    __                                          _    __               
  ,'_/ /7  _   _   _    () __ /7 __ __    _   ,'_7 ,'_/ /7  _   _   __
 / /_ / \ //7,'o| / \/7/7,','//,'o/(c'  ,'o| /_7  / /_ / \,'o|,'o| (c'
|__//n_///  |_,'/_n_/// \_\// |_(/__)  |_,'//    |__//n_/|_,7|_,'/__)


         CHRONICLES OF CHAOS E-Zine, May 13, 1997, Issue #20


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Issue #20 Contents, 5/13/97
---------------------------
* Editorial
* Loud Letters
* Ferocious Features
-- W.A.S.P.: They're Back
* Chaotic Chat Sessions
-- Amorphis: The Search For Perfect Melody
-- Grief: Good Grief
-- Anal Cunt: Conversing With A Cunt
-- Heavy Water Factory: Cooling The Reactor
-- Thy Blood Divine: Bleeding Divine Blood
-- On Thorns I Lay
* Record Revelations
-- Agarthi - _At the Burning Horizon_
-- Alastis - _The Other Side_
-- Blood of Christ - _... A Dream to Remember_
-- A Canorous Quintet - _Silence of the World Beyond_
-- Cardinal Sin - _Spiteful Intents_
-- Cemetary - _Last Confessions_
-- December Wolves - _We Are Everywhere_
-- Driller Killer - _Fuck the World_
-- Dying Fetus - _Purification through Violence_
-- Emperor - _Reverence_
-- Enslaved - _Eld_
-- EverEve - _Seasons_
-- Fear Factory - _Remanufacture: Cloning Technology_
-- Fueled - _In the House of the Enemy_
-- Gates of Ishtar - _The Dawn of Flames_
-- Gehenna - _Black Seared Heart_
-- Napalm Death - _Inside the Torn Apart_
-- Orphanage - _By Time Alone_
-- Various - _Out of the Dark Live Compilation_
-- Paingod - _Paingod_
-- Plan E - _E for Your Eyes_ / _E for You Ears_
-- Septic Flesh - _The Ophidian Wheel_
-- Thy Primordial - _Where Only the Seasons Mark the Paths of Time_
-- Vinterland - _Welcome My Last Chapter_
-- Vital Remains - _Forever Underground_
-- Within Temptation - _Enter_
-- Various - _World Domination II_
* New Noise
-- Chaos Theory - _Scarred for Life_
-- Christhanasia - _Cragoedie_
-- Kaffeine - _Unworthy_
-- Nympha - <rehearsal tape>
-- Solarisis - _Illuminations_
-- Sub-Version - _Foul_
* Chaotic Concerts
-- Korn Kan Kick Keister: Korn with Helmet in Toronto
-- Obliterating Obsolescence: Obliveon with Blood of Christ and Solus
-- Dio Destroys Decadance: Dio with My Dying Bride in Toronto
* What We Have Cranked
* The Final Word

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

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

     Here it is loyal readers,  Chronicles  of  Chaos  #20,  the  big
TWO-ZERO. Can't believe  we've  actually  put  out  twenty  of  these
babies. Believe me when I say the time has flown by.
     Not much new to report this issue so I'll keep this short. We do
have some pretty interesting chats for you all, and our usual  number
of quality reviews. As well, check out our story on  Boston's   Grief
written by High Times music journalist and good friend of ours,  Zena
Tsarfin.
     On a sad note, our condolences go out to Toronto's Solus,  whose
bass player Doug Regan recently passed away. Solus is featured  in  a
concert review later this issue and was interviewed in CoC #13.

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

CoC's Hellish Osmose CD Giveaway and Infernal Trivia Contest of Death
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks to the generosity of the mighty Herve and Osmose  Productions,
CoC hereby gives you the chance to win a copy of Disk One of the  new
2-CD compilation of Osmose and Kron-H bands, _World  Domination  II_.
Disc One contains tracks  by:  Vital  Remains,  Marduk,  Necromantia,
Angel  Corpse,  Immortal,  Dark  Tranquillity,  Gehennah,   Enslaved,
Swordmaster, Inferno, Demoniac, and Absu. Disc Two is  not  available
in this giveaway. (For more information on the CD, see Steve's review
in this issue.) We have about 20 copies to give away. In order to win
a copy, you must correctly answer all  three  of  the  Osmose-related
trivia questions below. 

DO NOT SEND YOUR ANSWERS TO CoC's RETURN ADDRESS. SEND THEM TO STEVE,
AT: mailto:hoeltzel@blue.weeg.uiowa.edu. Please put "OSMOSE  CONTEST"
in the subject line of your message, and include your name and postal
address.

In order to keep things as simple as possible, we  will  accept  only
one entry per person and only one entry  per  e-mail  account.  Steve
will check the messages in the order in which he receives  them.  One
copy of the CD will be awarded to each person who answers  all  three
questions correctly, while supplies last. Once there are no more  CDs
available to be won, the contest is over. Winners will receive  their
CD by mail.

The questions:

1. Which Osmose band's former vocalist now sings for the Swedish band
   In Flames?

2. Which Osmose band hails from South America and has a vocalist  who
   sings tenor?

3. Kron-H band  Raism  (formerly  called  Diabolos  Rising)  contains
   members of Necromantia and which other Osmose band?

Good luck!

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

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

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

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


Date: Fri, 28 Mar 1997
From: bob <bobb@theriver.com>
Subject: Sup

This is to Gino Filicetti. Hey, man, Primitive Rhythm  Machine  is  a
really good album. First of all, listen to it better! Steve Rowe does
not sound like Max Cavalera. The guitar soloing just happens  to  fit
with the songs being played, it has nothing to do with how hard  they
are to play. I'm a drummer, and Bill Rice kicks  ass,  man,  I  don't
know why you said anything bad about him. Last, there's nothing wrong
with wanting to be born again. I can see that people  who  listen  to
Monster Voodoo Machine can say stuff  about  intelligent  music  like
MORTIFICATION!!


Date: Thu, 03 Apr 1997
From: Nuno Almeida <messiah@jupiter.di.uminho.pt>
Subject: CoC - Attention Loud Letters!

Hi,

I found out your excelent  e-zine  a  couple  of  months  ago,  while
browsing in the death  metal  newsgroup.  I  liked  it  a  lot.  Nice
articles, interviews, album reviews and one  thing  i  really  liked,
reviews of demos of bands without record label. You're really helping
the undergroung scene. That's good.

I was also very glad that a portuguese guy  (Pedro  Azevedo)  entered
your staff, as he can help bring really good new portuguese bands  to
light, as he did on his reviews of Desire and  Heavenwood.  Just  one
small problem. I didn't like the  rating  on  Anathema's  _Eternity_,
which i think is an amazing album  (10/10  for  sure)  and  Funeral's
_Tragedies_, which he rated as an 6/10. But no problem at all.

In fact, reading your older issues, I found a real improvement in the
reviews. Rating Emperor's _In the Nightside Eclipse_ as an 6/10, Dark
Tranquility's _The Gallery_ as an 3/10 (!!!) on your old  issues  and
Moonspell's amazing _Wolfheart_ as an 5/10 on your anniversary  issue
certainly is nothing to be proud of, but you're learning fast >:>

In resume, you have a fantastic zine, which is  improving  along  the
way. Keep up the good work.

Nuno


Date: Mon, 14 Apr 1997
From: Jared Griffith <jazza@xtra.co.nz>
Subject: Letters to the Editor

Thanks for the time and effort you guys put into this publication.  I
live in Christchurch, New Zealand and your zine is basically my  only
contact with all things hard and heavy. Any music I want  I  have  to
import (very small amount of metal in the record shops)and it usually
takes forever. Therefore your review  section  comes  in  very  handy
!!!!! I have bought Minas Morgul by Summoning and  In  The  Nightside
Eclipse by Emperor because of your recommendations and have been most
pleased.

A great addition to your zine would be a discography in  each  review
and maybe a list of similar bands. That would help me  discover  more
great music.

Once again,  thank  you  for  your  efforts  every  month;  its  much
appreciated. Oh, try and find New Zealand on a world map -  then  you
may sympathize!!!

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

The meat of the matter lies here. Read on for the juiciest morsels on
bands ranging from the reknowned to the obscure. No fat, no  gristle,
just blood-soaked slabs served hot and ready. Dig in, readers.


                   T H E Y ' R E   B A C K   . . .
                   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                       CoC interviews W.A.S.P.
                          by: Adrian Bromley

     I am the first to admit that I have never been  a  big  W.A.S.P.
fan. I never really got into the band's music or controversial issues
that they faced against 'Joe Public' or the PMRC in  the  1980s  with
such albums as their self-titled  debut  in  1985,  1989's  _Headless
Children_ and the critically acclaimed  theme  record,  _The  Crimson
Idol_ (1991). Bluntly put: I never was a fan. 
     But like most times in this business as  a  music  critic/writer
you  are  faced  with  the  task  (or  in  this  instance  given  the
opportunity) of talking to a band or band members that you may or may
not want to talk with. W.A.S.P. was the task I was to face.
     As I walk into  the  classy  Essex  Clarion  hotel  in  downtown
Toronto, I'm already primed (and somewhat  worried  and  nervous)  to
interview original W.A.S.P. members Blackie Lawless and Chris Holmes,
who have just reunited after an eight-year breakup with their  Castle
Record's debut album, the mind-rippin' industrial-tinged  _Kill  Fuck
Die_. As we approach the hotel suite where the two  are  awaiting  my
arrival, visions of Lawless all decked out in a blackened shroud  and
skulls and satanic symbols bounce back and forth in my  head.  Images
of a drunken and violent Holmes (as seen in the movie _The Decline of
the Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years_) is embedded  into
my brain. I'm scared now.
     I eventually am introduced to Holmes and Lawless, both  of  whom
are relaxed and  somewhat  tired  from  a  long  day  of  press.  The
interview begins with Holmes pointing at my  handheld  tape  recorder
and asking me, 'Is that a Sony?' I answer cautiously, 'Um... no...  a
Genexxa.' Holmes' eyes light up and  the  towering  Holmes,  tattooed
sleeves and all sits up from the sofa chair and  thunders  toward  me
sitting on the bed across from Lawless and grunts, 'Shit... we should
break that right now, that ain't a Sony.' I'm thinking, 'Why me?'
     While Holmes is rather rambunctious, he is  quite  peaceful  and
quiet for the most part. It is Lawless, wearing a t-shirt  and  sweat
pants, who is rather calm and willing to talk about the reuniting  of
Holmes and himself. 'It was a simple phone call that got  this  thing
going again for us,' utters Lawless talking about how  easily  Holmes
and himself mended their ways. Holmes juts in, 'It was  rather  quick
after I had accepted the collect call.' They laugh in unison.
     For as long as W.A.S.P. has been in this industry (since  1985),
you'd have to think that making records and writing  songs  was  easy
for them. Piece of cake. Not true answers Lawless, as  he  discovered
with penning material for _KFD_. 'It becomes harder for myself  as  a
songwriter because I become more selective of what I write  about.  I
want to take my time when writing the songs I make now. To be able to
make them mean something and have a lasting affect.'
     Knowing now what I was to experience next, I should have avoided
this question to some extent. I ask,  'The  album  title  _Kill  Fuck
Die_: Why? What fueled the ideas?' Holmes rapidly responds in a  loud
bellow, 'You live in Los Angeles and see how you feel  with  all  the
guns and violence and murders that happen! It is a dangerous place to
be but I wouldn't want to live anywhere else. I'm reading here in the
paper that the other day like all these people have  been  shot  over
the last couple of weeks, Fuck!,  '  he  yells,  'That  is  the  last
fucking page of the Los Angeles time everyday.' At this  time  Holmes
begins to stand up and act out a mock take on life and times  in  Los
Angeles. He stands by the curtain clad windows of the hotel,  drawing
them back and forth while staring out the window mumbling names  like
George and Martha as he proceeds to make gunfire sounds, ending  with
a shallow scream. I make a quick glance to Lawless perched on the bed
across from me and we both let out a huge ball of  laughter.  Lawless
almost falls off the bed.
     I agree with Holmes about his take on life in  Los  Angeles  and
the ideas put forth towards _KFD_ and he says, 'That's the way I look
at it. Ah well, _Kill Fuck Die_!' Lawless lets out  a  huge  dose  of
laughter and says, 'This is too  much.  You  had  to  get  him  going
right?' Holmes finishes, 'That's a normal day for us who live in  Los
Angeles. To other it's not.'
     While on the topic of the album title and the general make-up of
material and ideas for _KFD_, Lawless  goes  on  to  talk  about  the
formation and ideas of the band in the 1990s, having to live  on  the
edge and be a dangerous entity in the music industry if you  want  to
get noticed. 'We talk about how we are a dangerous band and  all  but
when we got back together we said to each other that we had to be the
nastiest, stinkiest, filthiest fucking band  on  the  planet.  That's
what we attempted to do and will continue to try to  do.'  About  the
lyrics of _KFD_? Lawless says so blatantly, 'There is not  a  lot  of
deep philosophical thought and social significance within our  lyrics
on this record.'
     At this point in time the  conversation  meanders  away  from  a
basic Q&A session and goes more into gibberish  about  bands  of  the
90s, touring (which is set to start in May, what Lawless describes as
'an intense show; not for the faint of heart'), and growing old.
     Looking at Holmes and  Lawless,  you  can  tell  that  they  are
getting on in the years but there still seems to be a  youthful  glow
in the eyes. And long years in this  business  has  not  slowed  down
W.A.S.P. or their desire to  keep  going  in  this  business.  Holmes
quips, 'When I started this business with W.A.S.P., people thought  I
was an old fuck. Fuck! I'm gonna die doing this!'
     Lawless leaves the room to use the toilet. I'm left with Holmes.
Trouble? Who knows? I ask him,  while  his  partner  is  'draining  a
vein,' about being a songwriter. He corrects me.  'I  don't  consider
myself a songwriter. I'm an entertainer. I like to make music and  go
out and tour and put on a show. Other people  might  call  themselves
songwriters but not me - I'm an entertainer and that is what  I  do.'
His eyes light up as he tells me that. I am starting to  believe  him
and for once in this interview I feel a bit more relaxed.
     Lawless returns. At this point in time my 25-minute interview is
wearing down and I am starting to notice that after about 6 hours  of
interviews during the day, the two are getting restless.  Lawless  is
squirming on the bed and Holmes proceeds to  pace  around  his  small
sofa he has been sitting on during the  interview.  I  couldn't  have
asked for a better way to end the interview than with the way  Holmes
so effortlessly provided me with a real closer. The  topic:  critics.
Both Lawless and Holmes have mixed feelings  about  the  way  one  of
their records is either praised or panned. I ask about that topic and
Holmes once again stands up and walks towards me saying,  'I'm  gonna
tell you how I feel.' That nervous feeling comes back to  me  as  the
6ft+ guitarist meanders over to me on the bed I am sitting  upon.  He
stands over me with  a  halfhearted  grin  and  leans  into  my  tape
recorder microphone and mutters, 'Fuck'em! That's how  I  see  it.  I
don't care what people say about what we do. Fuck'em!'
     Lawless laughs as Holmes sits down. Lawless ends  the  interview
by saying, 'We really don't give a fuck what  people  say  about  the
record. We don't care what critics or music  journalists  really  say
about _KFD_. We are doing this for ourselves  and  our  fans.  That's
about it. Fuck everybody else.'
     I leave the interview with a real feeling that  all  the  mayhem
and shit that came along with W.A.S.P.  in  the  80s  may  be  coming
around again once more when _Kill Fuck Die_ hits stores at the end of
April. Lawless and Holmes together again - watch out!

