              /~~|                '   |              /~\
             |   |/~\ |/~\/~\|/~\ |/~~|/~/(~     /~\-|- 
              \__|   ||   \_/|   ||\__|\/__)     \_/ |  
       
                           /~~|             
                          |   |/~\ /~~|/~\(~
                           \__|   |\__|\_/_)

         CHRONICLES OF CHAOS E-Zine, June 7, 1997, Issue #21

Editor-in-Chief: Gino Filicetti <mailto:ginof@interlog.com>
Coordinator: Adrian Bromley <mailto:energizr@interlog.com>
Assistant Editor: Alain M. Gaudrault <mailto:alain@mks.com>
Contributor: Brian Meloon <mailto:bmeloon@math.cornell.edu>
Contributor: Steve Hoeltzel <mailto:hoeltzel@blue.weeg.uiowa.edu>
Contributor: Adam Wasylyk <mailto:macabre@interlog.com>
Contributor: Drew Schinzel <mailto:drew@magpage.com>
Contributor: Andrew Lewandowski <mailto:kmvb73c@prodigy.com>
Contributor: Pedro Azevedo <mailto:leic97@tom.fe.up.pt>
Mailing List provided by: The University of Colorado at Boulder

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

DESCRIPTION
~~~~~~~~~~~
Chronicles of Chaos is a monthly magazine electronically  distributed
worldwide via the Internet. Chronicles of Chaos focuses on all  forms
of brutal music; from thrash to death to black metal, we have it all.
Each issue will feature interviews with your favorite bands,  written
from the perspective of a true fan.  Each  issue  will  also  include
record reviews and previews, concert reviews and tour dates, as  well
as various happenings in the  metal  scene  worldwide.  If  you'd  be
interested   in   writing   for   CoC,   drop   us    a    line    at
mailto:ginof@interlog.com. Concert reviews  are  especially  welcome,
but please bear in mind that we cannot  accept  every  submission  we
receive."

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

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

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

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

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

Issue #21 Contents, 6/7/97
--------------------------
* Editorial
* Loud Letters
* Ferocious Features
-- Napalm Death: Jesse's Jive
-- Sentenced: The Changelings
* Chaotic Chat Sessions
-- December Wolves: December Destruction
-- Hammerfall: Hammering Out the Details
-- Kalisia: Progressing into the Future
-- Within Tempation: The Last Tempation
-- Phlebotomized: The More Things Change...
* Independent Interrogations
-- Bongwater: Hits from the Bong!
* Record Revelations
-- Allegiance - _Blodornsoffer_
-- Arckanum - _Kostogher_
-- Aura Noir - _Black Thrash Attack_  
-- Brutality - _In Mourning_  
-- Dark Reality - _Oh Precious Haze Pervade the Pain_ 
-- Dead by Dawn - _After I Eat Your Brains_  
-- Filthboy - _Diverse Reality_
-- Flotsam and Jetsam - _High_
-- The Gathering - _Nighttime Birds_  
-- Hanzel Und Gretyl - _Transmissions from Uranus_ 
-- Hell on Earth - _Biomechanical Ejaculations of the Damned_
-- Impiety - _Asateerul Awaleen_  
-- Incapacitants - _Asset Without Liability_  
-- Integrity - _Seasons in the Size of Days_  
-- Kiss It Goodbye - _She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not_
-- Left Hand Solution - _Fevered_  
-- Masonna - _Hyper Chaotic_  
-- Morgul - _Lost in Shadows Grey_  
-- Mundane - _Feeding on a Lower Spine_  
-- My Dying Bride - _For Darkest Eyes_ <video>  
-- Ninefinger - _Ninefingered_  
-- Obituary - _Back from the Dead_  
-- Ophthalamia - _To Elishia_  
-- Various - _The Ozz-Fest: Live_  
-- Pyogeneis - _Unpop_  
-- Slo Burn - _Amusing the Amazing_  
-- Stigmata - _Hymns for an Unknown God_  
-- Tartaros - _The Grand Psychotic Castle_  
-- Theatre of Tragedy - _A Rose for the Dead_  
-- Tiamat - _A Deeper Kind of Slumber_  
-- Ulver - _Nattens Madrigal_  
-- Usurper - _Threshold of the Usurper_  
* New Noise
-- As Night Fades/Thought Masticator - _Sound as a Medicinal_
-- Enthroned - _Gothic Disturbance_ 
-- Red Tide - _Hybrid_ 
-- Spun - _The Spun Experience_  
* Chaotic Concerts
-- Filth: Cradle of Filth in Porto, Portugal
* What We Have Cranked
* The Final Word

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

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


     Hey everyone! Bet you never thought you'd see us again so  soon!
Well, most  of  you  must  be  muttering  under  your  breath,  "Damn
magazine, I haven't even finished reading the last 'un!" Ha! Anyways,
all joking aside, I'm glad that we're back to our usual first week of
the month release date, makes things more predictable this way.
     Nothing much has changed with regards to the magazine,  however,
we've been working hard coming up with ideas  to  make  the  magazine
better since we've basically been  the  same  for  all  of  these  21
issues. However, you won't see any of these changes until we're ready
to unveil them all to you in one massive shot.
     Our reader's survey is still sitting around awaiting completion.
I know I've been promising to have it out for the longest  time,  but
I'll stop that now; it'll be out when it's ready.
     The Milwaukee Metal Fest is fast approaching, and it  now  seems
that a good chunk of the CoC  staff  will  be  attending.  We're  all
excited about going to see the show, meet some  of  our  readers  and
cause a shambles partying our asses off! Make sure to make yourselves
known to us if you see a bunch  of  shit  disturbers  snaking  around
handing out CoC propaganda.
     Steve's Osmose giveaway  went  off  without  a  hitch.  We  were
surprised at how FAST the 20 CDs went. Inside of a day  we  had  more
than enough correct answers. Thanks to all  those  who  participated,
and to those who won, congratulations!
     Well, as you'll soon find  out,  I've  finally  gotten  back  to
writing a few reviews, as this is the  first  month  that  I've  been
completely rid of school. Feels as if I've had to learn the skill all
over again, but hey, it's well worth it.
     That's about it people, keep those  Loud  Letters  flowing,  and
I'll talk to you soon.

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

Putrid Mind Records is doing  a  compilation  CD  to  be  distributed
throughout   North    America.    They    are    looking    for    10
Death/Black/Goth/Doom/Prog/Industrial bands to appear on  this  disc.
To  have  you  band  considered,  or  for  more  information   email:
hate@telerama.lm.com or call Putrid Mind Records at (412) 563-6399.

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

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

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

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


Date: Sat, 17 May 1997
From: Graeme Roberts <gramex@intmex.com>
Subject: Energizer's Dad in Mexico on CoC #20

Dear Gino,

This is a critique from Adrian B's  young-old  man,  down  in  sunny,
exciting Mexico. Just had  a  half-hour  read  through  your  CROC-of
-shit, er COCK-up ... I mean CoC #20. Read  the  feedback,  plus  the
Energizer's  shit  ...  and  some  of  the  other  reviews,  ratings,
crank-outs. Thought his WASP interview was neat ... could see  Adrian
shitting his pants doing it! However, please profusely  apologize  to
your e-m subscribers/viewers for me. We never raised Adrian to  spurt
out and write such bad words.

And I disclaim teaching him anything about ...  oh,  my  gosh!!!  ...
ANAL CUNT ????? :-O

You must be a real BAD influence on him.  ;-)

Jostling aside, the zine's a cool read ... big FUCKING KUDOS  to  you
and the CoC gang!!!! Looks like all  the  "heavy-netties"  out  there
crave-and-rave about CoC (not COCK, you foul thinker!)

See you again, some time when we're in Toronto.

Regards,
Cybionic Dad (Graeme Roberts)


From: Rick Fusco <Richard_Fusco-G12943@email.mot.com>
Subject: Dio Review

Alain,

In regards to YOUR side of the  Dio  show--I  don't  think  Tracy  G.
deserved the slam you gave him. I saw Dio a few months  ago  and  the
best part was Tracy's guitar solo during "Mistreated". You  obviously
don't recognize the talent Tracy posesses.  The  guy  is  giving  you
insight into his soul right  there  on  the  stage.  You're  able  to
stomach Vinnie's drum solo just because of his status? Is Tracy G.  a
nobody to you? I guess you never heard of Rags, Mankind or even World
WarIII....Tracy shreded in those bands. This guy has so much to  show
you people it isn't even funny. Live in the raw is the  best  way  to
witness this "legend in the making". Just wait until his  solo  album
"G-FACTORY" comes out this summer--it's going to make you  reconsider
your remarks. It's too bad your hindsight is only limited  to  Ronnie
James Dio. He is a legend but there's more to Dio than just Ronnie or
Vinnie for that matter. I suggest you do  more  research  on  someone
before you deliver such a slam.


Date: Thu, 24 Apr 1997
From: Joe Borowiec <borowiec@interlog.com>
Subject: Re: ezine

Hey man, 
the zines pretty cool, just don't commit to death like that guy said.
I don't like that stuff. I can't ask you to totally eliminate it  cuz
I'm sure a lot of people dig it. It's just not for me.

Later, 
Steve Borowiec


Date: Fri, 9 May 1997 16:57:46 -0500
From: Philip C Hinkle <infestdead@juno.com>
Subject: Dan Swano

Thanks a lot for the interview with Swano in CoC  #19  (in  fact  the
whole issue kicked ass: Edge of Sanity, My Dying  Bride,  In  Flames,
Peter Tagtgren...I experienced an enjoyable  overload!)  The  UK  mag
Terrorizer had an interview with Dan Swano in their April issue,  but
CoC's kicked ass all over it! You guys rock. I was  hoping  that  you
could give me Dan's  e-mail  address  so  I  could  fire  off  a  few
questions of my own at The Man. Keep up the good  work  and  keep  us
posted on any Swano happenings in the future.

Until Eternity Ends, Phil


Date: Wed, 14 May 1997
From: "Matthew D. Landgren" <Matthew.D.Landgren-1@tc.umn.edu>
Subject: Attention Loud Letters

     Hey, I have a comment and a question for you and  your  readers.
One thing I have noticed about your ezine is that black  metal  seems
to be favored, while I do not despise all black metal, I find 90%  of
it lame.
     My question is what ever happened to the band Phantasm (the best
unsigned death metal bands I've ever heard although I heard they  had
a deal  with  metal  blade  that  fell  through)  out  of  milwaukee,
appearently they broke up a while ago but does  anyone  know  if  the
members are in other band now, especially their drummer/singer  Tony,
he really kicked some ass. Any info is appreciated.

p.s. I'll miss the fake blood they spew on the crowd at metalfest and
their performance too. Also anyone know the bands at  metalfest  this
year yet?
 
Matt Landgren
land0122@gold.tc.umn.edu
vlad@bbs.phantasy.com

[AMG: See for yourself at http://www.mia-records.com/metalfest/]

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

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.


                       J E S S E ' S   J I V E 
                       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                     CoC interviews Napalm Death
                          by: Adrian Bromley

     Two  things  seem   to   dominate   the   cross-Atlantic   phone
conversation between myself  in  Toronto,  Canada  and  Napalm  Death
guitarist Jesse Pintado in Birmingham,  England:  the  departure  and
reinstatement of singer/growler Barney Greenway and the sound of  the
new album, _Inside the Torn Apart_. Nothing wrong with that, as those
are the two first and foremost topics  on  my  agenda  to  talk  with
Pintado about.
     Where to begin? Let's start with the soap opera,  shall  we?  To
most fans of Napalm Death, or just fans of metal  music  in  general,
the departure of longtime growler Greenway was a  shock  to  us  all.
Greenway and his band forged forward with their extreme take on metal
music, molding it over countless releases (seven up to now  with  new
LP _Inside the Torn Apart_) and years  of  touring.  The  band  is  a
legend. 
     But things happen and as Pintado explains, the  loss  of  Barney
was not an easy thing to recover  from.  On  Greenway's  leaving,  he
says, "It was not a good time for us. We had been touring  for  eight
months with the last record and it just  seemed  that  Barney  wasn't
really into what we were doing any  more  with  the  music.  He  just
didn't get into the music of the last album (1996's _Diatribes_).  He
wanted to go back to school and do other stuff like that.  He  really
wasn't at all happy with the direction that the band was headed  with
our music. I mean he slagged the record quite a bit in  some  of  the
press he had done for the album. He told us he was leaving  and  that
was that. We weren't shocked, just had to figure out where  we  would
go from there and most importantly who would sing for us."
     The band found hope in Extreme Noise Terror  singer  Phil  Vane.
"It was cool. We have been friends  with  Phil  for  a  longtime  and
really felt that his voice would be perfect for singing with  us.  We
got together and brought him into the studio. We  had  all  the  shit
done. All the music was down. All we needed was the singer."
     The drama continued as Greenway soon joined forces with  Extreme
Noise Terror as the new lead singer.  And  to  make  things  even  go
further down the road of trouble, the future of Napalm Death was once
again up in the air with  Vane  not  cutting  it.  Pintado  explains.
"Things didn't work out with Phil singing. It just didn't work out in
the studio and we were left hanging. I suggested  we  give  Barney  a
call and see if he was into coming down and singing with us again. At
least to give it a try and see what he thought about the material  we
had assembled for the new record." Things seemed to be on the up  and
up from that encounter  with  ex-singer  Greenway  and  Napalm  Death
members. Greenway joined the band once again and as Pintado puts  it,
"Barney was really into the music we had created. He really  dug  it.
He couldn't believe the sound and heaviness we had put  together.  He
felt that we would be going more towards a mainstream sound  and  was
taken aback by what we had for him. He actually said,  'Wow!  I  like
this,' which is something he has never really said before  about  any
of the stuff we have done before." NOTE: Greenway not only  sings  on
the new Napalm Death record, but also is the vocalist for new  LP  by
Extreme Noise Terror.	
     And what about this new album? Well, the  new  album  by  Napalm
Death (produced by Colin Richardson of Machine Head and Fear  Factory
fame) is a clear change from the definite mainstream sound  that  had
been etched into last effort  _Diatribes_  and  the  preceding  (same
year) _Greed Killing_ EP. This time  out,  on  _ItTA_,  Napalm  Death
reach out towards an extreme feel to the pounding  rhythms  of  their
music. While not as brutal or grindcrushing as past  releases  _Scum_
(1986),  _Utopia  Banished_  (1992),  or  1994's  _Fear,   Emptiness,
Despair_, _ItTA_ truly allows the  band  to  get  back  into  a  real
diverse and experimental feel. "This is a very  cold  record,"  notes
Pintado. "I dunno. When I hear this record, I  don't  really  hear  a
heavy or mind blowing dose of heaviness. I feel  and  hear  a  really
dark and eerie record that truly captures our heaviness, but puts  it
into a darkened form. It's creepy."
     Does Pintado still feel that the  band  has  kept  it's  extreme
roots with this LP? "Of course. We haven't lost any of our roots.  We
may have molded over the years, I mean you can clearly see that  with
every release that we have put out,  but  we  have  always  had  that
extreme element in our music. We are always  aiming  to  be  able  to
acquire that characteristic into what we do. I think a lot of  people
who try to discover or analyze music are dumb, too.  I  think  people
who think you have to play loud and  deafening  music  at  break-neck
speeds are not with it. Who says that is extreme? You can play  music
that is soft and simple and still be labeled  extreme.  Napalm  Death
has always been about being full of extreme music and passion  within
what we play. It hasn't changed so far."
     So, the band has finally set aside their differences  with  each
other and the band is back together once  again.  I  bet  Pintado  is
relieved? "Yeah... relieved that we were able to get this record out.
It was up in the air for a bit with Barney out and trying in the  new
singer. I'm just glad that we have  this  to  show  for  it,  a  good
record."
     He adds, "It was hard to deal with all of this  stuff  at  first
because Barney was out and we had to keep it quiet  so  that  no  one
would find out what was going on. We did our best but people  started
realizing that Barney wasn't showing  up  to  rehearsal  anymore.  We
could keep the secret no longer. It went crazy from there with people
asking us what went wrong and what was to happen to Napalm Death.  We
told them we'd continue on - and we did - and it worked  out  in  the
end didn't it?"
     Relieved for sure, Pintado  and  the  rest  of  Napalm  Death  -
Greenway, bassist Shane Embury, other  guitarist  Mitch  Harris,  and
drummer Danny Herrera - plan to tour  extensively  in  North  America
following the release of _ItTA_ in early June. "I'm  excited  to  get
back onto the road again. We just played two shows  here  in  England
and it was great. It seems like all the shit in the last  few  months
had never happened. I've forgotten about it already," says Pintado as
he laughs with some relief in his voice. "We're ready to tour some of
our best work to date and that distracts me from past  problems.  The
music just keeps me going."

