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                    Second Anniversary Mega-Issue
                    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
       CHRONICLES OF CHAOS e-Zine, August 12, 1997, Issue #23
               http://www.interlog.com/~ginof/coc.html

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

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

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

Issue #23 Contents, 8/12/97
---------------------------
* Editorial
* Loud Letters
* SPECIAL FEATURE: Milwaukee Metal Manifesto, MMF XI Revealed!
* Deadly Dialogues
-- Arckanum: The Wood is His 'Hood
-- Dimmu Borgir: Up From The Underground
-- Therion: Melancholic Musical Masters
-- Filthboy: Catchin' A Buzz
-- Iced Earth: Icing On The Cake
-- Godflesh: In The Flesh
-- Autumn Tears: Sorrowful Is The Beauty of Autumn
-- Testament: Thrash Up Yo Ass, Muthafucka
* Independent Interrogations
-- Hocico: Deep Emotions and Darkened Images
* Album Asylum
-- Archon Satani - _The Righteous Way to Completion_
-- Autumn Tears - _LPfDC Act II: The Garden of Crystalline Dreams_
-- Born for Bliss - _Flowing with the Flue_
-- Clockwork - _Search_
-- Crematory - _Awake_
-- Deathwitch - _Dawn of Armageddon_
-- Deceased - _Fearless Undead Machines_
-- Demoniac - _Stormblade_
-- Embalmer - _There Was Blood Everywhere_
-- En Nihil - _Blood Dreams_
-- Exodus - _Another Lesson in Violence_
-- Fracture - _Killernet_
-- The Gathering - _Nighttime Birds_
-- Hecate Enthroned - _The Slaughter of Innocence, A Requiem for the 
                        Mighty_
-- Helheim - _Av Norron Aett_
-- His Hero Is Gone - _Fifteen Counts of Arson_
-- Iced Earth - _Days of Purgatory_
-- In Battle - _In Battle_
-- Isvind - _Dark Waters Stir_
-- Left Hand Solution - _Fevered_
-- Legenda - _Autumnal_
-- Marduk - _Live in Germania_
-- Red Tide - _Vicious Circle_
-- Skinlab - _Bound, Gagged and Blindfolded_
-- Sundown - _Design 19_
-- Swordmaster - _Postmortem Tales_
-- Symphony X - _The Divine Wings of Tragedy_
-- Theory in Practice - _Third Eye Function_
-- Therion - _A' Arab Zaraq Lucid Dreaming_
-- ... The Soil Bleeds Black - _March of the Infidels_
-- U.P. - _Mindfailure_
* New Noise
-- Acrobats of Apocalypse - _Acrobats of Apocalypse_
-- As Night Fades/FHNE - _Sounds for Another Universe_
-- Ledel - _The New Case_
-- Requiem - _Our Only Hope Is Death_
* Chaotic Concerts
-- Porto's Own Metalfest?
-- Better Late Than Never: Deceased with Black Army Jacket
-- The Divine Dragon's Dark Flames: With A Dragon's Blaze Festival
* What We Have Cranked

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

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

                          by: Gino Filicetti

     Well, the time has finally come, my friends. Chronicles of Chaos
is now officially two years old, and still going, stronger than ever.
As you read this issue now before you, you will notice a few  changes
in format throughout the magazine. For the past few months,  the  CoC
staff has been involved in overhauling the magazine. Our goal was  to
bring CoC more up-to-date since a lot of things we had in  our  pages
were getting pretty damn old after two years. We've  done  away  with
the separation between stories and chats,  and  amalgamated  the  two
sections into one, entitled Deadly Dialogues. Also, we've changed the
names of other columns, introduced new ratings keys, and changed  our
description.
     We hope you all find the 'new' CoC better than the old,  perhaps
more readable, perhaps more friendly to your eyes,  as  long  as  you
benefit, we will have accomplished our job.
     Our Milwaukee Expedition was a resounding success, I'm  glad  to
say. Everything went off completely smoothly, and we had a blast  the
entire four days we were  away.  You'll  notice  that  our  MetalFest
reviews (one from each of  the  attendees)  is  the  first  order  of
business this issue. Each 'version' of the  review  is  written  from
that particular writer's unique perspective, so go  ahead  and  check
'em all out.
     Well, I wouldn't want to keep you all from  this  awesome  issue
any longer. Thanks  to  all  our  readers  for  making  our  two-year
anniversary a reality. Without readers, we'd be nothing.

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

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

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

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


Date: Sat, 19 Jul 1997
From: Philip C Hinkle <infestdead@juno.com>
Subject: Loud Letters

You should really consider printing your response to the letters  you
get. Some readers ask good questions and I'm always disappointed when
there is no reply printed. It could be a good way to get  some  extra
information out  there.  I  wouldn't  want  you  to  stop  responding
personally when a question is sent to you. But it would  be  nice  if
you would share your responses with all of CoC'c readers. Thanks.

Until Eternity Ends,

Phil

[Well Phil, you do have a good point and the reason I  never  printed
responses is that I did not want to pollute  this  section  too  much
with long responses from myself. However, you are right, and we  will
try to publicly  respond  to  any  letter  that  lends  itself  to  a
response. Remember though, that we do not have all  the  answers  and
one of the main reasons we print Loud Letters is for our  readers  to
help each other out with this sort of thing. -- Gino]


Date: Tues Aug 5, 1997
From: Erik Ray, self #J-87779 (sent through snail mail)
Subject: Dear C.O.C.

     I gust recieved your address from my homegirl Luna and I  wanted
to know if I could get more information  on  your  Death/Thrash/Black
Metal Electronic Internet Magazine. I also saw some people  on  gerry
springer (Talk show) who represented Chronicles of Chaos and  it  had
me quite impressed.
     What I wanted to know for example is  The  price  your  magazine
runs for, What type of topics are listed in it, how many time a  year
you recieve an issue, and last but not least will the  Prison  system
let it in side of their facility.

[Ha! What a trip it was receiving this  letter...  Jerry  Springer?!!
WTF? Obviously this guy misunderstood  that  CoC  is  available  only
through email. If "Luna" is reading,  please  tell  Erik  that  we're
sorry we can't send him the mag unless  he  gets  an  email  address.
Also, what the hell was he talking about Jerry Springer?  Seems  like
some kind of joke, but  who  knows?  Maybe  we  have  a  secret  cult
following that Jerry saw fit to dedicate a show to. :) -- Gino]

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

          M I L W A U K E E   M E T A L   M A N I F E S T O
          ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                       Milwaukee Metal Mania XI
       At The Eagles Ballroom Auditorium, July 25 and 26, 1997

This year's Milwaukee  Metal  Fest  was  a  very  special  event  for
Chronicles of Chaos. It marked the first time that 5 out of the 9 CoC
staff have been in the same physical place at the  same  time.  Gino,
Steve, Alain, Adam and Adrian were all  in  attendance.  Needless  to
say, the entire experience was well worth the time and  effort.  Here
now are our own personal accounts of what transpired in Milwaukee.


Gino Gets Gritty
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     Since the first time I'd hear of Milwaukee's  annual  MetalFest,
back when I was but a young adolescent, I knew that some day, perhaps
far in the future, I would have  to  experience  it.  Well,  finally,
after all these years, my chance  came,  and  the  entire  experience
passed so quickly, it's a crying shame we couldn't stay longer.
     My main draw to this year's MetalFest was, by far,  Venom.  This
is a band that I have, and always will,  worship.  Some  of  you  may
laugh and scorn, but to me, Venom, without a doubt, started it all. I
was also interested in seeing Cradle of Filth, and when learning that
both Napalm Death and Obituary would be playing, I was ecstatic!
     Our 'convoy' consisted of seven people renting  a  mini-van  and
driving for 11 long hours down to Milwaukee. So you can  imagine,  we
expected the 'fest to be well worth the effort.
     On the first day of the MetalFest,  we  arrived  at  the  Eagles
Auditorium early enough to catch all of the bands  that  played  that
day. The venue itself is an enormous building  that  used  to  be  an
antique ballroom. Nowadays, the  insides  of  the  place  are  pretty
decrepit,  and  the  ventilation  was   non-existent.   With   inside
temperatures soaring to above 40C  at  times,  you  can  imagine  how
uncomfortable  we  felt.  Add  to  this  the  absolutely   horrendous
acoustics that ensued in the upstairs ballroom, and the  muddy  sound
of the downstairs 'Rave Room.' However, we weren't going to let minor
details hamper OUR enjoyment.
     One of the lesser-known bands that left me more  than  a  little
impressed were Jungle  Rot.  These  Florida  dudes  kicked  out  some
heavy-ass death with a real groove that definitely leaves its mark. I
wanted to get backstage after their set to get their demo for  review
in CoC, but as always, the 'roid monkey bouncers have to be jerks and
denied 'press scum' like myself from entering the sacred echelons  of
'back stage-dom.' However, if  anyone  out  there  knows  this  band,
please get them to send us some material; it was  just  too  good  to
pass up.
     Another highlight of the day was the 'surprise'  birthday  party
that was being held for CoF's Dani. Friday was his 24th birthday  and
his label decided to get him a nice lovely tombstone-shaped cake, how
cute! Best part about this event was the free suds; even  if  it  was
the pale piss-water you Yanks call 'beer.'
     Obituary and Napalm Death  played  back  to  back  sets  in  the
upstairs ballroom.  Although  I  had  already  seen  Napalm  once  in
Toronto, Obituary were totally unknown to me in a live setting. I was
fucking psyched to see them, but ended  up  being  disappointed.  The
problem with their set was obviously not their own: Their sound  just
did not jive with the acoustics of that damned room. Needless to say,
I was peeved. Napalm had a marginally better  set,  but  again,  they
were ruined by the echo of that enormous room.
     By far, THE BEST show Friday night, if not the entire MetalFest,
was performed by the almighty ABSU. I  was  totally  psyched  to  see
these guys take the stage. I positioned myself in the photo pit,  and
planned to stay put throughout their entire set. They came on in fine
fashion, and played an absolutely slaughterous set of drilling  black
metal. Proscriptor, while positioned at the back of the stage  behind
his drum kit, stole the show by shooting fire out of  his  hands  and
yelping crazed speeches that came straight from his solo album. These
guys were definitely 'the shit.'
     After an overly exhaustive first day, we couldn't IMAGINE  going
to the club on Saturday and staying  there  from  12pm  to  12am.  We
therefore decided to chill out in our hotel room  until  4:30pm  when
Macabre was scheduled to play. Unfortunately for  Adam  (the  world's
biggest Macabre fan), the sets were actually running early (!) and we
caught but the last few songs of Macabre. Unfazed,  we  continued  to
check out some of the amazing lineup that was slated for this  night,
although I had a hard time  believing  anyone  would  come  close  to
Absu's killer set.
     Some notable bands that were unknown  to  me  before  the  'fest
included Angel Corpse, Vital Remains, and Hemdale. I  was  absolutely
pissed that I missed the majority of Hemdale's set to see the second-
rate Avernus. The few songs I did see had me in stitches; these  guys
were absolute animals on stage, two thumbs up! Another band I  missed
and am still regretting it  were  the  Hanson  of  death  metal,  The
DeathKids. The band consists of a 10-year old growler, a 12-year  old
drummer, and their biker-esque dad on bass. It  was  said  that  they
were comparable to a lot of 'premium' death metal bands. It's a shame
I didn't catch 'em.
     First surprise I had Saturday night had to have been  Cryptopsy.
Although I knew some of their material, I didn't know these guys were
gonna put on such an intense fucking show. From start to  finish,  it
was absolutely killer, not an inch of boredom entered my bones during
the entire set. Second surprise of the night  was  Hypocrisy.  I  had
forgotten that they were going to play the 'fest, and was  absolutely
joyous when I saw their name  on  the  roster.  They  played  in  the
upstairs room and I was dreading each second as they  approached  the
beginning of their set; I just KNEW  the  sound  would  suck,  and  I
didn't want to be disappointed. However,  to  my  own,  and  everyone
else's amazement, Hypocrisy's sound engineer  managed  to  tweek  the
controls enough to produce the absolute  best  sound  of  the  entire
MetalFest. Hypocrisy were definitely the highlight of Saturday.
     Next up were Cradle of Filth, I positioned myself in  the  photo
pit, ready to go snap happy when Dani and the boys  took  the  stage.
True to their huge theatrical image, the group  took  to  the  stage,
clad in their black 'poofy shirts' and  plastic  pants,  corpsepaint,
fake blood, etc... The first three songs for which I was in the photo
pit turned  out  to  be  excellently  executed.  Dani's  screams  are
something I'll never forget: They pierced me from within and wouldn't
let go. When I got booted out of the photo pit, I  had  to  join  the
rest of the crowd and endured the horrible  sound  of  the  ballroom.
This definitely detracted from the "Cradle Experience(tm)" but I  had
my fix, so I was a happy camper.
     Finally, came time for the almighty Venom to take the stage.  It
was now midnight, and I was close to collapsing from a combination of
heat exhaustion, muscle fatigue, and shin splints.  But  nothing  was
going to tear me away from Venom. Alain and I both got into the photo
pit with our trusty cameras [thanks for the loaner, Adam  --  Alain].
We got there early and stole the center stage  spot  from  the  other
"professional" photographers. Finally, after waiting  what  seemed  a
year, Venom begun their set with an enormous explosion of at least 10
different flashpots! My face felt as if it had been blown  away,  but
it's all part of the 'magic' of Venom. The band played many of  their
classic tunes, plus  a  few  that  neither  Alain  nor  myself  could
pinpoint; perhaps it was some new material? Regardless, Venom put  on
a decent show, despite their 80s rockstar  posturing,  and  fruitless
efforts to stir up the crowd a la Paul Stanley. By the time Alain and
I exited the photo pit,  the  rest  of  our  group  had  disappeared.
POSEURS! We exclaimed, how  DARE  they  ditch  Venom,  have  they  no
respect, are they so worthless and petty? Well, the answer  was  yes,
because they did not return until the end of  Venom's  set.  But  who
cares, it was their loss, for now I can  die  and  say  my  life  was
complete.
     Well, the next day saw us rise at around 08:00, having  gone  to
bed a scant four hours prior. Needless to say, we  were  all  totally
zombified, AND we had an 11-hour drive ahead of us, to boot. Luckily,
the drive went smoothly and Alain DIDN'T end up falling asleep at the
wheel, so we were all happy.  My  experience  at  the  MetalFest  was
definitely a positive one. I will admit that  I  was  a  bit  anxious
about it, seeing how its track record isn't all that  great,  but  in
the end, we turned out to have the time of our lives.


Steve Says It All
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     As you're probably well aware, a steady intake of  black  metal,
death metal, and grind can provide quite an invigorating antidote  to
the spiritually poisonous consumerism and conformity that  clogs  our
mainstream "culture." And as you can no doubt imagine, the  mega-dose
of metallic extremity offered up by this year's  Milwaukee  MetalFest
proved to be a potent concoction indeed.  Conspicuous  quantities  of
big-time musical might... lots of friendly and interesting  people...
quality  intoxicants...  tangible  energy  all  around...  All  these
elements  and  more  came  together  in   Milwaukee   for   a   truly
unforgettable weekend.
     Those  who  understand  extreme  metal's   symbolic   vocabulary
understand that it's largely  about  energetically  and  thoughtfully
embracing individual freedom  and  cultivating  individual  strength.
(Need help? See Milton's _Paradise Lost_ or Blake's _The Marriage  of
Heaven and Hell_). It's true that all the "Hail Satan" and "kill  and
kill again" stuff has been done over and over and  over...  But  done
right - that is, with energy, sincerity, and authentic  creativity  -
the imagery can still be quite potent,  especially  when  fused  with
such incredibly powerful sound.	
     Speaking of incredible: Cryptopsy! These guys simply kicked ass,
turning  in  an  absolutely   manic   set   of   their   super-tight,
hyper-blasting death metal. New vocalist Mike DiSalvo proved to be  a
great frontman, with lots of energy and presence, plus vocals with  a
sharper edge than his predecessor's grunts. And skinsman Flo  Mounier
- fucking unbelievable! (In fact, he was so into it that he collapsed
from heat exhaustion after Cryptopsy's set.)
     And as long as we're talking potency,  I  should  also  mention:
Angel Corpse (ripping fast, tight, and sinister),  Hemdale  (grinders
who go nuts on stage, a total blast to  watch!),  Jungle  Rot  (solid
Florida death with  great  rhythms),  Epoch  of  Unlight  (technical,
blackened death), Wicked Innocence (wild  progressive  death),  Blood
Storm (harsh black metal), Summertime Daisies (solid Canadian death),
the black-metal-ish drum-machine band whose name  I've  unfortunately
misplaced (sorry)... plus others I'll mention in a minute.
     And let's not forget Incantation and Vital Remains  -  though  I
had hoped for a bit more "oomph" from these guys, since they're  both
favorite  bands  of  mine.  The  muddy  sound  (almost  all  weekend)
certainly didn't help, especially during Incantation.  Vital  Remains
sounded a bit clearer, and were definitely very tight -  great  blast
beats, and a good vocal performance too. Another real highlight:  the
mighty Absu - kilt-wearing, fire-breathing, blazing blackened thrash,
with great drumming from Proscriptor and  crazed  vocals  proclaiming
their imaginative theology. Nice guys, too. 
     Of course, there were some bigger "name" bands as well,  but  in
the end, I thought the most memorable sets were by  more  underground
acts - Cryptopsy, Absu, and Hemdale, in particular. On Friday  night,
I missed the re-formed Exodus, but I did manage to catch the  end  of
good old S.O.D., after Vital  Remains  finished  up  on  the  smaller
downstairs stage. Sergeant D. and company were entertaining, but  not
what I'd call artistically satisfying, at  least  not  when  measured
against many of the other acts mentioned above.  Still,  you  had  to
love their new variations on "The Ballad of  Jimi  Hendrix".  (Remove
"Jimi Hendrix" and plug in  the  names  and  jingles  of  some  other
musical icons who've gone down for the dirt nap in recent years.)
     Saturday night gave us Hypocrisy  (in  a  rare  US  appearance),
Cradle of Filth (in their first-ever North  American  show),  and  of
course, Venom. Owing to Kataklysm's last-minute cancellation, I found
my way back upstairs in time to catch all of Hypocrisy - and wow, was
I impressed! Really great sound, and totally fiery, pro  delivery  of
some  well-crafted  and  powerful  songs.  Cradle  of  Filth   proved
enjoyable, too. I'm not a big fan of  either  their  music  or  their
incredibly campy "mystique,"  but  it  was  still  cool  to  see  the
excitement they generated, given that they didn't skimp on the  blast
beats, the screams, or the overall aura of dark extremity.
     As for Venom... This is probably going to cost  me  some  "scene
points," but I skipped out on them after the first couple  of  songs.
After a great weekend dominated by struggling acts who  maintained  a
down-to-earth attitude  AND  played  music  which  completely  shreds
Venom's amateurish (albeit seminal) material, it was a  bit  annoying 
to see Cronos and company  up  there  copping  rock  star  poses  and 
bossing the audience around. Yeah, there  is  the  nostalgia  factor,
and Venom deserves respect for being among the first - but if there's
one thing I took away from Milwaukee, it's this:  The  extreme  metal  
underground is really thriving right now, and the scene has at  least
as much to gain by looking forward as it does by looking back. 


Adam's Two Cents
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     This was the second consecutive year that I've attended the 
MetalFest, and I must say that this was the better of the two. I say 
this in reference to not only the better quality of bands present, but 
also in part to the people I went with. Sure, two 11-hour van trips 
may sound like Hell (especially with Adrian's yammering), but a duo 
called "The Jerky Boys" made the trip much more bearable. I don't 
think I've laughed that hard that many times in my life! Pure 
hilarity.
     As I said, this year's show had much better bands than last year 
(which incidentally did include acts that have played in prior 
years). Highlights included Macabre, Absu, Morgion, Incantation, 
S.O.D., Blood Storm, and Cradle of Filth. This year also featured some 
good Canadian acts, them being Summertime Daisies, Obliveon, and 
Cryptopsy (who blew me away, and I was not alone in those 
sentiments). Even the vendors were better this year (and the prices), 
as I picked up over $150 US in merchandise which thankfully saves me 
from doing the mail orders that I had originally planned to do.
     But when it comes down to it, it wasn't as much the music, but 
the hanging out and the laughs we had (mostly at Adrian's expense) that 
made this trip as amazing as it was. This was a trip that I won't 
soon forget, and I hope it becomes a regular part of my yearly 
itinerary from now on.


Adrian Always Has Something To Say
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     Where to begin? Damn! I dunno where... it was such a  blast  for
all us CoC'ers - myself, Gino, Alain, Steve, and Adam (and Black Mark
label rep Ed Balog, Alain's girlfriend Kim, and silent metaller Mark)
- to be able to attend this year's Milwaukee MetalFest. 70  bands  in
two days with more than 4,000 in  attendance  -  it  was  a  zoo!  We
brought ourselves and lots  of  flyers  to  hand  out  to  all  those
attending the convention. We spread the word about CoC to  a  lot  of
interested people. Hopefully many of them will become subscribers.
     We arrived the night before (following a long 11-hour drive  and
numerous listens of The Jerky Boys CD),  and  got  right  into  party
mode. Cracked open the Jack  Daniels,  Jagermeister,  and  rum,  [how
quickly you forget Adrian's most righteous leafy green -- Alain]  and
partied it up. We were all excited about what was to  come  the  next
few days. All these great bands, all in one venue.
     The next day, the CoC'ers stormed the Eagle's Ballroom with  our
flyers and earplugs in hand. The variety of bands that day was pretty
good. As was  the  second  day.  Indie  bands  like  Jungle  Rot  and
Exploding Zombies ruled, as did the  black  metal  dosages  of  truly
dynamic bands like Absu and newcomers Bloodstorm.  Headliners  S.O.D.
were pretty good,  and  other  heavyweights  like  Napalm  Death  and
Obituary delivered solid sets - even though the sound for  those  two
bands rather sucked. The venue for MMF sported two stages, one on the
ground floor (The Rave Room) and one upstairs (The Ballroom) - and it
was easily distinguishable that the sound was far better  below  than
in the cavernous ballroom.  Only  second  day  headliners  Venom  and
Cradle of Filth were able  to  get  almost  near-perfect  sound  from
upstairs [you obviously didn't catch Hypocrisy's set; the clarity was
remarkable -- Alain].
     There were also a few Canadian bands playing  there  this  year.
Bands like Summertime Daisies, Obliveon,  and  Cryptopsy  represented
Canada in true metal fashion.
     The best bands of MMF, in my  opinion:  Cradle  Of  Filth  (cool
sound, though not a lot of theatrics), Cryptopsy (even  though  I  am
not a real fan), Hypocrisy, and Hemdale.
     All in all, it was a  success,  and  even  though  seven  of  us
crammed in a mini-van for an 11-hour trek all the way from Canada  to
and from Milwaukee, drove through a  massive  rainstorm,  dished  out
lots of jokes and ridicule, and ate bad  fast  food  (though  Denny's
ruled all 20 times we were there), it was a great experience to  soak
up. I'm already packed for next year.


Alain: Quick 'n Easy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thumbs up: Hypocrisy, Cryptopsy, Obliveon, Morgion, cohorts in crime,
           mad weed, Jagermeister, cheap CDs, Denny's.

Thumbs down: U.S. border cops, Obituary, Avernus,  Cradle  of  Filth,
             poor scheduling, unbearable heat  and  humidity,  Miller
             Beer exclusivity, grueling drive home.

