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Chronicles of Chaos Issue 054
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Sixth Anniversary Mega-Issue
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CHRONICLES OF CHAOS e-Zine, August 12, 2001, Issue #54
http://www.ChroniclesOfChaos.com
Editor-in-Chief: Gino Filicetti
Coordinator: Adrian Bromley
Copy Editor / Contributor: Pedro Azevedo
Assistant Copy Editor / Contributor: Brian Meloon
Contributor: Adam Wasylyk
Contributor: Paul Schwarz
Contributor: Aaron McKay
Contributor: David Rocher
Contributor: Matthias Noll
Contributor: Alvin Wee
Contributor: Gabriel Sanchez
Contributor: Chris Flaaten
Spiritual Guidance: Alain M. Gaudrault
The individual writers can be reached by e-mail at
firstname@ChroniclesOfChaos.com ("firstname" must be replaced by the
respective writer's first name, e.g. Gino@ChroniclesOfChaos.com).
NOTE: You may unsubscribe from Chronicles of Chaos at any time by
sending a blank e-mail to <Unsubscribe@ChroniclesOfChaos.com>.
For more Chronicles of Chaos information, check out the
Details section at the end of this issue.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Issue #54 Contents, 8/12/01
---------------------------
* Editorial
* Loud Letters
* Deadly Dialogues
-- Absu: Celtic Carnage
-- Katatonia: Songs of Quintessential Sorrow
-- Nevermore: Dead Heat for the Politicians of Ecstasy
-- Anathema: Inner Resonance
-- Cadaver Inc.: The Discipline of Sandwich-Making
-- Keelhaul: Angled to Amaze
-- Akercocke: Satanic Art
-- Amon Amarth: The Avengers' Crushing Comeback
-- The Forsaken: Forsaken But Not Forgotten
-- The End Records: The Genesis of The End
-- Epoch of Unlight: An Unlightly Story
-- Melechesh: Mesopotamian Hunger
-- Old Man Gloom: Monkeys Taught Me Guitar!
-- Demonic Christ: Demonic Battle Mom: Dana's Return
-- Iced Earth: The (Horror) Show Must Go On
-- Darkane: Dark Insanity
-- Circle of Dead Children: Necro-Pedophiles 'R' Us
-- Mourning Beloveth: Earth to Earth, Ashes to Ashes...
-- Virgin Steele: A Greek Tragedy Written in Metal
-- Andromeda: Star Shooter Supreme
* Album Asylum
-- 3D House of Beef - _Low Cycle_
-- Abominant - _Ungodly_
-- Aborted - _Engineering the Dead_
- Mortician - _Domain of Death_
-- Absu - _Tara_
-- Aeon - _Dark Order_
-- Agalloch - _Of Stone, Wind, and Pillor_
-- Akercocke - _The Goat of Mendes_
-- Alas - _Absolute Purity_
-- Amon Amarth - _The Crusher_
-- Amorphis - _Am Universum_
-- Anata - _Dreams of Death and Dismay_
-- Anathema - _Resonance_
-- Ancient Rites - _Dim Carcosa_
-- Annihilatus - _Annihilation_ 10"
-- Ark - _Burn the Sun_
-- Association Area - _Loathsome Deco_
-- Autopsy - _Ridden With Disease_
- Autopsy - _Torn From the Grave_
- Murder Squad - _Unsane, Insane & Mentally Deranged_
-- Avantasia - _The Metal Opera_
-- Bal-Sagoth - _Atlantis Ascendant_
-- Belfegor - _The Kingdom of Glacial Palaces_
- Fog - _Through the Eyes of Night..._
- Hate - _Holy Dead Trinity_
-- Black Label Society - _Alcohol Fueled Brewtality: Live +5_
-- Various - _Black Metal Blitzkrieg_
-- Bloodthorn - _Under the Reign of Terror_
-- Various - _Brazilian Assault_
-- Cadaver Inc. - _Discipline_
-- Catholicon - _Lost Chronicles of the War in Heaven_
-- cEvin Key - _The Ghost of Each Room_
-- Chamber - _You and What Army_
-- Christ Aborted in Nativity - _If You Set Yourself on Fire?_
-- Circle of Dead Children - _The Genocide Machine_
-- Cirith Gorgor - _Unveiling the Essence_
-- Clandestine Blaze / Deathspell Omega - _Split LP_
-- Cradle of Filth - _Bitter Suites to Succubi_
-- Cripple Bastards - _Almost Human_
- Cripple Bastards - _Misantropo a Senso Unico_
-- Crowbar - _Sludge: History of Crowbar_
-- Darkane - _Insanity_
-- Darwin's Waiting Room - _Orphan_
-- Das Ich - _Re_Laborat_
-- Dawndeath Incinerator - _Tomb of Corporeal Butchery_
-- Death & Taxe$ - _theenigmathatisman_
-- DeathFrost - _Cynoptik of DeathFrost / Death to All_
-- Deepred - _Prophetic Luster_
-- Demimonde - _Mutant Star_
-- Deranged - _Deranged_
-- Diabolical Masquerade - _Death's Design_
-- Disbelief - _Worst Enemy_
-- Disgorge - _Forensick_
-- Divine Decay - _Songs of the Damned_
-- Dragonlord - _Rapture_
-- Edera - _Edera_
-- Em Sinfonia - _Intimate Portrait_
-- Enter My Silence - _Remotecontrolled Scythe_
-- Event Down - _Sift_
-- Exhumed - _Slaughtercult_ (saw-blade reissue)
-- Exordium - _Exordium_ 10"
-- Failed Humanity - _The Sound of Razors Through Flesh_
-- Faith and the Muse - _Evidence of Haven_
- Faith and the Muse - _Elyria_
-- Fear Factory - _Digimortal_
-- Finntroll - _Jaktens Tid_
-- God Dethroned - _Ravenous_
-- Grog - _Odes to the Carnivorous_
-- Haat - _Factum Luctisonus_
-- Honor / Graveland - _Raiders of Revenge_
-- Imperial Sodomy - _Tormenting the Pacifist_
-- Incriminated - _Illusion of Love_ 7"
-- Ingrowing - _Suicide Binary Reflections_
-- Isis - _SGNL>05_
-- Judas Iscariot / Krieg - _To the Coming Age of Intolerance_
-- Junta - _Junta_
-- Karma to Burn - _Almost Heathen_
-- Keelhaul - _II_
-- Khold - _Masterpiss of Pain_
-- King Diamond - _Decade of Horror_
-- Kult Ov Azazel - _Triumph of Fire_
-- Lacrimas Profundere - _Burning: A Wish_
-- Lobotomy - _Holy Shit_
-- Lost Soul - _Scream of the Mourning Star_
-- Madder Mortem - _All Flesh Is Grass_
-- Mayhem - _US Legions_
-- Melechesh - _Djinn_
-- Merlin - _They Must Die_
-- Moonspell - _Darkness and Hope_
-- My Dying Bride - _Meisterwerk II_
-- Myrddraal - _Blood on the Mountain_
-- Mystica - _Blinded By My Blood_
-- Necrology - _Malignancy Defined_
-- Necronom - _Exordium_
-- Neurosis - _A Sun That Never Sets_
-- No Return - _Self Mutilation_
-- Nokturnal Mortum - _Lunar Poetry_
-- Obligatorisk Tortyr - _Obligatorisk Tortyr_
-- Occult - _Violence and Hatred_
-- Pest - _Towards the Bestial Armageddon_ 7"
-- Peter Murphy - _Alive: Just for Love_
-- Project Pitchfork - _Daimonion_
-- Proscriptor - _The Serpentine Has Risen_
-- Psychotogen - _Perverse and Unnatural Practices_
-- Rebaelliun - _Annihilation_
-- Sceptic - _Pathetic Being_
-- Silentium - _Altum_
-- Steel Prophet - _Book of the Dead_
-- Stratovarius - _Intermission_
-- The Darksend - _Antichrist in Excelsis_
-- Therios - _II_
-- Throneaeon - _Neither of Gods_
-- Various - _Triarchy of Vasconia_
-- Vesperian Sorrow - _Psychotic Sculpture_
-- Vitriol - _I-VII_
-- War - _We Are... Total War_
-- W.A.S.P. - _Unholy Terror_
-- Winds - _Of Entity and Mind_
-- Within Tears - _Moments of Life: Chapter 1_
-- Zonata - _Reality_
* New Noise
-- Forlorn Legacy - _Dead Man's Fear_
-- Holocaust - _Holocaust_
-- Neocrima - _Indifference's Deadly_
-- Oroboros - _Demo CD_
-- Qohelet - _Thanatopsis_
-- Spiritus Mortis - _Forward to the Battle_
-- Winter Bestowed - _Within My Labyrinthine Heart_
* Chaotic Concerts
-- Wery Wicious Wacken Wiolence: Wacken Open Air
-- Brave Redrum Night: Katatonia and Akercocke in London
-- Mechanics of Deceit: Tool and Cortizone in London
-- Puritanical Destructive Predominance: Dimmu Borgir and Destruction
* Writer's Wrath
-- The Four MusCoCteers, Episode 3
* What We Have Cranked
* Details
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by: Gino Filicetti
Once again that time of year is upon us. August 12 will forever
be remembered as "Chronicles of Chaos Day". It is upon this day, what
should be considered an international holiday, that we look back in
awe on all the things that we, as a magazine, have achieved over the
past six years since our inception. Six years of terrorizing the
globe with evil in all its forms; gargantuan yet graceful, this
magazine and our readership has become more than I had ever hoped to
achieve. I'm sure each and everyone of you will thoroughly enjoy this
mammoth issue we've put together -- our second biggest of all time.
First off, I would like to announce an update to our website
which we have been waiting until today to unleash. To the delight of
many of you (our writers included) you will be pleased to know that
we've implemented a search engine to scour our back issues. The
search engine is simple enough; you can use either the quick search
form on our main page, or the search page itself for more complex
searches. The results are scored on the occurrences of the words you
typed in, so the more often a word appears, the higher it is scored.
This new tool will prove invaluable in searching for old reviews or
interviews with your favourite bands.
Also, we have some big news on the new writer front. We have
recently accepted three new part-time, probationary writers. First,
we have Quentin Kalis, a 21-year old English grad who hails from Cape
Town, South Africa. Second, we have Kirsty Buchanan, whose material
has appeared in our pages before and who is finally contributing
regularly to CoC. Finally, we have Vincent Eldefors, from Sweden,
another 21-year old who will be contributing material to CoC, along
with continuing to edit his own 'zine: Tartarean Desire. I'm sure
you'll be pleased with what you see from our new rookies. And don't
forget, even you can audition for a spot on the Chronicles of Chaos
writing staff. Just send a note to: Auditions@ChroniclesOfChaos.com
and tell us a little about yourself and why you think you'd be a good
fit with CoC.
On a personal note, I'd like to point you all to the review of
Absu's newest album, _Tara_, in this issue. You will notice that it
is authored by a certain individual who has been in retirement from
regular duty since CoC #16. I can hardly believe it has been that
long since I've taken up arms to pen a review, but I've finally
broken the vicious cycle. The main reason for this, besides enormous
peer pressure, was that I couldn't let the brilliance that is _Tara_
go unpraised. So I fired up my typewriter, and cranked out a review
three times larger than your run of the mill variety. Even with so
many words, it really is hard to express my admiration for such a
kick-ass album. Also this issue we've got an in-depth interview with
Sir Proscriptor McGovern himself in which Paul Schwarz pulls no
punches in confronting him with the issues and questions at hand. And
to top it all off, Adam Wasylyk has provided us with a review of
Proscriptor's newest foray into solo territory: _The Serpentine Has
Risen_.
There are many more highlights within the vastness of this
issue, however: a -triple- interview with Katatonia coupled with a
live review of that same band, a last-minute Wacken Open Air report,
and the final episode of The Four MusCoCteers -- just to cite a few.
We've received a good wack of Loud Letters these past
few months, and I'd like to thank everyone who wrote in. I
encourage everyone with something to say to send email to:
LoudLetters@ChroniclesOfChaos.com and just let it all out. Loud
Letters really is a discussion forum for all of you, not a praise
bucket. So go at it and let us know what you really think.
Finally, I can't stress enough how important it is to get the
word out there and tell everyone you know about Chronicles of Chaos.
It's amazing how many people on the Internet are fans of the most
extreme forms of metal and haven't even heard of our publication. We
are truly doing them a disservice by keeping them in the dark. There
is only so much our staff can do to spread the word, we are merely a
couple of ten people, but you, the readership, are a horde of
thousands...
Well, I'll keep this short and sweet and finish while I'm ahead.
There's no need to keep you from devouring this issue; I'm sure
you'll all enjoy it, and once again THANK YOU, from the entire CoC
staff, for an unforgettable six years. Without our readers, there
really wouldn't be a reason to put in all this hard work.
Until next time...
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M MMMMMMMM 88' `88 88 88 88' `88
M MMMMMMMM 88. .88 88. .88 88. .88
M M `88888P' `88888P' `88888P8
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M MMMMMMMM .d8888b. d8888P d8888P .d8888b. 88d888b. .d8888b.
M MMMMMMMM 88ooood8 88 88 88ooood8 88' `88 Y8ooooo.
M MMMMMMMM 88. ... 88 88 88. ... 88 88
M M `88888P' dP dP `88888P' dP `88888P'
MMMMMMMMMMM
This is the column where we print those lovely letters our readers
decide so graciously to write us. Whether they be positive, negative,
ignorant or just plain spelled wrong, you can rest assured that
they'll be here in their original form. If you'd like to see your own
letter here, e-mail it to <mailto:LoudLetters@ChroniclesOfChaos.com>.
All letters received will be featured in upcoming issues of
Chronicles of Chaos.
Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2001
From: "Jackie Smit" <1998549750@wwg3.uovs.ac.za>
Subject: Attention: Loud Letters
Greetings!
I have mailed your fine 'zine a couple of times before, but after
reading your editorial in the latest issue (which was superb by the
way), I thought I'd do something which I don't see a lot of other
letter-writers doing - say something positive.
Many writers, critics and other individuals, particularly those in
the mainstream metal magazines, have been knocking Death Metal for
years now and the slogan of "Death Metal is dead!" has rung out
numerous times. Now, as I listen to the new Napalm Death CD, I am
once again reminded of just how vibrant the scene is at the moment. A
few years ago, Death Metal was indeed growing stale and tired and
were it not for a couple of stalwarts such as Morbid Angel, it may
very well have died. But in recent times and particularly last year
we saw a flood of new albums by bands who, despite having been around
for some time, seemed to have saved their best releases for the year
2000. Possibly a plan of the devil to show his dominance in the new
millenium - heaven forbid we start up that debate again! Seriously
though, Immolation, Dying Fetus, Morbid Angel, Nile, Cryptopsy,
Napalm Death and Vader all brought out some of the most intense,
original work to be heard in years - proving, I think, that Death
Metal is alive and well and perhaps the sub-genre of extreme music to
have developed most over the years.
In the light of this, I know that many fans of the metal of death
knew that this would happen some or other time, and at the risk of
sounding like a brownnoser, I would like to say that Chronicles of
Chaos also foresaw this revolution. I have been a subscriber for
nearly four years and as far as I'm concerned CoC blows EVERY 'zine
or magazine clear out of the water - always has and (I hope) always
will. Thank you for never wimping out and for providing fans of Death
Metal and all other forms of extreme music with a publication that
was no doubt one of the highlights of their month. I know I am
speaking for a lot of people when I say best of luck in the future.
Fuck the commerce!
Jackie Smit
South Africa
Date: Sat, 21 Apr 2001
From: "Jim Tasikas" <rochmeat@frontiernet.net>
Subject: The Metal Genre
I would hope that one day metal music will distinguish itself in the
public eye for properties that make it a beautiful music and display
its values. Unlike the Jazz music genre, which is very similar to
metal in stucture, metal has been unable to develop stature in the
general public arena. Metal and jazz are similar in structure in the
following ways:
1. Much of the appreciation lies within the technical playing
capacilities of member of the bands.
2. There are many levels of technical playing and creativity
(musically).
3. Fusions of a different genre is incoporated many instances.
There many more reasons, too many to go into detail....
The main point being....focus on quality and stature of music! NOT
stupid concepts like War on Chrisitanity, or even Anti-government, or
even social reform, or environmental issues.....(both positive or
negative concepts)
The MUSIC!!!!!! makes metal what it is....music which is
introspective and emotional and creative and evolving. We should be
promoting the music and not using all the other stupid bullshit to
publisize or promote....PLEASE.
Thanks to all the satantic, atheist, vegan, anti-government, gore
driven idiots musicians (not music listeners) who had to taint there
music with idiot lyrics to get attention. (NOTE: These concepts, when
lyrics are written with creativity and good taste are a different
story.)
Bands of integrity (Beutiful music and use controversial concepts in
good taste):
Iron Maiden
Fates Warning
Tool
Pain Of Salvation
Dark Tranquillity
At The Gates (borderline...)
Cynic
Death(new)
Contol Denied
Aghora
Zero Hour
Enchant
Symphony X
Engine
Agent Steel
King Diamond (Them and Abigail)
Sepultura (Arise, Chaos AD)
Anathema
The are many different type of metal here an levels of technicality.
People who disagree with this letter and idiots and just listen to
metal for anger and dispair and attention.
Thanks for reading.
Date: Sun, 20 May 2001
From: Patrick McIntosh <p.mcintosh@csuohio.edu>
Subject: Death/Black/Blue/Green Metal, etc.
Echoing DER TODESKIN's letter from COC #53, I too am bothered by the
petty labeling of bands by "fans." Obviously, the labeling does have
it's purpose. Band X is a black metal band, Band Y is a death metal
band...helps us get a quick read on what to expect from the material.
However, with advancing time, genres are invariably going to blend,
with the black and white fading into a larger grey area. What
constitues
black metal now? Harsh guitars with no keyboards? What if you use
keyboards? Are you selling out? Can you sing only anti-Christian
lyrics?
Do you have to wear corpsepaint? What if you are TOO intelligible?
What if a band came out wearing t-shirts and shorts, and all the
members were bald? Bet nobody'd consider them black metal. Obviously,
that's a facetious example, but I'm hoping my point is getting
across: it's simply harder to differentiate between forms of extreme
metal, and it's pointless to dismiss a band because of their
nonconformity to some tired norm. It's too much about imagery and not
enough about THE MUSIC. If it's good, dig it.
More colors would solve a lot I think. If you sing about satan and
hell, you're in a red metal band. If you sing about corpses and
decay, why not green?
Sounds like a good color for rotting flesh. Or maybe purple. Silly.
Patrick
Date: Wed, 23 May 2001
From: "evil" <absolute.evil@online.be>
Subject: re: War on atheism
Going from an atheist stance to accepting what feels real but is
unprovable takes a lot of personal courage. Denial is easy -
spiritual evolution is hard.
Indeed one needs a lot of courage to cover himself with shame ;D)))))
Reallity is mysterious enough, none can understand its physic. Until
now the universe is far beyond the understanding of the human spirit.
Why do you need fairytales about universe. Universe is a living being
because of us, the humans, the animals and plants but that's all.
Denial isn't easy, refusing the promises of a rebirth, living with no
faith except that death is waiting for you at the end of the path
requires a lot of courage. Having no false promises that helps you to
live without fearing the horrible end that awaits all of us. I
believe in the misery, in the grave and that rotting corpses will
never walk again.
Misery, pain, happiness everything is provided by gods say the
faithfull people. Then I say I suffer when I see a child suffering, I
suffer when I see my poor mother with half of her brain dead. How can
a mighty god supports the suffering of millions of people... It's
impossible. He will not suport the amount of pain, he will want to
stop it right now. Either he doesn't exists or he does and then
deserve only our hate. I'm quite a happy man, but if something exists
and is responsible for a part of the suffering I got (just hear my
mother crying like a beast every day when she thinks about what she
became). We need neither weak or cruel or indifferent gods. Grow up,
face the death like a man not like a child.
Absolute evil
Date: Sun, 17 Jun 2001
From: "Ruben Altena" <rubit@chello.nl>
Subject: question
Hi,
I have a question. I've been looking for the answer on the internet
but i haven't been able to find it. that's why i email you. Why is
virtually all black metal about satan and anti-christianity and it's
worths?
I like many sorts of music and extreme metal is one of it. I love the
music of bands such as cradle of filth, mayhem, emperor, summoning,
morbid angel, paradise lost and napalm death. The problem is, i don't
want to own anything with a content that is completely against my
beliefs and ideas, which means i don't want to listen to any bands
with satanic, anti-christian, nationalistic, nazistic (or extremely
right-wing political) or militaristic sympathies. I also don't want
any extremely violent, immoral, insulting, preachery or new-age
inspired lyrics. i think so many of these lyrics are so silly. All
this crap about cannibalism, horror, vampires, devils and black
moons, angels, suns etc. etc. is sooooo silly IMHO. I know there's
some bands singing (screaming) about trolls and fairytales and
ancient legends, but i'm not into that sort of stuff so i'm looking
for something different. I like lyrics about the beauty and power of
nature, as long as it's not new-age like and it's not worshipping
nature as a god-like thing or something. I've been listening to my
dying bride but i think they're too over the top. i've also been
listening to dark tranquillity but the music is a bit too soft for
me. I've been listening to some christian black metal bands but i
also don't want that because it's very preachy and just as well as
satanic metal quite concrete about things like God and the devil. I
don't mind if the music is made by christians (in fact, i'd prefer
it) but i don't like the way most extreme metal bands sing about
religion, in a very aggressive and concrete way. I'd prefer a more
vague approach.
I do feel that the atmosphere of black metal requires certain 'dark'
lyrics, but i don't understand why it can't focus on psychological
darkness instead of the two-horned devil thing. I don't mind
religious influences in the lyrics as long as it doesn't become
either insulting or preachy. Could you perhaps advice me some bands
or songs that have a different lyrical approach? And could you tell
me how you think about these things and if you think that black metal
has to be satanic or it wouldn't be black metal. Maybe you can help
me find more information about this subject. I'm in for a discussion.
thank you,
ruben
Date: Thu, 21 Jun 2001
From: "Bandi Bandi" <bandi669@drotposta.hu>
Subject: tormentor
Hi!
I was surprised when I read the interview with Fenriz in CoC#53,
because of David Rocher's question, related to "Attila Csihar's band,
Aborym". Wow!! I never thought David, or anybody in the USA knew
about my country's only famous metal band, Tormentor, and it's
singer, Attila Csihar! This band was a black metal legend in the late
'80s, here in Europe. They were so inspiring that even Euronymus
(Mayhem) called Attila to sing on the milestone De Mysteriies Dom
Sathanas album, after Dead committed suicide. Attila has released two
albums with Tormentor, which had influenced the black metal genre so
much. As you know, Dissection covered a Tormentor track on their
Where Dead Angels Lie EP (Elizabeth Bathori), but to go further,
there's also a Tormentor riff in the Children Of Bodom song
"Hatebreeder". Anyway, Tormentor was reformed again in 1999, and
released an album with rare live tracks, and an another one in 2000,
with brand new songs, called "Recipe Ferrum". It's good, but isn't in
the vein of the old songs.
And another surprise for me, also in that issue: Proscriptor mentions
Plasma Pool as one of his favourites! I can't believe this!! I think
none of you there has heard of Plasma Pool, but it's also in
connection with Attila Csihar, because it is his solo project. But
here in Hungary also only a few people know about it, because
it's very-very-very rare!! Proscriptor really knows the underground
bands!!
So, keep surprising me with things like this in the future :)
Bye, keep up the good work
Bandi from Hungary
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C E L T I C C A R N A G E
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CoC chats with Sir Proscriptor McGovern of Absu
by: Paul Schwarz
Absu's latest album -- called _Tara_ [reviewed in this issue],
and released a few months ago on Osmose Productions -- begins and
ends with bagpiping. When first I endeavoured to explore the music
which interposed _Tara_'s intro and outro, I tried to ignore the
'piping; it seemed incongruent. Then _Tara_ began to become open to
me in all sorts of other new ways, and after being consistently
enthralled in recent weeks with the album in its entirety -- its
every minute, lyrics, vocal patterns and all -- the bagpipes finally
began to make sense, fit in, and become a worthy part of the mighty
metal massacre that Absu's fourth album and fifth release is. Absu
are not averse to grandiosity, yet the band are simultaneously
the most untalked-up of bands in a very important sense: the
ultimate greatness of Absu is rarely exaggerated, though it is often
misunderstood. Some people seek to label Absu a "black metal" band,
though I've never seen such a position defended or justified. In my
opinion, such a position cannot be convincingly defended. If you look
at and think about what "black metal" really is -- what makes
a "black metal" band -- and compare what Absu really are --
musically -and- conceptually -- you will find between few and no
shared qualities between the two. Only the broadest, most unhelpful
definition of a "black metal" band could include Absu -- and no-one
should really be able to get away with calling them "black thrash"
either. Musically, the classification that comes closest to defining
Absu is "speed metal" as it was used circa the mid-Eighties. Absu use
the term "mythological occult metal" to describe themselves for
their own reasons, and though the term is essentially just an
idiosyncratic, relatively direct description of what they actually
create, in 2001 it's as useful a label as any you could propose. I
say Absu are a ferocious heavy metal band who don't require greater
pigeonholing with words, but instead need to be heard to be
understood and enjoyed.
_Tara_ is a complete package, the most complete Absu have ever
presented. Musically, it represents Absu's signature sound, but is
blessed with by far their finest production to date. I said
"signature sound", and though within that classification there is a
coherent, consistent style also to be identified, the breadth of
Absu's expression is unusually varied. Forget the bagpiping, I'm
thinking of the way that though "Pillars of Mercy" or "Manannan" may
remind you of Slayer, "Bron (of the Waves)" will bring to mind
mid-Seventies-era Rush; the way that "Yrp LLuyddawc"'s brooding
synth-led atmospherics will truly intrigue you and draw you in before
"From Ancient Times (Starless Skies Burn to Ash)" batters the shit
out of you; the way that the utter, furious extremity of "Four
Crossed Wands (Spell 181)" or "Vorago (Spell 182)" is not expressed
merely by relentless blasting and creatively idiotic technique; the
way that the albums closing epic "Stone of Destiny (...for Magh
Slecht and Ard Righ)" can retain the character and fury of the
barrage-like songs that precede it, yet simultaneously showcase a
much broader dynamic range. Mixing lightning speed double-bass
battery and blasts with wails that would have Halford straining, and
a coherent conceptual character that would impress King Diamond, this
final track is distinctly triumphant: proof that older, traditional
metal elements can sit alongside aggression and impact beyond
their original context. Absu are definitely a special case in the
extreme metal scene, a stand-alone. Proscriptor's drumming alone is
absolutely phenomenal, mixing much that is technical and will only be
specifically noted after repeated, careful listens -- or by fellow
musicians -- with distinct and individual, yet direct, powerful and
furious playing. Not for nothing do so many have such respect for his
individual musical talent, and on _Tara_ one can hear what he is
doing more clearly than ever by virtue of its production, which is
highly improved over Absu's previous albums.
What is most uniquely wonderful about Absu is that the praise
and high regard accorded to them does not cease when we move on from
speaking of their music in isolation from the lyrics that accompany
it or the concepts and ideas that are at work behind it. Absu concoct
fiction and non-fiction into a coherent, fantastical whole. They are
not quite writing historical fiction, but something close to it. The
lyrics to _Tara_'s individual songs and the concepts and ideas which
bind the album together are based on an expansive knowledge of Celtic
history and mythology, and also more recent texts concerned with
magic(k) and gnosticism, i.e. the writings of Aleister Crowley. Some
songs seem to retell actual history, others concoct their own using
certifiably real historical settings and characters, while others
utilise or pertain to characters and events catalogued in mythology.
Absu are meticulous, and though their purpose is not to teach, _Tara_
is intended to be interpretable and understandable by any listener of
Absu willing to spend some time with it in its entirety -- lyrics
booklet and all. Reading along to the songs whilst they play opens
them up, and though technical or foreign terms may at first confuse,
they are clearly defined in the album's five-and-a-half page glossary
with more than sufficient accurate and relevant historical or
literary detail, as appropriate. The lyrics are beautifully well
patterned into the structure of the music, as well as being coherent
from a literary perspective. Also notable is how effectively a range
of vocal "voices" are employed. _Tara_'s lyrics are written with a
broad range of knowledge in mind and in use, yet they are respectful
of and faithful to their sources. At the same time, Absu are not
merely singing textbooks or even transliterating them: _Tara_'s
lyrics are original, written for the album. Absu are engrossed in
their subject matter; _Tara_ gives the impression of being written
from within a coherent, imaginative yet well-researched Celtic
"worldview". Without resorting to creating Celticised metal comic
book characters, Absu work the sound of metal and the subject of
Celtic history and mythology together. Incredibly, they have managed
to do so without degrading either element. I can't think of a single
metal album that has ever treated real ancient history and/or
mythology quite as effectively as Absu have with _Tara_. Apart from
Nile's _Black Seeds of Vengeance_, I can't think of a single case
where the two elements haven't seemed damagingly incongruent rather
than mutually complementary. Rarely is historical subject matter well
treated by metal bands either in terms of how much research is done
into a given topic, how the lyrics themselves are penned, or how the
music and the lyrics fit together. _Tara_ is not only internally
coherent, it is reassuringly relevant to the actual. The hill of Tara
and the so-called "Stone of Destiny" can be visited, and the area is
currently being excavated by archaeologists; the background picture
for "Yrp Lluyddawc" in _Tara_'s booklet is of a megalithic site near
the hill of Tara call Newgrange which dates to 3000 BC; the hill of
Slane near Newgrange is where St. Patrick is said to have lit the
first fire to signal Ireland's conversion to Christianity, and the
kings of Tara, seeing the blaze miles off, are said to have been
angered, having ordered no fires to be made until their permission
was given. Absu's hard work and attention to detail assure that
_Tara_ is real, accurate, and worth paying attention to on a lyrical
level, just as its music richly deserves to be given lots of time and
your full attention. There is more to explore on _Tara_ than most
albums you will encounter, period. Once you have explored it and
pored over it, it doesn't diminish in appeal, but will continue to
enthrall and excite the senses yet more vigorously. That has been my
experience.
The following interview with Sir Proscriptor McGovern was
conducted before I had a full copy of _Tara_, and before I had
listened to the album more than eight to ten times. However, I feel
it is very informative, and provides many insights into Absu's work
and ideas. I hope you enjoy reading it.
[All text in "()" brackets is approximated, from where my questions
incomprehensible because of tape feedback. -- Paul]
CoC: How are things?
Proscriptor McGovern: Good, very good.
CoC: This is Absu's fourth album and fifth release. Are you happy
with how it turned out?
PM: Yeah, I am. I mean, there's a couple of things about the
production that I wish could be altered a little bit, but hey, I
think I'll probably say this about every release that we unleash
on the public so what can I do, you know? But overall I'm
pleased. I think it's better than some of the past efforts we've
done and overall very satisfying and the response has been quite
prosperous.
CoC: I really quite like the record.
PM: Thank you.
CoC: (But I know that there are a lot of people out there who aren't
really gonna understand the band, and may reject you because of
your unusual concepts or the way you dress or whatever. Thus,
I'm going to be quite confrontational and hard on you in this
interview.) There are a lot of rather complex, bold statements
that have been made about _Tara_ so I figured it would be best
to tackle it all head on.
PM: No problem.
CoC: Basically, to start off with: the bagpipes. Why start and end
the record with bagpipes, and why use them at all?
PM: Well, I think one of the main reasons why we chose an intro and
outro and to have that with the bagpipes is that the pipes are
a very emotional and a very gloomy Celtic instrument and
it's a Celtic-based scene, which is _Tara_. And we used the
pipes because I wanted to introduce all the skirmishing, the
frenzied-like war tactics and all the hate and banefulness that's
used not only with the lyrical content of the album, but also the
strong skirmishing emotions of the album and what it pertains to.
And actually the outro is a prologue to the album, it's just kind
of... it's a recapitulation and it's just a reprise of what the
intro is, and I think it just explains the thesis behind the
album in the best way.
CoC: How does _Tara_ "balance a collation between tyranny, puissance,
alchemical science, and magick"? [Quote derived from Osmose's
advert for _Tara_, and the album's press release -- Paul].
That's a pretty large, bold, statement and, quite fairly, the
majority of people who read a heavy metal mag aren't gonna know
what the fuck it means.
PM: Yeah, actually I can translate that into a more elementary
terminology which is just magic(k), mythology and mysticism. It's
the juxtaposition between those three elements and to sum it up
into one statement: that's what the album is about, divided into
two chapters -- which I like to call phases -- which is
Ioldanach's Pedagogy and The Cythraul Klan's Scrutiny. So,
those technical terminologies I would say: mythology, magic and
mysticism. I'm not a simple individual. I have to... I'm more of
a vanguard eclectic speaking man, more or less.
CoC: (Do you think people will get the idea of _Tara_? Do you think
you've managed to convey things in a way that people can
understand? With all the technical terminology that you use, do
you think people will be able to understand what you're trying
to say and does it matter to you if they can or not?)
PM: Well, I'm glad you brought that up 'cause with past Absu releases
the aural manifestation has been a little perplexed of the
lyrical content and poetic patterns that are used in previous
albums. Since _Tara_ is a conceptual opus it will become more
intricate and technical not only in the vocabulary but the way
the words are structured within the entire album. But for all
followers and listeners of _Tara_, when they purchase the album,
what I have done -- and what I don't think any other band
in extreme metal music and I know no other band on Osmose
Productions has done -- I have included a four-page full glossary
of every foreign and technical term in the back. So, for example,
when the listener of Absu comes across, maybe the second verse, a
bridge, a chorus or what-not, they come across a word like
Ioldanach, for example, and they think: "what the fuck is that!?
Who is that? How do I pronounce that?", you just go and flip to
page forty-one and all the terms and definitions will be back
there. I wanted to make it a story and almost like a textbook.
It's really important that the listener of Absu understands what
I'm talking about. So defining technical terms and foreign terms,
I think, is very important.
CoC: [I explain my point of view on _Tara_. I do not feel that the
album is quite "innovative and revolutionary" as Proscriptor
claimed it was in an interview in issue #15 of Unrestrained!
magazine, but I do see that in songs such as "Shield With an
Iron Face" there are unusual time signatures being used. I
explain that to me _Tara_ is more an individual record forged
mostly of thrash metal origins. I question Proscriptor on how he
can justify the claim that the album is "innovative and
revolutionary" and ask him to describe what he means by
"mythological occult metal". I believe I also touched on the
fact that many people are likely to pass off _Tara_ as mere
"retro-thrash". -- Paul]
PM: The reason why it's called "mythological occult metal" is
strictly due to the eclectic and eccentric lyrical content,
that's basically what it is. Of course we have elements of black,
thrash, death, doom, heavy metal, hard rock and progressive music
all concocted into one style that, ever since we genesised -- the
spawn of Absu's career in 1989 -- we felt that we'd rather call
"mythological occult metal" before some kind of label is stuck on
Absu's music by fans and the critics. I don't think there's
anything wrong with actually innovating our own moniker inside
metal music. But of course there are references and influences
innovating thrash music that are very relevant in the music,
especially on the album. But I believe that it's quite innovative
and somewhat original because I've studied jazz fusion drumming
and percussion and I've implemented about fifty percent of those
styles into the music of Absu. So, for example, in some of the
parts I've tried to create drum patterns similar to Genesis, King
Crimson, Yes, Loft Machine and Caravan, but sped up at quadruple
speed of anywhere between 270 and 315 beats per minute. So
basically, I'm taking old Seventies hard rock drumming influences
and just speeding them up to a frenzied tempo.
CoC: [Exchanges I can't remember particularly well, but which must
have been about the underlying rhythms in Proscriptor's drumming
-- underneath a seemingly simple central rhythm patterning,
there is often an unusual time signature. I believe my last
comment before Proscriptor here speaks was about the drum
patterning in "Stone of Destiny". -- Paul]
PM: Correct, and quarter rolls that are used on the snare drum as
well, which is highly influenced by Bill Bruford.
CoC: What I found about the album is that it sounds to modern
Nineties listeners like you've gone back, you can definitely
hear influences, but it still sounds like a single band, it
still sounds like Absu.
PM: Correct.
CoC: I think that's generally what most good metal bands do: make an
album that couldn't be someone else.
PM: Right, it gives their sound a signature to it.
CoC: Yeah, definitely. What I found that was really great about
_Tara_ was that it did, like you say, pull together various
different things. There are great bits of stuff that sound to me
like Slayer, and "Stone of Destiny" reminds me of King Diamond
or Mercyful Fate, but not in the sense that I'd rather listen to
those bands.
PM: I understand.
CoC: It's a case of listening to it and going: wow, that's as cool as
some of the stuff they did back in those days, stuff I really
like. Would you say you put a limit on how much you can push
innovation and revolution? Would you put yourself alongside
bands like -- I don't know if you've heard them -- Dillinger
Escape Plan or Botch or other American noisecore bands who are
really screwing around with time signatures and melody and
various other things which, for me at least, I found very
interesting. And I wouldn't say that to me _Tara_ sounds as
revolutionary or as different as that.
PM: To a prior question that I had answered about saying how it's
kind of original and innovative: it's not like we're going out of
the way by using brass or woodwind sections and slipping them
into the music, but what I'm saying about original and innovative
is within the -style- of Absu because, since whenever the band
started, one of our objectives was always to -keep- the same
-style-. -But-, on each release we wanted to be able to handle
the instruments in a different fashion. So there's kind of a
difference between the two because we don't wanna drastically
change the fashion of the euphony, but on each release we wanna
be able to progress, become better musicians, and to be able to
handle the actual instruments in a different way and a different
method. And that's kind of why I'm saying: yeah, it's more
innovated -within- "mythological occult metal" and -within- our
particular style. Sometimes we try to not really limit ourselves
and what we do as far as how guitar riffs, rhythms, bass
lines and percussion: how it's written. But then again, I can
ironically say that we do put a limit because we don't wanna
change the style of the "mythological occult metal", unquote,
that we play.
CoC: _Tara_ seems like a record that is made pretty much outside of
scenes and other music. It doesn't sound like Absu sit down and
listen to, like, twenty or thirty records that came out last
year and go: right, what are these bands doing? And either: can
we do something similar? Or: can we learn something? I think
there are good and bad aspects to that but would you say that in
a sense Absu is written within a bubble, in your own bubble.
Like you were saying about keeping the sound the same but
introducing elements that come from your own inspiration, your
own minds, rather than what happens to be happening at the time.
PM: Yeah, I mean, my influences and inspirations are definitely
different from Shaftiel and Equitant (Ifernain)'s, but then again
we do all have similar inspirations and influences. So, what
we're doing is taking anything from 1959 all the way up to 1999,
whatever style of music, and then concocting it into the style of
Absu's music. But then again, like you said, we are remaining in
a small kind of realm to where there's only so much limits and
there's only a certain kind of euphonic structure that will
always remain the same in Absu, because I think it's very
important, not only to ourselves but to the listeners and the
followers of the music, because drastic change in style and
fashion -- I think it ruins the signature of a band's style. If
you're gonna do that, you might as well terminate the band and go
under a different moniker.
CoC: Yeah, definitely. I think there's a lot to be said for the whole
thing of changing but remaining the same.
PM: Right.
CoC: It's really hard to balance.
PM: And there's many bands within the past four to five years that
have drastically changed the fashion of their sound and I'm
thinking: well, I know you wanna broaden your audience, but then
again I know you're definitely gonna maybe lose some fans and
listeners. So, it's possibly a good idea to change the name of
your band and go under a different rule, your own different rule,
that's the way I feel.
CoC: One thing you can argue about music is how much the -name- and
what the fans expect -is- part of the music, and a lot of
musicians -- I'm not gonna make comment on what is justified and
not -- believe that whatever they do with their music -is- what
their band is, whereas there is in a sense quite a worthwhile
thing to take on; what fans want and expect not only in terms
of changing but also in remaining the same, may have some
relevance.
PM: Correct.
CoC: I think it's a very hard thing to balance. What I found
interesting about how far back you say you go with the music was
listening to the album and getting to "Bron (Of the Waves)"
which just reminds me of mid-Seventies-era Rush.
PM: Yeah, correct.
CoC: In a really cool sort of way 'cause there aren't that many bands
who I've known to insert something like that into quite an
aggressive, fast, technical album and manage it. Was that a
direct reference or something you came up with and later went:
hmm, maybe I was listening to _A Farewell to Kings_ that week?
PM: <laughs> Yeah, well, it does have a strong, kind of a
mid-Seventies feel and atmosphere to it but basically the
structure and the melody of the guitar lines in "Bron (Of the
Waves)" was written for the Celtic mythological character Bron
who was the brother of Mananna'n Mac Lir and he was also a part
of the sea and the way that the waves have rushed and crashed, so
I wanted to make it kind of a subtle piece and I wanted it to be
kind of emotional, a very sensational piece. And that I thought
was a good preface before it goes into the epic song, which is
"Stone of Destiny". So, yeah, it's definitely a part of the old
influence that I have and I thought it would just be a good
preface to the epic song on the album.
CoC: Coming onto a more common issue: a lot of the people who are
gonna read this are gonna be into death metal, black metal and
all sorts of other things, and Absu's a pretty -- in the
traditional meaning of occult, it's a pretty occult concept.
It's quite out there -- occult meaning esoteric...
PM: Esoteric. Definitely.
CoC: That sort of thing. I think the thing about this release is that
you would have to absorb and take a lot of time over it, and
people seem to be absorbing and taking time over things -- a lot
of the time -- less and less now. What would you say -- not in
justifying _Tara_ but in pitching _Tara_ to this sort of
audience? If people say: you've all got Scottish names and
slightly kitsch Celtic themes -- what might seem to them kitsch
-- how would you answer that sort of person or that sort of
attitude? Would you say they're the kind of people who could get
into Absu and how would you go about convincing them?
PM: Well, you know we do have a lot of European ancestral
attributions that are locked within our souls and our minds, and
since there's such a short history behind North America I think
it's most important that we express our ancestral attributions
with our Scottish and Irish bloodlines. I mean, of course our
ancestral lines are a concoction of two to three different
nationalities, but what interests us most is the magic and the
mythology and the esotericism behind Celtic mythology. The two
releases before _Tara_ -- _The Third Storm of Cythraul_ [CoC #18]
and _In the Eyes of Ioldanach_ [CoC #35] -- are actually parts,
first and second parts which lead to the last part of a trilogy
for Absu which is _Tara_. And, you know, _Tara_ being the exalted
imperial hill in county Meath island where the high kings and
tyrants once reigned in Celtic mythology, I thought this would
have been the most appropriate title for this album, being the
concept that it is. And _Tara_ is actually the "stone of
destiny". There's a throne: that's actually at the top. So our
objective was to go through each of the songs before we reached
"Stone of Destiny" -- track 12, which is the epic song -- go
through all these battles, go through a shitload of lessons and
teachings with magic and gnosticism, conquering and beating the
enemy and then being able to go up to the throne, being crowned,
as kind of like emperors, and to be immortalised within our
minds. That's the way I see it and a lot of humans can say
that we're a pretentious, pompous type of outfit: it really
doesn't matter, 'cause metaphysically and conceptually speaking,
combining the history of Scotland, and Ireland especially with
_Tara_, with magic and mythology -- combining those all together
-- those are our certain goals and objectives that are finally
accomplished with the album of _Tara_.
CoC: Right. So, the sort of impression I get is that this is
more like a complex, intricate -- almost like a sort of
well-researched literary work which you seem to have put
together quite meticulously. I mean, maybe there's spontaneity
lurking there, but a lot of it seems -- what's the word --
highly structured, carefully put together...
PM: Correct.
CoC: Nothing is out of place.
PM: Right. There are really no general rules in extreme metal music
anymore and I've never thought there were in the beginning. And
having a pagan heart that we do, basically, to sum this up in a
conclusive thought, what I've done is just basically created and
concocted fiction and non-fiction and actually put them together
and that's part of what _Tara_ is all about, definitely.
CoC: Finally, where would you say the Celtic mythological side
and the heavy metal side meet? 'Cause one of the ways of
interpreting Absu, that some people might take, is that heavy
metal and rock, more than some other forms of music -- not
necessarily more than all but certainly more than popular pop
music, maybe not more than opera -- has this tendency to go for
big concepts, and go for costume or mythology in a sort of
-excessive- way which in other genres would just be thrown out
the window. Some of the stuff Rush would do with concepts would
just be plain silly coming out of certain other bands, but rock
audiences seem to just go with it. Would you say that's at all
the reason why you chose metal to express this large, involved,
intricate and complex concept?
PM: To most people when they think of extreme metal music and heavy
metal music I don't think that the first thing that comes to
their mind is the geographical landscapes of Ireland, I don't
think that's the first thing that comes to mind.
CoC: I completely agree.
PM: They think more of like denim and leather, wearing black and red,
raising a fist up to the sky, more or less.
CoC: If you're pushing into the early-, mid-, late-Eighties --
pushing into thrash -- it's the whole beer-swillin', hard
rockin' attitude, sort of thing. But if take a band like Manowar
-- who are quite shallow in terms of concepts maybe, to some
extent -- a metal audience can accept how utterly ludicrous
Manowar look to the average man in the street. And someone like
me who is serious, and goes to university, and doesn't actually
take it all seriously can enjoy it and enjoy it almost in a
contradictory way. I find it funny but also I find it kind of
cool, I can actually get into that.
PM: Correct. Well, when I think of Celtic myths and legend I think of
three words that come up in the top of my mind: elegance,
resonance [it sounded like he said "renaissance" but that seemed
unlikely considering the comparative historical contexts -- Paul]
and chivalry. Which I think is what internally represents each
member of the Cythraul Klan of Absu. But ironically speaking at
the same time, which is another side to our beings, I think of us
as berserk-like, maniacal, tyrannical and completely insane. And
I think -- I know the adjective that I had said earlier is
totally ironic to what I just said now, but actually with the
music of Absu and especially the album of _Tara_ it's an
intertwine of all those feelings and emotions and state of minds
all combined into one. So with that album: it's maniacal but at
the same time it's very... it's chivalrous, it's elegant. For
example, a song like "From Ancient Times (Starless Skys Burn to
Ash)" is tyrannical, it's maniacal and it's murderous but... I
mean, look at "Bron (of the Waves)".
[Conversation later turned to whether Absu had a "philosophy". --
Paul]
PM: The way that I look at it, it's a philosophy that's perpetual and
infinite. I mean, that kind of goes back to what I was saying
about there being no rules in what we do but actually the way
that I look at it is: realism is metaphysical, and truth is false
and vice-versa. And actually it's survival of the fittest when it
comes to what we discuss within the poetic patterns of the music.
CoC: Would you say there's any influence from the existentialist
movements -- not maybe Nietzsche in the typical way that extreme
metal people take him but more his angle of asking why should we
look for truth and why not look for falsehood? That bears
some vague relation to what you were saying about truth and
falsehood: you don't have to look for one or the other...
PM: Right, um, I would more say that it's about how magic is applied
to the mind and tau [I think it's this Eastern notion that he was
referring to -- Paul]. There are no limits to what the power of
the mind can see and forecast and that's pretty much the way I
look at it.
CoC: I'm not particularly knowledgeable about mysticism and magic(k),
with a "k", I know vaguely that there are texts and there are
"teachings". Would you say you believe in magic(k) in the sense
that you can affect the world with it?
PM: I look at it more as a self-worshipping amulet [I think he said
"amulet" -- Paul]. I think of it not as something that can affect
the physical world, like you said, but it's something more that
can ward off any mortal and human and materialistic disturbances.
It's basically an internal shield for the mind and an external
body-armour for the body. So an internal shield for the mind and
an external shield for the body. That's the way that I look at
it. It's not about casting spells and "I'm gonna turn you into a
pile of ash". It's not about that, but it's about... magic is
about being a self-protectant.
CoC: What would you say for the record for people who try to cast
Absu away as worthless retro-thrash...
PM: <a sinister, sigh-like chuckle>
CoC: ...as some people will and have?
PM: Oh, all I have to say is that you have to be the judge of the
magic(k) and the mythology that I create and that I solicit onto
planet earth.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
S O N G S O F Q U I N T E S S E N T I A L S O R R O W
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CoC interrogates Jonas Renkse of Katatonia
by: David Rocher, Pedro Azevedo and Adrian Bromley
Katatonia have always remained, throughout their now ten-year
long career, a truly mesmerising band, musically thriving in darkened
woe, heart-breaking bleakness and majestic delusion. The CD release
of Katatonia's demo, _Jhva Elohim Meth... The Revival_ (1992),
followed by the magnificent, enrapturing manifest _Dance of December
Souls_ (1993) disclosed them as a doom-laden, melancholic and melodic
act ingrained in the growing Scandinavian blackness at that time. Far
from the many a time efficient, yet uncannily predictable careers of
many acts reveling in the northern scene in the early '90s, Katatonia
then followed an evolution which always maintained them ahead of the
growling, occult packs with whom they shared the scene.
In the space of two consecutive releases -- the _For Funerals
to Come_ MCD (1995) and the hermetic _Brave Murder Day_ (1996)
--, Katatonia had already foreshadowed significant changes in the
bleakness of their works to come, with the appearance of Opeth's
impressive singer Micke Akerfeldt on vocals, and their music
following an increasingly gothic, incantatory slant. With the release
of the beautifully desolate _Sounds of Decay_ MCD in 1997 [CoC #28],
the moody Swedish three-piece already seemed to be writing a sad,
frosty end to a chapter of their own history.
Indeed, as the very confidential and limited _Saw You Drown_
MCD was disclosed in the same year, foretelling the release of
Katatonia's third full-length, the aptly named _Discouraged Ones_
[CoC #31], the band's following was left bewildered and perplexed.
Their music became tangibly more gothic, owing to more mid-paced,
linear compositions and, undoubtedly the most unnerving shock at the
time, Jonas Renkse's clear vocals replacing all the forms of
beautifully grim, literally tantalising death metal rasps featured in
Katatonia's earlier works.
As the initial startled reaction to this change dissipated,
though, it became obvious that the poignant despair and subdued pain
that characterised Katatonia were still there, in a more channeled
form which appeared in even more focused ways with the sequel to
_Discouraged Ones_, the ambiguous and rather uneasy fourth chapter
_Tonight's Decision_ [CoC #42]. Regardless of their quality, both
these releases nonetheless bore the stigmata of transition works, and
it seems that only now, anno 2001, with the release of the _Teargas_
EP and their fifth album, _Last Fair Deal Gone Down_ [CoC #52],
Katatonia have finally succeeded in crafting a sound with which they
seem constantly at ease, and have opened an additional insightful
breach into their despaired world, writing another beautiful, refined
chapter of their evolution.
With this brief history of the band spoken, it is now time to
unveil the massive interview with Katatonia's brooding, quiet and
enigmatic vocalist Jonas Renkse that no less than three CoC writers
have prepared for you.
In a way, the first part of this article is like vintage wine,
as it relates David's conversation with Jonas for the release of
Katatonia's former album, _Tonight's Decision_. The second part
consists of the merging of Pedro's and Adrian's recent interviews
with Jonas, both of which took place shortly after the release of his
band's latest record, _Last Fair Deal Gone Down_.
Please read on, as Jonas Renkse reveals more about the
quintessential sorrow off which Katatonia's majestic evolution
feeds...
Part 1: FEEDING OFF A DARKNESS COMING
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(shortly after the release of _Tonight's Decision_)
by: David Rocher
CoC: So, how would you introduce Kata
tonia's new album [_Tonight's
Decision_] to me?
Jonas Renkse: Well, it's... a dark journey, basically. It's quite a
personal album, of course, because as you might know,
we were doing the "death metal" thing earlier, but we
have been going up quite a lot musically over the last
couple of years, and here we are now, you know? --
doing the normal vocals, and... it's a new direction,
basically.
CoC: Do you actually feel as though there's been a break in
Katatonia's history, or do you view your successive albums and
MCDs as a natural evolution, like growing up?
JR: Yeah, I think it's about growing up, but I feel that with the
previous albums, _Discouraged Ones_, we opened up a new chapter
for Katatonia, with us trying the normal vocals.
CoC: You'd already had a try at these on the track "Scarlet
Heavens"...
JR: Yeah, we did. But it was just... an attempt, we just wanted to
try it on one song, and we never intended to release that one,
but it was released later. But I think "Scarlet Heavens" is quite
different, it's not what we're doing today -- it was more
goth-related, you know? I think what we're doing now really is
what we want to do.
CoC: Don't you believe that what you're doing now is goth-related at
all?
JR: Yeah... <chuckles> I mean, it's goth-related, but I don't really
call it "gothic". I can understand people wanting to put a label
on the music, and that's totally okay with me, but I don't know
what to call our music... but it's kind of "goth-related", as you
say. I mean, that's the closest you can get.
CoC: I guess so. When you first changed vocal styles, what were you
trying to create?
JR: I think that we were talking about trying the normal vocals
because we felt it would give the music an extra dimension,
basically. There's so many more ways now we can vary our music,
not being limited by the death metal vocals with no melody in
them or anything. So doing the normal vocals, we can put more
melody into the music, make it more interesting, basically. And
when we started to do the normal vocals, we were forced to strip
down the song structures quite a lot -- you know, doing the usual
verse-chorus songs, which was kind of hard in the beginning, but
very interesting to work with.
CoC: As it went with "experimenting", is _Discouraged Ones_ an album
you were satisfied with?
JR: Yeah! Very much -- I think it came out very good at the
time, because I'd never been singing "for real" until we did
_Discouraged Ones_, so I'm very satisfied with it. I think it's a
good first attempt towards this new style that we're doing now.
CoC: I'm a bit puzzled about this: the first time you tried using
clear vocals, on the _I Saw You Drown_ MCD, it happened almost
secretively -- it was like a "shy" release...
JR: Yeah, it was. First of all, it's a limited edition, but we did
want to try releasing something before the album, just to get
people to get a picture of what we were going to do on the album
-- but we didn't have any hopes that it would be a big seller, so
we wanted it as a limited edition, and it's always cool to have
an unreleased track on it, you know? It's the "Quiet World"
track.
CoC: "Scarlet Heavens" was almost unreleased, too.
JR: Yeah, almost. But it was just a cool thing to do.
CoC: You mentioned sales -- saying that you weren't expecting
_Discouraged Ones_ to be a big seller. But were Katatonia ever
big sellers?
JR: No, not really. Not as far as I'm concerned. I think _Discouraged
Ones_ has sold, all in all, 20 000 copies, which for me is very
good. It means many people have bought the album, which makes me
proud... but compared to other metal bands, it's not really
anything special. I still think that it's very good, because
_Discouraged Ones_ was released on Avantgarde Music, which is
still kind of a small label, and they've done some very good work
to promote it and everything. I hope _Tonight's Decision_ will
reach out a little bit more, due to the new label we have.
CoC: How did you sign to Peaceville?
JR: We got this letter from Hammy [Peaceville owner -- David] when we
released _Discouraged Ones_. He just wanted to tell us that he
liked the music very much; he didn't tell us that he was
interested back then, he just wanted to say "hey, it's a hell of
a good album". And then we got in touch with him and said that
our contract with Avantgarde had expired, and he was like "oh
shit, this is good -- I want to sign you guys". It was very cool
that he just got in touch to tell us that he liked the music and
nothing else, and that he then wanted to sign us when he heard
that we didn't have a contract at the time, because we had other
labels interested at the time, but they heard that we didn't have
a contract and then got in touch. Peaceville seems to be very...
<ponders>
CoC: More sincere?
JR: Yeah, very much.
CoC: One of Katatonia's endemic features is the sadness and gloom
that appear throughout all your releases, so how do you feel the
change in vocal styles reflects this?
JR: I think it's much easier to relate to the lyrics when I'm doing
the vocals [as opposed to Akerfledt's death vox -- David]. When
you're using a normal voice, it's easier to perform the lyrics in
a more sincere way. So I think doing the normal vocals can only
take the music further, even in the sad and gloomy style that we
have, so I think it can only get worse, basically <chuckles>,
with our new vocals. There's so many ways that you can vary the
songs with these vocals, so I think it's a very good move.
CoC: Actually, I think one of Katatonia's typical features is that
even when you were using the death metal vocals, they were
inflected, and very emotional...
JR: Yeah, yeah, I think so too. I did [that kind of] vocals
on the first album, _Dance of December Souls_, and people
are always telling me how they think the vocals are very
desperate-sounding... I think the vocals on that album are still
very cool. I don't know how I got that voice, but it felt very
natural when we did the album. I'm still proud of that first
record, but I think what we're doing now is far more... mature,
yeah, exactly.
CoC: What about the releases after that, how do you feel about those?
JR: Well, I'm proud of everything. I think the first record is kind
of stressed; we were very young, but I'm still proud that we got
to do an album. <chuckles> When I think about it, it would have
been better if we had waited like one more year, if we'd
practiced a little bit more and had a little more time in the
studio, but I think it's still a worthy debut. The rest of the
albums, well -- I'm proud of everything we've done, I'm proud
that we've released those albums. _Brave Murder Day_ is a special
album to me, because we found something new on that one, that we
still keep in what we're doing today.
CoC: _Brave Murder Day_ was the most repetitive and "painful" of your
albums -- I suppose this was when your gothic influences really
started showing through after the death metal sounds on _Dance
of December Souls_, so how have your influences changed over the
years?
JR: The influences have changed quite a lot, because when we did
the first album, we were mainly influenced by Paradise Lost,
essentially, and Tiamat as well. On _Brave Murder Day_, I'm not
really sure, but I don't think we had many influences when we did
that album. It was more like we wanted to try something really
new for us, which led to this very repetitive sound, which I
think is very dark. But I would say that the influences now come
from more alternative music, because I think it's very good to
bring in influences from other kinds of music and bring them into
our sound. It's very healthy for the band and for the music -- so
we listen to more alternative music now, not so much metal music
anymore; bands like Jeff Buckley, who we did a cover of [in
_Tonight's Decision_], bands like Radiohead and stuff. I think
it's a cool thing to indulge in, with our material.
CoC: So although you're proud of your previous albums, am I right in
supposing you could never write the same albums again?
JR: I think so. We could never do another _Dance of December Souls_;
it would be impossible, because we're such different persons now,
if you compare us to what we were back then. Now, we have grown
more mature, and our music has as well. I understand what you
mean, really. I don't think we will do another _Brave Murder
Day_, with the death metal vocals and everything...
CoC: Would you consider mixing death metal vocals with your clear
vocals?
JR: No, I don't think it would sound very good. Some bands can do it,
but now that we've released two albums with normal vocals only, I
wouldn't like to go back to the death metal thing again. I mean,
it's not that I don't like death metal, I still love it, but it
doesn't fit us any more, because we have regular songs on the new
album, with verse, chorus and everything -- putting in death
metal vocals would sound a bit awkward, it would sound a bit...
funny.
CoC: Although there are no death metal vocals on _Tonight's
Decision_, Micke Akerfeldt still produced the vocals...
JR: Yeah. He did it on _Discouraged Ones_ as well. He's very, very
talented and very musical, and he has a good ear for vocal
melodies, basically, so while we were recording the vocals on the
new album, we just invited him to the studio, and he was there
with us, recording and producing the vocals, and coming up with a
lot of good ideas, good melodies. And also, I think it's very
good to have someone who's not in the band and can be there with
a fresh mind, because we were in the studio for so long, doing
boring things like the drum takes and the guitars and everything,
so when someone comes in with a fresh mind and has a lot of good
ideas, it's very easy. So it's a very cool thing, and especially
with Micke, we're very good friends, so it was a good experience.
CoC: On the drums, you had Dan Swano, with whom you've been working
for a really long time now -- how are things going with him?
JR: It's going well, but the thing is that he didn't have anything to
do with the album except for the drumming, so he just came
down... actually, the album was recorded at Sunlight Studios,
here in Stockholm, so we just called up Dan -- we know that he's
a very talented drummer, and we're good friends with him, since
we've been working so much with him in the past, so we called him
up and asked him if he could come down to Stockholm and lay down
the drum tracks. I think it was a very good idea.
CoC: What's he up to these days? Not much is heard of him these
days...
JR: I think he's doing the new Nightingale album; I think he's mixing
it right now. He works in a music store now -- he closed down the
Unisound studios, because of his family and everything. But he
still has a smaller studio where he records his own stuff and
other people's projects, so he's still very much into the sound
thing. He also intends to release another album under the name
Dan Swano, so that'll be more of a death metal album -- he's
still very active.
CoC: Okay, back to Katatonia -- precisely at the time when all these
bands were recording at Unisound studios, what do you believe
made you stand apart from the masses?
JR: Well, I'm not sure -- it might have been that we had different
ideas about our music, that most bands don't have when they go
into the studio; they just want to have the same sound as their
favourite album, or things like that. But I think that when we
went into the studio, we started from scratch, really, and tried
to work out the best sound for us. And I think it's good for Dan
and for other engineers to have someone who is interested in
getting an own identity -- then you can work very well together.
And I think we worked very well with Dan, he's very friendly and
everything. But the last two albums were recorded at Sunlight
Studios [three now, including _Last Fair Deal Gone Down_ --
David], and it's the same thing, really -- if you have the time
and the will to do something of your own, you can really do it.
CoC: The title of an album such as _Discouraged Ones_ has me
believing that the true meaning of Katatonia has slipped through
most people's fingers, even among your early followers, who may
not be with you anymore since _Discouraged Ones_ -- how do you
feel about this?
JR: Uh... I'm not really sure. The only thing is that I hope what
people understand what we're doing today, because we still have
the same vibes as always, we still have the same interests as
before, and I hope that people can reach a point where they
understand what we're doing today, and look upon the old stuff as
we do -- it's the old material which has got us here, and that's
the most important thing. We would never have sounded like
_Discouraged Ones_ when we started the band, that's impossible --
we had to go through all the stages and everything.
CoC: How would you say your visual identity, which has always been an
important part of Katatonia, has evolved?
JR: Well, I guess... <hesitates> when we started with _Dance of
December Souls_, we were more into having a "black metal" image,
but nowadays, for me it's like... the way we picture ourselves to
the outside is not important at all, because I think the music is
far more important. So we don't have an image, like Marilyn
Manson does or whatever. We just wanted to make music that people
can relate to, that people can love -- that's the most important
thing.
CoC: And how did you land the cover concept for _Tonight's Decision_?
JR: Basically, we just wanted to have something that would fit the
title, so we got in touch with this artist called Travis Smith,
from the States -- we'd seen some of his work before, and that
was very, very cool. We got in touch with him, and told him the
title, _Tonight's Decision_, and we said that we wanted this to
be done with blue colours, we wanted a railway -- and then he
came up with this picture, and we said -- directly -- "this is
the one". It's a very cool picture, it's very dark, and fits very
well with the music.