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

                    T H E   C H A N G E L I N G S 
                    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                  CoC interviews Finland's Sentenced
                          by: Adrian Bromley

     Change has come quite often for the music and sounds of  Finnish
quartet Sentenced. Each of the band's  releases  -  _Shadows  of  the
Past_ (1991), _North from Here_ (1993), _Amok_ (1995) - has seen  the
band evolve and form  their  own  style  and  direction.  The  band's
latest, _Down_, is a truly stunning assortment of aggressive rock and
tough attitude, a far cry from the  death  metal  beginnings  of  the
band. As far as changes have come for the band,  guitarist/songwriter
Sami Lopakka has been pleased  with  what  has  transpired  over  the
years. "We made a different record  with  _Down_.  When  compared  to
previous Sentenced records, _Down_ is very different in many ways but
you can still recognize the band from what we had done  earlier  with
the band. On _Down_,  we  are  concentrating  more  on  melodies  and
harmonies that are now included in the guitars and vocals.  As  well,
we have a new vocalist [Ville Laihala who replaced Taneli Jarva]  and
of course it is a big difference then.  We  constantly  are  changing
with the changes we bring to the band with new band members. We  have
never done two similar albums in a row and  I  don't  think  we  ever
will."
     He continues, "Before _Down_,  we  were  looking  for  something
fresh for the Sentenced sound, and before we recorded _Down_, we went
to Germany to work at the studio with Waldemar  Sorychta  (Grip  Inc.
guitarist, producer for Tiamat, Samael, Grip  Inc.),  which  was  the
first time we ever had a producer work  with  us,  and  now  when  we
listen to it and hear what came out of the studio work,  we  can  all
really say that all the effort and hard work was definitely worth it.
The whole feeling of _Down_ is what we were looking for us as a  band
(rounded out by Vesa Ranta and Miika Tenkula)." The  topic  turns  to
the rock feel to _Down_. Lopakka feels very strongly  that  the  band
captured a true 'rock n' roll' feel with their latest, an album  that
he  describes  as,  "general  negativity,  suicidal  depression,  and
aggressive hard rockin' metal." About the sound  of  the  record,  he
adds, "When our former singer Taneli left the band, we knew  what  we
were looking for with a new singer. We were looking  for  a  vocalist
who could do aggressive stuff and still sing in tune and do a bit  of
rockin'. I think we found that in Ville."
     About bringing Ville Laihala, Lopakka mentions of  the  problems
to replace ex-singer Jarva early on. "We had difficulties finding the
right guy. We tried for two months and tried out ten singers but they
were not what we were looking for. Us  finding  Ville  was  based  on
luck. Our drummer found him in a bar singing one night, got him drunk
and interested in coming to the rehearsal studio to try out  for  the
band. He came down the next day and tried out  for  us  and  we  knew
right away that he was the guy for us because we got along  with  him
on a personal level. We aren't very social people but from the  first
minute he came into the studio, we got along and  we  knew  we  could
tour with him and work in the studio with him without  any  problems.
From that point on, it was easy for us to get ready to record _Down_."
     As effortlessly as the new styles mold into  the  music  of  the
band, Lopakka acknowledges that the songwriting has not  suffered  or
been stifled with all changes either. "It comes together pretty  easy
for us. The song writing, creating, and rehearsing  of  the  material
has been pretty much the same for us for  the  last  six  years,"  he
says, "The only difficulties we may have is trying  to  do  something
really new and that sometimes causes problems because trying out  new
ideas may sound stupid at first, but after working the ideas into the
music, it shapes itself quite well."
     About the depressive nature of the songwriting, Lopakka says, "I
don't really like to talk much about the songwriting  because  it  is
quite personal, but when I sit down and write, stuff happens, and  it
comes out like a terror before me. Kind of like getting  rid  of  all
these suicidal thoughts I have in my head. I  have  to  say,  though,
that not all our music is depressing or suicidal. There is some humor
amongst what we do. And why do we write material like this?  I  guess
you can say that we like heavy drinking and suicidal behavior."
     One thing that the band has seen in the last little while is its
share of success in the European metal music scene. Like  many  other
bands, Sentenced are one of many bands who have shown lots of promise
in the last few years, helping shape the sound and direction  of  the
scene over there. Lopakka has his own views of music  in  Europe.  He
says, "A lot of bands are taking metal to many new directions.  There
are thousands of bands out there and maybe  95%  of  them  are  crap,
trying hard to make new musical trends. I think a lot of those  bands
and what they do is shitty, and I am not fond of following what is in
or out in the music industry nowadays. I just don't care  about  what
is going on. I focus on what I do and what I like  and  what  I  have
been into over the last few years. To  me,  music  is  the  important
thing and not the fashion or the trendiness of it."
     And  how  have  they  avoided  following  trends?  He  responds,
"Whenever there is something new that comes around, we don't grab our
instruments and say, 'Let's do that!' We don't care about what people
are playing or incorporating into  their  music.  If  some  band  has
Celtic music in their music, we don't do  that.  We  stick  to  being
Sentenced and that's it."

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


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.


               D E C E M B E R   D E S T R U C T I O N
               ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                    CoC interviews December Wolves
                          by: Drew Schinzel

Good American black metal bands are somewhat of a rarity these  days,
as they always have been. With this in mind, it's reassuring to  know
that there -is- a possibility for quality bands  to  exist  in  North
America, as proven by December Wolves. The Massachusetts act recently
put  out  an  independently  financed  mini-CD   entitled   _We   Are
Everywhere_, and, although it only clocks in at nine minutes and  two
songs, it serves as a promising glimpse  into  the  future.  Vocalist
Devon gives us the lowdown.

CoC: Why do you think the U.S. scene has such a distinct lack of high
     quality bands such as December Wolves and Absu?

Devon: To put it quite simply, Americans,  for  the  most  part,  are
       fucking idiots. The moral  value  of  this  country  has  been
       placed in the garbage. I'm not talking about Christian  morals
       or any of that shit, because we couldn't care less about that,
       but people here are just  lazy.  I  understand  that's  common
       knowledge around the world, and a lot  of  people  think  that
       it's a bunch of BS, but it's not.  In  most  of  the  European
       countries, people are brought up to care for the things in the
       world that they do. Whether it  be  music  or  art,  business,
       work, etc. They're taught at an early age  to  take  pride  in
       their work. That's something that people are  not  brought  up
       with here. If we sound European, then I guess it's because  we
       were raised with similar standards.

CoC: December Wolves are slightly unique in that you use  riffs  that
     are very folkish and almost Irish sounding. What  do  you  think
     influences the band in such a direction?

D: It would be hard  to  say  what  would  influence  us  in  such  a
   direction, because as far as I know, none of us  are  really  into
   anything Irish or any of that stuff.  We  don't  dislike  it,  but
   we're not into that stuff as a band. People like it, though, so  I
   guess it's cool.

CoC: Have you been satisfied with the success of December  Wolves  so
     far? Is that even important to you?

D: Our success is fairly moderate, as far as I can tell.  We've  been
   really lucky, though, to play with some  really  good  bands  like
   Absu, Enslaved, and My Dying  Bride.  We've  also  got  a  lot  of
   friends, and fans all over the world. All in all, I'd have to  say
   that I'm reasonably  pleased  with  our  success,  which  is  good
   because it definitely is important to us. Things are changing now,
   and I'm sure that our popularity will increase considerably in the
   near future.

CoC: How has the band been received by the European audience?

D: As I said before, we've been very lucky to have a lot  of  friends
   over in other areas of the world, who  have  helped  us  out  with
   distributing our demo and our album, and people seem to  like  our
   music. Those who have heard it, that is. I visit friends  over  in
   Europe every year and most of the people I meet  with  over  there
   know who we are.

CoC: How was the recent live show with My Dying Bride?

D: The show went fairly well, I guess. The crowd was a  little  lame,
   but what can ya' do about it? I guess one could say that the  kind
   of music that we play is relatively new to the people  in  CT.  We
   had a good time, though. We met with some friends  and  made  some
   new friends there as well. My Dying Bride put on a great show, and
   they were very cool guys to hang out with. Cheers to them!

CoC: Are there any plans for a tour in the near future?

D: We're definitely looking to tour in the future, but I don't  think
   we're ready for anything like that, yet. We just want to play some
   more shows in the area, and then we'll see what happens when we do
   another album. Hopefully, we'll be doing another album and have it
   released by the end of the year, and then we'll see  what  happens
   with a tour. First things first, you know what I mean?

CoC: Have you been approached by any  labels  since  the  release  of
     _'Til Ten Years_, and the subsequent MCD?

D: I think a lot of people think that we are signed with  Hammerheart
   Productions still, so people should realize that's absolutely  not
   the case. We signed with him for that one album, and that was that
   with him. We kind of kept a low profile for awhile after the album
   was released, and we've just been working on new material for  the
   next record. Any labels or zines or anybody should feel  perfectly
   free to contact us if they have questions or interests.

CoC:  Were  you  satisfied  with  Hammerheart's   handling   of   the
     full-length's release?

D: We were satisfied with some things. It was packaged  fairly  well,
   and he was a fair person to work with, but as soon as  the  record
   was released, he wouldn't contact us anymore. We would fax  him  a
   thousand times, and he wouldn't respond. We have no  knowledge  of
   how the record is selling, where it's selling, what  people  think
   of it, etc.  We're  all  individually,  heavily  involved  in  the
   underground scene and we don't know these things. To me, that says
   that he's not advertising it the way he should be.  That's  not  a
   good way to deal with a label, or for a label to deal with a band,
   for that matter. That is one thing that we are  all  very  UNHAPPY
   with. He wanted to sign us again for  another  album,  because  he
   liked the first one so much and then  when  it  was  released,  he
   didn't seem to care what happened. His loss, I guess.

CoC: Why did the band move away from the  keyboards,  female  vocals,
     and acoustic sections of the debut? Will they be present on  the
     upcoming full-length?

D: I think we moved away from that kind of stuff because we shouldn't
   have been doing it to begin with. When we started  this  band,  we
   wanted to do stuff like that because we wanted to  make  the  band
   sound good. We thought that would help with the  message  that  we
   wanted to put forth, and it  took  a  long  time,  and  a  lot  of
   self-analysis, on the parts of all members, to realize that  we're
   not into that stuff,  really,  and  this  resulted  in  our  music
   becoming more personal. That's what  did  it,  I  think.  I'm  not
   saying that our music will not have any  atmosphere  anymore,  but
   it's not going to be because of synth and all of  that  shit.  Our
   atmosphere is going to be a lot more  demented  than  that.  Years
   ago, we became December Wolves, and it's taken a  long  time,  but
   now, December Wolves  has  become  us!  Our  next  album  will  be
   atmospheric,  but  it's  not  going  to  make  people   dream   of
   landscapes, and woods, and trolls, and  all  of  that  shit,  it's
   probably just going to make you wish that you weren't alive.

CoC: What are some other American bands that you respect  and  listen
     to, black metal or otherwise?

D: As  far  as  bands  that  are  affiliated  with  the  black  metal
   underground, the only bands that we respect, or associate with, in
   the United States  are  Sorrow  Bequest  (ex-Uller),  Absu,  Angel
   Corpse (ex-Order from Chaos), and maybe one or two others. We also
   listen to bands like Faith and the Muse,  Mephisto  Waltz,  L.S.D.
   I'd have to say that most of the music we listen to, though, comes
   from overseas.

CoC: How do your parents and relatives feel about your music?

D: Personally, I try to keep my relatives out of it. They don't  need
   to know what I do with my time. They're really not a big  part  of
   my life, and when the subject of my band comes up they'll act like
   they're interested, and I don't need their bullshit. My mother  is
   pretty  cool,  though.  She  likes  Anathema,  Helloween,   Ulver,
   Testament, and some of the other bands that I listen to. She's the
   only one, in my family at least, who could really give a good fuck
   about December Wolves. I could care less about  support  from  any
   other relatives.

CoC: What's your relationship with Dark Symphonies?

D: Well, we're all good friends. We like to go over to  Ted  Tringo's
   house, eat his junk food, and pick on  him  when  he  gets  shitty
   black metal CDs. Ha, ha! No, I'm just kidding (Well...). He does a
   lot for us in the way of pushing our material, and advertising for
   us, and  stuff  like  that.  He's  been  very  supportive  of  us,
   steadily, for a couple of years now, and I must say kudos  to  him
   for being so cool on that end of things.

CoC: Is it difficult dealing with a label such as Hammerheart,  which
     is halfway across the globe, in Korea?

D: Yeah, that was a fucking hassle. It was hard because we would have
   to fax him and then wait for  another  fax,  and  all  this  other
   bullshit. It was a pain in the ass! We asked him if we could  call
   him or something to make things a little easier, and he said  that
   he wouldn't be able to do that because he couldn't speak  English,
   he could only write it. That  sucked,  because  even  his  writing
   ability was significantly impaired. We got through it, hard as  it
   was, but we hope that, in the future, we never have to play  games
   like that again. It's not like there were any  established  labels
   around here or even closer to us, for that matter.  If  we  signed
   with someone else, it would probably be a European label,  anyway.
   It just would've been good if he spoke English. I  can't  possibly
   emphasize how much we sat and tried to figure out what the fuck he
   was talking about when he faxed us and told us what he  wanted  to
   do with the packaging of the CD. It was fucking hard.

CoC: That looks like about all I can  muster  up  for  now.  End  the
     interview with any words you wish. Good luck to  the  future  of
     December Wolves!

D: Thanks for the interview. Like I said before, we should be able to
   do another album, and have it released by the end of the year,  so
   everyone should be on the lookout for that. It won't be  like  the
   last album, it's going to be a lot heavier, and a lot faster, and,
   all around, just more EXTREME! Cheers to you, Drew, and good  luck
   with the zine and all in the future.

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

          H A M M E R I N G   O U T   T H E   D E T A I L S 
          ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                  CoC chats with HammerFall's Oscar
                          by: Drew Schinzel

When HammerFall's debut album, _Glory to the Brave_, is released this
June, no one will be prepared to experience the epic  masterpiece  of
melodic, powerful, emotional, inspirational, magnificent pure -metal-
which will grace their ears. After almost  four  years  in  embrionic
form, with constant member changes and little advancement,  the  band
have suddenly gotten their act together and released one of the  best
albums I have ever had the privilege of hearing.  Seriously,  people,
once you start listening to this album you will not be able to  stop.
OK, I believe that I should stop raving about the band right now, and
just say that Chronicles of Chaos was lucky enough to  do  the  first
ever interview with HammerFall. Here is what transpired.

CoC: Why did you and Jesper form HammerFall?

Oscar: It was back in 1993, when I began  writing  some  heavy  metal
       songs and came up with the name. I had asked Jesper  Stromblad
       to join me, and we decided to go ahead, on  a  project  level.
       For the next three years we  continued  on  that  level,  with
       various members coming and going. But when we were  offered  a
       record contract, we decided to  bring  the  seriousness  up  a
       notch or two. Today, Jesper is a passive member,  in  that  he
       only takes part in the song writing process. The current  line
       up  is  as  follows:  Joacim  Cans  (vocals),  Stefan  Elmgren
       (guitars),  Fredrik  Larsson  (bass  guitar),  Patrik  Rafling
       (drums), and myself on guitar as well.

CoC: What other bands are members of HammerFall currently in?

O: HammerFall is the number one priority for us all. In fact,  it  is
   the -only- priority. That is  why  we  have  had  so  many  member
   changes over the years, because the involvement got more and  more
   serious by the day. Since it started out as  a  project,  everyone
   had another  "main  band"  which  came  first,  and  had  to  drop
   HammerFall when the wheels started rolling on their  other  thing.
   Finally, it is our turn to head out to the highway.

CoC: How important is HammerFall to you guys?  How  serious  are  you
     about it?

O: Everything has gone fast this year, and more is  yet  to  come.  I
   have a feeling we only scratched the surface so far.  We  are  all
   dead serious to make this thing work, and are prepared  to  really
   give it our all!

CoC: Right now, the whole retro-metal trend  is  going  strong,  with
     'new' bands like Bewitched and Inferno popping up all  over  the
     place. However, HammerFall formed in '93, before  all  of  this.
     What do you think of this new trend, and  what  is  HammerFall's
     place in it?

O: I think that a band such as Paradise Lost, that evolves from being
   a death metal act to a heavy metal act, have  a  small  chance  of
   surviving in the long run. They are so limited as  to  what  their
   singer can do that they may burn out. That's where  HammerFall  is
   different. I  am  the  only  one  who  has  had  any  death  metal
   experience, so basically HammerFall is a genuine heavy metal band.
   True enough, we started out as a project, but the lineup has  been
   changed so much that it isn't even remotely the  same  as  in  the
   beginning. As for the trend; metal has never been dead! Those  who
   think that had better think again. All these  years,  heavy  metal
   has been like an outcast form of  music,  practiced  only  by  the
   'old' legends like Manowar, Helloween, Accept, etc. No  new  bands
   true to form have popped up. HammerFall is  on  the  frontline  in
   this battle, and will lead the troops to  victory  when  the  time
   comes to march off to war!

