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


			  The New Year's Evil Edition
        CHRONICLES OF CHAOS e-Zine, January 10, 2001, Issue #51
			http://www.ChroniclesOfChaos.com


Editor-in-Chief: Gino Filicetti
Coordinator: Adrian Bromley
Copy Editor / Contributor: Pedro Azevedo
Assistant Copy Editor / Contributor: Paul Schwarz
Contributor: Brian Meloon
Contributor: Adam Wasylyk
Contributor: Aaron McKay
Contributor: David Rocher
Contributor: Alex Cantwell
Contributor: Matthias Noll
Contributor: Alvin Wee
Contributor: Gabriel Sanchez
Spiritual Guidance: Alain M. Gaudrault

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

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

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

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

Issue #51 Contents, 1/10/01
---------------------------
* Editorial
* Loud Letters
* Deadly Dialogues
-- Napalm Death: Killing Is the Business of Their Enemy
-- Cryptopsy: The Shifting Scales of Brutality
-- Thomas Gabriel Fischer: Remembering the Past
-- HammerFall: Renegades Reliving the Glory Days
-- Extol: Death From the North
-- Tristania: Unveiling New Realms of Music
-- Seth: God: Tied in Steel Handcuffs?
-- The Black League: Suomi Finland Perkele!
-- Association Area: Panko's Pancreatic Pandemonium
* Album Asylum
-- Abscess - _Tormented_
-- Acid Death - _Random's Manifest_
-- Arch Enemy - _Burning Japan Live_
-- At Vance - _Heart of Steel_
-- Behemoth - _Thelema.6_
-- Black Abyss - _Land of Darkness_
-- Blood Axe - _In Battle_
-- Blood Duster - _Cunt_
-- Boiler Room - _Can't Breathe_
-- Breakdown - _Battle Hymns for an Angry Planet_
-- Burn It Down - _Let the Dead Bury the Dead_
-- Cage - _Astrology_
-- Cast in Stone - _Life on Trial_
-- Cephalectomy - _Sign of Chaos_
-- Cryptopsy - _And Then You'll Beg_
-- Darkthrone - _Prepare for War_
-- Deadfood - _Weird Feelings_
-- Dipknoi - _fkddd_
-- Disrespect - _Hit the Ceiling_
-- Dominion Caligula - _A New Era Rises_
-- Dominus - _Godfallos_
-- Dreams of Damnation - _Let the Violence Begin_
-- Embraced - _Within Me_
-- Epoch of Unlight - <advance 3-song demo>
-- Fetus Eaters - _Vomitcore_
-- Fleurety - _Department of Apocalyptic Affairs_
-- Ginger Leigh - _Broken by the World_
-- High on Fire - _The Art of Defense_
-- Hybrid Children - _Stardom Is Here_
-- Hypnos - _In Blood We Trust_
-- i - _One Word_
-- Icon of Coil - _Serenity Is the Devil_
-- Juno Reactor - _Pistolero_
-- Immolation - _Close to a World Below_
-- Impaler - _One Nation Under Ground_
-- Kalmah - _Swamplord_
-- Lethargy - _Discography '93-'99_
-- Love History - _Anasazi_
-- Monster Magnet - _God Says No_
-- My Dying Bride - _Meisterwerk I_
-- Narcissus - _Newwave Techno Homicide_
-- Neglected Fields - _Mephisto Lettonica_
-- Nightwish - _Wishmaster_
-- Novembers Doom - _The Knowing_
-- Odor of Pears - _Crown of Thorns_
-- Primal Fear - _Nuclear Fire_
-- Psychopunch - _Bursting Out of Chucky's Town_
-- Various - _Scream Forth Blasphemy: A Tribute to Morbid Angel_
-- Seth - _The Excellence_
-- Six Feet Under - _Graveyard Classics_
-- Slaughter - _Surrender or Die_
-- Slaves on Dope - _Inches From the Mainline_
-- Suffocate - _Exit 64_
-- Tantrum of the Muse - _Modernmu$ick (2000!)_
-- Tchort - _Love Metal / Government Issue Rock 'n' Roll_
-- Thanatos - _Angelic Encounters_
-- Theatre of the Macabre - _A Paradise in Flesh & Blood_
-- Underoath - _Cries of the Past_
-- Usurper - _Necronemesis_
-- Velvet Acid Christ - _Twisted Thought Generator_
-- Vessel - _Vessel_
-- Vomitory - _Revelation Nausea_
-- WarHorse - _...As Heaven Turns to Ash_
-- Witch-Hunt - _Souls Enshrouded Fire_
-- Wynjara - _Wynjara_
* New Noise
-- All Is Suffering - _All Is Suffering '00_
-- Aphotic - _Aphotic_
-- Bride Adorned - _The Grey Eminence_
-- Forlorn Legacy - _Omega_
-- Habeas Corpus - _Crucified_
-- Scorched-Earth Policy - _Boot-Camp Demo 2000_
-- Tomorrow - _Illusions We Live By_
-- Unevil Hopes - _Pretranscendental_
* Chaotic Concerts
-- Belated Tales of the Unexpected: Morbid Angel, Enslaved, The Crown
-- Canadian Carnage! Cryptopsy and Solus in Toronto
-- Satanic Swedes and Chugging Canadians: Dark Funeral in Canada
* Writer's Wrath
-- The Four MusCoCteers
-- Speak English or Die Because Even Satan Wears Leather
* What We Have Cranked
* Details

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

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

                         by: Gino Filicetti


     I'm not going to start this  editorial off with some cheesy line 
like "Welcome to  the 21st century!!" or any  other contrived cliche. 
However, since it is  a new year, I am proud to  announce our 6th New 
Year's Evil Edition of CoC.                                           
     This issue is jam packed with  two months worth of material from 
our writers. I'm sure you all noticed the absence of a December issue 
of CoC. Well, it wasn't due to  lack of material; on the contrary, we 
had plenty  of material. However,  I decided that we  should maintain 
our traditional of putting together  an absolutely massive New Year's 
Evil Edition, so here it is.                                          
     Needless  to say,  we lapsed  in  our promise  of an  unwavering 
monthly release schedule.  However, from this point  forward, you can 
rest assured that you'll be receiving a new issue of CoC every month. 
     As you read this issue, you'll notice a few extra goodies thrown 
in  from  two of  our  European  crew;  Matthias  Noll brings  you  a 
hilarious  look at  German metal  lyrics  through the  ages and  Paul 
Schwarz reports on the European crew's first ever convergence.        
     Also this issue we have the debut of new writer Kirsty Buchanan, 
a friend and school-mate of  Paul Schwarz's. Kirsty's presence brings 
back the  female element to CoC,  an element that has  been noticably 
lacking this past year. Please join me in welcoming her to our fold.  
     Well, that's  about it, people.  I'd like to thank  everyone who 
contributed to  and read our magazine  in 2000 for a  great year, and 
especially for  what's to come  in 2001, a  year which I'm  sure will 
stand out as one of our best.                                         

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

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

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

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


Date: Thu, 9 Nov 2000 
From: "Pierre Gingras" <danmat@videotron.ca>
Subject: Blinded by Faith review

Hey Adrian,

Good to see that you had  reviewed our stuff, i've just dicovered her 
and don't thinking  there was another review  of "Veiled Hideousness" 
somewhere.                                                            

Just to  inform you  that "Veiled"  is the first  demo of  Blinded by 
Faith and  it's not a  children game to  have a personal  and unified 
musical  style on  the first  hit  and the  experience was  at a  low 
level  during the  record session.  Like many  people, you  seems had 
taken  our demo  for a  first and  official album,  but it's  just an 
auto-production. The  first album  might be  release in  october 2001 
onto Hypnotic Records (Quo Vadis, Obliveon)                           

Anyway, your review is still straight, honest and open-minded.

Thanks for  the efforts you  put every  day in the  underground metal 
scene!                                                                

Take care,
Daniel Gingras (Blinded by Faith, guitarist)


Date: Thu, 16 Nov 2000 
From: Jason Smith <JasonS@kuntz.com>
Subject: Burzum bootleg!

This is what the reviewer, Alvin  Wee wrote about the Burzum disc you 
reviewed in Issue #49...                                              

Contact: No Colours Records, Postfach 32, 04541, Borna, Germany
         (30DM + postage, $20 should cover it.)

$20? Is that  Canadian, American funds? Does this  distributor have a 
web page where I can find out more accurate pricing, which also takes 
postage area  into account...? I  don't just  wanna send $20  when it 
could cost more or less...                                            

Thanks in advance...
j.schizoid
www.schizoid.org

[Sorry  for the  confusion there  folks, I  merely suggested  sending 
US$20 as the label did not indicate the exact cost of this item. Feel 
free to  e-mail the  label directly at  info@no-colours-records.de or 
e-mail me directly at my CoC  address if it still doesn't work. There 
are also  quality bootlegs of Strid  stuff and a killer  Grimm EP, so 
you might want to ask about those too. -- Alvin Wee]                  


Date: Fri, 1 Dec 2000 
From: "Stinson, Morgan"
      <IMCEAEX-_O=DWT_OU=SEA_CN=RECIPIENTS_CN=STINM@dwt.com>
Subject: Lame Question

Hey,  I'm  essentially  an  unblemished   virgin  when  it  comes  to 
goth/metal/industrial music, but I am  wondering if you can recommend 
any  particular music  that anyone  could like.  The darkest  stuff I 
listen to is Theatre of Tragedy, NIN, Tool, Saturnus, etc. But I need 
it to  be pretty  mainstream. I'm  a generalist, and  I want  to know 
about some really  artistic and yet almost poppy  goth bands. Y'know, 
really dumb it down for me.                                           

Thanks in advance.

Morgan

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

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


		KILLING IS THE BUSINESS OF THEIR ENEMY
		~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
	     CoC chats with Shane Embury of Napalm Death
			   by: Paul Schwarz


A lot of people didn't like _Scum_ when it came out in 1986. I recall 
our our own CoC scribe Matthias  Noll, when we were talking about the 
explosion of grindcore,  making the comment that people  in the metal 
world  at the  time felt  that this  new form  of "music"  was merely 
"noise".  Attitudes have  changed, and  today Napalm  Death are  both 
respected  and loved  for those  ripping first  steps they  made, and 
the  various  twists  and  turns their  expansive  career  has  taken 
since  then. Though  they never  again quite  matched the  first-time 
unlistenability factors of _Scum_ and its successor _From Enslavement 
to Obliteration_,  Napalm Death  continued to  assault our  ears with 
records swaying in varying degrees  towards death metal, hardcore and 
even melodicised  punk, changing and developing  with each successive 
release. Though  stepping away from blunt  extremity with _Diatribes_ 
(1996) and _Inside  the Torn Apart_ (1997),  Napalm Death nonetheless 
continued  to  grow,  expanding  their audience  with  extensive  and 
increasingly  prestigious live  work. However,  _Words From  the Exit 
Wound_  -- which  was ultimately  to be  the band's  final album  for 
Earache (the label with whom they had been since _Scum_) --, though a 
good album, was  not inspiring or encouraging, and  there were people 
who  had begun  to exclude  the possibility  that Napalm  Death would 
again blast through all the cliches  and make a record as truly great 
as  they used  to --  that's  the way  I  was thinking,  at least.  A 
changeover  of management  personnel, a  move to  the UK's  fledgling 
Dream Catcher label and a stomping  covers EP later, and I was proved 
well  and truly  wrong by  last September's  release of  the ninth(!) 
Napalm Death record, _Enemy of the Music Business_. I said as much as 
I needed to in my review [CoC #50], so I'll save you any more gushing 
here about the  record and deliver you into the  hands of bassist and 
longest-standing  member Shane  Embury,  with whom  I  talked in  the 
latter part of last year.                                             

CoC: First of  all, good record.  This is  the first record  of yours 
     I've really gone for in the  last three years. What do you think 
     it represents?  You've called it  _Enemy of the  Music Business_ 
     and it  comes after a period  of you going in  a direction which 
     was a little less heavy and a little more song-written, possibly 
     a little  adventurous for the  early Napalm. What would  you say 
     this new album represents, with you being on a smaller label, or 
     a different label at least?                                      

Shane Embury: I think the thing is, with the label, it's a fairly new 
              one, which  is good for  us and  the guy behind  it; he 
              used to  run Music for  Nations, so he knows  what he's 
              doing. But, at the same time, I think it's like a fresh 
              start for him and a  fresh start for us. Obviously with 
              the title and  all that: that really  just represents a 
              lot of the crap we had to  deal with. It was a bit of a 
              weird title to pick in some ways.                       

CoC: It is very proclamatory and, to be honest, when I first heard it 
     I  really  kind of  groaned  inside  'cause  it sounded  like  a 
     record  against something,  and  nothing else.  It didn't  sound 
     like  something that  would  be good.  But  it's actually  quite 
     appropriate somehow.                                             

SE: It is. I  think on face value  you can look at it  and [think] we 
    might be sparking off on some fuckin' righteous trip or whatever, 
    but it's not so much that,  really, as a case of documentation of 
    all the  shit that we  went through. I mean,  I like to  think -- 
    without  trying to  sound too  cliched --  that in  a way  it's a 
    lesson for other people, to be  honest: not to be sort of trapped 
    into  thinking  that  'cause  you've signed  this  deal  suddenly 
    everything's a better  road. It wasn't just the  record label, it 
    was  the whole  situation we  were surrounded  by, y'know.  I can 
    point  to a  lot  of  things wrong  with  Earache,  but it's  not 
    completely their blame. I mean, we used a lot of people around us 
    who nearly suffocated the band and didn't really push the band or 
    like the band  for the right reasons, I don't  think. And I think 
    towards the end  of the last album we were  basically thrown into 
    the studio  so many times that  as much as we  had the enthusiasm 
    for writing  songs it  was just  not enough  time to  breathe and 
    fuckin' sort of work out where you wanted to go. And of course we 
    had  loads of  personal problems  between  us as  well, which  we 
    managed to  get through, but  I think this  record, for us,  as a 
    band, we're all pretty much on the same level with each other now 
    -- for  the first  time in a  long time, probably.  And it  was a 
    conscious decision for  us to just go, "well fuck  it, y'know, we 
    just want this  one to be a kick in  the face", really. Obviously 
    there's bits and  pieces there that wouldn't have  happened if it 
    wasn't for  us experimenting, so  to speak,  but we went  back to 
    what we felt  comfortable with. I mean, I myself,  I've come full 
    circle, in  a way, after doing  the Lock Up album  with Nick from 
    Dimmu and  stuff like that. It  just, it just... I  don't know! I 
    mean, I'm just sitting here now  with my four track just churning 
    out riffs and all of a  sudden they're just coming to me, y'know. 
    Which is  good because that's kind  of how I was  around the '92, 
    '93, '94 period.                                                  

CoC: _Utopia Banished_ through to _Fear, Emptiness, Despair_.

SE: And as a reaction to that we  made a conscious decision to try do 
    something different, which is a learning process at the same time 
    and of  course it comes out  on record as a  documentation. But I 
    think  that's all  mingling well  with what  we've done.  There's 
    elements  of difference  there, but  I  think it's  more sort  of 
    pasted into all of the typical  sort of extremes that we're known 
    for.                                                              

CoC: Absolutely.  I  think  the  last three  records  --  _Diatribes_ 
     onwards -- a lot of people did  start to flag off, and I was one 
     of these people. I bought _Diatribes_ and then heard bits of the 
     next one. It  didn't just hit quite the right  spot. Getting the 
     new one, it reminds me most of _Fear, Emptiness, Despair_ in the 
     way it's  put together. I  don't know  why, but that's  just the 
     impression  that I've  got.  For me,  it's  my favourite  Napalm 
     record and I think it'll stay  that way; I don't think it's just 
     'cause it's  the new one. You  really have kind of  mixed in the 
     old and  the new.  You seem  to have  grown -through-  the whole 
     songwriting thing,  but also  sort of gone  back to  the earlier 
     material.                                                        

SE: I  think it's  a learning  process, yet  again. From  _Diatribes_ 
    onwards it was almost a reaction  to the blasting in a weird way, 
    I guess. I always get this picture in my mind of like half of the 
    Napalm  fans running  off  'cause  of the  black  metal scene  or 
    something: 'cause  it was the  fastest thing around at  the time. 
    Why I  think that  I don't  know, but  it was  just that  at that 
    particular time we were getting into... well, we were always into 
    our different stuff,  but I think it was just  our reaction to it 
    and of course  obviously as a band it was  always mixed feelings, 
    but  I think  it's  a  learning process.  I  think because  we've 
    managed to stay around for the  duration, we've managed to mix it 
    well. I'm just glad that we  turned around and said "right, we're 
    gonna do something that we're  known for", but obviously with all 
    the little bits  and pieces that we learned from  the other shit, 
    really. And  I think that's  helped. I  mean, when you  first try 
    different things, y'know,  it's a whole learning  thing of trying 
    to  make it  all fit  and fit  in well,  obviously. Your  album's 
    documented so  people sort of, the  ones who stuck with  us, it's 
    killer  for that  but  obviously,  I think  with  this one  we've 
    probably  grabbed a  few  people who  swayed a  bit  on the  last 
    couple, like yourself.                                            

CoC: You  got a  lot of  good critical  acclaim for  _Diabtribes_ and 
     _Inside  the Torn  Apart_. _Diabtribes_  was quite  popular with 
     Metal Hammer and a few other  mags. That whole direction did you 
     quite well, but the _Enemy of  the Music Business_ title and all 
     the problems you  had with Earache and other  things just seemed 
     to sort of sway  things the wrong way, in terms  of how the band 
     ended up actually  being pushed out there. I  think Napalm could 
     have been a lot more popular based on the kind of sound that you 
     were putting out with _Diatribes_ and stuff like that.           

SE: Well, I mean, y'know, it all depends  how you look at it. I think 
    a lot of  people into the band liked the  direction and obviously 
    we pulled  a few  people that never  liked us  before. Obviously, 
    there were also people  who said "this is not my  cup of tea", or 
    whatever. I think if we were on a different label maybe [it would 
    have been different],  but I don't think it was  so much that. We 
    just  kind of  were a  little disillusioned  at some  points with 
    everything. As you  progress and all that bollocks  you just want 
    to do different things, I suppose. I guess. But with the new one, 
    I don't  know, there's  just more  of a  combined sort  of affair 
    between all of us, I think.  Even like doing the last few albums, 
    that became  a bit stale  because we wanted  to sort of  pick the 
    pace up more, really. And it was just like a combined thing where 
    we just said, "well, this one  we really wanna pull all the stops 
    out if we  can". And I think  we were fuelled a bit  more by what 
    had happened. I mean, in sort of the middle of '98 -- it's an old 
    story,  really, now  -- things  were looking  very doomy  for us, 
    y'know. And we were just hangin' on by a thread, really, I think. 

CoC: This is around _Words From the Exit Wound_?

SE: Well  yeah, we  had just  recorded  that, but  there wasn't  much 
    enthusiasm from Earache. By their  own admittance, they said that 
    they  were  getting  stale  themselves,  y'know,  of  having  the 
    band  on the  label, and  I'm like  going "thank  you very  much" 
    <sarcastically> <laughs>. A great  vote of confidence considering 
    -- not  to blow our own  trumpet -- but  if it wasn't for  us you 
    probably wouldn't have a fuckin' label!                           

CoC: Absolutely. The  synonymy of  Napalm Death  and Earache  in some 
     ways  is quite  scary. In  the beginning  and all  that sort  of 
     thing. You were saying how the personal problems in the band had 
     sort of died  down. Do you think  that's just the end  of a long 
     saga of all the stuff  that came after _Utopia Banished_? 'Cause 
     I recall  the whole  thing about doing  _F,E,D_ was  that Barney 
     wanted to do  faster things and that wasn't  the band's opinion. 
     Did things just sway one way or the other from that point on and 
     have they come down now?                                         

SE: Well, I think  around that point Barney was taking  the lead in a 
    lot of things -- around '92/'93 --  and some of it we agreed with 
    and some of  it we didn't. We  felt that we wanted  a whole band. 
    Now, it's a situation where if you want to talk to Napalm you can 
    talk to  any member  of the  band; before I  think it  was mainly 
    Barney.  And that's  fine, but  we  felt that  it wasn't  totally 
    representative of  the band and  I guess for whatever  reasons we 
    all  sort of  went a  little bit  haywire and  crazy having  this 
    democracy go out  the window for a while, really.  And I mean, of 
    course Barn liked some of _Fear..._, but there was a problem when 
    we were doing that. But I think  at the same time he'd admit that 
    he started to have a  few personal problems himself, y'know. Just 
    whatever. We're lucky enough through  all of the years that we've 
    pretty much stood  by him and he's stood by  us, y'know. And it's 
    cool that  we managed to get  through all of it.  I mean, looking 
    back on it I don't fuckin' know  how we did it, to be honest. You 
    hear about these things with bands  and stuff and on a big scale, 
    and  you  think well  OK,  they're  selling millions  of  albums, 
    y'know, pressure this,  pressure that. But there  was pressure on 
    us, I  think: _Fear, Emptiness..._  was the Columbia  release and 
    that's  when they  started to  poke their  noses in  and we  were 
    trying to  ignore them as  best we  could. After that  there were 
    problems with Barney flying and things like that and all sorts of 
    bits and pieces which you overcome. I think all that didn't help, 
    y'know,  and  I  think  we  were putting  too  much  pressure  on 
    ourselves, mainly because I think  people around us weren't doing 
    their jobs. I  think their managing, to be  perfectly honest, was 
    fucking useless. I think they were  ridin' the crest of the wave, 
    so  to  speak. Came  in  around  _Harmony Corruption_  /  _Utopia 
    Banished_ where,  to be honest, the  band was doing well  off its 
    own name and nothing else, I think. And it's easy for some guy to 
    come in  and suddenly  he looks cool  because he's  managing this 
    band,  but when  things need  to  progress or  move in  different 
    directions  that's when  he  shows his  worth,  y'know, and  that 
    wasn't happening and the agencies  really weren't working for us. 
    And we just found out loads  of things behind the scenes and that 
    all fuelled the new one, I think.                                 

CoC: One of the  lyrics I noticed from "Taste the  Poison" on the new 
     record that  I thought was quite  good was: "Raise a  voice? The 
     art  of making  noise. Attacking  stance? Fist  in the  face for 
     personal choice".  Is that about  trying to get your  music past 
     record labels? Also, what I liked  about "Raise a voice? The art 
     of making noise" was that it  reminded me of the way that Napalm 
     is  quite  political  in  some respects  and  quite  intelligent 
     lyrically, but it's always been very noisy, you have to sit down 
     and read the lyrics book. Is  it anything against the people who 
     say "what's the  point in being political,  you can't understand 
     the lyrics"?                                                     

SE: I think it's several things. I mean, that to a point, and also it 
    deals with certain factions of music where it's sort of trendy to 
    play extreme as well. Whereas  it's actually genuine in the first 
    place, y'know,  it's almost  like a fashion  in six  months time. 
    They  could be  a totally  different band  depending on  what the 
    label wants them to be, I guess. That's a little bit to it. But I 
    mean, you always get the criticism of "you've got a lot of things 
    to say, why can't I understand the lyrics", but we've always said 
    that  that's what  the lyrics  sheets  are for,  y'know, use  the 
    brain, -read-,  you know  what I  mean. It's  just like  part and 
    parcel, I  think. "You've  got to have  some accessible  voice to 
    understand you"? I've never quite understood that, really.        

CoC: I've never  got it either. I  think it's one of  the things that 
     works better as a statement of energy, as a statement of what it 
     is musically. I think that says a lot, if you see what I mean.   

SE: And I  think people can just  go "I can't understand  what you're 
    saying" and  there you  go, read!  You just  take it  in, because 
    you're going to take  it in a lot better readin'  it than you are 
    just singin'  along with the guy.  Anyone can sing along  and not 
    realise what the person's singin',  really. You look at the piece 
    of paper and just take it in  visually and go "well, I know where 
    he's coming from" or "I don't".                                   

CoC: What led you to work with Simon Efemey and not Colin Richardson? 
     You went back to the old logo  and some of the old sounds, so it 
     was interesting not to see Colin there.                          

SE: Well I've told you the general vibe of the album, I think after I 
    did the Lock Up album -- that  was just an experience which I was 
    really pleased  about because it was  just a three day,  four day 
    affair: we  just blasted the shit  out -- which sounded  good and 
    there was an  energy captured and shortly after  we'd just signed 
    to Dream Catcher  after we did the American tour  and we thought, 
    "right, we  don't really  wanna go  in and  do an  album straight 
    away, let's take  some time out". Y'know, try and  repair some of 
    the damage  that we felt had  been done by our  label and manager 
    and stuff. We did the covers EP  and Simon Efemey has been a good 
    friend of  mine for years,  really. I  mean the guy's  a complete 
    maniac, y'know.  His sense of  humour is  like right on  par with 
    mine and the rest  of the guys. It's just, Colin,  I mean, he's a 
    lovely guy, he's  a great bloke, I've known him  for years, but I 
    think as  he's got  more popular,  I think  he almost  -- without 
    being disrespectful  to the  guy --  has to  prove how  much he's 
    worth, y'know. And  towards the last album, we  were just sitting 
    around twiddling  our fingers  going "fuck me,  four days  on the 
    guitar sound!", y'know. We were  going, "this is just bollocks!", 
    y'know. And I was just going, "it never used to be like this" and 
    I'm there  moaning, running  around, going "it  never used  to be 
    like this years ago". We used  to get in there, couple of fuckin' 
    days at the most. And we  just wanted a fresher approach, y'know, 
    we were getting a bit tired.  I think we/he just killed the vibe, 
    by the  time people  started to record  their songs,  you're just 
    fuckin' tired, I  think. Simon's not like that. I  mean, he works 
    differently with each  band, I think, but he likes  to get things 
    moving.                                                           

CoC: Absolutely. I mean, you did this whole album in two weeks.

SE: Pretty much.

CoC: That's a pretty  short time for a band on their  -- god, what is 
     it -- eighth or ninth record.                                         

SE: Yeah, I  mean the  other guy  Russ Russell  who produced  it with 
    Simon, he's  our live sound  engineer. Which is great,  because I 
    think he incorporated  in his own way what he  tries to get live. 
    He tried to  put that in the  album and I think it's  a very live 
    sounding album as well.                                           

CoC: Absolutely, it is, it's got a lot of bite to it.

SE: Which I think a lot of bands try to get. I've always wanted that. 
    I think that's  maybe been a missing ingredient for  a few years: 
    that you put  it on and it feels exciting.  And that's really the 
    main reason, plus, with the guys down the studio, it was not just 
    like recording  an album: it was  fun, y'know. And that  had been 
    missing for  a couple of  albums; let us  get on with  what we're 
    doing and  the other people can  worry about what they've  got to 
    do. As opposed to us just trying  to sit in the studio and stress 
    about fuckin' everything else at the same time, y'know.           

CoC: Yeah, you can't be the band and the manager and everything.

SE: Not really, no.  So we have people with us  now who are extremely 
    enthusiastic and know what they need to do and it's great. It's a 
    weird, bizarre thing, because we've  all sort of come together as 
    a team  of people and  they themselves, before they  got involved 
    with us --  y'know, Russ, Simon, Rudy Reid who's  our manager and 
    Jez who's our manager or whatever --, they were saying that years 
    ago they really wanted to meet  some fuckin' crazy people and all 
    of a sudden after  this shit hit the fan you  just got the other. 
    I'm not  one for fate or  anything like that, but  it just seemed 
    kind of <he pauses> well timed,  y'know. So I think all that sort 
    of throws into the bag and makes the record what it is.           

CoC: Touching on  the idea  of _EotMB_  as a  protest record,  I just 
     wanted to quote something out of the review in Terrorizer of the 
     album. "If _EotMB_, as the  title suggests, is a protest record, 
     it's  one that  manages to  make its  case by  the force  of its 
     existence. Right now I couldn't  give monkeys about the push and 
     pull of trends,  marketability, any kind of  discourse you might 
     drum up to put Napalm Death in their place. This record lives by 
     its own rules and  that feels to me like the  whole of the law." 
     Do you think that is where  you've tried to put _EotMB_: outside 
     of progression and trends and all this sort of thing?            

SE: There is  an element of  the record  there, y'know, that  we just 
    fuckin' -- not  for any particular other reason than  what it is: 
    we're just  sick and tired  of some  of the music  scene. Whether 
    we're old  bastards I  don't know.  I sit there  and think:  am I 
    getting  this? And  some  new bands  come along  and  I do  think 
    they're fuckin'  good. It is  a whole  different scene. I  am not 
    trying for fuckin'  people to be like "they're  the mods, they're 
    the fuckin' rockers", that kind of thing, y'know. I am not crying 
    for that  again, I  just think that  music's so  intertwined with 
    each other that people don't know where they're going or whatever 
    the fuck. And I just think people are just... people don't search 
    for music anymore, they are told  what to buy. And obviously with 
    marketing this record in magazines people are going to see Napalm 
    and  they might  check  it  out because  they  think that's  what 
    they've got to get, y'know, but at the same time we just wanted a 
    record that  says "fuck  all that  shit, we are  what we  are and 
    we're outside all that". We make no bones about it. Some of it we 
    don't know where  it comes from. Some bands we  think, "well yes, 
    that's genuine,  that's good and they've  started something", but 
    the copious  thing just seems ridiculous  to me to an  extent. We 
    just wanted to  see something that people either like  it or they 
    won't, really.                                                    

CoC: I  mean  the  shirts  you  guys wear  on  the  album  are  quite 
     indicative of that:  Possessed and Venom. But I  noticed that in 
     some of the interview shots  your wearing Nasum shirts and stuff 
     like that.  Are there  a couple  of bands like  that out  of the 
     music scene now  who you think -are-  doing something worthwhile 
     and you might -- it sounds a bit cheesy -- ally yourselves with? 

SE: Yeah, I mean the Nasum thing is  just... I think the first time I 
    heard them  was during the _Words  From the Exit Wound_  and they 
    just gave  me a  kick in the  ass, to be  honest. It  was staying 
    fresh, to me. I mean, it's nothing really original, but it's just 
    staying fresh.  I just think it  sounded like they were  doing it 
    with conviction  whereas some bands  who do that, don't.  I don't 
    know, but  I'm a great believer  in the idea that  you can -hear- 
    fuckin' integrity on records. I'm sure you can.                   

CoC: I think so.

SE: And  I think  that's  what I  heard in  them,  and it  definitely 
    sparked the Lock Up thing with  us. Fuckin' 'ell. I mean, we were 
    talkin' about it  anyway and it just mutated  from there, really. 
    And I  think that's when  we decided  that the next  Napalm album 
    should be  a right kick  in the ass, y'know.  There are a  lot of 
    good bands that  are out there. Unfortunately my ear's  not as to 
    the ground as it was. I used to tape trade years ago. I've got an 
    Internet now  so it's a bit  easier, but the fuckin'  time to sit 
    down and write  letters has never been my  greatest thing lately. 
    But there are a lot of  good bands out there, but they especially 
    did  sort of  spark  some of  this, y'know.  I  don't think  it's 
    fuckin' a case  of we're like 30+ or whatever.  We just look back 
    at our own scene that we come  from and we just think, "but then, 
    people, they craved,  fuckin', the music and they  went out, they 
    went to find it."                                                 

CoC: Yeah,  I think  definitely the  late-eighties grindcore  and the 
     early nineties death metal scene had  a lot more of that because 
     it  hadn't become  an  industry  yet. I  think  that's the  case 
     now  with some  of the  emerging musical  styles. Like  American 
     noisecore  isn't  really  trend-oriented yet.  If  you've  heard 
     Botch, and The Dillinger Escape Plan...                          

SE: Hm <acknowledging>.

CoC: I think  they're a  little more  out of  that whole  system, but 
     yeah, death metal releases now are marketed to shit, marketed on 
     poor ideas, but  because they have a very solid  fan base people 
     keep, seemingly,  buying the same  records over and  over again. 
     Which is very strange, I find, because originally it was such an 
     interesting musical style.  When all that stuff came  out it was 
     new and fresh.                                                   

SE: Well, I  think it's  like anything  after a  while. It  just gets 
    copious and then it explodes and then all of a sudden it's deemed 
    the fuckin' wrong thing to be playing, y'know. We've always tried 
    to mix a shitload of different ideas from different areas. I mean 
    Napalm's not just a death metal  band, it's a hardcore band, it's 
    got fuckin' industrial  influences, it's got all  kinds of stuff. 
    And I think maybe that's where some bands fall short. I mean, the 
    black metal thing's getting -- well,  has been -- swamped to fuck 
    now. I don't know where that's gonna go next.                     

CoC: I  don't know.  It  seems that  the  main bands  of  it seem  to 
     have  sort  of almost  killed  it  themselves intentionally,  by 
     making sort  of odd, very  right-angled records, which is  a bit 
     different. A lot of the death metal bands went a bit Roadrunnery 
     about '94/'95,  where the black  metal scene --  Emperor, Ulver, 
     Mayhem  and others  -- have  just gone  a bit  weird. But  still 
     there's the melee of keyboards and Cradle of Filth guitars which 
     is selling the same sort of  way that the SOD reading faction of 
     the death metal crowd does. I  was wondering what you thought of 
     the  whole Napster  revolution and  the whole  Emusic revolution 
     which Earache is taking part in?                                 