CoC: Okay, since we're talking about artwork, what was the cover art
to _Sounds of Decay_?
JR: Uh, it's from a film, it was Roberto from Avantgarde who came up
with the picture -- you know, he has kind of morbid tastes, and
he was like "I've got a perfect picture for you!". It's from a
movie called "Begotten", I think, and that picture is God
committing suicide, and we thought "Whoa, this is cool", and I
think it's very, very dark. It's kind of morbid!
CoC: How did you like Christian Death's artwork on which Jesus Christ
was giving himself a fix?
JR: I think that sometimes it's kinda cool. I don't see myself as a
religious person at all, so that kind of mockery, you know, Jesus
Christ getting a fix is something that's... <pauses> still
tasteful. I mean, just picturing Jesus Christ on an inverted
cross with knives in his body and things like that doesn't
interest me -- it's too obvious and cheap. But that kind of other
artwork is cooler -- I don't think it's bad or anything.
CoC: Hm, I actually thought it was a really powerful cover. One
question that comes to my mind now is: what about Katatonia
live?
JR: Okay, well, we haven't been playing that much at all, really. We
did one tour in 1996, for _Brave Murder Day_ -- it was an
European tour, a small tour. I think we had something like twenty
dates with a Norwegian band called In the Woods... So that's the
only tour we've done, and then we've been playing some shows in
Sweden, but this was a long way back. We haven't been playing
live for a very long time.
CoC: What memories do you have of the tour with In the Woods...?
JR: Even though the conditions were very bad, it was a good
experience for us, because we have to play live -- I reckon there
is some demand for it. We're going on a Scandinavian tour next
week with Paradise Lost, so it's our first appearance since our
last show in Sweden for _Brave Murder Day_ -- so we're kind of
nervous! We have a new line-up with a new drummer and a new bass
player, so we have to try them out.
CoC: Will you be playing material only off the last two albums?
JR: Yeah. Because we're opening for Paradise Lost, we don't have very
much time to play, so it's good promotion for the new album,
basically. We're going to concentrate on songs from the two last
albums, because I want to keep my voice -- I don't want to sing
death metal in between and ruin my voice. Maybe if we go on a
bigger tour, we can figure something out to play some of the
older material, because it would be a very cool thing to do. But
right now, I think we'll concentrate on this because we have so
little time on stage, and we have to find out how we should solve
the vocal problem -- because I lost my ability to [growl], you
know?
CoC: Are you looking forward to touring with Paradise Lost? I've
heard that they're kind of egotistical guys...
JR: Yeah. <sighs> I don't have any hopes for the tour, but it's still
a very good opportunity. I don't expect it to be a treat, I'm
just expecting the worst, and we'll see what happens! <chuckles>
CoC: Okay Jonas, I have one last question: how do you think you would
have reacted, back in '92, if someone had come up to you and
played _Tonight's Decision_?
JR: <chuckles> Yeah, I've been thinking about that a couple of times,
recently. I would probably have been shocked, and I think that I
would have been thinking "oh shit, we're gonna sell out!" <we
both laugh>, because in '91 and '92, I was really into death
metal, it was the only thing I would listen to, I hated all other
kinds of music. So I would probably think that the music's shit!
<chuckles>
CoC: Okay, the last words are yours! Thanks and all the best with
your new album!
JR: Oh -- thanks for the interview!
Part 2: DEPEND ON DARKNESS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(shortly after the release of _Last Fair Deal Gone Down_)
by: Pedro Azevedo and Adrian Bromley
Katatonia's latest effort _Last Fair Deal Gone Down_ sees the
band greatly consolidating the sound they have been developing for
the last three full-length albums in this clean vocal era of theirs.
The record seems to be meeting critical acclaim virtually everywhere,
and Peaceville have even placed a sticker on the package saying it is
possibly the best record the label has ever released. Coming from a
label that has released albums by such influential bands as My Dying
Bride and Anathema (and in other genres At the Gates, Darkthrone and
Autopsy), that has to be quite a compliment.
"It feels good, of course", acknowledges Renkse. "We didn't ask
Peaceville to do that, though, we only saw it when the album came
out. But I am very satisfied with _LFDGD_. Musically it's superior to
anything else we've done; we have put down a lot of time giving the
material its special edge. It's more diverse and that makes it a
little easier to listen to. I think it matches the sound I was
looking for and hoping we'd be able to do when we first started
working on song demos. _Tonight's Decision_ might have been a little
darker, but on the other hand it was more of a test for us, we were
trying out different things on that one."
For _LFDGD_ Katatonia have recruited two new band members. Fred
Norrman's role in the band has changed from bassist to guitarist, and
so his brother Mattias was brought into the fold to replace him on
bass duties. Meanwhile, Jonas Renkse now concentrates exclusively on
his vocals, leaving the drum kit for new member Daniel Liljekvist.
"They have adapted extremely well to Katatonia", Renkse is
pleased to report. "The new bass player is Fred Norrman's younger
brother, so we knew him from before. The drummer, Daniel, is very
cool, very easy to work with as well. I think they've put their
personal touch to whatever they did on the record and that's good for
our sound. I also think the fact that we were able to rehearse as a
full band made us sound better when we eventually got into the
studio."
Speaking of which, Katatonia's work at Sunlight Studios was not
without its difficulties this time around. Jonas explains: "It took
some time to make and record this album, because we had some
financial troubles which didn't allow us to be in the studio all of
the time. It was a very troublesome period for us, but in the end I
think it may have been good for us. We recorded from April to
December last year, in small parts all of the time, and when you are
away for a couple of weeks you can come back and sit down, listen to
what you have done and decide if it is good or not. If there were
some guitar parts we didn't like, we could take the time to think
about whether it belonged there and either fix it or omit it from the
album. I think we actually gained something from all of this mess, so
it is cool. It is getting a lot easier for us to achieve the sound
and vibe of what we want in each Katatonia record. I am a big fan of
being in the studio, I am happy with our studio experiences." He
adds: "We knew that the record was eventually going to come out, it
was just a matter of time. We weren't worried about it being delayed,
it was just something that came out from our problems with the studio
and the finances."
Katatonia's songwriting process is not a linear one either,
according to Jonas. "I think it's different in every record. Anders
[Nystrom, guitarist] is the band's main songwriter and he can really
do a lot when it comes to making music, but it comes in spurts. One
day he'll be all over the place writing music and the next he'll be
struggling to get a part down. Sometimes it'll be three or four
months before we hear new stuff. This album we started to write once
the last record _Tonight's Decision_ came out [in 1999], so it was
about six or seven months of writing. It was a lot of hard work for
us."
_Last Fair Deal Gone Down_ is both a varied record and still
strongly Katatonia, and the material contained therein provides vast
subject for discussion. Jonas reveals that his favourite tracks from
_LFDGD_ are "Clean Today", "Tonight's Music" and "Passing Bird", and
explains the story behind the _Teargas_ EP (which came out shortly
before _LFDGD_) and its title track. "It wasn't a label decision",
states Renkse. "We sort of knew when we wrote the song that if there
should be a single from the album, "Teargas" would be excellent. It's
short but effective. The decision to release an EP was ours as well:
we had a few leftover tracks that wouldn't be on the record, so we
wanted to release them as well, and then the idea to put out the
_Teargas_ EP came up."
A few of the tracks on _LFDGD_ deviate somewhat from what
one might expect from Katatonia in some ways; most notably the
electronics on "We Will Bury You". Jonas offers some surprising
revelations about that: "Well, we had to use the electronics on "We
Must Bury You" since our drummer lives in another town and had
already left when Anders came down to the studio saying "I made this
new song last night". But I think that's cool, it gives the album
more diversity and that's quite important. Also, it's a very short
song, so it's not like we've changed our sound completely."
"This is something we have worked really hard to achieve, to
make each song a lone chapter or sound", Renkse adds. "Our previous
albums, especially _Discouraged Ones_, they are all very much alike.
So, we wanted to go away from that and have each song have its own
identity, and I think we pretty much succeeded there. A lot of people
tell me this is quite the diverse record and I am happy to hear that.
That was the plan all along, to have this sound good and be diverse."
Renkse continues: "I think we have a wide range of influences
and that doesn't just come from other types of music. A lot of things
happen around you and that tends to get into the music and the
lyrics. Musically speaking, we have been listening to a lot of
different things over the last little while and I think it shows up
quite a bit on this record. People say we aren't metal anymore and I
don't know how I feel about that. I think we still play heavy music,
but it is really hard to shake our death metal roots. We have been
listening to a lot of stuff, but not really metal or doom music. I
think Tool has been a big influence on us one way or another."
"Looking back, I am not sure what we wanted to do with this
sound, but it just seems to have been the way for us to grow as a
band and explore new things. When this band started ten years ago,
and we were playing death metal, I couldn't have foreseen what we
have become and the music we are playing. It is very far from what we
started out doing, but as we grow older I think we all want to make
music that our parents want to listen to", he quips.
Renkse and his bandmate Fred Norrman have also produced
something far less parent-friendly since Katatonia started to develop
this new sound of theirs, a sound which is far from the raw emotions
of _Dance of December Souls_ and the harshness of _Brave Murder Day_.
This project goes by the name October Tide, under which guise Renkse
and Norrman released two full-length records [CoC #30 and #41], the
second of which with Marten Hanssen (of the now deceased A Canorous
Quintet) on vocals. This dark and doomy project has now come to an
end, however.
"Basically we did it because we thought it was fun to play
guitar together, coming up with cool -- and especially for _Grey
Dawn_ -- awkward riffs", Renkse explains. "There was no philosophy
behind the band, and thus we couldn't really continue. Inspiration
ran dry and we decided to fully concentrate on Katatonia instead. I
do especially like _Grey Dawn_, because it's very different, I'd say;
we wanted to do something that had not already been done, and I think
that we succeeded in that at least. But there will be no more October
Tide albums, we are fully occupied with the duties in Katatonia and
we'd rather save our ideas for the main band."
None of the October Tide records included lyric sheets, but
Jonas does produce plenty of emotional and intensely personal words
for Katatonia. "I write all the time", he affirms. "I keep small
notes everywhere and when it's time to do a new album I have to
collect those small pieces and try to see what I was thinking about
at the time -- it's sort of a puzzle to make them fit together.
Luckily my lyrics often deal with similar subjects, so it's not that
hard after all. Some of the lyrics for this new album I had to make
up, though, since I found everything being more or less in the same
style. As you say, intensely personal. And after a while I feel that
it might be too much to just read about my damn problems... So "Sweet
Nurse" and "We Must Bury You" especially are more fiction rather than
personal lyrics. The latter coming from an article I read about some
people committing an accidental murder and they had to get rid of the
body. I tried to see myself in their situation, with all their fear,
regret, excitement."
Jonas is not very keen on describing the kind of emotional
qualities of his vocals, however. He explains: "It's hard to tell
since I don't really try to achieve something special with my vocals,
I just try to make them work together with the lyrics. And since the
lyrics are so personal, I guess it's just me in the end. I guess
there is some desperation in the vocals, if you listen close... and
troubles."
As the subject of performing live is brought up, Jonas soon
reveals he is not very comfortable with those situations. "I am not
really fond of playing live", he admits. "It is like my nightmare,
really. I am a bit shy and the stage fright just hits me when I am
playing. I get real nervous, because now I am singing for the band
and the focus is on me. I used to be the drummer, but now I am
leading the band and it puts me in a totally different position. The
reason why I make an attempt to get past the nervousness is because I
like the vibe and feelings I get when I play live. I like meeting
people who have and continue to support my band. I usually drink a
beer or something like that before a show to kind of make me relax.
Once I get on stage it all changes: I start to hear everything come
into place and everyone is playing together as one and I start to
feel in control. I tell you, those five minutes before you go on
stage are the worst feeling for me. It is terrible, but I am getting
used to it. It is all I can do."
Katatonia recently played three dates in England, Belgium and
Holland [CoC #52] with all four of the other bands that were signed
to Peaceville at the time (Akercocke have also joined the label since
then). Despite the stage fright, Jonas reckons it was a positive
experience. "It's good to play live, we need to practice our live
performance since we haven't been very active on the live front,
mostly due to our line-up problems. So it was good, it was good for
Peaceville as well, I think, to show that they are still going
strong. The gigs could have been better, I guess, but at least two of
them were cool."
On a different subject, the artwork has been consistently
remarkable on every Katatonia full-length since _Brave Murder Day_,
and Jonas comments on that particular record first. "We found the
front and back cover pictures in an archive here in Stockholm", he
recalls. "They have tons of good -- and bad -- pictures, and we
instantly fell for those two as both of them represented what we were
doing at the time. The band picture is also cool, we had the
photographer shoot our reflections in a pool of oil in an industrial
area -- I think that gives the picture a darker shade than if it was
just an ordinary photo."
More recently, renowned artist Travis Smith has created some
impressive artwork for the last two Katatonia records; Jonas seems to
be quite pleased. "This time it was a bit different, because for
_Tonight's Decision_ he did most of the work in the computer, I
think, but this time he actually had to go out and shoot the right
pictures for us. We told him what atmosphere we wanted to be
displayed through the layout and he had to get down to those shitty
places, like ghettos, to catch that urban decay feeling. The cover is
from inside an old shack that he had to break into, and there were
beds there, with blood on them and ratty curtains and things like
that. And then he found this bathroom and it was excellent to use as
a cover. I personally like the picture with a sign saying "closed
ahead" because that somehow reminds me of how my life can be at
times."
Jonas has little to reveal about the future, but he does give
some idea of how the band is feeling. "We haven't been talking about
a new album yet. I think it can turn out different, though, we have
to develop all the time and now we have made three albums more or
less in the same style. I don't think we will get more electronic
than we already are, though. The songs are the most important thing
for us, a good song is always a good song, and if it sounds good when
you're writing it, it can only get better. So I think we will focus
on that, the songs. And then think of new ways to surround them."
Renkse ends the interview with some words on what his role in
Katatonia does for him. "This just acts as a real cleansing feeling
for me. To be able to write music, write lyrics and work on an album
is a great feeling. Making things happen and watching them grow into
such powerful pieces is just such an awesome feeling. I need to
create music to be happy, 'cause if not I'd be so restless I wouldn't
know what to do with myself."
Let us hope things stay that way in Katatonia for a long time to
come.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
DEAD HEAT FOR THE POLITICIANS OF ECSTASY
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CoC chats with Jim Sheppard of Nevermore
by: Paul Schwarz
Nevermore were behind Nile by a mere single point in our Writer's
Poll of 2000 [CoC #52] -- and had I had the time to get into _Dead
Heart in a Dead World_ [CoC #50] just a week or two longer than when
the polls went in, I probably would have unwittingly made it
album of the year. Nevermore would have deserved it too, not
necessarily over Nile, but in different ways just as much -- as
reward for the true brilliance of what they created. In _DHiaDW_
Nevermore created one of the greatest classically metal records I
have ever had the pleasure to hear, and yet more admirably also
made an exceptionally contemporary, modern metal record. Chopping,
changing and percussive riffs and rhythms one minute, acoustic
and infectious, catchy melodies and refrains the next: Nevermore
synthesised contemporary ideas of brutality with truly classic, yet
non-regressive, songwriting. I almost expected my CD player to gain a
personality and ask to hear some other in the weeks when I was
spinning _DHiaDW_ night, day, and to just about anyone who came in
the room. That's another wonderful thing about Nevermore: their
wide-ranging, deep-down appeal. Without pandering, Nevermore present
sounds and songs which I believe most listeners to most forms of
heavy music -- from Agoraphobic Nosebleed to AFI -- would latch onto,
given time -- and I have watched a varied selection do so. So, on the
day of which the evening would bring my first experience of their
mighty live presence, I hooked up with bassist Jim Sheppard in
London's Astoria (where tonight's Metal Odyssey gig where Dimmu
Borgir, In Flames, Lacuna Coil and Susperia would also be present)
and we had the following chat on the way to and on the very balcony
where from, a mere few hours later, I would watch Nevermore put on a
show which filled me with excitement and prompted my lungs to sing
along with the lyrical lines from every song I could remember -- that
being most of them!
CoC: How has it been touring with Annihilator and Soilwork in Europe?
Jim Sheppard: Pretty good. There was a positive vibe. The new record
seems to be affecting people a lot better.
CoC: It seems to have caught people more than the last one -- just
like the last one caught people more than the one before. It
seems to be a good growing process.
JS: Slowly getting there.
[As we walk by an Astoria advertisement poster -- proclaiming:
"Thursdays will never be the same!" -- Jim repeats the tagline in
mock-enthusiastic tones. As I relate the amusing billings that come
about as a result of this regular gay night falling after gigs (like
"Napalm Death + Gay") and some of the homophobic reactions of metal
fans to such things, we reach the balcony, and a table where we can
sit down and get to chatting seriously.]
JS: I think Rob Halford's starting to break that a little, though.
CoC: Yeah, I think so. That was funny: it was really funny how
everyone was really surprised and the guy has been dressing in
leather and wearing his cap for so long.
JS: Then he tells it with a boa and some eyeliner.
CoC: Yeah, strange that the way he said it [the industrial, Nine Inch
Nails-flavoured musical direction Halford took on his album
under the name Two, _Voyeurs_ -- Paul] was totally what he
wanted to do and then suddenly he turned out to want to do metal
again. Suspicious. This is your first time in the UK, I'm told?
JS: Yeah, with Nevermore.
CoC: How are you enjoying it?
JS: Well, we just got here and immediately went for fish and chips.
We were here ten or eleven years ago with Sanctuary. We went to
Hammersmith and some other places on a tour with Megadeth. And I
haven't forgotten how good the fish and chips are.
CoC: Excellent, d'you find a good chippie?
JS: Yeah... <his voice takes on a slightly disappointed tone> Not as
greasy as what we got when we were here before, so, a bit dry,
but it was good.
CoC: This being the first show here with Nevermore, how are you
feeling about playing for the first time for a UK audience?
JS: Excited. Especially to play to a large audience, like will be
here tonight.
CoC: Yeah, the show sold out the place next door [Mean Fiddler,
previously London Astoria 2] and they moved it in here.
JS: Yeah, we're really excited, I wish we could play a little bit
longer.
CoC: How long have you got?
JS: Most of this tour we've had forty-five minutes and it was
Susperia, Lacuna Coil, Nevermore, In Flames and Dimmu Borgir. But
this show in particular the promoter wanted to switch the bands
around so we play before Lacuna Coil. I think they're a bit more
popular here so we get thirty minutes.
CoC: That makes me pretty sad.
JS: I don't really understand how it works production-wise either,
'cause we've been sharing a drum riser with In Flames, the first
bands set up in front of it, and then Dimmu Borgir has their own
drum riser. So it should be a production nightmare.
CoC: Do you know whether the album has been doing well, or average,
or badly?
JS: In the UK we haven't been doing that well. As Sanctuary I think
we did better, then that whole scene died out and bands like
Machine Head and harder stuff got more popular here. I noticed
with this record we've been kind of in the grey: we appeal a bit
to a melodic crowd, a little bit to a heavy crowd. So as we do
get a little bigger I think we pull from each fanbase.
CoC: That's always the hope: that you do that rather than alienating
one or the other.
JS: I hope that we can at least start doing the set thing [In terms
of sales, I think he meant -- Paul] in the UK to the point that
we can at least come here and tour 'cause we really like being
here.
CoC: That's my hope as well, as a fan. That's the thing about the
album that's interesting: it does kind of really cut a good line
in-between the two [between the heavy crowd and the melodic
crowd], even better than _Dreaming Neon Black_ [CoC #38]. You've
really got that heavier, more percussive side of things. If
people -- which I'd hope -- discover Nevermore through this
album, does it feel a bit strange -- having done Sanctuary,
having three or four albums with Nevermore now -- for people to
suddenly, sort of, discover you as a new band? Is that a bit of
a strange thing? 'Cause you're known in the underground and well
respected throughout magazines at the level of Terrorizer but
above that people don't know the name of the band.
JS: It's strange but it's a good feeling, 'cause it definitely means
that we're getting a little more popular. I don't have any
unreasonable hopes of being a megastar or anything. I wanna do
well enough to secure a future and make a living. So when we
start reaching the new audiences it definitely is that really
good feeling. I mean, I've seen things on this tour that I've
never seen at a Nevermore show before where we had someone in
full goth regalia and somebody next to her in a Slipknot shirt.
We'll have a kind in a Deicide shirt moshing to "Inside Four
Walls" and stop to sing "The Heart Collector". I've never seen
anything like that, so...
CoC: That's really cool. I think Nevermore like a lot of really good
bands within the metal / extreme music genre are doing well out
of the scene that seems to be emerging. I've talked to a lot of
people recently from the guys from Relapse, to Nile, to various
other bands from all over the place and people seem to be
accepting a lot more of a general idea of extreme music. They
can listen to Nevermore and grindcore and Nile and different
bands mixing different things. That's the hope, and what you're
saying backs that up. How does that fit with your vision of what
you do with the music? The last album was a concept album and
this album isn't, is it?
JS: No, it's just a straightforward metal album.
CoC: And the songs!... It's one of those albums where I can't deny
any of the songs. There's no skipping. I listen to the whole
thing and each song has its own character. Having done that --
and I imagine being quite pleased with that -- how does that fit
with your idea of what you'll do for the next one?
JS: Perfectly. I think... The first Nevermore record was just some
demos we were doing, shopping around. It wasn't intended to be a
record but it happened that way. And then with _The Politics of
Ecstasy_ [CoC #15] we kind of felt that we did an album where we
had to prove ourselves, technically and stuff. We kept it
different with _Dreaming Neon Black_ -- we kind of wrote some of
the music to the concept that Warrel had and this time we were
kind of relaxed. We just decided that we couldn't have another
two years in-between records and just decided to do pretty much a
straightforward metal record and get it out as soon as possible.
It made me realise that in the past we had a habit of fixing
things that weren't broken -- adding bridges where you didn't
need one, that kind of thing. I think we're all maturing as a
songwriting team: this one flowed so much easier. Sometimes
people perceive that as selling out, but to me I see as just your
songwriting gets better. And I hope we can keep that vibe going.
Our record company puts a lot of pressure on us each record
'cause you've gotta do a better job this time. We just don't put
any pressure on ourselves and it just kind of happens naturally.
We're really fortunate to have two great songwriters: Jeff and
Warrel.
CoC: That's the thing, _Dead Heart..._ has great songs, yet heavy
songs and you have a lot of off-time riffs and interesting
structures but there's always a central theme. There's always a
chorus you can sing-along to -- and it's not cheap catchiness,
it's the good side of catchiness. That's an interesting thing to
get. Do you find that comes out well live? Playing the rest of
the shows on the tour, have people sung along?
JS: Yeah. This record, more than any one we've ever done, we get a
lot of people who sing along. I don't know about tonight because
I'm not sure how many records we sell here but obviously in
Germany, Greece, Portugal, Italy, a lot of people have the
record, and the favourite sing-along to have is "The Heart
Collector".
CoC: That's not surprising. It's a great song.
JS: It's a great chorus. The response from the audience has been
incredible so far. So, maybe we can get that going tonight, that
would be fun.
CoC: That would be cool. I'd like to see that. I'll help. Do you find
it's kind of difficult doing Nevermore with the whole true metal
revival that has been going on throughout Europe? Some people
would like to fit Nevermore into that -- I don't know whether
Century Media would -- but one of the things about _Dead
Heart..._ is that it kind of shies away from that by being a bit
too heavy and a bit too modern, to be honest. That's what I
really like about it: that it mixes melody and a modern,
percussive sound. Do you ever feel pressured to go down that
road of writing cheesier metal songs?
JS: The thing that makes us more original than most bands in the
first place is that we added a newer guitar player -- Jeff was in
a death metal band. He had some more modern influences, of course
me and Warrel from Sanctuary had some old-school influences and
brought 'em together, but the whole true metal scene puzzles me
because we have some bands in Europe that deny Nevermore and,
actually [we get] a lot of this thing with Iced Earth where
Nevermore and Iced Earth are American metal, and <adopts mocking
monotonic voice> "American metal is not true me-tal". And I'm
like: what's true metal? To me, true metal is that first metal
record I heard: _Black Sabbath_. That's true metal. They're just
trying to find an identity, I guess. To me, it's like a lot of
Helloween clones are calling themselves true metal.
CoC: God that stuff's awful!
JS: It's amazing 'cause in Europe you get one and you get ten of
them. It's almost like the nu-metal scene in the US where you
have a band like Limp Bizkit and then you have all these bands
who copy them -- but in America they all go gold. It's
unbelievable.
CoC: I know, it's amazing how much that trend gets to permeate before
it goes. In Europe, Primal Fear and all that stuff is all
becoming very popular. I think what is interesting is that metal
has a history -- although Black Sabbath changed a lot of things
in -their- time -- metal has this weird sort of stigma of
wanting to repeat itself, in some cases.
JS: Yeah.
CoC: Whereas other people wanna see it as something where you can do
something new. And they always seem to clash. Some people claim
that it's "not metal" when you try to do something new and some
people are very much the opposite. I remember Satyr from
Satyricon talking about black metal and he was saying that for
extremity you have to push boundaries. I totally agree with
that. This last year has been an amazing year not only 'cause of
the good records that have come out but also 'cause of the
variety. I found making up a top twenty there was Nile,
Cryptopsy, Drowning Man, Nevermore and loads of stuff that hit a
really good range of music. Do you find in the States the
audiences are less or more? Do you find they're more receptive
to the music 'cause they're -not- coming from the true metal
thing or do you find it's the same problem kind of the other way
'round from the nu-metal side of things, maybe?
JS: A little bit. I think we've always been a band of the underground
and I think, like you said, it's a really exciting time for hard
music and metal. Especially in America, we usually like to hook
up with a Swedish band; Swedish bands seem to be really popular.
Even though we would sell more records than them, they seem to
have a really good draw at the shows. We just supported In Flames
in the States and that was awesome. We did a tour with Mercyful
Fate not too long ago and had about a thousand people on the
weekends, no less than six-hundred. The In Flames tour was pretty
close to the same; you'd see some of the same fans there, not all
of them. In Seattle especially, the whole metal scene went a bit
stagnant when grunge came along. And then Korn came out and was
really big and everybody who was into old-school metal denied
Korn and, I mean, it's not my favourite band but I really
appreciate what they do and the fact is that in Seattle when Korn
became popular a lot of the nu-metal fans were looking at
their roots like Iron Maiden, Nevermore, and actually ended up
discovering us. As soon as that whole thing broke our draw
tripled in Seattle, again.
CoC: I think that's another weird thing: a lot of metallers are
negative towards nu-metal. For me, a lot of the bands I don't
like; I like a couple of them, like Amen. At the Drive-In are
another band [I like] who get lumped in with nu-metal. The thing
is, I don't think nu-metal is metal, but I think it's still a
valid form of extreme music and people can like it or dislike it
on its own terms. But it's a pity that there has to be this big
fight about whether it's metal or not.
JS: Yeah, it is a pity. Personally I liked Metallica, I loved every
song, every record, it was kind of like the old days of Rush:
once you been hooked by that band, you can't do anything about
it. With nu-metal I actually call it pop-metal. If I hear Korn on
the radio and I like a few songs, I won't go out and buy the
record just 'cause I don't like 'em all. Same thing with Limp
Bizkit: there's a few songs -- mainly off the first album; I
really like quite a bit of it -- but the newer stuff is obviously
a bit commercial and for MTV.
CoC: Limp Bizkit have always, to me, been the most commercial part of
it and the part I really don't like, but in the end you do have
to give Fred Durst some credit for being clever. He's made a lot
of money, he's sub-head [yes, I meant, Vice-President -- Paul]
of Interscope Records and that, so...
JS: He's a businessman more than a musician. I really got into the
first album 'cause the bass player really caught my attention.
He's an amazing bass player. Funny story: we were talking to some
people in the industry in America and they told us this story
about the band Linkin' Park. They're pretty big in the US now and
there was a major label behind them and an A&R guy said: let's
get another singer involved, give them a little more depth, let's
change your name to Linkin' Park, and that way we'll release it
the same time as Limp Bizkit and we'll just massively push it all
over the TV and radio and that way when the kids go to buy Limp
Bizkit, right behind it is Linkin' Park.
CoC: That's thoroughly clever.
JS: Yeah, and it went platinum within a month: after five weeks in
the charts.
CoC: I remember people mentioning Linkin' Park to me, and a few weeks
later it was everywhere here in the UK, and everyone had heard
of it.
JS: I mean, that's genius, that's a businessman at work: change the
name, put it right behind Limp Bizkit...
CoC: Yeah, and good business -can- mix with good music, but it's a
pity when business comes first.
JS: Yeah.
CoC: I think that's one of the problems with music, sometimes, at the
moment. You said one the pressures from Century Media was
topping this record: do you mean creatively or do you mean also
in sales? Where do they put the most emphasis, do you find?
JS: I took it creatively but they might have been meant
business-wise. It's a shame you can't separate money and art.
Painfully, I've learned that it has to be a business, you have to
be business-smart if you wanna survive doing it. Otherwise you
might as well get out and get a real job.
CoC: Absolutely.
JS: Especially this year we've been really focussing on that. We
haven't had a manager for a long time so me and Warrel have
pretty much been managing the band ourselves.
CoC: Do you find that better?
JS: No. It's like a Catch-22: to get to the next level you need
management, to get management you need to get to the next level.
We finally were working with getting management the last two
years and finally hooked up with a guy at Continental Concerts
named Gerald, a German guy, really good manager. So we're
psyched.
CoC: Let's talk a bit about the album. What kind of themes do you
have running through the songs? Because, in many ways the
melodies can make it seem -- not happy -- but melodic and
consumable but in general it seems to be quite -dark- in terms
of subject matter: the title, songs like "Narcosynthesis" and
"Inside Four Walls". Are you really trying to say something with
the songs or are you just making a small point?
JS: Warrel is actually trying to say something; he composes the
lyrical content. He finds a lot of inspiration in the darker side
of the personality and he does a lot of his writings staying up
drinking all night and getting a little depressed: I think a lot
of it comes out. It's just where he finds his inspiration, I
mean, he doesn't walk around with a cloud over his head when he's
done with the creativity part of it. He comes out of it a pretty
happy guy. But there's some threads that connect this record to
the past ones. Like: when we wrote _The Politics of Ecstasy_, we
saw the show on TV and we were really disturbed by the political
climate in America: laws, that "drug offenders would do more time
than child molesters, rapists and murderers".
CoC: Used on "Inside Four Walls", right?
JS: Yeah, but that album [_TPoE_] wasn't that personal to us, but we
felt strongly about it. Then years later a good friend of ours
went to prison, first offence, and he's in prison for seventeen
years. And violent criminals get out before he does. And that's
where that song ["IFW"] came from. So that kind of connects to
_The Politics of Ecstasy_ but we came to realise it personally.
"Dead Heart in a Dead World", the title track, was pretty much
just putting closure to _Dreaming Neon Black_, which was a pretty
personal story for Warrel. Most of the rest of the songs are just
fun. When we did "We Disintegrate" we felt like Judas Priest
doing balls-out metal.
CoC: Absolutely. It's really very chorusy in all the good ways.
"Believe in Nothing" is a really good juxtaposition because it's
probably the most melodic and imbuing song on the record -- "The
Heart Collector" has a certain element but "Believe in Nothing",
which I heard on samplers, is very melodic -- but it's
also complete nihilism (lyrically) [though that's maybe an
exaggeration from a philosophic perspective -- Paul].
JS: That song definitely is one I'm proud of and we really like. A
lot of people, 'cause we did a video for it, were offended at the
fact we did a video for that song and wanted to know if we were
changing our direction. But if you listen to every Nevermore
album we have a song that's kinda like that. We grew up listening
to Scorpions and stuff and we don't deny ballads. We all pretty
much wrote that whole thing but the whole lyrical thing could be
summed up by the fact that we covered "SoS", "Sound of Silence".
Warrel's sisters were big fans of that and he grew up listening
to Simon & Garfunkel. And I think you can see this correlation
between Warrel's lyrics and Paul Simon's lyrics. Paul Simon wrote
some really dark, depressive material back then, but the melodies
were kind of upbeat and poppy. And I think you can kind of see a
little bit of that in our music where the lyrics are pretty heavy
and dark at times but the music isn't always as dark as the
lyrics.
CoC: I think that's definitely something you can do with music. A lot
of popular songs from the past, if you actually sit down and
listen to the lyrics, you can see how screwed up some of these
people must have been. Is the music written very separately to
the lyrics -- are the lyrics put to the music -- or do you kind
of write them in tandem? The bit in the middle of "Inside Four
Walls" really seems to fit with that quoting and with the feel
of it: "Is this justice? Is this the American way?".
JS: It's actually, I think, a kind of magic. It's chemistry in the
band, we've been together long enough. Sometimes Warrel has the
vocal melodies and hums the guitar lines to Jeff. Other times
Jeff has the music and Warrel just... it's like magic: he'll have
some lyrics that automatically fit to it. He has always wanted to
do "The Sound of Silence" and we never set out to cover the song.
Jeff wrote a song and presented it to Warrel and he immediately
heard the vocal melodies of "Sound of Silence". We didn't plan on
doing that as a cover, we have a history of bastardising covers
but I think this time we took it a step further, you could say.
CoC: Foolish that I am I didn't realise: it just sounded like a good
song that fitted into the record. [*see bottom] So, I guess you
managed to do it properly.
JS: We're all wondering if Paul Simon is gonna like it or hate it.
It'd be fun to see him do a soundcheck with that song. Really,
the only part of the song that's connected to the original is the
guitar line at the beginning and as soon as it kicks in it's a
completely different song with the exception of the vocals and
the lyrics.
CoC: How do you think Nevermore -- as the audience for the band goes
-- fits with the other bands on tonight's bill [Susperia, Lacuna
Coil, In Flames and Dimmu Borgir in case it wasn't clear]. Dimmu
Borgir are a very popular black metal proposition and then In
Flames is a very different audience. Lacuna Coil maybe fits with
Dimmu Borgir [wrong, wrong and wrong in retrospect! -- Paul] and
so do Susperia, but I think the one you'd fit with would be In
Flames?
JS: Yeah.
CoC: Do you think a lot of the crowd are gonna be a bit non-plussed
or do you think with your earlier idea of the different kids,
things will be OK?
JS: It's hard to say. In most of Europe the crossover thing is
working really well. With this package we haven't had any
negative response from the audience at all. And I kinda think
there are two bands who are in the same kind of genre: Susperia
and Dimmu Borgir, opening and closing, which makes sense. Lacuna
Coil is a completely different thing to me and then Nevermore is
different and In Flames are different.
CoC: In Flames are definitely on a different sort of trip from
Nevermore, but I can sort of, in a very vague way, see where
people would link up the two. I know a lot of people who like In
Flames who also like Nevermore. When I first play people
Nevermore a lot the comments I've got have been: it's kind of
heavy and it's kind of melodic and I'm not sure where it's
going. Then, after a few listens, they like that aspect of it.
Do you find that live, by the time you're finishing your set,
people are getting it, or do you find it catches them a bit
off-guard?
JS: I notice that by the end a lot of people who were there for Dimmu
with their faces staring at us blankly at the end are headbanging
and getting into it.
CoC: So, not the typical "Slayer reaction"?
JS: I think the fact that we've never really budged or changed
direction and just stuck with the grey area we were in, now that
we're expanding into the other audiences it definitely will give
us some longevity if we pull a little bit from each audience. I
am excited for tonight, really. I've seen shows in Seattle for
bands who open for Slayer: that's like the kiss of death. But I
think with this European bill all the bands are different but
there is a thread between 'em all that we can connect with. The
gothic, thrash...
CoC: This is a big enough thing where it's not a Dimmu Borgir gig,
it's the "Metal Odyssey" gig. They'll hopefully be people here
to see all the bands.
And there were, I can assure you...
[After the interview, I ask Jim to sign something. I mention how
cliche it seems for me to ask for my album to be signed, and he
supplies me with a convenient quote to end this interview with.]
JS: It sounds kind of cliche, but it is my favourite Nevermore record.
[*Note: I'd never heard the original version until recently, and
after this interview (you are further recommended to check out the
Simpsons alternative take on the same song in the episode "Lady
Bouvier's Lover", though it was the lyrics that they altered). --
Paul]
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I N N E R R E S O N A N C E
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CoC interviews Danny Cavanagh of Anathema
by: Adrian Bromley
You'd think that Anathema guitarist Danny Cavanagh would feel a
bit of pressure right now with work being put forth simultaneously
for the fall release of their upcoming new album _A Fine Day to Exit_
and their two-part retrospective collection _Resonance_ [part one
reviewed in this issue]. Well folks, he isn't worried one bit. In
fact, right now he's more worried about getting time in for a bath,
some house chores and a trip to the city with his girlfriend.
"I've just been busy doing things around the house and sorting
through things", starts Cavanagh down the phone line. I admit to him
that I have been busy before this interview, busy doing my laundry
and cleaning my apartment. "Oh yes, I'll have to do some laundry
later on if I get a second or two. <laughs>"
For someone who is having a hard time finding downtime in his
busy schedule to wash a load, what gives with both projects going on
at the same
time, Danny?
"The whole idea for the collections came from Hammy, who runs
Peaceville Records. We are not with Peaceville anymore. He is trying
to re-launch the label again with new distribution, so he is trying
to put out these two albums of material. We told him, to help out,
that he should release the material separately. Have one record with
the softer, ambient stuff and the second disc full of all the heavy
stuff. Doing all of this is really to help Hammy and get Peaceville
up and running strong again. I guess it will be great if we can see
some money from it, but I don't want it to affect the sales of the
album _A Fine Day to Exit_ [on Music for Nations]. I am going to have
to insist that he put out this collection -after- the new album comes
out this fall."
"All we had to do for this record was to tell him what material
to feature on each disc", he says about the collection. "He could
have done what he wanted with the collection, he does own the rights,
but it was nice that we could be involved in some way. We also chose
some cool artwork. We have worked on this a bit. But most of our work
the last little while has been focused on the new album."
He adds, "But even though we have these two on the go, more
focused on the new album, we also have another idea coming down the
line for hopefully a release in the New Year. The new album will be
an ambient acoustic album with new versions of old songs. There will
be the fist four songs on _Judgement_ and songs off the new album and
we are just going out and work them over with acoustic guitars and
piano."
Like most bands over the years, Anathema has evolved. Their
sound has expanded, their musicianship has grown and their music has
become a lot more strengthened. New ideas are welcomed and old ones
are reworked to add freshness to the pot. How does Cavanagh feel
about old recordings and the current ones they are working on and/or
just finished?
"My favourite Anathema record is always the next one", comments
the guitarist. "As soon as this album is done and out, I am ready to
go onto the new record. As we make records and finish them up, we
always make notes of what we want to do differently next time or what
needs to be worked on and take that into the next recording. You
always want to improve with your music and make it last forever. You
always want to be more mature each time out and just make better
music."
"We can't make the same record twice. We just can't", exclaims
Cavanagh. "All the best bands change radically. If you look at The
Beatles or Pink Floyd, both of whom are in my top ten all-time
favourite bands, you can just see the changes they brought to their
music and sound. If you listen to the first Beatles record and the
last one and then the one in the middle, they are all completely
different. The same goes with Pink Floyd and the early days up to
_The Wall_. You couldn't be any more different. Bands change and the
best bands always did. I am not saying we are like those great bands,
but we do move around and change. We like a lot of things and we just
take the best of it all and throw it into one big soup of sound. It
is just the way we have always worked."
On the topic of songwriting, Cavanagh says, "What happens with
us is that one person comes in with about 90% of the song written and
then the rest of us just throw in ideas and try to work the song into
the finished product. Sure there are disagreements and agreements
with things as they go on, but that is what is expected. Songs just
don't happen right away, they need time to build."
I comment to Cavanagh that while I am a big fan of the band and
all of their albums, the band's 1998 release _Alternative 4_ [CoC
#32] hits a real nerve within me. I love that disc.
"Yes, that is a great disc. There are a lot of good moments on
it. Both Vinnie [Cavanagh, vocals and guitar] and I wrote about four
songs for that record and Duncan [Patterson, ex-bassist] wrote the
rest of it, so I guess you could say it was his record. He is such a
genius and really brought a lot into what we were doing. After he
left it was never going to be the same for us. He has and will always
be a dominant force in whatever band he is in. When he left, it kind
of opened up the door for us. John [Douglas, drums] came back to the
band and all of us [including new bassist Dave Pybus and ex-Cradle of
Filth keyboardist Lester] just got into this groove of jamming and
writing songs. The band is very different right now without him, but
I still love him as a friend and a musician. But if he ever asked to
come back to Anathema, I wouldn't stop him. <laughs> He has a new
band called Antimatter. It is great for those who like chilled-out,
psychotic music."
In closing I ask Danny whether he thinks that with both _A Fine
Day to Exit_ and the collections coming out this is going to be a big
year for Anathema.
"Not really, I hope. What I mean is that we are really trying
to push the new album. The _Resonance_ collection is Hammy and
Peaceville and we just had some input." He says with some concern, "I
hope it doesn't affect the sales of _A Fine Day to Exit_."
He finishes, "We just want to do a lot of writing and recording
this year and really try to do a lot for ourselves and our music. We
are just trying to stay busy and make it work. So far so good."
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T H E D I S C I P L I N E O F S A N D W I C H - M A K I N G
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CoC chats with Anders Oden of Cadaver Inc.
by: Paul Schwarz
Have you been to www.cadaverinc.com? If not, go do it now, then
come back and read this story.
Since the musical histories and other occupations -- apart
from corpse disposal... -- of Cadaver Inc.'s members are complex
(partially by virtue of the use of various pseudonyms), I present you
with musical resumes for them all, for your interest and information.
Corrections and comments welcomed...
- Name: Carl Michael
- Cadaver Inc.: Drummer
- Pseudonym(s): Czral, Aggressor
- Former bands: Ven Buens Ende, Inferno
- Other bands (some possibly now former): Dodheimsgard (Czral), Aura
Noir (Aggressor), Void (Czral) and Virus
- Name: Olle Jurgen
- Cadaver Inc.: Vocalist
- Pseudonym(s): OJ, OJ Noir, Appolyon
- Other bands (some possibly now former): Aura Noir (Appolyon),
Dodheimsgard (Appolyon)
- Name: LJ Blavaz
- Cadaver Inc.: Bassist
- Pseudonym(s): unknown
- Other bands: unknown
- Name: Anders Oden
- Cadaver Inc.: Guitarist
- Pseudonym(s): Neddo
- Former bands: Cadaver (though Cadaver Inc. is debatably Cadaver
reincarnated)
I'll just say that _Discipline_ [reviewed in this issue] should
be on your shopping list if you have any serious interest in extreme
metal, and leave the rest of Cadaver Inc.'s mysteries to be unraveled
by you, possibly with the aid of this phone interview.
CoC: Why restart or reinvigorate Cadaver? By doing Cadaver Inc. are
you trying to distance yourself at all from the past, in any way?
Anders Oden: No, I'm trying to get to my roots from the past more
than anything else.
CoC: What were the roots of Cadaver, really?
AO: The roots of Cadaver were originally bands like Slayer and
Voivod. <longish pause> And I'm just trying to make metal now in
2001 that is -as- extreme and aggressive like that music used to
be for me when I first heard it.
CoC: So, updating all those sounds from the past so they still have
the same impact, right?
AO: Yeah, that's what I'm trying to do.
CoC: Cool. And how did you hook up with the line-up? How did you meet
up with Czral and Appolyon from Dodheimsgard? Obviously you all
live in Oslo, but you've originally come -- it seems at least --
from different scenes.
AO: No, well, not really: it's a small scene in Norway. I got roduced
intto those guys through Fenriz, originally. He got me into Aura
Noir and that stuff.
CoC: Ah, of course, Fenriz' Aura Noir passion.
AO: Yeah, and Czral, actually, had this really, really weird band.
CoC: Ved Buens Ende?
AO: No, before that. Even weirder than anything else. It's nothing to
do with metal or black metal. It is really strange. And I got to
know him through these tapes Fenriz had. And... he seemed to be a
real interesting guy, and... he also sent Fenriz that -- I
remember it clearly -- a "Darkthrone sandwich". He actually made
this sandwich with the Darkthrone logo on it. And the -same-
sandwich is actually sitting in Fenriz' kitchen now.
CoC: How bizarre!
AO: Yeah, and that's where we rehearse -- in Fenriz' living room,
actually.
CoC: I'd have loved to have seen that shit! So were they guys you
wanted to work with because of what they'd done? How did that
come about? Cadaver folded -- I suppose -- and then...
AO: Well, they both loved the old Cadaver stuff. It's more that I'd
wanted to work with them for a long time, actually. They asked me
at one point to join Aura Noir because Blasphemer got very busy
with Mayhem. But... then we all had different other bands and
stuff but we, sort of, kept in touch with the thought of always
having something coming together at some point. And then in '99
when Mayhem recorded their album Aura Noir was obviously not
really happening, and Appolyon came home from the Dodheimsgard
tour a bit disappointed, I think. I was finishing recording with
Satyricon and then we just met over a few beers and decided to do
some rehearsals. And the bass player is very important too, he's
an old friend of mine who was in Oslo at the same time.
Everything just fell into place. It wasn't really... it was more
the right time and the right place than anything else, actually.
CoC: So, why in the end did you change the name and how much does it
have to do with the website?
AO: Well, I wanted to have a "dot-com" attached to the name:
cadaver.com -- I'd have to pay three and a half thousand dollars
if I wanted to get that. And that's one thing I really thought
was important for a band nowadays: to have a website. But I
thought it was important for the reason you've seen now! And
that's been my idea for a long, long time with that. I wanted to
create this world where there is a company called "Cadaver Inc."
that do that stuff. Luckily for us we got in touch with this fan
in America who wanted to make a website for us. And he just did
these normal band websites in the beginning, just sending me
examples and stuff. Then we just developed together the idea of
having this company.
CoC: So you're very happy with the website, I gather?
AO: Oh yeah. Yeah, it's a tremendous success. Just before I called
you I looked up the latest statistics on it. The last few days
have been -extremely- phenomenal! I don't know why, this thing
just spreads out, it has its own life now! We have 12 000 unique
visitors in one day now. That's extremely big.
CoC: So do you think the website is thought provoking or mostly
humorous? Is it supposed to be in-line with the press release
and giving the band atmosphere, like a dark atmosphere, or is it
more kind of a joke on people believing that? Or that sort of
bizarreness of modern life where that could really almost
happen?
AO: Yeah, actually my idea with filling that out is quite serious.
Serious in that if you believe it you are pretty much fucked up.
CoC: Yeah, absolutely.
AO: But I wanted to have this social experiment out there. And I
wanted to do something which I hadn't seen before... and still
haven't really. I have, because of this website, got in touch
with some really weird people on the internet, obviously. But I
haven't seen anything like this which is so well... done.
Everything works there. Everything you submit to that site goes
to me and the webmaster and this other guy who has done all the
computer programming stuff. So we survey the whole thing. Most
people of course understand the fakeness of what we do. We also
get... I don't know: some of the e-mails we get are really weird.
CoC: Like crazy people?
AO: The last couple of days it has turned big in Brazil. I found out
that there's some place, some web portal in Brazil giving out the
news of this site, and they don't know anything about the band.
So I received about ten employment resumes from Brazil right now.
CoC: So you find that it maybe hasn't quite created this image around
the band in Europe -- where maybe people are a bit less inclined
to fall for it -- but it's like... you remember Brujeria?
AO: Yeah.
CoC: It's kind of like the atmosphere around that where at first
people were wondering whether they were -really- Mexican drug
barons. It's kind of like that but on a sort of cyberspace
scale, I guess, which is very cool. But also, going onto the
music, the music of Cadaver Inc. is kind of modern but cold. It
has got the darkness, in a way, that you get with older death
metal or older sounds. It's cold-sounding. How much do you think
the influences that have come in, in the years -since- Cadaver,
have influenced it, and how -modern- do you think it is?
AO: Well, I've received questions about this before and some people
believe, actually, that we have used a drum machines on it.
CoC: No way.
AO: And we haven't. I don't know, that might be a very uneducated
person who asked me that...
CoC: Well, I think uneducated into the incredible drumming of Czral.
He's actually that good, isn't he?
AO: He is actually that good: he's not faking anything.
CoC: Absolutely.
AO: And I mean, every drummer in this country has had deep respect
for him for many years, but he's never been able to be in a band
that really...
CoC: Exemplified it?
AO: Yeah, and that was able to release the record properly worldwide
with a marketing budget 'round it. And I think that's for his
sake why he's not more known right now. Because all those other
drummers that people put in those top ten drummer lists in
magazines every year, they have admired him for a long time, and
it's about time that people recognised his skills.
CoC: Yeah, I mean the closest he came to getting more notoriety was,
I suppose, Dodheimsgard's _Satanic Art_. Which sold relatively
well but just never went as big as it needed to. Do you think
maybe Cadaver Inc. will do that?
AO: I sure hope so. I mean, we have all the opportunities now to
reach out to new crowds with this tour coming up.
CoC: Absolutely, with Morbid Angel and Zyklon.
AO: Yeah.
CoC: Sounds like a real monster and something you can really, really
do something with.
AO: I think so. I hope so, actually, anyway. But when you refer to
the coldness in the music it's... I wanted to have this sort of
metallic sound and we managed to sort of get that with this
engineer that has never recorded metal before. He's a Norwegian
guy, an old friend of mine. He has always been out there. He
co-produced the record of a Norwegian pop phenomenon who toured
with A-Ha. That band is quite good actually, kind of Cardigans,
Blondie kind of music. They also sound very cold. It's something
to do with Scandinavian rock or pop in the scene. It is also a
bit cold and dark sounding compared to other scenes. Swedish
bands like Kent, all those bands sound very melancholic and have
influences also from music like Kraftwerk and stuff like that. It
leads on to making new sounds, anyway.
CoC: You've taken elements as well -- I hear bits of the way
Satyricon have gone in a sense, like the production side of it.
Even though it may not come from that particular part of the
Norwegian scene I suppose it's 'cause the same cold element is
prevalent. Those bits of that horrible thrashing of Aura Noir,
that's so great. What I think is interesting is that it has
really, really hard blastbeats. That is one of the things that
seems to have been carried over from the old Cadaver: that
really hard, grindcore sound.
AO: We just wanted to have that unclean touch to it which I think so
many bands lose when they go into the studio. I think too many
albums sound too clean. And this music shouldn't be controlled,
it should be out of control. But at the same time controlled: if
you want to speed up the tempo you should be able to do it, it's
not meant to be recorded with click-tracks, I think.
CoC: I agree: click-tracks can sound good in their place but analogue
drums are far more impressive and I prefer the sound.
AO: You mentioned Satyricon earlier: when I created the first song on
the album, "Primal", I used Frost as a drummer. He actually
kicked me into those riffs and everything. He's excellent, he
plays extremely fast too. He's amazing on his blastbeats.
CoC: Yeah, the other thing about Cadaver is: how does the lyrical
focus work? Songs like "Killtech", "Primal", "Discipline",
"Manic" and "Reptile Robots" show kind of a futuristic slant but
it has also sort of got a cold, dark, grind feel. The cover, I
think, goes with that: a surveillance camera and the image is
almost mangled and old. It's kind of interesting. How does that
fit with the lyrical side of it and also how does that fit with
the whole body disposal website thing?
AO: Well, everything is not connected to each other that way,
actually. It's more a mixture of different bits and pieces of the
lyrics we had lying around and stuff just written for the songs.
It's not a concept album in that way. The thing I wanted to do
with surveillance camera thing and everything with the website
was to create a no-tech world in the high-tech world. Use
technology to show what is not technology.
CoC: What is just simple and basic, right?
AO: Yeah. So that's all we really want to do now: focus on those very
simple things and to the core.
CoC: Do you find that with the whole PR statement -- it has got a
humorous slant to it completely but, the idea is kind of that
this is your day job and Cadaver Inc. is what you do in the
evenings.
AO: Yeah. <laughs>
CoC: The lyrics do seem -- from not having a lyrics sheet but hearing
bits -- quite odd, a little William S. Burrows, kind of how
Dodheimsgard go...
AO: Hmm.
CoC: But also they're quite dark, quite urban dark.
AO: Yeah, that's what we try to achieve, basically.
CoC: Although a couple of the members were in different bands, is
Cadaver Inc. a full-on, full-time, serious band?
AO: Oh yeah, definitely!
CoC: 'Cause I've heard rumours and been told that Czral, this is now
his main thing that he's probably gonna do.
AO: Yeah, well everybody felt that this is the main thing that we're
doing.
CoC: Yeah, Appolyon as well.
AO: Yeah.
CoC: So their Dodheimsgard duties will, kind of, come second now?
AO: Yeah, definitely. I would say that, definitely. This is the band
they really wanna be in, and I mean we want to take this band as
far as we can. Now, it's all up to the public to decide whether
they like it or not.
CoC: So we can look forward to more albums as the years roll by?
AO: Oh yeah, definitely. We are already writing new songs.
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A N G L E D T O A M A Z E
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CoC chats with Chris Smith from Keelhaul
by: Paul Schwarz
Though Akercocke's _The Goat of Mendes_ may be likely to deserve the
overall accolade of "extreme music album of the year", Keelhaul's
_II_ has distinguished itself as my favourite record of the year so
far. And about three months since I first got it, its appeal hasn't
waned. I think that only listening will really give you a proper idea
of whether or not _II_ [reviewed in this issue] will be to your
liking, but if you dug the band's first album -- _Keelhaul_,
re-released last year on Escape Artist [CoC #48] -- you'll definitely
want to check it out. If you've never heard Keelhaul before, I'd say
_II_ is well worth taking a risk on, especially if you enjoy
music-making which is almost entirely undiluted by non-musical
concerns, and extreme to boot. Lovers of the work of Dillinger Escape
Plan, Botch, Converge and others in a similar field, you will very
probably dig Keelhaul. I hope this interview with guitarist and
vocalist Chris Smith will help sway you towards checking out _II_.
Interview conducted by e-mail in May.
CoC: How would you say _II_ has moved on from _Keelhaul_? What has
stayed the same, what has changed in your music?
Chris Smith: Well, obviously the production has improved
dramatically, due a great deal in part to the fact that
we have less of a budget constraint now that we are on
HydraHead. The first album was all out of our pockets,
so we actually ran out of money long before we finished
the record. As far as the songwriting goes, this album
was a lot more of a group effort than the first. As far
as what has "changed" in our music, I would leave that
up to you to tell me.
CoC: I find Keelhaul has the strange combination of sounding very
jam-like and natural, while also being very complex and, at
times, tightly structured. What would say about the way you
created the music for _II_ in light of that comment?
CS: What you have just said is exactly what I've always tried to do
with the music that we write, to always be able to have a warm
earthy jam-type quality in the midst of harsh structure. The key
is to be able to purvey the two qualities equally together
without making the songs sound too bolted together. I like it
when a band can do that really well, like a musical paradox.
CoC: Why did you choose Bill Korecky (Integrity, Incantation,
Withered Earth) to produce _II_? How do you think his work as
producer affected this record compared to the last one?
CS: Bill Korecky has been a friend of mine and most of the people in
the band for a long time. I first began recording with Bill in
1988. I have always felt really comfortable in his studios and he
has always been very honest about his opinions of the material as
we record and mix it. He lends a good ear and he gives us a lot
of free reign over his studio, lets us on the board and try
things that a lot of other guys would probably tell us are stupid
and not even worth the time, even if they really are stupid and
not worth the time. He helped us equally on the first album and
also in everything I've ever recorded with him, he has lent some
really good ideas and insights to the mixing of production. In
the future if we end up bringing in a producer, we will probably
still end up working at Bill's studio because of all those
reasons.
CoC: Since Keelhaul does not provide you with money to live, why do
you give up so much of your time to the band? What does it give
you to be in Keelhaul -- since it is not currently a living, and
from the sounds of your music, is not intended to ever be?
CS: It's funny that you would say our music sounds like we would
never make a living at it. A lot of times people are blown away
to find out that we make so little money being in a band and
spending so much of our time and money doing it. The other night
I was having a conversation with a guy about playing in bands,
him being a sax player. For some reason he assumed that I was
making a good living at it, being that we spend so much time and
money on it. He asked, "So what do you guys make, $1000 bucks a
night?" When I told him its more like 100 bucks he looked
perplexed and just said, "Wow". I think that in many ways being
in a band is almost the same as having some kind of hobby that
takes up time and money that only you get the real value out of.
Some guys work on their hot rods, some guys collect stamps, I
play in a band. It's my main therapeutic outlet, its one of the
things that keeps me sane. I think I can speak for most of us on
that. If we were really trying to make a living at it, we would
have to learn how to write really gay songs, spend a lot of money
on clothes and I would have to loose a lot of weight. I don't
think I could write a commercially palatable song to save my
life. Really, its just about writing the kind of music you want
to hear, and hopefully someone else digs it too.
CoC: Why is the title simply _II_? Will the next album be _III_?
CS: "II" was the only title we could all agree on. I opted for no
title at all, and different cover art on every pressing. That got
shot down. I won't even go into any of the titles that were
tossed around. I hope to god the next album is not called "III".
CoC: What bands or musical movements would you say most influenced
the sound of Keelhaul?
CS: This will be a tough one. I can for the most part speak for
myself, but I would imagine that I can do a pretty good job of
summing it up for all of us. Will [Scharf, drums] brings a lot of
jazz-type experience to the table. Dana [Embrose, guitars], Aaron
[Dallison, bass and vocals] and I bring a lot of hardcore and
metal influence. For me personally, some of the most formidable
influences in my career as a musician would be people like Frank
Zappa, Captain Beefhart, Angus Young, Black Sabbath, Celtic
Frost, Slayer, COC, Varese, and about a million other people. I'm
also really partial to Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd. We all like
crazy riffs with lots of numbers and kick back space out jams.
CoC: Are the lyrics you write for the band important? I am assuming y
theare not, or possibly are personal, since you regret to print
them.
CS: Most of the lyrics are just a bunch of random crap. Sometimes I
can find some personal meaning in them, but usually they are
written only with the intent of sounding interesting and vague. I
think I can speak for Aaron on that as well. The lyrics are
representative of places and times, but are not meant to be
blatantly descriptive. When I was younger, I always thought it
was so important for the lyrics of your songs to convey
philosophies and politics and stuff like that. I have eventually
decided that music is not always the best vehicle to make
statements of political and social opinions, that's what writers
are for. I think that our music conveys enough emotion by itself
that having real "messages" in lyrics is really secondary to me.
We find ourselves writing most of the lyrics in the studio as the
songs are recorded, so that tells you how much thought really
goes into them. We don't print them in the records, because
they're really not that important. Maybe eventually, but right
now, a lyric sheet for us would consist of maybe five paragraphs.
CoC: Is the music of Keelhaul constructed while in a sober state? If
not, do you think it could be?
CS: I would say half the music is conceived, written and arranged in
a sober state by at least one or two members. We are not a band
that makes any point of being loaded when we write, or sober.
Dana and I are stoners, Aaron's the drinker, and Will is just
plain weird.
CoC: What are your favorite and least favorite parts of touring?
CS: Favorite things: Not having to punch a clock, sustaining
ourselves from the merits of our music, being able to eat and
drink and drive with money that we make doing something we love
to do. Meeting cool people, seeing cool places, and experiencing
things we would only experience because of being in a band. Least
favorite things: Breaking down on the side of the highway, shitty
clubs with shitty promoters, getting pinned into conversations
with stupid people about stupid things when you're stuck at the
merch table and nobody will come and save you. Having to
practically threaten bodily harm just to get paid our measly
guarantee.
CoC: How did Keelhaul come together, and what keeps the band together?
CS: Will and I had been trying to put a band together for years, but
our schedules with the other bands we were in made that less than
possible. I had played with Dana in high school some fifteen
years ago. He moved to Boston, where he spent years playing in
some local heavy hitters up there. About four years ago, Dana
moved back to Cleveland. We stared jamming and worked out a set
of tunes with a guy named Jim Redford who was a drummer I worked
with in a restaurant. We played our first gig in the fall of '97.
It would be our only gig, as Jim soon left for school. That
night, who shows up, but Will Scharf. We told him that we were
going to be out a drummer and he said that he for some bizarre
reason was actually not in a band at the moment. So we began
playing with Will. Dana on guitar, Will on drums and myself on
bass. I had put down the guitar in exchange for the bass because
I was getting bored with the guitar. But when we started jamming
with Will, his style opened up a lot of our songs to where they
screamed for more instrumentation, I could hear these guitar
parts in my head, and I knew that between Dana and I that we
could come up with some pretty interesting interplay between the
two of us on guitar. So here comes Aaron Dallison, he originally
hails from Virginia, but had been living Cleveland for a few
years now playing in local bands as a guitarist. We all agreed
that he was a pretty brutal bad ass mother fucker and so we asked
him if he would like to tear some shit up with us, so now he's a
bass player. And that all came together in the Fall of '97. As
far as what keeps us together, the fact that we enjoy the music
that we write together, that we are able to work together despite
differences that we know we will have when it comes to writing
music. The conflicting aspects of our personalities and the
differences between us are prevalent in the dynamics of some of
our material. We all bring good stuff to the table and between us
all we manage to write material that we can all groove on. For
the most part, we all feel that this is the best band any of us
have ever been in.
CoC: I hope those questions suit you and bring out some interesting
points about the band. Any other thoughts or ideas, just write
them as well, they don't need to be the answer to a specific
question.
CS: Hopefully I don't sound like too much of an idiot and you are
able to write this article without us seeming like total dorks.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
S A T A N I C A R T
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CoC chats with Jason Mendonca and David Gray of Akercocke
by: Paul Schwarz
This will be brief, because explaining why I think you should pick up
_The Goat of Mendes_ [reviewed in this issue] can be summed up in
three sentences. I believe it's probably among the finest examples of
extreme metal ever to be pressed onto plastic. Separated from it for
a few days, my elation at putting it on again was comparable to the
relief and joy of a deprived drug addict. _TGoM_ is a strong
contender for ending up as my album of the year. And just as _TGoM_
speaks for itself, so do the members of Akercocke. The band's
sincerity belies the idea that they do what they do for any reason
other than personal satisfaction, in a creative sense. This interview
was conducted in the backroom of Glasgow's Cathouse a few hours
before Akercocke performed live, on the 1st of July.
CoC: With the new record out and you touring Europe in September,
what does _The Goat of Mendes_ represent as a document of
Akercocke in comparison to _Rape of the Bastard Nazarene_ [CoC
#42]?
David Gray: _RotBN_ was really... it's like an account of the early
days of the band, of the formation of the band. We had a
very isolated upbringing; all we knew was the music we
had been into in 1990/1991 when Jason and I played in our
last band, Salem Orchid. So we just got all the old stuff
that we used to be into -- Celtic Frost, and all the
usual suspects -- and just got together and used as kind
of a template: that was all we...
