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CHRONICLES OF CHAOS e-Zine, July 7, 1999, Issue #41
http://www.interlog.com/~ginof/coc.html
Editor-in-Chief: Gino Filicetti <mailto:ginof@interlog.com>
Coordinator: Adrian Bromley <mailto:energizr@interlog.com>
Contributor/Copy Editor: Pedro Azevedo <mailto:ei94048@fe.up.pt>
Contributor/Asst. Copy Editor: Paul Schwarz <mailto:saul@cwcom.net>
Assistant Copy Editor: John Weathers <mailto:anguish@mindspring.com>
Contributor: Alain M. Gaudrault <mailto:alain@gaudrault.net>
Contributor: Brian Meloon <mailto:bmeloon@math.cornell.edu>
Contributor: Adam Wasylyk <mailto:macabre@interlog.com>
Contributor: Aaron McKay <mailto:aaronm@trxinc.com>
Contributor: David Rocher <mailto:el_rojo@dial.oleane.com>
Contributor: Gabriel Sanchez <mailto:mwnoise@yahoo.com>
Contributor: Alex Cantwell <mailto:alex@netmdc.com>
NOTE: For more Chronicles of Chaos information, check out the
'Details' section at the end of this issue.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Issue #41 Contents, 7/7/99
--------------------------
- Loud Letters
- Deadly Dialogues
-- Hypocrisy: The Hypocrite's Arising Realm
-- Arch Enemy: Arched Bridges Beware
-- Testament: A Testament to Longevity
-- Immolation: Incinerating Yourself to Live
-- Extol: Anointed for Burial
-- Diabolic: Florida's Newest Blasphemy
-- Mordecai: With Summer's Entrance, Frost Is Banished
-- Agalloch - _Pale Folklore_
-- Amsvartner - _Dreams_
-- Anathema - _Judgement_
-- Arch Enemy - _Burning Bridges_
-- Carpe Tenebrum - _Mirrored Hate Painting_
-- Dark Tranquillity - _Projector_
-- Dawn of Relic - _One Night in Carcosa_
-- Various - _Death... Is Just the Beginning 5_
-- Dreams of Sanity - _Masquerade_
-- Enthroned - _The Apocalypse Manifesto_
-- Eternal Tears of Sorrow - _Vilda Mannu_
-- Forgive Me Not - _Tearfall_
-- God Dethroned - _Bloody Blasphemy_
-- Godflesh - _Us and Them_
-- Hypocrisy - _Hypocrisy_
-- Immolation - _Failures for Gods_
-- Internal Bleeding - _Driven to Conquer_
-- Killer Khan - _Kill Devil Hills_
-- Konkhra - _The Freakshow EP_
-- Lacuna Coil - _In a Reverie_
-- Merauder - _Five Deadly Venoms_
-- Mistigo Varggoth Darkestra - _The Key to the Gates of Apocalypses_
-- No Innocent Victim - _Flesh and Blood_
-- Obtained Enslavement - _Soulblight_
-- October Tide - _Grey Dawn_
-- Sadistik Exekution - _K.A.O.S._
-- Sinergy - _Beware the Heavens_
-- Six Feet Under - _Maximum Violence_
-- Slipknot - _Slipknot_
-- Solus - _Universal Bloodshed_
-- Spitfire - _The Dead Next Door_
-- Stormtroopers of Death - _Bigger Than the Devil_
-- Vesperian Sorrow - _Beyond the Cursed Eclipse_
-- Vinnie Moore - _The Maze_
-- Blind Slime - _Hating Again..._
-- G.F.P.M. - _Demo 1_
- What We Have Cranked
- Details
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M MMMMMMMM 88
M MMMMMMMM .d8888b. dP dP .d888b88
M MMMMMMMM 88' `88 88 88 88' `88
M MMMMMMMM 88. .88 88. .88 88. .88
M M `88888P' `88888P' `88888P8
MMMMMMMMMMM
M""MMMMMMMM dP dP
M MMMMMMMM 88 88
M MMMMMMMM .d8888b. d8888P d8888P .d8888b. 88d888b. .d8888b.
M MMMMMMMM 88ooood8 88 88 88ooood8 88' `88 Y8ooooo.
M MMMMMMMM 88. ... 88 88 88. ... 88 88
M M `88888P' dP dP `88888P' dP `88888P'
MMMMMMMMMMM
This is the column where we print those lovely letters our readers
decide so graciously to write us. Whether they be positive, negative,
ignorant or just plain spelled wrong, you can rest assured that
they'll be here in their original form. If you'd like to see your own
letter here, e-mail it to <mailto:ginof@interlog.com> and enter
'Attention Loud Letters' in the subject field. Hopefully all letters
received will be featured in upcoming issues of Chronicles of Chaos.
Date: Fri, 11 Jun 1999
From: gutterBoy <we3kings@rtd.com>
Subject: Attention Loud Letters
First of, CoC is a great source of information and is intelligently
written. I always enjoy reading it and use it as a reference often.
The reason I am writing is to comment on a your treatement of
releases by bands who embrace Christianity. It seems like virtually
every one of them is reviewed by Alex Cantwell. I am not saying
anything about his writing style, it's fine. I am just wondering why
he is the only one reviewing these bands. I wonder if everyone else
is scared of these bands or feels they would not give a fair review
based on their opinion of the beliefs of the bands. A second concern
I have is in the realm of ethics. If Alex is perceived as having a
bias FOR these bands, then the validity of these reviews may come
into question.
In the end it's your 'zine (obviously) and you can do what you want.
CoC is still very good, and I am thankful for the reviews by Alex and
everyone else, that is just something I noticed.
chris
Date: Fri, 18 Jun 1999
From: Philip Hinkle <infernal@texas.net>
Subject: Attension Loud Letters
Everyone at COC,
I've been reading your e-zine for a few years now, and I have to say
I have enjoyed it more times than not. I love the small, underground
aspect of it. In fact, it has inspired me to start my own web site,
Burn the Sun, dedicated to nothing but Heavy Metal! It's about half
done, but is up and running. I have news, reviews, and various
amounts of info. It's a one man show, but I try to update every
Sunday. I just want to invite all at COC and their readers to come
and check out my site! The more places to find Heavy Meta on the
netl, the better! Check me out at www.burnthesun.com
Burn the Sun--Black, Death, Extreme, and just plain Heavy Metal!
Of course feed back both positive and negative is welcome!
Thanks and keep up the good work!
Heavy Metal is the Law!
Phil Hinkle
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T H E H Y P O C R I T E ' S A R I S I N G R E A L M
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CoC chats with Hypocrisy's Peter Tagtgren
by: David Rocher
For the release of their self-titled sixth masterpiece, I was
lucky enough to be granted a chance to interview Hypocrisy's
workaholic mastermind Peter Tagtgren. With their definitely exemplary
career never ceasing to unfold before them, this three-piece have
indeed attained a status which makes them one of the most influential
acts in the death metal world, and that makes the definitely
enlightened and unbelievably modest Peter Tagtgren a figure to whom
the entire extreme scene can well and truly afford to raise their
ale-horns.
CoC: I think a lot has gone on with Hypocrisy since the release of
_The Final Chapter_... Can you enlighten me a bit as to this?
Peter Tagtgren: Yeah, it actually became chaos for a while, because
we were supposed to quit, or at least I was supposed
to do my own thing for a while -- you know, no-one
was helping out and so on... But everything changed
for the better. A lot of fans reacted very strongly
to the fact that I wanted to quit, and it was very
flattering -- the response to the album and
everything was unbelievable!
CoC: Hypocrisy was indeed known for a while for being Peter Tagtgren
plus Lars Szoke and Michael Hedlund; on _The Final Chapter_
there were tracks written by Lars and Michael, so I'd like to
know how things are going now.
PT: It's very cool, we wrote like seven or eight songs each for this
album over a period of one year and a half, and then we just sat
down and chose the best ones. There were over twenty songs, it
was really cool to be able to do that, because usually you only
write the songs that are going to be on the album and you don't
choose, because if you choose, the album will be too short. So
this time we had like maybe two hours of music, and it felt very
good having that much -- because you can then choose the ten best
songs out of them, you know?
CoC: Sure -- and what are you going to do with the other tracks? Are
you going to release the others, or work more on them and make
them better?
PT: Maybe we'll work on a few of them and rearrange them a little
bit, but right now I have no idea.
CoC: Your new album seems to venture further into the
extra-terrestrial life concept that begun with _Abducted_. What
brought Hypocrisy to this, initially?
