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Chronicles of Chaos Issue 013
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Special Anniversary MEGA-issue
CHRONICLES OF CHAOS E-zine, August 12, 1996, Issue #13
Editor-in-Chief: Gino Filicetti <ginof@io.org> <_DeaTH_ on #metal>
Coordinator: Adrian Bromley <energizr@interlog.com>
Assistant Editor: Alain M. Gaudrault <alain@mks.com>
Web Page Manager: Brian Meloon <bmeloon@math.cornell.edu>
Contributor: Steve Hoeltzel <hoeltzel@blue.weeg.uiowa.edu>
Contributor: Adam Wasylyk <macabre@interlog.com>
Mailing List provided by: The University of Colorado at Boulder
--> Interested in being reviewed? Send us your demo and bio to:
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
CHRONICLES OF CHAOS
57 Lexfield Ave
Downsview Ont.
M3M-1M6, Canada
Fax: (416) 693-5240 Voice: (416) 693-9517
e-mail: ginof@io.org
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
DESCRIPTION
~~~~~~~~~~~
Chronicles of Chaos is a monthly magazine electronically distributed
worldwide via the Internet. Chronicles of Chaos focuses on all forms
of brutal music; from thrash to death to black metal, we have it all.
Each issue will feature interviews with your favorite bands, written
from the perspective of a true fan. Each issue will also include
record reviews and previews, concert reviews and tour dates, as well
as various happenings in the metal scene worldwide. We here at
Chronicles of Chaos also believe in reader participation, so we
encourage you to submit any material you may have to Gino Filicetti
<ginof@io.org>.
HOW TO SUBSCRIBE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You may subscribe to Chronicles of Chaos at any time by sending a
message with "coc subscribe <your_name_here>" in the SUBJECT of your
message to <ginof@io.org>. Please note that this command must NOT be
sent to the list address <coc-ezine@lists.colorado.edu>.
WORLD WIDE WEB SITE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We are currently in the process of constructing a website for
Chronicles of Chaos. You can check it out by pointing your web
browser to http://www.io.org/~ginof/coc.html. If you have any
comments or suggestions, please e-mail Brian Meloon
<bmeloon@math.cornell.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 <ginof@io.org>. The 'Subject:' field of
your message must read: "send file X" where 'X' is the name of the
requested file. Back issues are named 'coc-n', where 'n' is the issue
number. For a description of all files available through this
fileserver, request 'list'. Remember to use lowercase letters for all
file names. If you experience any problems or are having difficulty,
feel free to e-mail us the usual way at <ginof@io.org>.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Issue #13 Contents, 8/12/96
---------------------------
* Editorial
* Loud Letters
* Ferocious Features
-- Monster Voodoo Machine: Mutiny On The Machine
-- Fu Manchu: Fu Fighting With Fu Manchu
-- Iced Earth: Spawn-ing New Territory
* Chaotic Chat Sessions
-- Grave: Digging Graves And Hating It
-- Ancient: Aphazel's Almighty Ancient
-- The Almighty: The Classic Comeback
* Independent Interrogations
-- Spastic Ink: Indelibly Inked
-- Solus: Toronto's Takeover
* Record Revelations
-- Ninefinger - _Torque/Bad Wheel_ 7"
-- Aceldama - _Blood_
-- Amestigon/Angizia (Split CD)
-- Ancient Rites - _Blasphemia Eternal_
-- Arcana - _Dark Age of Reason_
-- Various - _Black Mark Attack_
-- Blood Duster - _Yeest_
-- Brutal Truth - _Machine Parts +4_ 7"
-- The Chasm - _From the Lost Years_
-- Burnt Colonels - _Malice Afterthought_
-- Darkthrone - _Total Death_
-- Death Con 1 - _Refuse to Lose_
-- Desultory - _Swallow The Snake_
-- Diabolical Masquerade - _Ravendusk in My Heart_
-- Dimmu Borgir - _Stormblast_
-- Dismal Euphony - _Dismal Euphony_
-- Dark Funeral - _Secrets of the Black Arts_
-- Gorgoroth - _Antichrist_
-- Old Grandad - _Vol. 666_
-- g/z/r - _Cycle of Sixty/x13_
-- Iced Earth - _Dark Saga_
-- Intrinsic - _Closure_
-- Kataklysm - _Temple Of Knowledge (Kataklysm Part III)_
-- King Diamond - _The Graveyard_
-- Kvist - _For Kunsten Maa Vi Evig Vike_
-- Madball - _Demonstrating My Style_
-- Mercyful Fate - _Into The Unknown_
-- Monster Voodoo Machine - _Pirate Satellite_
-- Mortification - _Envision EvAngelene_
-- Psychotica - _Psychotica_
-- Rotting Christ - _Triarchy Of The Lost Lovers_
-- Satyricon - _Nemesis Divina: The Conquering_
-- Soulquake System - _Angry By Nature, Ugly By Choice_
-- The Mist - _Gottverlassen_
-- Turmoil - _From Bleeding Hands_
-- Vader - _Sothis_
-- Vertex - _Vertex_
-- Visceral Evisceration - _Incessant Desire for Palatable Flesh_
-- Various - _...And Even Wolves Hid Their Teeth_
-- Y & T - _Musically Incorrect_
* Reviews Revisited
* New Noise
-- Absonant Cadence - _Emergence_
-- Body Bag - _Hate Crimes_
-- Chamber Seven - _Chamber Seven_
-- Disarray - _Widespread Human Disaster_
-- Embrace - _Coven The Eternal_
-- Endaymynion - _Thy Art_
-- Filthboy - _Not Again..._
-- Jesus Skin - _Jesus Skin_
-- Noctophilia - _Noctophilia_
-- Nun Slaughter - _Face of Evil_
-- Pychus - _Brainmower_
-- Iron Rainbow - _Never Settle for Less than Metal_
-- Solus - _Slave Of Mind_
-- Strangers - _End of the Rainbow_
-- Sulkus - _Promo '96_
-- Sunride - _Sunride_
-- Torquemada - _Promo 1996_
-- Towpath - _Towpath_
* Chaotic Concerts
-- Milwaukee's Metal Monster: The Tenth Annual Milwaukee Metalfest
-- The London Let-Down: The London Death Fest
-- Slayer Slaughters The Sacred Shoe: Slayer with Unsane
-- Clutching Onto The Last Orange: Clutch with Orange 9mm/Fu Manchu
* Writer's Wrath (sneak preview)
* Tours of Torture
* What We Have Cranked
-- Special TOP TEN Year-in-Review Edition
* The Final Word
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
E D I T O R I A L
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
by: Gino Filicetti
Today is a very special day indeed. It was on this day, exactly
one year ago that Chronicles of Chaos #1 was unleashed on an
unsuspecting 80 readers. Looking back at our first issue, I feel a
strange sense of nostalgia. It seems weird to me that CoC #1 only had
two stories, eight reviews and two demo reviews. Now let's fast
forward one year and see what we have in this MONSTER anniversary
issue, CoC #13: three stories, three chats, two indie stories, forty
reviews, eighteen demo reviews, three concert reviews and two brand
new columns. Also as an added bonus, we've decided to use the
original logo font for the Chronicles of Chaos title, through twelve
issues we've managed to use a different font each time, therefore I
thought it was fitting to revert back to where we started. All this
information is set to be unleashed upon 750+ email subscribers. I
think the figures speak for themselves, I on the other hand, am
speechless.
All of us here at CoC have worked very very hard to get this
issue out to everyone as jam packed as we could. It was hard but
we've managed to do it despite the absense of one very important
member of our staff. Alain took a well deserved vacation in
Scotland this month and unfortunately has not been able to
contribute much to this issue. His absense was greatly felt and his
proofreading skills were dearly missed as well.
One section of this issue which is somewhat lacking compared to
previous issues is our Loud Letters section. We only got one letter
this month and I was quite disappointed. Hopefully this issue will
generate more than a few letters for next issue.
As you all know, September is fast approaching and with it
comes a new year of school. For me, it's my first year of
Engineering at U of T. I know from my brother's previous experience
that this program leaves little time for much extra-curricular
activities. Therefore, I will be playing a somewhat lesser role in
the issues to come. To pick up the slack in writing, we want to
recruit a few more writers to join the CoC Clan. We want an
individual who has an aptitude for writing as well as a few contacts
in the music biz or a good standing with indie bands. If you think
you are qualified, contact me at <ginof@io.org> and we'll talk and
see how you can best help Chronicles of Chaos.
New this issue are two more columns: Reviews Revisited and
Writer's Wrath. The first, Reviews Revisited, is a special annual
feature in which our writers are given a chance to set right any
wrong done in reviews over the past year. Check it out after Record
Revelations and see what the rest of us think of some of these
reviews. Also new is Writer's Wrath. The idea for Writer's Wrath was
first proposed by Adam Wasylyk who suggested that CoC start a new
column where us writers can rant and rave about certain happenings
in the music scene today. The Writer's Wrath moniker was generously
supplied by my new alliteration protege, Steve Hoeltzel. The first
Writer's Wrath column however, could be finished in time for
inclusion in this issue, look for the debut Writer's Wrath in CoC #14.
Also new this issue is our What We Have Cranked section which
we have expanded to a Top Ten Year In Review for each writer. Look
here for what we think were the ten best albums previously reviewed
in CoC.
Just this past weekend, we had somewhat of a CoC reunion. Steve
Hoeltzel decided to head up to Toronto to spend a little time here
at CoC central. Adrian, Adam and I graciously showed our colleague
around town, brought him to the coolest head shops and record stores
to spend all his life savings, showed him the night-life in Toronto
with special emphasis on the gothic/industrial/freak clubs we have
to offer. On Saturday night, fate was on our side and local Toronto
black metal kings, Burning Moon played at the Generator doning their
corpse paint, swords and daggers along with their capes and bullet
belts. A great time was had by all, especially Steve who I'm sure
will never forget eating the best Italian food this world has to
offer, care of my mom!
Alright people, that about wraps things up for this year. I'm
glad you are all still with us and growing stronger by the minute.
Let's get those Loud Letters rolling and we'll see you all soon as
we keep cranking out these Chronicles of Chaos issues.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
To commemorate the first anniversary of Chronicles of Chaos, we are
teaming up with Attic/Roadrunner Records to present one lucky winner
a heart stopping SEPULTURA giveaway. The prize pack will include:
CD's, autographed posters, pictures, stickers and much, much more.
All you have to do is answer the three questions below via e-mail to
<ginof@io.org> by September 6, 1996. ONE winner will be drawn at
random from all CORRECT entries. So put your thinking cap on kiddies
and lets get this show on the road!
Q U E S T I O N S
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. Which song did ex-Dead Kennedy's frontman Jello Biafra co-write on
1993's _Chaos A.D._?
2. Producer of _Roots_, Ross Robinson, has also done work with many
other bands, most notably one band in particular; a five-piece
outfit from Bakersfield, CA whose self-titled debut album has sold
well and built up a very strong fanbase. Which band is it?
HINT: The bands spells their name incorrectly and has a thing for
clowns and bagpipes.
3. Name Max Cavalera's now defunct, but successful side-project with
Alex Newport (ex-Fudge Tunnel)?
NOTE: There will also be two runner ups who will get various CDs,
stickers and posters from several labels and some cool unsigned
acts just for entering the contest. Good luck!
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M""MMMMMMMM dP
M MMMMMMMM 88
M MMMMMMMM .d8888b. dP dP .d888b88
M MMMMMMMM 88' `88 88 88 88' `88
M MMMMMMMM 88. .88 88. .88 88. .88
M M `88888P' `88888P' `88888P8
MMMMMMMMMMM
M""MMMMMMMM dP dP
M MMMMMMMM 88 88
M MMMMMMMM .d8888b. d8888P d8888P .d8888b. 88d888b. .d8888b.
M MMMMMMMM 88ooood8 88 88 88ooood8 88' `88 Y8ooooo.
M MMMMMMMM 88. ... 88 88 88. ... 88 88
M M `88888P' dP dP `88888P' dP `88888P'
MMMMMMMMMMM
This is the column where we print those lovely letters our readers
decide so graciously to write us. Whether they be positive, negative,
ignorant or just plain spelled wrong, you can rest assured that
they'll be here in their original form. If you'd like to see your own
letter here, e-mail it to <ginof@io.org> and enter 'Attention Loud
Letters' in the subject field. Hopefully all letters received will be
featured in upcoming issues of Chronicles of Chaos.
Date: Wed, 17 Jul 1996
From: Chuck Marshall <cmarshal@umich.edu>
Subject: Re: Chronicles of Chaos #9 (1/3)
Hello Gino and everyone at Chronicles,
Excellent magazine. I was look forward to checking it out. Especially
the reviews, which give a real nice overview of the music without
alot of "this sucks", "this jams" kinda shit.
Anyway, I'm seeking some help...
Based on reviews I read (in Chronicles of Chaos), I'm searching for
releases by In Flames, Dark Tranquility, and Obliveon's NEMISIS
album. No luck locally, or with Wild Rags (they did have Obliveon's
NEMISIS album awhile back, but not anymore) Can you give me some
address for either the record labels or good (ie. trustworthy)
mail-order shops that might have these discs?
Thanks very much in advance and thanks again for the great zine.
*****************************************************************
Chuck Marshall cmarshal@umich.edu
University of Michigan Ph. (313) 647-5262
MCIT Business Information Systems FAX (313) 647-5272
Building 2/Floor 3, Suite 300, Box 2785,
4251 Plymouth Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
- I don't suffer from insanity. I enjoy every minute of it. -
*****************************************************************
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\___ / \___ >__| \____/ \___ >__|\____/|____//____ >
\/ \/ \/ \/
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| __)/ __ \\__ \\ __\ | \_ __ \_/ __ \ / ___/
| \\ ___/ / __ \| | | | /| | \/\ ___/ \___ \
\___ / \___ >____ /__| |____/ |__| \___ >____ >
\/ \/ \/ \/ \/
The meat of the matter lies here. Read on for the juiciest morsels on
bands ranging from the reknowned to the obscure. No fat, no gristle,
just blood-soaked slabs served hot and ready. Dig in, readers.
M U T I N Y O N T H E M A C H I N E
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
An Interview with Toronto's Monster Voodoo Machine
by: Adrian Bromley
Mutiny. The word brings up images of a rebellion or some form of
revolt. Seems fitting for Toronto sextet Monster Voodoo Machine who
in the last year, since the completion of their year and a half long
tour in support of _Suffersystem_, have bailed from their major label
RCA/BMG, had to deal with internal band conflicts which lead to the
departure of some members and the everyday hassles of dealing with
the opening up the creative floodgates for new material.
Despite all the setbacks and obstacles, almost 20 months to the
date of the release of their debut album, emerges the next step in
the evolution of Monster Voodoo Machine's musical prowess: _Pirate
Satellite_. The five-song EP on independent label 45 Revolutions
Productions (only 1,000 copies of _PS_ will be pressed) is by far a
ways away from the award winning grind hardcore-metallic stomp dose
of music that embodied their 1995 Juno Award winning LP,
_Suffersystem_, let alone the swelling techno/industrial/hardcore
tinged offerings of past EP's: _Burn_ (1992) and _State Voodoo/State
Control_ (1994)
Led by singer/songwriter/founder Adam Sewell (the band is
comprised of guitarists Jason Cuddy and Darren Quinn, drummer Dean
Bentley and newcomers keyboardist Nick Sagias and bassist Chris
Harris - both good friends of the band and ex-Soulstorm members)
Monster Voodoo Machine has once again shapeshifted itself, lessening
the need for guitars and the harsh grittiness to their sound and
adding more feeling to the material and lyrics by incorporating ample
amounts of samples and vocal stylings to balance out the diversity of
the record. While different in some aspects, the album itself still
has the feel and markings of MVM. No doubt about it.
On the new album _PS_, Sewell begins, "Even though we will only
have 1,000 copies of the record out, those that will hear it or have
it will be able to see what the new stuff is about. That is all that
it is about. I have no intention of keeping up the indie label and
putting records out on it." About the EP's material serving any real
purpose or showing off the growth of the band, Sewell answers, "I
don't know about that. I think this material is the material that in
the spring of 1996 Monster Voodoo Machine recorded and put out. We
have about an album's worth of material right now and plan to record
that in September sometime. Everything is ready to go for us."
"This wasn't a conscious effort to make an impression on
anybody," remarks Sewell on the direction of the new material, "The
only thing that I was conscious of was to make the production of the
record more along the lines of what I wanted to hear. I think people
will finally understand that we had nothing to do with industrial
music or be in a industrial band. To be able to take what is in my
head and clearly portray it musically and I think I am finally
capable of doing that. I think people will understand that we are
more Big Audio Dynamite than Skinny Puppy."
"This is the first time I have ever made a record and made it
because it was fun," he says, "Because it was the right thing to do
and it was enjoyable doing it. MVM have never made a record under
those conditions before." Sewell is obviously happy with the
production of the EP and his work with Biron Wong (from Toronto band,
My Brilliant Beast). Sewell states, "Over the last year since we took
off time, I had to educate myself. With Biron he really educated me
and taught me how to get the things in my head on tape. He spent a
lot of time with me and was patient too. I spent time educating
myself and also with the fact that the band wanted to push themselves
to approach their instruments. It was a collective desire for a step
forward and that has really helped everybody. Music is more enjoyable
for me now because I am working with people that I want to work with
and I think if you look at what the songs have lyrically or
mood-wise, I wanted to create a record that was a good time. For
example, the song 'Ghetto Blaster' isn't quite exactly a serious
song. I think that is an indication of what is going on with the band
and it's music."
While the band had done their time with a major label and now on
their own, it doesn't go to say MVM isn't scouting around for another
major to call home - or worse - that the band is up a creek without a
paddle. The band has been approached by several record labels since
their departure from RCA/BMG. "That was a fortunate thing that once
we walked out of the RCA deal we walked into a situation where other
labels were interested in what was going on or how they could be
involved, which was cool for us."
Another thing that the band has seen grow and feed off of is
their experience within the music industry. Calling their own shots
is a big deal for them. On touring: "I definitely think we are not as
naive anymore about having to play anywhere and anytime. I definitely
want to play with other types of bands other than the types we played
with in the past. A few of us in the band have families and I am sure
we don't want to stay on the road as long this time around. Maybe a
few weeks here and there and then some time off. For the first four
years of the band it was just continuous work to make things happen
and everything we did, all the energy, went into making things happen
and not the music. Now there is a relaxed atmosphere within the band
and now it is the music first and then we work on the other things we
have to deal with. Everything seems to be going good right now
because of that. I'm not dying to get out on the road. I have no
points to prove to anybody except musically and that is why I am
choosing this way of doing things this time around."
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
F U F I G H T I N G W I T H F U M A N C H U
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
by: Adrian Bromley
Orange County, California quartet Fu Manchu are on a mission to
write the heaviest slabs of rock ever and mold them together with
enough distorted sludge, fuzz and feedback that it would be difficult
to decipher their music from that of a freight train moving along its
tracks. Their debut album for Mammoth/Attic, _In Search Of..._,
sounds like the 5:10 from Orange Country just came in.
"The way I like to listen to our music is by driving around in
the car," explains lead singer/guitarist Scott Hill about how he
selects their material for release. "I'll listen to our 4-tracks and
if it sounds good I'll say, 'We'll work on that, it sounds heavy.' I
don't care how anyone listens to our music - stoned, drunk or
straight. There isn't one way to listen to it. I'd like people
listening to the record to get something different out of it with
each listen."
The band - also including guitarist Eddie Glass, drummer Ruben
Romano and bassist Brad Davis - manage on _In Search Of..._ to carry
on with the stylistic noise brought to our attention via their two
previous releases on BongLoad Records, _Daredevil_ (1994) and _No One
Rides For Free_ (1995). Their latest effort, recorded in just 11
days, is a travelling time-trip through Sabbath-like riffs not unlike
the route followed recently by Kyuss and Monster Magnet, but with a
distinct Fu Manchu attitude and tone. Gritty and loose, _In Search
Of..._ veers off into sonic proportions at times, but stays true to
its original ideal of 'heavy.' States Hill, "We never come up with a
plan to write a song. The songs for this record are from riffs we had
lying around and songs we were working on over an eight month period.
