    ______________                     _____      ______            
    __  ____/__  /________________________(_)________  /____________
    _  /    __  __ \_  ___/  __ \_  __ \_  /_  ___/_  /_  _ \_  ___/
    / /___  _  / / /  /   / /_/ /  / / /  / / /__ _  / /  __/(__  ) 
    \____/  /_/ /_//_/    \____//_/ /_//_/  \___/ /_/  \___//____/  
                                                                    
               ________   ______________                      
         _________  __/   __  ____/__  /_______ ______________
         _  __ \_  /_     _  /    __  __ \  __ `/  __ \_  ___/
         / /_/ /  __/     / /___  _  / / / /_/ // /_/ /(__  ) 
         \____//_/        \____/  /_/ /_/\__,_/ \____//____/  
                                                              

        CHRONICLES OF CHAOS E-Zine, April 9, 1997, Issue #19

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 #19 Contents, 4/9/97
--------------------------
* Editorial
* Loud Letters
* Ferocious Features
-- My Dying Bride: Behold The Bride
-- In Flames: Serious About Success
-- Pain: Peter's Pain
* Chaotic Chat Sessions
-- Cradle of Filth: Capturing The Cradle Of Creativity
-- Edge of Sanity: Swano's Edge
-- Impaled Nazarene: Nazarene With A Fax Machine
-- Behemoth: Bards Of The Black Baltic
-- Grip Inc: Dave Dishes It Out Again
-- Oxiplegatz: Alf Articulates All
* Independent Interrogations
-- Blood of Christ: The Blood Is The Life
* Record Revelations
-- Abigor - _Apokalypse_
-- Avernus - _Of the Falling_  
-- Pat Boone - _Pat Boone in a Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy_
-- Broken Hope - _Loathing_
-- Dark - _Endless Dreams of Sadness_
-- Darkness Enshroud - _Unveiled Ghostly Shadows_
-- Die Sonne Satans - _Sigillo_
-- Dimmu Borgir - _Devil's Path_
-- Disgust - _A World of No Beauty_
-- Elend - _Les tenebres du dehors_
-- Edge of Sanity - _Infernal_
-- Falkenbach - _En their medh riki fara_
-- Hades - _The Dawn of the Dying Sun_
-- Various Artists - _Identity 3... D!_
-- Immortal - _Blizzard Beasts_
-- Kalisia - _Skies_
-- Killing Culture - _Killing Culture_
-- Killing Spree - _Terror from Beyond Space_
-- Lake of Tears - _Lady Rosenred_
-- Various Artists - _Violent World: A Tribute to the Misfits_
-- Nastrond - _Age of Fire_
-- Oppressor - _Agony_
-- Phlebotomized - _Skycontact_
-- Slough Feg - _The Lord Weird_
-- Various Artists - _Sonic Obliteration Vol.2_
-- Trial of the Bow - _Rite of Passage_
-- Troll - _Drep De Kristne_
-- Windham Hell - _Mirror of Souls_
* New Noise
-- Black Mass of Absu - _Black Mass of Absu_
-- Bongwater - _Pissed Off and... Fuzzed Out_
-- Master - _Demo '96_
-- Pressure Point - _Grasp_
-- Putrocorpse - _Bowel Chronicles_
-- Rich Hoak/Family Harsh Noise Experimentation
        - _Disassociative Cognition_
-- Semi-Auto Reflex - _Semi-Auto Reflex_
* Chaotic Concerts
-- Fuck The Fog: Hemdale with Blood of Christ, Flesh Fest and Wicked
* What We Have Cranked
* The Final Word

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

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

     Well people, I don't have much to say  this  month  except  that
I'm in the middle of studying  for  finals.  Therefore,  I  hope  you
understand that I can not write an editorial for  this  issue.  Never
fear though, next month I will finally be free of  my  shackles,  and
I'll be back in full force. Until then, take care.

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

                 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: Wed, 12 Mar 1997
From: Gregory Nalbandian <gmnalbandian@ucdavis.edu>
Subject: Attention Loud Letters

Dear Brady Bunch,

Issue #16 of COC really pissed me  off!  Where's  the  fucking  Death
Metal?!!! Number  17  was  better  but,  in  general,  I'm  tired  of
spacebaring through over a hundred kb's of Black/Doom metal  bullshit
just to find a few paragraphs about DM. It's a shame COC  won't  give
this genre the attention it deserves when you  consider  all  of  the
great DM releases that have been coming out recently.

Since your zine refuses to deliver  a  respectable  amount  of  Death
Metal news, I hereby  request  that  you  unsubscribe  me  from  such
useless text.

Sincerely,

Greg Nalbandian

P.S. If you freaks would just focus on DM, you'd have a  great  zine.
Maybe when Gino and Brian leave COC to start up their  new  Classical
Music zine? Then  Alain--a  real  man  with  good  taste  in  DM--can
takeover operations and turn this  publication  into  something  that
Death fans can appreciate!


Date: Sun, 16 Mar 1997
From: Wayno -- Integrated WIN 95 - OS/2 <wayno@pobox.com>
Subject: Re: Chronicles of Chaos #18 (3/3)

hey d00d

good edition --

kinda sorry to see that machine head's album is sorta a bust -- after
all rob flynn could be my long lost bro. (we look remarkably alike..)

what does Mork have against Christians?  All  these  guys  that  hate
Christians have a story to tell -- as a Christian, i'd be  interested
in hearing it ---

Sanctuary Much,

Wayno
http://www.pobox.com/~sanctuary


Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997
From: Tate Bengtson <bengtso@brain.cnx.net>
Subject: Attention Loud Letters

Great issue, as always, especially the SINISTER interview and the SIX
FEET UNDER review (couldn't agree more!).

=====================================================================
CHAOTIC CRITIQUES #7 IS OUT NOW 28  jam-packed  pages  exploring  the
musical  underground  with  a  distinctive  writing  style   and   an
open-minded approach. Tons of honest, in-depth reviews  (including  a
brutal  bashing  of  SIX   FEET   UNDER),   a   crisp   layout,   few
advertisements, and more interviews than ever before.

Interviewed bands include SAMAEL, A.S.A.,  MILLENIA,  and  THE  GAMMA
MEN, in addition to a seven-page  industrial  section  that  features
interviews with THE RAZOR SKYLINE, DYSTOPIA-ONE, TESTIFY, SLAVE UNIT,
and WINDS DIED DOWN. There is also a label directory, a  zine  review
section, label reports on REPULSE RECORDS (Spain) and HILJAISET LEVYT
(Finland), and much more.

Purchase a copy for $3 USA & Canada, $4 World (well-hidden
cash or money order made out to 'Tate Bengtson').

CHAOTIC CRITIQUES, c/o Tate Bengtson, P.O. Box 426
Lumby, BC, Canada, V0E 2G0
mailto:tbengtso@junction.net
http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Palms/6031/

Bands and labels:  I am interested in covering your products
in the next issue of CHAOTIC CRITIQUES - please write for further
information or send your promotional packages.

Thanks!!!
=====================================================================


Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997
From: "Matthew D. Landgren" <Matthew.D.Landgren-1@tc.umn.edu>
Subject: Attention Loud Letters

     Hey, I've be a reader of CoC since number 4 and I think you guys
do a kick ass job (although I do not generally agree  with  half  the
reviews thats  a  matter  of  taste)  I  would  like  to  comment  on
Metalfest, I live in milwaukee when I'm not in school and  I've  been
to the last 4 metalfests. Has anyone else  noticed  that  every  year
this damn thing gets a little bit worse and a little more  expensive?
Last year they wouldn't even let you leave the show and come back  in
and they charged $2.50 or whatever it was for a shitty hamburger (the
place is right next to a McDonalds, not  the  greatest  food  in  the
world but it's cheaper). They also have a pay to play policy which  I
was told is something they didn't always do and because of this  some
great bands decide not to perform. Is there any hope for  the  Future
of Metalfest?
     On a different note,  I  was  wondering  if  anyone  knows  what
happened to the band Phantasm. They are/were from milwaukee  and  the
kick some ass, but I've been told they borke up and  I  haven't  seen
them perform in two maybe three years. Any info is appreciated.
-Peace


Date: Thu, 20 Mar 1997
From: Pimm <pimm@fhs.csu.mcmaster.ca>
Subject: ATTENTION LOUD LETTERS

Yo, Gonkulator of Death here. I'm a huge Black/Death Metal fan,  just
starting to get into Doom, and I've read the zine for quite some time
now. All you guys do a great job there, but a bone to pick  with  you
guys (The size of your fuckin spinal cord...). Lately, I have seen no
amazing ratings given to many hardcore Death,  or  Black  metal  CD's
that I love, except if they have heavy Doom influences in them.  What
is going on?? Sometimes I think a Doom CD will get close to  perfect,
just becuase they have no "cliches"??? Hardcore CD's can be  just  as
good, it seems all thats out there  right  now  is  "Doom  influenced
BLACK/DEATH metal". Another thing that REALLY pisses me off,  is  the
constant bashing of sword pics and corpse paint in all Black Metal. I
always love to see a guy sitting on his throne, like  in  the  newest
Satryicon CD(fuckin rocks), and for the corpse  paint,  I  can't  get
enough!!!! Just mock the bands that suck and are just in it  for  the
money, but don't give a great Black metal release  an  8  out  of  10
because they have cool castles, paint, and swords.....

The Gonkulator of Death

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

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.


                   B E H O L D   T H E   B R I D E 
                   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
              An interview with England's My Dying Bride
                          by: Adrian Bromley

     Few bands of the gothic/doom metal variety have  stirred  up  as
much press and critical acclaim than English sextet My  Dying  Bride.
The band has worked hard to gain fans worldwide  with  each  release,
and as the years go on, the band also  manages  to  shapeshift  their
sound, making minor adjustments on the way to perfecting their  sound
and style. Their most recent transformation: _Like Gods of the Sun_.
     "We had a natural progression happen with this record, something
that always seems to happen  with  the  music  of  My  Dying  Bride",
reveals guitarist Calvin over the phone from Mayhem/Fierce offices in
New York when discussing the change in _LGotS_. "We didn't  have  any
guidelines or instructions of what the next album was going to  sound
like. There was no real conscious effort to change the  sound  of  My
Dying Bride." He adds, "I think this is our heaviest  album  we  have
ever done in regards to the  production  and  overall  sound  of  the
album. It still holds a lot of the imagery, atmosphere, and  emotions
that have been carried throughout early  MDB  releases,  but  with  a
harder edge to the overall sound."
     Since forming in 1990,  the  band  has  released  many  EPs  and
numerous LPs. Following two successful demos in  1990,  in  1992  the
band released their first full-length LP, _As  the  Flower  Withers_.
The band gradually moved onto releasing their sophomore effort  _Turn
Loose the Swans_  in  1993,  a  collaboration  of  all  EPs  entitled
_Trinity_ in 1995, and in 1996 we saw  _Angel  and  the  Dark  River_
released. About not fitting into one set style or sound, Calvin says,
"We have done that since the first few demos  or  releases.  We  have
always done what we wanted and never really catered to anyone or even
the record company. We never went  out  to  find  or  produce  a  hit
single. We just created music close to us."
     Calvin, along with  the  other  members  of  the  band  -  Aaron
(singer), Andrew (guitar), Martin (keyboard/violin),  bassist  Adrian
and drummer Rick - are concerned with one thing right  now:  touring.
Seeing that the album was released in October  1996  in  Europe,  the
band has already done some shows in Europe in support of the new  LP.
As singer Aaron had mentioned in the last  interview  with  My  Dying
Bride (CoC #8/March 96), the band has had a hard  time  cracking  the
U.S. market or even tour here. While the band  is  a  huge  force  in
Europe, Stateside it is almost nothing. That may change, says Calvin.
"I think the success of many acts in territories is the live  aspect,
being able to get out there and play to people  no  matter  how  many
show up to the show. You have to show respect to the people that have
supported you. When we started going out on tour in the beginning  in
1991 or 1992 throughout Europe, the shows were small, but you go  out
and you hope to build up a fan base. Over the years, with  luck,  the
crowds get bigger and you are able to release albums and  tour.  That
is the only thing that we have not been able to do in North  America,
and maybe why we aren't as  big  over  here  as  we  are  back  home.
Hopefully that will change this  year."  (The  band  is  said  to  be
opening for Ronnie James Dio on the second leg of his North  American
tour in March/April.)
     Unlike where the band has been able  to  toy  with  emotions  or
symphonic sounds on past release, _LGotS_ shows off  a  more  vibrant
and emotionally  charged  My  Dying  Bride,  a  more  passionate  and
soothing element that seems to  work  quite  effectively.  Completing
material for this record was a challenge as Calvin will explain.  "It
was very difficult for us to write material  in  1996  when  we  were
beginning to write this album. There was a lot of anger in the band",
reveals Calvin. "We have always been content with each other on other
releases. But this time out it was a struggle  to  get  material  and
ideas to surface. We had writer's block I  believe.  I  don't  really
want to use that expression but I think that is the best  description
of what happened to us. It depicts what went on." He  continues,  "It
took us almost three months to sift through and create new music  for
the album. We weren't happy with what we were writing. Then we  began
to get our act together and  something  happened  and  then  we  came
together and were able to create music for this album  -  all  within
the span of four weeks", states Calvin.
     One of the most interesting aspects of the band's latest  LP  is
the reason/story behind the use of the title _Like Gods of the  Sun_.
Calvin explains. "It is about the relationship  between  two  people,
whether they be a man and a woman or whatever. It is about their love
and passion for each other. It  is  that  strong  and  if  you  could
imagine what the gods of the sun would be, then  the  size  of  their
passion would be that size too."
     As most bands change style and sound,  so  do  the  people  that
create them. When asked the question, 'How  have  you  changed  as  a
musician?', Calvin had to give it a bit of thought. "I think we  have
all matured over the years. When we started we were more of  a  death
metal-influenced band. Now we have changed, and as a  person  I  have
changed. I am now married and I settled down into a house. Everything
that you do in your life affects your writing and music. We are  more
content and calmer in our lives so we  can  focus  more  clearly  and
effectively on our writing now. It is easier to write what we feel."
     "Music has now become a full-time profession for us now",  notes
Calvin. "We  don't  have  to  hold  any  daytime  jobs.  We  can  now
concentrate on creating  music  all  the  time  now  and  working  on
material. It's great. We are now doing what we always  wanted  to  do
with our lives and not do music as a hobby anymore. To be able to  do
this is an unbelievable accomplishment for us."

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

             S E R I O U S   A B O U T   S U C C E S S   
             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                  CoC interviews Sweden's In Flames
                          by: Adrian Bromley
     
     "We didn't intentionally try  to  change  our  style  with  _The
Jester Race_, but we did tune  down  our  guitars  with  this  record
because we felt it would be  a  good  complement  to  the  melodies",
responds guitarist Jesper Stromblad to the question of how  the  band
has changed since their inception in 1990. "We aimed to try to find a
good combination of brutality and melody. I think we found it."
     Through lineup changes (their current lineup  includes  vocalist
Andres Fridan, bassist Johan  Larsson,  drummer  Bjorn  Gelotte,  and
other guitarist Glenn Ljungstrom), touring, and  studio  work,  which
saw the release of _Lunar Strain_ in 1993 and the  _Subterranean_  EP
in 1994, In Flames have worked hard to perfect  their  melodic  death
metal sound. Time and energy has paid  off  with  the  excellent  and
well-received second full-length LP,  _The  Jester  Race_.  "I  don't
think there is one real element that stands out  with  this  record",
says Stromblad. "We are very happy with the results because it  is  a
very compact album, interesting from start to finish. Also that there
is a lot of different influences radiating throughout the record  and
that we worked hard to make it interesting for the listener."
     On the topic of studio work he says, "We were prepared  when  we
went into the studio and everything went as we had expected. I  think
there is a lot of variation between songs on this record.  There  are
the  death-ish  tunes,  folksy-styled  tunes,  and  some  progressive
instrumental ideas that use keyboards. I think we have gotten all  of
the elements that we wanted to bring to _The Jester Race_". He  adds,
"Song writing is a lot easier for us now. A few years  back  we  were
working with studio musicians and from about two years ago  till  now
we have had the same band lineup which has helped us  become  tighter
and more creative. It allows us to be a unit and to write as one.  We
rarely have problems coming up with ideas to bring into the band."
     When asked about the state of metal  music  being  perceived  as
underground once again, and not as big as it  was,  Stromblad  offers
this comment: "I think death metal music has always been big and  not
that it has gone back to underground exposure once  again.  When  the
media finds time to hype music, they do it and it gets big, and  then
when the media forgets about it, people think it has gone  away,  you
know? Gone underground... I think this music  has  always  been  very
strong and there are lots of bands out there. Bands change  but  that
is required to keep it fresh and innovative at times. We have changed
our music from the sound we were doing four years  ago,  but  it  has
been natural for us. Some bands change to keep up with what is  going
on at the moment and they will never succeed in the long run  because
they keep having to change to be accepted."
     Seeing that the music has changed as the band  goes  along,  how
has Stromblad changed as either a musician or a person? "Obviously, I
have become better from what I do. I have more thirst to  explore  my
musical talent, meaning that I don't try to  limit  what  I  want  to
attempt to do. I don't want to be sectioned off into a certain  style
or sound of what I am doing. Years ago  I  might  have  been  in  the
studio and come up with a riff and said, 'We  can't  use  this.  This
isn't In Flames sounding.' Now that doesn't occur and we try  to  use
whatever we can incorporate into our music. We are  more  open-minded
now than ever before. We are not afraid to try stuff  like  keyboards
or  violins.  For  us,  the  use  of  violins  and  keyboards  are  a
complement. I think if they were not into the  record,  it  would  be
very boring from start to finish",  states  Stomblad,  "I  think  the
addition of those two qualities lift our music. You have to  be  sure
to use the right amount of sounds and by all means don't over  do  it
either."
     He finishes, "I think people are drawn to In Flames  because  of
our diversity. As well, our fans, or people that may  know  us,  know
that they are going to get something different with each release  and
not have us repeat the same song styles. I think from looking at  our
music and career from this point, we have not stagnated ourselves.  I
think we have done the  complete  opposite.  That  was  quite  humble
wasn't it?", laughs Stromblad. "Okay... enough of that.  The  answer:
It has been a very positive evolution for the band."

