       ____  _     ____  ____  _      _  ____ _     _____ ____
      /   _\/ \ /|/  __\/  _ \/ \  /|/ \/   _X \   /  __// ___\
      |  /  | |_|||  \/|| / \|| |\ ||| ||  / | |   |  \  |    \
      |  \__| | |||    /| \_/|| | \||| ||  \_| |_/\|  /_ \___ |
      \____/\_/ \|\_/\_\\____/\_/  \|\_/\____X____/\____\\____/
                              ____  _____
                             /  _ \/    /
                             | / \||  __\
                             | \_/|| |
                             \____/\_/
                     ____  _     ____  ____  ____
                    /   _\/ \ /|/  _ \/  _ \/ ___\
                    |  /  | |_||| / \|| / \||    \
                    |  \__| | ||| |-||| \_/|\___ |
                    \____/\_/ \|\_/ \|\____/\____/


        CHRONICLES OF CHAOS e-Zine, March 14, 1999, Issue #38
               http://www.interlog.com/~ginof/coc.html

Editor-in-Chief: Gino Filicetti <mailto:ginof@interlog.com>
Coordinator: Adrian Bromley <mailto:energizr@interlog.com>
Contributor/Copy Editor: Pedro Azevedo <mailto:ei94048@riff.fe.up.pt>
Contributor/Asst. Copy Editor: Paul Schwarz <mailto:saul@mcmail.com>
Assistant Copy Editor: John Weathers <mailto:anguish@mindspring.com>
Contributor: Alain M. Gaudrault <mailto:alain@gaudrault.net>
Contributor: Brian Meloon <mailto:bmeloon@math.cornell.edu>
Contributor: Adam Wasylyk <mailto:macabre@interlog.com>
Contributor: Aaron McKay <mailto:aaronm@trxinc.com>
Contributor: David Rocher <mailto:el_rojo@dial.oleane.com>
Contributor: Gabriel Sanchez <mailto:mwnoise@yahoo.com>
Contributor: Alex Cantwell <mailto:cvantwell@juno.com>

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

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

Issue #38 Contents, 3/14/99
---------------------------
* Editorial
* Loud Letters
* Deadly Dialogues
-- Marduk: Far Beyond the Grace of God
-- Satyricon: An Extravagant Rebel Conquest
-- Exhumed: Madmen of Mutilation
-- Overkill: Still Killing
-- Orange Goblin: Passing the Bong
* Independent Interrogations
-- Kekal: Beyond a Glimpse of Borneo
-- Necromanicide: Hate Regime Wars
* Album Asylum
-- Ames Sanglantes / Flutter - _Split_
-- Ancient Ceremony - _Fallen Angel's Symphony_
-- Bethlehem - _Reflektionen auf's Sterben_
-- Various - _Black Mark Tribute II_
-- Bob Marinelli / Outermost - _Split_
-- Broken - _Skytorn_
-- Carnival in Coal - _Vivalavida_
-- Dimmu Borgir - _Spiritual Black Dimensions_
-- Dog Faced Gods - _Random Chaos Theory in Action_
-- Don Caballero - _Singles Breaking Up (Vol. 1)_
-- Even Song - _Path of the Angels_
-- Evoke - _Dreaming the Reality_
-- Feikn - _Helhesten / Aamanden_
-- God - _Sublime_
-- Grip Inc. - _Solidify_
-- Haemorrhage - _Anatomical Inferno_
-- Houwitser - _Death... But Not Buried_
-- Humectant Interruption - _Internal Feedback_
-- Various - _In Conspiracy With Satan_
-- Macbeth - _Romantic Tragedy's Crescendo_
-- Midnight Syndicate - _Born of the Night_
-- Mindset - _A Bullet for Cinderella_
-- Minotaur - _Power of Darkness_
-- Moontower - _Moontower_
-- My Insanity - _Still Dreams in Violent Areas_
-- Necrophagia - _Holocausto de la Morte_
-- Negura Bunget - _Sala Molksa_
-- Nevermore - _Dreaming Neon Black_
-- Nokturnal Mortum - _To the Gates of Blasphemous Fire_
-- Obscurity - _Ovations to the Death_
-- Orange Goblin - _Time Travelling Blues_
-- Overkill - _Necroshine_
-- Peccatum - _Strangling From Within_
-- Postmortem - _Repulsion_
-- Pro-Pain - _Act of God_
-- Sarcastic - _Inside_
-- Serenity - _The Name_
-- Skinlab - _Disembody: The New Flesh_
-- Sorcery - _Bloodchilling Tales_
-- Swordmaster - _Deathraider_
-- Tchort - _The Heavens Are Showing the Glory of..._
-- Terveet Kadet - _The Ultimate Pain_
-- Thirdorgan vs. [ISOFC] - _Neon, Garbage, & Worms_
-- Throneaeon - _With Sardonic Wrath_
-- Various - _WWF - The Music Vol. 3_
* New Noise
-- Bongwater - _0000000002_
-- Core Device - _Core Device_
-- Crucified Dawn - _Crucified Dawn_
-- Endymion - _The Aegis of Apollo_
-- Kormoss - _Four_
-- Mindflair - _The Multi-Orgasmic-Man_
-- Mindflair - _Split w/ Belching Beet_
* Chaotic Concerts
-- Zeus Himself Would've Been Proud: Bolt Thrower with Crowbar
-- Dead by Dawn: Deicide with Rotting Christ, Aeternus, Ancient Rites
-- The Fear of Strobelight Moshing: Fear Factory w/ System of a Down
* What We Have Cranked
* Details

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

                 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: Mon, 08 Feb 1999
From: Blackk Soul <blackksoul@hotmail.com>
Subject: 'Attention Loud Letters'

     A few years back I was heavily into Death Metal music, but a lot
of DM bands changed their music  for  commercial  success.  Slowly  I
thought that Black Metal was more extreme, more underground and  less
commercial than DM. I started listening to BM and I liked the variety
and the extremity in this sub-genre. I got heavily into BM  too.  But
nowadays it's very different. BM is not underground anymore.  It's  a
trend. It's too commercial and money-making business. It's  has  lost
its extremity and it's offensiveness. Nowadays every other kid in the
street is a Cradle of Filth 'fan'. Every other metal  band  is  a  BM
band with corpsepaint and Satanic names.  Bands  like  Venom,  Celtic
Frost and  Bathory  have  suddenly  become  everybody's  inspiration.
Although they sold very few records back in the early eighties,  even
re-releases of their albums are sellouts now. There are  a  very  few
people  who   are   truely   into   this   music.   All   the   other
hundred-thousands are trend-seekers. BM is a trend now. After  a  few
years some other  metal  genre  (maybe  extremely  Brutal  hyperspeed
Death/Grind Metal ha! ha!) will be trendy  and  these  stupid  idiots
will suddenly become fans of Brutal Death Metal.
     I have said it once before, and I say it again: Let all the true
Black Warriors unite against these trend followers and destroy  them,
crush their pretty little heads so that they can no more  rise  again
to pollute other sub-genres of Extreme music.
     Readers,    if    you    agree    with    me    mail    me    at
<blackksoul@hotmail.com> LETS UNITE.

Please check out BM site at
members.tripod.com/blackmetal13/index.htm

Blacksoul
Kathmandu, Nepal

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

Date: Tue, 16 Feb 1999
From: vance kotrla <bimage@wans.net>
Subject: attention loud letters...or not

hey. i think you've got a great little zine going here, but i've  got
one complaint. you see i'm the drummer for black spiral, an  unsigned
and band who's self-produced debut cd was review in issue number  36.
i thought that maybe we'd show up in 'new  noise'  rather  than  your
'album asylum' since it is a self-produced cd and all. but  there  we
were, getting what i'd call a less-than-favorable review in 'asylum.'
the reviewer (i forget who  it  was)  spent  more  time  dogging  the
production than discussing the music.  first,  the  production  isn't
that bad. it's not stellar, and it's not on the same level as most of
your big-name metal bands, but it is, after all, a self-produced  cd.
secondly, the production is a hell of a lot better  than  most  black
metal stuff out there. let's try not have a double standard, here.

basically, i would just ask that our cd would be taken  for  what  it
is. it's not perfect, but it's good music, and we've gotten  lots  of
positive responses to it. we hope that more people  will  listen  and
take notice (obviously) but we feel that that's been impared  by  our
mis-categorization. do you think maybe you could give the cd  another
crack, but under a different section. we would appreciate it.

thanks,
vk.

ps. you can print this or not, it doesn't matter a whole lot  to  me,
but we'd ask you to take the content into consideration. thanks.

vance kotrla
bimage@wans.net
http://web.wt.net/~turk1602/broken.htm
4700 e. riverside dr.  #1111
austin, tx  78741
(512) 356-2580

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


        F A R   B E Y O N D   T H E   G R A C E   O F   G O D
        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                        CoC interviews Marduk
                           by: David Rocher

     Arguably the most brutal, blasphemous and undisputed icon in the
Swedish extreme  metal  scene,  Marduk  are  currently  preparing  to
unleash the devastating force of their sixth full-length  album,  the
not-very-ambiguously named _Panzer Division Marduk_.  As  the  band's
demo recordings are now truly attaining a cult status in the  extreme
metal scene, it's becoming increasingly  clear  that  Marduk  are  an
unhallowed, blackened force to be reckoned  with.  In  the  following
interview,  Legion,  Marduk's  uncompromising   "mouth   of   Satan",
demonstrates that  nothing  in  the  band's  seemingly  irrepressible
ascension is left to fate alone.  A  cool-headed,  sharp-minded,  and
coldly determined metalhead calmly talks about  the  unrelenting  new
onslaught that we frail, unsuspecting mortals are due to fall before.
Once again, my thanks to the mighty metalhead Joey Jaffrezic (JJ)  of
Radio Meduse for his contributions to this journalistic slab of hate.

CoC: What's gone since the release of _Nightwing_?

Legion: Actually, not as much as we really  wanted  to  do.  We  were
        scheduled for a US  tour  this  summer  together  with  Angel
        Corpse and Cannibal Corpse, but for several reasons, we never
        got on that tour, so we  were  stuck  at  home  for  a  whole
        Summer, doing nothing. But tonight we're doing the last  show
        on  this  tour,  and  then  we'll  get  home,  rehearse  very
        intensively, do some Swedish gigs, do some  gigs  in  Florida
        together with Cannibal Corpse, and then we're  going  to  the
        studio to record our new album, _Panzer Division Marduk_.

CoC: When is _Panzer Division Marduk_ scheduled for release?

L: We hope to be able to release it in April or  May,  because  we're
   going over to the USA after that, and the best time to play in the
   US, if you cannot do it in Winter, is in July-August, so it's  got
   to be out before that. We're all working very intensively  towards
   the stuff concerning the new recording, so it can be  released  as
   soon as possible -- late Spring, something like that.

CoC: What can we expect musically from _Panzer Division Marduk_?

L: Expect pure fucking Armageddon! We'll  release  the  most  intense
   black metal album ever released; no band in  the  past  will  have
   been able to do what we are about to do --  we'll  have  no  heavy
   parts, no double-bass drumming, no -nothing- except  full  fucking
   breakneck speed all the time! We will release something like eight
   or ten songs, with full fucking blast beats  all  the  time,  very
   chaotic and hysterical riffing, but always controlled -- you  will
   still hear that it is Marduk -- and very violent lyrics  regarding
   war. Right now, I have  completed  three  new  lyrics,  which  are
   called "Blodorn", "Baptism by Fire" and "Panzer Division  Marduk",
   which are all very cruel and devastating lyrics. So,  prepare  for
   the worst black metal assault so far!

JJ: Will it be a concept album?

L: Yeah, in a way -- the lyrics will not be connected as in the  Vlad
   story of _Nightwing_, but all the  lyrics  will  be  dealing  with
   topics of war and warfare, so in  a  way  it's  a  concept  album,
   because of the subject we have chosen.

CoC: The black metal trend seems to finally be receding; what do  you
     think it will leave in its wake?

L: Yeah, I agree, and there'll be the same shit  as  with  the  death
   metal scene -- only a couple of bands survived,  those  bands  who
   really put something of interest into the  scene.  For  me,  right
   now, there is no black metal scene any  more,  because  it's  very
   much -gothic- music, and the only thing I can say is in Marduk, we
   prefer to be -goatic- instead. I don't like goth  music,  I  don't
   find it interesting at all. And I think  it  makes  absolutely  no
   sense that the guys stating to be the cruellest  beings  on  earth
   sound  like  a  fucking  pop  orchestra,   with   female   vocals,
   synthesisers and all that shit, and sorry lyrics about how fucking
   sad they are when they're out in the forest -- I agree  with  Gene
   Simmons of Kiss, he said like "all them sorry bands, give  them  a
   hug and a  trip  to  Disneyland"  <laughs>  --,  because  that  is
   actually NOT what black metal is all about. Our lyrics will always
   be in the same vein, it's what we feel is the right  thing  to  do
   regarding black metal, just very dark and malignant lyrics,  which
   are really like a fist in the face of  God.  That  is  what  we'll
   always be about, and for us, it's about the only thing you can  do
   if you are stating to be a black metal band.

CoC: You were talking about synthesisers and female vocals  in  black
     metal -- do you completely disagree with this, don't  you  stand
     for bands like Emperor?

L: Emperor can do whatever they want, I'm not their  fucking  father,
   so I don't tell them what to do! <laughs> But, bottom line, Marduk
   will always be Marduk, and that's what counts to us, the  rest  of
   the scene can do what they want,  we  don't  care,  and  we  don't
   backstab other bands  because  they  are  not  like  us.  My  main
   priority, twenty six hours a day maybe, is Marduk, and that is all
   I count on. Of course I enjoy other bands, but it's their decision
   how they want to sound --  I  don't  judge  anyone,  they  can  do
   whatever they want, but for us, it's a totally wrong way of  doing
   it!

CoC: Black metal has moved  away  from  what  it  was  meant  to  be,
     something really primitive and raw, so I guess _Panzer  Division
     Marduk_ will be a back-to-the-roots sort of trip, that sticks to
     the stricter meaning of black metal?

L: Yeah, the riffing will be very primitive and very basic,  I  guess
   you can say so. But the first generations, the really early  black
   metal bands, they don't have anything together with today's scene;
   what's in the past was in the past, and I don't really fancy those
   new bands trying to sound exactly like old-school, because a  copy
   can never get better than the original. So, instead  listening  of
   ten  new  bands  trying  to  sound  like  _Infernal  Overkill_  of
   Destruction, I'd rather listen to that actual recording.

JJ: Don't you think that calling  your  new  album  _Panzer  Division
    Marduk_ will get you trouble from the same people who  criticised
    the cover of your _Live in Germania_?

L: Yeah, it will, for sure! It's the fucking witch-hunter  spirit  of
   the inquisition which [tries to] abolish free will and stop people
   from thinking, but nobody should tell us what to do, because  it's
   not very difficult for us to fuck those guys! We can be in lots of
   other magazines, we can play at different  locations  in  Germany,
   and they are the guys who'll be biting the grass.  That  _Live  in
   Germania_ thing was really fucking stupid from  them,  because  we
   recorded eighteen shows on the _Heaven Shall  Burn..._  tour,  and
   when we got home, we found that the four shows, all  of  which  we
   played in Germany, were the absolute best -- superior  sound,  the
   songs we did were perfect, and everything was great,  so  we  said
   "hey, let's do a celebration to Germany, because we've got a  very
   good crowd there!" So we did, and of course we  got  shitloads  of
   problems, all for nothing -- it's actually the same eagle which is
   featured on the one Deutsche Mark coins, so what do the Germans do
   in the stores? Are they like... [Hides is eyes with his  hand  and
   pretends to be disgusted by the coin he's placing on the counter.]
   <laughs> It's so stupid, should you be a Nazi if you pay with  one
   Deutsche Mark coins? It's rather ridiculous, but Herve [the Osmose
   boss -- David] solved that very elegantly -- he changed some coins
   and sent them  to  the  journalists,  and  they  went  "hey,  it's
   alright". So, for sure, it will really be a punch in the  eye  for
   some guys, I know that, but I don't care, because we  do  whatever
   we want to do, and -no- fucking journalist is gonna tell  us  what
   is right or wrong, because that is up to US to decide!  And  also,
   people who read  the  lyrics  will  understand  that  the  _Panzer
   Division Marduk_ album will -not- be a political album in any way,
   we are doing the same shit as always, only that  this  album  will
   focus on war in a pretty modern kind of  way,  rather  than  in  a
   medieval, occult evil way -- so, it's looking at the  same  thing,
   but from a different point of view.

CoC: Marduk are renowned for extreme Satanic lyrics; are  the  lyrics
     on _Panzer Division Marduk_ going to be in the same vein  as  on
     _Heaven Shall Burn..._ and your latest releases?

L: Yeah, they will, for sure. If the only supernatural Evil that ever
   existed on Earth was in the dark ages, in 1300 or something,  then
   why would we be around doing what we do, if we didn't believe that
   thing still exists? We're looking at it from a different point  of
   view, in a different century, but the lyrics regarding Marduk will
   always have a Satanic base, because that  is  what  this  band  is
   really all about. It will be the same lyrics as always, but with a
   different touch, you could say.

CoC: Nowadays,  science  is  able  to  explain  a  lot  of  what  was
     considered as miracles and supernatural happenings,  so  how  do
     you represent Satan to yourselves, now?

L: Just because you don't believe that the trolls are running  around
   in the forest anymore doesn't really mean to me that there  is  no
   higher power. I believe in an [incomprehensible] divinity, a force
   so great our brains cannot get the whole picture, we can only  see
   fractions of it. And it's so powerful, you are  -nothing-,  you're
   like a tiny little shit compared to that power, and that  is  what
   we believe in. That is our aim, with our  lyrics,  to  hammer  the
   last nail in the  coffin  of  Christianity,  and  give  praise  to
   something which we feel is better. Regarding science,  science  is
   like a mumbo-jumbo occult thing in itself, people rely too much on
   it; it's like "take this pill, and you'll be like that", "use this
   machine, and you'll be like that" -- people rely too much on  that
   shit, instead of thinking for themselves.

JJ: The next Marduk is announced as  being  the  most  violent  black
    metal album ever created; is this the end of a cycle for Marduk?

L: Most likely, it'll be a peak  of  aggressiveness,  I  don't  think
   we'll ever do such an extreme album again.  But  you  never  know,
   it's better to aim for one album which will be really devastating,
   rather than doing two or three small fires in  a  row.  The  album
   which will come out after _Panzer Division Marduk_  will  be  very
   varied, with lots of heavy parts and mid-paced stuff, like we  did
   on _Nightwing_, but even more varied. And also, immediately  after
   _Panzer Division Marduk_, we will record a mini-CD entitled  _Face
   the Master_, which will be a double-bass drumming song, mid-paced,
   with lyrics based on the "Salem's Lot" story by Stephen King.  And
   that mini-CD will most likely feature some cover versions as well,
   maybe from Exodus, Possessed or something like that -- we  haven't
   decided yet.

CoC: I guess classical  music  isn't  going  to  be  as  much  of  an
     inspiration for you as it has been so far?

L: For _Panzer Division Marduk_, it will very much be basic stuff, we
   just want to create the feeling of seventy tons of  steel  rolling
   across the battlefield. We'll never use classical  music  so  that
   you can hear we're doing classical stuff, but since we  listen  to
   it very much at home, and some of the riffing in the  metal  scene
   in general and the violin in classical music are kind of  related,
   I guess you can find some shit like that in  Marduk's  music,  but
   _Panzer Division Marduk_ will aim at recreating the feeling  of  a
   battle -- that's what the album is all about!

JJ: Who influenced Marduk more, Bathory or Wagner?

L: Well, both, I guess! I really love  the  works  of  Wagner  and  I
   really love the first three Bathory albums as well,  and  some  of
   the later albums are okay, like _Blood Fire Death_,  _Twilight  of
   the Gods_ and _Hammerheart_ -- they're okay, but not really good.

CoC: Would  you  ever  consider,  on  works  after  _Panzer  Division
     Marduk_, doing what you did with the track "Glorification of the
     Black God" -- taking a classical music theme and  developing  it
     into a metal symphony?

L: Yeah, we have already thought of that, and planned several  pieces
   like that, but if it's going to be something in reality  --  well,
   nothing's planned right now, so maybe, maybe not.

JJ: Some of you are implied in projects other than  Marduk,  such  as
    Allegiance; is managing time and energy not too difficult in this
    case? Does Marduk remain your priority?

L: Well, the two guys who are in Allegiance don't do  that  much  for
   Marduk -- Fredrik is our drummer, but he doesn't write any lyrics,
   I do all the lyrics, and Morgan [Hakansson, guitars] does most  of
   the music; I'll maybe write one or two riffs for each album, and B
   War [bass] will  write  a  couple,  so  Allegiance  may  be  their
   priority regarding  their  creativity,  but  Marduk  is  our  main
   priority: all four of us in the band are going for  Marduk.  We've
   already had to sacrifice a lot to keep this band going, and  we'll
   sacrifice even more if we have to.

