______ __ __ __ | | |--.----.-----.-----.|__|.----.| |.-----.-----. | ---| | _| _ | || || __|| || -__|__ --| |______|__|__|__| |_____|__|__||__||____||__||_____|_____| ___ .-----.' _| | _ | _| |_____|__| ______ __ | | |--.---.-.-----.-----. | ---| | _ | _ |__ --| |______|__|__|___._|_____|_____| CHRONICLES OF CHAOS e-Zine, October 12, 1999, Issue #43 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 #43 Contents, 10/12/99 ---------------------------- * Loud Letters * Deadly Dialogues -- Cannibal Corpse: Bloodthirsty Veterans -- Vader: Cutline -- Nile: Preparing to Again Burst Their Banks -- Angel Corpse: Relentless Angelic Cadavers -- Turmoil: Upholding the Process -- The Chasm: Diabolical Deathcultic Devastation -- Depresy: Cheering Up The Lepers * Album Asylum -- Anorexia Nervosa - _Sodomizing the Archedangel_ -- Autumn Tears - _Absolution_ -- Behemoth - _Satanica_ -- Beyond Dawn - _Electric Sulking Machine_ -- Centinex - _Bloodhunt_ -- codeseven - _Division of Labor_ -- Control Denied - _The Fragile Art of Existence_ -- Deathwitch - _Monumental Mutilations_ -- Demoniac - _The Fire and the Wind_ -- Dillinger Escape Plan - _Calculating Infinity_ -- Dog Fashion Disco - _The Embryo's in Bloom_ -- Doxomedon - _Evanesce_ -- Drakkar - _Quest For Glory_ -- Ember - _Chapter III: Concession (& Anthology)_ -- Fallen Empire - _Shadows_ -- Feast Eternal - _Prisons of Flesh_ -- Gardenian - _Soulburner_ -- Hate Eternal - _Conquering the Throne_ -- Iced Earth - _Alive in Athens_ -- Impiety - _Skullfucking Armageddon_ -- In Extremo - _Weckt Die Toten_ -- Jane Doe - _Scars_ -- Kaos Rain - _Killogram_ -- Lacrimas Profundere - _Memorandum_ -- Melissa - _In Peace...?_ -- Miscreation - _Miscreation_ -- Mortification - _Hammer of God_ -- Necrodeath - _Into the Macabre_ -- Night to Die - _All Evil Crying_ -- Neurosis - _Times of Grace_ -- Obscurity - _Damnations Pride_ -- Of the Fallen - _Of the Fallen_ -- Prophecy - _Contagion_ -- Samael - _Eternal_ -- Satyricon - _Rebel Extravaganza_ -- Soilent Green - _Sewn Mouth Secrets_ -- Solefald - _Neonism_ -- Suicidal Winds - _Winds of Death_ -- Theory in Practice - _The Armageddon Theories_ -- Tulus - _Evil 1999_ -- Tumulus - _Wodureid_ -- Withered Earth - _Something So Pure_ * New Noise -- 420 - _Reality_ -- Anaal-Nathrakh - _Anaal-Nathrakh_ -- Core Device - _God & Man_ -- Lupus - _After the Geniirising_ -- Pagan - _Heathen Upheaval_ -- The Chasm - _Promo 1999_ * Chaotic Concerts -- Taming the Beast of Milwaukee * What We Have Cranked * Details =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= M""MMMMMMMM dP M MMMMMMMM 88 M MMMMMMMM .d8888b. dP dP .d888b88 M MMMMMMMM 88' `88 88 88 88' `88 M MMMMMMMM 88. .88 88. .88 88. .88 M M `88888P' `88888P' `88888P8 MMMMMMMMMMM M""MMMMMMMM dP dP M MMMMMMMM 88 88 M MMMMMMMM .d8888b. d8888P d8888P .d8888b. 88d888b. .d8888b. M MMMMMMMM 88ooood8 88 88 88ooood8 88' `88 Y8ooooo. M MMMMMMMM 88. ... 88 88 88. ... 88 88 M M `88888P' dP dP `88888P' dP `88888P' MMMMMMMMMMM This is the column where we print those lovely letters our readers decide so graciously to write us. Whether they be positive, negative, ignorant or just plain spelled wrong, you can rest assured that they'll be here in their original form. If you'd like to see your own letter here, e-mail it to and enter 'Attention Loud Letters' in the subject field. Hopefully all letters received will be featured in upcoming issues of Chronicles of Chaos. Date: Thu, 12 Aug 1999 From: sasanborn Subject: Attention Loud Letters Just gotta show my support and give a mighty "Hail!" to all of you at CoC for putting out an excellent ezine that covers all areas of the scene. Keep it up. I'm also interested in finding some cool people that would be interested in trading tapes with me. I like all styles of extreme musick, but lean more towards Grind, Black and Doomy stuff. I have a pretty big list I can email if anyone wants to check it out. Thanx and Stay Brutal! Steve Date: Fri, 13 Aug 1999 From: Brad Subject: coc Your Metalfest articles almost made me cry - it was the first one I've missed since 90... hey - an 11 hour drive is nothing - try driving 26. But thanks for the articles. I had to laugh because this is the first COC I've disagreed with so many of your reviews... hehe... but I respect the balls to give an established band 0/10 - ya, ya... Mortician isnt that original, but check 'em out live sometime... it might change your mind. Keep up the good work. Best quote I ever heard at Metalfest - "Rock out, with your Cock out!" (El Duce'92) See ya at Dynamo next May !!! BRAD Metalurgy CFCR90.5FM Saskatoon Date: Fri, 13 Aug 1999 From: Norman Doll Subject: Fwd: Christian Metal "letter in CoC" ezine Greetings CoC... love the zine! this is a letter I originally sent to "S.R.Prozak" regarding his statements about Christian metal in the newest issue... Thanks for your time, Norm Date: Fri, 13 Aug 1999 From: Norman Doll To: prozak@anus.com Subject: Christian Metal "letter in CoC" ezine Hi, I listen to and play Christian metal. It is art my friend. If you want it to be. Yes, I agree that there is a segment of the Christian music industry that churns out "clones" for the masses, but where I dwell in the true underground of Christian metal we create art. Metal has always been about feelings, beliefs, aggression... Well, as a Christian i have Strong feelings, beliefs, aggression, and sorrow... Sorrow a feeling that we all must experience.. I suffer from clinical depression.... In my lyrics I cry out to God for answers.. At times I question Him... Or even (gasp) get angry with God... These are my true feelings and I express them along with my reverence to my creator... I sometimes may question Him but I also have respect for Him. Do bands like ICED EARTH not express their views on God and Evil? Am I not doing the same? It is not all about cloning and "happy" Christians. It s about art, feelings... etc.. Does the fact that I am a Christian make me any less of a guitarist than another person who is atheist, Buddhist, agnostic, Satanic, or whatever? I think not.... I play the blues with feeling... probably some of the exact same feelings are in my music that Stevie Ray had in his.... I play metal like I own it (even though all things rightfully belong to God), I have the same anger and hatred flowing in my veins that FEAR FACTORY has... The only difference is that my "hate" is usually directed at something worth hating... like the decay of this once great nation...or my personal fears. I have gut feelings, fears, ... I could tell you some more personal things but they are so screwed up they might tend to scare someone.. I have felt as if I have no soul... traveled outside my body (without trying, no drugs or witchcraft involved man)... some seriously scary stuff... You don't think that is worth writing about?? How about the majesty contained in the lyrics of bands like HAMMERFALL? Is Gods majesty not worthy?? I ask you to examine a few of these facts and let me know what you conclude...PS- I can hook you up with some "true" Christian" metal.....PSS- By the way .. Christianity is not about religion (only those who have perverted it make it that way) it is about a relationship. Thanks for your time, Norm aka SORG Date: Sat, 14 Aug 1999 From: "Jonny Bergstrom" Subject: Coc #2: Reply to one of your mails In reply to Todd Crawford in "Loud Letters" about "music is dying". You could try Dan Swano and his CD "Moontower". It's progressive... Of course, if it rocks, is for you to decide. Date: Sun, 15 Aug 1999 From: Conformity@aol.com Subject: ATTENTION: Loud Letters This is my response to Spinoza Ray Prozac's letter to a one, "Gutterboy". Personally, I think Christian Metal is a horrid pile of gay shit. I honestly don't give a fuck what the lyrical content really is, but more of the musicianship of the band. Sure, good lyrics can add a hell of a lot to a release, but I wouldn't make it the determining factor in whether or not I like the album. I'm not too fond of "Gutterboy", just by reading his letter, but at least he presents his ideas and concerns in a respectable form. I'm even less fond of S. R. Prozac. This guy seems like he's stuck in his own egomaniacal fantasy metal world, where everything must be protrayed by some sort of emmaculate wording. As for his webpage, Anus.com, I respect it even less than I respect the band STRYPER. That's pretty low, folks. In addition to the page looking like chicken scratch, it's rarely updated, and Prozac spends countless hours peddling his useless metal sociology that no one honestly gives a shit about. The man strikes me as some sort of heroin-addict poet, wearing a frilly shirt, possibly living in a shack, writing manifestos on technology. I don't doubt that he's most likely above average as far as intelligence, however, his own mind will be his undoing. As for Prozac's "points", I'll address those. 1) Yes, Earth turned to Black Sabbath. Neat. "its nihilistic power chord riffs were to many an indicator of total breakdown of social order" Okay, that's some of the gayest shit I've ever heard spewed from someone's hole. Ozzy, Geezer, Tony, and Bill were a bunch of doped up hippies. I doubt any of them were familiar with the concepts of nihilism, nor were they familiar with any music theory. Stop over-analyzing things, you gay prick. 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." Are these the exclusive concepts that metal bands are confined to writing about? Do you even pay attention to the things you write? Aren't you forgetting one crucial focus of a lot of metal bands.......religion? I still don't understand how this "point" ties in with Gutterboy's letter, but I just don't agree with it. 3) Yes, some bands are satanic. You're pretty perceptive. Once again....how does this tie in with anything? 4) Once again, stop over-analyzing things, you self-righteous prick. 5) Uh huh, the world sucks, Prozac. We're all gradually being poisoned. Too bad that doesn't have anything to do with the subject matter at hand. Also, it's too bad that you can't do anything about it. Jerk. Have fun in your shack in Montana, you fuck. Where do you gather that metal was "founded" in 1969? Yeah, the United States was turned into a somewhat frenzy state of morality cuz of all the communism shit.....but different ideas can't be contributed directly to that. If I have to explain anymore than that last sentence, go ahead and die. Regardless of what things we felt we were doing "right", as according to a religion, there are bound to be those that eventually say, "Fuck it, this shit doesn't work." I don't see how this is so monumental towards your arguement. Yeah, Christianity doesn't work for a lot of metalheads. You know what, Ray? Christianity doesn't work for a good majority of the world, either. Nothing works for everyone, you disillusioned bitch. Are you saying that all Christian-Metal is somehow funded and provided by the Vatican, or something? They can peddle their "propaganda" as long as they want. If it's good music, I'll listen to it. If it's bad, I'll toss it in the sewer. If it brainwashes people, I don't give a fuck. If satanic music brainwashes people, guess what? I still don't give a fuck. People who become brainwashed by such a petty non-imposing force are obviously weak-minded idiots who deserve to be guided towards their own demise. If you go out and kill someone because Varg Vikernes told you to in a Burzum album, that's just great. You're obviously a fucking moron, and we don't need you in our society anyhow. Disrespectfully, Bite my cock, Give your mom oral pleasure, Contract genital herpes, Da Big Drew Oh yeah, CoC, you guys are the only consistently GOOD metal zine. Date: Fri, 20 Aug 1999 From: Ryuto Ishiwa Subject: Re: Chronicles of Chaos #41 (1/3) In response to Prozak's letter against "christian metal". First of all, I'm not christian nor religious in any other way. Now, I find Prozak's arguments unconvincing: 1) Yes, metal is in a way an expression of the breakdown of social order but so was christianism in it's origins. Jesus, as a historical figure, was part of a movement against the order imposed by the romans on the one hand and against the established jewish hierarchy on the other. 2) Mythology, magic, blood, death, and the occult abound in christianism. 3) Satanism as a "post-chirstian existence", ok. Why not also have a "post-satanic christianism"? 4) Again, christianism can be rendered as a disident stance. In fact, there are christians against (established) christianism. For example, "liberation theologists" who fight in latin american guerrillas. 5) Our world is deep in shit. So? That's the same for christians and non-christians and in many levels it's been worse in the past. Anyway, the question is what to do: sink in shit and stay there or use shit as fuel to empower us? To me both metal and, in a more explicit way, hardcore do the second and any sincere christian is compelled to do the same. On the issue of propaganda, there is christian propagandistic crap and satanic propangandistic crap. Anti-christianism is most often better translated as anti-establishment. Metal is a way of unleashing rebelious power. There are many enemies to rebel against, so I have nothing against christian bands fighting theirs (including those they have in their own ranks). PS: for non-embarrassing intelligent anti-christian lyrics see Immolation, for a masterpiece of satanic "nihilism" check out Mayhem's Wolf's Lair Abyss. + an opinion: noise and extreme black metal seem to mesh well + I dig Gabriel Sanchez' reviews. -- "If you want words of wisdom read a book" (and Brutal Truth's lyrics) -- regards Date: Sat, 21 Aug 1999 From: Shaun McCarthy Subject: Re: Chronicles of Chaos #42 (3/5) > Skepticism - _aes_ (Red Stream, 1999) > by: Aaron McKay (8 out of 10) > > ... 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 "Aeothe Kaear" was actually released in 1993. "Stormcrowfleet" in 1995. Date: Mon, 9 Aug 1999 From: NICK LORD Subject: Where's the thrash Hi my name is Peter Hunt I live in Sydney Australia and I am a drummer, trying to form a Heavy\Thrash Metal Band. Unfortunately I have had no luck, so therefore I am going to try my luck overseas. I have obtained a passport but berfore I get a Visa and travel to certain country I first of all have to find out if the thrash scene is alive and well.And my opinion of the best way to find out, would have to be a metal magazine based overseas. If you know where the thrash scene (80's stuff, Metallica, Megadeth, Priest, Maiden etc) is alive and well.I'd appreciate it if you could E-mail me back and let me know which country and which city within that country where the thrash scene is happeining the most. I'm willing to go wherever my best chances are of finding the appropriate band members, whether that be Britian, Europe, United States, South America etc........ Hope to hear from you soon, much appreciated! Peter Hunt Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999 From: 12777 <12777@email.msn.com> Subject: Achtung Loud Letters: Hirsute Blue-garbed Loser Says "I Hate Metal" Greetings - 1) I'm SURE I didn't hear Mike Muir saying that every band on Nuclear Blast "is garbage and people get beat up if they listen to that stuff where we're from" and "I would never be on a label like that, there's not one record on that label I would listen to, I fuckin' hate heavy metal." Hey Mike, let me let you in on a little secret. Yeah, psssttt, come here, lean a little closer: YOU HAVEN'T MADE ANYTHING *BUT* GARBAGE SINCE "How Will I Laugh Tomorrow..."! I've seen you in concert, and I don't care how "Cyco" you are, a bunch of 11 year old brats with bandannas on their heads doing the pogo to whatever belabored amalgam of boring funk and hackneyed So-Cal punk angst you happen to be playing just doesn't make up a group I'd be scared of getting "beat up" by. I'd be really surprised if mine is the only response in this issue to the mutterings of the washed-up ingrate you interviewed in issue #42. 2) You guys need to be more critical with your reviews. In other words, when you look at the ratings you give the albums you review, there should be just as many ones, twos and threes as there are sevens, eights and nines. There's so much effluvium floating around out there, we need your help in discerning it from the genuine article. Kiss up ratings don't help. I don't know how you select who reviews what albums, but I believe it should be done randomly, provided you weed out ANY reviewers who admire the work of Korn, Marylin Manson, Rob Zombie and their ilk. 3) And while we're on the subject of bad reviews, I just have to say "No, no, no" to the positive review of the band Fantomas. I made the mistake of going to see them live before I heard their "music," simply because I heard that Lombardo was their drummer, and "hell", I thought "if he carried Grip Inc. (er, sort of....), he can carry these guys." Well, I should have been a little more wary of the presence of a member of the Melvins. Just as the roaring drumstick heroics - sweetly reminiscent of the glorious days when Dave was a member the allmighty Slayer - got going, the sound of a transexual baboon getting it's goolies crushed by a red-hot blacksmith's anvil assaulted my ears. Trust me people, do NOT go anywhere near this heap of crap. 4) Concerning S.O.D.'s latest offering, your reviewer should have torn into those guys for selling out (if there is a band I never thought I'd hurl *that* eipithet at, it's them) on their political incorrectness. I refer specifically to the new, "cleaner" version of the song "Aren't You Hungry." I should also mention that the word Celtic is pronounced with a "K" sound. And one more thing: Billy Milano, though I admire the guy for his early-to-mid-eighties "in your face" attitude, just CANNOT do a King Diamond impression to save his life..... -TJ Date: Mon, 30 Aug 1999 From: Jackie/The Great One Subject: ATTENTION: LOUD LETTERS Greetings CoC! First of all, let me begin (as most writers to this column do) by congratulating you on a tremendous e-zine. It seems to just get better and better with each issue, and since I live in South Africa, your e-zine is my main buying guide when going on my CD excursions. One thing that did bother me in Issue #42 was a certain person named Mike Muir. First of all, I'd like to say that Suicidal Tendencies is not that brilliant. In fact, they're quite lame in comparison to Agnostic Front. However, what pissed me off more than anything was Mr Muir's bullshit comments about the bands on Nuclear Blast. If he didn't want the fucking CDs he could have sent them to me, but dissing your distributor like that - I'm fucking surprised they're still doing any business with him. There's a huge difference between being outspoken and being an opinionated loudmouth. And what's more, although I don't care much for some of Nuclear Blast's latest signings (Hammerfall and Narnia immediately spring to mind), I would take Covenant and Dimmu Borgir over that cocksucker's music any day of the fucking week. OK, there, I've blown off some steam. I can not wait to hear the new Samael. Cheers Jackie Smit, South Africa Date: Thu, 9 Sep 1999 From: Stanislav Derev'anko Subject: Attention Loud Letters I would like to thank you guys for the great e-zine. These are not just usual words like "Coc rules!" or "your mag kicks ass!'' which I read in a Loud letters section in every Coc issue, no, I want to thank personaly Gino Filicetti for carrying such a heavy burden with putting together all this reviews, articles, interviews, and other stuff while keeping the ball rolling. I also wish to thank Adrian Bromley, Paul Schwarz, Pedro Azevedo and other numerous contributors of your zine for doing great professional reviews of the metal scene (though my opinion sometimes differs from theirs). As I can see most of you attend various university courses and, damn, I know how much time does it take day and night! So I think you guys are some kind of maniacs if you still can find time to work on your mag! Just keep it going! Great job! (In paticular, I would like to thank Adrian Bromley for his reviews of In Flames and Hypocrisy in Coc 40 ) Stanislav Kharkov, Ukraine Date: Thu, 16 Sep 1999 From: Martinelli Roberto Subject: attention loud letters Dear CoC, An exuberant thank you for putting out such a fine forum for finding information about the metal scene. I discovered your zine 4 months ago and have since gone back and read all of your back issues, and loved all of them. I regret that the first letter I write you must be centered around a minor complaint. Around Issue #10 or so, a lot of people wrote in requesting a section in CoC devoted to great albums of years past. It took a bit of nagging from readers, but you finally gave in and gave us....ONE (!) issue with some of the staff's faves, and promised periodical installments from then on. So, why have you never done this again? I don't mean to sound overly harsh, but I think that you guys have no excuse to why you can't stick a measly section before the concert reports devoted to older albums that you like. It's not like you have to write a whole in-depth analysis like you do for your reviews. We all know that the albums in the "picks of yesteryear" are in the section precisely because they rule. It would take each of you all of five minutes every month to jot down your name, and then one pre-CoC album that you like. I look to your zine a great deal for weeding through all the crap metal stuff out there so I can find great albums, and you've come through for me a lot. I'd like to be able to also find great pre-1995 albums, too. C'mon guys, let's not forget the classics! Another request that I have involves the grading system for your reviews. I noticed that when you first started CoC, an album that got a 6 was deemed a decent album. In the past year or so, however, it seems that anything under an 8 gets no praise. What's the point of having a scale of 1-10 when the way your staff grades is practically on a scale of 1-4, where 0-4 is a 1, 4-7 is a 2, 8-9 is a 3, and 10 is a 4. Take a lesson from your old issues and please make some distinction between a 2 and a 4, and a 4 and a 6, for example, or your 1-10 scale has little meaning. Enough math. The subject I'd like to bring up this letter is how disappointed I've been to discover how generally crappy the metal scene is in the US. I'm from San Francisco, but mostly got into metal while I've been at university here in Tokyo, Japan. I took it for granted that it seemed that every month a major