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

         CHRONICLES OF CHAOS E-Zine, June 9, 1996, Issue #11

Editor-in-Chief: Gino Filicetti <ginof@io.org> <_DeaTH_ on #metal>
Coordinator: Adrian Bromley <energizr@interlog.com>
Assistant Editor: Alain M. Gaudrault <alain@mks.com>
Web Page Manager: Brian Meloon <bmeloon@math.cornell.edu>
Contributor: Steve Hoeltzel <hoeltzel@blue.weeg.uiowa.edu>
Contributor: Adam Wasylyk <macabre@interlog.com>
Mailing List provided by: The University of Colorado at Boulder

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

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

HOW TO SUBSCRIBE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You may subscribe to Chronicles of Chaos at any  time  by  sending  a
message with "coc subscribe <your_name_here>" in the SUBJECT of  your
message to <ginof@io.org>. 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.io.org/~ginof/coc.html.  If  you   have   any
comments    or    suggestions,    please    e-mail    Brian    Meloon
<bmeloon@math.cornell.edu>.

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

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

Issue #11 Contents, 6/9/96
--------------------------
* Editorial
* Loud Letters
* Ferocious Features
-- Amorphis: The Alteration of All Norms
-- Chum: Attacking from the Appalachians
* Chaotic Chat Sessions
-- Morbid Angel: Eyes to Read, Ears to Listen
-- Obliveon: A New Beginning for Canadian Hellions
-- Decoryah: Melancholic Madness
-- Wicked Innocence: No Rest for the Wicked Innocent
* Independent Interrogations
-- Spiral Architect: Spiralling Towards Success
* Record Revelations
-- Slayer - _Undisputed Attitude_
-- Pantera - _The Great Southern Trendkill_
-- Cradle of Filth - _Vempire or Dark Faerytales in Phallustein_
-- Malevolent Creation - _Joe Black_
-- Various - _Nordic Metal: A Tribute to Euronymous_
-- Accursed - _Meditations Among the Tombs_
-- Asphyx - _God Cries_
-- Bathory - _Blood on Ice_
-- Bewitched - _Diabolical Desecration_
-- Beyond - _Reassemble_
-- Don Caballero - _Don Caballero II_
-- Candiria - _Surrealistic Madness_
-- Cathedral - _Hopkins (The Witchfinder General)_
-- Decoryah - _Fall-Dark Waters_
-- Doughnuts - _Equalize Nature_
-- Grave - _Hating Life_
-- Grotus - _Mass_
-- Mysticum - _In the Streams of Inferno_
-- Naglfar - _Vittra_
-- Obliveon - _Cybervoid_
-- Prong - _Rude Awakening_
-- Ramp - _Intersection_
-- Testify - _Mmmyaooo_
* New Noise
-- Blood of Christ - _The Lonely Flowers of Autumn_
-- 7th Gate - _The Funeral Delight_
-- Red Sun Project - _Red Sun Project_
-- Vicious Crowd - _Vicious Crowd_
-- Obscene Crisis - _Silence of the Mind_
* Chaotic Concerts
-- Heavy Metal Novelty Night: Gwar with Brutal Juice and the Meatmen
-- Overkilling The Masses: Overkill in Raleigh, NC
-- Gasping for Air: Suffocation in London, Ont.
* Tours of Torture
* What We Have Cranked
* The Final Word

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

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

     Here we are with issue eleven. Once  again,  cheers  go  out  to
every one of you who's offered to contribute your time and energy  to
make CoC a better magazine. Our  readership  level  has  been  pretty
constant over  the  last  two  issues,  hovering  around  650  people
worldwide. Remember the days when CoC used to grow by 100  with  each
issue? Well, I guess everything's got its limit, but I'm  sure  there
aren't only 650 "Extreme Music Enthusiasts" on this entire  Internet.
What I'd like to see is our readers going out and  recruiting  people
and "showing them the light" that is Chronicles  of  Chaos.  Wherever
you hang out on the 'net, give mention of our magazine, whether it be
on your favorite IRC channel,  or  Usenet  newsgroup.  You  can  even
request a copy of our ad from our auto fileserver (coc-ad). Or if you
can't figure out what to do, just simply e-mail me with the addresses
of anyone you want me to add, and I'll do it for you. Let's see if we
can bring CoC to 750 by our next issue!
     As a lot of you probably already know, the Milwaukee Metal  Fest
#10 is taking place this year on July 26th and 27th. This year's Fest
features A SHITLOAD of amazing bands sure to  please  everyone.  They
are aiming at having 100 bands play but I can't list  them  all  here
now If you want more info, keep an eye on  the  alt.rock-n-roll.metal
newsgroup for all the latest. Four of the six CoC staff members  will
be attending this year's fest. Adrian, Adam, Steve  and  myself  will
all be at the shows handing out CoC flyers and  partying  it  up!  We
hope some of you guys make it down to the show, and  say  hi  if  you
bump into us. Also, Adrian and I are still looking for a ride down to
Milwaukee so if anyone has any extra room in their  vehicle  and  are
looking to have a couple of really cool dudes ride  down  with  them,
please e-mail me. We are desperate! :)
     Also, I want to forewarn everyone that our next issue, CoC  #12,
may be just a little delayed seeing  as  Adrian  and  I  will  be  in
Pittsburgh from the 19th to the 23rd of June partying it up with  our
good buddy Buzzy Beck of Filthboy. Buzzy's  getting  married  on  the
22nd of June, so why don't you all take a little time and e-mail  him
at <hate@telerama.lm.com> and give him your best wishes for  his  new
life of eternal agony and suffering.
     Now here's a little piece of advice for all of you. It would  be
beneficial to you to carefully read this  entire  issue  as  fast  as
possible and try and soak in some of the details. That's all for  now
folks, 'Nuff said! :)

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

Now a note from Alain:

Congratulations to the winner of last month's Naphobia  CD  giveaway.
The lucky entry was submitted by Ernest Crvich  who  answered  "Chuck
Schuldiner and Gene Hoglan." Enjoy the CD, Ernest,  and  to  all  our
readers, stay tuned for more free giveaways. Be  sure  to  check  out
Ernest's very first review submission to CoC in Chaotic Concerts.

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

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

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

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


Date: Fri, 10 May 1996
From: Napalm Records America <estenflo@napalm.com>
Subject: Re: Chronicles of Chaos #10 (1/3)

gino,

thanks again for the new issue. I'm truly amazed how  you  guys  keep
cranking them out so fast. The writing is top class. I like how  each
interview has a theme to it, not just the usual questions,  and  this
is usually accented very nice with  the  headlines.  Also,  for  just
being in ascii, the format and layout is very  impressive  too.  I've
been meaning to ask you: Do you have a program that comes up with the
cool ascii logos, or do you do all that manually? Take Care,

eRiK
Napalm Records America


Date: 07 May 1996
From: Tim Wadzinski <tswadzinski@amoco.com>
Subject: Re: (U)

I requested issue 7 from your auto-mailer this  morning  so  I  could
read the review of Helloween's MASTER OF THE RINGS. Once  again,  I'm
totally impressed with your mag. You really got your  shit  together.
I'll admit when you first contacted me I thought, "Oh  boy,  a  death
metal freak", and I expected the mag to be just a bunch  of  hardcore
death heads screaming out about how everything else sucks. BOY, was I
wrong! In fact, even though I don't get into too many  of  the  bands
you cover, I'll probably end up subscribing  just  because  I  really
enjoy what you're doing. (Also, I can read album  reviews  for  hours
and hours without getting bored.)

Anyway, I'm rambling. I'll finish up that little blurb on CoC for SFK
and get it to you soon.

Tim


Date: Sat, 11 May 96
From: wolfe@achilles.net
Subject: Attention Loud Letters

Hey guys! I just did a bunch of catching up,  going  thru  COC  9&10.
Those were fuckin' busy issues! I had to keep my  notepad  handy  for
those two, I got info on no less than seven  releases  to  pursue.  I
mustn't have the right channels around here or something, cuz I never
hear about this stuff, so I'm really glad COC is around.  I'd  really
like to see an improvement on the concert listings tho. Get Alain  to
add some of the dates for bands he knows  of  in  the  Toronto  area,
hopefully the info will include dates in Montreal and Ottawa.

Anyways, great work great reviews. I was real happy to see  the  info
on Slayer's vid, on Amorphis, and to see that Adrian listed  my  fave
Megadeth disc RIP in his top ten. I think the addition  of  the  auto
file server is great too, it'll allow me to get COC5 to compare  what
Chris Barnes had to say from SFU as compared to what Cannibal  Corpse
says about him now (two sides to every story right).  I  don't  think
much   of   band   members   cutting   up   formers,    lookit    the
Mustaine/Metallica saga, but gossip will always be interesting right,
just like a good car wreck.

Keep it up!

---
I traded my burdens for habits I can't cure......
---
I need their love and attention     | I'm a dog without a leash
Like I need lead in my head         | A jigsaw puzzle
                       --- Fight    | Lookin' for a piece
                                    |        --- Dangerous Toys

                          -wolfe@achilles.net-


Date: Wed, 15 May 1996
From: "-wintermute- (Kluver-Bucy the wikid sick minkey spanky love dog)"
     <ggilmore@post.its.mcw.edu>
Subject: Re: Chronicles of Chaos JOIN NOW!

Anyway, the mag rules! I've been with ya since issue 2, and  as  soon
as I got it, I downloaded  issue  1.  You  guys  have  gotten  better
exponentially, and I guess your subscriptions have increased that way
too. Congrats, and keep it up!


Date: Fri, 17 May 1996
From: Mitch Coken <Insaniak@ifu.net>
Reply-To: mitch@ifu.net
Subject: Deicide@thewave review, COC #10

_Death_:

I had a pretty good opinion of your zine 'til i saw the review of the
Deicide show by that numbnuts singh. I was at that show and can  tell
you that things were definitely NOT as reported. Will you publish  me
if I submit a review of Santa Claus live from the dark  side  of  the
moon?

1. Mortician DID play, they were on the bill as advertised. Deathrune
& Candiria were never on the bill.  N.B.  Deathrune's  guitar  player
played with Incantation that night. Mortician sounded much better  at
this show with their new drummer than I have ever heard  them  sound.
They played a pretty long set, with a lot of new stuff from House  by
the Cemetery.

2. Will Rahmer (Mortician's front man and also the original  vocalist
for Incantation)  fronted  Incantation  at  this  show.  This  was  a
completely different lineup for Incantation and sounded  better  than
any previous versions of the band. They did all old (Golgatha) songs,
probably because Will didn't know the new stuff.

The sound at the wave is terrible, I couldn't catch the names of  all
the fill-in players (the  whole  band?!)  for  Incantation,  but  the
guitarist was borrowed from Deathrune.

3. Fallen Christ sucked.  The  front  man  was  like  a  wannabe-Dave
Mustaine, Jr., their new drummer sounded like  he  was  bowling  with
trashcans for pins, and the guitar sound was so bad that you couldn't
make out any of the riffs. Anybody who liked their track on the World
Domination comp (Osmose), fugetta'bout it. They  lost  their  drummer
(Alex, ex-Disassociate, now in Immolation) a long time ago.

4. Deicide put on a ass-kickin professional show. No frills, straight
ahead, in your face death metal, tight as a gnat's ass. Here's a band
that has to finance their own tours because their label is a  fucking
parasite; haven't slept in 30 hours, and they're  out  there  throwin
down. They also played 2 other shows in the NYC area that  week,  the
wave show was not the 'only area appearance' as  the  promoter  would
like you to believe.

5. IMMOLATION KICKED ASS. Numbnuts was right about that.

_Death_: maybe your writers should stick to 'reviewing'  rather  than
'reporting'. You owe me a dollar; I'm giving it to numbnuts to buy  a
clue.

                     Smoke'em if ya got'em __}

_Insaniak_


Date: Sun, 19 May 1996 19:17:03 +0200
From: Panos Agoros <nahitfol@warka.ai.univ-paris8.fr>
Subject: Re: Question?

thanx 4 getting back to me. yesterday i printed  your  issue#10,  and
man i am quite impressed. it's very interesting and well written.  no
ass kissin!!!

it'll be a source of inspiration for me and chaotik...  ok,  stay  in
touch, c-ya soon! :)

panos aka nahitfol (Editor, Chaotik Webzine)

nahitfol@warka.univ-paris8.fr or panos@bocal.cs.univ-paris8.fr
http://www.univ-paris8.fr/~nahitfol


Date: Wed, 22 May 1996
From: Dan & Elaine Lepage <dlepage@cycor.ca>
Subject: Loud Letters

Attention Loud Letters

    I love your 'zine! It kicks serious ass. This is the only  source
that keeps me up to date with what's  happening  in  the  metal/death
scene.

    Toronto has really let me down over the past couple of  years.  A
city of over 2 million people and there are no bars  left  that  play
anything heavier than Bryan Adams!  Everything  has  turned  to  that
Alternative crap! Even radio stations around here that used  to  rock
have given in to Alternative garbage. And  the  biggest  letdown,  my
subscription to M.E.A.T. magazine, (the source for metal  happenings,
similar to COC), has changed its name to A.R.M. for Alternative  Rock
Monthly...they might as well call  it  A.R.C.  for  Alternative  Rock
Crap!!!! I'm still waiting for my refund!...Adrian, since  you  write
for A.R.M., think you could look into this for me?  (no  offense  for
the A.R.C. wisecrack!)

    Anyway, I hope I can always  count  on  you  guys.  Keep  up  the
excellent work. By the way, one suggestion might be to add a  section
to your 'zine informing us as to future CD releases. For example, the
new Pantera which came out on May 7th, the new Slayer due  out  later
this month and the new Metallica on June 4th, so we can race  to  the
record stores on the release dates and blow our minds! Thanks.

Dan Lepage

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

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.


