          _____ _               _     _                ___  
         |     | |_ ___ ___ ___|_|___| |___ ___    ___|  _| 
         |   --|   |  _| . |   | |  _| | -_|_ -|  | . |  _| 
         |_____|_|_|_| |___|_|_|_|___|_|___|___|  |___|_|   
                        _____ _               
                       |     | |_ ___ ___ ___ 
                       |   --|   | .'| . |_ -|
                       |_____|_|_|__,|___|___|

                                                                            
       CHRONICLES OF CHAOS E-Zine, February 4, 1997, Issue #17

Editor-in-Chief: Gino Filicetti <ginof@interlog.com>
Coordinator: Adrian Bromley <energizr@interlog.com>
Assistant Editor: Alain M. Gaudrault <alain@mks.com>
Contributor: Brian Meloon <bmeloon@math.cornell.edu>
Contributor: Steve Hoeltzel <hoeltzel@blue.weeg.uiowa.edu>
Contributor: Adam Wasylyk <macabre@interlog.com>
Contributor: Drew Schinzel <drew@magpage.com>
Contributor: Andrew Lewandowski <lewan@peachnet.campus.mci.net>
Mailing List provided by: The University of Colorado at Boulder

--> Interested in being reviewed? Send us your demo and bio to:
 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
                         CHRONICLES OF CHAOS
                           57 Lexfield Ave
                            Downsview Ont.
                           M3M-1M6, Canada
             Fax: (416) 693-5240   Voice: (416) 693-9517
                     e-mail: ginof@interlog.com
 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

DESCRIPTION
~~~~~~~~~~~
Chronicles of Chaos is a monthly magazine electronically  distributed
worldwide via the Internet. Chronicles of Chaos focuses on all  forms
of brutal music; from thrash to death to black metal, we have it all.
Each issue will feature interviews with your favorite bands,  written
from the perspective of a true fan.  Each  issue  will  also  include
record reviews and previews, concert reviews and tour dates, as  well
as various happenings in  the  metal  scene  worldwide.  We  here  at
Chronicles of Chaos also  believe  in  reader  participation,  so  we
encourage you to submit any material you may have to  Gino  Filicetti
<ginof@interlog.com>.

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

WORLD WIDE WEB SITE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We are currently  in  the  process  of  constructing  a  website  for
Chronicles of Chaos. You can  check  it  out  by  pointing  your  web
browser to http://www.interlog.com/~ginof/coc.html. If you  have  any
comments    or    suggestions,    please    e-mail    Brian    Meloon
<bmeloon@math.cornell.edu>.

FTP ARCHIVE
~~~~~~~~~~~
All of our back issues and various other Chronicles of Chaos  related
files are stored in the e-zine archive at ftp.etext.org.  Connect  to
this  site  using  your   favorite   FTP   program   and   chdir   to
/pub/Zines/ChroniclesOfChaos. For a description of each file  in  the
archive, check out the README file. You  can  also  reach  this  site
through     a     web     browser     by     pointing     it      at:
ftp://ftp.etext.org/pub/Zines/ChroniclesOfChaos.

AUTOMATIC FILESERVER
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All back issues and various other CoC related files are available for
automatic retrieval through our e-mail fileserver. All you have to do
is send a message to us at <ginof@interlog.com>. The 'Subject:' field
of your message must read: "send file X" where 'X' is the name of the
requested file. Back issues are named 'coc-n', where 'n' is the issue
number. For  a  description  of  all  files  available  through  this
fileserver, request 'list'. Remember to use lowercase letters for all
file names. If you experience any problems or are having  difficulty,
feel free to e-mail us the usual way at <ginof@interlog.com>.

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

Issue #17 Contents, 2/4/97
--------------------------
* Editorial
* Loud Letters
* Ferocious Features
-- Morgana LeFay: Music and Visions
* Chaotic Chat Sessions
-- Dark Tranquility: The Darkest of the Dark
-- Monstrosity: Monstrous Meglomania
-- Ramp: Rapping with Ramp
-- Morgoth: Morgoth Metamorphosized
* Independent Interrogations
-- Tchort & The Family Mantis: No Prayer For The Mantis
-- Revelation
* Record Revelations
-- Anathema - _Eternity_
-- Angel Corpse - _Hammer of Gods_
-- Assuck - _Misery Index_
-- Bal Sagoth - _Starfire Burning..._
-- Brain Toy - _Screaming Volumes_
-- Darkside - _Melancholia of a Dying World_
-- Desire - _Infinity... A Timeless Journey Through the Emotional Dream_
-- DOA - _New York City Speedcore_
-- Fear Disorder - _In a Rage_
-- From the Depths - _From the Depths_
-- Funeral - _Tragedies_
-- Gehennah - _King of the Sidewalk_
-- Grip Inc. - _Nemesis_
-- Heavenwood - _Diva_
-- Jaww - _Southbound_
-- Korpse - _Revirgin_
-- Life Garden - _Ahitanaman_
-- Lord Belial - _Enter the Moonlight Gate_
-- My Dying Bride - _Like Gods of the Sun_
-- Molested - _Stormvold_
-- Monstrosity - _Millennium_
-- Morgion - _Among Majestic Ruin_
-- Mortician - _Hacked Up for Barbecue_
-- Murder Corporation - _Blood Revolution 2050_
-- My Only Victim - _No Voice, No Rights, No Freedom_
-- Necromass - _Abyss Calls Life_
-- Nightstick - _Blotter_
-- Puissance - _Let Us Lead_
-- Revelation - _Frozen Masque_
-- Sentenced - _Down_
-- Slightly Miffed - _Puzzled?_
-- Soma - _The Inner Cinema_
-- Strapping Young Lad - _City_
-- Tchort & The Family Mantis - _Nightside of Eden_
-- Theatre of Tragedy - _Velvet Darkness They Fear_
-- Throne of Ahaz - _On Twilight Enthroned_
-- Vader - _De Profundis_
* New Noise
-- Abel & Cain - _Hands Off Cain_
-- Ember - _Within the Realm of the Snowqueen_
-- Hematovore - _Ways of the 8-Footed_
-- Moozzhead/Family Harsh Noise Experimentation (split demo)
-- NDE - _Falling_ 
-- Rotting - _demo_
-- Soriben - _Senor de Luz_
* Chaotic Concerts
-- Cradle of Filth: The Principle of Evil In England
* What We Have Cranked
* The Final Word

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

                          E D I T O R I A L
                          ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                          by: Gino Filicetti

     Greetings loyal readers, once again we  are  back,  like  a  bad
habit you just can't kick. This month has been pretty  quiet  on  the
CoC front, but as always we've got a surplus of material  with  which
to explode your mailbox.
     As you may have noticed, my e-mail address has changed. You  can
not begin to imagine the trouble that changing your address  entails,
but let's not get into the gory details. As  of  right  now,  my  new
e-mail address is mailto:ginof@interlog.com. Please use this  address
if you wish to e-mail me a Loud Letter or anything else, ginof@io.org
is no longer valid. Also, this means that our homepage has moved too,
the   new   URL   for   the   Chronicles   of    Chaos    page    is:
http://www.interlog.com/~ginof/coc.html, please update any  links  or
bookmarks you may have.
     Lately, we've noticed that CoC  has  grown  in  size  with  each
subsequent issue. Although some might view this as beneficial and  as
a sign of a healthy, growing 'zine, we think  that  CoC  isn't  about
being as big as we can be, but being as GOOD as we can  be.  That  is
why we've decided from now on, we're going to keep the 'zine down  to
a controllable size, making sure that we weed out  all  the  unworthy
material so that we can deliver a good, readable magazine each month.
     We'd also like to announce a  new  addition  to  our  lineup  of
"writing professionals." Many of you will recognize  Pedro  Azevedo's
name from our last issue. Pedro  is  a  native  of  Portugal  and  is
heavily into the doom scene. Both these, as well  as  other  positive
traits make him a welcome addition to the CoC fold. We hope you enjoy
Pedro's writing as much as we do. Now Chronicles of Chaos  can  truly
be considered an international publication!
     I'd also like to announce a new FTP mirror site  where  you  can
download all of CoC's back issues. Our  good  friend  "Marduk"  (from
#metal on IRC) has graciously given us some space on his  site,  just
point    your    web     browsers     or     ftp     programs     to:
ftp://ftp.dimensional.com/users/marduk/coc.
     Enjoy the issue people, and don't forget the Loud Letters!

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

[For all of you cravers of metal info out  there,  I  advise  you  to
check out this Canadian publication, it's got some of best  news  and
inside scoops you can find anywhere. -- Gino]


BRAVE WORDS & BLOODY KNUCKLES
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Join The Annual St. Valentine's Day Massacre!!!

BRAVE WORDS & BLOODY KNUCKLES #16
February/March 1997

32 Pages Of heart-breaking metal featuring...
ENTOMBED, The QUEEN Tribute, SENTENCED, STRAPPING YOUNG LAD, THE LAST 
HARD MEN, SAVATAGE, TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA, THERION, FEAR FACTORY, 
STUCK MOJO, SICK OF IT ALL, BRUTALITY, SINISTER, SOLITUDE AETURNUS, 
LIFE OF AGONY, BIOHAZARD, FLOODGATE, THOR, GLENN TIPTON, NECROPHOBIC, 
DAWN, BROKEN HOPE, MOTLEY CRUE, PARADISE LOST, PIST-ON, VISION OF 
DISORDER and many more metal morsels!!!
_______________________________________________ 
Street Date - February 14, 1997
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BW&BK UPDATE - January 1997 Distribution - 2,000 copies in North 
America Presently available in over 45 HMV Stores across Canada!

For more brave info, please contact:
TIM HENDERSON (Publisher/Editor/Retailer/Producer/Lunatic Fan)
354 1/2 Yonge Street Suite #38, Toronto, Ontario, M5B 1S5, Canada
Voice: (416) 545-0666  Fax: (416) 586-0819 
mailto:bwbk@inforamp.net

BW&BK SUBSCRIPTION INFO
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
6 Issues -  in Canadian funds:
Canada - $30.00 / U.S. - $35.00 /International - $40.00

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

                 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 <ginof@interlog.com> and  enter  'Attention
Loud Letters' in the subject field. Hopefully  all  letters  received
will be featured in upcoming issues of Chronicles of Chaos.


Date: Tue, 7 Jan 1997
From: Insaniak <mitch@ifu.net>
Subject: CoC #13 - Happy Anniversary!

>From CoC #13, Reviews Revisited / Writer Rebuttal section, The 
STUPIDEST SECTION EVER:

>Finally, the moment of truth has arrived. This being our
>anniversary issue, we thought it would be fitting to
>give our writers a forum  to express THEIR thoughts
>about certain albums reviewed during the  past year.

Excuse me, but isn't that what reviewers do? Express  their  thoughts
about the albums being reviewed! Why the fuck do you need to go  back
and do it again? Did you  trendy  idiots  change  your  minds?  Maybe
you're just upset because you get reader feedback that disagrees with
your review? TRUE(tm) metalheads stand by their convictions. Stand up
and take your flames like a man!

This is by far the STUPIDEST thing I've ever seen in CoC; it tops all
the extraneous non-metal & loser demo bullshit you use to  flesh  out
the ever-expanding lardass of a 'zine you spam us with  every  month.
Maybe if  you  trimmed  the  fat,  you  wouldn't  have  to  make  the
super-lame monthly apologies to your readers for being late!

Oh yeah, Happy Fucking New Year!

 - Mitch Coken, aka Insaniak on #metal -


Date: Sat, 18 Jan 1997
From: Lundsbye <blackmail@mailbox.swipnet.se>
Subject: Re: Change of address.

The message we sent to you earlier today was a mistake.

After your insulting review of Female Impersonator  we  became  aware
that you lack sense of both music and humour,  and  I  was  convinced
that I had removed your address from our e-mail list. But obviously I
had  forgotten  that.  There  has  been  a  TREMEDOUS   response   to
BLACKMAILr, especially on the web, so things have been quite hectic.

Now that you made me  aware  of  my  mistake,  I  have  removed  your
address. You will hopefolly get no  more  mail  from  us.  And  don't
bother to respond, unless you have changed your mind about music  and
critics ethics.. CoC needs to be put away before it gives  someone  a
coronary!

Maths Lundsbye, manager


Date: Mon, 23 Dec 1996
From: smoker@oregoncoast.com
Subject: Update!

Bummer news about hte delay but all I can say is a CoC for New  Years
Eve would be killer. I probably wouldn't get to read  it  until  then
anyway. Actually I wouldn't complain if I only got one  every  couple
of months. The price is very right for a zine  of  its  quality.  You
guys really should be getting paid :>

smoker@oregoncoast.com


Date: Fri, 03 Jan 97
From: CHRIS SMART <chris.smart@eclec.com>
Subject: couple of things ...

Hey Gino.  Once again, a supurb fuckin issue of CoC.
I especially liked the classics section, since Rust in Peace got in
there.

Also, I haven't checked out the web site, so you may already be doing
this. I thought the other day that a good thing to  do  would  be  to
have a "must-buy" section or something, where  album  reviews  aren't
organized chronologically, but by rating. I.E. All albums that got an
8 or higher could be listed, with importance being placed on the  9's
and 10's especially. Might save people the time of going through  the
back issues looking  for  the  things  they  must  pick  up.  Just  a
suggestion, its probably a lot of work.

Keep it heavy in '97, and thanks again for keeping me informed as  to
what's going on. If it wern't for the net  I'd  be  groovin  to  Load
these days. (laugh)

Chris.  chris@uoguelph.ca


Date: Mon, 06 Jan 1997
From: maarten de jong <Maarten.deJong@96.STUDENT.WAU.NL>
Subject: Attention Loud Letters

Hello CoC,

I've just read your issue #16 and it was the best  one  I  ever  saw.
Except one thing: Brian's review of  "Dusk...  And  Her  Embrace".  I
don't totally disagree with his review, but there are a few things to
be mentioned: he gives it 8 out  of  10,  and  he  says  he's  a  bit
disappointed. Then why give it 8 out of 10? I  was  not  disappointed
with the album and I'd rate it 10 out of 10. The guitars are  a  weak
point of CoF. Well, allright, that's true, but a lot of  black  metal
bands play guitar like a couple of children and that's not  mentioned
in THEIR reviews. And why not mention the drums? I mean, Nicholas  is
one of the better  black  metal  pounders.  Where  most  Scandinavian
schoolboys can't do more than some little blastbeat,  he  has  got  a
great technique, varies his rhythms and plays really tight. And there
is more. CoF has songs with a lot of riffs,  rhythms,  turns,  breaks
and so on and have much more variation than  other  bands.  Dani  can
sing, talk, scream and grunt and  growl  in  different  ways.  Damien
really knows how to use his synths, which is something not all  bands
can say. And the lyrics of CoF are absolutely superior to  ANY  other
band. I'm sorry, but that's a fact. No vulgar "Hail  Satan"  crap  or
some stupid War Against Christianity, but great stories,  even  black
metal lovesongs. Supreme Vampyric Evil! With all these great  things,
it's very difficult for a guitar player not to be looked upon  as  "a
weak point". I suggest Brian writes an  apology  to  CoF  and,  as  a
punishment, may only listen to "Nocturnal Supremacy"  for  10  years.
People who don't agree with me can mail me (the  correct  address  is
Maarten.deJong@96.student.wau.nl) or discuss it with me on  IRC  (I'm
Annatar on #metal). C U later folks and keep up the good  work!  Your
zine rules.

Annatar


Date: Fri, 17 Jan 1997
From: Richard Fusco-G12943 <Richard_Fusco-G12943@email.mot.com>
Subject: 'Attention Loud Letters'

Where do I begin? First off: this E'zine fuckin' rocks nuts!! Coc has
been in existence since 1995 and I finally got  wise  and  subscribed
right before issue#17 (better  late  than  never).  Congrats  on  one
KILLER 'zine created by the fans for the fans, the way it should  be.
I write for a local  underground  'zine  ("Black  Planet")  and  have
supported Metal since the very beginning. 

We, the fans, need to keep up with this on-going effort to keep  this
music going strong!!! Fuck all  so  called  "music  critics".....they
don't have a clue as to we listen to. Again, great job!!!!

Rick Fusco
Albuquerque,N.M.
Fusco-G12943 Richard@email.mot.com

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
    ___________                        .__
    \_   _____/__________  ____   ____ |__| ____  __ __  ______
     |    __)/ __ \_  __ \/  _ \_/ ___\|  |/  _ \|  |  \/  ___/
     |     \\  ___/|  | \(  <_> )  \___|  (  <_> )  |  /\___ \
     \___  / \___  >__|   \____/ \___  >__|\____/|____//____  >
         \/      \/                  \/                     \/
      ___________            __
      \_   _____/___ _____ _/  |_ __ _________   ____   ______
       |    __)/ __ \\__  \\   __\  |  \_  __ \_/ __ \ /  ___/
       |     \\  ___/ / __ \|  | |  |  /|  | \/\  ___/ \___ \
       \___  / \___  >____  /__| |____/ |__|    \___  >____  >
           \/      \/     \/                        \/     \/

The meat of the matter lies here. Read on for the juiciest morsels on
bands ranging from the reknowned to the obscure. No fat, no  gristle,
just blood-soaked slabs served hot and ready. Dig in, readers.