PT: I don't know, just my imagination, I guess, since I write the
lyrics and stuff... I've always been into it since I was a kid, I
was always afraid of it when I was a child, but still it
fascinated me a lot, and I was thinking "Why not write about it?".
CoC: What does the cover art of _Hypocrisy_ represent?
PT: To be honest, I have no idea, because we just talked to this guy
who wanted to do the cover, and we told him "Just make it nice,
we want a good quality cover, and if you can put some
science-fiction kind of feeling into it, that's cool" -- and I
think he did it really well.
CoC: Do you think you're slowly edging towards a personal kind of
science-fiction influenced death metal?
PT: Yeah, maybe; I don't know. We just write music, and if we can
come up with some crazy ideas, that's cool, you know?
CoC: It seems this drive has completely replaced the Satanic attitude
demonstrated on your early albums, and even on some tracks of
_Abducted_ -- how do you feel when you look back on your earlier
lyrics?
PT: Well, I'm proud of them, sure. That's how my personality was
then, and this is how it is today, you know; I don't want to
change or regret anything that I ever wrote or said, I just wish
we could have played better and had better production on the
first albums, but I'm still very proud of them.
CoC: Actually, I'd like to have your opinion on your various albums...
PT: Well, the first one, _Penetralia_, I totally wrote by myself, and
I was very influenced by Deicide, Morbid Angel and stuff like
that. When I heard the first Deicide album, my life changed --
there aren't many albums that'll do that nowadays, albums that'll
change your lifestyle and everything. The album was pretty much
done in a short run after we got signed. For the second one, we
started writing together a bit more, but it was still a lot of
me. We'd said that we wanted to do the most brutal album ever,
and _Osculum Obscenum_ was really brutal, I think. We tuned down
more, we played faster, it was just all into getting as brutal as
possible. On _The Fourth Dimension_, it was more like "let's try
something new" -- well, on the other hand, we weren't actually
trying something new, but we were writing these songs, and they
came out different from the past. It was a very cool thing to do,
we went to a very big studio, because we were able to do that...
and I think the production on _The Fourth Dimension_ is the worst
of any album. _Abducted_, we worked very hard on, we recorded it
once, we didn't think four songs were good enough, so we threw
them away, and wrote new songs, and we kept on doing that for
half a year, between the various recording and all. In the end,
there are maybe a couple of songs too many, but I think that
overall the album is good, and it has a very nice and polished
sound. And then, when we did _The Final Chapter_, we said "Let's
make it with a dirtier sound and make it more rock", but we still
continued mixing music the way we did [before], fast with slower
and mid-tempo parts -- there are actually a lot of fast parts on
that album. What I wanted to do with that album was work on the
vocals, try to put in some new kind of styles for me and get the
melodies out, and on the newest album we did it even more, we
stretched our limits a bit more, I think.
CoC: I noticed that the latest album contains more atmospheric
tracks, mid-paced with keys and a lot of atmosphere -- is this
something we can expect from Hypocrisy in future?
PT: I don't know, it's hard to say. We don't know ourselves where we
are going, so I don't want to say anything. We are so
unpredictable to ourselves, it all depends on how we feel on that
day...
CoC: Something that I noticed on _The Fourth Dimension_ is there were
maybe less Satanic tracks and more tracks that talked about the
fear of death, and it had a very claustrophobic cover -- was
this a preoccupation of yours at the time?
PT: Yeah, I think it was the way I was feeling at the time, kind of
claustrophobic, and I guess you can tell in certain songs...
CoC: Like the title track, "The Fourth Dimension", which is really
choking?
PT: Yeah, exactly. You never plan anything, though, the way you feel
just rubs off you.
CoC: I guess your musical influences have changed a bit in the space
of six albums -- you mentioned Deicide, Morbid Angel and
Malevolent Creation for _Penetralia_, so what are you into now?
PT: It's pretty much the same, but it feels like I already wrote it,
so now it's time to do something else, so it's a lot of different
inputs -- so I have Depeche Mode's _Ultra_ album as a favourite
right now, but I also have the first Deicide album, so I mean,
everything in between.
CoC: The track "Timewarp" on the latest album sounds pretty much like
a track from the first Pain album... What's happening with Pain
now?
PT: Right now, I'm working on the album and it looks like it's going
to come out on Polygram, so I have no idea about what's going to
happen, but it's looking real good, they really want to push the
album.
CoC: What's it going to sound like, anything like your first album?
PT: No, this will be totally different, it will be more into
industrial and techno, and sounds like that, it'll be more like
Rammstein, Rob Zombie and stuff like that, clean vocals and
screaming vocals...
CoC: What about your other side-projects? What's with The Abyss, War,
etc.?
PT: War was just one mini-album to me [_Total War_, out on Necropolis
-- David] and The Abyss, we were like sitting around after
_Summon the Beast_ and thinking "We can't do as brutal an album
any more", so we won't do it -- it's stupid to try doing
something when you know you can't do better.
CoC: You were drumming for Sorhin, too...
PT: That was a long time ago, their drummer just left two days before
entering the studio, so...
CoC: <awed> You learned all the tracks in two days?!
PT: Yeah, I had to! <laughs> And I had a call last year in October,
and it was Nick from Cradle of Filth [now in Dimmu Borgir --
David], and he was like, "Hey, do you want to sing on the new
Terrorizer album, except it's not going to be called
Terrorizer?!" I said "Sure!", you know, it's him, Shane and Jesse
from Napalm Death...
CoC: Brilliant!
PT: Yeah, it's called Lockup, and they came over to my studio in
February, and I put the vocals on it, and it sounds really cool,
if you're into Terrorizer and old Napalm Death! So that one will
also be cool, but I only spent two days on it, they spent a lot
of time writing and recording stuff. It was really cool, they
wrote the lyrics and everything, so I just had to put the vocals
on...
CoC: Your studios are getting massive praise, you recently even
converted Enslaved and Immortal, and Marduk don't want to go
anywhere else than The Abyss. How did the sessions with Immortal
and Enslaved go, since it was near to the first time they were
venturing out of the Grieghallen?
PT: Yeah, I was very excited, and I didn't know what to expect from
Immortal, because I'd never known them before. It just turned up
they were super cool guys, very easy to work with and all, and I
was very surprised, and I was very happy with final mix. It's
very clean, nice and powerful.
CoC: And Enslaved?
PT: Well, I knew Ivar from going on tour with Marduk, he was helping
Mysticum out with the computers. They're also really cool to work
with, we tried to do something a little different, and it was
really great, for sure!
CoC: What are the next scheduled productions?
PT: Mayhem, and then I will do Borknagar, Old Man's Child, and then
Immortal are coming back, and I think I'll also do the next
Enslaved. It will be very nice to know all these bands are lining
up!
CoC: It seems you're reaching the same kind of "legendary" status
with your band, projects and studios as Dan Swano did -- how do
you feel about this?
PT: It feels great, it's a dream come true, to have this situation,
it's really... <laughs>
CoC: I read a while ago that you had another studio under
construction....
PT: Yeah, I have three studios, and my brother works in the other
one, and the third one is a smaller one in which I can go and lay
down some ideas if I want.
CoC: What bands would you ultimately like to record one day?
PT: I think Rammstein would be super killer, for sure. It's different
from what I've been doing, and you always need different things
to make it interesting, and that'll give you something when it
comes to inspiration and things like that. If you do five black
metal bands in a row, it will be very hard to be creative.
CoC: What are the tour prospects and general future prospects for
Hypocrisy?
PT: We will do a lot of festivals this Summer, and a two-week tour in
September, and then we're not going to rush anything -- I guess
we'll just take it easy, see if anything else comes up, and start
thinking about the next album...
CoC: Last words?
PT: I just hope to see you when we eventually get over to France, we
haven't been there since '96, I think...
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
A R C H E D B R I D G E S B E W A R E
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CoC talks to Mike Amott of Arch Enemy
by: Paul Schwarz
I have to be honest, after Arch Enemy's debut, _Black Earth_,
was appraised so highly and near-universally by metal music critics,
I was expecting it to light my fire considerably more than it
ultimately did. It is a damn good record and its focus on
incorporating more melody into a _Heartwork_-era Carcass type sound
works well for it. When _Stigmata_ [CoC #32], the band's Century
Media debut, appeared around the middle of last year, I was again
gratified and disappointed at the same time. Though _Stigmata_ was
more progressive yet still heavy, it lacked some of the vitriol and
crispness of _Black Earth_ and ultimately wasn't the record I had
hoped for. Why am I so fiercely critical of Arch Enemy? I am so
fiercely critical of Arch Enemy because the band line-up consists of
some of the most brilliant and respected musicians of the Swedish
death metal scene. Johan Liiva's incredible vocals graced such works
of mastery as Furbowl's _Those Shredded Dreams_, drummer Daniel
Erlandson has provided the pounding rhythms for In Flames and
Eucharist recordings, Christopher Amott's skills are amply displayed
on Arch Enemy's records and in his own Armageddon project, and Mike
Amott was the second guitarist in Carcass, probably my favourite
death metal band, on their two best albums, along with helping to
create Carnage's _Dark Recollections_ and playing in Candlemass. So,
to cut a long story shorter, my expectations of this band are very
high, maybe unfairly high, but that's the way it is.
