  _______ __                     __      __                      ___
 |   _   |  |--.----.-----.-----|__.----|  .-----.-----. .-----.'  _|
 |.  1___|     |   _|  _  |     |  |  __|  |  -__|__ --| |  _  |   _|
 |.  |___|__|__|__| |_____|__|__|__|____|__|_____|_____| |_____|__| 
 |:  1   |                                                         
 |::.. . |                                                         
 `-------'                                                         
                   _______ __                     
                  |   _   |  |--.---.-.-----.-----.
                  |.  1___|     |  _  |  _  |__ --|
                  |.  |___|__|__|___._|_____|_____|
                  |:  1   |                       
                  |::.. . |                       
                  `-------'                       


                       Eighth Anniversary Issue
                       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 CHRONICLES OF CHAOS e-Zine, Wednesday, September 4, 2003, Issue #65
                   http://www.ChroniclesOfChaos.com


Co-Editor / Founder: Gino Filicetti
Co-Editor / Contributor: Pedro Azevedo
Contributor: Adrian Bromley
Contributor: Brian Meloon
Contributor: Paul Schwarz
Contributor: Aaron McKay
Contributor: David Rocher
Contributor: Matthias Noll
Contributor: Alvin Wee
Contributor: Chris Flaaten
Contributor: Quentin Kalis
Contributor: Xander Hoose
Contributor: Adam Lineker
Contributor: Adrian Magers
Contributor: James Montague
Contributor: Jackie Smit
Spiritual Guidance: Alain M. Gaudrault

The   individual   writers   can   be   reached    by    e-mail    at
firstname.lastname@ChroniclesOfChaos.com.                           
     (e.g. Gino.Filicetti@ChroniclesOfChaos.com).

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

Issue #65 Contents, 9/4/2003
----------------------------
* Chats
-- Dimmu Borgir: The Death Cult Beckons
-- Pro-Pain: As Big as the Rolling Stones?
-- Madder Mortem: A Dream Come True
-- Old Man's Child: Striking Out Down the Defiant Path
-- Melechesh: Just to Hear What He Sphynx
* Albums
-- Arch Enemy - _Anthems of Rebellion_
-- Black Label Society - _The Blessed Hellride_
-- Bloodhammer - _Abbedissan Saatanalliset Houreet_
-- Cenotaph - _Pseudo Verminal Cadaverium_
-- Chains of Flesh - _[Untitled]_
-- Chaosbreed - _Unleashed Carnage_
-- Dew-Scented  - _Impact_
-- Dissection - _Live Legacy_
-- Endzweck - _A Farewell to Arms_
-- Exhumed - _Anatomy Is Destiny_
-- Flagellator - _Channeling the Acheron_
-- HavocHate - _This Violent Earth_
-- Houwitser - _Damage Assessment_
-- Impaler - _Old School Ghouls_
-- Inhume - _In for the Kill_
-- Kilfast - _Tragedy Essential_
-- M.O.D. - _The Rebel You Love to Hate_
-- Melechesh - _Sphynx_
-- Misery Index - _Retaliate_
-- Naiad - _Hardcore Emotion_
-- NDE - _End of Trust_
-- Nightfall - _I Am Jesus_
-- Primal Dawn - _The Euthanasia Programme_
-- Pro-Pain - _Run for Cover_
-- Sabbat - _Svart Eld_
-- Sabbat / Gorgon - _Rain of Terror_ / _A Fool in Love_
-- Setherial - _From the Ancient Ruins_
-- Single Bullet Theory - _Route 666_
-- Superjoint Ritual - _A Lethal Dose of American Hatred_
-- Terror Organ - _The Stalag Symphony_
-- Thirtyone Dies - _Filthy Taste_
-- Total Devastation - _Roadmap of Pain_
-- Type O Negative - _Life Is Killing Me_
-- Ulfsdalir - _Grimnir_
-- Various - _Barbaric Onslaught (Australian Metal Attack)_
-- Warblade - _A Crisis in the Grey Space_
* Demos
-- Cradle to Grave - _Lifespan Sessions 2003_
-- Deforge - _Freedom Release_
-- Helgor - _Untitled Demo_
-- Solemnus - _A Nightshade Symphony_
-- Spazmosity - _Storm Metal_
-- Warblade - _Release the Angel of Death_
* Classics
* Gigs
-- Coffee, Canadians and Common Ground: Milwaukee MetalFest XVII
-- A Mini Milwaukee: Dying Fetus, Skinless, Divine Empire, Misery
   Index and Stavross in Cedar Falls, Iowa
* Rants

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

In last issue's review of Peaceville's four Darkthrone re-issues,  we 
mentioned we had found a problem with the remastering of _A Blaze  in 
the Northern Sky_. Peaceville has since acknowledged that  the  first 
pressing of _A  Blaze  in  the  Northern  Sky_  does  suffer  from  a 
background noise caused by a manufacturing problem. Peaceville  asked 
us to print a brief note stating that  anyone  who  has  purchased  a 
faulty disc should either exchange it for a good  one  at  the  store 
where they bought it or, in case that's not possible,  get  in  touch 
with them directly -- so here it is, for the benefit of our readers.  

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

                          _, _,_  _, ___  _,
                         / ` |_| /_\  |  (_
                         \ , | | | |  |  , )
                          ~  ~ ~ ~ ~  ~   ~


             T H E   D E A T H   C U L T   B E C K O N S
             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
        CoC chats with Erkekjetter Silenoz from Dimmu Borgir
                           by: Jackie Smit


The uber-posh surroundings of London's Hyde Park is hardly a  setting 
where you'd expect to find the members of  one  of  Norway's  premier 
black metal bands hanging out, and  I  can't  help  but  be  somewhat 
apprehensive as I step off the Tube dressed in a Dying Fetus T-shirt. 
Certainly my clothing draws a  fair  amount  of  attention  from  the 
designer-clad trendites that go about their business on the busy high 
street -- not least from the doorman of The  Royal  Lancaster  Hotel, 
today's designated meeting place, who looks set to either  phone  the 
police or off me himself.  However,  a  brief  explanation  from  the 
always affable Nuclear Blast PR  guru  and  I  am  whisked  into  the 
front  of  a  swanky  bar,  where  I  am  introduced  to  Erkekjetter 
Silenoz, guitarist extraordinaire and founding member of Dimmu Borgir 
-- a band  needing  no  introduction,  who  stand  alone  amidst  the 
phantasmagoria of black metal acts  and  who  are  about  to  unleash 
arguably their most accomplished masterpiece on the world.            

CoC: Silenoz, first and most obviously: how would  you  describe  the 
     difference between  _Death  Cult  Armageddon_  and  _Puritanical 
     Euphoric Misanthropia_?                                          

Erkekjetter Silenoz: The  production  is  better  --  a  lot  better, 
                     actually. The arrangements of the  songs  are  a 
                     lot better; at least we think  so,  anyway.  And 
                     overall, it just sounds advanced and  as  though 
                     everything has really been taken properly to the 
                     next step.                                       

CoC: Would you say that it is at all heavier than _PEM_?

ES: Yeah, it's definitely heavier. There's a lot more groove and even 
    though there's maybe not as many fast  parts,  it's  a  lot  more 
    extreme, I think.                                                 

CoC: And how do you feel the contribution of the Prague  Philharmonic 
     Orchestra on this record added to the end result?                     

ES: It added another dimension in the 'weight' of the  band,  because 
    with this orchestra we were able to use a lot more percussion, as 
    well as a horn section. There were almost fifty  people  involved 
    this time, compared to the fourteen we used last time round,  but 
    we still had to  recreate  some  of  the  orchestral  parts  with 
    keyboards because in the end it would sound better that way.      

CoC: You again used Frederik Nordstrom for the second time running to 
     produce the new record. What was the motivation in the  decision 
     to work with him again?                                          

ES: Well, it came out pretty decent last time round, I think. We only 
    had three or four days to do the  final  mixing  on  _Puritanical 
    Euphoric Misanthropia_, which is actually  very  crucial  in  our 
    music, where so much is happening at one time. So we met up  with 
    Frederik and he agreed that we should give it another go and give 
    it more time. Also, on the last album we knew what  we  had  done 
    wrong, as he did as well, and this helped the new record come out 
    really strong in the end.                                         

CoC: So, would you say that you are 100% satisfied  with  how  _Death 
     Cult Armageddon_ has ended up sounding?                               

ES: Well, at least from my point of view, definitely. I  don't  think 
    that we could have recorded or mixed the album  any  differently. 
    Frederik did a  fantastic  job  in  getting  everything  to  flow 
    together really well and giving every instrument a lot of room to 
    breathe, which in our music is sometimes very hard. He knew  what 
    to improve this time round, so we are definitely more  satisfied, 
    which I think will come out on the record when people hear it.    

CoC: Is there a theme running through _Death Cult Armageddon_?

ES: It's not a concept album, but there's  definitely  an  underlying 
    theme. I wrote the lyrics from the perspective  that  mankind  is 
    heading toward its own destruction and we can't blame  anyone  or 
    anything but ourselves. I also tried to make the lyrics more open 
    and tried using a lot  of  symbolism,  while  at  the  same  time 
    attempting  to  make  it  more  understandable  for  the  younger 
    generation. I mean, at the end of the  day,  we  can't  force  or 
    persuade people  to  do  something,  because  we  just  have  one 
    opinion, and it's not our job to  tell  people  what  to  do.  If 
    people agree with something, then that's cool. We're not here  to 
    preach to anyone, because that's up to the religious people.      

CoC: When the new Cradle of Filth record _Damnation and a  Day_  came 
     out, a lot of journalists in the press  were  acting  as  though 
     their use of an orchestra was something groundbreaking or unique 
     in black metal. Considering that Dimmu Borgir had  already  done 
     it on _PEM_, how did you react to this?                          

ES: No, we don't care really, because we have always been compared to 
    Cradle of Filth for some reason. I'm sure that  they  don't  know 
    why they're being compared to us either. We both sell  a  lot  of 
    records and we've had the  same  drummer,  but  other  than  that 
    there's nothing I can think of. They  have  a  totally  different 
    visual thing to us and they're totally different to us  musically 
    as well. The media have ripped the  Cradle  of  Filth  and  Dimmu 
    Borgir comparisons totally out of context. I think  that  they're 
    trying to stir up a rivalry between us for some reason, but  it's 
    not something we are particularly concerned with.                 

CoC: Still on the topic of Cradle  of  Filth  though  --  along  with 
     Satyricon, they are now signed to a major label. Do you see this 
     as a possibility for Dimmu Borgir in the future?                 

ES: No, I don't think so. There's no reason for us to  do  so,  since 
    we are the  highest  priority  on  Nuclear  Blast.  They're  more 
    independent and they have more knowledge of metal in general. And 
    I'd dare to say that they have a  better  distribution  net  than 
    Sony or Epic as far as extreme music is  concerned.  We  have  no 
    reason to even think about changing labels, because right now our 
    situation is pretty much perfect.                                 

CoC: Ten years ago it would have been unthinkable for a  black  metal 
     band to sign to a major label.                                        

ES: Well, when we were doing the _Spiritual Black Dimensions_ tour in 
    1999, some representatives from Warner Records met us in Germany. 
    We shook hands and spoke for a while and they  seemed  interested 
    in some sort of  deal,  but  we  basically  told  them  that  the 
    situation we had at Nuclear Blast was perfect for us, and there's 
    no point in changing, and I feel the same way today.              

CoC: With all the changes that Dimmu Borgir have  gone  through  from 
     _For All Tid_ to _Stormblast_ to _Enthrone Darkness  Triumphant_ 
     through until _Death Cult Armageddon_, do you  feel  that  Dimmu 
     Borgir can still be looked upon as a black metal band?           

ES: Definitely, and I think so now more than  ever  --  at  least  in 
    musical terms. But it's been ten years since we started and  it's 
    been nine years since we released the first album. I  don't  like 
    to have to use the word, but musicians and people 'evolve' in the 
    time that it takes you to make each album. In that time you  hear 
    a lot of new things and you  are  influenced  by  a  lot  of  new 
    elements. So, every album for us is a natural  progression,  even 
    if it doesn't sound that way. We produce the quality of  material 
    which we expect from ourselves and we can not  look  back  on  or 
    look at our music as objectively as other people. We do  what  we 
    feel is right at the time and I know a lot of people  think  that 
    we should continue in a particular style instead.  But  it's  our 
    lives and it's our music and we wouldn't do something  we  aren't 
    100% happy to do. We never go into  the  studio  unless  we  feel 
    ready and we don't give Nuclear Blast a master tape unless  we're 
    completely happy with it. Speaking about the progression again -- 
    when you  look  at  the  difference  between  _Enthrone  Darkness 
    Triumphant_ and _Stormblast_, the main change was in  the  sound, 
    because we actually used a lot of material that we had left over. 
    That's also why I don't  understand  people  criticising  certain 
    things and saying  that  everything  sounds  so  much  different, 
    because even if  the  sound  has  changed  over  the  years,  the 
    material is not all that different.                               

CoC: Dimmu Borgir has gone through a lot of line-up  changes  in  the 
     past decade. How do you feel that has affected  the  band  as  a 
     whole and how has it impacted on the music?                      

ES: I guess it has kept our sound fresh, because in the past we would 
    always have someone new on every album and that person would  put 
    their influence into the writing process. And that also helps the 
    music in progressing from album to album. I think  that  this  is 
    the second time in our history that we have the same line-up from 
    one album to another, which is good, because it  helps  you  work 
    well together if you feel like you have a stable line-up.         

CoC: So, you feel that the unit you have now is the definitive  Dimmu 
     Borgir line-up?                                                       

ES: <laughs> Well, I don't want to say like I have said in  the  past 
    that this is  the  final  line-up,  but  for  sure  this  line-up 
    works really well in the studio and  the  writing  and  the  live 
    environments. I would be pretty upset if it were to  change,  but 
    you have no guarantees.                                           

CoC: Dimmu Borgir have always tried to  bring  a  theatrical  element 
     tinto he live shows. As your profile heightens, do you see  this 
     tbeing aken to the next level of production?                     

ES: Sometimes you feel like less is more, you know? There's  just  so 
    much you can do short of shredding your money, but  at  the  same 
    time you want to give people a reason to spend money and come  to 
    your show and think that it was worthwhile. As  long  as  we  can 
    maintain that feeling, we're satisfied.                           

CoC: What do you think of the current state of black metal in 2003?

ES: These days the term black metal is so  wide,  whereas  ten  years 
    ago, there were only a handful of bands  that  you  could  really 
    call that. I mean, now if you walk down the street,  some  people 
    might tell you that Marilyn Manson is black metal,  just  because 
    it has the same rebellious attitude that black metal  has  always 
    had. But I think that black metal should be more intellectual and 
    give people more to think about than Manson does with his music.  

CoC: Do you think that black metal, the way it is  right  now,  still 
     holds true to the ideals of bands like Mayhem and Darkthrone?         

ES: I think that's a question for each individual band. We make  very 
    much second-generation black metal, but we  keep  the  traditions 
    and ideals of first-generation black metal alive in our music.    

CoC: But at the same time, you guys were never part of the early '90s 
     burst of Norwegian black metal -- do you feel as  though  you're 
     considered to be outsiders?                                      

ES: Kind of. We have come this far just because of our music,  and  I 
    don't think you can say that for other bands.  I'm  really  proud 
    that we have been able to get where we are using  just  music  as 
    our weapon.                                                       

CoC: Well, thanks for your time, Silenoz. Any parting  comments  from 
     your end?                                                             

ES: We're going to be touring in Europe as of October -- we'll be  in 
    London on the 5th of October. Come and see us!                        

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

      A S   B I G   A S   T H E   R O L L I N G   S T O N E S ?
      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
              CoC interviews Tom Klimchuck of Pro-Pain
                           by: Aaron McKay


You're never too old to learn  something.  It  wasn't  long  into  my 
forty- five minute talk with Tom, Pro-Pain's lead guitarist,  that  I 
re- discovered that truth sometimes is a lot stranger  than  fiction. 
Would you believe it if I told you that on the new effort,  _Run  for 
Cover_, these hard-hitting veterans cover a song by a band that draws 
a crowd at least equal to that of  the  Rolling  Stones?  It's  true; 
among the Celtic Frost, Agnostic Front, Motorhead and  Slayer  tracks 
redone by  Pro-Pain  (with  their  one-of-a-kind  sound),  Tom,  Gary 
Meskil, Eric Klinger, and Eric Matthews offer  their  listeners  some 
preliminary exposure to a German band called the Bohse Onkelz. You'll 
never guess what Tom had to say about their (tons of) fans. Let's get 
this thing rolling and I'll let my articulate interviewee fill us all 
in...                                                                 

CoC: I've always considered Pro-Pain to be  more  of  a  -live-  band 
     because of the energy rather than having your best stuff done in 
     the studio...                                                    

Tom Klimchuck: Yea, I think you're right. I  think  it  comes  mostly 
               from the environment. Playing shows is just -so-  much 
               more enjoyable than being in  the  studio.  I've  been 
               engineering Pro-Pain's stuff in the  studio  and  Eric 
               Klinger is getting involved with that too now,  so  he 
               and I are a little  more  comfortable  in  the  studio 
               than Gary. <laughs> It's such a  sterile  and  uptight 
               environment in the studio. It's much more fun to  tear 
               it up on stage.                                        

CoC: Is this the first time that  you  guys  went  to  Pittsburgh  to 
     record in Eric's studio?                                              

TK: Hum, let's see... Yea, I believe it is.

CoC: Was that any different for you guys having things kept so  close 
     in the family right down to the recording of the album?               

TK: I think a lot of the appeal of this record  is  that  we  did  it 
    really fast. We didn't spend a whole lot of time on it and it was 
    something that was as close to  spontaneous  as  we  get  in  the 
    studio. It was something that we took on as more of a fun project 
    and not get so wrapped up in it. Being as such they are all cover 
    songs, we should have a chance to enjoy  them  a  little  bit.  I 
    think the recording was done in a matter of a couple of weeks.  I 
    think all that captured the amount  of  fun  we  had  doing  this 
    album.                                                            

CoC: Having members in the band involved in the recording, mixing and 
     engineering, treating the band like a business, do you find that 
     is another opportunity to keep creative control?                 