                  M U S I C   A N D   V I S I O N S 
                  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                      CoC talks to Morgana LeFay
                          by: Adrian Bromley

     "We are going to go touring this new year. Possibly  in  March,"
starts guitarist Tony Eriksson about the  plans  for  1997  over  the
phone from his homeland of Sweden. "Hopefully we will be  out  for  a
while in Europe but right now we don't know how long it  will  be  as
the booking agent is still working on it. So far we  only  have  some
stuff booked for a month of shows and the thing is we are  going  out
as headliners and I don't think that is such a good thing"  Why  not?
"It would be better to go as a support band because we are  not  that
famous yet," says Eriksson with humour in his voice.
     The band - comprised of other guitarist Daniel Persson,  drummer
Jonas Soderlind, vocalist Charles Rytkonen and bassist Joakim Heder -
have worked hard since the release of their debut album _Knowing Just
As I_ in 1993 to gain exposure in Europe. That  same  year  the  band
released  _The  Secret  Doctrine_,  following  that   up   with   the
well-received _Sanctified_ (1995) and the collection of old and newer
material on _Past Present Future_ later that year. Prior to  reaching
1997,  the  band  released  their  latest  effort,  _Maleficium_,   a
swash-buckling assortment of both power metal and  progressive  metal
sounds that thrive on well-presented songs.
     "I think what we have done with _Maleficium_ is a mixture of 80s
metal and 90s metal," he concludes about the make-up of  material  on
their latest LP. "I don't think there is quite a difference with this
album and the ones before, but we can't really see the difference  as
we play the material. It is a lot easier for other  people  to  judge
the album and what we did differently. We  are  very  satisfied  with
what we are doing," he continues, "and I think because  of  the  fact
that we listen to a lot of bands,  Morgana  LeFay  is  a  mixture  of
everything that we  are  listening  to.  And  that  makes  our  music
interesting to listen to most of the time." When asked what he thinks
sets Morgana LeFay apart from other bands of that  musical  genre  he
answers, "I think pretty much the sound sets us  apart.  I  think  we
have  specific  ways  of  performing  this  kind  of  metal.  We  are
influenced by a lot of bands - not just metal bands. We don't try  to
sound like other bands, we just create music and a sound that we  are
comfortable with."
     One of the key elements to the music and lyrics of Morgan  LeFay
is the use of imagination and fantasy. Eriksson loves the  creativity
that flows from one's imagination and how it takes shape into  songs.
"It is a lot easier to do songwriting this way. For me  personally  I
read a lot of books and watch a lot of movies. It is more interesting
to write about deep thoughts and use fantasy when  writing  material.
We think about reality as well sometimes. On the _Sanctified_  record
there was a song called "Mad Messiah", and that was about that  crazy
bastard David Koresh (famous cult leader from Waco, Texas)  and  what
he did."
     When talking to Eriksson and reading the band bio, it isn't hard
to pinpoint where the band has lacked  in  regards  to  exposure  and
success: North America. Eriksson says, "We  don't  know  how  we  are
going to reach North America and get exposed. We are just  the  band.
We don't have the possibility to promote the band ourselves. It is up
to the record label to do that and we really don't have a  big  label
(Black Mark). Unfortunately is has to be like this: bad promotion and
just shit."
     Eriksson and the band try to keep their minds on  the  band  and
keep  focused  while  facing  problems.  "That  can  be   a   problem
sometimes," quips Eriksson. "There are days where  we  have  to  deal
with record label contracts  and  stuff  like  that.  There  is  more
paperwork than playing it seems. We  hate  that  part  of  the  music
industry but is an evil necessity, I suppose. We have been good  pals
since the childhood and we are happy by nature and we will live  with
what we face I suppose."
     Are you happy being on Black Mark? "Happy? I dunno...  we  could
have been on a much better record  label.  But  we  could  have  been
without a record label contract as well.  So,  this  is  better  than
nothing for the moment. But I don't think they can do enough  for  us
to break through. We have tried to sign to a major label  but  it  is
difficult with all the record contracts and stuff like that.  Lawyers
and all that garbage. We want to play music and not be lawyers."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
         _______             __  _       _______        __
        / ___/ /  ___ ____  / /_(_)___  / ___/ /  ___ _/ /_
       / /__/ _ \/ _ `/ _ \/ __/ / __/ / /__/ _ \/ _ `/ __/
       \___/_//_/\_,_/\___/\__/_/\__/  \___/_//_/\_,_/\__/
                   ____            _
                  / __/__ ___ ___ (_)__  ___  ___
                 _\ \/ -_|_-<(_-</ / _ \/ _ \(_-<
                /___/\__/___/___/_/\___/_//_/___/


This is the column where CoC sits down to have a  face  to  face,  no
holds barred conversation with  your  favorite  bands,  and  get  the
inside scoop into what's happening in their lives.


            T H E   D A R K E S T   O F   T H E   D A R K
            ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                   CoC chats with Dark Tranquillity
                          by: Drew Schinzel

     Sweden's Dark Tranquillity have been  creating  their  style  of
(indirectly) Maiden-influenced melodic death metal  for  eight  years
now, and they only seem to get better with age. Their latest release,
an MCD entitled _Enter Suicidal Angels_, is a  four-song  sampler  of
songs taken from the studio sessions for the upcoming full length LP,
_The Mind's I_, and showcases a much more compressed, aggressive side
of the band, while still maintaining the tight melodies  and  complex
song structures for which they are best known.
     With six releases (four on CD) at the  time  of  printing  under
their belts, and signed to one of the largest extreme metal labels in
Europe, if not the world, Osmose, Dark  Tranquillity  are  definitely
here for the long run. DT guitarist Niklas Sundin was kind enough  to
answer my questions, here's what he had to say.

CoC: What has Dark Tranquillity been up to since the  last  recording
     session?

DT: Not much, speaking in terms of creative  activities.  Apart  from
    working on and perfecting the layout, cover, and photos  for  the
    full length album and the recording of the video  clips,  nothing
    of importance has happened. We've just started  thinking  of  new
    material and working individually on basic  ideas,  and  when  we
    have enough embryonic ideas, we'll  begin  developing  them  into
    proper songs through heavy rehearsing.

CoC: How has the response thus far been to your new MCD?

DT: I've only seen  3-4  actual  reviews  yet,  but  in  general  the
    response has been excellent. It's good to see that people seem to
    notice the evolution into a more powerful approach. As for sales,
    it's way too early to draw any conclusions, but Osmose are really
    satisfied with the initial response.

CoC: Is the rest of the forthcoming full length in the same  vein  as
     the MCD?

DT: More or less, as the MCD consists of songs taken  from  the  same
    studio session. We've kept all the "atmosphere," moody stuff  for
    the full length album in order to keep the MCD pretty  basic  and
    to-the-point, but apart from that  there's  no  major  difference
    between _Enter..._ and _The Mind's I_.

CoC: To me, the music on the MCD is more reminiscent of the recent At
     the Gates material. Did the band adopt this more straightforward
     approach as a progression  in  songwriting,  or  were  you  just
     trying  to  simplify  your  music  a  bit   from   the   complex
     compositions of past releases?

DT: Both, I guess. In order to avoid stagnation,  it's  important  to
    write songs from a different angle with  each  new  album.  After
    having done a fair amount of lengthy,  complexly  arranged  tunes
    for the past 5-6 years, it seemed natural to simplify  the  music
    this time, to strip it down to the bare essentials without losing
    the DT-trademarks. Of course, At the Gates did  this  before  us,
    but in all facets of music, this is a normal  procedure  -  going
    from progressively complex music to more basic material and  then
    perhaps back again. Artists must vary their modes  of  expression
    to keep their language living (that sounded far more  pretentious
    than intended).
   
CoC: What  should  people  expect  with  your  upcoming  home  video,
     _Zodijackyl Light_?

DT:  Well,  the  video  will  contain  promo  clips  for  the   songs
    "Zodijackyl Light" and "Hedon" (from the full length CD) and will
    be released at around the same time as _The Mind's  I_.  I  won't
    describe the clips here, but the result got professional  enough,
    and I think people will enjoy it as much as we do.

CoC: Why did you decide to make a video ?

DT:  Osmose  suggested  it,  and  of  course  we  couldn't  miss  the
    opportunity to do such an interesting thing as a video recording.
    The Immortal and Impaled Nazarene videos have been well received,
    and seeing that there won't be any touring for  us  this  spring,
    the clips will be a good promotional substitute.

CoC: What's behind the title _Enter Suicidal Angels_?

DT: It's a phrase taken from the lyrics of "Hedon". People  can  form
    their own impressions of the  title:  I'm  not  into  giving  any
    definite  interpretation  away,  but  prefer  to  encourage   any
    eventual listeners  to  make  their  own  conclusions.  The  most
    important thing is to get the imagination going.

CoC: The techno song on the new MCD came as quite a surprise to some.
     Why did you decide to create a song like this?  The  song  title
     "Archetype" might be somewhat of a clue...

DT: We had the technology and time available to do a song like  this,
    and since we  all  (or  most  of  us)  appreciate  harsh  techno,
    industrial music, we went ahead and did it.  Obviously,  some  of
    our most conservative listeners sneer  and  complain  about  this
    move, but we simply release what we wish, period.  As  the  title
    implies, the song is about selecting tiny pieces,  fragments,  of
    the whole and then re-assembling them into something new.

CoC: Will we see more of this type of thing in DT's future albums?

DT: I don't think so. It's a one-off  experiment,  changing  into  an
    industrial-metal combo would seriously  damage  our  credibility.
    However, never say never.

CoC: Dark Tranquillity is on a predominantly black metal  label,  and
     has always been a part of the black/death metal  scene,  but  do
     you really think your music can be labeled any of these? If not,
     how would you describe it then?

DT: We're definitely not connected to the ideological part  of  black
    metal, though we share some musical common ground with some black
    metal acts. I'm pretty comfortable with the "melodic death metal"
    tag, even if we're far  from  the  stereotypical  actors  of  the
    genre. It's up to the listener to pigeonhole  our  music  if  the
    need occurs.

CoC: I noticed that you did  some  artwork  for  the  inside  of  the
     booklet for the MCD. How long have you been doing this  sort  of
     thing?

DT: I've been drawing since early age, and used to take care  of  our
    demo/EP sleeve designs, but I'm not overly active with the pen at
    the moment, but whenever a new T-shirt  design  or  something  is
    needed, I do my best.

CoC: To me it has always appeared as if your lyrics were much  deeper
     and more complex than the majority of other bands. Do the lyrics
     take precedence over the music, or vice versa?

DT: The music will always come in the first place,  but  the  lyrical
    side is treated with care as well. I'm the  type  of  person  who
    looks at the whole concept of a band, and pay great attention  to
    the lyrical and visual aspects of an album. Hearing a band  which
    is musically OK but have substandard lyrics puts me off. However,
    I don't value the importance of the lyrics in this style of music
    as much as I used to, but it's still a very important part of DT.

CoC: Any plans for touring for the new LP ?

DT: Unfortunately, the planned tour in February with  In  Flames  and
    Arch Enemy got cancelled due to business-related reasons, and  as
    this was basically the only time  of  the  spring  that  all  the
    members were able to tour, there won't be anything except perhaps
    a few one-off  shows  during  the  first  part  of  '97.  It's  a
    nightmarish effort trying to co-ordinate all holidays,  etc,  for
    the purpose of touring, especially as the music  business  itself
    is so unpredictable. The only working solution would be  for  all
    band members to be unemployed and free to leave home at any time,
    but this is not realistic as there are bills to be paid.

CoC: Most Osmose bands don't even come close to  North  America,  but
     instead stay in Europe; any particular reason for this, in  your
     knowledge?

DT: Well, our style of music isn't too popular in  the  States;  most
    Osmose bands sell 3000-4000 copies at most  of  their  albums  in
    USA, and for this reason it would be a financial risk to  arrange
    a tour overseas. However, I know that there are plans  for  these
    things in the future, so when the time is right,  I'm  sure  that
    something will happen.

CoC: How was your most recent tour?

DT:  Good.  We  played  with  Impaled  Nazarene,   Cannibal   Corpse,
    Immolation, and Vader on a 3-week  European  tour.  The  response
    differed greatly from place  to  place  for  all  bands,  but  in
    general the appreciation was overwhelming, and  from  what  we've
    seen on VCR of our performances, we did a good job ourselves.

CoC: Your e-mail address is given inside the MCD. Do you  or  any  of
     DT's members ever go on the Internet?

DT: Yes, our other guitarist has access to the web, and  some  of  us
    are really interested in computing. Personally, I care  more  for
    the wealth of information available 'neath our fingertips and the
    consequences of  this  digital  infrastructure  than  the  purely
    technical  side  of  things.  Our  homepage  is  presently  under
    construction; we got all the photos scanned last week,  and  will
    probably be accessible when this CoC issue is completed.

CoC:  I  think  that's  about  it.  Good  luck  with  all   of   Dark
     Tranquillity's future endeavors! End the interview as you wish...

DT: Well, thanks for the interest! By the way, was it CoC who slagged
    _The Gallery_ and called us "A cheap Brutal Truth/Carcass  clone"
    (or something to that effect)? I've  read  it  somewhere  on  the
    internet... just asking!

    [Don't look at me! - Alain] [Or me!! -- Gino]

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

               M O N S T R O U S   M E G A L O M A N I A 
               ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                     CoC Interrogates Monstrosity
                           by: Adam Wasylyk

     Losing George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher, who's now  become  one  of
death metal's most well-known vocalists by joining  Cannibal  Corpse,
Monstrosity have bounced back by releasing its long-awaited follow-up
to  1992's  _Imperial  Doom_.  _Millennium_  is  not  only  full   of
heavy/technical riffing and blast beats that will satisfy many  death
metal fans, but it also puts shame to the sub-mediocre _Vile_.
     I received a call from drummer Lee Harrison from his home in the
sunny state of Florida, where we talked about the new album, his  new
label Conquest Music and a certain ex-vocalist.


CoC: I'll start off by getting the "Corpsegrinder" questions  out  of
     the way, is that all right?

Lee Harrison: Sure.

CoC: Everyone by now knows that George Fisher has left to  take  over
     the vocal duties for Cannibal Corpse. Was the break amicable? Do
     you talk today?

LH: It wasn't something we wanted but we  understand  and  it's  cool
    now. There's no hard feelings. He comes over  sometimes  and  Rob
    from Cannibal lives with me at my house here. We've been  friends
    far too long to hold  permanent  hard  feelings.  It  wasn't  the
    greatest thing that happened like I said but nonetheless it was a
    better move for George so that's why it happened like that.

CoC: And replacing him is Jason Avery. Can you go into  how  you  and
     the band hooked up with him and how the  decision  was  made  to
     have him in the band?

LH: Basically, his band Eulogy had lost one of their original members
    who did all the writing and I think they did one show without him
    and it wasn't the same. So I think he was looking to do something
    else. I heard it through the grapevine that he wanted to try  out
    so he came over and I gave him a tape and told him which songs to
    learn. A week later he came back and  we  played  them  and  ever
    since then we pretty much considered him our singer. He  did  the
    tour with Kataklysm and he did well so he's been the man so far.

CoC: Did what Eulogy was doing  at  the  time  compare  musically  to
     Monstrosity?

LH: I mean they're a death metal band, but in the beginning they were
    more speed oriented but [later] got into slower but off-timed and
    heavy sounding music. But they  were  definitely  heavy  and  the
    voice was still brutal.

CoC: On the new Cannibal Corpse record, George's vocals were  put  in
     place of Chris Barnes'. With _Millennium_  Jason  did  the  back
     vocalling while George did all of the lead vocals. Why  was  the
     decision made to keep George's vocals instead of using Jason's?

LH: When Jason was joining the band, at that point he didn't know all
    the songs. He knew some of them but George  was  around  when  we
    were writing the songs and  he  was  totally  a  hundred  percent
    familiar with them. Plus it was a way to have  George  finish  up
    with us instead of going from  one  singer  to  another  (on  the
    record). That way for the next album  we  can  start  fresh  with
    Jason. Start writing totally with Jason in mind instead  of  with
    George in mind.

CoC: Your first record, _Imperial  Doom_,  was  released  by  Nuclear
     Blast but _Millennium_ is going to be  distributed  by  Conquest
     Music. Why is this, were you dropped?

LH: No. How it  actually  worked  is  when  we  did  _Imperial  Doom_
    [Nuclear Blast] released it and they did all  the  promotion  and
    this and that. That was all fine and well but  when  it  came  to
    getting our royalty statements and publishing money, there was  a
    problem. We couldn't work it out for the longest time so we ended
    up severing our  contract  with  them  until  they  paid  up  the
    royalties that we felt we were owed. That was in '93, and a  year
    ago or so they finally came back to us and said  they  wanted  to
    work out the [money problem] so we ended up working  it  out  and
    decided to strike out a new deal as far as European  distribution
    goes. It's easier to do Conquest (Music) business here in America
    because we know America  whereas  Europe  is  a  whole  different
    ballgame. Since they had paid up and we made a deal where we  get
    our royalty statements directly  from  EastWest  which  is  their
    distributor, we don't have to worry about if they're  telling  us
    the truth or not. So Nuclear Blast are doing  it  over  there  in
    Europe and we're doing it here on Conquest.

CoC: You played at this year's Milwaukee Metal  Fest.  How  did  that
     turn out for the band?

LH: We didn't play as good as we could  have,  basically  because  we
    ended up driving some ridiculous number  of  hours  just  to  get
    there, get the equipment out of the van  and  have  to  play  and
    shit. But the response was pretty good and overall it  was  okay.
    But that was the first date of the tour and I wish it would  have
    been at least the third or forth date because it always works out
    as we play better after a few nights getting settled in.

CoC: As far as your personal career goes  in  music,  weren't  you  a
     member of both Atheist and Malevolent Creation at one time??

LH: I was in Malevolent Creation for around  a  year,  it  was  right
    before they got signed. Me and Phil  didn't  get  along  at  that
    point as there were arguments over money so that's why  I  didn't
    stick with them. The Atheist thing came about because  they  were
    talking about their drummer going to college and the bass  player
    at the time, Roger Patterson, told me that they  may  be  looking
    for a drummer, and at that time I needed a  band  so  I  kept  in
    touch with them. Basically it was decided that they were going to
    keep the drummer because he wasn't going to  go  to  college  but
    then he became sick so they needed a drummer so they called me up
    that morning and asked me if I would do it. So I played one  show
    with them.