Late last month I got _Burning Bridges_, the latest Arch Enemy
album (which features the talents of Sharlee D'Angelo of Mercyful
Fate / Witchery in addition to the above participators). It would be
an understatement to merely say "they have not disappointed me with
their third offering". Featuring less of the more extravagant
progressive-styled adventures of _Stigmata_ and a little more of the
pummelling riff-assault of _Black Earth_, Arch Enemy's second release
for Century Media cuts a line between the two sounds Arch Enemy have
tried in the past and is their most satisfying record yet. On the
line from the band's studio in Sweden, Mike Amott tells me about how
things around _Burning Bridges_ shaped up, and in general his
attitude to Arch Enemy and his other project Spiritual Beggars.
Through dud phone connections and a temperamental dictaphone, this is
what transpired.
CoC: You've played in a couple of seminal death metal bands, Carnage
and Carcass; do you feel a duty to evolve the style in your work
in Arch Enemy?
Mike Amott: Well, I don't feel... It's not my responsibility, really,
I just play whatever I find interesting. I think it is
just natural that it kind of evolves, the sound. It's not
something that I think about too much, like in Arch Enemy
there's a lot of influences that aren't strictly death
metal.
[At this point my phone cuts off and I have to call Mike again.]
CoC: You were saying you don't necessarily have to be death metal; do
you consider Arch Enemy to be a death metal band, or any kind of
band in particular, or do you see it more as a free musical
avenue?
MA: I just don't give it that much thought, you know. I think I have
developed my own writing style, and the stuff I come up with is,
uh, I don't know... 'Cause I've been playing this kind of music
for a long time now, I don't really think about it too much, it's
just like, the way, when I write, you know, more extreme metal,
this is the way it sounds.
CoC: But you do have the two different bands, you have Spiritual
Beggars...
MA: Yeah, exactly, yeah, and that's why, you know... The reason for
that is that I like things to be sort of... I like to do the
different things because they're both sort of heavy, sort of
guitar music, but, you know, there's a different approach to each
band. They both can be... I think I can do pretty much what I
want within these two bands, there's a lot of space to grow as a
musician, and I don't have to make Arch Enemy softer. A lot of
bands, they change, they want to become more rock, some death
metal bands want to become more rocky or whatever, and I think a
lot of the times it doesn't work out that well.
CoC: I think that was the case with Carcass a bit.
MA: Yeah, definitely, after I left.
CoC: So, time-wise, do you find it's easy to fit Arch Enemy in with
Spiritual Beggars?
MA: Well, virtually everybody I am playing with is basically in both
bands, and they've got their other stuff going on at the same
time. It is pretty hard, you know, with our time schedules and
stuff, but now and again we sit down all together in a room and
look through our calendars, try to fit it in, you know, "Maybe if
you fly in this day or that day...". It's pretty chaotic at
times, but we all enjoy doing Arch Enemy very much. Everybody
that is a part of that band really wants to do it, so we just
make it work sometimes.
CoC: Okay, what's the story behind the recruitment of Sharlee on
bass, how come he joined the band?
MA: Well, basically, after our last tour of Japan, November last
year, we kicked out our previous bass player, but we had the
studio booked for recording [_Burning Bridges_] three weeks
later. So we were kinda like "Oh shit, who's gonna play". We
kicked the old guy out and then we sat down and thought "Who's
gonna play bass?" I wanted somebody really good that could work
really well with our drummer and the best bass player that I knew
was Sharlee. He's been a friend for a while, a few years, and I
knew he was a great bass player, but I knew he was very busy, you
know.
CoC: The man of a hundred bands...
MA: Yeah, he's done a lot of recording, but I didn't expect anything
of him. I just called him up and said "Do you wanna do it?", but
first he was complaining. We were just talking about this and
that and he said "Oh, I'm doing so much stuff now, and I have to
stop doing..." this and that. Then I said "Well, y'know, I'm not
gonna tell you why I'm calling, then", and he said "Why? What is
it?". "Do you wanna play on our new album?" And he's like, "Oh
yeah, sure." <we both laugh> "Sounds like fun." He ended up doing
that, but you know, I didn't expect him to do anything else than
the album, but he's really into it now. We played the Dynamo
festival and we played in South America, so far, with him, live
and it's been working out really really well, and this is a great
rhythm section with Daniel [Erlandson] on drums and Sharlee. It
really makes a difference, even in death metal, to have a great
rhythm section. It's like really swinging now, <laughs> it's kind
of grooving a little bit, but it's got a pretty good feel to it
and everybody's on the same level musically. Sharlee came in so
late on this album that he wasn't at all involved in the writing
of the album. He added all his... I wanted the sort of bass
playing that really felt more alive, so instead of just following
the root notes, he's more a traditional, hard rock bass player in
that he's got a lot of bass lines and stuff, works together with
the drums very well: I'm really happy.
CoC: So, has he improved your live performances as well?
MA: Yeah, I mean he's got a lot of routine from touring for years and
years with Mercyful Fate, so he's great live, and his bass sound
is way heavier than what we've ever had before, so it's made us
heavier and better. <laughs>
CoC: With _Burning Bridges_ I kind of get the impression slightly
that it goes a bit back to the first album in terms of being a
bit more riff-heavy. If you think about the position the album
holds in comparison to your others, where does it stand?
MA: Well, I was really really happy with the first album that we did,
_Black Earth_ [1996], it is one of my favourites out of all the
albums I have done, out of all the albums that I've recorded.
Then the second one, for me, personally, was a bit of a
disappointment.
CoC: How the writing turned out...?
MA: Yeah, both the writing and the recording. It was just a bit of an
overall disappointment for me compared to the first one, but now,
I think this new one, like you said it's kind of a combination of
the two, maybe, 'cause I think we went overboard on the
progressive, more technical stuff on the second album, and we're
not really out to prove anything now, we're just kind of going
with it. I wanted some of that brutality back from the first
album, with the return of Daniel... With Daniel back on the drums
again it's like... He's really important for the sound of Arch
Enemy, I think. When I write, I have the riffs and a lot of the
structures, but I bring that down with me to the rehearsal room,
and that's where it really happens. Everybody's an important part
of the band.
CoC: That's where it all comes together?
MA: Yeah, exactly, we change the whole feel of the song and it can
turn into something else.
CoC: How do you feel about being called a death metal supergroup by
your label?
[Dictaphone cut out for a few seconds.]
MA: <laughs> This band -is- full of legends.
CoC: Yeah, you've got Johan from Furbowl, you've done Carcass, and
Daniel's been in In Flames and Eucharist.
MA: Yeah, I don't know, it doesn't really count in the end, you know;
if the music is good that's all that counts. For what we're doing
now, if it's interesting to people -- people find it exciting,
good --, what we've done in the past is like... Labels always do
that, you know. I can see that if they want to get people
interested, like "Ah, he's played with..." whoever, this and this
band and they just want to get people to actually listen to it.
If it makes somebody pick it up and go "Ah, I liked Carcass", or
whatever, "I'll give it a listen", and maybe it is something
that's up their street. But... it wasn't my idea.
CoC: With the title of the album, are you -burning- any bridges?
MA: <laughs> Musically?
CoC: Yeah, with respect to what you want to progress or regress to,
or are you pretty open?
MA: We're really open musically, and we've already written a bunch of
new songs. I think it [_BB_] is just a mixture of everything. I
think it's going to be really cool. I'm in a really sort of
creative period right now, doing a lot of writing and stuff. I
don't really put any limitations... What's fun with Arch Enemy is
that everybody is really good on their instrument, the playing is
very high quality, I think, in the band. We just kind of do a
little bit of what we want, we do a lot of stuff that's kind
of... We're really into having really softer, more sort of
emotional parts or whatever. You know, lead guitar and clean
guitars: pretty sounding stuff. I like to have this sort of scope
where there are two opposites: the total brutality of the fast
parts and the evil notes and stuff (and then the soft parts).
