  _______ __                     __      __                      ___ 
 |   _   |  |--.----.-----.-----|__.----|  .-----.-----. .-----.'  _|
 |.  1___|     |   _|  _  |     |  |  __|  |  -__|__ --| |  _  |   _|
 |.  |___|__|__|__| |_____|__|__|__|____|__|_____|_____| |_____|__|  
 |:  1   |                                                          
 |::.. . |                                                          
 `-------'                                                          
                   _______ __                      
                  |   _   |  |--.---.-.-----.-----.
                  |.  1___|     |  _  |  _  |__ --|
                  |.  |___|__|__|___._|_____|_____|
                  |:  1   |                        
                  |::.. . |                        
                  `-------'                        



  CHRONICLES OF CHAOS e-Zine, Saturday, November 5, 2003, Issue #67
                  http://www.ChroniclesOfChaos.com


Co-Editor / Founder: Gino Filicetti
Co-Editor / Contributor: Pedro Azevedo
Contributor: Adrian Bromley
Contributor: Brian Meloon
Contributor: Paul Schwarz
Contributor: Aaron McKay
Contributor: David Rocher
Contributor: Matthias Noll
Contributor: Alvin Wee
Contributor: Chris Flaaten
Contributor: Quentin Kalis
Contributor: Xander Hoose
Contributor: Adam Lineker
Contributor: Adrian Magers
Contributor: James Montague
Contributor: Jackie Smit
Spiritual Guidance: Alain M. Gaudrault

The   individual   writers   can   be   reached    by    e-mail    at 
firstname.lastname@ChroniclesOfChaos.com.                            
     (e.g. Gino.Filicetti@ChroniclesOfChaos.com).

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

Issue #67 Contents, 11/5/2003
-----------------------------
* Chats
-- The Crown: Possessed to Race With Death
-- Tiamat: Let Us Prey
-- Krisiun: The Carnage Continues
* Albums
-- 1349 - _Liberation_
-- Arcana - _Inner Pale Sun_
-- Atrium Carceri - _Cellblock_
-- Between the Buried and Me - _Silent Circus_
-- Blut Aus Nord - _The Work Which Transforms God_
-- Burnt by the Sun - _The Perfect Is the Enemy of the Good_
-- Burst - _Prey on Life_
-- Cadacross - _Corona Borealis_
-- Cephalic Carnage - _Lucid Interval_
-- Coph Nia - _Shape Shifter_
-- Deathstars - _Synthetic Generation_
-- Drudkh - _Forgotten Legends_
-- Embraze - _Katharsis_
-- Enslaved - _Below the Lights_
-- Escualo - _Ritual_
-- Evanescence - _Fallen_
-- Forest Stream - _Tears of Mortal Solitude_
-- Gothica - _The Cliff of Suicide_
-- Hate Forest - _Purity_
-- Institut - _Live Like Traitors, Die Like Traitors_
-- Leviathan - _The Throne Of Bones_
-- Monolithe - _Monolithe I_
-- Moonsorrow - _Kivenkantaja_
-- Mourning Beloveth - _The Sullen Sulcus_
-- My Ruin - _The Horror of Beauty_
-- Nod - _The Story of the Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf_
-- Nokturnal Mortum - _The Taste of Victory_
-- Number One Son - _Lessons_
-- Nunslaughter - _Goat_
-- Nuse - _Hung Well_
-- Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio - _Cocktails, Carnage,
                               Crucifixion and Pornography_
-- Ornaments of Sin - _Inhale Zyklon-B_
-- Pantheïst - _O Solitude_
-- Raise Hell - _Wicked Is My Game_
-- Silent Voices - _Chapters of Tragedy_
-- Spawn of Possession - _Cabinet_
-- Stamping Ground - _A New Darkness Upon Us_
-- The Crown - _Possessed 13_
-- The Kovenant - _S.E.T.I._
-- Ulcerate - _Ulcerate_
-- Ulver - _1993-2003: 1st Decade in the Machines_
* Demos
-- Ashley Cook - _Ashley Cook_
-- Burial Ground - _Burial Ground_
-- Junta - _Junta_
-- PsyOpus - _2 song demo_
* Gigs
-- Night of the Angry Swedes
-- One Step Closer to Armageddon
-- Hemp Heaven? No, It's Iowa!
-- I'm Dreaming of a Neon Black Earth...

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

                          _, _,_  _, ___  _,
                         / ` |_| /_\  |  (_ 
                         \ , | | | |  |  , )
                          ~  ~ ~ ~ ~  ~   ~ 

       P O S S E S S E D   T O   R A C E   W I T H   D E A T H
       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
             CoC chats with Janne Sarenpää of The Crown
                          by: Paul Schwarz


A short introduction, no more. The Crown's sixth record is  out  this 
month. Heralding the return of original howler  Jonas  Lindstrand  -- 
replacing his replacement  for  2002's  _Crowned  in  Terror_,  Tomas 
Lindberg (The Great Deceiver, ex-At the Gates) -- the album has  been 
hotly anticipated by Crown fans, including a number  of  us  here  at 
CoC, especially those  (Matthias  and  myself)  who  witnessed  their 
performance at this year's Wacken. I talked to Janne Sarenpää on  the 
8th of October. Here are the results of the tape.                     

CoC: Have you read many reviews of _Possessed 13_ yet?

Janne Sarenpää: I have seen three on the Internet,  and  some  sound- 
                check from the European Metal Hammer.                                 
CoC: Just to start, I'd like to briefly  ask  about  the  promotional 
     copy of _Possessed 13_, specifically the "bleeps" on it.              

JS: Yeah.

CoC: Was there any disagreement between you  and  Metal  Blade  about 
     that particular technique for protecting the record from copying?     

JS: No. We have no say in those matters.  We...  when  I  heard  them 
    myself I really didn't like them. You know, I got my  promotional 
    copies to give away to friends, and I really didn't feel like it. 
    It's very sad.                                                    

CoC: Yeah. I  mean,  I  see  where  they're  coming  from,  from  one 
     perspective. The problem I have is that I really like The  Crown 
     and when I first got it[*], I didn't want to listen to  it  more 
     than three or four times...                                      

JS: No-one does.

CoC: ...because you start to expect  it  and  it's  annoying.  I  was 
     just curious about that. But  let's  go  on  to  something  more 
     interesting -- moving onto the new record,  _Possessed  13_.  It 
     really sounds like The Crown are back.  It's  mainly,  I  think, 
     because Lindstrand's vocals just  fit  so  much  better  to  The 
     Crown, in the end. What would you say about _Possessed 13_ as an 
     album that you can move on from, in the sense  that  you  got  a 
     stable line-up again -- the stable  line-up  you  had  for  many 
     years before [1990-2001 --Paul] -- so where  do  you  think  the 
     record is going and how is it to have  Lindstrand  back  on  the 
     record and in the shows, basically?                              

JS: Well, you know, having  Lindstrand  back  wipes  away  all  these 
    problems which he caused from the beginning, which is very  good. 
    We're back with new power. He had problems with his personal life 
    -- and you know, work and stuff -- when he  quit  the  band.  The 
    only condition for him to come back was that  his  personal  life 
    was sorted out, which it is. So he's like a new person now and he 
    was so cool when he came back last summer. We hadn't been touring 
    that much so the album wouldn't be as much influenced by  touring 
    as _Crowned in Terror_ was, because  that  was  basically...  you 
    know, straight-influenced from Nile, Krisiun and Morbid Angel.    

CoC: Yeah, I know what you mean: it did have a  sort  of...  I  mean, 
     it wasn't like  it  was  a  rip-off,  but  it  didn't  sound  as 
     distinctively The Crown as, especially, _Deathrace King_,  which 
     I think really did show The Crown in  the  best  light  that  it 
     could, you know?                                                 

JS: Yeah. We actually... it was so extremely  heavily  that  we  even 
    -learned- something from that: to not only be influenced by bands 
    you tour with. With this album we had lots more time to  stay  in 
    the rehearsal room and work and work -- and that's also  a  thing 
    we forgot with _Crowned in Terror_. We didn't get that much  time 
    in the rehearsal room or in the studio; it was, you know, lots of 
    heavy work, and the singer situation and everything. So I  guess, 
    it sounds like a cliché, but we have found ourselves again.       

CoC: I  think  that's  true.  Although  on  the  other  hand   what's 
     interesting about _Possessed 13_ is that there's a difference to 
     the - tone- when you put it  next  to,  say,  _Deathrace  King_. 
     _Possessed 13_ sounds darker,  slightly  less  staccato,  a  bit 
     murkier. And it's got more slower songs. What do  you  think  of 
     the feel of _Possessed 13_ in comparison to the earlier records? 

JS: It was cool 'cause the only thing we decided  before  we  started 
    rehearsing on this album was that we'd do things simpler, more to 
    the point, more straightforward: to give more room for the riffs, 
    you know. Being more relaxed playing them gives them more  power: 
    that's how we see it. Also tuning down even one more step on this 
    album, of course; and finally getting the bass of Magnus  upfront 
    with the other instruments is  like  a  victory.  'Cause  me  and 
    Magnus have always been fighting  in  the  studio  for  the  bass 
    guitar.                                                           

CoC: How does the rhythm section of The Crown function? 'Cause rhythm 
     sections in the classic rhythm and blues bands is something that 
     goes together, separate from the guitars -- you can hear  it  in 
     'Zeppelin or 'Sabbath: it's their roots. But in thrash metal  -- 
     metal since 'Priest, perhaps -- the rhythm section is much  more 
     of a sort of backline a lot of the time.  With  bands  like  The 
     Crown there's much more intricacy and complication;  your  roles 
     are more complicated, I'd say. How do you find that you  two  as 
     the rhythm section function in The Crown?                        

JS: Well, we aren't that well moulded together, actually.  It's  more 
    me and Marko [Tervonen, rhythm guitar --Paul]: we call it setting 
    up the ground for the album. It's actually Marko who has the best 
    feel for rhythm. So when we  do  the  drum  tracks  he  does  the 
    guitars at the same time and we  both  are  -addicted-  to  tempo 
    changes. So it's actually me and Marko building  the  grounds.  I 
    don't know: Magnus was somewhere in the middle  laying  his  bass 
    tracks and it's always been like that, so there is no traditional 
    way that's come down from rhythm and blues at all.                

CoC: Why  have  three  "movements"  for  the  album:   "initiation", 
     "exaltation" and "annihilation"?                                      

JS: Well, you can see that they follow in logical order;  but  to  be 
    honest there's no deep meaning behind the concept to that, or our 
    record. I think they work pretty well as "parts", also. But  it's 
    not that meaningful, at all.                                      

CoC: What kind of -- not concept, but  the  album's  presentation  is 
     tied into a really rather cool kind of Fifties b-movie-style package. 

JS: Yes.

CoC: That's kind of cool 'cause before the  days  of  constant  media 
     bombardment and TV trailers, movie posters had to say a lot.  So 
     you had these great drawings and  elaborate,  "creepy"  writing. 
     That's very much what you've got on the  cover.  You  have  "The 
     return of..." The Crown: clearly a reference to all  the  horror 
     b- movies that followed on and on from each other. But then it's 
     cool the way you've put "The Crown" almost  like  "Carcass":  it 
     looks like those early Earache bands' logos!                     

JS: Or Earache itself?

CoC: Exactly. It's kinda cool 'cause that's... you know,  that's  one 
     font for splatter!                                                    

JS: Yeah.

CoC: And it works with  the  original  idea  of  having  eye-catching 
     logos, on the Fifties horror posters.                                 

JS: This  album  is  pretty  much  summing  up  our  thirteen  years, 
    especially with the bonus disc. You know, when we started out, in 
    the early days, 90% of the albums we bought we're always released 
    by Earache. People have many, many views on how Earache  work:  I 
    don't wanna get into that, but we sure as hell want  to  pay  our 
    respects for them actually releasing those important albums  when 
    we were getting into it.                                          

CoC: The song "Are you Morbid?": a nod to Tom Warrior?

JS: The title? It's purely a coincidence, actually. Magnus, who wrote 
    it, he's not that much into  Celtic  Frost:  he  likes  them,  of 
    course, but they are not his favourite band.                      

CoC: It's interesting though, 'cause with phrases like that, and  the 
     shock artwork and all, death metal albums have a certain  amount 
     in common with those Fifties movie  posters.  There's  something 
     visual to try to engage you: like the Dan Seagrave covers.       

JS: Making it look  serious  --  like  those  movie  posters  --  was 
    something we wanted to  do  100%.  We  wanted  to  make  it  look 
    serious, even though it is a b-movie cliché!                      

CoC: Talking of the special edition, how did you feel listening  back 
     to your first two demos when you were  remastering  them  to  be 
     included on the bonus  disc  to  the  limited,  digipak  special 
     edition of _Possessed 13_? [Along with a  different  version  of 
     "Rebel Angel"  (from  _Deathrace  King_)  and  a  Bathory  cover 
     ("Burnin' Leather")  which  appeared  previously  on  a  Swedish 
     compilation, to bring the second disc's track-total in line with 
     the album itself and its "13" theme. --Paul]                     

JS: Mastering them was quite painful. Because we started learning our 
    instruments around the time we started The Crown. So, of  course, 
    in 1993 we couldn't play our songs as well as we  can  play  them 
    now. It was really painful, but it  was  also  really  important, 
    because the whole of the "13" idea was based  on  the  fact  that 
    we'd been going 13 years. We wanted to show people where  it  had 
    all come from. Over the years we've taken many riffs  from  those 
    demos, and with the new record -a lot- of the riffs came from the 
    demos, so it's nice for people to be able  to  see  where  things 
    come from.                                                        

CoC: When you write songs, do you worry about whether something  will 
     sound like something old (or something new) that  you  or  other 
     bands did?                                                       

JS: Yeah well, especially now we  are  quite  worried;  because  this 
    secret potion of ours -- those old  riffs  --  they're  all  gone 
    now... on our new studio album. So we are very worried  ourselves 
    about what we are going to sound like. And, _Possessed 13_  being 
    the last  record  of  our  previous  contract  with  Metal  Blade 
    records, we actually told them -- when they said that they wanted 
    a new deal -- that they really should listen  to  a  demo  first, 
    because we're not sure what we're gonna sound like.               

CoC: What about the significance of the number 13 in and  of  itself, 
     did that tie in?                                                      

JS: Well, it was tied into the fact that it's  our  13th  year  as  a 
    band. Also it's interesting, the superstitions around  it  as  an 
    unlucky number. Like in Japan they have hotels which don't have a 
    "floor 13". I heard that in  Japan  they  take  stuff  like  that 
    seriously. So us dreaming about going to Japan might be even more 
    of a dream!                                                       

CoC: You think they'll  have  to  put  a  sticker  on  it?  "Parental 
     Advisory: Explicit Number!" What about  the  inversions  in  The 
     Crown's work? It's something you do really well. It happens with 
     the more fun lyrics mainly, like "Total  Satan"  or  "Blitzkrieg 
     Witchcraft". For example, when I thought of saying that some bit 
     of your stuff sounded "beautiful", I felt  like  I  should  have 
     said "ugly" to mean "beautiful". "Ugly =  Beautiful";  "Satan  = 
     Good"; do you see what I mean? It's brilliant over-the-top metal 
     lyricism.                                                        

JS: Yeah, it's a difficult balance; because we want  people  to  know 
    that we take our lyrics seriously, but it doesn't mean  we  don't 
    joke around. I think it's difficult to be in-between, you know.   

CoC: Yeah, but I think for most people the enjoyment is still "of the 
     music". I see what you're saying, but to be honest I find  bands 
     are often too grave and binary about this. For me and a  lot  of 
     people I know -- you can listen to the music,  find  the  lyrics 
     funny, but not laugh -at- the music: still enjoy  the  music  in 
     its spirit even though you may find that spirit funny.           

JS: That's true. I myself don't buy albums for the lyrics; if I  want 
    to read lyrics, I read a book. But of course it  feels  so  great 
    that Magnus puts huge amounts of time into making the  lyrics  as 
    good as they are. Have you seen the lyrics  for  _Possessed  13_? 
    The lyrics for "Natashead Overdrive": if you  like  funny,  crazy 
    lyrics I think that one will blow you away. That's  my  favourite 
    song and those are indeed very great lyrics.                      

CoC: I think it is definitely a case of  seeing  the  cliché  or  the 
     humour value attached to something -- Manowar in  my  case,  for 
     example -- yet still really, -genuinely-  liking  it.  I  assume 
     that's similar for you: you're a fan of Motley Crue, I hear?     

JS: Oh yeah, a huge fan.

CoC: But do you take Motley Crue seriously?

JS: No.

CoC: But when you're listening to Motley Crue you probably enjoy  it; 
     though when you read the lyrics you probably  find  them  funny, 
     thand ink, "Oh my God!"                                          

JS: Of course! Yeah, that's exactly it.

CoC: Going on to your Wacken performance: -the- Wacken performance. I 
     saw it. It was excellent. Do you think it was the  beginning  of 
     something special? I thought there was something in the air...   

JS: I remember. You could really feel that it was something  special. 
    We had a huge crowd, which was great; and I had my  own  personal 
    drum kit!                                                          

CoC: I really think next year will [should? --Paul] be a really  good 
     year for you; because I think  _Deathrace  King_  had  potential 
     that wasn't capitalised on: it made an impact. Your  debut  _The 
     Burning_  made  an  impact  back  in  1995;  an  impact  on  the 
     underground, but  a  profound  impact  nonetheless.  But  things 
     didn't work out that way with the  next  two  records;  _Eternal 
     Death_ didn't seem to follow-up quite right and _Hell  Is  Here_ 
     was let down mostly by its production. _Deathrace King_ was  the 
     first time since _The Burning_ that The Crown [Crown  of  Thorns 
     up until _ED_, of course --Paul] really sounded right on record. 
     But when Lindstrand left, I gather that it was  really  hard  to 
     keep the momentum  up.  When  I  heard  Jonas  was  back  I  was 
     interested to see the Wacken performance: I wanted to know if it 
     would work. When I saw that performance I was  like,  "Roll  on! 
     This is the continuation!"                                       

JS: One of the reviews I read on the Internet summed it up great  for 
    me. It talked about how good the show was,  and  at  the  end  it 
    said, "By the way: Elvis lives and he's playing in The Crown!"    

