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

        CHRONICLES OF CHAOS e-Zine, March 10, 1998, Issue #29
               http://www.interlog.com/~ginof/coc.html

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

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

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

Issue #29 Contents, 3/10/98
----------------------------
* Editorial
* Loud Letters
* Deadly Dialogues
-- King Diamond: The Curse of the King
-- Morbid Angel: Hellspawn Reborn
-- In Flames: The Flame of Ingenuity
* Album Asylum
-- Abigor - _Supreme Immortal Art_
-- Ablaze My Sorrow - _The Plague_
-- Alio Die - _The Hidden Spring_
-- Amon Amarth - _Once Sent from the Golden Hall_
-- Various Artists - _Area 51_
-- Black Funeral - _Empire of Blood_
-- Bongzilla - _Methods For Attaining Extreme Attitudes_
-- Dawn - _Slaughtersun (Crown of the Triarchy)_
-- Defleshed - _Under the Blade_
-- Demonic - _The Empire of Agony_
-- Diaboli - _Towards Damnation_
-- The Everdawn - _Poems - Burn the Past_
-- Guillotine - _Under the Guillotine_
-- Indungeon - _Machinegunnery of Doom_
-- Keep of Kalessin - _Through Times of War_
-- Lux Occulta - _Dionysos_
-- Maeror Tri - _Emotional Engramm_
-- Mental Home - _Vale_
-- Various Artists - _A Mercyful Fate Tribute_
-- Midvinter - _At the Sight of the Apocalypse Dragon_
-- Mithotyn - _In the Sign of the Ravens_
-- Moonspell - _Sin/Pecado_
-- Nagelfar - _Hunengrab im Herbst_
-- Nebula - _Let It Burn_
-- Nightstick - _Ultimatum_
-- Officium Triste - _Ne Vivam_
-- Otyg - _Alvefard_
-- Pro-Pain - _Pro-Pain_
-- Pungent Stench - _Praise the Names of the Musical Assassins_
-- Sadness - _Evangelion_
-- Sentenced - _Story: A Recollection_
-- Social Degeneration of Poets - _Martyrdom_
-- Solefald - _The Linear Scaffold_
-- Stuck Mojo - _Rising_
-- Tura Satana - _Relief Through Release_
-- Uncreation - _Uncreation_
-- Unnatural - _Throne of Anguish_
-- Unsane - _Occupational Hazard_
-- War - _Total War_
* New Noise
-- Coarse - _Downwards_
-- Destroyer - _demo_
-- Gandalf - _Snakebite_
-- Kekal - _Beyond the Glimpse of Dreams_
-- Kormoss - _Screams From Night-Mary_
-- Kronos - _Outrance_
-- Oathean - _demo_
-- Shadows Fall - _Shadows Fall_
-- Vorpal Bunny - _Reign Of The Lupus_
* Chaotic Concerts
-- Entombed's Not Egregious: Entombed at Coney Island High
* What We Have Cranked
* Details

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

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

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

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


Subject: The Ancient review in CoC...
Date: Thu, 05 Feb 1998 23:44:03 PST
From: "Steven Cannon" <vibrationsofdoom@hotmail.com>
To: ginof@interlog.com

Hey dude! Steven Cannon here from Vibrations of Doom  Magazine.  Have
to say NICE work on yer latest issue, that Razor interview  was  VERY
thorough! You actually beat US to the punch, we were going to try and
get a Razor interview (Their "Violent Restitution" is truly a  brutal
masterpiece!) but we haven't heard from them yet! We ARE going to try
and do an Exciter interview very soon, since we know how  to  get  in
touch with them! One gripe I had was with  the  review  of  Ancient's
"Mad Grandiose Bloodfiends." WHY OH WHY did this album HAVE to  be  a
zero? It sounds like the only thing the  reviewer  had  in  mind  was
their lyrical stance? What about the MUSIC, which I thought was  very
well composed! And a few songs had some  rather  interesting  fantasy
topics as well, it wasn't the usual "Christianity sucks,  Lucifer  is
god" spiel we've all had to endure from countless black metal acts. I
mean, let's face it, if Venom had released their "Black Metal"  album
today, people would be griping about the  song  "Teacher's  Pet"  for
god's sakes! Or they'd  probably  say  that  Venom's  lyrics  weren't
satanic enough! SHeesh! While we're  at  it  we  just  want  all  our
readers to know that we DO have a new web site address, and this site
will be featuring RealVideo  clips  from  various  concerts  we  have
filmed, another first that only Vibrations of Doom will offer for its
readers! Thanks so much for putting out great issues, and I'll always
be    a     fan!     Our     new     web     site     address     is:
http://www.doom.org/vod/index.shtml... It won't totally  replace  the
old kmf.org address, but it WILL be linked up so you  can  still  use
the old address, but the new site will be the one that  updates  will
be done to FIRST...


Subject: Re: Chronicles of Chaos #28
Date: Fri, 06 Feb 1998 13:44:18 -0800
From: "A.N.U.S." <admin@anus.com>
To: ginof@interlog.com

howdy,

it was with great delight that i opened a new CoC in my  mailbox.  my
complaints are none with the publication  and  my  commendations  are
hefty  for  once  again  offering  a  great  service  to  the   metal
underground.

i have a virulent disagreement with one of the  petitioners  in  your
"loud letters" section, however; his assertion follows:

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

To this (fellow) reader i would only note: what  is  easily  mistaken
for masturbation is an  innovation  in  the  precision  of  language,
which, despite  its  seemingly  high  overhead  of  memorization  and
textual processing provides a protocol through which a  reviewer  can
have a more enlightened and useful dialogue with the reader, granting
to said reader a more informed ability to make  choices.  this  seems
trivial until you consider the sheer number  of  releases,  the  high
percentage that are worthless, and the damage  done  to  metal  every
year  by   misinformed   fans   promoting   musically   inferior   or
compositionally derivative bands.

my congratulations to CoC for making a  decision  to  pursue  a  more
complex and more rewarding  technique  of  reviewing  rather  than  a
simpler but less-useful commonly accepted substitute.

take care,
EVIL GOAT

]-------------------------------------------------------[
]    The Dark Legions Archive / Death and Black Metal   [
]             <http://www.anus.com/metal/>              [
]         Brought to you by the Oration of Disorder     [
]   Friday 10-midnight on KSPC, 88.7 FM in Los Angeles  [
]-------------------------------------------------------[


Subject: Impaled Nazarene in Monterrey N.L. Mexico
Date: Mon, 9 Feb 1998 19:49:49 -0600 (CST)
From: Alvarez Castillo David Edwin <al588397@mail.mty.itesm.mx>
To: ginof@interlog.com

Greetings.

First of all i have to congratulate you for your  great  electronical
magazine, which i personally consider the best one, and i believe  it
can be compared to other long time magazines like metal  maniacs  and
terrorizer. Well, this is not the first time i write to you.  I  have
been reading the magazine since its beginning. I was one of the lucky
persons who got the World Domination II Promotonial CD. Well, the aim
of this email is inform you that this February 21st Impaled  Nazarene
will be landing here on Monterrey Nuevo Leon. Some local  bands  will
be openers and there will be chaos and destruction. I offer myself to
interview them if you want to know something about them. All you have
to tell me is what to ask them.  I  also  offer  myself  to  write  a
document about the concert. I wanna do this because i  consider  some
local bands play great and they deserve to  be  known.  Well  if  you
decide to send me the questions i will do my best to interview them.

For now its all, i will be waiting for your next number of CoC.


Subject: Attention Loud letters
Date: Thu, 19 Feb 1998 15:57:25 EST
From: "VODENITCHAROV,GUEORGUI A,MR" <B4D3@MUSICB.MCGILL.CA>
To: <ginof@interlog.com>

Hi All,

First of all - great e-zine. I'm just  writing  in  response  to  the
letter you guys got from some  stupid  Cryptopsy  fan  that  wants  a
better  looking  zine.Doesn't  that  person  realise  that  it's  all
volunteer work and he benefits from it every month? I think it's more
important to support the scene by  spreading  the  word  rather  than
spending time on fancy design and  shit...  And  Cryptopsy  are  soon
going to be filling up the bargain CD bins at HMV, hehehe... Thanks.

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

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

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


              T H E   C U R S E   O F   T H E   K I N G
              ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                     CoC chats with King Diamond
                          by: Adrian Bromley

     Talking to King Diamond was quite a thrill for me. Not only  has
King Diamond and his bands (via his solo  career  and  with  Mercyful
Fate) help shape the sound of metal music during the 1980's and  into
the 1990's, but also brought a  threatrical  and  storytelling  twist
(concept  albums)  to  metal  music  --  a  trait  few   bands   have
successfully accomplished. King Diamond's tales of  evil,  death  and
the occult has fascinated us for almost  two  decades  and  it  seems
fitting that as we  head  into  the  year  2000  his  latest  release
_Voodoo_ is probably his best work to date.
     Sure it might be hard to top such classics as _Abigail_  (1987),
_Them_ (1988) or _Fatal Portrait_ (1986), but _Voodoo_ lays claim  to
some of the best musical arrangement in years and is  a  truly  eerie
and quite scary story. The story, set  in  1932  Louisiana,  revolves
around David Lafayette  and  his  pregnant  wife  Sarah,  along  with
grandpa, moving into a house north of Baton Rouge. They soon discover
they are in the heart of Voodooville with cults, exorcists and spells
everywhere they turn. King Diamond  has  presented  us  with  a  tale
that'll tear at your inner psyche and bring out your  biggest  fears.
This is priceless King Diamond storytelling.
     So, the phone call comes in  from  King  Diamond  at  5:30pm  on
Friday the 13th and the chat begins. For  once,  someone  has  talked
more than I have during an interview. I can hardly keep up with  King
Diamond as he talks about his tales and the creation process  of  his
music. It was an interesting chat, please read on:

CoC: Being in Dallas, Texas (having recorded at the  Nomad  Studios),
     have you ever done any kind of research or study into  the  'Day
     of the Dead' culture that is a very integral part of the Mexican
     culture? I lived there (in Mexico City) for ten years and  found
     it quite fascinating, but scary at the same  time.  Seeing  that
     you live in Texas and are right there near Mexico, and part of a
     community with a lot of Mexican people, have you ever  opted  to
     explore that idea for a record?

King Diamond: I have only been to Mexico City  once  for  a  Mercyful
              Fate show and it was basically in and out for me.  Some
              of the guys in the band stayed behind a couple of  days
              and saw the pyramids. I would love to  do  that  if  we
              ever get there again. As for that theme to come into an
              album idea, you never know. I guess it depends  on  how
              it strikes me when  I  started  reading  about  it  and
              getting ideas going...

CoC: ... there are a lot of things going on within that culture,  and
     many people don't really understand what is  going  on  in  that
     phenomenon under the surface. It is a very spiritual  thing  for
     the people to take part in. It's quite fascinating,  but,  as  I
     said before, scary as well.

KD: I know what you mean. The whole idea of the 'Day of the Dead'  is
    fascinating, but, as I mentioned, I have  not  really  done  much
    study into it.

CoC: Let's talk about _Voodoo_. In terms of song writing, opposed  to
     what you had done with last year's  _The  Graveyard_  and  other
     past efforts, what was the approach to this  record?  Obviously,
     the story line is different as is the setting, but  what  is  it
     about this time period  and  part  of  the  United  States  that
     fascinated you to write _Voodoo_?

KD: I have always had a fascination with voodoo, but I  never  really
    knew much about it. Voodoo, to me, had always been about pins  in
    dolls, zombies and people acting all crazy  and  stuff.  I  never
    really knew about it. I hadn't really known  much.  So  this  all
    happened last year when our bass player was doing some work at  a
    university nearby and I asked him to grab me some books on voodoo
    from the library. Reading up on voodoo really surprised me on how
    deep it was. It was truly amazing to read  and  learn  about  the
    spiritual side of voodoo and its unwritten laws.  Learning  about
    curses and all that other fascinating stuff. I was like 'Wow!,' I
    thought to myself that this would really make a  good  story  and
    that was pretty much it. That is where the  basis  of  the  album
    started. From that reading I took into account a fact that  turns
    out to be a problem for those in the story. The fact that  people
    who believe in voodoo believe that you have to feed the dead.  In
    many voodoo cemeteries, you  will  find  food  and  wine  by  the
    tombstones. They really believe that if you don't feed  the  dead
    they are gonna come after  you.  That  is  also  a  part  of  the
    unwritten law that if you own a  piece  of  land  with  a  voodoo
    burial ground on it you should exclude the  burial  segment  from
    the sale so that people can still come  to  it  and  respect  the
    dead. And those facts became part of the story. I had  a  lot  of
    ideas that I wanted to bring to the story. I started out with the
    idea for this record by drawing  a  map  of  the  area  and  then
    started creating people in the  story,  giving  them  life.  From
    there, the story of _Voodoo_ pretty much took off by itself. As I
    went along writing the story, I had to create more people  to  go
    along with it. And I didn't even have an ending to the story,  it
    just all fell into place for me.

CoC: A lot of people have always mentioned  that  the  work  of  King
     Diamond is not just elaborate in the storytelling,  but  equally
     in the music. How do you scope  out  what  sounds  and/or  vocal
     arrangements you will use for a certain song or concept record?

KD: It is just like a big puzzle. One thing that King Diamond  always
    makes an  emphasis  in  using  is  a  lot  of  mood  and  emotion
    throughout the record. Of course, the music  sometimes  seems  to
    have a role in what a  song  will  be  about  with  the  mood  it
    radiates. I had written the music for _Voodoo_ before  the  ideas
    were to be added to it. It had that kind of feel to  it.  It  has
    real tribal, voodoo-like feel to the music and  that  also  helps
    bring out other different ideas when song writing. Like  I  said,
    the music  of  King  Diamond  is  full  of  different  ideas  and
    emotions, but in the end it all comes together as one big puzzle.
    I have the music ideas flowing and then I write the story. When I
    do write the story, I constantly have the music on my mind.  When
    the story is written, I then  divide  it  up  in  many  different
    chapters as needed and then I will find what chapters  will  suit
    what music. I try to team them up to the best of my  ability.  It
    takes time to do this, but it helps make the story an interesting
    one to hear as well as follow.

CoC: Now I know you did some research on voodoo with books;  did  you
     by chance go to Louisiana to do some in-person research for the
     LP?

KD: I had been there before. I mean, I have never attended  a  voodoo
    ritual, but I would love to. I didn't really have to go there and
    research. I had been there before with tours and I  remember  the
    whole atmosphere and  the  crickets  chirping  in  the  night.  I
    remember the hot, damp summer feeling that radiated from there.

CoC: So I guess from having been there before  and  experiencing  the
     feel of the territory, you knew what you wanted to express  with
     this LP and the story?

KD: You get a better feel for the atmosphere if you have  been  there
    before. I mean, you can get that feeling from a book as well, but
    it just ain't the same. It is not like I packed up and went  down
    there to do research when I started writing this album. I  didn't
    do that. I just had a good background and feel to what  Louisiana
    was all about.

CoC: You have written some very memorable records  with  great  story
     lines. Very elaborate and descriptive  tales  of  evil  and  the
     occult. This seems to be very easy for you. Is it? Do  you  ever
     get writer's block? If so, how do you  get  past  that  writer's
     block?