Sometimes me and my brother sit and play and think "Maybe this is
gonna sound too... soft", but then when we just play it at
rehearsal, with Johan's vocals on top and everything, and the way
we play it, because we play... Even if we have something that's
maybe more traditional, hard rock / heavy metal sort of idea, the
delivery is just so brutal and aggressive or whatever... So it
just sounds good anyway, you know. It doesn't sound wimpy, I
think.
CoC: I think, for me anyway, listening to it, I felt that
"Silverwing" and maybe "Angelclaw" -were- almost going to far,
and then listening to it more, it doesn't, it just captures the
dynamic, but it runs, for me anyway, pretty close to the edge.
[Dictaphone cuts out for a few seconds.]
[Someone needs a new dictaphone! -- Gino]
MA: Yeah, that's cool. We were kind of aware of stuff like
"Silverwing", you know, we thought "Maybe this is a bit close to
the edge". <laughs> Are people just going to say "What the hell
is this?" Because that's like major chord structures, it's not
minor [nearly all death metal is written in minor chord
structures -- Paul] and we were kind of afraid that it was going
to sound too happy, but I don't think it sounds happy, it sounds
kind of... I don't know. I really like to have really strong
emotions in the music, you know, the melodies and stuff. That's
really what we want to do, have the extreme emotions: really sad
and then really brutal. I think it's a pretty cool mix, you know,
I don't think there's anybody out there who's mixing things, that
sounds exactly like Arch Enemy.
CoC: I would agree with that.
MA: And maybe that's working for us or maybe will work for us in some
respects, but I think in many ways it probably works against us.
It's been proven; it's often easier to sound like something
that's a trend or whatever's going on. I mean, we do fit into
this whole Swedish melodic death thing, but in other ways, we're
not only that. We don't really feel like we're a part of anything
like that, we just want to play metal. <laughs>
CoC: [Dictaphone cut out most of my question, but at a guess:] Do you
feel you have to be careful not to go overboard with what you
incorporate into Arch Enemy?
MA: I have a really strong belief in riffs, riffs are like my
religion, you know. <we both laugh> I really believe in those
things, like heavy guitars and guitar solos. That doesn't seem to
be too much a part of a lot of those bands... I like those bands,
I think some of them are really good, but I don't think we have
the same... Especially now. All these bands are coming out with
new albums and they all sound totally different from each other.
So, I think everybody in that scene is kind of coming into their
own now, or the bands that have been going for a few years,
anyway.
CoC: Yeah, I think the new Dark Tranquillity and In Flames are a bit
different.
MA: Yeah, I mean you can't really compare Dark Tranquillity to In
Flames anymore. I think Arch Enemy is...
CoC: A bit more Carcass-like?
MA: Yeah, I think so, I mean a lot of people are saying now "It
really reminds me of Carcass", and that's not so hard to
understand. I mean I wrote maybe 40% of the _Heartwork_ album,
musically, and obviously that's just what it sounds like. This is
what I think that kind of music should be like, or whatever.
Obviously they influenced me a lot, shaped me. <laughs>
CoC: Do you ever think of working with Bill [Steer, Carcass guitarist
and main songwriter]? He's not doing anything at the moment.
MA: He's doing something, yeah, he's doing demos, I think he's
recording an album this Summer. He's working with the drummer
from Spiritual Beggars and the bass player from Cathedral, Leo
Smee.
CoC: Would you mind talking briefly about some of your musical
influences and music tastes?
MA: I listen to a wide variety of stuff, really, and that's my
parents' fault, I guess, because their record collection ranges
from anything, from classical music through jazz to soul music
from the '60s and '70s. Then I like a lot of '70s rock, classic
stuff: Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, obviously, the beginnings of
heavy metal or whatever. But for Arch Enemy I suppose the whole
twin guitar thing, that has a heavy emphasis with Arch Enemy. I
guess that's from Judas Priest, Iron Maiden obviously, and stuff
like that, and then the more brutal aspects of it are just me
growing up listening to underground death metal and stuff from
the '80s. That kind of ruined me, I guess. <I laugh> Listening to
all those demos and tapes and stuff. So I've got that as well,
you know; a bunch of stuff. I listen to a lot of more progressive
stuff, I'll listen to anything, really. Pop, rock, anything.
You'd be surprised to hear what actually influences us sometimes.
But I'm not going to tell anybody. <laughs>
CoC: [Again, dictaphone cuts out my question, something about it
being good to have diverse influences.]
MA: I think bands that are only influenced by their own sort of genre
are often really boring. You hear some bands and they are so
traditional and so... I don't know, but there's a fine balance
there, you know. And then I don't like bands who have their own
mixture of everything; that can't seem to make up their mind. I
thought -funk metal-, for an example, was a pretty bad marriage.
CoC: Yeah, I've never heard that work too well.
MA: No exactly, yeah. I mean I like funk, and I like metal. I think
it is good to have a healthy spectrum of influences; a broad
spectrum of influences.
CoC: Yeah, I think what happened with a lot of early death metal
bands... <cut off again> [... is that after a while they want to
be less all-out brutal and incorporate more groove or melody.]
MA: That's what kind of happened with Carcass, that we kind of got
into this whole "Let's mix in more of this traditional metal, you
know, metal chord progressions, and let's put some guitar solos
and the melodies and stuff in there", and you just have to do
something with it, and that's what I've kind of continued with
Arch Enemy: along those lines. But some bands are kind of
bringing in more influences from goth music into the death metal
stuff, and some people are going more electronic, and it's just
people trying to do something with what you've got, you know.
CoC: And sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.
MA: Yeah, exactly, and it's kind of... I don't think there are any
set rules for music, music is just a huge, vast sort of
landscape, really, and just staying in one place all your life
must be pretty boring, because you're sort of "We have to be
extremely brutal and have blast beats and gruff vocals all the
way through, on every album, forever". And I do like bands like
Deicide, because they are kind of reliable <laughs>, you know?
Buying an Arch Enemy album can be a risky affair, I don't know...
<laughs>
CoC: Yeah, I'd agree and I think sometimes I like the traditional
stuff, but for me Cynic and Nocturnus are among my favourite
death metal bands, and they're also some of the most innovative
and different ones. And they made and sold nothing because
no-one [OK, few people] understood them, or what they were
doing, pretty much. But that's the risk you take: underground
popularity, for, even in the death metal scene, overground lack
of sales.
MA: Yeah, exactly.
CoC: But I don't know, I think Arch Enemy, to me anyway, catch
something a little bit... you definitely don't fall into the
trap of some bands of just disappearing up your own arse. I
think there's a huge danger -- not that I have any problem with
progressive rock, I love Rush --, but I think you can so easily
just lose yourself.
MA: That is just a very, very dangerous path. <laughs> Yeah, but I am
a fan of that stuff and I do respect a lot of the musicianship
and stuff, but we just like to take little ingredients from
different fields of music and just mix it up. I mean I'm talking
about... Somebody who's going to go and buy the album, the
_Burning Bridges_ album, they're just going to be... it's just
like super-heavy, intense, in your face and brutal vocals. It's
still brutal and heavy, it's just little nuances in music.
CoC: Okay, you've been saying a lot about the album and how fans
might receive it, but with you guys playing live 'round the
world, what would you say to people who might come check out the
shows?
MA: I'm just hoping that people are going to be into coming down and
checking us out, 'cause I think with this new line-up we have, it
just felt so good in South America and at the Dynamo festival, so
we're really eager to go out there and play more and that will
happen, so it should be fun and hopefully we'll see people on the
road.
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A T E S T A M E N T T O L O N G E V I T Y
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CoC talks to thrash legends Testament
by: Adrian Bromley
Testament -- know them?
Of course you do. This is the band that stormed out of the San
Francisco's Bay Area in the late 1980s, kicking up their heels and
giving it to us good with their monstrous array of thrashing numbers.
Much like the leaders of the pack at that time -- Exodus, Metallica
and Slayer --, Testament was oriented around one sole purpose: play
metal. And that they did.
From that era up to the present it has been a glorious but
turbulent ride for Testament. Line-up changes, label changes and
anything else that could plague a band (including a short break-up
scenario) has been thrown into the face of Testament and its
bandmembers. But like a trooper they ride on, carrying the flag of
metal and playing hard 'n' heavy. Testament, one of the few veteran
metal acts out there playing true to form and not selling out, is
poised to conquer the metal world as we lead into the millennium with
the brilliantly etched _The Gathering_ record [CoC #39]. With a
line-up that consists of Testament founding members Chuck Billy
(vocals) and guitarist Eric Peterson, guitar slayer James Murphy
(ex-Death, ex-Obituary), Steve DiGorgio (Sadus and ex-Death) and drum
God Dave Lombardo (ex-Slayer, Grip Inc.), where could they go wrong,
I ask you? Where?
