       ____  _     ____  ____  _      _  ____ _     _____ ____
      /   _\/ \ /|/  __\/  _ \/ \  /|/ \/   _X \   /  __// ___\
      |  /  | |_|||  \/|| / \|| |\ ||| ||  / | |   |  \  |    \
      |  \__| | |||    /| \_/|| | \||| ||  \_| |_/\|  /_ \___ |
      \____/\_/ \|\_/\_\\____/\_/  \|\_/\____X____/\____\\____/
                              ____  _____
                             /  _ \/    /
                             | / \||  __\
                             | \_/|| |
                             \____/\_/
                     ____  _     ____  ____  ____
                    /   _\/ \ /|/  _ \/  _ \/ ___\
                    |  /  | |_||| / \|| / \||    \
                    |  \__| | ||| |-||| \_/|\___ |
                    \____/\_/ \|\_/ \|\____/\____/


       CHRONICLES OF CHAOS e-Zine, February 5, 1998, Issue #28
               http://www.interlog.com/~ginof/coc.html

Editor-in-Chief: Gino Filicetti <mailto:ginof@interlog.com>
Coordinator: Adrian Bromley <mailto:energizr@interlog.com>
Cont./Editor: Steve Hoeltzel <mailto:hoeltzel@blue.weeg.uiowa.edu>
Contributor/Editor: Andrew Lewandowski <mailto:kmvb73c@prodigy.com>
Contributor/Editor: Pedro Azevedo <mailto:ei94048@tom.fe.up.pt>
Contributor: Alain M. Gaudrault <mailto:alain@mks.com>
Contributor: Brian Meloon <mailto:bmeloon@math.cornell.edu>
Contributor: Adam Wasylyk <mailto:macabre@interlog.com>
Contributor: Drew Schinzel <mailto:drew@magpage.com>
Contributor: Paul Schwarz <mailto:tom.s@mcmail.com>
Mailing List provided by: The University of Colorado at Boulder

NOTE: For  more  Chronicles  of  Chaos  information,  check  out  the
'Details' section at the end of this issue.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Issue #28 Contents, 2/5/97
--------------------------
* Editorial
* Loud Letters
* Deadly Dialogues
-- Konkhra: Konkhring The Weak
-- Today Is The Day: Today Is A Good Day To Die
-- Dismal Euphony: Dismal Thoughts
-- Old Grandad: Never Underestimate Grand-Paps
-- Razor: Retrospective And Recent Realities
* Independent Interrogations
-- Imperium: Rise Of The Imperium
* Album Asylum
-- Ancient - _Mad Grandiose Bloodfiends_
-- Ancient Wisdom - _The Calling_
-- Borknagar - _The Olden Domain_
-- Carpe Tenebrum - _Majestic Nothingness_
-- Various - _The Absolute Supper_
-- Depresion - _Depresion_
-- Disinterment - _Endless_
-- Dream Into Dust - _Dream Into Dust_
-- Empty Tremor - _Apocolokyntosys_
-- Falkenbach - _...magni blandinn ok megintiri..._
-- Various - _Frozen Dawn III_
-- George Bellas - _Turn of the Millenium_
-- Combined Review: Gorgoroth - _Under the Sign of Hell_
                 Osculum Infame - _Dor-Nu-Fauglith_
-- Katatonia - _Sounds of Decay_
-- Limbonic Art - _In Abhorrence Dimentia_
-- Manowar - _Hell On Wheels Live_
-- Morbid Angel - _Formulas Fatal To The Flesh_
-- Napalm Death - _Breed To Breathe_
-- Ouija - _Riding Into the Funeral Paths_
-- Razor - _Decibels_
-- Riot - _Inishmore_
-- Rotting Head - _Backwardness_
-- Setherial - _Lords of the Nightrealm_
-- Skepticism - _ethere_
-- Sorhin - _I Det Glimrande Morkrets Djup_
-- Zaraza - _Slavic Blashemy_
* New Noise
-- Airged Lamh - _A Vertigo Edda Arised_
-- Below - _Below_
-- Imperium - _<untitled>_
-- Necrosis - _Disconnected 1997_
-- Pandemia - _Dance In Vicious Circle_
* Chaotic Concerts
-- Sounds From The Embassy: Brutal Truth with Dirge in London, Ont.
-- We Must Dominate, We Will Dominate: Osmose Festival in London, UK.
* What We Have Cranked
* Details

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                      _____)
                    /       /) ,            ,      /)
                    )__   _(/   _/_ _____     _   //
                  /      (_(__(_(__(_)/ (__(_(_(_(/_
                 (_____)

                          by: Gino Filicetti

     Hello everyone! It's been a long time since I've  had  something
important to say, but thankfully, this month I'm back to let  you  in
on a new little secret.
     Seeing as I had some free time on my hands over the holidays,  I
decided to get something useful done  so  I  decided  to  revamp  our
website and give it some semblance of decency. You'll  see  what  I'm
talking   about   if    you    point    your    web    browsers    to
http://www.interlog.com/~ginof/coc.html.
     Besides updating our bios, I didn't add much of anything new  to
the website. But I've fixed the previously  severely  lacking  layout
and format of the page. I've also gone through and  deleted  all  the
stale links from our page, so go ahead and check it  out  again.  And
finally, I just had to redesign  our  logo  and  background,  but  as
you'll see, our background hasn't changed its theme :).
     Enjoy people, and thanks for all the support. Metal Forever....

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                 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  <mailto:ginof@interlog.com>  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, 8 Jan 1998
From: m.spagnuolo@utoronto.ca
Subject: Re: Hallo

No diatribes other than one  for  the  1-HAND  WONDER  who  cups  his
thesaurus into a masturbation aid. This returning and perverse  image
coupled  with  this  person's   ridiculously   inappropriate   poetic
ramblings, makes it impossible for me to read past  the  album  title
and his long name without laughing at him. Slay thyself, Andrew.  The
time is ripe. Keep on PULLING through guys. Great e-mag. Wotan  sends
his blessings.

Looking forward to seeing you 1-handed in hell, sincerely,
Marco.


Date: Sat, 20 Dec 1997
From: zachkamp <zachkamp@onramp.net>
Subject: 'Attention Loud Letters'

I   have   to   say   something   about   the   letter   Anand   Shah
<ashah@ic.sunysb.edu>  sent  you  issue  #26.  You  explain  in  your
response that you do not have Faith No More in your magazine  because
they are already well-know in "mainstream-metal" magazines (IE: Metal
Maniacs) and then you go on to say that you want to devote your space
in the mag to more obscure metal bands that need  the  exposure  bad.
Now I am not a fan of Faith No More and this statement  is  all  fine
and well, but in your issues I've seen you devote time to bands  such
as Megadeth,  Biohazard,  Danzig,  pantera,  Korn,  KMFDM,  and  even
friggin Metallica!!! these bands are just as mainstream as FNM if not
more. So to sum it up, "What the fuck's up with that shit?!" I  think
it's a great idea to have a zine devoted to the bands that  need  the
exposure, so perhaps you should keep it that way! Trash all the stuff
like the above bands mentioned, cuz they already got enough exposure,
correct? And put in more stuff like Hemdale,  Crucifixion,  and  Fear
Spawned Religion. Then thy zine shall be really greAt.  Well  besides
from that, yer zines cool, keep up the good work! -Zach


Date: Sat, 17 Jan 1998 21:43:45 -0500
From: slicer@oncomdis.on.ca (Aragorn Son of Arathorn)
Subject: klunky reading

I was looking at the current issue of chronecles of chaos and i was a
bit dissapointed to say that it is rather klunky reading. Just  being
text file is a bit of a nuscicnce and lacks atraction. The  metalfest
pix did prove interesting though

      Keep Working and do something on cryptopsy.

   Tim den Broeder
   Art Editor
   DRB Magazine.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

       __ \                 | |
       |   |  _ \  _` |  _` | | |   |
       |   |  __/ (   | (   | | |   |
      ____/ \___|\__,_|\__,_|_|\__, |
                               ____/

                 __ \ _)       |
                 |   | |  _` | |  _ \   _` | |   |  _ \  __|
                 |   | | (   | | (   | (   | |   |  __/\__ \
                ____/ _|\__,_|_|\___/ \__, |\__,_|\___|____/
                                      |___/


                 K O N K H R I N G   T H E   W E A K
                 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
              CoC interviews Anders Lundemark of Konkhra
                           by: Paul Schwarz

The story of Konkhra was, until about a year ago,  a  familiar  tale:
Scandinavian band grows in popularity (and in this case also in  live
reputation) and becomes 'known'. However, in  Konkhra's  case  things
took a strange turn in late '96 / early '97. With  the  departure  of
all of the players on _Spit or Swallow_, Anders  Lundemark  was  left
without a band to speak of.  This  was  not  a  particularly  strange
occurrence in itself, but replacements in the form  of  Chris  Kontos
(ex Machine Head) on drums and  James  Murphy  (ex  take  your  pick:
Testament, Death, <add bands here>) on guitar, along with new bassist
T. Christensen,  were  anything  but  run  of  the  mill.  With  this
impressive lineup, the band recorded and released _Weed Out the Weak_
to mixed reviews. With  a  remixed  version  of  _WOtW_  soon  to  be
released worldwide, the original only seeing the light in Europe  and
excluding Germany (one of the biggest buyers of heavy metal  on  this
side of the Atlantic) and a tour necessarily imminent,  I  talked  to
vocalist / guitarist,  chief  songwriter  and  sole  original  member
Anders Lundemark about the past present and future. Enjoy.

CoC: Since you're the only member of Konkhra remaining since the last
     album, do you feel that Konkhra has become more  of  a  personal
     project than a band? Do you still feel you have the band ethic?

Anders Lundemark: I think there is more of a band  ethic  today  than
                  there  was  with  the  past  lineup.  I   am   very
                  determined to keep people involved and not make  it
                  a one person thing and I am very determined  to  go
                  out on the road and play. It [Konkhra] is run  like
                  a band for sure and the reason why there have  been
                  a lot of lineup changes in  the  band  is  that  in
                  Denmark  there  are  maybe  50  people   that   are
                  seriously working with stuff like I am and most  of
                  them have their own bands and their own  ideas  and
                  the other half are maybe  a  little  too  unserious
                  about the thing, so to me it was very difficult  to
                  find a new lineup or run the band with people  from
                  here because they don't look at stuff the same way
                  I do.

CoC: How do you feel _WOtW_ differs from previous releases?  In  what
     way is it different?

AL: I think it's much better and I think that one of the  reasons  is
    that now finally we are professional enough to  acheive  what  we
    want and the people that are now involved in the band, especially
    Chris; he's got a very high level  of  professionalism  with  his
    instrument and the whole recording process and everything  --  we
    just had to make it work this time. So we were very determined to
    get a better output and a better result and  I  think  especially
    with the production we have acheived something that  was  better.
    We've just remixed the album and we had Vinny Washnu and  Michael
    Rosen to remix the album  for  release  in  the  States  and  for
    reissue in Europe and, when that was done, the things  that  they
    said to us and stuff that was there on the raw tapes just gave me
    a lot of confidence and a lot of belief in the future.

CoC: So what would you say to people who think that _WOtW_ is not  as
     good  as  the  previous  Konkhra  albums?  I've   heard   varied
     responses: a lot of people have said that it's amazing; you  got
     great reviews in Kerrang! and Terrorizer, but some  people  have
     expressed concern that it's not as good as either your  previous
     work, or Kontos' work, or Murphy's work. What would you  say  to
     these people?

AL: I think the new mix will offer much more comfort to  people  that
    have that opinion because one of the things that  is  wrong  with
    the mix that we released in Europe was that the levels set on  it
    were a bit confusing and the riff guitar was low in  some  places
    and even muted out, because the people  we  worked  with  on  the
    first mix were not professional enough  and  Murphy's  solos  are
    very loud on the first mix -- and honestly  I  don't  think  that
    they should be that loud, I think they should be more like at the
    same level as the rhythm guitar, just to mix in. And I  can  tell
    you a little secret about the drums: the  people  that  made  the
    first mix for Europe told us that there was so much of a high-hat
    lead in the snare drum that we had to trigger the snare in  order
    to get the right levels on the drums, but that was a lie, because
    Michael and Vinny have just mixed the album and spent  2  minutes
    doing the eq on the high-hat and I promise you  the  new  mix  is
    blowing the old mix away 10 times. I hope  that  people  will  be
    able to check out the new mix and for sure that  will  show  much
    more about what was going on with  the  rehersals  and  with  the
    whole process of making this record.

CoC: Do you continue to write most of the music (most of the songs on
     _WOtW_ are written by you individually and some with other  band
     members)? Do you think in the next album there will be more band
     writing?

AL: Yes, I hope so, because every time Konkhra have released an album
    people [in the band] either wanted  to  do  something  else  with
    their life  or  just  stopped  writing  stuff.  I  had  to  write
    everything, pretty much, for _Spit or  Swallow_  and  everything,
    pretty much, for this album and to tell you the truth that is not
    my goal at all. I don't want to turn out as some kind  of  tyrant
    that is writing everything. I have been talking both to the label
    and, of course, to Chris, and I think we are  going  to  take  as
    much as  3  months  to  write  next  time.  This  time  we  wrote
    everything in 3 weeks to a month before we went into the  studio.
    That's pretty quick, everyone else takes like  a  year  and  they
    even write stuff on the road and we couldn't do that  this  time,
    since I started collaborating with Chris in  November  last  year
    [1996] and we only had February. We had correspondence  going  on
    with tapes and stuff in December and January, but we only had all
    of February to rehearse the entire album. It's  needless  to  say
    that when we went into the studio people weren't  100%  confident
    with what they were doing. Next time we will surely take  a  much
    longer time and also integrate people's ideas much more. All  the
    songs that were written have bits and sequences from drums like a
    drum machine and we followed that pretty much this  time  around,
    because we didn't have that much time. That's the thing when  you
    play music: you're  always  6  months  ahead  of  everyone  else,
    because the album gets out 6 months after you started working  on
    it. We finished this process in March and now it's getting out in
    the States in January or February, so it's almost a year old  for
    us when it gets out. I think next time  everything  will  be  set
    better and we'll have a global  release  date  and  try  to  work
    everything on a better schedule.

CoC: Do you think working with Nicke Andersson [(now ex) Entombed] on
     the Daemon project has changed your outlook on  Konkhra's  music
     (I heard you're a big Entombed fan and you try hard not  to  rip
     them off), so did doing that project help you get out  all  your
     Entombed riffs?

AL: I think Entombed is the greatest band, but I  am  very  concerned
    not to do stuff that's similar to Entombed. But  let  me  put  it
    this way  --  Nicke  has  a  really  good  way  of  saying  this:
    everything has been written, the  only  thing  that  is  left  is
    ripping off people. The thing with  Entombed  and  Nicke's  whole
    concept of playing music is that  he's  ripping  stuff  off  that
    everybody else forgot because he is totally into the  70's  scene
    and stuff like that and you have to be very careful not  to  take
    stuff  that  is  contemporary;  creating   something   which   is
    contemporary out of something which is old is maybe a good way of
    perceiving music these days. I wouldn't  say  Daemon  changed  my
    outlook on Konkhra's music, but it pretty much changed my outlook
    on how people should be collaborating in bands.  When  I  was  in
    Sweden hanging out with those guys, I saw that they have  a  very
    close relationship, like a friendship-based thing,  going  on  in
    the band. That is much more than you could say about  Konkhra  at
    that time, and at the time it made me sad because  I  was  hoping
    some day I would be in a situation similar to that. Now it  turns
    out that I got really good friends with Chris, Thomas and  Murphy
    as well -- he's just a guest, though, the nucleus of the band  is
    really  friendship-based  and  we  spend  a  lot  of  time  doing
    everything else.

CoC: Do you think with Nicke leaving Entombed this is like the end of
     an era for Entombed?

AL: I don't know, it's not something I should comment on,  because  I
    am totally just a fan. I don't want to, in a  Konkhra  interview,
    comment on stuff that's going on in Entombed. I will always  have
    100% respect for the band and if that's what they want to do... I
    can  imagine  that  Nicke  may  want  to  build  his  career   on
    Hellacopters now and if he wants to do that...  it's  more  about
    the music and feeling good about what you are doing than anything
    else.

CoC: How much emphasis does Konkhra place on touring and playing
live?

AL: 300%, because we are totally dying, we are pissing our  pants  to
    get on tour now. The release [of the album] has been a little bit
    difficult this time, because  they  [Diehard]  had  a  change  of
    distribution in some of  the  most  important  territories,  like
    Germany. Now they are finally getting  distribution  for  Germany
    and as soon as that's done that'll be the spine of  the  tour  in
    Europe -- and we can't wait. That's the goal right now, to go out
    [on tour]. We just have to figure out how. We are signing  a  new
    deal with an agency on Friday this week  and  I  have  very  high
    hopes about what they can do for the band and what we want to do.
    I think we will try to go out by ourselves and just  hit  smaller
    clubs and do a headlining thing instead  of  spending  a  lot  of
    money going out with somebody else, where we get only 25  minutes
    for a set and half the people aren't there yet. So I  think  this
    time we'll try it by ourselves. So, for sure I think we  place  a
    lot of emphasis on that and I think we  are  going  to  spend  at
    least four or five months of the year on the road  because  these
    days that's the only thing you can do as a metal band, if  you're
    not hip or trendy. We'll slit our wrists, but we'll go.

CoC: Do you prefer to be on the road or to be writing albums?

AL: I like everything, pretty much, I always look forward to the next
    part of what I'm doing and that is maybe the curse of it. I  like
    it but when we're on the road I'm like "let's go back and write",
    'cause the band gets so tight after a couple of days on the  road
    and that creates a lot of ideas for new stuff and how  tight  new
    stuff can become. It's just a big circle that just moves  on  and
    it's been a while now since I have been touring, so I think  it's
    about time we got out and this time  I  think  we  are  going  to
    increase the luxury budget a little bit. We toured  Europe  in  a
    van and Chris did some tours in Europe and  the  States  in  vans
    when he was with Verbal Abuse, but, with the tours  he  did  with
    Machine Head, his levels have moved up a little, so  we're  going
    to try to match that a little bit and have a better bus, etc.

CoC: What do you think of the music scene in Denmark?