CoC: There have been very few line-up changes in The Crown's history. 
     One was in the demo days,  before  _The  Burning_,  when  Marcus 
     joined. [He replaced Robert Osterberg on _Forget the  Light_  -- 
     Paul] The other, now rectified, we've already talked about.  How 
     do you feel about the line-up today?                             

JS: From that we learned a lot; from having Tomas, a new singer --  a 
    professional singer but yet the new singer  in  the  band  --  we 
    pretty much learned that because we  had  been  together  for  11 
    years it wasn't easy to let someone new into the band. I mean, we 
    call ourselves "La Familia"; we joke around about  it,  but  it's 
    pretty serious, because we are such good friends. So we feel like 
    if anyone else does leave  then  The  Crown  really  should  quit 
    instead of trying to find a new person.                           

CoC: Going back to something you said earlier; when you talked  about 
     playing more loosely and getting more power? I think  _Deathrace 
     King_ and _Possessed 13_ especially are both prime  examples  of 
     that and I think that comes from a less constrained approach  to 
     playing and production.                                          

JS: It's cool to see that you see that, between _Deathrace King_  and 
    this one, because not all the people see it. They think that this 
    is a natural evolution from _Crowned in Terror_, but we  actually 
    ourselves -- all of us -- think this is actually a step backwards 
    to find the feeling and atmosphere of _Deathrace King_.           

CoC: _Crowned in Terror_ wasn't bad, but it  was  slightly  lazy.  It 
     relied more on death metal  conventions,  and  less  on  radical 
     song- structures.                                                

JS: That was an addiction with speed -- and metronome. I overdosed on 
    metronome. I actually once woke up early in the morning and I was 
    listening to my heart thinking, "It's not beating  perfectly."  I 
    thought maybe I should go see a doctor, but then I realised  that 
    I'm human; my heart isn't a  piece  of  machinery:  it  shouldn't 
    really sound like a metronome!                                    

CoC: From a production angle, I think -that-  was  also  the  problem 
     with _Hell Is Here_. I thought the Berno studio production  made 
     it sound a little too dry.                                       

JS: Oh yeah! It's like you can't light  like  an  open  fire  at  gas 
    stations with that album. We felt satisfied at the studio when we 
    had done them, we were very happy with the way we'd  played,  but 
    we didn't think the production was that good.                     

CoC: Some of the songs on _Hell Is Here_  are  the  reason  that  I'd 
     really like to hear a well-done Crown live album.  Some  of  the 
     songs are really good;  for  example,  "1999:  Revolution  666", 
     which sounded so much better at Wacken than it does  on  record. 
     On the original it doesn't sound fast enough.                    

JS: Yeah, that's true.

CoC: Are you gonna be doing mostly  songs  from  _Possessed  13_  and 
     _Deathrace King_ on the next tour, then?                              

JS: Our label was actually asking us: are  you  really  going  to  do 
    eight songs from the new album?                                       

CoC: How many songs will the set contain?

JS: Eight from the new album; three from _Deathrace King_; three from 
    _Crowned in Terror_; and one song from _Hell Is Here_, as  it  is 
    now: and we're looking at 60-75 minutes.                          

CoC: Can you do that?

JS: Yup. If we headline, we're gonna do that. But we might  cut  down 
    one or two songs just to try out if we can do more  older  songs. 
    But it is a good album: we're so happy with it. We feel  that  we 
    can't get better than this, in no way, playing this kind of death 
    metal. So we feel that we want to share it with people.           

[*On request, Metal Blade did send a bleep-free CD-R  (I  offered  to 
sign a contract guaranteeing I would not copy it,  in  my  e-mail  of 
request). --Paul]                                                     

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

                        L E T   U S   P R E Y
                        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                 CoC talks to Johan Edlund of Tiamat
                           by: Jackie Smit


Contrary to the preconceptions that some of you may hold, the life of 
a Chronicles of Chaos scribe is not always a  particularly  glamorous 
one. Yes, we may write for the  greatest  web  entity  in  the  known 
universe, but unfortunately the rest of the world has  not  yet  seen 
this as an adequate reason to bestow us with enough money that we can 
leave our boring day-jobs behind.                                     

So, why am I telling  you  this?  Because  this  paragraph  is  being 
rattled out as I sit at my humdrum, boring-as-fuck job  listening  to 
two of my no-brain colleagues  feigning  an  intellectual  discussion 
about music that would make most episodes of Big  Brother  seem  like 
fine art by comparison. And it is at this precise moment -- while the 
debate rages over whether Limp Bizkit indeed is the heaviest band  in 
the world  --  that  I  realise  how  fortunate  we  who  follow  the 
underground are. Let the rest of the world have  their  Korns,  their 
Linkin Parks and their Darkness, for we are blessed  with  luminaries 
whose music will remain great for years after the nightmare  that  is 
Papa Roach has dissipated.                                            

Three weeks ago I was lucky enough to speak  to  one  such  luminary, 
better known to most as Johan Edlund of Tiamat. For the last  decade, 
his band's music has proven to  be  a  life-changing  experience  for 
many, while the man's enigmatic personality has silently  transformed 
him into a cult figure. Now, on the eve of the  latest  Tiamat  epic, 
_Prey_, he was ready to discuss music, religion,  life  and  whatever 
else came up in the course of the conversation.                       

CoC: Since the birth of Tiamat, you  have  projected  the  idea  that 
     progression is one of your  main  musical  priorities.  Is  this 
     something that you have allowed to happen naturally, or  do  you 
     make a conscious decision  to  write  something  different  with 
     every record?                                                    

Johan Edlund: We never decide to do anything different. In  fact,  we 
              don't feel like we're changing  anything.  We  approach 
              every album in a similar way. Of course, every album is 
              usually different, but we tend  to  realise  that  only 
              when the record is done. There have also  been  line-up 
              changes over the years which  have  obviously  affected 
              our sound, but ultimately it feels like I've been doing 
              the same thing and going through the same  process  for 
              thirteen years, and I find it hard  to  think  that  it 
              could be any other way. What  Tiamat  does  feels  very 
              natural to me.                                          

CoC: So, from a retrospective point of view, what would you  cite  as 
     the key factors that play a  role  in  shaping  the  differences 
     between every Tiamat album?                                      

JE: I think that we often end up doing everything that we  didn't  do 
    on the previous record, but wanted to do -- if that makes  sense. 
    Between _A Deeper Kind of Slumber_ and _Skeleton  Skeletron_,  it 
    feels very much like the next natural step after doing  all  that 
    experimentation, and then just being a band again. But again, you 
    never realise that when you're busy making the album,  and  we're 
    influenced by some many different types of music  --  from  black 
    metal through to Radiohead and Pink Floyd -- I think that you can 
    hear that  in  our  music.  Sometimes  we're  close  to  one  and 
    sometimes we're close to the other.                               

CoC: In which way do you prepare for an album -- do you get  together 
     as a band and write, or do you  construct  the  songs  gradually 
     until they're ready to be put down as part of  the  next  Tiamat 
     record?                                                          

JE: For _Judas Christ_ a lot of stuff was done in the rehearsal room, 
    but this time I started producing the album while I  was  writing 
    the songs. I recorded and started really thinking about the songs 
    -- about sounds, about ideas -- and as time went on, I  continued 
    to do this and it just felt right.                                

CoC: You're renowned for incorporating a plethora of obscure, bizarre 
     sounds and samples in your music. How  do  you  come  upon  your 
     ideas for this?                                                  

JE: At the same time that I'm writing songs, I think that I  am  also 
    writing a novel. I see us as very much an album-band, not just  a 
    band that put a collection of songs together.  So,  we're  really 
    working hard to get a good flow on every album and that's where a 
    lot of the sounds and cross-fades come from -- keeping the record 
    flowing and connecting certain pieces on the album.               

CoC: You describe _Prey_ as your most honest effort to date. In  what 
     ways do you feel that you've revealed yourself this  time  round 
     that you have not done before?                                   

JE: I feel that because I have recorded the album in my home  studio, 
    my domestic environment affected the music a lot. I  mean,  there 
    was a pile of unpaid bills laying next to me while I was writing, 
    so... just basically the pressures of real life,  I  think,  came 
    through on the record.                                            

CoC: I definitely did get the impression that the record hints toward 
     escapism in some ways. Would you agree?                               

JE: Definitely.  I  mean,  with  the  home  studio  sometimes   you'd 
    start writing straight after you've had  an  argument  with  your 
    girlfriend or something like that -- it's really  close  to  you. 
    When you go to a big studio and there's gold records hanging from 
    the wall, you very much become a "musician"  in  a  sense,  where 
    when you're recording at home, you're more at ease  and  more  of 
    yourself comes out. In a way, I also think  that  this  album  is 
    more representative of the band, because there are a lot of parts 
    that remind me of the atmosphere on _A Deeper  Kind  of  Slumber_ 
    and _Wildhoney_, and I wrote  the  songs  in  a  similar  way.  I 
    sometimes have trouble writing in that way because  it  makes  me 
    feel self-centred, but this time it felt right.                   

CoC: When you do expose yourself the way you do on your  records,  do 
     you ever sometimes feel like you need to censor or stop yourself 
     in any way?                                                      

JE: I think that I have to continue like this, because  I  feel  that 
    all music should be intense in a way. And we're not aggressive or 
    anything like that, so I think that this is the intensity that we 
    project, and for me when we perform the songs live, I try to  get 
    in the atmosphere of things, even if it hurts. I also learn a lot 
    about myself by listening to the songs and by hearing what  comes 
    out. I'm not always really aware of what I  am  expressing  until 
    later, so it has a lot to do  with  interpreting  the  songs  for 
    myself as well.                                                   

CoC: You mentioned earlier that your albums  are  like  novels.  What 
     themes do you deal with on _Prey_?                                    

JE: I wrote about things that are very important to me -- as I always 
    do, really. I think that religion was a  big  influence  on  this 
    record, just because I don't know where I stand; I have  so  many 
    unanswered questions about religion. And  also  more  complicated 
    things like love -- I know that it's not groundbreaking to  write 
    a love song, but I do feel  that  I  perhaps  approach  it  in  a 
    slightly less cheesy way.                                         

CoC: Speaking of  religion,  Close-Up  magazine  in  Sweden  recently 
     quoted you as saying: "I worship the devil,  but  I  believe  in 
     God." Care to expand on that?                                    

JE: Actually, when I was doing that interview I was  telling  them  a 
    story about some inverted crucifixes that I had forgotten in  the 
    studio, and when I was on my way to  Finland  to  mix  _Prey_,  I 
    called my girlfriend and told her to turn them around. And when I 
    read the interview again, I realised how  twisted  we  are  as  a 
    band, how schizophrenic we are, and it's there in  the  music  as 
    well.                                                             

CoC: What about the unanswered questions you mentioned earlier?

JE: When I started to  work  on  this  album,  I  realised  how  much 
    religion actually means to me. Before, I didn't care about it  at 
    all and I was never religious in the  slightest,  but  I  started 
    thinking about why I kept writing about it. So I started  reading 
    about it -- I started reading the Bible, and  I  started  reading 
    about other religions, and there's still a lot of questions  that 
    I have that are unanswered; there's nothing I can put  my  finger 
    on specifically. At the same time, I have also learned to respect 
    all religions. I still criticise the Christian church, but  I  do 
    feel that it's very  important  to  make  clear  that  I  am  not 
    criticising the Christians, just the religion.                    

CoC: What formed the basis for the beliefs that you currently hold?

JE: I started reading a lot of the stories in the Old Testament,  and 
    as stories they're really great. You can learn a lot  from  them. 
    But what also got me very interested is that  there  is  so  much 
    that they don't tell you.  For  instance,  why,  when  the  human 
    beings built  the  tower  of  Babel,  did  God  throw  them  into 
    confusion?                                                        

CoC: What would you say is the personal standout moment  for  you  on 
     _Prey_?                                                               

JE: Right now I really like the  song  "Divided",  but  that  changes 
    every day.                                                            

CoC: You are often referred to as one of the great composers  of  our 
     time. Do you see yourself in this way?                                

JE: No, I don't take myself that seriously. I'm just  writing  songs. 
    Music definitely means a lot to me, and now that I  have  a  home 
    studio,  I  can  definitely  write  my  songs  more  easily,  and 
    sometimes I don't even realise  that  I  have  written  something 
    until sixteen hours later. But I'm certainly not striving  to  be 
    seen as a great composer or anything  like  that.  I  just  write 
    songs at my own pace and let the record company  know  when  it's 
    ready.                                                            

CoC: What are your plans for Tiamat in the near future?

JE: We tried to get on to a supporting slot for a  couple  of  bigger 
    tours, but we're still waiting to hear about that, so I'm not too 
    sure right now. Worst case scenario is that we won't do  anything 
    this year until January. We  tried  getting  on  to  the  Marilyn 
    Manson tour, and from what I  hear  we  were  really  close,  but 
    unfortunately it didn't work out.                                 

CoC: So, finally -- any last words for the Tiamat fans?

JE: Thanks a lot for the interview. We'll see you all  on  tour  real 
    soon.                                                                 

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

              T H E   C A R N A G E   C O N T I N U E S
              ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                CoC chats with Max Kolesne of Krisiun
                           by: Jackie Smit


"Pete Sandoval is a legend and I will never ever  compare  myself  to 
him."                                                                 

Surprisingly humble words  from  a  man  the  Commando  himself  once 
described as the best drummer in extreme music. But then,  more  than 
anything, humility and true passion have been the driving  forces  in 
the decade-long career of Brazil's most brutal sons, Krisiun.         

Now on the eve of releasing perhaps their most  polished,  aggressive 
and accomplished album to date in the form  of  _Works  of  Carnage_, 
Krisiun are still just as fired up for the cause of metal as  a  band 
who are on the eve of recording their first demos -- and  as  drummer 
Max Kolesne tells me on line from  Brazil,  "Krisiun  has  many  more 
doors to open and many more fans to conquer".                         

CoC: When Krisiun released _Ageless  Venomous_  in  2001,  a  lot  of 
     criticism was leveled  at  the  band  for  supposedly  repeating 
     yourselves, and for sounding -- for lack of  a  better  word  -- 
     lifeless. Did this is any way influence the changes you  brought 
     about on _Works of Carnage_ in terms of your overall  sound  and 
     the more diverse approach you brought to the  structure  of  the 
     music?                                                           

Max Kolesne: Well, I don't  think  so,  man.  The  way  that  we  did 
             _Ageless Venomous_ was exactly the way it  was  supposed 
             to have come out. When we were  writing  and  rehearsing 
             for that album -- even before we went into the studio -- 
             we wanted to do a record with a clearer production,  but 
             given the Krisiun style and sticking  to  our  roots.  I 
             think it differs a lot from _Conquerors  of  Armageddon_ 
             and I think that people who said that we were  repeating 
             ourselves don't have a clue  about  what  extreme  death 
             metal is all about. They just hear blast beats going  on 
             and they don't fucking understand a thing.  We're  never 
             going to write any differently or change our music  just 
             because some critic is talking shit about us.  And  when 
             we're composing a new album we try to do it in a totally 
             natural way. We get together in the same rehearsal  room 
             and basically just play the music that we love to  play. 
             That is what we did with _Works of  Carnage_,  which  is 
             different from _Ageless  Venomous_  but  still  has  the 
             Krisiun trademarks: it's fast, brutal and aggressive. Of 
             course we want to get better and innovate, but  we  want 
             to stay true to our roots and do whatever we do  with  a 
             lot of passion and a lot of feeling.                     

CoC: There definitely are a lot of changes  on  _Works  of  Carnage_, 
     specifically as far as the differing rhythms you  used  and  the 
     difference in sound from the previous records. How  much  of  an 
     influence was Pierre Remillard [producer] on the outcome of this 
     album?                                                           

MK: Everything happened naturally and I definitely think that  Pierre 
    was the right guy for the album. We were looking for  someone  to 
    give us a more powerful and a more natural sound -- bringing  the 
    guitars and the bass to the front, making the  drums  sound  more 
    powerful. And we were very impressed with the work he had done in 
    the past on bands like Cryptopsy. We wanted to make an album that 
    was heavier than _Ageless Venomous_ -- more straightforward, more 
    aggressive, with shorter songs. I think that when you play  death 
    metal it is more effective to be more straightforward.  Also,  we 
    needed to do something different from _Ageless Venomous_.         

CoC: So what was it like to work with Pierre?

MK: It was really great, man. He is a  really  great  guy  and  we're 
    really good friends with him now. His duty as producer for _Works 
    of Carnage_ was to give  us  the  proper  sound  for  our  music, 
    because we had just  about  everything  done  before  we  started 
    recording, so he didn't change  anything.  He  gave  his  opinion 
    about a couple of little parts here and there,  but  99%  of  the 
    album was already done and he didn't want to change anything.  So 
    his main role was to give us a good sound, and he spent hours and 
    hours looking for simple things like a  powerful  drum  sound  or 
    brutal guitar sounds. It was really  important  for  us  to  have 
    someone we could trust, because when we go into  the  studio,  we 
    need to be able to concentrate 100% on the  performance  --  when 
    you play this kind of music, you have to give it  your  all  when 
    you are recording. And Pierre was  definitely  someone  we  could 
    count on and he did a great job.                                  