The twelve songs are the ones that we all liked that had been tested
from early 8-track and 4-track demos. When we went into the studio we
wanted to make a record to match how we are live, you know, to get
that raw sound."
As opposed to their earlier releases, Fu Manchu opted for a more
varied approach to making this effort. Acknowledges Hill, "We set up
the album with songs with a faster sound and then mixed it to go into
a slower, more back and forth groove sound. It was on purpose because
we didn't want the record to follow one pattern and bore the
listener. This way the music keeps the listener going."
As for the name of the record, "It's based on that show from the
70's, In Search Of...," notes Hill, "There's a lot of the material
and lyrics dealing with U.F.O.'s, Big Foot stuff, and where we come
from." And just what are they 'in search of'? "I couldn't tell ya,"
laughs Hill.
In their quest for fame, Fu Manchu is pursuing success through
the more traditional means of touring and playing live, as opposed to
making videos or a writing a potential hit single. Says Hill, "I see
us following in the same pattern as bands like Kyuss who do what they
do without looking for a hit single and look at this industry as just
being part of what they do. I don't listen to a lot of newer stuff.
If they had a hit single then so be it, but they didn't go out of the
way to write one or release one." He may want to reconsider, though,
as Palm Desert sludge rock quartet Kyuss are now defunct.
Since their formation in 1994, Fu Manchu has, in a short period
of time, made quite a cult-followed name for themselves, and by
hooking up with Mammoth Records, have now come a bit closer to
imminent mass success. "Moving to a bigger label has been a lot
better for us," reveals Hill. "Things have been good for us. The
label is treating us real well, getting us on tours, doing promotion,
getting our record in stores. The move has been beneficial for us."
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
S P A W N - I N G N E W T E R R I T O R Y
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
An Interview with Iced Earth
by: Adrian Bromley
Iced Earth guitarist Jon Schaffer loves his new album. He likes
the music, the lyrics and most importantly the artwork of the album.
The cover artwork (and inner artwork) of the band's latest effort,
_Dark Saga_, as well as the whole album's concept theme, is based on
the immensely popular Spawn comic series drawn by acclaimed artist
Todd McFarlane, a comic series Shaffer has followed faithfully since
it's beginning a few years back.
Schaffer accounts the steps taken to be able to successfully use
both the rights to the artwork and the story for the album. "It all
started with us approaching the Spawn people/McFarlane camp about
doing some soundtrack music for the HBO animation series or the live
action movie which is coming up (both out in 1997). So one thing led
to another and we became really good friends with some of the people
working with Todd McFarlane. So I asked Todd to do an album cover for
us and he looked at us as if he was saying, 'Are you crazy? I am busy
with all this stuff to do anything.' We asked to use some of his
existing art but he wasn't to keen about that, but what he was
willing to do was let us use some artwork for Spawn #50 which just
recently came out. So that is good for us seeing that they came out
about the same time. It is really good timing how everything happened
at the same time almost. I have been a big fan of the series and it
has been an inspiration for me to write and make music too."
"I see this album as a dark love story," says Schaffer
describing _DS_, "It is what Spawn is. It is very much a tragedy:
life and death, heaven and hell, opposites and just a dark fantasy."
Schaffer is also pleased that with McFarlane helping them out
with artwork, he will also be able to help make Spawn a bigger
phenomenon then it already is - if that is possible. "When we knew we
were going to get some artwork I was going to help spread the word of
Spawn to the places that we are popular around the world and he can
help us over here in the States. It is a really cool crossover thing
for us and I am really excited about it."
Since the self-titled debut album of this Tampa, Florida quintet
- rounded out by singer Matthew Barlow, guitarist Randy Shawver,
drummer Brent Smedley and bassist Keith Menser - surfaced in 1991,
Iced Earth had been considered one of the bands to watch out for,
with their melodic and versatile approach of delivering their take on
speed metal. The band continued on with their style and sound and
produced two more well-received records, _Night Of The Stormrider_ in
1992 and 1995's _Burnt Offerings_ that helped keep the band going and
keep their fanbase growing. Musically the band was not to happy with
what they were doing. Sure they were given the opportunity to create
and record music but there was something missing and after spending
some time planning, Schaffer had the perfect idea.
"This album is done more with a positive feeling about the
writing because I felt good for a change while writing, something I
haven't felt in a while. Between _NotS_ and _BO_ I was really pissed
off at the music industry and the way things were. And when you are
young you have these preconceived notions of the way things should be
and they don't go that way. The negative writing that took place in
_BO_ was good and a lot of people liked it but it wasn't the
direction musically that I wanted to take the band. This music made
me feel better about being a musician because it is more positive but
still dark. I was very keen on vocals and melody and I see it as a
more mature piece of work. You change with every record but you can
still tell that this is us and what we do."
The writing for this album was derived from the series, with
Schaffer taking ideas and characters from the series and molding them
into songs. "I took characters from the comic series and used them in
my songs. Some songs are written about them but there was also a good
size amount of my own ideas that went into the record too. There are
a lot of different ideas with my imagination. Both were able to come
together and create this album." NOTE: Al Simmons, the man who the
series is based on, even had his hand in helping write one of the
album's songs, "Depths Of Hell."
Not only is the new album being distributed in record stores,
but _DS_ will also be sold in comic book stores too. On top of that,
the band has already done and will continue to make appearances at
several comic conventions throughout the year to push the album and
the comic series. "We have been doing some promotional stuff at
conventions and sold lots of CDs already. We got a good thing going
here for us." The album has 'spawned' other forms of the album too,
with special limited edition digi-paks, picture discs, gatefold
vinyl, normal vinyl being distributed as well as a special vinyl just
for comic stores where the album folds out into a poster. It is
really cool shit. We are really taking this seriously. People see
this as a gimmick and it is. No one is helping us except some cool
underground zines and that is it. We aren't going to get support from
radio or MTV. Century Media doesn't have enough money to make this
band an overnight success. You have to do what you have to do and
fans of heavy metal music have to understand that this shit is dying.
There are not many bands left playing now. We are doing this and if
we can reach young kids who read comics then so be it. A lot of these
kids haven't been brainwashed by MTV yet.
"I am really disgusted by the whole music scene here and this is
a great thing for us because they [McFarlane and co.] have been
really good with us and supportive and maybe with that help we can
stir something up and bring this music back. We'll see."
Getting back to the support of label Century Media, Schaffer
says, "They are doing a great job with the band because they know
they have something to market the band with now. We have never been
able to use anything to market us except for our music, which is the
way it should be, but in this day and age it not easily accepted.
There are a lot of people sick of the music scene with all the
alternative music and grunge shit happening and the trends. I think a
lot of people, both adults and kids, are into this comic series and
heavy music. The two go hand in hand."
So, if this is even somewhat successful, will Schaffer and his
band attempt another concept album? "I would like to use another
artist to do our cover because there are a lot of great artists out
there, but I don't know... we'll see. This is such a unique and
special thing for me and I don't know if I want to milk it like that.
I also wouldn't want to look like we were out to be hooked up with
Spawn and have no identity. I think and see this as a good
partnership. Me and Al Simmons have become good friends. I have no
idea what will be on the next record and we still have lots of life
experiences to have before we settle on doing another record."
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/ ___/ / ___ ____ / /_(_)___ / ___/ / ___ _/ /_
/ /__/ _ \/ _ `/ _ \/ __/ / __/ / /__/ _ \/ _ `/ __/
\___/_//_/\_,_/\___/\__/_/\__/ \___/_//_/\_,_/\__/
____ _
/ __/__ ___ ___ (_)__ ___ ___
_\ \/ -_|_-<(_-</ / _ \/ _ \(_-<
/___/\__/___/___/_/\___/_//_/___/
This is the column where CoC sits down to have a face to face, no
holds barred conversation with your favorite bands, and get the
inside scoop into what's happening in their lives.
D I G G I N G G R A V E S A N D H A T I N G I T
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CoC converses with Grave's Ola Lindgren
by: Gino Filicetti
Since their debut record _Into The Grave_ (1991), Sweden's Grave has
been a much revered underground band. Starting their career as one of
the most brutal death metal bands around, Grave has evolved to
include other elements in their music; although never losing touch
with their roots. CoC speaks to singer/guitarist Ola Lindgren, one of
only two surviving members of Grave (the other being Jensa Paulsson).
Here's what he had to say.
CoC: Tell us what the band has been up to lately.
Ola Lindgren: We did like three weeks of touring in Europe. We played
some festival shows with Cannibal Corpse and Impaled
Nazarene, and we played some headlining shows.
CoC: Considering there are only two members in Grave now, how was it
playing live as opposed to having more members in the band?
OL: It was great actually. We had this guy, Jonas, who played bass on
the first Grave album, he's in the band now as our bass player.
He didn't appear on _Hating Life_ though, I did the bass lines
for that album.
CoC: How was it to lose Jorgen (Sandstorm, ex-bassist/vocalist) to
Entombed, did he leave on good terms?
OL: Oh, I don't know. The whole thing about him leaving and all that
weren't under the best circumstances, but we still see each other
and talk to each other often. His leaving was quite unexpected. I
didn't realize anything until he told us.
CoC: So now Jonas is back as your bass player, why did he leave in
the first place?
OL: Well, we did the first album with Jonas, but then we did two
tours, and he was getting really tired of touring because it's
such a totally different lifestyle. You can't keep a job when you
are at home because you don't know when you have to go away on
tour the next time. So he left and he led a pretty normal life.
CoC: So now he's willing to give it up again to go on tour?
OL: Well, he's got a pretty good job now. He's a store manager so he
can pretty much decide whenever he wants to take time off.
CoC: Have you been offered any more tours?
OL: Nothing else is really planned. We are thinking of going over to
the States sometime after the summer. But we still have to look
into it, we haven't got any offers or anything yet, but that's
what we are going to try and do. And also we want to do another
two or three weeks in Europe to cover some of the countryside we
missed.
CoC: Is playing live difficult for you now? Considering you have to
sing and play guitar.
OL: It was pretty hard in the beginning, because I never really did
it that much before. So we had to rehearse it a lot to get
everything tight and shit. We did kind of a warm-up show here in
Stockholm before we went out on tour and everything worked out
really well.
CoC: How did the crowds react to the new look of Grave?
OL: There were a lot of people that we've met before. And there were
a lot of people who liked the old stuff, and now are really into
the new stuff.
CoC: What kind of sacrifices did you have to make during the
recording because of the fact you only had two people?
OL: I don't know. Not much at all really because we wrote most of the
songs with only two people in the band. We had SOME ideas when
Jorgen was still in the band, but not complete songs. So me and
Jensa did all the material. Also it's a lot easier making
decisions and with only two people in the band than with three or
four. So everything went really smoothly.
CoC: Do you and Jensa get along well?
OL: Yeah, really well. When we create music, Jensa and I always go in
the same direction. We never have a problem putting songs
together the way we both want to hear it.
CoC: When Jorgen was in the band, how much work and effort did he put
into Grave?
OL: Well, we never wrote any songs on our own. We'd always come up
with stuff as a group. So he was a part of it of course, but he
didn't have a bigger or smaller part than anyone else.
CoC: What has changed musically since your last album?
OL: Well, I think it's a lot heavier than the last one, and also
groovier. There is nothing complicated or technical, just the
basics. It's really easy to play and easy to listen to.
CoC: What kind of themes do your lyrics deal with?
OL: All the lyrics in the album are a direct reflection of the title
_Hating Life_. The lyrics are really critical and really
depressive, so the title fits all the songs. Some of the songs
are fiction, and some might as well happen in real life. It's not
the typical death metal thing with blood and guts and so forth.
It's a lot more realistic.
CoC: How much work goes into your lyrics compared to your music?
OL: Not much actually <laughs>. Well, because Jorgen used to do all
the lyrics, getting the lyrics together this time was one of the
hardest things to do. For the new record, Jensa did two songs and
I did seven. But even a month before we went in to record the
record, we only had like one or two lyrics written.
CoC: How much time did you spend recording _Hating Life_?
OL: Three weeks total, but we did it on and off. We took it really
easy, with no stress. We didn't have a time limit so some days
we'd work during the day, and then we'd take some days off and
work nights, just so that we didn't do the same thing for a solid
two weeks of recording or something. It worked out really good.
CoC: Why are you playing music? What does it do for you?
OL: Well, music is a really big part of my life now. I started
listening to the early thrash bands in the early eighties, in
like 1984 and 85 with Celtic Frost and Destruction and Kreator.
And I started playing guitar when I was twelve. So it was just
what I've always wanted to do basically. We did demo tapes and
established ourselves in the underground and it was really fun to
get that kind of recognition. Then we got the record deal and
everything else is history. It's all I know how to do basically,
so I guess I better stick with it.
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A P H A Z E L ' S A L M I G H T Y A N C I E N T
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chronicles of Chaos chats with Norway's Ancient
by: Gino Filicetti
Life for Ancient, started in beginning, as all lifeforms on this
great green (or should I say, frozen white) earth do, alone. In the
beginning (or 1992 to be exact), there was Aphazel, and Aphazel
alone. Ancient was a solo project who's mastermind, Aphazel, has
brought to the fore front of the black metal scene. CoC spoke with
Ancient's guitarist during on of his many lay overs in the United
States.
CoC: How has Ancient changed since it was a solo project?
Aphazel: Well, I had a drummer named Grimm join the band in 1993. He
also sang and wrote lyrics. The band consisted of two
members until 1995 when Grimm basically retired from music
altogether. Then I got a vocalist from the band Grand
Belials Key named Lord Kaiaphas, he's now playing drums as
well as singing and we got a female vocalist from Avernus
named Kimberly Goss, she also plays keyboards. We also have
another drummer from Norway named Kjetil, he plays five
songs on the new album.
CoC: What has Lord Kaiaphas brought to Ancient?
A: Well, he writes all the lyrics and he sings and plays the drums on
four songs. But he didn't really have any creative input into the
music as I wrote all the songs on _The Cainian Chronicle_. Later
on he'll become more involved with the making of the music. He was
pretty much a new member when we recorded the album. The way it is
now, me and Kaiaphas are the main members of Ancient.
CoC: How is the relationship between yourself and Kaiaphas?
A: We get along great. I stay with him whenever I'm in the United
States. I met him in June of last year when he was still in Grand
Belials Key. I was in Virginia and I met him down there. Then when
Grand Belials Key split up, it was the same time Grimm left
Ancient, so Kaiaphas was the perfect guy to take Grimm's place.
It's been working out really good.
CoC: I think the lyrics on this CD are the best I've read from ANY
black metal band, where does Kaiaphas get his inspiration?
A: He reads a lot of books on magick and that kind of stuff. _The
Cainian Chronicle_ is based on the book of Nod which is like a
vampire story. He's really into the stuff he reads, and the lyrics
for Grand Belials Key were really good too.
CoC: Has anyone ever questioned you or your band's true-ness? Have
you ever been seen as imposters because you have Americans in
the band?
A: Not really. But I myself don't think we are a pure black metal
band. Basically you can say its black metal, but we have a lot of
influences from different types of metal and we keep the music
very atmospheric. Sort of cross breeding black metal with all
kinds of different styles.
CoC: What is your opinion of the whole black metal scene in Norway?
A: There are a lot of good bands, but recently there have been too
many new trendy bands that have come out. But I think it's a very
good scene. The country itself only has four and a half million
people and there are just so many good bands I think it's
something to be proud of. In Norway though, there are a lot of
people that play black metal, but there aren't too many
non-musician fans of the music.
CoC: Do you think band's like Cradle of Filth and their story in
Terrorizer show that black metal bands aren't really as "true"
as they claim to be?
A: I never really read that story, but I looked at it briefly. In a
way it's kind of funny but it's stupid too I think. I don't think
we'd do anything like that. But I don't really care too much what
other bands do, it's just entertainment for me basically.
CoC: Did you know Euronymous? What was he like in YOUR opinion?
A: No, I didn't know him. I met him once briefly in Oslo in 1991. He
seemed to be pretty much like every other normal guy. He seemed
like a cool guy, I just didn't get to know him.
CoC: Where does Ancient get its musical inspiration?
A: Well, a lot of the music I'm listening to is music that came out
in the early eighties. I also listen to a lot of gothic music like
Dead Can Dance and a little bit of Fields of Nifilem. I also get a
lot of inspiration from myself and just playing my instruments, I
don't spend a lot of time listening to music.
CoC: Do you make music alone to give yourself time to think and
concentrate on it?
A: That's pretty much what I've always done in the past. When Grimm
was in the band he helped out a little bit, but I'm the only guy
who does the guitars and keyboards. For _The Cainian Chronicle_ I
made ALL the music, it's totally just my creation. But in the
future the members are going to work together more, and it's going
to be more of a band thing.
CoC: Why did you decide to record with Dan Swano at Unisound? I think
it was a wise choice because the production of this CD is superb.
A: Well, he's really experienced and he doesn't charge a hell of a
lot of money. It's like half the price of recording in other
studios. He works really fast too, we recorded the album in 85
hours. He works really well and he helped out with the female
vocals and keyboards especially. He's better than other producers
we worked with who didn't care too much about the music, they just
cared about their job and getting things done. Plus he's an
excellent musician himself, so he gives us a lot of advice and
helped us out a lot.
CoC: Have you done any work for your next record yet?
A: No not really. I haven't started on anything yet. Right now it's
about getting inspiration and talking about different ideas and
things like that. We plan to record the next album in the summer
of next year and hopefully release it by December 1997.
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T H E C L A S S I C C O M E B A C K
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
An Interview with The Almighty
by: Adrian Bromley
"Rock n' roll has been around for like forty-five years and
everything has been tried and done before and you can't really show
off to people anymore. For me, playing music has always been about
50% originality and 50% ripping off your heroes. That is the truth."
-- Ricky Warwick, singer of The Almighty
U.K. four-piece (started in Scotland circa 1988) The Almighty
have just released there most diverse and last - you heard me - last
record _Just Add Life_ (produced by Chris Sheldon - Therapy?) via
Castle Records in the United States. The band, fronted by
singer/guitarist Ricky Warwick, guitarist Pete Freisen, drummer
Stumpy Monroe and bassist Floyd London, have decided to call it quits
following the release of their fifth album _JAL_.
This being their most diverse record, singer Warwick decided it
would be beneficial to talk to the fans one more time about the
demise of The Almighty, the changes the band went through musically
and the amicable split the band decided to take from one another. Not
utterly saddened by the demise of the band, Warwick, as well as the
other three members, are presently working on other projects. Here is
what he had to say:
CoC: Let us start off about the record _Just Add Life_. What are your
thoughts about the record and what fans can get out of it?
Ricky Warwick: I think the record shows the melodic side of the band.
We used to be seen as just a hard band and I think it
will be suprising to see how much melody is in there.
Hopefully people will also pick up on the diversity of
the songs as well.
CoC: Do you think that a lot of people that were into the band from
the start will be lost with the changes that the band has taken
with _JAL_?
RW: I think we will. There will be those people that will have not
grown with us and want us to continue making music like the first
two records and I am sure that we will gain new fans too due to
the music on this record.
CoC: How do you feel about the image and sound of a band? Did you
make the calls on what you do about marketing or did the record
companies that you have dealt with make the decisions?
RW: In the beginning we probably listened to people because we were
looking for good advice but then as things go along you only
should be listening to yourselves. In the past four or five years
we haven't be pressured into doing anything that we didn't want
to do. People have told us what to do but we don't listen.
CoC: Any regrets from the days of The Almighty? Something you did
that you wish you could have corrected?
RW: When I look back at it now I wish we would have used different
producers for the first two records. Another thing is that we
were never really able to tour a lot in the United States,
something I would have liked to have done.
CoC: Where does the album title name come from?
RW: It is like when you buy soup and read the directions and it says
'Just Add Water.' People always buy stuff to make them feel
better like cars or clothes. And what I am saying is that you
need not do that to make yourself happy. Just start to feel good
about yourself and that is a start."
