_________ .__                        .__       .__                 
\_   ___ \|  |_________  ____   ____ |__| ____ |  |   ____   ______
/    \  \/|  |  \_  __ \/  _ \ /    \|  |/ ___\|  | _/ __ \ /  ___/
\     \___|   Y  \  | \(  <_> )   |  \  \  \___|  |_\  ___/ \___ \ 
 \______  /___|  /__|   \____/|___|  /__|\___  >____/\___  >____  >
      \/     \/                  \/        \/          \/     \/ 
	     _____  _________ .__                         
       _____/ ____\ \_   ___ \|  |__ _____    ____  ______
      /  _ \   __\  /    \  \/|  |  \\__  \  /  _ \/  ___/
     (  <_> )  |    \     \___|   Y  \/ __ \(  <_> )___ \ 
      \____/|__|     \______  /___|  (____  /\____/____  >
			    \/     \/     \/           \/ 


        CHRONICLES OF CHAOS e-Zine, July 3, 2002, Issue #58
                  http://www.ChroniclesOfChaos.com


Editor-in-Chief: Gino Filicetti
Coordinator: Adrian Bromley
Copy Editor / Contributor: Pedro Azevedo
Assistant Copy Editor / Contributor: Brian Meloon
Contributor: Adam Wasylyk
Contributor: Paul Schwarz
Contributor: Aaron McKay
Contributor: David Rocher
Contributor: Matthias Noll
Contributor: Alvin Wee
Contributor: Gabriel Sanchez
Contributor: Chris Flaaten
Contributor: Quentin Kalis
Contributor: Vincent Eldefors
Neophyte: Kirsty Buchanan
Spiritual Guidance: Alain M. Gaudrault

The   individual   writers   can   be   reached    by    e-mail    at
firstname@ChroniclesOfChaos.com ("firstname" must be replaced by  the
respective writer's  first  name,  e.g.  Gino@ChroniclesOfChaos.com).

NOTE: You may unsubscribe from Chronicles of Chaos  at  any  time  by
      sending a blank e-mail to <Unsubscribe@ChroniclesOfChaos.com>.

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

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

Issue #58 Contents, 7/3/02
--------------------------
* Loud Letters
* Deadly Dialogues
-- My Dying Bride: Thus Spake the Wretched
-- Cannibal Corpse: Obsessed With Their Music
-- Pro-Pain: The Shocking Shreds of Dignity
-- Ephel Duath: The Path of Self-Rephormulation
-- Kalmah: They're Back
-- Tapping the Vein: A Real High
-- Kaamos: Blinding Intensity
* Album Asylum
-- Abigail - _Welcome All Hell Fuckers_
-- Abominator - _Subversives for Lucifer_
-- Aeternus - _Ascension of Terror_
-- Aliengates - _Dark Days Quantum_
-- Axamenta - _Codex Barathri_
-- Belinus - _Battlechants_
-- Belphegor - _Necrodaemon Terrorsathan_
-- Berserk - _From the Celtiberian Woods_
-- Beseech - _Souls Highway_
-- Beto Vazquez Infinity - _Beto Vazquez Infinity_
-- Bewitched - _Rise of the Antichrist_
-- Black Mass - _To Fly With Demons_
-- Blood Duster - _Cunt_
-- Bludgeon - _Crucify the Priest_
-- Blut Aus Nord - _The Mystical Beast of Rebellion_
-- Boiler - _Cow Tipping in C Sharp_
-- Branded Skin - _Branded Skin_
-- Cain - _Antichrist Declaration_
-- Cannibal Corpse - _Gore Obsessed_
-- Catamenia - _Eskhata_
-- Construcdead - _Repent_
-- Corpus Mortale - _Succumb to the Superior_
-- Dagorlad - _The End of the Dark Ages_
-- Decapitated - _Nihility_
-- December Wolves - _Blasterpiece Theatre_
-- Dimension - _Universal_
-- Dimension Zero - _Silent Night Fever_
-- Disbelief - _Shine_
-- Enid - _Seelenspiegel_
-- Gomorrah - _Night of the Blackened Pentagram_
-- Gortician - _Metal Up Your Cunt: Live in Gorechrist's Living Room_
-- Houwitser - _Rage Inside the Womb_
-- Hypokras - _Dead & Hungry_
-- Immortal - _Sons of Northern Darkness_
-- Impedigon - _As Desires Fade..._
-- In Peccatum - _Antilia_
-- King Diamond - _Abigail pt II: The Revenge_
-- King's Evil - _Deletion of Humanoise_
-- Lock-Up - _Hate Breeds Suffering_
-- Loits - _Ei Kahetse Midagi_
-- Mactatus - _Suicide_
-- Manowar - _Warriors of the World_
-- Megiddo / Rampage - _Apocalyptic Raids: A Tribute to Hellhammer_
-- Mirror of Deception - _Mirrorsoil_
-- My Dying Bride - _For Darkest Eyes_ DVD
 - Anathema - _A Vision of a Dying Embrace_ DVD
-- My Dying Bride - _The Voice of the Wretched_
-- Mystic Forest - _Welcome Back in the Forest_
-- Necrosphere - _Revived_
-- Nehemah - _Light of a Dead Star_
-- Nocte Obducta - _Galgendammerung, Von Nebel, Blut und Totgeburten_
-- Obtest - _Auka Seniems Dievams_
-- On Thorns I Lay - _Angel Dust_
-- Ordeal - _Ma|an_
 - Sola Translatio - _Ad Infinitum_
 - Svartsinn - _Devouring Consciousness_
-- Pain Control - _Subvert_
-- Poema Arcanus - _Iconoclast_
-- Rain - _Starlight Extinction_
-- Rain Fell Within - _Refuge_
-- Rebellion - _Shakespeare's Macbeth: A Tragedy in Steel_
-- Regorge - _Kingdoms of Derision_
-- Reverend Kriss Hades - _The Wind of Orion_
-- Runemagick - _Requiem of the Apocalypse_
-- Satariel - _Phobos and Deimos_
-- Sathya - _Sathya_
-- Sentenced - _The Cold White Light_
-- Serpent's Kiss - _Distant Shores_
-- Soilwork - _Natural Born Chaos_
-- Solekahn - _Suffering Winds_
-- Song of Melkor et al - _New World Blasphemy_
-- The Atomic Bitchwax - _Spit Blood_
-- The Crown - _Crowned in Terror_
-- The Ribeye Brothers - _If I Had a Horse..._
-- Theory in Practice - _Colonizing the Sun_
-- Third Voice - _Moments Like These_
-- Thirteen - _Magnifico Nova_
-- This Midnight Stream - _Cinematic_
-- Unpure - _Trinity in Black_
-- Void of Silence - _Criteria ov 666_
-- Vomitory - _Blood Rapture_
-- Zimmershole - _Legion of Flames_
* New Noise
-- Atropos - _Creature Chthonienne_
-- Conquest of Steel - _Priests of Metal_
-- Demonification - _A Thousand Sadness '00_
 - Demonification - _For The People '01_
-- Holochaust - _Holochaust_
-- Lost - _Lost_
-- Lost Soul's Cry - _Age of Forthcoming Chaos_
-- Maple Cross - _Promo 1/02_
-- Secret South - _Pieces of Faith_
-- Slavia - _Gloria in Excelcis Sathan_
-- The Prophecy - _To End All Hope_
-- Urshurark - _Architecture of Perfect Damnation_
* Chaotic Concerts
-- Catharsis in Doom: My Dying Bride in Portugal
-- The Night After the Night Before: Immortal & Hypocrisy in Portugal
-- Northern Darkness Descends: Immortal and Hypocrisy in England
-- Good, Evil Weekend: The Inferno Festival, Norway
* What We Have Cranked
* Details

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

                 M""MMMMMMMM                         dP
                 M  MMMMMMMM                         88
                 M  MMMMMMMM .d8888b. dP    dP .d888b88
                 M  MMMMMMMM 88'  `88 88    88 88'  `88
                 M  MMMMMMMM 88.  .88 88.  .88 88.  .88
                 M         M `88888P' `88888P' `88888P8
                 MMMMMMMMMMM

     M""MMMMMMMM            dP     dP
     M  MMMMMMMM            88     88
     M  MMMMMMMM .d8888b. d8888P d8888P .d8888b. 88d888b. .d8888b.
     M  MMMMMMMM 88ooood8   88     88   88ooood8 88'  `88 Y8ooooo.
     M  MMMMMMMM 88.  ...   88     88   88.  ... 88             88
     M         M `88888P'   dP     dP   `88888P' dP       `88888P'
     MMMMMMMMMMM

This is the column where we print those lovely  letters  our  readers
decide so graciously to write us. Whether they be positive, negative,
ignorant or just plain spelled  wrong,  you  can  rest  assured  that
they'll be here in their original form. If you'd like to see your own
letter here, e-mail it to <mailto:LoudLetters@ChroniclesOfChaos.com>.
All  letters  received  will  be  featured  in  upcoming  issues   of
Chronicles of Chaos.


Date: Tue, 16 Apr 2002
From: Sabremor <sabremor@gmx.net>
Subject: talking about ideologies is a necessity

Hi
Well, it probably is good for the extreme music scene to  talk  about
ideas and beliefs, cause if we don't  do  it,  the  press  and  right
extremists or other opportunists will do it  for  us.  So  here's  my
point of view. I get quite pissed off when i hear anybody talk  about
what a "real" metal fan should think or about any pseudo-ideology  as
a part of this music genre. Metal means a lot of things to everybody,
but it  is  definately  not  an  ideology.  Maybe  some  artists  are
musically inspired by their ideas; so if burzum's thoughts  are  what
inspire burzum's music, well fine, it contributes to the whole scene,
just like max cavalera's  cultural  background  made  him  write  his
masterpieces (fuck soulfly :). And if anybody tells me he's  his  own
god, or that he prays to a roll of toiletpaper, congratulations, good
for them. As long as they're participating in the music scene, i will
respect them for their work and leave them to their beliefs. But it's
just sad to hear people who have little enough personnality to  start
reading an album cover as if it were the fucking bible. I hate  being
told about the Truth by an brainwashed  evangelist  just  as  i  hate
being told about Metal ideology by a narrow-minded metalhead. Whoever
thinks a music genre can be an ideology should  reconsider  his  love
for the music. If you're a satanist, who cares, if  your  a  satanist
AND make music, you become interesting. Same if you're  a  christian.
Which doesn't mean we have to agree on our beliefs. Maybe some people
think you need to have some  kind  of  beliefs  in  order  to  create
violent music. First of all, there isn't enough theory to  create  an
ideology, and  then  try  to  imagine  excluding  anybody  who  isn't
considered a true satanist, well there wouldn't be much left for  CoC
to review... I'm not saying metal is about tolerance,  but  it  isn't
about satanism nor paganism nor witchery  nor  viking  blood  either.
Sorry if my english is bad, it's not my mother tongue. Thanks to  CoC
for your huge work.
Dave


Date: Fri, 26 Apr 2002
From: RayRuenes@aol.com
Subject: Prozak's Distorted Metal History and Vision

  Greetings!

  It's rather pitiful when people with an ideological  axe  to  grind
seek to instill it into, or see  it  reflected  in,  every  hobby  or
endeavor, no matter how unrelated to their politics  they  might  be,
that they undertake, to the absolute exclusion of any  concepts  that
might disturb their uniform reverie. Prozak admits that  conflict  is
necessary for any ideology's health, but then goes on to call for the
rejection of any ideology that conflicts with his own in the realm of
metal, which itself is derived in large part and over several decades
from Gospel music. Watch any documentary on the history of  rock  and
roll and you should find ample acknowledgement of Gospel music's role
in its creation. Is Prozak thus calling for his  ideology  to  become
reduced to "tired homilies repeated by the embittered" by eliminating
conflict?

  Musicians are free to bring their own causes  and  beliefs  to  the
table and articulate them through their musical  talent  if  they  so
wish, despite Prozak's insistent but  unjustifiable  objections,  and
will continue to do so unless people of Prozak's rather  totalitarian
disposition wing their way into positions  of  authority  within  the
music industry from which they can censor any disagreeable voices.

  People, I ask that you apply the same level of critical thinking to
Prozak's manifestos as he would expect you  to  use  when  confronted
with  anything  he  dislikes,  including  Christian  expressions   of
metal and its various offshoots. Learn  to  identify  unsubstantiated
allegations, such as the supposed lack of a soul or  future  that  he
attaches to "parts of the genre" which he despises. He's just stating
his opinion masked as an axiom.  Don't  accept  on  blind  faith  his
dichotomy between Christianity and  intellectualism,  nor  his  other
canards about Christians being  "degenerates."  Get  acquainted  with
elementary reasoning;  don't  fall  for  ipse  dixit,  argumentum  ad
captandum, argumentum ad hominem, false alternative, apriorisms,  and
any other of the host of logical fallacies upon which  Prozak  relies
as a  poor  substitute  for  rationalism,  despite  his  attempts  to
redefine the word so that it permits his contrary mental maneuvers.

  What's this, fans should stop trying  to  "accept  ideologies  like
christianity, humanism and heavy metal in black/death  metal"?  Am  I
wrong in interpreting that to mean that heavy  metal's  an  ideology,
and no trace of heavy metal should be  present  in  black  and  death
metal?

Sigh.

Metal's not some plot of land for an ideologue to plant  a  stake  in
and then shoot all trespassers. Metal is a trespass. It  offends,  it
crosses  over,  and  it  encroaches  (audibly).  The  fact  that  the
Christian manifestation of metal triggers such a desperate  knee-jerk
reaction on the part of some self-styled  metal  "purists"  (and  who
gave them such authority, anyway?) is evidence enough that  Christian
metal is certainly carrying on the metal tradition; their uproar will
not herald its death knell, rest assured.

  Ramon


Date: Fri, 26 Apr 2002
From: Conformity@aol.com
Subject: Response to Prozak's Distorted Metal Yadda yadda long winded
         whatever.

Spinoza Ray Prozak states in COC#57

"i  think  drew  johnston   (conformity@aol.com)   exemplifies   this
phenomenon best. while he's spitting with venom  against  nazis,  for
example, he is "tolerant" of religions and parts of the  genre  which
have no soul or future. by behaving in this manner,  he  is  crushing
attempts for this genre to determine what it does believe,  and  thus
to cease tolerating the rest. metal is an ideological genre, but that
doesn't mean we forget the music."

Apparently I'm being attacked in  some  manner  or  another  by  this
Prozac character. Luckily,  I'm  foolish  enough  to  engage  in  any
argument that may float within a five mile radius.

So tell me, do you actually read the words I write, or do  they  just
pass your eyes, allowing a convenient space for you to watch yourself
talk....?

You are the Al Gore of the entire metal scene. Stop talking. You  are
obviously high, having a good time watching the magic symbols  appear
on the screen.

I don't know why you're bringing me into this, but  I  suppose  if  I
"best exemplify that phenomenon", then it's completely warranted.

Who the fuck is Drew Johnston anyway? Maybe that's some false name  I
gave you. I'm not sure. Drew is my first name,  however,  Johnston...
well, that's another. 

From what I gather, and please feel  free  to  correct  me,  is  that
you're angry about the fact that I pay no attention to the lyrics  of
a song or the "spiritual ideology" behind  it.  I  don't  care  about
which faction of nazism  tolerates  homosexuality.  I  am  a  fan-boy
because I care about the music and only the  music?  Hmm.  That's  an
interesting idea you've posed. Quite frankly, I can't understand  it.
I don't care what the genre believes. Are you  fucking  stoned?  Does
that make sense to you? I don't care if you take the  lyrics  to  the
Backstreet Boys and make it into a black metal  song.  IF  IT  SOUNDS
GOOD, I WILL LISTEN TO IT. Why does music have to have  some  fucking
lame social or political point to it?

At this point, I will resort to childish name-calling.

As I said before, Spinoza, you are a frilly-shirt wearing fag. You're
a nazi, you can't get my name right, you're pretentious about being a
fucking dickhead, and you feel that the purpose of  music  is  solely
for spreading propaganda.

You really think you're going to get your music to move  onward  into
it's own RESPECTABLE artistic category  by  intolerance  towards  the
ideas of others? Hmm. Maybe. Will anyone else be able  to  appreciate
it? Not unless they're the typical pale, 140 pound, fucking  computer
dorks that spend most  of  their  time  updating  the  latest  church
burnings and klan rallies.

So remember,  if  you  don't  have  anything  politically  minded  or
ethnocentric to endorse with your music, you're just a fanboy.

Drew

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

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

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


            T H U S   S P A K E   T H E   W R E T C H E D
            ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
           CoC talks to Andrew Craighan of My Dying Bride
                          by: Pedro Azevedo


     The attentive CoC reader may notice that  My  Dying  Bride  were
last interviewed in this publication not long ago -- CoC  #56,  as  a
matter of fact, shortly after their latest studio album _The Dreadful
Hours_ [CoC #55] came out. Why, then, would we interview  them  again
so soon? Well, if you look at our Album Asylum and  Chaotic  Concerts
sections in this issue, you will find reviews of a live album, a  DVD
re-release of a live video tape, and a gig. Yes, My Dying Bride  have
been rather active lately, and very remarkably so: their latest  opus
_The Dreadful Hours_ was my favourite album of 2001,  and  also  came
second in the overall CoC writers' top  20  [CoC  #57],  just  behind
Opeth. At 8:30pm sharp, my phone rings  and  I  ask  My  Dying  Bride
guitarist Andrew Craighan how he feels about this result.
     He thanks me for  my  personal  choice,  and  acknowledges  that
"Opeth are a very good band, so that's not a bad place  to  be."  But
has every review of _The Dreadful Hours_ been  positive,  or  is  the
band still being accused of choosing the easy path of going  back  to
their musical roots? "The reviews have all been very, very good, full
stop. We were accused of choosing the easy option on  _The  Light  at
the End of the World_ [CoC #44], which is something  I  never  agreed
with. Some people just didn't know what to say  --  most  journalists
who are actually into the band never mentioned this,  they  just  saw
_TLatEotW_ as a great return to form, MDB doing  what  MDB  do  best.
Those who were not into the band saw it as a step sideways, or a step
back; I never saw it like  that  at  all.  When  Calvin  [Robertshaw,
guitarist] left [after _34.788%_ [CoC #35]], we had to decide whether
to continue with MDB as MDB or put My Dying Bride in  the  grave  and
start something new,  because  half  the  band  was  gone  [including
drummer Rick Myah and keyboard/violin player Martin Powell -- Pedro].
We just decided we can do this, this is what we do and who we are; we
did what we felt in our hearts: cold, miserable, stupidly long  songs
that only MDB can get away with. <laughs> Our fans liked it, felt  it
was what they wanted to hear from MDB. The experimental crowd  didn't
like it, didn't think it was experimental  enough  for  them,  but  I
don't care -- we don't have to be too outlandish anymore. With Hamish
[Glencross, guitarist] we now have a more  stable  line-up,  a  solid
outfit who understand what our brand of blackness  and  doom  is  all
about. And _The Dreadful Hours_ is what you get from that.  We  don't
want to do the jump up and down metal that is popular these days."
     It's been a long career -- going on twelve years now -- and  the
band must wonder whether they will be able to top such a solid  album
next time. What does Andy think about that? "That's a scary question.
I thought _The Light at the End of the World_ was a brilliant  album,
but _The Dreadful Hours_ is even better -- I just  thought,  how  the
fuck did we do that?! <laughs> In  between  the  gigs  we're  already
putting  down  ideas  for  when  we  start  to  record,  and  it's  a
nerve-racking time -- thinking whether the next album is going to  be
better than _The Dreadful Hours_. It's a testing time. We don't  know
what we are going to sound like. I just hope we can  at  least  equal
_The Dreadful Hours_, or make something even  better.  We  have  some
ideas to make it even more miserable in certain places  which  should
sound good on CD."
     My Dying Bride have recently been doing a bit  of  touring,  and
they traveled down to Portugal  and  the  excellent  Hard  Club  [see
review in this issue]. It was the gig of my life, and  apparently  it
was rather good for the band as well. I mention the excellent setting
provided by the Hard Club, and Andy immediately agrees. "It's such an
idyllic place. It's a  strange  place  for  gigs,  such  a  beautiful
setting, whereas gigs normally take place in industrialized parts  of
cities. Myself and Adrian especially enjoy drinking  Port  wine  back
home, so drinking it in Porto was like going to  Mecca!  <laughs>  We
did the whole tourist thing, the gig  itself  was  almost  secondary!
<laughs again> But that club is fantastic, it's one of the best  I've
ever been to, it just looks great sat there by the river [Douro].  It
was a really special gig for us, too. The  band  played  particularly
well; the night before [in Lisbon] was OK, but in  Porto  it  was  as
close as it can get to the band being in top form."
     "The gigs have been going very well. We  played  in  Dublin  and
Greece recently. We thought the Portuguese crowd was very active  and
noisy, but there must be something wrong  with  the  Greeks!  We  had
never been there  before,  so  they  were  absolutely  ballistic.  We
actually got our first ever fan mail letter from Greece, but it  took
us twelve years to go there -- it was really special. We  had  a  few
problems in the first Greek gig but managed to overcome them, and  on
the second we were on fire. Dublin was OK, but it wasn't the best  of
gigs; still, we hadn't been to Ireland for eight years, and we played
for a full crowd. We've been selling out gigs all the time, which  is
a massive achievement for MDB."
     Although I elaborate on this in my  gig  review  later  in  this
issue, I cannot avoid mentioning how much the band seems to grow when
playing live,  Aaron's  vocals  especially  noteworthy  in  the  live
setting. "It's a bit strange, I have to admit. On record we're  quite
controlled -- not too loud, not too distorted, but it's still got the
power. Live we like to  do  the  full  heavy  metal  thing  and  have
everything louder than everything else, and everything  becomes  more
exaggerated. The band is playing better live than ever, and Aaron  is
in top form -- if I  had  been  in  the  crowd,  I  would  have  been
impressed with Aaron as well. There is a very  special  chemistry  in
the band now, and the crowd reacts very well -- they  can't  seem  to
get their eyes off us, they stare at us and we stare back...  and  we
like it! <laughs>"
     Reviewed below is _The Voice of the Wretched_, their  brand  new
live album. One thing that quickly became evident to me  as  I  first
glanced at the track listing was the fact  that  it  contained  three
songs from my favourite MDB album, 1993's  _Turn  Loose  the  Swans_.
"It's just coincidence", answers Andy after pondering for  a  moment;
"I've never noticed that. We have got  quite  a  career  now,  twelve
years coming up, and when we play live  there's  always  someone  who
shouts for an obscure song that we never play live. We would like to,
but we can't play everything for everybody. But on the Peacefest gigs
[where _The Voice of the  Wretched_  was  recorded  --  Pedro],  _The
Dreadful Hours_ wasn't yet fully ready to be played live --  we  only
played "A Cruel Taste of Winter", which was later changed for the CD.
So we intended to bring stuff from the EPs -- we  actually  rehearsed
"The Thrash of Naked Limbs", but in the end decided  against  it  for
some more _Turn Loose the Swans_. It just happened, we wanted to play
some older stuff for our older fans, and everyone  says  _Turn  Loose
the Swans_ is their favourite record, so... but we didn't plan it, it
just is."
     Having re-recorded "The Return of the  Beautiful"  (from  1992's
_As the Flower Withers_) for _The Dreadful  Hours_,  and  now  having
included the first song they ever  wrote,  "Symphonaire  Infernus  et
Spera Empyrium", in their live set, how does Andrew feel  going  back
to such old  songs?  "I  don't  think  we've  changed  that  much  in
style  and  mentality",  he  replies.  "If  you  look  at  the  style
and composition, those  are  all  very  solid  songs.  When  we  play
"Symphonaire"  live,  it  fits  perfectly  into  the  set,  the  slow
beginning that grows into total carnage -- which is rather  difficult
for us to play now, actually, since Shawn  [Steels,  drummer]  blasts
through it at a million miles an hour. <laughs> A lot of  people  who
go to our gigs may have never heard that song.  Some  of  the  people
won't know the full history of My Dying  Bride,  and  it  is  a  good
opportunity to say that this is what we sounded like ten  years  ago.
It's good to really blast them out. As for "Return to the Beautiful",
the idea had been bubbling and simmering away since 1997,  since  the
tour with Dio in America, which lasted for six weeks. It was a friend
of ours from a band called  Novembers  Doom",  he  starts.  I  wonder
whether his name is Paul Kuhr, the band's vocalist, and Andy tells me
I've guessed correctly. He continues: "Paul said we had to  re-record
it, that it was such an  amazing  song,  and  suddenly  everyone  was
saying that  --  we  were  thinking  whether  he  had  some  sort  of
conspiracy going! <laughs> Anyway, it eventually happened; we  nearly
put it on _The Light at the End of the World_, but the CD was already
full, and then when we wrote  _The  Dreadful  Hours_  we  managed  to
squeeze it in. We also made the ending a bit more brutal. It was such
a joy; I actually played both guitars, I was so proud of it. I  still
prefer the first version, to be honest, but it felt  very  good,  and
I'm glad it's there."
     _The Voice of the Wretched_ covers every era of My Dying  Bride,
and I ask Andrew an unfair question: which  of  those  eras  was  his
favourite? "The most enjoyable and care-free time would  have  to  be
around _Turn Loose the Swans_, going into and through _The Angel  and
the Dark River_. That's when we did the most touring and we  had  the
most exposure. The records were very well received and it was a  very
nice time for us. It's been brilliant all the time,  except  when  it
started to become very difficult before _34.788%_ -- a product  of  a
band under extreme pressure from its record label, but I still  stand
by that record, which was done under not so nice circumstances."
     Did they consider the possibility of moving to a different label
at the time after having been on Peaceville for  so  long?  "We  know
Hammy and his wife Lisa [Peaceville label owners -- Pedro] very  well
now, but even before we signed to them -- and we were very excited to
sign -- Aaron already knew them reasonably well. We  also  understand
that they had a business to run. They may like the music, but it's  a
business. We trust them to a certain degree, and they're  very  local
to us, too, which is good. We didn't want to sign with a  label  from
London -- which, given the connections at the time, would  have  been
Music for Nations, and I can tell you any band who's with them is  in
for fucking trouble. I would be reluctant to  leave  Peaceville  even
now; you can't get this  trust  anywhere  else,  and  it  makes  life
easier. Being in a band is hard work sometimes, and you need  someone
to rely on, and we feel we can rely on Peaceville."
     The events Andrew  refers  to  happened  during  the  time  when
Peaceville was temporarily a sub-label of Music  for  Nations.  "When
that contract with Music for Nations finished we were very glad.  The
whole problem was coming from Music for Nations;  Hammy  didn't  have
full control over Peaceville anymore, and it  freaked  him  out.  The
[Music for Nations] people in London weren't into the music,  and  it
was difficult for them to grasp a band like MDB --  they  got  twelve
minute songs and asked "where's our commercial hit?" --  MDB  doesn't
do that, fuck that."
     Which reminds  me  of  how  Anathema,  currently  on  Music  for
Nations, have made their way into MTV with a  video  clip  off  their
bland _A Fine Day to Exit_ [CoC #55]. "I can't comment", says Andrew.
"I haven't heard anything of theirs for a long time -- the last thing
was their demo _An Iliad of Woes_, actually,  which  I  liked.  Since
they became signed to the same label we were on, and their style  was
similar to ours, I just didn't want to be influenced. So I've  simply
lost touch with what they're doing, although I know they're not doing
metal anymore. I only heard one song  off  the  new  record,  and  it
reminded me of Radiohead  --  but  I  like  Radiohead.  I  know  it's
difficult to be in a band and on Music for Nations,  so  I  know  the
trouble they're having; but MDB is my main concern."
     The brand new live CD is not coming out alone: the _For  Darkest
Eyes_ video is being re-released in DVD format [also reviewed in this
issue] with a couple of extra features. "It could have been  better",
admits Andrew. "The main problem is that  there  is  not  enough  new
stuff on it. It's not really Peaceville's or MDB's fault, it's just a
bizarre twist of fate -- after _34.788%_ the  band  dipped  into  the
shadows and didn't do much, no videos  or  recording  of  gigs.  Now,
having released _The Dreadful Hours_, which along with _The Light  at
the End of the World_ has put MDB back on the British doom map  --  I
don't think anyone else is doing  this  kind  of  thing  in  Northern
Europe --, Hammy and Lisa are really ecstatic with MDB's success, and
it's to their credit as well. So we've got a new  format,  DVD,  what
can we do? Since there was such a dip in the band's activity, there's
nothing new to put in it, so it's just a format change. I was talking
to Hammy about a video for _The  Dreadful  Hours_  and  he  was  very
enthusiastic. I can imagine we may do an MTV-style video for the next
album."
     One of the extras on the DVD is their  Dynamo  '95  performance,
originally released in a double-disc edition of _The  Angel  and  the
Dark River_. "We enjoyed it a lot, but it was our first gig after six
months, so we were rusty. Rehearsing  in  a  rehearsal  room  is  one
thing, but in front of 3500 people or more, suddenly you're not  sure
how to play the songs in a -live- environment. That's the  importance
of playing warm-up shows. We learned valuable lessons that night, but
it wasn't the ideal place for that! <laughs> We didn't do any warm-up
shows before Portugal, actually, but we're a bit  more  long  in  the
tooth now."
     Compared to the Krakow  gig  featured  on  _For  Darkest  Eyes_,
Martin Powell's violin is no longer a part of their music; yet during
the Porto gig, I never had a chance to even think about that.  "We've
been fortunate in that respect", he says, "only  a  few  people  ever
complain about that. Those who are more open-minded about  MDB  would
love to see him back, but overall they think it's not the  loss  they
expected it to be. When we toured for _The Light at the  End  of  the
World_ we wanted to test  the  water,  and  we  were  surprised  with
ourselves and the crowd response. We usually mingle  with  the  crowd
after the gigs, which is a very eye-opening  experience,  and  people
weren't mentioning it much at all -- "It is a shame, but you're  good
enough without it", and that was a  great  relief.  You  can  replace
guitar players -- no offence to Calvin, you could replace me too  --,
but violin players who are into doom metal aren't easy  to  find.  We
actually rehearsed for a month with a violin  player,  a  young  girl
from Halifax, and she could play very well, but once you put the band
around her she was completely lost, and it just wasn't  happening.  I
actually met Martin a couple of times since then, in a pub near where
we live in Bradford called Rio's -- we usually  go  there  --  and  I
talked to him about the good times and it was nice. Maybe  he  was  a
bit drunk, or just giddy from seeing old friends again, but  he  said
he'd like to play live with us again -- but he's away with Cradle  of
Filth at the moment. We didn't fall out in an ugly way at all,  we're
still very much friends, so..."
     And how does the future of My Dying Bride look like  to  Andrew?
Is the passion still intact? "I have to admit at the  moment  I  have
more energy for My Dying Bride than I have had in a  long  time,  but
after _The Light at the End of the World_ I wondered if we were doing
the right thing. I have a great fiance, who's a great fan of MDB; I'm
often a miserable twat, but then she reminds me how special  MDB  is.
I'm feeling very positive -- even though  we  sing  about  death  and
doom, I'm very happy at the moment. <laughs>"