        T H E   A L T E R A T I O N   O F   A L L   N O R M S
        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                      An interview with Amorphis
                          by: Gino Filicetti

"In Finland there are some parts where it's dark for 24 hours in  the
winter, so Finnish people are usually a very depressed people"
     -- Esa Holopainen (guitarist/creative center)

     1990 saw the creation of what was to  become  one  of  the  most
stunning and impressive bands Finland has ever had to offer the  rest
of the world. It was in this year that guitarist Esa  Holopainen  had
the vision of creating a band to  shatter  everyone's  perception  of
what a metal band should be. Although the band started as  a  typical
death metal outfit, Amorphis soon grew to realize  that  they  had  a
higher purpose. In keeping with the definition of the word from which
they derived  their  name,  amorphous,  the  band  is  a  'constantly
changing entity with no fixed shape or form.'
     In 1994 Amorphis released an album that has yet to be matched in
its intricacy and utter stunningness. _Tales from the Thousand Lakes_
was the launching pad from which Amorphis separated  themselves  from
all the cliches of the death metal world. The album won them critical
acclaim  the  world  over,  and  is  still  looked  upon  (by  myself
especially) as one of the most memorable metal releases of all time.
     Two years later, this formidable musical  entity  has  come  out
with the newest fruits of their labor. _Elegy_ is an album that holds
a great deal of surprises for the average  Amorphis  fan  and  proves
beyond a shadow of a doubt, that this band has definitely chosen  the
right name for themselves.
     Amorphis' music is not the only thing  that  has  changed  since
1994. Added to their lineup are three new personalities that have had
a lot to do with the Amorphis sound. Kim Rantala  (keyboards),  Pekka
Kasari (drums) and Pasi Koskinen (clean vocalist), have joined  ranks
with the 'veteran' Amorphis  crew,  Esa  Holopainen  (guitars),  Olli
Pekka-Laine (bass) and Tomi Koivusaari (growls/guitars). The  fusion,
according to Esa, has been a smooth one; "It's gone  very  good.  Kim
was the first one of them to join and he  has  brought  so  many  new
elements to our music, it's unbelievable. And Pekka our  new  drummer
plays very tight and he's a really good drummer. It's easier  for  us
to play when you know the drummer is keeping the right tempo. And the
new vocalist, Pasi, has also done an amazing job for us. These  three
members have contributed a large part of the music." And  have  these
new members brought  anything  new  to  Amorphis?  "Well,  we're  all
listening to the same stuff that we've always been listening to,  but
I think this time our influences come out of the  music  more  easily
than they did before. The music's got much more folk melodies and the
production of the sound is much better than the last time, it's  much
more what *we* wanted it to sound like. It's not  the  typical  death
metal product, it's got an  'old'  sound  to  it.  There  isn't  much
'hi-tech' stuff on this album."
     Two years is quite a gap between albums for a band  that  is  so
young, but Esa explains that the band did  not  want  an  album  that
sounded rushed, instead one that came from  their  hearts.  "Straight
away after we recorded [_Tales from the Thousand Lakes_]  we  started
to compose new songs and it took quite a while to finish each  track.
It was about a year's process putting all  the  songs  together."  He
continues on how the music was arranged; "We've  arranged  everything
as a band, all of us together. Basically, it's always been like that,
I mean, sometimes one of us might do some stuff at home.  But  during
rehearsal, we all get involved in the arrangement of  the  songs  and
everyone does their part."
     Also different on _Elegy_ is  the  vocal  element  of  Amorphis'
music. To  my  ultimate  dismay,  I  discovered  that  the  band  has
pre-empted their previous growled vocals, and chose to blend in clean
vox with the growls taking the obvious back seat. To  pull  this  off
however, the band recruited a separate vocalist, Pasi  Koskinen.  But
does Tomi (the growler) feel overshadowed in  any  way  by  Pasi?  "I
don't think he feels like that. As a matter of fact, he's  here  next
to me if you want to ask him <laughs>. No, I  don't  think  he  feels
very badly. Me, Tomi and Olli are very pleased with the  new  members
and with how the album turned out. We still like the  growling  parts
though, and I don't think we'll ever drop them. Pasi has a  big  part
in our stageshow,  he's  the  ultimate  vocalist."  Also  changed  to
distance themselves from the death metal norm is the band's logo, "We
changed it because we didn't want to use the old logo anymore because
the music also changed. It was just too death metal for  us.  Relapse
did this logo for us, it's just a typical font but it's really cool."
     Perhaps most noticeable  in  the  music  of  Amorphis  is  their
extensive use of folk  melodies,  something  that  is  certainly  not
typical in this genre. Esa explains, "Well, the whole  thing  started
in like 1992 when we first got interested in old Finnish folklore and
culture. After that we started to get into the folk  music  from  all
over Scandinavia, we respect it a lot because there are a lot of good
melodies in folk music and we started to  get  influences  from  that
sort of music." Another unique aspect of Amorphis  is  their  use  of
traditional Finnish ballads and poems as the lyrics to  their  songs.
These lyrics were taken from The Kanteletar,  a  traditional  Finnish
text. "Basically its just a  collection  of  poems  and  lyrics  that
haven't been used in hundreds of years. It was an interesting area to
use because this stuff includes old  philosophical  and  mythological
meanings. The book itself talks about every day life and it has a lot
of interesting stories. And because they  were  just  lyrics  and  no
music, we decided to compose music  for  the  lyrics."  He  continues
about the difficulties of translation; "We used this guy to translate
the stuff and he was really good. Originally, the book is in the  old
Finnish  language  which  is  really  hard  to  translate.  It's  not
translated word for word but it still has its meaning."
     In keeping with  the  traditional  theme  of  _Elegy_,  Amorphis
elected to use old Finnish symbols and artwork for  their  cover  and
liner notes. Esa describes what each symbol means; "Ok, the symbol in
the middle of the album sleeve, the big circle, that's an old  symbol
of Helsinki. The little one on the north, east, south and west  sides
are old symbols from the eastern part of Finland. The symbols  beside
these are from northern Finland and the Lap Lands.  The  symbol  that
encircles everything was pretty much Kristain's idea (Kristain Wahlin
has done artwork for the likes  of  Tiamat,  Dissection  and  At  the
Gates). It's like a little map of Finland right in your hands. In the
booklet too are symbols behind the lyrics, for example the one behind
"Against Widows" describes a world that's a snake with a sun  in  the
middle.  Everything  has  its  own  meaning,  but   we   don't   know
everything's entire meaning. It's just something to make this booklet
interesting." He continues describing the hammer  symbol  from  their
last album; "That describes the creation of the  world.  There  is  a
ring on the top of the hammer and that represents the sun. Then there
are two paths were two gods walk down, one  going  one  way  and  the
other going in the other direction. Good and evil."
     The production of _Elegy_, as compared with  Amorphis'  previous
efforts, is  ten  times  as  superb.  What  was  different  with  the
production this time around? "It  was  much  more  professional  this
time. The recording process was in three parts. First we recorded all
the electric guitars  and  drums  in  (the  newly  rebuilt)  Sunlight
Studios (with  Tomas  Skogsberg),  then  we  recorded  the  bass  and
acoustic guitars and vocals in Finland and finally we mixed the album
in Liverpool, England (at Parr Street Studios  with  Pete  'Pee  Wee'
Coleman). It was a cool experience, but next time, we  want  to  just
concentrate in one studio."
     Amorphis'  tours  following  the  release  of  _Tales  from  the
Thousand Lakes_ were successful, to  say  the  least.  Having  toured
Europe many times with Paradise Lost, Tiamat and  others,  late  1994
saw them take to North America, opening for  Sweden's  Entombed.  Esa
details their tour plans this time around;  "First  off,  we  have  a
bunch of festival gigs we are playing. We'll probably play at Dynamo,
and at the big festival in Denmark. Also a few festivals  in  Germany
and a few in Finland. Altogether, that's about ten festivals. Then in
September we are planning  to  headline  in  Europe.  We  have  dates
confirmed for that. That's going to be one and a half months  with  a
lot of good venues and good dates, so that should be  great.  We  are
searching for supporting bands now. There was a  rumor  that  Therion
would go out with us, but I don't know, it's pretty much  up  to  the
booking agency. Also we are looking to do a US tour  at  the  end  of
this year. We've been there before with Entombed. It wasn't  anything
special, just a club tour, but we had a  really  good  time.  It  was
pretty rough for us touring with seven people in the band,  but  from
that we've learned how to live in tour busses. You can compare it  to
living in a hotel <laughs>."
     Being from Finland, there is no doubt that Esa thinks  Americans
are different; "I'm not sure if it's right to say the people think in
different ways, but they do have a different mood. In Finland,  there
are some parts where it's dark for 24 hours in the winter, so Finnish
people are usually very depressed people and they don't smile much on
the street and don't talk very much. But when you come here  you  see
all the people smiling and being polite. [!?! Are  we  talking  about
the same United States here? :) -- Gino] It makes you wonder if  they
are just putting on a mask for you by being polite. Finnish nature is
quite depressing but when the summer comes everyone starts  to  smile
and have a good time. And Finns also consume a lot of alcohol, that's
another part of Finnish nature. We are shy and don't talk  until  you
give us a couple shots of Vodka, then watch out! <laughs>"

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

   A T T A C K I N G   F R O M   T H E   A P P A L A C H I A N ' S
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                        An interview with Chum
                          by: Adrian Bromley

     Huntington, West Virginia isn't exactly the first city you think
of when you mention hard music. But  to  some,  Huntington's  loudest
export, Chum, may be the next hard-grooved outfit to watch  out  for.
Speaking from his home in Huntington, singer/guitarist John Lancaster
is a bit nervous about the interview, seeing that this is  the  first
interview he  has  ever  done.  Ever.  The  topic:  The  band's  much
anticipated debut album on Century Media, _Dead to the World_.
     Begins the twenty-three year old with a small  sense  of  humour
and in the process cautioning the  interviewer,  "This  is  my  first
interview I have done, so if I sound stupid, it's because this is  my
first interview." The initial jitters he has of the interview subside
and Lancaster opens up about the intensity and hard  work  that  went
into the emotionally strong and well-balanced groove of  _DttW_.  "We
wanted to be able to go into the studio and make an emotionally  full
and musically tight record. A sonically good album  that  showed  off
the emotions and moods of every song. We achieved that with _DttW_. I
think throughout the whole record we have a driving mood  of  realism
and the lyrics that I mostly  write  are  personal  about  my  life,"
states Lancaster. "I think throughout the record the mood  stays  the
same level and that makes the record sound strong and focused. Having
that same feeling throughout the record makes the record seem true to
life."
     The record was produced by longtime  friend  Dave  Barrick,  who
also produced the band's two earlier demos. But  before  Barrick  was
chosen to produce _DttW_, the band had been approached  by  King  X's
Doug Pinnick and Ross  Robinson  (Korn,  Sepultura)  to  produce  the
debut. About the sound of the band and the interest in the band  they
had created, Lancaster says, "We've been told  we  have  a  different
sound but it is hard to look at it this way. We  never  tried  to  be
different. I listen to a lot of different types of music, both  heavy
shit and I also love a good melody in a song, you  know?  Stuff  that
will either  move  you  musically  or  lyrically.  It  was  basically
bringing those two things as one, but wasn't really an effort  to  do
so. Maybe that is why those people were  interested?  Maybe  some  of
these people think the music is somewhat different  to  what  is  out
there."
     An interesting story about the band, other than  the  fact  that
they come from such a small, unknown town is the method they went  to
getting signed to Century Media. Accounts  Lancaster,  "We  played  a
showcase in New York and we had some people come out to see us. Monty
Connor (president) of Roadrunner was there  and  I  guess  he  wasn't
interested in us for Roadrunner but he is good friends with  the  A&R
guy from Century Media and he  recommended  us  to  the  label.  They
checked us out and we went  from  there.  From  what  I  understand,"
finishes off Lancaster, "that is the same way Stuck Mojo  got  signed
to Century Media too."
     The band is comprised of longtime friends Mac Walker on  guitar,
Chris Tackett  on  bass  and  new  drummer  (since  February)  Elliot
Hoffman. Since the band's inception a few years back,  the  band  has
formed a small fanbase with their live shows. "The earliest formation
of the band dates back to 1992 and 1993," starts Lancaster about  the
early days of the band. "I used to jam with the bass player  and  the
other guitar player in another band when we were 14 or so.  I  hadn't
heard from them in a while and then they called to say that they were
jamming with this drummer and they needed a singer. I  played  guitar
and asked them if I could play guitar too. So I joined. Then in  1994
we got a new drummer and then our style started to show and it became
quite apparent where we were headed.
     "When we first started to write songs (on the  early  demos)  it
wasn't focused and we were whipping out songs. Our material was  just
there, nothing special. But once we got the new drummer it started to
form into what Chum was to become with our music."
     Talking more about the overall sound of the band  he  notes,  "I
love a band that can incorporate heaviness  and  intensity  and  have
that combined with good melody. Singers that can mix it up  a  little
bit, a good example being Faith No More. Mike Patton (singer of  FNM)
can sing with a soulful voice and have an intensity as  well.  It  is
great to see how he uses his voice as an instrument and  how  he  can
transform his voice to suit a song. As for our sound, we just brought
together  all  the  music  we  were  listening  to  and   any   other
contributions."
     Listening to the harmonic power of _DttW_, many of  the  album's
tracks have their own character. There  is  the  sheer  intensity  of
"Stepping On Crack" or "Kindling Kind" and the melodic  stance  taken
by "Angels In The Snow" and "Untouchable". One song that  does  stand
out is the album closer, a cover of  Prince's  (The  Artist  Formerly
Known As Prince) "Darling Nikki". "We always played that  song  live,
it was usually the show closer and while in the studio we decided  to
record it. When we heard it in the studio we wanted it so bad on  the
record and the record company people liked it a lot  so  we  included
it. It made us happy to see it make it onto the record."
     Another thing that would make the band happy right now would  be
to tour the United States in support of their  debut.  The  band  has
only been able to do small amounts of  touring  in  the  last  little
while, with stops in New York City, bits and pieces of the East Coast
and some of the surrounding states of  West  Virginia.  Lancaster  is
asked: Are you worried about touring? <laughs> No! I am worried about
not touring. This guy was to book us for a few weeks solid  and  then
just backed out on us. Just like that... gone! We are still trying to
get something together in regards to touring. We are kicking around a
few ideas here and there but nothing concrete yet. In some  shape  or
form we need to go out and play. As far as I am concerned, touring is
the biggest part of promotion for a band. We want to do this  and  do
it now." Seeing  that  this  is  their  debut  album,  has  the  band
experienced the 'give and take' ideology of the music  business  yet?
"I heard all this stuff about the music business so  I  guess  I  was
ready for it. I mean we haven't experienced  much  yet  but  we  also
haven't been involved with it too long. I'm prepared to do  this  and
this is something I have always wanted to do and I am  finally  doing
it. I tell people this is like a  big  rollercoaster  ride.  You  get
excited about it and then something bad happens  and  then  something
good will happen after that and keep you high  on  that  for  a  bit,
etc... It goes up and down and I guess I got to get used to it?"
     About success and growing with the  industry  and  doing  things
their own way without having to compromise  too  much,  he  says,  "I
don't want to get to a point where the music is not  real.  I  always
want to keep it real. Whatever happens happens and  I  just  want  to
make sure our music isn't changed by people telling us  what  to  do.
You gotta have fun doing this while you can 'cause it isn't forever."

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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.


       E Y E S   T O   R E A D ,   E A R S   T O   L I S T E N
       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
           An interview with David Vincent of Morbid Angel
                        by: Alain M. Gaudrault


Just about everyone knows who they are. They've laid  the  groundwork
for American death metal, influencing countless  acts.  Love  'em  or
hate 'em, MA's current success means they'll probably be  around  for
awhile still. I had the chance to speak with  vocalist/bassist  David
Vincent as he sat comfortably in his Florida  home,  taking  it  easy
after the band's Australian tour. Without further ado...

CoC: I hear you've just returned from an Australian tour and  are  in
     need of rest. Burned out?

David Vincent: Oh wow, boy were  we.  Really,  what  it  is,  is  the
               eighteen-hour plane trip,  non-stop,  in  this  little
               tiny  cattle-car,  you  know  what  I   mean?   That's
               weakening. But I love Australia. Once  you  get  there
               and get over the flight, it's a beautiful  country,  I
               love it. Then again, you've got a beautiful country 
               too.

CoC: Getting to business, how has your  latest  album,  _Domination_,
     done?

DV: It's been doing real well. We're actually real pleased  with  the
    response it's gotten. We spent a lot more  time  on  this  record
    than we had on any previous record, and  really  just  trying  to
    hone in on something to get something happening,  you  know?  I'm
    just really happy that people received it as well as  they  have,
    because you know that's the icing on the cake when you're  really
    pleased with something, and  then  when  other  people  tell  you
    they're pleased with it too. That just makes all the difference.