CoC: Are you pretty satisfied with the album you've recorded?

O: When we entered the studio, we had an idea as to how we wanted the
   result to be like. The finished product, though, far exceeds  even
   our biggest expectations! Sometimes, I can't believe how satisfied
   I am with the result! And what's even better,  people  around  the
   world seem to appreciate our music as much as we do, and  that  is
   an absolutely fantastic feeling!

CoC: You must be pretty happy to be signed to Nuclear Blast, eh?

O: We have just signed a four-album deal with Nuclear Blast, and they
   are also releasing our debut album "Glory to the Brave" on license
   from the Dutch label Vic Records. It will be out  in  early  June,
   and there is talk that we will function  as  an  opening  act  for
   Noise Records touring package Gamma Ray and Stratovarius! This  is
   so exciting! We are happy to be signed to Nuclear  Blast,  to  say
   the least. It means that our albums will  be  released  worldwide,
   which is the most important thing for -any- band. Also, they  have
   promised us extensive promotion, and judging by the success of the
   latest In Flames album (also released on license, from Wrong Again
   Records), that means -extensive- promotion!

CoC: Any plans for touring in the near future?

O: Apart from  the  planned  Gamma  Ray/Stratovarius  tour,  we  have
   discussed going as support for a major tour this autumn,  but  the
   details are sketchy at best. It  will  probably  be  only  Europe,
   though. But we would love to go to U.S.A. and Japan sometime, too!

CoC: You've got to be aware of how cheesy the lyrics  on  your  album
     are... was this a conscious effort? Or did it just come out that 
     way?

O: I'm sorry, but I really don't understand  this  question.  We  are
   aware of how the lyrics sound, and I think, to a large extent,  it
   was a conscious effort on Joacim's part (he wrote most of it). The
   lyrics should reflect the music, entertain, and be about something
   interesting, and I feel that feat was accomplished [definitely!  -
   Drew]. The topics might be considering somewhat 'cheesy', but on a
   whole, I think it complements the music beautifully.  [I  couldn't
   agree more - Drew]

CoC: Did you have any problems writing the material?

O: No, actually I am surprised at how easy things worked out when  me
   and Jesper sat down with our guitars. Of  course,  a  lot  of  the
   riffs have been around for quite a while, but  songs  like  "Stone
   Cold", "Glory to the Brave" and "The Dragon Lies Bleeding" are all
   freshly written during last summer. Sometimes we created the vocal
   harmonies, sometimes we just gave a tape to Joacim, who then added
   his part plus the lyrics. I think  it  was  a  very  free  flowing
   process, and probably the most fun I have ever had writing music!

CoC: What are your main inspirations and influences for HammerFall?

O: We usually consider Helloween, Accept, Judas Priest, Warlord,  and
   Stormwitch as our main influences, but Gamma Ray, Dio, Riot,  Iron
   Maiden, and Running Wild deserve to be mentioned as well.

CoC: Have you written any material for the next album?

O: We are constantly working on new material, but with all  that  has
   been going on over the last  few  months,  the  song  writing  has
   suffered a bit. Two new titles are "Heeding the Call" and "Let the
   Hammer Fall".

CoC: Has Joacim ever had any formal vocal training?  His  singing  is
     amazing.

Joacim: I started singing seriously at the age of 21, and  two  years
        later enrolled in the vocal program at  Musician's  Institute
        in Hollywood, California. The program lasted a year, and  was
        very beneficiary to me,  as  it  helped  me  put  the  pieces
        together and improve my vocal abilities. However, the program
        felt a little bit underdeveloped to last an  entire  year.  I
        think they need more qualified teachers and a better  thought
        out curriculum. They  also  have  to  require  more  previous
        knowledge on the part  of  the  applying  students,  and  not
        accept people solely based on the fact that the more students
        graduating, the more money they make. I mean,  they  have  to
        take more responsibility for their students, spending  almost
        their lifetime savings on attending the school. They need  to
        make sure that the students actually  can  benefit  from  the
        program -before- they start. Even though the MI really helped
        me a lot, I think the real foundation was built the classical
        way, at home. There, I spent a large amount of  time  singing
        along with my favorite albums with a  pillow  mounted  on  my
        face. Plus, of course, hours and hours of  hard  work  during
        rehearsals.

CoC: What does the future hold for HammerFall?

O: I hope the future holds great things for us, but you  never  know.
   Right now, we're waiting for _Glory to the Brave_ to  be  released
   in June, hopefully followed by the Gamma Ray/Stratovarius deal. We
   are really anxious to see how the album will be  received  by  the
   metal media. I am being told that we will be getting good  reviews
   in two of the largest metal magazines in Germany  (Rock  Hard  and
   Heavy...oder was?), and we will be featured with one track on  the
   Rock Hard free compilation CD enclosed with every  copy  of  their
   new edition. The mag has a circulation of almost 90,000 copies, so
   it means great exposure for every band featured!

CoC: Is there anything you think those who haven't  heard  HammerFall
     should know?

O: This is all you need to know: HammerFall plays metal  the  way  it
   was supposed to be played and the way you (and we) like  it.  Fast
   and furious at times, soft and tender at others,  but  true  heavy
   metal through and through. And, in  the  end,  that  is  all  that
   matters!

CoC: It's good to see a new metal band not relying on  an  'evil'  or
     otherwise 'shocking' image, or a whole lot of hype to  cover  up
     musical deficiencies. How do you feel about this issue?

O: I think image is a very important  part  of  the  music  business.
   There is nothing worse than a band who simply goes  on  stage  and
   play in their street clothes, without realizing that playing  live
   is something special. If a band is nothing special on stage,  only
   those who really like it will stay interested during the gig.  If,
   on the other hand, you give the  audience  something  to  look  at
   every once in a while - such as explosions, fire breathing,  scene
   costumes, etc. - their attention will  constantly  be  recaptured,
   resulting in a better show, thus the paying crowd will  get  their
   money's worth. That having been said, I on  the  hand  think  that
   playing down the musical or  instrumental  bit  for  the  sake  of
   effects is atrocious. Therefore, we try to find the middle  ground
   between the two sides, and combine musical skills  with  something
   to watch during the shows.

CoC: HammerFall is one type of metal that can go a long way in  terms
     of popularity (not that it's meant to be popular, it's just more
     accessible than black metal, et al.). How large do you  want  to
     see HammerFall get?

O: As any band, I imagine, we  would  like  to  be  able  to  lead  a
   comfortable life, living off of what we are making on  the  music.
   But that requires a major hit and a large number of records  sold,
   and it is not realistic to expect that. But, as  you  said,  heavy
   metal has a better chance of getting  through  to  the  mainstream
   audience than, for example, black or death.  I  really  feel  that
   heavy metal is  once  again  becoming  popular  with  the  average
   listener. HammerFall might be right on time to ride  the  wave  of
   success, who knows? Anyway, we would like to see this go as far as
   it can. You know, shoot for the stars and land on the moon!

CoC: What was the deal with the crowd noise in "Stone Cold"? Not that
     I minded it, but why did you put that in there?

O: We thought it would be a cool idea to insert that  somewhere.  The
   part of the song is designed for a live audience,  as  it  expects
   them to sing along, so we just went ahead and did  it.  I  figured
   that if Ronnie James Dio could have crowd noise on  a  whole  song
   ("King of Rock 'n'  Roll"  on  _Sacred  Heart_),  we  wouldn't  be
   lynched for half a minute. Besides, I have  always  wanted  to  do
   that!

CoC: Alright Oscar, that is all  my  questions  for  now...  end  the
     interview as you wish!

O: Thank you for the interview, Drew, it truly was a  pleasure!  This
   was our first interview, and I hope it will be  followed  by  many
   more! Watch out for the imminent and unavoidable return  of  heavy
   metal to national prominence! THE HAMMER WILL FALL ON YOU!!!

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

        P R O G R E S S I N G   I N T O   T H E   F U T U R E
        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                   CoC chats with France's Kalisia
                          by: Drew Schinzel

Kalisia is a band that you can probably expect to  hear  a  lot  more
about in the near future. Extremely melodic,  very  progressive,  yet
still with a definite death metal edge to their  sound,  this  French
outfit, after recording a four-song demo tape in  1995,  were  almost
immediately signed to native label Adipocere for release of the  demo
on CD as part of Adipocere's Demo Series. Although it took  nearly  a
year to come to fruition, the MCD was finally released last November,
and is quite a piece of work. When one thinks about the high  quality
of this release in comparison to most others out there, and the  fact
that it is, in essence, only a demo, the future could not be brighter
for Kalisia.

CoC: There has been quite a delay since the recording of _Skies_  and
     the present time. What have you  occupied  yourself  with  since
     then? Maybe writing some new material?

Brett: Well, that's right, _Skies_ was recorded in September 1995. We
       are all students, so this  takes  us  quite  a  lot  of  time.
       Concerning the musical activity, we  have  done  several  gigs
       (we've played with My Dying Bride, Eldritch,  Samael,  Sadist,
       Misanthrope, The Blood Divine),  prepared  the  re-release  of
       _Skies_ on CD, and of course worked on new material, on  which
       we are still at work!

CoC: How was the writing process for _Skies_?

B: It's hard to explain our method of composition  since  we  haven't
   defined it  yet.  In  fact,  our  method  of  composition  changes
   according to the ideas  that  come  to  us.  Each  idea  can't  be
   developed in the same way. That's why each song  has  a  different
   structure. When we start to compose  a  song,  we  are  unable  to
   foretell how the result will sound. It looks like a jigsaw puzzle.
   We stick the pieces that can be put  together,  and  when  several
   parts are developed enough, we link all of them  while  trying  to
   get  something  coherent.  That  is  how  we  composed  "Tower  of
   Vanities" and "Chimera". The composition of  "The  Mental  Frames"
   and "Lost Soul" was a little more logical; that is to say starting
   by the introduction and finishing by the  end.  Each  member  took
   part in the construction of the pieces even if the main ideas came
   from Loic, Laurent P., and Brett. In the band, everybody composes,
   and [composes] for everybody. That is  to  say,  a  guitarist  can
   create a drum part, the keyboard can create a bass  line,  and  so
   on. We don't only create our own part, but also the  ones  of  the
   others. All our parts are the result of the work of five  distinct
   individuals, and not  only  of  one.  But  there's  nothing  of  a
   dictatorship in this, each musician should compose for  the  band,
   at the service of the music, not for him.

CoC: Were you satisfied with Adipocere's handling of its release?

B: Well, not really. We have very good contact with  them,  they  are
   really nice and we are good friends, but there were some  problems
   very annoying in their work. First, they are very  slow!  It  took
   them one year to re-release _Skies_ after asking us  to.  You  can
   ask them something, you won't have it before three months, if  you
   have it! I think that they are  overwhelmed  by  work,  they  have
   organization problems. For the cover, they were such  in  a  hurry
   that they pressed all the copies without checking  if  the  result
   was good. I spent about a hundred hours working on the cover,  and
   all my work has been fucked up because of that! The result is  too
   dark, you can't see anything! We were really angry!

CoC: Have you been approached  by  any  other  labels  to  release  a
     full-length album? Will you be staying with Adipocere?

B: For the moment, we don't worry about that. We want to  concentrate
   on the composition, and we will think about  that  only  when  our
   album will be finished. But we are confident.

CoC: What is the meaning of the band's name?

B: Nothing, it is just the name of the band.  It  has  no  particular
   meaning as we created this word. We were searching for a name  for
   the band that wasn't already used,  that  sounded  good,  not  too
   ridiculous (name of a disease or of a demon), and that  could  fit
   with our music. We then created this word, Kalisia, which  pleased
   us immediately, so we kept it. It's strange: why should we  always
   use already existing words to refer to new things?

CoC: Kalisia definitely aren't very "destructive" or nihilistic death
     metal, as in fact the lyrics are fairly spiritual. Where do  you
     see your place within the scene?

B: I don't know. The more important thing is where the audience  sees
   us. We consider us more a progressive band than a death metal one,
   even if we certainly sound more like a  death  band  than  like  a
   progressive one.

CoC: It seems Kalisia has risen fairly quickly in the scene  (not  to
     say you are "big" in any sense of the word), seeing as you  only
     recorded one  demo  and  were  immediately  signed  to  have  it
     released on CD by Adipocere. Were you rather  shocked  at  these
     occurrences?

B: To be honest, not really. We were aware that  for  a  first  demo,
   _Skies_ was a good product. I don't think that a lot of bands work
   on their first demo as we did. We really worked hard on our songs,
   and we are happy to see that people appreciate it.

CoC: Will you continue to write new material in the same style as the
     _Skies_ MCD?

B: We will continue to evolve and  to  progress.  There  is  a  great
   difference between "Chimera", the  first  song  we  composed,  and
   "Tower of Vanities", the last one  on  the  demo.  We  write  more
   mature and more progressive music now. For some  people,  it  will
   appear to be the same style, but for us,  it's  really  different.
   There are many passages on the demo that we  wouldn't  include  in
   our songs nowadays. We are more  fastidious,  more  perfectionist,
   more difficult to please.

CoC: Obviously, at this point, Kalisia doesn't earn enough  money  to
     provide for its members. What do you guys do for living?

B: No, Kalisia doesn't earn enough money to provide for  us,  and  in
   fact, Kalisia doesn't earn money at all! We are all students,  and
   almost all live with our parents, or at least with their money!

CoC: What kind of reaction have you  received  to  _Skies_  from  the
     public?

B: It's very good. We have incredibly good reviews in magazines,  and
   the public also seems to love us a lot. We have been elected  10th
   best French band in two great French music magazines,  with  bands
   like Trust and Loudblast. In fact, we  thought  our  music  to  be
   quite anti-commercial: too violent for the  progressive  audience,
   and too progressive for the death metal  audience.  But  in  fact,
   everyone seem to like our music, seeing in it anything  they  want
   to.

CoC:  Certainly,  there  are  some  French  death  metal  bands,  but
     definitely not as many as other European  countries.  How  would
     you explain this fact?

B: There are a lot of French bands, but very few of them  are  known.
   Many of them are very good, but I think that the foreign  audience
   has a bad opinion about the French scene  without  knowing  it.  I
   don't really know why. I hope that things will change.

CoC: How big a part of your life is Kalisia right now?

B: In our heart, I can tell that it  represents  about  95%.  In  our
   time,  it's  very  hard  to  tell,  knowing  that  we  have  other
   activities, but none of them as important as Kalisia.

CoC: This may seem an odd question, but no one ever seems to ask  it,
     even though I think a lot of people are  curious.  How  do  your
     parents and relatives feel about your music?

B: Well, it's really an original question! What they think about  our
   music? Usually, they like it, but they don't understand why I sing
   like that! Ha, ha! They are quite surprised. They don't know  this
   style of music. They are also surprised to hear some melodies in a
   music they thought to be noisefull.

CoC: What are some of your major influences, musically?

B: We are influenced by a lot of bands, from different horizons.  Our
   major influences are Dream Theater (#1) and Cynic. But we  are  as
   well influenced by death metal bands (Carcass, Death,  Loudblast),
   progressive bands (Magellan, Ivanhoe,  Yes,  Rush,  Angra,  Vanden
   Plas, Eldritch, Symphony X, Toto), black metal  bands  (Cradle  of
   Filth,  Emperor)  and  others  (Paradise  Lost,  Edge  of  Sanity,
   Coroner, Watchtower, Atheist, Amorphis, Dark  Tranquility).  Every
   band we listen to inspires us in the sense that if  we  like  what
   they do, we try to understand why, and if we don't, we try not  to
   make the same mistakes.

CoC: When can a new Kalisia release be expected?

B: Not before one or two years! We are working on  a  concept  album,
   composed of a sole and unique song subdivided in many parts.  It's
   a very hard and very long work. We are very enthusiastic about it.
   But for the moment, we are far from having finished it. It's  very
   hard! So if you have ideas, help us!

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

                T H E   L A S T   T E M P T A T I O N
                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                   CoC interviews Within Temptation
                          by: Adrian Bromley

     Passionate and powerful sextet Within Temptation  are  a  fairly
new  band  (formed  in  June  of  1996)  but   play   like   seasoned
professionals. Their debut disc, _Enter_ (for  DSFA  Records),  is  a
stunning collaboration of beauty and creativity, delivered powerfully
though epic-like song structures. In all, much like Orphanage or  The
Gathering, the music soothes  and  captivates  us,  taking  us  to  a
different state of mind upon each listen.
     Comprised of Robert Westerholt (guitars and growls), Sharon  den
Adel (vocals),  Martijn  Westerholt  (synthesizers),  Ivar  De  Graaf
(drums), Jeroen van Veen (bass), and guitarist Michiel Papenhove, the
band is turning heads overseas with their music as well as playing at
the annual Dynamo Festival in Holland  this  year  (which  will  have
happened by the time this story is published).
     By e-mail, guitarist Michiel  Papenhove  answers  the  questions
that Chronicles of Chaos asked about his extraordinary  and  talented
band.