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

          O B S E S S E D   W I T H   T H E I R   M U S I C
          ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   CoC chats with George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher of Cannibal Corpse
                         by: Adrian Bromley


     So, George, how does it feel being in Cannibal Corpse after  all
of these years?
     "I think it has been a lot of fun being a part of this band.  It
was great coming into this band and being  a  part  of  it  and  just
connecting with the music, the band  and  the  fans",  begins  George
"Corpsegrinder" Fisher about his years of  singing  for  the  veteran
death metal act, since taking over the position from original  singer
Chris Barnes on 1996's _Vile_. "It has been an experience, to say the
least, and _Gore Obsessed_ [reviewed in this issue] continues on with
my love of being in this band."
     "Recording albums with these guys [the band is  rounded  out  by
guitarists Jack Owen and Pat O'Brien, drummer Paul  Mazurkiewicz  and
bassist Alex Webster -- Adrian] is a lot of fun.  It  doesn't  really
feel like work, more like just having fun and making metal music.  It
takes a while to get things rolling, but once we get in  the  groove,
watch out. It is insane."
     Yeah, the vocals  on  _Gore  Obsessed_  are  some  of  the  most
violently  charged  ones  I  have  heard  come  out  of  your  mouth.
<laughing> How do you prepare for something like that?
     "I don't really know. <laughs> I don't really do anything  other
than just get all excited to go in there and scream my  lines.  We'll
run through the songs once or twice to get the voice going, and  then
once I am  satisfied  with  that  we'll  start  recording  the  song,
sometimes one line at a time or a chorus here and there. We break  it
down into sections. There is  no  real  secret  to  how  I  sound  so
intense, really. I just go in there and try to  sound  as  brutal  as
possible. I just love listening  back  to  my  music  and  saying  to
myself, "Man, that is sick!" I just go for it, really, and  feed  off
the brutal vibe of the band."
     Are there certain songs going into the recording that you  tried
to be more brutal with?
     Fisher answers: "Yeah, I mean when I have a whole batch of songs
to work with in the studio, there are certain songs  that  stand  out
because of a groove or just have cool riffs.  My  favourite  song  on
this album would have to be "Grotesque". I think that song  has  some
of the best vocal work I have done with Cannibal Corpse. I like a lot
of the songs that we do;  especially  the  songs  that  have  a  real
"catchy" feel to them. And some  people,  when  they  hear  the  word
"catchy" they think sell-out, but what I mean is songs with some cool
vocal grooves and heavy riffs that pique one's interest. Songs with a
brutal groove."
     The success of Cannibal Corpse is quite  impressive,  especially
seeing that they have been around now for more than a decade, playing
brutal music and writing about headless corpses, blood  and  horrific
forms of violence. The band has continued to flourish as the years go
on, as well as continue to write solid material like the stuff  found
on _Gore Obsessed_.  What  does  "Corpsegrinder"  credit  the  band's
longevity to?
     "I think the band's popularity is  still  pretty  strong  and  I
think fans wanted the band to continue when its singers changed,  and
have been interested with everything we have done since. I  mean,  it
could have all ended with _Vile_, but fans were pleased with  what  I
and the band brought to that album. The fans are the main  reason  we
are still around. They buy our records and come see us play. Cannibal
Corpse tours a lot as well, so we always see fans coming out  to  our
shows. I also think we put out records on a  consistent  basis,  like
one every year and a half or two years. Then we tour for a  year  and
then go back into record."
     "We are not one of these bands that tours around  on  buses  and
goes around from show to show", he notes. "We don't sit  on  the  bus
all day. We like to, when we can, get off the bus and just  hang  out
with our fans and talk to them. I think fans realize how happy we are
that they support us and that we are all just fans  of  what  we  do.
Having fans is a big deal for us as a band, because it means  we  are
doing the right thing."
     "I just get so much out of doing  this",  exclaims  the  singer.
"The music, the fans and being able to go on tour with so many  great
bands. I get to see Dark Funeral, Incantation and Pissing Razors  for
like 36 shows. That fucking rules! We do  a  lot  of  festivals  with
great bands and it is just great to tour with all of these  bands  we
like. It is great to just hang out and just be metal. It feels a  lot
like when I was younger and going to the shows and just  hanging  out
and waiting for the bands to play, but in our case, we are one of the
bands getting set to perform. <laughs> The downside is  that  when  I
see these bands play I can't really go crazy, because I need to  play
a show, but one time I'd love to be able to get drunk and  rowdy  and
just watch them play and not worry about going on next. But I  can't,
I need to save my energy for the show."
     One can't interview Cannibal Corpse and not ask how things  have
been with the die-hard fans over the years, especially those that are
still angry over the loss of Chris Barnes (who now  fronts  Six  Feet
Under). Are there still some angry Cannibal Corpse fans out there?
     "There are some people who are still  really  bitter  out  there
over what happened with Chris leaving the band and  me  joining",  he
explains. "My point is this. If you really, truly believe we are  not
a brutal band, and I go on message boards and read  what  people  say
about us all the time, then I don't think people are really listening
to what we are doing. Cannibal Corpse, while maybe  a  bit  different
and matured over the last few years, is still playing  fucking  death
metal. I think a lot of this backlash, especially  early  on  when  I
joined, was because of this split with Chris. Chris was not the whole
band. I just want people to give it a listen and I know there  are  a
lot of people who have given the band a chance with me  in  the  band
and really liked it and continue to support us. I just want people to
give it a spin and not just shit on it because of the past changes to
the band."
     He finishes by adding, "Bottom  line  is  this:  I  believed  in
myself as a singer and the band believed in me and look where we  are
now. A few albums later and we are still cranking  out  brutal  death
metal. So much for the people who thought it wouldn't work out."

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

     T H E   S H O C K I N G   S H R E D S   O F   D I G N I T Y
     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
              CoC interviews Tom Klimchuck of Pro-Pain
                         by: Adrian Bromley


     They're back, and better than ever.
     Not only has New York's Pro-Pain got my full attention in  2002,
they got my undying respect as a band that has evolved over the years
but still kept the solid, aggressive edge intact -- and that can't be
more obvious than with one  listen  of  the  band's  heavyset  groove
agenda called _Shreds of Dignity_.
     Having been a fan of the band for years  now,  I  was  a  little
disappointed with the past two  records  (1999's  _Act  of  God_  and
2000's _Round 6_), as they didn't kick my ass like the new one has.
     So what brought about this more aggressive  approach?  What  set
things off this time around? Guitarist Tom Klimchuck lets  Chronicles
of Chaos in on the making of _Shreds of Dignity_.
     "I think we approached this record a  bit  different  this  time
around and didn't want to limit ourselves with  our  writing  process
this time around. I think sometimes in the past when we came up  with
numbers with a lot of groove and heaviness we would  try  to  balance
out the rest of the record with some mid-paced numbers.  That  wasn't
the case with the new album. We just wrote what came to mind and  let
the record write itself."
     Seeing that I, the critic, found this record to be  steps  above
the past few releases in the intensity realm,  what  was  Klimchuck's
reaction to it when he first played it back?
     "Once we are done with a record, I usually put  it  away  for  a
couple of weeks and try to forget about it  and  put  it  out  of  my
mind", he explains. "We spend so much time in the studio  working  on
songs for hours and you get so far into them that it takes a  lot  to
actually sit back and listen to what you have done from an outsider's
perspective. After a couple of weeks  of  cleansing  the  pallet  and
listening to other forms of music to take my mind off  what  we  have
done I'll go back to the new material and give it a spin.  This  time
around, I had this real strange feeling. This time it really took  on
a different feeling than I had expected, it was  a  lot  heavier  and
more aggressive and it really suited the time. It shocked me."
     Shocked, eh?
     "Yeah, it did hit me in a very  unexpected  way,  but  that  was
cool. I think this is a really unique Pro-Pain record and it is quite
difficult to make consistent records as you go along. Each  time  you
write you need to compare with old songs you have written and try not
to be redundant or repeat yourself. After listening to  this  record,
it would be kind of hard to lump this in with what we have  done  and
try to find a spot for it. It is a good feeling to know we have  done
this, as well it is a good motivation for me  knowing  that  I  still
have some good music left in me."
     Like all of their hard work in the past, Klimchuck says that the
band -- rounded out by singer/bassist  Gary  Meskil,  guitarist  Eric
Klinger and drummer Eric Matthews  --  have  never  really  made  any
attempt to fit into a certain genre or trend with their music, rather
just focus on making music for themselves, as well as for the fans of
Pro-Pain.
     "When we set out to make this record, we knew what was  big  out
there and what was making money for  bands  (i.e.  nu-metal)  and  we
didn't want any of that hip-hop grooves or heavy crunchy  guitars  in
what we were doing, so we made sure we differentiated our  sound  and
made it more straight-up hardcore or thrash metal,  just  to  make  a
point that we weren't going to ride whatever "wave" is out there  and
that we plan to do our own thing.  And  I  think  Pro-Pain  fans  are
pleased about that, knowing that our music is not geared to  what  is
hot out there right now."
     And with the album cover colours and image -- a camouflage motif
-- it seems to fitting as it goes along well with Pro-Pain  being  in
the music business trenches trying to fight a war  of  sorts  to  get
noticed and be successful. Am I right or what?
     "Yes, you are", laughs the guitar player. "Being in  this  music
business is like fighting a war. When it came time to  think  of  the
artwork for the album, and the music was already recorded and we knew
it was heavier than what we had done in the past, we  decided  to  go
along with this camouflage idea. Our music has  always  sort  of  had
this militant theme to it and it seemed  appropriate  to  bring  that
theme back into the artwork for the band. It suits the music too,  as
the music is a little heavier and rawer than the past few records. As
well, the battle still rages on for us."
     Looking back at what  Pro-Pain  has  done,  what  has  Klimchuck
gotten out of being in the band?
     "Making music with this band has been very important for us", he
accounts. "We are pleased when magic happens between  the  music  and
lyrics of the band and the songs  just  explode  with  intensity  and
creativity. I like to have really heavy music with some really  cool,
intellectual lyrics behind what is being sung -- if  not,  the  music
does nothing for me. Pro-Pain always  had  made  sure  that  the  end
result is something that  we  can  be  proud  of  and  say:  this  is
Pro-Pain. This is our music."

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

    T H E P A T H O F S E L F - R E P H  O  R  M  U  L  A  T  I  O  N
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                 CoC talks to Davide of Ephel Duath
                         by: Adrian Bromley


     Even in the face of something as severe as losing a  key  entity
within the band, Ephel Duath member  Davide  (guitar/synth)  is  very
optimistic of the future of his band and about how he will  get  past
this temporary dilemma.
     "This is just something I have to face  and  deal  with  my  own
way", says Davide in  a  thick  Italian  accent.  "Giuliano  (vocals,
guitars, bass, synth and programming) recently left the band  because
of personal reasons and that makes me the single composer now in  the
band. It'll be a challenge for me for sure."
      With their album _Rephormula_ just released via Earache imprint
label Elitist Records, you'd think that this would be a terrible  way
for this eccentric avantgarde Italian black metal band to get  things
going for a new label.
     "That's right, his leaving couldn't have come at a  worse  time.
It has been a terrible time indeed, but  right  now  I  am  currently
working with a bunch of musicians who are helping me keep  this  band
alive and creating music", says Davide with assurance. "Giuliano  was
the band's main composer, so his loss is felt  strongly  now,  but  I
have had to put things together and try to make things happen and not
let this incident ruin the band. Right  now  ideas  are  forming  and
things are going  very  fast  for  Ephel  Duath  in  regards  to  new
compositions. I have lots of ideas ready and I trust they  will  make
the future worth it."
     The music of  the  band  is  rich  of  ideas  and  arrangements,
influenced heavily by older era Emperor, but  still  flowing  with  a
real dark, gothic vibe and luscious avantgarde  song  structures.  It
must have taken a long time to get all of these songs assembled?
     "You'd think by listening to this record that that was the case,
but in reality a  lot  of  the  ideas  that  Ephel  Duath  does  when
composing songs are very spontaneous. I  know  the  arrangements  are
pretty intricate and full of some technical ideas, but we  really  do
not plan out much. It just flows from within  us.  We  love  to  have
spontaneity with what we do, a lot  of  it  comes  from  the  initial
guitar lines that act as a skeleton for the song at hand. Then we add
drum machine parts and onto the keyboards and finally the vocals.  We
try to keep our ideas very open to every style of influence and bring
that somehow into what we do."
     He adds, "For example, now with some of the  new  stuff  we  are
working on, '70s prog music is finding a way into what we do. It will
be interesting to see what comes out of this, won't it?"
     And what about the influence of black metal  giants  Emperor,  a
band whose sound is no doubt part of the make of Ephel Duath?
     "Oh yes", the frontman agrees. "Without a doubt. Emperor  was  a
huge influence in the early stages of  this  band  and  what  we  had
accomplished musically. If you listen to our demo _Opera_  (which  is
included on the release  of  Rephormula)  you  can  really  hear  the
Emperor style of vocals and complex guitar parts. Nowadays, while  we
still look to Emperor for inspiration and influence, I find  that  we
are now highly impressed by the works of Opeth, Katatonia, Ulver  and
Solefald. As well as what I mentioned above,  '70s  prog  rock  (King
Crimson, Pink Floyd) and jazz are influencing what  we  are  creating
too."
     With all of these ideas running rampant and multiple  influences
tickling the sense of creativity, what instigates the need  to  write
material for Davide? What gets the ball rolling?
     "I don't know, really", he laughs. "It just happens sometimes. I
just start writing. I'll just be there with a guitar and things  will
start coming to me -- I am so excited when things start to take shape
and I can put musical ideas together. There is nothing like that. And
now that I am the  only  composer  left  to  generate  ideas,  it  is
actually more exciting for me knowing that I'll  be  able  to  create
numerous new songs and arrangements for Ephel Duath."
     Talking to Davide, you really get to feel and hear  the  passion
in his voice when he talks about the music of Ephel Duath. This isn't
just some metalhead rocker out to right a killer  riff  and  play  it
loud and get  wasted.  This  is  about  making  something  vivid  and
passionate with his musical talent. To bring life to an idea and have
it make an impact on the listener. Davide is a dedicated musician who
believes in his strengths and talents as a musician.
     "Music is very important to me, and without it,  I  would  be  a
very different person", Davide states. "This is the only  way  I  can
explore and explain my inner emotions to people. I put a lot of  hard
work into what I do, and I find sometimes  when  I  write  lyrics  or
music for the band, I really dig deep  into  my  soul  and  pull  out
certain ideas and thoughts that I can't even seem to comprehend.  The
best thing about making music is that I get to express what I want. I
get to control how much I want to give out to the music fans and  how
it will be assembled. I also love the  idea  that  strangers  get  to
experience my own thoughts and compositions."
     Davide ends off by saying, "I see my music as a deep experience,
a sort of cleansing of my inner soul. It is hard to  explain,  but  I
think I did my best to let you know just how important this is to me.
It truly means the world to me to create music,  and  I  hope  people
walk away from my band feeling that as well."

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

                       T H E Y ' R E   B A C K
                       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                CoC interviews Antti Kokko of Kalmah
                         by: Adrian Bromley


     Finnish act Kalmah's debut  disc  _Swamplord_  was  an  eloquent
album, doused with a flare  of  creativity  and  folk  elements,  yet
offering up a sinister melodic  death  metal  vibe.  The  band's  new
album, _They Will Return_, is much more expansive  and  dynamic  than
the debut, changes no doubt brought about by internal  conflicts  and
the musical growth by these Finnish lads.
     "There were a lot of problems that we were facing going into the
recording  of  the  new  album.  There  were  some  problems  in  the
band and we needed  to  get  things  straightened  away  and  quick",
reveals guitarist Antti Kokko to Chronicles  of  Chaos.  "My  brother
[guitarist/vocalist Pekka Kokko] said that we needed to make  changes
within the band if we wanted good results with  the  new  album.  Our
drummer had left and the bass player quit and we had very little time
to get someone new into the band and get  them  prepared  for  studio
work. The new musicians play a bit differently from the past members,
but it all worked out in the end for us  and  we  consider  ourselves
lucky."
     About the new record and the sound  of  the  band  --  which  is
rounded out by drummer Janne Kusmin,  keyboardist  Pasi  Hiltula  and
bassist Timo Lehtinen -- Kokko says, "Keyboards have a different role
on this album, they are acting a lot more as support for some of  the
melodies going on now. It was weird, because when we were having  all
of these band problems, I was worried how the album would  turn  out,
but I think with all of these problems it turned into something  good
and we have new members who are bringing new ideas and  talents  into
the band. The new blood has made this very exciting."
     He continues, "We tried a lot of new things  with  this  record.
New vocal styles and a couple of other tricks in the studio,  but  at
the same time we didn't want to change the music of Kalmah too  much.
I mean, we do this pretty well and  we  didn't  want  to  change  too
much."
     Does Kokko hear a difference between _Swamplord_ and _They  Will
Return_?
     "Yeah", he says. "I think there is a much  more  powerful  sound
within the production on the new  album.  The  drums  are  have  this
intense sound. Our new drummer really knows  how  to  move  his  bass
pedals fast and furious. <laughs> The first album was good,  but  you
can hear how much better we sound with _They Will Return_."
     "When I listen back to the new album, I can't believe  how  good
this album turned out", says Kokko. "I think of all the  hassles  and
changes that occurred I am amazed that the record came out great.  We
worked hard to make this come out good. Nothing was going right,  but
we pulled through somehow. It was a relief to finish this album and I
am very satisfied, as are the rest of the band  members,  with  _They
Will Return_."
     Seeing how Kalmah managed to change their sound and style a  bit
with the new offering (some were brought on unwillingly), does  Kokko
think most bands should evolve with each record or does he  think  it
is OK for bands to stay the same with each release?
     "I think it depends on the band, really. I  think  if  you  find
your own style, then why change it?", he points out. "But to keep  it
interesting you need to do something new with each album.  I  am  not
saying a metal band has to go from metal band to gothic band with  an
album, but slowly bring in some of those  gothic  elements  into  the
metal band and incorporate the ideas and see how they work. Take your
time with the music, don't rush  it.  That  is  how  good  bands  get
ruined, they change too fast."
     Like Metallica?
     "Yeah, that is a good example. Like I said, bands who change too
much risk losing fans. Some change because of money, you know..."
     Not Kalmah?
     "Oh no", he responds defiantly. "We are in this for the love  of
music for sure. We put a lot of hard work into Kalmah and I think  it
shows. We just want to be satisfied with our music and get it out  to
those fans who want to buy. We aren't asking for much, really."
     "When I started playing music at the age  of  eleven,  I  always
wanted to do this. To be in a band and  record  albums  and  tour.  I
always wanted to do that and now it has come true and I  couldn't  be
happier with the way things have turned out", he says gleefully. "I'm
just excited that Kalmah has fans too. I always wanted fans to  enjoy
what I do musically. It makes it all worthwhile."
     When Kalmah surfaced with _Swamplord_ a while  back,  the  press
and music fans alike were all over what  Kalmah  was  doing.  It  was
fresh, exciting and offered up  something  intriguing  to  the  metal
music scene. How did the band react to being in the spotlight?
     "That is a tough question", he comments with a chuckle. "When we
found out the first album was going to be released in North  America,
we couldn't believe it [the band is  signed  to  Spikefarm,  licensed
through Century Media -- Adrian]. It was  a  huge  dream  to  get  an
album released over there and it  was  happening.  The  feedback  for
_Swamplord_ was great and we didn't know whether  to  believe  it  or
not. <laughs> It felt great."
     And was there pressure for the sophomore release? "None at  all.
I think we know exactly who we are as a band and what we play and  we
just went in to record the album that we felt needed to be done."
     Kokko ends off, "We have fans out there, around the  world,  who
love what we do and we knew the album would turn  out  great  and  it
did. If fans of the band don't like the new album, then  that  is  OK
too. I'm just glad we got to make a sophomore record."

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

                        A   R E A L   H I G H
                        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
         CoC chats with Heather Thompson of Tapping the Vein
                         by: Adrian Bromley


     The feeling of success for many artists comes to  them  in  many
levels. Some want to sell millions of  records,  tour  all  over  the
world and have their  faces  splattered  over  hundreds  of  magazine
covers -- while others just want to be able to create music and  have
good enough distribution to get their music out to the fans.
     Tapping the Vein singer Heather Thompson just wants to be heard.
Plain and simple.
     "I love what I do and I just want people, no matter how many out
there, to just listen to what we create with this band and  enjoy  it
as much as we do."
     The  band's  debut  for  Nuclear  Blast,  titled  _The  Damage_,
follows two successful indie releases: _Undone_ (a six-song  EP)  and
_Butterfly_ (a five-song EP). With a lot of  hard  work  under  their
belts already, Thompson admits that the band was ready for bigger and
better things by jumping to Nuclear Blast.
     "This needed to happen", she admits. "We [the  band  is  rounded
out by drummer/sampler/programmer Eric Fisher, guitarist Mark Burkett
and bassist Joe Rolland -- Adrian] were ready for this and coming  to
Nuclear Blast. We released several EPs that we sold at our shows  and
through our website and we just wanted to get to the next  level.  We
tried to get on several other labels in the US but they didn't really
get it. A lot of the label  executives  were  telling  us  that  they
weren't sure on signing something that wouldn't sell.  Nuclear  Blast
eventually came around and was interested and we felt that we  needed
to do this and take advantage of a label that was willing to sign  us
and work with us."
     And the approach to the debut offering for  Nuclear  Blast  when
compared to the EPs?
     "We actually didn't really do anything different to what we  had
done with the previous albums. It was pretty  much  the  same  thing,
even the same producer as the second EP. The difference was  the  way
the record was assembled. The album was assembled over a year's  time
because of conflicting work schedules  and  playing  shows  and  just
trying to find time to make all of this work. It was just one problem
after another and we had to work around it."
     "If anything, we just tried to get the music out as fast  as  we
could so that we could get the record out and to our  fans  who  have
been with us for a long time. Being on NBA is  also  allowing  us  to
tour and get out to these new cities we have never played before  and
to meet our fans -- and gain new ones, hopefully."
     While Thompson is proud of being on a  big  label  with  massive
distribution worldwide, she is well aware of how the  music  industry
works and is still very cautious.
     "We looked at making the record like this. This may be the  only
chance that we be able to put out a record, so we made sure  that  we
had solid songs and some of the popular songs from our previous EPs."
     Was it hard to add new material to work alongside the four songs
("Butterfly", "Beautiful", "Everything" and "Broken") chosen from the
EPs that were already popular amongst their roster of material?
     "We really didn't have a problem assembling songs  to  go  along
with the older material", she says. "I'd say pretty  much  throughout
our career, the band has had the  same  kind  of  sound  coating  the
material, kind of like a electronic feel to things and  that  carries
on into the new album. Plus with the same vocal styles throughout, it
has kept things consistent, really. I think the older songs are a bit
more metal and goth-ish, but there is  a  definite  consistency,  and
when we play them side by side they match well."
     "I actually am not a fan of the whole recording process",  sighs
the singer about studio work. "I mean, I just can't  stand  being  in
the studio and hearing my voice played back all the time. It is  cool
if it works out, but if there are many takes, it gets to me. I prefer
to do the whole performance thing. I get a lot out of  just  standing
on stage and barring these emotional feelings and thoughts, basically
just being completely exposed to the people in attendance. And at the
end of the song, when there is that total and  complete  appreciation
for that song, there is no  price  tag  that  you  can  put  on  that
unconditional acceptance."
     She continues, "Just get me on stage and let me go. I think that
is where the magic comes from the band and it just leaves me on  such
an emotional high. I think people who have come  to  our  shows  will
agree that we do deliver an emotional  high  live.  It  really  is  a
rush."
     In closing, I ask why music fans should care about the band  and
go pick up the new record. What does Tapping the Vein offer to  music
fans?
     "Someone asked me that recently, saying, "Why should I buy  _The
Damage_?" I didn't really know what to say. I tried to  describe  the
music and it just ended up sounding really ridiculous with the way it
was being described to them. All I can really say is that the  people
who write to us and tell us how they feel about the band and how they
are so excited about the band and the lyrics  really  makes  me  feel
good", she states. "It makes me  feel  good  that  they  are  getting
something out of this and exploring our emotions with us."
     She ends, "We have always offered up a return  policy  with  the
thousands and thousands of EPs that we have sold, telling  fans  that
we will buy them back with cash if they are not happy with what  they
get, and not one has ever been returned. So I take  that  as  a  good
sign and I hope those who pick up the CD will find comfort in what we
do and not want to return it. <laughs> I'm confident they won't."
     So am I.

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

                 B L I N D I N G   I N T E N S I T Y
                 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                  CoC talks to Konstantin of Kaamos
                         by: Adrian Bromley


     I know, I know, "kaamos" sounds like a fucked up  word.  I  even
laughed about the band name  with  guitarist  Konstantin  during  his
interview with Chronicles of Chaos. Seriously, I was like, "Um,  tell
me about this bizarre band name." He just chuckled and  said,  "Well,
let me explain it..." and laughed some more. Hell, I even have a hard
time pronouncing it sometimes. But regardless of my slip ups with the
band name and people asking me to repeat myself when  I  mention  the
band (for those who care, "kaamos"  is  a  Finnish  word  that  means
"period of darkness", a time in Finland when the sun  won't  rise  at
all),  there  is  no  doubt  that  Kaamos'  self-titled  offering  on
Candlelight Records is hands down one of the best brutal death  metal
releases in 2002. I can't stop cranking the album and  talking  about
how cool this band is.
     "Thanks a lot for being  totally  into  the  album",  beams  the
guitarist as we start our chat. "It feels good knowing that we did  a
good record that people can get all excited about. I'm really excited
about this album as well, and I don't think  we  could  have  done  a
better debut album for Candlelight. I think the reason why this album
turned out so good is because we have worked hard over the years  and
a lot of the material is from when we first started the band (1998 in
Stockholm, Sweden). I think this album has a good mix of old and  new
songs that really work off well with each other."
     And how did the deal with Candlelight Records come  about?  Were
they the first label to approach the quartet?
     "Actually, no", the guitarist states. "There were about five  to
seven other labels, both  underground  and  major  labels,  that  had
approached us about a record deal, but we turned them  down.  In  the
end, signing with Candlelight seemed like the right place to sign  to
for our debut. They really believed in us."
     Seeing that the band (Kaamos is rounded out by  bassist/vocalist
Karl, drummer Chris Piss and guitarist Niklas) hail  from  Sweden,  a
country that many metalheads call the "metal  Mecca",  how  had  that
music scene affected the band growing up as metal fans and what music
ideas they brought into the band?
     Says Konstantin, "When I was growing up here, I was into all the
music, but I never really wanted to be in a band.  I  really  had  no
interest."
     How did you join a band then? Did someone say, "Hey  we  need  a
guitar player!"?
     "No, <laughs> not really... well, sort of",  he  clarifies.  "We
had this gang of friends who used to hang out a lot and  they  wanted
to form a band and needed a guitarist, so I gave it a shot. The ideas
behind that original band have nothing to do with what Kaamos is now,
but it did awaken my interest in being in a band and making music.  I
think that lit my creative spark."
     "Ever since Kaamos became Kaamos, I think the evolution  of  the
band has been very minimal. I think we have worked hard to  keep  our
sound brutal and pretty much along the same lines as it was  when  we
started", he says. "We formed out of being tired of all  the  melodic
metal crap coming from the music scene here  in  Stockholm.  All  the
bands were playing the same type of music over and over again and  it
was getting boring. We wanted to  re-establish  the  old  spirit  (in
death metal). It might sound presumptuous, but..."
     Hey, good for you guys wanting to change things up a bit and not
go with the flow. That is very cool.
     "I think if you listen to our music,  you  can  hear  a  bit  of
Morbid Angel influence, more of the older era of the  band.  I  think
you can also hear the vibe that was part of all those  Satanic  bands
early on (e.g. Deicide), the common element that all those bands were
working with in our music. In order for us  to  play  this  style  of
music, we really couldn't go out and make our music very extreme,  we
had to go back to the basics and just turn out really evil  and  dark
music."
     I'm not a big Morbid Angel fan at all -- and forget  Deicide,  I
hate them -- but I dig what Kaamos is doing for sure.
     "Wow...  really?  We  all  love  those  bands.  Just  the  sheer
brutality and intensity of  what  they  did  back  then  and  now  is
killer."
     Konstantin hit it right on the head: intensity. That is  one  of
the key reasons why I think Kaamos' debut disc is really grabbing  me
by the throat this year. It is  so  fucking  intense.  The  band  has
basically gone back and brought what seems to be missing  in  today's
metal scene, but at the same time adding their own character  to  the
music.
     "When I play back this record, I hear  a  lot  of  fire  in  our
music. There is a lot of spirit in what we do. We are not  trying  to
suppress the spirit in order to create something. We'd rather see the
instruments act as tools to  create  states  that  can  manifest  the
spirits. Sounds weird, huh?"
     Yeah.
     "We sound like a hippie band, don't we?", he laughs.
     And laughing I respond, "You sure do, Mr. Woody Guthrie."
     Does Konstantin feel that this album will make an impact on  the
metal music scene? How does he want the album to be received by metal
fans worldwide?
     "We just want to see some success, but not really in album sales
or whatever else; more in the success of  making  music",  Konstantin
answers. "We don't do this for anybody else but us. We  don't  really
care how it is received. If people like it, I am happy, but if people
hate it, oh well. I think most bands pretty much feel the same way as
we do."
     He ends, "I don't know why people think most musicians  want  to
sell millions of records and be rich. I mean, we all do,  I  suppose,
but I think musicians get more out of a good album and good material.
I know I do."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
                   _____  .__ ___.
                  /  _  \ |  |\_ |__  __ __  _____
                 /  /_\  \|  | | __ \|  |  \/     \
                /    |    \  |_| \_\ \  |  /  Y Y  \
                \____|__  /____/___  /____/|__|_|  /
                        \/         \/            \/
              _____                 .__
             /  _  \   _________.__.|  |  __ __  _____
            /  /_\  \ /  ___<   |  ||  | |  |  \/     \
           /    |    \\___ \ \___  ||  |_|  |  /  Y Y  \
           \____|__  /____  >/ ____||____/____/|__|_|  /
                   \/     \/ \/                      \/

Scoring:  10 out of 10 -- A masterpiece indeed
           9 out of 10 -- Highly recommended
           7 out of 10 -- Has some redeeming qualities
           5 out of 10 -- You are treading in dangerous waters
           3 out of 10 -- Nothing here worth looking into
           0 out of 10 -- An atrocious album, avoid at all costs!


