
 CCCCC  hh                          iii        lll                      fff
CC    C hh     rr rr  oooo  nn nnn       cccc  lll  eee   sss    oooo  ff
CC      hhhhh  rr  r oo  oo nnn  nn iii cc     lll ee  e s      oo  oo ffff
CC    C hh  hh rr    oo  oo nn   nn iii cc     lll eeeee  sss   oo  oo ff
 CCCCC  hh  hh rr     oooo  nn   nn iii  ccccc lll  eeeee    s   oooo  ff
                                                          sss
                    CCCCC  hh
                   CC    C hh        aa aa  oooo   sss
                   CC      hhhhhh   aa aaa oo  oo s
                   CC    C hh   hh aa  aaa oo  oo  sss
                    CCCCC  hh   hh  aaa aa  oooo      s
                                                   sss

         CHRONICLES OF CHAOS E-Zine, May 10, 1996, Issue #10

Editor-in-Chief: Gino Filicetti <ginof@io.org> <_DeaTH_ on #metal>
Coordinator: Adrian Bromley <bw823@torfree.net>
Assistant Editor: Alain M. Gaudrault <alain@mks.com>
Web Page Manager: Brian Meloon <bmeloon@math.cornell.edu>
Contributor: Steve Hoeltzel <hoeltzel@blue.weeg.uiowa.edu>
Contributor: Sally Sanchez <926841@utb.edu>
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@io.org
 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

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@io.org>.

HOW TO SUBSCRIBE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You may subscribe to Chronicles of Chaos at any  time  by  sending  a
message with "SUBSCRIBE coc-ezine <your-name-here>" in  the  BODY  of
your message to  the  list  handler  at  listproc@lists.colorado.edu.
Please note that this command must NOT be sent to  the  list  address
<coc-ezine@lists.colorado.edu>, but to the mail server which  handles
this mailing list.

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.io.org/~ginof/coc.html.  If  you   have   any
comments    or    suggestions,    please    e-mail    Brian    Meloon
<bmeloon@math.cornell.edu>.

AUTOMATIC FILESERVER
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All back issues and various other CoC related files are available for
automatic retrieval through our e-mail fileserver. All you have to do
is send a message to us at <ginof@io.org>. 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@io.org>.

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

Issue #10 Contents, 5/10/96
---------------------------
* Editorial
* Loud Letters
* Ferocious Features
-- Pan-Thy-Monium: Raagoonshinnaah Sleeps
-- Cannibal Corpse: Reviving the Corpse
-- Pitch Shifter: The Pitch Of Pessimism
-- Paradise Lost: Can Paradise Ever Be Found?
* Chaotic Chat Sessions
-- Edge of Sanity: Over the Edge of Sanity
-- Serpent: Serpent Singer Sheds His Skin
* Record Revelations
-- Amorphis - _Elegy_
-- A.C. (Anal Cunt) - _40 More Reasons to Hate Us_
-- Demonic - _Lead Us Into Darkness_
-- Fleshcrawl - _Bloodsoul_
-- Arckanum - _Fran Marder_
-- Various Artists - _A Gathering..._
-- Glazed Baby - _Atomic Communists_
-- Hypocrisy - _Carved Up_
-- Impaled Nazarene - _Latex Cult_
-- Minas Tirith - _The Art of Becoming_
-- Vinnie Moore - _Out of Nowhere_
-- Impaled Nazarene - _Motorpenis_
-- Necromantia - _Scarlet Evil, Witching Black_
-- Necrophobic - _Spawned By Evil_
-- Pitch Shifter - _Infotainment?_
-- Sarcophagus - _For We... Who Are Consumed By Darkness..._
-- Satanic Slaughter - _Satanic Slaughter_
-- Moonfog Split CD
     -- Satyricon - _The Forest Is My Throne_
     -- Enslaved - _Yggdrasill_
-- Black Funeral - _Vampyr - Throne of the Beast_
-- Vondur - _Stridsyfirlysing_
-- Wicked Innocence - _Omnipotence_
* New Noise
-- Spastic Ink - _Ink Complete_
-- Anhkrehg - _Sacrificial Goat_
-- Summertime Daisies - _Gathering of Vermin_
-- Burning Moon - _Eternal Darkness_
-- Diablo Brothers - _Twizted Harmony_
-- Parricide - _A Future Of Suffering_
-- Glutton - _Cruel, Disfigured_
-- Porno - _Give Me a Pistol_
-- Eterne De Sade - _Beyond The Mind's Eye_
-- Hidden Pride - _The Encounter of the First Kind_
-- Sick Society - _Sick Society_
-- State Of Grace - _Some_
* Chaotic Concerts
-- Unsigned Metallers Come Together: The Toronto Deathfest
-- The Wave of Death: Deicide in Staten Island
* Tours of Torture
* What We Have Cranked
* The Final Word

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

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

     Here it is everyone! Our TENTH fucking issue  (and  released  on
the 10th of the month to boot), and everything is just on the up  and
up. I'm sure all of you crazies out there will enjoy this  issue.  We
have a record amount of demo reviews, and our average  motherlode  of
record reviews. But let's not forget the wild  stories  contained  in
these here electronic pages!
     First off, I'd like to fix a correction from last month  and  it
has to do with our rating system. After some consideration and a  lot
of discussion, we've come to the conclusion  that  a  5-point  rating
system is just not broad enough for our Record  Revelations  section.
We've decided to keep the current rating  system  unchanged,  and  we
hope everyone agrees that this is truly the  best  way  to  have  it.
However, I'm proud to announce that we have introduced a  new  rating
system for our demo  reviews  which  were  previously  unrated.  THIS
system will be out of a possible five stars (*****) and should  prove
more helpful as a guide to the quality of work contained  in  any  of
the demos featured in CoC.
     New  this  issue  is  a  feature  that  I  think  EVERYONE  will
appreciate. It is the automatic fileserver that I've  set  up  on  my
account at <ginof@io.org>. This fileserver gives you the  ability  to
request back issues and other CoC related files from our archives and
have them mailed to your account immediately.  For  more  information
read the instructions in our header.
     Also, this issue features the first exposure of a good friend of
ours, Adam Wasylyk. We have a few reviews from Adam  this  month,  as
well as one half of a split concert review.
     Loud Letters response was respectable this month. I want to  see
this trend continue, however, because I  think  a  CoC  without  Loud
Letters is a CoC without  pizzazz.  Loud  Letters  are  probably  the
funnest part of this mag in my opinion, and I'd  hate  to  lose  them
over laziness.
     Independent Interrogations has been deleted this  month  because
we didn't get around to interviewing any independent  bands.  I  know
this sounds pretty bad on our part, but it's hard enough  for  us  to
keep up with labels who offer us  interviews,  so  there  just  isn't
enough time in the month for us to chase around indie bands.  Believe
me when I say we really do support the independent scene and we  want
to promote it as much as we can, but sometimes the  opportunities  to
interview these bands don't present themselves. However, I'd like  to
invite our readership to submit any interviews  they  may  have  with
independent bands in their area. This would be a great way to promote
your local scene, so just e-mail us and let me know. And remember, we
don't have room for EVERYONE'S story!
     Tours of Torture are pretty  scant  this  month.  We  only  have
European dates for Impaled Nazarene and a couple  of  North  American
dates for Suffocation, but hey, it's better than nothing. Remember to
send in any dates you might have so we can use them for next month.
     Well, that's about it from my end. We decided to treat ourselves
this month and give you our Top 10s of ALL TIME  to  commemorate  our
10th Chronicles of Chaos Issue. Enjoy!

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

                 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@io.org> 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, 16 Apr 96 10:20:14
From: Boris <TU44031@LVRULV11.LANET.LV>
Subject: Attention Loud Letters

Hi everybody! I must  regard  that  your  magazine  kicks  ass.  I've
printed some of them and they rules! I like that you are using  plain
text , keep it going. I want that your  respectation  grows  with  it
lenth.  I  want  non-sizable  zine.  I   espessially   like   >record
revelations< because it is the only way for me to know about the  new
releases. THANKS !

     Boris_Riga.Latvia


Date: Thu, 18 Apr 1996 06:04:29
From: Mike C Diaz <christ69@ix.netcom.com>
Subject: Loud Letters

I just discovered your mag (from a mention in RIP's "RIP  Rap"),  and
it is great! Much better than said magazine's weak "Death Files." You
guys cover some great shit. Thanks to you, my bank account is  empty,
but my cd rack is full! Anyway, I hear there's a new Amorphis  coming
out on May 14. Since they have a new album, any chance of them coming
to North America? How about Hypocrisy? I was  a  little  miffed  that
_Abducted_ didn't contain a lyric sheet. Think you guys could  weasel
one out of the band or maybe the record lable? While  you're  at  it,
how about one for _The Fourth Dimension_ too? I'm a great fan  of  My
Dying Bride and loved the interview with Aaron. It would be  a  shame
if they never got a chance to tour over here. Maybe we could  sent  a
bunch of e-mails or something to Futurist to show them there's a  lot
of support for MDB here in North America. If there's enough interest,
maybe they'd cough up the money to bring 'em over. Keep up  the  good
work, and an interview with Amorphis would be greatly appreciated.

     PHIL HINKLE


Date: Fri, 19 Apr 1996 17:46:24
From: Jack <sorcerer@gnn.com>
Subject: Re: Chronicles of Chaos #9 (3/3)

Gino,

CoC just gets better and better. The CD reviews continue to  be  some
of the best around. Great shit.

- JACK

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* "All things please Nature. *  <http://members.gnn.com/  *
*  We serve Her as we sin."  *  sorcerer/homepage.htm >   *
*  - Exodus                  *      FUCK CENSORSHIP       *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Date: Sun, 21 Apr 96 03:20:32
From: jd141@llano.net
Subject: Attn Loud Letters

Gino,

As we say in my  enforced-PC  government  office,  "Sierra-Hotel"  or
SHIT-HOT!! I'd been out of the metal seen for several years and  when
I saw this 'zine, it re-opened my eyes to what I'd  been  missing.  I
went out and bought Sepultura's _Chaos A.D._ on  your  recommendation
and Fucking Love It!

I'd like to ask 3 things of you:

1 - Can ya'll work it out with the record companies (since I'd  never
dream of asking you to do something illegal) to put  sound  clips  of
the bands on your Web site? I respect your opinions, but I'd love  to
be able to "test-drive" some myself.

2 - Can you put a more printer-friendly version of CoC on  the  site?
Do you do all the editing in a text editor? If not, how about putting
the original word-processor version on  the  Web  for  download?  You
might even save yourself some mailing hassles as some people may pull
their copy from the web rather than thru e-mail.

3 - How about a special feature of each of ya'lls top 5 or 10  albums
of all time?

Thanx and keep it coming,

Jim Davis
Captain, US Air Force <jd141@llano.net>
(really, but expressing my own fucked-up opinions)

[We've been asked COUNTLESS times to spice up our Web  page  and  get
all kinds of pictures and sound clips on it and  so  forth,  but  you
guys have to understand that everyone here already has  a  maxed  out
work load. You'd be surprised at the amount of work we do  here,  and
frankly there just isn't any time to work on our Web  Page.  I  think
the quality of CoC has always come from our writing, and I want it to
remain that way. There are a lot  of  webzines  and  web  sites  that
already have all the sound bites and cool pictures  you  could  want,
but when you feel like reading some quality material on your favorite
bands, you know you can always turn to CoC for that. -- Gino]


Date: Thu, 25 Apr 1996 19:58:19
From: ARNE PLATHAN <aplathan@ix.netcom.com>
Subject: CoC-

Hey man!

Great issue! Thanks for sending it. I enjoyed all the articles.  Your
one of the top E-zines i've seen in awhile  here!  If  you  need  any
reviews/scene reports,just ask me. :) Take Care....

Klaus..

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

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.


             R A A G O O N S H I N N A A H    S L E E P S
             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      An interview with Day Disyraah of the late Pan-Thy-Monium
                          by: Steve Hoeltzel

     "A dreamer from the lost dimension of Beeebh saw the  Battle  of
Geeheeb in his vision. Raagoonshinnaah felt  the  time  had  come  to
finally encounter his foe, face to face, dream to dream. He lost. The
massive charisma of the God of Everything Light and Complete  drained
his vision in the Sea  of  Naaak,  and  the  heart  of  the  soul  of
Raagoonshinnaah was filled with joy and togetherness. He died."