 
CoC: Explain to me the songs and ideas that went into the  making  of
     _Enter_? Were all the ideas the band had for the record captured
     in the recording?

Michiel Papenhove: With this record, we tried to create  an  ambience
                   to which people can flee. All songs  are  in  some
                   way related to the  theme  'escaping  to  a  dream
                   world.' But on the album, some songs try to  point
                   out  that  fantasy  isn't  everything   and   that
                   'ordinary' life can be great, too.  So  you  could
                   call _Enter_ an album that can take  you  away  on
                   some sort of a musical  journey.  Before  we  went
                   into the studio there were eight  finished  songs.
                   All of these songs were put on the album, so there
                   were no others left. 

CoC: Why do you think the beautiful harmonies and death  growls  work
     for the band? Why was this style/sound chosen  by  the  band  to
     pursue?

MP: We try to create a contrasting feel with our  music.  That's  why
    Sharon sings like an angel and Robert grunts like  some  creature
    from Hell. And that's why we  have  very  clear  and  distinctive
    keyboard parts and D-tuned guitars as opposite. I think we  found
    a rather good way of expressing both sides, because it works  for
    our songs. When Within Temptation was founded, almost all  of  us
    had been playing in  similar  bands  (The  Circle,  Voyage),  and
    Robert (who started everything) already had a mental  picture  of
    what the music should sound like.  So  it  wasn't  very  hard  to
    decide what kind of music we were going to make. 

CoC: Is songwriting difficult for the band? How do you prepare for it?

MP: For this album, it hasn't been very difficult.  Robert  had  been
    writing songs for a couple of  years  already,  so  when  we  got
    together we took pieces of ideas and tried to create  new  songs.
    In about six months, we wrote eight songs, so you can't say  that
    it has been very difficult.  And  we  don't  really  prepare  for
    writing songs, we just try some ideas and see what works best.

CoC: Influences? What bands inspired you  to  play  music?  What  new
     bands do you like?

MP: Our influences and bands we like Clannad, Enya, Dead  Can  Dance,
    Paradise Lost, Iron Maiden, Marillion, Fields  of  the  Nephilim,
    Enigma, Satanic Surfers, Bad  Religion,  Hole,  Tori  Amos,  Kate
    Bush, Orphanage, Elegy, Cynic, and Tom Waits. Pretty  diverse  as
    you see. The last time we've been pretty busy, so we  hadn't  any
    time to listen to new bands, except the ones on MTV or so,  so  I
    can't give you any names now. But I'm sure there  are  a  lot  of
    them out there.

CoC: How would you describe your music? And the album _Enter_? 

MP: Well, most of the time people refer to it  as  atmospheric  metal
    with doomy influences, and why shouldn't I agree with that?  It's
    so hard to label your music, so I usually don't try to do so. But
    when people read about you they want to know what kind  of  music
    they're reading about, so labels are very necessary. Better would
    be if people hear our music and make up their own mind on how  to
    label it. And about the album, I  think  it  has  become  a  nice
    'listener's album'. You can't really party on our music,  so  you
    could call it a relaxing album.

CoC: What is your take on the music industry having only been  in  it
     as a band for such a short time? Any things that enrage  you  or
     piss you off?

MP: There are very nice things and there are very rotten things.  But
    isn't that what life's about? The music industry is just  another
    business, in which a lot of people only want  to  make  money  as
    soon as possible. Of course those things piss me off really  bad,
    but what can you do about it? But there are really nice things of
    course. For example, DSFA has  gotten  us  a  lot  of  things  we
    thought we'd never have. A great album, an appearance on  Dynamo,
    and lots and lots more. That's a  great  thing  about  the  music
    industry. 

CoC: Tell me about the upcoming Dynamo show. Is  the  band  different
     live than on record?

MP: We try to get the some atmosphere live  as  on  the  record.  But
    since we only played  about  five  gigs  (yeah,  Dynamo's  coming
    up...), I can't really tell you if  we're  very  different  live,
    because I just haven't had the time to listen  to  it  yet.  Been
    more busy concentrating on everything going right.

CoC: Where does the name  Within  Temptation  come  from?  Any  story
     behind the band name?

MP: Not a real story. We just sat around thinking about a  name  (the
    usual, as happens  with  almost  all  bands)  and  after  awhile,
    someone came up with Within Temptation. We decided it fitted  our
    music and kept it. That's about it.

CoC: How long do you want to do this 'music lifestyle' for?

MP: For as long as it's here. We are very down to earth people, so we
    realize that this isn't gonna take forever. We just  wanna  enjoy
    ourselves as long as it's possible. Music is still something that
    doesn't make you rich, so we'd have to  keep  looking  for  other
    things than just music. That's why four of us also study. But  in
    my humble opinion, it doesn't have to stop very soon. <laughs>

CoC: Explain to me the European metal music market? How do you  think
     it is different from the metal market over here in North America?

MP: Well, one thing is very evident: in Europe, we pay more attention
    to bands from Europe than people from the US would  normally  pay
    attention to bands from Europe. But I  don't  think  the  markets
    differ very much from each other. We are all people who like some
    kind of music, and that's why  we  support  certain  bands.  Same
    everywhere. Personally, I think there are a  lot  of  good  bands
    coming from Canada (not only the heavy ones).

CoC: Future plans for Within Temptation? How  do  you  see  the  band
     changing in the next few months or year or so? New  ideas  being
     brought to the music, etc...

MP: We're just letting everything happen to us. We would like to do a
    tour someday, but that's about it. Time will tell.

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

          T H E   M O R E   T H I N G S   C H A N G E . . .
          ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                    CoC chats with Phlebotomized
                          by: Drew Schinzel

It's been more than two years, but Dutch  sextet  Phlebotomized  have
finally returned with their follow-up to the fairly successful  debut
full-length, _Immense, Intense, Suspense_. The  material  present  on
_Skycontact_ ranges from the powerfully emotional, yet  still  heavy,
"Never Lose Hope", to spacier, experimental tracks like "Achin'", but
throughout the entire effort the  feeling  of  continuity  is  always
unmistakably audible. Quite a change from the musically  intense  but
ideologically distant _IIS_, _Skycontact_ takes the  band  in  a  new
direction, ever upward into a hallowed, but scarcely populated region
known as Originality and Emotion. I spoke to vocalist Dennis Geestman
about _Skycontact_, and other things.

CoC: I guess you must be pretty pleased with _Skycontact_, eh?

Dennis Geestman: Yeah, we're very pleased with the album. I  read  in
                 your  review  that  you  are,  too.  We,  ourselves,
                 believe the songs are much better and more  diverse.
                 Also, the album's production is better. We mixed  it
                 ourselves this time.  It's  like  you  said  in  the
                 review, we took absolute  freedom  in  writing  this
                 album. It is us who make the choices for our  music.
                 There are no persons or  standards  that  limit  our
                 freedom towards that. And  when,  in  the  end,  the
                 result sounds the way you  wanted  it  to  be,  it's
                 logical to be pleased with it, yeah!

CoC: What brought about such  a  huge  change  in  your  sound?  Your
     previous album _Immense, Intense, Suspense_ was, in my  opinion,
     excellent atmospheric death/doom, and some  people  might  think
     you've "wimped out". Care to explain?

DG: We want to bring a diverse sort of music.  _Immense...._,  as  you
    say, brought death/doom. This time we wanted to go  beyond  those
    borders.  That's  why  the  album  is  called  _Skycontact_;   it
    expresses that limitless feeling. Looking  beyond  those  borders
    was completely natural to us, because we already seemed  to  have
    developed more interest in other  music  than  only  death  metal
    about 4 years ago. Wimped out? Sure, some  grind  fanatics  might
    think that we sound too soft, but we're actually taking a lot  of
    risks with this new album. The way I see it, bands who bring  the
    same music every damn album are the ones that wimp out. They play
    it safe, they don't take any artistic risks.

CoC: Do you think you'll get a backlash from your fans and the  media
     for such an alteration?

DG: Well, it takes some (not much) open-mindedness  to  like  and  to
    understand _Skycontact_. It's very  important  to  listen  to  it
    without  distraction.  Only  few  people  will  like  this  album
    instantly. Most won't like it right away, because it  takes  some
    time to let the album grow into your mind. So, the  reactions  of
    fans and media will depend on how often they bothered  to  listen
    to it.  There  are  actually  some  people  who  turned  down  an
    interview, because they didn't like the  album.  Yet,  two  weeks
    later, they phoned again to do the interview,  because  suddenly,
    _Skycontact_ had grown to be one of the best albums  they'd  ever
    heard. So, to the ones that are  shocked  by  _Skycontact_  in  a
    negative way, I would suggest you'd either listen or smoke  more.
    Best results are obtained with headphones.

CoC: If, with _Skycontact_, you're putting your  emotions  to  music,
     playing whatever you feel like, what were you  doing  with  your
     previous work?

DG: Basically the same, because we have always played what we  liked.
    But, the last two years  brought  a  certain  emotional  devotion
    towards our music. We have all dealt with some pretty hard  stuff
    and I guess that those emotions  found  a  way  out  through  our
    music. Our previous work dealt mostly with fictional stuff.  This
    time it's real, it's personal.

CoC: The final song on _Immense..._ seems to be more in the style  of
     your latest material: clean vocals, more emotional feeling, etc.
     Did you feel when writing this song that it would  be  your  new
     direction?

DG: No, "Gone" happened spontaneously.  Certainly,  it  does  contain
    clean vocals and more emotion, but one cannot possibly base a new
    direction on only one riff. It might sound closer to _Skycontact_
    because it was the final  song  we  wrote  for  _Immense..._.  It
    didn't set the controls for the music on _Skycontact_, but  maybe
    the song helped  us  understand  that  open-mindedness  could  be
    accepted, because a lot of metalheads (generally known for  their
    conservatism) liked "Gone".

CoC: _Skycontact_  still  contains  some  of  the  heavier,  guttural
     sections, but they are rather sparse. Did you only include  them
     so as to not -completely- abandon your roots?

DG: Look, it's really not that we don't  want  to  play  death  metal
    anymore. We just don't feel like playing merely death  metal.  We
    want to bring more than that. It would be entirely too  silly  to
    abandon our roots, because that would be  narrow-mindedness  from
    our side, wouldn't it? It would be fantastic if death metal  fans
    could  open  their  eyes   towards   other   music   because   of
    _Skycontact_. But it would be as  fantastic  if  non-death  metal
    fans would start liking death metal because of our album.

CoC: Why on Earth did you name song number 3 "I Lost  My  Cookies  in
     the Disco"?

DG: Oh, yeah. I'm sorry. There's a mix-up in the track listing on the
    promo CDs. Song 3 is called "Sometimes" (an instrumental) and  "I
    Lost My Cookies in the Disco" is actually song 4. It's a metaphor
    to say 'throwing up because  of  today's  society',  which  is  a
    disco, really. We came up with the title, realized that it  would
    sound really silly, and so we  decided  to  keep  it.  The  title
    therefore is a joke on the difficult song titles from  a  lot  of
    death metal bands, including ourselves,  in  the  past.  So,  the
    joke's on us, too, but that's typically Dutch, I believe.

CoC: After a release such as  _Skycontact_,  what  can  be  next  for
     Phlebotomized?

DG: I don't know, we don't know, nobody knows. We're not planning  on
    playing a certain  musical  style.  We  never  did.  We  like  to
    surprise you, but also ourselves. We'll see whatever  we'll  come
    up with. We do plan on writing some shorter songs in the  future,
    that's a fact.

CoC: What occupies the time of  the  band  members  while  not  doing
     things for Phlebotomized?

DG: Nothing, really. Phlebotomized occupies all my time. Sure,  I  go
    to high school, but when I'm there, I'm  still  doing  interviews
    and all. I got a  girlfriend,  but  when  I'm  there,  I'm  still
    thinking about the band. Phlebotomized really got into  my  head,
    and it is our mission to get that name into yours, too, and  keep
    it there.

CoC:  Do  the  members  still   maintain   their   feelings   towards
      Christianity?

DG: Well, yes and no. We still think the same about the hypocrisy  of
    religion, but those frustrations have already been  expressed  on
    our previous work. Mushroom trips showed me that there has to  be
    a higher being, a certain cosmic power. It's really too 'earthly'
    to think of that higher being in terms of a God  or  a  Satan  or
    anything else human-like. We're part of  the  universe,  not  the
    center. If it would exist, it would be something far  beyond  our
    imagination. As long as this force doesn't reveal itself to me, I
    won't devote my life to it. I will stay fascinated, though.

CoC: What do you think of the Dutch metal scene right now?

DG: There are some other open-minded acts, like Celestial Season  and
    The Gathering. Yet, most bands try  to  fit  the  trend,  playing
    Korn/Machine Head-like music. I'm really worried about the future
    of metal. Songs have to be short and  catchy.  Some  bands  don't
    even include guitar solos anymore. The older Metallica  and  Iron
    Maiden albums, that's my metal. It was a lot more  creative  than
    most metal from the 90s.

CoC: Care to explain the cover artwork?

DG: It is done by a local artist, called Gabriel Gressi. We told  him
    the backgrounds of _Skycontact_, and this  is  what  he  came  up
    with. There are a lot of symbolic things in the cover.  Have  you
    already noticed the cat? It's hidden somewhere. Which reminds me,
    there is also a hidden track on the  CD.  Push  'Play'  and  then
    rewind to -7:18. You're in for a surprise!  You'll  find  a  song
    called "Dizz-tanze", at least an instrumental version of it.  The
    lyrics were too personal and therefore could not be spoken out in
    the studio. We're able to bring it  off  well,  now,  so  perhaps
    we'll release it some time later. It just had to be on the album,
    because its feel was a great influence for the other _Skycontact_
    songs. So, we chose to hide it in this way.

CoC: How did the band members collaborate on  such  an  eclectic  and
     diverse work? Was the process comparatively difficult for you?

DG: Well, our songs are never finished. At a certain moment in  time,
    you  have  to  record  a  song,  but  it  will  develop   further
    afterwards. I don't really know if it was more difficult to write
    the new songs. I suppose they were, but on the other hand,  there
    was much more fun in writing  them.  The  older  songs  were  all
    written by Tom and Lawrence, but now Ben  and  I  had  much  more
    influence on arrangements, too. We  all  could  bring  more  from
    ourselves this time, which is why the album is more personal than
    all previous releases.

CoC: How do you feel about all the copycating and cloning going on in
     the death and black metal scenes today?  Was  this  one  of  the
     reasons you chose to go against all of the trends?

DG: Yeah, the cloning of  today  is  very  sad,  but  it's  not  just
    happening in these scenes, there's a low rate of  open-mindedness
    in every scene nowadays. Think of all those 70s and 80s hits that
    currently get fucked up by 'artists' with a  drum  computer,  but
    without soul. We would like to bring something  new.  That  takes
    some inspiration, some innovation. It might allow  us  to  become
    trend setters ourselves some day. That's what we're  aiming  for:
    respect for the fact that we dare to bring this. Let me put it in
    few words: music is art, but where's the art in cloning?

CoC: Alright, Dennis, that should do it. I appreciate the opportunity!

DG: Well, Drew, thanks very much for this interview. Good luck to you
    and the Chronicles of Chaos magazine. For the  people  out  there
    who are interested in Phlebotomized,  visit  our  own  home-page:
    http://www.et.tudelft.nl/~ben  (info,  merchandise   and   e-mail
    addresses on location). Of course we can  also  be  contacted  by
    snail mail:

Phlebotomized
PO Box 1230
3180 AE Rozenburg
The Netherlands

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

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

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


                H I T S   F R O M   T H E   B O N G ! 
                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
               CoC interviews Newfoundland's Bongwater
                          by: Adrian Bromley

     They may be from the small town  of  Bay  Roberts,  Newfoundland
(Canada), but indie band  Bongwater  has  got  a  ball-busting  sound
that'll spin your head faster than you can say, 'Turn It  Down!'  The
band's six-song debut demo tape _Pissed Off and... FUZZED OUT!!!_  is
ultra-heavy, with its  thick-riffed,  Kyuss/Fu  Manchu/Black  Sabbath
sludge sound that just pours from every seam. The demo blew my  mind,
regardless of the shabby recording of the material.  Every  time,  it
kicks my ass.
     The quartet  -  guitarist  Nedal  Ayad,  vocalist  Fred  French,
drummer Michael Badcock and bassist Brad Spencer - have  worked  hard
over the last little while trying to  get  exposure  out  in  Eastern
Canada. Things are starting to  happen  as  people  are  starting  to
notice and get hooked on the fuzzy and deafening sounds of the band.
     By e-mail, guitarist Ayad took time  from  school  and  work  to
inform us about what makes Bongwater tick, and  his  love  for  heavy
music.

CoC: How would you describe your music? 

NA: I was hoping you wouldn't ask that. Lo-fi, sludgy, groove-rock or
    something.

