

 .oPYo. 8                          o        8                         d'b 
 8    8 8                                   8                         8   
 8      8oPYo. oPYo. .oPYo. odYo. o8 .oPYo. 8 .oPYo. .oPYo.   .oPYo. o8P  
 8      8    8 8  `' 8    8 8' `8  8 8    ' 8 8oooo8 Yb..     8    8  8   
 8    8 8    8 8     8    8 8   8  8 8    . 8 8.       'Yb.   8    8  8   
 `YooP' 8    8 8     `YooP' 8   8  8 `YooP' 8 `Yooo' `YooP'   `YooP'  8   
 :.....:..:::....:::::.....:..::..:..:.....:..:.....::.....::::.....::..::
 :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
 :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

                    .oPYo. 8                           
                    8    8 8                           
                    8      8oPYo. .oPYo. .oPYo. .oPYo. 
                    8      8    8 .oooo8 8    8 Yb..   
                    8    8 8    8 8    8 8    8   'Yb. 
                    `YooP' 8    8 `YooP8 `YooP' `YooP' 
                    :.....:..:::..:.....::.....::.....:
                    :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
                    :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
  
        CHRONICLES OF CHAOS E-Zine, January 17, 1996, Issue #6
   
Co-Editor: Gino Filicetti <ginof@io.org> <_DeaTH_ on #metal>
Co-Editor: Adrian Bromley <bw823@torfree.net>
Assistant Editor: Alain M. Gaudrault <alain@mks.com>
Web Page Manager: Brian Meloon <bmeloon@math.cornell.edu>
Mailing List provided by: The University of Colorado at Boulder

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

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

HOW TO SUBSCRIBE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You may subscribe to Chronicles of Chaos at any  time  by  sending  a
message with "SUBSCRIBE coc-ezine <your-name-here>" in  the  BODY  of
your message to  the  list  handler  at  listproc@lists.colorado.edu.
Please note that this command must NOT be sent to  the  list  address
<coc-ezine@lists.colorado.edu>, but to the mail server which  handles
this mailing list.

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

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

Issue #6 Contents, 1/17/96
--------------------------
* Editorial
* Loud Letters
* Feature Stories
-- Napalm Death: On A New Plane of Existence
-- Hansel Und Gretyl: The Noise of Making Art
-- Lake of Tears: Crying Again
-- The Hostile Takeover Begins
-- Sacred Substance
-- Kilobytes, Komputers and Kraziness
* Chaotic Chat Sessions
-- Mercyfully Maintaining The Oath
-- Malformed Musical Mayhem
* Record Revelations
-- Immolation - _Here In After_
-- Celestial Season - _Solar Lovers_
-- Broken Hope - _Repulsive Conception_
-- Sacred Reich - _Heal_
-- Crematory - _Illusions_
-- Various Artists - _The 17 Commandments, Vol. II_
-- Various Artists - _Four Ways To Misery_
-- DHI - _Pressures Collide_
-- Ultraviolence - _Psychodrama_
-- Thought Industry - _Outer Space Is Just A Martini Away_
-- Vintersemestre - _Jaaverisaatana_
-- Belladonna - _Belladonna_
-- Enthroned - _Thy Flesh Consumed_
* New Noise
-- Naphobia - _Of Hell_  (9 track demo)
-- Introspectre - _Buried Inside_  (10 track demo)
* Chaotic Concerts
-- Voivod's Venom Unleashed
* What We Have Cranked
* The Final Word

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

                          E D I T O R I A L 
                          ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                         by:  Adrian Bromley

     Hope you all had a SAFE and HEAVY New Year's Eve and  that  1996
has been as good to you so far as it has been to us. First thing off,
we would like to thank Jochen Fopp of Nuclear Blast  for  sending  us
bitchin'  embroidered  long  sleeve  dress   shirts   (as   well   as
Jagermeister advice) and Erin  Smyth/Kevin  Shea  at  Attic  for  the
H-E-A-V-Y duty X-mas card - THANKS!!!!!!!
     Six months since the first issue  of  Chronicles  of  Chaos  was
unleashed and things look to be  getting  brighter  for  the  mag  as
support from around the world (from  subscribers  and  record  labels
alike) keeps coming into our home office in  Toronto.  For  the  last
little while we have been receiving all kinds of  letters  about  the
mag from our subscribers and we  have  decided  to  publish  them  in
forthcoming issues: to let the readers speak about why they  love  or
hate the mag or the music in general. Freedom  of  speech  exists  in
this publication, so make sure you send  in  any  and  all  comments,
questions or inspirational insights about the mag  or  the  world  at
large to us at our e-mail address <ginof@io.org>. Don't forget to put
'Attention Loud Letters' in the subject of the message.  More  likely
than not your letter will be published in CoC in  the  coming  months
with your opinion of metal being heard by record labels  and  readers
of CoC alike.
     Another thing that we  encourage  is  reader  submissions.  Live
concert reviews, stories, record reviews, etc... Please feel free  to
send them to <ginof@io.org> and label them 'Reader Submission' please.
     Well Gino just celebrated his 19th birthday this week  (congrats
from all of us at CoC and Caddy's - ha, ha!!) and  finally  Gino  can
get into 19+ shows on his own without relying on me or the  air  duct
to get him past the bouncers.
     Not much more to say as 1996 is young but the mag is growing, so
by this time next year we want to double the number of subscribers as
well as the number of pages.  Whatever  happens  with  Chronicles  of
Chaos in the future will be both our, and more importantly YOUR doing
- so let's make it work. -- Adrian Bromley 

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

Here's a couple of plugs for various people on the Internet that I 
think are worthy of mention. Check them out. -- Gino Filicetti

From: Bill <billu@bbs.hnet.es>

UNDERGROUND OBSESSION is a new e-mail zine run by ex-FIGHT ZONE  zine
(9 issues printed, over 3000 sold) contributor, and should be out  by
early 1996.  To  get  subscribed  (FREE)  just  send  an  e-mail  to:
billu@bbs.hnet.es


From: "David M Tyler (Anatomy)" <dmt@mole.bio.cam.ac.uk>

UNKNOWN TERRITORY volume one is the first of hopefully  a  series  of
compilation tapes featuring unsigned bands from around the world.

Volume one showcases the following selection of Death, Thrash,  Black
and Heavy Metal talent:

NARCOSIS (UK)              PARRACIDE (Germany)
DAMAGE (Swe)               MEDULLA NOCTE (UK)
DEADLOCK (UK)              DREAMBREED (UK)
RAGNAROK (UK)              THUS DEFILED (UK)
SEARING ORCHARD (UK)       OSCURO (UK)
BLOOD SOAKED (Eire)        EPITOME (UK)
CONVICTION (UK)

This 13-track, professionally duplicated chrome cassette is available
from:

      UNKNOWN TERRITORY
      Steve Green
      30 Hartford Ave.
      Kenton, Middlesex
      HA3-8SY, U.K.

for the measly price of:

      GBP  3-50 in the U.K.
      USD  7-00 Europe
      USD 10-00 R.O.W. 
      payable to UNKNOWN TERRITORY.
 
If you want your band to appear on future volumes, contact the  above
address. Be forewarned - the required standard is very high!

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

                 M""MMMMMMMM                         dP 
                 M  MMMMMMMM                         88 
                 M  MMMMMMMM .d8888b. dP    dP .d888b88 
                 M  MMMMMMMM 88'  `88 88    88 88'  `88 
                 M  MMMMMMMM 88.  .88 88.  .88 88.  .88 
                 M         M `88888P' `88888P' `88888P8 
                 MMMMMMMMMMM                            
                                                        
     M""MMMMMMMM            dP     dP                              
     M  MMMMMMMM            88     88                              
     M  MMMMMMMM .d8888b. d8888P d8888P .d8888b. 88d888b. .d8888b. 
     M  MMMMMMMM 88ooood8   88     88   88ooood8 88'  `88 Y8ooooo. 
     M  MMMMMMMM 88.  ...   88     88   88.  ... 88             88 
     M         M `88888P'   dP     dP   `88888P' dP       `88888P' 
     MMMMMMMMMMM                                                   

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


Date: Thu, 14 Dec 1995 01:50:14
From: JAYTOM <beefjerk@ix.netcom.com>

I just wanted to give thanks for all the work you guys have put  into
this. We have a better scene than most  of  the  Midwest,(I  live  in
Kansas City,Missouri) but compared to New York, or California,  we're
just out of the loop. That's why my friends & I  enjoy  getting  this
sent to us every month by e-mail. Plus  it's  FREE!(and  worth  twice
that ;-) I've seen stuff written about here that I'd never even heard
of. Then been able to go down to the import  shop  and  get  them  to
special order it for me. Out of the 6 CDs I've gotten because of you,
I've kept 5.(better than word of mouth) Don't  worry  about  being  a
little late getting it out, we're just glad to know you'll be there...
     -- Tom


Date: Thu, 14 Dec 1995 08:49:57
From: Brian Northcutt <elric@server.elysian.net>

I just wanted to say that I think this  mag  kicks  some  ass.  I  am
reading about bands I have  never  heard  of  and  it  is  definately
broadening my metal horizons. The only  disappointment  is  with  the
recent proliferation of what I call "Masturbation" bands. Bands  that
play million mile an hour mindless thrash. I klike thrash dont get me
wrong but when it is done with just 1 or 2 chords,  no  progressions,
and mindless lyrics, it gets incredibly repetitive and boring.  There
is another disturbing trend (at least here in Wichita, KS)  and  that
is the hordes of skinheads and nazi assholes that  come  to  a  metal
concert to start shit. I have no respect for nazis and the like but I
leave them alone...(First Amendment) but when they  get  into  a  pit
just to smash people and cause fights that is where I draw the  line.
Too few bands are willing to speak out against this kind of senseless
hatred too. The only band I have ever heard  speak  against  them  is
Biohazard and that ended up causing more  problems  that  it  solved.
Anyway...I have ranted enough for now. I just have one more thing.  I
have been looking for a CD for 3 years now and cannot find it. I will
take any info I can get and will pay reasonably well for  it.  It  is
_Breaking the Silence_ by Heathen. CD only though!

