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


                    Seventh Anniversary Mega-Issue
                    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
       CHRONICLES OF CHAOS e-Zine, September 1, 2002, Issue #59
                  http://www.ChroniclesOfChaos.com


Editor-in-Chief: Gino Filicetti
Copy Editor / Contributor: Pedro Azevedo
Contributor: Adrian Bromley
Contributor: Brian Meloon
Contributor: Paul Schwarz
Contributor: Aaron McKay
Contributor: David Rocher
Contributor: Matthias Noll
Contributor: Alvin Wee
Contributor: Chris Flaaten
Contributor: Quentin Kalis
Contributor: Vincent Eldefors
Neophyte: Xander Hoose
Neophyte: Adam Lineker
Spiritual Guidance: Alain M. Gaudrault

The   individual   writers   can   be   reached    by    e-mail    at
firstname@ChroniclesOfChaos.com ("firstname" must be replaced by  the
respective writer's  first  name,  e.g.  Gino@ChroniclesOfChaos.com).

NOTE: You may unsubscribe from Chronicles of Chaos  at  any  time  by
      sending a blank e-mail to <Unsubscribe@ChroniclesOfChaos.com>.

      For  more  Chronicles  of  Chaos  information,  check  out  the
      Details section at the end of this issue.

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

Issue #59 Contents, 9/1/02
--------------------------
* Editorial
* Loud Letters
* Deadly Dialogues
-- Dark Tranquillity: Of Damage Done and Introspection
-- Arch Enemy: Receiving Payment for Crimes Against God
-- Hypocrisy: Ten Years and Still Humble
-- Soulfly: Heartfelt Intensity
-- W.A.S.P.: Dark Reflections
-- Kittie: Still Purring
-- Nocturnal Rites: Growth Through Experience
-- Dream Evil: From Knob Twirling to Guitar Playing
-- Doro: Fighting for the Metal Fans
-- Atari Teenage Riot: Intelligence Meets Sacrifice
* Independent Interrogations
-- The Chasm: Is the Deathcult Damned?
-- Vinterriket: The Voice of Vinterriket
* Album Asylum
-- Agalloch - _The Mantle_
-- Agoraphobic Nosebleed - _Frozen Corpse Stuffed With Dope_
-- Arghoslent - _Incorrigible Bigotry_
-- Armageddon - _Three_
-- Autumn Clan - _Requiem to the Sun_
-- Barcode - _Hardcore_
-- Blackness - _Dawn of the New Sun_
-- Bloodshed - _Inhabitants of Dis_
-- Botch - _An Anthology of Dead Ends_
-- Breathe In - _From This Day On_
-- Carpe Tenebrum - _Dreaded Chaotic Reign_
-- Centinex - _Diabolical Desolation_
-- Daemon - _Eye for an Eye (and the World Turns Blind)_
-- Danse Macabre - _Matters of the Heart_
-- Dark Tranquillity - _Damage Done_
-- Darkmoon - _.308 Antichrist_
-- Dead Soul Tribe - _Dead Soul Tribe_
-- Deathwitch - _Deathfuck Rituals_
-- Demigod - _Shadow Mechanics_
-- Demons of Dirt - _Killer Engine_
-- Desire - _Locus Horrendus_
-- Dolorian - _Dolorian_
-- Empyrium - _Weiland_
-- Entwine - _Time of Despair_
-- Eternal Oath - _Righteous_
-- Freebase - _My Life, My Rules_
-- Godless Truth - _Self-Realisation_
-- Gorguts - _From Wisdom to Hate_
-- Hagalaz' Runedance - _Frigga's Web_
-- Harkonen - _Grizz_
-- High on Fire - _Surrounded  by Thieves_
-- Human Abstrakt - _Psychological Blindness_
-- Immortal Symphony - _Time Is Not Forever_
-- In Flames - _Reroute to Remain_
-- Intervalle Bizarre - _Unexpected Awakening of Impassive Mass_
 - Malignancy - _Frailty of the Human Condition_
-- Korum - _Son of the Breed_
-- Limbonic Art - _The Ultimate Death Worship_
-- Mercenary - _Everblack_
-- Moonsorrow - _Voimasta ja Kunniasta_
-- Morifade - _Imaginarium_
-- Morser - _10,000 Bad Guys Dead_
-- Mourning Beloveth - _Dust_
-- Naked City - _Live Vol. 1: Knitting Factory 1989_
-- Negate - _The Dead Guy Palace_
-- Nomicon - _Halla_
-- Orthrelm - _Asristir Vieldriox_
-- Primordial - _Storm Before Calm_
-- Ram-Zet - _Escape_
-- Raunchy - _Velvet Noise_
-- Raventhrone - _Endless Conflict Theorem_
-- Ritual Carnage - _The Birth of Tragedy_
-- Scarve - _Luminiferous_
-- Serenade - _The Serpent's Dance_
-- Severe Torture - _Butchery of the Soul_
-- Silver Seraph - _Silver Seraph_
-- Skyfire - _Timeless Departure_
-- Sleepytime Gorilla Museum - _Grand Opening and Closing_
-- Spine - _Restoration_
-- Sunseth Sphere - _Storm Before Silence_
-- Talamasca - _Ascension_
-- The Berzerker - _Dissimulate_
-- The Dillinger Escape Plan - _Irony Is a Dead Scene_
-- The Elysian Fields - _12 Ablaze_
-- The Forsaken - _Arts of Desolation_
-- The Great Deceiver - _A Venom Well Designed_
-- Thornspawn - _Wrath of War_
-- Tzefa - _Feed Me_
-- Vile - _Depopulate_
-- Yyrkoon - _Dying Sun_
* New Noise
-- Black Rock - _Clutching at Straws_
-- Geared 4 - _Natural Selection_
-- Hellblazer - _Promo Summer 2002_
-- Know Fear - _Know Fear_
-- Spancer - _Countdown to Victory_
-- Vinterriket - _Herbstnebel_
 - Vinterriket - <split with Northaunt>
 - Vinterriket - <split with Manifesto>
* What We Have Cranked
* Details

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

                      _____)
                    /       /) ,            ,      /)
                    )__   _(/   _/_ _____     _   //
                  /      (_(__(_(__(_)/ (__(_(_(_(/_
                 (_____)

                         by: Gino Filicetti


     The time has finally arrived. Working day, night and  all  hours
in between, our incredible copy  editor  Pedro  Azevedo  has  managed
to finish putting together  Chronicles  of  Chaos  #59,  our  SEVENTH
Anniversary Mega-Issue.
     This issue is also a bittersweet one for us, as we  say  goodbye
to some very familiar faces which have graced our pages from the very
beginning. After thinking it through for many months, Adrian  Bromley
has decided to part ways with Chronicles of Chaos to concentrate more
fully on his freelance work (after submitting a shit-load of material
for this anniversary issue, that is). Although Adrian will be  sorely
missed, something tells me that we haven't  seen  the  last  of  "The
Energizer".
     Also officially departing is Adam Wasylyk, who's  been  with  us
since CoC #11. Many factors have lead to Adam's departure,  including
his growing commitment to his own magazine, which eats up most of his
free time.
     Some of our more recent additions who are  leaving  are  Vincent
Eldefors, who is leaving to concentrate on his own zine,  and  Kirsty
Buchanan, who just doesn't have  the  free  time  to  commit  to  CoC
anymore.
     This issue does however feature the debut of  two  new  writers:
Xander Hoose and Adam Lineker. Xander comes to us from the  chocolate
houses and wooden shoe factories of Holland, where  he  was  able  to
hone his craft by working on his stories under the crimson lights  of
the Red Light District. Adam, on the other hand, comes from the balmy
land of tropical  beaches  and  eternal  sunshine  known  as  London,
England. Not only is Adam a prolific writer, but the  sheer  strength
and stamina he demonstrates just being friends with Paul  Schwarz  is
impressive in its own right.
     That's about it from me. I'll keep this  one  short,  as  you've
already heard from me a couple of weeks ago on our actual anniversary
date: August 12. It seems like just yesterday we  got  this  snowball
started. Thanks to everyone involved at one time  or  another  during
the past 7 years, and especially to those of you who've been  reading
our pages again and again. Enjoy.

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

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

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

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


Date: Tue, 16 Jul 2002
From: "Nile 577" <nile577@hotmail.com>
Subject: A reply to Ray Ruenes on the issues of Christian metal

Nietzsche  proposed  that  Dionysiac  music   (synthesised   by   the
individual from the de-localised  state  of  amoral  nihilism)  would
usually embrace melodic structuralism, and, when  made  bearable  for
human consumption by the steadying aid of  Apolline  materialism  (in
the form of actors or  singers),  would  allow  mankind  to  confront
the gaping nihilistic  gulf  of  chance  and  fate  which  threatened
to  otherwise  overwhelm  him  by  allowing  him  to  understand   it
aesthetically.

Good death metal is raw nihilism sculpted into sonic dissonance.  The
apparent atonal, chromatic chaos  of  death  metal  would  apparently
distance it from the  melodic  condensation  that  Nietzshe  believed
integral  to  the  formation  of  high  nihilistic  art,   yet   upon
examination is can be seen that alongside experimental jazz, metal is
the definitive form of  nihilistic  expression  within  music.  Where
Nietzsche’s  one-time  hero,  Wagner,  and  his  much  adored  tragic
composers instilled melody into the music to ease human  consumption,
good death metal  negates  this  facet,  replacing  melody  not  with
humanistic expression of characters - as does Opera - but with archly
nihilistic lyricism.

As Gorguts write on perhaps the  definitive  expression  of  nihilism
within music:

"Flesh, the feeble flesh, confines the pain and soul,
Vault in which, the earthly way, I bear
Earthly love my denial"

"Once My Earthly Past,
Over and stuck in the past
I Will become one with the ground,
Dust I’ll be...
The carnal state; my only grief"

From, "Earthly Love" and "The Carnal State", Obscura 1998

Human life itself is something of a universal anomaly,  representing,
in  its  creation,  a  reverse  in  the  trend  of  entropy  -  which
on a  universal  scale  is  increasing  radically  (the  glass  never
spontaneously recombines after being thrown from the  table  etc...).
By endowing life with sacred qualities, Christianity rejects Chaos in
favour of  order,  and  thus,  pathetically,  attempts  to  damn  the
nihilistic tide of universally increasing entropy.

The structured chaos of technical  Death  Metal  mimics  the  random,
shifting quagmire of change, unordered occurrence  and  inconceivable
complexity  that  is  the  universe,  yet  synthesises  it  into   an
ordered form of sonic dissonance allowing  mankind  to  confront  his
irrelevance.

Christianity, a moralistic depravation  cult  that  seeks  to  reward
self-denial with  eternal  life,  is  innately  non-nihilist  in  its
outlook and hence has no place being  orated  from  the  scaffold  of
metallic dissonance offered by Death Metal. Christian  ideals  bolted
onto a metal framework  hence  appear  in  total  contrast  to  their
musical surround - as salad appears on  burger,  a  loan  bastion  on
nourishment that seeks to label the entire product nutritious.

Because metal does not create a successful hybrid with  Christianity,
does not mean that it must  inevitably  therefore  be  Satanic.  Many
bands assuming an anti-Christian stance simply adopt this view  as  a
counterpoint to the confining and annoying moralism of  Christianity,
without professing devout belief in an anti-Christian  deity.  Belief
in any form of deity, race, culture, nationality or  humanity  itself
is completely non nihilist, and hence has no place within  the  Death
Metal genre.

Of course this neatly leads onto the issue of  racism  in  metal  and
particularly NSBM, which can be seen as a perversion of the  nihilist
aesthetic, appearing akin to religion in its slavish dedication to an
obscure gene cult on an irrelevant planet. (But still fitting  within
the limited ideology of black metal and its desire  to  return  to  a
system of beliefs before that imposed upon  Europe  by  Catholicism).
Its another topic really, but Black  Metal  could  be  argued  to  be
morally nihilistic, whilst good Death  Metal  is  both  morally,  and
existentially nihilistic;  forsaking  human  concerns  in  favour  of
representing the chaos of universal existence. In  celebrating  Death
as a removal from organic weaknesses  (e.g.  emotions),  Death  Metal
seeks to lead humanity to the Nietzschean state of Dionysiac ecstasy,
achieved when one becomes at one with the universal flow  itself  and
embraces acts  of  creation,  destruction,  death,  birth,  movement,
stillness and chance without the filter of humanist  rationality  and
emotion.

Whilst I’m sure there is much SRProzak will  disagree  with  in  this
post, I can only offer agreement with his  belief  that  Christianity
has no place within the metal genre and also urge people to view  his
work before  resulting  to  the  baseness  of  profanity  to  justify
arguments, for he remains perhaps the greatest  metal  journalist  of
all... (ok brown nosing over heh)

Buy Gorguts - Obscura, soon

Thanks, take care
Nile577


Date: Fri, 9 Aug 2002
From: prozak@anus.com
Subject: greetings / xian metal

Greetings,

It seems my last missive to the CoC letters  section  generated  some
rage and irrational anger from some of the people here. This is in my
opinion positive; for laughs, I'll remind us all that we're  debating
whether Christians have the "right" to duplicate the sound  of  metal
while insert Christian propaganda in its  lyrics.  My  contention  is
that no art is without ideology, and  that  in  the  case  of  metal,
Christianity is as alien as KKK rantings would be to rap music.

>Well, it probably is good for the extreme music scene to talk  about
>ideas and beliefs, cause if we don't do  it,  the  press  and  right
>extremists or other opportunists will do it for  us.  So  here's  my
>point of view. I get quite pissed off when i hear anybody talk about
>what a "real" metal fan should think or about any pseudo-ideology as
>a part of  this  music  genre.  Metal  means  a  lot  of  things  to
>everybody, but it is definately not an ideology.

What inspires metal to sound different from other music? Some  people
would say it's just "angry music" but there's a lot  of  angry  music
that doesn't sound like  metal.  My  argument  is  that  metal  is  a
resurrection of a Romanticist tradition in philosophy, art and  music
which stretches back to Greco-Roman times.

Given the predilection of even  heavy  metal  guitarists  for  arcane
scale structures and  classical  music  rips  in  their  playing,  in
my view it's  completely  illogical  to  argue  against  neoclassical
inspiration for the metal movement.

Further, I'd argue that after  the  hardcore  movement  occurred  and
metal hybridized with hardcore music, ideology  has  been  a  central
tenet of both genres.

>Maybe some artists are musically inspired  by  their  ideas;  so  if
>burzum's thoughts are what inspire burzum's  music,  well  fine,  it
>contributes to the whole scene, just like  max  cavalera's  cultural
>background made him write his masterpieces (fuck soulfly :).

Maybe all of the great metal artists have on some level been inspired
by their  ideas,  whether  aesthetic  (Quorthon,  Darkthrone)  or  of
outright ideological passion like  Burzum  or  Carcass  or  Death  or
Morbid Angel or Destruction or Sodom or  Kreator  or  Incantation  or
Immolation.

>And if anybody tells me he's his own god, or that he prays to a roll
>of toiletpaper, congratulations, good for them.

What if his god tells him to eradicate you? Do you still respect  his
view?

No, you can't; therefore, you say his  view  crosses  some  imaginary
boundary such as "respect for human life"  -  but  this  is  then  an
imposition of your view (which has no  necessary  logical  grounding)
over his.

>But it's just sad to hear people who have little enough personnality
>to start reading an album cover as if it were the fucking  bible.  I
>hate being told about the Truth by an brainwashed evangelist just as
>i hate being told about Metal ideology by a narrow-minded metalhead.

What's narrow minded about reading the lyrics, talking to  musicians,
and writing about metal? I think you're inventing excuses here.

>Maybe some people think you need to have some  kind  of  beliefs  in
>order to create violent music. First  of  all,  there  isn't  enough
>theory to create an ideology, and  then  try  to  imagine  excluding
>anybody who isn't considered a true satanist, well there wouldn't be
>much left for CoC to review...

I think you're confused here. Who said you  had  to  be  a  Satanist?
Also, ideologies come in a  range  of  colors  and  flavors.  Ancient
Romans, Greeks, Nordics and Indian  Hindus  agreed  on  most  of  the
basics of a spiritual belief system, but they weren't homogenous.

>I'm not saying metal is about tolerance, but it isn't about satanism
>nor paganism nor witchery nor viking blood either.

What about the cross-section of all four, as distinguished  from  the
current dominant ideology of our time?

>It's rather pitiful when people with an  ideological  axe  to  grind
>seek to instill it into, or see it  reflected  in,  every  hobby  or
>endeavor, no matter how unrelated to their politics they  might  be,
>that they undertake, to the absolute exclusion of any concepts  that
>might disturb their uniform reverie.

Since I'm sure you'll make good upon this accusation, in  what  other
hobbies have I "projected" this view?

>Prozak admits that conflict is necessary for any ideology's  health,
>but then goes on to call for the  rejection  of  any  ideology  that
>conflicts with his own in  the  realm  of  metal,  which  itself  is
>derived in large part and over several decades  from  Gospel  music.
>Watch any documentary on the history of rock and roll and you should
>find ample acknowledgement of Gospel music's role in  its  creation.
>Is Prozak thus calling for his ideology to become reduced to  "tired
>homilies repeated by the embittered" by eliminating conflict?

Let's separate conflict within an ideology,  known  as  "discussion,"
from external influences on that  ideology  which  disagree  entirely
with it and seek to  supplant  it  with  an  older  ideology  it  was
designed to replace. Further, rock music does  not  constitute  metal
wholly, nor was rock music wholly derived from gospel music.

>Musicians are free to bring their own  causes  and  beliefs  to  the
>table and articulate them through their musical talent  if  they  so
>wish, despite Prozak's insistent but unjustifiable  objections,  and
>will continue to do so unless people of Prozak's rather totalitarian
>disposition wing their way into positions of  authority  within  the
>music industry from which they can censor any disagreeable voices.

I think your disposition is as totalitarian, if not more: Ray  Ruenes
says that no ideology is free to be independent from  the  mainstream
ideology of humanism as a whole, which states that  every  individual
is "free" to have whatever beliefs they want wherever  they  want.  I
don't think this is logical considering that humans have never agreed
on a single collective  path,  and  the  only  way  to  cultivate  an
ideology is to form a separate group and start working to  internally
develop that ideology within it. Why do you want to stop  metal  from
forming an ideological presence that is different from  that  of  the
mainstream?

>People, I ask that you apply the same level of critical thinking  to
>Prozak's manifestos as he would expect you to  use  when  confronted
>with  anything  he  dislikes,  including  Christian  expressions  of
>metal and its various offshoots. Learn to  identify  unsubstantiated
>allegations, such as the supposed lack of a soul or future  that  he
>attaches to "parts of the genre" which he despises.

What about your paragraph above starting  with  "Musicians  are  free
to"? That's clearly an unsubstantiated allegation.

>He's just stating his opinion masked as an axiom.  Don't  accept  on
>blind faith his dichotomy between Christianity and  intellectualism,
>nor his other canards  about  Christians  being  "degenerates."  Get
>acquainted with elementary reasoning; don't  fall  for  ipse  dixit,
>argumentum ad captandum, argumentum ad hominem,  false  alternative,
>apriorisms, and any other of the  host  of  logical  fallacies  upon
>which Prozak relies as a poor substitute  for  rationalism,  despite
>his attempts to redefine the word so that it  permits  his  contrary
>mental maneuvers.

While you make these accusations, you provide no examples and exhibit
many of these tendencies yourself. What makes you a credible critic?

>What's this, fans should stop  trying  to  "accept  ideologies  like
>christianity, humanism and heavy metal in black/death metal"?  Am  I
>wrong in interpreting that to mean that heavy metal's  an  ideology,
>and no trace of heavy metal should be present  in  black  and  death
>metal?

"Heavy metal" is a  different  genre,  and  a  different  ideological
background, as I've said from the beginning.

>Metal's not some plot of land for an ideologue to plant a  stake  in
>and then shoot all trespassers. Metal is a trespass. It offends,  it
>crosses over, and it encroaches (audibly).

So metal is being defensive? Aren't you arguing an  overall  ideology
for metal, then? If you're going to  cite  logical  fallacies,  don't
make them yourself.

>The fact that the Christian manifestation of metal triggers  such  a
>desperate knee-jerk reaction on the part of some  self-styled  metal
>"purists" (and who gave them such authority,  anyway?)  is  evidence
>enough that Christian metal  is  certainly  carrying  on  the  metal
>tradition; their uproar  will  not  herald  its  death  knell,  rest
>assured.

Let's see, I: - DJ'd metal for six years offline  -  DJ'd  metal  for
three years online - Have the oldest metal site on  the  net  -  Have
interviewed and written about some of the classic names  in  metal  -
Remain active in the scene with projects like GAY CHRIST RECORDS  and
headbanger cultural activities.

What's your beef with my credentials again?

>"i  think  drew  johnston  (conformity@aol.com)   exemplifies   this
>phenomenon best. while he's spitting with venom against  nazis,  for
>example, he is "tolerant" of religions and parts of the genre  which
>have no soul or future. by behaving in this manner, he  is  crushing
>attempts for this genre to determine what it does believe, and  thus
>to cease tolerating the rest. metal is  an  ideological  genre,  but
>that doesn't mean we forget the music." ... >From what I gather, and
please feel free to correct me, is that >you're angry about the  fact
that I pay no attention to the lyrics of >a song  or  the  "spiritual
ideology" behind it.

No, my point is that you're arguing that metal has an ideology of the
status quo instead of a distinct identity.

>You really think you're going to get your music to move onward  into
>it's own RESPECTABLE artistic category by  intolerance  towards  the
>ideas of others?

Intolerance toward the ideas of others? I believe  what  I  said  was
that not every idea has a place in metal; I'm perfectly  tolerant  of
their ideas, provided that they practice them elsewhere.  You're  the
one who is arguing that metal cannot separate itself from the  status
quo method of thinking, which is to my mind a  fascistic,  conformist
and sickeningly gutless assertion.

S.R. Prozak

-- 
Backup Rider of the Apocalypse
www.anus.com/metal/
DEATH AND BLACK METAL


Date: Wed, 21 Aug 2002
From: "a-mad-house" <a-mad-house@supanet.com>
Subject: Conquest of Steel Review

Greetings,
Having read your review of  Conquest  of  Steels  demo,  'Priests  of
Metal' I feel I have to point out that you have completely missed the
point of the band. Maybe the word Irony doesn't exist to the reviewer
of this CD but It should be blatantly obvious from the lyrics  alone,
let alone the inlay artwork that this band  aren't  entirely  serious
with their imagery. If you listen to the album from  a  viewpoint  of
having a great laught whilst knocking back a few  beers  you'll  find
that it's one of the most fun and rocking releases you'll have  heard
in a while. Shame that you'll unlikely ever get  to  see  them  live,
even bettter than on CD!
If you take a step back and have a good look at your  own  subculture
you'll find that the world of METAL is a very silly place indeed, and
if you can't poke fun at yourselves and your heroes and see the funny
side then it's a sad day indeed.

GAVIN.

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

       __ \                 | |
       |   |  _ \  _` |  _` | | |   |
       |   |  __/ (   | (   | | |   |
      ____/ \___|\__,_|\__,_|_|\__, |
                               ____/

                 __ \ _)       |
                 |   | |  _` | |  _ \   _` | |   |  _ \  __|
                 |   | | (   | | (   | (   | |   |  __/\__ \
                ____/ _|\__,_|_|\___/ \__, |\__,_|\___|____/
                                      |___/


   O F   D A M A G E   D O N E   A N D   I N T R O S P E C T I O N
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
        CoC interviews Dark Tranquillity's own Mikael Stanne
                          by: David Rocher


     Dark Tranquillity's history, akin to that of In Flames or At the
Gates,  is  intimately  meshed  with  the  history  of  the  infamous
Gothenburg death metal  genre  itself;  indeed,  Dark  Tranquillity's
vintage 1993 _Skydancer_ and 1996 classic _The Gallery_ --  alongside
milestones such as _Slaughter of the Soul_ or _Subterranean_ (both of
which were released  in  1995)  count  among  the  referential  death
metal landmarks which  most  eminently  contributed  to  forming  and
crystallising the essence of the "Gothenburg sound", which  countless
formations throughout the whole world now thrive on.
     As the now six-headed Dark Tranquillity were poised  to  release
their new album,  heir  to  their  much-debated  electronic  offering
_Haven_, I was offered the rare  opportunity  to  discuss  the  past,
present  and  future  of  an  inevitable  and  quite  simply  crucial
component of the melodic death metal scene's  history  --  for,  with
no  less  than  five  full-length  recordings  in  their  bags,  Dark
Tranquillity are, beyond  any  doubt,  one  of  the  most  emblematic
formations the Gothenburg scene ever produced.
     Calling from his apartment in Gothenburg, Mikael seems extremely
restless and enthused in his reply to my altogether rather banal  and
predictable opening interrogation  regarding  the  album's  impending
release -- "yeah, yeah, exactly, finally!", he voices. "It's  been  a
hard wait. It's still frustrating to finish it off and just wait  for
the release, but we know that it's finally recorded."
     Judging from Mikael's underlying exasperation, I can only  guess
that _Damage Done_ has been hammered on reels  for  quite  some  time
now, so what might Dark Tranquillity's  energetic  frontman  care  to
tell me about it? "The recording was finished on the  first  week  of
March", he explains; "it's been one and a half years  in  the  making
-- that was the  most  focused  writing  period,  because  we'd  been
experimenting before. We had two new members  in  the  band,  we  all
wanted so many different things to be on the album, so  you  kind  of
reach in all directions all the time, and eventually you  come  to  a
compromise."
     With  two  new  band  members  indeed,   the   walls   of   Dark
Tranquillity's rehearsal haven would most likely  tell  the  tale  of
renewed conflicts arising from the proverbial musical differences and
of all-out musical blanket-tugging; so how did the whole  songwriting
process figure out in time, in Mikael's opinion?  "With  this  album,
after two or three songs were written, we kinda realised that was the
way to go, and everybody had the same image of how the  album  should
sound, and where we were heading", comes the  reply.  "It's  a  great
experience, being on the same page, and really focusing on making the
songs, and making it as intense and as perfect as possible" -- which,
beyond all doubt, explains why _Damage Done_ has been  in  the  works
for so long, Mikael? "It takes some time, as we all had to  agree  on
everything before moving on to the next part", comes the almost weary
reply; to which the frontman follows, on a more enthused  note,  "but
you know, it sounds really good!"
     Agreed, the sound on _Damage Done_ really  is  huge,  definitely
one of the most ample worlds of sounds ever to emanate from the famed
Fredman studios -- so is there  anything  I  should  know  about  the
recording process per se? "The recording stuff was just one month  of
putting it down on tape, you know -- boring as hell!".
     A release as unexpected and  discussed  in  Dark  Tranquillity's
career -- and an event whose similarity in style to  the  release  of
_34.778%... Complete_ in My Dying Bride's existence is quite striking
to my eyes --, the distinctly electronic-tinged _Haven_ welcomed,  as
Mikael earlier evoked, two new members to the Dark Tranquillity fold.
But what exactly occurred within the band, I wonder? "Well",  replies
Mikael, "Fredrik [Johansson (guitars), who first appears on  the  _Of
Chaos and Eternal Night MCD -- David] didn't really work out,  so  we
had to tell him to leave the band -- which was sad, but necessary. We
needed another guitar player, so Martin [Henriksson], who played bass
before, went over to the guitar, so then we needed a bass player!"
     Ah,  the  enrapturing  thrills  and  spills  of  musical   chair
sessions within a band... The competition among enthusiastic bassists
auditioning for a slot in Dark Tranquillity must have been of  untold
fierceness, but how did the Swedes finally  come  across  a  suitable
replacement for Fredrik Johansson on bass? "We tried some  [bassists]
out, but the obvious choice was an old friend of ours, who's  been  a
fan of the band for ever", replies Stanne.
     So much for the band's low-end issues, then -- but how  did  the
enrollment of  full-time  personnel  on  electronics  occur?  "[It's]
something we'd wanted for many years", comes  the  unexpected  reply;
"[we] just couldn't find someone who'd fit in."
     As it occurs, the discreet Martin Brandstrom is an old friend of
the band's, who had been  helping  out  with  recording  sessions  on
several occasions, so... "we asked him if  he  wanted  to  join  full
time, and he said  yes!"  But  the  question  that's  on  every  Dark
Tranquillity fan's lips is, "what's with the keyboards in  the  first
place?"
     "Oh, it's just [for the sake of] having  another  instrument  to
play around with. Adding a new  layer  of  sound,  and  experimenting
further. We always used  keyboards  to  some  extent,  so  it's  just
something that would eventually happen anyway", Mikael explains.
     Is Dark Tranquillity about experimenting with  sound,  then,  or
does this tampering just of occur more or less unwittingly? "There is
of course a will to experiment and  expand.  We  won't  keep  playing
unless we find it intriguing, or exciting and  challenging",  replies
Mikael. "After touring for an album, doing all the stuff, and  coming
back and writing new stuff, we tend to wipe the slate clean and start
off anew, start off as fresh as possible and see what happens. If  it
feels good, we continue, and if it doesn't, we'll wait until the spot
comes, until the inspiration comes."
     True enough, Dark Tranquillity always seemed to take their  time
in preparing new material from the confines of their  rehearsal  room
and, love them or hate them, each of their consecutive  releases  has
found them pushing the boundaries of their previous recordings, in  a
way or another. "There's always a  long  time  between  the  albums",
Mikael concedes, "but we need to find something new to do,  something
different that will challenge us musically and lyrically."
     Experimentation also obviously takes it toll at  some  point  --
Dark Tranquillity's inclination to tamper with their  own  sound,  in
particular on their two previous releases (_Projector_  and  _Haven_)
has estranged them with the more rabid fringe of the  hardened  death
metal pack following  their  every  move.  Having  not  thought  that
much  of  _Haven_  at  the  time  of  its  release,  I  am  eager  to
learn about  the  forms  of  pressure  that  may  have  built  up  in
the  wake  of  Dark  Tranquillity's  first  "electronic"  venture  --
which incidentally happened to be released consecutively  to  another
tentatively "experimental" masterpiece, namely _Projector_.
     "A lot of people who listened to this album [_Damage Done_] said
they were expecting something totally different, and expected the new
album to be more electronic, perhaps",  muses  Stanne  --  and  quite
rightly so. However, much as _Damage Done_ is  still  heavily  loaded
with synthetics, it also presents a harsher, distinctly  more  rugged
edge, quite typical of a Gothenburg death metal act.  "We  just  went
where we felt right and did what we wanted to do, so we  didn't  feel
any pressure. And after a while, we realised it was something  people
might get into; it was something a lot of people had been asking  for
for years, something that would perhaps remind them of _The Mind's I_
or _The Gallery_ -- more in tone with the aggressiveness, and  speed,
and intensity [on those releases]."
     _The Gallery_, as you may  recall,  turned  out  to  be  one  of
the more surprising  releases  from  the  cult  French  label  Osmose
Productions back at the time and,  I  guess,  certainly  the  release
which set Dark Tranquillity on their stellar course to recognition. I
feel compelled to question Mikael about those good old times  on  the
thriving Osmose roster, back at the time of _The  Gallery_  and  _The
Mind's I_; it must after all have been quite  a  strange  period  for
Dark Tranquillity, who were, as it seems, one of  the  few  bands  on
Osmose not to be decked out in corpsepaint and studded leather attire
-- and also one of the few acts on the Osmose  roster  not  to  pride
themselves in a terrible "true" sound!
     "Oh yeah, it was kinda weird", Mikael  chuckles;  "but  I  don't
recall it as being -that- odd; it's  just  that  after  a  while,  we
thought we didn't really fit in, so to speak, and I guess that's when
we switched labels", he explains about to the changeover to Germany's
Century Media, who  released  all  of  Dark  Tranquillity's  material
posterior to  the  _Enter  Suicidal  Angels_  EP  (including  _Damage
Done_). "But that was a good  time,  you  know",  he  concludes.  "We
released two albums and a MCD; they worked well, and the company  did
everything in their power to promote them."
     After this brief trip down memory lane, I return to one  of  the
new CD's more intriguing points -- its very title, _Damage Done_. "It
has to do with the lyrics,  and  also  the  whole  writing  process",
Mikael explains. "We spent so much time making everything's  perfect,
defecting every single note...", he trails off; "eventually, you  put
it down on tape, and it's there --there's no way  you  can  go  back.
Then we move on to the next phase, [on to the] next songs."  So,  the
expression "damage done" alludes, at least in part, to the anguish of
leaving the studio with your new release on tape,  and  knowing  that
the next people to hear it will be the grouchy critics and demanding,
starving fans -- but there's more to it, as Mikael continues: "as for
the lyrics... most of  the  songs  [deal  with]  that  thing  --  old
choices and old failures, things that you missed in  your  life,  the
irreversible nature of things. There's no going back, and rather than
dwelling on the past and the mystery of things that you've done,  you
might as well look ahead, forget about it and move on. It's the  kind
of one-way thinking that the album deals about."
     As the introspective nature of Mikael's lyrics becomes apparent,
I ponder on whether the  mistakes  he  mentions  also  encompass  the
band's evolution in itself -- "no, there are really no  regrets  when
it comes to the band. It's more on a  personal  note,  things  around
us... stupid mistakes; stupid life choices people have made, based on
inexperience and lack of insight, and lack of knowledge,  I  guess...
and that could be avoided."
     Although I'm not altogether swept off my feet in surprise  as  I
learn about the brooding yet forward-looking  thoughts  that  animate
Dark Tranquillity, I'm quite intrigued by the contrast  that  appears
between the generally intense music on _Damage Done_ and the  lyrical
contents it conceals. As a matter of a fact, I venture,  the  darker,
moodier material on _Projector_ might have befitted such topics  with
maybe even greater accuracy. "Yeah, that could  be!",  Mikael  laughs
good-heartedly; "yes, it would [fit]; it could work equally, I guess.
[_Projector_] kinda deals with some of the same things",  he  ponders
-- which brings me to voice another interrogation  lingering  at  the
back of my mind. _Projector_ -is- a damn strange title for  a  heavy,
melancholic death metal album, isn't it?
     "We wanted it  to  be  different,  but  we  also  wanted  it  to
represent the whole album, how the whole process  of  writing  felt",
Mikael explains; "the blowing up of every single  little  thing,  the
sleepless nights and problems and anxieties that came with it -- it's
suddenly like all projected on a  big  screen,  and  you  can  defect
everything, take it apart, and  put  in  on  paper;  and  eventually,
scream your lungs out to it", Mikael comments with  a  smile  in  his
intonation.
     It's funny, then, how titles such  as  _Projector_  and  _Damage
Done_ reflect a definitely unsuspected and rather surprising sense of
insecurity coming from the band -- the pressure on Dark  Tranquillity
can't be that insignificant, after all.  But  further,  how  do  they
relate in contrast to a "reassuring" tile, such as _Haven_?
     "That's where our music comes from, explains Mikael;  "we  write
out of a most safe  place,  I  guess  --  our  rehearsal  rooms,  our
bedrooms... And when we're together in our rehearsal room, that's our
haven; we just shut everything out from there. It's great to get  out
of everything -- it's a quiet place where we can make  loud  music!",
comes the reply.
     Having more or less assessed all I need to  know  about  _Damage
Done_, I turn to a lighter topic and broach Dark Tranquillity's  stay
at  the  2001  edition  of  Germany's  "Kult"  festival,  the  Wacken
Open Air, at which the Swedes  made  a  very  lively  and  successful
appearance. At the time, their performance had struck me  as  lacking
the energy inherent to the death metal  genre,  yet  also  possessing
something that death  metal  couldn't  offer  --  a  more  aesthetic,
emotional sensation, quite typical of Dark  Tranquillity's  material,
but nonetheless quite difficult to pinpoint. And precisely as  I  was
dwelling on a  mitigated,  unsatisfactory  sentiment  consecutive  to
their show that  day,  some  nearby  Germans  coined  the  expression
providing the key to unlatch the irritating feeling my mind failed to
point out by itself  --  they  had  found  Dark  Tranquillity's  show
"wunderschon" -- wondrously beautiful.
     I am of course tempted to ask Mikael  what  he  thinks  of  this
opinion voiced on their performance at the W.O.A. "Wunderschon? Ja!",
he laughs. "Well, my  impression  of  the  show  is  that  it  was  a
wonderful thing -- just playing that early [1:00pm on August  4th  --
David], and getting people up out of their tents... A wonderful stage
like that, and all these beautiful people who'd come around to see us
-- we couldn't have been happier.  The  whole  festival  was  just  a
blast, it's a wonderful experience", Mikael fondly recalls.
     The interview now draws to its good end, so I ask Mikael for any
closing words. "I'm anxious to get out and meet all the  people  that
have been so cool to us over the years",  he  replies  with  tangible
impatience in his voice. "Now, we're going  to  player  longer  sets,
with all the songs people have been missing for three years... I hope
you people will get into the album -- at least give it a chance",  he
fervently continues, obviously aware that the album has a foot set in
at least  two  different  musical  worlds,  and  that  some  of  Dark
Tranquillity's fans will most likely fail to adhere to their sense of
musical compromise.
     But there is  still  time  for  one  most  crucial,  existential
question -- "Mikael, what do you think the  guys  in  Septic  Broiler
would have thought of _Damage Done_?" After  a  resounding  burst  of
good-natured, low-case laughter,  Mikael  confidently  voices,  "They
would have probably -loved- it."

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

              RECEIVING PAYMENT FOR CRIMES AGAINST GOD
              ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     CoC chats with Mike Amott and Angela Gossow from Arch Enemy
                          by: Paul Schwarz


Whatever you think about Arch Enemy, forget it. Even if  you  thought
1999's _Burning  Bridges_  [CoC  #41]  was  a  fantastic  melding  of
Carcass chop and 'Maiden-esque melodic  excess  --  even  if  it  was
among your twenty favourite records of  that  year;  even  if  _Black
Earth_  was,  for  you,  one  of  the  most  significant  moments  in
late-Nineties Swedish death metal; or even if you never got what  all
the fuss with Arch  Enemy  was  about  in  the  first  place.  Forget
it  all,  because  _Wages  of  Sin_  [CoC  #55]  makes  any  previous
opinion on Arch Enemy as  close  to  irrelevant  as  makes  no  odds.
Now, before you even think  it:  no,  I  am  -not-  making  all  this
fuss just because Angela Gossow  --  a  woman,  as  I'm  sure  you've
noticed... -- has taken over vocal duties from  founding  member  and
former Furbowl frontman Johan  Liiva.  Arch  Enemy's  newly-blossomed
level of  excellence  is  not  simply  down  to  the  subtraction  of
_Burning Bridges_'s (retrospectively) rather  weak-sounding,  Fredrik
Nordstrom-mixed  sonic  sheen;  nor  the  corresponding  addition  of
_Wages of Sin_'s steroid-injected Andy Sneap special;  nor  even  the
replacement of Liiva's  powerful-yet-relatively-faceless  death  howl
with Gossow's more personal, more versatile, and,  most  importantly,
more -powerful- demonic vocal tirade. The fact is, Arch Enemy are "on
fire", "in the zone", "at the top of their game"; in that space where
everything just seems to come together and work. At least, that's how
it seems from the outside. Despite the strong impression  that,  once
Angela Gossow had  joined,  Arch  Enemy  began  an  inexorable  march
towards making the greatest album of their  career  --  and,  for  my
money, the most significant aggressive Swedish  metal  album  in  the
fine tradition of _Slaughter  of  the  Soul_  since  -at  least-  The
Haunted's self-titled debut [CoC #34] -- there's no doubt in my  mind
that a lot of hard work must have gone into making  _Wages  of  Sin_.
And yet, I  just  can't  stop  drawing  crude,  hyperbolic,  but  yet
illustrative comparisons in my mind between the "vibe" in the  studio
that brought Arch Enemy's five minds into the brutal harmony you  can
hear on their fourth album, and the "collective mind"  sensation  the
Fremen  experience  during  the  "Water  of  Life"  ritual  in  Frank
Herbert's "Dune" novel.[*(1)] Arch Enemy --  as  a  -whole-  --  have
reached a new level of cohesion. I arranged phoners  with  both  Mike
Amott and Angela Gossow to find out as much as  I  could  about  Arch
Enemy's fantastic fourth album, and the newly-reborn  band  who  made
it.

Dodsmetal Dropouts?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     Opinions on the present state of Swedish  metal  vary.  However,
though many would doubtless hold up the success, popularity, and even
recent output of the likes of In Flames, Dark Tranquillity,  Soilwork
and HammerFall as evidence that it has never  been  healthier,  I  at
least must beg to differ. There are still  an  inordinate  amount  of
Swedish bands doing amazing things with metal, but for my  money  the
country's trademark melodic death style is only being pumped  out  in
vibrant, perfected form by a meagre few in the country of its origin.
Arch Enemy are one of the greatest exceptions  that  prove  the  rule
that most of the -past- leaders of the "NWOSMDM"[*(2)],  are  leaders
no more in musical terms. Opinions are divided on whether the Swedish
melodic death metal scene is indeed "healthy", or in  desperate  need
of a shot in the arm -- perhaps like the one _Slaughter of the  Soul_
provided ten years ago. The Swedish scene isn't dying, but -- as Mike
Amott points out when I qualify the negativity expressed  above  with
this fact -- it is "getting pretty fucking boring";  In  Flames  have
lost  the  unpredictable,  exciting  vibrancy  which  their  earliest
releases teemed full of;  newer  bands  like  Soilwork,  though  very
proficient, sound overly processed, lacking essential immediacy.
     "You're putting words into my mouth",  confesses  Mike.  "That's
how we feel, because we -live- and -breathe-  this  stuff.  It's  not
thought out, we're not cynical in our songwriting approach.  We  play
what we love and we love what we play. And we're still huge  fans  of
metal. We just love it so much: I think you can probably hear that. I
think we've managed to escape going into a formulated way of writing;
there is  no  set  formula  for  writing  Arch  Enemy  songs.  It  is
frustrating at times because it'll take us some  time  to  work  over
arrangements over and over again. Our arrangements don't really stray
too far from normal rock arrangements, but we're always experimenting
with harmonies and different moods and different ways  of  attacking,
trying to get the whole aspect  which  I  started  with  in  Carcass,
really."
     Mike's years in Carcass involved  him  in  the  seminal  British
death metal band's two greatest albums, _Necroticism: Descanting  the
Insalubrious_ and _Heartwork_. He learnt much  from  the  experience,
and Carcass gained much from his involvement: 40% of _Heartwork_  was
Amott-authored.
     "Bill Steer was my mentor at that time: they taught me new  ways
of trying to get something interesting, some hooks and melodies, into
the death metal", remembers the then-only-ex-Carnage guitarist.  "And
that's really what  intrigues  me  about  this  kind  of  music:  the
contrast. We'll never have a power metal vocalist in Arch  Enemy:  it
wouldn't be that interesting. There's enough of that crap  out  there
anyway, I think."
     Well, I  prefer  Death's  _Symbolic_  over  the  Control  Denied
album...
     "Oh yeah! Any day, any time. The contrast has  always  been  the
fascination for me: new ways of just trying to get a little bit  more
melody in there, somehow -- without breaking out into  some  kind  of
power metal vocals in the chorus."

The Leaving of Liiva and the Gaining of Gossow
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Part 1: The Purging

     Despite how pleased everyone -- myself  very  much  included  --
seems to be with Angela Gossow's performance on _Wages of Sin_, there
are no doubt many who bemoan the loss of Johan Liiva -- and I  expect
many more who'd at least like to know the  circumstances  surrounding
his departure from the band.
     "It was a band decision: we relieved him of his services",  says
Mike unevasively. "Why? It was a few things, one being that  we  felt
we'd taken things as far as we could with him  really,  musically  --
and somehow he wasn't developing at the same rate as the rest of  the
band. He also didn't have what you'd call a natural drive to  be  the
-front- -man-", Mike playfully exploits the contextual irony  of  the
final word, "which isn't his fault. We took it as  far  as  we  could
with him and we got to play bigger and bigger stages in  some  places
and he just wasn't up for the job somehow. That was from our point of
view. From the fans' point of view, and from the media's: if somebody
complained about the old  Arch  Enemy  line-up,  it  was  always  the
vocals. People weren't really into the way he was fronting  the  band
and people weren't that much into his vocals on  the  albums  either.
Sure, he had his fans, but they were easily outnumbered by the people
that thought he sucked.  After  three  studio  albums  and  countless
amounts of touring, the coin finally dropped, I guess. When  we  were
writing for _Wages of Sin_ we felt we were coming up with stuff  that
was so much better  than  anything  we  had  done  before,  musically
speaking. And our manager threw a question into the  mix:  "Is  Johan
the right guy to sing these songs?" When he said that,  our  reaction
was "Yeah, of course he is:  he's  our  singer."  But  then  when  we
started thinking about it we figured maybe it was time to  start  the
next chapter of the band. That's when our -world- -wide- search for a
new singer  began."  Mike  chuckles  as  he  finishes,  the  dry  but
endearing sarcasm which is characteristic of him (in  interviews,  at
least) disguising the hints of truth his statement contained.

The Leaving of Liiva and the Gaining of Gossow
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Part 2: Premonitive Promotion

     I'm guessing the question you want answered is  -why-  did  Arch
Enemy come to choose a German female as  their  new  vocalist,  am  I
right?
     "That was such a surprise to us, and to me: it turned out to  be
someone who's German, for Christ's sake!" Mike laughs liberally. "And
also someone of the female gender. We are happy  about  that  now  --
obviously -- but at the time it was not something that  we  went  out
looking for."
     One issue some (silly) people might have with Angela taking over
from Johan is whether she could sing in as  low  a  register  as  the
Swede noted by some for the low-end virtues of his voice.
     "Actually, in her old band in Germany  she  sang  -deeper-  than
Johan does", returns Mike. "It was more the Cannibal Corpse  type  of
stuff. I'm not so much into the super-deep growling",  he  continues,
shifting focus, "so we told her what we were looking for and she went
more for the higher screams and stuff like that.  It  sounded  a  bit
more fresh and a bit more brutal somehow."
     Comparisons can certainly be drawn  between  Angela's  voice  as
heard on _WoS_, and Jeff Walker in his Carcass days...
     "Yeah," agrees Mike. "When we first  met  Angela  she  said  her
vocal influences were David Vincent in Morbid Angel, Jeff Walker from
Carcass, and also Chuck Schuldiner. At that point -- the first time I
spoke to her -- she was actually interviewing -me-, when I was  doing
the _Burning Bridges_ promotion in Germany in '99. At the end of  the
interview she said she was in a band too; the usual small-talk  after
an interview, waiting for the next one to happen. So  she  said,  "My
vocal influences are so and so", and I was like,  "OK,  I'd  like  to
hear that!" Later, she sent us a video tape of a show with  her  band
at the time in Germany, and I just called my brother and said,  "Hey,
I got this video-tape from a girl who's singing  in  a  brutal  death
metal band, d'you wanna come over and check  it  out?"  So  we  stuck
it in and put  it  on  and  it  just  totally  floored  us.  We  were
flabbergasted, we were like, "Wow! Pretty intense." 'Cause there were
like fifty people in the crowd -- like a small  underground  show  --
and the band had the real underground death metal-type sound, but she
was totally going for it and the charisma that she had  on  stage  in
front of these fifty people was like she was standing in front  of  a
2000-seater full of raging  metalheads.  She  really  had  a  lot  of
charisma and the voice was extremely brutal and intense. So  I  wrote
her an e-mail back and said it was pretty cool:  we  weren't  looking
for a singer at that point. We just continued touring with Johan  for
the _Burning Bridges_ album, and when we came back the  last  bit  of
touring we did was with Nevermore in the States. That was  a  really,
really cool tour and everything and, you know,  they're  one  of  our
favourite bands. Great guys as well. So we came back and  --  like  I
said -- we started writing for the  _Wages  of  Sin_  album  and  had
discussions... you know, about the singer issue."
     Mike's euphemistic final  words  are  delivered  in  a  guarded,
diplomatic  tone,  but  the  shift  from  open,  cheery  dialogue  to
political-style statements was only momentary.
     "At that point we just kind of made a -dream-  list;  once  we'd
got rid of Johan we made a list of things that we were interested in.
We put everybody's name on there,  just  off  the  top  of  our  head
anybody that we thought would be cool. We had Jeff Walker  and  David
Vincent. We even put Rob Halford's name on there! We were just having
fun with  it,  just  making  a  list,  getting  drunk,  but  throwing
anybody's name on there that we thought would be cool, that we really
like and respect. But obviously, when we were more sober, I looked at
the list and the list of people that we had were people that we  know
already in the Swedish scene -- that front and sing in bands here and
are well into their careers of fronting other bands. It just  felt  a
little bit boring, somehow."