AL: I think it's stupid, I think it's very energetic and it's  pretty
    good. There are a lot of bands,  but  people  don't  have  enough
    confidence, they always  lean  towards  something  else,  and  in
    Denmark there is a national thing called yentilob and that  means
    you can never think anything of yourself, you always have  to  be
    more than modest or else  people  will  slap  your  face.  That's
    pretty much on the agenda for Danish  behaviour  even  in  really
    successful companies. In the States people are  like  "why  don't
    those guys like themselves?", because Danish  people  are  always
    holding back on achievements and holding back on  what  they  can
    do, and I think that hurts the scene a  bit,  because  a  lot  of
    people really have a lot of skills and a lot of good ideas -- but
    it never really amounts to much, because people are just standing
    in bars and telling their friends "well, I  think  I  can  do..."
    this or that and they'll go "uh huh, watch me", and  that's  just
    weird, you know, that creates a stall for bands.

CoC: Apart from Entombed, what sort of music do you listen  to,  what
     music influences you, or what  music  influenced  you  to  start
     Konkhra and to get your music out there?

AL: Originally, I think like many people of  my  age,  Metallica  and
    Slayer pretty much set the ball rolling. Then my mom  gave  me  a
    guitar for my sixteenth birthday and that was the start of what I
    have been doing for the past 7 or 8  years.  That's  pretty  much
    what got it on the road but, aside from that, these days I listen
    to a lot of different stuff than I did a couple  of  years  back,
    maybe because everything is having a peak moment and every  scene
    or every brand of music has a peak moment to it and  I  look  for
    that in everything. I pretty much listen to anything.

CoC: Any particular bands or  scenes  you're  particularly  impressed
     with or into right now?

AL: I just recently discovered Transport League. That's  something  I
    listen to a lot. It's like a rocky... do you know the band?

CoC: Transport League? No, I don't know them.

AL: It's released on Mascot Records, I think. They have a  very  rock
    n' roll type of sound but the singer is still  putting  a  little
    bit of terror into it. It's got a very hard edge even though it's
    still a rock n' roll band and I  think  that's  very  cool.  I've
    really got into a couple of those records recently. Right now,  I
    am listening to the new Metallica.  I  think  I  must  be  on  my
    fourtieth listen, but I still don't get it.

CoC: I haven't got it, I wasn't really into _Load_ myself.  It's  one
     of the first bands I got into when I first started listening  to
     metal and now I have got so much other shit to  listen  to  it's
     kind of like "If I get time..."

AL: Yeah, I think it's a good record -- if you have to drive  for  60
    minutes, you can just put the record on and get on the road. It's
    not a record like _The Black Album_.  When  I  first  heard  that
    album, I was  very  disappointed  with  the  first  song,  "Enter
    Sandman". I heard that on a subway train here in Copenhagen and I
    couldn't believe that was supposed to be the new  Metallica,  but
    after listening to it a couple of times you could tell that  this
    was going to be something major. I still think that they  haven't
    written better tracks  since  songs  like  "The  Unforgiven"  and
    "Nothing Else Matters".

CoC: Yeah, they really sharpened up their songwriting on that album.

AL: Yeah, I think it's really good songwriting.

CoC: Anything particular you want to talk about?

AL: The only thing that's pretty much on my mind right  now  is  that
    people give the new mix a chance because, to  me,  the  album  is
    just a million times better now and it sounds like it's  supposed
    to. There were a lot of things I had to swallow in the first mix.
    It wasn't so bad that I was totally pissed off about it,  I  just
    had a couple of really really bad things that I  had  to  swallow
    and this time everything is really set straight and really sounds
    good, so I hope people will give this mix a chance.

CoC: What is you inspiration for Konkhra's lyrics?

AL: This time a couple of songs were written because some bad  things
    happened and it is really easy to write lyrics when you're pissed
    off and it's really easy to write pissed off lyrics, but I  think
    next time I'll put a lot of emphasis on other stuff.  Maybe  have
    more of a positive angle  because  I'm  realy  getting  tired  of
    people who complain all the time and I'm  tired  of  the  general
    "I'll fuck you up!" agenda in metal, "I'll beat you up" and  "I'm
    a hard guy", shit like that. I am totally fed up with that and  I
    also think that on _Weed Out the Weak_  there  are  lyrics  which
    have more of a  positive  outlook  and  more  of  a  'believe  in
    yourself' structure to it. I think, without preaching, there  are
    a couple of messages in that,  that  I  think  are  important  to
    deliver, since I have the chance to do that.

CoC: The song "Time Will Heal" displays positive way of thinking.

AL: For sure, even though the song is  about  being  fucked  over  by
    somebody, fucked over by a friend, and, even though that happens,
    you can always move on and just learn from that. I put a  lot  of
    emphasis on lyrics and I think it's about time that people  write
    about stuff that is a little deeper than "I'll beat you up",  and
    stuff like that.

CoC: Anything to say to the readers of CoC?

AL: Not much, actually,  except  thanks  for  taking  your  time  and
    talking to us. I hope we meet very soon and maybe we can come  to
    England. Where are you from in England?

CoC: London.

AL: We played there once, but there weren't many people there.

CoC: How long ago was that?

AL: That was in '95. We played in the Cameden  Underworld.  Hopefully
    we'll come back and maybe we can share a beer or something.

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         T O D A Y   I S   A   G O O D   D A Y   T O   D I E
         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
           CoC chats with Steve Austin of Today Is the Day
                          by: Adrian Bromley

     I like to  think  of  singer/guitarist/sampler/mastermind  Steve
Austin of Today Is The Day as the "Arch Duke of Madness."  His  music
-- the voluptuous, yet horrific noise assemblages that blast from the
LPs his band creates -- is so demonic and out of this world that  one
might  wonder  where  his  head  is  at.  Where  do  the  images  and
illustrations of mankind come from on the band's  fourth,  and  debut
for Relapse Records, record, _Temple of the Morning Star_?  Are  they
just figments of his imagination or his real insight and views of the
society and the structure of mankind? His words and music, much  like
a picture, speak a thousand words. His music is intense and so is his
vision for the band.
     Unmatched by any musical outfit out there right now,  TItD  seem
to live in the midst of sanctioned ideals  and  irreverent  means  of
expressing themselves. The trip is a bumpy ride, but the ride of this
LP is worth it. Austin speaks to Chronicles of Chaos about the new LP
and the ways within the confines of his world.
     "The good thing about what we do musically is that we  are  able
to create music that inspires us to go on and keep creating. We  tour
the music, and if I didn't get off on the music I wouldn't do  this,"
says Austin over the phone while on tour with the band.
     Since a whole snowball effect of sounds and  images  come  forth
from the record with every listen, I ask Austin what fans who come to
the shows get out of it. "The whole live show of TItD is about living
it, feeling it, and doing it. We try to make our live shows be a real
experience and not just a contrived show. We try to  make  each  show
mean something. We get all hardcore and  into  every  show  and  show
people that we are really into this. I usually just let myself go and
just come back to myself after it is over with."
     On the topic of _Temple Of the Morning Star_  he  says,  "It  is
really never easy to write material for an LP. You can't  just  force
it. It has to come out from you and that is when you work with it.  I
don't force things, 'cause it just don't happen then. I wait  to  see
what I have and other musical ideas to add to it and then I  go  with
it. Most of the lyrics and other ideas of the songs come  from  life.
Just living life and taking note of what is going on with me. What  I
usually do is sit down with the music I have created and take  a  pen
and write down lyrics as they come to me to  fit  the  music.  I  get
better ideas then with what I want to say  and  how  I  will  express
myself."
     "This record is the most perfect thing that we  could  have  put
out," continues Austin about the  new  LP,  "I  am  very  happy  with
_Temple Of The Morning Star_. I have a lot of  respect  for  what  we
did. We had a lot of good ideas and the momentum is there. I hope  we
can carry on with this creative process.  This  is  one  of  the  few
records other  than  our  first  self-titled  LP  (the  others  being
_Supernova_ and _Willpower_; all on Amphetamine Records) that I  have
been pleased with."
     "This record is a virtual reality roller  coaster  of  your  own
life," states Austin on how people should interpret the  music  found
within the LP. "This LP is where you get on the ride and  get  thrown
around and tossed off, whereas most bands have you already know  what
to expect. The ride is smooth and  planned.  We're  unexpected  power
raging within."
     Creativity and complexity seem to radiate from the character  of
Austin. His music showcases a wide range of personas, but in  reality
Austin just sees himself as an average Joe like you and I. "I am just
an average person. My life is broken down to basics like: girlfriend,
mom, dog, and best friend. But when it comes down to what I have been
subject to in the past and the way I think is a whole other story.  I
think I have problems with communication and people  sometimes.  I'll
think one thing and say that one thing, but it will be interpreted as
something else and different. It blows my mind. I can't just  say  it
any clearer than that, and then I get to thinking that it is just the
way I am. Maybe people have a hard time  following  with  what  I  am
doing? I dunno. I feel free to do and express in my music how I feel.
I do it and it comes out the way I want it to be. People can  see  my
music and lyrics how they want. Bottom line: they are my visions  and
beliefs."
     The real power of the band -- rounded out by Mike  Hyde  (drums,
percussion) and Chris Reeser (bass, electronics)  --  is  that  there
never seems to be a pause in the music or direction of the band. What
they do is indescribable and fucked up. Something is always going on.
Austin agrees and likes to keep things that way. "We have just always
never wanted to be like anyone else. I don't want  to  be  like  that
band or that band. It's not cool to be that way when you  are  trying
to survive in this business. We have always  wanted  to  do  our  own
thing. When I sit down and write a riff, I  make  sure  that  I  have
never heard  that  part  before  that  I  am  playing.  You  have  to
consciously be a critic of what you do and do your best  to  do  what
you want to do and maybe what others have not yet done."
     "A lot of what we do is improvisational too," notes  Austin.  "I
mean here we are in the studio and making things up on the spot. That
is a good thing. I like that. Songs on the new LP like  "I  See  You"
and "Satan Is Alive" were made up on the spot and it worked out okay.
They seem to mesh well with the other material. This record has a lot
of guitar tracks and overdubs to make it fucked up, far from what  we
have done in the past. I purposely tried to make the  music  seem  to
not work, when in fact it does. It's funny... I'll be in  the  studio
working on something, say vocals, and I  will  do  something  totally
fucked up and think it really sucks but then I'll go back and hear it
again and just leave it in. Some of it is accidental  but  it  sounds
cool... so I leave it in. It's about keeping it in the same range  of
what you want to do, rather than go out and follow trends or  styles.
That is not us. Today Is The Day is about exploring the outer reaches
of music and having fun doing it."

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                    D I S M A L   T H O U G H T S
                    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     CoC interviews Kristoffer Vold Austrheim and Frode Clausen
                          of Dismal Euphony
                          by: Pedro Azevedo

Times are changing for Dismal Euphony, who have recently gone through
a label change (they left Napalm  Records  and  signed  with  Nuclear
Blast) as well as several line-up changes. Dismal  Euphony's  current
line-up consists of the two talented females who  have  been  in  the
band since  their  debut,  vocalist  Keltziva  and  keyboardist  Elin
Overskott, plus Kristoffer Vold Austrheim on drums, Ole  Helgesen  on
vocals  and  rhythm  guitar,  and  Frode  Clausen  on  lead   guitar.
Keltziva's brother, Dag, is  now  out  of  Dismal  Euphony,  possibly
because he's in jail by the time this interview is being done (due to
beating up a man who threatened Keltziva). More details on  this  and
news about Theatre of Tragedy can  be  found  in  my  interview  with
Imperium in Independent Interrogations. Back to Dismal Euphony:  this
Norwegian melodic and somewhat symphonic black metal band had quite a
storming debut with _Soria Moria Slott_, especially  if  we  consider
the limited version re-release [see CoC #13, #15, #25,  and  #27  for
reviews], and after _Autumn Leaves_, an album that has both brilliant
and disappointing moments, Dismal Euphony  are  now  ready  to  start
working for Nuclear Blast.  This  is  an  e-mail  interview  with  K.
Austrheim and F. Clausen, who did not  have  to  type  their  answers
themselves (in case you're wondering  about  their  brevity).  Here's
what I could gather from Dismal Euphony.

CoC: What do you think Dismal Euphony achieved with _Autumn Leaves_?

Dismal Euphony: Not much.

CoC: Your sound seems to be more varied now, but the tracks are  also
     shorter. Did you want it to be this way, or did it just happen?

DE: It did just happen.

CoC: There were quite a few other changes towards  different  melodic
     approaches and less black metal influences; what caused this?

DE: We did it ourselves.

CoC: Why did you turn _Autumn Leaves_ into a 30  minute  full-length,
     and, therefore, full-price, album by inserting a 15 minute  long
     experimental track?

DE:  Originally,  there  was  another  track  which  was  ready   for
    recording, but we got an extremely murderous kick  and  made  and
    recorded "Splendid Horror".

CoC: Do you believe no fan of yours will be disappointed by that?

DE: Of course the different style and experimental stuff will fuck up
    the conservative fans, but we will surely gain  new  ones.  [Now,
    where have I heard this before? Still, my question concerned  the
    fact that the album is so short. -- PA]

CoC: What will change in Dismal Euphony, now that  you're  signed  to
     Nuclear Blast?

DE: Nothing musically, though  we  will  surely  be  active  in  what
    concerns live performances.

CoC: What are your feelings about _Soria Moria Slott_ now?

DE: I still enjoy the limited version (rawer and more guitar-oriented
    mix).

CoC: And what were your feelings about _Soria Moria Slott_  when  you
     finished recording it?

DE: We were  very  satisfied  with  it,  although  the  main  version
    suffered from a fucked-up production.

CoC: The limited version  has  a  couple  of  errors  in  the  second
     track... what happened?

DE: Those were caused by our all beloved postal service.

CoC: Why did you choose to have Keltziva posing for  the  new  _Soria
     Moria Slott_ cover?

DE: We didn't choose it ourselves. Max [from Napalm Records]  is  the
    man; we were supposed to have a painting of Vibeke  Tveiten,  but
    Riedler wouldn't...

CoC: What about the your new Imperium project? How important will  it
     be for those of you who are involved in it?

DE: Frode is the only one in Dismal Euphony playing in Imperium, it's
    only of secondary priority. [Dag, the other  member  of  Imperium
    who was in Dismal Euphony, is now out of  DE.  See  the  Imperium
    interview in Independent Interrogations. -- PA]

CoC: How do you view the career of bands such as your new  labelmates
     Dimmu Borgir?

DE: I don't give a fuck about Dimmu Borgir.

CoC: What do you expect to do in what concerns live shows now?

DE: We expect to start touring in the Autumn of 1998.

CoC: Any final messages?

DE: No. [Damn, what a shocking surprise. -- Pedro]

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     N E V E R   U N D E R E S T I M A T E   G R A N D - P A P S
     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
             Chronicles of Chaos chats with Old Grandad
                          by: Adrian Bromley

     It would be a lie if I  said  San  Francisco  trio  Old  Grandad
didn't take their music seriously. I would also be lying  to  you  --
big time -- if I said the band lacked humor and  creativity  in  what
they do. Old Grandad is a heavy slab of Satan  loving,  pot  smoking,
free for all thrash/rock/metal that  radiates  an  electric  feel  of
heaviness with each listen. Heaps of gritty guitar work  and  demonic
vocals fuse together  monstrous  waves  of  psychedelic  dirge-driven
tunage reminiscent of great bands like Fu Manchu, Monster Magnet  and
the real metal masters -- Black Sabbath.
     Led by bassist/vocalist Max Barnett, Old Grandad -- rounded  out
by drummer Will Carroll (who had a short, fill-in stint with  Machine
Head) and guitarist Erik Moggridge -- have the  goods  to  take  them
far. Their latest effort and follow-up to last year's _Vol.  666_  is
called _OGD Ep / _San Fran666co Bootleg_,  and  like  their  previous
outing, Old Grandad play strong metal music  with  a  real  knack  at
fucking things up. Whether it be Lucifer having his way with the band
and/or lots of pot/drugs (I'm  voting  on  the  latter  excuse),  Old
Grandad let loose a frenzied assault of demented ideas that stick  to
you like glue. Each song makes you want to pump your  fist  and  just
head bang all the freakin' day. I love this shit.
     By e-mail, the zany metallic frontman Max Barnett  responded  to
several questions that CoC had forwarded him. His answers,  a  little
weird (drugs, I say!) at times, but  an  insightful  and  interesting
look into the band. Hail Satan, smoke dope and read on.

CoC: In terms of musical style, how would you describe the  music  of
     Old Grandad? What were the influences and are  you  affected  by
     outside music nowadays?

Max Barnett: In terms of style, we describe  ourselves  as  "the  new
             sophistication." A perfect mix of  sequined  skirts  and
             sleeveless sweaters,  rhinestone-studded  bikinis  (it's
             all about hipbones), armies of Sicilian seamstresses and
             innovative  knitters,  golden  goassamer  threads,   the
             pretentious eccentricity of it all, blouson  jackets,  a
             devoutly rich mix of fabrics, in a nutshell:  effortless
             glamour. We  are  the  silk  wedding  dress  at  Satan's
             wedding!  Our  primary  musical  goal  is  to   convince
             listeners that we are promoting, and developing, the use
             of brass polishing cream in the process of brewing beer.
             Although we stumbled upon the discovery by accident,  we
             feel that it is important to inform others  of  what  we
             have learned. Man, what  a  buzz!  As  for  our  musical
             influences: death, suffering, the slaughtering  of  cute
             fury animals, um, death -- oh yeah, I already said  that
             one  --  blasphemy,  lots  of  blasphemy,   cannibalism,
             violence, heavy drug and alcohol consumption,  comedians
             inspired  by  all  of  the  above,  especially   violent
             comedians inspired by all of the  above,  way  too  many
             bands to mention (Black Sabbath,  Black  Sabbath,  Black
             Sabbath, Black Sabbath, Black Sabbath, to  name  a  few,
             not to mention Pink Floyd, AC/DC, Voivod, Black Sabbath,
             Korpse,  Black  Sabbath,  GWAR,  Black  Sabbath,   Judas
             Priest, Entombed, Metallica, Van Halen, ... ).

CoC: There seems to be a lot of humor and fun  permeating  throughout
     the music of Old Grandad -- aside from  the  metal  and  satanic
     images/sounds -- why is that? Do you think that sets  your  band
     apart from others?

MB: Well, we definitely take our Satanism seriously. And Satan  takes
    good care of us. Humans, however, are a consistent and invaluable
    source of humor.

CoC: How often do you guys play out or write material?  Do  you  tour
     much? Are tour plans in the work?

MB: Often. No. Yes.

CoC: Working from a small independent label, other than  their  work,
     how do you get the name of the band out? Do you have  an  active
     hand in spreading the word or just let label/PR  person  do  the
     work?