CoC: Do you still do some vocals on Ophthalamia's last album?

L: No, I quit Ophthalamia late '94, maybe early '95, and I met  those
   guys maybe two or three times after that --  if  I  meet  them,  I
   still say hi and speak with them, but  I've  never  done  anything
   more with them.

CoC: What do you think of their last work, _Dominion_?

L:  Actually,  not  too  much,  since  I  only  heard  it  two  times
   immediately after the studio. I think it sounds  too  much  [like]
   Dissection and too mainstream, actually. It's not the  same  thing
   as it was -- which is pretty natural because you move  on  --  and
   you can really tell that the  music  is  made  this  time  by  the
   younger brother Nodtveidt and Ole from Dissection. But  I  haven't
   listened to it that much, so I'm not the guy to review it, really.

CoC: Talking about Jon Nodtveidt and Dissection, how do you look upon
     what happened? I think he's has been sentenced to eight years in
     jail...

L: That's wrong, he's been sentenced to ten years.

CoC: I thought it was Vlad who got ten years...

L: Yeah, and Jon -- they  both  got  ten  years,  because  Jon  moved
   forward  to  another  court,  thinking  they  would   reduce   his
   punishment. But they didn't, they gave him two more years. And,  I
   mean, they can do whatever they want. I haven't really  spoken  to
   Jon since '95, when we were back at his place -- it was Jon, Vlad,
   some other guys from Gothenburg, me and Morgan, It and some  other
   guys as well -- then we lost contact. If they want to  shoot  some
   people, if they think that is good, well, go ahead, I don't  care,
   but I wouldn't  do  such  a  thing  to  spoil  my  entire  career.
   Dissection could have gotten really big and  now  they  will  not,
   but... he has made his choice.

CoC: Do you think the purpose of these kind of actions was trying  to
     draw the lights to the scene?

L: No, I don't know if that was their aim -- I don't  think  it  was,
   but if it was, it's just rather meaningless, because  releasing  a
   good album is far better.  And  people  won't  take  it  seriously
   anyway, because it's just like some bad kind of promotion --  it's
   like the Norse church fires; if the guys were into  burning  those
   churches, why did they contact all the magazines afterwards?  It's
   stupid.

JJ: Many bands have surfed on the  black  metal  trend's  success  in
    order to get signed on larger labels -- did you receive any  such
    offers? And are you satisfied with Osmose's work?

L: Yeah, we are very satisfied with Osmose. I think it's  really  the
   best label for Marduk, since they are professional; we can  always
   rely on Herve, and they have got the  power  to  distribute  their
   albums correctly. But the most important thing to us  is  that  we
   have total  artistic  freedom.  Nuclear  Blast  would  never  have
   released the lyrics sheet for _Slay  the  Nazarene_,  never;  they
   would never have released the _Fuck Me Jesus_ CD; they would never
   have released the "Christraping Black Metal" t-shirt, nor our  new
   shirt for the track "Slay  the  Nazarene"  --  this  will  be  the
   _Nightwing_ demon  standing  in  a  pentagram  with  Jesus'  body,
   decapitated, on a cross on fire, and the demon's raising the  head
   [at arm's length]. What other label this big would release such  a
   shirt? Nobody that  I  can  think  of...  so  we  are  very,  very
   satisfied with Osmose, they're doing a very good job for us.

JJ: So you'll stay on Osmose?

L: Yeah, yeah, yeah! We have one more album on  our  contract,  which
   will be _Panzer Division Marduk_, and then we'll negotiate  again,
   and see what they have to offer -- but we are satisfied!

CoC: Mentioning artwork, do you know why the  artwork  for  _Fuck  me
     Jesus_ was changed? The photos are completely different and  the
     artwork was changed, too...

L: Yeah, it's a completely different [layout]. On the  demo,  it's  a
   girl lying on a table and lots of demons circling around her, like
   they're ripping her. Actually, it was Herve who came up  with  the
   really splendid cover for the CD, and said "hey, let's  do  this!"
   And of course, we couldn't do anything but agree, because  it's  a
   fucking great cover!

CoC: What do you think of Osmose's roster of bands?

L: Well, I really like Immortal and Angel Corpse,  they  are  fucking
   great bands, but the other Osmose bands, I haven't listened  to  a
   lot -- I don't listen to many of the  bands  in  the  metal  scene
   today,  so  I'm  not  the  guy  to  review  them.  It's  not  very
   interesting, for me anyway.

CoC: Do any other forms of art influence your music?

L: I guess I'm not really inspired by art, really, but of course  you
   can get some cool ideas by studying art done by others.  I'm  very
   much into drawing myself, and I will begin as a tattoo  artist  as
   soon as we get home -- and that will be it for me, when I'm  older
   and when I'm through with Marduk.

JJ: Metal has always become more extreme, do you think it is possible
    to create music more  violent  than  black  metal  by  Marduk  or
    Immortal?

L: I don't really know... <laughs> I wonder how that would sound. But
   roughly, music has always gone in circles  --  just  look  at  the
   "ordinary" metal scene: it's not a coincidence that  for  instance
   Ratt have reformed and signed a big, big record deal in  the  USA;
   it's that this pussy wimp "up-metal" shit is  coming  back.  There
   have [recently] been some retro thrash [acts] as well, and I guess
   death metal will get really big again  --  it's  always  going  in
   circles; it's like a new thing when it's  returned,  but  you  can
   still feel the roots. I don't know if bands will get more  brutal,
   we'll see in future!

CoC: As a Swedish band, you claim to play "Swedish Black Metal" -- in
     your opinion, what are the main differences between Swedish  and
     Norwegian black metal?

L: Erm... <hesitates> I don't know. I think the  Norwegians  go  more
   for the moods, while we go for the brutality, I  guess,  but  it's
   the only thing I can think of -- if you're not counting Darkthrone
   or Mayhem, which are really the most important bands  over  there,
   together with Emperor. But I don't really know -- we released  the
   "Swedish Black Metal"  shirt  just  to  make  clear  that  we  are
   Swedish, because before, we'd got a lot of  shit  like  "you  guys
   cannot be real black metal [musicians], you're not  from  Norway!"
   If people really knew the  Norwegian  people,  they  wouldn't  run
   around  with  Norwegian  flags  on  their  t-shirts,  because  the
   Norwegian people are very happy people who  wear  cardigans,  sing
   songs, scratch themselves under the  arms,  and  stuff  like  that
   <laughs> -- and they're pretty Christian too! It's NOT what people
   think over there, I can assure you. We only did the "Swedish Black
   Metal" t-shirt because we -are- a black metal band, and  we  -are-
   from Sweden -- bottom line!

JJ: Do you get decent support from the Swedish audiences?

L: Actually, Marduk hasn't played live in Sweden for four and a  half
   years. There are no metal clubs in Sweden, there are  hardly  ever
   any concerts, there's -not- a scene in Sweden --  it's  just  like
   many bands, because the only way you can exist in that  scene,  if
   you have to call it like that, is by having a  band.  But  Swedish
   crowds are not good, and the Norwegians are  even  worse,  because
   everybody's got bands, and everybody's cocky and real  big-headed,
   "I'm better than you, I cannot thrash around at your concerts", so
   it's mostly like this: [crosses his arms, and takes a proud stance
   with his nose turned up.] <laughs> So who the hell wants  to  play
   there? We feel much more comfortable down  here  in  Europe  where
   there's actually a good metal scene. We will do some Swedish  gigs
   later just to do them, but we don't like playing back home.

JJ: Do you think corpsepaint is a part of black metal?  What  do  you
    think of black metal bands who have given it up?

L: Well, I can only speak for Marduk, and we use corpsepaint  because
   we want the whole concert to be the same: the  lyrics,  the  music
   and the approach should be as brutal as possible, so we can really
   make clear to  people  what  we  are  all  about.  In  some  ways,
   honestly, I wouldn't mind dropping it, because when you're out  on
   tour, it's fucking hell getting that on and off every  night,  but
   it's a big part of our concept, and we won't drop it, we won't  be
   unmasked. But regarding some of the new bands who use corpsepaint,
   it looks maybe a little bit funny  when  the  music  is  soft  and
   tender and the guys look like fucking demons! But for  Marduk,  we
   really use it to illustrate what we are singing about.

CoC: When you joined Marduk, did you ever think this band would  ever
     be one of the most renowned "true" black metal bands around?

L: Well, I never looked upon it like that, all we wanted  to  do  was
   play black metal, and do it the way we thought it should be  done,
   like really die-hard -- either you do the whole  package,  or  you
   don't and stay off it! There are hardly  any  black  metal  bands,
   everybody has started to work towards goth music,  or  some  other
   strange kind of shit. But anyway, I don't know  if  we're  a  band
   doing it the right way or whatever, all we ever wanted to  do  was
   good black metal, and I guess we have succeeded  so  far,  and  we
   will not fail in the future either, we will not wimp out  --  we'd
   rather quit than wimp out, because that is for suckers!

JJ: Now, you're answering our interview, you earn  your  living  with
    your music, but as a child, did you  ever  think  that  one  day,
    you'd be living like this?

L: Well, I've always been into metal -- I first discovered metal with
   Manowar, Dio and Iron Maiden and shit like that at the age of six,
   when the first hard-rock wave came to Sweden and it passed  on  TV
   and on the radio, and I was like, "wow!" So I always  wanted  this
   life, going around on tours and making albums, I really love it, I
   love every minute of the life I'm living right now, but of course,
   as a child, it was pretty hard to imagine. But one  thing  led  to
   another, and now -- here I am! <laughs>

JJ: Don't you think that the black metal trend is  running  out,  and
    that this is good as only the best bands will remain?

L: Yeah, it will be like a funnel for the bands who  didn't  make  it
   this time, they'll have to either wait until the  next  time  when
   there is a market for new black metal bands, or  they'll  have  to
   change style, which will be the same  thing  as  the  death  metal
   scene experienced in the early nineties:  from  those  old  bands,
   it's almost like only Deicide, Morbid Angel, Cannibal Corpse [and]
   Immolation are still around. I guess it'll be very much  the  same
   for us; right now, we have such a strong position, so we won't  be
   affected if the trend runs out, because we have very devoted fans,
   and we will still be able to tour and create new albums. In a way,
   it will be good, because all  these  new  bands  who  are  playing
   "arrogant artistic force nymphomaniac blah blah" won't be  around,
   but since I've really stopped caring about the scene, I don't mind
   them at all! Trends come and go, and from each wave of new  music,
   there will only be a few guys left, that's always the case.

CoC: Sweden is mainly renowned for death  metal  bands;  how  do  you
     appreciate present-day Swedish death metal bands?

L: Well, the death metal bands of  Sweden  I  loved  were  the  early
   Entombed, which was very, very  good,  and  Dismember;  they  were
   extremely great -- the first Dismember album and the  early  demos
   were totally amazing, but for the Swedish  death  metal  scene  of
   today, I don't give that much actually. I think  all  those  bands
   like Grotesque, which were actually more black metal, were  really
   good, but since then, I've  not  discovered  so  much  interesting
   stuff. If I go for death metal, I'd rather choose the US style  of
   doing it, because I think it's better.

CoC: If Marduk were to write the music to a  film,  what  would  this
     film be?

L: Erm... Some very bizarre and brutal horror movie, something  maybe
   as shocking today as the first "Evil Dead" movie when it came  out
   -- I remember seeing that uncut for the first time when  I  was  a
   kid, and I almost shit in my pants! So something like  that  would
   be really, really cool to do -- if we're asked by some guys, we'll
   do it for sure. Or  something  more  like  the  weird,  low-budget
   stuff. Yeah, why not  --  I  like  many  old  second-grade  horror
   movies. Some are very, very cool!

JJ: Last words for Marduk fans?

L: Yeah -- if you're not a metalhead, you  might  as  well  be  dead!
   <laughs>

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

      A N   E X T R A V A G A N T   R E B E L   C O N Q U E S T
      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                   CoC talks to Satyr of Satyricon
                           by: Paul Schwarz

     Satyricon are one of the finest black metal bands in  the  world
today. Yet, as seems to be  the  case  with  many  of  black  metal's
legendary names, Satyricon are not as well known, popular  or,  on  a
mass level, highly regarded as newer acts such as Cradle of Filth and
Dimmu Borgir are. Satyricon do not headline main stages at  festivals
who have Sepultura lined-up as the next day's  headliners  (which  is
the case with Dimmu Borgir at this year's March Metal Meltdown). Some
claim, and it is not an  entirely  unfounded  claim,  that  Satyricon
choose to stay "under ground". There is some truth to this claim, but
the realities of the scene mean that it is not a simple  -choice-  of
being popular or not being popular, especially  on  your  own  terms.
Satyricon have never compromised their vision of what black metal  is
about. They have never bowed to commercial pressure or  the  pressure
of some of their more conservative  peers.  Their  first  two  albums
(_Dark Medieval Times_ and _The Shadowthrone_)  were  well  noted  by
those in the black metal scene and did more than simply  follow  what
others were doing  at  the  time.  After  the  mid-nineties'  deluge,
Satyricon emerged again triumphant with _Nemesis Divina_, their third
full length offering. Adopting a  slightly  different,  faster  style
than their earlier material, Satyricon nonetheless  gave  us  a  very
mature, complex and exceptionally well  produced  album  which  still
stands  as  one  of  my  favorite  black  metal  albums.  Now,  after
experimenting with the _Megiddo_ EP, Satyricon are  ready  to  return
with a new full length. Set for an August release, the title of  this
as-yet-unrecorded album is _Rebel Extravaganza_. I had the  privilege
of talking to Satyr, one half of the band's nucleus, of which drummer
Frost is the other, about the upcoming album and his attitudes to and
views  on  the  black  metal  scene.  I  hope  his  answers  are   as
enlightening and interesting to you as  some  of  them  were  to  me.
Thanks to Mat McNerny for his help brainstorming  the  questions  for
this interview.

CoC: The new album is called _Rebel Extravaganza_. Why did you choose
     this title? To me it doesn't sound like  a  "traditional"  black
     metal album title.

Satyr: To be honest, I don't know, really,  'cause  it  is  the  same
       thing that happened with the last album, _Nemesis Divina_, the
       same thing that happened with  _The  Shadowthrone_  and  _Dark
       Medieval Times_ as well. [It] just fell in my head and it felt
       totally natural, you know, it's kind of representative  of  my
       way of thinking when it comes to the new songs and the  lyrics
       as  well.  I  wouldn't  say   that   the   word   "rebel"   is
       unconventional in black metal, but "extravaganza" is very much
       about what we've done, for several  years  now.  Satyricon  is
       definitely an extravagant band, so as  I  said,  I  have  [an]
       equally hard time to explain _Nemesis Divina_, really. I could
       try to come up with different theories, but it just fell in my
       head.

CoC: How do you think the sound [of the new songs] differs, how has it
     moved on from _Nemesis Divina_? If people were to have heard the
     last album, and they pick up this new one,  what  do  you  think
     they'd find different from what they might expect, maybe?

S: Well, Samoth from Emperor was here listening to the rehearsal with
   all the new songs, and he said that he thought it  was  very  much
   us, but it was harder, and it's probably true,  but  there's  more
   than that. You can hear the trademark of the band  in  the  songs,
   even  though  it's  a  vast  progression  from  _Nemesis  Divina_.
   _Nemesis Divina_ is like three years old now, so there would  have
   to be something very wrong with the whole  thing  if  nothing  had
   happened  since  then,  obviously.  So,  probably  a  bit  harder,
   probably less medieval and Nordic, but [still] very much us.

CoC: How do you see the scene today, do you think that it compares to
     the old one, or do you think that there are a lot of differences
     now, in the bands that appear or the music they play?

S: Umm...

CoC: Do you think that black metal has evolved or  that  it's  stayed
     similar?

S: Oh, it has definitely evolved a lot,  but  I  would  say  that  in
   '92/'93 black metal gave me much more  of  a  kick  than  it  does
   today. Let's say if... I haven't heard the new Emperor album  yet,
   but I guess I'll like it and I guess I'll think it's good,  but  I
   am also pretty sure that it won't give me this big kick, the  same
   kick _A Blaze in the Northern Sky_ [Darkthrone --  Paul]  gave  me
   the first time I heard it. So the magic is gone really, but  there
   is still quality around and I'm happy to see  that  at  least  the
   best bands, apart from Dissection, are still going.

CoC: Do you think that by  remaining  in  the  scene,  Satyricon  are
     producing something new while still  providing  a  link  to  the
     previous  scene,  because  you've  been  around  throughout  the
     various different developments?

S: What I try to do is also to send a message through  the  music.  A
   message about how black metal should be done, at least in the  way
   I like it, because I think when you write music you often tend  to
   try to make the kinds of things that you want  to  hear  yourself.
   The way I think of this kind of music is the way I do  it,  in  my
   own band. And what I hope is that we  can  try  to  influence  the
   third wave of black metal bands to think more in the  way  of  the
   first and the second wave.  There's  definitely  a  need  for  new
   thinking and progression, but there  are  some  things,  like  the
   extended use of female vocals and this  kind  of  gothic  romance,
   which I find totally unsuitable for at least my  way  of  thinking
   about black metal.

CoC: Leading on from that, [with] bands like [the  typical  bands  to
     mention] Dimmu Borgir and Cradle of Filth, do you think that  by
     using keyboards or female  vocals,  by  making  the  style  more
     popular, they, in some way, help  it,  by  getting  more  people
     exposed to the more underground stuff, because, in interviews or
     whatever, they'll mention the older bands?

S: Well, they help it and destroy it at the same time, you know. They
   help get more people into listening to  more  extreme  music,  and
   they help, obviously, other black metal bands who  have,  well  at
   least in my view, a more interesting message than  they  have,  to
   come through. But in a way they destroy it as well,  because,  you
   know, they're so big, so they set  a  lot  of  standards  for  how
   things are meant to be done and that will influence some bands too
   -- as someone here in Norway said, I would rather breed the  black
   metal kids on Darkthrone than Cradle of Filth, you  know.  Without
   that meaning that there is something wrong with Cradle of Filth, I
   just think there is more -edge- to bands like Darkthrone.

CoC: Do you think that, by the character of  the  scene  changing  so
     much from how it was five or six years ago, by bands being, this
     is one way of putting it, less  "drawn"  to  a  certain  way  of
     being, of playing black metal, do you  think  it  allows  bands,
     now, to be more creative, by there not being such a strict  "way
     to play", maybe?

S: Yes, I do.

CoC: So you think that allows you, Satyricon,  to  be  more  creative
     than you could've been?

S: I don't think -- actually, I think my answer is yes, but  I  think
   we are an exception, because the way I  understand  your  question
   you are probably referring to, what shall  I  say,  the  power  of
   people like Euronymous, for example [I acknowledge this  --  Paul]
   and the kind of influence they had, and  in  some  ways  that  was
   positive, because some people have shown their  real  faces  after
   his death and I would actually have preferred them  to  stay  with
   their fake faces because I dislike their real faces so  much.  But
   in our case, I never cared about his rules or anything like  that,
   actually, I had a bit of a conflict going with  him  and  I  think
   that was due to the fact that he couldn't  accept  that  I  was  a
   youngster coming from nowhere, more or  less  not  giving  a  shit
   about his ideas. And I told him that as well,  and  he  definitely
   disliked that, but yes, I think it is positive that there  has  to
   be some quality acts to set a standard for  the  rest,  but  there
   shouldn't be rules about what you should do and what you can't do.

CoC: Would you say there is  music  or  things  in  the  world  which
     specifically do influence you?  Do  you  think  that  you  could
     identify certain influences which either influenced you to start
     the band in the first place, or to  still  create  music  or  to
     create [specific] past works?

S: Well, I think the drive behind the beginning was, apart  from  the
   whole thing with Darkthrone and all that, then the second wave  of
   black metal, it was also me, and the others who were with me then,
   our huge fascination for the  old  acts,  such  as  Celtic  Frost,
   Bathory and Venom, all that. And today  I  don't  think  I  am  so
   inspired by music, I don't listen much to music, I listen to music
   in the car, but I usually get enough because  we  rehearse  and  I
   play guitar at home and I write lyrics, and I get enough music  in
   my life. I work in the music business as well, so I don't need  to
   use my spare time to listen to music, but in the car I  listen  to
   some music. Some electronic and  industrial  acts  have  given  me
   impulses and I think it's a very positive thing to listen to  lots
   of different kinds of genres, to get impulses and to make yourself
   richer musically. Because if you don't know what's  going  on  you
   have no chance to develop. How can I, for example, develop my  way
   of singing if the only way I know is to scream? But fortunately  I
   listen to lots of  other  music  and  get  impulses,  rather  than
   inspiration.

CoC: Regarding the use of the media to expose your music more, do you
     think doing things in the  past  like  the  very  well  produced
     "Mother North" video -- do you think that you will  continue  to
     use media to bring attention to your music more...

S: In terms of advertising?

