on July 14th, 1999 by: Adam Wasylyk This was probably the highest anticipated underground metal show of the year thus far, as 300+ (a record of some sort here in Toronto) came out to see some of Scandinavia's highest praised metal artists. Even the mighty Gino made an appearance, complete with both shit kickers and decked out in full corpse paint! Now I know his soul is purely black... First off were the Floridian death metal unit Divine Empire, who everyone knows contains ex-members of Malevolent Creation. Having seen them a couple of times before, they did what they do best; playing aggressive death metal that rises above the many mediocre bands in the scene. The track "Silent Carnage" was the highlight and a definite trademark of the band, combining deadly riffs and some supreme blast beats. The crowd acknowledged their strength, as Divine Empire received a good response considering they were playing to a mostly black metal crowd. What quickly became apparent was how soon Peccatum took the stage, something like 15 minutes! Why can't every concert be like this? Waiting 30 minutes between sets sucks; this show was a monument to how smoothly a show can go, and I'm sure it contributed to the enjoyment of many in attendance. Peccatum were the wild card on the bill -- while not the prototype of the black metal sound, the band contains Emperor's Ihsahn, his wife Ihriel and her brother Lord PZ. Combining several elements such as black, death, classical and even opera, the foursome (accompanied with another male vocalist) were backed by drum machine (which sounded great) and programmed keyboards as both man and machine blended effortlessly into an extraordinary sight to behold. Ihriel's vocals right on par with those on their CD _Strangling From Within_ and Ihsahn's flawless guitar playing really made for an exciting listen. Highlighted by the track "The Change", I could tell that many in attendance didn't understand what exactly they were hearing. I admit that Peccatum may sound idiosyncratic on the first listen, but if given the chance to grow on you, they'll never leave an arms length of your CD player. Borknagar followed quickly behind, backed by new drummer Nick (ex-Cradle of Filth). I'm not entirely familiar with their material, but listening to their material live moved me to spin their albums once again. Combining their core sound of black metal with some retro and classic metal influences, it's cool to hear something truly different coming out of Norway. Not bad, although about half an hour is about the right length of time to check out this band for. Next up were Witchery, who many were here just to see. Playing both old material and new stuff from their upcoming _Dead, Hot and Ready_ album, the crowd reacted strongly to their black metal / retro sound. Not bad, but I couldn't help but think that these guys were merely an obstacle between me and Emperor. Ho hum. Emperor would not disappoint on this night. Having played Milwaukee with no keyboards, tonight I would get to experience the entire Emperor sound. Starting off with "Curse You All Men!", Emperor would go on to prove that they couldn't be denied on this night. Despite the absence of Samoth, who because of his criminal record was denied passage into Canada, Ihsahn was up to the challenge and worked double-duty to make sure their guitar sound would be just as deadly. And they succeeded. Songs to follow were "I Am the Black Wizards", "The Loss and Curse of Reverence", "Thus Spake the Nightspirit" and the godly "Night of the Graveless Souls" with great keyboards courtesy of touring member Charmand Grimloch (Tartaros). Spectacular as far as both sound and choice of material, Emperor's near hour long set won't soon be forgotten. A mind-blowing night of European black metal, this show will go down in record books as one of Toronto's best shows in memory. I was glad to be a witness to it. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= U.S. OF A.: CHURCH-BURNERS ARE PEOPLE TOO ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Emperor, Witchery, Borknagar, Peccatum and Divine Empire at Ground Zero in Spartanburg, South Carolina On July 20th, 1999 by: John Weathers Last Tuesday, I drove two and half hours to see a band whose music I have admired since I first heard them back in 1996. And the mighty Emperor did not disappoint me live! But I jump ahead of myself... Emperor and Borknagar are currently on a small "Kings of Terror" tour through some parts of North America. They inexplicably passed over my city of Atlanta, GA and instead descended upon the smaller town of Spartanburg, SC. On the day of the concert, I took a half-day at work and drove to Greenville, South Carolina, where I met up with a friend of mine before proceeding to Ground Zero, which is seemingly located in the middle of nowhere in Spartanburg. Ground Zero isn't exactly a nice joint, but it is fairly roomy on the inside and is about the size of an average full-fledged dance club. There is a long bar on the ground level and a second bar below in a lower lounge level where couches, pool tables and a TV reside. When my friend and I arrived, a small crowd of thirty or so people stood outside the entrance. My friend, being dressed in business casual attire, felt distinctly out of place among the other concert goers who were decked out in various metal t-shirts, leather and consistently black articles of clothing. I, at least, was somewhat dressed for the occasion in my all black slacks and t-shirt. I was glad that I didn't wear my "Cruelty and the Beast" t-shirt, as there were far too many Cradle of Filth t-shirts in the crowd. The average age seemed somewhere around 19 to 20, though some folks my age (22) and older were present and more arrived later. We arrived at 7:20pm and the show was scheduled to begin at around 8pm. Unfortunately, this estimate was far from accurate. They didn't even open the door until around 8:45. In the mean time, we could hear Ihriel and Lord PZ from Peccatum practising their vocals to Ihsahn's guitar work. It was then that it actually sunk in that I was finally going to see one of my favourite bands playing live. Now don't get me wrong -- I love Peccatum --, but it was kind of strange to be standing outside and waiting to get inside a metal concert and to hear Ihriel's opera style vocals as though we had gathered for a performance at the Metropolitan Opera House. After waiting in the accursed humidity for over an hour, the club finally opened its doors and the group of 100 or so metal fans entered Ground Zero. At around 9pm, Divine Empire took the stage and the until then rather spread out crowd closed in more tightly around the stage, but at this point the crowd still wasn't very thick. Apparently, this Florida based death metal group consists of ex-Malevolent Creation members. As my tastes lean more towards Swedish death metal than towards old school death metal, I cannot say that I am familiar with either band. They struck me as decent if not outstanding examples of the genre. I did note that I rather enjoyed their usage of two vocalists in alternation and sometimes in unison -- one with a really deep guttural death vocal and another with a slightly higher and more hiss-like vocal. The contrast worked nicely and reminded me somewhat of the pair of death vocal styles on Orphanage's track "At the Mountains of Madness" from their sophomore album _By Time Alone_. The band managed to stir up a small mosh pit, but for the most part the crowd did not get too worked up for this band. Then again, when the vocalist barked at the crowd to make some noise, he was kind of intimidating because even his natural voice sounds ridiculously low and guttural, leading one to feel almost obligated to salute the band in kind, which for some people, such as myself, is simply not possible. Peccatum were next, and I was excited to see this family group in a live performance, as I greatly enjoyed their debut CD _Strangling From Within_. While I pushed towards the front of the stage, I noted that the crowd, having dispersed between sets, had returned in greater numbers for this Norwegian trio. The fact that Ihsahn is the main composer in the group certainly helps stir interest, I am sure. As the first notes of the harpsichord stirred along side the spoken introduction of "Where Do I Then Belong", Ihriel, Lord PZ, Ihsahn and a session guitarist entered the stage to much vocal delight from the crowd. Ihsahn was dressed in an "Icon E" Emperor t-shirt and is still bald as an eagle. After the initial sighting of Ihsahn, my attention then focused on the beautiful Ihriel and her