CoC: Apart from the changes you brought about in your sound, you also 
     seem to have moved away from dealing with  religious  topics  in 
     your lyrics. What are the main issues or themes that  you  cover 
     on _Works of Carnage_?                                           

MK: Well, I think we kind of kept the same vision, but  more  focused 
    on the many wars and battles that have happened in human history. 
    There's even one song about Genghis Khan and the lyrics tell  his 
    story. Also, all the things that we see around us -- even here in 
    Brazil, there's a small war going on and there's twelve year  old 
    kids walking around with shotguns and killing  people.  There  is 
    war going on everywhere and these kinds of lyrics really  fit  in 
    with our music. We're not trying to give a good  message  to  our 
    fans, we're just trying to find matters that will suit our music, 
    and war, I think, has a lot to do with the way we play.           

CoC: With the sampled interludes that you used in between  the  songs 
     on _Works of Carnage_, would you say that there is a  underlying 
     concept running through the record?                              

MK: Yeah, kind of, because as I said, all of the  topics  are  either 
    about war or about battle or about killing -- so all of the songs 
    are more or less about the same things.                           

CoC: Coming  from  a  third  world  country  with  its   accompanying 
     economical and political struggles and the problems that go with 
     that, would you say that this has an impact  on  the  music  you 
     write?                                                           

MK: I think so -- all the bad things we see going  on  and  happening 
    really close to us definitely inspired us to come  up  with  some 
    very brutal music.                                                

CoC: And do you think that  because  of  where  you  come  from,  you 
     perhaps deal with and experience success in a  different  manner 
     to, say for example, a band from the USA?                        

MK: Maybe. I think it depends on the band, but  all  the  bad  things 
    that we have been through like when we started the  band  and  we 
    didn't have gear or whatever -- I think that  those  things  just 
    make you stronger in the end and make you want to keep going  and 
    keep struggling and keep on believing in the band. If things  are 
    too easy, it's too easy to quit as well. But again,  that  really 
    depends on the band and not where the band is from.               

CoC: And when you guys were  starting  out  and  going  through  your 
     struggles, did you ever think to yourselves "enough is enough"?       

MK: No, we never thought about giving up, and I think that's  because 
    of the passion we have for playing this kind of music. I mean, to 
    play metal is more than just making music, it's a  lifestyle  for 
    me.                                                               

CoC: What's the metal scene like in South America?

MK: There are a lot of bands in Brazil  --  everything  from  melodic 
    metal to extreme, brutal  metal.  There  are  more  small  record 
    labels supporting the newer bands and more people  are  going  to 
    shows now -- it's definitely better than ten years  ago  when  we 
    started playing; things were much more difficult back then.       

CoC: How many people went to the first Krisiun show?

MK: I think maybe about thirty people.

CoC: And if you played a show in Sao Paulo now, how many people would 
     be in the audience?                                                   

MK: Now, when we play here we play to about two thousand people.  But 
    it's taken time and grown slowly. Every album we  make  or  every 
    show we do, we try to make it a step forward  for  the  band  and 
    conquer new fans and keep a strong following.                     

CoC: So  with  the  success  you  have  achieved  thus  far,  do  you 
     ever start feeling complacent and  think  that  you've  achieved 
     everything you've wanted to?                                     

MK: Well, we're still feeling the same  way  that  we  felt  when  we 
    started. I think there's many more things to conquer and I  think 
    that Krisiun can be much bigger than they are  now,  and  we  can 
    definitely bring a lot of new fans to the death metal  field.  We 
    did a show two months ago where we were playing  a  big  festival 
    here in Sao Paulo in front of about 40,000 people.  We  were  the 
    only extreme metal band on the bill -- the rest of the bands were 
    all pop metal or nu metal or rock or whatever --  and  we  had  a 
    fucking great response from the crowd. They fucking loved it,  so 
    we definitely can bring more people into death metal, in the same 
    way that Morbid Angel has done -- there are a lot of doors to  be 
    opened and there are a lot of things to be done.                  

CoC: With the increasing number of good  death  metal  bands  in  the 
     genre right now, do you ever feel  like  you're  in  competition 
     with anyone?                                                     

MK: No way, man! Maybe when we were younger, we would  want  to  play 
    heavier or play faster than someone else, but now it's like "What 
    the fuck, let's just play  music".  It's  not  a  competition  or 
    whatever. I just think about us and I don't care if another  band 
    sells more than us or play faster than us. One thing in the metal 
    scene that really sucks is the competition and the bands  talking 
    shit about the others. We just want to see more  and  more  great 
    bands doing tours and selling more records.                       

CoC: With bands like Hate Eternal being played on MTV right  now,  do 
     you think that death metal is set to get much bigger?                 

MK: Yes. I think a lot of the kids who listen to stuff like  Korn  or 
    whatever are going to see a band like Hate Eternal  and  just  be 
    blown away, and  a  lot  of  those  kids  will  definitely  start 
    listening to more brutal and more extreme music in the future.    

CoC: What bands do you look up to in the scene right now?

MK: Nile -- and then of course the older bands like Morbid Angel  and 
    Deicide. Decapitated, Vader, Diabolic  --  there  are  a  lot  of 
    killer bands out there.                                           

CoC: Krisiun is a very hard-touring band, and at the  speed  and  the 
     level of intensity you guys play, how do  you  prepare  for  and 
     survive a tour?                                                  

MK: You've got to keep playing all the time --  never  quit  playing, 
    because if you do you'll be rusty and it will take  time  to  get 
    back to the right level to be playing this kind of music. We just 
    keep practicing for like five hours a day and I think that's  the 
    best way to keep in shape. And I do some  extra  exercises,  like 
    jogging, working on my flexibility. You don't have to  be  really 
    healthy, but I think you just need to keep playing all  the  time 
    and that definitely helps  you  to  not  get  tired  when  you're 
    playing and when you're on tour.                                  

CoC: What are your plans for the next five to ten years of the band's 
     career?                                                               

MK: We're just going to keep playing and getting bigger -- we're  not 
    going to be the biggest band on earth, but I just want to be able 
    to draw more fans to our music. We have a lot to show and  a  lot 
    to innovate, while still keeping our roots -- our strong  feeling 
    to play aggressive stuff forever, and  holding  the  death  metal 
    flag always.                                                      

CoC: Thanks for your time, Max.

MK: Thanks a lot, man. We're going to be  touring  with  Deicide  and 
    Hate Eternal in the States later  this  year,  and  we'll  be  in 
    Europe in the beginning of 2004, between January and  March.  So, 
    come and check us out!                                            

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

                       _, _,  __, _,_ _, _  _,
                      / \ |   |_) | | |\/| (_ 
                      |~| | , |_) | | |  | , )
                      ~ ~ ~~~ ~   `~' ~  ~  ~ 

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!


1349 - _Liberation_  (Candlelight, 2003)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (8 out of 10)

If venomous, shrill black metal is not your thing, then you might  as 
well forget  about  1349.  Otheriwse,  you  are  likely  to  feel  at 
least somewhat intrigued by the insanely fast  drumming  courtesy  of 
Satyricon's Frost (it really needs to be heard to  be  believed)  and 
the way _Liberation_ sometimes sounds like a  mix  of  Ulver's  black 
masterpiece _Nattens Madrigal_ and Satyricon. The emotional charge is 
not quite the same as that of the Ulver album, but  the  similarities 
between the two go a bit deeper than the extremely harsh  production: 
the shredding guitars are by no  means  devoid  of  well  thought-out 
riffs and leads, and combine with the often almost disorienting speed 
of the drum patterns to create a structure of considerable potential. 
If guitars, vocals and drumming are all barbed wire, rusty razors and 
machine gun fire, the more rocking Satyricon-like riffs and  choruses 
that occasionally surface (e.g. "Riders of the Apocalypse", "Legion") 
help balance things somewhat. Make no mistake, however -- this is not 
an easy album to like if you are used to bassy death metal  or  clean 
melodic metal. The production is not such that the guitars  or  drums 
are devoid of power, but it takes some getting used to before you can 
enjoy all the technicality and fury on offer.  Indeed,  getting  past 
the production barrier opens up rewards in the shape of  some  great, 
memorable guitar passages  (e.g.  "Manifest",  "I  Breathe  Spears"), 
often hysterically fast but impeccably tight drumming, and ultimately 
an album that strikes the balance  between  uncompromising  extremity 
and musical enjoyment quite well -- much  like  Anaal  Nathrakh  have 
done recently. _Liberation_ is definitely worth checking out  if  you 
can handle its barbed wire.                                           


Arcana - _Inner Pale Sun_  (Cold Meat Industry, 2002)
by: Xander Hoose  (6 out of 10)

Arcana, consisting of Peter Pettersson and Ida Bengtsson, is  one  of 
CMI's top ranking bands. The neoclassical output  these  two  produce 
has been of a steady level from  day  one  (_Dark  Age  of  Reason_), 
shifting more and more towards a heavily  Dead  Can  Dance-influenced 
sound on _The Last Embrace_. With Peter's side  project  Sophia,  the 
darker and more sinister part of the music has been expanded further, 
leaving the angelic bright side to Arcana.  _Inner  Pale  Sun_  is  a 
clear result of this two-way  split.  Medieval  bombast  is  sparsely 
present; most of the songs are focused on  an  almost  ambient-esque, 
vocal-driven flow. This creates a downside: with  the  absence  of  a 
darker side, the songs tend to become too sweet, almost boring.  With 
an average running length of four to five minutes per track, I  would 
have preferred shorter songs instead. Still, _Inner Pale  Sun_  is  a 
worthy episode in the Arcana series, and I don't think many fans will 
be disappointed.                                                      


Atrium Carceri - _Cellblock_  (Cold Meat Industry, 2003)
by: Xander Hoose  (8.5 out of 10)

My main complaint about darkwave being its overrated  repetitiveness, 
I was intrigued to find _Cellblock_ on my doorstep. Taking  it  as  a 
goal to reinvent darkwave whilst  removing  its  monotonous  feeling, 
composer Simon Heath has managed to create a  43  minute  long  album 
that is filled with a varied tapestry of  sounds  and  small  details 
that make it more than  just  background  music.  Songs  like  "Black 
Lace", "Corridor", "Blue Moon" and  "Red  Stains"  manage  to  slowly 
build up atmosphere, let music seep through  your  pores  and  invade 
your body. At times, I can  imagine  _Cellblock_  being  the  twisted 
soundtrack to a dark horror movie or a sinister first person  shooter 
like "Quake" -- to me a sign that Heath has succeeded in his goal. It 
is by far the most effective and intriguing darkwave album I've heard 
in quite a while, so I can heartily recommend it to anyone.           


Between the Buried and Me - _Silent Circus_  (Victory Records, 2003)
by: Jackie Smit  (7 out of 10)

Surreal is perhaps the most appropriate word to describe what happens 
when _Silent Circus_ switches to track  number  six.  The  indication 
that something decidedly more relaxed  and  different  to  the  death 
metal chaos of earlier tracks is approaching is certainly made  clear 
early on in proceedings, but nothing -- and I do mean nothing -- will 
prepare you for the sound of "Shevanel Take 2"; a  track  that  could 
sit comfortably alongside The Backstreet Boys or  Westlife  on  prime 
time radio. The laid-back sway of Opeth's progressive jazz interludes 
is one thing, but Between the Buried and Me have either sorely missed 
the mark in their attempt to try something similar, or clearly intend 
on fooling the mainstream into buying their  record,  only  to  shock 
them into a state of incoherence with the throbbing heaviness of  "Ad 
a dglgmut" and the hyper-groove of "Camilla Rhodes". Certainly,  this 
is by no means a bad album -- in fact, it is by and  large  a  rather 
enjoyable record -- but there is clearly the odd occasion  where  the 
more conservative extreme metal fan  may  want  to  keep  the  remote 
control's skip button at the ready.                                   

Contact: http://www.victoryrecords.com


Blut Aus Nord - _The Work Which Transforms God_  (Appease Me, 2003)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (9 out of 10)

A gloomy tunnel crawling somewhere underground,  dripping  water  and 
menace in the blinding pitch; an endless forest shrouded in darkness, 
bearing the weight of centuries; the smell of earth, the moon as only 
source of light, and an abstract sense of brooding evil that pervades 
all. There is an almost palpable darkness surrounding the music  that 
Blut Aus Nord have created  for  _The  Work  Which  Transforms  God_. 
Whether this makes any sense before you've heard this album I do  not 
know, but it should be hard to find someone who would hear it and not 
be affected in some  way.  Blut  Aus  Nord  generally  avoid  falling 
into the black metal's usual  traps;  instead,  the  low-end  wailing 
laments of their dissonant guitars, the unusual string  manipulation, 
agonizing  shrieks  and  cold  percussion  --  all  mixed  with  well 
incorporated atmospheric passages -- place Blut Aus Nord in a  league 
of their own. Their music is likely to invoke  vivid  images  in  the 
listener's mind; it is the kind that can drag you away  from  reality 
and  into  the  darkness  of  some  medieval  field  where  something 
unspeakable is  taking  place  with  wretched  spirits  as  the  only 
witnesses. Although the faster material and the  mechanized  drumming 
tend to  get  somewhat  repetitive  at  times,  the  slower  passages 
on  superb  tracks  like  "The  Choir  of  the  Dead",  "Our  Blessed 
Frozen Cells" and "Procession of the Dead Clowns"  (as  well  as  the 
aforementioned  atmospheric  parts)  help  alleviate  this  potential 
problem. In a day and age  where  finding  bands  with  truly  unique 
characteristics is no easy task, _The Work Which Transforms God_ (and 
also its predecessor  _The  Mythical  Beast  of  Rebellion_  to  some 
extent) comes across as all the more unusual. A remarkable disc  that 
no seeker of musical darkness should miss.                            

Contact: http://blutausnord.fr.st


Burnt by the Sun - _The Perfect Is the Enemy of the Good_
by: Jackie Smit  (10 out of 10)  (Relapse Records, 2003)

Right off the bat, I'd like to make it clear  that  I  love  the  New 
Jersey-based collective known as Burnt by the Sun. Their superb  2002 
effort, _Soundtrack to a Personal Revolution_ was by and large one of 
the most strikingly effective and aggressive records I have ever  had 
the pleasure of hearing, and as such, I think it would be safe for me 
to say that my expectations for its  successor  were  perhaps  higher 
than for the casual listener. Where they could, like  so  many  other 
acts, very easily have fallen prey to  the  dreaded  sophomore  album 
syndrome, however, Burnt by the Sun have  managed  to  not  only  top 
themselves this time round, but to deliver  a  follow-up  that  makes 
their earlier work sound damn near primitive by comparison.           

The first aspect of _The Perfect Is the Enemy of the  Good_  to  grab 
one's attention is the impeccable  manner  in  which  the  band  have 
introduced new  elements  to  their  sound  --  melody,  thicker  and 
catchier grooves to  name  a  few  --  while  still  retaining  their 
trademark vehemence. Indeed, opener "Washington Tube Steak",  may  be 
slightly more tuneful than most of what the band offered  previously, 
but it could easily go toe to toe with  anything  on  _Soundtrack..._ 
for sheer undiluted rage alone. Ultimately what Burnt  by  the  Sun's 
progression has achieved more than anything is to provide their music 
with an added dimension of depth, which makes  their  music  all  the 
more compelling and effective.                                        

Delving once again into political  and  current  global  topics,  the 
band's  music  provides  not  only  a  perfect  soundtrack  for   the 
intelligent and ambiguous fashion in which they treat  their  subject 
matter, but also  vividly  captures  the  zeitgeist.  The  distinctly 
Middle-Eastern influence of "Revelation 101" stands  out  as  perhaps 
the best example of the  tangible  atmosphere  this  album  projects, 
whilst the almost Morbid Angel-like chug of  "2012"  shows  off  Mike 
Olender's voice at its seething and devastating best. Elsewhere,  the 
band's new- found melodic sensibilities are made evident on  "Spinner 
Dunn" and the staggering "Forlani".                                   

Not since Strapping Young Lad's 1997 _City_ opus  have  I  been  this 
thoroughly blown away by an album. I could most certainly  fill  many 
more paragraphs touting its praise, but for the time  being  I  shall 
summarise it as a consummate masterclass in intelligent brutality and 
easily my favourite album of 2003 so far.                             

Contact: http://www.burntbythesun.com


Burst - _Prey on Life_  (Relapse Records, 2003)
by: Jackie Smit  (8 out of 10)

Somewhat peculiarly approved by the  notoriously  conservative  Kerry 
King, _Prey on Life_ marks the second full length effort  by  Nasum's 
(now reportedly ex-) bassist Jesper Liveröd and co.  A  genre-bending 
affair of note,  the  first  few  minutes  of  "Undoing"  and  "Iris" 
instantly betray the band's love for the progressive style  of  Opeth 
and the rollicking assault of latter-day metalcore.  By  no  means  a 
barefaced fusion of influences  however,  for  the  most  part  Burst 
successfully combine their diverse styles to sound both  natural  and 
spontaneous. As a result, tracks like  "Rain"  and  "Vortex"  are  at 
once brutal and graceful, remaining  constantly  exigent  throughout. 
However, while it is not a common occurrence, Burst do at times  miss 
the mark  in  their  eclectic  approach,  leaving  certain  sequences 
slightly dislodged from their root sources, so to speak,  and  giving 
proceedings a hampered and almost tacked-on feel. Again, this happens 
relatively infrequently, but does  mar  the  album's  ascension  from 
merely  good  to  excellent.  For  the  majority  of  its  forty-five 
minute running time, _Prey on  Life_  is  original,  challenging  and 
most importantly entertaining, and will most  certainly  demand  your 
attention for more than just a few casual spins.                      