MB: Besides watching daytime TV game  shows,  wandering  the  streets
    aimlessly, predicting the apocalypse and  bothering  tourists,  I
    spend all of my free time promoting Old  Grandad.  College  radio
    promotion,  in-store  appearances,  media  attention,  multimedia
    events, Internet on-line publicity are all potential  methods  of
    promoting Old Grandad, none of which I have ever really tried.

CoC: Tell me about the San Francisco music scene. At one time it used
     to be a huge metal market (Testament, Metallica,  Machine  Head)
     -- is it still bubbling with metal enthusiasm? How do  you  view
     today's music scene?

MB: Bubbling sounds can still be heard. But, as far  as  anyone  with
    the ability of speech can say, San Francisco's music scene is  an
    undeniable reflection of the increasingly complex diversification
    of modern society. Whereas in the good ol' days there was simply,
    "Joe-Blow's Record Store", now you find "Fred  Head's  Industrial
    Plumbing Supply and Record Store" (where, in  addition  to  9,000
    miles of two-inch PVC pipe, you can also purchase  Fred's  latest
    release,  _Sounds  of  the  Sewer,  High-Fidelity  Recordings  of
    America's Worst Plumbing Disasters_),  "Humberto's  Taqueria  and
    Disc" (Humberto has three CD's out, all of which are featured  on
    _Sounds of the Sewer_), "Martha's Colorful Hair Salon and  Albums
    Cut by Musicians with Colorfully Cut Hair  at  Martha's  Colorful
    Hair Salon"  (currently  on  sale  here  are  releases  from  the
    following bands: High From  The  Hairspray,  The  Barbershop  and
    Clinically Trained Hair Highlighting  Quartet,  You  Gonna  Bitch
    While I Have This Sharp Object in my Hand?, and, I Said  An  Inch
    Off the Back Not a Foot). Indeed, the Bay Area music scene  ain't
    what it used to be.

CoC: How did the band get together? Does the band still have the same
     ideas and standards  since  the  inception?  If  not,  what  has
     changed in terms of what you are doing with the band?

MB: Hell yes, we have the same ideas and standards that we  had  when
    we first formed. One of our first ideas was that  the  theory  of
    gravity was nothing but  a  myth  propagated  by  shoe  and  tire
    salesmen. To this day we still adhere to this belief; not because
    we are particularly dogmatic, but  more  because  we've  put  the
    theory of gravity to the test, and, with enormous  quantities  of
    banned drugs, we've found that gravity doesn't actually exist. As
    for "standards", you can stand on a lot of things, but,  to  this
    day I've never heard of anything to stand on called an "ard".  No
    one has ever said to me, "Hey, would you mind  standing  on  that
    ARD and grabbing that other ARD up there?" So, what do  standards
    really mean if you can neither make sense of "stand" nor "ard"? I
    guess what I'm trying to say is that, although you  can  use  the
    word "stand" in a completely grammatically correct sentence,  the
    word "ard" simply does not make a bit of sense. We met each other
    the  same  way  most  band  members  meet  each  other:   drunken
    debauchery. We'd been hanging out together for  a  while  and  we
    were all in other bands at the time. Erik and Will had known each
    other from being native to the Bay Area metal scene.  I  think  I
    first met Erik shortly after leaving a party while I had  nothing
    but a T-shirt on in the blistering cold. I asked him if  I  could
    buy an Epidemic shirt and borrow a flannel  so  that  I  wouldn't
    freeze. He let me buy an Epidemic shirt, but insisted that I rent
    his flannel for a quart of whiskey a day.  I  was  young,  I  was
    freezing; I agreed.  Since  that  moment,  I  have  never  rented
    another piece of clothing. Before Old  Grandad  was  formed,  all
    three of us first met when, if I remember correctly, at least one
    of us, or, maybe all three of us, were puking off of one  of  our
    porches. Old Grandad's inception musically came about  when  Erik
    Moggridge and I were living together and decided that  we  needed
    to pool our creativity in some extremely blasphemous way. We came
    up with a couple of songs and brought them to our  drummer,  Will
    Carroll. All of us gave up our previous projects and  have  since
    been working at promoting our two albums; Old Grandad's debut CD,
    _Vol. 666_, and, our brand new Hectic Records release, _OGD EP  /
    San Fran666co Bootleg_. Well, "working" might  be  a  bit  of  an
    exaggeration.

CoC: Since you cater quite a bit to the world of  'Satanism'  in  the
     lyrics and in your music, what is your take on those  ideals  of
     Satanism? Is it just playing on images or are  you  really  into
     practicing it?

MB: First of all, Satanists have the ideals of a box of hair. Second,
    we couldn't possibly be  bothered  by  practicing  anything,  let
    alone Satanism.  That's  like  saying,  "OK  children,  I've  got
    something here for you to practice really hard at  after  school.
    Now, when you go home, I want you to practice,  for  three  hours
    every night, hedonism and anarchy, and then I want  you  to  have
    sex constantly. Understand?" I  speak  from  experience  here.  I
    played both baritone and bass flutes for my high  school's  band,
    The Blood Red Moon of Our Dark  Lord  Lucifer's  Unholy  Marching
    Band. But, for the  life  of  me,  I  didn't  see  why  I  needed
    additional practice at the arts of hedonism,  anarchy,  and  sex.
    Nor did I understand the  difference  at  the  time.  Nor  did  I
    successfully convince anybody that what  I  was  playing  in  the
    marching band was either the baritone or bass flute.

CoC: What gets you to play  music?  Does  it  move  you?  Is  it  the
     creativity of making music that keeps you interested? What?

MB: Does playing music move us?  Well,  I  think  "drooling"  is  the
    appropriate description. The drugs are all  fun  and  nice,  but,
    man, a good bass riff,  with  guitars  going  "chang-allee-chang,
    wwwoooeeoweeeeee," while a drummer pounds on a snare like it  was
    the IRS? Yeah, I'd say that we're slaves to metal.

CoC: You have played quite a few shows with some pretty big metal and
     hard rock bands (looking at your show list) -- what has been the
     most memorable moment with any  one  of  those  bands?  Any  bad
     situations/shows?

MB:   Clearly   explained   in   our   best-seller,   Old   Grandad's
    Scientifically Mathematical Book of Knowledge, good shows do  not
    necessarily result in good memory. Some  of  our  favorite  bands
    that we've had the  privilege  of  sharing  stages  with  include
    Voivod, Obituary, Skinlab, Fu Manchu, Grave; locals,  Lost  Goat,
    Fifty-Lashes (now Flush), Acid King  and  Altamont,  Thunderchimp
    (now Terror Bat UK). But, to be honest, we don't remember much of
    what transpired at any of these shows.

MB: If the readers of Chronicles of Chaos had any ability to  absorb,
    process and/or remember information, what would it be? Contact us
    and we can help you with your condition.

Contact: OLD GRANDAD, c/o Hectic Productions
         PO Box 401122, San Francisco, CA, 94140-1122, USA
         mailto:hechtic@hectic.com
         WWW: http://www.hectic.com

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 R E T R O S P E C T I V E   A N D   R E C E N T   R E A L I T I E S
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                    CoC chats with Canada's Razor
                        by: Alain M. Gaudrault

A word of warning: the following  article  runs  roughly  700  lines,
attempting to catch  up  on  several  years  of  inactivity  from  an
underground speed metal favourite, Canada's Razor.  I'd  been  toying
with the idea to seek out guitarist/songwriter/bandleader Dave  Carlo
to see if he'd agree to an interview to fill us in on what he'd  been
up to since the band's first official breakup in 1992, whether  there
were any plans to resurrect Razor,  or  even  if  there  was  another
musical project brewing. I knew the  band  was  originally  from  the
neighboring city of Guelph, so I picked up the phone book and found a
"D. Carlo". Couldn't believe my luck when he answered the  phone.  We
spoke briefly, during which point he indicated there was indeed  more
Razor material in the works; he agreed to an interview, and we set  a
date. Turns out things had been  in  the  works  for  some  time;  an
album-full of songs had  been  written,  recorded,  and  was  in  the
process of final  mixing  and  mastering;  label  interest  (Canada's
Hypnotic Records) had been secured, and  an  European  and  Far  East
release  was  forthcoming.  So  much  for   my   insider   knowledge.
Admittedly, I've been a long-time fan,  ever  since  the  release  of
_Evil Invaders_ in 1985, so the thought of a one-on-one  conversation
with Carlo, coupled with  the  excitement  of  a  new  Razor  record,
_Decibels_ (review in this issue), had my mind racing. I figured  the
band, after a dozen years of  dedication  to  the  crafting  of  fine
metal, deserved a bit of room here  for  a  brief  history  of  where
they've been, what they've done, and where they're at now. For a more
detailed account of their career span, check  out  their  bio  (yeah,
yeah,   I   wrote   it)   on   the   band's   official   web    site,
http://www.caiw.nl/~craey/razor/. Should you decide to skip this chat
with Razor's leading man, Dave Carlo, do read  the  _Decibels_  album
review in this  issue  and  consider  seeking  out  a  copy  of  this
breathtaking piece. You'll even find an (albeit low-quality)  excerpt
in the "Sounds" page of their web site, though it  doesn't  begin  to
reveal what more is in store for those lucky enough to be graced with
the full album, in all its glory. Enough, already; here's what he had
to say.


CoC: What was the southern Ontario music scene  like  when  you  were
     first starting out in the early-to-mid-eighties?

Dave Carlo: It was pretty healthy in the sense that  there  wasn't  a
            real explosion of bands at the time that we came out.  We
            seemed to just be about a year ahead of that. We came out
            about mid-'84: that's when we started doing shows.  Video
            wasn't really full-blown  at  that  point.  It  had  been
            around for about four years in a really serious  way;  it
            wasn't really necessary to  make  a  dent  in  the  music
            scene. You could still sell LPs and cassettes by  issuing
            something, putting a decent cover on it, and having  cool
            pictures on the back, that kind of thing. People used  to
            go into record stores and look  at  the  records,  buying
            based on whether they liked the look of it or  not.  That
            kind of thing used  to  happen,  but  I  don't  think  it
            happens much anymore, but that used to be how  it  worked
            back then. From our end, we were lucky in the sense  that
            we were able to put out an independent recording and  get
            attention just by sticking it in certain stores and going
            to university radio stations and getting them to play  it
            for us. Overall, it was pretty good.

CoC: How have things progressed since then in your eyes?

DC: That goes back a long ways. Through the eighties, you had  a  lot
    of emphasis on video, which really  started  to  kick  in  as  an
    almost critical element if you wanted to really  try  and  get  a
    global audience, especially if you were looking at North America,
    so that's something that really changed. In about 1985, there was
    an explosion of speed, and thrash, and all those types of  bands.
    About a year after we were on the scene, a ton of them started to
    come out. There was a lot more competition, if you want  to  call
    it that. Some of it was really good, but  I'd  say  most  of  the
    music that came out from that period of time wasn't too bad,  but
    with the glut of bands that started to come out,  I  don't  think
    the quality of  the  music  was  being  maintained  all  the  way
    through. It got a lot more competitive, a lot  more  people  were
    into it, and I don't think there was as many  quality  bands,  it
    was tougher to find the good bands, I think, towards the  end  of
    the eighties. On through the nineties, well, the last five years,
    obviously, the flavour of the month has been more the alternative
    kind of thing, the Seattle thing, and I don't know where that  is
    right now in  terms  of  overall  popularity.  I  haven't  really
    followed the scene that much the last five years. I've just  sort
    of been doing what I enjoy. If I hear something I like,  I  might
    pick up the CD, but I haven't gone out of my way to discover  any
    bands. I like a lot of the bands that have been out in last  five
    or six years, too, but I have a  large  cross-section  of  styles
    that I listen to, now.

CoC: _Evil Invaders_ (1985) was  your  most  successful  release,  at
     least in terms of commercial sales. To what do you attribute its
     popularity?

DC: A couple of things: one was, the video [for "Evil Invaders"]  was
    the first video done for a thrash metal song.  We  even  preceded
    Slayer, or Metallica, or Anthrax, or any of the bands  that  were
    popular at that time that were playing fairly heavy. They  didn't
    put a video out, and we actually did, and we got a little bit  of
    advance publicity for that in different parts of  the  world,  in
    the U.S., even, as well. We sold quite a few more copies of _Evil
    Invaders_ in the States than we did the  other  releases,  simply
    because we got some airplay on quite a few local video shows. MTV
    ran it once or twice, but it  really  got  played  on  a  lot  of
    local-type shows, and that seemed to be what helped it a lot.

CoC: Why do you think _Malicious Intent_ was your last album on Viper
     (division of Attic Music Group, a major Canadian label)?

DC: I know why that was. We asked to be released from  our  recording
    contract at that time. I'll give you  some  straight  information
    that we didn't really, at the  time,  make  a  point  of  telling
    people. We didn't really want it published at the time.  Now,  we
    don't care anymore. Around the time _Malicious Intent_ came  out,
    the album was not as good as _Evil Invaders_, the drumming wasn't
    very good. Our drummer at the time, M-Bro, he's a great guy, he's
    still a friend of mine, but physically, he just wasn't up to  the
    challenge anymore. He had  some  drug  problems  and  some  other
    problems. He wasn't able to, and I know he wouldn't  be  thrilled
    to hear me say  this  now,  but  he  wasn't  able  to  physically
    continue to play the kind of music that we were trying to play --
    fast. He was just burning out, and his  drumming  style  changed,
    and he didn't put in  a  good  performance,  and  that  hurt  the
    record, and I think that was the number one thing that  hurt  the
    record more than anything  else.  _Malicious  Intent_  only  sold
    about twenty-five or twenty-six thousand copies, versus the fifty
    [thousand] of _Evil Invaders_, which  was  a  disappointment  for
    everybody, but Attic wanted to continue to deal  with  us  simply
    because we recorded on a very tight budget for Attic.  It  didn't
    cost them very much to do  Razor  albums,  so,  if  we  sold  ten
    thousand [copies of an album], they made a lot of money. So  when
    we were selling fifty thousand and  twenty  thousand,  they  were
    making a lot of money. Attic had no reason to drop us, and didn't
    want to. We basically saw what was going  on,  the  album  didn't
    sell as well [as _Evil Invaders_], I was thinking  at  that  time
    that I was going to have to make some changes in the lineup,  but
    I didn't talk about that to anybody, including the members of the
    band,  with  whom  I  did  another  album,   same   lineup,   but
    nonetheless, I sort of thought the thing was gonna wind  down  on
    us, that maybe we'd peaked and it wasn't gonna go where I  wanted
    it to. So my next concern at that time became "Well, then, I want
    to make some money with this. If that's how it's gonna  be,  then
    let's get some money out of this thing." 'Cause  we  hadn't  seen
    any money from Attic. They weren't ripping us off, it was a  fair
    deal, on the up and up, it's just that in  the  record  industry,
    unless you sell really  big,  you  don't  make  a  lot  of  money
    because, of course, these record companies  are  in  business  to
    make money, which they have a right to do, but  nonetheless,  you
    really have to sell some big numbers before you see any money  as
    an artist. The artist is the toughest job in the music  business,
    in term of making money,  no  question  about  it.  Attic  wasn't
    ripping us off or screwing us or anything, but  the  bottom  line
    was that we weren't making any money and I thought if  I  cut  an
    independent album and I license it myself, I can  make  money  on
    this, I know I can, 'cause I'd just  get  a  calculator  out  and
    figure, if I sell twenty-five thousand, and I can get  this  much
    per album, I can put this much in my pocket; you know, I did  the
    math. So we did an album which was  very  experimental.  My  head
    wasn't really in the band at the time. To be  quite  honest  with
    you, I was thinking about the money and not much more.  I  didn't
    even get involved in the production  or  anything  else  on  that
    album. I wasn't happy with the recording at all, but nonetheless,
    it got put out, and I made more money on it than  I  had  on  any
    other album we'd ever done, without a question, but  it  was  our
    worst album, _Custom Killing_. We  released  that  independently,
    made a whole bunch of money on it, which I was happy  about,  but
    the record itself, you know, people were ringing the death  knell
    for the band. That album followed our release from  Attic,  after
    I'd asked for our release from the label. I  went  to  Attic  and
    they said they wanted to do the next album, and the president  of
    Attic made a very astute observation before I  even  did  _Custom
    Killing_. He said "You know, Dave, if you ever want to  put  this
    band on the right course again, you're going to  have  to  change
    the people in the band, because some of your members  just  can't
    do it anymore." And he was right, but I didn't  discuss  it  with
    him. Anyway, to make a long story short, he was a  good  guy,  he
    let me out of my contract. He didn't have to. He could have  just
    said "Well, Dave, I make money with your records, I  want  to  do
    the next one." He had a six-album deal, so he could have kept  me
    under contract until 1990, and I couldn't have done a thing about
    it. But, he understood where my head was at, and he said "I  know
    what you want to do. Good luck.", and he cut me  loose.  To  this
    day, I have a lot of respect for Al Mair, that's the president of
    Attic. He certainly didn't do anything to hurt me.

CoC: _Custom Killing_, the follow-up to _Malicious Intent_,  featured
     much longer, drawn out songs, less speed, and a flatter sound in
     vocal and guitar dynamics. Why the sudden change in sound?

DC: I don't want to be too negative because  there  are  some  things
    about that album I'm proud of, and I think it was kinda neat that
    a band like that could even hold  11-minute  songs  together.  We
    just couldn't identify at the time what the problem was,  why  we
    didn't sell as many records of _Malicious Intent_ as we did  with
    _Evil Invaders_, you know? The drumming thing wasn't  that  clear
    to us at that time, we were brain  dead  on  that.  The  drumming
    wasn't that good, he  (former  drummer,  Mike  Embro  aka  M-Bro)
    wasn't playing as good as he did  in  the  past,  but  we  didn't
    identify that as the key cause to why the album didn't sell  that
    well, and I think that was it. I don't know  that  everybody  who
    did or didn't like that album would tell you that was the reason,
    but they would probably tell you that it was just  something  not
    as intense about _Malicious Intent_  as  there  was  about  _Evil
    Invaders_. And what it was, was the drumming. That's my  opinion,
    and I think that's what's different between those two albums, the
    drumming is a lot different. As  a  result,  the  same  thing  on
    _Custom Killing_.  What  happened  was,  we  decided  to  take  a
    different direction with the music thinking that maybe that would
    be something that might pick up some fans. That was  the  thought
    behind it. So, instead of saying, "We need to  get  back  to  the
    _Evil Invaders_ kind of sound", we were sort  of  sitting  around
    watching Metallica, and watching... and Metallica  at  one  time,
    hard to believe, were like neck and neck with us, at a time  when
    we were mentioned in the same sentence as them, and you see where
    they are, now. We toured with Slayer, we shared  cockroach-ridden
    hotel rooms with Slayer on  some  tours,  so  it  isn't  like  we
    couldn't have been there, we felt we could have, but nonetheless,
    it didn't happen for us. We tried a different  musical  direction
    there and it didn't work out, but that was the  reasoning  behind
    it. We thought it might help sales, we thought it might at  least
    get people talking about the band.