[ed. For the record, Grip Inc. (Gus Chambers in particular) ridiculed
     and taunted a group of nazi skinheads while opening  for  Morbid
     Angel in Toronto. -- Alain]

Bad Boy Brian the X-Man

KICT-95, Wichita, KS
http://wwwhome.elysian.net/~elric/top.htm
Radio Station: http://www.elysian.net/t95/t95.htm


Date: Fri, 15 Dec 1995 12:02:37
From: moeller william <wmoell1@gl.umbc.edu>

Aye! I must say overall your zine kicks ass like an angry  300  pound
fat feminist stormtrooper. I hope you put this  in  your  next  issue
because I want my opinion heard on this subject. BLACK METAL WILL  BE
THE DEATH OF THE METAL UNDERGROUND. I am sick  and  tired  of  cheesy
european facist wanna-be evil black metal posers  ruining  the  metal
scene. MOST of them are little spoiled dorks who make music  that  is
just a fucking joke. Plus their white norse/aryan power beliefs  they
spew over their cheaply produced badly executed records is harmful to
the metal scene. In my opinion, any music that  idolizes  a  deranged
murderer like Count Grishnackh, what a stupid fucking name,  is  just
plain ignorance. And the last thing we need in  this  world  is  more
ignorance. Hopefully, this latest resurgence of the black metal scene
will self destruct or at least confine itself to Norway and not  rear
its ugly head on these shores anymore. If anybody has got  a  fucking
problem with this I can be emailed at <wmoell1@gl.umbc.edu>.

The One-Man Bastard Squad
   
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                       N A P A L M   D E A T H 
                       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                     On A New Plane of Existence
                          by: Adrian Bromley

     A lot can be said about Napalm Death's impact in  our  world  of
extreme music. From their beginning, Napalm Death has managed to make
a name for themselves while successfully fusing punk, metal and crust
into a genre all their own: grindcore.  Napalm  Death  has  not  only
sculpted their  music  several  times  over,  but  have  successfully
managed to inscribe their moniker up there with the rest of the great
genre setting bands.
     Since the band's early beginning  circa  1981/82  with  founding
members Justin Broadrick on guitar, drummer  Rat,  and  bassist  Nick
Bullen, the band has shapeshifted and metamorphosized.  Lineups  have
changed numerous times, other groups have spawned from the  ashes  of
previous incarnations (Bill Steer & Carcass, Lee Dorrian & Cathedral,
Justin Broadrick & Godflesh) and yet the band brought to  life  their
own music genre called grindcore, with furious blast beats,  crushing
riffs, pounding bass lines, and growls of anger and hatred.
     In and amongst all of the chaos brewing within Napalm Death, the
band released classic grindcore  and  even  traditional  death  metal
albums such as 1987's  _Scum_,  _From  Enslavement  To  Obliteration_
(1989) and then the band's  calling  card  of  perfection,  _Mentally
Murdered_. As the 90s came about, the band crumbled, becoming divided
with both Carcass and Cathedral taking shape. Ex-Benediction vocalist
Mark "Barney" Greenway stepped in and helped restructure the band  to
form its now present  line-up,  guitarists  Mitch  Harris  and  Jesse
Pintado, drummer Danny Herrera and bassist Shane Embury. 
     From that point on  the  band  would  remain  intact  unleashing
several albums: _Harmony Corruption_ (1990), _Utopia Banished_ (1992)
and 1994's _Fear, Emptiness, Despair_. Now in 1996, Napalm Death  are
on the war path, throwing our way two releases in a matter  of  seven
weeks, being both the _Greed Killing_ EP and  the  band's  1996  full
length: _Diatribes_.
     On the phone from Earache Records'  head  office  in  New  York,
guitarist Mitch Harris is more than excited about all of the push for
their latest effort. "I guess the label is trying  to  build  up  the
release," he says about the amount of press the  band  is  receiving,
"The label wanted to do a big promotion thing for the album."
     But before any Napalm Death fan can  be  subjected  to  the  new
material, an appetizer in the form of _Greed Killing_ has been served
up piping hot. A collection of both live material and two samples  of
_Diatribes_ tracks,  Harris  explains  the  band's  reasoning  behind
releasing the EP prior to the full length record. "The label  thought
that it would be a good idea to put it out and we said it  should  be
put out cheaply like a single. Plus give the fans who buy the  record
six tracks which would include a few bonus tracks that  won't  be  on
the record." He adds, "In the past most of Napalm Death's  stuff  has
been rushed. We took our time with this record and the label has been
very much involved making it apparent that  we  have  a  new  release
coming out. I mean in the past we have been out on  tour  and  nobody
even knows that we had an album out," says Harris somewhat annoyed.
     The coming year will be a busy year for the band as they plan to
embark on an extensive world tour. Explains Harris,  "We  will  do  a
mini-tour with the EP and then go out for a full-blown tour with  the
new album. We will be going  to  Europe,  North  America,  Australia,
Japan and South America. There are tons of places we haven't been  to
and we hope to get to those places."
     About the last  year  or  so  following  the  _Fear,  Emptiness,
Despair_ tour he says, "It has been a slow year for  us  waiting  for
the album to be released and we just want to get out. We are  looking
forward to seeing reactions and see what is really happening with the
band. Yeah we are excited!" Any downsides to touring? "It is kind  of
hard to be too excited about doing the same tour, same  venues,  same
shit, but as long as there are people there that are excited then  we
are excited. If no one is excited then it is  hard  to  pretend  that
everything is going great."
     One question is on the top of my head throughout the  interview:
With _Diatribes_ will the band be able to carry on with  their  sound
and direction, living up to their past? "So far  we  have  been  very
open-minded with  what  we  did.  We  feel  we  have  done  something
different and that has worked in our favor. As far  as  people  being
into it, seeing that people have grown out of that scene  [metal],  I
think they were expecting the same old shit or  something  completely
different. I think we got a fresher sound with this album. The way we
do it is, every time out we try to break new ground on each album. We
aren't trying to compete with the last album, rather forgetting about
the last album and focus on the album at hand. To step  forward,"  he
says.
     "As long as we feel we have moved on with  this  album  then  we
feel like we have achieved a successful development. You  are  always
going to get mixed reactions. I mean one person's favorite  album  is
_Harmony Corruption_ and someone's is _Utopia Banished_. Ours is  the
record that we just did. You never know what people are going  to  be
into so you just incorporate into your sound what you are into so you
enjoy your music rather than worrying about  what  others  think.  If
there is anything in the back of your head worrying about what others
are thinking, then you are never  going  to  grow.  You  will  become
stagnant."
     And what if the band loses fans? "If we do then  they  are  just
not ready to accept what has to be done to survive the fuckin' 90's,"
says Harris defiantly. "Everyone has their own opinions but  if  they
sit and listen, paying attention to the album, then  they  will  find
what they are looking for in the band. I guess people  come  and  go.
Some people prefer the older stuff as I said before, and  then  there
are people that dig the new stuff. You have to realize that we are in
control of the band. If somebody doesn't like what the band is  doing
then it is their problem. I mean if they like one record better  than
the other one then they will always have that  record  to  listen  to
right?"
     The topic turns to the making of the record and  what  the  band
tried to accomplish this time around with  _Diatribes_.  Does  Harris
think that after so many different directions and  stylistic  changes
that music comes a lot easier? "Yes," he responds,  "somehow  on  the
last record we opened a lot of doors  and  this  record  came  really
naturally. From _Utopia Banished_ it was hard to write a record  that
was radically different. But now that we opened those  doors  it  has
become easier and it allows us to focus on what we have done and  not
focus on the fact that we just did an album that was fast, fast, fast
stuff. In a way we are having a much more free feeling  and  that  is
why it is coming easier for us.  The  last  album  was  somehow  more
critical for us and we were trying to figure out how we were going to
move on from there."
     Does that mean the band is trying to  become  more  commercially
accessible with the new album? Harris answers, "We are trying  to  be
more innovative with our music rather than relying on the stuff  that
we did in the past. The new stuff  has  more  hooks."  Indulging  the
following bits of info he says, "You learn from playing live what the
crowds get into and we did stuff  that  would  be  great  in  a  live
situation. To get a reaction."
     In some form  or  another,  defending  the  band's  growth  into
sounding a bit more  approachable  he  says,  "This  wasn't  done  to
attract more people. It was done to further our sound; to  look  into
our future so we can gradually change into another style  of  music."
He adds, "I think the way we have moved on doesn't put us  into  that
death metal category and with what we are doing it puts us more  into
what is going on right now. It is a mixture of more modern influences
rather than just having a limited death metal sound."
     Continuing on the sound of the  new  album  he  says,  "We  also
wanted to put more guitar noise, more guitar lines  that  cross  over
melodies with a heavy riff. We tried to do it on the last  album  but
we found that it takes a couple of records to be able  to  pull  that
off and work it out in order to achieve what you  want.  I  think  we
achieved what we wanted to do but I think  there  is  more  room  for
noise on top of things."
     So are there any secrets to how Napalm Death has managed  to  be
able to go from style to style so  effortlessly?  Are  they  wary  of
things to avoid? "I have always looked at the music history with  the
bands that used to be killer and all of  a  sudden  they  try  a  few
things and it goes way off with what they have done before. They sort
of wreck everything they have done before that album.  I  guess  some
bands grow into different music styles and change  whereas,  we  have
tried to mix in what we are into nowadays with what we have done  and
try to better it for our own personal satisfaction." He  goes  on  to
say, "By looking at how bad bands have fucked it up  we  have  always
tried to avoid doing that. If we are into something different then we
will do a different band. You  gotta  draw  the  line  somewhere  and
realize what you are, where you came from and where you want to go."

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

                  H A N Z E L   U N D   G R E T Y L 
                  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                       The Noise of Making Art
                          by: Adrian Bromley