metal band would come to the area (although the ticket prices are exorbitant- but that's the norm for everything in Tokyo), CDs, new and used, are in great abundance (no need to order off the web!), and almost always include extra tracks. The underground scene here is doing quite well, and there are quite a few good Japanese bands, Intestine Baalism being the latest one I've discovered. So why is it that the scene in one of the most important death metal and metal countries in the world, the US, is so poor? Or is it just San Francisco? People here think nothing of spending 60 bucks to go see one major band and one or 2 lesser known or local ones, yet in the US people complain about spending 12 dollars to see Vader AND Cryptopsy and Gorguts and 2 other more minor bands. One last thing. Iron Maiden should be lashed. I postponed my trip to Thailand just so I could go to their shitty concert in San Jose on the 28th of June. For all of you who don't know, the entire show was cancelled because Adrian Smith reportedly broke a finger on his playing hand dicking around on the stage in LA or something. i normally love A.S.'s work, but in this instance I have to say "what a moron". Why couldn't they have carried on with J. Gers and D. Murray playing the guitar tandem that they've always needed and foregone the superfluous 3rd guitar? It's not like they were going to play any new material that necessitated a third guitar. I'm only this upset because I love Iron Maiden; well, up until Seventh Son, anyway. Thanks Roberto Martinelli =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= __ \ | | | | _ \ _` | _` | | | | | | __/ ( | ( | | | | ____/ \___|\__,_|\__,_|_|\__, | ____/ __ \ _) | | | | _` | | _ \ _` | | | _ \ __| | | | ( | | ( | ( | | | __/\__ \ ____/ _|\__,_|_|\___/ \__, |\__,_|\___|____/ |___/ B L O O D T H I R S T Y V E T E R A N S ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CoC interviews Cannibal Corpse by: Adrian Bromley It takes a lot of things to keep music fresh for a band. Imagine how hard it must be for a band with more than ten years, two singers and seven albums under their belt? Needless to say, veteran death metallers Cannibal Corpse are still bloodthirsty and going for broke. The band's latest assault on our ears, the gritty and powerful _Bloodthirst_, is a solid concoction of veteran know-how and producer Colin Richardson's (Machine Head / Fear Factory) ingenuity. When band and producer see eye to eye, the results can be worthy of attention. This album shines for all to take hold of. With cut-throat agility, Cannibal Corpse pace themselves this time with _Bloodthirst_, reaching out to take in an experience, yet still showcase that they've got it. Working crushing guitar riffs to the max and vocal stylings that would please any metaller's ears, _Bloodthirst_ helps Cannibal Corpse paint a picture of wretched doings and violent images. Those with weak hearts, please step aside. Songs like "Ecstasy in Decay", "Unleashing the Bloodthirsty" or "Condemned to Agony" are Cannibal Corpse at their finest. Could this be their best LP to date? Some might agree, but some might disagree, calling out albums like _Tomb of the Mutilated_ or _Butchered at Birth_ as classics and their best work. Some might even say _Vile_. Whatever comes about one's perception of this album, the bottom line is that Cannibal Corpse have slightly altered their sound over the past decade and it is still good. Fans are still around and things seem to be going all right. Bassist/founder/lyricist Alex Webster is happy with the way things are going at the moment. "I think with what we got here, it just seems to be a solid piece of work", he begins on the topic of the new record. "It just all fell into place. It just seems as though our way of writing has changed over the years, especially with George ["Corpsegrinder" Fisher] replacing Chris [Barnes, now in Six Feet Under]. I think when Chris was in the band, with a lot of the lyrics and music he wrote, it had to be a certain way. The way he wanted it. With George now in, we've all become a little tighter at writing things, working as a team, rather than following what was being dictated to us." "I am just feeling a bit stronger about what I am doing now, too. My songs that I write and do the lyrics for are sounding as I had planned them to. With Chris in the band I knew that when I took ideas to him they would come back sounding just a bit different. It was never a problem, just an altered idea that did come noticed to me." So what's the catch? Why do people keep coming back to the band? "I think what people like about Cannibal Corpse [rounded out by guitarists Jack Owen and Pat O'Brien and drummer Paul Mazurkiewicz] is that no matter what has happened over the years, not a lot has changed with us. We really like playing death metal and we try to keep working ideas around the basis of what we started the band on. We want to make a brutal death metal record all the time and we have done that. It all goes back to a band like Iron Maiden who knew how to keep a formula going, but change a little bit each time out, yet still keep the fans interested. I think that runs true with Cannibal Corpse. Bands like Morbid Angel and Deicide have changed over the years, but have kept true to the original formula instead of drastically changing. If someone liked your first record, they liked it for a reason, and every time you put out a new record they are going to keep coming back to get what you provided them with before." About the new record, which was recorded in Tornillo, Texas (at Village Productions) instead of Morrisound Studios in Florida where the band has done most of their recordings, he says, "Hopefully people will see just what a difference there is in what we did. I think it has added to the sound of the record, a step ahead of what we have done in the past, I think, and that does seem to come from where we did the record. It's an experience. I think with this being our seventh album, this may have our hardest songs ever and the hardest songs to play", he quips. "It's just good to be able to go out and offer the fans something new with Cannibal Corpse." "We tried a lot of different things on the last record [_Gallery of Suicide_]; some songs were a bit slower -- and I hope it was still heavy for all the fans -- and this time we just went in and wrote faster material. We figured, why use talent to write slower music when you can use talent to write heavier and faster music? We're all improving over the years and I think we should go out and use those improvements to make the best brutal death metal each time out." "We had a lot of fun with this record. It was great to get away and work at the new studio in Texas, 'cause it seemed that every album that we were recording at Morrisound over the last few years, we were experiencing deja vu with our music. We needed to just find something new with our music and we found it." And seeing that they found luck with the new studios, luck must have been dished out twice with the band working with Colin Richardson for the first time. Right? "Yeah... we had such a blast working with Colin. He knew what we wanted. We felt that we got as brutal as we could from Morrisound, which was pretty brutal, but we wanted to try something different and see how far we could go with our music. We'll have to see how it goes. It's hard for me to be objective about this record right now. Come back to me after a year and I'll tell you how I feel about the record's sound then." The band have paid their dues over the years. Band turmoil, controversy over album artwork and lyrics, criticisms -- you name it, they've experienced it. Says Webster, "It all gets old to us real fast when people take shots at the band. People who think we don't know how to play haven't really given the music much of a listen. As for the name and what has come from it? We knew what we were getting into when we named the band Cannibal Corpse. We wanted a horror-type name to go along with the brutal music we were playing. We had such a great cause for wanting to do this band. Our music inspired and excited us and you have to understand that when you get all excited over something, you know there is always going to be that one person (or persons) who won't like the situation. I look at all these bands who play it safe. I think a lot of death metal bands play it safe when it comes to their images, music, lyrics and even band names. You'd be surprised who I thought played it safe. I won't name any of them, but you can see the ones who won't go out of their way to do crazy shit." He continues: "Not many bands would do a song like "Hammer Smashed Face", but we did. We were like fuck it. We didn't care what other people thought. If you start to care about what other people think when it comes to writing music or lyrics, or anything for that matter, then you become their prisoner. Fuck it! Some people are going to hate you, but fuck them too. I'd rather do something great that only a few people like than something mediocre that a lot of people like." Let the sickened, bloodthirsty ways of Cannibal Corpse spread to the metal community once again. Indulge, metalheads, as this is a worthy slab of metal to chew on as we head into the year 2000. Once again, Cannibal Corpse deliver. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= C U T L I N E ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CoC chats with Piotr Wiwczarek of Vader by: Paul Schwarz (David Rocher also present) Though their last full-length album (1997's _Black to the Blind_ [CoC #27]) was released nearly two years ago, Vader have not been soundless in terms of output, as has been their tendency since the release of _De Profundis_ (1995/6 [CoC #17]). An extended EP (_Kingdom_ [CoC #32]) and live album (_Live in Japan_ [CoC #36]) have satiated hungry fans along with the band's rigorous and extensive touring schedule. However, it is finally coming again to the time when a new, full-length Vader creation will be gracing humanity. This coming January is the appointed time, so if the prophets of doom are wrong about the apocalypse, we won't be waiting too long; the alternative is literally waiting an eternity. This interview takes place on the last show of the band's most recent European tour with Six Feet Under, Enslaved, Cryptopsy, Nile and Thyrfing [see CoC #42 for double review] and includes the contributions of fellow CoCer David Rocher, who here represents his own Descension 'zine (and is noted as "D" in the transcript). I hope this satiates the hunger of all you Vader maniacs out there, and encourages the truly unfortunate out there who have never checked out this godly band to do so with all haste. CoC: How has the touring been going? Are you happy with how the line-up of bands turned out, and that people turned up to the gigs? Piotr Wiwczarek: In general it was a good tour. Good bands, good response, good crowd. Not bad conditions. CoC: Have Pavement / System Shock given you any tour support for this one or are you still doing it on your own? PW: No. I think this chapter is finished, with System Shock. _Live in Japan_ was the last release [with them]. So, now we have already signed with Metal Blade for the next release. Descension: That's good news. PW: It's good news? I hope so. It's what we need. Vader never got enough promotion; that's what we really need, as a band. D: That's something that's really striking about Vader's career, actually. You always got massive recognition from the fans and from audiences and other musicians... PW: That's the best! D: ... but labels always studiously ignored you. PW: Yeah. To be honest, though, we don't need somebody who ignores us, we need somebody who is really loyal with us. That's why System Shock did a good job for us in the past, so we started to co-operate. That was real co-operation there between us, as a band, and them, as a record company. But the story was, they do not have enough potential for us. We've still got to do something... better. That's why we need promotion. That's why we decided to sign with Metal Blade. It's not like new news because Metal Blade was asking us for some deal, seems like a year and a half ago or something. It took a long time to decide. D: What do you think of the bands that are signed to Metal Blade, generally? They have some pretty good acts, like Amon Amarth and... CoC: Immolation, which he [David] doesn't like. PW: To be honest, I don't really care about the death metal bands who are signed to Metal Blade. As I said, we need a guy who will try to be loyal with us and promote the band. The regular work. We don't expect something special, we just expect regular promotion. CoC: What is the plan with the new album? Are you recording anything or planning to record? PW: We already booked the studio for the middle of October, so we should be done with the next album by the end of November, probably. The problem is that Metal Blade don't release any albums in December, which I was sad about. So they will release our next album in January or February next millennium. CoC: Where are you recording this time out? PW: In Poland. Red studio. It's almost the same studio but much better equipped. The same studio we had recorded _De Profundis_ in [then called Modern Sound --Paul]. So, the sound should be better; I hope so. CoC: Who's the producer this time, is Andy Bomba doing it again or are you producing yourselves, 'cause you produced _Live in Japan_? PW: We're going to work with the guy who helped us to record _De Profundis_ [Adam Toczko --Paul], the same guy. We'll do it together. CoC: Are the lyrics in a similar vein? PW: I think it's going to be the way it was on _Black to the Blind_. We will also be working with the persons responsible for that, also a friend of mine, and... we'll see, you know. I need more time, 'cause I'm still waiting for a couple of lyrics. Maybe I'll write like two or three of them, maybe. It depends, if we have enough time and there's still lots to do... We're still busy, we don't have so much time left, but we still need to put ideas into notes and everything, for myself and the band for the studio. D: Concerning the lyrics, you often include notes to the lyrics within the booklets... PW: Yeah, it's kind of -- not even an explanation, just kind of a note about the source of the lyrics, you know? There's a few persons responsible, so I just ask them to write something from themselves. 'Cause lyrics are mostly like a personal expression, so it's easier to understand for somebody who doesn't always know what's going on. It's just a close-up, it's nothing like explanation, because that's impossible. Lyrics are personal. They should stay personal, but you know, many people just wanted to know, "What the fuck is up, man? The source." So that's why we try to write down the notes about that. Sometimes it's about influence, sometimes it's a few words taken from a source. It depends on the author. I think that it's best if the author can decide how to explain it. CoC: Musically, are you going in the same sort of direction as _Kingdom_ [CoC #32] was? Are you heading for a sort of mid-paced direction or is it going faster again? [Note: I meant the direction of "Kingdom" and "Creatures of Light and Darkness", the two original new tracks, not any of the other material on this extended EP. --Paul] PW: _Kingdom_ is not the "new way" of Vader creations, it is nothing like that. _Kingdom_ was specially recorded for guys who were looking for the extra song, the bonus tracks for _Black to the Blind_. I know what the problem is, you're thinking about those remixes, right? CoC: No, no, I was actually thinking about -- not the remixes, I didn't think you'd be going in that direction --, I meant with "Kingdom" and with "Creatures of Light and Darkness" it had a more mid-paced feel. PW: The remixes are something different. It's not even Vader; it's made from Vader, but it's not even Vader. Vader is Vader, we stay Vader. The next album also is going to be Vader, which means having speed. So, take it easy. CoC: I'm okay. D: What was basically the idea behind the techno remixes, as a matter of fact? PW: To be honest, we had to do it because nobody wanted to release the album with like fifteen minutes total time [Pavement / System Shock do not release EPs as a matter of procedure, thus EP-type products like Malevolent Creation's _Joe Black_ and Vader's _Kingdom_ are made longer and priced and sold as "rarities compilations" --Paul]. So, we had a couple of remixes made with different friends and there was even an idea to make a full album just with remixes, but we found out it's not a good idea, we don't need it. We're Vader and... it's not good. It's not bad to put two songs as bonus tracks, to kind of experience something, but nothing more, I guess. CoC: I was going to mention you're wearing a Marduk shirt [a particularly unusual brown/orange camo one, too --Paul]. I was wondering whether you'd talked to them about tanks, because I recall you liked tanks, and they're big into tanks? PW: I'm a freak of that, I'm a freak of that since like two or three years ago. I started that with making plastic model kits, and I also get books, uniforms, weapons, replicas and that sort of things. I'm crazy about that. D: I think it is particularly Morgan [Hakannson, Marduk guitarist] who's into this. PW: I never got the chance to talk to him, but we are probably going to play with them soon, so it would be nice to talk about that. D: What do you think of their music? PW: Heavy. Heavy. It's a little bit different, but it's still heavy and brutal: that's the way it should be. D: Were you never approached by Osmose at some point, concerning signing to them? PW: Osmose? I don't think -- they -were- interested in signing a deal, but for the demos, and it was too late: Hammerheart already had it [and re-released Vader's two demos, _Necrolust_ and _Morbid Reich_, as _Reborn in Chaos_ --Paul]. I think they [Osmose] have a different way. I wish them good luck, but it is something different, I guess. They have too many bands to care about. CoC: To what extent do you think that being the biggest band in Poland, pretty much ever, has changed your perspective on music? Has it changed your perspective on music? PW: I told you, we see the same, I guess. Not the same as we used to be like ten years ago, or more, but we've still got the same passion, the same feeling, and I think that's what's most important. Because you know, the feeling is the most important thing if you are creating music. And of course we have more experience, we have spent more time on this Earth, so we're more grown-up, but it doesn't mean we think of something different. We still play the same music and we're going to keep playing it in the future. Vader is Vader. D: Talking about the Eastern death metal scene, seems that the Eastern countries have a pretty strong scene rising. PW: Yeah, it is. D: Have you noticed any bands in this? PW: Well, you know, maybe I am too busy now to follow what's happening in the underground at all. But I could recommend a couple of names from Poland, like Devilyn, like Decapitated. This [Decapitated] is a new band and some pretty young guys, like seventeen, eighteen years old. Fucking heavy and fast, man: unbelievable. I was like, that was the first time in my life I was the producer of a band and that's why I can recommend... I'm kidding, man, it's a really good band. And there's more bands, not just death metal or heavy metal or black metal, but I just don't remember all the names now. CoC: A couple I know, Yattering... PW: Yattering! The guy who is drumming for Vader now is from Yattering. He joined about two weeks before we started the tour. D: Is Doc no longer... PW: No, no, no. He got like a break. For a couple of months, because of some problems, I think like the drugs, and he needs to do something with himself and with that. We've got time, we can help him to do that. But if nothing changes, Doc probably will never come back. But I hope he will do something with that and everything is going to be alright. For now, this guy like saved the tour for us, 'cause we were close to cancelling the tour, 'cause we didn't have enough time to prepare the songs [with another drummer]. This guy prepared ten songs in two weeks, from the beginnings, which is a good job. And you're going to see tonight, he's also good. He's a little different, but the same speed, the same craziness. CoC: Well, the Yattering album [_Human's Pain_, CoC #36] is pretty insane. PW: Those guys are friends of mine. _Human's Pain_ was the last album? [I acknowledge this --Paul]. Those guys, they work pretty hard with what they're doing. So I think they should have something more just for music. In this fucking business, you know, sometimes you need just the record company with the money, to feel the success. We work in a different kind of way, we work hard, and we have, and I think just to have money is not enough, it shouldn't be enough, to do something. D: What do you think of the bands with whom you're on tour this evening? PW: Great bands, especially Nile; they've just started. Cryptopsy, we used to tour with them in the States, you know, March, that was a great tour also. Enslaved, we met those guys in Oslo for the first time when we were on tour with Morbid Angel, also pretty much surprised with them, 'cause I hear lots of shitty words about Norwegian bands. So, that was the first band I was in touch with and they're a good band and good guys, you know, friends. Thyrfing, they're a new band, the guys are alright. Six Feet Under also, there were no problems with them on the tour, they were the headliners. Not tonight [where Mayhem took their place --Paul], though. CoC: Okay, I think we should all go watch Nile. PW: Yeah, you should. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= PREPARING TO AGAIN BURST THEIR BANKS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CoC chats with Karl Sanders of Nile by: Paul Schwarz (David Rocher also present) Those of you out there who have not yet been exposed to the power and inventive musical brilliance of Nile have been sorely deprived of one of the greatest creations the death metal or extreme music scene has brought forth in the last five years. _Amongst the Catacombs of Nephren Ka_ [CoC #32] was, on average, the most favoured record by CoC writers in last year's round-up, and quite rightly so. Nile came from nowhere as far as all but the most ear-to-the-ground undergrounders were concerned, and proceeded to effortlessly shame established acts and upcoming bands alike with the inventiveness and brutality delivered by _AtCoNK_. Nile recently made their first trip across Europe, beginning at the long-running and exalted Dynamo Festival [CoC #40] and continuing their rampage (on a package resplendent with talents like Vader, Cryptopsy and Enslaved [double live review in CoC #42]) across Europe, finishing up in the medium-sized city of Rennes in Brittany, France. It was here that myself and David Rocher (who was also interviewing on behalf of his Descension 'zine and whose contributions are noted as "D" in this interview) talked to Karl Sanders about Nile's current position, possible progression and pre-emptory past. CoC: You guys are set to record a new album, I believe. It's planned, at least? Karl Sanders: It's planned. We have songs written, but we still have more to write. CoC: So what is the schedule for the album coming out now? KS: When we get back home from this tour we'll take a few weeks off. Then we'll start working on the material and hopefully record and have it out by January. CoC: That's cool. Any working title for that at all? KS: Well, we tossed one about, and I'm hesitant to mention it. Everybody asks me this and I usually don't tell them but... CoC: ... You're cracking under pressure. KS: Yes. We've thought about _The Black Seeds of Vengeance_. Don't quote me on that, it might get changed at the last minute, you know how these things are. CoC: Don't worry, I won't get anyone too hyped up for that. How do you think the material that you have been writing differs from the material on _...Catacombs..._? KS: It's faster, more brutal, more epic. It's on a more grand scale in the sense that the "Ramses Bringer of War" track is very... CoC: Big, and all that sort of thing? KS: Yes. I would say a lot of it is in that vein. CoC: Would you say it's as big a step as from _Festivals of Atonement_ to _...Catacombs..._? KS: That was a big leap. CoC: That's a big -speed- leap. KS: There will be another speed leap. We've been playing these songs now for a year and a half on tour, so, to play the material on _...Catacombs..._ is like... CoC: Pretty easy? KS: ... fucking drinking tea. So, the next album we'll go faster just... because we can. Descension: Is it going to be just on a really death metal vein, or are you going to sort of borrow speed elements from black metal bands, or the black metal style anyway? KS: I would say that we are continuing on our same path, only more highly progressed. Simply because there has been a couple of years between the writing of _...Catacombs..._ and the stuff we're writing now, but it is on the same path. Are we borrowing from black metal? I would say "no, we're borrowing from ourselves". CoC: I was going to ask about your trip across Europe. It's your first time over here? KS: Yeah, it's our first trip across the pond. CoC: How has it been and how do you feel the response has been considering [_...Catacombs..._] has been out for a year, and it's on a US label and what have you? KS: I would say it's been a great trip. I'd always wanted to come to Europe. I'd always wanted to see it for myself. You know, you see it on TV and magazines: whatever, you know. I wanted to see it for myself and I had heard that metal was alive and well on the continent. CoC: You think that's true? KS: It's true. People here genuinely love metal. In the States it's trendism, it's fads and when that fad dies it's replaced by something else. Right now it's hardcore. Hardcore is big; if you don't play hardcore you're not "the shit". So we don't really feel appreciated in the States. Everywhere we've done here, except for a show or two in Germany where people just stood there like this waiting to drink beer, people have treated us like we're human beings, and that feels fucking good. CoC: And that would include Dynamo, I assume? KS: Oh, Dynamo , wow! There's nothing like Dynamo. D: What do you think of the package of bands that has been offered on this tour? KS: I think it's a good mix. There's something for everyone. Six Feet Under are a more popular kind of death metal, accessible to a wide range of people. Vader, they're a classic death metal band. Enslaved, they're a classic Viking band, with a lot of black metal elements. Cryptopsy: total brutal technicality. There's us, we do our thing. Thyrfing is melodic Viking metal. There's something in there for everybody, and I've seen that there is a lot of people coming to these shows, every show has been jammed with people. So many people you can't breathe at the fucking gigs. Some of them, literally, we were worried about running out of oxygen on stage. It was that fucking hot, that many people. D: That's amazing. KS: Yeah. When we finished our clothes were as wet as if we had jumped in a swimming pool. It's that fucking hot on stage on this tour. CoC: What is your inspiration for creating the very warlike kind of music of Nile? Where does it come from, either musically or literally? KS: Well, that's a pretty fucking deep question. CoC: Is it something to do with where you live? KS: We live in a very religiously oppressive part of the country. In, say, Berlin, there's a -bar-, a pub, on every single corner, alright? Where we live there's a fucking church on every corner. There's a church across the street from where we practice. You can walk out the door of our rehearsal room, pick up a rock, and hit the church with it. So, that's what we do, literally and figuratively. D: And where did the interest for Egyptian mythology arise from? KS: Well, that's one of our hobbies. As a child I'd always seen the great classic films: "Ben Hur", "Sodom and Gomorrah", "Cleopatra", "Land of the Pharaohs", on and on. And that was always fascinating to me. When I met our drummer, Pete, who is from the Lebanon, his family always had Middle-Eastern music around the house. So it was something I was introduced to and grew to love. And since Pete and I have played in bands together for like thirteen, fourteen years -- playing metal --, we'd always wanted to figure out a way to combine the two things that we love. So, that's what we have with Nile. CoC: Did you choose that because it is a particularly original approach to death metal? A lot of people have combined Satanism, gore lyrics, this and that, but no-one had combined Egyptian mythology. Was that part of your inspiration? KS: Well, that's kind of like after the fact. We knew what we wanted to do and at that point, time wise, Nile -- we did not foresee any fucking success anywhere down the road anyway, because death metal is pretty much... you know, there's nothing in the States, metal is dead in the States, almost, except for a few people who keep it alive. So, at that point we were like, "Fuck it, we're never going to become successful anyway, why don't we just fucking do the shit we like?". So that's what we did. And then, later on, we kind of went "Hang on, wait a minute, this kind of kills two birds with one stone, because every other band is doing the same fucking boring shit that everyone else is doing, and we're tired of it, let's do our own thing." D: We were talking about spiritualities earlier on with the guys from Enslaved. What I noticed was the lyrics were extremely warlike, like Paul was saying, and very dark, too. Do you actually stick with the Egyptian religious beliefs, or...? KS: Well, everything you're going to find on a Nile piece of work is going to be -- fuck, I haven't used English words in so long, of more than two syllables... -- able to co-exist side-by-side and in harmony with all the religious and historical/mythological themes of ancient Egypt. No matter what we're talking about, it's always going to have that base. It's going to be congruent -- is the word I was looking for. I think Enslaved are doing something different from what we do in that they are singing about their heritage. To them it's very real and they actually live and breathe their beliefs; the beliefs of their parents, ancestors and forefathers. It's something very real to them. We're one step removed. Since we have no fucking culture of our own, in America, South Carolina, we're pretty fuckin' bored and -somewhere- looking for other things to fascinate us. D: That's something striking about America in particular, because it is such a young culture. It's a culture which is maybe two hundred years old. So I don't know if there's actually an American history. KS: That's very profound. The thing that I love about Europe is there are so many old things. You can go to any town and see something five hundred years old. If you're lucky, here in France there's stuff a thousand years old. D: Quite easily. KS: To me that means something. In America everything is new, you know, nothing has any inherent worth. The Africans have a word, "ken". It means "the soul of an inanimate object". And a lot of the places I have been to here, walking around during the day visiting, you walk in them and you feel something, you know. There has perhaps been bloodshed, people lived and died there, hundreds of years ago, hundreds of lives crossed it. You can feel it, it's old. That's so cool [for me], 'cause everything we have is Coca Cola. CoC: -That's- pretty profound. D: Well, obviously you were saying you were going to go ahead and do your shit regardless of whether you got success or not, but as it seems Nile is getting success with _Amongst the Catacombs of Nephren Ka_. So, I'd like to know how things are going and how you feel about this, the way things are turning out? KS: Well, I guess things are going okay. We're able to tour. Everywhere we go kids know the music. It was quite mind-boggling to go to Slovenia and have kids singing the lyrics to me when I know they only speak English as a second language, and here they are fuckin' singin' the lyrics back. Woah! That's a dedication you don't see where we live. So I've been quite pleased. I would have been happy if we'd sold five thousand copies and just be able to pay for the record, whatever. CoC: What are the sales figures for _...Nephren Ka_ now? KS: Well, that's a tricky one, because I don't believe any record company ever tells you the absolute truth , and from what I've seen out here all the kids have it already. So we must be selling some records. Before we left for this tour they were telling us seventeen thousand or so. I don't know. D: That's pretty good, seventeen thousand is a good start. KS: It's a break even point. We'll be able to make another record, we'll do another one and then maybe the one after that we'll actually see some money. In earnest, I doubt it. CoC: So how are Relapse going with budgets, 'cause obviously you've been doing quite a bit in Europe just recently, so they've obviously got some kind of tour support of some description? KS: The tour support is minimal, it's just enough to get you here and then you're on your own. CoC: So petrol, food, all that kind of upkeep stuff... KS: They're not a large company, they're not like a major label who can bankroll everything, no. If you're on a metal label you're still doing the hard work yourself. CoC: Sure. KS: The benefit is the bigger distribution, the advertising, those things are worth a lot. 'Cause if you're working a day job and you're trying to play your music at night, and you're trying to send out your demos, your CDs and do your... You know, fuck, dude, there's only so many hours in the fuckin' day. It is just not possible to blanket the world with your music, if you're doing it all yourself. It's really important to have that distribution, the promotion, the power, to get your album in all corners of the globe. D: How are things going in general with Relapse? KS: Well, it goes pretty well. I can pick up the phone, talk to them and work things out, and it's pretty good. The boys in the front office who actually do the hard work, Carl, Pellet, Coz, Gordon who used to work there. He's now with MIA. Gordon was like a brother to me, I could call Gordon any time or hour of the day and say, "Gordon, help me understand this, help me figure this out, what's going on, what's the best thing for me." And those guys fucking kick ass, I love them and I would do anything for them. They bust their ass on a daily basis for every band on that label. D: What do you think of their band roster, bands like Morgion? KS: I happen to love Morgion. D: _Solinari_ is a killer. KS: They sent me a copy of it, when they first finished it. Quite impressive. Incantation -- they're metal touring brothers. Trial of the Bow is another one of my favourites. Disembowelment. D: And what do you think of a band like Mortician? KS: I think Incantation are my -touring brothers-. CoC: Good answer. D: Good answer. CoC: I was just going to ask one thing: _...Nephren Ka_ has got you to a point, much further than _Festivals of Atonement_ did; you're on a bigger label. I was wondering what you're hoping the new album will do for you [as a band]? KS: Well, I don't care what it does. The important thing is we have music that is important to us, that we love, that we want to bring to the people. And what it does is irrelevant as long as people have the chance to hear it, to come to the shows: that's the important thing. CoC: And obviously the more sales you have the bigger budget for the next one and the better you can make that. KS: Oh, obviously. I would like to be able to make a record and have everything be right, you know? _...Nephren Ka_, the budget was so small, if I told you, you'd just fall on the floor dying laughing. And there was a lot of fucking work put in, in order to make the album come in on budget and on time. D: And it did. I mean, the sound of it is really good. CoC: Yeah. D: The packaging is nice, too. KS: Yeah. We made it happen. D: I'd like to know, I believe you had a power metal outfit before, something like that, no? KS: Well, that was back in the eighties. Sure, I've been playing metal for nearly twenty years and [playing in] shitty local bands my entire life. I've done a lot of things. I've been in a thrash band, I've played in a Metallica cover band. I've done all sorts of metal things. I love metal. CoC: How long then have you been playing guitar? KS: Twenty, twenty one years. D/CoC: Last words, then? KS: Well, I'd just like to say thanks for the opportunity to talk with your readers, and that I've had a really good time in this interview. D/CoC: Same here. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= R E L E N T L E S S A N G E L I C C A D A V E R S ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CoC chats with Gene Palubicki of Angel Corpse by: Paul Schwarz As far as I can see, one of the most intense, violent, brutal and just plain unrelenting acts to emerge from the death metal scene in the last five years is Angel Corpse. Their focus on creating death metal which is as pure in its violent force as _Covenant_ (Morbid Angel) or _Legion_ (Deicide) but also not a meaningless, bludgeoning blur of low-tuned guitars and uncharacteristic vocals, makes them one of the few death metal bands around today who are truly a force to be reckoned with. They have just released their third album, the aptly titled _The Inexorable_, and it continues where last year's _Exterminate_ left off, shifting topics and adding dynamics but essentially preserving Angel Corpse as the musical equivalent to "60 tonnes of steel rolling across the battlefield", in the words of another Osmose artist. So, grab _The Inexorable_, start the warpath with "Stormgods Unbound", and find out the ideas which conflagrated to create such a testament to unrelenting extremity. CoC: What led you to choose _The Inexorable_ as the title for the new album? Gene Palubicki: Well, we wanted that for the title because -- since it is the third album and we're -continuing- what we started with [previous albums] but adding new elements with each album -- we've done the same thing with this album. We've kept everything that we've always done and we've just added more dynamics to it, you know, and I thought the title of _The Inexorable_ had a really ominous sound. Plus, it means like relentless, merciless, unforgiving, unyielding. So I thought that worked really good. Plus, it a little more vaguely fits in with the cover concept as well. The expansion of the demonic forces into more of a universal thing instead of a very worldly type visual that was on our last album. CoC: You have changed the cover artwork and in general on the album in terms of song titles it's moving away from the modern, battle sort of lyrics and into some slightly more demonic, supernatural, spiritual things? GP: Right, so that way it's more universally encompassing. Instead of just being, you know, your next door neighbour; it is more of a universal approach. That [way] it is not just so singular. CoC: So that was an intention, to sort of expand...? GP: Well yeah, I mean, for the purpose of lyrics and topics why should we repeat ourselves? Surely ideas should push forward, move on to bigger things. For ourselves personally, we've already conquered all the ground that we needed to with the topics and everything that we did on our previous albums. Now, we have new ground to cover, and in the future it'll be the same way, we'll have something, we'll try to come up with something that goes beyond, or at least along a somewhat expanded variation of what we've already done. So, I mean, lyrically and musically we've tried to evolve it together. CoC: Musically-wise, what do you think you, Angel Corpse, contribute specifically to the death metal scene, what do you think you have which is either new or which is needed in the present day scene? GP: I think [the music of Angel Corpse] has a stronger mix of ideas within songs, because a lot of death metal, black metal, everything nowadays is very genre-oriented, and it kind of focuses on one point and beats it into the ground. You know, some bands will just have an entire album where every song is basically a reiteration of every other song. And some people really enjoy that, you know, that non-stop -drone- of sound throughout an album which -- I mean I can -appreciate- that, but for my own writing of music I want to have something that has powerful ideas, but ideas that vary, like variations on a theme. The theme is to create overpowering death metal, but you don't have to just make it a blur all the time. You can still have gigantic, powerful riffs, but it doesn't have to be a blur all the time, and that's how we experimented on this album. I think that the new dynamic that we have on the new album is the fact that we don't have riffs that are just a constant blur, there's more articulated rhythms on this one which are somewhat different and in some cases non-existent on some of our previous albums. But the point still comes across just as strong. CoC: I see what you're saying, I mean with stuff like "Begotten (Through Blood & Flame)" and "Wolflust" things are more pronounced, they're less whirlwind than some of the songs on _Exterminate_ were. So that has added some definition, I think, and makes the structure as an album slightly better. Talking again about lyrics, do you think spiritual or political beliefs of yours or any other member's, in your actual lives, affect what you write for Angel Corpse, or are you kind of detached from your own personal feelings when you're writing lyrics? GP: Well, I don't write the lyrics, I mean I haven't written lyrics for any of the stuff. As far as that goes, it's pretty much between me and Pete [Helmkamp, vocalist]. We'll come up with maybe a topic, then he'll come up with some lyrics to go -to- that topic. You know, but in most cases with lyrics, he'll just come up with his own stuff. That's pretty much how it goes. But no, I wouldn't say we're detached at all, you know, it's not just -- I mean, there's definitely a lot of personal emotion involved, with what the lyrics are about. You know, it's not just a fantasy excursion into lyric writing just for the sake of having words to go over the music. CoC: In terms of label, are you happy with Osmose Productions, do you feel they have done well for you so far and do you intend to stay with them for the next album, and the album after that, etceteras? GP: Well, up to this point, the relationship with Osmose has been really good. We've had problems with American distribution, so for the American and Canadian release [of _The Inexorable_] we've moved to the Chicago-based Olympic Records. So, we hope that works better for us over here, especially for facilitating, you know, better promotion for a tour if we do one, whereas previously that did not exist. CoC: You didn't get tour support? GP: Well, we got tour support, but it was more of the promotional thing for America [that was the problem]. The Osmose office in America wasn't really capable of the type of things that we needed to have. So there was no bad blood there, but we have made the move, for the licensing, to Olympic Records for the US and Canada. So now we have a good relationship with both labels. CoC: Cool. Neither of them are worried about the fact that you're on different labels in different territories, then? GP: No. CoC: For you personally, then, what inspired you, or drives you to create music for Angel Corpse, because in all likelihood it is not a band you're going to be able to live off, like a pop band could. So, what in particular drives you to spend your free time doing this kind of music and what you do specifically in Angel Corpse? GP: Well, I've always been into this kind of stuff, ever since about '85 or '86 when I picked up a guitar and started listening to metal records. I was always really wrapped up in the sound of... you know, right off the top it was Judas Priest. That was one of the very first metal bands that I listened to and also hand-in-hand with that was Iron Maiden. But then beyond that it was around the time of _Hell Awaits_ and _Reign in Blood_ [both Slayer]... CoC: _Seven Churches_ [Possessed]? GP: Of course _Seven Churches_ and what not. Those came out and I really liked the sound of the guitar played with just that really fast picking, making that kind of really ominous . That speed picking type sound. CoC: Yeah, thrash picking. GP: Yeah, -thrash picking- or whatever. I don't know, I mean, I suppose you could say it -possessed- me or whatever, but then again at the same time I was always into -- I mean, I suppose if you could call Judas Priest and Iron Maiden "the