Cadacross - _Corona Borealis_  (Low Frequency Records, 2002)
by: Adam Lineker  (7.5 out of 10)

After a whimsical but enjoyable  classical  intro,  Cadacross  launch 
into some mid-paced but crunchy power  metal  that  isn't  a  million 
miles away from what's peddled by Skyfire. As far as I  am  concerned 
this a  good  thing,  although  it  is  undoubtedly  responsible  for 
some  rather  bland  medieval  imagery.  The  production  is  not  as 
assertive as it might be, but it serves the music fine,  establishing 
the  right  balance  between  hard  riffs  and  ethereal  synth.  The 
hollow rasping of vocalist Sami Aarnio sounds  somewhat  forced,  but 
is adequately  suited  to  the  music,  adding  aggressive  character 
into the atmosphere. Merging classical- esque  flourishes  and  sharp 
metal riffs within traditional  tonality,  _Aurora  Borealis_  is  an 
over-the-top  but  successfully  executed  record.  Cadacross  create 
passionate melodic passages and ride on their strength  in  conjuring 
inventive atmospherics with the music. Intermittently they achieve  a 
high standard of power  metal  brilliance;  "Flaming  Ember"  is  one 
particular stand out track.  Employing  strong  Maiden-style  melodic 
layering and foundational riff progressions, the harder elements  are 
offset by Antti Ventola's synth, establishing itself  with  symphonic 
infusions of scene  painting  mood.  Although  Cadacross  ooze  metal 
vibrancy, _Corona Borealis_ suffers from basic power metal  problems. 
The music flows in a way that feels somewhat  loose,  motifs  do  not 
always remain in one's mind,  nor  can  one  immediately  follow  the 
structure of the songs. The album takes a while to really  get  going 
and there are the expected moments of silliness. The  baroque  guitar 
solo on "Wreath of Seven Stars" is pure Nigel Tufnell and some of the 
synth work can make you wince; when one listens to metal, one  should 
not have the mental image of dancing gnomes (I don't care if they are 
elemental creatures  of  fantasy,  dancing  gnomes  are  gay  without 
exception). Yet _Corona Borealis_ is an overall success  in  that  it 
turns stock in trade  power  metal  features  into  inspired  musical 
forces. When an album can provoke love for metal and fantasy,  it  is 
an achievement; and Cadacross  succeed  to  do  so  without  becoming 
tiresome, making _Corona Borealis_ a measured triumph.                


Cephalic Carnage - _Lucid Interval_  (Relapse, 2002)
by: Xander Hoose  (9 out of 10)

All  brutal  assaults  in  2002  seem  to  have  come  from  America: 
Watchmaker, Converge, and  now  Cephalic  Carnage.  Of  these  three, 
Cephalic is the oldest, dating from back in 1992, and also  the  most 
extreme one musically. Picking elements from many  different  styles, 
_Lucid Interval_ combines grindcore with gore, death, doom, rock  and 
hardcore, as well as some electronics, creating  a  whirlwind  of  an 
album that  is  quite  incomparable  to  any  other  band.  The  four 
different vocal  styles  (gore,  grunt,  hardcore  and  screams)  are 
daring, even though I think certain songs would be better without the 
gore style singing. The drumming and guitars come out excellently  in 
the mix, creating a driving  destructive  force.  The  many  ways  of 
destruction are exemplified by "Anthro Emesis", a very slow and doomy 
song with mixed- in electronics. "Pseudo" is a  chaotic  Coalesce-ish 
piece, while on "Black Metal Sabbath" the black  style  is  performed 
with both ease and grandeur. "Cannibism" is  an  acoustic,  fucked-up 
Spanish intermezzo  before  "Lucid  Interval"  which  is  old  school 
thrash. Cephalic Carnage manages to mix it all without forcing it and 
without making a chaotic mess.  Within  the  whirlwind  of  battering 
assaults, structure can be found  underneath,  making  this  album  a 
highly recommended listen.  Now  if  they  would  use  more  grown-up 
lyrics, they would have gotten half a point extra -- for now, they'll 
have to stick with nine out of ten.                                   


Coph Nia - _Shape Shifter_  (Cold Meat Industry, 2003)
by: Xander Hoose  (6.5 out of 10)

Coph Nia's third release, after _That Which Remains_  and  the  _Holy 
War_ EP, is again different from what you might expect. This time the 
diversity of styles which characterized the first two albums has been 
forsaken for the greater good of uniformity. This isn't to say  there 
is no diversity at all, it's just more hidden and less obvious.  What 
remains is an album reminiscent of Arcana in a few ways; the ambient- 
esque atmosphere and the vocal overlay are a common  factor  on  both 
albums, but _Shape Shifter_ is a dark industrial  album  compared  to 
the Gregorian take of Arcana. Overall, I found myself enjoying _Shape 
Shifter_ if listened to in smaller doses. The music tends to have  an 
droning effect, so it doesn't make an easy listen; however, for those 
with a dark spirit and blackened soul, it makes the perfect companion 
for those long dark winter nights.                                    


Deathstars - _Synthetic Generation_  (Nuclear Blast, 2003)
by: Jackie Smit  (7.5 out of 10)

Dark, if formulaic goth  meets  chugging  Rammstein-like  guitars  on 
_Synthetic Generation_ -- a record stemming from similar black  metal 
roots to those of the Deathstars' fellow PVC-loving  labelmates,  The 
Kovenant. Yet, unlike the latter act's lackluster _S.E.T.I._  effort, 
_Synthetic Generation_ is actually rather enjoyable. At its  best  it 
provides a fix of atmospheric, catchy  goth  metal  ("Semi-Automatic" 
and "Little Angel"), while at its weakest, it merely falls victim  to 
the generic clichés that  are  pretty  much  on  par  for  this  type 
of music. With goth  teetering  on  the  brink  of  becoming  a  more 
mainstream- friendly staple, this record is certain to have its  fair 
share of admirers; and while it is by  no  means  groundbreaking,  it 
provides a welcome alternative for fans of dark,  catchy  music,  for 
whom the prima-donna antics of acts like HIM provide nary a thrill.   


Drudkh - _Forgotten Legends_  (Supernal Music, 2003)
by: Matthias Noll  (9 out of 10)

Hypnotic, majestic and raw are the adjectives I find best  suited  to 
describe Drudkh's debut record.  This  Ukranian  act  can  rightfully 
claim to have turned  the  crushing  powers  of  nature  into  music. 
Imagine yourself on top of a barren cliff,  watching  the  untameable 
waves of a tumultuous ocean crushing into it over and over, day after 
day; feel the ice-cold spray freezing on your face, the vibrations of 
the impact reaching your feet through the  mass  of  stone  until  it 
finally crumbles; and you might get an  idea  which  kind  of  images 
songs like "Forests in Fire and Gold" are evoking. In a very  general 
sense, Primordial or  Amon  Amarth  are  exploring  remotely  similar 
territory while coming from totally different angles, but neither  of 
them has been avoiding the cheese-factor which is often  imminent  in 
Pagan or  Viking  metal  so  completely  and  ventured  as  far  into 
underground black metal and Burzum-esque territory as  this  Ukranian 
act. While others feel the need for a certain  pompousness  in  their 
music and "we're Pagan warriors and come back to take what  once  was 
ours"  lyrics  and  imagery,  Drudkh's  approach  is  stripped  down, 
droning, hypnotic, and, while relying on proven concepts, original in 
its execution. With two Hate Forest members in their ranks  it's  not 
really surprising that there are certain similarities between the two 
bands, but overall Drudkh sound less dissonant, more melodic and less 
sterile, which is also due to a  more  natural  sounding  production, 
especially as far as the drumming is concerned. This  is  an  awesome 
debut record which is highly recommended not only to fans of  obscure 
underground material but also those who look for emotional,  raw  and 
violent music devoid of keyboards and acoustic sections somewhere  in 
between black, Pagan and Viking metal.                                


Embraze - _Katharsis_  (Low Frequency Records, 2001)
by: Adam Lineker  (6.5 out of 10)

A truly great piece of power metal grabs you by the heartstrings  and 
blasts you with the metal spirit, making you throw ridiculous shapes, 
torture your  neck  muscles  and  develop  an  affinity  for  plastic 
weaponry. Sadly, finding a truly great work of  power  metal  is  not 
a pleasure regularly  experienced.  So  many  bands,  no  matter  how 
feverishly they rework those  Maiden  riffs,  fail  to  capture  that 
crucial vibe that separates bombastic brilliance from cheesy shite. I 
was immediately gripped by  the  opening  track  of  _Katharsis_,  an 
emotive work of dynamic riffing  and  beautiful  guitar  melody  that 
transforms Embraze into fantasy metal gods in an  instant.  It  is  a 
real shame that the triumph of "My Star"  burns  out  and  dissipates 
into nothing as  the  album  progresses  into  turgidity.  While  the 
music is refined by a thickened production  and  a  clinically  tight 
performance, no amount of proficiency or gloss can  smooth  over  the 
abundance of peaks and troughs featured on this opus. The strength of 
Lauri Tuohimaa's vocals is also somewhat suspect: although his  voice 
gives Embraze some character, his power  death  gurglings  are  often 
mundane and, although he attempts to compensate with  expression,  it 
soon becomes obvious that he has a  rather  restricted  vocal  range. 
Embraze battle their stylistic shortcomings in variety  with  moments 
of melodic flair, and although nothing matches "My Star",  both  "The 
Sun Loves the Moon" and "Closed" are strong works. Yet there are many 
tracks that are not worth mention. There is less  choking  idiocy  on 
_Katharsis_ than there might have been, but when Tuohimaa attempts to 
be James Hetfield  (ooooo!)  on  the  groovier  tracks  it  is  truly 
cringeworthy. And don't even get me  started  on  the  horrible  folk 
keyboards in "Frozen Swan". Ultimately _Katharsis_ shows that Embraze 
could be promising, but at present  they  lack  consistency  in  many 
areas. This offering would work so much better as an EP; the  opening 
track has received multiple spins through my sound system, but I have 
very little interest in revisiting the rest of this album.            

Contact: http://www.mastervox.fi/embraze/


Enslaved - _Below the Lights_  (Osmose, 2003)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (8.5 out of 10)

When your first release dates back to ten years ago, you  are  likely 
to be criticized for one of two  reasons:  either  because  you  kept 
playing the same style over and over again and  haven't  evolved,  or 
because you have adulterated your original style and  alienated  your 
loyal following. In my experience, this seemingly inescapable  vortex 
of criticism only seems to have one way  out,  and  that  is  through 
the quality  of  your  music  regardless  of  the  path  you  choose. 
As a  reviewer,  I  am  not  about  to  whinge  too  much  because  a 
band has virtually  recorded  the  same  album  again  or  introduced 
completely different elements into their music -if- the end result is 
sufficiently good. In Enslaved's case  (even  if  you  disregard  the 
band's earliest work) albums like _Frost_, _Eld_ and  the  relatively 
recent (and my personal favourite)  _Blodhemn_  remain  as  landmarks 
both in terms of the style they helped define and their quality.  The 
band's last couple of albums, _Mardraum_ and _Monumension_, saw  them 
move into more psychedelic territory while still sticking  with  some 
of the black metal they  originated  from.  Reactions  to  those  two 
albums were mixed: I, for one,  thought  _Mardraum_  interesting  but 
_Monumension_ inconsistent and disappointing.                         

A couple of years after _Monumension_ came out, Enslaved are back  -- 
and how much they blew me away with _Below the  Lights_'  opener  "As 
Fire Swept Clean  the  Earth"  I  cannot  emphasize  enough:  solemn, 
majestic and intense, a truly outstanding track. Of  course  it  goes 
without saying that such an excellent start raises  expectations  for 
the rest  of  the  album  beyond  what  is  perhaps  reasonable,  and 
unfortunately _Below the Lights_ is not the absolute classic it would 
surely have been had  such  a  high  quality  level  been  maintained 
throughout. This is not to say the remainder of the album  turns  out 
to be mediocre, however; it certainly surpasses  its  predecessor  in 
terms of both consistency and highlights ("Ridicule Swarm", "A Darker 
Place" and "The  Crossing",  for  instance),  and  renews  hope  that 
Enslaved can again become the force they once were  --  all  this  as 
they continue to mix their Viking black metal roots with death  metal 
influences (though seemingly less than on  the  previous  album)  and 
quirky progressive passages.                                          

Having blamed Roy Kronheim (based on track authorship)  for  most  of 
what I  felt  were  _Monumension_'s  shortcomings  in  my  review  of 
that album, and with said guitarist  having  left  the  band,  I  had 
high  expectations  for  _Below  the  Lights_;  and  while  "As  Fire 
Swept Clean the Earth"  certainly  exceeded  them,  the  album  as  a 
whole pretty much met those expectations. I  still  feel  that  these 
days Enslaved occasionally drift into somewhat  repetitive  and  less 
interesting passages, but _Below the  Lights_  nevertheless  features 
some magnificent material and remains a welcome  return  to  form  by 
Enslaved.                                                             

[Quentin Kalis: "Ten years on and Enslaved have yet to  release  what 
 could be considered a 'dud' album. On the contrary, this is possibly 
 their finest work to date. _Below the Lights_  builds  on  the  new, 
 progressive direction forged by _Mardraum: Beyond  the  Within_  and 
 _Monumension_.  Vestiges  of  their  black  and  Viking  metal  past 
 occasionally surface; unlike some bands who seemingly wish to ignore 
 their early days, these elements should be seen as a homage to and a 
 recognition of a past they are  attempting  to  build  upon,  rather 
 than deny. Nor do these  atavistic  tendencies  act  as  a  dampener 
 on experimentation --  progressive  rock  melodies  sit  comfortably 
 alongside death metal riffs and  jazzy  intros.  A  truly  excellent 
 album."]                                                             


Escualo - _Ritual_  (Independent, 2003)
by: Quentin Kalis  (8 out of 10)

Given the high profile of nu-metal bands,  and  the  resultant  scorn 
displayed to the scene by those who have an interest in anything more 
obscure than Cradle of Filth, it is easy to forget that there  is  an 
underground nu-metal scene producing music of a quality unmatched  by 
many of the bigger names. One  such  band  is  Escualo,  the  perfect 
antidote to the undiluted excrement  supplied  in  abundance  by  the 
likes of Korn or Soulfly. Although these Chileans  sing  entirely  in 
Spanish, the language barrier shouldn't pose too much of a problem -- 
although admittedly, it can be a bit frustrating not knowing  whether 
the vocalist is indulging in annoying ranting about Davisian angst or 
considerably more intelligent socio-political commentary. Considering 
the similarities Escualo share with System of a Down (especially with 
regard to a similar quirkiness in song writing and structure), it  is 
most likely the latter. (Oh well, if you're going to be influenced by 
a nu-metal band, it might as well be  the  best!)  Elements  of  Mike 
Patton's unique vocal style can also be heard. If anyone is going  to 
succeed in converting yours truly to the nu-metal cause,  it's  going 
to be the likes of Escualo, not the MTV darlings.                     

Contact: http://www.escualo.cl


Evanescence - _Fallen_  (Wind-Up Records, 2003)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (4 out of 10)

For years now I have not turned to the radio or  television  to  look 
for any music, but the media industry is such that it can  reach  you 
virtually anywhere.  Evanescence's  hit  singles  "Going  Under"  and 
"Bring Me to Life" have received more airplay  than  most  in  recent 
months (at least in Portugal), thus becoming  two  of  the  songs  to 
reach me in spite of my "musical  spam  filter".  So  why  did  I  go 
through the trouble of hearing the entirety of their disc and writing 
a review for CoC when they're already all  over  MTV  and  such?  The 
reason is twofold: one -- and note that this  isn't  saying  much  -- 
their hit singles actually have enough quality to  justify  a  second 
glance, much to the contrary of the rest of their ilk that I'm  aware 
of (most certainly including labelmates  Drowning  Pool  and  Creed); 
two, they have irked me in an entirely different  manner  than  their 
peers.                                                                

Evanescence build their nu metal-ish sound around the vocals  of  the 
talented Amy Lee, who describes their music as "epic, dramatic,  dark 
rock". She goes on about  their  homeland  Arkansas  in  the  group's 
official biography: "It's  typically  death  metal  or  really  soft, 
older-people music there -- I don't even know of any local bands that 
have female singers." However, Evanescence ought  to  know  that  the 
world does not end in Little  Rock,  Arkansas,  or  even  the  United 
States. In Europe, metal bands have been  successfully  incorporating 
various amounts of female vocals into their sound since the mid-'90s. 
What Evanescence have done is simply take that contrasting  blend  of 
female vocals and heavy music and give  it  a  commercial,  nu  metal 
treatment that hugely boosts the band's marketability. This leads  me 
to the way Evanescence have specifically irked me:  the  vocal  style 
and some of the guitar riffs on _Fallen_ bear  more  than  a  passing 
resemblance to a simplified version of Norway's Madder Mortem,  whose 
vastly superior work easily predates Evanescence's --  and  the  same 
can be said about some of the softer tracks on the album compared  to 
The Gathering. Yet whose is the public success, whose  the  financial 
gain? Ultimately, it's the music industry and its  marketing  machine 
that continue to dictate the  results,  because  most  people  simply 
can't be arsed to look for the better band.                           