CoC: In terms of advertising and also the presentation, do you  think
     that that matters as much in black metal as  it  does  in  other
     styles of music? Because  I  think  that  sometimes,  with  some
     bands, there is a tendency  to  want  to  remain  limited  to  a
     certain number of people, to not attempt to  draw  other  people
     in, to allow them to come in themselves, as it  were.  Not  that
     I'm criticising that.

S: Yeah, yeah, I understand, but that is not the way I am thinking. I
   fully respect that way of thinking, but I  don't  think  any  band
   should be forced to expose themselves or to limit  themselves,  it
   should be a freedom of choice, you know, where you want your  band
   to go and I definitely find the video media very interesting and I
   know that we will do a video for the album. I don't know  what  it
   is going to be like, I just know we are going to do  a  video  and
   I'll have to think about it. It'll probably happen  during  Summer
   or something, 'cause the MCD is going to be out in  April  or  May
   and the album in August. I think, actually, the record company are
   going to do some short clips or something for  TV  advertising  in
   Germany, which is pretty new, and, to be honest, I actually  don't
   like TV advertising with music -- just five seconds and  it's  all
   over, and next up is, uh, a commercial for  diapers  or  something
   --, so I think it is totally unsuitable, but, in a way, you  know,
   it is obviously very good  for  the  band,  lots  of  people  that
   wouldn't have heard  about  the  album  otherwise  might  find  it
   interesting and go to the record store and check  it  out  --  you
   know, listen to the album and make a decision whether to buy it or
   not. So, I guess...

CoC: It might be the lesser of two evils, maybe?

S: I guess so. I think it is also just a natural development  of  the
   whole thing, you know, we have  the  internet  replacing  the  old
   correspondence of underground with regular slow mail, and now  you
   have the internet replacing that whole underground, and, I  think,
   in the coming years, TV advertising and such  will,  not  replace,
   but I think more and more it will  go  over  to  that  instead  of
   advertising in magazines, because the  rates  for  advertising  in
   magazines are sick, you know, you  have  to  sell  so  many  extra
   albums to make it worth it. I think it is probably easier to reach
   out through television. I think radio would've been definitely the
   best thing, but the problem is  that  there  are  not  many  radio
   stations who allow metal programs, and if they have metal programs
   it's probably in the  middle  of  the  night  on  a  Wednesday  or
   something.

CoC: And it is only a small audience who might know about it.

S: Yeah, it's  like  twenty  people  who  are  regulars  and  there's
   probably one or two more dropping by just by coincidence.

CoC: You have a new member on this album, apparently?

S: No new members.

CoC: No?

S: We are working with lots of different people,  but  we  found  out
   that there's too many problems with  all  the  other  guys  and...
   basically we've done it ourselves all the time, we've brought some
   other people in on all the albums, but,  you  know,  when  it  all
   comes down it's just like, as you Englishmen say, "at the  end  of
   the day", there has only been me and Frost, you know.

CoC: So Daemon [ex-Dismember], would no longer be in the band?

S: No, you know, if you want to you can -- I'll be happy  to  see  if
   you could -- set up a "wanted" poster, because he's been gone  for
   six months; that's what I've said  to  every  journalist.  He  was
   supposed to go to Sweden for one week and that's  like,  seven  or
   eight months ago or something, and we haven't heard anything  ever
   since. So I don't know what he's up to, but  that's  the  kind  of
   things that usually happen. Strange things, people disappearing or
   people lacking the interest to work as hard  as  we  want  to,  or
   maybe they think it is too much of a hassle, so we're  just  gonna
   keep on going with just the two of us, as a band. But we have  our
   own live line-up; basically the same line-up as we had at  Dynamo,
   and, on the  album,  we're  gonna  bring  in  Fenriz,  doing  some
   percussion, we're gonna bring in Mikael, from Thorns, to  do  some
   guest guitar things, and Sanrabb from Gehenna  is  gonna  do  some
   guitars on the MCD. We'll also  bring  in  another  guitarist,  in
   addition to myself, on the album, and bass on the  album  and  MCD
   will be handled by -- well, they  broke  up  now  but,  you  know,
   Conception, it's a power metal band on Noise Records.

CoC: Oh, no, I don't know them.

S: It's horrible [I laugh -- Paul] but, I don't know, real  technical
   people and all that and this guy, the bassist, he has  a  project,
   called Crest of Darkness, and... he's very good, so he's doing the
   bass. So we're bringing in lots of different people, I mean, we're
   even bringing in this guy who plays in [couldn't quite  hear  what
   he said, it sounded like  "Uperting  My  Berserk"  --  Paul],  who
   played in a black metal band called Mock, which was a crappy band,
   but  this  guy  has  turned  into  becoming  interested  only   in
   industrial and electronic music and he's a wizard when it comes to
   sampling, making special effects, electronic loops, those kind  of
   things, and he's very good at it. So he's going to be part of  the
   mix or something. So, we'd rather work with  ourselves  [motioning
   to himself and Frost] as the platform of the  band  and  bring  in
   people with special skills to make the album become better.

Contact: WWW: http://www.union.no/moonfog

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               M A D M E N   O F   M U T I L A T I O N
               ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                        CoC interviews Exhumed
                          by: Adrian Bromley

     There are a lot of sick people in this world we live in.  People
that do awful things to children. People that don't have  a  care  in
the world or any regard for anyone but themselves. People who live on
this planet just to fuck things up and have a jolly time doing it.
     Then there is Exhumed.
     Judging  by  the  cover  of  Exhumed's  latest   grindcore/metal
masterpiece _Gore Metal_, a horribly rude and disgustingly  squeamish
cover of bodies mutilated beyond recognition throughout a kitchen, it
seems as though the four  crazy  fucks  (let's  see,  there  is  Matt
Harvey, Col Jones, Ross Sewage and Mike Beams) in the band would  fit
nicely into the characterisation of my first paragraph.  They'd  love
it. That's just them, you see... Exhumed are Exhumed.
     What you should know and just imbed into your forehead  is  that
Exhumed play their music the way  that  they  want  to,  with  little
concern for how others feel, and they  could  give  two  fucks  about
record sales. They mean nothing. In general,  I  don't  usually  take
time to really wonder about people and their actions, but  as  I  sit
here and write about Exhumed, I wonder just what it's all  about  for
them. Do they have a mission? What's with all of the  grotesque  take
on things? Is it necessary? Of course it is. They are making a point.
It's  all  about  playing  loud,  aggressive  music  and   having   a
shit-kickin' time doing it. Who cares how ya do it, just as  long  as
you are doing it. Right? You bet.
     As the interview begins, I actually take time to  comment  about
the violent images pasted all over the album  cover.  It's  sick  and
brutally rude. I ask guitarist/interviewee Matt  Harvey  "Whose  sick
idea was it to use those photos?" He laughs and says: "It was all our
idea. We just wanted to fuck shit up." No shit. Good job, Holmes.
     He continues: "It's Ross [Sewage,  drummer]  who  took  all  the
photos. That is actually my kitchen. We just went in there and messed
stuff up. It was great fun. We all had  an  input  in  what  you  see
within the artwork." In regards to many other genres (primarily black
metal) boasting a certain image to uphold, Harvey comments,  "I  know
what you're talking about. Let's just say you'll never see a forestry
image on an Exhumed record. We just want to make the biggest  fucking
shit possible and this is it."
     I tell Harvey about myself opening the CD sleeve on  the  subway
and having people stare with a disgusted  look,  with  me  eventually
putting away the CD slightly embarrassed. "Oh man. That's great",  he
says with a sense of accomplishment. "That is the way it  should  be.
If people feel that way towards  what  they  see  or  hear  with  our
record, then we have done our  job.  We're  not  trying  to  upset  a
certain type or person or specific  people  in  general,  we're  just
trying to be ourselves. That's all we do. We play what we play and we
do what we do. That's how it is with Exhumed. We've never really  had
a direction. We just go with the flow."
     About the direction of their material with _Gore Metal_, he says
in detail: "There are certain things on this record that  could  have
been a lot better for us, but things could have  been  shittier.  The
record worked out for us. Some of the stuff here is real old,  but  I
personally think this is the best thing that we have  ever  released.
Everything worked out in the end."
     "The reason that I am so happy and saying that this is our  best
release is the fact that you can tell we took the  time  to  work  on
this in the studio. I mean, we used a proper  studio  this  time  and
worked with a good producer. James Murphy [renowned guitar player and
Testament member] was a great help for us. For  once,  there  was  at
least one person who knew what he  was  doing,  which  is  more  than
usual. I just think the songs really take shape  into  songs,  rather
than just all these noisy barrages of material.  We  have  some  good
ideas here."
     On the role of studio work, he comments: "It's such  a  pain  in
the ass. It's very tedious for the most part, but something you gotta
do if you want to get a record out. It's so bad to be in there  doing
the guitar chords over and over like a thousand times. I really  feel
sorry for our drummer, though. Playing the same drum beat  like  five
thousand times in a studio for five hours... I mean, being alone in a
room with James Murphy while working  on  material  is  tough  enough
<laughs>, but five hours?! It's crazy, shit  like  that  that  really
gets you, but I'll tell you it's a reward to get it out there and  be
happy with the product."
     On the overall take of Exhumed and what they have  done,  Harvey
tries to sum up Exhumed's role in helping shape metal music. "When we
started up six or seven years ago, we were all part of what was going
on. We were a typical band doing what everyone else was doing. But  I
look around nowadays and see all of the stuff out there  and  realize
that we are all alone. We're  still  playing  grinding  death  metal,
singing about sick shit and all that 'cause we want to."
     The topic of their  label  Relapse  Records  surfaces  into  the
conversation. About their work with the label, Harvey juts in:  "They
are a great label to be working with. They are the only label that  I
want to be working with. Really. I look at all the other  labels  out
there, like Century Media and Nuclear Blast, and they are some of the
biggest fags out there. They jump on all of these trends and it makes
me sick. Relapse has been going strong for the last few years, and  I
don't like everything they put out, but at least they don't  jump  on
trends."
     On band motivation  and  handling  material  and  music,  Harvey
notes: "We really work hard to keep our writing going. We have done a
few 7" splits this year and have been on a  compilation  or  two.  We
just keep things going. It's great to be  doing  this.  Sure,  people
might say that we put out shit, but at least we  put  out  a  lot  of
shit. Maybe it's not quality, but at least we have  quantity  on  our
side. I think it's really lame for bands to sit around and  wait  two
years to put something out. It shouldn't be that way.  It  should  be
push, push, push with bands and their material. We need to  keep  the
momentum going for the band. It's been  great  to  do  this  and  the
underground support has really been a blessing for us. If we were  to
sit around and not tour or put out records or 7" or  what  have  you,
then it would be the dumbest thing to do."
     "We have always had the same work ethics. We do very little mail
outs and we're not too big in our scene here, but people seem to know
about us. We went to Europe at the end of 1997 and people were coming
up to us knowing all of our stuff. It blew me away, man. It was a new
thing for us to experience. Our thoughts on the  whole  thing  is  if
they know us it's great, and if they don't  they  will  soon  enough.
<laughs>" You've all been warned. Exhumed are currently on tour.

Contact: Exhumed, c/o Pearly Penile Papules,
         P.O. Box. 53432, San Jose, CA, USA, 95153

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                      S T I L L   K I L L I N G
                      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                CoC chats with Bobby Blitz of Overkill
                            by: Jody Webb

     Never one to throw in the towel, Bobby Blitz  and  the  Overkill
crew have been churning out riffs and records for over a decade  now,
never wavering far from their classic '80s  sound.  In  February  the
band releases _Necroshine_, the latest  instalment  in  the  Overkill
saga. Read on as we get the low down  on  the  new  disc,  the  story
behind the cancellation of the last tour and  Bobby's  state  of  the
scene address.

CoC: Give us a little insight into what _Necroshine_ is about.

Bobby Blitz: To just generalize it, you get a real good view of where
             we are, in our lives personally, and as a  band.  I  had
             quite an exhausting year as far as my health  went,  and
             this was something that came out of it. This was kind of
             a cleansing for me, to expel any demons I  had  sort  of
             running around in my head. Because, I  mean,  it  was  a
             coin flip at a certain time  in  the  situation  I  had,
             which was cancer, and there was a time when they thought
             it was going to go after my brain. I was like, where  is
             it? <laughs> This record has given me an opportunity  to
             be very strong and give you  a  lyrical  perspective  of
             where I stand as a person. As far as the musical  aspect
             of the record goes, I think we've evolved another  step.
             I think a great thing about this band is it never looses
             its roots, yet at the same time it  doesn't  sound  like
             1985  on  this  record.  It  has   a   very   marketable
             contemporary value to it, as well as  a  standard,  1985
             deep rooted metal feel to it. So I think the  beauty  is
             being able to balance the two.

CoC: A lot of people were disappointed when you cancelled  your  show
     at the club here in town, back in the spring of '97, on the tour
     for _From the Underground and Below_. I think you sold  all  950
     tickets to the joint and  there  was  a  mad  scramble  for  the
     tickets I gave away on my radio show. What happened?

BB: Because of the cancer, half of my face was gone! <laughs> If  you
    saw the rescheduled show you might say "Jeez, that  guy  looks  a
    little different." I learned I wasn't vain!

CoC: Who is the primary writer?

BB: I write with my partner DD Vernon. DD gets things  going  in  the
    musical end of things, then he lets me hear the demos  and  keeps
    me abreast of what's going on. We are familiar with each  other's
    styles and that doesn't stop the evolution of the band.

CoC: Any other kinds of music that the Overkill crew listens to, that
     influences the writing?

BB: I'm kind of eclectic, I listen to anything from Harry Connick Jr,
    to your Johnny Cash album, to Slayer, to Machine Head, to  Napalm
    Death. Anything Colin Richardson does I like.

CoC: Who's that?

BB: He's a producer. He has worked  with  bands  like  Fear  Factory,
    Machine Head, Napalm Death; he did our last album. His  stuff  we
    really really like. We watched him closely  when  we  co-produced
    _From the Underground and Below_ with him. We stole some  of  his
    tricks and produced this latest one  ourselves!  We  worked  with
    Terry Date on numerous things. I love these producers. If you put
    on something done by Terry, I can almost guarantee that I'll like
    it.

CoC: What does Overkill do when it's tired of working in the studio?

BB: We keep going, overkill! <laughs> This is our full time  job.  We
    have to make our own decisions and this is  a  business.  It's  a
    business we love, so it doesn't seem like  business  to  us;  you
    could say we are protecting our interests.

CoC: Has the current  craze  in  wrestling  claimed  any  members  of
     Overkill?

BB: Back in '96 Tim Mallory played on one of those WWF  metal  albums
    with Scott Ian and one of the guys from Savatage. I  don't  think
    he's a wrestling  fan,  though  he  looks  like  he  could  be  a
    wrestler. But not me. I suppose hobbies for me  could  include...
    I'm a two wheel junkie, I love riding bikes and  I  always  will.
    Music, bikes, and my family. Not necessarily in that order.

CoC: Do you have any tattoos to declare?

BB: No, no I don't. One of the reasons I don't is because it's become
    a craze. I always find myself close to getting one,  but  then  I
    think that tattoos have been overexposed, excuse  the  pun.  When
    every metal band went tattooed on arms and bellies and backs,  we
    like to keep our individuality from the pack.

CoC: Do you have any comments about the state of the scene?

BB: At this point I think it's getting stronger,  and  I  think  it's
    getting stronger because there was a great house cleaning; in the
    early '90s a great chopping block came in the  major  labels  and
    off with their heads. "This band's not making enough money,  drop
    'em." This gave us the opportunity to flex our muscles,  stretch.
    It gave the true fans a chance  to  really  support  us,  because
    casual listeners were not there being  fed  by  the  labels.  The
    field is not saturated with two thousand metal bands  and  labels
    shoving songs down your throat. So it may seem like the scene  is
    weaker because there are less bands, but the bands  who  made  it
    through are the strongest ones.

CoC: I always felt like it was a good thing to have a large number of
     bands, because that shows a lot of interest, and it expands  the
     talent pool, the group of people from which we can  find  stars.
     Yes, there will be a lot of bad bands, but as long as a  lot  of
     people try to make metal, we will be more  likely  to  tap  into
     some genius. Today, I feel,  primarily  because  of  Korn,  that
     people are back into making heavy music again. As a DJ, I do see
     a new saturation starting to occur.

BB: You know who's guilty of  making  this  happen,  it's  the  major
    labels. Major labels are based on dollars and cents.  The  people
    involved in evaluating a band  are  accountants,  and  these  are
    number people, these have nothing to do with people developing  a
    band. After you sink a million bucks  into  a  band  and  they're
    returning $500k, it's a simple math problem. The point  is,  this
    has always been, even in recent history, it's evident. Think back
    to Seattle. Everybody owned flannel, I mean, I  couldn't  believe
    it. Every band had  a  specific  type  of  tattoo  based  on  the
    popularity of Alice in Chains and Pearl Jam and a few solid bands
    that came out of that scene. All of a  sudden,  you  get  to  the
    second wave and POW, it's bad imitators. Now if I  want  to  hear
    something with a stamp of Seattle, I'll go to the  creators.  I'm
    gonna go to the Nirvana, and maybe the bands  before  them,  like
    Mother  Love  Bone.  Today,  with  the  popularity  of  Korn  and
    Deftones, new young bands will get a shot to be  looked  at,  and
    labels will sign them because  they  are  trendy,  not  based  on
    longevity, which a band like Korn will probably have.

CoC: How do people react when you tell them you are in a metal  band?
     How are you treated? Do you use the word "metal"?

BB: Absolutely, in fact you used the term "heavy music" and I  almost
    stopped you and said "No, it's metal!"

CoC: There have been instances where I've used the  word  and  people
     have said things I didn't expect. Once I was down  in  Charlotte
     and I was talking with the guy driving a limo I was  riding  in.
     He said "Oh, don't tell anybody, but I  still  love  Winger."  I
     also heard things like "That died so long ago." I'm apprehensive
     to use the word.

BB: Metal got a bad rap a few years ago and I think we were the  only
    metal band left. <laughs> It was never an issue with us  when  it
    was unpopular to be in a metal band. To deny what we  are  denies
    that the bands exists, and it makes the music  worthless  from  a
    listening standpoint. There was a great  confusion  in  the  late
    '80s and early '90s. You had pop  bands  with  ripped  jeans  and
    hairspray and they were ruling the charts and  making  money  for
    the big boys. They were considered metal by the  public,  by  the
    way [they] were marketed, and I think it confused us with Winger,
    it confused Slayer with Poison! Metal has a purer sense about  it
    than commercialism.

CoC: Have you approached the Ozzfest people?

BB: Oh, absolutely. Every year. They just tell us "We'll get back  to
    you." Why, you know anybody? <chuckles>

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                   P A S S I N G   T H E   B O N G
                   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                     CoC interviews Orange Goblin
                          by: Adrian Bromley

     If there is any band out there  nowadays  that  deserves  to  be
labelled "stoner rock", it has to  be  England's  Orange  Goblin.  So
thick are the grooves and  the  feedback,  that  smoking  a  bong  of
marijuana and kicking back and enjoying  the  jam  session  unfolding
seems like the only proper thing to do.  Anyone  who  has  heard  the
band's latest disc _Time Travelling Blues_ (TMC / Rise Above Records)
will certainly smile with a huge grin, uttering the words "Yeah  man!
I'm down with it."
     Orange Goblin singer Ben Ward seems to be down with it as  well.
"I'm just glad to be able to do this and make great music",  he  says
over the phone from England, as a delay within the phone conversation
gives us slight feedback. "It's great to be able to create music  and
be happy with it. I think we definitely did that with this record and
it feels even better that people who have heard  this  record  really
like it. And people also seem to like the fact  that  we  don't  stay
with one sound or style within what we do. This record  is  different
from the first disc [1997's _Frequencies From Planet Ten_].  I  think
this record has a definite Lynard Skynard feel to it, while  the  new
material we are working on is going back a bit to the days  of  Sleep
and St. Vitus. It shows that we are not afraid to mix it up."
     "There has a been a definite natural progression  for  the  band
[comprised of guitarists Joe Hoare and Pete O' Malley, drummer  Chris
Turner and bassist Martyn Millard] over the years. The four musicians
in the band have gone far with their playing, not only showing growth
and depth but successfully playing as a unit and sounding great. This
record has such a great heavy groove to it. The sound of this  record
was captured very well, I think. See... no matter where  we  go  with
our music, the heaviness and the groove always  stays  intact.  Those
two elements have always played a key role in our songwriting."
     Orange Goblin are definite slaves of their work. They  live  and
breathe music. Their love for what they do shines like  there  is  no
tomorrow throughout _TTB_. "We work on a lot  of  material  for  each
record. To be able to pick out what tracks work is  quite  easy,  I'd
say," notes Ward; "When you are in the studio working  on  a  record,
you just get this buzz from certain songs. You'll  play  a  riff  and
it'll sound just right. We'll start with a riff, then Chris will  add
drums, Martyn will touch it up with bass and then a  few  vocals  and
it's done. Songs come together quite easily for us, as long as we get
a good vibe from the ideas. It also helps that the songs go over well
live. There's nothing like a good crowd reaction."
     About younger bands coming into the scene and the music industry
in general, Ward comments: "I don't know how people should  react  to
it. We really don't. We  just  walked  right  into  the  music  scene
wanting to play our music and I guess we've just  had  to  deal  with
things as they came along. We have other  people  to  deal  with  the
business side of the music industry. We're here  to  enjoy  ourselves
and nothing else. We plug in and play. That's it."
     "We've had  a  good  time  doing  this,"  explains  Ward.  "This
business has been good to us  so  far.  There  have  been  a  lot  of
milestones. Our first tour of the U.K. with Cathedral, releasing  our
first 7"... It all adds up to a good time for Orange Goblin. We  love
the way all of this has turned out, 'cause we were the last  to  ever
expect to be on a record label  and  putting  our  material  out  and
touring. It feels really good to go into a record store and see  your
music on the shelves. It really gives you a great  feeling  and  that
feeling is why  we  do  what  we  do.  There  have  been  some  great
milestones so far and I hope there will be many more."
     Seeing that it has been a long haul to get where  the  band  is,
has Ward grown tired of doing the "music thing" yet? "No. I don't get
tired of doing this. We have a lot planned and I can't give  up  now.
We are doing a seven week tour of Europe with Cathedral and hopefully
some other tours, maybe in the United States or Japan. We  just  want
to play to as many people as possible. We are writing  material  too,
but most likely won't record anything this  year.  It  would  be  too
soon."
     "I'm not tired of doing this," he  finishes,  "I  got  tired  of
working my crappy job driving a forklift at a warehouse working  nine
to five. But how can you get tired of doing this?  I  don't  see  how
anyone could get sick of making music. It's such a great experience."