Abigail - _Welcome All Hell Fuckers_  (Drakkar Productions, 2001)
by: Quentin Kalis  (8 out of 10)

Abigail were in that category of being one of those bands that I  had
heard of but had never paid much attention to and  had  never  really
regarded it worthwhile to make any sort of attempt to track down  any
of their releases. After hearing _WAHF_ I realised that  I  had  been
badly mistaken in any assumptions I had regarding this Japanese trio.
If any of their previous releases can match the quality  attained  by
this MCD -- and the two live tracks included suggest that  they  have
-- then I have been a  fool  in  not  affording  them  any  attention
beforehand. With four originals and  two  live  songs,  _WAHF_  is  a
standard "gap-filler" CD, something to keep the fans satisfied whilst
they work on their next full-length. The live tracks --  recorded  in
Tokyo in 1999 -- are predictably, not  to  mention  obviously,  rawer
than the studio tracks. The guitars are a bit low in the mix and  are
slightly overwhelmed by the vocals and drums. While the  live  tracks
aren't as good or entertaining  as  the  original  tracks,  they  are
nevertheless sufficiently good to be entertaining and  well  worth  a
listen, though it would have been preferable to have been treated  to
an additional two originals. All the songs are immersed with some  of
the catchiest riffs possible. Every  single  track  is  uniquely  and
easily identifiable as an Abigail  song,  combining  thrash  elements
with a strong modern sensibility, so that _WAHF_ never feels  at  all
dated. Abigail are truly one of  the  most  underrated  and  original
bands.


Abominator - _Subversives for Lucifer_  (Osmose, September 2001)
by: Quentin Kalis  (5.5 out 10)

_Subversives for Lucifer_ contains music that is a  hybrid  of  black
and death metal: music which is of neither of these genres  but  lies
somewhere on a continuum between the two not-so-disparate genres. The
guitars are too low to be considered black metal and too trebly to be
considered  death  metal.  Similarly,  the  vocals  too  do  not  sit
comfortably in either of these two genres. While they  may  have  not
created a  devastatingly  original  sound,  they  have  succeeded  in
creating a sound that is immediately identifiable as "the  Abominator
sound". But this in itself is insufficient to rescue this album  from
the realms of banality and mediocrity.  Furthermore,  it  in  no  way
guarantees that the songs presented on _SfL_ are any good -- or  even
listenable. The songs have no individual personality and are  largely
interchangeable with each other. If one were to  listen  to  any  one
song on this release in isolation from the rest of the album, then it
wouldn't be so bad. It won't make any top 10 lists, but neither  will
it make any "worst of" lists. Nevertheless, listening to  the  entire
album from beginning to end is sufficient to  test  the  patience  of
even the most ardent metal fan. Then the tendency for  everything  to
sound alike will come to the fore. More than simply playing  as  fast
and as aggressively as possible is needed to create a halfway  decent
metal song. Basically, once you have heard one Abominator  song  then
you have heard them all. This is a pity, as Abominator are  competent
musicians -- just bad songwriters.

[Paul  Schwarz:   "Reminiscent   in   sound   of   that   much-missed
 late-nineties  death   machine   Angelcorpse   (RIP),   Abominator's
 all-blasting, all-growling assault is  nudged  by  its  PR  and  its
 similarities to the likes of Conqueror into the "war metal" genre as
 it exists in their native Australia. Unfortunately, Abominator don't
 have the talents of an Angelcorpse, or  even  a  Krisiun,  to  forge
 killer songs from their simplistic riffs and lengthy blast sections,
 but for a three-piece they pack an impressive,  well-measured  punch
 and don't induce insomnia the way many "blast metal" bands do."]


Aeternus - _Ascension of Terror_  (Hammerheart, November 2001)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (8 out of 10)

1997 and 1998 saw the unleashing of Aeternus' first  two  full-length
creations: _Beyond the Wandering  Moon_  and  _...And  So  the  Night
Became_. Their dense, warlike death metal -- morose, doomy  and  very
dark -- set them apart as both a rather unique  band  and  one  whose
music would not be easily enjoyed by the average listener. It took  a
special frame of mind to fully absorb the  atmospheric  qualities  of
their lengthy  compositions,  but  the  music  could  also  be  quite
rewarding in the end. Anno 1999, Aeternus  changed  their  sound  and
direction noticeably with _Shadows of Old_ -- a potent, dynamic  slab
of raging death metal that still retained traces of their music's old
warlike atmosphere. The songs were shorter, more dynamic,  faster  in
pace, and the sound was  considerably  less  dense  and  morose  than
before. _Shadows of Old_ triumphed through  the  sheer  strength  and
atmosphere of  tracks  such  as  "Dark  Rage",  its  sullen  melodies
interspersed with outbursts  of  speed,  raging  riffs  and  powerful
vocals. _Ascension of Terror_, the matter at hand, is  the  follow-up
to that impressive disc, and its  opening  track  "Possessed  by  the
Serpent's Vengeance" strongly indicates that Aeternus have  not  lost
any of their qualities. Alas, it turns out to be one of the mere  two
tracks where those qualities seem to remain intact, the  other  being
"Denial of Salvation". This isn't to say that the rest of  the  album
lacks pace or strength -- tracks such as "The Lair of  Anubis"  leave
no doubt about that -- but it does tend  to  lack  some  of  the  old
atmosphere, rushing into  things  and  opting  for  easier,  chunkier
riffs more often than before. Indeed,  one  can  say  that  Aeternus'
Americanization in style continues; and  as  a  result,  the  album's
title track is ironically the weakest  and  most  simplistic  on  the
disc. Nevertheless, in spite of some weaker  moments,  _Ascension  of
Terror_ is still a powerful, bloodthirsty beast  that  also  contains
some of Aeternus' best efforts so far. It's just  a  shame  it  isn't
more consistent overall, as its best tracks  alone  would  easily  be
worth a more remarkable rating.

[Paul Schwarz: "Essentially picking up where 1999's _Shadows of  Old_
 [CoC #45] left off, _AoT_ marks no substantial change  in  style  or
 delivery over its predecessor -- but this is no bad thing! _AoT_  is
 a damn enjoyable, brutal metal record.  It  is  true  that  it  only
 differs from its predecessor in being  yet-more-bludgeoningly  death
 metal -- the presence of -those- dodgy string bends  being  the  one
 downside to this turn of  events  --,  but  yet  _Aot_  delivers  an
 absolutely punishing sonic punch to the face as recompense  for  its
 lack of forward motion."]


Aliengates - _Dark Days Quantum_  (<Independent>, 2001)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (7 out of 10)

A 21 minute self-released EP that  arrives  from  Switzerland,  _Dark
Days Quantum_ is a serious, well presented  showcase  of  the  band's
skills. It contains a brief atmospheric intro plus five tracks  of  a
thrashy type of death metal with a  bit  of  a  nod  towards  Sweden,
and Gothenburg in particular. Despite  being  rather  unsuitable  for
headphones due to problems with the  sound  balance,  the  production
-- always an  iffy  issue  with  independent  releases  --  does  not
let Aliengates down on loudspeakers.  The  band  is  quite  competent
instrumentally and able to write good enough songs to allow the EP to
flow nicely, which is an achievement in  itself  for  a  young  band.
Nevertheless, Aliengates will need to increase the overall  intensity
of their music a notch next time around to create more of an  impact;
they do have good foundations to build upon, though,  and  time  will
likely be kind to this young band.

Contact: http://www.aliengates.com


Axamenta - _Codex Barathri_  (The LSP Company, March 2002)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (6.5 out of 10)

Cradle of Filth, Dimmu Borgir, Bal-Sagoth --  any  or  all  of  these
names  will  probably  cross  your  mind  as  you  listen  to  _Codex
Barathri_. On one hand, Axamenta add little  of  their  own  to  this
concoction of tried-and-tested styles; but on the other hand, they're
certainly not bad at what they do, unoriginal as it may be. The  band
is technically competent, the songwriting is reasonably good and  the
production quite decent; yet this disc is  still  unlikely  to  spend
much time in my CD player in the future, as it has  little  to  offer
that cannot be found elsewhere. The band is quite good at  this,  but
not so good as to blow the competition away at their own game. To use
an oft-repeated verdict, this album should be worthwhile for fans  of
the genre and uninteresting for everyone else. I would certainly like
to see Axamenta applying their skills to a sound they can really call
their own next time, as they do seem  to  have  enough  potential  to
succeed.

Contact: http://www.lsp-company.com


Belinus - _Battlechants_  (<Independent>, 2002)
by: Adrian Bromley  (8.5 out of 10)

Offering up  an  interesting  array  of  ideas  for  metal  music  is
Ireland's Belinus, a wonderfully orchestrated musical experience that
successfully  combines  Celtic  musical  stylings  with  black  metal
aggression. The band calls their music "Celtic war metal",  and  they
aren't far from the truth, as the bombastic sway of the guitar  riffs
is spurned forward by the harsh vocal cries and  tightened  up  by  a
truly hypnotic rhythm section. Intensity never sounded so in control,
plus the atmosphere of the album (thanks to an  adequate  production)
is impressive as well. While shades of Absu and older era  Cradle  of
Filth are apparent in their music, Belinus play strong and  steadfast
on numbers like "StormGod" and  "Cursus"  within  this  28-minute  EP
"find themselves" musically. A band definitely worth looking our  for
as this EP crushes.

Contact: http://belinus.cbj.net


Belphegor - _Necrodaemon Terrorsathan_  (Last Episode, 2001)
by: Matthias Noll  (8.5 out of 10)

From Austria comes one of the finest blackened  death  metal  records
I've so far had the pleasure to grace my CD player with. Unlike bands
such as Zyklon or Emperor on _IX Equilibrium_, this doesn't fall into
the trap of being  expertly  executed  but  lifeless  and  ultimately
sterile. _Necrodaemon Terrorsathan_ is  a  beast  of  a  record  that
oozes  conviction,  unbridled  aggression  and  power.  Stylistically
the above mentioned bands cannot  serve  as  a  point  of  reference,
because  Belphegor  sound  rather  like  a  slightly  black-metallic,
rabidly blasting and furious early  Deicide,  and  nowhere  like  the
Norwegian high-tech metal of today. Another plus  is  the  excellent,
natural sounding production, done by the band themselves and  one  B.
Milunovic, which  expertly  balances  old-school  rawness  with  just
the  right  amount  of  clarity.  Quite  refreshingly,   _Necrodaemon
Terrosathan_ is not plagued by the staleness of the  mass  processing
taking place in certain more famous studios.  Belphegor  successfully
manage the tightrope walk between being  blasting  and  technical  in
places, while maintaining and unleashing the raw power  which  is  at
the core of death metal. A highly  recommended  release  and  a  band
which is able to give most US death metal bands a lesson in violence.
Buy _Necrodaemon Terrorsathan_ instead of Deicide's _In  Torment,  In
Hell_ [CoC #57] and Satan will love you!


Berserk - _From the Celtiberian Woods_
by: David Rocher (2 out of 10) (Oaken Shield / Adipocere, Nov. 2001)

Amidst the massively depleted ranks of defenders standing faithful to
the "true black metal" genre,  I  have  been  graced  to  discover  a
number of worthy heirs of past masters  such  as  Satyricon,  Mayhem,
Darkthrone, Emperor or such purveyors  of  misanthropic  Scandinavian
bleakness -- Sweden's Craft or France's Nehemah are  references  that
instantly spring to the mind, owing to  the  ruthless  accuracy  with
which they recapture and distil the cold, rabid feelings  of  anguish
and hatred that pervade the classics in  the  black  metal  file.  As
opposed to this, Berserk are quite the example of a  botched  attempt
at keeping the proverbial black flame alight;  featuring  more  gross
and cheesy stabs at Satyricon's _Dark Medieval Times_ per second than
I would ever have dared to imagine, _From the Celtiberian  Woods_  is
a collection of  second-rate  symphonic  black  metal  anthems,  with
insufficient musicianship and lame production  to  boot.  The  guitar
riffs in here are as blatantly unoriginal as they are  barely  decent
at the best of times, Berserk's keyboard player delivers little  more
than one-fingered synthetic "atmospheres", and the lyrics are  but  a
risible inventory of worn-out sylvan topics, e.g. "The moon is  dark,
and the forest our hut where the elements and darkness  join  up"  --
quite terrifying and mystical beyond belief, I suppose. In  a  rotten
nutshell, I'm sorry to say that the tone-deaf  requiem  titled  _From
the Celtiberian Woods_ is about as convincing as the band's  idea  of
inserting a road map of  Spain  featuring  a  comprehensive  list  of
Celtiberian tribes on the back plate of this CD.


Beseech - _Souls Highway_  (Napalm Records, 2002)
by: Vincent Eldefors  (8 out of 10)

When you put Sweden and metal  together  you  usually  think  of  old
classic death metal like Unleashed, Grave and Entombed, more  melodic
bands like At the Gates, In Flames and others, and of  course  darker
ones like Marduk and Dark Funeral. The Swedish metal scene  of  today
is luckily a lot broader, something which may not be seen  so  kindly
by everyone. No matter what, there are plenty of  Swedish  bands  who
have a lot to offer but still haven't been given the  attention  they
deserve. One of those is gothic metal band Beseech, who have  already
released three demos and two full-length albums. Even though I try to
follow the Swedish scene as much as possible, I  must  admit  that  I
haven't had a chance to listen to any  of  their  previous  releases.
Nevertheless, I am very confident that this is their best material so
far, and they have also signed a new  deal  with  my  favorite  metal
label, Napalm Records. The line-up has  changed  slightly  since  the
last album, with the addition of a new male vocalist,  Erik  Molarin,
who has a very deep, passionate voice which is very suitable for this
type of emotional metal that Beseech indulge in. It also  works  very
well in contrast with the female voice courtesy of Lotta Hoglin.  The
music is atmospheric and melancholic but still  powerful,  and  I  am
glad to say that it is never boring. There aren't  many  metal  bands
who use both clean male and female vocals and manage  to  keep  their
music interesting. Beseech is definitely one of  the  most  promising
bands within their genre at the moment, and if  you  found  the  last
couple of releases from Tiamat and Moonspell as boring as I did, then
this is an album worthy of your attention. Also be sure to  get  hold
of the bonus track, which is a wonderful cover version  of  the  ABBA
classic "Gimme Gimme Gimme".

Contact: http://www.beseech.net


Beto Vazquez Infinity - _Beto Vazquez Infinity_
by: David Rocher  (2 out of 10)  (Drakkar / XIII Bis, February 2002)

Be warned: this recording is no less than the finest possible  avatar
of a  corporate  musical  pull-in.  I  haven't  a  clue  as  to  whom
Beto Vazquez may be,  or  whence  he  so  suddenly  arose  from,  but
it seems that  the  mainstream  musical  heavens  quite  miraculously
opened up to grace his very  own  project  "Infinity"  with  some  of
the  most  famed  musicians  and  singers  available  in  the  genre:
Tarja Turunen of  Nightwish,  Candice  Night  of  Blackmore's  Night,
Jorg  Michaels  of  Stratovarius,  Fabio  Leone  of  Rhapsody...  and
others yet. It's nothing personal,  but  set  aside  the  enrapturing
vocal performances of  Tarja  Turunen  or  Sabine  Edelsbacher  (lead
vocalist in Edenbridge), you're left with a very soothing, tragically
boring, mid- to slow-paced  fifty-minute  concept  album  similar  to
massively watered-down Nightwish (not, of course, that Nightwish  are
outrageously muscular),  parsimoniously  interspersed  with  the  odd
Celtic-sounding  flute  or  tin  whistle  doodle  for  good  measure;
cute, very relaxing -- you can't  after  all  expect  new  age  music
atmospherics meshed with AOR-style  aggressiveness  to  be  massively
invigorating -- and, first  and  foremost,  sedative  beyond  belief.
Yawn.


Bewitched - _Rise of the Antichrist_  (Osmose Productions, 2001)
by: Quentin Kalis  (7.5 out of 10)

Unlike  most  other  bands  which  deliver  Satanic-themed  missives,
Bewitched make  strong  use  of  retro-sounding  thrash  rhythms  (in
conjunction with similarly dated solo structures). This, in  addition
to their over-the-top blasphemous lyrics, makes  for  a  surprisingly
interesting -- not to mention entertaining --  listen.  So  why  does
such a backward-looking album work in the 21st century? There  are  a
good number of reasons. Firstly, the solos are not extraneous bits of
musical showmanship that do not add anything whatsoever to  the  song
itself. Solos which really do engage the listener and work  with  the
song are infrequent,  and  Bewitched  deserve  recognition  for  this
element of their music. Secondly, the solos tend  to  work  with  the
song rather than against it,  as  so  many  solos  are  wont  to  do.
Thirdly, they do write some damn good songs -- the  likes  of  "Under
Satan's Spell" and "The Ripper's Return" are intense, powerful songs.
But  despite  Bewitched's  strong  and  unmistakable  use  of  thrash
elements, it somehow seems wrong and inaccurate to describe this as a
thrash release -- rather, it is a thrash-inspired release.  Whilst  I
haven't had the pleasure  of  hearing  any  of  Bewitched's  previous
albums, Bewitched don't give the impression of being innovators,  and
I have no reason to believe that there are any significant changes on
_RotA_. Their blatant over-the-top Satan worship  does  get  somewhat
trying after a few songs,  but  as  a  whole  this  is  an  engaging,
undemanding album, which is  likely  to  spend  a  not  insignificant
period of time on any metalhead's CD player.

[Paul Schwarz: "It took some resolve -- not to  mention  mantra  like
 repetition of the creed, "You won't know if you'll like it 'til  you
 listen to it" -- for me to get through  the  thirty-odd  minutes  of
 _Rise of the Antichrist_. Bewitched have never  impressed  me;  only
 over their atrocious live album, _Hell Comes to  Essen_  [CoC  #37],
 would I choose to listen to _RotA_."]


Black Mass - _To Fly With Demons_  (Grindnoiz Records, 2001)
by: Quentin Kalis  (6 out of 10)

I'm not sure whether Black Mass wish to be regarded  as  a  black  or
death metal band. The  music  contained  on  the  album  sounds  like
mid-paced, brutal death metal; on the other  hand,  the  accompanying
band photo shows the trio adorned in corpse paint,  wearing  inverted
crosses, black clothes and spiked armbands -- the usual  black  metal
trappings and attire. Similarly,  song  titles  such  as  "Invocatium
Satanas" and "To Fly With Demons" suggest a  preoccupation  with  the
same lyrical and ideological topics  as  their  grim-faced  Norwegian
peers. So I guess that although musically this is, without  a  doubt,
death metal, it is black metal in attitude. As a black  metal  album,
the growls and mid-paced tempo of the songs  provide  an  interesting
break and a much-needed respite from the relentless speed and banshee
screams that characterise much of  black  metal.  As  a  death  metal
album, it sounds awfully generic, with nothing to distinguish  _TFWD_
from the hundreds of similar sounding death  metal  albums  from  the
early  '90s.  Nevertheless,  there  are  a  couple  of  decent  songs
--  especially  "Altar  of  Ill  Repute"  and  "Continual  Darkness".
Unfortunately, the inclusion  of  two  above  average  songs  coupled
with the novelty of  black  metal  masquerading  as  death  metal  is
insufficient to rescue this release from the domain of the  mediocre.
Admittedly for those who listen exclusively to black metal this might
sound fresh, but those with a broader musical appetite will recognise
it for unremarkable album it really is.

[Alvin Wee: "Old-timers of the scene remember this  cult  combo  from
 their countless number of demos, and comparisons will  no  doubt  be
 made with Nunslaughter both music- and status-wise. Hints of classic
 Morbid Angel and Incantation invariably pop up amidst  the  guttural
 chaos, but I expected a little more considering the cult status this
 combo has gained. Ordinary blackened death that troops like  Avenger
 and Arghoslent do way better."]

Contact: Black Mass, c/o G&N Entertainment, 544 Logan Street,
         Frederick, MD 21701, USA


Blood Duster - _Cunt_  (Relapse Records, 2001)
by: Quentin Kalis  (5 out of 10)

Whilst  Blood  Duster  are  essentially  a   grindcore   band,   this
description is largely inaccurate due to the  groove  underlying  all
the songs. A better description would perhaps be "stoner death" -- if
possible, imagine Kyuss playing death metal, and that will provide  a
good idea as to what this album sounds like.  Highly  irritating  are
the sexually orientated samples  that  act  as  intros  for  many  of
the songs. Inclusion of  these  samples  may  be  shocking  to,  say,
Catholics, but Blood Duster's target audience are  unlikely  to  find
the samples shocking or cutting edge;  merely  tired.  They  are  not
shocking nor  disgusting;  rather  they  suggest  that  a  couple  of
sexually frustrated, hormone- laden fifteen year olds had a  hand  in
the construction of  this  album.  Meanwhile,  song  titles  such  as
"Atracksuitisnotappropraitemetalaparel" and "Speven" suggest that  AC
rather then Carcass served as an influence for  Blood  Duster.  Songs
such as the aforementioned are initially  amusing,  but  the  novelty
quickly wears off and one is left with  what  is  at  best  a  rather
mediocre album. This would be a good album to put on to have  a  good
laugh with a couple of metalhead friends, but beyond  a  few  cursory
listens this is unlikely to get played after the first week or so.

[Paul Schwarz: "Bass-ridden, crusty, punchy grunt-grind, unsoiled  by
 skilled hands or forward-thinking brains. Short, simple and  lacking
 even a grasp for real emotion, _Cunt_  left  me  entirely  cold.  If
 there's a  point  to  basic-form  grind/death  with  no  outstanding
 qualities, could someone explain it to me, please?"]


Bludgeon - _Crucify the Priest_
by: David Rocher (6 out of 10) (Magic Circle/Metal Blade, March 2002)

Chicago's thrashers Bludgeon have been granted the remarkable  honour
of releasing their debut album on  Joey  DeMaio's  own  label,  Magic
Circle Music -- promising auspices to their career indeed. With  this
said, however, despite the fact  that  _Crucify  the  Priest_  is  an
enjoyable recording, Bludgeon have yet quite a  way  to  fare  before
becoming anything comparable to  the  Manowars  of  thrash  metal  --
although an amusingly healthy "we are heroic thrash  metal  warriors"
stance already pervades this first recording.  Technically  speaking,
Bludgeon have more than their fair share of abilities,  and  _Crucify
the Priest_ teems with awe-inspiring rhythmic power, frantic drumming
antics and powerful, catchy low-case riffing; only the  vocals  stand
out as a notably lacklustre performance, owing to rhythm  axeman  and
vocalist Mark Duca's choppy, uneventful  and  unemotional  elocution.
However, with these qualities spoken about it, _Crucify  the  Priest_
sadly fails to hit home; as undefinable and irritatingly ethereal  as
it may sound, there is something that Bludgeon lack -- they  run  for
the raucous power of death metal, yet fail  to  fully  recapture  the
lethal intensity inherent to that style; they strive to  display  the
mean bite of cult Bay Area  thrash  outfits  of  yore,  but  fail  to
produce the razor-sharp aggressiveness and rabid meanness  thrash  is
all about; and finally, industrious and dedicated  as  they  may  be,
Chicago's four-piece simply seem miss the  brilliance  that  tells  a
decent recording apart from a great release.  This  is  however  only
their first release, so hopefully, their second recording may release
the savagery that feels so withheld on _Crucify the Priest_, and thus
turn out to be the blasting chunk of  hate  I  would  have  liked  to
discover in the guise of this first attempt.


Blut Aus Nord - _The Mystical Beast of Rebellion_
by: David Rocher (4 out of 10) (Oaken Shield / Adipocere, Nov. 2001)

It has now been nearly a decade since  the  mysterious  and  prolific
character Vindsval (Blut Aus Nord, Children of Maani, The Eye)  began
lurking in the  French  extreme  metal  underground  scene  with  his
haunting works. Set aside Children  of  Maani,  which  disclosed  his
interest for oriental-sounding tonalities, both his  other  projects,
The Eye and Blut Aus Nord, have  always  been  a  scarcely  concealed
tribute to Grishnack's songwriting and the  "truest"  slants  of  the
black metal genre's ideals. After a lengthy pause,  Vindsval  is  now
back with a third Blut Aus Nord  album  which,  to  gather  it  in  a
nutshell, should satisfy his existing fans, yet will also predictably
fail to earn him any new ones. The chilling, spectral  tonalities  of
Blut Aus  Nord's  previous  releases,  _Ultima  Thule_  and  _Memoria
Vetusta I_, still pervade  this  act  of  self-acclaimed  "Undaground
Musical Terrorism",  with  what  feels  like  more  emphasis  on  the
characteristic icy feel, less bombastic  keyboard  effects  and  more
streamlined, stripped-down song structures -- bleakness indeed. Alas,
despite the chilling atmosphere that this third  release  irradiates,
the traditional linearity inherent to Vindsval's works  soon  becomes
as wearing as the constant 4/4  drum  machine  battering  this  album
never seems to part ways with; hence, although some tracks stand  out
as fine examples indeed of haunting black metal anthems (as the track
"Chapter 4: The Fall"), most of the material on this album soon fades
into a blurred shroud of uneventful musical  nothingness.  Vindsval's
devoted  following  and  raw  black  metal  aficionados  thriving  on
repetition-induced atmosphere can safely turn to  this  release,  but
metalheads who enjoy any form of dynamics in their  albums  would  be
well advised not to heed any particular attention to this release.


Boiler - _Cow Tipping in C Sharp_  (<Independent>, 2002)
by: Adrian Bromley  (5 out of 10)

Ithaca, New York's trio Boiler are good at what they do,  I'll  admit
that, but the music they play is  a  tad  annoying.  I've  never  had
problems with bands who play "groove metal" (think Prong with  shades
of Pro-Pain and Machine Head), but it's just that the music  of  this
trio sounds a tad forced, especially  the  vocals.  The  band's  _Cow
Tipping in C  Sharp_  is  a  rollercoaster  ride  of  aggression  and
grooves, but rarely did this listener feel compelled to  mosh  or  be
moved by the groove; rather I was  cringing  at  the  next  round  of
aggressive grooves ready to be played.  I've  seen  some  good  press
about this band and I can understand what people like about  them  --
they are tight and have a groove -- but I  can't  get  into  them.  I
think there comes a time in any reviewer's life where they just  feel
very numb about a band and nothing the band does will intrigue  them.
I think I have reached that point with Boiler, though I must admit  I
like the track "The Beautiful Terrible".

Contact: http://www.boilerny.com


Branded Skin - _Branded Skin_  (<Independent>, 2002)
by: Quentin Kalis  (7 out of 10)

German band Branded Skin certainly deserve to be  commended  for  not
sitting around on their asses waiting for some or other  record  deal
to maybe materialise sometime in the  unforeseeable  future  and  for
taking the initiative to record and  release  their  debut  album  by
themselves. _Branded Skin_ consists  of  eight  tracks  of  mid-paced
death metal. At just over 22 minutes, they have adopted an old-school
punk approach to songwriting, with the average song length being just
under three minutes. (It  should  be  mentioned  that  despite  being
marketed as full-length, it is priced as  though  it  were  an  MCD.)
Similarly, like many bands of punk's second  wave,  they  too  eschew
leads in  favour  of  down-tuned  riffing.  But  this  is  where  any
similarities to the punk of yesteryear end. While their  use  of  the
guttural vocals and measured bass-heavy guitar on this album is to be
expected, and the album itself doesn't  really  offer  anything  that
could be considered original, it is  nevertheless  better  than  many
similar titles on the market and  it  does  make  for  an  enjoyable,
unpretentious listen. A promising debut.

Contact: http://www.brandedskin.de


Cain - _Antichrist Declaration_  (<Independent>, 2002)
by: Adrian Bromley  (7 out of 10)

Quite an adventurous and loud  burst  of  energy  found  within  solo
artist Cain's three-song offering _Antichrist Declaration_. Declaring
his work as "industrial black art", Cain ravages  the  listener  with
intense, cold industrial rhythms meshed together with  some  brutally
frightening black metal angst. The result is a hyper  kinetic  groove
full of banshee-like wails and clanking metal aggression. While short
in its attack, the music of Cain makes up with the creative  flow  of
the material, especially on the title track. Nothing much more to say
except that this is an interesting release that'll find its  audience
through continuous experimentation.


Cannibal Corpse - _Gore Obsessed_  (Metal Blade, 2002)
by: Matthias Noll  (6.5 out of 10)

Did you ever try to wrestle with a living  eel?  You'll  most  likely
find out that the slimy creature manages to escape  your  grasp  with
ease. I get a similar feeling from Cannibal Corpse's  newest  output,
_Gore Obsessed_.  Even  after  listening  to  this  CD  approximately
fifteen times, I still seem to be unable to remember anything but the
somewhat catchy track "Pit of Zombies" and the  Metallica  cover  "No
Remorse" -- the latter unfortunately only for the fact  that  it's  a
Metallica cover. While  others  might  have  similar  feelings  about
all CC output since _The  Bleeding_,  I  was  rather  impressed  with
_Bloodthirst_ [CoC #44] and  also  enjoyed  _Live  Cannibalism_  [CoC
#52], and might therefore be more disappointed than the ones who have
written off Cannibal Corpse years ago.  I'm  not  saying  that  _Gore
Obsessed_ is a bad album -- it's full of 100% typical Cannibal Corpse
material, but it fails to leave almost any impression at all due to a
lack of more than a few  outstanding  moments.  Production-wise,  Jim
Kernon's work is leagues above every album they  did  at  Morrissound
but is still comes second to the brilliantly heavy job done by  Colin
Richardson on _Bloodthirst_. For fans of  Corpsegrinder-era  Cannibal
Corpse, _Gore Obsessed_ is definitely a must, but in the death  metal
world of 2002 I do not see why anyone else would feel the need to buy
this record.