CoC: After the recording of _Custom  Killing_,  did  Mike  Campagnolo
     (bass) and Mike Embro (drums) leave the band or were they let
     go?

DC: It was a little bit of both. It was more like I had a little  bit
    of a plan in mind as to what I was gonna do with the band, and  I
    knew they wouldn't like it. They were good  friends  of  mine,  I
    grew up with those guys,  went  to  high  school  with  them  and
    everything else. What I did was, I basically  presented  to  them
    what my plans were for the future, and I knew, us being  friends,
    I knew where they were coming from, I  knew  they  wouldn't  like
    what I wanted to do, so I sort of  forced  their  hand.  I  never
    really officially said "You guys are gone", I said this  is  what
    I'm gonna do, and this is how I'm gonna do it, and these  are  my
    plans, and this is what I think the band needs to do, and I  knew
    it was stuff they couldn't handle, basically,  the  more  intense
    music. You know what the next album (_Violent  Restitution_)  was
    like, so you know that M-Bro wasn't gonna be able to handle it. I
    proposed that to him, I said this is where I'm going  with  this,
    and this is the kind of drumming I expect, and I when I said that
    to him, he knew he couldn't do it and I let him  think  about  it
    for a week or two. Mike Campagnolo was getting  involved  with  a
    woman who's now his wife, he's got a couple of kids and wife  and
    everything now, but this was the woman he was with, he met her in
    '87, he was spending all kinds of time with her and his head  was
    not really in the band anymore, he was thinking was he was  going
    to do with his life. I knew the two of those guys would move  on.
    It was a mutual thing. I gave them a little bit of  a  push,  but
    they made the decisions to go themselves.

CoC: I recall being told long ago that Stace  McLaren  had  convinced
     the band to go on after the poorly received _Custom Killing_.

DC: He did, he convinced me to go on. I was ready to just say  forget
    it, I'm going to do something else,  and  Stace  talked  me  into
    continuing.

CoC: The move resulted in one of your strongest efforts at the  time,
     _Violent Restitution_.

DC: Yeah, and it still stands up, too. He didn't want me to quit, and
    I was gonna quit. I figured, there's half the band gone, I'll  do
    something else. I wasn't  really  going  to  give  up  the  music
    business at the time. I was still gonna do music, but I was gonna
    put something new together, and Stace said let's work  as  Razor,
    and if we don't make a million dollars, who cares?

CoC: But when you made the change of plans, knowing  that  the  other
     two members would leave, did you  not  also  consider  that  you
     would be putting out more material if they did  end  up  leaving
     the group?

DC: I knew that I would put out more material, but I didn't know that
    I would put out more Razor material. I  did  not  write  _Violent
    Restitution_ until after Stace convinced  me  to  keep  going.  I
    wasn't even sure in what direction I was  going  to  proceed  in,
    although the type of music I do on _Violent Restitution_  is  the
    type I like best, but I didn't know if I was  going  to  move  in
    that direction or not, because you have to remember, the scene at
    that time, the bands were making money  at  it  --  and  I  mean,
    money's not the only thing to think about -- but you look at some
    other bands and you want to achieve the same. I  was  looking  at
    Slayer, and they were doing stuff like _South of Heaven_  and  --
    what was the name of the  one  after  that?  --  two  lightweight
    albums that really don't sound like Slayer  at  all  to  me,  but
    that's what they were doing, and they were doing pretty well with
    those albums. And it's like nobody likes fast music anymore. What
    the Hell? I might as well think about maybe doing something  else
    if people aren't into the speed thing even though I was into  it.
    I wasn't sure  what  direction  I  was  going  to  after  _Custom
    Killing_, but Stace was telling me "No, let's do Razor. If  we're
    gonna go down, let's go down with a good album, let's not go down
    with something we're not happy  with."  Although  I  have  to  be
    honest with you, Stace  thought  _Violent  Restitution_  was  too
    heavy, I had to force it on him. You'll notice when you  look  on
    the record who wrote all the music  and  lyrics.  I  pretty  much
    wrote most of it, Stace wrote one tune.

CoC: Is that why he decided to leave the band after the recording  of
     _Violent Restitution_?

DC: No, he was replaced. Stace, I got rid of.  We're  still  friends,
    that's one thing. The one thing about Razor that's  really  quite
    funny is that I haven't made a single enemy in all  the  years  I
    did it. I'm friends with everybody to  some  degree,  I  have  no
    resentment or animosity towards anybody. Stace had to go  because
    he got to a point where he wasn't putting the effort  into  doing
    the music. He was on stage, forgetting lyrics, getting  on  stage
    drunk and not able to perform properly. He just wasn't taking  it
    seriously anymore. In the early days, in '84 and '85 when we were
    starting out and starting to  get  successful,  he  was  a  great
    frontman and he was always taking  things  seriously,  putting  a
    hundred percent into the show, and making sure  that  were  doing
    everything in a professional way. He was excellent. He went  from
    that to being a guy who was just  doing  it  because  the  chicks
    liked him, the guys thought he was cool, and he made some  money.
    That's what he was in it for, towards the end. So the main reason
    he talked me into staying wasn't some noble cause that he  wanted
    to do an amazing album, it was simply because  the  chicks  liked
    him and he was making money and the guys  thought  he  was  cool.
    That's what he was into. He figured if  Dave  disbands  Razor,  I
    don't have that anymore.  When  we  got  on  stage  for  _Violent
    Restitution_, he wasn't a believer in that album, it was a little
    too heavy for him. We got on stage when we  started  touring  for
    that album and man, the band was amazing behind  him,  best  band
    I've ever played with, my brother [Adam, bass]  and  Rob  [Mills,
    drums], just an amazing band. We were so  tight,  and  everything
    was so powerful, the old stuff came  to  life  even  better  with
    those guys, so I had the band I'd  always  wanted.  We  had  this
    incredible band, with this terrible frontman, he was just messing
    up. I couldn't handle it. Me and Adam and Rob, we were working to
    make the band amazing, and Stace would come in and  act  like  he
    could care less, and the fans  noticed.  The  fans  noticed,  and
    that's what really set it off. We had some shows where he was  so
    bad, people would come to us after the show  and  go  "What's  he
    doing? You guys are amazing but what's going on with the vocals?"
    I can't have that. I gave him an ultimatum,  wise  up  or  you're
    gone. And the funny thing was, I gave him that ultimatum right on
    stage, not in front of people, I whispered it in his ear while  I
    was doing the lead solo at one show. I told him "Tonight,  you're
    fucking up terrible on. Stace, you'd better sing good the rest of
    the evening or this is your last show." I said  that  to  him  on
    stage in Toronto. And then after the song was over, he comes over
    and says I'm gonna get it right,  don't  worry.  We  gave  him  a
    couple of months, he did tour with me for a couple  more  months,
    and he did get his act together the last couple of months, but by
    then, I was sour on him. He'd blown it. I  was  looking  for  his
    replacement, so I had my eye on Bob Reid six months before I  got
    rid of Stace. I had Bob pretty much lined up.

CoC: How did you picture Bob's vocals fitting in, seeing as they were
     quite different to McLaren's?

DC: Yeah, they are! Well, I looked at Bob's voice -- he had SFH,  his
    other band, he'd done demos -- he sent me his demos, and in fact,
    he opened for Razor for a bunch of shows. In fact, the show  that
    I'd told you I'd told Stace he was gonna be gone after the  show?
    Bob Reid's band opened for us at that show.  Thing  was,  I  knew
    from Bob's vocal style that  this  guy  resembled  more  where  I
    wanted to take the band. I figured if I had this guy  singing,  I
    could heavy the band up a bit, and make  it  even  more  intense,
    possibly as intense as people are ever going to hear a band play.
    You'll notice, with _Shotgun Justice_, the music was written  for
    Bob. It wasn't a case of me writing songs and  he  was  just  the
    singer. This was an album that I wrote for this man to sing,  and
    everything we've done with Bob was written for Bob.

CoC: Interesting that you should say that, as that was to be my  next
     question, whether or not you'd changed your approach to suit his
     style, or whether you wrote the  music  and  let  him  fend  for
     himself.

DC: The truth is, I did change my musical approach to suit Bob, but I
    changed it the way I wanted it to be anyway. At the time,  that's
    what I wanted to do, and when you  hear  the  new  album,  you're
    going to be really surprised  at  what  a  great  singer  Bob  is
    because Bob never really got a  chance  to  demonstrate  that  on
    _Shotgun Justice_. I mean, he just came in as intense as he could
    be and as fast as he could, but having worked with Bob, who's had
    a longer association with me musically than Stace or any of those
    other guys, now. Bob and I have been working together on and  off
    for ten years, and even though Razor's done nothing for  four  or
    five, Bob and I have gotten together  over  those  four  or  five
    years and worked together on stuff. Bob and  I  know  each  other
    really well and I can assure everybody that when  they  hear  the
    new recording, they'll be very impressed and  very  surprised  at
    what Bob's capable of.

CoC: Purely out of curiosity, on the _Open Hostility_ album, is  that
     Rob Mills playing drums, or is that a drum machine?

DC: That's a drum  machine.  You'll  notice  on  the  back  of  _Open
    Hostility_, there's no credits. Well, that's part of the  reason.
    Not everybody picks up that it's a drum machine. A lot of  people
    have asked me if there were drum samples that Rob plays,  because
    you can do that, too. I could take a drum kit, and I can  trigger
    samples in the studio that sound just like that, and  you'll  get
    that electronic sound, but I might not have had a sequencer,  but
    no, I programmed the drums to play all that, and I programmed  it
    to play a lot like Rob. There's a  couple  of  moments  that  are
    almost insane, and probably couldn't have been achieved by Rob.

CoC: This begs the question, then: why wasn't Mills playing on  _Open
     Hostility_?

DC: Couple of reasons.  One  was  Rob  couldn't  play  that  way.  He
    couldn't play that way at that time  because,  Rob  was  a  great
    drummer, but in 1990, just before we did _Shotgun  Justice_,  Rob
    had an accident where he got one of his knees, I think it was his
    right knee, sandwiched between two cars, a terrible accident, and
    he had a leg brace on for eight weeks, and he couldn't  walk  for
    about four weeks after he got the brace off. So he had  three  or
    four months where he couldn't do anything. That's when I  started
    messing around with drum machines, because I had all  this  time.
    That's when I started messing around with it.  Rob  never  played
    the same again. Rob's legs used to be great, and  his  arms  were
    incredible, and I still think he's  got  the  best  arms  of  any
    drummer  I've  ever  seen,  but  his  legs  suffered  after  that
    accident, so he never got it back. He didn't  play  the  type  of
    drums I wanted, songs like "Road Gunner", "In Protest", and other
    ones on [_Open Hostility_] that had some pretty good double  bass
    drumming, he just couldn't do them, not for the  length  of  time
    that was required. He couldn't handle "Road Gunner",  although  I
    thought no other drummer could do "Road  Gunner",  but  you  know
    what? Some drummers since then that I've jammed with played "Road
    Gunner" for me. I can't believe it. There's this one guy I played
    with in Toronto, he was a young guy, about twenty years  old,  he
    had these big, heavy boots on, steel-toed boots that weigh like a
    hundred pounds each, he was playing "Road Gunner"  wearing  those
    boots!  I  couldn't  believe   it!   Some   drummers   are   just
    unbelievable. These days, I think the talent level just  goes  up
    and up and up. You've got guys now that can  do  stuff  that  ten
    years ago, they'd've been heroes. I the  time  I  recorded  _Open
    Hostility_ and I programmed the machine  to  play  like  that,  I
    thought nobody could do this,  except  maybe  Dave  Lombardo  and
    Charlie  Benante.  I  was  all  impressed  that  I  could  record
    something with that kind of drumming, and  I  have  to  admit,  I
    didn't know as much about using those types  of  drum  things  at
    that time than I do now. I wanted to make it sound almost like it
    might be a machine. I wasn't really concerned with people knowing
    whether it was or wasn't a  machine.  Because  there  are  places
    where it's a dead giveaway if you know  anything  about  recorded
    music, you know that if it's not a machine,  then  it's  samples,
    it's not a real drum kit. But you know what, when we played live,
    Rob did all those tunes. When we played live  on  that  tour,  we
    didn't do "Road Gunner". In  Rob's  defense,  Rob  did  play  "In
    Protest", so it wasn't like he couldn't do that one on the  tour.
    He did it, but he struggled with it and he  hated  doing  it,  he
    hated me putting it in the set. If you  take  a  song  like  "The
    Pugilist" off _Shotgun Justice_, we had to do that  one  quite  a
    few times in the studio to get Rob to play it right because  that
    was a tough one for his feet as well, and it was a challenge  for
    him because of the accident.  It  was  a  problem  and  he  never
    overcame it.

CoC: There were noticeably few  songs  from  _Malicious  Intent_  and
     _Custom Killing_ on  the  _Exhumed_  compilation,  and  a  heavy
     penchant for tracks from the last three albums.  Was  this  your
     decision?

DC: Yeah, it was, for right or for wrong. I've  gotten  letters  from
    people who wish they had more of the early stuff, and that's  the
    stuff that they can't find on the  CDs.  When  Ben  Hoffman,  the
    president of Fringe [Product,  major  indie  Canadian  label  and
    distro] asked me to select the tunes, he  said  Dave,  I  want  a
    cross section of the band's history. I'm the most  proud  of  the
    last three albums I did,  I  think  they're  the  best.  I  think
    they're the best, and I know  there  are  a  lot  of  sentimental
    people who are my age, in their early thirties, they remember '85
    and '84, going to our shows and all that kind of stuff. They wish
    that I had more of the _Evil Invaders_ and  _Executioner's  Song_
    stuff on there, but my best work is my last three CDs, and  those
    are the three that I think ten years from now, I can still listen
    to and really get off on. I have to be honest with you,  I  can't
    listen to my old stuff as much as I can the last three. The  last
    three I can listen to anytime. _Violent Restitution_ is over  ten
    years old now as a release, and yet here I am, I can still listen
    to it. But when I listen to _Evil Invaders_, I always  have  this
    feeling in my head that I play so much better now than I did back
    then, we play so much better. I can't believe that was acceptable
    to me. You do those things just because... it's like  anything...
    if you think of something you did fifteen years ago  and  you  go
    and see it now... Even if you look at  your  handwriting,  you'll
    see even your handwriting was sloppier fifteen years ago than  it
    is today, you do everything better. So I listen to my record  and
    I'm not really comfortable listening to that really early  stuff.
    I can hear exactly how limited everybody was, how limited we  are
    as musicians, and a lot of people may not realize  that  if  they
    don't  play  instruments,  they  don't  realize   the   technical
    difference between the kind of playing that on  _Open  Hostility_
    versus what's on _Evil Invaders_. There may be a  lot  of  people
    that like _Evil Invaders_ better, but the amount  of  effort  and
    thought and creativeness that went into the records, I mean _Open
    Hostility_ took a lot more effort  to  put  together  than  _Evil
    Invaders_ did.

CoC: I thought the guitar work on "End of the War"  (last  song  from
     their last studio  album,  _Open  Hostility_)  was  particularly
     interesting, and a bit of a departure  from  the  straight-ahead
     power chord attack, more of a harmony to it, a sound I'm  hoping
     to see developed further.

DC: Oh yeah, you're going to see it developed  further.  Wait'll  you
    hear the new stuff. You're going to be hearing a lot more of that
    kind of stuff. There's some  really  interesting,  I  think  very
    original,           you're-not-gonna-hear-it-from-anybody-except-
    -from-Razor kind of stuff here, because that kind of stuff  where
    you're hearing this melodic, but  this  real  pounding  going  on
    behind it, there's probably already four or five songs like  that
    on this album. And they're smoking, they're heavy, and yet  there
    isn't a person alive who's gonna say they're not melodic, because
    they are. And this is what I'm talking about  with  Bob's  vocals
    and everything. You're just gonna see a serious  maturity  there,
    yet none of the intensity is being compromised.

CoC: Getting to the subject of  the  upcoming  album,  how  did  this
     project come about?

DC: Most of the material has been written over a three- or  four-year
    period. Not that we needed that much time, because we didn't. The
    basis of the tunes was written in about six  to  eight  months  a
    couple of years back. Then Bob and I spent  the  last  couple  of
    years just refining it, getting together and saying we like this,
    we don't like this, we want this, and then Bob started  improving
    what he could do with the vocals, and all this kind of stuff.  It
    evolved over a few years, although to be honest with you, to do a
    subsequent album wouldn't take anywhere near  as  long.  It  came
    together because... I really hadn't planned to record it, I  sort
    of had in the back of my mind that one day, I'd probably lay this
    stuff down, but it's not urgent. I didn't feel it was urgent, but
    Bob said, 'You know Dave, if I can get  record  company  interest
    from somebody decent, do you want to release it?' And I  said  it
    has to be something  decent,  and  I'm  not  knocking  Fringe  or
    anything, but Fringe didn't do anything for me, so I  don't  want
    to do another album with Fringe. I have another career outside of
    this, too, that I make good money at, so I don't need  money,  it
    has nothing to do with money. I don't want to put  it  out  in  a
    cheap,  cheesy  cover,  and  having  it  in  one  out  of   every
    seventy-five record stores. I didn't want  to  do  that  kind  of
    thing, I just didn't feel like it. I'd rather make  a  good  demo
    and listen to it for my own personal pleasure,  and  make  a  few
    copies for my friends. So that's how I wanted to do it,  but  Bob
    lined up this thing with Tom  Tremeuth.  We  actually  got  three
    offers to do this record and that was cool. Bob did all the work.
    I just said find somebody and I'll do  it,  and  he  found  three
    people, two of which were no good right off the bat because there
    wasn't enough money involved, and when I  say  money,  you  would
    have had to have offered me one of two things:  either  money  or
    distribution. So what we got was... we didn't get money, we got a
    very good deal in terms of the people we're dealing with. They're
    reputable,  they've  got  connections,  we're  gonna   get   good
    distribution, we're gonna get all the kinds  of  things  that  we
    never really had with Razor before. And that's why we're doing it
    now. This thing could actually sell, not just because it's a good
    album, but because there are a lot of people who are gonna get  a
    chance to be exposed to it because of the  people  we're  dealing
    with. Well, not in North America, unfortunately. The album's  not
    coming out in North America. It's only coming out in  Europe  and
    in the Far East.