brother Lord PZ. Ihriel was dressed dramatically in a witch-like robe and cape. Lord PZ entered the stage bare-chested and sporting corpse-paint. The siblings entered the stage carrying matching candles, which they set upon either side of the stage in antique-looking candleholders. Throughout the performance, brother and sister made grand gestures and put on what can only be described as a very dramatic show. All instrumentation other than the guitars came from recordings, but I suppose it would be rather hard to reproduce the more orchestral sounds of Peccatum in a live setting. Lord PZ and Ihriel were imminently serious during the entire show, but they did on a few occasions rally the crowd behind the "horns" salute. The sound was not the best that I have heard, and on a few occasions the speakers seemed to peak when Ihriel's voice resounded with particular volume, resulting in an unfortunate marring of her spectacular vocal delivery. Otherwise, the performance was rather good, and the crowd seemed rather caught up in Peccatum's particular brand of witchery -- with the exception of one idiot who exclaimed: "Have your bitch take her top off!". I felt like strangling this moron. This act is an excellent band from whom I expect great things in the future. The Swedish band Witchery played next. Having never before heard the band, I didn't know what to expect, but seeing as the show had been good so far, I didn't dread hearing this band perform. Being a Slayer and thrash fan, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Witchery perform an energetic form of thrash metal with Swedish death metal style vocals. The crowd also reacted positively, and an energetic mosh pit ensued with my friend and I as willing participants for a good portion of Witchery's show. They were a decent thrash band with a lot of energy. The pseudo-Satanism of their lyrics and act came off very cheesy, though, especially when the vocalist asked if there were any priests in the room before he introduced a song whose title escapes my memory's grasp. All in all a nice little show, but not impressive enough to send me out to the store any time soon. At this point, I went downstairs to get a drink and, to my surprise, I discovered Ihsahn hanging at the bar with a few fans around him in small chat. Later, I saw Samoth and Trym hanging by a pool table. Ihsahn seemed friendly enough and more approachable than I had imagined, but I didn't really know what I wanted to say to the man and decided against stating the obvious -- that I was an Emperor fan, etc.. In my hesitation, I lost my opportunity, for Ihsahn soon rejoined Samoth and Trym near a pool table, and then Borknagar took the stage upstairs. Before this concert, I knew little of Borknagar other than that they were a Norwegian black metal "super group" not unlike Arcturus and that Ulver's Garm had once been their vocalist. Since Arcturus and Ulver are two of my favourite bands, I was definitely interested in hearing a related band. They entered the stage to an acoustic introduction and then ripped into epic black metal that was beautiful and soaring. The vocalist employed both grim vocals and powerful clean vocals of a deeply masculine but beautiful nature. The entire performance oozed class and a sense of the grand. Musically, the band reminds me of a cross between Ulver's more acoustic side with a band like Enslaved. I was definitely impressed. So much so that I bought their album _The Olden Domain_ a few days later. The crowd response was very good, but the energy was a different kind than for the previous band, which is perfectly natural as this kind of music is on a different plane from Witchery's thrash, which is at most fun and aggressive. I noticed that Karl Sanders (one of the guitarists for Greenville's death metal band Nile) was one of the spectators and I heard him comment that this was the best band of the night so far. I couldn't agree more readily. After Borknagar, there was a short break as everyone geared up for the main act of the night. I made sure to be right next to the stage. At approximately 1am, the crowd gave enthusiastic shouts and hails as Ihsahn, Samoth, Trym, Charmand Grimloch and Tyr took the stage. They were all dressed pretty normally, with Samoth wearing camouflaged trousers. Ihsahn was still in an "Icon E" t-shirt. They don't need any corpse-paint or leather attire to command attention. The emperors are a no-nonsense band with little crowd interaction, and that is perfectly fine because in return they delivered a solid and totally shattering performance. Also, their occasional nods and salutes to the crowd seemed genuine instead of mere showmanship. It was a delight to witness Samoth and Ihsahn attack the guitars with such speed and mastery. I found myself watching their fingers glide deftly across the strings and frets, which is something I never do at a concert. Trym executed his lightning drumming with the precision that I love on both his Enslaved and Emperor albums. The session bassist Tyr was the one band member who would work the stage from various angles, moving from one side of the stage to the other. The keyboards were wonderful as is the case on the albums, but their sound didn't seem nearly prominent enough at the beginning of the show. The rest of the band's sound was so solid that I didn't really notice this until they finally kicked in with full force on "The Majesty of the Night Sky". The only other sound problem that I noticed was on one occasion when the band was performing "With Strength I Burn". During the quiet interlude where Ihsahn speaks over some epic horn sounds, the recording failed, at which point Ihsahn shrugged and exclaimed "Fuck it!"; the band then continued in a professional manner without missing a beat. Overall, this was a stunning show with Emperor reigning supreme over any other band that I have seen live. If Emperor comes anywhere near your town, do yourself a favour and make haste to an excellent concert! Emperor's set list was (almost, if not entirely, in order): "Curse You All Men!", "Decrystallizing Reason", "Thus Spake the Nightspirit", "I am the Black Wizards", "With Strength I Burn", "Sworn", "Night of the Graveless Souls", "Ye Entrancemperium", "The Source of Icon E" and "Inno a Satana", plus "The Majesty of the Nightsky" and "The Loss and Curse of Reverence" as an encore. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= F A C I N G T H E B R E T O N S T O R M S E A S O N ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Six Feet Under, Mayhem, Vader, Enslaved, Cryptopsy, Nile, Thyrfing and Darkseid at the Antipode, Rennes, France on June 16, 1999 by: David Rocher Oblivious to the pouring rain and the rather annoying news that co-headliners Six Feet Under would not be turning this evening as was scheduled, some 500 metalheads, among which Paul Schwarz and myself, had gathered this evening to witness this crushing metal line-up, which would also allegedly see the legendary Mayhem setting foot on French shores for the first time. Things started up pretty well, since Darkseid's appearance had been mercifully cancelled; I don't think anyone really missed a helping of their lame poseur deathrash that night... I only saw little of Thyrfing's set, but they sounded like little more than another synth-driven blackened metal outfit. Surprisingly enough, though, considering the imagery developed on their two albums, Thyrfing live were definitely as un-Viking as they could be, with their singer appearing clad in jeans and a Metallica t-shirt. In the 25 minutes they were granted, Thyrfing did succeed in making their music sound a lot more interesting live than it does on their albums _Thyrfing_ and _Valdr Galga_, but definitely failed to convince me they were a band the now hopelessly saturated extreme metal scene couldn't live on without. Unsurprisingly, everything heated up considerably as the ultra-brutal Nile took the stage over and lashed out in sheer fury at rather startled audiences with their half-hour long track listing, essentially covering material from their latest output _Amongst the Catacombs of Nephren-Ka_, and one track off their first album. Nile proved to be very convincing on stage, but their set was sadly hampered by the constant flow of egotistical show-off stage divers continuously climbing up on stage and then standing there for almost a whole minute at times, trying to act evil and aggressive, but mostly succeeding in looking downright childish and unfailingly knocking the mike off its stand. Despite this distinctly infuriating feature, Nile seemed very satisfied by the welcome they