"It's been a long hard year for us, but finally the new record
is out", says guitarist Eric Peterson from his home in California.
"We came off a long hard tour and our distribution of the last record
[_Demonic_] fell to shit. It's been a struggle with us for a while.
Atlantic Records dropped the ball with the _Low_ record a few years
back and so we put out _Demonic_ on our own label Burnt Offerings and
the distribution just fell right through on us. We were getting
really frustrated with all that was happening and pissed off at doing
this, but I knew we had a lot of good material in us so we pressed
on. We started working on this record."
"It was a really cool vibe for the making of this record. In
terms of getting to work with Dave Lombardo, we were touring South
America and needed a drummer to go, but he was busy, as expected",
explains Peterson. "He mentioned he wanted to jam one day, so when we
were working on the record he came up for a few sessions with us and
we jammed out some numbers. I'd be ready with my riffs and we made
sure it all worked out. The two songs that came out of those jams
were "Careful What You Wish For" and "Eyes of Wrath". It was just a
good vibe that both Chuck [Billy] and I we're getting from Dave.
Getting James [Murphy] and Steve [DiGiorgio] into the band was pretty
much of the same. We knew them and they came into the picture. It's
all worked out, as you can tell by giving the record a listen."
With Billy and Peterson being the sole founding members of
Testament left, it must be a strong bond between the two to keep
things rolling and staying metal. Right? "Yeah... that's true. That's
exactly as it has been. We tried to keep the line-up that we had with
_Low_, but it didn't work out. I wish it would have, 'cause it was a
strong line-up, but it didn't. After we had broken up for a few
weeks, we hooked up with Gene Hoglan [SYL, ex-Death] and it got the
juices flowing again and it was only for a short time. Things went
certain ways and there were more line-up changes. It just never seems
to end... <laughs> It never ends with Testament. We just figure each
time out we'll try to make a different record, a different cycle of
where Testament is at, and I think we have done that over the years
and because of the line-up changes, etc., it makes each record unique
in its own right."
The evolution of Testament has never really strayed from being a
metal band and that is pleasing to many die-hard metal fans out
there. Why does Peterson think that is, that the band has not geared
down and ventured off to other musical styles or even slowed down? "I
think after the split with the original line-up and all the changes
that we have endured we have managed to stay heavy. We've butted
heads with many members to change things around and that has been
happening throughout the years, but it came to a point where both
Chuck and I decided we aren't going to compromise any more. Testament
has to be heavy. We're not changing one bit. We see it like this: if
you feel the need to branch out and do alternative pop/rock or
something like that, start an alter ego type band. Testament should
be what it's always been: a metal band. We have to keep our loyal
fans pleased with what we do and if we go off and do something
different we may lose those fans. We're metal still and our fans
respect that."
About the meaning of the new record to him, he comments: "I
think of this record as just another Testament record. It's a
gathering of the millennium and a gathering of some great musicians.
It's a super group for metal music and I think it's a really good
metal record. It's true to form and we're not copying any other metal
acts. I think Testament is bringing metal back in the most sincere
way."
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I N C I N E R A T I N G Y O U R S E L F T O L I V E
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CoC chats with Ross Dolan of Immolation
by: Paul Schwarz
I first encountered Immolation when I was given a tape of their
1996 _Here in After_ [CoC #6] album, their second, and Dark Funeral's
_The Secrets of the Black Arts_. The latter succeeded in boring me
very quickly, but the former I simply could not stop listening to.
Immolation produce a warped, sometimes difficult to follow style of
death metal which definitely preserves roots such as Autopsy, and
even mirrors certain elements of fellow New Jersey death metallers
Incantation, but essentially has its own, individual character. The
use of dissonance by guitarists Robert Vigna and Thomas Wilkinson,
the vague melody superimposed on Ross Dolan's incredible low and
brutal vocals, the eclectic drum style of Craig Smilowski (who has
now been replaced by Alex Hernandez) and the powerful, well thought
out lyrical content quickly turned Immolation into one of my
favourite death metal bands. Researching their history, I found that
they were another band whose career had been viciously held up for
years by the greed of the trend-orientated minds who run Roadrunner
Records. This also made my search for their 1991 _Dawn of Possession_
debut a long trawl through countless second hand record stores.
Last year I looked forward to seeing them at the Milwaukee
Metalfest, but unfortunately the band were in the middle of finishing
their new album. I awaited _Failures for Gods_, as the title of their
second release for Metal Blade became, with bated breath, but '98
disappeared, five months of '99 went by, and still no _FfG_. Then,
just after the Dynamo festival, it came, and damn was it worth the
wait. The record is reviewed elsewhere, but let's just say here that
it wasn't any kind of disappointment.
Talking to vocalist/bassist Ross Dolan, who was at Metal Blade
Germany for interviews, I satisfied my curiosity about all things
_FfG_, and the situations surrounding it and the band.
CoC: How's it going?
Ross Dolan: Good. This is the first day of interviews, it's been
going pretty good, it's nice to be over here.
CoC: Are you guys touring at all at the moment...
RD: No, just doing interviews, I don't think we'll be touring here
[Europe] realistically until about fall, so that's good: it'll
give the album time to sink in.
CoC: And you're doing the Milwaukee Metalfest...
RD: Yeah, the Metalfest and a bunch of stuff leading up to that.
CoC: What do you think _FfG_ says about Immolation now, in 1999, with
your past releases taken into account; what kind of statement do
you think it makes to the death metal scene and people in
general?
RD: I think it is making a very strong statement. It's definitely,
without a doubt, our strongest album, on all accounts: strongest
musically, strongest lyrically, conceptually, and it is also our
best produced album. So I think when people hear this, obviously
fans of Immolation will definitely be impressed, because I think
it blows away the last two albums, and maybe people who aren't
fans of Immolation, but maybe fans of extreme music, will also
appreciate it too. I think it is definitely making a statement
that we are still here, and we're not going away, and the music
is still here: that's the most important thing. We get asked a
lot "Well, what do you think of the death metal scene?", or the
metal scene in general. And when asked this about the US I'd
definitely have to answer that metal in the US is basically dead.
Hip-hop and Korn and Marilyn Manson are the big thing in the US
right now, extreme music: death metal, black metal, what have
you; the scene is definitely strong in the US but it's more
underground than it has been, but that is not saying it's not
strong, 'cause it is very strong. There's still very big turnouts
at the shows, there's definitely interested people, it's just
that a lot of the new kids aren't exposed to it as much, they're
exposed to bands like Korn and Marilyn Manson and that type of
stuff, and they don't know that this type of stuff exists. It's
unfortunate.
CoC: Picking up on couple of your points about the album, with
regards to the lyrics and concept. I've listened to the album
about eleven times or so...
RD: Wow!
CoC: ... a few times reading along with the lyrics and what have you,
I have the feeling that it has quite a strong concept which goes
through the music and the lyrics, ending with the last two
minutes of the last song, that has a very final sort of feel to
it. Is there like a story concept running through the album or
has it got one -aim- as a concept?
RD: Ummm, well, I wouldn't say really a story concept. All the songs
basically deal with our personal feelings and viewpoints on
religion, and we look at it from all different angles and we take
it from different points of view, but they all come back to the
same feelings. As a band we all feel the same way, which is good,
it helps and it is something we can all relate to on a personal
level, because, let's face it, religion, it's a very dominating
thing, it's very controlling, it controls people on all different
levels and we're surrounded by it. We grew up with it. It
definitely had some kind of impact on our upbringings, and on our
childhoods, to a certain extent, whether it be going to Catholic
school or being raised in a Catholic household, and it is
something which does have an influence on your earlier years. As
you get older, you have two types of people: you have people who
are just going to continue on and fall in with the herd and
follow, or people who are going to say "Well, let's question what
we've been taught, is this really the way we actually feel in our
hearts about things?", and that's not how -we- felt in our
hearts, and I think a lot of people probably agree with us,
because it is something that most people just never give thought
to.
CoC: Yeah, and I'm certainly one of the people who agree with you. On
the subject of your upbringing, were most of you or some of you
brought up in particularly strict religious backgrounds?
RD: Umm, not -strict- strict, but it was definitely something that
was, I guess, relevant in our childhoods. I for one went to a
Catholic high school and I drew a lot inspiration from what I
learned and what I saw in those years, and actually that was a
period of my life where I was able to look at things in a
different light and question things -- which was probably a
turning point for me, which was good and it's something I'm able
to elaborate on now, at this point in my life.