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

                       P E T E R ' S   P A I N 
                       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                    CoC interviews Peter Tagtgren
                          by: Adrian Bromley

     Peter Tagtgren is a busy man. Whether it be his  work  with  his
other projects Hypocrisy or The Abyss, or even his producer work with
other bands out of his Abyss Studio in Sweden, Peter Tagtgren  always
finds some time - somehow - to come up with  some  new  direction  or
sound that interests him. The results  this  time  around  from  some
heavy brainstorming?  The  industrial-fueled  metal  band  Pain.  The
self-titled debut release for Pain was written, mixed, produced,  and
performed by Tagtgren alone, a process he feels comfortable with.
     "My musical career is going by very fast with all the bands I am
working with and the stuff I am  doing",  says  Tagtgren  from  Abyss
Studio. "I am cutting down with the projects I do or the bands that I
work producing. This is a creative outlet for me and as long as I can
keep being creative with all the things I do, then I will do it." 
     But the hard work, multiple projects and long hours seems to  be
catching up with Tagtgren. "For personal reasons, I can't do as  much
of this stuff as I want. There is too much shit. I just can't do  it.
What I am gonna do in the future now is focus primarily on  the  Pain
project and not do any more Hypocrisy or other projects. We are gonna
do one more Hypocrisy record, starting to record it in May, and  then
I am just gonna put everything aside except the studio and Pain." And
why that decision? "I don't have time. Too much stress. I feel really
tired. I just got home yesterday from a tour (he  played  guitar  for
Marduk on a 10-day tour in Europe) and today there is a band  waiting
to record an album. I am totally shot and this is the way all my days
are. Always working on either projects or producing bands."
     The more you  hear  the  Pain  record,  the  more  you  get  the
impression and feel of Tagtgren moving on with  his  creativity  into
more modern sounding musical ideas and sounds. Sure, Pain's debut  is
far from what he has done  with  other  projects,  but  there  is  no
denying that the industrial-tinged  offerings  of  Pain  do  hit  the
listener fast and furious, leaving us  with  memorable  hooks  and  a
pulsing rhythm echoing in our heads. "I am glad with what I did  with
this record, sound- and style-wise , but I wanted it to have more  of
a more techno feel to it but  I  didn't  have  time.  But  next  Pain
record, it will be more industrial and techno sounding. The  thing  I
like about industrial or techno music is the amazing sounds  you  can
get from machines", he explains, about why he  used  such  styles  in
Pain's music. "I like the weirdness of the style. There seems  to  be
just a huge onslaught of sounds and then all of a sudden there  is  a
melody to work off of. It's quite fascinating."
     About the Pain record, Tagtgren has mixed feelings about the way
the album ended up. He is a tough person to please in the studio  and
even his own work is easily criticized by himself. "There are  a  few
songs on this record that are not as good as some other  ones  and  I
wish the whole album was totally strong,  but  you  can  only  do  so
much", notes Tagtgren. "I put a lot of pressure on myself  because  I
am doing this all by myself and you get confused. And when you listen
back to the record you think, 'Oh... I should have done this, or  did
that.' While there are the good songs on this record and  the  others
that I am sort of happy with, the main thing is that  they  all  work
off each other and make a pretty solid record in my mind."
     Like a lot of his other projects, Tagtgren brings a lot of ideas
into a studio and works them there. He and  whomever  he  is  working
with  collaborate  in  the  studio  and  emerge  with  material   and
strengthened ideas. But unlike preparation in the  past,  when  going
into the studio with Pain, Tagtgren had the basis for what he  wanted
to do (four songs) but not a complete roster of ideas.  Studio  time,
hell, even some stressful nights preparing ideas, helped  create  the
music on the debut album. "When I went into the studio,  I  had  four
songs, and in the studio I had to write four more.  That  was  tough.
Songwriting is an easy process when you are in the mood to  write.  I
can write easily... if I am in the mood to write. I had to work  hard
to get the ideas out for this record."
     He concludes, "This record is a very depressing record. Like the
name of the band, it is a painful assortment of songs, though  heavy.
Not death metal heavy, but like a fist to the face heavy."
     One thing that can also be noted about Tagtgren is his love  for
experimentation in his music and not really fitting into a  set  mold
of ideas. Through past releases with Hypocrisy and  The  Abyss,  even
with Pain, he and his former bandmates have always geared their music
to pushing the envelope with ideas and interpretations of  how  heavy
music should be directed and delivered to the masses. "I have  always
been open to experimentation. If you  listen  to  all  the  Hypocrisy
records, they are all very different.  I  think  it  is  cool  to  do
something original and something cool because then people notice  and
you get applauded for what you did. I can't  stay  grounded  with  an
idea, I do, I explore with my music. That is what I  do  and  what  I
will always do."

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                 _\ \/ -_|_-<(_-</ / _ \/ _ \(_-<
                /___/\__/___/___/_/\___/_//_/___/


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.


 C A P T U R I N G   T H E   C R A D L E   O F   C R E A T I V I T Y
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
               CoC interviews England's Cradle of Filth
                          by: Drew Schinzel

Since bursting onto  the  scene  with  the  release  of  1994's  _The
Principle of Evil Made Flesh_, Cradle of Filth have been both praised
for their orchestral, emotional arrangements, and harshly  criticized
for apparently selling their image too much, through countless  shirt
designs, scantily clad  women  adorning  their  CDs,  and  their  own
merchandising company.  Think  what  you  will  about  the  hype  and
publicity surrounding them, their musical prowess is undeniable. They
really need no further introduction, and Dani had enough  to  say  in
the interview anyway, so I'll just cut this intro short and  let  you
start reading.

CoC: So what's new since the release of _Dusk and Her Embrace_?  What
     have you guys been up to?

Dani: Well, it essentially was released while we  were  on  tour,  at
      least in England, on November 28th  or  something.  We  took  a
      break over the Christmas period, and we've been designing  some
      new merchandise and what have you. We've got a tour coming  up,
      shortly, in Europe. We've been writing new material because  we
      enjoy writing new material all the time, you know, and it gives
      us time to fuck around with it and expand  it...  it's  really,
      really good. We're really pleased with it. Also, the video  has
      gone into pre-production, as soon as I get back from this press
      trip I'm on. We start shooting it, probably next Monday [March 
      3rd].

CoC: Video? For which song?

Dani:  It's  for  the  track  "Dusk  and  Her  Embrace",   but   it's
      incorporating a track that hasn't been heard that was  supposed
      to be designated for the end of the LP, but it didn't meet  the
      schedule. It's like an orchestral piece, it's  beautiful,  it's
      called "Carmilla's Masque". And that's  going  to  be  like  an
      intro to the track, and then we're going to record two versions
      of it; you know, one that's sort  of  MTV-friendly,  which  the
      record company demands, and then our version <laughs>, and then
      a live track, but we won't be playing on  tour  in  the  video,
      it's going to be like a short film, an art film. Then  there'll
      be an interview. But we've been given quite a good  budget  for
      it, so it's going to be interesting.  That's  about  it;  we've
      been really, really busy.

CoC: Which members contributed most of the material to the  new  full
     length?

Dani: A lot of the material was actually written  with  the  original
      lineup, a while ago. We were waiting for this business with our
      previous record company, "Crap"cophonous records  <laughs>.  To
      cut a long story short, we placed a litigation order upon them,
      and it looked like our career was in jeopardy, like  the  band,
      there  were  arguments  and  stuff  because  we  were   getting
      frustrated, so there were three of us left  to  deal  with  the
      court case, to end it, you know, so we could get  on  with  our
      musical careers. We recorded the _Vempire..._ EP for  them,  so
      we were then free, because we withheld the  masters  for  _Dusk
      and Her Embrace_, to re-record it, which we did, and changed  a
      lot of it with the new members, and also wrote a couple of  new
      tracks for it. "Malice Through the Looking  Glass"  was  a  new
      track, "Humana Inspired to Nightmare" was a new track,  and  we
      did some extensive work with the other songs as well.

CoC: What are your feelings on the  other  bands  that  some  of  the
     former members have formed? Some of them have a  pretty  similar
     sound, wouldn't you say? Actually one of them (Hecate Enthroned)
     is -extremely- similar in sound.

Dani: Yeah, well I won't even -mention- that band's  name  because  I
      mean, people say "Are you worried about it?" Well what have  we
      got to worry about, it's an imitation, and it's ridiculous.  It
      doesn't even make much sense, really. But, you know, good  luck
      to them, if they want to rip off our ideas... it's  flattering,
      really. As for Blood Divine, I think they're kicking themselves
      now, because one of the reasons that... well, the two  brothers
      were kicked out, but the other guy, I was the best man  at  his
      wedding about a  month  before  he  left,  which  made  me  the
      godfather to his son. But I've often spoken to him since  then,
      and he's just a completely different character  now.  I'm  sure
      he's kicking himself. And, you know, that's  his  just  fucking
      reward. But I'm not going to run my  mouth  and  slag  off  his
      band, because they're probably quite good, I mean they were  in
      our band. I still have a lot of respect for them, but as far as
      I'm concerned they're getting their just rewards.

CoC: Any plans for a U.S. tour this summer, or anything else of  that
     nature?

Dani: Apparently yes, we're supposed to be doing the Milwaukee  Metal
      Fest this year, and  then  the  preparation  for  the  tour  is
      underway. Their's talk of us doing, I can't name the band,  but
      a big band, supporting a re-formed band, if  you  know  what  I
      mean. I don't really want to disclose who it is, because if  it
      doesn't pull off then everyone'll just go "awww..."

CoC: What, is it Venom?

Dani: Ehh... could be. <laughs> Anyway... <laughs>

CoC: What would you guys be doing if you weren't playing in Cradle of
     Filth? Where do you see yourself, as far as your career, if  you
     weren't in the band, or even in music?

Dani: I probably would be  dead  from  a  drug  overdose,  I  reckon.
      <laughs> No, I don't know really, because music is my life.  As
      well as doing Cradle of  Filth,  I  partially  run  Vamperotica
      (merchandising company). I mean, I don't do the  production  of
      the shirts, obviously, but essentially I sort of run that label
      and do the designs and everything. It's a full-time job. But  I
      suppose I would be in  design  or  something,  something  along
      those lines, but this is my life, and I really enjoy it.

CoC: What do you think of the people who think you're a bunch of rock
     stars, because of your image, and your appeal to the 13  and  14
     year-olds, and your whole merchandising company?

Dani: Well, you get that anywhere, people say  that  sort  of  thing.
      Usually it just comes from jealousy, and that kind of  stuff...
      generally you just end up tending to ignore that kind of  shit,
      because -I- know different than that. And I  know  better  than
      anyone, because I'm me. I was on the Internet last  night,  and
      no offense, but some of the kids on the Internet you can reckon
      are probably like 12 or 13 years old,  and  they  just  sit  in
      their room with their computer and they've got no experience in
      real life, so it's a window for them to view  the  world.  They
      can say what they want, and act as tough as they want.  We  got
      some funny things here like, they were obviously young  because
      they were fixated with  asses,  and  the  idea  of  me  sucking
      blokes' dicks, which is all very amusing. And this is  where  a
      lot of this stuff came from, this ideology  you've  put  forth,
      about people saying 'image image image' or 'hype hype'...  Fuck
      'em. So, things like this are a necessity, to come here and  do
      a press trip, it's what's required of you if you view it as a 
      job.

CoC: The vocal style you use must be pretty hard on your  throat.  Do
     you think it'll have any effect on you, later in  life,  or  are
     you just going to keep screaming it out for  the  rest  of  your
     time in Cradle of Filth, or what?

Dani: Well I tend not to think about it. I smoke  as  well,  so  that
      probably doesn't help. I tend to look after it, not as much  as
      I should. I mean, it sounds painful, but it isn't.

CoC: Do you use much overdubbing, during the longer screams, or is it
     all natural?

Dani: Nah, it's natural. It's surprising really, I'm  only  a  little
      guy as well. People are like 'How do you do that?  If  I  could
      sing like that I'd just do it all the time, in the street!' But
      you just have to get in a frame of mind  to  do  that  sort  of
      thing. It's not as hard as it  seems;  it  sounds  as  if  it's
      really really taxing. I can't sing like, I don't  know,  Ronnie
      James Dio, or that kind of thing you know. I've got  admiration
      for someone like Joe Lynn Turner for example, I'm  not  a  fan,
      but he's an incredible vocalist. To each their own.

CoC: What have the album sales been like for  _Vempire..._,  and  now
     _Dusk and Her Embrace_?

Dani: Well, we've sold quite a few records in Europe  and  what  have
      you, and obviously the sales haven't been  massive  over  here,
      because it's been on import. This is the purpose of this  press
      trip, you know, having just signed to Music for Nations,  well,
      we've got to let people know who we are. And I guess the reason
      why some people tag this band as all imagery or what  have  you
      is because all they see of the band are the  scraps  that  have
      been  thrown  from  the  tables  in  Europe.  And  the  general
      magazines that you would get over  here,  you  know,  magazines
      like Kerrang, and also Hit Parader, and stuff like that, that's
      all talk. They need stuff that  sells  magazines,  they're  not
      really interested in the music. And the good thing about  that,
      is that  people  don't  seem  to  realize  that  (A)  it  gives
      publicity anyway, and (B) if kids want to know more  about  the
      band, they turn to things that  matter,  like  the  underground
      fanzines.

CoC: What's your view of the Internet, as far as  helping  Cradle  of
     Filth out, and the underground metal scene?

Dani: Oh, well  I  am  total  techno-fear-man,  all-the-machines-are-
      ganging-up-on-me type of person. I am hopeless with  computers,
      but that's really because I  haven't  paid  much  attention  to
      them, but I'm going to try and get some  sort  of  PC,  because
      that's just going to  help  more  with  the  artwork,  and  the
      Internet just looks like a lot of fun. Yeah, I've seen some  of
      our websites, like in England. Some people  who  are  fans,  or
      with their own fanzines, just set up websites,  and  it's  like
      'Fuck yeah, how did  he  know  that?  I  only  stubbed  my  toe
      yesterday!' <laughs> So yeah,  it's  incredible.  It's  like  a
      whole underground culture, isn't it?

CoC: What size do you want to see Cradle of Filth grow to,  in  terms
     of popularity? Do you want to  be  any  more  popular  than  you
     already are?

Dani: Now, this must be a trick question. <laughs>  No,  I  see  your
      point, but I'd be a liar if I said 'oh, I  think  I'd  like  to
      stay this size for the rest of my life.' No, of course I'd like
      to see us get to enormous  stature,  but  we're  not  going  to
      compromise. We don't have to do that because, essentially,  our
      music... it's -our- music, and we don't  really  like  to  have
      anybody fuck with it and what have  you.  It  just  so  happens
      that, okay, people dig us and buy our records now. So you know,
      we don't go and compromise... because, fuck, we're not in  this
      to compromise, you know what I mean? We  know  that  we're  not
      going to be fucking huge,  and  the  rock  star  thing  doesn't
      appeal to us anyway. It's just not our cup  of  tea.  The  best
      thing to get from a band is to get respect, to  get  people  to
      appreciate you for creating music. And the best  thing  in  the
      world is when people, genuine people, not buttfuckers, love the
      record so much they tell you about it and  they  want  to  know
      more, and it's such a cool feeling  to  know  that  you  affect
      someone's life that much. That is the  cool  feeling,  not  the
      money. The money isn't important, it's a bonus. That's  all  it
      is. You've got to live, but the main thing is respect, that's 
      cool.

CoC: In an interview about 10 or 12 months ago (in  Voices  from  the
     Darkside #9), you said that you'd written about  80  minutes  of
     music for _Dusk and Her Embrace_, but of  course  it's  only  53
     minutes long (the regular version, anyway).

Dani: "Queen of Winter, Throned" was originally  a  _Dusk..._  track,
      which was changed for _Vempire..._; we re-wrote it, added  some
      new parts in there and what have you. But I love that, I  think
      it's great. But we had time to do that you see,  when  we  were
      going through the litigation with the record company, we had  a
      lot of free time on our hands, because they weren't putting  us
      out on tour, and weren't getting us into the right  places  and
      what have you, so it's understandable isn't it?

CoC: The kid who  was  arrested  for  wearing  the  Cradle  of  Filth
     shirt... would you mind talking about that a bit?

Dani: Yeah, well I'm not too clued up exactly what happened,  because
      it was all happening while we  were  out  of  the  country.  We
      pledged our support to his  case,  but  unfortunately  we  were
      again out of the fucking country when his case came up. He lost
      his appeal, which meant that he lost legal aid, so he  couldn't
      pay for his own solicitor. He did want  to  fight  it,  out  of
      principle. But it's all up in the air really,  because  he  was
      determined not to lose, and all eyes were on it  on  the  press
      side of things in  England,  because  had  he  lost,  and  they
      enforced this law they would have had to rewrite everything  to
      do with censorship. That would have had massive  repercussions,
      it would have sent shockwaves throughout any form of  artistry,
      film, television, and music. In general, the music business was
      kind of crapping its pants, so to speak, because, you  know,  a
      lot of bands make a lot of money being outspoken.  That's  what
      England should be, it's a land where you can have  free  speech
      so it was kind of worrying. But we  ended  up  giving  him  the
      money that he was charged, basically because it was  our  fault
      if you think about it. I think it's  cool.  We've  got  another
      shirt now, well we've got  quite  a  few  shirts  on  the  way,
      because the best thing about it is  meeting  up  with  all  the
      photographers, and also to see the women, it's  great  fun  you
      know, it's brilliant. But this one shirt, it's like  an  attack
      back, a retort to the "Jesus Is a Cunt" shirt, and we're  going
      to get this guy to model  it  for  this  issue  of  Terrorizer.
      Basically, it's just Cradle of Filth, with our faces  down  the
      sleeve, along with our names. Why we are cunts, you know,  like
      the Irish-born keyboardist Damien is referred to as a terrorist
      on it, and Nicholas is referred to as Necroboar. It's  a  cool,
      funny shirt. But, I felt we had to say it before everyone  else
      did. <laughs>

CoC: Why did you sign to Music for Nations, as opposed to one of  the
     top labels like Nuclear Blast?