KD: It rarely happens when I am  writing  the  story  or  lyrics;  it
    happens quite a bit when I am writing the music for an  album.  I
    can sit down and work on the music for a song and just get  to  a
    point where I am not in the mood any more. At that point  I  just
    stop and try to start back another day working on  the  material.
    It happens, though. I don't just sit down and say,  'Okay,  I  am
    going to write all the music for the record now.' No. If I am  in
    the mood, I will sit down and write with my guitar  or  keyboard.
    I'm just jamming and if ideas come from that jam session  then  I
    will try to put them into arrangements. It might just be an intro
    and a verse and no more. But that is where it all starts at  that
    time. I also have gotten to know by now that if it all  seems  to
    be going nowhere to just stop and go watch some TV or  something.
    I'll come back to it later on. But sometimes I  will  work  three
    days back to back and that will happen 'cause I am  in  the  mood
    and right frame of mind to create.

CoC: How long does the process take for King Diamond to get the ideas
     in your head and into a finished product? What is the time
     frame?

KD: It varies so much from album to  album.  Sometimes  I  record  or
    write down stuff that won't be used at all, or just put away till
    the end of a recording session. I have a box of tapes with all of
    these ideas in my basement with all  these  choruses  or  verses.
    They are on those tapes put away because I really didn't feel the
    need to continue on and pursue something at that point  in  time.
    Sometimes I will take those tapes out and just give them a listen
    to what is on there and I get a real feeling of excitement when I
    play back that stuff and hear the ideas I created. It's great  to
    dabble into unfinished  material  sometimes.  Actually,  I  think
    three guitar riffs from _The Graveyard_ are from  this  stack  of
    demo tapes I have, material that dates back to 1987. I picked  up
    the tape and wondered what was on it and it was me  just  playing
    guitar in my apartment in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was one guitar.
    I listened carefully and I heard the intro to "Abigail",  another
    riff and then part of the song "Welcome Home" on one tape. I  was
    ecstatic. I wondered how I  had  never  used  this  riff  in  the
    middle. I just started jamming and a lot of  new  stuff  appeared
    around that one riff. I don't know what it turned  into,  but  it
    became part of my newer material. It is really hard  to  say  how
    long it takes to do a record, 'cause there is  research  involved
    and you need to be in a mood  too.  Ideas  need  to  be  floating
    around before you can start on a piece. This has so  much  to  do
    with an inner mood.  _Abigail_,  for  instance,  was  almost  all
    written in one night. I wrote 90% of that record in one night.  I
    woke up during a thunderstorm and I had so many ideas. I  started
    to write it all down. I decided I should go back and lie down but
    I couldn't do so. Ideas just kept popping up out of my  brain.  I
    wanted to go back to sleep... but I couldn't. I needed to get all
    of that out onto  paper.  And  you  know  what?  That  has  never
    happened since then.

CoC: There is a lot of use of the macabre, the occult and evil spread
     throughout the material of King Diamond -- does stuff you create
     scare you?

KD: Mostly when we are recording the music, I  am  totally  into  the
    mood for creating the music and bringing out emotions in what  we
    are working on. Later on, when I do play  back  my  material,  it
    doesn't affect me  much.  I  know  what  I  need  to  do  certain
    arrangements and creating the mood. When I  play  back  _Abigail_
    today I don't think about the actual feel of the record,  because
    I was part of the actual creation of the record. I get much  more
    into looking at a photo album of the band and the career we  have
    done. I start remembering all of the places I have been and how I
    felt then at a certain period  of  time.  I  remember  about  the
    making of the records and all the stuff that was  a  part  of  my
    life then at that time period. I can  remember  so  many  things.
    Stuff like who I would hang out with, what bars I went  to,  what
    car I drove. All these things pop up and affect me when I look at
    photos. I don't get any feelings generally from albums. It's just
    the way it is. I wish I wasn't a part of this band so I could put
    on a record and experience it for myself, without  having  had  a
    hand in on the making of the  record.  I  will  never  experience
    that. You know what it is like? It is like when we play shows,  I
    have no idea what it looks like. Even if people record  the  show
    with a video camera, it never  gives  the  true  recollection  of
    standing at the show and watching it. It is just  a  weird  thing
    for me to deal with...

CoC: ... unless of course you have an outer body experience, right?

KD: Yeah... <laughs>... I  guess  that  would  be  the  only  way  to
    experience it.

CoC: Maybe that could be a theme  idea  for  the  next  King  Diamond
     record?

KD: <laughs again> Maybe so... maybe I should get out my guitar right
    now and start jamming.

CoC: You have been living in the United States  for  over  six  years
     now; how has that change in environment (from native Denmark  to
     Texas) affected your ways as a person or a musician?

KD: I have always been able to easily adapt  to  other  cultures  and
    customs. Living in Los Angeles was  not  really  my  cup  of  tea
    'cause everything was too strange  to  what  I  was  used  to  in
    Denmark. Texas is very laid-back and the attitude of  the  people
    is very similar to what I was used to back home.

CoC: Are you a celebrity in Texas? Do people pick you out at the mall
     or something?

KD: It happens to me, but I see it as no problem.

CoC: How do you feel about censorship in today's music?

KD: I usually just hear about what is going on, 'cause we as  a  band
    never really experienced it much. I think it  all  comes  to  the
    fact that parents have no real idea of what their  kids  are  all
    about. I think they don't spend time talking  to  their  kids  or
    asking them why they listen to bands like Marilyn Manson or  King
    Diamond. Why not learn about the music they listen  to  and  find
    out there is just nothing wrong or dangerous  with  it?  I  think
    parents are too busy making the big bucks and buying a new car to
    care about their kids. They don't care  about  their  kids.  They
    feel that they have to make all of their decisions  for  kids  in
    respect to what they should listen to  and/or  like.  'Hello!...'
    this  is  a  different  generation,  people.  The  world  is  far
    different compared to when those parents  grew  up.  All  of  the
    values are different. This is a whole  new  ball  game.  I  think
    parents should find out what kids are into and what they like and
    why, instead of forbidding them from listening  to  all  of  this
    stuff. Give them more credit than  what  you  provide  them  with
    already, folks.

CoC: A lot of people who I have talked to about  _Voodoo_  have  said
     this is one of your best works in ten years.  How  do  you  feel
     about that assumption? Do you agree?

KD: I understand 100% what people are saying about _Voodoo_. I  don't
    think it is a matter of whether an album is really good or bad, I
    mean, we always put our best effort into every LP.  I  know  what
    they mean, though. I have come to the  same  conclusion  that  is
    being  talked  about  _Voodoo_.  People  are  talking  about  the
    attitude of the album. This is the same attitude that was part of
    King Diamond from the 80's. This is the  same  quality  of  stuff
    that  _Abigail_  had,  an  aggressive  approach   with   stronger
    arrangements,  far  different  from  what  was  found   on   _The
    Graveyard_ or _Spider's Lullabye_. The  arrangements  and  guitar
    solos and the vocal arrangements  are  much  more  elaborate  and
    stronger than past efforts.

CoC: And why do you think that is?

KD: A lot has to do  with  us  getting  a  new  drummer.  John  (Luke
    Hebert), who is from Louisiana, filled in for Darrin Anthony when
    he left the band. Darrin had been involved in a bad car  accident
    and wasn't able to drum for us. We found John and when we started
    rehearsing for the European tour last Spring. He just played  the
    songs exactly like they are on the  record,  which  is  something
    Darrin wasn't able to do. And hearing that sound of old  material
    played so well brought back many memories. I heard that song that
    was written in 1987 sound exactly like we were back in that  time
    frame, but played in 1997. It was  incredible.  A  great  feeling
    came over me. And all the old stuff we  played  brought  out  the
    same feeling in me over  and  over.  Suddenly  everything  became
    genuine again.

CoC: I guess the whole feeling inspired you to bring that  sound  and
     feeling back into the King Diamond record?

KD: Yeah. And being on tour and playing those numbers live once again
    was bringing back all of that again. Bringing  back  memories  of
    touring Europe in the back of a van. Coming off that recent  tour
    and just going into the writing, it seems so natural to get  back
    to that era of King Diamond. I didn't even question  the  writing
    at the time, it just flowed out with the attitude of old Diamond.
    The fact that we also  changed  studios  this  time  around  also
    played a part in  bringing  back  emotion  to  the  King  Diamond
    material. We changed studios from the Dallas Sound  Lab  Studios,
    which was like a  small  studio  in  a  huge  complex,  to  Nomad
    Recording Studios, which is one studio. You are there alone  with
    no one to bother you. It has a very intimate feel to it.  It  has
    this real metal quality to  the  studio.  It  was  kind  of  like
    walking into the same kind of  studio  as  _Fatal  Portrait_  and
    _Abigail_. They were done in some  smaller  studios  in  Denmark.
    Even Andy [La Rocque, guitar] said so the first time  he  stepped
    in there. When Andy set foot in the studio, he  was  like,  'God,
    man this reminds me so much of Denmark.' When  you  record  in  a
    space that has that  kind  of  atmosphere,  it  just  brings  out
    something in you that might not come out most of the  time.  It's
    not like you tried any harder, it just may have been a  different
    level of concentration subconsciously. All of what comes  out  of
    you comes from deep within you. The inspiration flows  from  your
    surroundings and it does come out  in  the  work.  All  of  those
    points I made before have a lot to do with this album being a lot
    more King Diamond than there has been in sometime. I haven't done
    anything different with the past few albums. I  am  just  sensing
    these feelings that I should have. I recognize  this  feeling  of
    what my music should be like in a very big way. This  is  exactly
    the direction I want to take my music. It feels great. It's like,
    'Oh yeah! I'm home again...'

CoC: Was _Voodoo_ always the working title for  this  record  or  was
     there another name being thrown around?

KD: There was another one. The very first  thing  I  tried  to  write
    about was the plague. But every  time  I  got  into  writing  the
    material, I felt like I wasn't getting anywhere. The record  idea
    I had was a difficult one to do  and  would  have  to  have  been
    approached a different way than  this  time  around.  I  wouldn't
    exclude the idea of starting up again and doing  a  album  called
    The Plague, but who knows?

CoC: You said you break down the story into  chapters  before  adding
     the music to it and putting it into the final product. How  much
     of the story you had written changed during recording?

KD: Nothing really was taken away from the story. I  would  say  more
    was added than taken out while recording the LP.

CoC: On the topic of song writing and making LPs, you do  double-duty
     in both your own band as well  as  Mercyful  Fate.  How  do  you
     juggle both bands?

KD: I see an extreme difference between the two very clearly. For me,
    as the songwriter and being involved in everything, I see such  a
    clear line. They act as two different entities  for  me.  I  have
    been very fortunate to work with both bands, both  styles  and  I
    enjoy the ability to do so. It takes a lot of work but by God  it
    is very rewarding.

CoC: Last question. How would you describe _Voodoo_ to longtime  fans
     of King Diamond, as well as to new fans who  may  want  to  pick
     this up? How would you describe the record?

KD: Before I answer, I want  to  add  this.  For  the  first  time  I
    mastered both the King Diamond and Mercyful  Fate  LPs  and  that
    allowed me to know about the procedure that goes  into  mastering
    the LP and I noticed they really like to compress the shit out of
    the music. This record is a very  clean  one,  with  very  little
    compression. It  sounds  good,  better  than  past  King  Diamond
    records. Now... to get to your question: what do  I  think  about
    the record? Well, the _Voodoo_ record is a lot scarier of a story
    than _The Graveyard_ and _Spider's Lullabye_. I think it  is  the
    scariest of all the stories I have been a part of writing. At the
    same time, the packaging you are going to get with this record is
    very elaborate. You will see a map of the area where  this  takes
    place as well as drawings of the characters on tarot  cards.  For
    the first time you will know exactly what these people look  like
    when you hear their  names  called  on  the  record.  I  am  very
    satisfied with the way the packaging has turned  out.  Also,  the
    music has a lot more vocals and solos. There is pretty much a lot
    more of everything with _Voodoo_ and that is a first for any King
    Diamond record in a long time. And the most important thing: this
    record is genuinely done.

CoC: It's just as people say, 'If you are happy  doing  something  it
     shows,' and obviously you are happy making the music and telling
     the story of _Voodoo_. Am I right?

KD: That is so true, Adrian. We really, really love what we do and  I
    know it shows with our records.

Note: Roadrunner Record has recently issued a 'REMASTERED' series  of
both Kind Diamond  and  Mercyful  Fate  albums.  They  are  digitally
remastered gold discs, with new photos, liner notes, full lyrics  and
bonus tracks. Here are the LPs being reissued:

KING DIAMOND (available now)
~~~~~~~~~~~~
* _Fatal Portrait_ - features the tracks "No Presents For Christmas"
                     and "The Lake"
* _Abigail_ - features rough mixes of "A Mansion In  Darkness",  "The
              Family Ghost" and "The Posession"
* _Conspiracy_ - features "At the Graves"  (alternative  mix)  and  a
                 live version of "Cremation"
* _The Eye_ - Remastered only
* _Them_ - features a rehearsal versions of  "The  Invisible  Ghosts"
           and "Bye, Bye Missy"
* _Live In Concert '87_ - Remastered only

MERCYFUL FATE (available in the summer of 1998)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* _The Beginning_ - features the track "Black Funeral"
* _Melissa_ - Remastered only
* _Don't Break The Oath_ - features the demo of "Death Kiss"

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

                   H E L L S P A W N   R E B O R N
                   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
             CoC interviews Pete Sandoval of Morbid Angel
                           by: Paul Schwarz

Does Morbid Angel really need an introduction? Well, I suppose  there
might be some new extreme music fans out there or just people  who've
been dead for the last 9 years who don't know who  they  are.  Morbid
Angel are,  in  my  humble  opinion,  one  of  the  finest  and  most
consistent death metal bands ever. From the originality and brutality
of their (official) _Altars of Madness_ debut through  classics  like
_Blessed Are the Sick_ and _Covenant_ and now with the  much  praised
_Formulas Fatal to the Flesh_, Morbid Angel have always been one step
ahead of the competition and are never afraid to  add  something  new
and different into their melting pot of musical creativity. _Formulas
Fatal to the Flesh_ is set to be  released  onto  an  expecting,  but
still only mortal, world, and Morbid Angel are ready to  claim  their
throne once again. With Morbid Angel keeping a low profile throughout
1997 and new vocalist/bassist Steve Tucker having to fill the size 12
boots David Vincent left behind, is the new Morbid Angel better  than
ever and ready to crush the mediocre, or just a shadow of its  former
glory? I talked to  legendary  human  drum  machine  Pete  'Commando'
Sandoval (also a part of the grindcore legend  that  was  Terrorizer)
about the new album and other matters both Morbid  and  otherwise  to
give those of you in doubt a helping hand. (And if  you  read  Adam's
short interview (issue #27) with Trey and, after this, are still  not
satisfied, pick up a copy of _FFttF_: I have a feeling you  won't  be
disappointed.)

CoC: Morbid Angel have always led and not followed in the death metal
     scene: does _FFttF_ continue in this tradition?

Pete Sandoval: Yeah, I believe so, I believe our new  album  delivers
               all those points in those areas and a lot  more.  This
               new album is, I think, one of the strongest ones we've
               ever done -- I think it is going to  do  really  well.
               It's got a lot of good things.

CoC: About the production: Trey's been saying that it's more live and
     less processed than _Domination_ was; do you think that  applies
     [overall] and how do you think that applies to the way the drums
     came out on _FFttF_?

PS: I believe the production on this new album is really good, I mean
    you know there's always the thing when you do something, you do a
    record, you wish you could have done  something  better.  There's
    always this kind of thing that happens. I think for  the  overall
    thing this album has so much; there are so many things  going  on
    in these songs, I think the production is  good  enough  for  the
    songs because all the speed, all the chaos going on it's like  so
    hard to produce something to bring it as close to perfect as  you
    can, but I think the drums, they came out as good as  they  would
    have come, I think the drums were good enough. Like I said, there
    are things I could have done better but that's how we learn  from
    one album to another: we take it step by step.

CoC: What about the solo drum track  which  you  wrote  for  the  new
     album? How did that come out?

PS: The solo drums? My tribal drum piece? It came out all right,  but
    I didn't have enough time to work on it in the studio because  it
    was one of the last things I was doing. It  was  going  to  be  a
    little bit longer, but unfortunately it didn't end up  that  way.
    But I think it is  good  enough  for  its  purpose,  because  the
    purpose of it was to show the world what I can do, what is in me;
    it is the Latin part of me, in my blood,  my  Spanish  blood  and
    that is my representation right there of what I am, like a tribal
    dance ritual, so I am very happy with that  one  even  though  it
    wasn't as long as I expected it to  [be],  but  there  are  other
    times to overdo it again and add some more things, which I wanted
    to in the beginning; I was going to add some voices as well,  but
    I think it was good the way it  came  out  because  it  was  just
    different, so unique: it's just drums, just drums.

CoC: Considering this is the first thing that  you've  been  credited
     for on a Morbid Angel album, because usually Trey gets  credited
     for the music, do you think in the future you will play more  of
     a part in writing the music or do you think Trey  will  continue
     to write nearly all of it?

PS: You mean the main music, the death metal,  the  hard  music,  the
    music in  general?  Well  Trey's  been  the  one  from  the  very
    beginning, the first one, the one who started it all. So  I  have
    no idea, we worked together on this new album,  we  started  from
    the very bottom me and him, just  playing  riffs  and  riffs  and
    coming up with songs with rhythms and putting them  together  and
    just working and recording them day and day. I think  as  a  team
    right now it has worked pretty good, because Trey is a very smart
    person, he's very  intelligent  and  he  is  a  very  intelligent
    writer: he writes such incredible music, but yes,  I  think  this
    will allow me to do more and want to do more in  the  future  and
    help out as far as the songs [go], it is an open way for me,  and
    I believe so, I would love to, and I will try to put more  of  my
    part onto the songs for the future. Of course, this  gives  me  a
    motivation to want to do more than what I have done in the  past,
    so like you said, it is just  the  beginning,  it  is  the  first
    record where I am credited for these couple of things and there's
    always a beginning, a new beginning; so I assume,  yeah.  I  will
    work harder for the future, for the next record and  see  what  I
    can come up with for the music in general.

CoC: How do you feel about going on the road again  and  playing  the
     new songs live?

PS: I feel very excited, I can't wait man, because live is the way to
    prove the songs; you write an album, and you have  a  new  record
    but you have to go and prove that you can do  these  songs  live.
    That alone is such a great excitement, and also the excitement of
    being around the crowd who loves you, that cheers you up, and who
    wanna hear you live; all that energy kind  of  gets  in  you  and
    [then] there's more energy and more excitement. So I  can't  wait
    for this tour to start and go play these songs because  they  are
    going to be really good live, they're gonna sound very  powerful,
    it's a point we're gonna prove, and I do want  to  prove  myself,
    live. Yeah, we're getting ready man.

CoC: Trey has talked quite a bit already about the ideas expressed in
     the lyrics of the album, about  the  Living  Continuum  and  the
     Ancient Ones: do you share those beliefs?

PS: Yeah, I share those beliefs with him, I share those beliefs  with
    Morbid Angel 'cause Morbid Angel is a team, it is a  unit.  I  am
    with him in all that because if one of us  is  not  on  the  same
    track the whole unit would not be as powerful.  Yes,  I  am  with
    Trey, with the Living Continuum and the Ancient Ones:  they  have
    to do with the energy  and  the  power  of  this  band  and  it's
    definitely in the beliefs.

CoC: And Steve fits into that well?

PS: Of course, of course. He has  to  sing  all  these  songs.  Yeah,
    definitely, I believe so, he is very serious about it as well.  I
    think it is a very interesting philosophy, it is very genuine and
    original and also very powerful in itself. If  you  believe  that
    and if you believe that we are the  instruments  of  the  Ancient
    Ones, it's like an energy, it's like a good thing that  you  feel
    inside when you write these songs and in the words, the  meaning,
    the messages of these songs it is much more positive and is  much
    more powerful than ever. That alone gives you more  energy,  more
    power, you get more  motivated  to  do  these  things  with  more
    conviction. It is a very positive idea; as long  as  it  is  very
    positive, in the winning positive, it's good. Why not, why not be
    part of something that is positive, that  is  going  to  give  us
    success, that will give us new ideas in the future, that is going
    to keep us going, getting ahead with our lives?

CoC: You said that the belief gives you some sort  of  energy.  Along
     with that, what sort of music inspired you  to  play  originally
     and what music still inspires you to carry on?

PS: What sort of music?

CoC: Yeah, you talked about your Spanish heritage for example.

PS: I listen to all kinds  of  music  man,  I  listen  to  a  lot  of
    classical music, a lot of jazz, I listen to some Spanish music of
    course, I listen to some alternative techno  music.  Whatever  is
    inspiring and whatever is original, there are a lot of things out
    there which are original and as long as it's  original  and  it's
    got something good in there [I listen to it]. I don't  just  like
    one kind of music. I am into different types of  music;  whatever
    sounds good to me I like and  whatever  has  a  good  meaning  of
    course.  I  just  listen  to  different  kinds  of  things.  Also
    experiences in life influence you and get  you  in  the  mood  of
    writing. So all these things influence me  in  my  life,  in  our
    lives.

CoC: Why do you think Morbid Angel have lasted  throughout  the  rise
     and fall of death metal? A lot of bands who were around  in  the
     early _Altars of Madness_ days have either changed or split  up,
     but you're still here; what do you think is the reason for this?

PS: The specific reason is that we have never given up, we have  kept
    on writing songs and material that is different [on each  album].
    We have just continued writing songs which are very  powerful,  I
    believe and our belief just keeps us going, and  our  hard  work,
    because a lot of bands just give up when things are not happening
    for them, and they probably stop working as hard as they  should.
    With Morbid Angel, especially with Trey and with us too, [it  is]
    that we  keep  on  working  hard  every  day  writing  songs  and
    believing that one day we were gonna record those  songs  and  it
    was gonna be a good album, but we had to work hard every day man,
    just working  on  songs,  just  changing  them  every  day,  just
    changing bars and it is definitely that belief in  working  hard,
    not ever giving up and trying to write something that is  not  as
    common, something that is original and that's the thing that sets
    bands apart from others: their originality. A lot of bands,  they
    write one album, they a write a second  album,  third  album  and
    it's kinda the same, it's kinda the same thing; not much  change.
    Every album we  have  tried  to  make  something  new,  something
    different, or add new things to it -- like  on  the  new  record,
    we've added two pieces, Trey added  two  pieces  of  instrumental
    keyboard [for avid Morbid  Angel  fans  like  myself  wishing  to
    remind Pete of "Doomsday Celebration" on _Blessed Are the  Sick_,
    I think that the interludes on the new  album  have  a  different
    feel, it is not just that they are played on keyboards that makes
    them   original   --PS]   and   that   gives   the   album   more
    characteristics, more things for the listener to explore. All  of
    these things have to do with that [the  hard  work]  and  also  a
    belief in yourself, that's a major thing -- you've gotta  believe
    that you can do it -- and that is our belief, the belief that  we
    already have fixed in our heads before anything is written  down.
    We can  do  it,  because,  like  Trey  says,  "everyone  has  the
    potential to be a winner" and I think it  is  just  a  matter  of
    wanting it and working hard for it and that's what it is man,  it
    [success] shows up for those who work hard: those  are  the  ones
    that get the prize, man, the medallion. We're  gonna  keep  going
    and hopefully Steve is gonna stick with us and  be  part  of  our
    team and try to make it as  powerful  as  possible,  'cause  it's
    gonna be his first tour and we'll see what happens,  but  we  are
    excited about it. Those are good things: the emotions,  feelings,
    excitement, wanting to do things, and wanting to  change  things,
    wanting to make things of greatness, that's the big thing.

CoC: You've decided to stay with Earache as your record company; were
     you ever thinking of changing record company?

PS: We were just trying to find the best  contract,  the  best  deal.
    That's the best thing, there wasn't a specific company we  wanted
    to go to. We just tried to find whoever would give us  the  right
    deal, the fairest deal for us, and that happened to  be  Earache.
    Earache gave us the best deal overall, and that's who  we  stayed
    with. So I am happy that we stayed with Earache and I  hope  that
    they do a good job for us.

CoC: Are you taking Richard Brunelle out on tour with you?

PS: We are taking him out [with us], yes. We are currently practicing
    with him every day.

CoC: How has that been?

PS: He's been doing great. We believe he is coming on the  tour  with
    us so that's very positive right there, if he comes out  with  us
    he'll do a good job of it, so I think he'll be on the tour.

CoC: Which bands will you be taking out with you?

PS: I believe for this European tour that the  band  Vader  is  gonna
    open for us.

CoC: Really!

PS: And one band from Earache, Entwined or something.  They're  gonna
    open up and Vader. That's  the  last  thing  I  heard,  for  this
    European tour that we're gonna do. I hope that it is a great
    tour.

CoC: Do you think there will ever be a Terrorizer reunion?

PS: Terrorizer reunion? I have no idea man, because  Jesse  is  doing
    his own thing, he is in Napalm even though I spoke to him  a  few
    times a couple a months ago. He still, you know, has  this  thing
    in his mind that he would like to do another shot, and I wouldn't
    mind to do another shot to it, but the thing is it's  like  Oscar
    Garcia, the singer, he's married, and he's changed quite a bit so
    he's not into the whole thing as much as he was. You never  know,
    you know what I mean, Jesse, as far as he is concerned, he's  got
    some songs written down, he's putting them on  tape,  he's  gonna
    send me a tape of the songs, and I'm gonna check it out and we'll
    see what happens. You never know man, surprises happen, you never
    know. That would be a good thing, it would be fun to do.

CoC: Black metal is now very popular; do you have an opinion on black
     metal?

PS: Well, the thing is that black metal down here in  the  states  is
    not as popular, I don't hear much of it, I heard it is mostly  in
    Europe where black metal is big or hyped or whatever. All  I  see
    is a magazine here or there and when I check a magazine I  see  a
    lot of black metal bands and all of these bands have this  makeup
    and these evil looks and stuff, I just don't bother with  it,  it
    doesn't affect my life at all at the moment; I play death  metal,
    I play what I play. There are a few bands out there, a few  black
    metal bands, who are pretty good and they have got a  good  thing
    going and it is just a matter of these bands  getting  over  here
    and doing a tour or something  because  I  have  never  see  them
    coming over here, probably it is hard for them because they don't
    have a manager or the backup they deserve. It is much  bigger  in
    Europe, that's why I don't have much to say  about  black  metal,
    but I don't have much idea about whether black metal is rising or
    going down, what do you think?