     Okay, did you get all that? If not, you might take another look,
because these words from the liner notes to Pan-Thy-Monium's crushing
epitaph _Khaooohs and Kon-Fus-Ion_ actually encode the reasons behind
the recent dissolution of a truly special band. Over  the  course  of
their  debut  EP   and   three   subsequent   full-length   releases,
Pan-Thy-Monium have injected a massive dose of  creativity  into  the
brutal death  sound,  charting  lots  of  unexplored  and  mystifying
musical territory in the  process.  Their  latest,  final  recording,
_KaK_  is  a  crazed  hybrid  of  pulverizing  power  and   inventive
experimentation, easily among the most technically accomplished -and-
musically intriguing extreme music releases ever. As  it's  also  the
first of their releases to gain widespread  distribution  outside  of
Europe, I asked  P-T-M  bassist/keyboardist/mastermind  Day  Disyraah
(who sometimes also answers to "Dan Swano") how he might describe the
new CD's unearthly fusion of death, grind, jazz, and  you-name-it  to
someone who's never heard the band before.
     "What we've wanted, always," he replied, "is actually the  title
of the record. We always wanted P-T-M to be chaos and confusion, in a
great mixture. This doesn't necessarily have to deal  with  just  the
music. It could be confusing and chaotic in the sense of the  layout,
the artwork, you know, the promotion <laughs>, anything. It should be
chaos and confusion; it should be weird and strange. People  have  to
realize that this is not a natural, normal band. We  just  wanted  to
get back to our roots, and get really heavy,  and  really  slow,  and
really tuned down and weird again. It was a kind of a  'coming  home'
feeling, and that influenced us a lot to be even more weird and  even
more strange."
     Of course, the oddity of this  band's  output  is  by  no  means
limited to the music alone. On top of  their  strange  sonic  output,
P-T-M have dreamed up an entire  imaginary  world  whose  events  and
inhabitants are chronicled in the band's songs. In fact, as Dan  went
on to reveal, the saga of this alternate world parallels the story of
the band itself. The dire fate of Raagoonshinnaah and the destiny  of
P-T-M are one.
     "When we started out P-T-M," he relates, "we  were  very  lonely
guys, and we got together, and with this band we kind of  opened  our
hearts a little bit to each other, and realized that we were  fucking
lonely, you know? And  we  just  gave  a  name  to  this  feeling  of
loneliness, and we named it Raagoonshinnaah. And we told  each  other
that we should have a secret thing going, where  whenever  we'd  feel
lonely and very depressed we should get together and write music that
reflected the way we were feeling. Everything was feeling empty,  you
know? We didn't really have anything inside of us - no love, no hate,
nothing. Just complete nothingness. And that's when we came  up  with
this vision of Raagoonshinnaah."
     To that basic vision, the five members of the band soon added  a
roster of additional characters and places. On  _KaK_,  we  encounter
the Emperor of  Goobhaabh,  Maab,  and  of  course  Raagoonshinnaah's
conqueror, Amaraah, the God of All that is Complete and  Full.  Given
that the bleak spirit of Raagoonshinnaah is so basic  to  P-T-M,  and
that it is defeated by Amaraah on _KaK_, you might begin  to  suspect
that the demise of this band is actually  the  result  of  some  very
positive changes in the lives of the five musicians which make it up.
Perhaps the destruction of Raagoonshinnaah actually  represents  good
tidings for these  guys?  This  is  a  guess  which  Dan  is  clearly
delighted to confirm.
     "For  a  while,  I  think   we   actually   believed   in   this
Raagoonshinnaah cult. We were actually pretty serious. It's not  like
a Satanic thing. It was like a depressive cult. We were just  feeling
miserable, drinking a lot of beer. <laughs>"  But  things  are  quite
different now, Dan happily reports. "I have a son, and I'm  going  to
be married next  Saturday  [April  27].  Totally  out,  totally  out!
<laughs> And the other guys have girlfriends, and life is  like,  you
know, really -fun-!!"
     "So, basically, Amaraah killed Raagoonshinnaah. And that's  'The
Battle of Geeheeb' [_KaK_'s opening track]. That's  the  end  of  the
band. We just can't go on, when everyone is happy, trying to  pretend
that we're lonely and trying to write music that is so naked  and  so
mourning. The first P-T-M tracks came right from  the  heart  to  our
instruments. Now it goes through  the  brain:  we  actually  have  to
transform 'We are really happy' into 'We should be  sad  right  now,'
you know? And that doesn't work. This process is  not  good  for  the
music. So that's why we decided  to  quit.  We  don't  want  to  fool
people, you know? It's not easy to write sad music when you're happy.
It's very hard."
     Indeed, the aptly named "Behrial" (sound it out boys and  girls,
it reads: Burial), the  lush  and  moving  soundscape  on  which  Dan
single-handedly lays  Raagoonshinnaah  to  rest,  is  striking  sonic
confirmation that the triumph of hope over  negativity  is  the  real
reason for P-T-M's decision to call it quits. In  stark  contrast  to
the frenetic metallic grinders which precede it,  this  track  weaves
together a gorgeous tapestry  of  glowing  sound;  somber,  yes,  but
quietly beautiful and full of promise too. Anyway, that's my  opinion
of it, and (lucky for me!) Dan essentially agrees. "I got the feeling
when I wrote this track that P-T-M should have a decent  burial,"  he
says. "I thought this song should be like, 'Farewell, sleep  forever,
thank you for all that you've done for me.' It's like saying farewell
to a good friend. I guess it's a little bit sad,  and  a  little  bit
beautiful. It was a very strange song to  write.  It  actually  wrote
itself. I think I recorded it  in  like  thirty  minutes.  It's  like
'Blam!' and it's finished. Really strange."
     So is  there  no  possibility  that  Raagoonshinnaah  will  ever
return? "Never say never" is Dan's reply,  but  he  seems  much  more
interested in looking toward the future. "To me,  P-T-M  was  like  a
child. It was to all of us. But, you know, it was taken away from us,
because we became happy. We couldn't take care of this musical  child
anymore.  We  wanted  to  move  on  and  do  different   things.   So
Raagoonshinnaah is sleeping, and maybe he is going to awake. I  don't
know, one day, you never know." For  what  it's  worth,  though,  Dan
doesn't seem to think that could happen any time soon. But whether it
happens or  not,  the  crazy,  crushing  sound  that  Raagoonshinnaah
inspired P-T-M to create will live on in the  group's  recordings.  I
asked Dan if he had anything he'd like to say, in closing, to fans of
this truly unique band. Here are his parting words.
     "Thank you for putting up with such a weird band! <laughs> And I
want to thank all the people who have written to  me  over  the  last
five or six years and told me that they really got a special  feeling
out of P-T-M. I would like to thank  them  for  the  effort  and  for
actually doing that. That is fucking fantastic, that there  are  more
people than just the five of us that actually can be linked  together
by our music. That's fucking fantastic."

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

                R E V I V I N G   T H E   C O R P S E
                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                  An Interview with Cannibal Corpse
                          by: Gino Filicetti

     Since their  first  release  in  1990,  _Eaten  Back  To  Life_,
Cannibal Corpse have been putting the death into death metal like  no
one else can. Once renowned for  their  shockingly  brutal  and  gory
lyrics, a sea of  imitators  and  copy-cats  have  de-sensitized  the
masses, but the truth is, no one can out  do  the  masters  at  their
game. On the phone with drummer Paul Mazurkiewicz, he explains what's
been happening with the band since we last encountered them.
     With their newest release, _Vile_, Cannibal Corpse has undergone
a lot of changes, the most prevalent  of  which  was  the  firing  of
singer Chris Barnes. Chris got his say back in Chronicles of Chaos #5
when we interviewed Six Feet Under. Now it's time  for  the  Cannibal
boys  to  tell  us  THEIR  side.  Paul  begins  by   explaining   the
circumstances which brought about their decision: "When we went  into
the studio in September we had laid all the music down  and  we  were
really happy and really pleased that everything was going  great,  we
were so pumped. Then Chris came in to do the vocals and  that  really
let the air out of the tires in our eyes. We didn't like a lot of his
stuff and we wanted to change some of it, but Chris wanted to do  his
own thing and didn't want to change any of  it.  That's  really  what
brought upon the whole change, because we wanted it to  be  the  best
album we could make it and the vocals just didn't live up to that."
     Although Chris' lack of enthusiasm and down  right  stubbornness
was discouraging to the band, Paul tells us  that  they  tried  their
best to make things work. "We tried to work with him, but he's really
difficult to work with in that way. We tried to have him change stuff
and it wasn't working to our liking. He  was  supposed  to  have  the
vocals done before he left to go on the road with Six Feet  Under  in
October, and when he came back we were going to mix. So we  told  him
that we were going to rewrite some stuff and he got all  pissed,  but
we had to, we just weren't happy with some of the  songs.  He  didn't
take it very well and he got all mad and walked  out,  but  this  was
like a week before he was leaving. So when he left, we knew that this
wasn't working and that we had to do something. So we decided that it
was the time to make a change. We didn't want to release an album  we
were going to be displeased with. So we decided when he was gone that
we would have to kick him out and George  was  our  first  choice  to
ask." He continues, "We told Chris as soon  as  he  got  back.  Don't
think we dicked him around or anything. We didn't want to tell him on
the road, I mean, that'd be dumb you know? But  we  contacted  George
like a week before Chris was coming back and asked him if he'd do it,
and he was totally into it."
     George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher was someone whom  Cannibal  Corpse
knew for quite awhile from the  Florida  scene.  "We  knew  him  from
Monstrosity. It's Rob who knows him really  well.  Alex  knew  George
quite a bit just from meeting through shows and what  not.  I  myself
didn't talk to him that much before, but I've gotten to know him  now
that he's in the band. We just basically knew  him  from  Monstrosity
and we loved his voice and knew he could do the job. Also we knew who
he was and where he was to get in contact with him." Paul also  tells
us that George has been fitting in just great with the  rest  of  the
band. "I think he brings more of a ferocity  to  the  band.  I  think
after all these years, we lost a bit of our edge and it became a  bit
stale, not because we weren't into it, but  because  of  the  tension
between members, especially between Chris and the rest of  the  band.
Now we just feel more  revitalized.  George  is  amazing,  he's  just
non-stop, a real madman, he's powerful, he's intimidating.  It's  all
combined, George joining and the new songs and everything as a  whole
makes us feel just raring to go. We haven't played a tour in  over  a
year, and we're all into the new album, and with George we feel  like
we're back on our first album and we haven't done a tour yet.
     Although the departure of Chris  Barnes  shocked  a  great  many
people in death metal circles, almost no one  thought  that  Cannibal
Corpse could survive without  their  frontman  and  mastermind.  Paul
tells us that the vision of Chris being the band's  ringleader  is  a
completely misconceived one. "That's where I think everything got all
jumbled in the mix of things as time went on with the band.  He  took
credit for everything. That's what he wanted to do, you know? It  got
to the point where everyone wanted to do interviews with him  and  we
just couldn't talk to him about stuff to do with the  band.  All  the
stuff wasn't his, I mean he came up with most of the song titles  and
he came up with ideas, but a lot of titles we came up with and I just
think everything got blown out of proportion to where people believed
that Chris Barnes did everything, you know? I'm sure there are people
out there that think he wrote the music and that he told us  what  to
do and if it wasn't for him we wouldn't know what we're doing. He did
a heavy share of stuff but then again everybody did. He  never  wrote
any songs because he can't play any  instruments,  the  music  always
belonged to us. But me and Alex also came up with a lot of  the  song
titles and ideas.
     Blood, guts, and gore has always been THE trademark of  Cannibal
Corpse. Throughout all four of their previous  studio  releases,  the
band has become infamous for their lyrics.  Does  Paul  see  Cannibal
writing in this vein forever? "Yeah definitely. I  mean,  that's  why
we're here, that's what Cannibal Corpse is. We wouldn't  be  Cannibal
Corpse if we were writing about something else.  I  think  there  are
definitely enough subjects and ideas that can  still  be  covered  in
this genre, but I still think we came up with some 'different' songs.
We kind of drifted away from the woman abuse type of  stuff  on  this
record. It's more hate-filled, hate and violence  in  general.  We'll
always play death metal and we'll always write gore because  Cannibal
Corpse wouldn't be what we are today without  that."  Paul  continues
explaining  how  their  lyrics  do  not  necessarily  reflect   their
personalities. "Personally, for me, I just want to write a cool story
you know? I  just  want  to  sit  back  and  write  something  that's
disgusting or sick or cool. I wrote two of the songs  on  this  album
myself, and that's how I looked at it. It's  got  no  meaning  to  me
other than the fact that I'm writing a story. It's more in the  music
that you get your release, your feelings and such come out  when  you
play the music. I can't answer for the other guys, but for me  that's
how I see it.
     Although Cannibal Corpse isn't the only  band  with  such  vile,
disgusting lyrics,  they  have  received  attention  from  many  self
proclaimed saviors of our society including  The  700  Club  and  Bob
Dole. Paul tells the tale behind  these  encounters.  "The  700  Club
thing was pretty cool. It was just this thing on music and they  were
really ragging on stuff like Nine  Inch  Nails,  and  just  music  in
general. They showed a lot  of  the  'Staring  ...'  video  and  they
flashed the words underneath  it.  We  thought  it  was  pretty  good
exposure. We didn't even know it was going on there, it was just like
one day you're flipping the TV and bam! The Bob Dole  thing  was  him
just  dissing  us  when  he  brought  up  the  movies  like   Quentin
Tarantino's Pulp Fiction and then he  talked  about  bands  like  The
Ghetto Boyz and Cannibal Corpse. That was a few months ago  and  that
was national, everyone heard about that. It  was  in  USA  Today  and
Newsweek. We got our names in there and it was on  the  nightly  news
too. He was just starting his censorship  thing,  and  talking  about
movies and music  and  how  it's  corrupting  today's  youth  and  he
happened to mention our name. Chris did  a  little  comment  on  that
saying why would a guy running for president care about something  so
menial, because we're just a death  metal  band,  we  aren't  selling
millions of records. But it's cool for the publicity."
     Talking  about  exposure  and  publicity  brought  up   Cannibal
Corpse's appearance in the 1994 flick _Ace Ventura:  Pet  Detective_.
The band was in Hollywood shooting for two days and Paul tells  us  a
lot of the footage that was shot  with  the  band  ended  up  on  the
cutting room floor. "We thought they should've used more of the film.
That would've been killer. It was cool that we got in  the  movie  at
all, but it sucks that most of it got cut out. They filmed some  shit
that was absolutely hilarious. We never saw it, but  I  remember  the
whole thing. It was the scene  where  Jim's  being  chased  by  those
thugs. First Chris is singing and then jumps out into the crowd,  and
he's crowd surfing and then he gets pulled into the pit, so we  don't
have a singer. So Jim is getting chased by the thugs and he comes  up
to the stage and jumps out into the crowd and he starts crowd surfing
too. Then the two thugs try it. The little guy jumps out  and  starts
surfing and the fat guy goes to jump and the crowd splits  apart  and
he hits the floor. They filmed him getting kicked in the head and all
that shit. In the meantime, Jim is being chased around the  venue  by
the little guy and they are both on top of the crowd so it's kind  of
funny you know? So then Jim gets pushed onto the stage just as  we're
finishing a song and he picks up the mic. Then the thug is just about
to come onto the stage and Jim goes, 'One, Two, Three, Four'  and  we
start playing, and the thug gets  pulled  back  into  the  crowd  and
everyone is going crazy. Jim's up on stage and he's singing  with  us
and doing all his crazy dances and shit and it all  fucking  got  cut
out. I thought it was going to be amazing but it all ended up on  the
floor."
     As a closer, Paul was asked if he  thought  death  metal  should
become mainstream. He answered, "I think the only way it's  going  to
become more mainstream is if  more  people  start  listening  to  it.
That's the only way it's going to happen. It's not going to change to
suit the mainstream audience. If it's going to  get  mainstream  it's
just because there are a lot of people who  are  listening  to  death
metal. Other than that, it just wouldn't be  the  same.  I  mean,  we
wouldn't be the same band if we changed to become mainstream. Like  I
said, the only way it'll become mainstream is if fucking ten  million
people buy the record, then that's mainstream." He continues,  "Death
metal has always been the  extreme  music  that  it  is,  and  unless
people's tastes change, it won't become mainstream, it'll  just  stay
the way it is. Which is great, I mean, the more people into the scene
the better, but all we can do is keep pounding it in  people's  faces
and that's what we've been doing."

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

             T H E   P I T C H   O F   P E S S I M I S M
             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
              An interview with England's Pitch Shifter
                          by: Adrian Bromley

Imagine, if you will, an otherwise empty room, shrouded in  darkness,
the only light coming from the snow on a television set, then, as you
stare absent mindedly at this machine that has held  mankind  captive
for the last fifty years, you see before you...

                              **********

... *click* ... tonight on CNN, bloodshed in Bosnia  where  a  mortar
has landed in a crowded market place killing dozens ...  *click*  ...
police have seized a half  a  million  dollars  worth  of  marijuana,
confiscated from a first grade school teacher's  home  in  the  quiet
rural town of Lincoln, Nebraska ... *click* ... another teenager  has
been shot to death outside a night club in downtown Los Angeles,  the
second to happen this week ... *click* <fuzz> ... <static>  ...  This
is the emergency broadcast system. This is just a  test  ...  *click*
... *click* ... WELCOME TO INFOTAINMENT? <static> ...