CoC: Do you think it is hard for young Canadian bands to get noticed?
     What are you doing to get noticed?

NA: Oh yeah. The only airplay new bands get around  here  is  on  the
    University radio station (CHMR FM).  They're  really  good  about
    playing new bands, especially if they're Canadian. The commercial
    stations do their best to ignore anyone that doesn't have a deal.
    I can probably count the number of times on one  hand  that  I've
    heard an indie band on the 'main' FM stations.  The  CBC  doesn't
    seem to be too bad. I don't know 'cause I hardly ever  listen  to
    it. Actually, now that I think about it the  heavier  bands  have
    the most trouble. I guess that goes  without  saying,  though.  I
    mean, look at Much Music (Canada's answer to MTV), they have  the
    'indie  video  spotlight',  but  all  they  play   are   horrible
    'alternative' bands and these loser  solo  artists.  The  closest
    thing I've to a heavy band I've ever seen on it was about a  year
    and a half ago when they played Tone a couple of times.  I  think
    that they might have played a Kittens video too. Or look  at  the
    time slot that "Loud" (show for heavy rock/metal band videos)  is
    on. One o'clock in the fucking morning here with a repeat at five
    or something. Even then they  don't  play  much  Canadian  stuff.
    Actually, we didn't do that much to get noticed. I passed  out  a
    few tapes around the radio station (CHMR). I DJ there when I'm in
    school and I know most of the DJs that play heavy music.  I  sold
    some at a local record store. We made some posters and stuff. The
    best thing that I did was send some out to 'zines. I've gotten  a
    lot of letters from people that read our review here or in  other
    'zines. The 'net is pretty good,  too.  There's  a  place  called
    Demon's Disks that lets you advertise your demo for free.
   
CoC: How is the indie scene over there  on  the  East  Coast?  Is  it
     supportive?

NA: The scene here in Newfoundland is pretty good. There are a lot of
    good bands. The shows are usually pretty good,  too,  'cause  you
    get a good mix of music. At one show you can see  a  death  band,
    playing with a punk band, playing with a blues band, opening  for
    a straight ahead metal band. The  categorizations  aren't  really
    strict. There is a bit of elitism in the scene, the  'top'  bands
    for the most part  look  down  on  everyone  else.  There's  some
    bullshit. Although on an individual level most of the people  are
    great. Ren from Sheavy has been really supportive,  from  playing
    our tape to putting us in touch with 'zines and stuff. As far  as
    I know, After Forever, Sheavy, Oberon, and us make up the heavier
    side of the musical spectrum on this side of the island. 

CoC: Do you think in order for bands to be successful  nowadays  they
     have to be marketed a certain way?

NA: Marilyn Manson, I Mother Earth, Age of Electric, Pantera, Korn...
    do I have to go on? They're all image based.  Everything  now  is
    marketing. Everywhere you look there's somebody telling  you  how
    to look, what to watch, how to act, what you like.  Unfortunately
    most people are morons and they buy into that shit. Look  at  all
    these shitty techno bands  that  are  following  all  the  shitty
    alterna/punk bands, that followed all the shitty hair bands, that
    followed the shitty new wave bands, that  followed...  The  music
    industry seems to work like this... a good band  comes  out  with
    and original look and sound, right away  the  media  gives  it  a
    name: grunge, black metal, or whatever. Then the record companies
    fall all over themselves to sign any band  that  remotely  sounds
    like the first band, no matter how homogenized  and  shitty  they
    are. Witness Nirvana  replaced  with  Bush.  Look  at  all  those
    'arrrrghh' bands like Korn and the  Deftones.  Alice  In  Chains?
    Alternative Section? What a joke. They're about as metal  as  you
    can get. Just listen to them.

CoC: Where do you draw your song ideas or visions from? Does  it  get
     hard to create music?  Any  remedies  to  combat  stale  writing
     sessions?
 
NA: I get ideas from all over  the  place.  Books,  friends,  movies,
    music, a whole bunch of places. The music itself is  usually  the
    easy part. We get a riff and everything else sort of  falls  into
    place. The lyrics are the hard part for  me.  Fred  usually  just
    sings whatever's in his head when we're jamming to get a  melody.
    Then he goes home and writes some lyrics. Most  of  the  time,  I
    don't know what the Hell he's singing about. I  only  write  when
    I'm in a bad mood. "Heroin Girl" came out of something that I had
    written about women being like drugs. You feel empty  so  you  go
    out and try to get laid but it doesn't really help, you just want
    more affection or something. My lyrics were a  lot  darker.  Fred
    just took a line "Heroin Girl, come and fuck my  pain  away"  and
    changed it to "Heroin Girl come and take my pain away",  then  he
    rewrote the rest of the song around that. I think that it  really
    is about drugs now. "Anything" is a composite of two things I had
    written. The verses are from a thing I wrote when I was  sick  of
    everything. I didn't  feel  like  playing,  writing,  talking  to
    anyone, or doing anything. The chorus came from something I wrote
    about religious fundamentalists and their blind  faith.  The  two
    pieces fit together pretty well.  I  can't  really  say  anything
    about the other songs, the lyrics are Fred's and I'm not going to
    try and interpret them. The only other song that I can talk about
    is the instrumental piece. I wrote that while I  was  overdubbing
    some stuff on "Leave Me Alone", it's just a tribute to  a  friend
    of ours that died in a motorcycle accident several years ago.  It
    was totally jammed out in about 20 minutes.

CoC: What keeps you doing this - y'know, being a musician?  What  got
     you into this profession?

NA: I do it because I like it. I don't consider it  a  profession,  I
    don't  even  consider  myself   a   musician   (wow,   that   was
    pretentious). I'm just someone who likes to make noise and  annoy
    people. I don't really know what got me into it. It just kind  of
    happened. I played piano for a while when I was a kid and I hated
    every second of it. I had a guitar lying around the house  but  I
    didn't bother with it. One day when I was around 13 I  was  in  a
    music store with my mom. Out of nowhere she asked me if I  wanted
    to take guitar lessons. I said, 'Sure. Why  not?'  The  guy  that
    ended up teaching me is named Roger Howse. He's an amazing  blues
    player and he showed me that you could focus anything through the
    guitar. He's a great teacher and a really cool guy. He turned  me
    on to a lot of cool stuff. He showed me some blues  tunes  (which
    I've forgotten) and helped  me  stumble  my  way  through  "Sweet
    Leaf". That was it. 

CoC: Future plans the band? How do you see the band changing  in  the
     next few months or year or so? New ideas being  brought  to  the
     music, etc...

NA: We're kind of on hold for now.  Brad  and  Fred  are  in  Toronto
    working. I think they're also jamming with some  guys  up  there.
    I'm going to school here  for  the  summer.  Mike's  working  and
    getting ready to go to school. Right now, Bongwater is  something
    we do when everyone is around. Hopefully, we'll get a  chance  to
    record some more stuff near the end of the summer. I'm constantly
    writing stuff with Mike. We've got about five songs now that will
    probably end up as  Bongwater  songs.  The  stuff  is  constantly
    changing, I've been listening to Nick  Cave  and  The  Bad  Seeds
    lately.  That  might  creep  into  it,  although  probably   not.
    Basically,  the  way  it  works  is  that  I  keep  most  of  the
    groovy-sludge stuff for Bongwater, almost everything else I write
    goes to Groundwire (his other band) which  is  noisier  and  even
    more raw. Every time Brad, Fred,  Mike  and  I  get  together  it
    sounds different, but the basis is in that  down-tuned  mid-tempo
    vibe, although Brad and Fred are pushing for faster songs.  We'll
    see what happens. 

CoC: How do you think the Internet can help musicians? Do you use  it
     quite often or rely on the postal service and word of  mouth  to
     help out? (seeing that you heard about us - I assume -  via  the
     Internet?)

NA: Actually I saw your ad in Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles  (a  hard
    rock music magazine found at all HMV stores in  Canada).  Then  I
    was surfing around in the 'zine section of Mega's metal page  and
    saw the link. I checked it out and sent you guys a tape. I  think
    that the Internet is a great tool if you can get around  all  the
    bullshit floating around. E-mail is great, it saves a lot of time
    when you're trying to contact someone - like this  interview  for
    example. Some of the mailing lists are good.  Home  pages  are  a
    great way to help expose your band. The web is a great source  of
    information. Personally I use both the Internet and mail  to  get
    the word around. Locally, they're aren't a whole  lot  of  people
    online so you have to use mail, posters, the phone, and  word  of
    mouth to get people  to  check  out  your  band.  Nationally  and
    internationally, the 'net is an awesome means  of  communication.
    We're getting played on a station in Mexico, 'cause I answered  a
    post on a mailing list. So yeah, the 'net is pretty useful.

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

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!


Allegiance - _Blodornsoffer_  (No Fashion, 1997)
by: Drew Schinzel  (6 out of 10)

_Blodornsoffer_  is  Allegiance's  second  offering  on  No   Fashion
Records, and follows much the same path  as  its  predecessor,  _Hymn
Till  Hangagud_.  Specifically,  Viking   black/death   with   boring
songwriting and uninspiring execution. _Blodornsoffer_ is  perhaps  a
little more manic than _HTH_, and less melodic; in fact, at times its
sheer ferocity and brutality make  _HTH_  sound  like  In  Flames  or
something, at least _HTH_ showed some glimpses of creativity, whereas
_Blodornsoffer_ is an exercise in total  musical  mayhem,  oftentimes
coming off as a mish-mash of thrown together riffs.  Sometimes,  this
can be good, and actually there -are- a couple of  decent  tracks  on
the album, but these are the ones that break away from the "mayhemic"
mold and are for the most part  slower  and  more  thought  out.  The
buzzsaw guitars and loose production don't help matters. I  think  if
you tried to listen to this with the volume turned up loud, you'd  be
scraping your eardrums  off  the  walls.  The  bottom  line  is  that
Allegiance haven't changed in any dramatic fashion since their debut,
and since _Hymn Till Hangagud_ wasn't anything special, you know what
to expect with _Blodornsoffer_.


Arckanum - _Kostogher_  (Necropolis Records, 1997)
by: Steve Hoeltzel  (9 out of 10)

It seems quite fitting that I'm writing this shortly  after  watching
everything in sight get viciously pelted with  hailstones  almost  as
big as baseballs. (That is no exaggeration!) For like the unrelenting
hailstorm which I just witnessed, the music of one-man  forest  metal
batallion Shamaatae just bombards you with a  barrage  of  atmosphere
and aggression, fueled by nature's harsh, primal vibe. Like the debut
CD _Fran Marder_, this is straight-ahead, aggressive black metal with
an expansive guitar sound, catchy vocal  phrasings,  great  drumming,
and heavy forest atmospheres. Ambience is built up not  only  through
the tasteful use of nocturnal  wilderness  sound  effects,  but  also
through distortion-dripping guitar  tones  which  somehow  manage  to
sound loud, clear, and faraway all at once -  like  an  earth-shaking
roar, heard from over the horizon and through the  trees.  Turned  up
loud, Arckanum has a thick, enveloping sound which  benefits  from  a
good, live-sounding mix. Thankfully free  of  more  mainstream  metal
influences, this is unswerving aggressive black metal with underlying
catchiness and surprising power  and  weight.  There's  also  a  good
number of varied embellishments to the core sound. Shamaatae's  voice
is pushed to its limit,  and  perhaps  even  beyond  it,  in  places.
Chanting, uncaring female vocals are used sparingly  but  well  on  a
number of tracks, as is a violin. Or maybe it's a cello, or a  viola.
Hell, I don't know. (I also don't know what the laughable  screeching
which opens the first instrumental track  is  doing  there.)  Anyway,
even with the occasional weak spot, _Kostogher_ really succeeds  when
regarded as it was clearly meant to be regarded: as  an  album-length
synthesis of creativity and true blackened harshness.


Aura Noir - _Black Thrash Attack_  (Malicious Records, 1997)
by: Steve Hoeltzel  (7 out of 10)

Ah, yes... another cigs, suds 'n' Satan  eighties  metal  fest.  This
two-man band's debut MCD, _Dreams Like Deserts_, was greatly  enjoyed
around here, thanks to its faithful  yet  updated  take  on  the  old
school. MCD tracks like "Forlorn Blessings to the Dreamking" and  the
excellent "Mirage" add to a solid old school basis with really catchy
vocal phrasings, sharper riffs, and quicker tempos - like Deathwitch,
but lots better (I rate _DLD_ an 8 out of 10).  On  this  full-length
CD, by contrast,  formula  tends  to  triumph  over  creativity.  Its
"Destructor" this, "Conqueror" that, and  "Blasphemer"  the  other  -
minus the nineties edge of the MCD material, and minus  the  superior
sonic dynamics of eighties greats like Kreator and Sodom. Of  course,
Aura Noir do a great job of sounding like Kreator  and  Sodom  whilst
blatantly copying Kreator and Sodom riffs, as they do on a couple  of
tracks. They copy some Slayer riffs,  too,  and  the  album  contains
other recognizable knock-offs whose band of origin I haven't bothered
to figure out. Still, these guys occasionally get the crusty old vibe
just right. And when they do, they sound pretty  damn  cool  to  this
living relic, especially on "Wretched Face of Evil"  and  "The  Pest"
("You shall stand petrified by the  fierce  pest,"  we  are  warned).
Great, bottom-heavy production helps, and there are some cool  riffs,
here too - alongside a  few  pretty  limp  ones,  it  must  be  said.
Nevertheless, as eighties retreads go, Aura Noir are easily the  best
of the bunch. _Black Thrash Attack_  is  not  bad,  but  their  first
release showed that they can do better. 


Brutality - _In Mourning_  (Nuclear Blast, 1997)
by: Gregory Nalbandian  (6 out of 10)

Consistency is a quality  possessed  by  few  death  metal  bands  in
today's scene (with the exception of those that  consistently  suck).
It seems like bands start out strong,  then  around  their  third  or
fourth album, the music begins to fade as it  slowly  atrophies  into
weaker forms of music that  just  can't  please  the  fans  of  early
releases. Bands like Obituary, Death, and Sepultura put out  some  of
the best early death around, yet only succeeded in  disappointing  us
with their last few albums. Unfortunately, Brutality can now be added
to the growing black list of those that once had 'it'.  Much  of  the
cleverness appears to have vanished  from  their  signature  harmonic
style  that  once  surprised  listeners  but  now   lulls   them   to
disinterest. _In Mourning_ is forty-seven minutes of heavy death that
feels underdeveloped and sometimes even stale, with riffs that repeat
five or six times when the songs naturally need a change. Even though
many of those riffs are creative and catchy,  the  intensity  of  the
songs is often lost in  repetition  and  bland  song  structure  that
creates an anti-climax. The vocals don't really  help  the  situation
either as the singer barks out lyrics so cliche, they  couldn't  even
bring a tear to Tammy Faye's eyes. What's noteworthy are  the  number
and length of the guitar solos found throughout this recording. There
are often three to four per song, some  of  which  are  performed  by
'special guest', Jerry Outlaw, who I feel is a tad  better  than  the
band's own guitarists. It's a bit of a disappointment since  he  only
plays in two out of the nine tracks.  However,  despite  all  of  its
faults, _In Mourning_ is an album worth  considering  if  you  are  a
faithful fan of death metal.


Dark Reality - _Oh Precious Haze Pervade the Pain_ (WitchHunt, 1997)
by: Brian Meloon  (6 out of 10)

The description '11 delightful songs and pieces for singers, guitars,
bass and drum machine, partly with historical woodwinds'  appears  on
my copy of this disc, and perhaps sums it up best. Billed as 'baroque
gothic art metal', this is a lot less metal  than  I  was  expecting.
Actually, it isn't at all what I was expecting. It sounds alternately
like folkish metal, (light) death metal, Simon  and  Garfunkel,  rock
remakes  of  baroque  pieces  (with   up-tempo   drum   beats),   and
German/Scottish/Dutch  drinking  songs  (somewhat  like   Moonspell's
"Trebraruna"). There really isn't that much metal here, as a  lot  of
it is acoustic guitars and flutes (all woodwinds sound like flutes to
me). Most of the metal sections aren't very heavy, usually about  the
heaviness of Skyclad, who are about the  only  band  to  whom  I  can
compare these guys. The production adds to  this  feeling,  as  while
it's not bad, the guitar sound is thin and  sounds  faded  in  parts.
With a stronger, sharper guitar tone, this could sound  powerful  and
the contrast would be more effective. The playing can't  be  faulted,
but there really isn't anything too difficult on here. I  guess  I'll
give these guys credit for being original, since  I  can't  say  I've
ever heard anything quite like it, but a lot of parts  either  simply
don't work  or  are  goofy,  and  even  those  that  do  aren't  that
impressive. Notwithstanding these problems, this has grown on me, and
I'm enjoying it more than I did upon first listen.