     Speak German? If not, don't worry because the German-voiced rage
of anger, madness and chaos of  Hanzel  Und  Gretyl  will  leave  you
disoriented. You won't know  the  difference  between  "achtung"  and
"violence."
     "We are not aiming to be anything  special,"  says  H.U.G.  lead
singer/screamer Vas Kallas  about  the  band's  multi-faceted  aggro-
industrial dance debut offering of _Ausgeflippt_. "We just want to be
ourselves and we play music by throwing out all of our influences. We
love the heavy 'kill, kill, kill' thrash music but we also  like  the
ambient musical bleeps and bloops and songs with melody. That is  why
we called this album _Ausgeflippt_,  which  means  'flipped  out'  in
German, because it is completely all over the place. We just couldn't
make the decision on what we wanted to be: a punk  rock  band  or  an
industrial band? We just wanted everything!"
     Over the phone from New York, Kallas is proud of the product she
and fellow programmer Lupie created (the touring band is rounded  out
by bassist Ginger Bread and drummer Pat Wolff). She  knows  that  her
creativity has been let loose within  _Ausgeflippt_.  "The  album  is
music and it is a beautiful thing - it  is  our  baby!  We  just  got
together and we exchanged juices and it came out that way. The  album
is all our creative influences - Lupie  and  mine  -  which  was  put
together with all our little machines  in  our  rehearsal  studio.  I
never know what is going  to  happen  even  as  we  were  doing  this
record," says Kallas about the album,  one  full  of  samples  and  a
majority of the songs sung in German. "The songs changed  drastically
as we did them. It is always an ongoing  situation.  Definitely  next
time I would like to get the best sound and quality and record it  in
a different way." 
     She reveals the album was recorded live at  a  rehearsal  studio
and then taken back to her apartment where the sounds were  sequenced
into the music. The album was  later  mixed  in  the  studio  and  at
Kallas' home. "There was no reasoning to the way the songs  formed  -
it was just what we did while recording the material. We come up with
sounds and then we would record them  and  then  later  on  we  would
remember them (the sounds) and put them over a drum  loop  or  guitar
part and we'd just leave it that way. It was by pure luck  or  chance
that it worked out."
     And the reasoning for the emphasis on German lyrics? "I used  to
live in Germany and it is one of my influences and I always wanted to
write lyrics and songs in German. Lupie was like, 'Write some  German
rap off this hip hop stuff,' and I did and it sounded  pretty  cool."
She admits, "I don't speak German fluently. I speak  shive  german  -
baby German. In other words I speak enough German to get  by.  It  is
such a cool language - I wish I could speak/sing in Russian."
     Kallas goes on to talk about her  formation  of  the  songs  and
lyrics, explaining that she normally just puts songs together to mean
something by the meaning of a word she has heard. "The  way  I  write
lyrics is the way the words sound, that is  if  they  mean  something
then that is cool. Or if I want to express something, I find the word
that helps me say what I want to. I have use a  lot  of  dictionaries
and thesaurus'," she chuckles.
   	Listening to the album and judging by what Kallas has  explained
so  far,  the  use  of  technology   is   a   main   contributor   to
_Ausgeflippt_'s sound. What gives  with  the  technology?  Is  she  a
technological junkie? "I am not the tech-head in the band, Lupie is,"
she says defending herself, sort of. "He is the one that  buries  his
head in manuals and stuff like that. I just like  the  sounds  and  I
have learned a lot from him. You can do a lot of  really  cool  stuff
with it. You don't need people." She is constantly learning more  and
more technology as the  band  continues  to  grow.  "I  just  learned
generally how to do all of this stuff but I am not  the  one  manning
the station and pushing the buttons. That is not my forte  -  I  just
watch and listen and I suggest a lot of things."
     One thing the band hopes to work on in the coming months  (early
1996) is being able to get out on the road and  support  their  debut
album (the band has toured a bit - most  recently  for  a  week  with
psychos Marilyn Manson) and let people see what they are  all  about.
"Our live shows are pretty chaotic," indulges Kallas. "The live  show
is pretty much like the album except there is a lot more guitars  and
it is much heavier - way heavier. We don't  do  any  of  the  ambient
stuff live."
     Though shows are going good for Kallas and her band,  she  is  a
bit surprised things are going the way they are. "I am surprised that
people are pleased with our live show. I can't believe how well it is
coming off. People come to our show and they love our  show  and  are
freaking out. It is happening because our music is happening right in
your face."
     If you don't understand by now what Hanzel Und Gretyl are trying
to say or do, then you ain't got it. Anarchy has  a  friend  and  its
name is Hanzel Und Gretyl. Foreign language  means  nothing  when  it
comes to this band's music  'cause  they  deliver  with  ear-piercing
numbers and complexity. Isn't that all that counts?

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    L A K E   O F   T E A R S :   C R Y I N G   O N C E   M O R E
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                          by: Gino Filicetti

"Music and emotion know no boundaries, so we think  that  people  all
over the world can get into all kinds of music."
     -- Daniel Brennare, vocalist
     
     Coming out of one of the  world's  biggest  hotbeds  of  melodic
metal, Sweden's Lake of Tears are  not  satisfied  being  categorized
with the rest of the clone bands now making it  big.  Formed  in  the
early 90's, Lake of  Tears  consists  of  vocalist  Daniel  Brennare,
guitarist Jonas Eriksson,  drummer  Johan  Oudhuis  and  bass  player
Mikael Larsson. After their 1993 debut demo release, it did not  take
the band long to make a name  for  themselves.  After  being  signed,
their first album entitled _Greater  Art_  was  produced  by  Mathias
Lodmalm (of Cemetary fame) and Tomas Skogsberg  (Amorphis,  Cemetary,
Dismember, Entombed).
     The release of _Headstones_ marks a  transition  for  the  band,
moving away from the typical Swedish sound. The music on this release
reflects the band's feelings and  emotions  in  the  year  since  the
writing of their previous album. They describe the music  as,  "Still
the same kind of music, but the songs on _Headstones_ are more varied
and each song has an identity of its own. We have also developed as a
band, ie. better musicians, better songwriting, more experience, etc."
     Although the band doesn't mind the fierce competition  in  their
homeland, they do regret that it takes its toll  when  playing  live.
"We don't care too much about the competition because there is always
room for good music. The only negative thing  is  that  when  playing
live, half of the audience have their own bands  and  therefore  they
don't really get into the music."
     Aside from being likened to nearly all the bands in the European
scene, Lake of Tears' influences vary from  Black  Sabbath  and  Iron
Maiden all the way to KISS. However, states Brennare, comparisons are
unavoidable; "The two bands that we  were  mostly  compared  to  were
Tiamat and Paradise Lost. This was not negative  as  both  bands  are
great. It is necessary to label and compare new and unknown bands  to
the more established ones."  He  continues  with  one  of  the  great
truisms in life, "You have to start somewhere..."
     The songwriting process for Lake of Tears is a  complicated  one
explains Johan  Oudhuis;  "Daniel  does  most  of  the  writing,  but
everyone adds a little bit. Most  of  the  songs  deal  with  dreams,
thoughts and happenings in our lives from this  certain  period,  but
the lyrics are  written  in  a  story-like  way  to  make  them  more
interesting and open for one's own  interpretations."  He  continues,
explaining the order in which a song is put together, "A lyrical idea
usually points out the  direction  of  the  song  like  the  mood  or
content. Then when the music gets satisfying we write the lyrics."
     So how has the reaction to the new material been  so  far?  "The
reaction so far has been very positive and we've gotten  really  good
reviews and quite a lot of attention in the media. Music and  emotion
know no boundaries, so we think that people all over  the  world  can
get into all kinds of music."
     The band expects a European support  tour  for  _Headstones_  to
take place sometime in the  new  year.  Brennare  relates  his  prior
experiences on the road; "We've only been on the  road  some  shorter
periods of time, and we've already experienced  bad  things  such  as
shitty organization and shitty equipment, but also good  things  such
as great audiences. It is always give and take." Does the  band  have
any desire to play abroad in North America?  "If  we  would  get  the
possibility to play in North America or any other place in the world,
we would surely take it. One of our goals is to see as  much  of  the
world as possible."
     Although Lake of Tears have not exploded onto  the  scene  in  a
frenzy of hype and popularity, it seems that this band is headed  for
greener pastures. What direction is the band heading in for the  next
album? "It's too early to say which direction our  music  will  take,
but it will probably head into a deeper emotional level. We will  try
and record our next album in the Fall of '96."
     With that, the interview draws to an end. As  always  though,  I
ask the band if there is anything they wish to add. Brennare  answers
with a line straight out of his  poetic  musings;  "Real  dreams  are
found in true darkness."

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        T H E   H O S T I L E   T A K E O V E R   B E G I N S 
        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                     An Interview with Hostility
                          by: Adrian Bromley


     Of all people to lend a hand in naming  one  of  the  mid-West's
most exciting heavy young outfits, Wichita,  Kansas'  Hostility,  NBC
News anchorman Tom Brokaw  would  probably  be  worried  at  what  he
created - or at least helped spawn. Sort of. 
     "Back in high school in 1986 I was watching  the  news  and  Tom
Brokaw was  talking  about  some  war  going  on,"  states  Hostility
frontman/screamer Dean Book, "and how the president was worried about
the hostile environment and that there would be more  hostilities  in
the future. I thought to myself, 'Hostility? Cool name for  a  band,'
and from then on we were a band with a name."
     Almost ten years later Hostility  have  released  their  Century
Media debut, _Brick_, and are ready to tour. Along with Book in  this
abrasive,  head-smashing  hardcore/metal  outfit  is  drummer/brother
Duane Book, bassist Todd Herzig and guitarist Jaime Mai. The band  is
like a crate of  explosives  with  numbers  like  "Chump",  "Remember
When", and "Self Belief" from their debut proving them to be  a  band
wanting to break out of the 'rookie  band'  mold  and  get  on  their
career.
     Believe me when I tell you, Book  is  not  afraid  to  vent  his
excitement/anticipation about a  future  tour.  He  begins,  "We  are
working on a tour for the beginning of the year, possibly a few shows
in Texas or try to get something going with My Only  Victim  (another
label act) for awhile." Adding he says, "We'll go out anywhere,  with
anyone and any place. We'll go out with Boy George if we have to - we
just want to get out and play."
     Seeing that touring places such a demand on a  young  band,  how
hard is it for a band  like  Hostility  to  get  out  there  and  get
exposure aside from touring? Does the industry help out? "In our case
you get as much chance as you give yourself or want to have.  If  you
go out and work hard then you will get a chance but a  lot  of  young
bands think that labels will do the work for them when in  reality  a
band has to go out and bust their asses  to  get  somewhere.  We  are
busting our asses just to be acknowledged."
     Hailing from the mid-West, home of farms, grain and more  farms,
you'd think a band like Hostility would be  just  another  Collective
Soul or Hootie and the Blowfish, but this is not the  case.  Fuelling
the anger and frustration of the band is the lifestyle in which  they
grew up. "Our heaviness and emotions is from what we grew up with. It
is sparked by the small-minded state that we come from.  They  (small
towns) have no idea what goes on outside of Kansas. Growing up  in  a
small town where you are dealing with a lot of close-minded people is
tough, and you can't do anything rash about it 'cause you don't  want
to spend time in jail. So you write it down."
     Book explains to me that the band has  toured  somewhat  in  the
adjoining states around Kansas,  and  concludes  that  the  band  has
developed some form of a fanbase thanks to opening slots  for  Kyuss,
Obituary and Fear Factory. "We have got all  fans  of  all  types  of
music liking us. I can't explain it but it is happening  and  we  are
seeing this at the shows we play. We just listen to a  lot  of  music
styles. I mean, I can wake up listening to Six Feet Under and  go  to
bed listening to Hank Williams. We have a lot of fans that listen  to
everything. And we try to make music that everyone will dig."
     Speaking about _Brick_, Book notes that this album captured  the
band at the time of the recording. Like previous demos,  the  rawness
was captured as was the congruency conveyed by  the  band  and  their
sound. "Every demo we have done sounds different and with every  demo
we sound heavier," explains Book about the three demos leading up  to
_Brick_. "And every demo blows everything else before  it  away.  The
good thing about the album _Brick_ is that it  captures  pretty  much
what we sound like live."
     Like most interviews for CoC the topic of metal being the 'dying
breed' always seems to surface. Book  is  quite  positive  about  the
strength of metal and hard rock by saying, "Well as I see it, and  it
happened in the 80's, everything is cleaning itself out. Getting  rid
of all the bad stuff. Metal has always been around and it always will
be. It is the one form of music that people will always  be  able  to
listen to."
     Metal is once again brewing and  hotspots  of  the  music  (i.e.
Tampa, New York) may not be the only place  to  look  for  band.  How
about checking out Kansas? Hostility would encourage it.