SE: The  whole   Napster  thing's  a  bit   weird.  Strangely  enough 
    I   was  just   lookin'   on  that   site   today  because   some 
    guy   fuckin'  wrote   into  the   website  we've   just  started 
    (www.enemyofthemusicbusiness.com)  just saying  how he  purchased 
    the Lock  Up album off Napster  and I was like,  fuckin' bastard! 
    I've mixed feelings  about it in some ways.  The idea essentially 
    is good, I think,  but I know that for small bands  it could be a 
    pain in the fuckin' arse.                                         

CoC: You think for small bands?

SE: Yeah, I think so in some respects.  It depends on how you look at 
    it. For very, very small bands it could be good, but I think when 
    you've  got fuckin'  bands on  a  sort of  ten, fifteen  thousand 
    selling basis  or they've  got some  fuckin' record  label who're 
    stingin'  'em  badly, it  could  really  fuck them  over.  No-one 
    intentionally does  this for money,  but for some bands  -- going 
    back to how  we signed our record deal with  Earache, I know that 
    in the early days our royalty  rate was not the greatest, y'know. 
    You've got  Napster putting  the record out  and in  essence it's 
    killer, but you've also got a fuckin' label puttin' the album out 
    who're just  fuckin' the band over  twice as hard in  a way. It's 
    not particularly -their- fault. There's a million ways to look at 
    it, I think. Essentially it's a good thing, I think. I don't know 
    whether it affects bands' sales that much anyway, to be honest.   

CoC: To be honest,  I think at the moment it  has very little effect, 
     because of the number  of users who use it and  how many of them 
     are fans of small bands. I think a lot of them are older, better 
     off  people with  computers. I  think  most of  the worry  about 
     Napster is  gonna be for  the future:  in ten years,  where will 
     people be buying CDs, and all that sort of thing.                

SE: I mean,  that's the only  thing that I would  say, if a  band was 
    signed to so many albums for a  label and they had a shit fuckin' 
    deal, it  would really affect them  -- maybe not so  much now but 
    maybe  in three  or four  years time,  y'know what  I mean,  if a 
    thousand kids download the album or whatever.                     

CoC: For some bands that is a  good proportion of their sales. On the 
     other hand, it depends how much people keep their honesty. I use 
     Napster and I use the local  university network to get music and 
     stuff, but I never keep anything on MP3 and don't buy it, that I 
     would keep. In the end, if I want something I'll buy it, because 
     I feel some sort of debt to the people who made it. Even if that 
     money doesn't  necessarily go to  the band directly,  every sale 
     tends to make  -some- sort of difference as to  whether they get 
     another deal or  whatever. But for bands from  where Napalm were 
     coming from -- when Earache started and that sort of thing -- in 
     theory Napster  is a really  good place to discover  music. Like 
     you were saying about people just  buying what was out there and 
     not going and looking for stuff, one of the things about Napster 
     is you can  just go and look and download  one track of anything 
     out there that someone's got on a computer somewhere. That's one 
     of the serious advantages. What do you think of the actual sales 
     on  the  Internet?  Do  you  think  that's  in  some  way  gonna 
     dehumanise CDs  and music  because, for  example, the  bands you 
     covered  and bands  like Possessed  and Venom  and that  sort of 
     thing  came from  the vinyl  age when  everything had  a lot  of 
     character, it  had two sides and  it was big: there  was a whole 
     image to it. If it goes digital,  do you think that will die and 
     bands will sort of become just sounds?                           

SE: There is a danger of that, I  think. But I don't know, I think in 
    some ways it's  interesting to us because especially  in years to 
    come we're definitely  thinking about where it's gonna  be on the 
    Internet in  five or ten  years time and  where we as  band could 
    just like totally control our own output as well. I think there's 
    a  million  ways.  The  whole vinyl  thing's  pretty  much  dead, 
    unfortunately. Well, I suppose it's there  to a point, but it was 
    always great when you bought a  record you could see that you got 
    value for money, so to speak.  But it's interesting that for some 
    bands in the years to come you could have total control, which is 
    good, y'know. I mean, I don't  know how far it's gonna go because 
    you are gonna need, probably, a really good distribution as well. 
    We've been talking about this quite  a while. In five years time, 
    I think, probably.                                                

CoC: It depends,  but with Internet use  going up at the  rate it is, 
     there will be an obscene amount  of people on the Internet. It's 
     ironic  that someone  like Metallica  have been  so hounding  of 
     Napster's phenomenon  considering that they come  very much from 
     the tape trading  circuit. One of the things that  could be good 
     with Napster  if it gets to  a bigger audience is  that it could 
     become like tape trading. A buzz could go around about a band -- 
     like  it did  with yourselves  or Morbid  Angel --  before their 
     album came out.                                                  

SE: With  Metallica,  I don't  understand  that,  because they're  so 
    fuckin' huge  anyway. What's  the big deal,  y'know? That  was my 
    only complaint --  what I said before -- with  like certain bands 
    on certain deals where it could potentially affect them. I mean I 
    would see  how that would  piss -those- bands  off: a) we  have a 
    shit deal; b) we're not recouped yet... and Napster's selling our 
    album. That's the only  way I would look at it  at that point; as 
    regards  bands who  press  their own  CD, it's  a  killer way  of 
    getting their name around. But on the spectrum of bands as big as 
    Metallica I can't even see the point in getting worried about it, 
    'cause they sell so many bastard million albums anyway -- why get 
    stressed? They're fuckin' beyond millionaires or whatever. And as 
    you say,  you know, the whole  process of their first  album came 
    about through tape trading.                                       

CoC: Absolutely, through _No Life 'Til Leather_.

SE: That's  the one  that's  responsible.  I mean  in  some ways  the 
    Internet reminds me of tape trading because since I've been on it 
    I've talked to the guy from our website in Brazil and a few other 
    people. Spoke  to a guy today  who wants to license  our album in 
    Russia. OK, it's not a great deal of money, but who gives a fuck: 
    it gets out there and, y'know, the kids can get the record, which 
    is the main  thing. And you know, hopefully we  can get some gigs 
    out there.  It just reminds me,  all of a sudden  I'm starting to 
    keep  in contact.  It gives  me  something to  fuckin' do  again, 
    y'know, it's great  during the day. That's  something that's been 
    lacking a little bit, it just reminds me a lot of tape trading. I 
    mean a  band called  Hirax who  were one  of our  favourite bands 
    years ago, all of a sudden they were reformed and I got an e-mail 
    out of  the blue  like, "hey  guys, blah,  blah, blah",  and it's 
    killer. And  in a way  I think it is  -good-. It definitely  is a 
    damn site easier than writing a fuckin' letter, y'know.           

CoC: Yeah, e-mail has become a really,  really good thing. One of the 
     things about the Internet --  it's very obvious from Napalm that 
     you're not 100%  there with Capitalism -- is that  it's quite an 
     egalitarian thing in principle. Though maybe it'll stop being so 
     in practice. But in theory the idea of something like Napster is 
     that anyone can get it, and  just say, for example, that there's 
     some way of paying the artist, or some way of keeping him in the 
     business  -- that's  one  of  the things  I  do  like about  the 
     Internet, that it doesn't sort of say that if you don't have any 
     money then  you can't listen  to good  music. One of  the things 
     about the underground music  scene that's annoying and difficult 
     is that  the records  are often difficult  to get  and expensive 
     when you find them. If you  wanted to get Dying Fetus albums you 
     more or less had to import  them from the States until recently. 
     You have  to have a  very sort of close  knit sale thing,  and I 
     don't know where Napalm are financially at the moment, but a lot 
     of  the bands  I've  talked to  over the  last  couple of  years 
     --  Cryptopsy, Vader  and  others --  spend  Monday till  Friday 
     practicing and working  -- running their lives to run  a band -- 
     and that's quite a commitment. If  the Internet could in any way 
     alleviate that, it would be great.                               

SE: I  mean, the  four of  us, four  of the  band, we  share a  house 
    together. We  have our own  little squat,  so to speak.  Barn, he 
    writes for  Kerrang! and reviews  computer games for  Kerrang! as 
    well.  We don't  have to  do the  whole nine  to five  thing, but 
    saying that, there  are times when -- you know  at moment -- it's 
    all a  bit scarce,  really, to  be honest.  When it's  good, it's 
    good, and when  it's bad, it can  be bad. It's just  one of those 
    things. I  think things  are picking up  a bit,  obviously: we're 
    gonna be on tour this Sunday for seven weeks, so that gets us out 
    of the rut, so to speak,  and playing the songs live, which'll be 
    good.                                                             

CoC: Which political system between the US  and the UK do you feel is 
     more detrimental to people, which one do you think is better one 
     way or another?                                                  

SE: I don't  know... neither, probably.  I am a  bit of a  doomist on 
    that  kind of  thing. Barney's  probably the  person to  answer a 
    question on that, really. I am a  bit more of an end of the world 
    type fuckin' nutcase, y'know what I mean?                         

CoC: But not quite an anarchist, then?

SE: Not  really. I'm  more like,  "they're all  fucked basically  and 
    anyone who comes  in doesn't change things  anyway". Speaking for 
    England, it  just seems to get  worse anyway. I don't  pretend to 
    understand the political designs or anything, really, I just look 
    at it  in a face value  and try to  use common sense and  it just 
    seems to me like things get worse anyway.                         

CoC: Would you  say that's not the  case with music or  would you say 
     you're just trying to combat that?                                    

SE: What d'you mean?

CoC: Well, in the  sense that a lot  of what you said, a  lot of what 
     seems to be part of Napalm  Death, is that you're not obeying to 
     musical  conventions, but  in the  same way  what's popular  and 
     what's  getting  the most  money  and  the  way that  the  music 
     industry flows  is quite difficult  to affect, but on  the other 
     hand a  band like Napalm  Death, back  in '86/'87, no  one would 
     have expected it to make as much  impact as it did, but it -did- 
     make that much impact.                                           

SE: That was  quite a surprising thing,  really, but I mean  we never 
    tried to play to people's whims, I suppose. I don't know. I mean, 
    it's a surprise. I get  surprised still, surprised that I'm still 
    around after all this time, really. I never really thought I'd be 
    here still doing music at this age.  It's a bit of a surprise. We 
    never tried to fit  in, I don't think. We get  a nice, weird kick 
    out annoying people, I think.                                     

CoC: Is it or is it not  ultimately your hope that people do get into 
     Napalm and do get into better bands than they sometimes might do?     

SE: Yeah, I mean, you know, obviously  if no-one liked as at all we'd 
    probably  cease  to exist  except  for  very infrequent  gigs  or 
    whatever. I  think obviously you want  people to like you.  But I 
    don't  know, I  read a  great Queens  of the  Stone Age  thing in 
    Kerrang! last week  -- or some magazine -- and  they said that if 
    you want people to like you, pretend to have a secret that people 
    wanna get into.  So you cup your hands and  when people come near 
    you, you just  tell them to fuck  off and get away:  it's not for 
    you.  I quite  like that  because in  some ways  it makes  people 
    think, "I'm intrigued, I've got  some curiosity here", y'know. So 
    in some weird way,  I think maybe we do a  similar sort of thing; 
    it's just  a case  of can  you really sort  of handle  what we're 
    about, y'know.                                                    

CoC: I guess that's kind of what  _Scum_ did. It was right angled. It 
     didn't say come  and listen to me, it said  don't ever listen to 
     me.                                                              

SE: We've got a little thing on  our website -- Steven Welsh wrote it 
    for us -- which just gets to the point where it just tells people 
    to log off right now, remove  yourselves. Which is a similar kind 
    of thing  in some respects.  I mean with the  new one, as  I say, 
    we're completely  into it  and we've  just got  to the  point now 
    where if people like it, great, and if they don't, we're just not 
    really bothered anymore. This is what we want to do.              

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

   T H E   S H I F T I N G   S C A L E S   O F   B R U T A L I T Y
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
	     CoC chats with Jon Levasseur from Cryptopsy
			   by: Paul Schwarz


Death metal's stalwarts,  beware: you may not like  the new Cryptopsy 
album. "Why?", I hear you ask.  Well, because Cryptopsy can no longer 
be labelled  a "death metal" band  and even roughly summed  up. Their 
fourth offering,  _And Then  You'll Beg_,  is yet  more bewilderingly 
technical than even _Whisper Supremacy_  [CoC #34] was, and though it 
is quite fully recognisable as Cryptopsy, the album also sheds nearly 
all the band's debts to the  death metal scene that they were spawned 
from.  Jon Levasseur  prefers to  use the  term "extreme  metal", and 
Cryptopsy's musical  progression and expansion justifies  such a wide 
classification. Listen to  what he has to say, because  whether it be 
about Cryptopsy  or the extreme music  scene in general, I  think Jon 
has a lot of interesting perspectives and insights to offer.          

CoC: How are things in the Cryptopsy camp?

Jon Levasseur: Pretty cool,  we're pretty relaxed, pretty  happy with 
               everything  that happened.  The studio  time was  very 
               cool, we had the time to do everything that we wanted. 
               It was more relaxed this time, no pressure, we had the 
               time that  we -wanted-: _Whisper Supremacy_  we jammed 
               everything in  like three weeks  and this time  we had 
               -a  month-  and three  weeks,  and  that makes  a  big 
               difference!  We're kinda  happy  'cause we've  already 
               done a couple  of the shows, so we're  getting used to 
               being on  the road again, driving  and connecting with 
               the  crowds and  everything.  We did  three shows,  we 
               played in  Wooster, MA,  Meriden, Connecticut  and New 
               York city  in Manhattan, and  it was an  awesome show, 
               and we  played in  a place here  in Quebec.  Our album 
               launch  is  coming  up  and  it's  our  next  show  in 
               Montreal.  I  wish  you  could see  it,  'cause  we're 
               putting everything we've got into it. I can't say what 
               we're putting into  it, but it's gonna  be the biggest 
               Cryptopsy show  ever at  The Medley and  we're putting 
               everything we've got into it.  But we're putting it on 
               film though, so it should be a live video.             

CoC: Wicked, that would be cool.

JL: That's why we're doing it with  like four cameras and we're gonna 
    edit the  whole thing and  it should be...  I can't say  too much 
    here.                                                             

CoC: Bug Century Media and put it on DVD!

JL: <laughs>

CoC: That way we can switch the camera angles.

JL: That would be something else, wouldn't it.

CoC: You were  saying that it was  really relaxed in the  studio. You 
     found  there wasn't  any pressure  going into  doing the  fourth 
     album -- second one for Century  Media -- and I assume from what 
     you say there was no pressure from  the label to do one thing or 
     another?                                                         

JL: Not at  all, not  at all. 'Cause  obviously Century  Media signed 
    us  for  who we  are  and  they knew  what  we  were about.  With 
    _Whisper..._ we didn't  have any pressure from  Century Media but 
    we put ourselves  under a lot of pressure, because  we had a hard 
    level to  overcome after coming  out with  _None So Vile_  and it 
    getting such  great reviews.  People were questioning  whether we 
    would be able to top _None So  Vile_. But what we did was we went 
    into  real  extremity,  a  few grooves,  really  intense,  really 
    technical, and it was our first  album on Century Media, so those 
    two reasons were really putting  us under some pressure. Since we 
    did the  album in a  short period of  time it was  pretty rushed, 
    actually. But this time -- Century  Media know that we put out an 
    album every  two years and  a couple  of months, so  they respect 
    that,  and especially  since we  toured  for like  a whole  year, 
    though not continually.  We played Japan. We played  twice in the 
    States to start  off and then right after that  our first show in 
    Europe was  Dynamo [CoC #40].  That was awesome. We  were playing 
    and weren't even realising we were there because us here in North 
    America, we  hear talk  about Dynamo and  it's the  biggest metal 
    festival in the world and just  the idea of making it there is... 
    impossible! But obviously, coming  back to Century Media, Century 
    Media Germany had a lot to do  with it. Coming back to the album, 
    they  helped out  a lot  with the  time: they  gave us  a greater 
    budget so  we had the  time to  do what we  wanted to do.  And we 
    worked with Pierre  Remillard again and they had  no problem with 
    that. Things  have been just  booming and the studio  was relaxed 
    'cause we  had the time  to do  anything that we  wanted. Century 
    Media have been just great about  it, waiting for it. Now they've 
    heard  it  and  their  feedback  to us  is  very,  very  positive 
    considering the  album. I  told them: it's  gonna take  time, but 
    once it's done it's gonna be something else.                      

CoC: And it really is something else.  It's the second album you guys 
     have  done with  Mike  and  it sounds  like  you've become  more 
     comfortable just doing  whatever you want. It seems  like a very 
     free album.                                                      

JL: Yes.

CoC: _NSV_ and  _WS_ were  both creatively interesting  and different 
    but this  one you  just seem  to have  written -an  album-. There 
    doesn't seem  to have been  any need for it  to be a  death metal 
    album  or any  particular kind  of album,  it's just  a Cryptopsy 
    album.                                                            

JL: Exactly. I  can't say it better  than what you just  said. That's 
    exactly it, you're  right. _Whisper..._ was the  beginning of our 
    "extreme metal" side. _None So Vile_ is like the beginning. _None 
    So Vile_  is still a  -death metal-  album, but the  beginning of 
    technicality started there. And  then for _Whisper..._ -- because 
    of all the pressure that I mentioned earlier -- we wanted to give 
    something even  more. But  by being  extremely intense.  But this 
    album, like you  said, it's a free album, and  what contributed a 
    lot to it is that there was  a lot of help from everyone. Before, 
    me  and Flo  [Mounier,  drums] used  to be  the  main writers  -- 
    for  _None So  Vile_  and  even a  lot  of  _Whisper..._. But  on 
    _Whisper..._ Eric  had adapted to  the band  -- he's been  in the 
    band a long time now -- so  he started writing a lot, and on this 
    album he  wrote an entire  song. "...And  Then It Passes"  is his 
    song. He showed me the riff, we worked it out with Flo and that's 
    what  came  out.  Other  songs  like "We  Bleed"  and  "Voice  of 
    Unreason" me and  Flo wrote, but all the other  five new songs on 
    the album --  I couldn't even say that it's  more me than anybody 
    else: it's a group effort. Even  Alex, our new guitar player, had 
    a couple of ideas. Obviously he  had just entered the band and it 
    wasn't an easy task  for him to adapt so fast to  a band that was 
    extreme when he was coming from  a more power metal type of band, 
    but he did!  Because he practiced. But obviously  his ideas, some 
    of them were not exactly in  the Cryptopsy vein, but some of them 
    that we  found interesting we,  like, worked  on with him,  so at 
    least the basic ideas came from  him, y'know. So it was very much 
    a group  effort and it's a  free album, like you  say. It bounces 
    from Morbid Angel to Primus.                                      

CoC: It  definitely flips  from one place  to another.  Recently I've 
     found that a lot of the death metal scene's lacking creativity.       

JL: Yeah, in death metal, yes.

CoC: One of  the things that  really got  me going recently  has been 
     some  of  the  American  noisecore  stuff  like  Botch  and  The 
     Dillinger Escape Plan. I was curious whether you'd picked up any 
     of that,  whether that had sort  of influenced -- maybe  not the 
     album, but you musically?                                        

JL: Well, I know  Dillinger and they are indeed very  fucked up and I 
    respect them  at a high  level for  what they do  because they're 
    crazy. It's  something else:  the musicianship  and the  way that 
    they  change things  around  is on  the money  all  the time.  It 
    demands a  lot of work.  I can't  really say that  we're directly 
    influenced. I think that maybe what  happens is that we are a bit 
    influenced by what  they're a bit influenced by  also. 'Cause for 
    example,  Mike's  influenced by  like  death  metal, but  with  a 
    hardcore feel  -- which is  still really aggressive  'cause there 
    are some hardcore  singers that I've seen live that  are just ten 
    times more brutal  than some basic death metal  singer. So that's 
    it, you know.                                                     

CoC: These days I think those noisecore bands are closer to Cryptopsy 
     in both talent and extremity -- the way they do things -- than a 
     lot of the  death metal bands out there. There  are still plenty 
     of  good death  metal  bands around,  but I  think  what you  do 
     technically is closer to what those bands do: using odd timings, 
     syncopating  things and  weaving  stranger  stuff into  whatever 
     you're doing.                                                    

JL: Yeah,  if we  influence  it or  not  it's kind  of  hard to  say, 
    'cause we're  still a growing  band. When people tell  me they're 
    influenced by Cryptopsy  I find it awkward,  because I'm supposed 
    to be influenced,  because on a musician point of  view it's very 
    different from an outside point of view. What I find cool is that 
    at least  recently there's been  bands coming out that  have been 
    doing  extreme music,  but  that is  totally  different from  one 
    another. There are so many bands now that are so brutal, but they 
    all have something that's them,  and it's their musical composure 
    that makes  them that band.  And it's  good musicians too.  To be 
    able to  go through so  many things and so  fast -- as  bands are 
    doing now --,  you have to be  on your game. Like you  have to be 
    there mentally  and you have to  be knowing what the  hell you're 
    doing.                                                            

CoC: I think that's completely true.  As far as touring  partners for
     this album go, who are you thinking of going out with?

JL: Well, often agencies book those tours; we don't really have a big 
    choice. But, if we were to go out on tour, the ideal tour for now 
    in my  mind in -extreme-  metal -- because  I think that  now the 
    death  metal we've  become with  other bands  is more  as extreme 
    metal than  death metal.  Obviously death metal  is our  roots -- 
    there's no  hiding that. Like before  death metal was big  it was 
    thrash metal, then ten years later it was death metal. And now we 
    are ten years  later than death metal,  so I tend to  think of it 
    more as extreme metal. I would see on tour three bands; the ideal 
    tour  for now  I  think  would be  Nile,  Cryptopsy and  Cephalic 
    Carnage.                                                          

CoC: Cephalic Carnage is a very cool band.

JL: We've toured twice with Nile already  and we get along just great 
    with those guys, they've actually  become like tour brothers. And 
    we've met  Cephalic Carnage  many times and  those guys  are very 
    fucked up too. And even their music  is like: oh my god! But it's 
    cool, 'cause  you have  to listen  to it  to appreciate  it. It's 
    like, you listen  to it once, for sure, the  first listen is very 
    awkward 'cause  you don't know  really what to expect,  but after 
    listening to it you realise the  detail coming out of it and it's 
    there that you realise that the extreme bands are giving a lot of 
    thought to what they do: they  take time and they let inspiration 
    come naturally.  That in  all would  be cool if  from now  on the 
    bands would always continue to have a new side. 'Cause let's face 
    it,  these  bands are  not  only  influenced  --  as with  us  -- 
    from  typical death  metal bands,  because we  couldn't influence 
    ourselves on typical death metal  to start getting ideas that are 
    weirder. When death  metal was at a low five  years ago there was 
    nothing  we could  influence  ourselves upon,  and  we wanted  to 
    create  music that  was continually  evolving, so  that's why  we 
    changed, and a lot of people did that too.                        

CoC: I think  Cryptopsy and Cephalic Carnage  and a lot of  bands now 
     have really gone beyond scene  music. Death metal really used to 
     be  divided into  scenes: what  scene you  came from  determined 
     where your music came from.                                      

JL: Yes.

CoC: I think that's really starting to dissipate.

JL: Oh yes.

CoC: Scene  death metal  is all  old. There is  nothing more  you can 
     really do with the Florida death metal sound, y'know.                 

JL: And it's okay,  'cause that's the evolution of music.  If we just 
    take metal it always has: Black Sabbath came out with it and then 
    Metallica was huge and then thrash  metal was huge and then speed 
    metal and Slayer came about and when Slayer came that was a -big- 
    turning. I think that Slayer were  the beginning of the even more 
    violent  music. And  what's great  about Slayer  is that  they've 
    stayed the same  throughout all the years and that's  why I think 
    as  a metal  band Slayer  would have  to be  the most  unanimous, 
    respected band in the world.                                      

CoC: I think they should be, if they aren't.

JL: These guys have been going at it -- and we've seen metal bands go 
    commercial,  we all  know that  --, but  they've stayed  true and 
    accepted their popularity  and didn't care and always  did it for 
    metal.                                                            

CoC: And I think nowadays there are a lot of places you can go. Going 
     back to the album, what made you decide to use the digereedoo at 
     the beginning of "Screams Go Unheard"?                           

JL: That is part of the free flowing  of the album, it's just that at 
    a certain time while we were  writing new material our manager -- 
    the  ex-manager from  Voivod,  Morris Richard,  who also  manages 
    Obliveon. Well,  he manages  other Quebec artists  -- francophone 
    artists -- and Morris invited, one  night, Flo and Alex to go see 
    the show. It's commercial, but the  guy's a good singer, his name 
    is Burno Pensi, very good singer. That digereedoo guy did a piece 
    at this show and he played the digereedoo not as commonly as what 
    you would hear like in Austalia or something.                     

CoC: Not the traditional way, right?

JL: Exactly. He  uses it in  a really -weird-  way and then  we said: 
    well, we gotta  have that on the album 'cause  it's an instrument 
    where, in the studio, when he was taping it and we were listening 
    to playback, we  were cranking it out loud and  it's as if you... 
    You know that disease you have  when you look at a painting, when 
    there's a bit of hypnotism there?                                 

CoC: Magic eye, when it all goes strange, right?

JL: Exactly, you can spend like an hour  and a half looking at it and 
    have the  impression that it's  fifteen minutes. The  same effect 
    happens, you're  there and time  just stands still. You  lose the 
    notion of time -- and then  we realised: this lasted two minutes! 
    I didn't feel it  was two minutes 'cause I was  so stunned by it. 
    It's  great. Crank  it loud  on a  good sound  system, 'cause  it 
    fuckin' blows you away, man.                                      

CoC: I'll give it a shot!

JL: And  the guy  came  in,  did three  tracks  with three  different 
    digereedoos, one from  Australia, from the tribal  regions -- the 
    higher pitch one, that is very much more like the Australian one. 
    But the  two others, he  has one intonated in  D and I  think the 
    other one was an E or  something like that. We thought of putting 
    it right  near the end because  we put "Back to  the Worms" right 
    before that. But  on the album there's a tendency:  it starts off 
    with like new  stuff and then towards the end  of the album, when 
    you're at the  "Equivalent Equilibrium", it's more  a song that's 
    going back  to the old  days of  Cryptopsy. It's two  songs. It's 
    like a  _None So  Vile_-ish, _Blasphemy  Made Flesh_-ish  type of 
    song, and that's  how we wanted to write it,  too. So that's why, 
    by having  that song there, we  said: well, then we're  gonna use 
    "Back to  the Worms" to  put right afterwards 'cause  since we're 
    bringing  people  back  to  what  Cryptopsy used  to  be  on  the 
    first  two albums  we  still  put some  new  stuff  in there.  In 
    "Equivalent..." there's  that funky bass thing.  Then we're gonna 
    finish the album with "Screams  Go Unheard", with the digereedoo, 
    and the song  itself, with the ending, we always  thought -- when 
    we finished  that song,  we said:  this is a  cool song  for just 
    ending an  album. And we  said: we'll have  to end it  with power 
    this time. It was actually pretty funny 'cause we did a listening 
    party in Montreal at one of the biggest metal clubs there. We put 
    the CD on  and it was free,  so fans could just walk  in and hear 
    the album. They heard the album before anyone else. It was pretty 
    funny because when  the didge started, people thought  it was the 
    end of  the album  -- as if  it was  the end of  the song  --, so 
    people started walking  out, because it lasts long,  and then the 
    song starts and everyone comes running back in.                   

CoC: And  after  "Screams  Go  Unheard"  it  kinda  fades  back  into 
     something similar to the intro.  What's the deal with the intro, 
     'cause I  was told that there  was supposed to be  a sample from 
     "Matrix" that you couldn't get licensing for or something?       

JL: Well, obviously  the main idea came  from that, but the  way that 
    the guy  says it in the  movie is cool,  but if you listen  to it 
    loud enough  there's a  lot of  ambient noises.  It would  be too 
    ambient when you blow it up loud  and what the guy says would not 
    be as in  your face. Also, we talked with  Century Media about it 
    and obviously for  the rights maybe it could have  been done, but 
    since there was  the ambient noise factor we  thought: we're just 
    gonna do something  that is quite similar. And with  the intro to 
    the album, I'm glad that you saw  that at the end of the album we 
    come back to what we've done in the beginning. It's cool that you 
    noticed that pattern going towards the old and didge and then the 
    new stuff like the beginning of  the album. But the intro itself, 
    at the beginning,  we tried to just not have  an intro that would 
    start  typically. Some  albums you  hear  the intro  and then  it 
    starts and then it just continues. So we thought: we're gonna put 
    the intro, put a little bit of music, and then continue the intro 
    to confuse  people. Then start off  with the initial beat  of the 
    album.                                                            

CoC: It's a cool intro, and I think  it's better if you don't take it 
     from  the  film,  it  gives  the album  more  of  an  individual 
     character.                                                       

JL: And it  was a lot  more imposing in  the studio 'cause  we didn't 
    have to  deal with that  ambient noise.  It's more in  your face: 
    vocals and  train. As far as  sampling goes, we had  more time to 
    work on samplings, because _Whisper..._ was so one shot we didn't 
    have time to do  any real intro. This time we  had time and ideas 
    prior  to going  into the  studio. The  scream of  the girl,  the 
    beginning of "Screams  Go Unheard", the digereedoo  plays a while 
    with us. It's panned from side to side.                           

CoC: Is  the cover  the specific to  anything or is  it just  a great 
     image to have with the whole train sound and everything?              

JL: Well, it's just that the whole image  was an idea that we had but 
    it didn't only come from us.  By touring and by talking to people 
    playing North America, Europe and  Japan -- it's fucked up 'cause 
    there's always been something that people would come up to us and 
    say and some  people would come up  and say: "when I  listen to a 
    Cryptopsy CD I  feel like I am  getting run over by  a train". <I 
    laugh> And  we said: OK. We  take it as a  compliment, it's cool. 
    Then we just said: it's a cool image, it's now a question of just 
    getting a perfect image. And then we gave the idea to our graphic 
    designer -- not too sure, but our graphic designer once again did 
    a  great job  on the  artwork. We  went with  the concept  of not 
    showing too much of the image; what  we show on the cover is just 
    a part of the  image, because when you'll be able  to open up the 
    whole CD  there's more. So that's  it; that was pretty  much just 
    the idea. We took  the band photo in an old  train in Ottawa. The 
    Museum of Science and Technology, they pulled out an old wagon of 
    1908.  They  pulled it  out  of  a  huge  garage there  and  took 
    everything off  and they made  it so  we could take  pictures and 
    then they put it back in after. They were really cool with us. We 
    took  the picture  in there  and obviously  our graphic  designer 
    again worked a  lot as far as designs. He's  a big perfectionist: 
    when we tell him to stop 'cause it's nice enough, he never stops. 
    As he  did on  our website (www.cryptopsy.net).  I'll give  you a 
    secret:  if you  fuck around  with it  long enough  you can  open 
    hidden things.                                                    

CoC: Now that  Mike's been  in the  band long  enough I  assume he's 
     writing most of the lyrics, right?                                    

JL: Yes, Mike  is complete lyricist  and vocalist. He writes  all the 
    lyrics, also  in part because Alex  used to write lyrics  for his 
    band,  I used  to --  a long  time ago,  ten years  ago --  write 
    lyrics, but  now Mike writes  his lyrics  to the songs.  While we 
    write  the song,  even if  Mike can't  sing the  song because  he 
    doesn't know the song, he's always sitting there listening to our 
    progression,  and even  giving  his opinion  because while  we're 
    going --  if he has a  vocal idea --  he stops us and  says: okay 
    guys, I'm  thinking about doing this  and this. So we  modify the 
    music. That's what I meant  about a -tighter teamwork- this time. 
    And he writes his lyrics to the songs so the feeling that he gets 
    from the song gives him the  feeling to what he writes about, and 
    he writes about it and  just structures everything into the song. 
    And on  this album  he did  even better than  he did  on _Whisper 
    Supremacy_ because  there's a lot  of details that  musically are 
    there that  Mike realises are  there. So  what he does  is, he'll 
    sing and when this slight detail comes along in the music that is 
    gonna give a  little spice to it,  he's just gonna let  it go and 
    catch on on vocals later on  or something like that. So it's cool 
    to see that a singer is  really implicated in the musical aspect. 
    So compared  to Lord Worm  I think that  we're much more  a tight 
    unit.                                                             

CoC: Yeah, there doesn't  seem to be any sort of  ego clash: "I wanna 
     do some more vocals" or "I wanna do some more guitar".                