CoC: I heard recently that it is starting  to  get  into  the  States
     because Cradle of Filth, the most popular band from the UK, they
     just recently did their first tour of the US; Absu  from  Texas,
     they're becoming more popular, and Usurper from Chicago as  well
     [to name but a few --PS], so I think it might start to  get  big
     in the States.

PS: That's good.

CoC: What also might happen, which might  not  change  anything  [for
     black metal], it looks like death metal might  come  back  again
     and be more popular.

PS: Death metal, yeah, that would be a great thing.

CoC: Vader and some other newer bands  have  become  quite  respected
     playing death metal and then there is the new Morbid Angel album
     coming out, and Cryptopsy are doing a new album.  So  we'll  see
     how it goes.

PS: Yeah, we'll see what happens man.

CoC: Do you have any last words for the readers of CoC?

PS: Yeah, I just hope that they pick our _FFttF_ record and that they
    like it, and that they get the message and enjoy it a lot, and  I
    hope it is powerful enough for their ears, and I hope to see them
    soon on the road. Where is this magazine from?

CoC: Originates in Canada but it's on the Internet,  so  you  get  it
     anywhere in the world free, in Europe, the States,  Japan:  it's
     your fans everywhere.

PS: I hope to see everyone soon on the road, and beware because  this
    is going to be a very powerful tour. We are  going  to  come  and
    prove, ourselves, that we are the kings of death metal and we are
    going to be very strong and very powerful live and very  fast  as
    well, because we never lost that, that aspect. Peace.

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

             T H E   F L A M E   O F   I N G E N U I T Y
             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                       CoC Interviews In Flames
                          by: Adrian Bromley

     "I think there is still a lot of creativity left  still  for  In
Flames and the music we create," starts  guitarist  Jesper  Stromblad
from the phone overseas when asked about their latest LP, _Whoracle_,
and future material. "I am very satisfied with the  way  this  record
turned out. It is a great record. And it  is  good  that  people  are
getting into this record 'cause that is what we want. For  people  to
grow with us as we get to be better musicians. At  this  point  right
now, we are thinking how we are going to top this record. How are  we
going to do ten or more songs better than the material on _Whoracle_?
I mean, something has to happen with the music now. You can't  repeat
yourself. In terms of new material, we have written a couple  of  new
songs and I think one of them is the best song we have ever  written.
It sounds like "Moonshield Part 2" or "Gyroscope Part  2".  It  is  a
very good song."
     He continues on, "What we plan to focus on more with the new  LP
is the production. We want to make it very fresh in some way. We want
to add some ideas. Ninety percent of the material will sound like  In
Flames, but we'll throw in some samples, drum  loops  or  maybe  some
more keyboards. We want to maybe try a bit more clearer  vocals.  Not
in the same vein as Amorphis, because  I  think  if  you  can't  sing
normal then don't do it 'cause it sounds pathetic. This is  something
we will try. We already tried it on _Whoracle_ with the clear  vocals
dubbed over the screaming vocals on "Everything Counts". It worked to
some degree. Right now I am writing many guitar  riffs  where  I  put
simple clear vocals on and demo it. Then we go into  the  studio  and
try to add many alternatives to the song like keyboards, etc... If it
works, we will keep it. I mean, we want to progress  as  a  band  and
bring new ideas into In Flames."
     In Flames -- which  includes  vocalist  Anders  Friden,  bassist
Johan Larsson,  drummer  Bjorn  Gelotte  and  other  guitarist  Glenn
Ljungstrom -- worked hard to put out _Whoracle_. It was a much needed
sound and direction for the band to be able to continue on where they
left off with the dazzling 1996 effort _The Jester Race_, a much more
melodic death metal LP than their  previous  efforts  _Lunar  Strain_
(1993) and the _Subterranean_ EP in 1994. _TJR_ opened up  In  Flames
to a lot of music fans who were captivated by harsh vocals on top  of
seductive and quite memorable choruses and riffs. In Flames  captured
a slick quality to melodic death metal --  putting  themselves  in  a
category with such acts as Dark Tranquillity -- and  felt  _Whoracle_
needed to attain that same quality (production/songwriting) somewhat,
as Jesper had stated, to move on. What is it  about  _Whoracle_  that
Stromblad finds appealing?
     "I like the whole feel of this record,  but  as  most  musicians
will point out about their efforts, I am  not  100%  happy  with  the
production. It was good, but could have been better. It  was  just  a
great feeling to have some fresh material out  for  people  to  hear.
With _TJR_, we recorded it in 1995 but it didn't see the light of day
'till a year later in 1996, when it was released. The music then felt
old to us. This record was recorded quickly and released right  away.
This stuff seems so new to me that I can enjoy it  moreso  than  when
_TJR_ came out."
     Getting  more  in-depth  about  the  production  of  _Whoracle_,
Stromblad says, "This was a very quick record for us to assemble. But
there were problems first off. I had a writing block for sometime and
I didn't know what we were going to do. No ideas were  coming  to  me
and I was worried. I didn't write for almost a whole year,  though  I
had written the song "Episode 666"  (off  _Whoracle_).  Then  at  the
start of 1997 I had started to write material and then  it  all  just
poured out. To go from total blackness to a new album  in  less  than
four weeks. It just came out all at once."
     Since Jesper is one of the main songwriters for In Flames, I ask
him about the initial song idea and how it  takes  shape  on  record.
Does it change much from initial idea to production and recording  of
the material for the LP? He responds, "When I have a song idea in  my
head, I pretty much know how it will end up after we  record  it  and
work on it in the studio. I know  what  has  to  be  done.  But  song
writing this time out was much more relaxed. We had time to  work  on
songs. _TJR_ was recorded in just eleven  days,  but  we  really  had
thirteen days in the studio. We recorded  the  LP  and  then  had  to
re-record half the record, so we had to  do  it  exactly  as  we  had
rehearsed. This time, with _Whoracle_, we could take as much time  as
possible to finish it up. We left a lot of parts open to work  on  in
the studio, stuff like melodies and guitar leads. It was great as  we
could record some stuff and when we grew  tired  of  studio  time  go
home, relax, come back tomorrow and go back to work. It  wasn't  like
that for _TJR_. This time was a much more pleasant experience for
us."
     On his goal as a musician and songwriter, Stromblad has a lot of
ideas he wishes to see happen in the next little while for his  band.
He believes in In Flames and himself, living out a dream  of  touring
and making music for as long as he possibly can.  "Music  has  always
been an important part of my life. Ever  since  I  learned  to  walk,
basically. I knew from the beginning I wanted to do this. I stuck  by
that dream all through school and look where  I  am  at.  This  is  a
full-time business for me. I think about music twenty  four  hours  a
day. All the time. This is the only thing I can do and the only thing
I want to do."
     And such is the case with Stromblad  also  having  helped  (both
through writing and playing) on the Hammerfall debut  LP,  _Glory  to
the Brave_, an 80s-tinged metal outfit in the vein of  Helloween  and
Iron Maiden.  So  how  does  Stromblad  work  the  time  out  between
Hammerfall and In Flames? Jesper  quickly  explains,  "I  am  not  in
Hammerfall. They are a real band now and I have no part in the  band.
They had real problems with people thinking it was a side-project  of
In Flames. Some even thought it was my band  and  that  I  write  for
them. I mean, I did help them out with their debut  record  but  they
have a solid lineup now and all I do is help them out a bit. If I  am
home when they begin recording their follow-up LP, I  may  help  them
engineer the vocals because I helped them do that last time  and  the
vocalist (Joacim Cans) was very comfortable working with me. I'd like
to help them out but in no way am I in the band. I just wanted to get
that straight."
     _Whoracle_, next to such early releases  as  _Lunar  Strain_  or
_Subterranean_, seems to have such a magnific production quality  and
to be bursting with top notch musicianship. The growth  of  the  band
has been a gradual one, seeing each LP strengthen them as a band  and
fully adapt their ideas so effortlessly  into  the  evolution  of  In
Flames' material. Has the evolution been an easy transition  for  the
band to evolve?
     "I never really think about us trying to take  our  music  to  a
certain place. This all falls into place  very  naturally.  The  only
time I ever think about where we should take the music is if I draw a
blank while writing and need to use our old material as  a  reference
and [choose] where to take it. I don't  think  the  direction  of  In
Flames has ever been planned. I think it has taken a long time for us
to find our identity. It is like when you grow up,  it  takes  you  a
long time to find your identity. You have to grow with the people  in
the band as well as with your music  through  numerous  releases.  It
takes a while to find a particular sound that represents our band and
I think we are slowly getting there. Our sound is being  given  shape
right now."

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

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


Abigor - _Supreme Immortal Art_  (Napalm Records, February 1998)
by: Steve Hoeltzel  (8.5 out of 10)

With so many grimly nicknamed clones and "majestic black  metal  art"
fakes clamoring after our coin these days, it's cool that  there  are
still some bands like Abigor who seriously explore the  possibilities
of the black metal aesthetic, yet without stagnating or incorporating
more commercial elements. (For another truly worthy  act,  check  out
the Black Funeral review below.) _Supreme Immortal Art_ is definitely
the band's most finely textured work yet, retaining Abigor's wounded,
wrathful, alien tone, but striving to  give  those  impulses  a  more
multifaceted expression. In  lieu  of  the  medieval  romanticism  of
_Nachthymnen_, the fever-dream aura of _Opus IV_,  or  the  unadorned
blackness of _Apokalypse_, this one evokes a phantasmagoric array  of
different  but  consistently  weird  and  eerie  aural  feels.   (The
shrieking vocals are back, by the way.) The closest  comparison  from
the band's back catalog would probably be _Nachthymnen_, but _Supreme
Immortal Art_ seems more ambitious  and  accomplished.  Complex  song
structures  tie  together  manifold  well-arranged  segments,   while
constantly shifting synthesizer  settings  and  vocal  nuances  drape
different shades of creepiness over the spiky  metallic  skeleton  of
each track. Sampling is employed occasionally, too.  Good  production
balances everything nicely  in  a  clear,  detailed  mix.  Plenty  of
hyper-speed bursts pepper the tracks, but on  the  whole  this  seems
more subdued than earlier stuff: Ambience,  not  aggression,  is  the
principal focus this time. I wasn't exactly blown away by this, and I
still prefer _Opus IV_ and the magnificent  _Orkblut_,  but  _Supreme
Immortal Art_ has continually grown on me as  more  and  more  detail
emerges with every listen. Still... I think the essential black metal
vibe tends to get lost in compositions as complex as  these.  But  be
that as it may, there's real musical  quality  on  display  here;  no
doubt about that. You decide.


Ablaze My Sorrow - _The Plague_  (No Fashion, 1998)
by: Drew Schinzel (6 out of 10)

Ablaze  My  Sorrow  are  finally  back  with  a   new   album,   but,
unfortunately, I can't say that it has been worth the  wait  at  all.
Their debut album, _If Emotions Still Burn_, was promising;  a  solid
album of a bit harsher variety  of  Swedish  melodic  death,  but  it
suffered from poor vocals and some loose playing. This  time  around,
the playing is a little tighter, but as a whole the album  isn't  any
sizable improvement over _IESB_; in fact, I'd say it's of a  somewhat
lower quality. The melody is still there, though in lowered  amounts,
but it seems as if the band has forsaken the unique melodic  approach
heard on the first  album  for  a  more  traditional  Swedish  sound.
Luckily, the band's distinctive  penchant  to  switch  tempos  and/or
riffs every ten seconds or so remains intact, definitely keeping  the
listener on his or her  toes,  but  that's  nowhere  near  enough  to
salvage _The Plague_ from mediocrity. I was  hoping  that  Ablaze  My
Sorrow would try to elevate themselves above the  other  faceless  No
Fashion bands, but although they  remain  unique  in  some  respects,
their music is just not  unique  enough  to  be  considered  anything
fantastic, and when added to the fact that it's simply not  great  on
any sort of musical level  anyway,  this  makes  it  another  average
release.


Alio Die - _The Hidden Spring_  (Crowd Control Activities, 1998)
by: Andrew Lewandowski  (6 out of 10)

Even if ambient artists don't have to rely  on  the  nasty  formulaic
song structures of rock-derived genres, ambient bands can easily fall
prey to that form of impotence which has turned many a handsome young
man into an Alio Die. Despite one or  two  noteworthy  tracks,  _THS_
contains few distinction nuances. Instead, AD rely on the same  basic
pattern -- repetitive, forlorn drones with  miscellaneous  shards  of
ambiance strewn about -- which Brian Eno beat into the  grown  twenty
years  ago.  AD's  predecessors  have  already  come  damn  close  to
perfecting most of this  album's  best  moments;  the  simplicity  of
"Amniotic Pot", the best representation of the album's  sound,  tries
to embrace the sublime, yet  lacks  the  substance  of  more  evolved
artists, while the slightly incongruous "Internal  Top",  easily  the
most developed and disorienting track, sounds suspiciously similar to
a hybrid of Maeror Tri (Stephan Knappe from the band  plays  gong  on
the track) and the ethno-ambience of Alio  Die.  Also,  many  of  the
tracks feature annoying sound bites, such as rushing  water  or  bird
chirps, which sound like an anemic  attempt  at  invoking  an  ethnic
ambiance. Also, the tracks come across condensed and, as a whole, the
album is fragmented -- not surprising since the  album  was  recorded
over a four-year period and six tracks have been released on previous
albums or compilations.


Amon Amarth - _Once Sent from the Golden Hall_  (Metal Blade, 1998)
by: Drew Schinzel  (7 out of 10)

I really loved Amon Amarth's debut MCD on Pulverized Records, _Sorrow
Throughout the Nine Worlds_; the album's mix of  harmony  with  death
and black metal was a seamless integration.  However,  on  their  new
release for Metal Blade, Amon Amarth  take  a  turn  further  towards
death metal as this album is -much- heavier  than  _STtNW_,  although
not quite as good. The melodic riffing is  still  there,  creating  a
sense of urgency in the songs and framing the rest  of  the  elements
nicely, but something is occasionally missing. Whereas the MCD had  a
tremendous musical impact and was truly excellent in  many  respects,
_OSftGH_ lacks the consistency of its predecessor. The best songs  on
the MCD were totally epic, not in length but in feeling, but on  this
most recent album that sense seems to be gone, and the best songs  on
_OSftGH_ can't really compare at all to the MCD. This isn't  a  total
condemnation of the album (in fact, it's quite good), but it's really
just not up to the  standard  set  by  _Sorrow  Throughout  the  Nine
Worlds_. _Once Sent from the Golden Hall_ is  a  quality  album,  but
it's simply not Amon Amarth's best work.


Various Artists - _Area 51_  (Victory Records, 1998)
by: Zena Tsarfin  (8 out of 10)

While I won't pretend to understand what the connection  between  the
Area 51 alien conspiracy and hardcore is, I can  tell  you  that  the
rambunctious blend of European  and  American  bands  found  on  this
54-track, double-CD compilation would scare off any  extraterrestrial
that made  it  through  our  airspace.  Although  virtually  all  the
included bands' tracks have been released elsewhere, the practicality
of _Area 51_ stems from the fact that all of them  were  released  on
über-indie, hard-to-find labels (and  imports  in  the  case  of  the
Euros), making this set a good sampler for anyone interested  in  the