The Leaving of Liiva and the Gaining of Gossow
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Part 3: The Search for a Shock

     Now, some of you may  wonder  why  Mike  Amott  didn't  just  go
straight to former bandmate Jeff Walker when Arch Enemy were short  a
singer. The reason is simple.
     "He's out of the music scene totally", reveals  Mike.  "He  quit
years ago. He's doing something completely different now."
     In any case, Arch Enemy  were  looking  for  more  than  a  safe
option: they were searching for someone  who'd  be  a  revelation  to
their fans -and- to them.
     "What we were looking for was obviously  this  one  singer,  out
there, in the shadows, who nobody knows about, who's  just  going  to
step into the light and kick  everybody's  ass  and  totally  impress
everybody -- -and- is gonna be a great  front-person  on  stage.  And
also have like a really, really killer voice that's gonna  take  this
band to the next level, and have that full-on,  metal  attitude.  And
then we were like, "Ummmm, yeeaah... right...  where  we  gonna  find
that?!""
     Certainly not in Sweden, it seems.
     "I mean, say what you  want  about  Swedish  musicians",  begins
Mike, a playful challenge  offered  by  a  split-second  pause,  "but
Swedish singers? The quality of musicianship is very high in  Sweden,
but there are no real, great front-fighters that are really cool live
stage personalities. I have yet to see one, really. You hear the  CD,
and you wanna check it out live, but they  just  don't  have  what...
Hey, I love some of  these  people,  but  they're  not  like  natural
fucking -stars- on stage, you know?"
     Perhaps they're just a bit shy?
     "Yeah, shy and stuff like that. Even if somebody  walks  into  a
room, either they're a fucking star or  they're  not,  you  know?  We
called Angela. We decided to put her name on the list. Chris  --  the
guitar in Arch Enemy, my brother, he put her name on the list and  he
was really pushing for her 'cause he  really  liked  her  angle:  the
beast -in- the beauty. You know what I mean?  She's  got  this  demon
voice and she looks really great and everything.  My  first  reaction
was kind of sceptical and kind of negative. I'm probably just a small
minded metal moron, but I thought it was probably too off-the-wall --
just a little bit -too- different -- people are gonna think it's some
kind  of  gimmick  or  something.  But  you  know,  once  we  started
discussing her we just couldn't stop talking about it. We thought  it
would really separate us from a lot of the other bands out  there.  I
mean, it's not a Swedish guy with a beard  with  greasy  hair  and  a
beer-gut. It's something special -- from a visual point of view, plus
she had a really cool voice as well. We wanted to try her so we  gave
her a call and she was obviously quite surprised -- it  came  out  of
the blue, really. She came up and played with us and auditioned  with
us and we ran through a list of old songs we'd given her to  try  out
on. She came and sang on that and it was pretty mind-blowing, because
she was twice as loud, twice  as  aggressive  and  tighter  than  our
previous singer. So we knew she had the voice --  it  didn't  take  a
brain surgeon to work that one out."

The Leaving of Liiva and the Gaining of Gossow
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Part 4: A Question of Focus

     "She eventually hung out with us a little bit", continues  Mike.
"It was important  that  there  was  good  chemistry  going  on  with
everybody in the band. She's got a big personality, you know,  a  lot
of charisma, and often that comes with the  LSD  syndrome:  the  Lead
Singer Disease. We didn't want a fucking  -prima  donna-;  we  didn't
want somebody in the band that we'd have to treat with kid-gloves all
the time. But she's been playing extreme metal for coming up for  ten
years now, and she knows how guys work, and she's really funny; she's
totally got both feet on the ground, so it's pretty solid."
     Nonetheless,  worries  of  some   Spinal   Tap-esque   nightmare
occurring, whereby Angela --  having  become  romantically  entangled
with one of her male bandmates -- begins interfering with the  smooth
running of the band are doubtless still prevalent  in  the  minds  of
some.
     "From my point of view, it's usually the wives of the  musicians
though,  isn't  it?",  responds  Mike,   good-humouredly.   "Angela's
actually in the band as a creative force. I know  what  you  mean  --
that -was- obviously one of our concerns -- but  it  has  worked  out
great: everybody is happy."
     Personally, I didn't think it would be an issue, but I did  feel
that many rock/metal listeners might see it as one.
     "Yeah", agrees Mike. "I mean, we get the  odd  e-mail,  "Who  is
banging the chick?" and all  this  kind  of  stuff..."  he  stammers,
momentarily incredulous and seemingly lost for  words,  "...which  is
funny."
     Angela Gossow herself is  similarly  unconcerned  with  comments
made by a few unenlightened individuals. I asked her if she felt  any
trepidation about becoming Arch Enemy's new singer.
     "No", she replies. "Somebody wrote me a cruel mail. It said, "We
think it's gonna be a hard job for you to actually step into  Johan's
boots." But obviously, you're wearing your own boots, you don't  need
his, you know?", she laughs without any sign  of  nervousness.  "It's
not like I have to try to catch up with him  or  whatever.  It's  not
like when Bruce Dickinson left Iron Maiden. I mean,  poor  Blaze;  he
tried to be like Bruce and it didn't  really  work  out.  But  I'm  a
woman, and nobody will expect that I'll try to look  and  sound  like
Johan. So I have the absolute freedom to build up my  own  image  and
have my own vocal style. Arch Enemy gave me the freedom  too:  that's
what they wanted for the new album. I am building  up  my  own  image
now.  Johan  never  had  a  strong  image,  anyway.  He  wasn't  this
super-strong frontman with lots of charisma and  people  knew  a  lot
about him; he's a shy guy. So it wasn't like I have to lift up  to  a
huge personality, really: I guess mine is bigger than his, anyway. My
ego, anyway", Angela laughs again.
     With all this talk of images and egos, I expect doubts and fears
are brewing in many scenesters minds. Will Angela Gossow  become  the
focus of Arch Enemy? Will  the  shifting  of  focus  involve  tedious
life-style-type spreads in popular  music  magazines  who  insist  on
adorning such "stories" with  scantily-clad,  genital-tickling  pics?
Angela is adamant that this will not happen.
     "I don't wanna be like Rock Bitch or the Genitorturers  --  that
SM domination thing, or naked stuff", returns Angela.  "But  I  wanna
still look good and have clothes with rock 'n' roll attitude. We were
really thinking about this. I will not look like the guys  on  stage.
I'm gonna wear different colours and sort of tight clothes,  but  I'm
not gonna just wear a bra and a slip! I will not have a whip! And not
like Rachael from Sinister: she looks like a guy. She's  a  beautiful
woman but she wears -huge-, black, Cannibal Corpse T-shirts, military
boots and military trousers. That's not what I  want  either.  I'm  a
fashion-type, anyway. I'm totally into fashion: I'm shopping all  the
time. I've got lots of clothes. I'm a bit orientated like the  normal
-pop- women are: just good-looking, sexy somehow, but I'm not  gothic
and I'm not SM."
     "We will not build this pin-up in the front surrounded  by  some
guys making  music",  Angela  continues,  countering  one  of  rock's
recently-much-rifled cash-cow cliches. "Arch Enemy is  still  writing
really cool music and the good thing is that Michael, especially, has
a very strong personality too. He always has  something  to  say;  he
doesn't wanna get out of the media focus. It  will  always  be  split
between us and we will check that there's gonna be a balanced sort of
thing -- we pay attention to this -- so that  in  the  end  it's  not
someone just asking me what kind of food I'm eating and how  I  watch
my weight and which kind of exercise I do in  the  gym,  in  a  metal
magazine. We're very conscious about this."

...For All the Right Reasons?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     In the end, the only really important question  left  to  answer
about Angela Gossow becoming the new Arch Enemy singer  is:  can  she
cut it live? Whatever the prevailing opinions  might  be  on  whether
Johan was any good or not, they'll doubtless be many to  whom  Angela
will have to prove herself 'worthy'.
     "They're gonna check me out very, very particularly, because  if
they've  seen  the  band  with  Johan  they'll  wanna  find  out  the
difference", agrees the singer. "To some people, this  band  will  be
new anyway, when we tour now. I think for  every  band,  as  soon  as
there's a woman around -- it's a male dominated business -- it's like
some kind of freak somehow. Still. So people are gonna concentrate on
me a bit more than they did before on the vocalist. But I can put  up
with this: I'm not afraid, really."
     Angela may not be afraid of Arch Enemy's crowds, but one wonders
whether Mike Amott is afraid of her influence on  the  focus  of  the
band's press coverage. Is there a worry in Mike's mind that a -wider-
interest in _WoS_ might be produced largely because Angela, a  woman,
is Arch Enemy's new singer?
     "It's too early to say,  but  with  this  album  it  seems  like
there's more interest than ever. Maybe that's  got  something  to  do
with the new singer and the fact  that  we  jumped  up  a  couple  of
notches in production and stuff like that and made a better album  --
that's what we like to think, anyway."
     The production of _Wages of Sin_ is, to my ears, faultless. Arch
Enemy chose to record, as ever,  with  Fredrik  Nordstrom  at  studio
Fredman. But for the mixing of _Wages of Sin_ they went elsewhere: to
Backstage Studios in the UK to work with ex-Sabbat man Andy Sneap.
     "And God we are so happy that we did that!",  says  Mike  Amott,
letting out a  cheery,  contented  wave  of  laughter.  Andy  Sneap's
production has added crunch and impact to Arch  Enemy's  sound  which
can only properly be gauged when one  subsequently  replays  _Burning
Bridges_; _Wages of Sin' is in a new league of sonic excellence; that
distinctive -punch- and -crunch- which is so distinctive  of  Sneap's
productions for such bands Nevermore and Testament, has infused  Arch
Enemy's melodic metal with a new-found vitality.
     "Actually, I kept nagging Nevermore to use  Andy  Sneap  --  and
they got 'round to using him before we did", reveals Mike. "They were
being very, very skeptical, then the next thing I  know,  they're  in
the studio with him -- and they make a fucking  awesome  album!  That
just turned me on even more, because I love  Nevermore.  But  it  was
when I heard _The Gathering_, the Testament album; I heard the  first
track off that, I was pinned against the  wall!  I  was  like,  "Holy
shit! Who mixed this fucking album?" It  was  on  a  sampler  and  it
didn't really say anything else. I found out it was Andy Sneap, and I
thought that was cool because I knew who he was -- from Sleep, Sabbat
and onwards. I knew that he was working with studio  stuff  nowadays,
but I had no -idea- that he was so fucking incredible. That was  just
an incredible album, _The Gathering_, and I just thought: when we  do
our next album, this is who's gonna mix it."
     But why didn't you go the whole hog and  -record-  at  Backstage
studios? Why stick with Fredman at all?
     "Well, I heard that Testament recorded  elsewhere  and  then  he
came over and  mixed  it  at  Sneap's  facility.  We  just  basically
repeated that trick of recording in a setting which is like a  second
home -- you  go  in  and  it's  really  relaxed,  and  it's  sort  of
close-to-home, you know? -- and then just go and beef it  up  in  the
mix. So me and the drummer, Daniel, we went over to England and mixed
it with Andy and it was just incredible."
     Daniel Erlandsson's presence at the mixing  desk  might  explain
why his drums are so prominent in _Wages of Sin_'s final mix -- or it
could just be down to the fact that he hits them so fucking hard. But
perhaps the reasons are more general...
     "We wanted a harder sound because _Burning Bridges_ was about as
soft as we're ever going to get", says Mike of the reasons Arch Enemy
spurned the Fredman mixing desk. "I think _Burning Bridges_ has got a
softer, rounder, hard rock-type edge to the  guitars  and  drums.  We
just wanna get fucking harder and more extreme now; we don't see  any
reason to be overly poppy or anything."
     It seems initially strange that a band  should  -avoid-  Fredman
studios because they want a hard production; _Slaughter of the  Soul_
had an exclusively Fredman sound.
     "Yeah, but he hasn't really made  an  album  like  that  since",
counters Mike. "I mean, the first album we did,  _Black  Earth_,  was
pretty fucking in-your-face as well and that's probably the one  that
Fredrik's done that I'm most happy with. The second one,  _Stigmata_,
sucked big-time I think, and that was a really big disappointment, at
the time, for us. The chemistry just wasn't right within the band and
we strayed into territories where we  pretty  quickly  found  out  we
weren't happy with being in: the more progressive-type  stuff,  which
was a big fucking yawn for me. _Burning  Bridges_  we  were  back  on
track, more into playing raw metal the way we should  be,  and  there
was a lot of melody in there, obviously. And now,  with  this  album,
it's kind of like -- I mean, I get asked all the time,  "Do  you  see
this as a logical progression from _Burning Bridges_ or  is  it  like
the next chapter?" Somehow, I think you  can  still  hear  it's  Arch
Enemy..."
     My two cents? Most definitely.
     "...but somehow it feels -- Angela's just been  a  kick  in  the
arse for us as well."
     Arch Enemy haven't held back on _Wages  of  Sin_.  They  haven't
held back on their class-A,  delicately  frantic  pure-melody  solos;
they haven't held back on making the album sound and -feel- as  heavy
as it possibly could.
     "Basically they became harder", says Angela, summing things  up.
"Me and Daniel have the most extreme metal tastes in this band; Chris
and Michael are totally into all this Seventies stuff -- all sorts of
-weird- music -- and I'm basically a death metal bastard! I  guess  I
brought in freshness and aggression somehow -- and  the  arrangements
changed a bit."
     "Angela came in at the end of the writing and actually helped us
with the arrangements -- in some ways because she  came  from  a  fan
point of view", explains Mike. "It was kind  of  interesting  because
she was saying like, "This is a typical -boring- Arch Enemy part: you
should get rid of it." And we were like,  "Okay...".  She  is  pretty
opinionated and wasn't holding back at all. And we thought maybe  she
was right. That was interesting, actually, because I think the  level
of musicianship is incredibly high in Arch Enemy, and  sometimes  our
heads get stuck up in places where they probably shouldn't be...  You
know: we can just noodle away forever on  little  instrumental  parts
and stuff. Yeah, it's a lot of fun to play, but is it fun  to  listen
to? That's more Angela's point of view. It strikes a good balance."
     "We just wanna be in-your-face, basically", Mike adds. "We put a
lot of thought into the arrangements and putting it all together, but
this kind of music  -flows-  naturally  out  of  us;  it's  not  very
preconceived or cynical. We didn't spent too much time thinking about
what kind of music we were gonna play. We might say an album  has  to
be 'extreme' or 'heavy' -- and its gotta be exciting to listen to."
     But exciting for whom? Arch Enemy have  many  fans,  but  it  is
unlikely that the  band  are  demographically  microcosmic  of  their
fanbase. Who needs to enjoy an Arch Enemy album for it to be  a  good
one, ultimately?
     "We try to please ourselves but we also  think  about  what  our
fans want, because I think the fans are a part of the band, somehow",
muses Mike. "That's the people we're playing for. If you don't  think
that the fans are a part of the whole thing, then why don't you  just
not sign a record deal -- and please, just burn CDs for you and  your
mates. The fans are a part of the whole deal really, and we do  think
about them when we write music. We tried to turn down  on  the  whole
guitar-shredding aspect of the band a little bit because it was  just
getting a little bit out of control. Everybody knows now that we  are
the best: enough of that! We just play for the  song  now,  and  what
works in the song. We were quite confident, and a little  bit  cocky,
about our band. We'd go to bed every  night  -truly-  believing  that
Arch Enemy is the best metal band in the world. If  we  didn't  think
that, there would  be  no  point;  I've  always  thought  that  about
everything I'm involved with", he laughs good-humouredly at  his  own
self-conviction. "Even if I hear somebody  that's  pretty  good  I'll
always find ways to justify that we're number one."

"Sin, Sin With a Range!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     _Wages of  Sin_  is  not  only  the  most  powerful  Arch  Enemy
album  to  date,  it  is  also  the  most  complete   one.   When   I
first put it  on,  it  hooked  me  with  "Enemy  Within"'s  pounding,
classic-Swedish-melodic-death-riffing opening licks, and held  me  in
its grasp until -- forty-five minutes later --  it  faded  away  into
"Shadows and Dust". Usually when that happens, repeated spins of  the
album in question produce progressively diminishing returns. But such
was not the case with _Wages of Sin_: it just got  better.  Now,  six
months later, it already feels like a classic.  One  of  the  album's
true virtues is that its songwriting is consistent in  quality  while
being impressively varied in approach, and yet -always-  retains  the
feeling that there is a single, defined-entity --  a  -band-  in  the
truest sense -- behind it all.
     "Even though you can  hear  it's  the  same  band  all  the  way
through, a song like "Savage Messiah" is very different from "Burning
Angel"; "The First Deadly Sin" is very  different  from  "Behind  the
Smile", or "Shadows and Dust"", affirms Mike. "It goes into different
areas a little bit; we don't break out in a big  funky  sort  of  rap
thing!"
     Neither do Arch Enemy  reprise  the  total-contrast  trick  they
utilised on their debut with the song "Cosmic Retribution"  --  which
suddenly broke storming Swedish death metal character to go all jazzy
and acoustic-guitar laden: a very Atheist-esque move...
     "Yeah, I loved those guys back then", says Mike. "We  still  get
off on that stuff. We still like any death metal stuff,  really.  I'd
rather listen to _Altars of  Madness_  than  the  latest  in  melodic
Swedish death metal. I just like more evil-sounding stuff  --  though
I'm not that big on black metal. I'm sure  there's  stuff  out  there
that's really, really cool, but in '96  I  went  out  looking  and  I
bought a lot of black metal stuff because I'd loved  the  image.  The
image factor is amazing. I love all the make-up, all the  spikes  and
leather. I think that's so cool! I love all that, but it seemed  like
the guys that were not good enough to play death metal. I don't  know
why that is; it's just sloppy  drumming  and  not  very  good  guitar
playing, and it just didn't do it for me. Some of these classic black
metal releases that people rave about, it's like,  "Yeah.  But  fuck,
listen to _Altars of Madness_, or the  first  _Deicide_:  you've  got
fucking evil shit  going  on  because  the  musicianship  is  fucking
incredible at the same time.""
     Angela's tastes lie primarily in the death metal genre.
     "Mostly English bands, really",  she  comments.  "When  I  first
started listening it was just Carcass, Bolt  Thrower,  Napalm  Death,
Extreme Noise  Terror.  I  was  always  listening  to  Morbid  Angel,
Testament, Slayer, that kind of stuff. I like the old Cannibal Corpse
stuff; _Eaten Back to Life_ is  my  favourite.  But  the  new  really
brutal death metal -- like the new Cannibal Corpse stuff for example,
I can't listen to more than two songs. I miss  the  groove.  I  can't
really get into it; my foot doesn't start tapping."
     _Wages  of  Sin_  certainly  prompts   foot   tapping;   furious
headbanging too, if I'm to be honest. Though  it  is  of  course  the
music itself which rightfully takes primary responsibility  for  such
effects, Angela's varied and charismatic vocals supply a  vital  part
of the puzzle. Indeed, one of the reasons that Arch Enemy's  identity
as a band is assured throughout _Wages of Sin_,  despite  the  varied
platter of music on offer, is  the  defined-yet-varied  character  of
Angela's charismatic tirade.
     "This album I discovered -- somehow -- a bit  more  vocal  range
for me", comments  the  woman  herself.  "My  old  bands  were  quite
limited: we were just  trying  to  do  Bolt  Thrower-meets-Unleashed;
early stuff, death metal. Then  you're  kind  of  limited  with  your
vocals anyway; everything's just deep  and  low  and  slow,  somehow.
There aren't really melodies and whatever. When I joined  Arch  Enemy
there were lots of melodies and lines I had  to  follow,  somehow:  I
can't ignore these melodies. We worked this out in the  studio.  They
didn't want to have deep growling, because they had that already with
Johan. So I had to change a bit -- and I'm quite happy about this now
because I never had the chance before to work on more  screaming  and
more aggressiveness. We've been working together  for  one-and-a-half
years now and I've changed my  style  already  a  bit.  I  had  vocal
coaching anyway the last six  months  because  I  had  a  vocal-chord
problem. Things changed there too, you know: my pronunciation's gonna
be totally different. We were working a lot. I  have  never  been  so
many  times  in  rehearsal  rooms  before,  and  they're  working  so
seriously on the lyrics and how the vocalisation  is  actually  gonna
be. So we'll see how it turns out when we record a  new  album  later
this year, but I guess it's gonna be even better."
     Who wrote the lyrics for this record?
     "I wrote four", answers Angela. "Two  alone,  and  two  together
with Michael. I had three weeks to get into the Arch  Enemy  material
before we went into the studio, so I was quite happy I didn't have to
write any more! The next album's gonna be different  too  because,  I
mean, I already wrote all the lyrics.  I  don't  mind  singing  other
people's lyrics as long as I can understand them and relate to  them.
As long as it's not like "Seeds of Hate": "I'm not the man I used  to
be." These kind of lines I shouldn't sing, because I'm not a man!"

The Extra Incentive
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     While we're on the subject of pre-_WoS_ Arch Enemy  material,  I
should mention that for the record's release in the West (via Century
Media in March of this year; it was first released in South East Asia
on Dream On records in August of 2001) the band (and label) have  not
only added the video for the  track  "Ravenous"  and  a  bonus  track
("Lament of a Mortal Soul") to make up for the time lag; a  bonus  CD
of rare and unreleased material  is  included  with  the  European  /
North American edition of _WoS_, and  even  includes  the  video  for
_Burning Bridges_' opener, "The Immortal". Despite totaling a mere 26
minutes and comprising only seven tracks, _A Collection of  Rare  and
Unreleased Songs From the Arch  Enemy  Vault_  will  doubtless  be  a
welcome addition to all but  the  most  dedicated  Arch  Enemy  fan's
collection -- although it's a mystery to me  why  other  rare  tracks
like "Losing Faith" (from War Music's  _Wardance_  compilation)  have
not been included. _ACoRaUSFtAEV_ offers four original  "b-sides",  a
'99 re-recording of "Fields of Desolation"  from  Arch  Enemy's  1996
debut _Black Earth_, and covers of two  classic  trad  metal  tracks:
"Aces High"  by  Iron  Maiden  and  "Starbreaker"  by  Judas  Priest.
It's interesting to hear Arch Enemy's  rendition  of  Judas  Priest's
"Starbreaker" and realise that though Halford  is  certainly  a  more
accomplished vocalist than  Johan  Liiva  ever  will  be,  the  Amott
brothers -do- surpass Tipton and Downing in terms of sheer  technical
ability.  Any  offended  'Priest-worshippers  should  check  out  the
spectacular Swedish-axe-masturbation and Carcass-squeals the brothers
Amott have inserted into 'Priest's classic: the Arch Enemy  rendition
may not be -better-, but I'd bet you 'Priest would need a good  month
of practice before they could play it. But I digress: you're probably
more interested in knowing how this CD addition to _WoS_  came  about
than listening to my musings.
     "As soon as we got wind of it, we decided to get involved in the
second-CD project", states Mike. "I am  really  fan-orientated  as  a
person -- even though I know that might sound cheesy. I'm a  big  fan
of music myself and I really appreciate when a band gets involved  in
every aspect of their work, the presentation and everything.  Instead
of having the second CD be just a pure record company job where  they
just put a CD with whatever they can find, we actually  got  involved
and dug out some stuff that wouldn't have been on there otherwise. If
you're gonna do it, you should do  it  right  --  we  also  put  some
additional packaging and liner notes in there."
     Well Mike, that's about  all  I  have:  if  there's  anything  I
haven't touched on that you'd like to mention...
     "I won't be doing any touching here,  sorry",  interrupts  Mike,
chuckling.

[*(1)] If you don't understand, do yourself a favour: read "Dune"!
[*(2)] "New Wave of Swedish Melodic Death Metal"

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

         T E N   Y E A R S   A N D   S T I L L   H U M B L E
         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
           CoC chats with Peter Tagtgren of Hypocrisy/Pain
                          by: Paul Schwarz


     When Hypocrisy began as  a  death  metal  band  fronted  by  the
demonically deep-voiced Masse Broberg (currently better  known  under
the name "Emperor Magus Caligula" for his  work  with  Dark  Funeral)
they were just one among many new hopefuls  of  the  second  wave  of
Swedish death metal.  Hypocrisy's  major  difference  from  most  was
an  odd  one:  instead  of  sounding  Swedish,  here  was  a  Swedish
death metal  band  whose  direct  intention  was,  contrastingly,  to
sound American. Thankfully, Hypocrisy managed to  dodge  the  obvious
stumbling block of such an approach: sounding  too  derivative.  Even
their _Penetralia_ debut had flecks of a personal stamp  clinging  to
it, while their 1993 follow-up, _Osculum Obscenum_, showcased a sound
so demonically brutal in its intent that it set it  apart  even  from
the likes of Suffocation -- Hypocrisy weren't -better-, but they were
different, obscure. However, following their rather lacklustre -- but
nonetheless rather popular, especially in  Germany  --  third  album,
_The Fourth Dimension_, Hypocrisy moved into a new  "bracket":  their
attitude never changed,  according  to  Peter  Tagtgren  --  and  the
evidence seems on his side -- but their prospects did.
     By the time 1996's _Abducted_ [CoC #7] had been released,  Peter
had his Abyss studio up and running -- using it to record Hypocrisy's
fourth  album.  The  sterling  sound  of  _Abducted_  only  added  to
Tagtgren's already growing reputation as a producer, while the  sheer
quality of the material established Hypocrisy  not  only  as  a  band
capable of transcending the underground realms from  which  they  had
come, but potentially of coming to dominate them. I never  quite  saw
Hypocrisy as being -- or as -likely-  to  become  --  a  -dominating-
force in the underground myself, but their "special" status for  many
-- the vast majority not in Britain, but on the continent  --  cannot
be ignored by appealing to personal aesthetic judgements. Hypocrisy's
next album, _The Final Chapter_ [CoC #26], benefited  much  from  the
elevated status  _Abducted_  had  bestowed  upon  the  band.  It  was
rightfully critically acclaimed, and  it  seemed  for  a  while  like
Hypocrisy might really crack the "next level"  --  equal  the  sales,
popularity and press attention paid to the likes of Fear  Factory  or
Machine Head, for example. But it was not to be. The band split;  the
album's title -had- been symbolic.
     Though Hypocrisy had dissolved, Peter Tagtgren's  ascendancy  in
the metal scene was not to be slowed. He went on to produce  many  of
the finest  and  most  successful  bands  in  Scandinavian  metal  --
including Dawn and Immortal -- in the year and a bit before Hypocrisy
got back together and recorded their sixth,  self-titled  album  [CoC
#40 & #41]. Some were sceptical of the motives;  others  were  simply
blown away by the results. Whatever your opinion though, you  had  to
admit one thing: Hypocrisy were  back.  But  still  the  breakthrough
didn't  come  --  or  at  least,  it  didn't  come  for  -Hypocrisy-.
Interestingly, Peter Tagtgren's Pain "project" -- after delivering  a
crudely composed, Fear Factory-esque self-titled  debut  in  1996  --
-did- make the popular charts ahead of Nine Inch Nails (in Sweden, at
least) with the release of their second album, _Rebirth_  [CoC  #48].
But nonetheless Tagtgren  remained  committed  to  Hypocrisy  --  who
released their seventh album,  the  back-to-the-roots-ish  _Into  the
Abyss_ [CoC #48] that same year. Last year the  band  was  silent  --
though Tagtgren produced what he considers to be some of  the  finest
albums of his career with bands such  as  Immortal  [CoC  #58],  Dark
Funeral and Wolf. However, this year Hypocrisy are making  their  bid
for the big leagues... by releasing  a  record  which  is  cathartic,
angry and, lyrically, a backlash against the persona which  has  been
made of Tagtgren, for the most part. _Catch 22_ is a mixed return  to
a  number  of  the  bands  previous  stages  of  development,  and  a
substantial attempt to step into the future.
     With the album still  to  be  released,  I  chatted  with  Peter
Tagtgren about its content, Hypocrisy's hopes for the  future,  their
previous seven albums and Peter's own producing work at Abyss,  among
other things, in January of this year.

CoC: I read an interview where you commented that what  had  happened
     to you over the  last  year  really  contributed  to  what  came
     together in _Catch 22_. In your own words, what major events  or
     things caused that?

Peter Tagtgren: Yeah, it's been fucking two years  of  hectic  things
                and like... painting myself into  a  corner,  y'know?
                Without even realising it. And that's my own fault.

CoC: You mean in terms of the Abyss studio?

PT: That also: I do love everything I've done in the studio.  There's
    nothing I regret and I've been very fortunate to  have  done  all
    these great bands. So it's not that, it's just like... This  year
    I'm definitely gonna be equal -- and really put all the cards  on
    myself. And actually, this summer, I'm going to be  outside!  <he
    chuckles>. Isn't -that- unbelievable? I'm going to be able to see
    a summer! <said with an undertone of sarcasm>

CoC: So you think partially it was just overwork?

PT: Yeah, for sure.

CoC: Nervous exhaustion and things like that?

PT: Yeah, no shit!

CoC: OK. The other thing I got from the  lyrics:  you've  been  doing
     Abyss studio since around '95 with the first Dark Funeral EP?

PT: Yeah.

CoC: Since then it's become this huge studio that a lot of top  black
     metal bands and other bands have gone  to.  And  the  impression
     that the lyrics to "Don't Judge Me" and "Destroyed" give  me  is
     that you're kind of irritated with  the  public  persona  that's
     been made out of you?

PT: Yeah.

CoC: I think that's partially through your  producing  and  partially
     possibly through the very quick success of Pain  on  the  second
     album.

PT: Yeahnotreally: Pain has not so much to do with it. I  think  it's
    just the business around the shit, y'know?

CoC: Right.

PT: Around the producing, and the trademark, and the selling point of
    my name and stuff like that. And it's  nothing,  really,  that  I
    wanted: I'm still as underground-thinking as  I've  always  been,
    y'know?

CoC: Yeah, exactly, that was what I was thinking. I was thinking  how
     Abyss became almost like a trend that people would then go like:
     oh no, that's -fashionable-...

PT: And then you start  getting  pressure  that  you  have  to  do...
    like... really amazing stuff, y'know?

CoC: Yeah, exactly.

PT: And then you're going: how the hell am I supposed to do that? How
    can you bake 2000 different cakes with the same ingredients?  And
    it becomes really frustrating, 'cause when I do things  I  really
    wanna do 'em 100% -- and I do! But, y'know, sometimes  it's  like
    impossible.

CoC: I've  always  got  the  impression  that  you've  kept  a   very
     underground spirit in yourself in the sense of  not  just  doing
     stuff because you do it...

PT: Yeah.

CoC: But because you like to do it...

PT: Yeah.

CoC: And 'cause you wanna do it, not because it's money or it's trend
     or whatever. So I can see where lyrics like, "So sick  of  tired
     of people telling me, who I am and what to be" come from.  Would
     you say that _Catch 22_ is part of this as well because  one  of
     the things that seems to have happened in certain people's  eyes
     is that because Hypocrisy broke up [soon after 1997's _The Final
     Chapter_ -- Paul]  near  the  time  that  Abyss  really,  really
     took off, people have marginalised  Hypocrisy  because  of  your
     producing work? Hypocrisy is like, "The band that Peter Tagtgren
     (who's really a producer) does", to some people.

PT: <dispiritedly> Yeah.

CoC: Did that come into your thinking at all when you wrote a lot  of
     the lyrics to _Catch 22_?

PT: Yeah, I mean, it's very hard to explain but it's like  I  just...
    for once I opened my heart and started writing lyrics about  what
    I was thinking. It's kind of, "What the hell did I do? Why did  I
    do it?" And I was only doing it for  the  pleasure,  y'know.  And
    also I was caught up in this business that I  -didn't-  wanna  be
    involved with -- OK, it's nice to have money and shit,  but  it's
    not only that. It should be pure pleasure or else  everything  is
    gone.

CoC: I see what you mean; with the album, it sounds a lot more,  sort
     of, -true-, in one sense, or -spiritual-  than  other  Hypocrisy
     albums of late.

PT: Yeah...

CoC: I think that's partially to do with your whole thing of  writing
     straight.

PT: Yeah.

CoC: When you were first writing Hypocrisy it was very much  Satanic.
     It had a very Satanic bent. I think based around  your  love  at
     the time for American death metal.

PT: Yeah. Right.

CoC: The  _Abducted_  stuff  is  a  lot  of  alien   landing   stuff;
     personally, I didn't really get into those lyrics. This album  I
     really like because you really feel like you're saying something
     and it's kind of pumping up the music.

PT: Yeah, and it's a serious album. It's what's going on in  my  life
    and plus  the  attitude  in  the  riffs  of  the  songs  and  the
    production makes it really real.

CoC: Totally. I mean, I haven't heard the band  sound  this  -hungry-
     since _Abducted_, or possibly the first album...

PT: Yeah.

CoC: I mean, I went back and listened to every album after I  started
     enjoying this one...

PT: Oh really?! That's cool.

CoC: Except for _The Fourth Dimension_ which I never really got into.

PT: Yeah.

CoC: It's really hungry.

PT: It is.

CoC: Just the way "Don't Judge Me' starts out: it's pounding!

PT: Yeah, it's like a fist in the face. I  mean,  like  I  said,  the
    whole attitude in the album is really like, "Get  this  serious",
    y'know?

CoC: Yeah, totally. It's very furious and very  angry  at  a  lot  of
     times, but it also sounds kind of -- not relaxed, but it  sounds
     very -comfortable-. You sound like you guys  have  finally  kind
     of...

PT: Maybe we're finding our style, I dunno...

CoC: Maybe.  I  think  it's  definitely  one  of  the  first   really
     mature-sounding Hypocrisy albums.  I  mean,  for  me  personally
     _Hypocrisy_ [CoC #41] and what I heard of _Into the Abyss_  [CoC
     #48] -- which I've got to admit wasn't that much  --  sounded  a
     little forced. I find this one really -vibrant-, in  comparison,
     and I really, really like that.

PT: That's cool man.

CoC: I think that's really good. But you have managed to  incorporate
     all the different elements; you haven't  done  a  "back  to  the
     roots" album -- which would have been a bit lame: if you'd  just
     started playing like _Penetralia_.

PT: Yeah. No, I mean, that's not really what it's all about anymore.

CoC: Exactly.

PT: And not because it wouldn't sell or whatever -- maybe it would. I
    don't know, but it's just like, we always have to go forward, and
    it's very important for us to develop, and adapt.

CoC: How did you find the songwriting went this time?  Did  you  find
     that you thought a lot about it or did you find you  just  wrote
     it from your head and it just came out?

PT: Yeah, actually it just came out. The only thing I wanted  was  to
    have more -chugging- on the guitar. I  wanted  to  make  it  more
    chugging, and the production I wanted to do  something  that  I'd
    never done with any band before.

CoC: What's that?

PT: A more American style of production: more dry and in  your  face,
    y'know? And yeah, it felt natural to do that and it  fitted  very
    good to the riffs. And then I just went totally  180  degrees  on
    the choruses, made them very catchy.

CoC: Exactly: "Don't Judge Me" starts off with this huge pounding...

PT: <gleefully> Yeah...

CoC: But the chorus is very kind of... for want  of  a  better  word,
     it's quite classically Swedish.

PT: Yeah, yeah.

CoC: You can really sing along to it but it's still heavy...

PT: Yeah.

CoC: ...in that really basic, nice way.

PT: Exactly.

CoC: It's definitely a very well-rounded album in that sense. Why did
     you decide to call it _Catch 22_? Was that a reflection  of  the
     situation you were in?

PT: Yeah, exactly. You know the saying, right?

CoC: "Catch 22" from the book by Joseph Heller?

PT: Nonono, the English saying for...

CoC: A "Catch 22" situation?

PT: Yeah.

CoC: You know where it's from?

PT: No, not really.

CoC: It's from the book, "Catch 22", by Joseph Heller.

PT: Oh, really?

CoC: Joseph Heller wrote this book called "Catch  22".  It's  set  in
     wartime  and  a  specific  situation  involving  the  supply  of
     airplane pilots is coined as being "Catch 22".

PT: We called this album  _Catch  22_  because  every  time  we  were
    sitting and talking to people about how this Hypocrisy album  has
    a very good opportunity to become a very successful album  --  if
    we work it and promote it, because we  never  do  --  they'd  go,
    "Well if you close down your studio because you wanna go on  tour
    with Hypocrisy and make it successful then you're not going to be
    able to afford eating", y'know? But if we don't go  out  on  tour
    and  make  it  successful,  how  the  hell  can  we  ever  become
    successful? So it's a "Catch 22".

CoC: It's a "Catch 22" situation, indeed.

[I agreed at the time, but on reflection I don't believe  Hypocrisy's
predicament is a true "Catch 22";  I  don't  believe  its  conditions
match those of the defining "Catch 22" described in Heller's book  --
Paul]

PT: It's like eating your cookie and still having it.

CoC: You can't eat your cake and have it.

PT: Yeah, exactly.

CoC: Indeed. It's an interesting one. It's  one  of  those  difficult
     things. You've had a very strange sort of career  in  the  sense
     that a lot of Swedish musicians have sort of  started  off  very
     big -- like Entombed and that sort of thing -- and a lot of  the
     second-tier bands disappeared, they  kind  of  faded  away.  And
     Hypocrisy were really growing -up-...

PT: Yeah, yeah.

CoC: Getting there.

PT: Yeah, yeah.

CoC: With _Abducted_, for example. And then Abyss  took  off  --  and
     suddenly Hypocrisy kind  of  became  a  bit  marginalised  in  a
     strange way -- because Hypocrisy are still really popular.

PT: Yeah, I mean actually, if you look at sales and stuff like  that,
    I think the last album -- if it wasn't the most successful it was
    very close. So it's just kept on going, all  the  time  from  the
    beginning -- which is good, and we have a good platform to  stand
    on without being a newcomer and just all  suddenly  blow  up  and
    lose our heads and shit, y'know?

CoC: Absolutely, but did  you  ever  feel  that  with  Hypocrisy  you
     weren't really challenged, because one of the things I've found,
     in the underground at least, is that people just expect the  new
     Hypocrisy album to be good.

PT: Yeah.

CoC: I mean, ever since _Abducted_, Hypocrisy has been "good".

PT: Yeah. I don't know... <half laughs>

CoC: It's like, I remember Emperor saying this when they were  making
     _Prometheus..._. Ihsahn just said, "Well, I  don't  really  feel
     challenged anymore, 'cause if  anyone  gets  an  Emperor  album,
     they're going to say it's a good album."

PT: Yeah... hmm, that's very self-confident.

CoC: It is, but it's also a reflection of the way people, I find, are
     very reverent of some bands...

PT: ... No, I'm always wondering: how the hell are people gonna  take
    this album?

CoC: Right right.

PT: And I really have no clue what's gonna happen with it until  it's
    out and a couple of months later.

CoC: I'll be really interested as well.

PT: It's always fucking terror before the month is over so you  knowf
    i it went good or bad. But usually...  It's  always  been  going.
    good So maybe this time it will go all to hell: I don't know    .

CoC: But I think this time Hypocrisy are in a very good situation  in
     terms of the kind of band they are and the kind of climate  that
     they're being pushed  into.  I  mean,  when  I  first  got  into
     Hypocrisy, I got into _Osculum Obscenum_. And I just  loved  how
     completely visceral and ripping it was. And however  much  there
     were debts to other bands, this was -so- full  on  death  metal.
     And when I got into _Abducted_ it was very different,  but  this
     album has definitely got the Hypocrisy trademark, the  trademark
     that you get with _Abducted_ -- the rich guitars. It's very well
     arranged  and  put  together.  I  find  Hypocrisy  always  sound
     professional...

PT: Oh, cool!

CoC: Even if... I  didn't  enjoy  _Hypocrisy_  the  album  that  much
     because I found personally that it was a kind of "put together";
     that there was one song like this and one song like that. But it
     always sounds good. This albums is interesting  because  it's  a
     lot more in-your-face and aggressive. Coming onto  probably  the
     song you've been asked about more than  any  others,  "Turn  the
     Page"...

PT: Yeah.

CoC: It does start off with a riff that -could- -- if maybe they were
     better <under my breath> -- have been penned by a nu metal band.

PT: Yeah.

CoC: You could imagine a nu metal song starting out like this --  but
     you couldn't really imagine "Turn the Page"  being  a  nu  metal
     song.

PT: Yeah.

CoC: Not in  totality.  Did  you  find  that  that  was  a  conscious
     influence or did you find you wrote it  and  then  people  went,
     "Hey, that sounds like... Slipknot!" or something?

PT: Yeah. I mean, I'm going to see  Slipknot  tomorrow  so...  No,  I
    mean, I was just like... It was one of those  bands  that  really
    kicked my ass for a long time, y'know? And maybe I got influenced
    by it -- I have no clue, y'know, because that's probably the only
    nu metal band that I really like.

CoC: Interesting. Is it the music, or is it also the whole ethos  and
     image?

PT: No, I think it's the aggression in the music; I wouldn't care  if
    they had masks or not,  y'know?  It's  just  the  music  and  the
    drummer and the vocalist and PHEW! It's almost like: Glen Benton,
    step aside!

CoC: It's interesting, isn't  it,  because  I'm  not  personally  the
     hugest fan of  Slipknot,  but  I've  gotta  agree  that  they're
     definitely really aggressive.

PT: Yeah, it's like: holy shit! It was the same  shit  when  I  heard
    Deicide the first time, I had the same feeling, y'know and...

CoC: Interesting.

PT: It's really fucked up, y'know, because it's so intense it's...

CoC: Are you surprised that a band like Slipknot became so popular?

PT: Yeah. Yeah, because you know, anyone who says it's commercialised
    and shit like that: listen  to  the  album,  you'll  really  know
    what's going on. It's fucking violent music.

CoC: With closing  Abyss,  are  you  gonna  completely  abstain  from
     production duties or are you just gonna see how  Hypocrisy  goes
     and see how you can fit in touring and then work it around that?
     Are you kinda sick of the production stuff?

PT: Not sick but it's -- like I said, you know,  it's  very  hard  to
    bake a different cake.

CoC: Yeah.

PT: And I -know- if I  stay  away  from  it  for  a  year  and  start
    recording again it's gonna sound different; you know, it's  gonna
    influence me a lot and make me even more hungry. And maybe I  get
    some more influence when it comes to productions and  sounds  and
    stuff like that.

CoC: Definitely.

PT: I think it's very important for me also  career-wise  to  take  a
    break now -- if I wanna  keep  on  going  or  if  I  wanna  be  a
    Morrisound or, you know, one of the other ones.

CoC: Absolutely. I think since you did _Hypocrisy_,  the  self-titled
     album, you've been working exceptionally hard.  You've  done  an
     album every year, you've done  many  albums  at  Abyss,  and  it
     probably does stifle your creativity after a while...

PT: Yeah, exactly.

CoC: ... because you can't produce that much stuff, y'know, you can't
     have that many ideas, and that sort of  thing.  Was  _Catch  22_
     done at Abyss?

PT: Yeah-yeah, it is.

CoC: So would this be one of the last ones?

PT: For a while, until the next Hypocrisy, I  think.  Actually,  over
    the last year when I did the Dark  Funeral  album  and  the  Wolf
    album and the Immortal album and Destruction: the shit that I did
    last year actually got their own sound.

CoC: I was gonna say: Immortal sounds absolutely brilliant.

PT: Yeah, and I mean every album sounds  different  from  each  other
    considering its been done over the same year. I'm really starting
    to find the difference between the  bands  and  renew  myself,  I
    think.

CoC: Yeah.

PT: And then it's also good to stop. I can think about it even  more.
    cI an keep on going that way and maybe find some other stuff that
    could influence me and make it even more different.

CoC: Definitely. I think taking a break definitely is a good idea.

PT: I think I proved myself.

CoC: Yeah! I think you've -definitely- done that.

PT: And the funny thing is, Abbath from Immortal he goes, "Peter, you
    can't produce every band in the world, you know: slow down!"

CoC: He's got a lot of sensible suggestions, Abbath.

PT: Yeah. Yeah, you're right. But what  can  I  do?  It's...  it's  a
    routine, kind of, you know, it's... and then also I have  started
    thinking like, "Shit, it's becoming fast food."

CoC: Right, yeah. Do you find that the bands would come in  and  just
     want the "Abyss sound" and not want you to do much with it?

PT: Yeah, but still there is nothing like the "Abyss sound"; there is
    no button there that I press. It's just, as soon as I'm  involved
    I have my kind of tastes, you know, and it just becomes like that
    and I always ask the band,  "Do  you  like  this?"  and  they  go
    "Yeah". Or "No", you know, and then we change  it  a  little  bit
    until everybody is happy. But like I said, year 2001, I  think  I
    have the most diverse sound from all these six bands that I  did,
    you know?

CoC: Yeah, I think that's definitely right [I had no grounds  to  say
     this, since I have  -only-  the  Immortal  album  of  the  above
     listed, but I was  in  the  flow  of  conversation  --  and  the
     Immortal album blew me away -- so  I  just  said  what  I  said,
     that's all I can say... -- Paul]. I mean, certainly as  Immortal
     goes. I thought _At the Heart of Winter_ [CoC #39] was great and
     _Damned in Black_ [CoC #47] I didn't like so much but the  sound
     -- not mentioning the music -- on _Sons  of  Northern  Darkness_
     [CoC #58] is really incredible.

PT: Yeah, but also I'm a freak of trying to get  --  the  only  thing
    that's been a challenge for me  really,  I  mean  like  a  -true-
    challenge over the last couple of years or from the beginning  is
    not to use too much triggering.

CoC: Right.

PT: You know? To get the -acoustic- sound of the drums and  I  think,
    if you listen to the Immortal album  and  it's  all  acoustic:  I
    would like to hear another studio do that without any triggering,
    you know?

CoC: Absolutely.

PT: So that was also a challenge and it feels like, "Oh, I don't know
    if I can do better than that..."

CoC: Definitely.

PT: And then I just finished up the new Susperia album.

CoC: Ah!