CoC: Now you've started your own label, Conquest Music. Can you  tell
     me why you decided to start it up and what  bands  you  have  on
     your roster? Any future signing prospects as of now?

LH: We had contacted most of the labels as far  as  putting  out  our
    next record and a lot of them really wouldn't  have  been  behind
    it. They had said more or less that no matter how good  you  are,
    death metal doesn't sell so we can't do anything for you and this
    and that. Whereas I knew that we weren't just  the  typical  band
    putting out shit for the sake of it or doing it just because it's
    a trend. So I put together the label and it started out where  it
    was just going to be us but then as the idea progressed it became
    where we ended up getting Vader  and  Darkside.  [As  for  future
    signings] we want to get  these  releases  out  first  but  we're
    definitely looking around. We're trying to find real quality  and
    we don't want to get into a rut where  we're  releasing  any  old
    black metal or death metal record that comes along,  we  want  to
    have quality releases.

CoC: What are Monstrosity's lyrics about?

LH: They're about shit going around in  the  world,  the  decline  of
    civilization-type thing and our opinions on what's going on, like
    about life after death. Like "Stormwinds" is about vengeance  and
    "Dream Messiah" is about drug abuse.

CoC: You have a video for the song "Final  Cremation"  off  _Imperial
     Doom". Do you see making any videos for _Millennium_?

LH: Not as of yet, but maybe. The "Final Cremation" video was  really
    half-assed as far as we were concerned, and we really weren't too
    pleased with it. We think that the next time if we do  it,  we'll
    do it right and not just put out a  piece  of  shit  like  "Final
    Cremation" was. Basically Nuclear Blast came to us with the  idea
    in Hamburg, they'd record the show for the video. They just threw
    it together really half-assed and we weren't really happy with it
    because we weren't in Europe to oversee everything.

CoC: Did the sound of _Millennium_ come out to your satisfaction?

LH: For the most part yeah. It's definitely the best thing we've ever
    done and it's something I can play  for  people  and  feel  happy
    about it unlike _Imperial Doom_, which we weren't too happy with.
    The drums were way too loud, the guitars were too loud. George, I
    know, wasn't happy with his vocals on that album.  The  bass  was
    too loud probably. The mix and the tones weren't really that good
    on _Imperial..._. So  for  _Millennium_,  it  was  a  lot  better
    although the drums could have been better. They're not  triggered
    so they don't sound as powerful as they could. They're  live  and
    real so it's still not that bad. It depends on how picky you want
    to get.

CoC: Do you have any idea what direction your future material will go?

LH: Well, we've already got some new material and I'd say it's faster
    than _Millennium_, but maybe not as technical.

CoC: And finally, I've read your  posts  on  the  internet  about  an
     upcoming North American tour. Who are the bands and when does it
     kick off?

LH: We're bringing over Vader and Broken Hope is  going  to  headline
    and it all starts February 19th in Connecticut.

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

                  R A P P I N G   W I T H   R A M P 
                  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                   CoC interrogates Portugal's Ramp
                           by: Adam Wasylyk

     When someone mentions the Portuguese metal scene, the band  that
soon comes to mind is Century Media's Moonspell. That may soon change
with  the  powerful  release  of  Ramp's  first  full-length   album,
_Intersection_. Eleven songs of metal with thrash  metal  influences,
Ramp    have    written    some    strong    music     along     with
thought-provoking/socially aware lyrics. Already  one  of  Portugal's
top bands, Ramp is striding for world-wide recognition.
     I had the opportunity to chat with Ramp's vocalist, Rui  Duarte,
who had LOTS to say about the band.

CoC: The majority of readers don't know about the band, so could  you
     tell us something about the band's history?

Rui: The band started in 1988. We started to make  professional  work
     in the beginning of the 90s. The common  reason  to  make  music
     among the guys in the band was  the  passion  for  metal  music,
     especially from Metallica. We just  started  playing  around  as
     friends and we ended up becoming a band. Since we never  stopped
     (playing), in Portugal we have tried to develop  great  work  to
     clean the image of metal music because  it  was  a  very  closed
     country, with what is concerned with this kind of music. It  was
     tough work, trying to clean  this  bad  image  that  bands  like
     Metallica had in Portugal. But now we are respected and we  have
     two  CDs  out  and  a  great  number  of   fans   in   Portugal.
     Unfortunately we didn't have a chance to go  outside  [Portugal]
     because of our first CD (_Thoughts_) which was on Polygram. They
     didn't want to work with us outside Portugal. So we  changed  to
     an independent label, the label is Uniao Lisboa. The problem  is
     that they don't have the structure yet,  with  distribution  and
     everything. They've made a great effort, and we've made a lot of
     promotion outside Portugal. So here we are. In Portugal  we  are
     what you could say one of  the  top  metal  bands,  but  outside
     Portugal we are not very well  known  yet.  We'll  see  if  that
     changes in the future.

CoC: Was anyone involved in the metal scene prior to joining the band?

R: The only guy who played in a band before Ramp was our bass player.
   [The band he was in] are the band that we  played  our  first  gig
   with. The rest of the guys started in Ramp, it was our first band.

CoC: Tell me about your new album, _Intersection_. How  long  did  it
     take you and the band to write the material on it?

R: It took a long time. Not only because we took a long  time  making
   the material but also because we were having a few problems inside
   Portugal. After the release of the first album, things were  going
   very well and very fast. It was our seventh show when we made  the
   debut of our first album  and  we  had  the  chance  to  open  for
   Sepultura. So it was great, everyone  enjoyed  the  band.  It  was
   getting bigger and bigger and bigger. But then we had to stop work
   because we had to do military service. In Portugal you don't  have
   the right to choose. It's a democracy but you have to go.  We  had
   to stop the work of the band for two years. After that we  had  to
   try to split from Polygram because it wasn't the right  place  for
   us, and that took one more year. During those three years we  made
   the album, so again it was a long time.

CoC: Explain your sound to people who have yet to hear Ramp's music?

R: I don't know man. I don't like to talk  about  the  sound  of  the
   band. I think people mishear it and judge it, because not everyone
   hears it in the same way. What I tell people  is  that  it's  hard
   music. Hard music with lyrics that are aware of  things  that  are
   happening right now around us. Not  just  empty  lyrics  that  are
   about crap. It's about feelings that we have about things that are
   happening right now in Portugal. I think that not only in Portugal
   but what's outside Portugal, in the rest of the  world.  When  I'm
   doing all the interviews, I'm  getting  in  touch  with  different
   realities. Like for example the Belgium reality where we played  a
   couple of weeks ago. It's more or less like Portugal already. Even
   in America it's more or less the same  thing,  we  have  the  same
   problems. Perhaps for a guy in Canada or America if they read  the
   lyrics for a song like "So You Say" or "Fate" or "Friendly  Word",
   it's a common feeling that we all have. It's about a problem  that
   everyone has in the world right now. They're concerned lyrics.

CoC: So it's more like  "hear  it  for  yourself  and  judge  it  for
     yourself?"

R: Yes. That's the best way. It depends, like for  a  kid  who  likes
   Napalm Death, perhaps we are just posers. To a guy who listens  to
   Poison perhaps we play thrash/doom metal! <laughs>

CoC: What influences do you and the band draw from?

R: We started with Metallica and the bay area bands. I think that can
   be noticed when listening to the record. Right now  we  listen  to
   all kinds of music. Members  of  Ramp  are  listening  to  various
   styles of music from classical  to  jazz  to  trance.  It  doesn't
   matter, as it's all just music. So for us, each kind of music  has
   its own thing and you have to listen to it, get into it, and  take
   [influence] from it. For example, dance music. Everyone criticized
   dance music. I'm not very much into it, but I know the meaning  of
   it and I like to hear it on several occasions because it's like an
   invitation for dance. The good thing  about  dance  music  is  the
   rhythm, and it's almost always the same (Rui  imitates  the  beat,
   "doong doong doong..."). It gives you the spirit, it captures you.
   If you're inside a disco and you're listening to the music,  after
   a minute you're tapping your feet  and  you're  into  the  rhythm.
   That's the good thing in dance music, that it's an invitation  for
   dancing. So it depends on the spirit that you have at the  moment.
   Right now, we like to hear all kinds of  music.  This  is  a  very
   important point, especially in the 90s  when  everyone  is  fusing
   [styles]. That is one of the things that we are trying to  promote
   in Portugal, the respect for metal music. We  always  say  in  our
   interviews that "for someone  to  get  respect,  he  must  respect
   everyone," so that's the feeling we have, to respect all types  of
   music. Metal music isn't the only kind of music that exists in the
   world.

CoC: How is the Portuguese metal scene right now?

R: <exhales> Well, we have a lot of good bands, but at the same  time
   it's very complicated because we have a very small market, so it's
   not easy to develop a project inside Portugal. The only band  that
   we have right now who are getting major work outside Portugal  are
   Moonspell because they're not  on  a  Portuguese  label.  So  it's
   easier since they have a bigger market. The level  of  live  shows
   isn't very big, and the kids don't have much money to buy CDs  and
   they are pretty expensive here. In Portugal, we (Ramp) can  expect
   to sell 3000 records. That's peanuts, that's nothing.  But  that's
   very good here in Portugal for metal music. So you  can  see  it's
   not easy to develop a band in these conditions.

CoC: Is the music writing done together or do members  come  up  with
     different ideas on their own?

R: Normally we like to compose all the material inside a  garage,  we
   don't have just one or two members make all the compositions. It's
   like, if I have an idea for a riff, I'll show it to the other guys
   and we try to develop the idea. Normally the lyrics come after the
   music. Normally I get inside the ambiance of the song, and at  the
   same time I'm imagining something from the music and that's how  I
   come up with the lyrics. It's good from one  side,  that  everyone
   enjoys what they do inside the band, but at  the  same  time  it's
   very complicated because it's so democratic, so sometimes  it's  a
   slow process. In the end, everyone knows  that  there's  something
   from him inside the music, it's not just the music of  the  guitar
   player or bass player, it's the  music  of  Ramp.  It's  like  the
   meaning of Ramp. Do you know [what] the meaning of Ramp  is?  It's
   not  the  meaning  of  the  word  ramp,  it's  not  English,  it's
   Portuguese. It's R for Ricardo, A for Antonio, M for Miguel, and P
   for Paulinho, so it's the initials of the guys who made the  band.
   It's like the spirit of community. It's a band not [just] a guitar
   player.

CoC: Are you currently writing for the next record?

R: Well, we have already the next record made.

CoC: Really? So how does that compare to _Intersection_?

R: It's going to have different sorts of arrangements for the  songs,
   but do not expect any radical change from  Ramp.  We  respect  the
   same principals but at the same time had a few different  touches.
   I do know the name of the album and some of the  concepts  of  the
   lyrics. The album is going to be called _Future_.  It  has  to  do
   with a lot of changes in society right now, not only  in  Portugal
   but everywhere. Everything is changing very fast and it's a little
   scary when you think about youth and what they're going  to  face.
   [The lyrics] are like getting in touch with  a  new  dimension  of
   problems that are surging right now, and we must  be  prepared  to
   face it.

CoC: And finally, what personal goals do you want to reach  with  the
     band?

R: Our great goal is to make the music we  like  and  live  from  it,
   nothing more. It's our dream. We don't want to be stars, we  don't
   want to play in stadiums and that kind of shit. We  just  want  to
   make our music and hope that people  like  it.  Last  message  for
   everyone: "Don't forget to respect the other guys if you  want  to
   be respected!!!!!"

Contact: Ramp Scum Fan Club, Apartado 223
         2725 Merces Codex, PORTUGAL

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            M O R G O T H   M E T A M O R P H O S I Z E D 
            ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                       CoC interrogates Morgoth
                           by: Adam Wasylyk

     Never being a fan of _Cursed_-era Morgoth,  I  wasn't  expecting
much from _Feel Sorry for the Fanatic_, their third album for Century
Media. With _Feel Sorry..._ being described by the label as a "daring
leap that lets loose any hold that  the  1980s  might  have  held  on
them," I had a glimmer of hope. One listen to this record  will  show
that  Morgoth  have  transcended  death  metal  by  adding  different
elements to  their  music  and  boasting  a  more  commercial  sound.
Amorphis have done it. So have Gorefest. And now so have Morgoth.
     Older fans may have problems with this record and may cry  "sell
out." Marc Grewe, who has  also  worked  with  bands  like  Power  of
Expression and  Comecon,  talked  about  Morgoth's  infatuation  with
techno music, its incorporation into _Feel Sorry  for  the  Fanatic_,
and the changes the band has undergone.

CoC: First off, tell me about the new record and how long it took  to
     record/write?

Marc Grewe: Actually, I have to start with the _Odium_  album.  After
            the tour activities for the  _Odium_  album,  we  took  a
            break for half a year. During that  break,  everyone  was
            doing something different. I  started  to  work  with  my
            other band Power of Expression and the other guys in  the
            band worked a little with their  computers  and  sampling
            machines. So when we came together,  we  started  writing
            for the new album. For the  _Odium_  album,  we  had  the
            keyboards just in the studio and we worked with them only
            there, while for this record, the person who worked on or
            wrote  the  song  used  the  keyboard  and  the  sampling
            machine. That was the main difference  between  the  last
            record  and  _Feel  Sorry..._.  The  singing  style   has
            developed and it's a little different than the last  one,
            but that's just normal. I mean, if you play  in  a  band,
            you don't want to do the same stuff over and over  again,
            or at least we don't want to. So  everyone  in  the  band
            took lessons on his guitar or bass or drums or vocals.  I
            did some  vocal  training  for  a  couple  of  months,  I
            actually started a couple of years ago in  1994.  So  you
            want to show that on  the  record  and  that's  the  main
            reason why I sing on the album in a different way than  I
            used to sing before. But I think if you listen to it  you
            can still hear that it's me.  Even  if  songs  are  maybe
            different than the  ones  on  our  earlier  efforts  like
            _Cursed_, it's still the same people and  we  don't  deny
            our roots and I think you can still hear  that  it's  the
            same band. If you listen to the _Odium_ album in between,
            it hinted at which direction we wanted to  go.  Plus  the
            break where we didn't do touring or  recording,  we  just
            worked on  ourselves.  It's  different,  but  it's  still
            Morgoth and still the same people who recorded the  first
            demo. [ed: lies, lies, lies - AMG]

CoC: Like you said your vocals have changed  and  deviated  from  the
     death metal growls. Were you getting sick of  that  vocal  style
     and trying to do something fresher?

MG: Exactly. Death metal growling was fun when we used to do that  in
    the early days as it was pretty unique. It was the stuff that  we
    wanted to do. Of course I could sing the old growling stuff also,
    but nowadays it's more important for me to train my voice for new
    stuff. I'm still not at the point where I  want  to  go  to.  I'm
    still working on the voice and getting lessons for it.

CoC: In a live situation, are you going to use the old  growly  voice
     or will you adapt it with the new vocals that you've learned?

MG: We're gonna do old songs differently live  and  try  to  transfer
    them to the more modern sound. That means it'll be a  mixture  of
    the old growling stuff and the stuff I've  done  on  this  album.
    Sometimes we'll be more clear and sometimes  we'll  still  remain
    heavy. So it's going to be a mixture of both.

CoC: Musically, would it be fair to say that you wanted to  get  away
     from your death metal roots for a more modern metal sound?

MG: We don't deny our roots like I said before but we don't  want  to
    do the same stuff over and over again. It would be easy to  write
    a record like _Cursed_ nowadays. If we just wanted to do  it  for
    the money then we should have done a record like _Cursed_ because
    that was a strong selling album but that's not our aim. We wanted
    to do something different. We wanted to  do  something  different
    with every record and we want to go further  and  risk  something
    and that's the only way we can work. No one in the band is really
    into covering stuff that we've  done  before.  We  want  to  take
    everything a step further and always try to do our best and  work
    on ourselves. This isn't death metal but at least it's different.
    I have some problems to define what [our music] is. Some say it's
    techno metal, some people say it's thrash metal, and some  people
    still say it's death metal so I don't know really. I  think  it's
    just the stuff that came out and I don't label my music. So  it's
    up to the people who buy the album. To me it's just music.

CoC: What was the logic behind the dance track "... And  Its  Amazing
     Consequences", as techno music is taboo on metal records?

MG: We got really attracted  by  the  underground  techno  stuff,  in
    Europe it's getting popular. Not the  kind  of  stuff  you  think
    about techno, as most of the time when you think about techno you
    think of that stupid bubble gum techno "boom  boom."  That's  not
    the stuff we really like, we like  the  underground  stuff.  It's
    like comparing Bon Jovi with Cannibal Corpse. There are  so  many
    different styles of that kind of music, that you can't say techno
    is this or that. Like I  said  we  really  like  the  underground
    stuff, especially in the city where we come  from,  in  Dortmund.
    There are these events  with  crazy  people  and  extreme  techno
    stuff, [which is] extremely hard and extremely  aggressive  which
    reminds me  of  the  early  days  of  metal  when  it  was  still
    underground. It's fun to be there. A lot of people from different
    sides are attracted by that sort of stuff, like people  from  the
    punk and hardcore side and people from the metal side. So there's
    a very special atmosphere down there. It is illegal and sometimes
    police come to check it and catch you but  that's  the  stuff  we
    really like and it's almost compatible with the early death metal
    stuff: very aggressive and intense. To us it's something new  and
    if you listen to it loud it just blows you away.

CoC: So the whole band was influenced by  this  new  wave  of  techno
     music in Germany?