JL: No. I mean, guitar, I could say:  I wanna do a solo per song. But 
    for how long  has that been done? Some songs  don't need it. Some 
    songs, I  think, do need  it. In "We  Bleed", which is  much more 
    progressive, yes, Alex and I each have a solo: it's a progressive 
    song. But there's  other songs when we go back  to the past, like 
    typical brutal  stuff like  "Voice of  Unreason" that  just don't 
    need a solo.                                                      

CoC: For  me it  worked  well as  an album  because  "...And Then  It 
     Passes" has a little bit of lead widdling but there's no solo in 
     it. And you have to get all  the way to "We Bleed" and it builds 
     you up more for it.                                              

JL: Exactly,  and "...And  Then It  Passes" is  actually a  first for 
    Cryptopsy: a twin technical solo, me and Alex together at once. I 
    start off the  solo, we join in together and  he finishes off the 
    solo. And within that, while we're twin soloing there's no rhythm 
    guitar in the  back, it's just bass popping. We  just said: we're 
    just gonna  go crazy, we're  just gonna do something  that's just 
    gonna sound -whack-,  you know. Me and Alex didn't  really try to 
    go musical on there because the song is pretty whack to start off 
    with. We  said: we're  just gonna go  for like  craziness, that's 
    all.                                                              

CoC: It's a very pounding piece of music.

JL: It's funny, I find. <we both laugh>

CoC: Finally, you as a band seem to have raised your profile with the 
     dates in Europe [CoC #42] and  all that sort of thing and people 
     seem to be much more aware of this new album than they have been 
     before. People seem to be way  more into the band than they were 
     a few years ago, and do you think that with what the album is -- 
     being very technical  -- that it might break new  ground for you 
     popularity-wise?                                                 

JL: Hopefully. Again, we do our music because we want to do the music 
    that we do, and obviously we  don't think of any commercial part. 
    We do music that challenges  us, challenges the people who listen 
    to it,  so it's  a challenge and  it's just new.  And if  it does 
    [gain more popularity] then cool, but  -- as you were even saying 
    earlier -- in general the styles  are warping together now. A lot 
    more. And  what's cool about the  extreme metal scene as  a scene 
    for  ourselves and  other bands:  you don't  only have  the death 
    metal people there.  And it's cool because the  people from death 
    metal are also going to hear  something that's a bit new. So they 
    go more towards that so it's a  good follow-up, as we did. We are 
    from death  metal, but you've  got some  people now, we've  got a 
    certain -- the  more violent hardcore scene,  bands like Converge 
    and Hatebreed. Some fans of  that recognise themselves in what we 
    do  because we're  extreme.  Because hardcore  -- like  Converge, 
    Converge is  a hardcore  band and  a half!  A hardcore  band with 
    blastbeats, that was like: holy shit!                             

CoC: I  think the  dissipation of  some of  the scenes  has been  sad 
     in  some ways  [I'm  thinking  of death  metal  and black  metal 
     particularly  here --  Paul],  but I  think  that's also  forced 
     people out of their little,  kind of like, hiding holes. There's 
     still a lot of people who  stick to their scene and don't really 
     move outside  of that, but  to be honest  I think there  is more 
     possibility  for people  to  get into  different bands  wherever 
     they're from and whatever they're doing.                         

JL: Exactly, and that's  the beauty of it 'cause now,  instead of ten 
    years  ago, we're  uniting styles  instead of  separating styles. 
    Before, like you said earlier, either you were a metal fan or you 
    were a hardcore  fan or you were  a fan of a  specific style. And 
    now you  talk to people and  they don't even have  to look metal, 
    they listen  to some new age  but they still appreciate  what you 
    do. It's cool because people are opening their minds to music and 
    it's great because we'll be able  to make music in general evolve 
    instead of  having all that  commercial crap that's all  the same 
    and lame all  the time, you know. At least  there's a music style 
    in  our  scene  of  metal  that's  gonna  go  towards  a  certain 
    evolution. So at  least it's still going on, because  music is an 
    art for the ear and in  every art there's a progression and we've 
    gotta ensure  this progression,  you know. Towards  time, towards 
    the future,  because music has to  change. If in a  hundred years 
    someone  listens  to Cryptopsy  and  they  say, "these  guys  are 
    totally nuts",  I'll say,  "well, it's cool",  because even  in a 
    hundred years maybe  they've not fully assimilated  what the band 
    is about.  But I wouldn't  be surprised  that in a  hundred years 
    there'll be like bands that are  like two times faster, and we're 
    considered  like  the  slo-mos. Because  everyone  thought:  Jimi 
    Hendrix can't  go any faster,  blah, blah, blah. And  then here's 
    Yngwie Malmsteen. There's  always going to be  evolution, so even 
    if people think that this is  the last speed that they'll be able 
    to hear as far as speed, no. Even Slayer, for a long time it was: 
    you can't go faster than Slayer.                                  

CoC: I recently borrowed some thrash mags done around '85 [thank you, 
     Matthias  -- Paul]  and  people  are saying:  it  can't get  any 
     heavier than this.                                               

JL: Exactly.

CoC: It's amazing  because people  are like saying  this now  and I'm 
     always  very  dubious. I  think  that  you  can't really  see  a 
     possibility until someone does it for you.                       

JL: Yeah.

CoC: I remember --  not to be too sycophantic --  when _None So Vile_ 
     came out  I remember a lot  of people being shocked,  people who 
     were into death metal, because it was -that- fast, it was -that- 
     aggressive.                                                      

JL: That's just  progression, 'cause now  bands have come up  to that 
    level and  there will be  bands who come  after who will  be even 
    more extreme. That's progression. In  how long, it's hard to say, 
    but it  will happen.  In time,  if Cryptopsy is  just one  of the 
    bands who  helped to make  the liaison between, well,  great! And 
    next album, well, I can't say  that we have any songs written for 
    it, but it's gonna be again something different like we've always 
    done: from  _Blasphemy..._ to _None  So Vile_ to  _Whisper..._ to 
    _And Then You'll Beg_. The next album: expect the unexpected.     

Jon and I also chatted about:

Albums that grow...

JL: The albums that I've  taken the most time to get  used to are the 
    ones I put  on regularly, like Liquid  Tension Experiment. That's 
    fucked up.                                                        

My appraisal of Cryptopsy [yes, my ego needed feeding... -- Paul]

JL: I see that you've listened to the album very carefully 'cause you 
    were on the ball about everything musically.                          

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

	       R E M E M B E R I N G   T H E   P A S T
	       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 CoC talks to Thomas Gabriel Fischer about his book "Are You Morbid?"
			  by: Adrian Bromley


     A lot of people will tell you that Celtic Frost was one of those 
bands that didn't really change  metal music, rather they just helped 
put a lot of inspiration and  attitude into it. Their work now seemed 
cult-like, and was created out of the need to see how far metal music 
could bend. What  could become of the simple chord  playing and harsh 
vocals. Experimentation and lots of thought helped shape the music of 
the band and more than a decade later since their peak, we once again 
are talking about Celtic Frost.                                       
     In the last few years, the band  has, with the help of their old 
label Noise Records,  re-issued all of their  classic records (except 
for the frustrating  _Cold Lake_ disc) and singer Tom  G. Warrior has 
taken flight  with his new  avant-garde industrial act  Apollyon Sun. 
Now comes  the new  book "Are  You Morbid?  (Into the  Pandemonium of 
Celtic Frost)", written by the singer.                                
     Chronicles of Chaos caught up with Fischer by phone while he was 
in New York in late November to do North American press for the book. 
Here is  his account  on the book,  the tales it  tells and  the role 
Celtic Frost played in metal music.                                   
     "Since I  don't take  drugs, I had  a lots of  time and  lots of 
boredom", cracks Fischer on how the book came about. "I always wanted 
to write a  book and I always wrote stuff.  I started researching for 
this book back in  1990 when the band was still  together and it took 
me a long time to get this going. It took me three years of research, 
'cause I didn't remember all of the details either. By the time I had 
all of  this done  and had  started on the  manuscript, the  band was 
over. A  lot of people were  always asking me about  Celtic Frost and 
why we put this particular album out  or wrote music this way and all 
of our  legal problems and  it just seemed  obvious for me  to finish 
this book so all those questions could be answered to fans."          
     One  read  of  the  book,   and  it  is  quite  obvious  Fischer 
doesn't  hold any  punches. He  tells it  like it  is --  a rewarding 
characteristic of the book, which could have easily followed the safe 
route  and kept  things  straightforward  and unconfrontational.  Not 
here, folks. And Fischer likes that element of the book too.          
     "This is a very open book and  just the way I wanted to tell it: 
like it was. As  a legal disclaimer I had to put in  that this was my 
opinion of how things were. I'm not lying about any of this. I had to 
say it was  my opinion and if other people  have other opinions, then 
so be  it. I've been sued  by Noise Records  in the '80s and  I don't 
want that again. If other people are  ticked off, then that is what I 
have to deal with."                                                   
     "Many of  the band  members read the  manuscript before  it even 
came  out", notes  Fischer. "And  I've  been asked  several times  to 
delete stuff from the book and I considered it and out of respect for 
these people  I took it  out. It made  them feel uncomfortable,  so I 
left it  out. I tried  to write this as  it happened and  sometimes I 
left our  last names or  just didn't mention  names at all  for legal 
reasons. In essence, the book does not distort the truth. While there 
is some bad stuff written about people in the book, including myself, 
there is also a  lot of good said about those  people inside too. I'm 
very critical  of myself  throughout the  book and if  I can  do that 
throughout the book, why can't others step up and face what they did, 
be it good or bad?"                                                   
     Does he  think the  book covers  every aspect  of the  career of 
Celtic Frost, or  was stuff left out? Fischer  answers: "The original 
manuscript was  twice as voluminous as  this book [which is  close to 
300 pages -- Adrian]  and it was far more detailed.  I didn't want to 
bore people and  because of publishing reasons, I had  to cut it down 
and make  it very  streamlined. I  basically had to  pick out  what I 
thought was important to keep in the book. It was great, they allowed 
me to do the editing of the  manuscript and I was able to choose what 
stayed in. There was  so much that could have got  into this and from 
the original  manuscript, there  was even more  that wasn't  there. I 
mean,  I could  have  gone on  more about  tour  anecdotes and  legal 
issues, but  how many can  you put in  before you start  yawning? The 
book is  pretty detailed and not  very repetitive. I think  I touched 
upon everything."                                                     
     "There are  a lot of  stories I  couldn't really trace  or track 
down, but that was bound to happen.  A lot happened for this band and 
it was just  impossible to get it right. Sometimes  I thought a story 
happened one way, and all the  band members recounted it another way. 
Those ideas  had to be  dropped and couldn't  be in the  book because 
there was no real agreement on how things unfolded there."            
     "Writing this book was a very  emotional thing for me", he says. 
"It  sounds cliche,  but  I was  very  overwhelmed by  a  lot of  the 
memories I  brought back from writing  certain parts of the  book. It 
brought  back a  lot of  things. Even  Reed [St.  Mark, drummer]  was 
reading the stuff and getting  emotional. We were weeping like little 
idiots, but it is just because these  years of being in the band were 
a very  important part of  our lives.  These years changed  our lives 
forever."                                                             
     So does writing the book help Fischer realize just how important 
the band was  in the metal realm  and what they did  for metal music? 
"This book wasn't written for me to  go around saying "yeah, I was in 
Celtic Frost  and I am  so important". That  wasn't the case  at all. 
That would be just so rock star like. I think this book really helped 
me  understand Celtic  Frost as  a band  and only  writing this  book 
helped me free my mind and start to work on my new band Apollyon Sun. 
That is the effect this book had.  As far as how we changed the metal 
scene,  I touched  upon the  stuff that  was brought  to us  and what 
people said about  us, but I would  never go out saying  Frost was so 
important."                                                           
     Fischer ends: "To this day I still have a hard time believing we 
were important at all. We were just a band that set out to make music 
and we got all messed up with the business and each other. It happens 
all of the time, except with Celtic Frost it was more visible and the 
story needed to be told."                                             

Book Review: "ARE YOU MORBID?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Sanctuary Publishing, $12.99 UK, $19.95 US)

     I'm  going to  make this  short, as  I think  Fischer let  those 
reading the interview know what to expect from "Are you Morbid?".     
     While I was  not a big Celtic  Frost fan going into  the book, I 
left a  fan, not only  for the band's hard  work and struggle  in the 
music business,  but also for the  fact that the band  always made an 
effort to  take their music  to a  higher level. Celtic  Frost really 
wanted to explore metal music. And they did.                          
     Fischer's words  are very honest,  and while  he may not  be the 
best writer in the world (this is his first book), his clever writing 
passages are  interesting and  (at times)  very funny.  Fischer could 
have easily  painted himself  as the  ring leader  and savior  of the 
band, but as mentioned in the  interview above, his evils come out in 
this  book. Nobody  in this  world is  perfect and  Celtic Frost  was 
living proof of that.                                                 
     As I read "Are  You Morbid?" I would listen to  the music of the 
band  at  that era,  whether  it  was  _Morbid  Tales_ or  _Into  the 
Pandemonium_. Reading  the excerpts about  the making of  each record 
and listening to the music made me appreciate it more.                
     In closing, I must say that "Are You Morbid?" is a book not only 
for Celtic  Frost fans,  but other fans  and up-and-coming  bands who 
want to know just what it takes (the  good and the bad) to get far in 
this business from a first hand account. A good read for sure.        