CoC: So how well has it done in terms of sales compared to the  other
     albums?

DV: We've sold more of [_Domination_] in the time that it's been  out
    than we have any other record.

CoC: The tour; how's it going so far? What's the current status?

DV: Well right now, we're at home for a little while and  going  back
    out in June, going to Europe and South America.

CoC: Those are areas you haven't covered yet on the _Domination_ tour?

DV: We've done Europe before, but  we'll  be  doing  festivals  there
    throughout the summer. It's  just  shy  of  a  month's  worth  of
    playing. We've had a really good  response  so  far.  We've  been
    trying to branch out lately and  go  to  places  where  we  don't
    normally go. Like the last time we played in West Virginia which,
    we didn't even know what was going on over there, but  we  had  a
    good crowd for what it was. It was a small town,  real  isolated.
    That's the kind of thing... I want to do more  of  that  and  get
    into the heartland as well,  'cause  we  always  go  do  the  big
    cities. I want to play some places where you'd never  expect  it,
    you know? We've found that there's a lot of people who have  been
    fans for awhile, and some of them have been fortunate  enough  to
    make it to some of the other shows we've  played  in  the  larger
    cities over the years, and some people just can't  afford  to  do
    that, so when you can take it to them it shows them  that  you're
    really committed to trying to do the right thing, which we are.

CoC: It seems you've had a label change lately. What's the scoop?

DV: We're still on Earache in Europe, we just don't have an  American
    record label right now so they're helping out with  some  of  the
    promotion. We're no longer working with Giant anymore. They  just
    passed on their option. We had  a  two-record  deal  and  options
    after that. Well, frankly, the amount of money  that  they  would
    have to pay us for this next record is just through the roof, and
    they've actually  changed,  there  really  isn't  no  more  Giant
    Records either. They've had a bunch of  changes  over  there  and
    they dropped all but two bands, changed the name of the label and
    changed the whole focus.

CoC: Speaking of the next album, do you have any details to share?

DV: We haven't started  working  on  it  yet.  We'll  probably  start
    working on it towards the end of the year.

CoC: Once you've completed touring for _Domination_?

DV: Right. Once we're in this  limbo  thing.  When  we  get  down  to
    working on a record, we're not disturbed by  anything.  We  don't
    book shows, the phones are off the hook, we kinda close ourselves
    off and just get to work.

CoC: Now that Erik Rutan's had time to settle into his role in Morbid
     Angel,  have  things   significantly   changed   musically   and
     personally within the band?

DV: He's brought a lot to  the  table.  The  guy's  a  very  talented
    musician. Everything that he's brought  to  the  table  has  been
    unique in its own way, because he's a very different player  than
    Trey [Azagthoth]. They complement each other real well.

CoC: Morbid Angel has always been known to  be  pretty  much  overtly
     anti-christian, but recently, there seems to be some people  who
     are accusing you in  particular  of  having  racist  tendencies.
     Anything to say to those people?

DV: I think probably people misconstrue. I did some interviews  where
    I just kind of went off the deep end, and it was really  more  to
    illustrate points of breaking the patterns in thinking. I have  a
    real problem with this whole idea of political correctness, about
    thinking things just because it's something that everybody thinks
    and if you don't  agree  with  everybody  on  all  these  various
    points, it's considered a real taboo thing. That's just as  much,
    in my opinion, mind control and censorship a la  christianity  as
    anything else. Just because it's the  left-wing  controlling  the
    media and saying that you shouldn't  think  these  things,  how's
    that  any  different  than  right-wing  christians  having  their
    special-interest groups to say that you should think these  other
    things? I reject all of it. I think freedom of speech, freedom of
    expression, freedom of association, freedom to have whatever kind
    of beliefs you want to regardless of whether they're  fashionable
    at any particular time, I  think  that  these  are  some  of  the
    freedoms that at least  I,  as  an  American,  cherish,  and  I'm
    against censorship and thought control by any group, towards  any
    group, for any reason. That's really where I stand on all of that.

CoC: The last time you played in Toronto, a sizeable  group  of  Nazi
     skinheads showed up and pretty much ruined the show for everyone
     else by being assholes in the pit. What were your impressions on
     that evening?

DV: Well, I look at it this way. There's all  kinds  of  people  that
    come to our shows, regardless of where we play. There's always  a
    diverse audience and I try to get  people  to  overlook  whatever
    differences they may think that they  have  in  the  interest  of
    coming together and having a  good  show.  Sometimes  it  doesn't
    always work that way but I try to encourage it to work that way.

CoC: Forging ahead with the rumour mill, some  have  speculated  that
     your wife (Gen of the Genitorturers) used to be male!

DV: What?!? I mean, come on. I've heard it all. That really tops  the
    list of absurd things I've ever heard. I've heard it all, believe
    me, and I've never heard that, so I don't know what to tell  you.
    Add that to my National Enquirer story when I'm fifty or whatever.

CoC: The rumour spread a bit through certain Internet newsgroups,  so
     I thought I'd pass that along.

DV: Sounds like some jealous people to me.

CoC:  Speaking  of  Gen  and  the  Genitorturers,  do  you  plan   on
     participating musically in any of her projects in the future?

DV: It's interesting, I just got out of  the  studio  with  her  last
    night. We actually did a project. There's  a  compilation  that's
    coming out, a tribute to AC/DC. She's submitting a track for that
    which I helped her out with.

CoC: Which track is that?

DV: It's an old Bon Scott song, one of their early ones.  The  song's
    called "Squealer", from the _Dirty Deeds_ record.  Doesn't  sound
    like that anymore, though. (laughs)

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

                A NEW BEGINNING FOR CANADIAN HELLIONS
                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                      An interview with Obliveon
                        by: Alain M. Gaudrault

Three years have passed  since  the  release  of  their  last  album,
_Nemesis_. While their future may have seemed bleak  at  times,  what
with the lack of a label, and relatively little exposure, Obliveon is
alive and well, still calling the Montreal area home. Set to  unleash
their latest full-length, _Cybervoid_, the band is bracing themselves
for the reactions to their change in musical styles, not  to  mention
the addition of a new singer. I recently managed to get some feedback
from founding guitarist Martin Gagne on the new  album,  the  line-up
change, and the musical direction they're currently pursuing.

CoC: There has been much speculation as to what label has  picked  up
     the band. Do you have a record deal, or will  you  be  promoting
     the new album yourselves once more?

Martin Gagne: Well we do have a record deal with the  Canadian  label
              A.S.A., which is a division of Cargo  Records.  It's  a
              two-way deal, 'cause  the  album  _Cybervoid_  is  only
              licensed and they have a recording option for the  next
              album. The distribution is in Canada and France, and we
              haven't yet  signed  for  the  other  territories,  but
              that's  coming  soon!  The  reason  why  it's  only   a
              licensing deal for _Cybervoid_ is that we  produced  it
              all, and all they had to do was to print them  and  put
              them on the shelves.

CoC: To be blunt, what's taken so long? _Nemesis_ came out 3 years 
     ago!

MG: I'll try to make it short, but I'm not sure I can do that!  Well,
    first of all, we were kinda waiting for a licensing deal for  the
    states concerning _Nemesis_ (their previous  release),  and  that
    never [came] through. We really believed in our  chances  and  we
    thought that it was a done deal, and we were  really  anxious  to
    hit the road! "To be blunt," we were stretching _Nemesis_'s  life
    in Canada, in the hope of giving it a new life in the States  and
    Europe. After realizing that we had to move  to  something  else,
    already a year had passed! Then, we made a 4-song demo  with  our
    new singer. We sent it to a couple of record  companies,  it  got
    some attention but nothing serious, again. It took six months  to
    get that "nothing serious" attention. So we came to a point where
    we had no choice but to produce the next album by ourselves.  And
    it takes time to come up with $20000 or so, don't you  agree?  So
    we took to the streets and started selling chocolate bars!!!

CoC: The album has been completed for some time now. What has held up
     its release?

MG: Well you're right... The  album  was  all  finished  in  July  of
    1995!!! And as far as  we're  concerned,  we  wanted  it  out  in
    September, at the same time the school year started. But when  we
    started dealing with Cargo, (in May 1995) they told us they  were
    putting out a new division (A.S.A) in January 1996  and  that  it
    would be better for us to be on A.S.A. We said no, we want it out
    *NOW*. They said 'okay, no problemo, it's in  the  pocket,  sure,
    why not, we understand...' So it was "supposed" to  come  out  in
    July on Cargo Records. But they stalled us  up  to  January  with
    their contract mumbo jumbo to say: 'hey, our new label's  ready!'
    After more contract mumbo jumbo, we came up with this deal  which
    was worth the wait.

CoC: When will _Cybervoid_ be gracing the music store shelves?

MG: For Canada and France, it came out April 16th. For Europe and the
    States, we have some more contract "mumbo jumbo" to do!

CoC: Tell us a bit about your new vocalist.

MG: He's 29, has blond hair, green eyes,  5'10",  what  a  hunk,  eh?
    Seriously, he used to play in a band called Sarkasm, and it  came
    to an end right when we were on the lookout  for  a  new  singer.
    Pierre (Remillard, guitar), who is also a sound engineer, had the
    occasion of working for Sarkasm a couple of  times  and  he  knew
    right away that Bruno (Bernier, new lead vocalist) was the one we
    needed. We auditioned him and he turned out to be the perfect guy
    for us. In fact, he's the only one we auditioned!!!

CoC: What prompted you to bring in this new member?

MG: When we  started  writing  new  material,  we  realized,  as  did
    Stephane  (Picard,  bassist  and  former  lead  vocalist),   that
    Stephane's vocal style and range didn't fit as well as in the ol'
    days. We tried and tried new ideas to make it fit, but we came to
    the inevitable conclusion that the music was  evolving  and  that
    Stephane could not evolve with it, no matter how hard  we  tried.
    We sat down and talked it over a lot, and we said that  we  would
    give it a try with someone else. But  we  knew  right  away  that
    Stephane would have the last word on it due to the fact  that  he
    would still write the lyrics (and  play  bass  of  course).  That
    four-song demo I talked about  earlier  was  where  Bruno  really
    became our new singer. It  was  the  first  time  we  heard  some
    Obliveon with different vocals, and we had no  bizarre  or  weird
    feelings about the new  stuff,  it  just  blended  really  great.
    Stephane was happy 'cause he could do more vocal arrangements due
    to the fact that Bruno's voice was more varied than his own.

CoC: How do you think your fans  will  react  to  the  new  direction
     you've chosen for your music?

MG: Some see Obliveon as a  technical  death  metal  band,  some  see
    Obliveon as a progressive metal band,  some  see  Obliveon  as  a
    space metal band?!?, some see us simply as a  heavy  metal  band.
    The only thing I can say is that some will like it and some won't
    like it. The important thing is that  we  feel  comfortable  with
    what we did.

CoC: _Cybervoid_ has a colder, more  mechanical  feel  to  it,  while
     still  rife  with  many  memorable  melodies.  Who  is   largely
     responsible for the new sound?

MG: I do most of the music while Pierre  does  most  of  the  musical
    arrangements. All this with respect to everybody's opinion in the
    band. So we are all responsible for it, because we're not  afraid
    of telling each other what we think,  since  we  really  are  old
    friends. But I can tell you that sometimes,  pots  and  pans  fly
    around, but that's normal!!!

CoC: Will the band be touring to promote this album, and if so, where
     will the tour take you?

MG: We should tour Canada at the end of summer, and since  the  album
    is not out yet in Europe or the States, I don't know about  that.
    But you know: I CAN'T WAIT TO GO THERE!

CoC: What type of bands do you see yourselves touring with?

MG: We'd like to tour with as many types of bands  as  possible.  You
    can't just stick to your style of music, you have to go get  them
    where they are if you want to convert them!!! Even if that  means
    a couple of bad experiences or so.

CoC: Will Stephane Picard be performing any of the  old  material  in
     concert?

MG: No, but he does a lot of backing vocals which  was  something  we
    didn't have before. I think it brings  a  new  dimension  to  our
    music. And I can tell you is that Bruno really tries to keep  the
    old material faithful to what it was.

CoC: Many are proclaiming the demise of metal,  these  days.  Is  the
     metal scene in Montreal still flourishing?

MG: Now I'd like to know who is saying that? Maybe it's someone who's
    waiting for the new Krokus to come out!!! Down  here,  everything
    is going great except maybe for the lack  of  encouragement  from
    record companies. Here in Quebec, there are a lot  of  places  to
    play around the province, and the fans really  show  up  anywhere
    you want if you do your job on the publicity side.  And  you  can
    hear many different styles of (too  many  to  name)  bands  doing
    well. Anyway, je radotte la! All this to say that  the  ones  who
    are proclaiming this "supposed"  demise  are  probably  not  into
    metal anymore and are afraid to say so. That's what I think! Well
    gotta go and thanks  Alain  for  the  interview.  Longue  vie  au
    Chronicle du Chaos.

For more info, including details on purchasing _Cybervoid_ and  other
Obliveon merchandise, be sure to check out their WWW page at:
     
     http://www.accent.net/cyberbands/obliveon/obliveon.htm.

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                M E L A N C H O L I C   M A D N E S S
                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                  CoC chats with Finland's Decoryah
                          by: Adrian Bromley

     Finland's three-piece Decoryah are known for  the  hypnotic  yet
beautiful stylings and orchestral pieces  that  walk  the  fine  line
between  death  metal  and  art.  It's  classical,  melancholic   and
beautiful, though there is an  underlying  darkness  and  uncertainty
that finds refuge within the music of the band as well.
     Their latest effort _Fall-Dark  Waters_  (Metal  Blade)  is  the
follow-up to their successful 1995 debut, _Wisdom Floats_,  an  album
respected by critics and fans alike for the Finnish band's ability to
strive for creativity and provide  the  music  scene  with  something
fresh and innovative. The band prospered from the respect  they  were
given with their debut and worked hard to  create  a  masterpiece  to
follow their debut. _FDW_ is just that,  a  blissful  and  enchanting
adaptation of the band's images and visions with the  help  of  three
powerful female singers (Sini Koivuniemi, Karolina Olin  and  Piritta
Vainio) and the contributions they infused with the  use  of  cellos,
violins and flutes. The band's maturity shines through as well.
     From Finland comes the call by drummer Mikko Laine (the band  is
rounded out by singer/guitarist Jukka Vuorinen  and  other  guitarist
Jani Kakko) and CoC and Laine 'talk shop' about their latest effort:

CoC: Since the release of the album, you have been doing  some  press
     and now you now  have  some  time  off  to  get  back  into  the
     rehearsal hall and practice before touring,  whenever  that  may
     be. Will there be a tour for _Fall-Dark Waters_?

Mikko Laine: We are not sure right now. <pause> Quite possible in the
             future I guess. Perhaps after the next album or so.

CoC: And why not with this album? Why are you not sure about  touring
     with this effort?

ML: On our album, there are many people involved with making  it,  so
    if we want it to sound even remotely similar to what  is  on  the
    album we would have to have all those people on  tour.  It  would
    cost a lot of money and I am not  sure  if  we  would  have  that
    financial support.

CoC: Do you find that, seeing as you may not tour with this album, it
     hurts the band in regards to exposure and record sales?