So, how good  is  _Fallen_  then?  Having  already  said  Evanescence 
deserved a second glance much more than their  labelmates  and  other 
such peers,  I  must  nonetheless  point  out  the  often  repetitive 
choruses, bland guitar and drum sound, poor riffs, occasionally silly 
male vocal patterns coupled  with  weak  delivery,  and  the  general 
commercial take to their music as negative factors. Which is quite  a 
lot when you look at it, much as it  still  isn't  as  bad  as  their 
competition. Truth be told, Amy  Lee's  vocals  are  responsible  for 
about three fourths of my rating -- not because they are particularly 
amazing, but because the rest is rather mediocre.  The  remainder  of 
the album actually tends to be somewhat  less  nu  metal  and  Madder 
Mortem-ish, at times becoming  more  melancholic  and  keyboard-based 
and bringing to mind  The  Gathering  in  some  of  those  occasions. 
Unfortunately, things never get very remarkable in any way apart from 
the couple of overplayed choruses from their  singles  --  we've  all 
heard  the  slower  piano  tracks  somewhere  before,  and  even  the 
attempted symphonic edge of closing track "Whisper" reeks  of  things 
that have been done much better by metal bands years ago.             

Those into bands  like  Madder  Mortem  or  The  Gathering  who  like 
Evanescence's singles enough could do worse than give _Fallen_ a try; 
but do not expect it to be anywhere nearly as good as those bands, or 
as catchy as the singles. For me, this brief  excursion  out  of  the 
underground is over, and served only to remind me how great music can 
be down here.                                                         

Contact: http://www.evanescence.com


Forest Stream - _Tears of Mortal Solitude_  (Earache / Elitist, 2003)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (8 out of 10)

When you have an album title such as _Tears of Mortal  Solitude_  you 
are bound to generate certain expectations, so either your  music  is 
going to be seriously miserable or -I-  will  be  seriously  unhappy. 
Fortunately Forest Stream have plenty  of  miserable  sounding  riffs 
and vocals, and above all  the  music  remains  sombre  and  majestic 
throughout -- so I'm quite happy with that. These  Russians  are  all 
about a solemn blend of doom and black metal, and clearly have a soft 
spot for generally well  incorporated  symphonic  touches.  Katatonia 
circa the immortal _Dance of December Souls_ clearly played  a  major 
part in influencing Forest Stream, and that's about as promising  you 
can make an influence sound to me -- but  these  Russians  manage  to 
keep their personality intact on _Tears of  Mortal  Solitude_  rather 
than coming across as copycats. Amidst the desolate string  plucking, 
emotional lead guitar work  and  various  rasped  and  growled  vocal 
approaches, there is more symphonic black metal  than  on  _Dance  of 
December Souls_. The pace is more often slow than anywhere near fast, 
however, and while the feeling of the music remains mostly sorrowful, 
it is not quite as extreme as Katatonia's early classic.              

_Tears of Mortal Solitude_ weighs in at over one hour,  with  several 
tracks around  the  eight  to  ten  minute  mark;  easy  chorus-based 
structures are not something you will find here. Although  the  album 
only really picks up with the twelve minute "Last Season Purity"  and 
the ten minute "Snowfall" (which follow  a  somewhat  upbeat  opening 
track), the quality of  FS's  music  speaks  for  itself  as  far  as 
justifying how a Russian band gets their debut  released  through  an 
Earache  sub-label.  Given  time,  they  seem  likely  to  produce  a 
follow-up of even greater quality, which is definitely  something  to 
look forward to. Overall, though some of the synth work still needs a 
bit of polishing, Forest Stream  have  crafted  an  impressive  debut 
album that should  put  a  broad  smile  (figuratively  speaking,  of 
course!) on the face of most doom metal fanatics -- especially  those 
that also happen to like a bit of black metal.                        

Contact: http://www.foreststream.net


Gothica - _The Cliff of Suicide_  (Cold Meat Industry, 2003)
by: Xander Hoose  (8 out of 10)

Italian neoclassicals Gothica  are  a  professional  lot.  Keyboards, 
vocals,  violins,  oboe,  drums  and  more  --  all  the  instruments 
needed to  create  an  atmospheric  soundtrack  have  been  carefully 
selected, rather  than  just  thrown  into  the  mix.  The  trademark 
vocals as performed by Alessandra have improved  a  lot  since  their 
last album: this time she manages  to  reach  an  impressive  variety 
of frequencies with her  voice  without  making  it  sound  strained. 
Perfectly complementing her voice,  Roberto's  soothing  male  vocals 
cite the lyrics throughout the album. The whole sound and  atmosphere 
breathes Dead Can Dance, but that quality  level  is  never  reached. 
That doesn't mean Gothica isn't any good; in fact,  I  think  they're 
one of the most gifted gothic bands to come from Italy. _TCoS_  is  a 
treat for any neoclassical gothic fan, and I'm curious as to  whether 
or not they'll manage to receive more attention from a wider audience 
with this album.                                                      


Hate Forest - _Purity_  (Supernal Music, 2003)
by: Matthias Noll  (8 out of 10)

Combine the droning Burzum or Darkthrone approach with extremely deep 
and brutal yet natural sounding death metal vocals; put them  on  top 
of repetitive, dissonant guitar work that sometimes sounds like black 
metallized Morbid Angel riffs; add an extremely linear,  machine-like 
rhythmic backbone; and you get to the core of what Ukranian NSBM  act 
Hate Forest is about these days. Although the vocals sometimes change 
to a screechier style, their mostly guttural delivery  and  the  fact 
that most of the riffs might have more  in  common  with  death  than 
black metal might put off the purists, it is the actual execution and 
delivery of Hate Forest's material that firmly  places  them  in  the 
black metal category. Rather  than  bringing  up  images  of  nebulah 
hordes  or  infernal  fields,  this  music  drills  mercilessly  into 
your skull and resembles a  festering,  infected  wound  which  keeps 
pulsing endlessly, sometimes in synch with one's increased heartbeat, 
sometimes faster, but  always  there  and  always  hurting  until  it 
becomes a masochistic desire to feel the pain.  In  my  opinion  Hate 
Forest have not found a sound that is completely appropriate to their 
music yet, their guitar tones could be  stronger,  and  they  have  a 
tendency to sound a bit thin, tinny and mechanical; but  as  soon  as 
the pitch-black atmosphere has grabbed you by the throat,  the  doors 
to cavernous crypts of eternal torture are open wide.                 


Institut - _Live Like Traitors, Die Like Traitors_
by: Alvin Wee  (8 out of 10)  (Cold Meat Industry, 2003)

This second full length for these Swedes sees  the  husband-wife  duo 
exploring new musical  territory  (for  themselves),  increasing  the 
breadth and complexity of their textures while  retaining  the  loose 
rhythmic structures that made their first album an  instant  classic. 
Familiar throbbing basslines are layered over with controlled  blasts 
of white noise alternating with twisted junk-metal cacophony, as  the 
combo of male and  female  ranting  is  distorted  into  satisfyingly 
hate-filled spasms.  An  impressive  stylistic  palette  is  explored 
throughout  the  album,  all  the  while  maintaining  the  project's 
allegiances to the traditional Euro-p.e. sound. "Pick It Up" sports a 
wall-of-white-noise, sheet-metal din akin to Grunt or  Slogun,  while 
"Move Over Once" fucks around in ultra high-pitched Sutcliffe  Jugend 
territory (though never quite as intolerable).  Other  elements  like 
classic Merzbow fluttering and narrow-band sweeping  tones  begin  to 
creep their way in as well, making for a  highly  varied,  intriguing 
listen throughout. I've  always  held  the  ultra  old-school  analog 
material on _Unto the Last Man_  to  be  Institut's  best  work,  and 
they oblige here with occasional throwbacks  like  "Once  A  Man"  or 
"Traitors". A great album overall, if  not  the  most  innovative  in 
recent times.                                                         

[Jackie Smit: "This  album  is  a  forty  minute  long  quarter-arsed 
 attempt at ambient/noise that is so unspeakably poor that methinks I 
 could very easily have inserted a guitar jack into  my  rectum,  and 
 ended up creating something of greater  musical  value.  I  consider 
 myself very liberal and  open-minded  toward  any  form  of  extreme 
 music, but this is, wiithout the slightest hint of exaggeration, the 
 biggest waste of time I have ever had the misfortune of encountering 
 in my  entire  life.  The  only  thing  that  annoys  me  more  than 
 Institut's pathetic, laughable efforts at  sounding  'dangerous'  is 
 the fact that I'll never get the forty minutes of my life back  that 
 I spent listening to this bullshit."]                                


Leviathan - _The Throne Of Bones_  (Monkeyhouse Recordings, 2003)
by: Alvin Wee  (6.5 out of 10)

This compact  little  dark  ambient  offering  marks  the  solid,  if 
unspectacular debut of both label and band  from  the  UK.  Leviathan 
draws on  long-standing  Lustmordian  traditions  throughout  the  27 
minutes,  producing  low-end,  slightly  melodic  drones  accompanied 
by occasional sweeping waves  and  a  semblance  of  rhythm  (on  the 
excellent "Wraithmarch"). Layers of abyssal orchestration, drones and 
martial percussion are piled on in  "Tomb",  all  but  attaining  the 
claustrophobic textures characteristic of the best dark ambient acts, 
and coming across as  somewhat  flat  and  one-dimensional  (a  fault 
pervading the entire album). I'd put it down mainly  to  inexperience 
in the production department, but also a  lack  of  maturity  in  the 
soundscaping process. Composition technique seems to focus on linear, 
simplistic arrangements and layering; to  call  it  minimalist  would 
be  to  make  unnecessary  excuses  for  the  clearly  underdeveloped 
songwriting. Still, this album is a refreshing  new  voice  from  the 
scene, showcasing an uncommon ear for structure and narrative (sorely 
lacking in the genre), and it isn't  difficult  to  imagine  stronger 
things emerging from these studios in future.                         


Monolithe - _Monolithe I_  (Appease Me, 2003)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (8 out of 10)

Looking for some  energetic,  revitalizing  metal?  Then  you  should 
definitely look elsewhere, because _Monolithe I_, in all its majesty, 
is thoroughly morose. Ponderous artificial drums,  rumbling  guitars, 
distant  synth  and  vast,  cavernous  vocals  --  all   occasionally 
sprinkled  with  more  involved  drum  patterns,   sorrowful   guitar 
harmonies, atmospheric passages and spoken vocals. Not an  incredibly 
novel concept, but the fact is Monolithe have  done  it  superbly  on 
this first outing. _Monolithe I_ is  comprised  solely  of  a  single 
track, weighing in at a monstrous fifty  odd  minutes;  but  even  in 
all its gloom, the music  is  still  sufficiently  varied  to  remain 
interesting throughout. This is not the kind of album that  tries  to 
impress the listener, though it can seriously depress him;  as  such, 
you won't find violins or female vocals here in spite of some vaguely 
symphonic leanings. _Monolithe I_ remains  very  solid  and  cohesive 
throughout, something that is reinforced even further by  its  single 
track format, resulting in a massive piece of  doom  metal  --  truly 
monolithic, and one  of  the  best  of  its  kind  in  recent  years. 
_Monolithe I_ and the new Blut Aus Nord are the first two releases by 
the brand new French label Appease Me, and  given  the  quality  they 
both possess, I definitely expect great things from this label in the 
future.                                                               

Contact: http://www.monolithe.free.fr


Moonsorrow - _Kivenkantaja_  (Spikefarm, 2003)
by: Quentin Kalis  (8.5 out of 10)

Considering that  their  previous  CD,  _Voimasta  ja  Kunniasta_  is 
literally the best Viking metal album since _Hammerheart_,  it  would 
be unlikely that Moonsorrow would top their sophomore masterpiece and 
unfair to expect them to do so.  Nonetheless,  they  make  a  valiant 
attempt, and while _Kivenkantaja_ ("Stonebearer") comes close to  the 
dizzying heights reached by _VjK_, it simply just isn't quite as good 
-- though still miles ahead of anything else released by  any  Viking 
metal-related act this year. _Kivenkantaja_ differs  from  _VjK_  and 
their debut, _Suden Uni_, in that it is calmer, more reflective,  and 
a more mature album. Apart from  that  change,  _Kivenkantaja_  isn't 
substantially different from its predecessors, but  it  does  contain 
sufficient subtle tweaks and alterations so that  it  doesn't  merely 
feel like a rehash of the band's previous work. The lyrics are  still 
sung in  their  native  Finnish,  but  it  seems  likely  that  their 
preferred lyrical topics remain unchanged. After three albums  it  is 
safe to say that not only are they elevated to the elite pantheon  of 
quality Viking metal, they are now the (ahem) thronebearers; if  not, 
then it is merely a matter of time.                                   

Contact: http://www.moonsorrow.com


Mourning Beloveth - _The Sullen Sulcus_  (Aftermath, 2003)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (9 out of 10)

Irish doomsters Mourning Beloveth are  back  with  the  follow-up  to 
their commendable debut _Dust_, this time with a record label  behind 
them. Opener "The Words That Crawled" sets the pattern for  the  rest 
of the album: slow,  heavy  doom  metal  with  pronounced  riffs  and 
sorrowful guitar work, tortured guttural vocals and despondent  clean 
vocal passages. With  Mags  again  at  the  production  helm  in  the 
legendary Academy Studio, Mourning Beloveth virtually guaranteed _The 
Sullen Sulcus_ would be bestowed with a powerful, well balanced sound 
that would fit their British doom metal roots perfectly -- and so  it 
happened. Despite their band name and having plenty in common with My 
Dying Bride sound-wise, Mourning Beloveth's brand of  doom  metal  is 
not particularly romantic and certainly not orchestrally enhanced  on 
_The Sullen Sulcus_ -- a case where the album title tells more  about 
the music than the band name. Either way, Mourning Beloveth  are  one 
of those doom bands that simply do not allow  the  listener  to  even 
raise his eyes from the ground for the duration of the disc, and that 
sort of consistency tends to score  highly  with  doom  connoisseurs. 
Such is the case on _The Sullen  Sulcus_:  accompanied  by  excellent 
doom vocals and percussion, miserable guitar  harmonies  follow  slow 
bone-crushing riffs in a cycle  that  renews  itself  over  and  over 
again, digging a grave ever deeper in which all hope is buried.  _The 
Sullen Sulcus_ is a more accomplished  album  than  its  predecessor, 
with the band showing more consistency and stronger  ideas;  Mourning 
Beloveth have not yet reached the level of My Dying Bride or  Evoken, 
but they are  certainly  getting  closer.  Until  then,  _The  Sullen 
Sulcus_ is more than just another highlight in  what's  been  a  fine 
year for the genre: it is the best doom metal I've heard this year.   

Contact: http://www.mourningbeloveth.com


My Ruin - _The Horror of Beauty_  (Century Media, 2003)
by: Jackie Smit  (4 out of 10)

Let's face facts: Tairrie B has always had a craving for fame and the 
spotlight. Period. Since her early days in Manhole and  Tura  Satana, 
her work has always  carefully  followed  every  changing  trend  and 
nuance in metal, and it should come as no surprise to learn that _The 
Horror of Beauty_ sheds much of the nu metal swagger  that  permeated 
her last few albums, in favor of the increasingly  popular  bawdiness 
of garage rock and post hardcore. While musically this is a  marginal 
improvement on the soul-draining torment that was _Blasphemous Girl_, 
no amount of musical invention would be able  to  drown  out  Ms  B's 
relentlessly self- obsessed and tiresome whining. Still regurgitating 
the same self- styled martyr-like drivel that she always  has,  Ms  B 
and her bandmates soundtrack fourteen sermons of  female  insecurity, 
male chauvinism and Hollywood hypocrisy. While all worthy  topics  in 
their own right, there comes  a  time  when  enough  is  enough.  And 
Tairrie -- in your case, I have definitely had enough.                