PT: And that one sounds killer also because then  I  went  the  other
    way: I triggered the whole drumset but I still kept the  acoustic
    sound also and I mixed it  together  and  it's  like  a  kind  of
    futuristic sound in it, you know? And that also came  out  really
    different from what is "normal" from Abyss. So  that  was  really
    cool.

CoC: _Catch 22_ included, what is  your  favourite  Hypocrisy  album?
     Would you say at the moment this one, probably?

PT: Yeah.

CoC: After that, which album were you most happy with? Was there  any
     album you kind of -based- this one on, at all?

PT: Hmmm,  not  really.  Like  I  said,  this  one  became   more   a
    -statement-. Like, "-fuck you!-", you know? And  that's  I  think
    what the whole attitude is in the songs and the production  also.
    And it's very dry and very dirty but  still  very  powerful,  you
    know?

CoC: Absolutely, but it also gets very kind  of  melodic,  especially
     towards the end of the album with "Seeds of the Chosen One"  and
     "All Turns Black".

PT: Yeah.

CoC: I mean, it's very seeped in melody  and  a  lot  of  emotion,  I
     think.

PT: Yeah.

CoC: A different kind of emotion 'cause the  earlier  stuff  is  very
     angry.

PT: Yeah.

CoC: I mean, what were the kind of feelings  and  the  lyrical  ideas
     behind "Seeds of the  Chosen  One"  and  especially  "All  Turns
     Black"?

PT: Yeah. I mean, actually "Seeds of the Chosen One" is probably  the
    only science -- no, not science fiction, but  it's  about  making
    the perfect person, y'know?

CoC: Right. Cloning, right?

PT: Yeah, but that's already happened so it's -not- science  fiction,
    you know?

CoC: Sure.

PT: But I think it's not a good idea, and so basically everything  is
    what I feel, you know. "All Turns Black"  was  the  last  song  I
    wrote lyrics on and I was totally empty  and,  like  I  said  you
    know, my life hasn't been the best over the last year for one  or
    another reason and I just, you know, basically  wrote  that.  You
    know, when you have this kind of period when  nothing  goes  your
    way?

CoC: Absolutely, yeah. That feeling of emptiness.

PT: Yeah.

CoC: That sort of thing.  Would  you  mind  remarking  on  the  other
     Hypocrisy albums?

PT: OK.

CoC: Just say what first comes to your mind about what you  think  of
     them starting with: _Penetralia_?

PT: Ummm,  very  influenced  by  Morbid  [Angel],  Deicide  and  also
     Entombed.

CoC: How original would you say it was?

PT: Not at all.

CoC: How much do you enjoy it nowadays?

PT: I think it's still cool. The only thing I have a problem with,  I
    guess, is the production and how lousy  musicians  we  were.  You
    know, what the hell can you do?

CoC: I still really enjoy it. It's got a nice...

PT: It's got a charm, I guess.

CoC: Yeah, I know what you mean.

PT: But I still like the songs, you know, and every time we  play  it
    live it feels really very good.

CoC: _Osculum Obscenum_?

PT: Uh, "OK, let's do the fucking most brutal album ever."

CoC: <I laugh>

PT: That was the only thing we were thinking about.

CoC: <I continue to laugh>

PT: Definitely, you know.

CoC: The production went a bit funny on that one, right?

PT: Yeah, it's weird, but that was cool because it  became  a  little
    bit of an original kind of sound. I don't  know  if  there's  any
    other band who had that kind of guitar sound  or  drum  sound  or
    whatever, you know?

CoC: Definitely. It very much stood out at the time.

PT: Yeah.

CoC: The only thing that was a bit weird about it was there was  some
     weird error in one of the songs.

PT: Yeah, exactly! We did discover that when it was printed and I was
    like, "Uhh, well, what the hell was that?!".

CoC: <laughs> Yeah, exactly, it's like, "What the fuck?!".

PT: Yeah. We were listening to it when we got it and  we  were  like,
    "Why didn't anyone tell us that?"

CoC: Frustrating. Going on to _The Fourth Dimension_, which  is  kind
     of a big step...

PT: Yeah.  Ummmm,  we  start  discovering  keyboards  and  stuff  and
    melodies and all of a sudden  we  started  writing  these  -slow-
    songs and stuff. And uh, still from a musician point of  view  it
    was very bad.

CoC: Uh-huh.

PT: And  production-wise  it  was  terrible.  It  was   the   -worst-
    production -ever- in our history. And  that  was  the  only  time
    where we went to another studio -- and a big studio in  Stockholm
    called "Parks" studio. A lot of big bands recorded there and it's
    not a matter of the studio, it's a matter of who sits behind  it,
    you know?

CoC: Yeah, totally.

PT: And, I guess they convinced us, "This is cool?", you know, and we
    were like, "Oh yeah, cool, you know." And then it cost like --  I
    don't know, 20,000 dollars to make it, for two weeks or something
    like that.

CoC: Woah! That must have been a bit of an eye-opener.  I  mean,  did
     that kind of influence you to really beef up Abyss?

PT: Yeah, 'cause the two first albums I recorded in this  studio,  my
    friend's studio, and he wanted to sell it, after  we  did  _TFD_,
    for a very cheap price, you know? And I was  like,  "Yeah,  sure,
    I'll buy it." -No-one- believed me that  I  could  make  it,  you
    know. They were like, "You're crazy." And I got this kind of help
    from the government to start my own business and stuff like  that
    and everybody's like, "Fuck that! It's not going to happen!"  And
    I just started to work on it.

CoC: And I mean, with  _Abducted_  you  probably  got  quite  a  good
     result. How do you feel about _Abducted_ these days?

PT: It's a very good production if you listen to it. It really sticks
    out, you know?

CoC: Absolutely.

PT: I mean, if you compare the difference between _Fourth  Dimension_
    and that one, it's like night and day, you know?

CoC: Absolutely.

PT: And also that was an album that we recorded like  three  or  four
    times, and threw away songs all the time. I think we had like  --
    pssshh, I don't know, twenty-five songs for that album.

CoC: Wow!

PT: And in the beginning we had nine songs and we listened to it  and
    the production wasn't good and we were gonna re-record  it.  Then
    we started writing new songs and threw away four or five of them.
    And then we did the same thing  one  more  time  and  we  started
    throwing away new songs and writing new songs and, you  know,  at
    the end, it came out this way. And it took a long time to  record
    it, you know, but I think it was worth it.

CoC: Absolutely.

PT: And it was a learning process  for  me  as  a  studio  owner  and
    producer because that was really one of the  first  ones  that  I
    really worked very, very hard on. The other  albums  were  always
    like one-and-a-half or two weeks recording and mixing, you  know,
    and that's why: you had to live with the budget that you got, you
    know.

CoC: Yeah: that's the advantage of doing it in your own studio.

PT: Yeah, but then, you know, with Hypocrisy we got  a  big  advance,
    you know, so we could keep on going as long as we wanted  almost.
    The other guys, you know, could take off work and  we  still  can
    make money out of it, you know?

CoC: That's cool.

PT: To live on it while we recorded and did it in our time.

CoC: Absolutely. That's great.

PT: Yeah.

CoC: Then: _The Final Chapter_?

PT: Yeah, _The Final Chapter_ it was... uh, I think, then we  started
    to think about writing -- I  don't  know:  still  keep  the  fast
    stuff. Maybe it was a little  bit  afraid  of  moving  away  even
    further.

CoC: Right. Progressing too fast?

PT: Yeah. We wanted to do these two kind of different things like  do
    one of these slow, Pink Floyd songs -but- in  a  metal  way,  you
    know? But then also really try to save the -death  metal-  stuff,
    you know?

CoC: The aggression.

PT: Yeah, and with the production we wanted to go  the  opposite  way
    and make it dirtier than the previous album, not so produced.

CoC: Ah, I see what you mean. Yeah, it does  have  a  slightly  rawer
     edge.

PT: Yeah.

CoC: It's  emphasised  on  that  Razor  cover  that  you  did,  "Evil
     Invaders".

PT: Yeah.

CoC: Then: _Hypocrisy_ -- right after you'd dissolved  the  band  and
     reformed it.

PT: Yeah, and then we said, "Umm, maybe we should  do  a  little  bit
    more heavier songs", because we didn't feel that the  fast  songs
    were so good on the previous album. And we said, "You know, maybe
    we're better -heavy- songwriters."  You  know,  like  -gothic-...
    -death-, err, writers, you know? So we started doing that and  we
    only did like two fast songs because we... Actually, we did  like
    five or six fast songs, but they weren't so good  anymore.  Maybe
    we didn't have the fire in us to make good fast songs. You  know,
    we concentrate more  on  the  slow  songs  --  and  I  think  the
    slow songs are really, really cool  in  a  way,  because  they're
    depressive and stuff, you know?

CoC: Yeah, I think they really stick out as being  by  far  the  best
     material on that record.

PT: Yeah. But then, you know, people were expecting  us  to  keep  on
    developing the gothic side of us and then we said, "If we go even
    further with this gothic, then we're gonna change our style  into
    like -- I don't know: early Paradise Lost and stuff."

CoC: Rightrightright.

PT: And we were like, "Shit, man! We're a death metal band! What  the
    hell?"

CoC: <I laugh>

PT: So we reversed 180 and did the most brutal album we could  do  at
    the time. You know, since _Osculum Obscenum_? And that was  _Into
    the Abyss_.

CoC: Did that have any reference to The Abyss, the band that you used
     to do?

PT: Uh, no, not at all.

CoC: OK, just curious. So this new album is kind of a reconciling  of
     the two, in a way?

PT: Yeah.

CoC: I mean, there's a lot of thrash and death metal lying around but
     there's also, you know, the pianos that begin "Edge of Darkness"
     and things like that.

PT: Yeah.

CoC: It's all come together, I think.

PT: Yeah, I think so. It's just like a bunch of different song-styles
    from the past but also a lot of new stuff in there as well that I
    think is also very important, you  know,  for  us  as  developing
    songwriters.

CoC: Absolutely. When are you intending to tour the album? This album
     seems like something that's very good for live play.

PT: Yeah.

CoC: It sounds like the kind of stuff that you're really  gonna  come
     out well with.

PT: Exactly.

CoC: So are you doing full tours for this one?

PT: Yeah, we're doing like -- I don't know:  four  weeks  in  Europe,
    every fucking country, you know.

CoC: Cool.

PT: And we're also coming to England. But we were  also  supposed  to
    try to get to England a week before and try to do  like  five  or
    six gigs but I guess it didn't happen so...

CoC: Damn.

PT: Yeah. In certain territories we really want to work this album.

CoC: Absolutely.

PT: Because you -always- work it in Germany, you know?

CoC: Exactly, yeah.

PT: It's because we've been so lazy: we just went  on  these  Nuclear
    Blast festivals. You know: it's easy to set up,  it's  well  paid
    and we don't have to worry too much.

CoC: Right.

PT: But this time we definitely wanna go to the territories...

CoC: ... and do the clubs?

PT: Yeah, and really work the countries, you know?

CoC: Yeah, that'd be great.

PT: And I think it has very big potential in England, this album.

CoC: Absolutely, I think so.

PT: Much more than it ever had before, you know?

CoC: Yeah, I think so.

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

                H E A R T F E L T   I N T E N S I T Y
                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
               CoC chats with Max Cavalera of Soulfly
                         by: Adrian Bromley


     Soulfly singer Max Cavalera has a theory. By  the  time  a  band
hits their third album, they have hit a solid stride, a  feeling  has
come over their creative energy as a band and they hit  the  mark  on
the bullseye. Just look at the bands that have put out some of  their
best material with their third albums: Black Sabbath with _Masters of
Reality_ (1971), Metallica with _Master of Puppets_ (1986)  and  Iron
Maiden with _Number of the Beast (1982).
     Well, you can now  add  Soulfly  to  that  list  of  bands  with
the band's third  album  _3_.  Much  heavier  than  its  predecessors
_Primitive_ and the self-titled debut, _3_  sees  Soulfly's  momentum
rise to magnificent levels of heart-pounding aggression on new  songs
like "Enterfaith", "Call  to  Arms"  and  "L.O.T.M."  (think  heavier
Soulfly, Sepultura _Chaos A.D._-era and Nailbomb), but  at  the  same
time tone things down a bit and expand the  Soulfly  sound  into  new
directions (i.e. "One" and "Tree of Pain").
     Pumped and ready to go, Soulfly  has  already  taken  Europe  by
storm with the new album and tour, and  now  it  is  time  for  North
America to get a beating at the hands of Soulfly's electric and heavy
charge. Cavalera contacted Chronicles of Chaos while at a  tour  stop
in Worcester, Massachusetts on the much talked about summer tour with
Slayer and Sweden's In Flames.

CoC: How is the tour going? This is such a solid  bill  for  fans  to
     come out and experience a hearty metal show. What diversity. Are
     you having fun?

Max Cavalera: Man, the tour is going over real well. It is an awesome
              tour. It has been  killer  every  night  and  sold  out
              shows. I am excited to see the fans  turn  it  up  like
              this and really get into the show. It is  cool  to  see
              bands like Slayer, Soulfly  and  In  Flames  going  out
              there every night and packing the place  and  it  is  a
              good sign that heavy music  is  here  and  that  trendy
              music can push it away.

CoC: I bet every band on the bill is winning new fans with this tour?

MC: Exactly! Every night fans are being exposed to all this music. We
    bring our fans to the shows who may not have seen  Slayer  before
    and they get right into what we are  doing  and  what  Slayer  is
    doing and vice versa. Fans of Slayer come  to  the  show  to  see
    Slayer and get drawn into the intensity and tribal aspect of what
    Soulfly does. And the same goes for the In Flames' fans.  At  the
    end of the show it seems  like  everyone  is  going  away  having
    enjoyed a great show.

CoC: How is the new stuff on _3_ going over live?

MC: Killer! I was a little nervous, to tell you the truth, because we
    have a lot of classics that we play and we  don't  want  the  new
    songs to be better than them in a live environment, we want  them
    to work well off one another. We do a lot of the new  stuff  live
    because I want people coming to the show to  experience  the  new
    album's intensity, as well as some classic stuff. I want them  to
    feel the anger on the new disc. I like the fact that we can  play
    a lot of _3_ live because there are less guests on the album  and
    I think the fans appreciate that as well.

CoC: In terms of what you have  done  with  _3_,  where  do  you  see
     Soulfly now, musically and spiritually?

MC: I feel very happy with this record. I am very happy with what  we
    are doing with the band. I think we are starting to  get  a  good
    balance of what we want to do with Soulfly. The album  goes  from
    heavy to tribal onto melodic ideas. I like all of those  elements
    of what we do. I'm a fan of all types of  music  and  I  like  to
    experience them all and just get so much out of what they have to
    offer. I think the great thing about this band is that we can  go
    from one extreme to  another,  north  to  south,  very  naturally
    without it seeming like it is forced. I don't want to  force  the
    music on people. The heart of the music is the main thing for me.
    It just has to feel right coming  out  of  me,  no  matter  which
    direction it goes.

CoC: Do you look back at the earlier stuff of  Soulfly  and  kind  of
     feel awkward about the ideas you brought into the band,  or  are
     you pretty confident with the way the band has evolved?

MC: Of course there are things that we have done that could have been
    done much differently, but I try not to look back as much because
    then you really start to dissect the music. People that  do  that
    become predictable. I don't want to be predictable. I think about
    what I have done, but I don't go back and  analyze  everything  I
    have done up to this point. I don't know where we are going  with
    this band, but we are trying new things. A  song  like  "Tree  of
    Pain" [a moving,  atmospheric  song  featuring  singer  Asha  and
    Cavalera's stepson Ritchie -- Adrian] is a good example of  that.
    We just need to carry on and not hold onto old ideas. I  need  to
    try something new each time out.

CoC: While the album is much heavier than past Soulfly albums,  there
     is a definite vibe of diversity flowing throughout. How  do  you
     think the Soulfly fans will react to _3_?

MC: I really don't know how people will react. I think  most  Soulfly
    fans expect different shit from me every time, so they  won't  be
    surprised. But at the same time, I like to try and expose them to
    new things and that is why there is material like "One" and "Tree
    of Pain". Those ideas are new and they haven't heard them on  any
    Soulfly album before. For myself, I think it will be exciting  to
    see how they will react to it and what songs they get into.  What
    I also like about this record is the typical Max  songs  where  I
    dig deep into my cassettes of  four  track  recordings  and  find
    riffs that drive people and myself. I really tried hard  to  find
    some classic guitar riffs  to  turn  some  of  these  songs  into
    powerhouse numbers.

CoC: What about all of the people  out  there  who  have  lashed  out
     against Soulfly in the past, calling the band a nu-metal  and  a
     "jump-up-and-down" kind of band? How do  you  feel  about  that,
     with people saying Max should get back to playing metal and  not
     this Soulfly stuff?

MC: I have to deal with it. It is something that is gonna happen  and
    it does. I was thinking about this the other day  while  watching
    an NHL hockey game. There was some player from another  team  who
    people hated and were booing because he was on the other team and
    was scoring goals. I kind of feel like that sometimes. The  anger
    and aggression towards me is like fuel and just  pushes  me  even
    harder to keep carrying on with my music  as  it  does  with  the
    hockey player on the ice trying to score goals for  his  team.  I
    don't want to be the loved guy. I want to  be  the  guy  who  not
    everyone likes and when I get pissed off about the way things are
    going, I go back in the studio and write a song like "Eye for  an
    Eye". I write music because I love music  and  I  want  to  share
    metal music with people. If there are some people out  there  who
    don't like what I do, I can't do anything about it. Not  everyone
    can like Soulfly. From day one it has been like that.  I  had  to
    put up with people who didn't like Sepultura too. <laughs>

CoC: Let's talk about Sepultura for a bit.  Do  you  think  you'd  be
     where you are today with Soulfly  if  it  hadn't  been  for  the
     success of Sepultura?

MC: I never planned to leave Sepultura [he left in 1997 -- Adrian]. I
    planned to stay in the band for a long time, but I didn't plan  a
    lot of things in life. These things just happen, kind of like the
    way we came out of Belo Horizonte [their hometown  in  Brazil  --
    Adrian] and became successful. It was amazing. It was  a  lot  of
    work and a lot  of  fun.  I  was  pleased  with  the  success  of
    the band, but I  think  Sepultura  and  Nailbomb  [the  band  Max
    collaborated on with ex-Fudge Tunnel member Alex Newport for  the
    1994 release _Point Blank_ -- Adrian] really helped  me  find  my
    place in music and where I am today. It was like a  school  where
    you learn from your mistakes and how and why things happen and  I
    really enjoy what I am doing with Soulfly right now.

CoC: It must feel good to see  where  you  are  today  after  leaving
     Sepultura five years ago. There must be some kind of vindication
     in what you are doing now?...

MC: I don't know how to respond to that. One thing I never considered
    was to stop playing music [with the  split  from  Sepultura]  and
    with that on my mind I carried on. I  wanted  and  needed  to  do
    this. It is still on my mind, the stress  about  trying  to  stay
    focused on what I am doing, but it is cool to see how people  are
    actually started to get into and understand what Soulfly  is  all
    about.

CoC: Is Sepultura still on your mind or do you not care?

MC: I still care about Sepultura in my heart. I am proud of  what  we
    did with the band. It is kind of like Ozzy is  still  a  part  of
    Black Sabbath, even though there were other singers in the  band.
    Ozzy is still into what he did with  Black  Sabbath  and  I  will
    always be into what Sepultura did, but at the same time  I  think
    it is important not to live from the past. It is  more  important
    to live for the future.

CoC: When you play back your Soulfly albums, do  you  ever  hear  any
     Sepultura riffs or patterns  in  the  music,  or  do  you  think
     Soulfly has distanced itself from Sepultura musically?

MC: I hear it all the time. Both of those bands are connected in some
    way or another. All of the Soulfly  records  you  can  hear  that
    Sepultura sound at one time or another, but like I  said  before,
    there are also ideas and sounds on Soulfly albums that we'd never
    done with Sepultura and I'm proud of that. It is exciting to  try
    new things and expand the sound of a band.

CoC: Right now, with the tour and the  response  to  the  new  album,
     things seem to be clicking for Soulfly. Am I right?

MC: It is starting to pick up in North America. It is really sick  in
    Europe. Things are crazy over there. We  are  on  the  charts  in
    France, Germany and Italy. I have never been on the  charts  that
    long with Sepultura ever, so I guess  it  says  that  Soulfly  is
    bigger than Sepultura ever was there. I am a very patient man and
    I think this music that we play takes  time  for  people  to  get
    exposed to it. We don't have a lot of support as other big  bands
    do and a lot of the success for the band has come  from  word  of
    mouth by the fans. Eventually I think we will find our  place  in
    the sun. We planted our seeds long ago and now we are seeing  the
    fruits from all the work we have done with _3_.

CoC: Having been in the music industry for so long now, what are  the
     things that you despise about it currently?

MC: I am sick of the same old shit. The same type of bands  that  get
    played because there is so much money behind it. I can't  believe
    some of the shitty bands that people are  so  into.  But  it  has
    always been like that. I remember years ago  when  Sepultura  was
    starting to get big and there were bands like Ugly Kid  Joe  that
    sucked but were huge. Where are they now? Those  bands  are  big,
    but they never last. I'm more into having a lot of integrity  and
    having your heart in what you do than be a huge success and  sell
    tons of records.

CoC: So what do you think has been the success of Soulfly?

MC: I think the success of Soulfly has been that I have done  what  I
    wanted to do. I could have easily stuck to one style of music and
    created some great music but not really have gone  as  far  as  I
    have with Soulfly. I didn't do what people told me to do,  I  did
    the exact opposite. When bands listen to what people tell them to
    do, that just ruins a band. They become something else,  far  way
    from what they had originally started out as. You got to stick to
    your guns. As long as I know what I am  playing  is  coming  from
    here <Max taps his heart> then I can be proud of anything Soulfly
    does. I'm  glad  that  I  have  never  been  afraid  to  go  into
    unexplored territories and see what happens.

CoC: So what is left for Max Cavalera? What are your goals?

MC: I don't have many big goals, really. I am very patient and I just
    want this to last as long as I can. I see musicians  like  Carlos
    Santana and B.B. King who are old but still doing this and loving
    it. I want to be like that. I don't care about  having  one  huge
    record and riding in limos and having all this money. I just want
    to enjoy my music and play it as long as I can. My goal is to  be
    old and playing music. I want to be in my  wheelchair  and  still
    jamming to my guitar.

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

                   D A R K   R E F L E C T I O N S
                   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
             CoC chats with Blackie Lawless of W.A.S.P.
                         by: Adrian Bromley


     There has been a lot of change  in  the  world  since  September
11th, 2001. Think of how things are now. Everything is different.  We
as people have changed, the way we live our  lives  has  changed  and
even our perceptions of people (good and bad) have changed.  It  will
be a long time before things get back to the way  they  used  to  be.
Hell, they may never be the same.
     W.A.S.P.   bassist/singer/frontman/lyricist   Blackie    Lawless
himself too has experienced the pain and  suffering  that  has  risen
from such a tragic event and instead of signing up to go overseas  to
carry a gun and fight a new war, he put the pen to the paper and  has
assembled one of  the  most  intense  and  brutally  honest  W.A.S.P.
records to date: _Dying for the World_.
     "This truly is a great record. It is very powerful and it says a
lot about what we are doing as W.A.S.P. right now", begins the always
straight-to-the-point frontman. "When we finished recording the album
and we were in  the  studio  playing  back  the  final  mix,  Frankie
[Banali, drums] looked stunned. He was stunned for about  30  seconds
and said, "This is the beginning of the third chapter for  W.A.S.P.",
and it took me a while to see what he meant. I eventually understood.
We had the "I Wanna Be Somebody" phase when we started off  and  then
we moved into new ground and material with  _The  Headless  Children_
(1989) and _The Crimson Idol_ (1992), and now we have this record.  I
think it says a lot about what we can do with the band's music."
     I agree. I think doing a really  heavy,  emotional  record  like
this shows people that W.A.S.P. isn't just some run-of-the-mill band.
There is definite room to try new things -- as the band has  done  in
the past -- and keep expanding the sounds and visions, while  at  the
same time keeping the core of the band alive and kicking.
     This record holds a lot of emotions within; how hard was  it  to
assemble this album? "I poured a lot of myself into  this  record.  I
went down to ground zero of the World Trade Center a month after  the
attacks and I just stood there in shock.  The  song  "Hollow  Ground"
came to me right away. The smell was awful and it was just a mess.  A
huge pile of wires, rubble and metal. I didn't know how to feel after
being there, but I knew I had to write about the experience. About  a
month later, after the shock had  worn  off,  my  sadness  turned  to
anger. I thought very long and hard and I came to the conclusion that
I didn't want to make a record that was reactive. With one song  like
"Hollow Ground" it is okay to pay homage to it, but I didn't want  to
react and write a whole album about what happened. That is an emotion
that can get you into trouble big time. I tried to think of  this  as
clearly as I could. If I was in a  position  of  power,  say  in  the
Pentagon, you are not going to try and think with your heart, you are
gonna think with your head. I know why this happened. What is done is
already done and I can't fix that. Where are we going? What  does  it
mean? Where is this all taking us? And then I started  thinking  that
we are dealing with is a culture that is  seven  or  eight  centuries
behind us and thinks that anything Western is evil. Let me  tell  you
something, man. If anybody has the balls to do what  they  did,  them
motherfuckers are dangerous. They came into your front yard  and  did
this. They are capable of anything."
     There seems to be a lot of people dedicating their work and time
to remembering those who lost their lives and the tragic  events.  It
is good to see, kind of like a healing process don't  you  think?  "I
think it is up to the individual how they want to go  about  handling
it. I wrote one song about what happened and it meant a lot for me to
write it", he says. "My focus now is, "What do we do about  it  now?"
There is a song on the new  album  called  "Revengeance"  and  it  is
giving into that emotion somewhat, but I am trying to look at this as
level-headed as possible. Where is this  going?  This  is  not  going
where we want it to go and we are going to eventually  have  to  deal
with it. This is a big problem for the Western world,  not  just  the
US, countries like Canada and countries in Europe are  affected  too.
Basically if you don't agree with their edict, you are on  the  wrong
side."
     "This record to me is more about what is getting ready to happen
in the future, in the sense that I want people to get their heads out
of the sand and to think just what may happen", Lawless explains.  "I
understand people want to get on with their lives, but this is  going
to be around for a while and is part of the new generation.  We  need
to tackle these problems head on."
     And what better way to get  one's  thoughts  across  than  with.
music It has been that way for generations and continues on... 
     Responds Lawless, "Rock 'n' roll doesn't really change  anything
except for the individuals listening to it, and then the  individuals
go out and make a change. Music is a powerful tool and it has  scared
governments all over the world. When music is doing that, then it  is
doing what it is supposed to do."
     As I mentioned before, _Dying for the  World_  is  one  W.A.S.P.
record that offers me everything I ever wanted in  a  record  by  the
band and more. It has grittiness, a drive to it, power and a message.
The message within this album is not something Lawless intends to ram
down people's throats, moreso messages that get you thinking.
     "No  one  out  there  is  thinking  nowadays.  It  is  a  scarce
commodity", points out Lawless. "Everything out there  in  the  music
scene nowadays is fueled by Nintendo and there is very little effort.
People are given people pre-packaged ideas to consume. People need to
think and get out being told to be a certain way and just grasp  what
is going on. I hope people get something out of  this  record.  I  am
sure they will."
     Fans of the band will note  that  with  _Dying  for  the  World_
longtime guitarist Chris Holmes is out of the  band  --  replaced  by
Darrell Roberts (bassist Mike Duda rounds out the  band).  About  the
new axe-slinger, Lawless says: "It must have been tough  for  Darrell
who had toured and played guitar with us, but had never worked in the
studio. He was given the inevitable task of joining a band  that  has
been around for almost twenty years. It is kind  of  walking  into  a
movie that is halfway done", chuckles Lawless. "He  was  expected  to
fit in immediately and it was tough,  I'm  sure.  That  is  a  gig  I
wouldn't want."
     "As time went on in the studio, after the initial uncertainty of
joining the band in the studio environment, he started  to  get  good
feel of what was going on and what was going  to  come  out  of  this
experience. In all honesty, after the whole record  was  done  and  I
played it back, I told him I thought the best thing  on  this  record
was the guitar playing. I may feel differently a year from  now,  but
right now when I hear his guitar work  I  think  it  is  pretty  damn
good."
     One thing I have noticed about Blackie Lawless having talked  to
him numerous times over the years is that he doesn't bullshit you. He
always tells it like it is. He knows he  has  made  mistakes  and  he
knows that not all that W.A.S.P. has done has been  stellar,  but  he
also knows that the music he creates comes from the heart and what he
is feeling at that particular time in his career. I have  been  50/50
with the past few albums by the band, but something must have clicked
this time around. No doubt certain events easily pushed Lawless  into
a serious mode of thinking/creativity.
     "I can't tell you if we did anything good. The only thing I  can
do is trust my initial instinct of what I got when I first wrote  the
material and that will see usually me through", he ends off. "I got a
good sense of trust with what I was doing with the material  here  on
_Dying for the World_ and went with it. It seems to have paid off."

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

                      S T I L L   P U R R I N G
                      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
         CoC chats with Morgan and Mercedes Lander of Kittie
                         by: Adrian Bromley


     While London, Ontario all-girl aggressive metal trio Kittie  may
not be the favourite band for most of the Chronicles of Chaos  staff,
I myself don't mind them and think that they deserve a story in  CoC.
To each their own, I suppose.
     The band -- singer/guitarist Morgan Lander, drummer  and  sister
Mercedes and new bassist Jennifer J. Arruyo -- couldn't be happier in
2002. They just returned from a successful tour in Europe, they  have
already done numerous US tours, and their sophomore effort --  2001's
_Oracle_ -- showcases a stronger follow-up to the  wildly  successful
_Spit_ album a few years back. The new disc finds the band  adding  a
bit more aggression to the fold, while  at  the  same  time  adhering
to  the  melodic,  aggressive  swaying  of  their  sound.  Much  more
strengthened and equally as brutal sonically as before, these  "metal
kittens" are rabidly fierce from the get go, especially on songs like
"Mouthful of Poison", "Severed" and  the  ultra-cool  cover  of  Pink
Floyd's dark number "Run Like Hell".
     "I think this record was just something that  had  to  be  done,
right then and now, and I think it came out great",  starts  Mercedes
about _Oracle_. "It had been a few years since our debut album and we
were just starved for writing music. We toured quite a bit  and  when
we needed to make this album it all came together quite  quickly  and
in a short period of time."
     "Like any album you make, you can only do your best and  we  did
that with the new album", chimes in Morgan.  "If  people  don't  like
this new album and prefer the old stuff,  whatever.  We  were  pretty
confident with what we were writing for the  new  album  and  excited
that it was a lot different than the last album."
     And what about the line-up changes that have occurred  with  the
band over the last little  while,  how  did  that  affect  the  music
creation process? "This record is a lot  more  progressive  than  the
last one", says Morgan. Mercedes juts  in:  "As  for  the  bandmember
changes? The members in the band that sucked are  no  longer  in  the
band." Both siblings laugh.
     Continues Morgan, "I think things happen for a reason and  maybe
it was fate's way of helping  us  out  by  telling  us  to  go  in  a
direction that we wanted to go to. Not to say we couldn't go  in  the
direction we wanted; maybe at that point in time we didn't  have  the
right talent, and now we do."
     "Our new bassist Jen is a great bass player and a great addition
to the band. It was all about  hooking  up  with  the  right  person,
someone who is mature and has the  right  vision.  She  has  been  in
numerous bands and toured the US several  times  and  just  has  that
experience and knows what being in a band is  all  about.  She  knows
that we might not always be on a bus or get good food on the road  or
get the red carpet treatment wherever we  go.  I  think  when  we  do
decide to work  on  the  next  album  and  start  writing,  she  will
contribute a lot of strong  ideas  to  the  music.  She  has  already
adjusted the bass lines on  songs  to  make  them  heavier  and  much
tighter and  not  simple  like  they  were  originally  recorded  for
_Oracle_."
     I remember seeing Kittie at Milwaukee MetalFest a few years  ago
and your bass player at the time was walking  around  with  a  blowup
doll. "I'm sorry to hear that", says Mercedes. "That was just wrong",
she laughs.
     Things have definitely changed since then. The  band  has  grown
musically and I think the new album crushes the debut. Do you sense a
drastic amount of change in the music of Kittie?
     Morgan starts, "I think a lot of people are surprised by what we
did with this album. It came out the way we wanted it to  be  and  we
are just so much more into evolving the  sound  come  next  album.  I
think people will be happy to know that we plan to become more brutal
next time around."
     The one thing a lot of fans like about Kittie is the meshing  of
melody and aggression. Do the Lander sisters  think  one  day  Kittie
will be full on death metal growls or do they  like  the  mixture  of
vocal stylings?
     "I think the mixture of styles is what makes  us  who  we  are",
says Morgan. "There is a dynamic and aspect of the way we write  that
allows us to be melodic and at the same time be heavy and  scream.  I
think as things go along for us it will get heavier as times goes on,
as well as the melodic parts will be worked on to bring some  variety
to what we do. These ideas and changes  brought  into  the  music  of
Kittie is all about the evolution of what we want to do as a band."
     Are the members of Kittie still  running  into  music  fans  who
don't like them and/or still don't get what they are doing musically?
     Mercedes states, "Yeah, there are still people out there who are
not into us and lash out for the sake of lashing out. I think if  all
those people who wrote off the first record heard this one they might
be into what we are doing now. I also think if you were to  throw  on
our record an not tell a non-Kittie fan who it  was  and  played  it,
they'd be like. "Who the fuck is this? This is good!""
     "When we first came out we were a lot different and a  lot  less
experienced than we are now", adds Morgan. "I think it is  quite  sad
that people out there still won't give our new  album  a  chance  and
because they wrote us off the first time we don't mean  anything  and
they avoid our album. It was the best we could do at ages of  12  and
14 and with the material we had.  It  is  a  shame  as  I  think  the
material on this album is quite good and technical."
     "I know a lot of people talk shit about us, but I'd like to  see
other 12 to 14 year old kids write good music like we had on _Spit_",
ends off Mercedes. "I don't think they could. We worked hard to  make
it happen for Kittie. We've got a good thing going and  it  has  only
gotten better. The future looks good for us  three  girls.  Bring  it
on!"

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

          G R O W T H   T H R O U G H   E X P E R I E N C E
          ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
            CoC talks to Nils Eriksson of Nocturnal Rites
                         by: Adrian Bromley


     There are very few  bands  out  there  nowadays  that  have  the
momentum to produce consecutive solid  albums.  Swedish  power  metal
sextet Nocturnal Rites have been  pretty  lucky  over  the  last  few
years, issuing forth three powerful records, one after  another.  The
momentum  began  with  1999's  breathtaking  _The  Sacred  Talisman_,
carried through with 2000's strong _Afterlife_ and now finds the band
in 2002 with the triumphant _Shadowland_. What is the secret? Bassist
Nils Eriksson talks to Chronicles  of  Chaos  about  the  music,  the
creativity and the emotions that  run  wild  and  free  in  Nocturnal
Rites. Their heavy metal passion runs deep!
     "The great thing about us is that we are always growing with our
sound", starts the bassist. "If you play back the  last  few  albums,
which I love all the same, you can really hear the difference in  our
music. A gradual  evolution  of  the  sound  of  Nocturnal  Rites.  I
think we [the band  is  rounded  out  by  vocalist  Jonny  Lindkvist,
guitarists Nils Norberg and Fredrik Mannberg,  drummer  Owe  Lingvall
and keyboardist Mattias Bernhardsson -- Adrian] always make an effort
to, not really go out and do it, but  maybe  subconsciously,  try  to
make each album stand out on its own  and  offer  something  new  but
still sound like us."
     You don't want to change too much, eh?  "Yeah",  says  Eriksson.
"We have a really good style and there is only  so  much  we  do  and
evolve before it gets away from you and  won't  fit  into  the  music
people like us to play."
     And do you enjoy the recording process or is it  something  very
intimidating each time out? "Recording an album is something I  don't
find to be too fun", notes Eriksson. "Sometimes it is  okay,  but  it
can be very stressful. I mean, we love to work on the album, but  the
finished product is what we look forward to, and being able  to  take
that new material out on the road with us."
     "The thing about every new album is that you basically  have  to
start from scratch. I mean, you have a general idea of  where  things
are with the band and sound, but you need to expand on that and  that
is the difficult task sometimes. We never really look back at what we
have done once we start writing and working on a new album.  We  need
to just put our heads down and write what is coming  from  our  heart
and hopefully we can capture those emotions on disc."
     He adds, "I think a lot of bands out there  look  back  at  what
they did with their last recording and try to recreate  the  emotions
and ideas. We don't care how it turns out; as  long  as  it  has  the
Nocturnal Rites' sound to it, we are happy."
     Are there certain things you try to avoid in the studio?  "There
are lots of bands who try to do all of  these  fancy  things  in  the
studios and try new techniques and new ideas and we aren't like  that
at all. We just sit down, write music and  record  it.  It  would  be
difficult for us to actually try to come up with all of  these  other
ideas and try to make it work together when we already have a  simple
technique of assembling songs."
     For the first time in their career, Nocturnal  Rites  worked  on
_Shadowland_ with producer Daniel  Bergstrand  (Meshuggah,  Strapping
Young Lad, Stuck Mojo) at Dug-Out Studios. He is  a  great  producer.
That must have been an experience? "Yeah, he was a lot of fun to work
with", states the bassist. "He really helped add a nice sound to  our
music. We've done all of our previous albums in our  hometown  (Umea,
Sweden) and we just needed a change and needed to  get  out  of  this
crappy city to record _Shadowland_ in Uppsala, Sweden with Daniel. We
tried everything we could here at home and just needed some new ideas
to bring to the band."
     "He was really excited about working with us, just  as  we  were
about working with him. He came up to talk  with  us  about  the  new
album and right away we knew he was the right guy to  work  with.  He
had a lot of great ideas to help  further  the  sound  and  power  of
Nocturnal Rites' music."
     "Recording this album -- other than the new city and producer --
was pretty much the same as it has always  been  for  us.  We  really
didn't have much time to any thing else in the new surroundings other
than concentrate 100% on finishing  up  the  album  in  the  allotted
time."
     What reaction did Eriksson have to _Shadowland_ when  he  played
it back the first time? "I felt really good about the  album  when  I
heard it. For the first time with any of our recordings I  could  sit
back and listen to an album all the way through and  be  really  into
it. I think that we did a really good job of creating an  album  that
offers up a lot of variety. Not one song on  the  album  sounds  like
another and by having the album assembled like that we  are  able  to
bring about a lot of different moods and emotions within our music. I
think people expect most albums  to  have  variety,  but  that  isn't
always the case with new releases. I am proud to say that every  song
on _Shadowland_ sounds new and fresh and I love it."
     And how does he want the Nocturnal Rites' fans to react  to  the
new disc? He finishes, "I just want them to be really  excited  about
the new album and be really into like we all are. I think the  music,
the power and the production of the album will blow  people  away.  I
think it is easily our strongest and most  complete  Nocturnal  Rites
album to date. Enjoy!"

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

                FROM KNOB TWIRLING TO GUITAR PLAYING
                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
           CoC interviews Fredrik Nordstrom of Dream Evil
                         by: Adrian Bromley


     Change is good.
     If you don't believe me, just ask Fredrik Nordstrom (producer of
some of most groundbreaking releases from heavies like Dimmu  Borgir,
In Flames, and At the Gates), and he'll tell you that  breaking  away
from what you do normally from time to time, taking that step towards
change, makes life that much more enjoyable.
     "It wasn't that hard for me to go from working  with  bands  and
running my  own  studio  [Studio  Fredman]  to  doing  this",  starts
Nordstrom about his leap from behind the production board  to  guitar
player in heavy metal group Dream Evil, who have just released  their
Century Media debut _Dragon Slayer_. "Years ago,  before  the  studio
was going, I was teaching music to kids. I basically quit that job to
work full-time at running the studio. Eventually as the years went on
and I worked with bands like Ceremonial Oath, In Flames  and  At  the
Gates to name a few, I kind of forgot about the music I  was  playing
and wanted to explore. <laughs> When I opened my studio I  wanted  to
make my own album eventually, and that never happened. I had a band a
few years ago that used to play around and do covers, and then a  few
years back I guess the idea of Dream Evil  came  about  and  it  just
ignited my interest once again to play music and make  some  original
music."
     "From that excitement of starting a band things  just  grew  for
Dream Evil. Next thing I knew, I was writing songs and the  people  I
had played the music to were excited that it was "heavy metal". I was
excited too."
     And then came the formation of the band...
     "I met Gus G. (guitarist) while in Greece and he told me he  was
planning to come and visit Sweden; so when he did, we hooked  up  and
started writing songs. I had only planned for this  to  be  a  studio
project, but I needed a singer, so I called Niklas [Istfeldt; backing
vocalist for HammerFall] and he came down to  sing  for  us.  He  was
telling me how great the songs were and that  we  needed  to  form  a
band, so he called Peter [bassist; Stalfors] and he came  down.  Then
we needed a drummer and eventually recruited Snowy  Shaw.  It  was  a
strange way for a band to come together, but it worked out."
     He adds, "This was the right time for me to do this band because
I found the right people. I don't  expect  this  band  to  be  hugely
successful as, say, Blind Guardian or In Flames. I  mean,  In  Flames
tours for like six months a year and I am not sure I am  prepared  to
sacrifice my family and studio work for that."
     When Nordstrom and Dream Evil started demoing the  material  and
sending it to labels, did Nordstrom find people to be very  receptive
to his new band or were they very pessimistic about  the  idea  of  a
band working out for Nordstrom?
     He laughs. "I didn't care what people were  thinking  about  the
music, really. I know I was proud of it, so that  was  all  that  was
important to me", he says. "I played a lot of the music to  musicians
who were recording in my studio; a  lot  of  them  really  liked  it.
Response from the bands was always good, so I pursued it. I had  even
thought about approaching Alexi Laiho [Children of Bodom, Sinergy] to
play guitar for us."
     Oh man, I am glad you didn't. I hate his bands and  I  think  he
isn't all that good of a guitar player. Just flashy.
     "Really? I think he is a great person and a great guitar player.
I understand that  you  are  not  a  fan,  but  it  would  have  been
interesting had he played with us, don't you think?"
     I guess so...
     About the making of the record, he comments, "I just  wanted  to
make a record that was very simple. I wanted to make  a  record  that
fans of heavy metal music would like and want to hear. I have seen  a
lot of bands that get so involved with their recording in the  studio
that they just seem to lose grip of what is going  on.  I  know  what
fans want to hear and I went out of my way  to  make  a  record  that
delivered the goods to them. I've always written  heavy  metal  music
and I was glad that I could do that with Dream  Evil.  It  just  felt
right."
     Heavy metal music seems to be timeless, really, don't you think?
I mean, even now I can put on  an  Iron  Maiden  album  (i.e.  1983's
_Piece of Mind_) and still feel like I had just put  it  on  for  the
first time.
     "I still remember being a teenager and buying all those records.
I love that era of metal. I just want to  play  that  stuff.  I  love
writing and working with this type of music or  music  that  is  very
melancholic. We're all fans of the heavy metal era, so  it  shouldn't
be a surprise that when we got together this is the music  that  came
out of it. It wasn't a decision to make this type of music,  it  just
happened that way. HammerFall really opened the door for this kind of
music. Four or five years ago the heavy metal scene was dead and  now
it is very vibrant."
     _Dragon Slayer_ is getting a lot of rave reviews. Not bad for  a
debut disc. Does that surprise you, how people are reacting  to  your
music?
     "Yeah, we have gotten so many great reviews for this album and I
couldn't be happier. I would say mostly everyone is into what we  are
doing, though there was one funny review that  said,  "Fredrik,  stay
behind the console." <laughs> It made me laugh and  it  doesn't  hurt
me. People have a right to react how they want to  my  music  and  it
just makes me happy to see people feel the same way about Dream  Evil
as I do."
     With the next record, is the band more confident with what  they
can do now, seeing as though the first album is behind them?
     "I'm actually a bit nervous", he reveals. "I mean, I know how we
sound now, but I am not sure where we are going to take it.  I  think
it will be similar, but I think the music will build from  the  ideas
that we did this last time. I also want the studio experience  to  be
pretty much the same, not too technical. I see bands  coming  in  all
the time and sweating and fighting over music because they can't  get
the right parts down, etc. Gus is a very technical player and when he
comes in with ideas that I think are too difficult  to  work  with  I
have him make them a little simpler."
     In other news, Nordstrom's wife recently gave birth  to  a  baby
boy (this interview was rescheduled twice because of the  birth)  and
while he couldn't be happier welcoming a new addition to the  family,
he admits that there is some struggling going on to  keep  a  balance
with his family life and his role as a producer and musician.
     "It is quite hard to juggle the family life with  my  job  as  a
producer and musician, but it is working out", he ends off.  "I'm  my
own boss and I can pretty much set my own times. It works out in  the
end and I can pretty much handle both at the same time without  major
complications. Both music and my family are very important to me  and
I will do my best to make sure both get all the attention they need."

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

        F I G H T I N G   F O R   T H E   M E T A L   F A N S
        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                         CoC interviews Doro
                         by: Adrian Bromley


     It is 2002 and German metal singer Doro  Pesch  still  has  some
fight left in her after all these years in the  music  business.  All
hail Doro!
     "When I started to write this record I just got a lot out of  my
system. I had a lot to say about a lot of topics and  the  music  was
just taking on this real heavy vibe to it and I liked it", says  Doro
in a thick German accent down the line from  New  York  during  press
days for her new album _Fight_ (SPV). "I knew  that  this  album  was
shaping up to something good and I was glad that we were gonna record
it live and not be too technical in what we  were  doing,  which  was
something that I didn't like with the last album [2000's _Calling the
Wild_]. This was back to the basics. This was the album I  wanted  to
make."
     But is she a fan of the studio experience?
     "I don't mind spending the time doing the album in a studio  and
making it all come together for the final product,  but  playing  out
live and meeting up with the fans is something very  special  to  me.
What I do like about being  in  the  studio  is  when  it  all  comes
together nicely -- that was something I sensed with _Fight_."
     After all these years, she seems to be still excited about doing
all of this, case in point the footage of Doro playing with Motorhead
during  the  song  "Born  to  Raise  Hell"  (with  ex-UKJ/LOA  singer
Whitfield Crane as well) on the new Motorhead DVD  _Boneshaker_.  You
still can rock out, sister!
     She laughs. "Yeah, that was a lot of fun, but I was so  nervous.
I just went to the show to see Motorhead play. I was asked  by  Lemmy
to sing with them and I didn't know if I  could  do  it.  It  was  an
honour to sing with them, though. I had fun."
     After so many years of being  in  the  music  business  --  with
Warlock and her solo career -- does Doro find things  getting  easier
for her?
     "I don't know why, but I still feel the same as  I  did  when  I
first started playing in a band and singing. There is much that I get
out of playing and creating music. I mean, it has always been hard to
get things going and to make music and be a part of the business, but
when things start to get harder for me I get more  focused  and  more
energetic and into what I am doing."
     She adds, "If I knew I wasn't into it or the fans  weren't  into
it, I wouldn't do this; but I know the fans are still there and I  am
still here doing this. If fans come away from each album with a  song
or a few songs they like, then I am happy about all of that.  I  just
want my fans to get something out of my music."
     The thing that sets Doro's _Fight_ album  apart  from  her  past
release is the rawness and heavy set  tone  and  deliverance  of  the
lyrics and vocals, not to mention the heavy guitar work, making  this
album stand out as one of her heaviest  ones  in  memory.  The  title
track is awesome, as is the duet with Type O Negative's Peter  Steele
("Descent") and the songs "Legends  Never  Die"  and  her  favourite,
"Fight by Your Side". Does the singer ever look back  at  her  career
and try to analyze what she has done, or does she always look to  the
future with her music?
     "That is a good question. I mean, I can't  ignore  what  I  have
done and I am proud of a lot of the records I  have  made,  but  each
record is a new experience and made up of a  lot  of  situations  and
events that have happened to me around the time of the  recording.  I
never really compare stuff and I always try to make the  best  record
that I can at that time in my life, and I know my fans know that."
     But after years of performing, are there still people out  there
not willing to give Doro a chance because she is female?
     "Yeah, I still get that, but you know what? I have fans who like
me and my music and that is fine for me. People  can  say  what  they
want, but as long as my fans keep buying my music and supporting  me,
then I'll be here. There is so much going on in this  music  industry
and everyone struggles, but all you can do is keep making your  music
and rocking out. I never really cared for how  people  in  the  music
business perceived me. I just want people to get something out of  my
music."
     "I have learned so much about how this business  works  since  I
started in it", she continues on. "I mean, you learn a lot from  just
having to work alongside a label and release  records,  etc.  It  was
totally new to me and I just jumped right into it. I am very into the
music business and my career and I keep in touch with what  is  going
on. I don't have a family or kids, so this is all that I have -- this
is my family. I am so into it and I think it still  shows  after  all
these years. You can tell when singers or bands are getting tired  of
it, because they seem to make the same albums. I never want to get to
that point in my career, so that is why I am always trying  to  bring
fresh ideas to the Doro sound but still sound like Doro. It is always
something very emotional for me when making a record."
     And the emotions she gets from _Fight_?
     Doro concludes, "I just get this real feeling of being  able  to
let loose and make a record that is heavy, emotional and really  true
to my heart. I think I really was able to channel a lot  of  my  deep
down emotions into this album and have it work out  superbly  in  the
end. I couldn't have asked for a better record in 2002."