Jason Mendonca: That was all we knew.
DG: That was all we knew. And I think _RotBN_ is a great document of
that time, which was 1998, when we actually recorded _Rape..._.
And after that then we became very, err... what's the word?
<pause as David looks over to Jason> -Spoilt-, by all the other
kind of influences that were opened up to us.
JM: All the stuff that we missed out on, y'know, certainly in my time
'cause I was away from metal for a very long time. Suddenly being
back in metal circles, there were so many great bands I'd missed
out on. So I had a tremendous amount of stuff to go through.
Fortunately, I had a couple of friends with huge CD collections.
Ear candy! It was great!
DG: So that's why I think _TGoM_ -- if anyone does think it sounds
different, from our point of view it does, that's because we had
so much more to contend with. We were absorbing so many different
things... Whereas before, y'know, we were just very into doing
our own thing.
CoC: I think _TGoM_ definitely shows-off two massive differences.
Firstly, the actual production of "The Blast", that particular
sound, was much more powerful. _RotBN_ was like a good companion
to seeing Akercocke live, but it didn't really bring out your
strongest aspects of being very powerful. It actually sounds
kind of a bit dry because of the actual production of it, which
really didn't work. The other thing is that _TGoM_ is unlike a
lot of records from the metal scene in some ways -- it's quite
sonically complex and deep. If you listen to it more than four
or five times or on headphones there are a lot of extra sounds
and effects going on in the background which buff it out. In
that sense, would you say it represents more of what you wanted
to bring out sonically than _RotBN_ did?
DG: Martin [Bonsoir, in charge of Akercocke's "electronics" and also
_TGoM_'s producer -- Paul] had different tools to work with; I
think that was the difference.
JM: That is the key difference, isn't it.
DG: With the resources that we had at the time we made a recording of
our music -- what was going on -- and that's exactly what we've
done second time 'round, but the tools are better.
JM: The thing with the first record is that we're not
procrastinators. We don't mess about. We recorded that album live
in six hours: the whole band playing live, y'know. No overdubs,
no nothing. Yeah, sure, we dropped the guitar solos and vocals on
afterwards. And then we spent a lot of time mixing _Rape..._,
just purely because... I think there's a quaint expression:
polishing a turd. <laughs> We had to try and polish up what was a
very rough and ready recording. But, we were and we are still of
the philosophy that it's better to do something than to do
nothing. So, as David said, that's what we did with the resources
that we had to hand. But, we've been very fortunate in that
Goat of Mendes studio is now much better equipped with some
half-decent equipment. And so -- also the fact that it is our own
facility -- we had a great luxury and were very lucky to have
that to spend a lot of time with _TGoM_. Sure, sure it could be
better, but we're constantly striving to be better.
CoC: You never want to say you've hit the top of your game, of course.
JM: Of course.
CoC: But seeing _RotBN_ almost as a collection of demos is in some
ways a more accurate way of looking at it that as a debut album?
It's certainly what a couple of people have said, but...
JM: I think that's probably a reflection on the production alone,
really.
CoC: True. I mean, from the kind of international perspective where
everyone wants to cut up this or that, if someone wants to cut
up your debut as being bad, it would be better to see the
production as a demo-level recording, I think. _TGoM_ being on a
label and having a lot more behind it -- plus the kind of hype
and speech about you that you've had from _RotBN_ -- where do
you think you can take Akercocke in terms of exposure and
popularity?
JM: In terms of exposure and popularity...
CoC: And in terms of touring...
JM: Touring is something that we're very, very keen to do. We're very
keen to get out to Europe and play for the European fans. We're
out touring period, y'know, wherever. But as far as the publicity
and that goes we have no control over that at all. We just
concentrate on blasting for Satan. We concentrate on what we do
best, y'know, knuckle down, push the boundaries of music and keep
writing. At the moment we're writing our third album. We just
concentrate on that, y'know. And we're lucky to be afforded the
time to do that and we've grown to appreciate what it means to be
signed to a good record label insofar as there is a team of
people, now, taking care of all those other things, those other
important factors that go hand-in-glove with any band.
CoC: Absolutely. One thing I just thought of: in terms of publicity,
there is a -certain way- the band will be presented in
advertising and in promotional spiel and how worried are you
about being misrepresented one way or another?
JM: It's totally honest, it's who we are. Advertising is a tricky
one, but as far as the visual representation, the printed matter,
the material on the internet, the album sleeves, whatever: we
take care of all of that ourselves. So, we're very honest as a
band; what you see is what you get, end of story. Spiel is a
funny word.
CoC: You have a musical "blasting for Satan" thing and you do have
what seems to me to be quite a sincere lyrical content. As
opposed to a number of "Satanic", quote/unquote, bands who may
write things for what people will take from them or whatever.
How much are you trying to bring in any message through that?
What are you trying to give to your listeners?
DG: It's totally subjective. Everyone takes something different home
from it. As you were saying about you listening to the album on
earphones: that's different again from listening to it while
you're doing the washing-up, or smashing up your bedroom or
whatever it is you want to do when you listen to it. <laughs, as
do I> I would never tell anybody anything that they should do or
what they should think. I've actually had kids say: "ah, I really
like the band and whatever but, I read your lyrics, and I didn't
think they were very Satanic". <I pause, before laughing slightly
incredulously>
CoC: That doesn't make you wanna make them more "Satanic", obviously,
for the next record.
DG: No, what it means is that maybe English is not their first
language and they're expecting to hear about blood rites and
sacrifices and, you know, comic-strip horror or something. I
don't know.
JM: Comic Satanism.
DG: Yeah, but Satanism is not about that, because if it was about
that then we'd probably be sat here in God-armour. <I laugh
heartily> Y'know, doing the Glen Benton thing. There's nothing
wrong with that, y'know, that's fine. But, we're not preaching
Hammer Horror Satanism. We're not saying that. What we're saying
is: it's very practical. It suits us, it could suit you, y'know,
it's up to you; I don't give a shit. <moderate laughter> And as a
very functional philosophy and also in the same respect that
Christian art is wonderful. Everyone should enjoy Christian art.
Churches, y'know, throughout history and also Satanism can create
good art, it's just that generally all you see is Glen Benton
and all the rest of it. But great things, beautiful things,
life-affirming things can be achieved, for non-Satanists to
enjoy, from Satanism. That's what I believe. But yeah, at the end
of the day everyone interprets lyrics and music in their own way
and that's good. I don't try to preach or confuse or whatever:
it's not really my job. My job is to try and communicate some
sense of atmosphere or feeling for the listener to enjoy.
CoC: Not saying that it's a task, but in choosing to use the word
"Satanists" and things like that there will always be people who
will misconstrue this and will read "Akercocke are Satanists"
and think Glen Benton or whatever, but that doesn't worry you?
You'd rather, not exactly -reclaim- the word, but use it and let
people get it wrong and then try to understand it rather than
you shy away and use some sort of watered-down term...
JM: Personally, I don't really care.
DG: It doesn't really matter, I don't think, really. It's just that
I'm not responsible for anybody, and if people want to go and
shoot themselves after they listen to our record, or fuck dogs, I
don't care.
CoC: Sure, but I was thinking more of the hassles that you might get,
the kind of hassles that Sabbath got from -- not even from being
real Satanists, but from having their record label stick their
inlay in black and that sort of stuff. I mean, if you guys ever
head out to the States, depending where you play, you might get
into a lot of this and that...
DG: We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.
CoC: Fair enough. So, musically, where are you headed for the next
record? How far removed will it be from _The Goat of Mendes_, do
you predict?
DG: I don't think we contrive to move in any particular direction. I
think it has to be natural, and I think it will be still pure
Akercocke. We happen to have got three or four songs that we're
working on and we really believe that to get the best out of the
material that you've got, work things and sleep on it sometimes
and think, "Is that working? Is this maybe going on a bit long, a
bit short?", whatever, so it is quite early days but we've got
lots and lots of stuff floating about. More electronics. More of
everything.
CoC: Taking into account what you said earlier about absorbing a lot
of music in your years after you were away from metal, with that
in mind, how much would you say Akercocke is made within your
own sort of bubble? 'Cause one of things I like about Akercocke,
personally, is that it doesn't just come across as part of a
scene or a band that has done this or that: it has got quite an
individual character and that makes it more enjoyable, I think.
How much would you say you try to avoid going with the times?
JM: I think it's probably easiest to explain through saying that:
when the five of us write together, everyone has an input, and
whilst there are key bands that we all share in common as fans,
we've all got really, really diverse, eclectic tastes in music.
So, each member, in their own way, brings something different to
the table. And when we set about to write, we write for
ourselves, purely. And we just try to make the music that we'd
like to hear. It's as simple as that, and if that means it comes
out sounding perhaps a little bit more left-field -- for want of
a better adjective -- than some other more generic, kind of
derivative bands that may be happening right now, then that's
just the way it is. It's just how we write.
CoC: I have a few more questions. Specifically, I remember a year or
two years ago when you guys talked to Terrorizer, you were
talking about the -specific- lyrical content of _RotBN_. As an
overview, what sort of subjects are covered on _TGoM_ apart from
the general, catch-all term of "Satanism"?
DG: I've used the metaphor of the nun a lot, and that wasn't
intentional. 'Cause everyone thought -- well, not -everyone-,
that's a stupid thing to say. But, a lot of people in interviews
have said, "So, what's the concept on this record?", or whatever.
There isn't... if there is a concept other than Satan then it
would be like an emancipation of feeling, of liberation, of
celebration. And I used the metaphor of the nun about four or
five times. Those songs were constructed over quite a long
period. We had "Masks of God" and "...Menstrual Blood..." in 1999
when we talked to Greg Whalen [ex-Terrorizer writer]. We already
had some of the songs for _The Goat of Mendes_ then. So, it was a
very long period of time. We usually write in a very chaotic way.
And, it just so happened that when I came to compile the lyrics I
suddenly realised: oh, that's about nuns; oh, that's about nuns.
But it wasn't intentional at all. So yeah: mental, sexual
liberation, y'know, the whole thing. I try not to work in any
specific concept because I think the songs are different. I just
try to use it as a table at a buffet, kind of thing, and say:
well, this is what this is about, it's not about that. And just
kind of create...
JM: You always come back to food analogies, what is this!? You're
always presenting buffets to people and baking fucking cakes. <we
all laugh as David struggles to begin an answer> You're a fucking
cook!
DG: Thing is, when people keep asking the same questions and I keep
saying the same answer: it's reliable.
CoC: And it's consistent... if people read different interviews, I
guess. Just finally, but, this is a bit of a cliche sort of
question...
DG: Oh, go on, give us a cliche!
COC: I've probably come out with a few already but, do you think
you'll always be writing about Satanism?
JM: Yes.
DG: There's no <something>
CoC: I'm not questioning whether you'd always be Satanic as people,
but do you think you'd ever sort of feel like maybe, maybe
that's not a part or is it pretty much symbiotic.
DG: Well, let's just think, yeah: we're in this building now.
CoC: Right.
DG: And, it's on fire.
CoC: Uh-huh.
DG: I'm gonna do what I can to get myself out of this building, first
priority. Second priority's gonna to get Jason out of the
building because our livelihood, and all the rest of it, our
interests are relevant to each other. Now, I'm not gonna get you
out of the building, I'm not gonna get your man here out of
building, and the reason why is 'cause I'm a Satanist. So, when I
walk across the road and someone is going to get run over by a
bus or something I have a decision, a moral decision, as to
whether I think it's -worth- risking myself to help somebody
else. At the end of the day, is it going to be to my benefit to
prevent somebody from being hurt? Anything I do in life is a
Satanic decision 'cause that's the way that I see life, that's
how I view life. So if on our next album there is a song all
about celebrating a particular woman or something, that's about
Satanism, because that's my viewpoint. The band is all about
Satanism. There could never be a non-Satanic Akercocke song.
CoC: I see what you're saying. So you'd say that they'd be Satanic in
the sense that they'd come from your worldview.
JM: No Satanism, no Akercocke.
DG: It's not a jacket that you put on to then say: oh, right, now I'm
being a Satanist, now we're in a band. Either you are or you
aren't.
CoC: If you think what you've said about that is sufficient to
describe what kind of Satanism you support in yourselves then
that's cool by me. But if you want to mention what perspective
that comes from to do with what writers or what views, then
you're welcome to say that. Simply for the fact that some people
read about you being "Satanists" and will construe it one way or
another, and you may want to clarify it. By the expressions on
your faces, I'd say you're probably not too concerned.
DG: A lot of places we've been playing the last couple of days I've
had a lot of strange people come up to me after shows. You get
the classic ones that you tend to get in the street like, "how do
I join a coven?". Oh, you're wearing an inverted cross, oh yeah.
If you're not a Satanist already then why do you want to get into
a coven? And if you -are- a Satanist why would you want to -get-
into a coven: either it'll come naturally or it wouldn't. It's
very difficult to explain to people that -- it's almost like if
you have to ask that question, then...
CoC: ...then you're not really getting it right?
DG: Yeah.
JM: Yeah.
CoC: Fair enough.
DG: But, y'know, I don't think there is anything wrong with people,
like-minded, bands or people of that kind of interest, y'know,
they should get together and do their own Satanic thing or
whatever that may be, y'know, I think that's healthy, to do what
you wanna do and whatever. So I don't really think it's really my
place.
CoC: Finally, this a stock question: why the suits?
JM: Oh no!
DG: <groans>
<I laugh>
DG: You were doing so well until the last question. <I laugh>
CoC: I really didn't want to ask it, but then I thought: this is
gonna be the first interview many people will read with you
guys. And, if I don't put in something about the suits, people
will go: <I adopt mock-moronic voice> "why didn't you tell us
about the suits". If you've got a form letter I can use, about
the suits, that would be fine...
DG: We should create one. <to Jason> You've got the standard reply
about the suits...
JM: Stock question, stock answer.
CoC: How about I give you what I think -- what I can remember from
when you talked to Terrorizer.
DG: Go on.
CoC: I remember you saying that there isn't any -really- specific
thing about it but that it's what you guys wear in general...
JM: Pretty much, apart from when we're unloading buses.
CoC: And that it's what you wore in the covens, I believe, though I
don't know whether that's the connection.
JM: There is a practical connection with regards to an organisation
outside of what we discuss, but more than that -- not more than
that, as well as that, it's a symbolic thing. It's symbolic of
our discipline. We're very, very disciplined people. We're
very disciplined in -all- respects. To be a Satanist requires
discipline. To be a musician at this level requires discipline:
we practice four times a week, -at least-, every week. The suits
are just like a visual representation of our discipline. We're
not scruffy kinds of guys, we're not jeans and T-shirts kind of
guys in day-to-day life. We're smart guys, we're gentlemen.
[Note: After deliberation with people who actually live in the US, I
have reconsidered my opinion -- as expressed to Akercocke in the
above interview -- that Akercocke would likely get hassles if they
went to the States. My opinion as I write this is that a band of
their size with an esoteric name such as their name would likely not
be noticed. Just as Norway's black metal bands (including convicted
arsonists in the case of Emeperor) had few hassles when they made
the trip over the pond, Akercocke should too. -- Paul]
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
T H E A V E N G E R S ' C R U S H I N G C O M E B A C K
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CoC talks to Johan Hegg of Amon Amarth
by: David Rocher
The yarn of death metal Vikings Amon Amarth is an epic one indeed.
Plagued with line-up changes, cursed with a failed recording session
in the famed Sunlight Studios, this five-piece have nonetheless
always made a point of moving on against all odds, delivering quality
melodic death all the way along their tumultuous career. One MCD
(_Sorrow Throughout the Nine Worlds_, 1996 [CoC #12]) and three
full-lengths later (_Once Sent From the Golden Hall_, in 1997 [CoC
#29], _The Avenger_, in 1999 [CoC #44], and _The Crusher_, anno 2001
[reviewed in this issue]), it seemed a fine time indeed to have
raging vocalist and really, really scary beermonster Johan Hegg tell
us the tale of these bloodthirsty Swedes... So hark now to tales of
Avengers and Metalwrath!
CoC: So how's everything going?
Johan Hegg: Everything is going really, really fine - I'm sitting
here with a small drink in my hand, you know...
CoC: Oh -- testing the local ale?
JH: Exactly, and I bought some vodka on the way down -- I'm in
Germany right now --, so I made a fifty/fifty drink of Absolut
Vodka and Red Bull... good stuff! <we laugh>
CoC: Cool! So, what's gone on since the _The Crusher_ promos have
been shipped out?
JH: Actually, it seems that people really liked it. The reviews I've
seen have been very, very good, and the reviews in some major
magazines in Germany have given it full points, so that feels
really, really good, and it's very promising. I just hope
that we'll get the same response everywhere, you know? So, I
definitely hope this will be a big boost for us as a band, and
that we'll be able to go up a little, as from now on. I'm
personally very satisfied with the album.
CoC: Yeah, it sounds great!
JH: Thank you very much!
CoC: It seems to me that as regards various Amon Amarth albums, _The
Avenger_ was maybe a bit of a transition album -- the material
it featured was quite different from what you usually produce,
so what had influenced you at this time?
JH: I have no idea, actually. Olli [Mikkonen, guitarist -- David]
creates most of the music, and it just turned into that. I guess
all of us are into bands like Deicide, and Morbid Angel, and Six
Feet Under at the moment, and maybe something different showed up
in our material at the time, but I wouldn't say there were any
major influences. But you're right in saying that _The Avenger_
was somehow stepping in another direction, and I think _The
Crusher_ is perhaps a more logical follow-up to _Once Sent From
the Golden Hall_ than _The Avenger_ was. You're definitely right
there, but as I say, it's difficult to say why _The Avenger_ came
to be that kind of album. It just turned out that way, and we
don't really try to force the songs in a certain way or anything,
we just let them develop into whatever they become, and see where
it leads us.
CoC: _Sorrow Throughout the Nine Worlds_ was a really confidential
release, but it seems that you've gradually picked up speed,
especially since you've signed to Metal Blade, and _The Crusher_
is really an album a lot of people are awaiting -- have you felt
any pressure in this regard?
JH: Erm... not so much from the fans, actually, as from ourselves,
because we didn't want to let the band rest for as long as we
did. We wanted to release something pretty fast after _The
Avenger_ -- of course, one year and a half is perhaps not fast,
but it felt like working fast to us. We really pushed it, and we
actually were supposed to record the album in September, but we
realised we couldn't make it pretty early on, so we moved our
studio time to November, instead. But we really wanted to get
going, and since _The Avenger_ got such a quick response for
reviews and everything, we figured we had to be out there and get
noticed for people to remember us -- so that's what the pressure
was about. I think, as you said, since _Sorrow..._, we have been
picked up by Metal Blade, and things have been moving faster. The
only thing is that unfortunately, we had a bit of bad luck, as
the recording of _Sorrow..._ came out about one year too late. We
would have liked to release it earlier, if we'd had a contract
back then. Then, we had the problem with the recording of _Once
Sent From the Golden Hall_, that really set us back.
CoC: What happened with that, exactly?
JH: Definitely everything was wrong in that studio...
CoC: Where was it, Sunlight Studios?
JH: Yeah. I don't know where to begin, but let's just say that there
was one person in there that was remotely interested in doing a
good job for us, and that was Fred Estby, the drummer from
Dismember. But unfortunately, I don't think that at the time he
was really qualified to run a whole recording -- at the time,
anyway, because I don't know how good he is now. So that's why it
didn't really work out, everything was really fucked up, whereas
with _The Crusher_, everything went really smoothly.
CoC: There's a bonus track featured on the CD, the "Eyes of Horror"
cover, which has a lower sound quality than the rest of _The
Crusher_...
JH: It was recorded in Das Boot studios, in Stockholm, a bit more
than a year ago, and the reason we did this -- it's a cover
version of Possessed's song, obviously -- is that we got
contacted by some guy who was going to make a tribute album to
Possessed, and he had contacted other bands like Cannibal Corpse,
and blah blah blah, and he asked us if we wanted to participate.
And we thought that Possessed being a pretty legendary band in
the death metal scene, that it would be good, and that it would
also be good for us to be seen between albums, on this recording
with other people. So we accepted to do this, and we recorded
only for one day at Das Boot studios, and of course, in one day,
it's very hard to do a good job with people with whom you've
never worked before, so I guess that's the main reason why it
didn't really turn out very well sound-wise. But still I think it
works on that song, because although it sounds like a really crap
sound, it fits the song pretty good, I think.
CoC: You said _The Crusher_ is more of a logical follow-up to _Once
Sent From the Golden Hall_; is this because you're more into
all-out death metal these days?
JH: I wouldn't say we're all into death metal that much... All of us
have very different influences, it's very different music we
listen to. At the moment, I pretty much listen to Slayer and old
Metallica, whereas Oli and Fredrik are very much more into death
metal, and Ted as well. But they also listen to black metal and
stuff like this. I would say that perhaps we've moved back to
what we've always been doing, in a sense -- not that I regret
doing _The Avenger_, I think it's a very good album, and I think
we did the right thing to record it. It was good for us, and also
it was a wider range of material to choose from. So I wouldn't
say we've stepped -back- to the way we sounded before, it's just
we made a new beginning with it.
CoC: As _The Avenger_ sounds more "warlike" to me than the rest of
your material, maybe it expressed the anger you felt at the time
with the line-up changes, the recording issues -- it sounds like
battle hymns to me.
JH: Yeah, maybe that's true... it's very difficult for us to say
ourselves. We just work with the material, and try to create
songs which we think reflect the way we feel, you know? And when
people read into it, it's more to the people that listen to it
than it is for us. I think that perhaps if you analyse it, you're
pretty close to the truth -- perhaps it's not the line-up change
in itself that pissed us off as much as the trouble we went
through with the recording of _Once Sent From the Golden Hall_,
which really upset us. We were really pissed off with that, you
know, because it set us back nearly one year, which was of course
not in our favour.
CoC: Did it actually make you feel apprehensive about further studio
recordings?
JH: In a sense, we now know that we don't want to mess around, so
that's why we go to Peter's studio [Abyss]. We're very, very
sceptical about trying out new studios. What we will do -- not
that we're not satisfied with Peter's studio -- but what we will
try to do, is record some songs in different studios, and try
some others out, because some day, we will have to change, or try
something new. But then, maybe Peter's studio will work for us in
the future as well, it depends on what we do!
CoC: Is there any reason that you're already considering switching?
Maybe because so many bands recording in the Abyss studios tend
to have the same sound, nowadays?
JH: In a way, that's so... but not entirely, because I think we
managed to go to Peter's studio and get a pretty individual
sound, but on the other hand, I think every band thinks they
sound very unique -- I don't know, i
t's up to the listeners to
decide, but I think we have found a sound that suits us very
well.
CoC: Sure, _The Crusher_ has a really nice, powerful sound...
JH: Peter is a very good sound engineer, and the sound he created for
us is clean, but aggressive, and he's very good at getting us
that sound. But as you said, a lot of bands go into the studio
and have the idea that they want to sound like this and this
band, whereas we go in and say "we want the guitars to sound like
they're dragging on the floor" -- you know, really raw, and shit
--, and he then turns the knobs until we're satisfied. It takes
more time, perhaps, but I think it's the best way to go about it.
CoC: How long did _The Crusher_ take to record?
JH: Uh... three weeks -- two weeks recording and one week mixing.
We've worked really, really fast, and everything went really
smoothly, also because we feel really comfortable in the Abyss
studios. We've been there before, it's a nice environment to be
in, you can concentrate on the music full-time... because there's
nothing else there, except the forest, so it's very calm and
soothing to be there. [Have a look at the interview with The
Forsaken below if you really want to confirm this. -- Pedro]
CoC: Okay, how did it feel shifting over from Opeth's Martin Lopez to
Fredrik Andersson on the drums? I read in an interview that he
was the drummer you always wanted for Amon Amarth...
JH: Yeah... When Nico, our first drummer, left, we were considering
asking Fredde to play with us, but as it turned out, he was still
with A Canorous Quintet, so we figured that we should look for
somebody else first, and see where we could get. In fact, we
never really had a chance to start looking before we got
contacted by Martin, so we decided to try him out, and it worked
out really well. Martin being a very good drummer and a very cool
guy, we decided to go with him; of course, it was sad when he
left, but it turned out that when he left the band, Fredrik was
kind of in-between bands -- he was playing with Guidance of Sin,
but when we asked him, he immediately said "yes". And I think he
suits us better than Martin does.
CoC: I actually felt that on _The Avenger_, Fredde's drumming was
very basic compared to Martin's technique...
JH: Exactly. The problem with Martin was that we kind of had to hold
him back. He wanted to do too much technical stuff, and that's
not really for us, as we're a bit more straightforward than that
-- and Fredrik's perfect for that. I mean, Fredrik can do almost
anything that Martin does -- when we play the old songs live, he
does the same things as Martin did --, so he's technical, but I
think Fredrik and Martin improvise in different ways. Still, I
think Fredrik is a very good drummer, and he suits the band very
well.
CoC: Sure, that's actually something that struck me on _The Crusher_:
I was a bit disappointed by his drumming on _The Avenger_, as it
seemed kind of uneventful compared to Martin's, but he's more
than made up for that on _The Crusher_; his drum work is
amazing.
JH: Yeah, I think so too. The biggest problem on _The Avenger_ was
that when Fredrik joined the band, Martin had already made most
of the drum beats, but hadn't worked on them as much as he would
have if he'd stayed in the band. So when Fredrik got in the band,
we mainly told him "you should play like this" -- end of story.
So he did what we told him to do, and perhaps that was wrong, and
perhaps not. We still had to tell him how to go about the songs,
as they were already finished, but I think that on the songs on
_The Avenger_ which he originally made the drums for, his
drumming is better.
CoC: This is maybe why I get the recurring feeling that _The Avenger_
is a transition album...
JH: Hmm, I don't know... We couldn't have lost our drummer at a worse
time, because we were almost finished with all the songs, and we
had to find a drummer to go into the studio, so he actually only
had a couple of months to learn all the songs, plus help us
create the last couple of songs.
CoC: How easy is it changing musicians up in Sweden? I get the
feeling that there are a hell of a lot of metal musicians for
only nine million inhabitants...
JH: There are a lot of musicians, true, but a lot of them play in
several bands. We were lucky, actually, because when Martin
joined Amon Amarth, he'd just moved back from Uruguay, where he
lived with his parents for six or seven years, and he needed a
band to play in. He had heard of us and had heard the MCD, so
when he saw that we were looking for a drummer, he contacted us
and wanted to play with us, so... When we needed a new guitarist,
we actually tried six or seven guitarists that absolutely didn't
fit, or couldn't play the way we wanted, or couldn't handle the
difficult stuff. It seems that a lot of guitarists are good at
playing the stuff they know -- "okay, we can play Metallica, we
can play blah blah blah" -- but when it comes to playing material
you've never heard before, it's like a different story, you know.
Luckily, we found Johan; he's an old friend of Olli's and Ted's,
from the neighbourhood where they grew up, and he's been playing
guitars in different hobby bands and stuff, nothing really
serious, helping people out in other bands when they needed
something. As it turned out, he'd been wanting to play with us
for a while, but he never said anything, and when Olli asked him
if he wanted to try out with us, he was really fired up about it.
And he worked out really well; he's a really good guitarist,
perhaps the best guitarist we have in the band -- Olli will kill
me for this! <laughs> Olli always says he's not a good guitarist,
he just creates the riffs -- I think that's true. He can play the
guitar, and he plays better than he thinks he does, perhaps, but
Johan is a more technical guitarist. Anyway, we've been fortunate
in that way.
CoC: So you feel confident about your line-up, right now?
JH: I think it's the most stable that we've had during the whole
process of Amon Amarth, obviously, because it's been the same for
two albums now. But when we started out in 1992, it was actually
after the band Scum broke up, which lead to us getting together
and recruiting some new members -- so it wasn't all that stable
to begin with.
CoC: Where did you get your name, Amon Amarth?
JH: It's taken from J.R.R. Tolkien's novel "Lord of the Rings",
though it's not in the actual book, "Lord of the Rings" -- I
think it's in the book called "World of the Rings". It's mostly a
description of the world and the people who live there. Tolkien
was a language professor, as you perhaps know, and he created his
own languages; and in one of these languages he created, Amon
Amarth means "mountain of doom". So that's where it's taken from.
CoC: Amon Amarth's endemic feature is the really strong Viking image
that goes with all your releases, so I'd like to know to what
extent you live this in your daily life?
JH: I don't go around with axes and swords, and shit like that, and I
don't sacrifice in blood everyday, and stuff like that -- it's
just the mentality of the Viking people. The main thing, I think,
about the Viking people, is they had integrity, they had honour
and they were honest to each other. Of course there are lots of
stories of deception and everything, but they were always mainly
truthful, and I try to live this, and it's something which has of
course affected me in the way I live my life.
CoC: So it's mostly about ethics?
JH: Mainly, yeah. I mean, I sort of believe in the gods you might
say, but on the other hand I don't, because I'm too rational and
logical for that, unfortunately. I rather believe in the sense of
the gods, in what they represent.
CoC: Bathory were the first band to produce this Viking image, and
since then, it's been massively overused in time. What do you
think of the other tentatively "Viking metal" bands out there?
JH: I don't know, I think it's okay... We're all part of the
heritage, you know, so why not? I write my views on it, they
write theirs, and basically I don't think there's that much
difference between our points of view, in general.
CoC: What do you think of Enslaved, for instance?
JH: I haven't heard the last album, but they had an album a couple of
years ago, which was called _Frost_, right? I thought that was
pretty good.
CoC: Hmm. That's a -long- time ago!
JH: Yeah! <we laugh> I haven't really followed them, but it's a band
that I respect, they've been around for a while.
CoC: Have you spotted any other bands worthy of interest?
JH: Well, I would have to say that one of the newer bands that I was
really surprised with was The Crown -- I really got into _Hell Is
Here_ [CoC #36]. It's a great album, and the new album,
_Deathrace King_ [CoC #47], is also great. I was also a bit
impressed by God Dethroned's last album [_Bloody Blasphemy_, CoC
#41 -- David], but I haven't heard the new one. The thing is that
I work so much with music, that I find it hard to buy new CDs,
and CDs are so expensive that you can't really afford to take a
chance. It may seem strange that I mentioned two Metal Blade
bands right away, but it's just that I get so much from here for
free, that I have the opportunity to listen to Metal Blade bands.
And I can't say that every band I hear from here is good, but
those two are new stuff that really impressed me a lot. But to
mention a band that's not on Metal Blade, I started listening to
Behemoth's _Satanica_ [CoC #43], and I think that's great album.
CoC: Sure! Okay, last words are yours, Johan!
JH: I would like to say to all our fans and friends that we'll see
you on tour, and buy the album! And uh... "salut"!
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F O R S A K E N B U T N O T F O R G O T T E N
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CoC interviews Nicke Grabowski of The Forsaken
by: Pedro Azevedo
While I am not planning to elect The Forsaken's debut _Manifest of
Hate_ [CoC #52] as my favourite album of the year, I am nevertheless
sure that by the end of this year it will have been one of the
records that I spun the most -- if not -the- one. The reason for that
is very simple: _Manifest of Hate_ is an unpretentious slab of pure
metallic enjoyment in the Swedish death vein, written and performed
by a very skilled and determined band, and well produced to boot.
_MoH_ is not just another record in the crowded Swedish scene, simply
because The Forsaken have done a stellar job in gathering much
of what makes brutal, yet melodic, Swedish death metal so damn
enjoyable. Here is what the band's talented drummer Nicke Grabowski
had to say.
CoC: Having your debut disc released by a label the size of Century
Media is not something that happens to too many bands. What do
you think made this possible for you?
Nicke Grabowski: I do not know for sure, I have not thought about it
that much before. We received several offers from
both "small" and "big" labels, so I can only imagine
that the demo we posted was very well appreciated
and maybe it was just what many labels were looking
for at that moment. Musically, I think we have a
really brutal sound, but still clear and melodic.
Maybe that was one of the things that appealed to
the labels. I think that one of the important things
about the demo was that we paid a little extra to
record the demo in The Abyss with Tommy Tagtgren!
Together we produced a very punchy and a big sound
on the _Reaper_ demo. I think that when you have
a very high standard, and a very professional
sound that represents the music, then you get your
music to a higher level, which makes it much more
interesting for everyone that listens to it. A
crappy sound can be fatal to a band's material,
especially when you play death metal -- as it tends
to be really blurry with low-tuned guitars. For
example, if a demo band with high performance
skills and really good songs would record a really
crappy-sounding demo, then it would probably not be
as interesting as it might have been, and maybe the
labels that receive a demo from a band with that
kind of production and great potential just throw it
away. I recommend that every band that has thoughts
of recording a demo should check if they can afford
to record in a professional studio instead of
choosing one that only want to "rip off" bands (for
less money, but still money) with no interest and no
knowledge of the music. Not that I think that -all-
"small" studios are like that; they have to begin
and learn as everyone else, but in Sweden we have
lots of studios that book bands just to get the
money, even if they lack interest in the music
that the band performs, no matter what it sounds
like. That is pretty clear if you think of it, a
"pop-engineer" would probably not do his best for a
metal band.
CoC: Are you glad to be on Century Media, considering it isn't a
label that people tend to associate too much with the more
extreme side of metal these days?
NG: I think their roster is very mixed with all kinds of metal, and
that is one of the good things with Century Media. If a label is
too deep into only one part of the huge metal scene, the label
might end up in a dark corner. Being open-minded always opens new
doors and new channels to explore. It is like that with
everything all of us do; if you close your mind, you only know
the small things that surround you and you never see things
outside the locked door. The metal scene has changed a lot and
many metalheads now listen to more than just one kind of metal,
and that is another important aspect of why labels should be more
open: to have different kinds of metal under their wings. Century
Media has been very good for us and we are proud to share the
same label with many of the great bands they have. One other
thing is that they are one of the big names on the market, and
that is good for us; they are respected in the music business and
their trademark is well known for releasing quality music. For a
new band like us, it is very good to have the opportunity to be
signed with a label like Century Media. It is easier and you do
not have to find all the contacts by yourself; you are able to
concentrate on the music rather than doing the promotion, or the
huge work to get a name known on the market yourself. And there
are never any problems when it comes to economic situations. But
we had big discussions about which label to sign to, because we
thought that signing to a big label like Century Media would put
us in a very bad situation, being a very low priority for our own
label. Of course, I understand that they put down a lot more
effort on a band like Iced Earth, but we did not want to be under
a pile of papers waiting for someone at the label to notice that
"oh, we have The Forsaken as well, I wonder if they have material
for a new album -- hey, that was three years ago!", and then
having a contract for like seven albums that we could not break.
Well, they proved themselves to us, and we were wrong. For some
reason everything has been very satisfying, I wonder if we should
be suspicious!?
CoC: In my opinion, _Manifest of Hate_ is a markedly -Swedish- death
metal album, in the best sense of the word. I think you have
done a very good job in creating a record which is not
revolutionary, but rather a superb example of a certain metal
genre. What bands do you feel closer to in terms of inspiration?
NG: A question that is hard to answer, because all of us listen to so
many different kinds of metal. What you can hear on the album is
a mix of everything that you can think of. Impressions that go
through and circle around us from all kinds of music is something
closer to where we get our inspiration from, rather than just one
or a few bands. I think you can hear that on the album; we have
brutal riffing close to old-school Swedish death metal and to the
American style of death. Within these influences we mix the
melodic elements of the more modern style of death metal. I also
think that we have a more heavy metal sound on the solo
arrangements than most other death metal bands (but really, that
question is for the guitarists -- I am "only" the drummer). I
think every band has problems with this issue, you know, trying
to say that our band sounds like this or like that band! Every
band tries to write their own music with their own special
presence and appearance, at least I hope so! Or at least a band
wants to create something unique that belongs in their genre.
CoC: And what do you think can make The Forsaken stand out from the
Swedish scene as one of its greatest exponents?
NG: I think that the mix I mentioned before is one of The Forsaken's
most important elements. I think that on _Manifest of Hate_ we
show the beginning of what the band will become. We are very
proud of the album and I personally think that it is close to
many other bands -- as you said, not revolutionary -- but I still
think that we have come up with a style that suits us and that
you can hear; this is The Forsaken. That you can hear our own
style is pretty much something that I think makes us stand out
from the rest of the Swedish bands. Not that I think we do
not have any good bands, because we really do: The Haunted,
Darkane, Evergrey, Vomitory, Abyssos, Ominous, Soilwork, Spawn of
Possession and Carnal Forge, just to mention a few, are all
really great!
CoC: Indeed, despite being firmly rooted in the Swedish death metal
scene, you still prove to have your own individual style on
_MoH_. What can we expect from the evolution of your sound in
the near future?
NG: At the moment, we are in the progress of writing material for the
next album, which will be recorded in December. We have completed
four songs so far, and as far as things have proceeded you can
expect the album to be a little different without changing who we
are. I think the new material is darker and more brutal, but
still melodic. We still have the mix of death and thrash metal,
but I think the main thing that has been changed is that the
songs are a little bit shorter than on _MoH_ and that the
melodies have more thrash elements and are more evil. You know,
we want to develop our sound and explore the grounds we entered
on _MoH_ without losing our own style. But as we still are in an
early phase of the writing progress, it is hard for me to say
exactly how the album will turn out to sound like. But expect it
to be killer!
CoC: What else can you tell us about the follow-up to _MoH_?
NG: Other than what I already told you, we will use the same artist
that did the cover for _MoH_. Mike Bohatch is an incredible guy,
and I think his kind of artwork suits us perfectly. Both the
music and the lyrics are very well in hand with his ideas
and thoughts. Check his artwork out on www.eyes-of-chaos.com!
Another thing is that Lord Rhen from Abyssos will write another
mid-section track for the album. It will not be like "Manifest of
Hate" on the _MoH_ album; we will work with him on something that
is written to fit with our setting, and it will not be just an
instrumental track with choirs and orchestra only. You guys will
have to see how it will sound like when the album is released!
CoC: One of the things I liked about _MoH_ was that your drumming was
quite distinctive and involved, besides powerful. I especially
enjoy the beginning of "Soulshade" and the "Truth of God"
pre-chorus sequence. Any passages in _MoH_ you are particularly
fond of, drumming or otherwise?
NG: Thanks a lot for those words. It is always cool to hear when
people think that the drums are well written and involving. Then
I know that all the hours of blood and sweat are being rewarded.
I like almost everything on the album; there are always things
you know you could have done better, but all in all we are
satisfied with everything. Some of my favorite parts on the album
are the introduction on "Collector of Thoughts" and "Dehumanized
Perspective" -- really brutal and pounding. I also think that the
mid-section parts of "Inseminated by the Beast" and the solos on
that song are really intricate. Another one that I think is the
best song on the album is "Seers Hatred": there you can find lots
of passages and sequences that are really cool.
CoC: According to the _MoH_ booklet, your singer -- whose vocals I
thought were very good -- appears courtesy of Holy Records. Is
he not a full-time band member, then?
NG: Yeah, his vocal abilities are really powerful, especially in a
live situation. I think he is in his best shape on stage, where
he can be more live with the music. He is a full-time member of
the band and he has been since 1998, when the first singer went
out of the picture. The reason why it says that he appears
courtesy of Holy Records is that he is also a member of Ominous
and therefore is bound to another contract as well. That is the
only reason!
CoC: You recorded with Tommy Tagtgren at Abyss Studio. Do you reckon
the Abyss is too busy for its own good these days, in terms of
having become too expensive or its sound too generic with so
many bands recording there, or do you plan to go back for your
next album?
NG: Yes, we recorded the album at the Abyss Studio with Tommy, and we
will be back in the Abyss for the next album as well. The reason
why we choose him is that we know each other very well and he
knows what kind of sound we are after. It is a very natural
choice for us, and it is a really relaxed place to work on an
album. In the middle of the forest in the middle of nowhere...
<laughs> really, it is! The good thing about that is that you
only have the music to concern yourself with, whereas if you were
recording in a studio in a big city, you have, for example, lots
of pubs to attend to... But I do not think that they are too busy
for their own good. People I talk to always say that because they
record so many albums up there, the bands tend to sound pretty
similar sound-wise. But I think that is up to the bands
themselves. If a band goes up there and do not know what sound
they want or what is the sound that suits their music, then of
course the technician will produce the album with his own
personal style.
CoC: Being signed to Century Media will probably give you the chance
to tour a lot more than if you were on a smaller label. How's it
been going in the live front so far? Any plans for the near
future?
NG: The near future will be busy at the rehearsal studio to write new
material, and therefore we are not looking for any shows at the
moment. But if any gigs come up, then we will be there, molesting
the stage. About the touring, well, one week after the release of
the album we were out on a three week long European tour with
Nile, The Haunted and Carnal Forge. [<groan> -- Pedro] When we
came home, Century Media called us up and asked us if we could
join the Marduk tour that reigned in countries that were not
covered by the Nile tour. We were not able to join that because
of our job situations -- who ever said it is easy to be a death
metal musician?! With these things in mind, I must say that they
really want to get their bands out on the roads. That is another
good thing to say about Century Media, as touring is what you
want to do, one of the absolute best things!
CoC: That's it... any final words from The Forsaken?
NG: Yeah, thanks for the interview and thanks to all those who
support us, and the whole scene. I hope that I will be seeing you
on tour sometime next year! Remember to swing the fist and bang
your heads, and let the metal rain -- cheerz!
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T H E G E N E S I S O F T H E E N D
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CoC interviews Andreas Katsambas of The End Records
by: Aaron McKay
Many times things remain an enigma that would be of the utmost
interest to people would they have known about it. For instance, have
you or someone you've known ever held a position in a company where
an advancement opportunity comes along? Subsequently, the job is
filled before you even know about it, but you would have applied if
given the chance. The End Records is something like that in the way
they are an untapped precious music resource for anyone's use. As you
will bear witness to in this interview with one of the label's
originators, Andreas Katsambas, this company has a unique history and
a rare talent for non-duplication of a band's sound that happens to
already be signed to The End. Progressive and most certainly
forward-thinking, Andreas is also a benevolent sort the likes of
which is rarely seen. Enjoy this e-mail interview with Mr. Katsambas,
whose energy and passion for his business ultimately knows no limits
in The End.
CoC: When The End put out the compilation _White: Nightmares in the
End_ release, there is a nice history of the label inside the
cover. For those readers who do not have the CD in their
collection, could you tell us a bit about the history of The End
and Sergey Makhotin?
Andreas Katsambas: Yes, the _White_ compilation was our second
compilation release. The first one, _Until the End
of Time_, was released the second month we started
as a label as a means to create an awareness for
the label and our bands at the time. The _White_
compilation was released in the summer of 1999 and
for me it was the point that marked the second
wave of the label. The first wave was to get a
name and become established and the second was a
step up where we would show everybody that now
that we are here, this is what we have to offer.
So I decided in the booklet of the comp to
explain who we are as a label, how and why we
signed our bands and what are the plans for the
future. I will try and sum it up in a few
words: The End had its first release in January
of 1998. It started between myself and Sergey
Makhotkin, whom I've known since college. Both
of us really liked metal music and after we
came across some amazing unsigned bands, i.e.
Mental Home, Nokturnal Mortum, Odes of Ecstasy and
Sculptured, we decided to start a small label and
help them out. It actually started as a hobby but
it kept getting more and more serious. Our goal
from the beginning was to release music we really
liked and work with bands with strong artistic
skills. Plus we make sure that every band we sign
sounds different from what we already have. If we
have a band like Nokturnal Mortum, there is
absolutely no reason to sign a band that sounds
like them. I can even proudly say that even the
bands themselves try to do something different
with each of their releases. And while we work
very closely with our bands, we allow them total
freedom and tend to work around their schedule. So
after three years we are still around and with
every release we are we hope to make our small
mark to the scene. We now do more advertisements
and promotion than ever plus we also work the new
releases with outside promoters, i.e. we use The
Syndicate for all our radio promotion. And this
year we have actually added another person, Tomer
Pink, to our staff who handles the mail-order and
distribution.
CoC: I know that most know the compilation as _White_. How did the
subtitle, "Nightmares in the End", come into being?
AK: With the compilation and our newsletter we always try to have a
title that contains the words "The End". For example, the first
compilation was entitled _Until the End of Time_. In addition,
the _White_ comp came with a very basic cover (the reason was
that we wanted people to buy it for the music itself and nothing
else), and thus we wanted a title that kind of gave a hint of the
kind of music that was featured inside. At the same time we like
to use contradictory terms or non-conforming effects. Inside the
booklet we wrote a story on why we called the album _White_ and
the last sentence may hint that The End is a very serene state of
being, but then album title adheres the exact opposite meaning,
which is, expect nightmares in the end. And obviously the layouts
are all white and minimalist while the music is truly dark and
quite complex.
CoC: It seems to me that The End is filling a key gap in providing
music to the world from places like the Ukraine. Do you agree
and if so, why is that?
AK: I guess we would sign a band regardless on their origin.
Considering the small size of the label, we are quite an
international group of individuals. I'm from Cyprus, Sergey from
Russia, Tomer from Israel and we have bands from Ukraine,
Norway, USA, Greece, Czech Republic, Australia, etc. To us, what
matters mostly is the quality of the music, and only then the
country they are coming from. And with the internet and recent
technological revolutions we have the capability to deal with
bands from anywhere in the world. Once, the Mental Home master CD
got lost in the mail and in order to meet the deadlines they
actually transferred the sound files over the internet!
CoC: Do you feel that having roots from Greece has given you and The
End a unique perspective on metal?
AK: I am sure it had a strong effect in shaping up my musical tastes.
I was taught to appreciate classic art and I am also deeply
inspired by ancient Greek mythology. Maybe that's what gave me
the drive to always search for the artistic, the dark and tragic
in music. Also, I cannot stand shallow music. It has to have a
really deep meaning and strong inspiration to capture me.
CoC: You and Sakis from Rotting Christ are pretty good friends,
aren't you?
AK: Yes, we know each other for a while now. Last time we met was
actually at the Milwaukee MetalFest a few years ago, although he
calls me every now and then and we also correspond via e-mail. He
is one of the few Greek musicians I kept contact with. I hope
they tour the US soon again, as I like their live shows.
CoC: The End has some type of working agreement with Century Media
for distribution, correct? If so, how is that working out?
AK: Century Media did license one of our albums, which was the latest
Mental Home, _Upon the Shore of Inner Seas_. Besides that, they
carry our titles through their mail-order. We also had some
releases licensed to other labels in Europe, i.e., Nokturnal
Mortum to Nuclear Blast, etc. But other than that, we are a small
self-financed underground label.
CoC: Andreas, I know that you are also a writer for the magazine Ill
Literature, so interviewing is nothing new to you. Is this the
first time you, personally, have been interviewed?
AK: I get interview requests quite often. Overall, I try to keep a
low profile on the label and work more on promoting the bands
instead, but it seems that people do want to know what is going
on with The End and how it started. I guess people think of us as
an unusual label with unusual releases and want to know about it.
That was actually the reason I wrote the story which was included
within the White comp. I started getting too many questions and
thus wrote a general bio of the label. And while it was
informative, it actually sparked numerous new questions from
people! <laughs>
CoC: In your experience, have you had success in dealing with other
labels, press people, and bands?
AK: Just like any other industry you have to deal with all kinds of
people in various aspects of the business. One thing that
separates the metal scene is that you can deal with very
good professionals (i.e. a major magazine, press plant) to a
high-school student that runs a fanzine or has a radio show.
Plus, since I am also a metal fan, in many conversations I blend
business with various other music topics and most of the time
it's just friendly conversations. Overall we have very good
relationships with everyone else. My top priority though is the
well-being of our bands. Since they trusted us with their music I
want to make sure we keep up to the task.
CoC: Speaking of that, one of the best pieces I remember you doing is
one with Septic Flesh and, of course, the Slayer interview where
you had the -whole- band there in person for a face-to-face
intie. Do you have a favorite review or an interview that you
done previously?
AK: My favorite interview is by far the one with Slayer. I drove with
Marco Barbieri [editor of Ill Literature] to their rehearsal
studio in Anaheim, and as Kerry King was late we just had various
other conversations with the rest of the members. Then the
interview was with the whole band and right after that they did a
rehearsal of their live set. As it was the night before their
show, they played the whole set exactly as they do on stage and I
was quite overwhelmed. Slayer is my top metal band and it was a
dream-come-true getting to meet them in person, let along do an
interview with them. In regards to phone interviews, my favorite
was with Garm. Not only has he released some of the most amazing
albums of the '90s (Arcturus, Ulver, etc.), he is also very
intelligent and he gave very thoughtful answers.
CoC: Heaven knows you have helped me with some intricate computer
questions I have had in the past. It truly seems to me that you
are very good with programs and the internet, among other things
computer related. Is this a hobby turned into a passion or just
a gift you possess?
AK: Yes, it started as hobby, as I never took any computer courses.
It seems that metal and computers were my main hobbies and I
consider myself quite fortunate that my main occupation involves
both. My first ever computer related full-time job was with
Century Media and at the moment I maintain their website and
computer administration. Sometimes it can get a bit stressful,
but I like it as it is challenging and it is constantly evolving
with new technologies and concepts.
CoC: Turning things back to bands you are associated with, unlike
some other labels, The End seems to have a very wide variety of
metal signed with you. For instance, the subdued sounds of
Agalloch to the elaborate efforts of Mental Home to the
concentrated material of Mistigo Varggoth Darkestra. Is this a
conscious effort on the label's part to strive from something
diverse or unique?
AK: Yes, we always look to sign unique bands. We have a few beliefs
that we stick quite strongly to them and look after in each band.
Of course, we have to really like their music and see them as an
evolving band with potential to grow and offer unique releases to
the scene. We also try to sign bands that sound different from
the ones we already carry. And we really like bands that work
around dark melodic angles and manage to successfully blend
various styles of music.
CoC: Tell me, if you would, a little bit about one of my favorite
groups: Epoch of Unlight! How did they come to be on The End?
AK: We actually signed the band in November of 1997 before we even
registered as a company. We got their promo from Marco Barbieri,
who at the time also wrote for Metal Maniacs, and said he was
very impressed by their demo. We checked it out and we liked it
very much! When we actually contacted the band they were a
bit skeptical since they previously had some really bitter
experiences with other labels. But after a few conversations
things got much better and we signed them up. Since then they
have recorded two albums with us and we have also managed to help
them go on a national tour with Samael and Dimmu Borgir! What's
interesting though is that people ask me why we signed a band
like Epoch of Unlight as they are a more traditional extreme band
while we tend to go with somewhat more bizarre sounding acts. The
fact though is that I define a band that pushes their limits to
create something new and different. You can listen to any song
from the new album and it sounds unorthodox and unlike any other
band. There are so many death metal bands today that lack a
distinct sound. But you can play me two seconds of Epoch OF
Unlight and I will pick it up right away. They have their own
style and are very talented. Actually, someone summed it up in
one short sentence: "Epoch of Unlight are an avantgarde band;
just like your other band, Sculptured, but just more extreme".
So, they are perfect for us. Plus I grew up listening to thrash
and Epoch of Unlight manage to revive some of that past glory!
CoC: In more than one form, is seems like Nokturnal Mortum is a
relatively prolific band cranking out quite a bit of material.
Do you think this the case, as well, and can you give us some of
the finer details of this consequential group?
AK: I think it more of a matter for us to get caught up with their
releases. When we released _Goat Horns_ [their second album],
they were actually done with the next one. So in 1998 we put out
_Goat Horns_, in 1999 _To the Gates of Blasphemous Fire_, in 2000
_Nechrist_ and very recently their first album _Lunar Poetry_.
They haven't recorded a new album for about two years now, as
they are busy with their side-projects and Varggoth started his
own small label. Next year they will celebrate ten years as a
band and Vargotth suggested releasing a box set with cover songs
and other unreleased material. Since my communication with the
band is sporadic, I don't know of any latest details. But it
seems that with every release they keep getting more extreme,
both musically and lyrically. They are fully following the primal
black metal concepts of staying as controversial and underground
as possible.
CoC: What is next for The End? Any new signings? New efforts by
stable bands on the label?
AK: We actually have a lot of things going on. We just signed four
new bands, each from a different continent. Here are some
updates. Agalloch have just released an MCD, _Of Stone, Wind and
Pillor_, with five songs, and are now working on their sophomore
release. They will enter the studio in September, but don't
expect to finish the recordings until maybe December. Soon after
that, Sculptured will enter the studio to record their third
album, and according to Don [Anderson, vocals and guitars] they
will continue their truly unique sound. Scholomance just finished
their second album, _The Immortality Murder_. The album is a lot
more complex and powerful then the debut and it will take many by
surprise. It will actually come as a double CD. The second CD
will include five songs in an instrumental form plus seven
additional piano interludes! In regards to our new acts, we have
signed the following. Green Carnation from Norway, who are in the
studio recording their second album, which will be a one song
album at 60 minutes. They will include saxophones, church organs,
classical music and choirs among other elements. Another new band
is Ninth Level from San Diego. Imagine a wide range of death
metal, dark progressive rock and experimental jazz, and you may
get an idea of what to expect from them. The plan is to enter the
studio late in the fall. Sleepless is from Israel and is going to
be our least-metal band. Still very dark and artistic, they
remind me of a more underground version of Pink Floyd. The album
is recorded and will go for printing soon. Virgin Black is from
Australia. They create a truly dark but very diverse sound as
they can deliver black metal and lounge piano music all in one
song. I guess this covers it in a few words. More information is
available on our site: www.theendrecords.com
CoC: Finally, will we see you at The End booth at the Milwaukee
MetalFest this August?
AK: Tomer and Sergey will take care of The End table and Epoch of
Unlight are already scheduled to play. I will actually be there
only on Friday, as I am then flying to San Francisco to the
Thrash of the Titans. There are too many great bands playing
there and I just cannot lose such a great opportunity. But anyone
please pass by our table to say hello and we will be able to
answer any questions you may have. Thanks for the great support
and all the best!
Contact: http://www.theendrecords.com
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A N U N L I G H T L Y S T O R Y
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CoC chats with Tino LoSicco of Tennessee's Epoch of Unlight
by: Paul Schwarz
All I gotta say is: they ain't a black metal band and their latest
album, _Caught in the Unlight_ [CoC #52], sounds like Carcass in a
very odd but not unpleasant way. I hope this e-mail interview with
drummer Tino LoSicco will be to the liking of some of you.
CoC: When did Epoch of Unlight form, and what was (and is now) the
idea behind the band: what are you here on the extreme music
scene -for-?
Tino LoSicco: The band has existed in various forms under different
names since 1990, but it wasn't until 1994 that we
officially decided upon the name Epoch of Unlight. In
essence, we are here to write and play music that we
would enjoy listening to. We've been doing this for far
too long to expect to make any kind of substantial
living off of it, so we continue to do it for the
personal satisfaction it brings.
CoC: Your latest release _Caught in the Unlight_ brings the sound of
Carcass to mind; yet I wouldn't say you actually sounded like
Carcass. How would you characterise the sound of this latest
release?
TL: First off, thanks for the Carcass reference. They have always
been a personal favorite of all the guys in the band and we
definitely appreciate the mention. I think the first thing that
will stand out on the new CD is the production. In the past we
have been limited to working with guys in the studio that have
had no experience recording this type of music. This time we had
the opportunity to work with an experienced recording engineer
(Keith Falgout) that basically knew how to record a metal album.
The guitar sound is much thicker and the drum production is very
deep and natural sounding. This was especially important to me on
this release because we have some of the fastest songs we have
ever written on this album.
CoC: How would you say it differs from previous releases in sound,
lyrical content, and song structures?
TL: The music still has a strong melodic/thrashy component to it. (I
think the fact that we all grew up listening to '80s thrash metal
should be a bit more apparent on this release!) The vocals should
be noticeably different. With the exception of a few backing
vocals by Ben Falgoust (Soilent Green and GoatWhore), Jason
handled all of the vocals this time. The lyrics were focused on a
central theme based on an original story rather than being based
loosely on the collective works of a single author. Overall we
are much happier with this release than the last. The writing on
this album has matured. The songs are built around a melody that
makes the songs seem to flow more consistently from start to
finish. Also, the longer the band has played together the tighter
the band has gotten overall. The overall intensity on this record
has increased as well.
CoC: If you wished to place a label on your band, or put it in a
genre category, what would either be?
TL: I have gotten into so many pointless discussions over what genre
we belong in that I try to avoid the topic. There is -always-
someone that disagrees with the classification of the band. We
listen, and are therefore influenced, by bands from varying
categories of metal. I guess if I had to apply some sort of tag I
would describe us as thrashy, black-influenced death metal (with
a hint of melody). I think that just about covers it!
CoC: Do you consider yourselves to be representing any regional scene
within the US, or to be representing US metal / extreme music on
the international scene? Or do you do not see things that way?
TL: Unfortunately, there is no real regional scene of any sort near
us in Tennessee. There are a few good extreme bands that aren't
located too far away from us like Fallen Empire in Arkansas and
GoatWhore in Louisiana. At best I would say we try to stand out
in comparison with other US bands just for the fact that brutal
death metal seems to be more prevalent on this side of the pond
as opposed to any kind of aggressive music with melody.
CoC: Do your aspirations for Epoch of Unlight in terms of popularity
reach beyond the international underground scene?
TL: Of course it does. We would never have worked with an actual
record label if we didn't want our music to get out to as many
people as possible.
CoC: What is the focus of the lyrics contained within _Caught in the
Unlight_?
TL: I'm basically just a big fan of science fiction, fantasy, and
horror, so I drew upon this as a source of inspiration for album
lyrics. There is an underlying story that is carried forth
throughout the CD's duration. It is about someone that gets
caught in the Unlight. The album is a brief introduction into
this sort of purgatory/void containing the Unlight is and what
the character experiences. The protagonist wanted access to
something that he did not completely understand and subsequently
becomes stuck in it. The Unlight, which was thought to be only a
portal between universes, is actually a sentient being that is
slowly encompassing all of the cosmic infinities... every world,
land, space and time. It is, by will alone, a being of sorts.
(Kind of like a multi-cosmic malevolence... to borrow a phrase.)
The individual that is in it is now being used in the Unlight to
achieve its goals. Every time he passes through a portal he
enters a different time, land or space. In each place he has a
different role, such as sage, warrior, slave, etc. Often when he
is drifting though the void (before he is cast down to a new
plane of existence), the Unlight taunts him by showing him scenes
through doors only it can open... scenes of life, scenes of man,
and ultimately scenes unobtainable to the lone traveller.
CoC: What does the cover of _Caught in the Unlight_ represent? Does
it fit in with the lyrics?
TL: The concept of the cover art fits with the underlying story on
the new CD. The figure on the cover represents a struggling
warrior caught in a foreign/alien environment.
CoC: If the next Epoch of Unlight album sounded exceptionally
different from _Caught in the Unlight_, would it be because you
sold out, or is the possibility for change within the band's
sound and style broad enough to incorporate whatever musical
change you might choose to put into action?
TL: As I said before, we write and play what we enjoy listening to.
Considering we have been listening to music like this for over a
decade, I would not expect any radical changes in our style any
time soon. The focus on the combination of intensity with melody
will always be there. I also think that we have such a broad
range of influences that we could expand on certain aspects of
those influences in future recordings.
CoC: Thanks a lot, hope that wasn't too boring for you. Please add
anything about the band's current situation, history or work
which you would like to, or anything else you might wish to: you
have the floor.
TL: Thanks for the interview. Epoch of Unlight will be playing
the Milwaukee MetalFest again this year. The Fest will also
feature the debut performance of our newly acquired second
guitarist. Several tour dates are being considered for the fall
as well. We also have a split 7" on Bloated Goat Records
(www.bloatedgoatrecords.com) coming out this fall with GoatWhore.
Contact: mailto:tinoEOU@hotmail.com
http://www.epoch-of-unlight.com
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M E S O P O T A M I A N H U N G E R
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CoC interviews Melechesh
by: Adrian Bromley
Melechesh vocalist/guitarist Melechesh Ashmedi has indeed been
granted some fancy wishes in his career, none so greater than the
collaboration that has ensued with his band's Osmose debut _Djinn_
[see review in this issue].
You see, people, Absu drummer Sir Proscriptor McGovern had been
summoned to play on the new album, a collaboration that he was
pleased to be a part of and something Ashmedi would be grateful for.
The collaboration is a metal masterpiece that invites all to sample
the musical diversity of what Ashmedi calls "Mesopotamian metal", as
well as the enthusiasm flowing within the release.
So Chronicles of Chaos tracked down Ashmedi to find out how
Melechesh managed to snag the talented drummer to play on their
record, as well as find out just what the hell "Mesopotamian metal"
is. The call goes out to Holland where Ashmedi currently resides and
this is how it all went down...
"Mesopotamian metal is the style of music that we play. That is
what I call it", starts Ashmedi when asked about the band's distinct
sound, no doubt a homage to their Mediterranean homeland. "It is what
we have always been about and something we have made an effort to
create throughout the years as a band, even before our first record.
This sound has become so natural of late for me. Whenever I grab the
guitar, it just sounds like that. It has become very mechanical for
me now when I play. It just happens."
"That is the only real thing that we are making a conscious
effort to do with the music of Melechesh. We want it to have a real
Mesopotamian metal sound. It is not really about paying tribute to
our ancestors, but rather to just to create a sound that we can call
our own and be proud of. We like what we do and I hope others embrace
it too."
With _Djinn_, Melechesh has put a lot of time and effort into
the making of the record. The band -- rounded out by guitarist Moloch
and bassist Al'Hazred -- worked hard to fine tune their sound and
deliver a record that would surpass any expectations. Ashmedi is
excited about the whole deal.
"We actually accomplished quite a bit with this recording,
especially seeing that we were in the studio for a very long time. It
was about a month that we were in the studio, so we got a lot done.
We have been preparing for this album for so many years that it was
all there and ready to go. We just wanted to go in there and make
Mesopotamian metal and just create music in an original way. We
didn't want the guitar sound too highly pitched, but rather rough
sounding. We wanted low end, fat guitar sounds. We also wanted the
lyrics to be original like the music, so we sing about Mesopotamia,
though not necessarily taking text from the mythology, but make the
ideas come from my own mind and just write about the djinn. It is
part of Mesopotamia's past, so we include it."
Sounds like a lot of hard work went into this album.
"Yeah," he responds. "We are very interested with what we
create, but we are also very picky with what we do. We create ideas
all the time, for example a really good riff, but if it just doesn't
sound like the way that we want it to go along with the Mesopotamian
metal sound, we throw it out. It takes a long time to make material
because we are always changing things around, working on sounds and
just trying to make it all sound right. We need to develop to get the
sounds working well off one another."
And while Ashmedi is no doubt the ringleader for the band, his
choice in welcoming drummer/percussionist Proscriptor into the fold
was a great decision on his part. About working with Proscriptor and
how it all came about, Ashmedi explains, "We really hold Absu in high
regards, and vice versa. Proscriptor and I really "click" musically
and ideologically."