[David Rocher: "Awe-inspiring new sound --  courtesy  of  the  genial
 soundsmith Neil Kernon --, yet  bluntly,  same  gut-gargling  stuff;
 Cannibal Corpse  are  by  now  about  as  predictable  a  phenomenon
 in their  ultra-brutal  pus-sodden  microcosm  as  Iron  Maiden  are
 emblematic  to  the  whimsical  universe  of  tight-fitting  spandex
 paraphernalia. With this said, _Gore Obsessed_ remains a  thoroughly
 enjoyable chuck of growling, blasting and  surgically  mean  musical
 manslaughter assaults, an adrenaline-laced discharge  of  bellowing,
 seething  death  metal  hate,  with  outstanding   technicality   to
 boot. Dispensable beyond all doubt,  yet  strangely  compelling  and
 unquestionably vehement; as you will  have  grasped  by  now,  _Gore
 Obsessed_ is Cannibal Corpse displaying great proficiency  at  being
 their own bad, rotting selves -- all the way  down  to  the  risible
 uncensored cover art."]


Catamenia - _Eskhata_  (Massacre Records, 2002)
by: Vincent Eldefors  (7 out of 10)

If I were to say that I am a black metal purist, I  would  definitely
be lying; but I am a very open-minded metal fan and enjoy  everything
from progressive and  power  metal  to  black  metal  and  grindcore.
Therefore, I will attempt to review  this  fourth  full-length  album
from the Finnish band Catamenia. Unlike their neighbouring  countries
Norway and Sweden, Finland hasn't really had a tradition of producing
famous black metal bands, but for the last  five  or  ten  years  the
Finnish metal scene has been the arena of some explosive development.
Bands like Eternal Tears of Sorrow, Sentenced,  Amorphis,  Nightwish,
Children of Bodom and others have had  great  success  all  over  the
world. Most of these are hardly black metal bands, but Catamenia  are
for sure. Catamenia have been brave enough not to use  the  Spinefarm
trademark -- a massive use of keyboards -- even though Kalmah drummer
Janne Kusmin actually handles the sticks on this release. This is due
to the fact that  the  band  have  lost  their  former  drummer  Mika
Luttinen (Impaled Nazarene), while their female keyboard player Heidi
Riihinen has also decided to leave  her  dark  brothers.  Catamenia's
brand of black metal is majestic  and  melodic,  sometimes  almost  a
little pompous. I am one of those who often  criticize  bands  saying
that speed is not everything, but in this case I would like to do the
opposite. There are plenty  of  slow  atmospheric  passages  on  this
album, but they are unfortunately rather boring. The  faster  tracks,
on the other hand, are very well performed. Catamenia may not be  the
most original band on the planet, but they  are  still  high  quality
performers of the black arts. Top picks: "Storm", Rain of Blood"  and
"Landscape".

Contact: http://www.catamenia.net


Construcdead - _Repent_  (Cold Records, 2002)
by: Vincent Eldefors  (7.5 out of 10)

Most fans of extreme metal know bands  like  Darkane,  Soilwork,  The
Forsaken, The Defaced, The Haunted and others who have  been  popping
out of the Swedish scene for the past five or so  years,  mixing  the
speed of thrash metal with the technicality and  brutality  of  death
metal. These bands are often recognizable by  strong  growled  vocals
that sound clean in a very weird way and musicianship of a very  high
level. One  of  the  newest  bands  to  be  added  to  this  list  is
Construcdead, who hail from the  Swedish  capital,  Stockholm.  These
guys are not new to the metal scene, though, and  here  we  can  find
Erik Thyselius  from  Terror  2000  --  a  band  that  also  features
Darkane's Klas Ideberg. If I were  to  say  that  Construcdead  is  a
groundbreaking band I would not be telling you the truth, but if  you
like some of the bands I mentioned in the beginning of  this  review,
then you will certainly want to check out this release as  well.  The
album is being released on a newly formed independent  Swedish  label
called Cold Records, but the production is of a very high quality and
this album could easily have been released by a  label  like  Nuclear
Blast or Massacre Records. The Swedish metal scene is growing day  by
day, and this is certainly not the last we  will  see  or  hear  from
Construcdead. It is not a coincidence that  Soilwork  chose  to  take
them along on their Japanese tour. Just listen  to  the  track  "I've
Come to Rule" and you will understand why this band will be  part  of
the Swedish elite for a long time to come.  Except  for  the  foolish
name, this is a great band.

Contact: http://www.construcdead.com


Corpus Mortale - _Succumb to the Superior_ (<Independent>, June 2000)
by: David Rocher  (7.5 out of 10)

Hailing  from  the  same  Danish  town  as  extreme  metal  purveyors
Mighty Music, the death metallers Corpus Mortale  have  been  roaming
the  underground  since  the  spring  of  1993,  their  self-released
_Succumb to  the  Superior_  being  the  sequel  to  their  1996  MCD
_Integration_.  Lurking  somewhere  between  the  blasting  technical
standards of American death metal and the heavier, more raucous tones
of Scandinavian metal,  _SttS_  features  four  tracks  of  powerful,
catchy and competently interpreted death metal --  though  be  warned
that nothing particularly unconventional appears  in  sight  on  this
release; nowt in fact but streamlined  efficiency  and  raging  power
galore, graced with a clear, crisp production. Probably more  than  a
mere  coincidence,  Corpus  Mortale's  material  does  bear  hues  of
Iniquity's catchy release _The Hidden Lore_,  in  the  guise  of  the
twisted riffing, powerful blasts and unrelenting intensity (hardly  a
surprise, since Corpus Mortale in fact  features  ex-Iniquity  axeman
Brian Eriksen on guitar and vocal duties); from grinding assaults  to
displays of utterly crushing heaviness, Corpus Mortale  prove  to  be
well and truly at ease with every vicious musical  streak  the  death
metal genre. If the cantankerous reviewer in me  ultimately  were  to
begrudge  Corpus  Mortale  for  anything,  I  would  say  that  their
material still requires to develop further power and personality  for
them to stand out  amidst  the  hopelessly  overcrowded  death  metal
scene. _Succumb to the Superior_ nonetheless remains an  undisputably
commendable effort, available for a measly 5 USD (plus 2 USD for P&P)
at the address below -- a worthy opportunity to do something for  the
real death metal underground out there.

Contact: Corpus Mortale, c/o Nicholas Mascholn,
         Vesterbrogade 29F 3 tv., 1620 Kobenhavn V, Denmark
         mailto:corpus@worldonline.dk


Dagorlad - _The End of the Dark Ages_  (The LSP Company, March 2002)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (7 out of 10)

_The End of the Dark Ages_ is labelled in the promo  sheet  as  "epic
fantasy black metal", which together with the  album  title  made  me
hope for Summoning  and  fear  I  might  end  up  getting  Bal-Sagoth
instead. In the end I  got  neither,  as  Dagorlad  manage  to  elude
excessive proximity to any given band's sound. They do  combine  some
influences from acts such as the ones mentioned above (more Summoning
than Bal-Sagoth, fortunately), as well as  medieval  and  horror-film
touches, and a sound which,  to  a  certain  degree,  reminds  me  of
Oxiplegatz's cosmic oddity _Sidereal  Journey_  (how's  that  for  an
obscure reference?). This last observation can be partially explained
by the artificial drumming common to both records, but  also  extends
to other occasional similarities. Ultimately, Dagorlad have created a
very decent,  reasonably  varied  and  not  excessively  conventional
album, and show sufficient talent to create some atmosphere and  keep
the listener interested most of the time -- although there  are  some
exceptions to that rule, as things sometimes do get a bit repetitive.
Nothing groundbreaking here, but still a disc with enough quality and
individuality to deserve a chance.

Contact: http://www.lsp-company.com


Decapitated - _Nihility_  (Earache, February 2002)
by: Paul Schwarz  (7.5 out of 10)

Toppling bands from the pedestals you feel  they  have  been  wrongly
placed on by others, is often a satisfying  thing  to  do.  In  cases
where these "others" are a mainstream magazine  who  seem  to  elect,
rather than carefully -select-, a band from  the  underground  to  be
their new 'hot tip' every now and again, there's even  a  feeling  of
'setting the record straight'. But you have to abstract yourself; you
can't blame a band for the over-hype that others give  them;  venting
personal frustrations or pursuing personal vendettas at  the  expense
of actually trying to engage with and critically appraise  the  music
which is, at its heart, the subject of  their  review,  is  the  most
shameful of traps for a journalist,  a  -critic-,  to  fall  into  --
though it is also one of the most common. In Decapitated's case  more
than most, it would also be a shameful injustice, for this is a  band
who -do not- get above themselves, despite the  fact  that  they  are
openly offered the chance to.  Decapitated  are  a  humble  bunch  --
that's why, at first, it feels mean and unnecessary  to  topple  them
from their current press perch, in  the  UK  at  least,  as  the  new
future, the new rebirth, of death metal. But then, honesty  -is-  the
best policy, and death metal -- at its true core, that core that  has
lived on, handed down through a fluctuating handful of bands over the
years -- is all about  honesty.  So  I'll  be  honest.  Decapitated's
second album is good -- it's -way- above average -- but it just isn't
by any means -great-. It's not technical  ability  that  is  lacking;
Decapitated, though young, are among the most technically  proficient
musicians to ever play death metal. What is really lacking though, is
songwriting ability and -edge-. The riffs on _Nihility_ certainly can
be tricky -- often helping unbalance already-mutated percussion-work,
and not rarely spiraling  into  unexpectedly  complex  and  intricate
shapes -- but they're just not all that excellent:  they  just  don't
quite  hit  the  spot.  All  the  instrumental  work  is  technically
impeccable, often  impressive  and  occasionally  attention-grabbing,
but the result is  not  truly  -addictive-.  Decapitated  just  don't
fuse into a single,  inexorable  entity  like  a  brutal,  aggressive
death metal like themselves  should.  The  musical  elements  present
are  crudely  brought  together,  and  there  is  a  serious  overall
feeling of separation -- not aided (though also  not  originated  in)
a powerful-but-dry production.  At  present,  only  -one-  individual
element is in need of serious improvement: Sauron's vocals. They  may
be brutal -- and impressive,  if  not  harmonised  --  but  they  are
almost completely without character --  and  character  is  something
Decapitated definitely need more of  in  their  music.  The  snapshot
this album offers may be  disappointing  for  those  who  hoped  that
Decapitated would leap and bound out of the starting gate and flatten
the death metal scene in one fail swoop -- but this isn't to  suggest
that many outside that same scene's uppers echelons  today  can  make
albums as good as _Nihility_. That alone is a mighty accolade  for  a
-young- band comprised by a  -young-  group  of  musicians  to  earn.
Decapitated have plenty of time to grow -- they're not gonna be 'past
it' for a long time yet --  but  I  think  concentrating  on  writing
cohesive, encapsulating death metal songs, while worrying less  about
utilising technical ability, would do them the world of good  --  and
make them into so much more than, as yet, they are.


December Wolves - _Blasterpiece Theatre_  (Wicked World, May 2002)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (6 out of 10)

Having been one of the half dozen people who  seemed  to  notice  and
enjoy the band's previous record _Completely Dehumanized_ -- a harsh,
gritty blast of urban black metal --, and  after  a  four  year  long
period of silence from the band, I was quite  interested  in  hearing
what they were up to these days with _Blasterpiece Theatre_. Alas, it
seems that too much time has  elapsed  between  albums,  as  December
Wolves sound like a band who's grown tired of  their  own  sound  and
felt the need to twist and  distort  it  almost  beyond  recognition.
Knowing _Completely Dehumanized_ and now listening  to  _Blasterpiece
Theatre_, it sounds to me as if I missed an album  in  between  these
two -- only there wasn't one. The December  Wolves  of  _Blasterpiece
Theatre_ are a far more technological, deranged, psychotic beast than
the  cold  and  misanthropic  band  one  could  hear  on  _Completely
Dehumanized_. _Blasterpiece Theatre_ overflows  with  samples,  sound
effects, artificially  distorted  vocals  and  instruments,  and  the
entire concoction is only reminiscent of the previous album  in  some
respects. The subtle melodic leanings buried amidst the harshness  of
_Completely Dehumanized_ is one of the most  significant  victims  of
the band's new sound. The music on _Blastperiece Theatre_ does indeed
have a lot more to do with what might be brought to one's mind by the
album title rather than  the  band's  name.  The  samples  thrown  in
between the tracks generally succeed in setting a suitable atmosphere
for the music, but those that consistently mingle  with  the  guitars
are hardly ever anything but annoying. This is especially  true  when
one considers the noisy, abrasive production -- one that is not quite
as misanthropic as Ulver's on their _Nattens Madrigal_ [CoC #21], but
then _Blasterpiece Theatre_ fails to benefit  from  it  in  terms  of
atmosphere the way _Nattens Madrigal_ does. What December Wolves have
tried to do most of the  time  is  unfortunately  so  hyperbolic  and
chaotic that the better passages are diluted in the  fury  of  sounds
and constant changes that whirlwind  their  way  through  the  entire
album. This is an eminently headache-inducing  record  that  contains
plenty of interesting ideas and could have been a lot more  enjoyable
if the band had managed to articulate them better.


Dimension - _Universal_  (<Independent>, 2002)
by: Adrian Bromley  (5 out of 10)

I found it kind of cool to receive a progressive metal  release  from
Mexico, as we at Chronicles of Chaos  usually  receive  mostly  death
metal and black metal bands from that part of  the  world.  No  doubt
highly influenced and inspired by solid progressive metal  acts  like
Dream Theater and Fates Warning,  this  Mexican  quintet  play  their
hearts out on this album, but at times it sounds like they are trying
too hard. Some of the problems I found myself a little irritated with
on the album included the vocals and their delivery. They sound a tad
forced to go along with the rapid, quick-change flow  of  the  music.
Also, the keyboards sound too loud in the mix. While  there  isn't  a
lot of it here, when the keyboards do come  into  the  picture,  they
take center stage, when they should be part of the  musical  collage.
Dimension is a band  that  plays  their  music  superbly  (check  out
majestic nine-minute opener "Strategy", "Vanity Calls" and "Universal
Mind"), but need a little bit more tweaking before they can be put on
the same pedestal with the bands they obviously admire.

Contact: http://www.dimensionshome.com


Dimension Zero - _Silent Night Fever_ (Regain Records, February 2002)
by: David Rocher  (10 out of 10)

It has taken this glorious blasting bunch over four years  since  the
inception of the four-track MCD, _Penetrations From the Lost  World_,
to release their first full-length, cryptically titled _Silent  Night
Fever_ -- and trust me, o rabid followers of the Swedish death  metal
genre, it has been a worthwhile wait indeed. This all-star  thrashing
Swedish act -- fronted by ex- and  current  In  Flames  axemen  Glenn
Ljungstrom and Jesper Stromblad, a line-up rounded  off  by  Marduk's
former screamer Jocke Gothberg and Diabolique's skinsman Hans Nilsson
-- have spawned an album which shall not only stand out as one of the
finer efforts released this year, but is  also  doomed  to  become  a
monolithic milestone in the Gothenburg death metal landscapes.  There
is, so to say, nothing even slightly new on _Silent Night Fever_; but
simply, from the searing first bars of the eponymous  opener  to  the
brooding finale "Slow Silence", Dimension Zero  display  a  sense  of
powerful melody and cohesiveness in the musical  field  which  ninety
percent of the bands in the "Gothenthrash" genre  can  only  hope  to
attain  in  their  wildest  dreams.  Graced  with  genuine  thrashing
aggressiveness and unbelievable  melodic  potency  to  boot,  _Silent
Night Fever_ is an unrelenting nine-track sonic assault  which  never
loses its focus on sheer grinding brutality  (courtesy  of  Dimension
Zero's foaming-at-the-mouth  drummer  Hans  Nilsson,  who  mistreated
skins for the brutal deathsters Liers in Wait in  his  early  years),
yet wisely releases its crushing pressure every now and then, such as
the beautiful acoustic segue on "Not Even  Dead"  testifies  to.  The
frantic level of musical intensity  pervading  this  testimonial  gem
never recedes, except to announce another forthcoming metal onslaught
of a track; hence, just as the comparatively slower "Not  Even  Dead"
closes off, the incredible searing number "They Are Waiting  to  Take
Us" kicks in hard, precisely,  and  mercilessly.  There  is  honestly
nothing that I can  hope  to  criticise  on  this  album,  no  matter
how  hard  I  attempt  to  point  out  its  flaws;  even  though  the
reworked version of Dimension Zero's 1997 vintage track "Through  the
Virgin Sky", having traded some lethal velocity  (and  alas,  Fredrik
Johanson's wicked lead) in for some chunky heaviness, does require  a
little time to  get  used  to,  it  soon  also  shines  with  virtues
and wonders of  its  own.  _Silent  Night  Fever_  is  one  of  those
comparatively rarer albums which  will  leave  both  addicts  of  the
Swedish melodic genre enthralled and gasping for air, but  will  also
certainly appeal to followers of  more  brutal,  direct  and  angered
death metal -- a flawless release, which boldly lives up to the  high
expectations _Penetrations From the Lost World_ failed not to induce.


Disbelief - _Shine_  (Massacre, 2002)
by: Matthias Noll  (7 out of 10)

After reading a report about the work on _Shine_ which left me  under
the impression that the band was rushed into the studio to  have  the
album ready before the  2002  No  Mercy  festivals,  my  alarm  bells
started ringing. I was not really surprised to find _Shine_  inferior
to its brilliant predecessor _Worst Enemy_ [CoC #54]. It's  pointless
to speculate whether the results would have been better had the  band
had more time to prepare and record their new  tracks.  The  fact  is
that both the song material and the production are far less  crushing
and intense than _Worst Enemy_.  Besides  the  overall  less  dynamic
nature of the songs, this may partially be the fault of a  lacklustre
drum performance on most tracks. Drummer Kai would be well advised to
seek some inspiration on Katatonia's _Last Fair Deal Gone Down_  [CoC
#52] for drumming to mid-tempo material in  an  interesting  fashion.
Stylistically the band has remained easily  recognizable  and  unique
with their Voivod meets Neurosis meets Bolt  Thrower  approach.  It's
just the engine, i.e. the Bolt Thrower part of  this  mixture,  which
seems to be a bit powerless this time around. Instead of the crushing
heaviness which dominated large parts of _Worst Enemy_, _Shine_  sees
the inclusion of some lacklustre  clean  vocal  passages  and  a  few
tracks which, as far as the instruments  are  concerned,  sound  like
present day Katatonia. Overall, this record still is far from being a
happy affair and even if the approach  is  slower  and  less  brutal,
_Shine_ oozes brooding despair.  Singer  Jagger  deserves  a  special
mention again for his insane vocals, which sound like the death metal
equivalent of Count Grishnack's tortured screaming  on  _Hvis  Lysett
Tar Oss_. It's a shame that despite all the  originality  and  talent
available this is clearly inferior to  _Worst  Enemy_  and  therefore
only worth 7 out of 10 for me.


Enid - _Seelenspiegel_  (Code666, February 2002)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (6.5 out of 10)

One cannot deny  the  obvious  technical  merits  Enid  possess;  yet
at times  _Seelenspiegel_  still  manages  to  be  one  of  the  most
cringe-inducing records I have heard in quite a  while.  Enid  boasts
liberally about the quality of the drumming both in the  promo  sheet
and the nicely presented digipak itself; and indeed the  drumming  is
quite noteworthy  throughout.  The  band  mixes  plenty  of  medieval
touches with its power metal and some blackened vox. The raspy vocals
are mediocre but tolerable; the cringing is caused essentially by the
happier-sounding passages and the clean vocals: not that  the  vocals
are -bad- or technically poor --  quite  the  contrary  --  but  they
certainly take a -lot- of getting used to. Fair enough, they  enhance
Enid's uniqueness, but such vocals are  difficult  to  enjoy  without
having a very particular taste for the style. Having said that, if  a
more medieval style of vocals with  what  seems  to  be  a  touch  of
classical  training  sounds  good  to  you,  and  if  you  crave  for
good medieval /  fantasy  power  metal,  then  _Seelenspiegel_  comes
recommended, as Enid are  competent  songwriters  and  a  technically
proficient band. But if any of this sounds even  vaguely  foreign  to
your taste, however, then heed my warning: Enid are  good,  but  they
definitely will not be to everyone's liking and are  very  likely  to
cause an unusually  wide  spectrum  of  reactions  depending  on  the
listener's taste.

Contact: http://www.code666.net


Gomorrah - _Night of the Blackened Pentagram_
by: Quentin Kalis  (5 out of 10)  (Unsung Heroes, November 2001)

Gomorrah perform mid-paced black metal, though it must be  said  that
they perform black metal slower then any other black metal band  that
would be described as mid-paced. So the  music  contained  within  is
something a bit different. But what  gives  this  album  an  edge  of
originality is also its downfall. Gomorrah perform four songs in some
37 minutes -- sufficient  to  put  many  doom  bands  to  shame!  But
Gomorrah simply don't possess or don't exhibit the technical skill to
justify their long songs. Neither do they  display  a  sense  of  the
epic, nor do the songs  contain  sufficient  variety  to  make  their
overlong songs sound interesting. They  could  easily  cut  down  the
length by more than half without losing any  integral  parts  of  the
songs. If  they  did  that,  this  release  would  probably  be  more
entertaining and would have achieved a higher rating. Unedited as  it
is, I cannot give this anything more than a  4.  The  droning  guitar
doesn't exactly aid enjoyment of this album and  actually  brings  on
boredom sooner. Although this has been released as a proper album, it
is still essentially  a  demo  (complete  with  tape  clicks  between
songs), and potential buyers should bear this in  mind.  Even  if  it
were to be reviewed as a demo, the rating is unlikely  to  be  higher
than 2 out of 5.

Contact: UHR, Mark Vignati, 260 Overlook Dr, Covington, GA 30016, USA
         mailto:uhr@mindspring.com


Gortician - _Metal Up Your Cunt: Live in Gorechrist's Living Room_
by: Quentin Kalis  (4 out of 10)  (Unsung Heroes Records, June 2001)

The title is perfectly  accurate:  this  was  recorded  in  someone's
living room. As implied by the title, the production isn't  all  that
great, but the level of production isn't a major concern.  The  album
consists of some originals, a couple  of  covers  of  metal  classics
(Slayer, Black  Sabbath,  Venom)  and  several  medleys.  As  can  be
expected, the songs are loosely played. But this is nothing more than
a minor irritation -- my major gripe is the unnecessary interruptions
such as a ringing telephone, the  band  talking  to  each  other  for
excessive periods of time, and general messing about. This is  little
more than a band rehearsal -- why was it judged necessary to  release
it? Some of the songs might be worthwhile on a proper  studio  album,
but not as they appear here. Medleys work bets in  a  live  situation
before an audience, and not anywhere else. Considering the above,  it
is hard to see this release as anything more than a bad rehearsal put
to CD. I have no doubt that the band are enjoying themselves and  the
entire album is imbued with a sense of  impetuousness  (such  as  the
cover of "Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath" morphing  into  "Children  of  the
Grave") and whilst such an attitude can be infectious, this alone  is
insufficient to produce a good album. Strictly for die-hard fans.

Contact: UHR, Mark Vignati, 260 Overlook Dr, Covington, GA 30016, USA
         mailto:uhr@mindspring.com


Houwitser - _Rage Inside the Womb_  (Osmose Productions, 2002)
by: Quentin Kalis  (5 out of 10)

Houwitser contain no less than one ex  and  two  current  members  of
Sinister. Considering that 60% of its members have played in Sinister
at one time or  another,  it  comes  as  no  surprise  to  hear  that
Houwitser perform aggressive death metal with an  old  school  touch.
What may come as more of  a  surprise  is  that  despite  Houwitser's
pedigree this is easily one of the more boring death  metal  releases
that I have had to endure recently. The  musicianship  is  more  than
adequate, the music sufficiently  violent,  no  major  problems  with
production -- but the songwriting is sadly lacking and Houwitser  are
simply unable  to  produce  the  goods.  It  takes  more  then  sheer
brutality and heaviness to ensure a decent song; all  the  songs  are
similar and hard to distinguish from each other. They may worry about
comparisons with Sinister, but  escaping  Sinister's  shadow  is  not
Houwitser's biggest problem -- what  should  concern  them  is  their
absolute lack  of  individual  identity,  which  makes  it  virtually
impossible to distinguish  Houwitser  from  the  multitude  of  bands
peddling second-rate death metal. Simply  beginning  each  song  with
some gruesome sounding  sample  is  insufficient  for  this  task.  I
cannot, in all honesty, give this album anything more than 5  out  of
10 -- an average mark for an average album.


Hypokras - _Dead & Hungry_  (Warpath Records, 2002)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (8 out of 10)

Packed in less than half an hour  of  music,  this  Hypokras  release
is quite a  rush  of  hyperblast  death  metal.  Hypokras  win  their
battle thanks to their very dynamic and  powerful  rhythmic  backbone
-- percussive  guitar  riffs  and  talented  drummer  included.  This
combination is then  joined  by  a  vocalist  who  manages  to  sound
powerful while avoiding excessive monotony in his  delivery  --  Lord
Worm he certainly is not, but his vocals  are  slightly  more  varied
than average  for  a  death  metal  vocalist.  Aided  by  the  strong
production,  the  music  is  relentlessly  aggressive  and  enjoyable
throughout in a very "metal" kind of way, akin perhaps to The  Crown,
though not quite as brilliant and certainly different style-wise. The
band is technically proficient, although  the  music  itself  is  not
technically-minded, and do not  limit  themselves  too  much  to  one
particular kind of delivery. Don't get me  wrong,  this  -is-  mostly
hyperblast death metal, but  slower  passages  and  varied  types  of
blasting are employed to keep the music  interesting.  Whilst  it  is
unlikely that you will find anything on _Dead  &  Hungry_  that  will
actually surprise you, I find it more  than  likely  that  any  death
metal fan will thoroughly enjoy this action-packed album  from  these
French aggressors.

Contact: http://www.warpathrecords.com


Immortal - _Sons of Northern Darkness_
by: Paul Schwarz  (10 out of 10)  (Nuclear Blast, February 2002)

The number of times I've spun _SoND_ since receiving it three  months
ago must quickly be approaching a hundred: that should give you  some
idea (if  the  points  rating  above  hadn't  already)  of  just  how
thoroughly excellent Immortal's seventh full-length album is.  _SoND_
is a grower; it will provoke a whole range of feelings  in  listeners
new or old before either fully appreciates what  a  titanic  prospect
Immortal have become --  but  if  you  peel  off  the  frozen  layers
of their snow-covered  sound,  you'll  find  that  inside  Immortal's
collective chest, a heart of steel proudly beats away.  Combining  an
incredible talent for effectively harnessing dynamics with  a  superb
grasp of how to utilise melody subtly but to great  effect,  Immortal
deliver blow after deadly blow of bludgeoningly brilliant music  with
the kind of maximal combination of  precision  and  passion  that  is
rarely seen -- and, when encountered, rightly savoured. Immortal have
become the embodiment of  the  fury  and  the  fire  of  black  metal
channeled through a songwriting approach which  harks  back  to  more
than the rough and ready beginnings of the style's core influences --
bands like Bathory and Celtic Frost, who always wrote -songs- in some
sense, but whose more unusual divergences black metal has not  always
caught on to. This is not to suggest that  Immortal  have  become  or
are becoming  avant-garde,  for  they  are  certainly  not.  Someone,
probably Abbath --  he  is  deemed  primary  songwriter  now  --  has
evidently absorbed a fair amount of  mid-'70s  prog  over  the  years
--  the  top-class  instrumental  beginning  of  "Antarctica"  (where
crucial sections are underlined by rich acoustic guitar and  keyboard
harmonies) is even reminiscent of the "Overture"  section  of  Rush's
mammoth "2112". But even here, Immortal haven't gone the  whole  hog.
They're not screwing seriously with  timings  or  even  experimenting
rampantly. If _SoND_ reveals anything definitive about Immortal, it's
that at the heart of their winter is  a  lump  of  -solid-,  -heavy-,
-metal- -- and one so cold that anything touching  it  will  have  to
struggle to tear itself away. Most of Immortal's development of their
signature sound -- for in my  opinion,  Immortal  -are-  individuated
enough to be said to have "their own sound" -- has been inspired from
within metal itself. Inspiration has been taken from a  broader  base
than the one which originally  inspired  Norwegian  black  metal.  Of
course, Immortal aren't the first band  --  from  the  genre  or  the
country -- to have successfully broadened  their  horizons,  but  for
my money they  have  become  the  first  black  metal  band  to  have
comprehensively transformed the essence of the  '90s,  Norwegian-born
sound into a truly, -traditionally- classic form: _SoND_  is  a  true
classic of a metal album. With aggression spawned  in  the  '80s  and
amped by the  '90s,  Immortal  have  made  one  of  -those-  records:
an album so metal  and  so  good,  that  considerations  of  context,
progression, originality and style fade away, and only pure, exultant
enjoyment is left.

[Alvin Wee: "If _AtHoW_  showcased  Immortal's  sweeping  new  sound,
 _Sons of Northern Darkness_ is the near-perfect culmination  of  the
 band's  grandiose  vision.  Mighty  and  monumental  in  scope,  the
 atmosphere and power on this album is unparalleled in recent  times.
 Certainly a major contender for album of the year."]

[Pedro Azevedo: "_Sons of Northern Darkness_ could well be the  album
 that marks Immortal's coming of age. Not that I  regard  their  past
 efforts as puerile, but on _SoND_ the band is able to show  all  the
 confidence required to  pace  themselves  instead  of  rushing  into
 things, therefore delivering their music with a  remarkable  mix  of
 might and maturity. Their particular style of epic black metal comes
 across as both refined and  frostily  evocative  on  _SoND_,  moreso
 than ever before. This turns this  album  into  the  culmination  of
 Immortal's career so far and one that everyone  who  enjoys  extreme
 metal should at least give a chance. Now I can almost  forgive  them
 for their silly band photos..."]


Impedigon - _As Desires Fade..._  (The LSP Company, March 2002)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (6.5 out of 10)

So, "Kreators of melodic aggression", eh? A bit cheeky, are we? Well,
as far as I  can  hear,  these  Belgians  actually  harvest  most  of
their influences from the Swedish melodic  death  metal  scene,  more
specifically the Gothenburg style. That's a style I'm undeniably fond
of, and Impedigon are clearly competent at what they  do.  (And  they
got Dark Tranquillity's Niklas Sundin to create their cover art: nice
touch.) However, the one thing that hampers  the  album  besides  its
obvious lack of originality is the mediocre production.  And  have  I
already mentioned the  lack  of  originality?  Impedigon  aren't  any
better or worse than a number of Swedish bands, and  with  so  little
help from the production department it  won't  be  easy  to  convince
listeners of their worth. Nonetheless, they are  indeed  a  competent
bunch at playing melodic death the Swedish way: nice leads and riffs,
the expectable vocals, and some easily enjoyable music as  a  result.
The album tends to get a bit better towards the end,  but  much  like
their compatriots and  labelmates  Axamenta  [reviewed  above],  what
Impedigon have created is a decent release that will appeal  only  to
dedicated fans of the genre. Nevertheless, better production and more
individuality could  well  mean  a  rather  interesting  record  from
Impedigon next time around.