ML: Well it doesn't bother me that much. I guess it would be nice  to
    promote the album with touring but hopefully we will be  able  to
    tour our record in the future. Or just wait till the next one.

CoC: What kind of press is the band  doing  to  promote  this  album?
     Video? Radio? Magazines?

ML: We have only done magazine press right now but we may do a video.
    We are planning to do one but again we'll see. It costs a lot  of
    money to make videos as you know.

CoC: With the work that  you  did  with  _FDW_,  how  is  this  album
     different from what you had done with _WF_?

ML: There is a lot more variety with this record. I think this record
    has a much different sound than the poor production we  did  with
    _WF_. This  record  is  moodier  and  there  is  definitely  more
    variation with this album. I liked _WF_ but it was  too  much  of
    the same style of music.

CoC: And you were all pretty young too?

ML: Yeah. We were all like seventeen years old when we  recorded  the
    first album. I'm nineteen now, so is Jani  and  Jukka  is  twenty
    now. Both Jani and I will be twenty by the end of the summer.  We
    are still very young.

CoC: Do you think being young makes a difference with your music?  Do
     you think you will be able to grow with your music?

ML: I think it is a great benefit that we are so young and made  such
    a unique sound. And I hope as we get older our music can progress
    too.

CoC: How old were you when you started to play?

ML: I was twelve when I started to play music. Both  Jukka  and  Jani
    were around the same time too. We were all in the same  class  in
    school. I was the first to buy an instrument. I bought drums  and
    pretty soon they bought guitars and we started to play and we got
    together as a band. It was very simple to get this started.

CoC: How important is it for the mood of the album to come across  as
     opposed to just the music?

ML: Atmosphere is the most important thing in all of art and not just
    music. In our music both atmosphere and mood are a  priority  for
    me. They are extremely important. If the music is  powerful  then
    that is great but we want to  deliver  a  powerful  mood  to  the
    person listening to our music.

CoC: Do you bring about any of your  homeland's  heritage  into  your
     music?

ML: Maybe a bit in the mood but we never tried to do so. Coming  from
    Finland, a lot of the music is melancholic and soft,  maybe  that
    is what finds its way into our music. There are a  lot  of  bands
    that like to incorporate their heritage or upbringing  styles  or
    even mythology into their music like Amorphis (see  interview  in
    this issue), but we just don't do that or include it. We are  not
    against doing so but we just stay away from it. I'm proud  to  be
    Finnish and there is great heritage and culture here but we don't
    set out to put that into our music.

CoC: How have the reactions been for the record seeing that the debut
     was such a popular release?

ML: We have only heard the reactions from those that have interviewed
    us so far and they have all liked it. If they didn't like us then
    why would they want to interview us? I hope that the  album  will
    do as well as _WF_.

CoC: What do you like about this record, aside from the maturity  you
     believe it shows off or the better production?

ML: Like I said before, I think the atmosphere says it all about  the
    record. We really  discovered  something  within  our  music  and
    ourselves with this record.

CoC: The music that you create seems to be very hardworked  and  well
     thought out with the classical pieces and the  themes.  Does  it
     come naturally? How does the band Decoryah create the music they
     play?

ML: It comes quite naturally. Jukka will come up with a riff  and  we
    jam and that is how it comes together. Most of  the  arrangements
    come out of working within the studio, seeing that while  we  are
    in there we have all these ideas and visions of what it  is  that
    we want to get out of our  music  with  that  specific  song.  We
    thought of where to put  the  woman's  vocals  or  the  cello  or
    violins while we were in the studio.  The  music  changes  a  lot
    coming from a rehearsal jam and into  the  studio  and  onto  the
    record, but 'YES' to answer your question, it is quite  easy  for
    us to write material. It is easy so far.

CoC: Do you find your lyrics to be very personal or about  everything
     out there that people can understand too?

ML: I don't know. Jukka writes all the music and I can't say if  they
    are personal to me. I can say that they are  personal  to  Jukka.
    They are added to the music to create atmosphere. If the music is
    melancholic than we look into writing melancholic lyrics to match
    the music so they can work off the music and once  again  set  up
    the atmosphere of the band.

CoC: Did you ever think that when you started you'd be where you were
     today, working with a label like Metal Blade  and  already  with
     your second album at such an early age?

ML: No we didn't. When we started we didn't know  about  'underground
    music' or demos and stuff. We just played and  never  thought  of
    recording anything. But after recording  our  demo  tape  we  got
    quite a few good responses from some small labels. We started  to
    believe that we might then be able to get some records  out.  And
    we eventually did.

CoC: How is the band's reaction to working with a label?

ML: Everything has gone well so far with Metal Blade. We have a  free
    hand to do whatever we like with our music.  So  far  there  have
    been no complaints and I am sure that they know that we are quite
    a different band to be working with. So far I think it has been a
    good combination for both of us.

CoC: As for any new recordings, what is the game  plan  for  Decoryah
     seeing that this record  just  came  out  and  you  are  already
     thinking of a new release? Will there be material  on  the  next
     record much more different than what you did with _WF_ and _FDW_?

ML: I  guess  it  will  be  somewhat  different  but  not  much  more
    different. It'll be along the lines of  both  releases.  I  don't
    think _WF_ and _FDW_ are that different from  one  another,  only
    that _FDW_ shows our  maturity  more.  I  hope  the  next  record
    captures once again our maturity and  people  can  recognize  the
    sounds of Decoryah and at the same time bring in new elements.

CoC: And the where does the name of the band come from?

ML: Basically nothing. When we started off realizing we were  serious
    about this and we were in the 'underground', we were looking  for
    a name and we were fed up with bands with names with  'Blood'  or
    'Death' in them. We decided to go for a name  that  doesn't  mean
    anything but brings an  association  of  a  music  style  with  a
    particular band.

CoC: So you were trying to stay clear of being seen as  just  a  band
     inspired by death and blood right?

ML: When you have death or something like that within your music than
    that is okay, but our music has nothing to  do  with  that.  That
    would have placed the band as one style of music in which we were
    not part of. We didn't want that. We wanted to be somewhere  else
    other than with  those  bands.  We  have  always  strived  to  be
    different and original.

CoC: Seeing that this is your second release and you have been around
     for a few  years  in  the  music  industry,  is  there  anything
     important that you have learned in the last little while?

ML: Yeah, you have to earn money for the labels so that they can keep
    you on their roster. That's it. <laughs>

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    N O   R E S T   F O R   T H E   W I C K E D   I N N O C E N T
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
       CoC chats with the new proponents of technical brutality
                          by: Steve Hoeltzel

Wicked Innocence is a band that stands out from the  current  extreme
metal field  in  quite  a  few  ways.  First  among  these  is  their
impressive fusion of highly technical  musical  experimentation  with
the kind of uncompromising aggression usually  associated  with  only
the most  extreme  death  metal  outfits.  (Imagine  Cannibal  Corpse
ripping through material much crazier than anything  from  Kataklysm,
and you'll have some idea of the style to be heard on  _Omnipotence_,
their recent debut from Napalm Records America.) Also worthy of  note
are drummer Travis Jiron's progressive  lyrics,  which  intelligently
treat major, real-life topics  much  more  pertinent  than  vampires,
severed limbs, and all that. And finally, there's the intriguing fact
that this truly brutal band hails from Salt Lake City, Utah -  easily
the most religious, most clean-cut big city in the States. Of course,
I just had to ask Travis about this when he and I sat  down  to  talk
about the band.

CoC: You probably have to field this question every time - but what's
     it like being in an extreme metal band in Salt Lake? Is there  a
     supportive scene there?

Travis Jiron: No, there isn't. I mean, we have  an  inner  circle  of
              close friends that hang out, and have  dedicated  their
              friendships to helping us  out.  But  the  scene  here?
              There's no support. There's not one all-age club  here.
              And it's funny, because no one's ever heard of any band
              from Utah, ever. And now that we're breaking out, every
              interview we do, that's the question. We're in the most
              religious state in the country, so that sucks,  because
              we're not into being Mormons.  We're  an  environmental
              band; we're into the  environment.  But  it  does  suck
              here. People don't even like black metal here, or death
              metal or grindcore or speed metal. I  mean,  it's  just
              unheard of. And there's three or four bands that do  it
              here. And we all have to rent warehouses and shit to do
              it, and I've been doing it for seven  years,  and  I've
              just made it happen. And no  matter  what  people  have
              done, I've just tried to keep it going.

CoC: Do you have to put up with a lot of crap over the whole religion
     issue? I mean,  do  people  there  just  assume  "Okay,  they're
     extreme metal-heads; therefore,  they  must  be  Satanists,"  or
     things like that?

TJ: Oh yeah, oh yeah. A lot of people  can't  understand  what  Lorin
    [Cook, vocalist] says, and they don't know what  the  lyrics  are
    about, so they automatically think that we're  death  metal,  and
    we're gonna go slaughter someone's cat, you  know?  If  you  look
    weird here, like an extremist like we are,  with  long  hair  and
    all, you're an average Joe in a different state. But here, people
    think you're a bum, and they lock their doors when you go by 'em.
    It's just a joke, man. And then every time we  leave  the  state,
    people are like "Are you guys Mormons?" and we're like  "Fuck  no
    we're not, man! <laughs> We're more man than  you'll  ever  think
    about being!" We have to make jokes about it, you  know,  because
    people always fucking harass us, and think that we're the  Mormon
    band.

CoC: So what have you guys been up to since you recorded the album?

TJ: We've just been trying to promote it and do  a  lot  of  touring.
    Right now, Erik [Stenflo, of Napalm Records America] does all  of
    our distro, and everything else but booking shows. So since  he's
    put out the disk and put all his money into  everything  for  us,
    it's been up to us to go out and do our own shows and promote it.
    So we've just been  touring  a  lot  of  the  close,  surrounding
    states, but now we're getting out there with some bands that have
    been getting to know us.

CoC: How does your stuff go over live? Because  I  would  think  that
     people who've never heard it before are just gonna  be  standing
     out there saying "What the -fuck- is this?" when they  hear  the
     crazier stuff.

TJ: Yeah, yeah, they do. They trip out. Some people don't  know  what
    to do, they just stand there. One guy asked me in  an  interview,
    "Can you guys play this stuff note for note  live?"  And  I  said
    "Hell, yeah, we can! We wrote it, so fuck yeah, we can." I  mean,
    the shit's pretty intricate, but live, we  come  off  aggressive.
    It's not like we're some ITT dudes trying to play  technical  and
    just  standing  there  going  <does  a  hilarious  impression  of
    technical guitar doodling> with our feet locked on the stage.  We
    get out there and fucking slam and get all into it. We're a  live
    band. We're a lot better live than a lot of the bigger bands  out
    there. We feed off the energy of the crowd. We want the crowd  to
    have a good time, so we're as into it as we can be. And then when
    they feed off us and get into it, then we just get into it more.

CoC: Have you been writing new stuff, or recording anything new?

TJ: We've got six or seven songs written for the new disk,  and  Erik
    asked us at one time if we wanted to go record again, but we said
    no, because we lost our bass player. Tom Cloward quit  the  band.
    So we haven't recorded, but we've got a  new  bass  player  named
    Zack, and we've just been getting ready to do that now. We've got
    him worked in. We did Sacred Reich in Salt  Lake  with  him,  and
    went to Denver, so we've just been  breaking  him  in  with  some
    shows. We're gonna go into the  studio  within  the  next  couple
    months, I'm sure.

CoC: So what's the new stuff sound like?

TJ: The new stuff's way cool. It's not gonna  get  all  mellow.  It's
    gonna be heavy, but it's gonna have some complete clean vocals on
    there, it's got some tribal stuff... It's just  gonna  be  really
    original, and some of the blast beats are just gonna  be  fucking
    ungodly. I mean, people are gonna trip out. It's gonna be  really
    original, just like _Omnipotence_.

CoC: It sounds like the new stuff is going to continue  in  the  same
     insane vein as _Omnipotence_. Or do  you  think  you're  pushing
     your sound into even crazier territory?

TJ: Oh yeah, yeah. If people think that  we're  really  weird  now...
    We're  gonna  be  experimenting  with  stuff  that  we've   never
    experimented with before. We can  go  from  three-chord  punk  to
    extreme fucking death to the coolest, jazziest,  bad  bass  lines
    you've ever heard, with some blues... People are gonna  freak  on
    the new stuff, because we're really stretching our  limits  right
    now. It's like I said on the _Omnipotence_  J-card:  I  feed  off
    people's negativity. So everybody  out  there  putting  us  down,
    giving us bad reviews, saying "We can't  accept  this,"  or  "The
    vocals are too fucking low," well, we're just gonna go out  there
    and do stuff to piss those people off and be better.

CoC: Do you think there are any limits to how far you can  push  your
     style?

TJ: No, I really don't. I think it's just a matter of  fatiguing  out
    on your band, you know, whether the guys get sick of each  other.
    And I don't think that we're gonna get to that point. We're doing
    good, and everybody gets along, so I don't think there'll be  any
    limits to  what  we  can  do  and  what  directions  we  can  go.
    Everybody's got such different backgrounds and  different  styles
    that they're influenced by that it's just cool, man.  It's  like,
    we're in between, I don't know,  some  of  the  newer  industrial
    music and some of the brutal death metal. I don't know, it's hard
    to classify us. People can't just  throw  in  the  disk  and  say
    "Sounds like so-and-so; fucking heard it." You've gotta hear it a
    few times.

CoC: Another thing  that  sets  you  guys  apart  is  the  depth  and
     intelligence of your lyrics. Did you make a  conscious  decision
     to steer away from all the gore bullshit  and  all  the  satanic
     stuff, or did it just come out that way naturally?

TJ: The mountains in Utah are just  beautiful,  and  we  really  take
    pride in  what  nature  has  given  us.  We're  really  into  the
    environment, so the lyrics  have  always  been  inspired  by  the
    beauty of these things. When you get sick of  society  here,  you
    can just leave, and in 15 minutes, you're away  from  everything.
    I've always been into that. And  when  I  first  started  writing
    lyrics, I was thinking, do I want to write  about  stuff  that  I
    don't believe in? Do I want to write about butchering someone, or
    do I want to write about this axe murderer,  you  know?  It  just
    wasn't me, so I basically decided to stay away from  that  stuff,
    and try to heighten people's awareness. That's  what  our  band's
    about.

CoC: Yeah. I mean, I really like a lot of the brutal stuff that's out
     there, and a lot of the black metal, but it's so conformist. All
     the bands play by this one  set  of  rules,  and  it  just  gets
     tiresome after a while.

TJ: It does. It's just like a gangster, you know? They've gotta stick
    up for their street, but once they go off  that  street,  they're
    gonna fucking be in trouble, and they know it. And  what  they've
    done is boxed themselves in. It's just like  everybody  in  life:
    humanity boxes [itself] in. "Well, we need to have a home, and  a
    car, and a boat, and this and this and this, and all  this  stuff
    so we can be better and we can feel comfortable."  But  you  just
    fucking put a fence up around yourself and no  one  can  talk  to
    you, you know? Everybody's just into getting too much stuff.

CoC: Any last words for us?

TJ: To everybody out there who reads this, follow  your  dreams,  and
    don't let anybody tell you what to do. If you're into it, do  it,
    and don't ever turn your head. Because once you  start  achieving
    what you want, you've got the positive energy there,  and  things
    happen, and there's nothing better. Believe in yourself, man, and
    do what's right. That's all I can say.