Discography:
~~~~~~~~~~~~
_Morbid Tales_ (1984)
_To Mega Therion_ (1985)
_Into the Pandemonium_ (1987)
_Cold Lake_ (1988)
_Vanity/Nemesis_ (1990)
_Parched With Thirst Am I, And Dying_ (1992)

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  R E N E G A D E S   R E L I V I N G   T H E   G L O R Y   D A Y S
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
	       CoC talks to Oscar Dronjak of HammerFall
			  by: Adrian Bromley


     I'll admit  right off the  bat that  I am not  a big fan  of the 
latest HammerFall  record _Renegade_. It  just doesn't sit  well with 
me. I am not sure why it really is, but I think one of the reasons is 
that unlike the band's blistering  1997 Nuclear Blast debut _Glory to 
the  Brave_, or  its  mediocre follow-up  _Legacy  of Kings_  (1998), 
_Renegade_  lacks  momentum and  attitude.  The  once vibrant  "heavy 
metal" cause has  been downsized, replaced by more  melodies and some 
slow and often  unnecessary ballads. No balls this time  out and that 
is not a good warning sign for things to come, is it?                 
     But you can't write things off right away (unless of course your 
band name  is Mortification),  and so  the phone  call comes  in from 
guitarist Oscar  Dronjak to  talk about the  new disc  (and hopefully 
explain it a bit better for me) and life in HammerFall. We begin...   
     "This album is  a definite continuation of what  we started with 
HammerFall", says  Dronjak. "This record  is a lot  more professional 
and more polished. This is a mature  version of the band, I think. We 
got a lot of experience making  records and going out touring and all 
that and it just made its way into the record. We took all of what we 
learned and brought that into the songwriting. The experience we have 
had is the key factor with this  record." He states, "We put a lot of 
heart and soul into the work we  do and I think each record has shown 
that. We believe in what we are doing."                               
     And  what  about the  experience  of  working with  high-profile 
producer Michael Wagner  (Alice Cooper / Skid Row /  Motley Crue) and 
recording on US soil in Nashville -- what was that like?              
     "He is so  down to earth and easily the  coolest person that you 
could  meet",  says Dronjak  with  enthusiasm.  "He brought  a  great 
atmosphere into the  studio and it just made everyone  so relaxed. He 
just wanted us to be ourselves and  come in and play the music. He is 
really  good  at  getting  material out  of  people,  especially  the 
vocalist. This relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere just made it a lot of 
fun to work on this disc and I think it shows."                       
     And why  Michael Wagner?  "Because of his  track record.  He was 
everything we expected him to be. We wanted to have a big producer to 
help  and coach  us, with  vocals and  the guitar  work. We  wanted a 
producer that  would help us make  music to the best  of our ability. 
Michael has produced a lot of  varied styles of music over his career 
and we thought  that him working with us would  be the perfect match. 
He told us that he was looking forward to working with us. He is into 
heavy metal. Even  though he has produced the likes  of Janet Jackson 
and  a string  of  other  acts, he  was  interested  in working  with 
HammerFall."                                                          
     The band -- rounded out  by singer Joacim Cans, guitarist Stefan 
Elmgren, bassist Magnus Rosen and  drummer Anders Johannson -- really 
made a  name for  themselves in  1997 with the  release of  the debut 
record [note: Chronicles of Chaos did the band's first-ever interview 
in CoC #21].  Not for the fact  that the record was a  solid piece of 
music, but for the fact that  the band championed bands to bring back 
the heavy metal  sound of past and have fun  playing guitar solos and 
having  melody.  They made  heavy  metal  return  to the  scene  with 
vibrance and wicked guitar solos. It was a lot of fun and it seems to 
have spawned a vast amount of new  bands to pop up and join the heavy 
metal cause. How  does Dronjak feel about the movement  and the bands 
that have surfaced?                                                   
     "I think  it is great  that there  are many other  bands playing 
this type  of music. In  order for the sound  of heavy metal  to have 
some longevity, we need more bands  playing this type of music. It is 
important. Bands  like Iron  Maiden or Judas  Priest can't  carry the 
torch [of  heavy metal] for the  next twenty years. They  are getting 
old. Bands  like HammerFall won't  be around forever either.  We need 
all of these new bands playing  heavy metal and getting more and more 
people into this genre of music." He  adds: "It is good to see that a 
lot of  magazines and labels have  opened their eyes to  this type of 
music and realized that  it is not just the same  old thing with each 
band. There is a lot of good stuff out there."                        
     One thing that has been always affiliated with HammerFall is the 
amazing and detailed artwork that  accompanies each record. All three 
records  have  sported  this  towering knight,  clad  in  armour  and 
wielding a massive weapon. The warrior  is ready for battle and ready 
to defend the  cause of heavy metal. I have  always wondered, "Do you 
see the  artwork before or after  you write the material?  If so, are 
you inspired to write a theme to correspond with the artwork?"        
     "What we do is: we pick song  titles to use for the record, then 
we pick the  album title from that  and then we come up  with an idea 
for the artwork and what we want to  see on the cover. We do a sketch 
and a description of what we want  to see and then we send it Nuclear 
Blast for  them to forward  it to  the artist, Andreas  Marshall. His 
work is truly amazing and it  captures the real passion of HammerFall 
and what we sing and play about."                                     
     Seeing that the  band has stuck to their same  heavy metal sound 
for three  records, and plan  to do so for  the rest of  their career 
from the sound of  it, I ask Dronjak if the band  has ever thought of 
incorporating  new sounds/styles  into their  music. He  answers: "We 
will  always play  music like  this. We'll  keep it  heavy metal.  We 
always are trying to go out there and make the ultimate music and the 
ultimate record.  That is the goal  for us. I mean,  we'll never make 
the perfect  album, 'cause if  we did we  might as well  stop playing 
music. We know what we want  with HammerFall and that doesn't include 
orchestrations  or  death growls.  That  is  not  what we  want  with 
HammerFall." He  continues: "If we  were to bring another  style into 
the band and change things up, that would not only be betrayal for us 
as a band, but  we would be betraying our fans as  well. This is what 
we do. This  is heavy metal. Any new incorporation  of new sounds and 
styles for HammerFall would be a definite step down for us."          
     In closing,  I ask  Dronjak about heavy  metal in  today's music 
scene and how he  rates it. "Heavy metal is as strong  as it has ever 
been. Actually,  that is not true.  It was the strongest  in the '80s 
because it was the only thing. Heavy metal now has been the strongest 
since the '80s and  it just seems to be growing. I  see the future of 
heavy metal  and it  is a  bright one, especially  with all  of these 
great new  bands coming up and  playing good music. If  there are ten 
bands  playing this  music or  100  bands, that  is a  good sign.  Of 
course, I'd like  to have five good bands playing  this type of music 
rather than fifteen  so-so bands playing it. I think  a lot of people 
nowadays are  pretty well informed and  know just who is  playing the 
good stuff and what they should buy."                                 
     As I hang up the phone I admire the vision that Dronjak has cast 
upon heavy metal music with his band,  but I can only hope (and pray) 
that next opus HammerFall returns with  a mighty crush, rather than a 
polished mediocre offering. The passion  is there, let's hope it gets 
used more next time.                                                  

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	       D E A T H   F R O M   T H E   N O R T H
	       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
	      CoC interviews Christer Espevoll of Extol
			  by: Alex Cantwell


Anyone who is a devoted reader  of this publication probably knows by 
now that  I hold Extol in  extremely high regard. Although  I love to 
tell their tale,  and how I discovered them, and  blah, blah, blah, I 
have done it already in past issues  and will not go into any of that 
here. I was  extremely curious as to how their  recent and third tour 
of the  US had been, seeing  as how I was  not able to attend  one of 
their shows  this time, and  I also wanted to  see what was  in their 
immediate future,  following recent triumphs  such as the  release of 
_Undecieved_ [CoC #49]  and a feature in Metal  Maniacs. After months 
of inquiring about the possibility  of doing an e-mail interview with 
the band, I  was finally granted that honour  with guitarist Christer 
Espevoll, and the results are as follows...                           

CoC: Tell me about your US tour this past Summer.

Christer Espevoll: We  had a  good time  and played  a lot  of shows. 
                   Thumbs up for the crowd  at Club 412 in Ft. Worth, 
                   Texas, the best crowd we  ever played in front of. 
                   Cornerstone was fun as usual; too muddy this year, 
                   though. I'm really happy we stayed at a motel...   

CoC: America  has had  a mad  influx of  Norwegian black  metal bands 
     touring this year,  but most are not able to.  Why have you been 
     here  three times  already  and  why is  touring  in America  so 
     important to the band?                                           

CE: Touring is good no matter where. It's good because we get to meet 
    new people  and we get to  talk about Jesus. Musically  it's good 
    because the stage presence gets  better and we grow as musicians. 
    The reason we've  only toured USA so far (by  touring I mean lots 
    of  shows in  a short  period of  time) is  that's where  we have 
    contacts, and that's where we've had  the chance to tour. We love 
    touring. It rocks.                                                

CoC: But as  big as metal  is in Europe, don't  you think it  will be 
     important to  the future of  the band to  try to tour  there as? 
     well  Does SolidState  require you  to tour  the US  after each? 
     release                                                        ? 

CE: Oh yes,  we really want to  tour Europe, but since  we don't have 
    very good distribution  in Europe people haven't heard  of us, so 
    that's a  problem. SolidState doesn't require  anything like that 
    from us, we just love touring.                                    

CoC: How does Extol fit into the metal scene in Norway?

CE: Very  well,  I  think;  the   only  "drawback"  is  that  we  are 
    Christians. I  think that's  how the secular  scene looks  at us. 
    They respect us for the music we play, but not necessarily for us 
    being Christians, which  is kind of sad, but the  music is a good 
    opener for  us to get to  talk about our faith  anyway, so that's 
    really cool.                                                      

CoC: What is Extol doing currently?

CE: Writing music  for the next album.  And we're dealing with  a new 
    label for  distribution in  Europe. Can't  tell you  which one... 
    We're  also  doing a  few  shows  in  Sweden and  Germany  before 
    Christmas.                                                        

CoC: Could you  please  inform  me on  the  details  of Ole  Borud's 
     departure from the band?                                              

CE: Well, he felt like doing other things musically, and he was tired 
    of  metal. We  knew it  was  coming, so  when he  told us  around 
    Christmas last year, we were prepared for it. Of course there are 
    no hard feelings  or anything, and we wish him  good luck further 
    on whatever he  does in music. He  is a very good  musician, so I 
    have no doubt that whatever he decides to do is going to be good. 

CoC: He introduced  clean  vocals  into  your sound,  has  served  as 
     co-producer  and   sound  engineer  for  your   recordings,  and 
     contributed musically. How will you replace him?                 

CE: We won't. As  for the clean vocals, that was  something we wanted 
    to exploit  because we knew  he was a  good singer. It  was never 
    part of our original sound. But  we might do some clean vocals on 
    the next  album in another form...  you'll just have to  wait and 
    hear. When  it comes to  the engineering part, we've  been really 
    lucky to  have Ole and  his family's  studio, because we  had the 
    privilege to take  the time we needed to make  our albums as good 
    as possible, but there are  several good studios around here with 
    good engineers, so I don't think  that's going to be a problem on 
    the next album.                                                   

CoC: Are you guys still friends with him?

CE: Yes.

CoC: So is Tor Magne still not an actual member of the band?

CE: Well,  he is,  but he  is not.  Right now  Lengsel and  Extol are 
    helping each other  out. Tor Magne and Jon Robert  help us out on 
    guitar and bass,  and David and Peter help them  out on drums and 
    vocals. So  Peter, David and I  are still the core  of Extol, but 
    still both Tor  Magne and Jon Robert are more  than just stand-in 
    musicians. They are really good friends. Officially, though, they 
    are not permanent members.                                        

CoC: _Undecieved_ is  full of  very technical  death metal  with many 
     mdark  elodies,  but  with  less  of  a  black  metal  influence 
     mthan  previous  aterial.  Why  did Extol  make  an  album  like 
     m_Undecieved_?                                                   

CE: We felt  that was the  direction to  go after _Burial_.  Our next 
    album is probably going to be  more towards black metal. Not pure 
    black, of course, but faster and  more chaotic, I think. We still 
    have a lot more songs to write, but that's the way it looks right 
    now.                                                              

CoC: How much influence does traditional  Norwegian music have on you 
     guys? There have been hints of it during the orchestral parts on 
     both full-lengths, but  then you have bands  like Manegarm, Twin 
     Obscenity, and (early) Ulver  who really incorporate traditional 
     sounding music  into their  own. Do you  think Extol  might ever 
     travel down this road?                                           

CE: As far as  I know we are  not influenced by any of  those kind of 
    bands. Some of  the things Ole wrote I know  were inspired by the 
    Beatles and  some classical composer (can't  remember which one), 
    and then of course you have  Rush. Ole loves Rush. As for myself, 
    I have never listened to any Norwegian folk music at all.         

CoC: Where do you see the band going in the future, musically?

CE: Like I  said, it's going  be faster  and more chaotic,  but we'll 
    still keep  the melodies. Peter  [Espevoll, vocals] puts  it very 
    nicely  when he  tries to  explain our  new direction:  it's more 
    beautiful and more brutal.                                        

CoC: Is there a  chance that you will ever record in  one of the more 
     well-known studios in Norway or Sweden?                               

CE: Probably not. We know what kind of sound we want and don't really 
    feel the need for a producer or a famous engineer.                    

CoC: What is your favorite Van Halen song?

CE: Don't have one.

CoC: Please tell me about your "Believer wannabe" thrash band.

CE: Well, it's  just a project  and we're not Believer  wannabes, but 
    we're  Believer influenced.  We  love Believer  and  David and  I 
    wanted to  make some  thrash music... so  sometime in  the future 
    when we've made ten or twelve songs we'll probably release it.    

CoC: Why was the _Mesmerized_ EP never released in the US?

CE: It was, through SolidState.

CoC: And  finally, what up-and-coming  Norwegian bands do we  need to 
     know about?                                                           

CE: Can't think  of any right now. Oh yeah,  Umbrella (girl punk) and 
    Silver (old school rock and roll) are names to notice.                

CoC: That's it, I guess -- I could ask you 100 questions. Monga tusin 
     tuk. [I  was attempting  to say "many  thousand thanks"  here -- 
     Alex]                                                            

CE: Hehe, that would be: mange tusen takk.

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      U N V E I L I N G   N E W   R E A L M S   O F   M U S I C
      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
	      CoC interviews Morten Veland of Tristania
			  by: Adrian Bromley


     Tristania's new gothic metal  masterpiece _Beyond the Veil_ [CoC 
#45] has been out  some time now, but this fall was  supposed to be a 
big deal  for Tristania's career. The  band was to tour  parts of the 
United  States  and Mexico,  as  well  as  participate in  the  metal 
festival November to  Dismember in Los Angeles. While the  band has a 
core following,  praised by critics  and fans around the  globe, this 
trek to  North American soil was  going to bring about  more exposure 
for this Norwegian act. That was the plan.                            
     As the  interview takes place,  Morten Veland  is holed up  in a 
hotel room in Los  Angeles with the flu and getting  ready to go back 
home after just a brief four-day visit to the United States. The tour 
they had planned is canceled and there will be no show in Mexico. And 
to boot, the band only played  a 30-minute set at the festival, which 
was marred (how  unusual?) by cancellations by  anticipated acts like 
Venom and  label mates The Sins  of thy Beloved. Welcome  to America, 
Morten!                                                               
     "It has been a short trip for  us here, but I guess it was worth 
it. The festival was good exposure for the band. Playing the festival 
was okay;  a few  technical problems  with our set  but it  was okay. 
We're getting  ready to go  home tomorrow", explains Veland.  "In the 
beginning we were supposed to do a  bunch of shows here in the US and 
in Mexico, but that didn't happen. It's quite unfortunate."           
     "This whole  trip hasn't been a  real big thing because  we have 
not really  been a  big part  of it. We  came to  our hotel  after we 
arrived and I got  real sick and I have just stayed  in my hotel room 
drinking lots  of water and taking  painkillers. Then we went  to the 
festival an hour before we played,  talked to the stage managers, set 
up our equipment,  played and then came back to  the hotel. From that 
point on  I have  been nursing  this cold." Veland  adds: "As  I said 
before, we weren't a big part of all of these things going on, but it 
was a treat for  our fans to see us play in the  US and that makes me 
happy. It is a  shame that there were all of  these problems with the 
festival, but at least we played."                                    
     Talking about  the way the  band (female vocalist  Vibeke Stene, 
synth/programmer Einar  Moen, bassist Rune Osterhus,  drummer Kenneth 
Olsson and  guitarist Anders  H. Hidle) approached  the new  disc, he 
offers: "We  have always  been about expanding  our sound.  With each 
release, we take what  we have as a band and try to  make it go a lot 
further.  We  want  to be  able  to  keep  all  of the  elements  and 
influences, but  not be afraid  to bring in  new ideas. With  the new 
disc, we  wanted to take  the music of  Tristania into a  much harder 
direction. We added some aggressive parts  to the record and tried to 
add a bit more of an electronic  feel as well. It worked out well for 
us, I think."                                                         
     What  draws Veland  into the  music of  the band  and keeps  him 
interested in  what he does  musically? "I  think the main  reason is 
that we as  a band always try  to make the music so  versatile and we 
never get sick of it. We have tried so many different things over the 
years. Each song  has its own form of expression  and ideas making it 
up. When  we started we kept  to the same  style of music and  it was 
getting boring  for us. By  changing things  up and doing  new things 
with the  music, we are all  still very excited about  what Tristania 
does as a band and within the music."                                 
     "Making music  for this band  has become  a lot easier  over the 
years", he states. "It  has become a luxury of sorts for  me to do. I 
enjoy making music.  In the beginning of the band,  after a record, I 
had very few ideas left over. Now  I have hundreds left over and that 
is great because I  know that I have so much to  look forward to with 
the next release."                                                    
     Any new sounds and ideas for a new disc yet? "Oh yeah. We are in 
the  middle of  the  process of  writing new  material  for the  next 
record. We  go into the studio  in February and the  record should be 
out sometime in May  or so. It is a bit too early  to really say just 
what the new stuff sounds like,  but it is a definite progression for 
us. At least that is what we are trying to do."                       
     "I love the studio", he says.  "Studio work is one of the things 
I love most about working with this  band and making music. I like to 
be  able to  come into  the  studio with  the sketches  of songs  and 
carefully work on them and watch them grow into new songs. It is just 
a great feeling  to be able to  go into a studio and  have your songs 
turn out the way you want them to."                                   
     He finishes, "There  is nothing more exciting  than making music 
that you can be really happy about and fall in love with your work. I 
have been very lucky with Tristania and I'm sure things in the future 
will be just as good."                                                

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      G O D :   T I E D   I N   S T E E L   H A N D C U F F S ?
      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
		   CoC chats with Heimoth from Seth
			   by: Paul Schwarz


It's possible that  to many people the phrase "good  French metal" is 
an  oxymoron. However,  I'd say  that this  is most  commonly due  to 
a  lack  of  investigation combined  with  prejudicial  nationalistic 
sentiments. That said,  good French metal bands do not  come -my- way 
with a great  deal of frequency, although in the  last year the likes 
of Symbiosis,  Scarve and  --- case  in point  -- Seth  have somewhat 
turned that  tide. Seth's  style is  strongly influenced  by Sweden's 
Dissection, but what stands out is not only the high quality of their 
black/death metal  assault, but also the  fierce individual character 
they  imprint onto  their work.  Guitarist Heimoth  chatted with  CoC 
about Osmose's "French metal revelation".                             

CoC: How do  you feel about being called a  "French metal revelation" 
     by Osmose? How much do you think Seth connect to French metal?        

Heimoth: Actually,  it's something  that  has been  around since  our 
         first album,  _Les Blessures de L'Ame_,  because people were 
         quite astonished,  because they  didn't expect this  kind of 
         band in France. It was maybe  a surprise because we were not 
         well known before this album.                                

CoC: Do  you think  it's at  all because of  the musical  style? It's 
     quite a Norwegian style.                                              

H: Yes.

CoC: To my  ears it owes  quite a bit to  Dissection as well.  It was 
     quite  interesting, after  I listened  to the  album, I  started 
     singing Dissection  again [I had  "Unhallowed" stuck in  my head 
     for nearly a  week -- Paul]. I  think you've worked in  a lot of 
     good stuff, I think you've done it tastefully. What d'you think? 

H: I think that this time I  wanted to present the album as something 
   based  on guitars  and we  wanted to  make something  more unusual 
   compared to the  first album, and when you  mentioned Dissection I 
   think you  were totally  right, because  they are  one of  the few 
   bands that  shows that  it is possible  to create  atmosphere only 
   using guitars.                                                     

CoC: Absolutely.

H: I wanted, in a  way, to create this feeling. So  I think with this 
   new  album  everything is  more  efficient;  the tracks  are  more 
   concise.                                                           

CoC: They don't overstay their welcome.

H: Exactly, and we worked  a lot with my drummer on  a lot breaks: to 
   get a good structure. I have done this album under the idea of not 
   making a compilation  of riffs or something. I have  tried to make 
   good links between all the riffs.                                  

CoC: Talking about  the lyrics,  you've done  them in  four different 
     languages -- as  far as the song-titles go, at  least -- German, 
     Latin, French and English. I am  curious why, and what effect do 
     you think that creates?                                          

H: The thing is  that on the first album everything  was sung 100% in 
   French. Now,  about 60%  of it  is in  French and  the rest  is in 
   English. For us it was important to keep our roots.                

CoC: What did Fenriz from Darkthrone contribute to the album and also 
     why?                                                                  

H: Maybe  you  have  noticed  that  he  mentioned  our  band  in  the 
   _Goatlord_ album. We just wanted in return to in a way include him 
   on this  opus, we thought that  was maybe the best  thing we could 
   do. We told him and he agreed to  make a song; he wrote "Let Me Be 
   the Salt in Your Wound", which is possibly my favourite track. The 
   lyrics and the music go right together.                            

CoC: I liked that  song and also "Bastard Beast" a  lot. I was really 
     impressed with  how well you  managed to weave in  the acoustics 
     and  crescendo  it  back  into  the  song.  It  must  have  been 
     difficult.                                                       

H: You're right,  this and "Legion Spirituelle  Damnatrice" are maybe 
   like the only two tracks that add a lot of heavy metal stuff.         

CoC: Would you  say you're  ideologically anti-Christian,  with song 
     titles like "Acid Christ"?                                            

H: Well, of course you have anti-Christian mention but it's more like 
   an anti-religious stance.  We just think that a lot  of people can 
   have their own idea, better people  can have a will to create what 
   they think and  not to follow a principle. It's  just something we 
   feel should be [the case].                                         

CoC: Also with "Acid Christ", is that a pun? [Anti-Christ -- Paul]

H: You thought it was like a word  game? No, no, it has nothing to do 
   with a comparison or a link or something like that, it was just an 
   idea of how it would be trying  to put acid on Christ. And I think 
   another reason  of this song was  about the symbols, the  icons of 
   religion.                                                          

CoC: How did Peter Tagtgren end up remixing the album? What was wrong 
     with the original mix? How did it come about?                         

H: Well, actually there was a lot of confusion about that, because we 
   recorded the  album in  France, and  we remixed  it in  France. We 
   -wanted-  to have  a  remix  in the  Abyss  studio  but it  wasn't 
   possible  because we  didn't get  the right  connections with  the 
   tapes, so it didn't happen. So only the mastering was done there.  

CoC: It has got a very good sound, actually.

H: It was recorded in December and January and mastered in July.

CoC: Are you happy with the result you've got in the album?

H: Yeah, I  am happy  with the whole  CD, maybe. This  is one  of the 
   first  times  I've  been  very  proud  of  what  I've  done.  I've 
   completely realised what I wanted -- what I composed -- and it was 
   a goal  for me. Yes, maybe  there are points that  could have been 
   better -- that could have been improved for me --, but obviously I 
   can't  be  very  proud  of  everything;  I  can't  be  happy  with 
   everything I've  done. When you  have done  the CD nothing  can be 
   changed. No one can be happy with everything.                      

CoC: Generally, where are you, Seth, aiming  to get as a band? At the 
     moment it's good  and it's interesting but it's  not pushing any 
     particular boundaries. I  was curious where you  might be hoping 
     to go in the future with the sound. What is your idea?           

H: It's a bit complicated because a  lot of ideas have been coming to 
   my mind,  maybe. I'd like  to go ahead and  to change again  but I 
   don't have precise ideas so far.  So I can't answer precisely, but 
   in the future we have got a few dates in Europe.                   

CoC: Right, touring.

H: Yeah,  but we don't  know yet with what  band we're gonna  tour. I 
   guess some French dates will be done about December.                  

CoC: So,  are you the principal  writer in Seth? Do  you write pretty 
     much all of it?                                                       

H: Am I the composer, do you mean?

CoC: Yeah.

H: Yeah, yeah, I suppose almost  everything. On this album I composed 
   about 80% or 90% of the material. Before, it was shared between my 
   bass player -- about 50% each.  Now I have done almost everything. 
   I had more time  to work and I got more  time to work arrangements 
   and put it with my drummer so the music can just be better.        

CoC: Is the band name Seth with regard to the Egyptian god of death?

H: Yeah, we chose  that name at the  beginning of Seth in  '95. So it 
   was a long time ago and in  reference as well to the bible because 
   it's Adam's son.  We thought that it was interesting  to find this 
   word because  we wanted to  get a short name  as well. Not  to get 
   something with "of" or "on" in the name.                           

CoC: Like Maze of Torment?

H: <laughs>

CoC: You  know, where you rip  off some other band's  song title. Not 
that like half the bands on Nuclear Blast don't do that.              

H: Yeah <laughs>, exactly.

CoC: Any   particular  significance   to  the  cover,   these  bound 
     stigmatated hands?                                                    

H: Yeah, exactly. We  wanted to symbolise that Seth has  been able to 
   take God's place  with these handcuffs and the scars.  It is God's 
   arrest and the topic of the  album concerns this image, this idea: 
   that it's possible to get this  power. The title goes with that as 
   well, it doesn't mean that we  are making excellent music <we both 
   laugh>, but  we wanted to get  really strong words and  it marks a 
   lot of people.                                                     

CoC: It's  definitely a  striking  title. How  are  things with  Void 
     [excellent London-based black  metal band echoing Dodheimsgard's 
     recent work; see demo review in CoC #47 -- Paul] going?          

H: I will have to go back probably  at the end of this month or maybe 
   in December. I don't know, I don't know how Void are going on. But 
   I guess I am gonna go back. <laughs>                               

CoC: Are you finding it difficult to divide your time between the two 
     bands?                                                                

H: No, no, no, because so far  Void doesn't take me so much time. So, 
   I will see in the future.                                             

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	     S U O M I   F I N L A N D   P E R K E L E !
	     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
	    CoC talks to Taneli Jarva of The Black League
			  by: Adrian Bromley


     All singer Taneli Jarva wants to do  is get on with his new band 
The Black  League and  his music. It  has been a  few years  since he 
parted ways  with his old  band, Finnish  act Sentenced, and  he just 
wants the past to stay the past.                                      
     Finally, after  years of hard  work, Jarva has managed  to group 
together a sturdy set of veteran metal henchmen to form the League -- 
bassist  Florida (Legenda,  Impaled Nazarene),  drummer Sir  Luttinen 
(Legenda), guitarists  Maike Valanne (ex-Faff-Bey and  Terveet Kadet) 
and Alexi Ranta -- and release their Spinefarm debut _Ichor_. But you 
know  what? His  past  still  haunts him  and  there  is nothing  the 
somewhat irritated Jarva can do about it. Or is there?                
     "A lot  of the fans  who seem  to be into  this band seem  to be 
ex-Sentenced fans and  remember me in the old  line-up", starts Jarva 
down the  line. "Obviously my  past accomplishments with my  old band 
have helped  in spreading the name  of The Black League  out to metal 
fans, but as it might be a blessing in a way, it is also a curse."    
     "I'm not to keen on discussing  old times and my previous band", 
he  explains.  "Somebody  did  an interview  with  me  yesterday  and 
two-thirds of  the interview  was about  Sentenced. Overall,  I think 
people who liked the _Amok_ album  also like the Black League record. 
A lot of  people think this Black League record  is a continuation of 
_Amok_, but I don't really think  so. It bears some similarities, but 
mainly it is a  completely new band with a new  sound. The only thing 
that is the same is that it is the same old singer. <laughs>"         
     On the  topic of the  inception of  the band, Jarva  says: "This 
whole project began  back in 1996, I  had the ideas and  it grew from 
there. I had just left my previous band Sentenced and I was unsure if 
I wanted  to continue  in this  music business.  But because  of this 
"disease of my soul"  and the love of music, I  found I couldn't live 
without it. So  in 1997 I met  up with Sir Luttinen  (drummer) and we 
started working on material for the band. We rehearsed as a two-piece 
for several months before we got  the rest of the line-up solidified. 
By Christmas 1998, we had a solid  line-up to work with for The Black 
League.                                                               
     "It  is an  honour  for me  to  play with  such  a talented  and 
skillful group  of men.  It is  just perfect. This  record is  a very 
strong record and  it is full of passion. I  couldn't really tell you 
where the musical influences come from for this disc, but the lyrical 
inspiration for songs  came from the work of Nick  Cave. His work has 
easily been a big  part of how I approach the lyrics  to the music. I 
draw from  my experiences  or other experiences  of those  around me. 
Everything in some way triggers my writing and makes me want to write 
about it. I can't explain it. It just happens."                       
     While Finnish  label Spinefarm is releasing  the record, Nuclear 
Blast has picked the record up  for distribution in North America and 
a larger scale of Europe. How does Jarva feel about them getting some 
strong support from NBA? "It is a  good thing for us, but to tell you 
the truth, we didn't really expect much from this release and have it 
go crazy and sell all of these  records... We were unsure of how this 
disc  would do.  We are  glad just  to see  the record  get a  better 
distribution and to send the name out to people."                     
     And The  Black League is  spending no time waiting  around. They 
already have new material on the way. Jarva fills us in: "Like I said 
before, music  is the "disease of  my soul". Our songwriting  is in a 
continuous process.  It goes on all  of the time. From  the recording 
sessions of the debut disc, I  was secretly thinking of new ideas for 
the new disc.  Once the record was done, I  started to concentrate on 
the next  album. A good  chunk of that material  is done and  we have 
already rehearsed a lot of it.  We're ready to enter the studio again 
already.  We're going  to polish  it for  six months  or so  and then 
record in the Summer of 2001."                                        
     "But we have something on the  go, coming out real soon", blurts 
Jarva. "It is an  MCD titled _The Doomsday Sun_ EP.  It is a grouping 
of older  tracks and  a cover  of Nick Cave's  cult classic  "City of 
Refuge". The  music on the EP  is really tight and  experimental, but 
not very different from what people have heard with _Ichor_."         
     And while Jarva  has a dislike for questions  regarding his past 
work  with Sentenced,  his dislike  always wanders  into the  path of 
today's  metal music  scene (including  his homeland's).  The veteran 
metal man has a few choice words on the subject.                      
     "I'm sorry to say that I don't really care too much about all of 
that  and what  is going  on.  Right now  some people  feel that  the 
Finnish music scene is at its peak  and it is great that all of these 
bands are  getting exposure everywhere. I  agree, it is a  good thing 
and a  lot of  bands are  helping expose other  bands, but  The Black 
League wants  to just  be the  outsider to this  kind of  music scene 
going on  here. If  you compare us  to the other  stuff going  on, we 
don't really have much in common  with the power metal or goth bands. 
I'd rather  have people  see us as  a different band  than part  of a 
scene."                                                               
     "Whether people like what we are doing or not, as long as people 
acknowledge that we  are doing something different, then  I take that 
as a compliment", Jarva says. "It  is always a compliment that people 
see  it as  fresh  or something  not done  before.  I've always  said 
this.  I'd rather  see The  Black League  become a  cult band  with a 
long-lasting following  rather than  become overnight  sensations and 
sell 100,000 records and forgotten later on."                         
     "There's a lot of people in the music business who are intrigued 
and follow what is going on and what is popular. I don't care what is 
popular or not. We  do what comes naturally and that  is the only way 
it has been and will be for the band."                                
     The Finn  finishes: "Seriously, I  believe, or I want  to think, 
that  we are  doing something  timeless or  something that  cannot be 
connected with a certain period of metal music. I want it to last and 
people to be impressed with what we are doing."                       

Contact: http://theblackleague.cjb.net

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     P A N K O ' S   P A N C R E A T I C   P A N D E M O N I U M
     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
	CoC chats with Kevin Stewart-Panko of Association Area
			  by: Adrian Bromley


     If you've heard the name  of Association Area mentioned, chances 
are:                                                                  

     a) you've heard the CoC staff mention the name;

     b) you  read some bad graffiti  on the bathroom wall  in a truck 
        stop somewhere in Detroit;                                       

     or c) you  were  lucky enough  to  come  in contact  with  Kevin 
           Stewart-Panko's glorious zine  Doomhauled during its brief 
           but truly memorable existence, and saw it mentioned there. 

     The zine,  a mixture  of off-beat  humour and  well-written band 
interviews/reviews and  essays, is  a definite  landmark in  the zine 