     The music  and  lyrics  of  _Infotainment?_,  the  latest  noise
assault by Nottingham, England's Pitch Shifter (PS) and follow-up  to
the successful 1993 opus _Desensitized_,  shapes  heavy  visions  and
dosages of reality with the help  of  multiple  samples,  distortion,
loud guitars and multi-faceted song styles of  industrial,  hip  hop,
techno, and jungle beats. _Infotainment?_ is  the  TV  guide  of  our
past, future, and present. The music and emotions sparked  throughout
this 'guide' pretty much makes the bloodshed on TV look  like  Romper
Room.
     J.S. Clayden, a power-packed individual not afraid to voice  his
opinions or stick to his own beliefs, is rather fatigued  (two  weeks
of European press) over the phone from Earache Records offices in New
York, but rather talkative. About the mindset and the construction of
_Infotainment?_  he  reveals:  "What  happened  is  that   I   hadn't
personally listened to any guitar music for about eight months," says
Clayden about the substantial amount of  hip  hop  and  jungle  beats
throughout the record. "It has all been techno, jungle, trip-hop  and
jazzy stuff that I have  been  into  and  it  is  natural  for  Pitch
Shifter. We never have to force it, we intrinsically  know.  We  just
include stuff that we listen to.
     "It is weird because PS has been more of a social experiment and
a way of exchanging ideas with others around the world  and  more  of
channelling on their negative  energy  to  positive  energy.  We  are
controlling our aggression. People find it hard  to  believe  that  I
don't listen to this kind of music - ever.  I  do  it,  but  I  don't
listen to this style of music. But for this  album  I  was  thinking,
'Well we are going to be playing this album all year' and I wanted to
include elements of stuff I listen to so I can  really  get  into  it
when I play."
     While the record only took three months to record  and  assemble
with the help of producer Simon Efemy, the recording  of  the  record
was slowly put together due in part  to  some  untimely  surgery  for
Clayden. He explains, "It took three months cause I had an  operation
on my leg and that took up a  lot  of  time  to  recover,  about  six
months. They had to reconstruct a muscle in my groin  area  (writer's
note: OUCH!!!!) which is very excruciating and a bit too close to the
family jewels," he jokes. "It  took  three  months  to  assemble.  We
recorded it in two weeks and then took the whole package back to  the
studio where we bastardized it with samples and then we mixed it."
     And while samples provide most of the intrigue about the  record
(quite effective on songs like "Virus",  "Hangar  84",  and  "Product
Placement"), Clayden notes the motives by the band to get back  to  a
rawer feel with the  recording  and  the  type  of  music  they  were
creating with _Infotainment?_  were  essential.  "We  wanted  a  more
musical feel," he says. "I came to  the  limit  of  the  three  chord
monolithic sludge. We came to the limit of it... it is too  limiting.
We couldn't do anything else with it. So I do listen to more of dance
style music seeing that I live in England and  every  car  that  goes
down the street has that style of music blaring from  the  car."  [he
imitates music blaring from car] With a modest tone he says, "Nothing
has been forced on this album. We didn't go  like,  'Oh,  we'll  make
this more dance.' The time was right to do this, to use  these  break
beats and dance sounds."
     Talking  about  the  fact  that  the  band   (rounded   out   by
guitarist/programmer John Carter, drummer  D.  Walters,  and  bassist
Mark D. Clayden) has stolen  numerous  samples  for  the  benefit  of
shaping their album into a frenzied noise-fest,  he  says,  "Everyone
makes out that they are the original 'God-like genius' that  invented
everything and that is bullshit. There are only so many chords  on  a
guitar, drum beats or sounds from a drum. I think appropriation is an
art of the 90s. There is nothing more that I like than billboard art,
where someone has defaced a billboard to make it into art whether  it
be political or whatever. It is  great.  I  like  taking  things  and
changing them.
     "It is like the rave culture where they take logos  that  people
know like Texaco and Shell and change them into their own  thing.  It
is art, appropriational art." About being approached by  any  artists
about their theft of material he laughs, "I hope not.  I  tried  very
hard to distort and change  everything  so  that  no  one  will  ever
realize. Funny thing is most of the stuff sampled here is from people
that are dead. We're jamming with the dead people!" <laughs again>
     Clayden is also a strong advocate of being  honest  and  showing
that through their music. He is first to admit that  his  lyrics  are
about his experiences, stuff many of PS's listeners can relate to. "I
try to avoid storytelling and creating with a character because  that
can be pretentious. The thing with PS is [the music]  is  about  life
and if it happens to me and happens to the band it affects the  music
as well. If I got hit by a car, it would be a track on the album."
     He goes on to say about other lyrical inspirations.  "A  lot  of
things piss me off about life and I just don't understand why  things
have to be the way they are. I don't understand why  people  have  to
hate people because they don't look like them. It  is  political  but
not necessarily topical  politics.  We  are  not  like  a  band  like
Consolidated where we will wait for something to happen in  the  news
to sing about it. It is personal politics in our music."
     On the album title and cover image? "It  is  satirical.  If  you
look at the cover you see the happy family and  the  PSI  sign  where
normally you'd see CNN or BBC and a  skull-faced  journalist  and  it
saying INFOTAINMENT with a question mark. People should get  it...  I
shouldn't have to explain it," he says with  sarcasm.  "I  just  want
people to get it."
     The topic shifts from song lyrics to the world and its problems,
primarily the problems that he has witnessed firsthand or read  about
daily in the United States. Is  he  worried  about  how  violent  and
screwed up things have become? "Fuck yeah.  Go  to  anywhere  in  the
south and they are so full on racism. I don't take to that fact  very
much or that everyone has a gun here  too,  even  parking  attendants
have guns. But  there  are  a  million  things  that  bother  me  but
everything will become the same. There are the three same things that
make a 'shit culture' and Germany, England,  and  America  have  them
all. They are: bad TV, beer, and pornography. They are  bad  for  the
culture. For example the news; the control is so subtle that we don't
see it or realize that it is happening."
     So do you believe that kids nowadays  are  being  raised  poorly
because of their surrounding conditions then? "You don't  get  raised
now, you drag yourself up don't ya?" he states.  "I  started  smoking
when I was eleven and doing a lot of other things. <laughs>  I  don't
think people are  raised  any  more.  I  think  people  are  dragging
themselves up and it is individualistic culture. Our  generation,  or
at least mine, got lost. In England, my  generation  dropped  out  of
school and became vegetarians and they challenged and examined a  few
ideas. Whereas the generation below us are like, 'This is my  CD,  my
Sega, my trousers, my car and my drugs' and it is going onto  a  very
individualist culture. It is not their fault. In the old days it  was
the 'duty' generation where my parents got  married  because  it  was
their duty. You got your wife pregnant, it was  your  duty.  You  did
stuff for your country, it was your duty. This  generation  is  like,
'Look! We know the Earth is fucked and I want my  seventy-five  years
as part in it before it goes under and who the fuck are you  to  tell
me to pick up the pieces of the last generation and do my duty?' That
is the generation we are in now and it  is  a  very  auto-destructive
state of mind to be in. Everyone wants their  seventy-five  years  as
part of it and they are 'Outta here!'"
     Future plans for PS include a possible summer tour with Neurosis
in the United States. Clayden can't wait to tour and is not too picky
about playing with any specific band. "I can play with  any  type  of
band. I  love  doing  that.  We  have  played  with  punk,  rock  and
alternative bands like Fugazi, Girls Against Boys, No Means No and we
have played with extreme stuff like Napalm Death and  Carcass.  Right
now I am working on a project over here [in England] where there is a
showcase where you have a DJ, then guitar band, then DJ, and again  a
guitar band that night with  visuals.  I  think  things  need  to  be
crossed. I think promoters under-estimate everyone. I don't  want  to
go to a show and see six metal bands," he says loudly. "I want to see
a mix of things, a crazy mix of all types of music. I want to express
moods in the evening where people  will  get  something  out  of  the
evening and go, 'Wow!  I  learned  about  different  types  of  music
today.'"
     So deep down, and  this  has  always  been  a  real  virtue  for
Clayden, he wants to act as an informer and not a preacher of the way
things should be. "For this  record  to  be  successful  is  to  have
someone somewhere around the world come up to me and say, 'Explain to
me what you mean about this.' And after  telling  them  they'll  say,
'Interesting idea and I think this.' That is success to get people to
talk or understand what I do or the way they think  about  something.
Or even to think about something they have never thought about.  That
is all it is about and all I want."
      Slightly disillusioned he says, "I think ten people in the last
five years have come up to me and told me that." Proud of  where  the
band is at right now since their formation in 1991 he concludes,  "If
I wanted to make money I would have sold my  ass  on  the  street.  I
don't need the cash as much as I need the ideas."

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

        C A N   P A R A D I S E   E V E R   B E   F O U N D ?
        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
             An interview with Paradise Lost's Nick Holmes
                          by: Adrian Bromley

     As we head into the middle of 1996, it has almost  been  a  year
since the European release date of Halifax, England quintet  Paradise
Lost's well-received fifth release _Draconian Times_, and  just  over
six months since it was released Stateside. In Europe, they have been
hailed as heroes of the metal community, praised for  their  stunning
work of metal-meets-goth on _DT_ and have  been  included  in  almost
every metal publication's Top 10 lists. But while sales of  _DT_  may
be heading to three times that of 1993's breakthrough  record  _Icon_
(which sold half a million), the band still has a long way to gaining
the same amount of respect, admiration, and exposure in North America.
     To make things worse, the band's  label  over  here,  Relativity
Records,  has  dropped  their  entire  rock/hard  rock/metal   roster
recently (though they are strongly supported by their publicists over
here, Mazur Public Relations). This may make things a bit harder  now
right? "Relativity just  sacked  their  Rock  Department  so  we  are
basically  fucked  right  now,"  says  a  somewhat   astonished   and
disappointed lead vocalist Nick Holmes. "We are trying to sort things
out and trying to get over to North America. It is pretty frustrating
for us because we really wanted to get over there. Now we  are  gonna
look into getting on a major tour over there so we can play."
     Holmes - along with the rest  of  the  band,  guitarists  Gregor
Mackintosh and Aaron Aedy, drummer  Lee  Morris,  and  bassist  Steve
Edmondson - never saw the incident coming.  There  was  nothing  they
could do to prepare for it. He accounts, "The people  at  the  record
company just cleared their desks. I think one guy was  on  the  phone
crying as he was packing up his things all worried about his wife and
children. It just happened overnight."
     As facts would state, the U.S. is by far the least  devoted  and
worked on market for the band. The band saw some exposure with _Icon_
with a few solo showcases and an opening slot on Morbid Angel's  tour
that year. In regards to North American reviews of the  latest  album
he says, "Most of them have been good to us but I am not sure how the
marketing system works over there. It is  more  radio  oriented  over
there isn't it? We haven't  gotten  any  AOR  over  there  with  this
record. We have been doing a lot of  radio  interviews  in  the  last
little while but I can't really say how we are doing." Holmes goes on
to say about sales, "In Europe we have sold three times  what  _Icon_
did. This album is 90% of all our sales that we have  done  with  our
albums and hopefully the next album will do the same  or  better.  We
are seeing our albums grow in popularity with each release and it was
_Icon_ that  got  us  a  good-sized  following  over  in  Europe.  We
concentrate heavily on Europe because that is what you do right?  You
focus on your strong market. We need to get over here and see what is
happening, at least hit the key cities and try to  expand  our  North
American market."
     He adds, "We just need to get over there to actually  check  out
the situation. I mean we are over here in Europe and concentrating so
heavily with the market that we are out of the picture when it  comes
to how we are doing there. We just want to get a vibe by playing over
there. We are not prepared to come over there and  do  an  eight-week
club date tour. The most important thing is getting people out to see
the shows and I don't care if it is a negative or positive  response.
We were over there playing three years ago and reasonably unheard  of
and we haven't heard much since then," he  chuckles.  "We  did  eight
weeks a few years back with Morbid Angel and that was tough for  us,"
he says in reference about the hardships of touring. He  reveals  the
following anecdote; "Six weeks into that tour, it was  becoming  very
soul-destroying and much like banging your head against the wall.  We
didn't particularly go down well though some of our gigs were  pretty
good but most were mediocre. We didn't expect to do well seeing  that
it was a new market for us. I think that point was very tough because
we all felt very low and we were arguing and getting on  the  bus  at
night and holding our head in our hands and wondering what was  going
wrong for us."
     Though this all looks to be a long hard struggle for  the  band,
it  has  been  the  complete  opposite.  Aside  from  lack  of   U.S.
acceptance, the road to success for the band in their  'neck  of  the
woods' has been quite easy since their inception in 1988.
     In the beginning the band signed to then-Peaceville Records  and
released in 1990 their debut album _Lost Paradise_ and followed  with
extensive touring. The band's popularity grew quickly and by the time
the band released their sophomore effort, _Gothic_, in 1991, the band
had established  themselves  as  one  of  the  main  focuses  of  the
death/goth music scene. The band  delivered  solid  riffs  marked  by
emotional lyrics and hardy vocals to match.  The  music  of  Paradise
Lost had taken shape and  would  carry  over  and  grow  with  future
releases.
     The band in 1992 signed to Music  For  Nations  label  and  soon
followed  with  the  well-received  third  effort  _Shades  Of  God_,
probably the most well-rounded release  to  date.  Onward,  the  band
moved with their quest for crafty songwriting and music  of  heavenly
metal proportions encompassed by the spiritual aspect of gothic tones
which led us to  the  phenomenal  _Icon_  release.  The  band  toured
heavily in Europe on their own and in support of Sepultura  on  their
Chaos A.D. Tour for quite some time before coming  off  the  road  to
take time off (there was a line-up change with  former  drummer  Matt
Archer being replaced by Morris) and prepare for their fifth and most
awaited release, _Draconian Times_.
     Preparation and careful thought went into the work of the latest
album assures Holmes, but never really any  pre-conceived  notion  of
where the band was to go musically. "I think it was a  case  of  just
writing more songs and if they change, it is not a conscious thing. I
don't think the music here is much different than _Icon_,  rather  an
extension of the music except better. I think the next album will  be
a lot more different." In what way? "We will most  likely  be  moving
away from the heavy sort of way of things and it will be  more  based
around creating more moods and atmospheric music.  We  want  it  more
darker as opposed to heavy." He confesses, "We are  not  really  into
using chugging guitar riffs for the sake of  it.  We'll  let  Machine
Head or other heavy bands do that because we really have no need  for
it any more. We'll probably get a bit more gothic."
     While _DT_ doesn't really rank up above the work of _Icon_ in my
books,  it  is  almost  impossible  to  ignore  the  sheer  power  of
complexity and intricacy that went into the songwriting and lyrics of
this album. The music creates images and  sparks  emotion  throughout
_DT_. "We play the music that we want to hear or listen  to.  We  are
not in it to please anyone or  appeal  to  a  certain  market,"  says
Holmes about the band's work style of making music. "We play music we
appreciate and hopefully right-minded people will like  it  and  grow
with us. If you start to play music to appeal to  other  people  then
you basically are selling out on yourself right? You gotta keep it up
and keep it fresh. We have been very lucky  that  we  have  had  more
people pick up on what we have been doing than losing it.
     "I  think  it  is  the  songwriting  style  that  keeps   people
interested," he says, "Gregor [Mackintosh] has his own way of writing
music, very distinctive and I think it comes  down  to  that  feature
that makes _Draconian Times_ what it is." And seeing that he  is  the
key lyricist for the  band's  music,  after  almost  eight  years  of
writing, how does Holmes keep it fresh? "There are lots of things  in
everyday life that you can incorporate into a song or certain lyrics.
Musically, Gregor has loads of ideas and as we  move  into  the  21st
Century with a keyboard and all these ideas plus a studio to use,  it
makes it easier for us. The songwriting process gets  more  difficult
with every single album I think 'cause people get more precious about
the pieces they have written. I'd say it is quite hard to  compromise
but you have to do it with everything you create."

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


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.