Travis encourages anyone interested in the band to contact him at:
2131 West 4260 South, Theckston Rd.
Salt Lake City, UT, 84119,USA

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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.


          S P I R A L L I N G   T O W A R D   S U C C E S S
          ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                  An interview with Spiral Architect
                           by: Brian Meloon


"Spiral Architect is also the title of a Black Sabbath song. The fact
that some may assume there's a link also musically was  something  we
took into consideration when deciding to use that name for our  band.
However, being certain that this illusion will shatter as soon as our
music is heard, we didn't --  and  still  don't  --  see  this  as  a
problem. We chose that name as we think it  visually  has  a  lot  of
potential, and also in a way gives a good description of the music we
perform." -- Lars K. Norberg (bass)


     Having formed from the ashes  of  Anesthesia,  Spiral  Architect
began in early 1993. While Anesthesia was heavily influenced  by  the
likes of Iron Maiden, Helloween, and Metallica, Spiral Architect have
taken a more progressive route. Lars cites as  their  main  influence
"whatever we consider good music," but says  that  the  band  members
"share a mutual interest in the more innovative bands  of  the  heavy
metal  genre."  Their  influences  include  Psychotic  Waltz,  Cynic,
WatchTower,  Queensryche,  Death,  Fates  Warning,  Rush,  and  Dream
Theater. The result is a sound which Lars describes as "some kind  of
a hard, technical/progressive metal with quite original  yet  melodic
melodies on top. On several occasions we've been told that our  music
is in an odd way catchy, something I believe to  be  true,  at  least
after being given time to grow. When written out, however, you'll see
that it's fairly complex with key, time and tempo  changes  all  over
the place."
     Retaining the nucleus of Anesthesia has kept the  band's  lineup
stable for the band's three-year career.  Anesthesia  members  Asgeir
Mickelson (drums), Kaj  Gornitzka  (guitars,  vocals),  and  Lars  K.
Norberg  (bass),  along  with  ex-King's  Quest   guitarist   Steinar
Gundersen have been together since  the  band's  inception.  However,
filling the lead vocalist spot has been a problem for  them.  As  Kaj
wrote most of the vocal lines and sang on gigs  with  Anesthesia,  he
was given the vocalist spot. However, the band  continued  to  search
for a lead  vocalist,  auditioning  many  prospective  frontmen,  and
finally settling on Oeyvind Haegeland, formerly of the (now  defunct)
Norwegian progmetal band Manitou.
     As the band was without  a  permanent  vocalist  when  asked  to
contribute two songs to the _A Gathering..._ compilation (reviewed in
CoC #10), the band called in session vocalist Leif J. Knashaug.  Leif
was already familiar to the band, as he did the vocals  for  the  two
songs Anesthesia contributed to the  _Norway  Rocks_  compilation  in
1988. _A Gathering..._ was released in September, 1995, and the  band
released their first demo (consisting of  the  same  two  tracks)  in
February, 1996 (reviewed in CoC #9). The songs are the culmination of
years of work, as Lars notes that "Purpose" was  "written  in  stages
within a time frame of six years! I don't think the average  listener
will notice, but for us -- being aware of which parts were written at
which time -- listening to that song is like taking a journey through
the band's progression. Although being a  fine  tune,  we're  feeling
somewhat alienated towards some of that stuff. 'Fountainhead', on the
other hand, was pieced together in a relatively hurried fashion under
a lot of strain, which again triggered heated  arguments  during  the
rehearsals. Anyway, the end result is something we're quite proud of."
     Praise for the band's demo has come from far and wide, as it has
garnered rave reviews in zines across the world (including this one).
Lars comments that the band is "really encouraged and appreciative of
all the great support  we've  been  receiving.  We've  just  recently
started promoting our material towards  record  companies,  so  we're
still waiting for most of them to reply. A couple of offers have come
our way nevertheless, and we're now in the process of  negotiating  a
deal with what you may consider a major independent label." (Can  you
guess which one? ;) )
     Never content to rest on their laurels, the band  is  hoping  to
release another demo in September, 1996 and a debut  album  in  early
1997, for which they are  currently  writing  material.  "Right  now,
we're working on four new tunes," Lars explains, "and we  have  ideas
for at least another four songs. Obviously there's  also  some  older
tunes and hours of  idea  tapes  floating  around,  but  since  we've
progressed way beyond what's in general the  style  on  these,  we'll
probably just leave that material to rest in  its  obscurity."  Their
sound continues to expand, incorporating elements of technical  death
metal as well as jazz/fusion. Lars says the band  plans  to  "include
these elements to our sound without necessarily excluding others -  I
mean... that's something we've always  been  doing,  working  on  and
making adjustments to our sound, and I'm certain that this also  will
be our policy in the future. Whatever the music in the end is labeled
as is something we're less concerned about. We'll be happy as long as
the music is interesting and  enjoyable  to  play,  and  our  beliefs
aren't being compromised with."
     Eventually, the band plans to  tour  Norway,  hopefully  in  the
autumn or winter, after their next demo is released. Along with their
new material, they plan to play some  covers,  such  as  WatchTower's
"Mayday In Kiev" (which Lars calls "amusing and  fun  to  play")  and
Fates Warning's "Anarchy Divine". While Norway is  better  known  for
its black metal scene, a prog scene does exist there, as evidenced by
the compilation _A Gathering..._. According to Lars, there are  "many
talented musicians but very few good  bands  coming  out  of  Norway.
Central Europe is the 'hot spot' when it comes to prog metal,  or  at
least that's what we've been told. Nevertheless, if you ask  me,  all
the leading bands of this genre tend to spring out of the USA."
     Looking into the future is always a difficult  proposition.  For
now, Lars says that the band "would  rather  like  not  to  make  any
predictions, but just keep our focus on making  the  best  of  things
right here and now."  While  they're  doing  that,  check  out  their
homepage (see below), listen to the soundclips of  their  music,  and
make up your own mind about what their future holds.

Contact: SPIRAL ARCHITECT, Chr. Krohgsgt. 30, N-0186 Oslo, NORWAY
         WWW: http://www.gi.no/Spiral/
         e-mail: asgeir@gi.no

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


Slayer - _Undisputed Attitude_  (American Recordings, May 1996)
by: Gino Filicetti  (7 out of 10)

Slayer doing punk. I don't know about you, but  to  me  something  in
that sentence just doesn't click. But regardless of  what  you  or  I
think, that's just what this seminal thrash band has gone  and  done.
_Undisputed Attitude_ is Slayer's 10th release and is full of nothing
but punk covers (with one original song thrown in for good  measure).
The idea behind making this album seems to mainly stem from guitarist
Jeff Hanneman who's comments on each song appear most  frequently  in
the liner notes. Unfortunately, yours truly is NOT the  biggest  punk
fan on earth, so the fact that  Slayer  neglected  to  mention  which
bands they were covering in the  liner  notes  left  me  pretty  much
clueless. They did however mention that three songs were Minor Threat
covers, "Guilty of Being White," "I Hate  You"  and  "Filler/I  Don't
Want To Hear It." Frankly, most of  the  music  on  this  album  just
doesn't sound natural coming from Slayer. All of  Slayer's  tell-tale
characteristics such as Araya's vocals and their  own  unique  guitar
signatures are still intact making the music sound more  like  thrash
and less like punk. Some of my  favorite  tracks  are  "Mr.  Freeze",
which sort of sounds like something the band would write, "I'm  Gonna
Be Your God", which is a pretty nasty love song sung with wild  vocal
effects. And finally my absolute favorite  track  from  this  record,
"Gemini", which is the one original,  complete  with  lyrics  in  the
liners. The music is slow and evil, the lyrics are  expertly  written
and the song ends with heavier than hell riffs  just  chugging  away.
Suffice it to say that "Gemini" alone brought my rating of this album
up at least two points.


Pantera - _The Great Southern Trendkill_  (EastWest, May 1996)
by: Adrian Bromley  (9 out of 10)

Few bands, especially the metallic-oriented ones, have been  able  to
match the success that these Texan boys have achieved in such a short
period of time (that is if we overlook the time of  their  glam  rock
days). Ever since the raw and chaotic frenzy spewed  forth  by  their
stunning 'metal reincarnation' of _Cowboys from Hell_ (1990), Pantera
have been a runaway train, plowing over every band in  its  path  and
made them a force to be reckoned  with  within  the  mainstream.  The
band's last two offerings,  1992's  _Vulgar  Display  of  Power_  and
1994's _Far Beyond Driven_ took the band deeper into the roots  of  a
hard-grooving metallic outfit, providing not only some  killer  riffs
by Dimebag Darrell but monstrous  intensity  shared  by  singer  Phil
Anselmo's screams and the strong backing of the potentially dangerous
rhythm section of drummer Vinnie Paul and  bassist  Rex.  Onto  their
latest, _The Great Southern Trendkill_, a somewhat departure from the
hard-based grooves of the past few releases (though not dissolved  of
them) and back to a very solid metal feel to the  record.  Rawer  and
harsher at times (death metal would be a better adjective at times!),
_TGSTK_ still sounds like Pantera, but some characteristics have been
changed and that is not a bad  thing.  With  some  extensive  touring
behind them with _FBD_ and Anselmo's other project Down,  this  album
seems as though the band aimed to get back to their 'roots' of  being
a metal band - and many will not be disappointed. Opener title  track
(aided by screams of Anal Cunt's singer Seth  Putnam)  is  enough  to
pique any metal fan's curiosity. Dig deeper into the record and  find
crunchers like "Suicide Note Pt. II", "War Nerve" and "Floods"  doing
some serious damage to our ears. Loud and aggressive, these  "Cowboys
From Hell" are on the verge of burying every metal act  still  trying
to salvage some respect from the music industry.


Cradle of Filth - _Vempire or Dark Faerytales in Phallustein_
by: Brian Meloon  (8 out of 10)  (Cacophonous, March 1996)

The second release from these blasphemous English blokes  shows  them
moving toward a more gothic, death metal sound. The production  gives
them a more professional sound, being thicker, heavier, and having  a
much better drum sound (including a tight bass drum sound), but  less
prominent keys and vocals. Dani's vocals are the same  eerie  shrieks
mixed with the occasional guttural death metal belch.  Unfortunately,
he's mixed too low at times, making it difficult to hear  (let  alone
understand) what he's saying, and he continues  his  (bad)  habit  of
singing extremely fast, which for some  reason  reminds  me  of  Ross
Perot. (?)  They've  also  incorporated  some  sections  with  female
voices... which I like, though they  aren't  terribly  original.  The
guitar work  is  essentially  death  metal,  with  some  black  metal
influences, similar to their previous style. The keys are once  again
very prominent, although their new keyboard player isn't as  good  as
their previous one. The pipe organ sound is gone,  replaced  by  more
gothic  tones...  synth  violins  and  such.  The  drumming  is  much
improved, with some fast double bass work (helping to give  this  its
death  metal  feel),  and  some  interesting  and   varied   playing.
Unfortunately, there are only six tracks, of which one is a cover  of
a song on _TPoEMF_ ("The Forest Whispers My Name"),  one  is  an  all
keyboard gothic instrumental (which is a little boring and  rambling,
but otherwise okay), and four real tracks. Overall, this  is  a  step
backward I think, but still very good.


Malevolent Creation - _Joe Black_  (Pavement, April 1996)
by: Steve Hoeltzel  (7 out of 10)

This CD is a mixed bag of  material:  three  new  songs,  three  wild
re-mixes, and some pretty obscure earlier  stuff.  Brand  new  opener
"Joe Black"  rages,  racing  crazily  back  and  forth  in  trademark
Malevolent style between power chord barrages,  insane  blast  beats,
and galloping jackhammer riffs. The other  new  songs  are  enjoyable
too, but I don't think they're as strong  as  the  best  material  on
their latest full-length, _Eternal_. Also included is  the  '93  demo
version of "Genetic Affliction",  which,  for  my  money,  absolutely
smokes the  _Stillborn_  version.  The  three-track  '90  demo  which
eventually  got  the  band  signed  is  also  represented  here,  and
"Remnants of  Withered  Decay"  just  rocks.  Then  there's  a  cover
(recorded by the _Stillborn_ lineup) of Slayer's "Raining Blood", but
I think it's awfully weak, especially considering that these are  the
guys who crushed _Reign in Blood_ beneath the pulverizing  weight  of
_Retribution_. Finally, though, what compilation  would  be  complete
without three TECHNO (!!) re-mixes of tracks from the latest  album?!
That's right: -techno- mixes of Malevolent Creation  songs.  I  can't
stand techno, but you know, I think  these  tracks  are  pretty  damn
cool. Each is propelled by  a  driving  programmed  backbeat  beneath
scorching riffs, with looped samples and weird electronics  piled  up
on top. Catchy, rhythmic, and uniquely wicked. Beyond that,  I  can't
really describe these tracks, but hey, they  came  out  heavy  enough
that the band decided to release them. Considering who we're  talking
about here, that ought to tell you something.


Various - _Nordic Metal: A Tribute to Euronymous_
by: Steve Hoeltzel  (7 out of 10)  (Necropolis Records, March 1996)

Long before he was murdered, Mayhem founder Euronymous (together with
Paul Thind of Necropolis records) planned to  release  a  compilation
album showcasing the still-emerging Norwegian black metal scene. Now,
almost three full years after his death, the spark  which  Euronymous
first gave to this movement has  exploded  into  a  blaze  which  has
spread like wildfire through the  underground,  and  the  compilation
which he planned has finally been  released  as  his  own  posthumous
tribute. The album contains 15 tracks by 11 bands (many of whom  were
Euronymous' good friends), and clocks in at just  under  74  minutes.
Included is a 24-page booklet loaded with  interesting  photos,  band
bios, and testimonials from those who knew Euronymous well and revere
his memory still. Musically,  too,  _Nordic  Metal_  is  packed  with
interesting  stuff.  Here's  what  I  thought  of  the  most  notable
inclusions:

MAYHEM - Their first track is a version of "Freezing Moon"  featuring
vocals by Euronymous' brother in posthumous  infamy:  Dead.  As  this
track shows, _De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas_ would have  been  even  more
chilling if Dead had lived long enough to record his ultra-grim  rasp
for it. "Pagan Fears" is an unreleased rehearsal  track  recorded  by
the 1996 Mayhem lineup. Neither track has  quality  sound,  but  both
really show off Hellhammer's amazing drumming.

EMPEROR - "Moon Over Kara-Shehr" is  an  unreleased  rehearsal  track
with rather murky sound. Recorded in  early  '94,  it's  weaker  than
anything on _In the Nightside Eclipse_, but it still  has  that  epic
Emperor feel. "The Ancient Queen" is taken from their 7-inch _As  the
Shadows Rise_,  a  by-product  of  the  '92  recording  sessions  for
Emperor's excellent split with Enslaved.

DISSECTION - "Where Dead Angels Lie" is a  great  track,  somber  and
darkly atmospheric. "Elizabeth Bathori" is much more  simplistic  and
has a pronounced 80's metal feel. Both  tracks  are  taken  from  the
Wrong Again Records _W.A.R. Compilation_.

OPTHALAMIA - Their cover of Mayhem's demo track "Deathcrush" rocks.