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                   S A C R E D   S U B S T A N C E
                   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
             An Interview with Israel's Substance for God
                          by: Gino Filicetti

     Straight out of Israel  comes  Doom  metal's  newest  contender,
Substance for God. Formed in 1992, the band has had to overcome  many
obstacles to get  their  message  across.  Naturally,  one  comes  to
appreciate the fact that making a name for oneself in a  country  not
recognized for brutal music is a formidable task in  itself.  It  has
been three long years that these musicians  have  been  waiting,  and
have finally released  their  debut  album,  distributed  by  Nuclear
Blast, entitled _Assembly of Flowers_.
     When asked to relate some of the emotions being  relayed  across
this album, drummer Dor Caduri answers, "It was a very sad album,  if
you read the lyrics you can understand. It's an album that's made  by
Israelis, so it came together reflecting the way we grew up here."
     Caduri is also anxious to relate the difficulties that they have
encountered on the road to their current  state  of  success,  "Heavy
metal music in Israel is not very popular so playing metal  music  in
Israel is very hard. The only chance at making  music  is  to  get  a
contract in a country outside of Israel; Europe or the United  States
or whatever. These are the  main  obstacles  we  have."  The  obvious
reason for these difficulties is the fact  that  the  popularity  for
this type of music is severely lacking in Israel. He continues, "Well
in Israel, the music is kind of mainstream. You have the Israeli kind
of music which is what people like to listen to here. But  you  know,
you can hear everything here, alternative,  classic  rock,  whatever.
But in Israel people mainly like to listen to Israeli music." And how
does this fact affect the scene? Continues Caduri, "Well, there is  a
scene, but it is very, very small. So we have like  500,  600  people
per gig, but no more than that. A  few  years  ago,  when  metal  was
bigger, you had a lot of bands; but now there are only  a  couple  of
bands, 10, 20 or something like that."
     Growing up in a country torn by such turmoil and social upheaval
must have been harrowing for the band as impressionable  young  kids.
Caduri however tends to disagree; "As a matter of fact,  it's  pretty
cool. It's different than living in Canada. I know that because  I've
been in Canada. It's just different. For example, music is  not  that
big here in Israel like in Canada or the US or Europe.  You  can  not
have a band, and make a living off of it here. So it's very difficult
playing music here, especially the music that we do." So why,  if  it
is so difficult to achieve, is the band making music that  they  know
will not garner them any significant financial return? "Because  this
is the thing we're meant for. We just love it, and we  wouldn't  want
to do anything else in our lives."
     Seeing as _Assembly of Flowers_ is now almost a  year  old,  the
focus of the interview turns towards the next album, their  sophomore
effort, the album that usually makes or breaks a  band.  "Well,  this
album is a very gothic and metal album, but the stuff we are  working
on right now for the next album is going to be very different. It  is
going to be totally, well, less metal." So you are going to expand on
some of the non-metallic elements  on  this  album?  Answers  Caduri,
"Well, the stuff we are working on right now is kind of like  a  Pink
Floyd versus Paradise Lost thing."
     Everyone knows what happens to most bands that  like  to  change
their direction constantly and without warning. A  loss  of  hardcore
fans is  eminent.  The  obvious  example  that  springs  to  mind  is
Sentenced who have failed to keep one  direction  over  more  than  a
single album. However, sometimes change is  beneficial,  and,  agrees
Caduri, sometimes necessary; "It's not going to be  that  much  of  a
radical change because the emotions are still going to be  the  same,
but it's going to be presented in a different way.  In  _Assembly  of
Flowers_ we presented it in a more  metal/gothic  way  but  the  next
album is going to have a lot of orchestral instruments,  violins  and
stuff in the background and more melodic music. The band is going  to
sound like the band but there is going  to  be  more  production  and
things done differently."
     An album is an album, but live shows are what separates the  men
from the boys. How does the band feel about playing live?  "Well,  we
haven't done that many, but we have played a few gigs here in  Israel
like a dozen or so." Does touring seem  feasible?  Continues  Caduri,
"Well right now we are waiting for  an  answer  from  Nuclear  Blast.
Maybe they might send us touring with Gorefest, but I'm not sure yet.
And it'd be in Europe. We are just waiting for an answer."
     When asked if he had any last thoughts, Caduri  was  obliged  to
answer, "Some day we are going to tour Canada, so don't you worry."

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 K I L O B Y T E S ,   K O M P U T E R S ,   A N D   K R A Z I N E S S
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                   An Interview With The Great Kat
                           by: Brian Meloon

	Most long-time metal fans are familiar with the Great  Kat,  the
Juilliard-trained violinist who realized  that  classical  music  was
dead and switched to metal, releasing two albums on RoadRacer in  the
late 80s. Like many solo guitarists of  the  time,  Kat's  style  was
based upon a fusion of classical music and metal, dubbed "Bach rock",
or  more  appropriately,  "neoclassical  metal."  Kat  describes  her
variant of this style as "Cyberspeed -- the NEXT step  in  metal  and
music -- FAST, ripping, vicious classically oriented violin solos  on
the guitar in speed-metal format. That's brilliant!" However,  unlike
most of the aforementioned guitar soloists, Kat  is  still  recording
neoclassical metal.
	Always having claimed that "THE GREAT KAT IS THE  FUTURE!!  WAKE
UP TO IT NOW!!", Kat tries to live  up  to  that  billing,  with  the
release of _Digital Beethoven on  Cyberspeed_,  a  combination  audio
CD/CD-ROM for IBMs and Macs, which Kat believes to be  "the  wave  of
the future." 
	The idea for _DBoC_ was hatched in the mind  of  Larry  Shiller,
CEO of the Bureau of  Electronic  Publishing  (BEP),  who  saw  Kat's
_Beethoven on Speed_ CD (RoadRacer,  1990),  and  according  to  Kat,
"thought it would be a FANTASTIC idea to  bring  classical  music  to
kids  through  metal  and  interactive  computer  technology."  (Well
naturally... who would you  rather  have  teaching  your  kids  about
classical music than a diminutive lingerie-clad dominatrix who claims
to be the reincarnation of Beethoven?) After two years of production,
_DBoC_ was finally unleashed upon the world on Nov. 1,  1995.  Unlike
most other currently available music CD-ROMs,  _DBoC_  features  more
than just music and graphics, including KAT IQ tests about  classical
composers (with  commentary  by  Kat),  KAT  TV  (including  the  Kat
shopping channel and weather channel), a virtual orchestra, and  much
more. Clearly a lot of serious work went into this, reflecting  Kat's
hope that it should "set the standard for ALL  CD-ROMs  --  music  or
otherwise --  to  come."  However,  the  main  intent  of  _DBoC_  is
entertainment, as Kat challenges: "I dare you not to be laughing  the
whole time you watch this CRAZED CD-ROM." It also contains  five  new
Kat songs, which comprise some of her best work yet. To my ears, they
sound cleaner, more precise, and a little bit  slower,  although  Kat
disagrees, stating "_Digital Beethoven  On  Cyberspeed_  is  in  fact
FASTER than anything I've done before  --  Listen  to  Cyberspeed  --
DAMMIT!!! If anything, the  Kat  Tyrannical  Maniacal  Demonic  Speed
Machine is faster than ever!" 
	A tour is planned in support of _DBoC_, which she claims will be
"the UTMOST in multimedia extravaganzas! Lots  of  videos,  lighting,
computer technology, WILD Kat  Slaves  on  stage  (Rubbing  my  feet,
feeding me candy, bowing, worshipping, etc.),  and  Cyberspeed  music
that will get your brain plastered to the wall and send  you  zooming
into the 21st century. Call your local club and DEMAND The Great  Kat
and Cyberspeed or be left behind in the 16th century."
	In keeping with her desire to be the future of music, a followup
CD-ROM is already in the planning stages. Tentative  plans  call  for
the inclusion of Kat videos filmed on the _DBoC_ tour, the Kat  video
game, and Kat's own AI-driven program called "the Riffchecker", which
will take a short melody and write a whole piece in Kat's  cyberspeed
style. Kat explains that she developed the Riffchecker  herself,  and
is  currently  "dealing  with  various   programmers   and   computer
technology to complete it. It will take a while  for  programmers  to
develop it using today's primitive AI methods." 
	Only time will tell what the future will hold, but it's safe  to
assume that computers and multimedia technology are here to stay. The
Great Kat is poised to lead the charge  of  musicians  into  the  new
world of CD-ROMs, explaining that, "It's time the rest of  the  world
wakes up and understands the power of computers -- then  they'll  ALL
understand Cyberspeed!! Watch!!!" And until they do,  Kat  leaves  us
with a prescription  for  the  future:  "Get  _Digital  Beethoven  on
Cyberspeed_ and wake your brain up to the future. Call the Great  Kat
personally at 212-799-9392 for the wake up call of your  life!!!  GET
IT SLAVES??? I AM THE FUTURE -- Get USED TO IT NOW!!!!"

For more info, write to Kat at: greatkat@aol.com 
                            or: 75523.2414@compuserve.com
                 and check out: http://www.bep.com/kat.html

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


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


    M E R C Y F U L L Y   M A I N T A I N I N G   T H E   O A T H
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                      A Chat with Mercyful Fate
                        by: Leonid Makarovsky


The following questions and  answers  regard  various  Mercyful  Fate
trivia important to the die-hard fan. The  answers  were  written  in
January 1995 by Ole Bang on the road bus during the band's US  _Time_
tour. Also included are quotes from King Diamond himself  during  his
IRC Chat in November 1995.

1. There exist 2 versions of the  _Melissa_  CD.  The  first  one  is
   CAROLINE/MEGAFORCE 1385 with the lyrics sheet and picture  of  the
   band inside (King Diamond without make up here). This  version  is
   out of print a long ago. The second version is ROADRACER RRD 9898.
   The production here is awful and recording  lacks  highs.  There's
   neither a lyric sheet nor band  picture.  Other  than  that  there
   seems to be a difference  between  the  2  versions  of  track  7,
   "Melissa". The music on this track seems to be the same, but vocal
   parts are obviously different. It seems that the vocals on track 7
   on the RRD9898 version were re-recorded.

CoC: So what was the deal behind this? Which version is the original?
     Will it be possible to re-release the CAROLINE/MEGAFORCE version?