Contact: http://www.lsp-company.com


In Peccatum - _Antilia_  (<Independent>, 2002)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (7.5 out of 10)

An 18 minute  EP  of  laid-back,  melodic  doom  metal  with  a  hint
of  mid-era  Paradise  Lost  and  classical  touches,  _Antilia_   is
a remarkably  polished  independent  release.  The  carefully  placed
classical passages, the well thought-out guitar parts  and  competent
production all prove that a lot of work has gone into the  making  of
this disc, in which the band manages  to  capture  some  rather  good
emotional passages. There is some variety  in  the  mostly  mid-paced
music, with clean spoken vocals mixing with harsher as well  as  some
feminine ones,  and  some  atmospheric  and/or  classical  interludes
that include anything from piano to  string  instruments.  The  music
certainly isn't overly extreme, but much like Thragedium [CoC #57] it
may well come as a very pleasant surprise for those of you who  enjoy
melodic, emotional doom metal. Definitely a promising Portuguese band
coming from the Azores archipelago. They appear to have  had  support
from their regional government for the making of this EP,  so  here's
hoping that their geographical  situation  won't  prevent  them  from
fulfilling their potential -- which judging by _Antilia_ seems rather
interesting.

Contact: http://www.inpeccatum.8m.com


King Diamond - _Abigail pt II: The Revenge_  (Metal Blade, 2002)
by: Alvin Wee  (9 out of 10)

Reviews of the past  few  King  Diamond  albums  have  been  boringly
predictable, and the same will no doubt go  for  this  latest  horror
chapter: the new material just  doesn't  stand  up  to  _Abigail_-era
stuff, but can still blow half the current metal scene away.  I'd  go
further for this sequel and say that it's easily the  best  KD  album
since  _The  Eye_.  Past  the  captivating  cover  artwork  lies  the
continuation to the  most  favored  metal  concept-story  ever,  with
King's song-writing skills going at full tilt to produce some of  his
most memorable material in recent years. No  lack  of  the  typically
twisted, spine-tingling  passages  here,  choruses  are  delightfully
melodic, and King's throat appears to  be  in  fine  form  after  all
these years,  effortlessly  churning  out  his  inimitable  brand  of
grotesquerie. Don't look for any memorable, sing-along classics  like
"Abigail" or "Arrival": the sequel's far more theatrical style hardly
lends itself to  the  relative  straightforwardness  of  the  earlier
works, and relies on the potent atmosphere to  carry  the  impressive
work forward. Veteran axeman Mike Wead makes no bones  about  showing
his considerable expertise and experience  off,  duelling  remarkably
with KD mainstay Andy LaRocque in a combination  that's  terrifyingly
driven and blindingly beautiful by turns. All in  all,  an  essential
album for the genre this year  if  there  ever  was  one,  and  truly
old-school fans who pick up the amazingly beautiful vinyl edition  (a
nice change from the deplorable picture discs)  can  snigger  at  the
lowly CD version.


King's Evil - _Deletion of Humanoise_  (World Chaos Prod., 2002)
by: Alvin Wee  (8 out of 10)

Being the Japanese half of criminally underrated  Jap-American  kings
Ritual Carnage, it comes as no  surprise  that  the  Yamada  brothers
churn out equally solid old-school riffage on their Asian debut. It's
difficult not  to  resort  to  the  boring  comparisons  with  Sodom,
Destruction and Kreator, but such material  leaves  reviewers  little
choice.  The  band  makes  no  pretensions  to  originality  even  in
their bio, and it's only  the  conviction  with  which  this  quartet
deliver the  neck-breaking  goods  that  sets  them  apart  from  the
hordes of retro-wannabes. Musicianship is stellar, with the  Yamadas'
twin-guitar  assault  spewing  out  bullet-riffs  and  insane   solos
with  apparent  ease,  showing  the  band's  capability  of  crafting
headbang-inducing slower passages, only to explode in  a  deliciously
brutal fury when called for. Like  labelmates  Terror  Squad,  King's
Evil are highly worthy of notice, but are in danger of slipping  into
obscurity without proper overseas promotion. Overall a very  pleasant
find in my mailbox, and I'm eagerly looking forward  to  these  boys'
next slab of thrashin' mayhem.

Contact: mailto:worldkdm@syd.odn.ne.jp


Lock-Up - _Hate Breeds Suffering_  (Nuclear Blast, January 2002)
by: Paul Schwarz  (8 out of 10)

_Pleasures Pave Sewers_ [CoC #46] was no bad grindcore record, but it
was -not- the continuation of Terrorizer some made it out  to  be  --
and from a  line-up  featuring  Nick  Barker  (drums;  Dimmu  Borgir,
ex-Cradle of Filth), Peter Tagtgren (vocals; Hypocrisy, Pain, Abyss),
Shane Embury (bass;  Napalm  Death),  and  of  course  Jesse  Pintado
(guitar; Napalm Death, ex-Terrorizer), one would  have,  or  -should-
have, expected something a little  better.  _PPS_  mired  itself  too
often in uninspiring repetition. It quickly stopped  receiving  spins
from me, and I consigned Lock-Up to the same  obscure  corner  of  my
mind as Napalm Death, at that point, resided in. Nine  months  later,
_Enemy of the Music Business_ stomped my doubts about the later  into
the dust -- naturally casting Lock-Up in a somewhat  more  favourable
light. Then I heard that Tomas Lindberg (he who spat  out  _Slaughter
of the Soul_) had replaced Tagtgren as Lock-Up vocalist --  suddenly,
I was really excited about the prospect of a  second  Lock-Up  album.
That _Hate Breeds  Suffering_  has  turned  out  to  be  one  of  the
best grind records in  years  is  not  surprising;  but  once  again,
despite the quality on  offer,  it's  Lock-Up's  short-comings  which
are most conspicuous. Certainly, the  four-piece  have  succeeded  in
nailing sixteen songs of rarely relenting musical  violence  into  an
under-thirty-minute coffin --  in  fact,  they've  even  brought  the
reality of Lock-Up  considerably  closer  to  its  Terrorizing  [sic]
origins -- but  Barker,  Embury,  Lindberg  and  Pintado  still  have
essential maintenance work to perform  before  they'll  make  a  true
classic together. _Hate Breeds Suffering_ is a  damn  cool  blast  of
grindcore, but it's oh-so-close to being a classic grindcore -album-.
Still, perhaps we don't -need- Lock-Up to go that extra mile  --  if,
indeed, they are even capable of doing so. For now, I think, enjoying
_HBS_ without thoughts of the  "wider  picture"  will  be  your  best
option.

[Pedro Azevedo: "Tomas Lindberg replaces Peter  Tagtgren  on  vocals,
 and there they go again for another half-hour of hyperblasting grind
 driven by drummer Nick Barker. The previous album,  _Pleasures  Pave
 Sewers_, started really well but tended to lose my interest  rapidly
 after  a  few  tracks.  _Hate  Breeds  Suffering_  shares  with  its
 predecessor a format of short tracks and similar  style  throughout,
 but overall does come across as a more convincing effort than _PPS_,
 partly thanks to Lindberg's vocals. I'm still waiting for Lock-Up to
 create a record that's consistently as good as the  best  tracks  on
 these two albums, but until then _HBS_ will do nicely."]


Loits - _Ei Kahetse Midagi_  (<Independent>, 2001)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (7 out of 10)

In this digital age, demo tapes are becoming  increasingly  rare  and
demo CDs the norm. _Ei Kahetse Midagi_ ("No Regrets"), however, is an
actual album that was sent to me in its tape version, which  for  the
time being is the only  one  available  --  Loits  hope  to  have  it
released on CD in the future. Loits are  from  Estonia,  but  judging
by their music you  would  have  thought  they  were  Norwegian:  old
Satyricon, Ulver and Darkthrone, among other Norwegian classics, play
an influential role in their music. In two instances at  least,  this
influence manifests itself a bit too obviously, as there is a  couple
of riffs strongly reminiscent of Satyricon's _Nemesis Divina_ and  an
atmospheric interlude that could  very  well  have  been  on  Ulver's
_Bergtatt_. Nonetheless, Loits' guitar-driven black  metal  generally
does not come across as a blatant copy  of  anything  in  particular,
despite the fact that its origins are quite obvious. Contrary to what
might be expected from such an underground release,  the  playing  is
quite tight and the production rather good, in spite  of  the  analog
media. _Ei Kahetse Midagi_ does have good atmospheric  qualities  and
plenty of interesting musical passages, in addition to the  competent
production and playing, but it also tends to come across as  somewhat
simplistic during its mid-paced sections. It is still an  underground
release that black metal purists would be well advised to seek.

Contact: Lembetu, Sepa 11, 45201 Kadrina, Laane-Virumaa, Estonia
         mailto:lembetu@hot.ee


Mactatus - _Suicide_  (Napalm Records, May 2002)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (7 out of 10)

Did we really need another  _Enthrone  Darkness  Triumphant_?  A  few
years ago, this record would have been  a  lot  more  noteworthy  and
would have deserved a higher rating, but now it's too close to  Dimmu
Borgir's five year old record for comfort. It's not that _Suicide_ is
a direct collage of riffs from _EDT_, but a very significant part  of
the style and sound of  Mactatus'  guitar-heavy  yet  keyboard-driven
black metal clearly does harken back  to  that  album.  _Suicide_  is
actually a  very  well  constructed,  executed  and  produced  album,
and the band does achieve  some  rather  good  passages  and  overall
consistency. It's just a shame that  the  band  did  not  strive  for
individuality at all with this release, instead appearing content  to
sound like some other band's twin. Not "some other"  band,  actually,
but rather a band who happens to be doing very well indeed  in  terms
of commercial success these days. This  all  probably  sounds  rather
harsh, but nevertheless, considering this is  such  a  competent  and
undeniably enjoyable record, I will still strongly  recommend  it  to
anyone who is into _EDT_ era Dimmu Borgir and  doesn't  give  a  toss
about originality.


Manowar - _Warriors of the World_  (Nuclear Blast, 2002)
by: Matthias Noll  (3 out of 10)

Mullet-metal for  people  who  confuse  Pavarotti  and  friends  with
classical music, kitsch of the highest degree with  epic  songwriting
and deepest emotions. Old glass-eye  and  his  male  pleasure  slaves
needed six years to pen two acceptable tunes -- congratulations!  One
of those, "Call to  Arms",  rips  off  "Blood  of  my  Enemies",  but
can be considered  good  because  of  an  ultimately  catchy  chorus.
The same thing -- a  brilliant,  catchy  chorus  --  applies  to  the
second  noteworthy  track,  the  anthemic  "Warriors  of  the   World
United". The rest is either up-tempo  material,  once  again  ripping
off  their  previous  work,  or  shitloads  of  more-cheese-than-ever
ballad/march/opera-for-mainstream-radio crap. Strangely enough,  this
record seems to  be  receiving  praise  almost  everywhere.  "Warrior
metal" and "epic" is what  I  read  --  holy  shit!  Listen  to  this
alongside "Gates of Valhalla", "Strength of Steel",  "Guyana",  "Cult
of the Damned" or "Bridge of Death" and have a laugh at the  weakness
and sweetness of these Kings of Metal. "Battle Hymn", one of the best
metal tracks ever written, was metal meets Ennio Morricone;  this  is
Julio Iglesias meets Spinal Tap.


Megiddo / Rampage - _Apocalyptic Raids: A Tribute to Hellhammer_
by: Quentin Kalis  (7 out of 10)  (Unsung Heroes Records, July 2001)

Whilst I'm not the world's biggest admirer of tribute albums, Megiddo
and Rampages' "split tribute" to Hellhammer made me sit up  and  take
notice. This tribute  features  the  above-mentioned  bands  covering
Hellhammer's classic _Apocalyptic Raids_ album in its entirety,  with
Megiddo  handling  the  odd-numbered  songs  and  Rampage  performing
the even-numbered ones. Generally speaking,  the  covers  are  pretty
straightforward  with  few  surprises.  Rampage  sounds  like,  well,
Rampage, who injects his covers with a  raw,  slightly  retro  sound,
whilst Megiddo is a straightforward, "true"  black  metal  band.  The
production on Megiddo's songs is inferior in comparison to  Rampage's
covers, but then again, since Megiddo  is  a  black  metal  act,  the
inferior production does suit the genre, so  there's  no  doubt  that
there will be those  that  appreciate  Megiddo's  primitive  rawness.
However, Rampage's previous flirtations with doom metal suggest  that
he could have done a better job with the painfully slow  "Triumph  of
Death" than Megiddo. For some inexplicable reason, the  beginning  of
Rampage's version of  "Horus  /  Aggressor"  is  Mayhem's  "Silvester
Anfang". I'm a bit confused as to why a Mayhem cover would  be  on  a
Hellhammer tribute (the only connection I  can  think  is  that  both
Mayhem and Hellhammer are classic  and  influential  bands),  but  it
nevertheless serves as an interesting -- if  somewhat  unexpected  --
intro. An interesting experiment that demands greater attention  than
the average tribute album.

Contact: UHR, Mark Vignati, 260 Overlook Dr, Covington, GA 30016, USA
         mailto:uhr@mindspring.com


Mirror of Deception - _Mirrorsoil_  (The Miskatonic Foundation, 2001)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (6.5 out of 10)

Some serious doom metal faithful  to  the  old  ways  is  what  these
Germans have to offer. I am not much of a fan of that genre, but as I
heard the first riff and sorrowful lead of  opener  "Asylum",  I  was
immediately interested. The clean vocal style  was  predictable,  and
with time it does sound appropriate for the  music.  The  production,
however, is a strange affair. It is strong and heavy,  but  not  very
clear and really fails when it comes  to  the  drum's  treble  sound.
Still, it doesn't entirely ruin the album,  as  Mirror  of  Deception
prove to be very adept at this Candlemass-derived style. Then  again,
the band was apparently formed more than ten years ago,  even  though
they  have  only  an  EP  and  a  full-length  album  to  their  name
besides this new  full-length.  Personally,  I  would  have  expected
something more remarkable from such an experienced band, but this  is
nonetheless a very  competent  and  honest-sounding  disc  that  will
please the old-style doom metal aficionados even  if  the  production
could have been a lot better.

Contact: http://www.mirrorofdeception.com


My Dying Bride - _For Darkest Eyes_ DVD  (9.5 out of 10)
Anathema - _A Vision of a Dying Embrace_ DVD  (9 out of 10)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (Peaceville, May 2002)

These are re-releases of the original VHS tapes that originally  came
out in 1997. The My Dying Bride DVD features a  few  extra  features,
whilst the Anathema contains nothing new. As a result of this and the
fact that the original MDB video already contained more material than
the Anathema, the MDB DVD has more than twice the total length of the
Anathema. Anathema's _A Vision of  a  Dying  Embrace_  features  four
promotional videos ("Sweet Tears", "Mine Is Yours to Drown In",  "The
Silent Enigma" and "Hope"), whilst  My  Dying  Bride's  _For  Darkest
Eyes_ contains six of them ("Symphonaire Infernus et Spera Empyrium",
"The Thrash of Naked Limbs", "The Songless Bird", "I  Am  the  Bloody
Earth", "The Cry of Mankind" and "For You"). It goes  without  saying
that the older videos are rather more amateurish than the more recent
ones, but their presence is  nonetheless  well  justified.  The  main
section of both DVDs is comprised  of  each  band's  respective  live
performance in Krakow, in March 1996, a show that was  professionally
recorded in terms of video and audio. The camera work is  very  good,
and on DVD you get a  great  audio  experience  as  well.  (For  some
reason, however, the MDB DVD comes with Dolby  Surround  5.1,  whilst
the  Anathema  is  just  Dolby  Stereo  2.0.)  My  Dying  Bride  were
headliners on that gig, hence you get  to  hear  more  of  them  than
Anathema. The Anathema track listing included a selection  of  tracks
from their classic _The  Silent  Enigma_,  plus  a  couple  from  the
_Pentecost III_ EP and a re-working of "Sleepless" from their equally
classic debut _Serenades_. My Dying Bride's set  was  based  on  _The
Angel and the Dark River_ and _Turn Loose the Swans_,  an  era  which
many believe to have been their finest. This means  you  get  to  see
Martin Powell on violin and keyboard playing live with MDB,  as  well
as original drummer Rick Myah and guitarist Calvin  Robertshaw.  Both
of their live performances are excellent, although one does  need  to
keep in mind that both bands were a lot  younger  back  then.  Having
seen them live since, I can appreciate that but it doesn't hamper  my
enjoyment of these DVDs. This is also partly because both bands  were
captured at a very good stage in their careers,  although  one  might
argue that Anathema were still going through a transition with Darren
White leaving the band. In fact, had this been a longer gig following
_Eternity_ -- featuring the songs off _The Silent Enigma_ that we can
find here plus a good selection from _Eternity_ -- it would have been
the equal of My Dying Bride's  set.  The  My  Dying  Bride  DVD  also
include a relatively lo-fi 1993 gig in Holland and a 1992 performance
of "Symphonaire Infernus et Spera Empyrium", as well  as  the  band's
1995 Dynamo appearance and a photo gallery. Overall,  these  are  two
superb DVDs for the music they contain, although flawed in the  sense
that the Anathema is rather  brief  and  both  could  have  had  more
enticing extras. As a result, it may be a rather frustrating purchase
for those who paid for the VHS editions a  few  years  ago.  But  the
quality and commodity of DVD is far superior to that of VHS, and  the
contents are well worth it.


My Dying Bride - _The Voice of the Wretched_  (Peaceville, May 2002)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (10 out of 10)

Nearly 75 minutes of live My Dying Bride, recorded between _The Light
at the End of the World_ [CoC #44]  and  _The  Dreadful  Hours_  [CoC
#55], is what _The Voice of the Wretched_ has to offer. No fluff,  no
silly dialogues with the crowd, no  filler  material:  just  pure  My
Dying Bride. Powerful live sound, an excellent choice of  songs  that
embrace the entire spectrum of My Dying  Bride's  lengthy  existence,
and a practically flawless performance  by  the  band  complete  this
black bouquet of wretchedness. Classic studio tracks seem  to  expand
in weight and majesty live, as the band perfects every riff and break
and Aaron's vocals grow exponentially in terms of  demonic,  guttural
power whilst becoming more confident than ever in terms  of  melodic,
heartbroken melody. The track listing: "She Is the Dark" (_The  Light
at the End of the World_), the  title  track  from  _Turn  Loose  the
Swans_, "The Cry of Mankind" (_The Angel and the Dark  River_),  "The
Snow in my Hand" (_TLtS_), "A Cruel  Taste  of  Winter"  (first  live
performance of the track from  _The  Dreadful  Hours_),  "Under  Your
Wings and  Into  Your  Arms"  (_34.788%...  Complete_),  "A  Kiss  to
Remember" (_Like Gods of the Sun_), "Your River" (_TLtS_), "The Fever
Sea" (_TLatEotW_) and the first track MDB  ever  wrote,  "Symphonaire
Infernus et Spera Empyrium", which represents both the EP of the same
title and its continuation, _As the Flower Withers_.  For  those  who
know and appreciate the quality of MDB's music, this is an  essential
purchase. Those yet unfamiliar with the band, consider this: what you
will find here  ranges  from  brutal  outbursts  of  death  metal  to
sorrowful and melodic passages, and I am yet to find a  band  capable
of reaching the  level  of  doom  metal  excellence  My  Dying  Bride
consistently showcase in their music. 10 out of 10, obviously.

[David Rocher: "Beholding My Dying Bride live, as I did in  1995,  is
 an experience indeed -- Aaron's incredible  vocals  and  charismatic
 presence mesh flawlessly with the touchingly  forlorn  melodies  and
 the majestic, powerful rhythmic assaults which My Dying Bride  have,
 in time, learned to play so  impeccably.  The  most  striking  point
 about My Dying Bride's first live recording, well over a decade into
 their career, is the beautiful finesse with which it recaptures  the
 textures, emotions and subdued intensity of their unique songwriting
 -- from the distorted death metal influences apparent at the time of
 the band's inception ("Your River", "Symphonaire Infernus  et  Spera
 Empyrium"), to  the  more  resolutely  avant-garde  tones  of  _Turn
 Loose the Swans_  (the  inevitable  "Turn  Loose  the  Swans",  "The
 Snow in  My  Hand"),  right  over  to  the  sheer  beauty  of  their
 mid-nineties meisterwerks (the magnificent "The Cry of Mankind"  and
 "A Kiss to Remember") and their harsher latest works  ("She  Is  the
 Dark", "The  Fever  Sea",  "A  Cruel  Taste  of  Winter").  Although
 former  violinist  Martin's  presence  is  direly  missed,  Yasmin's
 ivory-tickling  skills  grace  this  fantastic  recording  with  the
 beautiful, typical atmospheres these wretched  Britons  have  always
 been renowned for; in fact, in my humble  opinion,  this  impeccable
 live  capture  of  the  Bride's  enchantment  only  falls  short  of
 perfection owing to two anthems whose presence is cruelly missed  --
 the monumental "A Sea to Suffer In" and  the  classic  "The  Forever
 People". Not only does _The Voice of the Wretched_ easily  fill  the
 previously vacant space left by a live recording to be in  My  Dying
 Bride's  discography,  it  also  reveals  itself  to  be  a  totally
 indispensable item in any melancholic, atmospheric doom/death lovers
 CD collection."]


Mystic Forest - _Welcome Back in the Forest_
by: David Rocher (3 out of 10) (Oaken Shield / Adipocere, Nov. 2001)

Mystic Forest's second release is the archetype  of  a  "progressive"
black metal release that, despite being touched by  the  grace  of  a
very technical and swift  (and  alas  rather  uninspired)  guitarist,
has  over  and  above  anything  else  been  paid  a  grim  visit  by
a very angered  and  pissed  off  fuck-up  fairy.  _Welcome  Back  in
the  Forest_  indeed  features  quite  impressive  guitar  leads  and
more-intricate-than-average drum machine programming, but  also  some
of the most direly  unoriginal  song  structures  and  excruciatingly
boring  riffs  I've  ever  heard  --  and,  first  and  foremost,   a
dramatically dissonant, saturated and, put quite  bluntly,  downright
gruesome sound. I've heard countless  black  metal  releases  with  a
rather disputable production (and  that's  euphemistic  indeed),  but
Mystic Forest have blended something into their mix that  makes  this
release sound as though your CD player has  suddenly  set  itself  to
"stun" and is currently busy settling a  heated  argument  with  your
amplifier. Indeed, whilst  on  the  slower,  more  gothic  influenced
segues, the cymbals just sound  like  an  irritating,  over-saturated
cacophony that more or less ruins the music, the blasting  onslaughts
are nothing  but  rampaging  binary  mauling  sessions  featuring  an
overwhelmingly loud percussive mess, thus  leaving  nothing  but  the
occasional squeaky guitar note to graze the surface of your tympanum.
The other  bleak  note  to  this  sad  tale  is  that  despite  their
undisputable technical proficiency,  Mystic  Forest's  guitarist  and
keyboard player obviously don't have much to say  when  it  comes  to
writing an ear-catching song; this alone  would  have  made  _Welcome
Back in the Forest_ dull and ultimately rather uninspiring, but  when
added to the horrible production on this  release,  this  failure  to
recapture the genial inspiration of their classical  masters  (Chopin
and Beethoven being very modestly quoted as sources  of  inspiration)
shall merely inspire even the most enduring of black  metal  fans  to
reach for comparatively some sweet-sounding Darkthrone.


Necrosphere - _Revived_  (Diehard Music, February 2002)
by: David Rocher  (6 out of 10)

Formerly known  under  the  monicker  Cenotaph,  these  four  Italian
deathsters have now been roaming the underground  extreme  scene  for
a  full  decade,  alas  earning  themselves  no  more  than  lukewarm
recognition -- and it is unlikely that the grinding  slab  of  raging
death metal titled _Revived_ will do anything to  alter  this  status
quo.  Indeed,  despite  being  a  sincere  and  reasonably  enjoyable
self-claimed "old school death metal" release, _Revived_ simply fails
to display any real inspirational genius;  much  as  Necrosphere  are
truly  impressive  musicians  (in  particular,  the  drumming  antics
with which _Revived_ oozes  fall  nothing  short  of  heroic),  their
songwriting skills are merely decent, and, applied  to  this  Italian
four-piece, the denomination "old school" soon turns out to be little
more than an embarrassed-sounding synonym for "very  unoriginal"  and
"somewhat deja-vu". Akin to  their  blasting  rendition  of  Slayer's
classic  "Necrophiliac",  Necrosphere  are  pleasant,  technical  and
actually quite ear-catching, but nothing more than that -- and, in  a
hopelessly saturated scene such as today's extreme  metal  universum,
this failure to display any form of genuine brilliance can only  turn
out to be Necrosphere's worst enemy -- despite  this  band's  totally
metal sincerity --, not to mention their one-way pass to a  prolonged
stay in shadowed anonymity.


Nehemah - _Light of a Dead Star_
by: David Rocher (8 out of 10) (Oaken Shield / Adipocere, Jan. 2002)

It has now been  nearly  a  decade  since  the  black  metal  project
Nehemah, fronted by mastermind and bassist/vocalist Corven,  appeared
amidst the evil shadows of the French black metal  scene.  Fusing  in
soul and mind with the  essence  of  underground  musical  extremism,
Nehemah recorded only one very limited demo, back in 1996,  prior  to
the release of this first  full-length  on  the  French  label  Oaken
Shield in  2001.  Norwegian  black  metal  is  undoubtedly  Nehemah's
greatest influence, as _Light of a Dead Star_  revels  in  saturated,
unhallowed musical realms bearing the  stigma  of  holy  Darkthrone's
meisterwerks _Under a Funeral Moon_ (for the haunting, eerily melodic
tones it displays) and _A Blaze in the Northern Sky_ (for the driving
mid-tempo power and blasting segues _LoaDS_ frequently erupts  into);
slants of Mayhem's _De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas_ are also to be  heard,
in particular  as  regards  the  pleasantly  technical  drumming  and
chilling guitar lines, quite  reminiscent  of  the  late  Euronymous'
works. Nehemah's strongest  point  nonetheless  undisputedly  remains
the competence and ease  they  display  when  meshing  their  musical
proficiency with the traditionally coarse grain of underground  black
metal; although  it  is  a  proven  fact  that  technical  competence
is  clearly  not  an  key  element  to  a  good  black  metal  album,
musical  mastery  such  as  that  displayed  by   Nehemah's   line-up
definitely adds a whole new touch to this  collection  of  bewitching
anthems:  spine-tingling  ambience  fuses  with  crushing  power  and
amazing dynamics as slow, chilling parts laced  with  synthetic-laden
atmospheres brutally erupt into  blasting  onslaughts  or  monolithic
mid-tempo drives. In addition to this, _LoaDS_ is graced with a truly
excellent production -- murky, saturated and raucous, yet very ample,
and offering each musician's performance suitable exposure, providing
this slab of unhallowed blackness with what I consider  as  the  most
fitting kind of production for an underground black metal  recording.
From the chilling beauty of the eight-minute anthem "Nehemah in Vulva
Infernum" (which contains more than a slight hint at Marduk's  hymnic
"Dracul Va Domni...") to the almost  death  metal  intensity  of  the
riffing on "Misty Swamps", _LoaDS_ is definitely  one  of  the  finer
samples of what raw, yet elaborate black metal  has  to  offer  these
days. Devoted souls growing tired  of  black  metal  superproductions
such as Dark Funeral's (nonetheless superb) latest  opus  can  wisely
turn to Nehemah's first full-length for a dose of blackened harshness
and grandeur.


Nocte Obducta - _Galgendammerung, Von Nebel, Blut und Totgeburten_
by: Matthias Noll  (7.5 out of 10)  (Grind Syndicate Media, 2002)

Nocte Obducta is a German black metal band featuring two Agathodaimon
members. Although _Galgendammerung_ (the  full  title  translates  to
"Dawn of the Gallows. of Fog, Blood and Stillborn Children") is Nocte
Obducta's fourth album, it is also my first encounter with the  band.
Their previous album _Schwarz Metall_ (literally  "Black  Metal")  is
said to be in the primitive and raw, early Darkthrone direction,  but
on _Galgendammerung_ Nocte Obducta's  main  strength  lies  in  their
ability to incorporate excellent melancholic melodies into a somewhat
old-school style. Melody is indeed used brilliantly on  this  record,
and we're  not  talking  about  the  "hey,  I  have  this  four  note
kindergarten melody, let's play it on 500 bpm and we'll have  a  cool
black metal tune" approach which sadly applies to 80% of the  current
black metal output. In addition, a good dose  of  blasting,  constant
shrill and frostbitten  shrieking  and  the  absence  of  any  gothic
elements and clean male or female vocals ensures  that  this  release
might be able to please the grim black metal crowd as well.  Although
the line-up includes a keyboard player, Nocte Obducta does  not  fall
into the overcrowded category of "symphonic" black  metal.  The  keys
are carefully integrated into the overall sound  and  add  additional
melodic textures here and  there  without  ever  becoming  cheesy  or
dominant. In all nine songs, which range from 3:40  to  a  length  of
over 10 minutes, _Nocte Obducta_ use the full range of possible tempi
and moods -- from slow atmospheric sections, to mid-tempo, and on  to
frequent blasting. Breaks are generally well incorporated,  different
sections seamlessly blending into each other, and  even  the  longest
tracks remain focussed and interesting at the same time.  Technically
this band is quite OK, but certainly leagues away from  the  Emperors
of this world. A positive effect  of  this  is  the  absence  of  any
technical gimmickry which might  detract  from  the  quality  of  the
tunes. The production on _Galgendammerung_ is a bit weak  and  trebly
without sounding  truly  necro  or  grim.  Fortunately,  the  overall
quality does not really suffer from this; I  can  strongly  recommend
_Galgendammerung_, and not only to black metal purists.