MG: More or less yes, but there are still people in the band who like
    more of the metal stuff. I'd say two people are really going  for
    the techno stuff at the moment but they still of course listen to
    metal and guitar music. The rest are more into guitar stuff  than
    going to those techno events,  but  still  go  to  them  once  in
    awhile. But two people are really crazy for it.

CoC: How have the critics and fans been reacting to _Feel  Sorry  for
     the Fanatic_?

MG: People in Europe are freaking out about it. In  the  States  it's
    very difficult, I don't know. I've read some very bad reviews but
    also some very good reviews so it's kinda split. I think a lot of
    people from the older days can't respect  the  development  we've
    made in the music. If you expect a record  to  sound  like  death
    metal and it's not then you write a negative review about  it.  I
    don't think it's a record that you can listen to once.  You  have
    to discover it as there are so many little hidden things that you
    don't hear by listening to it just one time. You have to hear  it
    twice, three, four times and then you'll get the clue to what  we
    mean with the record. It's not one that gets in  your  ear  right
    away. So you need to listen to it, maybe more  times  then  usual
    [as compared to other bands].

CoC: I reviewed _Feel Sorry for the Fanatic_ and I liked it a lot but
     some of my fellow writers didn't  like  it  at  all,  especially
     those that loved _Odium_. Do you feel that the change  in  sound
     on the new album is more on the drastic side?

MG: We view ourselves as a progressive band. Not progressive  as  you
    label bands like Dream Theater, but I see progression more in the
    way like experimentation. Maybe the next record will be different
    than this one. We really like to experiment  with  songs  and  if
    people like the _Odium_ album, then I don't understand  why  they
    don't like this album. In Europe, it's the other way around.  The
    people who liked the _Odium_ record also liked this  record.  But
    that's the way our band wanted to go and it's just what came  out
    in the last two years. Maybe in the future we will  do  something
    totally different again.

CoC: I've heard that you're planning to re-mix _Feel  Sorry  for  the
     Fanatic_. Can you go  into  more  detail  about  that?  Would  a
     Morgoth fan be able to appreciate the music on it?

MG: That's going to be involving the stuff we really like, techno and
    trip-hop stuff. It's going to be totally re-mixed and it'll  just
    have some guitar parts in it, it'll be very different. It'll have
    for example a very hard techno track on it but  also  a  trip-hop
    song which is more relaxed. It's going to  be  an  experience.  I
    know that a lot of people will hate it, but we don't  care.  It's
    what we want to do.

CoC: Any plans to tour North America for this album??

MG: Hopefully '97 will be the year for Morgoth to  be  on  the  road.
    There's a chance that we'll be coming to the States  in  February
    supporting Stuck Mojo  and  after  that  we'll  continue  touring
    Europe.

CoC: Do you see your future material  being  more  experimental  like
     "... And Its Amazing Consequences" or in any other direction?

MG: Well, you never know as anything is possible with this  band.  We
    will never do it for the money. Maybe the  next  record  will  be
    more heavy or maybe it'll have more techno. We already have three
    songs written for the next one, and they're a little  heavier  at
    the moment and are  more  like  "Curiosity"  kinda  stuff,  being
    heavier and catchier.

CoC: Do you see another three years lapsing before  the  next  record
     comes out?

MG: Absolutely not. We had some problems after the _Odium_ tour as we
    couldn't stand each  other  for  a  couple  of  months,  so  that
    accounts for some of the break. We started some  of  the  writing
    for this album in January 1995 so it took one  year  to  actually
    write the album, but all in all it  was  three  years  after  the
    _Odium_ album came out that we released this one. Like I said  we
    have written three songs already for the new record and  we  hope
    to go to the studio in October/November of 1997.

CoC: Finally, do you think the title of the last song, "A New  Start"
     sums up the music and your changed direction on _Feel Sorry  for
     the Fanatic_?

MG: That's right, yeah. It's kind of a new start for us.  We've  been
    away for three years and a lot of  people  said  "they're  dead."
    This album sounds different from the previous releases  and  it's
    sort of a new start for the band. It's great to be back!

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   ::|  :::\ :::| :~~/ :::| :::| ,::\ .::\ /::| :::| :| ,::\ :::\ <::<
 ::::::|:|:|  :|  :::, :|   :|   `::/ `::| \::|  :|  :| `::/ :|:| >::>
                                     ,.:/

Here is where CoC gets the inside story on up-and-coming bands. Check
out this column for a variety of fresh, brutal groups.  Should you be
an aspiring band on your way to super-stardom,  send us your demo and
bio; our address is included in the zine's header.


           N O   P R A Y E R   F O R   T H E   M A N T I S 
           ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
       CoC interrogates Toronto's Tchort & the Family Mantis
                          by: Adrian Bromley

     For fans of local Toronto doom metal squad Tchort &  the  Family
Mantis, one will acknowledge that the years have been tough  for  the
band. The band has worked hard to get  noticed  and  succeed  through
numerous gigs and style changes over the years. They fought  hard  to
keep the metal scene going in Toronto (the scene is not as strong  as
it used to be), but hard work and persistence by the  band  seems  to
have finally paid off with the introduction  of  their  well-received
debut CD, _Nightside of Eden_.
     Having originally begun as a death metal band and  incorporating
a violin player, the band has slowly  evolved  over  the  years  into
their present  day  shape  and  sound:  doom  metal.  Tchort's  sound
consists of thick riffs etched from the books  of  England's  premier
doom metal outfit Cathedral, the congruency and grooveness similar to
that of  now  defunct  sludge-rock  outfit  Kyuss,  and  the  satanic
fondness and pure loudness brought to our attention in the early days
of Black Sabbath. In other words: the band wears their influences  on
their sleeves proudly.
     The band has released two efforts in the  last  two  years,  one
being the 4-song _Ace of  Shrooms_  demo  from  last  year  and  most
recently the amazing _Nightside of Eden_. _NoE_  offers  us  six  new
songs recorded with brilliant Toronto producer Rob Sanzo, as well  as
the material  from  _AoS_,  allowing  us  the  listener  to  see  the
evolution of the band and their sound. "We found _AoS_  experimental,
and we wanted this record to be more of a  "straight-ahead"  sounding
record that would embody both  traditional  British  and  West  Coast
style metal," says singer/guitarist Eric Coucke. "We  wanted  to  get
that down pat and  that  will  allow  our  next  record  to  be  more
adventurous."
     For the recording of _NoE_, Coucke says producer Rob  Sanzo  was
recommended by fellow Toronto band Mundane as well as  Coucke  having
known of Sanzo's top notch  production  from  other  bands,  such  as
Poledo. "I was a little concerned at the beginning that he was  going
to be like this 'trendy' producer making bands sound  similar.  So  I
met up with him and found him to be an  incredibly  cool  person  and
having cool ideas and willing to work with us on a creative level. To
quote him, he said, 'Working with you guys was like a  vacation.'  We
got along with him and another reason it worked is  that  he  said  I
reminded him of himself ten years ago." He adds, "I don't know if  he
was joking but he definitely put us on the same wavelength."
     According to Coucke, the band right now -  made  up  of  Coucke,
guitarist Les Godfrey, bass player Nick  Sewell,  and  drummer  Chris
Gramlech - is absolutely the best assembly of musicians he could  ask
for. "I used to be the principal songwriter, and now I  am  happy  to
see that the other guys are writing more songs for the band. We don't
really collaborate much these days," reveals Coucke, "We usually just
come to practice with a finished piece and work  with  it.  We  might
take a piece from here or there or even scrap the piece.  Usually  we
openly welcome submissions by band members and take it from there.  A
lot of the songwriting is a process of osmosis where I will listen to
a type of music a lot  and  soon  enough  it  will  come  out  in  my
songwriting," starts Coucke about writing material for Tchort. "If we
look at it as a whole and how we write songs, then it is  a  question
of time because we are all in our "doomsday" trip - and so  actually,
today (the interview was conducted January 1st, 1997), we have  three
years left." He laughs.
     About Tchort's sound changes in the band's style, Coucke states,
I think we have gone from being a doom metal band to something I call
a "fuzzy" band. Both Les and I didn't really like the  guitar  timbre
of _AoS_ because we thought it sounded way to thrash metal and so  we
changed amplifiers and that helped change the guitar sound for us."
     Talking about the album (which  Coucke  describes  as  a  "fuzzy
nightmare you can groove out to"), Coucke says, "I  really  like  the
guitar tone of the album. I also like the fact  that  the  album  was
recorded live with the exception  of  vocals  and  guitar  solos.  It
sounds live and was mixed  that  way.  I  think  the  record  is  raw
sounding and that is what I like, too. The work put  into  coming  up
with a guitar sound also takes time. You usually spend hours  working
on it and after a lot of work we found it. I'm glad of that, too."
     As the interview winds down, seeing that  the  band  has  stayed
indie for a certain period of time, the  question  of  signing  to  a
label surfaces. What does the band want from a label if they sign  to
one? Coucke responds, "We want tour support  first  and  foremost.  I
want to be able to have my music distributed and to  be  able  to  go
around to cities and play to the people that want to come out and see
us. We want to play to the people that enjoy our  music.  Right  now,
obviously we don't make money doing what we do. Ultimately, if I  pay
my rent and feed  myself  I  will  be  happy.  We  just  want  decent
distribution and tour support. It is all we are asking for."

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                         R E V E L A T I O N
                         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                          by: Drew Schinzel

Having been around since  1986,  American  doom-metallers  Revelation
have had their fair  share  of  underground  experience.  After  four
albums and a two-year layover, their fifth  studio  release,  _Frozen
Masque_, is about to  be  unleashed  to  the  public,  and  the  band
couldn't be any more  enthusiastic  or  hopeful  about  their  bright
future. I recently had a chance to talk with Revelation  bassist  Jim
Hunter. Here's what he had to say.

CoC: Greetings Jim. Most of CoC's  readers  are  probably  unfamiliar
     with Revelation. Could you give a little band history?

Jim: Well, the band was started in 1986 by Steve Branagan (drums) and
     John Brenner (vocals/guitar). With various  bass  players,  they
     recorded a few demos, did a track for  the  Rise  Above  Records
     compilation,  _Dark  Passages_,  put  out  by  Lee  Dorrian  (of
     Cathedral), then signed with the label and  released  the  first
     album, _Salvations Answer_, in 1991. Then they recorded  another
     demo after that, signed with the German label Hellhound Records,
     and then they put out the second album, _Never  Comes  Silence_,
     in 1993. After that, John got disillusioned with the music scene
     in general and decided he wanted to quit the band. They  knew  a
     guy named Dennis Cornelius who was a huge  Revelation  fan  over
     the years and even jammed with them a few times, so  Steve  felt
     he would make a good replacement for John. So he became the  new
     guitarist/vocalist. Then in February  1994,  they  recorded  the
     _Mourning Son_ demo, and a few months after that  I  joined  the
     band, and in late '94 we recorded the _... Yet So Far_ album.

CoC: Explain Revelation's sound, in your own words.

Jim: To me, Revelation's music is totally heavy doom-type music,  but
     still melodic and emotional. I think we're  getting  better  and
     better at having melody but keeping it really heavy. The stuff's
     getting more aggressive, not like  Pantera  or  something,  just
     more headbangable. We also like to throw  some  weird  Rush-type
     grooves  in  there  too,  because  we're  all  big  Rush   fans,
     especially their earlier stuff.

CoC: What were some other influences on Revelation ?

Jim: I'd say our biggest influences are  bands  like  Black  Sabbath,
     Rush,  and  Trouble,  but  bands  like  Iron   Maiden,   Voivod,
     Queensryche, Fates Warning, and others have had a huge impact on
     our musical output. I personally am a heavy metal freak!

CoC: Why was there such a delay between _... Yet So Far_ and  _Frozen
     Masque_?

Jim: After _... Yet So Far_ was released, we did two European  tours,
     one with Saint Vitus in March of 1995,  and  one  with  Solitude
     Aeturnus in May of '95. When we got  back  from  the  tours,  we
     started writing new stuff  and  we  were  actually  planning  on
     recording a new demo in  December  of  '95.  We  ended  up  just
     recording a 4-track rehearsal tape. But then in March  of  1996,
     due to some personal stuff going on at the time, Dennis  decided
     to quit the band and move away. Steve  and  I  were  considering
     finding a replacement but then we both got so busy with our  own
     lives that it just never happened. Then, in about the middle  of
     the summer, Dennis decided he wanted to  rejoin  the  band.  Our
     first opportunity to really get  together  was  in  December  of
     1996, we just got together for a week, jammed, and recorded  the
     songs from the rehearsal tape for the new  demo  called  _Frozen
     Masque_.

CoC: Are you satisfied with the result ?

Jim: Extremely, I've never really been satisfied with  anything  I've
     been involved with recording, but I love  this  tape.  It's  not
     totally perfect, but I think the songs are some of, if  not  the
     best we've ever come up with. I just think the whole thing has a
     real powerful sound that I'm proud of.

CoC: You weren't satisfied with _... Yet So Far_? To me  that  was  a
     great album.

Jim: Well, we were totally rushed for  time  when  we  recorded  that
     album. We only had a certain number of days in which  to  record
     in order to be able to do the [Saint] Vitus tour. Considering we
     did the whole thing, recording, mixing,  and  mastering  in  six
     days, it turned out really good, just not as  good  as  I  would
     have liked. There were certain things with the mix I would  have
     liked to have done over but there was no time.  But  I  have  to
     give credit to Drew Mazurek, the guy who recorded  it,  he  made
     our sorry musical equipment sound great!

CoC: How was the St. Vitus tour? Did you get a good reaction from the
     European crowd?

Jim: The Vitus tour was AMAZING!  It  had  a  very  special  personal
     meaning for me. Vitus was the first band I ever saw in a club. I
     was 12! It was Saint Vitus and the Mentors at the Hung Jury  Pub
     in Washington, DC in 1987. What an insane show that was!  I  had
     been a Vitus fan ever since then. So to see their last show  was
     like closing a circle in my life. Those guys were so cool to  us
     too, totally took us under their wing. No egos or  attitudes  or
     anything. Scott Reagers had always been my favorite Vitus singer
     too, so to get to see that line-up play  every  night  was  just
     mindblowing for me, and then to get to hang out  with  them  all
     day and party with them? Unbelievable!

CoC: Think there's any chance for a North American tour this year?

Jim: Unless Hell starts freezing over and America is a big  supporter
     of this type of music, I doubt there will a North American  tour
     ever! Nothing against America, I love living here but to be able
     to tour in the US with the same conditions we had in  Europe  we
     would have to be as big  as  Mercyful  Fate  or  something!  And
     besides, we actually need one of  our  albums  to  come  out  in
     America first!

CoC: What led to the changes on _Frozen Masque_? Your  last  release,
     _... Yet So Far_, was not quite as heavy  and  had  some  fairly
     lengthy songs on it.

Jim: Yeah, with _... Yet So Far_, we, especially Dennis and  I,  felt
     that we had a lot to prove to the old Revelation fans,  so  that
     album was real "jam-happy." We were just really enjoying playing
     together and coming up with the craziest  stuff  we  could.  But
     then when we toured, we realized a lot of the songs  weren't  as
     powerful as we would have liked them to be, and some were just a
     drag to play over and over. When you're playing with bands  like
     Vitus and  Solitude  Aeturnus,  your  stuff  has  to  be  really
     powerful to even compare to them! So when we got back,  we  made
     kind of a conscious effort to  write  more  aggressive,  heavier
     material, and try to tighten up the arrangements  a  little.  If
     you can say the same thing musically in 5 minutes that  you  can
     in 8, why not just keep it at 5 and not bore everyone to  death?
     So that's what we tried to do  with  the  new  stuff:  keep  the
     elements that make it Revelation music but try to make  it  more
     powerful.

CoC: With a name like Revelation, some may think you are a  Christian
     band.  Please  explain  the  origin  of  your  name,  and   what
     Revelation is all about, both musically and lyrically.

Jim: Well, the name actually came from the trouble  song  "Revelation
     (Life or Death)" from the _Psalm 9_  album.  It  was  Steve  and
     John's tribute to one of their  favorite  bands.  The  band  has
     always had a spiritual side to the lyrics. John Brenner's lyrics
     were more overtly Christian, but our lyrics are  now  more  from
     our personal experiences,  but  that  spiritual  side  is  still
     there. The lyrics have always been  very  personal,  sort  of  a
     "revelation" of the minds of the  band  members.  Musically,  we
     want it to be heavy, melodic, emotional, and interesting to  the
     listener; not too crazy as to confuse people, but just enough so
     it isn't just boring and plodding the whole  time.  I  want  our
     music to be as special as my favorite bands' music is to me.

CoC: When do you see Revelation calling it quits?  What  would  cause
     you to stop making music?

Jim: Well, Revelation's been going for over 10 years now and has been
     through a lot and is still going. We'd probably call it quits if
     we became disinterested in playing together but I don't see that
     happening any time soon. I'm looking forward to recording a  new
     album and doing some more tours and  getting  Revelation's  name
     known more and more in the metal scene. I personally would  stop
     making music when it didn't inspire me anymore,  but  right  now
     I'm totally 100% obsessed with music, it's my favorite thing  in
     the world! I'm sure it will end up being a  life-long  obsession
     for me.

CoC: What will Revelation be up to the rest of this year?

Jim: Well, right now we want to spread this demo out as  much  as  we
     can to fans, labels, magazines, etc. We are looking  for  a  new
     record label, so hopefully that will work out. We're just  going
     to start writing some new tunes and  prepare  to  record  a  new
     album and probably try to play a lot of local shows in our  area
     this summer.

CoC: When will _Frozen Masque_ be available?