CoC: And I get the impression the song "Failures for Gods" may have
been inspired by this being, as I think it is, about the
leadership of religion and how that has led to religion to be an
influence on society?
RD: Oh, you're absolutely right, and it's cool, I'm glad you actually
read the lyrics and you're interested in that, that's definitely
cool.
CoC: Not to be preachy to anyone, but I think the best way of
interviewing -is- to really get into a band and see it like a
fan, and not just as a product.
RD: Right, right, well, that's cool, man, we definitely appreciate
that. Yeah, so you're absolutely right, "Failures for Gods", you
hit it on the nose, that's basically what the song is dealing
with. The title itself could be looked at in two different ways:
"Failures -for- Gods", meaning people who worship gods are a
failure, in a certain way, because they don't have the inner
strength or strength in general to see these things as so
intangible and so unrealistic that they can't get on with their
lives and they can't make decisions on their own without having
this crutch; or you could look at it in the sense that these
gods, in turn, who are being worshipped, are failures in the
sense that they will never ever deliver what these people are
expecting, realistically speaking. I look at things from a very
realistic point of view and it's just not realistic, it's not
tangible, it's really just... <laughs> It's a nice story to tell,
and it's something cool to tell the kids, but to base your life
on it is just not feasible.
CoC: <laughs> Yeah, I see what you're saying, so would you say with
Immolation that you're anti-Christian, anti-religion, would you
call yourselves Satanic, for example? Because one of the icons
that you mention a lot, across your albums, is Jesus, and God in
the Christian sense.
RD: Right, right, and that's only because of how we were brought up,
as Catholics and as Christians. That was the icon; Jesus Christ
was the icon and I think Christianity... it's very prevalent all
over the world. But I would say we're definitely -not- a Satanic
band, we're basically anti-religion, but we're just anti-control,
really. We're not into that whole control thing and that's
basically what religion does, it controls and manipulates and it
just soaks up money. <laughs> You know what I'm saying? The
church is so... unbelievable, <laughs> they have so much land and
so many riches, they don't get taxed, it's a big scam, really.
CoC: And there's a whole history of that going back to the beginning
of the church...
RD: Oh right, that's not even getting back to the history, <I laugh>
to the millions of people who died in the name of religion and
Christ and God, it's just really such a bizarre, overwhelming
thing when you think about it. But, if you're familiar with the
last album [_Here in After_], we even say in one of the songs
that it is not hate and it's really not a hatred thing for us, we
don't -hate- Christians, we don't -hate-... it's just something
we don't agree with and again we're not about... we're not trying
to convince people, we're not trying to change anybody's mind,
it's just... if you agree with us you do, if you don't, you
don't. But the music and the lyrics go hand in hand for us.
CoC: I was going to touch just briefly on the concept thing, I detect
slightly the millennial, doomsday thing; a few songs seem to
have a lot about it. "Stench of High Heaven" and "The Devil I
Know" seem to talk about a new coming age with the Devil
replacing Christ...
RD: Right.
CoC: ... something of that description; is that at all related to the
whole doomsday, millennium thing?
RD: No, no. Not really. You mentioned "The Devil I Know" and "Stench
of High Heaven"?
CoC: Yeah, "Stench of High Heaven".
RD: Yeah, well, basically, "Stench of High Heaven"... in a nutshell,
that song is about the absurdity of the whole concept of Heaven,
about the whole concept of "if you live a certain way you're
going to go to this really cool place, extreme Nirvana, where
everything is all nice and beautiful" and this and that and blah,
blah blah blah blah. Again, it's a nice story, but
realistically... honestly, nobody knows what happens when you're
dead, because obviously you're dead. And I would like to think
that we go on to maybe a higher form of existence where there is
no pain and there is no suffering and there is no hardship like
we have here, but that's wishful thinking. <laughs>
CoC: Yes, I'd say that's definitely wishful thinking and that's a
good hope, but also why is it certain people are going there and
certain people aren't? That's the other illogicality [well,
actually only one of many of them --Paul] I can't understand.
RD: Right, it's a very hypocritical thing, because for example I'm
sure most of these people would look upon a band like us or
people like us in a very dark light because of what we sing
about, what we do... but as people they don't really know us and,
you know, for this scene in general I've met so many cool people
over the past thirteen years, who would definitely be looked down
upon by the Church in general because of their beliefs and their
views, but they're all good people, man, they're hard working
people, a lot of the people we know are pretty straightedge, they
don't drink, they don't smoke, they're respectful, and it is all
about how you treat people, and it is about upbringing and that's
it. One of my philosophies is "What comes around goes around" and
I firmly believe that and I see it happening <laughs> all the
time, so I just like to treat people with respect and that's the
respect that I would desire from people.
CoC: The cover artworks [for your albums] seems to tell a story of
some description, in comic book form, but I was going to ask,
you say your lyrics are -actually- about control and things, but
your artwork and the imagery you use is, not Satanic, but very
much using the stories of religion and the stories which are not
religious, but of Lovecraft or whatever; how does that part of
it come in and why is [Immolation] not a very realistic seeming,
political band, like, say, Rage Against the Machine or something?
RD: Well, I mean, politics for one doesn't interest me, it's all
bullshit. It just doesn't excite me. The artwork for the album,
actually, if you read the lyrics for "Once Ordained", basically
what's depicted in the artwork is what's going on in the lyrics
of that song. The artwork obviously also conveys the message of
"Failures for Gods", but what you're seeing there... and even on
the inside, if you notice we wrote the little chorus or refrain
or whatever you call it, from ["Once Ordained"], and basically
it's people being... you see the people, the masses being blindly
led by God or Christ or whoever you want it to be; we depicted
Christ on the inside cover. Basically, on the outside of the
front cover you see... obviously it's plain that it's the Devil;
it's a dark figure representing evil and the people flocked,
which symbolises people following the religion, and then on the
inside you open it up and to their astonishment; they're amazed
to see that... they see the face of Christ but it's really the
Devil.
CoC: You missed last year's Metalfest because you were mixing your
album?
RD: Yeah, we were right in the middle of recording and we just
couldn't leave. <laughs>
CoC: That being last July, why did it take so long to release _FfG_?
RD: Basically, when you get right down to it, it was the artwork. We
approached Andreas [Marschall, whose artwork has graced all of
Immolation's albums thus far --Paul] right after we got out of
the studio and he was unfortunately booked up until the end of
the year, and because we have the two completely separate pieces
of artwork and the little icons on the inside, it took him much
longer to do. So that was the big delay, and you know what?, we
decided it was much better to wait, and get a packaging that was
worth the wait, rather than to put out something that we weren't
going to be happy with.
CoC: Absolutely.
RD: And we're very happy with it, so it all worked out.
CoC: So, after this you -hope- to release albums in slightly more
regular succession than has so far been the case?
RD: Yeah.
CoC: 'Cause you've been like five years, three years...
RD: Yeah, I know, man, I know. <laughs> We know, man, it sucks. It's
definitely never planned that way, but unfortunately it always
seems... the five years between the first two albums, a lot of
that -was- out of our control because of the change in labels,
and we were in limbo for a year or two there, but then we got
back on track, and it's not that it takes us five years,
obviously, to write eight songs, it's just that other
circumstances... and also as a band we're not in a situation
where we're able to write 24 hours a day. We all work full-time
jobs, we're all very busy and Immolation consumes -all- our free
time, and it's not easy because of our schedules, but yes: we're
making a conscious effort now, we already started writing
material for the fourth album and we do want to be in the studio
hopefully sometime mid-year next year. So yeah, we don't plan to
make people wait any longer than they have to.
CoC: How important do you think the music you play, the death metal,
is for delivering the message of the lyrics? Do you think there
is a symbiosis between the two or could you do the same music
with gore lyrics, or jazz with your lyrics?
RD: No, no, you're right, there is definitely a symbiosis between the
two, they work hand-in-hand. The music is very dark, and in turn
the lyrics have to be very dark. I couldn't see us writing... I
mean it's possible for us to write about something different, as
long as it's done in a certain way, in a dark way which is going
to complement the music, and also how the music complements the
lyrics. But we have so much to draw from, we have almost a whole
album's worth of concepts and ideas, lyrically, for the next
album all in the same direction [as we have been going], so I
don't think we're going to run out of ideas anytime soon. You're
right, though, they definitely do work hand in hand.