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         B E Y O N D   A   G L I M P S E   O F   B O R N E O
         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                       An interview with Kekal
                          by: Alex Cantwell

     To the best of my knowledge, Kekal is the first Indonesian black
metal band to gain international acclaim. The band is made up of four
individuals: Jeff on guitar and  vocals,  Harry  on  vocals,  Leo  on
guitar and Azhar on bass. They are certainly due some recognition for
their recent release _Beyond the Glimpse of Dreams_,  which  combines
raw  emotion  with  speedy  drums  and  lethal  riffage.  I  recently
conversed with Jeff via e-mail. Enter the world of Kekal.
     "We started out in 1995. At first, there  was  no  intention  to
become a serious band, just a one-time session band by two  long-time
friends. We wrote and recorded four songs at that time. But  on  June
1996, we got a strong vision that we have  to  try  again  with  more
serious work. Then we decided to continue. The  first  official  demo
tape (_Contra  Spiritualia  Nequitiae_),  which  contained  four  new
tracks and four tracks from a '95 session,  was  released  in  August
'96. The responses were very positive and many say that  the  musical
structure is  influential."  A  line-up  change  occurred  after  the
recording of the demo, and since then,  they  no  longer  thought  of
themselves as just a session band. In addition to Kekal, some of  the
band members are involved in other projects as  well.  "Some  of  the
members are involved in various projects like Worldhate, Excision and
Mournphagy. Worldhate's music is  mostly  noise-industrial  and  they
will release a full-length CD  on  March  through  a  Canadian  label
[called] Northern Assembly. Excision is my solo project and the style
is more into the technical death metal kind of thing. Mournphagy is a
grind/noisecore band that plays music as brutal as possible. Each  of
us has different musical interests, but  we  still  love  playing  in
Kekal very much, so we think that doing  side-projects  is  the  best
way. Despite those projects, we are agreed that this band is the main
priority."

CoC: How have sales been for _Beyond the Glimpse of Dreams_ since the
     CD pressing? I finally saw the CD version. Why a different cover?

Jeff: So far, more than 2000 copies have been sold in both the CD and
      cassette version, mostly in Indonesia and Malaysia.  The  first
      release of that album was a tape version only. It was  released
      by THT Productions, a small Indonesian label. Then a label from
      Singapore  [called]  Candlelight  Productions  re-pressed  that
      album and released their  own  version  on  both  CD  and  tape
      formats. They didn't like the earlier cover, so they changed it.

CoC: Who do you have distribution through in Europe and America?

Jeff: The label said that they haven't got a major distribution  deal
      yet for Europe and America, but it is  available  through  some
      underground mail-order distros. The label is currently settling
      a deal for major distribution in the US.

Since Kekal are a pure black metal entity, I was surprised at  Jeff's
reply when asked who had influenced them. "Our influences are  mainly
'80s bands, which we grew up listening to. Bands  like  Iron  Maiden,
Bathory, Trouble,  Helloween,  Celtic  Frost,  Sodom,  and  Death  to
mention some."

CoC: Have you played shows? Where and with whom?

Jeff: We haven't been able to play live  because  we  haven't  got  a
      permanent  drummer  that  suits  our  music  and   the   band's
      direction. We don't want to use a session  drummer  or  a  drum
      machine for live performances. But after all, we  love  playing
      gigs because we came from live  bands  before  finally  joining
      Kekal.

CoC: Have people in the black metal scene, or metal scene in general,
     been receptive to you in Indonesia?

Jeff: Yes, most of them have been  receptive  to  us.  The  scene  in
      Indonesia is  now  more  focused  on  the  music  and  not  the
      religions, ideologies, political stances or whatever that might
      contradict each other. There's no need to call the  scene  "the
      metal  scene"  anymore  if  it's  actually  based  on  personal
      beliefs. As long as we play metal music,  respect  one  another
      and not hate others because of their differences, there  is  no
      reason to be rejected in the metal scene. Of course  there  are
      individuals who hate bands with different beliefs,  other  than
      theirs, but it seems so childish.

CoC: When will there be new music available from Kekal,  and  do  you
     have a title for a new CD? What about your other bands?

Jeff: We plan to record new material for the next album sometime this
      year. Some new songs are ready, but we haven't  set  the  title
      for the album yet. My project Excision just has a  cassette  EP
      out. It's called _The Quality  of  Mankind_.  It  is  available
      through THT Productions.

CoC: How does a Satanic band or a Christian band  become  popular  in
     Asia, since the common Asian mindset regarding evil is different
     from that of the Western mindset?

Jeff: I don't think the people's mindset of what you call  "evil"  is
      different in Asia and Western countries. I think it's  all  the
      same. Evil is  perceived  as  something  that  is  outside  the
      borders  of  universal  moral  order  and  is  harmful  to  the
      individual and social life. So, acts like  killing  the  fellow
      men, or torturing someone physically or mentally, are evil. But
      you know, teenagers like to  do  something  shocking  to  their
      environment, and the  content  of  evil  itself  has  a  strong
      tendency to shock people. Metal fans are mostly teenagers or in
      [their] early twenties. That's why many  of  them  are  excited
      with anything that has an evil image. Thus, the bands that wear
      that image have been welcomed and [have] become popular. Is  it
      basically the same? The difference is, regarding your question,
      the people's views on Christianity. Christians are  a  minority
      here, and the condition of being a Christian  in  Indonesia  is
      different from that in Western countries. In Europe or America,
      Christianity has taken a role in the  political  area.  It  can
      possibly be corrupted by those  in  the  authorities  by  using
      power to oppress their  people.  But  here,  Christians,  as  a
      minority, are being  oppressed  by  the  regulations  from  the
      authorities. I can  see  that  in  the  Western  countries  the
      antipathy towards Christianity is parallel with  the  antipathy
      towards  governmental  authorities.  It  doesn't  happen  here.
      Indonesia is  known  as  a  country  that  has  many  different
      religions and spirituality among the people, and each  of  them
      has a supernatural side.  You  can  find  Moslems,  Christians,
      Hindus, Buddhists,  and  countless  people  involved  with  the
      occult religions here. Modernism  has  little  effect,  so  the
      ideology of atheism is not too widespread.  People  believe  in
      the  supernatural  entities  and  that's  why  they  are   more
      spiritually oriented [here]. I myself  have  experienced,  seen
      and  heard  various  supernatural  happenings,   like   demonic
      exorcism and so on. This is one example of why I believe  there
      are demons, angels, Satan and God, and [why  I]  believe  which
      one is in charge.

CoC: Any final comments for the readers of CoC?

Jeff: Thanks for the interview. Please check out our homepage and  if
      you are interested in our music, be sure you have a copy of our
      CD. You can e-mail <pcandlelight@hotmail.com> for more info  on
      how to obtain it. Keep supporting the underground!

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

                   H A T E   R E G I M E   W A R S
                   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                     CoC interviews Necromanicide
                          by: Alex Cantwell

     Necromanicide is a modern metal band, for lack of a better term,
from Malaysia, of all places. Their debut release, _Hate Regime_ [CoC
#34] is an interesting mixture of death, industrial, groove,  thrash,
and hardcore. I recently asked Simon See some questions regarding all
things Necromanicide.

CoC: When did the band form?

Simon See: About late 1995.

CoC: Were any of you in bands before?

SS: No, this was the first band for most of us.

CoC: What is the metal scene like  in  Malaysia,  and  what  has  the
     response been to Necromanicide?

SS: The scene here is pretty happening. Most of  our  supporters  are
    Malaysian Chinese and Indians. However, the people  who  actually
    purchase our material from retail stores are Malays. Most of  the
    scene revolves around black metal  and  groove  metal.  The  '80s
    metal thing is pretty dead here.

CoC: Have you played shows? Where and with whom?

SS: We have  played  in  huge  commercial  shows  before.  Some  were
    organized by a cigarette company, [some by] our  record  company,
    which is Pony Canyon, and sometimes churches!! We play with a few
    up and coming prominent bands like Wired, Infectious Maggots  and
    Soul Mason, and sometimes we play alone.

CoC: How have sales been for _Hate Regime_ worldwide? Please tell  me
     about Pony Canyon. Who else is on that label?

SS: _Hate Regime_? Well, I'm not to sure of the counts,  but  we  are
    overjoyed that we're on  the  same  label  as  Yngwie  Malmsteen.
    Narnia was nearly with Pony Canyon, but then Nuclear  Blast  took
    over. Pony Canyon [Malaysia], as far as I know, is in  charge  of
    all Asian countries except Japan. So there are two main  offices,
    one here and the other in Japan. I think the Japan [office] deals
    with non-Asian countries.

CoC: My opinion is that your music is influenced by  everything  from
     thrash to stuff like Mortal. Being from Malaysia, how  and  when
     were you exposed to metal and who are your influences?

SS: Most of the stuff that has influenced  us  comes  from  overseas.
    Some of the inspiration comes from the States, like Strongarm and
    Crucified. From Australia [there] is  Metanoia  and  Horde.  From
    Europe [there] is Deuteronomium, and [there's  also]  Kekal  from
    Indonesia. Oh yes, I think the industrial bit was  influenced  by
    Klank and Brainchild.

CoC: Why do you use so many vocal styles?

SS: [To] spice things up. [They are] performed  by  two  individuals.
    That's what you'll sound like after you eat Malaysian curry.

CoC: Is the line-up for Necromanicide solid?

SS: Adrian has left the band to form Soul  Mason.  The  rest  of  the
    line-up remains the same. So we only  have  one  vocalist  [now],
    Andre. Thus, we are not too spicy now.

CoC: I am aware  that  your  country  has  a  significant  amount  of
     witchcraft going on there.

SS: Our drummer, J. Christopher, was an active occult member. He  saw
    a few evil miracles performed by  the  spiritual  realm.  It  was
    scary and the temporary power was released  for  his  usage.  But
    Christopher knew it was costing him his life and soul. He ran  to
    God, and God delivered him and restored him.

CoC: When can we expect some new music from you, what will  it  sound
     like, and do you have a title for a new CD?

SS: We usually have the title last. For now, I think the  music  will
    be less spicy. [It will] probably dwell upon  black  to  hardcore
    industrial.

CoC: Final comments for the readers of CoC?

SS: Check out our website for more Necromanicide info at:
    http://members.tripod.com/necromanicide

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

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


Ames Sanglantes / Flutter - _Split_  (Xerxes, 1999)
by: Gabriel Sanchez  (6 out of 10)

Though in the past I have taken  great  lengths  to  praise  numerous
split releases from some of the lesser known composers of  the  noise
genre, this particular output has me literally torn  inside.  On  one
hand you have Ames Sanglantes who came off as being less of  a  harsh
noise extraordinaire and more of a Dissecting Table wannabe.  On  the
other you have Flutter; a noise act  which  has  improved  leaps  and
bounds with every release to the point their  work  (which  is  still
relatively unknown  compared  to  other  artists  in  the  field)  is
humbling the outputs of some artists in the field whom many feel  the
need to jack themselves off to everytime they  plop  a  new  tape  of
boring, repetitious shit onto the market. Keeping this mind,  I  will
skip slamming Ames Sanglantes' punishingly annoying output  of  utter
electronic crap and skip ahead to Flutter, who  really  impressed  me
(nothing new) this time around.  Flutter's  solitary,  lengthy  track
takes the artist into every region of the noise genre at one point by
delivering  a  healthy  dose  of  multi-layered   feedback/distortion
effects while augmenting the composition  with  some  more  dark  and
droning bits and even a bluesy harmonica opener to the  entire  deal.
The entire Flutter experience reminds me of Pain Jerk on acid with  a
little _Pulse Demon_ era Merzbow tossed on top for good measure.  The
Flutter alone deserves a healthy 8.5 rating, but in the name of being
fair, I can't overlook the terrible idea of combining an artist  with
so much promise and ability with one that  is  nothing  more  than  a
waste of tape. Buy this for the Flutter, and  wisely  use  the  other
side to dub your friend's Best of New Order CD, as I assure you, even
if you hate poppy electronic '80s music... it kicks the hell  out  of
Sanglantes's shit.

Contact:  Xerxes, 203 Fujimori-kata, 1-4-5 Wakabayashi,
          Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, 154-0023 Japan
          Fax: **81-(0) 3-3487-3758


Ancient Ceremony - _Fallen Angel's Symphony_
by: Pedro Azevedo  (8 out of 10)  (Cacophonous, February 1998)

After going through some considerable line-up  changes  (bassist  and
both guitarists were all  replaced  and  there  are  two  new  female
vocalists instead of the original singer),  Ancient  Ceremony  return
with _Fallen Angel's Symphony_. This new album is  essentially  based
upon the same elements as their debut _Under Moonlight We Kiss_  [CoC
#30], but with all the line-up changes and surely  also  because  the
band's experience has increased since their  debut,  _Fallen  Angel's
Symphony_ is  clearly  superior  to  _Under  Moonlight  We  Kiss_  in
practically every way. The female vocals are  better,  as  one  would
expect since there are now two female vocalists, and the guitar  work
is more interesting than before -- it was perhaps their debut's  main
weakness. The music here is just better  overall,  and  still  mainly
driven by the keyboard, which also produces better results this time.
The male vocals still fit the rest of the music quite well, while the
drumming is still less than interesting.  More  aggressiveness  would
have been very welcome here, but as  far  as  mid-paced  dark  gothic
metal goes, Ancient Ceremony have produced a fine album, in which the
rather raw potential they had shown with their debut has been given a
good treatment.

Contact: mailto:ANDE4201@uni-trier.de
         WWW: http://www.iki.fi/mega/AncientCeremony/


Bethlehem - _Reflektionen auf's Sterben_  (Red Stream, 1998)
by: Aaron McKay  (9.5 out of 10)

I am of the opinion that the longer I operate in the field  of  music
the more (exquisitely) maddening it is. Look at how long a band  like
Bethlehem has been around -- almost a decade -- and I am  only  -now-
discovering them! For shit's sake! I feel no need to waste a  lot  of
time dissecting all six mostly superior  songs  on  this  emotionally
powerful MCD. I -do- feel, however, that  I  would  be  remiss  if  I
didn't mention a couple of things. For instance, "Yesterday  I  Still
Had a Beer Today", or "Gestern  Starb  Ich  Schon  Heute"  (from  the
previous _Sardonischer Untergang im Zeichen Irreligioser  Darbietung_
(_SUiZID_) album); the latter, about two minutes in, exhibits some of
the most crafted, hauntingly melodic guitar work I've ever heard. The
music and lyrics of the song pull the listener from one end of  utter
uncompromising darkness to another without ever leaving the abandoned
emptiness of Bethlehem's own particular breed  of  sickeningly  black
confusion. Since I mentioned lyrics, even though they are in  German,
the translation to English is worth your time. The  "poems",  as  the
band states, that accompany the music are horribly enthralling. To  a
somewhat lesser degree, the poems/lyrics Bethlehem invoke are mindful
of early Dark Angel proliferations, a la master wordsmith, Gene "Drum
God" Hoglan, only in Bethlehem's case, in  German.  The  instrumental
song, "Angst Atmet Mord" (English: "Fear Breathes Murder"), on _RaS_,
just by itself, makes having this release completely worth it.  Dark,
bizarre, powerful and experimental. If any of these words tweak  your
interest and curiosity, definitely check out Bethlehem.


Various - _Black Mark Tribute II_  (Black Mark, February 1999)
by: Adrian Bromley  (7 out of 10)

Looking at the line-up of cover material on this record  --  such  as
ABBA, Depeche Mode and Cream -- I was a little reluctant to give this
a thorough  spin.  But  I  did,  and  much  like  with  the  previous
instalment of this tribute series [CoC #22], I found  myself  digging
some of the songs the various Black  Mark  artists  opted  to  cover.
While opener band Purity ruin the Police song "It's Alright For You",
Quorthon gets absurdly folkie with The Beatles' "I'm  Only  Sleeping"
and Hexenhaus do a passable cover of  Cream's  classic  "Sunshine  of
Your Love", there are some notable winners  here.  Necrophobic  do  a
violently killer version of Iron Maiden's "Moonchild", Edge of Sanity
beef up Danzig's "Mother" and metal masters Bathory do a cover of the
ultimate kind, by covering  Black  Sabbath's  "War  Pigs".  A  little
lukewarm at times, but for the most part a good compilation. I  still
can't get Quorthon doing The Beatles out of my head.


Bob Marinelli / Outermost - _Split_  (Distorted Vision Records, 1998)
by: Gabriel Sanchez  (8 out of 10)

This release completes my little "Bob Marinelli" trilogy that I  have
been running in the last few issues. This time Bob  Marinelli  splits
up with another of the  lesser  known  Japanese  artists,  Outermost.
Marinelli's side features more quickly diced and sliced wails of  ear
piercing electronic madness with some rather offbeat moments of bassy
rumbles  dropped  in  at  intricate  moments.  There  is  also   some
experimentation with volume fluctuation on this track,  which  really
works to  emphasize  a  lot  of  the  more  powerful  and  completely
maddening portions of  the  composition.  Nice.  The  Outermost  side
features choppy and wild Japanoise the way I like it: with new sounds
and a  flair  for  keeping  it  harsh  without  falling  into  boring
repetition. While there isn't a great mix  of  sounds  all  at  once,
Outermost makes good with the one or two he is playing with  at  that
particular time through subtle drops in  tone  of  the  noise  before
throwing the listener off  guard  with  the  introduction  of  a  new
electronically charged sound theme. Even if Outermost isn't the  most
punishingly brutal Japanoise artist out there, he is certainly one of
the most promising if he continues to produce and  expand  upon  work
such as that featured on here. As always, buy the Bob  Marinelli  for
the Bob Marinelli. There is no way you can go  wrong,  in  my  humble
opinion. But at the same time, be aware of the artists on  the  split
side of Bob's many releases who do an excellent job  of  keeping  the
chaotic harshness going in their own unique ways. Excellent stuff, as
always.

Contact: Distorted Vision Records, 200 W. Fourth St.,
         Mt. Carmel, PA 17851, USA
         mailto:tgbob@sunlink.net


Broken - _Skytorn_  (Sterilized Decay, 1997)
by: Aaron McKay  (9 out of 10)

Being the cranky ol'  s.o.b.  that  I  am,  I  -cannot-  believe  how
fortunate I have been. Release after tumultuous release, I have found
the plethora of artists to which I have recently been exposed  to  be
rich in talent, deep in meaning, and skilled in music. Enter the band
Broken at this point. Ever heard of them?  -Not-  Broken  Hope  (fuck
yeah, brother!), but simply Broken. Me neither, but my  good  fortune
continues and I am here to tell you I was blown away by  this  group.
Broken has more "change-ups" in their songs than any -two- tracks  on
Dying Fetus' _Killing on Adrenaline_. What does  that  amount  to  --
half, or three quarter of a million?! Seriously though, with the same
amount of effortless skill possessed by Dying Fetus,  Broken  execute
brutal style change after brutal style change on _Skytorn_.  Did  you
think Corrosion of Conformity's _Wiseblood_  was  "riff-tastic?"  You
haven't heard Broken yet. They are described as "groovin' brutality".
I cannot find two better words thrown  together  to  more  accurately
communicate Boken's style. The way I see it, this English  five-piece
unit combines perfectly the essence of  musical  integrity  and  beat
structured cadence  originality.  Here  and  there,  a  strategically
placed mid-paced passage followed by a death growl blazes the way for
a choppy, harsh musical force to follow. Track seven of nine on  this
disc is entitled "Emphasis". This particular song is so fuckin' thick
the only description available to  use  here  would  be  the  musical
equivalent of trying to pour molasses on an Iowa eve in January (know
what I mean, Steve?!). If the fact that  _Skytorn_  was  recorded  at
Academy Studios (My Dying Bride, Anathema, Paradise Lost,  Cradle  of
Filth) by Mags pushes any of your buttons, then add that to the  list
of many reasons why you should own  this  disc.  Did  you  hear  that
double bass drum work on the  swampy  Louisiana-esque  tune  "Twisted
Fate"? If you couldn't hear it blasting from my JVC wherever you  are
-- get your own copy!