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

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


               T H E   W O O D   I S   H I S   'H O O D
               ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
              CoC speaks with Shamaatae, a.k.a. Arckanum
                          by: Steve Hoeltzel

Black metal's pre-eminent pagan praiser of Pan, solo Swede  Shamaatae
esteems  the  forest's  fearsome  force.  His  most  recent  release,
_Kostogher_, combines blasting, straight-ahead black metal with  grim
backwoods atmospheres, producing impressive results. (See  my  review
in CoC #21.) It's the second in a  planned  four-album  forest  epic,
which will be supplemented by a book, as well as  a  reportedly  more
ambient side project, Tassemarkers Vaeruld.  Intrigued  by  all  this
timberland terror, I faxed the forest to find out more.

CoC: Compared to your debut, _Kostogher_ has a much grimmer and  more
     primitive  production,  which  (I  feel)  greatly  enhances  the
     overall power of the music. How did you change your approach  to
     the production process for this recording?

Shamaatae: The only difference between the two albums is  the  change
           of studio. _Fran Marder_ was  recorded  in  Abyss  Studio,
           where I got the clean and "trendish"  black  metal  sound,
           which I didn't and still do not like. Beware my third  LP,
           _Kampen_, and face the primitiveness and the grim demons 
           from Kaos.

CoC: Do you think that the sound of _Kostogher_ is the best sound for
     Arckanum? Or could your sound become even more raw and ferocious
     on future releases?

S: No, I don't think _Kostogher_ is the best sound  of  Arckanum.  No
   sound is the best for Arckanum: I am a living and revolving cosmos
   of Kaos. I can't stay as one and in one way - I am several, and my
   demons and I are the tentacles of Pan. We  make  rawer  and  rawer
   creations for each day to come.

CoC: It is said that you performed some kind of ritual in the  studio
     during the recording of _Kostogher_. Is this true?  In  general,
     how does ritual relate to your musical art? Do you think of  the
     music itself as a kind of rite? Are you especially interested in
     the rites of any particular tradition, or in rites of  your  own
     creation, or perhaps both?

S: Yes, I performed a ritual in the studio during  the  recording  of
   the intro, or the introduction of the  track  "Skoghens  Minnen  V
   Ekks". The ritual is performed by us: the forest and its creatures
   and me. I have only used it once  and  it  seems  to  fulfill  its
   purpose.

CoC: Is Arckanum  a  one-man  project  by  your  own  choice,  or  by
     necessity?

S: Both. My inner and instinct took in place. [The fax  is  illegible
   at this point, so "took in" may not  be  what  Shamaatae  actually
   wrote. Can't tell. -- Steve]

CoC: Many (indeed, most) bands who play a style of music  similar  to
     your own proclaim allegiance to  Satan,  whereas  the  works  of
     Arckanum are inspired by, and dedicated to, the great  god  Pan.
     Do you see any important differences between Satanic sources  of
     inspiration and your own brand of nature-centered mysticism?  Do
     you see any important similarities?

S: Yes, I see important similarities. There are a lot of thoughts and
   ways of living in Satanism that I strongly agree with. But I  have
   my own religion, and I stay with it, and I am faithful strongly to
   Pan. As a Satanist, you worship yourself and count your ego first,
   to be strong and not to be wounded.  I  live  by  nature,  and  we
   agree, so if I didn't call myself an Arkanist, I would  definitely
   call myself a Satanist. But I do not believe in Satan, nor in God.
   Those two fuck-ups can't exist, not in my way of thinking. Kaos is
   the only thing lasting. Kaos is the mother of everything.

CoC: The concept of Kaos seems to play an important role in your art.
     What does this idea represent within the worldview of Arckanum?

S: As I just said, Kaos is the mother of everything and is  the  only
   thing that will last forever. Kaos is one of  the  pillars  of  my
   religion. I live by, in, and of Kaos. I am a man from and of Kaos.

CoC: Clearly, forests are a great source of inspiration for your art.
     Do you find other natural places similarly inspiring?  (Meadows,
     marshes, caves, swamps?) Or is there  something  unique  to  the
     forest which you find especially potent? What is  it  about  the
     forest which you find so powerfully inspiring?

S: I love everything within the forest  landscapes,  caves,  marshes,
   swamps, etc. What I find so powerful with the forest is the  chaos
   that is pulsing through its veins, the sides and worlds  that  are
   so well hidden that they might take five human lives to  find.  To
   see the darkness as the key to a new dimension and  as  a  burning
   candle through paths that are gone in daylight. I think the spirit
   world in forests is very important to remember, and not to destroy
   the beauty of their kind. Societies are ruled by money,  and  cash
   rules  the  stupid  so-called  humans  that  destroy  the   forest
   landscapes just to  get  power  and  money.  The  damn  fools  are
   reaching for the wrong power. Money ain't shit, and the same  goes
   for humans. If I am going to rule, I'll kill, rape  and  burn  the
   human bodies to a crisp and fuckin' piss on their ashes.

CoC: What do you think is in store for a civilization which turns its
     back on Nature? 

S: I don't know, but if there is a Hell (which I don't  believe!),  I
   hope they burn and burn while their beloved and their children get
   raped by the large-dick-demons and lacerated by glowing razors.

CoC: _Fran Marder_ and _Kostogher_ are  the  first  two  parts  of  a
     planned four-part series of works. What can you  tell  us  about
     the next two parts? How will they relate to  _Fran  Marder_  and
     _Kostogher_, musically and thematically?

S: I wanted to release  all  four  albums  as  one,  but  I  saw  the
   impossibility, so I had to release them as four albums. So I don't
   see any difference between the four albums. They are  just  sorted
   in four different sides/ages. You will  hear  differences  in  the
   sound, of course, but not much. My  new  albums  are  not  as  the
   four-part epic; it's another age.

CoC: I have heard that you are also planning a book. Please  tell  us
     more. Is  the  book  a  collection  of  lyrics?  Poems?  Ritual?
     Philosophy? Artwork? How will the book add to  the  totality  of
     your/Arckanum's self-expression?

S: I cannot tell that much about the  book.  But  I've  included  the
   things you named.

CoC: What can you tell  us  about  your  side  project,  Tassemarkers
     Vaeruld?

S: It's a kind of ritual gathering that Sataros and I have created to
   honor our mighty world Kaos and Pan and the Red Dragon. The  album
   will have two different chapters which raise  our  egos  over  the
   supreme seas of blood. We cannot  just  go  into  the  studio  and
   record the whole album, because our magic plays a big part in this
   creation, and we have to listen to its ways.

CoC: Thank you for your artistry, and for taking the time to reply to
     this interview. Any parting words?

S: Thank you for supporting the darkest sides of our tribe.  May  Pan
   rape your Nymphs and your light.

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

            U P   F R O M   T H E   U N D E R G R O U N D
            ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                CoC speaks with Norway's Dimmu Borgir
                          by: Steve Hoeltzel

With the Nuclear  Blast  release  (and  fairly  heavy  promotion)  of
_Enthrone Darkness Triumphant_, Norwegian black metal has surfaced in
its most unapologetically accessible incarnation yet. The combination
of talent, ambition, and professionalism which these guys  undeniably
possess has drawn raves from many listeners (for example, see Pedro's
review in CoC #22) - while proving less popular with those who  favor
crustier, more  abrasive  metallic  material  (for  example,  me).  I
recently spoke to bassist Nagash, hoping to find out more about Dimmu
Borgir's priorities in the present, their plans for the  future,  and
their attitude toward their own more "underground" musical past. 

CoC: How has the response to the new album been so far?

N: It's been really fucking good. We've been playing in  Germany  all
   this week, and the crowd response has  been  way  better  than  we
   expected. And we've sold like 40,000 of them now [in  Europe],  so
   everything seems to be going really well.

CoC: The album has a great sound - but I suppose that's what you  get
     when you go to Peter Tagtgren, eh?

N: <laughs> Yeah, yeah, that's exactly what you get.

CoC: How did you like working with him?

N: Ah, he was really good. He would just wait for  hours  and  hours,
   until you've got everything just right, you know? He  didn't  care
   how long it took. He was good and precise. And it's  really  cool,
   because we'll be going back in there next week to do a mini-CD, so
   it will be good to work with him again.
 
CoC: What's the story on the mini-CD?
 
N: It'll be out  in  September.  It'll  be  two  new  songs  and  two
   re-recorded  songs  off  the  first   album:   "Raabjorn   Speiler
   Draugheimens  Skodde"  and  "Hunnerkongens  Sorgsvarte  Ferd  Over
   Steppene". And we'll be doing  a  cover  version  again  as  well:
   "Metal Heart" by Accept. And we're  recording  the  new  album  in
   January, so we're pretty busy.
 
CoC: It's been interesting to see the band progress  and  develop  so
     quickly. That transformation is something I want to  ask  about,
     because the sound on the new album is, in a lot of ways,  a  lot
     different from the sound that you pioneered  on  the  first  two
     albums. So I wonder: what do you think of the  first  ones  now,
     especially _For All Tid_?

N: That's the most atmospheric album...

CoC: Yeah, that's my feeling too. Anyway, let me  put  it  this  way:
     what's your attitude toward that earlier  material,  given  that
     the material you're putting out now sounds so different?

N: I still like the material, and when we play  live  we  still  play
   that material. We still like it; we just naturally progressed.  We
   don't want to make ten albums of _For All Tid_ stuff, you know? We
   love the songs, and _Stormblast_, too.  We  play  them  live.  And
   that's why we re-recorded some of them: because a  lot  of  people
   who hear the new album, most of them have never even heard  of  us
   before - it's like everyone thinks over  here  that  this  is  our
   first album. So that's why we're  recording  some  old  songs  and
   putting them on as bonus tracks, so hopefully they'll go  and  buy
   the old albums. But probably  when  they  do  buy  the  old  ones,
   they'll be like "What the fuck is  this  shit?!"  <laughs>  'Cause
   that's the mentality.
 
CoC: I really like the old ones. To be honest,  I  like  them  better
     than the new one, because I think  they  have  a  somewhat  more
     unique  sound.  _For  All  Tid_,  especially,  because  it's  so
     atmospheric.

N: The thing is,  we  just  re-mastered  it,  and  Nuclear  Blast  is
   releasing _For All Tid_ again. We  put  the  two  songs  from  our
   seven-inch EP on  it  as  well,  and  it's  going  to  be  a  full
   digi-pack. Nuclear Blast owns the rights for it now,  and  they're
   going to release that again, too. It'll be  funny:  everyone  will
   hear the _Enthrone_ album, and then they'll say, "Ah, must be  the
   new album" - and they'll buy it and  go  "Whaaat?!"  <laughs>  But
   it's good.

CoC: Have you had to put up with a lot of  criticism  to  the  effect
     that you've become too commercial now?

N: Especially in Norway, I suppose. But we don't  care  about  it.  I
   don't like these people who run around and say "Ah, we  play  true
   underground black metal!" I say, Okay, but we want to be  able  to
   get the best out of our music. We want the best promoters that  we
   can get; we want the best sound. You can't do that by not  getting
   any money and just going to bad studios and stuff. So, for us,  we
   don't care what anyone says about that shit. We're doing fine now,
   and that's what we care about.
 
CoC: How does it feel to be on Nuclear Blast?

N: It was different at first, but now it's okay. Like, sitting in the
   Nuclear Blast office eating pizza doing interviews all day - thats
   what I'm doing now. <laughs> For us, it's a relief. No Colours was
   okay with _For All Tid_, but they told us, "We cannot do  anything
   more than what we've done." And when we went to Cacophonous,  that
   was totally shit. They didn't do anything,  basically.  Promotion,
   everything we asked about, they'd say "Yeah,  we'll  do  it,"  but
   they never did it. So then we got off them, and we  actually  rang
   Nuclear Blast ourselves, and they said "Oh, yeah!" So it's good  -
   we were really surprised. We just rang up, just hoping, you  know?
   <laughs> We got signed, off the _Devil's  Path_  CD:  that's  what
   they heard to sign us. And when they heard the new one, they  just
   couldn't believe it. <laughs> Everyone here is, like,  just  going
   off about it, which is really cool. And it's good  because,  like,
   we've been playing gigs this  week,  and  all  the  Nuclear  Blast
   people turn up and watch and support, so it's been really good  in
   that way as well.
 
CoC: Have you been playing many shows since the album came out?

N: Yeah. We did a tour with Cradle of Filth and Dissection, about two
   weeks before the album came out, just to  promote  it.  We'd  only
   played twice ever before that! And  then  we're  playing  to  huge
   venues and crowds - it's like, "Wow!" We got  chucked  in  at  the
   deep end, basically.

CoC: How did it go?

N: That tour was really cool. We played first, which was good for us.
   And it was good to play  with  Cradle  of  Filth  and  Dissection,
   because people who maybe hadn't seen us before or heard us  before
   would come to watch them, you know? We played at  Dynamo,  and  we
   just played at [Sorry - I can't make out the name of the  festival
   on the tape. -- Steve]. That was strange: it was us, Megadeth,  My
   Dying Bride, and Type O Negative or something - and there was like
   20,000 or 30,000 people. I'm just walking past Dave Mustaine going
   "Wow!" <laughs>  We're  doing  a  six-week  tour  in  October  and
   November: all of Europe. It'll be us and In Flames and,  I  think,
   Night in Gales.

CoC: North America?

N: I hope so. We want to go. We've asked, but Nuclear just  wants  to
   check out the sales and stuff. We don't know how it would  be:  we
   could walk out on stage and there'd be no one there, or  we  could
   walk out and it'd be packed. For us, it's  more  just,  you  know,
   curiosity. So we'll just wait and see  how  the  album  goes  over
   there, and if it goes well, then we should be there. But the thing
   is, we'd probably have to go with Cradle of Filth or somebody.

CoC: Since you've been touring around, what do you think of the state
     of the metal scene?

N: I think it's good. There are still [a lot of people copying  other
   bands], especially here with the old German bands, a lot of people
   still copying Accept and  Helloween  and  stuff.  Which  is  okay,
   but... The black metal, especially in Germany, I don't  like  very
   much. We played with these  black  metal  bands  last  night  that
   weren't too great. But it's strange: I think a lot of  big  labels
   are going to start to sign black metal bands. Nuclear  Blast  just
   signed another band that I play in from Norway as well. So I  just
   think big companies are going to start picking up the black  metal
   bands, like Music for Nations and Nuclear Blast  and  Metal  Blade
   and stuff. That's what it seems is just  about  to  happen.  So  I
   think, in a way, it's gonna really take off, like  in  a  year  or
   two. But in a way, I hope it doesn't. <laughs> But in a  way  it's
   okay, too.
 
CoC: Why do you say you hope it doesn't?

N: Just because I think it's okay to have  one  or  two  black  metal
   bands on each big label, but when they start  just  picking  black
   metal  bands  out  because  they're  from  Norway  or  Sweden   or
   something, you know, then it'll just be a trend thing, and  you'll
   have really crap bands on  big  labels,  bands  who  don't  really
   deserve to make it there. It's just a reputation thing, and I just
   don't want it to get to that.

CoC: I'm interested to hear you say that, because from  here  in  the
     States, it kind of seems like the big wave of black metal  might
     be dying down a bit.

N: I don't know at all what it's like over there, but in Europe, it's
   going up. Myself, I haven't heard a  really  good  American  black
   metal band - but the thing is, I couldn't even name  one  or  two,
   because over here we don't  hear  about  it,  or  they  don't  get
   promoted at all. But I like a lot of American bands. Florida is my
   favorite musical part of the world! Cannibal Corpse, Morbid Angel,
   Deicide, Obituary - that's what I listen to.
 
CoC: What do you think of the more underground side of the  scene?  I
     know that's something that you were involved with early on.

N: I think it's underground. <laughs> And the people in that want  it
   to stay like that, you  know?  So  that's  cool,  because  they're
   striving for what they want. But I  don't  know...  especially  at
   home, it's like everybody  sits  around  really  evil  and  "We're
   underground,"  and  don't  smile  or  laugh,   and   have   spikes
   everywhere, walking down the street with corpsepaint and spikes...
   And the thing that really sucks about  the  underground  scene  in
   Norway is that basically, the worst people into it  are  like  13,
   14-year-old kids, you know? They're like, wearing spikes to school
   and everything, and they just cause a lot of trouble, like beating
   people up and smashing windows, and "Ah, this is the  underground,
   we have to make havoc," you know? But they're the ones who get  us
   in trouble. But then there's bands like Satyricon and  Darkthrone:
   they're really cool mates of ours, and  they  consider  themselves
   underground while we're not, but we  can  still  sit  and  have  a
   normal conversation with them and drink out with them. Because  we
   respect that they're striving for what they want to do, and that's
   to be underground, and they can respect that we're doing the  best
   we can. It's basically the younger people who just sit around  and
   don't laugh or don't do anything. That's  what  really  pisses  me
   off: they're little kids running around, and it's just  not  good,
   because they end up getting us in a lot of trouble.
 
CoC: Do  you  think  that  some  bands  end  up  limiting  themselves
     creatively because they want to project some sort of underground
     mystique?

N: Yeah, yeah. A band like Darkthrone: if you speak to  Fenriz...  he
   just writes for simplicity, and when you  hear  his  drumming,  he
   always says he likes the straightforward beats and the  easy  drum
   rolls. He wouldn't vary from that, because that's underground, you
   know?

CoC: So I take it that you don't really care  if  someone  tells  you
     that "Dimmu Borgir have turned their back on the underground?"

N: <laughs> Not at all; no one [in the band] does. We've actually sat
   down all together and said "What do we do? Do we tell them to fuck
   off? Or just say nothing?  Or..."  <laughs>  But  nobody  actually
   cares about it at all, and if we get hassled or get a question  we
   just say "Look: you're doing what you want to do, and we're  doing
   what we want to do. Respect that."
 
CoC: It seems like a lot of people in the underground don't have very
     much respect for people outside of it... which I can understand,
     actually, in so far as underground ideals are highly critical of
     everyday society, commercialism, and so on.

N: But ours are too! I hate society, and for us, everything  is  just
   chaos. You know, we do what we want when we want.  I  don't  think
   it's the ideals that they don't like. I  think  it's  just,  like,
   being [available] in suburban shops - know what I  mean?  If  your
   records are out in society, then I think that's  what  they  don't
   like so much.

CoC: Yeah, then the mainstream folk can get their hands  on  it,  and
     underground people don't have exclusive access.

N: Yeah, that's exactly right.

CoC: Did you ever really consider yourselves a dedicated  underground
     band, or were you a band from the very start that wanted to take
     it as far as it could possibly go?

N: That's right. We never sat around and said "We're  an  underground
   band, and let's just play crappy demo tapes and shit,"  you  know?
   We're always striving to get to the best, and we're  still  going,
   we're not even half way there yet - I hope. We've finally made  it
   to a place where we want to be, and we hope it doesn't just, like,
   sit and go flat like everybody else  sometimes  does.  We're  just
   progressing all the time. The new stuff is  different  as  well  -
   just to do something different and keep it interesting.
 
CoC: In what way would you call the new (not yet  recorded)  material
     different?

N: It's much more dark and atmospheric, bringing some old sounds back
   - but with good production. And it's a bit more technical as well,
   as in more  melodically  technical.  It's  not  as  aggressive  as
   _Enthrone_, but it's still really heavy, and it has the atmosphere
   there as well.

CoC: Do keyboards continue to be very prominent?

N: Yeah, definitely.

CoC: What would you like to see the band accomplish over the next few
     years?

N: We want to play heaps and make good albums and do a  lot  of  good
   stuff. We just want to see how high we can go, you know? We're not
   just sitting here and going "Okay, we've made it now."
 
CoC: Any other news?

N: The keyboard player's out, since he (Stian Aarstad) didn't come to
   Dynamo. A half hour before we got on the plane, he rings us up: "I
   can't come." We're playing at Dynamo  with  like,  15,000  people,
   whatever. So we had to play Dynamo with no keyboards - and he  had
   to go to work instead. After that, we're like, this  can't  happen
   again, so he's out. So for this tour that we're doing now and  for
   all the summer tours, we're using Kimberly from  Therion.  On  the
   mini-CD, we'll probably just do  keyboards  ourselves,  among  the
   band. And for the new CD... it's very hard to find a  keyboardist,
   in Norway especially. 

CoC: Any crazy stage show stuff going on? 

N: We haven't been able to do much, because basically, at the moment,
   when we play gigs, it's really chaotic, because  there's  so  much
   shit to do. But when we do the six-week tour,  that's  when  we're
   gonna start doing crazy shit. <laughs> At the moment,  we've  just
   got the backdrop and the  fire-breathing  stuff,  all  the  normal
   stuff.

CoC: Corpsepaint?

N: Yeah, yeah.

CoC: Is that something that you plan to stick with?

N: Yeah. Well, it mightn't always be full-blown, but it'll always  be
   like the white face and the black eyes and  stuff...  it  mightn't
   always be like the pictures on the CD. We look like that  when  we
   play live all the time,  and  we'll  always  look  like  that  [in
   concert], but you might see some pictures  where  we  have,  like,
   just white faces - like a more Goth approach. But that'll be  just
   for photos. Live, everything will be aggressive and full-on.

CoC: A lot of bands that were into corpsepaint early on  are  getting
     rid of it now. How come you guys want to keep it?

N: Because it's an expression of ourselves. That's the way I want  to
   express myself, anyway. I could change, but at the moment  I  want
   to keep it like  that.  But  I  can  understand  the  other  bands
   changing as well, because if they've changed and it  doesn't  feel
   right, then they shouldn't wear it, you know? So I can  understand
   it. But for us, we still want to have that kind of expression.

CoC: That's cool. I've always kind of liked corpsepaint - but it  did
     get kind of overdone.

N: Yeah, very. Especially, coming to Germany and seeing German  bands
   with corpsepaint on, we're just like "Oh, no." <laughs>

CoC: Do you get a lot of people wearing corpsepaint at your shows?

N: Yeah, and that's good, I don't mind that. Fans wearing corpsepaint
   is great, because they get to see us in corpsepaint, so it's cool,
   you know,  looking  out  into  the  crowd  and  seeing  people  in
   corpsepaint. It's great, because they care enough,  they  want  to
   show their appreciation by giving it back. But a lot of people now
   - because the new album  sounds  good  and  all  that,  everyone's
   saying, "How come you're still wearing corpsepaint when you're  on
   Nuclear Blast?" and stuff. And I just say, "Well, nobody told Gene
   Simmons to take it off!" <laughs> And they  weren't  the  evil-est
   band in the world, you know?

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

        M E L A N C H O L I C   M U S I C A L   M A S T E R S
        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                       CoC chats with Therion
                           by: Adam Wasylyk

What made Therion's last record, _Theli_, as amazing as it  was,  was
its combination of symphonic beauty and metal harshness. It's also  a
record that contains a lot of emotion and feeling, something that  is
lacking from many metal releases these days. Celebrating  their  10th
year in  existence,  Therion  have  released  _A'  Arab  Zaraq  Lucid
Dreaming_, which is a mish-mash of different material from  Therion's
past, along with some rare/new  material.  This  release  also  marks
(celebrity?) appearances by Edge of Sanity's Dan  Swano,  Hypocrisy's
Peter  Tagtgren,  and  Necrophobic's  Tobbe  Sidegard.  I  took   the
opportunity to chat with guitarist/vocalist Christofer Johnsson  over
Therion's new release, among other things.

CoC: Tell me about your new release, what's on  it,  and  why  you've
     released it?