            O V E R   T H E   E D G E   O F   S A N I T Y
            ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                CoC chats with Dread of Edge of Sanity
                          by: Gino Filicetti


     It's been six issues since we've last heard from Edge of Sanity,
and all the things Dan Swano promised for the band's new  album  have
come true.
     Edge of Sanity have now released their  newest  record  entitled
_Crimson_ which is a 45-minute, one-track opus of  epic  proportions.
The band manages to capture all the elements that make Edge of Sanity
what they are in one song that never bores you, never loses you,  and
never ceases to amaze you.
     Chronicles of Chaos sat down with a new face this  time  around,
guitarist Andreas  Axelsson  a.k.a.  Dread  (the  rest  of  the  band
consists of Dan Swano, vocals and rhythm  guitars,  Anders  Lindberg,
bass, Sami Nerberg, guitars, and Benny Larsson, drums).
     Here is what Andreas had to say.

CoC: So what's up? What have you guys been up to lately?

Andreas Axelsson: Well, you know, drinking beer. <laughs> Our  singer
                  just got married this Saturday  so  we  had  a  big
                  party, and we made an album as you probably know.

CoC: Are you just going to take it easy and  not  do  anything  until
     your next record?

AA: Well, we're going on tour on the 25th of May in Germany for  nine
    days only. That's what we're geared up to do in the near  future.
    I've also talked to a lot of people from the  States  today,  and
    they say they want us over there. All I can say is that I want to
    go! <laughs> I have to talk to Dan and we'll see about that.

CoC: Have you ever been to America?

AA: Not with Edge of Sanity. I've been to America with my mother  and
    sister once. We went to New York and Philidelphia, it was  really
    cool and I would love to go over there and play.

CoC: How different do you think it is from where you come from?

AA: Oh! It's like night and day. The place where I live is  a  little
    out in the country kind of  town.  Everybody  knows  each  other,
    everybody fucks each other. <laughs> But in the States it's  just
    so damn big, I mean, I'm just a small town boy  and  when  walked
    around over there, I was amazed.

CoC: I talked to Dan about six months ago, and he said you guys don't
     really like to tour. Is that true?

AA: No. Well you know him, he's got his studio and all that. It's his
    work so what can you do? It's booked until February of next year,
    so he doesn't really have much time to tour.

CoC: What do you think of Dan being tied up in  his  studio  all  the
     time? Wouldn't you like it better if he had more  time  to  tour
     and spend with the band?

AA: Well, we've had some bad experiences touring. The last  time  was
    in Germany. All we had was a little car for all five of  us,  and
    in some of the places we only had five people watching  us.  That
    was the first real tour for Dan and ourselves, so he was a little
    bit disappointed about the whole touring thing, but  I'll  go  on
    tour, just say the word. <laughs>

CoC: About the new record, was it totally Dan's idea to have the  one
     epic track or was it a group thing?

AA: It was Dan's idea, but the whole band supported it 100%, it was a
    really cool idea. What I like best about it is the fact that it's
    never been done before, at least not in death metal. The thing is
    that EVERYTHING is in that song. We have the  mellow  parts,  the
    really heavy parts, the grind parts, it's all there, just like an
    Edge of Sanity record should be. The fact that it's only one song
    makes it a little more exciting or a little more strange. I think
    it's strange that time flies so fast when you listen to  it.  You
    think you've just  listened  to  a  ten-minute  song,  and  forty
    minutes have passed!

CoC: Does everyone in the band enjoy creating music on  the  spur  of
     the moment?

AA: Actually, this time it was a new experience for us. It was a  new
    way of working because the whole  band  really  did  this  album.
    Before it was mostly me and Dan that wrote all the lyrics and the
    music, but this time the whole band created  it.  It  was  really
    cool, a great way to work.

CoC: What do you think makes _Crimson_ special besides its length?

AA: It's got a lot of variation. I mean, you got your  gothic  parts,
    and you have acoustic guitars, you have  cello  parts,  you  have
    some symphonic parts. The whole feel of it was so  different,  we
    didn't put any boundaries on where we could go, we  just  let  it
    flow, and put everything on  it.  We  had  normal  vocals,  death
    vocals, bright vocals, and Mike [Akerfeldt] of  Opeth  doing  the
    black metal style. It's got it all, that's what I think.

CoC: Tell me about the lyrics to the song. What is the story about? I
     found it confusing.

AA: It's like a futuristic tale. When Dan and I sat down  and  talked
    about this world we were going to create, we made it far into the
    future, as if the world had died a thousand times. The women  can
    no  longer  give  birth  and  the  whole  human  race  is  facing
    extinction. Then a little girl comes and... read the lyrics  man!
    <laughs> I'm so bad at English, it's really hard to explain,  but
    it's all there.

CoC: Tell me about the extra musicians you brought  in  and  why  you
     chose them?

AA: Well, Mike from Opeth is a close friend, and we wanted to use him
    because he's got some really great vocals. He's  got  the  really
    high-pitched black metal screams and we wanted that for the grind
    parts on the album to make it extra brutal. As far as  the  cello
    goes, none of us can play the cello and we wanted a  real  cello,
    not a synthesized one, so we had to bring in a cello player.

CoC: The album has been out for almost a month. What kind of response
     have you gotten?

AA: We've gotten great responses so far. I've  talked  to  the  Black
    Mark people in Germany and they were  telling  me  how  good  the
    reviews are in the German magazines. It's sold  great  in  Sweden
    and got excellent reviews in the big music magazines  in  Sweden.
    We couldn't really be any happier. I heard we sold 2000 copies in
    one month, in one store! We are on the top selling  charts  above
    bands like Sepultura. It feels unreal when you are above  a  band
    that's inspired you to play music.

CoC: What is Edge of Sanity going to do for their next  albums?  What
     can possibly top this?!

AA: We'll be going back to basics. We've talked about  it  this  week
    and we will probably do more of a rock n'  roll  kind  of  album.
    We'll still be death metal though. We  aren't  going  a  Paradise
    Lost kind of thing like start singing normal or anything, but  we
    are going back to basics. Also, we'll be recording it in  another
    studio so that Dan doesn't have as  much  pressure  on  him.  For
    _Crimson_ he played guitar, he sang, he produced it, and he mixed
    the album, but for the new album we'll be going into a new studio
    so he can relax a bit. <laughs>

CoC: Do you have any other side projects?

AA: Yeah, of course! I play in eleven other bands. I live in a little
    town and I'm unemployed and the only thing to do  is  go  out  on
    weekends and get drunk and on the  working  days,  just  rehearse
    with all the bands that you're in. I have a lot to  do.  <laughs>
    None of these other bands are signed, but we have one  punk  band
    called Lucky Seven, and we're signed to a  little  label  in  the
    town where I'm from. We've already put out one album,  and  we'll
    be putting out a mini CD soon. But  it's  nothing  big,  just  an
    underground punk band.

CoC: What do you think of Dan and all his other side projects?

AA: I think it's cool! I think it's good for Edge of Sanity. This way
    it doesn't get too weird with Edge of Sanity.  We  are  a  heavy,
    death metal band so maybe it's good that all our influences don't
    go into Edge of Sanity. I think it would sound strange if my punk
    influences went into Edge of Sanity or if  Dan's  pop  influences
    went in. So I think side projects are great.

CoC: How long do you think Edge of Sanity will last? Do  you  see  an
     end in sight?

AA: Not really. I think we can go on forever! <laughs> There's no one
    that wants to quit the band, we've never talked about it. Edge of
    Sanity is the kind of band that if one of  us  stops,  the  whole
    band will stop.

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

      S E R P E N T   S I N G E R   S H E D S   H I S   S K I N
      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
           Chronicles of Chaos chats with Piotr Wawrzeniuk
                          by: Adrian Bromley

     While Serpent's debut album, _In The  Garden  of  the  Serpent_,
might not be the most popular piece of metallic harshness to be flung
into the music scene of late, it  is  however  one  truly  remarkable
assemblage of riffs  and  groove  that'll  shake  any  foundation  to
rubble. The riffs are thick and Sabbath-esque, the vocals  are  heavy
and gritty and the production is simple. Pure, uncommercial music  to
take hold of and crank.
     The band was formed in 1993 by bassist Lars Rosenberg  (then  of
Entombed) and drummer Piotr Wawrzeniuk and  guitarist  Andreas  Wahl,
both of Therion at the time. Over a period of time,  members  shifted
and finally settled on the line-up that included  Wawrzeniuk  (taking
over vocals), Rosenberg, drummer Per Karlsson, and  guitarists  Johan
Lundell and Ulf Samuelsson. They  then  recorded  their  debut  album
_ITGotS_ in the spring of 1995 at In Deep Studio in Stockholm, Sweden
with engineer Anders Paulsson.
     Speaking with lead singer Piotr Wawrzeniuk from Sweden, he  goes
into detail about the difficulties of touring, success, and  breaking
into the American market. Here is how it went:

CoC: How have things been going for you guys?

Piotr Wawrzeniuk: Not bad. We have just gotten back into  the  studio
                  and are rehearsing new songs because  it  has  been
                  quite awhile since we wrote the  material  for  the
                  debut album.

CoC: What kind of material or sound are you looking for with the  new
     stuff you are presently working on?

PW: I don't think the music will be much different. We were hungry to
    make new music and we didn't look for a  new  style  or  approach
    rather just have a hard, loud sound to get our kicks out  of  it.
    It is fun writing these songs but it is still the  same  style...
    maybe a bit slower though?

CoC: Have you guys decided if you will tour in the near future? Aside
     from playing Europe, what are the chances  of  you  playing  the
     United States?

PW: Ooh... to tour over in the Unites States, you have to sell plenty
    of records in Europe, somewhere in the vicinity of 30,000 records
    and we will never do that. Bands like us  never  sell  that  many
    here in Europe.

CoC: What about getting a tour in Europe?

PW: I am not sure about that. It is hard to get a tour over  here  in
    Europe if you play such uncommercial music. We are looking for  a
    tour though in the coming months. Of course we could play  Europe
    but the money we would make would not be enough to cover the car,
    gas or hotels and we don't want  to  pay  for  this  so  I  guess
    nothing is going to happen right now.

CoC: Considering yourself somewhat uncommercial, how have you managed
     to stay away from commercialism while other death metal or metal
     acts have gone to that source for exposure?

PW: Well, I have played in many bands in the years and I wanted to do
    something really heavy and slow. So did Lars and it just ended up
    this way. Of course, I wouldn't mind being in a  successful  band
    and selling lots of records but unfortunately this music  is  not
    selling a lot but we still play it and enjoy making this type  of
    music.

CoC: Do you value your music more than your success?

PW: Yes. I have done so many compromises in the music  industry  with
    my other bands and they didn't get far and I  would  rather  stay
    where I  am  and  be  happy  doing  it.  At  least  we  can  feel
    comfortable about our music and not care what people say.

CoC: How would you describe your band to people who may not know your
     music?

PW: I would say that we are a hard rock band.  More  hard  rock  than
    metal I'd say.

CoC: I'd say you are a  bit  along  the  lines  of  Kyuss  with  your
     dirge-like gritty guitar  with  heavy  bass  sound  backing  the
     music. I wouldn't say you are metal.

PW: We produced the record ourselves and we made it sound this way on
    purpose as it went along with the music. We made  it  sound  like
    the last Saint Vitus record. I thought that record sounded great.
    We just wanted to capture that style with this record and I think
    we captured a feeling of hard rock and heaviness.

CoC: What do you think is the best attribute that comes  out  of  the
     album?

PW: That is hard to say. Some people like the  vocals.  I  personally
    don't think they are outstanding, and they are comparing them  to
    Wino of The Obsessed. The sound is very important because I can't
    imagine the music we have written without this sound of heaviness
    and creativity.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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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!


Amorphis - _Elegy_  (Relapse Records, May 1996)
by: Gino Filicetti  (9 out of 10)

After falling in love with Amorphis' last album,  the  ever  mystical
and utterly breath-taking _Tales from the Thousand Lakes_, I was MORE
than anxiously anticipating this newest release.  This  album  starts
off in fantastic Amorphis form, expanding on the sound the  band  has
become known for a million fold. The opening track,  "Better  Unborn"
shows  that  Amorphis  has  come  quite  a  ways  since  we've   last
encountered them. The music has become more complex in a multitude of
ways. It incorporates more of everything: guitars, keyboards,  drums,
and the vocals have also improved, transcending the whispered  growls
of before to become a truly majestic complement to  the  music  which
surrounds it. Also on this track is the first showcase  of  Amorphis'
new 'clean' vocalist Pasi Koskinen. Although I can't say I approve of
this new element, I really can't  slag  it  because  the  vocals  are
superbly performed. All of the tracks  on  this  album  feature  both
styles of singing, but to my  disappointment  the  clean  vocals  are
predominant over the growls.  My  favorite  track  is  "Song  of  the
Troubled One",  which  of  course  features  only  growling,  and  an
instrumentation that  surpasses  all  other  tracks  in  my  opinion.
Another notable mention is the multi-faceted  "Cares",  incorporating
all of the elements that make Amorphis  so  diverse,  from  the  rock
guitar parts, to the intricate keyboards, to the heavy grind  of  the
bass, to both the clean and growled vox,  and  even  some  techno-ish
parts thrown in (I heard the band might be making a  video  for  this
one). The only thing I don't like about this album is what  seems  to
be a "new" Amorphis. It seems that the band is trying  to  portray  a
new image as evidenced by the new logo which is less "metallic"  than
before, and also by the look of the band (all the  new  members  look
pretty alternative), but who am I to judge?  I  admit  it  does  seem
stupid on my part to point this out, but that's what I'm here for, to
point everything out. Anyway, this album is  definitely  a  milestone
for Amorphis.


A.C. (Anal Cunt) - _40 More Reasons to Hate Us_  (Earache, 1996)
by: Alain M. Gaudrault  (3 out of 10)

I've heard this band mentioned various times in  metal  circles,  but
have only now been graced with the supposed genius that is Anal Cunt.
Basically, this is the kind of album I'd put on as a joke at a party,
but I can't see myself ever listening to it seriously. In fact,  this
isn't quite as metal sounding as I had expected, more  hardcore  punk
with the odd metallic riff resounding occasionally. With song  titles
like "Everyone in the Underground Music Scene Is Stupid", "I Just Saw
the Gayest Guy on Earth", and "I  Got  Athlete's  Foot  Showering  at
Mike's", _40 Reasons ..._ is certainly amusing,  and  even  downright
hilarious if you listen to some of the lyrics (what of them  you  can
make out), but musically, this album is  devoid  of  much  structure,
which I suppose some find appealing. The high point of this  release,
however, is their rendition of the "Three's Company"  theme  song,  a
marked improvement over the original, I must say. If your idea  of  a
killer record is 42 bursty bits of noise in a  30-minute  span,  then
Anal Cunt's latest is for you. All others, beware!


Demonic - _Lead Us Into Darkness_  (Necropolis/Sepulture, 1995)
by: Gino Filicetti  (7 out of 10)

This release  is  actually  a  re-release  of  Demonic's  first  demo
entitled _Nar Morket Faller_. After forming  in  1994,  this  two-man
band went on to sign with Necropolis in 1995. Only  four  tracks  are
included here,  but  the  power  of  this  recording  is  nonetheless
undeniable. The record was recorded at the "legendary" Greighallen in
Norway and produced by Pytten (Mayhem,  Immortal,  Emperor,  Enslaved
etc). The first track, "Spell of the Witchdemon", starts this EP  off
on a very powerful note. Guitars are well produced and  intelligently
played, drumming is excellent and a good measure  of  synth  work  is
thrown in to even out the mix. The only weak link I  found  were  the
vocals which I think should have been given more power in  the  final
mix. The next track, "His Eyes Burn Hate", is not much different than
the first track; the riffs are still  killer  and  escape  stagnation
through clever tempo changes. One blatant mistake on  this  track  is
the abruptness with which it ends, practically mid-note! "Unholy Gate
of Limbo" continues Demonic's trend of powerful Black Metal and  also
includes a cool organ section which  becomes  even  cooler  once  the
guitars and drums are thrown in. Lastly is "Nar Morket Faller"  which
is sung in Norwegian (obviously!). I found a strong  similarity  here
with later Burzum material, but one thing is for  sure,  The  Count's
production pales in comparison to this. Try this one out and see  for
yourself.