Contact: Sterilized Decay Productions, 62 Shearwater Crescent,
         Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, LA14 3JP, England


Carnival in Coal - _Vivalavida_  (War on Majors, 1998)
by: David Rocher  (7 out of 10)

Spin the intriguing album _Vivalavida_ once, and four bands spring to
mind -- Cannibal Corpse, Bal-Sagoth, Faith No More, and Boney M. Spin
it again, and the ghosts of a whole load of bands will  be  summoned,
such as Emperor, Gorguts, Waltari, Napalm Death, and many more...  It
seems to me this unearthly blend of influences is precisely what will
draw Carnival in Coal as many roses as thorns, since their  music  is
as amusing as it is infuriating -- and I -do- admit having  to  fight
with my temper when I'm granted the right to sit through a two-minute
bouncy, loathsomely happy disco session that suddenly mutates into  a
low-case grinding US death-metal riff a la Suffocation, with all  the
finesse this implies. Justice must be done to this band, though,  for
their impressive knowledge and savoir-faire when it comes  to  fusing
the most eclectic influences, and whisking them up into  a  senseless
display of creativity. Not all tracks are precisely amazing, and some
even tend to be  on  the  more  uninteresting  side  of  things,  but
Carnival in Coal undoubtedly demonstrate great talent when  it  comes
to crafting the theoretically uncraftable. If you can put up with the
very  disconcerting  absence  of  a   serious,   profound   guideline
throughout the whole of an album -- although Carnival in Coal's music
is definitely -not- incoherent -- and are looking for something  that
will successively make you feel  like  doing  the  splits  in  white,
tight-at-the-crotch, bell-bottomed trousers, then pulling a  pair  of
leather  chaps  on  and  wrecking  your   neck   intensively   before
considering fixing a pressure-sensitive light-show  disco  paving  in
your lounge, and all this in the time of  one  single  track...  then
_Vivalavida_ is your beast.


Dimmu Borgir - _Spiritual Black Dimensions_
by: Paul Schwarz  (8 out of 10)  (Nuclear Blast, March 1999)

With _Spiritual Black Dimensions_ Dimmu Borgir have triumphed, in the
sense that they have created a very worthy album, an album  which  is
not only musically relevant today, but also quite enjoyable. _SBD_ is
not by any means a total change in style for the band, and  those  of
you  familiar  with  _Enthrone  Darkness  Triumphant_  and  even  its
predecessors would, I think, very quickly recognise _SBD_ as being  a
Dimmu Borgir album, but there are marked differences between this and
previous releases. The key difference is an  increase  in  speed  and
brutality: though keyboards and melody still play a very  substantial
part, the guitars are stronger on _SBD_  than  they  have  ever  been
before. Many of the riffs are similar  in  that  the  guitars  thrash
while the keyboards play the melody line, but this  isn't  where  the
band stop, as they had a tendency to do on some songs  on  _EDT_  and
last year's _Godless Savage Garden_  MCD;  the  guitars  also  spiral
through some interesting melody lines themselves (including an almost
melancholic  lead  on  "The  Insight  and  the  Catharsis")  and  the
keyboards run a more  complex  and  mature  course.  Utilising  Simen
Hestnaes on a number of tracks was an interesting choice. His strange
semi-choral vocals do give Dimmu Borgir a new angle, though  in  some
ways the sections where he sings just end up sounding like  Borknagar
or Arcturus (his other bands). The main thing about _SBD_ is that  it
is better than its predecessor. The guitars churn out nastier  riffs,
the drums blast harder, the keyboard lines are more  interesting  and
(the most important factor) the arrangements are -much-  better.  The
build-ups can be fantastic and the explosions into  fast  and  brutal
playing after a more subdued section are often very effective.  _SBD_
is a good album, but it is not even close  to  being  a  great  black
metal album. To me, great black metal albums  need  that  raw,  cold,
bone-chilling feel which is key to the great and  influential  nature
of early albums by Celtic Frost, Bathory et al. I don't mean just the
sound  of  the  second  wave's  early  '90s  classics,   like   _Pure
Holocaust_, I mean albums like Satyricon's _Nemesis Divina_, which is
far more comparable to our case in point than _PH_ is. Despite a very
clear production and quite a substantial  amount  of  multi-tracking,
_Nemesis Divina_ still has that harsh feel, it still taps  that  vein
of what black metal is about. _SBD_ fails in this respect; it doesn't
sound sugar coated by any means, and there is a lot on offer here  to
enjoy, but not all the ingredients of a great -black- metal album are
present. If Dimmu Borgir were hoping to  make  one  of  the  greatest
black metal albums of all time, then I think  they  have  fallen  far
short of the mark. However,if  their  aim  was  to  make  a  complex,
mature, but also quite heavy record, then they have succeeded, and in
an area where many bands fail miserably.


Dog Faced Gods - _Random Chaos Theory in Action_
by: Jody Webb  (8.5 out of 10) (Gothenburg NoiseWorks, December 1999)

A sonic assault in the vein of  Machine  Head,  Meshuggah,  and  Fear
Factory, with just a hint of In Flames for the  melody  fan  in  you.
These boys have got the guitars and double kick locked in and  locked
in tight, and at points I found myself wondering if  Dog  Faced  Gods
were going to out-Fear Factory Fear Factory, if you can  follow  that
one. Not since Slayer's _Seasons in the  Abyss_  have  I  heard  such
first rate thrashing as "Dirge", but  on  the  downside  this  outfit
loses points for blatant riff  shoplifting  on  "Blindfolded",  where
they gank a Dino Cazares special. Despite this slip, ax slinger Conny
Jonsson slaps some truly original  effects  on  his  tasteful  solos,
amounting to what I believe is a sweeping filter  running  through  a
flange. The result can be breathtaking, as on "Fractured Image",  and
is probably the only truly original idea on the disc  --  but  that's
saying something, because few bands do anything original. I could  go
for a different throat, or better, no voice at all.  This  is  thrash
done  so  well,  why  muddle  it  with  trite  lyrics  of  remarkable
mediocrity? A solid debut.


Don Caballero - _Singles Breaking Up (Vol. 1)_  (Touch & Go, 1999)
by: Brian Meloon  (8 out of 10)

Don Caballero are a band I  never  seem  to  understand  right  away.
Although I've reviewed their previous two  releases  (_Don  Caballero
II_ [CoC #11] and _What Burns Never Returns_ [CoC  #32]),  I  haven't
been happy  with  the  reviews  a  short  time  after  writing  them.
Something about the music just eluded me. However, this  album  gives
me a chance to catch up with the band. As its  title  would  suggest,
_Singles..._ is a collection of previously released material (all  of
which was unavailable on CD) and one unreleased track,  spanning  the
years 1992 to 1997. It chronicles the progression of their style from
a more "alternative" hard rock band to  the  abstract  style  they've
developed recently. Most of the material is from  their  early  days,
with nine of the thirteen songs from 1992 and 1993. Despite this, the
album shows a surprising consistency in style, for while their  sound
has developed and matured, the cornerstones of their sound were  laid
down with the earliest recordings. "What are these cornerstones", you
ask? They are polyrhythmic layering and unbelievably dense  drumming,
mixed with simple and repetitive guitar and bass lines,  complemented
by a complete lack of  vocals.  The  interplay  between  the  various
instruments makes this a challenging listen, as there are  often  two
or three different parts being played at the  same  time.  Underneath
all of this, there's the phenomenal drumming of  Damon  Che,  who  is
essentially soloing: playing an assortment of fills  and  rolls,  and
implying changes in the time signature on a sporadic and rapid basis,
only to settle back in with the rest of the band at  a  later  point.
Many of the songs have a "live" recording sound,  adding  an  air  of
jazz-like spontaneity to the music. As this  is  a  compilation,  the
quality of the recordings does vary a little bit, but  the  sound  is
generally pretty good. Overall, this is about what you'd expect it to
be: a good starting place for finding out  about  the  band,  and  an
essential collectible for longtime fans.


Even Song - _Path of the Angels_  (Displeased, 1999)
by: Aaron McKay  (7.5 out of 10)

I may throw out all my Theatre of Tragedy, Anathema, and some  Within
Temptation stuff. Why clutter an already crowded compact  disc  tower
with a lot of music that isn't nearly as powerful as this group, Even
Song? Of course I am joking about throwing out CDs, I'm too much of a
packrat for that to ever happen, but you all  get  my  meaning  here,
right? Displeased found themselves a real  breath  of  air  for  this
suffocating vein of music. The material on this effort is  gloriously
devoid of vivacity; sombre, yet an exploration into an ancient  world
of woodlandic faeries and moon-drenched serenity. A  wonderful  vocal
presence on _PotA_ pulls on the listener's  senses,  dominating  them
with a thick cover of an ethereal female expression  complemented  by
both clean and gluey-growl male vocals. The guitar work on _PotA_  is
not overshadowed at all by either the percussion or the well-utilized
keyboards. As a matter of fact,  on  track  four,  "Where  the  Devil
Slumbers" (what a killer song title!), the riffing at about the three
minute mark is some of the best I  have  ever  had  the  pleasure  to
experience on any melodic doom  disc.  If  you  give  this  Hungarian
quintet half a chance, or even half  the  time  on  their  forty-five
minute debut _PotA_, I am confident that you will also find reason to
force aside a Celestial Season or The Gathering effort to  make  room
for Even Song.


Evoke - _Dreaming the Reality_  (Pavement Music, February 1999)
by: Adrian Bromley  (6 out of 10)

This is quite a heavy record, chock-full of detonating  riffs  and  a
solid grind metal groove that kicks and punches 'till the bitter end.
"Then why does it not get a better rating than a lousy 6", you may be
asking? Why?! 'Cause the record goes nowhere. Sure it dips and grinds
its way through twelve tracks, but we've heard all  of  this  before.
Though as a positive angle to this review, I have  not  heard  guitar
playing (superb stuff here) like this in a long time. Rarely in  this
genre of meaty grind death metal music can you get to hear stuff like
this. Okay... maybe Morbid Angel. Anyway, take a bow, guitarist  John
Parkin, as you provide some light of hope  in  a  rather  lacklustre,
"it's-all-been-done-before"  record.  That,  unfortunately,  is   the
"reality" of _Dreaming the Reality_.


Feikn - _Helhesten/Aamanden_  (Horror Records, 1998)
by: Alvin Wee  (9 out of 10)

Long gone are the days when black metal was something to be feared by
the masses, and for only the true believers to drown  their  darkened
selves in. Or so I thought, until I got into contact with Azter,  the
man behind Danish outfit Denial of God and head honcho of underground
label Horror Records, and also a believer in preserving the  sanctity
and mystique of black metal -- it's no surprise that  Horror's  first
signing  prove  themselves  worthy  of  special  mention  in  today's
overcrowded,  commercial  scene.  "Aamanden"   opens   quietly   with
Ulver-like folk guitars  before  the  traditional  fuzz  takes  over,
painting a gently melodic soundscape with an atmosphere as impressive
as Satyricon's early work or Enslaved's "Hordanes Land". In fact, the
mix is suitably rough to create the  ambience  of  atmospheric  black
metal in the early '90s: mysterious, dark and unfathomable.  Segueing
smoothly from early Ulver-style ragings into quietly  moving  angelic
female singing and back again, Feikn's music is both heart-stoppingly
beautiful  and  soul-damningly  dark,  all   the   way   through   to
"Helhesten", a somewhat shorter but no less  effective  dirge.  While
Isaz's passionately tortured  screams  would  bring  ecstasy  to  any
self-respecting Grishnackh fan, what is described  in  the  flyer  as
"almost fragile singing" can  more  appropriately  be  blamed  on  an
untrained  female  throat.  Nevertheless,  the   atmosphere   remains
untainted, and Feikn prove  that  they  have  remarkable  talent  for
combining passages of utmost melancholy  with  the  mayhem  of  black
metal, while never losing continuity. There is no doubt about it that
Feikn reigns among the very best in  atmospheric,  truly  underground
black metal.


God - _Sublime_  (Bestial, 1999)
by: Brian Meloon  (8 out of 10)

This  is  God's  second  release,  following  _From   the   Moldavian
Ecclesiastic Throne_ [CoC #35]. It follows in much  the  same  style,
but the music  is  more  involved  than  last  time,  and  it's  more
consistent. Gone are most of the  "Viking  metal"  touches  of  their
previous work, replaced by a more consistent melodic doom  feel.  The
music features guitars  and  keyboards  on  an  equal  footing,  with
neither allowed to dominate the music to any degree. The performances
are very good, with precise guitar work and competent  drumming.  The
keyboards are again excellent, including an instrumental piano  piece
which sounds much like an etude by  Chopin.  The  vocals  range  from
growly to clean, and all are well-done. The production  is  a  little
faded, which takes away from the  power  the  music  would  otherwise
have. On the other hand, power isn't the band's main concern, and for
the effect the band is going for,  the  production  is  adequate.  In
short, this should appease fans of gothic melodic doom,  as  well  as
generally open-minded listeners of all persuasions.


Grip Inc. - _Solidify_  (Steamhammer / Media 7, January 1999)
by: David Rocher  (9.5 out of 10)

In the space of three albums, it has become  perfectly  clear  to  me
that referring to Grip Inc. as "Dave Lombardo's mob" any longer is  a
dire mistake, and may no longer even hope to do this  band's  immense
talent justice. Agreed, _Power  of  Inner  Strength_  probably  -did-
sound  rather  Slayer-ish,  but  who  can  decently  blame   skinsman
extraordinaire Lombardo for bearing the musical stigmata of the  once
awesome thrash outfit he was  once  the  flawless  backbone  of?  The
band's revenge upon this gratuitous flak saw the light in  the  shape
of 1997's _Nemesis_, as Grip Inc. adopted a style that was  far  more
personal, atmospheric and mature, and  widely  as  efficient  as  the
no-holds-barred metallic violence of _PoIS_. And here is the flawless
fulfilment of  the  revenge  Grip  Inc.  sought:  _Solidify_  is  the
impeccable attainment  of  the  goal  _Nemesis_  reached  towards,  a
definite milestone containing eleven tracks of metal that encompasses
so many  influences,  styles  and  atmospheres  that  words  fail  to
describe it correctly. The distance between the thrashing  cavalcades
of "Amped", the monstrous, nearly tribal grooves of  "Griefless"  and
the obscure, angered  melancholy  of  "Human?"  is  so  immense  that
_Solidify_ unquestionably is the birthchild  of  four  minds  working
together, not just a rockstar and his three stooges. Dave  Lombardo's
drumming is as intricate and energetic as ever, Gus Chamber's  vocals
have now extended to include low,  disquieting  complaints,  and  the
band have  found  a  very  suitable  replacement  for  bassist  Jason
Viebrooks in the person of  Stuart  Carruthers.  For  this  almighty,
crowning achievement, though, my reverence goes to the amazing axeman
and songwriter Waldemar Sorychta -- not  only  for  the  bewildering,
powerful, animal, -supreme- guitar work that _Solidify_  teems  with,
but also for the enrapturing atmospheres and huge sound he so  finely
crafts. Beyond all doubt, _Solidify_ embodies the  violent,  intense,
multi-facetted osmosis of four competent and  inspired  musicians  --
truly a lesson in the fine art of musical murder.


Haemorrhage - _Anatomical Inferno_  (Morbid, November 1998)
by: Paul Schwarz  (6 out of 10)

Haemorrhage are simultaneously  disappointing  and  gratifying.  They
play grindcore with a smidgen of death in it which sounds -very- much
like Carcass in their _Reek of Putrefaction_  era,  with  a  slightly
better production, right down to song titles like  "Cirrhoetic  Liver
Distillation"  and  "Worminfested  Cavities".  It  is   disappointing
because it really does sound  like  30  minutes  of  missing  Carcass
songs. However, this is what, for myself as a Carcass  fan,  is  also
gratifying about this release, because _Anatomical  Inferno_  is  far
from bad as far as albums of its sort go. It isn't as  indecipherable
and pointlessly hyperspeed as _Noise A-Go-GO_ by Gore Beyond Necropsy
was, instead it has some poise. The band let loose, and they do it  a
lot, but they also grind  out  some  monster  riffs  utilising  their
crushingly bass-heavy production,  and  thus  create  some  room  for
build-up.  The  vocals  are  also  pleasingly   sick,   brutal,   and
indecipherable for the most part. This is about as far from  original
as any record I have heard in recent times but,  as  rehashes  go,  I
don't hear ones as worthy, or well produced, as this, very often.

Contact: Morbid Records, Postfach 3, 03114 Drebkau, Germany
         Fax: (0) 35602/20636
         WWW: http://www.morbidrecords.de
         mailto:morbidrecords@ranet.de


Houwitser - _Death... But Not Buried_  (Displeased, 1999)
by: Aaron McKay  (9 out of 10)

Maybe it is my intense admiration of this type of music or  maybe  it
is simply that I have a special place in  my  (blackened)  heart  for
Sinister, but this is  honestly  one  helluva  debut  from  Holland's
Houwitser. Comprised of three parts  Sinister-associated  individuals
(guitarist  Michel  Alderliefsten,  growler  Mike  van  Mastrigt  and
drummer Aad Kloosterwaard) and one part Judgement Day  (bassist  Theo
van Eekelen), the band's  premier  effort  _DBNB_  is  so  stunningly
appropriate that it transcends the imagination. Due  almost  entirely
to Mike's vocals, Houwitser sounds capriciously  close  to  Sinister.
Not often is this as -good- of a thing as Houwitser makes  it.  Songs
hover about the two minute mark, allowing the group to explore a more
concentrated  wall  of  sound  approach,  if  you  will,   to   their
death/grind/thrash-core. To boil  it  down  --  very  impressive.  At
times, Houwitser has transparent Gorgoroth tendencies  with  all  the
tightness of a Pro-Pain or Helmet without loosing so much as an ounce
of creative singularity. A unique point of sheer  genius  comes  with
the opening of track eleven, "Fistfull of Vixen", originally recorded
along with five other songs to shop around  for  label  interest.  In
June 1998, Displeased showed plenty  of  interest  in  the  fledgling
Houwitser, having only formed  in  1997,  signing  them  for  a  dual
release contract. "War, Blood & Honey" and "I Shape  the  Suffering",
in addition to "Fistfull of Vixen", provide  superior  substantiation
of the band's talent and possibilities. If _DBNB_  is  this  good,  I
hope that my patients lay in wait for Houwitser's  next  exercise  in
brutal aggressiveness. Volcanic ecstasy!


Humectant Interruption - _Internal Feedback_  (Xerxes, 1999)
by: Gabriel Sanchez  (7 out of 10)

Hey look, another release by Humectant Interruption (yah!). For those
who don't know, HI is the brainchild of Spite  Records'  head  honcho
Joel St. Germain and they produce some fine harsh sounds that combine
a dash of crunchy bassy nastiness  with  garnishes  of  feedback  and
moaning tonal effects. When it is all  mixed  together  and  properly
heated for the right amount of time, what you have  is  a  basic  but
effective composition that seems to entrance the listener  more  than
punish him/her. This is not a criticism of Mr. St. Germain's work but
instead a compliment, as  unlike  much  of  the  over-produced  power
electronics trash that passes for noise these days, HI's compositions
keep the listener attentive to the mixture, as opposed to letting the
sounds fade away into the  background  and  out  of  one's  mind.  As
stated, there is nothing earth shattering or  ground  breaking  about
HI's sound, but there certainly isn't any room for major criticism of
lethal attack. If more noise artists today aimed for this basic style
and kept at it, I'm fully convinced the genre as  a  whole  would  be
greatly improved. One can dream, can't they?