were granted, and flawlessly interpreted war hymns such as "The Howling of the Jinn", "Pestilence and Iniquity" and the crushing "Ramses Bringer of War", all of which received a very positive response from the attending metal masses. Canada's own sonic shredders Cryptopsy then invested the stage, and proceeded, throughout their 45-minute set, to meticulously crush the audience with energetic renditions of tracks from all three of their albums; their ultra brutal technicality proved to be perfectly played in live conditions, with their massive vocalist Mike DiSalvo storming around the stage like an angered bear in cage. Mike proved to be an excellent replacement to Lord Worm, so impressive was his growling or aggressively yelled vocal delivery on the tracks "Benedictine Convulsions", "Leechmistress" and the godly "Slit Your Guts". Judging from Jon Levasseur's and Eric Langlois' satisfied comments, spoken in perfect French (with their great, thick trademark Quebec accent) to the sweating legions attending the gig, Cryptopsy's first visit to the old continent would be an experience to remember for all. With the support provided by a label finally doing their immense competence and rapidly growing recognition justice, the Canadian six-piece is going to be a band to keep more than just one eye on. After a fifteen-minute break, it was Norway's mighty Vikings Enslaved's turn to appear for the first time in Rennes, as they played a selection of material extensively covering the whole of their influential career, from the _Hordane's Land_ split-CD with Emperor to their latest offering, _Blodhemn_, with many excerpts from their acclaimed masterpiece _Eld_. Sceptical as I am when it comes to live black metal acts -- I have, after all, been "lucky" enough to witness Mystic Circle on stage --, I was nonetheless definitely impressed by the sheer -metallic- conviction and technical skill Enslaved demonstrated that night. Former Gehenna skinsman Dirge Rep's drumming was absolutely flawless, performed at insane speeds, and created solid rhythmic foundations which the guitarists Bjornson and Kronheim could easily lay their distinctly thrashing guitar lines on. Additionally to their excellent scenic appearance, I must speak a word of thanks to bassist and vocalist Grutle Kjellson, who mercilessly booted the faces of two stagedivers as they attempted to climb up on stage, thus repelling them back down into the pit, and discouraging any eventual followers from acting likewise. All hails, Grutle, thanks to whom the 500 people attending Enslaved's set could actually enjoy the great show without goofs climbing up all over the place and ruining the goods. Definitely the band I was most anxious to be confronted to that night, Vader then began their soundcheck, which alone did not fail to gather some 300 silent fans, who watched them warm up with a near-religious degree of silent respect. The lights went out, the intro sample started playing, and Vader then were free to nail everyone to the back of the room, as the whole of the Antipode succumbed to an irrepressible urge to headbang. Covering material from their classic _The Ultimate Incantation_ right up to their questionable full-price mCD _Kingdom_, not forgetting classic skullcrushers such as "Carnal" and "Sothis" from their awesome _De Profundis_, the Polish technical death metal masters' playing was razor-sharp as always, and frontman Peter's impressive charisma contributed to make their show distinctly enthralling, despite the aforementioned egotistical vermin succeeding in knocking the mike off the stand at such crucial moments as the beginning of the awesome song "Sothis". Regardless of this, Vader were simply majestic, as always. Due to personal problems, drummer Doc had not made it to Rennes on this tour, and had been efficiently replaced by Yattering's skinsman; if he did not, that night, succeed in equalling the startling velocity of Doc's blast beats, his drumming technique proved to be just as energetic and devastating. Vader were, as far as I am concerned, the best act that evening; so majestic, in fact, I have trouble in grasping why the hell Six Feet Under could possibly be preferred to them when it comes to the headlining role. However, with Six Feet Under's set unfortunately cancelled, black metal legends Mayhem now appeared on stage, and only succeeded that night in showing what a mistake the organiser Heic Noenum Pax had made when a) merely inviting them and b) giving them the headliner role, which was simply shameful. I was certainly not alone to rapidly realise that the only valid musical element to remain in Mayhem undoubtedly is their drum god Hellhammer, and according to this general assumption, Mayhem's sound balance had in fact clearly been woven around his fantastic skin-pounding; the drum sound was however so loud that Blasphemer's guitars and Necrobutcher's bass playing could scarcely be heard. Turning up in a state of desperate inebriation, Maniac was also despairingly funny, as he dropped his mike into the public for various fans to grunt into, or as he threw water bottles into the overheated audience, succeeding, on a first throw, in soaking the lyric sheets he had placed all on stage at his feet, and on a second throw, achieving to unplug a whole rack of the lighting system, giving his partners on strings the opportunity to grope around in the dark for the rest of Mayhem's appearance. Maniac's vocal performance was also a rather despairing feature, and the whole of the show provided by Mayhem that night was sadly nothing the late Euronymous would have been very pleased about. With this rather humorous ending to the show, all in all, and despite the infuriating repeated interventions of 1% of the audience that night, it was unanimously decided, as a pair of catatonic, deafened and vocally strained CoC journalists returned home to the comfort of a large slab of pizza and a beer or ten, that this '99 edition of the Summer Clash gig had turned out to be an evening to remember. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= P I G ' S F E E T A N D A L L T H I N G S Y U M M Y ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Six Feet Under, Vader, Enslaved, Cryptopsy, Nile and Thyrfing at Schweinhalle, Hanau, Germany on June 17, 1999 by: Matthias Noll Once again I travelled to this hallowed venue, where not so far ago I got blessed with the insight that metal is actually better than sex. This time I went to see the heaviest package to tour German soil at least in 1999, if not in the '90s. Many concerns occupied my mind previous to the gig and I was trying to be mentally prepared for some major disappointment. From my point of view, especially a death metal show with such extreme competitors as in tonight's line-up is the ultimate quality test. Nowadays there are so many capable studio producers and engineers around that the record itself is less representative of a band's real capabilities than ever. Is it possible to reproduce both the technical and the "stomach" part of the music? And, dear readership, it's confession time again. I might have arrived as an infidel, but left as a true believer. A believer in the greatness of Nile and Cryptopsy, who can both repeat the technical wizardry and even top the brutality of their records easily. Something I didn't even dare to hope previous to that show. But let's focus on the events now. There were six bands on the bill and Thyrfing began very early. I missed most of their set -- only catched the last two songs. That's not enough to really judge the band and I won't comment on them here. After a couple of minutes it was already time for Nile. Beginning with a short intro, unsurprisingly Egyptian style, they unleashed "Barra Edinazzu" upon the crowd and simply blew me away from start to finish. Ultra wicked and technical riffing in conjunction with their slower and doomier parts worked perfectly well in the live situation. A crystal clear sound was the icing on the cake. Attention never focused on a single member of the band because both guitarists and the bass player delivered their share of the unearthly growls. Nile's performance was breathtakingly brutal and precise and they ended their 30 minute set with "Smashing the Antiou". The merciless onslaught continued with Cryptopsy. Unfortunately, I did not own their first two records at this point in time. Considering the complexity of their material, which normally needs a couple of spins to really sink into your mind, it was amazing how effective even the unfamiliar songs were. Singer Mike DiSalvo roamed the stage like an angry pitbull, more hardcore