Obtest - _Auka Seniems Dievams_  (Ledo Takas Records, 2001)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (7.5 out of 10)

I do receive plenty of  underground  releases  in  my  mailbox  every
month, yet only a few of those qualify as real  oddities.  Obtest  --
from Lithuania, of all places -- are one  such  oddity;  not  because
their music is amazingly inventive and avantgarde, but  because  they
are one of those bands that come from an unusual country and  -sound-
like it. What Obtest play is a form of blackened warlike metal, which
they imbue with a strong  folk  feel  --  in  the  same  sense  as  a
Scandinavian band, like Enslaved, might sound Viking.  This  is  what
makes Obtest sound different from the norm, as  they  sing  in  their
native language and the war chants come across as rather distinctive.
The band does have a penchant for some  very  memorable  songwriting,
which they display best on the album's opening couple of tracks  ("Is
Sirdies" and "Anapus Nemuno", if you want to  know)  and  on  "Priesa
Parklupdyk". A few of the other  tracks  suffer  from  not  being  so
memorable and simultaneously not too different from the rest  of  the
album, but quality nonetheless  remains  reasonably  consistent.  The
band are quite adept at their craft, and the production  --  although
somewhat odd -- works sufficiently well. _Auka  Seniems  Dievams_  is
a  disc  that  entirely  deserves  to  be  sought  by  those  with  a
craving for a touch of the unusual  in  their  music,  especially  if
Viking-influenced Scandinavian bands are your thing.

Contact: mailto:ledo@banga.lt


On Thorns I Lay - _Angel Dust_  (Black Lotus, December 2001)
by: David Rocher  (5.5 out of 10)

After four releases on the French label Holy Records, On Thorns I Lay
have apparently felt the urge to review and streamline their  musical
course; thus, gone are the label and the "atmospheric  gothic  metal"
tones of  yore,  as  On  Thorns  I  Lay  have  now  signed  to  Black
Lotus, and released a far less ornate, much  simpler  fifth  landmark
in  their  career.  Much  as  their  former  works  were  reminiscent
of _Aegis_-day Theatre of  Tragedy  laced  with  _Alternative  4_-era
Anathema, _Angel Dust_ thrives on post-_Discouraged  Ones_  Katatonia
and more  recent  Theatre  of  Tragedy  --  finely  etched,  cleverly
laid-out and competently played gothic metal. However, much  as  this
may sound enticing, there is one major flaw  on  On  Thorns  I  Lay's
latest release:  it's  quite  simply  frightfully  boring.  With  the
exception of one or two tracks (in particular, the beautifully  moody
title track), _Angel Dust_ sounds like a "Listener's Digest"  of  all
that has occurred in the vast gothic metal scene over these past  few
years -- it's not that _Angel Dust_ is bad, far  from  it,  but  it's
just not good enough to appear as anything but a fleck on  the  works
of the bands that have obviously moved and influenced On Thorns I Lay
to create an album such as _Angel Dust_.


Ordeal - _Ma|an_  (2002)
Sola Translatio - _Ad Infinitum_  (2002)
Svartsinn - _Devouring Consciousness_  (2001)
by: Quentin Kalis  (8, 8 and 8.5 out of 10)  (Eibon Records)

     The above  three  artists  are  acts  signed  to  Italian  label
Eibon Records,  all  exploring  similarly  minimalist,  dark  ambient
soundscapes.  Whilst  all  bands  make  strong  use   of   minimalist
instrumentation, Svartsinn's use of the concept makes the  other  two
CDs sound terribly cluttered. Their bleak,  uncompromising  sound  is
only occasionally interrupted by a brief emergence  of  neo-classical
strings or  a  piano  tinkling  mournfully  in  the  background.  The
very emptiness of their music creates  a  bleak,  extremely  desolate
atmosphere. This album may very well be the  aural  equivalent  of  a
desert -- a seemingly empty, uninviting place, yet closer  inspection
reveals a whole new world denied to the casual observer or  listener.
Continuing my  comparison  with  nature,  at  times  throbbing  sound
emerges, like the heartbeat of some great beast, providing a slightly
more organic feel to  an  otherwise  extremely  cold  and  impersonal
album.
     Sola Translatio make use of percussion and  samples  of  organic
sounds to provide a more human feel to what  would  otherwise  be  an
extremely cold and impersonal album. They apparently do  not  believe
in brevity in song writing, as evidenced by the  fact  that  each  of
their songs averages over twelve minutes. Sola Translatio creates the
distinct impression that they would  have  been  perfectly  happy  to
release _Ad Infinitum_ as an  album  with  a  single  song  and  that
releasing _AI_ as an album with five tracks is merely lip service  to
conformity and a concession to the listener. Sola Translatio's  songs
are largely amorphous, directionless meanderings, but to see this  as
a negative aspect would be to misunderstand the point of the album.
     Ordeal's release encompasses the most variety,  with  each  song
immediately distinguishable from the others, yet  at  the  same  time
(paradoxically) monotonous. Ordeal succeed in generating a  deceptive
sense of great simplicity and seeming effortlessness.  _Ma|an_,  like
the other two, is best listened to at night in a darkened room,  with
a perhaps a candle or two burning. Or you could have  it  playing  as
background music, as something to listen to whilst  engaged  in  some
other activity. You might not even be aware  that  it's  playing,  as
this is the kind of music that you might not even notice playing. But
what would be the point? It's not easy to recommend  one  album  over
the other, as they are all of a similarly high standard,  and  whilst
they do sound similar, each contains elements not found on the  other
two and the importance of these elements depends on  what  you  sound
you wish to hear. However, yours truly has, by  an  exceedingly  slim
margin,  picked  Svartsinn  as  the  best  of  the  lot.  This  is  a
choice based on the  extreme  emptiness  and  sadness  of  _Devouring
Consciousness_. But basically, if you like one album then you'll like
them all.  These  albums  won't  be  to  everyone's  taste,  but  for
those who are open-minded enough to  appreciate  it,  they  are  well
recommended.

Contact: http://www.eibonrecords.com


Pain Control - _Subvert_  (Demolition Records, 2002)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (6 out of 10)

An old-style thrash metal band at heart in terms of guitar  work  and
vocals, Pain Control sound  like  they  are  trying  really  hard  to
modernize that sound and come across as really varied and innovative.
In fact, at times they sound like  they  are  trying  -too-  hard  to
achieve that. Still, Pain Control certainly manage  to  put  together
some good thrashing moments, mostly reminding me of a more aggressive
but less talented (especially in terms  of  songwriting)  version  of
Nevermore -- which, given Nevermore's impressive  quality,  does  not
necessarily doom Pain Control, who are quite capable of creating some
entertaining music within their specific genre.  Midway  through  the
album and again near the end, however, the band goes into  piano  and
clean male and female vocals mode. It's not that I cannot  appreciate
these elements when used in the right context, but in this  case  the
whole thing seems  rather  odd,  and  then  the  mediocre  couple  of
tracks that close the album pull my rating  down  somewhat.  Adequate
production and technical qualities  complete  the  picture;  overall,
_Subvert_ clearly cannot compete against the likes of Nevermore,  but
its more aggressive edge may be a good reason for you  to  look  into
this competent album.


Poema Arcanus - _Iconoclast_  (Aftermath Music, 2002)
by: Alvin Wee  (9 out of 10)

While tags like "progressive dark arcane metal" usually refers  to  a
band's distinct lack of character  and  definition,  this  underrated
Chilean bunch certainly live up to promises,  delivering  a  whopping
dark metal surprise from a genre  that's  been  milked  to  death  by
naive goth-metal upstarts. With their brand of  dark/doom/goth  metal
reminiscent of the now-defunct Finns Absent  Silence,  Poema  Arcanus
weave an entrancing  web  of  progressive  arrangements  and  soaring
melody, beautifully dark and captivating while  retaining  the  heavy
edge that so many of the  newer  "dark  metal"  bands  lack.  Claudio
Carrasco's bewitchingly masculine croon  adds  the  crucial  edge  to
the already  stellar  musicianship,  and  carries  the  entire  album
marvelously well without the addition of the typical female yodeling.
Alternating dense passages with sparse acoustic segments  creates  an
enveloping chiaroscuro that's almost palpable;  the  band's  skillful
interplay of light  and  dark  stands  out  as  perhaps  the  album's
defining characteristic, and sets it apart from the  countless  other
single-faceting albums on the shelf. With the  right  promotion,  the
band's ear for melody and talent for arrangement should set  them  on
the same level as kings like Katatonia and _Wolfheart_-era Moonspell.
This is a release that no fan of dark and  atmospheric  music  should
miss, and is certainly Aftermath's best release to date.


Rain - _Starlight Extinction_  (Adipocere Records, November 2001)
by: David Rocher  (6.5 out of 10)

Face it: it's  hard  to  avoid  hasty  comparisons  when  approaching
a  Helvetic  quartet  playing  electronic,   atmospheric,   mid-paced
techno-enhanced metal -- and indeed, this comparison with atmospheric
experimental masters Samael turns out to be  Rain's  addictive  sting
and curse also. Their sting, because  these  Swisses  are  proficient
enough in their ways to skillfully impose  their  personal  brand  of
electronic experimentation fused with low-cased metallic power; their
curse, because whichever way you turn when  listening  to  _Starlight
Extinction_, the ineffable shadow of post-_Passage_ era Samael  looms
ever nearer -- somehow, I have a hard time deciding whether I  should
congratulate Rain for daring to tread  in  the  experimental  musical
tracks of their masters, or whether I should sneer  at  them  exactly
for that same reason. In fact, the  sheer  deserving  professionalism
with which Rain go about their music -- whether on CD or live,  as  I
have had  the  pleasure  to  behold  --  pulls  it  off  with  little
difficulty, leaving one to enjoy the intriguing power encased  within
this third release of theirs. After several careful and  rather  less
biased further listens, the main weakness in  Rain's  songwriting  in
fact reveals itself to be the lack of dynamics  their  music  suffers
from; many a track gradually builds up a powerful aftermath, a raging
crescendo towards a musical storm... but the  much-awaited  maelstrom
in fact scarcely ever seems to come. This is  probably  imputable  to
the more ethereal, distinctive techno slant Rain grace their material
with, an orientation which is rather  stronger  in  these  ways  than
Samael's. Altogether, however,  even  though  _Starlight  Extinction_
doesn't score a direct hit on me, its  carefully  calculated  musical
approach, generally interesting songwriting, huge  sound,  ample  and
spaced-out tones make it a truly  commendable  listen  for  the  more
open-minded fringe of metalheads out there.


Rain Fell Within - _Refuge_  (Dark Symphonies, February 2002)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (7.5 out of 10)

No time is wasted as _Refuge_ begins with the full  instrumental  and
vocal setup readily in action, and after one minute the first  catchy
melodies are already entering  your  ears  --  and  a  nice  operatic
melodic metal opening it is. Talented vocals and keyboards  lead  the
guitar  work  and  the  (also  rather  good)  drumming  along,  which
wasn't necessarily the case on  their  debut  _Believe_  --  overall,
_Refuge_ tends to sound somewhat softer than its  predecessor.  These
differences do not make the music itself any worse  --  it  certainly
sounds more polished than before --,  but  they  do  drag  Rain  Fell
Within a bit closer to the hordes of bands inhabiting this female-led
gothic metal genre. Rain Fell Within are indeed  very  good  at  what
they do, but after hearing their  debut  I  expected  them  to  offer
something a bit more unique this time, which is the one aspect  where
they failed. _Refuge_ is a good disc, musically  more  involved  than
its predecessor, and it will please fans of the genre,  but  it  does
lack novelty  and  stand-out  qualities  in  a  very  crowded  genre.
Nevertheless, if what you happen to be looking for  is  just  what  I
described above, then Rain Fell Within are a very safe bet indeed, as
all the band members are clearly talented and _Refuge_  is  a  solid,
pleasant album throughout.

Contact: http://www.darksymphonies.com


Rebellion - _Shakespeare's Macbeth: A Tragedy in Steel_
by: David Rocher  (1 out of 10)  (Drakkar / XIII Bis, April 2002)

Concept albums such as these can be a worthy  way  of  paying  humble
tribute to the  genius  of  a  literary  or  philosophical  milestone
crafted in times past; however, the cheesy power metal dirge in which
ex-Grave Digger axemen Uwe Luwis and Toni Gottlich have indulged with
the assistance of Annihilator's Randy Black  does  little  more  than
defile the memory of Shakespeare's ineffable tragedy. Loaded  to  the
brim with bad power metal riffage, omnipresent double  bass  drumming
and a tediously screeching vocalist "hail, hail,  hail"-ing  away  at
anything that moves  or  breathes,  this  musical  rendition  of  the
much-revered Scottish play is but a  chunk  of  splendorous  metallic
cheesiness -- with a killer production, however,  and  a  ludicrously
comic  booklet  filled  with  heroic  representations  of  gloriously
top-heavy naiads and  outrageously  muscular  warriors  with  flowing
hair. Damned  be  I  for  first  crying  "Hold,  enough!",  but  this
outrageous release falls way beyond the limits of musical  tolerance,
and the only point it scores is for the pleasant way it has  humoured
me by giving me something to tear to pieces in a review.


Regorge - _Kingdoms of Derision_  (Dead Again Records, 2002)
by: Quentin Kalis  (7.5 out of 10)

_KoD_ is the debut from the Scottish brutal death metal band Regorge.
For a debut, it's not bad; the production is  more  than  acceptable,
the music sufficiently  technical,  and  each  track  is  immediately
identifiable as a Regorge track.  Unusually  for  an  album  of  this
genre, the songs are rather long: some nine songs  are  performed  in
about 55 minutes. The length does not suit the style  and  the  songs
would in all likelihood be more brutal and have a greeter  effect  on
the listener if they were compacted into  four  or  less  minutes  of
all-out aggression. However, the major flaw in this release is  that,
while I understand it is meant to be brutal -- and it most  certainly
is --, at times the vocals are simply too incoherent. While  this  is
to be expected, there are too many passages in  the  album  where  it
sounds as the vocals consist merely of one continuous growl, with  no
variation in pace or tone to even suggest that  individual  words  of
any kind are being enunciated. This might appeal to the die-hard fan,
but for others it merely imbues the album with an  unnecessary  sense
of monotony. This is a pity, as their music is  intense,  well-played
and well worth a  listen.  Good  songwriting  clearly  has  not  been
sacrificed on the altar of brutality for this release. However,  none
of the aforementioned flaws are insurmountable problems, and _KoD_ is
clearly the debut of a promising band that has  yet  to  reach  their
peak.

Contact: http://www.deadagain.fsnet.co.uk


Reverend Kriss Hades - _The Wind of Orion_
by: Quentin Kalis  (6 out of 10)  (Decius Productions, January 2002)

The honourable Reverend from Down Under (wonder if  he  really  is  a
reverend -- in LaVey's Church of Satan perhaps?) has previously  been
involved with the likes of Nazxul and Sadistik Exekution.  The  first
-- and best -- song is a simplistic yet highly effective black  metal
track with unusual vocals, which almost sounds as if the vocalist  is
choking. The subtle  synths  which  overlay  the  guitar  succeed  in
creating a menacing atmosphere, but I'm not quite sure what  to  make
of the rest of the album.  The  next  two  songs  are  reworkings  of
Sadistik Exekution songs off the _FUKK_ album:  "Black  Mass  Murder"
(Satanic version), which retains its origins as a death  metal  song,
while "Final  Execution"  (Ouija  version)  is  a  far  more  drastic
reworking, drawn out into an  overlong  ten  minute  industrial.  The
final three  tracks  are  taken  from  the  Reverend's  obscure  1990
recording, _Meditation of the Midnight Candle Practice_. These  three
tracks largely consist  of  the  Reverend  playing  his  guitar  over
some industrial electronic effects.  While  I  commend  him  for  his
originality, originality in itself is not always sufficient to ensure
an enjoyable album, and it's a sad testament to this release that the
least adventurous song is  also  by  far  the  best.  The  industrial
effects soon become monotonous, while the  Reverend's  self-indulgent
guitar playing gets somewhat tiring after an incredibly short  period
of time. Considering that the Reverend is a  talented  guitarist,  he
has substantial experience performing  in  other  bands  and  is  not
averse to experimentation, suggests that his next solo  release  will
find him settling on a style and producing a definitive album.

Contact: mailto:iconoclast101@optushome.com.au
Contact: http://www.deciusproductions.com


Runemagick - _Requiem of the Apocalypse_  (Aftermath Music, 2002)
by: Alvin Wee  (8 out of 10)

Pretty much standard death metal fare, though quality is pretty  much
assured coming from Nicklas "Terror" Rudolfsson of Swordmaster  fame.
Typically dark and technical, with the requisite tinge of  old-school
Scandinavian  genius  (read:  old  Tiamat,  Unleashed),  Runemagick's
fourth studio outing promises a solid and stylistically rich  sojourn
into the  familiar  realms  of  death  and  madness.  The  relatively
measured pace allows more atmosphere and melody to seep  through  the
mix compared to the uncontrolled havoc of Krisiun and the like, which
makes for more engaging listening than the heap  of  faster-than-thou
releases piling up these days. Suitably  crunchy  riffing  accentuate
the dark ambience on this disc with a hue of  restrained  aggression,
while the twisted leads  (like  on  "Funeral  Caravan")  occasionally
blaze with a passion that's seldom encountered  anywhere  other  than
from the most accomplished "Gothenburg" bands. The enhanced CD offers
up a handful of equally entertaining MP3s as a document of the band's
miscellaneous antics, as well as  pictures,  screensavers  and  other
computer paraphernalia, adding some magic to  an  already  satisfying
package. Ask for the limited digibook edition.

Contact: mailto:ruholm@online.no


Satariel - _Phobos and Deimos_  (Hammerheart, January 2002)
by: David Rocher  (7.5 out of 10)

After the  1998  release  of  Satariel's  debut  effort,  _Lady  Lust
Lilith_, on Singapore-based label  Pulverized  Records,  a  prolonged
silence from the band let it look  as  though  this  Swedish  quintet
would merely be yet another of these countless one-off more  or  less
"interesting" acts which have washed over the Scandinavian  scene  in
the past few years. However, this shall  not  be  --  2002  witnesses
Satariel's comeback, a very convincing musical evolution  cryptically
titled  _Phobos  and  Deimos_;  whereas  _Lady  Lust  Lilith_  was  a
decent,  rather  unsurprising  death  metal  recording  showcasing  a
more extensive use of clean  male  vocals  than  your  average  chunk
of  metallic  rage,  _Phobos  and  Deimos_  is  packed  to  the  brim
with mutating, intricate, extreme metal  anthems  which  the  musical
physicist named Devin Townsend himself might  look  at  with  certain
interest. Indeed, what these Strapping Young Swedes have crafted here
reaches far  beyond  any  boundaries  set  within  the  metal  scene,
effortlessly evolving from conventional modern  Swedish  death  metal
segues to doom-laden heaviness, right from Townsend-tinged  distorted
madness to classic heavy metal tones -- courtesy of  very  remarkable
vocal guest  appearances  by  Candlemass'  own  Messiah  Marcolin.  A
striking feature about _Phobos and Deimos_ is  the  ease  with  which
it maintains  congruence  throughout  the  unexpected,  powerful  and
technical fifty-one minutes of seething metal  it  delivers;  despite
their countless influences and stylistic headstarts,  Satariel  never
lose their lead, and the material on _Phobos and  Deimos_  constantly
remains on a  very  high  level.  The  downright  impressive  musical
mastery on Satariel's sophomore  release  being  enhanced  as  it  is
by sound  genius  Daniel  Bergstrand's  crisp,  powerful  production,
death-metallers craving for a touch of novelty in their extreme metal
can safely be advised to check this  surprising,  powerful  and  very
compelling release out, as can all who  are  allured  by  the  power,
precision and  originality  displayed  by  Strapping  Young  Lads.  A
recommended listen indeed.


Sathya - _Sathya_  (<Independent>, 2002)
by: Adrian Bromley  (7.5 out of 10)

I like the spirit of this band. Regardless of their  obvious  worship
of the melodic death metal a la Gothenburg, Sweden (In Flames sounds,
fast-paced guitar riffs, menacing yet melodic vocals), the band still
kicks things into gears, adjusting their melodic metal drive  just  a
bit to add their own character to the flow of the  music.  Tight  and
truly effective metal offerings like "Top Gun", the dynamic  rush  of
"Cauldron of  Sin"  and  "Dethroned"  shine  here  on  this  ten-song
offering. And I must admit, while the production at times falters (it
just sounds a little muddy), this  band  could  not  have  asked  for
a better production  to  help  enhance  their  vicious,  as  well  as
slowed down, metal attacks. With the right word  of  mouth  and  some
high-profile shows under their belt, Sathya  could  soon  be  in  the
spotlight of label interest. Good luck, my metal brothers.

Contact: http://www.sathyametal.com


Sentenced - _The Cold White Light_  (Century Media, May 2002)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (7.5 out of 10)

Sentenced are quite  a  unique  band  for  me,  their  rocking  riffs
an unlikely  success  given  my  musical  taste.  It  is  the  band's
attitude, as shown by their trademark suicidal lyrics (often somewhat
pedestrian in their expression, yet somehow very appropriate  to  the
music), that has always helped that success, not to mention the  fact
that they're damn good at  what  they  do:  creating  unpretentiously
enjoyable music. Each of the last three Sentenced albums had  two  or
three stand-out tracks for me, the rest enjoyable enough  except  for
the odd track or two in each disc. _Down_ had its  "Noose",  _Frozen_
its "Dead Leaves" and "The Rain Comes Falling  Down",  and  _Crimson_
its "Bleed in My Arms"  and  "Broken".  Similarly,  _The  Cold  White
Light_ has "Cross My Heart and  Hope  to  Die"  and  the  simple  but
infectious "Excuse Me While I Kill Myself", plus a collection of very
competent tracks and the lame pseudo-romantic "You Are the One".  For
those past three albums, Sentenced had been steadily growing into the
Finnish Bolt Thrower, such was their reliability in  keeping  whoever
liked the first disc happy with the other two -- unless the person in
question wanted significant changes in the band's  sound.  _The  Cold
White Light_ sees Sentenced essentially continuing on the  same  path
they've taken since singer Ville Laihala joined the band for  _Down_;
some of it is arguably more accessible than usual for the  band,  but
they've always had a tendency for that once in  a  while.  _The  Cold
White Light_ is overall somewhat softer and not as thoroughly rocking
as, say, _Frozen_, but it still  clearly  remains  Sentenced.  It  is
a very  enjoyable  disc  with  plenty  of  attitude,  much  like  its
predecessors -- although on the other hand it also suffers  from  its
severe lack of progression, which is reflected in  my  rating  above.
Anyone seeking innovation and change should look elsewhere, but those
who just need more of the same  old  Sentenced  are  unlikely  to  be
disappointed by _The Cold White Light_ -- it isn't the best Sentenced
disc so far, but it is still quite satisfactory. And if you can,  try
to grab the nice digibook  version  available,  as  the  photographic
artwork is worth it.


Serpent's Kiss - _Distant Shores_  (<Independent>, 2002)
by: Adrian Bromley  (6.5 out of 10)

Even though the mark doesn't really say  it,  I  actually  found  the
music of Serpent's Kiss quite enjoyable. Serpent's Kiss plays a  real
cool old-school heavy metal attack a la Iron Maiden / Jag Panzer that
is full of metallic passion, from the soaring  guitar  riffs  to  the
magical / fantasy lyrical content. Where the album falters is in  the
vocal delivery: the vocals  sound  a  bit  strained  at  times,  thus
bringing the heavy metal attack down a few  notches.  I  don't  think
singer Rod has a bad voice per se, I just think some more studio work
could be beneficial to him, as the  harmonies  around  him  obviously
work -- now only if the vocals could be stronger... This album really
moves along with a solid stride and I especially like songs  such  as
"Strider", "Face the Slayer" and "Victory". Lots of passion here, but
the band needs just a bit more power and they'll be slaying us all.

Contact: mailto:william.philpot@ntlworld.com


Soilwork - _Natural Born Chaos_  (Nuclear Blast, March 2002)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (5 out of 10)

Such a talented lot, Soilwork, and just look what  they  are  turning
themselves into. They used to play Swedish death metal with a bit  of
a technical twist, plus some particular choruses that were becoming a
trademark for the band. Their last disc, _A Predator's Portrait_, saw
the band focusing more on those choruses, while  the  overall  result
was rather close to some of In Flames' latest effort _Clayman_. On _A
Predator's Portrait_ and its predecessor  _The  Chainheart  Machine_,
Soilwork had departed from the  more  straightforward  Swedish  death
origins of their debut _Steelbath Suicide_ without  compromising  the
balance of  aggression  and  catchiness.  On  _Natural  Born  Chaos_,
however, they have broken that balance. The choruses sound poppy  and
more accessible than before, often catchy in a  similarly  irritating
way to a commercial jingle; and what used to be the  more  aggressive
and dynamic parts are now watered down, slower, less dynamic and more
"rocking". The lyrics  are  mostly  uninspired,  which  becomes  very
noticeable during the choruses, depriving the album of any  emotional
qualities. The result is an album that unfortunately comes across  as
bland and uninteresting in the  light  of  what  the  band  has  done
before. Here's hoping they'll do better  next  time  around,  because
they -can-.


Solekahn - _Suffering Winds_  (Imperial Maze, January 2002)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (7.5 out of 10)

Get past the somewhat uninviting production, and you  may  well  find
a rather interesting  disc  in  this  obscure  release.  This  is  an
eight-song EP, with a playing time of under 20 minutes  --  including
atmospheric  intro,  interlude  and  outro  (all  brief).  The  songs
themselves (as  you  may  have  already  guessed)  are  quite  short,
occasionally even below the two minute  mark.  Solekahn  play  mostly
fast-paced and dynamic death metal with hints of  black  and  thrash,
often carrying a subdued melody that may not  be  initially  apparent
behind the intense drum barrage reminiscent of Vader. There is a dark
atmosphere  surrounding  their  mysterious-sounding  music,  and  the
succinctness of the songs and the EP itself works well for the  band,
again much like what happens with Vader -- I  found  myself  spinning
this disc a lot more often than I expected. Furthermore, the dynamics
are good, there is a fair degree of variety in the music  (especially
on the noteworthy "In Dementia"), and the  material  is  consistently
enjoyable throughout. Considering this is  the  French  trio's  debut
release, I will be looking forward to an eventual full-length album.

Contact: http://www.solekahn.maxximum.org


Song of Melkor et al - _New World Blasphemy_
by: Quentin Kalis  (7 out of 10)  (Unsung Heroes Records, 2001)

_New World Blasphemy_ is  a  split  release  between  three  American
black  metal  bands,  namely  Song  of  Melkor,  Rampage  and   Cross
Sodomy. Interestingly, they are all one-man bands.  (I  blame  it  on
Burzum.) Rampage  is  reviewed  elsewhere  in  this  issue,  but  the
other two are largely unknown to me.  Song  of  Melkor  (not  another
band named  after  some  Tolkien  gibberish!)  open  the  album  with
"Prophecy of Abyss" with a slowish song featuring a strange-sounding,
almost discordant guitar. The next  four  tracks  venture  into  more
conventional black metal territory. Rampage has eschewed his previous
musical flirtations in favour of a harsher, black  metal-like  sound.
The first of two songs, "Black Flames Light my Path to Damnation"  is
in the style of his cover of Mayhem's "Funeral Fog" off the _Monolith
to an Abandoned Past_ album, [CoC #57], while  "Ritual  Curse"  is  a
slower,  more  sedate  song,  more  like  his  previous  work.  Cross
Sodomy's contribution is their demo. (Rampage and  Song  of  Melkor's
contributions were  recorded  for  _NWB_.)  Their  music  is  largely
unremarkable, with the notable exception of the vocals.  Unlike  most
black metal vocals, the words are clearly enunciated  and  verges  on
being spoken word, at times bordering perilously close to rap. (Never
thought I would ever get the opportunity  to  use  the  terms  "black
metal" and "rap" in the same sentence!) While neither of these  bands
are likely to blow anyone  with  any  displays  of  technical  skill,
their extremely raw and simplistic nature  ensures  that  the  unholy
trio remain true to the  original  spirit  of  black  metal  and  the
underground.

Contact: UHR, Mark Vignati, 260 Overlook Dr, Covington, GA 30016, USA
         mailto:uhr@mindspring.com


The Atomic Bitchwax - _Spit Blood_  (Meteor City, 2002)
by: Quentin Kalis  (8.5 out of 10)

In short, The Atomic Bitchwax's _Spit Blood_ simply  has  to  be  the
most mind-blowingly brilliant release so far this year from the genre
of stoner / desert / space / whatever-you-want-to-call-it  rock.  TAB
are a band of contradictions, as while they  are  influenced  by  and
play in a style  of  music  that  is  long  gone,  they  are  totally
innovative. The album begins with a cover of the AC/DC classic "Dirty
Deeds Done Dirt Cheap", which is also the most simplistic song on the
album, standing out a mile from any of their  original  material  and
making  one  realise  the  complexity  and  layers  of  their  music.
Nevertheless it's a credible cover and places the  emphasis  squarely
on the fun,  rocking  aspect  of  their  music.  I  can  foresee  one
complaint bound to be brought up more than a few  times:  that  there
are simply too many instrumentals. With three instrumentals, this  is
half of the original songs. They are not fillers  at  all,  they  are
fully-fledged songs, as deserving of notice as the songs with vocals.
In fact, they are often  considerably  better  than  the  songs  with
vocals. As  on  their  previous  releases,  which  suffered  from  no
shortage of instrumentals, TAB demonstrate that they have  sufficient
talent and skill to be able to pull it off. Ever since the demise  of
Kyuss, the throne of stoner rock has been somewhat in  dispute.  With
the release of _Spit Blood_, their third album, TAB are well on their
way to claiming that title. And for those that possess a PC, there is
an extensive behind-the-scenes documentary.