Contact: Xerxes, 203 Fujimori-kata, 1-4-5 Wakabayashi,
         Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, 154-0023 Japan
         Fax: **81-(0) 3-3487-3758


Various - _In Conspiracy With Satan_  (Hellspawn / No Fashion, 1998)
by: Aaron McKay (7 out of 10)

I like compilations, by and  large.  Quorthon  certainly  deserves  a
tribute or two for all the  inspiration  that  Bathory  has  fostered
throughout the ranks of metal, black and  otherwise,  over  the  last
fifteen years. According to Adam Wasylyk's interview with Quorthon in
CoC #37, this disc has the distinct potential of becoming somewhat of
a collectors' item due to the  fact  that  there  exists  some  legal
strife between the tribute's label, Hellspawn, and  Bathory's,  Black
Mark. If this gets pulled off shelves, it will be quite  a  loss  for
all concerned, I'm afraid. As Adam pointed out, some bigger names  in
the black metal community have chimed in with their horrific versions
of classics, such as Marduk covering "In Conspiracy with  Satan"  and
"Woman of Dark Desires", the second aforementioned  track  being  the
better of the two Marduk covers, I think. Emperor also rings in  with
their powerfully beautiful "A Fine Day to Die", as well as  Satyricon
setting ablaze the always efficient "Born  for  Burning".  All  these
that I have brought to your attention are worthwhile,  but  they  are
-not- the reasons why I bought this release. No, sir. I bought _ICWS_
for two well-founded rationalizations:  The  Abyss  and  War.  To  be
honest, I would crawl over broken glass and a  whole  truck  load  of
straight-edge razors in the Sahara desert  to  listen  to  either  of
these two groups cover anything! On this CD they  cover  "Armageddon"
and, appropriately enough, "War", respectively. Both are  magnificent
in sound and truly deserving of homage to Bathory. If  you  have  the
chance and you are lucky enough to pry this pearl from the oyster  of
your favorite record store, I might say get it while the  gettin'  is
good.


Macbeth - _Romantic Tragedy's Crescendo_  (Dragonheart, 1998)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (5 out of 10)

I have given some very high ratings to some rather unoriginal  albums
in the past, but what's  wrong  with  Macbeth's  _Romantic  Tragedy's
Crescendo_ isn't just its major lack of originality. Each  and  every
band member's performance and the  band's  performance  as  a  whole,
although not bad, are all just unremarkable compared to  what's  been
done before in this genre. This Italian band essentially  sounds  and
even looks much like early  Theatre  of  Tragedy,  as  far  as  their
ability allows them to. Basically, what happens  is  that  the  cover
artwork, layout and album title all promise a Theatre of Tragedy-like
band, and the album fulfils the promise. But then  Macbeth  are  just
average as a band -- they just aren't anywhere nearly as good as  the
best bands in the genre and, contrarily to some of them, add  nothing
new to the mix. An acceptable album, nothing terrible musically,  but
very unoriginal and overall just not good enough  to  be  interesting
when compared to the genre's best bands. One last  thing,  about  the
"tragic" component of the album title: confusing this (and a  lot  of
what's done in this genre) with doom metal is a big mistake.


Midnight Syndicate - _Born of the Night_
by: Adrian Bromley  (8 out of 10)  (Entity Prod., February 1999)

While _Born for the  Night_  is  not  an  -album-  of  band  material
(meaning songs geared upon  verses/chorus/verses),  it  is  indeed  a
unique collaboration of work between Ohio's  Midnight  Syndicate  duo
(Edward Douglas and  Gavin  Goszka)  and  well-known  gothic  fantasy
artist Joseph Vargo. _BotN_ is merely a  soundtrack  for  all  things
gothic. It's got ultra-cool ambience, chilling atmosphere and  enough
sounds and noises to make you feel as if you are roaming  a  deserted
castle or darkened forest in the  middle  of  the  night.  Creepy  at
times, _BotN_ really does an excellent job of scooping out ideas  and
bringing them so realistically to the recording. With mostly  ambient
songs filling the majority  of  this  record  and  some  cool  spoken
passages by Vargo  himself  (not  to  mention  cool  artwork  in  the
booklet), _BotN_ does its job. "The job being", you ask? The  ability
to make the imagination of the listener be enhanced  by  what  he/she
hears, thus transporting them to another time and place for the  time
frame of the LP. And to boot, this would make excellent backing music
for a Halloween party, too.

Contact: Entity Productions c/o Edward Douglas,
         2260 Par Lane PH 22 Willoughby, Ohio 44094 USA
         mailto:edoug0001@aol.com
         WWW: http://www.entityprod.com


Mindset - _A Bullet for Cinderella_  (Noise Records, February 1999)
by: Adrian Bromley  (8.5 out of 10)

Visions of the amazing, yet  now  sadly  defunct,  Boston  band  Only
Living Witness come highly into focus within the first few moments of
_A Bullet for Cinderella_, Mindset's  truly  cool  sophomore  effort.
Losing the rap/rock angle jutted into their previous effort, the  new
record flows nicely, with an abundance of killer  hooks  and  utterly
amazing choruses. This is a good record  that  shines  alone  on  the
direct notion that the band aimed to keep things simple  yet  rockin'
this time out. With just enough anger and angst to fuel the material,
_ABfC_ kicks a serious groove for  the  majority  of  the  record,  a
record that moves in such  a  simple  fashion,  though  never  really
showcases a dull moment. Singer Roddy  Lane  has  quite  a  memorable
vocal style, keeping things at bay one moment and the next  returning
a ferociously volleyed  scream  of  anguish.  Killer  vocals  and  an
interesting array of guitar and rhythm work is  turned  in  from  the
rest of the  quartet.  Standout  tracks  are:  "Laugh",  "Sorry"  and
"W.B.P.M.". If any band had a second chance  to  do  something  worth
listening to, then this is it. The band's debut was mediocre. This is
truly a gem for those who like their rock meaty and melodic.


Minotaur - _Power of Darkness_  (No Colours, 1998)
by: Alvin Wee  (9 out of 10)

You'll sooner get a kiss from Glen Benton than find an original piece
of Minotaur vinyl on the market. Even a  die-hard  follower  of  '80s
metal like me hasn't been able to lay hands on their  elusive  _Death
Metal_ EP. Hot on the  heels  of  Exumer,  Piledriver  and  Possessed
re-releases comes these German  thrashers'  cult  classic  _Power  of
Darkness_ LP on CD format, accompanied by a  slightly  erroneous  bio
and a bonus track. Needless to say,  lovers  of  German  speed/thrash
like Necronomicon, Destruction, etc. will get a hard-on just  reading
the song titles. Not to mention the excellent music: a raging slab of
aggression and tightness unparalleled in other  German  legends  like
Iron Angel, etc.. Blasting their way through scorchers  like  "Fierce
Fight", "Incubus" and the title track, there's  no  doubt  about  the
cult status of this  material.  Veering  wildly  from  straight-ahead
thrash a la Kreator to almost Possessed-like speed/death and flailing
solos, with even an occasional hint of Frost's sludgy heaviness,  the
ten  tracks  of  utter  mayhem  never  loosen  their  grip  on   you.
Undoubtedly, this album will  occupy  the  prized  space  between  my
Znowhite and Exorcist LPs, and if you're even remotely interested  in
those bands, there's no reason why you  should  deprive  yourself  of
this amazing piece of cult.


Moontower - _Moontower_  (Black Mark, February 1999)
by: Adrian Bromley  (8.5 out of 10)

I'm really starting to wonder if Dan  Swano  will  ever  run  out  of
ideas. This guy is a fountain of metal  music  creativity.  From  his
lengthy  work  with  Edge  of  Sanity  onto   other   projects   like
Nightingale,  Pan-Thy-Monium,   Unicorn,   Odyssey   and   Diabolical
Masquerade (the list could go on forever), Swano has always been  one
step ahead of everyone else,  for  the  most  part.  His  music  also
delivers  the  goods,  and  then   some.   It's   a   real   stunning
characteristic that few musicians have in this  metal  industry.  His
work is built on ideas, expanded within the studio  and  etched  into
masterpiece format once it gets recorded. One of his newest  projects
(besides Odyssey, released on Canuck label Utopian Vision  Music)  is
Moontower, and are we blessed with more unbelievable  work  or  what?
From opener "Sun of Night" onto "Add Reality"  and  "Encounterparts",
we see and hear Swano  masterfully  weave  his  ideas  into  keyboard
oriented progressive death metal. In  sort  of  Rush-styled  keyboard
work, Swano truly goes the whole nine yards  here,  making  Moontower
stand out as some of his best work in years. While many fans  of  EoS
might not like the excessive  use  of  keyboards  here,  I  recommend
giving this a spin, as it really flushes a unique sound/style into  a
sometimes repetitive music  genre  (that  being  progressive  metal).
Moontower is just another highlight in Swano's impressive career.


My Insanity - _Still Dreams in Violent Areas_
by: David Rocher  (7 out of 10)  (Parallel Union, December 1998)

I'd never even heard of Parallel Union Records (who are  mysteriously
based in Sion, Switzerland), let  alone  of  My  Insanity,  before  I
checked _Still Dreams  in  Violent  Areas_  out  --  an  album  which
requires much more personal investment  than  a  simple  few  cursory
listens before it discloses the  fine  essence  of  its  dark  gothic
metal. Some similarities with the once majestic  Samael  do  come  to
mind,  but  the  general  tone  of  _SDiVA_  is  very  gothic,  often
constructed on mid-tempo structures, enriched by melodic guitar lines
and vocalist Faust's smooth, low-case  chants.  Omnipresent  keyboard
parts sear this work with a fragile melancholy  that  is  very  often
touching, and contrasts with the calm yet heavy  guitar  riffing  and
often muscular rhythm section. If a track  like  "Silence"  is  truly
quite reminiscent of Sion's unholy trinity at the times of _Passage_,
works like the awesome track "Tower" or the fine "A Girl in  a  White
Dress" clearly demonstrate that My Insanity have the personality  and
potential to raise their musical  craft  high  above  the  countless,
tedious, bland acts  that  are  now  so  hastily  labelled  "gothic".
_SDiVA_ may indeed need three tracks to really pick up speed, but the
pace it then attains, considering this is apparently the band's first
effort, is far beyond what a blase metal listener like  myself  would
expect to hear. If you are in quest for the soothing remedy to  death
metal's unrelenting, bludgeoning assaults, My Insanity can apply  the
balm you need.


Necrophagia - _Holocausto de la Morte_  (Red Stream, 1998)
by: Aaron McKay  (8.5 out of 10)

Are these guys one of the best kept secrets on the  planet  or  what?
-Any- band that lambastes me with samples of "The Exorcist III"  from
the get-go -instantly- has my respect. Appropriately released on last
year's Halloween, _HdlM_ is Necrophagia's first new album  in  twelve
long years. Yup, that's right, twelve years! Conceived in  1983  with
the _Death Is Fun_ CD, this band  could  actually  stand  tall  as  a
pioneer of the combination  of  gore/death  metal  tsunami  prevalent
today. This Ohio four-piece's second effort, _Seasons of  the  Dead_,
went over in a huge way, further solidifying  their  stranglehold  in
the extreme carnage  and  bloodshed  arena  in  which  they  operate.
_HdlM_, or _Holocaust of Death_, is certainly the  sharpened  tip  on
their long  spear  of  existence.  Choppy,  rough  guitar  licks  and
mercurial rhythms abound amongst _HdlM_'s eight tracks. Probably this
writer's favorite aspect on this  effort,  other  than  Necrophagia's
ten-ton style, is  their  more  than  adequate  use  of  feedback  in
strategic places. This technique is brilliant  when  done  well,  and
exemplifies immaturity when done otherwise. The latter point is of no
concern to Necrophagia. I have  heard  few  bands  pull  this  guitar
approach off as effortlessly as these guys. A real honorable mention,
at this point, needs to be given to Red Stream for  the  monumentally
staggering job they did with  packaging  this  latest  instalment  of
Necrophagia's blood-soaked existence. What a great job! In summary, I
would have to say fans that could use a more rhythmic Cannibal Corpse
and have  an  affinity  for  horror  movies  will  eat  Necrophagia's
_Holocausto de la Morte_ up with a damn spoon.


Negura Bunget - _Sala Molksa_  (Bestial, 1998)
by: Brian Meloon  (7 out of 10)

Negura Bunget are a black metal band from  Romania.  Their  style  is
fairly standard: raw, abrasive and straightforward black metal,  with
slight keyboard touches. The songs  are  often  repetitive,  and  the
tempos are slow to mid-paced, and tend  to  remain  at  a  consistent
tempo for long stretches. This gives the music a droning, trance-like
quality. The performances  are  competent,  with  good  drumming  and
guitar work.  The  music  is  primarily  guitar-driven,  with  a  few
keyboards in the background adding atmosphere. The keys  are  simple,
often just slow accompanying chords,  but  they  fit  well  with  the
music. At times, the keys move into the foreground, but never  really
dominate  the  music.  The  vocals  are  the  typical   black   metal
screamed/rasped style. The production isn't terribly clear, but it is
adequate for  the  music;  a  more  powerful  or  clearer  production
wouldn't have made it any better. Overall, these guys are quite good,
but they aren't really doing much  to  differentiate  them  from  the
throngs of other black metal bands around these days.


Nevermore - _Dreaming Neon Black_  (Century Media, January 1999)
by: Adrian Bromley  (10 out of 10)

I don't know where my head was at, but I forgot to  review  the  best
record of 1999 over the last few issues. I have to get this in. Metal
fans need to know of  the  gold  mine  within  the  latest  Nevermore
offering, _Dreaming Neon Black_. Here goes.  There  is  nothing  like
hearing a record for the first time and being blown away by it.  This
is a rare occurrence, usually, as most records  take  a  few  listens
before you really fall in love with and/or hate them.  Not  the  case
with _DNB_. From the opening sound clip  (from  the  movie  "Lord  of
Illusions") to the abrupt end, the concept-themed ideas of _DNB_ work
wonders for the listener. Shrouded within darkened wails from  singer
Warrel Dane and the mastery of his band's musicianship in  the  field
of progressive metal (most notably  the  dual  guitar  work  of  Jeff
Loomis and new guy Tim Calvert), this album  unfolds  like  the  true
tale that it is. Not once are we left to wander from the story  told.
There is no downtime here.  It  all  flows  wonderfully  and  we  can
attribute that to the band's excellent musicianship  over  the  years
and Dane's truly heartfelt  and  gripping  lyrical  content.  There's
nothing like a good story and _DNB_ is just that. Tracks like "Poison
Godmachine", "No More Will", the title track and "The  Fault  of  the
Flesh" are worthy of a listen, but to fully understand  the  treasure
that this record is for the metal community in 1999, one must go from
start to finish. You will not be disappointed. Many metal  critics  I
know of have described this as  one  of  the  most  impressive  metal
efforts of the '90s. Maybe even  ever?!  I  could  agree  with  those
comments, but I'll let you be your own judge. But take  it  from  me,
there is a lot of crap out there (lots!!) and it is quite a  rush  to
have something this good come around to show  the  others  how  metal
music should be assembled. _DNB_ is basking in brilliance and  Warrel
Dane and Co. know this.


Nokturnal Mortum - _To the Gates of Blasphemous Fire_ (The End, 1999)
by: Brian Meloon  (7 out of 10)

This is Nokturnal Mortum's second full-length release,  following  on
the heels of _Goat Horns_ [CoC #31]. This album follows in  much  the
same style of epic black metal with significant  classical  and  folk
influences  and,  of  course,  their  trademark  dual   keyboardists.
However, this time around, the band has decided to  opt  for  a  more
brutal and straightforward attack, downplaying the keyboards.  That's
not to say that the keyboards are  any  less  interesting  than  they
were, just that they're buried deeper in the mix. The music is  still
melodic, but the melodies aren't as prominent, and  the  music  seems
consistently faster to me. Much of the album has the dark  atmosphere
you'd expect from a brutal black metal album, but  there  are  a  few
sections which are a little  too  happy  and  don't  quite  fit.  The
playing is superb: the drumming is precise and fast, the  guitar  and
bass work is solid and the keys are excellent. The vocals are  mostly
rasped, with a few sections of clean spoken vocals. The production is
powerful, with a full guitar sound and distinct  drums.  It's  brutal
without drowning out or blurring any of the instruments.  Overall,  I
like this album, but I don't find it ultimately satisfying. It's just
a little too straightforward and not diverse enough for me.  I  think
that fans of melodic (but not over-melodic) black  metal  will  enjoy
it, but it's not the direction I was hoping they'd go.


Obscurity - _Ovations to the Death_ (To the Death Records, 1998)
by: Alvin Wee  (9 out of 10)

If Obscurity was a car, the horned one himself would get carsick just
riding with them. A bullet-train rollercoaster ride through the  pits
of Hell just mightn't match up to the standards set by  this  hellish
piece of fury, originally unleashed by the Swedish trio in 1986 as  a
demo. Its present incarnation as a no less obscure 7" from new  label
TTD Records (hail, Patrik!) reawakens an old-school black  metaller's
wet dream: a blazing piece of death/thrash metal with obvious nods to
Slayer and Venom, all delivered at convincingly breakneck speed. Just
listening to "Unblessed Domain" brings back  the  good  old  days  of
leather and spikes, downtuned  guitars  and  cranky  amps,  certainly
enough to give guys like Usurper a run for their money. Incidentally,
the label also offers their later demo in the  same  format  entitled
_Damnation's Pride_, which, although less primitive than _Ovations to
the Death_, packs the same, if not a greater, punch. So if _Reign  in
Blood_ turned you on, but you wish it had the blackness  of  _Welcome
to Hell_, then don't hesitate to drop Obscurity a line  (and  $7  per
EP).

Contact: TTD Records, c/o Cronberg,
         Claesgatan 4B, SE-21426 Malmo, Sweden


Orange Goblin - _Time Travelling Blues_
by: Adrian Bromley (8 out of 10)  (Rise Above Records, February 1999)

You like your stoner rock, people? Ya like it heavy?  Ya  want  some?
Need some? Have I got the band  for  ya.  With  a  detonating  guitar
crunch and snarly, bluesy vocals in tow, England's Orange Goblin  are
one of the tightest stoner rock outfits out there. This follow up  to
the massively gripping debut _Frequencies From Planet Ten_ (1997)  is
laced with some ultra-heavy grooves and totally mind numbing doses of
metal heaviness (a la Sleep / St. Vitus). Orange Goblin speaks to  us
with resounding results. Get swallowed within the  mammoth  walls  of
noise from  such  tracks  as  "Solarisphere",  "Diesel  (Phunt)"  and
"Nuclear Guru". How could you not want to crank this  up?  Light  up,
crank this and scare the fuck out of your  neighbors!  Orange  Goblin
wouldn't have it any other way.


Overkill - _Necroshine_  (CMC/BMG, February 1999)
by: Adrian Bromley  (9.5 out of 10)

Could this be one of the best Overkill records of the '90s?  It  just
might be. I know it's hard to  match  the  intensity  of  their  last
effort, 1997's _From the Underground  and  Below_,  but  _Necroshine_
really grows on you -- fast! From the ball busting  opener  onto  the
powerful "Revelation", "Stone Cold Jesus" and "Forked  Tongue  Kiss",
_Necroshine_ has the stamina and strength to please any Overkill fan.
While there is some filler material (some slow segues and  what  have
you), for the most part _Necroshine_ shines and shines like  a  fiery
phoenix. The grooves are thicker, singer "Blitz" has never sounded so
rough 'n' ready and the mood of the album is swamped  within  a  real
dark, broody atmosphere. This kicks ass and I recommend  any  fan  of
Overkill and/or just good thrash/speed  metal  to  grab  a  copy  and
witness one of the most consistent metal  acts  out  there.  Overkill
rules. Period.


Peccatum - _Strangling From Within_  (Candlelight, February 1998)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (8 out of 10)

This Peccatum album risked disappointing those who wanted it to be as
much of a more classically influenced version of Emperor as possible,
as well as those who wanted it to  have  as  little  in  common  with
Emperor as possible and  just  show  a  different  side  of  Ihsahn's
musical skills and  creativity.  Having  been  released  just  before
Emperor's follow-up to their masterpiece _Anthems to  the  Welkin  at
Dusk_ comes out adds to this  situation.  As  it  turns  out,  you'll
basically get a bit of each with _Strangling From  Within_.  Together
with his wife Ihriel (who turns out to be a quite reasonably talented
vocalist, except for her irritating screams on  "The  Song  Which  No
Name Carry") and her brother  (whose  clean  vocals  are  just  about
acceptable, except when he opts for a high-pitched approach),  Ihsahn
has produced  an  album  which  is  at  times  rather  brilliant  and
generally manages to stand on its own, regardless of how close it  is
or isn't to Emperor.  This  is  mostly  original  and  almost  always
progressive  and  creative  music.  A  lot  of  experimentation   and
different ideas seem to have been thrown into this album -- sometimes
a bit excessively, actually --, and therefore the  songs  are  hardly
ever predictable. While not every surprise is a pleasant one and  the
music occasionally  stumbles  upon  some  poor  choices,  the  rather
annoying "The Song Which No Name Carry", which isn't any better  than
its own title, constitutes the only major exception to  this  album's
overall quality.