more melodic bands". CoC: Of metal. GP: And I like that stuff equally as much as I like the thrashing stuff. That's why with a lot of the stuff I write I try to have it as speed oriented and blazing as possible, but yet in its own way, in its own unique Angel Corpse way, I try to make it melodic in its own sense. CoC: You have a little melodic definition behind there. GP: Yeah. CoC: Which is something that Deicide or Suffocation don't actually aim to do. GP: Right, that's exactly it. Which would be how we would differ from about the majority of American death metal, which -- history has shown that American death metal is very anti-melodic. CoC: Why have you chosen, more or less constantly, to record at Morrisound? Not that I think it's a bad studio, but out of curiosity: is it the history of the place, the albums that have been recorded there, or is it just a good studio? GP: Well, like in the case of the guy that we worked with, Jim Morris -- I mean for the second album, _Exterminate_. After we recorded the first album -- we recorded it in Kansas City, which was a -fucking- inferior studio, and the engineer was atrocious as well, but we didn't have a choice then. But for the second album we had a better budget, so we're like, "Well, what can we do?" But, then again, we were from Kansas City, I mean, where did we know to find anywhere? But I knew people, I had friends down here [in Tampa], and of course people are going to say, "Yeah, there's Morrisound, you can do good stuff there", and of course I'm familiar with the place. This time around we did it again because here, in the city, for doing this kind of record with people who have any kind of experience at all doing this kind of record, Morrisound really is the only place because they have the two inch tape machine, which is -crucially- important in my opinion; to be able to record on two inch tape. And none of the other studios around really have that same kind of capability. CoC: I know very little about studios; what is the difference between two inch tape and other tape? GP: Well, physically you can look at it as a one inch tape to a two inch tape: the one inch tape doesn't have as much space on it as the two inch tape. So each individual strip of a track has more room to breathe on a two inch tape. So therefore you can get -bigger- sounds on a two inch tape, whereas on smaller stuff and even smaller yet on an A-Dat tape, basically your sound begins to shrink a little bit, you know what I'm saying? CoC: Yeah, it makes a lot of sense. Can you ever see Angel Corpse changing your sound to include distinctly less aggressive elements like keyboards or female vocals or particularly melodic or harmonic guitar solos, or is Angel Corpse any kind of deliberate attempt to avoid these kind of things? GP: It's always been a deliberate attempt to avoid those kinds of things. I mean, if we've done three albums and we've been around for almost five years, you know there's never even been a hint of that kind of element in our music at all. I mean, someone would have to almost be a fool to consider that we ever would. Either that or they have wishful thinking that we'd be a different type of band. Maybe some people don't like us 'cause we don't have those elements, you know, which [means] they're not fans for us then. CoC: [They'd be] missing the point? GP: No, I mean, if they want that stuff, if they enjoy that, they can find that from another band. That's not our prerogative. The sound that we make is the sound that we want people to hear, and if people don't want to hear it then they just won't listen to us. But we're not interested in what opinions people have of what we're doing and what we're not doing. We're only going to do what we think are the best songs, and that's where it stops. CoC: So the kind of music that you're doing is what you consider to be the best kind of music that you could do? GP: The best kind of music that I'd want to write. CoC: Do you believe there is any kind of ideology in metal, like when people have to dress, act and think in a certain way to listen to metal, do you think that has any sort of relevance particularly? GP: Well, I think there is definitely a type of personality that somebody needs to really be attracted to this kind of music at all. I mean, if you come from a very sheltered lifestyle or a -self-imposed- sheltered lifestyle, you may not have the same kind of fire to want to do something that's really aggressive. You know, whereas if, I don't know, you choose a lifestyle that's not so tamed and housebroken, it adds to your personality to give you an understanding of the kind of music you want to write. I mean, when you try to put together the kind of ideas of what you have for a lifestyle and what you'd write as music -- which are pretty unrelated, but they do relate in that one is going to affect the personality for anything you're going to create. So when it comes to music it's going to come out in what you're doing. CoC: To an extent, if you're not angry, then there's no reason for you to write aggressive music or aggressive lyrics? GP: Well, in some cases I don't even think it's really like that so much -- you know, there can definitely be an anger element but it doesn't even really have to come from that. I mean, aggression doesn't absolutely have to mean anger. It's just... it's a fire thing, you know, if you got the fire, if you're fired up about doing something that's really over the top and powerful, then that's what you're going to do and you're going to be able to do it, 'cause you're going to write something that you're understanding. If you're trying to write something that doesn't suit your personality, you're not going to be able to do it right, because through the process of writing something, you're going to become confused 'cause you're stepping into unfamiliar waters. CoC: To conclude, if there's anything in particular you'd like to say about the album or about your touring or your band, then you're welcome to do that now. GP: Well, we definitely hope to get some kind of a US and Canadian tour definitely by the beginning of next year. We don't have anything concrete yet, but we definitely hope to play all the places in Canada we played before, and at least as many as we can. On the last tour with Cannibal Corpse, we did, I think, about eight or nine dates in Canada. It was central, west and east: we even did Saskatoon and Winnipeg, and all of them were really great shows, so we hope we can get to all of those places again. CoC: Any last words for fans of the band who may not have picked up _The Inexorable_ yet? GP: ... Because it's not even released yet, it doesn't even come out for a couple of days , nobody would have picked it up yet. CoC: That's a point, but for the purpose of this interview which will come out a few weeks after the record does... GP: Everything we've done musically, and what we've always talked about that we do, the new album is exactly all of it. Everything that our music has promised and anything that we have said and done, this new album is basically it. It's the next step, it's the new record. Everything they could've expected is there. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= U P H O L D I N G T H E P R O C E S S ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CoC interviews Turmoil by: Adrian Bromley Philadelphia hardcore/noisecore outfit Turmoil have definitely evolved over the years. Not only has the band managed to intensify their sound, but they've also managed to win critics over with their unapologetic rampaging of noise. Their latest burden to the music world's ears? _The Process of_. Say "sayonara" to your ears, suckers. "It's definitely cool to see where we have taken our music. This is quite an accomplishment, I'd say", starts guitarist Jonathan Hodges about the band's obvious evolution through the years. "When we started out we just wanted to play loud and aggressive music. Throughout our past few releases [early European EP _Who Says Time Heals All Wounds_ and 1997's _Anchor_] we have focused on being heavy and all that shit and I think people have come to expect that from us. Now with this record we wanted some catchier stuff. We wanted a mood as well." "_From Bleeding Hands_ [their US debut] was a great record for us because it really helped introduce us to the music fans out there. But it was all just grouped together as hard songs and all that aggression. We took our time with this record, and took the songs into consideration when we were in the studio. We wanted to get something out of these songs rather than just blasting them out one at a time." He continues: "It's a lot harder nowadays to put together material. I mean, each time out you want to outdo yourself on each record and make it exciting to listen to. The last record we started to see it becoming a bit more difficult, but we managed to get through it and on this record as well. We have a lot of ideas as to where we want to go right now." Unlike a lot of other bands out there who tour frequently, Turmoil (rounded out by other guitarist Jim Winters, vocalist Jon Gula and bassist Jamie Getz) is -always- on tour, playing every nook and crannie that they can. It's about exposure and showing that you are dedicated to your profession and music. Hodges explains: "We have been going strong for the last little while, but to be honest, you don't make a lot of money doing hardcore and it's hard to pay the bills when you're not home. That is the unfortunate thing about doing this. But we have had a great time touring and a great response from the crowds. We can't wait to tour more and go back to places where people know us now." I ask Hodges to explain the significance of the album title. He responds: "It's actually pretty simple. It just describes the amount of work we have put into the songwriting and how difficult it has become to carry on with what we do, to have to reinvent or carry out our particular sound. Songwriting sounds easy, I guess, but it is far from it. It also signifies hard work, how many say that artists suffer for their work." And suffer they have. With numerous tours and a lot of work going into the band, it took a long time for things to actively start rolling for Turmoil. They eventually conquered the scene, gaining solid support from bands and fans alike. "I think we have a lot of support now and that is a good thing", quips Hodge. "It was tough for us to get things going because we were out so long and bands out less time than you have a better response. [Turmoil's label] Century Media isn't really a hardcore label. I think it would be a lot easier if we were on Victory Records or something like that, but we're happy with Century Media. We get a lot of exposure, so we can't complain. They certainly did help us out in that aspect. They opened us up to the European market, something a smaller hardcore label would not have been able to do. I just wish they would push the records harder sometimes. It seems as though with a roster as big as theirs, they only seem to spend a few months pushing a record before they move onto another current release." "I'm still enjoying what I do", he says. "The thing that keeps me going right now is that I have the ability to create some cool music. I am constantly working hard making music. I like the fact that I can try to bring the music I like into the music we play. I mean, we play hardcore and are around hardcore all the time. It gets boring sometimes. We all listen to a variety of music styles that goes from oldies to old school thrash metal. It just keeps it interesting to try and work our influences into what we do and still make it sound like ourselves." "It's hard to play music and be happy with it", finishes Hodges. "I mean, we have really worked hard to get where we are doing things our way. Sure we have tried different things and so have many other bands. Some bands add a pop element to hardcore, others death metal. You have to do what you want to do with your music or you'll just fade away. If you have the dedication and commitment to a band then your music should be able to stand the test of time and be something that someone can look back on and still get excited about." =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= D I A B O L I C A L D E A T H C U L T I C D E V A S T A T I O N ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CoC talks to Daniel Corchado of The Chasm by: Paul Schwarz Mexico is not one the countries people usually associate with the world of quality extreme music. However, two bands from this country have come to my attention in the last two years and have grown to become some of the most favoured bands in my musical collection. The first I came across was the now defunct Cenotaph, who produced three albums, their final being 1996's _Epic Rites_ [CoC #26], before splitting up in late 1998. The second is the very much alive and flourishing The Chasm. Interestingly enough, The Chasm's mastermind, Daniel Corchado, was originally the singer and guitarist for Cenotaph, whom he left after their first album _A Gloomy Reflection of Our Hidden Sorrows_ (recently re-released by Oz Productions). With The Chasm, Daniel helped create the complex and unusual _Procreation of the Inner Temple_ and _From the Lost Years_ [CoC #13], but was next heard singing and playing guitar on Incantation's last masterpiece, _Diabolical Conquest_ [CoC #33]. When things failed to work out with Incantation, and also for his own reasons, Daniel went back to full-time work in The Chasm, releasing _Deathcult For Eternity: The Triumph_ [CoC #40], which was recorded before Daniel joined Incantation, soon after leaving The Chasm. _Deathcult For Eternity: The Triumph_ was just that: a triumph, a record which proved The Chasm could match most more well-known death metal bands on their turf, and beat them hands down in terms of sheer creativity. Finally, The Chasm now seems to have a stable line-up (allowing them to crush audiences in the live arena) and future, with the planned recording and release of the fully written new album, _Procession to the Infraworld_, slated for this fall. This update interview is to introduce The Chasm to those of you who may not know them, and give recent or long-time followers some insight into where the band are on at present and where they are headed. CoC: Could you give a brief history of how The Chasm came to be formed? Daniel Corchado: The darkened force known as The Chasm was procreated in January of 1993. After I split from my former band Cenotaph (RIP), I decided to keep raising the flag of metal and death. My inner self wanted to progress to an extreme and darker level of musical experimentation. So, I asked a few people to help me in this new concept. After several years of existence the only original members that remain in this Deathcult are Antonio [Leon] on Drums of Doom and myself on guitar and vocals. Almost a year ago, two extremely talented and dedicated warriors joined forces with us, they are Julio Viterbo on lead guitar [of Cenotaph and Shub Niggurath fame] and Roberto Valle on bass. I definitely think and feel that this is the most devastating and coldest line-up ever for The Chasm. CoC: You've previously played in both Incantation and Mexico's Cenotaph. How are your experiences from these bands reflected in the music you create now, in The Chasm? DC: Well, I have been creating music for The Chasm since long before I joined Incantation; my stay with them didn't really affect or influence the way I compose music at all, I think. The style of death metal that I was conceiving with Cenotaph was of a very high calibre of heaviness and extremity. We were really getting to the limits in those days, but I wanted to taste the darker and more bizarre side of death metal, to have more freedom and experimentation in my own personal way. That's why The Chasm was born. This is the ultimate way of expression for me and for the other Sons of the Mictlan. We play music from and for our spirits and will continue to... loud and proud. CoC: How did you feel about how _Deathcult For Eternity: The Triumph_ turned out and the reception to it? Were you satisfied with that last album? DC: _Deathcult For Eternity_ is a total triumph for The Chasm. The aura and feeling that we procreated in this album is sometimes beyond words for me. I'm very proud of what we have done in the past and _Deathcult..._ is like the end of an era (since our change of members and move from Mexico, etc.) and the beginning of a fresh, more destructive and obscure one for the band. The critics for the album have been really good. If I could change one thing, it would be the production. The sound is really weak and it doesn't capture the real essence of The Chasm. The people that have seen us in a live attack will know what I'm talking about. CoC: What have The Chasm been doing in the year and a bit since the release of _Deathcult..._? DC: Basically, we were really concentrated and working hard on new music. We have nine new songs and we recorded six of them for a promo CD which we gave to several labels at the latest Metalfest [my promo had four tracks --Paul]. We have played a few shows, too. Since we moved here to the USA we have shared the stage with Cianide, Scepter, Morbid Angel, Skullview, Corpsevomit, Nile, Exciter, Sorrow Bequest, Macabre and a few more. We are working on a tour for the last part of the fall. We'll see what happens. CoC: Do you have a new label yet, have any labels you can tell us about shown interest in signing you? DC: It seems that being a band from Mexico and really underground is like a curse for us. We have been in the underground since '93 (personally I have been playing since '88) and never got a serious offer from an American or European label, and that hasn't changed yet. It's kinda depressing and disappointing for me, but it doesn't surprise me anymore. I'm used to it, and my main priority is to keep creating metal of death for myself. We have just had like two or three propositions, but of course we still have a lot of talking to do. If nothing happens with any label we'll release the next CD by ourselves, fuck it!! CoC: When do you hope to put together and record a new album? Has a title been decided upon? DC: We have all the stuff ready. The songs we recorded for the promo plus one more will be a part of this new opus macabre. Our goal is to release it somewhere between October and November; the title is _Procession to the Infraworld_. CoC: Could you explain how the title _Deathcult For Eternity_ reflects your ideas about the music you create? DC: Since I can remember, my personality and inner temple have been really strange and complicated. The way I feel and see my existence is full of questions without answers. I feel trapped in this cage made of flesh and bones. I want to reach the Portal and find all the answers and visions that I have been looking for since a long time ago. I really pray for death. I think that the extinction of my human being will bring me eternal peace of soul. That's why I decided to create this cult to the Death, the old rider, the master reaper. My cult and my devotion to metal and Death are my ultimate motivation to keep me alive on this rotting earth. Until I complete my preparation to start my long cold journey I will be keepin' alive and well The Chasm. We are overlords of the Infraworld... =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= C H E E R I N G U P T H E L E P E R S ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CoC interrogates Roman Spatny of Depresy by: Alvin Wee It's hard to imagine any metal band from the former Czechoslovakia not sounding like Root, Torr, Amon Goeth or Master's Hammer. But as Roman, axe-wielder and frontman of Slovakia's brightest jewel, flatly denies, "None of the bands you mentioned influenced us in any way. We are walking the way we chose from the very beginning of our establishment, and it is true that in Slovakia there is no other band producing a similar style to that of ours." While that may sound presumptuous, it's undeniable that Depresy's virtuostic blend of highly melodic Gothenburg harmonies and traditional death-stylings on _A Grand Magnificence_ [CoC #32], their latest opus, appears unique among other bands from the region, like Krabathor and Azathoth. It's also disappointing that, despite boasting blazing leads, razor-sharp hooks and irreproachable tightness, the album doesn't seem to be receiving the exposure outside the underground it deserves. While other neo-Gothenburg clones eclipse legends like Eucharist, and seasoned vets like In Flames are steadily declining into radio-heaven, Depresy's boldness, aggression and pure emotion bring to mind the days when Dark Tranquillity still had the raw passion and feeling of truly underground genius. The bonus MC tracks (which, incidentally, make up most of the CD) hint at a much heavier, more aggressive past, though, but at the slightest suggestion of Depresy wimping out into yet another sweet, radio-friendly "Goth-metal" band the way many others are, Roman stoutly retorts, "First, I don't think our production is somehow soft. We are children of darkness, walking the infinite kingdom of sadness where death gives immortality. That's what our music is about. But there is something I agree with you. It's true that the Swedish scene finds expression not typical for death bands from these regions, but it doesn't mean that they are bad. There cannot exist gentle and unexpressive metal, just because it's metal, and I think you shouldn't be forgetting other bands besides Swedish ones. There is also Cryptopsy, Kataklysm, Pyrexia, Mortician, Morbid Angel, Deicide and so on." Despite the remarkable success of their 1996 cassette-only release, _...And There Came the Tears With Christ_, selling well over a thousand copies, the band developed, gaining in melody and maturity, even as their bassist left the band for good. But why the progression from an already rewarding formula? "It is natural", explains Roman patiently. "The more interested you are in some activity, the more experienced you become. All former skills help us to progress. After we realize we have nothing more to say, we'll quit. With the increasing number of years [playing], however, we are getting stronger and so that time is still far away." With the reception they had in the underground, it isn't surprising to find the band still immensely proud of their previous material. "There were a lot of people who were interested in the CD version and when this possibility appeared, we agreed with it", elaborates Roman on the reason for including the bonus MC tracks on the otherwise too short CD. "It is definitely the best way of presenting the material to people abroad as well, because there is a rising number of those who are not respecting bands that only present on MC", he adds intently. My sentiments exactly. Many cassette-only bands, regardless of quality, stay that way in the underground, because try as we might, we just can't resist the look of a gleaming silver disc. Add to that the relatively isolated status of a scene like Slovakia's and it's a wonder how Depresy have managed to come so far since their inception in 1991. "In the beginning, we did not think about asserting [ourselves]. We got together mainly because of our need for musical expression. We did everything for music. The fact that our work has interested people is a secondary product. A small amount of our releases spread over and people started to know the name Depresy. We know many bands have succeeded because they had good promotion, but we never looked at promotion from that point of view and that is maybe why we don't feel any problems regarding asserting [ourselves]. We are a band that has its origin in underground music and in this style we will stay forever. I like the way things work in underground music and I am happy with the pretty strong base we have established in our country." A large contributing factor to their reasonable success must have been the numerous tours they've done so far. "We have been going on tours since the start. We did about 100 to 120 tours in our countries so far. We haven't played a bad tour yet." At my suggestion of playing with bigger names like In Flames or Sentenced for exposure, Roman retorts: "We don't plan any bigger tours in the near future, for it demands a lot of money and nowadays people are lazy anyway; they'd rather stay at home and listen to their CDs comfortably. We never differentiated the importance of tours. From this point of view every tour is important to us and we don't care where we play and with whom we play. We always try to play our best." Readers interested in obtaining all 51 minutes of _A Grand Magnificence_ on CD (it's highly recommended, by the way) can drop a line (and $1O) to: Shindy Productions, Sadova 17, 679 04 Adamov, Czech Republic. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= _____ .__ ___. / _ \ | |\_ |__ __ __ _____ / /_\ \| | | __ \| | \/ \ / | \ |_| \_\ \ | / 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! Anorexia Nervosa - _Sodomizing the Archedangel_ by: Pedro Azevedo (8 out of 10) (Osmose, September 1999) Quite a change in direction for a band that used to combine death metal, industrial and dark ambient elements. This MCD, follow-up to _Exile_ [CoC #26], consists of keyboard-based symphonic black metal that tends to remind me somewhat of Hecate Enthroned; and regardless of whether Anorexia Nervosa are jumping on a bandwagon or not, they are quite good at this style (better than most of what Hecate Enthroned have done). They were able to add their own unique touch to the music, giving it a sharp and bombastic sound and keeping it very dynamic and effective. I have no idea whether this MCD is a reasonably accurate indication of what Anorexia Nervosa will be doing in the near future, since they have already proven to be quite unpredictable, but _Sodomizing the Archedangel_ regardlessly stands as an interesting collection of material which, despite certain similarities to very well-known bands, contains enough good elements of its own to avoid becoming a more or less irrelevant release like it could otherwise have been. Autumn Tears - _Absolution_ (Dark Symphonies, July 1999) by: Pedro Azevedo (7 out of 10) _Absolution_ is, on one hand, a product from talented musicians who have already proved their qualities with the first two Autumn Tears full-length releases [CoC #23 and #37]. On the other hand, however, it's very short (just over 12 minutes) and perhaps there isn't enough material here to fully justify the release. Having said that, _Absolution_ does feature one of Autumn Tears' finest moments: the first minute or so of "The Never", which is a new track featuring the excellent new lead vocalist, Jennifer LeeAnna. "The Absolution of What Once Was", originally recorded for a compilation, is a normal Autumn Tears song, as is, for the most part, "The Never", which is the highlight of the MCD. There is, however, one new element in both "The Never" and the MCD's other track, "The Dance": some percussion. Though I don't find the relatively small percussion section of "The Never" an actual improvement, it doesn't ruin the song, either. On "The Dance", however, the whole style is quite different -- the track is described as "an experiment" by the band -- and percussion is present during most of the song, which only retains some of the basic characteristics of Autumn Tears' previous material. An enjoyable song, though excessively chorus-based and certainly not the direction I hope Autumn Tears will follow in the future. "The Absolution of What Once Was" and especially "The Dance" -- both more the usual Autumn Tears style -- are quite good and may justify the purchase for followers of the "Love Poems For Dying Children" series, even though this MCD doesn't seem to be directly related to the series. It does, however, judging mainly by some of "The Never", promise a highly interesting third chapter for the series. Contact: mailto:darksympho@aol.com http://www.borg.com/~lordxul/tears.htm Behemoth - _Satanica_ (Avantgarde, August 1999) by: Pedro Azevedo (9 out of 10) Few, very few opening tracks have ever managed to blow me away like "Decade of Oepion" did. Would all the album have been as devastatingly excellent and it would have definitely received full marks from me. However, the previous sentence should not be seen as indication that _Satanica_ contains one superb track and then just some more or less average material; in fact, the following seven tracks are all very impressive as well and there is plenty of material on _Satanica_ well worth a 10 out of 10, even though the amazing power of "Decade of Oepion" is the definite highlight of the album. _Satanica_ is a hugely intense and powerful album throughout, thanks to a superb rhythmic backbone, devastating guitar work and tremendous vocals, all this delivered through equally talented production. For some reason, I had never really noticed this Polish band before, but the nearly 25 minute long live CD that comes with the limited edition version of _Satanica_ for a slight increase in price got me in touch with some of their more than likely impressive back catalogue. The live CD features decent sound and a competent performance from the band. Though as far as I know Behemoth have been known to this date as a black metal band, _Satanica_ has a venomous, sharp and brutal sound that contains plenty of high-speed death metal elements which the band really takes to very unusual heights. And since Behemoth are from Poland, there's one more thing that may be relevant for this review: I found _Satanica_ quite superior to anything I've heard from Vader so far. Beyond Dawn - _Electric Sulking Machine_ (Peaceville, August 1999) by: Pedro Azevedo (5 out of 10) Though Beyond Dawn have released some more material since then, I hadn't heard anything from them since their 1995 release _Pity Love_, an album which contained some material I found quite interesting, mainly for its atmosphere. Sometimes during _Electric Sulking Machine_, in tracks such as "Violence Heals" and "On the Subject of Turning Insane", I can still find some of that atmosphere which I liked in _Pity Love_, and I can still enjoy what Beyond Dawn are doing these days in this Peaceville debut of theirs. However, though sometimes capable of creating a relatively sombre and melancholic atmosphere like they did before (which is occasionally vaguely similar to what In the Woods... have done with some of their _Strange in Stereo_), Beyond Dawn are also capable of excessively repeating themselves and of inserting too much material which is neither musically remarkable nor suitable to what the overall album atmosphere could have been -- this concerns the happy-ish beats, sounds or choruses of "Addictions Are Private", "Fairly Liquid" and "Aage", for example. Overall, an album with some good moments but a major lack of consistency and direction, which Beyond Dawn really need to find one of these days if they are ever to be remembered for more than some interesting passages. Centinex - _Bloodhunt_ (Repulse Records, May 1999) by: Paul Schwarz (4 out of 10) Centinex have certainly been prolific over the last two years, this being their third release since _Reflections_ [CoC #26] saw the light of day in the Spring of 1997. Unfortunately, Centinex have done exceptionally little in terms of improving their songwriting or adapting their style since last year's _Reborn Through Flames_ [CoC #35]. _Bloodhunt_ is unfortunately just what I expected out of Centinex: more of the same. _Bloodhunt_ is better value for money because it is a six track EP instead of a seven track (with cover deducted) album. It is also more succinctly written on the whole and thus possibly more listenable. However, Centinex are doing the same thing as on _Reflections_ and _Reborn Through Flames_ (again, with the help of a well-programmed, but ultimately crippling, drum machine) and seem to have jumped on the "war metal" band wagon to drum up support, since the cover of this EP features tanks, but none of the songs seem to fixate on the subject of war. The reason I have reduced Centinex to a four this time is firstly because the band are really pushing it with how much they are repeating themselves, and secondly because I recently checked out their _Malleus Malificarum_ CD from 1995, and it's better than any of their last three releases, so I now know that the band have potential they are not living up to. codeseven - _Division of Labor_ (TMC, 1999) by: Adrian Bromley (8 out of 10) It's hard to pinpoint just where on the new codeseven record _Division of Labor_ the band makes a definite statement within their music. For the most part, the new record is a solid showing of potent, aggressively fuelled numbers that lash out with intense clubbings of dexterity and uncertainty. There is a lot going on and to actively try and sort through the selection of numbers is quite hard. With a solid set of musicians crafting their sound and two singers belting out raging lyrics, it's quite impressive to note that codeseven bring a sound to their music (as they did with their debut _A Sense of Coalition_) that few bands can do in this genre and that is most definitely a compliment. The winning points most definitely on the new disc are numbers like "How Many Miles to Babylon", "Steady State" and "Leaches of Karma". Control Denied - _The Fragile Art of Existence_ by: Adrian Bromley (8 out of 10) (Nuclear Blast / PHD, 1999) I know there is a high contingency of metal critics out there who are not at all impressed with Chuck Schuldiner's new band Control Denied. Well, I am. For years Schuldiner has fronted Death, a truly inspirational and highly influential band for death metal music, but it's been very noted that in the past few years he has somehow grown tired of what he has done with Death. For years word spread of Control Denied, a new, much more technical project he was working on. It was something new and fresh, far from what he had ever done with Death. Finally the band is seeing the light of day in a time where Schuldiner needs all the good news he can get, having recently (within the last few days of finishing up Control Denied) been diagnosed with a brain stem tumour. The music of Control Denied is a skilful and technical set of material, superbly played and wilfully guided by the hearty vocals of singer Tim Arymer. Whether Death fans may or may not be into what they hear here, Schuldiner's guitar style is all over the place, helping shape solid guitar passages that bring out emotional sides to many of the tracks here. With a very classic heavy metal style running throughout the music of Control Denied, Schuldiner and co. play their hearts out here and the end result is nothing more than magical. With a few misguided moments on the record, it just goes to show that much like life (as Schuldiner has recently discovered), it's not always a smooth ride to your final destination. If Death has actually been put to rest by Schuldiner, so that Control Denied becomes a full-time gig, then Schuldiner may have some hard work ahead of him to move past the stunning grouping of accomplishments he did with Death. In due time we shall see how this all pans out. Deathwitch - _Monumental Mutilations_ (Necropolis, July 1999) by: Paul Schwarz (3 out of 10) The description, in one review I read, of Deathwitch's music as being "shitty Brazilian death metal" certainly seems apt when attempting to describe _Monumental Mutilations_. It also provides some explanation as to the material presented here is both raw and simplistic. If I look at _MM_ from the perspective that it is trying to recreate the "shitty" feel of _Morbid Visions_-era Sepultura, it doesn't surprise me that creativity or variation aren't on Deathwitch's agenda. However, that the aim of this was not ambitious does not excuse its mediocrity. The material here is structurally simplistic, repetitive, tedious and unoriginal, and though the Andy LaRocque production gives the guitars a somewhat fierce roar and the drums a decent bite, the style in which this potential beast conducts itself results in it being a rather tedious and tiresome creature to witness in performance. Further, _MM_ is not really great value for money, being more of a thirty-six minute compilation than an album. Songs left over from the sessions of their last album (1998's _The Ultimate Death_) along with two covers (of Bathory and Sepultura) and two re-recordings accompany the four original songs. When you add the excessively uninspired lyrical content ("Possessed by fire / My morbid desire / The flames reaching higher / I'm lost in fire" are the opening proclamations of the "interestingly" titled "Fire Fuck") you're left with virtually nothing to encourage you to pick up this release. Demoniac - _The Fire and the Wind_ (Osmose, May 1999) by: Paul Schwarz (8.5 out of 10) This is my first real taste of Demoniac. I saw them perform live in London nearly two years ago, and they sucked [CoC #28]. Thus, though I heard a number of tracks on samplers, I didn't check out their last record, _Stormblade_ [CoC #23]. Not that it would have helped much for serious comparison in this case, since Demoniac have almost entirely changed their line-up and have totally re-thought their sound. Where previously the band retro-thrashed their way through rather uninspiring cracks at black/thrash metal, they have now forged a way with very few to keep them company by opting to play speed metal with some thrashing involved, and about six tonnes of melodic riffs, fills, and insanely lengthy solos. What is weirder than the transition is that somehow it works. Even the fact that Lindsay still expresses himself vocally in all his hoarse black metal anguish succeeds in elevating rather than reducing the record's overall quality. The blazing solos come thick and fast and the muscular-though-simple drum backing gives guitar widdling Sam all the space he needs to weave his indulgent magic. The chorus and lead melodies will be stuck in your head for weeks on end and Lindsay will even have you tuning in to his intense delivery as a way to play the two opposing considerations of heaviness and melody off against each other. Unfortunately, however, Demoniac have a rather rash sense of humour and rather low-brow view of people's feelings, a quality which has got them into trouble with people via the lyrics of certain songs on _The Fire and the Wind_. The particular culprit is "Myths of Metal", which originally laid claim to the moniker "Hitler Metal". The chorus of this song ends in the words "...Hitler metal, zeig heil!" Though this is sure to be mistaken by countless people in the future as a truly racist proclamation, close to the issue as we are at present, we can find an explanation. Demoniac have stated that the reason they chose the song title was because the music in the song sounded like old German speed thrash. Thus, the lines in the chorus translate to "German metal, hail!". It requires idiocy to be that unthinking, but considering the alcohol quantities Demoniac consume and the laid back syndrome of pure enjoyment which _The Fire and the Wind_ represents, I think it is possible not only to forgive Demoniac, but also to lie back and enjoy _The Fire and the Wind_ in all its undiluted metal glory. Dillinger Escape Plan - _Calculating Infinity_ (Relapse, 1999) by: Adrian Bromley (9.5 out of 10) Few bands out there have ever really blown me away on record and live: Dillinger Escape Plan is one of the few. Hell, ask any CoC member who has seen them live. They slay all. Like a knife-wielding mugger in an alleyway, pummelling you black 'n' blue till you cough up your money, DEP never let you go till the satisfaction of knowing you'll be scarred for life is running through their brains. Heartless and showing no remorse, the band's latest full-length _Calculating Infinity_ (a follow-up to _Under the Running Board_) is a detonating time bomb of hardcore/noisecore/metal numbers ready to go off. Run for cover, 'cause with these guys on the loose there is no telling when you'll get your beating. Brutally powerful, this comes HIGHLY recommended. This is an experience. Dog Fashion Disco - _The Embryo's in Bloom_ by: Adrian Bromley (7.5 out of 10) (Outer Loop Records, 1999) Strange band name. Strange album title as well. And the music? You guessed it... strange. With some of the most bizarre song ideas since the early days of Strapping Young Lad, DFD is a unique set of individuals setting out to make not only heavy music, but music with enough diversity to not allow a genre tag to be placed upon it. Bingo! They succeeded. The closest band I can pinpoint them as being similar to is the ultra heavy 'n' cool outfit System of a Down, as well as maybe a touch of Faith No More. Will the hard rock / metal world be open to the music of DFD? Probably not. I mean, can you see denim 'n' leather metal heads welcoming the baggy shorts and Hawaiian shirt wearing freak into their fold? I don't think so -- but anything can happen. Best of luck to DFD, 'cause they seem to have a blast at what they do and they sure let me onto some weird musical numbers such as "Leper Friend", "Toothless Dream" and "Pervert". Who said heavy music couldn't be weird? Doxomedon - _Evanesce_ (Dark Artz, 1999) by: Pedro Azevedo (7 out of 10) This Singaporean band certainly looks ready to impress if they can release a full-length album that shows enough progression from this MCD. _Evanesce_ is a well-produced MCD which, although only 16 minutes long, already makes it clear that Doxomedon have plenty of potential and enough present ability to put together consistent and interesting material. Their style has elements of both death and mostly mid-paced black metal without sounding remarkably like any particular band and the songs are dynamic enough to avoid becoming repetitive, which is something not every young band achieves. There is still room for improvement, of course, but the band can already get some very interesting sequences together and I shall certainly be looking forward to hearing a full-length sequel from Doxomedon. Contact: Azli, Apt Blk 130, Pasir Ris, Street 11 #01-291, Singapore 510130 mailto:doxomedon@operamail.com http://www.bigfoot.com/~doxomedon Dark Artz, Blk 95, #10-521, Aljunied Crescent, Singapore 380095 Drakkar - _Quest For Glory_ (Dragonheart, 1999) by: Alvin Wee (8 out of 10) It's always pitiful to see a highly talented group of musicians failing to overcome an obstacle which greatly mars their creativity; similarly, it's sad to observe this excellent Italian four-piece joining the multitude of new, vocally sub-standard power metal bands. Good throats aren't exactly disposable assets anyway; I can name offhand musically stellar combos: Heimdall, Gorgon, Days of Yore, etc., all of which have failed to find a singer of similar standards. As with most other developing Italian power/prog bands, Drakkar's music is virtually a collage of their more firmly rooted predecessors' work; more than a hint of Running Wild comes into play alongside the ubiquitous metal crunchiness and suspiciously Blind Guardian-esque group choruses. While little on the album may sound even vaguely original, the group's impeccable ear for pure, honest heavy metal pays ample dividends; "Wings of Fire" almost rivals the finest power-ballads, and few, if any, complaints could be fairly made on the remaining songwriting. Still, the incurably anal vocals never rise above being barely tolerable, and if there isn't an improvement on future releases, this otherwise brilliantly talented quartet will never attain the elevated status they deserve. Lovers of traditional metal and epic Manowar cliches ("blood was spilled, many were killed") shouldn't pass up an opportunity to lay their sword-arms on one of the better releases in the genre this season. Ember - _Chapter III: Concession (& Anthology)_ by: Paul Schwarz (8.5 out of 10) (Shadow Play, July 1999) Well, Ember have changed, that is for sure. Their cover art and personal appearances (as many of us CoCers witnessed at the Milwaukee Metalfest) have all changed quite considerably, and their musical approach has followed suit, as this EP shows. _Concession_'s opening song, "A Grave Misinterpretation of Life", kicks off with a pummelling double bass run which is then accompanied by vitriolic, thrashy riffing with a distinctly hardcore punk delivery. Any of you who know Ember's previous demo outputs (all of which are included on this MCD) will probably be scratching your head by this point and wondering whether you're reading about the same band who made _The Gate_ and _Within the Realm of the Snowqueen_. Well, you are, so read on. Ember have essentially abandoned the mid-paced, build-up atmospherics of _The Gate_ and have instead chosen to embrace black metal's thrash roots in Destruction and Celtic Frost more closely, adding a big dose of Slayer and a considerable