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

       I N T E L L I G E N C E   M E E T S   S A C R I F I C E
       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
          CoC interviews Alec Empire of Atari Teenage Riot
                          by: Xander Hoose


     I got acquainted with Atari Teenage Riot somewhere in 1998.  How
exactly it happened I forgot, but it must have  been  the  ATR/Slayer
collab on the Spawn soundtrack that caught my initial  attention  and
forced me to purchase the two ATR albums that were out at that  time,
_Delete Yourself_ and _The Future of War_. I derived  much  joy  from
these two albums, although I would  never  consider  myself  being  a
'fan' of their music. Alec Empire's solo material, especially the The
Destroyer  album,  did  more  for  me,  as  I  was  more  into  harsh
electronics than punky sounds at that time. When I received a copy of
ATR's 1999 album _60 Second Wipeout_,  it  even  took  me  two  weeks
before I gave it a first spin, but from that  moment  on  it  had  me
hooked. The thrashy sound was exactly what I  was  looking  for,  and
even to this day it remains my favourite album. But  the  real  shock
came with the live recording of Brixton Academy  1999:  it  showed  a
band that was near the end of the road, exhausted and almost  totally
destroyed.  No  more  songs,  no  more  structure,  just  a  wall  of
electronic noise that would have made Merzbow and Masonna  nod  their
heads in total agreement. The liner notes of that album reflected the
music as well as the state that the band  was  in.  Things  were  not
going well...
     "The show at Brixton Academy was one  of  our  last  in  a  long
series of shows. By that time, we knew we had  to  make  a  decision:
whether or not to  stop  touring,  because  we  were  physically  too
exhausted. Carl Craig had very bad psychosis attacks;  and  with  the
increasing success of the band, the problems in the band were getting
bigger. We just did too much, touring for years  and  building  up  a
fanbase without help from commercial radio and TV --  it  gave  us  a
physical burn-out. I was on pain-killers for months on stage,  up  to
the point were the doctors said my immune system was nearly destroyed
and they warned me that if I didn't stop with  what  I  was  doing  I
wouldn't survive it. Still, I continued  touring  for  another  eight
months."
     "Another thing that made me realize I wanted to get  out  of  it
for a while was the _Intelligence & Sacrifice_ album that  I  started
working on. I had all these ideas,  and  it  was  really  frustrating
being on tour and not being able to record, so I told the band that I
-had- to do this album and then we decided to take a break. We  would
take a look again at ATR three years later, in 2003, and  until  then
we would be doing our own things.  Carl  Craig  was  supposed  to  do
long-term therapy, and after that record parts for the album, but  it
never came to that."
     Carl Craig  was  found  dead  in  his  apartment  in  Berlin  on
September 6th 2001, a month after the recording  of  _Intelligence  &
Sacrifice_ was completed and a month before  its  scheduled  release.
Understandably, the release was postponed, giving the  band  time  to
recuperate from the terrible news.
     "When Carl died, the album was the last thing on  our  minds.  I
was supposed to do promotion, but I decided to let that pass. On  top
of that, nearly a week later, another shock came with  the  September
11th terrorist attacks in the United States. It was all very strange,
because I had just made it through some very dark times  in  my  life
where I felt suicidal and didn't find anything worth living for. With
the creation of my album, I had found a reason to  stay  alive  again
and things were getting better: I was getting my energy back and even
looking forward to playing  shows,  and  then  it  all  collapsed  in
September."
     "What made it even more  difficult  was  that  the  whole  world
was in shock, many  people  were  coping  with  depression  from  the
September 11th aftermath, so it wasn't really possible  to  find  any
understanding for our situation. People were  like,  "yeah  whatever,
many people have died and there's a war". We felt very alone at  that
time."
     With Carl Craig being an integral part of the band, his  decease
-- added to the fact that ATR was already on hiatus -- has made  fans
speculate on whether or not ATR will ever come back together.
     "I don't think we should replace Carl. It would  feel  wrong  to
try and find someone who would fill the gap he has left, and  I  also
think fans wouldn't accept it. But that's not necessarily a  problem:
we did a lot of things without him. To be honest, _60 Second Wipeout_
was already done with very little input from his side. Still, at  the
moment it still feels wrong to think about that kind of stuff.  We'll
have to wait until the moment when we will know  what  to  do,  maybe
wait until we meet someone who can bring  something  fresh  into  the
band."
     Many people who have listened to the _Intelligence &  Sacrifice_
album, or at least to the first CD, have said that it  does  sound  a
lot like what ATR was doing and is very  much  unlike  Alec  Empire's
previous solo outings. Alec Empire himself doesn't share  this  view,
however.
     "I think the first CD of _I&S_ is a  different  step  from  ATR.
Songs like "The Ride", "Addicted  to  You",  "Killing  Machine",  all
these songs would never be ATR songs. I think it's a case  of  people
looking at my role in ATR. If you isolate me,  you  get  a  very  big
portion of the band,  especially  in  sound  and  vocals.  The  metal
element, the punkrock element, the harsh sounds, that is my  part  of
the music and you'll find that on both ATR and my solo albums indeed.
But there still  is  a  big  difference,  also  in  production:  it's
recorded very differently, the sound is very different. I  think  the
only thing that both my album and ATR albums share is that they stand
out very prominently from mainstream music."
     "Lyrically, my solo work differs from ATR in where  ATR  can  be
described as "demonstration", "messages" and "inciting people  to  do
something". With my solo work it would never be so direct,  it's  not
the language I would use. My songs do not have to be  political,  and
that gives me much more freedom to bring up other things as well."
     The music featured on _I&S_'s second album  is  quite  different
from the first; a usually-mellow-sometimes-harsher mix of  electronic
landscapes, ambient drones and patterns, even some click and cut. The
appeal of this music to metal-minded people is probably very limited,
but one can't deny that there's at  least  a  little  bit  of  genius
needed to create all this. It would be hard to pinpoint influences or
similar artists, but as far as  'atmosphere'  is  concerned  one  can
think of Squarepusher and DJ Spooky. Also quite unexpected for  those
still thinking along the lines of the two previous full-lengths (_The
Destoryer_ and _Squeeze the Trigger_).
     "Yes, the second part of _I&S_ is more style-oriented towards my
Mille Plateaux work. A lot of people don't know  where  to  get  that
material, but we re-released it on our Geist label. But anyway,  that
material was a big reason for doing this album:  I  wanted  to  bring
both styles together in some way. They are two very  different  sides
of my personality and they can't live without each other even  though
they're very separated. The Mille Plateaux releases have always  been
ignored by the press, and  I  have  always  felt  cornered  by  their
attempts to push me into the corner labelling me as "the guy who does
this one thing". Hopefully, they won't be able to  deny  my  work  on
this kind of music anymore, as well as the many collaborations I  did
with a wide  range  of  musicians.  Bjork,  Nicolette,  Einsturtzende
Neubauten, Anti-Pop..."
     Considering Alec  Empire  has  been  remixing  artists  in  very
diverse music styles, one might  wonder  what  he  himself  likes  to
listen to when he's  not  working.  Obviously,  there  must  be  some
interest in both electronic music as well as punk, but what  does  he
really consider to be a good listen?
     "At the moment I listen to a lot of jazz, especially Sun Ra, but
on the other hand I listen to a lot of rock as well. Usually the very
dumb stuff, like  AC/DC,  but  also  metal  bands  like  Annihilator.
Honestly, I don't really listen to a lot of electronic music  myself.
We get sent a lot of stuff for our label, and I'm very often not that
excited about it. There's  a  considerable  lack  of  personality  in
electronic music nowadays. Most artists make music with a laptop, and
I am really against that philosophy. You cannot create that  physical
energy that music is all about. On the other  hand,  there's  a  good
upcoming digital hardcore scene in the  United  States  and  I  think
they're doing things with a fresh approach."
     Now that the album has been released worldwide  and  some  shows
have been played (and there are more to come), one  might  wonder  if
the effect that _I&S_ has had on the fans has been as good as  hoped.
All the shows I have seen ATR play in the  Netherlands  were  usually
sold-out or jam-packed, but will  Alec  Empire  solo  draw  the  same
audience as with ATR?
     "This time around, we've had some really positive reactions from
Germany, which is the most surprising thing we  could  think  of.  It
might sound strange, but Germany has always been difficult  territory
for us. People don't understand our  English.  Actually,  since  last
week the record _The Future of War_ is  on  the  sales  blacklist  in
Germany. We're still going to court to fight that decision, but  what
happened is that some school teacher found the booklet of that  album
on one of his students and he thought we were  dangerous.  The  whole
situation reminds me of how jazz  music  was  treated  in  the  Third
Reich, it's ridiculous."
     "Anyway, the reason we also didn't actively promote ourselves in
Germany is because we have always gotten better offers from  America,
Japan, England and other countries, so we never  really  played  that
much in Germany. We never did a Germany tour to begin with. Nowadays,
it's turned into a  love/hate  relationship,  because  now  that  the
Beastie Boys have promoted us people suddenly start  to  like  us  as
well. But now I want to build Germany."
     "Japanese people have always been good to us, but they are  very
difficult. If they 'love' you, they go insane, almost over  the  top.
If they 'like' you, they don't show any  emotions.  I've  seen  bands
play in front of audiences where everybody is just standing there and
not even applauding, but that still doesn't mean they don't like  the
music. It's very strange. But I don't think there's any country which
has been particularly easy for us. I can however name  you  countries
that have been difficult for us: besides Germany, it has always  been
difficult to get a gig in Finland! Same with Norway, although I don't
know why. But this time around, we're going to  do  our  best.  We're
going to destroy every country, I can assure you!"

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


           I S   T H E   D E A T H C U L T   D A M N E D ?
           ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
            CoC chats with Daniel Corchado from The Chasm
                          by: Paul Schwarz


No, we haven't  made  a  mistake;  The  Chasm  are  in  -Independent-
Interrogations for a reason. You see, when I conducted this interview
with Daniel Corchado on December 24th of last year,  The  Chasm  were
without a  label  --  and  Daniel  Corchado  was  dubious  about  the
possibility that the band would sign with one again. The story of The
Chasm's career is a long tale of struggle against the odds; that  may
sound melodramatic, may immediately prompt the counter-point that all
underground bands struggle, but the statement does not represent mere
spin. Beginning in Mexico in 1993 when Daniel  Corchado  vacated  his
position as  singer  of  Cenotaph  --  after  just  one  album,  _The
Gloomy Reflection of Our Hidden Sorrows_ --  The  Chasm  were  formed
with  the  intent  of  doing  something  different:  Corchado  hadn't
left Cenotaph  over  mere  personality  issues,  he  needed  to  move
in a different  direction  creatively.  That  _Awaiting  the  Day  of
Liberation_, The  Chasm's  first  demo,  perhaps  didn't  suggest  as
much is easily amenable  to  their  inexperience.  Indeed,  that  the
likenable-to-Cenotaph early-Entombed-isms were all but gone on 1994's
_Procreation of the  Inner  Temple_  --  replaced  with  a  towering,
technical, progressive and yet sublimely dark and mysterious approach
-- spoke volumes of The Chasm's drive  to  move  forward  with  their
sound. Unfortunately, production expertise and facilities were sorely
lacking; _PotIT_ suffered at  the  hands  of  its  sound.  Production
problems have plagued The  Chasm  for  many  years  --  though  their
trappings are well  overcome  on  all  their  releases  respectively.
Today, funding problems persist, but the  expertise  issue  has  been
solved: Daniel Corchado showed that he himself knows how to  get  the
right sound for The Chasm's death-cultic metal hymns by producing the
band's last release -- 2001's _Reaching the Veil of Death_  MCD  [CoC
#56] which came out under the band's  own  Lux  Inframundis  imprint.
However, when the band recorded their second album, 1996's _From  the
Lost Years_ [CoC #13], the result was far rougher. The album  has  an
air of mystery, escaping like a rare gas from under an  avalanche  of
sorrowful, lengthy and heavily doom-infused  songs.  _From  the  Lost
Years_ may have raised a few underground eyebrows and  even  the  odd
"smile", but  it  wasn't  until  _Deathcult  for  the  Eternity:  The
Triumph_  [CoC  #40]  that  a  substantial  number  of  people  began
to take notice of  The  Chasm,  especially  outside  of  Mexico.  The
album's release in 1998 with the line-up of Corchado,  founding  (and
still-present) drummer Antonio Leon, and  Erick  Diaz  was  no  major
thing: people hadn't been anticipating it. But _DfE:tT_ was picked up
for more than its profoundly brilliant realisation of  new  form  for
The Chasm -- transmitted through a vastly improved and  finely-suited
production. It was picked up by more people, myself included, because
Daniel's own  talents  as  a  vocalist,  lyricist  and  very  briefly
songwriter, were evidenced that same year on one of  the  best  death
metal albums of 1998, Incantation's _Diabolical Conquest_. Daniel had
already played with the band briefly in 1995 -- when Incantation were
having trouble with their singer -- completing a  Mexican  tour  with
Kataklysm and a few dates in the USA and Canada while learning guitar
parts and lyrics on the road. Later,  in  1997,  the  band  contacted
Daniel again for help, this time to complete a European tour.  Daniel
was subsequently signed up as a permanent member. Ultimately,  Daniel
did not remain long  in  Incantation,  but  he  left  his  mark  with
_Diabolical Conquest_ -- Incantation's best album, among the  two  of
theirs I still own (haven't heard the new one  yet...).  By  mid-1999
The Chasm had relocated to Chicago, added ex-Cenotaph  axe-man  Julio
Viterbo to the deathcult, and recorded new songs: a four-track  promo
[CoC #43] of tracks from their forthcoming fourth record, _Procession
to  the  Infraworld_.  But  in  the  meantime,  many  had  had  their
attentions drawn to The Chasm's third, and sometimes second, records.
By the time the band had signed with Dwell -- who delayed the release
of _PTTI_ (completed in late-1999) until a good few months into  2000
-- interest was brewing, and it was the right kind of interest. Music
critics and/or metal maniacs alike -listened- to The Chasm --  paying
no heed to any connections to other  bands  --  and  heard  something
incredible. But despite glowing critical appraisal and a considerably
increased (though still limited) fanbase  arriving  in  the  wake  of
_PTTI_'s release, The Chasm remained on the fringes: not a band  that
many people -know-. Musically complex and intricate,  The  Chasm  can
deliver unpretentious, brutal metal  one  minute  --  think  Autopsy,
Dismember, Slayer and Kreator if you've never heard  a  note  --  and
launch into beautifully-arranged, stirring and intensely  melodic  --
often doom-infused -- passages, and whole sections, without  skipping
a heartbeat. Dwell obviously didn't get it, dropping their best  ever
band by far after only one album.  Well,  fuck  them.  Understandably
pissed-off but refusing to give up, The Chasm went it alone. And they
have triumphed. _RtVoD_ could have sold better, but the fears  Daniel
expresses in this interview won't come to pass yet. The Chasm  signed
to Witches Brew in Germany in June of this year,  have  now  finished
recording their fifth album _Conjuration of the Spectral Empire_, and
should release it at the end of August of this year. So,  enjoy  this
interview though it is out of date, and rest  assured  that  CoC  #60
will bring not only another chat  with  Daniel  Corchado  --  in  the
-right- section this time -- but also what I'm sure will be a lengthy
review of _CotSE_. Preparation is recommended.

CoC: I don't really know where to start  --  there's  a  lot  to  get
     through -- but let's start  on  a  relatively  easy  topic.  How
     much  has  Julio  Viterbo  [ex-Cenotaph,  ex-Shub  Niggurath  --
     Paul] had an influence on  how  the  music  has  developed  over
     the years? I think  there's  a  distinct  jump,  in  some  ways,
     between _Deathcult..._ [CoC  #40]  which  Erick  played  on  and
     _Procession..._ [CoC #45] where Viterbo came in.

Daniel Corchado: Yeah.

CoC: So what would you say about that?

DC: Well, before Julio got into the band I was writing all the  music
    -- pretty much all by myself. I mean,  the  demo  and  the  other
    CDs...

CoC: _Procreation..._ and _From the Lost Years_ [CoC #13].

DC: Yeah, correct. I was doing all the  music  by  myself  and  uh...
    Well, when Julio got into the band he came --  I'm  not  sure  if
    you're familiar with Shub Niggurath?

CoC: Yeah, I remember them.

DC: Yeah, and I mean, it was a very, very  good  band,  you  know,  a
    really kick-ass band. And he was doing a lot of music there --  I
    mean, pretty much he was doing everything  by  himself  with  the
    music. He was in Cenotaph for like two or three years too and  he
    was a very important piece there too. So when he decided to  join
    the band for good -- you know, to stay with -us-  --  I  knew  we
    should use his talents, you know?

CoC: Yeah, absolutely.

DC: So he was starting to do music for _Procession..._, but the thing
    was I already had a lot of music written because when I was  with
    Incantation I was recording nothing for The Chasm, so...

CoC: Of  course.  And  you  did  quite  a  few  of  the  things   for
     Incantation, right?

DC: It was like a half part for a song and lyrics for one song.

CoC: I remember  it  having  a  profound  influence  on  Incantation;
     _Diabolical Conquest_  [CoC  #33]  stands  very  much  head  and
     shoulders above the other albums, to my mind: I  really  thought
     it was the best Incantation album. And it's interesting, because
     _DC_ has a certain amount of what goes into  The  Chasm;  making
     the transition from _DC_ to  _Procession..._  or  _Deathcult..._
     isn't that hard. But then  again,  there's  a  massive,  massive
     difference, on another level. It's kind of hard to describe, but
     I think your vocals carry over quite  well;  I  think  you  gave
     Incantation, on _DC_, a really good vocal style  which,  if  one
     was into Incantation, one could then transfer some  of  that  to
     The Chasm, in a way. But in a strange way, obviously.

DC: Well yeah, probably... I mean, yeah, you're right,  you  know,  I
    mean, I put some of my input into Incantation but, as I said when
    I was with those guys, The Chasm was on hold.

CoC: Absolutely.

DC: We were doing nothing and I was just writing music in my mind and
    do some riff here or there or once in a  while  on  tape  --  I'd
    tape-record it -- and that's why, when we got The Chasm  together
    again, and Julio was in the band, I'd say like seventy percent of
    the music was already done. So he had some input too but  not  as
    much as now, you know?

CoC: Right, of course.

DC: Right now it's like fifty-fifty.

CoC: Do you think  that's  what's  had  such  a  profound  impact  on
     _Reaching..._ [CoC #56], because on the two full new songs  that
     are there -- I don't know whether this  is  the  whole  band  or
     whether this is a lot to do with your and Viterbo's  joining  in
     song-writing properly -- there's a  very  strong,  tight,  hard,
     death metal sound -- a sound which is very The Chasm,  but  very
     hard and tight, really compressed into itself  --  and  then  it
     also explodes into these wonderful melodic,  um,  harmonies  and
     things like that. It has  become  very  defined.  Do  you  think
     that's a lot to do with the band being a very  strong  unit  now
     where it may not have been, so much, before?

DC: Yeah, yeah, definitely man, because right  now  we  are  a  total
    unity. This line-up has been  together  since  we  got  here,  to
    Chicago. With the exception of the  bass  player  [Alfonso  Polo,
    whose appearance on _RtVoD_ is his first on a  Chasm  release  --
    Paul], the line-up has been the same since we got to  Chicago.  I
    mean, Antonio [Leon, drums] is a founding member and Julio,  he's
    not new to the business, he knows what he's  doing.  As  I  said,
    when he got into the band I told him, "Dude, you can  write  your
    music, you know, as much as you want but just try to,  you  know,
    get into our concept and style."

CoC: Absolutely, and The Chasm is one of those wonderful bands -- and
     I think almost all of  my  favourite  bands  are  like  this  --
     there's such a defined identity of what The Chasm  is,  but  yet
     that identity is malleable. I mean, The Chasm will  change,  but
     it will always be The Chasm.  Even  though,  especially  _FtLY_,
     sounds -so- different from _RtVoD_, just in terms of  production
     and sound, and even the style -- there are a lot of songs  which
     are near-eight minutes long and which never sort of develop to a
     really high speed and a really high, powerful intensity --  it's
     beautiful how you can kind of draw a parallel between  that  and
     some of the songs on _Procession..._ where,  you  know,  they're
     incredibly long, but  they're  so  tightly  woven  together  and
     extremely powerful. It's interesting that  you  can  still  hear
     that it's the same band. I think  there's  definitely  something
     that's musically  there,  instrumentally  there  --  and  that's
     wonderful. There's also the case of your voice which,  I  think,
     has a defined identity apart from most -- and it fits  with  the
     music and I think it identifies The Chasm better  than  anything
     but along with everything else, I guess.

DC: Yeah, I mean, that's good to hear:  that  some  people  -really-,
    -really- understand what we are doing, you know, because  as  you
    say, with _FtLY_, it was much more depressive-sounding, probably.
    But as I always say: when I write music it's the way I  feel  it,
    you know?

CoC: Yeah.

DC: And I remember when we were creating _FtLY_. In those times I was
    back -- -we- were back -- in  Mexico,  and  the  situation  there
    wasn't the best, you know? I mean, right now I'm  fucked.  But  I
    think right now -- let's say I'm in a bad situation --  but  it's
    like, the economy and stuff like that. And back in  the  day,  in
    the _FtLY_-era, it was more like a state of  mind,  like  a  very
    depressive state of mind.

CoC: Right, I understand.

DC: I think it shows in the  music  and  that's  what  makes  a  band
    authentic: when  they're  playing  from  the  heart,  from  soul,
    through  a  state  of  mind  where  they  believe  in  what  they
    are doing. I mean,  that's  pretty  much  our  ideology  and  our
    philosophy, and it has always been the same: just  play  whatever
    you feel. You know, as long  as  it's  what  we  call  "metal  of
    death", because we're not like your usual band, you know, as  you
    say.

CoC: Right, absolutely.

DC: I think we're death metal -of course-; I'm always gonna say  that
    we are a total death metal band. But you gotta recognise some  of
    the loss of true heavy metal, you know?

CoC: Absolutely, I think that's one of the reasons I used that phrase
     in the review that I wrote [see CoC #56] -- for me at least, The
     Chasm is the best death metal band in the  world  today  because
     there's a sense in which nothing you guys  do  goes  outside  of
     death metal, but on the same level it kind of  exemplifies  what
     Dave Vincent once said about death metal: that it's limitless.

DC: Right.

CoC: You know, you can do whatever  you  want  but  whenever  you  do
     something there's something about it that's pure metal, and pure
     death metal. And it's really interesting too -- I  remember  you
     saying in an interview, "We are heavy metal warriors" and things
     like that, and there is that sort of really convicted,  powerful
     aspect of metal running through what you do, and running through
     the way you think about it, I think.

DC: Exactly. As I said in those  interviews,  that's  where  we  came
    from, you know? I mean,  we  were  growing  up  in  shit  fucking
    listening first to just pure heavy metal, you know?

CoC: Right.

DC: And then going to thrash, black and death back in  the  day,  the
    Eighties. I mean that's <long  intake  of  breath>,  that's,  you
    know, like... fuck man, it's hard to explain, but  that's  how  I
    became what I am now, you know?

CoC: Yeah. I mean, I really know  what  you  mean  'cause  I,  and  I
     think a lot of other people have  --  in  very,  very  different
     circumstances -- had same sort of experience,  -of  metal-.  You
     know? Of discovering something that you really like, this  sound
     that you can't get your head out of. And you  watch  it  develop
     and you enjoy coming along with it. And that's a very crude  way
     of putting it in words, but that's how it feels, I think, a  lot
     of the time.

DC: Yeah, yeah, definitely man, because it's really hard -- you know,
    the situation with the band right now. I mean,  being  without  a
    label, you know, no support and everything like that.

CoC: Absolutely.

DC: And as you said, the problem for the band is that for people  who
    really like  brutal  stuff,  we're  not  that  brutal.  And,  you
    know, for the  black  metal  people  we're  not,  probably,  that
    <tentatively> -blacky-, you know?

CoC: Yeah, I know what you mean, basically. I can't explain  it,  but
     yeah.

DC: Yeah. I mean, of course we're  not  gonna  change  our  style  or
    anything, at this point, after all these fucking years.  I  mean,
    I've seen a lot of shit going on and I know how the scene  was  a
    few years ago, and how it is -now-.  And  -fuck  it-,  we're  not
    gonna change for just trying to sell more copies or be  a  bigger
    band or something. That would be stupid. And that's  what  people
    don't understand sometimes; being a "true  heavy  metal  warrior"
    probably sounds kinda cheesy but I don't give a  shit  --  that's
    the real thing, you know?

CoC: Absolutely, I know what you mean.

DC: It doesn't mean that  we're  fucking  stupid  airheads  like  the
    stereotypical...

CoC: Manowar.

DC: Yeah. Well, I don't know man. Some people think like,  "Oh  yeah,
    Manowar: they're so lame!", and  they  don't  know  what  they're
    talking about. Some people think that if you're a "metal warrior"
    then you don't have enough education  or  culture  to  know  what
    you're doing.

CoC: Absolutely, and I think that's  one  of  the  problems  --  when
     people talk about heavy metal there are  two  problems.  There's
     the heritage of  metal  and  how  it's  seen  from  the  popular
     perspective -- you know, the average person's vision  is  always
     of these  kind  of  dumb-ass  guys  drinking  beer  and  getting
     groupies. And there's a certain portion of the metal  scene  who
     wanna propagate that image  --  which  is  kind  of  the  second
     problem. But in the end, there are so many metal  musicians  who
     do so many brilliant, brilliant things, and a lot of  that  gets
     forgotten; when you talk about pure  heavy  metal  people  think
     you're talking about stupidity sometimes, and that's ridiculous.
     And a lot of people who wanna be kind of "out there", especially
     in the  last  seven  to  nine  years,  have  tried  to  distance
     themselves from heavy metal per se. And recently some bands have
     sort of said, "Oh, now we're heavy metal again", 'cause it's  OK
     to be heavy metal now.

DC: Oh yeah, that's... <disgusted noises>

CoC: But I totally know what you mean. I think the  intelligence  and
     the thought that goes into something like The Chasm --  and  the
     -feeling- that goes into The Chasm --  is  self-evident  if  you
     really listen to the music. And certainly, reading your  lyrics:
     whatever  they  come  across  as,  they  don't  come  across  as
     ill-thought-out, or spoken by  someone  who  has  no  idea  what
     they're talking about, you know?

DC: Hm.

CoC: Whatever you  read  into  them,  there  is  definitely  lots  of
     consideration. I was thinking about the lyrics  today  actually,
     and it's very interesting as well as strange: a lot of the style
     you use means your lyrics are written either from  a  -personal-
     narrative perspective, or as a kind of proclamation.  It's  very
     interesting; it's very unlike  a  lot  of  bands  --  like,  for
     example, Angelcorpse have a certain amount of Pete Helmkamp's --
     quote/unquote -- "philosophical ideas"...

DC: OK, yeah, yeah, yeah.

CoC: I find yours are very -personal-, but I think they maybe express
     something that's bigger than themselves. What would you say?

DC: Yeah. I mean, the  thing  with  the  lyrics  is  that  since  the
    beginning of the band I always just tried to express what  I  was
    feeling inside myself, you know? Like, getting back to _FtLY_,  I
    was feeling like shit,  totally.  I  mean,  I  still  do  because
    everybody has their own problems and personalities and shit  like
    that. And sometimes even if you are having, let's  say,  a  good,
    regular, nice life on the outside --  in  the  regular  world  --
    inside it's a total different perspective, it's a total different
    world. I mean, I just write what I am feeling  at  the  time  and
    sometimes it just comes out very bizarre and very --  how  can  I
    say? -- sometimes it doesn't really make sense, you know?

CoC: Yeah, it's very -abstract-?

DC: Yeah, exactly, that's the word: abstract. You're right, man.  And
    I'm like, "Man, dude, how could I write these?" But  then,  after
    some days I remember why I wrote it,  and  I'm  like,  "Well,  it
    makes sense to me and that's the bottom line" -- if  I'm  writing
    how I feel and what I'm feeling. That's another  important  point
    in the identity of the band: that  it's  just  pure  musical  and
    lyrical expression, but it's totally personal, you know?

CoC: Right, right.

DC: I mean, as I say, with the music  we  have  this  really,  really
    strong inspiration -- not a big -influence- anymore.  How  can  I
    explain? I  don't  wanna  say  influence  because  when  you  say
    influence you're saying you sound like this  or  like  that,  you
    know? So it's more -inspiration-. I mean, I am  totally,  totally
    -so- addicted to heavy metal and to  all  kinds  of  true  heavy,
    death, thrash and black metal, whatever. And it's the  same  with
    the lyrics, you know: my main inspiration is just  myself,  as  I
    say, "my inner temple". You know, the fucking chaos that is going
    on inside. And that's  the  bottom  line:  to  express  my  inner
    feelings.

CoC: Yeah, and it's interesting because I think there's almost a sort
     of language of metaphor that you use which has  certain  --  not
     boundaries -- but a certain  space  in  which  you  use  certain
     -kinds- of metaphors and certain  -kinds-  of  ways  to  express
     yourself. And in sort of  a  "cultural"  sense  rather  than  an
     academic sense, it's very poetic. You know, you  say  --  and  I
     think it shows -- that  you  write  from  the  heart,  and  it's
     interesting because you write from the heart in a -metaphorical-
     way, and you have a lot of related ideas coming into The  Chasm.
     Lines like, "I must find the root of my damnation in every  drop
     of the torrid seas of sin" are very  poetically  put;  it's  not
     like you're writing about what you did today  or  what  you  did
     yesterday, or how your life has changed  in  the  "real"  world.
     You're talking about things in a sort of projected way, I think.

DC: Yeah, you're totally right.  That  sentence,  the  one  you  just
    mentioned, it's fucking powerful, you know?

CoC: Yeah.

DC: As you said, it's abstract -- it shows the way I  felt  in  those
    days when I wrote it but still it makes sense to  me  right  now,
    you know?

CoC: Yeah, and I think someone like myself who isn't  privy  to  your
     inner thoughts might interpret it wrong, but I do get the  idea,
     I think. If you pick through the metaphors you can get  a  sense
     for what's going on, but you can interpret it in a lot  of  ways
     and some of them would be very odd. But I think it's a good  way
     of writing because one of the things  that  it  does  a  lot  is
     produce wonderful lyrics which are wonderfully  followable;  for
     me at least, as a death  metal  listener,  that's  the  kind  of
     lyrics I really enjoy. You know, I sing along to things like  "I
     must find the root of my damnation..." and that sort  of  thing.
     Which is kind of strange, but...

DC: <chuckles>

CoC: ...maybe you can understand, I don't know.

DC: Yeah, yes, you're right man -- and it's really good to hear that.
    As I said, sometimes I really think  my  lyrics  don't  make  any
    fucking sense at all; it's good to know that  there  is  somebody
    out there who gets really  into  them.  And,  as  you  say,  it's
    probably something that I wrote  and  it  was  supposed  to  mean
    something, and you take it  differently,  but  it's  still  valid
    because, as you said, I'm writing in a metaphoric  way.  I'm  not
    writing like, "Well, I feel like shit these days, my life..."  or
    blah, blah, blah.

CoC: Not like hardcore lyrics...

DC: Yeah, exactly. When you want to do something, when  you  want  to
    create a total, you know, destructive,  immortal  entity  --  I'm
    talking about my band, you know -- you have to go for  the  best.
    And as with the music, so with the  lyrics:  I'm  not  trying  to
    force myself to write something that sounds really different, but
    it's the way I have been educating myself to  do  it,  you  know?
    Like, trying to be as different as  possible  but  without  being
    stupid or cheesy or totally awkward -- because  when  a  band  is
    trying to do something just to -- how do you  say?  Fuck...  Like
    they are forcing it...?

CoC: Contriving.

DC: Yeah, exactly. That's why there are so many bands right  now  who
    are just playing crap, you know? There is no feeling at  all  and
    there is no real fucking understanding.

CoC: Yeah, I mean think of an extreme example like -Primal Fear-. You
     know them?

DC: <chuckles>

CoC: Fucking terrible band on Nuclear Blast who just wanna sound like
     _Painkiller_-era 'Priest?

DC: Exactly! <on-the-brink-of-laughter-incredulity> What the fuck  is
    up with that?

CoC: It's ridiculous. It's like, you could have designed this band on
     a computer. It's so ludicrous. It has got no spirit to it at all.

DC: Exactly. I mean, what is the meaning of doing something that  has
    already been done?

CoC: And trying to do it -exactly the same-.

DC: Exactly. I mean, they're trying to sound like the  godfathers  of
    that sound: 'Priest. That's a fucking sin. <laughs>

CoC: Exactly. It's fucking ridiculous. And what I hate  about  it  as
     well is that so many people who like 'Priest -- or  like  thrash
     if they hear retro bands -- they say, "Yeah,  but  this  is  the
     sound I wanna hear." And I'll turn around and  say,  "Yeah,  but
     you can hear all those sounds in brilliant modern  music,  like,
     you can hear all those sounds in The Chasm..."  I  mean,  I  can
     hear Dismember and Autopsy -and- I can hear bizarrely, bizarrely
     twisted bits of 'Priest. I can hear that  this  is  obviously  a
     band who listened  to  'Priest  at  some  point,  that  this  is
     obviously a band who listened to Manowar at some point...

DC: Oh, totally.

CoC: I totally love Manowar.

DC: Oh yeah!

CoC: And I do  find  them  wonderful  but  cheesy.  They're  strange.
     They're something that should be a contradiction, but it isn't.

DC: Yeah.

CoC: And it's the same with that line ["I must find the  root  of  my
     Damnation in every drop of the Torrid seas of Sin / and in every
     night of soulless winds... / Bathe in Restless  Flames  /  Crush
     and Slaughter the False ones" -- Paul] that's on the back of the
     _Deathcult for Eternity..._ T-shirt: I love it. I  love  wearing
     this thing on the back of my T-shirt for  all  these  different,
     contradicting reasons, but it all works, you know?

DC: Yeah, yeah. I mean,  totally.  It's  like,  you  mentioned  Judas
    Priest or Manowar: I know their image was  kinda  over  the  top,
    and, as you say, cheesy, but when you go back to  _Battle  Hymns_
    [CoC #48, Classic Carnage] or _Hail to  England_  [CoC  #48,  CC]
    there are some fucking amazing riffs there, man.

CoC: Absolutely, man.

DC: I mean, that was fucking heavy metal to the best, you know?

CoC: Yeah, and I mean I will literally get up out of my seat and bang
     my fist on my chest and love it.

DC: Fuck yeah.

CoC: And feel serious. Even though I know that to anyone else I  must
     look really silly, to  me  I  feel  like  a  metal  warrior,  or
     whatever, you know. And it works. And in a way I  can  laugh  at
     myself, but in a way I don't need to, you know?

DC: Yeah, yeah, totally. I mean, you're right, and it's, as you said,
    with these kind of bands trying to sound like the  old  bands,  I
    really don't know how they can sell that many records, you  know?
    I mean, I understand because a lot of young kids are listening to
    them, you know?

CoC: Sure, sure.

DC: And it's new for them, you know, and it's cool, you know.

CoC: But what's funny is that a lot of older people are listening  to
     them as well. I know people who are old listeners of 'Priest and
     Saxon who love Primal Fear -- and I can't understand how someone
     in that position can love Primal Fear. Me and Matthias from  CoC
     were at Wacken just  laughing  our  asses  off  <Daniel  laughs>
     watching [from a distance, and briefly, it should  be  noted  --
     Paul] Primal Fear and HammerFall 'cause there was  nothing  else
     to do. And it was just terrible, you know, these people in capes
     and armour... it's just ridiculous. But loads of old  metalheads
     really get into this and they're like,  "This  is  the  sound  I
     wanna hear."

DC: Oh man yeah, that's a big problem -- a big, big problem with  us.
    It's like those retro bands -- I don't wanna  say  names  because
    people are so fucking gay and they get offended, you know.

CoC: <laughs> I know what you mean.

DC: You know, this guy thinks he's a big  star  or  a  big  dick,  or
    whatever. I  mean,  the  problem  is  that  a  lot  of  black  or
    supposedly thrash bands of today sell much more than us  because,
    like you said, old people want to hear that sound.

CoC: Quite a lot, yeah.

DC: I mean, OK, I understand because sometimes I can listen to one or
    two songs of those mainstream bands 'cause they remind me of  the
    old days; but of course I'm gonna prefer to  hear  the  original,
    you know, the authentic band.

CoC: It always makes me wanna put on the original band.

DC: Exactly. You've already heard, you -know- who  are  the  masters:
    why don't you look for something that is in that style  but  with
    something fresh and something new to offer to your fucking  head,
    you know, to your mind? Some people are just like that, you know:
    closed minded. I mean, I was just talking with one of my friends,
    and another problem is  that  those  kind  of  people  come  from
    supposedly the old school of metal.  I  mean,  let's  talk  about
    black metal, like Bathory and Venom and shit like that. Now bands
    are playing and it's like: the more simple they are,  the  better
    they are, the most underground. And I love  simplicity  too,  you
    know, if it's well done -- and as  I  said,  the  most  important
    thing is that it has feeling, a feeling of hatred, a  feeling  of
    sadness, whatever -- but like, I don't know if you have heard  or
    if you like Nifelheim?

CoC: I've heard bits. People have told me they're really good.

DC: I like all of their releases,  but  the  new  one,  _Servants  of
    Darkness_, it's like -- oh man, it's so, -so- fucking simple, the
    riffing, <his voice takes on a fond, almost euphoric,  tone>  but
    it's so good, man.

CoC: Yeah. It can work, and I've been told that Nifelheim  does  work
     so I've been meaning to check them out properly.

DC: Yeah, that's not a fucking retro band  dude,  that's  like...  oh
    man, those guys... It's unbelievable.

CoC: Yeah. I think for me the major difference is  always  between  a
     band who sound, in terms of copying, like old bands,  and  bands
     who retain the spirit of the old bands.

DC: Exactly, exactly.

CoC: Like I fucking -loved- Angelcorpse, even though Angelcorpse took
     a lot of their sound from Possessed and Morbid Angel.

DC: Yeah-yeah, I know.

CoC: But I fucking loved it: I can always put on  Angelcorpse  albums
     and just go, "Yes! This is it!"

DC: Yeah, yeah exactly, 'cause those guys...

CoC: I think they did some of the best death metal in  the  whole  of
     the Nineties, they just did it -after- everyone else did it.

DC: Totally, 'cause there was quality instead of  quantity  and  they
    have this true fucking feeling of aggression and you can feel it!

CoC: Yeah, totally.

DC: And -- I don't know the truth, but I think  one  of  the  reasons
    they split-up was because they thought they weren't  getting  the
    recognition they deserve.

CoC: The thing about Angelcorpse -- I love their music, but I  really
     don't get on with the members. I mean, I've never hung out  with
     them for long periods of time, but every  time  I've  talked  to
     them on the phone, met them or read interviews with them, I just
     don't get their whole world-view. They're very much into the old
     bands, but to me they always seem very  proud  and  arrogant  in
     ways that annoy me, plus I really don't get where Pete  Helmkamp
     is coming from with his  whole  world  outlook  'cause  I  study
     philosophy and I find that a lot  of  his  stuff  is  just  very
     weakly put together Nietzchean dopplegangering,  which  I  don't
     like [though I very much like Nietzsche's work -- Paul].  But  I
     love the band. I'll sing along to all of  his  crazy-ass,  weird
     lyrics even though I may not like them, because I just  totally,
     totally love the band. And it doesn't affect my enjoyment of the
     music, it just means that I'm not that interested in finding out
     what's there 'cause I think a lot of it's just writing from  the
     heart but not writing from the head as much, if you know what  I
     mean?

DC: Mhm. Yeah, yeah, exactly. I know what  you're  saying  because  I
    knew the guys in Angelcorpse and  they  were  cool  with  us  and
    everything but they were kinda  strange,  you  know?  But  that's
    cool, I respect that -- I respect what they did actually. I think
    they split because they were disappointed with the scene.

CoC: I can understand that.

DC: I understand, and I respect it a lot, man.

CoC: Also I respect their decision if it was the case that they  just
     didn't have the interest to go on doing it  themselves,  because
     if you're not happy making music together as a band -- i.e. your
     music will probably turn out less good than what you did  before
     -- it is a good thing to finish it. In a simple, crude way  it's
     like TV shows and films: when the idea has  run  out  of  steam,
     kill it.

DC: Oh yeah.

CoC: You can always start on a new concept.  I  was  sad  Angelcorpse
     split up because _The Inexorable_ was such a good record, but in
     the end, maybe they couldn't top that. Maybe  that's  what  they
     had to do: they had to finish writing Angelcorpse.

DC: Yeah, yeah exactly. It's like what happened with Possessed,  man.
    You know, they were at the best, and then they  just  decided  to
    quit. And that's it. That's another thing  I'm  feeling  for  the
    band. I mean right now, in the situation we are it's  like,  I've
    been thinking about quitting. But not the band itself: the scene,
    you know?

CoC: Yeah, I can understand that. I think Angelcorpse would have done
     that if they hadn't split up.

DC: Yeah. Yeah, because it's so hard, man, and to tell you the truth:
    why not? I mean, the CD came out like a month-and-a-half ago  and
    the people who have heard it are very  impressed,  and  I'm  glad
    with that. But, to tell you the truth, it's going so slow, man. I
    mean, the orders are so very few, you know?

CoC: I know. Unfortunately, I'm not surprised: it's  a  real  -arse-,
     and there's so fucking little to do about it, you know?

DC: Yeah.

CoC: There's all sorts of stuff you can try. I mean, in the end  it's
     a lot to do with just where the scene is. The Chasm as a musical
     part of the scene don't really exist -- they're kind of  outside
     of it, and because of that I think it's hard to get people  into
     it; it's not what's happening now. So many great bands split  up
     because of that and it  would  be  sad  if  you  guys  did.  But
     remember when Cynic did _Focus_ [CoC #48, CC]?

DC: Mhm.

CoC: And when Atheist did _Unquestionable  Presence_?  No-one  really
     got it.

DC: OK, I remember.

CoC: Everyone was like, "uhneehmmmI'm gonna  go  listen  to  Cannibal
     Corpse, OK?"

DC: <laughs> Yeah, and that's something we've been talking about just
    recently. I'm just gonna wait a couple of months more to see  how
    it goes with the mini-CD, but definitely if, say, by summer -- by
    June/July -- we haven't at least sold a  thousand  --  because  I
    print 1500 -- I think that's it, man. I mean, we're gonna  record
    a new one, and we're gonna keep recording music,  but  it's  just
    gonna be like: if you want it, I'll send you a CD-R, you know?

CoC: Sure.

DC: And that's it! Because we can't afford  to  put  down  some  more
    money that we're gonna lose, you know?

CoC: Yeah, I know what you mean.

DC: And it's kinda sad, you know: other, newer bands who ain't  worth
    shit sell lots of copies, tour and blah blah blah, you know?

CoC: Yeah, totally. I guess, in the end it's a case of doing the best
     you can. And as far as doing CD-Rs goes, I think that's fair  in
     the end, if that's what it comes to. I guess what  you  need  is
     for one band to take you on the  road  with  them  or  whatever.
     That's one option.

DC: Totally.

CoC: The weird thing about The Chasm is that I don't see a hell of  a
     lot in magazines, necessarily, about you guys,  but  whenever  I
     talk to various people around the scene -- in the US and  Europe
     -- there's always someone who's  like,  "Yeah,  fucking  amazing
     band!"  It's  weird,  select  people,  especially  people  whose
     musical opinion I respect, will like it, but when you walk  into
     a venue you don't see a hundred Chasm shirts.

DC: <laughs> Right. I mean in a way it's so good man, to be like part
    of an elite, you know.

CoC: Absolutely.

DC: That's why I printed 1500. I mean,  that's  -nothing-  worldwide.
    But still, for  us  it's  a  lot,  you  know.  <laughs,  slightly
    incredulous> It makes you think, "What the fuck  is  going  on?",
    you know?

CoC: Yeah, you must be torn  between,  on  the  one  hand,  it  being
     financially pretty much between impossible and very, very taxing
     to do it if you don't sell enough...

DC: Yeah.

CoC: And on the other hand feeling that you want to because there are
     people out there who wanna hear it. But in the end, if it  comes
     down to doing CD-Rs, you can do artwork on computers and send it
     to people, and they can make their own CDs.

DC: Yeah.

CoC: So, whichever way it goes, as long as you still wanna  make  the
     music -- and you still -do- make the music -- I think that's the
     most important thing.

DC: Yeah, definitely, because the day  we  decide  to  stop  playing,
    it'll be because we don't have the motivation to do  it  anymore.
    We don't wanna just fucking do it just to keep going. Fuck it! We
    gotta do it because we feel it, that's the bottom  line.  And  as
    you say, if we come to just burn  CDs  for  people  that  really,
    really believe in the band, let's do it! For me,  as  I  said,  I
    still believe -- it's hard to say, but I  still  believe  in  the
    word "underground", you know?

CoC: Right.