CoC: Are you comfortable playing this sort of hard pop/punk music?
RW: Completely. I am really happy playing this stuff. It reminds me
of the type of music that I grew up on like The Clash and stuff
from that era.
CoC: How did you hook up with Castle Records?
RW: Well, the day we came out with the record we went in and told EMI
that was it and they decided that they didn't want to spend money
promoting the album so we took the album over to Castle Records
for release. It has worked out for us. They put the record out
and that is all that matters.
CoC: Over the years and all the stuff you had done with The Almighty,
did you learn anything or become a better musician?
RW: Yeah, you learn more when you learn about the people you work
with and playing all those gigs. You learn from everything that
comes with being a musician and you can either learn or get stuck
in one style. We learned and grew with our music.
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::| :::\ :':| :~~/ :::\ :~~/ :::\ :':| :~~/ :::\ :::|
::::::|:|:| :::| :::, :::/ :::, :|:| :::| :::, :|:| :|
:|
::::::| :| :| ++
::| :::\ :::| :~~/ :::| :::| ,::\ .::\ /::| :::| :| ,::\ :::\ <::<
::::::|:|:| :| :::, :| :| `::/ `::| \::| :| :| `::/ :|:| >::>
,.:/
Here is where CoC gets the inside story on up-and-coming bands. Check
out this column for a variety of fresh, brutal groups. Should you be
an aspiring band on your way to super-stardom, send us your demo and
bio; our address is included in the zine's header.
I N D E L I B L Y I N K E D
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CoC Interrogates Spastic Ink
by: Brian Meloon
Spastic Ink is the current project of WatchTower guitarist Ron
Jarzombek. The band's lineup is rounded out by his brother Bobby on
drums and bassist Pete Perez, both formerly of Riot. The band plays
an all-instrumental brand of progressive metal (see review in CoC
#10), featuring technical playing from all three members, and complex
compositions. They are possibly the most technical metal band
currently in existence. Their sound is very similar to an
instrumental version WatchTower's _Control and Resistence_, or
perhaps can be described by the phrase "Meshuggah minus Pantera".
That is, if you could purge all the Pantera influence from Meshuggah,
leaving only the technicality of the music and the tonalities of the
guitar solos, you'd have something that sounds like Spastic Ink.
According to Ron, the future of WatchTower is "Not good. We had
this kind of a hope of getting back together. Jason [McMaster, the
original WatchTower vocalist] was in the picture. Jason was into it,
I was into it, but it seemed like it just really wasn't the thing to
do. Rick [Colaluca, drums] and Doug [Keyser, bass] just weren't
motivated to get it going. We all talked and stuff, but it seemed
like nobody did anything about it. I mean there was always the excuse
of us splitting up because we didn't have a singer, but Jason fits in
pretty damn good. But me, Rick and Doug wrote about over an hour's
worth of material, and it's just kinda sitting around right now."
Currently, the band members have gone their separate ways, and are
pursuing other interests. _C&R_ vocalist Alan Tecchio is doing
session work, having recorded with among others, Power (with Dan
Dalley). Rick and Doug were playing together in a funk/punk/metal/rap
hybrid band called Retarted Elf, who recently broke up. Jason is
currently on tour with Dangerous Toys (who he's been with since he
left WatchTower in 1989). Original guitarist Billy White now fronts
the Billy White Trio, who just finished up a US tour.
Spastic Ink formed originally as a side project of Ron's, while
preparing material for the next WatchTower record. "I had a lot of
hand problems after the WatchTower tour," Ron begins, "I just messed
up my tendons real bad. I had four surgeries over the course of about
two and a half years, and I was even going to Austin, and writing the
newer [Watchtower] stuff and playing all of it with two fingers, and
I had a splint on my other hand. The Ink thing started when my hand
was getting better, and I was writing some more complicated stuff,
because I could use my four fingers again, and it was kind of a cool
thing to be playing again after about two and a half or three years.
The new WatchTower stuff wasn't as crazy as it originally was, so all
the wilder stuff got thrown into the Spastic Ink stuff. When you have
two projects going on, you write something and it has to fit in with
one thing, and it seemed like almost everything that I was doing was
going toward Spastic Ink, and if there was a tune that would've
worked for both bands, it was played more accurately, or sounded
better when it was with Bobby and Pete." The band started working
long distance, writing their first song, the 8+ minute long "Mosquito
Brain Surgery" (my personal favorite, as well as one of Ron's),
without ever being in the same room. Ron explains that Bobby "would
put something on tape, and I would bump his tape onto my four-track,
and I would put parts to it, and give that back to him, maybe with
some other stuff on it, and he would just go off on that. We would
just piece it together, and see where the story was going, and it
just came out out to be a really cool tune." Eventualy, the band got
together and recorded four songs, including "The Thumper
Impersonation", a six-section song written to be incidental music for
the movie _Bambi_ (yes, the one about the deer). Although as Ron
says, "it wasn't really a demo, it was just so people could see what
we were doing", these songs made their way to the underground, and
garnered the band an offer to release the songs on CD. The band
instead decided to wait until more songs were finished to put their
work out.
The result of this wait is the 11-song _Ink Complete_ project.
It was finished in 1994, but the band had enormous difficulty
attracting label interest. Ron explains, "We had been shopping the
thing and I don't know how many tapes got sent out, but from what I
understand, Chris (their manager) sent probably close to 50 or 100
tapes, along with a glossy and some bio and some other stuff that he
did. But we got very few responses. The response that we got was
'Call me when you get a singer.' I mean, it's hard to do anything
right now, with the way the whole music market is. I even tried to
send Spastic Ink stuff to labels that were jazz and instrumental
oriented, and they said the only thing they were taking in was
hip-hop and alternative rock. I mean, GRP told me that, Relativity
told me, 'If you're not doing what's in, forget it.'" With that in
mind, Ron is preparing to release the project independently,
commenting, "Right now, I'm transferring all the stuff onto an ADAT,
so I'm adding other parts that I couldn't add before because it was
done on a four-track. And we need to get a better mix, and just clean
it up, so we're going to mix it in a real studio. It should be out in
3 or 4 months if everything goes smooth." At last word, the band was
negotiating with Dream Circle records in Germany for a possible
release.
Though many describe their particular brand of progressive metal
as "jazzy", Ron objects, citing that their music, "Doesn't have any
flat-5, sharp-11 chords or anything like that. It's organized, it's
complicated and stuff, but it's not really jazz, it's progressive
'jazz' you get more of that music where there's no power in it, and
it's real free-form. I like to think of whatever I'm doing as more
organized and you know, I've always liked aggression and power. It
depends on what you want to label 'jazz' as. 'Jazz' can be Chick
Corea, it can be Ella Fitzgerald. It's like saying 'rock n' roll'.
Ozzy always calls his music rock n' roll, but I say rock n' roll is
Chuck Berry. 'Jazz' is just too broad of a word." As for his personal
influences, he states "I don't really have any influences that are
jazz guitar players. I mean I like people like Larry Carlton, and Al
DiMeola, but the main influences have been not really 'guitar player'
guitar players, but like Rush, you know Lifeson, and Trevor Rabin or
Steve Howe from Yes, and even bands like UK, who had Allan
Holdsworth, but on the second album, they didn't even have a guitar
player. So, it's not really guitar like the guitar hero shit that was
going on a couple years ago, it's more the band oriented, the whole
kind of picture, instead of just one guy."
The futu
re for Spastic Ink is a little uncertain. Worried about
the trouble instrumental artists are having at the moment, Ron is
currently preparing vocal-oriented material. He says "I would just
like to get something that I could have my name on that's crazy and
stuff that does have vocals on it, so that they can't say 'where's
your singer?'" Ron is writing the material for now on his computer,
since he's not sure who will be playing it with him. He guesses that
Bobby will end up playing on it, and Jason is the obvious choice for
vocalist, as Ron notes "Jason was into the WatchTower thing, he's not
really tied down to anything." Currently, the members of Spastic Ink
are pursuing other interests, as Ron mentions "Pete did some tour
with Riot in Europe, and Bobby's gigging around town, and I'm just
doing the teaching thing." But the band members haven't tied
themselves down to these other projects, with Ron claiming "We could
do it right now, if we sat down."
Ron's view of the future of music is pessimistic, as he explains
"I hope the whole Dream Theater craze catches on, but I don't know
how long that's going to last. Most of the audience today is pretty
stupid. There's just no music really out there now, or I'm not
exposed to any of it. I guess I wish I was in Europe, so I could see
what was going on, but over here I don't know what road it would have
to take for it to turn in any kind of positive direction, because
right now, it's just a bunch of shit." Regardless of current trends,
Spastic Ink will continue to play their technical, complex style of
progressive metal to whoever will listen.
Contact: SPASTIC INK, c/o Ayres Rock Management
6655 Wilkinson Ave. #103, North Hollywood, CA, 91606, USA
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T O R O N T O ' S T A K E O V E R
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CoC Interviews Solus
by: Adrian Bromley
While Toronto's Solus are relative newcomers to the death metal
scene, and may have a ways to go before they sign to a major label,
the band is knowledgeable of the way things work in this industry and
like many acts of this musical genre Solus believe first and foremost
that music is to be used as tool of expression.
Solus - consisting of singer Will Korbut, guitarist Derek
Harnanansingh, drummer Darrell Dumas and bassist Doug Regan - have
recently released their debut LP, the 9-song _Slave Of Mind_, a
collection of accelerated riffs, brash vocals and a groove that'll
rip your head off. The album's material is extremely aggressive, a
definite outlet for the bands emotions. With the help of producer Rob
Sanzo (Mundane, Poledo) at Signal To Noise Studio, he helped the band
enhance those emotions with some killer knob-twiddling.
"I don't think our music changed at all," explains Harnanansingh
about the material of the band going from paper and demos tape into
recording the material in a studio. "When we went to Rob we went in
and discussed how we wanted to do things. We wanted to keep the
record as raw sounding and as aggressive as we could get it. With
that in mind, Rob did a great job and not much was changed." On
studio work and the pressure of assembling a record there, singer
Korbut says, "The pressure makes the recording process fly even
faster. We had a lot of pressure. We had a real tight budget. The
pressure was really tight and that is why the CD came out the way it
did I guess."
"This music is a bloodletting of aggression. A pouring out of
aggression. Everyone in the band has something to be aggressive about
whether it be today's society or society twelve hundred years ago,"
says Korbut analyzing the band's material. "I think our music is
going to get more aggressive and heavier on a wider spectrum. Playing
this music is something we are now going to continue doing. It is
like a mad dog tasting blood - we just tasted the blood and now we
are still going for it more."
As young blood of this musical genre, Solus has seen the ways of
the music industry shift from one style to another. Metal or even
hard rock has not been in the last little while what it was say ten
years ago. Many hard and heavy bands or metal bands have not gotten
the exposure that they would have once gotten and now many are forced
to go back into the underground until the time comes (if it will)
where this type of music is accepted again - meaning that a larger
public accepts it rather than just underground or hard core fans of
this musical style. "I don't think it has changed much. This kind of
music always goes above and below ground. I haven't changed my
likings to bands since I got into music," says Harnanansingh
disagreeing with the question somewhat. Korbut juts in, "There are a
lot of bands that don't get anywhere because there is this huge cloud
of corporatism shrouding any kind of marketing they do and that it is
hard to tell when the heavy bands are performing. I think music is
getting heavier. This alternative thing has spread itself so thin
that it has no where to go and all these metal bands are going to be
sitting in the limelight when it goes away."
Musically the band's makeup revolves around the intensity and
stamina of a tight thrash band but the towering presence and charisma
of a death metal band, as seen on such songs as "Caustic," "Souls Of
Empty" and "Deciever." The combination of these two characteristics
in the sound is quite evident, but starting out explains
Harnanansingh, the band never really tried to play like any one of
their influences. "The influences come from a large range. Everything
from jazz to hard core and metal. It is not something as myself as a
guitar player really considers. I just listen to my influences and
what comes out comes out. I think our music has gotten a lot more
aggressive and I don't know why that is. But it works and that is the
way it is meant to be for us." On the material for songs he notes,
"We don't have a preconceived notion of what we are going to do. We
have a lot of aggression to get out and a lot of things to say and so
far we haven't run out of ideas we will continue to use that as our
sound board."
"Whatever comes out in the music just comes out," says Korbut,
"Our music is just aggressive for some reason or another. I guess as
long as everyone had a shitty childhood then we are set and will stay
aggressive." He smiles and laughs.
Seeing that the band is independent it takes a lot of effort to
get recognition or least some exposure around the world. The band has
worked hard over the last little while to help get things going:
taking out ads in magazines around the world, mailing out over 300
CDs and bios to magazines and labels worldwide. What is important to
an indie band? What is important for them? "For us it is a bit of
both: playing out and press. There is nothing like seeing this live
show. The energy is intense and the press factor is vital because you
need to let people know you are out there or you won't get anywhere,"
states Korbut. "At this point in time we are just happy to have the
record out and people liking it. We have been getting great responses
since it has been out."
Perhaps you think that most indie bands would want to taste
success as soon as they could, Solus are the complete opposite. "We
are not trying to attract anyone except for people that will listen
to our music. Whether it be A&R people, label reps or kids just
freaking out in their bedroom over it. There is no real focus in
particular and that surprises people. We are not shopping our CD,
just trying to get it out there and have kids or anyone for that
matter just hear and see how heavy this CD is," says Korbut. "And the
good thing about us being independent is that we call our own shots.
We don't owe anyone anything as we did everything for the CD
ourselves."
Harnanansingh, who did the artwork for the CD, comments: "We
kept the artwork simple and easy in some way to not let the artwork
take away from the aggressiveness and pounding of the record. We
didn't want to glamorize our product. We'll just let the music keep
everyone interested. That is the way it should be."
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This is where we rant, rave, and rip apart albums. Check this column
every month for the scoop on the latest in heavy hand-outs.
Scoring: 10 out of 10 -- If there was ever a perfect CD, this is it!
8 out of 10 -- A great piece of metallic mayhem
6 out of 10 -- Not too bad of an album
4 out of 10 -- You are treading in dangerous waters
2 out of 10 -- If you like this, you are fucked!
0 out of 10 -- My shit can put out better music than this!
Ninefinger - _Torque/Bad Wheel_ 7" (Deaf American Rec., 1995)
by: Gino Filicetti (6 out of 10)
After years of being thought lost forever, the first Ninefinger 7"
has been re-released to the public through Deaf American Records.
Originally released through Compulsiv Music, this album consists of
two songs of the utmost slowness and heaviness. The band consisted of
Corrosion of Conformity's Mike Dean on bass and vox, Brutal Truth's
Rich Hoak on drums and Paul Maiello on guitar. The music here is
comparable to some EYEHATEGOD mixed with a good dose of heavily
distorted and lazy vocals. Not the best recording I've ever heard,
but cool nonetheless.
Aceldama - _Blood_ (Mother Noise Records, June 1996)
by: Ryan Hair (6 out of 10)
I first saw the flyer for this band at a local music store. I was
interested because it was a local metal band. The flyer said they
were influenced by King Diamond, Slayer, and Sepultura. I have not
heard any Slayer or Selputura so I was skeptical. I have a Mercyful
Fate album that I thought was rather good. At first I thought they
were descent but they later create a brutal yet beautiful atmosphere.
The vocals range from low grunting to James Hetfield barking to King
Diamond high screeches. They have fairly good production, clean lows
and highs. They also put in some keyboards that create the mystical
atmosphere. The only bad thing I have to say about the album would be
the lack of interesting beats by the drummer. If I could say
something to the band it would be to the drummer, "Learn a new beat
bud!" It's very monotonous, even more than "generic" death metal.
Overall it's a good album for $10.
Amestigon/Angizia (Napalm Records split CD, June 1996)
by: Steve Hoeltzel
Amestigon: (6 out of 10)
This band plays predominantly mid-paced black metal, with the
standard high-pitched guitar, raspy vocals, and occasional touches of
'atmosphere' in the form of choral arrangements, keyboard flourishes,
and so on. Think of slower Abigor material, and you've pretty much
got it. You've also pretty much heard it all before, even if not by
this particular band. "Samhain" is an enjoyable track with solid
momentum and cool vocal phrasings, and "Mysterious Realms" speeds
along quite compellingly. Still, nowhere on this four-track offering
does Amestigon establish any sonic identity of their own. For the
most part, they just sound like _Orkblut_-era Abigor, minus the
experimentation. Solid black metal, yeah, but pretty monotonous
sounding too.
Angizia: (4 out of 10)
Having just ripped Amestigon for their lack of originality, I hate to
come down so hard on Angizia, who are obviously aiming to do
something new and different. But this stuff is just corny. Take
mid-paced black metal with an incredibly thin guitar sound, mix the
guitar way lower than what sounds like a child's toy piano, have both
play some out-and-out hokey melodies - over and over and over - and
you've got the basic Angizia sound. To make it complete, sing a duet
on top of that - one black metal rasp, one dreamy female voice,
singing the same lines simultaneously. Seriously, I applaud this
band's attempt to do something original, but I just can't get into
the results at all. It's different, yeah, but it's cheesey, and it's
got no real metallic power at all.
Ancient Rites - _Blasphemia Eternal_ (Mascot Records, 1996)
by: Steve Hoeltzel (6 out of 10)
Although Ancient Rites are generally tagged as a black metal band,
it's kind of hard to see why. Maybe it's just their makeup, because
on _BE_ (their second full-length), they favor a style much more akin
to that of great 80's thrash bands like Sodom and (especially)
Kreator - right down to the quiet-strings-meets-crunchy-riffing
opening of their CD. More than anything else, they remind me of
Kreator circa that band's first two albums, but with a somewhat less
ferocious overall sound. _BE_ definitely contains some solid, thrashy
material, delivered with competence and conviction - for proof, check
out "Garden of Delights." Thrash metal lives or dies with the killer
riff, though, and a lot of the riffs on this album are neither
complex, nor catchy, nor all that energetic, which makes a lot of the
songs hard to really get into. The vocals are mid-ranged and rather
subdued (for an underground act), and the band cruises through most
of their material at a pretty restrained speed. So as extreme metal
goes, this is fairly tame stuff. Yeah, it has that 'old school' metal
feel to it, but the real giants of the old school could just blow
this stuff away in terms of energy and invention.
Arcana - _Dark Age of Reason_ (Cold Meat Industry, June 1996)
by: Gino Filicetti (5 out of 10)
Hailing from the majestic Northern land of Sweden come Peter
Pettersson and Ida Bengtsson, the heart and soul of Arcana. Although
this is the couple's first release, Arcana is widely known in the
Scandanavian folk music scene. The music on this CD can be very
majestic and awe-inspiring at times, but also very dark and tragic.
There are ten songs on this recording, fortunately though, most are
not of epic length. The entire CD was finished in 35 minutes,
something I found weird about a band that plays this kind of music
(take for example our buddy Mortiis, who loves pumping out the twenty
minute soundscapes!). Some tracks I found particularily inspiring
were "Source of Light," a faster paced piece with beautiful pianos
that exploits both male and female vocals. Also the title track was
excellent, a very dark and brooding song that is sans vox. "The Song
of Mourning" also appears on the Cold Meat Industry compliation
_...And Even Wolves Hid Their Teeth_. Altogether an OK album, but not
something I found all that interesting.