Nod - _The Story of the Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf_
by: Alvin Wee  (8.5 out of 10)  (Cold Meat Industry, 2003)

A very respectable (and anticipated)  first  album  from  this  young 
project which turned heads  on  the  _Nihil_  compiliation.  The  new 
circle of Swedish noisemakers are finally injecting some variety into 
the tired death industrial scene and Nod prove  to  be  smart,  saucy 
torchbearers of this ethic. The quirky title track kicks  things  off 
with the famous fairytale set  to  a  Brighter  Death  Now  backdrop. 
Things start picking up a little on the second track which opens with 
a delicate harp motif that soon succumbs to  a  rhythmic  torrent  of 
metallic electronics and vocal proclamations. Highly  structured  and 
relatively melodic, this is classic Swedish power industrial given  a 
youthful kick. More strangeness ensues on "And"  with  female  spoken 
word and a girl singing some sort of spacey, dissonant acid-jazz tune 
set to analogue dronings. Not quite as  strange  as  it  sounds,  and 
extremely evocative indeed. The remaining tracks run the  gamut  from 
brooding death industrial to full-blown  white  noise  assaults  with 
distorted ranting,  but  always  with  a  characteristic  vigour  and 
inventiveness that makes the album beg for repeated listening.  Jaded 
listeners will find this tongue-in-cheek outing a  very  entertaining 
adventure indeed; not everything here works, but what does makes  for 
extremely engaging listening.                                         


Nokturnal Mortum - _The Taste of Victory_  (Oriana, 2003)
by: Quentin Kalis  (8.5 out of 10)

They say that converts to a cause are the most  fanatical,  and  this 
may explain in  part  why  relatively  new  NSBM  converts  Nokturnal 
Mortum go to such extremes to associate themselves  with  the  scene. 
Fortunately, this does not mean that they have degenerated  into  the 
audio Leni Riefenstahl, and this album retains the  high  calibre  of 
past efforts -- in fact, this may just be their  best  release  since 
the amazing _Goat Horns_. _The Taste of Victory_ is a (ahem) taste of 
things to come -- the first three songs are lifted from the  upcoming 
_Weltanschauung_ album, while the last track is unreleased. The first 
two songs feature heavy  doses  of  folk  influence  which  dominate, 
relegating the guitars to a subservient role. As implied,  the  title 
track possesses an epic edge, echoing latter day Bathory. The  fourth 
is unreleased and with good reason, being the weakest track  by  far. 
It starts with a doom-like riff before launching into  more  familiar 
Nokturnal Mortum territory and finishing off  with  a  folksy  outro. 
These sections appear disconnected, and at nearly fifteen minutes  it 
would have benefited from some judicious editing without  losing  any 
impact. Overall, it is a pleasing indicator of the strong  future  of 
the Nokturnal Mortum camp.                                            

Contact: oriana@online.kharkiv.com


Number One Son - _Lessons_  (Visible Noise, 2003)
by: Xander Hoose  (8.5 out of 10)

Standing on the border of what we usually review, Number One  Son  is 
primarily an alternative rock band that has quite a following in  the 
hardcore/metal scene. Which isn't very strange: _Lessons_ is  on  the 
heavy side of things, and much more original than others like  Linkin 
Park and Deftones. Musically somewhat  similar  to  Thorn.Eleven  and 
LostProphets, Number One  Son  has  a  somewhat  more  bombastic  and 
aggressive sound without losing that poppy feeling  to  their  songs. 
While the guitar  work  is  definitely  worth  mentioning,  the  most 
surprising element are the vocals, which are so clean and vital  that 
many bands could learn from this. No false keys,  no  forced  voices. 
Slower songs like "Renewal" act like a piece of calmness between  the 
riffing, defining the contour of the songs more clearly. Even  though 
the album runs a little too long, _Lessons_ is recommended for  those 
into the alt/emo corner, and hopefully we'll see  them  touring  soon 
with some fitting bands.                                              


Nunslaughter - _Goat_  (Metal War Productions, 2003)
by: Matthias Noll  (7 out of 10)

With seemingly more releases than the entire back catalogue  of  Iron 
Maiden (including reissues),  it's  quite  difficult  to  keep  track 
what's going  on  with  Nunslaughter.  After  an  endless  stream  of 
studio rehearsals and  live  recordings,  these  old-school  lunatics 
have finally managed to release  another  studio  full-length.  Quite 
surprisingly,  _Goat_  introduces  a  couple  of   changes   in   the 
ultra-stubborn and primitive Nunslaughter approach: the production is 
cleaner than on _Hell's Unholy Fires_, and this time around the  song 
structures  on  some  tracks,  as  well  as  the  number,  usage  and 
positioning of breaks, are much closer to  traditional  thrash  metal 
than they've been on earlier material that I'm familiar  with.  While 
these changes might come as a bit of a surprise,  they  do  not  mean 
that the band shows any signs of wimping out on us or adopting a less 
underground stance. Don of the  Dead's  vocals  are  as  throaty  and 
charismatic as ever, there are no guitar solos, and the lyrics  still 
deal with ever popular topics such  as  nun-raping  and  every  other 
imaginable blasphemy. The word technical  still  does  not  make  the 
slightest sense when trying to describe the music on _Goat_. However, 
I feel that the changes I've  spotted  have  a  slightly  diminishing 
effect on the uniqueness of Nunslaughter's stylistic identity.  Songs 
like  the  relentless  opening  track  "The  Crowned  and  Conquering 
Hag"  thrash  raw,  fast  and  teeth-  grittingly  good,  but  follow 
the construction plan for  second  wave  thrash  metal  tunes  a  bit 
too closely. Setting my minor  gripes  aside,  I  have  to  say  that 
overall_Goat_ and especially  tracks  like  "Raid  the  Convent"  are 
certainly good enough to require immediate addition to the collection 
of every fan of '80s style raw, no-nonsense death- thrash.            


Nuse - _Hung Well_  (Independent, 2003)
by: Adrian Magers  (4 out of 10)

This bizarre New Jersey band marks their tenth anniversary with their 
debut LP after a slew of demo EPs.  Although  the  band's  music  was 
generally enjoyable,  some  of  their  secondary  presentation  would 
probably drive away many potential fans from wanting to actually look 
deeper into what  the  band  does.  This  CD  features  possibly  the 
shittiest-looking cover in  the  history  of  music.  Now  it's  true 
that it's unfair to  judge  a  book  (or  anything)  by  its  outward 
appearance, but having such an effortless  approach  to  such  things 
can't help. Anyway, onto the important things. Nuse  has  opened  for 
Biohazard, Cannibal Corpse, Clutch, Entombed, M.O.D., Mercyful  Fate, 
The Misfits, Napalm Death, Nuclear Assault, Overkill,  Pro-Pain,  and 
Type O Negative. This is definitely an  impressive  resume,  and  the 
listener  can  pick  elements  of  some  of  those  acts  (especially 
Biohazard and Clutch) in the mix of sounds Nuse employs. There's also 
some Anthrax, a little bit of Slayer, maybe some Faith  No  More  and 
what I do believe is a Nirvana riff pulsing through track four, a cut 
entitled "Smoke" (Kurt-worshippers will have to verify that for  me). 
The metalcore/thrash fusion is well done, but a lot  of  elements  of 
the band are annoying for the sole purpose of being weird or strange. 
While  this  tendency  makes  some  acts  endearing,  it  makes  Nuse 
irritating. I'd like to love the  band;  they  have  a  lot  kick-ass 
material and painfully good riffs. Half the album gets  a  'B+',  the 
other half gets a 'D-'.                                               

Contact: http://www.nuse.tv


Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio - _Cocktails, Carnage,
                            Crucifixion and Pornography_
by: Xander Hoose  (7 out of 10)  (Cold Meat Industry, 2003)

To celebrate its tenth anniversary and fifth release,  Ordo  Rosarius 
Equilibrio has released a new album to enlighten the dark souls -- or 
actually the opposite, really. Accompanied by a marching beat we  are 
introduced once more to the  deep  vocal  style  that  became  Ordo's 
trademark years ago, but the  album  has  more  to  offer.  Borrowing 
heavily from different folk styles, _CCCaP_ incorporates  traditional 
French and Roman influences whilst keeping ORE's  baroque  industrial 
atmosphere on many songs. Lyrically, Ordo is becoming more  and  more 
sexually oriented, although there is  nothing  really  explicit  here 
that'll possibly shock the listener. My main complaint about  _CCCaP_ 
is that it's not very different  from  their  previous  releases,  at 
least not different enough to  justify  paying  the  full  price  for 
the album. Hopefully on a  future  album  there  will  be  some  more 
experimentation...                                                    

Contact: http://www.ordo-rosarius-equilibrio.net


Ornaments of Sin - _Inhale Zyklon-B_  (Total Holocaust Records, 2003)
by: Matthias Noll  (5 out of 10)

Without a question France is a hot spot as far as  underground  black 
metal goes. Bands like Blut aus Nord, Nehemah  and  Deathspell  Omega 
have set the bar for recent French black metal to a very high  level, 
and my expectations are never low when a new band from the country of 
frog and baguette  emerges.  Unfortunately,  Ornaments  of  Sin  have 
nothing to offer which would justify further praise  to  be  bestowed 
upon their country of origin. Yes, they have a controversional  album 
title which surely guarantees a  decent  amount  of  attention  among 
worshippers of NSBM, claim to be  "French  black  metal  elite",  and 
swing some oversized spiked maces on  their  band  photos,  but  they 
simply do not have much substance to back it up. Even for underground 
black metal with 4-track demo quality, their material is not recorded 
in a ripping  and  appropriately  raw  fashion.  The  drums  are  too 
up-front in the mix and the guitar buzzes somewhat harmlessly in  the 
background. The songs cover a fairly broad spectrum of paces and here 
and there a medium paced part with  a  decent  groove  hints  at  the 
possibility of more potential, but overall this is raw black metal by 
the numbers. _Inhale Zyklon-B_ is no overly blatant  rip-off  of  any 
established act and there surely are worse bands around, but  neither 
do Ornaments of Sin establish any atmosphere or identity nor do  they 
really impress on any other level. Don't ask me  why  they  just  got 
signed by Christhunt Productions -- the quality of the music on  this 
release can't be the reason and should only appeal to those who  have 
way more CD shelve space to fill than what's necessary for the  truly 
noteworthy stuff.                                                     


Pantheïst - _O Solitude_  (Firebox, 2003)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (7 out of 10)

Belgians Pantheïst approach doom metal mostly from a funereal, darkly 
orchestral perspective. The deep  classical  music  influences  shine 
through amidst the murky doom  metal,  usually  accompanied  by  very 
decent clean vocals instead of the also sufficiently competent  death 
vox. But Pantheïst also take some  other  measures  to  increase  the 
uniqueness of  their  sound,  most  of  which  unfortunately  detract 
greatly from my enjoyment of an album that is  otherwise  very  good. 
After the excellent first eight minutes of opener "O  Solitude",  for 
instance, pace suddenly moves up a notch; but the plodding  riff  and 
subsequent blastbeat are poorly tacked onto an  otherwise  consistent 
song. On second track "Don't Mourn", after a brilliantly solemn first 
four minutes, things change momentarily into a folksy  tune  that  is 
able to single-handedly ruin a great track -- the  track  would  have 
been better off if it ended after those initial four minutes  instead 
of going on for another ten. The baffling guitar solo and upbeat riff 
towards the end of third track "Time" have a  similar  effect  before 
the song closes with another blastbeat. I don't mind  the  blastbeats 
per se, but they simply aren't good enough  to  justify  their  place 
here. Fourth track "Envy Us" is much  more  consistent,  setting  the 
stage for the massive  eighteen  minute  closer  "Curse  the  Morning 
Light", which is  good,  but  not  great  compared  to  some  of  the 
preceding material that often ends up ruined by  silly  passages  and 
mediocre pace changes. _O Solitude_ is an album  that  features  some 
great music but ends up seriously marred by its lack of consistency.  

Contact: http://www.firebox.fi


Raise Hell - _Wicked Is My Game_  (Nuclear Blast, 2002)
by: Adam Lineker  (5.5 out of 10)

For quite some time now I have felt that the title  theme  from  John 
Carpenter's  seminal  slasher  movie  "Halloween"  should  have  been 
metalized in some way, if only for the sheer fun of  it.  Raise  Hell 
have done exactly that and it works so  much  better  than  it  would 
promise in theory.  Although  it  is  achieved  via  an  interpretive 
cover, _Wicked  Is  My  Game_  is  nicely  set  up  as  an  unserious 
and potentially enjoyable  metal  record.  Which  makes  it  quite  a 
let down when one discovers  that  what  Raise  Hell  have  to  offer 
is  depressingly  unremarkable;  Raise  Hell  play  aggressive  metal 
thematically focused on horror.  With  a  satisfyingly  heavy  guitar 
sound dominating proceeds, the frontman has a  lot  of  Wednesday  13 
(The Murderdolls AKA The Frankenstein Drag Queens From the Planet  13 
Mainstream Revival) in his voice but is sidelined by a  low  presence 
in the mix. The drumming has little impact, although it infuriatingly 
disfigures all proceedings with an excessive wash of cymbal twattery. 
_Wicked  Is  My  Game_(ugh)  is  a  heavily  melodic  riff-orientated 
album that is competently performed and is  not  entirely  devoid  of 
enthusiastic vibe, but Raise Hell are first and  foremostly  hampered 
by shameless cliché. Some of the conceptuality we can forgive  as  it 
contributes to the faint humour of _WIMG_, but musically there is  an 
overbearing sense that this has all been done before. Of course  this 
wouldn't be a problem if _WIMG_ was a  well  executed  and  enjoyable 
album, but it isn't. Raise Hell have effective moments with  the  odd 
inspired riff or  occasional  lead  break,  but  these  are  rendered 
impotent by mundanity and poor structuring. The songs on  this  album 
are needlessly long, just for the sake of it; the only moment besides 
the intro that made me pay attention was the  beginning  of  "Another 
Side", as the band stopped plodding and  conjured  a  refreshing  and 
subtle clean melody. This was predictably short- lived, the band  far 
too happy to jump  straight  back  into  a  stodgy  mass  of  endless 
riffage. Opting for slasher silliness  as  their  point  of  contact, 
Raise Hell fail miserably to produce a half decent album and pull off 
a cheap trick in the process; I will remember _Wicked Is My Game_ but 
only for the first half a minute (and the dreadful title).            


Silent Voices - _Chapters of Tragedy_  (Low Frequency Records, 2002)
by: Adam Lineker  (8.5 out of 10)

The music created by Silent Voices works on many  levels.  Displaying 
both symphonic and progressive traits, _Chapters of Tragedy_  remains 
within familiar boundaries while retaining  elements  of  creativity. 
Having created metal  that  combines  dynamic  virtuosity  with  deep 
sensitivity, Silent Voices are shown to be a highly accomplished band 
by this opus. Most striking of all are the  endeavours  of  guitarist 
Timo  Kauppinen,  who  blazes  up  and  down  the  frets  with  acute 
precision and flair, transforming each solo into an  eagerly  awaited 
performance.  Effective  use  of  keyboards  focuses  a  lot  of  the 
complimentary mood and sufficiently avoids mix swampage.  The  rhythm 
section shapes and controls the  style  of  each  passage;  there  is 
measured embellishment employed with tasteful bass lines, though  the 
drumming is not as adventurous  as  it  might  be.  Vocalist  Michael 
Henneken is competent enough, and  although  he  never  displays  any 
really impressive power, he does well to capture the  prog  vibe  and 
maintain a solid presence. Silent Voices create a very rich  form  of 
music without being self- indulgent. The song writing is well crafted 
and diverse enough to preserve interest; heavy sections  of  metallic 
groove are offset by mellow or menacing  keyboard  atmospherics  that 
paint  appropriate  colours  around  passages  of  prog  metal.  They 
avoid passages of complex scalic runs  and  awkward  time  signatures 
while still  showing  enough  instrumental  flamboyance  to  impress. 
Unfortunately _Chapters of Tragedy_ is an underwhelming first listen, 
with its real majesty wrapped in subtlety beneath  the  surface.  The 
album ends abruptly, leaving behind deep silence and a bemused smile. 
Yet this is almost a prompt to go again,  and  further  spins  reward 
patience with pleasing and accessible music worthy of  attention.  If 
there is any such thing, this is enjoyable easy  listening  for  prog 
fans and power metal lovers alike.                                    


Spawn of Possession - _Cabinet_  (Unique Leader, 2003)
by: Brian Meloon  (10 out of 10)

This is Spawn of Possession's debut album, and it's a very impressive 
piece of work. After a 48 second non-musical intro,  these  guys  rip 
into 37 minutes of technical, brutal death metal.  Their  riffs  have 
the tight, syncopative style of Deeds of Flesh with the sharp  guitar 
tone  and  melodic  flash  of  Necrophagist.  Thus,  they  achieve  a 
near-optimal mix of technicality,  musicality,  and  brutality.  They 
also use a variety of riff tempos and styles, without  overusing  any 
particular technique. The  end  result  is  that  the  music  remains 
brutal yet doesn't get boring.  The  playing  is  excellent:  they're 
exceptionally tight and handle even the most technical sections  with 
ease. Still, the focus is on the songs, and none of  the  instruments 
steal the spotlight. There  are  a  few  guitar  solos,  but  they're 
tasteful, appropriate and short. Similarly, the vocals are growled in 
a very unremarkable style, and suit the music well enough. The lyrics 
are of course incomprehensible, not only because they're growled, but 
also because in many places, they're sung so fast that trying to keep 
up -- even while following along with the lyrics -- is  a  challenge. 
The production is excellent: crystal  clear  and  powerful.  Although 
I've had this album for over seven  months,  it's  still  in  regular 
rotation in my car CD player. It will surely be one  of  my  favorite 
discs for 2003, and I'd urge all technical metal and death metal fans 
to search it out.                                                     

Contact: http://www.spawnofpossession.com


Stamping Ground - _A New Darkness Upon Us_  (Century Media, 2003)
by: Jackie Smit  (7.5 out of 10)

That I regard this London-based mob as  one  of  the  most  exciting, 
thrilling and invigorating live spectacles  around,  is  something  I 
have never kept secret.  On  three  separate  occasions  I  have  had 
the  pleasure  of  witnessing  them  come  within  a  hairs-width  of 
overshadowing such heavyweight headliners as The  Haunted,  Biohazard 
and Sepultura, and now after a rather lengthy three-year gap  between 
albums, their latest effort, _A New Darkness Upon  Us_,  is,  well... 
finally upon us.                                                      

Much has been made of Andy Sneap's involvement in the production  and 
engineering of this record, and while I have been a  fan  of  Sneap's 
work on previous Machine Head and Testament records, on this occasion 
he unfortunately  fails  to  harness  the  merciless  impact  of  the 
Stampin' Ground on-stage act, and as a result a very competent  album 
fails slightly to attain its true potential.  Suffering  particularly 
in this respect is vocalist  Adam  Frakes-Sime,  who  sounds  like  a 
pit-bull on PCP when he hits the stage, but on _A New  Darkness  Upon 
Us_ comes  across  as  comparatively  tame.  Similarly  drummer  Neil 
Hutton's phenomenal prowess is let down by a production job  that  is 
simply too  slick  for  its  own  good,  softening  specifically  the 
head-splitting thud of his razor-sharp double-bass work.              

Criticisms aside however, this is hands-down the best effort Stampin' 
Ground have delivered to date. Tracks like "Dead From the Neck Up" or 
the blistering "Pain Is Weakness" combine the Ground's influences  of 
old-school thrash and  hardcore  to  ferocious  effect.  Successfully 
avoiding monotony, the odd melodic  surprise  even  creeps  into  the 
fray, with a particularly satisfied nod heading in the  direction  of 
"Behind the Light" -- a tune laced with enough vitriolic rage to make 
any so- called post-hardcore pretender scamper for the  nearest  pair 
of available adult undergarments.                                     