world, no doubt up on the pedestal with The Grimoire of Exalted Deeds 
when it comes to crazy-ass ideas and downright rude 'n' crude humour. 
In short,  Doomhauled will  never be  duplicated and  that is  a good 
thing. Neither will the music  of Association Area, hopefully, 'cause 
one of  these fine  messes is enough  for all of  us music  freaks to 
digest.                                                               
     The hardest thing about Association Area (other than some of the 
monstrous wallops  they dish  out for  us) is the  task of  trying to 
pinpoint who or what they sound like (see Stewart-Panko's description 
below). The spirited free form, noisy numbers come off like algebraic 
formulas of  riffs and  vocals screams,  sandwiched between  a killer 
rhythm section  and jazz-filled  beats. This  is music  that'll leave 
your stomach in  knots, but have your brain going  off in an ecstatic 
frenzy.                                                               
     The man on the end of the line is Kevin Stewart-Panko, guitarist 
for  the  Toronto band  Association  Area  and writer  for  England's 
Terrorizer  magazine. He's  got a  busy schedule,  but Chronicles  of 
Chaos was lucky enough to drag him  away from a busy night of washing 
dishing  and porn  to  chat it  up  with and  get  down to  business. 
Throughout the  interview, we discuss  their debut for  Swedish label 
Lunasound Recordings (titled _Loathsome Deco_) and what inspires them 
to play music. Mr. Stewart-Panko gives us the lowdown...              
     "I'll tell you something, I  don't know what the motivations for 
anyone else in the band are to create music, but music is something I 
have  always  been  interested  in.  I  have  always  done  something 
regarding music.  Ever since I was  like nine years old,  I have been 
playing some form  of instrument. I like all types  of music and just 
playing", says Stewart-Panko. "Even tapping  beats on a table gets me 
happy about doing this. Some people  get excited about movies and all 
that; music is just that for me. I like the idea of being in a band." 
     He continues,  "Being in  a band  is not just  about being  in a 
band. It is  also about traveling around and meeting  people. It is a 
huge learning process.  You have to learn about yourself  in a social 
sense,  how to  manage your  money and  how to  manage your  time, in 
regards  to touring  and managing  your work  and relationships.  You 
learn a lot  on the road. You learn  who you can put up  with and who 
your true friends really are."                                        
     Along  with the  rest of  the  band --  drummer Chris  Gramlich, 
singer Craig Young and bassist  Matt Daley --, Stewart-Panko has made 
an extra effort  to get noticed and  keeps the sound of  AA alive and 
well throughout  the years of molding  and honing in on  their sound. 
Throughout the years the band has released a 7" (titled _Tundra_) and 
a debut CD  titled _Stop Motion Has Been_.  These accomplishments not 
only please Stewart-Panko,  but have allowed him and the  rest of the 
band to see how they have grown  as musicians and just where they are 
headed.                                                               
     "In the beginning, I was always  very strong in believing that I 
wanted to take my time with this band when it came to making music. I 
wanted to write good solid songs,  as opposed to just rushing through 
and recording whatever came out and  sticking with that. When we went 
in to  make music, I wanted  it to be as  good as it was  going to be 
when we went in to record. I  didn't want to sit around and write the 
perfect song, but I didn't want to go in half-assed either."          
     "You always want to do your best when it comes to music and that 
is what keeps you going at this and constantly trying to top yourself 
or just do something different. But  there is also something said for 
taking your  time", he notes.  "As free-form  as things are  with us, 
there is some degree of planning involved."                           
     Why should people  listen to AA? Stewart-Panko  laughs out loud. 
"I dunno... I think  it depends on who you are. If  you are young and 
getting  into heavy  music  by way  of  what you  see  on Much  Music 
[Canada's superior version of MTV --  Adrian] and nu-metal then it is 
good for them  to know that there is more  than just mainstream music 
to sample. There is life outside of the seven string guitar riffs and 
just listening  to some guy  scream his head  off. It allows  them to 
explore and try  new things and just  see what else is  out there. As 
for older music fans and why they should check us out? If people have 
had it with the scene and you're  sick with all of the bands sounding 
the same and just  not doing much, I think we offer a  bit more of an 
involved sound  to really listen  to. We  give people who  are really 
jaded maybe  something a bit different  to latch onto. I  think older 
fans  will  hear some  older  music  influences  in our  music,  just 
presented in  a different  manner. It  is not  that we  play original 
music, it  is just  the way  we put it  together and  try doing  it a 
different way. I think                                                
people will take note of that and maybe give us a listen."            
     I ask Stewart-Panko to describe the  sound of AA in one sentence 
or  a  grouping of  adjectives.  After  numerous failed  attempts  to 
concoct a sentence of ideas, he  lets loose: "Okay... how about this? 
"Canada's Most  Dyslexic BTO Cover  Band", or "Constipated  Mass Rock 
for the Masses". Wait! This  sounds good: "A 35-Minute Roller-Coaster 
Ride of Algebraic  Noise Concoctions Created in a  Post-Punk World by 
Post-Modernist Anti-Artistic New Age  Explorers". I dunno... <laughs> 
something like that."                                                 
     So does he think their abstract and sometimes odd sound helps or 
hampers them as  a band? "I think  a little of both. It  hurts in the 
sense of  when we  try to book  our shows and  some DIY  hardcore kid 
thinks  we are  not hardcore  enough to  play on  that bill.  We have 
encountered that  quite a bit.  But it  also helps, because  it draws 
people in  who want more  from music. It  is a personal  challenge to 
just write  any type of music  that doesn't sound like  anything else 
out there.  I think  our music  really helps  us stand  out. It  is a 
slower road  for us, because  we don't really fit  in and we  have to 
play  lots of  small shows  and lots  of really  weird places  to get 
noticed. I think we are attracting  the real music fan, as opposed to 
just the really trendy scenesters."                                   
     And   what  about   reviews  of   the  forthcoming   record?  Is 
Stewart-Panko expecting a lot of album bashing? What has the response 
been like so far? He states, "I am actually surprised how positive it 
has really been for the reviews with this album. From the beginning I 
have  been prepared  for  the bad  reviews. You  just  know that  not 
everyone is going to like what you do. You have to be ready for it. I 
am ready  for people to  say the music  is shit and  I am a  real bad 
guitar player.  I don't  care. I actually  take perverse  pleasure in 
really bad reviews, because I like  to see what people don't like and 
I find it funny."                                                     
     While Stewart-Panko  and the  AA crew have  a lot  of initiative 
going for  them and  their music,  it is the  support of  Stuart Ness 
(Lunasound  Recordings owner)  that will  hopefully make  a name  for 
them. At least this fan (and guitarist) hopes so.                     
     "We never  really planned to hook  up with a label  overseas, it 
just happened  that way. The  funny thing is we  sent out all  of our 
demos to many labels and friends out there to see what they think and 
maybe somebody would take interest in  what we were doing. Stuart was 
the only one who really came out  and told us that he really liked us 
and the music we  played. We've had friends in bands  tell us we were 
good and some labels saying  good things, but Lunasound really showed 
interest. We  had some interest  from Roadrunner Records a  few years 
back when our 7"  came out. But nothing came from  that -- thank God! 
<laughs> Stuart was the only guy who wanted to work with us."         
     "Sure it is an upstart  new label", explains Stewart-Panko, "but 
I did some research  on the guy and I asked around. I  asked a lot of 
people in England and overseas, "Who  is this guy?" I had never heard 
of him  and his story seemed  good. I asked my  friends at Terrorizer 
and some other people and they said to me, "If there is a guy who can 
do a lot  of good for you and  break you in Europe, then  this is the 
guy." He knows his shit and he has tons of contacts and..."           
     "...And he likes porn", I jut in.
     "Yeah, whatever. <laughs> The bottom line is he liked the stuff, 
he wanted to work with us and  that was good enough for me. It didn't 
matter to me that  it is just him and his wife  working the label. He 
is very professional on how he does things and I can't complain. This 
guy believes in us. At least someone does. <laughs>"                  

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


Abscess - _Tormented_  (Listenable, October 2000)
by: Paul Schwarz  (7 out of 10)

It's just  possible that some poor  misled soul has led  you to think 
that _Tormented_ can rise to the challenge of in some way matching up 
to Autopsy's 1991 classic,  _Mental Funeral_. However, though Reifert 
and his  present cohorts did  indeed return  to Different Fur  in San 
Francisco  to lay  down the  thirteen tracks  which make  up Abscess' 
latest recording,  _Tormented_ is not  the second coming  drenched in 
blasphemous gore which one supposes Reifert may one day make to death 
metal. On  the other  hand, _Tormented_ is  surprisingly good  for an 
Autopsy fan such  as myself who always felt Abscess  was just a silly 
mistake bred  of not  knowing when things  stop being  disgusting and 
just get a  bit silly -- that  combined with listening to  a bit much 
of  the  wrong  kind  of  punk.  _Tormented_  proves  to  be  a  well 
assembled pile of rotting  blasphemy- and madness-drenched decay, and 
demonstrates that some character-building  dabbling has been going on 
in the  Abscess camp. The  invasion of  death rocking guitars  set to 
"Entombed overdrive"  in "Madness  and Parasites", "Halo  of Disease" 
and  "Ratbag" suggest  that Reifert  watched the  progression of  the 
nineties  contemporaries  he  had ironically  helped  influence  into 
existence. Despite its moments  of quality, _Tormented_ is ultimately 
unlikely to be of sustained interest: a year from now, I doubt anyone 
will  really care  about  it. It  may seem  harsh,  but whatever  its 
redeeming  qualities,  Autopsy's latest  displays  nothing  to me  to 
suggest it will warrant remembering.                                  


Acid Death - _Random's Manifest_  (Black Lotus, 2000)
by: Brian Meloon  (8 out of 10)

Greece's Acid  Death return with  the follow-up to  1997's impressive 
_Pieces of  Mankind_. This album  shows them moving toward  a heavier 
and more  technical style. While  I'd generally applaud such  a move, 
I'm  not  sure  that  that's  the  best  move  for  them.  What  made 
_Pieces..._  special in  my opinion  was the  mixing of  styles, from 
power metal to death metal, with interesting and innovative breaks in 
between. This  album has a  more consistently heavy sound.  While the 
band still showcases  the same diversity of styles  and breaks, their 
effectiveness is  somewhat muted due  to the more consistent  tone of 
the album.  The playing is  very good,  as the band  capably switches 
styles between  heavy thrash, power  metal, fusion, and  other styles 
without a hitch.  In addition, the music features a  number of fairly 
technical sections, all of which are performed with admirable aplomb. 
My only real  complaint in this regard are the  clean vocals: they're 
not bad, but  they certainly could be better. The  production is very 
good, though it sounds somewhat sterile. A warmer production might've 
been beneficial. While I've been somewhat disappointed by this album, 
I must say  that it (like _Pieces..._) has grown  on me with repeated 
listens. Overall,  it's a good  album, and  should appeal to  fans of 
well-played and diverse metal.                                        


Arch Enemy - _Burning Japan Live_  (Century Media, 2000)
by: Paul Schwarz  (8.5 out of 10)

A Japan-only release, this forty-eight minute live album, recorded at 
a single show,  has a clear yet characteristic sound  which places it 
in the  rare category of  being a live  album well worth  owning. The 
musical  elements have  a live-sounding  rawness while  retaining the 
subtleties which are  such essential parts of  Arch Enemy's masterful 
mixture of pure  riff and metal melodies.  Furthermore, Johan Liiva's 
vocal  delivery is  both  powerful and  expressive  -- and  similarly 
well-balanced  and  accentuated  by  the  top-notch  production.  The 
set  list  focuses on  Arch  Enemy's  last two  releases,  _Stigmata_ 
[CoC  #32] and  _Burning  Bridges_ [CoC  #41],  with "Dark  Insanity" 
and  "Transmigration Macabre"  from  1996's _Black  Earth_ and  "Diva 
Satanica" (_Burning Bridges_'s Japanese  bonus track) being the three 
exceptions  out of  the eleven  songs on  offer here.  The crowd  are 
enthusiastically loud  though their  fanatical support  is thankfully 
quite unintrusive  to the  enjoyment of  the record.  However, though 
good,  _BJL_ does  not seem  worth shelling  out extortionate  import 
prices for, sight-unseen: I'd suggest trying to track it down by some 
other less  costly method before you  lay out large sums  for a full, 
proper copy.                                                          


At Vance - _Heart of Steel_  (Shark, 2000)
by: Alvin Wee  (9.5 out of 10)

Helloween maniacs,  listen up:  all is  not lost  with the  deluge of 
sub-standard power/prog  acts pouring  out of  Europe these  days. At 
Vance  attack  with a  stunning  blend  of top-level  virtuosity  and 
masterful song-writing  that belies the  obscure nature of  the band. 
_Heart  of Steel_  scales  the  heights of  bands  like Freedom  Call 
and  Edguy, as  soaring  melodies  sweep forth  in  torrents of  epic 
majesty.  Cheesy to  some, but  for most  bands, finding  a competent 
voice  to carry  forth the  music is  challenge enough  (see Drakkar, 
Heimdall,  etc.).  Vocalist Oliver  Hartmann  rises  to the  occasion 
even  as Olaf  Lenk  shreds  his way  through  solo after  incendiary 
solo.  Tracks like  the opening  "Soldier of  Time" are  few and  far 
between,  often  the  highlight  of  the  album,  but  the  following 
anthems  don't leave  any room  for complaint.  Right down  to ballad 
"Princess  of  the Night",  an  old-school  crooner  a la  Axel  Rudi 
Pell, the  quality of  music and  musician never  once fall  short of 
near-perfection.  Axel  Thubeauville's impeccable  production  leaves 
nothing  to the  imagination,  accentuating every  incisive beat  and 
heart-rending note with a  crystal-clear punchiness. Die-hard fans of 
ballsy, "true"  metal might  find the smoothness  somewhat offending, 
and  should  stick  to  the  new  Exciter  instead.  But  anyone  who 
appreciates classy  Teutonic Helloween-worship  must never  miss this 
classic-in-the-making. Take my word for it.                           


Behemoth - _Thelema.6_  (Avantgarde, November 2000)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (9 out of 10)

It wasn't  much more than  a year  ago that Behemoth  unleashed their 
mighty  _Satanica_ [CoC  #43], but  this Polish  force of  remarkably 
powerful and technical  metal seems to be very  restless indeed these 
days. Not  many out there seem  capable of putting out  a record that 
contains so many technical nuances while remaining such a bludgeoning 
force. Having said this, the production here didn't turn out to be as 
impressive as _Satanica_'s -- but it  still is very good, though, and 
the  searing vocals  are  still definitely  there. Nevertheless,  and 
despite the  fact that none of  the tracks on _Thelema.6_  managed to 
impress me more than _Satanica_'s  amazing opener "Decade of Oepion", 
Behemoth's latest seems overall more consistent than its predecessor. 
The  songs seem  to  work a  bit  better together  and,  as the  band 
continues to move away from black  metal and towards a very technical 
style of modern  death metal, more elements have again  been added to 
the mix that keep things very interesting indeed: the drumming is yet 
more complex and varied than before,  as is the guitar and bass work. 
Another  brilliant  output  from  Behemoth  --  although  _Thelema.6_ 
doesn't go far enough  for me to want to bestow  upon Behemoth the 10 
out of 10 that I hoped I would, I find in it no relevant signs of the 
band stagnating or losing momentum either.                            


Black Abyss - _Land of Darkness_  (B.O. Records, 2000)
by: Alvin Wee  (6 out of 10)

Considering their Teutonic  origins, it doesn't take  much to predict 
what debutants Black Abyss present on _Land of Darkness_. Going for a 
darker image  than most of  their fellow countrymen,  this five-piece 
deliver  a somewhat  mediocre  slab of  Teutonic  speed-power with  a 
less-than-epic feel (in comparison to  Freedom Call, At Vance et al). 
A  highly promising  opener  seems  to bode  well  for the  remaining 
tracks, with a typically catchy group chorus kicking things off. Like 
compatriots Custard,  singer Oliver Hornung handles  his vocal duties 
amply  enough, but  in a  somewhat  low register  that doesn't  quite 
achieve the same  effect as the usual brand  of high-pitched singing. 
It is  perhaps this  aspect which  casts the entire  album in  a less 
than favorable  light, lending  the songs  a rather  lacklustre feel. 
Little  to complain  about  the music,  a blend  of  Primal Fear  and 
aforementioned Custard (the  similarities are too many  to ignore), a 
mixture I've  never been  extremely keen on.  Things take  a definite 
downturn  after four  tracks, the  only relatively  pleasant surprise 
being a  pedestrian cover  of "The  Trooper" near  the end.  Even the 
title track closing out the album falls short of its promising intro, 
the nicely penned chorus being the  only highlight of the track. With 
new vocalist  and a sharper mix,  Black Abyss are capable  of so much 
more, and  it hurts to see  this album go  to waste. As it  is, Black 
Abyss has received  excellent response from their  homeland, and fans 
of Primal  Fear -- not  me -- will enjoy  this solid piece  of metal. 
Easily obtained in Europe; U.S. readers might try import mailorders.  


Blood Axe - _In Battle_  (<Independent>, 2000)
by: Adrian Bromley  (2 out of 10)

This  is one  of those  records  where after  just a  few minutes  of 
spinning it, I wonder if I should just take it off, throw it on my CD 
shelf and  just forget about it.  I got this feeling  right away with 
Blood  Axe. I  didn't know  what  to do.  The sound  quality of  this 
supposed "Viking Metal"  from Canada was just  abominable. The voices 
were so low in the mix (almost inaudible at times) that I had to turn 
it up louder to just hear  snippets of gargling metal groans. And the 
music? There  is nothing at  all creative  about what Battle  Axe do. 
Their music is just mediocre at best, no doubt its effect deflated by 
the miserable production and horrendous  vocals. Only good point: the 
artwork.  I think  Battle Axe  better  brush up  on their  production 
skills before they try to forge  forward new ground with their Viking 
Metal. I'd  rather jump  into a  fjord than spin  this disc  again -- 
serious!                                                              

Contact: Blood Axe, Suite 15 1204-A Roland Street, Thunder Bay,
         Ontario P7B 5M4, Canada
         mailto:bloodaxe@Odinn.zzn.com
         http://www.bloodaxe.net


Blood Duster - _Cunt_  (Dr. Jim's Records, November 2000)
by: Adrian Bromley (9 out of 10)

Not only  has the  "thunder from  Down Under"  returned to  the metal 
scene, but they  have also managed to return in  classy form. The new 
disc, appropriately titled _Cunt_, is  a blistering wave of grindcore 
mayhem that just  crushes anything they have ever done.  The music is 
faster, the  movie clip samples are  classic and the band's  sense of 
humour has escalated ten fold since their inception in 1991. Managing 
to break away from the  experimental side of _Str8OuttaNorthcote_, an 
album  Adam Wasylyk  hated  (why,  Adam? Why?)  --  myself and  Alain 
Gaudrault have yet to forgive him for that --, the band has regrouped 
with old members  and just cranked the amps up  and played their guts 
out.  The  end  result  is  _Cunt_,  a  wild  realm  of  no  nonsense 
bullshit that  just paints  a picture  of the  fucked up  world Blood 
Duster reside  in. Fans  will rejoice  in their  return to  the metal 
scene  and  others  will  just  be disgusted  and  irritated  at  the 
sight/sound of  Blood Duster's  pent up  aggression churning  our new 
ditties  like "Pornstorestiffi",  "Anotherslackerarsedaussieband" and 
"Don'tcallmehomeboyya'cunt".  Childish? Maybe,  but it  is all  Blood 
Duster and  they wouldn't have (or  want it) any other  way. Warning: 
watch out for the photo inside the CD sleeve. You've been warned!     


Boiler Room - _Can't Breathe_  (Tommy Boy, December 2000)
by: Adrian Bromley  (7 out of 10)

This album just rings of nu-metal sounds and style, but I'm not going 
to write off  Boiler Room. I'm a  fan of some of  the nu-metal sounds 
and I don't  have a problem with it  as long as it is  done right and 
done with conviction. The music has  to move me. Who cares what genre 
it is? If it moves me, I'm impressed. So you're asking yourself, "How 
does  Boiler  Room  stack  up?"  I'll tell  ya  people,  Boiler  Room 
definitely have the  shit going on and no doubt  OzzFest veterans and 
the new  breed of high  school nu-metal  scavengers will be  all over 
this.  The selling  point of  Boiler Room  is the  vocal delivery  of 
singer  Chris  Lind,  backed  tightly and  quite  adequately  by  his 
hombres. At times  it sounds cliche --  it all does at  times --, but 
when they  hit a stride  they can prove quite  impressive. Mainstream 
for sure, but with some footing that  is helping them keep it real in 
metal's realm of  existence. Choice cut: opener "Do It  Again" or the 
cool-vibe of "Insomnia".                                              


Breakdown - _Battle Hymns for an Angry Planet_  (Thorp Records, 2000)
by: Alex Cantwell  (8 out of 10)
  
This record consists of one "battle hymn" after another, and the songs
seemingly get better as the record progresses. Although it seems that
these guys have been a staple in the East Coast hardcore scene for
many years, I had never heard of them before this came in the mail
(freakin' poseur that I am!). I am happy to say that this is finely
crafted hardcore with thought-provoking lyrics that is creative,
non-redundant, and there's sing-a-long choruses to boot. Roger Miret
(Agnostic Front) makes a great guest appearance on "Freedom Song".
Makes me want to lace up the old boots again. 
  
Contact: Thorp Records, P.O. Box 2007, Upper Darby PA 19082, USA
         http://www.chordrecordings.com


Burn It Down - _Let the Dead Bury the Dead_  (Escape Artist, 2000)
by: Adrian Bromley (8.5 out of 10)

The rollercoaster  ride of  Burn It Down's  latest offering  _Let the 
Dead Bury the Dead_ is not for everyone, and that comes in quite loud 
and clear  with the  manic frenzy  of the  hardcore rhythms,  the (at 
times) rather  melodic vocals and  the shredding guitars. There  is a 
lot going  on and the emotional  ideas of the album's  theme run even 
deeper.  Singer  Ryan Downey  is  solid  in  all  shape and  form,  a 
ringleader to the chaos and charismatic enough to take us by the hand 
and let us trust  him as all Hell breaks loose.  The thing about Burn 
It Down is  not the hardcore elements or the  diversity. The power of 
Burn It  Down lies in the  passion of their music.  Their material is 
just  such a  passionate  flow  of ideas  that  gel  with an  intense 
hardcore groove  that never seems to  let up. Just check  out numbers 
like "The Most Beautiful Lie I Ever Told or Sold", "Do Your Worst" or 
"Every Man's Got  a Devil" and you'll see the  dynamic diversity this 
band has to offer. Throw in a blistering cover of the classic Rolling 
Stones song "Paint  it Black" and this record just  shines. The theme 
of the record  revolves around choosing a path in  life and trying to 
get  the most  out  of  it, regardless  of  where  you are  currently 
situated. This  is a  deep record  and a  must for  fans who  want to 
experience something  above par to  the regular cliche of  sounds and 
styles flooding the market. Burn It Down are true to what they and do 
and the ideas they believe in -- and it shows.                        


Cage - _Astrology_  (Omega / Universal, September 2000)
by: Kirsty Buchanan  (4 out of 10)

Despite having a  frontman who bears more than  a passing resemblance 
to British Klingon-faced comedian Bill Bailey, appearance cannot save 
Cage. Opening with a brief  (and yet still pretentious) introduction, 
this record only goes downhill. From there on in there is nothing but 
a catalogue  of excessive,  unnecessary guitar  "nonsense", squealing 
American  men,  frankly  slapdash   drumming  and  poorly  dreamt  up 
concepts.  Each  song  relating  to  an  individual  element  of  the 
zodiac!!! I wish I could credit Cage with a good idea, but basically, 
this  effort doesn't  work: it's  a  bad plan  to start  with and  is 
horrendously executed. Let's  play a little game, shall  we. What did 
Dave  Garcia (guitar)  and  Sean Peck  (vocals  and Klingon  warrior) 
listen to last  decade? That's right, nothing but  early Judas Priest 
and  late eighties  Iron  Maiden.  The whole  thing  comes across  as 
convoluted, pretentious  and visionless.  With no desire  to -affect- 
the  public,  Cage  seem  happy  merely  lining  their  pockets  with 
Deutschmarks. If only  they had some degree  of freshness, innovation 
or a  modern context.  Though I  doubt any of  that would  help. With 
lyrics that "a teenager in anguish" would be ashamed of, Cage fail to 
even interest  me --  and their  band photo  resembles the  local pub 
darts team that your  dad and uncle play on. It's  merely a matter of 
time before silly hats, beige cardigans and dominoes become the order 
of the day. Rubbish. Nothing more.                                    


Cast in Stone - _Life on Trial_  (Warfare Records, 2000)
by: Alex Cantwell  (8 out of 10)
 
This six song  CD is full of totally infectious  West Coast hardcore. 
On the  first two songs,  the band really  reminds me of  early Earth 
Crisis,  but they  do have  the  distinctive West  Coast aggro  thing 
intact. It also  reminds me to quit listening to  that damn Christina 
Aguilera CD just because she has cool red streaks in her hair now. By 
the third song  they throw that vibe  out the window and  get down to 
some speed  and mosh riffs.  Yeah baby, there  are many out  there in 
whose  hearts this  stuff will  never die!  Drummer Derek  Youngsma's 
snare is very  tight, and has a cool,  non-over-produced papery sound 
to it, which drives the music to  great effect. Cast in Stone are yet 
another  energetic hardcore  band from  the very  fertile grounds  of 
California, and  it's almost  enough to  get me  packing my  bags and 
getting out there.  Hopefully this EP is a good  example of things to 
come from  this scene and  this band  in particular. Shave  that head 
which doesn't bang!                                                   

Contact: Warfare Records, 2036 Alexander Dr., Escondido CA 92025, USA 
         http://www.warfarerecords.net                                         


Cephalectomy - _Sign of Chaos_  (Discorporate Music, 2000)
by: Adrian Bromley  (7.5 out of 10)

The last time  I reviewed Cephalectomy, it was  their five-track demo 
_Dark Waters Rise_ in CoC #34. Things have definitely changed for the 
band,  both in  sound and  most importantly  production. While  still 
garnishing their brutal death metal attack with sounds reminiscent of 
Brutal Truth and Internal Bleeding, the band has managed to forge for 
themselves a solid death metal groove  of sorts. Not bad for two guys 
(Jason  Nichols and  Corey Andrews),  eh? Powerfully  commanding, the 
band's deliverance will  blow you away should you  stand close enough 
to the  speakers of your stereo  system. While some might  shrug them 
off as just another indie Canadian death metal act, Cephalectomy have 
proven that with time and patience,  their direction and sound can be 
intensified  --  check out  tracks  "The  Ravaged Crimson  Fields  of 
Evanescence" or  "Dimensional Manifestations of Ashen  Forms". If you 
like your metal fast and furious,  I suggest some East Coast (Canada) 
death metal to digest over the holidays.                              

Contact: Corey Andrews, 68 Walker St. Apt. 2, Truro,
         Nova Scotia B2N 4A7, Canada
         http://www.cephalectomy.com


Cryptopsy - _And Then You'll Beg_  (Century Media, 2000)
by: Alex Cantwell  (8.5 out of 10)

In reference to _Whisper Supremacy_ in CoC #34, Paul Schwarz mentions 
the random  rumblings and  clicks that precede  what he  describes as 
being "total Armageddon", which was a completely accurate description 
of the first  track on that album,  and I always have  those words in 
mind when  listening to it.  Well, not astonishingly,  Cryptopsy have 
created more "total Armageddon" with  _And Then You'll Beg_, pleasing 
fans  and fuelling  the fire  for  critics. You  see, many  criticize 
Cryptopsy for throwing disjointed  sections together and calling them 
"songs", but for  the fan this is  of course the true  beauty of this 
band.  The riffs  that they  throw together  alongside the  incessant 
pounding  of the  fastest  drummer  in the  world,  Flo Mounier,  are 
mind-numbing and  are bound to  confuse even those with  well trained 
ears and  appreciation for technical  chaos. Cryptopsy excel  at this 
like  no  other band  currently.  Meshuggah  can compose  chaos,  and 
Cannibal Corpse  can throw  disjointed parts  together and  make them 
work, but  Cryptopsy's songs  are better,  more listenable,  and more 
entertaining than Meshuggah's  wall of noise, and they  are set apart 
from Cannibal  Corpse right away  because they  have more of  a grind 
element, and with the addition of  Mike DiSalvo on vocals a few years 
back, a  certain hardcore element  as well.  The first track  on this 
album sums up what this band is all about perfectly: extreme blasting 
speed, crazy grooves, aggressive  technicality, awesome bass tone and 
chaotic leadwork, and  serves as a dead-on example of  what to expect 
for the  rest of the  39 minute ride. I  have found that  these songs 
only become catchy after the sixth  listen, and I will keep on coming 
back to this album through the years  because I know that I will hear 
something new every time I choose to make the descent into this realm 
of brutal  complexity. Throughout the  whole album, each  band member 
fights for his part to be heard, but somehow it all comes together to 
make  for a  thoroughly satisfying  yet terribly  confusing listening 
experience.                                                           


Darkthrone - _Prepare for War_  (Peaceville, November 2000)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (9 out of 10)

Together  with  part one  of  the  My  Dying Bride  collection  [also 
reviewed in this  issue], this Darkthrone compilation  opens a series 
of  "best of"  albums from  Peaceville that  will also  feature bands 
such  as Anathema,  At the  Gates and  Autopsy. For  the time  being, 
admirers of this grimly influential  Norwegian ensemble are given the 
opportunity to read a Darkthrone biography of sorts written by Fenriz 
himself  whilst  indulging  in early  Darkthrone  material  (1988/89) 
taken from  two demo  tapes and  a live  concert. Besides  these four 
tracks, the  rest of _Prepare  for War_  consists of two  death metal 
tracks from _Soulside  Journey_, a couple others  from the distinctly 
black  landmark  _A  Blaze  in  the  Northern  Sky_,  two  more  from 
_Under a  Funeral Moon_  and three  from what  is perhaps  their most 
famous release,  _Transilvanian Hunger_  (with whose  inspiring title 
track  opener this  compilation starts).  Darkthrone's latest  album, 
_Ravishing  Grimness_, is  not  represented as  it  was not  released 
through  Peaceville.  The material  on  _Prepare  for War_  is  quite 
varied, reflecting  the band's progression throughout  the years, and 
although  the  multitude of  different  production  options tends  to 
detract from  the overall  flow of the  compilation, that  was hardly 
avoidable anyway. A very  well balanced compilation indeed, featuring 
both a  selection of the band's  classic material and also  rare demo 
and live tracks  -- very interesting both for  collectors who already 
know all about  Darkthrone and for those who want  to know more about 
this legendary band.                                                  


Deadfood - _Weird Feelings_  (<Independent>, 2000)
by: Alex Cantwell  (no rating)
 
This be  a strange  beast indeed.  Although it seems  to be  based on 
somewhat of  a grind aesthetic, there  are many other things  to take 
into  consideration,  such as  clean  vocals,  piano, sound  effects, 
keyboards and xylophones,  and they actually only  go full-tilt grind 
on the  track "Eximo". Cowpunk  and older  Meat Puppets (and  I'm not 
just making a food association here) also play a role in the sound of 
Deadfood,  but they  are  really  too strange  to  describe with  any 
clarity, and  totally impossible  to categorize. The  track "Barbara" 
sounds like Pspazz,  and a highlight of  the album is a  cover of the 
Old Lady Drivers'  hit "Colostomy Grab Bag". The last  two tracks are 
ambient soundscapes -- what the heck is going on here?                

Contact: Deadfood,  P.O.  Box  6488,  Burbank,  CA  91510-6488,  USA 
         http://www.deadfood.com                                               


Dipknoi - _fkddd_  (Moonza Records, 2000)
by: Adrian Bromley  (6 out of 10)

All the  way from  Brazil comes  the rock 'n'  roll (with  a definite 
metal groove  at times) of Dipknoi.  The music, a little  bit weak on 
the production  end, is a  loose assortment of bar  band-like numbers 
that rock when need to but do  little to spark any real foot tapping. 
I  think the  music is  too  weak for  the harsh  delivery of  singer 
Ricardo Matsumoto  and I  really think  they need  to explore  a more 
vibrant  production element.  The music  wanders in  and out,  rarely 
showcasing any  real mentionable qualities. Good  musicians no doubt, 
but Dipnoi needs  more than that to  make a statement to  those of us 
living in  North America and  abroad. This disc, _fkddd_,  needs more 
work.                                                                 

Contact: Dipknoi, P.O. Box 2313, Sao Paulo, SP 01060-970, Brazil
         mailto:dipnoi@uol.com.br
         http://www.geocities.com/sunsetstrip/studio/3016/
         (soon: http://www.dipnoi.com)


Disrespect - _Hit the Ceiling_  (Diehard, November 2000)
by: Paul Schwarz  (7.5 out of 10)

Drawing  considerable  influence   from  pre-_Slither_  Earth  Crisis 
material, Disrespect have hammered out  a solid thirty-odd minutes of 
metallic  hardcore  featuring  battering drumming,  fat  guitars  and 
Buechner-grade indecipherable vocals. Despite  a clean and individual 
execution,  _HtC_ does  leave slightly  too strong  an aftertaste  of 
Earth Crisis than Disrespect's  better judgement should have allowed. 
However,  the strategic  deployment of  good, Obituary-esque  melodic 
lead  work serves  to  reduce  the album's  potential  for tedium  or 
excessive  similarity  to  the  Syracuse  bruisers'  signature.  It's 
cool  to  think that  Disrespect  crank  _Cause of  Death_  alongside 
_Destroy  the Machines_  -- even  though the  hardcore /  death metal 
cross-pollination means  that they wouldn't necessarily  have had to. 
Solid, aggressive and  centrally honest, a good record  from what are 
probably a good band to see live.                                     


Dominion Caligula - _A New Era Rises_  (No Fashion Records, 2000)
by: Aaron McKay  (8 out of 10)

Now  this  is  a  compulsory  piece  of  work.  Very  riff-happy  and 
listener-friendly. I  like this more  and more  with each spin  in my 
player.  What do  I  like,  you ask?  Well,  how  about the  horrific 
"Domination" track, for  starters. Ripping and bloodless  as the song 
invades your consciousness.  Cool as hell. Vocals are  what you might 
come to  expect from Emperor Magus  Caligula of Dark Funeral,  but at 
the  same time,  nothing like  DF's scrapped,  black metal  approach. 
Dominion  adds  his professionalism  to  that  of Lars  Johansson  on 
guitar, and  what a combination -that-  is. For example, take  in the 
sheer  ability  of the  solo  about  three  minutes and  ten  seconds 
into  song four,  the indiscreet  "In Love  With the  Gods". Dominion 
Caligula  is much  more  than a  spin  here  and there  CD  -- it  is 
certainly  a welcome  staple  on any  metalhead's playlist.  Producer 
Peter  Tagtgren  only helps  this  debut  reach its  objectives  that 
much  more professionally  and easily.  Nearly forty-five  minutes of 
rebelliously  cold,  catching black  metal  taken  down a  path  less 
traveled. Find it. Enjoy it.                                          


Dominus - _Godfallos_  (Diehard Music, November 2000)
by: David Rocher  (7 out of 10)

Having never heard any of Dominus' earlier material, the bio provided 
with their new release enlightened me to the fact that _Godfallos_ is 
none other,  or less, than  "the creature  that lives up  God's ass". 
With this very revealing thought in mind, a first spin of _Godfallos_ 
still  proves to  be rather  hard to  define. Shifting  between rabid 
thrash and blatantly  _Metallica_-influenced heavy metal, _Godfallos_ 
offers eleven  entertaining, competently  played and  written tracks: 
_Godfallos_ boasts some cool riffage, great vocals, oozes with killer 
guitar leads, and generally offers  some really catchy material. Lead 
axeman  Pete Storm  and  vocalist  Michael Poulsen  do  a great  job, 
delivering zany leads and hooklines,  shifting from death metal rasps 
to cool, virile heavy metal vocals  with amazing ease and a good deal 
of  power. Unfortunately,  however, not  all  tracks prove  to be  as 
efficient and memorable  as the opener "Thine", which  boasts a great 
structure, a  cool chorus and  a really wicked  vocal line --  on the 
whole, in fact, _Godfallos_ soon turns  out to sound kind of "samey", 
although  "samey" here  is on  a  distinctly high  level. I  honestly 
believe  that if  Dominus can  channel  their ideas  better and  more 
efficiently as on  their scorching "Thine", they have  more than what 
is  just required  to be  a good  aggressive heavy  metal band,  both 
recognised and sought for.                                            


Dreams of Damnation - _Let the Violence Begin_  (Necropolis, 2000)
by: Aaron McKay  (6.5 out of 10)

What to do? Dark Angel is far and away one of my favorites. Dreams of 
Damnation publicize themselves as a  Dark Angel replicas. I, for one, 
don't hear it. I -may- be alone on  that, too, but I don't care. If I 
would not  have come to understand  that Jim Durkin was  in this band 
and playing  guitar, I would  have -never-  guessed it. Is  this band 
good  and  proper  in  their  own  right?  YES!  Savage  and  severe, 
DoD  force their  scarred thrash  reality  upon you  like a  midnight 
stalker's wrath. For  one reason or another, I am  suffering from the 
Burning  Inside  syndrome  (see  issue #49).  Dreams  of  Damnation's 
vocalist/bassist, Charlie  Silva, doesn't complete the  circle for me 
in the  vocal arena.  I like  the whole  band as  a package  unit and 
singling out the  vocals is essentially nitpicking, but  I don't feel 
comfortable saying  that everything is  hunky-dory here; it  isn't. I 