TK: Oh, yea -- totally. The reason we started doing that back in late 
    1995 was that we released our first two records using a  producer 
    that we were fairly  happy  with,  but,  comparatively  to  other 
    stuff being released at the same  time,  it  was  a  little  more 
    punk/hardcore, where we'd have to go a little more metal  in  the 
    production aspect of it. Just  because  there  are  records  like 
    _Vulgar Display of Power_ coming out at the same time  and  those 
    are some pretty heavy, serious productions --  that  is  what  we 
    were hoping to keep up with. I introduced the idea of taking  the 
    money we would have spent on going with another producer for  the 
    next album and buying some equipment and doing  it  ourselves.  I 
    had a little bit of experience at engineering at  the  time,  but 
    really, thinking back, I had a lot of balls  to  bring  that  up. 
    <laughs> Then it got handed to me, so then  I  thought  I  should 
    figure out how to do this... <laughs> I think  that  we  are  the 
    type of people who'd rather  just  have  ourselves  to  blame  if 
    things don't work out rather than go through the  frustration  of 
    having someone else screwing your stuff up.                       

CoC: Who shoulders the responsibility for keeping the band on track?

TK: As far as the tunes go, the majority is done by Gary;  he  writes 
    all the lyrics since he's  singing  them,  but  Eric  and  myself 
    contribute in terms of music and we do the recording aspect of it 
    as well. We each count on ourselves for our  own  instrument.  We 
    all police ourselves and have  a  checks  and  balances  kind  if 
    system. It's more  of  a  team  effort  than  anything,  but  the 
    majority of writing falls to Gary.                                

CoC: Like the music you create, you guys must  be  tight  personally, 
     too, I'd think...                                                     

TK: Yea, Gary and I have been doing this for closing in  on  a  dozen 
    years now and with the kind of schedule that we've kept you can't 
    help but really know each other -- weather that's for the good or 
    for the bad. <laughs> We're still together  and  we  seem  to  be 
    getting the hand of this. I think we're working  better  together 
    these days than we have in the past and long the  way  you  can't 
    help but become close with one another.                           

CoC: A lot of bands don't enjoy the longevity  that  you  guys  have. 
     Having a rigorous touring schedule, do you guys have a  favorite 
     venue? Fan base somewhere?                                       

TK: Wherever we play, we must attract a certain type  of  person,  so 
    that the people that do come to  our  shows  are  Pro-Pain  fans. 
    We've never been the flavor of the week; the people coming to our 
    shows have our records and they are familiar with us. All  around 
    the world, I see more similarities than differences --  from  the 
    Germans to the people  in  the  Czech  Republic  to  places  like 
    Croatia. All over the place they seem to be  there  because  they 
    have a similar feel they get from the music. They seem to come as 
    many times as we play, they'll show up! I can't  say  that  we've 
    had a gigantic amount of success, but  we've  certainly  kept  it 
    respectable, especially for an independent band these days.       

CoC: I remember a show I  caught  Pro-Pain  at  Jaxx  in  Alexandria, 
     Virginia with Sacred Reich...                                         

TK: I remember that show!

CoC: It seems like the crowd, weather  they  were  there  for  Sacred 
     Reich or not, got caught up in Pro-Pain's energy.                     

TK: It's funny, in that particular venue, we consistently  played  in 
    front of the same 150 to 200 people every time we played there -- 
    we got to feeling like they had 'em stored in the freezer in  the 
    back or something and brought them out for the show. <laughs>     

CoC: Taking into mind who  I  am  interviewing  here,  when  I  first 
     encountered Pro-Pain way back on  _Foul  Taste  of  Freedom_,  I 
     guess what drew me in was the Crumbsuckers connection...         

TK: Right. Oh, yea... As a matter  of  fact,  the  first  thing  that 
    piqued my interest in Pro-Pain, as far  as  auditioning  for  the 
    guitar part, - was- I was such a fan of the Crumbsuckers. I heard 
    the similarities right off the bat, although it is quite  a  leap 
    -- I could still  recognize  the  style  of  some  of  the  riffs 
    [between the  two  bands].  There  are  at  least  some  imbedded 
    characteristics. From the first time I heard it, I was a  fan  of 
    Pro-Pain.                                                         

CoC: Getting to the new album, on _Run for Cover_, did you guys  have 
     a list of songs you wanted to do? Were there songs that you  had 
     that didn't make it on that you wished would have?               

TK: Yea, actually there was a -huge- list -- probably, all  said  and 
    done, there was like fifty songs. We all compiled a list of songs 
    that we'd like to do. We would have liked nothing more than to do 
    a Ramones cover, 'cause we're huge Ramones fans, but for Gary  to 
    sing the Ramones, it's just not going to sound right. We'd  never 
    wanna take something on and not  do  it  justice.  The  list  got 
    narrowed down and hammered down more and more and more. There was 
    a lot of oddball songs floating around -- AC/DC  songs,  we  were 
    talking about doing an Eagles song. There were a lot of different 
    influences that we could have brought to the table, but  we  just 
    didn't want to sound foolish and we didn't want it to seem like a 
    joke; although people don't realize that our  influences  may  be 
    different than what they may have expected.                       

CoC: Eric Klinger did some vocals on the new one, too, right?

TK: We refer to him as the "multi-talented  Eric  Klinger".  <laughs> 
    Every e-mail I send him, that's  how  it  is  addressed.  He's  a 
    really talented guy. "The Crowd" by Operation Ivy -- to be honest 
    -- I was never much of a fan of that band; I'm not much  for  the 
    West coast "happy-core" type of music. When I heard his vocals it 
    really came together for me because he really just tore it up  on 
    the vocals on that track.                                         

CoC: "Terpentin"?

TK: Yea, it is a song by a -huge- German band called the Bohse Onkelz.

CoC: My first exposure to these guys...

TK: Let me clue you into this band. Nobody outside of Germany  really 
    knows these guys. -In- Germany, they are the  biggest  rock  band 
    out there. As a matter of fact, they have the  opening  slot  for 
    the Rolling Stones tour.                                          

CoC: Damn!

TK: Check this out, this is how popular this  band  is:  the  Rolling 
    Stones were booked in probably 65,000 to 80,000 seat  venues  and 
    they were doing only about 20,000 tickets per show.  They  looked 
    around for support acts and the  Bohse  Onkelz  came  up  because 
    these guys have a die-hard group of fans, and within  about  four 
    or five days of them being up  on  the  bill,  the  ticket  sales 
    doubled! They are probably responsible for more tickets than  the 
    Stones. This is a band that we  went  on  tour  with  as  special 
    guests on their tour in 1998. It  was  quite  an  experience.  It 
    would be like what you'd think of touring with Aerosmith --  just 
    the biggest of the big production and everything else. The  Bohse 
    Onkelz were nothing but gracious and generous and  very  kind.  I 
    think that we've managed to earn  their  respect  and  they  have 
    certainly earned ours! When I think of the following  these  guys 
    have, I've never seen anything like it; not even in movies. Their 
    fans are - the- most fiercely loyal fans than I have ever seen in 
    my life. They know every single word to the two  hour  and  forty 
    five minute set that they play; these people know every word  and 
    are singing them at the top of  their  lungs  --  in  an  outdoor 
    amphitheater,  you  can  barely  hear  the  band.  It  is  really 
    something to see!                                                 

CoC: Thank you for all your time during this interview,  Tom!  Please 
     allow me to offer you the last words.                                 

TK: A -huge- "thank you" for all the years of support  from  everyone 
    out there. Rest assured we will be coming back with new  material 
    and doing some shows for everyone  and  we'll  see  everyone  out 
    there!                                                            

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                  A   D R E A M   C O M E   T R U E
                  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
          CoC chats with Agnette Kirkevaag of Madder Mortem
                  by: Aaron McKay and Pedro Azevedo


Intro by: Pedro Azevedo
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Having recently completed the Madder Mortem  experience  by  watching 
them live (supporting Opeth), I  can  now  safely  state  that  these 
Norwegians should be firmly ranked amongst the best  bands  in  their 
country -- and indeed  the  metal  world.  Their  music  screams  the 
band's inspiration and self-belief at  the  listener  while  dwelling 
in  melancholy  and  brooding  anger;  its  level  of  uniqueness  is 
considerable, and its execution remarkable. After  three  full-length 
albums, Madder Mortem have already unleashed an  enviable  collection 
of superb cuts, yet still  seem  to  remain  poised  for  their  true 
masterpiece -- though only time  will  tell  whether  they  can  ever 
exceed their last couple of efforts. The following is a well deserved 
interview with the band's vocalist, the talented  Agnette  Kirkevaag, 
whose passion for the band's music remains obvious throughout.        


Interview by: Aaron McKay
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CoC: To begin with, I noticed  "Necropol  Lit",  _Deadlands_'s  first 
     full cut, seems to be particularly unique to  the  rest  of  the 
     album -- more power and heavily driven, if  you  will.  Can  you 
     elaborate a bit on that?                                         

Agnette Kirkevaag: It's a very band-and-groove based song. It was the 
                   first track we wrote after  the  release  of  _All 
                   Flesh Is Grass_, and large parts of the song  were 
                   jammed into being in the rehearsal  room.  Playing 
                   really groovy and extremely heavy stuff  is  great 
                   fun, so it was a very natural foundation to  start 
                   building both the song and the album on. From  the 
                   moment we finished it, it was clear that it  would 
                   open the album -- it  has  the  slightly  arrogant 
                   attitude and the driven  feeling  that  we  wanted 
                   to set the record  straight  from  the  beginning. 
                   <laughs> The main riff is much more about  brutish 
                   power than any kind of finesse, and it's  a  very, 
                   very cool live song as well.                       

CoC: Along those  lines,  what  would  you  say  the  opening  track, 
     "Enter", accomplishes as the  initial  sounds  the  listener  is 
     exposed to on _Deadlands_? Is that song a subtle gateway to  the 
     intrinsic mood of what Madder has to offer on this release?      

AK: Eh, yes... You didn't leave much room for an  explanation  there, 
    hehe. It's meant to make the listener  start  focussing,  and  to 
    direct the general mood in the right direction for  the  rest  of 
    the album, sort of a boundary between reality and the  deadlands. 
    It also establishes a kind of connection between _Deadlands_  and 
    _All Flesh Is Grass_, since the very first  words  spoken  are  a 
    quote from "Breaker of Worlds" from _AFIG_.                       

CoC: Madder Mortem seems to have a tight kinship between its members. 
     If that is indeed so, how does it  affect  the  music  the  band 
     creates?                                                         

AK: Yes, that's correct. I've always found it very important to  play 
    with friends, and to make the internal ties in the band as strong 
    as possible. I'd rather play with  the  right  person  who's  not 
    perfect technically, than play  with  a  brilliant  musician  who 
    personality-wise is the wrong  guy.  It  shines  through  in  the 
    music, but it's difficult to explain or  pinpoint.  Much  of  the 
    intensity comes from a whole band diving into  the  same  feeling 
    and going for a common goal. There's also more consideration  for 
    the total  song  than  for  each  instrument  on  its  own.  Most 
    important of all, though, is the fact  that  playing  in  a  band 
    should be fulfilling and fun, and I find it difficult to  get  to 
    the level of musical ecstasy I prefer without being close to  the 
    people I'm working with. And playing and writing your  own  music 
    and lyrics is pretty intimate and revealing  --  I  wouldn't  let 
    just anybody in on that.                                          

CoC: Do you find it more difficult to create the kind of  doomy,  but 
     unclassifiable symphonic tapestry  Madder  Mortem  weaves  than, 
     say, less melodic-laden material sometimes done by other  bands? 
     In other words, does this type of  music  come  easy  to  Madder 
     Mortem, or is it more deliberate than it comes across?           

AK: This is what we make when we make what is natural to us. I  think 
    it would be much harder for us to  put  any  constraint  on  what 
    we're doing. This far, we've made music purely to satisfy our own 
    tastes, and I believe that's how it's going to be in  the  future 
    as well. It -  is-  deliberate,  but  not  in  the  sense  you're 
    thinking. There are hours and hours of work on each little piece, 
    but the goal we're working towards  is  making  it  'right',  not 
    forcing the ideas into some preconceived shape.                   

CoC: How would you compare _Deadlands_ to _All Flesh  Is  Grass_?  To 
     1997's _Misty Sleep_?                                                 

AK: Hmmm...  Where  _All  Flesh  Is  Grass_  is  head-on   aggression 
    and  snarling  impatience,  _Deadlands_  is  a  deeper  and  more 
    introspective anger, with an undertow of hopelessness. _AFIG_  is 
    lashing out, it's very impulsive  and  restless.  _Deadlands_  is 
    controlled, patiently building towards a release that never quite 
    comes. _Misty Sleep_ is a decent demo, but it's hard to  make  up 
    an unbiased opinion about it now. I very much like  some  of  the 
    ideas and songs, though the musicianship is hardly perfect. Three 
    of the songs ("Under Another Moon", "He Who Longed for the Stars" 
    and "Misty Sleep") were re- recorded  on  our  debut  full-length 
    _Mercury_, so I'd definitely recommend that version.              

CoC: Personally, I find Madder Mortem's songs very  clean,  but  very 
     provoking at the  same  time.  Where  does  the  band  pull  its 
     inspiration form?                                                

AK: From   ourselves;   our   personalities   and   experience    and 
    likes/dislikes, and from everything that happens  to  us.  Boring 
    hours in traffic,  great  parties,  interesting  and/or  annoying 
    people, beautiful summer days, freezing cold winters, good books, 
    soppy romance novels, miserable action movies and  the  classics, 
    good food and tour food... Everything that happens to  you  is  a 
    part of who you are, and that's my  main  aspiration  in  writing 
    music: to put all  that  I  am  into  it,  without  reserve.  Not 
    everything is concretely useful, but it's a part  of  what  makes 
    you like the tones and words you pick out for your song. And  for 
    me, the highest possible level of personal  input  is  essential. 
    Every song needs to be given birth to by an honest heart.  (Phew, 
    this  got  very  philosophical,  but  it's  a  very  central  and 
    important theme to me. This is what keeps me awake and running.)  

CoC: Lyrically,  the  songs  on  _Deadlands_   seem   unrefined   and 
     uninhibited.  Are  they  derived  from  personal  experience  or 
     something else altogether?                                       

AK: They're very, very personal, but in a very metaphorical style.  I 
    think you'd have difficulties connecting the lyrics to  plausible 
    happenings in my life, unless, of course, you knew me very  well. 
    I take the feeling behind and some  of  the  motivation  from  an 
    aspect of myself I don't share with anybody else, and  then  work 
    on the phrasing and wording. I read quite a lot, so I try to  get 
    my words to have  some  literary  qualities  as  well,  not  just 
    emotional ravings.                                                

CoC: How important is artistic freedom (label or  otherwise)  to  the 
     Madder Mortem sound? Is it an imperative?                             

AK: Yes, it's imperative. Our  main  motto  has  always  been  "music 
    without  boundaries".  Naturally,  that  should   also   go   for 
    production, lyrics, artwork, etc. One  has  to  accept  financial 
    limits, but apart from that: no, no, no.                          

CoC: Vocally, are you classically trained?

AK: I've had a couple of classical lessons,  but  the  way  my  voice 
    sounds can be blamed on singing in a band -- a -lot-.                 

CoC: As a listener, I have to  say,  I  find  the  lyrics  to  be  as 
     significant as the music itself. I mean,  what  is  communicated 
     appears to be as much a part of Madder Mortem  as  the  guitars, 
     drums and bass. Would you agree? If so, why?                     

AK: It is a very important part, especially for me, but the music  is 
    the essential part. As I see it, lyrics are  there  to  emphasize 
    the feelings in the music or the  ideas  behind  it,  or  to  add 
    another aspect to the total picture. Still, the lyrics are a  big 
    part of Madder Mortem. Once again, it has something  to  do  with 
    group mentality: a good lyric, one that I  find  is  true  and  a 
    correct interpretation of the song, will  lend  quite  a  lot  of 
    extra strength to the vocals, which will be  more  inspiring  for 
    the rest of the band. It can also help  suggest  expressions  for 
    the other members; some words will perhaps want to be  underlined 
    by a small drum fill.                                             

CoC: Building  on  that  point,  it  seems  like  the  title   track, 
     "Deadlands", comes across as a voyage  of  self-realization.  Is 
     that the case or are the band's songs purposefully left open for 
     interpretation?                                                  

AK: I mostly leave as much as possible open,  both  to  activate  the 
    listener, but also because some of the subject  matters  are  far 
    too private for discussion. Regarding the song "Deadlands", it is 
    more of a  story  of  blind,  chaotic  destruction  and  mindless 
    vengeance (since there's absolutely nothing left to lose), and of 
    sorrow and  betrayal  that  is  too  fundamental  to  accept  and 
    contain.                                                          

CoC: Changing subject, I understand your tour to Mexico was the first 
     ever outside of Europe. How did the band enjoy  that?  Were  the 
     crowds open to Madder Mortem's style?                            

AK: Well, apart from the fact that due to  unlucky  circumstances  we 
    arrived without any gear or  baggage  at  all  approximately  two 
    hours before we were due on stage, Mexico was  really  good.  The 
    festival was well organized, and we were treated  well.  The  gig 
    could have been quite a bit better  with  our  own  seven-strings 
    instead of borrowed six- strings, but all in  all,  pretty  good. 
    Since it was only one gig, under very  strange  circumstances,  I 
    don't really know, but the Mexicans seemed to  be  interested.  I 
    hope we'll have the possibility to go back  there  for  a  longer 
    time and some more gigs.                                          

CoC: Speaking of  tours,  you  are  on  tour  with  Type  O  Negative 
     currently, right?                                                     

AK: Eh, no... we're not, and have never been on tour with Type O.  It 
    would probably be fun, but... This misunderstanding may come from 
    the fact that we thought we were going to do a local support  gig 
    for them in Oslo, but it got cancelled, since their support  band 
    brought their own backline, hehe.                                 

CoC: How did it come to be that you found  yourselves  on  tour  with 
     Opeth, then? I would think that  kind  of  exposure  for  Madder 
     Mortem would be second to none!                                  