So ultimately, despite its shortcomings _A New Darkness Upon Us_ is a 
good record, and if anything,  certainly  proof  enough  that  should 
Stampin' Ground find a way to capture their crushing  stage  presence 
in the studio, we could very well have a band of Slayer-like  majesty 
on our hands.                                                         


The Crown - _Possessed 13_  (Metal Blade, 2003)
by: Matthias Noll  (9 out of 10)

Simply put, _Possessed 13_ sounds as if The  Crown's  previous  album 
_Crowned in Terror_ never got released. While _Crowned in Terror_ was 
certainly a decent album which directed a lot  of  attention  towards 
the band, I always felt it had a couple of flaws. First and foremost, 
it was Tomas Lindberg and not Johan Lindstrand  on  vocals.  Lindberg 
might have been the best possible choice at that point in  time,  but 
somehow his voice just didn't fit The Crown as well  as  Lindstrand's 
dirty and unbelievably powerful roar, and -- as subjective as it  may 
be -- Lindstrand is one of the key factors  that  make  the  band  as 
excellent and charismatic as they are. The increased technicality and 
inclusion of more twin guitar melody work in the typical but overused 
Swedish style, which I felt did not always  work  in  favour  of  the 
band's style on _Crowned in Terror_, has also been  scaled  back  and 
mostly disappeared. Equally important: The Crown once again make  the 
most out of their wicked riffs  and  grooves,  and  got  rid  of  the 
annoying tendency to waste the second half of  tracks  which  started 
with killer riffs by  endlessly  repeating  the  chorus.  With  these 
changes in place, The Crown start right  where  they  left  off  with 
_Deathrace King_. Maybe a bit more simple  and  slightly  more  death 
than thrash this time around as they unleash eleven raging songs  and 
two instrumentals somewhere in  between  the  two  genres,  sometimes 
spiced up with some dirty, rock 'n' roll-ish grooves in  exactly  the 
unique, immediate and insanely frantic style that was one of the most 
important ingredients to make _Deathrace King_ one of the best  death 
metal records of the last ten years. Blessed with  a  huge,  powerful 
sound  that  for  the  first  time  appropriately  highlights  Magnus 
Olsfelt's destructive bass, _Possessed 13_ races  along  mercilessly. 
From  the  stunning  first  blows  of  "No  Tomorrow"  and  "Face  of 
Destruction / Deep Hit  of  Death"  on  through  a  mixture  of  more 
hellishly paced tracks interrupted by a few slower, crunchier numbers 
to the final instrumental, the intensity  level  never  drops.  While 
some songs might  stand  out  slightly,  the  overall  quality  stays 
incredibly  high  throughout  the  album's  50  minutes  and  demands 
attention from start to finish. This alone is a great achievement  in 
a world where every death metal record seems to  end  around  the  30 
minute mark -- and in numerous cases that's already 20 minutes  after 
things got boring. Lyrically The Crown are also back  on  track,  and 
where _Deathrace King_ featured gems as hilarious as metallic to  the 
bone like "Total Satan" and "Blitzkrieg Witchcraft", we now  get  the 
already mentioned "Face of Destruction  /  Deep  Hit  of  Death"  and 
Lindstrand roaring "Rainbow Satan Overflow".  In  direct  comparison, 
_Deathrace King_ might be a slightly  better  album:  it  had  better 
guitar solos and overall the quality of the songs was just  an  ounce 
better; but apart from that, the  outstandingly  packaged  _Possessed 
13_ is certainly the best death metal record I've heard in 2003.      


The Kovenant - _S.E.T.I._  (Nuclear Blast, 2003)
by: Quentin Kalis  (7.5 out of 10)

Those who erroneously maintain that The Kovenant somehow  "sold  out" 
or "went mainstream" with  the  release  of  _Animatronic_  will  not 
change their minds upon hearing _S.E.T. I._ -- if anything,  it  will 
merely reinforce their initial opinion. _S.E.T.I._ is essentially  an 
extension and  solidification  of  the  new  approach  first  adopted 
on  _Animatronic_,  showcasing  further  excursions  into  electronic 
territory. The few metal elements  which  remained  on  _Animatronic_ 
have been greatly watered down; the distinctly metal  vox  have  been 
dropped in favour of clean vocals, not  sounding  too  dissimilar  on 
occasion to a certain  Mr.  Manson.  Some  of  the  lyrics  do  sound 
incredibly amateurish, but the calibre of the album  as  a  whole  is 
fairly high.  It  is  clearly  an  improvement  on  _Animatronic_  -- 
perhaps  the  remake  of  _In  Times  Before  the  Light_  helped  in 
improving their skills and confidence with electronic music.  (Though 
the remade _ITBtL_ still  remains  an  unnecessary  novelty  purchase 
for the listener.) In  keeping  with  the  tradition  established  on 
_Animatronic_, an eccentric cover is chosen,  this  time  Metallica's 
"The Memory Remains" -- infinitely preferable  to  the  original.  In 
short, an excellent expansion of _Animatronic_.                       


Ulcerate - _Ulcerate_  (Independent, 2003)
by: Quentin Kalis  (6 out of 10)

New Zealanders Ulcerate are  to  be  congratulated  on  having  taken 
the initiative to release this  self-financed  MCD.  This  four-piece 
blast their way through four pieces  of  competently  performed,  yet 
ultimately generic brutal death metal. Like many other  self-produced 
albums, it is performed with a passion often lacking on  releases  by 
the larger labels, yet falling short of being truly noteworthy. It is 
clear that they  are  not  trying  to  create  something  unique  and 
innovative, yet it also lacks the personal quirks needed to give a CD 
its own unique identity. As mentioned  earlier,  they  are  competent 
musicians and clearly they are a rough diamond that may yet be  honed 
into a tight, innovative and leading unit. After all, who could  have 
foreseen  back  in  the  early  1990s,  when  Darkthrone's  _Soulside 
Journey_ was released, that they would develop into  one  of  metal's 
most important bands?                                                 

Contact: http://www.ulcerate.orcon.net.nz 


Ulver - _1993-2003: 1st Decade in the Machines_
by: Pedro Azevedo  (4.5 out of 10)  (Jester Records, 2003)

Take a painting you find highly inspirational away from  the  comfort 
of its wall in some museum and drag it to an old slaughterhouse.  Rip 
the painting out of  its  frame  and  casually  crumple  it  into  an 
irregular mess.  Thoroughly  bathe  it  in  a  bucket  of  moderately 
coagulated bovine blood, then run it  through  a  meat  processor.  I 
believe the result would be as valuable and interesting  compared  to 
the original as some of the tracks on _1st Decade  in  the  Machines_ 
compared to their original versions. Of course it can  be  questioned 
whether that is a negative factor per se; whether a remix album  that 
bears virtually no resemblance to the sound, structure or  spirit  of 
the originals should necessarily be seen as a waste  of  the  buyer's 
money or a commendable  effort.  But  whatever  one's  view  on  that 
subject, the quality  of  the  actual  efforts  should  be  the  most 
decisive factor in determining the final result.                      

There is much in this disc that sounds anonymous and devoid  both  of 
context and interest -- not to mention the ridiculous track by Bogdan 
Raczynski. Even Ulver's own opening track fails to stand out from the 
collection,  but  there  are  still  some  very  good  tracks  amidst 
all  this,  unrelated  as  they  may  sound.  The  Alexander  Rishaug 
ambient/noise track is not bad, nor is the more tranquil ambience  of 
The Third Foundation's effort. Martin Horntveth and Stars of the  Lid 
both add some very welcome strings to the mix later on and remain the 
best contributions, while Merzbow's finishing noise track (which even 
begins with a recognizable passage from _Bergtatt_, a true rarity  in 
this disc) is by far the best noise remix. Less  than  half  a  dozen 
good tracks in a  fourteen  track  compilation  cannot  make  a  good 
average, especially when most of those 'other' tracks might  as  well 
not even be there for all they add to the overall result. Those  more 
deeply into the noise genre are likely to extract some more enjoyment 
than this from the disc, though surely not as Ulver remixes.          

Perhaps the purpose of this collection  has  been  achieved;  perhaps 
some people other than the fourteen authors  of  these  remixes  will 
find considerable interest in the entirety of this disc,  instead  of 
less than half of it -- but for this listener, this compilation as  a 
whole presents insufficient aesthetic and musical value.              

Contact: http://www.jester-records.com/ulver/

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                        | \ |_  |\/| / \ (_ 
                        |_/ |   |  | \ / , )
                        ~   ~~~ ~  ~  ~   ~ 

Scoring: 5 out of 5 -- A flawless demo
         4 out of 5 -- Great piece of work
         3 out of 5 -- Good effort
         2 out of 5 -- A major overhaul is in order
         1 out of 5 -- A career change is advisable


Ashley Cook - _Ashley Cook_
by: Brian Meloon  (2 out of 5)

Ashley Cook is the man behind Below [CoC #28], but although this demo 
features exactly the same line-up (namely, just Ashley), the music is 
completely different from Below's. Instead of  complex  thrash,  it's 
similar to the mid-to-late-'80s instrumental guitar  hero  albums  of 
Joe Satriani (especially on the first track, "Scald") and  Lars  Eric 
Mattsson. The songs are slow-to-mid paced and the melodies are  oddly 
memorable. As with many guitarists' solo projects,  the  guitars  are 
the exclusive focus of the  songs.  While  the  drum  programming  is 
decent, it doesn't do anything to stand out. I couldn't hear any bass 
at all, and there were very few keyboards used.  Given  the  relative 
lack of dynamics in the solos, this leaves the demo sounding a little 
one- dimensional, which is my  main  complaint  with  this  offering. 
Technically speaking, it's very good: the playing is solid  --  aside 
from some awkward phrasing in the solos -- and the production (all of 
which was done by Ashley in his own studio)  is  quite  good.  But  I 
sometimes felt that the  songs  (especially  "Why  I  Like  Spiders") 
weren't intended to be anything more than  vehicles  for  soloing.  A 
little more focus on dynamics or depth in the arrangements would help 
a lot. The acoustic guitar and  harmonized  lead  parts  are  a  good 
start, but  more  variety  is  needed.  Overall,  this  isn't  a  bad 
offering, but it isn't something I expect to listen to regularly.     

Contact: http://users.penn.com/~evandia/


Burial Ground - _Burial Ground_
by: Adrian Magers  (3 out of 5)

Burial Ground is a four-piece act that describe themselves as "tribal 
metal" in their bio. To the vast majority of heavy metal connoisseurs 
everywhere,  this  would  put  in  mind  comparisons  to  the  mighty 
Sepultura. While some common  tendencies  are  discovered  on  Burial 
Ground's nine minute  and  fifty-nine  second  EP,  the  three  songs 
presented are more in league with Machine Head  on  their  first  two 
albums (maybe this comparison was planted in my head by the fact that 
the cover photo features guitarist Andy Garcia sporting one of  their 
tees). Overall I'd say their formula is equal parts The  Haunted  and 
old Korn, which lands them somewhere between  the  former's  venomous 
Swedish thrash, and the latter's more easily-digestible  groove.  The 
riffs are good, drum  work  is  quite  competent,  and  they  have  a 
vocalist that meshes well with the other 3/4 of his band. My  biggest 
complaint is a lack of anything too not  run-of-the-mill.  The  whole 
affair gives off a feeling of mild annoyance, but Burial Ground never 
quite peaks into that indescribable chaotic anger that the  standouts 
of this particular sub-genre exist in. They have a  handful  of  good 
riffs and a dash of aggression, but an ingredient is missing.         

Contact: http://www.burialground.net


Junta - _Junta_
by: Adrian Magers  (4 out of 5)

The prelude to this album features the sounds of a storm followed  by 
bizarre experimental noise and larynx-shredding screams,  which  ends 
up sounding a lot like the intro  track  of  Slipknot's  last  album. 
However, the actual songs on the CD are quite original in composition 
and progression. Many different kinds of  brushstrokes  make  up  the 
painting that is Junta. From catchy  emocore-esque  clean  vocals  to 
blastbeats laced with throat bellows reminiscent of the first Lamb of 
God record, to off-time madness and general guitar insanity -- all in 
the first song. Junta is an engaging listen that could easily nab the 
attention of many different music  listeners.  With  the  ability  to 
appeal to fans of everyone from Cannibal Corpse  to  From  Autumn  to 
Ashes, the band gives off a definite aura of professionalism that  is 
crucial to any band graduating beyond their local /  regional  scene. 
Part of this professionalism is obtained by impressive production and 
surprising attention to giving the disc a 'flow' that shakes off  any 
notions that Junta simply wanted to record a demo. Rather we have  an 
album that ebbs  and  flows,  with  ups  and  downs  and  a  trio  of 
vocal-less tracks. Junta was a  pleasant  surprise  and  will  likely 
remain a highlight of the demo submissions I've received in the  last 
few months.                                                           


PsyOpus - _2 song demo_
by: Brian Meloon  (5 out of 5)

PsyOpus hail from  Rochester,  NY,  and  feature  former  members  of 
Strangle Fuck, Kalibas, Inertia and Within. Their style is similar to 
Rochester's Lethargy (RIP), but even more  technical  and  dissonant. 
There is very  little  flow  to  the  songs;  instead,  there  are  a 
multitude of technical, quirky riffs  which  change  frequently.  The 
guitar  work  is  varied  and  interesting.  The  riffs  range   from 
conventionally heavy and groovy to Voivod-ish dissonance  to  angular 
single-note lines to tremolo-picked lines, and  even  a  Primus-esque 
section.  The  leads  remind  me  of  those  from   Richie   Kotzen's 
self-titled album (from 1987 -- long before he  joined  Poison),  and 
could best be described as "splattery". The playing is excellent,  as 
all three instrumentalists are competent and very tight  as  a  unit. 
The production is quite good: it's raw, but it fits the music and the 
mix is pretty decent. The vocals are screamed, but again they fit the 
music reasonably well; they're as  aggressive  as  the  rest  of  the 
music. This is highly recommended for fans of Dillinger Escape  Plan, 
Lethargy, CromTech and similar bands. They have a  full-length  album 
due out next spring on Blackmarket Activities, and  I'll  be  eagerly 
looking forward to it.                                                

Contact: http://www.psyopus.com


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                             _, _  _,  _,
                            / _ | / _ (_ 
                            \ / | \ / , )
                             ~  ~  ~   ~ 

          N I G H T   O F   T H E   A N G R Y   S W E D E S
          ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                Entombed, Nine, Disfear and Cerberus
           @ The Camden Underworld, London, 3 October 2003
                           by: Jackie Smit


With the notable exception of this year's _Inferno_ record,  much  of 
Entombed's post-_Wolverine Blues_ output has been fairly  disposable; 
and while they are  still  clearly  the  biggest  draw  on  tonight's 
four- band line-up, my primary motivation for  being  in  the  Camden 
Underworld is the  rare  opportunity  to  catch  the  Tomas  Lindberg 
anarcho-punks Disfear in action.                                      

First on the bill though are Milton-Keynes based  metalcore  bruisers 
Cerberus. Having already impressed me this  year  on  their  split-CD 
with fellow locals Seethe, they continue to establish  themselves  as 
ones to watch with a decent performance. Although at times exhibiting 
the  symptoms  of  a  band  in  development,  "Necromancer"  and  the 
eponymous "Cerberus" sound particularly excellent. Even  though  they 
could stand to incorporate some more  on-stage  activity  into  their 
act, the very fact that these guys are all  yet  to  celebrate  their 
twentieth birthdays, and still manage to outperform a fair number  of 
their elders, is worthy of ample amounts of praise.                   

Be it in At the Gates, Lock Up or Disfear, Tomas  Lindberg's  natural 
propensity as a frontman is as striking  as  the  uniqueness  of  his 
trademark rasp. Kicking off with  "Powerload"  from  their  excellent 
_Misanthropic Generation_ opus, Disfear take to the stage  like  fire 
to a forest, playing with the kind of venomous rebellion  that  would 
send bubblegum punk dribble like The Distillers  run  scampering  for 
cover. While a large  contingent  of  the  audience  is  surprisingly 
oblivious to their efforts, a good number gather at the front of  the 
stage -- myself included -- to shout along and bounce along  to  such 
unpretentious, straightforward stompers  like  "An  Arrogant  Breed", 
"Desperation" and "Never Gonna Last".  Closing  off  with  the  title 
track  from  their  latest  offering,  Disfear  are  undoubtedly  the 
highlights of this evening's bill and it is truly a shame  that  this 
fact seems to pass many of the ridiculously staunch audience  members 
by.                                                                   

Riding a wave of good reviews  and  industry  hype,  Nine  should  by 
rights tear the house down, but sadly their brand of  rock  'n'  core 
proves decidedly tepid, and isn't helped by the fact  that  the  band 
seem almost disinterested  in  performing  at  all.  Playing  several 
tracks off their "Killing Angels" and "Lights Out"  discs,  Nine  may 
have the support of such illustrious names as Daniel Bergstrand,  but 
this does not save  them  from  falling  flat  on  their  faces  this 
evening.                                                              

Eventually Nine exit the stage, which leaves it up to Entombed to get 
on with business as usual, and  even  though  they  play  cull  their 
setlist from mostly  their  last  three  records,  they  nevertheless 
deliver a massively entertaining hour of metallic mayhem.  LG  Petrov 
stalks the stage like a demon-possessed incarnation of Ozzy Osbourne, 
as  the  band  churn  out  enthusiastically  received  renditions  of 
"Retaliation", "Eye for an Eye", "Out of Heaven", "The Fix Is In" and 
"Public Burning". While the onstage energy does  compensate  for  the 
lack of  inventiveness  of  Entombed's  newer  material,  it  is  the 
presence of  such  classics  on  the  setlist  as  "Stranger  Aeons", 
"Abnormally Deceased" and "Hollowman" that serve as the highlights of 
their show. And ultimately  this  reinforces  the  notion  that  even 
though Entombed aren't  the  band  that  they  once  were,  they  are 
definitely a live prospect that demands attention.                    