surely will listen  to _Let the Violence Begin_, but  will it keep my 
interest? Only time  will tell. I see better things  for this band on 
the horizon unless  the much talked about Dark  Angel reunion occurs. 
If that happens, I'll drop DoD like  a bad habit -- otherwise I -may- 
hold on  to it like  an ol' warm blanket  reminding me of  years long 
gone that by  when even the mere  thought of Mr. Hoglan  and the boys 
live in concert boiled my fiercely human blood! LONG LIVE DARK ANGEL! 

Contact: http://www.necropolisrecords.com


Embraced - _Within Me_  (Regain, December 2000)
by: Chris Flaaten  (8.5 out of 10)

I absolutely  loved Embraced's  debut, _Amourous Anathema_.  Now they 
are finally back with a follow-up  album, which I have eagerly waited 
for after hearing a  few tracks from it at their  awesome gig in Oslo 
in March 1999. Embraced  has very a distinct sound. It  is like a mix 
between Gothenburg-style death metal and light black metal with heavy 
use of  both synth/piano and hammering  riffs. The album is  like its 
predecessor, full of variations in tempo and structure, but the songs 
may be a tad more similar to each other this time. There are too many 
great moments  on this album to  mention, but at the  same time these 
moments  are less  frequent on  _Within  Me_ than  on their  previous 
album. In other words, their debut  is still their best work yet, but 
_Within Me_  is a great  album, one of  my favorites of  2000. Tracks 
like "Nighttime Drama" and "Sacred Tears" explain why. I suspect that 
their next  record will be their  best, though. The band  was offered 
several deals  from big labels,  but was  unable to break  loose from 
their contract with Regain Records,  a label which released their new 
album  well over  a year  after  its completion  and not  with a  big 
budget. Annoying when  labels cling to bands and drag  them down like 
this...                                                               


Epoch of Unlight - <advance 3-song demo>  (The End Records, 2000)
by: Aaron McKay  (9.5 out of 10)

Three  glimpses of  bliss: "The  Last to  Fall", "In  the Absence  of 
Light" and  "Return to Eidolon".  I've waited  longer than I  care to 
explain for a new Epoch of  Unlight release. Seeing these guys at the 
Milwaukee  Metalfest this  last Summer  was  enough to  hold me  over 
until  got my  greedy little  hands on  this extremely  advance demo. 
Compelling, professional,  ripping, scalpel-sharp,  and very  hard to 
tear yourself  away from,  this kind of  metal is as  oxygen is  to a 
fire: indispensable.  If you  have any reservations  about what  I am 
referring to, at your first opportunity,  I would appeal to your good 
taste  and encourage  you to  look at  "In the  Absence of  Light" to 
buttress my claim. A bombastic introduction followed by a guitar riff 
so compelling it'll dislodge even  the basest of intrinsic instincts. 
Believe  me  when I  tell  you,  this  will wound  your  inner-child! 
Recorded ruggedly, this advance three-tracker  is as precise as it is 
captivating. The  caustic atmosphere of the  recording contributes to 
the demo's universal sundering prominence.  Make no mistake about it, 
Epoch  of  Unlight's work  is  some  of  the most  authoritative  and 
commanding  in recent  years.  Any  music that  is  strong enough  to 
challenge my focus and question my logic  is what I have come to look 
for in bands such  as Epoch of Unlight. Awaken to the  new era -- the 
age of Epoch of Unlight.                                              


Fetus Eaters - _Vomitcore_  (<Independent>, 2000)
by: Alex Cantwell  (6 out of 10)

I would  say that Fetus  Eaters is an awful  name for a  band, unless 
we're talking  pig here.  _Vomitcore_ is twenty  one tracks  of crazy 
grind in the vein of A.C., which they actually make a reference to in 
"Seth Is  Gay". If  you find  that title  amusing, how  about "C'mon, 
Nobody Really  Likes Manowar" or "The  Bus Should Have Fell  on Lars" 
(yes in-freakin'-deed!). It's really a shame that there are no lyrics 
to be found  to decipher the mad vocals supporting  such grand ideas. 
Amongst  all the  grind, you  will also  hear train  whistles, circus 
music and other bits of ear candy  to Bungle things up a bit. This is 
the kind  of music that  will just straight up  get you fired  if you 
listen to it at  work, so I guess I'm living life on  the edge now -- 
yeah buddy.                                                           

Contact: Fetus Eaters, P.O. Box 6488, Burbank CA 91510-6488, USA
         mailto:kevinfetus@hotmail.com


Fleurety - _Department of Apocalyptic Affairs_
by: Pedro Azevedo  (7 out of 10)  (Supernal Music, May 2000)

Supernal Music's rather hilarious  "warning about Fleurety" (i.e. the 
release info  and band  biography), "signed"  by Norwegian  trade and 
tourism authorities, tells you about  these "traitors" to "true black 
metal" whose  music is all "avant  garde" instead of "fast  and icy". 
What it  also tells you  is that _Department of  Apocalyptic Affairs_ 
features a lot more than the two actual band members, and the list is 
impressive:  Maniac, Hellhammer,  Garm, Sverd,  Carl Michael  and ten 
others (not all  of them necessarily related to the  metal scene). In 
fact,  in the  list you  will find  members of  bands such  as Ulver, 
Arcturus, Dodheimsgard and Beyond Dawn, all of whom are hardly rooted 
in  the metal  scene at  all anymore  nowadays. That  is the  case of 
Fleurety as well, and _Department of Apocalyptic Affairs_ is about as 
difficult to squeeze into a genre  pigeonhole as I've ever found with 
a release  on a metal  label. Despite the  aforementioned promotional 
material having  helped prepare  me and  get me in  the mood  for the 
musical experiments and (hopefully)  entertaining creativity to come, 
I  was put  off by  the cheerful,  bouncy start  of _DoAA_'s  opening 
track. This was fortunately not going to  be the case for the rest of 
the record,  however, and things  soon got better. Using  the massive 
number  of  guests  that  I mentioned  before  (also  including,  for 
instance,  a saxophone  player and  female vocalists),  Fleurety keep 
things  remarkably  unpredictable if  you  pay  attention to  detail. 
Opting for  a somewhat subdued  sound instead of  all-out aggression, 
the Norwegian duo challenges (and  often seems to tease) the listener 
throughout the  record. Following Maniac's appearance  on third track 
"Shotgun  Blast", the  album enters  what  I perceive  as its  finest 
stage: the following three tracks, most of which are sung with female 
vocals ("Last-Minute Lies" also  features Garm's guest appearance). A 
rather  Portishead-like  song  then  follows before  a  "radio  edit" 
version  of second  track "Face  in  a Fever"  closes _DoAA_.  Having 
generally enjoyed the record, I still cannot say it really enthralled 
me despite  all the interesting  experimentation going on --  some of 
the music could have been  more emotionally charged and sometimes the 
experimentation seems  to harm  the consistency  of the  album itself 
somewhat. Nevertheless, _DoAA_ is  an interesting and enjoyable album 
from a creative duo that refuses to conform to any standards.         

Contact: http://www.supernalmusic.com


Ginger Leigh - _Broken by the World_  (<Independent>, 2000)
by: Adrian Bromley  (7.5 out of 10)

I was  actually taking my time  deciding on whether or  not to review 
this for CoC.  I decided to give  it a chance and let  the readers of 
the magazine decide  if it was worth investigating. This  is indeed a 
strange mix  of sounds and  styles, most noticeably drawing  from the 
likes of Godflesh, Johnny Violent and Nine Inch Nails, though less of 
the  latter's  commercial substance.  The  beats  of this  electronic 
outfit are  whisked into  a fevered frenzy,  as distorted  sounds and 
samples  make  their way  throughout  the  song.  The end  result?  A 
mish-mash of  sounds and ideas  that sound like  you're at a  rave at 
times, but  quite easily make  it seem  like you've been  abducted by 
aliens  and are  in another  world. Cool,  creepy and  just downright 
crafty. I  think this belongs in  CoC 'cause it will  no doubt expose 
many people to  a form of music  they may not know of  or really care 
for. We all need to just  get away (especially us metalheads) and why 
not let someone else do the driving  for a while? It's worth the trip 
to Ginger Leigh's world.                                              

Contact: Ginger Leigh, P.O. Box 863 Artesia, CA 90702-0683, USA
         http://www.gingerleigh.com


High on Fire - _The Art of Defense_  (Man's Ruin, 2000)
by: Adrian Bromley  (7.5 out of 10)

Ex-Sleep singer Matt Pike steps  away from the sometimes long routed, 
sludge  and grind  of Sleep  to form  a high-octane  stoner-rock band 
chock  full of  thrashing guitar  riffs,  hearty vocals  and a  solid 
rhythm section  to boot. The  music on _The  Art of Defense_  is very 
heavy, a  trait that comes  to the front almost  as soon as  the disc 
starts, due  to the rawness of  the production. My only  complaint is 
that some of the  songs sound the same. This is  their first disc, so 
I'll cut them some  slack. Fans looking for a reason  to rock out and 
get high, pick up High on  Fire's debut and get smokin'. Choice cuts: 
Opener "Baghdad" and "Blood From Zion".                               


Hybrid Children - _Stardom Is Here_  (Dream Catcher, June 2000)
by: Kirsty Buchanan  (7 out of 10)

What a shame that Hybrid  Children chose such a stuttering non-entity 
of a  track as  "No Parade at  the End  of the Drain"  as one  of the 
openers to this collection of pop-rock fun. From the lamenting ballad 
style of "Crawl Back to Win"  to the fiercely opinionated "I'm a Work 
of Art",  _SIH_ is anything  but consistent in quality.  This release 
marks  a foray  into  more  pop based  sounds;  _SIH_  is less  metal 
themed  than 1998's  _Drugster_. Although  an essentially  listenable 
album  with  a light-hearted,  feel-good  vibe,  _SIH_ can  and  does 
at  times seem  somewhat  contrived.  While "Like  Every  Day Is  the 
Last"  is  an  introspective statement  with  powerful  complimentary 
guitar, it nonetheless sounds excessively vocally led. Potential live 
favourite "Urban White  Boy Blues" suffers the same  problem with its 
sing-along-a-Hybrid  feel:  their  Finnish accents  transfer  through 
slightly poorly  into the vocals, and  they can end up  sounding like 
upper-class Oxford boys. I have no concrete proof or specific example 
with which to refer and compare,  but "Down for Evermore" just sounds 
a little  too familiar  to me. I  can't say to  what because  I'm not 
sure. There  is always the  possibility that  it's just one  of those 
songs,  but I  don't  know...  However, a  mainly  mediocre album  is 
redeemed  from the  detriments of  sloppy guitar  work and  weak song 
construction  by the  pure  happy  energy fired  into  it  -- a  fact 
exemplified  by  the  upbeat  percussion. On  a  number  of  journeys 
around  his kit,  I  was  both surprised  and  impressed  by the  way 
(the intriguingly  named) Headache's  talents overshadowed  the other 
Children.  Generally an  amiable offering;  although there  are other 
Kids in the playground who play  the game better, few have the simple 
gusto of the Finns.                                                   


Hypnos - _In Blood We Trust_  (Morbid, September 2000)
by: Paul Schwarz  (8 out of 10)

Evil Dead samples  and references may not be original  as features of 
death  metal albums,  but that  makes them  no less  cool. Hypnos  do 
themselves the credit  of choosing a good tone-setting  edit from the 
first film  (the recitation from  "The Book  of the Dead")  for their 
intro, and don't even completely spoil things when they come crashing 
in with their music. This quick-fire follow-up to Hypnos' self-titled 
EP  is  cruder  and  simpler  than the  output  of  the  death  metal 
scene's  leaders,  but  nonetheless  offers  a  well-constructed  and 
more-than-usually varied platter of  music. Mixing brutality, melody, 
good  solos and  dynamic  work into  a  well-rounded package,  Hypnos 
impress and invigorate to a surprising extent, though they ultimately 
fail  to have  you  headbanging  and screaming  their  name from  the 
rooftops.  As regards  the band's  own progression,  they've improved 
their  production and  developed their  songwriting: the  five non-EP 
tracks presented here  remind less of Krabathor than the  EP did. The 
result is  to place Hypnos  near or on top  of the Czech  death metal 
pile, in my eyes.                                                     


i - _One Word_  (Let It Burn Records, 2000)
by: Alex Cantwell  (6 out of 10)
  
East Coast hxc done German style that is actually not bad. The vocals
are surprisingly not accented heavily even in the clean parts, and the
lyrics are expounded upon by accompanying liner notes provided by
members of the band. The music is not bad, but nothing too great
either, and I will say that the drum sound is the worst that I've
heard in awhile (think cardboard). i has only been a band since March
of 2000, but have already toured and released a split 7" with High
Hopes previous to this MCD, so they must be an ambitious bunch -- let's
hope that ambitiousness translates into some truly great hardcore on
their upcoming full-length.

Contact: Let It Burn Records, c/o Christoph Zehetleitner,
         Benno-Benedicter Str. 31, 86609 Donauworth, Germany


Icon of Coil - _Serenity Is the Devil_  (Metropolis, 2000)
Juno Reactor - _Pistolero_  (Metropolis, 2000)
by: Aaron McKay  (both 7 out of 10)

What do Juno Reactor and Icon of  Coil have in common other than that 
both are on the Metropolis label? Nothing, but I decided to use a bit 
of creative license and put them in the same review. Why? I felt like 
it --  plain and simple. That  and I didn't  have a lot to  say about 
Juno Reactor other  than what I already brought up  about their fifth 
release, _Shango_ [CoC #49]. _Pistolero_  is a singles compilation of 
remixes,  a la  Nine  Inch  Nails, centered  around,  of course,  the 
original cut. A beneficial CD for  the inquisitive in our midst. Icon 
of  Coil isn't  as easy  to  tag. _Serenity  Is the  Devil_ whips  up 
dance-frenzy  of musical  delineations reminiscent  of 1982's  Steven 
Lisberger  film, "Tron".  Infectious? Fuck,  yea! If  you are  at all 
familiar with the Metropolis label, Icon  of Coil is a perfect match. 
Beating his way to you from  Norway, Andy LaPlegua's started IoC as a 
one  man project  in  1998.  No longer;  Mr.  LaPlegua  is joined  by 
Sebastian  Komor, with  Computer  Girl and  Christian  Lund for  live 
performances.  _Serenity  Is the  Devil_  is  this band's  first  and 
initial release. Tried and true dance/synth trends aplenty, _Serenity 
Is the Devil_  is a nearly sixty minute, air-tightly  fresh effort of 
power prancing "pop"; underground, of course.                         


Immolation - _Close to a World Below_  (Metal Blade, November 2000)
by: Kirsty Buchanan  (9 out of 10)

Often the level of production levered  into a band's work, and/or the 
obvious effort  put into the  artwork, are  a cover. Such  things can 
often be  a sugar  coating for  a sour, sour  pill. However,  in this 
situation the  production value  and extensively  blasphemous artwork 
can  only add  to an  already fantastic  release. Not  this time  the 
superficial  glaze of  lesser bands,  no,  an extension  of the  pure 
genius that shows  itself through the music of  Immolation. There are 
reasons that  Immolation are  still to  the fore  in the  death metal 
scene, and  they don't need to  be discussed after listening  to this 
album.  Bass  guitar,  an  oft  ignored  medium  in  this  genre,  is 
particularly audible,  specifically in the clamoring  wonder of "Fall 
From a High  Place". Not only audible though, the  bass rings through 
as an echo  to the powerful voice  of Ross Dolan. Not  for nothing is 
the vocalist also the bassist; he complements himself wonderfully. As 
a listener, the  comprehensive blasphemy is a standard  to the genre; 
but  as a  young  Catholic  girl I  was  impressed  with the  obvious 
research  which Immolation  have  clearly experienced  to bring  this 
joyous disquiet  to our  ears. Nothing short  of phenomenal,  a truly 
astounding effort.                                                    


Impaler - _One Nation Under Ground_  (Root of All Evil, 2000)
by: Aaron McKay  (6.5 out of 10)

My very first  exposure to Impaler was  on the Root of  All Evil 2000 
second anniversary sampler [CoC #49]. I truly enjoyed that CD taster. 
Impaler are raw and, in their  own right, peerless. Not for everyone, 
however.  Not many  strive to  the garden-variety  goals of  Impaler. 
There is  a method to  this band's  madness after all.  Pretty basic, 
though pointed  and convenient. Rhymes  wax poetic lyric  after lyric 
--  sometimes purposely  laughable.  Imagine  a rudimentary  Deceased 
stripped down as far as you can take it and you kinda have an idea of 
_One  Nation  Under Ground_.  Like  on  the  Root  of All  Evil  2000 
second  anniversary sampler,  the song  "Under the  Dirt" is  on _One 
Nation Under  Ground_; a plus.  Track six,  "Dead as a  Doornail", is 
pretty catchy.  I surely  appreciate the  cover of  Cooper's "Teenage 
Frankenstein" and  the use of the  Mortician-like gore/horror samples 
throughout  the effort.  "Scream Machine"  and "Girl  of My  Screams" 
should supply enough of an insight as to what Impaler is all about. I 
think Impaler may  enjoy their modest appointment of  being a B-rated 
Necrophagia.                                                          

Contact: http://www.rootofallevil.com


Kalmah - _Swamplord_  (Spikefarm, 2000)
by: Adrian Bromley  (8 out of 10)

While the music  of Kalmah is fast paced and  intense, the pairing of 
harrowing riffs and melody is a match made in heaven. Thrown into the 
sound an eloquent  flare of creativity, and the  metallic beast known 
as Kalmah takes  shape; a solid outing from start  to finish. In this 
day and age, with so many bands  trying to hard to outdo one another, 
Kalmah keep their  heads down and just churn  our melodically vibrant 
death metal. Paying homage to the  metal veterans of the '80s, Kalmah 
manage  to keep  things  crisp and  never  become oversaturated  with 
ideas. The flow of such  songs as "Heritance of Berija", "Alteration" 
or "Withering Away"  have just enough keyboard to  add atmosphere and 
style, while  the punishing drive  of their death metal  attack takes 
charge. Well executed and worthy of repeated listens.                 


Lethargy - _Discography '93-'99_  (Spoth, 2000)
by: Brian Meloon  (10 out of 10)

The on-again-off-again career of Lethargy appears to finally be over. 
As a final  tribute, Spoth records released this double  CD, which is 
basically everything  they've ever recorded. Included  are their 1996 
album _It's Hard  to Write With a Little Hand_  [CoC #14], the _Humor 
Me_ demo  [1995, CoC #4],  the _Tainted_ demo (my  personal favorite, 
1994), the _Lost  in This Existence_ demo (1993), the  two songs from 
the Watchmen comps  [1997 and 1998, CoC #27], three  songs from 1999, 
and  the unplugged  version of  "Lost in  This Existence"  from their 
split with Big Hair (1994). It adds  up to 32 songs, clocking in at a 
whopping 133  minutes. Their style  can be described  as "palsycore", 
meaning that it's a hardcore/metal hybrid with spastic riff and tempo 
changes and little  regular song structure. Human Remains  would be a 
good comparison, though Lethargy are  generally less extreme and more 
convoluted. Their riffs aren't always technical, but the way they are 
organized makes for  a challenging listen. Riffs  are thrown together 
in  a hodge-podge  style,  with  no thought  given  to  song flow  or 
development. But  impressively, the band  is rock solid even  for the 
most  difficult sections,  where the  riffs last  only a  few seconds 
each. And  this lack of structure  is itself a structure,  giving the 
band  their distinctive  sound. Fans  of technical  and quirky  death 
metal should pick this up. Highest recommendations.                   


Love History - _Anasazi_  (The End Records, 2000)
by: Aaron McKay  (8.5 out of 10)

This  effort  is nearly  as  difficult  to  describe and  explain  as 
_Organasm_ by  Alchemist [CoC #49]  was, but along those  same lines, 
too. Both  bands share similar  qualities without ebbing over  to the 
point of cloning  each other's sound either. Wickedly  complex as one 
passage braids into another almost more naturally than Love History's 
musicians embrace  their instruments. It  is almost as if  this whole 
band creation was second-nature. This  Czech group has an interesting 
vocal duo mixing Borknagar or Emperor-like spoken chants with a Chris 
Barnes  throaty  accentuation.  To  a  lesser  degree,  lofty  female 
vocal touches  are utilized well,  like on track  four, "Masterless". 
Effective. I  get a sense of  the simplicity from Love  History, too, 
between  the  complications  of  their sound.  For  example,  all  of 
the  band's song  titles  are  one or  two  words long  ("Angealism", 
"Spiritual",  "Sown") and  the material  is very  easy to  follow and 
enjoy. For those of you who have  a desire for a lot of change-ups on 
a release, _Anasazi_  is just that. No overly abrupt  segues make the 
flow  of  Love History's  material  pleasing.  Orchestral parts  play 
into  more metal  traits with  the  vocals punctuating  in a  gruffly 
inspirational way. A very thought-provoking  CD-ROM bonus clip of the 
song "Lost" is also included. When viewing this, one is reminded of a 
short  film that  might  possibly  be presented  at  the Cannes  Film 
Festival. To say  this CD-ROM extra is just meaningful  is putting it 
mildly. I  believe now more  than ever,  bands like Love  History can 
cover a lot of ground for music in general, but metal in particular.  

Contact: http://www.theendrecords.com


Monster Magnet - _God Says No_  (A&M, November 2000)
by: Adrian Bromley  (8.5 out of 10)

Is  this my  favourite Monster  Magnet  record? Probably  not. To  be 
honest,  my fave  disc by  Dave Wyndorf  and his  henchmen is  either 
1993's _Superjudge_  or 1995's _Dopes  to Infinity_. But to  tell you 
the truth, this  is my favourite Monster Magnet disc  right now. Less 
lavish and more basic than the last record _Powertrip_, _God Says No_ 
is one of those records that  needs repeated listens before the magic 
and dynamics of what the band has been able to capture here sinks in. 
And as many Monster Magnet fans  know, this band doesn't really write 
or play by any  book. They write music based on  feelings. It is that 
simple. That could  explain why a song like the  tripping title track 
can  co-exist with  the rocking  first single  "Heads Explode"  and a 
bizarre '60s-tinged piece  like "Kiss of the Scorpion".  I admit, the 
guitar work and songwriting here isn't  as out there as the past work 
of the  band, but get  past those few rough  edges and _GSN_  will no 
doubt be spinning  on your CD player well into  the new year. Monster 
Magnet's latest is  pure chaos wrapped tightly into  a rockin' roller 
coaster ride of fun.                                                  


My Dying Bride - _Meisterwerk I_  (Peaceville, November 2000)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (8 out of 10)

Part one  of the My  Dying Bride anthology  is more of  a collector's 
album than one that lives up to its title. I could certainly think of 
some far  more appropriate tracks  for MDB's "masterpieces"  than the 
three demo  tracks that make  up about one  third of the  record, for 
example,  but  then again  that's  probably  what makes  this  record 
most  valuable  for  collectors  (together  with  the  big  digipak). 
The  compilation starts  with  the classic  "The  Crown of  Sympathy" 
from _Turn  Loose the  Swans_ sandwiched between  opener "Symphonaire 
Infernus et Spera Empyrium" (the rather inferior demo version of this 
song having  been used instead  of the MCD  one) and demo  track "The 
Grief of Age".  _Meisterwerk I_ then takes the listener  on a trip to 
_Like Gods of the Sun_ land with  "A Kiss to Remember", followed by a 
good but  rather long remix of  "Grace Unhearing" and then  "For You" 
all in  a row. The  rare demo track "Unreleased  Bitterness" follows, 
and "Sear Me  III" from the band's  latest, _The Light at  the End of 
the World_, wraps up the disc. I can hardly agree that this is a very 
significant part of MDB's best material,  but on the other hand there 
are plenty of rare  tracks to be found, plus the  video clip for "The 
Cry of  Mankind" from _The  Angel and  the Dark River_.  Perhaps this 
compilation would have  been better if it contained  less tracks from 
_Like Gods of  the Sun_, but it  may be worth the  investment for the 
rare material (not that its sound  quality is great, though). I would 
now expect  a more  thoroughly enjoyable and  less collector-oriented 
compilation for part two.                                             


Narcissus - _Newwave Techno Homicide_  (Takehold Records, 2000)
by: Alex Cantwell  (9.5 out of 10)

This is quite a band indeed, and I will state right away that fans of 
Refused should check this out. They  really have a creative edge that 
many hardcore bands  are not blessed with, and therefore  do not rely 
solely on the "chugga chugga" approach to riffing and song structure. 
They don't even utilize a guitar tone that would do that simple stuff 
justice anyway.  It's sort of  what I imagine Stavesacre  would sound 
like if  they were  aggressive, and what  Neurosis might  contrive if 
they went back  to playing hxc. _Newwave Techno Homicide_  drew me in 
to such an extent that before I knew it I was on track four. I had to 
pay such close attention to  the raging vocals and interesting guitar 
playing that I totally lost my sense  of space and time, and this was 
the sixth  time I had  listened to it. What  is going on  here? Clean 
vocals  make several  appearances  here  as well.  This  is truly  an 
amazing CD from this unknown band. Own it and support talent.         

Contact: Takehold Records,  P.O. Box 19831, Birmingham  AL 35219, USA 
http://www.takehold.com                                               


Neglected Fields - _Mephisto Lettonica_  (Scarlet, 2000)
by: Brian Meloon  (8 out of 10)

This is  Neglected Fields' second  album, following their  1998 debut 
_Synthinity_. While that album  showed some serious Sentenced (_North 
From Here_  era) worship,  this album is  a more  distinctive effort. 
They've moved toward  the orchestral black metal sound  of bands like 
Limbonic Art and Nokturnal Mortum by adding more prominent keyboards. 
The music is still heavily guitar dominated, and the riffs and vocals 
are still heavily Sentenced-influenced,  but the keyboards temper the 
guitars and  give the music a  unique feel. The playing  is generally 
quite good,  though there  are a  few moments  where things  could be 
improved. The production is excellent:  clear and powerful. The songs 
are  generally interesting  and  inspired, and  their  core sound  is 
dense  and thick.  The keyboards  really  add depth  to their  sound, 
not  dominating the  music,  but  expanding and  filling  it out.  In 
addition, the album  offers a moderate diversity of  styles. The band 
occasionally  strays  away  from  their core  sound  to  explore  new 
territory, and most  of these departures are successful,  such as the 
vaguely  Satriani-like instrumental  "Presentiment".  But  this is  a 
consistently heavy album, and the departures aren't radical enough to 
break its  mood. Overall, this is  a step in the  right direction for 
the band, and I look forward to their next effort.                    


Nightwish - _Wishmaster_  (Spinefarm / Vinyl Collectors, 2000)
by: Alvin Wee  (8 out of 10)

Perhaps  my  expectations were  overly  high  for Finland's  operatic 
masters  Nightwish, but  _Wishmaster_,  their  third offering,  seems 
rather lacklustre  in view of  _Oceanborn_'s excellence. While  by no 
means a  bad album, the  band's knack for soaring,  epic melody-lines 
seems to  be compromised  in favour of  a slightly  more experimental 
approach,  introducing more  atonality and  staccato rhythm  into the 
previously smooth  songwriting. Many  fans have already  ascribed the 
new direction  to progression,  and less melody-oriented  tracks like 
"The Kinslayer"  do add  a touch of  spice, offsetting  the sublimely 
beautiful "Come Cover  Me". Remarks have been  made about _Oceanborn_ 
being more straightforward than _Wishmaster_;  on the other hand, the 
music on  the latter album  appeals more to  conventional power-metal 
sensibilities, downplaying  the complex virtuosity  and neo-classical 
arrangements in favor of harder-hitting power riffs. Tarja's polished 
soprano seems in fine form, but  once again lacks the raw inspiration 
and operatic conviction of her  previous efforts, lending the music a 
rather over-produced,  boringly polished feel (read:  The Gathering). 
Hammerheart's LP version boasts  top quality pressing on heavy-vinyl; 
add to that  a beautiful gatefold cover complete  with separate lyric 
sheet  and  vinyl  lovers  have  a  near-flawless  example  of  vinyl 
production. Certainly a recommended album despite the minor let-down, 
but to  expect the band  to top an  effort like _Oceanborn_  would be 
asking too much, surely.                                              


Novembers Doom - _The Knowing_  (Dark Symphonies, October 2000)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (9 out of 10)

Together  with Evoken,  Novembers  Doom have  been  trying to  create 
quality  doom metal  in the  USA  that can  compete against  European 
bands, and  both bands have  definitely succeeded in  this. Novembers 
Doom  --  now  quite  suitably  signed to  Dark  Symphonies  --  have 
continued  to  hone  their  sound  into  something  more  atmospheric 
but  still  as emotional  as  ever,  whilst  trying to  express  that 
emotion yet more  eloquently than before, and they  have succeeded in 
doing  so.  With  Eric  Burnley's  driving  guitar  dirges  and  Paul 
Kuhr's  highly competent  doom/death  growls and  clean  vocals as  a 
foundation, Novembers Doom now  articulate their doom/death with more 
atmospheric parts,  acoustic guitars and piano  passages than before. 
This generally increases  both the overall variety and  the impact of 
some heavier  sections as  Novembers Doom tell  of grief,  sorrow and 
heartache with a sound that  can successively be amongst the angriest 
and the most soothing in the  genre. Only "In Memories Past" seems to 
be rather misplaced in _The Knowing_, but it can easily be programmed 
out  of this  hour long  record.  An excellent  album, powerful  both 
sonically and emotionally.                                            


Odor of Pears - _Crown of Thorns_  (<Independent>, 2000)
by: Adrian Bromley  (7 out of 10)

I don't know how we snagged a copy of this to review, but this is one 
of those borderline  records to review in CoC. Does  it fit the mold? 
Is it metal? Is it extreme? Where does it go? While I am at a loss on 
why  the band  would choose  such a  bizarre name  as Odor  of Pears, 
their  music  is  a  haunting trip  through  emotions,  darkness  and 
electronic/industrial-tinged offerings.  The music  is coated  with a 
surreal state of  sound, a sound emanating rhythms  that'll sink deep 
into your psyche  and cause you to feel bizarre  and tingly all over. 
Odor of  Pears is a  cool band to take  in stages, as  their hypnotic 
guitar playing and  '80s gothic inspired song patterns  require a lot 
of concentration to  get the full effect, something no  doubt lost if 
there were to  be repeated listens. Not for  everyone, but definitely 
unique and no doubt a sonic stew  of ideas for those who find comfort 
in bizarre music to relax and unwind to.                              

Contact: mailto:diana@odorofpears.com
         http://www.odorofpears.com


Primal Fear - _Nuclear Fire_  (Nuclear Blast, January 2001)
by: Kirsty Buchanan  (4 out of 10)

Pure "Screaming Dad-Rock"  at its best, or worst:  it depends whether 
or not you are  partial to the re-heated ideas of  others. To my mind 
there is  no more than  1 minute 30  seconds of original  material in 
this release.  It's all  very well  paying homage  to your  idols and 
those who influenced  you, but some streak of personality  would be a 
treat. This  53 minute  romp through the  record collections  of five 
middle-aged men is an intriguing beast. At times it betrays the vague 
talent of the  musicians, but just as  I felt I was  warming to them, 
another cliche was poured into my ears. Admittedly, as a band in this 
genre  it is  important  to stamp  your identity  on  your work;  but 
there's personal  identity, and  then there's:  a pretty  basic font, 
cover-art to sell the cheapest of all budget computer games, and over 
use of the word "fire". However, the percussion on many of the tracks 
is skilled and the guitar work competent and at times noticeably good 
--  during the  lyrically  impressive "Now  or  Never", for  example. 
Although in  places more  Aerosmith than  anything else,  a competent 
album can be  found within _Nuclear Fire_'s  unconvincing sleeve. The 
single standout track on this release is mercifully recognised as the 
"bonustrack", "Iron Fist  in a Velvet Glove". It is  a foray into the 
original land of personal thought. Passable, despite the Tommy Cooper 
band photo.                                                           


Psychopunch - _Bursting Out of Chucky's Town_
by: Aaron McKay  (3 out of 10)  (White Jazz / House of Kicks, 2000)

I  haven't any  idea where  these guys  were trying  to go  with this 
release. I think  I hear a 1970s  punk aspect to this  album, but who 
would  claim  Psychopunch  as  protegees? Idol's  Generation  X?  The 
Damned? The Buzzcocks?  No fuckin' way! This  is Psychopunch's second 
effort after _We Are Just as Welcome as Holy Water in Satan's Drink_, 
a pretty  amusing title,  but _Bursting Out  of Chucky's  Town_ isn't 
even -that-. If you'd  like some straight-forwarded mindlessness with 
little  to  nothing  more  than  watered-down,  warmed-over,  sub-par 
Motorhead  riffs added  to inadequate  Jimmy Pursey  (Sham 69)  meets 
Faster Pussycat vocals, Psychopunch might  be your alarm. Like Faster 
Pussycat, wake -me- when it's over!!                                  


Various - _Scream Forth Blasphemy: A Tribute to Morbid Angel_
by: Aaron McKay  (6.5 out of 10)  (Dwell, November 2000)

Personally, I'd have begun this compilation with Diabolic's "Rapture" 
or Headhunter D.C.'s  "Blessed Are the Sick /  Desolate Ways". Listen 
to  that beautiful  Richard  Brunelle-like guitar  work on  "Desolate 
Ways". Pretty damn fine. Coffin  Texts and The Chasm accomplish their 
tasks effectively on "Thy  Kingdom Come" and "Abominations". Infamy's 
"Fall From Grace" cover is surely time well invested, too. I was glad 
to see "Chapel of  Ghouls" on here as well, but  Mystifier was a poor 
choice, I  thought, to do this  track. Only my opinion,  though. Even 
their take  on "The  Invocation" was  a bit  loose. Other  than that, 
Damnation hits their mark with "Bleed for the Devil". I often wonder, 
what would  I have  done without Morbid  Angel's _Altars  of Madness_ 
release? I'm  glad to see bands  like Damnation do brutal  justice to 
Morbid  Angel's  supreme struggle  in  making  _AoM_  as great  as  I 
believe it  to be. Damnation's version  of "Bleed for the  Devil" was 
reinforcement to that notion if ever I did hear one. Be wary, reader, 
there are as  many cuts of _Scream Forth Blasphemy_  to watch out for 
as there  are ones I've brought  up here in this  review. Better than 
average, though; that's for damn sure.                                


Seth - _The Excellence_  (Osmose, September 2000)
by: Paul Schwarz  (8.5 out of 10)

Aggressive, dark, atmospheric and infectious are not adjectives which 
often apply to  a single release in  a case where each  quality is in 
appropriate and significant abundance.  However -- carefully studying 
the  lamentably  deceased  masters of  blackened  death,  Dissection, 
beforehand --, Seth have given  us a sophomore release which delivers 
the goods far more than merely  adequately in all those areas. With a 
bit of  luck, _The Excellence_ will  be the genesis point  which sees 
Seth soar  to far more  personally remarkable heights in  the future, 
but for  now, let's just  stick with what  the present has  to offer, 
'cause  it is  considerable.  What  most marks  Seth  as unusual  and 
special  is the  strength and  consistency of  their guitar  and drum 
attack. The former  bites down hard, thrashes  with style, punctuates 
wonderfully when required  to do so, and has that  essential power to 
emphasise and underscore melody with that seemingly contradictory mix 
of  subtlety  and profundity  which  acts  like  a magic  potion  for 
capturing atmosphere. The upfront but not intrusive drumwork melds to 
this, augmenting its power, underscoring its sincerity: the symbiosis 
of the two is ultimately what  guarantees that _The Excellence_ is as 
remarkable and  affecting as it is.  That said, the vocals  are by no 
means shoddy. Varied in general  and powerful at appropriate moments, 
they  show off  a decent  range and  adequate ability  to affect  the 
listener. Admittedly, Seth do owe a stylistic debt to Dissection, but 
they are not  ripping them off. _The Excellence_  doesn't grate: it's 
not a sound-a-like album. Seth have taken influence from a great band 
and forged a  sound that has the potential to  develop into something 
truly, individually  their own. I hope  they can make that  step next 
time,  but 'til  then this  beastly black/death  opus will  more than 
suffice.                                                              


Six Feet Under - _Graveyard Classics_  (Metal Blade, 2000)
by: Adrian Bromley  (2.5 out of 10)

What was Chris Barnes thinking...  er... smoking when he decided that 
the  next release,  following the  brilliant _Maximum  Violence_, was 
going  to be  a  covers album?  Oh  man.  Not only  are  most of  the 
original, classic songs destroyed by the death metal wringer they are 
rung  through, those  classic  songs  just don't  attain  any of  the 
relevant spark that made them  classics. Case in point, the atrocious 
cover of Hendrix's  classic "Purple Haze", the  mediocre offerings of 
Sabbath's "Sweet Leaf" and Scorpions'  "Blackout", or even the rocker 
"Smoke on the Water" (by Deep Purple).  I must admit I like the AC/DC 
cover of "TNT", but  that is about as far as  it goes. Hopefully this 
is just Barnes and co. letting off  a little bit of steam before they 
conquer a new disc. I at least hope so.                               


Slaughter - _Surrender or Die_  (Utopian Vision Music, November 2000)
by: Adrian Bromley  (7 out of 10)

The legendary band gets high marks  in my books for just starting off 
with the  chainsaw. Yeah!  Fucking metal!  But there  is more  to the 
power of  Canada's mighty Slaughter  than a chainsaw intro.  This was 
-the-  band  that influenced  a  legion  of  other bands  with  their 
ravaging metal sound and  raw production, including heavyweights like 
Mortician and Napalm  Death. Even though the  original material (from 
1985) has  been remastered, Slaughter's  music still sounds  dated -- 
but in  a good  way. Back  then, before Metallica  broke out  big and 
Death  ever existed,  Slaughter was  breaking all  the rules.  A cult 
classic -- one listen to songs like "Incinerator", "Cult of the Dead" 
or "Shadow  of Death" and you'll  know why. God bless  them for being 
Canucks!                                                              

Contact: http://www.utopianvisionmusic.com


Slaves on Dope - _Inches From the Mainline_  (Divine Records, 2000)
by: Adrian Bromley  (1 out of 10)

More  like  inches  from  falling  into  my  trash  can.  Ugh!?  This 
is  absolutely  horrible.  This  major label  debut  by  Canuck  (now 
L.A.-based) act Slaves on Dope is just like a shot to the head. It is 
so full of  cliche metal sounds and nu-metal styles  that I cringe at 
what they  have become.  Take the styles  of Pantera,  Soulfly, Korn, 