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


This is the column where CoC sits down to have a  face  to  face,  no
holds barred conversation with  your  favorite  bands,  and  get  the
inside scoop into what's happening in their lives.


      T H E   S E A R C H   F O R   P E R F E C T   M E L O D Y
      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
              CoC interviews Esa Holopainen of Amorphis
                          by: Pedro Azevedo

     From the cold northern lands  of  Finland,  Amorphis  have  been
growing, album after album, to  become  one  of  the  giants  in  the
current European metal scene. Few bands are as technically  excellent
and creative as they are. As you can read in  Gino's  interview  with
this same band almost a year ago [CoC  #11],  these  Finnish  melodic
metal masters  made  a  giant  improvement  on  their  _The  Karelian
Isthmus_ with 1994's _Tales from the  Thousand  Lakes_.  Last  year's
awesome _Elegy_ showed even more improvement  on  the  already  great
_TFtTL_, mainly in what concerns  melody,  and  it's  also  the  main
subject of this e-mail interview, as we discuss the past, present and
future of Amorphis with guitarist Esa Holopainen.

CoC: What is it that you think makes the  awesome  _Elegy_  a  better
     album than (the also excellent) _Tales from the Thousand Lakes_?

Esa Holopainen: We have developed a lot as  musicians  and  composers
                since _TFtTL_ and of course there are lots of  things
                in _Elegy_ which are more connected  to  our  culture
                and folk music. In _TFtTL_, there's lotsa cool things
                as well but these two albums are made with  different
                mood so for us they are two totally different albums 
                musically.

CoC: Do you think your quality has improved with the addition of the 
     new keyboardist, Kim Rantala?

EH: Kim's got a part of it  as  well  as  Pasi  but  we  had  already
    composed a lot of songs before they joined the band. Kim's  sound
    world and musical roots are very different from Kasper's.

CoC: And what about the new vocalist, Pasi Koskinen?  Would  you  say
     his voice is better for Amorphis than Koivusaari's grunts?

EH: Tomi's voice is growling and Pasi's voice is pure singing so  you
    can say that growling vocals are for us more like an  effect  but
    it gives a great mood for the songs.  Pasi  has  a  great  melody
    sense which is very important if you are  the  lead  vocalist.  I
    can't say which one is better, it's the same  thing  if  you  ask
    which one you prefer, your guitar or your delay pedal.

CoC: I personally enjoy Koivusaari's style, although I think Koskinen
     fits in quite nicely (after enough listens, that is).  What  are
     your plans for the future in what concerns the  balance  between
     the two vocalists?

EH: Pasi's voice is the lead one so he'll sing in almost every  track
    in the future. We still haven't forgot Tomi's voice and  as  long
    as our music needs a growling voice we will definitely use it.

CoC: Is there any sort  of  problems  in  the  band  concerning  your
     musical direction (like between new members and older ones)?

EH: No problems at all. When we arrange our stuff everybody  must  be
    pleased with the sound, then we know that we are doing  something
    good. Even though we have different  music  tastes  between  some
    members it does not reflect on the Amorphis sound.
 
CoC: Why did you record _Elegy_ in three(!) different studios?

EH: First we went to Sunlight studio in Stockholm  and  recorded  all
    the basic stuff there but during the sessions we noticed that  it
    wasn't technically prepared enough to finish the album  there  so
    we  came  to  Helsinki  and  used  two  studios  to  finish   the
    recordings. Finally we ended up going to  Liverpool  to  mix  the
    album there with top engineering fellow Pee Wee Coleman who did a
    really awesome job.

CoC: It's pretty clear that your (Holopainen's) name is the one  that
     shows up most frequently in the song credits.  Do  you  consider
     yourself the band's creative center? (I should mention that  you
     are currently my  favourite  guitarist,  the  one  who  combines
     technique and creativity best.)

EH: I did several songs and was part composer in most tracks  but  in
    our band every member is creative and some people  come  up  with
    songs more often. I had a lot of ideas before we  started  to  do
    material  for  _Elegy_.  We  always  arrange  the  music  in  our
    rehearsal room together as a band.  Otherwise,  I  do  a  lot  of
    interviews, etc., so my name might come up often in what comes to
    Amorphis. I'm really impressed about your comments what comes  to
    my guitar playing so cheers for that. 
  
CoC: Just how do you manage to come up with such amazing melodies all
     the time? I mean, _Elegy_  is  probably  the  greatest  opus  of
     memorable melodies I've ever heard, it never ceases to amaze me.

EH: We are searching for perfect melody. That's our meaning  of  life
    and that's the rule that we are following.

CoC: How well have your last couple of albums been selling so far?

EH: Pretty good. _Elegy_ has sold so far over 100 000 copies.

CoC: How have the live shows been going lately?

EH: Very nice, we just finished our _Elegy  European  Tour  Part  2_,
    which was really cool. We went to play in smaller cities were  we
    haven't yet played in Europe so much and the response was  really
    great. Otherwise, we did a massive touring with  _Elegy_  and  we
    still are going to play summer  festivals  under  the  _Elegy..._
    tour.

CoC: In your point of view, which are the best Finnish bands right 
     now?

EH: The best one was Kingston Wall which does not exist any more, but
    a few cool bands are Xysma, Sentenced, CMX.

CoC: You're supposed to be releasing an EP in April. Would  you  like
     to give us some more details?

EH: It's coming out in June, don't ask me why the delay. It  includes
    "My Kantele" from the _Elegy_ album,  two  new  tracks,  and  two
    cover tracks, one from Hawkwind and one from Kingston Wall.

CoC: In which ways do you think Amorphis will change in  the  future?
     Will you become heavier, softer, groovier or more melodic.  What
     do you think?

EH: Hard to say. I hate the word groove, so that's something it's not
    going to be. Still heavy.

CoC: OK, that was my last question. Any messages for our readers?

EH: Thanx for this cool interview and I wish you best luck.

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

                         G O O D   G R I E F 
                         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                   An interview with Boston's Grief
                by: Zena Tsarfin <zena@hightimes.com>

     The members of Boston-based Grief are not exactly happy campers.
While the doomy quartet that specializes in slow,  heavy  sludge-core
have gotten slightly more upbeat since their first two  full-lengths,
_Dismal_ (Common Cause) and _Come to Grief_  (Century  Media),  Grief
still tend to look for the  cloud  behind  the  silver  lining,  most
recently on _Miserably Ever After_ (Pessimiser/Theologian).
     While the core of the band started out as  Disrupt,  Grief  soon
became the favored outlet for vocalist Jeff,  drummer  Rick,  bassist
Randy, and guitarist Terry. With their misanthropic lyrics and  credo
"If it's too slow, you're too happy," Grief have become a favorite of
other  extreme  bands  such  as  Soilent  Green,  16,  Dystopia,  and
Corrupted - all of whom have done split recordings with the band.
     I recently got a chance  to  speak  to  their  guitarist,  Terry
Savastano about Grief's new record, plans for the future and  cynical
outlook on life.

CoC: Will we ever see a happy album from Grief?

Terry Savastano: Probably not happy, but we're getting away from  the
                 depression  thing  and  more  into  the  anger   and
                 loathing thing. But happy? Never.

CoC: When and how did Grief come about?

TS: Three of the members were in Disrupt, and we played in that  band
    for a number of years but wanted to do  something  else.  We  did
    both bands for a while then Disrupt broke up and we're just doing
    Grief now. It's been that way ever since about '90  or  '91.  I'd
    say five years and going strong.

CoC: How is Grief different from Disrupt?

TS: It's a different form of music; Disrupt was just charging full of
    hardcore and politics and Grief is really slow, monotonous dirge.
    I try not to use the word metal, but I guess we are a metal band.

CoC: Face it, you're a metal band.

TS: Yeah, you'd have to say that.

CoC: Sorry about that, but I have to quote Anal Cunt every chance I 
     get.

TS: It's alright.

CoC: Who are some of your influences?

TS: The usual: Black Sabbath, Trouble, St. Vitus, and the Melvins.

CoC: How did the Grief sound develop?

TS: Just fucking around;  just  screwing  around  with  certain  shit
    trying to turn up everything as loud as it will go, tuning things
    down and smoking a lot of grass. Plus being bored and bummed out.

CoC: Do you think there's a certain sound that comes out of smoking 
     pot?

TS: Definitely, that slow churning stuff. We just  get  really  baked
    and it comes out. For rehearsal we smoke as much pot as  possible
    and just get down and make music.

CoC: How do you feel about people associating Grief as a drug band?

TS: As long as they just associate us with grass and drinking  booze,
    we pretty much frown on everything else.

CoC: How would you describe the Grief sound to someone who has  never
     heard the band?

TS: Like explosions... really slow, fuckin' funereal dirge music with
    a singer who sounds like he got his arms cut off. <laughs>

CoC: How has your sound progressed over the years?

TS: It's gotten a lot more melodic, a tiny bit faster, more involving
    and a little more technical - but still true to form.

CoC: Tell me about some of the lyrics on the  new  record.  Was  "Low
     Life" based on personal experience?

TS: Jeff [vocalist/lyricist] wrote the words to that  song  and  they
    were definitely based on personal  experiences  -  just  numerous
    individuals that will find out sooner or later.

CoC:  I  also  noticed  anti-straight  edge   lyrics   in   "Straight
     Edge-Closed Mind", what prompted that?

TS: We've just taken so much shit from  people.  People  will  pretty
    much do whatever the hell they want, I don't care -  but  I  hate
    people that preach. These militant straight-edge  kids  can  just
    fuckin' stick it up their ass. When they stop preaching to me and
    telling me what to do, then I'm going to write a song  about  it.
    If you're straight, that's cool; live your own  life,  make  your
    own rules. We've actually met people like 'Oh, you're  a  fuckin'
    loser, what the fuck are you doing smoking that shit?' Fuck off!

CoC: The song "Why Should You Care"  puts  down  bands  that  try  to
     promote ideas through their music. Do you really believe that?

TS: That's another song that Jeff wrote, you'd have to ask him  about
    that one! <laughs>. I'm not PC or a veggie and I'd love  to  take
    drugs until the day I die. It doesn't really  matter,  it's  just
    music. If people are going to take it really seriously, then they
    definitely haven't got it. Everything is so negative  because  it
    just comes right out in the music, a little bit of it  is  tongue
    in cheek.

CoC: You've used the slogan "I Hate the Human Race" for a while,  now
     the song finally appears on the new record. What took so long?

TS: We had that on the back of our shirt for over a year, it was just
    something to put on the back and offend  people.  When  we  wrote
    music to a song in the studio that didn't have any words we  just
    used that and now I know people [for which] that's their favorite
    song. It cracks me up.

CoC: You also covered "Angry Man" by St. Vitus. Are you big fans?

TS: Absolutely, we love St. Vitus. I've been  into  them  since  high
    school and turned the other guys  onto  it.  We  have  all  their
    records, especially the stuff with Wino.

CoC: With such long, dirge-inspired songs, was there ever a fear that
     people just wouldn't get it?

TS: Yeah, that's a constant fear and  an  everyday  occurrence.  Most
    people don't get it, we have to travel  four  hours  to  play  in
    front of people that like us; no one likes us in Boston at all.

CoC: What caused you guys to become so misanthropic?

TS: I've been that way my whole life, I'm sure the other guys in  the
    band... well, Randy's half Jewish, so he's kind  of...  <laughs>.
    It's the environment and just life in general.

CoC: I'm a New Yorker, that's my excuse, but  was  it  hard  to  find
     three other people that felt the same  way  you  did  about  the
     world?

TS: In the beginning it was kind of hard, I had Grief in my mind  for
    a long, long time... years, and then finally I met these guys  in
    Disrupt and they had similar interests and [we] gave it  a  shot.
    It took off from there, but it took a while.

CoC: Are you planning on touring in support of the new record?

TS: Come springtime, we're going to go down South and do a  bunch  of
    weekends. We want to go to California again, we went there in '93
    and it was good, 80% of our audience is there. We'd like  to  hit
    the Midwest again, but we've got to work around our jobs.

CoC: Is playing cathartic for you?

TS: It's a release, everything comes out. Everything that's pissed me
    off during the day, I get out at night through my  music.  If  it
    wasn't for my music, more than  likely  I'd  be  a  serious  dope
    addict, in prison, or just a total fuckin' loser.

CoC: How do people react to the band in a live situation? There's  no
     clear or defined mosh parts.

TS: No, not at all. Most people just  stand  there  with  their  jaws
    open, a lot of people just frown and walk out,  and  some  people
    actually kind of laugh. Other people, the people that like  it  -
    they just stand in awe, mesmerized.

CoC: Any weird fans come out to the shows?

TS: This one guy carved a big upside-down  cross  in  his  chest  and
    dripped blood all over  the  place,  we've  gotten  some  fuckin'
    beauties. We've seen some seriously freaky people  at  our  gigs,
    but it's nothing really - no one pulls out a gun or anything like
    that. Not yet anyway.

CoC: Your last album, _Come to Grief_ was issued  on  Century  Media.
     What happened to your deal with them?

TS: They dropped us, they let us go. It's actually  worked  out  good
    because I didn't want to work with them any more, it  was  really
    bad. I'm a musician, I just want to  play  my  guitar  and  sing.
    Dealing with labels and people that have a control on what I  do,
    I don't dig that at all. With Pessimiser, it's just give  them  a
    call and [Chris Elder] does whatever we want or we do whatever he
    wants. He's a friend, it works out much better.

CoC: I noticed you had some changes in the line-up, what happened?

TS: Our old drummer, Rick, left. Randy, the bass player,  moved  over
    to drums and our friend [and Grief's  artist],  Eric  is  playing
    bass for us now. Randy's originally  a  drummer,  he  drummed  in
    Disrupt. When we started Grief, he was actually  our  singer  for
    one of the first rehearsals and his voice couldn't take it so  he
    went out and bought a bass and he's been playing that ever since.
    Then Rick left and Randy  moved  back  over  to  drums  and  it's
    working good.

CoC: If you guys are so miserable, how come you're all smiling on the
     back of the record?

TS: Life's basically been going pretty good for all of  us.  When  we
    started the  band,  especially  me,  I  was  a  miserable  little
    bastard. I lived at  home,  always  bummed  out,  getting  drunk,
    getting into accidents with my  truck.  I  moved  out,  and  just
    realized it ain't that bad, you just got to stick it out and  try
    to think positive. All my negative aspects in life, I  just  save
    'em all up and when I get to rehearsal, or get to a gig,  then  I
    let them out  through  the  music.  It  works  great,  it's  such
    therapy. I just try to save it up instead of being a little  baby
    and whining about it.

CoC: How has that worked out?