He continues, "It has all worked out so well. We have been
friends for a long time, way back since the first album [_As
Jerusalem Burns... Al'Intisar_ on Pulverizer Records]. We used to
talk all the time and he'd call me when I lived in Jerusalem. We'd
exchange ideas and things, as well as talk about the occult."
"I approached him somewhat indirectly about joining the band
because at the time we were looking for a drummer and he knew a few
here in Europe. We tried out a couple of drummers, but it didn't
work. We were getting ready to record an album for Dies Irae that
didn't really work out, but I suggested that he come and work with
us. He e-mailed me back and said he'd love to come and play with us.
I had said that he should join us to get him to say yes and join us,
but not really thinking that he would say he'd want to really join
us."
"He liked what he had heard with the demo of that recording and
he learned it all. We then went on to record three new songs in
Holland with a drum machine and then sent them to him so he could see
what we wanted. We had Proscriptor-ized it and put in all of these
fills so it would be up to what he could do as a drummer. We met
three days before the recording for the first time. We rehearsed the
songs for twelve hours a day for three or four days and then went in
to record the album. It all turned out great."
"When I play back this record I am always trying to hear parts
and see what I could have done differently. I should be enjoying this
all and tripping out on what I have created, but instead I am too
busy finding ways to make our music better."
So I guess having Proscriptor as an official member only makes
the future look better for Melechesh?
"Yes. Proscriptor has a lot to give to every project. He just
can't sit still. He just always needs to do something musically."
He ends, "Melechesh is one of his projects that he takes very
seriously. I believe his input will be much greater for the next
Melechesh album."
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M O N K E Y S T A U G H T M E G U I T A R !
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CoC chats with Nate Newton of Old Man Gloom
by: Paul Schwarz
Old Man Gloom just recently simultaneously unleashed their
second and third releases onto a pretty unsuspecting public. Titled
_Seminar II: The Holy Rites of Primitivism Regression_ and _Seminar
III: Zozobra_ respectively, these "albums" are probably sonically
representative of the whacked-out concepts and ideas which are --
sort of -- presented in some of the words lining of the CD booklets
to each. However, I haven't spent hours comparing words and sound
waves one-for-one, so I guess I shouldn't really be saying things
like that.
I found _SIII:Z_ and _SII:THRoPR_ to be a mighty breath of fresh
air. I have a pile of "albums" sitting next to me, and pretty much
all of them are rule- and convention-governed -- different rules and
different conventions abound, but sets of rules and conventions
govern the behaviour of pretty much all the musical recordings
sitting in said pile. And if, like me, most of the albums in your CD
collection consist of 8 to 10 songs written in one central "style",
_SII:THRoPR_ will, at first, probably be hard -- and possibly
disorientating -- listening. For many of you reading this, if you
went out and bought _SII:THRoPR_, brought it home, played it through
once and then downloaded your first impressions from your brain,
they'd probably consist in enjoyment of some the bits of "music" --
of tracks like "Bells Dark Above Our Heads", "Hot Salvation" or "Rape
Athena" -- and bemusement at why so many tracks consist only of long
sections of "noise". If that -is- -- or -was- -- your first reaction
to _SII:THRoPR_, then I suggest you go back and listen to it a few
more times, and while you're doing so, consciously try to prevent
yourself from categorising what you hear in terms of the structural
norms for what "songs" and "albums", "should" consist of. I have no
interest in describing _SII:THRoPR_ or _SIII:Z_ to you in greater
detail here. However, I do highly recommend both releases: start with
_SII:THRoPR_, and move on to _SIII:Z_ if _SII:THRoPR_ leaves you
hungry for more OMG.
If that paragraph didn't convince you to check out these new OMG
releases -- and let's be fair: why would such a scatter-brained
diatribe convince you to part with your hard-earned cash? -- then
this next one might do the trick...
OMG consists of Aaron Turner from Isis, his old school friend
Santos Montano, Caleb Scofield from Cave In, Nate Newton from
Converge and Luke Scarola (from somewhere, I assume). Additionally,
Jeffrey Caxide of Isis has also lent a helping hand, as has
Kurt Ballou (apparently from "the God City Centre for audio
manipulation"). J. Randall, who works with Agoraphobic Nosebleed,
assisted in making these two releases what they are, as did J.
Hellmann from "Disposable Heroes Inc.". When I wrote to Old Man Gloom
by e-mail to ask if they'd be up for answering some questions for an
interview, main band "spokesperson" Aaron Turner said that they liked
interviews "as abstract as possible", and encouraged me to "go nuts".
So when I sent questions to Nate Newton, I did... and he did so in
turn.
CoC: If I called you a "damn dirty ape", would you take it as a
complement?
Nate Newton: Well, that depends. If I punched you in the nuts, would
you cry like a little girl?
CoC: Is there any connection between OMG and the film "2001: A Space
Odyssey"? [I ask because though I know that the name Old Man
Gloom (the translation of "Zozobra") was chosen in relation to
the new Mexican practice of burning a huge Zozobra puppet, when
I recently saw "2001" (for the first time!) -- after having had
Seminars II & III in my possession for a few weeks -- I noticed
"OMG" written in identical typeface to the one you use on some
of the video screens on the ship controlled by Hal, the Jupiter
probe, I think it's called.]
NN: I can't really speak for the rest of the members o
f Old Man
Gloom, but I can say this: It is absolutely imperative that you
1. stop watching so much tv, and 2. stop smoking so much pot
that you actually find these correlations. But to answer your
question, there is a connection to everything through Old Man
Gloom because to put it bluntly, Old Man Gloom IS everything. Now
on a completely different note, how the hell did you go this long
without ever having seen that movie??
CoC: Since you've said there are connections between OMG and "Planet
of the Apes", would you say there's also a connection between
your minds, and ways of behaving, and the Sixties (acid?)
culture which spawned so many whacked out films?
NN: I have never had to answer such introspective questions before. I
don't think there is any connection between our behaviour and the
Sixties. I mean we haven't gone out and made a record inspired by
bell bottoms. Really, the deeper issue here is this: were the
Sixties inversely influenced by the simple idea that someday Old
Man Gloom could actually exist and come to fruition?
CoC: Do you think it would make for interesting viewing to make a
follow-up to the "Planet of the Apes" series called "Planet of
the Clams" (it would be a strange world, where lobster is slave
to clam!)? [I must confess, all credit for that idea goes to
Matt Groening or whoever it is that helps write "Futurama" and
thought of it -- Paul]. Would you write the soundtrack?
NN: I think I saw a porno movie called planet of the clams once, but
the soundtrack didn't sound like us so I don't think we did it.
CoC: What do you think of cliche UFO theories, such as those offered
in programs like "The X-Files", or such as were thrown about
around the time the "Roswell" alien autopsy "footage" turned up?
If you would agree that most of these ideas are a bit coy, how
would you say yours differ?
NN: First and foremost, we simply believe in alien apes. We believe
in alien apes because said alien apes taught us how to play
guitar. They could all put The Nuge to shame ["The Nuge" is Ted
Nugent, famous for all-American rock antics over a long and
degraded career which survived the Eighties... sort of... --
Paul]. The alien apes aren't very good drummers though, so that
is why we have Santos. His steady diet of pinto beans has made
him quite a terror behind the skins.
CoC: Old Man Gloom has a noise component and a noisy music component.
Which is the "central" sound of Old Man Gloom? Which are the
songs and which are the intros -- or is my feeble, ape-evolved
brain failing to comprehend the synthesis of the two as a single
sound?
NN: I have said this before. NO human can fully comprehend the
magnitude of creative genius that we have realized. So don't feel
bad, you are not alone in your naivete'. The central sound of old
man gloom is not even audible to human ears. It's an extremely
high frequency sound emission that when played at full volume
sends a message into the cosmos saying "PANOCHA, HACHE' EN
MEXICO"
CoC: Was Darwin an ape or an alien?
NN: I was under the impression that he was a small metal fish with
adhesive on the backside.
CoC: What about Desmond Morris?
NN: What?? How do you know about Desmond Morris?? I took her to
junior prom. She put out on the first date.
CoC: If you want to turn into an ape, should not your first step to
be to remove your clothes, since apes have no shame not having
eaten the fruit of knowledge in the garden of Eden? Or is the
"Genesis" a steaming mound of ape jissom prematurely evacuated
from the mouth of an unkind and unthinking alien race doomed to
failure? Or option 3?
NN: Shrude thinking indeed. Apes don't have clothes on. You are very
smart. What you are beginning to touch on here is the concept of
infinite regressionism. If you want to turn into an ape as you
asked, you would first need to find Superman. Once you find him,
you must then convince Superman to fly around the world backwards
multiple times, thus causing the earth to rotate on its axis in
the opposite direction. This may be somewhat difficult because
Superman drives a hard bargain. Maybe you could buy him good
drugs. Now, if you have gotten this far, you will notice that as
Superman flies backwards, and the world turns the wrong way, time
is now going backwards also. You will be able to walk, run, jump,
swim, and talk backwards with the greatest of ease. If you bought
Superman enough good drugs then he will keep going until the
world has regressed back to its primordial state. No buildings,
no jets, no Seven-Elevens, no Telemundo, just you and the jungle
and voila, look down at your feet. Dear god, you have turned into
an ape. Thank you Superman!!
CoC: How does the creative process for Old Man Gloom function, how is
the "noise" and the "music" synthesized?
NN: There really isn't a creative process for Old Man Gloom. It kind
of just happens when we decide out of the blue that we want to
practice. In my opinion everyone in this band are very talented
individuals, and when we do find the time to get together, good
ideas and good music seem to just flow out of us like diarrhoea.
The "noise" and the "music" aren't really looked at as separate
entities. To us its all the same. They are all tools used to get
the same point across.
CoC: How will the (at least) two-tiered nature of the albums
translate into the live setting?
NN: That is a question that only Yahweh himself can answer. We have a
very hard time finding the time for Old Man Gloom to play shows.
Us being the suave playboys that we are. The songs that we have
played out thus far have all come across well. I think it would
be hard to do some of the same things we do in the studio on
stage. But I would hope we would make up for the lack of talent
with an over abundance of male nudity.
CoC: If you could train them to do it, would you teach monkeys to
play your instruments, and your songs, and send them onstage for
the ultimate experience in simian insanity? Or would you be
worried they'd get all the girls and sign your band away to
Sony?
NN: We already have that problem with the girls... Caleb gets them
all. Listen to our music and tell me what would make you think
that anything female would at all be attracted to any of us. As
far as the monkey idea, yes of course. We already did that. The
monkeys have played three shows. Two in Boston and one in
Switzerland. They were really good.
CoC: Could thousands of humans sitting at thousands of typewriters
eventually come up with a mathematical formula to figure out how
to grow a prehensile tail, 'cause I want one?
NN: Again this sounds like a job for Superman. Typewriters wouldn't
help anyways, they would need protractors and the xpm587
precarmfabulator [Remember Marvin the Martian from "Duck Dodgers!
In the twenty-fourth and a half century!" No? Then you won't know
what Nate's talking about. -- Paul]
CoC: Where are some of the samples on II and III taken from?
NN: There was a tiny microphone hidden in your toilet. All the
samples, with the exception of the actual space ape transmissions
we have intercepted, are actually sonically mutated recordings of
your ass.
CoC: If Old Man Gloom and Isis got in a fight, who would lose, who
would win, and who would look more like a martial arts film
doing either?
NN: Well, being friends with Isis I really don't want to choose any
sides, but Old Man Gloom would definitely kick their asses. They
would all be too hopped up on drugs to fight back. Not to mention
that we have angry Caleb Scofield on bass. Santos is Mexican, so
of course he's handy with a blade. But Aaron would have to fight
himself, and that would look fucked up. Actually, that is why we
would win, because Isis would be high and see Aaron fighting
himself, so they would start laughing uncontrollably as Caleb,
Santos, Luke and I would bludgeon them with bicycle chains (and
monstrous riffs) while in between laughs they would say: "Hey
man, watch the joint man, I mean like I paid for this stuff
man..." Aaron Harris might cause us some trouble, though.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
D E M O N I C B A T T L E M O M : D A N A ' S R E T U R N
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CoC interviews Dana Duffey of Demonic Christ
by: Alvin Wee
Followers of the old death metal scene might do a double take at
hearing the name of Demonic Christ these days, but old habits die
hard, and the semi-cult figure of Dana Duffey is once again poised to
loom over the hungry underground. Formed in 1992 from the ashes of
the infamous all-girl Mythic, Demonic Christ has virtually been the
solo project of Dana, with various musicians completing the line-up
on three demo tapes and one under-promoted full-length. With a
somewhat stable line-up established, the band has been steadily
encroaching on epic black-metal territory, a distinct move away
from their familiar guttural rumblings. Limited to a mere 250
hand-numbered copies, the band's latest release _Demonic Battle
Metal_ on Cryonics Records may be annoyingly elusive, but the
impressively epic, martial music on offer makes it well worth the
effort to seek out. As murmurs of a new release began to spread, I
managed to hook up with Dana herself for a fascinating chat...
CoC: Greetings, Dana! How's your daughter doing? Is she gonna become
a regular metalhead like her mom?
Dana Duffey: Hails! My daughter, Morgana, is now three years old and
is great. She loves black metal and already likes to
play my guitar, so hopefully she will follow in my
footsteps.
CoC: So how has becoming a mom affected your metal lifestyle? Some
things must've had to change, right?
DD: Yes, it has been difficult. That's why I really wasn't involved
in the scene much for three years, since I had a rough pregnancy
and then taking care of my baby was my number one priority. I
still practiced my guitar and even wrote some music, but I just
didn't have time to record or look for a line-up. Now that she is
a bit older, it is much easier to do the things I want and it is
time to complete a new line-up for Demonic Christ.
CoC: Well, as a fan I'm certainly looking forward to any new
material! It's a pity there had to be such a long break...
DD: As I explained in the previous question, it was related to my
daughter. Being a woman I have a lot more responsibility than a
man would whose wife just had a baby. I put 100% into being a
mother and I have no regrets about that. My music could wait. I
knew that I could pick it up again whenever I was ready, and I
was right.
CoC: But the fans can't wait...
DD: Everyone seems anxious to hear what I am writing, and to tell you
the truth I think a little stagnation has done me good since the
new material is in my opinion far superior than that of the past.
CoC: Stepping back in time now... Back in '95, when you released your
LP, there was this black metal boom just starting up. With your
death metal roots, how well were you received back then?
DD: It is true I have death metal roots, however I have always
considered Demonic Christ to be more black metal than death
metal. The response was overall pretty good. There are always
going to be critics. Honestly, I was not that thrilled with the
final product anyways, since I had only been playing with the
members a few months and the drummer really was not very good.
Making an impact was not hard, since blasphemy has always been
accepted in death/black metal and _Punishment for Ignorance_ had
plenty of that!
CoC: But at that time wasn't there some sort of "war" between black
metal and the then-popular death metal?
DD: As far as a "war" between death and black metal, I am not sure
that I feel there is. I mean, they are definitely separated
genres, however some bands are really hard to categorize...
CoC: So what do you think about the new wave of melodic death
sweeping the metal world of late?
DD: I definitely prefer the sound of black metal over death metal,
but can appreciate any kind of music done well. Melodic death
metal included -- I like Sentenced (_Amok_) and Shadow a lot...
Any music that has the musicians' soul in it is great, as far as
I'm concerned. I will not listen to a band just because they're
considered "black metal" or whatever. I am very open minded to
different types of heavy, aggressive music.
CoC: There's been a resurgence of death metal these days, and even
the neo-black metal joke has reached its limit. So will DC be
taking up some of that electronica stuff -- horror of horrors --
that's been coming out of Norway these days? Or old-school death
maybe?
DD: <laughs> No, no electronics for DC! And no, we are not going in a
more death metal vein... if anything, it is probably more black
than ever at this point. I just write what I feel and however you
want to interpret it or categorize it is up to you (the
listener).
CoC: There's been a huge development from the _Deceiving the Heavens_
tape and the latter two demos towards a more black metal sound;
why this change?
DD: Well, the main reason for the change was growth and obviously
what I was listening to at the time... I was also very limited
with what I could write, since I didn't have a drummer who could
do blastbeats or much double bass. When "Deceiving the Heavens"
was recorded I had only been out of the death/doom band Mythic
for a few months -- I had not yet had time to conjure up a new
sound/creation. It is very primitive. Not to mention the drummer
played on the tape after playing the songs two times each.
<laughs>
CoC: So things are moving more in the black direction these days?
DD: Yes, the newer material is definitely more black and fast.
CoC: There's also some experimentation with martial beats and rhythms
on "Witches Fall", any particular thing that inspired that epic
sound?
DD: Yes -- WAR! I wanted it to sound like battle was about to
begin... Scott (the drummer at the time) and I worked on this and
did achieve the sound we were looking for!
CoC: It's certainly one of the most memorable and striking black
metal tracks I've heard in recent times!
DD: Thank you for the compliment. There will definitely be more of
this kind of drumming in the new Demonic Christ material.
CoC: On to the lyrics now: it's pretty obvious what your subject
matter is, but what drives you in this direction? Was it a
personal experience perhaps? Or upbringing?
DD: Surprisingly, I was not raised with religion. I was just always
"aware" of the inconsistencies religion held. When I was 12 I
read the Holy Bible and the Satanic Bible and it all became clear
to me... From there I began reading more philosophers' teachings
like Crowley and Nietzche and just sort of developed my own
theory.
CoC: So you're against organized religion as a whole?
DD: Organized religion disgusts me -- the whole idea of control and
teaching humans not to be human but to be robots is sickening. I
could go on and on about this subject, but if you just read my
lyrics, it is self explanatory.
CoC: But do you see how Christianity -- or any organized religion --
could be beneficial to humans in general? As a form of spiritual
support, perhaps?
DD: It may be helpful if they are sheep. I am not saying that
"believing in something" or "being spiritual" is negative -- only
that belonging to a church or group of people for social reasons
or because "that is what you are supposed to do" is pure bullshit
and a sign of weakness. Organized religions do all the thinking
for you and allow you NO room to make choices for yourself. I am
so down on organized religion because it makes you a clone, a
puppet, a sheep. However, if we were all intelligent and had our
own ideologies of spirituality, we would have other problems.
CoC: So on the same topic, who and what inspires you to write the way
you do? Both lyrically and musically, I mean.
DD: I base my lyrics on the way I feel about things -- life in
general, society, etc. Sometimes thoughts I have to hold in that
only makes them stronger. Sometimes I have dreams that turn into
lyrics, but mainly it is my own experiences and deep feelings in
my subconscious. I convert my emotions into music. I never write
just to write a song -- I write when I "feel it", kind of hard to
explain...
CoC: You write only when inspired, then.
DD: I could go months without writing and then I can write four or
five songs in a month. I write when the time is right.
CoC: You know, it's interesting that with a young daughter to bring
up, you're still maintaining your outlook on life...
DD: Well, I take that as a compliment that I maintain my outlook on
life, since I would agree that many change their beliefs once
children are brought into the picture.
CoC: So how do you plan on raising your daughter? I mean, would you
be exposing her to the "darker side", so to speak? That's
something not traditionally held to be good parenting!
DD: To answer your question, I will raise my daughter to be strong,
to think for herself and to never assume she knows anything about
the universe. When she goes to school and has questions about
Jesus, I will give her my "PG" version of what I think but add in
that it is only my opinion and that there are many different
views and no one really knows which one is right, and that she
should decide for herself based on a combination of her gut and
her head. As far as exposing her to "the darker side", I don't
see anything wrong with it. I do not force her to do anything and
all she sees is a lot of positive energy from me. I am happy and
love what I do -- what could be wrong with seeing that? The way I
see it is she will have an advantage most kids do not: she will
not have to overcome a fear of the occult and witchcraft and
Satanism, so her journey of finding her own beliefs will be that
much easier.
CoC: Well put indeed... but that's not a perspective many people will
be able to adopt. Most people would see your metal lifestyle as
a negative environment for a child to grow up in.
DD: Well, there isn't an "environment" that I see negative. At this
point all my daughter knows is that mommy plays metal.
CoC: What about all the negative sentiments expressed in your music?
A song title like "Church of Profane Masturbation" is highly
questionable, don't you think?
DD: As far as "Church of Profane Masturbation" goes, she will not
hear this song or read the lyrics as long as I can prevent it. Of
course I think that is unfit for a child to see -- but I do not
write or play my music for kids...
CoC: So, to bring in a heavily debated point: is there a difference
between black metal as Art and black metal as a lifestyle?
DD: Yes, there is a difference in the mental state I am in while
writing/performing and while being a mom and going to work and
living amongst society. If I am not "true black metal" because I
have a life outside of Demonic Christ, then so be it. To me,
"true black metal" is one who sticks to their roots and writes
what they feel and does not compromise their sound/lyrics for
anyone or anything. I am who I am and I do not claim to be or try
to be anything different.
CoC: Look what Venom dragged in: a whole host of black metallers
turning the music into a lifestyle. Didn't Venom intend it all
to be taken with a pinch of salt?
DD: I do believe Venom intended it to be taken with a grain of salt,
however it has gone way beyond Venom for many years now. I love
Venom and agree they were definitely one of the bands that
pioneered the road for black metal, but there were many other
bands as well.
CoC: What then do you think of the black metallers actively involved
in illegal activities? Like Jon Nodtveidt, Bard Eithun, etc.?
DD: My opinion on the illegal acts of these black metallers is
that the fact that they are in black metal bands is merely
a coincidence. These individuals would have committed crimes
anyways. I mean, look at the whole Judas Priest trial -- it is
ridiculous. [Dana probably refers to the 1985 lawsuit against
Judas Priest for the suicide of two youths, allegedly under the
influence of the album _Stained Class_. -- Alvin] Music does not
make you commit illegal acts -- only you can make that decision
for yourself. There is a very small percentage that have
committed these crimes amongst a large amount of black metal
musicians/fans. I personally would not do any of these acts
because I value my freedom too much. I think that once you give
that up for another you are only hurting yourself -- sure, the
fag is dead, but you are now locked up for all of your "strong"
years. That is just the way, I think... only my opinion. That is
the way my mind works -- but perhaps to those who have done these
deeds it is validated.
CoC: OK, I'm curious about one of the tracks on the CD: "Blut Und
Ehre", which sounds rather suggestive with the title and the
martial beats. Now there's a growing popularity of NS-influenced
black metal and other White Power sentiments in the scene, so
one might be forgiven for thinking...
DD: Indeed the pride of the European American is on the rise in black
metal music and I hail that. Note I did not say White Power -- I
said pride, two different things. "Blut Und Ehre" was the perfect
title of this song which is about being stabbed in the back and
deceived by someone you put all your trust in. I have German
ancestry in my blood running through my veins, so a Germanic
title seemed appropriate. It was not a hidden or suggested nazi
slogan.
[This was a question intended to spark off the topic; a subsequent
peek at the lyrics revealed the true nature of the song... and a
highly interesting read. -- Alvin]
CoC: Fair enough, but what do you think of the bands mixing fascism
with music? Take Graveland or Absurd, for example.
DD: As far as my opinion on mixing racism/fascism with music -- I
think it is great -- I think that if that is truly the way the
artists feel, then I hail them for expressing themselves without
fear of what others will think. That is to be commended. Do I
agree with everything they say? No -- however I will not judge
them because of their message... They have a right to base their
lyrics on any subject under the moon and to be as politically
incorrect or as racist as they wish.
CoC: OK, another thing I'm curious about is your experiences in the
male-dominated scene, being a woman. Were there any difficulties
you ran into playing in the two female fronted bands [Mythic and
DC]?
DD: Well, I think that overall it is accepted to have a female
frontwoman, if she is worth a shit. I would say there are two
types of men: those that think it is cool as hell and those that
think women have no place in metal, that it is a man's realm...
blah blah blah. I have run into a few of these macho assholes,
but have dealt with a lot more men that have been supportive as
hell.
CoC: So you haven't had problems with the men in the scene?
DD: Most men treat me just as they would their male friends and that
is exactly the way I like it. I realize I am not like most women.
I cannot say exactly what it is that makes me different. I am
feminine, I mean I am a mother -- but I just relate to men better
than women, I always have. I think that most women do not have
the drive and determination to stay with music very long. I have
been playing for fourteen years and I just cannot see myself not
writing songs -- it is in my soul, my very being.
CoC: Still, it's pretty safe to say that reactions will never be
neutral when audiences are confronted with a woman playing
brutal music, right?
DD: Yes -- you hit it right on the head! There are not many neutral
reactions and that is from men and women. Is it a problem for me?
Hell no. I am confident in what I do and if others don't like it
I honestly don't give a shit. I think once most see Demonic
Christ live they don't have any shit talking to do.
CoC: And have your family and friends been supportive of your
"un-lady-like" activities?
DD: My family has been supportive since day one. I dedicated the
first CD _Punishment for Ignorance_ to my parents for their
support -- they have come out to a few shows and wear my
shirts... Friends -- if they didn't support me, then they
wouldn't be my friends.
CoC: Yet there aren't many successful women in the scene so far, I
mean there are bands like Opera IX, Astarte, Thorr's Hammer
etc., but the scene is rather one sided. Why is this so, do you
think? Does the problem lie with the female musicians or the
scene?
DD: This is always a hard question to answer, because like I said
earlier, I don't really know what makes me different. I can tell
you this: from dealing with other female musicians in the past
and from talking to some, I know that the biggest downfall is
that women get into the scene and decide to play for attention.
This does not work! They don't get the reaction they want right
away so they get frustrated and bored and it's over. The women
that truly love what they do and are doing it for themselves are
the ones that make it.
CoC: So could this male dominance in the genre be due to the fact
that women just don't go for such brutal stuff?
DD: Metal is definitely a male dominated genre -- why I am not
sure... perhaps it is that it is so aggressive and full of
testosterone, maybe that scares women off. Maybe they feel they
can't be aggressive and feminine at the same time. When I got
into it I was just as surprised as I am now that there aren't
more women playing -- it is so natural to me, so I just don't get
it. Is there anything that can be done about it? No -- it's just
the way it is.
CoC: To wrap things up a little: how have sales been for _Demonic
Battle Metal_? Cryonics isn't a label that's known for strong
marketing... what do you think of them thus far?
DD: It sold out as soon as it was pressed, but that isn't saying
much since this release was an ultra limited press of 250
hand-numbered copies. It was meant to be part of a series of
forgotten demo tapes by black metal bands that helped mold the
scene. I of course was honored that they considered Demonic
Christ to be one of those bands, so I figured why not? To say
something in Cryonics' defence -- they were great for this
release. Quick turn around, great job on the booklet and they
stayed in good contact with me. I have never heard of anyone
having problems with them. I was glad to have released a CD with
Cryonics, however there are no future releases planned with them.
The label is very small and I would like to get a larger release
with worldwide distribution for the next CD.
CoC: So what are your plans for getting the show back on the road?
What have you got up your sleeves for us die-hard fans?
DD: Currently I have conjured up a line-up for the first live
performance in five years. This show will be at the fourth Annual
Sacrifice of the Nazarene Child Black Metal Fest in San Antonio,
TX on December 1st, 2001. These musicians will most likely also
be recording the next CD for Demonic Christ as well... Let me
introduce them: Xaphan (Kult Ov Azazel) on guitar, Lord Imperial
(Krieg) on bass and Chad Walls, who has worked with many bands
throughout the scene, on drums. I of course play guitar/vocals.
CoC: And it will be released on...?
DD: I am still searching for the perfect label for the next release
-- I have had several offers, but nothing has been decided yet.
The first Demonic Christ CD _Punishment for Ignorance_ will be
released on pic LP from Painkiller Records in Belgium in early
2002. They are the same label that pressed _Demonic Battle Metal_
on pic LP, which is also sold out due to a limited pressing of
300 copies (licensed from Cryonics). So if there is a label
interested in putting out Demonic Christ material -- get in
touch! There is much more to come from this US battle horde...
CoC: Right then... we'll just wrap up with some words you might wanna
say.
DD: I would just like to invite everyone to come look at the website
at www.demonicbattlemetal.com -- there is merchandise and news
and MP3s -- check it out! You can also reach me for interviews
and questions at Dchrist666@aol.com. Thank you Alvin for the
great interview and your support! Keep the flames burning!
[Thanks in return, Dana! It was great hearing from a pioneering woman
in the old death metal scene, and readers are encouraged to seek out
any remaining copies of _Demonic Battle Metal_ as it's truly a
killer album. -- Alvin]
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
T H E ( H O R R O R ) S H O W M U S T G O O N
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CoC chats with Matthew Barlow of Iced Earth
by: Adrian Bromley
Any time someone decides to put on a show, whether it be a small
theatre performance, an acoustic performance, hell, even a puppet
show, it takes a lot of work to make sure it all comes together.
Plans are drawn up, ideas are discussed and changes are made at last
minute. Sometimes, once it is all over, there are a million things to
change and once again things are re-routed and altered.
When the idea for Iced Earth's latest disc _Horror Show_ came
into the conversation a few years back, singer Matthew Barlow says
guitarist/songwriter Jon Schaffer was just aiming to do a small EP.
Well, as mentioned above, plans change, and now Iced Earth has
unleashed to their fans a monster (get it?) release that tells the
tales of so many classic stories with a solid metal ambiance. Such
tales tackled include Werewolf, Dracula, Frankenstein, Jack the
Ripper, Jeckyl & Hyde and a whole lot more.
About the new album and the work that was involved, Barlow
begins, "Every time we finish up a record it makes me feel good to
know that we have kind of completed an episode, I guess you could
say, in our quest to metaldom. I really think that this record, as
well as projects we have worked on in the past, is just one more step
up in the right direction for the band. It is good to feel that way
after each release. I hope we never feel like we have fallen
backwards after we finish recording an album -- that would be a bad
thing."
"_Burnt Offerings_ [1995] was a record in our career where we
didn't feel too good about ourselves and where we were going", admits
Barlow. "We just needed to get out of that situation with what we
were doing and just take it higher. We need to take this higher all
the time, but stay true to our roots and ourselves and not be
redundant. That is very hard to do, but some bands do get caught in a
rut, and I hope that never happens with Iced Earth [the band is
rounded out by guitarist Larry Tarnowski, drum superstar Richard
Christy (Control Denied / Death) and bass legend Steve DiGiorgio
(Sadus / Death) -- Adrian]. I don't think we will, because as a
writer Jon is very in tune with what he does and how he wants to
carry things out."
When asked about the early ideas behind _Horror Show_, he
comments, "A few years ago it was just an idea for an EP. After we
did _Something Wicked This Way Comes_ [1998], we wanted to do
something on the trilogy from that album, but we knew it wasn't
really the time for it. We wanted to make sure that when that concept
came out it would get proper treatment. Therefore, we were kicking
around ideas and Jon wanted to do singular songs with purpose and
their own defining meanings. We then started to talk about the whole
horror and movie monster EP project and making it into a bigger
thing."
Did Barlow have any apprehensions about doing this album and
what their label (Century Media) might think?
"Jon has had a relationship with the label for a very long time.
He has been given full artistic control of things and what he wants
the band to do. That started around the time with _Burnt Offerings_
when he wanted control over artwork, because he felt the label wasn't
doing things right and how he had envisioned the band. They kind of
came to realize that Jon knew what he wanted to do musically and
artistically with the band, and so they have left him alone to do
this."
He adds, "Jon has a lot of weight on his shoulder as far as
making music and handling the business. He is not going to let just
anyone handle that stuff. He allows me to be a part of that and I
take on as much as I can. I like to be involved and knowing what is
going on."
Over the past few months there has been a lot of talk and
concern from fans about Iced Earth and certain musicians being in and
out of the band. How do those situations concern Barlow?
"I think that often people worry about all of this too much",
Barlow explains. "If you listen to all of the records, there is a
connection, and that is Jon's writing and the music he creates.
Everything would be fine if everybody could just hone in on that and
appreciate the music and not worry about that other stuff. We are
people too. We have to deal with people on a professional level and
we can't just be, "Hey buddy, want to play guitar in our band?", or
"Hey man, come be in our band!" We are so beyond that. We are a
professional outfit and we can't be like that. Jon does a lot of hard
work with the music and loads of other things related to Iced Earth.
I try my best to work hard to bring my vocal talent to the band. If
everyone else just did their job, there wouldn't be a problem."
Going a bit more in detail about _Horror Show_, he says: "I
think the original intent of this album and the songs was to make the
characters really come through the music and give them their own
defining quality. I think Jon did a nice job to find the right sound
and music. When you hear it, you know it is obviously Iced Earth, but
there are also subtleties thrown in where you know this song is about
this certain character. It was a hard thing for Jon to do", notes
Barlow, "but I think he did a real good job with the album, even
though he had all of this weight thrown upon himself to make this
work."
"This record does have a very modern Iced Earth sound for sure,
but nothing that can be associated with new metal sounds and styles
going on. We don't listen to any of that new metal music", he juts
in. "We knew there was a potential for this record to become
something it isn't. The music could have been portrayed as cheesy and
corny had it not been tackled the way Jon opted to do it. Given the
subject matter and how people might perceive it, we took the story
and put an Iced Earth spin on it. With these songs we have taken
artistic license and done stuff with it, whether it be re-working the
story line or just using the basic concept, and just did our own
thing with it."
"We really just wanted to pay tribute to these characters and
how these concepts have influenced us as writers and intrigued us. A
lot of people out there have given heavy metal music a bad name for
this reason or that reason. Some people say they don't like heavy
metal music because it is Satanic. But do they give Stephen King shit
when he talks about the devil in his books? No, they don't. We are
trying to be storytellers and that is always what we have done. This
is just another set of tales we have provided Iced Earth fans and
metal fans to listen to."
With each release for a band, a lot comes along with it, most
notably press tours. How does Barlow react to press days?
"This is real cool to be a part of it all and do this stuff for
the press tour", he says. "Of course there is a bit of monotony on
the press tour. You always answer the same questions and you need to
spin things around and try to answer the question a bit differently
so that the answer is a new answer. This is part of the gig and it is
fun to talk to a lot of people about the new record, especially if
they are legitimate Iced Earth fans and know about our music and us.
When I do an interview with someone who doesn't really care about us
or the music we play, and isn't into the interview, my answers are
going to feed off that. It is like playing live. When you have a
great crowd, it is going to show in how you perform. You just reflect
on what is being given back to you."
"I really enjoy what we do", states Barlow about why he does
Iced Earth. "We try not to categorize ourselves other than say we are
a metal band. I think we get a lot of fans from many different crowds
that can relate to what we are doing."
He finishes off, "We are not a political band here to tell
people to think a certain way. We are just here to entertain."
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
D A R K I N S A N I T Y
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CoC chats with Peter Wildoer of Darkane
by: Paul Schwarz
When I conducted this interview with Darkane, I was really digging
their latest album _Insanity_. And though I'm still presently of the
opinion that it is a much more complete and out-and-out -better-
record than their debut, _Rusted Angel_ [CoC #42], I'm not so sure
it's the classic I initially took it for. Only time will tell whether
_Insanity_ fades into the past of my enjoyment, but it was certainly
a joy to probe a few months ago when I talked to Peter Wildoer on the
phone. It was one of the most pleasant interviews I've conducted in
ages.
CoC: How do you feel about _Insanity_ being out on Nuclear Blast?
Peter Wildoer: The deal with Nuclear Blast is just great for us, I
think. I think they're really helping us out because
when we were on WAR music it was kind of a small label
and they're very good, they have very good taste,
and I like the bands they have. But there are
some countries they cannot reach, there are some
promotional things they do not have the money to do.
And, I just love the work that Nuclear Blast has done
so far. They postponed the release of the album --
it was meant to be released in February but they
postponed it until 8th of April. We finished it in
July, so it has been taking a while to get it
released, because of the license thing. Nuclear Blast
had some major releases in the beginning of the year:
Amorphis, Dimmu Borgir, Children of Bodom. I think it
has just been great with them. They're a really good
label, actually. I've heard so much both good and bad
stuff about them, but they really help us out, I
think.
CoC: I think if you're in the right priority on them they are good.
PW: Yeah, they actually wanted to postpone _Insanity_ because they
wanted to make Darkane a high-priority release in April. That's
very good for us.
CoC: How do you feel about the possible musical progression
from _Rusted Angel_ as well as the possible progression in
popularity? I'm trying to trace some of the strands of music.
PW: I think the main thing is that _Insanity_ is more of everything
from _Rusted Angel_. I think some people get the feeling that
_Insanity_ isn't as intense and fast as _Rusted Angel_, but I'd
say if you count the beats per minute it's definitely much
faster, this album, and it's more intense, and I think it's more
of everything: there's even more variety now in the vocals. Some
people just find the production a bit too clean, but I like it
because on the previous album you actually couldn't hear what the
guitars were doing. Now you can hear what everybody is doing and
I just think that's very cool.
CoC: I think it's a much broader, clearer sound.
PW: I like that. I think also this shows Daniel Bergstrand's ability,
'cause the albums he produces have such different sounds. If you
compare Strapping Young Lad to Meshuggah and these two Darkane
albums, they sound quite different. So, we will definitely
continue to work with him; he's also a great guy.
CoC: Darkane and a few other bands seem to have a real injection of
Slayer and Dark Angel...
PW: Definitely, Dark Angel are my personal favourite thrash band
ever, actually. I think it's Darkane and also The Haunted, I
think those are the thrashiest bands coming out of Sweden right
now. I love other Swedish bands like In Flames and Soilwork, but
they're more melodic. We wanted to progress from _Rusted Angel_
to _Insanity_ because a lot of bands wimp out on the second and
third album. They do a brutal first album and then slow
everything down and do it more melodic and stuff like that. We
just wanted to get it even more intense -- perhaps there are more
melodic vocals -- but keep it intense! And I think that's what's
cool about it -- and keep it thrashy, definitely!
CoC: I think it's good 'cause you put more aggression into it. The
scene had started to get a bit soft, people widdling their way
off into oblivion.
PW: Yes, I agree.
CoC: It's good to see bands seemingly rediscovering -thrash-.
PW: Definitely, I think also there's something a bit different
between Darkane and all these retro thrash bands, because they
wanna keep it how it was in the late Eighties or something. I
think what we want to do is progress, we want to mix it up with
stuff like Strapping Young Lad. And do it more modern, but keep
the thrashiness in the verse and stuff, keep it fast, intense,
with good riffing and stuff like that. I just love thrash. I'm
glad you mentioned Dark Angel, 'cause that's my favourite. We
actually did a cover or medley from Slayer when we were in the
studio. That was a mix of "Raining Blood" and "War Ensemble", but
since it was a medley we couldn't release it because of the
management of Slayer. Right now we have some persons working on
that in the US, 'cause it's such a cool medley. And it sounds
like one song, but it's riffs from both songs. You'll have to
hear it, 'cause it's very cool. Hopefully we can release it
sometime later this year on a single or something. Or perhaps as
an extra track on the next CD. But it's a cool thing to do,
actually.
CoC: I really do feel Darkane and other bands have managed to inject
old sounds into things without sounding crap and retro.
PW: Yeah, exactly!
CoC: The thing about the retro scene is that it's not exciting.
PW: Yeah, I've heard all that stuff before. Most of the old bands did
it much better because they kind of invented it. The reason why I
think we also want to keep it very modern is that then we do what
we're good at. And, Dark Angel did what they were good at and we
can't do it as good as they did so why should we do it. They were
the guys who invented the whole scene together with some other
bands. I just want to keep it in our own way, definitely.
CoC: Would you say any bands from Sweden in particular inspired you
to start playing metal?
PW: Actually, when it came to death metal in the very late Eighties
or the beginning of the Nineties, I was definitely more
influenced by the American bands, from Florida. I am very much
into the more progressive stuff like Atheist and Cynic... and
Death. Of course, Entombed had a big impact for all of the
Swedish bands when they broke out. People realised it was
possible to play extreme metal and get a reputation and get out
and play. I think that had a big influence on the whole scene in
Sweden: Entombed.
CoC: The beginning of the Swedish scene was Stockholm and that all
comes from American death metal and American grindcore.
PW: The old stuff.
CoC: When did Darkane begin?
PW: Darkane started playing together in very late 1997. Me and
Christopher, the guitarist, write most of the songs. Together
with Jurgen we played in another band before called Agretator.
That was a very progressive band in the vein of Cynic, Death and
Watchtower, Meshuggah mix. We played together in that band for
seven years and eventually the spark wasn't there anymore. We
split the band in November and started Darkane in December.
Darkane is quite a young band, but we've all been playing
together for a long time. It feels like playing together with an
old band, but it's new.
CoC: After doing progressive stuff were you interested in putting
back harder, thrashier, Dark Angel sounds?
PW: Definitely. It was conscious because it took almost a year to
construct the last Agretator album and there were too many
conflicting wills in the band. We wanted to do more At the Gates
type stuff. But the guy who sang on the first album could sing
normal vocals and thrashy vocals. So we went with a thrashy vibe,
'cause there were so many bands copying At the Gates. From there
we worked in the studio. Daniel [Bergstrand] had a big impact on
the vocal stuff and how _Rusted Angel_ turned out. We didn't
rehearse much at all before recording _Rusted Angel_. It sounds
very spontaneous. I still like some of the songs very, very much,
I think some of them are really, really good.
CoC: Interesting you say -not- like At the Gates: _Slaughter of the
Soul_, coming out when it did, was a bit of a kick in the arse
for a lot of Swedish metal. Dismember certainly said that.
PW: Definitely. That was one of the best produced albums ever made, I
would say. I think they set a new standard with _Slaughter..._. I
think the whole scene actually changed a bit after that release.
Adrian [Erlandson, ex-At the Gates drummer presently with Cradle
of Filth] and those guys said it's nearly impossible to top that
album, to make it a better album production-wise. They kind of
also lost the spark with the band and decided to quit when they
were at the top, and people will definitely remember them. I
think that was a cool thing to do.
CoC: It's interesting that although Daniel Bergstrand has done a lot
of good albums and is a good producer, he's not as well known
Peter Tagtgren and Fredrik Nordstrom, even though a lot of
people who do know him would say he was a better producer than
either.
PW: Most musicians and journalists know about Daniel but fans don't
know who he is, but they know about Fredrik, and Abyss studios.
There are also musicians who think he's extremely expensive and
he doesn't have his own studio, and that they have to rent him a
studio and then rent him to come. But he's got his own small
studio north of Stockholm and he just tries to survive. Now it's
starting to take off a bit more for him so I think that's very
good. Now he's also producing Dragonlord, the new band of Eric
Peterson from Testament [reviewed in this issue]. Hopefully also
Darkane can help. He's got more variety to his sound than
Fredrik, I think. Sometimes he definitely comes out with good
stuff but sometimes it can be a bit curtailed. I think it depends
a lot who works with him. I've worked with him two times, with
Armageddon, and _Stigmata_ that I did with Arch Enemy. It was
different vibes those two times. Armageddon he didn't feel much
for because it was a small band and we were only in the studio
ten days, including mixing. He worked more for Arch Enemy,
because it was their second album he worked a lot harder. I think
those bands go to Fredrik because they want the _Slaughter of the
Soul_ sound and because of that it sounds mostly the same, most
of the productions. Different bands, but it sounds in the same
vein in some way, I think. I think if perhaps Daniel Bergstrand
would do Dimmu Borgir, I think he could have got a whole new
dimension to the band. A lot of those bands that I've talked to
are not willing to experiment much. They know when they go to
Fredman that even if they're not having their best days, the
production will turn out good at least. I just love the work that
Daniel does and we're definitely gonna go with him on the next CD
too because especially vocal wise he's very big.
CoC: I really enjoyed some of your drumming on _Insanity_. You done
quite a bit of stuff with unusual breaks and slight off-beat
rhythms.
PW: Actually, there's another band I'm in where I do a lot more weird
stuff. It's got like cartoon music -- we call it cartoon music --
Mickey Mouse music, like the old stuff from the Sixties but
totally sped up. It's just shredding. It's a very fast album,
it's also got cool grooves in it: everything from jazz to
blastbeats. It's more avant-garde. I play everything from fusion
stuff through jazz and real hard metal stuff.
CoC: A bit of a Naked City vibe?
PW: Yeah, I like them a lot. I think Naked City they kind of start
out from jazz and go from there, we more start out from hard rock
or heavy metal or whatever. It's a bit different but it's the
same vibe to it. It has lots and lots of humour in it. It's
called Electrocution 250. It will be released at the end of the
year, probably by WAR music. It will probably be licensed by WAR
music to someone else, 'cause WAR music don't really know that
kind of music that well. Drop by at the website of Darkane near
the end of the year and there will probably be some postings
about it.
Contact: http://www.darkane.com
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
N E C R O - P E D O P H I L E S 'R' U S
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CoC talks to Joe Horvath of Circle of Dead Children
by: Adrian Bromley
"I think the new record outshines any of our previous work",
singer/screamer Joe Horvath starts about the band's grinding
deathcore debut _The Genocide Machine_ [reviewed in this issue] for
Deathvomit/Necropolis when compared to their independent releases.
"This record is just so much stronger than what we have done. It
turned out great. We're all excited."
When asked about the mindset and the structuring of the new
album, he comments, "We don't really have a set plan when we go into
to record material. Our drummer [Jonathan Miciolek] lives five hours
away and we only practice every three or four months until he comes
home in the summer when it becomes straight ahead, non-stop work for
the band. We just bust our asses as a band to get material out. A lot
of the songs that we recorded for this album were practiced probably
only once or twice. Whatever we are feeling at the time is what comes
out. I guess that is why all of our three recordings up to this point
all sound so different."
"I think we definitely hit our goal with this record. We are
totally satisfied with what we were able to do musically on _TGM_."
"We don't really improvise a lot in the studio", explains
Horvath. "We kind of set a date when we want to go into the studio
and whatever we got around that time in regards to music and ideas,
we take them in and hammer them out onto the record. We have never
really thrown out a song or changed things around because we don't
really have the time to be like that. We just know that we have to
take the full advantage of the time we have together."
And while Horvath may know (kind of) what he wants out of a
recording, the listener is sent into the new disc trying to defend
themselves from an abrasive onslaught of noises, aggression and
insanity coming from all directions. I've likened the sound of CoDC
to kind of like the calm before the storm. You just have to be ready
to embrace the assault. Y'know? Batten down the hatch!
"Yeah, there is a lot going on", chuckles Horvath. "When we [the
band is rounded by guitarists Jason Andrews and Jonathan Kubacka and
bassist Alf Kooser] started the band a few years ago, we made a pact
with one another to not recreate something that has already been done
before. We wanted to break the cookie-cutter mold of this music
scene. Everyone in the band had such a diverse background with music
and we didn't want to throw any of that out of this band. We wanted
to use every idea and just go full force with every song. If someone
writes a part that is kind of non-traditional to this sound and
style, what the hell, we'll use what we can get!"
He notes, "The whole idea of this band was to write music that
wasn't boring. A lot of bands just focus on being so brutal and it
just gets so tiring and monotonous after a while and we didn't want
to do that. We don't want to bore people with our music. I love
brutal music, I am a big fan, but 90% of the stuff I listen to I
can't finish the record. There is just nothing to hold to hold your
interest. It's like you can predict what is going to happen next. We
just want to be unpredictable."
About their influences, which there are many, Horvath says,
"Even though we don't really sound a lot like them, Assuck was a big
influence for us musically, I think. I don't think you can really say
this band influenced us or that band did. But if I had to pick a band
that means a lot to me and inspired me to do this, I'd say Assuck."
While the band really grabs your attention with their blistering
array of violent grinding noise concoctions, just make sure you take
a gander at the -heavy- lyrics that accompany the music of CoDC. Are
the lyrics socially or politically charged or are they just inspired
by this world we live in? Horvath, the band's main songwriter,
answers the question.
"There are a lot of things on my mind", Horvath says. "I just
want people to read my lyrics. I want them to read them more than
once because they aren't really written straightforward. Hopefully
people read them and try to understand what they mean or even take
the time to e-mail me and ask me about them. Be it political or
social or whatever, I don't write lyrics to create a certain song or
be a certain way. I write lyrics like once every three months and I
just write down what is going on in my brain at that time. I just let
the pen go. I don't set out to write a political song, a socially
conscious song or a negative or positive song. I just write what
comes out and I don't go back and change things. I let them stay as
is. It is just a song."
Does Horvath find certain fans look past the intelligence of the
lyrics for just the whole brutality of it all?
"A lot of people into this type of music don't really put a lot
of focus on the lyrics. They are just there. I figure, why write the
same type of gore or death lyrics over and over again? It just gets
boring. If you are focusing on the music not being stereotypical,
then why are the lyrics stereotypical? The thing that we have been
fortunate with our music is that it has been able to cross over many
different genres, into the death and grind as well as the crust punk
stuff and hardcore scene. I think those scenes have picked up on the
lyrics, while the death and grind scene has picked up on the
brutality of what we do. I think it all works out so well."
He adds, "The last song of the record, "Ctrl-Alt-Delete", is a
spoken word song that kind of wraps up the messages of what we were
singing about on the album and hopefully those people who don't read
the lyrics will be like, "Damn, that was deep. What was he talking
about?", and they will go back and read the lyrics and try to
understand what we are singing about."
"The feedback about the lyrics has been non-stop. I get kids
e-mailing me and telling me how deep the lyrics are or how good they
are and that makes me feel good. To be honest, I'd rather get
complimented on the lyrics I write than the vocals. The lyrics mean a
lot to me."
The topic turns to signing with Necropolis Records, on their
subsidiary label Deathvomit Records. How did that all come about?
"Last August we started getting e-mails from labels who were
interested in what we were doing. It was kind of blowing us away. We
were excited about being on a label. Even if that meant putting out
200 copies of a 7" we'd be happy. So we thought about it for a few
months, as we weren't really ready to jump to anybody yet, and we
eventually went with Necropolis 'cause after some research we felt
that this label was more in tune with what we wanted as a band. Right
now, Deathvomit is where we want to be."
And while most newly signed bands feel the jitters of recording
their debut album for a label, possibly worried about how it will be
received, CoDC skipped all of those first record butterflies with
_TGM_.
Reveals Horvath, "Actually this CD was recorded before we got
signed and we were ready to put it out on a small independent label
with a press run of 2000. We were in the recording process when the
label approached us to sign, so yeah, it was written and just had to
be recorded."
So there was no real pressure? "None whatsoever, and that was
what was so cool about it."
I guess it'll be a different scenario next time out, eh?
"Yeah, we know that all too well", he ends. "The real test will
be how things turn out for our first recording while on Deathvomit
Records. But you know what? I don't think there will be pressure.
We're a strong band. We're ready for it."
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
E A R T H T O E A R T H , A S H E S T O A S H E S . . .
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CoC interviews Adrian Butler and Darren Moore of Mourning Beloveth
by: Pedro Azevedo
Mourning Beloveth recently travelled to the Academy Studios in
England. There, where Peaceville doom history was written, these
Irish doomsters recorded an album that is likely to make you feel as
though you are trying to breathe through dense, suffocating dust
while you listen to it -- such is the weight of this debut
full-length. Mourning Beloveth called it _Dust_ [CoC #53] and
subtitled it "a true Irish tragedy". Both tags speak volumes about
the album's musical content: doom metal played the way few bands do
these days, sincerely emotional and devoid of any pandering to
trends. _Dust_ is a self-financed record like few I have heard
before, and thoroughly shows the band's belief in their music. I
interviewed bassist Adrian Butler and vocalist Darren Moore by e-mail
to find out more about what the band has been through and their plans
for the future.
CoC: Yours is one of those band names that does not belie your
musical style. Would you like to go into some detail about the
meaning of the name Mourning Beloveth and its origins?
Adrian Butler: The name Mourning Beloveth was invented by a member
who no longer exists in the band. Its meaning comes
from the style of music we play. The loss and mourning
of innocence... Mourning Beloveth began existence
from the embers of a death metal band, Traumatized,
whom had earlier released a good quality demo of
death metal. Following another line-up change, only
Tim (drums) and Keith (bass) were left. Frank then
joined on guitar and the foundations of Mourning
Beloveth began with the name change in 1992. Late '92
[vocalist] Darren joined and MB had already three
songs written with no real common link between them --
one song being a doom song, one being a black metal
song and the other a death metal song. MB played one
gig at which our bassist met the second guitarist,
Keith. The bassist then disappeared and Brian switched
to bass. He then disappeared and it was left with
myself on vocals, Frank on guitar and Tim on drums,
practicing in a shed during the winter months of
1993.
Brian then reappeared to play guitar on our first
untitled demo, following which I joined on bass. Brian
switched to guitar and finally our musical goals
became clearer, and following a lot of torture we
recorded our second demo, which shows the MB horizon a
lot clearer, as our goals on the debut were muddied
and confused to say the least. Still unhappy with the
sound on our second demo, we decided where better to
record than Academy with Mags, and why not go a bit
further and record a self financed album -- and here
we are.
CoC: _Dust_ is your first full-length release, yet the band has been
active since 1992. How useful do you feel such an extended
period was for the band to mature?
AB: The band has been together for a while alright, but I do think
you are right in your comment about maturity. We have learned how
to write songs properly -- arrangements, structures, etc. Of
course we would have liked to have released an album sooner, but
it hasn't done us any harm. I think this time/age thing would
bother some people and they might worry about stupid things like
thinking they only have a few years to make it and after that
they will be too old -- fuck that. I hope to be making music
until I die and if that is when I am 60 so be it. I'm not saying
Mourning Beloveth have cracked the doom code or anything; I'm
sure we will continue to discover new things within the band and
the music -- that's where the fun is after all.
CoC: You were still an independent band when you recorded _Dust_ --
even though the disc carries the name of a label, Bron, which I
am not familiar with. What is your current situation label-wise?
AB: Yes, we are still an unsigned band. We are currently negotiating
with two or three labels and by the time you read this interview
we should be closer to getting something down on paper -- no
names yet to avoid disappointment. Bron: we wanted to put a label
name on the CD. The reason for this is we wanted the CD to get
reviewed in the signed band sections in mag/webzines instead of
the demo one. Our drummer Timmy came up with the name. Basically
it is Irish for "sorrow" -- it is suitable, I think. Maybe we
will start up our own label sometime.
CoC: Despite the difficulties, you did record this self-financed CD
at the legendary Academy Studios with Mags. What can you tell us
about that experience?
AB: Recording at Academy was a thrill for us, you wouldn't believe
it. And with Magz was an honour. I met Magz before in Dublin when
he was over with Primordial doing their _Spirit the Earth Aflame_
CD [CoC #48] and we got talking and organized the whole thing.
The studio is inside this house which doesn't look like a studio
from outside. When you go in the front door, the bedroom is on
your left and then it's up the narrow stairs (the walls are lined
with vinyl). Then there is a chill-out room on the left, the
kitchen on the right -- through that is the mixing room and
underneath all that is the live room. You can smell the Doom in
the air. In the kitchen on the wall is a red vinyl of Paradise
Lost's _Gothic_ and various other vinyl. We found an old log book
with the booked in times for MDB's _Turn Loose the Swans_ and
Paradise Lost's stuff. On the mixing room floor were the eight
reels MDB used for their last album! Downstairs in the dusty live
room is great -- no divisions and just full of bits of amps, an
old wind organ, Magz's guitar which was used on several CDs
recorded there... On the first day he asked me what we wanted. I
asked him for a big wide sound, heavy like the doom sound of old
but not to plagiarize certain elements. He said OK and took it
from there. Being confined for seven days gets pretty intense at
times. It was the longest time the five of us had ever spent
together. It was like "I'm going insane -- fuck you and fuck you
as well"... But we are in Academy, so fuck it. I'm not saying
it's the best studio in the world or anything -- there are better
ones, of course. But this was down to money in the end. After
everything was recorded and we began to mix, everything just
gelled together like we never heard before -- Magz pulling out
ideas, improving little things... what do you think of this?,
etc. Any ideas we had we threw them at him too and he was great
at interpreting what we wanted. It was a great experience and to
get someone who all these years ago helped discover a new sound
and redo it almost ten years later was cool. He said he enjoyed
it. We were the last doom band to record there too, as Academy is
now closed up and moved from its original premises to Keith's
(owner's house). He built an extension and according to Magz it's
very nice. We look forward to going there in April next year to
record our next album.
CoC: Mourning Beloveth's lyrics are well suited to the music and show
that plenty of thought has been put into them. Would you like
to tell us more about sources of inspiration, or detail
the thoughts behind tracks such as "Dust" and "All Hope Is
Pleading"?
Darren Moore: Thanks for the compliment on the lyrics. I do not
usually go into detail about the lyrics but leave that
up to the reader for his/her own interpretation. They
usually deal with the negative emotion every person
deals with sometime in their lives, such as loneliness,
grief, love and love lost, world weariness from this
world of shit we live in and the fact that we are born
astride a grave. The song "Dust" encapsulates the
thoughts I had on life at that moment in my life. I
could see no joy in the world but only in fleeting
moments, and I locked myself away both physically and
mentally from the outside world for some solace. Into
this darkened world I came to the conclusion that this
world is not worth living in, as we stride towards our
graves and into the unending cycle of life and death --
as Tomas Lindberg said, "Like a flickering in the
perpetual chaos". "All Hope Is Pleading" is about being
so overcome by a certain emotion that you become blind
to the outside world and so your world becomes silent
as there is no one to share it with. I could go on, but
I would probably bore you. These are just my meanings
to the lyrics; what are yours?
CoC: There is a symbol depicting a cross within a circle which you
frequently use; what does it mean?
AB: We have had so many different interpretations of that symbol, it
is strange. It really is a window taken from the front cover of
the CD. It looks like a cross alright, but not so. If you study
the cover you will see it is a guy lying slumped over something
in a room and the rays of light coming in the window. the rays
illuminate the dust -- hence the name if the CD (there is a lot
more to this contained in the lyrics). It is vague enough, as
have been the previous demo covers. I really shouldn't tell you
what it is, because it is nice to get different people's
interpretations of what the cover looks like. It's like the music
on top of it -- you take what you want from it and see what
windows it opens up for yourself.
CoC: The promotional flyers for _Dust_ use the words "A true Irish
tragedy" as a subtitle, which I found quite interesting. Is
there a story behind that? Any special meaning for you?
AB: That line is taken from a review Alan from Primordial did for us
to use to send to labels, etc. It was the best thing at the time
we could use to describe the CD. It speaks for itself -- "oh,
this must be miserable".
CoC: How bothered are you by the likely comparison to bands such as
My Dying Bride and Evoken?
AB: We are not really bothered by it anymore. In the beginning it
used to piss us off, but people seem to forget that there are
death metal bands, thrash metal bands, black metal bands still
playing the kind of style as was when those genres started, and
so what the fuck? Maybe it is because doom metal is a small scene
and when people think of doom they think of MDB, Anathema and
Paradise Lost. And are any of those bands playing that now? No.
So when anyone else comes to the fore like Mourning Beloveth,
people automatically tend to refer to these bands and compare us
to them. This style was forgotten about (except for the true doom
fanatics) after those bands went on to something else. Some call
this true doom, but then you get fans of bands like St. Vitus,
Trouble, etc. saying that is true doom, and on and on. It is a
compliment to be referred to those bands somewhat -- it is a
small enough scene and important to stick together as any other.
CoC: How do you find the current state of the doom metal scene? Which
of the attributes Mourning Beloveth possesses do you find most
important to make the band relevant in the genre?
AB: In reference to the last answer, it is a small scene but now you
hear of bands like Mournful Congregation from Australia, Worship
in France, Solstice in the UK, Unsilence from UK, Officium Triste
from Holland, Within Tears from the USA... there are a good few
more. The current scene is quiet and the quantity and quality is
there. Doom is something everybody should listen to because of
what it possesses, but it is no good if you don't hear what is
coming out from the music. You must pay attention to the music,
especially if the quality is there and it takes a listen or two
to get it. I got an interview from a guy in Canada -- his first
question started with "The first time I listened to it, I fell
asleep at work. The second time I wanted to kill myself. The
times after that, things were a bit more moderate; it just made
me get lost in my thoughts. Alright... what the hell is this?"
This guy never listened to doom metal before, but yet understood
very quickly what was in the music. That's what Mourning Beloveth
like to see. When you get a comment like that, I think it
blatantly shows what attributes we have to offer and makes it all
relevant.
CoC: The only other Irish band I can think of is Primordial, but on
theother hand that is an excellent band. Are you in touch with m
theat all? Are there any other Irish bands you would recommend?
AB: Yes, I know Primordial very well. I used to live with Alan at
Heavy Metal HQ Dublin. He is still there with some more recruits.
A lot of people have passed through that house and have stayed
there for a length of time -- Magz (Academy), Simon from
Destroyer666 (Australia), Steve from Slaughter Lord and Mourning
Beloveth's Darren and Brian were the original inhabitants with
myself. Lots of great memories. Other bands I would recommend:
Kingdom (doom/black/death), Mael Morda (Celtic doom), Waylander
(recording a new CD for Blackened), Abaddon Incarnate (recording
their new CD for Sentinel in Sweden with Miezko from Nasum
producing).
CoC: What are your plans for the future in terms of touring or
recording new material? Is the label situation critical for you,
or are you willing to carry on without a label?
AB: As I have mentioned, we are in talking stages with some labels.
If we get the right distribution and some more money, we would
seriously think of recording and releasing the next CD ourselves,
but it would be nice to have the backing of a label.
CoC: Any final words for this interview?
AB: Thanks for the interview. Can I plug my label? It's called
Sentinel (www.sentinelireland.com) and it was set up by myself
and Brian Taube (ex-Misanthropy UK). We are releasing Abaddon
Incarnate's second CD (brutal gore/death, ex-Season of Mist) in
September. I just spoke to them in Sweden today and it seems to
be really going well. Our first release is _In Unison_, a double
CD with 19 Irish bands (signed and unsigned) including fine
album tracks by established acts like Primordial, Waylander and
Cruachan, and unreleased songs from Abaddon Incarnate, Arcane
Sun, Geasa and Lunar Gate. It's an introduction to a wide variety
of styles from Ireland's lesser known acts; demo tracks from
Moonfog, Inhumaine, Desolate, Karnayna, as well as tracks taken
from self released CDs of Kingdom, Hexxed, Primal Dawn, Mael
Morda, Scald and Mourning Beloveth.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
A G R E E K T R A G E D Y W R I T T E N I N M E T A L
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CoC chats with David DeFeis of Virgin Steele
by: Adrian Bromley
I guess you could call Virgin Steele's David DeFeis the Andrew
Lloyd Webber of metal music these days. Much like the epic and
vibrant creative process that I have only seen/heard with Therion's
Christofer Johnsson (remember the brilliant _Theli_?), DeFeis is the
master of initiative and control. He never backs down from a project
and his work seems to flow with complexity, but at the same time
shine with passion.