dose of the punk attack The Misfits and their contemporaries specialised in for good measure. One thing Ember have cleverly retained and combined into their drastically sped up new approach is their use of black metal's repetitive, slowly changing melodic guitar passages, which the likes of Immortal and Emperor helped pioneer the use of, and thus keep their credibility and dark feeling, avoiding becoming an entity which merely deals out aggression. With Jeff Islinger's help, the band have capped things off with a great production. The verdict: Ember's third chapter, and first step into the world of CD recordings, has pretty resounding success. Contact: PO Box 2177, Darien, IL 60561, USA (send stamp/IRC) mailto:ember@heavymetal.com mailto:emberr@gateway.net http://www.impaled.net/ember Fallen Empire - _Shadows_ (Fallen Empire / Dark Embrace, 1999) by: Adrian Bromley (7 out of 10) Few bands out there nowadays are sure to hit a solid stride within their music with ease. It takes time for a band to gel into a certain mould or style, something that gets enhanced as the experience seeps into their craft. Fallen Empire is a true, sturdy example of that. A good band from all corners, it's just the band really lacks fire where it's needed most. With a certainly good black/speed/atmospheric sound coating the six songs found on this release, I found some of the material lacking some substance, something to push them into the spotlight rather than sounding derivative like many bands coming into the scene. I like their gritty, banshee-like vocals a lot and feel that with enough hard work, and maybe a bit more money to invest into production, the darkened ways of Fallen Empire will no doubt send out a fierce wail of metal into our paths. As for now, take it with a cautious listen, as they do have certain good ideas inserted within what they do. Contact: B.J. Cook, P.O. Box 409, Ward, AR 72176-0409, USA http://www.fallenempire.com Feast Eternal - _Prisons of Flesh_ (, 1999) by: Alex Cantwell (8 out of 10) This band is definitely not for the elitist, art/prog metal people, and although I too embrace the flood of creative and different metal that the scene is currently experiencing, sometimes I just need some full-on death metal and Michigan's Feast Eternal have totally kicked my rump with their debut CD. Most assuredly, _Prisons of Flesh_ will fit right in with one's Bolt Thrower collection, and is a huge progression from their lacklustre demo of several years back. Feast Eternal use the simple formula of downtuned, chugging riffs, low register growling and double bass to get their point across, and they use it to their advantage because they do it so well. A blast beat surfaces in "Of Service and Suffering" a few times and sounds killer with the tremolo guitar picking, setting this song apart from the others, which move along at a steady pace for the most part. They are also not afraid to pick through real chords, instead of relying solely on power chord riffage, but that same intense riffing almost ruptured my bowels several times while listening. An added note: these three guys look like they have been through the line at a "feast eternal"; not to rip on the lads, though, because who would want to see some 90 pound mamby pambies playing crushing death metal in a band called Feast Eternal? Contact: Feast Eternal, P.O. Box 88, Grawn, Michigan, 49637, USA Gardenian - _Soulburner_ (Nuclear Blast, 1999) by: Matthias Noll (9 out of 10) You think you already had a sufficient share of great melodic death metal with In Flames' _Colony_ and Arch Enemy's _Burning Bridges_? Wrong! Out of nowhere (not really, but I've never heard or even seen their debut album) comes Gardenian with the excellent _Soulburner_. The surprising thing with this record is the range of styles and elements Gardenian have incorporated into their music while still remaining focused and consistent -- from faster death metal tracks in the _Death Metal_-era Dismember vein, to In Flames style mid tempo crunchers with bits of melodic female vocals, to the incorporation of a classic heavy metal voice. The latter vocals are provided by Eric Hawk, singer of the long disbanded Swedish power metal group Artch (if you're into power metal, check out their record _Another Return to Church Hill_), whose vocal range and phrasing is similar to Bruce Dickinson's. While one track is completely sung by Hawk, death metal grunts dominate this record and the other styles are mostly used for the choruses. Admittedly, neither clean nor female vocals in combination with death metal grunts are revolutionary and countless other bands have used these elements with varying success, but Gardenian manage to take the bits and pieces and combine them beyond the point of simply offering more variety, thanks to their songwriting skills and their ability to write catchy material. Death metal purists might shy away from the word "catchy" like the devil from the holy cross (attention, Marduk and Deicide fans: of course I'm aware that the devil can simply pulverize all christian symbols), but don't get me wrong: I'm talking about songs in the league of Paradise Lost's "As I Die", not Britney Spears material. The final strong point of _Soulburner_ is the phenomenal production done by In Flames producer Fredrik Nordstrom, who managed to combine the professionalism of his work on _Colony_ with a rawer and heavier guitar sound. In summary: this record does not innovate the genre but offers a surprisingly big chunk of great, heavy music. Hate Eternal - _Conquering the Throne_ by: Paul Schwarz (8.5 out of 10) (Wicked World, September 1999) I figure any self-respecting death metaller, with ears, must be between mildly upset and utterly devastated at the fact that Suffocation have passed away and seem unlikely to return; I certainly know it is a sore point among many of us CoCers. With this in mind, Hate Eternal, on paper certainly, looks like an answer to your prayers of sorts, for near the core of this project is old Suffocation guitarist Doug Cerrito. Here, he has joined another familiar face, Morbid Angel live guitarist, and a member of the crushing Ripping Corpse back in the day, Eric Rutan. Add the talents of Jared Anderson and Tim Yeung on bass and drums respectively and you complete a fearsome package. _Conquering the Throne_ is the first full-length offering this motley crew have produced, and the overall verdict is definitely positive. There are strong echoes throughout the record of both Morbid Angel and Suffocation, with the complex, spiralling style of the first combining with the to-the-point brutality of the second and creating a straightforward though lively blend of the two, but Hate Eternal is not merely a blend of the members' other musical engagements, previous or otherwise. When the boys get the right mix of crushing brutality, a variety of riffs, and some spirited solos, we get tracks of the likes of "Dogma Condemned" and "Spiritual Holocaust", which are among some of the best death metal songs you'll hear this year. Unfortunately, a few too many tracks here get a little mired in their death metal straightforwardness and there are thus patches of the album which are a little unengaging. Overall, a worthy purchase if your tastes seem to run with the style, but not a release which breaks through all boundaries of individual taste. If you like death metal, this is sure to put a smile on your face; how big that smile is and how long it stays there depends on your personal preference. Iced Earth - _Alive in Athens_ (Century Media / St. Clair, 1999) by: Adrian Bromley (8 out of 10) This is too cool. With the actual domestic release of this Iced Earth live release being two CDs worth of live material, I was blown away by what you got, but what got me really going was the European import, which was three CDs (!!!) of live material. Wow! So even with a copy of the new double-disc sent to me, I still opted to buy the three-CD release. Good call, I might say. With the initial double-disc being a solid sounding array of Iced Earth material both past and present, it's the added bonus of the heavier tunes on the third disc (i.e., "Disciples of the Lie", "Violate") that make this a hearty investment. With a grandiose production and abundant ultra-tight musicianship (something guitarist/mastermind Jon Schaffer points out was always the key to this release), Iced Earth rock as hard as anyone could have over the two nights this material was recorded in Athens, Greece. Fans of the band and even fans of live material will be thoroughly impressed by the way Iced Earth weaves an energetic live show and passion into one blinding fury. This is so good, you actually feel as if you are there. Iced Earth have had a pretty good track record over the past few years and this big release is testimony of that. Hail Iced Earth! Impiety - _Skullfucking Armageddon_ (Dies Irae, 1999) by: Alvin Wee (9 out of 10) The Singaporean scene has been growing exponentially, and Impiety may have been a bastion of the scene since their inception in the late '80s, but nothing prepared me for the sheer power of this second full length of theirs. Judging from their past catalogue, it's unsurprising that _SA_ harks back to the days of Sodom and Sarcofago, their present incarnation far exceeding their previous efforts in ferocity and tightness. Transcending most of their countrymates, Impiety more than adequately display their years of experience; dropping much of the moderate death metal influence on their early works, they unleash a scorching torrent of old-school black metal speed and bone-crunching thrash riffs. As tracks like "Ironflames of Hate" amply demonstrate, Impiety show no lack of talent for combining pure aggression with aptly blazing solos; the blistering leads on this killer record must rank among the best I've heard in the genre. Lyrically, the band has traditionally been the butt of many a reviewer's joke, and this album is no different. While not offering much in the department of originality, Impiety's flowing stream of fury more than makes up for their shortcomings, and like retro-greats Aura Noir, they manage to get away with not-too-blatant plagiarism without sounding like Bewitched. "Torment in Fire" is undoubtedly the winning track, with the headbang-inducing "Ironflames of Hate" coming a close second. If _Black Thrash Attack_ is a modern classic for you, then _SA_ will definitely hold its ground in your collection. Contact: Dies Irae, PO Box 337, Yishun Central, S(917612), Singapore mailto:dayofwrath@mailcity.com In Extremo - _Weckt Die Toten_ (Metal Blade, 1999) by: Adrian Bromley (0 out of 10) Let me get this straight. These guys are minstrels, vagabonds and outlaws interpreting old minstrel tunes, some 1000 years old. What the fuck? What are these German metalheads trying to be? Is this show and tell? Possibly a theatre workshop production in its working stages? Who knows? Stand clear, metal heads, as there is nothing metal or "extreme" about what these drunken imbeciles do -- they just make bad, annoying music. Cover your ears and save your sanity. Pure crap. Jane Doe - _Scars_ (, 1999) by: Pedro Azevedo (5 out of 10) The start of opener "Unbroken" sounded interesting and made me expect something different from what _Scars_ turned out to be -- soon the excessively clear Sepultura influences and vocal Korn-isms started to appear. Despite being an independent release, this nearly 17 minute long MCD is competently produced and the band certainly shows very reasonable skill and potential throughout its duration. In fact, for its musical qualities only, I could have given _Scars_ one more mark, but the influences I mentioned above are just too blatantly exposed throughout most of the music. The fact that a band's influences are somewhat visible isn't necessarily terrible, but I feel there has to be more creativity and a stronger personal touch from Jane Doe in the future. That way, the potential that they do show on _Scars_ may well evolve into something more interesting. Contact: Jane Doe, Ohrapolku 6, 14200 Turenki, Finland mailto:janedoe_69@hotmail.com http://www.geocities.com/sunsetstrip/cabaret/7382 Kaos Rain - _Killogram_ (, 1999) by: Adrian Bromley (7 out of 10) I was pleasantly surprised and intrigued by the work of this relatively unknown solo act (Joseph Lucifer) called Kaos Rain. From the opening number of "The Sickness Unto Death", I knew I was in for an uneasy ride of crafty music that meshed together death metal with electronics. Not in the vein of Fear Factory, but much more explorative as what Godflesh or, to a certain degree, Skrew have tampered with. Even with a somewhat simplistic take on things at times, Kaos Rain still manages to keep the listener interested in to the direction each song travels. With enough ingenuity and bizarre ideas rumbling within this project, there is no telling just what Kaos Rain will conjure up next time out. And that's the fun of it -- not knowing. Interesting release for sure. Contact: mailto:kaosrain@hotmail.com Lacrimas Profundere - _Memorandum_ (Napalm Records, September 1999) by: Pedro Azevedo (9 out of 10) As Autumn arrives and rain starts to pour from the grey skies outside, Lacrimas Profundere have released the right album for the season, both for those who are struck by melancholy at the coming of Autumn and those who feel Autumn inside all year long. _Memorandum_ was easily one of the best surprises I have had in a long time as far as the fulfilling of musical potential goes. _La Naissance d'un Reve_ was one of those albums that have several really interesting passages, but overall the band was still too inexperienced to make a consistently good album. _Memorandum_ turns out to have the consistency that _La Naissance d'un Reve_ lacked, while retaining and improving all the qualities of its predecessor. This is something that could be described as lovelorn doom. Both clean and death vox are very well used, as are some female vocals, acoustic guitars, violin, harp(!) and, of course, keyboard -- all this while still being very clearly metal-based. Anathema's masterpiece _The Silent Enigma_ occasionally comes to mind, as well as Sculpture's MCD _Like a Dead Flower_ [CoC #30], both essentially because of the guitar work and emotion, and _Memorandum_ manages to get very unusually close to the best. Beautiful, highly emotional, very well crafted; definitely one of the very best doom releases of 1999. Contact: Oliver Schmid, Rosenstrasse 23, D-83329, Waging am See, Germany mailto:lacrimas.profundere@t-online.de http://home.t-online.de/home/lacrimas.profundere Melissa - _In Peace...?_ (Matek Records, 1999) by: Pedro Azevedo (5 out of 10) Before writing this review, I visited Melissa's homepage, where they are described as a "Russian doom/death/heavy metal band". After listening to _In Peace...?_, however, I am left wondering what motivated such a description. They may be Russian, but there's not much doom besides a My Dying Bride longsleeve on one of the band members, not much death besides the usually semi-growled vocals and not that much traditional heavy metal, either. This isn't an easy album to describe, though. All the band members show considerable skill throughout the album, except for the generally rather mediocre vocals, and display a wide array of progressive and mostly non-metallic influences. At their best, during tracks like "Innocent Peace" and especially "Doncha Feel the Sky?", the consistently good playing is joined by a sense of musical direction that does make some very enjoyable material, but the rest of the album has a strong tendency to lack the second half of that combination. Besides the rather pathetic "Pizza Song" (during which Melissa get quite close to being the complete opposite of a doom/death band like their homepage described them) and the commercial-ish "Down and Fall", the rest of the album is equally well played and produced but generally not very remarkable. Melissa have enough skill, but their music still needs to become a lot more interesting. Contact: http://listen.to/melissa Miscreation - _Miscreation_ (, 1999) by: Adrian Bromley (5 out of 10) With enough gritty guitar riffs and tuned down vocals to satisfy any death metal fan's fancy, Aussie outfit Miscreation spew venomous concoctions of violence and anger to the masses. Too bad it's all sounding way too similar to these ears. Think Cannibal Corpse meshed with Malevolent Creation and you've got a solid take on where Miscreation is guiding their music and sound. While the four songs here do pack a wallop, it's a shame that the intensity put into their aggressive sound couldn't have been spread around to find some new ways of playing death metal. It's adequate, but nothing a die-hard fan of the genre would search out and buy with all the other good treats out there. Contact: Miscreation, c/o Scab 63 Production, P.O. Box 830, St. Marys 1790 NSW, Australia mailto:odo@mpx.com.au Mortification - _Hammer of God_ (Metal Blade, August 1999) by: Paul Schwarz (2 out of 10) I'm sure there are people who will say that my marks and judgements on records such as this one and Narnia's _Long Live the King_ [CoC #39] are based not on my honest musical judgements of what I hear, but on my personal opinions about their religious stance -- which, in both the cases in point, is Christian. I have wondered myself whether this might be the case. I have come to the conclusion that it is not. It's a strange thing, but as far as I have heard, the Devil does, in the great majority of cases, have the best tunes. I am not implying by this that my favourite bands correlate with the most anti-Christian or Satanic bands in my collection, or that there is any shortage of music that I love which has no Satanic or directly anti-Christian agenda. What I am indicating, however, is that the vast majority of the music I enjoy does not lyrically support Christianity specifically or religious belief in general (yes, Satanism is religious belief, but not much of the music I enjoy is religiously Satanic) and is, more often than not, music which many Christians, especially those belonging to groups similar to the PMRC, would have objection to on some level. Immolation, Autopsy, Kreator, Manowar, even Black Sabbath are not bands whose shirts you could walk into a church wearing, and not draw some, at least slight, disapproval from most people. Coming back to the point of reviewing this record, Mortification seem to have two main fall-downs which make enjoying the albums of theirs I have heard an impossible undertaking. The first and less important of these is their lyrics, which are rather dumbly written, comparing in writing quality to the childish, proclamatory bluntness of early Possessed or Slayer lyrics (though Mortification's advanced years and obviously serious agenda means that this makes them look unintelligent, rather than simply young and thoughtless) and, as we covered earlier, voice sentiments which I do not agree with, thus attempting to back up a system and even history which I have a number of serious issues with. The second and very central fall-down of Mortification is, quite simply, the quality of the music they create. _Hammer of God_ churns out countless -- no, scratch that -- very few boring riffs over its 50 odd minute duration, but this is because the song structures are tediously and gratuitously repetitive, not because there are any seriously good riffs in residence. The vocal performance of Steve Rowe is similarly unspectacular and lacks both character and punch. The rhythm section which implants itself behind this pitiful musical tapestry is similarly repetitive, boring and uninventive. In summation, Mortification are a bit Sinister (definitely capitalised), certainly seem to have found Benediction, and are ultimately nothing more than a weak, behind the times death metal band, running out of ideas faster than many frustrated teenagers lose their faith in God. Necrodeath - _Into the Macabre_ (Scarlet, 1999) by: Pedro Azevedo (6 out of 10) The retro-thrash that Necrodeath play throughout _Into the Macabre_ may sound rather dated, but they certainly can play it well enough to keep things enjoyable. On one hand, decent production and playing skills together with reasonable songwriting and consistency; on the other hand, the feeling that you could pick up one of many classic thrash albums and find that time hasn't brought any new elements to what Necrodeath do. Listenable? Sure, displaying enough skill to make a solid thrash album, but unable to add anything new to the mix -- one would think that all these years since the most productive times of the thrash genre would have brought some musical or technological innovations of some kind, but that's not the case here. Although far from the quality of something like Aura Noir's _Deep Tracts of Hell_, _Into the Macabre_ is still a very competent album, better than what such a remarkably poor band name might suggest, and therefore this may still please some dedicated fans of the genre who aren't worried about originality or innovation at all. Night to Die - _All Evil Crying_ (Repulse Records, 1999) by: Adrian Bromley (8 out of 10) With a definite Spanish feel to their melodic death metal style, Spanish metal quartet Night to Die are not afraid to lash out in anger, while at the same time drawing back into a softened state of affairs as they go about their business. In other words, they play as they see fit. With just three songs to really get into their work -- an EP sometimes provides little idea of what a band is about --, the listener gets a varied sound emanating from the rather abrasive yet melodic outfit, with the band on one end coming out like vibrant heavy hitters on "A Piece of Soul" and softening their attack with the truly mesmerizing ways of "A Storm Is Coming". A bit of both worlds from Night to Die and quite superbly leaving the gate open as to where they can go for future releases. I await their new effort. Contact: Night to Die, c/o Francisco Rey Manzarro Ceballos, 14 1 Dicha, 11003 Cadiz, Spain mailto:souldevourer@ctv.es http://www.repulserecords.com/nighttodie Neurosis - _Times of Grace_ (Relapse, 1999) by: Adrian Bromley (9 out of 10) While this record has been out for a few months now, I am finally giving it a shot and reviewing it. This hasn't been and easy one to take upon as a reviewer. Since this record first came into my possession, I have been perplexed, disturbed and equally blown away by the band's continuing evolution