TS: Works fuckin' great, my life's  definitely  improved  and  that's
    probably why we're smiling on the back [of the record].  It's  an
    outlet and I hope a lot of people are looking at our music as  an
    outlet too, instead of just 'Oh these guys are  wicked  sick'  or
    just run of the mill. It means a lot  to  us,  and  hopefully  to
    certain individuals it will mean a lot to them, too.

CoC: What's the biggest misconception about Grief?

TS: That's a good question... that  we're  bland,  that  we  have  no
    substance. I think we're one of those bands that tend to grow  on
    people.

CoC: Like mould?

TS: Yeah, possibly or skin cancer. We're  not  internal,  we're  like
    something you brush off, but we'll always come back.

Contact: GRIEF, c/o Pessimiser/Theologian
         PO Box 1070, Hermosa Beach, CA, 90254, USA

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

             C O N V E R S I N G   W I T H   A   C U N T 
             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                     CoC chats with Seth Putnam
                          by: Adrian Bromley

     As many of our readers and writers  like  Anal  Cunt,  and  have
expressed that we should do an interview with them, I tried for  many
months to get an Anal Cunt interview. Finally I was able  to  get  an
interview with Seth Putnam, lead screamer/sicko/weirdo and ringleader
of anarchy for Massachusetts-bred Anal Cunt, at his  home  in  Boston
late one night to talk about their latest 52-song platter of  mayhem,
_I Like It When You Die_. 
     While Anal Cunt has released numerous 7"s, 12"s, and records  in
the nine years of their existence, it wasn't until the early part  of
the 90s and working with Earache  Records  that  the  band  saw  some
exposure with such albums as _Top 40 Hits_, 1995's _40  More  Reasons
To Hate Us_ and their latest "bad-taste" record _ILIWYD_.
     While Putnam was tired after a long day's  work,  having  had  a
couple of  'brewskies'  beforehand  helped  add  some  color  to  the
interview and kept  him  somewhat  interested  in  our  little  chat.
Knowing quite well that Putnam is not a huge fan of the  Internet  or
technology (i.e.  songs  off  their  latest  _ILIWYD_  such  as  "The
Internet Is Gay" and Technology Is Gay" [more like  "Seth  Putnam  Is
Gay" - AMG]) I cautiously try to explain to  Seth  what  our  on-line
magazine Chronicles of Chaos is all about and how we reach a  lot  of
people worldwide who  may  not  get  publications  with  features  or
reviews of Anal Cunt. He listens very carefully, but  responds  quite
scathingly, "That's cool if we don't reach people or they don't  know
who we are. I'd rather not have people know about us than read  about
us on the Internet."

CoC: Does music still play a huge role in your  life  now  after  all
     these years of creating music and noise with Anal Cunt?

Seth Putnam: Yeah, it is still an important part of my life and  what
             I do. This is my life and something I  think  about  all
             the time. If we  didn't  just  lose  our  drummer  (Nate
             Linehan recently left) we would be out on tour right now
             and I wouldn't have to be working.

CoC: You seem to have a large amount of material on each record  with
     lots of ideas and commentaries going on. Are there  messages  in
     the music or is this just noise?

SP: When we first started doing this music, we  had  no  lyrics,  the
    music was short, no song titles and we made a lot of  this  stuff
    on the spot. It was all garbage. We were playing  a  big  musical
    rock n' roll laugh with  really  loud  guitars  and  playing  all
    horrible and shit to make it sound bad. Nowadays...

CoC: Is there something there now, seeing that the  music  is  a  bit
     more organized with lyrics and song titles, then?

SP: For the first time with the  last  record,  all  the  lyrics  are
    written around the song titles for the first  time.  So  all  the
    music is mean and angry towards  all  groups  of  people.  It  is
    totally against everybody and I don't think  we  missed  any  one
    type of person. Basically we badmouthed everybody.

CoC: I guess it's just a big ranting and raving session then?

SP: Yeah... I guess. I guess it depends on what mood we  are  in  the
    day we write the music. The new  record  is  a  piss-off  but  we
    didn't say, 'Oh let's piss off this type of person!' No. We  just
    wrote it because we were pissed off at that particular person.

CoC: And what about the album title _I Like  It  When  You  Die_?  Is
     there a statement for that?

SP: Actually, we didn't even think of the album title.  A  friend  of
    mine from the band Sock-Eyed made up some t-shirts  for  us  with
    random sayings on it and one of them said, "You're A  Bastard.  I
    Like It When You Die" and we used that for a title.

CoC: And the fascination with everyone being considered "gay"?

SP: In Massachusetts, that is a very common slang  term.  Kinda  like
    when people think something is stupid they say, 'Oh that is gay.'
    It is a common way of talking around here. I just speak that  way
    around here anyway. Some people think it really  means  gay.  Not
    true. I use the word a lot but obviously the song  "Recycling  Is
    Gay" can't mean that recycling is  a  homosexual  thing.  Anybody
    with half a brain can pick that out and see that it doesn't  mean
    anything to do with homosexuality.

CoC: What kind of fans does Anal Cunt draw to a  show  or  buys  your
     records?

SP: I think the average Anal Cunt fan that comes to our  show  is  an
    unemployed, alcoholic asshole loser which is  kind  of  like  the
    people that we get along with anyway. Troublemakers that like  to
    start shit up. The fans that buy our records are a mixed  lot.  A
    wide variety from artsy people  to  troublemakers.  I  think  the
    people that like us are the people that are looking for the  most
    extreme and fastest music that they'll hear.

CoC: And why did you start this band up? To  spread  anarchy  through
     music?

SP: I hate that word,  anarchy.  It's  overused.  Anyway...  when  we
    started this band up we only meant for AC to last two  weeks.  To
    play one show and make one tape.  The  fact  that  we  are  still
    around amazes me.

CoC: Do you consider yourself a joke band?

SP: Maybe in the first two weeks of this band but things evolved  for
    us and we starting writing about things  that  interested  us  or
    bothered us.

CoC: Does the music industry get to you at times?

SP: For the last three years straight from January  to  March  I  was
    wanting to break up the band and not do it again. I just get that
    way every now and then but I am  the  kind  of  person  who  gets
    pissed off when things go well for me and I try to ruin my  life.
    I'll get sick of this a couple months of the year but at least  I
    know now not to let people take advantage of me.

CoC: And Earache Records? How has that been for you guys?

SP: They're there. They don't do any promotion for us. They just  put
    out the records. I wish they would do better because I  think  we
    would benefit from  them  helping  us  out.  Originally,  Earache
    bothered me but I realized that we weren't the bigger band on the
    label. I'm used to them not really doing anything for us. We just
    let them get the record out  and  we  try  to  promote  the  band
    ourselves.

CoC: What kind of things piss you off? Things that would make it onto
     an AC record.

SP: I don't have my notebook here but  we  already  have  like  forty
    songs written for the next record. All  of  them  just  downright
    mean towards all people. It is the most  violent  stuff  that  we
    have ever done. I can't remember any of the titles as  we  worked
    on the ideas really fast.

CoC: Is that gonna be out soon?

SP: Earache pretty much makes us put out an album once a year so  I'm
    sure in early 1998 you will see a new Anal Cunt release.

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

                C O O L I N G   T H E   R E A C T O R 
                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                 CoC chats with Heavy Water Factory
                          by: Adrian Bromley

     Detroit three-piece Heavy Water Factory  have  always  aimed  at
creating hypnotic power-driven electronic music with  a  bite  and  a
definite roar that would set them apart from the rest, allowing metal
and noise tidbits to be dispersed within the loops and beats  of  the
techno-driven music. On their second record, _Author of Pain_ (Energy
Records), the band aimed to find a unique  style  or  feel  to  their
music. They may have found it as their sophomore release, a follow-up
to 1996's indie release _Fluid and Meat_, truly  surpasses  what  the
band had done first time out.
     Singer/keyboardist/programmer Jesse McLear (HWF is  rounded  out
by other keyboardist William West and guitarist Scott  Hixson)  talks
to Chronicles of Chaos about the  music  and  momentum  generated  by
Heavy Water Factory.

CoC: What interests you about the kind of music that you play?

Jesse McLear: I grew  up  listening  to  bands  like  The  Cure,  Joy
              Division, and The Smiths, and a lot of these bands used
              keyboards. I liked that quality about those bands. That
              interested me. And then  I  started  getting  into  the
              industrial around 1989 and it  was  so  different  from
              anything that I had heard before and I  wanted  to  get
              into that. I fell in love with bands like  Nitzer  Ebb,
              Ministry, and Skinny Puppy.

CoC: Do you still play close  attention  to  the  new  industrial  or
     electronic music nowadays?

JM: I am  finding  myself  less  and  less  listening  to  or  paying
    attention to those kinds of music right now. I just want to  stay
    focused on what I am doing and not be  influenced  in  anyway  by
    other bands.

CoC: Where do you want Heavy Water Factory  to  go  as  a  band?  How
     important is success for you?

JM: I don't know about that. I am not expecting to be rich or do this
    for years to come. I do it right now  because  I  like  to  write
    music. I feel like there is a certain level I am gonna reach  and
    feel like I made it, but I don't know what that level is. I don't
    know what I am reaching for. I don't  know  if  it  is  a  dollar
    amount or being  famous.  I  think  it  is  more  of  a  personal
    accomplishment for myself. Making music and being happy doing it.
    I really care about what I do and I want this to  be  a  personal
    thing for me. I'm trying to be myself with every song I write.  I
    try to make each song better than the last one I wrote.

CoC: The record sounds very focused and clear. How  are  you  in  the
     studio when working on material?

JM: I work very hard in the studio trying to create the music that  I
    hear in my head. I try to bring my ideas to life. I am determined
    to get it as accurate to what I  want  but  that  always  doesn't
    happen. 

CoC: How did you hook up with Energy Records?

JM: We heard good things about them from some of our friends who  are
    DJs, always talking about how Energy  really  cares  about  their
    bands and stuff. We sent them a press kit and they really dug our
    material. We met up with them and felt a good vibe so  we  hooked
    up with them.

CoC: How would you describe the new record to someone?

JM: I'd probably tell them that the  record  is  full  of  a  lot  of
    variety of song styles and moods. Usually there is  something  on
    the record, it could be one track, that people usually come  away
    liking on this record. I like the fact  that  someone  could  get
    excited about something on this record,  to  be  excited  and  be
    moved by a piece of music that I created.

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

              B L E E D I N G   D I V I N E   B L O O D
              ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
           CoC interviews Darren White of The Blood Divine
                          by: Pedro Azevedo

     A band formed by the Ryan brothers and PJ Allender  from  Cradle
of Filth, a drummer such as Was from Extreme Noise Terror, and  Steve
Maloney on bass sure sounds more than promising. But what would  this
band be without a good vocalist? Well, The Blood  Divine  undoubtedly
have one who's as good as vocalists can get.  Formerly  the  Anathema
frontman, Darren White is the man who gives TBD  that  extra  quality
and personality with his voice, lyrics, and overall influence. I  had
the pleasure of talking to Daz on the phone, and here's the result  -
enjoy, and do yourself a favour by checking out their debut, _Awaken_.
     Before starting the interview itself, there's something  I  must
make clear. Darren was interviewed by a Portuguese radio station just
a few days before I talked to him, so I didn't  want  to  repeat  the
questions he had been asked in  that  interview  for  rather  obvious
reasons. However, two of the questions are worth mentioning here. The
first concerns his departure from Anathema - a decision that belonged
to the rest of the band.  They  claimed  that  Darren's  vocals  were
getting worse as the rest of the band got better, and added that  his
lyrics in _Pentecost III_ were bad (maybe they forgot about his  work
on _Serenades_). "A good move", as Danny Cavanagh once stated.  Many,
myself included, will strongly disagree, at least  in  what  concerns
Anathema, since while Anathema lost some of what made  them  special,
the world did gain a new and superb band  called  The  Blood  Divine,
which is  probably  much  more  suitable  for  Darren's  vocals  than
Anathema right now. Darren  blames  his  departure  on  the  lack  of
communication in the band: as he says, "They never told  me,  earlier
on, how they felt - it was like they were afraid to speak  about  it.
They chose the easy way out but it helped me, because sometimes  some
bad things happen to  you,  but  sometimes  you  can  make  something
positive out of that negative experience, and that's what I've done".
However, says Darren, "I can forgive them,  but  I'll  never  forget,
because it's not something that friends should do to each other. Then
again, I can thank them for it, because now I'm in a band  where  I'm
much happier than I ever was in Anathema, and  I'm  able  to  express
myself more honestly, more openly." About their  next  album,  Darren
said TBD will most likely record it during April or May, so it should
be out around September. With this out of the way, let's move  on  to
CoC's interview.

CoC:  Suppose  you  were  in  some  room  and  someone   would   play
     _Serenades_. What would be your current opinion on  the  quality
     of this album?

Darren White: I think it's good... I think the music  was  good,  but
              the production could have been better, and I think  I'd
              do the vocals differently now, but it was  1992,  so...
              I'm a better singer now... but I still  like  it,  it's
              still my past and it's still in my heart.

CoC: There've been a lot of bands abandoning the  death-style  vocals
     recently. Your vocals aren't really death vocals  anymore,  like
     they were in the past, but they're still heavy, and, as  far  as
     I'm concerned, excellent...

DW: Thank you.

CoC: Would you say this abandoning of the death vocals is becoming  a
     trend?

DW: I don't know... there's so many trends, that  to  me  it  doesn't
    matter. I think it's also a trend if a band just start up singing
    black metal style because it's easier to sing that way, you know,
    it's easier to scream and it's harder to sing in tune  but  still
    keep powerful. That's the thing that a lot of bands do, they  try
    to sing softer or in a tune but they lose the power, and  to  get
    the two is the best. I don't know about you, but I think  one  of
    the best singers ever was Robert Plant, because he  was  able  to
    get perfect tune but also a lot of power in his voice as well.

CoC: How important are your lyrics?

DW: They're totally important. It's 100% important, if not more,  you
    know, if it could be more than 100% it would be. It's therapy for
    me, it's very important for me that for every word that  goes  on
    to the paper and every word I sing I can defend myself if someone
    was to say "What do you mean there? Why did you say  that?",  I'd
    have to be able to defend myself. They also have to be completely
    from the heart, so I can find the balance and sort of  be  clever
    with the lyrics, but  also  be  honest  and  open  about  my  own
    feelings. I think that's something I lost for a little bit and  I
    have regained it now, especially  for  the  second  Blood  Divine
    album, which will be very [much] about personal experiences  that
    I think anyone can relate to.

CoC: Is there any special reason why your lyrics come out  so  gloomy
     and bleak, especially in the past?

DW: I think it's for two reasons. I use the lyrics as  a  therapy  so
    that I can get out the negative feelings inside me, and also I do
    try to reflect the atmosphere of the  world.  There  is  so  much
    injustice, so much cruelty and so much pain and suffering in  the
    world, and those come out in the lyrics. Some people live a happy
    life and they don't think about those who are suffering and other
    people's pain and sometimes they can't enjoy themselves  properly
    because they don't realize how lucky they are. I think by talking
    about the pain  of  suffering  and  injustice,  that  people  can
    realize how lucky they are and maybe even  go  out  and  try  and
    fight as well. I always say that if  I  wasn't  playing  music  I
    would be some form of revolutionist fighting  against  injustice.
    I'd be out there defending defenseless animals,  setting  animals
    free from torture laboratories and many other things.