CoC: I find, particularly on _HiA_ but also on this album, the music
has this feeling of barely controlled chaos, and I think it
differs a lot from the more workman-like death metal like
Cannibal Corpse or Deicide, in that it has a more uncontrolled
feel, the drums are a little more unusual; when you guys write
are you particularly technical about this, do you kind of plan
out this kind of things or is it just the way you happen to play?
RD: Umm, it's a combination of both. Musically, it's about feeling.
When the music is written it's what feels right. We really don't
have any kind of theory or plan or anything in mind. It's just
what feels right and we're very fortunate to all click really
well together in our minds, so we work well together, we're
very... if one person doesn't see something, one of us will, and
it definitely helps when you have four minds working on one
thing, you know. So musically there are no guidelines, but when
it comes to incorporating the drums, the drums are to a point
planned out, because drums could really change the whole mood and
feeling of a particular riff, without a doubt. You could have
something that sounds very dark, and if you put the wrong type of
drums to it, the wrong type of beats or fills, it's going to
really sound too happy or to what not. <chuckles>
CoC: And the production is important to that, too.
RD: Oh, of course, of course. So the drums are something that we
spend probably a good majority of the time working out and Alex,
he's an excellent drummer and he really works well with our ideas
and we all have input, again like I said, so it's not like it's
all on his shoulders, we all have input and ideas. So it all
comes together in the end.
CoC: So there wasn't any particular difficulty switching from Craig
to Alex?
RD: No, the only difficulty was Alex was used to playing a different
style, he was an extreme player, he played in a bunch of bands....
CoC: What, sort of grindcore type stuff?
RD: Grindcore, yeah, he played in a band called Fallen Christ, he
played in a band called Disassociate, he was in a couple of
hardcore bands. So he was a very straightforward kind of player,
and to play our stuff he had to get used to our style, 'cause
it's very different from what he was playing. We're not a full
out, I don't know if you call grind band or whatever, but you
know we're not speed for speed's sake and we're not sludge for
sludge's sake. It's about feeling and moods and there's a lot
going on in the songs and it took him... I would say a year,
honestly, before he actually got comfortable, but now that he
is... I mean to me he did an amazing job on the new album and
he's definitely that missing element that we've been lacking the
last ten years.
CoC: That's great. I was going to ask about the production, I noticed
the producer was Paul Orofino and I don't know the name, and the
only record I could find which had his production was Riot. I
was wondering what led you to choose him? He's not, you know,
Jim Morris or anybody traditional [to death metal].
RD: No, definitely not. We're not about using people because they've
been used. We've never been about following trends or following
whatever. We have pretty much always done our own thing, so the
choice to use Paul... he was actually recommended by a good
friend of ours and he had never really produced a death metal
band or any extreme music like us, he's mostly... he's been used
to working with rock 'n' roll bands, stuff like... he did an
album by Blue Oyster Cult, he worked with Simon Kirk from Bad
Company, Riot, Dee Snider and his new band, Widowmaker, so he's
done a lot of stuff like that, which is good, though, 'cause he
knows how to get those... the drum sounds and the heavy type of
guitar stuff and it's good to have someone looking at it from a
different perspective. The fact that he's been around for a long
time, you know, a good producer is a good producer, it doesn't
matter what you play. They know how to bring out the best in the
music and that's what we felt he did and we definitely plan on
using him for the next album.
CoC: I was curious to find out, because apart from Harris Johns who
did a lot of thrash stuff [he did _Dawn of Possession_ and had
produced Voivod, Kreator and Sodom --Paul], I don't know Wayne
Dorrel [_Here in After_ producer] from anything else.
RD: Yeah, Wayne was basically just out of school and we were the
first project he actually worked on on his own, so he was kind of
new at it. He did a good job considering, but we felt there were
a lot of things on the production side of the spectrum that
needed improvement with that album, without a doubt.
CoC: Do you always aim to progress in doing Immolation, or are you
sort of trying to create the archetype of classic death metal?
RD: Well, what we really want to do is continue in the vein that we
started, just obviously with each album we want to improve, but
we just want things to get darker, we want things to get more
extreme, but, like you said, in a controlled sense. For us there
are no boundaries, we just want to improve musically, we're
always into trying new things, but we're not into trying to do
things which are going to change the essence of the band. Our
feeling as a band is that; we think we do this well enough to
know that if we work hard enough at it we might get to the point
we're happy with. <laughs> So with each album we definitely
improve to a certain extent and we're happy with every album.
We're happy with all the albums. We're not ashamed of the past
albums. We think they're very strong albums and with each one it
just gets better. So, we look forward to creating an even darker
and heavier album next time around.
CoC: Yeah, I guess if you're not going to make a better album [or at
least think you have --Paul], then what's the point?
RD: Oh, of course, of course.
CoC: Finally, do you have anything to say to fans who've been waiting
for this album, and just people in general who might pick it up?
RD: Again, I feel it's definitely our strongest album, I think fans
of Immolation will definitely be impressed because it's our best
work and I think they'll see that right off the bat. I think that
we're the type of band where in the first few seconds of each
album you know it's us right away, it just has that vibe, I don't
know how to explain it, but...
CoC: A trademark?
RD: Yeah, we've been told that a million times before and I
definitely know what people are talking about, and I agree with
that. So, people can expect probably the most intense,
aggressive, and hateful Immolation album. With lots of mood, I
think it combines definitely the best elements of both the past
albums; the feelings and the moods from _Dawn of Possession_, and
the hatred and the intensity of _Here in After_. And it just
takes it all to the next level.
CoC: One last thing, I was wondering if you guys ever thought about
doing any audio-visual stuff, not necessarily a video but some
kind of visual thing. I know that's not necessarily financially
feasible, but in theory would you guys be interested in doing
that?
RD: Oh, of course, of course. We've always thought about it. We
always toss around the idea of doing something, like you
mentioned, but, like you said, though, the financial aspect of it
is not realistic for us, and we're not the type of band who's
going to do something at 50%, we want to do it at 100%. And the
ideas, you know, you could really just take the ball and run with
our concepts and just go all out, and to do that you would need a
lot of money. So rather than do it half-assed we just wouldn't do
it at all. <laughs> But it is something we would love to do. We
have so many good ideas and visually we could bring out so much
more of what we're trying to convey, but who knows? Maybe one day.
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A N O I N T E D F O R B U R I A L
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CoC interviews Extol
by: Alex Cantwell
On June 18th I had the extreme pleasure of witnessing Norwegian
metal warriors Extol in a live setting. However, before all of the
chaos ensued on the stage, while hanging out with these fine
gentlemen, I took the opportunity to interview guitarist Ole Borud.
About three years ago, I picked up a copy of a CD of a band
called Schaliach, which was excellent doom with a distinct Norwegian
flavour. I learned later, after perusing this CD, that Schaliach was
not a band at all, but the music of one man named Ole Borud. Soon
after, I received a demo in the mail of new material from Oslo's
Extol. Blown away was I to read that all of the bass tracks were
performed by Ole. I thought to myself, if Ole joined this band Extol,
who are already quite good, they would certainly be the best band in
the world! Imagine my absolute shock when I got a copy of _Burial_,
Extol's debut CD (on Endtime Records in Europe, Solidstate Records in
America, and now Avalon Records in Asia), and Ole was listed as one
of two guitarists! "I have found the band that will conquer all", I
announced to myself and many others. Imagine my shock, when a few
years after getting into this obscure band from thousands of miles
away, they book a show where I live! Anyway, to get to my point
already, Extol is my favourite band and I was stoked to have Ole
sitting in my car with me doing an interview. OK? You with me? Read
on, people...
CoC: What are the band's plans for the rest of the year?
Ole Borud: The rest of the year will probably see the release of a
mini-CD that will come probably in September, and we're
not quite sure, but we will definitely do a second album.
Hopefully we'll do it in the end of this year, otherwise
it will be in the beginning of the next. Otherwise,
whatever concerts that come up, we'll do them. We don't
have tons of them close to Christmas, but we have some out
in August and stuff like that, and maybe one in September.
CoC: Have you been able to tour in Europe yet?
OB: Actually not. I mean, we haven't been around with the album for
ages and I guess it just takes time to establish yourselves as a
band in Europe, because it's all about credibility as a band, and
what you are. You've got to prove that you're able to show what
you're good for. Hopefully, we'll get the chance to do that very
soon. Actually, we're going to do a show in Germany in the end of
July, so that will be our first thing down in Europe.
CoC: What kind of reaction have you had in Norway?
OB: It's basically been pretty cool...
CoC: Of the three songs that were on the _Embraced_ demo, "Burial"
and "Embraced" were included on the _Burial_ album, but why was
"Prodigal Son" left off?