CoC: When is it to be released?

DC: We're in mixing right now, and mixing is supposed to be  done  in
    the middle of May, but we've been working on it  since  February.
    The album's just about done. Everything's coming  together  right
    now, so I would say that this thing  will  probably  be  released
    mid-summer. [The album has subsequently been delayed until August
    30th in Europe, with a September release in Japan.]

CoC: Is the  musical  direction  of  _Decibels_  still  speed,  still
     guitar-centric?

DC: We don't categorize the music anymore  in  terms  of  calling  it
    speed metal or thrash metal or metal  or  anything,  not  because
    we're trying to sound like Metallica, who always go  "we're  just
    Metallica, that's all  we  are."  That's  what  they  always  say
    whenever you ask them any questions, you know? Not  that  I  like
    them, 'cause I don't, that's another thing  altogether.  We  just
    call the music Razor music anyway,  because  the  truth  is  it's
    unique as far as we're concerned. Is it fast? Yes. Is all  of  it
    fast? No. Is most of it fast? Yes. Seventy-five percent  of  this
    album is fast. When I say fast, it's not quite  as  fast  as  the
    stuff on _Open Hostility_ was. It's close to  being  as  fast  as
    that, but it's a little bit less  fast.  Are  you  familiar  with
    Slayer?

CoC: Yes.

DC: The earlier Slayer recordings, there's this  album  called  _Hell
    Awaits_ and there's another album called _Reign in  Blood_.  It's
    somewhere in between those two in terms of the speed. It's a nice
    pace, it's a really heavy, fast pace, there's no question. That's
    where most of it is as far as the overall flavour of it.  There's
    some different types of tunes in there, too, that  people  aren't
    used to hearing from Razor  that  are  there,  too,  but  nothing
    cheesy, there's no such thing as anything like a ballad.  There's
    nothing like that, it's all butt-kickin' heavy.

CoC: Keyboards?

DC: There are some keyboards in places, but  none  during  the  song.
    There are some keyboard fills that are  very  cool,  and  just  a
    couple of things.

CoC: Lyrical direction?

DC: Bob wrote all the lyrics. This was the deal: it was a fifty-fifty
    deal, partnership between Bob and me. I wrote all the music,  Bob
    wrote all the lyrics. As  far  as  the  lyrics  and  the  lyrical
    direction, the political thing is pretty much gone, that  was  my
    trip. This new album, the titles of the songs, there's songs like
    "Decibels", "Life Sentence", one's called  "Liar",  one's  called
    "Great White Lie", it's  about  cocaine  abuse.  There's  a  song
    called "Open Hostility", which is actually quite funny, "Jimi the
    Fly", which is a Mafia song. See,  he  writes  about  stuff  like
    this. "Violence... Gun Control" is about the ability to control a
    gun, <laughs> a song called "Goof Soup", which is a  revenge-type
    song. Gee, what a surprise, eh? I think Bob sings a lot about raw
    deals and getting screwed around and that kind of stuff. It's all
    done in a... there's not a real seriousness about the thing we're
    doing here. You can tell when  you  listen  to  this  that  we're
    having a good time, we enjoyed making this  and  that  it's  fun,
    it's a lot of fun, there's not a lot of pressure on  us  to  make
    this record. That's one thing about it, it didn't sound like it's
    a forced record, it's done exactly the  way  we  wanted,  to  our
    taste. This is the first time I can really say that with complete
    conviction.

CoC: So who else is in the band besides Bob Reid and yourself?

DC: Basically, it's just SFH (Bob Reid's other act). Do you know SFH?

CoC: Yes.

DC: It's basically  Jon  Armstrong  and  Rich  Oosterbosch  from  SFH
    hooking up with us. The band didn't continue over the years, just
    me and Bob writing, did. When the time came to do this, Bob  just
    said "Dave, I have a band for you", 'cause I said we need a band.
    He says "I'll just give you a band. Just use my band." Those guys
    are always off and on, and they wanted to work  with  me  anyway.
    Jon was the [bassist] on _Open Hostility_. Jon didn't get  credit
    on _Open Hostility_. Jon joined up and toured with us  for  _Open
    Hostility_. He was in Razor in 1991, he toured across Canada with
    me and Rob Mills. Adam was in another band, Adam was  doing  some
    other projects. So Rich is the only guy  left,  the  only  former
    member of SFH who's never worked with  Razor,  and  so  now  he's
    working with Razor, too!

CoC: Is SFH on hold?

DC: It isn't on hold, really, they're just doing both. I told him, if
    we go on tour, what we'll do is, you can open up  the  show,  and
    then I'll just join you on the guitar and do Razor! <laughs>  And
    Rich says, "That's good, I'll just need to eat twenty  pounds  of
    food before the show!"

CoC: Did the other members help in the songwriting process?

DC: It's just me and Bob.  These  are  great  guys,  and  the  reason
    they're great guys is because they just want to play with Bob and
    I, that's it. Bob and I need that, we're those kind of guys.  Bob
    and I are both leaders, it's not a matter of me being  a  leader,
    and Bob not being one. Bob is totally a leader type of  guy,  and
    between the two of us, Bob has his side and I have my  side,  and
    we made a  deal.  Bob  says  I  really  respect  your  music  and
    everything else, and I said I really respect your vocals and your
    lyric writing and everything else, you do that, and I'll do  this
    and we'll work together. And the other two guys just want to work
    with us. They leave us to do everything and when the time  comes,
    they just say "What do we do?"

CoC: You indicated in  _Exhumed_  that  you  felt  you  had  achieved
     everything you could through Razor. How did you  come  to  using
     the old moniker?

DC: We did think that and I still do. I achieved as  much  as  I  was
    going to. I have to  qualify  that  by  saying  I  have  achieved
    everything I can with Razor at this time and part of  the  reason
    why I say that is because we  only  had  limited  record  company
    interest. The only types of record company that  wanted  to  deal
    with us weren't going to be able to do more for us  than  Fringe,
    so I didn't think there was going to be a chance to do any  more.
    The second thing is that Razor needed to go away for  awhile  for
    it to be as interesting to so many people when it's coming  back.
    One thing I've noticed, I've got a lot of people calling  me  and
    sending me stuff in the mail, they're talking to  me  about  this
    new recording. The interest is really there because the band  was
    gone for five years. At the time I wrote the note for  _Exhumed_,
    we  needed  to  be  away  for  a  long  time.  We  needed  to  be
    disappearing for a long while. And really, to be honest with you,
    for North America, we still are gone,  we're  gone  for  life  in
    North America, because North America has never really gotten into
    us like the people in Europe and in the  Far  East  have.  That's
    always been the case, we've always done better in Europe by  far,
    and the Far East, we only did one release there, which  is  _Open
    Hostility_, and it did very  well  over  there.  From  that,  Tom
    Tremeuth gathered, "I don't want to do you guys in North America,
    I think it's a waste of time." We decided to release is as  Razor
    because Tom wanted it that way. We would have done  it  as  Razor
    anyway, but Tom Tremeuth was interested  and  enthusiastic  about
    this recording and he wanted it to be Razor.  He  said  that  the
    name Razor  means  something  in  the  Far  East,  and  it  means
    something in Europe, but it doesn't mean anything here. He had  a
    lot more doors open for him if it was Razor, so that's  why  it's
    Razor. And [the music] is, anyway, it is Razor.

CoC: Where was _Decibels_ recorded, and who produced it?

DC: It was recorded in Hamilton, Ontario,  in  a  studio  called  The
    Tube, which is a studio that's owned by Tom Tremeuth; it's a nice
    studio. Producers are myself and Bob Reid,  with  Tom  being  the
    executive producer, which basically means he can come in and  say
    I spent all this money on this and "I am..." or  "I'm  not  happy
    with it." That's basically what executive producers are, the guys
    with the money. That's what he is, and he's  been  in  it  a  few
    times. He's very happy with the recording, he's listening to  it.
    Do you know Tom's track record, what he's done?

CoC: I recall a lot  of  Canadian  bands,  Brighton  Rock,  Honeymoon
     Suite...

DC: He's got a lot of gold records on his wall; Honeymoon Suite;  the
    most successful Helix albums; he's worked with  Platinum  Blonde;
    he's got a track record. We didn't want to  deal  with  a  Mickey
    Mouse guy. We wanted to deal  with  somebody  who,  at  the  very
    least, had contacts within Canada and outside Canada.

CoC: Any touring plans?

DC: Not so much. Like I've said, I've got my own career.  Believe  it
    or not, I work as an automotive engineer,  which  is  kind  of  a
    strange twist, and I make very good money at it. I  haven't  been
    interested in worrying about how much of my personal time has  to
    be invested in this. I will do something if Tom has already said,
    "If I can get you guys over to Japan or Europe, I need you to  be
    able to go, can you go or not?" He almost asked us that before we
    signed the deal, and I told him "Tom, I can do that, but  it  has
    to be done in such a way that everything's coordinated in like  a
    month and half, it's all done at once. I can't drop it and leave,
    I'm not going to bail out on a career that makes me some  serious
    money just to dabble in this and then two  years  down  the  road
    I've got nothing else." So, touring plans, well, will you see  us
    in Canada or the USA? I wouldn't hold my breath.

CoC: What about album availability?

DC: It will be available [in North America] as an import, and I would
    suggest strongly that people buy the Japanese version if they can
    because  the  Japanese  version  includes  two  old  Razor  songs
    re-recorded. "Instant Death" and "Rebel  Onslaught"  are  re-done
    for the Japanese version, [but] they won't  be  on  the  European
    version. The Japanese always want something  extra,  that's  just
    the way they work. Part of their record industry is  they  always
    want to offer the people in Japan something more  than  what  the
    rest of the world gets. That's just how  it  works,  so  when  we
    signed the arrangement, it's  with  Panasonic  over  there,  they
    basically said, "We need some bonus tunes."

CoC: What other labels are involved?

DC: In Europe, it's EMI. It's a good arrangement, and that's  why  we
    decided to do it.

CoC: Finally, where have you drawn inspiration for the new songs?

DC: What it came to was  that  over  the  last  couple  of  years,  I
    realized one day -- I don't know if it was one day or not -- hey,
    I'm a way better guitar player than I used to  be.  And  I  don't
    mean just because I can do  an  Eddie  Van  Halen  solo,  because
    that's not what I mean: I can't do an Eddie  Van  Halen  solo,  I
    still can't. It's not like that. I'm a way better  guitar  player
    in terms of knowing the instrument  better;  I  know  more  about
    melody, I know more about different types of chords, I know  more
    about music theory. I know all kinds of stuff, and I want to  put
    it in the music. So that's how you get stuff  like  "End  of  the
    War"  (from  _Open  Hostility_).  It  has   more   to   do   with
    understanding the instrument better and being able to write songs
    you couldn't have written ten years ago 'cause  you  didn't  have
    the musical knowledge to do it, and that's really where this  has
    come from. I'm taking what I know now  and  putting  it  into  my
    music, which isn't something that we did in the past as much.  In
    the past, I had one focus, and it was be intense,  be  heavy,  be
    heavier than everybody else, and that was it.  Now  my  focus  is
    just make the best music you can and do whatever you got to do to
    make it that way, and that's where this sound is coming from.

[I'd like to thank Dave Carlo for his time and his music. -- Alain]

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      |-   -|   |  _| -_|  _|  _| . | . | .'|  _| | . |   |_ -|
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                                    |___|


               T H E   R I S E   O F   I M P E R I U M
               ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
               CoC interviews Tommy Lindal of Imperium
                          by: Pedro Azevedo

If you thought of a band consisting  of  Tommy  Lindal  (formerly  in
Theatre of Tragedy) on guitars, Dag (formerly in Dismal  Euphony)  on
vocals and bass, Frode Clausen (from Dismal Euphony) on guitars,  and
Trym (of Emperor and Enslaved) on drums, you would  probably  believe
something very interesting may come out of it.  And  Imperium's  demo
tape (see my review in this issue) shows you  that  this  combination
works. Despite the problems involving Dag (who  left  Dismal  Euphony
and is currently  in  jail  for  beating  up  a  man  who  threatened
Keltziva, Dag's sister and Dismal Euphony vocalist), their demo  tape
has now been finally released and they are working  on  a  deal  with
Nuclear Blast. Having had the chance to chat  with  Tommy  Lindal,  I
also asked about his  former  band,  Theatre  of  Tragedy.  A  recent
official press  release  stated  that  both  Tommy  and  ToT's  great
vocalist, Liv Kristine Espenaes, were out of the band;  however,  Liv
seems to have recently returned to the band. So,  read  on  for  news
about Theatre of Tragedy and a band you may very well be  hearing  of
in the future: Imperium.


CoC: Would you like to give us some details on  your  departure  from
     Theatre of Tragedy?

Tommy Lindal: Theatre of  Tragedy  told  me  that,  for  professional
              reasons, I had to leave the band. My recovery was slow,
              and they had no time to wait for me. So I had no
              choice...

CoC: And Liv Kristine? I heard her departure from Theatre of  Tragedy
     was canceled: what happened?

TL: Theatre of Tragedy weren't comfortable with  her  living  so  far
    away [ToT is in Norway while Liv is in Germany -- PA],  and  that
    she had  so  much  control  over  our  label  [Massacre  Records]
    (someone in the band disliked that), so they decided to kick  her
    out of the band. A month later, she and our label had  a  meeting
    with the band in Norway and forced them to continue with  Liv  on
    their next three CDs, or else Massacre Records would sue them...

CoC: What do you think will be the future of Theatre of Tragedy now?

TL: The future, as far as I know, is that they will  try  and  record
    three CDs (no matter what they will  sound  like)  next  year  to
    finish the contract with Massacre Records, then break up to start
    from the beginning again. But I think that the band will die out.

CoC: Why was Imperium formed?

TL: Imperium was formed late '95. We (a couple of friends)  rehearsed
    some songs, and liked it very much. We had  always  been  talking
    'bout starting a band together. I felt something was lacking  for
    me in Theatre of Tragedy, 'cuz I wanted to blow out  some  brutal
    steam, so we started Imperium.

CoC: Will Imperium be a full-time band, as in playing live and all?

TL: Imperium is a full-time band for all of us. We want to do it  all
    the way.

CoC: Is your Nuclear Blast deal finished yet?

TL: No, we still have some small problems. The  Dismal  Euphony  guys
    aren't allowed to play in two bands yet, but  we  will  fix  that
    problem soon. Right now, our singer/bassist is in jail,  'cuz  he
    beat up another guy. He will be released in  two  months,  so  we
    have to wait for him.

CoC: Why did the demo take so long to come out?

TL: We recorded it between the end of '95 and the beginning  of  '96.
    Then in June, I had to go to Germany to record  _Velvet  Darkness
    They Fear_ with Theatre of Tragedy. As you all  know  by  now,  I
    suffered a little brain bleeding at  the  end  of  the  recording
    (August '96), so I was hospitalized for two months. That  is  the
    reason why it was delayed, but now it is out, at last.

CoC: Will you have a full-time keyboard player in the future?

TL: Nah, I don't think so. We will only use a keyboard in the  studio
    and when we play live. That is the plan so far... We  don't  want
    to have too many people involved, 'cuz then it's easier to make a
    mess of things. The  keyboards  aren't  taking  a  long  time  to
    practice, so we won't practice with a keyboard player.

CoC: When will the recording of a CD start?

TL: I really hope it will begin in March / April, but it  depends  on
    what happens with the Nuclear Blast thingie.

CoC: Would you like to describe your sound,  since  your  band  isn't
     well-known yet?

TL: It's hard, I don't know what to say... You  (the  listeners)  are
    the right people to ask.

CoC: What will change in your sound, relatively to the demo?

TL: Nothing, I hope. I'm quite satisfied with the sound so far. Maybe
    the sound will be a little bit cleaner.

CoC: What are your personal hopes for the future of Imperium?

TL: That I will continue to play as my feelings tell me to, and  that
    you all will like it.

CoC: What are your current views on the Black Metal scene?

TL: I think that all the Norwegian Black Metal scene has become fake.
    It's just considered very cool to dye your hair black and go  out
    with inverted crosses, so almost everybody does it. So the  whole
    scene is just fake. I don't like it.

CoC: Any final messages?

TL: Please visit my pages at:  http://130.89.225.172/~ruud/tommy.html
    for some more info.

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                  /  _  \ |  |\_ |__  __ __  _____
                 /  /_\  \|  | | __ \|  |  \/     \
                /    |    \  |_| \_\ \  |  /  Y Y  \
                \____|__  /____/___  /____/|__|_|  /
                        \/         \/            \/
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             /  _  \   _________.__.|  |  __ __  _____
            /  /_\  \ /  ___<   |  ||  | |  |  \/     \
           /    |    \\___ \ \___  ||  |_|  |  /  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!


Ancient - _Mad Grandiose Bloodfiends_  (Metal Blade, 1997)
by: Drew Schinzel  (0 out of 10)

I think we all knew that the popularity  of  Cradle  of  Filth  would
create a few copycats and  clones  in  the  already  poseur-congested
domain of black metal, but who would've thought that Norwegian  black
metal stalwarts Ancient would jump on the vampire  bandwagon  in  the
most disgusting, distasteful, shameless, pathetic way possible? After
_The Cainian Chronicle_, an album thankfully barren of any references
to vampires or dark eroticism, comes _Mad Grandiose  Bloodfiends_,  a
repugnant, flat-out disrespectful and vile attack on  any  degree  of
integrity or honesty that might've been  remaining  in  black  metal.
_MGB_ is a  complete  and  total  slap  in  the  face  to  all  metal
listeners, insulting their intelligence with CoF-ripoff  tracks  like
"Hecate, My Love and Lust", "Willothewisp", "The Draining" and indeed
the  entire  rest  of  the  album.  In  fact,  when  considering  its
accompaniment, the placement of  the  Norwegian  pride-stroking  "Her
Northern Majesty" should be considered an affront to Norway, with its
nationalistic messages veiled under  the  guise  of  shallow  musical
facsimile. I've never been the biggest backer of Cradle of Filth, but
even the questionable image-mongering and  merchandising  efforts  of
Supreme Vampiric Ad Campaign look downright cherubic and heartfelt in
comparison to the despicable transformation of Ancient. This,  fellow
music lovers, is the sort of insipid, false -bullshit- that acts only
to harm the scene from which it was spawned.