Christofer Johnsson: It's a 10-year anniversary CD,  so  it's  not  a
                     real record,  but  rather  just  a  release.  We
                     didn't really plan to release it  at  first,  we
                     just had some leftovers from _Theli_  which  was
                     just about to be released as a single, the first
                     three tracks on this CD. But the  Nuclear  Blast
                     office in Germany wanted us to include  an  Iron
                     Maiden track that we did for a Japanese  tribute
                     album,  and  we  also  have  this  Running  Wild
                     recording which we didn't really plan on purpose
                     [to  include,  but  we  recorded  it]  just  for
                     ourselves as we  used  to  play  it  live.  They
                     wanted  to  include  them  for  a  mini-CD,  but
                     mini-CDs kind of  suck  to  promote  it  and  to
                     manufacture it as a normal CD, but  to  sell  it
                     for  a  cheaper  price  so  the  record  company
                     wouldn't get anything out of it along  with  the
                     fans having to pay a lot of money  to  get  only
                     five songs. But then I said, "Hey, it's been  10
                     years now,  so  we  could  do  something  around
                     that," so we went into the studio again and  did
                     a re-recording of "Symphony of the  Dead",  made
                     another cover which  was  Judas  Priest's  "Here
                     Come the  Tears",  and  we  included  a  classic
                     soundtrack I did for a movie. Also, just  before
                     we went into the studio again, we decided to  do
                     an experiment in  which  we  took  the  original
                     master  tape   with   the   classic   soundtrack
                     recording and we added some guitars, drums,  and
                     bass to it, and it turned out pretty well, so we
                     decided to include it as  well.  So  instead  of
                     having  a  CD  single,   we   suddenly   had   a
                     full-length  album.  Of  course,  it's  just  an
                     anniversary release for the Therion freaks, it's
                     not a new album in any sense.

CoC: Since you've been around for 10 years, tell me about some of the
      good or bad experiences Therion has gone through?

CJ: Most of the bad experiences have actually been good  in  the  end
    because we learned something out of them. During  the  very  hard
    years, when we did the first European tour, when we were  on  the
    road we had a mini-bus, not even a van but a  Japanese  mini-bus.
    We practically lost money on every show because  of  the  expense
    which we had to cover up in merchandise [sales]. And all  of  the
    mess with record companies. We  switched  record  companies  like
    fucking underwear in the beginning, changing companies for  every
    album until _Lepaca Kliffoth_, which was our fourth album.  So  I
    guess all  the  bad  experiences  have  been  in  the  end  quite
    necessary for what we are today.

CoC: So you have come to a state of stability with Nuclear Blast?

CJ: Definitely. First of all, they treated us very well, even  though
    _Lepaca Kliffoth_ wasn't the  success  that  was  expected.  They
    treat all the bands [on the label] very good, even if they're not
    well-selling bands. They took a very big risk  when  we  recorded
    _Theli_, which cost like $45 000. We sold about 22 000 in  Europe
    of _Lepaca Kliffoth_, and they gave us that big amount [of money]
    which was more than twice as much as we were entitled to  in  our
    contract. They said "never mind the contract, just  go  into  the
    studio and do the album." That's very brave, they could have lost
    a fortune, so we really owe them a big  thanks.  Now  things  are
    going well, and we're getting all of the attention that  we  need
    from the record company to go on to further levels.  As  well  as
    being brilliant businessmen, they're actually  big  fans  of  the
    music they're selling which, is quite important. The owner of the
    record company is very down to earth. If you have a problem,  you
    can just call him directly and he can  solve  [the  problem]  for
    you. It's not like you have this unreachable guy just owning  the
    company and squeezing the money out of everything.  He's  willing
    to do a lot of hard work himself and make you feel  much  better.
    We're more like a team than having a business relationship.

CoC: How well did _Theli_ sell, by the way?

CJ: In Europe, about  50  000  real  CDs  that  were  sold.  Licensed
    cassettes were released in Europe  as  well.  In  one  way,  that
    really counts as people who buy the licensed cassettes  are  just
    as big Therion freaks than someone who buys a  CD  for  the  full
    price. So with licensed cassettes, I don't know. Maybe 55  to  60
    [thousand]. Actually, we sold I think  2000  real  CDs  for  full
    price in Russia, which is amazing as well. For  the  States,  not
    very well at all, unfortunately. So  them  and  Canada  together,
    barely 5000, which is like for every album we did, we  sell  5000
    over there. It's really  strange,  it's  like  we  could  release
    anything, and still sell only 5000. So I guess we have some  very
    loyal fans overseas  which  is  a  positive  thing,  but  also  a
    negative thing because we're always stuck  at  that  number.  And
    with the opening of the Nuclear Blast office in America, I'm very
    optimistic for the future.

CoC: Your choice of covers by bands like Running Wild, Judas  Priest,
     and Iron Maiden... were these bands instrumental in how  Therion
     sounded at any particular time?

CJ: The  Scorpions,  if  you  can  believe,  were  the  biggest  real
    influence for us. Scorpions in the 80s is not really my favorite,
    and please note that Scorpions in the 90s is the worst rubbish  I
    can imagine. But the Scorpions in the 70s was  one  of  the  best
    hard rock bands around, and not many people know this. They  were
    so brilliant back then and I got a lot of inspiration, especially
    for guitar harmonies, and once I even stole a  riff  and  put  it
    into one of the songs off _Lepaca Kliffoth_. Many people told  me
    "wow, this riff is so cool," and I tell them  "it's  a  Scorpions
    riff." So we did the Scorpions cover, "Fly to the Rainbow", which
    is from their second album  from  1974.  A  lot  of  people  said
    without knowing what it was, "hey, this new song is really  cool,
    a little odd for Therion, but really cool" and when I  tell  them
    it's the Scorpions, they didn't want to  believe  me.  It's  just
    something we really wanted to do, a payback to the Scorpions.  We
    like Maiden a lot, we grew up with them. The same goes  to  Judas
    Priest, from the 70s, 80s, and  90s,  Judas  Priest  was  fucking
    killer, and one of my favorite bands when it comes  to  listening
    [to  music],  even  though  it's  not   really   influencing   my
    songwriting. To tell the truth, I'm  not  really  a  big  fan  of
    Running Wild at all, all I have is one album,  the  _Under  Jolly
    Roger_ album which is quite okay. That song in  particular  is  a
    good song, and a very good live song, so we play it live  a  lot.
    Especially in Germany, where we don't have to sing the chorus  as
    the audience does it for us.

CoC: You did a soundtrack awhile back. What was the film about?

CJ: It's an art film, so it's like, you figure it out and tell me!  I
    like a cultivated movie, but art movies are sometimes  too  heavy
    for me. I don't see the point or the meaning or  message  of  the
    movie, but it's quite a beautiful picture. It's hard  to  explain
    what's it's about.

CoC: Did he seek you out to do the soundtrack?

CJ: He heard _Theli_ and thought it was impressive, and he  asked  me
    if I would like to do something  without  the  metal,  just  pure
    classic with opera singing. I also added some small keyboards  in
    some places for a more movie feeling, so only 5% is keyboards for
    an atmospheric feeling. It was a great challenge.

CoC: I've learned that Lars (Rosenberg, bass)  and  Jonas  (Mellberg,
     guitars, keyboards) have left the band. What  were  the  reasons
     for their departure?

CJ: They were actually  fired  because  of  alcohol  problems.  Jonas
    started to drink in the studio. While we made the  Maiden  cover,
    he actually flipped out totally and left in  the  middle  of  the
    session, leaving me with an unfinished tape. It was  an  argument
    between him and the studio engineer, and it resulted in  that  he
    was drunk, therefore behaving like shit, and he just left in  the
    middle of  everything,  so  of  course,  we  fired  him.  Alcohol
    increased his personal problems to limits that were unacceptable.
    As for Lars, who'se been a friend of mine for eight years, it was
    quite sad, but in the end, he made a conscious  decision  between
    the band and alcohol, and he picked the alcohol. He's always been
    a heavy drinker, and after awhile, we  realized  he  was  playing
    like fucking shit, so we [as a band] started  drinking  less  and
    less. But he was drinking more than ever,  and  his  playing  was
    very sloppy and we told him, "take it easy, drink after the show.
    People are paying good money to  see  us  play  live,  it's  very
    disrespectful to care more about getting  drunk  than  playing  a
    good show." And one day, he fell on his ass on stage  because  he
    was too drunk, and that was too much for  us.  We  gave  him  the
    choice, and we gave him a lot of changes, but there was never any
    improvement. His disrespect for us and the  crowd  at  our  shows
    resulted in us not wanting to do anything  more  with  him  as  a
    person or as an instrument. He then left for  South  America  and
    moved in with some fucking groupie that he met down  there  while
    we were playing South America. He then  got  kicked  out  by  the
    groupie, so I guess that was his  wake-up  call  as  I  heard  he
    stopped drinking. I guess he had to hit rock bottom, being kicked
    out by a groupie onto the streets, and maybe his brain started to
    work again. It's a real pity, as he used to be one  of  the  best
    bassists around in the Stockholm area, and  now  he's  definitely
    one of the worst.

CoC: And finally, what other musical possibilities do  you  see  that
     Therion may perhaps explore in future records?

CJ: You never know. I always want to do something new.  It  was  very
    good that I got to do the soundtrack because I was getting deeper
    and deeper into classical music, and I think the next album could
    have been the first predictable Therion record if I  hadn't  done
    this classic soundtrack, because everyone would have thought that
    we would do more classical stuff on the next album,  which  would
    have been the case. I want to do something  completely  different
    all the time so people say "hey, what's this new  shit?  Is  this
    Therion?". I don't know what direction to go into  for  the  next
    album. We have a couple of tracks so far, and we're scheduled  to
    record by the end of the year, like December. For  the  songs  so
    far, I would say it's still  classic,  and  we  still  use  opera
    choirs, but there aren't as many classic cliches. If AC/DC played
    rock and roll cliches, then we do classic cliches. If you  listen
    to the classic music itself on _Theli_, there's  no  originality,
    we're just playing classical music. The soundtrack is a bit  more
    original, but I want to go even further than that. I want  to  do
    very original classical music which  I  want  to  metal-ize  into
    Therion songs. I want to also include a lot of elements  that  we
    never had before. I think we're gonna be more epic. I don't  want
    to say gothic because there's no other band that calls themselves
    gothic that I would like to refer  to,  definitely  nothing  like
    Sisters of Mercy or anything like that. I  would  say  epic.  Not
    really the best word for it, but at least it's the closest  thing
    I can think of.

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

                    C A T C H I N '   A   B U Z Z 
                    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
         Chronicles of Chaos interviews Filthboy's Buzzy Beck
                          by: Gino Filicetti

     It has been a long time since we last  spoke  with  Pittsburgh's
Filthboy. Way back in Chronicles of Chaos #3, almost two years ago, I
spoke with Buzzy Beck about what it was like being a small band in  a
big country. Now it's 1997, a full  four  years  since  Filthboy  was
started by Beck and Kevin Sebastian,  two  high  school  buddies  who
thought it'd be a blast to get together and make some intense music.
     A lot has changed for Filthboy since we last  encountered  them.
They've gone through some painful member changes, they've had to deal
with the scum of the industry, Buzzy is now a married  man,  and  the
band is finally signed. But the heart  of  Filthboy  hasn't  changed:
"Kev and I have always been at the heart of the  writing.  We  worked
with a live drummer for a bit, so that really  changed  the  music  a
lot. But we didn't like how that was working,  so  we  went  back  to
machines." He continues, "Our CD consists of all our old demos, plus,
like, 2 songs that were written last year."
     Although it was thought impossible at  times,  Kevin  and  Buzzy
have finally found someone that they can wholly relate  to,  and  let
into their closely-knit duo. That  someone  is  Scott  Lewis,  former
Brutal Truth and Exit-13 drummer. "It was back to me and Kevin  again
after two members left to pursue their own thing. We went down to the
Brutal Truth show here in Pittsburgh and Rich  Hoak  (Brutal  Truth's
current drummer) got our poor asses  into  the  show.  We  were  just
hanging out, and to our surprise we found out Scott had  been  living
in Pittsburgh for two years."
     "Danny Lilker (Brutal Truth's bassist) introduced Kevin to Scott
and three days later, he was in the band. Only, it's a lot  different
with Scott, he's not just a changing  member  like  it  used  to  be.
Before, it was always me and Kev with a live band, now it's the three
of us at the helm."  He  continues,  "Scott  joined  right  after  we
finished the disc. He doesn't play drums  like  he  used  to  for  BT
either, he plays bass for us. He is now like part of us. Not  just  a
guy in the band. Filthboy is now the three of us writing music.  It's
great. It took us almost three years to  finally  find  someone  like
Scott."
     Why, though, is Scott Lewis different from  everyone  else  that
has come and gone throughout Filthboy's short history?  Could  it  be
his well-known name that Buzzy and Kevin  are  eager  to  have  grace
their roster? "<laughs> Yeah, his name,  that's  it!  Actually,  it's
funny, because people come to our shows in other cities because  they
hear  Scott  is  in  the  band   and   they   are   expecting   total
grindcore/death. It shocks them when they see what we are doing,  and
that we don't have a live drummer."
     "Scott just really fits in. He is like one of us. We  all  agree
on things very easily. If the three of us  are  not  doing  something
involved in music together, we  are  just  kicking  around  the  city
together. It's more than a 'band' thing with us."
     Lewis has been  in  the  music  scene  for  quite  a  while,  so
obviously, he has brought  a  lot  of  maturity  to  Filthboy.  Buzzy
agrees, stating, "Yeah, he's been around, he  knows  what  to  expect
from people. He keeps me and Kevin in check with  reality  sometimes.
He figures people out a lot easier than us. I guess we  are  somewhat
naive at times."
     Since we last spoke with Filthboy, the number  one  priority  on
their 'to do' list was to get signed by a label. Unfortunately,  they
found out that things aren't always as easy as you would expect.  "We
had been shopping our demos for the last year or so, and we had  four
different labels VERY interested in us during that year. One of  them
was as far as dealing with contracts. But  everything  just  kind  of
fell through and we decided that  we  were  getting  nowhere  waiting
around for a label. So we just recorded the disc on our  own  and  we
were going to put it out by ourselves. That's when we ended  up  with
None of the Above. They didn't have the money to sign anyone  at  the
time, but our disc was done. So Brett was like 'Hey, I will put  that
out for you.' So that was that." He continues, explaining  that,  "We
are not really signed, we just licensed  the  disc  to  None  of  the
Above."
     Having None of  the  Above  release  Filthboy's  disc,  entitled
_Diverse Reality_, while a blessing, still hasn't solved all of their
problems. "Unfortunately, for the people in Europe  looking  for  the
disc, we have to find someone over there to release  it.  The  CD  is
only available in the States. But we are in touch with a few European
labels that want to put it out, so hopefully soon  it  will  see  the
light of day in Europe.  We  really  want  to  have  it  released  in
Europe." Why, though, is the band so anxious  to  see  the  disc  get
European exposure? Does anyone in Europe even know the name Filthboy?
"Well, it's already doing great in the States. Caroline is reordering
more from None of the Above as we speak. In Europe, we had  a  bigger
following with all of our old demos.  Plus,  let's  face  the  facts,
Europe is a MUCH better market for  heavy  music."  Buzzy  continues,
explaining how the Internet was the biggest factor  in  getting  them
exposure in a continent they've never played. "Yeah, I've encountered
a lot of European tape traders on the 'net, and through  IRC,  I  was
able to get the word of mouth started and tell people about Filthboy."
     "There are some  people  over  there  paying  ridiculous  import
prices for the CD, and they don't deserve that. They should  be  able
to get the disc for a reasonable price. We are selling the CD on  our
web page to people over in Europe and elsewhere to try  and  cut  out
the import  prices  for  them."  Check  out  Filthboy's  homepage  at
http://www.lm.com/~hate.
     It never ceases to amaze me how ignorant big labels  can  be  of
the fresh, new, up and coming bands that are all around us. It  seems
that they always end up signing utter garbage whilst the cream of the
crop is left to whither and  rot  in  the  pasture  due  to  lack  of
exposure. Over the past year of label dealings, Filthboy has come  to
realize the truth about the record  industry.  "The  industry  is  so
corrupt. It's resorted to back scratching and the 'what have you done
for me lately' mentality. It's just not about music. The  problem  we
have is that we don't kiss anybody's ass. Where most people or  bands
just shut up, we voice our opinions and make it known how we feel.  I
don't care, call it burning bridges or whatever.  If  we  don't  like
someone, we will tell them. We won't talk shit behind anyone's  back,
we will tell it to their face." He  finishes  by  saying,  "I  really
don't want to talk much more about it because it discourages  me  and
sometimes makes me wonder  why  I  am  even  involved  in  the  music
business."
     As always, Filthboy's music is  what  says  it  all.  Trying  to
compare _Diverse Reality_ to the old demos is like putting a pig in a
beauty pageant. Things have changed tremendously. Buzzy  comments  on
Filthboy's new direction: "Well, I don't think it was a very  radical
change, it was kind of the direction we have always gone towards.  We
have always strived to NOT sound like a certain genre or band.  There
is a lot of good music out  these  days,  so  we  just  had  to  keep
changing and evolving in a natural kind of way." Next, he queries  me
by saying, "You have the old demos, how much do you think  the  music
has changed?" In response, I stated that, besides an  improvement  in
production, I thought the music itself had  changed  tremendously  as
well. A lot of the 'typical' heaviness  had  changed  into  something
different but still heavy, and a lot catchier."
     Filthboy has had its share of detractors,  people  who  can  not
accept the fact that a band needs to grow to stay alive. "We've  done
away with the machine blast beats and fast guitars. I think  we  have
matured a lot since we were 19. We do get some people  from  time  to
time that say we don't have much death metal influence in the  music.
I can't help it, it's just what happened. We write what we write, not
because we stay in a certain realm or genre." He continues, "The disc
is getting great reviews. It might take people time to understand  it
at first, but once they get into our stuff, they are hooked. We  have
people that either LOVE what we do or HATE it  completely.  Not  much
middle ground."
     The new material seems to spring from more different  influences
than the old stuff. Buzzy assures me that Filthboy's influences  have
stayed intact. "We're still listening to all the old stuff we used to
listen to. We may have opened up to a bit more underground electronic
music, but we still love metal. I am listening to the new Entombed as
we speak." He finishes, saying, "Scott has got  us  to  experiment  a
little more than we had in the past."
     Although playing live is one of  Filthboy's  strong  suits,  the
band has never been on a major tour. They have opened many  shows  in
Pittsburgh for a wide assortment of bands such as Overkill,  Crowbar,
Life of Agony, Brutal  Truth,  and  Suffocation.  Filthboy  has  also
headlined a few small east coast tours. So what's in  store  for  the
world this time around? "We are working something out with a  booking
agent right now. We have to get out there and make people see us.  We
have a big regional name, but not too many people on the  west  coast
even know who we are."  He  continues,  describing  Filthboy's  stage
show, "We have lighting effects. Kevin gets pretty crazy  and  stuff.
It's not just a band playing, it's something you have to  see.  Plus,
the music is different live, we have redone the entire CD since  it's
been released so that we could add crazier shit  to  the  show."  But
does Filthboy value theatrics? Is it an integral part of the Filthboy
experience? "We don't value  it.  On  stage,  we  dress  like  we  do
everyday, not in  plastic.  We  just  play  in  the  dark  with  back
lighting. We are who we are, we don't have an  image.  I  guess  that
makes us punk rock now. <laughs>" When asked if they have any respect
for theatrical bands, Buzzy replies, "Sure, it's  their  thing.  It's
just not our thing. We are into giving people something to  look  at,
but we try to keep the focus on music. A lot of industrial bands have
a bullshit "live drummer" backing up a tape on stage. It's just  some
guy up there so people see a drummer. It's a perception  thing.  Fuck
that, we won't do it. I don't care if some kid walks out  of  a  club
because we don't have a drum set on stage. That's pure ignorance. But
that same kid will love a 16Volt or Bile show because there  is  some
guy acting like he's playing drums. We don't hide the  fact  that  we
use a drum machine."
     These days, it seems that a lot of  unconventional  heavy  bands
are getting the spotlight, such as Korn or Fear Factory. Although one
school of  thought  pegs  them  as  being  brilliant,  another,  more
underground group thinks of them as sell-outs. Filthboy could  easily
be tagged in the same vein: Buzzy  thinks  that  bands  shouldn't  be
shunned for ingenuity. "Well, Korn is Korn. I don't know why a lot of
the 'heavier' kids don't like  them.  Their  first  record  was  VERY
heavy. I was amazed at how big they got. The new  record  is  not  as
heavy or hardcore like the first. For some reason, everyone wants  to
hate those guys. Maybe it's jealousy. On the other hand,  bands  like
Coal "Korn" Chamber, are a fucking joke." He continues,  "What  bands
like Korn and Fear Factory are doing can only  open  more  doors  for
heavy music. Although that new Fear Factory is pretty lame. <laughs>"
     It is unfortunate that human nature includes a fear  of  change.
People tend to want things to stay stagnant and immobile, and usually
look down on bands that attempt to cross genres and breathe life into
a dead  scene.  "Everyone  must  have  their  own  ideals  of  how  a
band/genre should sound, but there are a lot of close-minded  people,
and the thing that kills me is that these label A&R guys are supposed
to know so much about music, but where are their bands? If  they  are
so fucking enlightened, why aren't they the ones making  the  music?"
He continues his tirade, "We have had labels tell us they don't  know
how they could market us and therefore want nothing to  do  with  us.
You'd think being original would be  good  for  a  band,  but  labels
rarely see it that way. It's the industry, man, they  don't  want  to
take a chance on anything that's different; they want  you  to  sound
like band X, and that's that."
     There is definitely a strong electronic, almost techno, presence
on Filthboy's new album. This is largely  due  to  the  use  of  drum
machines that gives the music its mechanical sound. Unfortunately, it
seems  that  electronic  music  has  lately  gotten  a  lot  of  "MTV
spotlight." This is probably the worst thing  that  could  happen  to
such a dynamic and fresh form of music; in the past,  it  seems  that
everything MTV embraces, eventually whithers and dies away  in  their
clutches. Is it possible that Filthboy could seem mainstream to  some
people because of the electronic presence on _Diverse Reality_? Buzzy
answers quite vehemently, "No! Come on, you have  the  disc,  do  you
think there is anything on there that could get played  on  MTV?  One
thing that separates us from most industrial bands is that we have  a
lot of METAL influence. In an age were it's trendy for bands  to  say
'We are not metal anymore,' we  are  not  afraid  to  admit  it."  He
finishes the interview by saying, "A lot of bands that started out as
metal or even death metal, do some re-mixes and now say they are  not
metal anymore. It's a complete fucking joke."

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

                  I C I N G   O N   T H E   C A K E 
                  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                      CoC speaks with Iced Earth
                          by: Drew Schinzel

Of all the bands that have been around  for  more  than  just  a  few
years, Iced  Earth  is  probably  one  of  the  most  respected,  and
definitely commands  one  of  the  most  loyal  fan  base.  It's  not
difficult  to  understand  why,  with  rhythm  guitarist's  and  band
backbone Jon  Schaffer's  pummeling  riffage,  and  Matthew  Barlow's
full-throated vocals providing the  core  of  Iced  Earth's  driving,
unique sound.  Whether  the  band  is  laying  out  a  sixteen-minute
orchestral epic like the timeless "Dante's Inferno", or just  kicking
into one of countless unforgettable riffs,  you  definitely  can  not
mistake Iced Earth for any other band. With the release of  _Days  of
Purgatory_, the band has put forth a 74-minute slice of material from
the band's first two albums (the import double-CD  has  material  off
the third, as well), with remastered production, new vocals,  and  in
some cases entirely  re-recorded  drum  and  guitar  tracks.  If  you
thought you liked the band's early material,  then  _DoP_  will  open
your ears to what it should have been all  along.  If,  however,  you
have never heard Iced Earth, then you have no idea what an  excellent
band you are missing, and _DoP_ is your perfect recap.  I  was  lucky
enough to have the opportunity to speak  to  Jon  Schaffer  on  CoC's
behalf.