I'll admit that putting out a double CD that centers around a
Greek drama, as the band's latest _The House of Atreus - Act II_
does, takes a lot of balls. This is a big concept for those in the
metal community to take in. Will metal fans welcome it with open arms
as they did with the solid predecessor _The House of Atreus - Act I_,
or will it fall to the wayside as something "too hard to grasp"?
DeFeis is banking that fans will once again be in awe with what has
been put in front of them.
"I am extremely satisfied with this album and what I was able to
do with this record", starts DeFeis down the line. "Every album I do,
at the end of working on it, I want to go back and redo stuff. That
is just my own insanity and the way I am. You are at the limits of
your own imagination, the studio and the budget. I think I took this
record as far as I could and I couldn't be happier with the end
result. I think the fans of the first Act will be interested in
seeing where this record takes them."
About the work going into _Act II_ and following the last
installment, DeFeis reveals that both Acts were written all at the
same time.
"I wrote all of this at the same time", he points out. "It just
ended up being released like this in two parts. I did basic tracks
for all of the songs at once and then I decided how I was going to
split up the Acts. It wasn't until the final mixing that I realized
that _Act II_ was going to be two CDs. I didn't think it was going to
be this long."
Why wasn't all of this put out in one fell swoop? Why in two
parts?
"I would have liked to", he admits, "but the record company
[Noise] wasn't really into it. I wasn't sure if they were going to be
into releasing _Act II_ as a double CD, but once they heard the final
version they were totally into it being marketed like this."
Does DeFeis think metal fans will be able to embrace the
magnitude and the overall size of material and ideas going on within
_Act II_? Could it be a bit too much for fans to take in?
"I think this is a great deal for metal fans, especially that
they are only paying the price of a single CD for a double-CD. I
think it is a great value for fans to pick this up and experience the
music of _Act II_. I think this record has something for everyone.
There are a lot of moods and shapes to the music here. If you put on
an AC/DC record, and nothing against them, but it is all the same
groove throughout the record and that gets boring. You won't get that
here", he acknowledges. "This is a real trip. This is a journey for
metal fans to go on. Every song is built that way, so fans can get
loads out of what we are doing here."
On the topic of where the inspiration for _Act I_ and _Act II_
came from, he states, "I was approached by a theatre in Germany to
help write a play for them and I told them I would as long as I could
use the material for my next album. I told them that so I wouldn't
have to start up another project after the work I would be putting
into the play."
With the amount of work that went into _Act II_ and the previous
record, one has to assume that this was a large ordeal for the power
metal trio to go through, right?
Says DeFeis, "It wasn't at all much different as it was to
record any of our older records. Some songs are easier to get on tape
than others, but that is the way things go when you work on albums.
The more you work on records and gain experience over the years, the
faster you get at doing all of this. It is also easier for you to
know how to achieve the results you want. I have been in the studio
for so many years that it all just flows for me."
"I like to work on songs and make them become a part of Virgin
Steele. Very rarely will a song I am working on be cut", continues
DeFeis about studio work. "There is also a lot of spontaneity and I
like that too. I like to know what I am doing with a song, but I
welcome spontaneity. I'm not afraid to change things at the drop of a
hat if I know it will benefit the music."
Is it important for DeFeis as a musician to constantly evolve
the sound of Virgin Steele?
"Absolutely", he comments. "I always liked that aspect of bands
I grew up on. Every Led Zeppelin or Queen record sounded totally
different and I want that as well for my band. I always try to make
each record just flow with numerous mood swings and colours. I don't
like to stay in the same place with my music and my moods. The music
of Virgin Steele reflects my mood swings in life. If I was a
one-dimensional character, you'd get one-dimensional music. Thank God
I am not like that <laughs> or I'd even be bored with what I am
doing."
"I think the reason why Virgin Steele has been successful and I
am still making music is because I still enjoy it", the singer
continues. "We [the trio is rounded out by guitarist/bassist Edward
Pursino and drummer Frank Gilchriest] have never changed our sound
and followed trends because we like what we like and I don't really
try to stray from that. I guess you can say we are stubborn people.
Sure I let things from pop culture creep into what we do, but I don't
think you'd really experience it with what we are doing."
He ends, "We have never been into this for the money. We want to
create music we like and live in a musical landscape that we are
comfortable with. If people like it then that is great, and if they
don't, so be it. Go buy a Limp Bizkit record then. <laughs>"
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
S T A R S H O O T E R S U P R E M E
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CoC talks to Johan Reinholdz of Andromeda
by: Adrian Bromley
The song titled "Star Shooter Supreme", taken from Andromeda's
debut album _Extension of the Wish_ on WAR Music (licensed through
Century Media in North America), is such a perfect description of
guitar player Johan Reinholdz. His undying love for his music and
this band has sent him on a journey to reach for the stars, pushing
aside any setbacks to reach stardom. Indeed he lives and breathes his
music.
"By looking at the album cover I guess some people might assume
that this record is a concept record. But it really isn't", clarifies
Reinholdz about the themes of the new disc. "The idea of the guy
extending his arm played off the album title and the galaxy picture
goes along with our name, but other than that it is just the cover.
This album is made up of seven very different song ideas. No concept
theme runs throughout."
He adds, "People need to actually play the record to see what we
are all about. The cover imagery is one thing, the music is another.
People who listen to our music will experience what I mean."
Listening to the music of Andromeda -- rounded out by session
vocalist Lawrence Mackrory (ex-Darkane), keyboardist Martin Hedin,
drummer Thomas Lejon and bassist Gert Dunn -- it isn't that hard to
hear the multiple influences that make up this band. Reinholdz
reveals some of them.
"I listen to all types of music, all genres. Some of those bands
you will never hear in our music, but they still inspire what I do
with Andromeda. I think if I had to pinpoint music that has been a
big inspiration, I'd have to say bands like Metallica, Iron Maiden
and Megadeth. Plus numerous progressive metal bands from the '70s
like Yes, Rush and Genesis. As well as modern progressive bands from
the past few years like Atheist, Cynic and Dream Theater."
"Listening to as much music as I possibly can is a great thing
for me", he explains. "It opens me up to all of these styles and lets
me see what great music came before me, as well as keep me up to date
with all of today's contemporary music."
On the topic of studio work for _Extension of the Wish_, he
says, "I found the studio experience a great thing for me. I really
enjoyed it. But I have to admit, while I did get a lot done in the
studio, there was a lot more experimenting that I would have like to
get done, but I wasn't able to do. It was very stressful at times to
get this all done. I did all of the guitar work in four days. Two
days for clean and rhythm guitars and two days for guitar solos. Some
days I played 16 hours in a row just to make sure the guitar was done
properly. Had I not had to do so much in a few days, I would surely
have been able to try out new things and experiment more in the
studio. But you know how it is, though. When this is your first
record, you really don't get a big budget or a lot of time to get
things done. Maybe next time or the third album we will be given more
time and money to try things with Andromeda's production."
I think the record turned out great.
"Yeah, it is okay", states Reinholdz. "You can never make the
perfect record."
Andromeda is fresh blood for sure in this ever-growing music
industry. When Reinholdz is asked why we should care about their
music, he answers: "I know this sounds a bit cocky <laughs>, but I
don't listen to a whole lot of new progressive music out there
because I don't think there are that many bands that are good. A lot
of bands that play this kind of music are very hard to get into. I
mean, we play some very technical stuff and like to get flashy every
once in a while, but still the sounds are memorable and it is a lot
heavier than what is out there. I think those two characteristics are
going to help get our name out to the music scene."
There seems to be a real space rock kind of feel to the music on
the debut album. Does Reinholdz agree?
"When I first started to write this record, I wrote all of the
music, there really wasn't as much synthesizer on the record. The
music I wrote long before we got together as a band. When we came
together the keyboardist brought in his own ideas and attached them
to mine. It is kind of neat how we have guitar solos and keyboard
solos."
Do you like the amount of synthesizer work on the disc, though?
"Yes, it is very cool for sure. I like how the guitars and
keyboards complement each other." He continues, "Even though I may
have written all of the music by myself before the band came
together, I am pleased that, for example, the singer and keyboardist
will come in and add their own things. They'll write the lyrics and
song melodies and help shape the song around my original ideas. I
like that. I like that this has become more of a band that just one
person doing everything. It makes it a lot easier for Andromeda to
continue like this."
Some credit for the cool sound must be given to producer Daniel
Bergstrand (Meshuggah. Strapping Young Lad) and how he helped sculpt
the band's plan of attack. How was working with Bergstrand?
"It was great, but as I mentioned before, the studio work was
hell. It was very difficult at times. And not only were we being
rushed through the studio, but he [Bergstrand] had overbooked the
studio and had three studio albums going on at once. He was very
divided at times, I think. It was very weird at times because I know
he is not a real big fan of this music style and guitar solos, but he
made an effort to get the best out of the band."
So will you work with him again?
"Probably not", responds the guitar player. "I think next time
around we will try to work with someone who like progressive music
and can be more in tune with what we want. It was great to work with
Daniel because he helped give us a rougher and heavier sound."
He finishes, "Next time I hope that we can get some solid studio
work that will not only keep things heavy, but help enforce our
progressive metal sound. I am sure things will work out for us. They
always seem to do."
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_____ .__ ___.
/ _ \ | |\_ |__ __ __ _____
/ /_\ \| | | __ \| | \/ \
/ | \ |_| \_\ \ | / Y Y \
\____|__ /____/___ /____/|__|_| /
\/ \/ \/
_____ .__
/ _ \ _________.__.| | __ __ _____
/ /_\ \ / ___< | || | | | \/ \
/ | \\___ \ \___ || |_| | / Y Y \
\____|__ /____ >/ ____||____/____/|__|_| /
\/ \/ \/ \/
Scoring: 10 out of 10 -- A masterpiece indeed
9 out of 10 -- Highly recommended
7 out of 10 -- Has some redeeming qualities
5 out of 10 -- You are treading in dangerous waters
3 out of 10 -- Nothing here worth looking into
0 out of 10 -- An atrocious album, avoid at all costs!
3D House of Beef - _Low Cycle_ (Lunasound, 2001)
by: Pedro Azevedo (7.5 out of 10)
Sludgy, massively downtuned guitars and bass coupled with snarled,
half-screamed vocals and heavy percussion try to grab you and drag
you down into the mire right from the start of _Low Cycle_. The
interesting mid-paced drum work drags the rumblingly groovy guitar
riffs along, creating what is at times a nearly suffocating shroud.
3D House of Beef's reliance on heavy grooves and pounding rhythms
does pay off, as the band seems to find an interesting point of
equilibrium in their style. However, the main problem with this
record lies in a certain lack of variety, and towards the end it
tends to become somewhat tiresome -- not long after the brilliant
combination of the speech samples on "Proof of Concept" and what is
perhaps the highlight of the album, "Crawl". Still, _Low Cycle_ is a
record of monstrous weight and considerable musical content that is
very likely to be worth your time.
Abominant - _Ungodly_ (Deathgasm Records, October 2000)
by: Pedro Azevedo (6.5 out of 10)
Maybe my American geography is a bit lacking, but Abominant almost
make me wonder if there might be a town of Gothenburg, Kentucky --
despite the fact that Abominant -claim- to be from Bardstown, KY.
Never mind, I guess there could probably be towns called Gothenburg
in quite a few European countries besides Sweden by now anyway,
considering the amount of metal bands currently harvesting influence
from the style that was born there. Abominant mix some American death
metal elements with their Swedish influences, but all in all
_Ungodly_ could easily be mistaken for the output of some Swedish
melodic black/death metallers. However derivative and unoriginal as
_Ungodly_ may be, Abominant do show a very reasonable knack for
memorable Gothenburg riffing, agile tempo changes and fitting vocals.
The production on _Ungodly_ is competent but rather unpolished, and
there is a certain simplicity and a slight looseness in the band's
instrumental delivery that is nevertheless well balanced out by their
conviction. I therefore expected this band to be quite young, and
_Ungodly_ perhaps their debut album. However, much to my surprise, I
found out through their website that the band has existed since 1993
and that this is their -fourth- full-length record. This fact does
not bode well for Abominant; even though _Ungodly_ is quite an
enjoyable record in its relative simplicity, I would have expected
something far more impressive and distinctive from a band's fourth
full-length album. Ultimately this causes my rating to drop slightly,
since Abominant are hardly the promising youngsters I thought they
might be. Things are quite good throughout the first three tracks,
for instance, but the unremarkable standard American death metal
sections help keep the rating below 7. _Ungodly_ does provide an
unpretentiously enjoyable listen, though, so you might still want to
get your hands on this one if Gothenburg-influenced albums are a very
high priority for you.
Contact: http://come.to/deathgasm/
Aborted - _Engineering the Dead_ (Listenable, July 2001)
Mortician - _Domain of Death_ (Relapse, June 2001)
by: Paul Schwarz (7 and 2 out of 10)
This is a face-off between two gore-drenched, sample-ridden
death metal albums, one from probably New York's oldest and worst
gore-obsessed death metal band, Mortician, the other from comparative
newcomers, Aborted -- who hail from Belgium, formed in 1995, and have
one previous full-length release behind them. You'd think with over
ten years of experience and time to learn behind them, Mortician
would by now be able to come up with something better than the
utter shit that is basically every one of their albums, but no:
Mortician are mercilessly consistent in the ultra-low quality of
their releases. This latest platter of dog turds gains one point over
its predecessor for being slightly less awful (partially by virtue
of featuring Pungent Stench and Disastrous Murmur covers; the
less Mortician "originals" the better, I say) and one point for
being 13 minutes shorter than 1999's _Chainsaw Dismemberment_ [CoC
#42]. All the same, Mortician fill 37 minutes with crap riffs,
crappier (and even weaker) computer programmed 4/4 drumming (with yet
weaker tin-can-rattling... I mean blastbeats), lengthy (and generally
uninteresting) samples, and incomprehensible vocals singing lyrics
which -- far from being disturbing or dark -- read like the
scrawlings you might find on the back of an exercise book or school
diary of any random, sexually frustrated, horror film-obsessed
teenager in just about any highschool in the US or the rest of the
world -- there's always one... When you then look at the picture of
Will Rahmer in _DoD_'s CD booklet -- where he is stripped to the
waist, wearing sunglasses, wielding an axe, and even seems to be
conveniently buffed for the occasion -- you are left in no doubt that
only his brilliant mind could have come up with works of poetic
genius like "Maimed and Mutilated" ("knife cuts through internal
organs / axe embedded in your sternum / ice pick puncturing your
eyeballs / hammer cracking open your skull"), "Extinction of Mankind"
("blood raining from the skies / storms raging in the night / death
foretold billions die / fires burning roasting flesh / rats feeding
on the dead / world dying it's the end") or "Mutilation of the Human
Race" ("mass destruction / dead and dying / painful screaming / blood
is flowing").
What I find ironic about Relapse/Mortician's constant
affirmation that Mortician are the planet's most brutal band is that
I wouldn't say they're even in the "most brutal" 50% of all the
Relapse releases I've listened to -- and, as you probably have
already gathered, that's quite a few -- and I'd imagine would not be
considered in the "most brutal" 50% of all the Relapse/Release
releases in existence, in my esteem. In fact, "50%" is a -safe-
estimate; I wouldn't be in the least surprised if Mortician weren't
in my "most brutal" 75% of the Relapse stuff I've listened to. I am
here interpreting "most brutal" as meaning the albums whose brutality
has had "most impact" on me -- initially, and, on repeated listens. I
would also like to point out that I don't actually think that the
claim that a band is the "most brutal" can be established with any
true objective meaning attached to it. All I am saying about
Mortician is that in my opinion, if there is a "most brutal" band, I
don't think it can be them; I don't have a replacement band on whom I
-wish- to bestow the accolade in Mortician's stead. However, I do
have speculative choices for "most brutal" band or album in mind --
as a reviewer and a music listener respectively.
Mortician have always been all talk and no follow through. One
note of Suffocation would utterly crush the so-called "heaviest band
ever to stalk the metal underground" -- and so would Aborted's second
album. Well, maybe _Engineering the Dead_ could only manage to give
_DoD_ a sound thrashing, but that doesn't detract from the fact that
it surpasses Mortician's latest on a multitude of levels. Firstly,
_EtD_ has a heavier sound. Secondly, _EtD_'s (real) drums sound
harder and I'm sure some of their blastbeats are faster too. Third,
it is quite simply better written: better riffs and more of a
variation of riff types are far better structured into songs than
Mortician have ever managed. And fourth, and most satisfyingly, _EtD_
has a better array of horror movie samples, and uses them better.
_EtD_ is a better than average slice of wholly unoriginal death
metal peppered with samples. _DoD_ is a spectacularly uninventive,
weak-sounding slice of wholly unoriginal death metal peppered with
samples and crap, computed generated blasts. I wouldn't say you need
to buy either of these records, but if you gotta buy one, Aborted are
by far the better and more worthy band to contribute your money
to. Additionally, if you'd like to check out something with a
similar blastbeat-crazy focus as much of Mortician's work, yet is
infinitely better, I recommend Obscene Productions' Cripple Bastards
compilation, _Almost Human_ [see review this issue].
Absu - _Tara_ (Osmose, June 2001)
by: Gino Filicetti (9.5 out of 10)
Blown away, enthralled, enraptured, entranced, enamored -- how
many more useless adjectives need I spew forth to express my thoughts
of this album? Admittedly, upon first listen I had my doubts
regarding Absu's latest foray into aural annihilation, but I must
admit, a thorough regimen of repeated listens has thoroughly cast
away any and all doubt.
The album opens with the title track "Tara", a name used in
homage to the ancient Irish capital of the Celtic High Kings. This
track consists of a bagpipe solo by Sir Don Shannon that begins our
journey into the most complex and daring album ever unleashed by the
Cythraul Klan known as Absu. The bagpipes give way to the explosive
thrash frenzy that we have come to know -defines- Absu. "Pillars of
Mercy", while very Slayer-like in its execution, is distinctly Absu.
This tale of war and valor quickly gives way to "A Shield With an
Iron Face", which continues the tale of bloodlust and honour. The
phenomenal drum work of Sir Proscriptor Magickus McGovern really
begins to stand out on this track as the incessant double bass can be
felt deep within the chest.
The fourth track on Tara, "Manannan", begins very slow and
brooding. Again, Slayer's "Raining Blood" comes to mind here. As the
brooding grows, a climax is imminent which bursts forth fast and
furious and begins the tale of this mythological "shape-changing" god
of sea and air. The careful observer will remember that "Manannan"
first appeared on Absu's last album, _In the Eyes of Ioldanach_ [CoC
#35]. This version is far superior to the last, after having gone
through a more rigorous production and better overall execution.
Next comes "The Cognate House of Courtly Witches Lies West of
County Meath". Quite a mouthful for a song title, but actually 100%
factual -- as attested to by two -very- reliable sources who recently
made a pilgrimage to the fabled land of Tara and visited the Cognate
House. Musically, this track is an unrelenting sonic attack, but like
all of the tracks on this album, the quality of the musicianship and
the anti-monotony of the songwriting make it as amazing to behold as
the next and the next and the next. "She Cries the Quiet Lake"
quickly arrives and includes some vocal help from a mysterious figure
named Masthema Mazzaqim. This fable is inspired by a ninth century
Irish poem of an awe-inspiring female presence secretly beheld by the
side of a lake.
Bringing an end to Phase One of this album (entitled
"Ioldanach's Pedagogy"), we have "Yrp Lluyddawc", a very dark and
ominous piece composed and played by Proscriptor alone on a VC3
Analog Synthesizer. This atmospheric piece does its job by sending
chills down the spine with the fierce alien sounds that lay trapped
in the mind of a genius madman, until now...
Phase Two, "The Cythraul Klan's Scrutiny", begins with "From
Ancient Times (Starless Skies Burn to Ash)". The beginning of the
song brings to mind a lot of Absu's early work with its facade of
poor production, but quickly gives way to the clean yet fierce
production employed on the rest of this disc. The drumming begins
at a breakneck pace which doesn't let up one iota throughout
the duration of this track. Quickly transitioning into the ninth
track, "Four Crossed Wands", we have upon us a track dealing with
Crowley-esque Magick and the Court of Wands of Tarot fame. Next up,
"Vorago" -- Latin for chasm or abyss -- showcases not only the
supreme skin beating prowess of Lord McGovern, but the oft-overlooked
guitar genius duo that is Shaftiel and Equitant. With an ever
changing tempo and catchy riff after catchy riff, the guitar work on
this track and this entire album has no equal in Absu's ten year
past.
"Bron (of the Waves)" is a much needed reprise after the
preceding aural assault. Against a backdrop of ocean waves crashing
into the rocky coast of Ireland, we're presented with an instrumental
tune of the most exquisite acoustic guitar. Very reminiscent of
Proscriptor's work on _The Venus Bellona_, this track is truly
haunting.
Like the bipolar nature of any two opposites, the preceding
track immediately gives way to "Stone of Destiny", easily my
favourite track on this disc, and the final stunning climax of an
intense journey. With vocal help from Sir Ronnie Trent, Proscriptor
and Co. proceed to tear through what is easily the catchiest song of
all. Never the same in any two parts, yet undeniably the most
memorable track on the album, the pace here swings between the
breakneck speed of a machine gun to the groovy click of a riff you'll
never forget. Regarding the narrated vocal pieces in this song, if I
didn't know any better I could've sworn that was King Diamond's
voice... but alas, you can't have your cake and eat it too.
The final track, "Tara (Recapitulation)", brings this album full
circle as Sir Don Shannon once more graces us with the sounds of the
immortal bagpipes. Having come full circle, _Tara_ leaves the
listener with a sense of fleetingness and awe. It really seems like
only minutes ago the aural assault began and now it is over all too
quickly.
Although my score is only a 9.5, my gut feeling is to give this
album a 10 out of 10. However, since this is my first review in a
LONG time, I'm not going to be that rash. Absu have definitely
re-affirmed my long held notion that they are absolutely unrivaled
and unparalleled in the entire universe of death, black or thrash
metal, and _Tara_ has only served to increase my already limitless
worship of the Cythraul Klan.
[Paul Schwarz: "_Tara_ needs time more than most records these days
do. And even if you give it a dozen spins, you won't even begin to
understand it -- on both a musical and literal level -- until you
start reading the lyrics. By the time you begin reading them
while you listen to the album -- and every time it finishes
wanting to begin it all over again -- you'll be hooked on the
extreme, immersing experience listening to _Tara_ can, seemingly
inexhaustibly, be."]
[Alvin Wee: "Not quite a simple continuation of the previous
full-length, _Tara_ brings things back towards blazing black metal
with Absu's trademark occult touch. A near-classic in every sense
just as _The Third Storm of Cythraul_ was, deftly blending medieval
themes of swashbuckling and sorcery with caustic old-school black
metal that just about blows all the newer "retro" bands away. The LP
comes in an incredible gatefold with artwork that just slays... all
the more reason to get the good ol' vinyl!"]
Aeon - _Dark Order_ (Necropolis, June 2001)
by: Aaron McKay (6.5 out of 10)
If "clean" is a word you could possible get anywhere -near- Aeon,
I'd contend their brutal "un-Swedish" sound from, guess where...
Sweden is a "cleaned-up" modification on Houwitser's dementia. Think
Coercion _Forever Dead_ with more of an truculently acidic kick. Aeon
can indisputably stir things up in a heavily rhythmic fashion. For
example, track three, "With Blood" (2:14 - 2:40), and my favorite cut
from this originally 2000 demo, "The Awakening". I mention "The
Awakening" for its overbearingly backbreaking style of boorish
groove; certainly the best track on the release. "Bloodlust",
"Eternal Hate" and "Hell Unleashed" should (corpse) paint you a
pretty good idea of what is in store for you on _Dark Order_. Same
ol' "devil this and Satan that" evident here, but with more of the
grounded heavy riffing Aeon is wonderfully skilled at, it stands a
very wonderful chance of making the next non-demo material that much
more bearable. You're almost there, guys. I'll be watching closely
for _Dark Order_'s follow-up.
Agalloch - _Of Stone, Wind, and Pillor_ (The End, 2001)
by: Brian Meloon (7 out of 10)
While Agalloch fans wait patiently for the band to put out a new full
length album (they're scheduled to start recording in September),
this release is meant to appease them. It contains an unreleased
three-song EP from 1998 and two new songs. The first song is the
title track, which is the heaviest song of the bunch, and the most
like their debut album, _Pale Folklore_ [CoC #41]. Unfortunately,
while it uses the same kind of dark metallic / gothic vibe as their
debut, it isn't as confident or developed. Next up is "Folorium
Viridium", which is a short instrumental piece reminiscent of
Mortiis' more complex work. The last of the old songs is "Haunting
Birds", which sounds like something from Ulver's _Kveldssanger_. A
cover of Sol Invictus' "Kneel to the Cross" is the first of the new
songs. Although it is easy to tell from the structure of the song and
the emphasis on the vocals that it's not an Agalloch song, it doesn't
sound particularly out of place either. The MCD closes with "A Poem
By Yeats", which is a classically-influenced piece featuring various
keyboards with alternating spoken and sung lyrics. The material here
is decent-to-good, but there's very little for strict metal fans, and
it's not really essential for any but the die-hard Agalloch fans.
Those new to the band should certainly search out their excellent
debut album.
Akercocke - _The Goat of Mendes_ (Peaceville, May 2001)
by: Pedro Azevedo (8.5 out of 10)
With their pattern of using naked women and Satanic imagery to adorn
their black and white album covers, occasional sounds approximating
the moaning and groaning of a woman in the throes of ecstasy, song
titles such as "Of Menstrual Blood and Semen" and plenty of blasting
passages with screeching vocals, Akercocke are bound to be compared
to early Cradle of Filth. There is, however, much more to Akercocke's
second full-length _The Goat of Mendes_ than what may initially be
apparent. Akercocke's Satan-worshipping black/death metal is combined
with surprising elements -- such as clean vocal passages and frequent
atmosphere-building instrumentation and effects -- to produce a
record which is often musically more adventurous and complex than one
might initially think. A very significant part of the record is made
of blastbeats and screams or crunchy death riffs and grunts, but
Akercocke always seem willing to induce a certain awkwardness in
the listener through unexpected twists and odd sounds in their
music. Considerably more involved and accomplished than the band's
intriguing debut _Rape of the Bastard Nazerene_ (sic) [CoC #42], _The
Goat of Mendes_ also boasts superior, less cavernous sound quality
compared to its predecessor, as well as more blastbeats and far more
CoF-like screaming. At its best, _TGoM_ succeeds in keeping the
listener simultaneously interested and feeling somewhat uneasy.
However, the middle part of the album seems somewhat less inspired
than the first couple of tracks, fourth track "Horns of Baphomet" and
album closer "Ceremony of Nine Angels" (which are also the album's
four longest tracks). _The Goat of Mendes_ is a record that a lot of
people will not take seriously and may overlook because of its
over-the-top Satanic black mass imagery -- but well-constructed,
varied and powerful tracks such as "A Skin For Dancing In" prove
that Akercocke are well above the majority of the often rather
stereotypical black/death that gets released these days.
[Paul Schwarz: "Seen as a "death metal" band, Akercocke have Nile
looking over their shoulders and Cryptopsy scrambling to regain and
improve on the darkened atmosphere of _None So Vile_; seen as
a "black metal" band, Akercocke make Mayhem, Emperor and even
Satyricon turn a contrasted grey; but Akercocke's essential beauty
and brilliance is that they need ally themselves with neither
label. _The Goat of Mendes_ is extreme metal, and at its finest:
simultaneously surging forward into the style's future, and reliving
its glorious past."]
Alas - _Absolute Purity_ (Hammerheart, July 2001)
by: Pedro Azevedo (7 out of 10)
This promised to be quite a difficult yet potentially interesting
marriage of musical styles: Erik Rutan (of Morbid Angel and Hate
Eternal fame) invited Martina Hornbacher Astner (Therion) to add her
operatic vocal talents to his own guitar and keyboard work, as well
as the complex rhythmic structures built by drummer Howard Davis and
bassist Scott Hornick. The result is a hybrid of guitar-based
technical metal and operatic vocal melodies with slight keyboard
overtones -- quite unlike anything Therion have ever done, by the
way. I would not call _Absolute Purity_ a doom metal album at all, in
case the thought crosses your mind; it isn't happy-sounding, but it
conveys very little emotion, sounding quite sterile in terms of
feeling and instead concentrating on the technical side of things.
Drummer and bassist do a very good job indeed, whilst Rutan shows
that his talents, although multi-faceted, seem better applied on his
death metal projects. Despite some exceptions (such as the opening
track), the technicality and lack of melody in his guitar riffs and
solos does not create much of a spark or feeling. The music is very
dependent on said guitar work, and often Martina's excellent soprano
vocals seem to struggle to find their place in the compositions due
to the awkwardness of many of the riffs, causing several passages to
sound somewhat disjointed. The first few tracks mostly sound quite
interesting and the elements seem to work well together, but most of
the album tends to lose itself in uninteresting technical riffs and
struggles to retain my attention. "Tragedies" and "Quest of Serenity"
turn out to be quite enjoyable as well -- mainly thanks to the
drumming -- but the whole album seems to live in the shadow of its
superior opening title track. This is an album of undeniable
technical merits, but in which several of the songs themselves don't
necessarily work particularly well. _Absolute Purity_ seems to me a
record that musicians are very likely to enjoy a lot better than
anyone else.
[Paul Schwarz: "Though written, produced, and substantially
performed, by Eric Rutan, _AP_ is not is an attempt by an American
death metaller to replicate commercial Euro-goth/doom. Alas include
a great degree of variation to good effect, though _AP_ does
occasionally drag. Numerous well-crafted 'Domination'-esque leads
here for the traditional Rutan-o-philes to savour: embedded within
one of the most coherent and convincing clean, female-vocalled metal
albums I've ever heard."]
Amon Amarth - _The Crusher_ (Metal Blade, March 2001)
by: David Rocher (8 out of 10)
Sweden's death metal Vikings are back with another sacrificial
offering in blood of melodic, epic death metal. Throughout the 50
minutes of this pagan powerhouse of an album, Amon Amarth once again
prove that they are undeniable past masters at writing a compelling,
angry and warlike anthem that will linger in your mind forever. With
their hampering line-up issues hopefully solved once and for all,
Amon Amarth are able to work as a powerful, channeled force to
conjure some fine death metal hymns. And believe me, the strength and
determination of their line-up is easily heard, with each musician in
the band adding a personal, noticeable touch to the music. This is in
particular true when compared with _The Avenger_ [CoC #xx], for ex-A
Canorous Quintet skinsman, Fredrik Andersson, whose drumwork is far
more intricate and enticing than before. Successfully combining power
and melody, intensity and atmosphere, and graced with a cool, albeit
rather squeaky-clean production, _The Crusher_ is the logical sequel
to _Once Sent From the Golden Hall_ [CoC #xx], more than it is to the
somewhat different elements that _The Avenger_ embodies in these
rather prolific Vikings' discography. I would only begrudge that this
release's sound is just a little too conventional (Abyss trademark
production) and clean for its own good -- maybe more bands should
consider turning to Andy Sneap or Danne Bergstrand for a fitting,
chunkier, roaring production. Nonetheless, _The Crusher_ is a fine,
recommendable standing stone of heavy, raging death metal indeed,
guaranteed to have you air-guitaring and -drumming away before you
even know it!
[Pedro Azevedo: "_The Crusher_ contains all the elements and quality
you would expect from Amon Amarth, while hardly adding anything new.
The main difference I can hear is that the pace tends to slow down a
bit more often than before, giving the music more of a morose
quality at times. Predictable as it may be, however, _The Crusher_
is another very enjoyable and memorable album from these Swedes --
but they will need to be careful in order to ensure their future
albums will still be relevant in spite of their predecessors."]
Amorphis - _Am Universum_ (Relapse / Nuclear Blast, March 2001)
by: Pedro Azevedo (7 out of 10)
I won't go as far as saying that Amorphis have completely lost the
plot, but I did find the extent to which _Am Universum_ could have
been much better as a four-song MCD than it is as an album rather
remarkable. The first four tracks are all quite good, very much what
might be expected of the band after _Tuonela_ [CoC #39], and things
seem to be headed for a very reasonable follow-up record. Then the
rather dismal "Crimson Wave" makes its appearance and the record
never again seems to recover. I feel the band has been going downhill
since their finest hour, _Elegy_ [CoC #10] -- not a steep descent,
but it has been quite noticeable for me. Their style hasn't changed
much this time: still melodic, psychedelic... metal? I'm not sure;
probably not, but who cares as long as Amorphis would be as downright
brilliant as they have been in the past? Indeed, Amorphis have never
been the most predictable of bands, and neither _Elegy_ nor _Tuonela_
enjoyed immediate success in my CD player -- _Elegy_ then became one
of my favourite records of all time and _Tuonela_ I found a very
respectable record in its own right. It seems to me that _Am
Universum_ is actually in some ways the least different record from
its predecessor that Amorphis have ever released. So why the
disappointment? Well, after the four song MCD-that-never-was which
opens the album is over, most of the material just falls short of the
standards set by past Amorphis work in terms of its enjoyability and
effect on the listener. In my opinion, _Am Universum_ is a somewhat
tame, lightweight and not very inspired record by Amorphis standards,
lacking some of the emotional and atmospheric qualities of its
predecessors. A very decent record, by all means, but overall quite
far from the quality I expected from Amorphis.
Anata - _Dreams of Death and Dismay_ (Relapse, June 2001)
by: Aaron McKay (8.5 out of 10)
There is something wildly distinguishing about this Swedish act
formed in 1993, but it isn't maturity; as a matter of fact, maybe
quite the opposite. While precocious in their approach, Anata has a
Nox Intempesta feel [CoC #34], only more geniusly juvenile. They are
advertised as a self-described Morbid Angel meets At the Gates band
-- I disagree on both counts. I -do- hear the similarities, but
the comparison is crude, at best. Anata is enigmatic in and of
themselves. A cultivation exists as this band works you over a ten
track CD with a strict emphasis on harsh, but decipherable playing
ability. The melodic and changing intensity Anata possesses works to
their benefit in a way uneclipsed by a genre so crowded by sub-par
acts. "Can't Kill What's Already Dead" and "The Enigma of Number
Three" are just a choice couple of cuts off of _Dreams of Death and
Dismay_ that'll dismantle your concept of normalcy and leave you in a
state of divine befuddlement. Nothing about Anata is torpid or
sluggish; instead, this experiment in intricacy is one that will
challenge you and every concept you hold sacred.
Contact: http://www.varberg.se/~drake/
Anathema - _Resonance_ (Peaceville, October 2001)
by: Pedro Azevedo (9 out of 10)
When I received my advance promo copy of _Resonance_ (which isn't
coming out until October) in June, I wasn't aware of the fact that
there would also be a part two of this compilation -- all it says on
the promo is "Resonance". Therefore, all the more surprised was I
upon inspecting the track list: the compilation opens with "Scars of
the Old Stream", followed by Anathema's three Ruth songs (which
feature only her vocals accompanied by acoustic guitar). This sets
the tone for the rest of the disc, which turns out to be the more
tranquil half of what I was later to find out will be a two-part
compilation. The potential for a brilliant part two is massive, but
the disc at hand is itself a great concept. Those familiar with
Anathema will know what I mean, as the other tracks featured here
include the acoustic versions from _Eternity_ and the _Peaceville X_
covers, as well as several instrumental tracks and the orchestral
version of "The Silent Enigma". Towards the end, a live rendition of
"Angelica" again shows how much character this compilation has: it
would have been easy for Peaceville to find a nicely recorded live
version of this brilliant track, but instead the one they did use has
terrible sound quality. Why? Because the idea is that you hear the
Japanese audience going absolutely -crazy- throughout. Definitely not
a track I'll listen to very often, but even if you go for the stop
button before this live track you'll still get a fair amount of
music. More importantly, this is special. Anathema have always been a
very special band in many ways, able to touch that emotional spot
like perhaps no other, and this is a special compilation that goes a
long way towards capturing that.
Ancient Rites - _Dim Carcosa_ (Hammerheart, June 2001)
by: Kirsty Buchanan (6 out of 10)
A pretentious opening leads only to a shallow sound throughout the
rest of the release. However technically proficient Ancient Rites are
(and they are, with precise drumming and impressive guitar work),
nothing can be done to escape the lyrics. Uninspired, hollow, unfelt
and inevitably annoying. However, Ancient Rites' musical talent
outweighs their lyrical ineptitude as towards the end of the album
even some depth of sound is achieved. No longer sounding so tinny,
Ancient Rites are more appealing and their expressive transgressions
can be ignored if not forgiven. "Remembrance" is a beautiful touching
little two minute piano work; never before have I heard such an
accomplished break in an album, it's like a commercial break where
the adverts are better than the programme you were watching. But once
you return to the programme (album) as a whole, it makes you
appreciate it all the more. The guitar work becomes frantic and the
release is better for it. During the lengthy "Lindisfarne (Anno 793)"
it verges on excessive speed, which opens a door to abilities of
their musicians previously unseen and unknown from this outing. All I
need to do now is to attempt to ignore the exaggerated pomposity and
unnecessary posturing in the promotional material.
Annihilatus - _Annihilation_ 10" (Northern Heritage, 2001)
by: Alvin Wee (6.5 out of 10)
More dirty black metal from the Finnish wastelands on parole
here, and typical of the Northern Heritage catalog I might add.
War/genocide-themed stuff the way many younger bands seem to be going
these days, and unfortunately for this trio, _Annihilation_ isn't
quite memorable enough to make an impact. There's a limit to how much
Darkthrone worship even a die-hard fan can rave about, and when
material this pedestrian is placed side by side with more experienced
acts like Clandestine Blaze, it all falls to pieces. All too
hurriedly produced and amateurishly written in the first place, the
EP smacks of undeveloped potential; and while musicianship is
competent enough, the simplistic repetition of the music can hardly
be disguised as minimalism. In all fairness, this isn't a bad
release, with some pretty head-lifting moments courtesy of mid-paced
cuts like the "Kill the Priest", and the over-the-top lyrics about
killing popes and bombing the Vatican provide for amusing reading. In
short, fans of old-school black metal and die-hard supporters of the
underground will want this; other less motivated listeners would be
better off grabbing the latest Mutiilation.
Contact: Northern Heritage, P.O. Box 21, 15141 Lahti, Finland
Ark - _Burn the Sun_ (FaceFront, April 2001)
by: Chris Flaaten (9 out of 10)
Less than two years after their amazing debut, Ark are back with a
new album and a larger line-up. Starting as a side project for Tore
Ostby and John Macaluso, they decided to "go for it" and recruited
the vocal talents of Jorn Lande and released their self-titled debut.
Among others, Yngvie Malmsteen was greatly impressed by this album
and actually borrowed the entire group (and a riff or two) on his
previous album. This time around they created the songs more as a
band, and wrote them while actually having a vocalist around. The
result is a more "complete" album with more flow in the songs, but
perhaps with less progressive and technical elements than their
debut. Still, the album is challenging in most senses of the word and
about as varied as a rock/progressive/metal album can get. Ark
manages to create accessible music that's truly interesting and
original at the same time. If you can appreciate more prog-oriented
music, this album is about as good as it gets.
Association Area - _Loathsome Deco_ (Lunasound, May 2001)
by: Paul Schwarz (9 out of 10)
One of noisecore's most subtle works, _Loathsome Deco_ sounds so
relaxed and comfortable with itself that you feel it could just be
one big long jam session. The truth is quite the contrary; _LD_ is
among the most meticulously constructed of albums. Organic and earthy
in sound, _LD_ nonetheless packs a fair bite and benefits much from
retaining a wholly insane feel from its start to its finish. When you
hear the quote just before "One of Six Uncles" properly kicks in, you
might be in agreement with its words -- "...it still hasn't gotten
weird enough for me." -- but by the time all of _LD_'s 35 minutes 24
seconds has been absorbed by your cranium, I doubt your lust for the
weird will have failed to be satisfied. However, if _LD_ intrigues
you as it did me, then I expect you'll soon be hungry again, and
be ready for another spin. The most concertedly developmental
"noisecore" release of the year so far and one of the few records of
recent time that not only sounds different, but different from the
different.
Autopsy - _Ridden With Di
sease_ (Necroharmonic, May 2001)
Autopsy - _Torn From the Grave_ (Peaceville, June 2001)
Murder Squad - _Unsane, Insane & Mentally Deranged_
(Pavement, May 2001)
by: Paul Schwarz (9, 8 and 8.5 out of 10)
It's strangely fitting that two compilations which acknowledge
the brilliance of Autopsy should have been released at the same
time as Murder Squad's debut album. Murder Squad features members
of Dismember and Entombed, and essentially pays tribute to the
glory of the US' necro-tastic masters of gore-drenched death metal
by unashamedly ripping them off, as well as ripping off their
own bands' older material, which itself was much-influenced by
Autopsy. Confused? I would be if I wasn't explaining it myself.
There's a multiplicity of tail-eating going on within Murder Squad,
but essentially, and musically, what ties these three releases
together is very simple: they were all made possible by the
influential, original sounds recorded by drummer/vocalist Chris
Reifert, guitarists Danny Corales and Eric Cutler, and a range
of bassists -- including Sadus/Death bass-guru Steve Dio-Giorgio.
Reviewing the three releases together seemed like the natural thing
to do.
The Swedes in particular, and Scandinavians in general, have
been crucial in keeping the Autopsy legend alive in the years since
the band's demise in 1994 -- by comparison, the North American scene
seemed to take little pride in Autopsy until the "necro-sound" began
becoming re-accepted (fashionable?) following the reawakening of
Necrophagia with Phil Anselmo's involvement, and related events. The
two compilations presented here are of very different character,
purpose and appeal. Peaceville have essentially released _Torn From
the Grave_ as a retrospective. Crammed to the brim with material from
all Autopsy's albums and complemented by five non-album offerings,
its 27 tracks clock a total of 70:54 minutes. _Ridden with Disease_,
on the other hand, collects Autopsy's two demos _'87 demo_ and
_Critical Madness_ (from 1988) and adds two raw, rough and ripping
live tracks recorded in Bramberg to reach a total running time of
33:07. _TFtG_'s selections from Autopsy's four albums and two EPs are
acceptable; though my personal choices would have been different and
I'm suspicious of how carefully the track choices were made, the 22
tracks do reasonably well at representing six years of Autopsy's
music-making. It will serve as a reasonable introduction to Autopsy
for someone who has never heard the band, though I'd personally say
that their 1991 classic _Mental Funeral_ is the best place for anyone
to start. As with many death metal bands, a compilation is not the
best way to introduce Autopsy -- and though Chris Reifert's writ
gives _TFtG_'s material a context, _TFtG_ ultimately doesn't provide
sufficient written material about Autopsy to sway it's status as "not
the place to start". For those already familiar with Autopsy, _TFtG_
may be worth buying for a number of reasons. Firstly, if you only own
_Mental Funeral_, this may be an economic way to sample their other
releases; though it doesn't produce all the releases' best material,
it gives you an idea of what to expect from them. However, if you own
everything official by Autopsy, _TFtG_ is unlikely to be worth
shelling-out for. Two of the non-album offerings are included on
_Ridden With Disease_ -- which any fan who doesn't happen to be so
long-standing or devoted that they already own the Autopsy demos and
the Bramberg live tape should buy first -- and the other three are
not essential: live versions of "Robbing the Grave" and "Shiteater",
and a slightly different version of "Funereality", taken from the
_Peaceville - Vol.4_ compilation album. _Ridden With Disease_ is a
must-buy for any Autopsy fan -- even if you've only got _Mental
Funeral_. The demos are raw as hell yet not unclear. Quite simply,
they kick ass! And even if you -have- got all of Autopsy's other
stuff and are a little wary of shelling out for a release featuring
only different versions, you'll still want _Ridden With Disease_,
because "Human Genocide" and "Mauled to Death" (from _'87 Demo_)
never made it onto any of Autopsy's official recordings. The Bramberg
live recordings also absolutely kill.
Murder Squad, despite the colossal debt it self-confessedly owes
to Autopsy, is definitely a somewhat different kettle of fish to
Autopsy themselves. Yes, it certainly is riff and feel driven,
beer-swilling and headbanging death metal with no excuses made and no
trimmings to be seen, but it doesn't sound as much like Autopsy as
you'd expect, considering the fact that according to its members,
most of it is essentially supposed to [see Dismember story in CoC #48
for Matti Karki's comments about Murder Squad]. If you do a little
bit of musical trainspotting, you'll be able to spot Dismember,
Entombed and Autopsy riffs on _U,I&MD_. If you get even more nerdy
with this practice, you'll start noting which are from which period
of each band, and which (of the Entombed and Dismember riffs) were
essentially Autopsy-derived themselves. The same goes for the solos.
However, this is not the way to enjoy _U,I&MD_, and its fluid,
coherent feel (as an album) certainly doesn't prompt you to partake
in such sad antics. The one-day, one-take production and spontaneous
feel makes Murder Squad one of the coolest, most originally Stockholm
sounding albums to be recorded in years, and the fact that it reminds
in so many places of Autopsy is part and parcel of this -- Autopsy,
Repulsion and other late-Eighties US demo bands were crucial in
shaping the Swedish death metal sound that was born in the Stockholm
scene. Lurking amongst all the old, repeated musical sounds, is a
hint of a style of Murder Squad's own -- evidenced mostly on the
title track -- but essentially _U,I&MD_ is best-suited to those of
you who want to hear four Swedes relive the "good old days" on
record, in fine, loose, drunk, stoned and head-lolling form -- and if
you're a fan of Autopsy, that'll help too!
Contact: Necroharmonic, PO Box 1271, Kearny, NJ 07032, USA
http://www.necroharmonic.com
Avantasia - _The Metal Opera_ (AFM, 2001)
by: Alvin Wee (8 out of 10)
Power metal's self-proclaimed poster-boy Tobias Sammet finally
unveils his highly anticipated magnum opus: a clear-voiced response
to David DeFeis' Stateside operatics. Despite the massive expectation
surrounding the project, _The Metal Opera_ strikes one as being just
another Teutonic power metal excursion, albeit an impressively
crafted one. Musicianship is faultless, with the breathtaking line-up
comprising names like Henjo Richter and Markus Grosskopf. Talent
enough to back up the star-studded vocal cast boasting the throats of
Kai Hansen, Rob Rock, Andre Matos and none other than DeFeis himself,
among others. Material is almost standard Edguy-chorusy stuff, with
the infrequent nod at the disc's operatic theme. "Farewell" stands
out as one of the most memorable ditties in recent times, opening
with a breathtaking Oriental flute refrain, and though more Broadway
musical than classically operatic, the unforgettable chorus is
perhaps the most evocative passage on the entire album. That aside,
this is still one solid album of German power metal, nothing
groundbreaking aside from the extended booklet, but otherwise an
important part of every fan's collection.
Bal-Sagoth - _Atlantis Ascendant_ (Nuclear Blast, 2001)
by: Matthias Noll (3 out of 10)
This band tries -so- hard to be epic and bombastic. What comes out of
it somehow reminds me of Monty Python's lumberjack song. John Cleese
and Co.'s lumberjack tune starts off with describing the manliest of
men, but in the end it turns out he's wearing women's underwear.
Strangely coincidental, the results of Bal-Sagoth's attempts to sound
epic, glorious and heroic are so over the top that the result is
quite the contrary. If the constant use of cheap sounding, guitar
power cannibalising keyboards would guarantee majestic soundscapes,
the spoken "The Warrior's Prayer" ("Grandfather, please tell us a
story...") be my favourite Manowar track, Spinal Tap a band without
any sense of humour, Children of Bodom too old-school and necro for
my likings, and the Earth shaped like a disk, then this could be my
favourite album of all time. You should buy this record if you search
for the missing link between the cheesiest bits and pieces of Cradle
of Filth and power metal, served with many breaks and keys, keys and
more keys, reciting worn out "classical" melodies. If you enjoy this
conglomerate served on top of a rhythmic backbone and flow which
reminds me of the recently reformed Sabbat (UK), then this is the
perfect album for you. And, before someone asks, fortunately I'm not
familiar with any previous Bal-Sagoth records and therefore can't
comment on any differences or progression. In case this -is- "War
Metal" as Nuclear Blast claim, then it must relate to the "Phoney
War" after Germany invaded Poland and was at war with France and
England but no one fired a shot for a couple of months.
Belfegor - _The Kingdom of Glacial Palaces_ (7 out of 10)
Fog - _Through the Eyes of Night..._ (8 out of 10)
Hate - _Holy Dead Trinity_ (7 out of 10)
by: Pedro Azevedo (WWIII, April 2001)
I have strong doubts that man will require any help from Satan
to eventually start a third World War one of these days. However, the
people behind this American label seem to think differently, as WWIII
have chosen three very Satanic-themed records for this attack of
theirs. WWIII, a label thus far unbeknownst to me, decided to release
all three of these records simultaneously on April 10th, in order to
try to make an impression on the metal market. Let's have a look at
some quick facts about the bands, then. Belfegor and Fog both play
black metal. Hate and Belfegor are both Polish. Fog and Hate do not
share any remarkable similarities that I am aware of which might
distinguish them from Belfegor, but it would have been nice for the
structure of this review if they did.
The involuntary mental association between the words "Polish
death metal band" and "Vader clone" is not dispelled by the first few
moments of Hate's _Holy Dead Trinity_. In fact, it never is entirely
dispelled during the album; the lingering thought of Vader prevails
despite the fact that Hate do not generally sound too close to them.
The similarities are there, though, mixed with some straightforward
American influences and the occasional Swedish buzzsaw guitar sound
(like in the fine opening title track). However, Satan's possession
of their souls doesn't seem to have lasted long enough for the band
to record the whole album in one go, so they had to wait for a new
demonic possession before they could go into the studio at least one
more time to finish the album. This resulted in _HDT_ sounding like a
well-produced five-song EP followed by a somewhat weaker sounding
collection of songs (39 minutes in total). The quality of the songs
themselves is not very consistent after the opening sequence either,
which in addition to the noticeably different sound gives the album a
somewhat disjointed feel. (I am certain that not even Satan himself
would have minded if they cut down a bit on those mediocre song
intros during the second half of _HDT_, by the way.) The band is very
competent and _HDT_ is still generally enjoyable, if rather generic
and irregular. The disguised five-song EP that opens the album might
have been worth an 8 out of 10 on its own, but the less entertaining
second half of the record drags the rating down one mark. Overall,
_HDT_ pales in comparison to Lost Soul's _Scream of the Mourning
Star_ [also reviewed in this issue], but I will be interested in
hearing a more consistent follow-up record from this band.
Hate's countrymates Belfegor, on the other hand, have chosen
Immortal as a template for their black metal attack. Although not
gifted with quite the same knack for cliche black metal song titles
as Immortal, Belfegor certainly still make an effort in their own
way: there's the title track, "The Night of the Tormentor", "I'll
Come From Four Sides of the World" and "Diabolical (Demonic Desire)",
which are the first four song titles, with "Satanighthrone" towards
the end. _The Kingdom of Glacial Palaces_ does bear considerable
resemblance to Immortal's _Battles in the North_, as Belfegor try to
conjure a Satanic icy storm of comparable proportions. Fast drumming
teams up with guitars that sometimes try to generate a little melody
whilst sounding quite dirty and strong for a black metal release,
producing a very reasonably dynamic and aggressive instrumental base.
Unfortunately, however, Belfegor's vocalist proves to be one of
Satan's least gifted minions as he unsuccessfully tries to emulate
Immortal's Abbath. Many riffs in this album sound very much alike and
the rhythmic section is mostly uniform, as Belfegor tend to immerse
themselves in their own aural storm too much. Memorable passages are
therefore not very abundant, which is a bit of a shame, because they
do achieve some good moments during the album. These are usually
scattered around, probably as reminders of how good this album could
really have been -- one of the few tracks that actually stands out in
its entirety is "Eternity of Gloom". Hadn't it been for their lack
of originality and the aforementioned problems, Belfegor would
have been worth recommending more enthusiastically, because _The
Kingdom of Glacial Palaces_ is actually a reasonably good album.
Overall, however, _Battles in the North_ is still the best of the
two records, despite the noteworthy passages that Belfegor do
occasionally achieve.
As for Fog, these Americans at least do come across as more
individual than either of their Polish labelmates. The elemental
storm that Satan summoned so that Fog could enter "In Magnificent
Glory" was somewhat too strong for Fog's own good, however, as their
instrumental attack sounds quite weak immediately after the loud
thunderous sounds of the intro. Nevertheless, the production does
have its charms, as it highlights the interesting cymbal work and the
bass lines (Ulver, anyone?). On the other hand, the fact that the
instruments sound quite separated from each other causes a slight
overload of the left channels in your stereo -- noticeable if you
are using headphones. Still, Fog's mixture of Norwegian rawness
and grim, icy melodies is very effective and musically involved,
producing a very satisfactory result. Their black metal is entirely
guitar-driven, backed by swift percussion and the aforementioned
prominent cymbal work, and with some passable black rasps on top. Fog
achieve quite consistent atmosphere and a pleasant moroseness in
their music whilst still keeping it mostly fast, and they do so
especially well during the eight and a half minute long title track.
The rest of the album fully justifies its 8 out of 10 rating, but the
title track does suggest it could have been even higher. The poorly
balanced stereo may get on your nerves a bit if you insist on using
headphones, but that should not deter you from seeking this record --
even in spite of the further annoyance of the penultimate track being
recorded at a lower volume than the rest. (Maybe they also had
problems with the duration of Satan's possession of their souls, like
Hate seem to have had. I wonder what was Belfegor's dark secret that
allowed them to avoid such problems.) Why Fog have decided to present
us with over nine minutes of elemental stormy sounds at the end of
this hour long record, however, is something I don't think even Satan
himself fully comprehends -- it tends to get really old really fast
after a minute or two, in my opinion.
Altogether, WWIII present us with a triumvirate of very decent
releases that seems unlikely to be remarkable enough to put them on
the map as one of the premier extreme metal labels, but should still
make people become aware of them. Hate and Belfegor are quite
competent but rather generic, while Fog is the most interesting of
the three bands. Satan could have been more generous in terms of the
inspiration he provided these servants of his with for coming up with
band names, though.
Contact: http://www.ww3music.com
Black Label Society - _Alcohol Fueled Brewtality: Live +5_
by: Aaron McKay (8 out of 10) (Spitfire, 2001)
Never having been -too- big of a fan of live releases, I was wary of
this one. I must say, Zakk and the boys have shined a new light on
this way of thinking. I think it is a strong mixture of the fact that
I sincerely appreciate BLS as a band in its totality and that the
band only seems to show yet another entertainingly effective face on
stage when compared to the recorded material, losing nothing in the
exchange. Some of my favorites are here, namely "13 Years of Grief",
"Stronger Than Death", "All for You" and "Phoney Smiles and Fake
Hellos" served in fine boozed-up, alcohol-induced shape. It sure
liquors you up fast, not even waiting until the second track before
you are combatively swaggering for the fridge, all elbows and
knuckles, to swig down a hit of cold gin. The second to last cut from
_Alcohol Fueled Brewtality_ is a nice performance of "No More Tears"
from Mr. Wylde's time with Ozzy. The second disc is comprised of
subdued and low-keyed material like a Neil Young remake, "Heart of
Gold", and a piano infused version of "Snowblind". The sobering
acoustic flank of BLS's mighty besotted warship is not quite as
appealing to me as the other falling down tanked metal side that disc
one blurs into vision. By the way, for more on my thoughts with
regards to BLS, see CoC #48. I have to run after a beverage now, most
likely containing alcohol. Writing this review has left me parched
and it's Saturday night!
Various - _Black Metal Blitzkrieg_ (End All Life, 2001)
by: Alvin Wee (9 out of 10)
Needless to say, this one will go down as yet another legendary item
from End All Life. A virtual encyclopedia of the European neo-black
metal underground, _BMB_ showcases the best and not quite the worst
in the "true" scene today, with exclusive tracks from the most cult
bands in the scene today. Altar of Perversion kick things off with a
typically raw attack, black and brutal, though a tad messy in old
Absu tradition. Sounds like a speedier, less developed Clandestine
Blaze, who make a timely entrance on track two, showing us how much
more effective the real thing can be. Even more mature than on their
recent works past, the band's more structured approach combined with
a new-found tightness makes for compelling listening. Which is
in distinct contrast to Deathspell Omega's surprisingly primitive
delivery this time round, opting for a thin, almost demo-like sound
reminiscent of the early '90s. Chilling enough in a Judas Iscariot
way, but different enough to surprise fans of their split LP. Germans
Katharsis round off side A with a maelstrom of Teutonic mayhem,
again different from the structured evil of their full-length
and more evocative of their American counterparts like Krieg.
Moonblood continue the German assault with more primitivism, and
while retaining their trademark epic, sweeping melodies, keep things
under-produced enough not to stick sorely out of place. Finnish Musta
Surma slow the pace down a tad, opting for more minimalist,
Burzum-esque setting. A nice change after all the preceding mayhem,
politely ushering in the legendary Mutiilation, who opt for one of
the darkest, most torturous tracks in their history. Slow, agonizing
and infinitely eerie, "Under the Full Moon" brings to mind Abruptum
and -old- Thorns, making it one of the most outstanding tracks on the
disc. Svest are determined to yank things back to full speed as they
blaze ahead with pure hate and aggression on "Evil War". A rousing
end to a satisfying slab of true underground spirit -- and an
inspiring call to arms against the increasingly Dimmu-fied industry.
With a line-up of bands like this, it's no wonder the disc sold out
almost immediately. As usual, EAL has limited this to 300 copies on
vinyl only, ensuring that only maniacs dedicated (or rich) enough get
their paws on this great collection. Probably sold out by now from
the label, but keep your eyes open...
Bloodthorn - _Under the Reign of Terror_ (Red Stream, May 2001)
by: Aaron McKay (8 out of 10)
Coming off the French label Season of Mist, which gave us _In the
Shadow of Your Black Wings_ [CoC #26], _Onwards Into Battle_ and
their split with ...And Oceans _War Vol. I_, Bloodthorn seems to have
put out an extremely strong effort on Red Stream. _Under the Reign of
Terror_, much like 1997's _In the Shadow of Your Black Wings_, is
easily absorbed due to convincing riffing and captivatingly harsh
vocals. The pace all throughout _UtRoT_ is sporadic and indeed
interesting. These Norwegians have crafted a charred metal sound
presented with doomy beats and crushing lethality all at the
appropriate times for maximum benefit. "Fields of Blood" exhibits
this in the finest way, I believe, showcased anywhere on the disc.
While "Fields of Blood" is certainly very well-crafted, the drive and
authority of "The Return of Wrath", track two, has to be my favorite.
A couple of final points worth mentioning are the sixteen page
booklet Red Stream is putting out with this release and the inclusion
of Necrobutcher from Mayham covering "Deathcrush" as the last track
on _Under the Reign of Terror_. Kick it up a notch with this
impressive offering; it is well worth your time.
Various - _Brazilian Assault_ (Relapse Records, 2000)
by: Aaron McKay (2 out of 10)
This rather old release made its way to my mailbox recently.
Comprised of four bands with nearly unreadable monikers, this CD
comes out as a part of Relapse's Global underground. Most tracks were
derived from the 1999 demos of three of the groups: Ophiolatry,
Abhorrence and Nephasth. Mental Horror, the fourth band on this comp,
took their seven tracks from a 1998 demo. All this explains why this
CD came out in 2000, but it doesn't tell me for sure why I got it in
2001. Timing is everything, I suppose, and there may be more at play
getting this disc out than what I am aware of, too. Anyway, I was
mostly unimpressed with the material found on _Brazilian Assault_.
Possibly a poor choice of cuts from otherwise effectual demos, but I
doubt that is the case. The insurmountable fact remains, this
compilation, Brazilian or not, is positively forgettable. I can
appreciate the timing, change-ups and beat of most of the bands;
however, there is little here I would purposefully seek out. Nephasth
offer the most hope shining particularly brilliant on track ten,
"Inquiring Fear". Outside of that cut, I would admit, with so many
musically deeper efforts out there on the scene right now (with a
portion of that solid material falling on the Relapse label), this
release seems obtuse. If you need to broaden yourself with Brazilian
death metal -- cool, but don't be looking for a Sepultura or Angra
here; you won't find it.
Cadaver Inc. - _Discipline_ (Earache, May 2001)
by: Pedro Azevedo (9 out of 10)
"Fast, affordable crime scene clean-up and corpse removal" are the
services offered at www.CadaverInc.com, the band's website. Virtually
nothing on this professionally designed website betrays the fact that
Cadaver Inc. are actually a metal band, and some people have actually
(quite amazingly) believed the whole thing was true. This is easily
the most remarkable and darkly humorous (not to mention brilliantly
implemented) joke of its kind I've ever seen, and a visit to the
website is mandatory if you are to fully appreciate the spirit of
_Discipline_. The entire album is visually, lyrically and sonically
drenched in urban decay and human desensitization, and the website is
a highly inspired realization of this concept. Throughout the
record's 40 odd minutes, Cadaver Inc. relentlessly punish the
listener with mostly blindingly fast, furiously harsh and yet
strangely catchy black metal. Ugly yet appealing, the kind of
aggression bursting out of _Discipline_ is somewhat akin to that
portrayed in December Wolves' greatly underrated album _Completely
Dehumanized_ in its delivery and thematic context. But while December
Wolves' effort was impressive and enjoyable, Cadaver Inc.'s searing
output often seems to be just about as good as this style can get.
The band masters the mixing of occasional slower parts with frenzied
blastbeats, the vocals always in sync with the varying requirements
of the music, and delivers their attack with a brutal, dirty yet
powerful sound. _Discipline_ is a highly energetic album: the riffing
is memorable, powerful and razor-sharp, whilst the drumming drives
its point home through variety and technicality as well as sheer
speed. With members past and/or present of bands such as Aura Noir,
Dodheimsgard and the old Cadaver in its ranks, Cadaver Inc. have been
able to create one of those records that stands out not only for its
outstanding ferocity and brilliant delivery, but also for its
character and musical relevance. Definitely one of the most important
albums of 2001.
[Paul Schwarz: "First, _Discipline_ will hook you with its sleek
reprocessing of Voivod, Slayer, Terrorizer and Repulsion sounds --
repackaged in a cold, modern breathable-plastic bodybag of a
production. But it's after repeated and concentrated listens that
the purely instrumental side of Cadaver Inc. will click, and a new,
more vibrant and unique level of this stunning release will be
unlocked. A grower, and all in all, a shockingly multi-faceted
album."]