Various - _Black Mark Attack_ (Black Mark, July 1996)
by: Adam Wasylyk (7 out of 10)
A 10 track/band compilation put out by Black Mark, this album very
similar to the Black Mark comp. put out by the zine S.O.D a couple of
years back. It starts off with Bathory's "The Sword", off my favorite
album of 1996 so far, _Blood on Ice_. A great song and definitely a
great way to start off a comp. Next is NECROPHOBIC's "Spawned By
Evil", which will be on their upcoming CD, _Darkside_. Musically it's
good but vocally it left much to be desired, sounding like a bad
black metal screech. Next is EDGE OF SANITY's "Murder Divided", a
track that could be found only on the Jap version of E.o.S's latest
album _Crimson_. Much like the material on _Crimson_, aggressive with
plenty of tempo change and also some good singing. Next is the
relatively new band YOSH with "Destiny Eternity". Their brand of
power/thrash isn't too bad, the song had a nice intro. but then went
downhill from there leaving just an average track. Next up is MOMENTO
MORI's "Endlessly" which introduces a new singer and drummer, the
vocalist sounding similar (I'm sure to the delight of their fans) to
Messiah Marcolin. Musically it's a very good song, one of the best on
the CD. Sweden's DIVINE SIN follow up with "Memories" off their debut
album. Thrash/power metal with plenty of vocal diversity (from
singing to almost growling) makes this track a good one. CEMETARY
demonstrate their brand of gothic metal with "Sundown", a nice
sounding track again. From their album _Paradigma_, TAD MOROSE
contribute the track "Another Paradigm", a nicely orchestrated track
which kept my interest for it's little over five minutes. France's
AGRESSOR follow with "The Word of Dog", without a doubt the most
aggressive track on the comp. Not too bad, although it did carry on a
little too long. Ending it off is LAKE OF TEARS with "Twilight".
Musically it was well done, but I didn't like the vocal affects they
used as I felt they were irritating and took away from the song as a
whole. Overall an impressive compilation, the good far out numbering
the bad.
Blood Duster - _Yeest_ (Relapse, June 1996)
by: Gino Filicetti (9 out of 10)
Heavy has been redefined my friends, thanks to our Aussie friends
from Blood Duster. All it takes is the first few seconds of this CD
to realize that Blood Duster's sound is not only original, but some
of the most killer grind to ever grace these ears. Citing their
influences as early Carcass and early Napalm, all the way to Johnny
Cash and Lynyrd Skynyrd! There are 32 tracks on this CD, 13 of which
you can consider real songs complete with lyrics et al. The themes
described in these lyrics are of the utmost obscenity and
offensiveness, such as necrophilia in "Vulgar Taste (Of Rotten Cunt)"
and "Mortician," schizophrenic American serial killers in "Kill,
Kill, Kill," brutal sadism in "Sadomasifuck" and the horrors of
defecation in "Anal Feast." Hailing from Austrailia, Blood Duster
gained notoriety in their homeland after opening on Carcass'
Austrailian tour and playing with Brutal Truth the next year. This CD
is actually a compliation of their two, Austrailia only releases,
_Fisting The Dead_ and _Yeest_. Check this one out people, because
the band truly lives up to its classification as
Psychorockmenstrualgrindporn.
Brutal Truth - _Machine Parts +4_ 7" (Deaf American Rec., Nov. 1995)
by: Gino Filicetti (7 out of 10)
The infamous Brutal Truth have returned, but only to tease their fans
with this 7" of material recorded at Smoke, Grind & Sleep Studios
(aka their rehearsal space). The production of this vinyl is very raw
because it was done with their own 8 track recorder, but the rawness
seems somewhat fitting when mixed with the music of Brutal Truth.
There are four tracks on this record, and one live track, "Collateral
Damage," with five different 10 second versions of it. The songs
include "Spare Change," a very short and fast number, "Machine
Parts," one of the best tracks here with a very slow pace to begin
with, and vocals comparable to some black metal bands. Next is
"Fucktoy," another short and fast song, and finally "Kill, Trend,
Suicide" which is by far the best track here. It is a totally
break-neck blastbeat-o-rama in the truest form of Brutal Truth. Only
1000 copies of this 7" were pressed (mine being the 959th), so get
yours soon. Send $3 in the US and $5 anywhere else for a copy of this
7".
Contact: BRUTAL TRUTH, c/o Rich Hoak, 3 Bethel Church Road
Dillsburg, PA, 17019, USA
email: rich666@voicenet.com
The Chasm - _From the Lost Years_ (The Art/Reborn Records, 1996)
by: Adam Wasylyk (8 out of 10)
From Mexico come a three piece called The Chasm, whose fresh sound is
truly music to my ears! A black metal band at the core, along with
some nice bass and keyboard parts, their sound also includes acoustic
guitar (as much as the rhythm guitar in some parts). Few and far
between are speedy parts, but the band definitely prefers a slower
pace, but not so slow as to get boring or too repetitious. Songs like
"The Gravelands", "Deathcult for Eternity", "Ascension of Majestic
Ruins", "An Arcanum Faded" and "Torn" are really a treat to listen
to. Production is well done too. It did (for me) take a few listens
to really get into it, but there definitely is a lot of talent here.
I can see major label attention for THE CHASM in the future.
Contact: THE CHASM, c/o Daniel Corchado, Apdo. Postal #M-2730
C.P. 06002, Mexico 1, D.F. Mexico
Burnt Colonels - _Malice Afterthought_ (Chameleon Dream, Spring 1996)
by: Adrian Bromley (6 out of 10)
This is release number two for hard-grooved/metallic Toronto outfit
Burnt Colonels (following their 1993 EP) and as the tracks played on
_Malice Afterthought_ it wasn't hard to get bored with the music on
this full-length release. A concoction of riffs, speed and aggression
feeds the direction and sound of the band on _Malice Afterthought_,
which by any standards those elements are ingredients of a 'typical'
recipe for a harder edged band to follow. Heavily influenced (at
least through the music) by White Zombie, Pantera, Biohazard and
Korn, Burnt Colonels are more groove oriented than by the sheer might
and intensity of their music and at times that seems to bring about
some life to this release. And another thing, not sure if many of you
are familiar with the New York trash band Overkill but singer Dave
'Thurston Craven" Clark's vocals are almost identical to those
provided by Overkill screamer Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth. Just another
thing I discovered listening to this release. Notable picks to hear
on this mediocre record would be "Bone Machine," "Wounded" and
"Plague."
Darkthrone - _Total Death_ (Moonfog Productions, June 1996)
by: Steve Hoeltzel (6 out of 10)
One thing I definitely respect about Darkthrone is that no two
consecutive releases from them sound quite the same, though anything
with the band's name on it is guaranteed to be heavy, harsh, and
grim. On _TD_, the band departs a bit from the spitting rage and
all-out speed of _Transylvanian Hunger_, and from the blatant Celtic
Frost-isms of their subsequent release. Here, they favor a kind of
hybrid blackened style which is fairly reminiscent of 80's pioneers
like Frost and Sodom one moment (as on "Blasphemer") and pure,
simplistic Norse black metal the next (see "Blackwinged"). Also, the
production on this album is a step up, though that's not really
saying much. Still, on the whole the band seems a bit subdued here
compared to their previous couple of outings: although undeniably
grim, _TD_ does not quite seethe with the same vitriolic fury that
drips in buckets from older Darkthrone stuff. The speedy material is
not as fast, nor quite as anguished in tone, and the more mid-tempo
tracks seem pretty reserved when compared to the vicious pummelings
which this band has been known to deal out in the past. All in all,
this is more or less standard stuff, from a band who have previously
proven themselves capable of having much more harrowing sonic impact.
Not bad, but nothing special, either, and definitely nothing new.
Death Con 1 - _Refuse to Lose_ (Vampire Records, 1996)
by: Adam Wasylyk (3 out of 10)
This 10-tracker did little for me the first time I heard it, and on
additional listens, well, my opinion didn't change. To describe the
musical direction of the band I would say it's slow paced death
metal, with goth and rock influences. The opening riff I swear
reminded me of I MOTHER EARTH's "Rain will Fall" Anyway, DEATH CON 1
are musically competent, however most of the songs did little to stir
me or keep me interested. The last three tracks ("Suppuku", "Hell is
Home" and "Another Day") are all great tracks. I was surprised after
hearing the first side of the tape that anything that remained would
be better than average. I especially liked "Another Day" in its sad
and dreary sounding way. If DEATH CON 1 could produce another demo in
the same vein as the aforementioned three songs then they may have
something. If you buy it, buy it for the second side of the tape.
Contact: VAMPIRE PRODUCTIONS, P.O. Box 653
Maroa, Illinois, 61756, U.S.A
Desultory - _Swallow The Snake_ (Metal Blade, July 1996)
by: Adrian Bromley (7 out of 10)
Swedish three-piece return to the music scene with a blistering
assortment of loud aggressive numbers flowing with the intensity of a
moving freight train. Brutally captivating, the thrash/death metal
sounds of the band are clear and intense, rarely slowing down or
letting loose their grips on our throats. Take the thrash-styled,
Sacrifice/Sacred Reich-ish music for instance: you got the riffs, the
speed and the vocals doing some damage, whereas with the death metal
flavor to the music you got the depth of anger and hatred brewing
within the music too. This combination is deadly as you will hear on
such cuts as "Mushroom Smile," "Swallow The Snake," "Zone Traveller"
and "Nothing Dies." With this their third album, the band has managed
to come out of Sunlight Studios (with Tomas Skogsberg and Fred Estby
producing) with a mixed bag of thrash/death metal cuts that are
capable of adding a fresh dimension to today's music scene. Not that
they are discovering new paths to explore with metal music, just that
their maneuverability to gel both thrash and death metal deserves to
spark some interest.
Diabolical Masquerade - _Ravendusk in My Heart_ (Adipocere, 1996)
by: Brian Meloon (7 out of 10)
This is a side project of Blackheim from Katatonia (a band I can't
stand), but unlike the doomy stylings of Katatonia, this is mostly a
black metal project. Being a one-man project, he handles all the
instruments, and does all the vocals, save the horrible "heavy metal"
vocals in track #5 (courtesy of Dan Swano). His name also appears in
half of the song titles. Although the drums are handled by a drum
machine, they actually sound good, and do a decent job of remaining
varied. At times, they are a little monotonous, but no worse than a
human drummer is. In fact, I'd say that if the production were worse,
you probably couldn't tell that they were from a drum machine. That
aside, the guitar and keyboard work is good. Some of the sections are
very good, specifically when he goes for a high-speed black metal
sound, as he's able to keep things precise without losing the
aggression. Track #4 really stands out for it's heavy use of
dissonance and overall weirdness. It's too bad that he can't keep up
these sections for the duration of the album, and instead has to
inject sections of the old-school style, which really detracts from
my enjoyment of this album. Nevertheless, this is a good effort, and
once again I've found a side project about which I can say:
"Blackheim, quit your day job."
Dimmu Borgir - _Stormblast_ (Cacophonous Records, May 1996)
by: Steve Hoeltzel (8 out of 10)
It's a shame that the black metal scene isn't home to more bands like
Dimmu Borgir - not bands who simply copy their sound, but bands, like
this one, who take the traditional black metal formula and make it
the basis for something comparatively unique. Dimmu Borgir are
definitely a black metal band (and definitely one of my favorites),
but their music is marked by a kind of quiet, majestic sadness which
seems to be way beyond the emotional range of most other outfits in
the genre. On tracks like "Nar Sjelen Hentes Til Helvete," they flex
plenty of black metal muscle, yet balance their brawn with a unique
feeling of sadness and solitude built up through the crafty use of
synthesizers to introduce melody and ambience. The slow and haunting
"Broderskappets Ring" shows them in top form, forging a genuinely
somber mood out of ringing guitars, morose narration, and stirring
keys. At their best, Dimmu Borgir conjure up a distinct melancholic
feeling much more genuine than the cornier efforts of most other
bands. Of course, they're not at their best through all ten tracks of
this, their second full-length release. The very best songs appear
early on the CD, which doesn't quite succeed in maintaining the same
level of depth and originality all the way through. Still, there are
some great moments to be heard among the later tracks, and this album
(along with their debut, _For All TId_) comes highly recommended to
those looking for a very solid black metal band that is willing and
able to add some real feeling and creativity to the standard sound.
Dismal Euphony - _Dismal Euphony_ (Napalm Records, May 1996)
by: Steve Hoeltzel (7 out of 10)
Closely allied to the black metal scene are a number of 'avant-garde'
acts who take the basic elements of the blackened style - usually the
standard guitar sound, vocal technique, and emphasis on atmosphere -
and use these as a foundation upon which to build something more or
less unique. Some of these bands end up putting out music that's
basically just pretentious and corny (see my jabs at Angizia in this
issue, for instance). Others, however (the excellent Accursed, for
one), succeed in creating a sound that's refreshingly different, yet
still anchored solidly enough in the traditional style to retain an
authentic metallic vibe. Dismal Euphony definitely belong in this
latter category, and this 18-minute mini-CD has me really looking
forward to their upcoming full-length. The three tracks offered here
are moody and melodic mini-epics, each featuring a really cool,
spacey-sounding guitar tone which gets nicely fleshed out by ambient
keyboards, synth, and the eerie tones of female vocalist Kelzina. The
excellent final track, "The Mournful Silence," opens with a great
doomy/acoustic intro which, at the sound of a clap of thunder, gives
way to a haunting riff iced down by creepy black metal vocals, and
then continues on through a number of interesting changes.
"Spellbound," too, proves interesting and enjoyable. For a while now
the black metal scene has been totally overflowing with
creativity-impared hacks slapping on makeup and jumping on the trend,
but this band is creating some genuine, substantial stuff. I'd have
upped their score a bit if they incorporated a bit more metallic
power and speed, but this one still comes highly recommended.
Dark Funeral - _Secrets of the Black Arts_ (No Fashion Records, 1996)
by: Steve Hoeltzel (5 out of 10)
This Swedish band boasts some pretty impressive qualifications. On
bass and vocals, we have "The Master of Diabolical Possession & Black
Magick." On drums, it's "Commander of The Infernal Demon Legions."
And on guitar, we have both "The Lord of The Shadows & Master of The
Black Arts" and (get this one) "The Lord of Destruction, Evil,
Darkness, and Death." Given all the nasty and scary deeds which these
four supreme dignitaries of ultimate evilness must have to perform,
it seems remarkable that they were also able to find the time to get
together and whip up a whole CD of hyper-fast black metal. But they
did. And judging by the results, I'd say that becoming Lord of The
Shadows (and so on) or Lord of Destruction (and so on) must tend to
get in the way of coming up with any very interesting riffs - though
tracks like "The Dawn No More Rises" and "Shadows Over Transylvania"
do feature some decent guitar-shredding. Being Commander of Demon
Legions, on the other hand, might actually enhance one's ability to
blast out some truly -amazing- percussion, as amply demonstrated on
every track. Finally, operating as Master of Possession (and so on)
seems to have no real effect either way, since the vocal and bass on
this album are standard black metal fare: raspy and inaudible,
respectively. How about the songs? Well, let's just say that this
infernal outfit falls far short of the standard set by Lord Mysteriis
and company (Setherial), or by Sabathan and crew (Enthroned). Both of
the latter bands rip out light-speed black metal, but both also
incorporate frequent tempo changes, moody interludes, and really wild
guitar parts. By contrast, Dark Funeral write awfully monotonous
stuff: the vast majority of their material sounds totally
interchangeable, and the few songs that do stand out are enjoyable,
but nothing terribly interesting. Hmmm... maybe if these guys put as
much work into crafting something original as they obviously put into
their evil imagery, they could really kick ass next time. Just a
thought from the reviewer - that's me, Count Sarcastic.
Gorgoroth - _Antichrist_ (Malicious Records, June 1996)
by: Steve Hoeltzel (9 out of 10)
The Satanic mumbo-jumbo that's all over this album is damn stale
stuff by now. Look: there's nothing particularly courageous or
rebellious about copping the -exact- same image and attitude as five
hundred other, similar-sounding bands. And if by chance Gorgoroth (or
whatever band) actually believes all this stuff - well, good for
them, but I've got no use for medieval religion. This is 1996, not
1346. Why am I teeing off on Gorgoroth in particular here? Because
the music on this mini-CD (the band's second) is simply some of the
best extreme metal I've ever heard - but in terms of lyrics and
imagery it's bogged way down in all these tired old cliches. Speaking
exclusively of the music, though, these guys have definitely earned
their 9 points out of 10. (If Satanism is one of your turn-ons, then,
you just might think that this is the greatest release of all time.)
After a very weird intro, "Bergtrollets Hevn" breaks forth in a grim
gallop, only to explode after a couple of verses into a full-on black
metal charge, desperate riffing propelled by hyper-fast drums.
"Gorgoroth" begins at blazing speed, a melodic bass line woven into
the 'surf' riff, then slows down for a bit of metallic ambience
before ripping into another fast and frenzied attack. "Possessed"
goes for a more prmitive, pounding feel, while closer "Sorg"
incorporates a variety of cool (slower) tempos and effects. In terms
of both production and (especially) music, this is quite an
improvement upon their earlier, and very solid _Pentagram_ release.
Old Grandad - _Vol. 666_ (Independent, 1996)
by: Adam Wasylyk (6 out of 10)
Featuring guitarist Erik Moggridge (ex-Epidemic), drummer Will
Carroll (ex-Machine Head) and Max Barnett on bass/vocals (actually,
all three members contribute vocals), OLD GRANDAD's sound could be
described as crossing Black Sabbath and thrash with some death metal
and rock influences. Songs like "Blantant Drug Song" and "Don't Call
me a Deadhead" show their humor while "Feeling Fine" and "No Hell to
Fear" hit you hard with their heaviness and groove. For only $8 US
for a 14-song CD it's worth the money. You can also check them out on
the internet, their web site is http://www.inreach.com/grandad/
Contact: OLD GRANDAD, 1827 Haight St., Box 95
San Francisco, CA, 94117, U.S.A.
g/z/r - _Cycle of Sixty/x13_ (TVT Records, Spring 1996)
by: Gino Filicetti (7 out of 10)
This five song EP comes to us as a follow up to g/z/r's amazing debut
record _Plastic Planet_. If you don't already know, g/z/r is made up
of Fear Factory's rasper Burton C. Bell and Black Sabbath's legendary
bassist Geezer Butler along with other less notable musicians. This
EP consists of five tracks, two of which are brand spankin' new
remixes of "Cycle of Sixty" and "x13" (makes for an original album
title, doesn't it?), the remaining three are live cuts. The first
song starts off really soft with acoustic guitars and very quiet,
almost whispered vocals. All through the song I was waiting for a
heavy grind to brake up the melody, but my wishes were not fulfilled.
The second song, "x13," however is the complete opposite. It starts
with a heavy groove and sports some weird distorted vocals. It's
intensity never wanes, it only gets stronger, even through the
surprise solo that appears amongst its tunage. The live songs covered
here are "Drive Boy Shooting," "Detective 27" and "House of Clouds."
Although I never had the good fortune of actually hearing _Plastic
Planet_, I thought these live renditions were expertly executed.
g/z/r are definitely one of those side projects that DON'T suck, now
all I have to do is snatch myself a copy of their debut.
Iced Earth - _Dark Saga_ (Century Media, July 1996)
by: Adrian Bromley (7 out of 10)
From the depths of hell and the gutters of the big city comes the
tales of comic book hero/anti-hero Spawn as told by melodic thrash
metal outfit Iced Earth. Tampa Bay, Florida's well-known progressive
thrashers return with a cool concept album that deals with the
story-lines, characters and life of the Spawn comic series (a comic
that sells more than half a million copies every issue). A dark
tragedy, the album pursues the rather dark and vile side of Spawn for
the most part, but there are glimpses of life, love and understanding
with somewhat of a dark overtone in the lyrics and music. Following
in the footsteps of progressive metallers Queensryche and Savatage,
Iced Earth's latest can be easily seen as a carbon copy of the works
of those two bands, but with heavier riffs, screams and determination
to maintain a heaviness for the majority of the album, Iced Earth
steps away from the aforementioned band's set musical styles - though
_DS_ is not as heavy as their past efforts, _Night Of The Stormrider_
and _Burnt Offerings_. Some great ideas and visions flow from such
cuts as "Violate," "The Last Laugh," "Scarred" and the opening
number/title track. A cool concept record that manages to keep the
listener going from start to finish.
Intrinsic - _Closure_ (Teichiku/Metal Mania Records, 1995)
by: Adrian Bromley (6 out of 10)
While Phoenix, Arizona-based quintet Intrinsic may be heading
backwards (to some degree - much like other Arizona outfit Wardogs)
with their 80's-ish thrash metal sound, the introduction of hard
rock/metal tones scattered throughout the record allow the songs to
breathe some form of excitement. Singer Lee Dehmer has this sort of
cocky, brashness to his vocal styling and when backed by some serious
guitar shredding by guitarists Garrett Craddock and Michael Mellinger
and a pretty solid rhythm section the music sounds large and in
charge. Though the band dips and radiates some variety in _Closure_,
the remainder of the record is just solid clumps of thrash metal.