DC: I am so glad that people who like new fucking  gay  trendy  bands
    don't like The Chasm. I'm so fucking proud of that. I'm so  proud
    that, if you go to a show, just one guy listens to our music  and
    understands what we're doing -- and hopefully in the future we'll
    just be remembered as an obscure, cult band. A lot  of  bands  in
    the Eighties were so fucking amazing man, and they just  released
    one or two or probably three albums. Nobody knows them.  I  mean,
    in the -mainstream- nobody fucking knows them. And I will  be  so
    glad to be something like that: remembered by a few people who'll
    say, "These guys were the shit. These guys were fucking good."  I
    mean, I don't wanna be the best, I just want to do the music that
    is best for myself and be remembered for -that-, you know?

CoC: Exactly. And in the end, on the one  level,  if  you're  pleased
     with it that's the wonderful thing, and if people appreciate  it
     that's wonderful, but as you say, it doesn't mean that your  ego
     becomes this unimaginable thing. It just means that you love  it
     and other people love it and you appreciate that, I guess.

DC: Yeah, exactly, and that's the bottom line: just to  keep  playing
    music from your fucking dark soul, you know?

CoC: Absolutely.

DC: And keep going until you're done, you know, until you don't wanna
    do it anymore and don't feel it  anymore.  That's  it.  Not  keep
    pushing and pushing like other bands out there  that  just  wanna
    keep releasing stuff that sounds so hasty, you know?

CoC: Yeah. I think in the end that's one of the  things  I've  always
     loved about underground music but especially death metal, not in
     -some- of its eras but in its era now and in its  great  era  of
     not being commercial. Even if you're in a  band  like  Vader  --
     quite big in the death metal scene now -- there's no  reason  to
     be in a death metal band if you  want  a  career,  there's  only
     reason to be there if you wanna play music. Even Nile,  who  are
     doing pretty damn well, still have to work nine  to  five  jobs,
     still have to work their asses off to keep  it  all  going.  And
     they may have motivation to do that because of what  they  sell,
     but in the end it's a hell of a lot of work for not much return.
     So they're always gonna be doing it because they want to  and  I
     think that's magnified -- but that,  essentially,  it's  exactly
     the same, in principle, for The Chasm.

DC: Yeah. Oh yeah. I mean, as you said, let's say Nile, at least they
    are having return, they are having -tours-, you know? And  that's
    fucking great and for us we're having -- I don't wanna sound like
    a cry-baby, like, <adopts  distressed  child  voice>  "Oh,  we're
    having nothing!" <he laughs, as do I> -- but we're  having  shit!
    We're just having the fucking support and response of  people  --
    it's really great when you hear that stuff.

[Daniel and I chat about non-interview stuff before talking about The
Chasm's current situation as far as promotion goes.]

DC: Right now, all the promotion comes  from  reviews  and  from  the
    e-mails I send and in a way, business-wise, the right thing to do
    is to do more promotion. But still, at the same time, the  market
    is  so  saturated.  It  makes  you  think  twice  before  putting
    five-hundred bucks in an add, you know? You don't  know  if  it's
    gonna be worth it. We'll see what happens. I am  hoping  for  the
    worst, as usual. <he laughs>

CoC: That's usually a way not to get disappointed; if  you  have  low
     expectations but you work hard you tend to  be  quite  satisfied
     with what you end up with, because you make the best of what you
     get. I think that's a good way to go through things. Thanks  for
     continuing with The Chasm: it's always great  to  get  something
     new by a band you love. So, as long  as  you  can,  please  keep
     continuing doing The Chasm.

DC: That's so cool, man. Yeah, yeah I know because I  feel  the  same
    when I hear something new from a band I really, really like. It's
    so great to see that there are a  few  guys  out  there  who  are
    really excited to get the new CD. It was something that had to be
    done: doing it by yourself. And finally we  did  it  and  it's  a
    total fucking victory for us, you know?

CoC: And considering that you did it all on your own, it's  come  out
     with a good package. One thing I think you've learnt as  a  band
     is to make very much the best of what  you  have,  not  only  as
     concerns the  music  but  also  as  concerns  presentation.  The
     records look good.  They  look  simple  in  some  respects,  but
     they're well worked-on. Even  _Reaching..._  --  which  you  did
     completely on your own -- I fucking loved when I got it.

DC: It's great when you finally have it in your hands. If it was  for
    me, man, I wouldn't care if I didn't sell it, you know? If I  had
    the money, I would do it for free to the real followers. But it's
    not the case and it's sad.

CoC: But, in theory, you're not averse  to  promoting  yourselves.  I
     think that's definitely one of the things I do  like  about  The
     Chasm: that it's not -self-containedly- underground.  You  know,
     some bands make a big thing of not doing  interviews  and  stuff
     like that. When you had the chance to do promotion -- like  when
     you were on Dwell -- you went for it. Coming back to the  music,
     let's talk about your influences. I know  it's  always  hard  to
     name specific bands, but who would  you  regard,  musically,  as
     your influences -- if you can think of specifics?

DC: Well, I have to mention two which are very popular but... I mean,
    I still don't know how they came up with that music!  One  should
    be your compadres, fucking Black Sabbath, and the other would  be
    Slayer. Slayer definitely. _Hell Awaits_ [CoC #16,  CC]  is  like
    the ultimate -- I mean, for me it's the best record ever.

CoC: Wow!

DC: Nobody has done something better. I mean, for me, of course.  I'm
    a fuckinnng [sic] -- I don't know -- freak! But I should  mention
    -- besides those  two  which  are  very  important,  I  will  say
    'Priest of course, you know;  classic  heavy  metal  like  Accept
    and Saxon and Manowar  and  stuff  like  that.  And  pretty  much
    more the beginning of the death/thrash/black-era.  Like  Bathory,
    Destruction and 'Frost. And also the  Brazilian  bands.  I'm  not
    gonna say they are a big influence in our -sound-, but they  were
    a fucking big inspiration, you know?

CoC: Of course: coming from Mexico and from Latin America, right?

DC: Yeah, yeah. First Sepultura,  Sarcophago,  Mutilator  and  Panic;
    stuff like that was so extreme,  dude.  I  mean,  that  was  some
    fucking serious shit!

CoC: It was really crazy at the time.

DC: Yeah.

CoC: When you see the _Morbid Visions_  LP  where  there's  Sepultura
     playing in that little, like, house, with "BHDM"  on  the  wall:
     "Belo Horizonte Death Metal". [*(1)]

DC: Yeah, yeah, yeah!

CoC: It's so fucking underground. It's hilarious.

DC: Oh man!

CoC: It's great!

DC: Yeah, it's great! At the beginning of the Nineties too, you know,
    the bands from Sweden, when they were strong, you know? Like,  oh
    fuck!

CoC: Entombed and Dismember and that.

DC: Yeah, even before.

CoC: You notice that on the first Cenotaph [_The Gloomy Reflection of
     Our Hidden Sorrows_ from 1992, Daniel's first appearance  on  an
     officially released recorded work -- Paul] a lot as well.

DC: Yeah, yeah exactly. When we started with  Cenotaph  it  was  more
    like -- as I said: when you're young, you're trying to sound more
    like what you're hearing.

CoC: Totally.

DC: Because you're starting to create your own style.

CoC: Absolutely, yeah. I think that's why you left Cenotaph,  because
     it went in a direction that didn't really suit  you.  With  (The
     Chasm's first demo) _Awaiting the Day of  Liberation_  you  were
     still finding a sound, and then _Procreation..._ was,  for  want
     of a better word, -progressive-. <Daniel laughs> It's so fucking
     bizarre and technical.

DC: Yeah, man.

CoC: And _FtLY_ is  so  different.  _Procreation..._  is  an  insane,
     insane album.

DC: Yeah man, I know. I love it dude. And  it's  -so-  sad  that  the
    fucking production is so weak, man.

CoC: Yeah, it's a pity.

DC: Yeah, it sucks. You mentioned progressive: I'm a big, big fan  of
    progressive music. You know, like the Italian bands  and  obscure
    bands from England and shit  like  that.  I  was  trying  to  put
    something of that progressive feeling  into  _Procreation..._.  I
    always try to put in something different and experimental --  but
    I know those albums are not  -so-  death  metal  -sounding-.  For
    me, as I said,  The  Chasm  is  a  death  metal  band,  but  with
    _Procreation..._ I was trying to go, like, nuts-over-the-top, you
    know? Like, "Fuck everybody! We're  gonna  be  the  most  fucking
    insane death metal band in the world". I mean, we even  used  two
    bassists on that recording. <he laughs> I mean, it came weird and
    fucked up, and it's just sad that the fucking production sucks.

CoC: It would be interesting to redo those songs like  you  did  with
     "The Gravefields", 'cause the version of  "The  Gravefields"  on
     _RtVoD_ is really incredible: the power  you  get  out  of  that
     song! I mean, the structuring is different as well -- a  lot  of
     the solos on the _FtLY_ version very much -cut into-  you  where
     the ones on the _RtVoD_ version flow over you and  consume  you.
     The way that "The Gravefields" comes out sounding on _RtVoD_  is
     incredible.

DC: That's great to hear that, man, because, if  it  was  for  me,  I
    would record a whole album, you know?

CoC: Right.

DC: I mean, we were having plans to do something now but we  couldn't
    do the whole album because  since  I  recorded  _Reaching..._  by
    myself I wanted first to test myself.

CoC: Totally.

DC: Yeah. So we didn't want to go and do the  whole  album,  probably
    ending with a fucking really shitty production.

CoC: In the end, it's hard  to  get  'round  to  doing  re-recordings
     because they are probably never gonna  sell  --  and  you  don't
     wanna let it get in the way of doing new music.

DC: Exactly.

CoC: But in theory, if at some point  you  don't  feel  like  writing
     anything and you have the money to go to a recording studio,  it
     would be interesting to hear it.

DC: Yeah, yeah, yeah!

CoC: 'Cause _Procreation..._ has a wonderfully obscure sound for what
     it is, but the power is maybe a  bit  low.  That's  one  of  the
     things that I find  interesting  --  _Deathcult..._  starts  it,
     _Procession..._ continues it and _Reaching..._ is definitely the
     pinnacle so far, but you've really been pushing forward  on  the
     power angle of the music.

DC: Oh yeah, because as time goes by you are  just  finding  yourself
    more and more, you know? And you are finding your style more  and
    more too. Some people have told me that the _Reaching..._  EP  is
    very in-your-face. I know it's much more intense and probably not
    as sophisticated as our older stuff, but that's the  way  it  was
    supposed to be; that's why we chose those songs, you know?

CoC: Right, right, right.

DC: And  actually,  when  we  do  the  new   one,   it's   gonna   be
    back-to-the-basics; it's  gonna  be  weird,  and  technical,  and
    experimental; intense, but really dark. Ah, fuck! I can't wait to
    record it, man.

CoC: I'm really looking forward to it myself.

DC: Yeah, I'm hoping for  --  I  mean,  we  were  supposed  to  start
    recording it this month, but I'm just not in the right  frame  of
    mind.

CoC: Sure. I think that's very important, you know?

DC: Yeah, I don't wanna fuck it up, you know?

CoC: Mmhm.

DC: Because when we did _Reaching..._ I was so  focussed,  I  was  so
    into the recording and it came pretty decent, you know?

CoC: Yeah. I think the actual sound comes through really well.

DC: Uh huh.

CoC: I think it's a really good sound for The Chasm. I think all  the
     different elements come  through  wonderfully.  The  drums  come
     through beautifully. One of the things I found, listening to  it
     the first time -- because you'd been talking about  how  fucking
     angry you were with the scene and the labels and  various  other
     things, one part of me was wondering whether you were  gonna  go
     for a really powerful "fuck you!"-death-metal thing.

DC: <laughs>

CoC: The first two minutes  I  thought,  "This  is  really  powerful,
     but..." -- and then suddenly  it  explodes  into  one  of  those
     things that just -is very- The Chasm: this incredible  solo  and
     the melodies and all these  sort  of  things.  Where  does  that
     influence come from? Because on _FtLY_ you can hear some of  the
     more doomy aspects,  but  it's  very  unusual  --  the  kind  of
     melodies and harmonies that you use sometimes -- -for- a lot  of
     death metal. It's not what a lot of  people  would  think  death
     metal is about -- if they listen to  Monstrosity  or  something,
     you know? Where do you think that influence comes from, really?

DC: Fuck, man! I...

CoC: Just years and years?

DC: Yeah, yeah because it just comes: right now, it's  just  natural.
    But the aspect of the melody and, you know, when  you  hear  that
    feeling? It comes totally from like Iron Maiden  and  stuff  like
    that, man. Actually, that solo in "Reaching the Veil of Death": I
    wanted to do something like fucking Dave Murray or something like
    that. I didn't want to be Iron Maiden but I  was  like:  fuck!  I
    mean, we're death metal of course, but "metal" -- just  the  pure
    meaning of the word. So right now it's like, we have  nothing  to
    lose, right? I mean, we do this or  that,  who's  gonna  care?  I
    mean, who's gonna be like, "Oh, you guys  suck,  you  won't  sell
    more copies, you're gonna go down in the scene." I'm  like:  fuck
    everything and everybody and just do what I feel.

CoC: Absolutely.

DC: And yeah, totally, when we use twin harmonies or leads  that  are
    so melodic -- Julio, for example, he's a  fucking  demon  on  the
    guitar, in my eyes, and  he's  using  a  lot  of  more  classical
    sounding melodies.

CoC: Yeah, I can hear that.

DC: Like Yngwie [I think Daniel said "Yngwie", and the  reference  to
    Malmsteen makes sense in the context  --  Paul]  and  stuff  like
    that. I'm not trying to say like, "Oh, yeah, we're  gonna  go  so
    technical now". It just comes  from  fucking  heavy  metal,  man.
    That's -it-. My heart, my main, main  source  of  inspiration  is
    death/thrash, but it doesn't mean that I won't use fucking  heavy
    metal in my creations, you know?

CoC: I think maybe that's what The Chasm -is-. It's its own entity in
     its own way, but also, very crudely speaking, it's a marrying of
     the power and the aggression, -and- the melodies of metal.  What
     I find is interesting from what you were just saying  there  was
     that I was thinking that when you write solos and when you write
     things it comes naturally because it's very similar  to  what  I
     think a lot of people like 'Maiden were  writing  in  the  sense
     that they were writing it from their hearts, you  know?  And  it
     came out sounding like that because they're  Iron  Maiden.  What
     I've always liked about The Chasm is that when there's melody it
     sounds like a -genuine- part of  the  sound,  whereas  in  other
     bands it's just Iron Maiden put onto a death metal song. Like In
     Flames...

DC: <thoughtfully> Oh, yeah...

CoC: I really like the first In Flames album...

DC: Yeah, the first one was genius, man.

CoC: Yeah, but some of the later ones -- I  like  bits  of  _Clayman_
     [CoC #48], _Whoracle_ [CoC #27]  and  _Colony_  [CoC  #40],  but
     they're very, very Iron Maiden. You know: they're very much  the
     same melodies put onto death metal  songs  with  a  death  metal
     vocalist, and they're just not as experimental  and  interesting
     as the early stuff.

DC: Oh yeah.

CoC: Or as experimental and interesting as -Dawn-, who  I  absolutely
     adore. You know Dawn from Sweden?

DC: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

CoC: With the vocalist from the first In Flames EP?

DC: Mhm.

CoC: I just think those bands put something of their own  into  that.
     You know, something that -they- really do. Dawn's stuff and  the
     first two In Flames releases have that. And that's what I  think
     comes out in The Chasm as  well  --  that  you're  just  writing
     something that's your own and that sounds  really  -new-,  in  a
     bizarre sort of way, even though you can hear the old.

DC: As we said with Primal Fear: what is the point of doing something
    that has already been done? I mean, the thing with In Flames  and
    the whole fucking Swedish scene right now is that it's so, so, so
    melodic, but in a... gay way. <he laughs>

CoC: Yeah.

DC: You know? Like, I love melodies,  man,  but  you  know  what  I'm
    talking about.

CoC: Yeah, totally. In the Swedish scene today I think  there  are  a
     really small number of fucking  -great-  bands  that  are  doing
     their own thing, and a really -huge- crowd behind them, some  of
     whom aren't bad. Soilwork, I think, are OK, and I think  Darkane
     are pretty good. But I think, say, The Crown are really  fucking
     cool. I really like what  The  Crown  do,  between  thrash,  and
     melodies, and some of what Dark Tranquillity were doing  -seven-
     years ago that they're totally not doing now.

DC: Yeah, well... exactly, yeah.

CoC: I mean, Dark Tranquillity and In Flames have just  become,  kind
     of, somewhere between a rock band and  a  heavy  metal  band.  I
     don't know -- I almost feel like they're creating albums so that
     they can play festivals in Germany, or something.

DC: Exactly. Yeah, I mean... shit! It's so... I don't know,  dude.  I
    mean, I don't wanna talk shit about anything or anybody, but  why
    do they wanna sound like this? It's plastic, you know? There's no
    magic, dude, there's no fucking magic in the music. As you  said,
    they're probably just releasing albums to go to  Japan  and  tour
    the world and, you know, at this point, make some money.

CoC: Yeah.

DC: But I don't know -- maybe I'm fucking wrong, but that's  the  way
    it sounds, you know?

CoC: Yeah. The same feeling with me. I can understand  that  some  of
     these bands might really wanna  do  some  of  these  things  but
     it's just that for me  the  music  doesn't  connect.  When  Dark
     Tranquillity did _The Gallery_ [CoC #7 & CoC #48, CC] I  thought
     it was wonderful. What they do now, I don't find interesting.

DC: Yeah, yeah.

CoC: In our own way, I guess we come up with ways to  explain  it  --
     like their commercial success. Sometimes you're right, sometimes
     you're not, but in the end it's the fact  that  the  music  just
     doesn't connect with you anymore, you know?

DC: Yeah.

CoC: It doesn't -do- all those wonderful things that it did before. I
     mean, whatever Dark Tranquillity say about what they wanna play,
     nothing they  do  now  sounds  as  beautifully  progressive  and
     wonderful as _The Gallery_.

DC: Mhm.

CoC: For me, at least.

DC: Yeah, yeah, yeah, I understand what you're saying.

CoC: You were talking about the Brazilians and their influence. I can
     see how, coming from Mexico, that is a certain aspect, but  also
     there's something -vaguely- culturally -Mexican- in The Chasm --
     though there's also a strong theme of darkness and -death-,  and
     also this sort of -cosmic- aspect to it.

DC: Mhm.

CoC: Starting with the Mexican aspect: there's "Spectral Sons of  the
     Mictlan" [the opening track of _PttI_ --  Paul]  and  on  _FtLY_
     there's the -- I think it's Mayan, isn't it? The golden face  up
     in the top right-hand corner?

DC: Uh-huh.

CoC: I was wondering how the heritage of Mexico -- which has  various
     historical eras, but if you think about  the  civilisations  you
     associate with that idea, they're  quite  mysterious  and  quite
     unusual, and have a lot of -- not  exactly  -death-cultic-,  but
     they certainly believed in human sacrifice...

DC: Yeah, totally.

CoC: And a lot of symbolism between the sun and various other things.

DC: Uh-huh.

CoC: So how much would you say that that culture  which  is  "behind"
     the country you come from affects you?

DC: Well, pretty much it's just like -- how can I  say?  When  you're
    reading and you get into your history. I mean, I was so impressed
    with the power. These guys, besides being strong, were so  noble.
    They had a lot of pride, you know?

COC: Yeah.

DC: And they were fuckin' -- how can I say? Oh shit, I don't have the
    words. I don't even remember the word in Spanish?! <he laughs>

CoC: Are you thinking maybe of the way they're quite unusual, they're
     quite esoteric, but they're also --  like  a  lot  of  the  near
     eastern civilisations -- very knowledgeable. In terms  of  their
     calendar systems and engineering, their "science", they  weren't
     what we'd call "barbarians".

DC: Ah-hah.

CoC: The whole vision  of  the  barbarian  is  pretty  ridiculous  in
     itself, but d'you know what I mean? They're not  walking  around
     with  clubs,  dragging  their  wives  by  the  hair.  These  are
     intelligent people with a very developed civilisation --  which,
     of course, then gets totally crushed by the Spanish.

DC: Oh yeah!

CoC: But that's a different story.

DC: Oh, fuck yeah! And you know what? I mean, they got crushed,  like
    you say, by the fucking Spanish because they were respectful, you
    know?

CoC: Absolutely.

DC: They saw these guys and they thought they were gods,  of  course;
    they were friendly, you know? They had this sense of respect  for
    a different human being or a different race.  And  these  fuckers
    betrayed them and crushed them because...  you  know  how  people
    are, you know? <he laughs>

CoC: It's really sad. It's really, really sad how much of culture  in
     the world is destroyed by things like that -- and how much a lot
     of Western academic and cultural heritage propagates the  belief
     that these were useless civilisations.

DC: Oh man...

CoC: That's the thing, from the Assyrians  and  the  Babylonians  and
     the Persians, the Incas and  the  Mayans  and  all  the  various
     civilisations of Mexico, no-one really takes any account of this
     -- and people take even less account  of  it  because  the  only
     people that -do- take account of it are these  crazy-ass  people
     who think that aliens landed, which always gets on my nerves. Do
     you know what I mean? So few people take the Incas seriously  in
     the first place, and then the only  thing  that  someone  writes
     about them is some really long-assed, stupid theory about  alien
     landings and all that sort of stuff.

DC: Yeah, man. I mean, that's something that, as you say,  is  really
    sad. There is not enough recognition for the authentic genius  of
    some of these cultures and for me, that's like a main inspiration
    for being true to myself and being strong and doing  the  fucking
    best that I can, you know? Because  these  guys  were  just  like
    total architects, architects of an empire  that  was  so  fucking
    powerful, man, and  so  rich  in  --  how  you  say?  --  wisdom,
    knowledge. And they were totally into sacrifice and shit. I mean,
    that's something -- it makes sense, you know: fucking pagan rites
    and shit like that. But at the same time, they were  not  fucking
    stupid, you know?

CoC: Totally.

DC: And it's something that really inspires me. I respect that a lot.

CoC: It's not of crucial importance, but I felt it was  pertinent  to
     ask: are you  of  Spanish  or  "Indian"  [Native  or  Indigenous
     Mexican if you prefer -- Paul] quote/unquote heritage?

DC: Well, I gotta say, I'm both. My hair is straight and I don't have
    fucking facial hair -- you know, like the Aztecs -- but  I'm  not
    that dark, you know?

CoC: I noticed in the pictures that  you  didn't  look  homogeneously
     Spanish so I figured it was something like that.

[Daniel and I chat on about Mexico,  Latin  America  and  the  common
perceptions of them. I mention that I love Mexico]

DC: I love Mexico too, but oh man! The situation. The economy  is  so
    low, so down, so fucked up. I  mean,  you  can  hear  it  in  our
    records; we didn't have enough money to record something  better.
    Also, the country, the guys down there didn't have money to get a
    really decent studio -- all the equipment was so fucking cheap. I
    came from a family who were in a  good  situation.  We  were  not
    poor. We were not rich. We were middle-class.  I  never  suffered
    from not having money in our family. I decided to do my own  life
    -- it as about time, you know? And  I  decided  to  come  to  the
    States. You know: the stupid American Dream It's about money, you
    know, because it sucks that a lot of shit depends on  money,  but
    that's how it is. And we moved here  and  everything,  and  we're
    doing good, we're doing much better, but I  hate  to  live  here,
    man.

CoC: There is definitely more opportunity to do a lot  of  things  in
     terms of anything financial in the states. The ability to create
     incredible music, as you can in the  States,  is  quite  a  good
     reason to live there. It seems strange, but it's just one of the
     unfortunate facts when it comes down to it. Unless  you  were  a
     millionaire in Mexico, you'd just never be able to do it.

DC: Yeah, exactly. I mean, here of course you have to  work  to  make
    your living -- everywhere that's the same. But at least you  make
    enough to make a nice living, and then  you  can  concentrate  on
    doing your  fucking  music.  I  mean,  I'm  worried  now  in  the
    situation I am, but you don't  have  to  be  worried  about  what
    you're gonna eat tomorrow or how you're gonna pay your rent.

CoC: Absolutely.

DC: That's pretty much why we chose to move here.

CoC: Coming back to The Chasm: there's a whole theme  of  skulls  and
     skeletons. I was wondering, generally, how that fitted  in,  but
     also how the whole quote/unquote "Deathcult  philosophy"  works:
     what it is to you and how it comes out?

DC: It's like a symbol, you know, like some kind of representation. I
    mean, when you're fucking  dead,  that's  the  last  thing:  your
    bones, your skeleton, your skull. And since I was a kid, I was so
    fascinated by that, you know? And it just to stayed  with  me.  I
    know it's probably cheesy -- everybody is saying this and that.

CoC: I think it works, for you. That's my view.

DC: I really believe it's like a representation of death. I'm  always
    thinking -- I mean, a lot of people  think  about  it:  how  it's
    gonna be after you're gone from this world, as we  know  it.  And
    I'm just so fascinated by the other systems, you know,  that  are
    supposed to be after this one. And I'm  using,  pretty  much  the
    skulls like... You know the Santa Muerte?

CoC: Oh! Day of the Dead?

DC: Yeah.

CoC: Yeah, absolutely. It's an incredible, incredible thing  --  I've
     always wanted to be in Mexico for it. I've seen an exhibition on
     it in the British Museum. I  love  it  because  I  always  think
     that the sombre and melancholic but  still  happy  and  positive
     celebration of death is a good thing.

DC: Yeah exactly, I grew up with all that kind of stuff and I  always
    thought about death as a liberation. That's why I titled the demo
    like that, because it  says  everything,  "Awaiting  the  Day  of
    Liberation" [The first Chasm demo's title --  Paul].  And,  as  I
    said, when I was writing that demo,  for  example,  I  was  in  a
    different mood. But I still have a... I don't know, man. I'm very
    -- how can I say? -- very negative. You know, always thinking and
    expecting the worst. And -- I don't  know  --  to  tell  you  the
    truth, I don't wanna even reach forty years old, man. I don't see
    any point, you know? That's the way I see it right now.  I  mean,
    probably I will change my mind...

CoC: But you mean that for you maybe there's no essential good in the
     continuance of life for its own sake?

DC: Yeah, yeah, exactly, yeah.

CoC: If you can  create  or  if  you  can  -do-  something  which  is
     significant -in  itself-,  that's  maybe  worth  something.  But
     simply to live for the sake of living...

DC: Oh, yeah...

CoC: ... It's not...

DC: ... It's not worth it.

CoC: Right, I see what you're saying.

DC: Like right now I'm playing heavy metal because  I  love  it,  you
    know? But also I'm  playing  music  because  it's  creative.  I'm
    really a very creative person. That's why I was doing tattoos; it
    was something artistic and at the same time creative, you know?

CoC: Right.

DC: My point, the thing  I  think  I  was  born  for  was  to  create
    something, you know? I'm not a materialistic person. I don't care
    about having new cars, or a lot of stuff or money  or  shit  like
    that. I'm more into the spiritual side of  things  and  I'm  also
    very into the creativity side of things. And that's one thing I'm
    saying about -- I mean, I'm sure the band is  gonna  come  to  an
    end... one of these days.

CoC: Yeah, absolutely.

DC: And if at that point, let's  say,  I'm  just  working  a  regular
    factory job, it won't be worth it <he laughs> to be here...  just
    like a fucking zombie, you know?

CoC: Unless there's something else in your life.

DC: Yeah,  exactly:  if  I'm  doing  something  that's  a  symbol  of
    creativity, and I'm happy with that,  I'll  keep  going.  If  I'm
    saying this band is a cult -- a cult of death -- I'm saying  that
    because that's the way I see it. I'm very fascinated and kinda --
    how can I say? Errr, fuck! Those words like...

CoC: "Consumed"?

DC: Yeah, probably, you know really into, like  fascinated  --  well,
    whatever.

CoC: I think I understand where you're coming from.

DC: Everybody has their own fantasies and illusions and for  me  it's
    just to reach the other side, man. You know?  I  mean,  it's  not
    like I'm thinking about that every day, because it  will  happen,
    of course -- everybody: that's our destiny. But sometimes I think
    about provoking, you know? And it was worse back in the  day.  At
    the moment it's not like that. We were talking about the  reality
    of life, you know? It makes you think about other things...

CoC: Absolutely.

DC: And it keeps your feet right here in this world, you know?

CoC: Yeah, yeah.

DC: I think that's another point about saying that we're  true  heavy
    metal of death: because we're embracing  death  and  I'm  talking
    about  death,  about  extinction  of  life,  you  know?  But  I'm
    not talking about "total armageddon"  and  shit  like  that  like
    some bands. It's extinction, probably,  of  my  life,  you  know?
    <chuckles> And what I'm trying to express too is what  I'm  gonna
    see at the other side, you know?

CoC: Absolutely.

DC: When we reach the Infraworld. So, pretty much, that's it with our
    skulls and everything. Probably -- I  don't  know:  I'm  thinking
    about changing it, trying  to  get  something  different  in  the
    upcoming albums. But I don't  know,  because  it's  part  of  our
    concept, you know?

CoC: Yeah. It is also something that you can alter  and  develop  and
     change. I mean, _FtLY_ has volcanoes and a red  sky  and  smoke,
     but the albums from there go along what I'd call more or less  a
     theme of "death and portals" --  and  there's  a  very  sort  of
     astral aspect to it.

DC: Yeah, exactly.

CoC: These landscapes -- and you have songs like "Cosmic Landscape of
     Sorrow".

DC: I mean, besides the theme of having the universe,  The  Chasm  is
    influenced just in when you look at the stars and you get really,
    really into it. It makes you think.

CoC: Yeah, well, you think about yourself in relation to all of that,
     for a start.

DC: Mhm. And I'm using cosmic images because I think it's going to be
    something like that,  probably.  Probably  we're  just  gonna  go
    there, you know? I'm representing something that I think is going
    to look like that. Like let's say, when I  start  my  journey,  I
    think it's gonna be something like that. I mean, just to  make  a
    representation, because I really don't know how  it's  gonna  be,
    you know?

CoC: Absolutely. That's more than understandable.

DC: Then, you know, the skulls, in some ancient cultures they thought
    that it was the house for the soul, you know? So, I mean,  that's
    where I'm gonna live, forever... in my own  fucking  skull.  It's
    hard to explain, man.

CoC: But I see what you mean, coming down to the crude  realities  of
     it: for the covers there is metaphor, and there is explanation.

DC: Exactly, like a connection, you know? Because  your  bones,  your
    skeleton is material, matter.

CoC: But the representation is there.

DC: Yeah, exactly. But it's like the link between this world and  the
    other, you know? When you go to the next  level  is  when  you're
    gone -- of course -- from here and when  you  start  the  journey
    and you start to go  through  these  portals  and  through  these
    fucking... I don't know man. Dimensions, or whatever.  It's  hard
    to explain.

[*(1)] Credit must go to Matthias Noll for showing me this  sight  on
the reverse of his _Morbid Visions_ original LP.

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

           T H E   V O I C E   O F   V I N T E R R I K E T
           ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
           CoC chats with Christoph Ziegler of Vinterriket
                          by: Quentin Kalis


Most CoC readers are  probably  unaware  of  the  existence  of  dark
ambient act  Vinterriket,  so  a  brief  introduction  would  not  go
amiss. Vinterriket was  first  unleashed  with  the  release  of  the
_Gjennon  Takete  Skogen_  demo,  in  May  2000.  This  was  followed
by _Det  Svake  Lys_,  a  three  track  EP  which  contains  possibly
Vinterriket's strongest moment to date, namely the beautiful  sadness
of "Nattefrost". In November 2001 this was followed by a second demo,
_Sturme der letzen Stille_, a startingly original work rooted in dark
ambience but incorporating elements from black  metal.  brilliant  as
the Vinterriket's demo releases have not been in vain and has managed
to secure a deal with avant-garde specialists Falcata  Galia  records
for a full-length album to be released this winter. In the meantime a
fair number of 7" EPs are due for release [see reviews in New Noise].
Until fairly recently I too was unaware  of  the  existence  of  this
extraordinary individual and musician. In order to  gain  an  insight
into the workings  of  such  a  unique  individual  I  conducted  the
interview below with Christoph Ziegler, the visionary and sole member
of Vinterriket. If you have even the slightest interest in music of a
dark ambient nature, then please read on. I hope you enjoy it.

CoC: How did Vinterriket come into being?

Christoph Ziegler: The start of Vinterriket  is  nothing  special,  I
                   think -- well,  actually,  I  started  Vinterriket
                   back in 1996 due to  my  eternal  love  for  dark,
                   melancholic, atmospheric and moody music. Way back
                   then the whole project was  not  that  serious.  I
                   recorded some  stuff,  sometimes  only  parts  and
                   fragments for myself.  In  1999  the  whole  thing
                   became more serious and I  started  to  work  more
                   professionally on new songs, because I got  better
                   equipment and  recording  possibilities.  I  am  a
                   total nature-lover and  the  first  demo  _Gjennom
                   Takete Skogen_ is totally  inspired  by  the  dark
                   side of Mother Nature. The songs have been created
                   during my darkest hours of depression,  melancholy
                   and loneliness. I must be in  the  right  mood  to
                   compose songs, you know. I often  walk  around  in
                   the darkest places of Mother Nature  in  order  to
                   get inspiration and ideas. I am living here  in  a
                   very small village not far away from the woods.  I
                   like this very much, because in a way I am quite a
                   misanthropic person. I hate big masses  of  people
                   and big towns. I also totally hate big parties and
                   stuff like that. Most of my time I spend alone and
                   only a few very close persons.

CoC: Who or what have served as your influences?

CZ: Vinterriket is only influenced by nature, nothing else!  I  often
    make trips to our local, mysterious moors and woods. It's good to
    relax, to get new inspiration and to feel  the  strong  force  of
    nature. Sure, you get influenced by many things around  you,  you
    can even say by all things around  you:  friends,  books,  films,
    landscapes, pictures, etc. But my main source is nature. We  have
    a lot of great dark and powerful places here in  our  area  where
    you can really feel the energy and might of nature! Of  course  I
    prefer dark, melancholic, moody places and landscapes.  I  really
    like  to  walk  around  in  Autumn  and  Winter  through  stormy,
    snowy, misty and cold woods.  This  is  why  I  love  Scandinavia
    (Sweden/Norway) so much. For  me,  this  is  paradise  on  Earth,
    nature-wise.

CoC: I understand that you're covering a Graveland song and you  have
     already covered a latter-day Burzum song. Burzum is  an  obvious
     influence, but what influence (if  any)  has  Graveland  had  on
     Vinterriket?

CZ: There is not much to say about this Graveland cover song. In July
    2001 I had recorded this which will be featured on the  Graveland
    tribute to be released by Nawlia Productions as either  an  intro
    or outro. It  is  a  great  synth-track,  I  think!  I  made  the
    cover-song in just two or three days. I like  all  the  Graveland
    stuff very much, but I think there is no influence from this band
    on Vinterriket. Graveland and Vinterriket are totally  different.
    Some Graveland stuff sounds similar to other Graveland stuff, but
    all in all Graveland is a very good band! Therefore I  have  made
    this cover "Forge of Souls" from _Following the Voice of  Blood_.
    The  Pagan  Graveland  stuff  is  better  than  the  black  metal
    Graveland stuff, I think. There was no  special  reason  for  the
    cover song. I was just talking to the guy from Nawlia about  this
    tribute CD and we decided to add Vinterriket...

CoC: English is the predominant language of the music world. However,
     many bands have eschewed the use of English in favour  of  their
     mother tongue. But on your first demo and subsequent EP you have
     chosen to utilise neither English nor your  native  German,  but
     Norwegian instead. Why have you chosen this particular language?

CZ: The reason why I used Norwegian titles on the demo tape  _Gjennom
    Takete Skogen_ and on the EP _Det Svake Lys_ is quite  simple:  I
    just felt I had to do so! In my eyes Norway has the  best  nature
    on the whole Earth. I am totally fascinated by the vast,  endless
    woods, the mysterious and misty fjords,  the  majestic  mountains
    and the atmosphere up there! You  know,  Vinterriket  is  totally
    influenced by Mother Nature, as I told you  before.  Therefore  I
    thought that the  Norwegian  titles  would  best  fit  the  whole
    concept on the demo tape. The band picture was taken  in  Norway,
    too, and the front cover was drawn by the famous Norwegian artist
    Theodor Kittelsen. I do what I  want,  depending  on  my  current
    mood. Maybe the some lyrics or titles  will  be  in  Swedish,  or
    whatever! All the new song titles and lyrics are entirely written
    in German. I am a big fan of all  the  Germanic  languages,  like
    German, Swedish and Norwegian. They have a very hard  accent,  if
    you know what I mean. When people speak English  it  sounds  like
    they have ten chewing gums in their mouths! <laughs> I simply  do
    not like it! The German languages are hard-sounding and spread  a
    kind of power and might. It's actually too  hard  to  explain.  I
    hope some might get my point. I also have plans to move to Norway
    when my studies are over here  in  Germania.  I  hope  this  will
    happen in 24 months... Now I ask you: why is, for  example,  Varg
    Vikernes using German lyrics and titles on his CDs?  Right,  just
    because he felt to do so and because  he  is  fascinated  by  the
    German language, though being of Norwegian blood. Maybe  the  use
    of Norwegian and German titles and texts  on  my  releases  could
    also be regarded as a sign against all  the  Americanism  in  our
    German language and culture! I hate it!

CoC: On your second demo, some additional elements such as clean male
     vocals, guitars and drums were used. I understand that you  have
     scrapped the use of these elements  in  upcoming  releases.  Why
     were they incorporated in the first place? Do you  plan  to  use
     them again in future release?

CZ: Some of the new, upcoming stuff is ambient, some is in more of  a
    black metal vein. The material on the upcoming  _Herbstnebel_  7"
    EP is in the vein of _Sturme  der  letzten  Stille_  (more  black
    metal), the split with Manifesto and the split with Northaunt  is
    ambient and the _Kalte_ 7" EP is  in  the  Burzum  _Filosofem_  /
    _Hvis Lyset Tar Oss_ vein. I just do  what  I  like!  Maybe  some
    future stuff will be more industrial,  more  experimental,  I  do
    not know. Concerning  _Sturme  der  letzten  Stille_:  you  know,
    principally I make music only for myself. I make the music I like
    and this depends in which mood I am. I just felt  like  including
    guitars, drums, vocals, etc. Be sure that  the  next  stuff  will
    again be different. I hate bands doing the same on every album. I
    like individuality,  progression  and  originality.  Therefore  I
    always try to explore new musical horizons and realms. I am  sure
    that every  Vinterriket  release  will  sound  different  in  the
    future. If people like my  music,  OK,  if  not  I  really  don't
    care, because I  make  music  for  myself  and  not  for  others!
    Vinterriket should always be dark, atmospheric and moody, and  it
    doesn't matter which style. Just that these parameters should  be
    fulfilled!

CoC: Could you tell us a bit more about your  record  label,  Neodawn
     Productions? Apart from releasing Vinterriket material, what  is
     its purpose and aims? Now that Vinterriket has an  album  coming
     out later this  year  on  Falcata  Galia  Records  will  Neodawn
     Productions now cease to exist?

CZ: The  story  of  Neodawn  Productions  is  closely  connected   to
    Vinterriket. Because  Vinterriket  was  totally  unknown  in  the
    beginning, I thought it would be the best to  release  the  first
    demo tape myself. Therefore I  founded  Neodawn  Productions  and
    released the demo in a limited edition of only 100 copies just to
    check the reactions and the response from the underground  scene.
    And from this point on Neodawn was born! There is no special goal
    concerning Neodawn. I  am  supporting  a  few  bands,  which  are
    worth the support, nothing more.  I  am  also  running  a  little
    distribution, by the way. People  can  send  promo  stuff  for  a
    possible distribution/release, why not! But the possibility of  a
    release is limited: I just release what I get  in  my  hands  and
    what I like 1000%. When I release something  I  stand  absolutely
    behind the music/attitude of the band. It should be  possible  to
    identify oneself with the music. I mean, it is possible that I'll
    get an offer from a band and that I am immediately fascinated  by
    their music. Then the possibility is very high that I'll  release
    it if the conditions are good. I'll release -no- stuff  just  for
    making a fast buck because most of the people like it even though
    I don't like it that much.  The  most  important  thing  is  that
    I am fascinated  by  the  music.  Neodawn  is  a  hobby,  nothing
    more. Neodawn will not cease to exist  with  the  CD  release  of
    Vinterriket on Falcata Galia! There are still  plans  to  release
    more Vinterriket stuff before and after the CD:  for  example,  a
    split 7" EP in early 2003 with Swedish ambient act Fjelltrone.

CoC: Will the upcoming debut CD feature entirely new material or will
     it be reworkings of songs from the demos?

CZ: The material on the upcoming CD will be 100% new and never
    released tracks. No re-works or remixes, etc. Sound-wise the stuff
    will be only ambient: dark, sinister, symphonic, moody, orchestral
    and atmospheric synth-soundscapes. The album will be a concept
    based upon different parts dealing with the "Nightfall".

CoC: I understand that Morfeus [Limbonic Art] did the cover  for  the
     _Sturme der letzen Stille_ demo. How did that come about?

CZ: Mmmh, no special story: I was/am fascinated by  the  drawings  he
    did for Odium and Limbonic Art and I thought that  a  picture  by
    him would fit demo #2 perfectly. I was talking to him  on  a  gig
    here in Germany some years ago about his drawings etc., and  when
    the release of demo #2 came closer I decided to contact  him  and
    ask about a cover. He agreed immediately and now you can see  the
    result! I am of the opinion that it looks great! It fits, because
    on  demo  #2  I  have  used  some  astral  elements  besides  the
    nature-themes, and also themes of the dark  abyss  of  the  human
    soul. But the basis is still Nature!

CoC: On your web page, I see there are  plans  to  make  a  video  of
     "Nattefrost" from the EP. What is the video going  to  be  like?
     Considering the nature of "Nattefrost", I imagine  it  to  be  a
     montage of evocative scenes highlighting the beauty of nature...

CZ: Yeah, there are plans to  make  this  video  clip.  Nox  Infandus
    Records wants to do this. It was supposed to be done this Winter,
    but because of last Winter being shitty in Norway, they  couldn't
    film the best scenes and clips. Everything in the  clip  will  be
    -really- dark, made  out  of  the  following  elements:  majestic
    endless and vast woods, mysterious landscapes,  maybe  fog,  full
    moon, night, and maybe some old  castle  ruins.  No  persons,  no
    "human things" like houses in the video. At least this is what is
    planned. But I have no idea about the final result yet!  We  have
    to make the storyboard first, which will be done this year. Then,
    let's wait until the next Winter. <laughs>  I  really  hope  that
    this will turn out fine!

CoC: What are Vinterriket’s plans for 2003?

CZ: Okay, these are the plans for 2002  and  2003:  Summer  sees  the
    release of a split 7" with Manifesto (Swe). This will be followed
    by another split EP, this time with Northaunt (Nor). This will be
    followed by the _Herbstnebel_ 7" EP. Winter  2003  will  see  the
    release of  a  third  split  EP  with  Fjelltrone.  All  will  be
    available in a limited edition of 500 copies  each.  Summer  2002
    will also see the release of the _Kalte_ 7" EP. Winter  2002/2003
    will see  the  release  of  Vinterriket's  debut  full-length  on
    Falcata Galia Records _...und die Nacht kam schweren  Schrittes_.
    I'll also participate on some compilations on  different  labels.
    None of the tracks to be used are new.

CoC: The floor is yours! Any last words?

CZ: Thanx for giving me the opportunity to tell your readers all this
    stuff. All readers should check out all the Vinterriket  releases
    and the other releases on Neodawn Prod. Germanic Hails!

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
                   _____  .__ ___.
                  /  _  \ |  |\_ |__  __ __  _____
                 /  /_\  \|  | | __ \|  |  \/     \
                /    |    \  |_| \_\ \  |  /  Y Y  \
                \____|__  /____/___  /____/|__|_|  /
                        \/         \/            \/
              _____                 .__
             /  _  \   _________.__.|  |  __ __  _____
            /  /_\  \ /  ___<   |  ||  | |  |  \/     \
           /    |    \\___ \ \___  ||  |_|  |  /  Y Y  \
           \____|__  /____  >/ ____||____/____/|__|_|  /
                   \/     \/ \/                      \/

Scoring:  10 out of 10 -- A masterpiece indeed
           9 out of 10 -- Highly recommended
           7 out of 10 -- Has some redeeming qualities
           5 out of 10 -- You are treading in dangerous waters
           3 out of 10 -- Nothing here worth looking into
           0 out of 10 -- An atrocious album, avoid at all costs!


Agalloch - _The Mantle_  (The End, August 2002)
by: Aaron McKay  (9.5 out of 10)

Few albums come along that instill this kind of powerful  inspiration
upon a listener. Twist all the  finest  elements  of  Ulver's  liquid
madness with the serenity of Borknagar and  the  illusive  nature  of
Agalloch begins to take shape. Darkness imbues every sunken  pore  on
this hauntingly crevice sounding outpouring leaving you  drained  and
fulfilled at the same time upon _The Mantle_'s conclusion. Words  are
a total failure when faced with describing Agalloch's gossamer depth.
Believe me when I say the conceptual instrumentation on this CD opens
before you like a hypnotic display from Pandora's box. Each and every
one of the nine tracks play  out  on  _The  Mantle_  like  passionate
movements from  a  dream  of  emphatic  longing  and  self-discovery.
Nothing short of enrapture will suffice when overcome by the waves of
heavy-hearted, nightshade-laced emotion _The Mantle_ delivers.  Truly
an offering to be taken  in  fully  and  -felt-  rather  than  simply
listened to. If this is Agalloch's sophomore  effort,  I'm  unsure  I
will scarcely be able to comprehend what's to come...


Agoraphobic Nosebleed - _Frozen Corpse Stuffed With Dope_
by: Aaron McKay  (8.5 out of 10)  (Relapse, 2002)

While I've been accused  of  having  all  the  attention  span  of  a
recovering narcoleptic ADD patient,  Agoraphobic  Nosebleed's  newest
offering is enough to send a parking meter into spastic convolutions.
Any  Scott  Hall  (Pig  Destroyer)  afficionado  will  recognize  the
adrenaline rush present on _FCSWD_ that  fans  have  come  to  expect
from these third floor Sing-Sing  escapees.  Never  left  beached  on
lucidity's sandbar  even  for  split  second,  Agoraphobic  Nosebleed
shoves you head first in a barbed-wire shit-storm  of  hallucinogenic
proportions throughout the thirty-eight cuts on this disc. Aside from
the utterly unbalanced distraction this shard-laced slice of cow  pie
presents, ANb  rattles  your  cage  with  unhinged  vocals  and  some
brainsick assistance from  various  friends.  Killjoy,  Lenzig,  Pete
Beumb, Danny Lilker, and of course, JR Hayes all slit a vein to bleed
their own unique essence into  _Frozen  Corpse  Stuffed  With  Dope_.
Even at just under thirty-four  minutes,  repeated  listens  to  this
concentrated intensity will surely corrupt your ability  to  function
normally in society. So who's crazy now?