Ancient Wisdom - _The Calling_  (AvantGarde, 1997)
by: Alvin Wee  (8 out of 10)

Released some time back in '97, this impressive opus  of  melancholic
black metal has never received the attention it deserves. As  far  as
hybrids of doom and black metal go,  this  one-man  black  mass  must
surely rank among the elite. Contrasting  impassioned  melodies  with
searing  vocals,  Marcus  E.  Norman  weaves   blindingly   beautiful
tapestries  of  majestic  darkness  and  evil.  The  combination   of
excellent keyboards and foreboding guitars creates an almost tangible
darkness, and the result is an immensely engaging piece of majesty --
images of subterranean caverns vying  continually  with  outlines  of
blackened thrones. Indeed, the  luscious  harmony  on  _The  Calling_
belies the lyrical emphasis on darkness, evil, and the occult. Almost
Bethlehem-esque in atmosphere, AW manages to create a more  sprawling
and less morbid slab of doom-enshrouded black metal than their German
counterparts. Lovers of dark romanticism take heed: this may  be  one
of the best in the genre, and credit goes to Marcus for managing such
a complex piece of work without the benefit of other members. If  you
get bored easily though, you'd be better off sticking to  the  faster
bands.


Borknagar - _The Olden Domain_  (Century Media, 1997)
by: Alvin Wee  (8.5 out of 10)

What's with black metal these days? The bloody Viking  raids  of  old
seem to have metamorphosed into  nice  little  boat  trips  "for  the
little Erik, dear." While this  supergroup's  latest  offering  would
still have sent Edvard Grieg  scurrying  for  cover,  their  material
seems pretty  mild  compared  to  their  first  album.  Granted,  the
musicianship and songwriting are beyond reproach, but somehow there's
that lack of kick to it -- like a censored movie,  perhaps.  Boasting
immediately  memorable  choruses   "a   la   Viking"   and   strongly
folk-inspired riffs, the songs are  actually  jewels  in  themselves,
like the fascinatingly well-crafted "To  Mount  And  Rode"  (whatever
that means). For those who can't  get  enough  of  Garm's  misty-eyed
throat-warblings, look elsewhere; here, the clear  singing  resembles
more of a soundtrack to some Hollywood movie than an authentic  piece
of Norway. Century Media has certainly worked in their  influence  by
making this more  marketable  than  past  material,  and  traditional
self-mutilators  will  find  more  solace  in  their  earlier  Viking
viciousness. However, _The Olden Domain_ is by all means an excellent
piece of art and makes up for what it lacks in punch with  more  than
ample craftsmanship.


Carpe Tenebrum - _Majestic Nothingness_
by: Pedro Azevedo  (7 out of 10)  (Head Not Found, October 1997)

Here's an album that'll probably be noticed mostly by Nagash's (Dimmu
Borgir's bass player) participation,  which,  as  it  turns  out,  is
rather unfair. Nagash only seems to  have  provided  the  vocals  for
Carpe Tenebrum (translated as "seize the darkness", as  you  probably
know); besides that and the interesting lyrics and concept by Ariadne
Donnelaith, this is almost a one-man project, since Astennu wrote and
performed all the music (at least according to the  credits).  Having
been recorded in Australia in late 1995 and  only  recently  released
through  Head  Not  Found,  an  initial  description  might   suggest
similarities  to  Dimmu  Borgir;  after  all,  this  essentially   is
relatively melodic black metal with keyboards. However, Dimmu  Borgir
don't use a  drum  machine,  whereas  in  this  album  one  is  quite
competently used (I risk being wrong here, but  it  does  sound  like
one). Also, neither does _Majestic  Nothingness_  have  the  kind  of
guitar work found in Dimmu Borgir, nor do the keyboards play the kind
of  role  that  they  do  in  Nagash's  band.  Unfortunately,   Carpe
Tenebrum's usually good keyboard lines only show up once in a  while,
while the riffs that take up the rest of the time tend to be somewhat
unremarkable (the fuzzy guitar sound doesn't help much), even  though
there are some rather interesting ones. A few  tracks  stand  out  in
_Majestic Nothingness_ due to being different from the  norm,  namely
"Drain the Labyrinth" for its grim chants and "Blood Dance"  for  its
unusual melodies. Both of these tracks are very good, and  "Temptress
Luna" is perhaps even better. The rest of the album also has its good
moments, but doesn't really  stand  out  too  much;  considering  the
recent growth of the black metal scene, the  delay  of  this  album's
release didn't help at all.


Various - _The Absolute Supper_  (Cold Meat Industry, 1998)
by: Adrian Bromley  (8 out of 10)

It's time to go to a place where brilliance and beauty meet. A  place
where one can hear the angelic-like sounds of  music  wrapped  within
the dreamscape visions of a storyteller. A place of warmth  where  no
one can dictate how you are to experience life. This is the  kind  of
mood and feeling _The Absolute Supper_,  the  latest  compilation  by
Sweden's ambient/atmospheric label Cold Meat Industry,  provides  the
listener with. The compilation -- two CDs with over 2 hours of  music
(22 songs) -- is well worth the investment for  any  music  fan  that
loves to  experience  the  kind  of  picture  I  just  painted.  This
compilation is quite a soothing and interesting experience,  as  many
of the top-notch acts on this label  (i.e.  Sanctum,  Raison  D'Etre,
Puissance and Arcana) showcase some memorable  moments.  All  of  the
twenty two songs found here on _TAS_ are either previously unreleased
material from the bands (both current and past roster bands)  or  new
numbers. Complemented by nice  packaging,  linear  notes  and  a  CMI
catalog booklet, I'd have to say this is one of the  nicest  digi-pak
compilations I have received in some time. Getting back to the music,
the offerings by newcomers Sanctum ("{~}") and The  Protagonist  with
"Imitation" and "Zoroaster" are excellent,  but  the  real  treat  of
_TAS_ has to be the weird spoken/musical number "Child Of Curiosity &
The Old  Man  Of  Knowledge"  by  everyone's  favorite  pointed  nose
creature Mortiis. It's creepy but quite enjoyable. Another few  bands
and their great contributions include Deutsch Nepal's wickedly  savvy
"Logo", Desideraii Marginis' offering "Chaos Undivided" and  Brighter
Death Now's noise-infested "I Wish I Was A Little Girl". Thumbs up to
the good people at CMI for putting out a  good  package  of  material
showcasing the talent they've worked with, continue to work with  and
whom they will be working with well into the year 2000.


Depresion - _Depresion_  (Morbid, January 1997)
by: Paul Schwarz  (8 out of 10)

Those of you who believe CoC or the band have  misspelt  "depression"
can rest easy, we got it right and the band do spell it with only one
"s" as it is spelled this way in German. Depresion mix the  style  of
bands like Malevolent Creation and Kreator to  whip  up  a  storm  of
brutal bludgeoning death. Sounds boring? Well,  it  would  be  if  it
wasn't done with a reasonable amount of skill. Death metal is a  very
easy genre to produce mediocre  albums  in  but  I  am  glad  to  say
_Depresion_  is  not  one  of  them.  It  is  no  _De  Profundis_  or
_Clandestine_, or even _Left Hand Path_, but it is  a  very  pleasant
and quite brutal chunk of meat off the death  metal  bone.  All  band
duties are handled well by their respective players, the vocals being
notably powerful (often a downfall). In approach  but  not  sound  it
would be fair to compare Depresion to Bolt  Thrower,  the  similarity
being that the majority of an album by both bands is made of pounding
kickdrums, very bassy guitars and low growling vocals: very heavy  in
other words. What pushes the album up is the catchy riff  that  comes
in half way through or the less bludgeoning, almost  haunting  chords
used in the middle of a verse or chorus. This way, Depresion  squeeze
themselves in next to their peers in the niche  that  someone  carved
out a long time ago, but which holds a lot of good  bands  --  and  I
imagine a few more will squeeze in before the end of the millenium. A
good debut -- we could see good things from Depresion in the future.

Contact: Morbid Records, Postfach 3, 03114 Drebkau, GERMANY
         mailto: death@mathis.vol.at


Disinterment - _Endless_  (Sevared, 1997)
by: Brian Meloon  (7 out of 10)

Disinterment are a death metal band from the USA; upstate  NY  to  be
exact. They sound pretty much  like  a  death  metal  version  of  In
Flames. The  songs  feature  a  mix  of  Iron  Maiden-like  melodies,
Dissection-like black/death metal and  more  typical  American  death
metal, complete with blast beats. The band also incorporate their own
novel ideas. The playing is tight, but not really exceptional in  any
way. The production is not so good. It's  generally  a  heavy,  thick
sound  as  with  most  American  death  metal.  The  instruments  are
distinct, but the album seems to be mixed a little  too  hot,  as  it
clips in a few places, and the guitars  sound  over-distorted.  These
guys have a somewhat distinctive sound, which is refreshing amid  the
onslaught of In Flames and Dissection clones (e.g.  Night  In  Gales,
Sacramentum). In any case, this is a good album, and a worthy debut.



Dream Into Dust - _Dream Into Dust_  (Chthonic Streams, 1997)
by: Adrian Bromley  (3 out of 10)

What kind of boring electronic  rock/metal  music  dribble  is  this?
Taking on a total "drown in the pain I  am  suffering"  feel  to  it,
Dream Into Dust puts into their  music  all  the  cliche  sounds  and
styles that helped bands like Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson soar
to success. "Feel my pain!" -- bullshit! And while the  attitude  and
direction is totally concocted  to  follow  the  forerunners  of  the
genre/style, the music as well seems to run second fiddle against the
'biggies' of this music genre. No  real  identity  is  resolved  with
their hard work and song writing to match  those  accomplishments  by
their heroes. They left nothing to credit their  own  ability  to  be
their own band. No identity and no real good music can be found  here
on the self-titled debut. Ignore the copycats and stick with the real
innovators of the genre -- if that is what you are into.

Contact: P.O. Box 7003 New York, NY 10116-7003 USA


Empty Tremor - _Apocolokyntosys_  (Rising Sun, 1997)
by: Brian Meloon  (7 out of 10)

Empty Tremor are an Italian progmetal band.  They  are  professional,
and good at what they do. The only problem is that what they  do  has
been done before. In 1992, by Dream Theater, to be exact.  There  are
places on this CD where they blatantly  rip  off  Dream  Theater.  In
fact, the whole album lacks originality. And yet, it's still a decent
album. It avoids much of the cheesiness of DT,  but  does  have  it's
share of light parts. The keyboards, guitars, and bass and drums  are
all good: occasionally  flashy,  but  always  solid.  The  songs  are
reasonably intricate, but not reaching the acrobatic DT/Altura style.
There are usually multiple sections to each song, and they flow well.
The production is clean and  strong.  The  only  weak  link  are  the
vocals, which sound a little flat at times. On  the  other  hand,  he
does have a good, strong voice. So it might be the fault of the vocal
lines, which don't fit the music very well. This is a good album, but
needs some originality to stand above the crowd. DT fans  should  eat
it up, especially if they were unhappy with _Awake_ and _FIF_.


Falkenbach - _...magni blandinn ok megintiri..._  (Napalm, 1997)
by: Drew Schinzel  (8 out of 10)

Everyone's favorite merchant of Viking-rock is  back,  as  Falkenbach
have released another album, this time on new label  Napalm  Records.
Not much has changed since the last time around, as  German  all-star
Vratyas Vakyas once again handles all the instrumentation,  producing
a walking-paced, musically elementary sound mixing elements of  black
metal and northern European folk music. Adorned by a strong  keyboard
presence and occasional use of flute, _mbom_ (don't even ask what the
name of the album means) rocks along with  a  little  less  influence
from the black metal side of things this time  around,  with  Vakyas'
unwavering, almost monotone clean vocals taking the leading role, and
with the raspy offerings being a  little  more  polished  and  a  bit
sharper,  definitely  not  as  hollow  and  reverbed  as  the  debut.
Mid-paced, simplistic, keyboard folk metal is the name of the game on
this album, a welcome change indeed from  the  sizeable  portions  of
black metal mediocrity we've been subjected to lately. As  mentioned,
Vakyas is the main man in Falkenbach, and as such is responsible  for
the handling of all the instruments,  resulting  in  a  watered  down
presentation of each. But for this type of music, musical  virtuosity
is not a prerequisite anyway, and Vakyas shows that he  is  perfectly
adept  at  everything,  proving  once  again  that   creativity   and
composition are where it's at. Of course, Vakyas is no  compositional
genius either, as evidenced in the fact that most of the songs on the
album are just downright repetitive as hell; most consist of a  basic
"a" and "b" section, repeated ad infinitum, without much in  the  way
of variation. Unfortunate as this is, _mbom_ is still  an  impressive
album, providing a  rocking  folk  alternative  to  the  majority  of
musical drudgery flooding the scene nowadays.


Various - _Frozen Dawn III_  (Frozen Dawn Records, 1997)
by: Adrian Bromley  (5 out of 10)

The downfall of this compilation is not the inexperience or  lack  of
originality in the music of the seven indie  bands  that  have  taken
part, it is the totally lame-ass production of the CD  itself.  Jesus
Christ! I had not heard this kind of horrendous production in a  long
time. Ya think they would have been able to keep a standard, at least
respectable, sound throughout? Maybe the bands are at fault  --  with
the possibility of numerous DATs or recordings  being  submitted  for
entry onto the compilation --  but  still?!  Shit.  Now...  onto  the
music. The GOOD bands: Violent Fury, Exceed and  Drogheda.  The  OKAY
bands: Goliath and Vials Of Wrath. The BAD bands: Seminal  Death  and
Shredded Corpse. With most of the bands found on  this  comp  falling
into the grind core, blast beat driven death metal sound,  it  pretty
much sounds all the same from the get-go. The bands that wound up  in
the GOOD area exposed a real feel of intensity  and  pure  mayhem  in
their musical deliverance. High-caliber action  that  detonates  each
song with a rush. The other bands either were just  average  or  just
unoriginal and plain pathetic. Not  even  worth  a  mention.  Take  a
chance, some good stuff here, but it may be suitable and  worth  more
to search out each individual band rather than wade through the shit,
if ya know what I mean, eh?

Contact: Frozen Dawn Records c/o David Sroczynski
         809 Towering Oaks, Jacksonville, AR 72076 USA
         Voice: (501) 982-6073
         mailto:frozendawn@aristotle.net


George Bellas - _Turn of the Millenium_  (Shrapnel, 1997)
by: Brian Meloon  (7 out of 10)

In a few years, it  might  seem  more  likely  that  this  album  was
released in 1987 than in 1997. It's definitely  a  throwback  to  the
days when neo-classical shredding was in vogue.  Stylistically,  this
is something like a cross between Joey Tafolla's  _Out  of  the  Sun_
(1987) and Jason  Becker's  _Perpetual  Burn_  (1988).  Bellas  is  a
top-tier  guitarist,  with  impressive  chops.  The  songs  are   all
instrumental, and have a mix of darker melodies (as JT)  and  happier
ones. The album also has significant  progmetal  leanings,  including
some elements of Dream Theater's style. The keyboard  work  is  good:
reminiscent of MacAlpine,  and  not  overused.  The  songs  were  all
written by Bellas, and feature multiple sections, with  definite  but
varied structures. The tones and instruments used also display a good
deal  of  variety.  The  album  features  three  different  drummers,
including session god Deen Castronovo. The production is good, though
two of the tracks have worse production, due to  the  way  the  drums
were recorded. Unfortunately, Bellas doesn't really fix  any  of  the
problems that caused the end of the neo-classical  genre  many  years
ago. The songs are often vehicles for his soloing, which  wears  thin
after awhile. This is a good album, but by no means revolutionary.


Gorgoroth - _Under the Sign of Hell_  (Malicious Records, 1997)
    (8.5 out of 10)
Osculum Infame - _Dor-Nu-Fauglith_  (Mordgrimm, 1997)
    (9 out of 10)
by: Steve Hoeltzel  (Combined review)

Cranky old-timer that I am, I must say I'm beginning to get weary  of
constantly having to come up with new ways of saying  "Here  we  have
yet another black metal album which offers nothing especially new  or
different -- but which still manages to be pretty gosh darn enjoyable
when you're in the mood, as I often am, to savor the  musical  output
of scowling young minstrels decked out in face paint and  brandishing
swords." Believe it or not, here we have two more releases which  fit
quite nicely into that ever-more-crowded category. Norway's Gorgoroth
have always produced cool music, and their latest  is  no  exception:
stripped-down, totally unpretentious black metal with a killer garage
vibe,  enhanced  by  a  loud,  no-nonsense  production   that   keeps
everything sounding brash and abrasive, as this style most  certainly
should. Truth be told, I don't think this release quite matches up to
the musical excellence of _Antichrist_ or the "We Are Totally Insane"
vibes of  their  great  debut,  _Pentagram_.  Still,  it's  got  that
unmistakable  Gorgoroth  feel,  with  the  band's  most  in-your-face
production yet, and it's hard to go wrong  with  a  combination  like
that. Over on the more atmospheric end of  the  spectrum,  you  might
also want to keep an eye peeled for Osculum Infame, who have put  out
what may end up being my favorite black metal release of  1997.  This
is not rude, crusty basement blasting in the Gorgoroth style; rather,
it's "epic", long-winded black metal with varied pacing,  outstanding
keyboard work, lots of emotion and atmosphere,  and  a  very  somber,
wintry feel. Pardon me if I refrain from trying to whip up a blizzard
of additional descriptors; suffice it to say that the band's sound is
fairly standard, all in all, while their skill in songwriting exceeds
that of most of their "true unholy" peers. Rumor has it that the band
has tried to keep this release way underground by refusing to let the
bigger distributors stock it. In any case, I'd say this is definitely
worth tracking down if you're in search  of  some  authentic,  moody,
fairly traditional black metal composed and performed with real
skill.


Katatonia - _Sounds of Decay_ (Century Media, October 1997)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (10 out of 10)

Very few albums had such an immediately powerful effect  upon  me  as
the first full-length from Katatonia, the immortal _Dance of December
Souls_. And extremely few bands manage  to  vividly  portray  extreme
sorrow through their music as well as Katatonia. _Dance  of  December
Souls_ is indeed a piece of superb musical and emotional quality that
was engraved in the minds of those who listened  and  understood  it,
and whose view of music was never to be the  same  again  thereafter.
_For Funerals to Come..._, an EP  with  a  meaning  of  its  own  (as
opposed to today's numerous hollow,  money-making  EPs),  and  _Brave
Murder Day_, which featured the  presence  of  Opeth's  extraordinary
vocalist  Mikael  Akerfeldt  for  the  first  time  in  addition   to
outstanding artwork,  continued  Katatonia's  history  of  expectable
quality. Now arrives the _Sounds of Decay_  EP,  which  features  the
same line-up from _BMD_ as Akerfeldt still does guest vocals (for the
last time, unfortunately, as it seems). Three new  songs,  all  above
the six minute mark and similar  in  style  to  _Brave  Murder  Day_.
Whether they're even better or not, I can't tell, but they're  indeed
excellent. One difference that stands out right away is that the drum
sound is better than on _BMD_. As ever before,  Katatonia  have  kept
the quality level extremely high throughout the EP, which  proves  to
be no disappointment for any Katatonia fan. Enthralling.