Deftones,  Godsmack, Boiler  Room,  Slipknot, Incubus  and any  other 
OzzFest nu-metal band  and you've got the music of  Slaves on Dope. I 
don't know what people are raving about, 'cause this band really does 
nothing  for me.  This just  goes to  show that  marketing and  label 
influence  can  piece  together  a sound  and  image  that'll  please 
thousands, but  nauseate those  like me.  One of  the worst  discs of 
2000.                                                                 


Suffocate - _Exit 64_  (GWN / Warfare Records, 2000)
by: Adrian Bromley  (7 out of 10)

All the way from Slovakia comes  the punishing death metal grooves of 
Suffocate, a hardened death metal regime  that just plays head to the 
ground and full  of aggression. While the material  here (coming from 
the  1998 demo  tape and  transplanted onto  CD) is  not of  the best 
production, the strength of the  playing, and especially the powerful 
drumming  and  violent vocals  (i.e.  "If  You Can't  Be  Strong...", 
"Duplicity"),  make that  an easy  blemish to  overlook. Looking  for 
death  metal that  really lives  up to  the genre's  characteristics? 
Suffocate just might turn your crank. Awesome album artwork as well.  

Contact: P.O. Box 65095, CSP Place Longueuil, QC J4K 5J4, Canada
         http://www.gwnrecords.com


Tantrum of the Muse - _Modernmu$ick (2000!)_
by: Alex Cantwell  (7 out of 10)  (Takehold Records, 2000)

What a trip. These guys from  Pennsylvania take the sly talent of The 
Melvins and  mix in  keen emo/indie sensibilities,  along with  a few 
grindcore episodes. This  is not easy-listening, nor are  they a band 
to "jam  out to", as  they deal with  heavy sexual topics  in "Eunuch 
(The Sinai Orgies)", "Happy as a  Lark", and "Victoria Has a Secret", 
as  well as  some other  fun topics  (check out  "10-10-99/$screw the 
Christian Industry$"). Some  of the lyrics are  really vague, though, 
and although they  are written from a Christian  viewpoint, this band 
lets loose  like any group of  tormented souls would in  "Caught With 
Your Halo  Around Your  Knees" and "Chiroptera  Armada" ("In  my mind 
lives  a swine,  the ones  possessed by  demons, my  soul has  made a 
covenant  but  it's  all  stalked  by  darkness").  Sheesh.  I  would 
recommend this  to those who  enjoy the lyrical rantings  of Roadside 
Monument, and fans of Built to Spill and Warlord.                     

Contact: Takehold Records, P.O. Box 19831, Birmingham AL 35219, USA
         http://www.takehold.com


Tchort - _Love Metal / Government Issue Rock 'n' Roll_
by: Adrian Bromley  (8.5 out of 10)  (Illuminatus Records, 2000)

Looking back  at all the years  I have being doing  music journalism, 
since 1992,  I can honestly  say that Toronto metalheads  Tchort live 
and breathe metal. They are an asset to Toronto's growing metal scene 
and true purveyors of fine heavy metal, in music and on stage. If you 
ever get a  chance to see them,  please make an effort.  The rock 'n' 
roll poses, guitar solos and fireworks will knock your socks off. The 
new  split disc,  the  _Love  Metal_ EP  combined  with the  one-time 
"available on vinyl" only _Government  Issue Rock 'n' Roll_ record is 
absolutely fabulous.  The disc's title  track is a true  metal anthem 
and the  cover of the  Boney M disco  hit "Rasputin" is  awesome. The 
other material  (i.e. "Virgin  Forest" and  the cool  "Soul Embargo") 
rocks hard  'n' heavy,  no doubt  helping Tchort  spread the  word of 
metal a bit further. Be metal and get this disc!                      

Contact: mailto:tchortm@hotmail.com
         http://uncertain.org/~illuminatus/


Thanatos - _Angelic Encounters_  (Hammerheart, January 2001)
by: Kirsty Buchanan  (8 out of 10)

With the opening  title track standing at an  immense, thundering six 
minutes, Thanatos  immediately grab  your attention;  it is  merely a 
pity the following  track makes little or no attempt  to emulate this 
and  thus carry  the listener  through  the album.  However, after  a 
faltering  beginning,  _Angelic  Encounters_  just  gets  better  and 
better.  I have  never heard  anything quite  as intense  as "Sincere 
Chainsaw Salvation" or "Gods of  War". The combined experience of the 
musicians does not,  as I would have imagined,  lessen the experience 
of  the record;  it is  often possible  for bands  to seem  stale and 
somewhat  stagnant if  suffering  from age,  not  so Thanatos.  Their 
experience seems to have given them  the ability to take stock of the 
Dutch death metal scene and release something worthy of great praise. 
The drumming is astoundingly performed with seemingly the greatest of 
skill  and ease;  "The  Howling" stands  as a  prime  example of  the 
ex-Sinister stickman's  ability. The wittily titled  "Thou Shalt Rot" 
closes this musical journey in much  the way it began: with a lengthy 
but proficient aural pleasure.                                        


Theatre of the Macabre - _A Paradise in Flesh & Blood_
by: Aaron McKay  (7.5 out of 10)  (Root of All Evil, 2000)

Sounding a  lot like  Lorde of  All Desires,  Theatre of  the Macabre 
manage to salvage  a shred of uniqueness and avoid  the "clone" label 
with their sound. LeRue Delashay  parted company with LoAD to wind-up 
forming Theatre of the Macabre. I heard this in the band's style even 
before learning of  the stark connection between the  two groups. You 
can  also see  my review  of Root  of All  Evil's second  anniversary 
sampler in  issue #49 for  some more  information about Lorde  of All 
Desires and Theatre of  the Macabre. On and on and  so forth. This is 
the band's  first full length effort  and, thusly, a debut  of sorts. 
Black metal  is the  respective target  TotM is  aiming for  and very 
nearly hits. Some attractive guitar  passages can be discovered here, 
like the beginning to track five,  "Forsaken in the Garden of Earthly 
Delights" (Hieronymus  Bosch, anyone?).  I like a  cerebral reference 
here and there. This song is  equally as enthralling as Bosch's work. 
Not overtly fast musically, TotM changes that in for of a more catchy 
riff progression. If  you'd like a bit of  obscure magnetism conjured 
in your  black metal,  Theatre of  the Macabre  may be  your witches' 
brew. A potent concoction.                                            


Underoath - _Cries of the Past_  (Takehold Records, 2000)
by: Alex Cantwell  (9.5 out of 10)

Crazy, crazy hardcore with a very direct black metal influence. Or is 
it the  other way  around? I could  just as easily  say that  this is 
crazy,  crazy  black  metal  with hardcore  leanings,  because  these 
upstarts  have  succeeded  indeed  when  it  comes  to  the  game  of 
obliterating lines  between classifications of metal.  Sometimes life 
is actually worth the living, and releases like this fan my flames to 
get through the day. Besides the fact that Underoath have pioneered a 
completely new sub-genre, let it be  known that this CD is 42 minutes 
long but consists of only five songs, and therefore, the compositions 
consist of many different parts.  Lightning-fast riffing leads into a 
melodic section that turns into a  giant mosh riff as keyboards weigh 
heavy upon  the soul, drums  of doom keep it  all in time  and shrill 
black metal vocals  scare any small children in the  vicinity -- this 
is just an  example of what a  few minutes listening to  one of these 
dark sagas  would put you through.  Amazing, really; as much  as I am 
personally into  black metal  as well as  hardcore (which  from their 
typical respective viewpoints, would be two forms of music/lifestyles 
very opposed to one another), I  never dreamt of melding the two, but 
I am extremely glad that these six  young men did, and I believe that 
with this album they have done it with such creativity and style that 
fans of  both genres would embrace  them. You really must  check this 
out, not only due  to the novelty of it, but  because these songs are 
good ones! Cradle of Filth meets Hatebreed -- gnarly!                 

Contact: Takehold Records, P.O. Box 19831, Birmingham AL 35219, USA
         http://www.takehold.com


Usurper - _Necronemesis_  (Necropolis Records, April 2000)
by: Aaron McKay  (8 out of 10)

Riff-tastic  as it  comes, kiddies.  Mature, solid  and brutal.  Want 
proof? Listen to the title track, especially the opening to about the 
two minute  mark. Back to  back, nuts  to butts persuasive.  WAIT! Is 
that King  Diamond on backing  vocals on "Necronemesis",  track four? 
Fuck yea! Impressed?  I was. Nice bad-ass riff at  the onset of "1666 
AD", too. These guys know what metal is all about. Usurper's _Visions 
From  the Gods_  was  reviewed  in issue  #48,  so  for some  further 
edification, check that out, too.  I haven't been this satisfied with 
a  metal-groove smorgasbord  since  _Wiseblood_ or  maybe _Temple  of 
Knowledge_.  "Funeral  Waters",  track  nine,  gives  you  a  perfect 
representation  of Usurper's  ability  as it  drags  you through  the 
venom-laced  tyranny  of their  kingdom;  at  times sounding  like  a 
heavier than lead Dimmu Borgir  circa _Stormblast_. Riddled with real 
feeling  and creativity.  Very compelling.  The last  cut, "Into  the 
Oblong Box", is -the- scrupulously totalitarian exodus a band strives 
to  achieve  effort  after  soul-searching effort.  Also,  it  is  my 
understanding  that Usurper  is  heading all  over Europe  supporting 
Cradle  of Filth  and  Christian  Death for  the  whole of  November. 
Usurper  have certainly  found  their own  way  through this  genre's 
confusion. Find _Necronemesis_ soon. It'll be worth it.               


Velvet Acid Christ - _Twisted Thought Generator_
by: Aaron McKay  (9 out 10)  (Metropolis, November 2000)

My  first  exposure to  Velvet  Acid  Christ  was through  a  Suicide 
Commando  remix of  "State of  Emergency".  If you  haven't tried  to 
mentally grasp hold of it, I'd sure give it a shot! What a ride. Now, 
all too suddenly, I find the group offering forth their newest album. 
I do enjoy the sampling VAC uses so very competently; often humorous, 
sometimes  disturbing, but  always  topical  and relevant.  "Asphixia 
(Wasted)", song  five, uses David Duchovny's  ("X-Files") voice. This 
adds a  certain amount of creepiness.  I'll give 'em that.  One thing 
that people  could -never-  accuse this  band of  is sounding  like a 
high-school kid  with a laptop  Casio keyboard. Influenced by  many a 
person, VAC, at its core, is  comprised of two individuals, Bryan and 
Chris.  Heavy is  this band's  nature. Calling  upon influences  from 
Napalm Death and Godflesh, Bryan and Chris calculate inspiration from 
Skinny Puppy and  The Cure, as well.  Obviously technology-based, VAC 
rises above the norm to a  particular height of ability. Darkness and 
eeriness  dance unfettered  throughout  _Twisted Thought  Generator_. 
This is  blamed mostly on  the drug use  the band advocated  early on 
(_Fun With Drugs_ and _Church of Acid_),  but not so much any more, I 
understand. Ambiguity still invades the  music, but possibly more out 
of habit  than substance  abuse. Track  six, "Never  Worship (Bruised 
Knees Mix)", beckons a sampling from  Al Pacino taken from the Warner 
Brothers movie "The Devil's  Advocate". This German-sounding American 
outfit is no champion of the Evil One, however. Naw. I think they are 
in it more for themselves. "Here, as far as could be heard, there was 
no weeping except  of sighs which caused the eternal  air to tremble; 
these resulted from grief without  torture, felt by the crowds, which 
were many  and large,  of infants  and of women  and of  men... Great 
sorrow seized my  heart... because I knew that people  of great worth 
were suspended in that limbo." (Dante, "The Divine Comedy: Inferno".) 


Vessel - _Vessel_  (Burning Records, 2000)
by: Alex Cantwell  (7 out of 10)

You ready for a stompin' good  time? Although Vessel's music takes on 
somewhat of  a dark edge,  it's also pretty  easy to mosh  around the 
living room  to with  a big  ol' sloppy  grin on  your grill.  I know 
nothing  of this  band or  their background,  but although  Vessel is 
pretty much new-skool hardcore, I  would imagine they listen to quite 
a bit of metal as well. To make  it easy on myself and you as well, I 
will just say  that this band land somewhere  between Pro-Pain, Drill 
187 and whatever  '90s hardcore band you care to  think of. Now, that 
is not to say  that their music is generic, or without  a face of its 
own;  it's  just  that  they  will  need  to  work  on  personalizing 
their sound.  Some of  the things  that they  already have  going for 
them include  the ability  to transform  their anger  and frustration 
into good  songs, and  combine good  hardcore breakdowns  with brutal 
double-bass  drumming.  Labels  like  Metal Blade  and  Goldtrax  are 
signing bands like  this right now, ya know? I  recommend this to all 
the  punters  out  there, but  also  to  all  of  the kids  whose  CD 
collection consists of merely Deftones and Machine Head.              

Contact: Burning Records, 518 Elm St., Carnegie PA 15106, USA
         http://burningrecords.com


Vomitory - _Revelation Nausea_  (Metal Blade, November 2000)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (8 out of 10)

Vomitory seem  to have no  qualms about calling  themselves purveyors 
of  old-school  Swedish  death  metal. So,  casting  any  thought  of 
originality aside, the question is: how  good are they at playing it? 
As you can imagine from my  rating above, I think they're pretty damn 
good.  The  vocals  are  a  bit faceless  and  even  somewhat  casual 
sounding,  but  apart from  that,  _Revelation  Nausea_ is  powerful, 
tight, catchy and dynamic. Even when  -- after an excellent couple of 
opening tracks --  Vomitory make me wonder about  the Swedish-ness of 
it all  as the twin riff  of something Bolt Thrower  once wrote makes 
its appearance  midway through third  track "Beneath the Soil",  I am 
still enjoying it. This is not  necessarily the case for the entirety 
of the  remaining tracks, but  as far  as I'm concerned  Vomitory are 
generally welcome to  tear into the next track each  time they finish 
one. This is  not to say that  you're likely to be  listening to this 
record very often far  into the year 2001 if you  know what the genre 
is about,  because entertaining and enjoyable  as _Revelation Nausea_ 
may be,  innovation does  not abound  here --  but quality  does, and 
Vomitory should get some credit for that.                             


WarHorse - _...As Heaven Turns to Ash_  (Southern Lord Records, 2000)
by: Adrian Bromley  (9.5 out of 10)

Ever been  kicked in the head?  Been punched in the  mouth? How about 
toppled over by  an angry mob? Well,  as Ben Grimm (aka  The Thing of 
the Fantastic Four) used to say: "It's clobbering' time!" It has been 
some  time since  I have  been won  over by  such a  heavy, doom-like 
release. While I am a fan of the  genre, I pick and choose my acts to 
follow. I have been following this band since their inception in 1996 
(from the ashes  of Desolation and Infestation) and  have always been 
fond of their work. And while  line-up changes have been ongoing, the 
band has solidified  a three-piece line-up to record  their debut for 
Southern  Lord  Records.  And  what  magic  they  have  created.  The 
debut  for Southern  Lord is  a culmination  of all  their influences 
(everything from Black Sabbath to  Cathedral to EYEHATEGOD) and their 
own set  style, a mixture  of hardened  guitar riffs and  death metal 
stylings. While more doom than  anything else, _...As Heaven Turns to 
Ash_ is a brilliant dose of creativity and song structures (check out 
numbers like "Dusk", "Black  Acid Prophecy" and "Lysergic Communion") 
that could tear walls down. Thick,  solid riffs pummel us as the disc 
goes on. This band floors me and I want everyone to know it. WarHorse 
deserve everyone's  attention as we  head into 2001 and  their record 
gets released. Know the name, buy the disc. It's that simple.         


Witch-Hunt - _Souls Enshrouded Fire_  (X-Rated, November 2000)
by: Paul Schwarz  (8 out of 10)

Though the first  impressions created by the  relatively lo-fi, badly 
balanced sound seemed  to suggest Witch-Hunt were  headed for another 
anti-climax (see their _Prophecies of  a Great Plague_ EP [CoC #25]), 
_SEF_ as an album is  actually pretty damned impressive. Witch-Hunt's 
breadth of  expression and talent for  melody-weaving and songwriting 
is  almost  as  pleasantly  free  in  its  choice  of  expression  as 
Gardenian's impressive _Soulburner_ [CoC #43] effort of last year. It 
all goes to show that time and effort can really pay off. Three years 
ago Witch-Hunt  were easy to dismiss  as a serious concern;  now they 
are getting  somewhere. It seems that  it is once again  necessary to 
forgive an underground act their rubbish name, some bad grammar and a 
terrible album cover, and instead concentrate on the music they make. 
_Souls Enshrouded  Fire_ has  individual merit and  charisma. Lurking 
within its dark, obscure atmosphere there is considerable potential.  


Wynjara - _Wynjara_  (Nocturnal Art Productions, October 2000)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (7 out of 10)

An American death metal band with an Australian Aboriginal word for a 
name releasing  an album through Norway's  Nocturnal Art Productions? 
Well, NAP releasing a death metal  album is hardly something I'm used 
to in  the first  place, and  I was  quite curious  to find  out what 
was  so special  about  Wynjara  that turned  them  into a  seemingly 
exceptional case for the Norwegian  label. If not the doom/death-like 
Scorpions cover included in this disc,  then what? Most likely it was 
the  fact that  Wynjara tend  to sound  somewhat different  from most 
other bands in the genre. They  use a drum machine competently enough 
to  make sure  it  doesn't become  a problem  and  have a  relatively 
unusual guitar style on top of  that; furthermore, there is plenty of 
variation throughout  the record  in terms of  both style  and tempo. 
Occasional instrumental  tracks and  passages (including  some rather 
subdued and acoustic ones) add more variety and length to the record: 
some sound like  they're adding some of the former,  others just more 
of the  latter. Overall, there seems  to be a bit  too much mid-paced 
chugging riffage going  on for this 53 minute long  album's own good, 
but  with  the variety  and  technicality  on offer  here,  Wynjara's 
self-titled  release should  be  well  worth a  try  for death  metal 
addicts.                                                              

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

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

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


All Is Suffering - _All Is Suffering '00_  (5-track demo)
by: Adrian Bromley  (****-)

Wading deep down  in a pool of muck and  darkened realms of obscurity 
is the  work of  All Is  Suffering, a  highly effective  and darkened 
death metal  act. This band just  seems to pool all  of its resources 
from the  weak and  helpless and  watch it  grow into  this monstrous 
battering ram. This  powerful death metal outfit has  secured a solid 
and abrasive  sound that bands rarely  can achieve with a  demo tape. 
This is raw, unkind and no doubt meant for those who like to get more 
than just speed  and fancy riffs from their metal  music. I recommend 
this demo  to all those  metal fans out there  who want to  be thrown 
into a world of chaos and disorder. Those willing to take a few bumps 
and bruises as the pits of Hell  open up and all Hell breaks loose. A 
scary sounding record that goes the distance with its sheer brutality 
and uneasiness. Another  great band from the state  of Maryland, that 
also brought us acts Lucifer and Dying Fetus. Incredibly cool.        

Contact: 4220 Solomons Isle Rd., St. Leonard, MD 20605, USA
         mailto:dismob@hotmail.com


Aphotic - _Aphotic_  (5-track demo)
by: David Rocher  (*****)

When  casting  a  first  listen   to  Aphotic's  gentle,  grave,  and 
melancholic music,  the first question  which springs to the  mind is 
"why  -the  hell- aren't  these  guys  signed?!" The  eponymous  demo 
_Aphotic_ contains five  tracks of melancholic, dark  and slow metal, 
very  reminiscent of  masters Katatonia  on _Brave  Murder Day_,  and 
although this  band can  not as of  yet claim to  delve as  deep into 
sorrowful emotions as Katatonia  once did, Aphotic's compositions are 
breathtakingly  moody,  fantastically  efficient and  of  enrapturing 
beauty in their "ordinary" moments,  and are massively enthralling at 
their best,  such as on  the magnificent track "Psycoma"  -- probably 
one  of the  best dark,  forlorn metal  tracks I've  heard in  a long 
time. Although  I inevitably  end up holding  a grudge  against bands 
preferring drum machines to human beings, Aphotic use this element to 
its fullest,  and actually succeed  in turning  what could be  a weak 
point into an instrument of cold, calculated rhythmic exactness. This 
American  trio have  a powerful,  meaningful form  of music  conjured 
here, and if  they prove to rise towards the  heights of "Psycoma" or 
"Livid  Dread" on  their forthcoming  material, they  have more  than 
their fair chance to become one  of the most significant and followed 
acts out in their own, darkened realms.                               

Contact: Aphotic, P.O. Box 8236, Green Bay, WI 5408-2030, USA


Bride Adorned - _The Grey Eminence_  (4-track demo)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (*****)

The Rhapsody shirt  on one of the  members in the group  photo may be 
rather  revealing  of  the  band's influences,  but  Bride  Adorned's 
mixture of  power metal and  somewhat Therion-like chants  worked far 
better for  me than I  initially expected. This Finnish  band, whilst 
technically  very good  and able  to  create some  fine melodies  and 
arrangements,  fortunately seems  quite concerned  with not  allowing 
technicality  to  become  needlessly   flashy  or  melody  to  become 
annoyingly repetitive (even if their band name may not suggest that). 
The instrumental  side flows very well  and is greatly enhanced  by a 
choir that  consists of four  male and  four female voices.  The song 
structures  are  generally  interesting (particularly  on  the  title 
track) and  production is very  good for a  demo CD. The  whole thing 
could  of course  have sounded  a lot  darker for  my taste,  but the 
choirs  and inventive  instrumental  sections ensure  that _The  Grey 
Eminence_ does not end up a boring piece of standard power metal, nor 
is it a  cheerful-sounding one within its genre. The  sheer amount of 
work that appears to have gone into the making of this demo is indeed 
remarkable per se. Add  that to the fact that even though  I am not a 
power metal fan I still enjoyed this  demo, and I don't think you can 
ask any more from a -demo- release.                                   

Contact: mailto:brideadorned@hotmail.com
         http://brideadorned.cjb.net


Forlorn Legacy - _Omega_  (5-track MP3 demo)
by: Brian Meloon  (****-)

Forlorn Legacy  bill themselves  as the "premiere  Croatian technical 
death metal band". While that may  be true, the word "technical" is a 
bit  of  a stretch.  Forlorn  Legacy  are  a  good band,  but  overly 
technical they're  not. This demo  is their third effort  since 1996, 
and is  available in MP3  format from  their webpage. Their  style is 
pretty  typical death  metal, with  good musicianship,  above average 
guitar solos, some  clean vocals and some melodic  sections. In other 
words, it's not  very different from what a lot  of other bands (such 
as Shadows Fall)  are doing these days. However, the  band are pretty 
good at the style,  and with the right break, I  could see them being 
signed shortly. They usually strike a nice balance between melody and 
brutality, though I'd like to see a little more diversity in terms of 
riff styles. The  sections seem to be either melodic  or brutal, with 
little in  the way of a  middle ground. The production  is top notch: 
clear and appropriate for the  music. The band are currently planning 
a new release. With some improvement, and a further refining of their 
style,  they could  be  quite good.  As  it is,  this  demo is  worth 
checking out if you have the bandwidth.                               

Contact: http://forlorn_legacy.tripod.com


Habeas Corpus - _Crucified_  (5-track demo)
by: Adrian Bromley  (**---)

Veteran California thrash/death metal  act Habeas Corpus (they formed 
in 1989) have released numerous demos  over the years, though this is 
the first  time I  received something from  them. The  five-song demo 
tape starts off with a  lengthy sample for Steven Spielberg's "Saving 
Private Ryan"  (does he know about  this?) and kicks right  into this 
blistering rush of thrashing metal.  Solid production and deep growls 
keep this sucker  afloat, though the music is a  bit cliche. The band 
are good  musicians, I mean, they  have been around longer  than most 
bands, so they should be, but I don't really see much else than that. 
No new ground  is really covered with Crucified. You'd  think that by 
now the  band would have  something to offer  us. I guess  this would 
have  been real  big back  in 1989  when that  whole scene  was still 
vibrant. Things  didn't catch on then  and I'm not sure  it will now. 
Who knows? I may be wrong.                                            

Contact: Dark Horse Entertainment, 724 Cottonwood Street #225,
         Woodland, CA 95695, USA
         mailto:habeascorpus_666@hotmail.com
         http://www.angelfire.com/tx4/habeas/


Scorched-Earth Policy - _Boot-Camp Demo 2000_  (4-track demo)
by: Adrian Bromley  (****-)

Having liked their  last offering titled _Tones  of Ambivalence XCIX_ 
[CoC #40], I was  excited to hear what new sounds  the band was going 
to push  for with the  new _Boot-Camp Demo  2000_. Just how  would it 
stack up?  Well, it is  safe to say that  the band's latest  batch of 
material  is a  powerful set  of strong,  highly balanced  songs with 
steady  rhythms  and  heavy  guitar riffs.  Some  definite  Bay  Area 
influences  are apparent,  as  the band  rifles  through such  killer 
numbers as "Come  Clean" and the heavy "Politics". The  band no doubt 
is painting their take on society with each number, but it is kind of 
cool  how  they have  managed  to  stay  heavy and  deliver  numerous 
messages with their  music. Tight, fast and in need  of being signed, 
Scorched-Earth Policy is the real  deal when it comes to thrash/speed 
metal. It seems the Bay Area has struck again. Support SEP!           

Contact: 6168 Park Blvd. Oakland, CA 94602, USA
         mailto:mlamb@presol.com
         http://www.scorched-earthpolicy.com


Tomorrow - _Illusions We Live By_  (5-track demo)
by: Alex Cantwell  (***--)

Pretty rockin'  stuff from  these hardcore undergrounders.  The riffs 
are simple  but the songs are  emotional and good. The  vocals are of 
the  raspy  variety, but  definitely  need  to  be smoothed  out  and 
refined.  This is  a young  band who  probably has  not been  playing 
together for a  long time, and as  such are a fairly  tight unit, but 
they  will need  to pay  more attention  to detail  when constructing 
their  songs  in the  future,  methinks.  I  suppose  the way  I  can 
summarize their sound  is to slap the term "alt-core"  out there, and 
it's really not bad stuff at  all. The CD will include two additional 
tracks and  is available for  a measly $4  from Tyler Cassley  at the 
address below.                                                        

Contact: Tomorrow, 7319 Silver Mead Rd NW,
         Calgary, AB T3B-3VI, Canada


Unevil Hopes - _Pretranscendental_  (5-track demo)
by: Adrian Bromley  (**---)

Having just reviewed the band's split  demo with Bealiah [CoC #49], I 
kind of knew what to  expect with this keyboard-oriented, atmospheric 
act. I must admit this work is a bit better, maybe a bit more focused 
than the last record or an older  review I did [_As the Light Crushed 
the Darkness_  demo in CoC #46],  but it still sounds  like something 
Burzum would  be working on.  The music  is simple, but  effective at 
times, managing to stay  true to the pattern of ideas  it sets out to 
bring forth with the music. While I now have a few demos of this band 
lying around,  I can say that  even all of the  work combined doesn't 
really make a solid work to play on your stereo. The ideas are there, 
I  just think  the Unevil  Hopes needs  to shape  the emotions  a bit 
tighter and  aim for something  really lasting. Lacklustre  work like 
this goes unnoticed most of the time, so I think the band is lucky we 
here at CoC at least give it a chance.                                

Contact: Unevil Hopes, 28/4 Marata, St. Petersburg 19140, Russia
         mailto:unevil@eudoramail.com

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


    B E L A T E D   T A L E S   O F   T H E   U N E X P E C T E D
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
	    CoC haunts Morbid Angel, Enslaved, The Crown,
		   Dying Fetus, Behemoth and Hypnos
	  in l'Olympic, Nantes (France), December 19th, 2000
			   by: David Rocher


     To  awaken the  familiar  ghost named  "poor organisation"  that 
usually  lurks  around underground  metal  gigs,  well, this  day  is 
going  to  be  remembered  as  a pretty  classy  appearance  of  this 
not-very-unearthly phenomenon. With the  concert room doors initially 
meant to open  at 5:30pm, many extreme metal addicts  from lands afar 
(including  yours truly)  had made  sure to  turn up  at 4:30,  so as 
not  to  miss any  bands...  which  basically  then  left us  a  full 
two-and-a-half hours  to relish  to the  taste of  cheap watered-down 
beer at an  adjacent bar, as the Olympic's doors  in fact only opened 
at 7:15pm.                                                            
     The  best was  yet to  come: about  one minute  after the  doors 
opened,  Hypnos arrived  on stage,  and obviously  faced a  virtually 
empty room, as  the one thousand plus  attending metalheads gradually 
started flooding the concert hall.                                    
     This of course  just goes to say that I  barely managed to catch 
the last  ten minutes of  Hypnos' set --  but don't go  thinking I've 
lost any sleep about it. All  Hypnos succeeded in doing, in the space 
of  three songs  flat, was  proving they  were distinctly  nothing to 
write  home about  -- another  decent but  dully-glowing death/thrash 
buoy bobbing around an already  hopelessly saturated sea. The closing 
track to their set, however, "In Blood  We Trust", was a cut above in 
terms  of quality  and  "kickassness", featuring  cool leads,  catchy 
rhythms  and shedding  a  good  deal of  intensity  onto the  growing 
audience. But  the concert was  running late already, so  Hypnos were 
mercilessly shunted off the scene  as the roadies, with the concert's 
massive belatedness in mind, frantically started preparing Behemoth's 
equipment.                                                            
     Five minutes later indeed, the Polish quartet invaded the stage, 
and  kicked in  fast, hard,  and  with murderous  precision into  the 
glorious _Satanica_ opener, "Decade of Oepion", before moving on into 
an array  of material from  their new meisterwerk _Thelema.6_.  I had 
placed  great expectations  in Behemoth  this evening,  and the  band 
flawlessly lived  up to these,  as they covered material  from almost 
the  whole  of their  career,  looming  as  far  back as  _Grom_  and 
_Sventevith: Storming Near the Baltic_.  The show they delivered, led 
by the energetic and charismatic  vocalist Nergal, was metal 'til the 
very end,  and entertaining  to the  extreme; the  audience responded 
accordingly, chanting  the band's name and  roaring with satisfaction 
after each track -- hmm, maybe Morbid Angel (as I will broach further 
down) should consider taking lessons with these guys!                 
     As  Behemoth   left  the   stage  after  an   elating  half-hour 
performance, roadies once  again suddenly arose from  the shadows and 
got down  to frantic work  to prepare Dying  Fetus' arrival. As  I am 
definitely no  aficionado of this band,  I can hardly comment  on the 
quality  of  the live  renditions  they  delivered; I  can,  however, 
certify that Dying Fetus were massively heavy, totally extreme and as 
wildly  entertaining as  they could  get, even  though I  had trouble 
telling one  song from another after  a while -- I  did recognise two 
tracks from their  catchy effort _Killing on  Adrenaline_, and that's 
about all I could really make  out. Sound and playing were both cool, 
and the  best point was you  could tell that, similarly  to Behemoth, 
Dying Fetus  were really having fun  up there, as the  crowd writhed, 
swirled and sweated to the grinding blasts of their music.            
     Dying Fetus then left the stage to make space for The Crown, and 
this  is  where I  started  getting  -really-  twitchy. I  have  been 
following The Crown since the time of their 1993 demo _Forever Heaven 
Gone_, and will  unabashedly declare that they were  -the- only other 
band  -- Behemoth  being the  first  of these  -- that  I was  really 
waiting for  that night.  Admittedly, I was  more than  just slightly 
eager to  see Morbid Angel live,  but to some extent,  I somehow knew 
that  if the  Americans  would  certainly provide  professional-level 
entertainment -- which they didn't,  actually --, the Swedes would be 
out for blood -- which they were, totally!                            
     And indeed,  The Crown  were undoubtedly,  that night,  the band 
which wreaked  the most havoc  among the audience, and  fittingly got 
the very best imaginable response from the crowd. Beginning their set 
with the  killer opener "Deathrace  King", the rabid  quintet covered 
material  from  all  of  their albums,  including  their  debut  _The 
Burning_ ("Of  Good and  Evil") and its  sequel _Eternal  Death_ (the 
devastating  opener  "Angels Die"  and  "Beautiful  Evil Soul").  The 
coolest,  most elating  feature with  this band  is just  how totally 
fucking  -metal- they  are --  in fact,  the whole  band look  like a 
quintet of  Swedish sales  reps in  '80s thrash  paraphernalia... but 
gone -completely- brutal; and as to the actual quality of their music 
and performance  -- oh,  man! Vocalist  Johan Lindstrand's  voice was 
absolutely -incredible-, literally oozing  with utter aggression, and 
skinsman supreme Janne Sarenpaa put  on an incredible show, providing 
some of the most precise,  intense and thunderous drumming I've heard 
in a  -long- time. The string  section's work was also  flawless, and 
the  whole 45  minutes of  the show  just seemed  to blow  by like  a 
totally savage maelstrom  of metal! The Crown made  a totally amazing 
appearance that  night and,  beyond all  doubt to  me, were  the true 
headliners -- hell yeah!                                              
     As The  Crown left the  stage, seeming quite satisfied  with the 
incredible  chaos  they'd  strewn  among the  audience,  the  frantic 
roadies  once again  got  down  to settling  a  new  world record  in 
lightspeed drumkit  installations, and  pretty much  succeeded, since 
Enslaved took to the stage within a mere ten minutes.                 
     And a mere ten  minutes is also what it took  Enslaved to put me 
off, as  their show just  didn't work on me.  I had just  been keeled 
over  by a  searing,  hammering blast  session,  and the  Norwegians' 
renditions of  their latest  material just  couldn't claim  to match. 
I've mildly lost track of Enslaved  since they moved into their "new" 
style  with  _Blodhemn_,  and  their  show just  failed  to  whet  my 
appetite. It's all about chemistry,  really, I thought to myself, and 
therefore decided to  go downstairs to the bar to  give my eardrums a 
rest, and the dubious chemically invaded local ale another try.       
     About  three  quarters  of  an  hour  later,  the  bar  suddenly 
got  crowded, clearly  revealing that  Enslaved were  done, and  that 
headliners  Morbid  Angel were  soon  to  appear  on stage  and  kick 
everyone's asses  blue and  black. At least  that's what  I supposed, 
having overheard the rather dramatic statement that Morbid Angel live 
were  as good  as... Slayer.  Ah, over-emphatic  fan talk  -- there's 
nothing  like it.  Anyway, the  lights  dimmed, the  quartet took  to 
the  stage as  "Kawazu",  the intro  to  _Gateways to  Annihilation_, 
played,  announcing  a live  rendition  of  the awesome  opener  "The 
Summoning". Morbid  Angel played this  very faithfully to  the album, 
were  technically  stunning  and  murderously  precise,  but  already 
something was wrong -- why the  hell was Pete Sandoval playing in the 
dark, while Trey  Azagthoth was already bathing in an  aura of golden 
lighting  effects? Wordlessly,  the band  then moved  on to  play "To 
the  Victor,  the Spoils"  and  some  other  track off  their  rather 
unconvincing sixth  chapter _Formulas  Fatal to  the Flesh_,  both of 
which received a slightly less heated welcome than the previous track 
had, before bassist  and grunter Steve Tucker  announced the glorious 
"Day of Suffering", which worked  like a massive intravenous surge of 
napalm  laced  with  adrenaline  on  the whole  of  the  audience  -- 
proof, in  my humble  opinion (and  if proof  was ever  needed), that 
Morbid Angel's  post-David Vincent new  material just can't  claim to 
unleash the  same compelling, apocalyptic darkness  as Morbid Angel's 
pre-_Domination_ tracks.                                              
     Unrelenting, the band then offered perfectly-timed renditions of 
"Thy Kingdom Come", "Rapture", "Pain Divine", "Lord of All Fevers and 
Plague" and more material off their various releases; Pete Sandoval's 
drumming was  awesome, Erik Rutan  and Steve Tucker's playing  was in 
perfect timing,  but the  most eye-catching  phenomenon on  stage was 
undoubtedly  Trey  Azagthoth.  All  throughout the  set,  his  guitar 
work  was absolutely  enrapturing, and  all his  stance and  attitude 
irradiated a  genuinely mesmerising bizarreness which,  combined with 
his incredible  dexterity, made  for a  series of  rather tantalising 
guitar demonstrations.                                                
     However, with this very idealistic  description penned, and as I 
readily  have mumbled  about before,  all these  individual qualities 
just couldn't save Morbid Angel's show from the general impression of 
dull boredom that  gradually settled in with the  whole audience; the 
Americans' live performance  just didn't seem to -work-  on more than 
five percent of their own fans, and this date in fact soon turned out 
to be a rather blunt,  unexciting and motionless moment -- especially 
when compared  to the  massive, murderous adrenaline  surges Behemoth 
and The Crown had provided that evening!                              
     Bored and  blase, I  actually left  the room  before the  end of 
Morbid's  rather unconvinced  encore,  during which  they stabbed  at 
"Chapel of Ghouls", "Maze of Torment" and some excerpt from _Formulas 
Fatal to the  Flesh_. All in all, Morbid Angel's  show was a definite 
disappointment to  me, but  also provided some  further incontestable 
evidence  that the  band  has  lost a  lot  more,  in the  worryingly 
obfuscous  person  of David  Vincent,  than  a technically  competent 
and  genuinely motivated  bassist and  vocalist --  with this  unholy 
departure, Morbid Angel  have simply been deprived  of that essential 
component in their music that was dark, choking and unearthly.        

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

		  C A N A D I A N    C A R N A G E !
		  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
	     Cryptopsy, Solus, Rotting and Horde of Worms
	    play The Kathedral in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
			on November 10th 2000
			   by: Adam Wasylyk


     A  fine assemblage  of all-Canadian  bands with  an unexpectedly 
huge turnout  made this show  one of the  best in Toronto  this year. 
Indie Canadian talent and the internationally recognized brutality of 
Quebec's Cryptopsy made this show one  to remember; it wasn't as much 