Ole: Difference in the two could be caused  by  a  re-mastering  when
     RoadRacer issued the  album.  The  band  only  made  one  studio
     recording and never re-record any part.

[NOTE: The difference DOES exists.  It  just  happens  that  no  one,
including King and Hank Shermann, knows about it.]

Other Mercyful Fate CDs before they got signed with METAL BLADE: _The
Beginning_ ROADRUNNER RR349603

CoC: Has there ever existed CAROLINE/MEGAFORCE version of this one?

Ole: _The Beginning_ is a compilation made by RoadRunner in order  to
     issue the 1982 4-track Mini album on CD. In addition,  some  BBC
     session from the same time period was thrown in.  Only  released
     by RoadRunner (Europe) and RoadRacer (US). The two are the same.

_Don't Break The Oath_ ROADRACER RCD 9835

CoC: Has there ever existed CAROLINE/MEGAFORCE version of this one?

Ole: No. CAROLINE/MEGAFORCE did not issue this, to  the  best  of  my
     knowledge.


2. _Return Of The Vampire_ CD has the following notes written on  the
   back of the inner booklet of the CD.

Line up:
Vocals: King Diamond
Guitars: Hank Shermann, B. Petersen Bass: Timi Hansen
Drums: Kim Ruzz,

except * Line up:
Vocals: King Diamond
Guitars: Hank Shermann, Michael Denner  Bass: Timi Hansen
Drums: "Old Nick"

and ** Line up:
Vocals: King Diamond
Guitars & Bass: Hank Shermann
Guitars: C. Volsing
Drums: ???

All tracks recorded live in  studio,  with  exception  of  solos  and
vocals which were overdubbed.

CoC: Does it mean they were overdubbed in 90s?

Ole: No. All overdubs  were  made  in  studio  at  time  of  original
     recording. The _Return of the Vampire_ was compiled to mark  the
     end of our RoadRunner period. King had the  old  tapes  and  the
     "best" were thrown into this album.

3. There's a vinyl _Curse of The Pharaohs_,  a  Mercyful  Fate  demo.
   Most of the songs have appeared on _Return Of The Vampire_  (RotV)
   CD with MUCH clearer production (versions seem to be  exactly  the
   same) nevertheless some of the  songs  have  been  left  over  and
   didn't appear on _Return Of The Vampire_ CD.

The song titles for this LP include:

Side A:
   1. Curse of The Pharaohs (same as on RotV)
   2. Return of The Vampire (same as on RotV)
   3. Corpse Without Soul   (same as on RotV)
   4. Burning The Cross     (same as on RotV)
   5. Walking Back To Hell  (same as "Death Kiss" on RotV, but the 
                             end is cut off, making it shorter)
Side B:
   6. Running Free          (same as "Leave My Soul Alone" on RotV)
   7. Black Masses          (same as "You Asked For It" on RotV)
   8. Hard Rocker           (unavailable)
   9. Combat Zone           (unavailable)
  10. Love Criminals        (unavailable, ancestor of "Into The Coven", 
                             different lyrics)
  11. Missions - Destroy Aliens (same as M.D.A.  on  RotV  with  very
                                 poor production; song not cut  short 
                                 with a fadeout as on RotV)

CoC: Are the source for the tracks on _RotV_ and the given  demo  the
     same?

Ole: A general note on demos. Most demos in the  public's  hand  were
     made by copying  the  1st  cassette  tape  made  from  a  studio
     session's master tape. Quality went  worse  and  worse.  No  one
     really knows where the originals are. Some demo  cassettes  were
     eventually turned into vinyl bootleg albums. The demo  used  for
     the _...Vampire_ album were the ones that  King  had.  It's  not
     necessarily from the same batch of songs the public  have  heard
     since the band made their own copies from  the  original  studio
     tape.

CoC: Will it be possible to re-issue _RotV_ with  the  3  songs  that
     were left over and also add the  full  version  of  "Missions  -
     Destroy Aliens"?

Ole: There are no plans for re-issuing _...Vampire_ or any  other  of
     the old stuff.

4. On  the  Halloween  1981,  Herlev,  Denmark  show,  Mercyful  Fate
   performed the song "Shadow Night (Devil's Daughter)". No  one  has
   ever heard the song before and after that. On _The Return  of  The
   Living Dead_ bootleg CD (Copenhagen 1982 show) there was the  song
   "Nightmare". The first part of this song has the same riffs/melody
   as "Shadow Night (Devil's  Daughter)",  but  completely  different
   lyrics.  And  also  "Nightmare"  was  slower  than  "Shadow  Night
   (Devil's Daughter)". The second part of "Nightmare" was  fast  and
   one could hear similarities to  the  "Nightmare"  off  the  _DBtO_
   album. Nevertheless, these 2 versions of "Nightmare"  differ  very
   much as if they are 2 entirely  different  songs  with  completely
   different riffs and completely different lyrics.

CoC: What's the story behind these 3 songs?

Ole: Show was in Herlev outside Copenhagen. The song was also  played
     at a show in Copenhagen a couple of weeks before or  after  this
     31st Oct show. It was at the same time quite normal for the band
     to compose songs, then perform them live, and in the  case  they
     were not happy with something; then break up the  song  and  use
     whatever they liked for a new song  or  part  of  a  song.  That
     happened to several of the songs composed during 1981 and  1982.
     Old live recording have some very interesting sequences.

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

           M A L F O R M E D   M U S I C A L   M A Y H E M 
           ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  An Interview with Danny Lilker (Brutal Truth/Malformed Earthborn)
                          by: Gino Filicetti


     Barely days before X-mas would come to pass, CoC conducted  this
chat with Danny Lilker from his home in New York City,  focusing  not
on  his  band  of  fame,  Brutal  Truth,  but  on  his   experimental
ambient/noise  sideproject   Malformed   Earthborn.   Together   with
ex-bandmate Scott Lewis and Napalm Death bassist  Shane  Embury,  the
three  set  out  to  record  an  album  that  reflects  something  of
themselves that just wouldn't jive with what their  respective  bands
are currently into. This is what Danny had to say about the events of
the past three years that went into Malformed Earthborn.


CoC: So what have you been up to lately?

Danny Lilker: Just chilling out 'cause we're supposed to be going  to
              Australia, so we are just waiting for  the  immigration
              shit to come in the  mail.  And  we're  rehearsing  and
              stuff.

CoC: So you are touring with Malformed then?

DL: No, that's for Brutal Truth. No, Malformed isn't going to  really
    tour or play live anywhere because there is a lot of  programming
    and sequencing that would be particularly boring live,  I  think,
    unless you had some cool strobe lights and  shit.  So  unless  we
    come up with a really wicked live show that has like lots of film
    and lots of smoke, stuff like that, but I don't  know  what  that
    would cost. 

CoC: How did the idea to form Malformed Earthborn come together?

DL: Well it came together during the Campaign for Musical Destruction
    tour in September of '92. It had like Napalm, Carcass,  Cathedral
    and Brutal Truth. That was when Scott was still in Brutal  Truth,
    and you know, we already knew each other pretty good  already  so
    when you are on a seven week tour, you get a lot of time to  just
    sit around, talk, listen to music and things like  that.  So  the
    three of us found out that we all have a  mutual  admiration  for
    stuff like Skinny Puppy and Coil and we thought, 'Hey, we  should
    do a band like this.' I had  an  eight-track  cassette  which  is
    basically what Smoke, Grind, Sleep Studios is.  Then  Shane  just
    changed his flight plans after the tour and stayed over an  extra
    week and we did half the session then.

CoC: Have you guys been friends with Shane for a long time before the
     tour that brought all of you together?

DL: Yeah, well, I've known Shane since like '88 or something.  That's
    back when I was in Nuclear Assault. I was in touch with the whole
    English grind scene like Napalm and  Carcass.  I  used  to  write
    those people and go to their shows here and  hang  out.  So  I've
    known Shane for a long time and obviously Scott for a  long  time
    because he's from around here.

CoC: Are you still doing the Exit-13 stuff?

DL: Well, I'm not really in the band anymore and I never really  was.
    They have a permanent line up now. However  I  did  do  something
    with them, a weird album that's going to come out next year.

    [That would be the new Exit-13 album containing covers of various
    keep marijuana legal anthems from the 30's and 40's.]

CoC: What is the thing about side projects that attracts you to them?

DL: It's just something where, you get to express yourself  musically
    doing things you might not always do in your band. As  varied  as
    Brutal Truth is, as far as incorporating hardcore and  noise  and
    this and that, one thing that we wouldn't sound right doing would
    be like rhythmic industrial stuff. And Napalm Death  wouldn't  be
    right doing that stuff either, so I  guess  it's  a  way  to  get
    certain musical urges out of your system. Which is  kind  of  the
    way Brutal Truth started. I  wanted  to  do  stuff  that  Nuclear
    Assault wouldn't do. But this would never take over because  like
    I said before, Malformed would never play live because  it's  not
    made like that so it's not something that would take a lot of our
    time up.

CoC: What took so long from the recording of the  first  five  tracks
     until the completion of the album?

DL: I guess one thing is that Relapse was really  psyched  about  it,
    but they also said that, 'We're really into this,  but  we  don't
    know when the hell we can put it out so you don't have to  rush.'
    Another thing is the scheduling thing you know.  Even  though  it
    only took a week to do the last half of the  session,  it's  also
    the thing that people  are  doing  different  things,  like  when
    Brutal Truth had time off, Napalm Death would be somewhere off in
    Japan or something. And also it's good to take time and  let  the
    creativity build up again.

CoC: Is there a noticeable difference when comparing the newer  songs
     to the older ones?

DL: I don't know, it's hard to say. I like some of  the  newer  songs
    better, but then again, I guess that's just something where  when
    something is fresher you just like it more. Well, on both of them
    we have our regular, kind of like danceable stuff,  and  then  we
    had things that were just weird  seven  minute  soundscapes.  And
    also this time around we were also a little more, 'Uh oh, we  are
    going to put something out on album so we better make  sure  it's
    good.' So I don't think we went through the same natural process.

CoC: Did any one of you contribute a  major  part  to  the  music  as
     compared to the others?

DL: No, I think it was pretty much even. I mean the reason  we  don't
    put the credits on it, like who did what, was because it was  all
    kind of split responsibility-wise. As far as the creative  parts,
    I mean, we all had that. I did more stuff  as  far  as  like  the
    actual programming, you know, turning the dials and  pushing  the
    buttons here and there and making things work  right.  Shane  did
    most of the vocals. Scott and Shane did the guitar parts, some of
    the guitar parts were like regular guitar parts. And you can hear
    some of the riffs that were sampled and deconstructed.  Sometimes
    you hear a regular riff, and sometimes you hear just really weird
    shit. So, no, it was all  pretty  much  evenly  split  you  know,
    responsibility-wise and creativity-wise.