Standouts? "Falling In," "The Wheel," "Visceral" and "Brutally Frank."
Kataklysm - _Temple Of Knowledge (Kataklysm Part III)_
by: Adrian Bromley (9 out of 10) (Nuclear Blast/Eastwest, June 1996)
Following in the footsteps of two highly-acclaimed releases (1993's
mini-album _The Mystical Gate Of Reincarnation_ and their full-length
debut _Sorcery_), comes _Temple Of Knowledge_, the latest sonic
assault by Canadian heavies Kataklysm. From the get-go ('The Unholy
Signature') this hyberblast/death metal quartet rip, slash, tear,
mame and crush everything in their path with some of the most
explosive and riveting (not to mention loud) work I have heard in
years. Look under the word "destruction" in Webster's Dictionary and
_ToK_ will be listed right next to it. Loud and unforgiving comes the
deliverance of nine mammoth-like songs that detail both extensive
songwriting and playing as well as imagination. The nine songs take
shape into three sections on _ToK_: The Transenflamed Memories,
Through The Core Of The Damed and Era Of The Aquarius. Numbers that
will make your ears bleed are "Enhanced By The Lore," "Beckoning Of
The Xul," "The Awakener" and "Exode Of Evils". Glad to see that one
of Canada's loudest bands just got LOUDER with _ToK_. And yes, my
ears are still ringing.
King Diamond - _The Graveyard_ (Metal Blade, July 1996)
by: Gino Filicetti (8 out of 10)
He's baaaaaaaaack! That's right boys and girls, say your prayers and
sleep tight for the King is here tonight. This album marks King
Diamond's second effort since _The Spider's Lullaby_ hailed his
return to the solo fold. First thing I asked myself when I received
this promo copy of _The Graveyard_ was, "How the fuck am I supposed
to review a King Diamond album without the lyrics?!" Well, sometimes
the impossible must be done, so here I am. According to the bio, this
conceptual album is about incest and child molestation and the trial
of this monster by a man driven insane. The music on this album is
much more fresh and modern sounding than the current Mercyful Fate
album (reviewed elsewhere in this issue) could ever be. Andy LaRocque
shows off some of his hottest licks in some of the most killer solos
I've heard in a long time. Some of the best songs include the slow
ballad-like, "Heads On The Wall," the fast paced solo-fest, "Meet Me
At Midnight" and "Sleep Tight Little Baby." As always, the King
utilizes multi-track recording for his vocals which are in as great
shape as ever. This album blows the new Mercyful Fate out of the
water by a long shot and proves to the world that metal's greatest
storyteller has NOT gone stale.
Kvist - _For Kunsten Maa Vi Evig Vike_ (Avantgarde, 1996)
by: Brian Meloon (7 out of 10)
This is the debut album from yet another Norwegian black metal band.
These guys have a typical sound, sounding in places (especially in
the opening cut "Ars Manifestia") very similar to Emperor (see CoC
#1). The production here is decent, as everything is audible,
including bass and bass drums (unlike Emperor). However, the vocals
are a bit low, and the whole thing sounds a little "fuzzy". The
vocals are standard fare, but a little monotonous, sounding at times
half-spoken and half-whispered. There are only 6 songs, and the album
lasts for about 37 minutes, so the compositions are fairly long and
involved. However, the songwriting could be improved, as the song
structures don't always make complete sense to me, or really go
anywhere. The playing is solid and at times pretty interesting. They
throw in enough good ideas to make up for their lack of originality,
and that makes this worthwhile. They use keyboards, though low in the
mix, and have a variety of tones, including strings and a pipe organ
tone, similar in effect to Gehenna's _First Spell_. The packaging is
very sparse, with no band information, and no lyrics (which are sung
in Norwegian). A worthy offering worth getting, but not essential.
Madball - _Demonstrating My Style_ (Roadrunner/Attic, July 1996)
by: Adrian Bromley (8 out of 10)
From the ashes of New York hardcore legends Agnostic Front (following
the demise of the band in 1992) comes Madball, a band that plays
bombastic heapages of reality and aggression spewed from the mouth of
singer Freddy Cricien and backed by the groove and determination of
the remaining three members. Though the band has released two EPs
(_Ball Of Destruction_ in 1989 and _Droppin Many Suckas_ in 1992) it
wasn't until the release of their debut album on Roadrunner, _Set It
Off_, that the band edged towards a solid feel to their music and
acquiring a strong fanbase, which led the band to become one of the
most exciting and promising New York hardcore acts. Now in 1996,
following major touring, the band has regrouped and recorded fourteen
outstanding and true-to-the-heart tales of life and the hardships one
must face, juiced up by singer Cricien's real life stories. Sure this
may be a running theme for most hardcore bands, but there is
something exciting and volatile about the lyrics and messages
conveyed within numbers like "Pride (Times Are Changing)", "Addict"
and "Unity" on _DMS_. For those that witnessed the combative and
beligerent attitude of Madball's last outing, most won't be
disappointed as Madball turns up the 'hardcore' element on _DMS_ up a
notch.
Mercyful Fate - _Into The Unknown_ (Metal Blade, July 1996)
by: Gino Filicetti (5 out of 10)
After an eight year absence that, to most Mercyful Fate fans, felt
like an eternity, the King and his boyz are back, kicking out their
fourth album since their reunion in 1993. Pretty impressive eh? Well,
unfortunately, I can't say the same thing about this here album. To
tell you the truth, most of the music contained here bored the shit
out of me, at times it seemed nothing more than bad 80s riffs
rehashed again and again. Needless to say I was "just a little"
pissed that this promo didn't include lyrics, which as we all know,
are the best part of King Diamond's creations, and the reason he's
been worshiped for so long. The first track, "Lucifer", starts this
album with some scary synth music and the King chanting a bastardized
Our Father in praise of the Dark One. Other notable tracks include,
"Ghost of Change" which the bio states is a true story about an
encounter the King had with a poltergeist. My personal fave track
here was "Fifteen Men" it starts with a cool bass intro, and has a
special groove thoughout. Definitely one of the only memorable songs
on this record. I really found it hard to give a work of the King
such a low score, but this record just didn't cut the cake for me,
but by all means give it a whirl and see if it might not be your
slice of cheese.
Monster Voodoo Machine - _Pirate Satellite_
by: Gino Filicetti (7 out of 10) (45 Revolutions, June 1996)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada's own Monster Voodoo Machine are back with
their newest EP, a follow up to the mega-successful 1994 album
_Suffersystem_ (their major label debut). Well, this time, the band
has undergone a lot of changes; they are no longer with RCA/BMG, they
have axed two members and replaced them, and their sound has been
dramatically transformed. No longer with the band are bassist Terry
Landry or "noise man" Stacy Hoskin. They have been replaced by two
members of the late Toronto outfit Soulstorm; Nick S. has taken up
keyboard duties while Chris Harris takes up the bass. Only 1000
copies of this EP have been pressed (mine being the 214th), this has
probably been done to make the songs on this record that much more
rare and "collectable" but I think this album should be viewed as an
essential release in lieu of another record deal. As for the music,
gone are the hard-edged guitar chords and pounding off beat drumming,
gone is any resemblance to either heavy metal or hardcore, something
I believe singer/mastermind Adam Sewell has been trying his best to
accomplish. The music here is a weird mix of techno, industrial and
hip hop. Guitars have not been completely banished, but toned down
drastically. Of the five songs here, only the first one, "Water To
Wine," really grabbed me like most of the _Suffersystem_ album did.
It has a very catchy and dancable beat, plus some amazing vox and a
memorable chorus to sing-a-long to. This EP wasn't the great techno
revolution I thought it was going to be, but it also didn't have the
staying power of their previous record.
Mortification - _Envision EvAngelene_ (Nuclear Blast, July 1996)
by: Adrian Bromley (3 out of 10)
Not that I have anything against bands spreading their visions and
views in their music, but with Mortification and their rather firm
stance on Christianity in their music, it just seems TOO overbearing
at times. Singer/bassist/lyricist Steve Rowe is constantly ramming
down our throats and into our minds every single excerpt from the
Bible or reference to Christianity he can (even in the packaging)
with every line in every song - too much I say. And if that isn't
enough to turn me away from the band and the music they create, the
music on the band's latest album, _Envision EvAngelene_ is nothing
spectacular either. This record is much more cluttered with
references and preachings than their last record _Primitive Rhythm
Machine_. Death metal buried beneath a HUGE Bible would best describe
this effort. The riffs seem stagnant and the vocals are hoarse and
uninspiring as the record goes on, though the 18+ minute epic title
track is pretty cool. Maybe I like music more with a message and a
thunderous walllop rather than just a enormous message and no
dominating noise factor.
Psychotica - _Psychotica_ (American/Ventrue/Warner, July 1996)
by: Adrian Bromley (9 out of 10)
Knee deep in the mentality of the Rocky Horror Picture Show and
supporting numerous theatrical musical numbers reminiscent of David
Bowie's Ziggy Stardust era rock n' roll on their self-titled debut
album, comes the raunchy yet seductive sounds of New York shock rock
crew Psychotica. Led by the offwall and mindfucked (in other words
insane) frontman Patrick Biggs, the motley crue he leads with this
campaign of musical expression prove to be the biggest asset of the
band as they continuously help keep the music slightly off balance
but still centered with Biggs strong vocals and expressive singing
style. In other words, Biggs manages to create a 'psychotic' world
where his music grows and breathes and only he can control it from
reaching utter anarchy. [hmmm...sounds like Marilyn Manson? -- Gino]
Anarchy is almost reached with numbers like "Starfucker Love," "Stop"
and "Flesh And Bone" and there are numerous other numbers on the
18-track LP that stir up some kinda poison for us to swallow. For
those that like Wayne/Jayne County, Ziggy Stardust and Marilyn Manson
(watch the stampede!) then Psychotica are for you. With a generous
heapage of hype surrounding them, not to mention the opening slot on
this year's Lollapalooza tour, New York's filthy crew of saints and
sinners may become America's new sweethearts. We'll see.
Rotting Christ - _Triarchy Of The Lost Lovers_
by: Adrian Bromley (8 out of 10) (Century Media, July 1996)
Rotting Christ, Greece's epidemy of black metal return in 1996 with
_Triarchy Of The Lost Lovers_, a stunning blend of brutality and
passion that rips and tears through nine epic-like songs, rarely
losing the listener's interest. _TotLL_ (their debut for Century
Media) is the much anticipated follow-up to their triumphant and
powerful 1995 Osmose Records release _Non-Serviam_ and much like
_NS_, _TotLL_ showcases the deep rooted growls and crashing riffs
that embedded the black metal stylings of Rotting Christ as fresh and
innovative when they first attained critical claim with their 1991 EP
_Passage To Arcturo_. With each album the band has managed to bring
forth more creativity and depth to both song structure and the lyrics
of each song, allowing the band to not only stay affixed with their
black metal tendencies with, "Snowing Still," "Shadows Follow" or
"King Of A Stellar War" but also finding them breaking in new musical
directions and sounds with songs like "One With The Forest" and
"Diastric Alchemy" - songs that are leaning towards more groove and
feel to them. One way of looking at _TotLL_ is seeing it as a
stepping stone for the band and its growth, as I am sure that with
future releases from the band we will see the continuing need for the
band to explore other musical boundaries, yet retain the mighty and
aggressive sounds they are known for. Bottom line: Rotting Christ
delivers strong with _TotLL_ and I highly reccomend this release.
Satyricon - _Nemesis Divina: The Conquering_
by: Steve Hoeltzel (5 out of 10) (Moonfog Productions, June 1996)
The first track on this, Satyricon's third full-length release,
explodes with enough venom, aggression, ans speed to competely
eclipse the band's earlier efforts in terms of sheer ferocity.
Indeed, it seems like ferocity is the name of the game on _ND_, and
more so than on previous releases, which displayed a bit more variety
in terms of tempo and overall feel. Not that Satyricon have turned
into Immortal or anything - there are still quite a few 'atmospheric'
sections thrown in to break up the frenzy. I'm not sure, though, if
the end result is quite as interesting or enjoyable as either of the
band's first two albums. Yeah, this CD contains some excellent riffs,
stamped with that weird, Eastern-ish Satyricon feel; and yeah, it
incorporates the occasional 'epic' moment along with lots of speed.
But on the whole, it's quite a bit more monotonous than either _The
Shadowthrone_ (an excellent release) or _Dark Medieval Times_. Unlike
those two recordings, _ND_ contains very little modulation in musical
mood or feel, and there's a conspicuous absence of -catchy- riffs.
(Still, check out opener "Dawn of a New Age," along with the title
track.) And the production ("Bass on zero, treble on ten!") leaves a
lot to be desired as well. This isn't a terrible album by any means,
but it doesn't offer anything new - or even more than a couple of
engaging songs. As a fan of the band's earlier material, I found _ND_
to be a pretty disappointing release.
Soulquake System - _Angry By Nature, Ugly By Choice_
by: Gino Filicetti (7 out of 10) (Black Mark, August 1996)
With a name like this one, I didn't know what to expect from Sweden's
Soulquake System. Upon listening to the first few seconds of the
opening track, "Strength To Strength," I was pleased to learn that
SQS aren't just another metal band. The history of the band doesn't
stretch all that far seeing how this is their first full length
release. In 1995, SQS released the _Disbelief_ demo that was heralded
by many as the 'best demo of 1995.' (According to their bio of
course). The music on this CD is really catchy and full of groove.
The vocals are definitely of hardcore origin, and the many five
person, anthem-like chants are reminiscent of a lot of today's
hardcore. Unfortunately, as the CD drew on, the music seemed to drag
and wade knee deep in repetition, yet another similarity to today's
hardcore. All in all, this music should please most, I found it quite
good even though my boredom of all things hardcore is more than
evident.
The Mist - _Gottverlassen_ (Cogumelo Records, 1996)
by: Gino Filicetti (7 out of 10)
This release marks the fourth in The Mist's seven year long career.
Having formed in Sao Paulo in 1989, The Mist have been plugging away
in the Brazilian underground ever since. In 1991 they picked up
ex-Sepultura guitarist Jairo Guedz to record their second album _The
Hangman Tree_. It has now been a year since the recording of
_Gottverlassen_ but the band is still touring the countryside. This
album begun with a very Sepultura-esque feel, which I believe a lot
bands from Brazil possess. However, the truth must be known because
Sepultura did NOT invent this sound, instead it originated from the
scene as a whole including other Brazilian bands like Overdose,
Sarcofago and The Mist (originally named Mayhem). The packaging of
this album is superb, it includes a fold-out bio, lyrics and a five
page liner. As for the music, I think it definitely got better as I
got used to the Cassiano's voice (which sounds a lot like Max
Cavalera) and the rest of the instrumentation. My favorite song was
"Switch Off The Body Suckers" which has a heavy industrial feel to
it. Another more unusual song was "Untie Me" which was very slow and
dark but had an intense chorus to complement the rest of the song.
Altogether this CD was pretty decent, but a mastering of the English
language is definitely in order. The Mist's bio has horrific
grammatical errors and could actually hurt the band's chances of
getting ahead. Hey guys, if you need a proofreader, just give me a
shout!
Turmoil - _From Bleeding Hands_ (Century Media, June 1996)
by: Adrian Bromley (6 out of 10)
Heavy hardcore music from this Pennsylvania quintet on this 10-song
outing, as the majority of the music on Turmoil's _From Bleeding
Hands_ lies buried under a powerful onslaught of gritty vocals and a
treacherous stomp of beats. Having shared stages with the likes of
Madball, Earth Crisis and Snapcase over the last little while since
their inception in 1992 and release of their Europe only EP _Who Says
Time Heals All Wounds_ in 1994, I guess it is fair to say that since
their debut album the band has strengthened their sound and delivery.
With the death-ish/hardcore vocal styling of singer John Gula leading
the assault of noise on numbers like 'New Media,' 'Choke,' 'Evolution
Of Lies' and 'These Bridges,' the music on _FBH_ is quite
satisfactory but as time goes on (as is the case with most hardcore
records) the music becomes monotonous and leaves the listener (i.e.
myself) looking for something else to throw on. Got to give credit to
Turmoil for flowing with fury and aggression on most tracks, a
saviour factor from a less positive review.
Vader - _Sothis_ (Repulse Records, June 1996)
by: Gino Filicetti (4 out of 10)
This being the first Vader CD ever in my possession, I was more that
anxious to finally listen to this band, and hear what all the hype
was about. And I can now safely say, after listening to it through
and through a few times, what the fuck is the big deal? This album
starts off with a spoken word chant entitled _Hymn To The Ancient
Ones_ which consists of a praising of all the gods of old. Then
starts the "onslaught" of boring death metal riffage, and
sub-standard non-growled vox. Such was the title track and it really
made me wonder how this band could have inspired such frenzied
acclaimation on the USENET. Hailing from Poland, Vader should be
given the benefit of the doubt, as they are the best band I've heard
emerging from said country, that is, however, no excuse for the music
contained herein. The last track on this CD is a cover of the all
time classic masterpiece to end all masterpieces, Black Sabbath's
own, "Black Sabbath." Much of this song is covered as an exact copy
of the original until we hit the last verse of the song which is
transformed in a cheesy, poseurish rip off of some kind of
hardcore/rap hybrid. A definite abomination of such a metal classic.
I'm not sorry to admit it, but I wasn't impressed one bit with this
record.
Vertex - _Vertex_ (Blue Dolphin/Caroline, July 1996)
by: Adrian Bromley (3 out of 10)
Anyone remember Ratt from the 1980's? Anyone here like them? Didn't
think so. Well how the times have changed and how members of bands
move from style to style as they grow as musicians (or as trends
become popular). Whatever the case may be, Stephen Pearcy, lead
singer for the ultra-cool (for the 80's) Ratt and that awful other
band Arcade, has jumped on board a techno/industrial/metal band by
the name of Vertex. That's right, a three-piece with samples, loud
guitars and keyboards - Vertex has it all. Now the problem with this
record - and there are lots of them - is that the music seems cheesy
("Is Justice Your Peace" or "Fight") and just thrown together.
Sounding a lot more like a weak NIN meets an unpolished Megadeth
(Mustaine-style snarls are everywhere) rather than Skinny Puppy or
any other successful techo/industrial band, Vertex's debut is full of
holes with poor songwriting and mismatched musical styles. One can
just hear the lyrics and see that numbers like "Ain't Gonna Be" "Time
And Time" or "One Like A Son" are bland concoctions of noise, samples
and riffs. Interested in seeing how musicians fight to stay afloat in
this industry? Check this one out. Otherwise, leave this one alone.
Visceral Evisceration - _Incessant Desire for Palatable Flesh_
by: Adam Wasylyk (8 out of 10) (Napalm Records America)
From Austria come Visceral Evisceration with their debut album, which
combines death and doom with opera-like female vocals. Reading much
like old-Carcass as their lyrics deal with gory/medical textbook
subjects, musically their sound is truly unique. During songs like
"At the Epicurean Gynecologist", "Muse Perverse", "Chewing Female
Genital Parts" and "Chewing Flesh... On the Bier" there are some
orchestrated parts and musical intro's. Vocally it's more doomy than
death, as the vocalist in some parts could sing quite emotionally. A
lot of emphasis has been put on song structure (on this 7 track CD
the average song is over 7 minutes). I really hope that doesn't scare
anyone off, as there is a lot of quality (and I guess you could say
quantity too) on this album, check it out.