as a truly harmful nightmare. With brutality served on a grandiose scale, Neurosis dig deep into their emotional bag of goodies and let loose a rollercoaster ride of feedback, distortion and widespread anger. It's not a pretty picture, but when has the music of Neurosis ever been heartfelt and shining with passion? Never. And that's the way it stands for _Times of Grace_, probably the most punishing release the band has ever served up. With numbers like "The Doorway", "Exist" and "Descent" keeping this runaway train plowing down the tracks, it's no wonder why Neurosis have garnered such press for the follow-up to _Through Silver in Blood_. It pushes the boundaries and musical styles a bit more, managing to ravage our psyche and bring down cascades of intensity upon our souls. This is powerful stuff and a truly gifted offering from one of the best bands out there today. Obscurity - _Damnations Pride_ (Scarlet, 1999) by: Pedro Azevedo (3 out of 10) Coming from the same label as Dominance (whose rather interesting _Anthems of Ancient Splendour_ I reviewed in CoC #42), I expected a lot better from Obscurity. Similarly to their other labelmates Necrodeath [reviewed in this issue], Obscurity play in the retro-thrash league, but they're bound for relegation unless they dramatically improve after _Damnations Pride_. They share Necrodeath's lack of new ideas, but not their skill and consistency. Even if the vocals weren't so damn terrible (which they are), _Damnations Pride_ still consists solely of unremarkable, poorly written and performed thrash, the sound of which often varies from track to track without ever actually being good. Low quality stuff. Of the Fallen - _Of the Fallen_ (, 1999) by: Adrian Bromley (7.5 out of 10) With a blistering opening number in "From the Depths", Texas blackened metal warriors Of the Fallen show off some impressive guitar work and heavy vocals, blistering the song's structure with some ungodly pressure and ramming a fist of metal into our craniums. With just six songs on this self-titled effort, these guys don't hold back any punches as they crush all in sight with their strengthened charge. This is the kind of incinerating guitar riffs and vocals that seem to make this scene seem so alive and vibrant. With a touch of style all their own, OtF manage to break away from standard guitar work and black metal tendencies and add their own take on crafty song writing, relying somewhat on melody and complex song ideas (ie: "Shores of the Damned" and "Spirits of the Black Waters"). In the end, after nearly being run down with their 28-minute opus, OtF move onward, leaving us cold, battered and confused as to what juggernaut just mowed us down. One of the stronger indie acts to submit stuff to CoC in some time, especially from Texas, since the last band from there to kick our ass was Death of Millions. Check out Of the Fallen. Contact: P.O. Box 203213, Austin, Texas, USA 78210-3213 mailto:ofthefallen@hotmail.com Prophecy - _Contagion_ (Pavement, 1999) by: Adrian Bromley (8 out of 10) While starting out like a complete clone of many CoC writers' fave band Fear Factory (think _Soul of a New Machine_-era FF), Prophecy redeems itself early on with a solid and well-executed record. This is a very promising act. With enough industrial/death metal mixings to add diversity to the record's material, it's the keyboard work and atmospheric ways of the band's song ideas that really give _Contagion_ its highlights. While machine-gun styled drums blast away, the guitar riffs stay heavy. A masterful array of keyboard work adds haunting qualities to each and every song. With each listen, I can see how many metal fans might see this as a Fear Factory clone, but it must be pointed out, this band lacks the brutality of FF, and that is their saving grace. Any band could have gone out, mixed the two styles and played heavy till the cows come home, but Prophecy plays it smart and brings a definite likeable feature, that being their crafty ability to add atmosphere to each number. Highlights include: "Sexual", "Digit Contagion" and "God Wrath". Samael - _Eternal_ (Century Media, August 1999) by: Paul Schwarz (8 out of 10) _Eternal_ proved to be one of those albums which initially (as in up to about the sixth listen) left me with a very bitter, unsatisfying taste in my mouth. To be honest, if I'd written this review only having absorbed _Eternal_ a few times, it would probably have been negative not only from the point of view of my personal taste, but also in assessing the progression of Samael since their last album, 1996's _Passage_ [CoC #14]. Why am I bothering to tell you my defunct, discarded opinions on _Eternal_, you may ask? So that you yourself don't make the mistake of discarding this record after only a few listens. _Eternal_ doesn't grab you on the first few listens; it may never grab some of you: Samael's chosen progression is certain not to be unequivocally pleasing either amongst long-time followers or those to whom _Eternal_ will act as an introduction. What is certain, however, is that _Eternal_ has had hard work and thought put into it, and deserves a fair hearing before judgement on it can be accurately passed. There is a sense in which _Eternal_ is a natural progression from _Passage_. Samael continue to use and experiment with programmed drums and the constant, somewhat avantgarde and near over-the-top symphonic and choral augmentation is, if anything, heightened rather than reduced on _Eternal_. The central and key difference between the Samael of _Passage_ and that of _Eternal_ seems to be that now the music is, for the most part, led by piano or keyboard and not guitar riffing. However, two other important differences are that the vocals are less harsh, though still avoiding the melodic, and the percussive backbone has a bouncy, technotronic feel which infuses the record with a distinctly non-metal air. With these key alterations to Samael's song structures comes a slew of new or more fully utilised sounds and techniques which give _Eternal_ its complex and absorbing texture. Vinyl scratching, electronic sound loops and an increase in leading keyboard melodies, as already mentioned, mean that _Eternal_ breaks away from not only the sound of past Samael records, but also their feel. This new opus is distinctly more catchy, and though avoiding poppiness, is certainly far from being something the death or black metal scene could take sole credit for creating. There is, all the same, a serious downside to this expansion. _Eternal_ lacks the dark atmosphere which imbued _Passage_ and its predecessor _Ceremony of Opposites_ with the power to emotionally affect and infect listeners with a slight feeling of uneasiness. _Eternal_ exudes a vague malevolence well concealed behind the catchy symphonics and sombre, proclamatory vocals, but it doesn't compare in impact to the dark atmospheres the band have previously created, particularly on _CoO_. This seeming shortcoming accepted, however, _Eternal_ does possess its own character and is convincing and consistent thematically, without lacking variation. Samael's new direction is a considerable amount to take in. You may not like all the changes and progressions, I know I don't, but it certainly is complex and inventive, and I think you have to give Samael credit for that in a period for music where tribute records are a dime a dozen, and rip-offs and rehashes pass quite unnoticed as "new" albums. Satyricon - _Rebel Extravaganza_ (Nuclear Blast, September 1999) by: Pedro Azevedo (9 out of 10) In a time when many claim that black metal is dying and progression only seems to continue in its more symphonic side, Satyr has decided to show a different path that is likely to be followed by plenty of bands in the coming months. With very few exceptions, the music on _Rebel Extravaganza_ has been stripped of all the keyboard components that were usually part of Satyricon's music and of classics like "Mother North". This is all guitar, rhythm and voice. Though many bands these days might collapse without the aid of a crutch like an easy background keyboard melody can be, Satyricon have produced an outstanding album thanks to the remarkable performances of all three components I mentioned before. Innovative guitar work is the highlight, very aptly produced and combined with vicious vocals and highly effective and varied rhythmic structures. While "The Scorn Torrent" features one of the most intense album finishes I've ever heard, tracks like "Tied in Bronze Chains", "Filthgrinder" and "Supersonic Journey" consecutively introduce new, and often surprising, elements through complex song structures, while remaining able to keep very high interest levels. Complexity, subtlety, innovation and quality are very seldom combined as well as on _Rebel Extravaganza_, an album which is equally able to be very brutal, melancholic and catchy. Satyricon show that they are treading their own path, and with remarkable results. Soilent Green - _Sewn Mouth Secrets_ (Relapse, 1998) by: Matthias Noll (8 out of 10) We are very, very late with reviewing this record. Frankly, that's my fault, because initially I offered Gino to review it when it came out and then did not deliver. The reason for this is not laziness on my behalf but the fact that _Sewn Mouth Secrets_ is one of the ugliest bastards of a record which ever managed to creep inside my CD player. And as it is painful and irritating to listen to it, it's also no fun at all to review this beast. The impact of this record is like a blunt weapon repeatedly hitting your skull while in between the blows a rabid dog mangles your ankles. Musically, this approach manifests in the various styles incorporated by the band. Crowbar's sluggishness and fusion of Black Sabbath with southern rock meets grindcore meets over-the-top Pantera. On top of that rages singer Ben Falgoust, who alternates between grunts, a 95% Phil Anselmo impersonation, black metal rasping and delirious spoken parts. While a singer with four different styles seems to guarantee the ultimate degree of variety, this turns out to be a two edged blade and one of the reasons why I can't get totally into this record. Far too often does the vocal style follow the music too closely: fast part, rasping vocals; slow part, growls; chaotic part, spoken words. With the variety becoming predictable, this starts to get annoying soon. What turns me off most is the delivery of the spoken sections, which sounds weak, like a drunkard babbling some nonsense above a background of equally senseless noise. These parts can ruin a whole otherwise great song for me. Lyrically, _Sewn Mouth Secrets_ comes across quite disturbing, dealing with rape, torture, depression and other related topics in a frighteningly personal way. The sound is good, heavy and crisp, but there's enough room for improvements the next time around (like Crowbar's _Time Heals Nothing_ in comparison to _Odd Fellows Rest_). I haven't been able to identify any standout tracks on _Sewn Mouth Secrets_ and the heaviness, insanity and intensity is kept on one level through all the tracks, which can be quite exhausting and makes listening to the whole record in one session a challenge. So, if you think that is exactly how you like your metal, this is the record you should buy immediately. With the review being done now, I'll immediately put on _Whisper Supremacy_ to finally relax a bit. Solefald - _Neonism_ (Avantgarde, September 1999) by: Pedro Azevedo (6 out of 10) "The hard will be harder, the passion will be more passionate, the ecstatic more ecstatic." Thus wrote Cornelius about what he expected the successor of _The Linear Scaffold_ [CoC #29] to be like when I interviewed him for CoC #30. I wonder what happened in the mean time, because _Neonism_ isn't any harder, more passionate or more ecstatic than _The Linear Scaffold_; quite the contrary throughout the vast majority of the album, actually -- and that's not just because of the disappointingly inferior production. What's worse is that I often get the impression that Solefald didn't even especially strive to achieve those objectives I quoted before with most of the material on _Neonism_, which often just completely lacks direction. They have excellent moments during "Fluorescent (The Total Orchestra)" and "Proprietors of Red", reminders of the music they used to make, but then they have atrocious tracks like "CK II Chanel N.6", "Omnipolis" and some of "Third Person Plural", and some things can even sound rather silly at times. "Speed Increased to Scaffold" and "Backpacka Baba" are two good examples of the sort of weirdness one can expect from Solefald producing reasonable results, but almost everything seems to lack the intense emotion that was present on _The Linear Scaffold_ and never get anywhere as good. There, the unexpected weirdness was present, yet the results almost always seemed great or at least something great would follow soon. That doesn't happen with _Neonism_; often emotion-lacking misguided weirdness dominates most of the tracks, producing poor results. Solefald should have been able to focus their hugely varied musical influences and talent into interesting music far more consistently than they have done here, especially taking _The Linear Scaffold_ into consideration. It really is a grief to listen to that debut of theirs and compare it to most of _Neonism_, which overall isn't in itself a bad album at all, but really, -really- pales in comparison to its predecessor. Suicidal Winds - _Winds of Death_ (No Colours Records, August 1999) by: Alvin Wee (6 out of 10) There's a limit to how much retro-thrash even a hardcore Destruction fan can take, and this one's pushing the limit already. Breaking lotsa heads and little new ground are Swedish thrashers Suicidal Winds with their debut slab of Sodom-esque ragings. Spewing forth mandatory Destruction and Sodom riffs at hyperspeed just doesn't cut it in today's saturated "retro" scene, and the pedestrian delivery on _WoD_ doesn't do much to alleviate the monotony of the album. While boasting some remarkable leads (on "Destroy") and killer hooks on the slower sections, much of the music fades into the background once the speed picks up. To be fair, their demo _Definitely War_ received few unfavourable comments in the underground, and this very album impressed a few who heard the pre-release promo. Still, I'd stay with labelmates Urgehal, and, just to prove that retro-thrash can be interesting, Swordmaster's _Deathrider 2000_. Either it takes more than these boys have to attain an Aura Noir ferocity, or they're not prepared to unleash it with their sophomore effort. Either way, only time will tell... (The vinyl version contains two extra tracks, and might be more worth your gold: CD 25DM, LP 22DM + postage.) Theory in Practice - _The Armageddon Theories_ by: Alvin Wee (8 out of 10) (Pulverised, Autumn 1999) I'm usually put off by excessive "progression" or technical elements in music: I see it as a poor excuse for poorly written melodies. There are instances, however, when such can be forgiven, even welcomed, as in the case of TiP's brand of highly technical thrash. Twisted, disharmonic bludgeoning segue seamlessly into incendiary solos, painting upon a mystical canvas a trans-dimensional soundscape, complex and entrancing. I must admit, I'd first approached this band with a distinct distaste brought about by reviews of their earlier work on the label. It would be unfair to say my first listen wasn't without unpleasantness, but subsequent efforts did the job of exposing my rash judgement. Only a short-sighted reviewer would brand the music pure progressive thrash a la Meshuggah; a distinct black metal influence pervades the entire album, not so much a concrete sequence of riffs or melodies, but more a subliminal suggestion latent in the structure midway through "Departure" or the opening of "Dehumanised". To pull off the barrage of convoluted riffage and the numerous blazing leads as smoothly as these boys do is no mean feat, and TiP display no lack of the innate ability and honed virtuosity needed to produce and perform such. I may be no expert in the genre, and no doubt some others will probably find more in this than I can, but suffice it to say that _TAT_ is good enough to tear this purist from his old-school cravings for a time, at least. Tulus - _Evil 1999_ (Hammerheart Records, June 1999) by: Aaron McKay (9.5 out of 10) I am inspired by this supreme black metal manifesting itself as Tulus! The Norwegian band known for transforming into the live line-up for Old Man's Child has struck the mother lode of elemental iniquitousness. Coming off an apparently less than adequate relationship with Hot Records due to budget and promotional concerns, I understand, Tulus inked a deal with Hammerheart to kick out _Evil 1999_. First, the core of this spectacular effort is the musical craftsmanship. The instruments, all powerful and all bludgeoning, are also separate and imaginatively distinctive. Second, the bass work is absolutely incredible. Black metal, in my opinion, does not have the world's best track record for astounding low-end bass manipulation, but Tulus changes that completely. As evidence, listen to track three, "Draug". Without a doubt, one of the most inspired couplings of bass and guitar riffing I've heard in recent years. My personal favourite is "Salme", song six on this masterful release. A perfect blend tilting towards the harmonious in the track's aggressive black metal approach. I assure you, with each listen, I am sucked deeper and infinitely deeper into the furious and pandemoniac world Tulus creates with _Evil 1999_. Tumulus - _Wodureid_ (No Colours Records, August 1999) by: Alvin Wee (7 out of 10) A full four years since their unintentionally obscure debut with _Mock_ on Dutch Hammerheart Records (who apparently ripped them off big time), German trio Tumulus ride forth with a new mini-opus of medieval Germanic folk and metal. Unsurprisingly Odinnistic, _Wodureid_ could prove to be yet another vehicle for No Colours to launch forth their infamous nationalistic/Pagan spiel. Dogma aside, though, this four-tracker is far from something to set your drink on; despite being chronically undecided in the realm of musical direction, the three medieval tracks evoke the Pagan/Heathen atmosphere as effectively as any Ulver instrumental. Strangely enough, the album begins with the raw heavy/black metal track "Wodan's Jagd" ("Odin's Hunt"), musically reminiscent of old epic Bathory circa _Blood on Ice_. Quite good, really, if a tad passe. What follows is a truly medieval heathen war-hymn replete with droning flutes, martial drums and clear singing. Things take yet another turn with "Sunnwend", an epic chorus more evocative of Middle-Age cathedral chanting than the previously hinted-at pagandom. Suitably lush with nicely penned keyboards and choirs, this one should prove a hit with fans of Raison d'Etre et al. Rounding off festivities is the instrumental outro which smacks roundly of Ulver's early acoustic work, less ritualistic, more folk now, leaving this listener thoroughly confused as to these bards' musical intent. All said, this somewhat incomplete release should see Tumulus making the rounds in the tape-trading scene (if one still exists), but as for long-term enjoyment, more discerning listeners will find more pleasure in _Kveldssanger_. Don't give up on these boys yet, though, word's out they're working on new stuff; in the meantime, 17DM plus postage should see this one winging its way to you. Contact: No Colours, Postfach 32, 04541 Borna, Germany Withered Earth - _Something So Pure_ (White Noise, May 1999) by: Paul Schwarz (8.5 out of 10) Withered Earth's debut, _Forgotten Sunrise_ [CoC #36], impressed me quite considerably after I received it from their then record company, Italy's Cryptic Soul. The band's inventive craft of mixing the types of breakdowns, repeated circular structures and catchy grooves which are more commonly associated with the hardcore style of bands like The Dillinger Escape Plan or Vision of Disorder with a dark and guttural death metal core which owes its debt to the sludgily atmospheric likes of Incantation and Immolation provided a sufficiently fresh perspective on death metal to make me stand up and pay close attention. _Something So Pure_ is an EP which follows much the same vein musically but adds an improved production, by Bill Koreckie (Incantation), and somewhat tighter songwriting to Withered Earth's list of pros. Withered Earth are steadily honing their craft, and I think it wouldn't be a considerable stretch to expect their upcoming second full length to be something worthy of considerable attention. Contact: 5 Beechwood Drive, Rochester, NY 14606, USA mailto:witheredearth@hotmail.com http://www.witheredearth.com =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= __ __ _ /\ \ \_____ __ /\ \ \___ (_)___ ___ / \/ / _ \ \ /\ / / / \/ / _ \| / __|/ _ \ / /\ / __/\ 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 420 - _Reality_ (2-track demo) by: Paul Schwarz (**---) I am getting pretty sick of receiving demos which I can so easily, and justifiably, file under the heading "typical uninteresting American death metal". The music here embraces the Cannibal Corpse school of death metal most thoroughly. 