CoC: Why the name Malformed Earthborn?

DL: Shane came up with it, it's a Skinny Puppy lyric, and we  thought
    it sounded cool.

CoC: Where did the album title come from?

DL: Actually that was stolen too. I got that from  a  book  of  short
    stories. The whole thing with Malformed is that when  we  put  it
    together it was all very casual. We didn't think it was going  to
    be something that was going to  be  released,  we  just  thought,
    'Alright, that'll be the album title.'

CoC: So you really didn't think there was going to  be  a  future  in
     this thing?

DL: Well no, I mean, I don't  know  if  it's  going  to  be  huge  or
    anything. I really have no idea what people think of  it,  but  I
    know Skinny Puppy are from Canada, so ... <laughs>

CoC: What steps were taken during recording? How does the  production
     on this album compare with the usual production used  with  your
     respective bands?

DL: Oh, it was way different, a lot of different aspects of  it.  For
    one thing, it was done entirely on an  eight-track  cassette,  so
    it's going to be a lot  cruder  and  rawer  sounding  than  other
    things. Another thing was that opposed to  how  we  regularly  do
    albums where you lay down all the drum tracks and  you  lay  down
    all the overdubs, with this stuff we kind of  approached  it  one
    song at a time, where we'd lay down a drum track and take it from
    there and complete the song. So  it  was  an  entirely  different
    recording procedure.

CoC: Do you think there is a big musical difference with Shane coming
     from Napalm Death, and you guys coming from Brutal Truth?

DL: I don't really think so, because as far as music goes, we had the
    same sort of backgrounds, we all appreciated the  same  stuff.  I
    don't think it made that much of a difference. I know  that  from
    our field of music, our bands are two separate entities.  As  far
    as our collective influences for making  Malformed,  I  think  it
    meshed pretty well. Any weird idea we had  came  from  our  being
    into that type of music, that grind thing, although  we  threw  a
    blast beat in there just for the hell of it. <laughs>

CoC: Is this side project something that you  think  will  stand  the
     test of time, or was it purposely a one time only affair?

DL: We'll probably do more, I mean, like I said, when it was done  in
    the beginning, it was done just for a creative outlet.  So  we'll
    need that again. Everyone's been asking if there is going  to  be
    more so I can  see  it  having  a  positive  reaction.  It's  not
    something where you have to have a big budget. I mean, this album
    was made for like nothing man, you know, it was all done  on  the
    eight-track and then put down on a DAT player. Scott  had  pretty
    much all the artwork together, then they just scanned in all  the
    pictures and that shit. All it cost Relapse was the production of
    the CDs and the packaging. It's not like they had to  pay  for  a
    $20,000 recording and $10,000 in drugs for the  band,  you  know?
    <laughs> So I imagine we can do more because it's  not  going  to
    cost them a whole lot of money either.

CoC: What's the story behind the artwork?

DL: Um.. Scott's just a pervert, he's into a lot of weird  shit.  You
    should see all the stuff that he has, I mean, that's just the tip
    of the iceberg. We just wanted something that fit with the  music
    as far as strange stuff. The album cover  is  actually  something
    that Japanese people hang up in their houses to  ward  off  evil,
    because it is shaped like a demon, so Japanese demons would  come
    up to the house and see the demon there, so they say, 'Well,  ok,
    they're already possessed. Let's cross 'em off the list.' And all
    the weird stuff inside is just stuff Scott had lying  around  and
    wanted to use, so we're like, 'Ok, whatever.'

CoC: Do you have any side projects in the works?

DL: Well, me and  Kevin  kind  of  did  this  band,  the  same  thing
    actually, a recording project with this guy  Bones  from  a  band
    called Disassociate, a crust/grind/whatever band and it's  called
    Last Satanic Dance. The thing is that one night we all took  acid
    and recorded, and it's pretty interesting, but it's only like  25
    minutes worth of stuff though, so we have to do  another  session
    then. But right now we just have to get ready for Australia.

CoC: Do you have anything else to say to everyone out there?

DL: Yeah, if people in the metal  scene  really  like  the  Malformed
    Earthborn stuff, I'd suggest going out  and  checking  out  stuff
    like Skinny Puppy and Coil. That's where we  got  a  lot  of  our
    stuff. And a lot of people express enthusiasm and  ask  where  we
    get our stuff from so, it's not like we're trying to  be  totally
    original, and we don't want to take credit for starting  a  whole
    new thing. So I think that people should check out our roots.

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

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

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


Immolation - _Here In After_  (Metal Blade, January 1996)
by: Gino Filicetti  (7 out of 10)

Blasting back in ever more brutal and blasphemous form are New York's
very own Immolation. Their second major label release to date,  _Here
In After_ proves to the world that pure, uncensored  hatred  for  all
things Christian is alive and well, thank you. The album starts in an
almost unintelligible cacophony of noisy blast beats and guitar riffs
fired off at break-neck speed. The vocals on this release are of  the
deep-throated variety, and thankfully they are not drowned out by the
furious   instrumentation   taking    place    around    them.    The
no-holds-barred, ultra-fast tempo trend on this album is left  intact
but for a few exceptions  including,  "Here  In  After"  and  my  two
favorite songs, "I Feel Nothing" and "Christ's  Cage".  One  thing  I
noticed that shocked the hell out of me was the presence  of,  gasp!,
off-beat drumming in the song, "Away From  God".  As  a  whole,  this
album fails to turn any new corners or uncover  uncharted  territory,
however, I do believe that it does make a bold  statement  about  the
state of death metal in the world today; it's still around, and  it's
still going to leave you massacred and frothing at the mouth for more.


Celestial Season - _Solar Lovers_  (Metal Blade, December 1995)
by: Gino Filicetti  (6 out of 10)

With their sophomore effort and debut on Metal Blade entitled  _Solar
Lovers_, Celestial Season manage to fuse some  intensely  heavy  doom
riffs with some of the most  beautiful  violin  playing  I've  heard.
Weird you say? In actuality, this album does have a good semblance of
cohesion even if it is hard  to  imagine  whilst  reading  the  above
description. Vocals on this release tend toward the growled but faded
type a la Amorphis, as well as some clean spoken whispered parts. The
tempo on this album never comes within 10 miles  of  breakneck  fast,
and to some it could prove an effective lullaby (that includes  me!).
The first track, "Decamerone", is one of the more memorable tracks on
this disc, and unfortunately, a lot of the rest of this album becomes
ever fuzzier in my memory as time goes on. Influences  apparent  here
are of course Black Sabbath, as well as a good hint of Kyuss(!).  The
violins prove to be an effective atmospheric element, but I think the
rest of the music needs a little more pizzazz. Overall, an OK album.


Broken Hope - _Repulsive Conception_  (Metal Blade, December 1995)
by: Gino Filicetti  (5 out of 10)

From the lead riff of the first track, to  the  closing  blast  beat,
Broken Hope's newest opus proved to  be  an  exercise  in  genericism
extremus. While sounding very Cannibal Corpsesque, I was  pleased  to
note that the band did not use and abuse the art of  blast  beats  on
this album. The vocals here sound  brutal;  want  more?  Well,  there
isn't much more to say about them. The lack of vocal variety on  this
record is definitely an extreme minus.  Probably  the  one  and  only
thing that I utterly enjoyed on this record were the lyrics.  I  must
admit they are what kept me from falling asleep  as  per  usual  when
reviewing mediocre material. There are sexually explicit stories such
as, "Engorged With Impiety", "Erotic Zoophilism", and  "Penis  Envy",
which I think tells one of the coolest and most bizarre stories  I've
ever read in an album liner. Then you have  your  typical  blood  and
gore type anthems such as, "Chewed To  Stubs",  "Pitbull  Grin",  and
"Freezerburnt". One of the best songs here is the Death  Metal  Pride
Track of the Year, "For Only The Sick", a song that  unites  all  the
'truest' death metal fans, and lets the world know that we are  here,
we are sick, and we ain't goin' nowhere! A good change  of  direction
comes with the three acoustic instrumental tracks, "Swallowed Whole",
"Essence of Human Pain", and "Imprimus Obscurity". And  finally,  the
album is rounded off with a brutalized rendition of Twisted  Sister's
classic "Captain Howdy". A great cover, however it  still  leaves  me
craving Dee Snider's nasty but decipherable vocals.  Beware  of  this
album, take some advice and listen to it before you  plop  down  your
cash.


Sacred Reich - _Heal_  (Metal Blade, December 1995)
by: Adrian Bromley  (9 out of 10)

On their fourth full-length album,  _Heal_,  thrash  metal  commandos
Sacred Reich come out of the starting gate  in  full  stride  without
looking back. Knocked down and kicked around by the end of the  first
killer track 'Blue Suit, Brown  Shirt,'  I  was  blown  away  and  in
obvious pain, and completely delirious of what else would  be  coming
around  the  bend.  Track  after  track,  the  adrenaline   rush   of
bassist/vocalist Phil Rind and his posse explode into a riff  rockin'
onslaught of thrash and mayhem. Need a pit? Slap on 'Don't'  or  'Who
Do You Want To Be?' Need something to release your tension and anger?
Look no further than the Black Sabbath-esque doobie anthem 'Ask  Ed',
'Low' or even the title track. Glad to see that this  band  is  still
out there after the brilliant, yet poorly received  previous  effort,
_Independent_ (1993), almost made them go bye-bye. Too bad - I  liked
that record. If you are looking for speed/thrash  metal  the  way  it
used to be - and oughta be - pick up _Heal_. It is about time someone
came around to help the metal community. Thank the gods Phil Rind has
not given up.


Crematory - _Illusions_  (Massacre, 1995)
by: Brian Meloon  (5 out of 10)

If you liked their last two  releases  (1993's  _Transmigration_  and
1994's _...Just Dreaming_), and  if  you  like  The  Gathering,  then
you'll probably like this quite a bit,  as  it  sounds  much  like  a
fusion of the two styles. Personally, I find it  quite  unsatisfying,
first because the song structures are too simple, but also because it
doesn't effectively create any kind of mood. There are dark  sections
(in  the  style  of  _JD_)  which   are   immediately   followed   by
light/happy/bouncy sections  which  just  don't  fit  together  in  a
cohesive fashion. The result is that this album comes across to me as
a collection of riffs  more  than  any  single  unified  vision.  The
production is fine, as it was for their first two releases,  although
some of the keyboard patches sound a little  cheap.  The  playing  is
good, but a little  more  restrained,  especially  the  drumming.  Of
course, this is appropriate for the lighter sound of this album,  but
I found it a little disappointing, since the drumming was one of  the
things I liked the most about _JD_. I guess this  really  isn't  that
bad, but I just can't get into it ... then again, it's probably worth
seeking out if you like gothic-type stuff and don't mind death  metal
vocals.