Limbonic Art - _In Abhorrence Dimentia_  (Nocturnal Art, 1997)
by: Drew Schinzel  (9 out of 10)

Finally, another high quality black  metal  album.  Following  up  on
their stellar 1996 debut _Moon in the Scorpio_, Limbonic  Art  strike
again  with  another  fantastic   hour-long   opus   of   monumental,
atmospheric, at times majestic black metal. Picking up  where  _MitS_
left off, Norwegian tandem Daemon and Morfeus once again pour on  the
imposing keyboard  melodies,  this  time  more  varied  in  approach,
arrangement, and  sound,  showing  a  definite  progression.  Whether
striking a dissonant,  20th  century  sounding  chord,  showcasing  a
little synth-flute embellishment, or utilizing a cosmic,  spaced  out
timbre, Limbonic Art undoubtedly know how to manipulate the  keys  to
their (and the listener's) liking. Something that  was  missing  from
the previous album, a strong  guitar  presence,  has  at  least  been
partly added to the mix on _IAD_, as the guitars,  while  rarely  the
backbone of the pieces, do play an  enlarged  role  over  last  time.
Probably  the  biggest  improvement  over  _MitS_,  however,  is  the
increase in musical themes, and subsequent  decrease  in  repetition;
whereas the songs on _MitS_ were, despite their  epic  playing  time,
relatively easy to follow mainly stemming from their sheer repetitive
(dis)qualities, the song arrangements and progression from  beginning
to end seem more complex and diverse. Basically,  Limbonic  Art  have
condensed  the  material  and  songs  into  less  drawn-out,   better
developed works, essentially allowing themselves to write more  music
in the same amount of  time.  Once  again  present  are  some  pretty
obviously synthetic drums,  but  rather  than  let  that  hurt  them,
Limbonic Art take it to  their  advantage,  creating  some  insanely,
constantly fast drum lines I doubt many humans could play. Plus,  the
addition  of  some  short,  industrial-inspired  drum  patterns  only
enhance the album's depth. Not the best black metal  album  of  1997,
that honor is bestowed upon Obtained Enslavement's _Witchcraft_,  but
easily within the top five.


Manowar - _Hell On Wheels Live_  (Universal, December 1997)
by: Adrian Bromley  (8 out of 10)

Many metal fans call Manowar  cheesy,  but,  then  again,  those  are
non-fans of the band. Fans who worship this band are the  real  metal
heads. They, like Manowar, believe in sticking to your guns, avoiding
trends and cranking the music loud. Fuck the mainstream and  do  what
you wanna do. Striving forth with pure metal intensity for almost two
decades and proudly waving the 'metal' flag, Manowar finally delivers
their first ever live recording. The live record  (two  Cds)  follows
the band on their Hell On Wheels world tour (1996-1997), with all the
material here recorded from their many tour dates in Europe. What? No
good North American /  South  American  dates  to  find  way  on  the
double-LP? So... how does the loud Manowar sound  on  record?  Pretty
good, I must say, and there really are some captivating moments here.
Real power and a real 'metal' attitude storms out of every song. Sure
singer Eric Adams' voice cracks a few times, and the music  seems  to
flutter in and out at times, but what do you expect? This  album  was
recorded from the board with problems intact. No touchups or cleaning
up the sound in the studio. This is just Manowar live, as  you  would
experience it. Hell, even the band  in  the  linear  notes  say  they
wanted the double-LP to have the listeners feel like they were at the
concert. Mission accomplished. A good helping of material from all of
the quartet's albums from over the years,  which  my  personal  faves
being live renditions of  "Return  of  the  Warlord",  "Manowar"  and
"Blood Of My Enemies". Metal -- live and  in-yer-face.  Enjoy,  metal
heads.


Morbid Angel - _Formulas Fatal To The Flesh_  (Earache, January 1998)
by: Adam Wasylyk  (10 out of 10)

The first month of 1997 saw the release of my favorite album of  that
year, My Dying Bride's _Like Gods of the Sun_. It  now  appears  that
the first month of 1998 may have a similar result, for Morbid Angel's
_Formulas Fatal to the Flesh_ is devastatingly harsh and  heavy  with
brutality  unparalleled  to  any  of  the   band's   past   material.
Apparently, ex-vocalist/bassist David Vincent's departure (to play in
his wife's band The Genitorturers) has in absolutely no way  affected
Morbid Angel; actually, the band have  improved  since  the  somewhat
stale _Domination_ (which suffered from over-production). The opening
30 seconds will leave the  listener  in  awe  of  Azagthoth's  guitar
attack, new vocalist Steve Tucker's raging growls, and Pete's blazing
drumming, which haven't seen this speed since his days in Terrorizer.
With Vincent gone, Azagthoth has now become  the  main  composer  and
focal point of Morbid Angel, and he has in turn changed the focus  of
the band: now,  the  band  sings  in  praise  of  the  Ancient  Gods.
Azagthoth has  said  he  didn't  care  for  Vincent's  lyrical  style
(particularly on _Domination_), so the guitarist has  dedicated  both
the music and lyrics to the Ancient Beings, which  he  has  partially
built his lifestyle around. You can't help but hear  the  _Altars  of
Madness_ influence in the music as there's almost a back to the roots
feel to it. Of the 14 songs (five of which are instrumentals), tracks
like "Heaving Earth", "Nothing is Not", "Hellspawn: the  Birth",  and
"Covenant of Death" will leave those convinced that Morbid  Angel  is
still one of the best death metal bands in the metal world today, and
_Formulas Fatal to the Flesh_ should most certainly  be  a  contender
for best record of 1998.


Napalm Death - _Breed To Breathe_  (Earache Records, January 1998)
by: Adrian Bromley  (8 out of 10)

The band's last effort, _Inside the Torn  Apart_,  where  the  single
"Breed To Breathe" is from, was one of my  favorite  records  of  the
year. The band was back with singer/growler Mark 'Barney' Greenway at
the helm once again (after a brief stint in Extreme Noise Terror) and
ND was back in action. The band's sound was strong, full of  ferocity
and moving towards a rather controlled state of experimentation,  but
still having a hearty and heavy death metal sound. But  changes  were
happening and ND was losing much of its grind characteristics in  the
process. But, regardless of changes, the music on _ItTA_ was good and
it looked as if the band, who many thought were losing momentum,  had
gained it back. I'm happy to say that this EP (which also includes  a
CD-ROM  portion  that  has  the  banned  video  "Breed  To  Breathe")
showcases ND's forward momentum as we head  into  1998.  Besides  the
CD-ROM and single "Breed To Breathe", this EP also has  new  material
-- "All Intense Purposes", "Stranger Now", "Bled Dry" and "Time  Will
Come" -- as well as the the cover version of  "Greed  Killing"  (from
1996's _Diatribes_) covered by demo  cover  version  contest  winners
Impending Doom, from Pennsylvania. The new material sounds good, full
of chunky riffs and powerful growls that echo rage and  anguish.  The
music here, much like on the  last  effort,  continues  to  show  the
metamorphosis that ND are going through  as  a  band.  And,  from  my
observations, this band has regained interest in their music and  the
notion of sticking around for a few more LPs. I hope  they  don't  go
away any time soon 'cause this shit rules.


Ouija - _Riding Into the Funeral Paths_ (Repulse, 1997)
by: Brian Meloon (8 out of 10)

This is a good debut album of well-played black  metal.  Their  style
sounds similar to Dawn: a death metal band playing black  metal.  The
music is precise, solid, and never too fast. In addition, the guitars
and drums are usually strongly coupled and give  the  music  a  dense
sound. This is a very good album, but it's not really exceptional  in
any  regard.  There  aren't  any  songs  which  stand  out  as  being
especially good or bad; they  are  of  uniformly  high  quality.  The
singing is standard black metal rasping. The drums, guitars, and bass
are all very solid. The production  is  fine.  The  song  writing  is
varied; the songs don't get boring, and yet they all have  a  similar
sound to them. This is definitely recommended for fans of well-played
black metal.


Razor - _Decibels_  (Hypnotic Records, December 1997)
by: Alain M. Gaudrault  (8.5 out of 10)

First off, I have to come clean and confess that I've been a huge fan
of this band for the last dozen years or so  (the  massive  interview
appearing in this issue cementing that),  which  makes  an  objective
review rather difficult, but I've made a conscious effort  to  listen
to the disc both as a fan and as a reviewer. What it boils down to is
this: I listen to this album *a lot*, because it's got  some  of  the
absolute coolest riffs around. Dave Carlo  is  easily  in  my  top  5
riffmeisters of all time, right  up  there  with  Tony  Iommi,  Chuck
Schuldiner, Michael Bruce (original Alice Cooper  band;  yeah,  yeah,
yeah) and James Hetfield. But there are a few elements (and songs) on
this album that don't sit well with me, tainting the  experience,  if
you will. The pace of the album is somewhat  slower  overall,  though
without much dampening of the impact delivered. Carlo indicates  that
he was really impressed with the job Bob Reid did  with  the  vocals,
and after having heard the record, I can see what  he  means:  Reid's
vocal work is cool and varied, but those damned high-pitched chanting
backup vocals that pop up in certain songs  kinda  bug  me,  but  not
enough to put me off the record (okay, it cost  them  a  half  mark).
Reid also wrote all of the lyrics,  and  here's  more  love/hate.  In
songs like "The Game" (Reid's love of hockey seeping  in)  and  "Jimi
the Fly", a picture is effectively painted not  only  by  well-chosen
words, but the delivery so suited to the music, truly coming together
as one. The brilliance often exhibited is  sorely  lacking  in  other
tunes, such as "Life Sentence", awkward in its  lyrics,  melody,  and
music,  and  simply  lame  topics   such   as   "Great   White   Lie"
(cocaine-is-evil blather) and the mildly pretentious "Violence... Gun
Control", a song from the band that  brought  us  _Shotgun  Justice_!
Razor also manages to deliver tracks of pure, unadultered  intensity,
songs written with the sole purpose of  pumping  as  much  adrenaline
into your system as possible; "Open Hostility" (not  to  be  confused
with the album of the same name) and the title track do  the  job  --
with  overtime.  Where  the  riffs  are  concerned,  Dave  does   not
disappoint, and has surpassed himself  by  light  years.  The  record
challenges the ear at times, making heavy use of complex  chords  and
harmonic picking, a welcome trend forming in the last  few  releases.
Unfortunately, the bass is often inaudible (which is nothing new  for
Razor albums, though) and the drums are mostly unidimensional, though
very tight and perhaps purposely simplistic in nature  to  accentuate
the galloping pace. The last ten years have seen four original studio
releases, each phenomenal, each improving on the last.  And  in  many
ways, _Decibels_ is a superior album to 1991's _Open Hostility_,  but
it most definitely lacks in the anger (not to be confused with angst)
level, which was to me an  integral  part  of  all  of  my  favourite
recordings of theirs. That real  genuine  pissed-off-and-want-revenge
attitude that  oozed  through  past  songs  is  fading,  which  Carlo
acknowledges due to the motives  behind  the  album's  recording  (do
yourself a favour and read the interview), so  the  experience  isn't
quite the same anymore. Longtime fans will be interested to know that
the CD is currently being pressed with a bonus  (unmarked)  track,  a
remake of "Instant  Death"  off  1985's  _Evil  Invaders_.  I  highly
encourage fans of well-crafted speed metal, interested in an  updated
sound, to pick up this album. While many new bands are looking to the
eighties for inspiration, Razor is taking their eighties  crunch  and
dragging it kicking and screaming into the current metal scene. After
programming two tracks out, this album absolutely rules.


Riot - _Inishmore_  (Metal Blade, 1998)
by: Drew Schinzel  (7 out of 10)

Apparently, New York metal quintet Riot has been around, albeit  with
some lineup changes, since 1976, but I'll  be  damned  if  I've  ever
heard of them. Nevertheless, _Inishmore_ was welcomed with kind  ears
and an open mind as I hoped for the best but expected the worst. That
said, the album is neither spectacular nor abysmal, rather it  exists
as a pretty straight-forward  heavy  metal  release  with  plenty  of
influence from the realms of power metal and Irish  melody,  probably
owing much to their development throughout the '80s,  as  well  as  a
strong dose of Irish background.  Commencing  with  a  fantastic  two
minute intro, _Inishmore_ goes through eleven tracks of classic metal
with few real surprises; nothing here will make you drop your jaw  in
awe (that's best left to the likes of HammerFall), but  none  of  the
material is outright bad, either. Well, maybe one thing: the  vocals,
while definitely not unlistenable, remind me very  much  of  a  heavy
metal version of Richard Marx. For some that may be a plus,  since  I
can't judge your personal vocal preference,  but  for  this  listener
it's certainly a detractor. Riot's _Inishmore_ is destined to be just
another average metal album, plain and simple.


Rotting Head - _Backwardness_  (Shock Wave Records, December 1997)
by: Adrian Bromley  (7 out of 10)

Sick and ruthless grind core in the vein of mid-career Napalm  Death.
The quality of this material is good, considering that this band  has
only really  released  one  demo  before  setting  out  to  record  a
full-length LP. Tuned-down  guitars  and  heavy  drums  lace  Rotting
Head's  12-song  effort  with  some  real  jabs  of  adrenaline.  The
combination of intense blast beats and grind  core  rhythms  seem  to
escalate the groove of the band to a point where  you  are  beckoning
for the onslaught to stop. I really dig this, but  there  are  a  few
setbacks. While they have the intensity down pat, their  music  seems
to radiate a simplistic quality. It's memorable to some  degree,  but
nothing  sticks  out  or  shows  diversity.   Good   production   and
deliverance can be found on _Backwardness_, but the music seems to be
sitting in stagnant waters. Adding more  of  a  varied  guitar  sound
might just help this band go from 'standard' grind core / death metal
to a contender in the fast-paced, eat 'em up world of metal music.  A
band to look out for.


Setherial - _Lords of the Nightrealm_  (Napalm, December 1997)
by: Steve Hoeltzel  (8.5 out of 10)

Formerly,  this  gaggle  of  corpse-painted  prodigies   were   proud
purveyors of ambitious, atmospheric, outdoorsy  black  metal  in  the
style of Emperor: just check out _Nord_, the band's  truly  excellent
debut. Now, after some lineup changes, Setherial offer up 47  minutes
of  no-nonsense,  harrowing  black  aggression  ala  Marduk  or  Dark
Funeral. Discerning metallians may well infer  from  this  comparison
that _Lords_ is not exactly teeming with musical variety -- and  it's
not, in addition to being barren of any real originality.  Still,  it
contains  plenty  of  simple-but-effective  riffs   and   oodles   of
overdriven speed, along with just enough variation and flow  to  make
this, in my opinion, the strongest  album  yet  to  emerge  from  the
Marduk-Abyss-DF-Immortal school of straight-out  hyper-blast.  Unlike
Marduk, this record doesn't degenerate into musical tedium  once  the
novelty of its incredible  intensity  wears  off,  and,  unlike  Dark
Funeral, Setherial isn't lame. Rather than  blast-beating  themselves
into a repetitive rut, these  guys  blend  ferocity  with  structural
fluidity, and they do it with the help of some  great  riffs:  stark,
pained,  sometimes  haunting,  eerily  draped  over  incessant   drum
detonation and strident  flame-thrower  vox.  Needless  to  say,  the
drumming is incredible; good production, too. All in all, this is too
formulaic to really knock my socks off, but as the  saying  goes,  it
most certainly does "kick ass" -- the offending boot, in  this  case,
being of the flamingrimspeedexplosionmetal variety currently  sported
by many a sword-wielding Swede.


Skepticism - _ethere_  (Red Stream, 1997)
by: Drew Schinzel  (8 out of 10)

Purveyors of funereal, minimalist doom, Skepticism's  _ethere_  is  a
three song MCD prelude  to  their  upcoming  full-length,  _Load  and
Aethere_. Twenty-seven minutes of purely primitive  doom  metal,  _e_
evidences Skepticism's  proclivity  towards  epic-length,  drawn-out,
scarce song arrangements, consisting for the  most  part  of  simple,
repetitive, almost trance-like drums, long, widely  spread,  rumbling
keyboard notes, and below guttural, nearly unintelligible vocal work.
Of course, _ethere_ is not really  the  sort  of  disc  that  can  be
listened to and enjoyed by all, it's the kind  of  thing  you  either
love or  hate;  listeners  who  aren't  careful  may  dismiss  it  as
unstructured, unskilled noise, whereas those who know what to  listen
for will be pleasantly surprised at  the  amount  of  depth  present.
_Ethere_ is undoubtedly a high quality release, all  it  requires  of
you is a pair of cognizant ears to recognize the fact.


Sorhin - _I Det Glimrande Morkrets Djup_  (Near Dark Prod., 1997)
by: Alvin Wee  (9 out of 10)

Having thoroughly enjoyed Sorhin's earlier material, it  was  without
hesitation that I picked up a copy of their latest offering.  I  have
to admit to feeling a little disappointed when the first  strains  of
"Godhetens Fall" first  assaulted  my  eardrums.  Gone  was  the  raw
evilness that pervaded the promo tape (I missed the MCD),  which  was
replaced instead by well-produced and polished music. Don't  jump  to
conclusions here; I was brought humbly to my senses soon  enough  and
realized that this is  one  slab  of  top-quality  darkness.  Bearing
unmistakable marks of Swedish technicality and melody,  Sorhin  fuses
ultramodern black metal aggression  with  occasional  sprinklings  of
folk-tinged  hooks.  While  the  music,  for  the  most  part,  lacks
innovation, they  amply  make  up  for  it  by  interpolating  highly
engaging twists into each track -- just as you're about to fall  into
an abyss of reverie, that snappy  tempo-change  or  razor-sharp  hook
just sinks its claws into you.  Obsessed  with  death,  darkness  and
depression, Sorhin belt out chunk after chunk of immensely  enjoyable
guitar-based black metal which makes for a highly  recommended  piece
of structured mayhem. For me,  Sorhin  will  always  be  one  of  the
leading Swedish acts, and by no means  should  fans  of  the  Swedish
style miss this.