CoC: Why didn't Century Media (the band's label) release the  double-
     CD here in the US like they did in Europe?

Jon: I guess they felt that the manufacturing  costs  were  too  high
     compared to the amount of record sales that they  would  get.  I
     wasn't happy about it, either, because I know that we do have  a
     pretty loyal following of American fans. What they are doing  is
     they're selling the  double-CD  mail-order  from  Century  Media
     direct for twenty bucks, which is a pretty fucking good deal for
     an import of that magnitude, because it's two  digi-packs.  It's
     an expensive thing to make, and overseas we sell five times what
     we sell here, so they can afford to do that.

CoC: Do you think that around the first release,  _Iced  Earth_,  the
     band was overshadowed by the wave of  death  metal  coming  from
     Florida, like Deicide, Obituary, etc.?

Jon: It had a little bit of an effect on us,  as  far  as  not  being
     taken seriously by the independent labels, because everyone  was
     on that bandwagon, the death metal thing. But you know, we  were
     around before that shit ever became. We were playing out here in
     1986, out in Tampa. We played with Savatage  and  Nasty  Savage,
     Siren, Obliveon; there was a good metal scene here in Tampa.  We
     were called Purgatory at that time. But when we changed our name
     to Iced Earth is when that whole thing started  to  happen  with
     death metal, and you know, yeah, it  was  tough,  but  we  never
     thought twice about what we were doing. A lot of  bands  changed
     to death metal so they could try to get a  record  deal  and  we
     never did that because we've always been what we're  about,  and
     we've always stayed true to what we believe in,  that's  it.  It
     did kind of hurt people's  opinion  of  us,  by  not  taking  us
     seriously, but in turn, where  are  -they-  now?  The  guys  who
     started the death metal wave are still around, but the  rest  of
     the people who jumped on the bandwagon fell apart.  We're  still
     here.

CoC: Besides the short four-date tour late this summer, do you  think
     you'll ever have the opportunity for a full US tour?

Jon: Well, we would like to do that, but it's really hard for a  band
     to pick up and make that happen. There  have  to  be  the  right
     strings pulled, we have to have the right company  to  make  the
     tour happen for us. We want to get out and play, but we can't go
     out and headline America by ourselves. We are going to do  these
     four shows out in the mid-west. But as far as doing  a  full  US
     tour, we have to be support for someone  that's  going  to  draw
     people, and that in turn costs a lot of money and takes a lot of
     time to get that worked out. I'm not sure our record company  is
     capable of doing the things to make  Iced  Earth  known  in  the
     States. I mean, they're trying, and they're doing a much  better
     job than the old days, but is it good enough to make Iced  Earth
     big? I don't know. The States is a tough market.

CoC: Do you think the new "retro-80s" thrash trend will help the band
     along at all?

Jon: I don't know, man. I doubt it. To be honest with  you,  I  think
     the only people that are going to help Iced Earth is Iced Earth.
     If we get the right management team or record company behind us,
     the sky's the limit. Right now, I don't see any help coming from
     anybody, we never have. It's all  been  basically  on  our  own.
     Century Media's done a good job in certain parts of  the  world,
     and I'm not ragging on them, but there're just some things  that
     they aren't capable of in this country,  yet.  And  even  though
     it's a night and day difference between what it used to be, when
     it used to -really- suck here in the States, the  new  staff  is
     doing much better, and our record sales each time we've put  out
     a record have doubled, even though they're very small numbers. I
     think if we get up into the  mid-west  and  start  playing  some
     shows up there, we're going to be able to  build  upon  our  fan
     base and really bring metal back to the US.  That's  what  we're
     hoping for. If once we start playing up there, we'll  just  keep
     building and get more and more shows all the  time,  then  we're
     doing a good thing.

CoC: What's your inspiration for your riffs? What do you think  about
     when you're writing them? To me, they're some of the  best  I've
     ever heard.

Jon: Well, first off, thanks for  saying  that,  but  I  think  Steve
     Harris writes the best riffs ever. <laughs> I don't know, man, I
     think it's just the inner rage that helps with that. I've always
     had a problem with people trying to tell me what to  do,  and  I
     was very much a rebel, a "rebellious teenager"  still,  in  many
     ways. I have a lot of deep inner feelings about life and  death,
     and it all seems to be in a direction. I know a lot of it  comes
     from my past, my childhood, and it just comes out, I don't  know
     where it comes from. I don't know if anybody, any writer or  any
     true artist, could tell you where it comes from. I think it's as
     much of a mystery to us as it is to the people  looking  at  you
     and wondering. It's just  kind  of  a  way  of  channeling  your
     emotions. Whether you're on a piano, or a guitar, or if you're a
     singer, it's all what's inside of -you-.

CoC: You always seem to have one really epic song on each album, like
     "Dante's Inferno" from _Burnt Offerings_ and "Travel in Stygian"
     from _Night of the Stormrider. Do  you  regard  these  with  any
     special feeling?

Jon: Yeah, those are special songs to me. They're usually  my  babies
     that I work on for a long period of  time  by  myself.  I  don't
     usually show them to anybody until I'm done with  them.  They're
     always kind of my pet project, I always like to put one  at  the
     end of each record as a little special  closer.  You  know,  I'm
     working on one for the next album, and no one's heard any of  it
     yet. I don't know how long it's going to be, but  it's  probably
     going to be longer than anything else on the album, to  give  it
     that finale kind of feel to it. I just want to make it kind of a
     trademark thing that we do; something cool and epic at  the  end
     of a record to close it out nicely.

CoC: You're producing an album soon for a band called Silent  Scream.
     What can you tell us about that?

Jon: Oh, you heard about that? Yeah, they're just a young  band  from
     Hamburg, Germany who approached us when  we  played  there,  and
     they asked me. I said I'd see if I liked the music and  I'd  get
     in touch with them. I get handed CDs from bands  all  the  time,
     and I felt like these guys had some potential. They've got  some
     good music; the vocalist needs work,  he's  my  biggest  concern
     right now. But he seems like a nice  guy,  and  he's  taken  the
     advice I've given him.  He's  working  hard,  at  least  they're
     telling me he is, he's taking lessons and stuff.  So  when  they
     get over here in September we'll see how it  goes.  I'm  excited
     about it because I've never produced anyone  except  Iced  Earth
     and I've wanted to do that kind of  thing,  so  for  me  it's  a
     chance to get into another field of the music  industry  that  I
     really love doing. I like to take a song, and put my magic touch
     to it. I like to work with bands who are respectful, anxious  to
     learn, and want to get into this business. I also  like  to  let
     them know what a nightmare they're  in  for,  too.  <laughs>  At
     least if I can tell people some of the things I've been through,
     then I can help ease the pain of this  career  choice  a  little
     bit, and try to give them a bit of advice, because I didn't have
     any. I went through a lot of bullshit, the hard way.

CoC: What do you do besides music? A day job or anything?

Jon: Well, I haven't worked for about a year now, the band's  finally
     doing well enough to where I can make a very meager living.  I'm
     also sort of the micro-manager of the band,  and  I  can't  work
     right now, there's just not enough hours in the week to  do  the
     things I need to do for the band. Being the writer, the  manager
     of the band, and also play on tour, to get -ready-  to  play  on
     tour, it's really a lot of work, so I'm not working currently. I
     mean, I do have a friend who has a music store, he sells guitars
     and comic books, and I work for him once  in  a  while  when  he
     needs help. I used to work there  full-time.  Basically,  in  my
     spare time, and it's very rare that I -do- have  spare  time,  I
     like building model kits. Monsters and comic book characters,  I
     build these things and hand-paint them, so  that's  a  hobby.  I
     collect comics and toys, and there's a little  escape  from  the
     music world. But other than that, I spend a lot of hours on  the
     phone, a lot of hours with my guitar, though not as  many  hours
     with my guitar as I would like to, because I  do  more  business
     than I probably should. But at this stage of the game,  I  don't
     really have a choice.

CoC: What musical training have you had? Any lessons, or self-taught?

Jon: I'm self-taught, but I took my first guitar lesson last weekend.
     So I'm going to continue to do that.  I  think  I've  reached  a
     point in my playing where I need to  learn,  because  there  are
     some things that I don't know. I've never taken the guitar as an
     instrument very seriously, I've always treated it as a  tool  to
     write songs with. Now I want to know why I'm  doing  the  things
     I'm doing, just to learn the way it works, because I don't know.
     Which is strange; I can hear everything in my head, I  know  the
     way it should be, but I don't know -why- they are  that  way.  I
     never learned a scale in my life, and leads I never really cared
     about, but now I'm going to learn some,  just  so  I  have  that
     extra bit of knowledge. Maybe I'll start playing a  little  lead
     on our albums to give a different feel; Randy  [Shawver]  always
     has kind of a dark, abstract feel to it, and the few solos  that
     I've done in the history  of  the  band  have  been  more  of  a
     melodic, kind of bluesey kind  of  thing.  If  we  mix  the  two
     together, it might be an  interesting  addition  to  the  band's
     sound. But I am a -rhythm- guy. Steve Harris is my idol, I  love
     killer bass and drums, and rhythm guitar. That's what I'm  into.
     To me, that's the thundering backbone of a band.

CoC: For the next album, do you think you'll  continue  in  the  same
     vein as _The Dark Saga_, or will  you  go  back  to  the  faster
     riffing of the earlier  albums.  Where  do  you  see  the  music
     heading?

Jon: Oh, we just do whatever comes naturally. I  don't  like  to  say
     "Well we're going to make it sound this way."  I  just  let  the
     songs come out of me, that's the way  I've  done  it  for  every
     album. However they come out of me, that's the way it's going to
     be. So far, their's a pretty good mixture of everything. Their's
     some really fast shit, their's some really slow stuff,  some  in
     between. There's one song called "The Prophecy"  which  is  very
     Maiden-ish but much more heavy and much more intense,  but  it's
     got that  feel  to  it.  There's  one  that's  kind  of  like  a
     Slayer/Metallica kind of thing. I mean, it doesn't -sound-  like
     that, I'm just trying to give you a genre that you can attach it
     to. The epic thing that I'm working on is an Egyptian vibe, it's
     going to have some very fast and furious riffing, and some  slow
     stuff, too. It's just Iced Earth. It's going to be like all  the
     other stuff but different than the album before it.  But  you're
     going to know who it is when you hear it.

CoC: When do you think that'll see light of day?

Jon: It probably won't be out until next year. The way it  looks,  we
     may possibly be going out on tour  with  Savatage  and  Rage  in
     October and November. That's Europe, and if that  happens,  it's
     going to be forty dates. We'll be hitting territories in  Europe
     we've never played, so it's worth putting off the release of the
     next record, because we have to take  that  opportunity  to  get
     into Spain and Portugal, Norway, Denmark,  Finland,  some  areas
     that we haven't been into before;  if  we  can  get  into  those
     areas, we have to make that happen.

CoC: Why do you think bands in the same general style as  Iced  Earth
     are so rare in the United States? I mean, they're fairly  common
     over in Europe, but when the US is concerned they are sparse.

Jon: It's a difference in culture. You know, over here,  people  here
     are basically fed the popular trends and what  they're  supposed
     to be involved in by the media. They're fed  a  certain  way  to
     think by radio, or MTV, or  by  regular  television,  everything
     from what kind of clothing is popular,  to  what  kind  of  hair
     styles, or music, and over there it's not  like  that.  I  mean,
     over here I've seen it happen  dozens  of  times,  whether  it's
     bands that were playing metal and  jumped  on  the  death  metal
     bandwagon, and then jump on the goth  bandwagon,  and  then  the
     industrial bandwagon, anything they can do  to  try  and  get  a
     record deal. There're very few people in the business  that  are
     loyal enough to stick to what they're all about, long enough  to
     make it. It takes a special breed of people who are  willing  to
     tough it out and do something  in  which  they  believe.  That's
     maybe one or two people out of ten, and when it comes to  bands,
     Iced Earth is one of those one out of ten  that  is  willing  to
     play what we believe in and what we're about, no  matter  -what-
     it takes, until whatever time.  If  it  becomes  popular,  we'll
     still be doing it even after it becomes -not- popular anymore in
     this country, just like Iron Maiden is still doing. I'm not  one
     of those people who feels like I  have  to  bow  down  and  kiss
     anybody's ass, I never have and I never will. I'm not trying  to
     be arrogant or conceited, but I have  confidence  and  faith  in
     what we do, but this is the kind of attitude  that's  kept  this
     thing alive for twelve years and that's going to keep  it  alive
     for another twelve years. You know, we're not going to bow  down
     and change for -anybody-. We're going to do what we  do  because
     we want to do it, and that's it. And  there's  just  not  enough
     people around who are willing to do that.

CoC: What vein is your  side  project  with  Hansi  Kursch  of  Blind
     Guardian going to be in? The same  speed  metal  style  as  Iced
     Earth?

Jon: Yep. It's going to be my music and his words.  It  should  be  a
     cool mixture. We wrote our first song when I  was  over  at  his
     house, and we went to his little studio and  recorded  it,  just
     with the drum machine and stuff, but  it  sounded  really  cool.
     It's really fucking dark. We don't even know what we're going to
     call it yet. We were talking about  touring  Europe  again  with
     [Blind Guardian] in the spring of next year, and then  I'd  stay
     over at his house and we'd finish writing  it.  Then  we'd  come
     back here, I was going to get Mark Prator to play drums  on  it,
     that's the guy who played  on  _The  Dark  Saga_,  and  get  Jim
     Morris, the other producer for the band to do  the  lead  guitar
     stuff, and then me, I'll get bass and guitar,  and  Hansi'll  do
     the vocals. I'm excited about it because it'll have my  kind  of
     music and Hansi's choruses, it  should  be  a  very  interesting
     mixture.

CoC: Well Jon, that wraps it up. Any final words to Iced Earth's fans
     who'll be reading the zine?

Jon: Just    tell    them    to    check     out     the      website
     (http://www.icedearth.com), and stay true because we're going to.

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

                       I N   T H E   F L E S H
                       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                       CoC interviews Godflesh
                          by: Adrian Bromley

     "We want our live show to be different each  time  out,"  begins
Godflesh creator/vocalist/guitarist Justin  Broadrick  on  the  phone
from Birmingham, England. "We want to take this whole live show thing
and bring in a unique sound system and style to the way  we  want  to
present ourselves. We want a DJ or club feel to what we are doing. We
just want to keep it different and to keep it evolving."
     And is that the reason for the re-mix record - _Love and Hate in
Dub_ (re-mixed works of 1996's _Songs of Love  and  Hate_),  to  keep
evolving the music and styles introduced and represented in  Godflesh
material?  He  answers,  "Ever  since   our   first   album   (1990's
_Streetcleaner_), we have had that mechanical side of what we do.  We
(the band is rounded out by longtime bassist/conspirator Benny  Green
and drummer Brian Mantia) are very groove-oriented and close to  many
things like hip-hop. It was always a goal for us to have  that  style
embedded into what we do. Our initial goal of Godflesh  was  to  have
this brutally heavy shit, but have a mechanical side to what  we  do:
To be groove-oriented. We always wanted a fat groove.  Obviously,  we
were able to get that fat groove, having a  drummer,  unlike  before,
when we used a drum machine. Now, with a drummer, we  can  have  this
groove going and mix it with drum machines to make  this  one,  huge,
fat groove. We want our music to evolve, which it has, and we want to
defy serious pigeonholing. We are just mixing shit up.  Every  couple
of years we try to outdo what we did in the past and just try to make
a more fresher and original feel to Godflesh."
     The duo of Godflesh, Justin Broadrick and Benny Green, formed in
1988, releasing their self-titled debut EP on  Swordfish  Records  in
1990. They later signed to Earache  (releasing  _Streetcleaner_  that
same year), and from there, the band broke new boundaries with  their
use of drum machines, heavy rhythms, and mixing  and  matching  hard,
ferocious grooves with a definite strong industrial  feel.  The  band
brought that sound to life several times over with such  notable  and
well-received release like 1991's _Slavestate_ album, 1992's  _Pure_,
and the stunning 1994 release, _Selfless_. All in all, it has been  a
strong effort by the band to remain  heavy  and  intact,  to  broaden
their boundaries, but keep it unique and very Godflesh sounding.
     When asked whether Godflesh will continue  to  evolve,  possibly
losing their harshness and heavy rhythms and going for a  new  sound,
Broadrick replies: "Godflesh is what it always has been. The exciting
thing about Godflesh is how we go about approaching the sound that we
create. We do want to attain to what we are about. No matter what  we
do, we want to have that. We want our sound. It will always be  heavy
and groove-oriented."
     And is Broadrick impressed with what he has been able to do with
Godflesh  since  the  early  days?  "Yeah...  I  feel  like  we  have
definitely achieved something. We have  helped  possibly  in  helping
change music. Helping mold the sounds of rock or metal music. I think
we have. This could be a bad thing, but I think we  have  contributed
to what music has become now. Bringing to the forefront  an  idea  or
belief in amalgamating certain sounds and ideas  into  what  you  are
doing. I still think that we can change things more and more as years
go along."
     On success: "From the get go of this  band,  we  knew  we  would
never  be  a  multi-million  selling  record  artist.  When  we  made
_Streetcleaner_, we never thought we would sell any records. We never
had  a  goal  to  sell  records.   What   we   reached,   even   with
_Streetcleaner_ alone, stunned us. We were really surprised  at  what
happened. We never thought we would get popular. People  told  us  it
would happen, but we didn't see it coming."
     The topic turns to the works of Ministry and Fear Factory. While
all three are very similar at times in  sound  and  style,  Broadrick
believes that Godflesh is in its own class of what they do. "Godflesh
has been around almost as much as Ministry  and  Fear  Factory  since
1991. I think Fear Factory has been influenced by bands like Godflesh
and Ministry. It's great to have that. It's  inevitable  that  people
are into both Ministry and Godflesh and  are  influenced  by  us  and
create a new generation of bands. It's great to see hybrid  of  bands
pop up."
     He adds, "I think  what  we  do  is  unique.  We  strive  to  be
influenced by other band and bring those  influences  and  our  ideas
into what we do. What drives me to make  this  unique  form  of  rock
music is that I have never thought anyone is doing or will  be  doing
what Godflesh do. I guess there are people or bands that  get  lumped
into a category with us, but overall I  think  Godflesh  has  a  very
singular sound."
     Unlike most bands who  follow  trends,  Godflesh  has  done  the
opposite. The band has focused on their sound and style from Day One.
About bands following  trends  and/or  fitting  a  certain  criteria,
Broadrick responds, "It seems to be very  fashion-oriented  now.  You
hardly ever see any long hair metal bands anymore because  they  have
all cut their hair and done re-mixes with their music. I  mean,  here
are these bands saying they cut their hair because 'it's the 90s  and
not cool to look like that anymore.' Obviously, it  is  not  cool  to
look like Poison and Motley Crue anymore, and these bands are walking
around saying that they are doing this to stay in touch with what  is
happening. It's bullshit. People are doing this  because  someone  is
dictating, telling them what to do. It's not cool to be a metal  hair
band anymore. It's easy for people like us to be cynical about  this.
Years ago, when Godflesh came around, people didn't want to know  who
we were or what we were about. They couldn't understand what we were.
They were all seeing and hearing that we had  all  these  styles  and
asking us, 'What are ya?' and we would reply, 'We are Godflesh.'  Now
it's cool for bands to say what they are and not to be part  of  some
genre. It is being dictated that you have to  be  90s  and  all  this
shit. I don't think people are doing what they want to  do.  I  mean,
I'm sure there are artists out there who are doing what they want  to
do and aren't interested in other types of music and trying to  bring
that to their sound, but for the most part,  I  see  bands  bandwagon
jumping. They are all going to where it is 'happening.'
     Broadrick continues, "Years ago, there seemed to be a rule  book
with what you were supposed to do, and now we  have  another  one  to
deal with. The book has all these things bands must  do  to  be  cool
now, and it's sad. It's sad that it has to go this way  with  certain
bands."
     While the band has just released _LaHiD_, the band is gearing up
for new material and a new album sometime next  year.  The  bandwagon
jump will not be a part of their future endeavors. "We haven't really
recorded a single track for the next LP, but doing this re-mix record
has been quite inspirational for what we are going  to  do  with  the
next record. The next album is going to be  like  a  gigantic  roller
coaster ride dynamically with what is going on," he notes. "There  is
going to be a lot of information on the next album. The last thing it
will sound like will be _Selfless_. That record was very cut and dry,
and right now, I am not a big fan of that record. I  think  with  our
last record, _SoLaH_, we opened up a few doors and expanded a little,
but with what we were doing. With the addition of a drummer, now,  it
has made the music more direct. There is more scope to the sound, and
so the next record will venture into the areas that I want to go with
what we are doing. _SoLaH_ was a very  groovy  and  organic  Godflesh
rock record, which was similar to _Selfless_, but was a bit  stronger
in production."
     And as the music has changed, Broadrick notes the fan  base  and
fans coming to the shows has altered too.  "I  think  our  fans  have
changed quite a bit. When Godflesh first came  to  the  States  (with
Napalm Death) with the album _Streetcleaner_, the audience  we  broke
into originally was a metal audience. Now I think it  is  more  of  a
crossover audience than just metal  kids.  After  _Streetcleaner_,  I
think we widened out our audience a bit. Now we seem to  cater  to  a
lot of types of people. I would say that now about 40% of  the  crowd
coming to our shows are metal fans. When we came over in 1990 and had
to play before metal fans, I  think  we  opened  up  their  listening
tastes. It's funny, because people I meet told me that all they  used
to listen to was metal, but after seeing or  hearing  Godflesh,  they
opened up to a lot of areas in their musical tastes. I think that  is
important and healthy for people to have many tastes when it comes to
music."

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  S O R R O W F U L   I S   T H E   B E A U T Y   O F   A U T U M N
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                     CoC interviews Autumn Tears
                          by: Pedro Azevedo

Two talented persons focused on producing high  quality  dark  music:
Ted   (keyboards,   arrangements,   vocals)   and   Erika    (vocals,
arrangements) are just that, and high  quality  dark  music  is  what
Autumn Tears is all about. _Love Poems  for  Dying  Children_,  their
debut, showed promise, even though it  also  presented  some  faults;
their new album, _Love Poems For Dying Children Act II: The Garden of
Crystalline Dreams_ is an improvement over the first  in  every  way,
and a very impressive work. By releasing the album in the USA through
their own label, Dark Symphonies, Ted and Erika  managed  to  control
everything about their work, and it shows. You can see just that from
the following  interview,  if  you  consider  the  quality  of  their
answers. The following is my conversation with Ted and Erika,  Autumn
Tears. Their homepage is at http://www.borg.com/~lordxul/tears.htm.

CoC: Please tell  us  about  the  _Love  Poems  for  Dying  Children_
     storyline.

Ted: The story of _Love Poems for Dying Children_ has to  do  with  a
     character which I created based on some of my earlier poetry and
     a parallel to my personal stream  of  thought.  She  is  Autumn,
     representing, in my opinion, the darkest season. She  has  slept
     for centuries and awakens to contemplate her existence  and  the
     turmoil which it brings her. She is alone,  lost,  and  grasping
     any last emotion she can muster to try and help her realize  why
     she is what she is and why it agonizes her so. Act II elaborates
     more on the continuation of her struggle and her quest  for  the
     Garden  of  Crystalline  Dreams,  which  is  where   the   other
     characters in the story come into play. The Garden represents  a
     place of sanctum, as well as a realm of judgement. This is where
     she is forced to choose her fate,  being  either  redemption  or
     damnation.