AK: Mikael [Akerfeldt, Opeth  vocalist/guitarist]  really  likes  our 
    records, that's the main reason. We got  some  support  from  our 
    label, but we put in about 70% of the budget  ourselves.  It  was 
    hard for us financially, but a dream in every  other  way.  If  I 
    could have picked freely amongst all bands whom to tour  with  at 
    that time, I would have wanted to go with Opeth -- so it was very 
    much a dream come true. On top of that, they are  very  nice  and 
    entertaining guys, the conditions  of  the  tour  were  generally 
    good, and we got to play to a  huge  amount  of  people  who  had 
    probably never heard of us before. Opeth aren't quite as huge  in 
    Europe as they are in the US, but I believe it was a  good  crowd 
    for us to play for. At least Opeth fans won't get scared away  if 
    you play a song that's longer than five minutes... <laughs>       

CoC: "Resonatine", the last cut of the CD, happens to be my  personal 
     favorite. Could you give me some insight into the background  of 
     that song? It comes across so powerful, yet  desperate  in  some 
     way...                                                           

AK: It is very desperate, and I really think we got the point through 
    on that one. Let's say it's about clinging on  to  hope  so  long 
    that it becomes a  prison.  On  the  musical  side,  "Resonatine" 
    started off as a whimsical reconstruction of a song  from  _Misty 
    Sleep_, but quickly grew into a very important  step  for  Madder 
    Mortem.                                                           

CoC: The cover art for _Deadlands_ is extremely  understated  in  its 
     intensity and vivid nature. A former Madder Mortem  band  member 
     is responsible for doing that, yes?                              

AK: Yes, that's the guitarist from _Misty Sleep_ and  _Mercury_.  His 
    name is Christian Ruud, and he's a close friend  of  ours.  Right 
    now he's taking graphic design education, and he does want to  do 
    more cover work, so spread the word... Actually, we try to  "keep 
    it in  the  family"  as  much  as  possible.  For  instance,  our 
    webmaster is the guitarist from our first demo; one of the models 
    for the _Deadlands_ cover is my former roommate; and my  dad  did 
    the band photo inside the _All Flesh  Is  Grass_  cover.  Working 
    with friends is more fun, and they care about  how  they  perform 
    and deliver in a way no 'professional'  would.  In  addition,  we 
    have very talented friends! (I'm awfully proud of 'em...)         

CoC: Finally,  if  you  would,  please  finish  this  interview  with 
     anything you might like  to  say  to  the  Chronicles  of  Chaos 
     readers, Agnette. Thank you, too, for all your time in answering 
     these questions for the magazine!                                

AK: Well, I have to say is I hope we'll be able to meet any  and  all 
    of you on tour some time! I'd also like to encourage everyone who 
    has any kind of opinion on what we do to post a  comment  in  our 
    website guestbook at  www.maddermortem.com.  We  follow  it  very 
    closely, and it's always very interesting to see what you  think. 
    And enjoy music for music's sake!                                 

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 S T R I K I N G   O U T   D O W N   T H E   D E F I A N T   P A T H
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
               CoC talks to Galder of Old Man's Child
                           by: Aaron McKay


Anyone will tell you, life is a cruel teacher. Why? For starters,  it 
ultimately kills all its pupils. On the other hand,  with  experience 
comes wisdom and, as Ralph Waldo  Emerson  said,  "the  wise  through 
excess of wisdom is made a fool." Too much of any one  thing  may  be 
bad, but Old Man's Child seems to have struck the perfect balance.    

_In Defiance of Existence_ is the sixth effort by founder,  vocalist, 
guitarist, producer and  all-around  creative  influence  behind  Old 
Man's Child, Galder. Pulling  from  extensive  understanding  of  the 
metal scene, Galder  fashions  a  powerfully  dynamic  experiment  in 
extreme metal with this album. Furthermore, drawing from  his  unique 
insight and talent, _In Defiance of Existence_  caters  to  even  the 
most discerning black/death metal fan. It is enough to say that there 
is something to be found on this release for everyone.                

Now, with a ferocious independence, Old Man's  Child  again  walks  a 
path few dare to venture. First things first, let's take  a  look  at 
the past that made this band what they are today.                     

"When I was making _The Pagan Prosperity_", Galder  begins,  "I  knew 
that this form of black metal was completely new  and  I  was  a  bit 
concerned how people would react to it just because of  that.  People 
certainly had mixed feelings about it; [the album] seemed to be  more 
appreciated in the states, for instance, than  in  Europe  since,  at 
that time, most people were still hanging on to that old school black 
metal thing. These days everybody seems to be mixing different styles 
into the music -- heavy, thrash, death, etc. That  was  exactly  what 
OMC was all about since the beginning."                               

Presently, _In Defiance of Existence_ picks up on  the  band's  whole 
technique by starting off with such ferocious potency  ("Felonies  of 
the Christian Art"). Why did Galder select that song as the opener to 
the new release?                                                      

"This is the album where I had the most problems when deciding  which 
songs to put where", comes the metal veteran's reply. "So  I  suppose 
that it was more of a coincidence than on purpose, but I also like to 
start off the albums of with a heavy song."                           

Is there a connection between _In Defiance  of  Existence_  and  _The 
Pagan Prosperity_,  whereas  _Ill  Natured  Spiritual  Invasion_  and 
_Revelation 666 - The Curse of Damnation_ seem to be more  intimately 
related? Galder replies, "Actually, I think that all my albums can be 
connected in one way or another, but you're right about one thing  -- 
there are many  ideas  on  this  album  dating  back  to  _The  Pagan 
Prosperity_ days, especially with the acoustic guitars."              

"The  Underworld  Domains",  track  eight  from   _In   Defiance   of 
Existence_,  very  well  could  have  been  taken  from  _The   Pagan 
Prosperity_. But is that  kind  of  correlation  intentional?  "Yeah! 
You're right", Galder jumps in. "That song might as well be on _TPP_, 
but mainly because it's one of the least black  metal  songs  on  the 
album and has the same direction as many of the  songs  on  _TPP_.  I 
don't think it's done intentionally, though."                         

When it comes to the band, is it totally a group effort?  "Everything 
in OMC goes through me in one way or another", confesses Galder. "I'm 
very open-minded, so if the other guys have some cool ideas, then, of 
course, I'm always willing to  listen  to  them.  99%  of  everything 
involving the band is done by me, however. This is  not  something  I 
want it to be like, it's just the way it's been over the years."      

"Black Seeds on Virgin  Soil"  uses  some  rather  provocative  vocal 
effects as well as some refreshing, straightforward black metal beats 
and riffs.  ""Black  Seeds..."  is  a  song  that  I  would  describe 
personally as 'musically correct'", Galder  explains.  "With  that  I 
mean every riff  floats  together  and  there's  no  misplaced  riffs 
anywhere. That doesn't always mean that it is a good song, but it  is 
something that I try to do in my music."                              

Have the line-up changes strengthened OMC as a whole? "I don't  think 
they have hurt the music in any way, since I'm always looking for the 
right musicians for each album", he offers, "but, of  course,  having 
line-up changes also has its downsides sometimes. Generally it  is  a 
good thing for us since it gives the music a fresh input."            

"Sacrifice of Vengeance" opens in a way unique to an OMC song. It has 
restrained emphasis in the beginning then opens  up  into  a  full-on 
guitar assault. But is it an entirely fresh approach for  OMC?  "Hmm, 
hard to say", Galder reflects. "I wouldn't say  so,  I  guess.  If  I 
start a song slow, I feel it is necessary to blast it up a bit so  it 
doesn't lose its aggression -- which is of course the whole idea with 
this type of music."                                                  

It seems a certain amount of  intrigue  lies  in  Old  Man's  Child's 
ability to combine the harsh style of black metal with keyboards  and 
atmospheric nuances, yielding  a  singular  darkness  to  the  band's 
sound. "I agree", consents OMC's  frontman.  "I  just  think  it's  a 
combination of the different styles I grew up listening to when I was 
younger. I have never really stuck in one direction and that is  very 
easy to hear in OMC."                                                 

Other than the vocals, the drumming seems to be a vital aspect to the 
band. I ask Galder to elaborate on that, paying particular  attention 
to the involvement of Gene Hoglan, Grimar, Tjodalv and Nick Barker.   

Galder rings in, "OMC would never work without a high class  drummer. 
I have tried out many different, very good drummers, but not  with  a 
very good result. I really don't know why that is, but there must  be 
something in the music that, for some reason, many drummers find hard 
to play or something... Being a good metal drummer is more than  just 
the ability to play fast on bass drums -- you also need the  'grove', 
which many drummers lack. And that is definitely a quality that  Gene 
[Hoglan] and Nick [Barker] possess."                                  

"In Quest  of  Enigmatic  Dreams"  invokes  images  of  Morbid  Angel 
("Desolate Ways"). What was the idea behind  this  track?  "That  was 
just some ideas I've had in my head for ages, since I  was  seventeen 
or something", Galder clarifies. "We  have  never  had  the  guts  to 
record it since it wasn't "dark" enough, really,  so  [now]  we  just 
decided to record it and see how it sounded. Also we needed one  more 
song to make the album a bit longer, so there you go..."              

Galder is going into the studio with Dimmu Borgir  again  soon.  What 
exactly is Galder's participation in that band? How did it come about 
and what is his unique view of that  unmistakable  outfit?  It  might 
appear that the two bands  have  enjoyed  quite  a  history  together 
(_Devil's Path_ / _In the Shades of Life_).                           

"Yeah", comes the reply. "We will soon be finished  with  the  album, 
actually. I have done a lot on the album, but that's the  good  thing 
with Dimmu -- everyone has ideas, so making music in this band is far 
easier than anything I have done in the past." Galder continues,  "We 
did have a strong bond even before I  joined  the  band,  growing  up 
together and listening to the same music, etc."                       

Going back a bit, what are Galder's thoughts on Hot  Records,  around 
1994, picking up on and running with the sound that became  known  as 
Old Man's Child?                                                      

"I really don't have much to say about Hot Records", the  founder  of 
Old Man's Child explains, "other than that the  'label'  was  nothing 
more than a joke! We released two CDs there and even to this point in 
time, we have not yet seen one penny from those releases.  The  owner 
is nowhere to be found, which is probably  the  best  thing  for  him 
right now."                                                           

_In Defiance of Existence_ ends with a great  cut,  "Life  Deprived". 
Why did the new effort close with that song in particular?            

"I wanted the album to open  hard  and  close  really  hard",  Galder 
confesses. "That's the main reason for that choice. I also think that 
song was the one that separated itself the most from the other  songs 
on _In Defiance of Existence_. I really didn't know where to put  it. 
Those songs always end up last for some reason."                      

Galder's final words for the interview: "Well, first  of  all  thanks 
tfor he interview; we hope to come over there in the near  future  to 
torment your country for a few weeks."                                

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        J U S T   T O   H E A R   W H A T   H E   S P H Y N X
        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                 CoC interviews Moloch of Melechesh
                           by: Aaron McKay


If you've  never  heard  the  new  effort  from  Melechesh,  entitled 
_Sphynx_, this interview was conducted give you reason to remedy that 
-- not that  you  should  need  it.  This  effort  -smokes-  and  has 
everything your enraptured heart could desire. From start to  finish, 
Melechesh makes giant steps forward on this disc to push the envelope 
of metal as we now know it.  Cop  a  squat  and  absorb  the  insight 
presented here about one of the genre's best kept secrets.            

CoC: To begin, Moloch, congratulations on _Sphynx_! It  is  a  killer 
     release, for certain. How would you compare  it  to  your  other 
     releases? Say, _Djinn_ and possibly the 7" limited release, _The 
     Siege of Lachish_?                                               

Moloch: Thanks for everything. To answer your question, _The Siege of 
        Lachish_ started it all in 1996, when we used, for the  first 
        time, Middle Eastern  rhythmic  patterns  and  melodies  with 
        extreme metal on the title track. So everything started there 
        and continued on _As Jerusalem Burns... Al'Intisar_ and  then 
        _Djinn_. Compared to the latest, _Sphynx_ is a more  in-your- 
        face album,  it's  heavier  and  thrashier.  All  albums  are 
        Melechesh albums, and all have the same trademark,  the  same 
        Mesopotamian metal sound (except  for  _AJB_  which  is  more 
        traditional black metal). It's important for us to  have  our 
        own sound, but at the same time not sound  exactly  the  same 
        twice. That why _Sphynx_ explores other dimensions that  were 
        left untouched when we wrote _Djinn_ or earlier material.     

CoC: Labels like Mesopotamian  black  metal  seem  to  mean  precious 
     little when describing all that is involved with the complicated 
     sound of this band, though; does that label restrict  Melechesh, 
     do you think?                                                    

M: I don't know. We forged the label of Mesopotamian  metal  to  find 
   words to describe our music, but I don't really believe in labels. 
   You can manipulate words as much as you want;  the  music  doesn't 
   necessarily follow. But in the case of Melechesh it  does,  that's 
   the reason why we stick with  the  label  of  Mesopotamian  metal, 
   without sticking to the whole labeling thing in general.  But  you 
   can call it what you want, it's still Melechesh!  I  believe  that 
   with _Sphynx_ we have reached a point where Melechesh has its  own 
   sound and trademark, and that's what  really  matters.  The  label 
   doesn't restrict Melechesh because both are coextensive: Melechesh 
   is Mesopotamian metal and vice versa; if one changes so  does  the 
   other. It just represents the whole  world  the  Melechesh  spirit 
   dwells in, and there are  still  many  aspects  that  we  need  to 
   discover.                                                          

CoC: Most people already understand  the  impressive  background  and 
     origins of Melechesh, so I won't waste your  time  rehashing  it 
     here. That said, the band  has  come  a  -long-  way  since  the 
     underground scene in 1993 -- what would you attribute this to?   

M: I think the fact that this band was built on a  will  of  creating 
   its own sound made us go through these ten years.  When  you  have 
   things to discover and to create you don't get discouraged.  On  a 
   musical level, you're pushed to continue  because  you  feel  that 
   you're getting somewhere, and on a personal level, the  music  you 
   do is a kind of spiritual fulfillment. Besides all this, it's also 
   the discipline, will and respect that  we  have  as  band  members 
   towards each other and towards what we do in Melechesh.            

CoC: As a key member of Melechesh, you seem  to  contribute  a  great 
     deal to the band's overall. How does the membership dynamic work 
     within Melechesh?                                                

M: Yes, I've been there since the beginning with Ashmedi, and so  far 
   everything has gone through the two of us before happening. But it 
   is actually Ashmedi who is the key member of Melechesh, because he 
   came up with the whole idea  and  he  has  always  been  the  main 
   composer. He's  also  managing  the  whole  thing  (even  if  it's 
   something he  doesn't  particularly  appreciate!).  But  Al'Hazred 
   (bass) and I co-composed some tracks and Proscriptor  (from  Absu) 
   wrote half of the lyrics on _Sphynx_. We all  contribute,  because 
   each of us can bring different aspects to the band that  can  only 
   make it more interesting -- be it musically, lyrically,  visually, 
   etc. But, of course, there is  always  a  limit,  because  a  band 
   cannot have its own sound  and  trademark  if  it's  only  a  free 
   expression zone for all its members.                               

CoC: Specifically, about the three minute mark on  the  new  release, 
     track three, "Annunaki's Golden Thrones", is a personal favorite 
     on the album. Would you elaborate a bit on  that  song  and  the 
     heaviness of that cut found on the track, please?                

M: That track is the fastest song on the album. We're more of a  mid- 
   tempo band, no need to go two thousand miles an hour to be  heavy, 
   but in some cases it helps -- and that's when  "Annunaki's  Golden 
   Thrones" comes in. Conceptually, the  song  deals  with  a  visual 
   hallucination of the planet Nebiru, where the Annunaki Giants were 
   supposed to  come  from  in  Mesopotamian  mythology.  The  planet 
   appears as a cosmic desert, with too much gravity  --  a  sort  of 
   black hole, but made of sand.                                      

CoC: Hands down, the -thick- feel of "Apkallu Counsel" is  my  choice 
     for another  of  the  premier  cuts  off  _Sphynx_!  It  changes 
     texture, from start to finish, with ease, but never  leaves  the 
     listener questioning the ultimate direction of the  track.  What 
     are your thoughts on this song, and do  you  attribute  that  to 
     Melechesh's 'no bullshit' approach to metal?                     

M: "Apkallu Counsel" is one of those tracks that was  written  by  us 
   all; it's not your typical song with rock 'n' roll structure,  and 
   instead has a very complex progression of riffs  and  beats.  It's 
   like a story -- you pass from one  world  to  another  with  riffs 
   intertwining  with  other  riffs,  lots  of  breaks  and  rhythmic 
   changes. All mid-tempo and  fucking  heavy!  Like  you  say,  it's 
   complex, but it keeps your head banging. Lyrically, it deals  with 
   the myth of the Seven Sages (called the Apkallu  Sages)  who  were 
   wise men sent by the god Ea to bring  seven  arts  and  crafts  to 
   mankind.                                                           

CoC: In my opinion, the band has an incredibly fresh appeal, not only 
     on this album, but your entire back catalog as well. Is this due 
     to the unique composition of the band members,  your  topics  of 
     interest, both, or something else entirely?                      

M: It was the will  of  the  band  to  create  its  own  sound,  find 
   different rhythms, different ways of riffing,  etc.  Now  on  some 
   albums you can really hear it, like _Djinn_ and _Sphynx_,  and  on 
   [other] albums a bit  less;  that's  the  case  of  _As  Jerusalem 
   Burns... Al'Intisar_.  Because  first  Breath  of  Nights  Records 
   wanted to re-release our demo, then we decided  to  re-record  the 
   demo and add some other material (everything which was straight to 
   the point black metal with some oriental touches).                 

CoC: Just for a  minute,  I'd  like  to  explore  the  lyrics  behind 
     _Sphynx_; obviously these are well-researched and in-depth.  How 
     would you say they differ from albums past, and  what  all  goes 
     into communicating what exactly Melechesh  gets  across  to  the 
     listener?                                                        

M: Lyrically,  we  have  always  dealt  with   two   main   subjects: 
   Mesopotamian culture (mythology, history,  mysticism...)  and  the 
   occult. The originality of _Sphynx_ is that  all  the  lyrics  are 
   related conceptually. They all deal with the time in  Mesopotamian 
   mythology before humanity when the gods created  men  and  brought 
   them civilisation. That's the role of the Annunaki, or  the  Seven 
   Sages, who it is believed came from another planet  and  from  the 
   sea (which was believed to surround earth) to  bring  civilization 
   to men. Also there's the "Tablets of Fate", which were believed to 
   contain the destiny of everything that lives -- the whole idea  of 
   Destiny introduces the notion of history  and  the  withdrawal  of 
   humanity in time.                                                  

CoC: The two instrumentals on _Sphynx_ happen late on  the  CD.  Some 
     bands use tracks like this to  develop  an  atmosphere,  but  it 
     doesn't seem to me that is the case on the most recent Melechesh 
     offering. Are they indeed there to create a mood on  the  album, 
     or is there a more of a grand scheme to their inclusion  on  the 
     disc?                                                            

M: They are there to create atmosphere and  to  plunge  the  listener 
   deeper into  our  world.  Also  it's  the  space  for  us  to  use 
   traditional oriental instruments that we play -- just another  way 
   to build the whole Mesopotamian ambiance.                          