Dead by Dawn - _After I Eat Your Brains_  (Independent, April 1997)
by: Adrian Bromley  (1 out of 10)

Oh my GOD! Could we not be  more  of  a  blatant  rip-off  of  'shock
rocker' Marilyn Manson, but with more of a 'cock-rock' hard rock edge
to it? Toronto four-piece Dead by Dawn are on a trip to nowhere  with
their lame attempt to even strive to find  any  kind  of  originality
within their nasty/scary image  and  sound.  Lame,  lame,  lame.  The
gimmicks of being nasty and  rude  don't  really  do  much  to  their
credibility of being reckless rebels or whatever they are  trying  to
be. The music? Well... let's just say they are  in  a  class  all  of
their own. The lyrics? Next. Even the whole schtick  of  dressing  up
all sinister (as seen in the liner sleeve photos) looks staged. Is it
Halloween? I dunno man, but someone has to draw  the  line  here  and
tell this band to get a new sound and  style  before  they  get  more
reviews like this one. I would say 'sorry'  but  that  would  mean  I
didn't really mean what I said and that ain't the case here. 

Contact: Dead by Dawn, P.O. Box 90057, 1436 Queen St. West
         Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M6K 1M2


Filthboy - _Diverse Reality_  (None of the Above, May 1997)
by: Gino Filicetti  (9 out of 10)

After almost a year  since  their  last  demo  release,  Pittsburgh's
premier indie band release the first CD  of  their  career,  entitled
_Diverse Reality_.  Needless  to  say,  I'd  been  anticipating  this
digital release for a long time. I knew  that  once  these  boys  got
their hands on some REAL studio equipment, the result would  blow  me
away. Well, _Diverse Reality_ is just  that,  a  masterful  recording
that showcases this band's immense talent without the  annoying  hiss
of  a  demo  recording.  Many  things  have  changed  since  we  last
encountered Buzzy and Kevin. For one, they have  introduced  a  third
permanent member into their close-knit duo. One Scott Lewis, who  I'm
sure many  of  you  will  recognize  as  Brutal  Truth's  ex-drummer,
however, Scott has given up the skins taking up bass duties  instead.
Also, the band's sound has drastically changed as well. Now no longer
the hardcore/metal hybrid of days gone by, Filthboy have opted for  a
fresh new sound  which  is  beyond  classification.  After  some  bad
experiences with live drummers, the Filthboys have chosen  to  use  a
drum machine from now on, which is definitely to their  advantage  as
most of these tracks sound at home with a machine.  10  tracks  adorn
this CD, and range from some heavy riffing metallic  sounds,  to  the
mechanized sound of industrial metal, to some danceable techno beats,
and closing the CD is "Alone", a nice mellow acoustic  track  with  a
few surprises thrown in. The layout and artwork of this  CD  are  all
care of Scott Lewis, artist extraordinaire who's sick art has  graced
many an album, including Malformed Earthborn's _Defiance of the  Ugly
by the Merely Repulsive_. Samples are plentiful on _Diverse Reality_,
one of my favorites is contained in "Hold  Me",  and  goes  something
like this: 'I can lay you out and fill your mouth with your  mother's
feces.' All in all, I think this CD kicks arse, and is worth  looking
into.

Contact: Filthboy c/o None of the Above
         P.O. Box 654, Farmingville, NY, 11738, USA
         mailto:hate@telerama.lm.com
         http://www.lm.com/~hate


Flotsam and Jetsam - _High_  (Metal Blade, May 1997)
by: Adrian Bromley  (7 out of 10) 

While a lot of the material on _High_ seems  to  dwell  on  the  same
sound and style, it is the intensity and dedication that the band put
into the latest work that truly puts this record 'high' on my list of
recommendations. Simply put: it rocks! It has been a long time  since
we last saw something good from F&J (1992's cool _Cuatro_ LP) and  an
even longer  time  since  their  debut  LP  from  eleven  years  ago,
_Doomsday for the Deceiver_. But I guess, like wine, musicians do age
and they either get better or go sour with what they are doing.  This
time  around,  on  _High_,  the  band  has  refreshed  their   sound,
incorporating a lot of their older styles of  playing  and  some  new
ideas. The mixture works well.  Packed  with  powerful  riffs,  total
attitude and some great song writing, Flotsam and  Jetsam's  LP  just
reeks of 'metal'. Even the band wants us to  know  this,  as  the  CD
sleeve even says, 'IT'S METAL, SO FUCK OFF.' For  those  of  you  who
have a thirst for some real hard-hittin' and creative metal for 1997,
here's your pick. 


The Gathering - _Nighttime Birds_  (Century Media, 1997)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (9 out of 10)

After what seemed like a very long time since the superb _Mandylion_,
The Gathering are back, seemingly unchanged. _Nighttime Birds_, their
newest, shows vocalist Anneke  van  Giersbergen  in  top  shape,  but
unfortunately only for less than 50 minutes, which leaves you wanting
more after it's over. The album starts off extremely  well  with  "On
Most Surfaces", and, well, it proceeds extremely  well  all  the  way
till the end. My personal highlights for this album are on the  first
track I mentioned above and also "The Earth Is My  Witness"  and  the
last three songs. If  you  know  _Mandylion_,  _Nighttime  Birds_  is
essentially more of the same (cheers), with a  few  tweaks  here  and
there and soft parts showing up more often. If you have  never  heard
their previous album, well, you don't know what you've been  missing.
No, seriously, The Gathering are basically a melodic metal band based
upon a slight doomy edge,  featuring  the  brilliant  female  vox  of
Anneke and a very good instrumental side. I can't say much more about
this album, really, it's just the best album I've heard this year  so
far (OK, we're still in June, but  the  point  is  that  this  is  an
excellent album), and The Gathering have succeeded in making an album
that is at the same time similar  and  different  enough  from  their
previous effort, something that I think is very difficult to achieve.
If you like melodic female voices, buy it -now-.

[Reviewer's note]:
There's also an EP out for a while now called _The May  Song_,  which
features precisely "The May Song" twice (one being the  radio  edit),
an edited version of "The Earth Is My Witness", and a live  recording
of "Strange Machines" with an orchestra! In what concerns  this  live
recording, Anneke's voice is simply flawless live, you must  hear  it
to believe it, and it's a very clear recording,  too;  the  orchestra
does some nice stuff here and there, but most of the time,  it's  not
an improvement over the original.  If  you  already  have  _Nighttime
Birds_, then this is for fans only.


Hanzel Und Gretyl - _Transmissions from Uranus_ 
by: Adrian Bromley  (9 out of 10)  (Energy Records, May 1997)

I really like this band. Ever since I heard their  1995  debut  disc,
_Ausgeflippt_, on Energy Records, I was hooked. It was full of weird,
demented samples and sounds dispersed within loud noises,  industrial
riffs, and lyrics sung in German that caught my ear.  I  was  eagerly
awaiting to hear the follow-up to their debut, hoping that as well as
continuing to be weird and all that, their music  would  be  stronger
and more diverse. My prayers had been answered. The band's latest LP,
_Transmissions from Uranus_, is an amazing record. From  the  opening
transmission of "Black Forest Galaxy" onto the closing number of  "Om
Zentrale Station" the band lays it all out on the line. Incorporating
such music styles as industrial, noise, ambient,  techno,  and  metal
(the list could go on) _TfU_ kicks and screams  with  diverse  sounds
and ideas throughout, sectioned off by intricate  samples  and  sound
bites. In some sense, _TfU_ is like a bad B-movie sci-fi flick. There
are a lot of people out there who may not know of HUG,  and  that  is
unfortunate, but I am *highly* recommending this record to anyone who
is into diverse sounds and obscure song styles all  rolled  into  one
package. One of my fave records of 1997.


Hell on Earth - _Biomechanical Ejaculations of the Damned_
by: Adrian Bromley  (5 out of 10)  (Neptune Records, May 1997)

This is some serious, hateful shit here.  But  is  it  real  or  just
contrived as a gimmick? With songs like "I Hope You  Catch  A.I.D.S."
and ""Baptized In Semen", one has to wonder, but no  matter,  as  HoE
deliver some serious and violent carnage that spew  forth  from  this
16-song outing. It's a mixture of everything from death metal to hard
rock to industrial, with all of the material working itself around  a
violent vision or idea. I liked this record for the sheer fact of its
brutal onslaught and destructive nature, but after multiple  listens,
the record does get old fast, and  while  once  the  material  seemed
fresh and rabid,  the  music  ends  up  being  another  allotment  of
hate-filled ideas worked into  a  song  format.  For  all  you  sick,
hate-filled metalheads, you may  want  to  give  this  a  go.  Others
proceed with caution.


Impiety - _Asateerul Awaleen_  (Shivadarshana Records, 1996)
by: Steve Hoeltzel  (5 out of 10)

As Drew pointed out during a recent e-mail exchange, it seems like my
experience with the latest Gehennah album would've taught me  that  a
band's talent for humor doesn't  necessarily  translate  into  actual
musical prowess. But I guess I didn't learn my lesson from  _King  of
the Sidewalk_. So, when I recently read about the  hilarious  insults
which Impiety had heaped  on  the  Norwegian  black  metal  scene,  I
decided I'd really like to hear their music. But now that I  have,  I
can't come up with anything very nice to say about it.  It's  chaotic
black metal which is lacking in anything special, except perhaps  for
the outrageous song titles and the members'  outlandish  black  metal
get-ups. I'm particularly  fond  of  the  outfit  sported  by  Mister
Al-Markum Abyydos, who  performs  the  "Hellharp  of  Witchbitchery."
There appear to be more nails decorating  this  guy's  wardrobe  than
there are holding up my house. Sadly, though, the band's  performance
is far from Witch-bitch-errific. Boring  riffs  occupy  most  of  the
album's playing  time,  and  the  songs  generally  don't  have  much
development  or  atmosphere.  Powerless,  overly-high-pitched  vocals
don't help. I bet it would be pretty fun if lyrics were provided, but
they're not. It's too bad, too, because you've just got  to  want  to
like an album with song titles  like  "Divine  Humatahan  Frostfuck".
Maybe next time. I'm not writing these guys off yet.


Incapacitants - _Asset Without Liability_  (Bulb, 1997)
by: Andrew Lewandowski  (9 out of 10)

Recently, the Japanese noise scene has grown stagnant,  despite  once
deserving praise as the only scene producing music  relevant  to  our
nihilistic, self-destructive, post-modern society. In the dying mecca
of  noise,  most  Japanese  artists  have  failed  to   explore   the
possibilities of anti-music; only sonic  homogeneity  resounds.  Even
the exalted king of noise, Masami Akita of Merzbow, began  to  simply
rehash the  accepted  Merzbow  sound  on  each  of  his  many  recent
releases.  Although  never  drastically  diverging  from  the   noise
patterns of their earlier releases, the Incapacitants are one of  the
only noise artists to produce a continuous string of enticing albums.
_AWL_ continues this trend; once again,  the  patented  Incapacitants
layered wall of static and screeches resonates  throughout,  yet  the
wall has been cultivated a bit. Now, the Incapacitants have become  a
bit more explicitly violent; the high-pitched background screeches of
the past are supplemented  by  more  obese  and  schizophrenic  power
electronics. The result is akin to the consumption of  110,000  Tokyo
businessman by an unyielding earthquake (as opposed to  a  few  older
Incapacitants releases, in which death was achieved by  insinuation),
and produces one of the more confrontational, yet still  entertaining
throughout, noise albums of the past year.


Integrity - _Seasons in the Size of Days_  (Victory, June 1997)
by: Angel "Metalcore" Juarbe  (9 out of 10)

The latest opus from the reigning kings of  Cleveland  evilcore  sees
the band exploring deeper into lead vocalist Dwid's dark  apocalyptic
visions, along with  probing  his  fascination  of  man's  inhumanity
toward man. Over the  years,  Integrity's  sound  has  tightened  and
matured while leaving the hardcore cliches behind  and  becoming  the
full-on thrash band they've always hinted at. Sounding at many points
like Slayer, the record is loaded with fat  riffs,  harsh  death-like
vocals and great breakdowns. The band is talented and  Dwid's  lyrics
will have Christians begging for salvation. My only problem with this
record is that it's too short and is barely a  full-length,  although
there is a long and eerie surprise rounding it out. So  listen  close
and remember that true evil lives  in  Cleveland.  Screw  Norway  and
their elves, get this!


Kiss It Goodbye - _She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not_
by: Zena Tsarfin  (9 out of 10)  (Revelation, May 1997)

Imagine yourself inside the mind of a madman;  eavesdropping  on  his
inner  thoughts  and  self-examinations,  bearing  witness   to   his
precarious contemplations and angry bouts. Now imagine that voice had
a soundtrack filled with avant-jazz start/stop  spurts  of  rage  and
eeriness. Welcome to _She Loves Me, She  Loves  Me  Not_,  the  debut
album from Kiss It Goodbye. The transplanted Seattlites have  created
a cacophonous brew of hardcore, noise, and some  old-school  evil  in
the style of Deadguy, which isn't surprising since both KIG's  singer
and   guitarist   were   members   of   the   aforementioned    band.
Narrative-style, angry-white-male  lyrics  only  serve  to  give  the
intense rhapsodies a personal  touch,  and  for  every  contemplative
"Hartley"  and  "Ammunition"  there's  a  ferocious  "Helvetica"  and
"Manthing". While this haunting noisecore record isn't for  everyone,
for those voyeurs that can appreciate the dissonance of Neurosis  and
the Unsane, _She Loves Me..._ will be a head  trip  they  won't  soon
forget.


Left Hand Solution - _Fevered_  (Nuclear Blast, 1997)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (8 out of 10)

LHS have been around for some time  now,  but  this  is  their  first
full-length album - and a worthy one  too.  This  Swedish  band  lays
their music upon some dirge-like guitar playing, well backed  by  the
bass, with a very good drummer, Erik Barthold, who  also  happens  to
write most of the music. On top of  this,  there's  a  very  talented
female vocalist, Mariana Holmberg, who owns a  melodic,  varied,  and
mostly very sorrowful voice, and  is  responsible  for  most  of  the
melodies. Comparing LHS to The  Gathering  is  almost  impossible  to
avoid, but the two bands are actually quite different once you get to
know them: LHS are doomier, sadder, and slower, while  The  Gathering
rely more on the excellence of their melodies,  the  doom  influences
being somewhat softer. Which one is better? That will  depend  mostly
on the listener, as both bands are very good, even though I  consider
The Gathering as being a bit better. About _Fevered_, it's a must-buy
if you enjoy doomy, yet melodic, femme vox-based bands; however, this
is not a soft album at all, despite the female vocalist (or  possibly
-because- of the female vocalist, at times), as both  the  atmosphere
and the sound itself are somber and heavy all the time,  even  though
they use some softer parts. An album that shows lots  of  personality
and very high quality.


Masonna - _Hyper Chaotic_  (V. Records, 1997)
by: Andrew Lewandowski  (7 out of 10)

Granted, no one could praise Masonna for his  variety  or  ingenuity,
but this noise does contain one virtue: it hurts. Once played at  the
proper volumes (that is, louder than  possible),  each  of  these  19
orgasmic blasts of spastic noise bludgeon your  ear  canals,  distort
your neurons, and alleviate all thought besides  the  pain  resulting
from  Masonna's  sonic  ejaculations.  A  menagerie  of   frequencies
fluctuated from both the high- and  low-pitched  ends  of  the  sonic
spectrum smack into your skull at a  nauseating  pace,  but  move  so
quickly that nothing can be grasped,  and  the  entire  thirty-minute
barrage melts into  a  wave  of  distortion  and  screams.  Even  so,
something still can be said for the sheer ferocity  of  Masonna,  and
_Hyper Chaotic_ is an interesting listen for at least the  first  few
experiences until the novelty wears off.


Morgul - _Lost in Shadows Grey_  (Napalm Records, April 1997)
by: Steve Hoeltzel  (8.5 out of 10)

This five-track, 41-minute offering of Norse black metal may  not  be
notable for its originality, but it's  extremely  well-executed,  and
it's admirably free of the slick accessibility now  offered  by  many
once-fiercer Norse bands. Not that  this  sounds  as  animalistic  as
Ildjarn or something. No, it's more comparable  to  early  Satyricon,
but with less reliance on keyboards, more straight-ahead riffing, and
overall clearer production. Lengthy songs are  skillfully  broken  up
into sections, but not so many of them that the song  is  impeded  or
fragmented by excessive musical shifts. Instead,  all  of  the  songs
flow  nicely  through  a  variety  of  paces  and  moods,  with  some
especially well-done mellow interludes providing  contrast  with  the
emotive, articulate black  metal  sections.  (In  this,  they  really
remind me of Limbonic Art - but Morgul's overall sound is  much  more
organic and guitar-heavy.) The haunting opening and  interlude  found
in "Hunger of the Immortals" are especially cool. Listen closely  for
the baying of wolves amidst softly interwoven  acoustic  guitars  and
(synthesized) violin... and prepare to be smacked by an explosion  of
face-removing riffing and drum blasts. The opening to  the  excellent
"River of Princes" stands out in  a  similar  way.  (This  song  also
features a very well-recorded bit of acoustic soloing backed by black
metal rhythm guitar.) Vocals are raspy yet expressive,  and  the  mix
and production are very good without being  overly  polished.  Morgul
may not be doing anything especially  novel,  but  _Lost  in  Shadows
Grey_ features such strong  material,  performed  so  well,  that  it
doesn't feel the least bit derivative or insincere.