Zaraza - _Slavic Blashemy_  (Cacophonous, 1997)
by: Adrian Bromley  (7 out of 10)

A powerful display of  molding  together  experimental  metal,  death
metal and noise. And it works. In a fist of fury, Zaraza lash out  at
the listener a truly dynamic outlook on heavy, aggressive music  with
a  touch  of  ingenuity  and  electronic  mayhem.  I  was  thoroughly
impressed with the way the band weaves  technology  into  their  pure
aggressive nature of heavy rhythms  and  pounding  beats.  What  also
seems to help make things a bit more diverse and interesting  is  the
inclusion of sinister  death  growls,  that  not  only  heighten  the
creativity of what they are doing but also  seems  to  place  a  real
unsafe experience into their music. It's creepy and that makes it all
the  more  enjoyable.  Other  outfits  on  this  label   (Phycus   in
particular) have been known to throw a  bit  of  eerieness/creepiness
into what they do musically and it seems to have  carried  over  into
this project as well. For those wanting to experience something a bit
different, but still containing familiar sounds/styles of  the  metal
genre, then give this a go. A good band from a  label  that  shows  a
promising future in band development.

Contact: Musicus Phycus, P.O. Box 55083, 240 Sparks Street
         Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA, K1P-1A1
         mailto:phycus@cyberus.ca

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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


Airged Lamh - _A Vertigo Edda Arised_  (7-track demo)
by: Alvin Wee  (****-)

Formed in 1987 and having written music and played live  together  in
Greece for the  past  10  years,  Airged  Lamh  could  be  considered
veterans. Playing a mix of  power,  epic  and  folk  metal,  AL  have
emerged  with  their  first(!)  demo.  Boasting  30  minutes  and  an
unbelievably well-printed booklet, it's  hard  to  see  AL  remaining
independent for much  longer.  With  influences  ranging  from  Blind
Guardian and Iced Earth to viking-era Bathory as well  as  pure  folk
("Wedding Song"), every song is a  piece  of  engaging  power  metal.
While rip-offs  are  inevitable  (Iced  Earth  riff  in  "The  Vision
Revealed" and Bathory styling in "Ragnarok"),  no  one's  complaining
when it's done so well. The only gripe I have is with  the  vocalist.
Despite valient efforts, John Georgopoulos just can't  pull  off  the
higher and more powerful parts, and  debts  to  Hansi  Kursch  (Blind
Guardian) and Quorthorn are too obvious. Still, you can't  fault  the
man  for  trying,  and  with  a  little  improvement,  his   somewhat
ineffective pronunciation could be overlooked. If you like your metal
the way BG or Gamma Ray serve it, then this one should be your mug of
ale. The production alone is worth the $7.

Contact: Mickael Perantinos, Karneadoy 39, Ilioypoli 163 41
         Athens, GREECE


Below - _Below_  (4-track demo)
by: Brian Meloon  (***--)

Below is a one man project from Pennsylvania, playing complex thrash.
The first song isn't very impressive, but from there, the demo  picks
up considerably. The music is usually fast and heavy, but there are a
few slow, clean sections which are usually  pretty  good.  The  riffs
range from generic to  intricate,  but  all  have  a  somewhat  dated
late-80's feel to them. The songs feature  a  hodge-podge  of  riffs,
strung together in  unpredictable  ways,  which  gives  the  album  a
disjointed feel in places.  The  drum  programming  is  pretty  good,
usually following the guitar lines, but the playing isn't as tight as
it could be. There are a number of places where the guitar  and  bass
and/or drums aren't in perfect syncopation (and other screwups,  like
the ringing  strings  in  "Mistere"),  and  these  give  the  demo  a
generally sloppy feeling. Given the level of  technicality,  this  is
understandable at times, but he seems to have troubles with  some  of
the simpler riffs as well. Of course, given a limited budget,  I  can
understand if he was rushed in the studio.  The  vocals  are  talked,
slightly distorted, and are very  low  in  the  mix.  This  is  quite
distracting, since you can't really ignore them, but you can't really
pay attention to them either. The  production  is  average:  somewhat
murky, but everything is audible. This is a  promising  demo,  and  I
look for good things from Below in the future.

Contact: BELOW, 739 Grant St.,  Reynoldsville, PA 15851, USA
         mailto:evandia@penn.com (Ashley Cook)
         WWW: http://users.penn.com/~evandia/


Imperium - _<untitled>_  (4-track demo)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (*****)

Composed of guitarist Tommy Lindal (formerly in Theatre of  Tragedy),
vocalist/bassist Dag (formerly in Dismal  Euphony),  guitarist  Frode
Clausen (Dismal Euphony) and drummer Trym (well known for his work in
Emperor and Enslaved), Imperium may be one of the next high cards  to
be played by German  label  Nuclear  Blast  (see  my  interview  with
Imperium in this issue's Independent Interrogations). This demo  tape
has been in the cold since the Winter of 1995 and  has  finally  been
released near the end of 1997. Still, according  to  guitarist  Tommy
Lindal, this is a good example of what Imperium is about: and I  like
it! This is quality black metal with few  embellishments  and  played
fast and viciously most of the  time.  "Eternal  Pain",  the  opening
track, is my favorite. It shows just how  well  Imperium  managed  to
blend great high-speed riffs and Trym's superb  drumming,  which  are
completed by  Dag's  bass  and  vocals.  Very  fast,  yet  frequently
changing, and full of highlights, this is a  track  that  shows  that
Imperium are by no means your ordinary demo-stage band. "Awaiting the
Decay"  manages  to  keep  up  the  quality,   and   then   the   few
embellishments I mentioned show up in the second half  of  the  demo.
Still, guest keyboardist Lorentz Aspen (from Theatre of Tragedy), has
little, yet worthy, work. The  doomier  "Trollmannens  Vrede"  has  a
couple of keyboard passages, and only "The Ravens"  actually  depends
on a very effective keyboard melody towards the  end.  This  untitled
demo is a damn fine piece of black metal from start to  finish.  I'll
be waiting for their debut CD.

Contact: Tommy Lindal, Statfjordtunet 15, 4028 Stavanger, NORWAY
         mailto:tlindal@online.no


Necrosis - _Disconnected 1997_  (3-track demo)
by: Adrian Bromley  (***--)

This European act believes highly in  bringing  out  many  styles  in
their music. In just the three tracks found on this  demo,  the  band
has  managed  to  showcase  hardcore  (Earth  Crisis),  speed   metal
(Slayer), and death metal (Dismember)  tendencies  without  taking  a
breather. I'm impressed. Even a small bit of doom  metal  styles  are
evident as the band cruises  through  some  solid  song  writing  and
elaborate  song  structures.  While  my   favorite   track   is   the
hardcore-edged "Disconnected", the root of the band's  strength  lies
within the last two tracks  ("Cosmic  Sicko"  and  "Spiders  Like  To
Hide") as they both show where the band may be headed. I reckon  that
with some really good studio time, this young band will  be  able  to
show the metal masses that they have what it takes to get  far.  They
play good material that can only get  better  with  the  right  care.
Necrosis  avoids  following  trends  and  plays  diverse  music  with
integrity.

Contact: Jacob Brendahl, Banegardsgaed 1, 1.nr. 11
         8000 Aarhus C, DENMARK


Pandemia - _Dance In Vicious Circle_  (6-track demo)
by: Paul Schwarz  (***--)

Pandemia have produced quite a  decent  demo.  The  music  is  mostly
unpretentious death metal with a pretty standard "brooding" intro  --
however, Pandemia close the demo with  an  interesting  song,  mixing
acoustic guitar with death metal drums. With production there are two
things which can go wrong with brutal death metal demos:  it  is  too
muddy and almost indistinguishable (not Pandemia's  problem)  or  the
instruments have not been meshed  together  enough  and  the  overall
sound is weak (Pandemia's problem). Pandemia have taken a  good  shot
at producing good brutal  death  metal,  but  on  _Dance  In  Vicious
Circle_ they have missed the mark. With time and  practice,  some  of
Pandemia's interesting twinges (the use of acoustics and decipherable
basslines, for example) could give them the edge they need to make  a
name for themselves, but until then they will remain where they are.

Contact: Jaroslav Friedrich, Palackeho 5, 350 02 Cheb, CZECH REPUBLIC

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     \ \ \/_/_  / __`\ /' _ `\  /'___\ /'__`\/\`'__\ \ \/  /',__\
      \ \ \L\ \/\ \L\ \/\ \/\ \/\ \__//\  __/\ \ \/ \ \ \_/\__, `\
       \ \____/\ \____/\ \_\ \_\ \____\ \____\\ \_\  \ \__\/\____/
        \/___/  \/___/  \/_/\/_/\/____/\/____/ \/_/   \/__/\/___/



            S O U N D S   F R O M   T H E   E M B A S S Y
            ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  Brutal Truth at The Embassy in London, Ontario, December 15, 1997
                    with Blood of Christ and Dirge
                        by: Alain M. Gaudrault

Seems like this will be my last show of the year, and while  not  the
most memorable, it certainly had its own personality.  I  walked  in,
well expecting to have missed  the  two  opening  acts,  having  been
delayed by work and weather, and to my  horror,  I  could  hear  live
music being played. Luckily,  my  fears  of  having  missed  BT  were
allayed upon finding out that the show  had  recently  started,  with
Dirge currently on stage. I have to admit that  I  was  still  little
phased out  after  the  hour-long  drive,  racing  against  time  (in
retrospect, needlessly) in treacherous conditions  with  most  of  my
thoughts on other matters  of  varying  degrees  of  importance,  and
didn't give the band the attention they deserved. I  was  not  turned
off by what seemed to me at the time to be a death rock variant,  but
my perceptions were admittedly skewed. They  claimed  they  would  be
opening for Entombed in Toronto around January or February,  so  I'll
make an effort to listen more closely next time. By the time Blood of
Christ came on, I'd relaxed and was most anxious to see this set,  as
it would be the first time I'd seen them live since having started to
truly  appreciate  their  first  full-length  CD,  _...  a  dream  to
remember_. They did not fail to  disappoint,  and  the  inclusion  of
their new second guitar was an added  bonus.  Their  renditions  were
quite faithful to their spectacular recorded  material  of  blackened
death which successfully avoids a Scandinavian sound and  etches  out
virgin territory (okay, maybe  a  few  off-road  vehicles  have  come
tearing through on occasion). They  played  a  few  new  songs  which
sounded every bit as impressive, although there are unfortunately  no
immediate plans to lay any of it down I am  told  by  guitarist  Jeff
Longo. Danny Lilker, everyone's favourite hemp-head,  could  be  seen
checking out the show, his reaction quite positive to BoC. Lilker and
I get to talking, and before you know it, the sacred  herb  is  being
burned in the band's hotel room. They indicate that touring is  going
well, the new  album,  _Sounds  of  the  Animal  Kingdom_,  is  being
well-received, and overall, they're having loads of fun.  Lilker  and
drummer Rich Hoak are truly pot fiends, taking a last  few  draws  in
the club itself just before hitting the stage to a modest crowd.  The
set list favoured the latest album, but BT's catalogue isn't huge, so
a lot of favourites were heard,  although  with  fewer  off  _Extreme
Conditions Demand Extreme Responses_. They  certainly  didn't  chintz
out in terms of content, but oddly  enough,  I  lost  track  of  time
(which is a good sign, I suppose) so  have  no  idea  just  how  long
they'd been on. Mind you, there were visibly fewer  people  when  the
set was over, but the Monday evening show could be a definite  cause.
Sound could have been far better, and  for  what  BT  are  doing,  my
opinion is that for it to come through faithfully, you really need  a
crisp, tight mix. BT certainly don't disappoint, so fans and  curious
alike, make an effort to see these guys play.

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 W E   M U S T   D O M I N A T E ,   W E   W I L L   D O M I N A T E
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                Dark Tranquility, Enslaved, Bewitched,
      Swordmaster, Demoniac and Dellamorte (Osmose tour package)
                       At the London Astoria 2
                  London, England, December 4, 1997
                           by: Paul Schwarz

     A six band bill for only 7.50 pounds -- now that is pretty  damn
fine value for your money. Of course if all six are bad it  isn't  so
good, but in tonight's case that was not the case. First band on were
Dellamorte, apparently a mixture of the sound of old and new Entombed
material. However, I missed their whole set, as I arrived later  than
expected, so who knows? I came in just  as  Demoniac  were  beginning
their set. The sound was of average quality, the  usual  sort  during
support acts' sets, and the band didn't look raring to go. From  what
I have  heard,  and  what  I  heard  this  evening,  Demoniac  are  a
retro-thrash band trying to relive  the  glory  days  of  the  1980s.
Visually, the drummer and bassist provided some  enthusiasm  and  the
guitarist was obviously drunk and generated  some  amusement  through
leaping around the stage before lying  on  his  back  on  the  ground
gratuitously soloing. The singer, however, was abysmal. His style was
an average raspy scream and his stage presence  was  non-existent  he
stood with the mike held in front of  his  face  without  moving  and
nervously stepped back and forth about 3 inches. Demoniac  failed  to
impress me on any level and I doubt there would be any derision  from
the rest of the LA2 on this fact. Swordmaster  are  not  best  placed
going on after Demoniac, a band whose interest in the 80s they share,
but they provided a far better visual  and  musical  experiance  than
Demoniac. Swordmster had no qualms about  moving  around  the  stage,
showing their aggression and posing in classic  80s  mannerisms.  The
music was similarly thrashy and low end chord driven  but  marginally
better and Swordmaster made it  seem  less  dreary  by  putting  some
spirit into it. Bewitched now became the -third- retro, 80s  band  to
appear on stage this evening, and you'd think  this  would  naturally
give them the least impact; well, you'd  think  that,  wouldn't  you?
Bewitched upped the stakes, and assured me that my money would not be
wasted even if the last two bands had to cancel. The  sound  was  not
hugely improved for their set, but the energy and  songs  were  there
and by the middle of their set there was  a  good  mosh  and  a  good
number of tapping feet. I have heard  good  things  about  their  new
_Pentagram Prayer_ album  and,  judging  by  their  performance  this
evening, these reports were not exaggerated. Bewitched show what good
can be done with retroism, but these three similar bands do  make  me
wonder whether Osmose should have signed quite so many bands in  this
vein and whether they should have put three of them in succession  on
one bill.
     After so much  retroism  this  evening,  Enslaved's  viking-like
apearance on stage was refreshing  and  also  very  daring.  Enslaved
looked out of context, like rejects from an  Errol  Flynn  film,  but
that was just the point; they didn't care. Enslaved play, look and do
just as they want and they deserve respect for it.  Their  music  was
similarly idiosyncratic. Although not controverting the  black  metal
norm, Enslaved do two very important things with it: play  and  write
it very well and break the rules every now and again. A band to watch
and whose most recent album _Eld_ sounds like a very worthy purchase,
if this performance is anything to go by. So, here we are and  it  is
time for Dark Tranquility to take the stage now. Other bands of their
ilk having taken the stage this evening, Dark Tranquility don't  even
have to try that hard to draw the crowd into their excellent blend of
melody and death metal. Material from most recent album  _The  Mind's
I_  was  extensively  covered  (including  "Zodijackyl   Light"   and
"Constant", among others), with material from _The Gallery_ making up
most of the rest of the set along with "Of Chaos and  Eternal  Night"
and a storming Kreator cover for an encore. So,  although  the  first
three bands were somewhat disappointing (or unheard in  the  case  of
Dellamorte), the last three all made the 7.50  pounds  I  spent  well
worth it. If the World Domination tour is  heading  your  way,  don't
miss out.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

            W H A T   W E   H A V E   C R A N K E D ! ! !
            ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gino's Top 5

1. Entombed - _Clandestine_
2. Entombed - _Left Hand Path_
3. Brutal Truth - _Extreme Conditions Demand Extreme Responses_
4. Life of Agony - _River Runs Red_
5. Soma - _The Inner Cinema_

Adrian's Top 5

1. Deftones -_Around The Fur_
2. Entombed - _To Ride, Shoot Straight And Speak The Truth!_
3. V/A - _The Absolute Supper_ (Cold Meat Industry 2-CD compilation)
4. In Flames - _Whoracle_
5. Defecation - _Purity Dilution_

Brian's Top 5

1. Old Man's Child - _The Pagan Prosperity_
2. Ouija - _Riding into the Funeral Paths_
3. Disinterment - _Endless_
4. George Bellas - _Turn of the Millenium_
5. Johansson, Johansson, and Holdsworth - _Heavy Machinery_

Alain's Top 5

1. Razor - _Decibels_
2. Pitchshifter - _Infotainment?_
3. Necrotic Mutation - _The Realm of Human Illusions_
4. Entombed - _To Ride, Shoot Straight and Speak the Truth_
5. Pist*On - _Number One_

Steve's Top 5

1. Sex Pistols - _Some Product / Carri On_
2. Controlled Bleeding - _The Poisoner_
3. Osculum Infame - _Dor-Nu-Fauglith_
4. His Hero Is Gone - _Monuments to Thieves_
5. Autechre - _Envane_

Adam's Top 5

1. My Dying Bride - _Like Gods of the Sun_
2. Spazz - _Sweatin' to the Oldies_
3. Immortal - _Pure Holocaust_
4. Fiona Apple - _Tidal_
5. Excruciationg Terror - _Expression of Pain_

Drew's Top 5

1. Rush - _Permanent Waves_
2. Rush - _Grace Under Pressure_
3. Katatonia - _Sounds of Decay_
4. Absu - _The Sun of Tiphareth_
5. Rush - _2112_

Andrew's Top 5

1. Autechre - _Chiastic Slide_
2. Nurse With Wound - _Who Can I Turn To Stereo_
3. Old - _Lo Flux Tube_
4. Dissecting Table - _Dead Zone_
5. Morbid Angel - _Altars of Madness_

Pedro's Top 5

1. Katatonia - _Sounds of Decay_
2. Evereve - _Seasons_
3. Abigor - _Nachthymen (From the Twilight Kingdom)_
4. Arcturus - _Aspera Hiems Symfonia_
5. Bloodthorn - _In the Shadow of Your Black Wings_

Paul's Top 5

1. Manowar - _Kings of Metal_
2. Black Sabbath - _Vol.4_
3. Unnatural - _Throne of Anguish_
4. Depresion - _Depresion_
5. Cannibal Corpse - _Vile_

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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 <your_name_here>" in the SUBJECT of  your
message to <mailto:ginof@interlog.com>. Please note that this command
must NOT be sent to the list address <coc-ezine@lists.colorado.edu>.

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   <mailto:ginof@interlog.com>.   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
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End Chronicles of Chaos, Issue #28

All contents copyright 1998 by individual creators of included work.
All opinions expressed herein are those of the individuals expressing
them, and do not necessarily reflect the views of anyone else.