groups that are only found in the pages of In Effect  'Zine  and  Ian
Glasper's columns in Terrorizer. Although _Area 51_ has its share  of
filler (Next Step Up, Stigmata), contributions by Deviate, Fahrenheit
451, 59 Times the Pain, Warzone, Will Haven, Despair, Breach  and  so
many others makes it well worthwhile.


Black Funeral - _Empire of Blood_  (Full Moon Prod., February 1998)
by: Steve Hoeltzel  (9 out of 10)

AACCKK!! Yes!! This is  easily  some  of  the  BEST  really  raw  and
ultra-ghastly black metal that I have ever heard. I like this  better
than the mighty Sort Vokter (!!), better than  Ildjarn,  better  even
than the Legions Noires bands  from  France.  This  band's  style  is
guaranteed to totally alienate the vast majority of listeners, but if
you have a taste for the  uniquely  creepy  ambience  which  severely
unrefined black metal can dredge up, then I encourage  you  to  track
this down. It's wild music, atmospherically pregnant with  the  void;
you listen to this and marvel that human  beings  produced  something
that sounds so far gone. In addition to the  sheer  weirdness  of  it
all, listening is  especially  enjoyable  on  two  levels.  The  most
immediately  apparent  factor  is  the  basement-quality  sound.   As
evidenced by the highly boring  nature  of  all  the  "sophisticated"
style-pirates who play a polished-up version of black  metal,  highly
impure production is by far the superior vehicle for this style,  and
Black Funeral does a great job with it. (Think of the  production  on
the Emperor/Enslaved split for  a  good  comparison.)  But  far  more
important in the long run are the songs  themselves  --  unformulaic,
unearthly constructions crawling  with  all  these  weirdly  sinister
little melodies that irresistibly worm their way into your brain. But
be warned!! The songs will sound awfully familiar if you've  got  the
first Black Funeral CD, because six  of  the  tracks  on  _Empire  of
Blood_ are re-recorded versions of songs from the debut,  though  the
titles and lyrics have been changed. (I only have a promo version  of
the CD, so I don't know if the full packaging indicates this or not.)
Anyway, I always thought those old songs were cool, and I  think  the
new versions offer enough enhancement to make  the  repetition  quite
worthwhile. The  sound  this  time  is  more  spacious,  hazier,  and
stranger, with incredibly abstracted, distorted howling vocals --  so
while the debut  was  a  classic  of  grim,  raw  black  metal,  this
re-recording is a classic of very ambient grim, raw black metal. Also
included are three demo tracks from 1993 -- not quite as good as  the
new material, but pleasantly ripping all  the  same.  Check  out  the
artwork, too: the calligraphy is just  amazing.  Killer  all  around.
This should be destined for serious cult status.


Bongzilla - _Methods For Attaining Extreme Attitudes_
by: Adrian Bromley  (5 out of 10)  (Relapse, February 1998)

By the name of the band alone you should have a good idea  what  kind
of music this quartet plays.  That's  right,  pot  smokers,  here  is
another band to smoke up to. _MfAEA_ is a small dose (3-song  EP)  of
pot-influenced songs about (what else?) Marijuana. Just look  at  the
song titles -- "MELOVESPOT", "High Like A Dog" and "Smoke  /  I  Love
MaryJane" -- and you get a pretty good idea how Bongzilla spend  most
of their free time. While the songs may be heavy as fuck, overflowing
with distortion and odd musical arrangements, it pretty much lacks in
the  creative  department.  Think  of   this   as   a   second   rate
Neurosis/Melvins band. The only thing creative  about  Bongzilla  are
the band member names (Killer Kola Killer, The Big "Bud"  Man,  Magma
Mota and Sensi Spanky) and even  that  may  be  a  stretch.  Potheads
unite. All others may want to sample this, but might  be  better  off
going to the other side of the room.


Dawn - _Slaughtersun (Crown of the Triarchy)_  (Necropolis, 1998)
by: Drew Schinzel  (9 out of 10)

The much anticipated, and much delayed, second Dawn  full  length  is
now released, and let me be one of the first to declare that  it  was
completely  worth  the  wait.  Expanding  on  their   already   solid
foundation of epic length, high-speed, melodic blackened death metal,
Dawn have upped most of the song times to around  the  eight  to  ten
minute mark, with nary a boring moment filling in the almost one hour
of music which constitutes _SCotT_. Commencing with the  monumentally
fantastic opener "The Knell  and  the  World",  _SCotT_  flows  along
infallibly,  achieving  a  magnificent  mixture  of  extremely   high
velocity aggression with slower, more sedate  passages,  though  with
the former dominating the latter. Dawn excel at  composing  songs  of
eminent maturity with more than just a hint of originality as the six
works present here will prove; their best asset, the unparalleled way
that Dawn combine searing  speed  and  aggression  with  the  perfect
amount of melody, never overpowers the song, seems out of place,  nor
situates the band in  the  ranks  of  more  melodic  groups  such  as
Dissection or Sacramentum. Couple their compositional skills with the
tortured, yet subdued, vocals of Henke Forss, one of the  best  black
or death vocalists around, and the improved drumming courtesy of  new
addition Jocke Petersson (Niden Div  187),  and  Dawn  have  produced
simply a tremendous album. One of 1998's finest thus far.


Defleshed - _Under the Blade_  (Metal Blade, 1998)
by: Drew Schinzel  (6 out of 10)

"Solid metal" is what Defleshed claim to play,  and  though  I'm  not
sure whether they mean it's merely solid in the 'good' sense,  or  if
they've spawned a whole new genre here, "solid metal" sounds a  whole
lot like 80s thrash/speed-inspired death metal  to  me.  Producing  a
pretty fat sound for just a three piece  band,  Defleshed  utilize  a
great raw guitar sound along with some manic drumming to  create  the
harsh tones found on _UtB_. Alternating  from  blasting  death  metal
sections with pretty standard components into the  definitely  cooler
thrashier material, the problem with _UtB_  is  that  it's  just  too
intensely divided for its own good. Without hardly any transition  at
all, the band  goes  from  a  Testament  "Curse  of  The  Legions  of
Death"-sounding riff straight into insane death  metal,  leaving  the
album sounding totally disjointed, unable to follow up on which sound
to go with. This wouldn't be so bad if at least the respective thrash
and death parts were particularly -good-, but once one gets past  the
painful song arrangements, one  realizes  that  none  of  the  riffs,
drumming,  or  vocals   are   really   that   great   anyway.   Plus,
unfortunately, when they're not busy deciding on which style to go on
to next, Defleshed tend to be downright repetitive, which adds insult
to injury. _UtB_ may satisfy those looking for immediate death/thrash
gratification, but once you dig  down  past  the  surface  the  album
suffers.


Demonic - _The Empire of Agony_  (Necropolis Records, February 1998)
by: Steve Hoeltzel  (6.5 out of 10)

Expecting to be led down a well-worn path through some fairly generic
Norse blackness, I find  myself  entering  some  unexpected  (if  not
exactly uncharted) terrain. This is black metal first  and  foremost,
of course: there's a gratuitous keyboard intro and  so  on,  and  the
lyrics, from what I can make out, do not deviate one  iota  from  the
standard repertoire. Yet this band sounds a bit distinctive  in  that
they  give  off  a  conspicuously  grinding  vibe.  The   Grieghallen
production is surprisingly warm, with more mid-range and  bottom  end
than the typical Norwegian black metal sound.  Also,  the  drums  are
recorded and mixed  with  unusual  clarity  (again,  by  black  metal
standards!), with the result that the faster parts  have  this  weird
"Nordic tribal thunder grind" feel. This feel is sort of enhanced  by
the song structures, too; for black metal, the songs are quite  short
(several around three minutes apiece), and they're  mostly  built  up
from alternating slower sections and buzz-saw blasts. The problem  is
that too many of the riffs on the album just seem rather flat  --  so
once the novelty of the grinding vibe wears off, I seem  to  be  left
with a couple of  standout  tracks  and  not  much  else  of  lasting
interest. Still, this is not a bad album, really -- more  a  case  of
potential that doesn't get fulfilled. I think these guys could make a
real  tough  record  if  they  just  got  stronger  in  the   riffing
department. From the promo sleeve: "Release Date: February 14, 1998."
Isn't that sweet?


Diaboli - _Towards Damnation_  (Full Moon Productions, February 1998)
by: Steve Hoeltzel  (7 out of 10)

I was glad to see that this  guy  (formerly  "Lord  Pete",  now  just
"Pete") made a second Diaboli record, because I  really  enjoyed  the
first one, _Mesmerized by Darkness_. I bet  you'd  enjoy  that  album
too, if a blasting mix of early Bathory, old  Impaled  Nazarene,  and
just a hint of Darkthrone sounds enticing. This follow-up release  is
more of the same. Well, actually, in a sense it's a bit -less- of the
same, because _Towards Damnation_ is not quite  as  ferocious  or  as
dark as the Diaboli debut. Don't get me wrong, though: this is pretty
cool; it just doesn't hammer you into the ground quite like the first
record did. Still, all these little gripes of mine tend to  evaporate
pretty damn rapidly as I crank this up. A clear, hearty mix dominated
by great guitar sound spotlights Pete's uncanny  knack  for  crafting
riffs which, no matter how oft-repeated, never get  dull,  thanks  to
the subtle rhythmic hooks woven within. The songs can be repetitious,
yes, but they're also (and appropriately) mesmerizing -- and I  think
the slow, pounding sections of Diaboli songs are among the very  best
slow segments in the black metal genre. Why not give  this  a  higher
score, then? Well, as I said, I like the debut a  bit  better;  plus,
this contains only five new songs, in  addition  to  one  re-recorded
track and two disposable keyboard pieces. As I say,  though,  on  the
whole this is cool stuff from a band that deserves to be more  widely
known.


The Everdawn - _Poems - Burn the Past_  (Metal Blade, 1998)
by: Drew Schinzel  (5 out of 10)

Licensed  from  Germany's  Invasion  Records  by  Metal  Blade,   The
Everdawn's debut full length album _Poems  -  Burn  the  Past_  is  a
pretty thorough rip-off of the  final  two  At  The  Gates  releases,
_Terminal Spirit Disease_ and _Slaughter of the Soul_. Similar mix of
death, speed, and melody, same screamed vocals, same drum patterns --
The Everdawn have concocted an album virtually vacant of any sense of
originality whatsoever. Plus, it's not  even  a  particularly  -good-
rip-off; whereas Lindberg's vocals were an acquired taste, they  were
still a perfect match and  totally  satisfying;  The  Everdawn's  are
obviously strained and overproduced.  Add  this  sad  fact  to  other
musical caveats, and you've got an all-around  disappointing  effort.
As such, it's very difficult to swallow paying good money for  _PBtP_
when you've got a vastly superior alternative in either _TSD_ or  the
now almost classic _SoTS_.


Guillotine - _Under the Guillotine_  (Necropolis, 1998)
by: Drew Schinzel  (8.5 out of 10)

Taking the now hopefully waning 80's metal resurgence to its  highest
degree of musical debauchery, Guillotine  have  basically  completely
ripped off all that is Kreator and Sodom. Now here's the funny  part:
_Under  the  Guillotine_  totally  thrashes.  Without  an  ounce   of
originality or creativity whatsoever, Guillotine scythe  through  ten
tracks of pure 80's German thrash played, of course, by Swedes in the
late 90's. Who would have it any other way? With songs  such  as  the
ingeniously titled "Violence" and "Total Mayhem",  Guillotine  aren't
out  to  prove  anything  other  than  the   fact   that   they   are
unquestionably adept at playing 80s thrash with a sound so  obviously
ripped from all the early Kreator  albums  and  Sodom's  _Persecution
Mania_ that the album just screams out "THRASH" through and  through.
So, if it is such a blatant plagiarism, how can it be so good?  Let's
get this straight: _UtG_ is great -because-  it  is  such  a  blatant
plagiarism. Since Sodom isn't around anymore (thank God), and Kreator
aren't putting out albums like they used to, Guillotine fit precisely
into the remaining niche. Lovers of German thrash rejoice, your album
for 1998 has arrived.


Indungeon - _Machinegunnery of Doom_  (Full Moon Productions, 1998)
by: Drew Schinzel  (7.5 out of 10)

I think we should just start with some sort of "assumed  retro"  rule
around here: unless stated otherwise in the  first  two  lines  of  a
review, all albums reviewed from a certain  few  labels  (you  should
know which) should be assumed to be retro. On a tangent here, if this
continues, will their really even -be- a "retro" sound anymore? Won't
the sound have become so predominant as to become  current  as  well?
Anyway, that said, Indungeon is another  in  the  seemingly  unending
stream of 80s retro releases, and is pretty good at  sewing  together
very thrash-oriented songs with black vocals and all around competent
playing, better than a lot of the other completely crap  releases  of
late. The album,  from  what  I've  gathered  thus  far,  follows  an
innovative "war" theme, and the complex plot is integrated into  such
songs  as  "Mayhemic  Destruction"  (someone  give  these   bands   a
thesaurus,  -please-)  and  more  than  just   assonant   "Desolation
Creation". As mentioned, the album actually  -is-  a  cut  above  the
rest, as at least this band recycled -good- riffs from the  80s,  and
the guitars have a great raw, sharp  sound,  complemented  nicely  by
vocals of the same nature and production. The songs are fairly  basic
exercises in thrash; the only thing that'll catch you  off  guard  is
the occasional explosion thrown into the middle of a  song  for  good
measure. So, _MoD_ is a good, worthwhile album, but  is  that  really
enough to truly separate it from any of the others?


Keep of Kalessin - _Through Times of War_  (Avantgarde, 1998)
by: Drew Schinzel  (7 out of 10)

Although the name bears no meaning to  me  (I  can  guess),  Keep  of
Kalessin definitely surprised me with  their  brand  of  harsh  black
metal, rather similar to a combination of Setherial (minus  the  epic
length songs) and Marduk, coupled with a noticeable dose of  distinct
heaviness rarely seen in black metal. Most of the time  kicking  away
in typical  black  metal  speeds,  Keep  of  Kalessin  offer  a  very
effective foray into the now much  less  densely  populated  area  of
fast,  strident  blackness.  Tossing  in  some   sporadic,   "whirry"
keyboards here and there, the band forges a high quality  forty-seven
minute opus, but one which really has no  unique  characteristics  or
special features to separate it from all the  rest  out  there.  That
said, _Through Times of War_ is good, but there are plenty of  albums
out there just like it, or better.


Lux Occulta - _Dionysos_  (Pagan Records, December 1997)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (9 out of 10)

After having impressed me with their _Forever Alone. Immortal._  [CoC
#18], Lux Occulta have now released another brilliant piece of  epic,
doomy,  symphonic  black  metal.  Changes  in  the  balance   between
desolation and grandeur have occurred, though, as some  of  the  doom
has been forsaken in exchange  for  more  rapturous  symphonies  that
often reach excellent  quality  (as  before)  and  elevation  levels.
Perhaps an increase in pace has happened as well,  but  this  doesn't
mean that _Dionysos_ is more of a 'pure' black metal album  than  its
mostly mid-paced predecessor;  as  a  matter  of  fact,  perhaps  the
opposite is actually true, due to the  greater  rawness  of  _FA.I._.
Ultimately, though, Lux Occulta have kept  the  basis  of  their  own
distinctive style (whatever name should it have) intact, all  changes
having been of  superficial  nature.  Perhaps  the  most  significant
changes occurred outside the musical domain, concerning the graphical
and lyrical direction. Even though both have again  been  well  taken
care of, I'm not especially fond of their  new  subjects  (especially
when compared to those in _Forever Alone. Immortal._). The production
is much better in _Dionysos_, resulting in a far stronger sound,  and
the guitar work is also better  than  usual  in  most  keyboard-based
black metal albums.  Like  in  _FA.I._,  Lux  Occulta  have  done  an
outstanding triumphant ending for this album, which is indeed full of
highlights.


Maeror Tri - _Emotional Engramm_  (Iris Light, 1997)
by: Andrew Lewandowski  (9 out of 10)

Once one of the most potent and distinctive  ambient  groups,  Maeror
Tri has broken up, and _EE_ captures their dying breathes.  While  it