CoC: What inspired you to write the lyrics for "Warm Summer Rain"?

DW: I'm gonna give you a secret away now... for  that  track,  I  was
    sitting there, and it was very, very late at night, which is  the
    best time for me to write lyrics, and I was thinking about  ideas
    while listening to the track (the band had written that track two
    or three  months  before  going  to  studio,  so  it  was  almost
    completely finished),  and  I  wanted  [the  lyrics]  very,  very
    simple, but also meaningful and deep. And it's  like  a  football
    manager, sometimes he has to admit that his wife helped him  pick
    the football team; my wife helped me with those lyrics.  <laughs>
    I knew that the song felt like rain, something made me think that
    there had to be rain when the music stops, so I wanted rain to be
    in the title, and once she got the idea into my head it all  came
    out very easy and very simple. Just as if I was  walking  outside
    the house in Summer with rain coming down and I'm looking  up  to
    the sky, feeling the rain on  my  face,  thinking  what  a  great
    feeling that is, breathing the clean air and hoping that we'll be
    always able to breathe clean air, which is a dream that  probably
    won't happen, but it would be nice.

CoC: That track features Ruth, an excellent female vocalist...

DW: Yeah.

CoC: ... who accompanied you from Anathema.

DW: Yeah.

CoC: Do you think she'll ever have more weight in the band,  do  some
     larger parts of the album?

DW: I don't know, I think  for  the  second  album  we're  gonna  try
    something else, but I'll always have her phone number and I  hope
    that we'll always be  friends  and  that  we'll  be  able  to  do
    something again in the future. I think for the next  album  we'll
    be trying something a little bit different, but we might ask Ruth
    again to do some stuff. It's not that we don't like  her  vocals,
    but we wanna do something different in the next album.

CoC: How did you come up with such a name as The Blood  Divine?  What
     does it mean?

DW: I just thought of a few different names for a band, names that  I
    thought were good, and I majorly thought that this one stood  out
    as the strongest. When I showed it to the other  guys,  I  didn't
    tell them which was the one I liked, I just showed them the  list
    of names, and every one of them said that's the one. I think it's
    good, because it's strong... it could be pretentious  in  a  way,
    but we believe in divine blood. It's not just  those  six  people
    who are The Blood Divine, it's anyone who feels  that  they  also
    bleed divine blood. If you believe that you have your own  strong
    conscience and your own god inside of you, and you don't  worship
    an external god but you obey the being inside of  yourself,  then
    you can be part of us, so if you believe you bleed  divine  blood
    you can be part of us.

CoC: Wise words. I suppose you are an atheist, then?

DW: No, I think I have a strong  faith,  but  it's  not  a  Christian
    faith, it's not Moslem faith, it's not Hindu faith, it's  just  a
    faith in Nature and life in general. I think  that  life  is  the
    ever-powerful thing.

CoC: Changing the subject, what bands or which kinds of music do  you
     guys listen to after work?

DW: Very different stuff. I would say that Paul Ryan is the big metal
    fan in the band. He loves mainly the new wave of British metal...
    and we all love Iron Maiden. Paul Allender, he's into  all  kinds
    really, he's a rock fan, he likes classical music too.

CoC: What about yourself?

DW: Myself, I love any music that I think  can  take  you  away  from
    where you are at that time, the reality and boredom of where  you
    are, so that it can lift you or make you feel better.  I  like  a
    lot of 60s and 70s stuff, they use a lot of  clever  sounds  that
    can help you drift away, and I like bands like Kyuss and  Monster
    Magnet. I also like that really, really  heavy  style.  Also  Led
    Zeppelin, the Beatles, Black Sabbath, the Doors... <laughs>  I'll
    tell you what Steve's into, he's into a lot of punk and  70s  and
    80s stuff as well... Lou Reed,  Velvet  Underground...  and  then
    Ben, he's into mad sounds, he likes anything that sounds strange.
    And Was, our drummer, he worships Frank Zappa. And he likes Miles
    Davis and jazz.

CoC: It's weird that if you ask this to most metal bands, they almost
     never mention newer metal bands. What's your  opinion  on  other
     Peaceville bands, for example, such as My Dying Bride?

DW: To be perfectly honest with you, I was  never  really  a  fan  of
    their music, even though I have respect for them. We just  toured
    with them for four and a half weeks, and I respect them, but  I'm
    more into Cathedral.

CoC: They were a bit like Anathema in the early  days...  there  were
     some  similarities  between  _Serenades_  and  _As  the   Flower
     Withers_, and the way both bands grew.

DW: Yeah.

CoC: I noticed that you mention a band called Celestial Season  twice
     in the  _Awakening_  credits...  you,  yourself.  Is  there  any
     special relation between you and that Dutch band?

DW: Yeah, their old singer, I knew him in the old days, and  also  in
    the last tour that we've done, a couple of  guys  from  Celestial
    Season came down and they were really friendly and  all,  and  we
    had a smoke together, and we talked and had a  drink.  They  were
    really cool people.

CoC: What's your opinion on the current  metal  scene?  Or  take  the
     Swedish scene as an example, if you know it.

DW: If we take Sweden as an example,  I  like  Entombed  and  At  the
    Gates, even though they have split up now. And Opeth...  I'm  not
    really into their music, because their songs are  too  long,  but
    they really know how to play their  instruments.  The  only  band
    that I can think of that are in the extreme scene are  Einherjer,
    I listened to a demo or something of theirs  a  couple  of  years
    ago, and it was really epic and heavy music.

CoC: I read in an interview that you don't value black metal too much.

DW: Eh... not really,  no...  not  the  current  black  metal  scene,
    because it's just full of spotty kids... and...

CoC: So you believe there is no such thing as a good black metal band
     right now?

DW: Er... there probably is... I could pick up Terrorizer and have  a
    look at that... there's probably a  good  band  in  that.  I'm  a
    friend of Cradle of Filth's new guitarist, and have  been  for  a
    long time, and I always thought Cradle of Filth were good... even
    though I shouldn't  be  promoting  them  really...  but  I  think
    they're okay... Impaled  Nazarene,  they're  okay  as  well.  And
    Celtic Frost, from the older scene, and  Sodom,  I  could  go  on
    there... but in the current scene, I think  the  bands  are  just
    far, far too pretentious and it's just completely fake.  I  think
    it's all a fake image.

CoC: Changing the subject back to The Blood Divine, have you had  any
     problems in any of TBD's live shows yet or is  everything  going
     alright so far?

DW: Well, there's things like guitar amps suddenly deciding that they
    don't wanna work anymore, guitar leads  that  decide  they  don't
    wanna work anymore... people jumping up on the stage and knocking
    things over, but that's not a problem, that's  all  part  of  the
    fun. One of the things I hate is that on the last tour there  was
    a couple of gigs where  we  had  to  do  the  sound  check  while
    everyone was in the room...  just  little  things,  because  when
    you're a professional you want everything to be right,  but  then
    again, if there's a problem you  make  up  for  that  problem  by
    trying that bit harder in the show and trying to  basically  play
    the next song so good that people will forget  what  happened.  I
    mean, I've got a lot of experience, so as long as I can use  that
    experience to make TBD a better band, I'll try everything I can.

CoC: How satisfied were you with  _Awaken_,  both  musically  and  in
     terms of production?

DW: We're like every band, we see all the faults because we  look  at
    it objectively.

CoC: Would you say there's a lot of faults?

DW: I mean, I can look at it and say "that could have  been  better",
    and we would have done it differently now, but at the same  time,
    considering that we'd only been together for six or seven  months
    when we recorded it, I think it's a miracle that we were able  to
    do it so well and I'm happy about that. But I think we are a much
    more mature and  much  better  band  now,  and  we  would  do  it
    differently now.

CoC: How did you manage to do such a great debut  album,  considering
     you all came from such different bands?

DW: Yeah...  I  mean,  I  do  things  that  are  only  for  the  more
    open-minded people, and I heard  that  the  Portuguese  fans  are
    open-minded...

CoC: Some are and some aren't... like anywhere else...

DW: Yeah, but I think in England the emphasis on music is more on  if
    it will sell, if it's commercial. I think that we will  do  quite
    well in Portugal, and the likes  of  Germany,  Italy,  Spain  and
    places like that, also like  America,  Scandinavia  and  Japan...
    we're doing well in a lot of places,  and  we're  trying  at  the
    moment to sort of break into the English scene. It's a  very  sad
    thing, but even though in music it's great to use your heart,  to
    break into the English scene you gotta use your mind as well, and
    you gotta be clever. At the moment, I'm trying, and  it's  a  new
    thing to me having to be thinking about business and all. I think
    people will accept it in  England,  but  not  like  in  Portugal,
    you're far more open-minded and the people really understood  the
    diversity of the music in Portugal and countries like that.

CoC: Has _Awakening_ been doing well in terms of sales?

DW: Uh, I don't know, I think so... I'm not really sure about that...
    but I hope so! <laughs> It means that we can carry on.

CoC: Is there any news about your second album you'd  like  to  share
     with me?

DW: Let me think...  not  really...  <laughs>  Well,  we'll  be  more
    mature, more groovy in a way,  more  rocking...  more  focused...
    less silly bits, if you know what I mean... all really  hard  and
    true, more honest.

CoC: Will your vocal style remain the same?

DW: I will always keep the heavy style, but I obviously always try to
    become a better singer, not just shout all the time, put tunes in
    there... but at the same time I'm confident that  I'll  keep  the
    very heavy style and use tune and melody as well.

CoC: What's your opinion about all those bands out  there  who  write
     music just to try and sell lots and lots  and  lots  of  copies,
     even if they know that their music is crap, saying "Our music is
     crap, but it'll sell, so let's do it!"?

DW: Yeah, that's really sad... they're ruining the whole music scene.
    It's like a product, like Coca-Cola, so many bands  are  products
    of their record label, and that just makes me sick. That's one of
    the reasons why I don't like the black metal thing, some  of  the
    bands need to wear their makeup because they don't know how to do
    anything else and they're not confident enough in their music.

CoC: _Awaken_ keeps shifting from doomy parts to  great  melodies  to
     powerful parts all the time, so it's really hard to put a  label
     on your band. Would you like to try and label TBD  yourself,  or
     would you say that's just useless?

DW: Heavy rock'n'roll... <laughs>

CoC: Nothing with the word "metal"?

DW: I could say metal, but when you say metal, the  pigeonholes  come
    alive in people's heads and they expect you to  sound  a  certain
    way, whereas I can say, yeah,  we're  a  heavy  metal  band,  but
    people will think "Oh, it sounds like that, then...".  And  if  I
    said we're a death metal band, people would say  "Oh,  it  sounds
    like that..." So I don't really  want  to  categorize  ourselves,
    because of the labels the people have in their own  minds,  so  I
    would say that we capture the spirit of heavy metal, but  not  in
    the old style, more drifting in a rock'n'roll spirit,  the  music
    being open and hopefully something that'll break some boundaries,
    or change the world... that'd be my dream...

CoC: Now's the time for you to say whatever you want to our readers...

DW: Bleed divine blood, be yourself, use your mind as  well  as  your
    heart, respect people... respect life.

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

                    O N   T H O R N S   I   L A Y 
                    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 Interview by: Panos "nahitfol" Agoros <http://nahitfol.home.ml.org>
                       Intro by: Pedro Azevedo

The Greek band now known as On Thorns I Lay was formed in 1992  under
the name Phlebotomy, having just released their  first  EP  _Dawn  of
Grief_ at the time. They came back under the name On Thorns I Lay  to
release _Sounds of Beautiful Experience_ for Holy Records in 1995, an
album  that  featured  quite  a  lot  of  original  ideas  (and  nice
packaging). Also, strange as it may seem, it's rather far  from  what
I'd call doom, even though they use a suggestive name, as the mood is
actually quite light. The band quit the female vocals they  had  used
in their  EP,  and  _SoBE_  was  a  mix  of  atmospheric  death  with
influences varying  from  classical  music  to  some  rather  strange
"rockish" stuff - it's one of  those  love-it-or-hate-it  albums.  On
Thorns I Lay have a new album ready for release  during  Autumn  this
year - here's a chat with guitarist Chris Draga.

CoC: It seems that you have  disappeared  for  some  time  after  the
     release of your debut CD. What happened?

Chris Draga: Here we are, two years after the release  of  our  debut
             CD, entitled _Sounds of Beautiful Experience_. The delay
             was due to many reasons that created some trouble. These
             reasons were:
             a) The bass player left the band for personal reasons.
             b) We were not in the least satisfied with our  previous
                album. In fact we were  disappointed,  so  we  needed
                some  time  to  think,  to  test  different   musical
                approaches, yet we didn't want to divulgue them.  And
                now, two years later, we are stronger and heavier 
                than ever.

CoC: Did the reactions to your CD satisfy you?

CD: Our first CD doesn't represent us at all. To be honnest I believe
    that it was awful [Yet I enjoyed it a lot -- Panos].  However  it
    obtained some good reviews (4/5 at Kerrang and 8/10 at all  Metal
    Hammer mags). People liked it. The  reactions  were  better  than
    they should be. According to these I assume that  our  2nd  album
    will have a better fate. The production is perfect and the  sound
    is more complete and more atmospheric than ever.
 
CoC: You're one of  the  few  underground  metal  bands  who  express
     happiness and joy through their lyrics and music . Would you  be
     one of the rare humans for whom life is not pain?
 
CD: At our first album we wanted to express such feelings and to send
    these messages, indeed; this  can  be  read  in  the  title  too.
    However the second CD deals with  the  mystery  and  the  ancient
    memories of the lost Atlantis.  It's  an  opus  written  for  the
    earliest and more fascinating  culture  of  the  world.  We  were
    delighted by the atmosphere that this ancient culture rose, so we
    decided that our music and lyrics should be based on this subject.

CoC: In your 7" EP, when you were still named  Phlebotomy,  you  used
     delightful female vocals. Why didn't you do so  in  your  debut?
     Will you do it in the future?
 
CD: The female vox didn't express us on the first CD. However, on the
    second one there are many parts with female vocals that match our
    music. We used them to show the  difference  between  hatred  and
    love, brutality and tranquillity, war and peace.

CoC: Let's talk about your new musical direction.  Your  contribution
     to _The Holy Bible_ (Holy Recs' unreleased tracks  compilation),
     was an excellent surprise for me. Will your new songs be in this
     vein? I mean with no death growlings and with more rock stylings?

CD: Our contribution to this compilation was just an  experiment  for
    us,  fortunately  or  unfortunately.  We  are  pleased  with  the
    conclusion. Besides, in this way we wanted  to  test  the  studio
    that we had chosen to create our second  album.  We  really  like
    this style, however  death  metal  lives  in  our  hearts.  We've
    listened to it for ten years now and we have  connected  our  own
    lives with this kind of music. We are open  minded  but  we  will
    never stop worshipping our music.

CoC: I know you like rave and  techno  music.  Why  don't  you  do  a
     side-project in this vein? 