Dani:  Firstly,  to  be  perfectly  honest,  what  we  did,  we   led
      Cacophonous on, we led them up the gardened path for about four
      months saying we were going to re-sign to them so  they'd  take
      us out to business meals and, you know, just pamper us  because
      we'd been treated like  shit  before  then.  We  were  kind  of
      reveling  in  it.  Behind  their  backs,  we  were  just  going
      everywhere. We flew out to Germany, we went  to  East/West  and
      were taken out, we went up to  see  Earache  and  other  people
      expressed interest as well. It was like a pick of about six  or
      seven labels, we had a solicitor to get the best deal  for  us,
      and we got a good one in the end. Because obviously  we  needed
      cash to buy new gear, but  it  was  cool,  because  we  visited
      everywhere and got loads of free CDs. <laughs> 'Alright see ya,
      yeah, yeah' or 'Yeah, we'll get back to you tomorrow.' <laughs>
      That kind of thing. The reason why we settled  with  Music  for
      Nations was because, if I wanted to have a  go  at  the  record
      company because they had fucked up, you'd have to go to Germany
      for it, you know what I mean, you can't  hit  anyone  over  the
      telephone.  Music  for  Nations  is,  okay  we  live   in   the
      countryside, but London is like an hour and a  half,  at  most,
      and then you're there at the office. So if you have to go up to
      check on some artwork, or pick up some mail,  or  talk  to  the
      M.D. to discuss your next plan of attack, or whatever...  plus,
      they're a good label and they've got some great bands on  their
      label.

CoC: What do you think about the  new  wave  of  "unholy  evil  black
     metal" bands, from Norway or  elsewhere,  who  rely  totally  on
     image, and who have no real musical qualities?

Dani: I don't think it's fair for me to  talk  about  people's  bands
      because, you know, it's their life as well, and I don't  really
      want to bitch about it. Although we've done our fair  share  of
      it in the past, I must admit. But it was fair, it wasn't for no
      reason. What -does- annoy me, which we get, is when people  say
      'oh you're appearing in these  magazines...  that's  not  black
      metal' And it's like, who the fuck are these people to  dictate
      to us what is and what isn't, you know, exactly.  But  I  think
      that whole Norwegian thing burnt itself out when they  realized
      they didn't have anything else left to say.  But  there's  some
      great fucking music still coming from  Norway,  like  Arcturus,
      you know?

CoC: What do you see in the future for Cradle of Filth, as far as the
     rest of this year, and  next  year?  Anything  special  planned,
     besides the video and tours?

Dani: We've got new material for a new release, untitled as  of  yet,
      because really we've  been  too  busy  to  turn  our  attention
      towards writing any lyrics, which is sort of  a  sad  thing  to
      say,  but  it's  perfectly  true.  It's  going  to  be  like  a
      _Vempire..._-length mini-album which will see release  probably
      around September to October, is the plan, and then a new  album
      will follow next March. Obviously, you know, there's a  lot  of
      work involved there, because the tracks  have  got  to  be  the
      fucking dog's bollocks, and they will be, but time  will  tell.
      Then we've got a big festival, because we've  got  to  get  our
      faces out there a bit more, and give the fans a good show. Then
      I'm getting married this year and I've got to squeeze  that  in
      <laughs>. I love commitments like that, so...  But  the  actual
      thought though, now that  you're  talking  about  it,  thinking
      about the rest of the year, and the fact that  I'm  tired,  I'm
      like 'Ohhh God... just let me melt.'

CoC: Sure, but it'll be fun though, wouldn't you say? Touring, etc.?

Dani: Well, to be perfectly honest, I'm not a big fan of  touring.  I
      mean I love playing shows, but when it comes  to  touring...  I
      get gradually worn down, you know? Like I  start  really  good,
      and my voice will get stronger, but my mental outlook gets more
      and more worn down, like a fucking pebble on the  beach.  We've
      got a six-week tour coming up, and we've never done anything as
      long as six weeks, and to  tell  the  truth,  I'm  not  looking
      forward to it. I can be an outgoing character you know, go  out
      and enjoy myself, but my favorite thing is being at  home,  you
      know. I miss my pets, and it sounds sad, but I really  miss  my
      girlfriend. It's just work done from home, I can do a lot  more
      things there.

CoC: Well, that's about it. Is there anything you want to say, or end
     the interview with?

Dani: Ehhmm... No, because if I  open  my  mouth  and  say  something
      ridiculous then I'll just get bad for it. <laughs>

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

                       S W A N O ' S   E D G E
                       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
               CoC chats with the legendary Dan Swano
                          by: Pedro Azevedo

     After the epic _Crimson_, much was expected of Edge of  Sanity's
sixth full-length  album,  _Infernal_.  Having  always  been  one  of
Sweden's leading bands, EoS never were  predictable,  and  _Infernal_
surely isn't a predictable album - many thought this would just be  a
soften-up album,  after  _Crimson_  showed  more  melody  than  their
previous album, _Purgatory Afterglow_. However, _Infernal_ turns  out
to be overall harsher and less melodic than _Crimson_,  and  still  a
great album in its own right.
     This time the songwriting  has  been  split  between  Swano  and
Axelsson/Larsson, with Swano playing all instruments  (except  drums)
in the songs he wrote, as well as doing all the vocals  except  in  a
couple of tracks where Axelsson takes over.
     However, they have undergone some tough times lately,  and,  get
ready for this, EoS ARE SPLITTING  UP.  Dan  Swano  himself  told  me
(after the interview) that he  was  going  to  go  on  his  own  now,
although he wouldn't "give up metal" (in his own  words).  Therefore,
this might very well be EoS's last interview, at least as you  and  I
knew them so far... so enjoy our  e-mail  chat  with  EoS's  creative
genius and frontman Dan Swano.

CoC: Would you like to tell our readers  some  more  about  your  new
     album, _Infernal_?

Dan Swano: No! Just kidding! What is there to say?  It  is  one  more
           album with this weird project.  This  time  we  split  the
           songwriting between me and the rest of the band.  I  think
           it turned out okay.

CoC: Why did you choose to go back to the old Edge  of  Sanity  logo,
     which wasn't used in _Purgatory Afterglow_ and _Crimson_?

DS: Ask Black Mark. I would never have let that happen  if  they  had
    asked first but they didn't so what can I do?

CoC: Speaking of those two, what's the meaning  of  all  those  short
     silent tracks in the end of _Purgatory Afterglow_?

DS: We wanted to have 99 tracks but it took such a long  time  so  we
    did it just to confuse people and to avoid  the  "shuffle/random"
    play for the consumers, ha, ha!

CoC: About _Crimson_, what process did you use to write it?  Did  you
     write a few melodies and riffs and put them all together, or was
     it a sequential process, or none of the above?

DS: We wrote it sequential (nice word). We jammed and had  DAT  tapes
    running. Once every hour we listened to what we'd done  and  then
    we wrote something more serious out of it and all of a sudden  it
    was 40 minutes!

CoC: What exactly is the meaning of the _Crimson_ cover art?

DS: It shows the young child encaged in the crimson water that brings
    eternal pain.

CoC: How well have Edge of Sanity been doing in sales?

DS: We have sold about 100,000 records worldwide until now.  I  think
    it's cool!

CoC: Do you think EoS's quality and success  should  be  measured  by
     that kind of number (sales)?

DS: Not really. Our records are really good compared to some shit out
    there that sell a lot more but these bands tour and really  exist
    as a band while we are a project that hardly even  meet  when  we
    aren't recording!

CoC: Back to _Infernal_, which I found to be a very good album and  a
     very worthy follow-up to your previous works, why  did  you  use
     Axelsson's voice in the two fastest tracks instead  of  inviting
     Mike Akerfeldt again? Was he unavailable?

DS: Mike was not a part of the plan.  These  songs  were  written  by
    Andreas and he just wanted to sign on them. I  don't  know  if  I
    like it, but it gives the whole thing a different side.  Mike  is
    not into doing session stuff anymore, he did too much!

CoC: Why didn't Sami Nerberg appear  on  this  album?  Is  everything
     alright with him?

DS: He is not totally alright. He had serious drug problems and  went
    to jail/treatment a few months before the recording and now  he's
    out, a bit better I guess but they easily fall back, but  I  hope
    he is strong enough to not do so. I hardly  know  the  guy  so  I
    don't know which I believe is the possible outcome.

CoC: How did the work go at The Abyss studio with Peter Tagtgren?

DS: Perfect. Peter is the perfect studio engineer.  He  is  eager  to
    make things better than possible and I like that. He made a  good
    job in a short time for our album.

CoC: Is Unisound "dead"?

DS: Yep. Totally fucking dead. I have a new studio now  for  personal
    use only called The Sanctuary.

CoC: Why did you choose to  have  such  different  writers  for  your
     lyrics?

DS: Mainly because I didn't have any inspiration or time to  complete
    them myself. Lyrics are the worst thing! If anyone out there have
    some cool stuff laying around, sent it to me!

CoC: What was the reason  behind  the  strange  tempos  used  in  the
     beginning and end of "15:36"?

DS: My weird mind! Did I fool you? Every  one  gets  fooled  by  that
    weird change. Benny had a tough time playing it  but  he  did  it
    finally! I will fool you even more with the next album! Beware!

CoC: What was the idea/concept behind "The Last Song"?

DS: I wanted to show you all what I feel deep inside. It is the  most
    personal song I have ever written and I wanted the  end  of  this
    album to be first soft and then almost chaotic  because  that  is
    the way I feel when I write. But  for  the  next  album,  I  will
    hopefully have more time to record and fix  and  tricks.  Like  a
    year or so!

CoC: I heard that Pan-Thy-Monium was coming back to life without you.
     What's your view on that?

DS: It is all up to them. I have kArAbOuDjAn which is my  version  of
    PTM but much more weird and bizarre! Then can do what  they  want
    but I don't think too many will enjoy it. The finesse is gone.

CoC: I'd like to ask you your  opinion  on  a  few  Swedish  bands  I
     personally enjoy. Please give a short opinion on each, if that's
     alright with you

CoC: Katatonia.

DS: Good band with some problems to find their  style.  Their  latest
    releases are kind of different to the first ones but it  is  fine
    with me.

CoC: Dark Tranquillity.

DS: Haven't heard much. The stuff I have heard is better than  Septic
    Broiler!

CoC: In Flames.

DS: Among the best bands to come out of the metal  scene  in  Sweden.
    They really make great material and have a great sense of quality
    and their records have a wonderful sound.

CoC: Dissection.

DS: I think this band would be the best in the whole genre if Jon did
    all the stuff alone with  lets  say  Hellhammer  on  drums.  Some
    moments on the first album is superb  while  some  stuff  on  the
    second album is Zzzzzzzz.

CoC: Opeth.

DS: The best metal band Sweden ever produced in my opinion.  This  is
    the way I want my metal. Progressive and with  long  epic  tracks
    and a combination of evil and beautiful things. They  rule!  They
    kicked out their bass player by the way! And have studio time for
    the 3rd album in Fredman in September.

CoC: Therion.

DS: I think their death metal had some good sides, especially  tracks
    like "The Return". But they have  too  much  junk  in  the  music
    nowadays. I think it was cool to sing on their latest record  but
    the best song wasn't on the album! I am not a fan  of  horns  and
    choirs, etc., let the normal 5-piece speak!

CoC: Hypocrisy.

DS: Peter is a clever bastard. He is writing  death  metal  with  the
    same vision as myself. I think their next album might  kick  some
    serious ass! "Roswell 47" might be THE death metal  song  of  the
    90s.

CoC: Godgory.

DS: Good outfit. Good ideas, and whatever people say, [they  have]  a
    style of their own. There are things that could be done, like the
    lyrics and the arrangements, but all in all a fucking fine  piece
    of flesh, and their rhythm guitarist  is  the  robot  from  hell.
    James Hetfield go home!

CoC: And, of course, Edge of Sanity.

DS: We suck!

CoC: A lot of bands have been quitting the death vocals  lately,  but
     you haven't (and I'm glad for that). Why? What are  the  chances
     of death vocals for the next EoS album?

DS: It will probably have about the same  balance  as  _Infernal_.  I
    like that combination. Growlings fuck your throat  but  having  a
    lot of spare time between the takes now enables me to  give  101%
    in every song, not having to think about doing all  10  songs  in
    one day. That rules!

CoC: Well, wrapping up, anything you'd like to tell our readers,  any
     final message?

DS: I want to do some serious eating  now!  Sorry  for  some  limited
    answers but I am not used to typing my answers. Call  me  up  and
    you'll have 10 pages worth of conversation. Ask anyone who  tried
    me out!

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        N A Z A R E N E   W I T H   A   F A X   M A C H I N E
        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
           CoC chats with Impaled Nazarene's Mika Luttinen
                          by: Steve Hoeltzel

Imagine my surprise when I tried to fax a set of  questions  to  Mika
Luttinen, owner of the deranged throat which fronts this craziest  of
bands - and got his voice coming out of my modem instead,  "Hello?...
Hello?" It's a surprisingly deep  voice,  too,  especially  when  you
consider Mika's throat-ripping high-end performance on  _Latex  Cult_
(reviewed in  CoC  #11),  not  to  mention  the  band's  three  prior
full-length releases. Anyway, we exchanged pleasantries for  a  (very
expensive) minute or two, then fired up the faxes. And now, thanks to
the miracle of modern communications technology, all you  Karmakeddon
Warriors out there can check out  what  transpired  and  read  Mika's
report on current Impaled activities.

CoC: What's new with the band? How has the recent touring gone?

Mika Luttinen: Not much happening; writing new songs. Touring's  been
               okay. It has been great to play with Cannibal  Corpse,
               Immolation, Angel Corpse, and Gehennah.
 
CoC: What kind of activities have you got planned for 1997?

ML: We will tour South America in March. We'll  do  Chile,  Columbia,
    Argentina, and Brazil. After that, no plans, except we'll try  to
    get to Mexico before summer as well. Late 97: studio! 

CoC: The latest update from Osmose says that one of your concerts  in
     Paris was sabotaged. What is the story there? Do  you  know  who
     committed the sabotage, and why?

ML: Believe it or not, until today I thought that  we  had  a  normal
    power break during the gig in Paris, but as  I  just  spoke  with
    Herve of Osmose,  it  indeed  was  caused  by  some  anti-Impaled
    Nazarene people... My guess goes for some black metal nerds.

CoC: The update also mentions some controversy about  the  cover  art
     for _Ugra-Karma_. What can you tell us about all that?

ML: I cannot reveal too much, as it seems likely we'll  go  to  court
    because of that. Anyway, nobody fucks with us like that, so  some
    action is to follow. This  just  proves  that  Hare  Krishnas  or
    whatever they call themselves are just like any  other  religion:
    they seek cheap publicity and are money hungry. Fuck them.

CoC: After _Suomi Finland Perkele_, I was somewhat surprised  to  see
     the band return to the all-out aggression of  earlier  releases.
     What prompted this return? And how do you answer people who  say
     that you were simply "playing it safe" by sounding so extreme on
     _Latex Cult_?

ML: The bottom line is that Kimmo [Luttinen - Mika's brother and  the
    band's former drummer] changed our style pretty  much  after  the
    release of _Ugra-Karma_. It was  his  vision  of  how  we  should
    sound, and the rest of us weren't happy at all. It is useless for
    a band like us to try to be a copy of Danzig or fucking  Paradise
    Lost. So, after Kimmo was replaced, it was normal for  us  to  go
    back to what we do best, i.e. play aggressive and fast  metal.  I
    guess you're referring to Metal Maniacs, where they said we  just
    wanted to play it safe. If we wanted to play it safe, we would be
    doing fucking gothic metal or whatever, in the line of "Blood  Is
    Thicker Than Water" from _Suomi Finland Perkele_. It was one  guy
    who wanted to go a different way, and the  rest  did  not  agree.
    Nobody expected such a release as _Latex Cult_ from  us  anymore,
    but we fucking proved that we are still here, doing our thing our
    way. We can get only nastier.

CoC: You seem to approach your band's lyrics and image with  a  sense
     of humour. Is that a fair assessment? What is  your  opinion  of
     those who are (or claim to be) one hundred percent serious about
     all this black metal stuff?

ML: If somebody is one hundred percent  serious  about  black  metal,
    then so what? It does  not  bother  us.  Certainly  there's  some
    humour on our first three CDs, but on _Latex Cult_ there's  none.
    We were pissed off when we wrote it, and I think it  shows.  Lots
    of shit went down two months before we entered the studio, and it
    fucking shows.

CoC: I have read interviews in  which  you  describe  yourself  as  a
     "cynical individualist." For the  benefit  of  readers  who  may
     think of Impaled Nazarene as a bunch  of  devil-worshippers,  or
     whatever, could you please explain  what  you  mean  by  cynical
     individualism?

ML: A better term would actually be "fucking asshole", but anyway,  I
    see the whole band as individualists, as we do not belong  to  or
    support any political or religious movement or  organization.  We
    have come this far by being ourselves, and that's what I'm  proud
    of! We never  kissed  ass  or  jumped  the  next  trend  or  sold
    ourselves out. For sure, we would have a way bigger following  if
    we had been into "evil guys and their doings",  but  we  did  not
    fucking care about them.

CoC: The year 2000 will soon arrive. How does the future  look,  from
     your own perspective?

ML: Things are starting to boil up, I guess.

CoC: What would the next hundred years look  like,  if  Sir  Luttinen
     were in charge?

ML: Sir Luttinen is actually a name my brother (our ex-drummer) uses.
    [Oops! My mistake. - Steve] If I were in charge, it would be  the
    end of Greenpeace and all things green. Cement or nothing.
  
CoC: If you could be born again during any past  period  of  history,
     what period would you choose, and why?

ML: I prefer present over past, so I am just happy here, thank you.

CoC: What sort of thing have you been listening to lately?

ML: Nothing but my own guitar playing, as the last three weeks I have
    been composing new songs - speaking of which, everybody check out
    the forthcoming _World Domination II_ CD by Osmose, as it  has  a
    brand new Impaled Nazarene track on it.