Jim: Extremely soon, people start sending in  your  orders  now!  The
     demo is $5 (US) $6  (world).  It  may  be  a  demo  but  it  has
     album-quality production, in my opinion. It doesn't  sound  like
     it was recorded in a toilet or anything. We're just glad to have
     something that represents us that we can get to people.

CoC: What is Revelation's relation to the Internet? Do you have a web
     page?

Jim: I'm totally into the Internet, I love it! I've been hooked since
     January 1996 when I first got online. I just love having  access
     to all the metal information I would never get otherwise. I  can
     really keep on top of things. And yes, we do have a  webpage  at
     http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/7567 and  we  invite  everyone  to
     come check it out!  A  really  good  friend  named  Tiff  Gorman
     designed it for us and she did a hell of a job! It's got a  bio,
     discography, samples, photos, and all that kind of stuff.  We're
     hoping to get some new samples from the  demo  up  in  the  next
     month  or  so.  Also,  we  can   be   reached   by   e-mail   at
     mailto:imagez@erols.com.

CoC: Ok, I think that's about it for  the  interview,  anything  else
     you'd like to say? End it whatever way you want...

Jim: I'd just like to say if  you're  reading  this,  thank  you  for
     enduring my babble. If you're not reading this, then  you  suck!
     Ha, ha! Seriously, we just want to encourage people to check out
     our stuff, because we desperately need the money! And we'd  like
     to spread the Revelation disease as far  as  we  can.  Also,  if
     people want to e-mail me,  especially  cute  metalhead  females,
     you're more than welcome to! My name is Phil Anselmo. Long  live
     metal!

Contact: REVELATION, c/o Jim Hunter
         905 S. Clinton St., Baltimore, MD, 21224, USA
         mailto:imagez@erols.com
         http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/7567

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

This is where we rant, rave, and rip apart albums. Check this  column
every month for the scoop on the latest in heavy hand-outs.

Scoring:  10 out of 10 -- If there was ever a perfect CD, this is it!
           8 out of 10 -- A great piece of metallic mayhem
           6 out of 10 -- Not too bad of an album
           4 out of 10 -- You are treading in dangerous waters
           2 out of 10 -- If you like this, you are fucked!
           0 out of 10 -- My shit can put out better music than this!


Anathema - _Eternity_  (Peaceville, 1996)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (8 out of 10)

First let me get one thing off my chest: no matter how good  Anathema
are right  now,  I  liked  them  better  with  Darren  White  in  the
_Serenades_ era. But I will be doing my best to keep this off my mind
and review the album for what it's worth. Anyway, this is  Anathema's
second go with Vincent Cavanagh on vocals. After _The Silent  Enigma_
proved Anathema hadn't lost it musically and also showing Cavanagh as
a competent vocalist, I expected a lot from _Eternity_. The  digi-pak
version is damn long,  around  70  minutes,  since  it  features  two
acoustic reprises. The album  starts  off  with  a  sad,  interesting
intro, very good. Tracks 2, 3, and 4 were the ones I liked  the  most
at first listen, and still are right now. Also remarkable is track 7,
"Suicide Veil", which brings us to the  unfortunate  fact  that  this
album tends to be all about  suicide,  which  is  something  I  can't
stand. Still, this is doom, right? Well, yeah,  right.  Anathema  are
even doomier than on their previous effort, actually, but the album's
overall feel is softer than before. The guitars aren't so crunchy and
Cavanagh's voice isn't raspy anymore. He now sings with clean vocals.
There are some moments in which he sounds a bit like  Aaron  from  My
Dying Bride, almost weeping, which is great. However,  he  frequently
uses a "sing-a-long" approach which doesn't seem to  work  too  well.
Wrapping up, all I can say is that Anathema have  gone  lighter,  but
they're still very talented. This album has  some  very  good  songs,
some excellent doom moments, but there's a bit of a significant  part
of the album which I felt didn't keep up with the quality I expected,
which they deliver throughout most of the album. A very good  effort,
nonetheless.


Angel Corpse - _Hammer of Gods_  (Osmose Productions, November 1996)
by: Steve Hoeltzel  (8 out of 10)

The first few plays I gave this disc got me pretty darn stoked, since
these guys definitely  have  a  ripping,  ferocious,  and  malevolent
sound. In fact, the sound in question is virtually  indistinguishable
from that of Morbid Angel's first two LPs - from the general style of
riffs and leads, right down to the trademark wild and frequent shifts
from sprinting to grinding  to  crazy  alien  riffing  entwined  with
koo-koo, wah-wah, squonk-squonk soloing. If you like  Morbid  Angel's
early stuff, as I do, then there's a lot here  to  enjoy,  especially
"Envenomed" and the wicked "Lord of the Funeral Pyre".  Still,  Angel
Corpse don't exhibit as much variation in feel or style from song  to
song as that "other" Angel does. And because the whole  Angel  Corpse
vibe is so entirely derivative of the sound  of  another,  much  more
original band, their potential impact is  blunted  by  the  knowledge
that when Morbid Angel cut their first two LPs, -they- weren't simply
imitating someone else's distinctive style. Anyway, original or  not,
I still think _Hammer..._ contains some killer tracks, and if  you're
a big fan of Morbid Angel's early material, then it's a safe bet that
you'll think so too.


Assuck - _Misery Index_  (Sound Pollution Records, December 1996)
by: Valgamon  (9 out of 10)

Assuck have definitely returned with this new record (I  hesitate  to
call it a full-length because it clocks in at a mere 15:20). Here  we
have fifteen tracks of raging, unbridled power  -  grindcore  at  its
very best. In case you're  wondering  about  the  line-up,  guitarist
Steve Heritage is now handling vocal duties as well,  and  he  sounds
(growls) very much like former vocalist Paul Pavlovich. Steve  Kosiba
is on bass, and Rob Proctor is once again on drums. The songs seem  a
little  bit  less  precise   than   earlier   material,   perhaps   a
manifestation of the burden created by Heritage's two-fold task. This
would also explain why the vocal patterning is often very predictably
on-beat, which is a disappointment at times. However, don't let those
observations fool you; this record  is  full  of  Assuck's  signature
sound, often marked by unexpected breaks  which  are  reminiscent  of
Deicide's "Legion"  (not  surprising,  considering  the  geographical
origin of both bands, and that they  both  record  at  Morrisound  in
Tampa - a fact not lost  on  this  reviewer  when  trying  to  remain
objective and not draw the obvious comparisons). These songs are very
powerful, soaked with dissonance and then tumble-dried in a whirlwind
of  bass-heavy  fury.  Some  have  said  that  Assuck  are   a   very
production-oriented band, and that  they  rely  a  bit  too  much  on
Morrisound. After seeing them play on new year's day,  I  must  admit
that I do prefer listening to their records; however, their live show
was far from boring. I almost feel like I'm being too critical  here,
because this record is truly superb; however, after  setting  such  a
high standard with "Anticapital," (the pinnacle of grind),  this  new
release does seem like a little bit of a let-down. But not  by  much.
If you liked that LP and the seven inches,  you  are  sure  to  enjoy
this. Packaging is minimal, but does include some nice cover  art  by
Brandon Dunlap. And where's the vinyl?

[As you may have noticed, this review wasn't written by  one  of  our
staffers, this review was graciously donated by Valgamon (who's  real
identity will remain anonymous), thanks again Valgy! -- Gino]


Bal Sagoth - _Starfire Burning..._ (Cacophonous, December 1996)
by: Drew Schinzel  (8 out of 10)

Okay, the name of this album  isn't  -actually-  _Starfire  Burning_.
It's really _Starfire Burning Over the Ice-Veiled  Throne  of  Ultima
Thule_, but that was just a tad too long to fit in the review header.
Now, with that out of the way... The new full length album  from  Bal
Sagoth delves even further into the depths  of  cheese  and  flat-out
absurdity, but if you can cut through the obscenely long song  titles
("In the Raven-Haunted Forests of Darkenhold, Where Shadows Reign and
the Hues of Sunlight Never Dance", anyone?) and somewhat  pretentious
music, what you've got  is  a  quality  album  with  loads  of  huge,
symphonic synth and some unique changes from  their  last  album,  _A
Black Moon Broods Over Lemuria_. First off, the guttural growls  have
flown out the window (though not entirely), and  have  been  replaced
for the most part  by  a  rather  unsatisfying  spoken  approach.  In
addition, the keyboards are much higher in the mix this time  around,
and provide a massive, orchestral feel, which, contrary  to  the  new
vocals,  are  -extremely-  gratifying,  and  have   a   very   thick,
professional sound. Maybe they should've been even higher in the  mix
though, to drown out the annoying guitars. Unoriginal and  uninspired
guitar lines are sprinkled throughout _SB..._, and  are  overshadowed
only by the beautiful clean interludes mercifully thrown in here  and
there. Don't get me wrong - I like _SBOtIVToUT_ quite a bit, and it's
admirable that Bal Sagoth didn't jump on the  black  metal  bandwagon
after their somewhat-B.M. debut, there are just  a  few  minor  parts
which could have been improved. In the end, however, what you have is
a fine album with an obvious amount of hard work put into  it,  which
is well-deserving of a recommendation.


Brain Toy - _Screaming Volumes_  (Cerebral Records, November 1996)
by: Adrian Bromley  (6 out of 10)

Progressive metal/classical trio Brain  Toy's  debut  album  radiates
creativity and a definite knack for being able  to  project  thoughts
and visions through music, but  rarely  sparks  any  interesting  and
memorable  numbers.  While  a  large  portion  of  the  material   is
reminiscent  of  Dream  Theater  and  Rush,  Brain  Toy  manages   to
incorporate their  own  take  on  progressive  metal  throughout  the
album's nine numbers.  The  band  shifts  from  up-tempo,  aggressive
numbers onto more  slowly  tuned,  melodic  numbers  that  flow  very
gracefully at times and  do  allow  for  some  versatility  to  shine
through but as mentioned before nothing stands out. The  introduction
and use of classical styles mixed with progressive metal styles works
off each other quite well as seen on numbers  like  "Shadows",  "Wash
Your Guilt Away", and "Silhouette". 


Darkside - _Melancholia of a Dying World_  (Conquest Music, 1996)
by: Alain M. Gaudrault  (4 out of 10)  

The cheesy fake-sounding automatic rifle combat noise in the  opening
sequence of this album was cause for immediate concern upon my  first
listen. Chalk up another one for gut feeling. I'll admit right  away,
before even getting to the music, one of  my  biggest  problems  with
this release is the production, not the engineering,  mind  you,  but
the production. I mean,  technically,  it  seems  well  recorded  and
sounds nice and clean, perhaps too clean, but the  overall  sound  is
just one bad decision after another. Those sporadic electronic  sound
effects are completely out of place, the  guitar  tone  is  thin  and
hollow, and the vocals are too  forward  in  the  mix,  although  the
latter point could have been remedied by thicker, louder guitars.  If
this is all due to lack of funds for  a  proper  studio  and  all,  I
apologize for harping, but the clean, crisp recording didn't lead  me
to believe this was the case. Enough with  the  production,  already,
right? If only that were the worst of  it.  Darkside  is  essentially
death metal, but you couldn't tell from  the  music.  This  is  death
strictly by the presence of death vocals; lame, boring ones at  that.
Too many sad rock structures and  solos,  neither  played  with  much
skill or significant complexity, a wonder seeing as they try so  hard
to be experimental. Combining elements of death,  speed,  hard  rock,
doom,  goth,  and  even   free-form   jazz,   _Melancholia..._   goes
everywhere, and in  the  end,  goes  nowhere.  Cohesion?  Forget  it.
Musicianship? Minimal. Aggression? Washed out. We're talking  several
dead simple (not to mention cliche, in far too many instances) riffs,
strung together nonsensically with unexpected genre context switches,
all backed with a low-grade drummer who makes  Death's  Bill  Andrews
sound good. Honestly, I found it painful having to sit  through  this
album the dozen or so times I forced myself to listen to it in  order
to write this review. It should  be  noted  that  this  was  actually
recorded in 1994, was released in late 1995 in Germany, and  is  just
now available in North America, so confused lot of Austrians may have
improved significantly since, but truely, these  guys  need  to  find
their strengths and focus on them... a lot.


Desire - _Infinity... A Timeless Journey Through the Emotional Dream_
by: Pedro Azevedo  (7 out of 10)  (Skyfall, 1996)

Desire are a  Portuguese  symphonic  doom  band.  They  use  lots  of
keyboards for atmosphere, extremely deep and slow death vox, and they
play mostly pretty slowly. They do speed up in the appropriate parts,
though, maintaining the interest and not letting the album bore  you.
These guys have managed to create a majestic  piece  of  doom,  where
orchestration is concerned. It's  well  produced,  and  it  has  some
pretty good ideas. There's enough on this album to  keep  anyone  who
likes doom interested, although others may find this  a  bit  boring.
Besides the constant keyboards, they also use  acoustic  guitars  and
occasional black metal vox. It's all  sort  of  dreamy,  as  much  as
doomy. They create an interesting atmosphere,  though  sometimes  the
music isn't thrilling - that's the price  they  pay  for  atmosphere.
They managed  to  keep  the  album  well  balanced,  though,  so  the
atmosphere doesn't take over too much. It's not really  an  excellent
album, but it has some good ideas and they seem to have worked  hard.
The next album, if they prove to be more mature  and  all  (no,  this
doesn't mean softer, and it  doesn't  mean  dropping  the  death  vox
either), could be great.


DOA - _New York City Speedcore_  (Earache, January 1997)
by: Adrian Bromley  (8 out of 10)

Drowning in some of the  most  powerful  techno  hardcore  beats  and
sounds, as well as fusing  together  sinister  screams  of  rage  and
momentous walls of noise comes New York's Disciples  of  Annihilation
(D.O.A) delivering the goods. No question about  it,  this  stuff  is
heavy. Laced in serious hardcore techno and gabber  (200+  beats  per
minute),  DOA  storm  through  powerful  concoction  after   powerful
concoction of sound styles as well as  bringing  into  play  samples,
industrial metal qualities and noise. Lots of noise. While the  music
on _NYCS_ rotates in sound and style, there is no question that every
song is delivered with  full-force  and  intensity.  Numbers  that'll
knock you silly  include:  "Total  Annihilation",  "Extreme  Gansta",
"You're Dead", and the title  track.  I  recomend  this  release  for
anyone that craves noise/industrial/extreme music bands.


Fear Disorder - _In a Rage_  (Independent, November 1996)
by: Adrian Bromley  (7 out of 10)

Local Toronto act Fear Disorder have been through the ringer too many
times to count (name changes/band members/demo tapes/etc) but at last
the band has finally been able to capture a sound and groove that  is
very hard-hitting. While the music on _In a Rage_ may not be the most
earthshaking material we have heard in the last  little  while  (with
regards to might and intensity), what Fear Disorder has managed to do
is gather together all their know-how as  a  hard  metal  outfit  and
bring that out into their music. _IaR_  is  overflowing  with  strong
riffs, monster-growls and non-stop blasts of heaviness. The music - a
combination of thrash metal (Overkill or Testament) and  well-focused
metallic grooves (Voivod) - allows the four-piece to maneuver through
memorable numbers like the title track, "Hole in Your Head" and  "God
Kills (And So Shall I)" with the greatest of ease. A strong debut  CD
by a band that has finally mastered and perfected where  they  should
be in the metal music realm. Let's hope people catch on now.


From the Depths - _From the Depths_  (Dismal Records, 1996)
by: Steve Hoeltzel  (7 out of 10)

Not to be confused with the Italian black  metal  band  of  the  same
name, these guys hail from Cleveland, and their self-titled CD  is  a
cool release that mixes black  metal's  appreciation  for  atmosphere
with the styles of sonic brutality usually associated with the  death
and death/grind  scenes.  The  band  alternates  freely  and  rapidly
between the riffing and vocal styles of black and death metal,  while
the percussion  is  generally  played  and  recorded  in  more  of  a
death/grind style. Keyboards are brought in occasionally, and at  the
right times, adding creepy vibes without dominating  the  sound.  The
lyrics are also worth mentioning: they're entertaining little  horror
stories which are actually driven by plot, as opposed  to  the  inane
repetition of gore cliches, or the now-standard confused and  garbled
attempts to mix christian satanism  with  old  pagan  religions.  The
songs  themselves  contain  lots  of  instantly  memorable  sections,
especially "It Lurks", the raging title  track,  and  "Curse  of  the
Scarecrow". (The latter song gets two thumbs  up  -  way  up!  -  for
actually mentioning my mighty home state of Iowa by name. Put that in
your pipe and smoke it, Norse and Swedish hordes.) Why, then, haven't
I rated the CD a bit higher? Well, for one, I  think  the  songs  are
overly dominated by the lyrics. This band can definitely  smoke,  but
most of the time, by far, they're just providing the vocalist with  a
riff to sing (or narrate) over. Longer,  more  involved  instrumental
passages  between  vocal  parts  would  really  add  impact  to   the
compositions, I think. So would more and louder guitar  in  the  mix.
Regardless, this is likable and fairly unique.


Funeral - _Tragedies_  (Arctic Serenades, 1996)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (6 out of 10)    

Hmm. Give or take 3 points to that score, depending  on  whether  you
think you'll like the slowest album I've  ever  heard  or  not.  This
really is a test as to how much one  really  likes  extreme  doom.  I
mean, this is the most extreme doom album I ever heard. In fact, it's
so extreme it suffers from it. This  is  the  debut  album  for  this
Norwegian band which features extremely slow (believe  me,  extremely
slow) doom/death. They have a female singer, Torill Snyen, who's able
to deliver some damn good femme vox. She left  the  band  after  this
recording,  though.  Her  vocals  alternate  with  a  powerful  death
grunter, causing an interesting effect. The problem with  Funeral  is
that they wanted so much to make a slow album that they  overdid  it.
The album's just too slow, some  of  the  melodies  are  even  ruined
because of that. I personally find some pretty interesting  parts  on
this 5-track, 60-minute album (not that long songs are a  bad  thing,
on the contrary), but it's too slow and monotonous  for  me.  They're
promising a lot for their next album, though. It's been  recorded  in
Academy Studios (used by bands such  as  My  Dying  Bride,  Anathema,
Cradle of Filth and Paradise Lost) this  year  and  produced  by  the
well-known Mags. They're now going to record the female vocals, since
they only found a new female vocalist recently. The album's  supposed
to be a lot better and not as slow as before. Let's see if  they  can
deliver all they're promising.