CD: In fact we DON'T like techno and rave music. [Their singer stated
    liking  rave/techno  in  several  interviews  and   even   quoted
    Prodigy's debut album as one of his all-time faves,  maybe  Chris
    forgot that. -- Panos] We like the atmospheric  drum'n'bass,  the
    dark breakbeat, the psychedelic trance and any other  atmospheric
    dark feeling music. Our  new  CD  contains  melodic  death  metal
    tracks full of atmosphere and mystery. We worked very hard,  with
    the help of the latest  computers  in  order  to  create  a  hymn
    towards the ancient Atlantis.
 
CoC: Magus Wampyre Daloth (Necromantia) in an interview with  Chaotik
     Webzine said that,  "The  techno  movement  is  empty  from  any
     sense". Do you agree?

CD: My answer is YES. The techno movement is empty from any sense.

CoC: I greatly  enjoyed  the  dreamy  dimension  of  "Sounds..."  and
     "Taxidi Nostalgias" the closing track; can someone say that  you
     are dreamers?
 
CD: We were and we shall never stop being dreamers. The second  album
    is a dream, a vision (the title  is  Opama=Vision)  of  the  last
    Atlantis.

CoC: Have you anything to say to our readers?

CD: Fight for death metal,  stay  underground,  stay  away  from  all
    techno, sleaze, funk, poseurs and other bullshit. Our forthcoming
    CD is a pure atmospheric death metal  creation  so  even  if  you
    don't consider buying it try to give it a listen.

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

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

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


Agarthi - _At the Burning Horizon_  (Red Stream, 1996)
by: Drew Schinzel  (8 out of 10)

Agarthi come  from  Italy,  and  play  a  pretty  original  blend  of
symphonic metal combined with elements of death and black, all played
with  conviction,  albeit  with  a  rather  weak  production  effort.
Although they employ the use of keyboards heavily, Agarthi don't  use
the atmospheric, simple sounding effect. Instead, they convey more of
an evil, nefarious feeling, with the guitars usually  following  suit
with melodic riffs and some more choppy,  Iced  Earth-style  riffage,
all played at a mid-to-fast  pace,  and  with  a  ton  of  variation;
there's never a boring moment on the 23-minute  mini-CD.  The  vocals
here are a little creative, too. Some of the  time,  your  obligatory
black rasp (actually more of a black  growl,  really),  some  of  the
time, the growl mixed with a clean male baritone voice, Agarthi  went
for something original, and it paid off - the  vocals  are  a  rather
refreshing change from most bands' monotonous single style,  although
at times the clean vocals sound a bit amateurish,  unfortunately.  No
need to worry about that though,  as  Agarthi's  MCD  is  still  very
worthwhile; the truly dark atmosphere, good execution,  and  perhaps,
foremost, the bit of originality should be enough to convince  anyone
of their musical prowess.


Alastis - _The Other Side_  (Century Media, April 1997)
by: Adrian Bromley  (7 out of 10)

For those of you into the works of such bands as  Tiamat,  Samael  or
Moonspell comes the latest Century Media signing,  Alastis  (all  the
aforementioned bands are on CM, too). _The  Other  Side_,  the  debut
album for Century Media from this Swiss quartet (they  have  had  two
previous releases), is knee-deep in epic song  structures,  ambiance,
and heaviness. Produced by  the  brilliant  Waldemar  Sorychta  (Grip
Inc., Tiamat, Samael), _TOS_ showcases  a  truly  unique  pairing  of
ambiance with intensity. The music  is  deafening  at  times  with  a
towering presence of darkened ambiance coating  the  assault  against
our senses. Brutal yet soothing, the varied assortment of  songs  and
ideas do make this an album worth investigating. While the variety of
songs  is  adequate  and  the  band  isn't  doing   anything   really
'groundbreaking,' it is the sound of _TOS_ that is the  album's  best
asset - thanks to Sorychta. Chock one up for Sorychta once  again  as
he has brought out something unique  sounding  in  Alastis,  allowing
them not to be dismissed as just another doom/dark metal band.


Blood of Christ - _... A Dream to Remember_
by: Adam Wasylyk  (8 out of 10)  (March 1997, Pulverizer Records)

Some of you should be familiar with Blood  of  Christ  from  my  demo
review (in issue #11) and my interview in the last issue.  Being  one
of the better bands to come out of the London, Ontario  metal  scene,
they have just released their first CD which is  a  great  debut  and
will gain them a  far  larger  fan  base  around  the  world.  Mixing
elements of doom, black, and death metal, Blood  of  Christ  take  no
prisoners when it comes to brutal music. Melody also plays a part  in
BoC's music, as there are some slow acoustic bits  that  fit  between
the brutal parts. Fans of the Cryptopsy/Kataklysm kind of death metal
should find this appealing, as will other fans of  death  metal  that
like some melody in their music as well. Very  dark  and  very,  very
brutal.


A Canorous Quintet - _Silence of the World Beyond_ (No Fashion, 1996)
by: Drew Schinzel  (8 out of 10)

Hey! It's that time again... you guessed it, time  for  more  Swedish
melodic death! No Fashion (and plenty of other labels) just  seem  to
keep pumping them out, but even though the genre may be getting  just
a -little- overcrowded with copycats, for  every  five  or  ten  lame
ducks there are one or two bands like A  Canorous  Quintet:  quality,
moderately original (nothing  groundbreaking  here,  but  no  blatant
cloning either), and refreshingly energetic and powerful. Not  really
overtly 'evil,' the lyrics as always focus on darkness and other such
things, but the music doesn't always follow suit. In  actuality,  the
music on _SotWB_ is actually a little upbeat at times, probably as  a
result of the high-tuned, clean  melodies  and  the  usually  flowing
overall sound of things. The vocals are for  the  most  part  neither
death nor black (death vocals are used at times though), but  instead
more of a top-of-the-throat screaming, naturally matching  the  often
times frantic musical pace. In  fact,  frantic  is  a  good  word  to
describe A Canorous Quintet's music. Frantic, melodic, maybe a bit on
the hyper side, ACQ prove  that  they  are  -more-  than  capable  of
composing quality melodic death metal, and have come up with an album
worthy of recommendation.


Cardinal Sin - _Spiteful Intents_  (Wrong Again Records, 1996)
by: Drew Schinzel  (8 out of 10)

As soon as you hear the acoustic intro to Cardinal Sin's  debut  MCD,
_Spiteful Intents_, you know John Zwetsloot has got to  be  involved.
The guy just seems to have an  affinity  for  soft  acoustic  pieces,
sometimes with whispered  vocals,  sometimes  without,  and  who  can
really blame him? I think  we  all  enjoy  a  little  moody  acoustic
goodness every now and then, and as long as, along with the  acoustic
sections, Zwetsloot keeps on writing the kind of riffs  he  did  with
Dissection, and now Cardinal Sin, I'm not going to complain. It would
figure that the two best songs on the  sixteen  minute  offering  are
written by Zwetsloot, and bear no slight resemblance, in riffage,  to
his work with Dissection. For reference,  just  listen  to  "Heaven's
Damnation" off of the latter's debut, and you'll know  what  I  mean.
Dry, sharp, black vocals complement the melodic riffing,  accompanied
by some fairly simplistic drumming. So,  basically,  you'll  find  no
surprises here, and it may not be worth one's money for such a  short
release, but for what it is, _Spiteful Intents_ is well done. Oh, and
what's this? The final song is a short acoustic outro...


Cemetary - _Last Confessions_  (Black Mark, April 1997)
by: Adrian Bromley  (7 out of 10)

After the release of their last effort, the brilliant  1995  release,
_Sundown_, you'd have thought that Sweden's Cemetary would have  been
gearing up for world domination. Didn't  happen.  Instead,  following
years of slugging it out as a veteran death metal band (molding  more
into a goth/metal influenced band towards the end) and  touring,  the
band decided it was time to bring the music of Cemetary  to  an  end.
The results of this decision to end a somewhat successful career  are
displayed on the band's farewell LP, _Last  Confessions_.  While  not
the best selection of material to end  a  career  with  in  my  books
(also,   28   minutes   seems   a   bit   short   and   rushed),   as
singer/guitarist/songwriter  Mathias  Loldmalm  and  his  band   have
created a very melodic and gothic release with _LC_, a far  cry  from
what the band had delivered to the metal masses years  ago  with  the
death metal onslaught of their debut album, _An Evil Shade of  Gray_.
Despite changes in styles of music, this record has its moments, i.e.
"Caress the Damned" and "One Burning Night". Interesting to see  what
creativity the band will conjure up as Loldmalm and drummer Christian
Silver have formed a new band called Sundown, with a debut  album  in
the works for June release on Century Media. We'll see if  disbanding
was required. 


December Wolves - _We Are Everywhere_  (Independent, 1997)
by: Drew Schinzel  (9 out of 10)

One of America's  finest  black  metal  acts,  December  Wolves  have
returned with a short, two-song offering of what is to come from  the
band. Featuring only two tracks, "We Are Everywhere",  and  "...  Not
with Tainted Blood", this release is not meant to be the band's  next
album, but only a taste, and to me it tastes  like  skilled,  melodic
black metal with a lot of variation. Unlike their debut  album,  _Til
Ten Years_, there aren't any female vocals, acoustics,  or  keyboards
on this sampler, and there really  is  no  need  for  them;  December
Wolves' music  succeeds  on  practically  every  front,  and  to  add
anything else would simply be unnecessary. Without a doubt, if  there
is one thing that sticks out about December Wolves, from  both  their
previous efforts and this one, it's their  use  of  clean,  mid-paced
melodic parts, usually with a decidedly folkish, anthemic,  and  (for
whatever reason) Irish sound. This is a very good  thing,  especially
in the title track, which  has  one  of  the  coolest,  most  folkish
sounding melodies I've ever heard. Don't take  that  the  wrong  way,
though. It may sound a little folkish at times,  but  even  then,  it
undeniably -rocks-, and folk music will be the  farthest  thing  from
your  mind  when  in  the  next  instant  they  are   unleashing   an
Abigor-esque blast. If this is any indication of  the  next  December
Wolves album, I don't know if I can wait for it.


Driller Killer - _Fuck the World_  (Kron-H, March 1997)
by: Steve Hoeltzel  (8 out of 10)

Another great signing for Kron-H. These guys may have kind of a silly
name and a ridiculous album cover, but musically they  are  no  joke,
and _FtW_ is, hands down, the most skull-cracking release I've  heard
so far this year. It's down-tuned, riff-mongering  metal-core  -  but
with the emphasis firmly on the metal element, where it belongs. With
the kind of thickness and weight you'd  expect  from  a  death  metal
band, this stuff hits you  right  in  the  gut,  a  steely  alloy  of
catchiness, heaviness, and  utter  sonic  might.  Thirty-two  minutes
gives you sixteen  unpretentious,  energetic,  riff-propelled  songs,
short on complexity but long on drive,  and  loaded  with  pummelling
grooves and pounding choruses. Resistance  is  futile.  This  is  the
musical equivalent of a twenty-ton tank  looking  to  mow  you  down;
chugging monsters  like  "Freeman",  "Hellcome",  and  the  rabid  "I
Couldn't  Care  Less"  are  proof.  The  CD's  production  is  simply
excellent: Andy's guitar sound is titanic, and it fits perfectly into
a clear, muscular mix which nicely balances all the instruments  with
Cliff's great, deep-but-not-quite-death-metal vocals. This is one  of
those records that just makes it seem like the vast majority  of  the
bands that claim to be really  "hard"  or  "brutal"  these  days  are
either pathetically self-deluded or totally full of crap  (or  both).
This, in other words, is the shit. An awesome release.


Dying Fetus - _Purification through Violence_
by: Adam Wasylyk  (7 out of 10)  (February 1997, Pulverizer Records)

Having seen these guys play at last year's Deathstock  in  NYC,  they
were one of the highlights of the show. Very  heavy  and  fast,  they
never let up intensity-wise. The big question  for  me  was  if  they
could bring that energy into the recording studio. The answer is yes,
as _Purification through Violence_ does a good job in utilizing vocal
styles and musical structures so there is never a dull moment.  Songs
like  "Skull  Fucked",  "Nothing  to  Pray   For",   and   "Nocturnal
Crucifixion" take no prisoners when it comes to  no-nonsense,  brutal
death metal. Included is a cover of Napalm Death's  "Scum",  entitled
"Skum (Fuck the Weak)". Eight songs at just under 30 minutes, it's  a
little short but then again, I (along with  others  I'm  sure)  can't
take a full hour of this at a time. Well  produced  and  well  played
brutal death metal, yours for the asking. 


Emperor - _Reverence_  (Candlelight Records, 1997)
Music review by: Steve Hoeltzel  (7 out of 10)

Of the three songs on  offer  here,  only  "The  Loss  and  Curse  of
Reverence" will appear on  the  band's  upcoming  full-length.  In  a
couple of ways, this  song  seems  "busier"  than  Emperor's  earlier
material: there are more  discrete  sections  than  in  most  earlier
compositions, and the production is a bit more layered and  polished.
Personally, I think that these developments actually tend to subtract
from  the  classic,  "epic"  Emperor  vibe.  Still,  all  the  band's
trademarks are present - Ishahn's vocals, haunting melody lines,  and
segments of icy, synth-washed speed.  But  this  time,  the  numerous
sections are generally  too  short  to  permit  the  buildup  of  any
sustained atmosphere. One of the  main  riffs  is  punctuated  by  an
annoying squealing guitar that makes me think more  of  Sunset  Strip
than of Spitzbergen, and more squeaky wah-wah effects  seriously  mar
what would otherwise be the grimmest moment in the song. There  is  a
pause for a corny-sounding  spoken  exhortation,  too.  Most  of  the
song's individual parts do retain the basic Emperor feel, but somehow
the whole assembly of parts just doesn't congeal  as  effectively  as
their earlier material - at least not for me. (Of course, this is the
"Video/Chaos Mix" of the song, so  perhaps  the  full-length  version
will differ.) The second track, "In Longing Spirit",  is  a  reworked
version of an older song from 1992. Slow, moody, heavy on  synth  and
light on guitars, this one showcases some nearly-spoken vocals  which
have a tinge of the pompous goth  style  to  them.  Not  a  bad  song
overall, but nothing special either. Closer "Opus  a  Satana"  is  an
all-synth reworking of the  mighty  "Inno  a  Satana",  arranged  and
performed entirely  by  Ishahn.  It's  surprisingly  enjoyable,  with
cinematic sweep and sprightly momentum. Fun stuff.

Video review by: Adam Wasylyk  (no rating)

After obtaining a copy of the EP, a trip to Adrian's was in order  as
I didn't have the capabilities to play a CD-ROM  video.  Watching  it
for the first time I was surprised at how much money  went  into  it.
The video opens with a camera zooming over a barren  landscape  while
later scenes depict fire-breathing, forests, and several shots of the
band playing in front of what appeared to  be  a  castle.  Perhaps  a
little cliche but very entertaining to watch. My  problem  with  this
CD-ROM was the video is in a small box in the middle of  the  screen,
but the video itself truly  makes  up  for  for  that.  Overall  it's
definitely worth a look-over.