Most of the remaining tracks are  probably  of  greater  interest  to
diehard fans than to anyone who likes a few of the bigger black metal
bands but isn't very  seriously  interested  in  the  scene.  Besides
easy-to-find tracks from Marduk and Enslaved, this is rather  obscure
and  often  very  raw  sounding  stuff  from:  Abruptum  (good  scary
ambient), Mysticum  (unimpressive),  Thorns  (slow  and  dirge-like),
Arcturus (like an easy-listening version  of  Emperor),  and  Mortiis
(very unimpressive).


Accursed - _Meditations Among the Tombs_
by: Steve Hoeltzel  (8 out of 10)  (Visceral Prod., November 1995)

I only know two things about this band: first, its three members hail
from  Wisconsin,  and  second,  they  have  produced   an   extremely
impressive debut of blackened avant-garde metal. "The  Last  Sunrise"
opens the  album  in  epic  fashion,  twisting  and  turning  through
venomous black cacophonies and pounding doom riffs backed by  pealing
bells. "Land of Whispers" is -weird- sounding black metal, and "Where
Icicles Form" is genuinely creepy, and once again pretty strange. But
the  Accursed  sound  isn't  just  constant  aggression:  every  song
contains all kinds of fluid changes of tempo and feel.  Like  many  a
black metal band, they've also peppered  their  album  with  hypnotic
musical interludes, usually featuring synthesizers. But unlike  most,
these guys actually use keyboards as a -lead- instrument on a  couple
of non-intro tracks. On "Oceans of  Time"  and  the  all-instrumental
title track, this works surprisingly well. Even though there are some
weak moments on the album, at their best Accursed sound like  a  more
adventurous version of _Hordane's Land_-era Enslaved. In other words,
this is a killer release, by a band with immense potential.


Asphyx - _God Cries_  (Century Media, May 1996)
by: Adam Wasylyk  (7 out of 10)

Rising from the ashes of breaking up a  year  after  the  release  of
their self-titled album, the Dutch band Asphyx have come to life with
their new album,  _God  Cries_.  Reuniting  with  two-thirds  of  the
original line-up, they put in a very solid 9-song effort. Songs  like
the  title  track,  "My  Beloved   Enemy",   "Died   Yesterday"   and
"Slaughtered  in  Sodom"  utilize  slow  to  mid-paced   speed,   and
concentrate on guitar intricacy rather  than  blinding  speed  (which
some bands these days find necessary). Worthy of note  is  that  _God
Cries_ is a little more than half the length  of  their  debut  album
with each song on averaging about three and a half  minutes  compared
to their self-titled album where the average  length  is  nearly  six
minutes (I guess on this album they took the  "shorter  but  sweeter"
approach). Not many surprises, but some good music nonetheless.


Bathory - _Blood on Ice_  (Black Mark, May 1996)
by: Adam Wasylyk  (9 out of 10)

After listening to this for the first time I  was  surprised  at  how
much I liked it! _Blood on Ice_ being Bathory's eleventh  album,  was
recorded from February '88 to June '89 between the albums _Blood Fire
Death_ and _Hammerheart_. Of the eleven songs, I  particularly  liked
"Man of Iron", "One Eyed Old Man", "The Sword", "The  Woodwoman"  and
"The Lake". Some of the songs are enhanced  with  choir-like  backing
vocals, greatly adding to the sound and atmosphere.  The  album  also
includes a 32-page booklet, detailing the recording of _Blood on Ice_
and some of the history of Bathory, along  with  the  lyrics  with  a
written intro to each song. So reading the intros and lyrics, it's as
if one was reading a story. Even the cover art is fantastic! The only
fault here is the weak production in some parts, due to  the  age  of
the recording. In the bio it says _Blood on Ice_ is "... an  hour  of
true epic metal..." This doesn't even  begin  to  explain  how  truly
great this is.


Bewitched - _Diabolical Desecration_  (Osmose Prod., April 1996)
by: Steve Hoeltzel  (5 out of 10)

According to their bio, Bewitched's variety  of  "evil  speed-rockin'
Hell metal" could just as well have been done in '83. One thing's for
sure: if I had discovered this album back then,  when  I  was  14,  I
definitely would have played it often and loud. See,  Bewitched  have
two basic goals: "to focus on old pioneering  metal  from  the  early
eighties" and "to maintain genuine feelings of dirty  and  evil  ROCK
'N' ROLL." I guess they do that pretty well, coming off as  a  pretty
rocking cross between vintage Mercyful Fate and old Judas Priest. But
these  guys  are  cheesier:  check  out  song  titles  like  "Burnin'
Paradise" and "Hard as Steel (Hot as Hell)". Still, the guitars sound
great, and this CD showcases some pretty cool old-school metal riffs.
The vocals, on the other hand, are annoyingly screechy,  and  they're
not exactly blessed with the greatest lyrics either. In  the  end,  I
just can't get into this style. But big fans of early  Mercyful  Fate
and similar-sounding bands might want to search these guys out.


Beyond - _Reassemble_  (Pavement/Cargo, May 1996)
by: Adrian Bromley  (6 out of 10)

Chicago's Beyond are somewhat connoisseurs of metallic mayhem and  an
industrial/mechanical tinged sound, something felt quite vividly with
their music. Much like the works of Ministry, Beyond's music on their
debut _Reassemble_ (the band was formerly known as Demented Ted) is a
quick lashing of riffs and walls of noise. The vocals of  singer  Ron
Janis  exhibit  a  solid  death  metal-ish  growl  though  at   times
downscaled to a solid exertion of anger as every song goes  upon  its
course. Musically, the music of  Beyond  is  rather  bland,  no  real
attribute pops out, but I must say one thing though:  this  band  has
got a real groove going when it  does  take  shape,  especially  with
songs like "Monument" and the title track. "Machined" rolls hard  and
heavy as does opener "Pure" and "Limbless".  Metallic  and  thrashing
out in a frenzy at times, Beyond's debut is a good listen most of the
time.


Don Caballero - _Don Caballero 2_  (Touch & Go, September 1995)
by: Brian Meloon  (7 out of 10)

Don  Caballero  are  a  semi-mysterious  band  (not   a   guy)   from
Pennsylvania. The packaging of this disc resembles the  music,  being
minimal: all that is listed in the liner notes are song titles,  band
members, a contact address, and some production credits. The music is
probably best described as "an  instrumental  Neurosis  crossed  with
Primus  and  touches  of  Voivod."  This  description  is  a   little
misleading, as the bass playing is definitely not  the  focal  point,
though it is solid. Their overall sound is reminiscent  of  Neurosis,
with similar guitar tones, long songs (4 of the 8 songs clock  in  at
around 10 minutes),  simplistic  guitar  riffs,  and  repetitive  and
slow-moving compositions. The music  is  occasionally  heavier,  more
metallic, and more dissonant than Neurosis, bringing to mind the most
recent offering by Voivod. The songs feature a similar  weirdness  to
Primus, as do the song titles, such as "please tokio, please THIS  IS
TOKIO", "P,P,P antless", and "Dick Suffers Is Furious With You".  The
guitar work is similar to what you'd  expect  from  Primus  with  two
guitar players, though not  as  noodley.  The  playing  is  not  very
precise, usually pretty loose and sloppy, and at times sounds out  of
tune. The production doesn't help this either, as it is rather noisy,
and not too flattering. The drumming is the highlight of this  album.
This guy gives new meaning to the term "overplaying." He  sounds  for
long stretches as if he's soloing, keeping the music  interesting  as
the guitars play the same monotonous, minimalistic  riffs.  Parts  of
this are excellent, but some parts really  drag  (some  bordering  on
noise). This is at least original and refreshing, though it still has
room for improvement.


Candiria - _Surrealistic Madness_  (Too Damn Hype, December 1995)
by: Brian Meloon  (8 out of 10)

Candiria are a NY band exploring the fertile territory of jazz-metal.
This has a fresh sound, as it's only vaguely  similar  to  the  other
bands  who've  incorporated  jazz   into   metal   (Atheist,   Cynic,
Pestilence, Spastic Ink, Naked  City/John  Zorn,  Alex  Masi).  Their
style is roughly death metal crossed with jazz. There are sections of
pure jazz, sections of pure (though not extremely heavy) death metal,
and sections of mixtures of the two. The death sections are sometimes
straightforward, but the jazz influence creeps in  both  rhythmically
and tonally, ranging  from  very  dissonant  and  strange  to  pretty
technical. Vocals are shouted and not very guttural,  but  distorted,
and fit the music well. Guitar and  bass  work  are  solid,  and  the
drumming is excellent: really moving some of the sections along. It's
usually dense and varied, with some  occasionally  fast  double  bass
work. The album as a whole has a little too  much  jazz  for  me,  as
approximately half of the (45-minute) disc are taken up by pure  jazz
(including the last 10 minutes of the last track), but a lot  of  the
metallic parts are excellent.


Cathedral - _Hopkins (The Witchfinder General)_
by: Adrian Bromley (7 out of 10)  (Earache Records, May 1996)

So, Cathedral releases this limited  EP,  _Hopkins:  The  Witchfinder
General_, a grouping of four newly recorded  songs  and  one  of  the
better Sabbath-laced tracks of  their  brilliant  1995  release  _The
Carnival Bizarre_, and at the same  time  presents  their  fans  with
scare tactics... sort of. Starting off with the movie  trailer/spoken
intro of late,  great  actor  Vincent  Price  saying  "I  am  Matthew
Hopkins, witchfinder...", this 5-song EP kicks  off  with  the  title
track and then from that point on the  album  switches  gears,  dilly
dallying between multiple music  styles,  everything  from  jazz/funk
("The Devil's  Summit"),  an  80s  rock  styled  number  (the  slowly
hypnotic "Purple Wonderland") and even a  cover  of  Crazy  World  of
Arthur Brown's psychedelic song "Fire". But don't be alarmed  though,
Cathedral fans. The record company bio (paraphrased) says this desire
by the band to play this music does not suggest this to be the band's
musical direction in the future. Experimentation is the name of  this
game here with Dorrian and his gang of metallic  henchmen,  and  like
most albums' material, some things work and some don't (most  notably
"The Devil's Summit") but the need to branch  out  sometimes  is  the
best remedy to keep things fresh within a band. Good call Lee.


Decoryah - _Fall-Dark Waters_  (Metal Blade, May 1996)
by: Adrian Bromley  (7 out of 10)

Finland's Decoryah's sophomore effort, _Fall-Dark Waters_, flows with
a captivating essence throughout,  rarely  losing  the  listener  and
always releasing bitter-sweet bursts of classically balanced  guitar,
violin  and  cello  orchestrations  that  piece  together  quite  the
collection of material. More focused and better produced  than  their
debut album for Metal Blade, 1995's _Wisdom Floats_, _FDW_ is  9-song
ride into the world and visions of this three-piece. Classical  death
metal (much like  Orphanage)  may  be  the  best  assessment  of  the
material found on their latest LP with the  musical  interludes,  the
use  of  angelic  female  vocalist/singers  and  strong  songwriting.
Standouts include title track, "Gloria  Absurdiah"  and  "Some  Drops
Beyond the Essence". A recommended listen for those that  enjoy  long
intricate atmospheric metallic numbers.


Doughnuts - _Equalize Nature_ (Victory/Cargo, May 1996)
by: Adrian Bromley (6 out of 10)

If you like hardcore  music  (in  the  same  vein  as  Snapcase),  L7
attitude/style of music and bands with female musicians in them, then
this four-piece from Umea, Sweden are exactly  what  you  need.  With
just five songs on this release, these  four  lasses  kick  out  some
heavy hardcore-based numbers like "Spread It", "Agony" and  "Windows"
- a sure-fire source of energy in any mosh pit.  Roughly  shaped  and
sculpted, _EN_, does the job for the 13:30 that it plays and that  is
good enough for me.


Grave - _Hating Life_  (Century Media, May 1996)
by: Adam Wasylyk  (6 out of 10)

Suffering the loss of bassist/vocalist Jorgen Sandstrom who  left  to
play in Entombed, listening to _Hating Life_, I had mixed feelings as
to whether it was a mixed blessing or not. Guitarist Ola Lindgren has
taken over vocal duties (who was the vocalist of Grave in the  band's
beginning stages), but doesn't capture the vocal ferocity that Jorgen
had. Musically, I did enjoy it a lot more than  their  prior  release
_Soulless_ because _Hating  Life_  is  more  catchy  and  aggressive.
Recorded at Sunlight Studios by Tomas  Skogsberg  (who  has  produced
bands like Entombed and Amorphis), this greatly adds to the sound  as
the production on here is very clean. Exactly 33  minutes  long,  the
tracks "Worth the Wait", "Restrained", "Snowfilled Moon" and "Harvest
Day" were good, but not much else was very different or  even  worthy
of mention. Most of the songs are done in the same sort  of  way;  it
did get stale at times to hear.  A  little  more  experimentation  is
recommended.


Grotus - _Mass_  (London Records, Late 1995)
by: Gino Filicetti  (8 out of 10)

Never heard the name Grotus before? Well, unless  you  are  into  the
industrial/techno "vibe" going on, then it's no  wonder.  Grotus  has
been around for the last five years, and started off their careers as
nothing more than another copy cat band ripping  off  the  industrial
beats of the era. However, this band - lead by Lars Fox - has evolved
into an entity that is truly unique. _Mass_  is  Grotus'  debut  full
length with London Records, and marks a significant  change  for  the
band. With this release, Grotus elected  to  take  on  a  more  human
approach to their music. Wishing  to  distance  themselves  from  the
hordes of mechanical industrial monsters dominating  the  scene,  the
band brought in a flesh and blood drummer  replacing  their  previous
drum machine, and changed  their  sound  to  a  more  down  to  earth
approach. Some of the lyrics on _Mass_ are pure genius, like _Collect
'Em All_ which is about the workings of  a  psychotic  mind  or  _The
Bottom Line_ which shows how everyone in our world is  hypnotized  by
the mass media (such as evil electronic publications like  Chronicles
of Chaos!). The music on this release is hard to describe; it  dances
the  fine  line  between  techno,   rock   and   grindy   industrial.
Experimentation is a high priority on  Grotus'  list,  and  the  band
never ceases to captivate the  listener.  This  album  is  definitely
something different, but interesting nonetheless.


Mysticum - _In the Streams of Inferno_
by: Steve Hoeltzel  (4 out of 10)  (Full Moon Prod., February 1996)

There are quite a few black metal bands whose sound really  grows  on
you over time, once you've become used to their  bleak,  savage,  and
typically under-produced style. After giving the debut from  Mysticum
its fair share of spins, though, I'd put these guys in the  class  of
bands who just get slightly less annoying. The main reason  is  their
reliance on a drum machine which produces about as much  sonic  power
as a typewriter can. Plus, the guitar sound is  incredibly  high  and
thin, and the vocalist sounds  like  he's  really  been  hitting  the
helium too. Still it's not really their squeaky recording that  holds
these guys back. As we all know, it takes  a  lot  more  than  crappy
sound to keep a good black metal band down! No, the problem  is  that
Mysticum's songs are simply monotonous. There is a huge  shortage  of
engaging  riffs  and  interesting  changes  in  tempo,  and  whatever
atmosphere the band manages to create with keyboards rapidly  becomes
stale. If your idea of a great black metal jam is to repeatedly blast
Emperor's most one-dimensional songs with the bass turned all the way
down and the treble cranked, then these guys are for you.  Otherwise,
look elsewhere.