in his appearance than death metal. This might have caused some criticism from the more conservative section of death metal fans, but fits their unique style perfectly. The guitar work was flawless and both guitarists were churning out their technical yet brutal to the max material while still banging their heads like madmen. The rhythm section was equally amazing and man-machine Flo Mounier precisely propelled them through the set. It was really a delight to witness how tightly they executed songs like my personal highlights "Cold Hate, Warm Blood" and "White Worms" from _Whisper Supremacy_. Like Nile, Cryptopsy did not play for more than 30 minutes, but these 30 minutes were so intense and insane that other bands wouldn't be able to achieve this in a three hour set. I think it's very safe to say that with these two bands I've seen the future of death metal and I think it's a very bright future. Both showed a very down to earth attitude and hung out at the merchandising booth, talking to the fans and each other for the whole rest of the evening. I had a short conversation with Cryptopsy's bassman Eric, who told me that the band will soon stop touring to focus on the songwriting process for the next album, for which only one song has been written so far. Next on stage were Enslaved. Unfortunately for them, the audience was a pure death metal crowd and only a few people gathered in front of the stage. I do believe the most important thing is the music, but like with the other "Viking metal" bands I've seen so far, I did have a serious problem taking this Viking thing seriously when looking at their stage outfit. The two guitarists Ivar and Roy looked like a couple of skinheads, complete with camouflage trousers, army boots and bad tattoos. Grutle Kjellson at least wore some "Viking clothes" while Dirge Rep pretty much looked like the average metaller. They started with the _Blodhemn_ intro, followed by "I Lenker til Ragnarok". Other _Blodhemn_ material did sound rather uninspired and dull this night, whereas older stuff, especially from _Eld_, sounded far more aggressive and convincing. Playing after Cryptopsy and/or Nile is no fun at all for any extreme band. In comparison to the technical wizardry of these two bands, especially Enslaved's axemen appeared as if they had gotten their first guitars for Christmas 1998. It was drummer Dirge Rep who saved the Vikings in the competition. Dirge is no match for Flo Mounier or Pete Hammoura when comparing technique, but he can go impressively fast while still playing really powerful and tight. There was no increase in crowd participation or interest until the end of the set and no one wanted an encore. In summary I have to say that Enslaved had the most unfortunate slot in this billing, but also didn't manage to prove themselves and do not deserve a better rating than average. Vader came fifth and they somehow reminded me of early Sepultura. I think it's fair to say that there are slight musical similarities between Vader's material and the death/thrash style Sepultura had on _Schizophrenia_ to _Arise_, but that's not all and I felt a similar vibe in how the band came across. A certain sense of professionalism which does not compromise the close relationship with the audience and also a high level of enjoyment of their music. Vader received the best crowd reaction so far and played a cool set with lots of highlights: "Carnal", my favourite Vader tune, "Kingdom", "Creatures of Light and Darkness", etc., etc.. Looking at this material, their technical abilities and their sympathetic attitude, Vader could be much bigger than they are and I'm wondering a bit what has hindered them to reach a far higher status than what they already have achieved in the underground. If you find their records to be more on the average side, then I highly recommend checking them out on stage -- this band rules! Germans like their death metal simple. That's about the only explanation I have for the success of Six Feet Under, especially in Germany. Sure, this band is professional and their slow to medium paced crunchers are a headbanger's delight. On the other hand, I have the impression that no riff is worn out enough for SFU to make a whole song (or two) out of it. The lyrics are also way too cliche for my taste: yelling along to "Kill motherfucker, die, die!" is probably cooler for a 14 year old than for me. The performance was quite OK, even if the group acted a bit static. They played tight, but considering the rather simple nature of their material that was not too difficult to accomplish. Looking at Chris Barnes' outfit -- baggy pants with chain, skater shirt and dreadlocks --, I was wondering if he's attempting to become the Jonathan Davis of death metal, but his vocals sounded good and aggressive. I left halfway through their set because I increasingly felt too bored to stay longer. With a few exceptions, the rest of the audience loved the band and the whole place was headbanging like crazy when I headed to the door. I would have stayed until the end had there not been six bands. Despite this criticism, overall it was a superb package and a fantastic show! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= T A K E Y O U R S T E I N , A N D R A M M I T ! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rammstein, Soulfly and Skunk Anansie at The Docks in Toronto, Ontario, on June 8th 1999 by: Adam Wasylyk I just recently came upon Rammstein's latest disk, 1997's _Sehnsucht_, and became completely enthralled by their meshing of industrial and metal music. Gaining a reputation from its live show from the "Family Values" tour (Korn, Limp Bizkit) and coupled with the quality of music they've created, I knew I had to be there to witness them in person. It would be a show I'd never forget. Openers Skunk Anansie and Soulfly could be referred cruelly to as "momentary distractions from complete boredom", as most in attendance couldn't care less who was playing on this night other than the German headliner. Both bands, however, did turn in good sets, although unmemorable compared to what was to come. What's great about Rammstein in concert is that it's a spectacle to behold. Not only do you get to hear some great music (staying true to their recorded material) but the pyrotechnics and band theatrics keep things lively and energetic. With around 1500 in attendance, the band started off with "Spiel Mit Mir". As all six members rose from the pit (hell?) below the stage, singer Till Lindemann appeared last by emerging through the bass drum with a Borg-like laser eye-piece in place. What a way to start off a show! Lots of fire and explosions were scattered throughout the hour-and-a-half set, with tracks like "Tier", "Bestrafe Mich", the title track and a couple of older tracks that I assume were off the band's prior album. Of course a Rammstein set wouldn't be complete without the fan favourite "Du Haust", which is currently getting a lot of radio play. And as seen on the "Family Values" tour video, Rammstein re-enacted their performance during the song "Buck Dich", which involved the singer taking out a prosthetic penis (which was connected to a water pump) and stroking it until a stream with the power of a fire house came out, all while aimed at the ass of a willing gimp. Classic! There's a couple of points worthy of note revolving around Rammstein during their Toronto show. The first point concerns keyboardist Flake Lorenz. I must comment that he is the worst dancer I've ever seen. Doing what resembled a shimmy, he would run around the stage in a maniacal sort of way for reasons unknown (it ain't dancing!). What most in attendance will never forget is during one of their songs Lorenz threw a inflatable rubber dingy onto the crowd and had them carry him from the stage to the back of the venue and finally back to the stage again. However, what he didn't plan on was a barricade on the way back to the stage, resulting in the crowd loosing their grip on the dingy and him falling about eight feet to the floor. He must have been feeling it for the rest of the night, as I was close enough to feel the thud. Ouch! Secondly, the band have been accused of being racist. It's unknown as to whether it's true, but why would a supposedly racist band allow a black female fronted band (Skunk Anansie) and a band from Brazil (Soulfly) to open up for them? With this in mind, while at least 400 kids sang along with Rammstein in German, I couldn't help but feel I was in attendance at a Nazi youth pep rally. Eerie, to say the least. Ending off the night with "Engel", it capped off a terrific set that serves as the best live show I've seen thus far this year. If Rammstein visit near your parts, don't hesitate to go check 'em out, especially those who like their industrial music heavy and uncompromising. You'll thank me later. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= L E T Y O U R S O U L F L Y A W A Y ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rammstein with Soulfly at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City, New York on June 4, 1999 by: Jody Webb It is a breezy evening in the Manhattan locality and the night is right for a showcase of international metal with Brazilian rockers Soulfly and German pyromaniacs Rammstein. I stroll into the Hammerstein around 8:30pm and the hall is already brimming with almost three thousand people as more arrive by the minute. The crowd seems to be mostly clean-cut "new metal" fans in their teens and early twenties, but a fair number of goths and well dressed European types pepper the audience. Anticipation charges the air and I heave in a giant breath of the stuff. Soon a tribal chant drones through the PA as the crowd cheers and presses forward, creating a crunch against the barrier between the stage and the people. The house lights fall and stage lights rise, revealing big Marshall stacks over which the Brazilian national flag is draped. Soulfly emerges and another roar from the fans reverberates around the Hammerstein. Singer Max Cavalera counts off the time in Portuguese and the band rips into "Eye For an Eye", transforming the concert hall into a combat zone of moshers and kickboxing maniacs. Soulfly drops bomb after bomb from their recent debut album, scoring a direct hit with the crowd. As a veteran of the metal scene, even I was impressed with the sustained violence the band could inspire. Also in the arsenal were two covers of Sepultura songs as well as a tribal number, during which it surprised me to hear the crowd chanting along in Portuguese! Near the end of the set roadies hefted out drums for each person in the band and Soulfly pounded out a percussion jam that had feet stomping and heads bobbing. The set, as best as I can remember: "Eye For an Eye", "No Hope = No Fear", "Spit" (Sepultura), "Bleed", "Tribe", "Refuse/Resist" (Sepultura), "Quilombo", "Fire", "Umbabarauma" (tribal), percussion jam and "No". Between bands the audience swells to nearly four thousand and the atmosphere relaxes as people take a breather. A few of the crazier Soulfly fans leave and are replaced by more civil Rammstein fans. Spooky electronic music wafts out of the PA while people mill around. Finally the house lights dim and the roar of the crowd fills the Hammerstein again. A flame bursts to life, igniting a long fuse running up the left side of the stage curtain. The flame reaches the top, setting off a booming explosion, and the curtain plummets. The Rammstein stage stands before us, a collection of industrial pipes and metal, occupying the entire vertical and horizontal space on the stage. One by one the members appear, some seeming to emerge from the stage itself, and when the entire band is standing there, clad in futuristic garb, the keyboard player strikes the opening notes of "Spiel Mit Mir". The Rammstein experience begins with flames, lasers and gimmicks galore. In concert, their simple rhythms and lyrics work well, sending the crowd into regular episodes of pogo jumping and German lyrics mangling. The music is backed, of course, with the most awesome show this side of Rob Zombie, and I took on a close encounter when body surfing over the barrier. I do not have the space to describe the entire spectacle, and doing so would ruin the surprises. Therefore, I will just conclude by commanding you to go out and see Rammstein! The set, as best as I can remember: "Spiel Mit Mir", "Tier", "Sehnsucht", "Bestrafe Mich", "Klavier", "Buck Dich", "Du Hast", "Engel" and an extended version of Rammstein as encore. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= W H I T E T R A S H C O N V E N T I O N ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CoC covers the *Omnipotent* Ozzfest at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, New Jersey on June 8 & 10, 1999 by: Jody Webb Today is a scorcher in Jersey, ninety degrees and not a cloud in sight. After a brief pat down by security I saunter into the amphitheatre grounds and evaluate my surroundings. At a capacity of thirteen thousand people, PNC Bank Arts Center is a smallish place considering the tour, which usually plays venues in the twenty five thousand range. On the other hand, the promoter booked two back-to-back shows at the Arts Center. Why just make a lot of money when you can make a SHITLOAD of a lot of money, right? Around 11:30am the music began. Pushmonkey opened the day on the side stage. Badly out of place but trying hard to impress, they churned through a half hour set of wimp rock. In between episodes of whining about the lack of crowd activity, the singer queried us as to whether or not we had "fucked" yet today. A heckler shot back with the classic "I fucked your mom!". Now that was entertaining. Fifteen minutes later Flashpoint took the side stage. Apparently this band has not even released a debut album yet, but whoa, that did not stop them from boring hell out of me with their badly written metalcore. It boggles my mind, with all the amazing metal bands in our country, that some promoter persuaded the Ozzfest organisers to book this act. Not even a cameo appearance by Evan Seinfeld from Biohazard was able to save this set. Next. Another fifteen minutes pass and the sounds of (hed)pe are pumping through the side stage PA. In the eyes of the crowd, (hed)pe was the first real band to play. These boys have been tooling around the New York area for about three years now, playing small clubs and gaining a fan base. Although they ride on the Korn bandwagon, (hed) incorporates more funk as well as a DJ to create diversity in their bag of songs, something that Korn lacks. Not bad, but something you can safely skip if you already own a Limp Bizkit CD. Immediately following (hed)pe, the main stage kicked off with the slightly industrial intro music for Drain STH. Then the band strides out, revealing themselves to be four Swedish beauties with a thing for black fashions. Drain is playing in support of their newly released second album called _Enter My Mind_, but even as a seasoned metal listener I cannot distinguish the new material from the old. It is all mid-paced, thick and boring. Drain is good for about a two minute eye hump and then I'm just relaxing in my amphitheatre seat, waiting for them to finish. Sometime about a half hour later Drain wraps up and I jog to the side stage to catch Slipknot. There is a bit of hype surrounding this outfit and, after witnessing their set, I'd say they almost live up to it. I noticed nine freaks wearing matching jumpsuits and individual masks, dancing about the stage, wrangling a twisted sound of their instruments. Envision Insane Clown Posse meeting Gwar and you get the idea. Of course they could afford to lose about five guys, but then where would they be with only one drummer? Oh yea, Slipknot is sporting three drummers, two of which have drums made out of empty beer kegs situated on hydraulics which raise the drums up and down, making for some neat eye candy. All in all, a welcome exercise in silliness to balance all the "my favourite band is the baddest shit in the world" attitudes circulating the area. I swiftly returned to the amphitheatre for System of a Down, a four-piece badly in need of ritalin but also owing a great deal of their excellent material to their hyperactive tendencies. The band is of Armenian descent and incorporates a touch of folk and polka music into the metal which they do so well, but the chief contribution of their ancestry comes in the form of their lyrics and political stance. Fortunately, the singer kept his ranting down to one brief episode today, imploring us only to realise that in any other country we could look to the sky and see bombs dropping from planes. Uh, right. Nevertheless, I got in the first headbanging of the day to rocking numbers such as "Suite-Pee" and "Know". Back to the side stage for one of my recent favourites, Puya, who hail from the island of Puerto Rico. Earlier in the day I had met and chatted with friend and Puya drummer Eduardo Paniague, who anticipated a good crowd. He was not let down, and the 'Rican fans were out in force, waving the country's national flag the second the band appeared. These boys crank out a sound that is not for everyone, but I find their hybrid of