420 stray from the CC path somewhat, but never attain any of the recent and worthwhile heights of Dying Fetus, Angel Corpse or Pessimist (to name but a few) and essentially seem content to repeat the tried and tested musical formulas of the past, which, let's be honest, most of us don't need to hear any more of. It's not that 420 are the only ones, or the worst ones, but someone has to get it in the neck for not trying hard enough, and today it's them. If you can tolerate unnecessary, sub-standard rehash, you might enjoy this. I would rather listen to my old records. Contact: Matt, 62 Sprucewood Dr. Levittown, NY 11756-3814, USA mailto:chaos1417@aol.com Anaal-Nathrakh - _Anaal-Nathrakh_ (4-track demo) by: Pedro Azevedo (****-) Brutal, harsh and furious -- and the same can be said about the insane vocals. Anaal-Nathrakh's first demo reaches excellent levels of intensity during the first couple of tracks as the band mercilessly attacks with their own sort of harsh black metal (which they call "necro metal"). What Anaal-Nathrakh managed to do remarkably well for a band who has so little experience was focus all the fury and aggression with which the music is delivered into enjoyable songs through smart guitar work that occasionally rises from amidst their wall of sound to keep things really interesting -- all this backed by an intense rhythmic section and complemented by the vocals I mentioned above. The music therefore manages to remain catchy in its very own way and the production achieves a very interesting balance between harshness and power. A cover of Mayhem's "Carnage" very appropriately ends the tape. Simple, but very effective and highly devastating. A new tape from Anaal-Nathrakh is supposed to be nearly ready, and I can't wait to hear it. Contact: Necrodeath Studios, 15 Standlake Avenue, Hodge Hill, Birmingham, B36 8JR, England mailto:dbanger@globalnet.co.uk http://www.mp3.com/necrodeath Core Device - _God & Man_ (5-track demo) by: Paul Schwarz (***--) With an unusual combination of melancholic doom-esque melodies, elements of groove-core (a la Machine Head), and a more traditional metal side comprising their chosen musical style, Core Device bring us this very well produced five track demo. I am not the greatest fan of their style -- the more shouty vocals they use particularly put me off at times -- and my enjoyment of _God & Man_ as a whole is certainly patchy, but I must admit that the band do seem to be trying to do something original instead of just ripping off others. There is also some accomplished musicianship on display and a well-managed set of dynamics (from heavy, chugging riffs and angry vocals, to melodic guitar runs and well-written acoustic passages with appropriately mellow vocal lines for accompaniment) in action. In a non-condescending way, I would say that fans of the style of heavier Iced Earth material like "Disciples of the Lies" will probably be quite enamoured with this. I myself respect the band's talents, though I don't take much pleasure in consuming their art. Contact: 14 Field Avenue, Red Bank, NJ 07701, USA Phone: (732) 487-6138 mailto:CoreDevice@aol.com Lupus - _After the Geniirising_ (5-track demo) by: Pedro Azevedo (**---) This tape of forest-bred "Slovenian misanthropic black metal" certainly has a promising start, with opener "A Walk Into Unfriendly Summits" easily being its best track. The production is very raw; the vocals are mixed too loud, to the point where the remaining instruments tend to lose some strength (not that they had much in the first place) whenever the vocalist enters the scene. But although the production could have been much better while still retaining a cold, raw feel, it doesn't ruin "A Walk Into Unfriendly Summits", which has enough quality to overcome that. It does, however, start to become annoying as the tape goes on and only occasionally does anything get anywhere nearly as good as the opening track. The fast sections are especially harmed by the poor production, while the slower or more atmospheric passages are nothing really special anyway. Nevertheless, if Lupus ever manage to create a whole tape with the kind of musical and atmospheric quality of the opening track and achieve a better kind of raw production, they may well double the rating above. Contact: www2.arnes.si/~sopagost/lupus/Index.html mailto:tormenthor@hotmail.com Pagan - _Heathen Upheaval_ (7-track demo) by: Pedro Azevedo (***--) What this Turkish band really lacks for now is power and aggression. Their mostly mid-paced melodic black metal is well played, the songs are reasonably well written, the production is decent and the packaging was well taken care of. The problem is that they tend to lack the ability to create really powerful riffs, some intense drumming, faster passages that actually work or anything with which they can build a -really- powerful sequence. The music tends to be somewhat tame, though far from ridiculously so and always reasonably good in its own way (especially during "Marching of the Hordes" and "The Ascending"), but the overall lack of power isn't compensated enough by remarkably great melodies or darker atmospheres. As a result, _Heathen Upheaval_ is still a decent effort and features some interesting passages, but overall it remains unable to impress as much as it could have. Contact: Pagan, PK. 2 Baglarbasi, 81150 Usk Udar, Istanbul, Turkiye mailto:heathen_dominion@usa.net The Chasm - _Promo 1999_ (4-track promo) by: Paul Schwarz (*****) Of course it's a little unfair to review this as a demo, since it's really a sampler by a band with two full-length albums under their belt, but I feel that giving exposure to this unusually excellent band is more important than pedantically enforcing "the rules". Daniel Corchado (ex-Incantation/Cenotaph) and his bandmates seem to have lost none of their talent or drive for creating intoxicating atmosphere with a traditional death metal band setup (two guitars, bass, drums and vocals). On the three songs, fronted by an instrumental intro, of this promotional EP, they showcase the same style as was in evidence on their _Deathcult For Eternity: The Triumph_ [CoC #40] record, and while the rage and depth is still very much present in their material, this new stuff is not a big step on from the sound of _DFE:TT_. To be honest, though, a big step on from _DFE:TT_ is not necessary at this point, as the various avenues that record wandered around have yet to be exploited to their full. In any case, the indication is that once the band find a new label (they have left Oz productions and are currently in search of a new deal) and record a new full-length, hopefully with more money and time at their disposal, the results could be pretty spectacular. Here's hoping the right label pick up The Chasm and the band thus get the help they need to take their art to the next level. I wish them all the luck in the world and urge all of you to keep a close eye out for this gem of a band. Contact: Daniel Corchado, 6240 S. Kedzic Ave. Apt. 204, Chicago, IL 60629, USA mailto:chasmcult@juno.com =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= ____ __ __ /\ _`\ /\ \ /\ \__ __ \ \ \/\_\\ \ \___ __ ___\ \ ,_\/\_\ ___ \ \ \/_/_\ \ _ `\ /'__`\ / __`\ \ \/\/\ \ /'___\ \ \ \L\ \\ \ \ \ \/\ \L\.\_/\ \L\ \ \ \_\ \ \/\ \__/ \ \____/ \ \_\ \_\ \__/.\_\ \____/\ \__\\ \_\ \____\ \/___/ \/_/\/_/\/__/\/_/\/___/ \/__/ \/_/\/____/ ____ __ /\ _`\ /\ \__ \ \ \/\_\ ___ ___ ___ __ _ __\ \ ,_\ ____ \ \ \/_/_ / __`\ /' _ `\ /'___\ /'__`\/\`'__\ \ \/ /',__\ \ \ \L\ \/\ \L\ \/\ \/\ \/\ \__//\ __/\ \ \/ \ \ \_/\__, `\ \ \____/\ \____/\ \_\ \_\ \____\ \____\\ \_\ \ \__\/\____/ \/___/ \/___/ \/_/\/_/\/____/\/____/ \/_/ \/__/\/___/ T A M I N G T H E B E A S T O F M I L W A U K E E ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CoC covers the Milwaukee Metalfest XIII at the Milwaukee Auditorium in Milwaukee, Wisconsin Friday and Saturday July 30th & 31st, 1999 by: Aaron McKay (supplemented by Jerry Hrdina) Whew! Quite a motherfucker Jack Koshick puts on every year in the not-so-quiet city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Plagued too close for comfort toward the show's concert date of July 30 by location changes -- the venue moved from last year's Eagle Ballroom to the state fairgrounds (thank god it wasn't held there), ultimately materializing at the Milwaukee Auditorium. For all the location questions prior to the event, I might say the strife was worth it due to the fact that I think that the Milwaukee Auditorium was as close to perfect as one could hope. I say this due to the fact that, for the most part, my fellow metal advocates tend to be a touch more rowdy than we are tidy! At any rate, here is what unearthed itself over the two-day sheer blur of metal sequence... Upon a natural path of familiarizing ourselves with the Milwaukee Auditorium, my ol' college chum, Jerry Hrdina, and I navigated a course to absorb The End Records' Epoch of Unlight. EoU was, without a doubt, one of the biggest reasons for me attending this year's fest. I was -not- disappointed! The group sounded flawless performing as a three piece unit. Vocals were clear (both the gruff and serpentine voices handled by EoU's guitarist) and Tino LoSicco's incredible drumming through the twenty minute set was honestly stunning. As a worthy side-note, look for EoU on tour with Dimmu Borgir and Samael later this year. Right after Epoch of Unlight came the masters of crunch. "You know what time it is! Jungle Rot time", articulated Dave Matese, guitarist / lead growler for the band. Damn fine riffing, crushing and pulverizing, going down here from JR in the concert room, Kilbourn Hall, that will soon prove to house the -vast- majority of acts worthy of Metalfest attendees. I was blessed to hear a track or two from the impeccable _Slaughter the Weak_ as Jungle Rot thrusted their way through another all-too-short time allotment. I slipped into Juneau Hall to stare at the laughable stage antics of St. Madness for a few moments. Unknowingly, this little manoeuvre cost me valuable time in which I could have been seeing Candiria in the main hall. This, in retrospect, steams me to no end. Live and learn. Another little faux pas I made was standing around a touch too long (out of earshot, I might add) of The Gathering. I did, however, manage to wrap myself in the last song performed by the band. Musically and vocally spectacular -- so much so that my friend accompanying me to the Metalfest, Jerry, spent a large portion of the ensuing hours attempting to track down a copy of -anything- by The Gathering. Jer's exercise in futility fuelled solely by the power of -one- song should tell you something about this performance. "Unfortunately I only caught the last song of The Gathering's set, but what I did hear was very impressive. Solid performing and songwriting plus the bonus of Anneke van Giersbergen's soaring, soulful vocals makes this band stand out of the crowd", Mr. Hrdina articulated. Before I get to the dregs of Friday, I want to regale the yarn of the most impressive band of the Metalfest -- Neurosis. As Jerry said, "Neurosis brought psychedelic influences into their style both musically and by visual stimulus. The movies they projected behind the stage captured the eye and the music's hypnotic passages drew the listener into the performance. It was a good contrast to the speed driven bands that populated the festival." Personally, I am forced to admit I was -never- a fan of Neurosis' style, that is until I saw them perform live. I did a complete 180 degree turn with regards to my opinion of them. The set was magnificent! Excellent film/movie footage showing behind the band in the main hall. The crowd was appreciative of the more than striking musical spectacle going on before their eyes, as was this writer, honestly. A wonderful set that was -almost- worth me missing out on In Flames' first show in the United States. Keep in mind, I said -almost-. I am still very hacked-off that I was not able to see both groups. Now, to wind-up Friday night's fulminating experience was a band that I have seen previously on tour with Cannibal Corpse, Anthrax and Life of Agony. This band, of course, is The Misfits. Let me state first and foremost, what a bunch of glorified, pompous, pretentious prima donnas! Their fuckin' sound check took longer than the set. Let's face it, folks, The Misfits' music is pretty same-y, so why spend an hour hammering out a sound for a guitar, drum, bass, and vocal mic when some of their best material sounds infinitely better when it drips with an unpolished, rough rancor-laced edge anyway? Oh well, The Misfits' attitude at the 'fest surfaced a taste in my mouth last experienced upon hearing Metallica's last three humiliating releases -- _Load_ (of shit), "Refund" and "Garbage Inc.". Saturday brought both Jerry and myself to the Milwaukee Auditorium at about 11am to see Gang Green. Unknown to either of us, the band cancelled. Nice fuckin' luck, huh? I saw Gang Green twice in the days of my youth opening for Social Distortion. I was hoping to recapture some of that vibe to kick-start my energy for the day like a double cappuccino a la Gang Green-style. Sucks to be me, I s'pose! The first band that I was able to witness Saturday was the British group Chelsea. Hoping for Gang Green and seeing Chelsea instead is the musical equivalent to a groin pull! Damn, I lasted five minutes in Juneau Hall before running out the door struggling to remember the theme to Barney as to block the sound emanating from Chelsea. Even a singing purple dinosaur is preferable to Chelsea's shit. Jer and I killed a bit of time by watching Step Kings, for a brief second or two, in the main hall, while talking things over with the mighty Andreas from The End Records at the label's booth... Next we saw October Thorns in Kilbourn Hall at 2:00 in the afternoon. OT had a clear, crisp and professional sound, but I could list off a hundred bands that these guys sound like and none of those one hundred groups would be an awe-inspiring comparison. Here's where things got moving... D.O.A. ripped up Juneau Hall at 3pm. To articulate how stunned I was by D.O.A.'s edgy and gritty sound is almost unimaginable. So energetic, pummelling and masterfully executed was D.O.A.'s set that I was monumentally overwhelmed. What a killer band. Immediately following came the long-time hardcore outfit D.R.I.. A stroke of genius putting these two back to back on the same stage. I did see the D.O.A. bassist catching some flack from the stage manager for the Milwaukee Auditorium due to D.O.A.'s set running five minutes longer than scheduled. Apparently, five minutes means life and death when trying to keep 150-plus bands on time... D.R.I.'s sound was not quite as undiluted as D.O.A's, but still next to effulgent as I've seen punk/hardcore metal come. The band managed to work in a song slamming Jerry Garcia of The Grateful Dead -- something about "...you're shit, shit, shit, shit, shit" and "...dead, dead, dead, dead, dead!" Very precise and humorously fitting. Judging from the crowd reaction, I don't think many of them displayed a "Deadhead sticker" on their vehicle. After almost the entire weekend, about this time, I met up with my CoC brethren. Some of us retreated upstairs to the Relapse stage for Benumb. This room was very agreeable for concerts, although maybe not -metal- shows. Red carpet covered the floor here and red padded seats fanned-out across the room. It still made a nice space to see the masterful Benumb. I have always been reminded of Brutal Truth when listening to Benumb's recorded material, but, naturally, this is a good thing. In concert, Benumb comes across a lot more chaotic, disjointed, and free-form than Brutal Truth. Both groups, however, focusing on concentrated blasts of power. Benumb did an incredible job. After some much needed rest and food, we all prepared for the massive onslaught of bands in the eminent future. Being gluttons, we started this evening of punishment off early, dancing off presently to hear the Japanese band Defiled. Jerry had this to say: "Defiled attracted my attention by being the only Japanese band at the Metalfest that I am aware of. However, they held their own and delivered a bitchin' set instead of just being a novelty from Japan. They received a good response from the crowd despite their apparent technical difficulties." Now for a group that had -as much- to do with me attending the Metalfest as any reason that I can think of: Dying Fetus. These gentlemen are ace connoisseurs of thrash tempo changes! Fantastic effort on DF's part and they honestly worked magic in the twenty-minute time allotment they where restricted to. A killer blend of material from _Purification Through Violence_ and _Killing on Adrenaline_. These guys were currently on tour, making the MMF part of the band's schedule. The following night, Dying Fetus took part in a show in Chicago at the House of Blues with Immolation, Rotting Christ and Sinister. If given the chance, do yourself a favour and -see- DF live. They -won't- disappoint! Lorde of All Desire was on the docket next in Juneau Hall, across the way. They were given a half an hour and I took in most of their show on the suggestion of Adrian (good call, brother!). Keyboards dove-tailed beautifully with placid guitar and bass work. Jerry comments that at first Lorde of All Desire seemed like they might be another generic medieval warrior type band, but they actually delivered some noteworthy songs. Dashing back and forth between Juneau Hall for Mexico's The Chasm and Kilbourn Hall for Monstrosity proved to be worthy of the energy I expended to do this. I found both groups to have the potently crunchy and powerful sound that I have come to expect at this festival, but about this point in the evening I began to anticipate Nile's performance, so it was difficult, at best, to concentrate on any group other than Nile. Due to Kilbourn Hall getting off their agenda by almost a half hour, I was forced to wait for the mighty South Carolinians to arrive. Not using their technical effects live, by choice or otherwise, I am unsure, Nile executed song after song from _Amongst the Catacombs of Nephren Ka_. Musicianship like this could only have been perfected through the next to non-stop touring Nile has done. Jerry thought they delivered an aggressive and very potent set. Due to the schedule getting all fucked-up, I busted a move to the main hall for Immolation. These venerable masters of their domain tore up the awaiting fans. The band was appreciative of the support for _Failures For Gods_, the group's second Metal Blade release. Ross Dolan's incredible low, intense vocals came across flawlessly as the band whipped through an awe-inspiring, but all-too-short, half hour set. The next two hours of the Metalfest substantiated the most hectic of the two days. I greeted myself both coming and going between Sinister, Cradle of Filth, Mortician, Gorguts, Pissing Razors and Rotting Christ. Appreciating Cradle of Filth's music and stage presence like I do, I watched with Jerry transfixed as Dani and the band took to the main hall. Jerry commented to me that Saturday's headliners, Cradle of Filth, did not disappoint at his first exposure to them. Swirling lights, gothic chicks, massive black metal, it was all there. CoF often come across as grandiose, but that night they were merely -grand-! Once again, due to the Kilbourn Hall being behind, I ran upstairs to admire Gorguts. Luc Lemay and Gorguts demonstrated a skill and vehemence almost unattainable to most other groups of like experience, playing to a crowd not even worthy of their time. Once again, we have scheduling to thank for this. Pissing Razors graced the Relapse stage next, sounding in fine form for the two songs I could stay for. Having seen PR open for Pro-Pain in the past, I felt Mortician calling me downstairs. Mortician supporting the new release, _Chainsaw Dismemberment_, was something I needed to see. Even though Mortician are old hat at the MMF, they -never- fail to communicate their brutally exceptional style to the audience in a fashion belonging to Mortician alone. I was floored by the performance and have to say, if Dying Fetus got me to Milwaukee, then Mortician was the reason for staying! To end this event that eludes proper description, Greece's Rotting Christ hit at about 12:30 or 12:40. Killer tracks from _A Dead Poem_ rang across Kilbourn Hall. This sublime musical menagerie was cut short due to the police calling it quits to RC's set at 1:00 due to, I believe, a sound ordinance for the city. Knowing what was to transpire, I watched with interest as the stage manager informed the band that the last song they just played would indeed be their final one. After a bit of bickering, Rotting Christ forced the stage manager to be the bearer of bad news, as to save them the responsibility of such a duty. Some commotion ensued, but soon died away. I retired to my hotel room that night exhausted, but pleased with myself for not only surviving the 13th annual Milwaukee Metalfest, but also comfortable in the notion that Dani of Cradle of Filth could not have been accurate in stating this was the last MMF. With support like I saw at this 'fest, Jack Koshick would be insane to let something this good simply come to pass forever. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= W H A T W E H A V E C R A N K E D ! ! ! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Gino's Top 5 1. Various - _The Swamp Kult Kompilation_ 2. Future Sound of London - _Lifeforms_ 3. Brutal Truth - _Goodbye Cruel World!_ 4. Chemical Brothers - _Surrender_ 5. The Who - _Who's Better, Who's Best_ Adrian's Top 5 1. Dillinger Escape Plan - _Calculating Infinity_ 2. L7 - _Slap Happy_ 3. Iced Earth - _Alive in Athens_ 4. Turmoil - _The Process of_ 5. Control Denied - _The Fragile Art of Existence_ Alain's Top 5 1. Monstrosity - _In Dark Purity_ 2. God Dethroned - _Bloody Blasphemy_ 3. Marduk - _Panzer Division Marduk_ 4. Angel Corpse - _Exterminate_ 5. Dimmu Borgir - _Spiritual Black Dimensions_ Adam's Top 5 1. Type O Negative - _World Coming Down_ 2. Rammstein - _Live Aus Berlin_ 3. Satyricon - _Rebel Extravaganza_ 4. Samael - _Eternal_ 5. Darkthrone - _Ravishing Grimness_ Pedro's Top 5 1. Summoning - _Stronghold_ 2. Satyricon - _Rebel Extravaganza_ 3. Lacrimas Profundere - _Memorandum_ 4. Behemoth - _Satanica_ 5. Nile - _Amongst the Catacombs of Nephren Ka_ Paul's Top 5 1. Thin Lizzy - _Jailbreak_ 2. Judas Priest - _Unleashed in the East_ 3. Nevermore - _Dreaming Neon Black_ 4. Testament - _The Legacy_ 5. The Dillinger Escape Plan - _Calculating Infinity_ Aaron's Top 5 1. Gordian Knot - _Gordian Knot_ (Thanks, Paul!) 2. Atomic Bitchwax - _Atomic Bitchwax_ 3. Alas - _Engulfed in Grief_ (demo) 4. Summoning - _Stronghold_ 5. Therion - _Crowning of Atlantis_ David's Top 5 1. The Kovenant - _Animatronic_ 2. Amorbital - _Invidia_ 3. Iced Earth - _Alive in Athens_ 4. Godless Truth - _Burning Existence_ 5. Wallachia - _Wallachia_ Alex's Top 5 1. Mortification - _Hammer of God_ 2. Gorguts - _Obscura_ 3. Stretch Arm Strong - _Compassion Fills the Void_ 4. Extol - _Mesmerized_ 5. Persevere/Phanatik - _Split Demo_ Matthias' Top 5 1. Gardenian - _Soulburner_ 2. Social Distortion - _White Heat, White Light, White Trash_ 3. Black Sabbath - _Vol. IV_ 4. Megadeth - _Killing Is My business_ 5. Satyricon - _Rebel Extravaganza_ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= _____ __ __ __ | \.-----.| |_.---.-.|__| |.-----. | -- | -__|| _| _ || | ||__ --| |_____/|_____||____|___._||__|__||_____| 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 #43 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.