Naglfar - _Vittra_  (Wrong Again Records, 1995)
by: Brian Meloon  (7 out of 10)

Within any genre, there are the inventors, the  innovators,  and  the
clones. These guys fall  into  the  last  category,  sounding  almost
exactly like Dissection. The playing is good (although  the  drumming
is average... he could be a little more interesting), the vocals  are
fine, the guitar and bass work are precise, and the songs  are  good,
but these guys don't really add anything new to the genre. The  songs
are a little "catchier" than Dawn (see CoC  #8),  but  not  quite  as
catchy as Dissection. They have a few neat tricks, such as the  intro
to "Emerging from Her Weepings", which is acoustic guitar with double
bass drums under it (yeah, it's been  done  before,  but  it's  still
pretty cool) and some keyboards for  atmosphere,  but  it's  a  sound
you've heard before. I even feel that some of the melodies  seemed  a
little too familiar, as if I'd heard them before, but couldn't  quite
figure out where. Still, with the excellent production  and  relative
youth of the death/black genre, this is worth getting. Those  of  you
who can't get enough of Dissection won't be disappointed.


Obliveon - _Cybervoid_  (A.S.A./Cargo, March 1996)
by: Alain M. Gaudrault  (10 out of 10)

A friend of mine made the astute observation that Obliveon want to be
Voivod. Now that may very well be so,  but  in  my  opinion,  they're
doing a damn fine job of making  phenomenal  music  in  the  process.
_Cybervoid_   is   the   third    outing    from    these    Montreal
technical-deathsters-come-cyber/groove-metallers, and may well become
my top pick of 1996. Sure, there are heavier albums out there, and  I
love them as well, but Obliveon seem to have found the perfect  blend
of aggression, technicality, and groove, combined with a  harsh,  yet
mechanically melodic vocal deliver thanks to newcomer Bruno  Bernier.
The production, thanks to guitarist Pierre Remillard,  is  thick  yet
clear, and very guitar-heavy, with ambient electronic bits used often
as a percussive element. The drumming is solid  and  diverse,  hardly
boring, but the massive  guitar  riffs  so  excellently  crafted  and
molded into cohesive  structures  simply  flatten  me.  I've  had  an
advance copy of this album for a number of months, and I've  recently
come back to it to write this review. It still blows me away. A  word
of warning to old fans of the band, though. Obliveon is not  pursuing
death metal any  longer,  as  is  evident  in  their  choice  of  new
vocalist, who seems to be coming from a death background while adding
a sense of melody uncommon to the average death vocalist.  If  you're
expecting brutal death metal, or even technical death, you  might  be
disappointed, although perhaps not if you aren't averse to a  healthy
infusion of speed metal and groove. My favourite cuts off  the  album
are "Sombre Phase" and "Biomecanique", both of which would make  good
choices as potential singles,  although  the  latter's  inclusion  of
French lyrics might prevent it from being so. All in all, _Cybervoid_
is heavy, and has enough originality to impress the cynic in  me.  If
you're able to sample this album in your favourite  music  store,  do
so. Then buy it.


Prong - _Rude Awakening_  (Epic/Sony, May 1996)
by: Adrian Bromley  (8 out of 10)

Much  more  focused  and  straightforward  than  their  last  effort,
_Cleansing_ (1993), New York City hard-grooved metal trio return with
a story  and  sound,  revealed  and  emphasized  through  the  sounds
emerging from their new LP, _Rude Awakening_. The music here  is  not
hidden behind screams of rage or loud crashes of music.  It's  rather
raw and virgin-like, assembled slightly with a feeling of  uniqueness
in sound and lyrical content. The obvious changes  of  the  band  are
shown through the  sound  and  direction  of  the  band.  While  less
bombastic than previous efforts such as _Beg To  Differ_  (1990)  and
1991's breakthrough LP _Prove You Wrong_, the music  of  _RA_  stills
breathes of heaviness. Sampler and keyboardist  Charlie  Clauser  (of
NIN fame) adds his own blend of trippiness and oddity into the  rough
vocals of singer/guitarist Tommy  Victor  and  the  tight  riffs  and
strides of power provided by the band. From start to finish,  the  13
track's  of  Prong's  latest  glides   nicely   with   numbers   like
"Controller", "Innocence Gone", "Face Value"  and  the  title  track.
Though some of the material sounds very similar at times  (take  note
and you'll hear it after a few listens), this album  deserves  to  be
taken as masterpiece of performance by a  band  that  for  years  has
shapeshifted and tried so hard to perfect their  sound.  No  need  to
work at it any more as _RA_ can finally claim fame to a unique  sound
that can only call Prong's guidance and deliverance home.


Ramp - _Intersection_  (Uniao Lisboa Edicoes, 1995)
by: Gino Filicetti  (5 out of 10)

This Portugese quintet aren't newcomers to the scene. Ramp  has  been
in existence since 1989, but a multitude of unlucky setbacks has keep
this band in the shadows since that time. The only other Ramp release
that has seen the light of day was the  _Thoughts  Was  Released_  EP
which  came  out  through  Polygram.  However,  the  band  was  never
satisfied with the unfriendly and commercial feel of  the  label,  so
they decided to part ways and join up with a young upstart  Portugese
label, Uniao Lisboa Edicoes. The  result:  _Intersection_,  an  album
that has all the power and musicianship any band could hope for,  but
one that came just a little too late to  matter.  On  _Intersection_,
Ramp seem hopelessly buried in  the  early  90's  thrash  sound.  The
vocals on this release are clean but lack  that  certain  touch  that
would make them memorable. The music is  superbly  executed  and  the
various guitar solos are top notch.  But  like  I  said,  this  album
already sounds dated, and I think Ramp should  look  forward  to  the
future and use their talents to pursue greener pastures.


Testify - _Mmmyaooo_  (Van Richter Records, May 1996)
by: Adrian Bromley  (7 out of 10)

First the band sounded a lot like NIN with their 1994 debut _01_  and
their remix album, _Ballroom Killer_, and now  with  their  sophomore
record, _Mmmyaooo_ (great name eh?), they sound like Ministry. What's
next down the line of industrial bands to  imitate?  But  hold  on...
hold on. The axe ain't gonna fall too quickly on  Testify,  not  this
time at least. Beyond my negative points of this record stands strong
a solid, hard-hitting dose  of  fierce  industrial  music.  From  the
get-go of opener "Pink Goblin" onto "Head of Compassion"  and  "Block
in the Eye", Testify rarely slows it down, bit by  bit  breaking  the
listener into a heaping pile of human  flesh.  Samples,  loud  bangs,
screams  and  solid  riffs  pour  out  of  this  rather  surprisingly
enjoyable second outing. Also, the help of co-producer Adam  Grossman
(singer/guitarist of Skrew) helped  strengthen  many  of  the  band's
flaws off the first album. _Mmmyaooo_ radiates industrial  music  and
channelled noise to the best of their ability. Good effort.

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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


Blood of Christ - _The Lonely Flowers of Autumn_  (4-song demo)
by: Adam Wasylyk  (*****)

In the fine tradition of other Canadian death  metal  bands  such  as
Kataklysm and Cryptopsy, Blood of Christ,  with  this  professionally
laid-out four-song demo (with  songs  "Autumn's  Twilight",  "In  the
Distance",  "Moonshroud...  the  Cresent  Glow"  and  "As  the  Roses
Wither"), demonstrate they have the talent to  continue  successfully
in their footsteps. Combining  death,  black  and  doom  (along  with
intelligent lyrics), Blood of Christ deliver  a  rich,  unique  sound
through great production and talented  playing.  Acoustic  and  organ
passages accentuate the music nicely.  This  will  satisfy  many,  as
there are some blast beats along with  nice  melodic  parts.  A  very
impressive release to say the least. With not only  great  music  but
with great layout, this is about as good as demos can get.

Contact: BLOOD OF CHRIST, c/o Jeff Longo
         27 Century Place, London, Ontario, Canada, N6H-4W9
         (send $5 US for a copy)


7th Gate - _The Funeral Delight_  (8-track demo)
by: Alain M. Gaudrault  (*****)

This is one  of  the  best  demos  I've  heard.  Ever.  Granted,  the
production isn't great.  In  fact,  according  to  the  liner  notes,
"[this] tape was done without: fuckin' effects..., fuckin'  overdubs,
fuckin' mastering, simply no studio, just  live  playing."  And  play
they do. 7th Gate have created an interesting combination  of  brutal
American-style death, with plenty of European-style melody,  and  the
occasional grindcore vocal to boot. The musicianship is pretty tight,
and the sound uncommonly clear for this type of recording. I'll admit
that  my  first  impressions  were  mixed.  While  the  packaging  is
excellent for a DiY job, the song titles threw me  off,  particularly
"Mutilation of a Pregnant Bitch", which sounded downright insipid. My
first listen left me a bit flat, but it's  upon  repeated  listenings
that I grew to love this tape. It hasn't left the deck  for  a  week.
There's just so much cool  stuff  happening  here,  that  it's  worth
hearing over and over again. The highlight of the demo, for  me,  has
to be "Open Crypt" with its various tempo and texture changes as well
as the  almost  trance-like  state  it  induces.  This  comes  highly
recommended to those who love good grinding  technical  death  metal.
Hailing from Austria, these guys need all the encouragement they  can
get, so I urge everyone to contact  them  and  get  a  copy  of  this
wonderful release.

Contact: 7TH GATE, Rainer Zimmermann, Bergerweb 5
         A-4400 Steyr, Austria, Voice: +43(0)7252/53143
         e-mail: rainer.zimmermann@telecom.at


Red Sun Project - _Red Sun Project_  (4-track demo)
by: Alain M. Gaudrault  (***--)

Red Sun Project is actually 7th Gate (see review in  this  issue)  in
disguise. Fronted by a different vocalist, the band plays a decidedly
more mainstream style  of  metal.  While  still  retaining  a  thick,
crunching sound, this demo incorporates elements more commonly  found
in heavy alternative acts,  without  the  uni-dimensional  simplistic
playing displayed by said bands. And again, as  with  7th  Gate,  the
demo was recorded without the aid of effects, overdubbing, etc, "just
live playing." Unfortunately, the weak link in Red Sun Project has to
be their vocalist. While his singing voice is decent in  places,  his
screams are beyond annoying, and his rap has to go, although it could
be argued that it fits the music. I would readily  disagree.  In  any
case, this is a pretty  cool  showcasing  of  talent,  and  certainly
displays the diversity of the musicians,  particularly  after  having
sampled their  alter-ego,  7th  Gate.  If  you  were  thinking  about
ordering the latter's demo, consider Red Sun Project's  as  well,  if
only to hear the breadth of their writing abilities.

Contact: RED SUN PROJECT, Rainer Zimmermann, Bergerweb 5
         A-4400 Steyr, Austria, Voice: +43(0)7252/53143
         e-mail: rainer.zimmermann@telecom.at


Vicious Crowd - _Vicious Crowd_  (11-track demo)
by: Alain M. Gaudrault  (**---)

First off, this is metal with  strong  hard  rock  tendencies,  which
isn't an inherently bad thing, mind you, but  overly  susceptible  to
cheesiness. While that isn't  the  case  with  Vicious  Crowd,  other
problems  abound.  The  first  few  spins  of  this  CD  weren't  too
favourable. A few of the songs hit the mark with a  good  vocal  line
and a handful of excellent riffs, but  the  rest  of  the  songs  are
either too samey, or the  riffs  become  downright  annoying  halfway
through the song. The musicianship is another sore point;  sloppiness
is readily apparent, and given the lack of density of the  music,  it
shows considerably more. The guitar in  particular  seems  in  places
overly simple, although solos are usually  clean  and  tasteful.  The
vocals set this release apart from other bands of this genre with its
quasi-hardcore flavour, tinged with hard rock melody.  Personally,  I
feel the band should concentrate on fewer songs in order  to  develop
them further, to give them their own distinct personalities,  instead
of producing a full-length album's worth of mediocre  tunes  as  they
have done.

Contact: Vicious Crowd c/o Jean-Christophe Marchal
         1147 Chaussee de Louvain, Bruxelles 1200 WSL, Belgium
         e-mail: jean@hpuxit96.brussels.hp.com


Obscene Crisis - _Silence of the Mind_  (9-track demo)
by: Alain M. Gaudrault  (*****)

Succinctly put, this demo gives the listener a 25-minute  barrage  of
chainsaw guitars. I half expected a generic offering of  bland  death
metal, despite being quite impressed with their live set, opening for
Suffocation in  London,  Ontario.  Luckily  for  me,  Obscene  Crisis
deliver the goods with  this  independently  produced  CD.  The  twin
guitars of brothers Stephane and Jean-Pierre Cote shred, combining  a
heavy speed metal influence with death metal structures. Granted,  it
took me awhile to really learn to appreciate their music,  but  after
repeated listenings, I was floored. The rhythms are complex, and  the
musicians  are  of  high  enough  caliber  to  pull  everything   off
beautifully. While their  sound  most  closely  resembles  the  North
American death genre, there's a subtle  sense  of  melody  that  just
creeps up on you once you've familiarized yourself  with  the  songs,
keeping you coming back for more. Of course, there's  the  occasional
sloppy moment, and the very mildly muddy production, but this is  one
damn fine listen. Eric Fiset's vocals vary from gurgling death growls
to high grind  screams,  both  occasionally  multi-tracked  together,
offering both extremes simultaneously.  And  lo  and  behold,  I  can
actually hear the *bassist*  (Chrystian  Boyer)  running  interesting
lines throughout the tracks. I  was  particularly  impressed  by  the
drummer's live performance; Stephane Chartrand does not disappoint in
the studio, as the flurry of  rolls  and  double-bass  clearly  show.
Montreal just seems to consistently ooze quality metal,  and  Obscene
Crisis are further proof of this. Given more time in the studio and a
bigger budget, they could very easily, in my  opinion,  become  major
contenders in metal realms.  Already  garnering  acclaim  in  Europe,
according to the band, this is one group to keep an eye and  ear  out
for. Do yourself a favour and seek out a copy of this mini-album.