metal and salsa music to be an infectious combination, and it is not even an issue that everything is sung in Spanish. They could have been tighter, but Puya still rocked. No rush to get back to the main stage as Godsmack was lined up next. Sloppy, fourth generation Seattle grunge is how I would describe them. Due to the rock radio airplay of their song "Whatever", I could see they had a few tame fans, and granted, Godsmack is not the kind of band that incites a riot like, say, Slayer. But these chumps should have signed on to Lollapalooza. Oh wait, that tour has been dead for two or three years. In the end, Godsmack was average, and I caught some rest in the shade of the amphitheatre. Finally Godcrap wrapped up their set of sonic sludge and a tingle of excitement shimmied through me. Static-X was primed to explode on the side stage. Singer/guitarist Wayne Static stepped to the microphone and wailed a greeting to the crowd in his indescribable voice. With that the group banged through a half hour of self-described "trance rock", with pounding 4/4 rhythms, cutting guitars reinforced with electronic sub bass and sound samples injected into the music a la Prodigy. Thanks to spins from K-Rock and WSOU, the band enjoyed a decent audience and mosh pit. Taking my time after a solid thumping at the hands of Wayne Static and company, I walked back to the amphitheatre as Primus was starting their second song. I am not a fan and would have preferred that Primus be bumped from the tour in lieu of a metal band, but they did bring the mysterious Buckethead with them, who made their appearance worthwhile. While Primus bass slapped through hits such as "Jerry Was a Race Car Driver" and "My Name Is Mud", Buckethead demonstrated his monster guitar skills and breakdancing talents, even wielding numchucks at one point in smooth display of kung-fu prowess. Don't miss Buckethead's antics! Apartment 26 took the side stage and failed to pique my interest after an already interest-free Primus set, but what should I expect from a band that does not even have an album yet? Like Flashpoint, this rookie band had no business at Ozzfest, but unlike Flashpoint, they did not need some promoter to sweet talk them onto the bill -- their singer is the son of none other than Geezer Butler, bass player for Black Sabbath. In college they lectured me about ethics in the workplace, but I guess nepotism is rampant in the music business, eh? Skip this band. After four cuts I had enough Apartment 26 and resumed my seat under the amphitheatre, prepared for the first major act of the day. Most of the tailgaters had moved on from the parking lot and were inside the grounds by now, and the place was close to capacity. The noise from the side stage died, a quiet lull of about a minute occurred, then a banner was raised as cheers resounded through the cavernous acoustics in the amphitheatre. Slayer was about to play. The crowd rose from their seats as Tom Araya screamed the rally call. "Angel of Death!". Chaos descended on the area. People rushed security in a mad dash and I joined in the first wave of attackers, advancing my position all the way to the fourth row centre aisle! Though not a big Slayer fan, it was quite a thrill to rush security and catch the legendary band up close as five thousand people went nuts. Still, I can honestly say I have had my fill of sweaty fat guys who mosh in the aisle against seats bolted to ground. Squish! The set included "Angel of Death", "Bitter Peace", "Death's Head", "Post Mortem", "Dead Skin Mask", "War Ensemble" and "Seasons in the Abyss". Following the last blasting note from Slayer there was an exodus to the side stage as thousands hurried to catch Fear Factory. Though normally they would have taken a spot on the main stage, the group was headlining the second stage because they were asked to fill in for Judas Priest, who were originally slated to headline the side stage but cancelled a month earlier. Torrents of people flowed into the packed area, and Fear Factory hesitated as the crowd swelled to several thousand before knocking out the instant classic "Shock", followed by more skull crushers such as "Self Bias Resistor" and "Edgecrusher", which caused the biggest pit of the day. Fists were pumping and bodies were surfing. I was in heaven. Fear Factory was on top of their game and I thought they were the most dynamite group of the day, until much to my disdain and to the evident disdain of some fans in the crowd, Fear Factory turned into Queer Factory and played that goddamned fucking "Cars" song. Fortunately, they saved themselves with a spectacular performance of "Replica" to finish their set, but for Christ's sake... The set was "Shock", "Self Bias Resistor", "Edgecrusher", "Demanufacture", "Scapegoat", "Martyr", "Cars" (Gary Numan), "Replica". Many spectators were fairly spent by this time due to the heat and the last two bands. Deftones had begun on the main stage but the crowd seemed a bit indifferent in comparison to the madness that had just occurred. I was puzzled by their appearing later than Slayer, and they did appear weak in comparison. Stephen Carpenter pushed his gang through their most powerful songs and put together a decent showing, but I've seen Deftones do better. Perhaps they do not play well in a big venue, but something was flat about the band this day. At least they played a new song from the forthcoming album _White Pony_. The side stage was done, so after Deftones finished there was a welcome twenty minute break in the noise while roadies set up for Rob Zombie. I had seen the Zombie spectacle in October and knew a visual extravaganza was in store. I decided I did not want to rush security for this set because I was tired after Fear Factory, so I sat content in my seat, looking around at all the wonderful freaks assembled tonight. At long last the sun began to fade behind the horizon. And the Zombie spectacle was upon us! Lights, flames, dancing girls and a giant flashing marquee with the signature 6-6-6 blazed before the capacity crowd as people jumped up from their seats. Rob Zombie's minions took the stage all zombified in grey leather and make up, creating a fabulous vision of hell. Red and green flames rose from the stage floor while the band charged through monsterpieces like "Superbeast" and "Living Dead Girl". Zombie segued through the songs with his charismatic wit. "Welcome to Lilith Fair, we've got quite a line-up of lesbian folk music for you tonight. We will not disappoint!". The crowd laughs. "Do any of you remember a band called White Zombie?" The crowd met him with thunderous cheers. "Where the hell were you when I needed you?", he chuckled before breaking into "Thunderkiss '65". The Rob Zombie quartet ended with the foot stomping "Dragula" before a tremendous applause. This is one show to check out. The set was "Superbeast", "Supercharger Heaven" (White Zombie), "Meet the Creeper", "More Human Than Human" (White Zombie), "Demonoid Phenomenon", "What Lurks on Channel X?", "Living Dead Girl", "Thunderkiss '65" (White Zombie) and finally "Dragula" as encore. Damn, I am getting tired of writing this review! Are you tired of reading yet? Tour headliners Black Sabbath pummelled as usual with a bone crunching heaviness, but I am getting pissed at them for only playing from their first three albums. Why don't they tap into the genius on "Volume 4", "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" or "Sabotage"? Ah well. "After Forever" was a welcome surprise as was my bumping into Evan Seinfeld during the song, where we exchanged some small talk. At least I sneaked past security again and got within range of Ozzy's throwing arm. I was a prime target for buckets of water. Row four is a great place to be. The usual: "War Pigs", bass solo, "N.I.B.", "Hand of Doom", "After Forever", "Fairies Wear Boots", "Sweatleaf", "Into the Void", "Orchid", "Lord of This World", "Black Sabbath", "Dirty Women", "Iron Man" and "Children of the Grave"; encore: "Supernaut" / "Paranoid" medley. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= B R U C E I S B A C K ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Iron Maiden at Massey Hall in Toronto, Ontario on July 20, 1999 by: Alex Ristic Several questions surrounded Iron Maiden's "It's Not a Reunion Tour", including how they would fare with three guitar players live, and Maiden would try to answer as they played a seventeen-song hit-packed set. The nearly sold-out confines of the 2100 seat Massey Hall provided a cosy, if not cramped, setting for Maiden, with rabid fans howling the band's name during the introduction, a promotional display of their latest outlet _Ed Hunter_, a video game with similarities to "Doom" and Eddie as the main character. The tour Maiden came to town with was in support of the game, as well as the twenty greatest hits of Iron Maiden, as voted by the fans via Internet. Running from the get-go with opener "Aces High", Bruce Dickinson and company had their afterburners going full bore, careening and posing onstage while backdrops of Eddie, depicting him in several different settings, hanged ominously in the background. In all, eleven of Iron Maiden's studio albums were represented (yes, including _X-Factor_ and _Virtual XI_), except for _No Prayer For the Dying_. Other tunes from their classic _Powerslave_ record included the title track and "2 Minutes to Midnight", superb choices, yet other magnificent opuses, like _Somewhere in Time_ and _Fear of the Dark_, were sorely underrepresented with only one song from each ("Wasted Years" and "Fear of the Dark", respectively). As for three guitar players, well, they'll have to come back and hit Toronto again, as sadly Adrian Smith had to cancel out because his father passed away, so it was a five-piece as usual. In fact, it was the exact line-up of the band when Dickinson left six years ago, with founder/bassist Steve Harris, founder/guitarist Dave Murray, guitarist Jannick Gers and drummer Nicko McBrain waving the Maiden flag. Highlights of the night included "Wrathchild" and two songs from the Blaze Bailey era, namely "Man on the Edge" and "The Clansman". For the latter, Dickinson provided a humorous intro with a poke at our American cousins and how some reportedly perceived the song was about the Ku Klux Klan, as opposed to its true point of inspiration, being William Wallace and the independent Scottish movement. Both songs were at the tender mercies of the Air Raid Siren and how he would approach them from his point of view. Dickinson did not disappoint, lending a little more power to the vocals than Bailey did and using his antics to get the crowd to sing along. Surprisingly, a fair number knew the words, remarkable because many of the faithful fans have avoided the last two records because of the band's most prominent singer's absence. For the encore, the audience feasted on a troika of songs from the bands most well known release, _The Number of the Beast_. "Hallowed Be thy Name", "Run to the Hills" and the title track had the audience pumping their devil horns in the air as they head banged along. In the final analysis, it appears Maiden haven't suffered from the re-shuffling of the line-up, playing a loud and enjoyable show as always. This show wasn't as spectacular as their _Somewhere in Time_ and _Seventh Son of a Seventh Son_ days, but solid and entertaining nonetheless. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= AVERSE CONDITIONS INHIBIT THE ENDLESS USURP OF FILTH ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Cradle of Filth, Usurper, Endless and Averse Sefira at the Reverb in Toronto, Canada on August 4th 1999 by: Adam Wasylyk Honestly, I could care less about Cradle of Filth. I missed them in Milwaukee for Sinister and Gorguts, and I would do it again in a heart beat. I was skeptical on getting the opportunity to see them close to home, but with CoC legend Steve Hoeltzel visiting the cold tundra that is Canada, how could I refuse? We arrived just in time to check out Rochester, NY's Averse Sefira. Playing a pretty cool set of Gorgoroth-influenced black metal, these guys know how to write a catchy melody and repeat it with another and another. Decked out in evil corpse paint, my image of the band was hurt by the jock-like drummer with, gasp, no corpse paint. Blasphemy! But he can drum up a storm, so I can forgive him partially. A great way to start off the set. Toronto's Endless followed, but unfortunately proved to live up to their name. Recently signed to Pavement Records, the Entombed-ish death metal trio riled up few and frustrated many. Not much else to say, other than it'll take a great performance next time to win me over. Chicago's Usurper stormed the stage in full metal gear, ready to kick serious ass. The only problem was they didn't do so. The vocalist just doesn't do enough for me to keep things interesting. Granted the music is good, but why not shriek and scream here and there? I'm just not into the Tom G. Warrior-like vocals. Bearable, but just. Cradle of Filth were actually not that bad. Tracks like "The Principle of Evil Made Flesh" and "Malice Through the Looking Glass" lent themselves nicely to a live set, the band were reasonably tight and the sound was good most of the time. A lot of their material went over my head, but standout tracks made their set worth checking out. What can I say, call me "untrue" if you must. If there was ever a show worth missing, it was this one. Cradle are past their heyday, Usurper are sub par, and Toronto didn't have much of a say musically on this night. Who would have thought that hanging around Steve would have saved the day? Hail to the True one! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= DID YOU EVER KNOW THAT YOU'RE MY HERO? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ His Hero Is Gone (amongst unmemorable bands) at the Big Bop in Toronto, Canada on August 6th 1999 by: Adam Wasylyk Having spread beer-fuelled mayhem with CoCks Gino, Alain, Adrian, myself and former scribe Steve Hoeltzel before the show, it was time to check out some serious hardcore/grind action in the form of Tennessee's His Hero Is Gone! Playing a tight set of material ranging from disks like _Fifteen Counts of Arson_ and _Monuments to Thieves_, HHIG are one of many bands that the underground has yet to expose to the masses that truly deserves to be recognised. Raging, aggressive, cut-throat, heavy, pounding... what more do you want? Taking the energy of hardcore and fusing it with the furiousness of grindcore, HHIG were undisputedly one of the best bands to play in Toronto this year, nestled in between Germany's Rammstein and California's Fear Factory. Starting off with my favourite track (how uncommon is that?) "Professional Mindfuckers" found on _Fifteen Counts of Arson_, they played just over a half hour, never letting up. At night's end, it became clear that HHIG may be put on the "CoC Recommended List", right beside Pan-Thy-Monium and Absu. If you get the chance to check them out, please do so. I await your e-mail thanking me. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= @@@ @@@ @@@ @@@@@@@ @@@ @@@@@@@ @@@@@@@@ @@@@@@@ @@ @@@@@@ @@! @@! @@! @@! @@@ @@! @@! @@! @@! @@@ !@ !@@ @!! !!@ @!@ @!@!!@! !!@ @!! @!!!:! @!@!!@! !@@!! !: !!: !! !!: :!! !!: !!: !!: !!: :!! !:! ::.: ::: : : : : : : :: ::: : : : ::.: : @@@ @@@ @@@ @@@@@@@ @@@@@@ @@@@@@@ @@@ @@@ @@! @@! @@! @@! @@@ @@! @@@ @@! @@! @@@ @!! !!@ @!@ @!@!!@! @!@!@!@! @!! @!@!@!@! !: !!: !! !!: :!! !!: !!! !!: !!: !!! ::.: ::: : : : : : : : : : : Here is where things get ugly. Writer's Wrath gives our writers a chance to voice their own opinions about certain hot topics in the scene today. Check out this column for the most obscene and controversial ramblings this side of the National Enquirer. MTV: MUSIC TELEVISION OR MONEY TELEVISION ? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ by: Paul Schwarz Try to picture this: I am sitting in a room by myself, surrounded by books to read, CDs to listen to, an interview to transcribe, a pot to make tea, and a TV. Tonight I opted to forget sense, forget past experience and past disappointments, and turn to the TV for my night's amusement. Big mistake. I am in Germany. I do not speak German. However, it is not my lack of linguistic ability nor the awful selection of TV this country has to offer which was the problem tonight. No, tonight I decided to give MTV a chance. OK, you can call me stupid if you want, you can say I was asking for it, but -damn-, I'm still going to complain, because God dammit I shouldn't be proved -so- right in my never-ending cynicism. Monday at 0030-0230 MTV Germany transmit "Superock". Described in the TV guide simply as "heavy music" and, as you can see, quite devoid of the word "metal" or "extreme", this nonetheless was the program in Europe which came to replace "Headbanger's Ball" (the long running and sometimes off the commercial, beaten track, metal show which had graced MTV's screens since the '80s), and it certainly is at an unsociable enough hour of the night (and on an unsociable enough day) that you could reasonably expect it to play a selection of music outside of the seriously narrow, commercial, arse-licking spectrum which MTV operates