Catholicon - _Lost Chronicles of the War in Heaven_
by: Kirsty Buchanan (3 out of 10) (Rage of Achilles, May 2001)
Fantastically blasphemous. If a little obsessed with the coming of
the millennium. Not for nothing is the backing vocalist named
Blasphyre. However attractive the unholy approach is, the band lose
out to poor production and unfortunate lack of musical ability. The
vocal style is intense and imposing, but the music takes a back seat
and falls somewhat by the wayside -- which strikes me as a hideous
waste of talent, as both the vocals and the synth work is some of the
strongest I've heard. It is purely regrettable that that is where it
ends for Catholicon; they could do much more were they to develop
further beyond the excited use of synthesisers.
cEvin Key - _The Ghost of Each Room_ (Metropolis, August 2001)
by: Aaron McKay (6.5 out of 10)
This is some of the more divergent material I have heard on a label
especially known for their broad spectrum of bands with unique
sounds. The former drummer, cEvin Key, is widely celebrated for his
participation early on for the influential pioneering act know as
Skinny Puppy. _The Ghost of Each Room_ is the second solo effort from
Key, even as Ogre (a.k.a. Kevin Ogilvie of Skinny Puppy) is featured
on track six, "Frozen Sky". It seems hard to separate those two. Just
over fifty-one minutes of fairly well nondescript and looped uneven
cuts, sounding at times like an apparatus from a distorted Willy
Wonka's chocolate factory. The entire album is a spree through an
eclectic combination of unusual sounds, instruments and clunky
rhythms. Bake a Pigface and KMFDM, mostly devoid of any vocals, in an
industrial furnace and you have a vague idea of what you might expect
on _The Ghost of Each Room_. Metropolis has done a fabulous job of
packaging Key's newest work in a fine digipak; very appealing, as is
my favorite cut from the disc, track seven, "Aphasia". Undeniably,
there is a time and frame of mind for listening to this album,
preferably when the particular ghost in your room is otherwise
occupied.
Chamber - _You and What Army_ (<Independent>, 2001)
by: Adrian Bromley (2 out of 10)
Coming across like Stuck Mojo meets Biohazard meets Machine Head,
Philadelphia act Chamber are just churning out cliche sounds and
uninspired metal numbers. These guys seem to be pretty dated with
their music as well. I mean, this is the kind of metal-groove music
that Machine Head was pushing a few years back. Metal music has
changed considerably since then and many bands -- well, not all of
them -- have moved on and tried to find new ideas and roads to take
their metal music down. The power of Chamber is there and so is the
attitude (i.e. songs such as "Dropping Like Flies", "I Man God" and
"Strong Like Us"), but the music has all been done before. If I was
Chamber, I'd make sure my music had some potential before I would
call my album _You and What Army_. These guys are tough, but their
music is extremely weak.
Contact: 7 Fulkerson St. Apt. 3, Cambridge, MA 02141, USA
mailto:chamberarmy@hotmail.com
http://www.chamberarmy.com
Christ Aborted in Nativity - _If You Set Yourself on Fire?_
by: Adrian Bromley (5 out of 10) (<Independent>, 2001)
This rather young band calling themselves Christ Aborted in Nativity,
or CAiN as they refer to themselves (get it?), seem to have a lot of
potential from the get go. An interesting opener ("Luna's Requiem")
starts things off quite passively before the band steps right into
the vicious death/black metal attack of "Imprisoned in Flesh" and
onto the rather cool sounding stride of instrumental number "...Of
Razor-Blades and Membranes". And while some may see this variety as a
good sign for a young band to engage in, it actually makes the
release sound a bit disjointed. Granted, there are a lot of strong
ideas here on _If You Set Yourself on Fire?_, but overall the
listener is lost amongst where the band is taking their music and
what they really want the end result to be. Just listen as the band
goes from the instrumental into "Terminat Hora Diem". What is going
on here? It sounds like a whole new recording and/or band. Maybe I
need more than this five-song offering to post my final judgment on
this band, but as it stands right now, they seem to have all the
right ideas; they just need a target to strive for now. CAiN shall
return, I am sure of it.
Contact: 824 Thomas Rd, Lafayette Hills, PA 19444, USA
http://www.pcmsnet.org/cain/
Circle of Dead Children - _The Genocide Machine_
by: Aaron McKay (9 out of 10) (Necropolis/Deathvomit, April 2001)
You've got to be kidding me with this! There is an entire field
packed -full- of brash sonic blast intensity a la Pig Destroyer,
Discordance Axis, and Burnt by the Sun, but Circle of Dead Children
rise like cream to the top. Showering their blast-beat effect with
sounds suggestive of a Burial (_Enlightened With Pain_), this
band can only be driven by depraved aggression to energize the
listener in a way that only _The Genocide Machine_ can. Don't
misunderstand me, CoDC crown songs with vastly heavy rhythms and
violent powerful chops on occasion, but the majority of the remaining
time is spent musically forging everything from chaos and nothing
synchronously. For an example of that feat, I draw you attention to
the longest track on _The Genocide Machine_, track eleven, entitled
"Digestive Ceremony". This whole effort should be treated as a
thesis, that is digested as a whole, entirely, for the kernels of
unabridged forcefulness will do more for your energy level than a the
thousand power bars! Worked within _The Genocide Machine_ is a
thematic message of being apart of something destructively larger and
ultimately committing to Earth's eventual supremacy. All that said,
Circle of Dead Children is a phenomenal group. I strongly encourage
you to discover them for yourselves.
Cirith Gorgor - _Unveiling the Essence_ (Osmose, April 2001)
by: Kirsty Buchanan (3 out of 10)
Now you too can be the proud owner of a limited edition album; one
which surpasses all others -- at last what we've all been crying out
for: an album recorded in a biscuit tin! A poor attempt at production
leaves the band with the narrowest window of aural level in which to
frolic. A simple equation reveals that Dutch musical ineptitude plus
having read "Lord of the Rings" recently does not a good album make.
There is no excuse for the release of such unadulterated rubbish as
this. I can find no redeeming factor warranting any word of praise. I
make here a few personal appeals: to the vocalist, buy some throat
medicine as you are grating your vocal cords unnecessarily. To the
lead guitarist, I feel you may be in the wrong band as your style is
not in keeping with the others. To the drummer and the rhythm
guitarist, can you tap your head and rub your belly at the same time?
I thought not. The final track, "Visions of a Distant Past", sounds
like the theme for Seventies children's TV programme "Trumpton" or
"Camberwick Green". Cirith Gorgor; look out folks, here comes Windy
Miller.
Clandestine Blaze / Deathspell Omega - _Split LP_
by: Alvin Wee (8 out of 10) (Northern Heritage, 2001)
According to the band, last issue's interview with Clandestine Blaze
drew more than a few looks of interest in their direction. If the aim
of this new wave is to create controversy, they're doing a great job:
the cover alone is one of the most distasteful I've seen, being a
collage of (presumably WWII-era) photos of dead bodies lying in
decay. Shocking it may be, but pictures like that of a bulldozer
being used to shift a mountain of bodies provides an apt -- if
macabre -- backdrop to both bands' malicious tunes. A-side Finns
deliver four more of their Darkthrone-worshipping dirges, retaining
the oppressive monotony and depression of their still-warm _Night of
the Unholy Flames_ [CoC #50]. Like on the old Unpure albums, the
sheer despondency besetting the music is bleakly infectious, leaving
the listener in choking clouds of torpor and gloom, unable to
do aught but be overwhelmed by misery. Highly affective stuff,
and a guaranteed depressant for the chronically optimistic. The
French horde on the flip side show as much knack for sweeping
atmosphere as CB does for futility, milking similar sources (read:
Darkthrone, Burzum) for more melodic, expansive ambience a la
_Transylvanian Hunger_. A welcome break from the utter wretchedness
of side A, providing a perfect counterpoint with the guitars
bleeding out sweeping melodies and an atmosphere reminiscent of
old Emperor/Enslaved (though the comparison seems rather stretched
considering the difference in styles). Lyrically, the band don't lie
too far from the controversial extremisms of platter-mates CB,
dwelling on decidedly uplifting topics like rape, suicide and
perversion. This is a band destined for greatness in the underground,
as the three tracks so convincingly prove, and we can only wait with
bated breath for any hint of an upcoming full-length. Another
highly recommended vinyl-only masterpiece from the Northern Heritage
stables, all the more elusive and appealing for its strictly non-CD
format, a welcome trend increasingly popular among underground
labels. Limited to 300 again, but some copies should still be
floating around. Worth every penny of the potentially high price.
Contact: mailto:clandestineblaze@hotmail.com
Contact: Northern Heritage, P.O. Box 21, 15141 Lahti, Finland
Cradle of Filth - _Bitter Suites to Succubi_ (AbraCadaver, July 2001)
by: Matthias Noll (7.5 out of 10)
Have you too experienced this painful point in time when a band you
love suddenly starts to lose the genius, the spark, the power to send
shivers down your spine and/or simply crush you with their music?
Even though I'm aware that CoF lost many of our readers after
_Vempire_ or even as early as after _The Principle of Evil Made
Flesh_, in my case it was _Midian_ when things started to get a bit
stale -- and once exciting music suddenly became predictable, with
far too many foreseeable patterns and structures. What on _Dusk and
Her Embrace_ and _Cruelty and the Beast_ appeared to be a labyrinth
in which you could easily get lost has developed into a roundabout
with four accurately signposted exits. Even if I would rate _Midian_
8 out of 10, in CoF's case that's close to disappointing for me. As
you can see from my rating, _Bitter Suites to Succubi_ has not really
managed to summon the magic from the past again. Initially only meant
to be an EP and the band's first album on their own label
AbraCadaver, _BStS_ will probably be their farewell to the upper
regions of the underground in which they still reside -- as you may
have already heard, they just got signed by Sony Music. _BStS_
features 50 something minutes of music. Four new songs, a Sisters of
Mercy cover, three reworked tracks from _The Principle of Evil Made
Flesh_ and two more-pointless-than-ever intro/outro instrumentals.
This mixture makes it impossible to see _BStS_ as a unit rather than
a bunch of tracks thrown together. It's got album length, album price
but has no album flow. Soundwise things are good: aggressive guitars,
natural but a bit hollow-sounding drums, and in general _BStS_ leaves
a rawer and less slick impression than _Midian_. It appears that
especially Dani's vocals have not received much overdubbing. His
voice sounds refreshingly live and the vocal parts are not perfect,
especially when his voice breaks during the impossibly high notes,
adding a very genuine touch to the performance. Some other band
members' efforts are a bit less impressive this time around --
especially ex-My Dying Bride keyboardist / violin player Martin
Powell, who is a bit on the average side of things here. A band of
CoF's calibre could surely benefit from someone who contributes
something out of the ordinary. What I hear on _BStS_ isn't any better
than what most of the competition, down to some second tier outfits,
is able to come up with. What's also a bit surprising is that Adrian
Erlandson's drumming -- which is of course well performed -- is a bit
unspectacular, lacking signature and not really on par with Nick
Barker's performances with CoF and especially on the latest Dimmu
Borgir record. All three re-recorded songs from _TPoEMF_ sound good,
are played faster and unsurprisingly much tighter. Decide for
yourself whether you prefer the unpolished tracks from the past or
manage to enjoy these well performed versions. While "The Principle
of Evil Made Flesh" and "Summer Dying Fast" are very close to the
original versions, "The Black Goddess Rises II" has been changed
somewhat in comparison to the version on the debut, with a very
thrashy section getting included. The four new tracks are good to
very good, but standard CoF fare; and while I spotted some unusual
riffs and ideas on _Midian_ (maybe Paul Allender's influence?),
there's nothing really surprising to be found in the new material.
The Sisters of Mercy cover "No Time to Cry" is okay-ish, but among
the weaker cover versions CoF have done so far. Even though it
underlines the influence goth bands like Sisters of Mercy had and
have on some of the UK death/doom/black metal bands, it's nothing to
write home about. To sum it up, despite my gripes, this is a decent,
still far from commercial-sounding record, and a worthy purchase for
fans. I for one am a bit worried, because I get the impression that a
"CoF songwriting machine" is more and more replacing new ideas and
originality with output based on formulas, and the fact that Robin
Eaglestone has now left the band shows that the line-up is still far
from stable.
[Quentin Kalis: "_BStS_ is probably CoF's most accessible album
to date, with the gothic elements more prominent here than in
possibly any previous CoF release. The guitars have a heavier, more
commercial sound, the drumming is proficient though not quite up to
the standard set by Nick Barker, and while Dani's charateristic
high-pitched banshee shrieks are absent on this release, his singing
still alternates between ear-piercing screams and low growls.
Despite a ghastly cover of "No Time to Cry" -- originally by Sisters
of Mercy -- this album represents their best work since _Cruelty and
the Beast_."]
Cripple Bastards - _Almost Human_ (Obscene, June 2001)
Cripple Bastards - _Misantropo a Senso Unico_ (Deaf American, 00/01)
by: Paul Schwarz (8.5 and 9 out of 10)
I can't decide which of these two releases to recommend to a
first-time Cripple Bastards listener. _Misantropo a Senso Unico_,
their latest album -- and surely their finest -- is a face-ripping
slice of grind/hardcore fury. Graced with a raw but not poor
production, it has just the right amount of variation and tempo
shifting to not descend into monotony, yet has the speed and
intensity to please even the most devoted grind heads. Vocal
harshness and blast-beating tendencies are what characterise _MaSU_
as a grind album -- and one of the first order for lovers of the
likes of late-Eighties Napalm Death or Repulsion -- but a huge part
of the album is very hardcore, and hardcore-allergic metallers (fools
that you are!) may find _MaSU_ doesn't suit their tastes. Ravenous /
SOD / Brutal Truth (RIP) / Hemlock / ex-Anthrax / Nuclear Assault
(RIP) bassist Dan Lilker says that _MaSU_ is "exquisitely insane
hardcore grind that reminds me of why I got into all this shit back
in the late Eighties", and if that doesn't peak your interest, and
the fact that _MaSU_ is on Rich Hoak's Deaf American label didn't
either, you might want to do some background listening before you try
out _MaSU_.
_MaSU_ is a single recording, with a single sound and style.
These reasons are one factor of why _Almost Human_ may better suit
you if you're a first-time CB listener. For one, it is nearly twice
as long, clocking in at nearly an hour. _MaSU_ only totals 33
minutes, which includes a re-recording of CB's 1993, 94 song demo --
each song consisting of one lyrical line, almost invariably backed by
a blastbeat. Without the demo re-recording, _MaSU_ is only 26
minutes. _AH_ is Obscene Production's compiling of all Cripple
Bastards' studio works from 1997-1999 (excluding _MaSU_ of course_)
with 19 live tracks recorded in Utrecht/Holland at the "A.C.U." Club
in 2000 added to bring the track total to 50. The 31 non-live tracks
are taken from seven different sessions, and four different line-ups
of the band over a period of a few years. Correspondingly, there is
quite some variation in sound and even style on offer. In the context
of extreme music as a whole of course, _AH_ isn't very varied, but in
its own context (of a single grind/death/hardcore band) it covers a
range of styles and moulds. It all sounds like one band, but
_AH_ sees CB expressing themselves through a variety of different
productions and in a variety of styles. _AH_'s appeal is thus
broader, in the sense that some part of it will be enjoyed by more
grind/death listeners than will enjoy _MaSU_. However, on the other
hand the more set-in-one-style among you extreme music listeners will
probably not like all _AH_'s different expressions of violent rage.
For fans -- either long-standing or those converted by _MaSU_ -- _AH_
is a perfect complement to CB's latest album. It collects many cool
7"s, two interesting Husker Du covers, and offers some damn decent
live tracks into the bargain.
_MaSU_ is sung entirely in Italian, but includes translated
lyrics to every song except the one-line evacuations of the 94 song
demo re-recording. Some of _AH_'s tracks, mostly the later ones, are
in Italian. These are all included and translated in the booklet and
lyrics to almost all the other songs (excluding the live tracks) are
also included -- CB promise in the booklet that the missing lyrics
will soon be posted on their website.
Also in _AH_'s booklet are pictures of the covers to all the
relevant 7"s, a variety of reproduced posters and fliers, a one-page
reproduction of the advertisement for the Holland show from which the
live tracks are taken, info about the band's various line-up changes
-- Guilo the Bastard is the only truly permanent member -- and even
commentaries to a few of the songs.
There is more to Cripple Bastards than simply an excellent
grind/hardcore band. CB obviously think a lot (or at least Guilo
does), and some of their lyrics make for interesting reading,
while the commentaries in _AH_ are particularly venomous and
thought-provoking when talking about such things as the PC attitudes
of some current hardcore scenes in contrast to how punk/hardcore
expressed itself in other eras. Quite simply, there's more to either
of these releases than just music -- especially _AH_ -- and they are
both all the better and all the more recommended for it.
I'd recommend picking up both these releases and immersing
yourself in Cripple Bastards today.
Contact: http://www.cripplebastards.com
Contact: http://www.obscene.cz
Crowbar - _Sludge: History of Crowbar_ (Spitfire, 2001)
by: Aaron McKay (8.5 out of 10)
What can you say about Crowbar that hasn't been articulated in some
form or fashion in recent past? They are the epitome of, as the name
of this release clearly states, -sludge-. Heavy as a shot-put for
Goliath and murky as the river Styx, Crowbar enforce a musical
disposition of perfect and substantial viscous drudgery. Rarely has a
band been able to accomplish what New Orleans's native sons have
effectively done over the course of seven albums. Most CoC readers
will have these tracks on other releases except for the live stuff,
like "Fixation" and the marvelous "I Have Failed". In concert,
Crowbar is truly laden with exhilaration. If you want heavier than
this "best of" compilation from the ruling class of down-tuned
nobility, try pumping a blob of atomic weight 207 through your
stereo. By the way, good luck with that -- Crowbar uses that as their
litmus test in practice sessions.
Darkane - _Insanity_ (Nuclear Blast, May 2001)
by: David Rocher (8 out of 10)
Discovering and reviewing the long-awaited follow-up to a revered
masterpiece such as Darkane's 1999 _Rusted Angel_ [CoC #42] is a dire
prospect indeed. In essence, the problem here is that _Rusted
Angel_ had enthralled me so much at the time that I failed
to see how Darkane could ever strike harder, faster, and quite
simply better than they first had. And upon first listening to
_Insanity_, my fears indeed seemed to be justified. As soon as
the post-intro opener "Third" kicked in, it seemed undeniable
to me that the general sound of _Insanity_ failed to meet the
power and intensity of that of _Rusted Angel_; worse, the opening
riff to the album just sounded (and still sounds, as far as
I can tell) like a rather lame, massively over-the-top attempt
at rendering At the Gates style death metal -- decent, I'll
agree, but nonetheless below the amazing standards set by Darkane
two years ago. As the twelve tracks of _Insanity_ flowed by,
however, things did brighten up: Darkane's style is still instantly
recognisable, massive thrashing death metal showcasing rabid vocals
and a murderous dual-axe onslaught, brilliantly nailed into place
by Darkane's obviously eight-armed skinsman Peter Wildoer. Former
vocalist Lawrence Mackrory's replacement Andreas Sydow does a good
job on the whole, delivering varied, aggressive and clean vocals, but
nonetheless falling into some pitfalls as the album unfurls -- in
particular on the track "The Perverted Beast", where his strained
chants are just bluntly annoying, and too high in the mix, to make
matters worse. Musically, _Insanity_ does disclose a fair number of
evolutions in Darkane's style. I hear more than slight hints at Fear
Factory's _Demanufacture_, and more precisely even at Strapping Young
Lad's _City_ or Meshuggah's _Destroy Erase Improve_ (if proof
was needed, Fredrik Thordendal graces _Insanity_ with one of his
trademark dissonant and instantly recognisable guitar leads on the
track "Psychic Pain") on many a track, as Darkane blast, tear
and romp their way through the twelve tracks of this definitely
un-pretty, sweaty brute. The thrashing Swedes once again prove
that their technical competence is amazing, to say the least, as
_Insanity_ teems with complex, violent riffs, wicked guitar leads,
and lest we forget (which is unlikely), a crushing, almighty and
awe-inspiring rhythmic section. So, fans of _Rusted Angel_ be
reassured, even if _Insanity_ does, after a many a listen, fail to
kick my head in the way _Rusted Angel_ did, Darkane are well and
truly back, and in good shape too. My main grudge remains that if
Danne Bergstrand of the famed Dug Out studios had worked the same
sonic wonders on this release as he did on _Rusted Angel_, we'd be
beholding a totally referential, crushing release indeed -- which
sadly, on the whole, _Insanity_ can't actually claim to embody.
[Paul Schwarz: "I still can't quite decide about _Insanity_.
Originally, I was positive it was better than _Rusted Angel_
-and- a minor metal classic. It has remained a -firm- favourite
above _Rusted Angel_, but I am not still as convinced of the
record's ultimate brilliance and longevity. However, though whether
_Insanity_ deserves -grand- accolades may be in doubt, there is no
doubt that it is a cracking metal album, which -- even though this
year is looking to be a very good one -- has a chance of making my
year's top twenty."]
Darwin's Waiting Room - _Orphan_ (MCA Records, 2001)
by: Aaron McKay (2 out of 10)
This band's bio sheet reads like a politician's press release --
putting forth a lot of overly ambiguous language poked through with
holes of misrepresentation. Given some experience in reading current
event editorials and political statements, I can clearly see all the
nebulous terminology surrounding Darwin's Waiting Room. Without
systematically pointing out the shortcomings associated with this
band, I'll just cover the highlights 'cause this review needs to be
more about the music than anything else. I am told that MTV called
this band "rock's secret gem". With the exception of what MTV
did raise the level of awareness for Chuck Schuldiner's medical
condition, I can't remember when I gave a flying fuck what Kurt Loder
or any of those thick, beatle-headed cretins had to say about music.
I am reminded here of seeing Nevermore's front man, Warrel Dane, live
in concert legitimately touting the conviction that "MTV SUCKS!". The
bio promotes Darwin's Waiting Room as "unclassifiable", but goes on
to call them a "pulsing fusion of hip-hop rhymes, monster grooves,
crunching riffs and moments of stark melody". That sounds like a
pretty fair portraiture to me for an "unclassifiable" outfit. Just to
stroke ruffled feathers out there, that pervious commentary directly
relates to Darwin's Waiting Room's sound, too, in case some among us
think I am not devoting the necessary time to critiquing the music.
Furthermore, -musically-, I hear arresting similarities to a band
demo I reviewed a -long- time ago called Tendonitis [CoC #33]. Of
course Tendonitis incorporates no lyrics, but the groove, texture and
sound are so arguably uniform to what I hear on _Orphan_. While the
lyrical message takes great strides to give off the impression of
progressivism, in all actuality, they amount to double rapping,
hyped-up radio fustian blatherskite. "Live for the Moment", simply
for one quick example, feeds the listener an incredible line of
bullshit saying that you can't change who you are and you should
never reflect on your past. In addition to a whole host of historians
and an innumerable plethora of civic leaders -- not to mention most
people's parents --, this message is not only inaccurate, but
grievous and sorry. The rationalization taken by the group in the bio
regarding this track is infinitely more intelligible, but how it is
communicated to the listener in the song itself is -so- dense that
light bends around it. The two points I gave _Orphan_ come from
tracks one and three, "Feel So Stupid (Table-9)" and "Sometimes it
Happens Like This", respectively. Again, with my exception to the
lyrics and hip-hop vocal drivel, the Burton C. Bell singing approach
is impressive on "Feel So Stupid" and the beats on both songs are
notably infectious. In my opinion, DWR needs to target their energy
into the bullseye exposed by these two choice cuts. This band claims
to be ever-changing; I'll wait for the next cycle in their evolution.
Das Ich - _Re_Laborat_ (Metropolis, May 2001)
by: Aaron McKay (7 out of 10)
I imagine being pulled through an automobile assembly line by a
claw-like thing from "Mad Max's Beyond the Thunderdome" would feel a
lot like this effort sounds. Comparisons to Rammstein will be nearly
unescapable, but very real differences to exist. The obviously German
similarities are present, but Das Ich integrates a whole lotta gaunt
and secularly shinny re-mixes from the likes of VnV Nation, Wampscut
(yea!) and Funker Vogt. S. Ackermann and B. Kramm clutch Das Ich
together at its foundation, increasing to a four-piece for purposes
to touring. This fifteen track odyssey through unconventionality
strikes odd chords in the psyche of the follower. Some more-or-less
spoken parts tied together with the dissonance of the spirited
smacking drop-beats make _Re_Laborat_ a interesting purchase. Track
eleven, dubbed "Schwanenschrei", is a choice cut, as is the more
guitar oriented "Die Proheten" -- both enjoying Das Ich's full
delivery capability. Sometimes an overbearing emphasis on the vocals
and sometimes the techno drive of the band becomes repetitious, but
all in all a very solid effort. I propose finding out for yourself
what Das Ich has waiting for you.
Dawndeath Incinerator - _Tomb of Corporeal Butchery_
by: Adrian Bromley (7 out of 10) (<Independent>, 2001)
Bounded in a massive onslaught of pounding drum blasts, deep guttural
growls and grinding death metal riffs (with a hint of thrash metal),
Dawndeath Incinerator gets the ball rolling right from the start with
the intense "Thieves". The death metal tinged grind of the band is
aided by ample amounts of distortion and samples, but soon those
elements fall to the wayside as Dawndeath Incinerator slams through
this release like there is no tomorrow. Fans of classic metal heroes
like Kreator, Napalm Death and Celtic Frost will no doubt find
comfort in the death metal machine, as will fans of Nile and Morbid
Angel who like to hear a bit more of a creative side to death metal.
Production is somewhat mediocre and downplayed here, but that might
have been what the band wanted, as a real slick production would have
been devastating to the vicious blows ready to be cast our way. In
all, Dawndeath Incinerator have managed to assemble an interesting
grinding death metal album (be sure to check out the remix of the
title track) that requires multiple listens to take it all in.
Contact: 334 East 1500 North, Pleasant Grove, VT 84062, USA
mailto:rich@rfountain.com
http://www.thoughtbludgeon.com/di/
Death & Taxe$ - _theenigmathatisman_ (<Independent>, 2001)
by: Brian Meloon (7 out of 10)
Death & Taxe$ hail from Los Angeles, CA, and play a unique brand of
jazz, thrash and melodic hard rock. The only comparable band that I
can think of is Damn the Machine, who they sound like once or twice
during the 70 minutes of this CD. But for the most part, they do a
good job of finding a diverse set of unique sounds to fill the
CD. The guitar ranges from heavy crunch to light 'n' jangy to
mellow acoustic and back again. The tempos range from fast (thrash
speed) to slow (ambient speed), with just about every tempo in
between. Although some of their experiments are less than successful
("Bottomless Hippopotamus"), there's enough good music to make this a
worthwhile offering. Unfortunately, there aren't any really standout
tracks, as there were on their debut, _Paradigms for a New Quarter_
(1996). There are also fewer straight-ahead thrash tracks on this
album, and more of a lighter/mellower sound overall. I'd recommend
this for those into rock/jazz fusion, and those who like a wide
variety of musical styles. Most of the songs are available at their
MP3.com site, so if they sound like something you might like, check
that out. I'd suggest "Diet of Worms" and "Instrumental With Words"
as good choices to get acquainted with their style.
Contact: http://home.earthlink.net/~dntman/
http://artists.mp3s.com/artists/57/death__taxe.html
DeathFrost - _Cynoptik of DeathFrost / Death to All_
by: Adrian Bromley (6 out of 10) (<Independent>, 2001)
While there are a lot of bands out there willing to explore, grow and
alter their direction as their musical careers go along, I think it
is safe to say that Cynoptik of the one-man band DeathFrost will not
have any of those issues to worry about. You see, should Cynoptik
make it to, say, ten years in this business, his vast and versatile
sound will no doubt grow in leaps and bounds and embracing new styles
and sounds will be second nature to him. The music -- an assortment
of techno beats, black metal guitar riffs and odd sound effects --
really does sound cool (especially opener "Father Devil"), but two
discs of over the top material like this takes its toll, as it
swooshes in and out of styles, slowly creeping along to sinister
beats and distorted screams. I'm not sure if die-hard metal fans will
want to give this band a chance, but for those of you who like early
Burzum or the totally underrated Ultraviolence, then this might peak
your interest. "Might" is the key word here.
Contact: mailto:deathfrost@c4.org
http://nav.to/deathfrost/
Deepred - _Prophetic Luster_ (Blunt Force, January 2001)
by: Chris Flaaten (8 out of 10)
Deepred is a Finnish death metal band with an American sound, totally
unlike what you expect from the melodic haven that is Finland.
Deepred is brutal and technical, quite like Suffocation. The band
impresses greatly as musicians, playing tight, precise and -very-
fast death metal. The vocals lack some juice, but that's for some
reason common with death metal at this level of brutality. I really
like the production, as it gives room for every instrument and
supports the technicality of the music well. The album presents some
utterly crushing music, like the virtuoso moments 1:12 into "Multiple
Errors", when one can just sit in front of the speakers gasping.
There are several such moments, but for a reviewer usually bored with
mood- and emotionless death metal, these moments are still slightly
far between. That's just my taste -- this is top notch brutal death
metal, and for fans of the genre I can't find any reason not to buy
immediately.
Demimonde - _Mutant Star_ (Epidemie Records, November 2000)
by: Pedro Azevedo (6 out of 10)
When the promotional material states that the band plays "kozmik
postmodern art metal", you know you are probably in for a challenge.
Demimonde currently consists of nine(!) elements, including a number
of programmers. And yes, Demimonde do try to cram as much as possible
into their suitcase and don't seem to mind having to collectively sit
on top of it to be able to close it afterwards. Whether the locks are
going to stay in place or whether the contents of their suitcase will
get catapulted all over the place therefore becomes the all-important
question. As far as I'm concerned, most of the time it all seems to
be on the verge of snapping, but overall _Mutant Star_ does turn out
to be a reasonably interesting and challenging listen. I can hardly
believe this is the same band whose demo tape I reviewed years ago
[CoC #32], as they now mix blackened metal with Moonspell-type
singing, female vocals, jazzy elements, electronic and oriental
influences, and more. It really is hard to describe all that is to be
found inside _Mutant Star_. Almost inevitably, several passages are
less than fluid and some of the elements work less than ideally with
the rest ("Absolute Word" being the prime example of that). If you
think Solefald are boringly conventional, then this should be just
great for you. Otherwise, you may still find this an interesting
album, but the results the band achieves throughout _Mutant Star_ are
rather irregular. Personally, the record fails to captivate me much;
I find it challenging, and for a limited amount of time interesting,
but generally not very enjoyable or entertaining.
Contact: http://www.webpark.cz/epidemie/
Deranged - _Deranged_ (Listenable, 2001)
by: Matthias Noll (7.5 out of 10)
To my ears, Suffocation, Carcass and Morbid Angel are definitely
among the ones who set the standards for most of today's brutal death
metal bands. Unfortunately, I'm under the impression that rather than
providing encouragement, spiritual guidance and a solid foundation
from where to explore unchartered territory, the legacy of the
threesome seems to strangle the creativity of many of the current
bands. I find this to be especially valid for many of the acts coming
from the US these days, and although _Deranged_ has its flaws, I felt
relieved to hear something without notable influences from the above
named bands. Of course one could name Cannibal Corpse as a (if only
slightly audible) point of reference, but even though that doe
s not
make them any better, at least that's something slightly different
from the current trend. Whether this is proof of the sad state of the
majority of death metal releases or exactly what the fans want and
finally get doesn't really matter now; in the case of this review it
probably manifests itself through a very slight bonus in the rating.
Production-wise, the record does not leave much to be desired.
_Deranged_ is notably crisp and clear without sacrificing any power
and suiting the guitar driven approach perfectly. This is definitely
the best work I've heard from Berno Paulsson so far. While definitely
death metal, this record has strong ties to '80s thrash metal -- be
it the relentless, clearly defined staccato of Deranged's guitar
work, or their Slayer-esque stop/start dynamics. Although I already
mentioned that I hear a little Cannibal Corpse in Deranged's music
now and then, I mean moments rather than whole songs. Their
songwriting is not really comparable to CC's and the variations
of the main riffs create a far more free-flowing, over-the-top
atmosphere, probably rooted in the single-guitarist songwriting
process. Quite surprising for me was the complete absence of any
elements that define the "Swedish sound" on _Deranged_. They're
probably the least Swedish-sounding band from Sweden I've ever heard.
Unfortunately, they fail to offer anything new and really different
from the thousands of other death metal bands on this planet, even
though this record does not fall into the category of total boredom
and has some -- as our rating system nicely puts it -- "redeeming
qualities". If Deranged had a distinguishable vocalist and got rid of
the endless repetition of the same, simplistic snare drum break, I
would have given them an 8. This is an enjoyable, powerful and well
executed record, but only recommended for the death metal enthusiast
with either a well filled wallet or the desire to own a lot of stuff
from the second tier of the genre.
Diabolical Masquerade - _Death's Design_ (Avantgarde, April 2001)
by: Pedro Azevedo (9 out of 10)
Whether or not this is -really- an "original motion picture
soundtrack" like the front cover boasts I won't be the one to tell
you. What I -can- tell you is that _Death's Design_ is more than
likely to be worth your time, regardless. Blakkheim (Katatonia),
aided by Dan Swano (ex-Edge of Sanity), allegedly created this as the
soundtrack to a movie that ended up never being made, for various
reasons. Therefore, _Death's Design_ is divided into 20 movements and
a total of 61 mostly contiguous tracks, designed to move along with
the flow of a movie. So is it useless as a stand-alone record? No,
not at all, unless you can't handle anything but verse/chorus
repetition. You won't exactly find choruses here, but there's enough
structure to the movements to avoid losing the listener. Equally
important, the album as a whole somehow makes sense and provides a
very rewarding listen despite the sometimes breakneck speed at which
it all changes. The movements are quite a rollercoaster ride of
styles and ambiance -- when you listen to _Death's Design_ for the
first time, you literally cannot guess what's lurking behind the next
corner, and this thing is packed full of corners. This can be a great
recipe for disaster, of course, but Blakkheim and Swano are amongst
the finest musicians in extreme metal and have succeeded in creating
an outstanding album. The influences and styles used on _Death's
Design_ defy description: think some Devil Doll (minus the peculiar
vocals) mixed with Edge of Sanity's _Crimson_ and the quality
blackened metal Diabolical Masquerade is known for... and that's far
from covering all of it. Jazzy bits and other miscellaneous oddities
are sure to keep you guessing throughout the album. Featuring Sean
Bates on drums and Ingmar Dohn on bass guitar and string quartet
direction (yes, they have also used a string quartet), artwork
direction by Travis Smith and, of course, Swano's production talents,
_Death's Design_ is an unusually complex, atmospheric, adventurous
extreme metal record that demands close attention.
[Chris Flaaten: "This album blew me away! I would never have imagined
such a level of variation, original arrangements and sheer quality
coming from what really is a side project of a Katatonia member! The
fifth movement is pure genius, as is the ninth, even though some
melodies are stolen from the Conan soundtrack. The first tracks of
the tenth movement have the most amazing black vocals ever...
There's nothing this album doesn't have. Just buy it, dangit!"]
Disbelief - _Worst Enemy_ (Massacre, 2001)
by: Matthias Noll (9.5 out of 10)
Let me tell you, as good as this is, it's fucking difficult to
review, because this is unlike any other record I have. It must be
years since the last time I was able to say that. There are no real
comparisons to other bands which, in unison, can be applied in the
categories music and atmosphere. Let me try, nevertheless: take the
driving, almost mechanical approach of Bolt Thrower, Katatonia's most
depressing atmospheric bits, a dose of Voivod harmonies, a bit of
Neurosis, and a singer who sounds like an insane mix of Martin van
Drunen and John Tardy without losing his own identity. Produce this
in a way that if the overused metaphor "wall of sound" didn't exist
it would have to get invented to properly describe Andy and Georg
Classen's work on _Worst Enemy_. Sounds interesting? I really hope
so! In terms of sales figures, Disbelief's mid-tempo to slow
approach, with the grinding, deeply unhappy guitar work, the constant
drum barrage and the inhuman vocals -- which create another layer of
agony on top of the instrumental apocalypse -- might be a handicap,
because it makes them so hard to categorize. Putting them in
the death metal folder, a style which most of the time is so
painfully limited, wouldn't do them justice. But from the feeling and
atmosphere brought across, this is Death Metal, written in capital
letters and much closer to the topic than the overdone blood, guts,
gore and serial killers bullshit. This is extreme music, transporting
extreme feelings in an almost innovative way, and highly recommended
to open-minded fans of extreme metal, somewhere in between heavier
Voivod, traditional death metal and the noisier side of things.
[Paul Schwarz: "'Atmosphere' is a key word in explaining the
unusual appeal of Disbelief. Obviously influenced by industrial
masters Godflesh, Disbelief create it through the droning repetition
of distinctly discordant death metal derived riffs supported by
chunky percussion work and complemented by a blistering vocal
tirade. _WE_'s despairing soundscapes bring to mind the 'apocalyptic
visions' of Neurosis and Today Is the Day."]
Disgorge - _Forensick_ (Necropolis/Deathvomit, April 2001)
by: Aaron McKay (3 out of 10)
Where is this band going musically? Other than the vocals, which I
like a great deal -- gutturally lower than Mike Perun from Cianide, I
honestly think I hear more rhythm from my neighbor's three year old
kids playing cards in the spokes of his tires. Breaking things up a
bit and adding some well-supported guitar parts about the two minute
forty-five second mark, track three, "Scid", as well as the very next
one, "Urethrive Decortico-Xanthomatose Muco Gestated Scaffolds" (3:37
- 4:23), make the songs that much more interesting and engaging. The
effect on Antimo's voice on parts of "Jaundice Hookworm" rocket
the track to one of the most captivating on _Forensick_. Some
live versions and bonus tracks accompany _Forensick_, but other
than "Urethrive Decortico-Xanthomatose Muco Gestated Scaffolds", yet
again, this time taken from Disgorge's split with Squash Bowels, it
all amounts to more of the same. The glorified horrific cover
prohibited everywhere but for Abaddon does less than nothing for me.
It kinda reminds me of "let's play gross out", where you hock up a
glob of mucous on the table and I pull out a straw; immature and
infantile. I know bands from Mexico are capable of more than this;
Brujeria, anyone?
Divine Decay - _Songs of the Damned_ (Osmose, July 2001)
by: Paul Schwarz (6 out of 10)
Please, please Osmose, stop being such idiots! _Songs of the Damned_
would only be called "the Metallica _Kill 'em All_ and _Ride the
Lightening_ of the new century" by a complete fool; I don't think
anyone could make such a statement and not doubt the words before
they even left their mouth. Chronic hyperbole aside, _SotD_ is
actually a reasonably good record which should find quite a few fans
between the retro-thrash and power metal fraternities of today. Solid
riffing and catchy refrains make for a worthwhile trip down a
reasonably modernised memory lane, though _SotD_ is marred by
somewhat stale arrangements, and overly predictable, stiff-sounding
performances and a similarly flawed yet still powerful production.
There's definitely a lot of Metallica lurking on here in terms of
influence and sound, but Divine Decay don't compare in terms of their
relevance to their time, and they certainly have neither Metallica's
enigmatic virtue of being songwriters of the highest order, nor the
ability the Bay Area quartet had -- in their Eighties heyday -- to
churn out such crushing-yet-hugely-digestible heavy sounds.
[Kirsty Buchanan: "This is an unspeakably bland album. I listened
through for something outstanding, whether of merit or demerit: no
joy. I could not find a single point in the entire album which is
worthy of extended mention. Don't get me wrong, I don't dislike the
album, it's just that I don't like it either. I merely find it as
bland as dry brown toast. Pleasant enough, but not remarkable."]
Dragonlord - _Rapture_ (Spitfire Records, 2001)
by: Aaron McKay (9.5 out of 10)
I can't help but think of the TSR fantasy series written by Margaret
Weis and Tracy Hickman entitled "Dragonlance" when I think of Eric
Peterson's new undertaking. Yup, you read that right, Eric Peterson
of Testament. What's more is Dragonlord is an atmospheric black metal
project -and- Peterson carries the vocal duties, too. Interesting,
huh? I sure was impressed. Much like the M. Night Shyamalan movie
with Bruce Willis, "The Sixth Sense", I thoroughly enjoy being taken
by surprise and Dragonlord did exactly that! As I look into
the makeup of the band, I begin to question my astonishment as
the musicians assembled here are nothing short of phenomenal. Of
course, Mr. Peterson plays guitar as well as brandishing the
blackened death metal vocals. The much accomplished Steve DiGiorgio
(Death/Testament), the touring guitarist for Testament, Steve Smyth,
on drums, Jon Allen (Sadus), and wonderfully elaborate keyboard
workings from Lyle Livingston (Psypheria) complete the line-up. As a
side note, if you have the chance, I'd recommend taking a listen to
_Plague's End_ by Psypheria. While I do not own it, the one time I
was fortunate enough to hear it, I was justifiably impressed.
I now pacify myself by wondering by the website and taking a
listen to the band's posted clips there every now and again
(www.psypheria.com). Anyway, I understand Psypheria will be in
Milwaukee, so I hope to catch 'em live at the MetalFest. -Now- back
to Dragonlord's captivating debut. In addition to highly superior
packaging, _Rapture_'s track six, "Wolfhunt", pushes the limits to
sounding like something off of Gorgoroth's _Destroyer_ [CoC #33].
"Tradition and Fire" exudes a pure blend of black -and- death metal
as all the pieces come together like a 3D puzzle of Merlin's castle
from Arthurian legend. "Born of Darkness" and the title track are
classic expositions on all the underlying talent of these veterans of
music, but newcomers to the genre. Everything works here; the
forcefulness of the material, the comprehensible, but raucous vocals,
and the aptitude of the musicians. The world Weis and Hickman created
with the "Dragonlance" series is abundant and on-going. I can only
hope we can expect a similar showing from Dragonlord. The pool
of inspiration this group could draw from seems limitless and
I anxiously await the next chapter in the Dragonlan... er, ah
-Dragonlord- saga. Careful not to disturb the dragon's slumber.
Edera - _Edera_ (<Independent>, 2001)
by: Adrian Bromley (8 out of 10)
Within the liner notes, this Italian sextet asks a question about
their sound: "Is Edera a prog band?" After numerous listens of this
passionate, yet short 23-minute offering, my answer would have to be
yes. But while the band does have some prog-like styles (similar to
bands like Dream Theater or Jacobs Dream), there is a shroud of
darkness that seems to smother their music. Shades of My Dying
Bride and Anathema come to mind as the band serenades us with
darkened-flavoured numbers like "Left in the Power of the Storm" and
"Debris...". Also worthy of note is the strong use of keyboard work
-- not too over the top, though, as some bands fall victim to
excessive keyboard work, but thankfully Edera does not. It is nice to
hear a band from this part of the world that doesn't take upon itself
to be as flashy as Rhapsody, rather focus on making good quality
music that wallows in sorrow, emotional highs and lows and memorable
passages. I look forward to more music from this talented Italian
band.
Contact: Valero Valentini, Via Pinamonte Da Vimercate 11,
Milan, Italy
mailto:matteoedera@tiscalinet.it
Em Sinfonia - _Intimate Portrait_ (Martyr Music, 2001)
by: Aaron McKay (8.5 out of 10)
Usually it is safe to assume there is something profound about most
bands that take time to issue forth an effort. Em Sinfonia seem to
have captured more than their fair share without sacrificing a
single thing when putting _Intimate Portrait_ on the market. With
equal parts blood, sweat, tears and commitment, this release is
light-years beyond most CDs out currently. Vocally, ES strikes a
nearly unprecedented balanced between growling (Brian Griffin), rich,
spritely female singing (Bunny) and lightly sampled material. If
Griffin wasn't as an accomplished a guitarist (producer, bass
player), I'd say he missed his calling as beguiling front-man.
Recorded at Quali-Tone Studios, ES touts a clear and unencumbered
sound as to awaking Anubis from a joyless slumber. What's more, this
disc exploits the most awe-inspiring guitar I have heard worked into
a release in a very long time. Not limited solely to the six string
instrument, but instead encompassing the bass, the guitars sound as
if Em Sinfonia dragged them through freshly poured concrete before
belting out the heavier portions of this spectral album. Never having
heard any other offerings from this band, _Intimate Portrait_ is more
than a fine jumping off point. "Counting Shadows" and "Insatiable"
represents my comments about Em Sinfonia as well as anything on
_Intimate Portrait_. As a conspicuous bonus, ES saw their way clear
to add a stupendous cover of "Revelations" for all of us out here
that enjoy different takes on celebrated material from esteemed
bands. A very nice touch to an already strong undertaking.
Enter My Silence - _Remotecontrolled Scythe_ (Mighty Music, 2001)
by: Pedro Azevedo (7 out of 10)
A new In Flames record, so soon? But wait, Enter My Silence are not
even Swedish; they are from Finland. Some passages in this record
could have probably fooled me, though. Enter My Silence base their
music on the kind of sound In Flames developed in their fine
_Clayman_ [CoC #48] and try to build some variety from there. They
succeed to a reasonable extent and have definitely made a record that
is very competent and quite entertaining, but they struggle to shake
off the In Flames similarities. Running at just under 35 minutes,
_Remotecontrolled Scythe_ packs plenty of guitar leads and hooks,
smart melodies and riffs, competent rhythmic structures and good
Gothenburg-like vocals. The first track absolutely reeks of In
Flames, and even though Enter My Silence try to be a bit more
inventive from that point onwards, the Swedes' influence can be heard
throughout most of the album. Of course if you like In Flames, then
_Remotecontrolled Scythe_ is likely to be worth investigating. For me
it proved to be enjoyable in purely musical terms, but when set in
the context of what has already been done in the genre, this is not
good enough to become an especially relevant record. Still, the band
seems to have vast potential; maybe they will be able to evolve into
something more unique in the future.
[Paul Schwarz: "_RS_ could be a missing In Flames album with a few
programmed touches added in for variation -- that's how "early In
Flames" Enter My Silence sound to me. I could cite half a dozen
other influential (and not) Gothenburg bands in trainspotting Enter
My Silence's influences, but it would be pretty pointless. This is
neither exciting nor fresh-sounding, and I'd recommend Darkane or
God Forbid's latest albums if you want to hear something interesting
done within this aggressive/melodic mould."]
Event Down - _Sift_ (<Independent>, 2001)
by: Adrian Bromley (3 out of 10)
While I have always been an Alice in Chains fan (I still am, even
though it has been years since a new recording), I find it a little
disturbing that so many bands out there are still trying to capture
the same dark, broody sound that AiC made so popular. Event Down is
one of those bands that has worked hard to get where they are by
playing dark, heavy alternative rock, but still have a hard time of
shedding their influences. This three-song recording doesn't really
stir any kind of response from me other than coming off as very
bland. The music comes off sounding very mediocre with a singer who
tries too hard to make his voice sound creepy and intense. More work
is indeed needed before Event Down can really start to attract label
attention.
Contact: Event Down, 205 B S. 20th Ave., Bozeman, MT 59718, USA
mailto:contact@eventdown.com
http://www.eventdown.com
Exhumed - _Slaughtercult_ (saw-blade reissue) (Relapse, July 2001)
by: Paul Schwarz (music: 7 out of 10; saw-blade: 9 out of 10)
About a year and a half ago I talked to Tom G. Warrior about the
Celtic Frost reissues. In discussing the influence 'Frost have had on
black metal, I related to Tom what Fenriz from Darkthrone once said:
"Darkthrone is just pure Celtic Frost". Tom objected. He pointed out
that Darkthrone are not like Celtic Frost in a very important
respect: Celtic Frost was always about evolution and progression. In
a similar way is the comparison between Exhumed and Carcass rightly
understood -- although Exhumed are not producing something that
sounds as fresh when compared to Carcass as Darkthrone generally does
when compared to Celtic Frost. Exhumed don't sound like Carcass as
much as they sound like a Carcass rip-off band -- there is a
grand difference between the two. Exhumed can construct blasting
grind/death songs of moderate quality. They put these on an album
with a safe and limited but nonetheless enhancing production. Where
they can they lean towards mimicking the sound, style -- or both
combined -- Carcass or other creative bands who did the same things
better, thus are a moderately enjoyable listen. _Slaughtercult_
leaves a terrible aftertaste, yet it is quite tolerable to listen to.
This saw-blade-shaped-CD reissue has a crap-sounding bonus track
which is of no consequence, but its actual presentation is killer!
The saw-blade CD has sharp teeth, and looks particularly cool because
its surface brilliantly pastiches the look of an actual circular saw
blade.
Exordium - _Exordium_ 10" (Northern Heritage, 2001)
by: Alvin Wee (8 out of 10)
More obscurity and aggression from the stables of Northern Heritage.
This time round it's another bunch of their Finnish countrymen
thrashing up a fierce holocaust, paying not-too-subtle homage to old
Immortal and more recent Marduk. The four tracks on offer here brand
this Finnish trio as another addition to the growing horde of
neo-holocaust black metallers emerging from the underground. Tight,
caustic and ferociously convincing, these Northmen hurl blizzards of
frost forth, with Kemppainen's vitriolic shrieks cutting imperatively
through the whirlwind of razor-sharp guitars. The band's ability to
retain control while blazing ahead at full speed deserves special
mention: never once do they lose their grip on the proceedings the
way many play-as-fast-as-we-can neophytes do. Packaging is of the
usual Northern Heritage standard (bearing in mind it's a vinyl-only
label) and the beautiful, textured sleeve is all the more impressive
coming from a small label like this. Killer stuff here, and certainly
an act to keep their peers (read: Watain) on their toes.
Contact: Northern Heritage, P.O. Box 21, 15141 Lahti, Finland
Failed Humanity - _The Sound of Razors Through Flesh_
by: Paul Schwarz (7 out of 10) (Candlelight, May 2001)
Seven years after forming, Failed Humanity now feel they have a
totally stable line-up, and have got their debut album out. It's
pleasant to find that the time has not been spent entirely in
vain; _TSoRTF_ is both chaotic and brutal, and is even backed by
a production which balances pulsating percussion-work and ugly,
chugging guitars. With the popularity of grinding death metal
currently blossoming in continental Europe -- and looking to reach
the kind of level it has enjoyed in the US for many years now --
Failed Humanity may find some fans in today's extreme music scene
despite the fact that they fail to significantly define themselves as
apart from "the pack" on any creative plane. Unless you're very much
uninitiated to "grinding death metal" as a musical "style", nothing
here will be likely to grab your attention; _The Sound of Razors
Through Flesh_ will likely simply pass you by. Failed Humanity
are marginally more proficient with their instruments than the
death/grind average these days -- and though this may give them some
edge in the future, they cannot yet even hope to challenge the likes
of Nasum, Cephallic Carnage or Assuck; I wouldn't bet on Failed
Humanity ever making an album that will define them individually on
the death/grind map.
Faith and the Muse - _Evidence of Haven_ (5 out of 10)
Faith and the Muse - _Elyria_ (4.5 out of 10)
by: Aaron McKay (Metropolis, 2001)
Musically opaque in tone, Faith and the Muse hovers a nearly spoken
female voice delicately over a bleached sound of hollow guitars and
slight background electronics. William Faith and Monica Richards are
the pair responsible for all music and vocals in this group.
Furthermore, the vastly interesting layout and artwork on this
group's covers falls squarely as duties belonging to Ms. Richards.
The material on both discs would remind the listener of a score to a
enigmatic movie on the Arts and Entertainment channel about three o'
clock in the morning. Having moments akin to initial Mortiis
offering, William and Monica can no doubt manufacture a mood within
their songs. Where this couple of discs falls short, in my opinion is
variance; I struggle to absorb Faith and the Muse until I force
myself to do so, but this is contingent only upon my desire to do so.
In other words, nothing grabs the listener here unless he or she is
sitting in a Victorian high-back chair in a cavernous room adorned
with purple drapes. Maybe that is exaggerating things a touch much,
but the core idea is the same. _Evidence of Haven_ is more to my
taste in this kind of genre, with semi-alluring tracks like "Dead
Leaf Echo" and the upbeat "Plague Dance" flooding me with a Fear of
God feel. _Elyria_ has a slower, nearly stagnant ebb and flow to it;
overly tame and pretty docile with less texture than _EoH_ and
especially Faith and the Muse's follow up effort, _Annwyn, Beneath
the Waves_, my preferred release from the duo. Faith and the Muse
state in their _Evidence of Heaven_ release "(T)hose who have
abandoned their dreams... will discourage yours." At the risk of
dashing anyone's fantasies, I'd look elsewhere for a salubriously
haunting goth experience.
Fear Factory - _Digimortal_ (Roadrunner Records, April 2001)
by: Quentin Kalis (6 out of 10)
I was hoping that on this album Fear Factory would abandon some of
the annoying "nu-metal" stylings that plagued their previous album
_Obsolete_ [CoC #32]. I was hoping for something as innovative and
original as _Demanufacture_ or _Remanufacture_ [CoC #20]. Instead, we
are presented with little more then a rehash of _Obsolete_. Some
minor changes here and there, but apart from atrocious rapping on
"Back the Fuck Up", no surprises. In retrospect, the rap seems to be
inevitable given the band's tendencies on "Edgecrusher" off the
previous album. For those unfamiliar with Fear Factory, what we have
here are is industrial-tinged nu-metal. Fear Factory appear to have
found their comfort zone and are reluctant to venture outside its
borders. This time around they sound even more like Korn and others
of their ilk. Again Fear Factory expand on the concept of their
previous albums, that of the conflict between man and machine. This
trademark, like many others, is growing increasingly stale -- like
the by-now obligatory inclusion of two slower, less heavy songs.
Admittedly, "Invisible Wounds (Dark Bodies)" is probably the best
song on the album. On a positive note, the musicianship is above par.
Dino will never be known as a virtuoso guitarist, but he has
undoubtedly created his own incontrovertible style. More's the pity
that he sounds so much like Korn, utilising the same rolling guitar
sound. Bell prefers to shout rather then growl, though his ethereal
clean singing is vastly under utilised. Herrera shows us once again
why he is regarded as one of the metal drummers. This is not really a
bad album; the musicianship can't be faulted, the songwriting is not
too bad... it's just too predictable, and we have grown to expect so
much more from this band.
Finntroll - _Jaktens Tid_ (Spikefarm Records, 2001)
by: Brian Meloon (7 out of 10)
Finntroll's second release shows them refining and expanding upon
the unique elements of their debut [CoC #45], namely the mixing
of melodic blackish metal with polka (yes, including accordion).
Still, these elements are downplayed, as most of their music
is comparable to Bal-Sagoth, utilizing the same kind of tight
integration of keyboards into melodic black/Viking metal. Finntroll
also incorporate some more traditional-sounding folky melodies in
places. The production is top-notch and the playing is solid but not
overly technical. Overall, this is a competent release, and should
appeal to fans of Bal-Sagoth, Covenant and the other bands playing
similar music. My favorite song would be the up-tempo "Slaget vid
Blodsalv", as it is the best example of their version of metallized
polka.
God Dethroned - _Ravenous_ (Metal Blade, April 2001)
by: Paul Schwarz (8.5 out of 10)
Once again, God Dethroned succeed where so many fail; once again, God
Dethroned have managed to meld aggressive, raging death metal with an
uncommon sensitivity and sense of how to use melody and (primitive)
atmospherics. The dynamics of this, their fourth, full-length are
the finest and sharpest the band have yet managed to create;
that's progress for you. The addition (for this recording only) of
Nile/ex-Angelcorpse powerhouse percussion pounder Tony Laureano gives
_Ravenous_ an extra edge over _Bloody Blasphemy_ [CoC #41] -- and
though fans may well argue over which ultimately has a better batch
of songs, I'll wager _Ravenous_ will not be voted by even the most
backward-looking aficionado as the lesser for the performances laid
down or the powerful sound achieved. God Dethroned may be very
partial to death-thrashing their way merrily along at quite a pace,
but their aforementioned taste for dynamics effectively breaks up
their brutal onslaught; tempo shifts are frequent enough to prevent
descent into monotony at any point on the album. God Dethroned don't
need speed to excel either -- powerful mid-pacer "The Iconoclast
Deathride" proves that fact more than amply. Admittedly, there is
nothing truly cutting edge on offer, but yet _Ravenous_ is worthy of
attention if you're in need of a fresh-sounding -- rather than
original or innovative -- death/thrash album.
Grog - _Odes to the Carnivorous_ (Shock Wave Records, March 2001)
by: Pedro Azevedo (7 out of 10)
Combining darkly humorous gore with death/grind, Grog are clearly one
of the main exponents of the Portuguese brutal death scene. _Odes to
the Carnivorous_ is their first record for the French Shock Wave
Records and the follow-up to their 1997 effort _Macabre Requiems_.
Having to replace their drummer during the album's recording sessions
mustn't have helped, but the new skinsman does quite well in keeping
the rhythmic section competent as the band crushes and grunts through
just over half an hour of enjoyable death/grind. Grog may not be a
very technical band, but think not of mindless grindcore blasting. On
this new effort, moreso than before, Grog harvest influences from
bands such as Cannibal Corpse, Carcass and Suffocation. Frequently
varying rhythms and occasional guitar flourishes are added to the
crunchy guitar riffs and deep grunts that populate most of the album
and the delivery is very competent. Some spoken intros are also used,
and they all seem redundant, contrarily to what Carcass did on
_Necroticism_. Grog do have the tendency to bring to mind several
other bands, but they generally succeed in convincingly delivering
some very acceptable and varied death/grind. Quite enjoyable, but
certainly not fundamental.
Haat - _Factum Luctisonus_ (Paniac, 2001)
by: Alvin Wee (8 out of 10)
Belgian label Paniac is steadily establishing itself as a reliable
purveyor of truly underground black metal, proudly joining other
vinyl-only institutions like End All Life, Sombre and Northern
Heritage. This vinyl slab is no different, being a career-spanning
document of Holland's elusive one-man Haat. Comprised almost entirely
of demo material, _Factum Luctisonus_ makes no pretensions at being
any well-produced piece of commercial stardom. Rather, the liner
notes take pains to emphasize the "coarse and primitive" black metal
cuisine served up by this lone butcher. Little remains to be said
about the music -- raw, primal vociferations spewed over a torrent of
barbed-wire chainsaws -- except for the fact that despite its
incredible simplicity and non-musicality, the hate invoked on this
record is almost palpable. Vitriolic and barbaric to the extreme,
this is some of the most nascently negative music I've heard in
a while. Though a tad under-developed for the most part, the
effectiveness of this stuff is alarming given the right setting and
frame of mind. Still, it's not a release for everybody, and seems
calculated to appeal only to a core of dedicated underground maniacs.
Well presented in a hand-numbered sleeve (250 copies, vinyl only),
and boasts an insert that's both informative and nicely produced. A
satisfying one that grows on you, and I'm proud to have it in my
collection.
Contact: mailto:paniac@wol.be
Honor / Graveland - _Raiders of Revenge_ (Resistance Records, 2001)
by: Alvin Wee (9 out of 10)
While this has been out for some time, tracking down copies of this
has been somewhat troublesome for those not in tune with the
steadily-growing NSBM scene. Indeed, this slab has seen more than its
share of praise since its release months ago, and rightly so.
Old-timers Graveland back up a relatively new name in the Polish
underground to produce a highly accomplished tribute to pagan pride
and war. Don't let the bands' infamous white-power background put you
off; the focus of this album seems more centered on fighting
Christianity than being overtly NS. Honor are somewhat reluctant to
leave their NS-rock influences behind them even on this presumably
black metal CD, but the four epic hymns they churn out ultimately
have more Graveland than Absurd in them. Which apparently works in
their favor: "Antichrist's Hammer" opens up the disc with a highly
infectious chorus, displaying Honor's knack for martial tunes and
rhythms. Subsequent tracks don't disappoint, with memorably epic
riffs often driving the anthems along at an inspiring pace, and the
galloping "Invaders" remains one of the most exhilarating tracks I've
come across in the genre. The band's decision to sing in Polish and
provide English translations pays off well, with the guttural
language sounding significantly more brutal and driven than English
would have. Graveland's contributions are far less exciting for the
simple fact that the three tracks merely reprise the band's past two
works. Sprawling, monumental soundscapes are what Graveland excel at
creating and the material here bodes well for the band's upcoming
album. Haunting atmospheres, uplifting chorals and sinister rasps
combine to create a moving work that brands Graveland as a premier
formation in the scene. All in all, an essential release for anyone
remotely interested in the Polish pagan underground, and one of the
most important releases of the genre.
Contact: http://www.resistance.com
Imperial Sodomy - _Tormenting the Pacifist_ (Criminal, June 2001)
by: Kirsty Buchanan (6 out of 10)
My ears, my beautiful youthful ears! Do not torment me any longer! I
cried and then I listened to this again, and again and again. Not
normally a big fan of this style of hard hitting metal, I was dubious
at first and then suddenly an epiphany. I have only heard one thing
this year that rivals this release for strength of sound and pure
metal energy. This is clearly evident in "Violence", which although
not up on a par with the likes of Immolation, it is quite clearly a
demonstration of the life in the band. The drumming throughout is
impressive, but is absolutely outstanding on "Dead Wishes" and
"Lobotomised". Ceaseless, intense and powerful. They impress greatly,
this release grew on me like mould on cheese: first on the surface,
then deeper to the very veins. I am astounded that this is the first
I have heard of Imperial Sodomy and wish for them to go on to greater
things. They are clearly a band that deserve some commercial
recognition for output such as this.
Incriminated - _Illusion of Love_ 7" (Northern Heritage, 2001)
by: Alvin Wee (6.5 out of 10)
One wonders if Northern Heritage specifically seeks out Hellhammer /
Celtic Frost clones. Yet another slab of Frost/HH worship [see Pest
review in this issue], this time served up lo-fi Finnish style.
Incriminated bludgeon listeners bloody with twisted riffs straight
out of Hellhammer territory, but fail to impress as promising starts
give way to sloppy arrangements and a general looseness about the
band. Depressing riffs such as these require a flair to carry off
convincingly, and these newcomers fall a few inches short of the
mark, ending up morosely rehearsal-like instead. All three tracks
blur into a mess of downtuned riffery and dissonant leads, creating
a charmingly obscure underground atmosphere reminiscent of Grand
Belials Key. To be fair, the overall mood on the album is suitably
raw and honestly passionate... a little experience and effort could
well ignite the few sparks on this EP. For now, Warhammer still rules
the Hellhammer roost.
Contact: Northern Heritage, P.O. Box 21, 15141 Lahti, Finland
Ingrowing - _Suicide Binary Reflections_ (Obscene, June 2001)
by: Kirsty Buchanan (6 out of 10)
Prague truly is the home of absinthe. Nothing but a hallucinogenic
alcohol could have spawned this wonder of auditory punishment. The
Czech Republic is in my mind now a place I must go. If not for the
scenery and alcohol, to discover what could have produced this little
wonder. I don't think it can be put better than in the promo: "hyper
technical grindcore fury that explodes in yer face like a container
full of corrosive alien pus". I'm not sure who they paid to say
that, but they certainly know their stuff. This is true extreme
grindcore. The outstanding thing is not just the music, but the
amazingly shocking translation of quite clearly originally bizarre
lyrics. "Binary reflections let distort the reality to postmortal
surreality", but nothing rivals my favourite lyric of all time:
"demodeous -- I am nasty joke of master of gloomagic". Wormwood is
clearly a strong influence, but that's no bad thing. Nor is it wrong
to be amused at the various band members committing comedy suicide on
the front cover (the best is attempting to swallow a chainsaw).