Contact: http://www.meteorcity.com


The Crown - _Crowned in Terror_  (Metal Blade, March 2002)
by: David Rocher  (9 out of 10)

Throatmangler supreme Johan Lindstrand's  departure  from  The  Crown
anno 2001 was tragic news indeed -- no less tragic in fact to  me  as
the announcement of At The Gates' demise consecutive to  the  release
of their milestone _Slaughter of the Soul_  --,  but  the  revelation
that followed stating that ex-At The Gates  vocalist  Tomas  Lindberg
would be stepping in to endorse vocal duties  for  Sweden's  ultimate
death 'n' roll act was somewhat more reassuring. _Crowned in  Terror_
was hence etched to be a milestone in The Crown's  career;  not  only
was it their first release ever without Lindstrand  (strikingly,  the
only minor line-up change  The  Crown  had  ever  undergone  occurred
consecutively to the release of  their  1993  demo,  _Forever  Heaven
Gone_), it was also assigned the uncomfortable task  of  providing  a
worthy heir to its insane predecessor, _Deathrace  King_  [CoC  #49].
And unsurprisingly enough, these claims are now  greeted  with  total
success  --  The  Crown  have  retaliated  against  all  worries  and
doubts concerning their  future  with  an  incredible,  seething  and
steroid-boosted death 'n' roll recording,  a  savage  brute  thriving
on roaring  metallic  onslaughts,  blasting  rhythmic  poundings  and
mind-boggling technicality and velocity. A little more intricate  and
less  "all-out  metal  carnage"  in  style  than  the  very  raw  and
adrenaline-oozing _Deathrace King_, _Crowned in Terror_ delivers  the
goods beyond all expectations, in pure The Crown tradition; from  the
always inspired melodies and catchy rock 'n' roll  hymns  crafted  by
Magnus Osfelt  and  Marko  Tervonen  to  the  inconceivable  drumming
antics provided by drumgod Janne  Saarenpaa,  the  ten  tracks  (plus
introduction) featured on _Crowned  in  Terror_  only  release  their
crushing grasp on your throat when their composers deem it worthy, as
on the super-heavy mid-tempo anthem "World Below". In fact,  much  as
I predicted and  feared,  the  only  shadow  on  this  recording  are
Tompa Lindberg's vocals  --  much  as  his  work  on  At  the  Gates'
releases was beyond  words  and  any  form  criticism,  his  screamed
and rabid intonations fail to  wholly  mesh  in  with  the  grim  and
thrilling musical canvas painted by  his  fellow  band  members;  and
this  oh-so-disappointing  sentiment  is  only  reinforced  by  Johan
Lindstrand's glorious performance on the closing number "Death  Metal
Holocaust". Metal Blade having however recently  disclosed  the  news
that Tomas Lindberg and  The  Crown  have  parted  ways  due  to  the
timeless "personal differences", I can only conclude  the  review  of
this flawed, but nonetheless  absolutely  brilliant  by  a  heartfelt
plea: Johan, come back -- Death Metal can't do without you!

[Pedro Azevedo: "Had this entire disc  been  as  good  as  the  first
 couple of tracks following its mediocre intro -- "Crowned in Terror"
 and "Under the Whip", and The Crown's first  output  with  legendary
 screamer Tomas Lindberg would truly have been a death metal classic.
 This is not to say the rest of the album is  weak;  but  only  on  a
 couple other tracks does it ever get close to  its  initial  quality
 again. As usual, I tend to enjoy Marko Tervonen's  songs  more  than
 Magnus Osfelt's, even though the mixing of guitarist Tervonen's  and
 bassist Osfelt's slightly contrasting songwriting  styles  continues
 to work well for the band. Still, although in their last  couple  of
 albums Osfelt had also been doing very well indeed, this  time  it's
 his part  of  the  album  that  tended  to  let  me  down  slightly.
 Nevertheless, this is yet another potent release from a superb  band
 whose debut and last three discs are all ranked high among my  death
 metal favourites."]


The Ribeye Brothers - _If I Had a Horse..._  (Meteor City, 2002)
by: Quentin Kalis  (7.5 out of 10)

This must surely rank as one of the few CDs, if not the not the  only
CD reviewed within these virtual pages to feature the use of a banjo!
The Ribeye Brothers are a duo consisting of  Monster  Magnet  drummer
Jon Kleiman and  Monster  Magnet  alumnus  Tim  Cronin.  Contrary  to
expectation, this is not some sort of stoned, psychedelic space rock,
but rather an exploration of musical  horizons  which  wouldn't  have
been possible  under  the  aegis  of  Monster  Magnet.  Said  musical
horizons are a Cramps-sounding thugabilly style. Of course no Monster
Magnet side-project would be complete without a strong dosage of some
retro element; this element is provided here in the form of the early
synth sounds of a moog, evoking the likes of '70s  icons  The  Doors.
Lyrically, a large number of songs  concern  drinking,  while  others
seemingly deal with the results of overindulgence. Unlike  the  other
Monster Magnet side project, The Atomic Bitchwax [see review  above],
it  seems  improbable  that  this  collaboration  is  intended  as  a
long-term project and the world is unlikely to see any  more  of  The
Ribeye Brothers.  Whilst  recent  Monster  Magnet  output  lacks  the
quality of their earlier releases and I  would  not  be  particularly
upset by their  eventual  demise,  this  album  in  conjunction  with
anything by The Atomic Bitchwax adds force to the claim that it would
be a sad day should  the  various  members  of  Monster  Magnet  (and
alumni) decide to withdraw from the music industry altogether.

Contact: http://www.meteorcity.com


Theory in Practice - _Colonizing the Sun_
by: David Rocher  (9 out of 10)  (Listenable Records, March 2002)

As the biography states, "Theory in Practice has to be  heard  to  be
believed" -- a statement which falls nothing short of the truth,  for
this Swedish quartet are, and without exaggeration, as unique as they
are awe-inspiring. With only  three  full-length  releases  on  their
slates,  Theory  in  Practice  have  crafted  their  own  unique  and
bewildering style of extreme metal, a hybrid thriving  on  compelling
melody, seemingly limitless inspiration and  unbridled  technicality.
Much more intricate and less blatantly Atheist-influenced than  their
Pulverized debut _Third Eye Function_,  _Colonizing  the  Sun_  is  a
colossal entity of awe-inspiring progressive, heavy, technical  death
metal, featuring more  hooks,  time  changes,  mystifying  leads  and
unbelievable arrangements  than  most  bands  will  ever  succeed  in
churning out in the space of a decade. In fact, putting  the  essence
of _Colonizing the Sun_ in words is as close  to  impossible  as  the
title itself; cleverly eluding any possible  musical  classification,
yet directed and congruent enough  to  be  ear-catching  at  a  first
listen, Theory in Practice's third  release  is  an  epic,  puzzling,
intricate yet  furiously  musical  experience  that  will  leave  any
self-respecting metalhead with a taste for the unusual speechless and
bewitched; in the guise of this inconceivable meisterwerk of  melodic
death metal may in fact  lurk  a  future  referential  milestone;  an
expanded, evolved and grandiose _Unquestionable Presence_ for the new
millennium -- and if you have trouble believing it, then taste it  to
be subdued.


Third Voice - _Moments Like These_  (<Independent>, 2002)
by: Adrian Bromley  (7.5 out of 10)

Talk about a dynamic duo, and I ain't referring to Batman and  Robin,
folks! The duo of Jeff Kearney (vocals) and Jason Pirone (every other
instrument) who make  up  Third  Voice  are  quite  the  combination:
soaring,  heartfelt  vocals  matched  with  tight  musicianship.  The
progressive rock ways of the band are done with such  conviction  and
intensity, though leaving room for the music to expand and radiate an
emotional aura at times. Some of the arrangements found  on  _Moments
Like These_ are truly mesmerizing. I can't imagine the hard work that
must have gone into this release, as it isn't often that you  find  a
duo taking on so much work to assemble an album (Pirone also produced
the album -- what doesn't he do?).  The  album  rarely  falters,  and
tracks like the title track, "Simple Man"  and  "Take  Me  Back"  are
superbly executed.  Third  Voice  are  one  of  the  few  progressive
independent acts out there  that  are  doing  their  own  thing  when
everyone else is ripping off Dream Theater or Fates Warning.

Contact: http://www.thirdvoicemusic.com


Thirteen - _Magnifico Nova_  (XIII Bis, May 2002)
by: David Rocher  (7 out of 10)

The brainchild of one lonesome Icelandic rocker,  Hallur  Ingolfsson,
Thirteen is a strange project,  as  intriguing  as  it  is  difficult
to fathom.  Recorded  at  Rocklab  studios  and  throughout  "various
junkyards, construction sites & metalworks in Reykjavik", the cryptic
_Magnifico Nova_ actually only teeters on  the  brink  of  the  metal
world, sounding like an industrial-tinged,  strangely  deluded,  cold
Soundgarden  or  Pearl  Jam-influenced  collection  of  rock  tracks.
Although providing an accurate description and suitable references to
_Magnifico Nova_ does seemingly fall beyond my reach,  the  brooding,
surprisingly heavy and alluringly eccentric rock cleverly crafted  by
Ingolfsson provides a  musical  journey  which  is  as  soothing  and
accessible as it is intricate and captivating, given the  right  time
and attention. Fundamentalists addicted to all-out musical  brutality
will find nothing here to whet their appetite, and can safely  forego
this release; however, the more  tolerant  of  you  who  wish  devote
a bruised  and  bleeding  ear  to  less  aggressive,  soothing  tones
resounding on the borderline of the metal  confines  should  consider
listening to this unexpected, strangely non-mainstream experience.


This Midnight Stream - _Cinematic_  (Sound Vortex, 2002)
by: Adrian Bromley  (7 out of 10)

The Midnight Sun's _Cinematic_ album is one of the  strangest  CDs  I
have come in contact with in the last little at Chronicles of  Chaos,
kind of like a mix between The  Gathering,  Enya  and  Tom  Waits  or
Lou Reed.  I  kid  you  not.  The  album,  which  as  you'd  probably
already figured out by now incorporates a lot of  female  vocals  and
keyboard/electronic work, thrusts upon us a dazzling atmospheric vibe
as it carries on. Fans of newer-era The Gathering, underrated act The
Dreamside and others of the ilk might be into checking this band out,
as the echoing swirls of electronic bliss are  tantalizing.  Nice  to
see an album like this reviewed in CoC, as it  is  far  from  blazing
death metal, but interesting enough  for  us  metalheads  to  take  a
chance on it and explore what else out there is extreme and  possibly
groundbreaking. Check out the spiritual flow of "The Way Inside", the
bizarre opener "Fallen Angel" and the  beautiful  "Esther".  Lots  to
choose from here, so take a chance...

Contact: http://www.soundvortexrecording.com


Unpure - _Trinity in Black_  (Drakkar Productions, August 2001)
by: Quentin Kalis  (8 out of 10)

Unpure are a Swedish trio who are obviously huge Celtic  Frost  fans,
as the Swiss masters' influence permeates every aspect of this album,
with some riffs sounding as if they were lifted straight from the _To
Mega Therion_ recording sessions. That said, Unpure are by no means a
glorified second rate Celtic Frost tribute band.  Far  from  it.  The
Celtic Frost influences are contained well within the  perimeters  of
their own sound, manifesting mainly in the rhythmic riffing that acts
as the bedrock for each song. Thrash elements are also  present,  but
it must be said that this is not the retro thrash  currently  peddled
by the likes of Bewitched. The thrash influences, combined  with  the
Celtic Frost influences, suggest a band that is firmly rooted in  the
past, but  _Trinity  in  Black_  is  a  surprisingly  modern-sounding
record. Their mixture of the old and the new suggests a band in  tune
with its influences and roots yet not afraid  to  advance  the  music
that they have come to love. One day they  may  very  well  join  the
exalted ranks of fellow Swedes At the Gates and Dark Tranquillity  as
purveyors of quality music. They're pretty close.


Void of Silence - _Criteria ov 666_  (Code666, February 2002)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (8.5 out of 10)

Variety is usually seen as a good thing in most genres; but  in  doom
metal, I would much rather have consistency than a wide  spectrum  of
feelings in the music. Void of Silence fortunately belong to the more
consistent  side  of  doom  metal,  and  _Criteria  ov  666_  profits
immensely from that. This isn't to  say  that  the  music  itself  is
monotonous and repetitive: there is certainly enough variety  in  the
musical approach to communicating their feelings to keep the listener
interested, but it is -what- they try to express  that  remains  very
much a constant throughout (with one possible exception  towards  the
end). As indicated by the mood-setting  artwork,  the  music  of  VoS
is very much in  the  Evoken  and  Unholy  league  of  bleakness  and
miserability. There is, however,  considerable  difference  in  their
musical approach: instead of  doom/death,  they  mix  a  backdrop  of
apocalyptic atmospheric elements with a varying combination  of  doom
metal with blackened shrieks (courtesy of Aborym's Malfeitor Fabban),
sombre chants and various other  samples  and  elements.  Amidst  all
the bleakness, VoS occasionally throw  in  some  nicely  crafted  and
appropriate melodies or frail  vocals,  masking  things  in  a  sound
that  doesn't  come  across  as  obvious  and  simplistic.  Musically
quite interesting, yet consistently negative  and  apocalyptic,  with
_Criteria ov 666_ Void of Silence have created one of  the  stand-out
doom metal albums of recent years.

Contact: http://www.code666.net


Vomitory - _Blood Rapture_  (Metal Blade, February 2002)
by: David Rocher  (9 out of 10)

The  great  kingdom   of   Sweden,   internationally   renowned   for
Scandinavian trademark  death  metal,  Saab  Viggen  fighters,  Volvo
automobiles and, very soon,  Vomitory  musical  steamhammers  --  for
there is no better way to describe the blasting, monolithic  slab  of
grinding oblivion which comes  in  the  guise  of  Vomitory's  fourth
release. More cohesive and  directed  than  ever  they  were  before,
Vomitory have tapped upon a  miraculous  metallic  vein  of  crushing
heaviness, merciless brutality and grinding speed. Short  and  sharp,
_Blood Rapture_ is an avatar indeed of the true unearthly power death
metal is renowned for -- devastating, adrenaline-laced  heaviness,  a
massive, brutally raucous sound (arguably  the  most  crushing  vibes
ever to emanate from the famed Berno studios), song  structures  that
pulverise anything in their path and unearthly vocals fuse to  create
a hybrid lurking amidst the shadows cast  by  vintage  Bolt  Thrower,
Carcass and Napalm Death -- hungry  yet?  I  am  humbly  grateful  to
Vomitory for setting  the  clocks  back  the  sincere,  unpretentious
yet devastating way  _Blood  Rapture_  sees  them  peruse;  revel  in
the bestial frenzy that  emanates  from  their  fourth  release,  and
acknowledge the fact that Vomitory leave  most  tentatively  "heavy",
supposedly "aggressive" and allegedly "fucked up" bands (not that I'm
hinting at any of Ross Robinson's offspring, of course) looking  just
as potent and menacing as an aerophagic platypus.

[Pedro Azevedo: "From some bands you just know what  to  expect,  and
 from Vomitory it is Bolt Thrower  meets  old  Swedish  death  metal.
 _Blood Rapture_ is no exception to that  rule,  and  it  is  another
 thoroughly competent effort from the band. However, they do not seem
 to have  made  any  progress  in  terms  of  creating  the  ultimate
 old-school death metal  album  with  _Blood  Rapture_  --  for  some
 reason, I actually enjoyed their previous disc  _Revelation  Nausea_
 marginally better. The vocals are still rather monotonous, but apart
 from that Vomitory have achieved an undeniably  strong  formula  and
 seem likely to stick with it for a long time to come."]


Zimmershole - _Legion of Flames_  (Virusworx, 2002)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (6 out of 10)

A side project with a  strong  Strapping  Young  Lad  presence  (both
the guitarist and the bass  player  are  from  SYL),  Zimmershole  is
essentially a group of musicians intent  on  having  fun  with  their
music rather than focusing on anything else. They clearly state  that
you may hear riffs that will sound familiar, as some  of  the  record
seems to be a hybrid of originals and covers -- you'll hear a bit  of
Metallica's "Master of Puppets" midway through a song, for  instance.
Zimmershole make it clear that _Legion of  Flames_  is  about  paying
tribute to their old metal heroes, and in  the  process  creating  an
unpretentious album that  others  with  similar  taste  might  enjoy.
There's quite a bit of a SYL influence in the  rather  potent  sound,
but the style itself changes from track to track, depending on  which
band Zimmershole are harvesting influence from. This results in  some
good, rocking tracks and some exceedingly annoying ones  ("Anaconda",
for instance). Despite being a "fun" band, the production and quality
of playing is very professional. Basically, the bigger a fan you  are
of old heavy metal and hard rock -- Judas  Priest,  Metallica,  etc.,
etc. --,  the  more  likely  you  will  be  to  headbang  along  with
Zimmershole. Those who do not have much interest  in  those  eras  of
heavy metal or may not be into the  self-indulgent  party  atmosphere
that pervades the disc need not bother with this one.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
                 __                    __      _
              /\ \ \_____      __   /\ \ \___ (_)___  ___
             /  \/ / _ \ \ /\ / /  /  \/ / _ \| / __|/ _ \
            / /\  /  __/\ V  V /  / /\  / (_) | \__ \  __/
            \_\ \/ \___| \_/\_/   \_\ \/ \___/|_|___/\___|

If you have a band, don't forget to send us your  demo,  including  a
bio,  if  you  want  to  be  reviewed.  We  accept  demos  either  on
traditional   media    or    MP3     format.     E-mail     us     at
<mailto:Demos@ChroniclesOfChaos.com>  to  know  which  is  the   most
appropriate postal address for you to send your CD or tape,  in  case
you are sending one, or to indicate the location of  a  website  from
which we can download the MP3 files  of  your  entire  demo  (but  do
NOT send any files attached to your e-mail).

Scoring:   ***** -- A flawless demo
            **** -- Great piece of work
             *** -- Good effort
              ** -- A major overhaul is in order
               * -- A career change is advisable


Atropos - _Creature Chthonienne_  (5-track demo)
by: David Rocher  (****-)

Atropos' second release, consecutive to their  intriguing  demo  tape
_La Fileuse de Mort_, is  an  intricate  "progressive  extreme  heavy
metal" deity, in which the black metal influences the French  quintet
displayed on their first production now only  shine  through  in  the
guise of  Gerald's  seething  blackened  vocals  and  the  occasional
blasting segues interspersed throughout  Atropos'  eight-minute  plus
compositions. To clarify the  obfuscous  "progressive  extreme  heavy
metal" denomination,  is  should  suffice  for  me  to  mention  that
two essential references boldly spring  to  mind  when  listening  to
_Creature Chthonienne_: Iron Maiden's _Seventh Son of a Seventh  Son_
-- for its intricate, melodic  technicality  and  highly  imaginative
drum work  --  and  Edge  of  Sanity's  _Crimson_,  for  its  intense
rhythmic structures and aggressive vocals.  Featuring  three  lengthy
epic, progressive and  extreme  metal  soundscapes,  a  pleasant  yet
somewhat dispensable "classic" (i.e. keyboard only) track plus a live
rendition of the first track  on  this  MCD,  _Creature  Chthonienne_
literally teems with excellent ideas and flowing creativity, offering
countless heavy riffs and melodic rhythmic lines, all  backed  up  by
a powerful, sharp  and  well-balanced  production;  the  only  mildly
disturbing point is in fact Gerald's black metal vocals, which take a
while to get used  to,  owing  to  the  contrast  they  provide  with
Atropos' music. Although these turn out to be  quite  enjoyable  once
you get used to them,  I  believe  that  Atropos  could  successfully
introduce a little more variety  (a  la  Opeth  or  Edge  of  Sanity,
precisely) in the vocal area, and thus add captivating new dimensions
and  atmospheres  to  their  future  material.  These  are  promising
auspices indeed.

Contact: Atropos c/o Geral Milani, 34 La Roque Courbiere,
         13680 Lançon, France
         mailto:atropos13@caramail.com


Conquest of Steel - _Priests of Metal_  (4-track demo)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (*----)

If you look at the title of this demo,  you  will  probably  retrieve
most of the information you require about the style Conquest of Steel
play: old style heavy metal a la Manowar. Take away all strength from
the guitar and drum department, and add an average vocalist who lacks
charisma  and  any  ability  to  write  lyrics,  and  you'll  have  a
reasonable idea of what this demo is like. The guitarists give  it  a
fair shot at trying to come up with some good lines as the band tries
to conjure up some memorable choruses, but overall  the  results  are
desperately weak. Then we also have the expectable trite lyrics (gems
such as "I was born to rock / You were born to too / We were born  to
rock / We'll rock with you") to complete the  picture.  Individually,
the band members have some good qualities, but as a band Conquest  of
Steel have a very long way to go before they can become anything like
an alternative to their idols, let alone have an  identity  of  their
own.

Contact: http://www.conquestofsteel.co.uk


Demonification - _A Thousand Sadness '00_  (3-track demo)
Demonification - _For The People '01_  (2-track demo)
by: Alvin Wee  (***--)

There's been a distinct lack of  quality  in  the  old-school  thrash
scene here in Singapore, with even old-timers like  Abattory  failing
to deliver the goods. It's nice  to  see  bands  other  than  Impiety
bringing a  touch  of  classic  thrash  to  their  brand  of  extreme
metal, and convincingly at that.  Relative  neophytes  Demonification
exceed expectations, spewing  forth  three  tracks  of  pretty  solid
-- if somewhat  unpolished  --  death/thrash.  The  mostly  mid-paced
guitar-work is convincing enough, and, while  never  quite  attaining
the neck-breaking levels of Swordmaster or Ritual Carnage, manages to
wring a few headbanging moments out of this jaded reviewer. Strangely
enough, the latter material fails to impress as  much  as  the  first
tape; much of the disappointment might lie with the disastrous vocals
which -almost- manage to wreck the entire proceedings. Annoying yowls
aside, the band pull off an even thrashier and more  energetic  piece
of work than on the first demo, showing their potential for producing
some pretty killer stuff in  the  future.  It's  important  the  band
doesn't lose direction while searching for  an  original  sound,  and
things don't look too bad at  this  stage  given  that  the  infamous
Drakkar label will be releasing their upcoming cassette-EP. All these
boys need is a smidgen of maturity and a touch more thought put  into
their songwriting process and they could be on to greater things.

Contact: Blk 115, Potong Pasir Ave. 1, #02-894, S(350115), Singapore
         mailto:infernalpsychofaisall@hotmail.com


Holochaust - _Holochaust_  (4-track demo)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (***--)

Listening to the first couple of tracks after the intro,  I  have  to
wonder: are Holochaust trying to become a  Metallica  cover  band  of
sorts? Since their _Valley of Misery_ demo [CoC #55], they only  seem
to have become closer  to  Metallica  and  some  of  the  covers  the
Americans themselves play (or used to), judging by these two  tracks.
The demo then ends with a doomy ballad. Holochaust again prove to  be
a technically skilled band, capable of delivering a solid demo with a
couple of rocking tracks and a well executed ballad,  but  they  have
simply failed to gain any more individuality that can set them  apart
from the rest. Hopefully that will  change  in  the  future,  because
Holochaust do have some potential.

Contact: http://www.go.to/holochaust/


Lost - _Lost_  (11-track demo)
by: Adrian Bromley  (*----)

Talk about a band that is, well, lost. The music of  this  trio  from
St. Louis, Missouri is about six years too late --  really.  Sounding
like an older-era version of Korn, this  trio  does  nothing  new  or
exciting with their aggressive music except rip off Korn. Can't  this
band at least keep up with the musical trends of today? Where are the
Slipknot or In Flames influences? Geesh... Sure Lost offers up a  bit
more intense vocals at times (but for the most part the  softly  sung
vocals suck ass) and the mood of the album shifts from song to  song,
but does that make it any better given the fact that they are a clone
type band? Nope. I think it would have been  a  lot  easier  to  just
write "Korn ripoff" at the beginning of this review, but sometimes  I
like to punish myself.

Contact: Matt Westermayer, 917 Wilmington Ave.,
         St. Louis, MO 63111, USA


Lost Soul's Cry - _Age of Forthcoming Chaos_  (5-track demo)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (****-)

First and foremost, this one-man project  from  Holland  is  in  dire
need of finding some decent  artwork  for  future  releases.  Anyway,
the music  is  fast,  keyboard-led  blackened  metal  with  synthetic
drums,  interspersed  with  slower,  doomier  sections.  Frank  Klein
Douwel manages to single-handedly create some varied and  competently
performed music on this demo, and he certainly  deserves  credit  for
that. The music is not mindblowingly great, but it is quite good  for
a demo and shows a lot of work. Due to the use of a drum machine, the
sound is sometimes a bit contrived rhythmically, and with time Douwel
should improve his artificial drumming to get around that.  A  rather
good, dynamic and varied demo; it is flawed in places, but as a  demo
it is still a fine one-man effort that shows some good potential.

Contact: Postelstraat 5A, 5211 DW's-Hertogenbosch, Holland
         mailto:lostsoulscry@dolfijn.nl


Maple Cross - _Promo 1/02_  (3-track promo)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (***--)

Originally  formed  in  1985(!)  and  with  seven(!!)  demos  and   a
full-length CD in their bag, Maple Cross eventually split up in 1995,
after having played more than 200 live shows, according to the  band.
Having now reformed, Maple Cross are  back  with  eight  new  tracks,
three of which made their way onto this demo CD. I have no idea  what
Maple Cross used to sound like, but that's probably not  much  of  an
issue anyway: this reformation features only the  original  vocalist,
or should I say, screamer and  part-time  singer.  Somewhere  between
hard rock and heavy metal, Maple Cross alternate between chunky riffs
and melodic choruses in an unfailingly predictable way throughout the
opening track, then go into a faster and less memorable style for the
last couple of songs. They are quite adept at both styles, but  don't
seem to come up with anything especially remarkable in the long  run.
The shrill vocals certainly won't  be  everyone's  cup  of  tea,  but
instrumentally the band fares quite well. A  decent  effort  overall,
but nothing special.

Contact: mailto:maplecross@surfeu.fi


Secret South - _Pieces of Faith_  (4-track demo)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (**---)

From Mostar (Bosnia and Herzegovina) comes this demo CD, and you will
occasionally find traces of ethnic influences in a couple  of  places
during _Pieces of Faith_. The music  of  Secret  South  is  somewhere
between metal and hardcore, though the occasional  chants  and  other
ethnic touches give it some more  individuality.  Technically  things
are on the average side for  a  demo,  and  the  same  goes  for  the
production. The vocals, however, could  have  been  better:  although
they aren't terrible, they lack some more expression and  power.  The
songs themselves are neither bad  nor  very  engaging.  Secret  South
manage some competent chunky riffs, but nothing  remarkable  or  very
original. An average demo from a band that still  needs  to  continue
looking for  an  identity  more  their  own  while  they  hone  their
songwriting skills.

Contact: Gordan Stojic, Petra Kresimira IV. br. 3,
         88000 Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
         mailto:gojstoj@cob.net.ba


Slavia - _Gloria in Excelcis Sathan_  (5-track demo)
by: Quentin Kalis (****-)

Originally recorded in 2000  --  and  presumably  initially  released
later in 2000 as well -- Drakkar Productions have now  made  Slavia's
demo available in a limited number of 666 hand-numbered copies  since
last September. Slavia are a Norwegian band performing harsh sounding
black metal with a few scattered atmospheric touches. For some reason
unknown to me, what is apparently, to the best of my  knowledge,  the
Russian national anthem is tacked on to the end of one of the  songs.
Also somewhat  inexplicable  is  the  band  name,  which  is  unusual
considering the near fascistic hyper nationalism that infuses much of
black metal. For a demo, this is relatively well produced, though the
guitars do sound a bit thin. But what should  have  been  a  flaw  is
transformed into an asset, as the very hollowness of the sound adds a
slight melancholic edge to the music, which might very well have been
lost had the demo been subject to  better  production.  The  lack  of
information regarding Slavia is somewhat irritating -- I have no idea
as to whether they are even still  around!  But  if  they  are  still
active, then Drakkar Productions can do far worse then to have Slavia
on their roster.

Contact: http://www.multimania.com/drakkar666


The Prophecy - _To End All Hope_  (4-track demo)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (****-)

In a nutshell, The Prophecy aim to create doom  metal  which  can  be
slow and mournful but  also  suddenly  burst  into  raging  speed  or
anything in between. They describe their sound as "characteristically
English" and based upon "the early nineties doom/death  wave",  which
is reasonably accurate but only  becomes  apparent  with  the  second
track. During this demo  CD,  the  band  finds  time  to  include  an
atmospheric piano passage, acoustic guitar flourishes and  some  nice
violin work, but the variety of their doom metal lies in the  various
types of riffs, vocals and pace they utilise. This can easily lead to
a doom metal record full of annoying upbeat passages, but  when  done
right it can also be extremely good -- an outburst  of  speed  or  an
especially crushing mid-paced riff could very well reach its  maximum
effect when following a dirgeful sequence. The Prophecy seem to be on
the right path to achieving this, although for  the  time  being  not
everything they do fits perfectly with the rest. Still, for the  most
part they are getting it right already, and as soon as  they  develop
their ideas into something more consistently remarkable, they will be
on their way to creating a very interesting disc indeed. I  shall  be
looking forward to hearing from these English doomsters again.

Contact: http://www.local-family-butcherers.co.uk


Urshurark - _Architecture of Perfect Damnation_  (8-track demo)
by: David Rocher  (****-)

Urshurark's first full-length demo CD is an ambitious piece  of  work
(seven tracks plus an intro), that clocks in at no less than a  proud
52 minutes. Delving  into  influences  ranging  from  straightforward
aggressive thrash or melodic death metal  riffs  to  symphonic  black
metal atmospheres in the vein of present-day Dimmu Borgir, this young
Italian quartet possess quite a  distinctive  touch;  their  lengthy,
structurally elaborate tracks, wisely shifting from blasting displays
of breakneck speed to quieter, more subdued atmospheric movements hit
home with surprising accuracy, considering the  length  and  superior
intricacy they display. Although this recording  is  afflicted  by  a
number of flaws -- an unbalanced production featuring peculiar  drums
and excessively loud keyboards being  the  most  prominent  of  these
--, for a  first  self-produced  release,  _Architecture  of  Perfect
Damnation_ turns out to be an  unexpectedly  efficient  symbiosis  of
aggression, ambience, melody and technicality.  Agreed,  some  tracks
indeed do lose a  share  of  their  efficiency  and  power  to  their
excessive length and a number of less-inspired segues, and the  weird
over-triggered production does waste a lot  of  the  potential  power
this release could have held; on the other hand though, imagining the
excellent first two tracks, "Hallucinated Messiah" and "Excellent Art
of Cruelty", with a production  only  half  as  stellar  as  that  of
_Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia_ is an agreeable  thought  indeed.
Given the appropriate financial  means  and  support  from  a  label,
Urshurark could in time become a blackened metal force to be reckoned
with; concentrating on recording a  smaller  number  of  structurally
streamlined songs for a second self-produced release  might  just  be
the spark that will set this very promising Italian act on  the  same
trails followed by leading extreme metal acts in the scene  today  --
in the meantime though, I can only pray that  the  Metal  underground
will give Urshurark a truly well-deserved chance.