Various Artists - _The 17 Commandments, Vol. II_
by: Brian Meloon (4 out of 10)  (Metal Blade, 1995)

Okay, you get one guess as to how many tracks are on here ... and one
guess as to how many are actually good. By my count, there aren't any
really good songs here, four decent ones,  and  the  rest  are  crap,
making this a  pretty  poor  compilation,  but  better  than  Century
Media's _Identity_ comp (see CoC #3). The okay songs are  album  cuts
from Grip Inc, King Diamond, Masquerade (generic prog metal,  but  at
least listenable), and Decoryah. Other than that, you don't  get  any
unreleased tracks, and album cuts by Gwar, Six  Feet  Under,  X-Cops,
Broken Hope, Thought Industry, Crisis (whom Metal Blade  seem  to  be
hyping to no end), and a bunch of no-names. Most  of  the  tracks  on
here don't do anything for me, a typical example being Broken  Hope's
'Pitbull Grin'  (from  1995's  _Repulsive  Conception_),  which  just
sounds uninspired. However, the Thought Industry  track  on  here  is
worthy of special mention because it is surprisingly bad. Since their
last album, they kicked out drummer  Dustin  Donaldson  (under  quite
unfriendly terms), and it seems to have been  the  worst  thing  they
could have done. At first I had a hard time even believing  this  was
Thought Industry, as it sounds so much like "normal" alternative.  It
was a huge letdown for me, as was the rest of  this  compilation.  At
this point, there's really only one thing left to say: what the  hell
is Billy Sheehan doing on here?	


Various - _Four Ways To Misery_  (MMI/Sepulture Prod., Dec '95)
by: Gino Filicetti  (9 out of 10)

This four band split CD comes to us from German underground label MMI
Records now being distributed in Canada by Mike Campbell's  Sepulture
Productions. All I can say is that I completely  loved  this  record!
The four bands included here are  Toronto's  own  Caesarean  Section,
Germany's  Nyctophobic,  South  Africa's  Groinchurn  and  Winter  of
Discontent, the one man band hailing from some unknown  distant  land
(probably the middle of Iowa!). First on the CD are  four  tracks  by
Caesarean Section which consists  of  two  former  members  of  Inner
Thought, Roland Murray (guitars/bass/programming) and  Kelly  Montico
(vocals). The band is reminescent  of  Carcass  at  a  musical  stage
between _Symphonies..._ and _Necroticism..._.  Songs  like,  'Vaginal
Discharge Regurgitation' or 'Ailing Surgical Vexations' are just  the
first clues to suggest this fact. Their vocals are really a jewel  in
my eyes with Kelly's multifacetted  voice,  the  vox  are  constantly
going from the deepest guttural burpings to the most  agonizing  high
pitched screeches and are even double  tracked  onto  each  other  at
times  producing  a  very  cool  vocal  effect.  The  next  band   is
Nyctophobic, with seven tracks they comprise the better part  of  the
CD. Their sound is a kind of grinding death metal in the vein of Edge
of Sanity, the bass lines are what I personally enjoy most about this
band. Most of their seven tracks begin with  an  intro  sample  which
vary from a policeman describing a daylight murder of another cop  by
a bum who stole the cop's gun, all the while being urged  on  by  the
crowd that gathered to pull the trigger, to an  interview  with  some
satanic band member describing his hatred of God  because  of  seeing
his grandmother die of cancer in his arms spitting  up  black  blood.
The next band here is Winter of Discontent with  three  tracks.  They
are by far the most experimental band on this CD, their sound is hard
to describe but essentially it is a  mix  between  very  slow  grind,
almost doom, and black metal. While being a one man band (remind  you
of anyone?), Eric Sandusky does employ the help of a female vocalist,
something which everyone knows I am powerless to resist. Finally  the
last band is Groinchurn, another grindcore band, their songs  have  a
certain element of humour to them that reminds me of  Exit-13.  Songs
like  'What  About  Them  Injuns?'  'Let's  Put  The  Fun  Back  Into
Fundamentalists,' and the Deicide satire, 'Satan Spawn, The  Idiots.'
Of their 10 tracks, barely 4 of them are over 2 minutes long. And for
a finale, the  band  includes,  'Funky  Funk  and  the  Motherfunking
Shitfuckers' a slow, funk/fusion type song that's good for  a  laugh.
All in all, I really liked this CD and I recommend  it  to  everyone,
contact the address below for any info.

Contact:
          Sepulture Productions, PO Box 30624, Oshawa, Ont.
      Canada, L1J-8L8, Voice (905) 404-0714, Fax (905) 404-9420
                                  or
          M.M.I. RECORDS, c/o Markus Woeste, Heerstrasse 77
          58553 Halver, Germany, Tel/Fax: +49(0)2353-137159


DHI - _Pressures Collide_  (Fringe Product, March 1994)
by: Gino Filicetti  (7 out of 10)

I know what you all must be saying right about now, "Why the hell  is
he reviewing a record that's almost 2 years old?!" Well,  the  reason
is that this band has just signed two new deals  to  distribute  this
album domestically in the USA (through Van Richter  Records)  and  in
Europe (through Kk Records). The record itself proves to  be  a  very
catchy, danceable industrial recording relying more  on  synthesizers
and samples than on guitar riffs. Some  songs  here  are  very  radio
friendly such as the lead track, 'Pain and  Courage'  for  which  the
band shot  a  video.  As  well,  this  outing  includes  two  ambient
soundscapes, 'Undercurrent' and 'Black Hour,' which I think only  add
to the length of this CD without introducing any significant content.
My  favorite  track  was  'The  Aftershock'  which  was  by  far  the
"heaviest"  track  on  the  record  because  it   incorporated   some
noticeable  guitar  riffs.  I  also  liked  the   slower,   hypnotic,
trance-inducing tracks like 'Any Power.' I  always  find  songs  like
that to be a good escape from all the worries in my head. All in all,
a more than half-decent effort which I just might put in my CD player
one or maybe two more times (gasp!) :)


Ultraviolence - _Psychodrama_  (Earache, November 1995)
by: Gino Filicetti  (8 out of 10)

Whoever said that heavy music was solely in the realm of heavy metal?
Proud to prove you wrong  is  Johnny  Violent  with  his  newest  and
greatest album to date: _Psychodrama_. Since 1992, Ultraviolence  has
been in existence, hailing from  Johnny's  bedroom  studio.  This  UK
one-piece musical anomaly has managed to turn quite a few heads, both
'metalheads' and 'technoheads.' With his latest release,  Johnny  has
shown that hardcore techno need not be only unintelligible noise with
an outrageous BPM rating. This album is not  only  a  masterpiece  of
synthetic and sampled sound, but also a 'techno-opera,' the first  of
its kind, and  probably  not  the  last.  For  this  record,  Violent
recruited an acting staff of over 15  individuals,  for  all  of  the
various singing, speaking, and screaming  parts.  The  story  centers
around Jessica, an abused child who turned to prostitution and  'rock
and roll' for attention, and Hitman, who was raised as a killer  from
birth. The meeting of these two people sparks an undying love between
them that manages to fulfill the emptiness of their lives. They  then
commit suicide together and are forced to face up to God and be  sent
to Hell. In the end, they persevere and God realizes  that  they  can
not be blamed for the suicide they committed,  so  he  releases  them
into Paradise. Although I am  personally  not  a  fan  of  very  much
techno, I  do  appreciate  the  experimental,  and  this  release  is
definitely that and much more. I'd recommend this album to anyone who
is willing to set aside their love of guitars and drums,  and  listen
to what one man, one imagination, and one computer can do.


Thought Industry - _Outer Space Is Just A Martini Away_
by: Adrian Bromley  (8 out of 10)  (Metal Blade, January 1996)

To describe the complexity and diversity that encompasses the  band's
third and latest offering would be a complete waste of time. To  make
things quick, and for you all to figure out for yourselves, the  band
has toured and played with: Slayer, Testament, Skinny Puppy,  Monster
Voodoo Machine, Skrew and Sepultura. Impressive, eh?  But  they  have
also played with such diverse acts as Hole,  Biohazard,  Helmet,  Cop
Shoot Cop, Type O Negative and Dream Theater as well. Scratching your
head? Wait until you hear this record! With  song  titles  almost  as
long as book titles, i.e. 'Love  Is  America  Spelled  Backwards'  or
'Atomic  Stroller  Helps  None,'  you'd  have  to  assume  that  from
listening to this album, it would have to  be  all  over  the  place;
exactly! Hardcore,  metallic,  alternative  fused  riffs,  samplings,
heavy guitars and acoustic elements are all  an  integrated  part  of
_OSiJaMA_. Still scratching your heads? Through all the confusion and
sound styles numbers, like 'Pinto Award In Literature,' 'Fairy,'  and
'Watercolour Grey' are memorable numbers that reek of  absurdity  and
creativity all in the same stench. Avoid at all costs or  embrace  it
with open arms -  you  be  the  judge  here.  Thought  Industry  have
released an album that makes you put some  "thought"  into  it  while
giving it a listen. How bad can it be  when  outer  space  has  never
seemed so promising before? Think about  it  metalheads  and  have  a
martini.


Vintersemestre - _Jaaverisaatana_ (MMI/Sepulture Prod., December 1995)
by: Gino Filicetti  (6 out of 10)

Writing a review without a band bio is definitely a feat  in  itself,
one that I am not always happy to have to accomplish, however in this
case, Vintersemestre chose to remain anonymous in the face of  losing
credibility. All that is known to this reviewer is that the  band  is
comprised of prominent members of the Scandinavian black metal scene.
This album (or should I say EP for it  is  barely  19  minutes  long)
starts off with a track entitled 'Those Tears of Lilith.' The song is
a very slow, beautiful acoustic piece which shortly gives way to  the
next track, 'Firedance,' a track which sets precedence for  the  rest
of the album. The vocals are of the usual agonizingly  painful  black
metal screeches, however they are somewhat distorted and  faded  into
the  background.  The  music  seems  to  be   generic   black   metal
pseudo-distortion disguised as guitars. The music  also  has  a  very
medieval feel to it. Most of the songs here do absolutely nothing for
me except, 'The Wisdom of Usuluh (Veri),' which I think is by far the
best track, mainly because it breaks away from the generic sound with
a slow-paced middle section full of chimes and ringing bells. Not the
best album if you are looking to get into the black metal scene,  but
if you are of the adamant, ferocious type black fan, maybe you should
check it out.