contains more movement and a greater variety of soundscapes than much
of their previous output, _EE_  retains  the  desolate,  melody-based
aesthetic characteristic  of  the  MT  sound.  Former  MT  albums  --
particularly _Mort Aux Vaches_,  my  favorite  --  could  delude  the
apathetic listener into believing  that  the  music  was  sterile  or
static, but _EE_'s chaos is explicit and  inexorable.  Although  this
album rarely attains the vicious climaxes produced  by  the  buildups
with which MT can  enthrall  the  listener,  MT's  soundscapes  still
disconcert and, in fact, are more imaginative  than  ever.  As  their
final effort proves, MT, one of  the  few  ambient  artists  by  whom
everyone should  own  at  least  one  album,  has  proven  that  they
disintegrated at the height of their talent.


Mental Home - _Vale_  (The End, 1997)
by: Adam Wasylyk  (5 out of 10)

After concluding two or so listens to _Vale_, I  could  honestly  say
that what had entered my ears left them in a  real  hurry!  Having  a
mostly doom sound (a slight comparison could be made  to  Napalm  act
Visceral Evisceration), it's combined with black metal  vocals  (used
only  occasionally)  and  second-rate  My  Dying  Bride   lyric/music
influences and comes off sounding disjointed with  no  real  flow  or
hooks to latch on to. It sounds as if Mental Home just took  a  bunch
of influences and threw them together, which can result in  something
sounding different but it can also  come  out  sounding  jumbled  and
plain confusing. You wanna buy quality doom?  There  are  many  great
albums waiting in your nearby store or mail  order  catalog,  but  it
certainly isn't in the form of _Vale_.


Various Artists - _A Mercyful Fate Tribute_
by: Paul Schwarz  (8 out of 10)  (Listenable, December 1997)

Although I have never heard Mercyful Fate, this compilation  provided
very interesting, not to mention quite good, listening. Production on
every track is excellent.  It  is  obvious  from  listening  to  this
album's 13 bands and 68 minutes of music that each band has  injected
a little, or a lot, of their own style  into  the  original  Mercyful
Fate song. The only other thing  that  could  be  the  case  is  that
Mercyful Fate were 1) 10 years ahead of the norm, or 2)  8  bands  in
one. What this compilation is, is a collection of very  well  written
songs performed by some  of  my  favourite  independant  label  bands
(Deceased, Dark Tranquillity, Emperor, and more, all feature). What I
am undecided on is whether this compilation is a good  representation
of Mercyful Fate and whether it is a good introduction to the  band's
music. Only a couple of tracks  capture  the  classic  80s  feel  and
attempt King  Diamond's  eunuch  like  vocals.  Most  of  the  album,
although mostly quality music, does not sound like Mercyful Fate  but
like a new song by the  band  performing.  Gardenian's  "A  Dangerous
Meeting" sounds like  a  taster  of  their  forthcoming  album  while
Immolation sound like they've dug up one of their old demo  tapes  to
give us "Satan's Fall".  Gardenian's  track  is  extremely  good  and
Immolation's is far from shabby, but most of this CD sounds a  little
too, well, 90s. The pros of this are that it sees bands injecting new
and different energy into old songs; the drawback is that it  doesn't
capture the 80s atmosphere in which the originals  were  written  and
recorded. A great value compilation of bands but probably not one for
Mercyful Fate fans still stuck firmly in the 80s  and  rejecting  the
90s.


Midvinter - _At the Sight of the Apocalypse Dragon_
by: Drew Schinzel  (4 out of 10)  (Metal Blade, 1998)

Considering all of the turmoil that Midvinter went through  prior  to
releasing this record, maybe it would've been better if  they'd  just
broken up instead. _At the Sight  of  the  Apocalypse  Dragon_  is  a
generic album of standard black metal that tries to be majestic,  but
just ends up being merely forgettable instead. As the band churns out
their eight minute "epic"  songs,  it's  pretty  easy  to  see  right
through their efforts to be "mature" and "atmospheric",  and  realize
that they actually just "suck." I  guess  you  could  describe  their
music as resembling a mix of  early  Satyricon  and  Mayhem,  with  a
little more melody thrown into some parts; but don't expect  anything
remotely  as  good,  because  Midvinter  aren't  really  capable   of
executing anything worthy of remembrance on _AtSotAD_. Not one of  my
favorites.


Mithotyn - _In the Sign of the Ravens_  (Metal Blade, 1998)
by: Drew Schinzel  (9 out of 10)

Refill your pint of ale and put down your oars, it's time for another
extremely solid album of heavily Viking tinged black metal, this time
courtesy of the debut album _In the Sign of the Ravens_ from Sweden's
Mithotyn. Taking a much more melodic approach than most of their  ilk
(Falkenbach, Enslaved, etc.), yet still retaining the occasional high
speed passages and black vocals (the only thing keeping them  in  the
realm of black metal are these two factors), Mithotyn are  without  a
doubt among the top merchants of their trade.  With  an  unparalleled
emphasis on overt, drawn out melodies, these aren't  buried  deep  in
the mix as is often to be heard, and perfect placement  of  keyboards
when needed, the band plows  through  eleven  tracks  of  excellently
composed, beautifully executed, heavily melodic and often epic Viking
black metal. While incorporating many things common to  their  style,
for example the typical  manly  chanting,  Mithotyn  also  take  upon
themselves to include some unique elements, such  as  the  occasional
orchestra hit, harpsichord part  (prediction:  more  bands  will  use
harpsichord  in  the  future),   and   some   very   cool   stop-time
arrangements, deftly elevating  themselves  above  the  norm  in  the
process. I also feel obligated to point out that the band has as  its
drummer Karsten, formerly of  Dawn,  and  he  of  the  fluffy  blonde
Swede-Afro.  Simply  stated,  those  looking  for  a   venture   into
melody-dominated metal with all the northern trap pings should  begin
praising Odin and snatch up _In the Sign of the Ravens_ immediately.


Moonspell - _Sin/Pecado_  (Century Media, February 1998)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (6 out of 10)

"Sell me out, sell me out... Everyone has a price, everything  has  a
price." This is a quote from  "V.C.  (Gloria  Domini)",  track  7  of
_Sin_, a song about society ("V.C." meaning  "Vulture  Culture")  and
"buying"  people.  Whether  these  same  lyrics  can  be  applied  to
Moonspell and their new album itself may be an  interesting  question
for those who choose to waste their time with it;  whether  Moonspell
were aware of that when they wrote it is perhaps  the  real  question
here. But the fact is that Century Media really hit the jackpot  when
they signed Moonspell a few years ago. Back then, they signed a  very
interesting average-selling metal band, and now they  have  a  rather
uninteresting, yet highly profitable, pseudo-metal/goth  band.  Maybe
I'm being a bit too harsh here, because "Handmade God", "Abysmo"  and
"Let the Children Cum to Me" (yes, I did spell that  right)  are  all
acceptable  tracks  (even  the  very  mellow  "The  Hanged  Man"   is
reasonable too  --  for  a  very  mellow  song,  that  is).  However,
"Eurotica" made me laugh like I did when I listened to the ridiculous
Fear Factory remixes in _Remanufacture_,  and  the  problem  is  that
besides the three exceptions I mentioned above, the album  is  either
average or sometimes even mediocre -- most of  it  is  simply  bland,
lacks strength and fails to  capture  attention.  Yet,  like  I  just
noted, there are a  few  tracks  which  avoid  a  rating  that  could
otherwise have been lower, but _Sin_ never rises above  what  can  be
labeled as 'acceptable'. I can say that I 'saw'  this  album  shortly
after listening to _Irreligious_, as I'm quite sure many others  did;
so this isn't even a  disappointing  outcome,  because  I  more  than
expected it to be this way. Let's say that Moonspell started by using
ingredient X in _Wolfheart_ then kept 50% of X and added 50% of a new
Y ingredient in _Irreligious_; now only traces of X are left, while Y
rises to nearly 100%. By the way, if you liked the  sort  of  rhythms
and sampled sounds found in  "Subversion"  from  _Irreligious_,  then
there's plenty of that in _Sin_ for you to enjoy -- I  definitely  do
not. As a matter  of  fact,  strengthening  the  idea  stated  above,
samples abound throughout the recording and  play  a  very  important
role in _Sin_. Now I would just  like  to  quote  Moonspell  from  an
interview I heard, in which their vocalist stated that  the  listener
must be "intelligent enough" to understand the album and the  changes
in their sound. Fortunately, I  couldn't  possibly  care  less  about
their opinion on anyone's intelligence (much less  my  own).  Anyway,
one might even say that _Sin_ is an attempt  at  avoiding  stagnancy;
then again, that by itself was never enough to make an  album  better
nor to justify the direction that has been chosen. As _Sin_ ends, one
can hear a sample of someone saying "We were happy to have  you  with
us tonight and hope  you  will  come  back  often."  As  far  as  I'm
concerned, you can keep on hoping.


Nagelfar - _Hunengrab im Herbst_  (Kettenhund Records, November 1997)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (9 out of 10)

First of all, one thing should be taken out of the way: as far  as  I
know, this is not Naglfar, the band that was  reviewed  in  CoC  #11.
Nagelfar (notice the extra "e") is a very  Norwegian-sounding  German
band; CoC #11's Naglfar sounds like Dissection, whereas  this  German
Nagelfar only retains  the  technicality  and  speed  of  Dissection.
Venomous fast sections with high  quality  drumming  and  very  tight
guitar playing merge with some slower passages  into  lengthy  tracks
(sometimes over 10 minutes long) of very emotional,  fast,  technical
and somewhat melodic music. Melody is provided  when  necessary,  but
quite harsh sequences are also to be found, and an overall feeling of
well-controlled harshness pervades the whole album.  The  vocals  are
varied as well, from  Abigor-like  screams  to  more  standard  black
vocals and some clean chanting. There's  occasional  (and  effective)
use of keyboards, usually during the slower sections, whereas all the
rest of the album (by far most of it) is guitar-based.  However,  the
guitar work is of enough quality  to  guarantee  that  the  need  for
melodic or atmospheric enhancement through the use  of  keyboards  is
hardly ever felt. Through an unpretentious, low-profile  album  cover
and general attitude, Nagelfar  make  it  clear  that  _Hunengrab  im
Herbst_ is  an  album  which  relies  exclusively  upon  its  musical
qualities -- and it definitely has plenty.


Nebula - _Let It Burn_  (Tee Pee Records, 1998)
by: Zena Tsarfin  (7 out of 10)

Nebula's relationship to Fu Manchu is what Slo Burn's was to Kyuss: a
carbon-copy of the original unit they were  spawned  from.  Featuring
ex-Fu members  Eddie  Glass  and  Ruben  Romano,  plus  bassist  Mark
Abshire, the band pummels through six  stoner  rockin',  dirty-guitar
riff wailing and garage-esque ditties that are guaranteed to  get  Fu
Manchu and Clutch fans' heads bopping along after leaning back from a
hearty bong hit. Perhaps the biggest similarity between Fu and Nebula
is  Glass'  vocal  performance,  which  mimics  Scott  Hill's   drawl
significantly with its echo effect. Despite my abhorrence for blatant
-- not to mention overtly executed -- ripoffs, I am  a  Fu  fan,  and
inasmuch found some redemption in this EP,  particularly  in  "Vulcan
Bomber" and the title track.


Nightstick - _Ultimatum_  (Relapse, February 1998)
by: Adrian Bromley  (8 out of 10)

It has been twelve issues since we first featured Nightstick  (review
in CoC #17; story #18)? It seemed like  only  yesterday  that  I  was
listening to _Blotter_ (their Relapse debut) and trying  to  decipher
the odd ideas and warped samples sewn into the distorted feedback  of
this Weymouth, Massachusetts band. I still haven't figured  out  what
they are all about, and I don't think I want to. Too hard to explain;
snag a copy of _Blotter_ and you'll see what I mean. Onto LP  #2  and
_Ultimatum_ is a much more powerful and raw  sounding  record.  While
still chock-full of  epic  distorted  destruction,  _Ultimatum_  also
dwells within a truly dark  environment.  While  _Blotter_  was  very
free-flowing and oddly assembled, the intensity  of  _Ultimatum_  has
been coursed out, a strike that successfully propels itself under our
skin and into our psyche. The band has not only crafted and honed  in
on their ability of creepy song ideas, but magnified  their  powerful
sonic assault. This is noise -- pure noise -- but served up  so  well
that coming back for seconds seems like the only right thing to do.


Officium Triste - _Ne Vivam_  (Teutonic Existence, 1997)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (6 out of 10)

Depressive, slow,  occasionally  melodic  doom/death  is  perhaps  an
appropriate description for _Ne Vivam_.  However,  despite  the  very
strong drum sound (the drumming is well performed, too), deep  grunts
and frequently dirge-like  guitars,  that  description  unfortunately
fails to  portray  the  whole  album.  Whereas  many  slow  (but  not
ultra-slow) passages and reasonably competent doomy melodies  can  be
found, some more conventional guitar solos and less-than-doomy  parts
(especially in tracks 6 and 8) tend to degrade the album's atmosphere
of doom and desolation. My inner darkness dislikes that; here,  light
hurts, and those moments are glimpses of direct sunlight that  aren't
welcome at all. In doom metal, when one shows a glimpse of  sunlight,
he must be very careful to adequately enshroud  it  in  bleakness  --
otherwise the results may be disastrous. And  while  "Frozen  Tears",
"One  With  the  Sea",  "Psyche   Nullification"   and,   especially,
"Lonesome" (which features some excellent sorrowful  melodies  during
the first couple of minutes) are very worthy, the rest of this  album
is mostly rather unremarkable, and often even harmful to its  doomier
parts. As a result, the greatest problem in _Ne  Vivam_  is  that  it
suffers  from  a  clear  lack  of  consistent  direction,  which   is
especially annoying when one considers its best moments.


Otyg - _Alvefard_  (Napalm, 1998)
by: Drew Schinzel  (8 out of 10)

Hey, here's a novel idea: take some folk songs from your country  and
spice those tired old things up with some metal, damnit! OK, so Storm
might've gotten to the concept first, but Otyg is  by  no  means  any
sort of Storm clone; if anything, they're a more evolved,  more  folk
oriented variant. The music, based on violin with  a  melodic  guitar
accompaniment and brought up by  a  powerful  backbone  of  pounding,
mid-paced  drumming,  is  a  bit  more  harmonious  than  Storm,  and
obviously is a little more complex, taking the idea much further than
simply "heavy metal folk." The vocals are totally  clean,  with  both
the male and female vocals being very  similar  to  those  in  Storm.
Something Storm -doesn't- have, however, is someone jamming  away  on
the  oft  overlooked  mouth-harp,   granting   the   band   immediate
originality points. Overall,  the  combination  of  the  totally  apt
violin,  guitars  cranking  out  the  obviously   northern   sounding
melodies, well done vocals, and just plain rocking pace of the  whole
thing forms an excellent album, to be appreciated by  fans  of  Storm
and lovers of plain good music in general.


Pro-Pain - _Pro-Pain_  (Mayhem Records, 1998)
by: Zena Tsarfin  (5 out of 10)

You've got to hand it to those stubborn New Yorkers in  Pro-Pain  for
maintaining their consistent -- if not slightly  redundant  --  sound
for so many years. That's not to say that they haven't changed  since
their acclaimed hardcore/crossover debut, _Foul  Taste  of  Freedom_;
new songs like "Don't Kill Yourself to Live", "Mark My Words" and "My
Time Will Come" are driving, spirited and downright catchy. Still, it
seems that the boys are using the same 'If it ain't broke, don't  fix
it' approach to songwriting as Deicide, and  both  bands'  respective
fans seem to enjoy it. While Pro-Pain are not likely to win over  new
fans with this latest release, it'll  surely  appease  their  current
following.


Pungent Stench - _Praise the Names of the Musical Assassins_
by: Adam Wasylyk  (9 out of 10)  (Nuclear Blast, January 1998)

I've always liked Pungent Stench, who to me  were  one  of  the  best
death metal bands to combine brutality (both musically and  visually)
with  groove.  _PtNotMA_  is  comprised  of  hard-to-find,  rare  and
compilation tracks  to  serve  almost  as  a  "best  of,"  a  quality