CoC: Musically speaking, what changed from Act I to Act II?

Erika: The entire style of the music became much more triumphant  and
       complex. We were very conscious the entire time  as  we  wrote
       the music in regards to how we wanted it  to  sound  in  final
       form, since we now had experience with  the  studio  and  what
       types of settings they could provide us with. Our emphasis was
       on making the album sound as real as possible, as  if  we  had
       hired an orchestra, and to stay away from some of  those  very
       annoying and fake sounding synth settings. Also, there  was  a
       lot more emotion in the vocals, which had a lot to do with our
       portrayal of the story that Ted had  written.  The  album  is,
       overall, more rounded and finished than the first. There was a
       lot more focus on the final result, which was not present when
       we created the first album. This time, we knew  exactly  where
       we wanted to go with the music and the package,  and  we  made
       sure  we  met  our  goals  and  were  completely  happy   with
       everything before we were done.

CoC: Could you describe your songwriting process?

Erika: The process is similar to writing any metal song.  There  will
       be a riff that we think is cool, and  then  it  gets  combined
       with other stuff that might  have  been  hanging  around,  and
       before you know it, the base structure of the song  is  there.
       Then, Ted will write maybe one set of overdubs with that basic
       structure. Usually, by then, we'll know what  lyrics  go  with
       the song (for _... The Garden of Crystalline Dreams_, all  the
       lyrics had already been written, some a very long  time  ago).
       I'll go through the piece, decide on a melody that  fits,  and
       ask for Ted to add another measure here or take one out  there
       to help fit the words. Sometimes, musical things occur  to  me
       when I'm writing the vocal melodies, and those  will  go  into
       the mix. And then, we get into the studio and add more things,
       like percussion or effects, and you have a song at last!

CoC:  _LPfDCII:TGoCDs_  must  represent  a  big  effort   of   yours,
     considering both its musical contents and  the  expected  deluxe
     layout. Is your label, Dark Symphonies, the  best  way  to  take
     care of everything just the way you want it?

Erika: Dark Symphonies is the ONLY way for us to get  what  we  want.
       This way, we control  every  single  aspect  of  the  creation
       process, from the matter of choosing a studio, to whom we have
       do  the  printing  of  the  packaging.  Both  Ted  and  I  are
       professionals in the field of graphic design and printing, and
       we just could not allow the responsibility for  a  project  as
       complex and close to our hearts as this to be given to someone
       who might not know exactly the best way to  get  things  done.
       Also, since we function as our own label,  we  never  have  to
       worry about deadlines or limited budgets, which removes a  lot
       of stress from the entire process.

CoC: Are you planning to sign other bands for Dark Symphonies?

Erika: Absolutely. We look to give any other band that signs with  us
       the same excellent treatment and care  we  have  given  Autumn
       Tears. Dark Symphonies will only sign  first-rate  bands  with
       first-rate attitudes, and in return for that, we will  produce
       first-rate releases with excellent packaging. We  want  to  be
       known as a top-notch label that will never screw a  band  over
       or do a bad job. We have seen enough poor quality releases and
       great quality releases to know what we want to do.

CoC: What are your main classical music influences?

Ted: As musical influences,  I  can  include  older  Dead  Can  Dance
     material,  chamber  music,  contemporary  soundtrack   composers
     (Patrick Doyle, Jerry  Goldsmith,  Basil  Pouldoris,  and  Ennio
     Morricone), as well  as  older  classical  composers  (Bach  and
     Wagner).

CoC: About metal bands, what are your favorite ones right now?

Erika: I love the new Emperor (_Anthems to the Welkin at  Dusk_,  CoC
       #22), although I do miss the  mystical  lyrics  from  _In  the
       Nightside Eclipse_. It's great to see  that  despite  all  the
       hardships Emperor went  through,  they  have  not  lost  their
       focus. I'm also enjoying the new Diabolical  Masquerade,  _The
       Phantom Lodge_. Blackheim's talent is phenomenal, and I admire
       him very much. What else? I just got the Midvinter CD, which I
       also really like.

Ted: For myself, I feel that a lot of newer albums lack the feel  and
     emotion of masterpieces such  as  Emperor's  _In  the  Nightside
     Eclipse_, Immortal's _Pure  Holocaust_,  Katatonia's  _Dance  of
     December Souls_ [One of my three most influential albums ever --
     Pedro], Dissection's _The  Somberlain_,  and  many  others  from
     1993/94. These I still find myself listening  to  all  the  time
     over newer albums.

CoC: How exactly did you create Deceit's voice (rather unusual for  a
     black metal voice)? Was it consciously done or did it just  come
     out that way?

Erika: I wanted to do Deceit's voice in an evil black metal style for
       two reasons: it fit  the  character,  and  I  wanted  to  show
       everyone that a woman can do a black metal style of singing as
       well as any of those other guys out  there.  [At  least  Erika
       can, and I really liked those vocals -- Pedro]  There's  women
       in black metal, playing bass and keyboards,  but  there's  not
       really any who do vocals, Netherworld's vocalist  excepted.  I
       really am a black metal person at heart, and I'm very  serious
       about it, so Deceit's vocals were my way of saying, "See,  I'm
       not just some clean singer who  can't  do  anything  else."  I
       mean, I really admire Garm, because he's  got  all  the  bases
       covered. I think the vocals came  out  really  good,  and  you
       can't really tell it's a woman doing  them  [True,  you  can't
       tell it's Erika even -after- you  know  it's  her  --  Pedro],
       which is what I wanted. As far as actually doing the vocals, I
       just let myself get into the character, with all her  vileness
       and evil, and what you hear is the result. It was  great  fun.
       The engineer in the studio didn't really know what to make  of
       me, snarling into the mike!

CoC: How did you two meet, and why did you decide  to  create  Autumn
     Tears?

Ted: Erika and I met in college seven years  ago  and  have  remained
     friends  ever  since.  We  have  both  always  been   into   the
     underground, and music has remained a big part of our  lives.  I
     had been writing the lyrics for three years, and decided one day
     to put them to music, which I then began composing. I knew Erika
     had been professionally trained as a singer, so I asked  her  if
     she would be interested in working on the project with  me.  The
     project helped us to express our emotions  into  music,  and  in
     turn, creating a very dark atmosphere.

CoC: What kind of vocal training does Erika have?

Erika: I had vocal training in high school. I was in the  chorus  and
       in several chamber groups, and our teacher was very  tough.  I
       hated her because she did all these things to us  to  make  us
       learn breath control that would probably be  considered  abuse
       now. One time, she had us all lying on our backs on the  floor
       with heavy dictionaries on our stomachs, making us  push  them
       up and down so we'd develop the muscle. She was  a  formidable
       woman, but her lessons stuck and I am  eternally  grateful.  I
       never stopped singing once I graduated from high school, and I
       always am looking for singers singing challenging things  that
       I can try to imitate. By doing that, I don't get stagnant. One
       moment I can be singing  Celtic  style,  and  the  next,  I'll
       switch to opera or folk.  The  main  point  is  to  just  keep
       singing all the time, so the voice stays in shape.

CoC: Has Erika participated in professional projects before?

Erika: I did a little session work with the December Wolves  on  _Til
       Ten Years_. That was the first time I'd ever been in a  studio
       situation, so it was both intimidating and fun.

CoC: How happy are you about having met  Erika  and  creating  Autumn
     Tears? How important is this project for you?

Ted: I am both honored and extremely proud to have Erika involved  in
     the  project  with  me.  She  is  extremely  talented  and  very
     creative. Her participation has been invaluable. Autumn Tears is
     a very big part of my life to which I am very dedicated,  and  I
     am extremely grateful that Erika  has  helped  to  make  it  all
     possible.

CoC: Please unveil some of your plans for the future of Autumn Tears.

Ted: I suppose we will just have to wait and see...

CoC: Any last words?

Ted and  Erika: Thank  you  for  the  interview  and  for  being  so
                supportive. 

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

       T H R A S H   U P   Y O   A S S ,   M U T H A F U C K A 
       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                      CoC chats with Testament
                          by: Drew Schinzel

After three long years of uncertain waiting by their fans,  Testament
have finally released their new album,  _Demonic_,  on  Mayhem/Fierce
Records. Diehard fans of the older material may be a  bit  miffed  at
the band's new direction towards the  heavier  side  of  things,  and
especially with vocalist Chuck Billy's deep vocal assault. Don't  say
you didn't see it  coming,  however,  with  their  previous  release,
_Low_. Although  aesthetically  similar  to  _Low_,  _Demonic_  is  a
different beast entirely.  With  its  heavy,  chugging  riffs  and  a
distinct lack of leads and solos, backed by the always pummeling Gene
Hoglan drumwork, _Demonic_ speaks for the fact that not -all- classic
80s thrash bands have "wimped out." Guitarist Eric Peterson takes the
time to speak about the band's history,  their  progression,  line-up
problems, and many other things.

CoC: Many of your songs, past and present, have had a  fairly  strong
     anti-government/anti-establishment  flavor  to  them,  such   as
     "Malpractice" railing against  the  medical  profession.  What's
     your feeling on that subject? 

Eric: Well, we never really tried  to  preach  anything.  There  were
      certain things that we would see here that would  interest  us,
      you know?  Like  the  "Malpractice"  thing  was  from  an  Alex
      [Skolnick] point of view. All that stuff came from  Alex,  like
      "Seven Days in May", which was about Tienanmmen  Square.  There
      was "Greenhouse Effect"; I mean they were all  things  that  we
      cared about, too, but they were brought to  attention  by  him.
      And then Greg, of course, with "P.C.". About  as  political  as
      Chuck or myself would get would be like  "Hatred's  Rise",  you
      know? <laughs> 

CoC: Why did you guys have so many drummers in  the  past  couple  of
     years? I mean, you had Jon Dette,  Gene  Hoglan,  Jon  Tempesta,
     Paul Bostaph, Chris Kontos...

Eric: What's our reason for that? Well, it's just really cool, it's a
      lot of fun, you know. <laughs>  No,  you  know,  circumstances.
      Shit comes up, it wasn't our intention for Jon Tempesta  to  go
      and join White Zombie, it wasn't like "Hey, why don't you  join
      White Zombie!" For Paul Bostaph, he basically was in the  band,
      and  helping  us  out  a  tremendous  amount,   because   Louie
      [Clemente, the drummer for the first five albums] had left  the
      band right at the beginning of a tour, and  we  were  going  to
      cancel the tour, but a lot of people were going to be upset, so
      we went ahead and carried on with Paul Bostaph. He had actually
      just gotten in Slayer... and so we called Kerry and Tom up  and
      they were like "We're writing right now,  we  don't  need  Paul
      around for  a  little  bit,  we're  going  to  get  some  ideas
      together." So he was able to do  that.  We  actually  ended  up
      recording something with him on it, which is cool because  it's
      like a little time-piece you know. But he was never actually  a
      member, he was just helping Testament out as  a  friend.  Let's
      see, after that we got Tempesta, who we wanted  to  be  in  the
      band full-time. After that, there was Jon Dette, and there were
      just certain elements, it's been  awhile  now,  I  don't  quite
      remember, I think there was a cat-fight between  Chuck  [Billy,
      vocalist] and Jon, something stupid. And then  the  opportunity
      came up for Jon Dette to be in Slayer, so he took  that  route.
      Chris Kontos was just sort of like a rebound thing for him  and
      for us. He got kicked out of Machine Head,  we  didn't  have  a
      drummer. We had a great time, jammed together... he's  a  great
      drummer, it just wasn't meant to be;  different  personalities,
      whatever. Gene Hoglan worked out really good. I feel  like  I'm
      naming off all my old girlfriends here, this is  really  funny.
      <laughs> Yeah, Gene  fit  the  job  really  good,  but  he  was
      committed to Strapping Young Lad, but he had some free time  so
      he came in and did a great job for the record.  So  now,  right
      after Gene, Jon Dette had just been released from  Slayer,  and
      it was just good timing on that end. And he was like our  first
      pick out of 25 or 30  drummers  we  auditioned  after  Tempesta
      left. It's good to have him back. 

CoC: What was the deal with the three year  wait  between  _Low_  and
     _Demonic_? There were rumors last year that the whole  band  had
     broken up. Was there any truth to that? 

Eric: Yeah, there was a point. I think it was with the members Kontos
      and [James] Murphy, [Greg] Christian,  Billy,  and  myself,  it
      just got to the point where it just wasn't a  band  and  things
      weren't gelling. There were certain problems happening, and  we
      just hung it up. Then me and Chuck put it together,  we  wanted
      to get it right this time,  and  not  get  those  players,  get
      people we could hang with. You know, not  that  we  can't  hang
      with James or Chris, they're cool people. Just that this lineup
      we had put together, everyone was on the same page with what we
      wanted to hit. And that worked out really good. So here we are,
      with _Demonic_, and I think as far  as  where  we  want  to  be
      careers, I think _Demonic_ is pretty much our forte. It's  like
      someone pointed out to me, "Where do you want to take this?  Do
      you want to get real big?" I think we're as big as we  want  to
      be. I mean, it's the music is what it is. If this  record  went
      platinum, or if it didn't sell shit,  the  fact  still  remains
      that it's still _Demonic_, and it's still where we're at in our
      music, you know what I mean? It's like, we can't be any richer,
      because we're doing exactly what we believe and what  we  want.
      And I think that goes with anything in life:  If  you're  happy
      doing what you really like then you're a very rich man. 

CoC: Of all the albums you've  released,  which  one  are  you  least
     satisfied with? 

Eric: Well, you know they all have their times. Of course, after each
      record you do, you go "this is my best  record."  And  I  truly
      believe that, that _Demonic_ for me is one of my best  records.
      There was one record that after we were done with it I thought,
      "hmm... maybe this isn't my best record," which was  _Souls  of
      Black_ [my personal favorite, go figure  --  Drew],  which  was
      because it was put together so quick. But I listen to  it  now,
      and its got a certain sound and a time piece, and it's cool,  I
      like it. Then, like _The Ritual_, too, I listen to that  record
      and I think it's cool, but I think "When  we  formed  Testament
      and what we're about, this isn't what Testament is about  right
      here." It was the industry talking to us, and management saying
      "You gotta do this to survive, you gotta be like this." I think
      right now, with _Demonic_ and _Low_, it's almost like  the  new
      Testament, like what we're about now in the 90s. 

CoC: Do you think the departure of Alex Skolnick (guitarist  for  the
     first five albums) had  a  good  influence  on  you  as  far  as
     songwriting, because since his departure,  you've  now  released
     your two heaviest albums ever.

Eric: Yeah, definitely. I think Alex believed in what he believed in,
      and I believed in what I believed in, and in the end of it,  we
      weren't believing in the same thing. But now  that  he's  gone,
      and he helped pave  the  way  for  us,  and  us  for  him,  I'm
      definitely happy where we're at. I  can't  complain,  I  played
      everything on the record, which was really cool for me. 

CoC: When you guys started the band over ten years ago, did you think
     you'd ever be releasing stuff as heavy as _Demonic_ now in 1997? 

Eric: Most bands get lighter, or maybe more progressive, or  simpler.
      You know, in our genre, I'm watching bands that either  fucking
      wimped out, and  they're  not  really  themselves,  or  they've
      gotten progressive, but they really didn't get harder, or  more
      true to what they were in the beginning. I think we're the only
      band in this genre, besides Exodus,  that  have  really  stayed
      true. There's bands that led this genre, no, there's  -a-  band
      who led this genre who, just, to me, is bullshit  now.  I  felt
      proud that we took it to the extreme measure that we  did,  and
      people can cry that it's too heavy, but if  somebody  wants  to
      hear a true to the truest artform of metal, then  _Demonic_  is
      for them. 

CoC: On all of the previous four albums, there  was  always  the  one
     slow ballad-type song, but there isn't one on _Demonic_. Is that
     just because it wouldn't fit it, or was there  a  reason  behind
     putting one on each of the others? 

Eric: We never really planned any of them.  The  only  one  that  was
      really planned was "The Ballad" (_Practice What  You  Preach_).
      We used to always jam on slow jams, and we  kind  of  went  "We
      need to put a ballad on  our  record."  But  after  that,  "The
      Legacy", on the next record, that was the  first  song  I  ever
      wrote, for the band Legacy, when we were called that.  And  the
      first two songs we wrote were "The Legacy" and  "Curse  of  the
      Legions of Death", so that shows you right there that we were a
      little bit of both. Because back then,  we  were  listening  to
      Sisters of Mercy and Venom. We were listening  to  two  totally
      different kinds of music. But this time  around,  you  know,  I
      just didn't feel like plucking anything clean like that. 

CoC: Do you personally enjoy touring? You guys always seem to tour  a
     -lot- for each release.

Eric: Yeah, definitely... especially when you have something that you
      like, and you like the guys in  the  band,  it's  really  cool.
      _Low_, we really didn't tour that much on, because of  Atlantic
      (their former and unco-operative record label) and  stuff,  the
      bullshit that went down with that. But now, we've got a  pretty
      extensive tour  lined  up  for  the  States,  and  Europe,  and
      overseas and stuff, so there's  definitely  a  fair  amount  of
      touring for this record. And we  have  ideas  now  for  another
      record, which, I don't think it's going to take us three  years
      to put out another record again. 

CoC: Does your daughter like Testament? Or does she even  know  about
     the band? 

Eric: Oh, totally. She's almost four now, but if I put on  my  music,
      she scrunches up her face, and puts her lips together and  just
      kind of goes "Yeah!" It's pretty cute.  You  know,  she'll  say
      "Papa's music." And then  she'll  go  "Where's  Chuck?  Where's
      Chuck, papa? That's Chuck?" It's pretty funny. 

CoC: How would you compare the handling of the band  on  Atlantic  to
     Mayhem/Fierce? I mean, Atlantic's got to be  pretty  impersonal,
     right? 

Eric: There were definitely people who  were  impersonal,  but  there
      were also a lot of people there who  were  great.  Whenever  we
      talk about Atlantic, or slag them, you know, most  of  it  came
      from the upper, top people who would approve stuff. But I  have
      to say that the people actually at Atlantic, the actual  staff,
      there were some really good people  there.  Whenever  the  main
      objectives come up, they were overrulled, coming from up at the
      top, looking at sales figures and not  looking  at  what  we're
      about, what we need to take it farther. All they want  to  know
      is, is it  sticking,  or  is  it  not  sticking.  If  it's  not
      sticking, move on to  one  that's  sticking.  Oh  look,  that's
      sticking, go over  there  and  work  that.  What,  they're  not
      sticking? Fuck  them.  And  you  know,  they  had  like  ninety
      releases that year, and we had _Low_, and Mayhem/Fierce had 
      two.

CoC: Which bands do you like and listen to right now? 

Eric: I'm listening to a whole different  spectrum  of  music.  Right
      now,  I've  been  listening  to  Meshuggah's   _Destroy   Erase
      Improve_. I like Entombed's record a lot, the new one.  I  like
      the new Paradise Lost; they've really calmed down  a  lot,  but
      it's  a  good  record.  I  still  love  listening  to   _Arise_
      (Sepultura); I don't see Sepultura going on without Max, I just
      think it's ridiculous. 

CoC: But they were just going downhill with _Roots_, don't you think? 

Eric: Yeah, there's another band who's kind of getting lost with  who
      they are and what they're about. Even though it was  heavy,  it
      just... I mean, I can understand when you're a band and  you've
      been together that long, and you've been touring a lot, you end
      up changing. You start getting into all sorts of  trends.  They
      started, to me, going into kind of a Korn vein. You  know,  the
      weird guitar, kind of like the beat, the low  end.  And  I  was
      just going "Well, that's cool." There's a lot  of  bands  doing
      that. But if I want to hear that, I'll put on Korn. 

CoC: Do you see yourself going in the same vein for the next album? 

Eric: What I'm noticing now is that in our  set  that  we're  putting
      together live, if we're going to be playing  every  night,  six
      nights a week, it's going to be hard for  Chuck  to  sing  like
      that, all the time. So I think the new  stuff  will  be  a  bit
      mixed up, like "Dog Faced Gods" or "Together as  One",  not  so
      much just straightforward heavy vocals. Which is cool  because,
      like, "Demonic Refusal", I love that, but there are people like
      the old fans who prefer "Dog Faced Gods", where it's mixed  up.
      But everyone's got an opinion, and we  did  what  sounds  good.
      Basically, I can't tell you how we're going  to  plan  out  the
      next record, how it's going to  fill  out.  Chuck  may  end  up
      singing [clean] on the whole thing, I don't know. I  doubt  it,
      though. We're totally into what we're doing right now. 

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


  D E E P   E M O T I O N S   A N D   D A R K E N E D   I M A G E S
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                   CoC interrogates Mexico's Hocico
                          by: Adrian Bromley

     Fueled by life's hardships,  society,  and  all  the  other  bad
things that has or continues to happen to themselves, Hocico creators
Erk Aicrag and Rasco Agroyan have done what most  musicians  do  when
they experience such things: they write about it.
     The band's debut LP, _Odio Bajo El Alma_ - on the Mexican record
label Opcion Sonica - is a intense journey through  darkened  visions
and harsh realities. With each listen and each track,  the  music  on
_Odio Bajo El Alma_ paints a rather disturbing picture of society and
life in general as seen through Aicrag and Agroyan's eyes.  Radiating
a harsh industrial/metallic/ambient  sound  with  a  dash  of  Skinny
Puppy,  Hocico  takes  us  through  numerous  emotionally-filled  and
electronic-sounding  songs  that  lash  out  at  us  with  hate   and
destruction.
     Erk Aicrag  took  time  out  from  wreaking  havoc  to  talk  to
Chronicles of Chaos by e-mail about the band, their music, and living
in Mexico. Here is how it went:

CoC: Tell me about growing up in Mexico and how it inspired you to be
     in a band? What got you into music? What topics or ideas do  you
     express in your songs?

Erk Aicrag: Growing up in Mexico City has been very special  for  us.
            As you know, we have a lot of ancient  culture  in  here.
            But it is much like other cities around the world, cities
            that  are  dealing  with  too  much   information,   drug
            trafficking,  etc...  Here,  it   is   a   very   violent
            environment that we live in, and we have seen that  since
            we were little kids, and personally, we have  had  a  lot
            experiences with those situations and we gained a lot  of
            anger from it. We write about it now in  Hocico's  songs,
            and we have always wanted to be able to vent all of these
            feelings into our  music.  Hocico  speaks  about  how  we
            perceive life here.

CoC: How did releasing numerous demos prior to this  LP  with  Opcion
     Sonica help the band?

EA: Releasing numerous demos before making this record helped us  out
    a lot. We got a lot of experience from  recording  and  also,  we
    learned to trust ourselves in what we decide to do as a band.  We
    also gained a lot of support from the people who have believed in 
    us.

CoC: Explain to me the music scene there? Is it very competitive? Any
     other good bands we should be on the lookout for?

EA: In the last three or four years, the hard music/electronic  music
    scene has grown continually. Bands to look out for are Ogo,  Deus
    ex Machina, Dulce Liquido (Racso's solo project), Artefakto,  and
    Encefalisis. There really is no competition between any of  these
    bands.

CoC: Like numerous other bands  that  consist  of  just  two  members
     (Ministry, Trial of the Bow, etc...), what has been the  hardest
     part of creating music and seeing eye to eye with ideas?  Is  it
     hard to make music? Why do you sing and write  in  both  English
     and Spanish?