CoC: When all is said and done, how would you like  Impaled  Nazarene
     to be remembered?

ML: As a cult band - but I do hope this won't happen for a long, long
    time.

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          B A R D S   O F   T H E   B L A C K   B A L T I C 
          ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                  CoC speaks with Nergal of Behemoth
                          by: Steve Hoeltzel

Proud "Bards of Pomeranian Heathendom", Poland's Behemoth prove  that
you don't have to be from  Scandinavia  to  create  immense,  intense
black metal with originality and flair. Last year's excellent  _Grom_
impressed me a great deal (see my gushing review in CoC #15), and the
album remains a big favorite around here still.  The  band's  earlier
material is much more raw and simplistic,  but  I  still  think  that
their demo and first MCD (whose names you'll find below)  are  killer
takes on the just-as-raw-as-possible style of black metal. _Grom_, on
the other hand,  is  quite  a  bit  more  muscular  and  dynamic,  an
impassioned, thundering monster of a record. The first time  I  heard
it, I decided that I'd definitely try to get an interview with  these
guys for the zine. Here's the result.

CoC: For readers who may not be familiar with  the  band,  could  you
     please give a brief history, including your recent activities?

Nergal: Behemoth was formed by [guitarist/vocalist/songwriter] Nergal
        in mid-1991. Since the beginning, the music of the  band  has
        been oriented within the canons of black metal. We recorded a
        few demo tapes which were very successful and gained a lot of
        excellent  opinions  from  all  over  the  world.  After  the
        recording of the _From the Pagan Vastlands_ demo tape, we got
        an offer from a German label, Nazgul's Eyre, and an  American
        one, Wild Rags, to release it on  CD  format.  Shortly  after
        this, the editions of this demo CD  were  available  on  both
        continents. Our first real piece was the MCD _And the Forests
        Dream Eternally_,  which  can  be  ordered  from  the  German
        [label] Last Epitaph Productions. Also available is our first
        full-length CD called _Sventivith_. In the  end  of  '95,  we
        recorded our second opus, _Grom_, and months later we went on
        a European tour with Pagan Triumph, which made  our  position
        among the black metal bands much  stronger.  At  the  moment,
        we're promoting our new EP, _Bewitching the Pomerania_, which
        is  an  announcement   of   our   third   opus,   _Pandemonic
        Incantations_, which should hit humanity in the fall of 1997. 

CoC: What do you think sets Behemoth apart from the many other  bands
     in today's crowded extreme metal scene?

N: I think we are far more dedicated to the black  metal  scene  than
   most of the other bands on this planet. Behemoth  is  something  I
   pay all my attention to, and I put all my heart in it. Because  of
   that, we stand above the average-ism of today's black metal scene,
   and believe me, we shall bombard  the  human  race  with  our  new
   album, that's sure!

CoC: The band's sound has really grown from the early  days  of  your
     first releases  (which  I  still  really  like).  Do  you  still
     consider Behemoth to be a black metal  band?  Today,  what  does
     black metal represent to you?

N: Black metal stands for extreme  individuality  and  expression  of
   yourself within its realm. That's what black metal means to me. Of
   course, this is a great style of MUSIC, but I believe  that's  not
   everything that black metal stands for. It's strongly connected to
   your life, and it's a kind of  thing,  an  irrational  being  that
   exists among us, feeds our hungry hearts with its magnificent  and
   totally unique atmosphere and meaning. Something which is hard  to
   express in any mortal language.

CoC: Many of the lyrics on _Grom_ speak of the power of  nature,  and
     of a return to "ancient pride" - and pride and  power  are  very
     evident in your sound. Please tell  us  a  bit  more  about  the
     personal convictions behind your lyrics and music.

N: The lyrics are a very integral part of our  music,  and  certainly
   one can't exist without the other. I don't  want  people  to  look
   upon my poems as a kind of manifesto, because it simply isn't one.
   They are a kind of mirror of my inner self, the expression of  the
   inner voice of my soul. I try to express all that's  important  in
   my life, and these are the emotions that are born from my love for
   Pomerania and what it's all about, the history, the ancient pride,
   etc. I hope you can feel even a little piece of this feeling while
   reading my lyrics... if not, then try again until you find what  I
   call the essence of life. 

CoC: If you could be reborn during any period of past  history,  what
     period would you choose, and why?

N: Sometimes I really think that I belong  to  a  different  reality,
   that I'm the kind of man who belongs to the past  or  the  future,
   but its surely  a  great  kingdom  of  freedom.  I'm  deeply  into
   history, but I'm not so sure if there is any period  in  it  which
   I'd love so much. Of course, I find it  extremely  interesting  to
   read about ancient civilizations, barbaric tribes, etc.,  but  all
   in all, I'd prefer to stay in my own world. I still believe  there
   are some things left to be done on this damn earth,  and  I  shall
   realize myself as long as the gods help me in the present life.

CoC: How does the future look to you?

N: As always, it's filled with emotions, and it's  exciting  to  wait
   and see how humanity will change when we will have had  our  third
   son. As I said in the first answer,  we're  working  hard  on  our
   third album, which should be out in the end of the year on  German
   Solstitium Records. Until then, we  will  be  promoting  our  MCD,
   which shows our present face. Just check it out, and you'll easily
   notice that we're stronger than ever!

CoC: Tell us about your new material.

N: The new songs differ from the ones on _Grom_. They are surely more
   mature in each way. You'll see, we've developed as musicians,  and
   it's audible on our new record. It's full of extreme emotions. The
   sound is also much better than on our previous release. There  may
   be some more melodies, some more synth parts, but it stays  brutal
   and fast as hell!

CoC: I believe you recently played quite a few clubs around Europe in
     support of _Grom_. How did that go?

N: I must admit that the tour we did in  September  '96  went  really
   great. Well, there  were  still  some  places  where  the  crowd's
   behaviour was really annoying, but fortunately,  we  are  quite  a
   well known band, and there  were  always  a  few  individuals  who
   seemed to know what was going on when Behemoth performed.  I  just
   want to hail all of them, hoping we meet together in  the  nearest
   future... We have played in countries like Germany,  Belgium,  and
   Holland, and in most places the reaction of the crowd  was  really
   amazing. They seemed to know our lyrics very well, which was quite
   a surprise for me. After finishing the next recording, we'll go on
   tour again, most possibly in the fall  of  this  year  or  in  the
   beginning of 1998. Time shall tell.

CoC: Please name four or five albums from the past year or  so  which
     you would consider essential.

N: It's extremely hard to name the most essential ones, but I'll have
   a  try:  Mercyful  Fate,  _Into  the   Unknown_;   King   Diamond,
   _Graveyard_; Manowar,  _Louder  than  Hell_;  Satyricon,  _Nemesis
   Divina_; Nephilim, _Zoon_. Well, it's sure that  there  are  still
   some important titles left out,  but  it's  really  impossible  to
   decide what counts as the most essential ones, really.

CoC: In the end, how would you like Behemoth to be remembered?

N: Even if we are dead one day, the memory of us will stay  immortal,
   as our music surely is. Just remember that even if the black metal
   wave will pass, never to return, there will come the day of wrath,
   and then we will enter the eternal night, rape  your  bodies  with
   our magnificent art... This ART forever shall be.

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           D A V E   D I S H E S   I T   O U T   A G A I N 
           ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                 CoC chats Grip Inc.'s Dave Lombardo
                          by: Adrian Bromley

     Before we even get into this Chaotic Chat Session, I have to  be
perfectly honest with you. I was not really into  or  even  impressed
with Grip Inc.'s debut album, _The Power of Inner Strength_, when  it
came out in 1995. While the band was the  new  outfit  for  ex-Slayer
drummer Dave Lombardo, I felt that the  four-piece  lacked  something
within their music. While it was intense and delivered solid  thrusts
of anger and strength at certain points  of  the  record,  the  music
seemed monotonous and rather stale. Needless to say, upon hearing  of
the  second  effort,  _Nemesis_,  surfacing,  I  was  anticipating  a
somewhat similar outing. Man, was I wrong.
     The  band's  latest  effort,  _Nemesis_,  is   a   ball-busting,
hard-hitting ride of metal groove. The groove  and  variety  of  song
structures, plus throw in  vocalist  Gus  Chamber's  rawness  in  his
vocals, has taken the shape of an immense music machine. Sure,  there
seems to be more of a groove here than rip-roarin' metal  riffs,  but
those who have heard _TPoIS_ and this new record will clearly see the
difference  in  releases  and  be  happier  that  Grip  Inc.  (now  a
three-piece with guitarist/producer Waldemar  Sorychta  rounding  out
the band) cleaned up and condensed their sound into  something  worth
cranking.
     Chronicles of Chaos caught up  with  Grip  Inc.  founder/drummer
Dave Lombardo to talk about _Nemesis_ and how life has been two years
down the road for Grip Inc.

CoC: With all the press, touring, and work that came along  with  the
     first record, what kind of emphasis or work did  you  take  into
     the recording of _Nemesis_?

Dave Lombardo: _TPoIS_ was such a heavy, aggressive, in-yer-face kind
               of record, and then we were  in  the  studio  thinking
               about what we were going to do  with  this  record.  I
               wanted to set the tone and try to make the new  record
               more groove-oriented. A little  bit  funky  but  still
               heavy. I wanted the band to be heard as a band. And as
               it goes along we try to  continue  branching  out.  We
               already have two songs for the  next  record  now  and
               that is going to be a screwed up, dysfunctional record
               with lots of time changes but still sounding like Grip
               Inc. What we want to do is with every album to  set  a
               different tone. We just want to be able  to  play  all
               the different material live and have  all  the  styles
               take you through different mood swings.

CoC: From the critics point of view, some people enjoyed the work  of
     Grip Inc. while others had their own opinions  about  the  band,
     whether it be leaving Slayer to do this or  the  sound  you  had
     created for the band. What kind of response have you heard  from
     fans, friends, musicians, or even the label, Metal Blade?

DL: Everything regarding the record has been great. People around the
    world are loving it. Europe has been great for us  for  the  most
    part, too. Except England. In England they don't really  like  us
    and I think that has something to do with Gus leaving the country
    and trying to start a life in the United States. There are  three
    major  magazines  over  there:  Kerrang!,   Metal   Hammer,   and
    Terrorizer. We got a hell of a review in one of  the  underground
    magazines over there but  in  Kerrang!  and  Metal  Hammer,  they
    didn't have too many favorable things to say.  I  am  gonna  make
    toilet paper out of those reviews. I'm gonna let  them  know,  'I
    wipe my ass with what you say.' <laughs>

CoC: With your years of experience touring with  Slayer  and  playing
     the last few years  with  Grip  Inc.,  do  you  feel  that  your
     musicianship has changed?

DL:  Definitely.  My  musicianship  goes  in  cycles  and  constantly
    changes, and I like that because I am  able  to  experiment  with
    every different style. I am able to express the  aggressive  Dave
    Lombardo style with bits and pieces of music that I  have  picked
    up on. This process of listening to various types of music allows
    me to bring those ideas into Grip Inc. and make it its own thing.

CoC: Does music and song writing come a lot easier now?

DL: Grip Inc. is like a writing machine now. Waldemar and myself  can
    get together at anytime to write music and it still is fresh  and
    sounding like Grip Inc. Writing is more enjoyable now for us.

CoC: How has the last few years been for you with Grip Inc. and  life
     in general?

DL: 1996 for me personally was the worst year of my life.  A  lot  of
    things happened that year. We had recorded the record and we,  as
    musicians, were learning to deal and communicate with each other.
    There was a lot of turmoil. Now in 1997, it seems much better for
    us and we are tighter. We are a close-knit family now. The  three
    of us are the brains of the group and if something goes wrong, we
    are all to blame and not just one individual.  We  all  work  off
    each other, provide input, and other useful  ideas  to  keep  the
    band tight.

CoC: The thing that I think sets  this  album  apart  from  the  last
     record is the ability for all  the  musicians  involved  in  the
     making of the record to be able  to  add  their  own  input  and
     ideas, and not be afraid to try or experiment. Do you agree?

DL: Yes. I find that when you try to keep a musician into  a  certain
    style or mold, they can only do so much, but if you sit back  and
    let them take control of what they want to bring to a song  or  a
    project, their musical ideas start to flourish. That  is  what  I
    wanted from both Gus and Waldemar. I wanted that.  Anything  that
    they felt we could bring to Grip Inc., I told them to bring it to
    the music. 

CoC: When you started Grip Inc., a  lot  of  people  saw  it  as  the
     'ex-drummer' of Slayer's band, and that  plagued  you  for  your
     debut release and pretty much within the press. It  has  been  a
     couple of years now since your departure  from  Slayer:  Do  you
     think with  _Nemesis_  that  you  have  severed  completely  any
     affiliation with Slayer?

DL: I believe strongly that we have done that. No one  can  say  that
    this even remotely sounds like Slayer in any way. I  mean,  there
    are so many bands out there that sound closer to Slayer than Grip
    Inc. could ever be. People have to understand that  I  was  their
    drummer and I have my own style, and I can't get away from  that.
    The band, in a way, revolved around my drumming and that is maybe
    why people are placing comparisons on our music. I think we  have
    dropped the comparisons with _Nemesis_.

CoC: A description of Grip Inc.'s _Nemesis_?

DL: This record is not a total metal record in my mind. I would  call
    it power-rock or power-metal or even a little bit of speed metal.
    I think it is  good,  solid,  tasteful  music  that  anybody  can
    appreciate a little bit no matter what scene or  style  they  are
    into. This record can be like a door opening for someone who  may
    not be into metal but may find it a stepping stone  into  getting
    interested into metal music. Who knows? I'm not  trying  to  turn
    people off of metal with my music,  rather  trying  to  get  more
    people interested with our style of music and metal itself.

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

                A L F   A R T I C U L A T E S   A L L 
                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                     An interview with Oxiplegatz
                          by: Drew Schinzel

Oxiplegatz is truly one of the more original acts in the death  metal
underground. Utilizing a mesmerizing sci-fi atmosphere, baritone male
vocals, wonderful female vocals, and  of  course  some  more  typical
death/black vocals, this project, solely the hobby of  Alf  Svensson,
deserves more recognition than it receives. The complex  compositions
are all of inspiring, diverse, beautiful, brutal, and  everything  in
between, encompassing the entire  spectrum  of  emotion  and  musical
intensity. The man behind Oxiplegatz is obviously -not- one to follow
the current trends, and it will remain that way forever, it seems, as
it should. Alf had some very interesting, and very -true-, things  to
say, so do read on.

CoC: Could you please explain how Oxiplegatz  came  into  being,  and
     give a little background on the band?

Alf: As you might already know, I played for a couple of  years  with
     At the Gates, which was formed by myself  and  some  other  guys
     from Gothenburg, Sweden, after  our  first  band  Grotesque  was
     split up. After recording  the  album  _With  fear  I  Kiss  the
     Burning Darkness_, I felt I could no longer go on  playing  with
     the band. We had been on a few shorter tours through Europe  and
     I felt it was not really my thing, and  since  the  band  gained
     popularity it was likely there would be a lot of gigs coming up.
     Furthermore, we were starting to have different points  of  view
     on the future of the band. Anders was taking over  the  role  of
     songwriter more and more, not that I thought  his  material  was
     bad, I just felt like experimenting a whole lot  more  then  the
     rest of the guys seemed to do. So, I decided to let them develop
     in their own direction and do what I wanted to do for myself.  I
     had a lot of old material that was never used with At the Gates,
     and I put together some songs of rather uneven quality. This was
     released  as   the   first   Oxiplegatz   album:   _Fairytales_.
     Unfortunately, I was not used to doing everything on my own  and
     the result was, looking back now, not what I would have liked it
     to be. I let myself be influenced by others' opinions and ideas,
     which I have learned since  to  ignore  completely.  The  second
     album,  _Worlds  &  Worlds_,  is  in  a  sense  the  first  real
     Oxiplegatz album, with the style formed and  the  direction  for
     the band set, even though some songs also on this album are  old
     material.  "Graveyard  dream"  is  an  old  song  I  wrote   for
     Grotesque, which was never  recorded.  "The  End  Is  Nigh"  and
     "Journey" were originally meant to be on the  first  album,  but
     the recording really sucked so I did a re-mix and  added  a  new
     song - this is the last part  on  the  CD,  recorded  in  Studio
     Fredman. As I think of it, perhaps the next release will be  the
     first complete Oxiplegatz album.

CoC: What is the current state of the band?

Alf: I don't know if I would really call it a -band-; it's more  like
     a hobby of mine. Anyway, I haven't quit yet. I hope to  make  at
     least one more attempt at creating something I won't have to  be
     ashamed of in ten years or so.

CoC: What's been going on since the release of _Worlds & Worlds_?

Alf: I'm currently working on the next Oxiplegatz project,  no  title
     is yet decided, but it will be an album more or less  consisting
     of one long piece of music. One day as I was  listening  to  the
     radio at work, I was suddenly sickened by the way all  music  is
     essentially the same, in structure and  melody.  So  I  thought:
     "Sad, sad is the state of society.  Has  the  evolution  of  the
     human brain turned into regression?" Everybody  only  does  what
     others have done before them, following the  mainstream  like  a
     flock of mindless sheep.  The  visionary  is  looked  upon  with
     scorn, people lack insight and depth of vision,  rejoicing  only
     in the image of the familiar  and  even  simple.  Unfortunately,
     this goes also for the better part of the metal scene. I  really
     don't understand it - would I pick up the cover of a  new  band,
     decipher the logo, look at the photos of guys in  black  leather
     with long hair, corpsepaint, and inverted  crosses,  desperately
     trying to look evil, read the blasphemous titles and say: "Wow -
     cool, this looks interesting, I'm buying?" - I don't think so...
     I'm not saying I'm the most original composer there is,  but  at
     least I try not to do exactly what everyone else does,  just  to
     sell. This whole thing with Satan, inverted crosses, and evil is
     purely ludicrous. I personally refuse  to  believe  in  anything
     that was invented by some old goat-fucking shepherd thousands of
     years ago in Israel. It's all crap.  My  interest  lies  in  the
     future,  and  man's  evolution  into  homo  sapiens   stellaris.
     Oxiplegatz is dedicated to the unknown of the final frontier.