Various - _...And Even Wolves Hid Their Teeth_
by: Gino Filicetti (9/10) (Cold Meat Industry, 1995)
This compliation has blown me away every time I've listened to it
since day one. If you are one of the ignorant (as I was before
getting this CD) and do not know about Cold Meat Industry and their
nine year history, then you are probably not a hardcore ambient
freak. Cold Meat has been around since 1987 releasing, "dark, morbid,
Scandinavian, beautiful, industrial-ambient music." The only artist I
recognized on this CD is Mortiis from which an exerpt of "En M
ork
Horisont" appears, a rather repetitive piece, but stunning
nonetheless. Some of the most notable tracks on this CD are MZ.412
with "God of Fifty Names" which is my favorite track. It contains
very strange/alien sounds and if you listen closely, you can hear
super faint voices in the background. Ordo Equilibrio also have an
amazing track on this compilation entitled, "Reaping The Future...
The First Harvest." It is a very dark and chilling tune, the best
part being the cruelly cold sounding female voice who speaks without
emotion. Other artists worth mention include Aghast, Ildfrost,
Desiderii Marginis and Arcana. Check this one out people, I find this
kind of music fascinating and refreshing.
Contact: COLD MEAT INDUSTRY, c/o Roger Karmanik
PO Box 1881, 581 17 Linkoping, SWEDEN
Voice/Fax: 011-46-13-10-39-06
Y & T - _Musically Incorrect_ (Fuel Records, 1996)
by: Brian Meloon (0 out of 10)
While it might be a slight exaggeration to say that "My shit can put
out better music than this!", it's not too far from the truth. This
record contains what you'd expect from Y & T: traditional, generic,
party-style rock n' roll, featuring incredibly bad and cheesy lyrics
(i.e. "Starlight, star so bright, first star that I see tonight... I
wish I may, I wish I might, be the one to hold you tight.") and
banal, bluesy, pointless guitar solos, occasionally wah-wah soaked.
If that was all this album was, it would be bad, but this album is
even worse. I will give them credit for naming the album correctly,
for it's certainly musically incorrect to plagarize as many other
artists as they do. In fact, if the music weren't so terribly
generic, it might be an amusing exercise to count the number of bands
they've ripped off. I found ripoffs of Jane's Addiction, the Beatles,
AC/DC (does the intro to "Pretty Prison" sound familiar?), Alice in
Chains, and any one of the faceless "alternative" bands before I
couldn't stand listening to it anymore. The best parts of this album
have a middle-Eastern sound to them, such as "Kashmir" or "Orphaned
Land", but even then, the melodies are so cliched and so generic that
I wouldn't classify them as any better than "listenable". Of course,
the only question that remains is: If you think you might like these
guys, what are you doing reading this zine? (And no, I did NOT buy
this album)
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Finally, the moment of truth has arrived. This being our anniversary
issue, we thought it would be fitting to give our writers a forum to
express THEIR thoughts about certain albums reviewed during the past
year. Whether it'd be praising an album even more, or bringing
trashed albums out of the gutter, you'll read it here, in this
special anniversary column.
Gino's Rebuttals
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dark Tranquility - _The Gallery_ 7/10
orig. in CoC #7 (3/10)
--- I think the angry emails I got about this review speak for
themselves. "Carcass/Brutal Truth rip off" and "uninspired" ?? I
think not.
Therion - _Lepaca Kliffoth_ 8/10
orig. in CoC #2 (10/10)
--- Ok, so I was a _little_ overzealous about this album. BIG DEAL!
Dissection - _Storm Of The Light's Bane_ 8/10
orig. in CoC #4 (6/10)
--- "A cross between Carcass and Iron Maiden" ?!? WTF? Is this the
same Dissection *I* know?
Ultraviolence - _Psychodrama_ 9/10
orig. in CoC #6 (8/10)
--- Now an even MORE amazing album, like I said originally, who said
the only kind heavy music is metal?
Pan-Thy-Monium - _Khaooohs and Kon-Fus-Ion_ 10/10
orig. in CoC #9 (8/10)
--- I put my two cents into the review, and I'll do it again here.
This is still the best album I've heard this year. Magnificent
and brilliant are among some of the weaker adjectives that could
be used to describe THIS album.
A.C. (Anal Cunt) - _40 More Reasons to Hate Us_ 7/10
orig. in CoC #10 (3/10)
--- Seth Putnam is really something else. This album deserves it's
points just for the fact that 42 tracks could fit in 30 minutes.
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Adrian's Rebuttals
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nailbomb - _Proud To Commit Commercial Suicide_ 8/10
orig. in CoC #5 (6/10)
--- Power live record to say the least. Raw, loud and utterly
mindblowing. Nailbomb's exit from the music world deserves an
encore.
GWAR - _Ragnarok_ 1/10
orig. in CoC #5 (4/10)
--- Can you say "passing fad"? Just like the Rubik's Cube and New
Coke, it won't be long till Gwar fall off the planet they tried
so hard to take control of over the last few years.
Mortician - _House By The Cemetary_ 2/10
orig. in CoC #7 (5/10)
--- Stagnant chugs of noise binded with irritating vocals... cool
samples. Other than that: Hated it!
Neurosis - _Through Silver in Blood_ 8/10
orig. in CoC #9 (6/10)
--- Managing to blend the elements of hardcore, metal and industrial
music, Neurosis' latest is an onslaught of visions that shapes
itself into one of the strongest releases this year.
Vinnie Moore - _Out of Nowhere_ *no rating* (disbelief)
orig. in CoC #10 (3/10)
--- What the hell is Vinnie Moore doing in CoC anyways?!?! How the
hell did this get past our crack research team???? :)
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Brian's Rebuttals
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dark Tranquility - _The Gallery_ 8/10
orig. in CoC #7 (3/10)
--- A Carcass/Brutal Truth clone? No way... Melodic death/folk metal,
perhaps not as good as their previous offerings and definately
not as memorable as In Flames, but still very good.
Moonspell - _Wolfheart_ 5/10
orig. in CoC #5 (8/10)
--- Sort of a mix between black metal, gothic, folk, and old Danzig.
There are some really cool parts, but too many really bad parts,
such as the Danzig-meets-Axl Rose vocal part: "Midnight
Ri-ee-ide". Ack.
A.C. (Anal Cunt) - _40 More Reasons To Hate Us_ 5/10
orig. in CoC #10 (3/10)
--- This album achieves its purpose of being entertaining. For that,
it deserves a 5, but don't expect much in the way of music. Best
song: "Bill Scott's Dumb".
Cradle of Filth - _Vempire or Dark FaeryTales in Phallustein_ 9/10
orig. in CoC #11 (8/10)
--- This just keeps getting better and better. "Queen of Winter,
Throned" is amazing. Currently my favorite album from 1996.
Accursed - _Meditations Among the Tombs_ 5/10
orig. in CoC #11 (8/10)
--- A sloppy, under-produced, and cheap-sounding debut album from a
band that sound like they want to be Cradle of Filth. They show
some potential, but never really put it together.
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Steve's Rebuttals
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pan-Thy-Monium - _Khaooohs and Kon-Fus-Ion_ 10/10
orig. in CoC #9 (8/10)
--- I hated to give a 10/10 to this, the first CD I ever reviewed for
CoC, but I should have. P-T-M III is the greatest fusion of pure
metallic power and astounding creativity that I have ever heard.
Abigor - _Nachthymnen_ 7/10
orig. in CoC #9 (6/10)
--- I think this one's a bit weak in the guitar department, but
overall it's still way more inventive than most black metal
releases.
Cradle of Filth - _Vempire or Dark FaeryTales in Phallustein_ 6/10
orig. in CoC #10 (8/10)
--- Musically this isn't bad, but in places it just gets incredibly
hokey, florid, and overwrought. The 'Shock Theater' style speech
about werewolves is stupefyingly corny, and all the shrieking
gets old fast.
Bathory - _Octagon_ 5/10
orig. in CoC #3 (8/10)
--- This isn't a total piece of crap - unless, that is, you compare
it to _Blood Fire Death_, or _The Return_. Those classic older
releases just -totally- shred this one in terms of unbridled
power and speed.
Profane Grace - _Divination of Souls_ 4/10
orig. in CoC #9 (7/10)
--- This dark-ritual-ambient CD has its moments, but it's super
monotonous. And it's totally eclipsed by the amazing ritual music
of Equimanthorn (members of Absu and Necromantia, among others).
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Adam's Rebuttals
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dark Tranquillity - _The Gallery_ 7/10
orig. in CoC #7 (3/10)
--- It is DEFINITELY not this bad. Carcass/Brutal Truth rip-off
band?? Um, no. It's not the greatest album I've heard, but
musically and vocally it's pretty good.
Mortician - _House By The Cemetary_ 1/10
orig. in CoC #7 (5/10)
--- Gino, you MUST have been in a good mood!! Lousy production,
shitty drum machine (you were right when you said the blast beats
were a joke!!) and ZERO originality. Makes for a great coaster!!!
Fleshcrawl - _Bloodsoul_ 3/10
orig. in CoC #10 (7/10)
--- I couldn't find one song on this that I liked. It all sounded the
same, especially the drumming. A total and complete mess......
Impaled Nazarene - _Latex Cult_ 6/10
orig in Coc #10 (9/10)
--- Actually I was disappointed by this. I really liked _Suomi
Finland Perkele_, and I thought this was a step backwards. Other
than being a little repetitive, it was pretty good, but not great.
Porno - _Give Me a Pistol_ (****-)
orig. in CoC #10 (**---)
--- I thought it had a very fresh sound, combining alternative &
death. Even the alternative songs I thought were good, this from
someone who doesn't like the genre!!
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Your best source of information on the newest of the new, and the
deepest of the underground, New Noise is the place to read about all
the coolest shit you never thought existed! And if you have a band,
don't forget to send us your demo with a bio if you want to be
reviewed; our address is included in the zine's header.
Scoring: ***** -- I see a record deal in the future
**** -- Great piece of work
*** -- Good effort
** -- A major overhaul is in order
* -- A career change is advisable
Absonant Cadence - _Emergence_ (7 track demo)
by: Adam Wasylyk (*****)
It seems as though the powerful Quebec metal scene has rubbed off
onto Absonant Cadence, who with this seven song demo have truly
impressed me (check my top five from last issue, and my top ten in
this issue). Playing their style of death metal, there is a good
balance of blast beats and slower, more melodic parts. Starting off
with the powerful title track, it doesn't let up from there. I can't
quite think of a band that they sound like, as their sound is very
much unique. Vocally they are like the average death metal band, but
musically their sound compares to none. The occasional sung part is
also present in some of the songs. "Genocide" is by far my favorite
track, it has everything! Both death grunting and singing, good
guitaring and the bass and keyboards are simply amazing!. "Nocturnal
Cycle" is great too (especially drumming-wise), going from slow to
blast beat to slow and so on. A little more than half an hour, you
get a lot of quality death metal. Great stuff.
Contact: ABSONANT CADENCE, c/o Dominic Simard, 2183, Rue Vimy
Chicoutimi, Quebec, G7G-3X3, CANADA
Body Bag - _Hate Crimes_ (9 track demo)
by: Adam Wasylyk (***--)
Out with their independant album _Hate Crimes_, BODY BAG play some
interesting death metal but at times it becames hard to distinguish
songs from each other. A five piece, it includes former
MASTER/ABOMINATION (remember them???) drummer Aaron Nickeas, and at
one point included ABOMINATION guitarist Dean Chioles until he was
diagnosed with Lou Gherig's Disease and therefore had to leave the
band. Starting off with the memorable "Premeditated" and going on to
play other songs well like "Anger as a Gift", "Rape the Casket
(Bleed)" and "Ghastly Slayings" but most of the other songs sounded
the same. Production could be a bit better too. An average release.
Contact: BODY BAG, c/o Chris Kaiser, 336 W. Lake St. #1
Barrington, Illinois, 60010, U.S.A.
Chamber Seven - _Chamber Seven_ (4 track demo)
by: Gino Filicetti (*----)
Just when you thought we were far enough into the nineties for new
bands to forget about the ways of old, comes along a band like
Chamber Seven. From opening intro to closing riff this demo stank of
mediocre eighties thrash, comparable to old _Fistful of Metal_
Anthrax in sound and structure. This band hails from Sunnyvale
California and that's about all I know about them except that their
singer has recently departed because of a heavy college workload.
Good thing for the band because the vocals are the worst part of this
demo. The singer and bass player about both female, I can't say much
about the bass lines because they sounded top notch to me, but the
vocals reeked of shit the whole way through, sounding like a bad DRI
impersonation. Personally, I hate carving up an indie band like this,
but in this case, maybe that's what Chamber Seven needs, a good wake
up call, because I can't see a record deal EVER being in the works
with a demo like this.
Disarray - _Widespread Human Disaster_ (5 track demo)
by: Adrian Bromley (****-)
Wow!!! The flyer accompanying the demo tape said "...the heaviest
music you'll hear from Tennessee..." and I can vouch for them being
"the heaviest thing" that I have probably ever heard from that U.S.
state, and well, probably the only band I have heard from there.
Starting out with the brutal opener of "Holocaust" this Tennessee
quartet rips through five ferocious songs that send out messages of
anger, frustration and intensity. With their Pantera meets Testament
sound and direction, the band never seems to loose the momentum they
began with in the opening number. Rough and tumble numbers like
"Death Plague Jesus" and "Powered By hate" add more depth to the
existence of hate and anger on this outing and another bonus is that
this demo tape also sounds great. Even on maximum volume it still
sounds killer. I'd like to see what the band can do with their sound
if it ever makes the CD format. Great demo and I'm looking forward to
what these four guys can do in the future.
Contact: DISARRAY, P.O. Box 975, Dickson, Tennesse, 37055, USA
Voice: (615) 446-1998
Embrace - _Coven The Eternal_ (9 track demo)
by: Adrian Bromley (*****)
For most music critics the growth of a band that "we" usually see is
from their debut album onward. We don't get to see the early days of
the band, early lineup changes or different styles experimented with.
We are usually provided a sound and image and either we love or hate
it having rarely any knowledge of a band other than a bio. Can't be
said with Kitchener gothic/death metal quartet Embrace as this music
critic has seen this band blossom from a quite inventive band into
one of Ontario's (if not Canada's) most impressive young acts of this
musical genre. _Coven The Eternal_, their debut full-length CD,
releases haunting vocals, eerie guitars and an atmospheric
tranquillity that will transport listeners into another frame of
mind. At 71-minutes plus, the nine songs found on _CTE_ are an
electrifying bombardment of musical growth and understanding that has
shaped itself into one monstrous wall of complexity and intrigue led
by sinister riffs and thought-provoking poetry/lyrics. Songs like the
14-minute epic "Twilight Soul," "Obscured" or the stride of "Fall Of
Farewell" follow in the footsteps of such goth/metal bands as My
Dying Bride or multi-visioned bands like Therion and Edge Of Sanity
with their opera-like, almost soliloquy approach of delivering
harmonies and melody, but still managing to control the crunch of a
band eager to feed its violent but beautiful wrath upon us. As
well,_CTE_ showcases Embrace's material as both well-crafted and
mighty at the same time. The band, having molded their sound through
two demos (1995's self-titled and 1996's 4-song Promo/Demo), have
worked hard to strengthen earlier material like "The Living End,"
"Descendence," and "Solitude" into well-executed epics that leave
lasting and memorable impressions. _CTE_ is by far of the strongest
independent records I have heard in sometime. A magnificent release.
Contact: EMBRACE, 470 Driftwood Dr.
Kitchener, Ontario, N2N-1S6, CANADA
Voice: (519) 744-6404 or (519) 744-5204 Fax: (519) 741-9082
Endaymynion - _Thy Art_ (9 track demo)
by: Brian Meloon (****-)
These guys (and a girl) are from Italy. Although there are nine
tracks on the demo, five of them are very short, leaving only four
real tracks, of which one is an instrumental. Their sound is very
diverse, ranging from heavy speed metal sections to light sections
with piano and flutes, and everywhere in between. It reminds me of a
cross between Cynic's _Focus_ and Thought Industry's _Songs For
Insects_. Since these are two of my favorite records, I am biased
toward their style. However, this effort isn't as good as either of
those two albums, mainly because of their execution. The production
is decent, but a little muddy, making it difficult to hear exactly
what's going on at times. Their chaotic style adds to this, since
there are often a few melodic ideas going on at the same time, and
parts seem to appear out of nowhere and then vanish. This certainly
makes for a challenging listen. The playing is a little sloppy at
points too, with a generally loose feel, and some obvious timing
mistakes. Overall it's good though, with good drumming, and some
interesting and varied keyboard work. Unfortunately, at times, they
sound out of tune, which really hurts their overall effect. Some of
the guitar lines suffer from this, but the worst culprit is vocalist
Jessica, whose voice is not only whiny, but often flat. Her vocals
are the main vocals, but there are a few sections of raspy vocals,
which are rather weak, and mixed too low. Still, this effort has a
lot of good ideas and an original sound to it, so I'd recommend it,
but there's room for improvement.
Contact: ENDAYMYNION, c/o Giuliano Marzola, via Altina 124/g,
30030 Favaro Veneto (VE), ITALY
email: teskio@spiro.fisica.unipd.it
Filthboy - _Not Again..._ (9 track demo)
by: Gino Filicetti (****-)
Once again, our ears are blessed with the sound of Pittsburgh's
coolest bunch of fuckers, Filthboy. This time around Kevin and Buzzy
are no longer a duet, with the addition of drummer Lee Fisher and
bassist Dan Ford, Filthboy has come to fulfill the prophecies and
become a band in the truest sense of the word. Many of you may
remember their name from way back in CoC #2 when I heard their first
demo and shit my pants. Well my friends, the Filthy ones have come a
long way with _Not Again..._ showing us that there truly are no
boundaries but the ones we make for ourselves. Of the nine tracks
contained herein, one is from the earliest days of this project's
life; "Penetration" was written by Kevin back before the Filthboy tag
was stapled to this here band. Even though it's old, I really like
this song, it has a lot of synth and techno elements to it (including
a superb imitation of old Atari 2600 sound effects!) and the vocals
are a spoken word suicide speech. Other newer masterpieces include,
"Righteousness" a heavy techno-type song, "Power Of" a break-neck
blast-beat-fest and "Alone" a slow song with a very gothic feel to
it, dark interludes supplemented with growls make this song a jewel.
The only drawback to this demo is that the Filthboys are still
recording on a four-track and therefore are forced to continue using
a drum machine. I'm scared to think of what this band would sound
like if the full drumming force of Lee could be exploited on their
recordings. I guess only time and a record deal will tell.
Jesus Skin - _Jesus Skin_ (4 track demo)
by: Adam Wasylyk (*----)
A two piece, Jesus Skin release this self titled demo which I feel
STILL needs alot of work. The opening song "Feast" is average as a
song by itself, but the vocals are a complete mess!! They're so low
that they are completely laughable. Following is "TV Scream" which
consists of samples and sound bytes, but has little appeal. The other
two songs sound more like the song "Feast", average (at best) music
and vocals that need a complete overhaul. Better production and
vocals may have saved this. Last I heard the guitarist/vocalist had
moved away from Ohio, but the band is still alive and continue to
work (although I'm wondering as to how). Send $3 for a copy of _Jesus
Skin_
Contact: JESUS SKIN, PO Box 3249
Scottsdale, AZ, 85271, U.S.A.
email: RV2Wasted@aol.com or Beast983@aol.com
Noctophilia - _Noctophilia_ (10 track demo)
by: Ryan Hair (**---)
Another local band from around were I live. The lead singer lives a
few miles from my house. My first impression was, "What the hell?
Sounds like they recorded this through the lead singer's mic!" The
production sucks shit! Though they do play descent death metal. Most
of the vocals are growling to barking. The drums and singer seem for
the most part to stand out, because they are clear compared to the
guitars. I can almost swear there isn't any bass guitar at all. They
create some good technical death metal, while staying melodic. A
local band worth following and supporting.
Contact: NOCTOPHILIA, c/o Tom Gibbs
106 Fourth St. (VCL), Jackson, MI, 49203, USA
Nun Slaughter - _Face of Evil_ (7 track demo)
by: Adam Wasylyk (**---)
A four piece death metal outfit, Nun Slaughter on this seven song
demo play some interesting and not-so interesting music. The opening
track "Power of Darkness" is interesting in it's dueling vocal
exchanges. On the rest of the demo the rare blast beat can be heard
(but not too clearly or powerfully), the guitars are weak while the
vocals are not bad. Shitty production that really affects the sound
and the power the band are trying to show/have.