Gehennah - _King of the Sidewalk_  (Osmose Prod., November 1996)
by: Steve Hoeltzel  (6 out of 10)

Look out, rock and roll children, because the "gods of mean and dirty
street metal" have returned, and if their bio is a reliable document,
then you can bet that Mr. Violence and friends are  rocking  out  and
getting stinking drunk even as  you  read  these  words.  Worry  not,
though: your reviewer is perfectly sober at the moment. See, although
I briefly considered the idea of trying to find  out  just  how  much
sauce it would take to make me really  enjoy  this  band,  I  quickly
decided that this approach would probably land me in the hospital. In
other  words,  I  just   can't   get   into   Gehennah's   brand   of
Motorhead-inspired, low-concept, early  eighties  style  schlock.  Of
course, their schlockiness is intentional, as  likably  silly  titles
like "Bitch With a Bullet Belt"  and  "Bang  Your  Heads  for  Satan"
demonstrate. But all this humor  doesn't  make  the  songs  any  more
engaging on a musical level, and frankly, I just get bored  by  these
repetitive exercises in  simple,  rocking  riffing,  propulsive  bass
lines, gruff singing, and slap-happy tempos. If  you're  really  into
the basic Motorhead style, you'll probably  enjoy  Gehennah,  and  if
cornball metalhead humor is your thing, then you'll find this release
to be a potent sonic brew indeed. But if, like  me,  you  prefer  the
more extreme styles that have been distilled in  recent  years,  then
steer clear of this outdated swill and stick to the real hard stuff.


Grip Inc. - _Nemesis_  (SPV, January 1997)
by: Adrian Bromley  (7 out of 10)

Okay... so now ex-Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo's new band  Grip  Inc.
has been given enough time to work out the kinks  and  problems  that
may have surfaced when the band's debut _The Power of Inner Strength_
was released. Time to deal with good/bad press  and  enough  time  to
tour and show people that this Lombardo project was not  a  "security
blanket" after leaving (was booted from?) Slayer.  The  band's  debut
album _TPoIS_ was an assortment of heavy  drumming,  powerful  riffs,
technical guitar playing (provided by producer/guitar wizard Waldemar
Sorychta) and screams of anger  delivered  by  singer  Gus  Chambers.
Round two. The sophomore release _Nemesis_  continues  on  where  the
band (now a three-piece) left off, drenched in intensity and hard-ass
momentum, as well as some  technical  know-how.  I'm  actually  quite
impressed with the band's "new" sound which  features  keyboards  and
Chamber's vocals being a bit more versatile. The music has  developed
more of a groove now and even though Chambers still screams his  head
off, there seems to be a definite  feel  and  creativity  within  the
material that showcases both thrash and speed  metal  qualities.  For
those that thought Lombardo and Co. were going to fuck up with  album
number two - you're wrong. _Nemesis_ is worth a listen and should  be
enough to keep metal fans interested in the band  till  album  number
three comes out.


Heavenwood - _Diva_  (Massacre Records, 1996)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (8 out of 10)

Heavenwood are currently my favourite Portuguese band. No matter  how
great Moonspell's _Wolfheart_ was, _Irreligious_ disappointed me, and
_Diva_, Heavenwood's debut, seems clearly better. You can  read  more
about this band from my home city of Porto in my concert review  (see
CoC #16). About the album itself, it mixes some doom with  death  vox
and lots of Crematory-like keys. They produce a very  melodic  sound,
keeping a powerful edge to their  music.  They  do  show  some  clear
influences.  Track  1  reminds  me  of  Paradise  Lost,  track  4  is
influenced by My Dying Bride, and there are even some (crap)  Sisters
of Mercy influences in one  of  the  later  tracks.  As  far  as  I'm
concerned, and although tracks 1, 3, and 4 are also great, the  three
demo tape tracks that were  included  are  still  the  best:  "Judith
Heavenwood", "Frithioff's Saga",  and  "Emotional  Wound".  Brilliant
melodies all the time. It's a bit  of  a  shame  about  some  softer,
goth-like parts in a couple of the newer songs  that  put  down  this
score to an 8. If they had entirely kept  up  with  their  demo  tape
songs' level, they would surely get  a  9.  A  great  album  and  one
everyone should at least try.


Jaww - _Southbound_  (Independent, January 1997)
by: Adrian Bromley  (8 out of 10)

Helping fuel the intensity and harshness that Toronto's  music  scene
is lacking (besides bands  like  Tchort  or  Solus)  comes  Jaww,  an
intense four-piece who's music style -  similar  to  Cannibal  Corpse
meets Obituary (a bit more thrash metal  based  and  noticeably  more
coherent) - seems to take on quite a powerful momentum on their debut
album, _Southbound_. Produced by one of  my  favorite  local  Toronto
producers, Rob Sanzo (Mundane, Tchort, Poledo), the 10-track  release
heaves at us powerful and brutally  charged  numbers  like  "Trampled
Under Foot", "Free from Disease", and the cool-grooved grind of title
track, "Southbound". Having only been  around  since  1995  and  only
having released a 4-song demo tape,  _Demonstration_  (a  time  where
they used a drum machine), I am quite impressed with  the  depth  and
work Jaww members put  into  the  songwriting  and  song  structures.
Having Sanzo on board in the studio helped strengthen the sound, too.
Metal bands like Jaww seem to be popping up all of a sudden  and  I'm
beginning to have some hope that Toronto may  be  able  to  market  a
"metal scene" once again. 

Contact: Jaww, c/o Doug McLarty
         1756 Queen St. West, Box 30
         Toronto, Ontario, M6R-1A6, Canada
         mailto:jaww@gadzook.lglobal.com


Korpse - _Revirgin_  (Candlelight Records, 1996)
by: Alain M. Gaudrault  (9 out of 10)

Had I managed to get my hands on a copy of this  album  while  I  was
investigating the metal scene in Scotland, I'd have claimed, as I  do
now, that Korpse is easily  the  most  impressive  band  the  country
currently has to offer. Their quirky approach blends  trippy,  groovy
elements into a hybrid of  death  metal  and  Motorhead-driven  speed
rock, without sounding like a derivative of any of their  influences.
This impressive three-piece have managed to successfully  blend  this
concoction into an album capable of convincing your lead foot to take
over on an open highway, while lending itself beautifully to bouts of
complete  THC-induced  inertia,  and   all   despite   hailing   from
metal-deprived Aberdeen! The vocals, a subdued airy death  growl,  at
1st don't seem to fit particularly well with the music's  speed  rock
tendencies, but after  familiarizing  oneself  with  the  songs,  the
band's sonic vision becomes increasingly clear and highly  addictive.
Lyrically, I don't know what to make of  Fluff's  (bass  and  vocals,
rounded out by Taff on drums, and Sid on  guitar  and  flute)  mental
scratchings. From the off-the-wall song titles  ("Octochoosy",  "Milk
and Two Salts", "To Be Continued...?",  "Vitamin  F",  "International
1001", etc) to the  oft-broken  English  of  the  lyrics  themselves,
Korpse isn't about espousing  deep,  conceptual  ideology,  but  pure
musical feeling, delivered expertly  and  unendingly  throughout  all
eleven tracks. Candlelight  should  lay  off  Opeth  for  awhile  and
concentrate on  promotion  for  this  trio,  who  could  easily  gain
sizeable appeal if allowed to reach the metal masses.


Life Garden - _Ahitanaman_  (Agni Music, 1996)
by: Andrew Lewandowski  (7 out of 10)

One major factor differentiates Life  Garden  from  the  majority  of
their ambient contemporaries: a reliance on organic  instrumentation.
Thus,  _Ahitanaman_  contains  no  random   metallic   pounding,   no
disorienting high frequencies, and no lengthy periods of space devoid
of anything except sparse bass droning. Disregarding the  virtues  of
electronics generally lends itself to one major dilemma: how does one
occupy the void?  While  some  form  of  "action"  constantly  occurs
throughout the album, Life Garden prefer to keep their music  simple.
Tribal percussion creates a mesmerizing foundation, one which  rarely
gets built  upon.  A  myriad  of  instruments  occasionally  resonate
throughout the alternate dimension manifested within  the  stereo  of
each listener.  They  produce  a  hallucinatory  effect,  chaotically
exploding into the forefront one second, before dissipating a  second
later. Once combined with the chants of Su Ling, this transcends into
a truly disturbing listening experience.  Her  voice  is  that  of  a
schizophrenic; it contains whimsy  counterbalanced  by  indescribable
sorrow, an operatic cry juxtaposed by primal shrieks.  A  correlating
set of contradictions surround this  album:  an  underlying  aura  of
aggression almost seeps throughout, yet it remains sparse, maybe  too
much so; this sparseness lends one to pigeonhole it as  "meditative,"
yet the music is far too manic to transport a listener into  any  one
desired mood.


Lord Belial - _Enter the Moonlight Gate_  (No Fashion, Spring 1997)
by: Drew Schinzel  (9 out of 10)

Lord Belial's debut album, _Kiss the Goat_, was received  with  mixed
reviews by most; signs of brilliance occasionally shone through,  but
on the whole the majority of people considered it an average release,
nothing spectacular. However, this time  around  it  is  a  different
story. Crushing melodic Swedish black metal. Those  four  words  just
about sum up Lord Belial's  latest  offering,  _Enter  the  Moonlight
Gate_. After you begin to hear  the  fast  riffing  which  opens  the
album, you know you're in for a treat, and the remainder of the album
definitely does not disappoint.  Taking  the  main  elements  of  the
genre: acoustic interludes followed by  buildup  in  energy,  cleanly
played melodies, and skilled musicians, Lord Belial has put  together
a release which should satisfy any fan of Dissection,  Mork  Gryning,
and others of their ilk.  That's  not  to  say  that  this  album  is
completely derivative, it does have some of its own original  (or  at
least original to the genre) facets: some heavy  riffing,  outrageous
and particularly Bethlehem-like vocals in one section,  and  a  flute
(also used on _KtG_). A flute? Don't worry, it's not used  much,  and
when it -is- used, it's perfectly mixed in with the music  and  truly
great. Also present in one  song  are  very  moderately  used  female
vocals, but again, they are sparse (only in the closing  moments,  in
this case) and well done. Of course, what would any black metal album
be without cliched lyrics and song titles? Both are here, but neither
matter very much. Let's review: Lord  Belial,  _Enter  the  Moonlight
Gate_, awesome melodic black metal, highly recommended.


My Dying Bride - _Like Gods of the Sun_  (Peaceville, 1996)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (10 out of 10)    

My Dying Bride are currently my favourite band in the world. I'd rate
any  of  their  four   full-length   albums   10/10.   They're   just
unbelievable. They keep changing every year,  but  are  still  always
great. Aaron's voice is still 100% clean, as in _The  Angel  and  the
Dark River_, so it seems like  the  grunting  is  over.  After  going
lighter album after album, MDB inverted that by  releasing  an  album
that, while still being a doom album, like they said, rocks.  _LGotS_
has much more of a metal feel to it than before.  They  maintain  (or
even increase) their brilliant use of violins and  keyboards,  adding
much to the music. Aaron keeps his  voice  excellent,  moody,  deeply
felt, almost weeping at times. The guitars are  now  much  crunchier,
heavier than before, and the drumming is nothing short of  excellent.
The production is near perfect. The tracks are  mostly  shorter  than
before, less epic, but the musical quality's all there.  Tracks  such
as "A Kiss to Remember", "All Swept Away" or "For  My  Fallen  Angel"
are just excellent. All of the album's excellent,  in  fact.  There's
not one bad moment. My Dying Bride once again show their  excellence,
proving to be, in my opinion, the best band on the face of the Earth.


Molested - _Stormvold_  (Repulse Records, September 1996)
by: Adam Wasylyk  (7 out of 10)

From the hellish, foggy, corpse-painted depths of Norway come...... a
death metal band!!??!! Touting themselves as "one of the most  brutal
and twisted death metal bands ever to hail from Norway," a good  word
to describe Molested in my opinion is "chaotic."  The  production  on
_Stormvold_ sounds loud and noisy, most likely done by  the  band  on
purpose to sound more brutal. Lots of blazing guitars and drums  with
deep death metal vocals. Starting off with the eerie riffing on  "The
Usurpers Winterblood", they go on with tracks  like  "Fogflames"  and
"Following the Growls". Fans of brutal death  metal  will  like  this
MCD, but the production does take some getting used to.


Monstrosity - _Millennium_  (Conquest Music, December 1996)
by: Adam Wasylyk  (7 out of 10)

Tampa's  Monstrosity  have  finally  released  their   long   awaited
follow-up to _Imperial Doom_.  _Millennium_  contains  10  tracks  of
well-played technical death metal, produced by death  metal  producer
guru Scott Burns, which accounts for the good production. Songs  like
"Fatal Millennium", "Devious Instinct",  "Fragments  of  Resolution",
and "Mirrors of Reason" are good examples of how technical, fast, and
heavy Monstrosity can get. This  record  also  features  the  vox  of
George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher who is  now  in  Cannibal  Corpse.  One
listen to _Millennium_ will convince you that "Corpsegrinder" made  a
horrible mistake by leaving one of Florida's better death metal bands.

[Personally, I'd give it a 9/10, this rules - Alain]

Contact: Monstrosity, c/o Conquest Music
         4195 South Tamiami Trail #190, Venice, FL, 34293, USA
         mailto:conqmusinc@aol.com


Morgion - _Among Majestic Ruin_  (Relapse, December 1996)
by: Drew Schinzel  (9 out of 10)

To those who didn't know (including myself before listening to this),
Morgion plays strongly death metal-influenced doom.  Guttural  vocals
and uptempoed sections occasionally come into play  during  the  epic
compositions, but for the most  part,  this  is  a  fine  doom  metal
offering, combining extremely  heavy  riffing  at  times  with  slow,
majestic, keyboard-laden atmospheric flourishes.  Morgion  weave  out
five anguished offerings on this lengthy MCD, every one  of  them  an
amazement in itself, each  one  sorrowfully  adept  at  proving  that
Morgion are an awesome band and deserve more  recognition  than  they
currently garner (maybe Relapse should stop  promoting  Amorphis  and
Neurosis so much?). Even though every song is fantastic,  I  actually
almost gave this album  an  8.5,  but  the  third  song  is  just  so
completely awe-inspiring that anything other than  a  9  would  be  a
"Travesty". Some might consider this review a bit  too  short...  but
when you're talking about _Among Majestic Ruin_, there's no  need  to
mince words: you owe it to youself to get it immediately.


Mortician - _Hacked Up for Barbecue_  (Relapse, January 1997)
by: Adrian Bromley  (6 out of 10)

I have never been a fan of Mortician and I still continue to feel the
same  way  about  the  band  and  the  music  the  duo  Will   Rahmer
(bass/vocals) and Roger Beaujard  (guitar/drum  programming)  create.
Sort of. While I was not a fan of 1996's  _House  by  the  Cemetary_,
there is something intriguing  and  kind  of  interesting  about  the
twenty-four songs and numerous samples used on their sophomore album,
_Hacked Up For Barbecue_, especially the FUCKIN' CREEPY intro  sample
of "Bloodcraving". Rahmer is a  horror/slasher  film  aficionado  and
that love of demented tales and  visions  when  coupled  with  savage
riffs, deep guttural vocals and low-tuned bursts  of  intensity  make
the music powerful and crafty. Songs to crank loud: title track, "Fog
of Death", and "Necrocannibal". The only downside to this  album,  as
with most Mortician records,  is  that  the  album  radiates  a  very
similar sound and  style  throughout.  It's  fast  and  it's  utterly
disgusting at times. A sick nightmare  brought  to  reality  is  what
_HUfB_ seems to have shaped itself into.  Brilliantly  executed,  yet
sickly demented. 


Murder Corporation - _Blood Revolution 2050_
by: Adrian Bromley  (8 out of 10)  (Repulse Records, November 1996)

Five songs only on this here EP, but five  songs  of  sheer  powerful
death metal. Made up of ex-members of death  metal  outfits  Deranged
and Mega-Slaughter, the latest band to surface from Sweden is  worthy
of a listen. Supported by  complex  and  quick-riffed  guitar  solos,
harsh growls and pure intensity, Murder Corporation plow through  the
five songs like a runaway freight train. Loud and  dominant  vocalist
Jens Johansson leads the way with  some  heavy  growls  that'll  make
anyone uneasy at least once while hearing this album. All  the  songs
on _BR2050_ are great, especially the violently  power-packed  crunch
of "Point Blank Range". With just enough material to cover a bit more
than sixteen minutes, Murder Corporation's  debut  will  make  anyone
into them wait around for a second release. I'm willing to wait.