EA: The  hardest  part  is  creating  the  structure  in  the  song's
    concepts. We discuss the feeling that we are trying to express in
    particular. We go through a selection process to see  what  songs
    will work for us. The way the creating of  works,  it  goes  like
    this: Racso focuses in the music, and I primarily on  the  vocals
    and lyrics. About why we  sing  in  two  languages?  We  sing  in
    English and Spanish because we try to keep in  contact  with  two
    types of cultures and people. We aim  to  sing/write  in  Spanish
    because we are talking  about  specific  themes  that  people  in
    Mexico will understand and relate to what we are singing about.

CoC: Where do you think the music of  Hocico  is  headed  to  in  the
     future? Have you started writing new ideas for the band's music?

EA: Well, music is our way of living, so we can't leave it.  We  feel
    very close to what we do and that we are able to work together to
    create music. We want to do this for a  long  time.  As  for  the
    future of Hocico? We are always  searching  for  new  sounds  and
    experiences to bring to our sound. Right now, we are working on a
    new MCD for release sometime in September of this year.

CoC: What does the band's album title mean to you? I know Spanish, so
     I am familiar with the translation, but to others  who  may  not
     know,  what  does  it  mean?  And  the  band's  name?  Are   the
     ideas/points of view within the record able to go hand  in  hand
     with the album title?

EA: This album title (_Odio Bajo El Alma_)  means  'hate  under  your
    soul' or 'soul full of hate,' and signifies the hate  that  we've
    hidden for a long time. To show that all this hate exists and  is
    part of us. The songs are very close to the title  of  the  album
    because they talk about situations and desires that  enclosed  us
    in those moments of rage. Not all the songs  on  this  album  are
    full  of  hate.  Also,  we  try  themes  about  spirituality  and
    introspection within the songs we write  for.  Hocico  translates
    into English as 'muzzle,' and in our country, this word  is  used
    to offend; i.e 'Te voy a romper el hocico!'  -  meaning  'I  will
    beat you!' The name encloses a great capacity of aggression.

CoC: What does success mean to you? How do you  know  you  have  been
     successful?

EA: Success for most people is like: girls,  money  and  fame.  Those
    things are not important for us. Success is a very  simple  thing
    for us. We just want to be able to create good, honest music with
    a lot of quality, and then good things will come later on.

CoC: Is there  a  big  difference,  do  you  think,  between  Mexican
     electro/industrial/metal  outfits  and  those  from  around  the
     world? What makes Mexico's music different, do you think?

EA: Good music depends on the capacity of creation and  this  is  not
    representative of each homeland. What gives a  special  touch  in
    Mexican music is their musical tastes. I think that is  important
    and healthy for people to have  many  tastes  when  it  comes  to
    music."

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

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


Archon Satani - _The Righteous Way to Completion_
by: Andrew Lewandowski  (8 out of 10)  (Cold Spring Records, 1997)

During its best moments, _TRWtC_ marks a fitting requiem for  one  of
the pioneering dark ambient artists. M. Stavostrand, Archon  Satani's
sole  composer  on  this  release,  finally  achieves  a   successful
integration of the minimal and insinuating ambience of  his  previous
two full-lengths with the hellish melodies of the apocalyptic  dirges
found on his debut, the seminal _Virgin Birth (Born  Again)_.  Fueled
by ethereal drones and enigmatic atmospheres, each of the four tracks
drift aimlessly through an inhuman universe  of  unspeakable  horror.
Archon Satani's sprawling landscapes parallel the creations  of  H.P.
Lovecraft; both fabricate a dimension shockingly reminiscent  to  our
unpopulated  natural  world,  yet  still  horribly  disfigured.  This
ambience is aided by thundering percussive passages, adding  a  sense
of absorbing, bass-heavy power to the otherwise nebulous sounds.  Yet
the percussion can also  detract  from  the  album;  its  incongruous
mastering can overwhelm the subtleties of the music. Stavostrand also
builds the second track, "Another Great Moment in  Paradise",  around
the drums, leaving only the most  sparse  and  repetitive  of  drones
occupying the background. Thus,  a  fourth  of  the  album  fails  to
transcend desolation.  Luckily,  the  rest  of  the  album  showcases
Stavostrand's ability to  create  a  thriving  soundscape  beneath  a
seemingly desolate aesthetic.


Autumn Tears - _LPfDC Act II: The Garden of Crystalline Dreams_
by: Pedro Azevedo  (9 out of 10)  (Dark Symphonies, June 1997)

"Melancholic beauty" is one of the descriptions used in Autumn Tears'
publicity, and it's a damn good one - this second act of _Love  Poems
for Dying Children_ is something to be enjoyed and absorbed  as  well
as listened to. No metal instrumentation  here,  only  keyboards  and
vocals; if you're wondering why I rated this album  and  not  Elend's
(CoC #19), it's because I had to start rating these albums as well...
Both this one and Elend's _Les Tenebres du Dehors_ deserve a 9 out of
10, a rating that is not meant to  be  compared  with  metal  albums'
ratings.  Autumn  Tears  presents  a  beautiful,  gloomy,   emotional
experience based on Ted's keyboards and Erika's voice. Ted manages to
create effective atmospheric effects and very good melodic bases  for
Erika to lay her voice upon, and what a voice!  Erika  is  indeed  an
extraordinarily talented singer, performing from spoken vocals (which
Ted also performs)  to  remarkable  melodic  parts  (I  must  mention
"Commiseration in Mourning"), and, get ready for this, a black  metal
voice. Yes, Erika is, of course, a female, but the black  vocals  she
does are nothing short of great - sort of a  whispered  raspy  voice,
spoken, never showing it's a female who's doing it.  This  is  by  no
means the  so-called  "background  music,"  it's  less  ambient  than
before, but highly atmospheric, and  much  better  in  what  concerns
melody, arrangements, and general quality  -  in  fact,  it's  easily
superior to their debut album. From the intro, to the great  melodies
in every track, to the striking appearance of Deceit's voice  in  the
end of track 6, to the powerful finale, this is a highly  interesting
and involving piece of music. Everything  seems  to  have  been  well
taken care of, and the result is a very well done album  worth  being
listened to. I hope there's a third act being planned.


Born for Bliss - _Flowing with the Flue_
by: Adrian Bromley  (7 out of 10)  (DeathWish/NB, July 1997)

On Nuclear Blast's subsidiary label, Deathwish, comes Born for Bliss,
an exciting electronic/extreme/goth rock band. A unique  mixture,  to
say the least, but it does work for the most part. Images of  Sisters
of Mercy and My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult were first  to  emerge
upon listening to their first few tracks on _Flowing with the  Flue_,
but as BfB digs deeper into the extreme sounds and electronic aspects
of  what  they  do,  the  farther  the  band  moves  away  from  such
comparisons and into their own realm of creation. The music  here  is
rather tranquil and easy flowing, and much more  animated  than  most
goth/rock pieces, and I liked that. A good  variety  of  song  styles
also played a key role in this record keeping my attention. The thing
that I did not like about the band and the material  they  play  (not
all the time, though) was the vocals. They had an  irritating,  whiny
quality at times, and that did bring down or alter the  feel  of  the
music being played. Not a big deal, but something that at times  left
a bad taste in my mouth. Fans of electronic and/or goth rock may want
to check this out.


Clockwork - _Search_  (Independent, 1997)
by: Brian Meloon  (6.5 out of 10)
 
A Philadelphia-based band, these guys just put out this four- song EP
by  themselves.  They're  trying   to   avoid   the   typical   Dream
Theater-clone sound, and to a large extent,  they've  succeeded,  due
mainly to their vocalist. Instead of  the  typical  progmetal  singer
style, he sounds more like Ian  Anderson  (Jethro  Tull).  His  vocal
lines tend to stay in the lower registers, avoiding the high  singing
style which is so common in progmetal today. While Clockwork do  have
some musical similarities to Dream Theater, they aren't a clone band:
They have a moderately distinctive sound. The music is  varied,  with
nice changes  in  dynamics,  some  catchy  melodies,  and  even  some
robotic-like vocals (like a lower Cynic synth vocal). The  production
is a little faded, but it is listenable, and their songs  aren't  too
dependent upon  the  production.  The  playing  is  good,  with  some
intricate parts in places, and no obvious flaws. Overall, while  this
EP has some good parts to it, and falls outside  of  the  traditional
progmetal mold, I hesitate to recommend it completely. Still, it's  a
good release, and shows some potential.
 

Crematory - _Awake_   (Nuclear Blast, August 1997)
by: Adrian Bromley  (7 out of 10)

Much like the works of other Nuclear Blast acts - EverEve  (_Seasons_
LP) and Left Hand Solution (_Fevered_ LP) - German quintet  Crematory
skillfully mesh together the darkness and eloquence of  gothic  music
and the sheer intensity of metal.  The  results  are  above  average.
While following the  basic  guidelines  of  most  goth/metal  albums,
Crematory does manage to break away from the typical dreary  ambience
and Dracula-like vocals and bring forth  strong  harmonies,  crushing
riffs, and a truly strong keyboard sound.  I  personally  found  more
than 3/4 of this record original or at least fresh with new ideas  of
this musical genre.  The  band's  previous  LP,  _Illusions_,  helped
solidify the band as one of the leaders of this genre, and  hopefully
_Awake_ will continue to keep  them  at  the  forefront.  This  album
consists of ten songs that really  deliver  some  memorable  moments,
heard quite vividly on such tracks  as  "The  Loss"  and  "Temple  of
Love". Sure, goth metallers  Type  O  Negative  have  the  commercial
success, but Crematory have the goods  to  keep  them  around  a  lot
longer if they play their cards right.


Deathwitch - _Dawn of Armageddon_  (Necropolis Records, June 1997)
by: Steve Hoeltzel  (6 out of 10)

Lace up those white high-tops and  break  out  the  sleeveless  denim
vests - it's retro time yet again. This time, our blast from the past
comes to us  in  the  form  of  the  second  full-length  album  from
Deathwitch - or maybe it's Deathwarlock now, given that Af  Necrohell
and Lady Death have departed to form their  own  band,  leaving  only
Reaper (vocals) and Terror (everything else) to Praise the  Old  Gods
on this recording. The first Deathwitch CD was a  better-than-average
hail to the 80s, and _Dawn of Armageddon_ has some  cool  moments  as
well. Overall, though, it's too formulaic and repetitious to  sustain
much   listening    interest,    especially    when    compared    to
retro-competitors like Usurper or Aura Noir. Tracks  like  "Wrath  of
Sathanas" (great song) and "Eternal Fornication" go over well, thanks
to the crusty nastiness of their main riffs and the groovy simplicity
of  their  structures.  But  because  all  the  album's   songs   are
constructed according to  a  more  or  less  identical  formula,  the
feeling that you've heard it all before sets in quickly. Yet there is
some enjoyable material here,  including  some  super-primitive  demo
tracks featuring wacked vocals that provide  welcome  variation  from
Reaper's standard shriek. The best  songs  here  sound  engaging  and
authentic, but they're unfortunately surrounded  by  a  lot  of  less
inspired material on this release. 


Deceased - _Fearless Undead Machines_  (Relapse, July 1997) 
by: Drew Schinzel  (9 out of 10)

This is an -excellent- album. I've  never  heard  any  of  Deceased's
previous work (besides the few songs at their show, see live review),
but this  is  just  monumental,  fantastic  material!  Combining  the
heaviness of old school death metal with some awesome  melodic  riffs
reminiscent of some Swedes (at least to me),  these  four  Virginians
have put together a concept album based around  the  concept  of  the
dead returning back to life and claiming innocent  victims  (I  think
these are called zombies?). Of course, this concept was  inspired  by
B-movies such as "Dawn of the Dead", "City of the Living  Dead",  and
"Messiah of Evil", among others listed in the booklet. The  brilliant
lyrics, although about an unoriginal topic,  convey  the  terror  and
uncertainty of the people  portrayed  perfectly,  and  the  beautiful
music follows suit, ranging from the harsh death metal that  Deceased
has always been known for to  slow  melodic  passages  with  majestic
solos. All of this organized mayhem is  interspersed  with  narration
courtesy of vocalist/drummer King  Fowley,  and  what  I  assume  are
excerpts from one or more of the above-mentioned movies  and  others.
At sixty-eight minutes, _Fearless Undead Machines_ is an  epic  album
full of epic music. The songs here go all over the place, and usually
have all kinds of diverse sections totally different from the rest of
the song. And so it is that, here in 1997, a band that  is  over  ten
years old have released an  album  which  is  at  once  both  totally
unexpected and totally awesome.


Demoniac - _Stormblade_  (Evil Omen Records, 1997) 
by: Drew Schinzel  (9 out of 10)

When looking back at Demoniac's previous album,  _Prepare  for  War_,
you get an image of the trend at the time, namely corpsepaint, "evil"
song titles and music, etc. Fast forward to 1997, and again  Demoniac
have hopped on the latest trend, retro-80s metal, of  course.  Decked
out in bandannas  and  sunglasses,  Demoniac  inform  us  that  "Real
Metallers  have  tattoos  and  drink  lots  of  piss!  And  get  laid
everyday!!" In that case, I've got some catching  up  to  do  on  all
three fronts. Demoniac have a strong sense of  respect,  however,  as
they pay dues to "some fuckwit" who took the photos, and  the  "long-
haired idiot" that did backing vocals. But put  aside  the  shameless
bandwagoning for a second, and just listen to the album, and what you
have is an amazingly strong second effort full of  Iron  Maiden-esque
riffs and solos, lyrics that are just plain stupid,  and  some  songs
that, if I can just quote the liner notes here, "headbang harder than
anybody." With both a sound and a production reminiscent  of  decades
past, Demoniac pound out nine songs of  somewhat  thrashy  80s  metal
with a clear and present 90s black metal influence, which  is  mostly
heard in the raspy vocals. Sometimes the vocals go into  "tough  guy"
clean mode but, thankfully, that is pretty  rare.  What's  not  rare,
however, is the abundance of killer riffs which are a clear indicator
that the band has been listening to _Number of the Beast_ a bit  much
of late. These riffs, coupled with the huge  amount  of  guitar  solo
cheese and fills are what -really- make this album. If you're  not  a
fan of flashy solos, then stay away, stay far away.  If  you're  into
that kind of thing, coupled with  some  totally  crushing  riffs  and
unabashed 80s feel, then this album is sure to satisfy. 


Embalmer - _There Was Blood Everywhere_  (Relapse, July 1997)
by: Adam Wasylyk  (1 out of 10)

I reviewed the band's 7-inch of the same title awhile back and wasn't
at all impressed by the band's grinding death approach. I don't  mind
brutal death metal, but it has to be played exceptionally well (a  la
Dying Fetus and Incantation) but on _TWBE_, it just isn't. Basically,
this CD consists of the four 7-inch tracks along with the band's 1993
demo, _Rotting Remains_. If you're a  fan  of  Relapse's  Underground
Series, buy Blood Duster instead. Absolutely no interest here, except
for the cover art.


En Nihil - _Blood Dreams_  (Pure, 1997)
by: Andrew Lewandowski  (8.5 out of 10)

Rarely have I witnessed such a drastic change from one album  to  the
next; despite a  few  moments  when  evil  pervaded,  _Death  Keeps_,
released earlier this year on Red Stream,  was  quite  soothing,  and
almost a cerebral jaunt through a morning sky of fluffy white  clouds
in comparison to this  monstrosity.  From  the  opening  sequence  of
_Blood Dreams_, a bellicose bass-heavy  bombast  blasts  through  the
speakers, transporting the mortified listener  to  the  center  of  a
tumultuous storm. A nauseating typhoon of power electronics  consumes
the masochistic spectator,  oscillating  his  skull  back  and  forth
through an interminable epoch of unadulterated misery. This time, the
fluffy clouds of tranquillity will inevitably elude you. And this  is
only the final ten minutes of the third track! By now, I'm sure  that
you, my reader, are pondering a thought or two  that  traverse  these
lines: "Not another noise album! They all sound the same, and if I so
desired to experience repetitive agony, why would I not walk  outside
and live instead of listening to music? At least living's free." That
may be true, yet _BD_ is not just another  noise  album.  The  subtle
nuances of this work should serve as an impetus to a few whispers  of
'ambient,' yet  the  effrontery  of  the  CD's  mastering  frequently
obscures such idiosyncrasies. Thus, the CD tends to have  a  somewhat
homogeneous sound, and never reaches the frenzied apex of  the  third
track. Even though En Nihil's obvious talent should be utilized in  a
more conducive forum, the record label, Pure, makes this a  must  buy
release. As with all other titles in the Pure  catalog,  the  minimal
packaging of this release (a plain black  slip  case)  results  in  a
price of $8 for a brand new  copy  (and  three  Pure  titles  can  be
purchased for a grand total of only $20!).


Exodus - _Another Lesson in Violence_  (Century Media, July 1997)
by: Adrian Bromley  (7 out of 10)

Okay... so they are back and touring once again.  With  the  original
line-up intact (add new bassist Jack Gibson), Bay Area legends Exodus
return to the metal world with a mediocre but still entertaining live
release entitled _Another Lesson in Violence_. The album, recorded in
March at a sold-out show in  their  hometown  of  San  Francisco,  is
comprised of all the material from the classic 1986 debut LP, _Bonded
by Blood_, and some other older material. And how is  the  recording?
It's okay, but nothing really  stunning  or  earth  shattering.  It's
great to hear Exodus  crank  out  all  the  early  thrash  metal  and
actually hear where a lot of today's music spawned from. The original
sound and direction of the band has been preserved  over  the  years,
and the music is still played with  passion  and  played  flawlessly.
Sure, this is 'old school' stuff, but a real treat for metal fans who
may not have been around when Exodus was big. Interest in this  album
and touring throughout this year should  help  bring  these  veterans
back into the limelight. Hopefully 'cause it's  been  a  while  since
we've heard thrash metal this raw and this good.  C'mon  kids,  let's
face it: Exodus are classic. That can't be denied.


Fracture - _Killernet_  (Pendragon Records/Mimicry, July 1997)
by: Adrian Bromley  (7 out of 10)

Totally out of control techno/industrial-driven music  here,  lashing
out at us with hard and  mesmerizing  beats.  We  are  taken  through
numerous passages of soundscape ideas and instrumental  numbers  that
help form a rather addictive groove with each  song.  At  times,  the
music seems to be heading towards a NIN/Trent Reznor sound  and  feel
(it's in the vocals), but the brunt of the music manages to salvage a
good record with its intricate little sounds and tidbits interspersed
throughout the rockin' techno/industrial rhythms.  A  record  that'll
grow on you with every listen,  as  well  as  providing  you  with  a
different outlook each time out. My fave part of record? Track #2  at
the 3:20 mark where the woman asks, 'Do you think  Jesus  would  have
used the Internet?' Classic soundbite.

Contact: Pendragon Records, P.O. Box 388, Yardley, PA, 19067, USA
         mailto:pendragl@aol.com


The Gathering - _Nighttime Birds_  (Century Media, August 1997)
by: Adam Wasylyk  (8 out of 10)

This was my first taste of The Gathering and I must say  I  was  very
impressed  with  what  I  heard.  Vocalist  Anneke  van   Giersbergen
completely carries this record by enchanting the  listener  with  her
soothing, ethereal vocals (reminding me of a better sounding  Bjork).
And the band ain't  no  slouch  either,  as  their  musical  backdrop
complements  Anneke's  vocals  perfectly  and  makes   listening   to
_Nighttime Birds_ an experience unto itself.  Tracks  like  "On  Most
Surfaces"  (which  particularly  reminds  me  of  Bjork),  "New  Moon
Different Day", and "Kevin's Telescope" were favorites of  mine,  but
it was hard to pick songs of  note  since  most  of  the  tracks  are
'compilation worthy.' With each passing listen, this comes closer  to
reaching my top 10 of this year.


Hecate Enthroned - _The Slaughter of Innocence, A Requiem for the 
                      Mighty_
by: Adam Wasylyk  (7 out of 10)  (Blackened/PHD, June 1997)

Sometimes referred to as a Cradle of Filth clone, I can  see  why  as
the vocals are just  too  close  for  comfort.  But  since  the  band
contains ex-CoF members, their sound shouldn't be too shocking.  With
this in mind, I gave _The Slaughter of Innocence..._  a  fair  listen
and  discovered  that  it  contains  some  good  tunes,  despite  the
Cradle-ism's. Songs like "Beneath a December  Twilight",  "Aflame  in
the Halls of Blasphemy", and "Christfire" show how close  they  sound
to Cradle, but also show how well the band can play. Mixing different
speeds with atmospheric keyboards, there's nothing really being added
to the genre but rather, HE play it by the book.  Putting  aside  CoF
parallels, I like _The Slaughter of Innocence..._ as  a  black  metal
record, period. And that's all that really matters.


Helheim - _Av Norron Aett_  (Solstitium Records, June 1997)
by: Adam Wasylyk  (7 out of 10)

Not to be confused with the band on Necropolis with  the  same  name,
Helheim construct their black  metal  into  long,  epic  songs  which
demonstrate that this band can write lengthy songs and keep the ideas
flowing. Male and female vocals are utilized along with some acoustic
guitar passages, while keyboards are not used  to  create  atmosphere
but rather the band rely on their guitars to do the job.  Bands  that
come  to  mind  while  hearing  _Av  Norron  Aett_  include  a   more
melodic/slower Immortal and perhaps Enslaved.  Clocking  in  at  just
under an hour, Helheim are a talented band who know how to write long
songs and make them sound good. Hat's off to them.


His Hero Is Gone - _Fifteen Counts of Arson_  (Prank, 1997)
by: Steve Hoeltzel  (8 out of 10)

HHIG   has   been   receiving   all   kinds   of    adulation    from
hardcore/crust/grind enthusiasts. And I can see why, as this is  very
powerful and fairly unconventional  stuff  -  albeit  not  quite  the
earth-shattering revelation which all the  hype  might  lead  you  to
expect. The overall sound (vocal  style,  guitar  amplification,  and
production) is of the crushing and crusty metallic variety, while the
compositional style is much more rooted in  hardcore  and  grind:  36
minutes, 24 songs. (Besides the 15 songs  referenced  in  the  title,
there are 9 more from, I  believe,  a  self-titled  7-inch  release.)
There's plenty of  hard-hitting  speed  and  lots  of  crushing  slow
sections - but these  fairly  conventional  elements  are  skillfully
positioned within unorthodox  structures,  among  walls  of  mounting
feedback, hammering crescendos, snippets of eerie melody,  and  more.
Great sequencing,  too:  each  track  is  brief,  but  the  resulting
multifaceted whole is definitely greater than the sum of  its  parts.
(Personally, though, I'd dig this more if there were fewer slow parts
and more ripping breaks into fast hardcore riffing.) Think of  Brutal
Truth with more engaging guitar stylings, much briefer songs,  and  a
bit more power-chord gusto, and you've got  a  pretty  good  idea  of
HHIG.  Better  yet,  imagine  Corrosion   of   Conformity's   titanic
_Animosity_ with more inventive songwriting.  Incredible  production,
too. Eclectic, articulate, and powerful music, all in all. 