remembrance to one of Nuclear Blast's better bands. Starting out with
five tracks which appeared on  a  split  LP  with  fellow  N.B.  band
Disharmonic Orchestra, these tracks alone are worth the price of this
CD (special packaging and  all)  due  to  the  sheer  aggression  and
violence they spew forth. It's music to kill or torture  someone  to.
Also worthy of mention are tracks from Pungent Stench's  7"  _Extreme
Deformity_, three tracks that appeared on different compilations (the
better ones being _Death Is Just the Beginning 2_'s "Daddy Cruel" and
_DIJtB 3_'s "Tony"). Almost 2/3's into the  album,  the  listener  is
confronted with  "Madcatmachopsychoromantik",  a  complete  turnabout
from the prior 13 tracks, featuring crooning with  a  backdrop  which
could resemble (well, at least the first half of the song) a mangled,
acid drenched metal version of something Quebec pop star Mitsou would
create! When the confusion subsides, we are treated to five remaining
tracks that appeared on a rehearsal demo the band did in  1988.  Just
saying "rehearsal demo" should testify to  their  recording  quality,
but it's a great chance to see Pungent's beginnings as a band and  to
hear how the band have evolved over the years. As mentioned  earlier,
the CD comes in special packaging which consists of a black box which
holds the CD and a 24-page booklet containing all of Pungent Stench's
releases (rare and all), live shows and photos of the band that  were
taken from around the world. Nuclear Blast went all  out  to  release
this worthy send-off to Pungent Stench, and I think fans  of  Pungent
or fans of great death metal will agree with me.


Sadness - _Evangelion_  (Mystic Production, 1998)
by: Andrew Lewandowski  (5 out of 10)

Although the result is schizophrenic,  Sadness  deserves  credit  for
their ability to throw virtually every  single  gothic  metal  cliche
into a two and a half minute song. By the end  of  the  first  track,
"Mr. Faust", the listener has heard (and I may have missed  a  nuance
or two) effeminate orgasmic moans, ludicrous male clean vocals  (akin
to a less restrained Tom G. Warrior on "Mesmerized"), screams altered
by studio trickery to augment the cheesiness, the word "sex" repeated
constantly (I heard the line "I am a sex  machine"),  an  ineffectual
synth intro,  various  other  synth-generated  ambient  moments,  and
rudimentary  piano  sections.  What  purpose  does  all  this  serve?
Although Sadness goes through great lengths to combat the  listener's
ennui, this doesn't  obscure  the  monotonous  riffs  and  poor  song
structure. Yet, as is evident in the  album's  more  sedate  moments,
they need to  create  a  structural  mishmash  in  order  to  prevent
boredom. After three tracks performed in  the  aforementioned  style,
_Evangelion_ features  three  old  songs  and  a  synth  track  which
attempts  to  invoke  a  medieval  ambiance,  yet  fails  since  it's
obviously played on a cheap Casio. The next track, "Tears of Sorrow",
proves that Sadness can  create  a  melancholic  atmosphere,  but  it
suffers from silly vocal trickery and drags for ten minutes.  Despite
its lugubrious melodrama, "Danteferno" is probably  the  best  track,
while "Red Script" is a prosaic moment from a 1990  demo.  Even  with
the schizophrenia of the first three tracks,  this  is  a  thoroughly
forgettable album.


Sentenced - _Story: A Recollection_  (Century Media, February 1998)
by: Adrian Bromley  (8 out of 10)

It took me while to really get into this band. And while the band has
changed  its  style  tremendously  since  their  early  days,   their
brilliant musical career has nonetheless been  an  interesting  ride.
_Story: A Recollection_ is in fact a 'Best  of...'  package  by  this
popular Finnish death metal (now more a metal/rock) act  from  1991's
_Shadows of the Past_ onto last year's  superb  _Down_  LP.  All  the
band's popular and/or fan faves are here:  "Nepenthe"  and  "New  Age
Messiah" (from 1995's _Amok_), "My Sky  Is  Darker  Than  Thine"  and
"Awaiting the Winter Frost"  (from  1993's  classic  LP  _North  From
Here_). Plus there are eleven more numbers including their cool  Iron
Maiden cover song "The Trooper" and  the  previously  unreleased  "No
Tomorrow". Like a "story", this collection accurately chronicles  the
various time periods  of  Sentenced,  allowing  the  listener  to  be
captivated by strong melodies, well-thought out arrangements and some
classic melodic/death metal. An LP fans will no doubt scope out.


Social Degeneration of Poets - _Martyrdom_
by: Adrian Bromley  (7 out of 10)  (Independent, February 1998)

The name of the band had me assuming this was gonna be some kind of a
reckless bar band, out to play the numbers with mediocre musicianship
and some bad harmonies. _Martyrdom_  is  nowhere  near  the  lame-ass
attempts of what a shitty bar band would put down on record  --  this
band is the complete opposite of that. First off, Social Degeneration
of Poets (SDP) play a really bad-ass bluesy rock/metal  sound  (throw
in a bit of progressiveness) that has an easy flowing stride  to  it.
The songs are strong and well-written and the music is memorable  for
the most part. Singer Shawn  Shuart  has  a  really  powerful  voice,
easily parading himself throught the  band's  many  styles.  My  only
setbacks to the band is the rather poor production  of  some  of  the
material and the guitar work that finds its way onto several  tracks.
Not all the guitar work needs help, just some of it. I'm thinking the
production hampered it, as some songs  (most  notably  "Kick  Up  the
Soul" and "Prey") come across in top notch form. Little problems that
can easily be deleted and/or fixed come album #2. A good  indie  band
that'll hopefully have a future.

Contact: SOCIAL DEGENERATION, P.O. Box 10, Owosso, MI 48867, USA


Solefald - _The Linear Scaffold_  (Avantgarde, November 1997)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (9 out of 10)

After a well-worded overview of their  musical  philosophy,  Solefald
(Norwegian for "sunset") describe their own work as "red  music  with
black edges" -- and, after listening to _The Linear Scaffold_ enough,
that description proves to be quite adequate. "Weird" is  perhaps  an
euphemistic description for some parts  of  this  album;  still,  the
whole of it manages to avoid sounding weird --  it  all  makes  sense
when put together as it changes  from  strangeness  into  brilliance.
However, think not of Sigh's  _Hail  Horror  Hail_,  for  things  are
-very- different here, not to mention much better. In fact,  I'm  not
enthusiastic about musical weirdness just by  itself,  but  _TLS_  is
excellent, regardless of that. The album is comprised essentially  of
contrasts. Fast sections abound, their body composed more of keyboard
than guitar sound, with vocals ranging from very blackened shrieks to
deeper voices, clean vocals, and spoken parts. Between  those  faster
sections, which are unusual on their own, Solefald include even  more
unusual passages, which, like I said, manage to sound in place  in  a
surprisingly natural way. Considering the music  contained  here,  40
minutes is hardly enough for all that could have been  done  in  this
CD, but a -lot- has already happened after the first  minute  or  two
expires and, fortunately, every track in this record is highly worthy
of its time. I must also mention the superb  keyboard  passages  with
both spoken vocals and ripping shrieks of  anguish;  the  album  ends
with an extraordinary sequence of the latter  kind  in  a  remarkable
combination of suffering and melody. In fact, the start  and  end  of
_TLS_, while extremely  different,  are  two  fine  examples  of  the
outstanding intensity Solefald reach in _The Linear Scaffold_.


Stuck Mojo - _Rising_  (Century Media, February 1998)
by: Adrian Bromley  (9.5 out of 10)

It seems so fitting that a monstrous force from the  Southern  United
States (Atlanta, Georgia to be exact) is destined to  give  us  metal
heads a whooping of a lifetime. The band in question  is  Stuck  Mojo
and the item knocking us to floor and kicking the shit out of  us  is
the quartet's latest long player, _Rising_. I was  not  prepared  for
this and I reckon those who pick this up will  be  pummeled  equally.
Fans of the band have come to expect a sudden surge of  mighty  riffs
and in-yer-face attitude with years of progression from  Stuck  Mojo,
but this is just mind boggling. The band's growth in  experience  and
intensity has been well-chronicled since their debut _Snappin' Necks_
in  1994  and  their  continuous  growth  into   1996's   brilliantly
hard-hitting _Pigwalk_, which was one of my fave records the year  it
surfaced thanks in part to Stuck Mojo's reckless attitude  and  Devin
Townsend (of Strapping Young Lad) and Daniel Bergstrand's  (Meshuggah
producer) production efforts. From  the  current-themed  ideas  about
U.S. President Bill Clinton on "Crooked Figurehead",  the  perils  of
society   one   must   face   ("Trick"   or   "Rising")   or   racial
stereotypes/issues   within   the   rap-styled   "Suburban   Ranger",
hardcore/rap/metal outfit Stuck Mojo deliver the goods in a big  way.
Like a gun shoved in your mouth by a hostage taker,  Stuck  Mojo  has
you at its mercy for 46+ minutes, never letting you  go  until  their
full-agenda is digested into you brain. While still  loud,  obnoxious
and completely volatile, _Rising_ has lost its precision  production,
aiming for a more raw and live feel.  But  that  isn't  a  bad  thing
either. With the help of producer Andy Sheap (Exodus,  Skinlab),  the
downscaling of production value is not a  deterrent  for  the  band's
music to prosper in many other ways.  Singer/rapper  Bonz  has  never
sounded so angry and Rich Ward's guitar playing and song writing  has
enhanced tremendously since the early days. And now, without  such  a
slick coating, we hear and feel  this  moreso  this  time  than  ever
before. Thick riffs laced with melodic hard  core  groove  flow  with
ease as Bonz rants and rants till the cows come home. I didn't  think
they could top _Pigwalk_, but they proved me wrong. Non-believers run
for your life, 'cuz the Mojo is rising!


Tura Satana - _Relief Through Release_  (Noise Records, January 1998)
by: Adrian Bromley  (10 out of 10)

I can't explain to you how much I *love* this record. There  is  just
something about Tura Satana (the band formerly known as Manhole) that
fascinates me. I just can't get enough. There is a  really  dark  and
emotional charm that singer Tairrie  B.  has  on  the  listener.  Her
voice, so dark and brooding, letting emotions snarl and snap  without
warning. Her tongue and words  acting  like  a  sharp  sword  cutting
through us with every verse. While somewhat in the same vein  as  the
Manhole record (1996's _All Is Not Well_), Tura Satana has lost a bit
of that L.A. hardcore/rap/metal feel with _Relief Trough Release_ and
delved deep into a truly stunning display of emotionally charged dark
hard rock / metal, shrouded with a vibrant reality and slight  gothic
overtones. This is the real deal folks. No bullshit. No falsehoods as
this band speaks from the heart. The opening of the LP  states:  "...
Welcome to violence. This time it comes in  female  form..."  What  a
fitting intro to the world of singer/screamer Tairrie B. Should we be
alarmed? Oh YES! She is a devil-like vixen with many tales to  weave.
Her take on life and reality is like a fist to the face, a  rampaging
seductress on the loose. The violence and carnage is  overbearing  at
times and we, the listener, take some serious  verbal  beatings  from
Tura Satana. Every song on this record  (13  songs  plus  CD-ROM)  is
brilliant. Powerful, dark and delivering an over the top  performance
by a band that shifted their sound a bit to represent  their  musical
deliverance. Think a pissed off (and heavier) Concrete  Blonde  mixed
with Crisis and a bone-crushing groove. _RTR_ has some  prime  choice
cuts: "Luna", "Relapse", "Venus Diablo" and  the  ultra-cool  Nirvana
cover song "Negative Creep". This is a great band that should do some
real damage in the coming months.


Uncreation - _Uncreation_  (Black Dragon / Repulse, October 1997)
by: Paul Schwarz  (4 out of 10)

Uncreation are yet another band playing brutal-as-fuck NY style death
metal. Don't get me wrong, I like this style, but a) they are not the
best at it by a long shot and b) it doesn't really provide that  wide
a berth for variation and by not altering the  formula  set  down  by
bands like  Suffocation  and  Immolation  one  bit,  Unnatural  build
themselves a solid lead balloon. Only a strange rant at  the  end  of
_Uncreation_ (where it sounds like Phil Anselmo has waltzed into  the
studio and spilled forth his  irritations)  provides  any  surprises.
Bands need to either push boundaries or play the original so well  it
sounds new in a style like brutal death metal. If bands don't do  one
or the  other,  we  might  as  well  just  have  them  releasing  bad
Suffocation tribute albums and there really  would  be  no  point  in
doing that.


Unnatural - _Throne of Anguish_  (Qabalah, July 1997)
by: Paul Schwarz  (6 out of 10)

Unnatural have a good MCD here. They play death metal in the vein  of
the mighty (and  now  sadly  deceased)  Carcass  and,  although  only
capturing this band's brilliance in fleeting moments, still create  a
solid, well produced MCD. _ToA_ has everything  you  need  out  of  a
death  metal  release:  agression,  poise,  heavy  production.   What
Unnatural really lack, and desperately need, is  something  else.  In
death metal's heydey, this MCD might  have  been  on  par  with  good
bands, but, quite frankly, this has all been done  before  either  as
well as or better than Unnatural do it  on  _ToA_.  With  many  bands
(Cryptopsy, Vader, Deceased  to  name  but  a  few)  still  producing
riveting stuff, Unnatural will need to catch up -and- jump  ahead  if
they want to justify their existence.


Unsane - _Occupational Hazard_  (Relapse, January 1998)
by: Adrian Bromley  (7 out of 10)

Noise-mongers Unsane have been dishing out their  dirty,  fuzz-filled
garage rock for the past ten years. _Occupational  Hazard_  continues
on in the same vain  as  their  past  efforts,  masking  melody  with
distortion and signaling out groove with humongous riffs. Batten down
the hatches kids, as there is some serious  noise  battles  going  on
here with _OH_. Hostility  pours  from  the  harsh  vocals  of  Chris
Spencer as Unsane let loose a mixed bag of goodies. Though repetitive
at times, this LP makes a good point of  keeping  things  simple  but
remarkably heavy. This is like a brick to the head most of the  time.
As for the future of these veterans, this band (possibly  unknown  to
the younger music audience) will surely do  well  amongst  the  crowd
that have been drawn in by such acts as  The  Melvins,  Neurosis  and
even Entombed. Noise-filled garage rock never sounded so good.


War - _Total War_  (Necropolis Records, February 1998)
by: Steve Hoeltzel  (5 out of 10)

According to the typically bombastic Necropolis publicity sheet, this
is "the ULTIMATE Black Metal recording" from "one of the finest bands
in years." Well, lah dee dah. I think that's just a tad generous.  In
fact, if I had to pick an adjective to pin on this "all-star" outfit,
it would be "mediocre". Their music -- all 17 whopping minutes of  it
-- is undistinguished and  unatmospheric;  ergo,  uninteresting.  Not
that I don't enjoy simplistic, raw, primitive black metal. Quite  the
contrary, as long as it's got some atmosphere  and  imagination.  The
music of War, however, seriously  lacks  those  qualities  --  unless
"contrived" counts as some  kind  of  atmosphere.  Still,  this  does
contain a few cool moments in which the chainsaw repeato-riffing  and
steady snare-drum strikes coalesce into  a  good  snarling  blast  or
catchy cyclonic attack. The way in  which  these  guys  plug  simple,
cyclical riffs into short,  standard  song  structures  makes  "black
moshing metal" a fairly apt description  of  their  sound,  methinks.
("Euronymosh", anyone?) In the end, though,  this  is  just  way  too
repetitive to succeed, both because the songs are utterly  simplistic
and repetitious, and because all the imagery and whatnot is the  same
junk you've seen and heard hundreds of times before. I  suspect  that
Von is a big influence on this project, but Von destroys this band if
you ask me.

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             /  \/ / _ \ \ /\ / /  /  \/ / _ \| / __|/ _ \
            / /\  /  __/\ V  V /  / /\  / (_) | \__ \  __/
            \_\ \/ \___| \_/\_/   \_\ \/ \___/|_|___/\___|

If you have a band, don't forget to send us your demo with a  bio  if
you want to be reviewed; our address is included in the zine's
header.

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


Coarse - _Downwards_ (5-track demo)
by: Adam Wasylyk  (*----)