Contact: http://www.obscene.cz
Isis - _SGNL>05_ (Neurot Recordings, March 2001)
by: Pedro Azevedo (7 out of 10)
Atmospheric sounds that could be associated with some sort of
post-nuclear wasteland combine with distorted, psychotic-sounding
piano in the opening track of this MCD to set the stage for
what turns out to be a rather remarkable musical experience. The
apocalyptic-sounding "Divine Mother (The Tower Crumbles)" then hits
you hard with its bludgeoning mid-paced guitars and percussion,
complemented by harsh vocals, and leaves no doubt that the tower does
crumble. This is before the minimalistic yet initially brutal
atmospheric electronics of "Beneath Below" start pounding at your
ears, only to be joined by a surprising, dirgeful melodic line and
matching vocals. The slow crescendo of "Constructing Towers" then
follows, building its way to a comparatively disappointing climax. A
remix of "Celestial" by Justin Broadrick of Godflesh finishes off
the MCD: repetitive chords and rhythmic structure occasionally
accompanied by distant-sounding chants; a rather hypnotic combination
if you are in the right mood. This 35 minute long MCD lets itself
down somewhat on the last couple of tracks -- if you take away their
hypnotic qualities, that is, in which case they become just rather
boring after some time. It is a shame a significant part of it is not
as great as its first three tracks, which would clearly deserve
better than a 7 out of 10 themselves, but I am definitely looking
forward to hearing more material from Isis in the future.
Judas Iscariot / Krieg - _To the Coming Age of Intolerance_
by: Alvin Wee (8 out of 10) (Paniac, 2001)
A co-celebration in evil from two of neo-black metal's better
appreciated one-man acts. Little-known Finnish combo Crimson Evenfall
get thrown on Akhenaten's stinking altar with Judas Iscariot's cover
of their '96 demo-track "Winterheart". Deftly executed with the
typical JI flair: brimming with primitive blackness yet never losing
its grip on the trembling soul. In true Darkthrone-worshipping
tradition, the sheer simplicity of the riffing lends the music a
hypnotic, tense atmosphere. Krieg goes somewhat more directly for the
throat with all the frenzy of an Immortal winterstorm, churning up a
distinctly under-produced guitar maelstrom behind bouts of inhuman
screeching. Such mayhem is appealing in its own right, but with the
lacklustre production on this disc, merely comes across as greatly
weakened and bordering on the messy. Still not a bad performance
dripping lots of blood and fury, rounding off nicely this little slab
of iniquity. Limited and hand-numbered to 666 copies as usual.
Contact: mailto:paniac@wol.be
Junta - _Junta_ (<Independent>, 2001)
by: Adrian Bromley (8 out of 10)
The metal attack of trio Junta is one comprised of many different
elements. While death metal in essence, the music of Junta flies off
the handle into an abrasive death metal attack with hints of jazzy
riffs/drumming and heavy metal mentality. Needless to say, the music
is stop and start action that results in a lot of cool sounds and
styles to surface from this. The production of this five-song
recording is pretty good, not great, and I think that the somewhat
edgy flow of things gave some substance to the anarchy within. Choice
cuts on this self-titled disc have to be the riotous charge of "This
Vast Indifference" and the shredding stomp of "Plight". Junta are a
good band that have managed to add some charm to the predictable
sounds that come with death music sometimes. Good from start to
finish.
Contact: mailto:ian.mccartney@purchase.edu
Karma to Burn - _Almost Heathen_ (Spitfire, September 2001)
by: Aaron McKay (5 out of 10)
What to do? I find myself in a predicament of perplexing proportions.
This West Virginia three piece is an obviously talented trio, but
their style isn't something I find myself intrigued by. The groove
present in all ten tracks on _Almost Heathen_ is opulent and lavishly
rich -- no doubt there. There are no vocals at all; it has been that
way since putting out their self-titled debut in 1997. I may have
liked to hear that particular manifestation of the band since the
all-instrumental version of Karma to Burn leaves me a bit desiccated.
This being my first exposure ever to this outfit, I cannot draw any
comparisons to previous material. I understand the band opened for
Metallica a number of times, but I am unable to say conclusively if
that was "old" or "new" Metallica; my guess is "new". I can tell you,
however, if you are a fan of heavily melodic, trippy, groove-laden
instrumental material, Karma to Burn may be for you. For me, although
not a prerequisite, I'd appreciate some vocals from KtB and a broader
range of material, too, I think. As for my predicament, I resolved
how to score this by anticipating how much I will listen to _Almost
Heathen_ and five times out of ten is high-ending it a bit, but KtB
are skilled musicians and that counts for something; that much is
evident.
Keelhaul - _II_ (HydraHead, May 2001)
by: Paul Schwarz (10 out of 10)
A classic one-of-a-kind, _II_ is an album into which Keelhaul have
poured so much of themselves that the result could not quite have
been achieved by any other group individuals: _II_ seems to me to be
a very pure expression of the musical feelings of the four men who
make up Keelhaul. On the other hand, _II_ seems to me to be a record
that is deeply relevant to the "noisecore underground" -- disparate
as their links between each other in many cases are, the various
groups of people operating on similar musical wavelengths do merit a
collective classification. _II_ is proof that placing boundaries on
the exploration of the basic instruments of rock is a foolish thing
to do. Keelhaul demonstrate what brilliance can come from simply
letting yourself play and seeing what the result is later; it works
because Keelhaul are such incredible but free musicians, with
according "musical minds". Impossible to describe in words and do it
anything like justice, _II_ rocks around the atomic clock with
unsurpassed style and brilliance.
Khold - _Masterpiss of Pain_ (Moonfog, 2001)
by: Aaron McKay (6.5 out of 10)
This four-piece outfit from Norway exposes some of the more inclement
elements to the black metal world with _Masterpiss of Pain_. I hear a
lot of Tulus' _Evil 1999_ [CoC #43] on this CD, and that is a really
good thing. "Old" is a word I might use to describe Khold. The band's
style is by no means stale, but the style evident on _Masterpiss of
Pain_ is archaically deliberate -- so much so that the listener
either becomes drowsy or hyper; I find little middle ground between
the two. Written in ancient Norwegian language, Khold adds to their
mystique. This fails them in only one place that I can tell -- track
eight, "Mesterverk av Smerte". The linguistics and panache fail to
connect and the song comes across as missing its mark. Other than
that, I should appreciate _Masterpiss of Pain_ more than I do, but
anymore, if it is not truly an outstanding effort, I cannot reward
banal efforts with good marks. Khold is better than most, granted,
but musically it leaves me a bit on the chilly-side. First, find
yourself a copy of _Evil 1999_; a superior effort in the same vein,
only more interesting.
King Diamond - _Decade of Horror_ (Massacre Records, 2001)
by: Alvin Wee (6 out of 10)
Whether the _Decade of Horror_ box-set is a sincere celebration
of the King's longevity in the scene or just another transparent
money-making venture is anyone's guess, but I for one acknowledge the
logic in collecting the band's later, less established work in one
convenient package. Four opuses from the Nineties displayed here:
_The Spider's Lullabye_, _Voodoo_, _The Graveyard_ and the recent
_House of God_. Each album is beautifully presented on luscious
picture vinyl, but sorely missed are the usual extras found in
box-sets of this time. Devoid of any posters, special items or even
inserts, the box feels disappointingly empty given the high standards
expected of a major label like Massacre. Considering the King's
propensity for churning out highly engaging lyrics, the lack of
printed material is deplorable, which mars greatly an otherwise
lavishly rendered release of all four albums. Also, aesthetics differ
with each disc, with the lacklustre artwork on _The Graveyard_ in
stark contrast to the breathtaking _Voodoo_ disc, with its intricate
illustrations of maps, character portraits, etc. Might be worth the
cost of the entire set. But then again... Let's hope Metal Blade
picks up the cue with a better Mercyful Fate set.
_The Spider's Lullabye_: Took me a while to appreciate this
album full of twisted melodies, but once it sunk in, this album
became one of the most insidious and unforgettable in my book.
_The Graveyard_: A fantastic album that didn't have any trouble
drawing me in. As eerie as ever, and perhaps a hark back to the old
days? Killer stuff.
_Voodoo_: Another original concept album that draws its effect
from the swamps of Louisiana. Unique and not quite as straightforward
as in the old days, but a little concentration should do the trick.
_House Of God_: Great song-based stuff that scores points for
departing from pure horror to more philosophical grounds. The
memorable music helps too!
Kult Ov Azazel - _Triumph of Fire_ (Pavement Music, March 2001)
by: Vincent Eldefors (7 out of 10)
We have grown used to hearing death metal bands pop up one after the
other from the Florida swamps, but here we actually have a black
metal band from this American paradise. But if Florida is the new
Eden, then Kult Ov Azazel is the complete opposite. These guys have
decided to play raw and icy cold black metal inspired by the early
Norwegian bands. Whether Darkthrone is one of their sources of
inspiration I do not know, but if they are, then I'm glad they didn't
copy the lousy production. The production was in fact handled by
Jeremy Staska, who is also responsible for albums from Malevolent
Creation and Hateplow. Nobody is surprised anymore when they hear
about American black metal bands, but from now on there is one more
quality band to keep track of. Unfortunately, many of the American
black metal bands are in some way connected to neo-nazi ideologies
which I really despise. I don't know if Kult Ov Azazel are, but I do
know that they are capable of composing decent, very intense black
metal with savage vocals. Sometimes their music gets a little
bit boring and the grim vocals slightly annoying, but there are
interesting riffs scattered around. With time, Kult Ov Azazel could
grow to become one of the top American acts in this field. The band
has only been alive since 1999 and _Triumph of Fire_ is their first
label release. A good, solid piece of dark art.
Contact: http://www.kultovazazel.com
Lacrimas Profundere - _Burning: A Wish_ (Napalm, May 2001)
by: Pedro Azevedo (7.5 out of 10)
This record's predecessor, _Memorandum_ [CoC #43], already showed a
strong Anathema influence. _Burning: A Wish_ is even closer to
Anathema at times (the beginning of "Solicitude Silence" and its
reprise of sorts "Re-Silence" could have fooled me); some other times
it harkens back to a style more identifiable as Lacrimas Profundere's
own (including some faster sections and death growls); and the rest
of the time shows the band moving into a more atmospheric, melodic
and gothic style of doom than before. This is saying quite a bit
considering _Memorandum_ was already quite melodic, but there was a
harsher edge to it which is all but gone now. Melancholic and
occasionally somewhat goth-like clean vocals are used a lot more
often than death growls this time around. The way the vocalist
sometimes drags his voice tends to annoy me, as does the drowsy
quality it tends to have when he does that. Some other times the
clean vocals bring to mind Anathema's Vincent Cavanagh, which is
not very surprising given the influence they have in Lacrimas
Profundere's guitar work and style to begin with. There is less
musical contrast in the record (not enough of the old "light and
shade" for my taste), and it is also more chorus-oriented. However,
while it is a fact that the music of Lacrimas Profundere has
become softer and for my taste less enticing, its quality remains
undeniable. Whether it will be to the taste of everyone who enjoyed
_Memorandum_ I cannot say for sure, even though that's likely to be
the case -- but Lacrimas Profundere don't seem to be heading in a
particularly original or unpredictable direction at all, so it should
be reasonably easy to figure out whether you're likely to enjoy what
they're doing these days before you buy the record. If you've never
heard anything by the band, then I'd say _Memorandum_ is clearly your
best bet, unless you're really looking for something on the softer
side of doom metal.
Lobotomy - _Holy Shit_ (No Fashion, 2000)
by: Aaron McKay (7 out of 10)
Yea, I do believe this one has been out awhile. The band is
apparently a bit behind on their release schedule and the new one, I
understand, is to hit the stores anytime soon as Lobotomy was aiming
for a May/June 2001 date. Until then, we have the five song EP _Holy
Shit_; a pleasurable ride through some of Stockholm, Sweden's finest
death/thrash experience. I won't drag this out, since those of you
Lobotomy fans probably have this nugget, but for those of you who are
new to the affair, this five piece has something to offer. Vocals
drudged from the bowels of detestation, sounding at times like
Charlie Silva from Dreams of Damnation. This style, surrounded in
a heavily choppy, manicured metal sound, becomes most alluring.
Recorded at Sunlight Studios, Lobotomy's sound is nowhere near
unique, but it captured this writer's attention amidst the piles of
CDs left to review. The band says, "Don't believe the hype, believe
in Lobotomy". You don't even need half your brain to take those words
to heart.
Lost Soul - _Scream of the Mourning Star_ (Relapse, February 2001)
by: Pedro Azevedo (9 out of 10)
Try to imagine a less adventurous version of Lux Occulta's _My
Guardian Anger_ [CoC #48] written and played by Vader. Done? Probably
not, because Lux Occulta are still not as well known as they deserve
to be. But never mind, Lost Soul don't really sound similar to them
anyway -- it's more their approach to writing extreme metal that
seems to have a few things in common with Lux Occulta's. _Scream of
the Mourning Star_ is fast -- very fast -- and quite unpredictably
varied at times. Most of the time, though, Lost Soul just unleash
their highly energetic, technical and rather memorable turbo-charged
death metal; but then they can throw you off with some unexpected
twist or turn every once in a while. The sheer velocity of their
playing and the intensity of their music really allow the band to
pull off these tricks. Their drummer is not only lightning-quick, he
also refuses to rely exclusively on his kickdrums for speed and
impact; powerful vocals and guitars complete a faultless mix, to
which unobtrusive keyboard passages are occasionally added. This is
one seriously potent and enjoyable death metal record from Poland. As
a matter of fact, and even though I realize Vader have written some
superb tracks in the past, overall I enjoy _Scream of the Mourning
Star_ better than any Vader album to date.
[Paul Schwarz: "I'll put it simply: the best Polish death metal album
since _De Profundis_ and a hot favourite for best death metal album
of the year. Stunning."]
Madder Mortem - _All Flesh Is Grass_ (Century Media, 2001)
by: Pedro Azevedo (9 out of 10)
I hoped Madder Mortem would be able to build on the quality of tracks
like "The Grinding Silence" from their full-length debut _Mercury_
[CoC #37] to produce the outstanding follow-up record they appeared
quite capable of achieving. As it turns out, Madder Mortem have
followed a slightly different path, but have nevertheless succeeded
in taking their sound to another, brilliant level. Agnete Kirkevaag
is certainly not your average female vocalist, so do not expect sweet
soprano vocals here -- this woman puts a lot of her soul into her
vocals, which are skillful, emotional and creative, and occasionally
also do carry the sort of subdued frailty that doom metal sometimes
requires. Madder Mortem may still be likened to early The 3rd and the
Mortal in some of their more tranquil passages, but the band
spends most of the time delivering a very personalized mixture of
crunchy, percussive riffing and doomy guitar work, a dynamic rhythmic
backbone and Kirkevaag's distinctive vocals. Furthermore, through
their intelligent songwriting Madder Mortem build and tear down
musical structures made of atmospheric elements, doomy or rocking
riffs remarkably well. Despite some line-up changes, Madder Mortem
have matured and evolved in a way somewhat akin to Katatonia in terms
of their sound, its variety not hampering the flow of the album, and
its individuality never at stake. Coincidentally or not, Madder
Mortem and Katatonia are also two of the very few bands whose lyrics
I have found interesting recently. Whilst personally I still prefer
Katatonia's _Last Fair Deal Gone Down_ [CoC #52], I think _All Flesh
Is Grass_ is an achievement of similar proportions for Madder Mortem
within their own musical style (which is not entirely comparable to
Katatonia's, besides the obvious difference in the vocal department).
Serious, mature, hard-hitting and emotional, _All Flesh Is Grass_
shows a band determined to follow their own path and forge their own
sound -- and in this instance they have done so with excellent
results.
Mayhem - _US Legions_ (Renegade Records, June 2001)
by: Quentin Kalis (3 out of 10)
_US Legions_ marks Mayhem's third live album and their second in as
many years. Before proceeding any further, let me just state that
only little more than half this album consists of live tracks -- the
last five tracks are inferior pre-production versions of songs from
_Grand Declaration of War_ [CoC #48], while tracks one to seven are
live songs. What I can't understand is why the compilers chose the
songs that they did. Only two tracks are live versions of songs from
_GDoW_, and these are also featured as pre-production versions. Such
repetition is tiresome and unnecessary. The remaining five tracks are
nothing we haven't heard before -- in fact, the same five tracks can
also be heard on _Mediolanum Capta Est_ [CoC #50], albeit recorded
at a different location. Strangely, _De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas_
is not represented by a single track, which is highly unusual
considering the album's status as a modern classic. Furthermore, the
aforementioned pre-production versions give the impression of being
hastily added in order to flesh out the album. If a new live album
release was unavoidable, surely they could have used songs that
Mayhem have yet to record live? What about "Ancient Skin"? Or "Cursed
in Eternity"? Personally, I think that a live version of "De
Mysteriis Dom Sathanas" without Attila's pseudo-operatic vocals would
make for a killer live song. I fail to see the need for a live album
so soon after the last one, especially one that doesn't really offer
anything new. _USL_ appears to have been compiled more for financial
reasons than for artistic concerns, and the album does absolutely
nothing to enhance or sustain Mayhem's considerable legacy. The only
thing approaching a high point on _USL_ are the live versions of "To
Daimonon" and "View From Nihil"; without these two songs I would have
given this album an even lower rating.
Melechesh - _Djinn_ (Osmose, May 2001)
by: Adrian Bromley (8 out of 10)
Drawn out in an epic fashion, the latest release from Melechesh (and
their debut for Osmose) is a wonderfully passionate expedition of
metal music. The term "Mesopotamian metal" has been thrown around to
describe the band's music, a term that sticks well with the theme
here and where the band takes their music. Drawing from the sounds
of his homeland (the Mediterranean), guitarist/vocalist Melechesh
Ashmedi has managed to successfully blend those sounds with the
vicious stride of death metal music. The sound is indeed unique. Just
listen to the music on notable numbers such as "Genies, Sorcerers and
Mesopotamian Nights" and "Rub the Lantern", songs that not only sound
strong, but lie within a real magical spectrum of sound. Another
unique attribute of the release is the work of Absu drummer Sir
Proscriptor McGovern pounding away on the drum kit. McGovern's fluid
flow of rhythmic bashings adds fuel to the drive of the band. A good
choice to snag him for work here. Do you fancy a ride into something
mystical and mysterious? Then _Djinn_ awaits you, my dear friends.
Merlin - _They Must Die_ (Great White North Records, 2001)
by: Chris Flaaten (5 out of 10)
Merlin is somewhat of a rarity, being a Russian death metal act led
by a female vocalist/bassist who actually was the one who formed the
band nine years ago. Female vocals sound interesting? Well, I had to
do some research to conclude that vocalist Mary is indeed a female,
as her death grunts are not very feminine. Rather repetitive and
emotionless, actually; she could learn a lot from Cadavaria of Opera
IX. Their music is traditional death metal; fast and semi-brutal.
Both the music and production sound "old" and most of the riffs here
have been done before. The verses in every song sound exactly the
same and make it hard to tell the songs apart. There are some
elements here that are interesting and the musicians play well.
Still, the sheer repetitiveness of this album makes it hard to
recommend.
Moonspell - _Darkness and Hope_ (Century Media, August 2001)
by: Chris Flaaten (7 out of 10)
Moonspell are back. Rumours from Century Media indicated that
Moonspell would return to the style from _Irreligious_, with the
heaviest atmospheres they have ever written. Sadly, these rumours are
unfounded. Still, this is a clear improvement from the utterly
disappointing _The Butterfly Effect_. With a simpler and less noisy
style, Moonspell now play a mellow blend of rock and metal. It is
quite soothing at times, but I miss the tension from _Irreligious_
and the variation from _Sin_. The first half of the album is clearly
stronger than the second, although track ten, "Than the Serpents in
My Arms", deserves an honorable mention. They have managed to sound
very "Moonspell" despite yet again changing their style of music.
This shows how important the guitar sound and vocals are for this
band's identity. This album releases Moonspell from the hospital, but
they need to regain some long-lost energy before they can be declared
as perfectly healthy again.
My Dying Bride - _Meisterwerk II_ (Peaceville, June 2001)
by: Pedro Azevedo (8.5 out of 10)
"Sear Me MCMXIII" is the proper way to open a good My Dying Bride
compilation, in my opinion, and part two of MDB's collection does
just that. Although it features naught but piano, violin and voice, I
feel this song epitomizes much of the spirit of My Dying Bride.
Towards the end of the disc, "Your River", another well-chosen track
from arguably the greatest doom metal masterpiece ever, _Turn Loose
the Swans_, wraps up the set of MDB material that can be found in
_Meisterwerk_. The two covers originally released in the _Peaceville
X_ compilation [CoC #31] then finish things off -- a somewhat
debatable option. In between, the disc flows in much the same way as
the first _Meisterwerk_. On the rare side of things, the album
features a good demo track from _Towards the Sinister_, a demo
version of "Vast Choirs" (originally from _As the Flower Withers_)
and "Follower", an unreleased track from the mostly ill-received and
hardly MDB-like experimentation of _34.788%... Complete_ [CoC #35].
Also included are the acoustic "Two Winters Only" from _The Angel and
the Dark River_ [CoC #8] and "She Is the Dark" from MDB's latest
studio album [CoC #44]. All of this provides significant insight into
MDB's various doom and death metal stages and shows a remarkably
large portion of what the band has been about across the years.
In the same fashion as part one of the compilation [CoC #51],
_Meisterwerk II_ offers some good value for money in terms of the
rare tracks it contains, whilst sprinkling the proceedings with the
superior quality of some better known songs. This second disc
achieves a better mix of classic songs than the _Like Gods of the
Sun_-drenched first part and provides a thoroughly entertaining
listen as well as interesting collector's tracks. Those who do not
own the MDB discography yet are advised to look into Peaceville's
massive series of re-issues as well; some of the greatest gems of
doom metal are there to be found.
Myrddraal - _Blood on the Mountain_ (Decius Productions, May 2001)
by: Adrian Bromley (8 out of 10)
From "Down Under" comes the thunder of black metal horde Myrddraal, a
stunning and totally powerful black metal act that showcases dynamics
and raw aggression. The band's disc _Blood on the Mountain_ is
highlighted by some of the most insane drumming (real raw) and
intense yet passionate screams I have heard in some time. And while
the production is miles away from the clean/slick work of Dimmu
Borgir's _Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia_, it still delivers the
same aggression of said record. Bathing in total anti-Christian
themes, Myrddraal sets the tone with strong lyrics and themes,
powerful songwriting (i.e. "Daughter of the Night", "What Once Was"
and the title track) that is backed up by an even more impressive
work of musicianship. There are hundreds of bands scattered around
the globe with the same determination as Myrddraal, but some go
unnoticed. I'm just glad I stumbled upon these guys 'cause now my
music collection is one CD stronger and the campaign against
Christianity has grown a bit more.
Contact: P.O. Box 71, Latham ACT 2615, Australia
mailto:the_myrddraal@hotmail.com
http://move.to/myrddraal
Contact: http://www.deciusproductions.com
Mystica - _Blinded By My Blood_ (Painkiller, 2001)
by: Alvin Wee (7 out of 10)
This is another one of those albums that leaves you undecided:
despite the solid musical expertise and enjoyable songwriting,
there's little from the album that really sticks with you. That
aside, _BBMB_ could well be the soundtrack to today's scene,
attempting to meld Gothenburg death with traditional black metal, and
only occasionally ending up sounding like a poor man's Immortal.
Typical of many newer acts these days, with a melodic black/death
hybrid so prosaic it's hard to describe. Still, it isn't a bad album,
with the blazing leads on cuts like "Illusion" and the title track
emphasizing the band's creative and musical wizardry. For what might
be described as the new Swedish sound, Mystica do pretty well
considering the territory's been pretty much covered by almost every
other band these days, and is still a nice break from all that messy
underground stuff creeping around. Even so, this isn't interesting
enough for me, and labels should start taking the hint that
crunchy guitars and Kris Verwimp artwork don't necessarily make a
money-pulling album. Oh, and Painkiller is up to its usual tricks by
putting the album out on four formats again...
Contact: mailto:painkiller@infonie.be
Necrology - _Malignancy Defined_ (Great White North Records, 2001)
by: Chris Flaaten (6.5 out of 10)
Dutch Necrology presents potent brutal death metal on this album,
which contains their _Cold Skin_ MCD accompanied by five new songs.
The old MCD actually has better production than their new tracks. The
newer production chokes the instruments slightly, almost as if the
music was recorded in a metal box. The band consists of competent
musicians, and the music is executed with great precision. The vocals
can be compared to those of Cannibal Corpse, but the vocalist
sometimes also utilizes some blackish screams. The music lacks some
variation though. With brutal death metal, I need large amounts of
either variation, technicality or crushing riffs to weigh up for the
fact that I get easily bored by the deep, emotionless vocals and, in
fact, the genre as a whole. _Malignancy Defined_ presents little
to spur my enthusiasm, apart from the old and more epic track
"Emotionless", the only track on the album that I don't find
completely emotionless, and on top of that it has some awesome riffs.
This is a promising death metal act, however, and they certainly have
enough talent to become a big thing within the genre.
Necronom - _Exordium_ (Winterthorn, April 2001)
by: Kirsty Buchanan (3 out of 10)
Dramatic. There is little else that can be said about this brief
outing by Necronom. Accomplished and dramatic. Lyrically similar to
the poetry of a teenage goth. "Provoking the gag reflex, I vomit up
my existence". How apt. This is not a bad record, nor is it not my
kind of thing, I just don't like it. I tried to, but I just couldn't
stand to hear it through more than twice. Good use of organs, though,
and the choral voice effect. Yet inevitably nothing less than pomp
and drama.
Neurosis - _A Sun That Never Sets_ (Relapse, August 2001)
by: Aaron McKay (7.5 out of 10)
It is no secret that I am a very large admirer of Neurosis's work. As
a matter of fact, right or wrong, I chose to witness their
performance at the Milwaukee MetalFest two years ago as opposed to
catching In Flames' first time in the United States. Neurosis had
such a grand show unfolding that I couldn't bring myself to leave
even for a split second -- it was -that- captivating. As most are
aware, this outfit from the sun-streaked California climate are
masters at developing a mood within the limitless vicinity they
inspire. More atmosphere than song structure, Neurosis, especially on
_A Sun That Never Sets_, generates a powerful homespun feel in which
total concentration is required, consciously or unconsciously, on the
part of the listener. With each new song, _A Sun That Never Sets_
cultivates an area in the mind's eye so seductively sublime in
texture and enriched with every ounce of energy this quintet has
to exhaust. One track never sounding like another, the scouring
sensation of "Falling Unknown" works in complete diametric form to
"Crawl Back In" later on _ASTNS_. Deep down, I believe that more of
this band's seventh album will eventually have a thriving effect on
me, but for the immediate future, I'd be more apt to enjoy _Times of
Grace_ or even the 1997 re-issue _Souls at Zero / Enemy of the Sun_.
Summing up, I am of the opinion that a fan of this band should never
question where they are being lead musically; just modestly submit to
what Neurosis has to offer, knowing in all likelihood that it'll
entirely take place described only as a land with a sun that never
sets.
No Return - _Self Mutilation_ (Listenable, 2001)
by: Matthias Noll (7 out of 10)
Post Bay Area, innovation-free but enthusiastically delivered, brutal
thrash metal is what No Return from France play on _Self Mutilation_.
Think _Beneath the Remains_ without uber-songs like "Inner Self",
Demolition Hammer's _Epidemic of Violence_ onslaught or Channel
Zero's self-titled debut (both highly recommended) and you're on the
right track. The Sepultura comparison is especially valid because of
the vocals, which have much in common with Max Cavalera on _BtR_ and
_Arise_, even though they are a bit more monotonous. I always had a
weak spot for Bay Area thrash metal riffing, and _Self Mutilation_
surprisingly often manages to transfer the good old days when Exodus
reigned supreme into a modern day context. Around the retro backbone,
things got beefed up by a decent, modern sounding production with
triggered drums, a couple of death metal elements and the up-to-date
speed and aggression with which the songs get delivered. Although the
addition of samples and rhythmic synthesizers on a couple of tracks
sounds somewhat out of place and without proper embedding into the
overall sound of _Self Mutilation_, this is a very enjoyable record
which gives me more pleasure for money than a lot of other stuff I've
heard recently.
Nokturnal Mortum - _Lunar Poetry_ (The End, 2001)
by: Brian Meloon (8 out of 10)
This was Nokturnal Mortum's first album (not counting their
_Twilightfall_ demo), and was originally recorded in 1996. This
re-release also includes a track called "Return of the Vampire Lord",
which was previously only released on a very rare split MC with
Lucifugum. The style is similar to that of their brilliant _Goat
Horns_ [CoC #31], though this album is not as refined and the songs
are generally shorter. The music is brutal black metal with heavy use
of keyboards and folky melodies. What really sets these guys apart is
their use of keyboards. While other bands generally either use
keyboards only for atmosphere or rely heavily on them to carry the
music, Nokturnal Mortum choose the middle ground. Their music is
guitar-driven, but the keyboards are integrated into everything they
do. The songs are generally mid-paced, but show a wide variety in
styles, due in part to the effective use of different keyboard
sounds. While the production could be stronger, the playing is
top-notch, with only a few clean vocal parts the only performance
flaw I could find. For its time, this was an outstanding release, and
even five years later, it's a pretty good record. In my opinion, it's
even better than the new material from the band. Fans of melodic
black metal should definitely check it out, though for those not
familiar with the band, I'd suggest _Goat Horns_ first.
Obligatorisk Tortyr - _Obligatorisk Tortyr_ (Osmose, April 2001)
by: Paul Schwarz (6.5 out of 10)
"Obligatory Torture": that's the translation of this Swedish
three-piece's name. That name suggests that Obligatorisk Tortyr's
grindcore should sound a lot more American than it actually does.
Obligatorisk Tortyr may principally be a grindcore band, but they
don't allow this to limit them to blastbeats, three-chord riffs and
lung-destroying screeches. The varied cocktail that this, their debut
album, thus presents you with has its good and bad points. On the
positive side, _OT_ is varied enough to not lapse into monotony with
the shocking rapidity of many a second-rate grindcore album; OT don't
merely attempt to repeat the same song 25 different ways -- or even
the same two songs 12 different ways. On the negative side, OT lack
impact: their variation of tempo means they never build-up pure
intensity through speed like Discordance Axis, Nasum or Hellnation,
while their lack of songwriting talent means that, though they vary
their tempo, they don't create the dynamic contrasts that embellish
so many great grind (or grind-leaning) releases -- His Hero Is Gone's
_Monuments to Thieves_ is just one album where such contrasts are
frequently and brilliantly used. OT also seem to lack a coherent --
or endearing? -- identity of their own. _OT_ combines a range of
elements unusual for run-of-the-mill grindcore or death metal, but
rarely offers a single song that is interesting and enjoyable enough
to listen to all the way through. Ultimately, _OT_ is more often
monotonous than invigorating.
Occult - _Violence and Hatred_ (Painkiller, 2001)
by: Alvin Wee (9 out of 10)
I must admit to having approached this two-tracker with some
trepidation given my recent less-than-satisfactory experience with
Painkiller signings, and wanting to retain my memories of Occult as a
semi-legend way back when. Kicking off the single powerfully with the
title track, Occult's latest incarnation completely erases all doubts
with their brand of classic Dutch death. Heavily rhythmic and
brimming with metallic energy, Occult sound fresher than ever before
with a thrashy edge reminiscent of Vader, only far cleaner. If the
first track hasn't broken your neck, the second will with its
infectious, headbang-inducing riffage. The band flaunts its maturity
and experience with ease, flitting back and forth comfortably between
crushingly heavy riffs and scintillating flights of fancy, all the
while maintaining their grip on the sheer energy coursing through the
music. As if the brilliant music weren't enough, the playing surface
of the CD comes laser etched with logos: it must be seen to be
believed! Absolutely exciting stuff, and if the album is anywhere
near this then we'll have a classic on our hands. Not sure if this is
for sale, but ask.
Contact: mailto:painkiller@infonie.be
Pest - _Towards the Bestial Armageddon_ 7" (Northern Heritage, 2001)
by: Alvin Wee (8 out of 10)
Northern Heritage strikes again with their customary flair,
presenting these somewhat whispered-about Danes on limited vinyl. If
the title looks familiar, it's because this is a re-release of the
long out-of-print EP released some time back....and worthy of
re-circulation it certainly is! While Darkthrone and Celtic Frost get
their usual tributes on the two meaty tracks, Pest manage to fend off
impending accusations of stagnancy with the sheer conviction of their
solid delivery. Opening thrasher "Satanic Winter" kicks things off
with a bang, the band's old-school sentiments suggestive of a
tighter, better-rounded Urgehal (if anyone still remembers them). Any
lack of originality is amply forgotten in the wake of the title
track, maintaining the slightly upbeat thrashiness of side A while
injecting a somewhat spry groove into the jet-black procession. Few
old-school bands achieve the level of consistency and freshness Pest
manage to endow their traditional style; it's especially memorable
for the fact that the two tracks on offer here put Aura Noir's most
recent offerings to shame.
Contact: Northern Heritage, P.O. Box 21, 15141 Lahti, Finland
Peter Murphy - _Alive: Just for Love_ (Metropolis, July 2001)
by: Aaron McKay (8.5 out of 10)
Countless kudos to Metropolis for picking up Peter Murphy for a deal.
Anyone sneering at this writer's appreciation for Mr. Murphy's
brilliant performance capability has never seen him live. My first
time bearing witness to Peter Murphy on stage was in St. Pete, Florida
with Nine Inch Nails opening the show in support of _Pretty Hate
Machine_ (that dates me, huh?). My esteem for this artist has done
nothing if not spiked to new heights. _Alive: Just for Love_ is a
double live CD and a masterful cross-section Murphy's talent and
tenure as a soloist, as well as with Bauhaus. Even covering some of
his former band's songs on disc two, "Who Killed Mr. Moonlight", "All
We Ever Wanted" and "Hope (Midnight Proposal)", joined for those
tracks by David J., formerly of Bauhaus, too. The guitarist is also
someone you may recognize -- Peter DiStefano of Porno for Pyros fame.
Peter Murphy's voice is truly at the top notch on _Alive: Just for
Love_, sounding like a harmonious cross between Neil Diamond and David
Bowie. Ousting _Deep_ or _Cascade_ as my number one choice for Mr.
Murphy's best and, as most of you know, live material is something I
am the most skeptical about. My melancholy disposition as of late
hinging on my fiancee being removed from my company for five
weeks makes this release all that more appropriate. Reminding me
ever-so-much of how -I- proposed, you'll have to listen to the dialog
immediately before the last track on the second disc, "Love Me
Tender". Bravo, Mr. Murphy -- BRAVO!
Contact: http://www.petermurphy.org
Project Pitchfork - _Daimonion_ (Metropolis, May 2001)
by: Aaron McKay (5 out of 10)
Around the nuclei, this European outfit, consisting of Peter Spilles
(vocals and keyboards) and Dirk Scheuber (keyboards and programming),
penetrates with a steadfast and technically agreeable blend of
rhythms and industrial beats. Clean, understandable vocals flatter
the driving force of the music. Lyrical content is publicized as
intelligent, but I might argue that description should be closer to
thought provoking or maybe "deep". The strength of this band seems to
be modesty and unpretentiousness used as a vehicle to get their
message across, but in some way it becomes lost. Whether that is
because they are more comfortable in a live setting or the recording
process isn't kind to Project Pitchfork's particular sound, I cannot
answer for sure. The true iridescence of _Daimonion_ comes in the
form of track five, "We Are One (Mirror Split Up Into Pieces)", and
the symbolically heavy "Last Call", track thirteen. Research some
other Metropolis; they might be more to your liking.
Proscriptor - _The Serpentine Has Risen_ (Dark Age, 2000)
by: Adam Wasylyk (7.5 out of 10)
Finally! A sophomore release! Another trip into the ambient/darkwave
world of Proscriptor is exactly what one needs to flush excess heavy
metal out of the system. One of America's leading acts in their
respective genre, it's the side project of Proscriptor McGovern from
America's occultic metal legends Absu. Their debut album _The Venus
Bellona_ ranks as one of my favourite non-metal records in my
collection and should stay that way for some time. _The Serpentine
Has Risen_ marks some progression in the classic Proscriptor sound,
but I fear some of its spontaneity may have been lost in the process.
Holding less than half the number of songs that _TVB_ held, the eight
songs (or "voyages") on _The Serpentine Has Risen_ appear to have had
more time spent on them; they sound better composed and were written
with each piece to be better described as a "song" and not so much a
"fragment" which can be seen on _TVB_. However, the material on the
new album is in essence less catchy and infectious, but does continue
in the tradition of its predecessor. Carrying the tradition over in
featuring a cover song, while _The Venus Bellona_ featured "I Ran (So
Far Away)", originally performed by A Flock of Seagulls, _The
Serpentine Has Risen_ sees a great treatment of Cliff Richard's
"Devil Woman" -- incidentally first pointed out to me by the editor,
who is always on his toes when it comes to the work featuring this
individual. While the newest Proscriptor recording, in my honest
opinion, doesn't fully measure up to their debut, it still stands on
its own as a worthy ambient/darkwave recording.
[Gino Filicetti: "As Adam has already stated: Finally a sophomore
release!! You can't imagine how long the small but elite CoC
writer's Proscriptor fan-club has been waiting for this release.
Naturally, all of this pent up anticipation has infinitely escalated
our expections of this album, so living up to them would be quite
the insurmountable challenge. Perhaps this explains our lukewarm
reception of this release as I share Adam's opinion that this record
does not quite measure up to _The Venus Bellona_. What I find
strange are the many pieces of _TVB_ that are spliced into the
background of a few songs on this album; although I'm sure
Proscriptor's intentions were to give the feeling of progression and
continuity, to me, it comes off a tad trite. However, I must admit
that over a continuous period of repeated listens, this album --
much like Absu's _Tara_ -- is definitely starting to grow on me and
you can rest assured, that is the mark of a truly great album. If
you bought and liked _TVB_ you should definitely pick this up, but
be forewarned: Patientence is an absolute MUST."]
Psychotogen - _Perverse and Unnatural Practices_
by: Adrian Bromley (7 out of 10) (Bring Out Your Dead, July 2001)
If the album's 42 second intro titled "Venom in the Voice" isn't
enough to get you all riled up and thirsty for a brutal death metal
assault, then you won't have any interest in Psychotogen. Luckily for
the band, after the opening number I was ready to let the fists fly
as I went into a death metal rampage. Tight, brutal and totally
drenched into death metal vibes, the music of this Baltimore-based
act flies out of the starting gate with deep vocal growls, shredding
guitar riffs and a punishing drum blast that could cripple anyone
getting too close. Technical on numerous levels, the playing here is
pretty rock solid; occasionally the band will slow things down and
hang for a few seconds before launching into another death metal
onslaught. At just over 32 minutes, Psychotogen does the right thing
by playing fast and furious (i.e. "In the Dust of Your Own
Nothingness", "Tears at the Flesh" and "Chaingod") and getting the
fuck out of there. They make no apologies for their brutality, they
just keep moving onto the next set of victims.
Contact: Bring Out Your Dead Productions, P.O. Box 312, Hunt Valley,
MD 21030, USA
mailto:bferg@boydp.com
http://boydp.com
Rebaelliun - _Annihilation_ (Hammerheart, September 2001)
by: Aaron McKay (4 out of 10)
There is no doubt this band has cornered the market on being the
"Brazilian extreme attack". Since their beginning in 1998, I know
this virulent four-piece has been amassing all the violent speed
evident on _Annihilation_. Vocals similar to that of Steve Tucker's
on _Formulas Fatal to the Flesh_ and drumming suggestive of a
Flo Mounier (Cryptopsy) and maybe a Max Kolesne (Krisiun) mix,
Rebaelliun's fundamental sound is very much like what you'd expect
from a Deicide/Immolation blend. Track six, "Unborn Consecration",
demonstrates some of the finest guitar work on the whole CD.
Beginning at the three minute and twenty second mark, the masterful
solo pitted against the backdrop of agonizingly fast playing is
remarkable. Again on track eight, "Bringer of War", there is
undoubtedly some noteworthy interplay between Rebaelliun's members
-- enough to make one take serious notice. Outside of those
two honorable mentions, and all due credit for harboring the
unquestionable desire for vastly accelerated velocity, this band
leaves me ostensibly unconcerned for any of the material on
_Annihilation_.
[Paul Schwarz: "It's a pity that _Annihilation_'s arrangements are
rather boring, because the production that Andy Classen at Stage
One studio has given the album is truly massive. Unfortunately,
Rebaelliun rely too much on the impact of their sound, and haven't,
in my opinion, put enough into making their music creatively
interesting. Nonetheless, _Annihilation_ could flay the skin off
_Gateways to Annihilation_, and that's quite an indication of how
the tables of extreme music have turned in recent years."]
Sceptic - _Pathetic Being_ (Last Episode, May 2001)
by: Pedro Azevedo (8 out of 10)
Polish bands seem to have been coming out of the ground in rapid
succession lately, and recently the duo of Lost Soul and Sceptic have
certainly impressed me. Contrarily to the more brutal Lost Soul [also
reviewed in this issue], Sceptic's very technical death metal boasts
plenty of Atheist and Death influences -- to the extent that one of
my first thoughts when listening to _Pathetic Being_ for the first
time was whether they had managed to borrow the excellent Richard
Christy from Death. Maciek Zieba is the man who is actually behind
the drums for Sceptic; and whilst he is not quite as outstanding as
Christy, his skill nevertheless is one of the album's points of
interest. The rest of Sceptic are also very technically-minded, but
still manage to create interesting songs that do not tent to get lost
in redundant technical flourishes. The unusually audible and busy
bass guitar work also deserves to be mentioned. I do feel that Michal
Skotniczny's somewhat old-fashioned rasped shouts could have been
better, but they're not terribly ill-suited to this style of
technical death metal. The vocalist fails to add much to the final
result, but isn't likely to really get on anyone's nerves either. The
production isn't very powerful, but is also unlikely to become a very
significant annoyance. Overall, _Pathetic Being_ is a dynamic and
enjoyable record throughout, has enough variation to keep things
interesting without sounding disjointed, and achieves a good balance
between technicality and effective songwriting. Sceptic could very
well be a band to watch closely in the future.
[Paul Schwarz: "Covering Nocturnus ("Arctic Crypt") is not a
run-of-the-mill thing to do, and though Sceptic still have a few
kinks to iron out before they should be looked at as serious
contenders on death metal's international scene, they are still
anything but run-of-the-mill. Technical, dynamic and varied, they
wear the influence of Nineties Death emblazoned on their sleeve --
with tattoos of Cynic and Atheist no doubt lurking beneath."]
Silentium - _Altum_ (Spikefarm, 2001)
by: Pedro Azevedo (7 out of 10)
Puzzling record, this. Not that it is all avantgarde or difficult to
describe; in fact, originality is not particularly abundant here.
Instead, what puzzles me about _Altum_ is the way the band tend to
sound quite like bands such as My Dying Bride and EverEve, and then
finish the album sounding like Tristania, without leaving much of an
impression of what Silentium themselves really sound like. There
should have been more regard to the structure and flow of the record
as a whole, since the band's musical skill is evident as their silky,
violin and keyboard-enhanced, romantic doom metal evolves. All things
considered, Silentium's style hasn't changed much since their debut
_Infinita Plango Vulnera_. They have matured somewhat, but still
lack direction and still need better male vocals (although their
current vocalist does show some improvement). _Altum_ is a somewhat
inconsistent album, but Silentium are clearly a talented band and
they do seem to possess enough skill to write a great album in the
future. For the time being, however, they still need to find their
own identity and some more consistency.
Steel Prophet - _Book of the Dead_ (Nuclear Blast, June 2001)
by: Kirsty Buchanan (7 out of 10)
Fantastic fun. There is nothing to detract from the feel good flavour
of this album; I enjoyed it from start to finish, many times over. I
have to confess to having it on repeat for about two days. "Burning
Into Blackness" is one of the best examples of what this record
really is, the truly acceptable end of rock/pop crossovers. With so
many growling Europeans on the scene, it's heartening to hear an
American take pop-metal back to its roots and have a distinct sound
of Sabbath about them. The vocalist's voice is one which can only be
described as the mongrel child of Rob Halford and Ozzy. His wail is
an impressive sound, one which is welcome in this world of nu-metal.
There's nothing to beat a good fun slice of Eighties style Americana
rock. In opening track "When Six Was Nine" I can hear the reason my
friend has attempted to steal this from me three times; it is nothing
less than good, clean, wholesome metal.
Stratovarius - _Intermission_ (Nuclear Blast, June 2001)
by: Kirsty Buchanan (5 out of 10)
I haven't laughed so long or hard in some time. I've been awaiting
eagerly the latest ejaculation of material from Stratovarius. And I'm
not disappointed, it is exactly as I expected. Air guitar-tastic.
I've had to replace imaginary strings! Not content with their own
masturbatory guitar techniques, they felt the need to cover Judas
Priest and Rainbow. I don't think anything else needs to be said on
that front. Rainbow did it their way and it's not necessary for
Stratovarius to echo exactly the very nuances of Dio. Still, a new
journey through the minds (and up and down the guitar necks) of
Stratovarius is a welcome addition to any record collection. If only
after a few outings as a coaster. However, the live performances hint
at the potential Stratovarius wield when freed from the bonds of a
studio and the necessary mixing desk. A more impromptu feel and
something more lively is projected by the band. "Hunting High and
Low" seems not to belong because of the change in the band from
studio to live.
The Darksend - _Antichrist in Excelsis_ (X-treme Records, 2000)
by: Pedro Azevedo (6 out of 10)
This is one of those completely uninspiring album titles that I
actually find intriguing, though only in the sense that it makes me
wonder whether the music is going to be as generic as it indicates.
Although they seem to have drawn great inspiration from Emperor for
their album cover, it turns out to be Dissection and Naglfar that The
Darksend most often try to emulate. The band's obvious penchant
for melodic black metal is reinforced by the occasional use of
female vocals and acoustic guitars. Despite their complete lack of
originality and thematic interest, The Darksend generally do manage
to keep their head above water and the music usually moves along
nicely -- this also in spite of the rather mediocre vocals. By the
way, one has to notice the consistency of their song titles, such
as: "Hell's Manifesto", "Lightmare", "Profanity Be My Name" and
"Paradise, Thy Name Is Hell". This last one closes the album and
consists of some nice female vocals accompanied by acoustic guitar...
until the band's rather irritating vocalist pompously proclaims that
"We are the Darksend, and we seek to dominate the worlds both
spiritual and mundane, and we shall -- WE SHALL". And thus the album
ends: in what I perceive as rather comical fashion, unless you had to
pay for this record. Nevertheless, The Darksend do their job
reasonably well most of the time, and even though the record suffers
from considerable irregularity, the band does achieve several good
passages (but then they tend to sound reminiscent of some other
band). Overall, however, despite their reasonable competency at
creating Swedish melodic black metal, The Darksend do not add any
real originality or extra spark to the mix, nor do they get anywhere
near challenging the bands who inspired them.
Therios - _II_ (Hollenden Records, May 2001)
by: Adrian Bromley (7.5 out of 10)
This CD almost blew the speakers on my boombox. Imagine the chaos and
noise that would result from a car crash in your living room while
you were watching TV on the couch. Got that mental picture? Then you
know what to expect from Therios on this 40-minute release. The band
speeds through brash sonic fits made up of fuzzed-out sonic blasts
and violent waves of ear-bleeding mayhem. Think Merzbow toying with a
transistor radio. This is some screwed-up shit, yet I can't stop
cranking it. Who said noise like this couldn't have some redeeming
qualities? You've all been warned.
Contact: Hollenden Records, P.O. Box 18129, Cleveland Heights,
Ohio 44118-0129, USA
Throneaeon - _Neither of Gods_ (Hammerheart, September 2001)
by: Aaron McKay (5 out of 10)
This Swedish quartet employs a subtle musical variation on a pretty
typical death metal theme. The guitars are gracefully spliced
into Throneaeon's savage style. An example of what I mean is
clearly showcased on track five, "Seven in Heaven, Seven on Earth",
nearly one minute and twenty-two seconds into the song. Naturally,
the standard anti-religious subject matter is partly exercised on
_Neither of Gods_. The misspelled song printed on the CD insert,
"Strenght (sic) of the Flesh" and "As It Has Come to End" would have
to be my choices for the most accomplished pieces on this inaugural
full length from the band. I have to credit Throneaeon for putting
"As It Has Come to End" as the last thing they leave the listener
hearing; by far the strongest cut off of _NoG_. Otherwise, there is a
lot of room for improvement, but I surely could conceive of
Throneaeon tailoring their sound to correspond with a less ordinary
death metal approach in the future. Their website, on their other
hand, is extraordinarily well done; check it out.
Contact: http://www.throneaeon.com
Various - _Triarchy of Vasconia_ (War Is Imminent Productions, 2001)
by: Vincent Eldefors (7 out of 10)
Most of you are probably already familiar with the Basque country of
Spain because of the activities of ETA, but fortunately there is more
than just terrorism going on in this area of southern Europe.
_Triarchy of Vasconia_ is a triple split disc from a small Spanish
label that seems to specialize in black metal, and it features three
bands: Adhur, Aiumeen Basoa and Ilbeltz. Without a doubt this is one
of the most interesting black metal albums I have heard in a very
long time. To tell you the truth this is not purely black metal, but
rather a mix of pagan metal and folk music. Almost everything can be
found here -- nice clean vocals (both male and female, even
operatic), evil screams, haunting keyboards, ocean waves, violins,
flutes, accordions... All of these bands are very similar in style,
but the one that stands out is Ilbeltz, with several beautiful
melodies that even beat Storm and Vintersorg. The acoustic parts are
by far the best, while the electric instruments leave a lot more to
be desired. The music is enshrouded in a very nice Basque atmosphere
in order to revive ancient traditions. If these Basque bands continue
to develop further we could see some major label acts coming out of
there, because this kind of music has never been done before. Storm
did it the Norwegian way, Otyg and Vintersorg the Swedish way, but
this is different. I also like the fact that the CD comes with
information about the bands and the Basque country.
Contact: War Is Imminent Productions, P.O. Box 5069, 35080, Spain
mailto:unholycross@unholycross.com
Vesperian Sorrow - _Psychotic Sculpture_ (Displeased, July 2001)
by: Adrian Bromley (9 out of 10)
Wow! Having grown ten-fold from their 1998 Displeased Records debut
release _Beyond the Cursed Eclipse_ [CoC #41], Texas black metal
aficionados Vesperian Sorrow bring their latest offering to the
forefront of the American black metal pack, releasing to this unkind
world a powerful sophomore record if there ever was one. Inspired by
the likes of Europe's black metal masters and classic heavy metal,
Vesperian Sorrow hold solid ground with _Psychotic Sculpture_, as
they parade their black metal mastery with solid musicianship and
creative passion. Just listen to the mighty opener "Solitude" at 9+
minutes and you'll be swept away by the amazing attention to detail
the band has assembled here. But while the opener is an interesting
number for us to embrace, the record offers up a whole lot more to
digest and explore. Other songs worthy of praise include the title
track, "The Singularity", the clever flow of "Into the Realm of
Dreams and Haunts" and "Arena Unorthodox". While there are numerous
black metal bands in North America making names for themselves (Absu,
Noctuary, Usurper, Black Funeral and Aurora Borealis), Vesperian
Sorrow are guaranteed a lot of attention when _Psychotic Sculpture_
hits store shelves. Time will tell if the North American black metal
horde latches onto Vesperian Sorrow as this CoC reviewer has. I raise
a flask to Vesperian Sorrow! Onward with your battle.
Contact: http://www.vesperiansorrow.net
Vitriol - _I-VII_ (Neurot Recordings, March 2001)
by: Pedro Azevedo (6 out of 10)
Recorded in the Cambrian mountains (Wales) by Ben Green of Godflesh,
Vitriol is an atmospheric musical entity that possesses some
redeeming qualities but seems unlikely to raise more than cursory
interest in anyone who isn't a dedicated fan of the genre. Having
read Green's very philosophical description of these roughly recorded
tracks, it seems to me that if you can embrace the concept that this
record is based upon, you may be in for quite a spiritual experience.
For everyone else, however, there may not be a lot in _I-VII_ to
justify a purchase. The rumbling voice and background atmosphere
of the third track and the more musical final one stand out
from the monotonous, depressive soundscapes. Apart from that, the
slowly evolving sequences of guitar distortion and "natural acoustic
phenomena" do little to cause any direct impression on the listener,
instead trying to stealthily creep their way into the subconscious.
There isn't a lot on this record to keep your attention focused on
Vitriol's work, so you are more than likely to find your mind
wandering off -- hopefully into some inner voyage, if you are in the
right frame of mind, but most likely towards your collection of
CDs to seek a better alternative. As far as background, purely
atmospheric soundscapes go, Vitriol is quite good; its use and
enjoyability as a record seems to me rather limited, however.
War - _We Are... Total War_ (Necropolis Records, 2001)
by: Aaron McKay (6 out of 10)
In CoC #42, Paul Schwarz didn't care a lot for this effort, giving it
a 3 out of 10. Earlier, Steve Hoeltzel granted a standing for War at
a 5 out of 10 in 1998 (CoC #29). Of my two esteemed and respected
colleagues, I align myself a touch more with Steve on this one. War
secures my respect here by the virtue of their honesty. A stark lack
of embellishment seems to drive this band forward with a ferocity
achieved by a simple few. Speaking of simple, there is little
substance to War other than Satan-praise and contemptuous metal.
Comprised of both _Total War_ and _We Are War_, this CD nicely
packages a couple efforts that have now become unavailable. Chaos
breeds chaos and it seems to follow War around like a lost puppy (see
the inside cover of _We Are... Total War_). All I can tell you, if
you are looking for some other (not necessarily better) Peter
Tagtgren, Mikael Hedlund and Blackmoon material, this compilation
effort might be for you.
W.A.S.P. - _Unholy Terror_ (Metal-Is Records, 2001)
by: Aaron McKay (7 out of 10)
Many would dismiss this '80s outfit as cartoon characters from the
1992 movie "Cool World", but that would be a regrettable error.
Having stood the test of time in the harsh, roller-coaster world of
metal (especially from that era), W.A.S.P.'s passion and total
commitment has never been questioned and surely remains uneclipsed.
The band seems to feed voraciously on controversy and dichotomy
alike, never satisfied solely with either one. Aside from the whole
P.M.R.C. debacle, this group's fascination with aberrant conduct
has always been more interesting. For example, taken unassumingly
from the "Widowmaker" (_Last Command_) playbook, the instrumental
"Euphoria" and gratifying "Evermore" on this album expose the soft
underbelly of this beast. As with everything W.A.S.P. has done since
its self-titled debut in 1984, _Unholy Terror_ is as crowded with
stimulating power as their stage should be at the Wacken Open Air
Festival on August 2nd. Listen to the nice guitar communication on
the last track, ten, "Wasted White Boys"; almost as musically
capricious as a modern-day "Blind in Texas" with all the insinuations
a la "I'm Alive". It fits very well into the theme running resolutely
throughout _Unholy Terror_. I did very much enjoy the annotation on
the inside of the CD booklet by the band's main songwriter, bassist,
guitarist, producer and singer, Blackie Lawless. Lawless shines an
illuminating light on his take as it pertains to people's perceptions
of religion. It is well thought out and devoid of antagonistic
language. The frontman merely sets forth his opinion and comments on
songs included on the release. With such strong songwriting and a
distinctive voice never confused with other singers, I'd say _Unholy
Terror_ is par for the course in the on-going game W.A.S.P. has been
championing for nearly twenty years. In the world of metal, W.A.S.P.
are what unholy legends are made of.
Winds - _Of Entity and Mind_ (Avantgarde, June 2001)
by: Chris Flaaten (7.5 out of 10)
Andy Winter is the brain behind this new band -- or should we say
project -- featuring, among others, August and Hellhammer from
Arcturus. Arcturus is a logical comparison. Winds have much of the
same sound and production as _Aspera Hiems Symfonia_ [CoC #12], but
the music is far less aggressive and more leaned towards classical
music than black metal. Grand piano arrangements and trademark August
guitar solos are accompanied by some solid riffs and vocals courtesy
of Eric Si. _Of Entity and Mind_ is an MCD, heralding what is to
come. It does a decent job at that, because this certainly is
interesting music. With a fresher, less synthetic sound and some more
progressive and energetic elements, this concept would be close to
perfect. The musicians certainly prove that they are capable.
However, without some more variation and bite, the coming album might
become a little dull. It can go either way; I choose to be
optimistic.
Within Tears - _Moments of Life: Chapter 1_ (<Independent>, 2001)
by: Adrian Bromley (7 out of 10)
While there is a good mixture of ideas on the debut disc from Within
Tears (i.e. doom, gothic and death metal), the real standout
attribute has to be the solid doom-like flow of the band's material.
Not all the songs have been able to grasp the heavy weight of the
doom influence, but the ones that do sure stand out: "Beauty Creates
Pain", "In Mourning" and "Alone". Within Tears' masterminds Anthony
Lauer and Sal Sgroi have done a superb job at creating a real creepy
atmosphere here on _Moments of Life_, successfully orchestrating
songs of power and dark passion. While the disc does suffer at times
due to lack of studio experience, give these guys a few more years
and/or until their next record and I'm sure the results will be
mind-blowing.
Contact: Within Tears, 46 Canton St. Brooklyn, NY 11299, USA
mailto:withintears@hotmail.com
http://withintears.virtualwave.net
Zonata - _Reality_ (Century Media, April 2001)
by: Paul Schwarz (3 out of 10)
Before HammerFall went and made it a fashionable thing to do, bands
that rehashed the cheesy, pompy metal of the Eighties -- especially
the mediocre bits of it we'd all be better off forgetting -- would
not be given a record deal. There were negative aspects to that state
of affairs. Many were unfairly irreverent to crucially important
bands like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest. And even though today there
is maybe a little too much praise going around for any metal band who
can be dredged up from the Eighties, I still find the situation today
to be a preferable state of affairs: it means that bands like Manowar
and 'Priest are more often considered and judged on the music they
play, and less often disregarded on the basis of the clothes they
wear. However, at least before HammerFall did _Glory to the Brave_
[CoC #18], albums as cringe-worthy, sub-standard and POINTLESS as
_Reality_ wouldn't come through my door so damn frequently. I realise
that we must accept the good with the bad -- I'm certainly glad that
the acceptance of clean vocalled, traditionally flavoured metal
has allowed the likes of Nevermore and Iced Earth to grow more
popular and keep on making albums as we progress further into the
twenty-first century -- but accepting that crap like this -will-
exist, doesn't mean I'm happy about that fact, or that I'm gonna keep
my disgust under my hat. _Reality_ offers nothing new; like so many
it merely rehashes the work of other bands, and does it badly. Call
me strange, but I can't see why ANYONE needs an album that does that.
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If you have a band, don't forget to send us your demo, including a
bio, if you want to be reviewed. We accept demos either on
traditional media or MP3 format. E-mail us at
<mailto:Demos@ChroniclesOfChaos.com> to know which is the most
appropriate postal address for you to send your CD or tape, in case
you are sending one, or to indicate the location of a website from
which we can download the MP3 files of your entire demo (but do
NOT send any files attached to your e-mail).
Scoring: ***** -- A flawless demo
**** -- Great piece of work
*** -- Good effort
** -- A major overhaul is in order
* -- A career change is advisable
Forlorn Legacy - _Dead Man's Fear_ (6-track demo)
by: Brian Meloon (****-)
Forlorn Legacy are a melodic death metal band from Croatia. This is
their fourth offering, and it has roughly the same sound as their
1999 demo _Omega_ [CoC #51]. The music is pretty standard melodic
death metal, with some clean vocals (which remind me vaguely of Alice
in Chains) and melodic sections. The band has toned down the
brutality for this release, instead focusing on mid-tempo, melodic,
memorable (but not overly catchy) death metal tunes. And this they do
very well. The songs all are around the 4-5 minute mark (with the
exception of the two minute closer, "Desert"), and have non-standard
structures. Yet, the band is able to tie the songs together, usually
by means of a particularly memorable riff or section. This leads to
songs which have the rare combination of memorability as well as
replay value. While the music isn't particularly challenging, the
songs are performed tightly and solidly. The production is a bit weak
-- particularly the snare sound -- but it's passable. Overall, this
is a good release; it's not ground-breaking or amazing in any
respect, but it's solid melodic death metal, and it should appeal to
fans of that genre.
Contact: http://www.geocities.com/forlornlegacy/
Holocaust - _Holocaust_ (3-track demo)
by: Adrian Bromley (***--)
The three-song demo from metal veterans Holocaust -- the Edinburgh,
Scotland act that had a hand in the New Wave of British Heavy Metal
(NWOBHM) with two classic releases _The Nightcomers_ (1981) and
_Live: Hot Curry and Wine_ (1983) -- shows that they are again back
for more metal action in 2001. Even though I am not a fan of the
band, I do know of their music. And even though the band has
continuously been releasing material over the years (in 2001 they put
out _The Courage to Be_), I have not really followed their career.
That said, I delved into this three-song offering and must admit I
was pleased with the sound of the material. While indeed paying
homage to the classic sound they breathed back in the early '80s, the
new material sounds a bit more current and a bit more palatable. Not
commercial, but safe at times, though the riff in opener "Iron Will"
is indeed lethal. While it is hard to really say how the new disc
_Primal_ will sound like when it comes out later this year, these
three demo tracks from that record show that Holocaust are far from
being classified as dated and not relevant. Their music is impressive
here, so let's hope the disc fulfills this promise once it is all
assembled. Both die-hard fans and myself wait.