My Only Victim - _No Voice, No Rights, No Freedom_
by: Adrian Bromley  (5 out of 10)  (Century Media, January 1997)

Much like the other forms of hardcore/metal material  surfacing  from
Century Media (i.e. Stuck Mojo, Turmoil, and Hostility),  Louisville,
Kentucky quintet My Only Victim mix and match music  styles,  melding
together both hardcore and metal music. The five-piece band  released
their well-received debut album (_Burning Inside_) in  1995  and  now
two years later, after many touring dates in the US  and  in  Europe,
the band returns in 1997 with their sophomore record  _No  Voice,  No
Rights, No Freedom_. _NVNRNF_ is a full-throttle stomp  of  harshness
and energetic and mayhem that scatters throughout eleven songs but as
I hear this record more and more I am  lost  by  the  somewhat  stale
(boring? repetitive?) hardcore sounds the band has keyed in  on  with
the record. The record is raw sounding and supplies ample amounts  of
ferociousness  and  raw  power  ("Unjustified,"  "Walls  Apart",  and
"Cornered".) but there seems to be something lacking. Not to say  the
band lacks any form or originality or creativity, I  just  feel  that
_NRNVNF_ doesn't quite deliver up to the momentum and adrenaline rush
that bands like  Turmoil  or  Stuck  Mojo  do  with  their  crossover
techniques. Just my point of  view  as  I  see  this  effort  lacking
something.


Necromass - _Abyss Calls Life_  (Dracma Records, 1996)
by: Andrew Lewandowski  (7 out of 10)

Talent is required to  intertwine  unconventional  elements  into  an
extreme metal context,  a  talent  which  alludes  many  contemporary
practitioners of "avant garde" metal. Many of  the  black  and  death
metal scene's supposedly creative acts are simply unable  to  balance
originality and extremity;  bands  either  become  muddled  in  their
impotent attempts at technical  superiority,  or  create  a  mask  of
varied instrumentation to obscure utterly simplistic song structures.
All emotional content  appears  overly  prefabricated  as  the  music
screams  "pretentious"  instead  of  "poetic."  For  the  most  part,
Necromass' hybrid of death and  doom  metal  side  steps  this  black
abyss. Although, some sections do not work; the choral  passages  are
far more irksome than ethereal, and the meandering guitar solos  (the
second track, "Vibrations of Burning  Splendor",  contains  one  that
lasts for a minute) are too obtrusive. Some  tracks,  especially  the
grand finale "Before to Obsess," sound a bit overblown. Worst of all,
the Necromass vocalist calls himself Charles  Blasphemy  (on  a  less
superficial level, he possesses a  nice,  guttural  roar)  and  their
rhythm guitarist goes by the name of Nachzerehrmara. When will  these
bands realize that every name used after "Dead" and "Euronymous"  can
only be superfluous? Back to the  music:  the  riffing  patterns  are
dynamic although still somewhat repetitive, yet from this  repetition
arises an effective tone of melancholy. The  songs  slash  their  way
into one's skin before settling somewhere in the most  sullen  depths
of the soul. The somber images evoked are fairly reminiscent of those
created by Katatonia; in fact, the music bears a close resemblance to
a more lively version of Katatonia. The addition of acoustic  guitars
are more effective within the context of a Necromass  track  than  in
many of their peers, and the surprisingly violent drumming (a remnant
from their less sedate debut on Unisound) is a reminder that this  is
still a death metal band. Although Necromass fall victim to  some  of
the usual problems, _Abyss Calls Life_ showcases  creativity  without
neglecting to create interesting songs.


Nightstick - _Blotter_  (Relapse Records, January 1997)
by: Adrian Bromley  (7 out of 10)

Let me give you some insight on Nightstick and then you decide if you
want to listen to it: Acid. Feedback. Padoinka the clown  serving  as
member and as stage prop. Heavy riffs. Ex-con serving  as  a  member.
Samples.  Distorted  vocals.  Answering  machine   message   sampled.
Psychedelic music. Intense screams. Cool song titles ("Fellating  the
Dying Christ"). Massachusetts natives. Relapse act.  They  know  Anal
Cunt. Cool quote in bio ("I wanted to find new ways to be heavy...").
Decided yet? Well all that has to be said about  this  band  is  that
this is one fucked-up bunch of musicians, coming together  to  create
noise... er... music. It's a great job isn't it? Have fun and drop  a
blotter. :) 


Puissance - _Let Us Lead_  (Cold Meat Industries, Fall 1996)
by: Adrian Bromley  (7 out of 10)

Acting as the soundtrack to the awful atrocities of a war  and  human
suffering, Puissance's _Let Us Lead_ is a  true  testimonial  of  the
frightening world that we live in and the reality  that  many  of  us
must face on a daily basis. War and suffering are the main  focus  of
_LUL_. Surfacing  on  the  ultra-cool  label  Cold  Meat  Industries,
Puissance's album is not something that many metal fans might pick up
on as it serves more as a tool of understanding rather than  a  fixed
voice and outlet  of  aggressive  and  angry  music/lyrics.  To  best
describe the music I would classify it  as  noise/industrial/classic.
More symphonic  and  eerie  sounding  opposed  to  brash  and  lethal
injections of riffs and growls, _LUL_ follows a pattern of  intensity
through mood swings and emotions. My only  complaint  with  _LUL_  is
that the album strays too far away from a focused  view/direction  of
music and as well sometimes the long songs seem to lose the listener.
Not much to complain about and overall a great listen for those  that
are into epic song structures and classical music.


Revelation - _Frozen Masque_  (Independent, January 1997)
by: Drew Schinzel  (8 out of 10)

Back with their fifth release in six years, Revelation  take  a  turn
towards the  heavier,  more  condensed  side  and  leave  behind  the
plodding, lengthy compositions  of  1994's  _...Yet  So  Far_  album.
Picking up on what hurt _YSF_, Revelation remain definitively in  the
slow doomy genre, but this time the production helps things  quite  a
bit and the songs are noticeably more  aggressive  and  heavy,  while
remaining melodic. Perhaps the only thing that can  be  held  against
this release is that the melodies and riffs could maybe be  developed
a bit more - they often just kind of hang around, without being fully
taken advantage of. That said, however, there is plenty to  be  happy
about with _Frozen Masque_. As mentioned, heaviness abounds, and  the
guitars have a solid "in your face"  feel;  in  addition,  the  clean
vocals are well-performed and fit this sort of  music  perfectly.  It
would be difficult to adequately follow-up the  terrific  _...Yet  So
Far_, but Revelation have done so, admirably.


Sentenced - _Down_  (Century Media, January 1997)
by: Adrian Bromley  (8 out of 10)

Managing to shapeshift its sound and  direction  over  the  last  few
releases (_North From  Here_  in  1993  and  1994's  _Amok_)  Finnish
metallers Sentenced return to the new year with their exceptional and
stunning release, _Down_. Much different than  past  incarnations  of
their extreme and black  style  metal  music,  _Down_  signifies  the
changing of the band - in sound and members. Gone is longtime  singer
Taneli Jarva and in comes new singer Vile Laihaila,  an  addition  to
the band that helps produce  some  memorable  song  arrangements  and
allows a comforting yet powerful onslaught of vocal styles.  Lost  to
some extent is the rather harsh elements of  the  bands  music  (i.e.
hard riffs, growls) and in return comes a rather smooth array of rock
n' roll infested material. The technical and  dark  elements  of  the
band are still present, which allows us still to be intrigued by  the
way the band assembles their music and the way it has been worked  on
in the studio. While  much  different  than  the  material  the  band
brought forth on their debut album (_Shadows of  the  Past_),  I  can
honestly say that I was not  at  all  disappointed  with  Sentenced's
latest effort. It grows on you. Standouts: "Keep My Grave Open", "Ode
to the End", and "Crumbling Down (Give Up Hope)".


Slightly Miffed - _Puzzled?_ (Slightly Fishy Records, January 1997)
by: Adrian Bromley  (6 out of 10)

Once you get past the brilliant, funny, and time consuming  packaging
of England's Slightly Miffed debut  CD  _Puzzled?_  (not  to  mention
their amazing website, http://www.miffed.com/)  the  music  is  quite
funny and enjoyable as well. Slapstick humor, funny samples, and  odd
arrangements make up this debut album by  the  energetic  four-piece.
The music of the band can be best described as  "Monty  Python  meets
metal." Case in point, song titles like  "Bingo",  "Cheesefish",  and
"User Friendly". I know some of you are shaking your heads, but  this
is rather entertaining and interesting. While the  band  is  talented
enough to arrange and create the metallic riffs and  other  material,
it is the jokes and humor that keeps this baby afloat.  Original  and
funny, British metal just sat on a "Whoopie Cushion." Fourteen  songs
that'll make you laugh and bang your head at the same time. Weird but
enjoyable.


Soma - _The Inner Cinema_  (Extreme Records, November 1996)
by: Adrian Bromley  (9 out of 10)

I would give this record a ten, but then that would require  everyone
to drop what they are doing and go out and buy it. This is one of the
best  ambient/noise/extreme  records  I  have  ever   heard.   Before
purchasing this record at a used CD store, I had never heard  of  the
band. Now I want all  their  material.  Floating  with  mind-altering
sounds and visions, Soma's material takes on a life of its own as  it
slowly picks up momentum and grabs hold of the listener with  numbers
like "Stygian Vista", "Baal", "Rise from Agartha", and "Endless".  We
are whisked away into an imaginative piece of space and time that has
Soma's material being the theme music. Flavored with keyboards, jazz,
industrial, and multiple noise effects, Soma's _TIC_ cuts and  pastes
onto a blackboard for us the making of an acid dropper's awesome trip
- even possibly envisioning a good high. This is mind music.  To  sum
this album up into one description: a pleasantly sedate  voyage  into
one's mind. Awesome. 


Strapping Young Lad - _City_  (Century Media, January 1997)
by: Adrian Bromley  (9 out of 10)

The follow-up to 1995's _Heavy  as  a  Real  Heavy  Thing_,  entitled
_City_, is one "ball-busting-rip-roarin'-intensified-muthafucker"  of
a ride. Unlike the grinding groove  bestowed  on  _HaaRHT_,  _City_'s
material is ten-fold heavier and ten-fold more sinister. Lashing  out
at break-neck speed and coated with some of  the  coolest  rushes  of
momentum and anger I have heard in some  time,  _City_  never  rests.
>From opener "Velvet Kevorkian" onto "Oh My Fucking  God"  and  "Home
Nucleonics",  singer/producer/mastermind  Devin  Townsend   leads   a
fantastic charge of creativity. While _HaaRHT_ was the stepping stone
for Townsend to break away from previous work  with  Steve  Vai,  The
Wildhearts, and g//z/r, and be more creative and intense vocally  and
material-wise, this album sets the direction where Townsend obviously
feels comfortable and where he should be.  This  is  a  very  extreme
sounding record with innovative ideas and sounds, as well being  able
to combine elements of Frontline Assembly, Ministry  and  a  slew  of
technical ideas. Living it loud and proud,  Townsend  takes  SYL  one
step further into the mind  of  a  madman.  At  39:40  minutes  (nine
songs), it's short, but enough for one sitting. Trust me.


Tchort & The Family Mantis - _Nightside of Eden_
by: Adrian Bromley  (9 out of 10)  (Independent, October 1996)

I may be going out on a limb by saying this, I may be right or I  may
be wrong, hell even Gino may agree with me - who knows? But the  fact
of the matter is that Toronto doom metal  act  Tchort  &  the  Family
Mantis' debut CD, _Nightside of Eden_, may just be  the  record  that
England's Cathedral should have made this year. Anyone hate  me  yet?
[Cathedral sucks, Tchort  rules  -  Alain]  While  I  may  be  a  big
Cathedral  fan,  and  I  love  the  new  record  _Supernatural  Birth
Machine_, I find that the new sound of Cathedral lacks the stomp  and
forceful grind that earlier releases like _The Ethereal Mirror_ or EP
_Cosmic Requiem_ had. Listen to the monstrous Black Sabbath/Cathedral
riffs of opener "Tantric Dream Fish" and you are already  in  heaven.
Thick, rough exteriored and downright  abrasive,  the  10-song  album
(made up of six new songs and four  from  their  1995  demo  _Ace  of
Shrooms_)  sounds  amazing  due   to   many   key   ingredients:   1)
singer/guitarist  Eric  Coucke's  raspy  snarls,  2)  guitarist   Les
Godfrey's killer riffs and 3) producer  Rob  Sanzo's  (Mundane/Solus)
help. _NoE_ is not only a strong-riffed concoction of songs, but also
a psychedelic ride of sorts into the world of Tchort,  a  world  that
believes deeply in one's imagination taking control. Get  fried  with
"Fly Agaric",  "Godeater"or  the  cool  "Wonderland  War  March",  or
subdued by the rather potent "Satan Love Boogie".  Either  stoned  or
sober (the first choice more likely to gain odder results), there  is
no doubt in my mind that Tchort's _NoE_ is one of the brightest debut
albums I have heard in a while. Get down  and  dirty  with  Tchort  -
you'll love it.


Theatre of Tragedy - _Velvet Darkness They Fear_
by: Pedro Azevedo  (9 out of 10)  (Massacre Records, 1996)

I expected a lot from Theatre  of  Tragedy  after  their  self-titled
debut, and they didn't disappoint me. This Norwegian 7-piece melodic,
classical-influenced doom band still features the best female  singer
in the  world,  Liv  Kristine  Espenaes,  which  is  a  guarantee  of
excellence. Raymond's grunts are as good as ever,  and  he  now  uses
clean voice once in a while. The melodies are as excellent as before,
with Raymond's grunts, together with some well-placed powerful guitar
parts, assure the  powerful  edge  we  all  like  to  complement  the
melodies. Therefore, they haven't changed much since their debut,  as
they have kept all their main characteristics. This album  represents
a slight improvement over their excellent debut,  at  least  in  what
concerns some aspects of production. I can't decide  whether  I  like
this one better than their debut or not. Maybe the  debut's  melodies
were just a tiny little bit better sometimes, maybe this  one  has  a
slightly better planning involved.  two  great  albums,  that's  all.
Perhaps the only reason why they're not getting a 10 score is because
they haven't shown nearly  any  improvement  over  their  debut.  The
vocals are still the most remarkable part of the music, but it's  due
to  their  combination  with  the  excellent   classically-influenced
instruments and the very good melodies. This is  just  one  of  those
bands where everything seems to fit right in, nothing  seems  out  of
place, not even the excellent, beautiful digi-pak, possibly the  best
digi-pak I have ever seen. One of the top five albums of the year, no
doubt. Excellent.


Throne of Ahaz - _On Twilight Enthroned_
by: Drew Schinzel  (6 out of 10)  (No Fashion, December 1997)

Don't buy the latest Throne of  Ahaz  album  looking  for  surprises,
because you won't find any. The material found  within  _On  Twilight
Enthroned_ has been done by other bands a thousand times before,  and
perhaps better. That said, _OTE_ isn't exactly a bad album, it's  got
its own high points (and its share of low  points),  and  is  overall
fairly   enjoyable,   but   nothing   groundbreaking   nor   terribly
interesting. This is aggressive black metal  (but  what  black  metal
-isn't- aggressive, for that matter...), but not overtly melodic like
most other bands on No Fashion. One of the main things that hurt this
album is probably the production. High on the bass drum (just try and
pick out the snare during the fast parts), and  low  on  guitar,  the
production does nothing for this release.  Still  on  the  production
theme, the vocals have a slight echo/reverb effect added to them, and
have some kind of strange  sound  to  them,  like  they  were  overly
engineered/produced (of course this may or may not be the case).  The
melodies set forth by Throne of Ahaz are all  pretty  basic,  nothing
complex or mind-boggling, but even with the knowledge  in  mind  that
they weren't supposed to be complex, they aren't much to  listen  to.
In addition, maybe as a by-product of their simplistic approach,  ToA
have somewhat of an "old school" feel at times;  nothing  as  obvious
as, say, Deathwitch, but evident nonetheless. I hate to end  this  by
calling _On Twilight Enthroned_ generic, but it's difficult to avoid.


Vader - _De Profundis_  (Conquest Music/System Shock, 1996)
by: Alain M. Gaudrault  (10 out of 10)

Conquest has once more done justice to a high quality  death  act  by
domestically releasing Vader's (the  first  Eastern-bloc  metal  band
ever to be signed to a Western label, according to the press release)
follow-up  full  length  to  1992's   well-received   _The   Ultimate
Incantation_. Although officially released in  1995,  North  American
distribution has been problematic for the band  since  being  dropped
from their original label, Earache (Fools! Dig, stop following  sonic
trends and start giving metal the attention it deserves  once  more.)
The Polish quartet has recorded a  mesmerizing  album,  still  highly
influenced  by  Morbid  Angel,  although  more   focused   and   less
experimental than MA, borrowing early Slayer ideas, and  producing  a
distinct sound that often evokes  greater  aural  impact  than  their
American counterparts. While not as chaotic nor as intent on speed as
the debut, _De Profundis_ manages to improve  on  their  twin  guitar
approach,  displaying  more  inventive   and   harmonically   complex
passages, delivered with precision and conviction. If you  liked  the
actual songs on the _Sothis_ EP (minus the Black Sabbath cover),  I'm
convinced you'll be listening to _DP_ for some time  after  purchase.
Most instruments are played impeccably, with bass being  too  low  in
the mix to tell either way.  The  band's  production  is  top  notch,
giving them a very full, thick sound, mixing the vocals  in  at  just
the right level to render them more of an instrument on par with  the
others, while still permitting them to be  distinguishable.  Slightly
reminiscent of Nicke Andersson's _Clandestine_ work, Piotr  Wiwczarek
(who also plays guitar and writes all the music) does  enough  damage
with his throat without being entirely incomprehensible,  and  avoids
becoming disjoint from the  music,  meshing  perfectly  with  it  and
accentuating the highs and lows of the pieces as they flow along. The
low point of the album is easily the closing cover of Depeche  Mode's
"I Feel You", a bonus track not appearing on  the  European  release.
After  fourty  minutes  of  blistering,  bone-chilling  death,   this
lightweight  track  sounds  entirely  out  of  place  and   far   too
mainstream,  even  with  Vader's  attempts  to  beef  up  the   song.
Personally, I don't consider this track to be a part of the  original
album (I've had a copy of the European pressing long before receiving
the domestic promo), which is  why  I'm  not  letting  it  affect  my
perfect rating.