CoC: From the onset, Melechesh seems to have a calculated edge to the 
     band's sound that totally enraptures the listener, I believe. Do 
     you  think  this  is  accurate,  and  how  does  Melechesh  seem 
     to consistently 'develop' without  losing  their  core  defining 
     approach to metal?                                               

M: It's hard, but the whole thing  with  Melechesh  is  to  keep  the 
   extreme metal core. The main  guitars  will  always  remain  heavy 
   guitars, pounding drums and warm bass supporting  everything.  But 
   our personal contribution is to bring the "Mesopotamian sounds" in 
   these instruments by introducing new rhythms on drums inspired  by 
   Middle Eastern rhythmic patterns,  and  also  on  the  guitars  by 
   finding different ways of riffing,  scales,  bridges,  etc.  We're 
   ready to do almost anything in order to recreate the  Mesopotamian 
   feeling in our sound, except for one  thing:  losing  the  extreme 
   metal core that is the basis of our music.                         

CoC: It seems the cover art on _Sphynx_ (by Mr. Woodall) is indeed  a 
     dramatic reflection on the material presented  on  the  enclosed 
     CD. Could you express some of your thoughts  on  how  that  came 
     about and its connection to the tracks it represents?            

M: We contacted Ron Woodall because  we  wanted  someone  that  could 
   easily express visually  what  we  easily  express  musically  and 
   lyrically. Ron Woodall is a  graphic  designer  in  George  Lucas' 
   Industrial Light and Magic. He worked in movies such as The Mummy, 
   Star Wars, Jurassic Park; it's his job to create visually  what  a 
   director sees in his head. So  we  contacted  him,  gave  him  the 
   visions we had of the _Sphynx_, the whole  conceptual  background, 
   and he delivered the result as you see it on the cover. To cut the 
   whole story short, you see  a  Mesopotamian  sphynx  in  a  cosmic 
   desert atmosphere, with light coming unto him from the  sky.  This 
   light represents the civilization the gods were supposed  to  have 
   brought to mankind. So basically, the sphynx is the  guardian  and 
   symbol of this knowledge brought by the  new  race  of  gods  that 
   dethroned to old order (the one of the  primordial  gods:  Tiamat, 
   Apsu, Anshar, Kishar, Mummu, etc.).                                

CoC: I  understand  Ashmedi  has  an  endorsement  deal  with  Vigier 
     Guitars. Can you tell us about that a little bit, please?             

M: Ashmedi got in touch with Vigier  Guitars  because  he  had  heard 
   a lot about  them.  He  sent  them  a  promo  package,  they  were 
   interested, and they signed an endorsement deal. Ashmedi uses  the 
   Marilyn Guitar. It's a  fucking  great  guitar,  extremely  light, 
   every note sounds crystal clear.                                   

CoC: Please end this with any parting words you might  have  for  the 
     Chronicles of Chaos readers...                                        

M: Thanks a  lot  for  the  interview!  For  more  information  about 
   _Sphynx_, you can check the enhanced CD-ROM section of the CD. For 
   more  info  about  the  band,  you  can  check  out  our  site  at 
   www.melechesh.com.                                                 

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

                       _, _,  __, _,_ _, _  _,
                      / \ |   |_) | | |\/| (_
                      |~| | , |_) | | |  | , )
                      ~ ~ ~~~ ~   `~' ~  ~  ~


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!


Arch Enemy - _Anthems of Rebellion_  (Century Media, 2003)
by: Jackie Smit  (8.5 out of 10)

Not to sound mean-spirited, but up to and including 2002's  massively 
acclaimed _Wages of Sin_ effort, Arch Enemy's take on melodic Swedish 
death metal was one which held very little interest for me. Like many 
of their contemporaries, I found their style tired  and  overdone  to 
the point of being redundant;  and  to  be  honest,  the  release  of 
_Anthems of Rebellion_ might well  have  passed  me  by  had  it  not 
been for a  surprise  package  in  my  mailbox  one  fateful  Tuesday 
afternoon. Thank goodness for that then, because unlike the stale  In 
Flames-derived licks of yore, this seemingly hastily released  record 
showcases a far more aggressive, vitriolic side to the band from  the 
off. As opening behemoth "Silent Wars" so clearly demonstrates,  Arch 
Enemy have chosen this  time  round  to  steer  clear  of  the  tired 
trappings of the past and  instead  have  adopted  an  approach  more 
deeply rooted in the old-school traditions of Carcass and  others  of 
their early  nineties  ilk.  And,  with  the  help  of  a  tremendous 
instrumental effort and the greatly improved  vocals  of  one  Angela 
Gossow, they manage to pull  it  off  beautifully.  Indeed,  Angela's 
rasping snarl sounds more menacing than ever before and, with her now 
clearly being more confident in her central role  in  the  band,  her 
talent has literarily rocketed from adequate  to  hugely  impressive. 
Similarly, _Anthems of Rebellion_ also sees Arch  Enemy  successfully 
experimenting more than ever with clean vocals and  well-implemented, 
sparse keyboard lines, which add a welcome dash  of  variety  to  the 
proceedings. Unfortunately not all is perfect, and  no  doubt  in  an 
attempt to  appeal  to  younger  fans,  the  lyrics  on  _Anthems  of 
Rebellion_ seem dumbed  down  to  almost  pre-  pubescent  levels  -- 
witness the ultra-cheese of "Instinct" as a  sterling  example.  This 
aside though, Arch Enemy have produced perhaps their best  record  to 
date, which if anything is sure to proselytise a fair amount of their 
detractors, while keeping older fans clammering for more.             


Black Label Society - _The Blessed Hellride_
by: Jackie Smit  (7 out of 10)  (Spitfire / Eagle Rock, 2003)

Whether your opinion of the man and his many painstakingly documented 
booze-fuelled antics is that of unreserved  adulation  or  nonchalant 
disdain, let it at least be said of Zakk Wylde that  apart  from  the 
odd guest-appearance, he has thus far relatively  avoided  using  his 
day-job as six-stringer for that Osbourne guy to peddle  Black  Label 
Society to the masses. Then  again,  BLS  was  never  meant  for  the 
mainstream. As appealing as its southern  fried  boogie  metal  could 
potentially be to the less-enlightened listener, it is  a  labour  of 
love that was written by Wylde for Wylde -- if you want to  join  the 
party, feel free; if not, fuck off. Unsurprisingly then, _The Blessed 
Hellride_ provides  little  in  the  way  of  intellectual  food  for 
thought, and certainly tracks like opener  "Stoned  &  Drunk"  aren't 
meant to provoke any semblance  of  furious  political  debate.  Even 
so, there's an  undeniable  charm  to  Zakk  Wylde  and  his  drunken 
Hallford-esque rants. Perhaps it's the organic crunch of a track like 
"Suffering Overdue" -- sounding almost as though Wylde simply  picked 
up his guitar and let the music flow in any direction it chose --  or 
the soulful acoustic nod to New Orleans sludgers Down  of  the  title 
track; but in a world of manufactured styles, conveyor belt music and 
base-level reality TV, there's few things the world needs  more  than 
the unapologetic honesty of a band like Black  Label  Society.  Which 
isn't to say that this is a masterpiece -- far from  it:  it's  often 
let down by a very lean production, and there are times when  at  the 
very least, it sounds as though  Zakk  is  seriously  treading  water 
musically. But then again, one is doubtful that perfection  was  ever 
the point of this exercise.                                           


Bloodhammer - _Abbedissan Saatanalliset Houreet_
by: Matthias Noll  (7 out of 10)  (Northern Heritage, 2003)

I'm not really sure what to make of  the  "nun  fondling  some  naked 
man's erected penis" cover of this  release  but  I  think  it's  not 
substantially inferior to another bunch of corpse  painted  bad-asses 
re-enacting the artwork of _Under a Funeral Moon_ or _A Blaze in  the 
Northern Sky_. Musically these Finns have created a ripping album  in 
a style which is not too far away from bands you'd  usually  find  on 
the Barbarian Wrath label. Bloodhammer are simple and  old-school  to 
the core while coming across as genuine; not like yet  another  bunch 
of poseurs trying to fight for a seat in the last wagon of the  retro 
train. Imagine a bastard son of early Venom and  German  speed  metal 
with a grim production and shrieking black metal vocals on top of  it 
and you get the picture. Simplicity is the key to Bloodhammer's music 
and these guys surely  understand  that  there's  an  audience  which 
appreciates bands who simply let it rip the old-fashioned way without 
a care in the world for anything that happened after 1986.  While  in 
an overall sense the same could be said about the  more  thrashy  and 
far less black  metallic  Flagellator  album,  Bloodhammer  have  the 
advantage of being able to unleash more aggression  and  simply  rock 
harder,  better  and  in  a  much  more  energetic  fashion.  There's 
certainly some room for improvements as far as the  songwriting  goes 
and the whole album could sound more powerful if the  bass  was  more 
prominent in the mix, however, despite being unspectacular this is  a 
highly enjoyable, raw slab of metal!                                  

Contact: http://www.cfprod.com/nh/


Cenotaph - _Pseudo Verminal Cadaverium_
by: Xander Hoose  (4.5 out of 10)  (United Guttural Records, 2003)

Not to be confused with the Brazilian Cenotaph, this four-piece hails 
from Turkey, where the death and black scenes seem to be on the rise. 
With _Pseudo Verminal Cadaverium_ being their third album already,  I 
find  it  hard  to  grasp  why  there  is  still  a  demand  for  it. 
Cenotaph's style of gore-death is  not  just  uncompromising  in  its 
brutality, but unfortunately also in its lack of originality.  Though 
heavily borrowing from early Carcass material and  with  some  slight 
references  to  Fleshgrind,  there  is  nothing  wrong  with  _PVC_'s 
technical capabilities.  The  vocals  are  a  whole  different  deal, 
however: it's not just that they sound  uninspiring,  at  times  they 
sound so horrible it feels like Cenotaph is a parody  of  other  gore 
bands. I'd rather listen to Carcass or pop my Sickening Gore album in 
the player than listen to this one again.                             

Contact: http://www.cenotaph.cjb.net


Chains of Flesh - _[Untitled]_  (Independent, 2003)
by: Xander Hoose  (7 out of 10)

This US three-piece has  been  around  for  a  few  years,  but  this 
still untitled record is their first official  album,  consisting  of 
six songs and clocking  over  24  minutes.  Musically,  they  play  a 
unsurprising yet solid form of mid-tempo death that has a  nice  flow 
to it; the incidental use of dual vocals  as  well  as  clean  vocals 
create just that little  bit  extra  that  this  band  needs  to  get 
noticed. Production is slightly  disappointing,  as  the  instruments 
tend to sound a bit fuzzy -- a clearer sound wouldn't have  hurt  the 
music. Not a groundbreaking album, but definitely worth the listen.   

Contact: http://www.chainsofflesh.com


Chaosbreed - _Unleashed Carnage_  (Rising Realm Records, 2003)
by: Xander Hoose  (6 out of 10)

Newcomer Chaosbreed isn't exactly 'new'. On vocals you'll find Taneli 
Jarva (ex-Sentenced), on guitars Esa Holopainen (Amorphis) and  Marko 
Tarvonen (Moonsorrow, The Wicked). Bass duties are  handled  by  Oppu 
Laine  (ex-Amorphis)  and  behind  the  drum-kit  you'll  find  Nalle 
Österman (ex-Gandalf). An all-star Finnish line-up,  leading  you  to 
think  that  nothing  could  possibly  go  wrong.  Well,  not  quite. 
Chaosbreed's _Unleashed Carnage_ is a homage  to  the  Swedish  death 
metal of the  late  eighties  and  early  nineties  when  bands  like 
Entombed and Dismember ruled the  scene.  So  we're  treated  to  the 
Swedish trademark whirring guitars, haunting bass loops, high-pitched 
solos and growling vocals. Unfortunately, both vocals and  production 
are not up to modern day standards. Dismember, Entombed, Grave -- all 
these bands have evolved, adapting their music and production to  the 
sign of times and show what a modern studio is capable  of  doing  to 
their  music.  With  fans  of  those  bands  treated  to  these  vast 
improvements, I can't see there being a big  fanbase  for  Chaosbreed 
with their outdated sound -- myself, I'd rather play _Left Hand Path_ 
to get in the mood. Chaosbreed does have a big  potential  and  their 
members act as solid 'selling points',  so  hopefully  they  will  be 
picked up by a label that can provide them with adequate funds for  a 
good studio and producer. By the time that happens, I'd be more  than 
willing to give them another shot.                                    

Contact: http://www.chaosbreed.net


Dew-Scented  - _Impact_  (Nuclear Blast, 2003)
by: Jackie Smit  (7.5 out of 10)

With thrash looking set to inhale its second wind, there are arguably 
few acts that are more deserving of some belated kudos than Germany's 
Dew-Scented, if only for persistently sticking to  their  formula  of 
triplet-led terror  like  stubborn  mules  through  many  a  changing 
musical trend. With the aptly  titled  "Acts  of  Rage"  spearheading 
proceedings, this follow-up to 2001's  _Inwards_  effort  immediately 
showcases a distinct improvement in several key areas, not least  the 
razor-sharp precision with  which  the  record's  eleven  tracks  are 
performed. There is also  a  clear  progression  in  terms  of  sheer 
brutality: the  dynamic  rhythmic  attack  of  "New  Found  Pain"  is 
devastating, while the almost Anthrax-esque mid-tempo thud  of  "Soul 
Poison" is not only impressive, but serves as a slight,  though  very 
welcome change from the band's mostly full-speed ahead  approach.  As 
much as Dew-Scented try and spice things up however, there are  times 
where listening to _Impact_ tends to become very much like watching a 
great boxer throwing nothing but straight jabs for an entire match -- 
very one-dimensional, and on tracks like "Flesh Reborn" unfortunately 
rather tedious. As such, Dew- Scented  still  trail  behind  superior 
acts like The Haunted, but where the latter have often been  referred 
to as "the new Slayer", _Impact_ at the very least provides a  strong 
case for the Germans to be hailed "the new Testament".                


Dissection - _Live Legacy_  (Nuclear Blast, 2003)
by: Quentin Kalis  (8 out of 10)

_Live Legacy_ is a legitimate and re-mastered version of the  _Frozen 
in Wacken_ bootleg, recorded at  the  Wacken  festival  way  back  in 
1997. It is no coincidence  that  _LL_  is  released  shortly  before 
vocalist and guitarist Jon Nodtveidt's release from prison, where  he 
is serving time  for  murder.  A  resurrection  of  the  long-dormant 
Dissection is planned, and this album is clearly intended to stir  up 
interest in Dissection -- who, unlike Burzum, has  remained  inactive 
during Nodtveidt's incarceration. For those few who are  perhaps  new 
initiates to metal and are unfamiliar with this once promising  band, 
Dissection perform a unique strain of  melodic  metal  --  not  quite 
black, not quite Gothenburg death, but lying  somewhere  between  the 
two. The seven tracks are taken largely from _Storm  of  the  Light's 
Bane_, with a couple from _The Somberlain_ thrown in. Notable by  its 
absence is the classic "Night's Blood", which was  apparently  played 
but there were some problems during its  performance  which  excluded 
its inclusion.  A  pity,  as  _LL_  feels  incomplete  without  their 
signature song. The live sound is amazing; apparently the bootleg has 
predictably bad sound, but the sound  here  is  clear.  Nothing  more 
needs to be said; you either like Dissection or you don't. If you do, 
then this album is an  obligatory  buy,  even  if  you  already  have 
_Frozen in Wacken_. If you never liked Dissection, this won't  change 
your mind.                                                            


Endzweck - _A Farewell to Arms_  (Out ta Bomb, 2003)
by: Xander Hoose  (7 out of 10)

Japanese hardcore outfit Endzweck has just released  _A  Farewell  to 
Arms_, its second  mini-album.  In  six  songs  and  a  mere  sixteen 
minutes, they prove themselves  to  be  a  talented  outfit  that  is 
skilled in creating very melodic and catchy hardcore  songs.  Playing 
mostly with countrymates Envy and San Francisco based Under  a  Dying 
Sun, fans of these two bands can blindly buy  _AFtA_.  Personally,  I 
wouldn't have minded a somewhat fuller production, but I'm absolutely 
interested in hearing more of their recent material considering  that 
the material on this mini was recorded back in 2001.                  

Contact: http://www.endzweck.jp


Exhumed - _Anatomy Is Destiny_  (Relapse Records, 2003)
by: Jackie Smit  (7.5 out of 10)

There are very few bands who can lay claim to influencing a genre  as 
much as English gore-grind grandfathers  Carcass.  With  a  seemingly 
never-ending stream of acts either shamelessly emulating or borrowing 
heavily from their  sound,  the  many  attempts  at  capturing  their 
essence has continually done little more than confirm their  timeless 
genius. Of course, for every  three  substandard  Carcass  imitators, 
there have at  least  been  some  noteworthy  and  enjoyable  efforts 
-- a  fine  recent  example  being  Aborted's  latest  _Goremageddon_ 
record. Exhumed's latest platter for Relapse  Records  easily  stands 
shoulder to shoulder with the aforementioned album in  providing  the 
listener with an enjoyable reminder that _Necroticism: Descanting the 
Insalubrious_ was, and forever will be, one  of  the  most  important 
death metal records of all time. With Neil Kernon (evidently  on  his 
way to becoming the next Scott Burns of extreme music) at  the  helm, 
the Stateside quartet plough through eleven slabs of uncompromisingly 
brutal and relentless extremity with the dexterity  and  skill  you'd 
expect from a band more than a decade into their career. "The  Matter 
of Splatter" is absolutely scorching, and its Dying  Fetus-type  dual 
vocal attack raises the aggression levels to heights  attained  by  a 
very select few. "In the Name of Gore" is  made  conspicuous  by  its 
more contemporary feel and outstanding soloing, though at no point is 
it ever any less vicious than any preceding  numbers.  Unfortunately, 
bar these commendable numbers, one would be  hard-pressed  to  recall 
any other specific highlights or outstanding moments. As good as  the 
album is overall, it bludgeons the listener without leaving  much  in 
the way of a lasting or permanent impression.                         