Fleshcrawl - _Bloodsoul_  (Black Mark, May 1996)
by: Gino Filicetti  (7 out of 10)

This is Fleshcrawl's third release  since  their  inception  back  in
1987. Although they have only been signed to Black Mark for  a  scant
four years, the  band  has  managed  to  release  _Descend  into  the
Absurd_,  _Impurity_,  and  finally   their   latest   and   greatest
_Bloodsoul_. This new album shows that the band is unwilling to  give
in to the temptation that a lot of death metal bands  do;  Fleshcrawl
is one band that is proud of its roots, and continues to  play  their
own style of European death metal the way they want to. The music  on
this release is very powerful and full of energy.  Guitars  and  bass
are both superb here even if the drumming is simplistic and sometimes
annoying. The vocals on _Bloodsoul_ are deep and guttural,  but  they
don't lose any of their power in the mix. _Bloodsoul_ was recorded in
Sweden's Abyss Studios by Hypocrisy's own Peter Tagtgren. I  think  a
lot  of  Fleshcrawl's  power  and  tight  sounding  music  should  be
attributed to the top notch production with which this CD  was  made.
As the bio says, "_Bloodsoul_ is an album which  no  'DIE  HARD-Death
Metal freak' should miss!" I  wouldn't  go  this  far,  but  I  would
definitely give it a good listen and decide for yourself.


Arckanum - _Fran Marder_ (Necropolis Records, May 1996)
by: Adrian Bromley  (6 out of 10)

Draped in mysticism and  darkness,  the  latest  release  by  Swedish
primitive death metal outfit Arckanum is one of the  most  intriguing
releases I have heard in some time,  due  in  part  to  the  skillful
stylings of the album's music provided by  sole  musician  Shamaatae.
Their debut album for Necropolis Records,  _Fran  Marder_  (From  the
Forest), is an interesting look into the lifestyle of those that live
for, respect, and worship the way of the wilderness and for  the  god
Pan (God of the Forest). The music here is simple and primitive death
metal with screams and heavy  clusters  of  guitar  bursts  but  when
enhanced by the sounds of nature and sung in old Swedish dialect,  it
makes  for  a  rather  dynamic  combination  that  sheds   light   on
Shamaatae's creativity and his passion for his work. Hard to decipher
the names of several tracks (as they are written in ancient  Swedish)
but worthy and enjoyable listens are "Hbila  Pa  Tronen  Min",  title
track, "Sbinna", and "Gaba Fran Trulen".  After  listening  to  _Fran
Mader_, my thousands of hours playing Dungeons &  Dragons  as  a  7th
Level Druid character seems lifeless  and  uninspired,  the  complete
opposite of the realism and  authenticity  Shamaatae  reveals  to  us
about his experiences "in the woods."


Various Artists - _A Gathering..._  (FaceFront, September 1995)
by: Brian Meloon  (6 out of 10)

The complete title is _A Gathering...  of  8  Norwegian  Prog.  Metal
Bands_. It's a two-CD compilation of Norwegian bands  who  the  liner
notes claim "in some way can be related to progressive  or  technical
metal." Each band gets two songs,  clocking  in  between  10  and  16
minutes, with a total running time of over 90 minutes. The first disc
is much better than the second, but the whole set is the  same  price
as a single CD, so what the heck... Spiral Architect start things off
with the two best songs on the disc, which are  also  on  their  1995
demo (see review in CoC #9). Nothing more  needs  to  be  said  about
them, other than that with Spastic Ink (see review this issue),  they
are IMO the world's premiere  prog  metal  bands  (and  they're  both
unsigned). Manitou also appear on  disc  one,  with  "Entrance",  the
title track from their 1995 debut  album,  and  "Desert  Storms",  an
unreleased (and their last) track. They remind me  of  Fates  Warning
(circa _Parallels_, but not nearly as commercial).  Trivial  Act  and
Tritonus round out disc I, and both are Dream  Theater  clones.  They
show some potential, displaying some good musicianship, and some neat
ideas  occasionally,  but  mostly  are  too  commercial,  and   their
songwriting is inconsistent and choppy. Disc II starts off  with  the
worst band on here, Winterland, who are  generic,  cheesy  commercial
metal/hard rock. Heartless and Sagittarius follow with their  similar
brands of commercial metal. Both  are  average,  having  at  least  a
couple decent sections, but really don't do anything interesting. The
singer for Sagittarius is weak, though. Finishing  off  Disc  II  are
Minas Tirith (see review this issue), who really  aren't  progressive
metal in the traditional sense. Their sound at least  adds  a  little
diversity to this compilation though. All told, this is a worthy comp
for  prog  metal  fans  to  have,  especially  if  you   don't   mind
commercialized metal.

Check   out   http://gi29.gi.no/scream/Gathering/Gathering.html   for
further info.


Glazed Baby - _Atomic Communists_  (Red Decibel, March 1996)
by: Adrian Bromley  (8 out of 10)

Can anything be any heavier I ask you? Well...?  Storming  out  in  a
blinding fury from the ever-rising pop culture of "Beantown" (Boston,
MA) comes four-piece Glazed Baby,  a  perfect  collage  of  strength,
stamina, and sludge music. From the opening  air-raid  intro  of  "1"
with the newscaster warning us of an upcoming raid on North  America,
the four-piece dive right into the fuckin' chaotic releases of "2/3",
the slow-paced heaviness of "Lucky 7"  and  "Dak's  Jag".  The  noise
continues with "St. Valentines Massacre Day Blues" and  "Message  For
the People, By the People, Against People", revolving around a strong
and depthful focus on heavy guitars,  sludgey  riffs,  and  downright
radical vocal styles. The music here is very similar to that  of  The
Melvins or Kyuss and Toronto's Sons Of Otis but very  much  GB's  own
style too with their perfect blend of noise, samples and loud...  er,
I mean... LOUD music. Heavy as shit and hard to take in large  doses,
_Atomic Communists_ (their debut for Red Decibel) is the  album  that
you wanna crank up but are too afraid to. You're worried it'll either
a) blow your speakers or  b)  loosen  your  ear  drums,  leaving  you
partially deaf. Live a little and take a chance 'cause  your  hearing
eventually goes anyway.


Hypocrisy - _Carved Up_  (Relapse Records, December 1995)
by: Adam Wasylyk  (4 out of 10)

This 7-inch contains two tracks, the first being the title track  off
their latest  album,  _Abducted_,  and  "Beginning  of  the  End",  a
previously unreleased demo track. It's exactly what you would  expect
from Hypocrisy, from its mid to slower-paced drumming  to  its  heavy
riffing. Neither of the two tracks really stood out. It didn't excite
nor interest me in the slightest. The most  interesting  thing  about
this release was its gory cover art, which isn't a good sign when the
art is better than the music itself. Another thing that bugged me was
the lack of lyrics, which really bothers me as I like  to  know  what
the guy is singing about. There isn't too  much  else  to  say  about
this, other than I recommend it SOLELY for true Hypocrisy fans.


Impaled Nazarene - _Latex Cult_  (Osmose Productions, April 1996)
by: Steve Hoeltzel  (9 out of 10)

Christ on a crutch!! When it comes to unrelenting  energy  and  fiery
aggression,  this  14-song,  30-minute  monster  pretty  much  shreds
everything I have ever heard. Seriously.  Over  the  course  of  four
full-length releases and a  couple  of  EPs,  Impaled  Nazarene  have
progressively stripped their trademark "cyber  nuclear  black  death"
style of the rust and grime it was coated in on their '93 debut  _Tol
Cormpt Norz Norz Norz_. The result:  _Latex  Cult_,  a  teflon-coated
sonic bullet gunning straight for your adrenal glands. This is total,
no-frills  fury-mongering,  delivered  with  amazing  conviction  and
skill. The songs are all ultra-simplistic, each consisting of  a  few
basic,  punishing  rhythms  and  surprisingly   crusty   bass   lines
propelling a tidal wave of scorching guitar.  The  riffs  are  pretty
basic, too, but many are also catchy as hell. Some pummel you like  a
kick to the chest ("Goat War", "Violence I Crave"); some  cleave  the
air like razors (the amazing "Punishment is Absolute").  The  overall
energy level is never less  than  totally  maniacal,  and  the  whole
package is  pushed  way  over  the  top  by  Mika  Luttinen's  raspy,
lacerating snarl. And check out the battle screams that  launch  "Zum
Kotzen" and "Karmakeddon Warriors"!! Ha ha!! The blazing speed of the
best black metal, the snarling delivery of the craziest hardcore, and
the pounding rage of the coolest death  metal  are  all  present,  in
their purest form, in every song of this astounding  release.  _Latex
Cult_ sets a whole new standard for getting down to the  business  of
just plain tearing it up.


Minas Tirith - _The Art of Becoming_
by: Brian Meloon  (5 out of 10)  (Art Music/Voices Of Wonder, 1996)

I'm not really sure how to classify these guys, as their sound varies
from watered-down death metal, to progish metal (sans commercialism),
to thrash. A lot of acoustic sections break  up  the  songs,  keeping
things interesting, but also breaking up some of the continuity.  The
production is okay, being clear enough, but ending up giving a "dull"
sound to the songs, especially the guitar tone.  Unfortunately,  they
don't really live up to the "technical  metal"  tag  that  they  give
themselves, as while  the  riffs  are  moderately  interesting,  they
aren't in any sense "technical." The playing is  competent,  but  not
really as flashy as I would expect of a "technical" band.  The  riffs
also tend to be a little generic. The drumming is impressive  though,
and fairly dense. The vocals really set this apart, as they are  very
distinct, varying from gruff (not guttural)  death  vocals  to  clean
vocals with an almost country-like twang. The vocalist  also  has  an
annoying habit  of  adding  high  grace  notes  to  his  vocal  lines
(somewhat similar to what King Diamond  occasionally  does,  but  not
quite...), which at times is comical, and at others is irritating. In
any case, though, this is a diverse affair,  with  a  lot  of  styles
touched on. I'll give them credit for being unique, if not completely
satisfying.


Vinnie Moore - _Out of Nowhere_  (Mayhem Records, 1996)
by: Brian Meloon  (3 out of 10)

This disc is labelled (c)1996 Mayhem  Records,  (p)1994  Sony  Music,
making me guess that it was recorded in 1994,  and  Sony  planned  to
release it, but thought better of it after realizing what a piece  of
crap it is. I had a really bad  feeling  about  it  after  _Meltdown_
(Vinnie's 1991 disc on Relativity) and after reading the song  titles
(e.g. "Move That Thang!" and "VinMan's  Brew").  After  listening  to
half of it, I really dreaded listening to the rest of it. The halfway
decent song (yes, only one) sounds like something that  wasn't  quite
good  enough  for  _Meltdown_,  and  the  rest  of  it   is   generic
instrumental bluesy hard rock. Quite frankly, I don't see  the  point
of this record. There's nothing on here that is in any way  original.
All of the riffs you've probably heard many times  before.  Even  the
playing is subdued. We all know that Vinnie is  a  fast  player,  but
here he only cuts loose a few times, and those are usually with tired
blues licks. It's painful to hear Vinnie try to play with  "feeling,"
when "feeling" has never been his forte. His strength lies in playing
fast, precise guitar lines  and  sweep-picked  arpeggios,  which  are
antithetical to the blues philosophy of "less notes =  better."  This
disc is entirely forgettable, and I'm sure it will put  Vinnie  right
back where he was before it was released... nowhere.


Impaled Nazarene - _Motorpenis_  (Osmose Productions, April 1996)
by: Gino Filicetti  (8 out of 10)

This EP is a supplement to Impaled Nazarene's  newest  album,  _Latex
Cult_. Included herein are five tracks, totaling about  nine  minutes
of sheer mayhem that has come to signify Impaled Nazarene's work. The
first song is an album cut, "Motorpenis". It starts  off  in  a  very
Motorhead-like way (for obvious reasons) with the bass intro, and  is
quite whimsical as a Motorhead satire song.  The  next  track  is  an
unreleased original number entitled, "Whore."  Although  not  in  the
usual IN style, this song sounds like a lot  of  their  new  material
which I think has come a long way from the days of _Tol  Cormpt  Norz
Norz Norz_. I  still  don't  know  if  I'm  convinced  that  IN  have
improved, no matter how much better their  production  is.  The  next
three songs are cover tracks, "S/M Party" by Faff-Bey, "Transvestite"
by Terveet Kadet, and "Alkohol" by Gang-Green. All  three  songs  are
superbly performed but my absolute  favorite  is  "S/M  Party"  which
starts with a drum roll that gives in to  a  wicked  bass  solo,  and
finally the guitars come blaring in and cut out just when you thought
you couldn't take it any more. A wild nine minutes of music.  If  you
love Impaled Nazarene, depending on the price, it's definitely  worth
it.


Necromantia - _Scarlet Evil, Witching Black_
by: Steve Hoeltzel  (8 out of 10)  (Osmose Prod., December 1995)

Although it's cursed with a cover  that  exudes  the  aroma  of  some
pretty stale death metal  cheese,  Necromantia's  second  full-length
effort is actually  an  imaginative  and  haunting  foray  into  much
blacker and more esoteric musical territory.  In  fact,  this  band's
unique sound, which their bio describes as "occult soundtrack music,"
is a lot richer and more inventive than  are  the  vast  majority  of
established black metal acts.  Every  song  contains  numerous  fluid
shifts of tempo and  mood,  covering  the  range  from  blasting  and
chaotic  to  slow  and  sorrowful.  Synthesizers  are  used   heavily
throughout, but always tastefully and to eerie  effect.  What  really
sets  this  CD  apart,  though,  is  Necromantia's   willingness   to
experiment with instruments that most black metal outfits would never
go anywhere  near.  The  brilliant  "Arcane  Light  of  Hecate",  for
example, makes  entrancing  use  of  twin  saxophones  woven  into  a
flickering soundscape painted with synth and tympanic percussion. And
in place of rhythm  guitar,  Baron  Blood  saws  away  at  a  heavily
distorted 8-string bass, which gives the music a thick,  crusty  vibe
totally unlike the typical black metal sound. Magus Wampyr  Daoloth's
vocals have the standard  scratchiness,  but  carry  a  distinctively
sinister tone all the same. Most black metal bands have used  up  all
their tricks by the end of their opening track. Not Necromantia. This
album is packed with unique and  interesting  musical  passages,  and
it's highly recommended to anyone who likes their metal not just dark
but daring as well.