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

Your best source of information on the newest of  the  new,  and  the
deepest of the underground, New Noise is the place to read about  all
the coolest shit you never thought existed! And if you have  a  band,
don't forget to send us your demo with  a  bio  if  you  want  to  be
reviewed; our address is included in the zine's header.

Scoring:   ***** -- I see a record deal in the future
            **** -- Great piece of work
             *** -- Good effort
              ** -- A major overhaul is in order
               * -- A career change is advisable


Abel & Cain - _Hands Off Cain_  (4-track demo)
by: Brian Meloon  (***--)

Abel & Cain hail from Catania, Italy, and play  a  progressive  metal
style that isn't exactly unique, but isn't a direct copy of any band.
In their style, I can hear traces of many different  bands,  such  as
Iron Maiden (middle-era), Leviathan, and fellow Italians Black Jester
(especially in "Lights in the Dark"), as well as many others, most of
whom don't come to mind off the top of my head. The fact that each of
the songs on the demo are different from each other  (due  partly  to
the fact that three of the songs were written by three different band
members) adds to this plethora of similarities, and makes  this  demo
more diverse. In general, their ideas are good and their compositions
are involved, yet have reasonably good song flow; but a  few  of  the
transitions sound forced, and some of the riffs  are  so  dated  that
they sound out of place. In addition,  the  production  is  a  little
faded, which adds to the dated feel. The playing is  generally  good,
but they aren't as tight as they could be. The guitar  solos  are  my
biggest complaint, as they aren't  very  interesting,  and  generally
sound thin and cheap. My favorite parts are the clean (almost  jazzy)
sections, such as the one which saves  "Holywar".  Judging  from  the
growth demonstrated from the earlier songs on the tape to  the  later
ones, these guys appear to be on the right  path,  but  just  need  a
little time.

Contact: Abel & Cain, c/o Davide Arico
         Via V. Brancati 38, 95030 Gravina di Catania, Sicilia, ITALIA
         mailto:davidea@lineup.it


Ember - _Within the Realm of the Snowqueen_  (3-track demo)
by: Steve Hoeltzel  (*****)

No lie: these guys have  packed  more  pure,  grim  power  into  this
nine-minute, three-track demo than many better-known bands can manage
to put on a  full  length  CD.  Hailing  from  Illinois,  Ember  play
no-frills, mean black metal,  and  their  style  of  delivery  is  so
impressively ferocious  that  their  music  comes  across  with  real
blistering intensity. Mourngrym's guitar tone  is  thick,  loud,  and
distorted, much heavier than the standard black metal  string  sound.
And the vocals! Peter's vox are in the upper mid-range,  transforming
the typical black metal rasping  into  an  agonized  yell  that  just
seethes with rage. The band  has  a  totally  solid,  dynamic  rhythm
section, too. (Bassist Allen and drummer Abbas have since taken  over
for Chris and James, who perform on  this  recording.)  The  songs  -
"Dance of  the  Ancients",  "Forever  Beautiful",  and  "The  Serpent
Fallen" - are brief but action-packed, containing well-timed  changes
and numerous cool riffs, some in  the  die-hard,  black  metal  vein,
others with more of an old school feel. Great stuff. I  believe  this
demo is becoming fairly scarce, but I'd say it's definitely worth the
effort to track it down if  you're  interested.  The  band  has  been
featured on a couple of compilations since this first started  making
the rounds, and apparently they currently have a  7-inch  EP  in  the
works, which I can't wait  to  hear.  Watch  for  that,  and  in  the
meantime, check out their well-done web site at the URL listed below.

Contact: EMBER, P.O. Box 2177, Darien, IL, 60561, USA
         mailto:pmlot@orion.it.luc.edu
         http://www.xnet.com/~odin/ember.html


Hematovore - _Ways of the 8-Footed_  (8-track demo)
by: Adrian Bromley  (***--)

Odd. Weird. Choice words to describe the  music  of  all-instrumental
outfit  Hematovore.  And  because  of  that  odd  and  weird  feeling
pulsating from the band's 8-song release, I found  it  very  hard  to
actually get into the music. Not to mention the fact that  a  lot  of
the songs are very long-winded and  derivative  too.  Musically,  the
band moves from an aggressive guitar riff  style  (very  metallic  at
times) onto a more laid-back  stance  when  creating  the  long  song
structures. I  hear  a  lot  of  old  thrash/death  metal  influences
(Carcass/Death/Overkill) in the material on  _Wot8F_  and  a  lot  of
creative ideas  are  brought  into  the  album,  much  like  how  any
progressive  metal  band  would  bring  intricate  guitar  solos  and
alternate song structures into a recorded piece. Add some samples and
you pretty much got it.  While  not  the  best  demo  I  have  heard,
Hematovore's release is interesting. 

Contact: HEMATOVORE, c/o Inbred Produktions
         1022 McKinley Ave., Auburn, AL, 36830, USA
         mailto:ratanda@eng.auburn.edu
         mailto:uertzjl@mail.auburn.edu


Moozzhead/Family Harsh Noise Experimentation (split demo)
     -- _Perversioita Z-Mollissa_  (1-track/7-tracks) 
by: Adrian Bromley  (****-/***--)

A double dose of demo material (a split  demo)  here  from  two  very
different solo projects from two opposite parts of  the  world:  FHNE
from California (USA) and Moozzhead from Finland. From Finland  comes
the  ambient/noise  project  of  Moozzhead,  a   masterful   one-song
performance called  "Ad  Nauseam"  -  a  song  that  plays  out  long
ear-bleeding noise distortions for roughly half an hour. During  that
half hour display comes multiple spurts of intensity and passion,  as
well as lulls in the  noise,  and  as  its  ambient/noise  moves  and
scratches its way, it reaches ear-popping capability. My ears  popped
- I swear! Noise enthusiasts be on the lookout. This is intense. Onto
side two and we are faced with multiple styles of  sound  offered  by
FHNE. Notable sound styles used within the seven tracks include death
metal riffs and growls, gothic sounds, ambient and noise creations. I
found it hard to actually get into the groove FHNE provided  us  with
as some of the songs (maybe the styles?) don't seem to match  or  gel
together quite well. The noise/ambient stuff  manages  to  sound  the
best offered to us, but still there are a few notable picks from  the
lot i.e. "Cacophony/Tantrum", "Sickness",  and  "Shredded  Flesh".  A
great split demo to check out if you really are looking  for  obscure
creations in the noise/ambient music genre.

Contact: Moozzhead, c/o Oskari Mertalo
         Uusitie 4, 01300 Vantaa, Finland

         Family Harsh Noise Experimentation, c/o Bill Sannwald 
         3538 Paseo Salamoner, La Mesa, California, USA


NDE - _Falling_  (11-track demo)
by: Adam Wasylyk  (***--)

Ohio's  NDE  (which  stands  for  Near  Death  Experience)  on  their
self-produced CD play heavily  Pantera-influenced  metal  with  heavy
riffs and the occasional thrash beat. Their guitar  sound  very  much
reminded me of Righteous Pigs in terms  of  their  production  sound,
while the actual riffing reminded me of Pantera (the opening riff  of
"Angry Song" reeks of them!). The vocals of Bob Reinard sound like  a
harsher Phil Anselmo, which are accompanied by the rare death  growl.
The songs "Stench" and "No Tomorrow" were my favorites while most  of
the other tracks sounded too much like someone else other  than  NDE.
The CD layout is one of the more professional ones I've seen, done as
well as some major labels. Having  played  with  bands  like  Crisis,
Incantation, Stuck Mojo, and Cannibal Corpse, it shows that the  band
have worked on getting their name out to metal fans  in  their  area.
Now it's time that NDE work on writing  more  original  material,  as
what is evidenced on "Falling" sounds too close  to  a  thrash  metal
version of Pantera.

Contact: NDE, P.O. Box 2297, Streetsboro, OH, 44241, USA


Rotting - _demo_  (6-track demo)
by: Adrian Bromley  (****-)

Following up the band's well-received first demo  _Drown  in  Rotting
Flesh_ (1995), Newmarket, Ontario death metallers Rotting return with
one hell of a wallop. Packaged tightly into this six-song demo is  an
abrasive and collective force of metallic mayhem. Spewed  forth  upon
us by opener "Sexually Tortured", the  band's  latest  release  edges
more towards a brutal take on death metal than their  last  offering.
Singer Korey Arnold's vocals have become more strengthened over  time
and the riffs and  pummeling  rhythm  section  seem  to  be  on  full
throttle. The band still maintains their Cannibal Corpse/Carcass-like
sound, thanks to Arnold's guttural spats and guitarist  Jeff  White's
forceful riffs. The thing that makes this demo work for the  band  is
the fact that nothing of Rotting's fast-riffed music style and  sound
was lost with the recording, and while the beats may be delivered  at
breakneck speed, they are  clear  and  cohesive  -  a  sign  of  good
production. Another thing that makes this release is  the  congruency
and flow that the songs have with one another. Also proving  to  have
not lost any ideas over the time between recordings, Rotting delivers
solid efforts like "Christian Castration"  and  "Unholy  Penetration"
with this demo. While Ontario, Canada may  be  behind  in  the  metal
department, at least there are bands like Rotting and Solus (Toronto)
making every move to keeping a style of music alive  and  well.  Like
Solus' _Slave of Mind_ release, this demo is also worthy of getting a
hold of.

Contact: ROTTING, c/o Korey Arnold
         58 Roxborough Rd., Newmarket Ont., L3Y 3K9, Canada
         voice: (905) 830-4016


Soriben - _Senor de Luz_  (7-track demo)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (****-)

Soriben are a very young band from Seville, Spain, their ages varying
from 17 to 19, plus a 14(!)-year old (talented) keyboardist.  There's
two things I really like about this 6-piece  band:  their  choice  of
style  being  melodic  doom/death,  and  the  fact  that   they   are
self-confident and have enough skill to back  it  up.  Their  opening
track sets the mood for this 29-minute long demo tape, serving  as  a
good example of the  band's  music.  They  work  a  lot  around  good
keyboard/guitar melodies, while joining some funeral dirge guitars at
times, all with very good drumming and bass playing,  and  some  very
interesting vocals. It's all sung in Spanish, using  death  vox,  but
it's like he speaks out poetry instead of just grunting... good.  The
second track shows some faster parts, in which the band seems to stay
together remarkably well, making those parts sound pretty  good.  The
third track  is  softer,  mostly  melodic  and  sung  in  clean  vox,
featuring some good melodic ideas. Fourth track  is  an  instrumental
mix of an excellent drum/bass solo (both performed brilliantly) and a
very well-played keyboard piece of Bach(!). Track five reminded me of
early Anathema, with some strong rhythms, and track six  is  possibly
the best, featuring some superb melodies which really get  into  you.
Great stuff. Finally, track seven is a keyboard instrumental which is
based around a requiem sound, using funereal organs to create a  very
depressive, yet highly interesting, finish for the demo tape. By  now
you're probably asking why I haven't rated them 5/5 instead...  well,
this is their first demo tape and shows a lot of promise,  but  their
next demo tape (coming up) must still show some  improvement,  namely
slightly better songwriting (longer, more involved song  structures),
and they must become a little bit more... professional, I think. They
have some excellent ideas, good taste in  music,  and  are  all  good
players (although some of the high-pitched guitar parts still need  a
bit more work). This is definitely a band to watch for, as I  believe
they will get a record deal  if  they  keep  working  like  this  and
showing so much skill. Great effort. Keep it up, guys!!

Contact: SORIBEN, c/o Manuel Ponce de Leon,
         Urb. Jardin Atalaya, Bl. 2, 6 A.
         41900 Camas, Sevilla, SPAIN
         mailto:manuel.ponce-de-leon@cs.us.es

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


Here is where Chronicles of Chaos gives you the lowdown on the latest
shows coming your way. Check out Chaotic Concerts every month for the
scoop on the bands brutalizing the masses  with  their  own  form  of
terror.


  T H E   P R I N C I P L E   O F   E V I L   I N   E N G L A N D
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
               Cradle of Filth at the London Astoria 2
            December 13, 1996 with Dominion and 13 Candles
  by: Ali Jaffary <mailto:odin@xnet.com, http://www.xnet.com/~odin>

     The Queen of England,  Stonehenge,  Madame  Tussads,  Cradle  of
Filth, what do all these have in common? I think you've guessed it by
now. Perhaps England's most controversial group, Cradle of Filth were
headlining at the London Astoria 2 on  this  Saturday  night.  Having
arrived from Chicago around 7:00 at London Heathrow Airport the  same
day, I was informed that this show was the following Monday. However,
that was not the case and further, Opeth had been the supporting  act
for CoF on a recent tour  but  unfortunately  weren't  on  the  bill.
Despite that, it did not stop us from seeing  this  6-piece  actually
play live.
     After getting by a hard struggle for a ride, I managed to appear
at the Astoria by 20:00. The opening band had already passed  so  all
that was left to see was the middle of Dominion's set  and  CoF.  For
all those not familiar with Dominion, they are a local  5-piece  from
the U.K. area with a  female  singer  handling  most  of  the  vocals
trading off with the frontman guitarist. Musically, they are a mix of
_The Gathering_ with a _Pantera_ feel. There  seemed  to  be  a  nice
response to their efforts from the crowd although  most  were  hungry
for the main act. At times, I noticed the female singer to be  a  bit
off with the high notes of the guitar which did crack me  up  a  bit,
but I had to clap for the humour of it.  Personally,  I  don't  think
this band would manage to draw a large crowd and certainly would  not
fit to support for a huge act. 
     After a few walks around the club and a 30-minute wait, all  the
600+ fans and I had awaited for the moment of  the  night.  Like  all
other shows, the lights were turned off and out came a nice  keyboard
piece for an intro. The stage presence was great - a nice CoF  banner
held atop for everyone to stare at and of course, who can forget  the
corpsepaint? The bassist even had a nice robe to show himself off.  I
cannot recall their set off hand, but I  do  remember  them  covering
most of the songs off their new  album  _Dusk...  and  Her  Embrace_.
Also, most of the songs from "Vempire" were  played  along  with  the
classics from _TPOEMF_ such as "To Eve the Art  of  Witchcraft"  (the
closing song) and the title track (funny thing  about  this  is  they
started with Slayer's "Hell Awaits" for about 2  minutes  then  broke
off into their song). And finally to end this set was a  nice  guitar
bashing from Stuart which gave the crowd and nice roar. Overall, this
show was impressive. The sound, lighting, props, etc...  was  of  the
best I've seen in '96. My eyes and  ears  were  glued  to  the  stage
pretty much the whole show and I'm sure every person at the show  had
the same view. Be sure to check this band out if  they  are  in  your
area. Two thumbs up!!

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

Gino's Top 5

1. Korn - _Life Is Peachy_
2. Pitch Shifter - _Infotainment?_
3. Mundane - _Seed_
4. The Chemical Brothers - _Exit Planet Dust_
5. Cradle of Filth - _The Principle of Evil Made Flesh_

Adrian's Top 5

1. D.O.A. - _New York City Speedcore_
2. Acid Bath - _Paegan Terrorism Tactics_
3. Mortician - _Hacked Up For Barbecue_
4. Ozzy Ozbourne - _Bark At The Moon_
5. My Dying Bride - _Like Gods Of The Sun_

Brian's Top 5

1. Altura - _Mercy_
2. Cadaver - _In Pains_
3. Naked City - _Torture Garden_
4. Cradle of Filth - _Dusk and Her Embrace_
5. Meshuggah - _Destroy, Erase, Improve_

Alain's Top 5

1. Cryptopsy - _None So Vile_
2. Dark Funeral - _The Secrets of the Black Arts_
3. Quo Vadis - _Forever..._
4. Vader - _De Profundis_
5. Summertime Daisies - _The Clarity of Impurity_ <indy release>

Steve's Top 5

1. Summoning - _Dol Guldur_
2. Behemoth - _Grom_
3. Ember - _Within the Realm of the Snowqueen_ <demo>
4. Various - _A Storm of Drones_ <killer ambient comp>
5. Sinister - _Bastard Saints_

Adam's Top 5

1. The Dreamside - _Nuda Veritas_
2. My Dying Bride - _Like Gods of the Sun_
3. Proscriptor - _The Venus Bellona_
4. Cradle of Filth - Dusk...and her Embrace
5. Vader - _De Profundis_

Drew's Top 5

1. Dark Tranquillity - _Enter Suicidal Angels_
2. Lord Belial - _Enter the Moonlight Gate_
3. Cradle of Filth - _Dusk and Her Embrace_
4. Deceased - _Fearless Undead Machines_
5. In Flames - _Lunar Strain_

Andrew's Top 5

1. Dissecting Table - _Zigoku_
2. Tormentor - _Anno Domini_
3. Necromass - _Abyss Calls Life_
4. Laibach - _Jesus Christ Superstar_
5. My Dying Bride - _Like Gods Of The Sun

Pedro's Top 5

1. Katatonia - _Dance of December Souls_
2. The Blood Divine - _Awaken_
3. My Dying Bride - _Like Gods of the Sun_
4. Lux Occulta - _Forever Alone. Immortal._
5. Cradle of Filth - _Dusk... and Her Embrace_
 
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                     T H E   F I N A L   W O R D
                     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Until next time my friends, keep it loud, keep it heavy, don't give 
in and most of all, have a fucking good time! Catch you all next 
month -- Gino Filicetti

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
End Chronicles of Chaos, Issue #17

All contents copyright 1997 by individual creators of included work.
All opinions expressed herein are those of the individuals expressing
them, and do not necessarily reflect the views of anyone else.