Mundane - _Feeding on a Lower Spine_  (Hypnotic Records, May 1997)
by: Gino Filicetti  (9 out of 10)

After more than four years since the release of their debut  CD,  the
Rebelo brothers and company are back  to  bludgeon  our  brains  once
again. This album has been anticipated for more than a year and I can
personally vouch for how anxiously it's been awaited. True  to  form,
Mundane does not disappoint on _Feeding on a Lower  Spine_.  Compared
to their first CD, the production on this album is leagues above  and
beyond _Seed_. Every song on this release is unique and showcases the
diversity and originality that embodies this band. The lead off track
is an intro to "Drowning in the Mainstream", a song that appeared  on
Ed Balog's _Sonic Obliteration Vol I_. Following this track we get  a
taste of some new Mundane material; "In This Life" starts  with  some
POUNDING double bass care of Mundane's new drummer, Scott  MacIntyre,
and also features some cleaner vocals from Vitor for a  change.  Some
standout songs are "Sybil", a techno-ish affair that reminds me a lot
of Daft Punk, some tribal beats in "Like  a  Blur"  and  an  acoustic
instrumental track entitled "La Na Rua" which is in  memory  of  Joao
Rebelo and Jose David. Finally, the album  closes  with  "An  Ancient
Dance by Modern Terms"  which  I  can  only  fathom  to  guess  is  a
Portuguese folk song redone in classic  Mundane  style.  Once  again,
Mundane proves that they are Toronto's leading band.


My Dying Bride - _For Darkest Eyes_ <video>  (Peaceville, 1997)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (10 out of 10)

Starting in 1992 with "Symphonaire Infernus et  Spera  Empyrium"  and
finishing with 1997's  "For  You",  the  first  30  minutes  of  this
videotape are dedicated to all six of MDB's video clips. Not much  to
be said about them, the first four are quite  lacking  in  the  funds
department (even though the vid for "The Thrash of  Naked  Limbs"  is
still quite interesting), and the latest two are the  ones  with  the
professional look and the most powerful imagery; however,  one  thing
is common to all six of them: the music is  just  superb.  After  all
this comes the main dish, a live concert in Krakow (Poland) in  March
1996. It's one hour and ten minutes long, the picture quality's  very
good, and the sound is just as good as you could possibly  expect  it
to be for a live recording. 'What about the  concert?',  I  hear  you
ask. Well, first you might want to take a look at my review of  MDB's
latest album, _Like Gods of the Sun_ [CoC #17]. As  you  can  see,  I
-really- like this band. However, there are no tracks from _LGotS_ in
this concert (it hadn't been released yet); the good thing is that  I
happen to consider their previous albums as being even more brilliant
than their latest, especially when played live!  For  me,  the  track
listing for this concert was near perfect, and even though  a  couple
of tracks from _LGotS_ would have fit in  nicely,  one  doesn't  even
notice their absence, such is the quality of all  the  rest.  There's
only one track from _As the Flower Withers_, their first album (maybe
another one would've been nice, but we can't have it all),  and  they
also play "The Thrash of Naked Limbs", all the rest being taken  from
_Turn Loose the Swans_ and  _The  Angel  and  the  Dark  River_.  The
opening's  brilliant,  with   two   songs   in   a   row,   non-stop,
breath-taking. As I  explained  before,  the  concert  proceeds  with
tracks from _TLtS_ and _TAatDR_,  with  Aaron  shifting  between  his
normal voice and his death grunts (I  consider  him  the  best  death
grunter I've ever heard)  and  ends  with  the  brutal  "The  Forever
People" under excellent lighting effects. If you're  a  fan  of  this
band, get this at all cost. If you're not, well... my advice is  that
you pick it up and give it a try, you might just like it.


Ninefinger - _Ninefingered_  (Chord, April 1997)
by: Gino Filicetti  (6 out of 10)

After first hearing this band  on  their  _Torque/Bad  Wheel_  7",  I
thought the music was pretty cool, except for  the  lousy  production
which hampered the power of  their  music.  However,  it  seems  that
Ninefinger isn't about 'power' or clean production. Being more  of  a
slow, sludgy band, Ninefinger stay true to the  down  home  Louisiana
style, a la Eyehategod. Speaking of which, none other than Mike  Dean
stars as this album's vocal maestro, however, he leaves  much  to  be
desired as his vocals just don't cut it for me. Percussion duties are
once again taken up by Rich Hoak  from  Brutal  Truth,  however  this
musical style pretty much restricts him from  showing  off  his  true
grind talent. Also included on the  album  are  two  covers,  one  of
Motley Crue's "Dr. Feelgood" which is down right hilarious,  and  "In
the Black" by Faith. Not bad as far as side projects go, but not  the
greatest of the lot either.


Obituary - _Back from the Dead_  (Roadrunner, May 1997)
by: Adrian Bromley  (7 out of 10)

Obituary with hardcore elements? No? Really?  Could  this  really  be
happening? Well, metalheads, don't lose your respect for one  of  the
music scene's most beloved death metal outfits as they have  surfaced
once again with the appropriately titled _Back from the Dead_ and the
results are good as Obituary come back to us with a  modern  feel  to
their music. I, for one, had thought that the plug had been pulled on
Obituary after the somewhat unsuccessful last effort, _World Demise_,
but I guess they were spared one last chance. Will this be  the  last
effort? We'll see, but at this point  in  time,  what  the  band  has
provided us with is a cool, grooved (YES! groove)  album  that  still
provides us with vintage Obituary slugs and  screams,  but  coats  it
with a definite 90s feel. Take the hardcore element (of  grooves  and
tempo) into account. As it may have been  considered  something  that
would have detracted us away from Obituary's  bludgeoning  riffs  and
morbid tales (I will admit I don't  like  the  hardcore  delivery  of
"Bullituary" remix), it has only spiced up the flow of the  material.
A bit stronger and far more in yer  face  than  previous  songs,  but
still  Obituary.  John  Tardy  has  always   delivered   solid   song
writing/vocals and I'm hoping that we will see more of the band as we
near the year 2000. It would be a shame to lose  another  great  band
like Obituary.


Ophthalamia - _To Elishia_  (Necropolis, 1997)
by: Drew Schinzel  (8 out of 10)

As far as demo songs pressed onto CD are concerned, let's be  honest:
they usually suck. Demo sound  quality,  demo  song  quality,  and  a
general  lack  of  integrity  prevails  the  majority  of  the  time.
Ophthalamia's latest release of blackened doom/death,  _To  Elishia_,
however, is different. Yes, these are demo and rehearsal versions  of
already released songs, and, indeed, the sound quality, for the  most
part, does in fact leave much to be desired. But this latest offering
from Ophthalamia, the first in a couple of years, and to be  followed
by two more in the months to come, has a couple of things  going  for
it. First, since Ophthalamia is such a superior  band  in  the  first
place, just about -any- version of their songs would blow 90% of what
is out there out of the water. When I say there is not a song created
by IT and company that has appeared on their two previous albums that
can be called bad, I mean it, and, as such, none of the songs on  _To
Elishia_ are of  low  quality.  Second,  the  bad  production  (which
varies; some songs have very high-end, trebly  sound,  others  almost
album quality) sometimes  actually  helps  the  feel  of  the  album,
creating a raw, edgy sound which fits some of  the  songs  perfectly.
Sometimes the production hurts matters, however: one  listen  to  the
cover of "Deathcrush" at a high volume is  guaranteed  to  have  your
ears bleeding, and the cover of "Sacrifice"  by  Bathory  isn't  much
better, either. Those two songs are the  exception,  though,  as  the
rest  of  the  material  present  on  _To  Elishia_  is  of   typical
Ophthalamian quality, and should be enough to tide one over until the
release of some new material (finally) in the form  of  the  upcoming
full-length, _Dominion_, this summer.


Various - _The Ozz-Fest: Live_  (Ozz Records/Red Ant, May 1997)
by: Adrian Bromley  (8 out of 10)

There really isn't much to say about this compilation other than  its
great selection of bands and  their  material.  Plus  the  production
rocks. How can one not like  a  collection  that  has  the  likes  of
Slayer, Fear Factory,  Ozzy  Osbourne,  and  Sepultura  playing  live
tracks all in one packaging? It rocks. Great packaging to boot,  with
a cool 3-D cover and awesome inner sleeve layout  help  make  this  a
worthwhile purchase for fans of Ozzy Osbourne or the idea behind  the
Ozz-Fest. Surprisingly, the live version of Coal Chamber's "Loco" and
Earth Crisis' "Broken Foundation" sound good, both songs that  I  had
problems with on their respectable discs. 


Pyogeneis - _Unpop_  (Nuclear Blast, May 1997)
by: Adrian Bromley  (4 out of 10)

Why can't I like this record? Why can't I like  this  band  anymore?!
WHY? Damn... I really liked the last record,  _Twinaleblood_  (1995),
and some earlier songs, but _Unpop_ just doesn't cut it. I hated  the
EP (out last year, entitled _Love Nation Sugarhead_) and I am feeling
the same way about the alt/punk/pop feel of _Unpop_, a record that by
large  has  allowed  Pyogenesis  to  abandon  all  of  their   harder
edge/metal roots. The album has a lot of  samples,  strong  melodies,
and poppy riffs - they're everywhere on _Unpop_ - and while there are
a few good songs (the ever-amazing "Love Nation Sugarhead", "All  the
Pills", and "Get Up") the record just drowns in cutesy, pop  numbers,
no real intensity anywhere. But again, "Love Nation Sugarhead" rules,
so I guess that would be my only reason for getting  people  to  hear
this LP. 


Slo Burn - _Amusing the Amazing_  (Malicious Vinyl, May 1997)
by: Adrian Bromley  (9 out of 10)

Four songs, 15 minutes. That's it for our first listen of  Slo  Burn,
the new project fronted by ex-Kyuss  lead  singer  John  Garcia.  And
while that may not be much to keep us happy, the music, with Garcia's
dynamic vocals supported by heavy, sluggish riffs, does its  job  and
definitely leaves us with a dry mouth and thirsty for more.  I  am  a
huge Kyuss fan and while the music here is very similar to Kyuss  (go
figure as Garcia sings), it does provide  us  with  more  melody  and
grooves, something Garcia's previous band lacked at times.  All  four
tracks sound great but "Pilot the  Dune"  has  got  to  be  mentioned
because this is one of the coolest songs I have heard in a while.  It
fuckin' smokes! Fans of Kyuss, Fu Manchu, or Sleep, pick this up  and
you'll have more music to crank and smoke up to.


Stigmata - _Hymns for an Unknown God_  (Too Damn Hype, April 1997)
by: Adrian Bromley  (5 out of 10)

>From  the  get  go,  Stigmata  blast   out   intense   and   abrasive
hardcore/metal.  While  the   sludge   and   grind-groove   of   this
hardcore/metal hybrid act is downright lethal at  times  (reminiscent
of other HC/metal acts V.O.D. or Earth Crisis), there  really  is  no
substance or variety to what they  create  or  play.  A  lot  of  the
material sounds too similar at times, and while that may be  part  of
their plan or agenda, it quickly loses the listener's interest.  I've
heard good things about this band and their live show, but on  record
it seems rather, well, boring. Sounds bad saying  that  and  all  but
it's true. Only a few numbers  ("Ignorant  and  Wired"  and  "Burning
Human") really stand out. Maybe better luck next time out?


Tartaros - _The Grand Psychotic Castle_  (Necropolis, 1997)
by: Drew Schinzel  (7 out of 10)

Another Scandinavian one-man project,  Tartaros  emerge  from  Norway
with a debut mini-CD of extremely synth-reliant, eerie material, with
a distinct "Addam's Family" or B-movie flavour. Lone member  Charmand
Grimloch has put forth four songs, all in a  similar  vein,  and  all
creating a dark, ominous atmosphere, although damaged somewhat  by  a
constantly intruding drum machine that does nothing to help the music
except overpower it. Tartaros is black metal with  a  flair  for  the
dramatic, as one might  guess  by  looking  at  the  picture  of  Mr.
Grimloch kicking back with a cigarette and bottle  of  wine,  in  his
favorite white suit and gloves in suite number thirteen. This is  not
your typical run through the dark, evil  forest:  instead  it's  more
like a jaunt through a haunted mansion with the  chandelier  swinging
back and forth, about to break free and fall on the person -next-  to
you. For all its good points, the escalating and descending keyboards
and the hollow, spooky atmosphere it  creates,  _TGPS_  is  far  from
perfect. As mentioned, the drum machine only serves  to  swallow  the
rest of the sound during the faster sections. Plus, when you can hear
it, the guitar work is  pretty  feeble.  Like  most  singular  member
efforts, I think Tartaros would be better  off  with  at  least  some
session members in the studio. As for the time being,  however,  this
debut is good, not great.


Theatre of Tragedy - _A Rose for the Dead_  (Massacre Records, 1997)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (7 out of 10)

I really feel bad rating such a good band as ToT 7 out of 10,  but  I
can't help it. _A Rose for the Dead_ is their newest EP, presented on
digi-pak, rather long (over 30 minutes), but also  a  tad  overpriced
for an EP. So it's basically sort of a 'deluxe EP', even  though  the
artwork's quite simple. It features two  new  ToT  songs,  which  are
responsible for most of this score; there's also  a  re-recording  of
"Der Tanz der Schatten" from _Velvet Darkness They Fear_, now sung in
English and also with some improvements, which is  nice.  And  that's
basically it for me. After these three, there's two remixes  done  by
Bruno Kramm  of  Das  Ich,  the  second  of  which  even  starts  out
reasonably well, but they just tend  to  wreck  the  originals  (both
taken from _VDTF_) and seem to  me  totally  useless.  Finishing  up,
there's a Joy Division song covered, "Decades", rather long,  without
Liv Kristine's voice (now that's -bad-), due to 'some  problems  with
the studios'. I consider this song unremarkable - not  bad,  but  not
really worth the extra money either - even  though  I  believe  their
original cover (-with- Liv) must be very interesting.  Focusing  back
on the two new songs, which for me is  what's  important  here,  both
were supposed to have been recorded for _VDTF_, but were left out due
to 'lack of time during the recording session'. The  first  one  (the
title track) is an average mid-paced ToT  song,  not  brilliant  when
compared to some of what they've done before, just average for  their
talent. The second one, "Der Spiegel" (yes, sung  in  German  again),
starts off very well, but tends  to  lose  some  quality  during  its
second half. This is an EP for those who have no problem  in  forking
out some extra cash and get about 15 useful minutes,  and  for  those
who think they'll enjoy the remixes and the cover. Still, it was nice
to hear Liv's voice again (she's my favourite female singer), and the
first three songs may make this  EP  worth  it.  I  just  can't  help
wondering... wouldn't it be so much better if  the  two  'new'  songs
would have just been included in _Velvet Darkness They Fear_?


Tiamat - _A Deeper Kind of Slumber_  (Century Media, 1997)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (5 out of 10)

This is one of  those  albums  in  which  the  'politically  correct'
attitude would be  to  value  the  'heights  of  experimentation  and
oh-so-near-mainstream' that Tiamat take us to, but (of course) that's
not what I'll do. Given, this is far from metal now, and I won't hack
at the album for that - it might still be musically good. And,  as  a
matter of fact, it is, for about half of its 60 minutes; the  problem
is that the rest is simply worthless. Tiamat's newest is mostly  made
of soft ballads, with rhythms similar to trip-hop(!) showing up quite
often. Once in a while, they show you  what  this  album  might  have
been, what they could have done but -didn't-  do.  I've  listened  to
some albums with ups and downs, some albums that have good tracks and
bad tracks, but this is a bit too  much.  I'll  go  through  all  the
tracks just to illustrate the steepness of these ups and downs. Track
1 has an undeniably enjoyable and catchy guitar melody. The second is
regular Tiamat mellow  song  ('regular'  meaning  good,  but  nothing
special compared to _Wildhoney_). Tracks 3 and 4 witness the  arrival
of trip hop and whatever else, and the departure of quality. At track
5, we are back to the average Tiamat song. Tracks 6  and  7  are  the
second really good part of the album, both very good stuff, the sixth
being the follow-up I expected  (and  hoped  for)  from  _Wildhoney_.
Tracks 8 and 9 go waaay down again, and back to  trip  hop  and  all,
track 9 being especially poor. Tracks 10 and 11 show  some  recovery,
and things get enjoyable again, after which the album enters  a  slow
finishing section. It's a strange  experience  trying  to  rate  this
album, as it contains some very good tracks, while half of  the  time
it's just simply, er, crap. Be warned that some believe that this  is
the best album of 1997, so if you  think  you'll  like  the  sort  of
experimentation Tiamat have done, try it. Personally,  it  failed  to
impress me.