Enslaved - _Eld_  (Osmose Productions, March 1997)
by: Steve Hoeltzel  (9 out of 10)

Enslaved has always had a highly evocative sound: guitars  that  ring
with echoes of vast, windswept spaces; ferocious rhythms that  summon
images of surging seas, rains of  arrows,  and  snapping  bones.  And
without a doubt, _Eld_ is their most  fully  realized  and  evocative
recording yet. Harsh riffing with a fine feel for underlying  melody,
and driving, often raging  rhythms  are  arranged  and  ordered  more
organically and with somewhat  greater  complexity  than  before.  In
addition,  really  stirring  'clean'  vocals  are  used  with   great
effectiveness,  adding  lots  of  emotive  texture  to   an   already
impassioned sound. Check out "Alfablot", a  simply  incredible  song:
harsh vocals and excellent drumming propel  furious,  engaging  riffs
which glide effortlessly into haunting  slower  sections,  graced  by
clean vocals that are wonderfully  phrased  and  well  performed.  If
Grutle can learn to deliver these cleaner parts with the same kind of
vocal power that  his  harsh  vocals  display,  then  some  of  these
passages will really sound majestic. As is, they still  sound  great,
and they are artfully used to provide melodic  phrasing  to  blasting
passages ("Kvasirs Blod") and to sections of  more  subdued  rhythmic
strumming, as in "793 (Slaget Om Lindisfarne)".  The  latter  is  the
album's 16-minute(!) opening track, which runs the gamut from  mellow
synthesizer  score  to  laid-back,  rhythmic  strumming  to   all-out
blistering attack. Also notable is "For  Lenge  Siden",  which  tones
down the ferocity a bit, only occasionally blasting; mostly  rocking,
pounding, and galloping its way through a collection of tough, catchy
riffs. This is simply a -great- record, by a band with a  distinctive
sound, alive with Northern black metal's  deep  ferocity,  powerfully
expressive, and skillfully refined. 


EverEve - _Seasons_  (Nuclear Blast, March 1997)
by: Adrian Bromley  (9 out of 10)

Since the band's conception in 1993, Germany's EverEve  have  managed
to carefully structure their gothic/doom metal-influenced sound.  The
band has taken their time and used experience to help chip  away  all
useless elements within their music and focus  clearly  on  providing
the music with enough character and structure to truly  capture  what
the  band  is  about.  Accomplished.  On   _Seasons_,   their   first
full-length LP and debut for Nuclear Blast  (they  had  a  1994  demo
called _On the Verge  of  Tears_),  what  we  are  provided  with  is
stunning meshing of both powerful doom metal (growls and all) and the
eerie and darkened wallop of  goth.  With  no  real  set  pattern  of
combining both elements, EverEve create multiple pairings of the  two
genres, allowing the album to supply us  with  ample  creations  that
overflow with enough passion and strength to keep us  satisfied  from
start to finish. A recommended purchase for those that like a bit  of
goth with your metal.


Fear Factory - _Remanufacture: Cloning Technology_
by: Adrian Bromley  (8 out of 10)  (Roadrunner, May 1997)

Finally! After many failed attempts to  get  out  a  'remanufactured'
version of sophomore release  _Demanufacture_  to  the  public,  Fear
Factory finally unleashes _Remanufacture_. This remixed collection of
material totally disassembles the previous  _Demanufacture_  material
and  puts  it  back  together  in  numerous   techno/industrial-laced
formats. Much like the  band's  previous  EP,  1993's  _Fear  Is  the
Mindkiller_, this will surely shock  some  of  their  fans  with  the
predominantly  smooth  techno   feel   and   production   circulating
throughout  the  record.  It's  still  heavy  though,   as   producer
extraordinaire Rhys Fulber (Frontline Assembly,  Delirium)  brings  a
heavy crunch to the industrial/techno-tinged numbers. Basically,  all
the songs off _Demanufacture_ get put through the blender  with  many
parts re-organized or forgotten. In a nutshell,  it's  all  the  same
shit 'cept more fucked up. Note: the remix of  "Replica"  is  fucking
amazing! Live a little and watch (and listen) to see how Fear Factory
combine their powerful music and their views of  technology  to  take
shape and form a twisted and distorted product for  our  ears.  Crank
it! 


Fueled - _In the House of the Enemy_  (Energy Records, March 1997)
by: Adrian Bromley  (2 out of 10)

Crap. From the opening number, "Reconstricted", I knew I was in for a
beating - I really  wanted  this  to  end.  Managing  to  mix  techno
(samples), metal, and  hardcore  with  a  slight  groove,  California
four-piece Fueled really  seem  to  be  lacking  something  in  their
10-song debut for Energy Records. There  really  is  no  identity  to
their music, as the music is just  layered  on  thick  with  lots  of
samples and monotonous guitar riffs. And what's with the vocals? They
sound so stale and bland. Sounding a  lot  like  a  second  (or  even
third) rate metal/techno/hardcore hybrid band, Fueled's sound needs a
lot of work before they will see any kind of success. I'm  just  glad
Energy Records has some better bands like Hanzel Und Gretyl and Heavy
Water Factory waiting in the wings.


Gates of Ishtar - _The Dawn of Flames_  (Invasion Records, 1997)
by: Drew Schinzel  (9 out of 10)

Some things just can't be explained. This is Gates of Ishtar's second
album, the followup to their debut, _A Bloodred Path_, yet  it  bears
little resemblance to their initial effort.  Where  did  the  killer,
bouncing melodies go off to? What happened to the abundant  variation
and occasional tempo changes? I can't give you  the  answers,  but  I
-can- say that Gates of Ishtar,  on  the  surface,  have  produced  a
fairly generic album of Swedish  melodic  black/death  metal,  almost
completely devoid of originality (even moreso than their debut, which
wasn't exactly groundbreaking), and  lacking  most  of  the  elements
which made the previous effort such a joy to listen to. Now  for  the
part that can't be explained: I just can not -stop- listening to _The
Dawn of Flames_. This has got  to  be  one  of  the  catchiest,  most
addictive releases I've heard in a  while.  As  mentioned,  there  is
hardly an original concept here, and in  fact  _TDoF_  is  even  more
derivative than _ABR_, and, in fact, if only  superficially  listened
to, one might not be  able  to  stand  this  album.  I  know  I  sure
couldn't, at first. After the first two listens to this album, I  was
completely disappointed and nearly disgusted. But  then,  I  listened
closer and heard that, although yes, it is rather generic and lacking
in creativity, the style is pulled off without  a  hitch,  and  there
really are very few unlistenable moments on the CD. This  release  is
just filled with dramatic choruses, flowing melodies,  and  competent
playing, combining to constitute a release which, although dissimilar
in style, surpasses the debut.


Gehenna - _Black Seared Heart_  (Holycaust, 1996)
by: Drew Schinzel  (6 out of 10)

Ho hum, another demo of a now well-known  black  metal  band  pressed
onto CD. Wait a second though, this one's a bit different.  First  of
all, it's not on Necropolis (thank goodness). Second, there are  some
previously unreleased songs and demo versions of  released  songs  to
fill out the space and make it viable as a full-length, albeit  at  a
paltry 32 minutes. What's on offer here  is  basically  more  of  the
same, demo tracks which aren't particularly  good  (that's  why  they
were never released in the first place), and some songs you've  heard
before, but only with worse production and a  few  minor  alterations
from their album versions. Oh, and try to hold back your  excitement,
but there's an intro and two (yes two) outros to be  heard  as  well.
When it comes down to the bottom line, you have to  ask  yourself  if
you really need another album like this. If you're a big Gehenna fan,
the answer of course would be yes, however, if you aren't a  follower
of these painted warriors, you'd be better off to stay away..


Napalm Death - _Inside the Torn Apart_  (Earache, June 1997)
by: Adrian Bromley  (8 out of 10)

Now that the soap opera  is  over  (y'know,  the  lead  singer  swaps
between Napalm Death and Extreme Noise Terror?) we can  get  on  with
the real issue here: new Napalm Death.  While  I  liked  the  limited
_Greed Killing_ EP, I found myself not being too impressed  with  the
style and direction that Napalm Death had provided  with  their  last
offering, _Diatribes_. It seemed a bit rushed and  unorganized  -  no
real fundamental foundation for the music to  strike  from.  Not  the
same with their latest,  _Inside  the  Torn  Apart_,  a  record  that
showcases the band's control  of  both  groove  and  the  destructive
death/grindcore nature that has been an integral  part  of  the  band
since day one. From the get-go, this 39-minute assault of  noise  and
groove lashes out with severe intensity putting aside any ideas  that
the band, while always  molding  itself,  was  on  its  last  leg  of
creativity. _ItTA_ is a good record primarily for the fact that a lot
of the material delivers solid grooves  and  the  vocals  of  Barney,
while  more  death-ish  in  nature  now,   deliver   some   powerful,
ultra-heavy doses of momentum that have not shown up in the last  few
releases. Some experimentation finds its way into  the  new  material
(check out closer "The Lifeless Alarm") but in  the  end  it's  still
Napalm Death and that should bring a smile to any metallers who  live
for the band's extreme music ideas. Heavy.


Orphanage - _By Time Alone_  (DSFA Records, 1996)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (8 out of 10)

"Epic mix of  melody,  aggression,  Gregorian  choirs  and  danceable
grooves"... is this publicity or a warning? Well, I  was  curious  to
see what Orphanage would come up with to describe their new album _By
Time Alone_, after they had described  their  debut,  _Oblivion_,  as
"Innovative Gregorian groovey Celtic doom  death  metal"...  I  guess
they did it again. This time, however, there seems to be  more  of  a
Meshuggah feel to their sound, or maybe some Fear Factory  influences
- they boost a quite powerful sound,  thanks  to  Vogelaar's  guitar,
which sounds almost like a bass. Orphanage have chosen to use lots of
strange tempos and weird rhythmic sections which probably won't  make
much sense at  first,  and,  unfortunately,  there  are  a  few  nice
melodies that get a bit  smothered  by  all  this,  even  though  the
combination of the two is what makes them unique - the  melodic  part
being the best, in my opinion. In fact, as you probably noticed,  the
"Gregorian" part stayed in their description,  both  because  of  the
good keyboard melodies and the very interesting female vocals done by
Rosan van der Aa. The album starts off quite nicely,  the  first  few
tracks being majorly responsible for the album getting an  8  instead
of a 7, especially "The Dark Side" and "Cliffs of  Moher"  (in  which
Rosan sings solo, great melody), and then moves on to a less  melodic
second half, the quality being generally a tad lower, yet still quite
enjoyable.  The  last   track,   the   "hidden"   one,   features   a
dance/techno/whatever part, which is about as interesting as  finding
a dead fly in your  food.  Overall,  a  good  album,  with  a  rather
original sound and good rhythms and melodies.


Various - _Out of the Dark Live Compilation_
by: Pedro Azevedo  (8 out of 10)  (Century Media, 1997)

Six bands, six examples of some of the best European metal being made
today. Each band plays two tracks, for a total of  over  60  minutes,
and the live sound on this CD is as good as it gets. So let's move on
to the important part, which is who plays what, and how. The  opening
tracks belong to  the  Portuguese  band  Moonspell,  who  play  their
classic "Vampiria"  from  _Wolfheart_  and  "A  Poisoned  Gift"  from
_Irreligious_. As usual, the guitars aren't too  brilliant,  but  the
songs were well chosen  (even  though  I'd  rather  listen  to  "Alma
Mater") and the overall performance is very  solid.  Next  comes  the
true highlight of the whole CD: The Gathering,  from  Holland.  Words
fail to describe just how excellent they are live,  from  every  band
member playing perfect and  with  an  amazing  sound  to  Anneke  van
Giersbergen's awesome femme vox - and she doesn't miss a single note.
They play "Leaves"  and  "Eleanor"  from  _Mandylion_.  Samael,  from
Switzerland, take over next, and they sound as good and powerful live
as one would expect - they play "My Saviour" from _Passage_  and  the
older "Mask of the Red Death", taken from  _Ceremony  of  Opposites_.
The Finnish band Sentenced come next with  "Bleed"  from  _Down_  and
"Dance on the Graces" from _Amok_. I never  was  much  of  a  fan  of
theirs, but their performance  seems  perfectly  reasonable.  Rotting
Christ play "The First Field of the  Battle"  (not  much  of  a  good
choice, in my opinion) and "King of a Stellar  War",  both  from  the
Greek's last album _Triarchy of the Lost Lovers_. They don't seem  to
play too tight live, but it's not bad either, and the second track is
still quite good.  The  finishing  act  belongs  to  Crematory,  from
Germany, who rather disappointingly have chosen "Ist  Es  Wahr"  from
their self-titled album and the not-so-bad "Eyes of  Suffering"  from
_Transmigration_. Being a keyboard-based band, their  live  sound  is
similar to the album's. So, if you don't know most  of  these  bands,
you really should buy this digi-pak;  if  you  do  know  them,  well,
either you enjoy live albums a lot  or  you  don't.  As  far  as  I'm
concerned, The Gathering's remarkable performance is enough  to  make
this album worth it, even though the second half of this  compilation
is quite inferior to the first.


Paingod - _Paingod_  (Century Media, April 1997)
by: Adrian Bromley  (7 out of 10)

I'll be honest with you about this LP. The self-titled debut album by
Florida's metal outfit Paingod (formerly known as Raped Ape) has  its
moments. So you're wondering, 'Why such a high rating?', right? Well,
to be truthful, when Paingod is 'ON' (which definitely outweighs  the
bland areas of  the  record),  they  really  kick  your  ass.  Tight,
intense, and downright anger-inspired lyrics lash out at  us  with  a
strong groove and some hardcore elements intact, too.  But  when  the
album's material isn't chock full of monstrous and violent heaves  of
aggression we are left to waiting  for  another  dose  of  intensity.
Maybe this record should have been released as an EP? In my books, it
would have been a better  move  to  include  such  killer  tracks  as
"Paingod", "Scream When You Burn", "Blind Vision", and "One  and  the
Same" as an EP to keep the momentum strong and plentiful rather  than
a stop and start affair. Just a suggestion. A mixed bag of goods with
some treats for all the metal kiddies out there.


Plan E - _E for Your Eyes_ / _E for You Ears_
by: Adrian Bromley  (7 out of 10)  (E Records/Repulse, March 1997)

Weird shit here with these 3-inch mini-CD  4-song  EPs  from  Finnish
project Plan E. This is really weird music, not all metal  but  weird
and extreme nonetheless. Both EPs manage to  pull  in  a  very  solid
sound and style with each release, with _E  for  the  Eyes_  focusing
more on some really odd and obscure space rock shit and the other one
hitting a more melodic industrial stride. The thing that seems to  be
very  appealing  about  Plan  E  material  is  the  clear  focus   on
abstracting emotions from a song rather than  just  a  cool  lick  or
melody. This music is for those that  may  appreciate  some  form  of
thought going into a piece rather than just creating fucked  up  shit
just for the sake of it. Plan E's  label,  E  Records,  also  has  an
endless supply of bands and releases in the same vein as Plan E, some
even more obscure.