Alf: The new project will be the story of a world  perishing  in  the
     gravitation of a huge black hole. The inhabitants are forced  to
     emigrate into space. Strange adventures await them  between  the
     stars as the mystical journey unfolds.

CoC: Where do you get such inspiration for the sci-fi aspect  of  the
     album?

Alf: I have always been a sci-fi fan. Periodically I read a lot,  the
     problem is only  that  there  are  so  few  good  writers.  Most
     concepts have already been used before, also in this  field.  My
     personal favourite is Jack Vance, who never seems to run out  of
     ideas for new and strange societies on  remote  worlds.  Besides
     reading sci-fi, I have,  ever  since  being  a  child,  been  an
     amateur astronomer. It's a thrilling feeling to gaze  through  a
     telescope at some distant star and ponder: "What lies out there?
     Maybe I'm right now staring at a future home of mankind, or  the
     blazing scene  of  an  interstellar  war  going  on  beyond  the
     knowledge of us feeble, earth-based primitives. If  only  I  was
     born a few hundred years into the future!"

CoC: How has the response been to _Worlds & Worlds_?

Alf: Fairly good I would say. I do not get much  mail,  but  the  few
     positive words I receive  from  fans  over  the  world  is  what
     counts. I never expected to satisfy the taste of  the  commoner.
     The album has sold okay, but that don't matter  much  to  me,  I
     write music mainly for the fun of it.

CoC:  Why  was  there  such  a  time/studio  difference  between  the
     recording sessions for the album?

Alf: Periodically I lose interest in music and  spend  my  time  with
     some of my main interests, which are things like drawing comics,
     writing or painting. Recently I've  gotten  into  3-D  graphics,
     that is making computer games, and learning this has taken a lot
     of time. Music is something I rarely occupy  my  thoughts  with,
     only when I'm fed up with other things.

CoC: The artwork which adorns the album  is  spectacular.  Would  you
     care to talk about this further?

Alf: Thank you - it's actually one of the  things  I  like  the  most
     about the  CD.  The  front  cover  is  made  from  a  mixing  of
     techniques. I had decided to have a naked woman on  the  sleeve,
     so I took a photo of my girlfriend and blended it into a scenery
     made in a 3-D program. The goatbot is one of my first  tries  at
     creating figures with the computer, and as it turned out  pretty
     cool I thought: this will do for the cover and will also give  a
     hint at the black metal parts of the music. One thing about  the
     cover: I wanted it to be white. This color seems to be banned in
     metal circles, which suits me fine. The back cover  was  created
     first as a mesh of 3-D objects and later worked upon  in  a  2-D
     art program. All in all I like it a lot - the contrasts  between
     the white, the black star fields  and  the  metal  surfaces  are
     striking. There, enough of boasting.

CoC: Are you involved in any other projects besides Oxiplegatz?

Alf: Some lesser projects. I recently made a few songs together  with
     my younger brother, who is into punk. A CD  is  to  be  released
     shortly. It has not many things in common with  Oxiplegatz.  I'm
     also in a punk band called Oral, which has  existed  by  and  by
     since   1985.   It   was   my   first   band   and   we   played
     Discharge-inspired music. We released a CD in 1995 with some old
     songs, and it is now sold out. I have a few projects of  my  own
     which I don't know if they will ever be completed.

CoC: What is meant by the name Oxiplegatz?

Alf: According to an old Donald Duck  magazine,  it  means  "How?"  A
     gold-devouring creature uttered the word when  deceived  by  the
     clever Donald and his nephews. I figured: Most bands have  names
     that are totally incomprehensible, I'll use an even worse...

CoC: The CD packaging, theme, etc.,  are  all  not  things  that  are
     familiar to the black  or  death  metal  scene,  yet  the  music
     retains many of the  trademarks.  Are  you  trying  to  separate
     Oxiplegatz from the rest of the faceless bands in the genre?

Alf: I would hope so. I'm sure all the cool satanic bands laugh at my
     image, but so what - I laugh at theirs. At least  I  don't  wear
     makeup like a raccoon... As you might be aware of black metal is
     big here in Scandinavia and I know a lot of  guys  who  actually
     claim to be serious satanists or rather devil worshippers.  They
     perform rites out in the woods, drink blood and  cut  themselves
     up with knives. Ridiculous. I hold them for no better  than  all
     the religious vomit of Christianity and  Islam,  it's  only  the
     other side of the same coin. Sure, we had inverted crosses  when
     I played with Grotesque, but that  was  only  to  make  fun  and
     provoke. So you could say I try to separate myself from them.

CoC: Towards what direction do you think you are heading,  musically,
     for the next Oxiplegatz release?

Alf: I have given up the concept of putting  songs  together  in  the
     standard way. I will just  put  together  a  lot  of  riffs  and
     melodies as I see fit, one thing inevitably leads to another.  I
     had  an  intention  to  have  a  really   intricate   setup   of
     instrumentation and a lot of orchestral arrangements, but now as
     I've made a few attempts at putting the pieces  together  on  my
     computer (I record at home using hard  disc  recording)  I  find
     that the sound tends to be  blurred  and  the  details  hard  to
     discern when using too many instruments at once.  I'm  not  sure
     yet but perhaps I'll cut the original concept down to  a  rather
     basic setup of drums , bass, guitars and a few choirs and  synth
     sounds. Simplicity has it's charm, I listened to some old At the
     Gates stuff the other day (I rarely do) and I was struck by  the
     simplicity of the songs - but still, they are clear and definite
     in composition. So the next Oxiplegatz album might  hold  a  few
     things for those who liked the early At the Gates, since I  have
     reached the conclusion that bigger is not always better when  it
     comes to arranging songs. It will still be death metal,  not  as
     fast and aggressive as some of the songs from _Worlds & Worlds_,
     but more variations and strange melodies.

CoC: Is Oxiplegatz solely a manifestation of your mind's eye? Do  you
     think you will ever tire of it?

Alf: Oh yes, I tire of it from time  to  time  and  think  'I've  had
     enough of this shit now! Never again will  I  waste  hours  upon
     hours on pointless musical  exertions.'  After  all,  every  new
     piece is merely a rearrangement of the same old notes and beats.
     But as long as I feel I can do better than the last  attempt,  I
     guess I will try again  and  make  another  album...  And,  most
     important of all, I still think it's fun to write music. It's  a
     way of expressing oneself and visualize your ideas, not as  good
     as drawing and painting, but still...

CoC: What else do you do in life, besides Oxiplegatz?

Alf: I tend to get involved in more things than I  really  have  time
     for. To start with, I work like most others do, a necessary evil
     to get enough money to be convenient in life. Since  four  years
     back I run a tattoo studio in Gothenburg, and I work about 25-30
     hours a week there. Actually, I'm sick of tattooing and I try to
     cut down on the hours in favour of more  interesting  things.  A
     year ago I started learning 3-D graphics. I spend an average  of
     three hours a day at my computer,  constructing  meshes  in  3-D
     Studio. I hope to put together a commercial  adventure  game  in
     the near future together with a friend who is a C++  programmer.
     Another big interest of mine is comics. I try to do at least one
     page every week on some story. I recently finished a ninety-page
     sci-fi story, inspired by Jack Vance's "Dying Earth" novels.  It
     will hopefully be released in Sweden during 1997.  I  also  have
     another story going, a tale from around the year 1000, when  the
     Icelander Grette  Asmundsson  lived  a  life  as  an  outlaw  in
     medieval Scandinavia. Lots of violence and sword swinging there.
     It's almost completed. Besides these main interests, I  train  a
     lot. There's a good Thai boxing club here that I've  been  going
     to for some time, but recently  I  changed  to  shoot  fighting,
     which is a kind of mixed style of Thai  boxing,  wrestling,  and
     Jiu Jitsu. If you've seen the  Ultimate  Fighting  Championships
     and those kind of no-rules  competitions,  you  know  what  it's
     about. I train maybe three, four evenings a  week.  Well,  apart
     from that, there's not  much.  I  almost  never  hang  out  with
     friends, sit around listening to music or  just  do  nothing,  I
     think that's a complete waste of time. Life is  short.  So,  I'm
     pretty busy, but on the other hand I'm never bored.

CoC: When can we expect a new release?

Alf: As soon as I feel satisfied with the new stuff. I record  a  few
     parts now and then as I get the  inspiration  (at  home  with  a
     hard-disc-recording system on my PC). I'm not sure when it  will
     be finished, since I have to start working on the cover and  all
     that, but I hope maybe in autumn of 1997.

CoC: What are some of your inspirations, musically, and  which  other
     bands in the scene today do you respect and listen to?

Alf: I try to get influenced as little as possible from other  music.
     "Getting inspiration" sounds pretty  much  the  same  to  me  as
     "stealing ideas from others". To be true, I haven't bought a  CD
     in the last two years, because I never have time  to  listen  to
     them anyway. So I'm not really following what  has  happened  in
     the scene lately. I kind of lost interest when most bands that I
     like left the old death metal style and evolved  into  something
     less inventive or aggressive. I get a demo tape  or  a  CD  from
     fans now and then, and this is  what  I  mostly  listen  to,  if
     anything. New, unexperienced bands often project an energy  that
     the -big- bands lack. The latest CD I got was an Israeli band  -
     Grimoire, _A requiem..._ - it's pretty good. I still like a  lot
     of old stuff though, like Napalm Death's  _Harmony  Corruption_,
     the  first  Deicide,  Incubus'  _Beyond  the  Unknown_,   almost
     everything with Bolt Thrower, Macabre, and Discharge... I listen
     mostly to opera, medieval music, and music from the  early  part
     of this century, Bing  Crosby,  Frank  Sinatra,  and  all  their
     Swedish likes. I respect every band, whatever their style,  that
     has  something  original  to  give  and  not  only  follows  the
     mainstream. I have problems accepting that everyone must  always
     try to be so cool all the time and put up a facade,  even  if  I
     realize the same could probably be said about myself.

CoC: Why don't you work with any other musicians for  Oxiplegatz,  as
     far as writing/performing music and lyrics is concerned?

Alf: Because I can't stand it when people interfere with my ideas.  I
     want to be in total control and free to follow  my  every  whim.
     Music is always better when created by one individual. I  hardly
     think that any of the old composers like  Puccini,  Schubert  or
     Mahler would have accepted to get  their  ideas  voted  down  by
     others? I personally had enough of this with At the Gates.

CoC: I think that's about all my questions, Alf. You  can  take  this
     opportunity to say anything you want.

Alf: Thank you for your interest in my insignificant music. For those
     who    want    to    visit    my    website,    the    URL    is
     http://home3.swipnet.se/w-30444.   My    E-mail    address    is
     alf.svensson@swipnet.se.

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

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


              T H E   B L O O D   I S   T H E   L I F E 
              ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                   CoC interrogates Blood of Christ
                           by: Adam Wasylyk

     Most people in Southern Ontario know that Toronto's metal  scene
is dead, with the exception of a few  small  indie  bands.  What  has
grown to become Ontario's metal hot-spot is  London,  which  has  had
visits from bands like  Suffocation  and  Deicide  in  the  past  few
months. There is also  a  very  sturdy  underground  with  some  very
talented bands. Blood of Christ is  one  of  those  bands,  who  have
become the first to sign to a label, Pulverizer Records.
     I talked to brothers Jeff  (guitars)  and  Jason  (drums)  Longo
about BoC's past, present, and what seems like a very bright  future.
This is what transpired.

CoC: Tell me about the band's origins, how the  band  members  joined
     together to become Blood of Christ?

Jeff: Blood of Christ started out in early  1994,  actually  probably
      earlier around late '93. In the summer of '94 we did two demos,
      _Divine  Requiem_  and  _Frozen  Dreams_.  The  only  remaining
      members from these demos are Jason Longo (drums), Marek  Kopola
      (bass), and myself on guitar.  Then  we  started  playing  live
      shows. Our first (which was promoted, booked,  and  set  up  by
      BoC) was with Cryptopsy and Nefarious on September 2nd, 1995. A
      while after this, after a whole year of constant  problems  and
      differences with our  vocalist,  Conan  Bulani  joined  (August
      '96). The rest is history I guess, or is still to come.

CoC: How would you describe your sound to someone  who  hasn't  heard
     your music? What bands have influenced BoC's sound?

Jason: Well, our music is very different from any other  death  metal
       band. For example we have a lot of time changes and we  hardly
       ever play the same riff twice in our newer material.  Some  of
       the  bands  I  personally  listen  to  are  Immolation,  Korn,
       Suffocation, Cryptopsy, Primus, and the list goes on.

Jeff: There really aren't any "influences", we just play  what  comes
      to us naturally.

CoC: Tell me about your demo, _The Lonely Flowers of Autumn_. Did  it
     result in the band receiving any international attention?

Jason: Our demo, _TLFoA_, was recorded in September 1995 and contains
       four songs. It was our first  demo  that  introduced  our  new
       sound to people. We sold a lot of demos and made t-shirts  for
       it, too. We also got reviews in magazines around the world. We
       got a lot of attention for this demo, there was interest  from
       labels, bands, and 'zines alike.

Jeff: It also is what brought us to be heard  by  Randy  Williams  at
      Pulverizer Records!

CoC: Didn't the band release a 7-inch a while back?

Jason: Well, we recorded two songs for it  but  we  never  saw  those
       7-inches. It was with Torture Records (Italy) and I don't know
       if it got released in Europe or not, but it definitely  didn't
       come out over here to us in the mail. By the way, we've waited
       for over eight months for that fucking 7-inch!

CoC: Of those recordings, what did the lyrics deal with?

Jeff: Well, our lyrics on the demo and the two songs (which  will  be
      released soon - so one way or another we've finally  got  those
      songs out) which were intended for the  7-inch,  they're  about
      life I suppose, but with a very morose outlook. Very depressing
      and sometimes using  mythical  or  fantasy  ideas  to  get  the
      meanings across.

CoC: As you've hinted to earlier, and from what I've heard, Blood  of
     Christ has signed to Pulverizer Records. What circumstances  led
     up  to  signing  with  them?  Did  you  have  any  other  labels
     interested in you prior to signing with Pulverizer?

Jeff: Basically, Marek had sent the demo a  very  long  time  ago  to
      Inner Source 'zine. Randy Williams is the editor of the  'zine,
      so he gets the demos and mail. Since he gets hundreds of demos,
      he doesn't get to listen to them very fast. But  eventually  he
      came across ours, and he said that it "kicked his ass!" So then
      he sent me a letter saying he wanted to do a CD with us, so we 
      did.

Jason: There was interest from other labels, such as Torture, we were
       actually talking with him to do a CD, but... and other  labels
       from around... well it doesn't matter, we're on Pulverizer now.

CoC: When will the debut CD be released?

Jason: _...A Dream to Remember_ is the name of  our  full-length.  It
       will be released some time around the end of  February.  There
       are seven new tracks on  it,  "The  Lost  Shrine",  "Moonlight
       Eclipse", and "Nocturnal Desire", to  name  a  few,  and  then
       there are two older tunes re-recorded. Also, around  March  or
       later, we'll be re-releasing _TLFoA_ on CD  [along  with]  the
       two songs from that aforementioned 7-inch, and a bonus track -
       it comes out on Pulverizer Records!

CoC: Has there been any talk about you touring out of country?

Jason: Yes, there has been a lot of  talking  amongst  the  band.  In
       fact, we are playing some  shows  coming  up  in  the  States,
       hopefully Milwaukee Metal Fest, but I don't think that's for 
       sure.

CoC: How is the London scene right now? Some feel  that  it  is  only
     second to Montreal in the way  of  underground  metal  bands  in
     Canada?

Jason: The "scene" is weird because when  we  play  with  bands  like
       Cryptopsy, maybe 80-100 people (and half of those 80 are  from
       out of town anyway!) show up (at the most) and that pisses  me
       off because you see people downtown  with  their  death  metal
       shirts on and they say that they're die hard fans,  but  where
       are they when it comes down to it?  Personally,  I'm  sick  of
       London, I hate it here. As far as bands go, there is some good
       talent here, my favorite band is Flesh Feast, they're brutal.

Jeff: Yes, I agree, but other than Flesh Feast and us, I don't  think
      there's anything good (in death metal),  and  the  other  death
      metal bands here (well, they'd  like  to  think  they're  death
      metal), all they do is let their jealousy ruin our scene.  They
      have destroyed it 100% for the past two  years.  I  am  talking
      about, well, let's just call them the "S(t)D"'s for the sake of
      having a name to go by. They're fuckers  to  us  and  to  Flesh
      Feast, but they're sad because both us and  FF  are  what  they
      wish they were. Sorry guys, but I've had enough of your carving
      on other bands. Oh, and there's also Porno,  they're  cool  too
      with what they're doing, but I'm not too sure how they are with
      line-up changes and all... I just don't know.

CoC: What are your views on the Canadian metal scene?

Jason: I really don't know what my  views  are  but,  I'll  tell  you
       Europe and USA kick ass for death  metal.  Canada  is  not  as
       good. I don't know why, but I think  it  will  always  be  the
       "last stop" sort of things for bands.

CoC: Which bigger bands have  you  played  with  and  did  you  learn
     anything from them?

Jason: We have played with bands like Cryptopsy, Kataklysm,  Gorguts,
       Enemy Soil, and Oppressor. We learned some things but most  of
       the learning was done on our own.

CoC: What personal achievements do you have for Blood of Christ?

Jason: I want to play a lot more shows around the world and make lots
       of CDs and move to Europe!

Jeff: Yes, moving to Europe would be cool! We've both been there  and
      it's amazing. I also just want to play the music  we  love  and
      play to all kinds of different crowds in different places.  I'm
      also looking very hard for a  seven-string  Ibanez  (Universe),
      that's a big goal of  mine,  to  get  the  7th  string!  So  if
      anyone's got one they'd be willing to part with, call me now!