Flagellator - _Channeling the Acheron_  (No Colours Records, 2003)
by: Matthias Noll  (5.5 out of 10)

Featuring the usual black and  white  artwork  with  gothic  letters, 
_Channeling the Acheron_  is  one  of  the  more  recent  No  Colours 
releases. While Flagellator do not separate themselves from the black 
metal pack via their artwork they do so with their music and  play  a 
vicious brand of not overly fast to mid-tempo '80s style thrash  with 
an underground attitude and gruff vocals. I can hear some Destruction 
among the riffing which usually is in the style of the  early  German 
scene. Only the raw approach and the very genuine underground feeling 
they manage to convey marginally sets them apart from the majority of 
retro acts. There are a couple of killer moments on  this  album  but 
generally the songwriting is on the weak side, the music sounds a bit 
too restrained instead of going for all-out violence and  destruction 
and the production is too dry for its own good. This can  be  fun  to 
listen to if you  are  in  the  mood  for  uncommercial,  unpolished, 
no- frills music. The impact  of  _Channelling  the  Archeron_  might 
radically improve with a higher dose of alcohol in  your  blood,  but 
sadly the overall value of  this  release  is  only  average.  I  bet 
Flagellator will probably go as much unnoticed in 2003  as  it  would 
have rightfully been ignored fifteen years ago.                       


HavocHate - _This Violent Earth_  (Root of All Evil, 2003)
by: Adrian Magers  (7.5 out of 10)

It is indeed a violent earth, and HavocHate seem  to  take  pride  in 
helping keep the world's music that way. New England seems to be  the 
epicenter to the American revitalization of thrash.  Early  attendees 
of any of the dates of the recently concluded Motorhead/Anthrax  tour 
were treated to a live set from this up  and  coming  act.  The  band 
takes on a sound that draws influence from the  likes  of  Testament, 
Overkill, Slayer, etc. and makes the  thrashy  bits  collide  head-on 
with groove that Pantera, Pro-Pain, and the like would surely approve 
of. Speaking of Testament, guitar-god James Murphy lends his hand  in 
producing (and guest guitar), and his stamp  of  approval  is  reason 
enough for metal enthusiasts to stand up and take  notice.  HavocHate 
also has a killer guitar tone, a knack for throwing sonic curveballs, 
well-executed vocals (which take on a  semi-traditional  speed  metal 
sound; not unlike Overkill, but more  mid-ranged  and  slightly  more 
aggressive) and a good amount of  individual  talents  to  help  them 
stand out in the northeast corner of the United States, and the  rest 
of the world.                                                         

Contact: http://www.havovhate.com


Houwitser - _Damage Assessment_  (Osmose Productions, 2003)
by: Xander Hoose  (7.5 out of 10)

Just like Inhume, Houwitser is  yet  another  Dutch  band  signed  to 
Osmose and releasing their new album just in time for  the  Christmas 
season (expected release date is November 2003).  Whereas  Inhume  is 
more  focused  on  grind,  Houwitser  can  definitely  be  classified 
as honest brutal  death.  The  most  obvious  sign  of  this  is  the 
guitar playing, which is very technical and skilled  --  not  strange 
if you consider guitarists  Michiel  and  Alex  have  had  plenty  of 
experience with  their  previous  band  Sinister.  Vocals  are  above 
average considering  the  competition;  the  grunts  are  all  pretty 
intelligible, which is a big plus to me. Unfortunately,  even  though 
_Damage Assessment_ is a much better album than its  predecessor,  it 
still seems to lack something elemental. Considering  it  is  a  very 
solid album from beginning to end, it just doesn't impress me as much 
as it should given the premises. Check it out for  yourselves  --  it 
surely won't cause you any damage.                                    

Contact: http://www.houwitser.com


Impaler - _Old School Ghouls_  (Root of All Evil, 2003)
by: Adrian Magers  (6 out of 10)

Two decades of shock rock punk / metal and Satan only knows how  many 
gallons of fake  blood,  and  Impaler  give  birth  to  their  newest 
release, squirming and covered in bodily fluids. The band has  a  lot 
of history, and witnessed their best  publicity  coming  from  Tipper 
Gore back in the PMRC days. Impaler's sound has a punk backbone,  but 
the vocals, guitar leads and other elements reveal  a  more  metallic 
sound. There's a raw quality, though the  new  Impaler  (the  version 
that lead vocalist Bill Lindsey compiled back in '96)  has  benefited 
from slightly better production values than the original lineup.  And 
besides, this band would sound  plain  wrong  with  a  slick,  glossy 
studio sound. Overall, Impaler kind of sounds like what  GWAR  should 
have early on. However, there's more to them than that. If  you  like 
death rock, early thrash crossover, or have a tendency to like  bands 
featuring those who resemble the undead.                              

Contact: http://www.impalershockrock.com


Inhume - _In for the Kill_  (Osmose Productions, 2003)
by: Xander Hoose  (8.5 out of 10)

Dutch death-grinders Inhume have found  a  new  home  at  Osmose  and 
celebrate it by treating us to their brand  new  album  _In  for  the 
Kill_, a sixteen song journey into the depths of torture,  mania  and 
mayhem. Those familiar with their  previous  albums  don't  need  any 
further introduction and only need to be assured that the  songs  are 
even  more  violent  and  the  production  has  turned  up  a  notch. 
Those not  familiar  with  the  band  should  feel  very  ashamed  of 
themselves, and then be on their way to the record store. Why?  Tight 
drumming, a  dense  bass-guitar  layer,  and  excellent  grunting  -- 
guttural, yet reaching highs and lows in frequency. Inhume  is  still 
top-notch entertainment for those who've become bored  with  Cannibal 
Corpse's umpteenth album yet refuse to sacrifice listening to quality 
material.                                                             

Contact: http://www.inhume.nl


Kilfast - _Tragedy Essential_  (Epoxy and Duct Tape, 2003)
by: Adrian Magers  (7 out of 10)

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls...  Dying  time  is  here."  So 
begins a sample that leads into Kilfast's opening  track  "Temptation 
of Fate". Their chosen moniker  is  definitely  indicative  to  their 
apparent disdain for subtlety. The band play a mix of death metal and 
heavy groove metalcore with lyrics ranging from  seething  hatred  of 
religion to seething  hatred  of  individuals.  Definitely  good  for 
banging the ol' head, and probably even  better  for  shoving  around 
like-minded others in a live setting. The music is  a  good  balance, 
taking the low palm- muted ways of bands of hardcore-inspired  music, 
the fury of old-school American death, and  the  tenacity  of  thrash 
metal, and forging the elements into something  violent,  nasty,  and 
somehow rather catchy. The highlight of this CD is probably "Helpless 
in Heaven", which follows a total musical curveball in the form of  a 
beautiful piano-based instrumental. The contrast is amazing, and  the 
band should be commended for such a feat. These two tracks alone  are 
worth the price of admission. If you're looking for a band that has a 
range touching both  Deicide  and  Diecast,  or  just  some  kick-ass 
groove-ridden heavy heavy metal, then Kilfast is for you.             

Contact: http://www.kilfast.com


M.O.D. - _The Rebel You Love to Hate_  (Nuclear Blast, 2003)
by: Xander Hoose  (4 out of 10)

More than six years after M.O.D.'s excellent  _Dictated  Aggression_, 
Billy Milano has teamed up with guitar player Joe  Affe  and  drummer 
Danny Burkhardt to record his new assault  _The  Rebel  You  Love  to 
Hate_. The first surprise comes from the tracklist: _TRYLtH_ features 
thirteen songs, but two of them are two unnecessary remixes and three 
of  them  are  "radio  edits"  which  are  no  different  from  their 
originals. A letdown, which leaves  only  eight  songs.  Those  eight 
songs are lyrically quite  tongue-in-cheek,  more  so  than  M.O.D.'s 
latests albums; "Wigga" against white  rappers,  "De  Men  of  Stein" 
against Rammstein, and then there's "Rage Against  the  Mac  Machine" 
and "Ass-Ghanistan". Unfortunately, Milano's sarcasm  seems  to  have 
declined to mere childish levels -- reading the  lyric  sheet  is  an 
almost embarassing experience. Which leaves the  music.  _TRYLtH_  is 
a  solid,  simple  and  unsurprising  thrash/hardcore  album,  making 
especially "Wigga" and "The Rebel You  Love  to  Hate"  an  enjoyable 
listen. However, the quality of the album  gets  progressively  worse 
with each song: "Get Ready" and "Ass-Ghanistan"  are  absolute  lows. 
_TRYLtH_, even though released seven years  later,  is  much  like  a 
leftovers session from _Dictated Aggression_. Don't spend your  money 
on this album unless you're into infantile lyrics, and mister Milano, 
I hope your  next  effort  will  prove  you  still  have  the  touch. 
Someone who's managed to write killer albums  as  _Rhythm  of  Fear_, 
_Devolution_ and _Dictated Aggression_ must be able to do better than 
this.                                                                 

Contact: http://www.nuclearblast.de


Melechesh - _Sphynx_  (Osmose, 2003)
by: Matthias Noll  (8.5 out of 10)

Finally, here is another record that incorporates a massive  dose  of 
exotic influences as well as a  solid  a  foundation  within  harsher 
styles, but which ultimately and refreshingly is the  kind  of  METAL 
that defies all genre assignations and simply kicks some  major  ass. 
Despite the Middle Eastern flair  and  imagery,  this  is  not  about 
gimmicks and short-lived selling points. Underneath its unique  style 
based on oriental scales,  melodies  and  rhythm  patterns,  _Sphynx_ 
carries the torch for the power and the glory of metallic riffing and 
excellent songwriting skills. These Israelites have certainly come  a 
long way since their very black metallish debut _As Jerusalem Burns_: 
on _Sphynx_, most traces of black metal have finally disappeared  and 
the raspy vocals provide almost  the  only  evidence  of  the  band's 
stylistic roots. With the exception  of  the  blistering  "Annunaki's 
Golden Thrones", Melechesh have said farewell to breakneck  speed  -- 
and in their case it  turns  out  to  be  a  well  chosen  change  of 
priorities, because the band's strength and heaviness  lies  so  much 
more in their ability to create wicked mid-tempo  grooves  and  well- 
crafted breaks than in all-out blasting Marduk-style. Melechesh  have 
the skill to write riffs and  song  structures  that  remain  complex 
without ever becoming technical enough to make you stop  headbanging, 
and this time their material also carries an arcane,  early  Mercyful 
Fate quality and feel to it.                                          

Both guitarists  have  tracked  down  greatly  improved  guitar  work 
compared  to  past  efforts,  with  some  cool   string-bending   and 
unexpected variations adding more tension and  variety  to  otherwise 
linear and deliberately repetitive passages. Maybe Andy  LaRoque  (in 
whose Los Angered studio _Sphynx_ was  recorded)  has  shown  Ashmedi 
and Moloch a musical trick  or  two.  Drummer  Proscriptor  does  not 
disappoint either, and adds an excellent performance  different  from 
the hyper-active style displayed on Absu's  _Tara_.  His  playing  is 
almost restrained here in comparison, but together with  bass  player 
Al'Hazred he forms a rock-solid rhythm section -- one where the whole 
team's joint effort is in the spotlight, rather  than  just  his  own 
amazing technical proficiency. LaRoque's production is professionally 
clear, loud and heavy, but while it's certainly well done,  it  still 
sounds a tiny little bit too compressed in places.                    

I have the strong feeling that  even  though  this  is  an  excellent 
record, the  highlight  of  Melechesh's  career  is  still  to  come; 
therefore, my rating remains  a  bit  on  the  conservative  side  of 
things. For now this is certainly one of the very best metal  records 
we'll get to hear in 2003, and the absolutely stunning artwork on the 
digipak release is also more than noteworthy. The fact that  _Sphynx_ 
still manages to surprise  me  after  many  listening  sessions  only 
enhances the impression that this album has massive staying power.    


Misery Index - _Retaliate_  (Nuclear Blast, 2003)
by: Jackie Smit  (10 out of 10)

However you care to look at it, 2003 has been a dream year for  death 
metal. Not only have we, the rabid fans, been treated  to  two  near- 
classics in the form of Vital Remains' ferocious _Dechristianize_ and 
Septic Flesh's esoteric overture _Sumerian  Daemons_,  but  with  new 
releases by Morbid Angel, Zyklon, Deicide and Six Feet Under  waiting 
in the wings, it would appear that the party  has  just  begun.  What 
irony then that amidst all this name-checking  and  nostalgia-induced 
expectation, the (possibly) most outstanding death  metal  record  of 
2003 would turn out  to  be  the  one  that  has  been  treated  with 
relatively minimal pre-release hoopla by both the media and  industry 
alike. Of course, if you haven't guessed  it  by  now,  the  band  in 
question is Misery  Index  and  the  album,  nay  masterpiece,  their 
Nuclear Blast debut _Retaliate_.                                      

For those out of the loop, Misery Index  is  the  conception  of  one 
Jason Netherton, better known until 2001 as the bassist and one  half 
of the Dying Fetus creative wrecking ball. Starting off as  a  studio 
project, their self-released _Overthrow_ effort was nothing short  of 
spectacular: a rapturously received, finely  calculated  death/thrash 
blast that left many a satisfied, not to mention deafened, ear in its 
wake.  However,  as  great  as  it  was,  it  still  hinted  all  too 
often at Netherton's alma mater  --  understandable  considering  the 
contributions of fellow ex-Fetus  friends  Mike  Harrison  and  Kevin 
Talley.                                                               

_Retaliate_ sees Netherton join forces with ex-Severed  Head  drummer 
Matt Bayles and former Dying Fetus, M.O.D. and Fear of God  guitarist 
Sparky Voyles, and the result is a giant leap forward -- not only  in 
terms of songwriting, but  also  in  overall  impact  and  brutality. 
Opting to further eschew the shadow of  his  past  efforts,  the  new 
Misery Index material draws from a  wide  base  of  grind,  hardcore, 
death metal and a fair amount of punk. Prevalent as well is a  keener 
sense  of  melody  and  dynamics  than  could  reasonably  have  been 
expected: the intricate structures are sped up or  slowed  down  only 
when their effects are certain to be embellished, and  never,  as  is 
the case with several current extreme acts,  will  a  blast  beat  of 
groove pattern be utilised extraneously.                              

That said though, the level of aggression on _Retaliate_  is  nothing 
if not intimidating.  When  Netherton  snarls  his  way  through  the 
intelligent and well thought out diatribes of "Demand the Impossible" 
and "Angst Isst Die  Seele",  you  just  know  that  he  means  every 
vitriol- drenched word. The relatively young Bayles in  the  meantime 
excels in his role as the band's sticksman, delivering a  performance 
that is easily worthy of a Pete Sandoval  or  a  Gene  Hoglan.  Quite 
frankly, there is not a single moment of weakness to be found on this 
record. It is simply a breathtaking masterclass in extreme music.     

While I would be the first one to frown  at  the  many  tiresome  and 
unfounded comparisons  to  the  mighty  _Reign  in  Blood_  that  are 
haphazardly thrown around these days, _Retaliate_ provides  a  thirty 
minute explosion of awe-inspiring viciousness that at the very  least 
equals the impact of the much revered Slayer classic. This is truly a 
landmark album  that  will  conceivably  be  discussed,  studied  and 
inevitably imitated for years to come. The gauntlet, my friends,  has 
well and truly been thrown down.                                      

[Pedro Azevedo: "In _Retaliate_, Misery Index have created one of the 
 most impressive  death  metal  records  of  recent  years.  Succinct 
 and coated with a potent  production,  this  half-hour  outburst  of 
 aggression  rarely  lets  down.  At  its  best,  during  outstanding 
 tracks such as "Retaliate",  "Angst  Isst  Die  Seele"  and  "Demand 
 the Impossible", _Retaliate_'s faster, vaguely  melodic  riffs  flow 
 amazingly well. While those riffs score  higher  with  me  than  the 
 slightly slower, chunky ones, the album remains highly enjoyable and 
 technically impressive throughout. _Retaliate_ should be a feast  of 
 truly unusual proportions for virtually any death metal fan."]       

Contact: http://www.misery-index.com


Naiad - _Hardcore Emotion_  (Good Life Recordings, 2003)
by: Xander Hoose  (9 out of 10)

It's stunning to realize we're dealing with  a  Japanese  band  here. 
Kyoto's Naiad makes a very American-ized form of hardcore that easily 
outranks most of its competitors  in  originality,  musicianship  and 
production. Compared mostly to legendary Shai Hulud, the  five  songs 
on this MCD are a prime example of how high the standard is  nowadays 
for bands in this genre. Having  to  mix  a  straightforward  way  of 
expressing your message with effective  style  breaks  in-between  as 
well as during the songs themselves is a hard task; one in which many 
bands fail miserably. Naiad proves to have the immaculate  timing  to 
give it a natural flow, alternating  harsh  aggression  with  melodic 
instrumental relief. I can't wait to see  a  full-length  release  of 
these guys; _Hardcore Emotion_ is an  MCD  you  shouldn't  skip  this 
year.                                                                 

Contact: http://naiad01.tripod.co.jp


NDE - _End of Trust_  (Crash Music, 2003)
by: Jackie Smit  (6 out of 10)

In light of the  massive  acclaim  that  was  showered  on  the  last 
Killswitch  Engage  effort,  it  shouldn't  surprise   the   seasoned 
metalhead  to  see  a  veritable  plethora  of   post-hardcore/thrash 
releases bombard the shelves of their local  record  store.  NDE  are 
perhaps among the better  bands  to  adopt  this  rather  fashionable 
sound as their own. All the ingredients  are  present  in  guises  of 
varying adequacy on _End  of  Trust_:  the  dense,  pummeling  attack 
of opening  track  "This  World",  the  surgically  precise  drumming 
of  "Everybody  Dies",  the  metalcore  beat  down  of  "Clonedhead". 
Yet, as satisfying  and  impressive  as  these  tracks  are,  overall 
one can't escape the creeping  feeling  of  boredom  that  rears  its 
unrepentant head with increasing regularity as  you  venture  further 
into proceedings. Perhaps it's due to the distinct lack of  diversity 
with which NDE  approach  the  songwriting  process,  or  possibly  a 
result of their tendency to  let  every  song  follow  the  formulaic 
mid-tempo-to-slow-chug routine, but in a world where it  is  becoming 
increasingly difficult for bands to stand out, NDE certainly have  no 
unique defining qualities that say "look at us". Still, there are far 
worse ways to kill 40 minutes' silence.                               