Necrophobic - _Spawned By Evil_  (Black Mark, May 1996)
by: Gino Filicetti  (8 out of 10)

This EP is a prelude to Necrophobic's upcoming new  release  entitled
_Darkside_. This disc includes one  original  track  alongside  three
classic covers. The original song,  "Spawned  By  Evil",  shows  that
Necrophobic haven't changed much since their  last  album  _Nocturnal
Silence_. The band is still pumping out the blackish death metal with
an amazing double guitar blast to their music. The  vocals,  however,
leave much to be desired; they are nothing more than  weak  screeches
that just don't move me. The next track is a cover of  Slayer's  "Die
By The Sword". With this song, the band completely redeems their  own
shortcomings. The vocals for this track are not as  high-pitched  and
are definitely stronger. The music here is a  supreme  adaptation  of
the original Slayer track and by far my favorite  song  on  this  EP.
Next is Venom's "Nightmare" which the band has no problems  covering,
but the rawness which epitomizes  Venom  is  lost.  The  vocals  have
disappointingly resorted back to  their  former  state  of  weakness,
which could  never  compare  to  those  of  Cronos.  Lastly  we  have
Bathory's "Enter The Eternal Fire", a  fine  song  which  Necrophobic
succeeds in covering well. The bell chimes present in this song  give
it a gothic feel and  provides  the  Bathory  mysticism  which  every
Bathory cover track wishes they could capture. A fine piece to own if
collecting new versions of your favorite songs is your cup o' tea.


Pitch Shifter - _Infotainment?_  (Earache Records, May 1996)
by: Adrian Bromley  (10 out of 10)

Speaking with vocalist J.S. Clayden (see feature story  this  issue),
it isn't too hard to understand the  mentality  and  motivation  that
went  into  the  recording  of  their   latest   brilliant   release,
_Infotainment?_,  the  follow-up  to   the   successful   1993   opus
_Desencitized_. This Nottingham, England  four-piece  are  back  once
again with a heavy dosage of reality, this time shaped into the works
of multiple samples, distortion, loud guitars, and multi-faceted song
styles of industrial, hip-hop, techno, and jungle beats.  Unchartered
territory  for  PS  in  some  aspects  it  may  be,   but   territory
well-observed and molded into  PS  material.  Look  no  further  than
"Underachiever", "(We're Behaving Like) Insects", and  the  harshness
of "Virus" to  get  the  blood  boiling.  Applause  must  go  out  to
guitarist/programmer John Carter for his superb work in  keeping  the
flow of the record strong and memorable with over a  hundred  samples
whisked in and out of numerous tracks on the record like "Hangar  84"
and "Bloodsweatsaliva". Angry, yet informative, the truthful accounts
and visions of PS's lyrics and music on _Infotainment?_ lie  deep  in
the heart of scattered riffs and the screams of their frontman,  just
there for us to discover. And  along  the  way,  we  get  mind-fucked
pretty bad, yet we can't stay away. _Infotainment?_ is the  TV  guide
of  our  past,  future,  and  present,  and  it  showcases  just  how
civilization has deteriorated over the past few  decades.  The  music
and emotions sparked throughout this "guide" pretty  much  makes  the
bloodshed on TV look like Romper Room.


Sarcophagus - _For We... Who Are Consumed By Darkness..._
by: Adam Wasylyk  (7 out of 10)  (Pulveriser Records, 1996)

Sarcophagus are a four-piece from Chicago who play their  God  hating
style of black metal with death metal influences. Containing 9 tracks
and clocking in at a very short 31 minutes (especially  for  a  black
metal album!), the quality of the music is top-notch  with  excellent
production (again, especially for a black metal album!). Songs worthy
of mention are "Godless" (with both death  and  black  vocals),  "One
Black Autumn" (which contains great use of  keyboards),  and  Agony's
Tale. The only criticism I can think of is its length,  as  what  you
compromise in having a short record is a lack  of  substance  in  the
songs and the "as soon as you're  getting  into  it...  it's  already
over" feeling. Even with this in mind the music itself is  worth  the
money paid for it. Black metal fans should check this out.


Satanic Slaughter - _Satanic Slaughter_
by: Gino Filicetti (6 out of 10) (Necropolis/Sepulture, March 1996)

This album starts off on a very bad foot. In the beginning, all  that
is heard on this not only bio-less, but SLEEVE-less CD is some shitty
tin can drums, annoying, screeching vox and the all too typical black
metal guitar riffage played way too fast. Usually, when CDs give me a
bad impression on the first song, it's next to  impossible  to  shake
that impression. However for once, I actually grew to like this album
with  only  one  listen.  Drumming  improves  greatly  as  the  album
progresses and the guitar seems to learn more variety as well. To  my
amazement, there are an abundance of leads on this release,  as  well
as a shocking OFF BEAT drum "riff" in "Forever I Burn". It  was  just
one shock after another with this album but one major  glitch  I  did
not approve of was the lead off riff of "Into The  Catacombs",  which
seemed to be a direct lift from Slayer's less than classic "Hardening
Of The Arteries". Some of my favorite tracks include, "Breath of  the
Serpent That Rules the Cold  World"  (nice  title,  eh?).  This  song
starts off with a really catchy, mid-tempo riff, cool  drumming,  and
even includes synth sections. "I'll Await My Lord" is  also  one  for
the "best of" books. It combines weird vocal effects with, believe it
or not, NON black metal riffage. Another notable mention  is  "Divine
Exorcism", which is a haunting ambient number, another surprise  that
Satanic Slaughter aren't afraid of throwing at their listeners. I was
ready to give this one a 2 out of  10,  but  I  can't  deny  that  it
actually kept me awake and away from the  "next  track"  button,  and
that on its own, is a feat in itself.


Satyricon - _The Forest Is My Throne_  (7 out of 10)
Enslaved - _Yggdrasill_  (5 out of 10)
(Split CD, Moonfog Productions, March 1996)
by: Steve Hoeltzel

If you've never heard these bands before, this split CD is not really
the place to  start.  With  one  noteworthy  exception,  it  consists
entirely of old demo material which I think both groups  have  really
bettered on subsequent releases. The Satyricon demo -  their  second,
recorded in '93 - begins with the  standard  creepy  intro  and  rips
mercilessly  into  some  blazing,  high-speed  black  metal  in   the
trademark early Bathory style. But as they've gone on to do ever more
skillfully on their two full-length CDs, Satyricon enrich that  basic
framework  with  weirder,  catchier  riffing  and  some  very  crisp,
lightning-paced percussion. Of course, the  production  is  extremely
raw, but that tends to fit  this  sort  of  material  rather  nicely,
giving it that weird, grim, faraway vibe. Pretty cool  stuff,  in  my
opinion, but not as good as their debut, _Dark  Medieval  Times_,  or
their excellent follow-up, _The Shadowthrone_. A newly-recorded bonus
track is also included here, and it's easily the  highlight  of  this
whole CD. "Night of the Triumphator" is Satyricon's  tribute  to  the
80's sound, and it's  a  good,  bloody  sacrifice  at  the  altar  of
Bathory, Sodom, and Celtic Frost. (You know, there have been an awful
lot of those lately.)

The '92 Enslaved demo, on the other hand, is not so  enjoyable:  this
very raw and simplistic black metal totally pales  in  comparison  to
the band's newer and more inventive material. The  two  best  tracks,
"Heimdallr" and "Allfgor Ooinn", have both  since  been  re-recorded,
and with much better sounding results. I do  like  "Enslaved",  which
features a pretty wicked main riff and some killer screaming vox. But
like most of this band's earlier  output,  the  songs  here  tend  to
suffer from a surplus of length combined with a dearth of ideas. And,
of course, the production is horrible.


Black Funeral - _Vampyr - Throne of the Beast_
by: Steve Hoeltzel (7 out of 10) (Full Moon Prod., February 1996)

If you're a total old-school  black  metal  purist,  you  might  tack
another point or two onto the score for this one. If,  on  the  other
hand, truly creepy, blackened scorch is really not  your  thing,  you
should definitely subtract four or five. Much like Bathory circa  '85
and current groups like Gorgoroth and Ungod, Black  Funeral  feel  no
need to dress up their  pure  black  sound  in  more  colorful  sonic
fashions.  There  are  no  "epic"  synthesizers   washing   out   the
electrified strings; there are no moody medieval acoustic bits; there
are no female friends of the band reciting poetry in  the  middle  of
songs. Nope, these guys can create a  really  icy  and  other-worldly
atmosphere with bass, guitar, drums, and  vox  alone.  Black  Funeral
churn out highly evocative music, stark in  its  simplicity,  yet  so
unrelentingly  dark  and  distorted  that  each  song  gives  off  an
authentically grim vibe. The key is some pretty  crafty  songwriting,
especially evident on "Spectral Agony of Pain  and  Loneliness",  the
title track, and "Of Dark and Crimson Spheres". Every  song  features
cool changes in tempo, weirdly haunting riffs, and  chilling  vocals.
And unlike far too many black metal bands, these guys know how not to
wear out their welcome: this  debut  CD  is  only  28  minutes  long.
Definitely some of the creepiest sounding metal I have heard in quite
some time, this is highly recommended for those with a taste for  the
ghastly. Another very cool release from Full Moon.


Vondur - _Stridsyfirlysing_  (Necropolis/Sepulture Prod., 1995)
by: Gino Filicetti  (7 out of 10)

This album probably wouldn't have scored as high  as  it  did  if  it
hadn't been in my CD player for as  long  as  it  has.  Vondur  is  a
two-man side project comprised of Ophthalamia's IT (guitars/bass/vox)
and ALL (vox). Most of the music contained on this CD  is  very  fast
and very aggressive, WAR METAL, as the band  is  fond  of  describing
themselves. Actually, the album's title means "Declaration of War" in
Icelandic, the language that this entire album's lyrics  are  written
in (even though Vondur are  Swedish).  The  start  of  the  album  is
signalled by a trumpet blast and the beating of drums over  which  is
spoken an Icelandic speech. Next comes a quick transition to Vondur's
fast and furious music. Guitars are not played with the utmost  skill
here, especially when they are played  fast  enough  to  become  pure
distortion. Drumming is taken care of by  the  trusty  drum  machine,
thereby eliminating any power the drums could've  possessed.  But,  I
still liked this album. There are many surprises here, some of  which
are the sad, depressive piano number played by Alexandra  (IT's  main
squeeze I suppose), or the two-minute song composed of the sound of a
fire raging  or  the  final  track,  "Hofoing,  Satan",  which  is  a
symphonic track of ultimate beauty.


Wicked Innocence - _Omnipotence_  (Napalm America, November 1995)
by: Steve Hoeltzel  (7 out of 10)

This Salt Lake City, Utah quintet play an extreme metallic style that
showcases big time technical prowess. More importantly, though,  they
manage to  be  extremely  creative  and  throw  lots  of  interesting
ingredients into the musical mix without diluting  the  heaviness  of
the result. Add the occasional  dash  of  200-proof  aggression,  and
voila!! Wicked Innocence!! Imagine what Cannibal Corpse  might  sound
like if their  song  structures,  riffs,  and  tempos  were  about  a
thousand times stranger, and you've got  some  idea  of  the  jagged,
alien style  displayed  on  _Omnipotence_.  Every  song  on  this  CD
contains about a gazillion changes, often from one  far  out  passage
into something even weirder and heavier. It won't all  go  down  real
easy the first time, but if you're like me, you'll  be  craving  more
and more once you get used to that  wacky  taste.  "Lines"  and  "The
Greys", in particular, both give you lots to chew on: spastic rhythms
and cool, mind-bending riffs stirred in together all crazy-like.  The
guitars could be a bit crunchier, but the overall sound is still good
and clear. The songs don't all hang  together  equally  well,  and  I
could do with a little less belching from the vocalist, who otherwise
utilizes a variety of brutal styles, and even some real  clean  tones
as well. Overall, I really like their unique brand of super-technical
extremity, and I'd recommend this impressive  debut  to  anybody  who
wants to hear just how far out brutal music can get.

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

Your best source of information on the newest of the  new,   and  the
lowest 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


Spastic Ink - _Ink Complete_  (5-track demo)
by: Brian Meloon  (*****)

Why are the best prog metal bands unsigned? Probably  because  labels
don't have the balls to sign the real innovators, instead opting  for
half-assed Dream Theater or Queensryche clones. Spastic  Ink  is  the
current project of WatchTower guitarist Ron  Jarzombek,  his  brother
Bobby, and Pete Perez (both ex-Riot). Their name (which means "crazy,
written out music") accurately describes their style. This is some of
the most  technical  music  out  there,  at  least  as  technical  as
Meshuggah, and a lot more melodically  interesting.  It  is  probably
best described  as  what  an  instrumental  version  of  WatchTower's
_Control and Resistance_ would sound like... without  the  (annoying)
vocals, and with the quirky jazziness allowed to dominate the  music.
However, unlike a lot of instrumental releases (e.g.  Vinnie  Moore's
new disc,  see  review  this  issue),  there  is  a  good  amount  of
diversity, and the songs all have their own unique feeling  to  them.
The playing on all counts is amazing, with dense  drumming,  lots  of
polymetrics and polyrhythms, very fast bass work, and of course fast,
jazzy guitar work. Instead  of  lyrics,  a  brief  description  (with
illustrations) is given for the inspiration (or reason for the title)
for each song. There are five tracks on my advance cassette,  one  of
which appeared on their (unreleased) 1993 demo  as  well  (_That  178
Thing_). Unfortunately, these tracks aren't quite as good as the 1993
demo, but it's still one of the best things I've ever heard. The band
has recorded 11 tracks for the _Ink Complete_ project, and are hoping
to get it released on CD sometime in the future.

Contact: Ayres Rock Management, 6655 Wilkinson Ave. #103
         North Hollywood, CA, 91606, USA


Anhkrehg - _Sacrificial Goat_  (9-track demo)
by: Adam Wasylyk  (***--)

In reading the credits of the tape insert, "A  Word  from  the  Sound
Engineer: I personally apologize for the lack of  professionalism  in
this recording. Also, we should keep in mind that it is  the  musical
content that matters the most, not the  sound  quality.",  the  first
thing that came into my head was "Oh no." I  was  glad  to  see  when
listening to the 9-track  tape  that  these  words  were  too  harsh.
Although the production isn't great,  it  wasn't  as  bad  as  I  was
expecting. It's clear enough for all instruments to  be  heard  well.
Playing what could be described as slow-paced black metal with  speed
parts, and vocals of a husky, wailing type (which admittedly  took  a
little getting used to), and a good amount of variety (musical intros
for both sides of the tape, and even a song recorded  backwards,  the
title track "taoG laicifircaS"), this is a good  release,  and  along
with Burning Moon (see previous review), production is the only thing
holding them back.

Contact: E.S.T Management, c/o Michel Monette, 755 Muir, Suite 205
         St-Laurent, Quebec, H4L SG9, Canada


Summertime Daisies - _Gathering of Vermin_  (2-track demo)
by: Alain M. Gaudrault  (****-)

Don't be fooled by their name. This demo is hardly akin to  a  stroll
in a field  of  wild  flowers.  This  is  brutal  death,  excellently
delivered and well written. This is conceived with the mosh pit  fans
in mind, featuring plenty of nasty bits with which to skank about the
floor,  while  also  providing  blast  beats  to  cut  loose  and  go
ballistic. The production is average, and the instruments can all  be
heard, but  I  find  the  guitars  a  bit  too  thin  for  my  taste.
Suffocation fans take heed,  as  the  Daisies  take  that  genre  and
massage is just enough, adding a good dose of memorable riffs, to set
them apart from the sea of clones. These guys really need to be  seen
live, as I've had the pleasure of doing twice, most recently on their
opening slot for Deicide on March 25th.  The  demo  is  a  worthwhile
purchase, albeit short, and I quite look  forward  to  more  recorded
material, particularly since this tape was produced over a year  ago.
Needless to say, I'll be reviewing any  further  material  of  theirs
right here, so keep your eyes peeled in future issues. A band  to  be
reckoned with indeed.