Contact: NUN SLAUGHTER, 132 Old Village Lane
Bethel Park, PA, 15102, U.S.A.
Pychus - _Brainmower_ (14 track demo)
by: Adrian Bromley (****-)
Montreal noise enthusiasts and destruction aficionados Psychus have
finally taken the time to assemble a full-length release (since
forming in 1988 and releasing dozens of cassettes/demos) of both old
and newer material. The results? A pretty fucked up assortment of
industrial/techno/goth ditties - i.e. "Endorphinate," "This Is The
Burn" and "Tottering Structures" - that shine with that "destructive
feel" to it. Imagine if you will the blending of some of the darker
qualities of bands like Ministry, NIN, Skinny Puppy and Sisters Of
Mercy and add the maniacal mindset and volume of this four-piece.
Scary eh? The noises and samples, let alone the pure awkwardness of
this LP, makes it stand out from what other bands of this variety
across Canada are doing. Truly in their own league, Pychus (in some
way or another) scared the hell out of me with _Brainmower_. I think
I need a night light now.
Iron Rainbow - _Never Settle for Less than Metal_ (3 track demo)
by: Adam Wasylyk (***--)
Heavy metal!! That is indeed what IRON RAINBOW play on this three
song demo. "Magic Lord of Darkness", "The Castle" and "Enter the
Green Dome" are all very addicting and played well, especially "The
Castle" with it's catchy chorus. In all three songs the bass plays a
big part, which really gave the songs alot of their power. Their
sound reminds me a lot of FU MANCHU and BLACK SABBATH. Production is
pretty good, the mix allows all the instruments to be well heard. A
fine release and what heavy metal should really sound like.
Contact: IRON RAINBOW, P.O Box 932
Middle Island, N.Y., 11953, USA
Solus - _Slave Of Mind_ (9 track demo)
by: Adrian Bromley (****-)
For those that know not of Canada's Solus, may I recommend contacting
the below address for a copy of this, their full-length debut CD
_Slave Of Mind_ - it shreds! Heaviness and aggression prevails
throughout this 9-song offering of some of the most exciting death
metal to come out of Canada in a while. Touted as "one of Canada's
heaviest underground bands" Solus live up to that assessment with the
mind-blowing flow of pure death qualities from song to song. Be
ripped apart by "Faultless," "Seven Sisters" and "Souls Of Empty" or
just mesmerized by the professional intensity and demeanor of songs
like "Deceiver" or "Caustic." The key to Solus' success with this
debut CD is the fact that the band recruited amazing producer Rob
Sanzo (Signal To Noise Studios in Toronto) to help capture the
strength of the band, as well as a solid live feel to the record.
This record sweats with gargantuan riffs and vocals that'll leave any
death metal fan in a state of confusion.
Contact: SOLUS, Skinmask Productions #271 Station B
Toronto, Ont., Canada, M5T-2W1
Voice: (416) 536-8319
Strangers - _End of the Rainbow_ (12 track demo)
by: Brian Meloon (**---)
These guys are from Texas, and are good enough at what they do. The
only problem is that what they do isn't very interesting. It's
basically cliche'd "progressive/power metal" (a commonly used
misnomer, as the music is neither progressive nor powerful), with a
large rock n' roll and mid-80s influence. At times, they remind me
vaguely of Crimson Glory; perhaps "a rock n' roll version of Crimson
Glory" would be an accurate description of their sound. The
production is decent for a demo, but isn't great. The playing is
solid, but they don't really attempt any complex stuff, and most of
the guitar solos are pointless and bluesy. The lyrics are very bad at
times, such as the chorus to "You're Gonna Get It": "You're gonna get
it... you don't want it... you're gonna get it now. You're gonna get
it... you don't want it... so get the hell outta town." They do show
some balls occasionally, and a few parts caught my attention, but for
the most part, this is tame stuff. I guess I'd describe these guys as
a decent "party rock/metal" band, but not much more.
Contact: STRANGERS, Voice: (214) 414-6862 or (214) 437-2833
Email: wworth@intex.net (Courtney Whitworth)
Sulkus - _Promo '96_ (3 track demo)
by: Adam Wasylyk (***--)
Sulkus are a four piece death metal outfit from Australia who
describe their musical style as "Death-Groove", which is an accurate
enough description for what can be found on their "Promo '96" demo.
Combining elements of death metal and traditional metal, the 3 songs
here are played well and include enough tempo changes to keep it from
becoming repetitive or boring. Good production also helps out their
sound. My only complaint is it's only 3 songs, just when I was
getting into it was over. For $2 and postage you really can't go
wrong.
Contact: SULKUS, P.O. Box 346
Jannali 2226, NSW AUSTRALIA
Sunride - _Sunride_ (5 track demo)
by: Gino Filicetti (*****)
Amazing, excellent, great, fucking awesome. What more can I say about
this Finnish band that has just blown me away? From the first second
of the lead-off track, "Down," to the final riffs of the last song
simply entitled, "Untitled," my toes never stopped tapping. Sunride
came into existance in January of 1993 as a quartet and later added a
bassist to the fold. This is the band's first studio demo tape, prior
to this Sunride had only released rehearsal tapes recorded from home.
The music here just grabs you, and makes you want to groove with the
fuzz of the highly distorted guitars. Similarities to Kyuss come to
mind when listening to this tape, but the heaviness present here
could never be achieved by the aforementioned band. The vocals are
what sets Sunride apart however, they have the harsh, raspy qualities
of death vox, but not the growling or gurgling aspects. Finland has
once again produced an excellent band that I am sure we will be
hearing big things about, in a very short while. Be sure and grab
this tape, you can thank me after you've heard for yourself.
NOTE: I first heard about this band from the guitarist Wille, who I
am sure I met on IRC. Wille, if you are reading this, please
email me at <ginof@io.org> because I've lost your email
address, thanks!
Contact: SUNRIDE, c/o Wille Naukkarimen, Kaakonpyrsto 4 D 34
40340 Jyvaskyla, FINLAND
Send $5 US or 20 Fim for a copy of _Sunride_
Torquemada - _Promo 1996_ (3 track demo)
by: Adrian Bromley (**---)
With just three songs included on this demo tape, it is rather hard
to see what this Italian thrash/death metal band is trying to
accomplish. With apparent interest in the past with their successful
demo tapes (_Prelude_ and _In My Eyes, Darkly_) from the European
metal community and since signing with Monument Records (in 1995) for
release of their second demo, the band has done some studio time and
come up with these three songs that supposedly carry on with their
need to write brutal music, though providing meaningful lyrics of
great depth as they head into 1996. Sounding like a cross between
Obituary and Sepultura (more of the latter), Torquemada's sound is
rather common in this day and age. Nothing seems to be too different
or interesting and with some stagnant riffs and uninspired screams of
anger thrown throughout the record, one can only look upon this demo
tape as something that'll either escalate into more promising metal
music or a sign of creativity slowly diminishing.
Towpath - _Towpath_ (8 track demo)
by: Adam Wasylyk (***--)
What the hell is this???? Towpath combine many musical styles into
their sound like funk, death, thrash and noise and also use a wide
variety of vocal styles like chanting, death/black vocals, screaming
and even what sounds like choir boy singing. Lyrically, on the first
song, "The 5 Gates of Riverside" it deals with the physical,
emotional and sexual abuse they witnessed growing up in their
hometown. But on the second song they sing about force feeding bags
of rotting meat?? They go on to sing about, well, let me see, a
"Skrotum Without Testes", necrophilia while "Desecrating the Grave of
Carol Hathy", and a "Mouthful of Bag" (must I say what the bag is??).
However, musically it's A LOT better. Most of the songs are pretty
catchy in their own way, but the lyrics are pretty fucking stupid.
Are these guys in high school or something??? These guys need a
girlfriend, and fast!!! Not for the easily offended.
Contact: TOWPATH, P.O. Box 638
Kenmore, N.Y., 14217, U.S.A.
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/\ _`\ /\ \ /\ \__ __
\ \ \/\_\\ \ \___ __ ___\ \ ,_\/\_\ ___
\ \ \/_/_\ \ _ `\ /'__`\ / __`\ \ \/\/\ \ /'___\
\ \ \L\ \\ \ \ \ \/\ \L\.\_/\ \L\ \ \ \_\ \ \/\ \__/
\ \____/ \ \_\ \_\ \__/.\_\ \____/\ \__\\ \_\ \____\
\/___/ \/_/\/_/\/__/\/_/\/___/ \/__/ \/_/\/____/
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\ \ \/\_\ ___ ___ ___ __ _ __\ \ ,_\ ____
\ \ \/_/_ / __`\ /' _ `\ /'___\ /'__`\/\`'__\ \ \/ /',__\
\ \ \L\ \/\ \L\ \/\ \/\ \/\ \__//\ __/\ \ \/ \ \ \_/\__, `\
\ \____/\ \____/\ \_\ \_\ \____\ \____\\ \_\ \ \__\/\____/
\/___/ \/___/ \/_/\/_/\/____/\/____/ \/_/ \/__/\/___/
Here is where Chronicles of Chaos gives you the lowdown on the latest
shows coming your way. Check out Chaotic Concerts every month for the
scoop on the bands brutalizing the masses with their own form of
terror.
M I L W A U K E E ' S M E T A L M O N S T E R
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chronicles of Chaos covers the Tenth Anniversary of the Metalfest
At the Eagle's Auditorium in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
July 26 & 27, 1996, Attendance: 3,000 (approx.)
Over the last few years the Milwaukee Metalfest has had its
share of bad times with disorganization, last minute band
cancellations and a "pay-to-play" policy. But for this year's 10th
anniversary, the surprise, aside from the many great acts showcasing
their wares, was organization. A definite plus seeing that I had
spent 10 hours in a car en route from Toronto, Canada to Milwaukee to
catch the two-day showcase.
Arriving in Milwaukee on the night before the Fest, for dinner I
ate at one of America's finest Burger King's. Afterwards checking in
to our hotel for a much needed night's sleep in preparation for the
first day's festivities.
The show was slated to start at 5pm, so with some time to burn I
went on a tour of the Miller Brewery....... but that's another story.
When I arrived at Eagles Auditorium, it was pretty much the way I had
expected it to look like. I went in and found the band lists for the
Rave and Ballroom stages already up, but with only one list it was
pretty crowded, even to just take a peek. After copying the list down
I noticed that the bigger bands wouldn't be playing for awhile so I
headed to the Rave stage to check out some of the unsigned death
metal acts. I walked in and heard the band SARCOPHAGY in the middle
of their set. From Indiana, brutal death metal was their calling
card, entertaining to watch but not too memorable music-wise.
Following were EUPHORIC EVISCERATION, who played more death metal and
fared better at it. After them played Illinois's RITUAL, a metal band
with some death influence who played a more interesting set:
something different than just death metal.
I then headed upstairs to the Ballroom to watch MORBID SYMPHONY.
From Liverpool, England they also played metal with some death
influences, with some singing too. The crowd was still scarce, but it
was still early.
I headed back downstairs to see another unsigned death band
called BRICK. I learned after their set that the singer was a
replacement, and the previous singer quit that day. The guitarist,
seeing the lack of enthusiasm from the crowd proceeded to tell them
off. Well, that's one way to ensure you won't sell any demo's!
Anyway, a not-so-bad set taking the vocalist into consideration.
I then headed back upstairs to the Ballroom to see the one of
the Metalfest headliners: CANNIBAL CORPSE. Starting their set with a
track off their new album _Vile_, this was the first time I had seen
them live (my punishment for living in a town where the metal scene
sucks). George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher seemed to fit right in, tearing
into each number. Some songs to follow were "Stripped, Raped and
Strangled", "Fucked with a Knife", "Maggots", "Devoured by Vermin"
(with video play on the show LOUD on Much Music in Canada) and
finished off with "Hammer Smashed Face". A well played set, and a
good crowd on-hand too
I then headed back downstairs (whew!!, these stairs are
tiring!!) to catch JUNGLE ROT. Playing an impressive set of death
metal, the Rave room became a haven for death fans as LIFE OF AGONY
were playing upstairs.
Noticing that the bands on both stages were worth missing, it
was the perfect opportunity to check out the vendors!! This year,
representatives from Napalm Records, Mosh Pit Records (who of course
put out Pit Magazine) and those from the Sounds of Death 'zine were
present. After buying a couple of CD's I headed back to the Rave
stage where the bigger and more established death bands were almost
ready to start.
I entered and awaited the music of BRUTALITY. To tell the truth
I wasn't all too impressed with their sound. The PA, which has been
notorious in prior years for its lousy sound was to blame, as at
times it sounded like a wall of noise. Starting with (well, the first
song title I could actually hear) was "When the Sky Turns Black", and
went on to play BLACK SABBATH's "Electric Funeral" and some tunes off
their up-coming album. Next were INTERNAL BLEEDING, just off their
tour with SIX FEET UNDER and this being their third Metalfest in a
row. They've developed quite a fan base here as you could tell from
the crowd, whose response was one of the biggest for any of the death
metal bands on the bill. The band also got very much involved with
the crowd, the singer Frank Rini many times stage diving and surfing
on the crowd while singing, while guitarist Chris Perveus playing
guitar on the barricade that separated the fans from the stage.
Playing some songs off their up-coming album _Extinction of
Benevolence_ (expected in early '97), they also played some songs off
_Voracious Contempt_ like "Humanicide", "God of Subservience" and
"Reflection of Ignorance". A good set, and a real crowd pleaser too.
MONSTROSITY had a tough act to follow, playing both old and tracks
off their upcoming album _Millennium_, which is due to be released
anytime now. Songs like "Ceremonial Void", "Imperial Doom" and "Final
Cremation" were played well, with new vocalist Jason Avery
(ex-Eulogy) fitting right in. Unfortunately they suffered the same
fate as BRUTALITY, the music lost its power and sounded at times just
like noise, nothing like their recorded material. Really too bad, but
it was good to see that the absence of George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher
hadn't affected them at all.
Seeing the first minute of the next band, I decided to head back
upstairs and end up catch the end of ANTHRAX's set. The majority of
Metalfest fans already enjoying their set, I watched while they
played "Bring the Noise" and wasn't too impressed. Since the Rave
stage was all but done I really had no other choice but to stay. The
curtains open, and the MISFITS rip into one of their many songs on
the night. Not being a fan I didn't know many of songs that were
being played, other than "Last Caress", which I'm sure I knew from
when I was a fan of METALLICA. I was impressed by their punk sound,
but I left a little early to avoid the crowds, and to get back to the
hotel as I was tired, and Saturday would be a full day, from 12pm to
2am. It would be a very long day.
Waking up a little late and after eating lunch we headed to
Eagles Auditorium for another day of music. I arrived at around 12:30
and entered the Rave room to see COPHALIC CARNAGE starting into their
set. I remembered the singer having a resemblance to Kevin Sharp,
they played another set of generic death metal (with many more to
come).
After their set someone stepped up to the mike and said a band
called CYANOSIS, a death metal band were going to play upstairs.
Getting there early, I leaned against the barricade so that I'd have
a good spot to watch and hear the band. CYANOSIS finished their sound
check and went into another set of mediocre death metal. With them
being on the Ballroom stage, I was actually expecting more but I got
less. The band was from Milwaukee, so that explained the good crowd
on hand for their set. Next up were CORPSICLE, who were much more
competent and talented than CYANOSIS, playing an entertaining set of
death metal. I left early to head back downstairs to see FLESHGRIND.
All I had heard from FLESHGRIND was but a single track off a
compilation, so I didn't quite know what to expect. Expecting to hear
another death/grind band, they were good at playing fast and great to
watch. A good set, but all of these death/grind bands were getting me
confused as to which band played what. The following band I saw was
also one of the best. AVERNUS played what I call "tribal metal". With
two bongo drum players, a keyboardist, a drummer, three guitarists
and a female singer there was a lot to watch on-stage. The band
played about 3 or 4 fairly lengthy songs and I was truly wanting
more!! A worthy break from the death/grind bands. I found it most
puzzling when I found out later that these guys were actually
unsigned! I was starting to think to myself "Where are the black
metal bands??". Well, my question was soon answered when corpse
painted CURSE from Connecticut took the stage. The three piece played
an average set, the PA was really starting to hurt my ears. Standing
beside a girder really helped cut out some of the high end noise. Los
Angeles black/death band SADISTIC INTENT came on in their studded
leather and played a rather good set, but I remember them going about
15 minutes over their designated time. This of course made the Rave
stage fall behind the Ballroom, but eventually it did catch up.
BLOODSTORM, another corpse-painted black metal band then played,
definitely playing a better set than CURSE. By this time I was in the
balcony, not wanting to screw up my ears like I did the previous
night.
Looking at my band list, I saw it was time to head back upstairs
to see FU MANCHU. I had seen them the previous week on their Toronto
tour stop with ORANGE 9MM and CLUTCH. So seeing them gave me the
opportunity to directly compare the two sets sound-wise. The sound
was a lot worse here. The PA really didn't do them justice. Having a
strong bass sound in Toronto, I really couldn't here it at all from
where I was standing. Playing songs off of _In Search Of..._ like
"Regal Begal" and "Missing Link", it was a good set, but only average
after what the PA did to it. OPPRESSOR were next and played a great
set of death metal, playing new and old tunes, their sophomore album
_Agony_ expected sometime next month. I stuck around for some of
MORDA SKULD's set which I found to be mediocre and not too exciting.
Downstairs I went to catch some of KRABATHOR's set.
KRABATHOR from the Czech Republic put on a solid death metal
set, but not all too memorable. I should have stayed for MORDA SKULD.
Coming up soon on the Rave stage were three of the bigger death/black
bands, but with SUFFOCATION to play soon upstairs some of it would
have to be missed. ACHERON took the stage with an "Acheron" banner
behind the drummer (every band should have had a banner, then I
wouldn't have had to keep asking someone "Which band is this?"). With
both guitarists bald, at least that was memorable. Their black/death
set was pretty good, the on-stage expression of their belief in
Satanism was strong. Next were VITAL REMAINS. Smoke filled the Rave
stage and most of the room. A banner of the baphomet was illuminated.
One of the more memorable sets of the Fest, they went into their set
playing some newer and older songs, such as the older "War of
Paradise", off _Let Us Pray_.
During the last minutes of VITAL REMAINS I left early to make
sure I caught SUFFOCATION. Sure enough I was there with plenty of
time. Starting off ferociously with one of my favorite songs,
"Infecting the Crypts," they went on to play a variety of songs off
most of their albums. Very heavy and at times very fast!!! What
surprised me was the length of the set. After about six songs, that
was it! I, along with a lot of the crowd were disappointed, wanting
to hear more.
I then ran back downstairs to catch INCANTATION. Surprisingly
alot of the crowd didn't follow me for some reason. Playing some of
their more popular songs like "Emaciated Holy Figure", the vocals
were particularly low, so low I sometimes couldn't hear him over the
guitars. Getting an INCANTATION newsletter earlier, I was interested
to read that they are breaking away from Relapse Records and are
working on two Mini CD's for Repulse Records, one CD being from a
live show and the other having some new songs and a couple of covers.
At this point, it was over for me. I had seen every band that I
wanted to see. If things somehow screwed up from here on in, it
wouldn't matter as I had seen all that I desired to see. However,
things would not screw up, and there was still plenty of bands to see
and plenty of music to hear.
After seeing the last band I wanted to see on the Rave stage, I
would spend the rest of the Metalfest preferably sitting somewhere in
the Ballroom. I walked in on Canadian boys VOIVOD who were well into
their set. Playing their speed/thrash in support of their latest
(released some time ago) album _Negatron_, the crowd seemed pretty
much into them, as was I.
Next were CLUTCH, who as I said earlier I had seen in Toronto.
Playing an competent set, it had me wondering "When are they going to
play 'A Shotgun Named Marcus'??". Anyway the band played on for the
good part of an hour, much to the delight of the crowd, which
consisted of almost all the fans in the building.