Nightfall - _I Am Jesus_  (Black Lotus, 2003)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (6 out of 10)

Back in 1995 I  discovered  Nightfall's  _Athenian  Echoes_,  at  the 
time a reasonably innovative blackened  metal  album  with  symphonic 
leanings. Not having followed the band's outings closely ever  since, 
I was curious to find out what these Greeks were up to after  such  a 
long gap. These days Nightfall play what some might call  dark  metal 
-- in the sense that the music remains mostly melodic, chorus  based, 
mid- paced and atmospheric. The album sometimes fleetingly evokes the 
spirit of such diverse bands as Samael, Tiamat, Rotting  Christ  and, 
of course, Nightfall as they all were back in the mid-nineties. _I Am 
Jesus_  simultaneously  tries  to  sound  up  to  date,  though;  the 
Tico-Tico production goes a  long  way  to  achieving  this,  as  the 
Finnish studio provides Nightfall with a clear and strong  --  albeit 
generic -- sound that suits their style very well.  Considering  that 
they managed to impress me somewhat back in 1995 they are now a  band 
with a ten year career. I expected Nightfall to be  able  to  provide 
at least some decent  metallic  entertainment  anno  2003  --  unless 
something had gone seriously wrong along the way. Ultimately however, 
_I Am Jesus_ is neither  here  nor  there;  it's  not  some  pathetic 
display of decadence from a band that once showed promise,  but  it's 
not the grand realization of some  vast  potential  they  might  have 
either. The doomier tracks tend to work better, but the  more  upbeat 
ones are a very mixed bag. _I Am Jesus_ remains a  competent,  albeit 
rather tame and inoffensive album that brings back some  memories  of 
the good old days but never threatens to overshadow them with its own 
quality.                                                              

Contact: http://www.nightfallstar.com


Primal Dawn - _The Euthanasia Programme_  (Independent, 2003)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (4 out of 10)

This apparently self-released MCD from Ireland's Primal Dawn shows  a 
band still struggling to convey their musical intents in a  way  that 
can impress the listener.  The  lengthy  song  structures  need  some 
trimming, as the riffs are generally not strong  enough  to  carry  a 
track for so long (seven to eight minutes each). This is not  to  say 
the music is bad or the riffs wholly uninspired; Primal Dawn do  come 
up with some decent material throughout the disc, only  it  is  never 
remarkable enough to justify the ambitious track length.  Growls  and 
screams are used as the music shifts from death to  blackened  metal, 
the sound remaining relatively harsh (though the mediocre  production 
may have something to do with that). The way the lyrics  are  phrased 
also needs some work, and overall the band does not come across as  a 
sufficiently tight unit  yet.  _The  Euthanasia  Programme_  contains 
enough decent ideas (mostly on "The Cull") to avoid Primal Dawn being 
discarded just yet, but it is just another  passable  demo-like  disc 
thrown amidst countless others while they hone their skills.          

Contact: http://www.primaldawn.net


Pro-Pain - _Run for Cover_  (Spitfire / Eagle Rock, 2003)
by: Jackie Smit  (5 out of 10)

With the veritable  shitload  of  unnecessary  and  disposable  cover 
albums currently littering record store shelves across the world, the 
thinking behind metallic hardcore  veterans  Pro-Pain's  decision  to 
throw their take on various classic bands into the fray is definitely 
something of a head-scratcher. More tangible even, the urge to  burst 
out laughing at the accompanying press kit  flyer  stating  that  the 
record has a "penchant  for  the  unpredictable".  What,  Slayer  and 
Sepultura never unknowingly loaned these guys a riff or three in  the 
past? And  Black  Flag  and  Agnostic  Front  --  surely  they  never 
had much  of  an  influence  on  the  Pro-Pain  sound?  _Leaders  Not 
Followers_ this most  definitely  is  not  then.  At  the  same  time 
though, there's no denying the infectious  fist-in-the-air  stomp  of 
"Nothing" -- originally a tune by Negative Approach -- or the  classy 
interpretation of the Celtic Frost classic "Circle of  the  Tyrants", 
which goes  some  way  toward  making  up  for  the  near-blasphemous 
butchery of "South of Heaven". Ultimately, the purpose of this record 
more than anything is to remind the listener of just  how  great  the 
originals are, and if it can motivate a few people to look out for  a 
Discharge or Operation Ivy CD the next  time  they  hit  their  local 
record store, then I suppose that Pro-Pain deserve at  least  half  a 
thumbs-up.                                                            


Sabbat - _Svart Eld_  (Monster Nation Records, 2003)
by: James Montague  (6 out of 10)

Those wacky chaps from Japan's Sabbat are not averse to a gimmick  or 
two -- and _Svart Eld_ may be their dorkiest stunt ever, as they take 
one of their early  songs,  "Black  Fire"  (1984),  and  sing  it  in 
Swedish. Personally I think this  is  a  rubbish  idea,  as  part  of 
Sabbat's appeal is Gezol's, um, unique take on the English  language. 
I expect I am in no small majority when I say I wouldn't know  poetic 
Swedish from hilariously mispronounced Japanese-Swedish, and thus the 
whole concept is lost on me.                                          

Anyway,  what  you  get  is  a  gritty  blackened  thrash  song,  not 
dissimilar to what Slayer was doing around  the  same  time.  Gezol's 
vocals (whose moods must be dictated  by  Swedish  weather  patterns, 
because you never know what  you're  going  to  get)  are  distinctly 
gruffer and lower in pitch than usual. They're not really up  to  his 
usual standard, and I do miss those deranged kamikaze yelps. However, 
the riffs are classic thrash at its finest, albeit  with  a  slightly 
flat production.                                                      

On the B-side, the boys remind us once again that you can't have  too 
many Bathory tributes, as they pay homage to Sweden's finest son with 
yet another rendition of "Sacrifice". It's not a bad  one,  but  does 
anyone still care? The sound quality is again  quite  poor,  although 
unlike the original it at least has an audible bassline.              

Although _Svart Eld_ is a fairly enjoyable little  taster,  it's  far 
from the band's best work, and is completely inessential for all  but 
the most rabid of vinyl junkies.                                      

Contact: Monster Nation Records, c/o Thomas Hedlund,
         Fjärdngsstigen 20.s 302 51 Halmstad, Sweden


Sabbat / Gorgon - _Rain of Terror_ / _A Fool in Love_
(View Beyond Records, 2003)
by: James Montague  (4.5 out of 10 (8.5 for Sabbat, 0.5 for Gorgon))

Hard and fast riffs, superbly constructed guitar leads, great Engrish 
(sic) lyrics spat out in a growl and a warped, throaty singing voice, 
and terrific arrangement. Sabbat definitely came up  trumps  on  this 
EP, showing that there is still plenty of  quality  to  be  found  in 
their neverending barrage of  seven-inch  vinyl  releases.  _Rain  of 
Terror_ is a perfect example of what the band dubs  "blacking  metal" 
-- classic '80s thrash sounds  with  just  a  touch  of  black  metal 
modernism to keep it relevant to today's metal scene. It's not  quite 
as old-school as their _Satanasword_ LP, probably more comparable  to 
their early '90s material like _Envenom_.                             

Sadly, the rewards for those Sabbat collectors  who  seek  out  their 
little gem are somewhat undone by the blokes on the B-side. I hate to 
rubbish Gorgon because they have a wonderful, DIY attitude that  does 
them proud, but boy are they ever terrible! Their music is very tame, 
sappy NWOBHM that is far too nice for the metal scene, but the vocals 
are what really takes this into the stratosphere  of  suckiness.  I'm 
not sure how to define these --  off-key  warbling,  badly  processed 
Britpop mumbling or dreadful Japanese karaoke would  all  be  fitting 
descriptions -- but the important thing is that they are intolerable. 
Only "A Fool in  Love"  with  NWOBHM  could  fail  to  recognise  the 
complete lack of musical merit in this song.                          

Sabbat fans should still hunt this EP down, but don't get your  hopes 
up for the Gorgon lads.                                               

Contact: vbeyond@atlas.cz


Setherial - _From the Ancient Ruins_  (Napalm Records, 2003)
by: Quentin Kalis  (7 out of 10)

Technically, this is not a new Setherial album; it is comprised of  a 
couple of songs from the _Hell Eternal_ recording session plus  their 
demo _A Hail to the Faceless Angels_. These reject  songs  from  _HE_ 
may have been something special when _HE_ was released back  in  1998 
-- but that is unlikely; even then there  were  far  too  many  bands 
peddling substandard and derivative black metal with the rough  edges 
smoothed out for this to attract anything more then the most  cursory 
interest.  The  demo  tracks  are  a  better  prospect,  dating  from 
the mid-nineties, and featuring  the  raw  guitars  and  misanthropic 
atmosphere characteristic of that era.  Even  so,  they  remain  demo 
tracks and nothing more than a promise of greater things to come.     


Single Bullet Theory - _Route 666_  (Crash Music, 2003)
by: Jackie Smit  (6.5 out of 10)

Continuing the seemingly irrefragable revival of post-hardcore/thrash 
that looks set to saturate the metallic marketplace in coming months, 
Single Bullet Theory follow in the footsteps  of  labelmates  NDE  in 
releasing a mildly enjoyable, though often  severely  flawed  record. 
Whereas Single Bullet Theory can out-riff NDE with their eyes closed, 
and _Route 666_'s production far outweighs that of the latter's  last 
release, the trouble comes into paradise when Matt  DiFabio  switches 
from his menacing roar to the sort of  cringe-inducing  power  metal- 
tinged vocals that quite frankly would not sound out of  place  in  a 
spoof-band. Like a turd on the Mona Lisa, these falsetto  meanderings 
serve to cripple the intensity of every track they appear  in  (which 
constitutes about 95% of the record's material) and makes  the  often 
very juvenile lyrics sound even more laughably ridiculous  --  "Spit" 
being the most notable example.  However,  when  a  band  sports  the 
talents of ex-Pissing Razors and Seven  Witches  collaborators,  it's 
fair to assume that a certain level of excellence is evident at least 
some of the time. The nastiness of  "Imperfect  Fit"  and  old-school 
groove of "Revamp/Rebuild" are  just  some  of  the  record's  better 
moments. If aggressive hardcore/trash is what you're  after  however, 
you'd be advised to take a look at Lamb  of  God's  _As  the  Palaces 
Burn_ long before you give Single Bullet Theory anything more than  a 
passing thought.                                                      


Superjoint Ritual - _A Lethal Dose of American Hatred_
by: Jackie Smit  (6.5 out of 10)  (Sanctuary, 2003)

In touting Superjoint Ritual -- if rumour is to be believed, his sole 
current musical priority --  as  "the  most  dangerous  band  on  the 
planet", Phil Anselmo is obviously setting his sights on ascending to 
some fairly dizzying and intimidating heights. After all, this  is  a 
man who provided the pitbull-on-speed snarl to possibly  two  of  the 
greatest straight-ahead metal albums of all  time  in  the  shape  of 
Pantera's _Far Beyond Driven_ and _Vulgar Display of Power_  records. 
It is perhaps rather odd then, to hear Superjoint  Ritual  veer  even 
further off the traditional metallic path  on  their  second  effort; 
opting instead to become musical bedfellows with the likes of Amen et 
al. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing, mind you -- when Phil & 
Co. manage to make this approach work, it yields some very impressive 
and enjoyable, if not  particularly  threatening,  results.  The  big 
problem is that for every "Dress Like a Target" or "Waiting  for  the 
Turning Point" there's a disjointed mess like "Symbol of  Nevermore". 
So, while Superjoint Ritual are obviously capable of hardcore punking 
it with the best of them, they  never  seem  to  reach  a  satisfying 
level of consistency in  this  respect,  nor  do  their  attempts  at 
experimentation achieve much more than lowering the intensity  levels 
which the band are seemingly striving so diligently to maintain.  Add 
to this that Phil's vocals at times sound  noticeably  strained,  and 
for lack of a better term, ageing, and _A  Lethal  Dose  of  American 
Hatred_ unfortunately never quite manages to live up to its  tagline. 
With Pantera now apparently confined to the pages of history, let  us 
hope that Mr. Anselmo has the good  sense  to  keep  Pepper  Keenan's 
telephone number handy.                                               


Terror Organ - _The Stalag Symphony_
by: Xander Hoose  (8 out of 10)  (Dragon Flight Recordings, 2003)

If _The Stalag Symphony_ is being marketed as "a brand new  style  of 
music", don't let it fool you! I recall  the  glorious  days  when  I 
annoyed roommates and neighbors with MZ.412's sonic assault, only  to 
find my interest in the black-industrial-ambient style of music  fade 
away over the years. Terror Organ, consisting of ex-Angelcorpse Peter 
Helmkamp, has rekindled my lust for this music  a  bit.  _The  Stalag 
Symphony_ comes close to actually being described as 'music'  because 
of  the  bass-riffs  interwoven  with  the  electronics,  but  it  is 
unconventional enough to create a unique  atmosphere.  Using  a  rich 
texture of spoken samples  from  various  sources,  as  in  "Mindlock 
(Septic Utopia)" and "Nihil Transmission",  or  using  actual  vocals 
("Strength Is Beauty") only make the individual  songs  stronger  and 
create  a  much-needed  diversity,  keeping  the  album  as  a  whole 
interesting. While I doubt this  album  will  find  its  way  to  the 
masses, fans of the harsher Cold Meat Industries  bands  should  make 
sure to give this one a spin.                                         

Contact: http://www.dragonflightrec.org


Thirtyone Dies - _Filthy Taste_  (Independent, 2003)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (3.5 out of 10)

This disc spent longer than usual languishing in my review pile,  and 
here's why: Thirtyone Dies have created  a  record  that  is  neither 
terribly bad nor in any way terribly exciting. _Filthy Taste_ is  one 
of those albums that can neither  be  totally  shred  to  pieces  nor 
reviewed with much enthusiasm; it is competently played,  but  deeply 
uninspired -- especially if you take into account the competition  in 
today's extreme  metal  market.  These  Germans  accurately  describe 
their music as  death/thrash  with  a  hardcore  influence,  and  the 
vocals alternate between a death metal growl and  a  screaming  mode, 
accordingly. Unfortunately, while  the  hardcore  influence  is  just 
annoying, none of this really  gels  into  any  worthwhile  riffs  or 
memorable hooks, and the whole thing would fail to impress me even as 
a demo given its lack of flair and inspiration.                       

Contact: http://www.31dies.de


Total Devastation - _Roadmap of Pain_  (Firebox, 2003)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (8 out of 10)

Quote from the promo sheet: "Intense,  aggressive  and  modern  death 
metal from Finland". True, but somewhat  misleading  (much  like  the 
band name),  for  Total  Devastation  possess  a  few  distinguishing 
attributes that mean they  will  appeal  less  to  pure  death  metal 
fanatics and  more  to  some  other  types.  More  specifically,  the 
choruses and rhythms remain far from your typical brutal death  metal 
most of the time, and electronic  elements  are  often  used  in  the 
songs.  The  band  (which  apparently  features  five  brothers  from 
two families among  its  seven  members)  succeeds  at  boosting  the 
listenability of _Roadmap of Pain_ through variety. For  example,  "I 
Am God" and  "Left  Hand  of  the  Devil"  are  catchy  and  full  of 
electronic elements, "Struggling From Chokehold" and  "Fleshing"  are 
much faster, and "Fragments" very Blood Red Throne-ish (give or  take 
a technoid interlude). Nevertheless,  the  real  highlights  are  the 
doomy, atmospheric, almost  Dolorian-like  "Production  Peak"  midway 
through the disc, and the catchy "Prepare to Die", which  features  a 
violin. All in all, the album remains enjoyable not only because  the 
band can come up with plenty of good hooks,  but  also  because  they 
sound somewhat different from the norm, and  above  all  keep  things 
varied throughout without ending up with a disjointed album. _Roadmap 
of Pain_ is a very good debut from Total  Devastation,  the  kind  of 
disc that doesn't impress much at first but tends  to  win  you  over 
after a few spins.                                                    

Contact: http://www.totaldevastation.org


Type O Negative - _Life Is Killing Me_  (Roadrunner, 2003)
by: Quentin Kalis  (8 out of 10)

After the disappointment that was _World Coming Down_  and  a  money- 
grabbing "greatest hits" compilation, it seemed that Type O  Negative 
were a band that had reached and surpassed its  peak.  But  fears  of 
their impending demise were premature; _LIKM_ proves that  they  show 
no signs of descending into creative paralysis anytime soon. Any  fan 
will agree that their unique brand of self-deprecating humour  is  an 
integral part of  the  Type  O  experience,  and  _LIKM_  practically 
overflows with their black humour (just listen to "I Like Goils")  -- 
a welcome antidote to the overblown grandiosity  and  posturing  that 
characterizes way too many bands across the metal spectrum.  Nor  are 
the mournful dirges missing -- Steele still  sounds  as  suicidal  as 
ever. The trademark downtuned, fuzzy guitars are more aggressive than 
on their last two albums; however the  aggression  is  melded  better 
into the songs and does not feel like the pastiche  of  hardcore  and 
goth that defined _Bloody Kisses_. A sitar provides an  Eastern  feel 
on several songs and is another nod to one of the band's  influences: 
The Beatles. "Angry Inch" is the obligatory cover -- if you have seen 
"Hedwig and the Angry Inch" you will know what this  song  is  about! 
Essentially, this is an album that has taken the best aspects of past 
Type O Negative releases and builds upon  them  to  create  Type  O's 
finest moment since _October Rust_.                                   