a great show  but more a statement proving the  strength of our local 
scene. There's  no doubt that the  show being held on  a Friday night 
had something to do with the large crowd on hand, but the sole reason 
they were here was obvious.                                           
     Opening the show  was Toronto's Horde of Worms,  one of Canada's 
brightest talents in the death/black genre. With both metal music and 
smoke machine turned on full blast, the Horde turned out a great set; 
playing  material from  their self-titled  release from  a couple  of 
years ago,  tracks from their last  CD _Dreams and Dying  Eyes_ and a 
couple of new ones from their  upcoming release. With drum machine in 
tow, they are  one of the few bands who  can successfully utilize one 
and not  come off sounding weak  or just plain ridiculous.  The crowd 
rightfully showed their appreciation for their heavy, energetic set.  
     Markham's  Rotting  delivered  a  mighty  set  of  brutal  death 
metal, proving  they should be  counted among  the best in  this most 
underground and  lethal sub-genre  of metal.  Pouring out  blast beat 
after blast beat with crushing riffs cushioned in between, songs like 
"Fisted Sisters",  "Homosexual Grave  Robber" and "Stomped  to Death" 
delighted many  on hand, causing the  rare mosh pit for  a local band 
(Torontonians don't  seem to mosh  to local bands, for  some reason). 
Showcasing material  off their upcoming _The  Original Christcrusher_ 
album (on United  Guttural), there's no wonder to how  this band have 
made a name for themselves, and will inevitably continue to do so.    
     Toronto's Solus sport a metal sound  I'm not too fond of, and on 
this night  they failed  to get a  rise out of  me. Solus'  sound has 
always been  open to interpretation; they  are a band whose  sound is 
hard to nail  down or pigeonhole, which in turn  may be their biggest 
problem. Black  or death metal  fans may find  the music of  Solus to 
be  weak,  while traditional  heavy  metal  fans  would find  it  too 
aggressive, so what's left is a small cross section of metal fans who 
could find  them palatable or  challenging. During one song  of their 
set I thought I heard some  black metal-like riffing, so naturally my 
ears perked  up, but  their ability  to hold  my attention  wasn't to 
last. Disappointingly timid.                                          
     Cryptopsy always know  how to put on a show.  Mike DiSalvo paces 
the stage  like a  caged tiger,  delivering his  vocals in  his usual 
pissed-off manner. Flo Mounier without  fail, show after show, proves 
he's one of the best death metal drummers of all time. The riffs that 
come forth from  newcomer of Alex Auburn and  longtime axeslinger Jon 
Levasseur are always  a treat to hear, not to  mention the great bass 
touches from Eric Langlois. Each member of the band has a distinctive 
role  in  delivering the  sheer  brutality  of  this music  to  their 
fans  and,  in my  experience,  they've  never disappointed.  Playing 
tracks like  "Defenestration", "Phobophile",  "White Worms"  and some 
devastating material off their new  album _And Then You'll Beg_ prove 
why they're considered Canada's best band. And who am I to argue with 
the metal majority? To put it simply: I concur.                       

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

		SATANIC SWEDES AND CHUGGING CANADIANS
		~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
	      Dark Funeral, Blood of Christ and Endless
	    play The Kathedral in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
			on November 13th 2000
			   by: Adam Wasylyk


     With my ears still ringing  from the Cryptopsy show the previous 
Friday, it was time  yet again to make the long trek  out to T.O. for 
the sake  of metal.  Having seen  three shows in  the past  couple of 
weeks  (all  with good  attendance),  each  of  them testify  to  the 
strength the Toronto metal scene has garnered over the past couple of 
years.  Monday is  a tough  night  for a  show, but  the black  metal 
diehards along  with the simply  curious were  on hand to  lend their 
support. Let the metal begin!                                         
     This time  around, a different  set of Canadian bands  opened up 
the night's festivities. Up first  were Endless, who were, or played, 
a  set that  seemed  endless.  The "chugga  chugga"  guitar sound  is 
-so- played,  Entombed and/or  Dismember should be  receiving royalty 
payments from  these guys. And it  didn't help that the  drummer kept 
the same  beat in nearly  every song,  rarely getting to  a mid-paced 
speed and  instead miring their  music in monotonous beats.  If these 
simply injected some speed into their music there would be potential, 
but it's just too slow and weak.                                      
     It's almost criminal  that Endless are signed  to Pavement while 
the infinitely  better Blood of  Christ are presently  an independent 
band.  Blending the  best  elements  of death  and  black metal  with 
occasional  acoustic  passages  makes  this  band  a  true  original. 
Elements of bands like Morbid Angel and Enslaved can be heard in some 
of the  riffs, while the  vocals are nicely diversified,  touching on 
growls,  shrieks  and  clean  spoken  passages.  Playing  an  equally 
powerful  set as  they  did  opening for  Macabre  [see last  issue], 
it's  always a  treat  to  see these  guys  play.  Anyone looking  to 
discover some great underground talent,  check out their web site at: 
http://members.nbci.com/bloodofchrst/                                 
     I'll be  the first to  admit I've never been  a big fan  of Dark 
Funeral. I've  always found  that their  brutal black  metal approach 
pales in comparison  to other Swedish acts like  Marduk, Setherial or 
In Battle,  but I was surprisingly  impressed by the high  quality of 
material played,  with great  sound to boot.  Songs like  "Shadows of 
Transylvania",  "The Secrets  of the  Black Arts",  "Bloodfrozen" and 
"Vobiscum Satanas" were performed with  dark efficiency that only our 
lord Satan can  inspire. The drumming was among the  best and fastest 
I've ever  heard from  a live  band; they  totally crushed!  The only 
negative point from  their set would have to be  the corpse paint job 
on guitarist Lord Ahriman. You might as well put one of those big red 
fuzzy balls on the end of his nose and call him a clown, and leave it 
at that. I've  always had a fear  of clowns -- I think  it stems from 
childhood viewings  of Poltergeist, and  I'm sure that  serial killer 
John Wayne Gacy had something to do with that too. Point being, there 
are both evil clowns and  goofy looking ones. Lord Ahriman definitely 
finds himself in the latter. 'Nuff said.                              

     Lessons learned:

     1) In the future I will try to arrive at shows late when Endless 
        are on the bill.                                                      

     2) If  I ever  need corpse  paint lessons,  steer clear  of Lord 
        Ahriman for tips.                                                     

     3) Scandinavian  black metal must not  be missed in a  town near 
        you. You've been warned.                                              

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  @@@  @@@  @@@ @@@@@@@  @@@ @@@@@@@ @@@@@@@@ @@@@@@@   @@  @@@@@@
  @@!  @@!  @@! @@!  @@@ @@!   @@!   @@!      @@!  @@@ !@  !@@
  @!!  !!@  @!@ @!@!!@!  !!@   @!!   @!!!:!   @!@!!@!       !@@!!
   !:  !!:  !!  !!: :!!  !!:   !!:   !!:      !!: :!!          !:!
    ::.:  :::    :   : : :      :    : :: :::  :   : :     ::.: :

          @@@  @@@  @@@ @@@@@@@   @@@@@@  @@@@@@@ @@@  @@@
          @@!  @@!  @@! @@!  @@@ @@!  @@@   @@!   @@!  @@@
          @!!  !!@  @!@ @!@!!@!  @!@!@!@!   @!!   @!@!@!@!
           !:  !!:  !!  !!: :!!  !!:  !!!   !!:   !!:  !!!
            ::.:  :::    :   : :  :   : :    :     :   : :

Here is where things get ugly. Writer's Wrath  gives  our  writers  a
chance to voice their own opinions about certain hot  topics  in  the
scene  today.  Check  out  this  column  for  the  most  obscene  and
controversial ramblings this side of the National Enquirer.


	       T H E   F O U R   M U S C o C T E E R S
	       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
			   by: Paul Schwarz


     Last year,  at the dawn  of Summer, the European  CoC contingent 
decided to co-ordinate  a meet. David Rocher's abode  in Brittany was 
chosen,  not only  because it  was  so hospitably  offered, but  also 
because it was the most central of our homes. Pedro was in England at 
this  time and  Matthias in  his  native Germany.  However, though  I 
usually reside  in England and could  have taken a train  directly to 
the meeting point in Rennes (the  large city close to David's home in 
Breteil), mine  ultimately proved to  be the most complex  journey. I 
was  to visit  my relatives  in  Bielefeld, Germany  in the  selfsame 
Easter break,  and so I decided  to take the train  from Bielefeld to 
Frankfurt, meet  Matthias and then  make the roadtrip to  Rennes with 
him.  Here's  the  first  part  of  my  story  of  the  European  CoC 
contingent's first meet.                                              
     The idea  of this piece is  not only to convey  the narrative of 
what occurred --  some of which is amusing and  interesting in itself 
--, but to  relate what made us  laugh, think and argue  over the few 
excellent days we had together. It was  a very full few days: full of 
great music,  food, jokes, discussions  and arguments, and  even some 
"sightseeing". We enjoyed it a lot and thought some of you would find 
it interesting and/or  amusing as well. A lot happened,  and I hope I 
can convey as much of it and  as much of the -feeling- as is possible 
through this  article. I'd like  to hear  any feedback you  have, not 
only for my interest but also to know whether it would be worth doing 
more of  these kinds  of things  for CoC. The  next two  (or possibly 
three) instalments should  follow in the next two or  three issues of 
CoC if all goes to plan. For  now, enjoy this first chronicle of last 
year's few days of congregated European chaos.                        


Episode 1: THE BESTIAL DEVASTATION OF FRANKFURT
           ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Words From One Who Knows So Much About Nothing At All *(1)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     Three  changes of  train,  some interesting  countryside, and  a 
complaint from a moustachioed (but not thrash-tashed...) German about 
the volume of  the Russians playing Swedish death metal  into my ears 
later, and my  trip from Bielefeld to Frankfurt  is finally complete. 
Once  down the  platform,  I expect  to meet  our  own shaven  headed 
metal  monk  Matthias  Noll  and  afterwards  speedily  head  off  to 
the  (relatively) wild,  (relatively) untamed  Breton countryside  to 
rendezvous with fellow  EuroCoCers David Rocher and  Pedro Azevedo at 
the former's abode.                                                   
     However, Matthias was  nowhere to be found --  though his choice 
of  haircut, it  soon  becomes evident,  is  irritatingly popular  in 
Deutschland, a  fact which led to  many a false alarm.  Changing into 
the o-so-late-'80s Sepultura shirt that  Matthias kindly gave me when 
he visited Britain, I managed to  create some minor mass hypnosis via 
the awful artwork, but nothing that  got me any closer to finding the 
garment's original  owner. After pottering  about and waiting  at the 
station's meeting  point for a  while, I realized that  something had 
obviously gone wrong: someone had fucked up; I hoped it wasn't me. My 
next problem I had only myself  to blame for: I'd forgotten Matthias' 
contact details! I trawled through the Frankfurt phone directories to 
no avail.  I called  my parents in  Bielefeld to see  if they  and my 
relatives could help. They couldn't, and my frustration, which I took 
out  on the  phone box,  drew the  unwanted attention  of two  of the 
security  police  --  extremely  intense  looking,  moustachioed  and 
beret-clad fellows looking  for all the world like  a bizarre amalgam 
of Peter  Sellers' Inspecteur Clouseau  and Saddam Hussein --  whom I 
had to  placate before continuing my  search. I went to  the Internet 
cafe, connected to the CoC website, and e-mailed Matthias from there, 
not  expecting this  last-resort  to work.  Being  at work,  Matthias 
answered almost instantaneously, and was soon on his way to the train 
station. So  who fucked up?  Me: I arrived  a day early!  Thus, after 
playing apology tennis  for a while -- an uneasy  game which Matthias 
thankfully  halted with  the sensible  statement: "We  both know  the 
other's sorry,  shall we just both  stop saying it?" --  Matthias was 
back finishing his  day at work and I was  sitting comfortably in the 
Metal Meat Market of Matthias'  spacious living room with pizza, coke 
and some mid-'80s metal mags, in addition to a very substantial music 
collection.                                                           

*(1) Well, according to Chuck Schuldiner ("The Philosopher",
     _Individual Thought Patterns_), at least.


Are You Not Entertained?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     I  am  sure  I  could  have  spent  a  few  days,  maybe  weeks, 
discovering the treasures hidden in the proverbial trove Matthias had 
left me in. I started by checking out Saxon's _Wheels of Fire_ -- I'd 
never heard the band before. After perusing the CDs on offer, I moved 
onto looking through the vinyl. Original vinyl collections are great: 
they have  a two-pronged attraction.  On the  one hand there  are the 
classic albums and  stunning gatefold editions to marvel  at. On this 
score,  I  cursed  Matthias'  name  as I  leafed  with  the  greatest 
care through  his gatefold  Possessed _Beyond  the Gates_,  and quite 
literally  dropped  my pen  as  I  unearthed Slayer's  _Haunting  the 
Chapel_ EP. The  other attraction is the awful bands,  band names and 
album covers that never made it  out of the vinyl era, which includes 
some comedy classics of  forgotten albums and before-they-were-famous 
relics by known  artists. Thus did I see Rob  Flynn sporting a Voivod 
t-shirt and  showing me  his pants through  trousers more  holes than 
denim on  the reverse  of one  of those  early Vio-Lence  albums, and 
Marty Friedman  posing in poodle-permed anti-glory  with Jason Becker 
on the  cover of their _Speed  Metal Symphony_ record under  the name 
Cacophony (labelled a "guitar hand job  LP" by Dave Reynolds of Metal 
Forces) --  and if it's possible  to cram more trills  into an album, 
I'd like to see how.                                                  
     Saxon finished, and Voivod's abrasive _War and Pain_ debut went
on -- then God intervened. The church bells from across the street
began to chime and chime and chime, making it utterly impossible to
listen to anything but their prominent knell. As I waited, I began
really cracking into the metal mags. Metal Forces #26 was first on my
list, for the simple reason that one of its contributors, Mike Exley,
works in a second hand CD store near my house and, until recently, was
publishing his own 'zine, Firefight. I was interested to read Mike's
opinions circa 1987. Metal Forces #26 provides much to laugh at, and I
don't just mean the kitsch pictures of bands like Infernal Majesty,
Tyrant (I don't think I've seen more than four -women- who've managed
to use that much make-up and hairspray!), Rated X, Tough or Rebel --
I'll try and get some scans linked to the CoC website ASAP. No, the
-reviews section- was almost equally comedic. And amusingly enough for
me some of the most humour-inducing opinions were Mike's. Venom's
_Calm Before the Storm_ (receiving a score of 95 out of 100) -- which
no-one to my knowledge now regards as a Venom classic, and many fans,
our own Matthias Noll for example, thought was a bit rubbish -- Mike
claimed was "the definitive Venom release". He felt that "the band are
so energetic this time I'd go so far as to say that all their old fans
will come running back as soon as they hear this...". They didn't,
they waited until ten years later and 1997's _Cast in Stone_ to the
best of my knowledge. However, Mike's crowning glory in comedy value
comes in his review of Infernal Majesty's _None Shall Defy_ (80/100),
where he makes the highly critical comment: "I could only find two
tracks which really sent me storming for the old guitar without
strings in the corner of my room...". OK, hands up anyone who has a
guitar without strings purposefully placed in the corner of their room
for shameless air guitar antics? Personally, I'm fine with just my
hands...
     The church bells had long finished, Voivod had been replaced by
Entombed's _Uprising_, and yet Metal Forces was still proving
interesting and amusing in good measure. Names like Mark Palmer (now
head of Roadrunner UK) and Borigov Krigin (well-known for his
patronage of Sepultura) turned up to my exclamation. In a review of
Celtic Frost live in London, Mike Exeley mentioned two new post-_Into
the Pandemonium_ songs, "Jehad" and "Barrel of Fear", which were aired
-- I wondered what had happened to these songs since and why there was
no mention of them on Celtic Frost's exhaustive back catalogue
re-issue of last year.
     Returning to the reviews section, Carl Williams provided me with
a few more opinions of the time worth reflecting on as I slapped
Exciter's _Violence and Force_ onto the stereo. Try and guess what
release Carl's reviewing. "This is a band to challenge early Sodom and
Antichrist for the world's trashiest thrashers." OK, that's not an
easy one to narrow down; what if I said: "The vocals are awful and the
drumming is totally unintelligible". OK, fair enough, could be a lot
of releases. How about this one: "For the most part this is utter
crap, but there is the occasional rather good musical thing going on
underneath the mayhem." Yeah, OK, some people would say that about a
lot of metal releases, though I hasten to add that there -is- a
cryptic reference in that quote... Let's get more specific: "There is
a cover of Venom's "Witching Hour" included and I didn't recognise it
until the solo". Anyone got it yet? Well, if you haven't got it by
now, you should all get it after this next one -- or you need to
seriously improve your knowledge of -black metal- trivia: "There are
only 1,000 copies available...", I think you know... "so if you really
want to be revolted by the likes of "Necrolust" and "Pure Fucking
Armageddon" then you'll have to move fast." Yeah, it's Mayhem's first
vomit of vinyl, _Deathcrush_. The questions I had to ask were: would
Euronymous actually have been happy with that review? Was being
slagged off by the likes of Metal Forces exactly what he would have
wanted? Also, if Carl Williams continued in metal journalism into the
'90s, did he do an about turn when _De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas_ became
the thing to be listening to from the mysterious black metal
underground? Finally, see if this surprises you. What is "An LP chock
full of precise technical metal"? Necrophagia's _Season of the Dead_
(88/100), apparently -- I would not describe Necrophagia as fitting
that description at any point in their career.


Readying a Roady for a Roadtrip
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     I  suppose  you're wondering  what  (former)  roady I  might  be 
referring to:  Matthias Noll. Yes, Matthias  was a roady for  a while 
for Germany's Exhumer,  and if you've got a copy  of their _Possessed 
by Fire_ debut you can find a  picture of him when he still had metal 
hair, as opposed to just a metal heart -- though you'll probably need 
a  vinyl copy  to make  him out  in the  album's (obligatory)  thrash 
picture collage. Matthias'  past is also the reason why  he has a big 
Suicidal  Tendencies poster  from the  _Join  the Army_  tour in  his 
living room,  signed by all of  the band: Suicidal were  playing with 
Exhumer. I was jealous.                                               
     Matthias and I spent the evening laughing, talking and blowing
our ears out to some kick ass, some hilarious, and some rare musical
treats. Here are a couple of snapshots you might enjoy. Minidisced
from tape, Matthias has what is probably the first -ever- Destruction
live performance, which took place in Frankfurt in 1984, and which I
have tagged _Bestial Invasion of Frankfurt_. The "gig" was an
impromptu affair which took place at a Tankard/Sodom signing session /
gig affair. A few of Destruction's friends urged them onto stage and
they jammed out a handful of tracks, basically. As I heard, and
Matthias admitted, Destruction played awfully and didn't have the
greatest sound, but as you can kind of hear, and Matthias insists,
they had an energy which hooked the crowd. In fact, it seems that
Destruction were so "good" that a certain frontman of a certain other
German thrash act -- Obsessed by Cruelty at the time, it seems -- who
had already played and got a lukewarm response, was tactically tipping
over guitar cables seemingly in an effort to sabotage Destruction's
set... allegedly. It was an enthralling and hilarious experience to
hear _Bestial Invasion of Frankfurt_; Matthias certainly got a
reaction from me. I got much less of a reaction from playing Matthias
Apollyon Sun's _Sub_; I was hoping for shock, horror or at least mild
confusion at the direction Thomas Gabriel Fisher had taken since his
'Frost days from someone who has the Metal Massacre comp which first
featured Hellhammer -- well, you win some, you lose some.
     Testament's _The Legacy_ demo went on so that I could hear Steve
Souza's vocals, then Matthias, in a flash of inspiration, decided to
expose me to Rose Tatoo. I'd never realised before that "Nice Boys"
from Guns 'n' Roses' _Live Like a Suicide_ was not in fact their song:
more the fool me. I was impressed with Rose Tatoo, though I was more
impressed, and amused, with a little story Matthias told me about him
and his old-time metal buddies which ended up with them all standing
outside a cabin in the snow rocking out and playing air guitar to Rose
Tatoo.
     At a relatively early hour, we retired to our beds. We had a
long day of driving ahead of us and would have to be up early the next
day. I went to sleep with the thought that judging by how interesting
and fun it was hangin' out with just Matthias, all four of the
EuroCoCers hangin' out together should be absolutely excellent.
     That's all for now. Next month I'll continue my telling of the
meeting of our European CoC contingent.

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

	SPEAK ENGLISH OR DIE BECAUSE EVEN SATAN WEARS LEATHER
	~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
	    (A Look at German Metal Lyrics From the '80s)
			  by: Matthias Noll


     This is being  published in our Writer's Wrath  column, which is 
probably misleading because  this is about love and  not wrath... but 
here we go.                                                           
     The curse  of the compact  disc is that  I hardly ever  touch my 
vinyl these  days. Well,  once in  a while  I dig  out my  old record 
player and give the ancient ones  a spin or two. While recently going 
through my collection  of German thrash metal, the  brilliance of the 
lyrics left me breathless and I  hope you'll understand once you read 
further. Unfortunately,  most bands didn't  even bother with  a lyric 
sheet (I  would have loved to  see those of Deathrow  and Iron Angel) 
and therefore  this is  far from complete.  My admiration  belongs to 
those who dared to print what they were singing about.                

Love, Sex and... Violence
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     Even Germans do have feelings. And perhaps even more astounding: 
German bangers  do actually not only  like metal but sex  too. If you 
look at  their promotion photos,  it might  have been easier  to sing 
about the  latter than getting a  chance to really do  it. Sex Maniac 
and wannabe  guitar hero Axel  Rudi Pell (definitely a  specialist in 
female psychology) penned  the following lyrics for  his band Steeler 
(who weren't thrash but nevertheless had some mighty funny moments):  

"It's eight o clock and time to rock
 The woman's alone, no man she's got
 She stroke him down cause he was dead
 No more love and sex she said"
     (Steeler, "Love for Sale")

     Obviously driven  insane by unfulfilled sexual  desire, Pell let 
the story continue  with this example of Teutonic  love poetry (note: 
lila is the German word for purple: 

"Every night the time is right, to touch her cunt of fire
 Straps in black, lips in lila, knows my cool desire"
     (Steeler, "Call Her Princess")

     Even more romantic is what can  be found in the insane depths of 
Living Death's _Vengeance of Hell_ album:                             

"She was only fifteen, when I killed her screen
 But it wasn't bad, because she drove me mad
 Since these days, we go the way
 Whole life long we'll love us so strong"
     (Living Death, "Riding a Virgin")

     And,  in an  emotional  moment, Kreator  decided  to sing  about 
flowers.                                                              

"On a field littered with corpses
 Stands a lonely flower
 It reminds the world how it was
 But we kicked it away with power"
     (Kreator, "Riot of Violence")

     If there is  romance, then treachery is just  around the corner, 
and even the love machines from Living Death know about that (I don't 
know what  they mean  with "planed",  that's how it  is on  the lyric 
sheet).                                                               

"When you're skulling, you planed a bad thing
 And in your eyes, I see the lies"
     (Living Death, "You and Me")

     Coming from  the barbarian  wastelands of southern  Germany, the 
aptly  named Destruction,  probably considering  these fantasies  too 
wimpy,  show appreciation  for  a  mixture of  sex  and violence  and 
shatter all illusions  about ever finding the love of  your life with 
their shocking bedroom tales.                                         

"You lie on your bed, your view real seems great
 But instead of his prick
 He's drawing his blade"
     (Destruction, "Mad Butcher")

     Even Living Death finally got the message. Let the killing begin!

"When they lie I must try that they all have to die
 than I come on my flame and they were never seen again"
     (Living Death, "My Victim")

...And the Bottle Is Your Only Friend
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     There seems  to have been  a strong preoccupation with  booze in 
the  German  scene. While  their  American  and English  counterparts 
seemed to focus either on violence (Exodus), Satan and his evil deeds 
(Venom, Slayer) or a mixture of each and everything (the others), the 
Germans  definitely  love  their  beer.  Maybe  this  happened  as  a 
result  of their  failed attempts  to  impress the  other gender  and 
circumstances best described by Frankfurt's thrashers Tankard.        

"There are thugs and murders here
 They want kill and raping you
 Houses are not very good
 Only badly ruins"
     (Tankard, "Rundown Quarter")

     Reality  looks indeed  rather  grim and  is  aptly described  by 
people with  promising pseudonyms  like Angelripper,  Grave Violator, 
etc.:                                                                 

"With swords and axes
 The fight hard
 In a massacre
 they feel the hot smart"
     (Sodom, "Outbreak of Evil")

"Time has come, the peace can't stand
 Masters of switch now rule the land
 Push their switch and send the death
 Politician war-pigs got only shit in their heads"
     (Kreator, "Total Death")

"He bursts their heads till they die
 You feel so mad you're feeling so high
 He arrives he's sent from hell
 Running wild by the sound of the bell"
     (Kreator, "Bonebreaker")

"We live our life in grieved desire
 Our hopeless is getting higher
 You cry for freedom, but nobody hear you
 The end of the world is true"
     (Sodom, "Burst Command Til War!")

     So, what else have you got in an environment like that?

"Alcoholic forces power
 Will take us higher"
     (Violent Force, "Dead City")

     And despite serious advise from professionals...

"The doc told me I wouldn't get old
 My liver's broken down
 But I only had a smile for what he told
 Hey doc I'll get around"
     (Violent Force, "Destructed Life")

"Liver is broken down so bloody hard
 I keep on drinking until I drop
 Bang your head against the fuckin' wall
 Show the damned wimps who we are"
     (Tankard, "Empty Tankard")

Heavy Metal Hurricane
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     Booze and women are secondary, though. The main thing that keeps 
a thrasher going is metal.  Avoiding the cheesiness of metal warriors 
like Manowar --  and long before modern day mullet  bangers like, for 
example, Sacred Steel expressed their  love for broadswords, iron and 
steel  --, the  German scene  found unparalleled  ways to  praise the 
power of metal.                                                       

"The moon stood high it was no lie
 When I told it so shy
 I was warning you
 [...]
 It was a battle like heavy metal
 All the freaks banged their heads
 Heavy metal hurricane in the hell and back again
 Heavy metal hurricane
 Bloody action see again"
     (Living Death, "Heavy Metal Hurricane")

"There's nothing else in all the world
 That will bring it down
 We will play our wildest step to all around
 We need it as a liquid in our veins instead of blood
 Power, burnin', brains out
 United metallians -- ready to strike"
     (Helloween, "Heavy Metal Is the Law")

"Long haired crowd
 is going their own way
 they are invincible
 if together they stand"
     (Destruction, "Eternal Ban")

     Even  more  astounding: years  before  metal  became trendy  and 
associated  with abysmal  rap, funk  whatever crossover,  Tankard and 
Violent Force unleashed the following prophecies -- a warning, it now 
seems, of unspeakable things to come:                                 

"Every day and all night long
 The fucking Breakdancer wanna be strong
 We can't hear their fucking sound
 We want Metal -- play it loud!"
     (Tankard, "Death by Whips")

"You'll kill flower power
 That is our desire"
     (Violent Force, "Dead City")

     Did Angelripper,  like Tankard and Violent  Force, also foresee, 
or even -- probably by accident -- influence bands like Soulfly, Limp 
Bizkit and  Korn? I heard that  Max Cavalera claims to  have been the 
one to fuse death metal and rap, but looking at these rhymes, history 
probably needs to  get rewritten. One thing is  clear: MC Angelripper 
has got flow and style.                                               

"War, Law, Slave of Sodom
 Lust, Gods, Unholy Times
 Night, Light, this fight is might"
     (Sodom, "Witching Metal")

Bang Your Head for Satan
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     Drunk beyond comprehension, horny as hell and with a Heavy Metal 
Hurricane  approaching  (bloody  action  see  again),  the  time  was 
definitely right  for the powers of  evil to take over.  Living Death 
managed  to give  a  vivid description  of the  arrival  of the  evil 
forces.                                                               

"He comes up
 Out of hell
 All men who saw it
 Hold it for spell"
     (Living Death, "Vengeance of Hell")

     Running Wild, however,  seemed to be much  better informed about 
the origin of terror:                                                 

"He grew in a womb of a hellpossessed whore
 Born to be a king to give the badness war"
     (Running Wild, "Adrian")

     There  seemed to  be  no  stopping as  the  Satanic forces  took 
control. Read these shocking accounts of unspeakable terror.          

"Hell troops conquer, burning the church
 Raising hellfire, satanic rules to urge
 Reaper takes, commander's black
 The living deads at his back"
     (Running Wild, "Black Demon")

"Nemesis hordes of hades are blasting over the earth
 Saveness disappearing frightning of the human
 Execution has begun, the goddess decided to kill
 Massacre creates a new world, blood has to be spoiled"
     (Assassin, "Nemesis")

     The battlecry "violence for the  virgin" is still relevant after 
all these years:                                                      

"Masquarade as he rides through the night
 Blitzkrieg torture blade shining bright
 In his eyes dreams of pain
 As he kills the lovely shame
 Messengers from fiery will
 Speaking out what no one will
 Violence for the virgin
 Death falls from his bloody skin"
     (Kreator, "Son of Evil")

     Even the forces of nature were possessed by Satan.

"Witches decided to take vengeance
 Satan sent a legion of poisoned rats
 The warriors of death and most evil inhuman"
     (Destruction, "Satan's Vengeance")

     Only metallers seemed to find a  way out of this hell. A cunning 
plan was quickly  developed: sympathize with the  evil forces, become 
servants of Hell and unite with Satan's army.                         

"The voice of Hell, sound is so nice
 The final death is the price
 You can't wait much longer to give 'em what they need
 You'll burst down their heads and spread Hellish heat
 Feel the Endless Pain locked in metal chain"
     (Kreator, "Endless Pain")

"I can never trust the virgin preacher
 I can never believe in Jesus Christ
 It's all right 'coz Satan is my teacher
 People hidden them when we arised"
     (Destruction, "Total Desaster")

     There was hardly  any open resistance, but  not everybody seemed 
to be  100% into the alliance  with Satan. The maniacs  from Kreator, 
perhaps still impressed by the beauty of a flower, seemed to shy away 
from going totally berserk:                                           

"Brutality and mighty wars warriors start to fight
 With bombs and guns the troops have come to extinguish the light
 I'd rather not go wild tonight but I must save myself"
     (Kreator, "Riot of Violence")

     Others,  like Angelripper,  condemned  to play  the black  metal 
game, blamed society:                                                 

"Black metal is the game I play
 'cause no one show me the right way
 I am a bloody Antichrist, only believe in bad
 Spit at the church, Evil I get"
     (Sodom, "Blasphemer")

     Fortunately, at least for true  Norwegian black metal, Sodom did 
not falter  but pleaded  for "impalement  for destroy"  and fulfilled 
their promise of "evil I get".                                        

"Obsessed by Cruelty
 Impalement for destroy
 Obsessed by Cruelty
 Deadly, cold and grey"
     (Sodom, "Obsessed by Cruelty")

     Now that  the vaults are  unlocked... Who in our  readership has 
been informed about the leading role Running Wild had in the rise and 
fall of true black metal?  Forget Darkthrone, burning churches, etc.; 
here's the truth how to really shock the authorities:                 

"Black metal grifittis are thrown against the wall
 Crucifixes are inversed
 Pictures are signed by the triple six
 Black metal art is shocking Law 'n' order man"
     (Running Wild, "Prisoners of Our Time")

     And  once again,  Running Wild,  who,  at the  forefront of  the 
Satanic allegiance, seem to have  the knowledge that even outfit-wise 
there are strong bonds...                                             

"We are right, praying metal tonight
 The message from hell and ist spell
 Even Satan wears leather, our souls to it forever
 Let us pray our rules tonight
 Chains and Leather and Rivets"
     (Running Wild, "Chains and Leather")

Scarred for Life
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     Such  talent has  forever left  its mark  on the  development of 
metal lyrics.  What would  bands like  The Crown  or Raise  Hell sing 
about hadn't the Germans shown  them the way to metallic immortality? 
Would Norwegian black  metal have been possible,  Varg Vikernes spend 
his time in  prison, Limp Bizkit rule the charts,  the global warming 
happen without a significant increase of "Hellish Heat" and the leaks 
in  the  ozone layer  be  a  problem  today without  "Impalement  for 
Destroy"?  Definitely not!  So let's  bow  to the  masters and  chant 
together: "Heavy Metal Hurricane, Bloody Action see again"!           

Resources From Hell
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     All lyrics printed without  permission. Most records bought from 
official record stores and paid with hard-earned cash. There might be 
typos in the original lyrics which distort their own meaning.         

Assassin - _The Upcoming Terror_  (Steamhammer, 1987)
Destruction - _Sentence of Death_  (Steamhammer, 1984)
Destruction - _Eternal Devastation_  (Steamhammer, 1986)
Helloween - _Walls of Jericho_  (Noise, 1986)
Kreator - _Endless Pain_  (Noise, 1985)
Kreator - _Pleasure to Kill_  (Noise, 1986)
Living Death - _Vengeance of Hell_  (Earthshaker, 1984)
Running Wild - _Gates to Purgatory_  (Noise, 1984)
Running Wild - _Branded and Exiled_  (Noise, 1985)
Sodom - _In the Sign of Evil_  (Steamhammer, 1984)
Sodom - _Obsessed by Cruelty_  (Steamhammer, 1986)
Steeler - _Steeler_  (Earthshaker, 1984)
Tankard - _Alcoholic Metal_  (demo tape, 1983)
Tankard - _Zombie Attack_  (Noise, 1985)
Violent Force - _Malevolent Assault of Tomorrow_  (Roadrunner, 1987)

     Thanks to  Paul Schwarz,  Pedro Azevedo and  David Rocher  for a 
fantastic time  in France. It  was then that  the idea to  write this 
article was born. Also thanks to Fozzy II for inspiration. I raise my 
bloodfilled  chalice and  salute you  and all  our readers  -- "Total 
Satan"!                                                               

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

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

Gino's Top 5

1. Immortal - _Damned in Black_
2. Enslaved - _Blodhemn_
3. Red Hot Chili Peppers - _Californication_
4. Dying Fetus - _Destroy the Opposition_
5. A Perfect Circle - _Mer de Noms_

Adrian's Top 5

1. WarHorse - _...As Heaven Turns to Ash_
2. Various - _Campaign of Hate Vol. 1_
3. Nevermore - _Dead Heart in a Dead World_
4. At the Drive-In - _Relationship of Command_
5. Meat Loaf - _Bat Out of Hell_

Brian's Top 5

1. Septic Flesh - _Mystic Places of Dawn_
2. Mortiis - _Kaiser av en Dimensjon Ukjent_
3. Nocturnus - _Ethereal Tomb_
4. Tenebris - _O.F.D._
5. Dammercide - _Link_

Alain's Top 5

1. Cryptopsy - _And Then You'll Beg_
2. Summoning - _Dol Guldur_
3. Nile - _Black Seeds of Vengeance_
4. Dark Funeral - _Vobiscum Satanas_
5. dead horse - _peaceful death and pretty flowers_

Adam's Top 5

1. Amorphis - _Elegy_
2. Portishead - _Roseland NYC Live_
3. My Dying Bride - _34.788%... Complete_
4. Cryptopsy - _And Then You'll Beg_
5. Malevolent Creation - _Envenomed_

Pedro's Top 5

1. Discordance Axis - _The Inalienable Dreamless_
2. Behemoth - _Thelema.6_
3. Vomitory - _Revelation Nausea_
4. Novembers Doom - _The Knowing_
5. The Haunted - _The Haunted Made Me Do It_

Paul's Top 5

1. Naked City - _Torture Garden_
2. Vision of Disorder - _Imprint_
3. Drowning Man - _Busy Signal at the Suicide Hotline_
4. AC/DC - _Let There Be Rock_
5. Dire Straits - _Alchemy_

Aaron's Top 5

1. Dark Angel - _Leave Scars_
2. White Zombie - _Make Them Die Slowly_
3. Napalm Death - _Harmony Corruption_
4. Cradle of Filth - _Midian_
5. Epoch of Unlight - <advance> (Thanks, Andreas!!!)

David's Top 5

1. Nevermore - _Dead Heart in a Dead World_
2. The Crown - _Deathrace King_
3. Withering Surface - _Scarlet Silhouettes_
4. Napalm Death - _Enemy of the Music Business_
5. Necrophobic - _The 3rd Antichrist_

Alex's Top 5

1. Cryptopsy - _And Then You'll Beg_
2. In Flames - _Clayman_
3. Enslaved - _Mardraum - Beyond the Within_
4. Underoath - _Cries of the Past_
5. D.R.I. - _Thrash Zone_

Matthias' Top 5

1. Cradle of Filth - _Midian_
2. Cryptopsy - _And Then You'll Beg_
3. Napalm Death - _Enemy of the Music Business_
4. Cannibal Corpse - _Live Cannibalism_
5. Carnal Forge - _Firedemon_

Alvin's Top 5

1. Running Wild - _Victory_
2. Abyssic Hate - _Suicidal Emotions_
3. Vociferation Eternity - _Meadow's Yearn_
4. Manilla Road - _Mystification_
5. Cradle of Filth - _Midian_

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


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