Contact address and merchandise information:

Demo: _The Lonely Flowers of Autumn_ -- $5 US

Jeff Longo, 27 Century Pl.
London, ONT, N6H 4W9, CANADA

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

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


Abigor - _Apokalypse_  (Napalm Records, March 1997)
by: Steve Hoeltzel  (8 out of 10)

Once  again,  Abigor   uphold   their   tradition   of   simultaneous
preservation and innovation on each new release. Like  the  excellent
_Opus  IV_,  this  six-track,  seventeen-minute  MCD  features   raw,
fevered, and ominous black metal as only this band can create it. Yet
compared to  _Opus  IV_,  the  new  material  is  less  involved  and
experimental, more uncomplicated and direct. Keyboards are  not  used
at all this time. Nor are the rousing,  medieval-styled  instrumental
flourishes  which  the  band  excels  at.  And  Silenius'   trademark
anguished shriek is gone as well. This time, the vocals are delivered
in two distinct voices, sometimes alternating, sometimes overlapping.
The first is a sharp, mid-ranged  variation  on  the  standard  black
metal rasp; the second,  an  eerily  processed,  echoing  whisper  or
croak. Mixed in with strange musical  passages,  haunting  phrasings,
and murky, funereal guitar tones, the manifold vocal effects  lend  a
stifling, menacing atmosphere to an already grim sound. On songs like
"Verwustung"  and  "Ubique  Daemon",  the  results  are   impressive:
ripping, stirring black metal that retains Abigor's distinctive  feel
without merely echoing their prior material. Although they're  brief,
the six songs all manage  to  be  interestingly  distinct  from  each
other. Some, like opener "Celestial",  are  impassioned  and  simple;
others, like "Ubique Daemon", feature more drastic  changes  in  tone
and speed. All in all, a very cool release -  recommended  to  anyone
interested in hearing totally grim, no-frills black metal done  in  a
weird and creative way. 


Avernus - _Of the Falling_  (MIA Records, March 1997)
by: Adam Wasylyk  (10 out of 10)

This is my first "10" given for a review in CoC, and I  must  say  it
earned EVERY mark. After seeing  Avernus  at  last  year's  Milwaukee
MetalFest (and who will be playing this year as well)  and  reviewing
their amazing _Farewell to Eden_ demo (review in CoC #14), I  had  no
idea why these guys weren't signed. Since then Avernus have signed to
MIA records and  have  released  their  first  full-length  which  is
comprised of new tracks along with a couple off _FtE_. A doom band at
heart, they also incorporate Arabic and Celtic influences into  their
sound which really accounted for the enjoyability factor I got out of
this. Littered on _OtF_ are dueling male and femme vocals which  play
off each other beautifully. Eight tracks  of  melancholic  doom  with
some flair. Definitely my favorite record of 1997  thus  far  and  is
highly, highly recommended.


Pat Boone - _Pat Boone in a Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy_
by: Brian Meloon  (7 out of 10)  (Hip-O Records, 1997)

This is the most hilarious album I've heard since  William  Shatner's
_The Transformed Man_. This album isn't quite as pathetically  funny,
because Boone  is  actually  an  accomplished  singer  who  has  some
knowledge about things like timing and melody. In any case,  this  is
an album of metal and hard rock covers done in big-band  style,  many
of which turned out better than the originals. Included are such cuts
as "You've Got Another Thing Coming", "Paradise City", "Smoke on  the
Water", "Holy Diver", "Stairway to Heaven" (as  a  jazz  waltz),  and
"Enter Sandman". Given the inherent difficulties of translating  hard
rock and metal songs to a big-band style, the songs  actually  follow
surprisingly close to the originals. For example, the  fast  lick  in
the middle of the chorus of  "Crazy  Train"  was  transcribed  for  a
trumpet (or some similar instrument). However, a  few  sections  were
altered, usually adding to the comedic value. A case in point is  the
altered quiet part in the middle of "Panama": "Think I'll just  reach
down... ease the seat back... fasten my  *seat  belt*."  Unlike  most
joke bands (GWAR, AC, etc.) which get old very  quickly,  this  album
remains funny long after you've first heard it,  which  I  think  has
mostly to do with the fact that it's difficult to tell  whether  it's
intended to be serious or a joke. Pat Boone has said about this album
that his critics simply didn't get the joke, but I for one  found  it
extremely amusing. 

Official Web site: http://www.mcarecords.com/amp14/reverb/boone.html


Broken Hope - _Loathing_  (Metal Blade, February 1997)
by: Adrian Bromley  (6 out of 10) 

Unlike their last record, _Hope_ (which I did not like much), I found
myself getting into the grindcore/death grooves of _Loathing_.  There
seems to be more of a collective feel of strength and  attention  put
towards a lot of the song structures. Musically, the band has evolved
somewhat into a more dominant sound with _Loathing_,  but  still  not
enough to separate them from the pack of  other  bands  within  their
genre. One thing the record  has  going  for  it  is  the  continuous
onslaught of rampaging riffs and growls; the intensity  almost  never
ceases from start to finish and  singer  Joe  Ptacek  slaps  on  some
seriously brutal growls. Intense to say the least.  The  album  lacks
substance and creativity in some places, but overall the record makes
a hard dent into our foreheads. 


Dark - _Endless Dreams of Sadness_  (Great Unlimited Noises, 1997)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (7 out of 10)

These guys really try to fool people. It's  almost  like  they  don't
want people to  buy  their  album.  First  off,  an  extremely  ugly,
unremarkable, simplistic, -crap- four letter (Dark)  logo  taking  up
half the front cover. Gee, great. Then the title, _Endless Dreams  of
Sadness_, which may get quite a few guys who enjoy doom (like myself)
to take a listen, but most of them (unlike myself) will drop this CD,
they won't buy it. Why? Because it's not doom - Dark are  actually  a
German death metal band who incorporates keyboards to add some  extra
melody. You're probably thinking of Crematory by now, but these  guys
lean more towards death and aren't as melodic as Crematory -  perhaps
not as good either, at least not as good as _Illusions_.  But  enough
of that, because Dark do have a sound of their own, even if they tend
to sometimes sound a bit like a mix of several other bands. This is a
60-minute album, none of the tracks being what you'd call slow  (some
are actually pretty damn fast-paced), through  which  Dark  use  both
strong death metal parts and more melodic and ambient passages.  They
have a consistent sound: the drumming is excellent and very powerful,
the grunts are pretty good and strong  too,  and  the  rest  fits  in
nicely, the guitars showing enough strength when the keyboards aren't
there. Speaking of keyboards, which are  the  main  reason  why  Dark
aren't just "another" death metal band, they use  keys  most  of  the
time throughout the album, both for  melody  and  for  background  or
ambient parts. The songwriting is very reasonable, and Dark  come  up
with several interesting  riffs  and  keyboard  melodies.  They  also
incorporate some acoustic guitars and female vocals here  and  there.
Dark manage to keep the quality level high enough during the album  -
they hardly ever blow you away, although there  are  some  damn  good
parts, but they do keep up a very interesting album during the  whole
60 minutes, thus assuring a good buy for any  fan  of  melodic  death
metal. Besides, they keep  shifting  styles  during  each  track,  so
you're unlikely to get bored. Interesting  stuff,  like  I  said,  it
won't blow you away but it  does  have  the  potential  to  keep  you
interested for 60 minutes, which is well above the average.


Darkness Enshroud - _Unveiled Ghostly Shadows_
by: Andrew Lewandowski  (1 out of 10)  (Moribund Records, 1996)

The subconscious nature of ambient music results in a tight rope  for
all those (and there are many) who dare dabble in the genre;  succeed
in crossing the rope, and your satisfaction will  be  transcendental.
If you fall from the rope, all that will be detected is the dead  air
resonating around your  immobile  bones.  Darkness  Enshroud  do  not
merely fall from this rope, they plummet,  thus  hitting  the  ground
harder than most. Dulled by 666 layers of tape hiss,  the  occasional
maggot or fly (rarely manifested in anything but a bass  heavy  synth
drone or constipated groan) sounds as  lifeless  as  the  carcass  in
which it explores. Wait! The body  twitches  ever  so  slightly!  The
sputterings of DE are no less amusing  than  those  of  any  impotent
creature; an elitist ejaculation of "pure bewilderment for most"  can
be found on the CD booklet! A  word  of  wisdom:  if  you  intend  on
sucking your own penis in a public forum, please have some reason for
doing so.


Die Sonne Satans - _Sigillo_  (Sadisque, 1996)
by: Andrew Lewandowski  (7 out of 10)

One of the less prolific artists in the ambient genre, _Sigillo_ is a
collection of the better material recorded over  the  course  of  the
band's five-year history. Even though this  is  a  collection  of  13
tracks usurped from several different sources, DSS avoid incoherence,
as they rarely stray from a typical dark ambient sound. As in many of
the  better  minimalist   ambient   albums   exploring   metaphysical
soundscapes, choral and  sacred  elements  work  at  enthralling  the
listener. While effective at producing a sonic realm segregated  from
reality, this provides nothing that, say, Archon  Satani  and  Raison
d'etre have not already experimented  in.  Besides  unoriginality,  a
larger problem manifests in confining  song  structures.  Few  tracks
propagate beyond  five  minutes,  thus  DSS  are  rarely  capable  of
exploring dynamic, or meditative, sounds  within  a  singular  track.
Although, the variety of sounds explored by  DSS  are  more  numerous
than on most ambient albums, and the problem is rectified  once  each
song is viewed as a faceless entity amidst a socialist  machine  than
as a free-thinking individual.


Dimmu Borgir - _Devil's Path_  (Hot Records, 1996)
by: Steve Hoeltzel  (8 out of 10)

This four-song MCD has been out for awhile now, but I only  just  got
around to tracking it down. My mistake, because  the  two  new  songs
presented here are quite good. They're also noticeably different from
the band's earlier material: melancholic keyboard lines are no longer
the center of the sound (in fact, Stian Aarstad, who used  to  handle
synthesizers and piano, is apparently no longer in  the  band).  This
time, the sonic focus is on (great-sounding) guitars and drums, which
gallop at compelling speed through moody black metal, featuring  lots
of fluid changes in rhythm and tone. Well-performed, melodious guitar
solos appear in each song, further enhancing the overall  feeling  of
flow. The agile, riff-heavy style of Old Man's Child definitely comes
to mind, especially in the title track's  flowing  time  changes  and
(this is a  cliche,  but)  epic-sounding  riffs.  Opener  "Master  of
Harmony" is somewhat harsher, showcasing plenty  of  blackened  speed
with some cool changes and unexpected breaks. In  addition  to  these
two new songs, there are two versions of Celtic Frost's 1984 classic,
"Nocturnal Fear". (The difference between the two versions is in  the
vocals:  first,  there's  Shagrath's  fairly  standard  black   metal
technique; then, vocals done more in the gruff Celtic  Frost  style.)
As covers go, this is pretty good, since  they  nicely  recreate  the
original's killer groove, in addition to livening up  the  song  with
some cool soloing. Anyway, the  two  new  songs  demonstrate  musical
proficiency that ranks with the best in the genre. The  band's  black
metal image may be utterly generic, but their  talent  is  definitely
distinctive. 


Disgust - _A World of No Beauty_  (Nuclear Blast, February 1997)
by: Adrian Bromley  (7 out of 10)

Managing to mix crust/grind metal, death metal, and  punk  rock  into
one heap of musical mayhem comes Disgust and  their  second  release,
_The World of No Beauty._ It ain't pretty  at  times,  as  the  music
seems to be scattered with multiple ideas, and the vocals  seem  very
monotonous and stale for the most part, but the music does rampage on
almost every track. It delivers solid  blasts  from  an  intense  and
vigorous rhythm section, and slick sounding guitars  pour  from  each
song with such might and intensity that we almost  manage  to  forget
about the adequate vocal stylings. Disgust features  ex-members  from
such bands  as  Extreme  Noise  Terror  and  Motorhead  (Wurzel  from
Motorhead plays guitar), which may conclude why the band has  such  a
diverse musical agenda. While not the most intense or  creative  band
out on the metal circuit, Disgust does deliver some heavy duty  shots
of experimentation that'll surely attract listeners.


Elend - _Les tenebres du dehors_  (Holy Records, 1997)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (no rating)

I haven't rated this album because I can't compare it  to  any  other
album ever reviewed here. So why rate it? I chose not to. This is  an
album  that  really  depends  on  the  listener,  this  could  be   a
masterpiece for some and just a weird uninteresting album for others.
How the hell do I even start describing this album?!?  Well...  let's
say that if you haven't heard these guys yet, then this is -not- what
you're thinking. First off, this is -not- a  metal  album.  Elend  do
-not- use guitars, bass, or the usual drums. This is -extremely- dark
classical music combined with black metal vocals. Still with  me?  So
you want to know how they do it? Elend are  a  four-piece  band  from
France, featuring two female vocalists (two sopranos) and  two  other
guys who take care of all  the  songwriting,  spoken,  and  whispered
vocals, black metal screams (and  I  mean  SCREAMS),  violin,  piano,
viola, and overall orchestral synths and keyboards. I must state that
both these guys used to play in orchestras, and  so  did  the  female
singers, so they're not exactly a few pretentious guys who think they
can do this stuff - they actually have all the knowledge and training
to back them up. Now why would these guys  be  reviewed  here?  Well,
because both of the band's founders were (and  are)  very  much  into
death and black metal and their intention was precisely to mix  these
musical styles with classical  music.  Basically,  take  a  piece  of
classical music, turn it  into  something  truly  dark,  magnificent,
deep, melodic, and -not- cheesy, and add two sweet female voices, one
male voice and, very often, black metal screams that sound as if they
came from beyond. It's really hard  for  me  to  describe  Elend  any
better, you just have to listen to it. What I can tell  you  is  that
several other metallers have liked Elend as much as I have. If you're
into either symphonic black metal or just doom, you really should try
this. The album is over 60 minutes long, and Elend manage to apply an
unbelievably dark and moody  feel  to  the  sort  of  structures  and
melodies one would expect of a classical piece, just that on  top  of
this they are just so intense, so violent, and yet so  melodic...  No
way I'll be choosing favourite tracks or whatever  on  this  one,  as
they vary from soft melodic pieces with whispered female  vocals  and
violins to powerful,  truly  dark  pieces  with  the  most  tortured,
anguished and extreme black metal screams I can recall enjoying. It's
just all so intense... one minute the music  soothes  you,  the  next
minute takes you to the depths of despair and  anger.  Just  a  final
note for the great digi-pak, featuring some true  artwork  from  such
artists as Victor Hugo and Da Vinci, all about  this  album's  theme,
which is basically Elend's version of the Luciferian revolution (very
good lyrics, by the way). This is such an emotionally powerful  album
that it leaves you cold inside when you  finish  listening  to  it...
like you have been taken on some journey beyond. Be warned that  this
is not an album for everyone to like, and you really  must  be  in  a
very special mood to fully enjoy it. It really has to be heard to  be
believed. Unique.


Edge of Sanity - _Infernal_  (Black Mark, March 1997)
by: Drew Schinzel  (7 out of 10)

I really, -really-, wanted to just love this album. I'd been  eagerly
awaiting the master Dan Swano's next  effort  (no,  I'm  not  talking
about the next Unicorn album, either), and upon seeing  the  old  EoS
logo   resurrected   front   and   center   of   the    cover,    and
Unorthodox-sounding song titles, my spirits went up;  I  dreamt  that
EoS had remained true to the sound they  had  developed  on  previous
masterpieces _Purgatory Afterglow_ and _Crimson_, not to mention  the
other godly albums in the hallowed Edge of Sanity back catalog.  Now,
however, after listening to _Infernal_ a few times, reality hits: The
new Edge of Sanity album is somewhat of a disappointment. Granted, it
would be difficult to match the last two incredibly melodic,  catchy,
and indeed, beautiful EoS albums, but _Infernal_  doesn't  even  come
close. With a decided lack of the high-tuned melodies  and  the  epic
feeling that enveloped previous efforts,  _Infernal_  is  instead  an
eclectic mix of different influences, some good, some  bad.  All  one
needs to do to prove this is to look at the song  credits;  guitarist
Andreas Axelsson sings lead (black) vocals on two songs, Swano  sings
cleanly on three songs, he only wrote the lyrics for  one  song,  and
Axelsson and drummer Benny Larsson wrote the majority of  the  music.
The biggest difference can be heard in the riffs and song style.  The
majority of the riffs are heavy and distorted, and while  this  style
came out just  fine  on  such  _PA_  tracks  as  "Elegy"  and  "Blood
Colored", they just seem uninspired and rather unoriginal  here.  The
clean melodies are all too rare, and to add insult  to  injury,  when
they -are- present, they're usually outstanding,  simply  punctuating
their dearth. The actual songs seem somewhat lacking as well. Whereas
on _PA_ they  had  a  real  sense  of  feeling  and  seriousness,  on
_Infernal_ that feeling is missing,  except  on  one  or  two  lonely
tracks. Of course, there are some highlights to the  album,  such  as
the third song, "15:36", with its brilliant  contrast  of  clean  and
death vocals, and the opener "Hell Is Where the Heart Is" (both,  not
coincidentally, written by Swano), however, none  of  the  songs  can
match the awesome power of the classics like "Twilight"  or  "Elegy",
or even the older material like "Enigma" and "Darkday". What else  is
there to say? If you are an Edge of Sanity fan, you, of course,  have
to have this, since most EoS fans are fanatics and would buy anything
with the Edge of Sanity name on it (not me though, no  way  <cough>).
If you're not familiar with EoS, however, I suggest starting with the
now-classic _Purgatory Afterglow_ for a taste  of  what  EoS  is  all
about.


Falkenbach - _En their medh riki fara_  (No Colours, 1997)
by: Drew Schinzel  (7 out of 10)

Falkenbach  are  German  folk-inspired  black  metal,  with   a   few
resemblances to Burzum, along  with  a  little  similarity  to  other
northern folk-influenced acts such as Storm. Simple, mostly mid-paced
drums pace the music, and the guitars are  in  the  same  style;  you
won't see any hyper-blast action going  on  here,  and  it  would  be
completely out of place, anyway; Falkenbach aren't one of the  hordes
of   unholy   play-as-fast-as-we-can-because-we're-evil-and-we-do-as-
Lord-Satanas-commands bands. Rather, they instead focus on the slower
side, with a little  keyboard  embellishment  here  and  there,  some
flute, and lyrics dealing with the  usual  desecration  of  churches,
wandering through dark forests, etc. For the  most  part,  Falkenbach
strike me as just a bit  boring.  Nothing  exciting  going  on,  just
plodding along at mid-pace, waiting for the song  to  end,  the  only
exceptions being the second and final songs, both predominantly clean
vocal efforts, sounding a little like Storm (except not as good), and
the fifth song, an interesting instrumental with majority  flute  and
some thunder thrown in to complete the cliche quotient. Bottom  line:
with so much other great new  stuff  out  there,  it  seems  hard  to
justify recommending Falkenbach over other, similar acts.