Contact: mailto:breadfan@cybercom.net
http://www.cybercom.net/~breadfan/holocaust.html
Neocrima - _Indifference's Deadly_ (5-track demo)
by: Brian Meloon (***--)
Neocrima is a band from Kyrgyzstan who play what they like to call
"technical melodic death metal". I'd avoid using the word "technical"
to describe them, and "death metal" may be a little bit of a stretch,
but it's definitely both melodic and metal. A good reference point
would be Ablaze My Sorrow's first album or the first few Dark
Tranquility albums, though Neocrima's songs are simpler, and the
production is understandably inferior. Each of the songs has at its
base metal riffs which are similar to the Gothenburg sound. However,
the band broaden their sound with a variety of different styles,
including female vocals on two tracks (think "The Gathering"), and
some sparingly-used keyboards and acoustic/softer sections. I hear
some definite rock influence in their riffs and their music is
generally slow-to-mid paced. They also have a slight industrial
tinge to some sections, though this is more likely due to the
over-distorted guitar tone and mechanical precision with which
they're played. Unfortunately, they haven't integrated their ideas
into a coherent, distinctive style yet, as many of the sections have
me thinking "hey, that sounds like...". Overall, this is a decent
first effort, and I hope they learn from it and define and develop
their own sound with their subsequent releases.
Contact: mailto:neocrima@hotmail.kg
http://neocrima.online.kg
Oroboros - _Demo CD_ (4-track demo)
by: Adrian Bromley (****-)
As if I was floating on some ethereal wind, the music of New Orleans'
act Oroboros lifted me up into a sedate state of mind, causing me to
fall in and out of a world of beauty, harmonic ecstasy and tribal
rhythms. While only four songs, the music of this talented young
band sounds like they have been doing this for a decade. Soft,
yet effective compositions align this with sculptured beauty and
priceless sounds of sincere emotional highs. Songs like the bizarre
"Supernatural" and opener "Transcend" unfold with strong results,
easily captivating the listener with the use of numerous instruments,
electronics and lots of passion. Weird and a little out there at
times, the experimental flow of Oroboros could easily bring even the
most savage metal head into a sedated slumber. Powerful in so many
ways.
Contact: 4218 1/2 Magazine Street (Upper), New Orleans, LA 70115, USA
mailto:oroboros33@yahoo.com
http://www.crosswinds.net/~oroboros33/
Qohelet - _Thanatopsis_ (7-track demo)
by: Chris Flaaten (-----)
This album contains some kind of experimental pseudo-rock with really
excruciating vocals. I have spun it two times in its entirety, and
its least poor track, "Lethe", three times, more hoping to find some
positive things to say about it. Mission failed. This is without
doubt the least attractive music I have ever heard. They deserve some
credit for putting effort into their lyrics, which are based mostly
on Greek words and history. Thanatopsis is for example Greek for
"meditation on death". I'd rather buy a book by Homer than this CD,
though. Judge for yourself at:
Contact: http://www.audiogalaxy.com/bands/qohelet/
Spiritus Mortis - _Forward to the Battle_ (6-track demo)
by: Chris Flaaten (****-)
Spiritus Mortis are from Finland, but do not play the kind of music
their name and location indicate. The band have existed since 1988(!)
and have now united again to show "the Finnish kids" how to play
-real- metal, or "perkele heavy metal" as they call it themselves!
And metal they play. Following in the footsteps of Black Sabbath and
Deep Purple, one can't argue about its "realness". The production is
quite good, not high-tech or state-of-the-art, but still close to
perfect considering the kind of music they play and that this is a
demo. The five-piece plays with confidence and a certain flair,
sounding tight and fresh at the same time. The vocalist does an
excellent job and his voice is perfect for their sound. Of the six
songs on _Forward to the Battle_, "Forever", "In Pouring Rain" and
"In Between" are a bit better than the others. Clocking in at 18:26,
this demo still has a decent amount of variation, both inbetween
songs and in the songs themselves. In conclusion, this demo put a
smile on my face, albeit a nostalgic one... I can be a sucker for
nostalgia. I somehow doubt this music has much potential in the 2001
metal market, but I do not think becoming metal superstars is
Spiritus Mortis' goal with their music. Have fun, play metal,
perkele!
Contact: mailto:vesa.lampi@pp.inet.fi
http://www.metalprovider.com/spiritusmortis/
Winter Bestowed - _Within My Labyrinthine Heart_ (4-track demo)
by: Brian Meloon (*****)
Subgenres of metal seem to follow a predictable pattern. First come
the inventors, who define the style and delineate its boundaries.
Next come the innovators, who expand the style and stretch these
boundaries. And then come the also-rans, who happily tread the same
ground that's already been covered. Unfortunately, the large majority
of bands are also-rans, and after a few years, the genre stagnates
and appears on the verge of fading away. And then, into this stagnant
pool of banality come a new set of bands who breathe new life into
the genre by infusing new ideas and experimenting once again.
Winter Bestowed fall into this final category, doing for the
Gothenburg sound what bands like Cryptopsy and Deeds of Flesh did for
death metal. This four-song demo can be summed up as "technical
Gothenburg-style metal", though such a short description is bound to
be somewhat misleading. The main comparison that needs to be made to
connect Winter Bestowed to the Gothenburg scene are to the faster
songs from Dark Tranquillity's _The Gallery_. Winter Bestowed have a
similar way of structuring their riffs and melodies and their
vocalist has a similar delivery. However, Winter Bestowed sound like
what Dark Tranquillity would've sounded like had they continued the
more technical and aggressive progression that their first few albums
showed. They also sound to me like what Epoch of Unlight's _Caught in
the Unlight!_ should've been, instead of the tepid and ultimately
forgettable offering that it turned out to be. Winter Bestowed are
able to combine frenetic technicality with melodic memorability,
without losing the best qualities of each. Aside from a few slightly
sloppy sections, the music is very well played, and the technicality
of the music makes these few sections understandable. About the only
complaint I have with this demo is that it lacks diversity. While the
four songs on here are great, I could imagine a whole album of this
style could get a little boring. This is strongly recommended for
fans of the Gothenburg style, and of technical and melodic metal in
general. Great stuff, guys!
Contact: http://www.come.to/wb/
http://www.mp3.com/winterbestowed/
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\ \ \L\ \/\ \L\ \/\ \/\ \/\ \__//\ __/\ \ \/ \ \ \_/\__, `\
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\/___/ \/___/ \/_/\/_/\/____/\/____/ \/_/ \/__/\/___/
W E R Y W I C I O U S W A C K E N W I O L E N C E
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wacken Open Air
Wacken, Germany, 3-4 August 2001
by: Paul Schwarz
Friday
~~~~~~
I went to Wacken with fellow CoC writer Matthias Noll and his
good friend and metalhead Daniel Griessmeyer. I flew to Frankfurt, we
drove about six or so hours to Wacken, and each of the three nights
we slept in the car. There's the outline of my time in Wacken, so
let's get onto what happened that's relevant to the music, shall we.
Though we arrived on Thursday evening in time to catch some of
W.A.S.P., none of Matthias, Daniel and I could be bothered to get our
wristbands to enter the arena to see W.A.S.P.; it didn't seem in any
way a worthwhile use of our time, considering the fact that we could
hear W.A.S.P. playing, and were uninterested in it getting any
louder. In the end, we met up with David Rocher outside the main
arena, had a look about some of the festival site, his campsite, and
got our wristbands when W.A.S.P. were finished and everyone was
leaving to go to sleep; it was a short queue, and we were glad of
that.
Friday morning we were up early; Deceased were to be the first
band onstage for Wacken proper, at 10am. Happily, I arrived before
Deceased began -- despite lame-ass rules on "security" which meant
that I was held up at the arena entrance with getting a bottle of
water out of my bag. I was surprised to find Deceased equipped with a
stand-in drummer, allowing King Fowley the run of the stage and only
one of his usual two parts to perform. To my even greater surprise,
King Fowley announced that this was Deceased's first ever performance
in Europe. I thought at the time that it was a good thing King was
out from behind his drumkit; the unusual, front-personless nature of
Deceased's usual sets would not, in my opinion, have gone down that
well with this German audience, who -- judging by the bands, both
good and bad, at Wacken -- are favourable to bands who mostly have
instrumentally unhindered, and -- at least supposedly -- very
mesmerising frontmen. King Fowley was mildly mesmerising; with his
considerable girth and generally unattractive appearance, he looked
the part of your proverbial heavy metal uncle or cousin, the bad
influence "caring" parents would steer you away from. To the small
crowd assembled he proclaimed that Deceased had "45 minutes of speed
and thrash" to play, and he wasn't lying. Two things marred what was
otherwise a pretty damn pleasing performance. Firstly, the sound. Of
course it would be idiotic of me to expect a clear and powerful sound
of the first band on at a two-day -festival- -- renowned as they are
in general for dealing out bad sounds left, right and centre.
However, some of the intricacies of Deceased's work were lost. This
reduced their impact, as of course did the fact that their sound was
mushy and ultimately did not have that much power. Second problem was
the setlist. Maybe it's just me, but my impression from two times of
seeing Deceased is that they don't generally choose to play their
best songs. We get "Night of the Deceased", "The Silent Creature" and
"Fearless Undead Machines" itself from Deceased's 1997 album [CoC
#23]; but where is, in my firm opinion the best track on the album,
"The Psychic"? Similarly, we get "The Premonition" from last year's
_Supernatural Addiction_ [CoC #47], but where is album stand-out "A
Very Familiar Stranger"? Similarly, why is there nothing from their
short-song-laden, brilliant 1992 EP _The 13 Frightened Souls_ [CoC
#48]? Only the new Deceased EP, _Behind the Mourner's Veil_, is well
represented; we are treated to "The Mausoleum", its standout. I
understand that this may all seem a bit of a subjective matter, this
quibbling about a mere setlist, but it has frustrated me twice now
because -- much as I have enjoyed watching Deceased -- I have had
this itch both times of imagining how much -more- I could be enjoying
their performance if only they'd represent their recorded work
better, as I see it. Still, they played a fine first European
performance, pulling out not only their old favourite cover of
"Voivod" (recorded for _T13FS_), but also a surprise "Tormentor"
(yes, the one by Kreator) as a closer. Before they got to their
closing song, Deceased proudly and plainly pledged their metal
allegiance: "Deceased are proud sponsors of heavy power metal. We
love denim, we love leather, we love beer... we love sluts", said a
here-paraphrased King Fowley. Deceased weren't just talking big about
being on the same level as their fans, either; at the end of their
set, King Fowley tossed multiple copies of their new EP into the
crowd.
While I waited for Soilwork's set on the Party stage, I caught
glimpses of Carnal Forge on the left Main stage where Deceased had
been. A mushy sound and essentially rather boring super-thrash songs
didn't spark my interest, although I did laugh when the singer
introduced "Covered With Fire (I Am Hell)" in his lilting Swedish
accent.
Soilwork's sound was bad to begin with, and it was during their
set that I first noted the sound clash between the Party and Main
stages, which plagued many bands over the festival's duration.
However, shoulder-to-shoulder axe-work from the two guitarists and
the audience's impressive response helped to alleviate the pangs of
irritation that came whenever the band stopped play, and another band
could be heard. It seemed to be Soilwork's first time using wireless
guitars, as bald my-left guitarist managed enough ecstatic rock-star
antics to prompt Soilwork's vocalist to bring him to attention before
one song by saying: "Hello Yngwie? Mr. Malmsteen? Could we play the
song?" The singer himself managed to create some, possibly unwitting,
comedy. He introduced "Neurotica Rampage" thus: "This song is about a
bitch... a real nasty one". As the assembled audience joined voices
to sing the band's final number, it was obvious that they had indeed
also been "ready for some Soilworking".
Lacuna Coil were a convincing, physical live act over on the
Main stage. They didn't quite equal their performance at London's
Metal Odyssey to my mind, but seemed good all the same, and less
biased in focus towards lead female singer Cristina Scabbia. However,
they weren't any more a band I was that interested in listening for
an extended period of time; so I left, and returned to the right-side
Main stage for Napalm Death.
The sound for their set was very poor -- and not he
lped by the
wind, which constantly changed direction during their set. This
basically meant that although they played many of the numbers off
_Enemy of the Music Business_ [CoC #50] that I'd been -dying- to hear
live ("Taste the Poison", "Next on the List", "Volume of Neglect",
"Necessary Evil"), they weren't really that captivating. Only their
cover of Raw Power's "Politicians" came off well, though the DK's
"Nazi Punks Fuck Off!" fared decently. Ultimately, I wasn't that
bothered that they failed to play anything from _Fear, Emptiness,
Despair_; I wouldn't have wanted to hear it with this sound.
Later, I hear the sound of drums from the right-side Main stage.
"Is that "Painkiller"?", I wonder. No, it's Primal Fear. AAAAAH, time
to run screaming from Ralph Scheepers, Mat Sinner, and their hordes
of Teutonic morons. The second-worst true=shit metal band performance
of the weekend.
While Primal Fear continued to wank away at ripping off 'Priest,
the Party stage next played host to the antidote to the case
of "Napalm Death sounded shite, I want my grindcore!" that I
had contracted: Sweden's Nasum. "Do you like power metal?" asked
guitarist/vocalist Mieszko A. Talarczyk. "This is an anti-power metal
song", he followed on before anyone had a chance to answer. Isn't
every Nasum song an anti-power metal song? Certainly yes, but
evidently as the set continued Mieszko realised that he wasn't so
much competing with Primal Fear, as giving a large gathering of
people who enjoyed his music a break from the noise of it. "I love
all you PM fans", he later commented after Nasum had reeled through
"Mass Hypnosis", "Shadows", "Corrosion", "The Professional League", a
selection of old material from a soon-to-be-released 2CD compilation
cataloguing the band's early years, and a rendition of "The Masked
Face" with Shane Embury playing bass. "Sir Shane Embury" was how
Jesper Liverod introduced the gigantic bassist, and he left the stage
with the title of "The king, the legend". Barney had similarly given
props to Nasum during Napalm's set earlier on. Nasum totally kicked
ass, they were one of the best bands at Wacken. A crisp sound, a
menacingly tense and spastically physical performance, and some of
the finest grindcore ever written leaves you with one hell of a
blasting din, and a shit-eating grin!
It seems that metal posturing can -- sort of -- work. That
is, if you have a long history behind you and put your tongue
substantially in your cheek mid-posture, as Exciter did. The likes of
"Stand Up and Fight", "Rule With an Iron Fist", "Pounding Metal"
(with its chorus of "Poun-ding me-tal") speak for themselves, I
think. The guitarist's ludicrous solo (think the bit of Spinal Tap
when Nigel Tufnel comments "My solos are my trademark") seemed the
crowning glory of silliness, but no! There was still "Long Live the
Loud", and then there was a pause. "Last year it was the one
hundredth anniversary of the death of one of your greatest thinkers",
begins Exciter's singer as my mind goes "Oh no, not another horribly
crude Nietzche reference from a heavy metal band!". "Friedrich
Nietzche" was indeed the bald-headed squealer's next words, and he
went on to "explain" that Nietzsche "had something called the "will
to power"" and metal expresses power, and if you express power, you
should do it with "VIOLENCE! AND FORCE!". Dumb but very entertaining,
head-nod worthy fun.
Kamelot sucked from a distance. I dared not go any nearer and
find out if they sucked from close up too.
It was embarrassing to hear Paul DiAnno trot out old 'Maiden
song after old 'Maiden song with his "Killers" -- yes, that's really
the backing band's name! I laughed as he tried to get crowd to guess
what song he was about to sing. "Phantom of the...!" he declaimed. I
didn't hear the audience, but just pissed myself when the next words
from the stage were "Phantom of the fucking what!?". He took pictures
of his audience "being metal" at him; DiAnno is obviously aware that
it may be a long time -- like maybe till the afterlife... -- before
he sees an audience this size again. It was sad to watch, but I can't
knock the guy for enjoying it while it lasts, I guess. Still, twenty
years flogging one dead horse is always going to end you up with an
ungodly mess, isn't it?
Serious, real, traditional metal finally came my way when
Nevermore took the right-side Main stage. They'd taken a while to
come on and in true German fashion chants of Nevermore began, died
away, were replaced by chants of Slayer, and silence then prevailed
until Nevermore's apocalyptic intro began. As the band took the
stage, I could hardly see them for all the devil-horned hands raised
in their salute. This was gonna be good. Compared to the UK, where
they played their first show in May, Nevermore have a large and loyal
following here in Germany; that they're on after Primal Fear speaks
volumes about how much they obviously sell or draw, and it also gives
me hope that Germany has the ability to temper its well-documented
enthusiasm for metal with a pleasing degree of good taste. For
Nevermore are modern-metal-from-traditional-roots of the highest
order. And they had Wacken's crowd in the every palm of their hands.
"Narcosynthesis", "Inside Four Walls" and "Ophidian" had made the
first assault when Warrel Dane commented that we'd "all know this
one..." before the band plucked the first acoustic notes of "The
Heart Collector". Everyone knew it so well that, shouting, I felt
like I wasn't even making a sound as I attempted to "sing" the chorus
and most of the rest of the song -- as did the majority of the rest
of the crowd. As "The River Dragon Has Come" opened, I caught a
snapshot of the band on stage which could have been framed and given
the by-line "ready to strike", such was Nevermore's poise. Only
"White Rabbit", the (supposedly worst) track from Sanctuary's album
_Refugee Denied_, marred their set. As Nevermore finished up with
"The Seven Tongues of God" and "The Sound of Silence", I couldn't
help but wonder when I might see them live again. I hoped it would be
soon.
Maybe I'm just being a bastard cynic here, but I don't think
Overkill -- next on the Main stage, left-side -- could pull 500
people if they came to the UK. However, in Germany they are welcomed
like veterans returning home victorious from a bloody war -- and in a
sense, they are, though the "army" was the Eighties thrash scene, and
the war was the Nineties. Daniel is a living-proof explanation of how
Overkill have stayed alive over all those years. He has been to see
them on pretty much every tour they have done since 1985, when he
bought the "Feel the Fire" T-shirt he wears at Wacken the day after;
today it's Holy Terror who adorn his chest. Judging by the audience,
Daniel isn't the only one who has taken pains not to miss Overkill
over the years. Before the band began, Matthias was saying they
sucked, but once the band were turning out spectacularly tight
performances of "Deny the Cross" and "Evil Never Dies" with a
powerful production behind them, he was banging his head just like
all the other maniacs. Someone in front of me had a T-shirt of a
festival which featured Destruction called "thrash metal evolution".
Judging by the overwhelming response to Overkill, such a statement is
oxymoronic to the Germans. "Welcome to the Gutter" and "In Union We
Stand" were just some of the tunes that continued Overkill's charge
before they capped off their set with "Fuck You!". Within the song
they managed to smoothly flip into "War Pigs" for its first verse --
which had us all singing along -- and flip back into their own song
to quickly cap it off with one final blast of the defiant chorus of
"We don't care what you say... fuck you!" As Overkill left, Matthias
commented that "Overkill with a good sound only playing songs off
their first four albums would beat just about any other band live".
Overkill put on a performance so powerful that I think it would have
converted even the most cynical, self-loathing, self-pitying nu-metal
fan to their thrash metal cause.
If a band can't be good, then it's at least relieving that
watching them -- or being near the stage they are playing on even if
you choose to read the Nuclear Blast catalogue rather than -actually-
watch them -- is entertaining. And it doesn't get much more
laugh-at-them-not-with-them than Mortician. Every song was called
something along the lines of "urgh urgher urgh urrrgh ur!", most were
preceded by samples, and nearly every one of the over-twenty numbers
was dedicated to a different person or group of people, such as
"Everyone in the "House By the Cemetary" shirts" or "The guy who just
threw the banner on stage". Musically atrociously boring, but a great
laugh was had nearly every minute nonetheless.
If Matthias was translating properly, Desaster claimed: "We are
not like normal people because we have metal running through our
veins". This was their spiel to open the unexciting, repetitive
rendition of a song called "Metalised Blood", which closed their set.
Matthias and I both marvelled that the band hadn't brought their
garage with them, such was our surprise that they had ever left it in
the first place.
But thrash was not to go out on a bad note for Friday because of
Desaster; The Haunted were next up on the Party stage. The sound they
got could have cut through steel were it turned into a physical force
-- and I'm sure many in the audience were wishing like myself and
Matthias that it would run off and slaughter Saxon so that they'd
SHUT UP! The band were tighter than the proverbial duck's arse, and
fully belted out the likes of "Undead", "Hate Song", "Chasm" and "In
Vein" with such a fury that I imagine even Saxon's audience were
nodding their heads to The Haunted's furious beat. "Are there any
ladies in the house?" asked Marco Aro about halfway through the
band's set. "Also some transsexuals too, it seems", he added after
the audience had responded. He later added "Oh man, I'm too fat for
this shit" to his humorous utterances of the evening after the band
had whipped their way through something particularly devastating.
Nothing from the weekend at Wacken has burned a mental image into my
brain quite as profoundly as Jensen, his laid flat on his knee,
thrashing with visual aggression.
The Haunted should have proved the proverbial kiss of death for
returning German thrashers Exumer -- playing the second of three
"one-off" reunion shows -- but somehow the band managed to pull off a
performance that was not only powerful, but did them justice. It
wasn't surprising to see a crowd gathered for the band despite their
fourteen-year absence from the metal scene; on Friday morning,
Matthias was offered 200 DM (about $100 US) for his 1987 _Possessed
By Fire_ tour shirt. Having been in practice, the band were suitably
tight as they reeled off the likes of "A Mortal in Black" from their
debut album and "Winds of Death" from their second _Rising From the
Sea_ effort. Unfortunately, the band chose to reduce the amount of
original material they would play by including a cover of Black
Sabbath's "Symptom of the Universe". It was competently executed and
sounded heavy, but it didn't possess the impact that a live cover
needs, in my opinion, to justify its inclusion over an original
number. However, worse was that Exumer wasted a good few minutes of
our time with a "new" song they'd written -- or was it a "nu" song
they'd written? It began with the worst Korn-a-like two-note riff
I've heard since I used it five years ago in a Korn rip-off song I
helped write for the only band I've ever been in. I was sixteen and
had just got into Korn and Sepultura's _Roots_, okay! Yeah, it was
the one that goes "dun-da, dun-da, dun-da, dun-da, dun-da-dun-da"!
Apart from that embarrassment, Exumer were very worth watching. The
band may have been plain-clothed apart from vocalist Mem Von Stein's
Death Angel T-shirt, but they were not lacking in metal spirit. Mem
spiced up proceedings very nicely by rushing around the stage
throwing karate kicks and punches in time to the music -- looking for
all the world like Tekken character Martial Law brought to life --
which made up for the rest of the band's almost entirely static
stance.
Saturday
~~~~~~~~
As the light of 11 in the AM struck the right-side Main stage
and I waited for Cryptospy to play, I noticed the large Wacken skull
placed in-between the two stages was charred and burnt from the night
before's proceedings. A pity it had mostly burned for bands who
didn't deserve the spectacle. I wished they'd light it for Cryptopsy;
damn the fact that it's not even dark: this was to be Mike DiSalvo's
final performance with the band. I caught a little bit of Warhammer's
set, which came before Cryptopsy on the left-side Main stage,
but apart from the amusement of them introducing "Shadow of the
Incapitator" <snigger> -- a song naturally not exceeding the velocity
of anything on Hellhammer's _Apocalyptic Raids_ -- as "this is as
fast as we go...", they did nothing for me.
Cryptopsy, on the other hand, did marvellous things for me
despite the fact that their performance was, by their standards,
merely above average. The flaws were the sound quality as it stood,
the fact that the show was outdoors, and the fact that the band --
playing on other people's amps and with a muddy sound -- lost timing
for a brief few seconds. Basically, Cryptopsy were technically
perfect by just about anyone else's standards, and though they could
have sounded better, were nonetheless extreme as hell! Mike DiSalvo
turned in a damn fine performance for his (unannounced at the show
itself) epitaph. "Are you awake?", he asked the crowd after "...And
Then It Passes" had, ahem, -passed-. "Well, you will be after this
fucking set!" And I doubt anyone could have proved him wrong on that
one. "We Bleed", "Defenestration", "Cold Hate, Warm Blood", "Slit
Your Guts", "Shroud", "Emaciate", "Phobophile" and "Screams Go
Unheard" composed the rest of the set. That sums it up: it was
Cryptopsy, they may not have been at their finest, but they were
Cryptopsy.
Germans Brainstorm seemed to be doing OK with the power-thrash
thrust of one of their songs, but then the -- I don't know, -eighth-
-- Halford-clone of the weekend began singing. It almost worked for
one song, but then the band started playing a lame-ass ballady
number. Ugh!
Judging by their performance on the right-side Main stage, Dark
Tranquillity are suffering from the belief that they are rock stars.
I can't say I care much for Dark Tranquillity's post-_The Mind's I_
material, but it did sound reasonable live. However, unfortunately
that's because it's pretty damn simple to play. "Punish My Heaven",
on the other hand, is not easy to play, and Dark Tranquillity
executed it sloppily, like they couldn't be bothered to put in the
practice and would rather spend their time on stage posing-out with
their well-trimmed haircuts than take some pride in playing their
material as it was originally intended. "Wacken should be every day,
right?" Maybe, Mikael, but I wouldn't book you at it every day except
to keep you and your band practicing your instruments and training
your voice.
A more shocking disappointment were Krisiun. I had been close to
praying that Krisiun were good since 1) my confidence in them had
been shaken by my having listened to _Ageless Venemous_ -- a cum-rag
of a death metal album -- and 2) they were the only band I was really
interested in seeing before Opeth, who were on at 10:30pm! They went
on about "real fucking metal", making a "united stand for metal" and
how they were "the warriors of real metal", but unfortunately turned
in a very lacklustre performance. I don't doubt that Krisiun's
hearts are forged of pure steel, but unfortunately having a steel
heart doesn't change shit when you're playing songs as generally
uninventive and unnecessarily repetitive as "Perpetuation", "Dawn of
Flagellation" and "Evil Gods Evoke". A sound which mostly brought out
only the sound of Max Kolesne's bass drums did not help matters; even
songs I liked from _Conquerors of Armageddon_ [CoC #47], like its
title track, "Soul Devourer" and "Hatred Inherit", didn't really
light my fire because of the bad sound mix. Max also tried to impress
us with a drum solo towards the end of the set: Flo Mounier's drum
check was better -and- got a greater round of applause. It became
plainly obvious very quickly during this performance that Krisiun
desperately need to engage their creative side and come up with some
new ideas for song constructions. The band are, in the bare technical
sense, extremely good at playing their instruments, but their
abilities are presently utilised blindly. Playing the drums -really-
fast or playing loads of -really- fast trills on the guitar is not
interesting; though we might be impressed that Krisiun can play their
instruments in such a way, I doubt many of us care to listen to them
do it more than once -- and that means for one song! "Whatever
happen, real metal never fucking dies" [sic] says Alex Carmago near
the close of the band's set. That may be so, Alex, but don't sit on
your laurels and let interesting metal die: you are definitely
capable of much better than repetitions on one theme. At present,
Krisiun's four albums could be condensed into one thirty or forty
minute document and include everything worth hearing of their
material; it would only include material from _Black Force Domain_
and _Conquerors of Armageddon_.
Not long after I'd been disappointed by Krisiun, I heard the
announcement that Annihilator had been held up on the highway
and would not make their 4pm slot. However, we were told that:
"Annihilator will play, maybe tonight...". Helpful. Apparently they
did play. I missed it. I'll live.
Upon finding not Arch Enemy but Naglfar about to take the Wet
stage in the boiling tent where it's situated, Matthias and I decided
it wasn't worth staying.
We caught snippets of German Skyclad-ish band Subway to Sally on
our trips from beer-tent to food-tent to metal market in this point
of the day. I was very glad I didn't understand most of the lyrics;
Matthias translated one particularly crap line which came whistling
to us on the wind: "Master, master: put roses on my white skin!" I
say, for the second time in this piece, ugh!
Never have I seen a bigger beergut that the one the hung from
the body of Tankard's singer as he waddled the Party stage singing
refrains like "Fear of Tattoos". Admittedly, earlier material sounded
marginally better, but this still was definitely not for me. I left
while that gut was still covered by a beer-soaked T-shirt -- I made
sure my back was turned before he could go topless; I have no
interest in looking at men's breasts.
There was a huge gathering for In Flames' set -- some of their
followers were even crowd-surfing with tinfoil swords! -- and a good
thing it was that there was too, for them, since they were filming
the show for a DVD release. Having already sold out their live album
at the festival, it was no surprise that In Flames were so warmly
welcomed, but it was pleasing that the band delivered such a solid
set. A great sound in terms of clarity lacked only in punch as the
band reeled off "Food For the Gods", "Behind Space 1999" and more of
their ilk, including "Artifacts of the Black Rain", a track that --
according to Anders Friden -- had not been included in the live set
for some time before the show. Of course there was no "Everdying" or
"Stand Ablaze", but no-one expected there to be, and however much In
Flames' present direction seems disappointingly under the par of
their first two releases to me and some others, it's undeniable that
to many more they have become one of the most worship-worthy metal
bands on the planet. And they got my head nodding many a time,
especially when they played "Only For the Weak".
Seeing Opeth on the Party stage was a truly moving experience,
despite the constant interruptions from HammerFall -- Matthias and I
took a look at them after Opeth's set. Rarely had either of us
witnessed such lameness: I would rather watch a three-hour Mortician
performance than sit through one hour of HammerFall; at least the
former would send me to sleep instead of just frustrating me until I
curled up into a little ball and expired. Daniel's description of
them as "Manowar featuring Yngwie Malmsteen" is pretty apt, and scary
just to think of. So forget Hammerfall, and think of Opeth. Halfway
through their four song -- remember, it's ten minutes a song... --
set, Mikael Akerfeldt looked with disdain at the Main stage and
seemed to be trying to do the same. Yet he did not seem bitter that
Opeth's wondrous music-making was marred by wailing and wanking at
mammoth volume. He thanked the audience humbly for their increasingly
positive responses as the band played through "White Cluster", "The
Drapery Falls" and "Advent". Then there was a pause. We all knew that
realistically one more song was all Opeth were going to play. But
what would they play? "We've got one more song for you", began Mikael
"and it's the obvious closing song for this Wacken set..." Most of us
had guessed it was going to be "Demon of the Fall", but yet
the confirmation was comforting. The song itself was masterfully
executed, and the applause Opeth got was greater than any other band
I remember. They deserved every clap, and I await seeing them again
eagerly.
I also saw Motorhead. Basically, apart from having the Bomber
lighting rig -- which dove down, steered from side to side and moved
in a few other ways -- at this show, Motorhead's London Forum show
back in May was much better. The band tour Germany constantly, and
have for years. The Bomber has been on a good number of tours with
them in Germany. No-one was that bothered about Motorhead, and the
atmosphere of apathy even rubbed off on Lemmy and his motley crue who
seemed noticeably deflated compared to their exuberance when they
performed in London. Also, Motorhead are not an outdoor band. So
basically, I stood on my feet for an hour and twenty minutes to hear
"Killed by Death" and watch a huge lighting rig go up, down, left and
right. It was more-or-less worth it, but it was no great hell as
Motorhead performances go.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
B R A V E R E D R U M N I G H T
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Katatonia, Akercocke and Gandalf
at the Camden Underworld, London, England
June 29th, 2001
by: Pedro Azevedo
Situated in the rather peculiar area of London that is Camden
Town, it is my understanding that the Underworld is about as renowned
for its spaciousness as it is for the average sound quality bands
normally achieve there -- i.e. not very good. Tonight was to be the
exception in both cases to a considerable extent: good sound quality
and headliners that really were not bothered by the smallness of the
stage.
Gehenna were initially advertised as the opening act, and I was
quite looking forward to seeing how their gritty black/death would
fare in a live situation. That was not to happen, however, as Gandalf
replaced the Norwegians. Katatonia's and Akercocke's label Peaceville
wanted a more balanced set, and the fact that both Gehenna and
Akercocke play a kind of black/death combination might weigh somewhat
against Katatonia.
Gandalf -- whom I have seen advertised as being an "unholy union
of AC/DC and At the Gates" -- played to an initially rather
indifferent, half-crowded Underworld. The sound was not bad, and the
Finns were able to capture some of the crowd's interest with their
brand of death 'n' roll. Gandalf tended to sound more like a mixture
of In Flames (rather than At the Gates) and AC/DC to me -- melodic
guitar leads and hooks and raspy vocals alternating with chunkier
riffs and clean choruses. I couldn't help but grit my teeth every
time the two backing vocalists decided it was time for another
chorus, and their vocalist tried too hard to reach the audience, but
I find that understandable given the style of music they play.
Gandalf generally proved to be a fun live band, but I would hazard a
guess that their music may come across as very uninteresting on CD --
I say stick to the mighty The Crown if you are looking for some
superior death 'n' roll.
British Satan-worshippers Akercocke continued to make a name for
themselves at the venue before they even started playing. First, add
their T-shirt designs to the naked women and Satanic imagery in black
and white images on their albums' front covers, and you get a very
consistent collection. Furthermore, the band showed up on stage
wearing their usual black and white suits (black ties included).
Their set, however, was quite enjoyable.
In stark contrast to Gandalf, Akercocke are not an easy band to
appreciate live if you aren't familiar with their material. Their
involved mixture of blasting black metal and equally aggressive death
with sound samples, clean vocals and various accompanying instruments
seemed difficult to accurately reproduce live. As it turned out, the
band benefited from very acceptable sound quality and delivered a
highly competent set. They played a selection of songs from both of
their full-length records, complete with insanely fast and precise
drumming, shrieking vocals, death grunts and clean singing. My
personal highlight was "A Skin For Dancing In", my favourite track on
their new effort _The Goat of Mendes_ [reviewed in this issue], which
came across very well live. The rather amusing stage talk about our
master being with us tonight and the nasty faces the vocalist kept
pulling seemed to be well received by the crowd that now packed
the Underworld, a very significant part of which clearly enjoyed
Akercocke's set. The band delivered just over half an hour of intense
aggression, sometimes blurring one blast beat into the next, but
generally keeping things interesting, enjoyable and always brutal.
Having been one of my favourite bands ever since their classic
full-length debut _Dance of December Souls_, and having just released
another brilliant record after all these years in _Last Fair Deal
Gone Down_ [CoC #52], Katatonia were very high on my list of bands I
would really like to see live. Nevertheless, I hardly noticed them
getting on stage -- and I don't think many people did.
Having arrived very quietly, Katatonia proceeded to play "Don't
Tell a Soul" from _LFDGD_ and "Nerve" from _Discouraged Ones_ [CoC
#31] back to back. The first thing that really hit me when Katatonia
started playing was how downright terrified vocalist Jonas Renkse
looked. The livid frontman kept his eyes closed most of the time, and
throughout the entire set usually put one hand on top of the other
over the microphone, therefore hiding all of his face up to the
eyebrows. Withdrawn yet vocally still very competent, Renkse seemed
thankful for the Underworld's cramped stage -- besides raising his
arms to put his hands over the microphone and nervously tapping his
thigh with his right hand most of them time, Renkse hardly moved at
all. Add to his sorrow-drenched vocals the genuine feeling of
discomfort and of not wanting to be there that he exuded, and if you
appreciate Katatonia's music then you should be able to imagine that
their live performance became even more endearing.
Despite all this, Renkse's vocal delivery was still very good --
better than I expected, as a matter of fact, and improving with
every song. Meanwhile, the two Norrman brothers (who really do
look like brothers) did their job without looking particularly
involved; drummer Daniel Liljekvist delivered a superb, perfectionist
performance; and main guitarist Anders "Blakkheim" Nystrom was the
complete opposite of Renkse's stage presence. Frequently singing the
lyrics to himself, often headbanging and always seeming to really
feel every riff and every guitar lead, Nystrom (the band's only
long-haired element these days) seemed at ease from the very
beginning and confidently led the band through what might have
otherwise been a rather difficult set.
Benefitting from a sound that allowed all instruments to come
across with clarity and power, Katatonia's performance was flawless
and, it goes without saying, highly emotional. Midway through their
set, I had already accidentally spotted three people crying in
the audience -- one of them a middle-aged, long-haired man. The
Underworld audience completely surrendered to Katatonia, who in turn
delivered an absolutely memorable set. Following the aforementioned
"Don't Tell a Soul" and "Nerve", Renkse timidly announced they were
Katatonia, from Sweden, and -- something that happened throughout
their set -- explained which tracks they were playing and what album
they were from. "Deadhouse" from _Discouraged Ones_ was next,
followed by _LFDGD_'s single "Teargas".
At about this point, a juvenile dimwit in an Offspring T-shirt
who had been "stage diving" throughout Akercocke's set (note:
the stage is about one whole meter above ground level) thought
Katatonia's music was as good for having fun as any other, and again
made his way onto the stage. Damn, how I wish I had a shotgun
sometimes. Renkse, however, wasted no time after the song was over
and succinctly asked the audience to "please keep off the stage".
Fortunately, the message was understood.
"Right Into the Bliss" was the band's first excursion into
_Tonight's Decision_ [CoC #42] material, and whilst that is my least
favourite Katatonia record (which isn't saying much), I have to say
the three live renditions of songs from _TD_ were highly enjoyable
and well chosen. Katatonia then returned to the present with "Chrome"
and "Tonight's Music", both off the new record, before returning to
_Tonight's Decision_ to play "For My Demons". An impeccable rendition
of _LFDGD_'s "Sweet Nurse" then followed, with its superb chorus, and
then "I Am Nothing" from _Tonight's Decision_ and "Cold Ways" from
_Discouraged Ones_. You may have noticed that I am trying to save the
adjectives here, because in my opinion these are all -brilliant-
tracks, and with the good sound quality and Katatonia's excellent
delivery, this was an outstanding concert already. My only regret was
that my better half, herself a great appreciator of Katatonia's
qualities, could not be by my side tonight.
But Katatonia weren't quite finished yet. When Jonas Renkse
announced that they were about to play their last song, he said it
was going to be a song from _Brave Murder Day_. Much of the audience
immediately roared in approval, and Renkse added the song was
"Redrum" (how much of a reference to "The Shining" this was, I do not
know). I could hardly believe my ears as Katatonia ripped into
"Murder" (the real title of track two from _Brave Murder Day_).
Nystrom seemed to feel every cycle of the downward progressing riffs
and the agonizingly painful slow guitar leads, but it was when Renkse
unleashed his massive, desperate death growls that I was really blown
away. Not having heard any of his death vox since October Tide's
_Rain Without End_ [CoC #30], I was very surprised by the sheer power
and feeling he imbued those vocals with in the live situation -- but
maybe that shouldn't have come as a surprise after that October Tide
record, or after his vocal performance in Katatonia's now distant
_Dance of December Souls_. Renkse more than emulated Opeth's Mikael
Akerfeldt's vocals on _Brave Murder Day_ to create an unforgettable
experience, and the band even added some of _BMD_'s characteristic
double-bass drumming to the end of the song to finish their set.
Somehow, Katatonia managed to pack more brutality into that one song
than the sum of all of Akercocke's blasting and screaming -- a very
different kind of brutality.
I could barely believe an hour had gone by -- or that Katatonia
only played for an hour, for that matter -- and of course the band
did not come back for an encore. It would have been unlike them to do
so, and in any case, there was little or no point in coming back
after having finished their set with "Murder". The cycle was now
complete.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
M E C H A N I C S O F D E C E I T
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tool and Cortizone
at the Brixton Academy, London, England
June 12th 2001
by: Paul Schwarz
Cortizone were not a typical Tool support band. In my personal
experience -- and judging also on what I have been reliably
informed -- Tool usually have bands supporting them who are utterly,
unbearably badly suited to the task -- and often just plain bad with
it. This three-piece were reasonably listenable. A few of their songs
were embarrassingly Tool-borrowing for Cortizone's situation, one was
unutterably shite early-Nineties angst-rock of the worst kind, and a
few were OK. By the time they'd finished, I decided that I'd like to
hear their record before I gave a final judgment on them, but that
essentially, I wasn't really interesting in hearing their record. I
got Cortizone's debut album, _Selling Out for the Sucker_, a few days
ago. They're not a band worth chasing up.
Cortizone over and done with, it was time for an experience I
had been waiting to enjoy again for over four years: seeing Tool
live. Unfortunately, Tool proved not only to be disappointing, but
actively -boring-. Take into account that this is the band that made
_Aenima_, the record I would nominate as my favourite record of the
Nineties -- above even Carcass' _Necroticism_, Cynic's _Focus_ or
Entombed's _Clandestine_. I should have loved every minute of Tool,
despite the fact that they played many songs from their latest album,
which I had unfortunately found little time to listen to before the
gig. No, it wasn't the setlist that was the problem with this show.
Certainly not. In fact, with the likes of "Eulogy", "Stinkfist",
"Opiate" and "Sober" on the menu, tonight should have been all the
more excellent a show. So why wasn't it? Well, the messy, echoing
Brixton Academy sound didn't help, but it was essentially Tool
themselves and what they did -- or rather -didn't- -- do on stage
that made their performance such a frustrating yawn-a-thon. Tool were
arranged and "performed" thus on stage: bassist Justin Chancellor and
guitarist Adam Jones stood in the foreground of the stage, unmoving
with their heads near-unwaveringly pointed at the ground for the
duration of the show; Danny Carey played his drums at his drumkit at
the back of stage left -- he did more or less all a drummer can do to
put on an interesting live performance; Maynard James Keenan stood on
his own separate stage at the back of stage right, faced towards
Carey for most of the show -- thus he was side-on silhouetted to the
crowd -- and moved more than his bandmates as he sang, though he
never left his private stage during the performance. There was
seemingly no communication between the members of Tool on stage, and
certainly no connection with the audience. Tool's music is full of
dynamics, and I can't believe the band's willingness to put on so
little of a performance physically to their fans who are so enamoured
of them. Tool's music may contain themes of isolation -- and maybe
there was some meaning to their disconnected presence on stage
tonight, though I strongly doubt it -- but the bottom line is that
they might as well have been sectioned off into cubicles and obscured
from the crowd, such was their seemingly oblivious attitude to our
presence -- save for a meagre few words from Maynard, Tool might as
well have been performing live in a studio, and in separate rooms to
each other. So basically, Tool weren't very interesting to watch,
they didn't seem very into their music, and they didn't allow their
physical actions -- Maynard is a minor exception to this for his
meagre movement -- to mirror the physical, impact-filled nature of
much of their music, or its dynamic range. The alternative to
watching Tool was watching the video sequences created by Adam Jones
which were played on the large projector hung over the stage, and the
small screen on Maynard's stage -- Tool's non-existent stage presence
suggested watching these and ignoring them might be just what they
wanted you to do. These video sequences had some interesting moments
-- and were synched, if crudely, to the band's songs -- but were
essentially rather passe. It was all the kind of images we've come to
expect from Tool: worms with faces that writhe, people swimming
naked, decapitated bodies in dirty rooms waving, all with a grimy but
still distinctly MTV colour palette. Most annoying though was that
the images were mostly simply ten or so second sequences repeated
over and over again at varying speeds. There were only a meagre few
of the more flowing, continuous, acid-induced visuals that the band
projected at their 1997 London Astoria show, and which made a far
more interesting complement to their more interesting performance all
those years ago. A few of the songs played tonight -- most
notable "Opiate" -- gave me some joy, but Tool were on the whole
tedious and frustrating. Still, myself and those I went with were
almost completely alone in being thoroughly unmoved by the band's
performance -- the assembled crowd cheered everything Tool did: they
cheered when the band interrupted their set for six minutes to play
the "Schism" video, they even cheered when Maynard took the jacket of
his suit off. The impression I got was that Tool's audience were
simply too overwhelmed with seeing Tool live at all to be in any way
discerning -- I wonder how many of them were fans before Perfect
Circle's _Mer de Noms_ [CoC #48]. Either that, or I'm too discerning
and missed out on the great gig that wonder-struck voices harped on
about around me as I took the tube home. Personally, I think Tool
should get their heads out of their arses, realise they're not
reaching their potential to be the live experience they could be, and
then start putting on live performances that would be worth going to
if they were on every week, 'cause I know if Tool could turn
themselves into a live band which matched their recorded brilliance,
I'd got to see them every week if I could.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
PURITANICAL DESTRUCTIVE PREDOMINANCE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dimmu Borgir, Destruction and Susperia
at Rockefeller, Oslo, Norway, May 26th 2001
by: Chris Flaaten
This was the third time I saw Susperia, even though their first
concert ever was held exactly one year ago. After touring with Dimmu
Borgir, Susperia have gained a healthy amount of live experience and
delivered a solid performance tonight. The sound was great and tracks
like "I Am Pain" and "Vainglory" seemed to convince people new to
their sound that Susperia is indeed a band to watch out for.
I missed the first half of Destruction's set, but my bet is that
the second half was quite representative of the whole. Playing both
new tracks and old (and oldest) favorites with awesome sound, one
couldn't complain about their performance. However, Destruction play
more "in your face" thrash, somewhat monotonous with little happening
in their music compared to Susperia and Dimmu Borgir. Combine this
with the fact that most of the audience was unfamiliar with the band
and a bored crowd was the result -- at least by the end of their set.
Dimmu Borgir can't seem to lay off the 4+ minute long intros --
something which greatly annoys me --, but the kids seemed impressed
by the spookiness of it all. Opening with "Night Masquerade", Dimmu
Borgir seemed in good form, but the synths revealed themselves as
absolutely horrible some time into the song: awful sound and -way-
too loud. Luckily this was corrected a couple of songs into their
set. The guitars were mixed a bit too low and there was some
resonance, mainly from the bass, but apart from this, the sound was
good. The songs from their latest effort worked very well live and
were executed with surprising precision. The highlight for me this
time was the same as last time: Simen "Vortex" Haestnes' vocals on
"The Insight and the Catharsis". Electric, goosebumps, he's magical!
Dimmu's set could have been a bit longer, as they performed four
tracks from _Enthrone Darkness Triumphant_, three from _Spiritual
Black Dimensions_ and six from their latest album. I know many were
expecting "Stormblast". Maybe next time.
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@!! !!@ @!@ @!@!!@! !!@ @!! @!!!:! @!@!!@! !@@!!
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::.: ::: : : : : : : :: ::: : : : ::.: :
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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 column for the most obscene and
controversial ramblings this side of the National Enquirer.
T H E F O U R M U S C o C T E E R S
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
by: Paul Schwarz
Episode 3: THE REST IN RENNES
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rockin' in Rennes
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Finally, we were all assembled. After David, Matthias, Pedro and
myself got back to David's place in the small town of Breteil (just a
short drive outside of Rennes), we commenced a mammoth session of
music listening -- which of course led to discussion of various
music-related topics. This spanned the entirety of the rest of our
first day in Brittany, the evening which followed, and much of the
next day. I'm gonna detail it in one huge section in a few lines time
in no chronological order -- trying to remember which discussions
came before and after which, and on which days given discussions took
place, is nightmarishly difficult, and ultimately unnecessary. Before
we get to that, a few things which -also- occurred on this first and
second day should be mentioned.
Firstly, we had three excellent meals (I think it was three):
dinner on the first day, breakfast and lunch on the second day.
Thanks to all those involved in the preparation of those meals and
generally to David and Blandine for their hospitality. I am sure I
speak for Matthias and Pedro on this score, we were very grateful for
being able to meet up like this at all, and to be so well
accommodated and catered for, only made it all the more excellent.
Special mention should go to Blandine, not only for making some great
food, but also for putting up with so much heavy metal in her living
space for the days we were there. Eating was about the only important
thing I can remember us doing between arriving at Dave's house and
the late afternoon of the first day, apart from listening to a
shitload of music and talking a lot about most of it (there was sleep
somewhere there too...), so without further adieu, I'll relate some
of what transpired.
From David's extensive collection of Swedish metal came
the likes of Ominous and Profanity (notable as a very Swedish
sounding band, who suddenly transform into Helloween for one song)
accompanying the more well known likes of Darkane's _Rusted Angel_,
which was proclaimed by all to have great drums, and prompted
Matthias to proclaim: "This is the sound of thrash!". At the Gates'
_Slaughter of the Soul_ thus naturally got an airing. Pedro was the
instigator. "Fucking amazing!" was all he needed to say. Dave
remembered when the album came out: "I listened to this in a shop
when it first came out, and my jaw dropped!" A Canorous Quintet's
_Silence of the World Beyond_ got a brief airing from Pedro. Later
more discussion-worthy Swedish albums (as in ones more of us new)
were spinning. David introduced a receptive Pedro and Matthias, who
have since sung it high praises, Soilwork's _The Chainheart Machine_.
I was indifferent, and have remained so: I just don't get that band.
Yet more general agreement came when Dark Tranquillity's _The
Gallery_ went on. As Pedro put it: "Every note sounds right".
_Haven_, which I had a promo of at the time, didn't produce anything
like as positive a reaction.
I put on one of the few CDs I had brought, Dodheimsgard's _666
International_, to see what would be thought of it. None of the
assembled had really given it a lot of listening, and it was not too
kindly received. To my knowledge, Pedro has since grown to like it [a
lot -- Pedro]. Matthias remembered when he saw the band live.
Apparently, they sucked. Dave played us The Kovenant's _Animatronic_
album. I was surprised that David liked it; I underestimated the
breadth of his tastes. Dave was not a fan of _666 International_ at
the time.
Rollins Band's _The End of Silence_ met with a generally
non-plussed response, though it did prompt Pedro to recommend
Henry Rollins' book "Solipsist" to me. He called it a "bible for
misanthropes". [I was quite aware that Paul is not exactly a
misanthrope himself when I said this; but I do think it is an
excellent book, definitely worth reading even if you may not
necessarily identify with the feelings it portrays. -- Pedro]
Since we were buying a beer called Loburg, we had to check out
CoC's album of 1999, Summoning's _Stronghold_, although a number of
our fold don't consider it to the band's best. Pedro found a good few
albums of interest in David's collection which we checked out parts
of. Ulver's _Bergtatt_ and _Nattens Madrigal_ he knew, the first
Borknagar he was envious of. On one trip to David's CD shelf -- after
Matthias, Pedro and I had been discussing the merits and demerits of
Cradle of Filth's various albums -- I asked if anyone mind if I put
_Dusk and Her Embrace_ on. Pedro asked what my purpose was. I claimed
to be trying to induce the nihilistic destruction of social order [go
and read the intro to S.R. Prozak's Metal FAQ at www.anus.com to
understand the sarcasm -- Paul]. Matthias commented that the band
needed to turn their guitars up. Pedro and I agreed.
A selection of the new releases got played. We gave Tankard's
_Kings of Beer_ a shot 'cause we figured maybe we do need more metal
songs about drinking. Exciter's _Blood of the Tyrants_ was praised
for at least not being Primal Fear. Matthias summed up the appeal of
Vader: "If Vader and Slayer were playing on the same day, I'd go see
Vader". The new Venom album was played to the enjoyment of Matthias
and David, and the interest of Pedro. I was more of a fan of _Cast in
Stone_. One of the reasons cited for its improved quality over
anything since _Black Metal_ in Matthias' opinion was the departure
of Abbadon. We all laughed and nodded at the description of
Abbaddon's drumming as being "like a drum kit falling down a flight
of stairs".
A selection of old releases got played. Bolt Thrower's _For
Victory_ was proclaimed "the real sound of a tank". "The engine
starts!" exclaimed Matthias as he began "Tank Mk. I" on its warpath.
Slayer's _Reign in Blood_ -- for which, Matthias believes, the gods
of metal came to earth for thirty minutes -- was briefly visited.
We conducted a few "head-to-head"s, putting two, three or four
records up against each other and discussing them. One selection
featured Mayhem's _De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas_, Satyricon's _Nemesis
Divina_, Marduk's _Panzer Division Marduk_ and Enslaved's _Blodhemn_.
The comments began with Mayhem. My problem with Hellhammer is that
he's depriving some village somewhere of their idiot. Dave thinks
he's "undoubtedly the best drummer in the black metal scene". Pedro
countered that comment by showcasing the talents of Dirge Rep and
Frost, proclaiming them as being as talented or more talented than
Hellhammer. David expressed "immense respect for Frost and Dirge Rep"
but thought, "Hellhammer is at the same level as Hoglan". Gene Hoglan
was Dark Angel's original death dealer who has also made his name
among many Nineties metal listeners in Death and Strapping Young Lad,
among a number of subsequent guest and session positions, on
Testament's _Demonic_ [CoC #22] and Old Man Child's _Ill-Natured
Spiritual Invasion_ [CoC #32], for example. The two agree to
disagree. On the other hand, on the subject of Mayhem's _Grand
Declaration of War_ album, David at that time expressed only disgust
and disinterest.
Kickin' Ass
~~~~~~~~~~~
As we listened, we spent various periods leafing through the
issues of Kick*Ass magazine, which Matthias and I had brought from
his house in Germany. They provided much amusement, and also raised
some interesting points.
Matthias is prompted at one point to make the following
(paraphrased) astute comment. He says that before _Altars of Madness_
came out in 1989, grindcore blastbeats were thought of as "noise" by
most metalheads. A comparable discussion was had regarding what the
heaviest release -ever-, is. Kick*Ass comes from a time when
power/heaviness was much closer to being a singular, definable thing.
In 1985, the heaviest band seemed to be determinable, though
their might not be -universal- agreement on it. Nowadays what is
"heaviest", "most extreme", "most brutal" or whatever, is impossibly
recondite by comparison.
One of the bits of Kick*Ass that amused us most and most
consistently, was a short piece written about Possessed from issue
#29, March 1985. "When I first received the Possessed three-song
demo", it begins, "I had to walk about ten miles back to my house,
because it blew me away that far... and I found my stereo melted down
after just one song, "Death Metal"." Bear it in mind...
Our scrutiny and comparison of classics turned, at my decision,
to Entombed's _Clandestine_. There was little reaction from others
assembled, so we moved on. Sepultura's _Beneath the Remains_ provoked
much more discussion, and allegiance-swearing antics.
-- Sepultura - _Beneath the Remains_ (Roadrunner, 1989)
David Rocher: No brain, no pain. I'd give one of my balls to have
played on this! This is the best thrash album ever
recorded!
Paul Schwarz: Better than _Reign in Blood_?
DR: I like it more. If I had to choose one of the two to take with me
on a desert island, I'd choose _BtR_. It will be the last metal
record to leave my collection.
Matthias Noll: I think Sepultura ruled the early part of the '90s.
DR: Without _Arise_, bands like In Flames and At the Gates would have
been very sad indeed.
And unsurprisingly, David's Swedish love-affair meant that there
was definitely more to be said about In Flames, namely that "Iron
Maiden's "The Clairvoyant" is the root of a lot of In Flames' stuff".
I couldn't argue...
Cryptopsy's _None So Vile_ prompted quite the discussion. As we
began listening to the album, I discovered that Dave did not have
_Blasphemy Made Flesh_, Cryptopsy's debut. I recommended it; even
though it sounds almost like Jon Levasseur is practicing guitar on
some of the album, it's still a damn good record.
-- Cryptopsy - _None So Vile_ (Wrong Again, 1996)
Matthias Noll: The solos of _Whisper Supremacy_ make much more sense
than they do on _NSV_.
David Rocher: The lyrics to "Slit Your Guts" are fucking incredible!
I don't like Lord Worm's vocals too much though, and
Mike DiSalvo's I find a bit too hardcore.
Paul Schwarz: Mike's vocals remind me of Brett Hoffman's on
Malevolent Creation's _Retribution_ a little.
MN: The music on _NSV_ is extraordinary, unbelievable, but the vocals
are just typical death metal.
PS: I'd say they're good as brutal vocals go: they're not as faceless
as many singers'.
DR: _NSV_ is incredible, probably one of the most technical albums I
have. This is not usually the kind of death metal I'm into, but
Cryptopsy are just so good at it. This is hitch-a-ride death
metal, _WS_ just knocked me into the shower.
Partially as a result of comparing Mike DiSalvo and Lord Worm --
or rather the two different "era"s of Cryptopsy in general -- we get
onto the subject of political lyrical content as it applies to the
extreme metal scene -- though we didn't get very far into it. "I
don't want politics in my death metal and my black metal", said Dave.
"I don't think those are apt political supports."
We speak briefly of Carcass, mostly in the context of
_Necroticism: Descanting the Insalubrious_. I squeak like a teenage
death-metalhead -- and after all, I was one -- about how cool it is
that the solos are named things like "Human Jigsaw" and "A Heaving
Organic Puzzle". Dave says that _N:DtI_ has "heavy metal leads" while
I go on to praise the complex organisation of the lyrics and ponder
at the amount of linguistic translation work that they must have
required Jeff Walker to do. I think people had stopped listening by
then, though I do also mention remembering the humorous topics the
songs -actually- cover, like that of "Inpropagation": turning people
into compost.
A more general wagging of mouths occurred when Dawn's
_Slaughtersun: Crown of the Triarchy_ went on. At first listen I
found this record boring. It is now one of my most treasured musical
possessions. There is agreement among us that Henke Forss is
brilliant.
-- Dawn - _Slaughtersun: Crown of the Triarchy_ (Necropolis, 1998)
Pedro Azevedo: It repeats some stuff a bit too much, but it has some
amazing build-ups and amazing passages!
David Rocher: This is real endurance drumming.
Pedro relates how he heard some people had criticised the band
as being "Nazis" based on the lyrics to _S:CotT_ because it
speaks about genocide in them. However, when interviewed, Dawn had
apparently claimed, "We're not Nazis, we just hate everyone" when
they explained that their lyrics were misanthropic. Pedro said that
he thought that was a good answer considering Dawn's lyrics. I
remarked that that had been what a number of black metal bands had
said in interviews I read in the shady but useful "Lords of Chaos"
book. Then I remembered punks had said that in the Seventies while
wearing swastikas on their jackets too. We return to talk of the
album.
Pedro Azevedo: The second track is brilliant.
David Rocher: The drumming is fucking impressive.
PA: I think these are some of the best vocals I have ever heard on a
metal album.
Matthias Noll: The difference between this and a lot of stuff we
listened to yesterday [the first day at Dave's house;
this conversation occurred on the second -- Paul] --
for me -- is that this makes sense, whereas the other
stuff is just "play as fast as you can and put some
melodic leads on top of it". No offence.
Paul Schwarz: You mean the whole pile o' Swedish?
MN: This has a lot of structure even though it's so fast.
PA: It is very structurally dense.
PS: Nothing about this is a band trying to prove how well they can
play.
Marduk come into the discussion in the context of _Panzer
Division Marduk_ [at the time, their new release -- Paul]. I
characterise them as having simple structures and brutality, and not
much else. Matthias wondered what Marduk might do next. David
remarked that it would involve "slowing down". To this, Matthias
remarked: "I'm not sure how good that will sound." "I guess Marduk
will revert to something in the _Heaven Shall Burn..._ style", Dave
clarified, "which is fine by me."
Conversation inevitably returns to _Slaughtersun..._!
Matthias Noll: This is absolutely killer!
Paul Schwarz: And, to me, this is more intense than _Panzer
Division..._.
Pedro Azevedo: In a way it is.
PS: To me, intensity comes with emotion.
PA/MN/DR: Yeah.
PS: Suffocation's _Despise the Sun_ is more -brutal-, but less
-intense- than _Slaughtersun..._.
DR: It's a pity Suffocation split up after the only good thing in
their career. _DtS_ is fucking incredible.
David, earlier in conversation, had made the following comment
about Suffocation's _Pierced From Within_: "The best bits were the
blank spaces in-between the tracks. If they'd just made those a bit
longer..."
Matthias and David at one point got into a discussion hinging on
where the sound of The Haunted's self-titled debut had essentially
come from.
-- The Haunted - _The Haunted_ (Earache, 1998)
David Rocher: The Hauntred sounded like they had listened very
carefully to _Slaughter in the Vatican_ (Exhorder).
Matthias Noll: I thought _Slaughter..._ was overrated. _Epidemic
of Violence_ by Demolition Hammer is fast, all-out
thrash. That's something I also consider very close to
The Haunted.
Later on, Matthias remembers the time when Manowar were just a
metal band like any other, before they began proclaiming themselves
"The Kings of Metal" circa 1987's _Fighting the World_. Matthias
didn't like Manowar's material from _FtW_ onwards.
At one point in one of the two days, talk turned briefly to
Dissection. The only comment I recorded was from Dave. He remarked
that Dissection basically just played heavy metal with death metal
structures.
The last record we scrutinised in detail was Darkthrone's _A
Blaze in the Northern Sky_, which Pedro had not heard before the
following conversation took place.
-- Darkthrone - _A Blaze in the Northern Sky_ (Peaceville, 1992)
Paul Schwarz: I remember Fenriz once remarked that "Darkthrone is
total Celtic Frost worship".
Matthias Noll: I disagree. Yes, "In the Shadow of the Horns" is
"total Celtic Frost worship", but "Pagan Winter"'s
guitar lines are very unusual and I don't know any
other record which has this kind of mixture between
the primitive stuff and something more. I'd call this
progressive.
Pedro Azevedo: Emotion is a requirement for a great album: you can't
have a great album without getting some emotion from
it, for me. This is better than other Darkthrone I've
heard.
MN: I think at this point in time, the premier definition of black
metal was trying to achieve a bad sound.
David Rocher: This doesn't have a bad sound. The sound on this is
fucking good.
MN: Everyone was looking for something -professional-: they went away
from that.
Bretish Steel and Rockers on the Rocks
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On one afternoon, we went around a few CD stores in Rennes. At a
small one, Pedro picked up Soilwork's _The Chainheart Machine_.
At a larger one, we used the listening posts to check out
_Nativity in Black II: A Tribute to Black Sabbath_ and Deicide's
_Insinerhatehymn_. Needless to say, we didn't need long for either.
If you wanna hear someone rap "Sabbra Caddabra" or sing a song about
bashing bible bashers called "Bible Basher", then I suggest picking
up both without delay...
On our third day we took a day trip to Dinan, a medieval town in
the vicinity of where Dave lives. One of its streets is a long
cobbled street going down a long way on the sharp incline of a hill.
We decided this was the fabled site where Abaddon had attempted to
record a drum solo, but was chucked out of Venom before he got the
chance. Near Dinan, is the sea, and a beautiful rocky beach coming
down from rugged-ish terrain. We made joking metal poses on the rocks
for our own amusement, and laughed at the idea of an armour clad
black metal band picking over the rocks for an our to pose for an
album inlay shoot.
For dinner, David took us to an establishment that sold a
wonderful, traditional Breton meal: Galettes. We ate with cider (also
excellent) to accompany us, and when we left we even got (again, also
excellent) pizza to eat later.
That's roughly it. I'm sure all of us remember more in different
parts, but that's about all (or possibly a lot more) than you readers
will be interested in. Much of the meeting is still vivid in my
memory; I know we'll do it all again if we possibly can.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
W H A T W E H A V E C R A N K E D ! ! !
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gino's Top 5
1. Absu - _Tara_
2. Proscriptor - _The Serpentine Has Risen_
3. Tool - _Lateralus_
4. Brutal Truth - _Need to Control_
5. Entombed - _Clandestine_
Adrian's Top 5
1. Darkest Hour - _So Sedate, So Secure_
2. Slayer - _God Hates Us All_
3. Sigh - _Imaginary Sonicscapes_
4. Akercocke