Contact: SUMMERTIME DAISIES, 417 Richmond Street North
         London, Ontario, N6A 3E8, Canada
         voice: (519) 433-5032


Burning Moon - _Eternal Darkness_  (7-track demo)
by: Adam Wasylyk  (***--)

Formed from the breakup of a Toronto death metal  band  called  Flesh
Emperor, most of the band afterward got together and  formed  Burning
Moon, a four-piece black metal band. On this demo, the music is  very
well played, but the  production  is  unfortunately  quite  weak.  At
times, the vocals can become overpowered by the  keyboards,  and  the
guitars suffer the same fate as they did on  Emperor's  epic  release
_In the Nightside Eclipse_, becoming muddy and at times hard to hear.
Despite these flaws, I give credit to the band,  as  in  this  7-song
effort, the music and talent is definitely there, especially with the
keyboards as they are well played. With better production  (which  in
this case would have earned them perhaps a five out of five), in  the
future the band can expect to reap the rewards.

Contact: BURNING MOON, c/o Aden Solowinski, 884 Queen St E, Apt. #1
         Toronto, Ontario, M4M 1J3, Canada


Diablo Brothers - _Twizted Harmony_  (4-track demo)
by: Gino Filicetti  (***--)

The partnership that is at the core of Diablo Brothers was founded in
1987 when Rane and Marko  met  and  started  playing  guitars.  After
forming other bands, they  realized  that  they  couldn't  work  with
anyone but themselves. So, armed with a drum machine and some  really
low-tuned guitars, these dudes set out to create Diablo Brothers. The
music on this demo is reminiscent of a lot of hardcore with some very
solid metal influences thrown in. One example of  that  is  the  Fear
Factory-type double-bass drum sound which comes across weak  for  the
simple fact that a drum machine is producing the  sound.  The  guitar
work is VERY solid, and includes a lot of leads (thanks to Marko) and
crushing rhythm sections (thanks to Rane). With a group  made  up  of
two guitar players, it's no wonder that this is the  best  aspect  of
the band, however, I believe that the  absence  of  the  two  missing
musicians can be noticeably felt. Vocals are another section  that  I
think can be improved on. The problem here doesn't seem  to  be  that
these guys can't sing, it  just  seems  that  vocals  have  not  been
produced very clearly. The rest of the production  however  is  quite
clean except for a few glitches here and there, but the packaging for
this demo needs some MAJOR improvements. There was no  track  listing
anywhere to be found and it didn't come in a case (Well, it could  be
the band just sent me a dubbed copy). All  in  all,  Diablo  Brothers
show promise as a new band and should really start  looking  to  fill
their vacant spots.

Contact: DIABLO BROTHERS, Sammonkatu 7 A 12
         00100 Helsinki, FINLAND
         e-mail: menyra@tit.fi or k23539@kyyppari.hkkk.fi


Parricide - _A Future Of Suffering_  (4-track demo)
by: Adrian Bromley  (***--)

Rhode Island's Parricide, a one-man project led by guitarist/vocalist
Bob Cardente, is  quite  the  heavy  dose  of  sickness,  anger,  and
brutality all packed into one on this EP. With only four  songs,  the
message shoved down our throats happens at such a speed (from the get
go of first track "Living In Fear")  that  we  have  little  time  to
recover before we are force-fed the anger and  intensity  once  again
("A Future of Suffering" and "Inhuman Condition"). While Cardente  is
in the process of using/searching for  musicians  to  fill  the  open
slots in the band, Cardente  skillfully  and  successfully  assembled
this impressive onslaught of  death/thrash  metal  all  on  his  own,
manning the vocals, guitar, bass, and drum  machine,  though  he  was
helped with guitar duties by Ritual Sacrifice  guitar  shredder  Bill
Pincins. Influences and sounds similar to Metallica,  Slayer,  Death,
Cannibal Corpse, and many others are  present  and  that  makes  this
music seem to flow with  some  ambience  and  creativity  instead  of
displaying monotonous growls, screams, and standard riffs within  the
charges of rage and speed. A strong effort  that  with  some  slicker
production and a solid and experienced  line-up  should  be  able  to
punch out walls and go for the  jugular  vein  (something  this  band
wouldn't think twice about) next time.

Contact: PARRICIDE, PO Box 17106
         Esmond, R.I., 02917, USA


Glutton - _Cruel, Disfigured_  (6-track demo)
by: Gino Filicetti  (****-)

A strange band to say the least,  Glutton's  newest  6-track  release
showcases the fact that Glutton is unclassifiable.  I  received  this
demo with a cover letter warning that if I expected anything  typical
of this band to just burn the cassettes and carry on  with  my  life.
Glutton is "STRANGE METAL" according to their bio;  "the  product  of
four young men who met at a funeral and formed a band by the time the
body was buried." Deep eh? So is the music contained  on  this  demo.
Very heavy and low-end guitar riffs dominate herein with a tempo that
is slow at best. Vocals here are superb, a very distinctive  type  of
spoken word distortion that manages to dig its way into one's memory.
Thankfully, lyrics were included with  this  demo  and  many  of  the
songs, although simplistic, manage to deliver their message;  one  of
ultimate sorrow, depression, and surprisingly enough, love. Not  your
run-of-the-mill band here folks, I would definitely check these  guys
out.

Contact: GLUTTON, PO Box 56691, Harwood Heights, IL, 60656-0691
         voice: (312) 283-6913, e-mail: miketv@mcs.net


Porno - _Give Me a Pistol_  (7-track demo)
by: Alain M. Gaudrault  (**---)

This is one of strangest demos I've heard in some time. The  graphics
and layout of the tape's packaging gives it  a  hardcore  punk  look.
Even the lyrics, which touch on government oppression and the crooked
corporate world, have a mildly hardcore flavour. The music, at first,
doesn't come close, though. The first two tracks are grinding  death,
unrelentless, although not entirely original nor memorable. The third
song  takes  a  turn  for  the  weird.  "The  Machine"  sounds   like
Nirvana-wannabe so-called alternative music.  Side  B  features  more
strangeness, starting off with "Soiled", an alternative rock song  if
I ever heard one, but with growling  death  vocals  which  are  faint
enough not to drown out the rest of the mix, while clean  vocals  are
featured  in  the  background.  Porno   go   on   to   deliver   more
alternative/punk jams on "Incomplete", then making a switch  back  to
the mediocre death/grind in  "My  Reward".  The  cassette  ends  with
"Sheople", another grinding number with a few twists and  turns  that
don't  seem  to  lead  anywhere  quickly.  Not  a  bad  listen,   and
experimental to say the least, but not quite my cup of tea. Check  it
out if you're in the need for something different.

Contact: The Multi-National New World Disorder Core
         7-333 Wharncliffe Rd. S., London, Ont., N6J Z19, Canada
         Voice: (519) 439-5512, (519) 652-9342


Eterne De Sade - _Beyond The Mind's Eye_  (3-track demo)
by: Sally Sanchez  (***--)

Eterne De Sade is a death metal band from Central Florida. They  have
been together since 1992. Their demo _Beyond The Mind's Eye_ is their
first release. The demo contains three songs,  the  first  of  which,
"Beyond the Mind's Eye", starts off  strong,  and  remains  that  way
throughout the rest of the song, with both deep  and  high  growling.
This brings back memories of classic death metal but  with  a  twist.
Eterne De Sade have two vocal styles,  a  deep  growling  one  and  a
higher, grinding growl. The two other songs are  both  of  this  same
style. The sound quality is pretty good and  the  packaging  of  this
demo is good as well.  It  comes  with  a  color  cover  and  lyrics.
Speaking of lyrics,  these  ones  deal  with  matters  of  the  mind,
diseases, false prophecies, and  people  such  as  Dr.  "Death"  Jack
Kevorkian. Aside from their first demo,  Eterne  De  Sade  have  also
release a video documentary filmed in  Central  Florida  called  _Six
Feet Under_ which was limited to 666 copies and has  sold  out.  They
also have T-shirts available. The band will  be  hitting  the  studio
this summer for a possible mini CD or 7". If you are interested,  you
should REALLY check these guys out! They are a good band with lots of
energy, and I think we need more bands like this out  in  the  scene!
_Beyond The Mind's Eye_ is available for $5US worldwide.

Contact: ETERNE DE SADE, c/o M. Alsup, PO Box 88
         Anthony, Florida, 32617, USA


Hidden Pride - _The Encounter of the First Kind_  (6-track demo)
by: Alain M. Gaudrault  (***--)

Hailing from the Montreal area, a haven of extreme  metal  since  the
formation of Voivod back in the 1980s, Hidden  Pride  showcase  their
talents on this well-produced cassette  with  the  help  of  Obliveon
guitarist Pierre Remillard twiddling  the  knobs.  This  is  grinding
death which, while not overly original, is expertly delivered. A  lot
of power, and plenty of chugging riffs set this  release  apart  from
others in the genre. The drumming is  nothing  spectacular,  but  the
guitar sound is crunchy and thick, filling out the sound quite  well.
While _The Encounter ..._ displays  the  members'  talents,  it  also
leaves me to wonder what more they can do  to  expand  on  the  sound
they're slowly developing. Without an added twist, they'll simply  be
considered another death/grind band, but I've  a  feeling  that  this
bunch have it in them to create more unique ditties  befitting  their
prowess. Hopefully, they'll find the creative energy to do so.

Contact: E.S.T. Management c/o Michel Monette 
         P.O. Box 5088, St-Laurent, Quebec, Canada  H4L 4Z7
         For a copy, send $7US, money order or well-concealed cash.
         Serious distributors, ask for wholesale prices.


Sick Society - _Sick Society_  (8-track demo)
by: Adrian Bromley  (**---)

Straight from the text books  and  schooling  of  every  thrash/speed
metal band that has been  successful  comes  the  work  of  San  Luis
Obispo's (California) aggressive quartet, Sick Society, a band pretty
much trying hard to come across as  original  but  in  the  long  run
sounding  like  regurgitated  Sacred  Reich,  Anthrax,  Pantera,  and
Metallica rolled into one. The problem? Well for starters this 8-song
demo is poorly recorded (maybe even rushed?) and most of the material
seems bland - no real edge to it. I'm not saying  that  Sick  Society
play   boring   commercial   sell-out   shit   like   Metallica    or
uninspired/monotonous music like Sacred Reich, but it just seems that
a little too much time was put into the material of their self-titled
debut demo. Most bands need to  release  some  substance  from  their
material and other than  "Spinning  Circle"  or  "Buried  In  My  Own
World", nothing truly leaps out of this demo tape. Emotions run  high
on this record and there are a lot of issues being thrown  around  in
the songs but without music backing it, it is sounds like a soap  box
rally with very few passersby having an interest in what is going on.
Bottom line: go for a stronger guitar sound adding screams/growls and
lose the melodic vocals.

Contact: SICK SOCIETY, 2413 Broad St.
         San Luis Obispo, CA, 93401, USA
         e-mail: mperotti@tuba.aix.calpoly.edu


State Of Grace - _Some_  (14-track demo)
by: Adrian Bromley  (***--)

After a few listens of this record from Oakville, Ontario  four-piece
State Of Grace, I wasn't seeing much. But after I  got  past  my  "Oh
this sounds like NIN's _Pretty Hate  Machine_"  phase,  I  discovered
there was something to the mish-mash of  industrial  force,  metallic
riffs, and samples. Lose the macabre  of  Marilyn  Manson  (keep  the
music style though) and throw in every imaginable twist and  turn  of
Nine Inch Nails and Frontline Assembly  (both  industrial  and  dance
mode) or rip off and steal  all  the  stylings  and  arrangements  of
Stabbing Westward's _Ungod_ LP, and you pretty much have the music of
SoG. Though somewhat pigeonholed with this specific sound and  style,
the creativity in such songs as "Broken Down", "Can It Only  Be  This
Way", and "Beaten" allows the band to at least provide us  with  some
originality. Fans of those bands mentioned above check this band  out
because they have a little bit of everything you  may  want.  Looking
forward to seeing any further progress this band makes.

Contact: STATE OF GRACE, 1011 Upper Middle Rd E. #1301
         Oakville, Ont., L6H-5Z9, Canada

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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.


   U N S I G N E D   M E T A L L E R S   C O M E   T O G E T H E R
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      The Toronto Death Fest at the Opera House, March 31, 1996
               by: Adam Wasylyk and Alain M. Gaudrault

Adam sez:

     I arrived early at this year's venue, the Opera House, which has
been home to many big death metal concerts in the past, such  as  the
"Campaign for Musical Destruction" tour  with  Napalm  Death,  Brutal
Truth, and Cathedral. But for the past year  or  two,  the  scene  in
Toronto has practically disappeared,  except  for  some  hard-working
independent acts which made up the roster  for  this  year's  Toronto
Death Fest. When it finally started (about 45 minutes late) the  band
Porno took the stage. From London, the band played surprisingly  well
for an opener. They utilized different tempos (which surprised me, as
I was familiar with only one of  their  songs,  an  atmospheric/death
track off the _Sonic Obliteration Vol.  1_  compilation)  and  had  a
female  vocalist,  who  also  danced  during  Porno's  opening  song.
Definitely a good act to start off the night with.  Next  up  were  a
three-piece called Anhkrehg, a black metal band from Montreal. Having
seen them play before, they were  just  as  intense  as  I  remember.
Playing songs off their two demos, _The Oath  of  Sorcerer-King_  and
_Sacrificial Goat_ (the latter reviewed in New Noise), the band  were
a good follow-up, but as I remember didn't fare  too  well  with  the
crowd. Following Anhkrehg  were  Anthropophagus,  a  four-piece  from
Toronto. It was unfortunate  that  Anthropophagus  were  experiencing
technical problems, as it  really  affected  their  performance.  The
vocals were weak at times, but musically they fared  better,  playing
songs off their demo _Ripped Open_. Classics  like  "Blood  Scabbed",
"Pus Filled Erection", and "Nothing Left  to  Fuck"  were  played  in
their brutal fashion; it was truly a Cannibal  Corpse  fan's  dream!!
The last band I was to see on this night  was  Burning  Moon.  Formed
from the ashes  of  now-defunct  Toronto  death  act  Flesh  Emperor,
Burning Moon played their black metal,  decked  out  in  full  corpse
paint and all. Featuring a really bad cover of Deicide's "Sacrificial
Suicide" (unless it was sung in Latin or something), the band  didn't
play nearly as well as on their demo (also reviewed  in  New  Noise),
because of the lack of a keyboardist.  I  had  to  leave  soon  after
Burning Moon's set, missing half the entire show.  I  can  truly  say
that when I left, I left with the impression that the  Toronto  scene
isn't dead just yet.