The opening riff to track #1 on _Downwards_ just SCREAMS  In  Flames,
but when the vocals kick in, you wonder "why did the band go out  and
do that??" Vocalist Nico just ruined any potential enjoyment I  could
have got from this band; he sings so  plainly  that  I  found  myself
reaching for the stop button almost a minute into the first song! You
can most certainly hear the In Flames influence in the  guitars  (and
perhaps some Iron Maiden as well), but it's the only aspect of Coarse
that I found appealing. I don't care who  disagrees,  but  you  can't
like a band based on music alone. Vocals are vital; they are not only
the backbone but they represent the personality of the band. You ask,
"what is the personality of Coarse?" "Who cares," I answer, "get back
to listening to REAL metal and stop asking stupid questions!".

Contact (if you must): COARSE, c/o Sami Vauhkonen
                       Rapakivenkuja 2 E 41, 00710 Helsinki, FINLAND


Destroyer - _demo_  (2-track demo)
by: Adrian Bromley  (**---)

Mediocre metal (in the vein of Kreator) that comes to CoC all the way
from Transylvania. Four guys trying  their  damnedest  to  get  their
music out of their homeland of Romania and to the masses.  Gentlemen,
this two-song demo may not  be  the  answer.  The  songs  are  rather
simple, similar sounding  and  by  no  means  creative.  I  felt  the
production of the demo only hampered the band's quest at  creating  a
raw, hard-hitting metal  based  sound.  It  sounds  muffled  and  too
compressed at times. The only redeeming quality of the demo tape  are
the vocals: strong growling vocals but coherent and suitable  to  the
musical style played. From judging the band on this 2-song demo (with
a bonus song) and not having heard their debut LP, available only  in
Romania, called _Raw_, I'm hoping the  band  gets  better  production
next time out and really sorts through the blandness of  their  music
and spice it up a bit. Then maybe they'll see some  interest  outside
of Romania.

Contact: OP. 1, C.P. 196 Iasi, 6600, Romania
         Voice: +40-32-144448
         mailto:destroyer@mail.dntis.ro
         WWW: http://home.dntis.ro/~destroy


Gandalf - _Snakebite_ (3-track demo)
by: Adam Wasylyk  (***--)

Another band that use In Flames as  an  influence  (see  Coarse  demo
review), the difference between Gandalf and the  aforementioned  band
is that  Gandalf  is  actually  listenable.  Effectively  using  twin
guitars to their advantage to create some cool melodies, they  create
some excitement since the drummer, for the most part,  is  lackluster
and doesn't do a great job in mixing up  the  beats.  The  leads  are
quite well done, and Jari Hurskainen's vocals do a lot for  the  band
and are in the screeching range of (who else?) In Flames! When coming
up with a mark, I settled on only a 3. I don't see any reason to give
it anything higher that that. Yes, the musicians  are  talented,  and
yes, the music is cool. But why buy something  that  sounds  like  In
Flames when you can go out and ACTUALLY BUY  In  Flames!!??!!  You'll
get much more  out  of  _The  Jester  Race_  or  the  newly  released
_Whoracle_ than you will out of _Snakebite_. Also worthy of  note  is
that this demo was released in 1996, so Gandalf may now sound like  a
completely different band!

Contact: GANDALF, P.O. Box 52, 00941 Helsinki, FINLAND


Kekal - _Beyond the Glimpse of Dreams_ (10-track demo)
by: Adam Wasylyk  (****-)

Indonesia's Kekal have released a pretty  cool  demo  which  features
Norwegian-influenced black metal shrieks and some menacing,  powerful
guitars with some seriously stomping drums keeping up the beat.  This
quartet know how to mix it up: blast beats are thrown in between more
melodic moments and  the  vocals  go  from  spoken  to  shrieking  to
growling. "Rotting Youth" serves as a powerful lead-off to  the  demo
as it effectively demonstrates the energy Kekal possess, with  tracks
like "Armageddon", "Deceived Minds" and  "Reality"  not  far  behind.
Production is more than adequate, allowing everything (including  the
keyboards) to be heard clearly, lending all the more  power  to  this
band. Ten tracks in total, you receive both quality and  quantity  in
the material featured. However, after I read the lyrics on the  demo,
I realized that Kekal are actually  a  "life"  metal  band,  praising
Jesus and showing the  downfalls  of  Satan.  They  could  have  been
perfect! I'll admit I hate lyrics that come  off  as  preachy  (which
Kekal could be accused of), but I guess that means that I won't  read
them on future listens. I do hope to hear more from this band in  the
future as they have something here worth listening to.

Contact: KENKAL, P.O. Box 1496, JKB 11014, Jakarta, INDONESIA
         mailto:kekal@hotmail.com
         WWW: http://www.geocities.com/Eureka/6404/kekal.html


Kormoss - _Screams From Night-Mary_  (6-track demo)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (****-)

Kormoss make very good, yet  unobtrusive,  use  of  keyboards,  which
remind me of Samael's remarkable  _Passage_  (especially  during  the
piano-like parts that sound great with the riffs). However, there's a
human drummer here (as opposed to _Passage_), and the riffs lean more
towards death metal, with the vocals falling somewhere between  death
and raspy thrash. The keyboards are also occasionally used for a more
atmospheric background work and generally provide more variety in the
songs, which also usually feature enough  tempo  changes.  The  sound
quality is quite high, and the band behaves very well, always  tight,
while the music also remains interesting throughout the demo. Another
promising band from Portugal, this time from  the  Northern  city  of
Guimaraes.

Contact: Nuno Araujo, Rua da Boucinha, Creixomil
         4800 Guimaraes, PORTUGAL


Kronos - _Outrance_  (7-track demo)
by: Paul Schwarz  (****-)

Although this is a 7-track demo, it only has 4 true  songs,  with  an
intro, an outro, and a  3-second  grindcore  blast  being  the  other
tracks. This demo tape is Kronos' first and it has to be said this is
pretty damn impressive for a first demo.  After  a  'demonic'  spoken
intro, Kronos reveal themselves as a brutal  death  metal  band  with
real aggression and potential. A lot of bands have played the  brutal
death style, but it is still possible to  make  good  music  in  this
framework and this Kronos has, on a small scale,  achieved.  Although
the first song,  "Sadistik  Retribution",  was  a  good  relentlessly
brutal death metal song, my fear was that the rest of the demo  would
be indivisible from this one song. Kronos has not  fallen  into  that
trap, however. "Enslaved by the Madness"  has  a  thrash  metal-esque
riff that would do Kreator proud,  and  later  songs  have  different
idiosyncrasies which keep the demo  varied,  as  well  as  good,  and
prevent the tracks from merging into one-another. Well worth getting,
this is definitely a band who could go a whole lot further.


Oathean - _demo_ (3-track demo)
by: Adam Wasylyk  (***--)

Ah, what a nice, soothing intro, but I suspect it won't last long. My
suspicions proved correct  as,  within  a  second,  the  band  starts
blasting away... ah, what a nice kick to the gut! It turns  out  that
there's much more coming out of South Korea than  (find  encyclopedia
and place country's main export *here*), since Oathean has turned out
some above average melodic death/black metal, falling in  lines  with
the genre's sound but with no band in particular. Female  vocals  are
utilized (although not very well), something the  band  should  think
about removing in future recordings. With only three tracks, I'd like
to see the band release something (perhaps an indie CD)  with  a  few
more tracks before I can recommend sending your money for  so  little
material. Allow my mark to represent potential, and perhaps something
worth putting money into at a later date.

Contact: Dosoo Kim, 537-9, Yonhi-Dong Seodaemoon -Gu
         Seoul 120-110, SOUTH KOREA
         mailto:mooniing@hitel.net


Shadows Fall - _Shadows Fall_  (2-track demo)
by: Brian Meloon  (****-)

Shadows Fall is a death metal band from Massachusetts. Their style is
mostly melodic American death  metal  (with  few  blast  beats),  but
filled with enough new ideas to stand out from the  crowd.  The  band
uses a combination of standard death metal and clean melodic  vocals.
The unique aspect of the vocals is that they often have the death and
melodic vocalists sing in unison. While  the  melodic  vocals  aren't
great, the combination with the death vocals works well. The music is
generally good: fast  moving  stuff  that  doesn't  get  old.  It  is
melodic, similar to the Gothenburg sound in places, but the  band  is
far from being an In Flames clone. Their  sound  isn't  reliant  upon
catchy 'hooks', but is more riff-based. They display a  good  variety
of styles and enough fresh ideas to keep it interesting. The  playing
is tight,  and  the  production  is  great.  This  is  an  impressive
offering; the only fault I can find is that it's simply too short.  I
look forward to their debut CD, which should be out shortly.

Contact: SHADOWS FALL, P.O. Box 10312, Holyoke, MA  01041, USA
         mailto:shadfall@aol.com


Vorpal Bunny - _Reign Of The Lupus_  (6-track demo)
by: Adrian Bromley  (****-)

Oh, the mayhem! Oh, the madness! Not since  my  last  encounter  with
anyone of Bill Sannwald's projects (Amish Mafia, Thought  Masticator,
etc...) have I been so intensely into  a  demo  tape.  This  shit  is
warped beyond belief. A mixture of all types of music all rolled into
one huge, massive noisefest. A  two-man  outfit  (Jeff  Phillips  and
Brian Heubner), Vorpal Bunny goes for the jugular with  its  sadistic
onslaught of music anarchy. Imagine, if you will, a  demo  tape  that
successfully blends together black  metal,  grindcore,  gabba  techno
music and death metal into a 6-song demo tape. Believe me, I  was  in
disbelief too, but thoroughly pleased with the end results. Slap onto
that musical heap a large amount of movie clip sound  bites  and  the
music from Vorpal Bunny grows moreso into an out of control  freakoid
machine. The only setback of this recording, and it actually  doesn't
affect the tape much, is the 4-track  production.  But  I  guess  you
gotta  start  somewhere,  right?  Also,   I'm   wondering   if   this
"bunny/hare" theme will  run  out  of  ideas  should  this  band  get
somewhere. I mean, you can only spend  so  much  time  writing  songs
titled "Fluffy's Revenge", "Reign of the Lupus" and  "Beaten  Is  the
Hare". This demo reads like a bad B-movie  but  ends  up  winning  my
respect.

CONTACT:  Lord Fur Productions,
          PO Box 21428 Columbia Heights, MN 55421, USA
          mailto:twitme@waste.org
          WWW: http://www.waste.org/~twitme/

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



           E N T O M B E D ' S   N O T   E G R E G I O U S
           ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      Entombed at Coney Island High, New York, Feburary 13, 1998
                           by: Zena Tsarfin

     A lot has changed since Sweden's Entombed last visited the North
American shores and it was  quite  evident  at  their  February  13th
appearance at NY's Coney Island High. The venue was smaller, none  of
their hardcore opening acts had the suffix "-ion" attached  to  their
names and some of its members even sported  buzz  cuts.  Despite  all
this, Entombed's one constant remained -- the same  one  that  helped
them survive the early '90s metal backlash: their ability to tear  it
up live.
     Storming onto the stage amid smoke and  green  lights,  Entombed
exhibited their go-for-the-jugular performance strategy with  stellar
versions of "Eyemaster", "Out of Hand" and the title track  of  their
latest album, "To Ride, Shoot Straight and  Speak  the  Truth".  Lead
vocalist L.G. Petrov frolicked onstage like a madman, his  long  hair
stringing over his face like a fisherman's net while he dug into  the
Entombed discography with vintage tracks like "Crawl" and "Left  Hand
Path". Unlike many groups who compose their set lists from their last
two records, Entombed  mixed  enough  gems  with  later  material  to
satisfy the crowded masses. Overall,  the  band  lived  up  to  their
well-earned reputation as a force to be reckoned with and  showed  us
Yankees just how it should be done.
     Entombed certainly had reason to hone their chops as opening act
Hatebreed gave them a run for their money. After listening  to  their
blazing Victory debut _Satisfaction is the Death of Desire_, I pegged
them 'Entombed Jr.' as vocalist Jamie Jasta sounds eerily like Petrov
and their hardcore sound is ingrained heartily with an obvious  metal
influence. Pile-ons, sing-alongs and overall mayhem were the order of
the evening as the band plowed  through  songs  like  "Last  Breath",
"Driven by Suffering" and the hit single "Kill an Addict".
     Having  experienced  both  the  older  legends   and   the   new
sensations, my metal experience on Friday the 13th  was  the  perfect
blend of nostalgia, exuberance and aggression.  In  other  words,  it
fuckin' rocked!

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

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

Gino's Top 5

1. Absu - _The Third Storm of Cythraul
2. Proscriptor - _The Venus Bellona_
3. Entombed - _Left Hand Path_
4. Crystal Method - _Vegas_
5. Marduk - _Opus Nocturne_

Adrian's Top 5

1. Tura Satana - _Relief Through Release_
2. Stuck Mojo - _Rising_
3. King Diamond - _Voodoo_
4. Guillotine - _Under The Guillotine_
5. Face Down - _The Twisted Rule the Wicked_

Brian's Top 5

1. Sacrilege - _The Fifth Season_
2. Ebony Tears - _Tortura Insomniae_
3. Mithotyn - _In the Sign of the Ravens_
4. Setherial - _Lords of the Nightrealm_
5. Shadows Fall - _Shadows Fall_

Alain's Top 5

1. Mayhem - _Wolf's Lair Abyss_
2. Motorhead - _Snake Bite Love_
3. Razor - _Decibels_
4. Sarcophagus - _For We... Who Are Consumed by the Darkness..._
5. Sinister - _Hate_

Steve's Top 5

1. Black Funeral - _Empire of Blood_
2. Assuck - _Anticapital_
3. Setherial - _Lords of the Nightrealm_
4. Disfear - _Everyday Slaughter_
5. Sacreligium - _Sleeptime_

Adam's Top 5

1. Morbid Angel - _Formulas Fatal to the Flesh_
2. Pungent Stench - _Praise the Names of the Musical Assassins_
3. Entombed - _To Ride, Shoot Straight and Speak the Truth!_
4. Mayhem - _Wolf's Lair Abyss_ EP
5. Defleshed - _Under the Blade_

Drew's Top 5

1. Rush - _Permanent Waves_
2. Skyclad - _Wayward Sons of the Mother Earth_
3. Rush - _Fly By Night_
4. Jethro Tull - _The Original Masters_
5. Rush - _All The World's A Stage_

Andrew's Top 5

1. Autechre - _Chiastic Slide_
2. MSBR - _Collapseland_
3. Maeror Tri - _Emotional Engramm_
4. Suffocation - _Pierced From Within_
5. Can - _Future Days_

Pedro's Top 5

1. Solefald - _The Linear Scaffold_
2. Lux Occulta - _Dionysos_
3. Nagelfar - _Hunengrab im Herbst_
4. At the Gates - _Slaughter of the Soul_
5. Cryptopsy - _None So Vile_

Paul's Top 5

1. Cryptopsy - _Blasphemy Made Flesh_
2. Suffocation - _Effigy of the Forgotten_
3. Terrorizer - _World Domination_
4. Kreator - _Extreme Agression_
5. Judas Priest - _Jugulator_

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


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DESCRIPTION
~~~~~~~~~~~
Chronicles of Chaos is a monthly magazine electronically  distributed
worldwide via the Internet. Chronicles of Chaos focuses on all  forms
of chaotic music including black, death and doom metal, dark/ambient,
industrial and electronic/noise as well as  classic  and  progressive
metal. Each issue will feature a plethora of  album  reviews  from  a
wide range  of  bands,  as  well  as  interviews  with  some  of  the
underground's best acts. Also included in each issue are demo reviews
and indie band interviews.

HOW TO SUBSCRIBE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You may subscribe to Chronicles of Chaos at any  time  by  sending  a
message with "coc subscribe <your_name_here>" in the SUBJECT of  your
message to <mailto:ginof@interlog.com>. Please note that this command
must NOT be sent to the list address <coc-ezine@lists.colorado.edu>.

AUTOMATIC FILESERVER
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All back issues and various other CoC related files are available for
automatic retrieval through our e-mail fileserver. All you have to do
is  send  a  message  to  us  at   <mailto:ginof@interlog.com>.   The
'Subject:' field of your message must read: "send file X"  where  'X'
is the name of the requested file (do not include the  quotes).  Back
issues are named 'coc-n', where  'n'  is  the  issue  number.  For  a
description of all files available through this  fileserver,  request
'list'. Remember to use lowercase letters for all file names.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
End Chronicles of Chaos, Issue #29

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