Contact: OBSCENE CRISIS, c/o Eric Fiset (enclose 1 IRC for reply)
         9230 Lajeunesse #2, Montreal, Quebec, Canada  H2M 1S2
         e-mail: frphnet@vir.com
         WWW: http://www.vir.com/~frphnet/obscene/index.html

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


          H E A V Y   M E T A L   N O V E L T Y   N I G H T
          ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                 Gwar, The Meatmen, and Brutal Juice
          At the Big Dog's in Cedar Rapids, IA, May 4, 1996
                          by: Steve Hoeltzel

     A big fan of the Meatmen from way back in their mid-80s days  of
snot-encrusted glory, I went to this event thinking that it had  been
quite some time since Iowa had hosted any really  great  displays  of
brutal music--since Morbid Angel's _Covenant_ tour stopped  in  Cedar
Rapids, to be exact. Unfortunately, I guess I left this show thinking
pretty much the same thing--and I'm certain that I'll never waste  my
time on a Gwar performance again.
     I must say, though, that openers Brutal Juice, whom I had  never
heard before, impressed the hell out of  me.  This  band's  creative,
potent style  is  practically  impossible  to  describe.  I  wouldn't
exactly call them a metal band, since their polyrhythmic  and  darkly
dreamy sound derives equally from  edgier  "alternative"  bands  like
Jane's Addiction and perhaps from some  more  artful  punk  bands  as
well. Anyway, one thing I -definitely- wouldn't call  these  guys  is
wimpy. No, they rocked, no question about it, and they  had  a  great
sound, too.  By  turns  they  were  steamroller  heavy,  witch-doctor
creepy, and rattlesnake vicious, with lots of  great-sounding  leads,
killer percussion, and catchy vocal phrasings. Musically speaking,  I
think these guys basically stole the show.
     But I was there to see the Meatmen, having  (mis)spent  many  an
adolescent hour cranking up their obnoxious punk/metal  and  doubling
over in laughter at main meat honcho Tesco Vee's  hilarious  hardcore
diatribes against everything and everybody. I haven't really kept  up
with their more recent stuff, but this was no problem, as  their  set
was chock full of old chestnuts like "True  Grit",  "Abba,  God,  and
Me", and of course  "We're  the  Meatmen  and  You  Suck".  But,  oh,
Tesco--where were "Come  On  Over  to  Mah  Crib"  and  "War  of  the
Superbikes"?! The 1996 Meatmen lineup definitely rocks  pretty  hard,
and newer numbers like "Morrissey Must Die" sounded great. And  Tesco
still projects as much attitude as ever, manically prowling the stage
decked  out  in  white  fur   pants,   dangling   earrings,   and   a
carrot-colored jarhead buzz cut. I was a bit disappointed, though, to
hear him recycling old stage  banter  between  songs  (references  to
"your puckered starfish," "diesel  flab  glaciers,"  and  all  that).
Actually, I felt a bit let down by these guys in  general.  They  did
play a solid, really hard-rocking set, but the overall insanity level
just wasn't quite what I'd come to expect from Tesco and the boys.
     Of course, in-concert insanity is supposed to be  the  specialty
of headliners Gwar. And I guess they lived up to that  reputation  on
this night--but really I found Gwar to be a great deal more  annoying
than entertaining. Although they definitely performed it with  skill,
their music has never done anything for me at all. In fact,  I  don't
like them. Still, I thought it would be fun to check out their  stage
show, and it  was--for  about  five  minutes.  See,  the  novelty  of
watching geysers of fake body fluids spurt all over the audience from
fake latex necks, cocks, and so on, wears off pretty fast. Of course,
Gwar try to make up for this by building up their set around a  story
line  involving   various   monster-suited   characters   and   their
misadventures. But the problem is that the mentality  level  of  this
whole production is so astonishingly  low  that  it  rapidly  becomes
nothing more than obnoxious, and in the worst fifth-grade-humor-level
kind of way. If you crack up over guys in rubber suits  telling  lame
jokes about AIDS, abortion, and child molestation, and if  your  idea
of hilarity includes gags that are really demeaning  to  women,  then
you'll bust a gut over Gwar. Otherwise, if you go see  them,  prepare
to have your intelligence insulted--and a lot  more  than  just  your
intelligence, if you happen to be a woman. Yeah, okay,  I  know:  the
whole Gwar thing is supposed to be a big joke. But  if  you  ask  me,
this joke sucked.

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

             O V E R K I L L I N G   T H E   M A S S E S
             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Overkill at Player's Nightclub in Raleigh, NC, May 10, 1996
                      with guests Life of Agony
                          by: Ernest Crvich

     Sometime ago, around 1987, your friend and humble  narrator  had
the fortune of hearing a song called "Wrecking Crew" on a compilation
(_Power Chords_, if I'm not mistaken) obtained through a record club.
Overkill's album _Taking Over_ soon found itself  in  my  collection,
followed over the years by all of their other  releases,  from  _Feel
The Fire_ to _The Killing Kind_. You could say I was hooked.
     Almost a decade later, with _The Killing  Kind_  as  the  newest
disc on the shelf, the wrecking crew is still hard  at  work,  albeit
with only two of its original members remaining. After all this time,
I'd never had the opportunity to see them live.  I  had,  of  course,
heard their two live recordings (_!!!Fuck You!!!_ and _Wrecking  Your
Neck_), but that surely couldn't compare to the real thing, right?
     Finally,  on  May  10th,  1996,  Player's  Nightclub  in   North
Carolina's capital  city  of  Raleigh  hosted  Overkill,  along  with
opening act Life Of Agony. It was  a  night  to  remember  for  local
Overkill fans; impressive for most and disappointing to only  a  few.
Due to a somewhat late arrival, I apparently missed two  local  bands
who performed before Life Of Agony. My apologies to both bands for my
lack of coverage here.
     When Brooklyn's Life Of Agony hit the  stage,  the  small  crowd
(anywhere from 50 to 100 people) was  visibly  excited.  A  tiny  and
rather tame pit instantly began in front of the stage, but died  down
soon after. The band simply wasn't fast enough or violent  enough  to
give most of the crowd what they needed. The clean,  crooning  vocals
certainly didn't help the situation. Although the band  played  well,
the sound quality was good, and the guitarist was enthusiastic, their
musical style just wasn't heavy  enough  to  incite  mayhem.  Another
disappointment was the lighting; after the first  song,  the  typical
display of flashing colors ceased, leaving a few on, unchanging,  for
the rest of the set. No  one  appeared  concerned  or  interested  in
fixing them (one of the bright white lights  shone  into  the  crowd,
resulting in dozens of people squinting or otherwise trying to  avoid
the glare). Applause was sparse between each song, but at the end  of
their 30-minute set, a more respectable ovation was given. No  shouts
of "Encore!," but no insults were heard either.
     The crowd was then treated to over a half  an  hour  of  waiting
while roadies prepared for Blitz, Verni, Mallare, Comeau, and Marino.
Very little of this  time  was  spent  doing  sound  checks;  it  was
primarily for making sure everything was  in  its  place:  drum  kit,
guitar stands, picks, mic stands, videocams, etc. Near the  end,  the
lights were tested (fortunately, they were now working properly)  and
a smoke pump fired a few times.
     The lights  went  out,  and  Overkill's  intro  theme  thundered
through the small arena (the identical one as can be heard  on  their
live album _Wrecking Your Neck_). Tim Mallare could be  seen  walking
on stage, waving to the cheering crowd before he  took  his  position
behind the drums. And suddenly the song "Battle" roared to  life  and
the lights were ablaze. The pit pretty much went crazy instantly, the
people on the perimeter  banging  their  heads  violently  while  the
center was a torrent of flailing body parts.
     From there it was one fast song after another,  with  a  only  a
couple of slow or mid-paced songs thrown in for a breather.  For  me,
it was nearly  perfect.  I've  always  favored  Overkill's  speedier,
energetic songs, and that's almost all they played  that  night.  The
song list featured: "Battle", "Where It Hurts",  "God-Like",  "Coma",
"Bold Face Pagan Stomp",  "Hello  From  the  Gutter",  "Elimination",
"Supersonic Hate", "Spiritual Void", the medley  of  "Wrecking  Crew"
and "Powersurge", "Burn You Down/To  Ashes",  "Gasoline  Dream",  and
finally,  "Thanx  For  Nothin'".  Over  an  hour  of  pure  thrashing
satisfaction.
     The band played very tightly, with very  few  (and  very  minor)
mistakes. Blitz's voice was in good shape, assuming of course  you're
one of those that likes his  style  (I  personally  couldn't  imagine
Overkill without it, but there are some who don't  agree).  Guitarist
Sebastian Marino seemed quite disappointed in his acoustic  outro  on
"Gasoline Dream", but that was mostly because he was  a  bit  out  of
tune (he tried valiantly to re-tune while  playing).  I  don't  think
most people even noticed.
     The only disappointed reactions I witnessed  were  two  separate
complaints that no songs from _Feel the Fire_ were performed (one guy
kept yelling  "play  some  old  stuff"  between  songs,  and  another
muttered "thanks for nothing" afterwards in a very disgusted manner).
That these fellows expect the band to rehash  stuff  from  ten  years
ago, when they've just released a new album, is ridiculous.  If  they
don't like any of the newer albums, why do they even bother coming to
the show? I guess you just can't please all the  people  all  of  the
time... For the rest  of  us,  Overkill  was  a  blast.  It's  really
impressive that they bothered coming to a relatively small area in  a
tiny nightclub with an even smaller  metal  community.  Tickets  were
only ten dollars, and with such a small  turn-out  it's  likely  they
barely made enough to even buy a beer afterwards. Cheers to the  band
for giving us a great show! They definitely wrecked my neck!

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

                    G A S P I N G   F O R   A I R
                    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
       Suffocation at The Embassy in London, Ont., May 24, 1996
             with Fleshgrind, Obscene Crisis and Rotting
                        by: Alain M. Gaudrault

     When I'd originally heard that Suffocation were to be playing at
The Embassy in London, Ontario (check out their  web  site  for  more
info  at  www.shmooze.net/~embassy),  the  word  was  out  that  lead
vocalist Frank Mullen had left the group and had since been replaced.
A few days before the show, I'd heard that Mullen  was  back  in  the
band, which was relief as the band just wouldn't be as convincing,  I
felt, without the original vocalist at the helm.
     The evening went started off with Newmarket,  Ontario's  Rotting
(featured in CoC #1) who put on a solid set of  their  uncompromising
music. A decent set, albeit nothing particularly spectacular. Obscene
Crisis, hailing from Canada's metal haven, Montreal, put on what  was
easily  the  second-most  impressive  set   of   the   night,   after
Suffocation, of course. Their brand  of  grinding/hardcore/death  was
expertly delivered, very tight, and very convincing  (see  New  Noise
this month for a review of their demo CD,  _Silence  of  the  Mind_).
While the overall mix really sucked, the musicianship shone,  as  did
Eric Fiset's insane vocal delivery. Next up was  Fleshgrind,  a  band
whom I had written off as a run-of-the-mill, generic death/grind  act
from the sound of the first few songs. Slowly, though, I  started  to
appreciate a bit more what they were doing, and the general  gist  of
where they were coming from. While their delivery was quite  good,  I
couldn't help but be annoyed at the constant abuse the lead  vocalist
directed towards the crowd who weren't showing as much enthusiasm  as
he would have liked. Methinks everybody were simply waiting  for  the
masters of mayhem to emerge. Good set, and had  any  of  the  members
made themselves available for fans/press to speak to  them,  I  might
even have had a demo of their to review.
     Suffocation then took the stage. Now they are truly a class act.
Not only could the members be seen roaming about the floor  with  the
fans before their set, but  a  few  of  them  were  also  behind  the
merchandise display, selling their wares to the fans and  willing  to
chat! I'm told that a new EP should be released around September,  so
be on the lookout. They've also been dropped from RoadRunner (what is
this world *coming* to?), so it's currently unclear under which label
future material will be released. As for  their  set,  the  band  was
unstoppable, delivering the goods with the  utmost  in  musicianship,
tight as all Hell, and true to their recordings. From  classics  such
as "Infecting the Crypts" and "Suspended in Tribulation", to  several
cuts from their latest  offering  _Pierced  from  Within_,  all  were
delivered with precision and unending brutality. They are an  act  to
behold. Seems they've also acquired a  new  drummer,  and  if  memory
serves, it's Mark Simpson, originally in  Malevolent  Creation  circa
_The Ten Commandments_, but don't  hold  me  to  that.  As  I'd  said
earlier, Frank Mullen is back  as  Suffocation's  frontman,  although
minus the hair. Frank's going for a new look, which meant shaving off
those golden locks in favour of a skin job. I was  told  by  Terrence
Hobbs (guitar) that he done it for "personal reasons." Whatever  that
may be, it hasn't proven to be  a  Samson-like  curse;  his  ferocity
remains intact.
     While the night was successful for those who  attended,  I  must
admit that the turnout left much to be desired.  There  were  perhaps
100 people in attendance in a bar that could easily hold two or three
times that many. Part of it is certainly due to  lack  of  promotion,
but a lot of has to do with general inertia  on  the  part  of  metal
fans, I feel. The Embassy plans on bringing in more death metal  acts
over the next few coming months. Kataklysm have already  been  booked
for June 15th (CD release  party,  be  there!),  and  gigs  featuring
Incantation and Cannibal Corpse are in the works. Be  sure  to  check
out The Embassy's WWW page on a regular basis to get more info.

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

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


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


Obliveon
~~~~~~~~
Jun 15 - (w/ guests Mundane) The Spectrum, Montreal, Quebec


Anthropophagus/Burning Moon/Fearsight
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jun 10 - The Generator, Toronto Ontario


Pantera/White Zombie
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Aug 16 - Copps Coliseum, Hamilton, Ontario

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

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

Gino's Top 5

1. Cradle of Filth - _Vempire or Dark Faerytales in Phallustein_
2. Malevolent Creation - _Joe Black_
3. Korn - _Korn_
4. Impaled Nazarene - _Tol Cormpt Norz Norz Norz_
5. Pitchshifter - _Infotainment?_

Adrian's Top 5

1. Pitchshifter - _Infotainment?_
2. Pantera - _The Great Southern Trendkill_
3. Only Living Witness - _Innocents_
4. Prong - _Rude Awakening_
5. Neurosis - _Through Silver In Blood_

Brian's Top 5

1. Cradle of Filth - _Vempire or Dark Faerytales in Phallustein_
2. Candiria - _Surrealistic Madness_
3. Sieges Even - _Sophisticated_
4. Don Caballero - _Don Caballero II_
5. Mourning Sign - _Mourning Sign_

Alain's Top 5

1. Slayer - _Undisputed Attitude_
2. Obliveon - _Cybervoid_
3. Obscene Crisis - _Silence of the Mind_ (demo)
4. Prong - _Rude Awakening_
5. At the Gates - _Slaughter of the Soul_

Steve's Top 5

1. Black Funeral - _Vampyr - Throne of the Beast_
2. Accursed - _Meditations Among the Tombs_
3. Mayhem - _De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas_
4. Malevolent Creation - _Joe Black_
5. Only Living Witness - _Innocents_

Adam's Top 5

1. Bathory - _Blood on Ice_
2. Impaled Nazarene - _Latex Cult_
3. Amorphis - _Elegy_
4. Necromantia - _Scarlet Evil, Witching Black_
5. Blood of Christ - _The Lonely Flowers of Autumn_ (demo)

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

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

Well, here we are at the end of another fine issue of  Chronicles  of
Chaos. Did you read this fucker just as fast as you could? Good then,
you should have no problem answering this little trivia question:

Q: Name former the vocalists of Grave, Obliveon, Malevolent Creation,
   Morbid Angel and Asphyx.

Yep, that's right folks, it's time for another  Chronicles  of  Chaos
giveaway contest!! This time we are picking  five  winners,  you  all
have until June 17, 1996 to e-mail <ginof@io.org>  with  the  correct
answer to the above question. On June 18, 1996  we  will  be  picking
five random winners from everyone who  mailed  us  with  the  correct
answer. Each winner will win their own personal prize-pak  from  hell
courtesy of Relapse, Earache, Cargo and Black  Mark.  Each  prize-pak
will be different, but we have shit from Pitchshifter, Neurosis, Grim
Skunk, Amorphis, Bathory and Cathedral to give away.

Good luck everyone, our lucky winners will be announced in CoC #12.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
End Chronicles of Chaos, Issue #11