Alain sez:

     I came in late, being from out of town, but having a car meant I
could stick around until the bitter end. Fearsight  followed  Burning
Moon, playing a style of  power-groove  metal  with  NY  hardcore-ish
vocals that left me cold. Actually, the music  was  quite  decent  at
times, with some memorable hooks occasionally heard, but those vocals
right turned me off. These guys must have a bit of a following  as  I
saw a number of Fearsight t-shirts around, sporting a nifty logo.  I,
unfortunately, was not a convert. Flesh Feast followed with a dose of
mediocre grinding death metal. I can't really say a whole Hell  of  a
lot  about  this  group  except:  unmemorable.  Stage  presence   was
virtually nil, and the music was entirely generic. At this  point  in
the evening, I was actually beginning to mildly regret having  driven
down for this event,  as  I'd  seen  very  little  talent  thus  far.
Luckily, Summertime Daisies took the stage and changed  that.  Strong
stage presence, crushing riffs, and unrelenting chugging  death  were
unleashed by this top-notch  five-piece  act.  This  London,  Ontario
based act were easily the highlight of  the  evening,  delivering  an
excellent set of tight, well-arranged slabs of hatred. Check  out  my
review of their _Gathering of Vermin_ demo in this month's New Noise.
The night ended with Hidden Pride's  set  of  grinding  death,  again
expertly delivered and tight as a homophobe's asshole.  Hailing  from
Montreal, these guys have taken a hint or two from fellow Montrealers
Kataklysm and Cryptopsy, and perhaps need to work  on  distinguishing
themselves from the pack. They were kind enough to pass  along  their
demo, _The Encounter of the First Kind_ (see this month's  New  Noise
for my review), despite being visibly bummed at the  turnout.  Sadly,
there were maybe 70 people who bothered to attend, and far  fewer  at
the end of the night, which meant  that  Hidden  Pride  played  to  a
near-empty venue. They were frustrated with the whole affair, and  it
showed, but nobody said playing metal  was  an  easy,  or  lucrative,
career choice. Greater fan support is essential to these bands, so  I
encourage all readers  to  attend  these  types  of  shows  featuring
unsigned acts, and to give their demos a try.

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

                  T H E   W A V E   O F   D E A T H
                  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
         Deicide at The Wave in Staten Island, April 14, 1996
            with Fallen Christ, Incantation and Immolation
                         by: Vishwanand Singh

     On Sunday night, April 14th, Deicide invaded The Wave in  Staten
Island, NY. The club was filled to overflowing, the air was gray with
smoke, and the crowd lay in wait like hungry wolves for  a  feast  of
brutality and death.
     A huge screen dominated the area above the stage while the bands
readied (forever) to play. The crowd was held  in  thrall  to  bloody
images from Traces of Death (a must-get, for  the  music  alone)  and
ear-quaking clips  from  Much  Music's  Power  30.  From  the  start,
everyone knew this was going  to  be  a  night  to  remember.  People
travelled from as far away as Westchester and New Jersey  to  witness
Deicide in action. They were not disappointed.
     The doors to The Wave opened at 6 o'clock, but the  show  didn't
start until after eight. The first band up  was  Fallen  Christ,  who
played a decent show but were mistaken for Rotting Christ by many  in
the crowd until midway into their act. Their set  was  pretty  tight,
their playing (esp. drummer) was fast, and the  crowd  largely  hated
them. "Get off the stage! You suck!" and other niceties were flung at
the band to let them know how much they were  loved.  Heedless,  they
played on, much to the  chagrin  of  half  of  the  crowd.  The  rest
actually got into their music and even began moshing  (especially  at
the foot of the stage).
     The next act was Incantation. Garbled  vocals  accompanied  what
was otherwise a great set. The frontman (who  looked  like  a  biker)
mostly stood still with one of his legs propped up comfortably  on  a
bar and blew into the microphone for a while before  Incantation  was
dispelled (and none too soon). The BAND was excellent,  the  vocalist
seemed more interested in his drink than in putting on a  good  show.
He actually looked SLEEPY during some of his songs. Nonetheless, some
in the crowd were able to get past the horrible vocals and bang away.
They should seriously consider getting a  REAL  vocalist.  Preferably
someone more AWAKE during shows... who can SING.
     Immolation was the third act,  and  directly  preceded  Deicide.
They came close to killing the  headlining  act  with  their  intense
display of brutality. Until them, NO ONE at the show was truly  heavy
and worth bleeding for. Indisputably the best band of the show  aside
from Deicide itself, they blasted the somewhat sedated crowd  out  of
their Incantation-inflicted swoon and into a frenzy  of  madness.  If
not for security, blood would have slicked the floor then and  there.
As it was, only one person (a green-haired punker) was smashed. He'll
need stitches for sure. The Staten Island crowd is pretty tame.
     Immolation left the crowd in the perfect state  for  Deicide  to
take over, but of course, Deicide took their own sweet  time  getting
around to it. Most of the bands took about 10-15 minutes  to  set  up
before playing. Not Deicide. Steve Asheim's drums  alone  took  about
15-20 minutes to ready. Eric and  Brian  Hoffman  were  tuning  their
guitars for roughly the same time (namely, forever) and then went  on
to adjust their amps. Finally, Glen Benton himself came onstage (he'd
wandered the crowd before. Nice trench, too.) to the adoring  crowd's
cheers. He set up his bass in  about  five  minutes  and  immediately
opened into "Suicide Sacrifice". The effect on the crowd was amazing.
People began to shake. The deathheads and metalheads banged away like
Glen had brought on Armageddon. The rest of the crowd could FEEL  the
energy and KNEW there was something powerful happening. They  reacted
maniacally, slam dancing, screaming, moving any and all movable  body
parts. Deicide had the crowd in its unholy grip and did not  seem  to
want to let it loose.
     After "Suicide Sacrifice" the band fell into "When  Satan  Rules
His World" off of _Once Upon The Cross_  and  then  roared  into  the
title-track off of that album. The crowd was enthralled by "Once Upon
the Cross". People were screaming it along with Glen. They  did  some
older songs off of _Legion_ and before, and then did  more  from  the
last album. The crowd was mostly  unhinged  by  newer  material  like
"Trick Or Betrayed", "They Are the Children of the  Underworld",  and
"Kill the  Christian".  The  people  from  Fallen  Christ  and  their
girlfriends seemed a bit taken aback at the  show  of  insanity  that
Deicide somehow conjured.
     Throughout the show, people did their best to liven things up  a
bit. One person managed to work the glories of  pretzels  into  every
band's act by shouting out praises to  pretzels  at  every  available
opportunity. A HUGE man who looked to be in his 40's  terrorized  the
hapless denizens of the pit until he got tired and went to the bar to
rest in the sidelines. The members of Thanatopsis thought they  found
members of Suffocation roaming the crowd, and one of their friends at
the bar almost joined a drunk man in stripping off  his  clothes  and
stagediving. The majority of the crowd vanished at around 1:30am.
     Although the show was very good, I have my own gripes  with  it.
Glen Benton decided sometime that there were too many  bands  at  the
show, so he axed half of them. Mortician, Deathrune, and Candiria did
not get to play. I talked to a member of Deathrune about  it  and  he
said he expected it. "Glen's a stuck-up bastard," was his  reasoning,
and I believe him. Glen also did not  show  much  interest  with  the
crowd. Deicide went up, played, and left, one-two-three. They  didn't
interact at all with anyone. They didn't play anything from  the  new
album [ed: 5 new songs in a 1-hour set is a lot! - AMG] or announce a
single song. Someone let slip that at the last show, Glen was  caught
complaining that he had to play "for a whole  hour!"  It  looks  like
shows are more of a chore to Deicide than anything else.
     Finally, the church came to the show  and  went  around  outside
handing out flyers which detailed (somewhat erroneously) the  history
of death metal from someone who was once "a part of the  scene."  Our
music is evil and they know it. They want to SAVE us from  forces  we
do not understand! Heh. Repent. I picked up an  extra  flyer  for  my
girlfriend. She's the antichrist.
     Regardless of my nitpickings, the Deicide show was  amazing.  It
was NY/NJ's only area appearance of what many have dubbed "the  Green
Day of death metal." That may or may  not  be  a  compliment.  As  an
aside, Glen seems to have gained about 20 pounds of table-muscle.  He
is definitely much rounder than he was when they shot the picture  on
the back of _Once Upon The Cross_.

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        ________                                    ________
        ___  __/_________  ________________   _________  __/
        __  /  _  __ \  / / /_  ___/_  ___/   _  __ \_  /_
        _  /   / /_/ / /_/ /_  /   _(__  )    / /_/ /  __/
        /_/    \____/\__,_/ /_/    /____/     \____//_/

           ________            _____
           ___  __/______________  /____  _____________
           __  /  _  __ \_  ___/  __/  / / /_  ___/  _ \
           _  /   / /_/ /  /   / /_ / /_/ /_  /   /  __/
           /_/    \____//_/    \__/ \__,_/ /_/    \___/


Welcome to Chronicles of Chaos' tour listing column. Check out  Tours
of Torture every month for the scoop on  who's  coming  to  town  and
where to catch your favorite bands. If you have any information about
upcoming tours, we'd be more than happy to hear about it. Contact  us
at <ginof@io.org>.


Impaled Nazarene/Cannibal Corpse/Immolation/Asphyx/Grave
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
May 1 - Exil, Trier GERMANY
May 2 - Markthalle, Hamburg GERMANY
May 3 - Werra Rohn Halle, Merkers GERMANY
May 4 - Ratskeller, Fraureuth GERMANY
May 5 - Jungend Hause, Saalfeld GERMANY
May 6 - Huxley's, Berlin GERMANY

Impaled Nazarene/Dark Tranquility/Cannibal Corpse/Vader/Immolation
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
May 7  - Pumphuset, Copenhagen DENMARK
May 17 - Rockhouse, Salzburg AUSTRIA
May 18 - Maribeua, Marseille FRANCE
May 19 - Garage Club, Barcelona SPAIN
May 20 - Pavillhao, Porto PORTUGAL
May 21 - Carlos Lopes Pavillion, Lisboa PORTUGAL
May 22 - Revolver Club, Madrid SPAIN
May 23 - Bikini, Toulouse FRANCE
May 24 - Real Theatre, Lyon FRANCE
May 25 - Sala Fundemental Cares TBC, Pamplona SPAIN
May 26 - World of Hard, Reims FRANCE

Impaled Nazarene/Dark Tranquility
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
May 8  - Rohre, Stuttgart, GERMANY
May 9  - Atak, Enschede NETHERLANDS
May 10 - Staddijk, Nijmegen NETHERLANDS
May 11 - Melkweg, Amsterdam NETHERLANDS
May 12 - Biebob, Vosselaar BELGIUM
May 13 - Forellenhof, Salzgitter GERMANY
May 14 - Belmondo, Prague CZECH
May 15 - Tankhouse, Stavenhagen GERMANY
May 16 - Chelsea, Vienna AUSTRIA

Suffocation
~~~~~~~~~~~
May 16 - World Beat Center, San Diego, CA
May 17 - Showcase Theater, Corona, CA
May 18 - Showcase Theater, Corona, CA
May 19 - Latin Village, Los Angeles, CA
May 24 - The Embassy, London, Ontario, Canada

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

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

Gino's Top 10 of ALL TIME

 1. Entombed - _Clandestine_
 2. Slayer - _Reign in Blood_
 3. Carcass - _Necroticism - Descanting the Insalubrious_
 4. Marilyn Manson - _Portrait of an American Family_
 5. Pan-Thy-Monium - _Khaooohs & Kon-Fus-Ion_
 6. Monster Magnet - _Superjudge_
 7. Obituary - _World Demise_
 8. Bolt Thrower - _... For Victory_
 9. Amorphis - _Tales from the Thousand Lakes_
10. Fear Factory - _Soul of a New Machine_

Adrian's Top 10 of ALL TIME

 1. Warrior Soul - _Drugs, God and the New Republic_
 2. Warrior Soul - _Salutations from the Ghetto Nation_
 3. Iron Maiden - _Piece of Mind_
 4. Guns N' Roses - _Appetite for Destruction_
 5. Monster Voodoo Machine - _Suffersystem_
 6. Megadeth - _Rust in Piece_
 7. Alice In Chains - _Facelift_
 8. Anthrax - _Sound of White Noise_
 9. Ozzy Osbourne - _Blizzard of Oz_
10. Kyuss - _Sky Valley_

Brian's Top 10 of ALL TIME

 1. Cynic - _Focus_
 2. Cynic - 'Roadrunner' demo
 3. Spastic Ink - _Ink Complete (incl. demo 1993)_
 4. Watchtower - _Control and Resistance_
 5. Psychotic Waltz - _A Social Grace_
 6. Helstar - _Nosferatu_
 7. Sieges Even - _Life Cycle_
 8. Thought Industry - _Songs for Insects_
 9. Believer - _Dimensions_
10. Death - _Human_

Alain's Top 10 of ALL TIME

 1. Alice Cooper - _Love It to Death_
 2. Black Sabbath - _Black Sabbath_
 3. Slayer - _Reign in Blood_
 4. Metallica - _Ride the Lightning_
 5. Ozzy Osbourne - _Diary of a Madman_
 6. Queensryche - _Operation: Mindcrime_
 7. Judas Priest - _Sad Wings of Destiny_
 8. Morbid Angel - _Blessed Are the Sick_
 9. Razor - _Evil Invaders_
10. Rush - _Moving Pictures_

Steve's Top 10 of ALL TIME (in chronological order)

1.  Metallica - _Ride the Lightning_
2.  Slayer - _Hell Awaits_
3.  Bathory - _The Return..._
4.  Celtic Frost - _To Mega Therion_
5.  Morbid Angel - _Blessed Are the Sick_
6.  Sinister - _Diabolical Summoning_
7.  Emperor/Enslaved - _Hordane's Land_
8.  Marduk - _Opus Nocturne_
9.  DodheimsGard - _Kronet Til Konge_
10. Impaled Nazarene - _Latex Cult_

Sally's Top 10 of ALL TIME

1.  Metallica - _Master of Puppets_
2.  Overkill - _Years of Decay_
3.  Drop Dead - _Ending the Sadness_
4.  Obituary - _Slowly we Rot_
5.  Dead Can Dance - _Aion & Passage in Time_
6.  Death - _Scream Bloody Gore_
7.  AT The Gates - _The Red In The Sky Is Ours_
8.  Christ Agony - _Deamoonseth Act II_
9.  Dark Throne - _Under the Funeral Moon_
10. Desulphize - _Neolithic Era_

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

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

Ten issues, shit, what can I say? I'm still stoked, and I guess  I'll
always be. Everything has gone so well for CoC since day number  one,
and I think the biggest round of applause has to go to Adrian Bromley
for that. Let's hear it everyone!! Adrian  is  the  workhorse  behind
Chronicles of  Chaos,  and  if  it  wasn't  for  his  hard  work  and
dedication, this magazine would never have  existed.  Thanks  Adrian,
and thanks to all of you. Keep the kraziness alive!
     -- Gino Filicetti

PS.. Here's a little surprise from Alain, dedicated to  everyone  who
     actually read this issue all the way to the end.

As a tribute to our 10th issue,  I'm  giving  away  a  free  copy  of
Naphobia's _Of Hell_, a demo album reviewed in a past issue  of  CoC.
The first person to e-mail me at <alain@mks.com> with the  answer  to
the following question will be the proud recipient of this fine death
metal release.

Q: What two prominent metal musicians were involved in the  recording
   of _Of Hell_?

Good luck -- Alain

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
End Chronicles of Chaos, Issue #10