Postmortem - _Repulsion_  (Pavement Music, February 1999)
by: Adrian Bromley  (7.5 out of 10)

Okay, boys and gals! Time for some German death  metal  action.  Time
for Postmortem. Turn up the speakers and grab  a  beer!  The  veteran
German metallers return to the scene with their  latest  death  metal
noise slab. How is it? Not bad. It rocks, it shreds. It's got all the
makings of a reliable metal assault, something that releases  by  few
bands --  especially  veteran  acts  --  have  (Metallica,  Megadeth,
Anthrax  take  note),  nowadays.  The  thing  that  works  here   for
Postmortem is the  band's  overall  understanding  that  their  music
follows a certain pattern and style,  a  set  mood  that  would  most
definitely be ruined had the band opted to bring various styles  into
the fold. Bottom line: this is a  metal  record  as  a  metal  record
should be. Just listen to cuts like "Beyond the Bounds" or  "Dreadful
Sins" and you'll get what I am talking about. Explosive vocals  caged
within  harrowing  riffs  and  bottom  heavy  rhythm  sections   make
_Repulsion_ desirable, not to be shunned. Shun all the other  fucking
metal acts that forgot what metal is. Give Postmortem a chance.


Pro-Pain - _Act of God_  (Warner Chappell, 1999)
by: Matthias Noll  (8 out of 10)

Last week I read a review of this album in  a  German  magazine.  The
writer came to the conclusion that with _Act of  God_  Pro-Pain  have
recorded the same album for the fifth time. Hell, to a certain degree
that's exactly what I expect Pro-Pain to do. True, there  is  nothing
innovative on  this  record  --  so  what?  Other  bands  change  and
progress, but there are countless  examples  where  this  progression
basically meant wimping out. Pro-Pain doesn't and they have  followed
their path with such an amount of stubbornness that  I'm  tempted  to
call them the AC/DC of metal. Even the accusation  of  recording  the
same album every time is not correct. _Act of God_ is still  done  in
the same simple, no experiments, metalcore style Pro-Pain  have  used
on their other records, but there definitely  are  differences.  This
time the metal riffing is slightly reduced and gives way  to  a  more
rock 'n' roll / punk oriented  approach.  Song  structures  are  even
simpler than before, mostly uptempo, with a  minimum  of  breaks  and
tempo variations. This makes this album sound  repetitive  sometimes,
but creates a relentless bulldozer charge  atmosphere.  Guitar  solos
can be found in every  song  and  I  really  have  to  say  that  Tom
Klimchuck once again does a great job there, completely avoiding  any
technical gimmicks, which is really refreshing.  Soundwise,  _Act  of
God_ has  a  great  overall  sound.  The  drums  have  received  more
attention this time  around,  being  more  powerful  than  ever.  The
guitars sound a little bit less distorted and  not  as  much  in  the
foreground as on  their  previous  album,  but  I  think  this  is  a
conscious decision, because the material is slightly less metal  than
before. Pro-Pain fans will love this album as they loved the  others.
Everybody else please take  my  advice:  to  really  understand  what
Pro-Pain is all about, go and see them live. Only then the full power
of this band will unfold and _Act of God_ is  yet  another  brilliant
soundtrack for a kick ass gig.


Sarcastic - _Inside_  (Plutonium Records / Musica Alternativa, 1998)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (6 out of 10)

Sarcastic had already proved to have some musical skills  with  their
debut MCD _The Tale Begins..._ [CoC #27], so it's  no  surprise  that
_Inside_  is  a  competently  written,  played  and  produced  album.
Mid-paced synth-driven melodic metal can, on one hand, sell plenty of
records, and it's  generally  not  exactly  a  risky  style  for  any
reasonably skilled band. On the other hand, however, it can  -easily-
turn into a stale, tepid, unchallenging kind of  music  if  the  band
isn't good enough. _Inside_ is  an  "easy"  album  to  get  into.  It
doesn't demand much from the listener. It's not aggressive or  doomy,
and  it's  not  technically  or  structurally  challenging.  It   is,
nevertheless, well done -- within those boundaries, that is  --,  but
it's just there, it doesn't really cause much  impression;  at  least
not to me. There are  several  catchy  choruses  (which  tend  to  be
overused) and nice melodic sequences, and the band generally performs
well and shows some ideas,  which  is  what  saves  this  album.  The
average  male  vocals  are  well  supported  by  the  female  vox  --
coincidentally, the song I liked the best by far features only female
vocals. Overall, _Inside_ just isn't as dynamic or memorable as  some
of the debut MCD was and therefore, despite some good  moments,  it's
just a piece of well performed but rather uninteresting music.


Serenity - _The Name_  (Bestial, 1998)
by: Brian Meloon  (8 out of 10)

Serenity are  a  new  band  on  the  Bestial  roster,  and  the  most
impressive I've heard yet. Their style is similar to the gothic  doom
of labelmates God (reviewed  in  this  issue),  but  their  music  is
lighter, more gothic,  and  more  classically  (and  neo-classically)
oriented. It's definitely  keyboard-heavy,  as  a  lot  of  music  is
keyboard-driven, and there are several keyboard-only sections.  There
are a  few  sections  where  the  music  is  guitar-driven  as  well,
reminding me of older Crematory (especially _... Just Dreaming_). The
keyboards employ  a  wide  variety  of  tones,  including  orchestral
patches, organ tones and uniquely synthesizer  tones.  The  music  is
generally very melodic, with melodies in both the guitar and keyboard
parts. Although the music is generally simple, there are a few rather
intricate sections, all of which are handled with surprising  aplomb.
There are some spoken vocals and some clean male and  female  vocals.
The female vocals  are  excellent,  but  the  male  vocals  are  just
passable. Unlike God, and contrary to what you might expect from  the
music, there are no growled vocals at all. Still,  with  the  melodic
nature of the music, the  absence  of  growled  vocals  isn't  a  big
surprise.  There  are  a  lot  of  instrumental  sections  and  three
full-blown instrumentals (out of seven total tracks).  As  with  God,
the production could be sharper, but as power isn't the  band's  main
concern, it isn't a big problem. Overall, this is a  very  impressive
offering. Fans of bands like The Gathering should find  it  to  their
liking.


Skinlab - _Disembody: The New Flesh_  (Century Media, February 1999)
by: Adrian Bromley  (9.5 out of 10)

I was raving about this band's five-song EP _Eyesore_  a  few  issues
back [CoC #36] and it was for a good reason: it kicked my ass.  Well,
if that EP  kicked  my  ass,  then  the  band's  second  full-length,
_Disembody: The New Flesh_, kicked me, stabbed me, gouged my eyes out
and left for me for dead by the roadside. An  unpleasant  image,  but
that's the nature of the band's material and attitude.  Skinlab  play
their music without compromise and you can hear that in  every  note;
the whole gritty and hard-hitting angle just jumps out at  you  every
chance it's given. Having been tagged as a cross between Machine Head
and Neurosis (a fair evaluation),  Skinlab  have  progressed  further
than that labelling could have taken them. With a  new  set  of  band
members (ex-members from Skrew and Killing Culture), the momentum and
deliverance of Skinlab's material has been heightened. It's not  just
in  your  face  anymore.  We're  talking  about  full  body  assault,
pummelling and not letting go  'till  you're  pinned  to  the  floor,
screaming in agony. Yes folks, this is -that- intense. Get  pummelled
as tracks like "Scapegoat", "Know Your Enemies"  and  "Coward"  blare
out of your speakers. Chock up another winner for Century  Media,  as
Skinlab joins Nevermore's latest, _Dreaming Neon Black_, as  probably
the two best records you'll hear in 1999. Guaranteed.


Sorcery - _Bloodchilling Tales_  (No Colours, 1998)
by: Alvin Wee  (8.5 out of 10)

Still remember  those  days  when  _Left  Hand  Path_  and  _Like  an
Everflowing Stream_ were on the lips of  every  death  metal  maniac?
Well, Entombed and Dismember may have long since thrown in the  towel
(for most, at least), but there remain the  faithful  few  who  still
cherish the crunchiness of Morrissound  or  the  utter  brutality  of
Sunlight and who will readily dig deep into their faded denim  for  a
nugget like this re-released, long out-of-print Swedish cult classic.
Originally recorded in 1990 at Sunlight Studios and  mixed  by  Tomas
Skogsberg (can you imagine any other combination?)  and  released  on
vinyl only, _Bloodchilling Tales_ obviously never caught on too  well
and was destined to become a cult legend. Until now, that  is.  While
proving no match for the countless Malmsteens of  today's  Gothenburg
scene,  Sorcery  present  ten  chunky  slabs  of  raw  heaviness  and
disharmony of the sort long buried with the death bands of  the  late
'80s. What these boys lack in melody,  they  fully  make  up  for  in
atmosphere  and  sincerity,  their  youthful  aggression  even   more
apparent on the two sludgy bonus tracks from an early 7" EP.  There's
not much left to say  about  this  album,  so  heed  this  old  fan's
exhortations: if you loved _Altars of Madness_ or even have _Sumerian
Cry_ in your collection, then hesitate no more. There's some life  in
the old thing yet.


Swordmaster - _Deathraider_  (Osmose, 1998)
by: Alvin Wee  (8.5 out of 10)

Followers of Swordmaster since their  obscure  debut  EP  _Wraths  of
Time_ have come to expect a unique intensity and  melody  from  their
material, which has since evolved  from  ultra-fast  black  metal  to
retro-thrash in the space of just two releases. This  MCD  takes  the
thrash concept to a new level,  adding  to  the  somewhat  pedestrian
_Postmortem Tales_ a noticeable amount of flair and  melody.  To  say
that tracks like  "Deathrider  2000"  and  "Necronaut  Psychout"  are
stunningly original would be an overstatement,  but  it's  undeniable
that Swordmaster do possess a certain character to  call  their  own.
From the mega-brutal death rumblings of "Iron Corpse" to the hummable
riffage on "Necronaut Psychout", these boys deliver an amazing  punch
with impeccable musicianship and remarkable tightness that makes  one
wonder what mayhem this bunch could wreak on  stage.  The  unexpected
brutality of the total death metal "Iron Corpse" doesn't seem out  of
place,  providing  instead  a  welcome  addition  to   an   otherwise
dangerously single-faceted affair  (which  _Postmortem  Tales_  sadly
turned out to be). Even more interesting is the bonus  cover  of  The
Aliens' "Stand for the Fire Demon". Rather than being a  weak  parody
or fun-session the way most covers turn out,  this  last  track  very
much  steals  the  show  with  its  atmospheric,   melodic   riffing,
impassioned vocals and a  solo  that'll  leave  any  true  metal  fan
speechless. All in all, _Deathraider_ is a  welcome  reassurance  for
those disappointed by  the  mediocrity  of  _Postmortem  Tales_,  and
serves to remind us that Swordmaster is possibly  the  most  intense,
and certainly still one of the best bands in Sweden today.


Tchort - _The Heavens Are Showing the Glory of..._
by: Adrian Bromley  (9 out of 10)  (Raspudisc, February 1999)

I've always had a fondness for the music of  Tchort  and  the  Family
Mantis (now just Tchort). They've been good to the metal  scene  here
in Toronto -- being one of the most popular and a regular club act --
and they've always seemed to be moving in the  right  direction  with
their music. The band's debut disc, _Nightside of  Eden_  [CoC  #17],
was composed of a pretty good assortment of stoner  rock,  doom-laden
ditties that screamed the influence of such metal acts as  Cathedral,
Black Sabbath and Trouble. Two years down the  road  and  a  lot  has
changed, besides shortening the band name. Sure  the  band  is  still
doom metal-based and still has some sonic ties to Cathedral and Black
Sabbath (with singer Eric Coucke sounding  more  like  Ozzy  Osbourne
every day), but for the most part _THAStGo_ is a beautifully executed
mishmash of abstract ideas, rebellion and utter  dismay,  that  jumps
out at ya like a ravaging pitbull. It's still  rockin',  but  obvious
ideals of such great bands like The Misfits and The  Ramones  play  a
heavy part in dissecting the metal every now and then and  going  for
the  utterly  raw  approach.  This  is  a  weird  record   but   most
importantly, a record that works. Numbers like "Building  A-Bomb  for
Tomorrow's Today", "Clopus Clan", "Wonderland Gospel" and  "Beezelbub
Pie" fit well together, really establishing a good flow of things  to
come. The guitar work of Les Godfree has never  sounded  more  potent
and drummer Michael Borges and bassist Nick Sewell have never been so
vengeful and tight as the rhythm section. This is metal  music  in  a
"rough 'n' raw" shape and sound and I'm proud to have  a  copy.  Show
your respect and see what all the fuss is  about.  Yes!  It's  -that-
good.


Terveet Kadet - _The Ultimate Pain_  (Solardisk, February 1999)
by: Adrian Bromley  (5 out of 10)

Basking in ultra-heavy guitar riffs  and  the  fiery  fury  of  rough
growled vocals, Terveet Kadet are not a bad  band  to  take  in;  but
after a few listens, their style of thrashy, ballsy  metal/rock  gets
kind of old. Not to say that they aren't good musicians or what  have
you (they are quite good), it's just that the thrashy, reckless beats
and rhythms fall short after  a  while.  Think  along  the  lines  of
Entombed, Dellamorte and Soulquake System, with a little  less  balls
to their music and less creativity, though I  must  admit  the  track
"Restless Soul" kicks the shit out  of  anything  Entombed  did  with
their latest crapping, _Same Difference_. Take a chance if you  wish,
readers, as it might be your cup of tea. I'll pass.

Contact: Tervet Kadet, Box 29, 90251 Oulu, Finland
         mailto:sanna.ulmanen@kolumbus.fi


Thirdorgan vs. [ISOFC] - _Neon, Garbage, & Worms_  (Spite, 1999)
by: Gabriel Sanchez  (7 out of 10)

Admittedly, my exposure to both  of  these  noise  artists  has  been
limited and, be that as it may, I find myself somewhat limited in  my
ability to properly critique the combo noise  effort  found  on  this
release as it stands up next  to  their  previous  efforts.  However,
looking at this  release  purely  on  its  own,  I  found  it  to  be
relatively basic in a lot  of  ways,  though  it  certainly  had  its
moments. It's difficult to pick  apart  exactly  where  each  of  the
artists contributed;  however  most  of  this  release  sounded  very
Thirdorgan-ish to me, with a lot of harsh feedback assaults and quick
changes in the various noise layers. What was really a problem for me
with a lot of this release was the lack of imagination. Perhaps I  am
being a bit too hard on both artists, but in this day  and  age  just
doing some quick editing doesn't totally cut it for me.  I  want  new
sounds used in new ways with new editing techniques. Instead,  it  is
the same old stuff, just done in  that  great  Japanoise  quick  edit
style. I suppose in reality there may not be  too  much  to  complain
about, and in all truth, a lot of the noise on this  release  is  far
more entertaining than the current rave of artists who do  a  lot  of
low-end droning which does nothing but put my ass to sleep.  For  the
novice noise fan, this will sound just groovy. However,  if  you  are
used to this kind of quick editing / feedback deal... you might  want
to look elsewhere for more experienced or cutting edge artists.

Contact: Spite, PO Box 51653, Kalamazoo, MI 49005, USA
         mailto:mononanie@aol.com


Throneaeon - _With Sardonic Wrath_  (Helgrind, April 1999)
by: Paul Schwarz  (6 out of 10)

If only this had come out ten years ago, I  could  have  given  it  a
really, really positive review, instead of the honest  opinion  I  am
going to express about its appearance now, in 1999.  Throneaeon  are,
very obviously, playing ball in the same park as  Deicide  have  been
(except on _Legion_) and still are, and the influence of other  early
Floridians such as Malevolent Creation also shows itself on this  EP.
Throneaeon's  greatest  assets  are  their  near-flawless   technical
skills, their ability to pen brutal and well constructed death  metal
and   their   powerful   and   extraordinarily   clear    production.
Unfortunately, the negative aspect is  that  they  just  don't  sound
original or fresh, even in a retro way. The ball really does fall  in
your court as a  listener:  if  you  want  another  release  full  of
early-Florida-leaning  death  metal,  then  I  would   venture   that
Throneaeon should be one of the first bands on your list if you  have
all the early classics; but if you want something which you can  hold
up and say "this was made in 1999 and it sounds like it", then you'll
just simply -have- to look elsewhere.

Contact: Tony Freed, Lantvarnsgatan 17, 724 60 Vasteras, Sweden
         mailto:throneaeon@usa.net
         WWW: http://listen.to/throneaeon


Various - _WWF - The Music Vol. 3_  (Koch International, 1999)
by: Gabriel Sanchez  (8 out of 10)

So what the hell does an album full of themes for pro-wrestlers  have
to do with anything covered in this zine? Perhaps nothing,  but  most
likely everything. In the eyes  of  the  mass  public,  wrestling  is
viewed in the same light as much of the  musical  styles  covered  in
this zine -- the lowest common denominator of the group in  which  it
belongs to (in this case, wrestling being  the  lowest  rung  on  the
sports ladder and extreme music /  metal  being  the  lowest  on  the
musical one). Beyond this, however, this collection  of  themes  also
touches on and taps into  the  extreme  music  field  from  Gangrel's
theme,  which  mixes  elements  of  cheap  gothic  tones  and  warped
industrial guitar effects, to  the  Rage  Against  the  Machine-style
"ghetto metal" of D-Generation X or X-Pac's entrance  music.  Even  a
wrestler who represents the bar brawling, blue  collar,  rednecks  of
Texas like Steve Austin has  a  theme  which  is  driven  by  a  very
industrial/electronic-esque  sound,  with  the  music  itself   being
augmented by crashes and the breaking of glass. While none  of  these
tracks are destined to be Top 40 Hits or even to earn the  praise  of
people who are fans of the genres which they so liberally steal from,
they stand as effective build ups to the  wrestlers  they  represent.
Perhaps one actually needs to experience the particular athletes whom
these pieces hype the crowd up for in order to truly  understand  the
power and emotion attached with them. It is hard to take a  theme  so
obviously  ripped  from  many  modern  goth/metal  artists  such   as
Gangrel's seriously  until  one  experiences  Gangrel's  entrance  on
television and his malicious  and  unrelenting  nature  in  the  ring
(nobody, and I mean -nobody- has a cooler DDT than Gangrel). So where
does this leave you, the readers, in terms of buying this CD? I guess
if you know the WWF and love the WWF, then you need to own this. It's
a must have that you will  find  yourself  continually  listening  to
non-stop. However, for those not quite in  touch  with  pro-wrestling
today, you may want to spare yourself the cash as (to steal from  the
WWF's current advertising theme a bit) you won't be  likely  to  "get
it".

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

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


Bongwater - _0000000002_  (3-track demo)
by: Adrian Bromley  (*****)

As I had highly wanted it to sound and as I had assumed it would  be,
the new chapter of Bongwater's material is fucked. Fucked up. Look at
it anyway you want, this is screwed  up  shit  and  I  love  it.  Raw
production and total attitude make this three-song demo a  keeper  in
my books. Hell, the song "Pig Fuck" is worthy of praising on its own.
Ever since we were  sent  their  monster  fuzzoid  slab  of  goodness
_Pissed Off and... Fuzzed Out_ [CoC #19], I have been eagerly waiting
for the return of this truly  talented  band  from  out  East.  Still
highly connected to the mystical, mind-altering sounds and visions of
such heavyweights as Black Sabbath, Kyuss,  Fu  Manchu,  and  Monster
Magnet within  their  material,  Bongwater  has  left  the  sometimes
lethargic stoner realm  and  ventured  into  the  gritty  rock/groove
aspect of heavy rock  music.  Think  Corrosion  of  Conformity  meets
Orange Goblin. Still jamming the stoner elements,  with  a  bit  more
angst in their deliverance. Man  oh  man,  I  need  a  cold  beer  or
something. This is too good. High on my demos of '99, and  it's  only
March. Keep it coming, boys. I'm making a wish right now, hoping  for
a label deal for Bongwater (or at least interest) in the next  little
while. Something's gotta give, they can't be neglected.

Contact: Neddal Ayad P.O. Box 204 Bay Roberts, NF Canada A0A 1G0
         mailto:nayad@morgan.ucs.mun.ca
         WWW: http://www3.nf.sympatico.ca/nayad


Core Device - _Core Device_  (9-track demo)
by: Adrian Bromley  (***--)

I was thoroughly impressed with this demo -- from  start  to  finish.
While four songs here are from the band's first demo,  it's  kind  of
cool to see how the band has  matured  and  become  more  experienced
players come demo #2. Paying homage intensely to old school Metallica
and a good chunk of the '80s/progressive metal  community  (Savatage,
Helloween, etc.), Core Device is one of those bands that when  things
get going good (i.e., good groove), the band  shines.  For  the  most
part, the band is strong, with songs like "When Comes the  Rain"  and
opener "Falling", though at times  it  seems  as  though  the  band's
gearing towards expanding their sound, and experimenting  or  "mixing
things up" seems like a bad idea. When  the  band  sticks  to  strong
riffs and powerful vocals, it really does bring a smile to this metal
fan's face. Also to note, the stellar production of the material here
really  helps  bring   out   the   band's   strong   characteristics.
Unfortunately, I am missing the contact address for the band,  so  if
the band is reading this, please submit it to CoC (we'll print it  in
an upcoming issue) so we can let people know where to get  some  good
quality indie metal. One request, though: change your name, please. I
was waiting to hear some out of control hardcore act when  your  demo
surfaced to be reviewed. Thanks. Stay metal!