Arghoslent - _Incorrigible Bigotry_  (Drakkar Productions, May 2002)
by: Quentin Kalis  (8 out of 10)

Yet another in a seemingly never-ending flood of  quality  black  and
death releases from Drakkar  Productions.  American  death  metallers
Arghoslent are not unlike  labelmates  Grand  Belial's  Key,  playing
similar frills-free --  i.e.  no  superfluous  keyboards  or  insipid
horror movie samples  --  high  quality  death  metal.  _Incorrigible
Bigotry_ is characterized by  memorable  riffs,  more  than  adequate
musicianship and decent production. This high quality  is  maintained
throughout the album with no significant drops in quality.  Lyrically
they appear to be motivated  by  real-life  historical  incidents  of
violence (they have tackled issues such as the  trans-Atlantic  slave
trade and colonization on a previous releases),  as  opposed  to  the
cartoon gore of, say, Cannibal Corpse. This is one of  those  of  few
albums whereby it is hard to explain exactly what makes the music  so
riveting. Certainly, the elements mentioned above contribute  towards
the composition of such an excellent album, but they are not the sole
reasons for this album's quality. I tried to pin  down  exactly  what
would this album a worthwhile purchase, but I couldn't. Despite  this
album evading adequate description,  it  is  definitely  one  of  the
better death metal albums to be released this year.


Armageddon - _Three_  (Toy's Factory, 2002)
by: Xander Hoose  (6.5 out of 10)

I remember  my  amazement  when  I  first  listened  to  Armageddon's
_Crossing the Rubicon_ album back in 1997; the  perfect  mix  between
death metal and the Gothenburg sound, consisting of  the  masters  of
Sweden (Chris and Michael Amott, Peter Wildoer, Fredrik Nordstrom and
Jonas Nyren). As this was supposed to be a one-off project,  I  never
paid much attention to them anymore apart from the occasional  listen
to the album. My surprise was great when I discovered this Armageddon
album, the third already. Curiously, it has been  released  in  Japan
only, with no plans for release in other parts  of  the  world.  Even
stranger is that almost all the original members are  gone,  so  that
Armageddon  now  functions  as  a  trio:  Christopher  Amott,  Tobias
Gustaffson and Daniel Erlandsson.  Christopher  has  taken  over  the
vocals, and with his high-pitched vocal style turned  the  band  from
death metal to a definitely heavy metallish course. Perhaps  Japanese
people are really eager for this kind of Blind Guardian  /  Helloween
style of music, and I reckon that _Three_ will do  really  well  with
fans of those bands, but for me Armageddon has lost its appeal. Don't
buy this if you're expecting something  in  the  vein  of  the  first
album; instead, try to give the new Darkane a shot.


Autumn Clan - _Requiem to the Sun_  (W.A.B. Records, 2002)
by: Vincent Eldefors  (8 out of 10)

It is not very often these days that I am impressed with anything  in
the gothic genre, whether it  is  rock,  metal  or  darkwave  we  are
talking about, but this is one of the very  few  releases  this  year
that sounds fresh and interesting. Autumn Clan is a band from Austria
that made its entrance into this world in 1997. Prior to signing with
their native Wait and Bleed Records (a new label that is working very
closely with Napalm Records) they have recorded two demos and  played
more than 50 live shows to get their name and music out in the  open.
Wait and Bleed focuses mainly on gothic  and  alternative  rock,  but
this album is still very heavy at times and those  riffs  they  churn
out help maintain a  steady  flow  throughout  all  fourteen  tracks.
Autumn Clan do however have all the trademarks of a gothic rock  band
-- passionate deep vocals, lyrics that are meant to move the listener
and a very melancholic, gloomy atmosphere. Autumn Clan may sound like
a band who is built on nothing but cliches and dull gray  music,  but
that is far from the truth.  Throughout  this  album  they  make  the
gothic rock scene seem alive and I do not for  a  second  doubt  that
_Requiem to the Sun_ will find its way to the heart of  many  of  you
who like the newer work from the Swedish masters of doom,  Katatonia.
Autumn Clan may be newcomers to the scene but they seem like  a  very
mature band and hopefully this will not be  the  last  time  we  hear
about them.

Contact: http://www.autumnclan.com


Barcode - _Hardcore_  (Diehard/Hardboiled, August 2001)
by: Adam Lineker  (8 out of 10)

It  would  seem  that  Barcode  are  self-consciously  trying  to  be
as hardcore as possible.  Rhyming  phrases  all  about  attitude  and
drinking, proudly sporting Freebase [see elsewhere  in  this  issue's
review section] T-shirts and frequently using the word "hardcore", to
the extent that it is the title of this very album. You have to  give
them points for enthusiasm. Metallic and aggressive, Barcode  have  a
slight punkish edge but a lot more guts. Also,  they  have  a  strong
sense for penning accessible songs. Opener  "Supreme"  is  short  and
catchy; automatically you get the feeling that _Hardcore_ will not be
a  chore  to  get  into.  The  songs  progress  fluidly  and  without
awkwardness, effectively fluctuating in tempo and giving the songs  a
palpable sense of structure and organisation. On their own the  vocal
lines are nothing groundbreaking, but they  fit  perfectly  with  the
music and are performed with passion that  complements  the  attitude
and aggressive spirit. The  riffage  on  _Hardcore_  is  tinged  with
thrash, and some stylish touches in the lead echo strongly of Slayer.
This is an enjoyable record. Admittedly it doesn't sound as  if  it's
going to change the face of the world, but Barcode fly the  flag  for
hardcore with pride and this element shines through the  music.  With
the spirit of this record being so prominent, Barcode sound like they
could be a lot of fun in the live environment. The momentum  is  more
or less kept up throughout _Hardcore_, yet the band rarely sound like
they are recycling riffs. It seems to  drop  ever  so  slightly  when
lengthy songs "Ride Like Hell" and "Representin'" arrive back-to-back
at the albums midpoint, but otherwise the songs are strong with hooks
in abundance. As you get into the record it becomes apparent that the
mix is both strong and effective. Each instrument is matched together
and of  equal  prominence  so  the  sound  is  accessible  but  never
weak or  flaccid  as  it  is  commendably  performed.  Lyrically  and
conceptually _Hardcore_ can range from worn-out unoriginality to  the
downright hilarious -- check  out  "VCRHCHO",  Barcode's  tribute  to
porn  queen  Jenna  Jameson.  Yet  this  only  adds  to  the  overall
entertainment. _Hardcore_  is  one  of  the  more  enjoyable,  err...
"hardcore" experiences out there and you can bet Barcode are proud of
it.


Blackness - _Dawn of the New Sun_  (Thundering/Wagram, June 2002)
by: David Rocher  (9 out of 10)

Much as I'll gladly agree that  the  whole  thrash  and  heavy  metal
revival phenomenon has now totally  degenerated  into  an  irritating
"taedium retrorum" drag, some releases affiliated to this genre  will
sporadically turn  up  and  unexpectedly  bully  me  into  a  frantic
neck-wrecking  and  air-guitaring  session  in  the  intimacy  of  my
own  metal  sanctum  --  and  this  is  precisely  the  effect   that
Blackness' second effort, _Dawn of the  New  Sun_,  produced  on  me.
Skilfully fusing massive German thrash-influenced rhythmical chugging
with the more melodic  blazing  aggression  of  contemporary  "thrash
metal" releases, this young French quartet also  cleverly  avoid  the
headlong and oh-so-prejudicial spiraling dives into worlds of melodic
cheesiness which tentatively "retro" and heavy acts like Children  of
Bodom now specialise in -- tight,  fast  and  always  rabidly  heavy,
_Dawn of the New  Sun_  boasts  a  proud  11  tracks  of  excellently
executed,  inspired  and  compelling   death   metal-tinged   -thrash
metal-, rapturously devoid of painted  fingernails,  heroic  stances,
infuriating misused keyboards  or  whimsical  attempts  to  assert  a
non-existent musical personality; the adrenaline-laced and definitely
no-frills cover of Motorhead's "Ace of Spades" speaks for  itself  in
this regard. In addition to these vastly enjoyable qualities,  former
Loudblast axeman and vocalist Stephane Buriez has crafted  a  chunky,
growling and razor-sharp sound for this release, a tight  sonic  wall
of growling bass and vocals, scything  guitars  and  punishing  drums
which definitely ranks among his finest productions to date. Granting
every mean bite 'n' gash delivered  by  Blackness'  material  optimum
depth -- from the intense Kreator-style power delivered by the rhythm
section to the brilliant, sparkling leads  spun  by  both  Blackness'
axemen --, the production on this sophomore release is the  icing  on
an already gloriously enjoyable  cake.  I  can  now  only  hope  that
Thundering Records will grant this genuinely superior thrash act  the
distribution and support they  deserve  to  help  them  spread  their
thrashing meanness way beyond French borders  --  headbang  your  way
over to www.blacknessthrash.com to turn yourself in!


Bloodshed - _Inhabitants of Dis_  (Code666, 2002)
by: Vincent Eldefors  (7 out of 10)

As if there weren't enough Swedish metal bands around already, we are
told the name of yet another new act that is about to show the  world
what they are capable of on an  almost  daily  basis.  Perhaps  I  am
exaggerating just slightly here, but this is almost  what  the  metal
scene is like today, and being a Swede myself I couldn't be  happier.
To be honest, however, not that many of the new Swedish bands impress
me as much as their counterparts did  five  or  ten  years  ago,  but
Bloodshed is one of the more promising new names  to  keep  in  mind.
That is if you like the kind of ultra-tight, brutal but still melodic
death metal that Necrophobic have developed over the years. Bloodshed
are also from Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, and released  a  mini
album called _Skullcrusher_ last year which showed a  great  deal  of
potential for this young  band,  something  that  the  Italian  label
Code666 were very eager to get their hands on. This is a  label  that
you should really keep track of if  you  are  interested  in  finding
extreme metal acts who don't sound like the usual  run  of  the  mill
bands. Bloodshed may not be the  most  unique-sounding  band  on  the
label, but they are still very good at what they do. Necrophobic  may
be the closest band to what Bloodshed display  on  their  full-length
debut, but the music of Bloodshed is  more  epic  and  you  can  find
little twists and turns in almost every song  that  make  bands  like
recent Marduk, old Entombed and old Opeth come to mind. If you  enjoy
well executed death metal with a solid Sunlight production  and  high
quality  songwriting,  then  this  is  one  of  the  hottest  Swedish
newcomers right now.

Contact: http://www.bloodshed.info


Botch - _An Anthology of Dead Ends_  (Hydrahead Records, August 2002)
by: Xander Hoose  (9 out of 10)

_An Anthology of Dead Ends_ is Botch's final statement to  the  world
before calling it quits. Yes, you're reading it correctly,  Botch  is
no more. Three full albums of insane noisecore/metal  and  plenty  of
excellent shows and that's it. But Botch  aren't  leaving  the  stage
unnoticed; _An Anthology of Dead Ends_ is an excellent piece of  work
that shows the way Botch had progressed since their late 1999 _We Are
the Romans_ album. In six songs titled  "Spaim",  "Japam",  "Framce",
"Vietmam", "Afghamistam" and "Micaragua" they show more diversity and
an even better instrument  control  then  ever  before,  leaving  you
banging your head and gasping for breath, your brain  saturated  with
strange tunes and rhythms with such a crystal clear  production  that
other bands could take an example of this. Devote fanatics of  _WAtR_
can blindly purchase _AAoDE_; for the others, this album comes highly
recommended. And if it's still too hard to say goodbye to this  band,
keep your eyes open for the re-release of _Unifying  Themes_  out  on
Excursion Records anytime soon.


Breathe In - _From This Day On_  (Bridge Nine, December 2001)
by: Adam Lineker  (7.5 out of 10)

Beginning with a whine of feedback and  a  sample,  before  exploding
into some dirty, nasty punk, Breathe  In  perform  with  lashings  of
spite and possess a vocalist who makes Johnny  Rotten  sound  like  a
choirboy. The lyrics go deeper than the traditional punk concepts  of
attacking order and authority, verging on tortured poetry  that  even
has gothic  shades.  The  mixing  on  _From  This  Day  On_  somewhat
bizarrely, seems to vary between a strong and rounded sound on tracks
like "D-Minus" and  then  an  altogether  more  unbalanced  and  weak
production with the vocals fading in and out of audibility on  tracks
such as "Inside Out"; the fact that these mentioned tracks  are  back
to back can only emphasise the contrast even more. Whether  this  was
intentional or not is lost on me, but it creates the impression  that
this was sloppily recorded in  bits  at  different  venues.  However,
regardless of what instruments are fading in and  out  randomly,  the
mix is consistently raw. The bass only becomes prominent when  it  is
doing something different to the guitars; otherwise it  merely  fills
out the sound. Also, Breathe In cannot seem to make  up  their  minds
what kind of style they are aiming for,  as  they  vary  between  the
nastiest blasts of dirty punk fury  to  sneering  their  way  through
Sum'-'Day-'182 friendly tunes, even including vocal harmonies on such
tracks; it's just performed in a more dirty  and  aggressive  fashion
than the aforementioned pop bands. In the middle of all this  we  get
some emotive and powerful works with a more melodic edge;  musically,
these are the better tracks. "Doppler Effect" stands  out  the  most,
showcasing how emotive this band can be  as  it  explores  some  dark
chord progressions. Breathe In have a lot more  feeling  and  innards
than many of the bands that usually  compose  songs  of  this  style.
However, _From This Day On_ seems to stutter along as an  album,  and
although it maintains interest in the offered variety and the flashes
of  tortured  inspiration,  it  still  lacks  a  sense  of  all-round
solidity. As the album ends it feels like it didn't get to  where  it
was going, leaving too many loose ends along the way. I guess Breathe
In don't want  to  make  you  comfortable  by  tidying  up  for  you.
Nevertheless, _From This Day On_ offers some strong material  and  an
enjoyable, spiteful performance.


Carpe Tenebrum - _Dreaded Chaotic Reign_  (Hammerheart, 2002)
by: Adam Lineker  (7 out of 10)

Opening track "Abiding Our Time" features a hammering motif  akin  to
banging a door with a lead pipe that sets the tone without  need  for
intro; Astennu's third Carpe Tenebrum album is no-frills death metal.
The source of his power is the sharp and prominent  drum  sound  that
provides most of the impact. Guitar sound is raw but  not  crushingly
heavy and while it is harsh and  cold,  it  is  too  ill-defined  and
woolly-edged to stand alongside the icy trains of Immortal. The  bass
is a constant metallic growl underneath  everything,  giving  overall
depth and doing its job. Astennu growls  out  husky  vocal  over  his
guitars, as they carve out the melody. There are no  keyboards,  save
for on instrumental "Aetherial Benefaction" and these are not in  the
league of Dimmu Borgir but they  still  paint  an  adequate  picture.
There is some effective lyrical imagery and Astennu must be commended
for trying to make it all rhyme, but sometimes this leads to  awkward
turns of phrase. As with  a  lot  of  death  metal,  the  lyrics  are
only comprehensible when read from  the  booklet,  a  result  of  the
traditional vocal style. There is  use  of  the  old  one-two  stereo
imaging in guitar lines, a very traditional  technique  for  texture,
but sometimes the single guitar line can seem too weak in contrast to
the metal produced with all instruments in conjunction; this  may  be
because of the employed distortion. Rather than  "ripping  everything
to shreds" as the bio professes, this album feels more brooding.  "To
See Your  Name"  showcases  some  of  those  black  metal  roots,  in
Astennu's blending of harmonies and discords.  "The  Telling"  boasts
one of the more immediate hooks, and more  hammering  figures  --  an
emerging trait of this album. This is  solid  death  metal,  somewhat
devoid of bassy splurge but not as clean as the Florida  sound.  Dark
and atmospheric with some degree of power, Astennu shows that he  can
shred effectively but his style is not explosive or aggressive. It is
also easy enough to understand but suffers in its  lack  of  exciting
moments. "What of This Place" has some of  the  more  aggressive  and
powerful riffage and "Hope Is Near" conjures up the  faintest  images
of Slayer. We are treated to expansive passages of chord  progression
and kick drumming that has more cold Immortal  shades  in  "Conscious
Hide!". Astennu varies styles and changes  and  also  controls  tempo
fluctuation, often in  accordance  with  lyrical  phrasing.  In  this
manner he prevents his songs from being too plodding or too  thrashy.
We get guitar solos on  occasion,  which  are  effectively  employed.
There are moments that shine brighter than others, often  those  more
melodic moments amongst perfectly respectable death metal  riffs.  It
is a shame there aren't more of these. Also, the album is dogged by a
number of detrimental fade-outs. It is a shame the first track  fades
out, when using the  hammering  figure  would  have  been  a  perfect
closure to a solid work of metal. The  last  track  also  fades  out,
leaving a slight air of dissatisfaction. A third  album  under  Carpe
Tenebrum finished and Astennu has offered up  a  work  of  consistent
quality that would easily fit into anyone's collection;  having  said
this, it isn't the most inspiring or absorbing death metal release in
the world and I doubt  it  would  have  anyone  running  out  to  buy
T-shirts, but he probably doesn't have any available anyway.


Centinex - _Diabolical Desolation_  (Candlelight, 2002)
by: Alvin Wee  (5.5 out of 10)

These Swedish deathsters' latest fling marks  their  move  away  from
Repulse Records and a sojourn into more commercial worlds  of  metal.
The band show a marked penchant for mainstream black metal this  time
round, and while  not  entirely  denying  their  death  metal  roots,
they come off  as  assuredly  mellower  creatures  than  before.  The
introduction of Norwegian-style keyboard soarings slams home the fact
that Centinex have been  listening  to  way  too  much  Dimmu  Borgir
lately. In fact, synth-dominated tracks like "Forthcoming Terror" and
"On Violent  Soil"  fail  to  deliver  the  aggression  their  titles
promise, and instead fit right into a scene  dominated  by  similarly
softcore pseudo-black/death metal acts. The band opt  to  hide  their
claws on this largely mid-paced release, with much  of  the  material
coming across as forgettable and derivative: pleasant elevator metal,
nothing more, nothing less. The guitar work here reflects the melding
of black and death styles so popular in the  mainstream  these  days,
and is a far cry from the dark and atmospheric conjurations on  their
Dissection-tinged debut. The  boys'  experience  is  evident  in  the
polished structures and  stellar  musicianship,  and  the  uninspired
nature of the material is perhaps the critical thing that drags  this
entire  album  down.  Bland  Gothenburg  slush  contributing  to  the
downfall of the scene, and a completely unnecessary album  that  will
nonetheless probably get killer reviews in the major press.


Daemon - _Eye for an Eye (and the World Turns Blind)_
by: Adam Lineker  (9 out of 10)  (Diehard, May 2002)

Getting things off on the right foot with  a  truly  horrible  intro,
which they swear was done before September the 11th, the bio picks up
on the immediate theme of terrorist repercussions  by  talking  about
Daemon delivering  missiles  of  highly  explosive  death  metal  and
showing no mercy. Rather than being cheap  and  sick,  it  throws  an
effective context on the mood of these songs. Thankfully,  the  metal
is good enough to do such a description justice and is very powerful.
The vocals are guttural and butch but  mostly  comprehensible;  these
are belted out over a chunky guitar sound  that  fills  out  the  mix
but is  not  too  messy.  Daemon  boast  some  well-constructed  riff
progressions, pieced together with  effective  compositional  touches
such as short drum fills in the pauses. The lead solos have shades of
both Slayer and Pantera; it quickly becomes apparent that these  guys
are good musicians. The drum lines are littered with breaks and fills
and they are complex enough underneath all  the  embellishment.  This
metal seems performed with controlled aggression; it never  goes  out
of control but maintains a strong  intensity.  The  majority  of  the
songs are energetic and fast paced and the pace doesn't let  up.  The
first few songs seem to leave nothing more than a feeling of quality,
being impressively progressive enough but with some gutsy hooks.  Yet
there is melody here, a certain powerful groove to the crafted riffs,
which is engrossing. _EfaE(atWTB)_ is well-produced with good use  of
vocal effects to give an inventive but classy touch to  the  phrases.
This album speaks volumes of  creative  flair  and  it  is  all  well
performed, particularly the guitar solos, which  seem  vital  to  the
music and are an actual pleasure to hear. The drums seem a little low
in the mix from what they could have been, but this album has  enough
impact to compensate for what may have been lost here;  though  still
odd considering that it is ex-Death, Dark Angel,  Testament  and  SYL
drummer Gene Hoglan. This metal has a modern  edge  --  Pantera  fans
would feel at home  with  this.  Daemon  sound  accomplished  and  in
control. This is very good metal, enjoyable and  absorbing.  "Kingdom
of Fools" has a crushing opening  riff  and  very  effective  layered
guitar constructions; it is a true stand out track. "Truth Be  Known"
has some of the more striking chord progressions  and  one  the  best
manipulations of the fade-out technique  I  have  ever  heard.  There
is great sample  usage  on  "Cursed",  although  the  actual  melodic
introductory passage borrows heavily from Slayer. This album  is  not
only worthy of multiple listens; it is worth your money. It maintains
the same mood throughout ten tracks and only  seems  to  get  better.
This metal never seems to plod away or become pedestrian,  even  over
ten proper tracks. Give _Eye for an Eye_  your  attention,  and  then
give Daemon your cash so they can make another one like this.


Danse Macabre - _Matters of the Heart_  (Hammerheart, May 2002)
by: Adam Lineker  (1.5 out of 10)

There are certain things  a  band  has  to  get  right  to  be  taken
seriously. You would think that the least this lot  could  have  done
was to get their own name  pronounced  correctly,  especially  as  it
cheesily dominates the choruses of two songs on this EP. But alas, it
was not to be and Danse Macabre, or should that be  Danse  McCarbrer,
literally fall at the first hurdle. There are many things wrong  with
this band, and even more things wrong with this EP  which  they  have
created. The music, despite being entirely  unimaginative,  is  about
one of the only things they  come  close  to  getting  right,  as  it
possesses a somewhat danceable goth groove. The guitar sound is  warm
but fuzzy, only achieving punch when joined with the bass and  drums.
Nothing else is allowed to shine however, as it is all wrapped  in  a
cloying fog of pretentious and misguided gothic  nuances  that  would
warrant them a good kicking in any  other  profession.  The  singer's
voice is nothing but totally embarrassing; rather than sounding  like
Sisters of Mercy or Him, it  is  just  sickeningly  over-the-top  and
cringe-inducing. The lyrics are poor enough to make even Manowar look
away and blush. It is always best to put remixes at the  end  of  the
record as bonus tracks, as most  artists  do,  or  even  cash  in  by
releasing a remix album, which a lot of artists also do. This  little
lot stick a remix of Danse Macabre on straight after the original. It
is just awful. The  song  is  basically  the  same  but  sounds  like
early-'90s dance. The impact of the guitars and drums that  gave  the
original some sort of danceable groove is  now  lost  and  the  whole
texture is thinned out. Add in some  very  awkward  swinging  in  the
stereo imaging, an unbelievably poor  MC  mutilation  of  the  lyrics
("Da-Da-Da-Danse  McCarbrer")  and  a  silly  title  ("Lonely  Puppet
Remix") and you are lost for words or, at worst, driven to  end  your
life. The use of  effects  and  samples  is  quite  poor  all  round,
although most of the music isn't really too bad. It is just that  the
techniques, embellishments, vocals and remixes are  just  so  kitsch.
Even though all previous artistic "flair" has  gone  horribly  wrong,
they have quoted themselves inside the sleeve in a nauseating display
of arrogance and backslapping. By the time you  reach  the  "Addicted
Heart Remix" of "Oblivion" you have to wonder if they  are  having  a
laugh. Yet another remix follows, this time of "Trojan  Horse"  (dear
God -- the "Hungry Ghost Remix"), all of which is recited in a  voice
which makes Dani Filth's stage voice seem  respectable  and  serious.
The music is so full of  cheese  it  is  outclassed  by  most  action
game-show themes -- particularly The Crystal Maze. This is  terrible.
Only one track attains  anything  close  to  respectability;  "And  I
Bleed" is just  a  little  better  that  its  contemporaries,  simply
because it is not as embarrassing. That's barely  one  out  of  five.
This EP is not worth your attention, let  alone  your  money.  Please
Hammerheart, no more.


Dark Tranquillity - _Damage Done_  (Century Media, July 2002)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (9 out of 10)

Albums such as 1995's masterpiece _The Gallery_ or  1997's  brilliant
_The Mind's I_ must not be an  easy  legacy  for  Dark  Tranquillity;
indeed, I suspect that they may even burden  their  creative  process
somewhat, much as the band may try to avoid it. For the  past  couple
of albums (_Projector_ [CoC #41] and _Haven_ [CoC  #49]),  they  have
been trying hard to introduce new elements into  their  music:  first
keyboards and clean vocals, then  electronics.  They  tried  to  keep
moving on instead of going back and trying  to  outdo  themselves  by
writing an even better _The Gallery_ or  _The  Mind's  I_.  This  has
earned  them  mixed  reactions  from  fans  and  critics  alike,  but
personally I have an unusually soft spot for _Projector_ and  I  also
find _Haven_ a very enjoyable disc in its own  right.  When  I  first
heard  that  _Damage  Done_  would  be,  to  a  considerable  extent,
something like Dark Tranquillity's return  to  their  roots,  I  felt
simultaneously eager to hear it and unsure of whether it would  be  a
good option for them -- simply because their past efforts still stand
as major landmarks in  the  metal  world  to  this  day.  Ultimately,
_Damage Done_ does harken back  to  _The  Mind's  I_  more  than  its
predecessors; a couple of riffs bear some resemblance to _Projector_,
and the use of electronics is akin to that on  _Haven_,  even  though
they normally take the back seat  in  the  music.  _Damage  Done_  is
overall more aggressive than _Projector_  and  _Haven_,  but  without
shedding the electronic nuances the band has been using lately. These
are generally unobtrusive throughout the album and complement some of
the slower tracks nicely.  Mikael  Stanne's  distinctive  vocals  are
again in top shape, this time in a slightly lower range than  he  has
used in the past. In addition to the irreproachable technical aspects
of the music, the production on  _Damage  Done_  is  -very-  powerful
while still retaining all the necessary  clarity  for  everything  to
shine through. The opening track, "Final Resistance",  is  among  the
best tracks Dark Tranquillity have written in a long while,  and  the
material on _Damage Done_ is generally up to the standard set by  the
band's last couple of records, some of it standing out as  highlights
from that set of albums -- which is saying  a  lot.  The  mixture  of
quick-and-aggressive, quick-and-melodic  and  mid-paced  material  is
wisely scattered on  the  disc,  which  comes  wrapped  in  excellent
artwork -- possibly Niklas Sundin's best work ever in that field. The
same cannot really be said of the band's output (one has to  consider
albums such as _The  Gallery_),  but  _Damage  Done_  certainly  does
not disappoint either.  It  is  not  revolutionary,  and  it  is  not
-everything- I hoped for from Dark  Tranquillity  (which  would  have
been a 10 out of 10), but it is still a thoroughly enjoyable piece of
modern Swedish melodic death metal.

[David Rocher: "Dark Tranquillity's sixth release leaves me to  dwell
 on an irritating feeling of  very  mitigated  appreciation.  Despite
 possessing, in appearance at least, all the components crucial to  a
 good Gothenburg death  metal  release  --  aggressive,  melodic  and
 powerful riffs, powerful drums, Mikael Stanne's unique  vocal  style
 and a murderous  production  with  roaring  low-end  tonalities  --,
 _Damage Done_  flows  pleasantly  past  one's  eardrums,  yet  deals
 precisely too little raging aural damage to remain memorable. Niklas
 Sundin's and Martin Henriksson's very melodious  guitar  work  sadly
 doesn't strike me  as  groundbreaking  or  distinctive,  and  Martin
 Brandstrom's now very widespread electronic incursions only  display
 shining inspiration on  a  very  sporadic  basis,  hence  mollifying
 _Damage Done_ more than they invigorate it with new force.  Although
 a sadly meagre number of tracks do hit their mark (as  the  muscular
 opener "Final Resistance" or the  intricate  "White  Noise  /  Black
 Silence") with great accuracy, the final notes of _Damage Done_ form
 closure to an album which, in my mind, lies shrouded in  a  veil  of
 agreeable, yet mostly indifferent musical emotion."]


Darkmoon - _.308 Antichrist_  (Tribunal Records, March 2001)
by: Quentin Kalis  (8 out of 10)

In a market flooded with MCDs containing a mere one or two new studio
tracks accompanied by a host of lame remixes,  live  tracks,  insipid
cover versions and the like, it was pleasing to note  that  all  four
songs  on  this  MCD  are  new  studio  tracks.  Great  stuff.  _.308
Antichrist_ consists of death-tinged black metal,  a  largely  brutal
and violent work, which does however permit the occasional melody  to
surface. Whilst Darkmoon won't devastate the metal world  with  their
originality, their music contains enough personal quirks to enable it
to stand apart from the like-minded masses. This MCD deals  with  the
notion of war against Christianity,  of  course  --  they  are  black
metal, after all -- and several effects are adopted  to  successfully
enhance this notion. One is the  rigid  drumming,  which  imbues  the
songs with a strong militaristic feel, and is particularly  effective
in "Patriots of Fire" and "Impenetrable", also the best songs on this
MCD. Appropriate samples augment the pervasive sense  of  war.  Their
focus on modern day war would explain the lack of medieval influences
and touches that littered their previous work, while melody  competes
with outright aggression for  dominance  of  this  record.  A  worthy
addition to the increasing numbers of American black metal acts.

Contact: http://www.ncmusic.com/tribunal/


Dead Soul Tribe - _Dead Soul Tribe_  (Inside Out, 2002)
by: Brian Meloon  (6 out of 10)

Dead Soul Tribe is the brainchild of Devon Graves (formerly known  as
Buddy Lackey, ex-vocalist of Psychotic Waltz). The music is a mix  of
'70s and '90s rock, with a sound that isn't  particularly  derivative
of any one  band,  but  nonetheless  sounds  familiar.  It  has  some
similarities to Psychotic Waltz's later efforts,  but  the  music  is
less  progressive  and  more  straightforward.  Of  course,  it  also
contains  one  obligatory  track  ("Empty")  with  Jethro  Tull-style
flute. The playing is solid, but not  particularly  challenging.  The
production is clear and fits the music well.  Ultimately,  there  was
not much here to grab my attention, either in a good  way  or  a  bad
way. Fans of Psychotic Waltz might find this worth  picking  up,  but
there's little else here that will appeal to metal fans.


Deathwitch - _Deathfuck Rituals_  (Hellspawn Records, 2002)
by: Vincent Eldefors  (7 out of 10)

What do you think about an album where  the  tracks  are  carry  nice
cozy titles like "Satanic Orgasm  Abyss",  "Mayhem  Masturbator"  and
"Erection of Lucifer"? Not much, I guess,  but  Swedish  black  metal
musicians  have  never  been  that  keen  on  learning  the  ways  of
Shakespeare or Bysshe Shelley.  Deathwitch  is  all  in  all  a  very
predictable band and the album starts off  with  a  mandatory  "evil"
sounding intro that is one of the worst pieces  of  noise  I've  ever
heard. Fortunately for Deathwitch, I do not base my  reviews  on  the
quality of the intro or the lyrical content -- the music is always my
main concern. Deathwitch is as  you  may  already  know  one  of  the
many bands where Nicklas "Terror"  Rudolfsson  resides,  one  of  the
most important key figures on  the  black/death  metal  scene  around
Gothenburg, Sweden.  This  scene  has  brought  life  to  bands  like
Dissection, Runemagick, Swordmaster, Sacramentum, Deathstars (well, I
know I  shouldn't  have  mentioned  them...)  and  many  others.  The
former Dissection drummer Peter Palmdahl actually used to  play  with
Deathwitch as  well.  After  a  number  of  releases  for  Necropolis
Records, Deathwitch have now trusted David Parland's label  Hellspawn
Records with their fifth full-length release. This does not have much
in common with the beautiful melodic work from Dissection. Deathwitch
is more of a Satanic playground where influences from  thrash,  death
and black metal are mixed together. Sometimes it sounds really  good,
some other times it sounds like  you've  heard  it  a  hundred  times
before. This will definitely not be something new to most of you, but
Deathwitch do what they do best and they do it really well.

Contact: http://come.to/deathwitch/
 
 
Demigod - _Shadow Mechanics_  (Spikefarm / XIII Bis, June 2002)
by: David Rocher  (7 out of 10)

With Demigod's cult debut _Slumber of Sullen Eyes_ released  no  less
than a full decade ago (before the band dislocated and partly mutated
into the equally cult Adramelech), the expectations related to  these
Finnish death-metallers' heralded return  were  unquestionably  high.
Opening fire in pure Scandinavian  death  metal  tradition  with  the
downright impressive  "My  Blood,  Your  Blood",  _Shadow  Mechanics_
rapidly  takes  to  a  far  less  predictable  orientation;  straying
from the old school  death  metal  aggression  reminiscent  of  their
vintage first  release,  further  excerpts  from  _Shadow  Mechanics_
witness Demigod venture down more melodic,  brooding  and  doom-laden
pathways -- not unsimilar  in  style  to  Edge  of  Sanity's  slower,
"ballad"-style numbers --, alas with only mitigated success.  Whereas
this seven-Finn act's potent,  driving  low-case  heavy  death  metal
material indeed proves to dispense pure surges of  death  metal-laced
adrenaline (thanks to an excellent vocalist and a  monstrous  Finnvox
production), their more solemn, tentatively moody  songs  sadly  miss
their mark,  and  merely  awaken  a  slightly  dispirited  shadow  of
boredom. _Shadow Mechanics_ is fortunately enough punctuated  with  a
number of full-fledged scorchers  such  as  the  blasting  "Gates  of
Lamentation" midway through the  album,  but  is  mostly  articulated
around massively heavy mid-tempo numbers, which sadly fail  to  shake
me out of the wearied torpor  induced  by  the  dreaded  slow,  clear
vocal-laden ventures interspersed throughout this finally sadly tepid
release. Hence, as the final track on Demigod's much-awaited comeback
closes off, I'm left craving for some  more  pure  old  school  death
metal done the Demigod way, and can only hope  that  the  Finns  will
return to deliver some more streamlined, angered, low-case pure death
metal akin to that on _Slumber of  Sullen  Eyes_...  and,  hopefully,
before another decade has passed us by.


Demons of Dirt - _Killer Engine_  (Hammerheart, February 2002)
by: Adam Lineker  (6.5 out of 10)

Opening   with   a   distorted   blues   riff,   this    band    have
immediately-evident  Pantera  influences,  with  the  vocalist   even
sounding like Anselmo in phrasing  and  style.  The  guitars  have  a
Pantera-esque overdrive and the hooks are very groovy, but the  verse
and filler sections have standard generic thrashy  riffs.  The  drums
are blessed with a tight mix, particularly on  the  overly  prominent
snare, but a loose cymbal sound. And they are too  quiet,  detracting
from the impact of  the  riffs;  couple  this  with  the  bass  being
splurged  with  an  excess  of  twang,  and  the  overall  mix  feels
sloppy  around  the  edges.  This  proves  to  obscure  some  of  the
construed harmonies. The title track is unremarkable, and between the
bluesy opening riff of "Demon Blues", it  takes  until  fourth  track
"Repetitions" to give something that grabs  the  attention,  being  a
rather slick and groovy  work  of  metal,  with  a  more  trad  feel.
Lyrically they have the attitude but ruin it with stupidity  --  "Bow
your heads to the Devil's reign / It fucks  your  brain  /  Wings  of
Pain"! Demons of Dirt knock out power groove with oddments  of  other
metal styling thrown in. It works in bits but  can  be  uninteresting
and in this way, the quality  of  the  songwriting  is  inconsistent,
although the mood  and  constituency  aren't.  There  are  occasional
flashes of quality amongst the unimaginative  dirge  of  riffs;  this
band do best when they avoid the more thrashy elements  and  come  up
with groovy bridges and riffs. And it has to be said, the double-time
snare drumming is very annoying and they  totally  rip  off  Slayer's
"Seasons in the Abyss"  during  "Disrespect".  There  is  some  tight
musicianship and stomping riffs to get the head bobbing but  this  is
only just above average. It throws up some decent moments,  but  it's
telling that they only seem to catch your attention when  they  sound
like Pantera.


Desire - _Locus Horrendus_  (<Independent>, 2002)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (8 out of 10)

Desire were not an easy band  to  get  into  back  when  their  debut
_Infinity_ [CoC #17] was released in 1996, and as far as I  am  aware
the album was poorly distributed outside Portugal.  It  consisted  of
very slow, symphonic, tragically romantic doom metal, much  the  same
as _Pentacrow_ [CoC #30] -- the only sign of activity from  the  band
since their debut. But now, six years later, a full-length  successor
has  been  released.  This  is,  to  the  best  of  my  knowledge,  a
self-financed, independent release, but  it  certainly  doesn't  come
across as cheap: the thick booklet (thanks  both  to  the  number  of
pages itself and also the glossy paper they used) and the  fact  that
the album was mastered at Finnvox Studios in Helsinki  contribute  to
that. The  description  above  still  suits  their  music  nicely  --
symphonic, tragic and romantic it still is, and definitely doom metal
--, only now it's not quite as slow as it used to  be.  This  affects
the death vocals as well: previously each  syllable  seemed  to  take
forever to be uttered (which wasn't necessarily unpleasant).  Despite
the good quality of the death grunts, the black vocals  still  strike
me  as  slightly  cartoonish  and  not  entirely  convincing,  which,
considering how much of the music has vocals on top, tends to detract
somewhat from  the  effectiveness  of  Desire's  tragic  soundscapes.
The same can  be  said  about  the  annoying  accent  on  the  spoken
passages. More female vocals would have been  welcome,  as  they  are
used too sparingly in  this  70  minute  record.  The  band  is  very
fond of harvesting inspiration from the  movie  "The  Crow"  (samples
included) and quoting Fernando Pessoa, who was one  of  the  greatest
Portuguese poets that ever lived and  one  who  appeared  to  have  a
desperately melancholic soul. Of course these quotes won't mean  much
to non-Portuguese speakers, but in fact they work  really  well  with
the music and provide a welcome break from the lyrics themselves. The
lengthy and  slow-to-mid-paced  song  structures  may  challenge  the
patience of some listeners, but those who usually  enjoy  doom  metal
should not have a problem here. This record is not without its flaws,
but it is a great effort from a dedicated band and deserves attention
from darkly romantic doom metal enthusiasts.

Contact: http://thecrowshelter-desire.planetaclix.pt


Dolorian - _Dolorian_  (Wounded Love Records, 2001)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (9 out of 10)

These Finns' debut _When All the Laughter Has Gone_ [CoC #40]  showed
plenty of promise, but also a lot  of  rough  edges,  namely  in  the
occasionally annoying  keyboard  lines.  This  self-titled  follow-up
wipes all of that away: there are no  superfluous  embellishments  in
the music of present day Dolorian, keyboard or otherwise. This  is  a
-bleak- form of music we have here; something that can be called doom
metal for the lack of a better description, but as far as I am aware,
there isn't really an album in the whole genre that can  be  compared
to _Dolorian_. This is an  unrelentingly  bleak  mixture  of  heavier
metal-like sections and hypnotic string-plucking passages, all  laced
with a strong ambient music component that dwells in the  background.
Nothing is upbeat, and anything you could call a hook is very unusual
on _Dolorian_, the  main  exception  occurring  early  in  the  album
with the superb "Blue Unknown". Vocals  are  subdued,  whispered  and
spoken rather than sung,  while  Dolorian's  dirges  merge  into  one
another to form a continuous composition. There is  little  point  in
discussing whether the music ever becomes  repetitive;  it  sometimes
does, but only because they  want  it  to.  With  titles  like  "Grey
Rain", "Cold/Colourless", "Ambiguous  Ambivalence"  and  "Seclusion",
minimalist black and white artwork and  matching  lyrics,  you'll  be
sure to know what to expect before you hear the music. Dolorian  have
created a complete package of  misery  entirely  different  from  the
hordes of more or less listener-friendly, commercially-oriented music
that is created all the time. This all  sounds  detached,  alienated,
hopeless, fallen deep into despair; bleak. A  remarkable  achievement
by Dolorian.


Empyrium - _Weiland_  (Prophecy Productions, May 2002)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (9 out of 10)

Gone are Empyrium's metallic  days,  when  memorable  works  such  as
_Songs of Moors & Misty Fields_ [CoC #30] were created. Andreas  Bach
-- one half of the duo -- has since left the project, as Ulf  Theodor
Schwadorf is now joined by a classical vocalist (Thomas Helm) as well
as Nadine Wolter (who, as usual,  helps  out  with  the  flutes)  and
three other guests. This is an  entirely  acoustic  album,  like  its
predecessor _Where at Night the Wood Grouse  Plays_  [CoC  #42].  But
whereas _WtNtWGP_ was supposed to be a one-off  acoustic  record  and
ended up suffering  from  just  that,  _Weiland_  is  a  full-bodied,
lengthy, involved album. The music is at times  chillingly  evocative
of majestic open spaces or dark forests, driven  mostly  by  acoustic
guitar lines, some occasional percussion, flutes, violin,  cello  and
(later in the  album)  piano.  And,  of  course,  vocals.  These  are
essentially of three  qualities:  Schwadorf's  spoken  passages,  his
blackened vox (which are used sparingly and  work  very  well  indeed
with the delicate music), and the classical vocals provided by Thomas
Helm. Schwadorf's contribution fits very well in the music,  and  his
delivery is very good. As for  Helm's  classical  vocals,  they  seem
technically irreproachable, but to me they  tend  to  sound  somewhat
jarring amidst the sombre atmosphere of present day Empyrium's tragic
neo-folk. Fortunately, these vocals are also used sparingly enough to
avoid becoming a major annoyance. _Weiland_  is  divided  into  three
chapters and subtitled "Naturmystik in Drei Kapiteln", which is where
an uncanny Ulver connection starts: Ulver's _Bergtatt_ is divided  in
five chapters, and their dark folk album  _Kveldsfanger_  contains  a
song titled "Naturmystikk" -- which, give or take a "k", is a bit  of
a coincidence already, only the superb _Weiland_  booklet  itself  is
quite reminiscent of the interior of Ulver's own  _Nattens  Madrigal_
booklet. Anyway, _Weiland_'s  first  chapter  contains  a  few  short
tracks that don't really seem to  go  anywhere  (also  known  as  the
_Kveldsfanger_ syndrome) and a couple of longer, more involved  ones,
both of them very good. The second chapter consists  of  the  seventh
track, which is a 14 minute song. Despite its length, it  flows  very
well and contains plenty of variety. Midway through the song, a  sad,
stirring string section reminds  me  of  Samuel  Barber's  Adagio  --
powerful stuff. The final chapter is slightly more sombre  (not  that
the previous two weren't sombre already) and contains  more  bits  of
sullen piano, which can't be heard on the first  two  chapters.  This
is my favourite part  of  the  album,  but  _Weiland_  has  the  very
pleasant quality of starting out nicely, though somewhat irregularly,
improving with the second chapter, and finishing with a  really  good
set of tracks. Some of these are also quite short, but work  together
very well. The classical vocals on the first half of the record  will
probably take some getting used to, but  overall  this  is  a  superb
release for anyone into dark acoustic atmospheres. The closest  album
I can think of as a reference  is  Tenhi's  also  excellent  _Kauan_,
though _Weiland_ shows slightly less folk influences. I can't  really
recommend one over the other; both are  definitely  worth  having  in
case the description above sparks your interest. It is  a  loss  that
Empyrium are no longer a metal band, but at least they  have  mutated
into something similarly interesting.

Contact: http://www.empyrium.de


Entwine - _Time of Despair_  (Spikefarm / XIII Bis, July 2002)
by: David Rocher  (2 out of 10)

Entwine's second full-length is the  archetype  of  a  release  which
epitomises the most irritating aspects of the gothic metal scene -- a
quintet of eyeliner-enhanced pretty boys graced with the presence  of
an awesomely sexy gothic ivory-tickling chick, Entwine indulge  in  a
nine-track collection of  feeble  melancholic  dirges  consisting  of
merely tolerable keyboard melodies vaguely  attempting  to  enlighten
prosaic, linear and  tentatively  heavy  guitar  work  overlain  with
irritatingly smooth, testosterone-suppurating  male  vocals  and  the
occasional  oh-so-predictable  half-hearted  female  chorus.  Add  to
this enrapturing landscape the juvenile  lovelorn  lyrics,  glamorous
posturing and obnoxious musical facileness this disc exudes -- capped
off by official distributor XIII Bis'  infuriating  habit  of  rudely
cutting Spinefarm's traditionally lush booklets down to  a  lame  and
meaningless two-page inlay --,  and  you're  faced  with  a  failsafe
method  to  obtain  43  minutes  of  sugar-coated  romantic  "gothic"
pop metal, with  the  probably  unrequested  bonus  of  a  distinctly
exasperated reviewer.

[Quentin Kalis: "Yet another helping of  bland  goth-inspired  metal.
 _ToD_ is, in almost all  respects,  the  same  as  its  unremarkable
 predecessor, right down to the inclusion of the same formulaic  song
 structures and embarrassing attempts at  creating  a  woeful  sound.
 Entwine have the potential to produce  an  album  infinitely  better
 than this insipid release, but until they move beyond  the  confines
 of their comfort zone, this is unlikely to happen."]


Eternal Oath - _Righteous_  (Greater Art Records, 2002)
by: Vincent Eldefors  (7.5 out of 10)

Eternal Oath are one of the veteran bands on the Swedish metal  scene
and they have been around for more than ten years now. They have  not
been very productive during their long career, though, partly because
of band members being active in  other  projects  outside  the  band.
Formed in 1991, a demo in 1993, a mini album in 1996,  a  full-length
in 1999 and another one now in the year 2002. I actually thought  the
band had broken up until their new album landed  in  my  mailbox  one
day... Still, this is not of much importance to you and me who  first
and foremost just want to enjoy the music, but I guess it must affect
both the band members and the label. Label problems is another  thing
that has been haunting Eternal Oath throughout the years,  and  their
previous album _Through the Eyes  of  Hatred_  was  released  on  the
Singapore-based label Pulverised Records, who closed their doors  one
or two years ago. The new album  _Righteous_  continues  pretty  much
where the band left off in 1999, but the newer material is more solid
and it feels as if the band is more comfortable with their own  music
this time. Eternal Oath do of course play melodic  death  metal,  but
they are still just a copy of bands  like  Dark  Tranquillity  or  In
Flames. The vocal  approach  of  Joni  Maensivu,  one  of  the  three
founding members who are still in the band, is more brutal than  what
we are used to hearing from bands in this genre and the overall sound
is also a little rougher and less polished. The vocals actually sound
very much like Aaron Stainthorpe  in  the  early  days  of  My  Dying
Bride's career. My Dying Bride is  one  of  my  favorite  bands,  but
Eternal Oath hasn't quite reached their  level  yet  in  my  critical
eyes. There are also some well performed female vocals on two of  the
tracks and, believe it or not, male clean vocals,  but  most  of  the
vocals are growled as usual. Recommended if you are a fan of  melodic
death metal who would like to hear something that  doesn't  end  with
Tranquillity or Flames. In any case, you must  listen  to  the  title
track of this album,  because  that  particular  song  is  absolutely
beautiful. Other noteworthy tracks are "Preserve  the  Emotions"  and
"Crown of Emptiness".