Hades - _The Dawn of the Dying Sun_  (Full Moon Productions, 1997) 
by: Drew Schinzel  (8 out of 10)

Hades'  second  full  length  release  is  an  extremely  solid   and
fulfilling 47 minutes of epic,  mid-paced,  Bathory-influenced  black
metal. Having never heard  anything  by  Hades  before,  neither  the
previous album _Again Shall Be_, nor the demo pressed onto CD, _Alone
Walkyng_, I went into the album with no preconceptions  at  all,  and
came  out  pleasantly  surprised.  Epic,  melodic  compositions  like
"Awakening  of  Kings",  with  its  terrific  melodies,  and   "Alone
Walkyng", with its Chaucer lyrics (in original  middle  English)  and
pummeling, ominous sound, highlight the  album,  proving  that  Hades
have actual -talent- in composing memorable songs, rather  than  just
putting out any cheesy old schlock with little or  no  musical  skill
and little emphasis on originality. The production is  noteworthy  as
well; fuzzy on the guitars but maintaining a feeling of control,  the
bass is actually audible  and  plays  a  rather  large  part  in  the
recording. Sure, Hades  won't  be  like  nothing  you've  ever  heard
before, but they've managed to carve  their  own  sound  out  of  the
faceless masses, maybe even taking their place among the top, "elite"
bands.


Various Artists - _Identity 3... D!_  (Century Media, 1997)
by: Brian Meloon  (6 out of 10)

As compilations go, this is  one  of  the  better  ones  I've  heard.
Granted, there isn't anything on  this  album  that  isn't  available
elsewhere, but it does give a thorough sampling of the various  bands
on the Century Media roster. There are eighteen tracks,  clocking  in
at around 70 minutes, and representing a  large  variety  of  styles,
from black metal (Arcturus, Rotting Christ) to hardcore (Turmoil)  to
rap-metal (Stuck Mojo) to melodic powermetal (Nevermore, Iced  Earth)
to goth-metal (Moonspell)  to  death  metal  (Grave,  Morgoth).  Also
appearing are Sentenced, Strapping Young Lad, Samael, My Own  Victim,
Eyehategod, Chum, Merauder, The Gathering, and Trouble. Most  of  the
bands here are relatively well-known already,  but  it's  well  worth
picking up if  you're  not  familiar  with  Century  Media's  roster.
Unfortunately, as with most compilations, there are more misses  than
hits. 


Immortal - _Blizzard Beasts_  (Osmose Productions, February 1997)
by: Steve Hoeltzel  (8 out of 10)

"Inhale the effluence of the demon worlds", Abbath snarls on "Nebular
Ravens Winter". I think I'll pass on that, but I will tell you  this:
these  guys  have  definitely  been  inhaling  Morbid   Angel   dust.
Especially Demonaz: his drastic, jagged  riffing  technique  on  this
album is heavily indebted  to  the  ferocious  early  Trey  Azagthoth
style. The Horgh/Abbath rhythm section also displays a notable  death
metal influence this  time,  performing  numerous  sharp  changes  in
speed, from mid-paced to hyper-fast, and with plenty  of  alternation
between double bass, blast beats, and even some semi-grinding  parts.
Compared to their  previous  material,  especially  _Battles  in  the
North_, the new songs are surprisingly winding  and  angular,  mostly
due to the frequent variations in speed, but also because  there  are
several  quite   distinct   riffs   in   every   song.   Songs   like
"Noctambulant", "Frostdemonstorms", and "Suns that Sank  Below"  make
especially good use of weird, cutting riffs and  sudden  shifts  from
cruising speed into blasting  overdrive.  "Mountains  of  Might"  and
"Battlefields" take a more measured approach, but I definitely prefer
the more frenetic material, like the title track and the other  songs
mentioned above. New drummer Horgh sounds quick  and  dexterous,  but
the drums are actually rather low and  thin  in  the  mix,  which  is
dominated instead by biting  guitars  and  icy  vocals.  The  guitars
retain their grim, alien sound, though the riffing style has changed.
Also, Abbath's vocals are as icy  as  ever  -  so  Popeye  fans  will
continue to be  gratified.  :)  Overall,  I've  really  enjoyed  this
release. It's an unexpected and interesting change for the band, with
some fierce and engaging material. The heavy Morbid  Angel  influence
waters down Immortal's uniqueness a bit, but there's still  something
singularly chilly about their sound. 


Kalisia - _Skies_  (Adipocere, 1996) 
by: Drew Schinzel  (9 out of 10)

Finally out after almost a year of delay, comes Kalisia's debut  MCD,
_Skies_, an excellent, refreshing release of  extremely  progressive,
melodic, skillfully played death metal (and -not- from Sweden). Three
of the four songs on the album are in  the  7-10  minute  range,  but
Kalisia don't just fill up time  with  useless  repetition  or  long,
"atmospheric"  intros  and  outros;  instead,   they   develop   each
composition to its fullest, whether it be through  a  ripping  guitar
solo (or three), spoken female narrative, or a refreshing infusion of
keyboard or flute. Every instrument shares equal space in  the  clean
production, and each member of  the  band  handles  their  respective
tools -very- well, an all too rare  quality  of  today's  bands.  The
lyrics lean towards the more mystical, spiritual, individual side  of
things, and are in themselves great, but honestly, it doesn't matter;
the lyrics could be about scissors for all I care,  because  Kalisia,
above all, are a band based on music. Sure, of course all  the  other
bands in the world are based on music, but Kalisia are  not  ones  to
rely on a set mold, structure, or  any  other  meaningless  restraint
placed on bands (by themselves). Basically, there's not much  in  the
manner of negative things to share about Kalisia, and  all  too  many
positive things,  which  ends  in  my  high  recommendation  of  this
outstanding MCD. Do yourself, and Kalisia,  a  favour,  and  pick  up
_Skies_ for an awesome listening experience.


Killing Culture - _Killing Culture_  (Edel America, March 1997)
by: Adrian Bromley  (8 out of 10)

Few new bands possess the traits of a great band  that  may  possibly
lead them to success. May I introduce to you Killing Culture. The Los
Angeles-based quartet deliver fast and furious riffs of intensity and
might, wrapped within a darkened shell of hatred and anger. I  really
like this record. Why, you ask? The production is killer (let's thank
Anthrax' Scott Ian for that), the music  flows  vigorously,  and  the
band's music has a cool Slayer-like sound (_Reign in Blood_/_South of
Heaven_ era) to it. So will this band be successful?  Why  not?  They
have worked hard to get their music so well-executed and I feel  that
the speed/thrash feel to the record radiates a very positive 90s feel
to it. It also allows the band to bring more  modern  elements  to  a
sound that never really died but was just left by  the  roadside  and
never given the opportunity to make a leap into a more modern era  of
metal. Loud, brash, and extremely tight, Killing Culture lash out  at
us with its jagged claws in hopes to strike us down. Could happen  as
this record plays hardball from the start. Check this band out.


Killing Spree - _Terror from Beyond Space_
by: Steve Hoeltzel  (8 out of 10)  (Napalm Records, February 1997)

This is an impressive debut CD of  hard,  biting,  and  well-produced
cyber metal, dominated by punchy  riffs,  precision  percussion,  and
lots of cool electronic loops and samples. Beginning in fine  fashion
with  the  no-nonsense,  tribal-styled  groove  that  propels  opener
"Cosmic Trigger", Killing Spree combine the regimented  precision  of
industrial music with tough, organic riffs and hard, heavy bass lines
in roaring arrangements. The drummer  is  not  an  electronic  rhythm
machine, but a human one, and the guitars sound thick and clear.  The
riffs are for the most part straightforward and chunky, hard-hitting,
yet not particularly  complex.  Vocals  are  delivered  in  a  gruff,
mid-ranged voice that manages to be both expressive  and  aggressive.
But what really sets this album apart from  other  purveyors  of  the
"industrial metal" style is the band's wily use of  electronics.  One
member does programming and  sampling  exclusively,  and  this  guy's
effort really pays off, giving the music a cutting,  futuristic  edge
without becoming overbearing  at  all.  All  kinds  of  cool,  looped
effects and whacked frequencies whisper and crackle  just  underneath
the guitars, adding lots of color and  interest  to  the  sound.  (It
really pays to listen closely.) Also,  samples  are  used  with  more
skill and restraint than they usually are by metal bands who  sample.
(See the chorus to the  thundering  "Believe".)  A  number  of  short
tracks are completely electronic excursions into a warped, aggressive
variant on techno music: for  enjoyable  examples,  check  out  "1248
F.P.S." and "Drugs Anyone?". A couple of other songs suffer, I think,
from riffs that are a little bit flat. But strong tracks  like  those
already mentioned, plus the potent "Whore"  and  "Cross",  display  a
talented band with big potential. Compelling  stuff,  and  for  those
interested in the more futuristic  strains  of  extreme  metal,  it's
definitely worth seeking out.


Lake of Tears - _Lady Rosenred_  (Black Mark, March 1997)
by: Adrian Bromley  (7 out of 10)

As the melodic/doom metal band Lake of Tears  has  evolved  over  the
last few years with two previous records (_Headstones_  and  _Greater
Art_), it seems as though the band decides  more  and  more  to  make
their music take  on  multiple  personalities,  rather  than  gearing
towards a certain genre of music. Case in point: _Lady Rosenred_  EP.
Each song on this three-song offering (a release  issued  before  the
forthcoming third LP, _A  Crimson  Cosmos_)  is  different  from  one
another, as the band explores duo singing arrangements on  the  title
track, a dance/techno metal feel on "Devil's  Dinner"  and  the  Pink
Floyd-esque song "A Crimson Cosmos". Much like the experimental  ways
of Cathedral's _Hopkins: The Witchfinder General_  EP,  this  release
just goes to show that Lake of Tears feels the need to search out and
find new ideas to bring to their music. It also shows that they enjoy
playing those creations too.


Various Artists - _Violent World: A Tribute to the Misfits_
by: Zena Tsarfin  (3 out of 10)	 (Caroline Records, February 1997)

Some ideas are just better conceptually than  they  are  practically.
Such is the case with _Violent World..._, a compilation  of  hardcore
bands covering the horror-punk legends, the  Misfits.  While  I  love
both the Misfits and several of the bands that appear on the  record,
I found that the combination didn't work  when  fused  together.  The
Misfits were unique because of their dark humor and outlandish charm,
but when covered by straightforward minimalists  like  Pennywise  and
Snapcase, the macabre and campy essence of the band  is  lost.  Among
the weakest tracks on the 14-song record  are  White  Z--err--Prong's
"London Dungeon", Goldfinger's "Ghouls  Night  Out",  and  Therapy?'s
lame version of "Where Eagles Dare". _Violent World..._ does have its
moments: Sick of It All's "All Hell Breaks Loose" rages and Deadguy's
"Horror Business" is worth a listen. But for my money, the hands-down
winner here is Earth Crisis' rumbling metalcore cover of "Earth A.D."
Luckily, no one tried their hand at "Bullet" or "Skulls", and while a
handful of the included bands did  deliver  ardent  versions  of  the
Misfits' tracks, it seems that  the  crux  of  the  fiendish  legends
simply cannot be captured by the baggy-pants generation.


Nastrond - _Age of Fire_  (Napalm Records, February 1997)
by: Steve Hoeltzel  (8 out of 10)

This one gets high marks on the strength of its many strange  musical
twists and weird atmospheres. As on the band's debut CD, _Todeslaut_,
basic,  raw-sounding  black  metal  techniques  provide  the  sound's
foundation, but the songs on  _Age  of  Fire_  are  distinguished  by
strange,  oddly  memorable   structures   and   numerous   unexpected
surprises. Case in point: "Vanished from  the  World",  which  begins
with raw, clunky black metal, then instantly transforms into a  weird
dark ambient piece including an ultra-deep-voiced lecture  about  how
"History proves that man is a beast of prey."  Next  song,  "The  Red
Force (of the Trapezoid)" weaves through a maze of weird  breaks  and
creepy, buzzing guitar tones. On the follower,  "Emancipation",  more
buzzing black metal is punctuated with laid back,  toe-tapping  piano
interludes during which two voices, one normal and one sped up, utter
occult incantations (or something like that). Two spoken pieces about
Satanism (LaVey's atheistic  version)  close  out  the  album,  while
Biblical quotation and rebellious exhortation begin it. A  couple  of
these spoken tracks feature some cool synthesizer work  -  especially
"Opening of the  Mouth".  The  vocals  are  a  raw,  blackened  yell,
snarling in the upper-middle range, while the  guitars  are  a  loud,
abrasive, high-end buzz. There are numerous  tempo  changes,  usually
between mid pace and high speed, and in many cases, these changes are
sudden and drastic. For my money, the best songs (the ones  mentioned
above) occupy the album's second half, but the first  tracks  contain
some great moments, too, especially the riff-laden "Womb  of  Chaos".
Interesting stuff: odd and effective, and not quite  like  any  other
band I've heard.


Oppressor - _Agony_  (MIA Records, Winter 1996)
by: Adrian Bromley  (6 out of 10)

Much like their bland live show, Oppressor seems to be stuck in a rut
of sorts with this, their second release,  _Agony_,  a  follow-up  to
1993's _Solstice of Oppression_ (Red Light Records). The  problem  is
that nothing seems to keep us, at least myself, too interested as the
record plays through its nine  tracks.  While  full  of  some  strong
guttural  vocals,  some  cool  ideas  scattered  throughout   and   a
predominant  technical  style  added  to  their  music,  the  Chicago
four-piece never really gets past neutral with  this  metal  machine.
The heaviness of the record loses momentum  throughout  as  we  reach
each individual technical section. I  like  the  rough  and  coherent
vocals of singer Tim King, it's just that this record needs to  stick
to one idea, rather than breaking momentum at  halfway  marks  to  go
onto another technical metal influenced idea. Approach  this  if  you
like somewhat technical-influenced death metal.


Phlebotomized - _Skycontact_  (Cyber, February 1997) 
by: Drew Schinzel  (9 out of 10)

For those not familiar with Phlebotomized, they are the Dutch  sextet
who  released  their  awesome  grindy  death/doom  debut  full-length
_Immense, Intense, Suspense_ a year or two back, with some  extremely
guttural vocals, atmospheric violins, and keyboards, and  an  all-out
heavy, yet sorrowful and melodic release. Now, put that Phlebotomized
out of your mind, because the material that the band has put forth on
their  followup,  _Skycontact_,  has  undergone  a  -major-   musical
transformation, and bears almost zero resemblance to  _IIS_  at  all.
The eight tracks  and  nearly  sixty  minutes  of  music  present  on
_Skycontact_ represents  a  giant  metamorphosis,  combining  several
elements, from  atmospheric,  psychedelic  interludes  complete  with
spacey sound effects, to toe-tapping, upbeat guitar riffs, to  quiet,
ballad-esque sections, and the occasional lapse back to the  days  of
old with double-bass frenzies and guttural vocals.  No,  _Skycontact_
is definitely -not- for the close-minded listeners out there who shut
themselves  off  into  one  genre  and  shun  all  others,  this   is
open-minded music, for open-minded people, and Phlebotomized pull  it
off  perfectly.  I  guarantee  there  was  never  a   period   during
songwriting when the band came  to  an  impasse  because  "this  riff
doesn't fit the style" or something "wasn't extreme enough"; they put
their souls into the music with no restraints at all, and  it  shows.
There are just so many different  styles,  melded  perfectly  into  a
one-hour release of pure feeling and emotion,  that  it's  impossible
not to give this original, and indeed  -brave-,  album  a  very  high
recommendation.


Slough Feg - _The Lord Weird_  (Beef Rock Records, Winter 1996)
by: Adrian Bromley  (6 out of 10)

How I got to review this CD I'll never know... but anyway I  did  and
actually liked it a bit. The record is an  assorted  musical  melding
pot with ample amounts of rock, 80s-era metal music  and  progressive
metal all rolled  into  one.  Reminiscent  of  a  more  rock-oriented
Manowar-meets-Megadeth, the three-piece of Slough Feg  deliver  their
battle cries of metal to the fullest extent. Such dedication of their
music and what they do shine within the music of _TLW_ and that helps
make the music seem worthy of a listen rather than turning your  head
to it. The production and musicianship is top notch. To note, as  the
band's album twists and turns  with  various  styles,  the  music  of
Slough Feg seems to take on somewhat of an operatic feel to it as  we
reach the end of the record: "High Season III", "High Season IV", and
"Highway Corsair". Kinda corny at times,  but  so  is  the  music  of
Manowar (most of the time) and people still buy their music and go to
their shows, right? Slough Feg carries and waves the  flag  of  metal
quite well.


Various Artists - _Sonic Obliteration Vol.2_ (Black Mark, March 1997)
by: Adrian Bromley  (9 out of 10)

Following in the footsteps of the  excellent  double-CD  offering  of
Sonic Obliteration Vol.1 (1995) comes this release, a fine collection
(13  songs)  of  some  of   Canada's   hardest   working   metal   or
metal/industrial acts. For those who may not know  of  any  of  these
bands, I highly recommend checking out this release to get a taste of
what the Great North has to offer to the metal masses. Get floored by
the dominating thrusts of power by such  powerhouse  acts  as  Solus,
Jaww, and Summertime Daisies, and knocked into frenzy by varied metal
hybrid acts like Mundane or Jane Doe, the industrial-tinged outfit of
Inner Thought or the Cathedral-esque riffage of Tchort and the Family
Mantis. While there are  literally  hundreds  of  metal  acts  across
Canada, I believe that this compilation (assembled  by  Ed  Balog  at
Black Mark Productions'  North  American  office  in  Toronto)  truly
represents the best multiple-styled metal bands in all of Canada. Get
it or be a loser for years to come.