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      O N E   S T E P   C L O S E R   T O   A R M A G E D D O N
      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dimmu Borgir, Hypocrisy and Norther @ London Astoria, 5 October 2003
                           by: Jackie Smit


While it is doubtful that they could eclipse Cradle of Filth in terms 
of album sales, if one were to compare the length of the queue lining 
up in anticipation of the arrival of Norway's favourite sons to  that 
of the CoF show in April of this year, it would most certainly make a 
bold statement. Spilling over into the adjacent Oxford Street -- home 
to several overpriced stores and designer boutiques -- the spiked-up, 
corpse-painted punters conceivably have a good deal of the passers-by 
thinking that Halloween has arrived a few weeks  early.  As  much  as 
Dimmu Borgir's fervent detractors would have  you  believe  otherwise 
however, tonight is not about image -- in stark contrast to  many  of 
the bands they are compared to, Dimmu Borgir are still firmly  rooted 
in black metal, and as  is  evidenced  by  the  distinctly  dark  and 
heavy approach of their latest _Death Cult  Armageddon_  effort,  are 
unconcerned with toning down their visceral  aural  assault  to  gain 
mainstream acceptance.                                                

First on the bill this evening are Finnish  newcomers  Norther  --  a 
tried mixture of traditional black and melodic death  metal.  Clearly 
drawing their influences from the  same  well  as  fellow  countrymen 
Children of Bodom, Norther's finest  moments  come  in  the  form  of 
"Dream of Endless War" and "Cry". They're unlikely to set the extreme 
music genre ablaze anytime soon, but are definitely a notch above the 
masses of melodic mediocrity that pollute record label rosters at the 
moment.                                                               

Death metal has  come  a  long  way  since  Hypocrisy  first  invaded 
personal stereos with 1992's _Penetralia_. Although the  band  plough 
through  a  veritable  wishlist  of  long-time  fan  favourites  this 
evening, they still come across as decidedly dull. "Roswell  47"  and 
"Apocalypse" are not much more than a once-great band  going  through 
the motions, and even an airing of  a  track  off  their  forthcoming 
record fails to impress. It is only a rendition of the crushing  "The 
Final Chapter" that makes their otherwise yawn-inducing set  slightly 
bearable.                                                             

The moment the house-lights drop and  smoke  fills  the  impressively 
decorated stage, a rapturous ovation makes it clear who the  audience 
have come to see. Backed by a fantastically  atmospheric  light-show, 
the Borgir  collective  appear,  horns  held  aloft,  and  kick  into 
"Allegiance". Bolstered by easily the most crystalline sound  I  have 
heard at a London show, the Norwegians are  in  top  form  throughout 
and storm  through  "In  Death's  Embrace"  and  "Vredesbyrd"  before 
launching into the stunning "Kings of the Carnival  Creation".  While 
unsurprisingly focusing on latter-day material, they do treat  us  to 
some spectacular old favourites like "Spellbound"  and  "Alt  Lys  Er 
Svunnet Hen".                                                         

Despite the floor of the Astoria playing host to a  number  of  mini- 
pits, Dimmu Borgir are a mesmerizing band, and  the  sheer  scope  of 
their almost militant overtures are overwhelmingly compelling in this 
setting. Nick Barker's drumming, as per usual, is  nothing  short  of 
phenomenal and Shagrath's voice and stage  presence  are  undoubtedly 
among metal's elite, but I.C.S. Vortex (also known as Simen Hestnaes) 
is easily the most effective weapon in their commendable arsenal. His 
amazing clean vocals are the sound of a fallen  angel  in  his  final 
throes of torment and soar out of the chaos of the  band's  music  on 
"The Insight & the Catharsis" -- undoubtedly my personal highlight of 
the evening.                                                          

At 23:00 (the standard UK curfew) the performance draws to  a  close, 
and judging by the looks on the faces of the majority of the audience 
members, they would happily welcome another three hours of this. Yes, 
Dimmu Borgir have not chosen to remake _For All Tid_ again and again, 
and yes, their new record could potentially propel them toward a very 
un-black metal stratosphere of commercial acceptance. But the  bottom 
line is that they have reached this level on their own terms, and  if 
tonight's show were to serve as an effective barometer, it's safe  to 
say that their attitude and mindset are still very much in the  right 
place.                                                                

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        H E M P   H E A V E N ?   N O ,   I T ' S   I O W A !
        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Hatebreed, Madball, Hate Eternal, Terror and Cephalic Carnage
        Toad Holler, Des Moines, Iowa, on September 25th 2003
                           by: Aaron McKay


"They better grow some weed in these fields here", announces  Lenzig, 
the vocalist for the evening's first band up,  Cephalic  Carnage.  We 
all knew we were in for a something right from the start with a phase 
like that.                                                            

Let's take a step back a minute.  The  venue  is  the  "famous"  Toad 
Holler in Des Moines. Never having been to this venue  (at  least  at 
this location), I was stoked for something new.                       

The 25th of September was a "school night" and I had to  be  at  work 
mighty early the next morning, but who the hell can't limp through  a 
Friday in the office especially if it meant being able  to  attend  a 
show of this caliber the previous evening?!  Anyway,  having  touched 
base with Erik Rutan a few hours before the show,  I  was  under  the 
impression the doors opened at 6:00 pm. Wanting to  get  the  evening 
underway, I promptly arrived at 6:30.                                 

God knows what happened, but my name was not on  the  two  (as  Henry 
Rollins would say) "CHIX" guest list for Hate Eternal. As a matter of 
fact, these two couldn't spell Hate -or- Eternal  with  a  dictionary 
open to "H" or "E" section in front of them.                          

After about thirty infuriating minutes at the door waiting  for  this 
less-than-dynamic duo to decide which side is up, I managed to get it 
all cleared up and headed off to the bar for an adult beverage.       

At the back of the room, I catch a glimpse of Erik Rutan. As a bit of 
background for everyone, Mr. Rutan and I go back to my  days  in  St. 
Pete, FLA. It was great to have  a  chance  to  catch-up  with  Erik, 
despite my horrible mood stemming from the whole ordeal only  minutes 
before trying to get into the damn place.                             

Erik told me that Hate Eternal is third on the bill, so  I  had  some 
time to absorb the whole atmosphere of Toad Holler. It's a venue that 
would remind people of a sports bar / Fight Club-like  establishment; 
I was taken in by this place's whole atmosphere  and  the  fact  they 
were open to having such a metal crowd inside their doors. Hell, most 
of these bands had never been to Iowa, let alone Des Moines. Previous 
to this night, Hatebreed had played in Clive (a  Des  Moines  suburb) 
with Slayer, and Erik Rutan with Morbid Angel on the Pantera tour  at 
the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, a short two hour drive from 
my doorstep. A show of this particular size and  style,  I  dare  say 
-never- in Des Moines -- at least not in the time I've lived here.    

At 7:45, the unclassifiable Relapse outfit Cephalic Carnage announced 
the onset of tonight's festivities with the statement of hemp-induced 
craving, "They better grow some weed in these fields here!"           

Always an entertaining bunch, Cephalic Carnage all donned white masks 
and spikes for an obvious tongue-in-cheek stab  at  the  black  metal 
genre. Not to be  left  out,  CC  ripped  a  page  from  the  Beverly 
Hillbillies' dress code and played up their metal rendition of stoner 
metal complete with "hick" glasses and all.                           

How can all this be summed up? What about Lenzig  spouting  off  that 
this is all for those that eat Cheetos and wind up with orange dicks? 
Know where this band is comin' from now? 

Anyway, these guys have more  change-ups  in  their  tempo  than  the 
mathematical equations goin' on in IBM's Big Blue in  a  chess  match 
with Kasparov! They dedicated "The  Isle  of  California",  from  the 
incredible _Lucid Interval_, to the next band on stage, Terror.       

This "Rise of Brutality" tour was off to a  great  start  and  Terror 
kept it movin'. Bass heavy with a thick, rich sound even  live,  this 
Southern California four-piece has a  quickened  pace  to  complement 
their Agnostic Front / Sick of It All style. Scott Vogel, the  band's 
skilled vocalist, was impossibly infused with  energy  the  likes  of 
which I haven't seen since the Skinless show in late August in  Cedar 
Falls.                                                                

As Terror plainly put it, they're -huge- Madball fans, so we  in  the 
audience had a lot to look forward to. Before  that  point,  however, 
Terror had the audience piping  up  and  screaming  at  their  lung's 
capacity for "What the Fuck Have  We  Done".  All  these  festivities 
taking place on Nick Jett's, the band's drummer,  21st  birthday.  It 
must be my year for seeing metal shows who are celebrating a member's 
b-day (see the concert review for "A Mini Milwaukee", Dying Fetus).   

It was a big treat  to  have  seen  Terror  live,  but  their  killer 
performance was, at that time,  being  overshadowed  by  the  looming 
promise of Hate Eternal  in  concert  in  my  home  town...  "Obscure 
Terror",  "Powers  That  Be"  and  "King  of  All  Kings"  still  are 
ever-present in my memory. I delight in the fact  this  speed-infused 
death assault of cataclysmic proportions was brought to bear  upon  a 
mostly unsuspecting crowd  --  it  was  surprisingly  pleasurable  to 
witness the expressions of the people's faces as they  took  in  what 
Hate Eternal was dishing out. I might add, in all fairness, I believe 
that Hate Eternal had the volume a might too loud for the  venue.  It 
was a might too overpowering to fully appreciate the devastation they 
were clearly known to create. By and  large,  their  performance  was 
jaw-dropping. Enough said.                                            

Try topping that one, I  thought  to  myself  as  Erik  Rutan,  Jared 
Anderson and Doug Cerrito exited -- stage right. While the  hour  was 
getting late, Hate Eternal having enjoyed a full half hour, I  always 
wanted to see Madball live in concert.                                

At 10:10, I got my wish. I've owned the  album  _Set  It  Off_  since 
1995, and when Freddy (Cricien), Madball's frontman,  announced  "Set 
It Off" as their first song, I was sure the night could not get  much 
better. "Can't Stop, Won't Stop" from the Epitaph  release  _Hold  It 
Down_ came next, followed closely by the incorrigible,  free-for-all, 
"Get Out". We were indeed treated to a very new song for  an  EP/DVD, 
called "For My Enemies". "New York  City"  was  brought  to  us  "old 
school" from their city to ours, as we were told. Our last chance  to 
dance was "Pride (Times Are Changing)" as a tipping  of  the  hat  to 
Agnostic Front.                                                       

Well... After the Ball of Destruction, I was spent like a  20  dollar 
bill on a suitcase of Miller, so I decided to call it ALL GOOD  after 
Madball:  besides,  I've  seen  Hatebreed.  While  they  are  a  good 
"strongman" metal outfit, I was in no  mood  to  have  anything  come 
in-between a fond recollection of a fine August night  of  metal.  Is 
this Heaven? No, it's Iowa...                                         

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

                I'M DREAMING OF A NEON BLACK EARTH...
                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 Arch Enemy and Nevermore play the London Scala, 29th September 2003
                          by: Paul Schwarz


The tour headliners, Nevermore, are  ousted  from  the  top-slot  for 
their London show by "special guests" Arch Enemy, the  latter  having 
shifted more units in the  UK...  thus  far,  at  least.  Judging  on 
tonight's performance, that may be  set  to  change.  At  the  least, 
Nevermore should be back for their own headliner in the  near  future 
(hint hint). The anticipation pre-set is almost tangible; every  time 
a song from the stereo finishes, tensions are  released  in  hopeful, 
expectant bursts of shouting and whooping.                            

Arriving to  raucous  reaction,  Nevermore  deliver  a  sterling  set 
comprised primarily of songs from 2001's _Dead Heart in a Dead World_ 
and their  latest,  _Enemies  of  Reality_;  there  is  nothing  from 
_Dreaming Neon Black_, but splendid renditions of "The Seven  Tongues 
of God" and "Who  Am  I?"  from  1996's  _The  Politics  of  Ecstasy_ 
more than make up for missing  staples  like  "Ophidian".  Sound  and 
performances are stellar: the  band's  distinctive  technical  twists 
and talent for  writing  sophisticated-yet-anthemic  songs  are  both 
discernible and effectively delivered. While thrashing and  hammering 
out their moving and infectious 21st century metal, Nevermore  engage 
-- in their work and with  their  audience  --  very  naturally;  but 
Warrel Dane struggles throughout to judge the crowd's mood  correctly 
-- or at least fails to reconcile it satisfactorily with  his.  Apart 
from proclaiming metal to  be  sleeping  rather  than  dead  (on  two 
separate occasions),  Dane  says  little  that  gains  anything  like 
resounding assent from his crowd. His flat refusal to play  Sanctuary 
material  on  the  grounds  that  "...that  was  fifteen  years  ago, 
man, no-one  remembers  that  shit!"  is  greeted  with  near-hostile 
disagreement; his requests for a pit fall upon deaf  ears:  if  those 
near me are anything to judge by, I'd say it's because they'd  rather 
headbang, sing-along and air-guitar in their own space -- as  I  did, 
unsurprisingly.                                                       

People in the UK really care about Nevermore; some, it seems, even to 
the exclusion of Arch Enemy: as tonight's headliners take  the  stage 
the floor is no  more,  and  possibly  even  -less-  full  than  when 
Nevermore had just left it. Nonetheless, to a near-full  house,  Arch 
Enemy stride out with a triumphant swagger, and to  a  warm  welcome. 
The  Swedes  (plus  one  German,  of  course)  clearly  know  they're 
potentially on the verge of "doing a Sepultura": hitting the big-time 
after giving hard / extreme metal some of its coolest  albums  whilst 
they were "only"  a  growing  underground  favourites.  Powerful  and 
anthemic, Arch Enemy do justice to just about  everything  they  air; 
it's telling  that  the  set  is  heavy  on  mid-paced  numbers  (and 
correspondingly contains quite a  bit  from  their  latest,  but  not 
greatest, _Anthems of Rebellion_); but  as  far  as  gaining  friends 
goes, it becomes evident as their set progresses that this is the way 
to do it. Though the reactions to "Bury Me An Angel", "The  Immortal" 
and even "Enemy Within" are far from  muted,  they  are  considerably 
less unanimous than those which attend the slower-paced material. Not 
quite as clear as Nevermore (perhaps from trying a little too hard to 
push the POWER angle)  the  mix  for  Arch  Enemy  did  unfortunately 
necessitate the use of a little imagination to "hear" all the  solos. 
But though sound, and even perhaps  performance  are  still  -better- 
than when I last saw Arch Enemy (at Glasgow's King  Tuts,  late  last 
year), the overall experience felt more in the realm of entertainment 
this time out: colder and  somehow  almost  contrived.  "Objectively" 
Arch Enemy put on a great show; but I could have left halfway through 
and been happy to get home earlier. Something's not right about that, 
and I know it's not my overall priorities that are at fault...        

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

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

Gino's Top 5

1. Drudkh - _Forgotten Legends_
2. Disfear - _Misanthropic Generation_
3. Mythos - _Pain Amplifier_
4. Carcass - _Symphonies of Sickness_
5. Judas Priest - _Rocka Rolla_

Pedro's Top 5

1. Blut Aus Nord - _The Work Which Transforms God_
2. Septic Flesh - _Sumerian Daemons_
3. Moonspell - _The Antidote_
4. Forest Stream - _Tears of Mortal Solitude_
5. Dimmu Borgir - _Death Cult Armageddon_

Brian's Top 5

1. Yyrkoon - _Oniric Transition_
2. Extol - _Synergy_
3. Kalmah - _Swampsong_
4. Atrox - _Contentum_
5. Primordial - _Storm Before Calm_

Paul's Top 5

1. The Crown - _Possessed 13_
2. Necrophagia - _The Divine Art of Torture_
3. Mystifier - _Wicca_
4. Nasum - _Helvete_
5. Bestial Warlust - _Vengeance War Till Death_

Aaron's Top 5

1. Dimension Zero - _This Is Hell_
2. Fleshgrind - _Murder Without End_
3. Moonspell - _The Antidote_
4. Dimmu Borgir - _Death Cult Armageddon_
5. Hatebreed - _Rise of Brutality_

Matthias' Top 5

1. Mourning Beloveth - _The Sullen Sulcus_
2. The Crown - _Possessed 13_
3. Necrophagia - _The Divine Art of Torture_
4. Hate Forest - _Purity_
5. Demoncy - _Joined in Darkness_

Adrian Magers' Top 5

1. The Haunted - _One Kill Wonder_
2. My Ruin - _Made to Measure_
3. KMFDM - _WWIII_
4. Mortiis - _The Smell of Rain_
5. Dimmu Borgir - _Death Cult Armageddon_

Jackie's Top 5

1. Burnt by the Sun - _The Perfect Is the Enemy of the Good_
2. Skinless - _From Sacrifice to Survival_
3. Alchemist - _Austral Alien_
4. Krisiun - _Works of Carnage_
5. Morbid Angel - _Heretic_

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

                      __, __, ___  _, _ _,   _,
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Chronicles  of  Chaos  is  a  FREE  monthly  magazine  electronically
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album reviews and concert reviews encompass the pages  of  Chronicles
of Chaos. Chronicles of Chaos stringently emphasizes all varieties of
chaotic music ranging from black and death metal to  electronic/noise
to dark, doom and ambient forms. Chronicles  of  Chaos  is  dedicated
to the underground and as such we feature demo reviews from all indie
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End Chronicles of Chaos, Issue #67

All contents copyright  (c)  1995-2003  by  individual  creators  of 
included work. All rights reserved.
All  opinions  expressed  herein  are  those  of   the   individuals 
expressing them, and do not necessarily reflect the views of  anyone 
else.                                                                