Contact: E Records, P.O. Box 50 90251 Oulu, Finland
         voice/fax: +358-8-3120-558
         mailto:jani.lehtosaari@mail.suomi.net


Septic Flesh - _The Ophidian Wheel_  (Holy Records, 1997)
by: Drew Schinzel  (8 out of 10)

Now with their third full-length album, Septic Flesh have taken their
atmospheric, avant-garde brand of death metal to new heights,  while,
perhaps unfortunately, not abandoning their harsher roots: they  just
don't fit in with this type of music anymore.  To  me,  Septic  Flesh
never quite did the brutal death metal thing very well, brutality was
never their thing; creativity, melody and atmosphere was where it was
at with SF, and nothing has  changed.  _TOW_  contains  some  awesome
material, mostly in the form of mid-paced,  clean  melodies  with  of
course  the  usual  guttural  vocals  and   keyboard   accompaniment.
Unfortunately, sprinkled between these parts are sections of  forced,
uninspired brutal death, which would be absolutely fine, if it didn't
seem thrown in just to contrast the more laid back  moments.  New  to
the Septic Flesh fold is Nathalie, and although the appearance of her
female vocals may seem  a  bit  dubious  to  some,  she's  a  welcome
addition, and her beautiful  vocals  complement  many  of  the  songs
perfectly. Overall, another fine effort from Septic Flesh, with  some
new  dimensions  and  upholding  of  the  old  ones;  just  skip  the
unnecessary parts.


Thy Primordial - _Where Only the Seasons Mark the Paths of Time_
by: Steve Hoeltzel  (7 out of 10)  (Pulverised Records, January 1997)

Like a lot of recent entries in the black metal  stakes,  this  is  a
band with definite talent but very little originality. Still,  you'll
find some good songs on this release, should you decide to  take  the
Thy Primordial plunge. Their overall sound could be likened  to  that
of  Emperor  or  Setherial,  although  these  guys  are  neither   as
atmospheric nor as musically inventive. Still, they rip through  some
decent material at a hellish pace, and the  album  is  peppered  with
passages which I really like ("Svart  Gryning",  in  particular,  has
some great moments). Also, by black metal standards, the  playing  is
very good, the production is pretty solid, and the  guitar  sound  is
unusually full. On the other hand, except for the complete absence of
keyboards, the songs really don't contain much to separate these guys
from the rest of the black metal pack. When I have this disk  in  the
player, I find it quite enjoyable in spots,  but  once  it's  over...
well, it's rather forgettable, since it's largely  generic,  even  if
well-produced. If you get into  Emperor-style  black  metal  but  get
turned off by the rudimentary production typical of many bands,  then
I think you'd definitely enjoy this CD. If, on the other hand, you're
somebody who hankers after ever-weirder black  metal  variants,  then
this will probably seem not bad, but more than a bit 'samey.'


Vinterland - _Welcome My Last Chapter_  (No Fashion, 1996) 
by: Drew Schinzel  (7 out of 10)

Another slab of melody from No Fashion,  though  Vinterland  tend  to
lean more towards the blacker side of things. Much darker than a  few
other of No Fashion's  recent  releases,  Vinterland  have  an  album
comparable in some aspects to Dissection's  godly  debut  epic,  _The
Somberlain_, but not quite as variant or skilled. That's not  to  say
that there aren't any good things about _WMLC_, because there  are  a
few to mention, probably  most  notably  the  intangible  feeling  of
darkness, sadness, and emotion present in most of  the  songs,  among
them the best probably being "Still  the  Night  is  Awake",  a  high
velocity storm of stirring melody and fierce percussion. However,  on
the down side, a few of the songs tend to lapse into a  very  similar
sounding structure, and the lyrics have got to be some  of  the  most
cliched pieces of writing I've ever seen. It's easy to see  why  only
one song's lyrics were printed, with such original lines as "Let  the
wings of grief carry me to the kingdom far  beyond  all  light."  But
really though, put the trite lyrics out of your mind and focus on the
music, and there are enough quality elements  here  to  warrant  more
than a few listens, although this is the type of album you don't just
pick up and play any old time, it's more of a mood-oriented  release.
Nonetheless, if you can forgive some sameness  among  the  songs  and
don't listen with headphones on for too long (will make you go  deaf,
-quick-), _WMLC_ can be pretty enjoyable.


Vital Remains - _Forever Underground_ (Osmose Productions, May 1997)
by: Steve Hoeltzel  (8 out of 10)

It's about time this band got signed to a label that  can  give  them
the kind of promotion and distribution they deserve, because  as  the
old saying goes, These Guys Kick  Ass.  Their  1992  debut,  _Let  Us
Pray_, is creepy  and  seriously  heavy,  and  _Forever  Underground_
continues in that vein, injecting  a  bit  more  variation  and  some
all-out speed. (The band also put out an album in '95, but I  haven't
heard that one.) This has 43 minutes of music packed into six  tracks
- one of which is just a  0:90  intro.  That  leaves  five  unusually
lengthy numbers, which again display this bands mastery of  crushing,
mid-paced death. There's no shortage of blast beats or  cool  breaks;
they're just used  with  some  calculated  restraint.  I  think  this
approach actually adds a lot of impact: when the  first  blast  beats
rip through the first song - not until the 3:00 mark -  they  release
tons of tension built up by the pounding verses. Many  bands  overuse
the blast beat to the point that it just  becomes  tedious,  but  not
these guys, even though they blast like  crazy  through  the  awesome
"Battle Ground" and the enjoyable "Eastern Journey". They also  don't
overload their music with too many riffs and breaks. Tempo variations
and killer breaks are numerous, yet scarce enough to ratchet  up  the
tension and to preserve momentum and flow. The production  is  great,
as are the performances, especially newcomer  Dave  Suzuki's  precise
and powerful drumming. This guy has got the  blast  beat  down  cold.
Tony Lazaro cranks out some great riffs, some of which have a  slight
Morbid Angel feel, due to the way certain notes and chords  get  bent
around for emphasis. Bassist Joe Lewis belts out  solid,  traditional
death metal vocals. There is also -very- minimal use of synth - never
during a verse or chorus, but only to subtly underscore a few  rhythm
guitar breaks with eerie tones. I guess this  means  that  those  who
attempt to prove their highly questionable manliness  by  ragging  on
bands who use keyboards can snipe about  Vital  Remains,  too.  That,
however, would be a big mistake. 


Within Temptation - _Enter_  (DSFA Records, April 1997)
by: Adrian Bromley  (8 out of 10)

Having only been around a little more than a year, the  sextet  known
as Within Temptation have done wonders in such a short span of  time.
The band recorded two demos (_Enter_  and  an  untitled  one)  before
signing to DSFA where the band re-recorded and fixed up material from
those previous efforts to form their DSFA debut, _Enter_.  The  music
of Within Temptation can best be described as  melodic,  slow  metal,
very  similar  to  labelmates  Orphanage  or  Century   Media's   The
Gathering. While angelic female vocals  (by  the  superb  Sharon  den
Adel) accompanied by a powerful showing of synthesizers dominate this
release, the band also brings into the fold  heavy  guitars  and  the
rough death growls of singer Robert  Westerholt.  And  what  a  great
combination are den Adel's soothing harmonies and the vicious  grunts
of Westerholt that go hand in hand throughout the release. The  music
is memorable and deserves to be mentioned as it truly  showcases  the
band's ability to capture a triumphant sound that band's  rarely  can
reach. No doubt this is one band you will want  to  watch  grow  with
experience.


Various - _World Domination II_  (Osmose Productions, April 1997)
by: Steve Hoeltzel  (9 out of 10)

This is a killer compilation and a great value: two CDs with a  total
of 29 tracks, 18 of which are available here for the first time,  and
11 of which won't be made  available  anywhere  else.  All  that  for
$12US! Disc One consists mostly of material that's available  on  the
latest CDs from: Marduk,  Driller  Killer,  Angel  Corpse,  Immortal,
Gehennah, Enslaved, Inferno,  Demoniac,  and  Absu.  Except  for  the
Demoniac CD, we've reviewed all these  albums  in  CoC,  so  I  won't
discuss  these  tracks  individually.  Disc  One  also   contains   a
vinyl-only (until now) track from Necromantia, which I like  a  -lot-
better than the other stuff on their recent MCD. Quite enjoyable.  In
addition, there's a track from the godly new Vital  Remains  disk,  a
great song from the new Dark Tranquillity full-length (review by Drew
next issue), and a hyperactive, anthemic speed metal  freak-out  from
the upcoming Swordmaster CD. And that's just the  first  disc...  The
second CD consists entirely of unreleased material. Four  of  the  15
tracks will eventually appear on upcoming CDs,  but  that  leaves  an
impressive  11  tracks  exclusive  to  this  compilation.  The   four
future-release tracks come from Raism, Sadistik Execution, Gardenian,
and Devilyn. Devilyn play crushing death-grind, complex and tight  as
hell, like Incantation on lots and lots of speed. Gardenian is  cool,
too - basically it's melodic death metal, but they  spike  the  punch
with some really heavy, pounding parts and  good,  noisy  production.
(Most melodic death metal bands bore me with their overdone elegance;
not these guys.) Raism and the totally insane Sadistik Exekution  are
probably better known to most  readers,  so  I'll  just  say  that  I
enjoyed their tracks, too. Finally, the exclusive material. The  disc
is opened by Impaled Nazarene with "I Am the  Killer  of  Trolls",  a
catchy, molten slab of nuclear-core as only these  guys  can  do  it.
Bewitched follows with "Blood on the Altar", another  take  on  their
rather dated Motorhead-meets-Mercyful Fate style, but all  in  all  a
quite enjoyable song. Next up: Disfear, who pulverize  everything  in
sight with a pummelling style of crusty  deathcore  that  makes  most
other bands sound like flaccid wannabes. I tell you what:  these  new
Kron-H signings kick ass.  The  Loud  Pipes  are  another  good  one,
abrasive, charging hyperactivity with insane vocals and  great  riffs
that are half Discharge, half Judas Priest. The  Rocking  Dildos  are
here, too,  as  are  Swordmaster,  Tsathoggua,  Mystifier,  Conqueror
(grim, unrelenting black grind),  Majestic  Midnight  (black  metal),
and... well, the last one's supposed to be a surprise. That's  a  ton
of solid, diverse  material,  and  for  so  little  money  that  this
compilation comes highly recommended. CoC will be giving  away  about
twenty copies of DISC ONE ONLY; details are elsewhere in this issue.


Clarification
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In my review of Necromantia's _Ancient  Pride_  MCD  in  CoC  #18,  I
complained about some of the political rhetoric and symbolism used by
the band. "European consciousness, my ass," I  said.  This  wisecrack
was a clumsy way of making my point, since it could easily be read as
an anti-European slur. To insult all Europeans, or  all  of  Europe's
committed pagan/heathens, was not my intent. Instead, I simply wanted
to express my strong dislike for the fascistic connotations  of  some
of the ideas and imagery on  this  release.  And  I  am  not  calling
Necromantia a bunch of fascists; I am just saying that  I  personally
find their choice of imagery to be uncool. -- Steve Hoeltzel

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

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

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


Chaos Theory - _Scarred for Life_  (6-track demo)
by: Adrian Bromley  (***--)

The bio by this New Jersey three-piece says that they "... want to be
the future of heavy metal, not a memory of  the  past".  Well...  not
exactly  as  they  had  planned,  but  I  guess  a  good  attempt  to
constructing heavy metal music  in  this  day  and  age.  Unlike  the
strength and perseverance  of  the  almighty  Manowar  (around  since
1982), Chaos Theory have been working since forming in 1995 to create
metal and they have a long ways to go  until  they  can  really  call
themselves a -true- metal band as Manowar have. But aside from  that,
the 6-song outing by this metal band is  okay.  It's  got  the  right
attitude and  right  sound  (check  out  "I  Abandon"  or  "Kill  the
System"), it's just that I'm not too keen on some of the  vocals  and
the ideas behind some of the songs, though not  funny  topics  (rape,
murder, and suicide) sound cheesy. A good attempt to introduce  metal
into 1997 I guess, just not sure how well it  will  go  over  to  the
somewhat fickle metal music audience of today. 

Contact: CHAOS THEORY, 82 Eaton Rd. Bordentown
         NJ, 08505, USA 
         mailto:ChaosTheory@aol.com 


Christhanasia - _Cragoedie_  (4-track demo)
by: Adam Wasylyk  (***--)

Another one-man project (this time from an individual  named  Mouth),
France's Christhanasia play some interesting black  metal  with  only
one fault: production. Taking influences from bands like Emperor  and
Mayhem, Mouth  has  created  some  good  music  on  _Cragoedie_.  The
keyboards are well played and are the bright spot on this  recording.
The production really hurts this, the guitars are just  too  low  and
dirty sounding, especially  when  the  track  "God  Without  a  Name"
begins. The music is here but  unfortunately  the  production  isn't.
Hopefully Mouth will put more money  into  production  for  his  next
demo. Until then, I can't recommend _Cragoedie_. 

Contact: CHRISTHANASIA, 3 Impasse Teissere, 13014 Marseille, FRANCE
         mailto:roffi@usa.net


Kaffeine - _Unworthy_  (15-track demo)
by: Adam Wasylyk  (-----)

Fucking horrible! I can't believe that  anyone  would  put  out  such
terrible stuff (I CAN'T call this music).  I  also  can't  believe  I
wasted time listening to this piece of shit. Littered with  the  most
fucking stupid sound-bytes, I guess they chose them to go along  with
the  equally  stupid  songs.  A  number  of  times  I  found   myself
fast-forwarding, to save what is left of my sanity.  Using  the  most
horrible alternative vocals I've ever heard, they then  in  turn  use
the most horrible death metal vocals I've ever heard. As the songs go
by, the music gets worse and worse. The lyrics  are  also  the  worst
I've ever read by any band, along with a equally horrible demo layout
(a huge piece of paper  folded  incorrectly  with  small  photocopied
lyrics). The funny thing is this loser has a copyright on his lyrics.
HA! Like anyone would want to copy them! I'm compelled  to  repeat  a
couple of lines from the lyrics, just to show how  fucking  bad  they
are. Check out this verse: "Tough luck, what the fuck? A  hell  of  a
day the only way. I know my life is a bucket of spit, I know this  is
it. Find a  coin  on  the  highway  when  my  car  broke  down,  hear
everything without a sound. Keep it as a charm, for  I  mean  you  no
harm". Or how about this gold nugget of a lyric: "You make  me  sick,
you make me want to pick.... MY ASS!". The only  positive  aspects  I
see out of this demo is that I now have a tape  to  dub  music  onto,
along with a new tape case that I can use to replace one of my older,
cracked ones. _Unworthy_ this certainly is, of  my  time  and  yours.
Fucking horrible!