Trial of the Bow - _Rite of Passage_  (Relapse, February 1997)
by: Adrian Bromley  (9 out of 10)

The Australian duo of Renato Gallina and Matthew Skarajew create some
of the most  passionate  and  flawlessly  executed,  not  to  mention
mind-blowing, musical arrangements on their debut release for Relapse
Records entitled _Rite of Passage_. Beautiful, sensual, and downright
thought-provoking sounds emanate from the  ambient/experimental/world
music passages created by the two musicians, thanks in  part  to  the
use of unique  instruments  (tabala,  manjira,  etc.)  and  the  ever
flowing creativity of the two.  No  words  can  really  describe  the
emotions this album releases, as you must  hear  it  yourself.  Truly
breathtaking.


Troll - _Drep De Kristne_  (Damnation Records, 1996) 
by: Drew Schinzel  (7 out of 10)

Behold, another cold, frosty release for dark souls from the northern
lands. Okay,  I  really  shouldn't  poke  too  much  fun  at  Troll's
unoriginal image and posing, but it's hard to resist, with  an  album
name such as _Drep De Kristne_  ("Kill  the  Christian"),  two  giant
pentagrams inside  the  lush  digipak,  and  a  member  named  Nagash
Blackheart. Besides, such stupid image-mongering just takes away from
what  should  be  the  focal-point  of  Troll:  fairly  high-quality,
atmospheric black metal. Droll as it is,  _DDK_  is  a  fairly  solid
attempt, although  not  bold  in  terms  of  originality,  with  many
similarities  to  Emperor  and  other  purveyors   of   this   rather
overcrowded style, with all eight tracks being of the very listenable
variety,   including   two   great,   ominously   foreboding    synth
instrumentals. However, it's difficult to forgive  Troll's  unabashed
lack of originality, and indeed a little hard to see  their  role  in
the future of black metal. In addition, _DDK_  is  rather  short,  at
only 36 minutes, so you can decide for yourself if you  want  to  pay
the toll. Maybe I'm not the right person to question  their  motives,
but I'm having some problems seeing Troll's goal  with  _DDK_  as  it
looks to me like, on the whole,  they're  much  more  concerned  with
appearing like the brave, mighty  warriors  of  the  Frosty  Desolate
Northland that they obviously are than with  trying  to  maybe  be  a
little more creative. With hearts of the blackest  coal,  Troll  have
produced a worthy effort, low on creativity and high  on  derativity,
but good nonetheless.


Windham Hell - _Mirror of Souls_  (Moribund Records, 1996)
by: Andrew Lewandowski  (4 out of 10)

Windham Hell are possibly the best example of  "experimental"  metal,
representing both the positive and negative  aspects  of  the  genre.
Acoustic guitars and keyboards intersperse the "traditional"  riffing
of melodic death metal, yet the  latter  aspects  are  degenerate  in
comparison to practitioners of "pure" metal. Incessant repetition and
a muddy production drains all  energy  from  the  guitar  work.  Only
pretentious guitar solos disrupt the monotony.  These  dominate  each
song, yet an intrinsic vapidity does not allocate them  enough  power
to build a foundation of their own. Once combined with  ineffectually
grunted vocalizations, the resulting mix lacks any energy.  Yet  once
the guitars dissipate and the "experimentation" commences, WH display
the melancholy and talent that never fully surfaces during their more
voracious moments. Any metal band willing to cover Vivaldi (twice, no
less) and experiment in sound collages on  the  same  album  deserves
some amount of praise.  Unfortunately,  WH  neglect  to  sufficiently
explore their sedate tendencies, resulting in an album  that  remains
incarcerated within a void between experimentation and aggression. 

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


Black Mass of Absu - _Black Mass of Absu_  (4-track demo)
by: Adrian Bromley  (***--)

Heavily loaded  down  with  obscure  noise  and  pummeling  slabs  of
heaviness, the music of doom/ambient/noise band Black Mass of Absu is
a deadly concoction delivered with brutal force. It's full of  growls
of anger and delivered so to-the-point that it manages to  get  under
your  skin  quite  easily,  crushing  you  beneath  the  weight   and
gargantuan assault of noises and screams. While the  music  might  be
powerful, I feel that the  music  lacks  some  creativity  and  ideas
within it, managing to always deliver the same kind of expression and
emotions to each song. Not monotonous  sounding,  rather  a  sometime
lackluster performance in some areas of  this  demo.  In  short:  the
music drags on in places. Besides that, it is  overall  a  good  demo
that proves that ambient/noise music can be  just  as  heavy  as  any
grindcore record could be. 

Contact: BLACK MASS OF ABSU, P.O. Box 638 Kenmore, 
         New York, 14217, USA
         mailto:MrSkiMask@aol.com


Bongwater - _Pissed Off and... Fuzzed Out_  (6-track demo)
by: Adrian Bromley  (****-)

Holy fuck! I am almost came in my pants after listening to this  demo
tape from East Coast sludge-mongers Bongwater. It rocks. Managing  to
pull in a varied assortment of low-tuned fuzz-sounding guitar  chords
influences from such bands as Black Sabbath, Kyuss,  Fu  Manchu,  and
Monster Magnet, this band hits the nail right on the  head  with  the
truly hard-hitting musical deliverance. It's so 'fuzzed out' that  it
sounds killer. While the production on this 6-song  demo  could  have
been better, to make the guitars sound stronger and make the vocals a
bit more coherent, I'm pretty sure that that would  have  taken  away
from the raw and unpolished way of the recording. I  also  liked  the
jam, laid-back feel that the band brought to  the  music.  While  the
band's music sounds a lot (A  LOT!)  like  the  last  incarnation  of
Kyuss' material, 1995's _... And The Circus Leaves Town_ LP, I  can't
help but feel compelled to follow this band in  the  future  and  see
what becomes of them. Again... they rock! One of my fave  demos  from
1997 for sure.

Contact: BONGWATER, c/o Neddal Ayad
         P.O. Box 204, Bay Roberts, Newfoundland, A0A-1G0, CANADA
         mailto:nayad@morgan.ucs.mun.ca


Master - _Demo '96_  (3-track demo)
by: Adam Wasylyk  (***--)

Legends in the underground, not only  have  they  toured  Europe  and
released seven records  on  Nuclear  Blast,  but  they've  influenced
countless death metal bands. Being dropped by their label  some  time
ago, I hadn't heard from them since,  and  assumed  they  were  gone.
Well, Master are back and ready to take on the world again,  starting
with their _Demo '96_. This is truly a testimony to  Paul  Speckman's
"never give up" mentality. Three songs of old-school death metal with
some cool guitar hooks that keeps ones interest  through  each  song.
Thin production doesn't help this but it doesn't  hurt  it  too  much
either.  _Demo  '96_  doesn't  offer  anything  new  or  particularly
exciting, but it does offer some cool tunes that may  remind  you  of
yesteryear. It's very doubtful that this  demo  will  land  Master  a
record deal, but down the road, hopefully they'll be on a label where
they belong. I must say, it's good to see Master back!

Contact: MASTER, 1271 N. Clark St.
         West Hollywood, CA, 90069, USA


Pressure Point - _Grasp_  (4-track demo)
by: Adrian Bromley  (**---)

Focusing  heavily  on   the   hardcore   aspect   to   their   music,
hardcore/metal outfit Pressure Point work hard to deliver some  solid
grooves and momentum around their true life experience lyrics. I  see
this band as a second rate Merauder, Vision of Disorder,  or  Turmoil
with their hard-edged guitar riffs and  proficient  use  of  hardcore
ideals  in  their  music,  all  stapled  together  into  a   mediocre
hardcore/metal packaging. Though the lyrics are (I'm  assuming)  from
life experiences, they sound cheesy and somewhat cliche at times  and
that also takes away from what maybe the band was aiming  for.  Also,
the music lacks any real kind of zip, rarely  breaking  any  kind  of
heavy groove with  what  they  have  on  this  4-song  demo.  Anyway,
Pressure Point is a band that  has  followed  the  right  steps  into
becoming a hardcore/metal act, but finally has come  to  the  day  in
their lives where they either stay as they are (and be like  everyone
else), or branch out and make a name for themselves. We'll see.

Contact: PRESSURE POINT, c/o Reaction Records
         P.O. Box 763-D Rahway, New Jersey, 07065, USA


Putrocorpse - _Bowel Chronicles_  (6-track demo)
by: Adam Wasylyk  (-----)

I didn't know what mark I should give this demo.  A  two?  A  one?  I
decided on a zero (a first for me to give a demo) so people will know
that I didn't give this demo pity-marks of any sort. Taking one  look
at the photo on this  demo  (guy  with  eyes  popping  out),  I  knew
immediately that I was in store for a cheese-fest. Starting off  with
"Reversed Evacuation (intro)", this is  by  far  the  worst  keyboard
intro I have ever heard (on a demo  or  a  CD).  The  following  five
tracks could  be  described  musically  as  "under-produced  Cannibal
Corpse-wannabe death metal". Songs like "Death Rattle", "Morbid  Fear
of Death", and "Constipation" are laughable and also angering at  the
same time. C'mon guys,  can't  you  think  of  anything  original  or
interesting? I review enough bad death metal as it is, I  don't  need
more of it! Again I could have given this one or two out of five  for
effort and brutality, but this is my stand  against  Cannibal  Corpse
clones and monotonous death  metal.  Sorry  Putrocorpse,  but  you've
become my sacrificial pig. No more time will be wasted on this  fecal
matter.

Contact: PUTROCORPSE, c/o Stucchi Marco, via Villa Paradiso 42
         Cornate d'Adda, 20040 MI, ITALY
         mailto:putro@freenet.hut.fi


Rich Hoak/Family Harsh Noise Experimentation
     - _Disassociative Cognition_  (split demo)
by: Adrian Bromley  (***--/***--)

Once again we are reunited with the world of FHNE (aka chaotic  music
aficionado Bill Sannwald) with this split demo called _Disassociative
Cognition_. On one side we have the experimental work of Brutal Truth
drummer Rich Hoak called "Confusion of The Passers-By" and the second
side, a section devoted to FHNE madness, consisting of 16-chaotically
grown  ideas  by  Sannwald.  While  Hoak's  piece  may  be  long  and
never-ending at times, the task of trying to get the listener to have
an 'altered state of perception' succeeds.  From  the  start,  Hoak's
piece is truly odd and eccentric, moving at varied paces of combating
noise elements and rehashed emotional tidbits. It's fucked and  quite
annoying at times... but cool. Speaking of fucked, you need  not  get
past the opening track, "Bombing", to feel the  insanity  brewing  in
Sannwald's... er... FHNE's musical creations. While this may  not  be
one of the better demos from one of  Sannwald's  side-projects  (like
the Thought Masticator and Intellectually Raped demos I have gotten),
it is quite a collection of obscure noise pieces that stun the senses
at regular intervals. With the thought of  more  FHNE  (or  Sannwald)
demos reaching me in the future (I get at least one a month),  I  can
only sense that the madness and ideas  placed  into  the  noise/music
will only grow more diverse, extreme, and definitely bizarre.

Contact: Rich Hoak, #3 Bethel Church Road
         Dillsburg, PA, 17019, USA
         mailto:rich666@voicenet.com

         Bill Sannwald, 3538 Paseo Salamoner
         La Mesa, CA, 91941, USA
         mailto:satan666@ucsd.edu


Semi-Auto Reflex - _Semi-Auto Reflex_  (6-track demo)
by: Adrian Bromley  (***--)

Surfacing from the ashes of now defunct Toronto techno/hardcore/metal
faves Monster Voodoo Machine comes  hardcore/metal  outfit  Semi-Auto
Reflex, a band that has potential to get somewhere if they play their
cards right. It's in the music, baby! Having been a  *big*  MVM  fan,
and seeing that most of SAR is made up of MVM alumni, it  isn't  hard
to pick up some of  the  hardcore-esque  qualities  and  sounds  that
proved to be an integral part of MVM. But forget  the  MVM  past  and
let's get down to  business.  This  six-song  demo  by  the  band  is
bursting at the seams with true conviction and rawness.  Lashing  out
at us with killer riffs and a cool-ass groove, SAR totally manages to
meld hardcore and metal with ease. Reminiscent to more metal-oriented
versions of Sick of  It  All,  Biohazard,  or  maybe  (somewhat)  the
Cro-Mags, SAR's debut demo  features  strong  songs  with  noteworthy
numbers like "Nameless/Faceless" and the odd, but cool cover  version
of the Talking Heads' "Burning Down the House". A band to  watch  out
for if you live in or near the Toronto area.

Contact: SEMI-AUTO REFLEX, 38 Greensides Avenue
         Toronto, Ontario, M6G-3P6, CANADA
         Voice: 416-656-7658 (Darren)

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


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


                       F U C K   T H E   F O G 
                       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
         Hemdale with Blood of Christ, Flesh Fest and Wicked
                  At The Embassy in London, Ontario
                           by: Adam Wasylyk

     It was a terrible night to drive ANY distance to see a show. The
fog was so thick that at times it was almost impossible  to  see  the
dividing line in the road. After a full two hours of driving in  this
fog (and getting lost a couple of times as well) we finally  arrived,
and to our luck a full hour before the first  band  was  to  hit  the
stage. Whew!! 
     Opening  the  night's  festivities  was  Wicked  who  played  an
industrial/gothic/black metal  hybrid  that  neglected  to  entertain
neither I nor the audience. It's apparent that Wicked don't have  any
sound of their own as it seems as though they're happy with borrowing
ideas from different genres and mixing them up and passing it off  as
their own sound. Sorry guys, but a  new  musical  direction  or  more
originality is in order. The most entertaining and  endearing  aspect
of Wicked's set was that the singer looked like Alanis Morisette with
corpse paint. NO JOKE!!! 
     Following were local death/grind band Flesh Feast, who played  a
good set of Deicide/Cannibal Corpse-influenced death metal that  kept
the crowd enthralled for the entire set. Having the most intense mosh
pit of the night, FF's  dueling  vocalists  kept  things  interesting
while the drumming never got monotonous. Having seen  Flesh  Feast  a
couple of years ago, tonight they sounded more tight and intense  and
the crowd responded accordingly. 
     Recently signed to Pulverizer Records  (see  an  interview  with
them in this issue), Blood of Christ followed and went on to play the
best set of the night. Playing songs off their demo  _Lonely  Flowers
of Autumn_ and some newer tracks that will appear on their  debut  CD
for said label, they  simply  could  not  be  denied  on  this  night
(despite the sound problems). Look for Blood of Christ at this year's
Milwaukee Metal Fest!
     Headliners Hemdale finished out the show  and  admittedly  in  a
somewhat negative fashion. Playing gore-inspired grind  numbers,  the
bass sound was great while the guitar  could  hardly  be  heard.  The
band's antics on stage provided for  some  visual  entertainment  but
they couldn't do the same musically. About five songs into their  set
the songs became interchangable as you couldn't tell  the  difference
between each song. But I guess that's why  they  call  it  grindcore,
right? It became painfully clear that Hemdale were the wrong band  to
headline. The absence of a pit and lack of crowd  response  were  the
indicators of this. Hemdale started  off  somewhat  entertaining  but
ended off just tiring.
     Encountering fog for most of the trip back, I was truly lucky to
have survived the night. But then again, I'd do almost  anything  for
Chronicles of Chaos!

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

Gino's Top 5

1. KMFDM - Xtort
2. Heavy Water Factory - _Author of Pain_
3. Chemical Brothers - _Exit Planet Dust_
4. Korn - _Korn_
5. Carcass - _Necroticism: Descanting The Insalubrious_

Adrian's Top 5

1. Hammerfall - _When the Dragon Lies Bleeding_
2. L7 - _The Beauty Process: Triple Platinum_
3. Pain - _Pain_
4. Ephemeron/Thought Masticator - _Removing Seminal Stains_
5. Cathedral - _The Carnival Bizarre_

Brian's Top 5

1. Quo Vadis  _... Forever_
2. Pat Boone _Pat Boone in a Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy_
3. Elend _Les tenebres du dehors_
4. Meshuggah  _All This Because of Greed_ <2-song promo> 
5. Leger de Main _The Concept of Our Reality_

Alain's Top 5

1. Necromantia - _Scarlet Evil Witching Black_
2. Voivod - _Rrroooaaarrr_
3. Pungent Stench - _Been Caught Buttering_
4. Manowar - _Louder than Hell_
5. Obliveon - _Cybervoid_

Steve's Top 5

1. Abigor - _Apokalypse_
2. Absu - _The Third Storm of Cythraul_
3. Immortal - _Blizzard Beasts_
4. Meatmen - _War of the SuperBikes II: The Double Album_
5. Atrax Morgue - _Sickness Report_

Adam's Top 5

1. Avernus - _Of the Fallen_
2. Satyricon - _Dark Medieval Times_
3. Satyricon - _The Shadowthrone_
4. Another black metal compilation Steve dubbed for me, you rule!
5. Pan-Thy-Monium - _Khaooohs & Kon-Fus-ion_

Drew's Top 5

1. Phlebotomized - _Skycontact_
2. Kalisia - _Skies_
3. Hammerfall - _Glory to the Brave_
4. Excretion - _Voice of Harmony_
5. Immortal - _Blizzard Beasts_

Andrew's Top 5

1. Legendary Pink Dots - _The Chemical Playschool Volumes 8 & 9_
2. Steve Stapleton & David Tibet - _The Sadness of Things_
3. Carcass - _Symphonies of Sickness_
4. Alchemist - _Lunasphere_
5. Regard Extreme - _Resurgence_

Pedro's Top 5

1. My Dying Bride - _Trinity_
2. Dissection - _Storm of the Light's Bane_
3. Dark Tranquillity - _Skydancer_
4. Edge of Sanity - _Infernal_
5. Elend - _Les tenebres du dehors_

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

Goodbye everyone, it's been nice having you once  again.  Next  month
will mark our twentieth issue, we hope to see you then.
     -- Gino Filicetti

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End Chronicles of Chaos, Issue #19

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.