Contact: http://www.urshurark.too.it

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
        ____     __                       __
       /\  _`\  /\ \                     /\ \__  __
       \ \ \/\_\\ \ \___      __      ___\ \ ,_\/\_\    ___
        \ \ \/_/_\ \  _ `\  /'__`\   / __`\ \ \/\/\ \  /'___\
         \ \ \L\ \\ \ \ \ \/\ \L\.\_/\ \L\ \ \ \_\ \ \/\ \__/
          \ \____/ \ \_\ \_\ \__/.\_\ \____/\ \__\\ \_\ \____\
           \/___/   \/_/\/_/\/__/\/_/\/___/  \/__/ \/_/\/____/
     ____                                          __
    /\  _`\                                       /\ \__
    \ \ \/\_\    ___     ___     ___     __   _ __\ \ ,_\   ____
     \ \ \/_/_  / __`\ /' _ `\  /'___\ /'__`\/\`'__\ \ \/  /',__\
      \ \ \L\ \/\ \L\ \/\ \/\ \/\ \__//\  __/\ \ \/ \ \ \_/\__, `\
       \ \____/\ \____/\ \_\ \_\ \____\ \____\\ \_\  \ \__\/\____/
        \/___/  \/___/  \/_/\/_/\/____/\/____/ \/_/   \/__/\/___/


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

                  C A T H A R S I S   I N   D O O M
                  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                    My Dying Bride and Mysterium
        at the Hard Club, Gaia, Portugal, on April 20th 2002
                          by: Pedro Azevedo


     Having received My Dying Bride's brand new live disc _The  Voice
of the Wretched_ the previous day  [see  review  in  this  issue],  I
simply couldn't wait to witness my favourite band live for the  first
time. Said live album was already superb on its own, but MDB's latest
opus _The Dreadful Hours_ [CoC #55] (best album of 2001 in my  books)
was yet to be  added  to  its  setlist.  My  Dying  Bride  would  not
disappoint tonight. Quite simply, they delivered the best gig  of  my
life -- past, present and most likely future, I dare  say.  Within  a
packed Hard Club,  I  believe  many  of  those  in  attendance  found
catharsis in doom tonight.
     First, however, the local band  routine  had  to  be  fulfilled.
Mysterium were the chosen ones,  and  they  performed  a  decent  yet
hardly groundbreaking kind  of  melodic  death  metal.  Their  single
guitar compositions were enhanced by keyboards and female vocals, and
after a less than promising start they could have  ended  on  a  high
with the song they dedicated to My Dying Bride; instead  they  played
one more song, completing a passable performance.
     After a funereal church organ intro, My Dying Bride appeared  on
stage. New guitarist Hamish Glencross immediately stood out, with his
massive frame and what can only be described as a Grim Reaper outfit.
The new (temporary?) female  keyboardist  who  was  replacing  Yasmin
Ahmid probably caught plenty of eyes  as  well,  but  not  many  ears
during the show: her  performance  was  sparse  and  mostly  subdued,
except for a couple of songs. Still, center stage and spotlight  were
all on the  band's  charismatic  singer:  Aaron  Stainthorpe,  misery
personified on stage. But whilst he looked  more  wretched  than  The
Crow clawing out of his grave, his performance was nothing  short  of
amazing in its dynamics. The way his  attitude  and  musical  persona
changed with his voice from mournful  to  darkly  romantic  and  into
demonic wrath was simply amazing throughout the show.
     As soon as the intro stopped, the band opened with "My Hope, the
Destroyer" off their new album. Aaron's clean vocals proved to be  in
top form, but it was midway through the track that his -huge-  growls
filled the room for the first time, leaving the audience in awe.  The
excellent "The Raven and the Rose" followed,  again  from  their  new
album _The  Dreadful  Hours_.  The  powerful  opening  riff  and  the
mid-section crescendo and blastbeat more than confirmed that My Dying
Bride were determined to force all those who accused them of cowardly
going back to their musical roots to swallow their  words  with  each
pounding of the drums, strumming of  the  chords  and  outpouring  of
superb vocals.
     "Under Your Wings and Into Your Arms" from _34.788%_ followed, a
faster track that suffered somewhat from a  less  than  perfect  drum
sound, which fortunately did not affect any other songs.  This  track
served as just a brief respite before what was to come next,  as  the
intensity then soared. The mighty "Turn Loose the Swans" ensued,  and
what a rendition it was. Aaron seemed  to  literally  grow  on  stage
during the harsher sections, somehow producing those  massive  growls
from within the same frame that moments later would reduce itself  to
a wretch and utter sombre  laments,  as  the  song's  crushing  first
section gave way to the heartbreaking finale.
     "A Cruel Taste of Winter" off the new album came next, with  its
superb mid-section where Aaron again excelled. The sublime "The  Snow
in my Hand" took us back to _Turn Loose the Swans_ again, followed by
the magical "The Cry of Mankind" (_The Angel and the Dark River_) and
"A Kiss to Remember" (_Like Gods of the Sun_). These  were  the  only
two tracks where the keyboards were really felt, but I  have  to  say
the thought of a violin hardly ever crossed my mind during the  show,
such was the level of the  guitar  playing.  The  audience  had  been
absolutely enraptured for a  long  time  now,  and  the  instrumental
mid-section of "The Cry of Mankind" was spontaneously sung  along  by
the crowd. The band's interaction with the crowd  was  minimal:  just
the announcement of song titles. Aaron's dramatic performance  seemed
all turned into himself, for his own sake and from his own  feelings,
rather than performed as a show for the audience.
     The searing, demonic snarls on "She Is the  Dark"  again  peaked
the intensity, as each and every song seemed to grow and develop into
something mightier and deeper than its respective  recorded  version.
Even  though  the  band  recently  re-recorded  "The  Return  of  the
Beautiful" from their debut _As the Flower Withers_ for _The Dreadful
Hours_, that was not the track they chose to play next. Instead, they
went for something even older -- the first song they ever wrote, as a
matter of fact: "Symphonaire Infernus  et  Spera  Empyrium".  If  you
heard the re-recording of "The Return  of  the  Beautiful",  you  can
probably imagine  what  MDB  have  done  to  "Symphonaire  Infernus":
augment and expand its sound, increase its contrasts and high points.
A truly devastating rendition of this lengthy doom metal classic.
     After a brief  pause,  the  band  returned  with  the  sound  of
rainfall and beautiful soft guitar: the intro to the title  track  of
_The Dreadful Hours_. One of MDB's most poignant songs,  its  harsher
sections were at their  blackest  and  the  mournful  ending  at  its
most heartbreaking, Aaron's  mournful  vocals  again  the  highlight.
Nonetheless, my frequent mentioning of MDB's vocalist should  not  be
mistaken for an indication that the rest of the  band  was  any  less
brilliant: with the exception of the  unremarkable  keyboardist,  all
four other band members' performances were superb.
     My Dying Bride finished their set with  the  successor  to  "The
Forever People", "The Fever Sea": a fast-paced, driving conclusion to
a truly exhilarating performance. And then, after  My  Dying  Bride's
departure, someone played Katatonia's _Dance of December Souls_ -- an
album with huge personal meaning for me -- from beginning to  end  on
the Hard Club's sound system.
     The catharsis was complete.

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

   T H E N I G H T A F T E R T  H  E  N  I  G  H  T  B  E  F  O  R  E
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
             Immortal, Hypocrisy and Holocausto Canibal
        at the Hard Club, Gaia, Portugal, on April 21st 2002
                          by: Pedro Azevedo


     On the aftermath of the previous night's awe-inspiring My  Dying
Bride gig [see above], I  dragged  my  knackered  self  back  to  the
Hard Club for a promising  double-headliner  featuring  Immortal  and
Hypocrisy.
     The news that support  band  Warhammer  had  cancelled  did  not
distress me in the least: I had never heard of them  before,  and  in
fact I'd rather skip the support bands  altogether  and  move  on  to
Hypocrisy immediately. Tough luck, though: local  death/grind  outfit
Holocausto Canibal not only did play, they played for  over  half  an
hour and started two hours late. A massive crowd gathered and  waited
outside, watched the tour bus arrive and was finally  allowed  inside
the venue, which looked very close to capacity.
     With  the  release  of  their   second   full-length   imminent,
Holocausto  Canibal  blasted  through  their  set  with  considerable
aggression but also  a  great  lack  of  variation,  originality  and
interesting songwriting. They did prove to have matured  considerably
since I first saw them a few years ago -- which  was  the  least  one
could expect, considering the mediocrity of  that  early  performance
--, but they don't seem to be going anywhere particularly interesting
with their rather generic gore-obsessed death metal. Perhaps the  new
record will be more revealing of the qualities they may have.
     The 45 minute break that ensued was a pain to endure, to say the
least, but seeing Hypocrisy live for the first time should more  than
make up for the effort. It -should- have, but alas  it  did  not.  It
annoys me  to  the  point  of  feeling  like  thrusting  my  copy  of
_Hypocrisy Destroys Wacken_ into orbit (or at least giving it a  good
try), but Tagtgren and his men (including  what  I  assume  to  be  a
touring second guitarist) failed to live up to the expectations  said
live disc had created in me. This is not the  band's  fault  for  the
most part, however, but  rather  the  sound  engineer's.  Hypocrisy's
sound never seemed right, mainly because the bass guitar was so  loud
in the mix that it hampered both  guitars  with  its  distortion  and
it all came  out  too  strident  and  blurred.  Hypocrisy  without  a
significant part of the guitar  detail  only  works  for  the  older,
simpler songs. At this stage I hadn't yet heard a  single  track  off
their new _Catch 22_ album; the new tracks they  played  seemed  very
rhythm-based, chunky riffs replacing their more involved guitar work.
Having said that, Hypocrisy still have a highly impressive repertoire
and Tagtgren was an energetic frontman throughout, so in spite of the
sound difficulties and a rather debatable setlist, they still managed
to produce an  entertaining  set  --  just  not  as  memorable  as  I
expected.
     Hypocrisy opened with "Fractured Millennium" off their eponymous
album, which suffered  considerably  from  the  poor  sound  quality,
followed by new tracks  "Don't  Judge  Me"  and  "A  Public  Puppet".
Crowd favourite "Apocalypse" (the  opening  track  from  _The  Fourth
Dimension_) was next, followed by "Fire in the Sky"  from  _Into  the
Abyss_. The band then tore into "Penetralia", "Until the  End"  (from
_Hypocrisy_),  "Pleasure  of  Molestation",  "Osculum  Obscenum"  and
"Destroyed". They wrapped up their set with the classic "Roswell  47"
(from _Abducted_) and the  emotional  title  track  from  _The  Final
Chapter_, both of which again could  have  been  far  more  memorable
under different sound circumstances.
     I expected a lengthy old intro before Immortal  stared  playing,
but they certainly surprised me there: out of  the  dark  and  silent
stage  suddenly  came  the  sound  of  powerful  drums,  followed  by
thundering guitar and bass as the lights came on and Immortal  walked
onto the stage, tearing into "Triumph" (_Damned in Black_). The sound
worked much better for Immortal  than  for  Hypocrisy:  powerful  yet
clear enough. The trio's  stage  presence  is  rather  befuddling  at
first, as one realizes these strange creatures actually live and move
around like regular people. Immortal's make-up  and  poses  on  paper
have never failed to amuse  me,  yet  live  they  carry  an  entirely
different aura. Furthermore, their music speaks for itself.  As  they
moved onto _Damned in Black_'s title track and the powerful _Sons  of
Northern Darkness_ opener "One by One", it became clear that the live
Immortal are a force  to  be  reckoned  with.  Abbath's  snarls  were
somewhat repetitive, as usual, but his guitar playing was  impressive
-- especially considering he was the only guitar player on stage  and
had to handle the vocals as well. Potent bass guitar  complemented  a
sound driven forth by Horgh's intense percussion.
     "Solarfall" off _At the Heart of Winter_ was next, followed by a
_Sons of Northern Darkness_ double: the title  track  and  "Tyrants".
Very impressive. Back to _At the Heart of Winter_ then with its  fine
opener "Withstand the Fall of  Time",  and  then  _Sons  of  Northern
Darkness_ again with its closing track "Beyond the  North  Waves",  a
somewhat slower but equally intense number. Amidst  some  decent  but
not particularly amazing fire-breathing courtesy of Abbath,  Immortal
finished their set with two crowd favourites  from  _Battles  in  the
North_: its blazing  title  track  and  the  epic  closer  "Blashyrkh
(Mighty Ravendark)". A thoroughly satisfying performance that managed
to make up for Hypocrisy's sadly sound-hampered display.
     All in all, the gig proved to be  a  worthy  conclusion  to  the
weekend, although one that made me arrive home at 4am on a Sunday  --
and yes, I did have to somehow trudge along to work that morning...

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

         N O R T H E R N   D A R K N E S S   D E S C E N D S
         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                        Immortal & Hypocrisy
Mean Fiddler (formerly London Astoria 2), London, 10th of April, 2002
                          by: Paul Schwarz


     It seems that  many  punters  arrived  early  to  catch  openers
Warhammer -- Germany's dim reflection of, rather  than  answer  -to-,
Hellhammer  --  because  when  Hypocrisy  initiate  their  set   with
head-down, melodic-chorused thrasher "Don't Judge Me" -- the  opening
cut on their recently released eighth album, the  musical  embodiment
of Peter Tagtgren's cathartic backlash against the forces that sought
to make him, his -name-, a commodity, _Catch 22_  --  a  well-stocked
mosh-pit is there to welcome them. Hypocrisy are on fine form. Though
obviously enjoying their first visit to UK shores, the Swedes  aren't
slacking off. They give it all they've got -- and though occasionally
they come across a little workmanlike,  Hypocrisy  acquit  themselves
amply, proving  that  their  semi-charmed  status  in  Europe  hasn't
made them soft.  The  somewhat  indulgent  Hypocrisy  who  frustrated
me at 1999's March  Metal  Metldown  [CoC  #40]  are  nowhere  to  be
found; though, naturally, the likes  of  "Penetralia"  and  "Pleasure
of Molestation" invigorate me  more  than  "Apocalypse"  or  anything
off 1999's dry, almost ironic,  _Hypocrisy_  [CoC  #41]  ever  could,
Hypocrisy don't let their guard down. They give it to us straight  --
and with mosh-friendly stormers like "Destroyed" in their live  sets,
Hypocrisy may well win a few new friends. But the old-guard need  not
worry: the  delivery  of  devil-worship-driven  old  favourites  like
"Impotent God" was every bit as devastating  as  that  of  _Abducted_
well-known "Roswell 47", if not more so.  Even  with  an  eight-album
back-catalogue to account for, and a mere forty minutes  to  perform,
Hypocrisy manage to play a well-balanced yet  cleanly-focussed  show.
That alone is impressive. Here's  hoping  they're  back  for  a  more
extensive (tonight's package  has  but  one  more  date,  the  tour's
-second-, in the UK) headlining tour before the year is out.
     It is pleasing to see  that,  even  after  ten  years,  Immortal
haven't stopped appearing live, and on album covers, in  corpsepaint.
Not  because  "black  metallers  should  wear  corpsepaint";  because
-Immortal- should. It suits them; they suit it. Especially  now.  _At
the  Heart  of  Winter_  [CoC  #39]  partially  reinvented  Immortal.
There was a feeling of "rock";  before  _AtHoW_,  Immortal  had  felt
wholeheartedly, unflinchingly black metal --  well,  death  metal  on
_Blizzard Beasts_ [CoC  #19],  but  that's  an  Immortal  album  best
forgotten. Immortal still  weren't  flinching  from  black  metal  --
-those- photos, those ridiculous, marvellous  photos  of  Abbath  and
Horgh which accompanied _AtHoW_ more than confirmed any suspicions to
the contrary -- but unintentionally -- though not shamefully,  in  my
view -- the Norwegians had become a visual parody of themselves which
displaced their ties to the over-serious, "true"  black  metal  crowd
and simultaneously reaffirmed why corpsepaint works  "seriously"  for
Immortal. I don't really understand it myself, but  it's  a  fact  as
far as I'm concerned.  In  the  end  it's  neither  here  nor  there,
really: Immortal's music has  always  remained  steadfastly  serious.
Unfortunately, 2000's _Damned  in  Black_  [CoC  #47]  was  seriously
lacking; thankfully, _Sons of Northern Darkness_ has just made up for
it -- no, scratch that, _SoND_  has  just  -eradicated-  it,  erasing
Immortal from my bad  books  in  the  process.  A  pity,  then,  that
Immortal choose to open with two _DiB_ numbers -- though it does mean
that the worst part of tonight's performance is over  and  done  with
early. "One by One" leads the real charge into tonight's battle (from
the north), Immortal affirming in deed what they claim in word: to be
the "Sons of Northern Darkness". Immortal  today  are  a  punishingly
powerful three-piece who've mixed a black  metal  mainline  --  their
central musical blood-vein -- with more established rock  songwriting
styles. The corpsepaint is part of Immortal the way the  make-up  was
part of KISS or the biking leathers were part of 'Priest: a  defining
part of them. It's not  as  confrontational  in  its  campness;  that
wouldn't swing with Immortal's audience any more than it would  swing
with Immortal. If there's camp here, it's under the  surface  --  not
forthrightly a part of the band who take to the Mean  Fiddler  stage,
and  set  it  aflame.  Heavy  metal  is  most  definitely  Immortal's
way. Drummer  Horgh  pounds  his  kit  precisely,  decorating  brutal
compositions with stunning breaks and, on stage, adds just  the  dash
of  showmanship  needed  to  spice  things  up  without  letting  ego
get in the way  of  performance.  It's  as  Abbath  wrings  the  last
signs of distorted  life  from  his  guitar  to  usher  in  "Blashyrk
(Mighty Ravendark)"'s  final  sections  (that  acoustic-infused  calm
before the storm of the  song's  full-fury  finish)  that  the  pure,
-possessed- emotion of  Immortal's  performance  finally  hits  home.
Sure, they finished a few songs with rock 'n' roll-style endings  and
Abbath paused on many  occasions  to  exploit  the  crowd's  ecstatic
appreciation;  but  it  was  all  in  the  name  of  making  a  great
-performance-, into a great  -gig-.  Immortal  didn't  pose  --  they
didn't walk onstage with the ridiculous weapons they brandish on  the
cover of _SoND_, for example -- but  they  did  accept  and  exploit,
in the -right-  way,  their  position  of  power.  Even  though  they
chose  to  include  not  a  single  song  from  _Pure  Holocaust_,  I
wasn't disappointed by Immortal's performance -- which got  the  Mean
Fiddler rocking like I've rarely seen it, even  without  the  aid  of
recently-departed bassist Iscariah. Coming  from  someone  who  ranks
_Pure Holocaust_ among their  favourite  black  metal  records,  that
really is saying a lot. Don't ignore Immortal for the wrong  reasons:
they are one of the few truly great contemporary metal bands on their
way -up-, and with a US tour with  Manowar  currently  scheduled  for
later this year, who knows what height  they  might  reach?  I'll  be
watching -- not to mention -listening- -- with interest. That much is
for sure.

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

                 G O O D ,   E V I L   W E E K E N D
                 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                        The Inferno Festival
              at Rockefeller and John Dee, Oslo, Norway
                      March 29th and 30th 2002
                          by: Chris Flaaten


     The Inferno Festival is growing into  a  tradition  now  at  its
second year -- and the third is already being planned as I write. Its
mission is to be a showcase for Norwegian  metal  bands  as  well  as
finally bringing a festival to Norway. It has certainly succeeded  in
both ways. It has experienced some turbulence, though. Last year they
had announced most of Norway's bigger metal acts, but  later  had  to
admit that they had only asked those bands to perform -- nothing  had
been confirmed. This year Aura Noir cancelled as  a  protest  against
what they -- and many with them -- felt was an unreasonable split  of
the money. Dimmu Borgir apparently got paid dozens  times  more  than
the other bands... I won't say much on  this  matter,  but  it  seems
apparent that lesser known bands have much more to  gain  career-wise
by playing on a festival like this than Dimmu Borgir.  Money  is  not
all that matters. Twenty one "underpaid" bands  still  showed  up  to
play, and they all seemed to enjoy it.

Day 1
~~~~~
     On March 29th, good Friday, it  kicked  off.  I  missed  openers
Nocturnal  Breed  and  arrived  during  Scariot's  set.  Scariot,  an
unsigned band from southern  Norway,  can  be  described  as  a  very
aggressive Nevermore. This is mainly due to the vocalist,  who  sings
quite similarly to Mr Dane. The band delivered  a  solid  performance
and I'm looking forward to checking out their  debut  when  they  get
signed and release it. Next up  on  the  main  stage  was  Carpathian
Forest. I noticed they had better sound than the last time I saw them
[CoC #43], but since I don't like the band all that much,  I  decided
to find a good spot in front of the John  Dee  stage  instead.  Minas
Tirith was next! The last time I saw Minas Tirith was actually on the
same gig as when I last saw Carpathian Forest. They were both openers
for Mayhem when they last visited home. Minas Tirith  were  in  great
form and had a crystal clear sound, only lacking a little more  punch
in the guitars to be perfect. They played a varied setlist, including
a new song and some old favorites and obscurities. Great performance.
     Next up on the main stage was Aeternus, and I  was  met  with  a
thick  wall  of  distorted  guitars  when  I  made  my  way  upstairs
again. Their sound absolutely smashed! Amidst the set,  the  vocalist
announced: "There is a  serious  lack  of  air  up  here,  but  we'll
continue at full speed!" And so they did, focusing  on  their  latest
album _Ascension of Terror_. Aeternus proved beyond  any  doubt  that
death metal is alive and well in Norway. After Aeternus, I decided to
skip John Dee for  the  rest  of  the  night,  as  it  was  massively
overcrowded. This gave me time and opportunity to find a decent place
to watch Behemoth. Nergal and company played through a great setlist,
technically superb and at furious speed, but the sound  ruined  their
show. You could recognize the songs  fairly  easily,  but  they  were
stripped of any punch. All treble and no bass  makes  Behemoth  sound
dull. Too bad, as they were one of the bands I really looked  forward
to seeing. They were among the few foreign bands that  attended,  and
it's a shame that they were denied proper sound.  As  it  would  turn
out, the other foreign "big name", Lock-Up, suffered the same fate.
     Around 1am, roughly on  schedule,  it  was  time  for  the  main
attraction: Dimmu Borgir. Dimmu had made a stop  fairly  recently  at
the same venue as part of their last tour, so they had announced they
would play some older material at Inferno. Many grew skeptical during
the first forty-five minutes, as all their songs were relatively new,
but after a strategic break Dimmu returned with  old  favorites  like
"Nar Alt Lys Har Svunnet  Hen"  and  "Raabjorn  Speiler  Draugheimens
Skodde". Both sound and execution were mediocre, though, so  in  many
people's opinion they failed to live  up  to  their  reputation  (and
paycheck). Norway's biggest channel, NRK, videotaped  all  the  bands
who performed on the main stage on Friday.  You  can  download  those
videos at: http://www.nrk.no/kanal/nrk_petre/ambolt/1738274.html (use
ASFRecorder to download).

Day 2
~~~~~
     We arrived early at Rockefeller  and  found  ourselves  a  great
place to stand... so great that we never left it, thusly I  blatantly
ignored the bands at John Dee this day. I later found out  that  some
of the crowd was denied entrance  there  because  it  was  completely
full, so I have no regrets. Source of Tide was first out on the  main
stage. Led by Lord PZ, a man who's a little too  fond  of  attention,
this band actually surprised me in a positive way. Their massive  and
gloomy guitar sound and harmonies reminded me of  older  Anathema  --
energetic melodies with a distinct sound. The only setback  is  their
vocalist, who not only diverts  attention  from  the  good  music  to
himself, but is not a very -good- vocalist either.  He  works  better
here than in Peccatum, but in my opinion... that's not saying much.
     After Source of Tide, Blood Red Throne was up. The  stage  sound
was missing during the first song, but apart from  their  expressions
and dialogue with the roadies, I couldn't tell  anything  was  wrong.
The problem was apparently fixed, because they  seemed  more  relaxed
for the remainder of the set, which included two or three  new  songs
along with tracks from their recent album _Monument  of  Death_  [CoC
#57]. They actually played their first song again later on due to the
initial sound problems, but I didn't hear that much of a  difference.
Their performance was intense, fast and very  professional,  and  BRT
are hopefully, along with Aeternus, the beginning of a real Norwegian
death metal scene.
     Next up, Vintersorg, who closed last  year's  Inferno  Festival,
but back then as Borknagar's vocalist. This year, his own  band  made
their debut on Norwegian soil. They started out with newer  material,
but poured out some old favorites soon enough -- much to the  crowd's
approval. The Norwegian audience obviously  favors  older  Vintersorg
with Swedish lyrics. The band had decent  sound  and  played  tightly
enough. Nothing spectacular, but above average.
     Lock-Up had dreadful sound and I can only describe what I  heard
as painful noise. Since I had no interest  in  the  remaining  bands,
Aggressor and Witchery, I called it a night and left  with  a  slight
headache and ears ringing -- the way  it  should  be  after  a  metal
festival.

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

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

Gino's Top 5

1. Judas Priest - _Sad Wings of Destiny_
2. Judas Priest - _Sin After Sin_
3. Katharsis - Demos
4. Rev. Kriss Hades - _The Wind of Orion_
5. Aphotic - _Under Veil of Dark_

Adrian's Top 5

1. Dio - _Killing the Dragon_
2. Belinus - _Battlechants_
3. Dream Evil - _Dragonslayer_
4. Earthride - _Taming the Demons_
5. Between the Buried and Me - _Between the Buried and Me_

Alain's Top 5

1. Mastodon - _Remission_
2. Theory in Practice - _Colonizing the Sun_
3. Seth - _Divine X_
4. Origami Galaktika - _Stjernevandring / Eesti Libbed Silmad Suda_
5. Atrox - _Terrestrials_

Pedro's Top 5

1. My Dying Bride - _The Voice of the Wretched_
2. The Great Deceiver - _A Venom Well Designed_
3. Amorphis - _The Karelian Isthmus_
4. The Crown - _Crowned in Terror_
5. Immortal - _Sons of Northern Darkness_

Paul's Top 5

1. Arch Enemy - _Wages of Sin_
2. Green Carnation - _Light of Day, Day of Darkness_
3. Atheist - _Unquestionable Presence_
4. Nasum - _Human 2.0_
5. Summoning - _Dol Guldur_

Aaron's Top 5

1. Mastodon - _Lifesblood_
2. KMFDM - _Attak_
3. Overkill - _Wrecking Everything - Live_
4. Hidden - _Spectral Magnitude_
5. Engorged (advanced promo)

David's Top 5

1. Moonsorrow - _Voimasta Ja Kunmiasta_
2. Skyclad - _The Wayward Sons of Mother Earth_
3. Ensiferum - _Ensiferum_
4. Wolverine - _The Window Purpose_
5. The Crown - _Crowned in Terror_

Matthias' Top 5

1. The Crown - _Crowned in Terror_
2. Vader - _Revelations_
3. A Canorous Quintet - _The Only Pure Hate_
4. Asphyx - _Last One on Earth_
5. The Forsaken - _Arts of Desolation_

Alvin's Top 5

1. Immortal - _Sons of Northern Darkness_
2. Poema Arcanus - _Iconoclast_
3. Shinjuku Thief - _The Witch Haven_
4. Destroyer 666 - _Cold Steel for an Iron Age_
5. King Diamond - _Abigail II_

Chris' Top 5

1. Arcturus - _The Sham Mirrors_
2. Dark Tranquillity - _Damage Done_
3. The Crown - _Crowned in Terror_
4. Sirenia - _At Sixes and Sevens_
5. Theory in Practice - _Colonizing the Sun_

Quentin's Top 5

1. Arcturus - _The Sham Mirrors_
2. The Atomic Bitchwax - _Spit Blood_
3. Vinterriket  -_Herbstnebel_
4. Unpure - _Trinity in Black_
5. Svartsinn - _Devouring Consciousness_

Vincent's Top 5

1. Sirenia - _At Sixes and Sevens_
2. My Dying Bride - _The Voice of the Wretched_
3. Dream Evil - _DragonSlayer_
4. Battlelore - _...Where the Shadows Lie_
5. Star One - _Space Metal_

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
                _____         __          __ __
               |     \.-----.|  |_.---.-.|__|  |.-----.
               |  --  |  -__||   _|  _  ||  |  ||__ --|
               |_____/|_____||____|___._||__|__||_____|


Homepage: http://www.ChroniclesOfChaos.com
FTP Archive: ftp://ftp.etext.org/pub/Zines/ChroniclesOfChaos

--> Interested in being reviewed? Send us your demo and bio to:
 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
                         CHRONICLES OF CHAOS
                       606 Avenue Road Apt. 203
                           Toronto, Ontario
                           M4V-2K9, Canada
                 mailto:Adrian@ChroniclesOfChaos.com
                                 ----
                Our European Office can be reached at:
                     CHRONICLES OF CHAOS (Europe)
                           Urb. Souto n.20
                       4500-117 Anta, PORTUGAL
                  mailto:Pedro@ChroniclesOfChaos.com
 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=


DESCRIPTION
~~~~~~~~~~~
Chronicles  of  Chaos  is  a  FREE  monthly  magazine  electronically
distributed worldwide via the Internet. Seemingly endless interviews,
album reviews and concert reviews encompass the pages  of  Chronicles
of Chaos. Chronicles of Chaos stringently emphasizes all varieties of
chaotic music ranging from black and death metal to  electronic/noise
to dark, doom and ambient forms. Chronicles  of  Chaos  is  dedicated
to the underground and as such we feature demo reviews from all indie
bands who send us material, as  well  as  interviews  with  a  select
number of independent acts. Join our mailing list to receive  a  free
copy of Chronicles of Chaos every month.


HOW TO SUBSCRIBE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You may subscribe to Chronicles of Chaos at any time  by  sending  an
e-mail to  <mailto:Subscribe@ChroniclesOfChaos.com>  with  your  full
name in the subject line of the message.

You may unsubscribe from Chronicles of Chaos at any time by sending a
blank e-mail to <mailto:Unsubscribe@ChroniclesOfChaos.com>.


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  <mailto:BackIssues@ChroniclesOfChaos.com>.  The
'Subject:' field of your message should contain the issue number that
you want (all other text is ignored). To get a copy of our back issue
index, send a blank e-mail to <mailto:Index@ChroniclesOfChaos.com>.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
End Chronicles of Chaos, Issue #58

All contents copyright 2002 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.