Contact: Sepulture Productions, PO Box 30624, Oshawa, Ont.
         Canada, L1J-8L8, Voice (905) 404-0714, Fax (905) 404-9420


Belladonna - _Belladonna_  (Mausoleum, 1995)
by: Alain M. Gaudrault  (3 out of 10)

Out with the old and in with  the  new,  a  motto  Anthrax  has  been
adhering to a lot in the last few years.  The  most  drastic  measure
taken in redefining the group was the unapologetic booting  of  their
lead  vocalist,  Joey  Belladonna.  Many  old   Anthrax   fans   were
anticipating the release of the ex-vocalist's solo effort, partly  to
regain some of that old Anthrax sound, partly  to  see  whether  Joey
could actually write music. The latter concern  stemmed  mainly  from
statements made by his old bandmates that his artistic input while in
Anthrax was next to nil. Belladonna's  self-titled  debut  album  has
pretty well cast those words in stone. None, I repeat,  none  of  the
songs on this outing have any redeeming qualities whatsoever,  unless
of course you consider tired, rehashed speed metal riffs  and  Joey's
melody-impaired vocal lines revolutionary. The music is so dated, and
the musicianship so mediocre, it's a wonder this band was  signed  at
all. I see no major label interest any time in the near  future.  The
guy needs a new angle, and most of all, a set  of  skilled,  creative
musicians to back him up. Till then, he'll just keep fading away into
metal obscurity. Tough luck, Joey.


Enthroned - _Thy Flesh Consumed_  (Lion Records, Mar '96)
by: Gino Filicetti  (8 out of 10)

To our long-time readers, the name Enthroned should ring a bell  (and
is not to be confused with the black metal band of  the  same  name).
They have been featured in Chronicles of Chaos with a demo review  in
issue #1, and an Independent Interrogation in issue  #2.  Now,  after
being signed to Lion Records as a direct result  of  their  brilliant
last demo _Absence of Life_, Enthroned have just  finished  recording
their  debut  label  recording,  _Thy  Flesh  Consumed_.  This  album
consists of three new songs, 'Liquefied,' 'Immortal Hate,' and  'Lord
of Worms.' As well, there are three songs from their  demo,  _Gears_,
and the rest are 5 remastered versions  of  songs  from  _Absence  of
Life_. Since we  last  encountered  the  band,  they  have  undergone
somewhat of an overhaul. Their old throat,  Lyle  Esterkyn,  has  now
retired from singing because of nodules on his vocal cords,  and  has
added the much needed new dimension of keyboards to the  band.  Their
vocalist for this album is David Cohen who decided to take  time  out
from his full time band, Spider Soup, to help the guys in their  time
of need. As for the music on this release, I can safely say  that  it
is quite easy to pick out the new songs from  the  old  as  Enthroned
have matured greatly in the time since their last demo.  Blast  beats
abound throughout the tape, and the band still maintains its  thrashy
death roots. Guitar playing on this tape is incredible as always  and
is the main reason why this recording garnered an  8  out  of  10.  I
think the keyboard additions are a much  needed  breather  from  what
would otherwise have been repetitive death metal genericism. One beef
I have about this album is its length. Even though it's not more than
an hour of music, it seems just a tad too lengthy. I would have  more
enjoyed the music had it been shorter. Nonetheless,  an  album  worth
checking out.

Contact: ENTHRONED, c/o John Oster, 909 Alvarado Av #22
         Davis CA, 95616, USA, (916) 758-5357, (916) 979-0368
         email: joster@wheel.dcn.davis.ca.us

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


Naphobia - _Of Hell_  (9 track demo)
by: Alain M. Gaudrault

Calling this a demo would be somewhat misleading. This professionally
packaged CD sports decent graphics  and  9  well-recorded  songs.  In
fact, the last track, 'As Ancients Evolve,'  was  recorded  at  Chuck
Shuldiner's (Death) Black Diamond Studio.  Further,  the  last  three
tracks were recorded with the aid of Gene Hoglan, ex-Dark  Angel  and
current Death skinsman. There's no mistaking _Of Hell_  for  anything
but death metal, although  there  are  definite  hardcore  undertones
mixed in. Oddly enough,  the  hardcore  snare  drum  sound  which  is
evident on most of the songs disappears on the Hoglan-aided material,
with more double bass drumming pervading, and an overall increase  in
death metal stylings. I must admit that I  hope  Naphobia  decide  to
pursue the direction alluded to in the final three songs, as I  found
the rest of  the  material  mildly  monotonous,  and  often  sloppily
executed. Hopefully, the latter point  is  due  mostly  to  increased
proficiency on the part of the musicians,  and  not  to  the  use  of
better recording techniques. Naphobia play death metal which is fast,
furious, but not simple or stupid. I found the occasional interesting
idea on _Of Hell_, and hope to see Naphobia honing  their  skills  in
the future with more material in the  vein  of  the  Death-influenced
tracks. This release  is  nonetheless  ideal  for  lovers  of  solid,
semi-complex death metal.  Death  fans  may  also  be  interested  in
checking it out, if only for Shuldiner's  solo  contribution  in  'As
Ancients Evolve.'

Contact: Club Fear, PO Box 677001, Orlando FL, 32867 USA
         Voice: (407) 679-9245, Email: nphobia@magicnet.net
         Web Page: http://www.magicnet.net/~nphobia/index.html


Introspectre - _Buried Inside_  (10 track demo)
by: Alain M. Gaudrault

I was quite highly anticipating  the  arrival  of  this  full  length
independent release. Unfortunately, my expectations were  set  a  bit
too high. The cover art of the CD packaging was just the beginning of
the growing disappointment that awaited. Introspectre play a form  of
mildly  progressive  power/speed  metal,  introducing  various   time
changes and long, drawn out song arrangements. One look at  the  song
credits show that this is likely the brainchild of vocalist/guitarist
Rod Wadzinski. The first problem with _Buried Inside_ is the lack  of
memorable melodies, which is extremely important when playing a  more
melodically oriented style, unlike death metal which Introspectre  is
definitely not. The tracks feature the occasional  half-decent  riff,
but the guitar leads are extremely weak, although this may be  partly
blamed on the mediocre production. My biggest beef of  all,  however,
are the vocals. Being the creative focal point of the band, Wadzinski
has also appointed himself vocalist, which  serves  only  to  further
weaken the overall sound. With the  odd  growl  thrown  in  here  and
there, Rod mostly speaks and (for lack of a better word)  whines  the
lyrics over all but the  final  (instrumental)  tracks.  Introspectre
will be going nowhere fast with these songs, and any future  hope  of
success will require fresh vocals, leads ... and songs.

Contact: Introspectre Skeleton Crew
         The Band Center c/o Resurrection Ltd.
         10201 W. Appleton Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53225 USA
         Voice: (414) 461-0694, Email: adamg@execpc.com
         Web Page: http://www.execpc.com/~adamg/introspectre.html

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


Here is where Chronicles of Chaos gives  you  the  low  down  on  the
latest shows to come to town. Check out Chaotic Concerts every  month
for the scoop on which bands are brutalizing the  masses  with  their
own form of terror.


           V O I V O D ' S   V E N O M   U N L E A S H E D 
           ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    December 15, 1995 at The Volcano in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
                        by: Alain M. Gaudrault

     This show was particularly enjoyable seeing as I only found  out
about it the day  before,  and  even  managed  to  get  my  hands  on
complimentary passes. But then, this  show  would  have  easily  been
worth The Volcano's cover  charge.  Denis  D'amour  (formerly  Piggy,
guitars),  Michel  Langevin  (formerly  Away,  drums),  and  relative
newcomer Eric Forrest (bass & vocals) put on a show more  reminiscent
of their earlier, more aggressive days.  Sure,  Snake  is  gone,  but
Eric's presence makes up for the loss, although being  tied  down  to
his bass duties takes away from his frontman dynamics.
     The turnout was actually fairly decent for such  a  small  club,
especially considering the lack of promotion  and  the  band's  still
relative obscurity. They did not disappoint. The  crowd  was  whipped
into a frenzy, and a small pit formed, lasting pretty much throughout
the entire show. Tight, fast, and ever so complex, Voivod  was  fully
in their realm playing a  number  of  selections  from  their  latest
full-length release, _Negatron_, as well as standard favourites  from
their back catalogue. A noticeable lack of songs from their  previous
few albums was  none  too  surprising  given  the  shift  in  musical
direction the group has taken, although their  one  minor  hit,  Pink
Floyd's 'Astronomy Domine,' was a definite crowd pleaser.
     The show was, in my eyes, a success, although  it's  unfortunate
that a band as musically proficient as Voivod is playing  such  small
venues. I had a few words with D'amour after the show (in French,  of
course), and he indicated that he's quite happy with the  new  album,
the tour, and the general direction the band  is  pursuing.  No  hard
feelings for former members Snake and Blacky, and a  desire  to  keep
pumping out good metal, Voivod need all the support they can get, and
we can all do our part by attending their shows. Given the caliber of
the performance, doing so is no great sacrifice.

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

Gino's Top 5

1. Sentenced - _The Trooper_ EP
2. Marilyn Manson - _Portrait of an American Family_
3. Exit-13 - _Ethos Musick_
4. Unleashed - _Live In Vienna '93_
5. Monster Magnet - _Superjudge_

Adrian's Top 5

1. Sacred Reich - _Heal_
2. Scum - _Purple Dreams And Magic Poems_
3. g/z/r - _Plastic Planet_
4. Various - _Nativity In Black: A Tribute To Black Sabbath_
5. Fear Factory - _Demanufacture_

Brian's Top 5

1. W.A.R. Compilation Volume 1 
2. Cradle of Filth - _The Principle of Evil Made Flesh_
3. Threnody - _Locusts of Eden_
4. Time Machine - _Act II: Galileo_
5. Black Jester - _Welcome to the Moonlight Circus_

Alain's Top 5

1. Obliveon - _Cybervoid_ (advanced copy)
2. Dissection - _Storm of the Light's Bane_
3. Voivod - _Negatron_
4. Strapping Young Lad - _Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing_
5. Alice Cooper - _Love It to Death_

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

Well, looks like it's now my turn to wish you all a Happy X-mas and a
Merry New Year. I hope all you krazy kids  out  there  didn't  drink,
smoke or party too much (at least, not more than I did!). This  issue
actually turned out better than I thought it would. Again, sorry  for
the lateness, but you can blame the holidays for that, "It's  not  my
fault man! I SWEAR!!" Anyway, sad to say we had  to  AGAIN  skip  the
Independent Interrogations for this month. I did have  a  band  lined
up, but the holidays prevented them from getting their answers to  me
in time. Look for them in CoC #7 though! The letters we received last
month were just absolutely great. I'd like to thank everyone who sent
one in, and please, keep them coming! Ok, that's it for me, hope  you
enjoyed our semi-anniversary issue, let's look forward to another six
killer issues. -- Gino Filicetti

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End Chronicles of Chaos, Issue #6