Contact: http://www.eternaloath.com


Freebase - _My Life, My Rules_  (Diehard/Hardboiled, September 2001)
by: Adam Lineker (8.5 out of 10)

The title speaks for itself and Freebase live up  to  it  in  a  fine
fashion; any band that can pen a song about  a  rapist  called  "Cunt
Hunter" and still manage to pull  it  off  deserve  some  modicum  of
praise. The drums seem a little muffled, but the guitars are powerful
and harsh as they bang  out  riffs  that  are  strong  and  effective
alongside vocals that roar and growl with a powerful hardcore  style.
You could seriously slam to this band. Lyrically,  it  is  aggressive
and controversial but positive; songs like "The Cull" and "SOS" are a
call to arms to do something about modern day injustices of  society.
Freebase proclaim what they believe and what they feel  in  one  loud
voice. These songs are well-written and  interesting;  like  Barcode,
these guys write accessible and enjoyable hardcore. The mix  is  such
that vocals are very prominent  and  the  instrumental  mix  is  very
centred on the guitars, with the bass being a  constant  low  rumble.
The drums come across a little muffled and  quiet  but  not  so  they
sound weak -- they are still somewhat tight. Admittedly  the  backing
vocals sound like shouting, which is exactly  the  point.  Freebase's
particular brand of hardcore really is a delight for  those  sick  of
the sound of nu-metal and  modern  day  rock.  "Stay  Away  From  Me"
satisfyingly sticks two fingers in the face of every shoe-gazing Kurt
Cobain wannabe and "Nothing to Regret" stands tall as  Freebase  bang
out stomping riffage with aplomb that puts Slipknot  and  Soulfly  in
the shade. Other tracks boast many  thrash-tinged  riff  progressions
and fills, especially in the Lombardo-esque beats of "Respect  2002",
an aggressive dismissal of bigotry and trends. The great thing  about
Freebase is the way it all comes across so personal and  honest;  raw
hardcore performed from the heart. It's a mark of a  good  band  when
they can take riffs that are nothing special in essence and turn them
into something more. "Weakness of Thought"  is  crushing  and  doomy,
feeling barely  restrained.  "Blood  for  Blood"  is  aggressive  and
thrashy. "My Life, My  Rules"  shows  variety  in  mood  and  styling
although it all remains very hardcore. These touches give a sense  of
meaning to the  construed  riffs;  subject  and  style  is  well  put
together. Freebase  occasionally  add  a  little  something  else  to
characterise their songs with mixed results; while the stereo imaging
at the end of "Suicide Note" falls flat, the "Silence of  the  Lambs"
sampling in "Cunt Hunter" gives an  edge  to  an  already  unsettling
song. Overall, this  is  very  well  done,  enjoyable  hardcore,  and
judging by the banter at the beginning and end, Freebase are having a
good time doing it.


Godless Truth - _Self-Realisation_  (Shindy, April 2001)
by: Adam Lineker  (9 out of 10)

This offering from Godless Truth starts ominously,  being  both  dark
and brutal.  The  guitar  sound  is  solid  and  heavy  and  makes  a
substantial impact. Snare rimshots  rattle  away  and  shape  into  a
rhythm as we recognise the subtle accents. All the  time  we  have  a
steady, gut-shot crunch of guitars over  hammering  kick  drums.  The
second track comes out of nowhere and rips into a  complex  riff.  It
quickly stands out that the Godless Truth guys play with  weird  time
signatures but keep the reigns taut in a  dark  and  splurging  sound
that hits you hard. The drums have attacking  prominence  and  though
the snare sound is bright and metallic, it segues well into  the  mix
rather than becoming irritating. The vocals are rather  different  to
the usual metal roaring; with a combination of wet throaty rasps  and
a low range, it is hard to tell if this is  always  totally  natural.
Godless Truth create a dark and unpleasant sound.  It  is  nasty  and
brooding  and  cold  but  totally  engrossing,  despite  the  initial
impregnability  of  the  songs.  This  density  emphasises  the  more
prominent melodic passages when they briefly arise. The bones of this
work are made of heavily progressive and haunting  metal,  with  epic
scope and a sick touch. Lyrically this is deeply sick and unpleasant,
with violent and perverse imagery. It works very well indeed. Godless
Truth offer up something different and  fresh  with  their  brand  of
disturbing metal and it  feels  like  a  blast  of  fresh  air  after
listening to so much that  is  entirely  generic.  _Self-Realisation_
explores many musical patterns and riff progressions, even though  it
manages to sustain a black mood. We get  solos,  blast  beats,  hyper
kick-drumming, snarling bass lines and vocals  to  haunt  the  dreams
of most other death  vocalists.  We  get  shredding  riffs,  churning
hammer-blows, tutti runs and violent licks and yet it  all  feels  so
controlled and measured as if the floodgates are never truly  opened.
This adds to the anticipation  and  keeps  the  interest.  This  band
possesses some extreme power. It is impossible to  pick  a  stand-out
track because the quality is maintained throughout. Not  once  did  I
want to reach for the stop button. It is  not  always  accessible,  I
can't whistle back much of this, but I know that I have enjoyed every
little figure and blast. Listen to this. Now.


Gorguts - _From Wisdom to Hate_  (Olympic, 2001)
by: Adam Lineker  (7 out of 10)

Opening with a bizarre riff, including guitar  harmonics  that  sound
more like a squeaky gate and a  snare  drum  that  sounds  more  like
someone tapping a pot with a  pencil,  Gorguts  create  raw,  intense
feelings and complex riffs, but nothing stands out on its own and the
song structure is merely identified by sections,  i.e.  this  is  the
fast bit, this is the slow  bit  and  this  is  the  solo.  The  riff
progressions and melodies are occasionally  impenetrable  and  it  is
nigh on impossible to whistle any of this. We have a limited bio that
claims their previous opus _Obscura_ was like nothing that  had  been
done before and that _From Wisdom to Hate_ is a progression of  this.
What we have in reality is rough and very  progressive  death  metal.
The musicianship of this band  is  in  evidence  as  they  almost  go
overboard on complexity, with time signatures and dissonance aplenty.
The sound is dark and ominous in a style akin to Nile. We  often  get
similar-sounding riff progressions in harmonic minor,  which  creates
the ambience. The mix is raw  in  a  way  that  makes  early  Deicide
sound slickly produced and the drums suffer  particularly,  with  the
otherwise tight kick-drums lacking prominence  and  the  gated  snare
sounding plain annoying when they blast. The guitars lack  the  razor
edge that can mean so much in terms of impact, becoming  sludgy,  and
the vocals are powerful but lamentably monotone.  Musically  this  is
occasionally enjoyable and in equal measure not so. The complexity of
the music is the most prominent stylistic trait  and  sometimes  this
makes for  an  inspirational  musical  experience,  but  occasionally
lapses into an unattractive cacophony. Consequently this is only half
absorbing, particularly as the songs are  lengthy.  It  is  all  very
extreme and full credit must be given to the effort  and  craft  gone
into producing this work, but the  quality  is  variable.  I  enjoyed
"Elusive Treasures" a lot, with its many dark corridors of expression
and mood, but found opening track "Inverted" nothing short of a chore
to sit through. In many songs, specific sections  stand  out  as  the
music ebbs and flows with your interest levels. The last track is one
of the few that kept my interest and, somewhat tellingly, it  was  an
instrumental. _From Wisdom to Hate_ is dark, extreme and  progressive
but it doesn't always translate into a vital musical experience. It's
good stuff but it has been done better.

[Brian Meloon: "After  the  masterful  _Obscura_,  I  think  anything
 Gorguts released would be considered a disappointment. _From  Wisdom
 to Hate_ isn't a groundbreaking album, preferring to stay  close  to
 the formula that _Obscura_ developed and tweaking  a  little  around
 the edges. Ultimately, this album offers little that Gorguts haven't
 done before."]


Hagalaz' Runedance - _Frigga's Web_  (Hammerheart, April 2002)
by: Adam Lineker  (8 out of 10)

This work opens with a passage of music called "The  Crossing".  It's
safe to say that some epic metal bands would kill  for  such  emotive
vocal harmony as this possesses. I was expecting something similar to
Nightwish, which in my book is always a good thing.  Forgive  me  for
being mildly  disappointed  then  when  I  soon  realised  that  this
album wasn't folk-influenced metal but Nordic  folk  music,  painting
spiritual images of nature myth with  a  distinctive  Northern  tone.
Which as I soon learned, is also  quite  a  good  thing.  Prominently
featuring tribal drumming, bagpipes, flutes, lyres, harps and a whole
host of  medieval  and  folk  instruments,  Hagalaz'  Runedance  have
created some engrossing landscapes in sound, that at times  are  both
haunting and beautiful. In  true  style  to  the  characteristics  of
this kind of music, it is  mostly  performed  entirely  in  one  key.
High-register instruments and the vocals  carry  the  melody  over  a
sustained drone; this is essential for capturing the essence of  this
music. All credit must go to Andrea Nebel Haugen,  this  music  being
her creation and passion. She  achieves  her  aims  and  creates  her
imagery very successfully as she explores pagan  concepts  of  nature
and femininity. Her vocals are truly effective and explore a  variety
of styles  and  even  languages;  from  choral  polyphony  to  Dorian
yodeling.  All  of  the  music  is  soulfully  performed  and  proves
absorbing. Whether this  sort  of  music  sounds  attractive  to  the
specific listener  is  something  I  cannot  account  for  and  being
unfamiliar to the artists of such a particular sort of music  I  have
nothing to compare this to, except possibly Enya. I think this works,
it's definitely rather different to  everything  else  in  my  record
collection. For me, I would give this a solid 8 out of 10  as  it  is
ambitious, emotive and solid in execution, but flawed in the way that
there is absolutely no chord progression  which  means  my  attention
wavers, but then, there isn't meant to be.  If  this  stuff  is  your
thing, this may well deserve full marks. It is, it has  to  be  said,
very relaxing.


Harkonen - _Grizz_  (HydraHead, 2001)
by: Paul Schwarz  (9 out of 10)

A big, dirty, bassy, riff-drive kicks off _Grizz_'s eponymous opening
track, but though  the  song  continues  to  bludgeon  and  drone  in
simplistic rotation, Harkonen's instrumental execution and rich sound
assure that they  are  not  merely  palmed  off  as  another  average
band flailing in the  wake  of  noisecore/metalcore's  primary  tidal
wave generators.  There  is  a  cohesion  present  on  this  EP  that
you  rarely  hear.  The  songs  are  all  be  essentially  simple  on
-one- level, but Harkonen can make  more  from  less  with  the  best
of them; throughout  the  dissonance,  the  melody-mangling  and  the
frequent occasions when the three-piece  choose  to  'rock  out',  an
effectively dense and ever-enticing atmosphere is  retained.  Whether
it's the  noisecore-for-stoners  stylings  of  "Kildow's  Song",  the
Speedhorn-esque stomp of "Thunder Appeal", the mutilated garage  punk
dirge of "Townache" or even the mad-jammin', Kylie-plundering --  you
listen to the main riff that enters at 2:04  and  tell  me  it's  not
"Locomotion"! -- finale, "Hey  You  Millionaires,  Get  Out  of  That
Garbage", Harkonen always deliver the goods with style. Definitely  a
band to watch.


High on Fire - _Surrounded  by Thieves_  (Relapse, June 2002)
by: Paul Schwarz  (8.5 out of 10)

Not being quite as drawn out as Sleep -- in however a good  way  that
is -- High on Fire's work  is  better  described  as  prolonged  when
compared to "normality";  their  compostions  are  almost  upbeat  or
snappy put alongside Khanate or Sunn 0)) respectively;  but  this  is
not to level negative criticism  at  them.  That  distinctively  raw,
fuzzy, 'stoner doom' sound is here, but the  emphasis  is  firmly  on
-doom-. This ain't Kyuss -- though we loved 'em, didn't we? -- and it
sure as hell ain't no QoTSA -- thank god! _Surrounded by Thieves_  is
bleak -- it hounds you with droning chords and bad-trip vocals -- but
yet it -rocks-. The concoction HoF whip up is intoxicating; _SbT_  is
a must-try for all enthusiasts of Sleep, Eyehategod, early and latest
Cathedral, Old Grandad and their ilk. Furthermore, it will be a trip,
if possibly a bad one, for anyone who's not heard any rumblings  from
the genre that seems to house all Sabbath's most excessively  --  yet
-successfully- -- inbred offspring.


Human Abstrakt - _Psychological Blindness_  (<Independent>, 2002)
by: Adrian Bromley  (8 out of 10)

Last time reviewed Human Abstrakt it was in CoC #55  for  a  two-song
demo they had submitted, and I  was  less  than  impressed  with  the
submission, only taking a liking to the song "Vice". But what do  you
expect when you are set to review a release with only two  songs?  It
can be hard to really get a good feel of a band after two songs. I am
glad to say that their new release features nine songs and  is  truly
leaps and bounds above the last submission. Now a three-piece,  Human
Abstrakt has strengthened their sound, managing to  mesh  together  a
very powerful mix of darkened thrash metal and power metal,  kind  of
along the lines of Nevermore or early Queensryche. You can  hear  the
creative juices running wild on this album,  most  notably  on  songs
like strong opener "Dissention", "Blind  Disciples"  and  "Prosperous
Fool". I have been listening to this record on and off for  the  last
few weeks and every time I come back to it I hear something different
within the walls of their creative musical energy.  And  to  think  I
once was ho-hum about this band. Thanks for sticking  to  your  guns,
Human Abstrakt, and coming back a few CoC issues  later  to  kick  my
ass.

Contact: http://human-abstrakt.8m.net


Immortal Symphony - _Time Is Not Forever_  (<Independent>, 2002)
by: Adrian Bromley  (4 out of 10)

Holy fuck! What kind of production is this? As the opening  notes  to
Immortal Symphony's release began, it had this chilling  doomy/gothic
swagger too it, a nice guitar riff slowly and cautiously  flowing  as
hypnotic doomy vocals whispered,  and  then  BAM!  Shitty  production
accompanied by some weak, poorly attempted death metal  growls.  What
gives? But it doesn't stop there, as the band's production  seems  to
fall apart as "Dying Faith" and "Crucifixion of  Love"  play  out.  I
know it says in the bio that the album was recorded on a single track
ADAT in a garage, but I  have  heard  better  sounding  records  from
one-man bands  that  have  recorded  them  in  their  bedrooms  while
sleeping under a blanket and  with  a  three-day  old  cold.  In  all
seriousness, this doomy/atmospheric/death metal band  has  some  fine
points and if they can try to get out of the garage and lose  (or  at
least fix) some of  their  song  characteristics  (i.e.  death  vocal
growls) then something could come out of this. Get crackin' boys.

Contact: http://www.immortalsymphony.cjb.net


In Flames - _Reroute to Remain_  (Nuclear Blast, August 2002)
by: Chris Flaaten  (6 out of 10)

I thoroughly liked _The Jester Race_ and  thought  they  improved  on
each album up to and including  _Colony_.  On  _Clayman_  [CoC  #48],
which -is- a good album, I sensed  a  small  drop  in  intensity  and
enthusiasm. It sounded slightly  more  calculated,  rushed  and  less
elaborate. This time, these traits aren't something I  just  -sense-;
they're staring me in the face! _Reroute to  Remain_  starts  as  one
would expect, with a bombardment of  riffs  and  trademark  Stromblad
guitar melodies. The verse  feels  quite  staccato  though,  and  the
chorus gives me nothing. In Flames continue  to  use  more  and  more
clean/semi-clean  vocals.  While  this  proves  they're  unafraid  to
explore new areas and adds a new dimension to their music,  it  would
be so  much  more  successful  if  Friden  only  knew  how  to  sing.
Throughout the album, most verses are uneventful, while the  choruses
are too easy listening. I have no problem  with  their  formula,  but
they need more punch, contrasts and intensity in their music to  make
it work. While I enjoy this album more than the hopeless  _The  Tokyo
Showdown_ [CoC #55], _RtR_ is the bigger disappointment. Two  strikes
in a row guys, your next release better be good!

[Adrian Bromley: "I know, I know... everyone out there wants to  hate
 the new  In  Flames  album.  Some  say  the  band  is  becoming  too
 commercial, others say it is because they toured  with  Slipknot  in
 Europe. I admit I was very apprehensive about the new  album,  as  I
 wasn't too into their last album _Clayman_. But with a new burst  of
 energy and a clever title too, these Swedes find a lot of cool ideas
 to work with on the new disc, be  it  the  bizarre  vocal  stylings,
 catchy choruses or some electronic elements.  The  success  of  this
 album relies on the fact that the band set out to make a record full
 of variety, to kind of step away from what had been  part  of  their
 sound for so many albums, but at the same time not lose  a  grip  on
 the "traditional" In Flames sound. This is one of the best albums of
 the year, not only because it is good but also for the fact that the
 band didn't follow any trend and did what they wanted to do. And for
 that reason alone, they remain one of the  best  metal  outfits  out
 there nowadays."]

[Pedro Azevedo: "Having seen _Clayman_  as  a  great  record  and  an
 improvement upon its predecessor, I must now say _Reroute to Remain_
 strikes me as a more sudden lurch downwards than one will be able to
 find in many a rollercoaster ride. Somewhere between  the  worthless
 nu-metal  leanings  and  the  sheer  mediocrity  --  by  In  Flames'
 standards -- of the remaining music, this record conquers its  place
 as one of the biggest letdowns I've ever found in metal."]


Intervalle Bizarre - _Unexpected Awakening of Impassive Mass_
Malignancy - _Frailty of the Human Condition_ <split CD>
by: Adam Lineker  (7 out of 10)  (Shindy, August 2001)

     Intervalle Bizarre start their half of this split effort  firing
on all cylinders; straight in with  a  powerful  and  hammering  mix,
growling bass and battering drums underpin a  shredding  guitar.  The
vocals are very heavy, and vary from a rasping delivery to deep  lows
in a manner similar to that of Akercocke. Heavy and aggressive as  it
may be, its melodic qualities are not always obvious, lost in the mix
as guitars churn and shred; riffs develop into  a  swirling  barrage,
punctuated with harmonics and glissandos. Without the  prominence  of
the drums more of this would be lost, and the  vocal  figures  become
important to identify figures and motifs. The subject  matter  is  as
grisly as the music, particularly on  opener  "Abortion  by  Muriatic
Acid". The songs are lengthy and consist of riff after churning riff,
with a fair dose of blast beats and the  occasional  bass  figure  or
lead solo. Not all of this penetrates the psyche of the listener  but
it can be absorbing. Some of the better riffs are  worn  out  through
similarity and an excess of embellishment; others  never  catch  your
attention. With four songs of their own and  a  Brutal  Truth  cover,
Intervalle Bizarre provide the blackened goods for their side of  the
split, but there are incomprehensible movements; fittingly, the title
of the fourth track. Having accepted this as  their  style,  it  must
also be recognised that they have some good ideas and  the  nerve  to
suffuse the music with complex time signatures. All of  which  equals
potential. I am left with the afterthought that  a  little  polishing
could make or break this material.
     Since Malignancy have a vocal style  very  similar  to  that  of
Mortician, in that it is so low it fades in and out of audibility and
is never  once  comprehensible,  the  accompanying  music  cannot  be
expected to be anything other than brutal. Yet while this  is  indeed
the case, there is some clarity and definition in  the  guitars,  but
the distortion does sound like an angry wasp in a  bucket.  The  bass
establishes itself well, adding power and making up for  a  drum  mix
that seems just a tad too quiet. Consequently we  get  heavy  complex
riffs dominating, while the vocals actually  take  a  back  seat  and
complement the riffage. It's good stuff, although  it  must  be  said
that they take a lot of cues from Mortician, to the extent that Roger
J. Beaujard guests on drums.  Also  of  the  five  songs,  three  are
re-recordings and only  two  are  new  which  somewhat  lightens  the
significance of their contribution; Intervalle Bizzarre have at least
given fans a motive to buy this.
     Overall, this split turns out respectable performances from both
bands. Malignancy sound more polished but have not offered  much  new
material, whereas Intervalle Bizarre have a lot going for them but it
doesn't always come across. So it's a case of swings and  roundabouts
that brutal death fans might want to check out.


Korum - _Son of the Breed_  (Sekhmet, 2002)
by: Brian Meloon  (8 out of 10)

Korum are a French band who play a mix of thrash, death and hardcore.
Their style alternates between riffs which  are  straightforward  and
bludgeoning and those that are technical and  intricate.  The  vocals
alternate between a shouted style and a  deeper  growling  style,  at
times using both concurrently.  The  rhythm  section  is  tight,  and
though there aren't any guitar solos, the guitars do have a chance to
show off occasionally. Given the technicality of some  parts  of  the
material, the performances are excellent.  The  songs  are  generally
fast-paced and short, with non-standard structures that get right  to
the point and keep the intensity up fairly well.  The  production  is
very good and clear: all of  the  instruments  are  clearly  audible,
especially the bass. This should be enjoyed  by  a  wide  variety  of
metal fans. There's enough technicality here to satisfy those looking
for it, but not too much to take away from the more brutal aspects of
the album.


Limbonic Art - _The Ultimate Death Worship_  (8 out of 10)
by: Chris Flaaten  (Nocturnal Art, August 2002)

Limbonic Art surprised a few people with their  previous  record  _Ad
Noctum: Dynasty of Death_ [CoC #45], where they  shifted  focus  from
epic, synth-driven pieces and instead attacked with furious riffs and
hyper-speed drums. While the quality was still undeniable, many hoped
for a return to their past of majestic symphonies  this  time  --  or
perhaps a blend of the two styles. Well, Limbonic Art  has  continued
from the style on _Ad Noctum_. The guitar orientation is still there,
but it is more defined now. They have slowed everything down a couple
of notches and deliver some highly enjoyable, slow and  heavy  riffs.
The synths are even more distant this time, and this does strip  away
some of the depth and atmosphere we have come to expect from Limbonic
Art. The album still grows on each listen, though -- there are  loads
of details to discover. Limbonic Art has never had a great production
on any of their albums and it's perhaps even more blurred than  usual
this time, but their music doesn't really demand a crisp,  clear  and
perfect production. _The Ultimate Death Worship_ is not as  grand  as
their first two albums and not as intense as their previous one,  but
it is still a very solid release that demands your investment.


Mercenary - _Everblack_  (Hammerheart, March 2002)
by: Adam Lineker  (6.5 out of 10)

This Hammerheart release seems to have more guts and power  than  the
usual. Sporting a hard-edged guitar sound alike to that of In Flames,
they thrash out strains of melodic death. The harmonic  constructions
are also decidedly In Flames-ish, as are the metal  riffs.  Mercenary
play with a crunch and bassy pulse alongside twin  vocal  parts,  the
bassist providing the distorted vocals  and  the  high-pitched  metal
vocalist also performing his role adequately. Keyboards  occasionally
emerge to fill out the background, adding more layers of sound whilst
impressive guitar runs and metal harmonies take their  place  at  the
forefront. The choruses seem to be the  focus  of  the  more  emotive
progressions and harmonies. These central passages are surrounded  by
generic metal riffing and themed with entirely  metal  concepts.  The
music is let down by the length of the individual songs --  they  are
too drawn out and the unremarkable nature of the  riffage  make  this
un-absorbing. The melodic progressions feel similar and overused with
the guitar soloing usually standing out more.  The  lead  licks  have
emotive strains that verge on being over the top but then again, this
is metal. It is easy to knock this band for being  highly  derivative
of In  Flames,  especially  as  they  lack  an  absorbing  feel.  The
riffs are  well  performed  and  musically  complex  but  they  don't
break barriers or grab  hold  of  you.  And  there  is  a  degree  of
repetitiveness. The mood is either aggressive and dark  or  dark  and
melancholic but this album is  rather  un-progressive.  Most  of  the
phrasing is rather generic and similar and though  it  maintains  the
same level of intensity, once you are  used  to  the  impact  of  the
riffs, you don't feel much more throughout the album. "Screaming From
the Heavens" and "Bloodrush" have more about them; the former has one
of the better instrumental runs of the work. "Dead.com" erupts out of
the closing piano figure of "Screaming..." and that  works  well  but
the minute this album catches your attention, it lets it go before it
can engross you.  With  the  musicianship  on  display,  the  quality
of this album is  disappointing.  The  riffs  are  churned  out  with
enthusiasm and for the most part  they  avoid  sounding  cheesy,  but
unfortunately they don't quite grasp that all-important  infusion  of
excitement and inventiveness that I find so necessary to metal.  Only
with improved songwriting could comparisons to  In  Flames  become  a
positive thing.


Moonsorrow - _Voimasta ja Kunniasta_  (Spikefarm, 2001)
by: Quentin Kalis  (9 out of 10)

Creating an epic sound in metal is nothing new,  and  a  prerequisite
for inclusion under the Viking  metal  banner.  But  few  bands  have
managed to create a  sound  as  brilliantly  epic  in  its  scope  as
Moonsorrow have. Moonsorrow effortlessly draw the listener into their
world, a world where war was seen as glorious, and where  to  die  in
battle was considered the greatest honour. Although it may  be  based
in history, it is no less  enchanting  or  mystical  then  a  fantasy
world created by the likes of  Mortiis.  The  last  and  best  track,
"Sankaritarina" -- an ode to a fallen warrior --  is  a  particularly
impressive and moving song. Not since Pestilence's _Testimony of  the
Ancients_ has there been a more appropriate or powerful closer to any
metal album. Whilst Moonsorrow sing in  their  native  Finnish,  this
does not  detract  in  any  way  from  my  enjoyment  of  the  album.
In addition to the  traditional  metal  instruments  and  the  almost
obligatory keyboards, folk instruments such as the accordion and  the
mouth harp are also  used  throughout  the  songs.  These  are  fully
integrated into the songs and are not used merely for  interludes  or
Cradle of Filth-esque fillers.  If  this  album  truly  receives  the
attention it deserves in years to  come,  it  will  be  seen  as  the
blueprint for creating a  Viking  metal  album  and  should  well  be
regarded as a definitive album of the genre.


Morifade - _Imaginarium_  (Hammerheart, August 2001)
by: Adam Lineker  (6.5 out of 10)

Yet another Hammerheart  power  metal  group,  but  to  their  credit
Morifade boast some impressive skill, especially in the guitar  solos
and licks. Also they show understanding of harmonic  construction  in
vocals and guitars and the vocalist has  a  quite  distinctive  voice
that is very treble but very un-aggressive  and  so  avoids  sounding
like Rob Halford. The guitar sound is dull  and  the  keyboards  seem
slightly low in the mix, but the production  is  solid  overall.  The
song structures have a progressive touch, not necessarily  being  too
explorative but preventing boredom. In phrasing, syllables at the end
of phrases are extended and usually harmonised.  Although  eventually
predictable, it is  an  effective  element  of  the  Morifade  sound.
Lyrically this is nothing special and most of the song  concepts  are
tried and tested ideas, but they get away with it because they do  it
quite well. However, the keyboard sound is a little unconvincing  and
although the bass line can give punch in places,  this  record  seems
uninspiring for the  listener.  Also  Morifade  can  come  across  as
very hammy indeed, particularly in  opener  "Lost  Within  a  Shade".
"Nevermore" is very pedestrian  and  drawn  out  and  you  glean  the
impression that a classical feel is probably aimed for but not  quite
pulled off. This power metal seems to lack the power, going for  pomp
instead. This is nothing to headbang to,  but  nevertheless  this  is
still a pleasant listen. Never poor and mostly  better  than  average
but very lacking in its capacity to send shivers down the spine.  The
rhythm parts can be a little uninspiring and although it attempts  an
epic (see "In Martyria - A Gladiator Song"), the  keyboard  motif  in
this song reminds me more of some kids  adventure  cartoon,  probably
Pokemon. And it can be so hammy in the  overblown  polyphony  of  the
vocal lines. The melodies and  constructions  become  repetitive  and
betray the band entirely; the ultimate enemy of the power metaller is
unoriginality. _Imaginarium_ isn't consistently imaginative enough to
entirely avoid this.


Morser - _10,000 Bad Guys Dead_  (Chrome St. Magnus, 2002)
by: Adam Lineker  (9.5 out of 10)

Straight in with a metal explosive to launch the album into orbit, it
is apt to say that opener "The Sharpest Blade"  cuts  like  a  knife.
With a violent mix of razor-edged guitars, tight, metallic drums  and
three different pitches of lacerating  vocal  butchery,  _10,000  Bad
Guys Dead_ begins as an onslaught of high quality aural battery.  The
vital component, which takes this to an exhilarating  level,  is  the
twin bass guitar attack,  which  acts  as  a  vital  lynchpin  whilst
never sounding anything but brutal. This  is  violent  and  massively
aggressive metal. The music is complex but not obtuse; the band shine
as musicians who carve out killer riffs whilst measuring out just the
right blend of  complex  time  signatures.  There  is  a  progressive
element to Morser's work, but the  songs  are  never  pretentious  or
overly long. What we have are a bunch of  musicians  thrashing  their
songs out at such a level of intensity  that  it  is  a  wonder  that
they don't  suffer  a  haemorrhage.  The  riffs  are  engrossing  and
masterfully constructed, as works of raw metal seamlessly shift  from
style to style.  We  can  experience  the  different  moods  of  such
violent-yet-still-melodic metal because Morser seem  to  be  able  to
change gears mid song  in  a  way  that  never  sounds  anything  but
natural; I would say effortless but it sounds as if the musicians are
throwing everything into this. It is hard to pick a part that  stands
above the rest; the  whole  album  stands  so  tall.  "Rock  Oil"  is
relentless, "Interactive Solitude" is really crushing  and  "Strength
in Numbers" is ominous  and  dark  with  a  head-banging  midsection.
"A.M.P" is melodically prominent but it just has to be said that this
entire album kills -- no, brutalises. Lyrically it is simple and full
of attitude, but it is not as if you can hear what  they  are  saying
anyway... Morser thrash out a performance here that blows  most  live
albums clean away. The energy just  radiates  from  this  record.  If
_10,000 Bad Guys Dead_ reflects the live sound of this  band  in  any
way shape or form, these guys are going to blaze one hell of a trail.
Never pleasant, always exhilarating and crucially  absorbing,  Morser
offers one vital metal experience. Check this out  now.  _10,000  Bad
Guys Dead_ is my personal album of this issue. It is really as simple
as that.


Mourning Beloveth - _Dust_  (Sentinel, July 2002)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (8 out of 10)

This is the same album I reviewed as an independent release  back  in
CoC #53 (Bron was just a private label created for the  sole  purpose
of releasing the record with some label  name  on  it).  It  has  now
been re-released on a label, in  greater  quantity,  and  with  three
extra tracks that raise  the  album's  total  length  to  just  under
75  minutes.  These  consist  of  "It  Almost  Looked  Human",  which
is a  damn  good  addition  to  the  album,  the  brief  instrumental
"Sinistra" and the lengthy but  not  especially  remarkable  "Forever
Lost Emeralds". Assuming the price  doesn't  change,  this  obviously
means some extra value for your money. The  album  didn't  originally
seem excessively brief or incomplete without these three tracks,  but
they generally have enough quality to deserve their  place.  However,
after the instrumental track "Sinistra", which could have provided  a
nice ending to the album,  "Forever  Lost  Emeralds"  seems  somewhat
unnecessary. Please consult CoC #53 for further details on  the  rest
of _Dust_, which still comes strongly recommended for fans of British
doom metal.

Contact: http://www.mourningbeloveth.com
Contact: http://www.sentinelireland.com


Naked City - _Live Vol. 1: Knitting Factory 1989_  (Tzadik, May 2002)
by: Xander Hoose  (9 out of 10)

It's a  shame  that  Naked  City  has  always  remained  in  relative
obscurity, because to metalheads it is without doubt John Zorn's most
attractive band. Together with Bill  Frisell,  Wayne  Horovitz,  Fred
Frith and Joey Baron plus a plethora of collaborating  artists  (most
notably Yamatsuka Eye from  The  Boredoms),  the  outfit  Naked  City
produced something that could best be  described  as  a  mix  between
free jazz, avant-garde and extreme rock.  Especially  the  first  two
releases, _Torture Garden_ and _Grand Guignol_, featured  many  short
songs (most of them in between 10 and 45 seconds) that were basically
grindcore songs performed with jazz instruments under  snappy  titles
such as "Thrash Jazz  Assassin",  "Blood  Duster",  "Hellraiser"  and
"Victims of Torture". In 1994, Naked City went dormant with no  plans
for revival in the future. While _Live Vol. 1: Knitting Factory 1989_
is not exactly a revival, at least it  gives  hope  for  the  future.
Featuring the entire concert performed at the Knitting  Factory  back
in 1989, it gives a clear view of the versatility of the band: easily
shifting from brutal grind  assaults  to  R&B,  from  punk  to  blues
improvisations, _LV1:KF1989_ proves to be not just an essential album
for Naked City fans but also a very accessible album for  people  not
familiar with the material. The fact that all the  material  on  this
album is instrumental doesn't bother, and  the  excellent  production
should be an example for many other bands. Mandatory material.


Negate - _The Dead Guy Palace_  (Good Life Recordings, 2002)
by: Xander Hoose  (6.5 out of 10)

While Belgium is  most  famous  for  its  grindcore  bands,  such  as
Agathocles, that is not the only musical style Belgians are adept at.
Negate are giving it a shot with their unusual  approach  to  Swedish
thrash metal. _The Dead Guy Palace_ can be judged from two  different
angles. First, the brave attempt to add  black  metal  vocals,  black
metal keyboards and also hardcore vocals to their Gothenburg melodies
seems highly original. The other side  of  the  coin  is  that  after
repeated listens to _TDGP_, it sounds a little bit too forced, as  if
they couldn't decide what they really wanted to do. Even though  many
of the songs are of a superb quality, such as "Evil Black Stars"  and
"Statement of Aggression", the songs would have had a stronger impact
without that schizophrenic feeling to  them.  That  said,  _TDGP_  is
still a very promising album with the potential to get Negate a  good
name in the international scene. If they manage to work on their  own
identity a little more, they might find a place for themselves in the
gap that Dissection has left behind years ago.


Nomicon - _Halla_  (Sagitarius Productions, 2001)
by: Brian Meloon  (8 out of 10)

Finland's avant-garde black  metallers  Nomicon  have  returned  with
their second full-length album. This album is similar to their  debut
_Yellow_, but it seems more accessible. Their sound is keyboard-heavy
black/death metal, comparable to Nokturnal Mortum's  excellent  _Goat
Horns_ [CoC #31], especially in the way that multiple keyboard  parts
are layered. However, Nomicon's keyboards generally go for more of  a
spooky vibe, with angular  lines  and  unconventional  phrasing.  I'm
often reminded of  a  horror  movie  soundtrack,  or  something  like
Diabolical Masquerade's _Death's  Design_  [CoC  #54].  As  Nokturnal
Mortum did, Nomicon find a good mix  between  the  guitar-driven  and
keyboard-driven parts. Neither dominates  their  sound,  though  both
take turns driving the music. The vocals are done in  a  low-register
raspy style and neither add  to  nor  detract  from  the  music.  The
production is clear and powerful, and the playing is competent.  This
is a pretty cool disc, and should picked up by those with a taste for
avant-garde black metal.


Orthrelm - _Asristir Vieldriox_  (Troubleman Unlimited, 2002)
by: Brian Meloon  (5 out of 10)

Orthrelm  is  a  two-piece  band  from  the  Washington,   DC   area.
Their music can  be  adequately  described  as  "painfully  technical
synchronized guitar  and  drum  blasting".  This  album  contains  99
instrumental tracks which last for  slightly  more  than  12  minutes
altogether. Each song consists of between 5 and 10 seconds  of  quick
and abrasive guitar lines with corresponding drum parts. The  playing
is quite good and the relative tightness that  the  duo  displays  is
amazing. Unfortunately, while their style  is  interesting  when  the
songs are longer  than  a  minute  (as  on  their  previous  offering
_Iorxhscimtor_), the lengths of  the  songs  here  doesn't  give  any
chance for the music to develop. The flow created from the songs  and
the spaces between them is novel and interesting, but it's ultimately
unsatisfying, as it's nearly impossible to remember any of the  songs
or even identify exactly how far into the album you are. If all  that
wasn't bad enough, it's not just the  music  that  makes  this  album
difficult to listen to: the production is very tinny and noisy.  This
is one of those albums that's interesting to think about  and  listen
to once or twice, but it has little to no replay value.


Primordial - _Storm Before Calm_  (Hammerheart, June 2002)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (9 out of 10)

In my experience, metal bands frequently tend to soften up with  each
successive album. Of  course  there  are  many  more  who  start  out
brutal and just keep searching for more  aggression  with  every  new
album, but what I  have  seldom  found  is  a  band  who  have  grown
considerably harsher after debuting in  more  tranquil  fields.  Fair
enough, Primordial's debut album _Imrama_ [CoC #8] was  quite  black,
so they don't entirely fit this pattern; but if  one  only  considers
their other three albums, then they become a bit  of  an  exceptional
case in the metal  world.  _A  Journey's  End_  [CoC  #33]  was  much
doomier, more sombre and introspective than  _Imrama_.  With  _Spirit
the Earth Aflame_  their  music  became  more  warlike,  while  still
retaining most  of  the  characteristics  of  its  predecessors.  The
opening track on _Storm Before Calm_, however, is easily the  fastest
and harshest song Primordial have written  since  _Imrama_,  and  the
album as a whole is again heavier than its predecessor. But  much  as
this fast-paced album opener may be excellent in its  own  right,  it
also serves to greatly enhance the impact of the mid-paced track that
follows: by contrast, "Fallen to Ruin" comes across as an  even  more
powerful warlike dirge than it would have been capable of on its own.
"Cast to the Pyre" comes next, again slower and more morose than  the
previous track. Primordial have no qualms about the length  of  their
compositions or arranging them in any way they see fit, and  although
this particular track is lengthy and to a certain extent  repetitive,
it still works very well. But as soon as it  finishes,  "What  Sleeps
Within" makes its demonic appearance  and  the  speed  and  harshness
levels go up again, only to fade into the album's instrumental track.
This precedes the record's last couple of songs  (bear  in  mind  the
average length is about six to seven minutes),  which  consist  of  a
mid-paced song with typical Primordial guitar work, and  a  drawn-out
atmospheric piece. Overall, besides several sped up  passages,  there
is also significantly less clean singing, replaced by  various  kinds
of rasped vocals  throughout  the  album.  The  Primordial  touch  is
definitely still there though, be it in the highly  distinctive  bits
of guitar work, drumming or vocals. Ireland's  finest  aim  to  sound
more majestic on _Storm Before Calm_, again with a  warlike  feel  to
their music, and  succeed  at  that,  coming  across  as  believable,
authentic and inspired. Third winner in a row for Primordial, and  an
excellent record indeed.


Ram-Zet - _Escape_  (Spikefarm / XIII Bis, July 2002)
by: David Rocher  (9 out of 10)

Ram-Zet's 2000 debut, _Pure Therapy_, was  an  excellent,  distinctly
unnerving   venture   into   landscapes   of   unparalleled   musical
strangeness, the unlikely osmosis of syncopated power-thrash geniuses
Meshuggah with  orchestral  masterminds  Therion.  Putting  Ram-Zet's
music in words  is  as  close  to  impossible  as  it  gets,  yet  in
a nutshell, the  anno  2002  sequel  _Escape_  very  much  recaptures
and expands the enormous  sound,  skullcrushing  low-case  rhythmical
powerhouse-style songwriting and psychotic harshness  which  pervaded
Ram-Zet's debut; moreover, with the adjunction of three new  members,
including full-time female lead vocalist and  keyboard  player,  band
mastermind Zet has further developed his  unique  songwriting  style,
attaining greater  depth  in  the  field  of  arrangements  and  song
structures. Hence, as the insane cover art suggests,  the  conceptual
design of _Escape_ moves with impressive ease through the meanders of
a tortured soul,  the  expression  of  which  is  this  gathering  of
8 shape-shifting,  aggressive,  tormented,  symphonic  and  immensely
powerful tracks. Boasting a huge, perfectly balanced  and  adequately
aggressive production courtesy of Finnvox's Miko  Karmilla,  _Escape_
is a demanding release, which strays far into  uncharted  territories
diametrically opposed to  braindead  party  music  of  the  likes  of
Pantera or HammerFall; however, much as Ram-Zet's material  is  truly
unfathomable at a first listen, it is also  vastly  rewarding  --  in
this regard, a trip to www.ram-zet.com provides a highly  recommended
opportunity to encounter one of the more captivating, intriguing  and
excellent extreme metal bands out there.


Raunchy - _Velvet Noise_  (Drug[s] / Nuclear Blast, July 2002)
by: David Rocher  (8 out of 10)

A mere  few  bars  into  the  muscular  opener  "Twelve  Feet  Tall",
uncomfortably striking similarities  in  Raunchy's  massive  rhythmic
metal  arise  with  fallen  cyber-thrash   geniuses   Fear   Factory;
fortunately though, as the initial onslaught of  scepticism  recedes,
it soon becomes  clearly  apparent  that  Denmark's  Raunchy  possess
a  musical  personality  to  call  their  own  --  and  the   musical
genius to  match,  too.  Driven  by  a  colossal,  storming  rhythmic
section  (thunderous  double  bass  cavalcades  and   growling   bass
galore), enhanced with strangely atmospheric (rather than cybernetic)
keyboards and  vocals  shifting  from  harsh,  saturated  screams  to
melodic chants very similar in style to  Burton  C.  Bell's,  _Velvet
Noise_ is the  epitome  of  an  outrageously  powerful,  delightfully
aggressive,  murderously  groovy  and  moreover  extremely  addictive
release. Mutating with uncanny ease from  mighty  mid-tempo  sections
graced with ethereal keyboards to frantic blasting charges, Raunchy's
futuristic metal features  atmospheric  segues  grandiose  enough  to
raise the hair on your  nape  in  spine-tingling  appreciation  which
then, in a split second,  break  into  all-out  full  speed  rhythmic
cavalcades  unquestionably  worthy  of  the  wasted  genius  of  Fear
Factory.  Invocator  fame  producer  Jacob  Hansen  has  graced  this
excellent energetic release with a powerful, perfectly  balanced  and
wickedly aggressive sound, which turns each of  the  nine  tracks  on
_Velvet Noise_ into a surging chunk of growling fun. Not a milestone,
but a damn enjoyable first onslaught -- I can only hope Raunchy  will
play their cards right, and will, in the future, avoid meandering too
far into the dreaded modern metal  sonorities  that  are  fortunately
very subdued on this first recording of theirs.


Raventhrone - _Endless Conflict Theorem_  (Avantgarde, March 2002)
by: Adam Lineker  (4.5 out of 10)

Raventhrone is the epic metal brainchild of solo  artist  Ray  Wells,
and he composes and performs all the music  with  the  help  of  Mike
Groeger on drums, and  the  assistance  of  Martin  Shirenc  (Pungent
Stench). The term "epic metal" would seem to suggest that exploration
of styles and moods are in the pipeline and here Raventhrone fulfills
some of its potential. The first track features a heavy  death  vocal
and only a track later we are given clean vocals. However, it becomes
apparent that this seemingly  creative  combination  is  flawed.  The
death vocal phrases are monotonous and the lyrical subject matter  is
awkward and uninventive. The clean vocals seem  a  little  weak  with
unimpressive range and poor texture, and at their worst they are  out
of tune. It is obvious from the music that this was not  intentional.
When the vocals do not carry the melody, this is left mostly  to  the
keyboards or lead; unfortunately a lot of these  are  disappointingly
sparse and could have been lifted  from  old  Super  Nintendo  games.
Considering the  melodic  potential  the  keyboard  possesses  as  an
instrument, the basic level of monophonic composition  suggests  poor
technology or limited ability. The guitar sound is raw  with  a  very
rough edge, but the riffs are worn out and the bass is  only  audible
if you concentrate on trying to hear it. The Raventhrone sound  feels
hopelessly cold and shallow. Midway through "Soulstorm" and well into
the album, there is a layered keyboard motif in a key that adds  some
feeling of suspense, but it's a long wait until we encounter anything
else that could be called emotive or interesting.  _Endless  Conflict
Theorem_ just doesn't seem to know  where  it  is  going;  Ray  Wells
doesn't seem to be sure if  he  wants  to  be  a  death  or  a  clean
vocalist, the material  is  plagued  with  awful  fade-outs  and  the
production cuts some of the songs short before the  last  notes  have
fully rung out. The title track seems to be a  shameless  rip-off  of
the "Braveheart" theme, and although it is intentionally stirring and
emotional, it merely comes across as unoriginal,  especially  as  the
guitar melody is almost identical to one we heard earlier. Epic metal
really should, by definition, have some complexity and exploration of
thematic content, but _Endless Conflict Theorem_ is more akin to sort
of overly long children's book without pictures. "An Oath in Silence"
boasts the first piece of riffage that will make you sit up and  take
notice, but it is  frustrating  when  it  is  it  never  reprised  or
expanded. It would appear that most of the album is  written  in  4/4
with very unimaginative progressions. The second half of the album is
more effective in realisation of themes; "Dragon of the Nightsky"  is
one of the better works incorporating Raventhrone  themes,  "A  Night
Among the Ruins of Basra" explores an Arabian theme, and  with  synth
effects and chanting. Still the overall  construction  of  the  songs
feels poor, lapsing into riffs that go nowhere or failing to reach  a
conclusion. It is a real pleasure to hear some strong  moments;  "The
Wayfarers Song" boasts a good melody but even this is spoiled by  yet
another fade out. Proof that bands cannot get by on mood and  imagery
alone, Raventhrone show commitment to their otherworldly folk  themes
but this is rendered ineffective by a flaccid rhythm section,  boring
drumming,  inadequate  vocals  that  no  amount  of  harmonising  can
disguise and poor song construction.


Ritual Carnage - _The Birth of Tragedy_  (Osmose, 2002)
by: Alvin Wee  (7.5 out of 10)

This slab of thrashing madness merits an 8/10 or higher but  for  the
somewhat  annoying  post-classic  Slayer  style  of  shouted  vocals.
Guitarist Wataru Yamada is more satisfyingly accompanied  vocally  on
his new King's Evil album [CoC #58], and I probably won't be alone in
making that  comparison.  This  minor  gripe  aside,  _The  Birth  of
Tragedy_ stands together with the previous two albums as perhaps  the
best old-school speed/thrash issuing from  the  States.  Needless  to
say, originality isn't a trait most highly prized in  these  circles,
and as usual, this Japamerican combo rip more than a few pages out of
Slayer's metal gospel on their way to perdition.  Face-ripping  hooks
jump out and tear at unsuspecting listeners (see "Fall of Empire"  or
"Grave New World") in an  entirely  unprecedented  way,  a  testament
of the band's hard  work  between  albums.  The  up-front  production
certainly does nothing to soften the impact of this sledgehammer, and
while, in my opinion, the material never quite attains the raw  charm
or terrifying blackness of _The Highest Law_, this  power  trio  pack
enough punch to send countless other retro-clones fleeing for  cover.
Repeated listens pay off, and  dedicated  listeners  will  find  this
compact piece of mayhem yielding far more satisfaction than  expected
on first listen. Overall a killer piece of work  once  again,  and  a
great companion to the equally -- if not more -- killer  King's  Evil
album if you can find it.