Iced Earth - _Days of Purgatory_  (Century Media, July 1997) 
by: Drew Schinzel  (9.5 out of 10) 

Yeah!  This  is  what  I've  been  waiting  for.  Iced   Earth   have
consistently put out awesome speed metal albums  (their  last  veered
away from that a bit, taking a tad slower  approach),  and  the  only
problem throughout the years is that they've changed  vocalists  with
every album except the last. Finally they found the right singer  for
the job, and indeed Matthew Barlow's clean  intonations  and  harsher
screams fit Iced Earth's varied music perfectly. So what better thing
to do than re-do a lot of the  older  material  from  the  first  two
albums with Barlow on vocals and add a  few  new  guitar  lines?  And
while we're at it, why not add  a  couple  of  new  songs  that  were
recorded in the band's early days under the moniker  Purgatory?  That
said, I can confidently say that what the band's first two  releases,
_Iced Earth_ and _Night of the Stormrider_, respectively,  lacked  in
vocals and production, is quickly remedied on  _Days  of  Purgatory_.
The production is amazingly strong and almost forces you to crank the
volume and bob your head, while the vocal offerings of Barlow are the
same as always: strong and right on the money. Epic  tracks  such  as
"When the Night Falls" and "Travel in Stygian",  with  their  complex
structures, jaw-dropping riffing, and dramatic  choruses  are  better
than ever, and the new songs, "Nightmares" and "Winter Nights",  keep
up the tradition. Iced Earth evidently weren't happy with  a  few  of
the vocals and melodies of the original songs, either, as in a couple
of songs, the arrangement is a bit  different.  Basically,  the  only
thing keeping _Days of Purgatory_ from receiving a perfect  score  is
that it's not entirely new material, but as far as Iced  Earth  goes,
this has got to be as good as it gets  because  I  am  totally  blown
away. Count me in as one of Iced Earth's biggest fans. 


In Battle - _In Battle_  (Napalm Records, July 1997)
by: Steve Hoeltzel  (9 out of 10)

These guys are being promoted as one of the fastest black metal  acts
ever, and it's obvious from the opening seconds  of  their  debut  CD
that  they  definitely  merit  that  description,  and   then   some.
Comparisons to fellow Swedes Marduk  and  (especially)  Dark  Funeral
come to mind instantly, but such comparisons really don't do  justice
to In Battle's punchier, more frenetic  and  technical  compositional
style. In contrast to the fairly linear, non-complicated stylings  of
their hell-paced peers, In Battle  perform  complex  material  loaded
with nearly-constant changes - yet without easing up on the  throttle
for more than a few seconds at a time.  Fast,  fast,  fast,  and  the
hyperactive song structures only heighten the feeling  of  break-neck
intensity.  Imagine  an  even  more  frenzied  (and  better-produced)
version of the second Immortal album, and you begin to approximate In
Battle.  Neither  catchy  nor  easily  accessible,   it's   defiantly
strenuous music, forged from an uneasy alliance of harsh black  metal
war-mongering  and  the  warped  structural   sensibilities   usually
associated with technical death. Very cool stuff,  totally  straining
with intensity, but by no means easy listening! The drummer and  lead
guitarist from Setherial are participants in  this  project,  and  it
shows in the vocals,  guitar  technique,  and  really  fast,  precise
percussion. While some  of  today's  bigger  black  metal  bands  are
leaning in mainstream directions, these guys are trying to  push  the
limits of extremity - and totally succeeding at it. Crazy stuff. 


Isvind - _Dark Waters Stir_  (Solstitium Records, 1996)
by: Steve Hoeltzel  (9 out of 10)

Totally compelling and totally  no-frills,  this  band  easily  earns
comparisons to the mighty  Darkthrone  and,  especially,  the  latest
incarnation of Ulver.  It's  earnestly  impassioned  and  steadfastly
harsh, with considerable clandestine craftiness  and  no  conspicuous
polish or pageantry. Blindingly fast, technically adept drumming with
great cymbal work underpins an abrasive guitar sound - treble-charged
and highly distorted as usual, but with a bit more metallic ring  and
a bit less wooden buzz than much  Ulver  and  Darkthrone  stuff.  The
riffing technique is basic harsh/fast Norse black metal -  no  Celtic
Frost-isms, and no two-guitar-line stylings. Vocals are also  in  the
standard blackened style,  and  like  everything  else  on  this  CD,
they're performed well. The mix is fairly rough, but has  an  overall
openness which contrasts nicely with the more cramped tones  of  many
rough-production bands. And as with much material of this  harsh  and
crusty nature, if you let your ears wade  deep  into  the  forest  of
distortion,  you'll   encounter   some   pretty   interesting   sonic
wildlife... a consistently deadly interplay between intriguing  sonic
twists and the insistent, hypnotic iteration of harsh, basic  sounds.
Very highly recommended -  but  only  for  those  willing  to  listen
closely  for  the  shimmering  sonic  traces  of  something  elusive,
unrepentant and untamed.


Left Hand Solution - _Fevered_  (Nuclear Blast, July 1997)
by: Adrian Bromley  (3 out of 10)

I hate to start off a review like  this,  but  here  goes.  Zzzzzz...
Okay, the snoring may be a bit too much, but after  multiple  listens
of the Swedish band's latest release, _Fevered_, I am not  interested
in them. Sure, the music delivered by LHS is dark, tormented stylings
of gothic/metal, but it lacks something. The music just doesn't  seem
to rise above a certain degree of  intensity  or  keep  the  listener
interested. Sure, singer Mariana Holmberg has a haunting vocal  style
when she sings, but it seems to not connect with  the  music  of  the
band. Maybe something within the band hasn't clicked yet (as Holmberg
replaced original singer Kicki Hoijertz),  and  the  band  needs  one
album and possibly a tour to work it out? I'm being straight  to  the
point here: This album is  missing  something.  An  element  of  band
exploration and compatibility between singer and her band  is  almost
non-existent. Better luck next time.


Legenda - _Autumnal_  (Holy Records, 1997) 
by: Drew Schinzel  (8 out of 10) 

As you've probably already heard, Legenda is  the  new  band  of  Sir
Luttinen, ex of Impaled Nazarene. He and the other Imp Naz guys  just
weren't on the  same  musical  wavelength,  and  it's  a  good  thing
Luttinen left, because it's hard to imagine Impaled Nazarene  putting
out the kind of slow-to-mid-paced, synth-enhanced, doomy  songs  that
Legenda does. True, Impaled  Nazarene  had  "Blood  Is  Thicker  than
Water"  on  _Suomi  Finland  Perkele_,  and  the  overall  sound   of
_Autumnal_  is  just  like   that   song,   except   not   quite   as
pop-structured, and with a more watery production. Clocking in  at  a
solid fifty minutes, _Autumnal_ has thirteen songs that  are  all  of
the exact same ilk and all range between three and  five  minutes  in
length (except one that's 5:02). The lyrics, for the most part,  deal
with romantic topics such as  the  seasons  (of  course),  moonlight,
nightfalls, winter nights, and other such things, however the  lyrics
once or twice delve into juvenile language  and  pathetically  forced
rhymes ("Bloodred stiletto was the one; I stabbed to  her  heart  and
what for, huh?"). The music is a  different  story,  almost  all  the
songs have that familiar mid-paced bass-snare rhythm, fused with some
fairly simple guitar riff, and completed by some synth complementing,
but not usually dominating, the other two elements.  The  vocals  are
typically harsh and  Luttinen-like,  which,  strangely  enough,  fits
quite nicely with the music, at least to this listener's ears.  Since
Legenda is on Holy Records, a label with a diverse  offering,  people
into their other acts (regardless of who they are) will probably want
to take notice of the band, and I can even see some doom people going
for _Autumnal_. Either way, it's an album that deserves to be  heard,
for sure. 


Marduk - _Live in Germania_  (Osmose Productions, June 1997)
by: Steve Hoeltzel  (8 out of 10)

The idea of black metal concert albums seems sort  of  weird  to  me,
given black metal's supposedly clandestine  and  anti-social  spirit.
Thus, I was a little bit dubious about _Live in  Germania_  before  I
actually listened to it. But now, I must say, I'm highly impressed by
this. For one thing, the performances and production are both totally
solid. The band blasts and thunders skillfully through just under  an
hour's worth of material, and the recording strikes a nice balance of
clarity, power, and tangible live  electricity.  The  song  selection
covers a good mix of new and old material, and it's  especially  cool
to hear great  old  songs  like  "Wolves"  and  "On  Darkened  Wings"
injected with extra on-stage intensity. ("Wolves" simply kills.) They
even perform "The  Black  Goat..."  from  their  notorious  demo.  In
addition to these tracks, there are three songs from _Opus  Nocturne_
and five from _Heaven Shall Burn_, while a cover of  the  Destruction
classic "Total Desaster" closes out the album with a blast  of  pure,
ass-kicking energy. The songs are nicely sequenced, too, with  slower
numbers like  "Materialized  in  Stone"  and  "Draculi  Va  Domni..."
providing contrast with the more hell-paced stuff. They  may  not  be
one of the most innovative bands in the black  metal  scene,  but  as
this worthy recording demonstrates yet again,  Marduk  is  definitely
one of the most unrelentingly intense. Impressive. 


Red Tide - _Vicious Circle_  (Independent, 1997)
by: Brian Meloon  (7 out of 10)
 
Since I received this advance  cassette,  their  forthcoming  CD  has
undergone a name change (to _Themes of  the  Cosmic  Consciousness_),
been  delayed  until  September,   1997,   and   will   be   released
independently, due to problems with  their  label's  management.  The
track listing may change somewhat as well,  but  I'll  go  ahead  and
review this anyway, since I'm only missing a track or  two  at  most.
Their latest offering consists of three tracks off of  _Hybrid_  (see
CoC #21), and some new tracks. Their sound hasn't  changed  radically
from  their  last  demo,  but  the  newer  songs  are  heavier,  more
aggressive, and more straightforward than their previous ones. That's
not totally  unexpected,  given  the  changes  in  their  style  from
_Expressions_ (see CoC  #3)  to  _Hybrid_.  Each  of  the  new  songs
contains a jazz break, a technique which they use frequently. The new
songs also show more typical hardcore vocal  traits  (including  some
clean vocals that sound eerily like the guy from Life  of  Agony)  as
well as some more typical metal traits, such as slow, plodding, heavy
death metal parts, and straightahead thrash riffs.  Overall,  I  find
this release enjoyable, but my main complaint still  focuses  on  the
guitar solos, which still seem to meander a bit  too  much.  Fans  of
their previous material should definitely pick this up.
 
Contact:  Red Tide, P.O. Box 1434, Avon, CT, 06001, USA
          mailto:RTideMGT@aol.com  or  mailto:jwu@uhavax.hartford.edu
 

Skinlab - _Bound, Gagged and Blindfolded_
by: Adrian Bromley  (7 out of 10)  (Century Media, July 1997)

What a fuckin' spitting image of fellow Bay Area band  Machine  Head.
Right from the mold. This is the same fuckin'  band.  Same  style  of
music and everything. The whole shebang! From  opening  number  "When
Pain Comes to Surface" on through hard-hitters like "Down", "Race  to
Hate", or "The Art of Suffering", Skinlab  carry  out  all  the  same
maneuvers, sounds, and stylings of Machine Head. I kid you not. You'd
swear this was Robb Flynn and the MH boys cranking out the  tunes.  I
wouldn't call this a rip-off, but... well... maybe I would? But  with
all this ranting and raving about copying Machine Head, I just  admit
this is good. Solid songs, rounded out by aggressive overtones  makes
_BG&G_ worth a loud listen - even if it sounds like... well... y'know
who.


Sundown - _Design 19_  (Century Media, July 1997)
by: Adrian Bromley  (5 out of 10)

It would only seem fitting that after such a  brilliant  end  to  his
career with the  now  defunct  Cemetary  (both  _Sundown_  and  _Last
Confessions_  LPs)  that  singer/lyricist/guitarist  Mathias  Lodmalm
would have some creative energy still in the waiting. Well, with  the
leap to another label (from Black Mark to Century Media) and  a  name
change (to Sundown), along the way the creativity seems to have  been
dealt at half-throttle. It would seem that more attention in  getting
a record out as fast as possible was more on the drawing  board  than
generating substance in the music. Not only is _Design 19_ a  boring,
below standard record, there are but a few songs that I can  honestly
say impressed me - the ones to note are: "19", "Voyager", and  "Don't
Like to Live Today". I haven't written this band off yet, as  Lodmalm
is a  talented  artist/musician  who  helped  sculpt  the  sounds  of
Cemetary over numerous releases. I've got mixed feelings  about  this
one, but waiting to deliver my final verdict on Sundown,  come  album
number two.


Swordmaster - _Postmortem Tales_  (Osmose Records, June 1997)
by: Adam Wasylyk  (7 out of 10)

Another retro band to find itself onto Europe's biggest  black  metal
label, Swordmaster are the sort of retro band  that  I  like:  brash,
hard and uncompromising! Unlike labelmates Inferno or  Bewitched  who
cater  to  a  more  traditional  heavy  metal  sound,   Swordmaster's
thrash/speed metal conjure up moments of classic  thrash  bands  long
forgotten. Tearing through songs like "Crush  to  Death",  "Clans  of
Death", and the title track, the production is impeccable due to  the
skills of King Diamond's Andy La Rocque at  the  soundboard.  What  I
especially liked is that the music isn't totally retro, that  there's
a very strong 90s presence intertwined with the more dated  material.
A retro album worth looking for.


Symphony X - _The Divine Wings of Tragedy_  (Inside Out, 1997)
by: Brian Meloon  (8 out of 10)
 
As a one-line description of this album, I'll offer: "Nevermore plays
Dream Theater with touches of Malmsteen." If that hasn't  scared  you
off yet, I'll elaborate: The general  tone  is  standard  progressive
metal, with some long compositions, some  standard  song  structures,
and numerous neo-classical  sections.  The  music  is  comparable  in
heaviness to Nevermore, with medium-fast music and  melodic  singing.
The longer songs show some obvious Dream Theater influences, both  in
style and arrangements,  most  notably  the  nearly  21-minute  title
track. As with their previous album, _The Damnation Game_, there  are
a number of obvious nods to Malmsteen's (entire) career, including  a
vocal melody that was lifted from "Don't Let It End" (from  _Marching
Out_). There are even a few choral parts, which  are  reminiscent  of
Queen, yet work surprisingly well in their contexts.  The  production
is good: slightly raw, but clear and powerful.  The  musicianship  is
good all around. The drums and bass  are  solid,  the  keyboards  are
mostly non-intrusive and appropriate, and the guitar work  is  great.
There are also a lot  of  solos,  both  keyboard  and  guitar,  often
trading off in true Rising Force style. Unfortunately, while  Michael
Romeo is an excellent guitar player, he's only  an  average  soloist,
and many of his solos don't blend in smoothly with the  rest  of  the
song. The keyboard solos  are  usually  impressive  and  appropriate,
though. The vocals are excellent: The singer has a solid  voice,  and
an excellent range, sounding at times like Dio (singing for Sabbath),
and at others softer and more typical progmetal-like.  Overall,  this
is a fine release, somewhat lacking in  originality,  but  more  than
adequate in diversity and technical ability. 
 

Theory in Practice - _Third Eye Function_  (Pulverised, 1997)
by: Brian Meloon  (7.5 out of 10)
 
While the phrase "Meshuggah clone" might seem a little bit  harsh  to
describe these guys, I think it's pretty close  to  the  mark.  While
their overall sound is modern thrash, the  Meshuggah  references  are
often and blatant. They  occasionally  use  keyboards,  and  acoustic
guitar under the distorted guitars in places, but their sound doesn't
vary a  lot  from  their  thrash  roots.  The  music  is  often  very
technical, perhaps even more so than Meshuggah, but the  complexities
aren't usually flashy or based upon radical style shifts. Rather, the
technicality is buried in a coherent sound, so that you  really  have
to pay attention to the music in  order  to  pick  up  on  them.  The
musicianship is great: The band is very tight, and stay together well
through the  myriad  of  time  changes  the  songs  go  through.  The
production is powerful and clear. My only real  complaint  with  this
album is its complete lack of originality. Even the guitar solos  are
completely derivative, with the guitarist usually copping Malmsteen's
style (right down to his phrasing and bends), but  also  including  a
very Thordendal-esque solo in one of the songs. This is a good effort
and is recommended for fans of technical metal  (especially  fans  of
Meshuggah), but they really need to pursue a more original approach.
 

Therion - _A' Arab Zaraq Lucid Dreaming_  (Nuclear Blast, July 1997)
by: Adam Wasylyk  (7 out of 10)

Last year, Therion created what would  turn  out  to  be  one  of  my
favorite records of 1996: _Theli_. An amazing record,  its  symphonic
beauty and metal aggression melded  beautifully  and  left  quite  an
impression on me.  Just  recently  released,  _A'  Arab  Zaraq  Lucid
Dreaming_ celebrates Therion's 10th year in existence (quite  a  feat
in itself) with a mish-mash of musical material, from cover tunes  to
unreleased  material  to  a  soundtrack  that  Christofer  (Johnsson,
guitars/vocals) did for a Swedish movie. Therion pays  tribute  (with
mixed results) to the Scorpions ("Fly to the Rainbow"),  Iron  Maiden
("Children of the Damned"), Running Wild ("Under  Jolly  Roger")  and
Judas Priest ("Here Come the  Tears")  while  re-recording  an  older
track and putting out some previously  unreleased  material.  Closing
out the album are seven  tracks  that  Christofer  recorded  for  the
Swedish movie, with Therion as a band playing four  covers  of  those
seven tracks (by just adding drums, guitar, and bass).  This  release
also marks (celebrity?) appearances by Dan Swano  (Edge  of  Sanity),
Tobbe Sidegard (Necrophobic), and Pete Tagtgren  (of  Hypocrisy,  and
whom also produced the record). To sum it up: the  band  covers  were
hit and miss, the Therion soundtrack covers were  amazing  while  the
actual soundtrack music was pretty good as well. Overall,  a  fitting
tribute to a band worthy of one.


... The Soil Bleeds Black - _March of the Infidels_
by: Steve Hoeltzel  (7 out of 10)  (Draenor Productions, July 1997)

This is medieval-inspired, synthesizer-based folk-ambient constructed
with musical flair and good attention to the ambient  details.  Parts
of it might come across as slightly  corny  at  first,  but  repeated
listens reveal lots of interesting goings-on - all  in  all,  a  very
successful conjuration of some quite intriguing atmospheres. Synth is
the focal instrument, employed to perform  medieval-sounding  themes,
fanfares, melodies, and so on, usually to the accompaniment of mildly
militant  percussion,  plus  sampled  dialogue  and   sound   effects
(including some cool-sounding medieval battles, as in  the  excellent
"We Wave Our Flags in Triumph"). Imagine a more sprightly version  of
Summoning's music - minus the guitars and plus a bit of Mortiis feel,
mixed with all manner of ambient elements.  Vocals  are  featured  on
some tracks, and while they don't do anything to hinder enjoyment  of
the material, there is definite room for improvement  in  this  area.
(The singing on "Our Flames Have Never  Died"  works  well,  though.)
Also, some of the bits of sampled dialogue have  a  kind  of  cheesy,
made-for-TV-movie feel to them. Still, on  the  whole,  I  find  this
surprisingly engaging and  enjoyable.  Suggested  listening  for  the
medievally-inclined.


U.P. - _Mindfailure_  (Amarok, 1997)
by: Brian Meloon  (6.5 out of 10)
 
U.P. (formerly Unleashed Power) have returned with a new lineup,  and
an updated style. While this album shares a lot of similarities  with
their previous release,  _Quintet  of  Spheres_,  it  also  has  some
differences.  The  most  prominent  is  that  their   new   vocalist,
unfortunately, sounds a  lot  like  Phil  Anselmo.  That's  too  bad,
because while their  songs  are  more  intricate  and  involved  than
anything Pantera has done, they now sound  even  more  like  Pantera.
However, their vocalist does show a  good  range,  switching  between
growls and a more melodic style as the music changes. The  songs  are
quite long, with several over the eight-minute mark, and  yet  remain
relatively consistent, withough many radical time or  tempo  changes.
This makes the songs seem a little too long for their own good to me.
The production is fine, and the playing is good on  all  counts,  but
the guitar solos don't really impress me, especially the tone of  the
"Nefarious" guitar solo. This is  a  solid  release,  but  it  really
doesn't have much (other than the song lengths) to distance it from a
lot of other stuff out there. 

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

If you have a band, don't forget to send us your demo with a  bio  if
you want to be reviewed; our address is included in the zine's header.

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


Acrobats of Apocalypse - _Acrobats of Apocalypse_  (15-track demo)
by: Adrian Bromley  (**---)

Probably the oddest assortment of  numbers  that  the  'madman'  Bill
Sannwald has taken upon himself to fit on one tape. As  I  have  said
before, a lot of his material is fucked up and weird -  this  is  the
weirdest it has been. Unbearable at times thanks in part  to  raunchy
and totally annoying fuzzo-distorted sound and samples, AoA hits  the
nerves in  all  the  right  places  to  annoy.  Some  stuff  here  is
salvageable, but for the most part, it's all a wish-wash of  numerous
artists and friends lending their talent (or is that just noise?)  to
the project. Okay at times, but I'd stick with some of his other more
versatile and interesting projects, i.e. Thought  Masticator  or  the
truly powerful and brilliant Amish Mafia demo. That rules hands down.

Contact: Bill Sannwald, 3538 Paseo Salamoner, La Mesa, CA, 91941, USA
         mailto:satan666@ucsd.edu


As Night Fades/FHNE - _Sounds for Another Universe_
by: Adrian Bromley  (****- / ***--)  (9-track/1-track demo)

Ahhh... the ambient ways of Sannwald and his two projects,  As  Night
Fades and Family Harsh Noise Experimentation: both bands take  us  on
an experimental journey of the mind and psyche,  pushing  us  to  the
limit of where we can go with our mind. Two  worlds  exist  here,  on
this demo: a world of ambience, sensitivity,  and  uniqueness  (ANF),
and a world of power, aggression, and the continuous  exploration  of
loudness (FHNE). This is the stuff that I like to hear from Sannwald.
Just creativity assembled into huge heapages of noise, both soft  and
hard, for us to sift through. Sannwald's  endeavours  and  hard  work
with both  of  these  projects  seems  to  be  heading  into  a  more
controlled and more real feel to it. The noises  and  ambient  sounds
here leap out at you  and  leave  you  riddled  with  holes  in  your
eardrums, too. Every listen leaves the listener with something new to
observe and hear. Gotta love Sannwald's efforts here, as  both  sides
of this split demo have a lot to offer for noise/ambient fans.

Contact: Bill Sannwald, 3538 Paseo Salamoner, La Mesa, CA, 91941, USA 
         mailto:satan666@ucsd.edu


Ledel - _The New Case_  (4-track demo)
by: Brian Meloon  (*****)
 
While these guys may not be primarily a metal band, their music  does
contain enough metal to admit  their  inclusion  in  these  digitized
pages. This is an  instrumental  demo  from  a  five-piece  with  two
guitarists, a bassist, a drummer, and a percussionist. They don't use
keyboards, but they do an excellent job of creating  similar  effects
via the use of guitar signal processors. The music is  very  diverse,
from dissonant heavy stuff (a la Voivod), to atmospheric sections, to
jazzy sections (a la Endaymynion, Candiria, Cynic),  to  quirky/goofy
riffs (a la Lethargy), to intricate, technical thrash. The songs  are
in free-form structure, with some repeated parts, but mostly  through
composed. Some of the transitions between sections are a little  less
than smooth, but most of the time, they are excellent. The  music  is
often very  dense,  with  technical,  busy  playing  (especially  the
interplay between their drummer and  percussionist),  and/or  layered
rhythmic and melodic ideas. The playing is great from  all  involved,
and other than the funky 70s guitar tone in  "Landscape",  the  tones
are  fine.  The  production  is  great  as  well,  with  all  of  the
instruments  coming  through  clearly  and  distinctly.  This  is  an
impressive offering from a band with a unique  vision  of  what  they
want to sound like and the courage and  knowledge  to  create  it.  I
highly recommand that fans of technical, and unique jazzy stuff check
this out. 
 