Ulver - _Nattens Madrigal_  (Head Not Found / Century Media, 1997)
by: Steve Hoeltzel  (8 out of 10)

The last year or so has seen  some  high-profile  black  metal  bands
depart from their grim, harsh origins in search of a more  glamourous
and polished style. Ulver is absolutely not one  of  them.  In  fact,
these guys have chosen to strip away all polish whatsoever from their
playing and production. Now, twinned guitars radiate a  raw,  roaring
buzz, as the band rips through track after track  of  straight-ahead,
light-speed  material.  Containing  only  one  acoustic   break   and
featuring Garm's harshest vocal performance yet, this  is  strikingly
raw on the surface - yet the music is very well recorded. The  vocals
are very raw and the guitars very distorted,  but  the  mix  balances
them out clearly, allowing Ulver to display the compositional  talent
that makes them more than just  one  more  band  playing  fast  black
metal. Listen closely, and the blizzard of screaming  string  signals
resolves itself into two guitars playing separate, blazing  lead  and
rhythm lines, accompanied by the  trademark  slow-picked  bass  line,
propelled by vocal torment and a blasting beat. (The drums are rather
low in the mix.) Some of the riffs sound killer. Still, in  my  book,
when it comes to really harsh black metal, the colder, abrasive tones
of bands like Vondur and Sort Vokter set the standard. So I think I'd
like this album a bit more if the guitar sound weren't quite so  warm
and buzzy. In addition, the material overall is somewhat  lacking  in
variation or experimentation (two elements, I might add,  which  also
make Sort Vokter and Vondur  great).  But  _Nattens  Madrigal_  still
comes highly recommended. At a point in time when many bands seem  to
be acquiring a fondness for "black metal light," you won't find  much
light in these eight songs.


Usurper - _Threshold of the Usurper_  (Necropolis Records, 1997)
by: Steve Hoeltzel  (7 out of 10)

Usurper make some  very  compelling  music  on  this  35-minute  MCD,
displaying real metallic  talent  and  great  potential.  Ultimately,
though, _Threshold_ is kind of  a  hit-or-miss  affair.  Still,  when
these guys hit, they do it in a  major  way,  blending  the  crushing
weight and way-dark vibe of Celtic Frost with varied vocal styles and
ripping blasts  of  blackened  grind.  (We're  talking  tight,  crisp
explosions  of  hyper-speed  snare  drum  punishment  -  not  shitty,
undifferentiated  'bowel-churning'  grind.)   This   approach   works
extremely well on the title track (this song rules), as  well  as  on
"Necrocult Pt. I (The  Metal  War)".  Also  noteworthy  is  the  more
experimental "The Dead of Winter",  which  layers  weeping  acoustics
over crawling doom, building up to a weird and effective  passage  of
blasting beats and anguished raspy vocals, still blanketed with  slow
acoustic guitar. All in all,  I  greatly  enjoy  these  three  songs.
Still, the MCD as a whole has  some  failings.  For  one,  Diabolical
Slaughter, who provides the 'vokills', spends too  much  time  simply
impersonating Tom G. Warrior's unique vocal style. As a  result,  his
vocals often sound much more imitative than  creative.  More  to  the
point, the same thing  is  often  true  of  the  music:  tracks  like
"Slavehammer" and the untitled 'hidden'  track  just  sound  way  too
derivative of Celtic Frost's singular style. (There's also a cover of
Mercyful Fate's  "Black  Funeral"  which  doesn't  add  much  to  the
original.) But when Usurper enhance their  eighties  influences  with
more up-to-date  elements  and  experimentation,  they  produce  some
genuinely kick-ass stuff. I definitely look forward to  hearing  more
from this band.

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

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

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


As Night Fades/Thought Masticator - _Sound as a Medicinal_
by: Adrian Bromley  (11 tracks/10 tracks)  (****-)/(****-)

Another split demo from Bill Sannwald in California  and,  like  past
demos  submitted  to  CoC,  it's  got  lots  of  weirdness   floating
throughout this split demo. On one side we have  the  ambient  outfit
called As Night Fades, a pretty strong dosage of emotionally  charged
ambient music that moves slowly and cautiously  with  the  sounds  it
makes. The music (as Sannwald had informed  me)  is  meant  to  be  a
relaxant for going to sleep. To relax and ease the mind and  allow  a
soft and peaceful slumber to take place. I took his advice and  found
the music very soothing, almost acting as a dream soundtrack. This is
heavy shit to sleep to. Side Two once again takes us to the realms of
the hard-hitting and abstract sounds of Thought  Masticator,  one  of
Sannwald's elite side-projects. The music is primarily  sound  bites,
hardened by deafening noise effects and sounds. Thought  Masticator's
new material sounds more gargantuan than the  last  split  demo  with
Ephemeron (CoC #19), and that is a good thing. The killer  aspect  of
this effort by Thought Masticator is the use of  samples/sound  bites
from the blockbuster  movie  _Independence  Day_  in  the  first  few
numbers, allowing Thought Masticator to distort and fuck the  samples
up big time by layering thick,  incoherent  noise  effects  and  loud
distortion on top. Totally cool.

Contact: Bill Sannwald, 3538 Paseo Salamoner, La Mesa
         California, 91941, USA


Enthroned - _Gothic Disturbance_  (4-track demo)
by: Brian Meloon  (****-)

Not to be confused with the Belgian black  metallers  (see  CoC  #9),
these guys (see CoC #1, #2, #7)  are  from  California,  and  play  a
technical style of death metal, with some gothic stylings similar  to
those of Cradle of Filth. The music often reminds me of Nocturnus, as
the songs have an underlying sci-fi feeling and are  very  technical,
but is even more chaotic. Unfortunately, they don't  quite  have  the
necessary  musical  prowess  to  pull  it  off  flawlessly,  as  they
occasionally sound sloppy. There are a  few  places  where  they  are
noticeably   off,   and   this   really   takes   away    from    the
mechanistic/cyborg feeling. The guitar solos could use some work too,
as they have that  pick-fast-to-sound-like-you're-playing-fast  (e.g.
Slayer) sound. The production is good, but  a  little  raw,  and  the
packaging is extremely spartan: just a piece of paper with the band's
logo and the song titles; no 'glossy  paper'  here.  The  vocals  are
pretty standard raspy death metal style, with little  variation,  but
they don't sing very often, as there are long  instrumental  passages
which usually include many style and/or tempo and time  changes.  The
instrumental "Toccata in Death Minor" (not to be  confused  with  the
Great Kat's "Toccata in Blood Minor"), despite its  cheesy  name  and
choppy songwriting is especially good. It's good to see that  someone
is reviving the technical sci-fi death metal idiom, and  this  is  an
impressive enough offering that someone ought to snatch these guys up
and sign them, even though they're not playing  the  flavor  du  jour
(i.e. black metal).

Contact: Enthroned, c/o John Oster, 909 Alvarado Ave #22
         Davis CA, 95616, USA, (916) 758-5357, (916) 979-0368
         mailto:joster@wheel.dcn.davis.ca.us


Red Tide - _Hybrid_ (5-track demo)
by: Brian Meloon (****-)

Red Tide return with a partially new demo, which is better than their
previous offering, but which still leaves room for  improvement.  The
big problem with their last demo, _Expressions_ (see CoC #3) was  the
vocals, which thankfully have been fixed this time around. While  the
last demo's vocals were flat and generally not thought out very well,
this demo has more standard hardcore-like vocals, which at least  fit
the music better. They're even harmonized in one spot,  which  is  an
interesting twist. Overall, this is heavier  and  less  diverse  than
their  previous  offering,  and  it  appears  they've  moved  in  the
direction of Candiria (see CoC #11), which is  a  good  thing.  Their
material  retains  the  Cynic-like  jazz  breaks,  and  the   melodic
attitude,  with  some   similarities   to   what's   usually   called
'progressive  metal'.  The  playing  is  usually  good,   with   some
impressive dense drumming, but there still  are  a  few  spots  where
they're not as tight as they could be. The production is again  fine.
Unfortunately, _Hybrid_ only includes three new  tracks,  as  two  of
them ("Truth Within" and "Absent from Sight") were on _Expressions_.

Contact: Red Tide, P.O. Box 1434, Avon, CT, 06001, USA
         mailto:jwu@uhavax.hartford.edu
         mailto:redtidefan@aol.com


Spun - _The Spun Experience_  (75-'track' demo)
by: Brian Meloon  (-----)

This demo consists of the  33-song  "The  Caffeine  Experience",  the
10-song "Live @ the 10 Day Cafe", the 29-song "Caffeine  Flashbacks",
and three bonus tracks from the "Napkin  Sessions".  Looking  through
the J-card made me dread listening to  this,  and  my  intuition  was
right:  this  is  a  high  school  AC  ripoff  band  whose  level  of
intelligence makes Seth Putnam look like a musical genius. The  songs
are  an   aimless   collection   of   teenage   humor,   bad   Beavis
impersonations, lots of screaming, and talentless playing.  The  only
redeeming things I found on this demo were the song "The Smurfs Theme
Song" (which is amusing, but completely unoriginal), and  the  titles
(not the songs, mind  you,  just  the  titles)  "Poser  Monkey",  and
"Barbie Domination" (and only then because I know people  named  "the
Monkey" and Barbie). One notably pathetic thing about  this  demo  is
that while each song starts off  with  a  non-musical  section  (some
samples, some supposedly humorous clips that the band recorded),  the
'production' is so bad  that  there's  usually  a  second-long  pause
before the music starts. I suppose that this is hilarious if  you  go
to the same high school as these guys (and maybe even know the  chick
who got laid three times Saturday night in both of  Melissa's  beds),
but if not...

Contact: Spun, c/o Jay Smith, 28 Crooks Street, Stratford,
         Ontario, N5A 1M8, Canada
         mailto:molotov@golden.net
         http://www.golden.net/~molotov/spun/spun.htm

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
        ____     __                       __
       /\  _`\  /\ \                     /\ \__  __
       \ \ \/\_\\ \ \___      __      ___\ \ ,_\/\_\    ___
        \ \ \/_/_\ \  _ `\  /'__`\   / __`\ \ \/\/\ \  /'___\
         \ \ \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.


                              F I L T H
                              ~~~~~~~~~
            Cradle of Filth with In Velvet Clouds and Web
                  In Porto, Portugal, April 24, 1997
                          by: Pedro Azevedo

There is no good  or  evil.  No  absolute  truth  or  lie.  And  when
something like this happens, there's always two sides to  the  story.
The truth is said to be just a lie the majority believes, but I won't
say that this is a matter of choosing which lie to believe - I  won't
call anyone a liar, because  maybe  someone  actually  believes  he's
telling the truth, but ultimately I don't care who's right and  who's
wrong. I'll just tell both sides of this  story,  and  I  won't  deny
myself the pleasure of exposing both versions' weaknesses. Cradle  of
Filth were scheduled to play at  Porto,  Thursday,  April  the  24th,
1997. They didn't show up. Over 800 fans waiting  for  them,  but  no
Cradle of Filth. No matter who's fault it  was,  the  band's  or  the
promoter's, all we got was two Portuguese bands trying their best, or
the possibility of a refund (that did happen for lots of people).  To
make things worse, CoF have been playing for an hour and  a  half  in
their latest concerts, and using a female backing vocalist  lately  -
two little details that made things even worse for  us  who  couldn't
see them live. So let's hear both  sides  of  the  story,  then.  CoF
drummer Nicholas states that there wasn't enough electrical power for
the band to play and for the lights and fog. We  would  be  happy  to
listen to them without the lights and fog, if that  would  solve  the
problem - maybe it wouldn't, I don't know. Anyway,  the  problem  was
solved by a power upgrade 5 hours before CoF were scheduled to  play,
states the promoter, the new problem was that they were gone by then.
Nick says that, and I quote, 'everything was bullshit'. I'm far  from
understanding what he saw in my home city of Porto that was bullshit,
maybe he was talking about the place where the concert was held; then
again, I think it was a reasonable room. It's strange  that  it'd  be
bullshit for them to play for a crowd of 800  instead  of  the  usual
200. Nicholas also exclaims that their fans should  'ignore  all  the
bullshit', before he tells what happened. And then he states that the
people entered the concert not knowing that CoF  wouldn't  be  there.
Wrong. Bullshit, as you'd call it, Nick. Everyone  knew  CoF  weren't
there. No matter how heart-breaking this may be for CoF, over half of
-their- fans entered the concert anyway, thus losing the right  to  a
refund, and they all knew that CoF weren't there. Now for  the  other
side of the story - the promoter's. He recalls that CoF's last  Porto
concert's promoter owed them money from that concert.  That  guy  had
nothing to do with this one, though (as far as  I  know).  Still,  he
says that CoF were payed 50% in advance (CoF say this is normal), and
that they didn't play just out of revenge. He says that  their  whole
attitude was towards not playing, right from the  beginning,  and  he
quotes Nicholas as having said that this was their day off in  Porto.
He claims that they complained about everything (most of which for no
reason, he assures), and ultimately left before the electrical  power
problem was  solved.  I  think  it's  rather  unbelievable  that  the
promoters didn't check on the power earlier, making  sure  there  was
enough power for CoF. The concert started anyway, around  400  people
showing their support by paying to see the concert without  CoF.  Web
played  25  minutes  of  their  Slayer-like  thrash,   ending   their
performance with a cover  of  Slayer's  "Raining  Blood".  In  Velvet
Clouds took the stage for the next 50 minutes,  and  they  played  an
aggressive mix of Cradle of Filth and Brutal Truth. They feature  two
vocalists (both doing only vocals): one's an excellent  grunter,  the
other screams like hell. A reasonable act, even though they're  still
a very young band. So that was it. CoF say there  wasn't  power,  the
promoter says there  was  enough  power  5  hours  before  they  were
supposed to play, and that they didn't play just for revenge for what
happened in the past with someone else. Who's right, who's wrong, who
cares? The ones who lost here were the fans. CoF seem to be trying to
show that they do have  some  respect  for  these  fans,  as  they're
scheduled to come back in July and play in a festival  together  with
Moonspell and Megadeth. I sure hope  the  concert  does  happen  this
time, and that everything goes well, because I'd  sure  want  to  see
them - they're one of the top five bands I'd like to see live.  So  I
also hope that I'll be back in the August issue telling everyone  how
great that concert was.

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

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

Gino's Top 5

1. My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult - _A Crime For All Seasons_
2. Chemical Brothers - _Dig Your Own Hole_
3. Mundane - _Feeding On A Lower Spine_
4. Fear Factory - _Remanufacture_
5. Filthboy - _Diverse Reality_

Adrian's Top 5

1. Hanzel Und Gretyl - _Transmissions From Uranus_ 
2. Fear Factory - _Remanufacture_
3. Within Temptation - _Enter_
4. Lake Of Tears - _A Crimson Cosmos_
5. Hell On Earth - _Biomechanical Ejaculations Of The Damned_

Brian's Top 5

1. Lethargy - _It's Hard to Write With a Little Hand_
2. Beauty - _Automatic Killfest_
3. Enthroned - _Gothic Disturbance_
4. Dark Reality - _Oh Precious Haze Pervade the Pain_
5. Waltari - _Big Bang_

Alain's Top 5

1. Blood of Christ - _... a dream to remember_
2. Tool - _Aenima_
3. A Canorous Quintet - _Silence of the World Beyond_
4. Cryptopsy - _None So Vile_
5. Grim Skunk - _Meltdown_

Steve's Top 5

1. Arckanum - _Kostogher_
2. Morgul - _Lost in Shadows Grey_
3. Hell-Born - _Hell-Born_
4. Summoning - _Nightshade Forests_
5. Ulver - _Nattens Madrigal_

Adam's Top 5

1. My Dying Bride - _Like Gods of the Sun_
2. Therion - _Theli_
3. Septic Flesh - _Ophidian Wheel_
4. V/A - _Death is Just the Beginning IV_
5. Incantation - _The Foresaken Mourning of Angelic Anguish_

Drew's Top 5

1. Iced Earth - _Night of the Stormrider_
2. In Flames - _The Jester Race_
3. Exodus - _Bonded By Blood_
4. Kalisia - _Skies_
5. Entombed - _Wolverine Blues_

Andrew's Top 5

1. Richard Wagner - _Tristan und Isolde_
2. Legendary Pink Dots - _9 Lives To Wonder_
3. Enslaved - _Eld_
4. Contagious Orgasm - _The Examination of Auditory Sense_
5. Incapacitants - _Asset Without Liability_

Pedro's Top 5

1. The Gathering  -_Nighttime Birds_
2. Hypocrisy - _Abducted_
3. Cradle of Filth - _Vempire_
4. Left Hand Solution - _Fevered_
5. Samael - _Passage_
 
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

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

Thanks a lot for reading another issue, loyal reader. We'll  be  back
soon with more CoC after these messages...

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
End Chronicles of Chaos, Issue #21

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