Ulfsdalir - _Grimnir_  (Christhunt Productions, 2003)
by: Matthias Noll  (8 out of 10)

With Ulfsdalir another German one-man black metal project  rears  its 
misanthropic head. Featuring four  tracks  and  an  intro,  _Grimnir_ 
could be considered an EP if it wasn't for its  length  of  about  33 
minutes. My  overall  rating,  while  being  good,  still  is  a  bit 
misleading, because half of the material on Grimnir is excellent  and 
easily among  the  very  best  black  metal  I've  heard  this  year, 
while the other half is decent but  fails  to  impress  me  as  much. 
The two tracks  which  fall  into  the  latter  category  are  mainly 
characterized by a very straightforward, monotonous and only slightly 
melodic approach  which  is  convincingly  grim  and  aggressive  but 
fails to reach the same  level  of  excellence  as  the  even  better 
material on _Grimnir_. The two remaining long tracks,  "Grimnir"  and 
"Inwaldis Soehne", feature more breaks and tempo  changes  and  serve 
to summon a hair-raising,  dirge-  like  atmosphere  of  sadness  and 
bitterness which roughly makes a band like  Clandestine  Blaze  minus 
the Darkthrone influence or the rather epic _Black Katharsis_  EP  by 
Satanic Warmaster come to mind.  Excellent  melodies,  riffs  and  -- 
unsurprisingly -- a very raw production which balances  grimness  and 
power quite nicely makes this record one  of  the  biggest  and  most 
positive underground black metal surprises in 2003 so far. Limited to 
666 copies, so you better act quick!                                  

Contact: http://www.christhuntproductions.de


Various - _Barbaric Onslaught (Australian Metal Attack)_
by: James Montague  (8 out of 10)  (Decius Productions, 2003)

Given the absence of scene legends such as Deströyer 666,  Gospel  of 
the Horns and Nazxul, Decius Productions' LP-only presentation  isn't 
exactly what I'd call the perfect introduction to Australian  extreme 
metal. However, for those already familiar with the big  names,  this 
compilation does feature some  of  the  up-and-coming  bands  in  the 
country and would be ideal for those who want  to  dig  deeper.  Most 
importantly, the material is of a consistently high quality. Here's a 
brief look at each band:                                              

= Destruktor - "Unholy Victory Massacre"
Probably the  ideal  choice  for  an  opener,  Destruktor  absolutely 
typifies the Australian "war metal" style. Equal parts  black,  death 
and thrash metal, this relentless, militaristic onslaught  is  enough 
to beat even  the  most  determined  listener  into  the  ground.  An 
enjoyable band, in limited doses. (7/10)                              

= Martire - "Puritans"
This band had impressed me with their _Lucifer_ 7" EP, and they crank 
out another devastating piece of suffocating death metal. The song is 
fast, complicated and mayhemic  --  recommended  to  those  who  find 
Morbid Angel too clinical. (8/10)                                     

= Portal - "Tempus Fugit"
This song has a more  muffled  sound  than  the  surrounding  tracks, 
causing it to slip by unnoticed when  I  play  the  record.  However, 
there is enough here to indicate  that  their  upcoming  _Seepia_  LP 
(also on Decius)  will  be  worth  the  wait  --  especially  with  a 
consistent production that the ears can adapt to over the  course  of 
an album. These West Australians play blasting death  metal  passages 
that are bound together by some atonal guitar leads,  creating  quite 
the menacing atmosphere. (7/10)                                       

= Atomizer - "When I Die, I Wanna Die Violently"
The black-rockin' sons of bitches from Melbourne provide a change  of 
pace after the frenetic opening. Starting off with a very  laid  back 
riff and spoken vocals, the intensity gradually builds  up  as  Jason 
applies his unique rasp to the casually  suicidal  lyrics.  A  superb 
song by a unique band. (9/10)                                         

= Urgrund - "On Stones Marked Black"
The Queensland black/thrash trio recently put out their  first  full- 
length album, and the track contained  here  indicates  that  they're 
going for a less caustic approach nowadays. The riffs are quite rock- 
oriented, and the rolling bass drums contribute to the  catchy  feel. 
In fact, this is not far different from what Atomizer has  to  offer. 
If you mourn Carpathian  Forest's  recent  movement  towards  typical 
symphonic blandness, this band may satisfy your black 'n' roll needs. 
(8/10)                                                                

= Carbon - "Battle at San Gerbir"
While the other bands on this compilation do a lot of  crossing  over 
between the extreme  metal  subgenres,  Carbon  presents  a  slab  of 
pure black metal. Noisy  guitars,  distant  screams  and  primitivity 
abound. While far from groundbreaking, this song does have  a  strong 
atmosphere and Carbon will be welcomed by those  who  yearn  for  the 
early days of Darkthrone. (7/10)                                      

= Grenade - "Hellsong"
The title says it all, really -- this black/thrash is direct  and  to 
the point. Low on complexity, high on  catchiness  and  spirit,  this 
can't help but get heads bobbing and feet stamping. Play it loud, and 
enjoy! (8/10)                                                         

= Oni - "Incantation Superstition"
Brutal death/grind metal to the core --  they  even  kept  alive  the 
habit of using as many words ending in -tion as they could.  All  the 
prerequisites are there: strong drumming,  loads  of  technical  riff 
changes and primate grunts with the odd porcine shriek. It's all good 
fun, but a whole album in this style would get tiresome. (6/10)       

= Stargazer - "Magikkan"
Now this is more my kind of death metal. Stargazer  have  a  somewhat 
exotic, mid-eastern feel to their music (though not conveyed  through 
sampling like Nile and their copycat brigade). The  sound  is  a  bit 
looser  and  more  open-ended  than  that  of  their  contemporaries, 
allowing the listener to totally immerse themselves  in  the  bizarre 
melodies and punishing beat. Another fine recording by  a  criminally 
underrated band. (9/10)                                               

= Anarazel - "The Red Rite"
I hated the _Devil Hymns_ EP from these guys, so I  was  expecting  a 
throwaway track.  However,  this  Melbourne-based  black  metal  band 
really seems to have gotten their act together. The noisy  riffs  are 
imperious, and the drumming is deadly. Finally, Anarazel  look  ready 
to produce albums of note. (7/10)                                     

= Misery's Omen - "To Worship Stone Gods"
If you've read my review of the 7" EP whence this  track  originated, 
you'll know how much I love this band.  Playing  bizarre,  convoluted 
and creepy progressive black metal, somewhat comparable  to  Mortuary 
Drape or Bethlehem, this  South  Australian  trio  demands  worldwide 
attention. (9/10)                                                     

As you can see, this compilation has the rare distinction  of  having 
no weak links -- certainly the first V/A album in my collection to be 
worthy of such a boast. Eleven bands, eleven  songs,  all  worthy  of 
attention, pressed onto a thick,  heavy  piece  of  black  vinyl  and 
lovingly presented in a sleeve adorned with wicked, violent  artwork. 
Compilations really don't get any better than this one, so  check  it 
out.                                                                  

Contact: http://www.deciusproductions.com


Warblade - _A Crisis in the Grey Space_  (Oak Knoll, 2003)
by: Adrian Magers  (8.5 out of 10)

Warblade fucking rules. Obviously there's more to be said about  this 
absolutely stellar melodic death metal act, and personally I could go 
blue in the face praising them and the raging slab of music  featured 
on their first full-length release _A Crisis in the Grey Space_.  But 
let's face it: that's the bottom line. Roughly they sound similar  to 
a combination of Shadows Fall and At the Gates, but there are  a  lot 
of other influences mixed in there as well, and it'd be unfair to try 
to pigeonhole the band by comparing them to a meeting between any two 
bands. In their bio Warblade list  Iron  Maiden,  Dark  Tranquillity, 
Vesperian Sorrow, Old Man's Child,  Dimmu  Borgir,  and  Children  of 
Bodom as  influences.  If  this  sounds  even  remotely  interesting, 
then do yourself the service of  checking  this  band  out.  Warblade 
unquestionably have the potential to take a seat as  top  players  in 
the U.S. metal scene and I'm ecstatic that I received  the  honor  of 
hearing these guys on their last demo (_Release the Angel of Death_). 
So go check them out now, so you can say you were there from the very 
beginning. You can thank me later.                                    

Contact: http://warblade.oak-knoll.com

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Scoring: 5 out of 5 -- A flawless demo
         4 out of 5 -- Great piece of work
         3 out of 5 -- Good effort
         2 out of 5 -- A major overhaul is in order
         1 out of 5 -- A career change is advisable


Cradle to Grave - _Lifespan Sessions 2003_
by: Pedro Azevedo  (1.5 out of 5)

I am not about to start demanding  professional  sound  quality  from 
demo recordings, but Cradle to Grave's demo sounds like  a  bunch  of 
very low quality MP3s thrown onto a CD-R. Add to this  some  mediocre 
musicianship, and the result comes across as a  band  jamming  rather 
than recording a demo -- and much as that may have been  the  purpose 
of this recording, a good demo this  does  not  make.  The  music  is 
simultaneously aggressive and rocking, with some angry vocals on top. 
Through the sloppy sound the music seems loose, but not entirely void 
of spirit. If the likes of Pantera happen to be your cup of  whiskey, 
you may want to keep an eye out for Cradle to Grave, in case  one  of 
these days they put out a stronger effort; otherwise, don't bother.   

Contact: http://www.cradletograve.ca


Deforge - _Freedom Release_
by: Jackie Smit  (3.5 out of 5)

Deforge hail from Italy and play fairly  straightforward,  old-school 
death metal with a strong throwback to late eighties / early nineties 
releases -- particularly those by  the  likes  of  Death,  Malevolent 
Creation and to a lesser extent,  Swedish  acts  like  Dismember.  If 
anything has to be  said  of  these  guys,  it  would  be  that  they 
certainly display a standard of musicianship far surpassing  most  of 
the demos that usually land in up at Chronicles of Chaos HQ.  However 
-- and I would hate for this to become a recurring  criticism  in  my 
demo reviews -- for all  their  musical  talents,  Gaetano  Ettorre's 
vocals aren't so much deplorable, as that they  don't  even  remotely 
suit the band's style.  A  high-pitched,  quasi-black  metal  shriek, 
utterly devoid of any  power  or  impact  that  ends  up  taking  the 
proverbial piss and vinegar out of tracks like "Vicious  Circle"  and 
"Mindless State", and which leads one to believe that were Deforge to 
consider recruiting a more capable larynx-abuser, they may well  hear 
a corporate knock at the door before long.                            

Contact: http://www.deforgeband.com


Helgor - _Untitled Demo_
by: Jackie Smit  (1.5 out of 5)

Extreme music circa 2003 is a genre splintered into so many  numerous 
sub-strains that to the ignorant outsider it  must  conceivably  look 
more confusing than ever before.  Death,  black,  thrash,  grindcore, 
doom -- the list goes on and chances are very  good  that  if  you're 
reading this you probably enjoy a varied number of these styles. This 
in turn  leads  one  to  draw  the  obvious  conclusion  that  people 
embarking on their own musical forays will inevitably  (as  has  been 
happening  for  many  years  now)  combine  a  wide  range  of  these 
influences into their work. Trouble is that as much as these  schools 
have in common, they are  not  necessarily  particularly  comfortable 
bedfellows, and unfortunately Holland's Helgor appear unable to bring 
them into some sort of cohesive structure. The result is a messy  and 
confused recording that will no  doubt  end  up  on  the  large  pile 
of  CD-R's  I  have  labeled  "Frisbees".  While  I  could  certainly 
overlook the fact  this  demo  sounds  as  though  it  were  recorded 
using a  low-price  dictaphone,  for  the  most  part  the  riffs  on 
offer  switch  between  black,  death  and  grind  sequences  without 
seemingly having anything in common. And where Lord Capibara's  vocal 
style is suitably generic death metal,  Lord  Ibex's  "pig  suffering 
from foot and mouth  disease"  screams  are  pretty  horrendous.  The 
only track  remotely  approaching  anything  with  potential  is  the 
ludicrously titled "Enslaving the Human Goulash", but otherwise  this 
just lives up to  the  name  of  the  band's  previous  web  address: 
helgor.virtualdogshit.com.                                            

Contact: http://www.helgor.com


Solemnus - _A Nightshade Symphony_
by: Adrian Magers  (4 out of 5)

Solemnus  are  a  musical  hodge-podge  of  various  forms  of  grace 
and grit  in  the  metal  realm.  A  splendid  blend  of  epic/gothic 
metal is employed on  the  group's  four  song  demo,  _A  Nightshade 
Symphony_. The disc  is  twenty-odd  minutes  of  tragic  music  that 
manages to be simultaneously atmospheric and catchy.  The  songs  are 
generally very keyboard-oriented without losing a heavy edge from the 
guitars. The keys tend to recall a similar style to  Dimmu  Borgir's, 
particularly on the  Norwegian  sextet's  early  albums.  The  vocals 
are most comparable to Theatre  of  Tragedy,  but  the  melodic  male 
vocals seem inspired by early  goth.  The  highlight  of  the  CD  is 
definitely the two guitar/piano melodies in the  middle  and  end  of 
the title track.  Solemnus  direct  the  listener  through  different 
moods, communicated by a precise blend of dark  melodic  metal:  from 
triumphant to sorrowful, everything is full  of  passion  and  drama. 
Owners of _Enthrone  Darkness  Triumphant_,  _Wolfheart_  or  _Velvet 
Darkness They Fear_ should take notice of Solemnus.                   

Contact: http://www.oak-knoll.com


Spazmosity - _Storm Metal_
by: Adrian Magers  (3 out of 5)

The immediate rush of distortion and blast-beating drums that pounces 
on the listener after Spazmosity's short instrumental  seems  like  a 
good parallel to the feeling  of  one's  skull  being  pried  opened, 
lifted, set open and ready for total invasion. Said invasion  appears 
to be heavily influenced  by  keyboardless  melodic  black  (such  as 
Dissection and the many bands which followed in their icy  footsteps) 
and is full of mid-paced death grooves. The band definitely lean more 
towards the black side of  the  two  extremities  they  embrace.  One 
complaint I could throw Spazmosity's way is their tendency  to  do  a 
lot of predictable tempo changes; however, there are also  a  lot  of 
pleasant surprises, and the fact they succeed in making  their  songs 
flow, rather than sound  like  patchwork,  is  admirable.  This,  the 
band's third demo of original material, raises wonders of a  possible 
full- length or EP. With a few more techniques and influences  thrown 
in to make  the  act  sound  a  bit  more  well-rounded,  these  guys 
could possibly push through to  the  forefront  of  the  Scandinavian 
black/death scene.                                                    

Contact: http://www.spazmosity.com


Warblade - _Release the Angel of Death_
by: Adrian Magers  (4.5 out of 5)

The first riff of Warblade's second demo _Relase the Angel of  Death_ 
is a real headbanger. Emerging from a  somber  and  relatively  quiet 
section, the band's dual guitars create a beast made from parts of At 
the Gates, Megadeth, Dissection, Iron Maiden, and  other  influential 
metal acts. One might be quick to label this  band  as  a  third-wave 
Gothenburg death band; though Warblade do draw some obvious influence 
from their Swedish brethren,  there  are  many  other  elements  that 
surface on the  three  songs  featured  on  this  release.  Blackened 
thrash, heavy grooves and more than one nod to classic metal are  all 
thrown in the mix to keep the listener  on  his  or  her  toes.  This 
formula, fuelled by a ton of energy and a burning passion for  metal, 
is quite successful  due  to  the  collective  power  and  individual 
talents of the five men of Warblade. A full length is in  the  works, 
and will feature a recently recruited keyboardist /  clean  vocalist. 
The metal world should do itself a favor and keep an eye on Warblade. 

Contact: http://warblade.metalpatrol.com


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C O F F E E ,   C A N A D I A N S   A N D   C O M M O N   G R O U N D
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
               CoC attends the 2003 Milwaukee MetalFest
                           by: Aaron McKay


In my humble opinion there  is  nothing  common  about  Canadians  or 
coffee -- both are extraordinary for any number of reasons. One might 
even argue that large amounts of one needs  to  be  consumed  by  the 
other to make the twelve hour trip to  Milwaukee  from  Toronto  like 
some of my brethren. For me, I've always felt the cornerstone of  any 
decent diet -is- a large amount of the  "everlasting  insomnia  in  a 
cup". (Is that safe to give to  energizer  bunnies?)  Water  filtered 
through ground coffee beans sounds simple, but I ask you, is it not a 
tried and true aid in jump-starting one's day to order make your  way 
to Milwaukee, be it from Iowa or Canada? Maybe that's  just  my  view 
after taking in way too much of the "nap suppressant" I drink  daily. 
But I digress...                                                      

Milwaukee -- the city is known for its fests: Italian, German and, of 
course, Metal. Brandishing  proudly  my  full  thermos  of  Colombian 
Supreme, Adam, my brother, and I trekked six hours to  see  my  fifth 
consecutive Milwaukee MetalFest. While this makes me  somewhat  of  a 
veteran MMF goer, this was Adam's first. What made this year a  treat 
for everyone was the arrival again of the Canadian horde  the  Friday 
morning before the long metal fueled weekend.  Be  this  your  first, 
fifth or fifteenth metalfest, American  or  Canadian  --  Milwaukee's 
annual metalfest provides a damn fine common ground for all  fans  of 
metal.                                                                

Unlike past articles I've read  on  occasion,  you'll  note  here  my 
refusal to slight the MMF in this  piece.  The  reason  for  that  is 
simple: where I live in the midwest, there are far too  few  concerts 
that frequent the state. For whatever reason, shows avoid  Iowa  like 
the Bubonic Plague. The Milwaukee MetalFest brings a vast  assortment 
of metal as close to my home as one can reasonably expect. No useless 
slack-jawed fodder from me this  year;  besides  the  line-up  wasn't 
nearly as bad as I've seen.                                           

Again held at the U.S. Cellular Center in downtown Milwaukee, the MMF 
kicked off Friday July 25th. Having a new-comer to  the  show  in  my 
company this year, my brother and  I  began  with  a  slow  pace  and 
arrived at 6:00 that evening after having done the much talked  about 
Miller brewery tour earlier that day. Of the two nights,  Friday  was 
the more relaxed as far as bands I wanted  to  see.  Noting  Enslaved 
again on this year's schedule for Friday,  there  wasn't  much  of  a 
chance that I was going to just make an appearance  on  Saturday  and 
miss seeing these wicked Viking metalers.                             