Contact:  Marco Gerardi, Via Fondamenta, 12, 30031 Dolo (VE), ITALY
          mailto:puppet@dei.unipd.it (Luca Tiengo) or 
          mailto:slayer@dei.unipd.it (Maurizio Scavazzon)
 

Requiem - _Our Only Hope Is Death_  (15-track demo)
by: Adrian Bromley  (*----)

Ugh! What is this booming from my CD player? Man, I was left  with  a
headache. Not at  all  interested  or  into  the  music  of  Requiem.
Supported heavily by lackluster song arrangements and styles  (vocals
are boring too), this death/grind-ish trio  lets  loose  some  pretty
mediocre if not lower than standard music  on  this  15-track  outing
(tracks 10-15 taken from their 1996 _A Brief Moment in Death_ EP).  I
was really eager to turn this off, but like the trooper that I am,  I
sat through  the  remainder  of  the  material.  Did  I  mention  the
production is horrible, too? Well, it is. Okay,  so  the  record  has
some cool ambient/keyboard parts (as heard on "The New Covenant") but
other than that, there is little hope that I will ever  put  this  on
again. I need an Advil. 

Contact: REQUIEM, P.O. Box 560971, Miami, FL, 33256-0971, USA

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



 	     P O R T O ' S   O W N   M E T A L F E S T ?
             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      Scorpions, Megadeth, Moonspell, Cradle of Filth, and Anger
              At the "Imperial Ao Vivo" Open Air Festival,
                    Porto, Portugal, July 4, 1997
                          by: Pedro Azevedo

Three nights of music in Porto, each one supposedly  dedicated  to  a
different musical style. First night, Smashing Pumpkins, Beck, and  a
few others. Second, Scorpions headlining, plus  Megadeth,  Moonspell,
Cradle of Filth, and Anger.  Third  and  last,  Prodigy's  turn  with
Fluke. I -literally- couldn't care less about days 1 and 3,  so  this
is all about the second day. The concert was supposed to  start  with
Anger at 20:00, in front of a crowd estimated around 10  000  people.
It's an open air show, just beside a river called Douro, really large
stage and all. Just as I  arrived  there,  Anger  started  playing...
19:40. The crowd was baffled, of course,  but  hey,  no  delays  this
time. The schedule was very  tight,  as  the  show  had  to  be  over
relatively early because it was being held in an  urban  area.  Anger
are a debuting band from Aveiro, Portugal, and their style is  easily
defined as strongly influenced by Pantera.  Their  sound  was  clean,
strong, and  effective.  They  played  well,  but  didn't  really  do
anything remarkable. Then, after  a  30-minute  break  for  equipment
changes and stuff... Cradle of Filth. Guess what, this time, they did
play! Dani even apologized for what happened before,  blaming  it  on
the promoter again. They entered the stage amidst a smokescreen,  all
six wearing corpsepaint and some of them blood, all dressed in black.
A rather strong presence. CoF turned out to be easily the  best  band
of the evening, due to the power of their live sound (okay, and three
great albums to back them up, too). Lots of CoF  fans  going  totally
crazy, of course, as they teared into the start of "To Eve the Art of
Witchcraft". They followed with the classic "The Forest  Whispers  My
Name", then  "Malice  Through  the  Looking  Glass",  "Dusk  and  Her
Embrace", "Nocturnal Supremacy", "Ebony Dressed for Sunset",  and  (a
nice surprise for me) "The Black Goddess Rises".  Like  I  mentioned,
their sound was  very  powerful,  from  the  guitars,  to  the  great
drumming, to Dani's voice. However, the keyboards  (new  keyboardist,
by the way) were mixed too low (they didn't even  play  the  keyboard
intro to "The Forest  Whispers  My  Name",  what  a  shame)  and  the
guitarists were much more interested in shredding than in doing  good
melodic work or keeping those riffs clear. Dani's  vocal  performance
was nothing short of great, from his  most  high-pitched  screams  to
awesome extremely deep grunts. However, I was heavily disappointed by
the absence of a female backing vocalist. They were  supposed  to  be
using one, as far as I knew. Thus, they didn't play "Queen of Winter,
Throned" (dammit) and some of the other tracks had Dani doing some of
the female vox parts  himself,  sounding  weird,  of  course  (almost
ruined "The Black Goddess Rises"). They also  played  Slayer's  "Hell
Awaits" as an encore. Overall, one brutally great unleashing of  rage
and a brilliant concert, despite the melody problems. Moonspell  were
supposed to be next, but they swapped with Scorpions  (who  tried  to
quit the show, by the way), so I went to attend some personal matters
during their  performance.  There  was  a  larger  amount  of  people
enjoying their music than I expected. They played all their  classics
(<yawn>), but like I said, I was nowhere near the stage at that time.
The only thing that actually caught my attention was  their  drummer,
who really shows off a -lot-,  doing  some  circus-like  stuff  while
playing. The Scorpions played a long set (<yaaaaawn>), so  the  whole
thing was more than behind schedule already. Next up were Megadeth. I
hadn't heard their latest album yet, and even though they were one of
my first favourite metal bands, I  hadn't  listened  to  anything  of
theirs for ages. They played very well, both older and  newer  songs,
and the crowd reacted quite remarkably. However there  was  something
about their sound. In one word, it was -bad-.  In  two  words,  -very
bad-. Too bad to be true, I'd say. The instruments were all much  too
loud, and the guitars were unbelievably screechy, lots of noise,  all
too high-pitched. The guitar solos were  ruined.  It  was  physically
painful. Some people actually had to step back and get far  from  the
stage because of this. Personally, I endured it,  but  almost  didn't
enjoy it at all. Of what  I  could  enjoy,  "Sweating  Bullets"  from
_Countdown to Extinction_ was my favourite song. Megadeth had to rush
it, playing song after song almost non-stop, and they didn't even  do
an encore due to the  schedule  trouble  I  mentioned  before.  After
another long  break,  late  night  already,  Portuguese  famous  band
Moonspell entered the stage. Unfortunately, not all  was  good.  They
opened with "Opium" and "Awaken", and the crowd loved it. Good stuff,
pretty well played. However,  Moonspell  have  changed  bassist,  and
literally dropped a guitarist - they're a five piece band now, or  at
least they were in  the  concert.  What  a  bad  move.  As  the  show
proceeded,  it  became  clear  that  the  guitar  sound  was   almost
impossible to hear at times; still, they switched to their  brilliant
debut, _Wolfheart_, for "Midnight Ride", then back  to  _Irreligious_
for "Herr Spiegelmann". Then they played a new track... not  much  to
be said, seemed sort of average, no clear style  changes  visible  in
that particular track. Next song was "Raven  Claws"  (sampled  female
voice, always lots of samples), and then...  a  Depeche  Mode  cover.
Ack. Some of the crowd booed  them.  In  my  opinion,  the  song  was
worthless for a band like Moonspell. On to "Ruin & Misery", and  then
the big moment, their classic crowd-pleaser "Vampiria". Being a  very
keyboard-based song, it turned  out  pretty  well,  even  though  the
harsher parts weren't so, er, harsh live. Most of the crowd joined in
the lyrics, as in some other parts before.  They  -had-  to  play  an
encore, even though it was all  way  behind  schedule,  and  vocalist
Fernando Ribeiro (very good performance of  his)  came  back  to  the
stage with a Portuguese flag to sing Moonspell's tribute to Portugal,
"Alma Mater"... my favourite Moonspell song. I  had  to  think,  hey,
what a great way to finish this concert. Er, right.  The  problem  is
that "Alma Mater" needs guitar sound, and it  just  wasn't  there.  I
mean, the guitar sound just wasn't there  and  the  guitarist  didn't
even seem to be trying it too hard. What could be heard of the melody
came from the keyboards. Fortunately,  though,  a  big  part  of  the
audience  sang  (screamed,   growled,   grunted,   whatever)   along,
especially to the chorus. The dust finally settled  at  03:00.  Seven
hours and twenty minutes total.  One  very  big  concert,  some  good
moments and some disappointing ones. I'll want to  see  who's  coming
next year. Hopefully, this will become Porto's own metalfest.

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

             B E T T E R   L A T E   T H A N   N E V E R 
             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
            Deceased with Black Army Jacket and DeathKids
              At CBGB's in New York City, July 23, 1997
                           by Drew Schinzel

Driving up to New York City with my friend Marc, we both knew the bad
news: Hypocrisy, the headlining band, was not  playing  tonight.  For
whatever reason, the Swedes were still  in  Florida  with  labelmates
Brutality, so they wouldn't be showing up for  their  date  with  the
CBGB crowd. We also knew that Deceased, the other big  draw  for  the
night, had not left their  hometown  in  Virginia  until  4  PM  that
afternoon, and would be lucky to even play at all. With this in mind,
when Marc and I got to the venue, we checked the playlist to see  who
the promoters thought would show up, and lo and behold, Deceased were
listed in the 10:15 slot. No way. The trip from Virginia to New  York
City is a long one, and the band  weren't  to  arrive  until  quarter
after midnight. But more on that later. In the meantime,  the  sparse
crowd  at  CBGB's  was  "treated"  to  pre-pubescent   novelty   act,
DeathKids. For those not in the  know,  allow  me  to  fill  you  in.
DeathKids is a trio, with DeathKid1 on drums,  DeathKid2  on  vocals,
and DeathFather (yes, their father) on bass. What the hell?  Needless
to say, DeathKids need a DeathMusicLesson, because  the  talent  they
possess on their instruments is so little as  to  be  pathetic.  Even
their dad can hardly play bass without missing notes. If the band had
shown some originality, a  lack  of  skill  at  their  age  could  be
forgiven, but forget it; the band is so derivative of  virtually  all
American death metal bands, it is not even funny, and  their  musical
feebleness is only downplayed by the fact that the kid  vocalist  can
actually do a decent death vocal. But,  really,  who  -can't-  scream
their guts out for a 20-minute set? OK, sure they  can't  play  their
instruments worth  a  damned,  and  maybe  they  have  no  creativity
whatsoever, but they at least jumped around on stage  a  bit,  right?
Forget it. Standing  like  statues,  DeathKids  and  DeathDad  played
through their set hardly moving an inch and showing no stage presence
at all. But who can blame them? I mean, when  you're  an  eleven-year
old singing at a metal show full of older people, some  of  whom  are
probably drunk, what are you going to say, "Don't beat me  up?"  Next
up was Black Army Jacket, a rather  lame  hardcore  band  whose  only
claim to fame is that they  have  Dave  Witte,  ex-drummer  of  Human
Remains, and a spectacular skinsman. Other than that, BAJ are nothing
special. Never into hardcore, anyway, I took little interest in their
set, except to note that it was weird that a band whose music style I
wasn't into at all still thrashed all over DeathKids. Then  the  wait
began. Black Army Jacket finished their set at  around  ten  o'clock,
and as mentioned, the promoters had Deceased scheduled  for  a  10:15
appearance, and there waking at the photos either, since now  they've
rid themselves of that cumbersome corpsepaint and  have  an  affinity
for showing the single-finger peace sign. Mind you, this isn't the "I
will rape your dog and desecrate your soul" middle finger we  saw  on
the MCD, it's more of a "Heavy Metal rules and  we're  pretty  mean!"
salute this time around. The music, obviously, shows this  change  of
attitude as well. Songs like "Past Redemption", "Crush to Dust",  and
the title track prove that the band has a great  talent  for  writing
malicious cuts of blackened thrash that never pause for  an  acoustic
interlude or female vocals (though one or two of the cool  explosions
from the MCD would've been kind of nice), and certainly show that the
band took much inspiration from 80s elders such as Slayer, Sodom, and
Kreator. All of this thrash riffing and song structure is  nice,  but
the songs tend to get a bit samey after awhile, and for the most part
all follow the same formula. This caveat can be overlooked,  however,
because what the songs lack in diversity they make up  for  in  sheer
attitude and conviction, in addition to the fact that the formula  is
-good-. If modern 90s thrash if what you're after, look no further. 

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

    T H E   D I V I N E   D R A G O N ' S   D A R K   F L A M E S
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
            The Blood Divine, Dark Tranquillity, In Flames
           At the "With A Dragon's Blaze" Open Air Festival,
              Beveren-Leie, Belgium, July 11th & 12th, 1997
                       by: Kurt Demeulemeester


     Third edition of the "With A Dragon's Blaze" Open Air  Festival,
with excellent weather once again. The show was held at  Beveren-Leie
(7 kilometers from where  I  live),  in  Belgium,  and  organized  by
ex-Caducity guitarist Steven Suys ("With A Dragon's  Blaze  on  Their
Banners" is the title of a Caducity song). It's a  small  underground
festival with a very relaxed, enjoyable atmosphere,  and  every  band
who has played here really loved it.
     Day 1 opened with Catafalque, a  very  promising  Belgian  death
band. Next, SwordMaster, who replaced Marduk (didn't show up), but  I
can't say much about them (drinking beer at  that  time).  Luciferion
were probably the best band on Friday. Despite their  black-metal-ish
band name, they play ultra-fast, very heavy  death  metal  with  some
black influences. The crowd loved it and was very  enthusiastic.  For
me, this was my first  acquaintance  with  the  band  and  it  was  a
pleasant   surprise.   Afterwards,   I   had   a   long   chat   with
vocalist/guitarist Voitek who was surprised by  the  success  of  his
band because they hadn't practiced  for  almost  a  year.  Voitek  is
someone with his roots in old-school thrash metal and death,  adoring
heroes like Benediction, Morbid Angel, and  especially  Manowar.  Yet
Luciferion's music is different from those bands. The last two  songs
of their live set featured the  Behemoth  vocalist  (don't  know  his
name, though) who actually set the crowd on fire, but I  must  say  I
prefer Voitek's death grunt instead. Some news from  Voitek  for  the
Morbid Angel fans among  us:  the  band  is  recording  a  new  album
nowadays in Florida and it should be the  fastest  stuff  we've  ever
heard. Voitek: "This guy Pete Sandoval is really  crazy,  you  know."
Finishing the first day, In Flames. This was their  first  appearance
in Belgium, and they enjoyed it so much,  we'll  certainly  see  them
back soon (I hope). The band played very tightly, and the  atmosphere
on stage was great. Only one  major  drawback:  they  played  only  9
songs, way too short for a band like this (bummer).
     I didn't see Saturday's openers, The Undertakers, or the  second
band, Iconoclasm; however, I did see Iconoclasm a few  times  before:
extreme black metal, but not very unique,  unfortunately.  Next  were
In-Quest. How would I describe this band? Grindcore/death  with  some
hardcore influences, perhaps. A typical  "love  them  or  hate  them"
band. The music's okay but lacks variation,  in  my  opinion.  Orange
Goblin showed up next. This English band was a surprise and a  relief
at the same time after In-Quest's musical  brutality.  Orange  Goblin
are a fine band that sound a bit  like  Cathedral,  but  with  better
vocals; old-style, very exciting metal with some  Black  Sabbath  and
Trouble covers. The perfect band  for  a  sunny  day  in  the  grass!
Enthroned were next on stage, and although this band has  become  one
of Belgium's most popular black metal bands known  abroad,  for  once
I'm ashamed of my country. Just like last year, Enthroned earned  the
title of "worst band of the festival," because of the annoying vocals
and lack of originality. The fact that the band continued without any
hesitation after their drummer's suicide  makes  me  believe  they're
only there for the money or something (but many people will  probably
disagree with me). Moving on to Electric Wizard: I thought  this  was
going to be an excellent doom band, but how wrong was I.  Some  songs
contain good doomy elements, but that's all I have to say. EW  was  a
disappointment.  Caducity  were  next,  and   although   still   very
underground, this is one of the best Belgian metal bands according to
many  people  (including  myself).  The  band  plays  very  technical
death/thrash with ultra-heavy death grunts,  and  is  certainly  more
than original. Everyone knows their live performances  are  at  least
twice as intense and heavy as their  studio  albums  that  need  some
better production.  A  very  underestimated  band  that  should  earn
worldwide recognition.  Albums:  _The  Wellaion  Wielder  Quest_  and
_Whirler of Fate_. The Blood Divine turned out to be the best band of
the festival, in my opinion. As  you  probably  know,  the  band  has
recorded a new album called _Mystica_ [out September 29th,  according
to Peaceville -- Pedro]. Before the show, I had a  little  chat  with
drummer, Was, who explained that the new album will be more open  and
"commercial" (his own words). Let me explain that:  their  new  songs
have no doom feeling anymore, but they  are  quite  fast  and  heavy,
though there might be a huge difference between the live set and  the
CD, I don't know. Anyway, the band is still very down to earth,  very
friendly guys, too  (especially  Darren),  and  they  really  enjoyed
playing here. At the end of the set, a huge crowd,  including  myself
jumped on stage for a final moshpit (what, at a TBD  gig?),  where  I
could pick up the scrap of paper with the setlist: "Enhanced by  Your
Touch", "So Serene",  "I  Believe",  "Moonlight  Adorns",  "Aureole",
"Mystica", "As Rapture Fades", "Heart of Ebony", "Visions  in  Blue",
"The Lonely World", and a crazy encore. Last band, Dark Tranquillity:
During the first half hour, their sound was a bit  lousy,  so  I  had
trouble getting hooked.  The  crowd  and  the  band  were  both  very
enthusiastic, especially during their oldest and fastest songs, which
are the best, in my opinion.  Unlike  In  Flames,  Dark  Tranquillity
played a very long set of almost two hours (including  encores).  Two
weird and very funny things happened during their show: First, in the
middle of some  song,  three  guys  jumped  on  stage,  grabbing  the
vocalist and starting something that looked like a  fight  at  first.
The crowd suddenly was silent and we heard him scream "help,  someone
is raping me! <laughs>" Apparently, it was a few  In  Flames  members
who had wrapped him in adhesive tape like a  sausage  and  threw  the
poor guy in the moshpit below!  After  quite  some  crowdsurfing,  he
managed to get on stage again where it took him three  songs  to  get
rid of all that tape. And the other funny note: Ten minutes after the
final encore, while half of the audience was  already  on  their  way
home, suddenly we  hear  "Because  Dark  Tranquillity  sucks,  here's
something better!" through the speakers. It was In Flames again: They
borrowed DT's equipment and played another two songs!  Obviously,  IF
and DT get along extremely well (both are  Swedish  bands)  and  have
enjoyed themselves like hell that weekend; they even played  football
[Soccer for the Americans -- Pedro] together in the afternoon.

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

            W H A T   W E   H A V E   C R A N K E D ! ! !
            ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
             Top Ten Albums of Past Year Special Edition


Gino's Top 10

 1. Inner Thought - _Perspectives_
 2. Blood Duster - _Yeest_
 3. Korn - _Life Is Peachy_
 4. Filthboy - _Diverse Reality_
 5. Fear Factory - _Remanufacture: Cloning Technology_
 6. Proscriptor - _The Venus Bellona_
 7. Exit-13 - _Smoking Songs_
 8. Samael - _Passage_
 9. Cradle of Filth - _Dusk and Her Embrace_
10. Napalm Death - _Inside the Torn Apart_

Adrian's Top 10

 1. Hanzel Und Gretyl - _Transmissions From Uranus_
 2. Strapping Young Lad - _City_
 3. Stuck Mojo - _Pigwalk_
 4. Geezer - _Black Science_
 5. Slo Burn - _Amusing The Amazing_ EP
 6. Vision of Disorder - _Vision of Disorder_
 7. Pain - _Pain_
 8. Acid Bath - _Paegan Terrorism Tactics_
 9. Napalm Death - _Inside The Torn Apart_
10. Lake of Tears - _A Crimson Cosmos_
 
Brian's Top 10

 1. Spastic Ink - _Ink Complete_
 2. Lethargy - _It's Hard to Write With a Little Hand_
 3. Abigor - _Opus IV_
 4. Ledel - _The New Case_
 5. Symphony X - _The Divine Wings of Tragedy_
 6. Theory in Practice - _Third Eye Function_
 7. Quo Vadis - _Forever..._
 8. Enthroned _Gothic Disturbance_
 9. Cradle of Filth _Dusk and Her Embrace_
10. Within _Bliss_

Alain's Top 10

 1. Cryptopsy - _None So Vile_
 2. Obliveon - _Cybervoid_
 3. Korpse - _Revirgin_
 4. Vader - _De Profundis_
 5. Blood of Christ - _... a dream to remember_
 6. Samael - _Passage_
 7. Monstrosity - _Millennium_
 8. Iced Earth - _The Dark Saga_
 9. Moonspell - _Irreligious_
10. Quo Vadis - _Forever..._

Steve's Top 10

 1. Absu - _The Third Storm of Cyhtraul_
 2. Sort Vokter - _Folkloric Necro Metal_
 3. Angel Corpse - _Hammer of Gods_
 4. Morgul - _Lost in Shadows Grey_
 5. Isvind - _Dark Waters Stir_
 6. Summoning - _Dol Guldur_
 7. Abigor - _Opus IV_
 8. Darkthrone - Under a Funeral Moon_
 9. Damnation - _Rebel Souls_
10. Old Man's Child - _Born of the Flickering_

Adam's Top 10

 1. My Dying Bride - _Like Gods of the Sun_
 2. Emperor - _Anthems to the Welken at Dusk_
 3. Therion - _Theli_
 4. Dimmu Borgir - _Enthrone Darkness Triumphant_
 5. Avernus - _Of the Falling_
 6. Proscriptor - _The Venus Bellona_
 7. Samael -_ Passage_
 8. Exit-13 - _Smoking Songs_
 9. Incantation - _The Forsaken Mourning of Angelic Anguish_
10. Immortal - _Blizzard Beasts_

Drew's Top 10

 1. HammerFall - _Glory to the Brave_
 2. Dark Tranquillity - _The Mind's I_
 3. Iced Earth - _Days of Purgatory_
 4. Gates of Ishtar - _The Dawn of Flames_
 5. In Flames - _The Jester Race_
 6. Limbonic Art - _Moon in the Scorpio_
 7. Kalisia - _Skies_
 8. Demoniac - _Stormblade_
 9. Swordmaster - _Postmortem Tales_
10. Deceased - _Fearless Undead Machines_

Pedro's Top 10

 1. Dark Tranquillity - _The Mind's I_
 2. The Blood Divine - _Awaken_
 3. My Dying Bride - _Like Gods of the Sun_
 4. Dimmu Borgir - _Enthrone Darkness Triumphant_
 5. Opeth - _Morningrise_
 6. Theatre of Tragedy - _Velvet Darkness They Fear_
 7. Emperor - _Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk_
 8. Cradle of Filth - _Dusk And Her Embrace_
 9. Within Temptation - _Enter_
10. The Gathering - _Nighttime Birds_
 
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Check out our homepage: http://www.interlog.com/~ginof/coc.html

--> Interested in being reviewed? Send us your demo and bio to:
 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
                         CHRONICLES OF CHAOS
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             Fax: (416) 693-5240   Voice: (416) 693-9517
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FTP: ftp://ftp.etext.org/pub/Zines/ChroniclesOfChaos

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

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

AUTOMATIC FILESERVER
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All back issues and various other CoC related files are available for
automatic retrieval through our e-mail fileserver. All you have to do
is  send  a  message  to  us  at   <mailto:ginof@interlog.com>.   The
'Subject:' field of your message must read: "send file X"  where  'X'
is the name of the requested file (do not include the  quotes).  Back
issues are named 'coc-n', where  'n'  is  the  issue  number.  For  a
description of all files available through this  fileserver,  request
'list'. Remember to use lowercase letters for all file names.

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End Chronicles of Chaos, Issue #23

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