during all other hours of the day. That's what I'd hope, though as I already discussed expectations and hopes like these seem to be misplaced when discussing organisations as uninterested in exposing music for its artistic (as opposed to commercial) sake as MTV seems to be. I was not surprised, and thus not overly distraught, that Korn began proceedings -- HBB would often feature the more popular of the bands to begin with and to keep the rating end of things up, and much as I don't like this, it is one of the evils of the mass market which TV operates in, which I accept as a reality. What followed, however, was more like a roll call of "what sells in the States where more than two of the band members play a real instrument". Limp Bizkit, Coal Chamber, Soulfly, Sugar Ray, Ice Cube feat. Korn and some that I liked too, like System of a Down and The Deftones (though neither of these bands are among my favourites). That was the level of what we got; the only three tracks I would consider substantially "metal" which were played were Pantera's "Drag the Waters" (three years old), Dickinson's "Killing Floor" (the one track I thought it ruled that they played) and Rollin's "The End of Something" (a borderline case). But this article is not a Writer's Wrath about the fact MTV don't share my taste in music, it is about the fact that MTV are so profit oriented they don't even have the balls (and fuck, it really doesn't take much balls) to put on a fringe program dedicated to bringing heavier music to people, music which would never get mainstream MTV rotation because it is not popular enough. The disappointment and downheartedness I feel is heightened by my location: I am in Germany. Isn't this supposed to be a haven for metal and extreme music, a place where Dimmu Borgir find chart success and Manowar debut at number #19 with their latest live album? Where the same classic '80s band do huge, sold-out tours and where HammerFall are gaining similar ground? I am not trying to suggest that these are myths -- these are facts. However, even in such a haven for metal, where it actually -$ells-, MTV deem it unworthy of any play. So, I guess the question going through some of your heads must be "so what?, what -should- we expect out of a profit making organisation like MTV, who cares if they don't play our music -- we like it, we listen to it, simple as that". This is true, but, though I fully realise I don't live in a perfect world, I always look toward improving this imperfect one, and this means not lying down and cynically proclaiming that everyone is going to knock you down and tread all over you anyway, but instead standing tall and trying to get through to people and remind them that there is more out there than most of them will ever be exposed to. You obviously like extreme music, since you read CoC, but I am sure that, for most of you, finding your way into the scene was not as automatic a thing as going to school (as one of Metallica's shirts so suggested, though with their current direction it seems more likely), and even once you had started, how long did it take before you got into the really "different" stuff? For myself, I started with Guns 'n' Roses in 1993, Metallica and Pantera in 1994, Carcass in 1995, Entombed, Satyricon and Immortal in 1996, Morbid Angel as late as 1997; it took me ages to get to hear, and often even hear about, the more underground bands, and I even had a few friends who were into it and a somewhat healthy cash flow to depend upon. I am sure there are many people out there who would know they'd found "their" music if they heard certain death, black, thrash, hardcore, traditional heavy metal, industrial or whatever style of albums. Much as I love our scene, the mystical and almost occult way in which most find passage into it, the lone metal warriors who expose us to our first this or that, there must be people out there who would be happier being part of it but never have the chance to gain access. My point is that the purpose of Music TeleVision should be to expose people to as much music as possible, to give people as much knowledge of music as possible. I don't just mean metal, I mean jazz, classical, whatever -- people should not be fed a limited diet of all the songs they know and are on the radio. Why play a band who are selling well, even more than when they weren't? To make money is the only answer I can find to this question; it certainly isn't because you want to broaden people's minds. I think MTV should do more than simply reflect the popularity of the select few bands and artists who dominate the charts, even in their mainstream play, but in the least I think MTV should take it upon themselves to construct "fringe" programs to give people with specific but more unusual different musical tastes a chance to hear stuff from their style they might not have picked up on, and see the videos associated with the bands they like. "Headbanger's Ball" was never perfect, but at least it made some effort; "Superock" is nothing more than a reflection of the most popular guitar-based, mildly aggravated bands of the moment and really nothing more. Especially in a country like Germany, I think someone at MTV should have the balls to put something different and interesting together to give more people a chance to hear music they might never have had a chance to hear before. MTV: Forget about money for once and start doing something for people. CoC readers, I urge you to write to MTV and people like them to get them to put on a metal show. Make yourselves heard: you may not want to see metal videos, you may not have MTV and you may not want to stay up 'till whatever ungodly hour to see such a program, but if by MTV putting on such a program a couple more people who would have never, or might never, have discovered metal, do, that makes a difference, that's worth it, don't you think? =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= W H A T W E H A V E C R A N K E D ! ! ! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Gino's Top 5 1. Today Is The Day - _In The Eyes of God_ 2. Translucia - _Translucia_ 3. Kelly's Mix Tape 4. The Atomic Bitchwax - _The Atomic Bitchwax_ 5. Autechre - _Tri Repetae++_ Adrian's Top 5 1. earthtone9 - _Off Kilter Enhancement_ 2. Machine Head - _The Burning Red_ 3. Today Is the Day - _In the Eyes of God_ 4. Turmoil - _Anchor_ 5. Puya - _Fundamental_ Brian's Top 5 1. Cryptopsy - _None So Vile_ 2. Coroner - _Punishment for Decadence_ 3. Capharnaum - _Plague of Spirits_ 4. Epoch of Unlight - _Black & Crimson Glory_ 5. Nevermore - _Dreaming Neon Black_ Alain's Top 5 1. Horde of Worms - _Horde of Worms_ 2. Solus - _Universal Bloodshed_ 3. Ministry - _Dark Side of the Spoon_ 4. Dimmu Borgir - _Spiritual Black Dimensions_ 5. Zimmer's Hole - _Bound by Fire_ Adam's Top 5 1. Summoning - _Stronghold_ 2. Dismal Euphony - _All Little Devils_ 3. Manes - _Under Ein Blodraut Maane_ 4. Sephiroth - _Cathedron_ 5. Brutal Truth - _Need to Control_ Pedro's Top 5 1. Dark Tranquillity - _Projector_ 2. Hypocrisy - _Hypocrisy_ 3. Unholy - _Gracefallen_ 4. Katatonia - _Tonight's Decision_ 5. Skepticism - _Lead and Aether_ Paul's Top 5 1. Testament - _The Legacy_ 2. Testament - _The Gathering_ 3. Nile - _Festivals of Atonement_ 4. Akercocke - _Rape of the Bastard Nazarene_ 5. Deceased - _Luck of the Corpse_ Aaron's Top 5 1. Hypocrisy - _Hypocrisy_ 2. Laaz Rockit - _Annihilation Principle_ 3. Bruce Dickinson - _Accident of Birth_ 4. Acheron - _Anti-god, Anti-christ_ 5. Compilation by Lowell Smith David's Top 5 1. Darkane - _Rusted Angel_ 2. Iron Maiden - _Somewhere in Time_ 3. Sins of Omission - _The Creation_ 4. Death - _Symbolic_ 5. Sepultura - _Beneath the Remains_ Gabriel's Top 5 1. Amorphis - _Tuonela_ 2. Doom - _The Peel Sessions (Re-Release)_ 3. Stimbox - _Caveat Emptor_ 4. Various - _Sound Park Movie Soundtrack_ 5. Various - _Needlepoint_ Alex's Top 5 1. Extol - _Mesmerized_ 2. Emperor - _IX Equilibrium_ 3. Believer - _Dimensions_ 4. Various - _Blackend 3_ 5. Centinex - _Reborn Through Flames_ (Thanks, Adrian) Matthias' Top 5 1. Nevermore - _Dreaming Neon Black_ 2. Dismember - _Death Metal_ 3. Marduk - _Panzer Division Marduk_ 4. Demolition Hammer - _Tortured Existence_ 5. Placebo - _Without You I'm Nothing_ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= _____ __ __ __ | \.-----.| |_.---.-.|__| |.-----. | -- | -__|| _| _ || | ||__ --| |_____/|_____||____|___._||__|__||_____| 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@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 #42 All contents copyright 1999 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.