Scarve - _Luminiferous_  (Listenable Records, March 2002)
by: David Rocher  (9.5 out of 10)

France's prodigal sextet Scarve are back, this  time  with  the  true
support and logistics provided by a dedicated label in the  guise  of
Listenable Records. Scarve's second full-length  release  once  again
demonstrates the incredible technicality,  distinctly  groundbreaking
personality -- an  increasingly  rare  quality  in  the  trend-driven
extreme metal scene  of  today  --  and  incredibly  ample  scope  of
influences. Thriving on the same dissonant, rhythmical and futuristic
thought patterns explored by their  2000  debut  _Translucence_  [CoC
#47], _Luminiferous_ delves deeper  --  musically,  structurally  and
lyrically also -- into the confines of the oppressive, intricate  and
unfathomable depths of Scarve's absolutely  unique  art.  Soaring  on
the ascending musical currents created  by  equally  pioneering  acts
such as  Meshuggah,  Strapping  Young  Lad,  Scarve  possess  musical
intuition and  talent  which  puts  many  of  their  peers  to  shame
(including unquestionably decent acts  such  as  Satariel  --  praise
indeed) and allows them to craft  metal  anthems  with  a  distinctly
organic, incredibly intricate personality. Backed  up  as  always  by
their awe- inspiring  drummer  Dirk  Verbeuren  --  an  unjustifiably
lesser known musician evolving on the  stratospheric  planes  haunted
by skinthrashing demigods  such  as  Thomas  Haake,  Gene  Hoglan  or
Van Williams --, Scarve's  stringsmen  raise  an  eerie,  raging  and
aggressive wall of sound fronted by their peerless combination of two
vocalists, begetting a form of thrashing,  progressive,  atmospheric,
blasting death metal on ethereal levels  which  only  few  bands  can
claim to reach. Scarve are much more than  a  band  --  they  are  an
experience,  and  _Luminiferous_,  a  concept  revolving  around  the
threats of nanotechnologies and genetic engineering, is certainly one
of the three most challenging and accomplished extreme metal releases
of the year 2002 -- the kind of release which, as its  closing  notes
recede into silence, leaves you bedazzled, disorientated and drained;
unrivalled, unsurpassed, genial and quite simply way beyond  anything
words may hope to recapture.


Serenade - _The Serpent's Dance_  (Golden Lake Prod., February 2002)
by: Quentin Kalis  (7.5 out of 10)

While  _The  Serpent's   Dance_   has   undeniable   roots   in   the
grief-stricken and doomy death of early Anathema or My  Dying  Bride,
Serenade are much more than simply a  clone  of  either  band:  _TSD_
rarely extends beyond the comfortable confines  of  the  doomy  death
genre, but Serenade have nevertheless managed  to  create  their  own
distinctly mournful sound. Atmospheric touches abound, enhancing  the
mournful feel of the album, although there are a few  occasions  when
these atmospheric  touches  fail,  most  notably  on  "The  March  of
Darkness", where the emergence of shrill  keyboards  about  a  minute
into the song ruins what would have otherwise been a great song.  But
for the most part, the atmospheric  elements  do  enhance  the  song.
Stand out  tracks  include  the  aggressive  "Dying  Light"  and  the
evocative final track, "Nevermore". On the downside, the  quality  of
the album is rather patchy, with some songs, like the aforementioned,
being powerful, memorable numbers, while others are relatively  bland
and doomed to well-deserved obscurity. Overall, the scales are tipped
towards the good songs and Serenade are one of the better bands  from
this genre.

Contact: http://www.goldenlakeprods.co.uk 
Contact: mailto:serenade4@yahoo.co.uk


Severe Torture - _Butchery of the Soul_  (Hammerheart, April 2002)
by: Adam Lineker  (5.5 / 6 out of 10)

Stop-gap releases usually  seem  to  be  half-hearted  affairs.  This
release by Severe Torture features a  re-mastered  track  from  their
debut _Feasting on Blood_, a video clip of that  same  track  (which,
predictably, will not work on my computer), four  other  songs  taken
from past EPs and a cover of Cannibal Corpse's "Perverse  Suffering".
By these credentials alone, it is worth speculating that  an  already
devoted fan would have to be obsessive to spend cash on this,  as  it
features no new material. As it is a collection of songs rather  than
even a rework, it is understandable that the mix varies. Whereas  the
re-mastered song and title track "Butchery of the Soul"  sound  crisp
and well mixed, the songs taken from the _Pray for Nothing_ EP have a
distinctive cloud of fuzz and badly cut-out endings. Those taken from
_Lambs of a God_ sound a  little  better,  and  thankfully  a  little
heavier. It must be pointed out that the  _Pray  for  Nothing_  songs
seem a touch more aggressively performed. Rather than  taking  charge
of or rising above the mix,  the  instruments  collectively  form  an
overall sound. No one instrument  strikes  upon  the  psyche  of  the
listener more than another, excluding the odd peak from the bass, and
the drumming on the _Pray for Nothing_ tracks. This would be no great
thing if the overall mix was breathtaking, but what we  have  instead
is the feeling that everything is taking a back seat. It's clean  and
accessible but seems somewhat lacklustre. Some of the riffage seems a
little unimaginative and has a tendency to  become  repetitive.  It's
all solid enough metal; _Pray for Nothing_  itself  stands  out  more
performance-wise. Still, it never comes close to drawing you in. It's
telling when the best song on the album is the Cannibal Corpse cover.
As an introduction to Severe Torture, _Butchery of the  Soul_  serves
some sort of purpose but comes across as more similar to a demo  than
anything else.


Silver Seraph - _Silver Seraph_  (Regain Records, 2002)
by: Vincent Eldefors  (7.5 out of 10)

Do you remember what bands like Deep Purple and Rainbow used to sound
like with all those '70s organs and catchy vocal lines? If you don't,
then I suggest that you  check  out  those  bands,  because  you  are
missing out on a very important part of  the  history  of  metal  and
music in general. Why am I telling you this? The thing is that Silver
Seraph, the band I am about to review, have decided that it was about
time that somebody revived the good old  spirit  of  these  legendary
bands. Not that this is a  cover  album,  but  the  song  structures,
melodies, vocals, keyboard arrangements and everything else cannot be
regarded as anything other than a retro trip. Silver Seraph is one of
those so-called  all-star  bands  that  have  been  popping  up  like
mushrooms in the Autumn during the last five years or so. I would say
that some musicians have a little too much self-belief,  because  you
can not focus  on  a  hundred  things  at  the  same  time  and  make
everything sound equally good.  I  do  understand  this  development,
though, because everyone wants to be  able  to  live  off  what  they
do. Anyway, Silver Seraph is  one  of  the  few  all-star  bands  who
have actually impressed me. The line-up  consists  of  Peter  Wildoer
(Darkane, Majestic), Pete Sandberg (Alien, Jade,  Midnight  Sun)  and
Richard Andersson  (Majestic),  names  that  should  be  familiar  to
everyone with an interest in the Swedish metal and hard rock  scenes.
While most of the songs on this album sound very '70s, there are also
modern touches with a fair amount of  neo-classical  riffs.  This  is
probably due to certain members in the band being  pretty  much  into
the power metal wave. This is a great debut album,  and  tracks  like
"7th Day of Babylon" and "In  the  Dark"  will  help  them  gain  the
attention they deserve. If you love classic hard  rock  /  metal  and
wouldn't mind an album that still sounds fresh and modern, then  this
is for you.

Contact: http://www.regainrecords.com


Skyfire - _Timeless Departure_  (Hammerheart, August 2001)
by: Adam Lineker  (8 out of 10)

In traditional style, _Timeless Departure_ begins  with  a  grandiose
introduction  that  borders  on  the  cinematic,  featuring  keyboard
simulation of a large orchestra. It effectively sets  the  scene  and
builds expectation.  It  only  hints  at  what  is  to  come  and  it
tantalises the listener with powerful keyboard layering, although  it
must be said that the string sound never convinces.  Skyfire's  music
matches  the  style  of  the  aforementioned  intro;  it  is  totally
overblown power  metal.  Rasping  black  metal  vocals  introduce  an
element of aggression and the guitar sounds  are  equally  harsh  and
shredding. Keyboards and guitars are layered in both rhythm and  lead
parts. Skyfire are also unafraid of hammering out great tutti  breaks
and runs at the appropriate moment.  Such  musical  figures  used  in
conjunction with complex time changes echo loudly of  Dream  Theater.
The songs appear to be individual passages of  explosive  metal  pomp
pieced together and while this keeps the upbeat  aggressive  grandeur
prominent, it is noticeable in parts that there  are  awkward  joins.
Bridge passages are scarce, replaced by momentary pauses between each
section; it is as if the band were taking a breath.  Again,  although
occasionally  an  effective  touch,  it  mostly  comes  across  as  a
compositional flaw. The thick layering of harmonies as melody results
in the instruments seeming  to  meld  into  one  entity  rather  than
standing out prominently on their own, but I feel this  adds  to  the
musical style. Skyfire are both competent and progressive,  but  what
truly shines from this album is the feeling of performance. If  these
guys could emulate  this  energy  live,  they  would  soon  create  a
formidable legion of fans. Skyfire seem to have two speeds  --  going
for it and then some more. There are some cheesy melodies  and  chord
progressions, but it is all performed with such  enthusiasm  that  it
becomes forgivable. All eight tracks are long and consistently strong
in a metal way; as there are only eight songs,  _Timeless  Departure_
effectively avoids becoming boring.  Without  doubt,  the  stand  out
track is "Dimensions Unseen". It showcases  everything  that  Skyfire
are about, awash  with  driving  riffs  and  layered  melodics,  rich
harmonies and emotive key changes; it is all beautifully OTT. It is a
shame that the other tracks are not as prominent. They all  have  the
same mood and spirit but are so similar that a lot of the  hooks  and
licks fail to stay in mind. On occasion the vocals are so raspy  they
appear to be totally disregarding the lyrics but it is not as if most
power metal concepts are  unpredictable  (or  make  any  sense).  The
sentiment is already captured. Power metal devotees will  love  this.
This being their debut album, Skyfire can be  commended  for  such  a
positive effort. Any band that is unafraid to create music like  this
deserves some measure of praise. When the final break crashes out, we
are left with deafening silence; wanting more is  almost  unheard  of
with most power metal albums. But this  is  not  most  other  albums.
Skyfire beat the shit out of most pretentious metal that claims to be
epic. There are some great metal moments on this  album;  admittedly,
you couldn't  really  give  these  guys  any  credit  for  trying  to
modernise power metal but if you are going to play power  metal,  you
might as well make it as much fun as this.


Sleepytime Gorilla Museum - _Grand Opening and Closing_
by: Brian Meloon  (6 out of 10)  (Seeland/Chaosophy, 2002)

Sleepytime Gorilla Museum are from San Francisco, and play  what  I'd
describe as postmodern (i.e. "weird for the sake of weird") art rock.
The music is not metal at all, though it does have some  similarities
to metal and is quite heavy at times. A good  starting  point  for  a
comparison from the metal spectrum would be Thought Industry's _Songs
for Insects_, though this album is a  lot  more  dissonant  and  less
accessible. That's not to say it isn't memorable, because  there  are
sections which are quite catchy, but large sections of the album  try
hard to be difficult  to  listen  to.  There's  a  lot  of  slow  and
painfully dissonant stuff here, which gets to be tedious as the album
drags on. In particular, the last three songs (the last 20 minutes of
the album) seem to really drag on. The  playing  and  production  are
fine, but aren't really the focal points for this album.  Those  into
weird and heavy progrock should check this out, but while that sounds
like something  I  should  like,  this  album  left  me  longing  for
something less annoying.


Spine - _Restoration_  (Loudspeaker Records, 2002)
by: Xander Hoose  (7 out of 10)

One of the promising bands in the UKHC scene, Spine has  been  formed
relatively recently in the year 1998.  Having  released  only  an  EP
(_Hope Versus Realisation_) and a split with  Primate,  _Restoration_
is their debut full-length and perhaps a major introduction to a wide
audience. While Spine is fully devoted  to  hardcore,  an  undeniable
influence of metal can be found tightly embedded in  the  songs;  but
instead of using metal as a style element and mixing it with hardcore
to create pure aggression, Spine hasn't forgotten that  there's  more
than that to a  song.  The  final  ingredient  for  _Restoration_  is
melody, and together it forms  the  basis  for  ten  excellent  songs
showing a maturing band that has  many  different  faces  but  always
their own identity. With songs reminiscent  of  Deadguy  ("Under  the
Fury") as well as Madball and even Henry Rollins ("Wash"), they  have
proven to be capable enough of expressing their  feelings  in  music.
Unfortunately, the vocals are too prominent in  the  mix  considering
their one-dimensional nature.  If  the  vocals  were  a  little  less
forced, _Restoration_ would be a true killer hardcore album, but that
doesn't withhold me from recommending  this  album  to  the  hardcore
fanatics.


Sunseth Sphere - _Storm Before Silence_  (Hammerheart, April 2001)
by: Adam Lineker  (7.5 out of 10)

The intro sets the mood perfectly; Sunseth Sphere's music is suffused
with eeriness. Mournful vocals  with  a  dash  of  reverb  talk  over
rustling winds before the instruments take up the theme.  The  guitar
sound is primitive in places, conjuring inappropriate images  of  the
'80s. The drums parts are basic and the bass pulses along underneath,
adding more layers to a sound that is full of aural picture-painting.
It is not as if this is complex, but it  has  been  carefully  pieced
together.  Effects  and  motifs  have  been  carefully  composed  and
arranged; as on the first track where we hear driven flange carefully
administered to mark the identity of a subject. While there are riffs
and even guitar solos, the characteristic of Sunseth  Sphere  is  the
way everything works with each other. We have distorted male  vocals,
growling away under clean female vocal. We  get  keyboard,  acoustic,
effects and contrasting moods but nothing seems out of  place.  "Life
After Light" is the most upbeat track on the album, and  it  is  here
that Sunseth Sphere sound almost like a  goth  rock  band.  Yet  this
is followed  by  a  relaxing  and  sensitive  acoustic  piece  called
"Arizona". The more prominent style is that  of  slower  riffage  and
thick, semi-canonical layering, particularly in the vocals that  sing
repeated  poetic  phrases  throughout.  There  is  no  aggression  or
extremity; this is an altogether subtler affair, in which imagery and
mood is the focus. And it can be absorbing and relaxing, but only  to
an extent. For though it is effective in parts, this is not the  most
inspiring or outstanding music in the world. Lyrically _Storm  Before
Silence_ can become repetitive, and the poetry  either  doesn't  make
sense ("Without a vault I'm yet transcend") or becomes amusing  ("I'm
pagan and lazy troll" and "Black  is  the  colour  of  your  enormous
means"). While it can be relaxing, it can also lose your attention as
easily. Some of the musicianship is questionable;  it  must  be  said
that Kyrah's voice has a very thin texture. I am,  however,  inclined
to believe that that was precisely the reason she was chosen. Sunseth
Sphere create music by subtly  measuring  their  ideas.  The  biggest
impression made is that everything seems very  channeled.  There  are
moments of passionate soloing, there are dark and moody bass  figures
and emotive keyboard melody, there is a sense of Egyptian concept but
no  particular  piece  of  the  puzzle  is  dominant;  this  is  most
appreciated on the potentially cloying Egyptian theme. Sunseth Sphere
have pooled their creative resources  and  carefully  sculpted  music
that paints some absorbing pictures. Only being seven tracks long, it
doesn't have any time to become boring.


Talamasca - _Ascension_  (DCA Records, 2002)
by: Adrian Bromley  (8 out of 10)

It happens so  fast.  Right  from  the  get-go,  Appleton,  Wisconsin
progressive metal act Talamasca come out of the starting  gates  with
the triumphant "Cry for War", an epic song full of soaring vocals and
stellar musicianship. I almost crapped my pants at the  mighty  burst
of energy bursting out of the opening track. And  this  is  only  the
first song?! As _Ascension_ continues on, we are welcomed by  a  good
mix of  beautifully  assembled  numbers  like  "Twisted  Strand"  and
"Realization", songs that aren't just flashy numbers  showcasing  the
tight musicianship of Talamasca, rather songs  that  help  keep  this
already powerful display of metal high above the Heavens. Fans of Jag
Panzer, Onward, Twisted Tower Dire, October 31 and  other  strong  US
acts making dents in the progressive/power/heavy  metal  music  scene
right now should check out Talamasca, as they really do shine at what
they do and never seem to be following an blueprint of how  the  band
should deliver the goods. They do it their own way and all we can  do
is sit back in total awe  as  _Ascension_  rumbles  from  our  stereo
speakers. Impressive!

Contact: http://www.dcarecordings.com


The Berzerker - _Dissimulate_  (Earache Records, August 2002)
by: Xander Hoose  (7.5 out of 10)

The premise of The Berzerker's music has always been quite promising:
mixing Carcass-era grindcore with gabber beats to create one  of  the
heaviest forms of music, making you shit your pants and bashing  your
brains to a bloody pulp. But  unfortunately,  The  Berzerker's  first
album didn't quite deliver the blows it was  supposed  to  deal  out.
Sure, it was heavy, but most of the songs  lacked  structure  of  any
sorts. Thankfully, with _Dissimulate_ they have taken care  of  these
flaws and it results in fourteen songs of mindblowing aggression  and
intensity. Even though the gabber beats are still present, they  have
been pushed a little more to the  background,  replacing  traditional
drumming, while the rest of the  music  comes  from  the  traditional
instruments (guitar, bass and vocals). This time around  the  Carcass
influence is undeniable, with  the  gory  vocal  style  and  grinding
guitar riffs. Most songs clock around  two  minutes,  preventing  too
much repetition, while the usage of samples has been brought back  to
a minimum. A Carcass cover song can also be found, as  The  Berzerker
provide a technoid cover of "Corporal Jigsaw Quandary".  Even  though
this album runs for only a little more than  30  minutes,  there's  a
downside to this sonic slaughter: songs tend to lose  their  identity
and are  somewhat  interchangeable  during  the  run  of  the  album.
Nonetheless, _Dissimulate_ is an album that will easily  satisfy  the
basic urges of the more open-minded death metal and grindcore fans.


The Dillinger Escape Plan - _Irony Is a Dead Scene_
by: Xander Hoose  (10 out of 10)  (Epitaph Records, August 2002)

I've been listening to many  albums  featuring  Mike  Patton  in  one
function or the other (Mr Bungle, John Zorn,  Atomsmasher,  Faith  No
More) and on every album his influence is pretty clearly audible, but
I doubt that he ever put his label on a band as much as he  did  with
The Dillinger Escape Plan. For those of you who are devote  followers
of this band, as I am, _Irony Is a Dead Scene_ might come as quite  a
shock. Where the band used to pursue a mathematically precise  course
through hardcore with jazzy aspects, Mike Patton's cooperation  seems
to have drifted this band away  from  both  mathematics  as  well  as
hardcore. What  remains  is  a  strange  and  unique  hybrid  between
noisecore, metal, pop, jazz and even nu-metal and  avantgarde.  Where
"When Good Dogs Do Bad Things" is a good  example  of  the  different
style they have taken on, it still has  many  of  the  trademark  DEP
touches; the track that might really surprise  you  is  "Pig  Latin".
This is what Slipknot would be doing if they were into noisecore, but
Mike Patton does more. Traditional  heavy  metal  singing?  Why  not.
Without doubt, "Pig Latin" is DEP's most curious and dared song ever.
"Rock Paper" is quite different: with its slightly more  conventional
approach, this sounds more like old  DEP  material,  except  for  the
vocals. But just when you think you're ready for anything, the  final
song will throw you off track once more and at least make  you  raise
your eyebrow. While some may think this is just  an  utterly  strange
song, the more open-minded listeners will immediately recognize  this
track as being a cover of  Aphex  Twin's  "Come  to  Daddy",  closely
following  the  original  except  in  using  instruments  instead  of
electronics. It's a downright shame that Mike Patton's  collaboration
was a one-time project now that DEP found  a  new  vocalist,  because
_IIaDS_ is one of the most daring, intriguing  and  psychotic  albums
I've heard in a long time.


The Elysian Fields - _12 Ablaze_  (Black Lotus, 2001)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (7.5 out of 10)

Back in its day, _12 Ablaze_'s predecessor  _We...  the  Enlightened_
[CoC #35] greatly impressed me  with  its  creative  flair,  stirring
orchestral melodies and intense metallic passages. Recently, the news
of a new album by the Greeks caught my  attention.  The  prospect  of
a superior  follow-up  to  _We...  the  Enlightened_  was  definitely
enticing, and my hopes for _12 Ablaze_ ran very high.  In  hindsight,
they shouldn't have. I had hoped for a similar style to _WtE_,  which
is the case; and for a level of quality at least equal to  it,  which
is unfortunately not the case. I  am  unsure  what  caused  the  band
to leave Earache's  Wicked  World  sub-label  after  just  one  album
(especially since it was such a good  record)  and  sign  with  their
countrymates Black Lotus. Whether or not their budget  for  recording
_12  Ablaze_  suffered  from  this  change  I  cannot  say,  but  the
orchestral parts all seem to still  be  there,  so  I'm  assuming  it
didn't. Regardless of the cause, the fact is that _12  Ablaze_  fails
to work on quite the level that _WtE_ did. The synth,  piano,  violin
and cello arrangements are nicely done and combined with  the  slower
bits and the blackened passages, but the  final  result  is  not  the
stirring concoction that is its  predecessor.  Part  of  the  problem
still lies  on  the  very  obviously  artificial  drums,  but  that's
something _12A_ shares with _WtE_. Having said that, there are  still
some damn good sections to be found, but the impact simply isn't  the
same and I find myself wanting to go back to _WtE_ most of the  time.
_12 Ablaze_ is certainly not a bad record, but a band that created an
album like _WtE_ should have  been  able  to  come  up  with  a  more
impressive follow-up than this.


The Forsaken - _Arts of Desolation_  (Century Media, May 2002)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (8.5 out of 10)

I was thoroughly impressed and entertained by The  Forsaken's  highly
enjoyable debut _Manifest of Hate_ [CoC #52],  and  expected  nothing
less than pure excellence in Swedish death  metal  to  pour  from  my
speakers when I played _Arts of Desolation_ for the first time. Great
expectations are always dangerous, however, and that thought spent  a
lot of time in my mind when I first listened to  the  album.  It  was
good, technically impressive, but it just wasn't _Manifest  of  Hate_
-- unfair, certainly, but  annoyingly  true.  _Arts  of  Desolation_,
being the successor of an excellent debut, had a very tough  test  to
pass, and while its qualities were undeniable, to my ears  it  didn't
quite reach the level of accomplishment that _Manifest of Hate_  did.
Even though it has grown on me since then, I still can't  seem  enjoy
it quite as much as _Manifest of Hate_. A  significant  part  of  the
problem lies in the fact that the band's style is often  Americanized
on _AoD_ (Morbid Angel  perhaps  the  main  influence  there),  which
despite the aplomb with which they  perform  those  sections  doesn't
always turn out to be as enjoyable as the music on _MoH_ -- but  that
may be down to a matter of taste. Some other times _AoD_ is thrashier
and often less melodic than _MoH_, but essentially The Forsaken  have
maintained a significant part of the sound that is their  own.  As  a
result, _Arts of Desolation_ is neither a simple continuation of  its
predecessor nor a disruption of the band's style.  A  couple  of  its
tracks don't do much for  me  --  something  that  didn't  happen  on
_Manifest of Hate_ --, but it is still a very solid record, albeit to
my ears a somewhat transitional one. I expect an  even  better  album
from this highly talented band next  time  --  not  technically,  but
rather in terms of consolidating their sound  a  bit  more,  back  to
something as consistent as they had on their debut (even if the style
may be  somewhat  different).  Nevertheless,  with  numbers  such  as
"Incubator", "Embedded Insanity" and "Scars", The  Forsaken  continue
to show that they are definitely a force to be reckoned with  in  the
death metal world.


The Great Deceiver - _A Venom Well Designed_  (Peaceville, May 2002)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (8.5 out of 10)

The Great Deceiver: present day Katatonia meets a  harsh  mixture  of
metal and industrial sounds with a slight At the Gates twang, twisted
and delivered in a  sound  all  their  own.  This  may  be  far  from
accurate, but The Great Deceiver are certainly a tough customer  when
it comes to  pigeonholing  them  into  a  specific  genre  or  sound.
The Great Deceiver is another  of  ex-At  the  Gates  vocalist  Tomas
Lindberg's endeavours, and  also  includes  the  musical  talents  of
Diabolique guitarist and well-known graphical artist Kristian Wahlin.
Most of the At the Gates influence that I mentioned above  does  come
from the simple fact that we get to  hear  Lindberg's  irreproachable
vocals -- every bit as full of venom, despair and passion  as  before
--, but the spirit behind a track like AtG's "The  Burning  Darkness"
also comes to mind at times during _A Venom Well Designed_. But it is
a sound far from death metal  that  the  listener  finds  here,  with
structures and, to a certain degree, bleakness akin to Katatonia.  It
is a modern sound, where tastefully arranged melody  is  interspersed
with hard-hitting riffs and  repetitive  drum  patterns,  all  of  it
communicated through an artificial-sounding (though not in a bad way)
guitar and drum sound. Well thought-out guitar effects  play  a  very
important role throughout, giving The  Great  Deceiver  more  than  a
touch of uniqueness, as the lead  guitar  often  becomes  more  of  a
synthetized sound. This is an  emotional  disc  for  the  most  part,
though  not  displaying  the  frailty  in  Katatonia's  sound  --  it
is harder,  but  nevertheless  mostly  doom-based,  even  if  not  in
the traditional sense. The Great  Deceiver  have  managed  to  create
something rather unique and certainly enjoyable, though  I  must  say
Lindberg's help in the shape of vocals and lyrics  is  a  substantial
part of their success -- not that the rest of the music is poor,  but
I suspect it would be difficult for it to work so well  with  another
vocalist. Some of the tracks become a tad repetitive and fail to  add
much to the album,  but  others  like  "Pierced",  "The  Living  End"
(At the Gates, anyone?), "Poisoned  Chalice",  "Enter  the  Martyrs",
"Arsenic Dreams" and "Strychnine"  contain  just  the  right  mix  of
harshness and catchiness to raise the disc to  a  very  high  quality
level. Give The Great Deceiver a chance with  an  open  mind,  and  I
doubt you will regret it.


Thornspawn - _Wrath of War_  (Osmose, June 2002)
by: Paul Schwarz  (2 out of 10)

It's a sad thing that no band has yet emerged to claim  Angelcorpse's
vacated throne over the fifedom of early-Morbid Angel  and  Possessed
infused, angel dust-addicted death metal; but  it's  a  sadder  thing
that a number of the more highly-praised underground names  of  today
sound at their best when they're ripping  them  off  --  and  -still-
don't sound -particularly- good. Abominator, Summon,  Conqueror  and,
our case in point, Thornspawn, all suffer from this  --  while  their
more "black metal" elements are similarly surpassed by the  likes  of
In Battle and Svartsyn. Why such bands are still not only praised but
held up on high by some as sterling examples of underground metal, is
a mystery to me. Thornspawn are one of the worst of this bunch. Their
anti-Christian sentiments are laughably worn on their sleeves -- they
organise the San Antonio "Sacrifice of the Nazarene  Child"  festival
every year -- Thornspawn are the worst kind of "true", "black  metal"
band. They are  repetitive  to  mind-numbing  extreme,  write  boring
riffs, rely on other bands for their good parts, and  record  with  a
rough production which makes them sound crap --  rather  than  giving
them atmosphere. Had _Wrath of War_ been -any-  good,  I  might  have
been tempted to check out Thornspawn's previous two albums (I already
had to endure their _Consecraton of Evil Flesh_ demo when I  reviewed
it back in CoC #33). As it is, I not only hope  never  to  hear  them
again, I hope they never make another sound again.


Tzefa - _Feed Me_  (<Independent>, 2002)
by: Adrian Bromley  (7 out of 10)

_Feed Me_ is quite an interesting four-song release from New York act
Tzefa, a unique sounding rock/metal drive that plays up and showcases
the cool duo vocals of singers Slava Popava  and  Oleg  Korenfeld.  I
like the sound that stems from when Slava delivers an almost operatic
tone while Oleg comes through with a very snarly rock tone. Check out
opener "Time Bomb" and "Season of the Rain". While  some  might  find
the vocals a tad weak and rough at times, the cool trading  back  and
forth of vocals between the two brings  about  a  cool  aura  to  the
music, adding an almost hypnotic vibe  as  the  music  rolls  onward.
Musically, the band plays kind of a thrashy metal mixed with a  whole
slew of other influences. In other  words,  it  sounds  like  nothing
you've heard -- and that is a good thing. While the band could use  a
better production, the music itself is strong and worthy of  repeated
listens. The band is shopping their  music  now  to  labels  and  I'm
pretty sure someone will bite.

Contact: http://www.tzefa.com


Vile - _Depopulate_  (Listenable Records, July 2002)
by: David Rocher  (8.5 out of 10)

Prior to the release of  this  second  blasting  monolith  of  death,
California's Vile had already etched themselves quite a name  in  the
purulent tables of underground death  metal  with  their  potent  and
raucous self-released debut, _Stench of the Deceased_. And  with  the
support of a competent label such  as  France's  Listenable  Records,
their dreaded name is, beyond all doubt,  doomed  to  spread  further
throughout  the  death  metal  microcosm.  Boasting  nine  tracks  of
seething, blasting and powerful technical death  metal,  _Depopulate_
rides the jagged edge  of  the  musical  boundaries  delineating  the
worlds of Morbid Angel (for dissonant undertones), Hate Eternal  (for
air-tight blasting rhythms), and their labelmates Aborted (for warped
melodic aggression and tongue-in-cheek utilisation of film  samples).
Far more personal in their style than  on  their  massively  Cannibal
Corpse-influenced debut, displaying  technical  skills  putting  many
bands with whom they share the very populated death metal  landscapes
to shame, Vile also  boast  a  very  professional  and  perfectionist
approach to everything their band relates to, including  the  album's
production; guitarist Colin Davis and colossal vocalist Juan  Urteaga
have taken the time to grace _Depopulate_ with a fitting  production,
in the guise of a thick wall of layered guitars and bass,  clear  and
powerful drums, in adjunction to the inevitable pus-sodden  layer  of
phlegm-churning vocals. Agreed, _Depopulate_ is about  as  unoriginal
as death metal will ever get; however, the sheer surge of  adrenaline
and blasting yet, at times, strangely melodic aggression is  delivers
is enough to turn it into a thoroughly enjoyable experience which all
death metal addicts would be well recommended to cast an ear onto. At
a time when former leaders of the American death metal scene such  as
Cannibal Corpse or Morbid Angel have let their musical creativity ebb
away into confines of unsatisfactory predictability, Vile are  poised
to herald and front the oncoming of a whole new wave  of  determined,
competent and talented flamebearers.


Yyrkoon - _Dying Sun_  (Anvil Corp / Wagram, July 2002)
by: David Rocher  (9.5 out of 10)

It definitely looked as  though  the  French  heavy  black  metallers
Yyrkoon, after releasing their 1997 debut on the defunct Velvet Music
International, had vanished into oblivion,  with  a  vast  cohort  of
former black metal-affiliated acts; hence, not only is _Dying Sun_  a
testimonial to the band's return to life, it also reveals  itself  to
be a fantastic offering of keyboard-enhanced thrashing  heavy  metal!
Whereas _Oniric Transition_ showcased inspired, competently  composed
and interpreted -- yet in fine mildly unmemorable -- symphonic  black
metal, _Dying Sun_ revels in a coarser,  more  aggressive  and,  most
importantly, brilliantly executed fusion of heavy  metal  and  thrash
with progressive metal  touches.  While  Yyrkoon’s  twin  guitar  and
chugging bass rhythmic attack indeed  mainly  focuses  on  aggressive
yet melodic heavy metal  sonorities,  to  which  Laurent  Harrouart's
drumming provides a  muscular,  dynamic  and  complex  backbone,  the
appreciably discrete  and  always  very  sagacious  interspersion  of
synthetic effects and alternating pattern of clear vocals  and  harsh
growls graces Yyrkoon’s metal with  a  unique  epic  slant.  Much  as
countless keyboard-driven acts such as the dreaded Children of  Bodom
or their siblings Warmen hopelessly saturate their music with cheesy,
over-melodic and  hopelessly  dispensable  keyboards  (the  gruesome,
irreverent musical murder perpetrated by Laiho's bunch on Sepultura's
fantastic "Mass Hypnosis" is proof enough), Yyrkoon's utilisation  of
electronics is unsystematic,  unpredictable  and  always  graces  the
aggressive, chugging throes of _Dying Sun_ with  a  welcome  inspired
epic incline or atmospheric shroud. Technically speaking, _Dying Sun_
is flawless; Yyrkoon prove what a schooled and  inspired  quintet  of
true musicians they have become since their first release -- a streak
of true musical  and  technical  brilliance  which  already  appeared
sporadically at the time of  _Oniric  Transition_,  and  now  reveals
itself in all its splendour.  Filled  to  the  brim  with  fantastic,
addictive riffs, beautiful  leads,  awesome  drumming  and  excellent
ivory-tickling performances, _Dying Sun_ embraces a scope of  musical
influences and dimensions too ample to be put into words, and will, I
hope, open the gates of a well-earned and much-deserved international
recognition to the geniuses lurking behind this genesis.  With  truly
excellent acts such as Blackness, Scarve or No Return in  its  ranks,
the massively uprising French thrash scene is looking toward a bright
future. Check www.yyrkoon.net and this release out -- or  risk  dying
in ignorance.

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

If you have a band, don't forget to send us your  demo,  including  a
bio,  if  you  want  to  be  reviewed.  We  accept  demos  either  on
traditional   media    or    MP3     format.     E-mail     us     at
<mailto:Demos@ChroniclesOfChaos.com>  to  know  which  is  the   most
appropriate postal address for you to send your CD or tape,  in  case
you are sending one, or to indicate the location of  a  website  from
which we can download the MP3 files  of  your  entire  demo  (but  do
NOT send any files attached to your e-mail).

Scoring:   ***** -- A flawless demo
            **** -- Great piece of work
             *** -- Good effort
              ** -- A major overhaul is in order
               * -- A career change is advisable


Black Rock - _Clutching at Straws_  (5-track demo)
by: Adam Lineker  (****1/2)

At first glance, one notices the crop of headlines and credits listed
under the Blackrock logo on the bio sheet. Yet not only the  expected
e-zines are featured; high  profile  mainstream  magazines  are  also
singing the praises of this band. And now I get to add my little  bit
to the roll of honour. My copy of this demo begins with the sound  of
a record player kicking in. At first I thought this was  for  effect,
until I realised that this recording is either straight off of  vinyl
or is doing damn good impression of it. As a result, the overall  mix
has a decidedly warm sound, with the expected  rough  edges.  With  a
sound that is both raw but  deep,  Blackrock  carve  out  some  great
bluesy heavy rock and make no mistake, this  could  easily  be  early
Black Sabbath were it not for a punkier  sneer  on  the  vocals.  The
guitars are full of fuzzy bite and the bass really  gives  the  whole
sound a hefty punch that is so  reminiscent  of  Geezer  Butler.  The
muffled, back-to-basics drum mix adds the final touches; this is  the
real essence of rock music. The  tunes  and  hooks  are  soulful  and
banged out roughly; this  is  an  oily,  enjoyable  performance  with
plenty of groove and attitude. "S.O.T.S.O.G." stands out  with  great
structure and effective motif formulation, but all of the tracks  are
equally enjoyable. If  Blackrock  can  conjure  up  vivid  images  of
Motorhead and Sabbath at this stage, then it is clear that they  have
massive potential. _Clutching at Straws_  is  performed  with  groovy
aplomb and it is all over far too quickly. The guys on the bio didn't
lie (and that's saying something) -- this band should  be  recognised
as the next big thing in groovy, heavy rock.


Geared 4 - _Natural Selection_  (8-track demo)
by Adam Lineker  (***--)

Opening with a thumping bass line and segueing into chords that thump
just as hard, it is clear that Geared 4 want to  take  no  prisoners.
Vocalist (and bassist) Glenn has but the  lightest  shades  of  Lemmy
Kilmister and James Hetfield in his voice. The mix  is  solid  enough
with prominent bass, alongside some basic stereo imaging and  fade-in
techniques. Opening track "Hold On"  holds  on  for  longer  than  it
should have been allowed to and sounds frightfully basic with its 4/4
drumming and worn out riffage. Thankfully,  things  pick  up  by  the
second  track,  the  hilarious  "Cementhead".  Featuring  lines  like
"Ya fucking Cementhead,  ya  fuck!",  this  actually  showcases  some
musicianship, especially when the guitars dare to solo and the  drums
actually start hammering like they mean it. Some of the  riffs  could
even settle in with Metallica.  The  style  and  quality  persist  to
"Leech" but by the time we get half way  through  the  demo  we  have
quickly lapsed back into 4/4 riffing, only this time they have pulled
out a punk edge. So what we have is a demo  that  ungracefully  veers
between hardcore, thrash and punk. Sometimes the riffage is  frenetic
and aggressive, other times it becomes so  tired  it  almost  dies  a
death. Hook-wise it has nothing special but it is all belted out with
in-your-face attitude. The most entertainment is provided  lyrically,
by lines like "Mad, mad, mad am I / Gonna kill, kill, kill... time to
party", and, somewhat crudely, "Gonna crawl up some  fucker's  arse".
There are some promising signs of effective  writing,  especially  in
the battering of "Hundred Billion" and some of the melodics in "Death
Thoughts". It is when Geared 4 bring their thrashing  metal  edge  to
the forefront, as on the former track, that they shine. If  the  band
hone their skills, cut down on length and  kill  off  their  urge  to
write songs like opener "Hold On", then the just might realise  their
potential.


Hellblazer - _Promo Summer 2002_  (5-track demo)
by: Xander Hoose  (****-)

Southeast German band Hellblazer was introduced to me on this  year's
Obscene Extreme festival in the Czech Republic. Their performance had
aroused my interest, so I was happy to receive this promo for review.
_Promo Summer 2002_ features five songs in  a  groovy  uptempo  death
metal style with obvious grind influences. Opener  "Four"  kicks  off
with the mandatory sample from "Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas" (why do
all the groups pick samples from this movie lately?) and  then  "Foul
Is Fair and Fair Is Foul" shows  what  this  band  is  best  at.  Two
vocalists, fast guitar riffs and  insane  rhythms  --  this  brooding
blend of music sounds very interesting as well as  diverse:  some  of
the guitar work in "Born to Beg" even reminds me vaguely of CSSO. The
downside of this promo is the lacking production. The mix is very raw
and doesn't do justice to the guitar sound  at  all.  With  a  proper
production, Hellblazer might be one of the better things Germany  has
to offer, alongside Crack Up and Disbelief.

Contact: mailto:hblzr@web.de


Know Fear - _Know Fear_  (2-track demo)
by: Adrian Bromley  (**---)

Nothing against Upstate New York act Know Fear, but after a few spins
of their  two-song  demo  I  can't  really  see  anything  unique  or
different between what they do and the vast  amount  of  death  metal
bands making up the music scene. You  know?  Heavy  growls,  blasting
drum beats and headache-inducing guitar riffs -- it is all here! Sure
some of the guitar playing is a bit flashier than what you might  see
in a death metal band, but the overall flow of the disc is pretty  by
the books if you ask me. Maybe there should have been more  than  two
songs to help gauge this band's  approach  and  style?  The  band  is
working on a new album as I type this -- titled  _Meatgarden_  --  so
let's hope they get past the formulaic sound and add some  "meat"  to
their metal.

Contact: http://www.mp3.com/knowfear/


Spancer - _Countdown to Victory_  (4-track demo)
by: Xander Hoose  (*****)

Before I received this album I  had  never  heard  from  German-based
sludge-doom band  Spancer  before,  but  after  giving  the  album  a
listen I  have  to  admit  I  should  feel  guilty  about  it.  Being
a  great  sludgecore  fan  myself,  devouring   everything   in   the
Eyehategod/Neurosis/5ive league,  Spancer's  _Countdown  to  Victory_
left a -very-  strong  impression  on  me.  While  not  as  dirty  as
Eyehategod because they're lacking the  feedbacks  and  taking  on  a
higher pace, Spancer might be seen as  their  doomy  little  brother.
Especially thanks to the vile vocals and pounding drums,  a  sinister
and depressing atmosphere is set. Paradoxically, the strange  and  at
times almost stoner-rockish guitar work enhances this  atmosphere  by
adding an extra textured layer to the music. Even though  this  album
contains only four songs, it will provide an  excellent  introduction
to this band as well as keep you hungry for more. Hopefully,  Spancer
will be picked up by a record label soon so we can see them  on  tour
in Europe.


Vinterriket - _Herbstnebel_  (***--)
Vinterriket - <split with Northaunt>  (****-)
Vinterriket - <split with Manifesto>  (****-)
by: Quentin Kalis

Although there is a debut album due for release this  coming  winter,
Vinterriket has nevertheless decided to release a number  of  limited
7" EPs and split 7" EPs. _Herbstnebel_ consists of two songs from the
recording session for his second demo, _Sturme  der  letzen  Stille_,
and is in the same vein as this demo. If _SdlS_ didn't appeal to you,
then neither will  this  EP.  However,  it  still  remains  a  highly
original and intriguing mixture of the  raw,  primitive  guitars  and
clean vocals characteristic of black metal overlaying a dark  ambient
base. With his avantgarde black metal  excursion  now  firmly  behind
him, Vinterriket focuses his attention on a return to the melancholic
soundscapes that defined his very first releases. The two  split  CDs
each contain only one song  from  Vinterriket.  Unfortunately,  I  do
not possess either  Northaunt's  or  Manifesto's  contributions,  and
therefore I am unable to comment on their works.  However  they  will
have  had  to  work  hard  to  match  the  quality  of  Vinterriket's
selections.  These  two  songs  do  possess  a  slight  upbeat  edge,
although they remain overwhelmingly melancholic. Both of these  songs
are instrumentals.  All  these  titles  are  available  from  Neodawn
Productions and are limited to 500 each.

Contact: mailto:info@neodawn.de

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

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

Gino's Top 5

1. Svartsyn - _His Majesty_
2. Immortal - _Sons of Northern Darkness_
3. Abaddon Incarnate - _Nadir_
4. Rev. Kriss Hades - _The Wind of Orion_
5. Desiderii Marginis - _Deadbeat_

Adrian's Top 5

1. In Flames - _Reroute to Remain_
2. Cattle Decapitation - _To Serve Man_
3. Nile - _In Their Darkened Shrines_
4. Penance - _Alpha & Omega_
5. Black Widow - _Sacrifice_

Brian's Top 5

1. Nomicon - _Halla_
2. Aesma Daeva - _The Eros of Frigid Beauty_
3. Cadaveria - _The Shadow's Madame_
4. Human Remains - _Where Were You When_
5. Mastodon - _Remission_

Alain's Top 5

1. Tomahawk - _Tomahawk_
2. High on Fire - _Surrounded by Thieves_
3. Alice Cooper - _Dragontown_
4. Black Sabbath - _Past Lives_
5. Averse Sefira - _Homecoming's March_

Pedro's Top 5

1. Dark Tranquillity - _Damage Done_
2. Dolorian - _Dolorian_
3. Empyrium - _Weiland_
4. Primordial - _Storm Before Calm_
5. The Forsaken - _Arts of Desolation_

Paul's Top 5

1. Agalloch - _Pale Folklore_
2. Judas Priest - _Sad Wings of Destiny_
3. Nile - _In Their Darkened Shrines_
4. The Chasm - _Conjuration of the Spectral Empire_
5. Mastodon - _Remission_

Aaron's Top 5

1. ...And Oceans - _Cypher_
2. Forbidden - _Green_
3. Hate Eternal - _King of All Kings_
4. Laaz Rockit - _Annihilation Principle_
5. In Flames - _Reroute to Remain_ (3-song advance)

David's Top 5

1. Insomnium - _In the Halls of Awaiting_
2. Blackness - _Dawn of the New Sun_
3. Raunchy - _Velvet Noise_
4. Impious - _Terror Succeeds_
5. Foeturpurical - _Disfigured Inhuman Barbak_

Alvin's Top 5

1. Arch Enemy - _Wages of Sin_
2. Nile - _In Their Darkened Shrines_
3. Morrigan - _Enter the Sea of Flames_
4. Runes Order - _The Art of Scare and Sorrow_
5. Novembers Doom - _The Knowing_

Quentin's Top 5

1. Moonsorrow - _Voimasta Ja Kunmiasta_
2. My Dying Bride - _The Voice of the Wretched_
3. Hagalaz' Runedance - _Frigga's Web_
4. Dark Tranquillity - _Damage Done_
5. Darkmoon - _.308 Antichrist_

Vincent's Top 5

1. Dark Tranquillity - _Damage Done_
2. Kataklysm - _Shadows & Dust_
3. Rotting Christ - _Genesis_
4. Hate Eternal - _King of All Kings_
5. Satarial - _Heidenlarm_

Xander's Top 5

1. Naked City - _Live Vol 1: Knitting Factory 1989_
2. The Dillinger Escape Plan - _Irony Is a Dead Scene_
3. Otep - _Sevas Tra_
4. Muse - _Hullabaloo_
5. Venetian Snares - _Ultra Higgins Low Funk Glue Track Hits_

Adam's Top 5

1. Nile - _In Their Darkened Shrines_
2. In Flames - _Subterranean_
3. Immortal - _Sons of Northern Darkness_
4. Godless Truth - _Self Realisation_
5. Slayer - _Seasons in the Abyss_

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


Homepage: http://www.ChroniclesOfChaos.com
FTP Archive: ftp://ftp.etext.org/pub/Zines/ChroniclesOfChaos

--> Interested in being reviewed? Send us your demo and bio to:
 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
                         CHRONICLES OF CHAOS
                       606 Avenue Road Apt. 201
                           Toronto, Ontario
                           M4V-2K9, Canada
                 mailto:Adrian@ChroniclesOfChaos.com
                                 ----
                Our European Office can be reached at:
                     CHRONICLES OF CHAOS (Europe)
                           Urb. Souto n.20
                       4500-117 Anta, PORTUGAL
                  mailto:Pedro@ChroniclesOfChaos.com
 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=


DESCRIPTION
~~~~~~~~~~~
Chronicles  of  Chaos  is  a  FREE  monthly  magazine  electronically
distributed worldwide via the Internet. Seemingly endless interviews,
album reviews and concert reviews encompass the pages  of  Chronicles
of Chaos. Chronicles of Chaos stringently emphasizes all varieties of
chaotic music ranging from black and death metal to  electronic/noise
to dark, doom and ambient forms. Chronicles  of  Chaos  is  dedicated
to the underground and as such we feature demo reviews from all indie
bands who send us material, as  well  as  interviews  with  a  select
number of independent acts. Join our mailing list to receive  a  free
copy of Chronicles of Chaos every month.


HOW TO SUBSCRIBE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You may subscribe to Chronicles of Chaos at any time  by  sending  an
e-mail to  <mailto:Subscribe@ChroniclesOfChaos.com>  with  your  full
name in the subject line of the message.

You may unsubscribe from Chronicles of Chaos at any time by sending a
blank e-mail to <mailto:Unsubscribe@ChroniclesOfChaos.com>.


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  <mailto:BackIssues@ChroniclesOfChaos.com>.  The
'Subject:' field of your message should contain the issue number that
you want (all other text is ignored). To get a copy of our back issue
index, send a blank e-mail to <mailto:Index@ChroniclesOfChaos.com>.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
End Chronicles of Chaos, Issue #59

All contents copyright 2001 by individual creators of included  work.
All opinions expressed herein are those of the individuals expressing
them, and do not necessarily reflect the views of anyone else.