Contact: KAFFEINE, c/o Jason Smith
         4124 East Kellis Court, Springfield Missouri, 65802, USA


Nympha - <rehearsal tape>  (4-track demo)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (*****)

What a surprise here. When I was  handed  this  unpretentious-looking
tape, I expected anything but  this.  Being  just  a  21-minute  long
rehearsal tape from a young band I had never heard of, I  just  hoped
they would show some good ideas and some playing skills, but what  we
have here is one of the best demo tapes I  have  ever  heard  -  and,
believe it or not, the sound is cleaner and better than what I  would
have expected to find in a "real" demo. In fact, even though this  is
a mere rehearsal tape, this young Portuguese  band  manages  to  play
tight and melodic throughout the 21 minutes,  no  errors  are  to  be
found, and the music's damn  good  too,  especially  the  femme  vox.
Nympha show influences from bands ranging from The 3rd and the Mortal
and some Theatre of Tragedy to Anathema, while the lyrics seem to  be
in the same style as My Dying Bride  and  Enchantment  (although  I'm
guessing  here).  This  is  basically  very  melodic  doom   with   a
well-played heavy guitar, lots  of  competent  keyboards,  tight  and
strong drumming and a surprisingly great "angelic" femme vox provided
by  Liliana  Barros,  whose   vocals   are   complemented   by   some
spoken/whispered male backing vocals. Only the bass stands as  rather
unremarkable, but  that's  no  surprise,  considering  their  musical
style. The core of their sound is Liliana's voice, accompanied by the
guitar and the strong presence of the  keyboards,  which  range  from
sorrowful backgrounds to good melodic tunes, but not  "drowning"  the
guitar sound. All is very  melodic,  the  melodies  being  relatively
simple but very effective, soothing and sorrowful, although  they  do
use some (again very good) faster drumming parts and heavier  guitars
to avoid being monotonous  -  in  fact,  the  heavier  and  the  more
melodic/ambient parts both blend in and  complement  each  other  and
prevent the other from getting boring. What I would suggest  to  this
band is getting a second guitarist - this might  add  more  power  to
their sound, as well as allow a few  death  backing  vox  once  in  a
while, which I think might fit in nicely. I must  again  recall  that
this is a -rehearsal- tape, which is what blows me away the  most.  I
mean, I went back to listen to the demo tapes I have  from  My  Dying
Bride and Anathema,  and  (even  though  they  both  were  much  more
aggressive and less melodic than Nympha at the time) all I can say is
that the future sure seems bright for this young  band.  Nympha  have
become one of my bets for the  future,  together  with  Lacrima  from
Porto (whose demo tape I hope to review soon - not  an  easy  one  to
find). I sincerely hope  these  two  bands  won't  stray  from  their
musical path and keep improving and creating better and better songs.
I also hope there's someone at some record label with  his  eyes  and
ears open.

Contact: NYMPHA, c/o Ricardo Fernandes
         Rua Padre Costa n.400 1-esq.
         4465 S. Mamede de Infesta, Portugal
         Voice: (351) 2 9014223


Solarisis - _Illuminations_  (8-track demo)
by: Adam Wasylyk  (****-)

Pretty impressive stuff. Solarisis is the brainchild of one Gijs  van
Ouwerkerk,  who's  responsible  for   all   the   sounds   heard   on
_Illuminations_. Reminding me a bit of  _Ceremony  of  Opposites_-era
Samael, the music is best described as symphonic metal with some dark
metal influences. Good musicianship can be found on all eight tracks,
which consists of some well played instrumentals. Keyboards are  used
all throughout the demo which help enhance Solarisis' sound, but  the
guitars were left a little too weak. The production, aside  from  the
guitars, is pretty good and the demo layout is top notch. The  lyrics
are well  written  (something  rare  these  days),  which  deal  with
struggles between God and Satan.  Although  I  disagree  with  Gijs's
views on veganism, he's put out a good demo and I hope to  hear  more
from him in the future. A copy of this demo can be obtain by  sending
$7.95US to the address below.

Contact: SOLARISIS, c/o Gijs van Ouwerkerk
         Campuslaan 55-107, 7552 NK Enschede, NETHERLANDS
         mailto:g.vanouwerkerk@student.utwente.nl
         http://www.dra.nl/~manichee


Sub-Version - _Foul_  (6-track demo)
by: Adrian Bromley  (*****)

Holy shit!!! Run to the hills and hide as there seems to be something
powerful and lethal coming from Western Canada. Storming out from the
commercially successful Vancouver  rock/pop  music  scene  comes  the
complete opposite:  Sub-Version.  Power-packed  with  grindcore/death
metal and some hardcore intensity, this Vancouver  quintet  push  all
the right buttons with this truly powerful display of material.  This
demo has got enough rhythm, growls, and enormous guitar riffs to kick
yer ass and leave you craving more. I'm floored by the might of  this
demo tape. Fuck! If New York's  Brutal  Truth  ever  had  a  Canadian
cousin, this would be the band. I'm still floored writing this as the
music cranks. I have not heard a demo by a band hit me  so  hard  and
fast in the last little while. Sub-Version's demo just doesn't have a
handful of intensity within their music,  it's  got  a  truckload  of
intensity. A whole fuckin' truck baby! You want some prime dosage  of
Canadian heaviness then search and get this fucker.

Contact: SUB-VERSION, P.O. Box 42585 #105-1005 Columbia St.
         New Westminster, BC, V3M-6H5, Canada

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


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


              K O R N   K A N   K I C K   K E I S T E R 
              ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                    Korn with Helmet and Limbizcit
          At the Warehouse in Toronto, Ont., March 25, 1997
                          by: Adrian Bromley

     Six months after their canceled show back  in  October  (due  to
drummer  David  suffering  a  broken  wrist,  day  of  show),   SoCal
hardgroove quintet delivered a pummelling 70-minute  set,  showcasing
material off the band's  two  platinum  selling  albums,  their  1994
self-titled LP, and 1996's _Life Is Peachy_.
     Korn opened their set with "Twist", the lead-off track of  their
latest LP, and without hesitation  went  right  into  their  hit-song
"Blind" off their debut LP. Singer Jonathan Davis, all decked out  in
a sequenced pair of Adidas sweatpants, kept the crowd's momentum fast
and furious with brutal growls and screams  of  anger.  His  flailing
chicken-like dance grooved along with the band's furious onslaught of
material, as did the violent mosh pit.
     Normally a haven for poor sound,  this  show  at  the  Warehouse
sounded rather good, though there  were  times  when  the  sound  was
muffled. Despite some sound restrictions, Korn did their damnedest to
keep the intensity fresh and loud with every song. Their set included
such crowd faves as "Shoots And  Ladders",  "Clown",  "A.D.I.D.A.S.",
and "No Place To Hide". Having toured since virtually the release  of
the record last October, Korn's monstrous machine of strength  hasn't
lost any momentum. Always a good show, Korn didn't  disappoint  those
that waited out the six months for their return.
     Opening the show was sampler/rap/rock  hybrid  outfit  Limbizcit
and eclectic New York act Helmet. First on, Limbizcit kept the  beats
loud and quick-paced, lashing out samples and  witty  lyrics  to  the
audience. A solid set. As for the band next up, Helmet,  they  always
put on a good show. Fresh from  the  studio  with  their  latest  LP,
_Aftertaste_,  singer/songwriter/guitarist  Page  Hamilton  led   his
four-piece through a roller coaster 40-minute set showcasing both old
("In the Meantime") and newer material ("Like I Care" and "It's  Easy
to Be Bored"). My only problem  with  Helmet  most  of  the  time  is
Hamilton's vocals - not loud enough. But besides that, when  you  add
to the show his dynamic stage  presence  and  his  thunderous  riffs,
Helmet rules during their allotted time that they play.  They  always
play their heart out.

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          O B L I T E R A T I N G   O B S O L E S C E N C E 
          ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
               Obliveon with Blood of Christ and Solus
              At the Generator in Toronto, April 4, 1997
                           by: Adam Wasylyk

     Taking our seat at the Generator, I took a moment to soak up the
ambiance. I then buried my nose into a magazine. The Generator  is  a
horrible club, and I hate going there for shows  knowing  that  these
bands could be playing in a much better venue. I mean, the  stage  is
positioned in a way that it's sideways to most of  the  club  so  you
have to go to the very back of the place to  see  the  band!  Fucking
stupid. Anyway, onto the band's playing tonight.
     Opening the show was London's Blood of Christ, who played a good
portion of material off their new CD _... A Dream to  Remember_  (see
review this issue). Although playing a very brutal set, unfortunately
they were lacking something since the  last  time  I  saw  them  with
Hemdale (or maybe it had to do with the significantly  smaller  crowd
in attendance tonight).
     Next up were Toronto's Solus who played material off their indie
CD "Slave of Mind". Perhaps best  described  as  "death  rock",  they
played an okay set but failed in keeping my interest the entire  set.
Rather I was reading from my free Doomhauled zine, which is the  most
sick thing I've ever read. Perhaps Solus are one of Toronto's  better
metal bands, but you can easily  be  the  best  if  there  isn't  any
competition.
     Montreal legends  Obliveon  closed  out  the  show  in  a  great
fashion, playing technical thrash/death that kept  the  attention  of
all in attendance. Playing a variety of tracks such as  "Nemesis",  I
was confused when they left the stage to only  come  back  to  do  an
encore song. How rock star-ish can you get? I  mean,  one  woman  was
chanting for them to  come  back  but  that  was  about  it.  Perhaps
inflated egos made them do an encore, but to tell the truth the crowd
didn't want it (from my vantage point) [What are you talking about? I
was there, and I was screaming my fucking lungs out for an encore!  -
AMG]. A good band playing some good music,  it's  just  too  bad  the
crowd didn't treat them as such.

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             D I O   D E S T R O Y S   D E C A D A N C E
             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                       Dio with My Dying Bride
             At the Warehouse in Toronto, April 22, 1997
               by: Alain M. Gaudrault and Adam Wasylyk

Adam:
     How rare is it to see a band that released one of your  favorite
records of 1996 and to see them on your birthday? Well,  I  would  be
that lucky individual as Adrian and I made our way to HMV to  see  My
Dying Bride play a short set and afterward to an  autograph  session.
After some technical difficulties, MDB  finally  hit  the  stage  and
played a shortened set with most of the songs  off  their  not-so-new
record, _Like Gods of the Sun_. The title  track  and  "Dark  Caress"
were the highlights as Aaron's vocals were emotionally charged  while
Martin did a great job going back and forth between keyboards and the
violin. To my surprise, the sound at HMV was great and would  end  up
being better than at the show. An autographed  photo  topped  off  my
afternoon, my expectations for the evening's show high.
     We arrive at the Warehouse, only to find out that  I  wasn't  on
the  guest  list!  Lacking  the  money  for  a  ticket,   the   heart
palpitations  began.  Fortunately   Paula   Hogan,   who   works   at
Fierce/Mayhem and who had flown up from NYC to see the show took care
of me and got me in (thanks again Paula!!!). Having some time to kill
before MDB were to take the stage, we talked to other  zine  writers,
label people,  and  friends  in  attendance.  For  what  seemed  like
forever, MDB finally took the stage playing most of what they  played
at HMV with the addition of a couple of other songs, one of them  off
their _The Angel and the Dark River_ LP.  This  was  hands  down  the
LOUDEST concert I've ever been to. MDB were very heavy and also  very
emotional, while Aaron writhed in sorrow on the floor of  the  stage.
The crowd, mostly consisting  of  older  metallers  waiting  for  Dio
seemed content to sit through their 45 minutes,  and  thankfully  so.
MDB proved to me that they not only sound great on  record  but  they
sound great live. Presently they  are  supporting  Dio,  so  you  are
advised to see them if they visit a town near you. I also heard  that
after  the  Dio  tour  that  they'll  be  playing  some  shows   with
Suffocation supporting. I can only hope that tour will make  its  way
back to Toronto, as MDB are definitely a band to be experienced live.

Alain:
     While Adam and Adrian got to see MDB twice,  I  was  unfortunate
enough to have arrived at 21:45, just as MDB were ending their set. I
got to hear them play the tail end  of  their  last  song  as  I  was
waiting in line to buy my ticket. Needless to say, I  was  upset  and
disappointed, but I'm nevertheless a bigger fan of Dio, so  that  was
consolation enough. This review will  be  short  and  sweet,  because
there isn't much more that can be  said  about  a  Dio  concert  that
hasn't been said before. It all boils down to whether  he  can  still
deliver the goods, and for those fans of his and his older work  with
Black Sabbath, and Rainbow, it's all comes down to  Dio's  voice.  It
was my first Dio concert, and I walked  away  pleased,  having  heard
renditions of all the classic songs, such as "Holy Diver", "We Rock",
"The Last in Line", "Rainbow in the Dark", as well as newer cuts from
the last few  albums.  The  crowd  reacted  favourably  to  Sabbath's
"Heaven and Hell" and "The Mob Rules", and there  were  more  Rainbow
tunes than I'd expected, including  "Man  on  the  Silver  Mountain",
"Long Live Rock and Roll", and "Mistreated", the  latter  easily  the
most beautifully and emotionally rendered song  the  entire  evening,
yet odd in its choice since it's an old Deep Purple tune that Rainbow
used to do live. But a good song is a good  song,  and  Ronnie  knows
that all too well. The only sore points were the  too-long  solos  on
both Tracy G. and Vinny Appice's part. I can somewhat forgive Appice,
since he's a well-respected veteran, and he  had  a  few  interesting
licks, but Tracy just got downright annoying after the  first  minute
of his interminable solo. But let's face it, you go to a Dio show  to
hear him sing, to experience  the  quality  of  high  caliber  metal;
everything else plays second fiddle. Well worth the admission price.

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

Gino's Top 5

1. Filthboy - _Diverse Reality_
2. Vondur - _Stridsyfirlysing_
3. Impaled Nazarene - _Latex Cult_
4. Fear Factory - _Remanufacture (Cloning Technology)_
5. Marilyn Manson - _Portrait of an American Family_

Adrian's Top 5

1. EverEve - _Seasons_ 
2. W.A.S.P. - _Kill Fuck Die_
3. Paingod - _Paingod_
4. Fear Factory - _Demanufacture_ 
5. Killing Culture - _Killing Culture_

Brian's Top 5

1. Don Caballero  _For Respect_
2. Labyrinth  _No Limits_
3. Dark Reality  _Oh Precious Haze Pervade the Pain_
4. Red Tide  _Hybrid_
5. Artension  _Into the Eye of the Storm_

Alain's Top 5

1. Grim Skunk - _Meltdown_
2. Grip Inc. - _Nemesis_
3. Sacramentum - _Far Away from the Sun_
4. Cryptopsy - _None So Vile_
5. Dark Funeral - _The Secrets of the Black Arts_

Steve's Top 5

1. Driller Killer - _Fuck the World_
2. Vondur (rules) - _Stridsyfirlysing_
3. Vital Remains - _Forever Underground_
4. Absu - _The Third Storm of Cythraul_
5. Various - _World Domination II_, Disk Two

Adam's Top 5

1. Old Man's Child - _Born of the Flickering_
2. Blood of Christ - _...A Dream to Remember_
3. Emperor - _Reverence_ EP
4. Bathory - _Jublieum Vol. 2_
5. Bathory - _The Return_

Andrew's Top 5

1. Naked City - _Black Box_
2. K.K. Null and James Plotkin - _Aurora_
3. Zeni Geva - _Nai-Ha_
4. Incapacitants - _Asset Without Liability_
5. Malevolent Creation - _Retribution_

Pedro's Top 5

1. The Gathering  - _Mandylion_
2. Edge of Sanity - _Infernal_
3. In Flames - _Subterranean_
4. Dominion - _Interface_
5. Gorefest - _False_
 
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                     T H E   F I N A L   W O R D
                     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     See you all next issue. Currently we're trying to get that  long
promised survey together. The only problem is finding the  time,  but
hopefully we'll  get  that  out  soon,  all  we  need  then  is  your
participation. Thanks again for reading, later. -- Gino Filicetti

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End Chronicles of Chaos, Issue #20

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