Biding time to see bands like Enslaved can be difficult, but catching 
up with old friends not seen  since  the  2002  MMF  and  doing  some 
shopping at the increasingly sparse vendors' tables makes it easy  to 
loose track of when and where you are supposed to catch the next band 
on stage.                                                             

For at least the second year in a  row  that  I  can  remember,  Jack 
Koshick, the force behind the fest, decided to go with listing  bands 
and their scheduled  times  posted  strategically  around  the  venue 
instead of individual paper handouts for  the  concert  goers'  quick 
reference. This is just two ways  of  going  about  the  same  thing, 
obviously,  but  for  this  reviewer,  the  paper-in-hand  method  is 
preferable. Inevitably, people crowded the doorways to scribble  down 
the "when and where" of their favorite bands  all  the  while  others 
trying to squeeze past to move from one room  to  the  next.  It's  a 
tight schedule at the MMF -- sometimes a few minutes here  and  there 
mean a world of difference.                                           

Macabre had a set to die for (pun intended)! It was cut shorter  than 
lead singer/guitarist Corporate Death may have liked,  but  they  did 
manage one song sung entirely in German (new, I believe) and lots and 
lots of old favorites including "Zodiac",  "Dog  Guts",  "Vampire  of 
Dusseldorf" and "Albert Was Worse Than Any Fish in The Sea". A  tried 
and true faithful regular at the MMF, Macabre  had  a  crowd  present 
that was nearly second to none. This is a band that's  -always-  well 
worth the price of admission; those hanging out at McDahmers or  ones 
coming (thru) Chicago to the  Milwaukee  MetalFest  can't  even  deny 
that. If you can't wash the Macabre smell off of ya  --  scub  a  dub 
dub...                                                                

Norway's Enslaved again braved the perils of travel that day to grace 
us with their presence. Their set was to  be  admired,  and  (if  you 
are looking for some  superior  influence)  even  imitated!  Enslaved 
as always  enjoyed  a  penchant  for  harmonic  resolution  in  their 
song-structure, but their presence on stage in  the  main  hall  made 
their (definitive) recordings sound like CDs played on a phonograph.  

Body Count, Ice-T's foray into metal music, headlined Friday  night's 
events. For more than an  hour  previous,  the  rapper  turned  actor 
diligently signed autographs with the rest of BC, as they like to  be 
called. I was impressed with Ice-T's  attention  to  his  fans,  even 
pausing an extra moment here and there to take a picture if asked  by 
the autograph seeker as he or she passed through the monstrously long 
line. Body Count, in true metalfest style, went on very  late.  About 
1:00am Saturday morning -- all of us were hungry and tired. The  band 
sounded great, as if the best was saved for  last.  Lots  of  antics, 
complete with hockey masks, swearing enough to make a  sailor  blush, 
and thick ass riffs -- Body Count style. Adam  and  I  stayed  a  few 
songs longer than the Canadians -- enough  to  hear  Ice-T  proclaim, 
"When they asked me to do the Milwaukee MetalFest, I looked at a  map 
and said to myself, 'Milwaukee. That looks like a good place to  meet 
a KKK Bitch!'" After that, it  was  back  to  the  hotel.  Saturday's 
agenda promised to be more than twice as full.                        

Saturday saw our arrival back at the venue at 4:30. I  came  to  find 
out then that one of my all-time favorite bands, the  newly  revamped 
Epoch of Unlight, was given (or forced to  take)  a  shitty  timeslot 
much earlier that day.  In  talking  with  the  band  later,  I  came 
to  learn  that  while  the  crowd  wasn't  nearly  as  populated  as 
it could  have  been  later  in  the  day,  EoU  had  a  pretty  good 
response, all things considered. Also, as an aside, Tino LoSicco, the 
group's fantastically talented drummer,  just  hours  before  leaving 
for  Milwaukee  successfully  defended  and  completed  his  doctoral 
dissertation -- so it is -Dr.- LoSicco now. Congratulations, Tino!    

Fleshgrind was set to play in roughly 45 minutes.  The  schedule  had 
Illinois' favorite sons pigeonholed in a corner on the smaller,  less 
visible of the two stages in the smaller area  just  outside  of  the 
twin stages in the vastly superior main hall. The fans there  to  see 
these guys could  have  cared  less,  though.  The  room  was  packed 
full  with  people  and  despite  being  plagued  by  some  technical 
difficulties and Steve  Murray's  having  to  borrow  a  guitar  from 
Skinless, Fleshgrind powered through their set with all the  elegance 
of a dump truck in a nitro plant.                                     

All of us stayed put there in the room for NY's Skinless that was set 
to follow. The room was still packed wall-to-wall to see  these  guys 
who are currently one  quarter  of  the  Dying  Fetus  /  Skinless  / 
Divine Empire / Index Case  tour  that  made  the  MMF  this  year  a 
scheduled stop. Not to be at all  confined,  the  energetic  Skinless 
guys (especially vocalist Sherwood Webber)  wildly  scampered  across 
the majority of both stages  even  as  Dying  Fetus  was  setting  up 
their equipment. The  crowd  was  obviously  into  this  synchronized 
mass-assault of all these bands, including Skinless,  dominating  the 
smaller stages for more than an hour.                                 

Dying Fetus has the  ability,  I  believe,  to  make  even  the  most 
atrocious acoustic accommodations  sound  like  their  own  recording 
studio. These guys have a brand new album out -- hence the tour  they 
now find themselves a part of, but  proper  consideration  was  given 
during their allotted time for fans of the "weathered variety",  like 
myself. Not a disappointed or overly bored face in the audience could 
be found during any of Dying Fetus's  (all-too-short)  set.  I  can't 
wait to find out what awaits the attendees on  one  of  their  normal 
tour stops -- I intend to do so on August 9th.                        

Having caught a little of the  mace  presumably  used  on  the  crowd 
toward the front during DF and knowing I'd see  Divine  Empire  in  a 
couple weeks, our group decided it might  be  time  for  some  liquid 
refreshment -- in Milwaukee, that means "Miller Time".                

Awhile later, I strolled by myself back to the smaller stage area  to 
catch some of Benumb. Pete has one of the  most  fitting  voices  for 
Benumb's style that I've ever heard. In addition to being one helluva 
nice guy, the show's energy was off  the  fuckin'  charts  thanks  to 
Pete!                                                                 

Billy Milano was dancin' around the metalfest for the better part  of 
two days. Believe me when I tell you, there  is  a  candid  shot  out 
there of Adrian "The Energizer" Bromley and  Billy  where  they  look 
like identical twin brothers separated at birth. MOD experienced some 
time slot  bouncing  typical  of  the  two-day  festival,  but  their 
performance in the main hall, complete with oodles  of  pro-American, 
or at least anti-Afghanistani, rants made us all  proud.  The  mighty 
Danny Lilker, an MMF icon, joined MOD on stage with much praise  from 
Mr. Milano at the end of their set for a wildly  enjoyable  rendition 
of "United Forces". MOD proved  Saturday  night  that  they  are  the 
Rebel(s) You Love to Hate!                                            

Having the opportunity to relive my largely  misspent  youth  through 
the eyes I remember as a teenager -- seeing Nuclear Assault on  stage 
was a huge draw for me this year. Danny's bass playing  was  in  rare 
form and John Connelly's voice and guitar abilities tickled the fancy 
of perfection like I've never  heard  before.  The  song  selections, 
mostly from _Survive_ and _Handle With Care_, namely the title  track 
to the first and "Trail of Tears", were done phenomenally,  though  I 
might have concentrated on forcing out more _Survive_  songs  with  a 
few from _Game Over_ for good measure. That said, here's wishing in a 
big way I could have heard "You Figure it Out".                       

Having gone far too long without the aid of  my  caffeinated  friend, 
the last band I witnessed at  this  year's  Milwaukee  MetalFest  was 
Vital Remains, but at  least  it  was  in  the  company  of  friends. 
Suffocation  was  scheduled  to  play  next,  but  our  motley  group 
grew modestly weary. Glenn  Benton  of  Deicide  fame  vocalized  the 
desecration of Vital Remains' (new(er)) sound  and  ruled  the  stage 
like the promise of Revelation. Glenn called this Vital Remains set a 
"giant rehearsal" for the band. While that may have been the case, VR 
never sounded better and Tony Lazaro's playing was spectacular  as  I 
can unequivocally testify to. They certainly unleashed hell  for  the 
final notes of the 2003 Milwaukee MetalFest.                          

As I sit here typing these words and reflecting with a cup o' java, I 
am convinced more than ever that the Milwaukee MetalFests  have  been 
as much about camaraderie as about  the  music  itself.  Good  times, 
great folk, metal mayhem and all thanks to our hosts!                 

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

                   A   M I N I   M I L W A U K E E
                   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   Dying Fetus, Skinless, Divine Empire, Misery Index and Stavross
         at the Reverb, Cedar Falls, Iowa on August 9th 2003
                           by: Aaron McKay


With a good deal of confidence I'd wager to say  few  communities  in 
Iowa have ever seen the unabashed onslaught  of  extreme  music  like 
Cedar Falls, Iowa has, held at a venue called the  Reverb  on  August 
9th. Truthfully, most concerts generally  skip  Iowa  altogether,  so 
when I came to know this tour was scheduled in such  close  proximity 
to me on a weekend, there was absolutely no question where I would be 
spending my Saturday night.                                           

Having been served  an  appetizer  from  (most  of)  these  bands  at 
Milwaukee just last month, I was hungry for a larger helping of stage 
time than what these guys were allotted at the MetalFest. The  Reverb 
is an upstairs bar area with an accommodating  stage  and  plenty  of 
room for the fan-base this tour  would  draw.  People  slowly  poured 
through the door during the set by Stavross, the opening act.         

Stavross kicked things off about 8:25pm with  a  fairly  concentrated 
set -- due to scheduling concerns, I'd imagine. Noticeably, this band 
suffered from a generally weaker instrumentation that  seemed  nearly 
superseded by the vocals most of the time. In  addition,  the  guitar 
solos were difficult to segregate from the rest of Stavross's  sound. 
"The Wasteland" and "Last Rites" were a couple of  higher  points  in 
their set even with the aforementioned  issue(s),  but  "Botchulism", 
the band's last song for  the  night,  was  a  real  feather  in  the 
Stavross cap. Vocals on that song were supplied, at least in part, by 
the bassist, who also added a tight, heavy-ass bass chop at the onset 
and conclusion of the song.                                           

Misery  Index  took  the  stage  about  9:20.  Most   will   remember 
bassist/vocalist Jason Netherton from his  former  band  and  current 
tour mates, Dying Fetus. Humorously, the beginning of the third song, 
the new title track "Retaliate", was met with a really deep,  throaty 
cry by someone in the  audience  to  the  band  on  stage  exclaiming 
"IOWA!" to the enjoyment of the whole crowd;  this  happened  several 
times throughout the night, never really losing its  comedic  appeal. 
At any rate, Misery Index surprised me  by  pulling  out  "My  Untold 
Apocalypse" from their split about a year ago with Commit Suicide  on 
Willow Tip Records; it was a nice touch by the group, who  knows  how 
to keep the crowd's interest  piqued.  They  unleashed  "Servants  of 
Progress" and  "Demand  the  Impossible",  but  finished  up  with  a 
flawless "Manufacturing Greed" from the _Overthrow_ EP.               

Divine  Empire  was  certainly  the  'most  improved'  sounding  band 
that played that Saturday night over  their  time  at  the  Milwaukee 
MetalFest. The stage, time and crowd at the MMF wasn't up to the task 
of supporting a band like Divine Empire  with  all  that  this  group 
might deserve. Being the third on the bill,  Divine  Empire  found  a 
welcoming crowd already in  their  full  concert  mindset,  and  they 
took total advantage of that stroke  of  luck!  They  ripped  through 
monstrous offerings like "Induced Expulsion" and "Out for Blood" from 
_Redemption_, while working in new tracks like  "Aggravated  Battery" 
was  almost  as  enjoyable  as  reliving  classics  like  "War  Torn" 
(dedicated to Saddam's two dead sons) and "Repulsive"  (dedicated  to 
Iowa's corn-fed women) from the 2000 album _Doomed to Inherit_.  "The 
Pain Remains", from the new album, utilizes a  clip  taken  from  the 
movie "The Fifth Element" -- while this was just  spoken  in  concert 
and not played to the crowd as a sample, it was still  every  bit  as 
effective and  the  fans  responded  accordingly  with  floor-shaking 
intensity  at  the  power  of  the  song's  delivery.  Divine  Empire 
dedicated the  new  release's  title  track  "Nostradamus"  to  Vinny 
from Dying Fetus, as Saturday August  9th  was  his  birthday.  Jason 
Blachowicz, Derik Roddy and J.P. Soars took their leave  about  10:30 
that night after a truly spectacular set.                             

If you weren't tired yet, Skinless was up next to wear  you  down  in 
proper style -- and wear us down they did! Pushing 11:00,  the  theme 
to '80s hit show "Nightrider" announced the  coming  of  Skinless.  A 
couple of  weeks  isn't  all  that  long,  but  it  is  amazing  what 
you get a hankerin'  to  hear  again;  so  when  "From  Sacrifice  to 
Survival",  from  the  album  of  the  same  name,  was  one  of  the 
first I heard these New  Yorkers  play,  I  feared  things  might  be 
anticlimactic. Boy, was I wrong! We in the audience were  treated  to 
"Tampon  Lollipop",  "Miscreant"  and  "Enslavement",  among  others. 
During "Tampon Lollipop", some eyeglasses came  up  missing  off  the 
face of a pit dweller -- Sherwood Webber, in the middle of  the  song 
and without so much as missing a word of the  lyrics,  instructs  the 
crowd to help the guy look for his specs; that's  fan-oriented  metal 
right there, kiddies. Moving on, whoever heard of a band hitting  the 
stage without proper refreshment in hand? Not me, and apparently  not 
Sherwood either: after a couple of polite but  unanswered  calls  out 
for a beer to be brought to him on stage (mid-song and still growling 
out the lyrics the whole time), Sherwood made his way to the bar  for 
his own beverage. On the way back up front to the stage  once  again, 
we are all reminded to tip our hardworking bartenders. Nice shameless 
plug there, but hey, I guess Sherwood figured whatever  works...  Few 
bands engage the crowd as aggressively as  Skinless  and  the  entire 
Cedar Falls fans responded like a bunch of horned-up  high  schoolers 
after prom especially after tunes like "Escalate Discord"!            

Near the strike of midnight, Dying Fetus took the stage to close  the 
show. At this point, it had been a powerfully loud  and  hot  evening 
already, but I felt my second wind creep over me especially about the 
time "Intentional Manslaughter" screamed forth. I  counted  my  lucky 
stars that I was fortunate enough to hear "Grotesque Impalement"  and 
"Killing on Adrenaline". Much like when Skinless did "From  Sacrifice 
to Survival", I thought Dying Fetus's set had climaxed; I should have 
known better. Vinny was feeling pretty good on  his  birthday  night, 
even if he was on the road like the tour dogs Dying Fetus have always 
been. Something that I guess  I've  never  noticed  before  was  John 
Gallagher's  awesome  red  Hammer  guitar;  the  Cedar  Falls  venue, 
however, allowed for a clear, unobstructed view of the band and their 
gear providing a wicked sound in the room(s)  to  boot.  Dying  Fetus 
maximized every plus available to them and ultimately put on a  great 
show. As seemed to be the theme that evening, Dying  Fetus  dedicated 
"Skullfucked" to the women of Iowa. Whatever  happened  to  having  a 
song like "Abandon All Hope" dedicated to the guys? Equal opportunity 
offenders, Dying Fetus is -not-, I guess!  "Institutions  of  Deceit" 
and "Pissing in the Mainstream"  wrapped  up  the  nearly  phenomenal 
sixty minute set.                                                     

While Wisconsin has just a little less than double the population  of 
the Hawkeye State, Iowa turned  out  an  energetic  and  enthusiastic 
crowd for this tour. Obviously Cedar Falls is no  Milwaukee  and  the 
Reverb isn't the U.S. Cellular Center,  but  Iowans  are  nonetheless 
passionate about their metal. My gratitude and appreciation goes  out 
to Dying Fetus, Skinless, Divine Empire and Misery Index  for  making 
Iowa a part of the tour in August!                                    

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

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

Gino's Top 5

1. Ulver - _Bergtatt_
2. Burzum - _Det Som Engang Var_
3. Bloodbath - _Resurrection Through Carnage_
4. Graveland - _Carpathian Wolves_
5. Ulfsdalir - _Grimnir_

Pedro's Top 5

1. Misery Index - _Retaliate_
2. Aurora - _Dead Electric Nightmares_
3. Cryptopsy - _None So Live_
4. The Haunted - _One Kill Wonder_
5. Intestine Baalism - _Banquet in the Darkness_

Paul's Top 5

1. Suffocation - _Effigy of the Forgotten_
2. The Crown - _Deathrace King_
3. Equinox - _Journey Into Oblivion_
4. Nevermore - _Enemies of Reality_
5. Repulsion - _Horrified_

Aaron's Top 5

1. Morbid Angel - _Heretic_
2. Callenish Circle - _My Passion // Your Pain_
3. Divine Empire - _Nostradamus_
4. Pro-Pain - _Run for Cover_
5. Trouble - _Trouble_

Matthias' Top 5

1. Ulfsdalir - _Grimnir_
2. Clandestine Blaze / Deathspell Omega - _Split_
3. Behemoth - _Historica_
4. Nehemah - _Shadows From the Past_
5. Melechesh - _Sphynx_

James' Top 5

1. Beherit - _The Oath of Black Blood_
2. Beherit - _Drawing Down the Moon_
3. Beherit - _Beast of Beherit: Complete Worxxx_
4. Leviathan - _Verräter_
5. Elend - _The Umbersun_

Jackie's Top 5

1. Morbid Angel - _Heretic_
2. Immortal - _Damned in Black_
3. Emperor - _Emperial Live Ceremony_
4. Cephalic Carnage - _Exploiting Dysfunction_
5. Disfear - _Misanthropic Generation_

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

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Chronicles  of  Chaos  is  a  FREE  monthly  magazine  electronically
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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
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End Chronicles of Chaos, Issue #65

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