To close out the Metalfest was GWAR. Being the first time I had
seen them, I didn't quite know what to expect. When the curtains
opened, GWAR went into their set of mediocre punk rock. What
impressed me were the theatrics of the band, it was quite
entertaining to watch. The band's juvenile stage humor had me in
hysterics. Songs I liked (and recognized) were "Sick of You" and one
of their encore's "Ham on the Bone". A good band to finish off the
Fest and clean the palate.
Now, my afterthoughts on the Fest. First off, I'm awfully glad I
picked this year to go, as the organization was just fantastic. The
Rave stage did fall back by about a half hour but it did catch up.
Most of the bands scheduled to play did so, so there weren't any
last-minute cancellations or no-shows. Which brings me to one of the
controversies of this years show.
I had learned about a month before the show that the promoters
were advertising bands on the bill without even asking them to play.
IMMORTAL and ABSU were put on the bill early, but later were
announced they weren't playing. One of the biggest black metal bands
right now, MAYHEM, were hyped to play the Metalfest but in actuality
were never contacted to play in the first place. Manheim, the former
drummer of MAYHEM refuted the show rumors on the internet by posting
a message saying that "Necro (butcher, bass player) is not happy
about this false advertising, when I told him about it this weekend.
So to all you fans out there : The True Mayhem are NOT doing any
conserts (sic) in US this summer". This comment is echoed in this
year's Metal Fest Magazine, stating that "Mayhem were never slated to
play this years show, but were advertised as such". Michael Hunt
Publishing also stated that it will no longer be affiliated with
Milwaukee Metal Mania, due to the MAYHEM incident, the continuation
of pay to play, and the absence of an apology to the bands and labels
for last year's show.
On the topic of Michael Hunt Publishing, it seems that they
still haven't learned from their mistakes. Those who remember on last
year's compilation CD there was a RaHoWa (which stands for RAcial
HOly WAr) track called "The Snow Fell". Well, guess what was on CD
#3, track #4??? You guessed it!! RaHoWa's "Might is Right". And
thumbing threw the Metal Fest Magazine, I stumbled onto a RaHoWa CD
review and in one of the articles some racist language that I won't
bother to repeat.
Notable bands that were no-shows were MALEVOLENT CREATION (not
sure if they were ever scheduled to play) and V.O.D. (or Voice of
Destruction) from South Africa, who I heard were unable to come up
with the money to get from the UK, where they were presently to get
to Milwaukee.
Overall it was a great show. There were alot of great bands that
played, almost every one of them I would never have got the chance to
see. Meeting some of the bands and fans was also a great experience
in itself. I'm definitely thinking about going back again next year,
I'm just hoping they can get it this well organized for next year too.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
T H E L O N D O N L E T - D O W N
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The London Death Fest at the Embassy in London, Ontario
by: Adam Wasylyk
After enduring a 4 hour ride (absolutely nothing compared to my
Milwaukee Metalfest car ride) I finally arrived at this year's London
Death Fest venue, The Embassy. Housing fairly recent Deicide and
Suffocation shows, and me hearing that the London metal scene was
very strong, I was expecting a good turnout. Shopping at a local
record store before the show, I return in time and took a seat.
Disappointed at the size of the crowd that had shown up so far, the
first band on the bill were a band called JOE DUMPSTER. Playing their
brand of pop/punk, I was at the least taken by surprise. Hardly a
band to be on this bill, but played an average set and to my delight
were off the stage relatively quickly. Next were BURNING MOON, who
had travelled from Toronto for the show. Playing a great set of black
metal and playing a good selection of songs from their demo (see
issue #10 for my demo review) and also playing CELTIC FROST and DEATH
covers, both of which were done well. With a woman dancing
seductively on-stage during their set, it was she, not the band, that
had most of the audience watching. Following (and also lastly) were
local act PORNO. Seeing them at the Toronto Death Fest, their sound
was less intense as I remembered it, with obvious reasons. The female
singer/dancer was not present and the old drummer was gone. The lack
of their presence was definitely felt. The guitarist now filled the
drumming role, he did an adequate, but not a better job at it. With
all three members contributing vocals, PORNO played a good set of
mostly death metal with not too much else (also see issue #10 for
Alain's demo review, an unfair one but a demo review anyway :-).
After the show, I was disappointed on a number of levels. First, the
small number of bands that played. With other great London acts like
SUMMERTIME DAISIES and BLOOD OF CHRIST not in attendance, PORNO were
the only London act to play. Second, the number of fans. There must
have been maybe 60 at the most, hell there were more fans at the
Toronto Death Fest!!! Perhaps a lack of advertising is to blame. I
really hope so, as it wasn't worth going all the way to London to see
two bands that I could see play in Toronto.
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S L A Y E R S L A U G H T E R S T H E S A C R E D S H O E
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Slayer with Unsane at The Trocadero
Philadelphia, PA, August 10, 1996
by: Drew Schinzel <drew@magpage.com>
I am not a huge Slayer fan, owning only two of their albums
prior to the show, but since metal concerts are so rare in this area
I decided it would definitely be worth it to make the hour or so trip
to Philadelphia to see one of metal's most influential bands. The
doors opened at 7pm, and I arrived around 7:30. Seeing as how the
line was stretching for a few blocks down the street from the door, I
was glad I'd bought my ticket before hand. The line wasn't for the
box office though, it was because everyone (I mean everyone) had to
be patted down and checked for knives, etc. [and camera/recording
equipment especially -- Gino] before entering the place, which held
around 1000 people.
Once I got inside I quickly met up with my friends from #metal
on IRC one of whom introduced me to death metal a long time ago, and
for that I owe him everything. There was already some kind of local
band playing, but they weren't even worth listening to so I decided
to go check out the T-shirts. They had three different ones, but one
of them anyone could make at home with a bottle of gray spraypaint so
I only got two; at $20 apiece these things were a little overpriced.
Next on stage was the official opening act, Unsane. Let me just
say that these guys sucked. They were indistinguishable from any
other band of their genre (that whole kind of metal/hardcore thing),
and the crowd let them know it. Any time they stopped even for a
second, the entire crowd would yell out "SLAYER!!" Unsane must've
been expecting this and probably received this kind of warm reception
before because after a while they kind of played along. Of course the
vocalist for Unsane didn't help things either when before they
started playing he yelled out, "Ok, before SLAAYYYEERRR!!! We are
Unsane." Or something to that effect. Anyway, they ended their set
after maybe 40 minutes and left the stage.
After about 20 more minutes, everyone finally got what they were
waiting for. The lights slowly dimmed, and Slayer began playing South
of Heaven. This was definitely the most exciting part of the show. By
far the best part of the show was during this song when the entire
crowd sang along with Tom, "Before you see the light.. YOU MUST
DIE!!" They followed this up with War Ensemble, the second best
performance of the night. Before the show I had heard that they
played two different sets, you either got the hour and a half set
full of old songs, or the 10 song set with a lot of new stuff. We
must've lucked out because they played neither, they instead chose
*21* songs, more old than new, and must've played for about and hour
and 45 minutes. Here is the full set list (with a lot of help from
Marc aka AtTheGate):
South of Heaven
War Ensemble
Abolish Government
Hell Awaits
Captor of Sin
Gemini
(punk song)
Killing Fields
Anti-Christ
(punk song)
Ditto Head
I Hate You
Richard Hung Himself
Necrophiliac
Dead Skin Mask
Chemical Warfare
Sex, Murder, Art
Seasons in the Abyss
Raining Blood
Mandatory Suicide
Angel of death
Neither of us having gotten Undisputed Attitude yet, we didn't
know the names of a couple of the punk songs. Luckily they didn't
play a whole lot of them.
Probably the only thing that marred this night was the event
that happened about halfway through the set. Someone (accidentally
I'm sure) hit Tom in the hand with a thrown shoe, which caused him to
stop playing. When he resumed he said, "You guys are fucked up." That
wasn't the end though; he seemed to take being hit with the shoe as a
sign of disrespect because throughout the rest of the set he insulted
the crowd and did various other things. Here's a couple: "I want to
dedicate this next song to this place, it's called I HATE YOU." And:
"Why don't you guys fucking shut up." Also: "Normally at this point
in the show I have a few words of kindness, but not for you guys." I
thought all of this was a little unnecessary. I mean it was probably
just an accident, and even if it wasn't, there was no reason to take
it out on the rest of the fans.
Overall, Slayer put on a great show. Never been to a Slayer show
before, so I can't compare it to any other, but another friend who
was there (hey Allison) said it was one of the best shows she'd ever
been to, by ANYONE. They were full of intensity, didn't mess up at
all, and basically kicked ass. I hope Tom Araya's final words were
true: "Ok, we're going to go home, work on our new shit, and come
back sometime next year, alright?" There are only a couple of dates
left on this short tour, so if you have a chance, by all means go.
Just be sure to arrive after Unsane is done.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
C L U T C H I N G O N T O T H E L A S T O R A N G E
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Clutch with Orange 9mm and Fu Manchu
At Lee's Palace in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, July 20, 1996
For the first time ever both Gino and I met up with our writer
Adam Wasylyk (who lives somewhere in bum-fuck/West End Toronto) for
this concert. We had known Adam for several months over the net as he
originally just submitted concert reviews, but as time went on we
realized that Adam would be a good asset for the 'zine and offered
him the chance to write for us: doing reviews and interviews. He
accepted and eventually Adam became part of the Chronicles of Chaos
fold: 1/5 of the mag. And the rest is history.
That night we met up for a pretty solid triple bill at one of
the better venues in Toronto: Lee's Palace. The sparse crowd at the
beginning of the night (during Fu Manchu's set) eventually turned
into a sweaty and congested assemblage of concert-goer's when
Maryland noise-guys Clutch took the stage.
Opening the show was the always cool Fu Manchu, with their Black
Sabbath-esque guitar riffs, drug influenced lyrics and feedback. Loud
and proud, Fu Manchu delivered heavy song after heavy song as they
stormed through 40-minutes of material, mostly off their latest album
_In Search Of..._. Singer Scott Hill coated the songs with some
trippy vocals and charisma, much like the ways of Monster Magnet
frontman Dave Wyndorf. Standouts included: "Regal Begal," "Asphalt
Risin," "Cyclone Launch" and "Solid Hex."
Next up was New York's Orange 9mm, a four-piece hardcore band
led by the explosive frontman Chaka. The band's 50-minute set was
pure adrenalin, showcasing some great songs (can't remember the names
- grooves were all that counted) that just kept churning up strong
riffs and hard-core grooves. The band had a good response from happy
moshing fans up front and overall had Clutch's work cut out for them.
Having seen this band last year on The Warped Tour and now in a
smaller venue, I can strongly say that they are one of the better
hardcore acts playing out right now. Intensity and might guided by a
focused message.
As Clutch took the stage, Maryland flag adorning the wall behind
them, the crowd grew more intense. In town for the third time with
their 1995 self-titled record (the band was here with Marilyn Manson
twice in October 1995) this seemed to be the least motivated or
energetic show that the band has performed. Can you say road fatigue?
With a new album surfacing soon, the band played some new material
which kept the pit going, but nothing was more exhilarating to hear
then their classic song (and Beavis And Butthead approved) "Shogun
Named Marcus." Following that song, the remainder of the band's set
was just a blur of noise and heavy riffs with no real peak of
interest. Needless to say, the band fell flat and only once in a
while surfaced with something interesting to keep the fans captivated.
Despite the somewhat dismal effort of Clutch, both opening acts
worked hard and in the end proved to be the better choices for bands
this night. Fu Manchu rocks - be sure to check this band out if you
ever get the chance.
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@@! @@! @@! @@! @@@ @@! @@! @@! @@! @@@ !@ !@@
@!! !!@ @!@ @!@!!@! !!@ @!! @!!!:! @!@!!@! !@@!!
!: !!: !! !!: :!! !!: !!: !!: !!: :!! !:!
::.: ::: : : : : : : :: ::: : : : ::.: :
@@@ @@@ @@@ @@@@@@@ @@@@@@ @@@@@@@ @@@ @@@
@@! @@! @@! @@! @@@ @@! @@@ @@! @@! @@@
@!! !!@ @!@ @!@!!@! @!@!@!@! @!! @!@!@!@!
!: !!: !! !!: :!! !!: !!! !!: !!: !!!
::.: ::: : : : : : : : : : :
Here is where things get ugly. Writer's Wrath gives our writers a
chance to voice their own opinions
about certain hot topics in the
scene today. Check out this semi-monthly column for the most obscene
and contraversial ramblings this side of the Enquirer.
Chronicles of Chaos' first Writer's Wrath column will appear in the
next issue of CoC. We are sorry that we couldn't deliver the debut
article this month due to an extremely heavy workload.
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________ ________
___ __/_________ ________________ _________ __/
__ / _ __ \ / / /_ ___/_ ___/ _ __ \_ /_
_ / / /_/ / /_/ /_ / _(__ ) / /_/ / __/
/_/ \____/\__,_/ /_/ /____/ \____//_/
________ _____
___ __/______________ /____ _____________
__ / _ __ \_ ___/ __/ / / /_ ___/ _ \
_ / / /_/ / / / /_ / /_/ /_ / / __/
/_/ \____//_/ \__/ \__,_/ /_/ \___/
Welcome to Chronicles of Chaos' tour listing column. Check out Tours
of Torture every month for the scoop on who's coming to town and
where to catch your favorite bands. If you have any information about
upcoming tours, we'd be more than happy to hear about it. Contact us
at <ginof@io.org>.
Grave
~~~~~
Sept 20 - Berkeley Square, Berkeley CA
Sept 21 - Showcase Theatre, Corona CA
Sept 22 - Latin Village, Pico Riviera CA
Sept 23 - World Beat Center, San Diego CA
Sept 24 - Mason Jar, Phoenix AZ
Sept 25 - Skate & Play, Clovis NM
Sept 26 - Showcase, San Antonio TX
Sept 27 - The Abyss, Houston TX
Sept 29 - Rockefeller's, Columbia SC
Oct 1 - Jaxx, Springfield VA
Oct 3 - Sea-Sea's, Moosic PA
Oct 4 - El-N-Gee, New London CT
Oct 5 - Saratoga Winners, Cohoes NY
Oct 6 - CBGB's, New York NY
Oct 7 - Sports Palace, New Britian CT
Oct 8 - Bar Spectacle, Quebec City QUE
Oct 9 - Foufounes Electrique, Montreal QUE
Oct 10 - The Rat, Boston MA
Oct 11 - The Chance, Poughkeepsie NY
Iced Earth/Nevermore/PsycoDrama
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Aug 23 - Glasshouse, Furth GERMANY
Aug 24 - Open Air, Offenbach GER
Aug 25 - Zeche, Bochum GER
Aug 26 - Markthalle, Hamburg GER
Aug 27 - Aladin, Bremen GER
Aug 28 - Rockclub Pur, Munich GER
Aug 29 - Rockhaus, Vienna AUSTRIA
Aug 31 - Markthalle, Saraganz SWITZERLAND
Sept 1 - Z 7, Pratteln SWIT
Sept 5 - Rohre, Stuttgart GER
Sept 6 - Garage, Saarbrucken GER
Sept 7 - Open Air, Saarbrucken GER
Sept 8 - JUZ, Andernach GER
Sept 12 - Mau, Rostock GER
Sept 13 - Halford, Berlin GER
Sept 14 - East Club, Bischofswerda GER
Sept 15 - Werra Rohn Halle, Merkers GER
Sept 17 - Alter Schlachthof, Lingen GER
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W H A T W E H A V E C R A N K E D ! ! !
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Special TOP TEN Year-in-Review Edition
Gino's Top 10
1. Pan-Thy-Monium - _Khaooohs & Kon-Fus-ion_ (CoC #9)
2. Pitch Shifter - _Infotainment?_ (CoC #10)
3. Cradle of Filth - _Vempire_ (CoC #11)
4. Skrew - _Shadow Of Doubt_ (CoC #8)
5. Impaled Nazarene - _Latex Cult_ (CoC 10)
6. Various - _...And Even Wolves Hid Their Teeth_ (CoC #13)
7. Ultraviolence - _Psychodrama_ (CoC #6)
8. Hypocrisy - _Abducted_ (CoC #7)
9. DHI - _Pressures Collide_ (CoC #6)
10. g/z/r - _Plastic Planet_ (CoC #4)
Adrian's Top 10
1. Pitch Shifter - _Infotainment?_ (CoC #8)
2. Only Living Witness - _Innocents_ (not reviewed)
3. My Dying Bride - _The Angel And The Dark River_ (CoC #8)
4. Pantera - _The Great Sothern Trendkill_ (CoC #11)
5. Mindrot - _Dawning_ (CoC #4)
6. Sepultura - _Roots_ (not reviewed)
7. Neurosis - _Through Silver In Blood_ (CoC #9)
8. Rotting Christ - _Triarchy Of The Lost Lovers_ (CoC #13)
9. Embrace - _Coven The Eternal_ (CoC #13)
10. Solus - _Slave Of Mind_ (CoC #10)
Brian's Top 10
1. Spastic Ink - _Ink Complete_ (CoC #10)
2. Arcturus - _Aspera Hiems Symfonia_ (CoC #12)
3. Cradle of Filth - _Vempire_ (CoC #11)
4. Spiral Architect - _demo_ (CoC #9)
5. In Flames - _Subterranean_ (CoC #8)
6. Sadist - _Tribe_ (CoC #12)
7. Dawn - _Naer Solen Gar Niber For Evogher_ (CoC #8)
8. Lethargy - _Humor Me, You Funny Little Man_ (CoC #4)
9. At the Gates - _Terminal Spirit Disease_ (CoC #1)
10. Aeon - _Demo #2_ (CoC #2)
Steve's Top 10
1. Pan-Thy-Monium - _Khaoohs and Kon-Fus-Ion_ (CoC #9)
2. Impaled Nazarene - _Latex Cult_ (CoC #10)
3. Setherial - _Nord_ (CoC #12)
4. Equinox - _Return to Mystery_ (CoC #12)
5. Gorgoroth - _Antichrist_ (CoC #13)
6. Malevolent Creation - _Eternal_ (CoC #1)
7. Edge of Sanity - _Crimson_ (CoC #9)
8. Diaboli - _Mesmerized by Darkness_ (CoC #12)
9. Dimmu Borgir - _Stormblast_ (CoC #13)
10. Cannibal Corpse - _Vile_ (CoC #8)
Adam's Top 10
1. Bathory - _Blood on Ice_ (CoC #11)
2. Amorphis - _Elegy_ (CoC #10)
3. Pan-Thy-Monium - _Khaooohs & Kon-fus-ion_ (CoC #9)
4. Necromantia - _Scarlet Evil, Witching Black_ (CoC #10)
5. Avernus - _A Farewell to Eden_ (not reviewed)
6. Edge Of Sanity - _Crimson_ (CoC #9)
7. Golgotha - _Melancholy_ (not reviewed)
8. Blood of Christ - _The Lonely Flowers of Autumn_ (CoC #11)
9. Absonant Cadence - _Emergence_ (CoC #13)
10. Burning Moon - _Eternal Darkness_ (CoC #10)
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T H E F I N A L W O R D
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well people, that about wraps it up for our first year. Looking
back, it's been a lot of work but in the end, it is all worth it. I
want to thank everyone who's supported us throughout the year and
helped make this 'zine as great as can be. For next month, we are
going to take a well deserved vacation, and set the release of CoC
#14 to the first week of October. I hope everyone will be able to
live with out us for a month! See you all soon, and remember those
Loud Letters. -- Gino Filicetti
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Here now are some words from the OTHER CoC founder, Adrian Bromley:
Thanks go to all our friends in the music industry (labels and
bands), subscribers and just NET-cruisers for reading Chronicles of
Chaos over the last year. Even though at times it was difficult to
get the mag together on time, the whole CoC staff, Gino, Alain,
Brian, Steve, Adam and I have had fun doing it. We hope we've done a
good job and will continue to do so in the future. Thanks for being
there for us - Stay Heavy! -- Adrian "Energizer" Bromley
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End Chronicles of Chaos, Issue #13