Crucified Dawn - _Crucified Dawn_  (4-track demo)
by: Adrian Bromley  (***--)

Eek! Where's the production on this demo?  Was  this  recorded  in  a
garbage can? Who is Crucified Dawn? And why are they so violently  in
your face? Hold on to your hats, kiddies; prepare for the unexpected.
This totally unsafe death metal band grinds and grooves  like  a  bat
out of hell. Mix the sharpness of Obituary's metal influence with the
insanity of Brutal Truth (though not as insane as Kevin Sharp and the
now defunct BT crew).  While  Crucified  Dawn  may  play  music  that
appeals to most death metal fans, they have that extra little  nuance
of oddity that makes this an interesting listen  and  may  make  some
metal fans scratch their heads. Who says death metal has to follow  a
formula? Fuck it up sometimes and you'll hear results  --  if  you're
good. Good job, Crucified Dawn. By the way, the  second  track  ("The
Hand That Bleeds You") rules.

Contact: Crucified Dawn, c/o Frank Kermes, P.O. Box 76195 St. Paul,
         MI 55175-1195 USA
         mailto:marduk50@ix.netcom.com


Endymion - _The Aegis Of Apollo_  (4-track demo)
by: Adrian Bromley  (*----)

No offense to Endymion, but can you guys speed this up  a  lil'  bit?
I'm falling asleep. Boring, overdrought atmospheric numbers that  let
loose bland riffs here and there,  mixed  with  mediocre  growls  and
drumming that seems half-assed. Endymion seems to have alienated  the
listeners with this demo, rather than draw them in. Boring.

Contact: Endymion, 1200 W. 40th St. #204, Austin, Texas USA 78756
         mailto:Iygrane@aol.com
         WWW: http://www.members.aol.com/iygrane/band.html


Kormoss - _Four_  (6-track demo)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (****-)

This new demo from Kormoss is, on one hand, a  fine  one  as  far  as
musical quality is concerned; but on  the  other  hand,  they  really
sound a -lot- like Samael now. I had already detected similarities to
Samael in their second demo, _Screams From Night-Mary_ [CoC #29], but
_Four_  sounds  a  lot  more  like  the  Swiss  band  --   not   just
instrumentally, but also the vocals, which  are  remarkably  similar.
The  keyboards,  however,  didn't  seem  to  move  much  in  Samael's
direction, but the overall sound did, even though this  still  sounds
more like death metal than Samael does now. At any rate, despite  the
lack of originality, this is another quality demo from  Kormoss,  who
have already proved to have enough skill to justify the recording  of
a CD.

Contact: Nuno Araujo, Rua da Boucinha, Creixomil,
         4800 Guimaraes, Portugal


Mindflair - _The Multi-Orgasmic-Man_  (9-track demo)
Mindflair - _Split w/ Belching Beet_  (5-track EP)
by: Paul Schwarz (***--)

These two releases by this German grindcore combo were sent to me  on
a single tape, and so I felt that a double review, assessing not only
the quality of the music on offer but any progression between the two
releases, would be  appropriate  and  most  beneficial  to  you,  the
readers.  _The  Multi-Orgasmic-Man_  is,  quite  honestly,  not  that
impressive. Much of the demo is comprised of mostly fast and  brutal,
but rarely significantly interesting grindcore, and only a few tracks
stand out. It is let down badly by  a  murky  production  and  clumsy
sounding drums. The vocals are OK but more or less bark out over  the
top of the music and sound badly disjointed. Surprised  was  I  then,
after my walkman turned the tape onto the second side, to find that I
was actually quite into the new tracks from the band's upcoming split
with Belching Beet. It is  funny  how  production  can  disguise  the
quality of songs, for though these two  releases  share  tracks,  the
production on the newer EP is so much better that songs I was  before
falling asleep during, while mumbling about the poor  drum  sound,  I
was now sitting up straight and quite getting into. I would give  the
split a chance, especially if you have  a  taste  for  the  sick  and
brutal sounds of  Groinchurn  and  their  ilk,  though,  as  my  mark
indicates, Mindflair are still a bit wide of the mark as far as being
stand-out or special goes. With the production so  obviously  sorted,
though, it could be the ideal time for  the  band  to  capitalise  by
writing some stunning songs too.

Contact: Manfred Lahmers, Schubertstrasse 15,
         67655 Kaiserslautern, Germany

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



   Z E U S   H I M S E L F   W O U L D ' V E   B E E N   P R O U D
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                 Bolt Thrower, Crowbar and Totenmond
       At the Hafenbahn, Offenbach, Germany on January 25, 1999
                          by: Matthias Noll

     Due to heavy traffic, I arrived a bit late and completely missed
German death metal outfit Disbelief. As I entered the  packed  venue,
their fellow countrymen, Totenmond,  were  already  on  stage.  Their
sound reminded me a bit of Carnivore: rather simple but brutal songs,
alternating between ultra slow and faster paced  hardcore  eruptions.
The German vocals were delivered in a commanding death  metal  style.
The three-piece's latest  album,  _Fleischwald_  (Massacre  Records),
should appeal to most CoC readers who can tolerate German  lyrics  if
the music is heavy enough. Decent show -- check them out!
     Crowbar received  a  huge  welcome  from  the  fans,  which  was
definitely  well  deserved.  Their  sound  was   not   perfect,   but
fortunately the heaviness of their material  wasn't  compromised.  As
with Bolt Thrower later on, older songs worked as well as the  newer,
more melodic material from _Odd Fellows Rest_.  Crowbar  demonstrated
their respect for the fans when one of the crowdsurfers landed behind
the barriers and a bouncer overreacted with the band witnessing it. I
have seen bands yelling at the security before, but I wasn't prepared
for the Crowbar way of dealing with such  things.  Sexy  T  and  Kirk
simply put their instruments down and started  to  move  towards  the
security crew. This immediately solved all issues, and I tell you,  I
would run as if chased by Godzilla if these two guys were  coming  at
me. Needless to say, the set  continued  without  further  incidents.
Watching Todd's face during  the  gig  while  he  churned  out  those
monstrous bass riffs was by itself well worth the money.  This  is  a
guy who definitely feels what he's playing. To sum  it  up:  if  this
band is on stage and you hear the vicious riffing of songs like "1000
Year Internal War", what other choice do  you  have  but  twist  your
facial muscles as if you're dying  from  internal  bleedings,  clench
your teeth -- or better, bite on a piece of wood -- and suffer?
     After a short intro, the Hafenbahn instantly  became  a  killing
zone as Bolt Thrower mercilessly started  their  engines  to  unleash
"Zeroed" upon the crowd. Driven by their new drummer Alex Thomas, who
delivered a concrete backbone throughout  the  whole  set,  the  band
impressed from start to finish. One of  the  most  noteworthy  things
about  this  gig  was  definitely  the  crowd  reaction.   While   at
death/black metal shows  the  audience  usually  stays  rather  quiet
between the songs, Bolt Thrower received such an amount of  cheering,
yelling and fists up in the air as if the lost son had  finally  come
home again. The set featured lots  of  new  tracks  from  _Mercenary_
which proved  to  be  as  heavy  and  effective  as  older  material.
"Mercenary" turned out to be as vicious and brutal  as  the  majestic
"The IVth  Crusade".  "No  Guts,  No  Glory"  stood  proud  alongside
"Cenotaph". Former Benediction frontman  Dave  Ingram,  who  has  now
joined Bolt Thrower, turned out to be a better replacement than I had
expected, being very active on stage while his  vocals  weren't  very
different from the original versions with Karl Willets, whom  I  will
nevertheless miss on future  records.  The  rest  of  the  band  also
performed very professionally and both guitarists  constantly  banged
their heads like madmen while pumping out their grinding riffs.  With
the load of killer material Bolt Thrower have released  so  far  (I'm
just listening to _The IVth Crusade_ while I'm writing this  review),
my ultimate setlist could in no way be shorter than  two  hours,  but
this time the war machine seemed to be  a  bit  short  on  ammunition
(maybe because of the early curfew in  the  Hafenbahn)  and  finished
their set  after  only  60  minutes.  Besides  that,  they  destroyed
everything in sight.

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

                       D E A D   B Y   D A W N
                       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Deicide, Rotting Christ, Aeternus, Ancient Rites and Behemoth
         At the London Astoria 2, England, February 14, 1999
                           by: Paul Schwarz

     A bill containing this many  extreme  metal  bands  rarely  hits
London at all, so it is rather ironic that Valentine's Day should see
the arrival of such a horde of demons. Deicide once again did us  the
honour of bringing a killer line-up to London. Lots of bands meant an
early start, though, and I managed to arrive a tad too late to  catch
all of Behemoth's set. However, the three  songs  I  did  catch  were
enough to indicate to me that Behemoth have some talent and certainly
seem to have some luck or expertise at their disposal when  it  comes
to mixing a live sound, since their percussive death/black attack was
coming out of the speakers more like crystal clear spring water  than
the murky sludge an opening band usually gets for a sound.
     Ancient Rites were the next to take the stage. They  are  not  a
band whose music I am familiar with, but, as with Behemoth, the sound
was thankfully of a quality where I could at  least  hear  what  they
were playing. The band's central focus is black  metal,  but  with  a
considerable amount of melody used, and  death  metal-esque  sections
thrown in here and there. They  had  a  keyboard  player,  though  he
seemed  somewhat  under-used,  and  the  vocalist  interspersed   his
screaming with varied vocal emergences. Overall, the  band  were  not
bad and played competently, but their music made little impression on
me.
     Aeternus were the first band of  the  bill  whose  music  I  had
previously enjoyed. Their _... And So the Night  Became_  album  [CoC
#33] is a sprawling, complex, diverse and epic work  of  black  metal
and not the kind of thing I expected would reproduce well in  a  live
environment. Aeternus were evidently not attempting to re-create  the
full effect of their most recent album since  no  keyboards  or  even
acoustic guitars were used; instead, the band opted to play only  the
heavy parts of their songs. This wasn't exactly bad, and  considering
the limited time and the length of this band's songs, it was probably
necessary, but the performance did  detract  from  one  of  Aeternus'
greatest strengths: their ability to meld dark,  violent,  percussive
playing with melodic and melancholic passages. The band played  well,
the  drummer's  time  keeping  being  particularly  impressive,   and
frontman Ares managed some  invigorating  contortions  while  playing
which enhanced the band's stage presence. The band were  let  down  a
little by the sound quality, which was a tad murky and lost  some  of
the subtleties which lie within their otherwise virtual whirlwind  of
a sound.
     Returning to these shores were Greece's Rotting Christ, and they
played a set which I would go as far as to call triumphant. Beginning
with "Cold Colours", from their new _Sleep of the Angels_ album,  and
continuing with a set composed primarily of new  material,  but  also
drawing from nearly all of their other releases, the  band  not  only
had a crisp, powerful sound bestowed  upon  their  instruments;  they
also had a lot of energy on stage and were quite invigorating.  Sakis
held a striking presence, sometimes standing, almost proclaiming  his
lyrics to the crowd, sometimes head down thrashing on his guitar  and
often finishing songs with a mighty  chop  of  the  axe  occasionally
intentionally sounding the drummer's cymbal with his  own  hand.  The
two other up-front members of the band were energetic, though not  to
such an impressive extent. One problem I noticed, however,  was  that
the vocals were not loud enough; they didn't match the volume of  the
guitars, drums, or even keyboard sometimes, and too many  times  were
lost in the mix.  Overall,  though,  a  group  of  very  worthy  live
performers who played a great set.
     Considering the amount of people crammed into the LA2, it  would
seem that Deicide's following has hardly waned since their early '90s
heyday, despite what I would regard  as  a  dip  in  the  quality  of
recordings since  1992's  _Legion_,  and  the  chants  of  "Dei-cide,
Dei-cide" before the band even hit the stage would  seem  to  confirm
how strong their following is. With a crisp and viciously  percussive
sound behind them, Deicide belted  out  an  hour  of  material  which
included: "When Satan Rules His World", "Bastard of  Christ",  "Blame
it  on  God",  "Children  of  the  Underworld",  "Lunatic  of   God's
Creation", "Serpents of the Light", "Deicide", "Slave to the  Cross",
"Dead but Dreaming", "Trick or Betray", "Behind the Light, Thou Shalt
Rise", "Oblivious to Evil", "Father Baker's", "Sacrificial  Suicide",
"Once Upon the Cross" and "Dead by  Dawn".  Though  this  setlist  is
similar to the one they've been touring for a while  now  and  rather
neglects the aforementioned 1992 classic, the band had good news  for
those of us who wanted to hear some of  their  other  material.  Glen
Benton said that, along with  not  selling  out  like  Metallica  and
Slayer (I personally disagreed with that one) have and  spending  the
rest of the year working on a new album, they would be re-introducing
many of their old  songs  (he  mentioned  "Behead  the  Prophet"  and
"Blaspherion", among others) into a new setlist which they  would  be
touring next year, when they will return to the UK. Returning to  the
subject of tonight's performance, Deicide were  technically  perfect,
but lacked motion on stage -- the brothers Hoffman being particularly
static. Steve Asheim never missed a beat and Glen Benton's voice  was
in prime condition, his screams and bellows still being some  of  the
most brutal on the planet. Overall, the band did suffer from  seeming
a little un-animated, but the music and playing  were  totally  there
and the net effect was  abrasive,  to  say  the  least.  For  myself,
though, I'm holding my breath for next time.

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

    T H E   F E A R   O F   S T R O B E L I G H T   M O S H I N G
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
       Fear Factory, System of a Down, Spineshank, Nothingface
    At Irving Plaza in New York City, New York on January 19, 1999
                            by: Jody Webb

     Originally, the tour organizers booked this show into  the  1500
capacity Irving Plaza on a Tuesday night in January. It sold  out  so
fast they added a second show for the day before, a Monday. That sold
out too. Moral of the story: next time, set up Fear  Factory  in  the
3000 capacity Roseland to avoid human sardine packing experiments.
     I got in there before the doors opened, courtesy of a Roadrunner
Records connection who arranged some interviews with  Spineshank  and
Fear Factory. We talked with  Johnny  from  'Shank,  who  revealed  a
mysterious tattoo on his forearm and claimed that it was the same one
Cobra Commander sported in the 1980s animation GI Joe. I'm  not  sure
what that says about him, but I guess it's  better  than  having  Roy
Orbison's face inked on your ass. I let my  buddy  Jerome  talk  with
Raymond from Fear Factory. We also got an impromptu chat session with
Matt Holt from Nothingface about guitars and such things, in which he
mentioned a new guitar from some company which  would  be  completely
black -- pickups, tuning machines, strings, da works. I imagine black
metal bands will bust a nut over this.
     Soon the New York crowd started trickling  into  the  place  and
before long Irving Plaza was teaming with people ranging  from  about
15 to about 35. Then I got to witness something I hadn't really  seen
before. The crowd began to tear down all the banners for K-Rock,  the
local hard rock station who doesn't exactly support the bands on  the
bill, and played red rover with them, shredding them  to  bits  while
chanting "K-Rock sux! K-Rock sux!" and soon "S O U! S  O  U!",  which
are the call letters for WSOU at Seton Hall, the only 24/7 station in
the US that plays real metal at 2600 watts.
     Nothingface sauntered onto the stage and a small but encouraging
applause was heard and subsequently drowned out by the opening  notes
of "Grinning". The band was pretty good, but not as impressive as  on
CD, probably because they were on first and the engineers had a leash
on the PA. Nevertheless, a beefy corps of moshers had broken the mosh
pit cherry on Irving Plaza that night. I don't understand why  people
come into a show with a hockey mask, probably to hide their ugly mug.
     Next  up  was  Spineshank  who,   despite   a   promo   person's
exaggeration to the contrary, were competent but boring, to borrow  a
greatly useful phrase from fellow reviewer Paul Schwarz. They did not
change my opinion of them as I watched from  the  balcony  above  the
ground floor.
     After a fifteen minute break, during which clips from "Evil Dead
II" were shown, System of a Down hit the scene and a loud roar echoed
through  the  concert  hall.  The  guitar  players   were   stripped,
skinheaded and painted silver, while singer Serge was showing off his
sequin jacket, much to his delight, I'm sure. I heard that they  were
having the show videotaped for perhaps a video, of  all  things,  and
their vibe was surely available in  large  amounts.  The  entire  700
person floor was in motion. I took a solid shot in the jaw during the
second song and decided to sit out the rest of the set, or  at  least
until the headache went away. I can't say  that  I'm  a  big  fan  of
System of a Down, but they have certainly established themselves.
     So, after a good three hours of warm up, the  machine  known  as
Fear Factory took the place by force  in  a  frightening  display  of
lights and technical mastery with the monster "Shock".  Did  you  see
the Slayer tour last Summer? Slayer had these two cool as shit  laser
and light towers as part of their stage. Tonight,  Fear  Factory  had
SIX! Try to image strobe lights firing in the darkness  like  cluster
bombs in time with the mind blowing syncopation of  guitar  and  kick
drum on songs like "Shock", "Self Bias Resistor" and  "Zero  Signal".
Not an ear drum was spared in the next hour and  half,  no  ass  left
unkicked. The set: "Shock", "Self Immolation", "Self Bias  Resistor",
"Zero  Signal",   "Edgecrusher",   "Smasher/Devourer",   "Scumgrief",
"Replica", "Pisschrist",  "Securitron",  "Descent",  "Demanufacture",
"Martyr", "Resurrection", "Scapegoat".

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

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

Gino's Top 5

1. Black Sabbath - _Sabotage_
2. Morgion - _Solinari_
3. Napalm Death - _Fear, Emptiness, Despair_
4. Monster Magnet - _Dopes To Infinity_
5. Bethlehem - _Sardonishcher Untergang un Zeichen irreligioser
                Darbietung_

Adrian's Top 5

1. Space Age Playboys - _New Rock Underground_
2. Overkill - _Necroshine_
3. Skinlab - _Disembody: The New Flesh_
4. Mindset - _A Bullet For Cinderella_
5. Orgy - _Candyass_

Brian's Top 5

1. Gorguts - _Obscura_
2. Sieges Even - _Uneven_
3. Power of Omens - _Eyes of the Oracle_
4. Serenity - _The Name_
5. God - _Sublime_

Alain's Top 5

1. Dimmu Borgir - _Spiritual Black Dimensions_
2. Flotsam and Jetsam - _Unnatural Selection_
3. Enslaved - _Blodhemn_
4. Forbidden - _Green_
5. Monster Magnet - _25............Tab_

Adam's Top 5

1. Dimmu Borgir - _Spiritual Black Dimensions_
2. Peccatum - _Strangling From Within_
3. Bathory - _Jubileum Vol. 3_
4. Taake - _Nattestid..._
5. Fear Factory - _Obsolete_

Pedro's Top 5

1. Primordial - _A Journey's End_
2. Thy Serpent - _Christcrusher_
3. Peccatum - _Strangling From Within_
4. Madder Mortem - _Mercury_
5. The Haunted - _The Haunted_

Paul's Top 5

1. Manowar - _Sign of the Hammer_
2. Sick of it All - _Call to Arms_
3. Eugene "Hideaway" Bridges - _Born to Be Blue_
4. Cenotaph - _The Gloomy Reflection of Our Hidden Sorrows_
5. Krabathor - _Lies_

Aaron's Top 5

1. Broken - _Skytorn_
2. Houwitser - _Death... But Not Buried_
3. Epoch of Unlight - _Within the Night_
4. Bewitched - _Diabolical Desecration_
5. Exodus - _Another Lesson in Violence_

David's Top 5

1. Nokturnal Mortum - _To the Gates of Blasphemous Fire_
2. Hypocrisy - _The Final Chapter_
3. Malevolent Creation - _Eternal_
4. Mundanus Imperium - _The Spectral Spheres Coronation_
5. Grip Inc. - _Solidify_

Gabriel's Top 5

1. One Dark Eye / Macronympha - _Split_
2. Various - _Freak Animal Compilation_
3. MSBR / Die Lebensmittelvergiftung
4. Various - _WWF - The Music Vol. 3_
5. Bob Marinelli / Outermost - _Split_

Alex's Top 5

1. Antestor - _The Return of the Black Death_
2. Sentenced - _Frozen_
3. Various - _War Dance - W.A.R. Records Compilation_
4. Various - _From Kaamos to Midnight Sun_
5. Various - _Chords of the Grave_

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FTP Archive: ftp://ftp.etext.org/pub/Zines/ChroniclesOfChaos

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DESCRIPTION
~~~~~~~~~~~
Chronicles of Chaos is a monthly magazine electronically  distributed
worldwide via the Internet. Chronicles of Chaos focuses on all  forms
of chaotic music including black, death and doom metal, dark/ambient,
industrial and electronic/noise as well as  classic  and  progressive
metal. Each issue will feature a plethora of  album  reviews  from  a
wide range  of  bands,  as  well  as  interviews  with  some  of  the
underground's best acts. Also included in each issue are demo reviews
and indie band interviews.

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>.

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 (do not include the  quotes).  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.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
End Chronicles of Chaos, Issue #38

All contents copyright 1998 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.