OB: Well, you know, the thing is basically because we thought that in
the beginning we were like "We're at least going to have "Burial"
on the album", and we thought to ourselves "Let's do "Embraced"
too, because it's a cool song and people really like that song",
but then again we thought "Let's not overdo it, and put all of
the three songs from the demo on the album", because we had
enough songs. It was basically just the fact that we didn't think
that "Prodigal Son" was the best song on the demo. But still, the
new version of "Prodigal Son" [which is included as a bonus track
on the Asian version of _Burial_ and will also be on the
forthcoming MCD _Mesmerized_ -- Alex] is pretty much different.
CoC: Oh really?
OB: Yeah, it's tuned much lower and is much heavier, and it's got a
new part.
CoC: Your music is amazingly technical. What kind of musical training
have you had?
OB: You know, we didn't go to classes or anything like that, we just
learned our instruments by ourselves, more or less. In the
beginning I started out with a couple of classes or something
like that, but it just cost too much money at that time. That's
the way it goes with all the other guys. We just developed... you
get better. There's nothing more to say, really.
CoC: What kind of direction do you think the music of Extol will take
in the future?
OB: We have quite a few songs for our next album, and it will still
be the good ol' Extol when it comes to the technical parts and
the melodic parts. It'll still be what we do, but what we've
added with the new songs is just more brutality, actually. So,
for once we've tuned down our guitars and it sounds much heavier,
and the total sound of the band is darker. It's beefy and it
sounds massive, I think. Maybe we have a couple more hooks, you
know what I mean. Still, there are a lot of parts in every song,
so there's not going to be a boring song with two riffs.
CoC: I wanted to ask you some questions about some specific songs, if
that's OK.
OB: Yeah.
CoC: "Jesus Kom Til Jorden For a Do" sounds like this big anthem. You
could just see this big room of people swinging their arms. How
did that come about? Who wrote that?
OB: My dad wrote it, and he wrote it in 1976, so that's pretty wild.
CoC: The lyrics and music?
OB: Yeah, sure. I mean, he's been writing tons of songs for years.
See, the thing is, my family has been in the music business for
years. I started singing when I was like five or six years old,
and have been touring with my family for years. My dad has been
involved with different things, different projects. At that time
he had sort of a band with other guys, like a '70s thing. Wait a
second, it's not the band. He had another band too, but this one
was actually himself and two other women. They just sang
together, and that song only had vocals, which is really cool
because all of the harmonies are done vocally, and it sounds just
great. It was just basically that we recorded this album where I
live, because I work in a music studio, and we just hung out one
night after recording stuff, and I think that for some reason we
put on that tape, because it was there, and the guys were just
like "Woah, that's cool". So, just right there we decided "OK,
let's do a cover of that one", and so we did. That's the story
behind that.
CoC: I've gotta say this: "Superior" sounds like a Schaliach song.
OB: You think so?
CoC: Yeah. Did you write it?
OB: Yeah, I did. Maybe you're right. Of course I wouldn't think of
anything else [besides] "it's me" if I'm the guy that wrote it,
but nevertheless I think it sounds more Extol than Schaliach, in
my ears.
CoC: Is that a real sitar on "Reflections of a Broken Soul"?
OB: No.
CoC: Keyboards?
OB: Yeah, it's keyboard.
CoC: Who did all of the sound effects on _Burial_? The different
stuff in between the songs.
OB: Oh, that's just us. You know, we just did it. We had some sound
CDs and some keyboard stuff that we mixed together. We kind of
fooled around with ideas on what to do.
CoC: How did the orchestral part come together on "Tears of
Bitterness"?
OB: Oh, well, we just did it.
CoC: Was that keyboards?
OB: Yeah, the stuff in the back is keyboards, but there is one violin
on top of it, so it sounds kind of "for real". Christer
[Espevoll, guitar] is the one who wrote that song, so he wanted
that part, and so we just went for it.
CoC: Has Eystein [Holm, bass] departed from the band?
OB: Yeah.
CoC: So what happened?
OB: It's basically just the fact that we felt, and he felt that he
wasn't as engaged and involved in the band as he should be. He
had been feeling the same way for a while, and so we kind of just
talked together. There was absolutely no hard feelings
whatsoever, I mean totally cool, and he was like "This is the
right thing to do", and it was a good feeling afterwards, and
he's been totally cool about it. So we feel peace about what's
been happening. I mean, like when we left for the States, he
called us up and wished us good luck, you know, so nothing bad is
happening. It's just that that was the right thing to do, and
that's the way he felt, too.
CoC: So Tor Magne [guitarist for Norwegian black metallers Lengsel]
is playing bass for you on the tour. Are you going to get
another bass player full time?
OB: Well, the thing was that as soon as things happened and we talked
to Eystein, we knew that we had to do something in order to get
things going, and we just hooked up with him as soon as possible.
We knew that he was a good musician, and we had been hanging out
with him and his friends, and we knew that he was a good guy, I
mean a guy that we definitely could work with, and so we just
asked him "How do you feel about stepping in and working with us
for a while?", and he was cool about it. I mean, he needed his
time to think about it, but he was very cool. He does an
excellent job. He's cool. I'm not sure what is going to happen in
the future, I mean if Tor Magne is going to be a bandmember. For
now, he's not, because that's just the way we've set it up. He's
aware of it, and we're aware of it -- he's got his own band. I
don't know, we will have to wait and see, basically.
CoC: I wanted to compliment you on the Extol website that you guys
have out. I don't know who's responsible for it, but it's really
good.
OB: It's our guy from the record company.
CoC: Samuel [Durling, owner of Endtime Productions and member of
Mental Destruction]?
OB: Yeah. He is really good at what he does. Really good.
CoC: It has a lot of good information on there, as far as if you're a
fan of the band, then you'll find a bunch of good stuff on
there. It seems like you guys care about your fans as far as
getting information out and stuff like that.
OB: That's cool. Nice to hear. He's just a great guy who's done tons
of work for us. He's got an eye for nice stuff, you know.
CoC: Yeah, the layout is awesome.
OB: I mean the website looks nice, it's cool. All that he's done --
we're very satisfied with his work. Definitely.
CoC: Have you written any new songs that you would use for new
Schaliach music?
OB: Yes, I have a few that definitely would not work for Extol, that
would be good for Schaliach. Nobody is writing that kind of music
right now, like good doom. I'm not talking like Paramaecium, I'm
talking like Anathema. British doom.
CoC: Any closing comments?
OB: Oh, okay. If anybody wants to check out what Extol is all about,
just go get hold of a copy of _Burial_, and check out the music
and the lyrics and find out what we're all about. We're always
glad to get new listeners. Also, for anyone who wants to check
out our website, it's for everybody, and we wish all the best for
everybody.
Contact: WWW: http://www.durling.com/extol/
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F L O R I D A ' S N E W E S T B L A S P H E M Y
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CoC interviews Diabolic
by: Adam Wasylyk
Those who follow the underground are aware of the death metal
exploits of Tampa, Florida's Diabolic. Making waves with their _City
of the Dead_ demo, which received rave reviews from fans and critics
alike, the death metal phenoms have just recently released their
debut CD, _Supreme Evil_, on Conquest Music. Showing growth and
boasting better production, _Supreme Evil_ still holds the
characteristics that make Diabolic so intense: amazing drum work,
great guitar leads and the ability to aurally crush the listener.
Guitarist Brian Malone took his time getting back to me with our
e-mail interview, giving me a great insight into the deadly quartet.
Sit back, relax, and allow the decimation to take hold.
CoC: We'll start off with the ol' zine standby; the band history,
present line-up, etc..
Brian Malone: Diabolic was formed in January 1997, determined to
become a force in the worldwide death metal scene. The
line-up consists of: Paul Ouellette (vocals, guitars),
Aantar "Blastmaster" Coates (drums), Ed Webb (bass) and
myself, Brian Malone (guitars). In April '97 we
released the three song demo _City of the Dead_, which
has since been called "already classic" and "the best
death metal demo ever released". We've pounded Florida
clubs and venues with our furious live performances,
toured the West Coast with L.A. death-crushers Infamy
and headlined an East Coast tour. Festivals victimized
include Milwaukee '98, New York's Demonfest, and the
New England Death Metal Fest.
CoC: Diabolic doesn't come to death metal listeners as quite a shock,
as you've had a very successful demo (_City of the Dead_) that
really got your name around. How many copies did it sell?
BM: We've sold and traded over 2000 copies of the demo to the
death-starved underground scene in 30 countries! Support has been
incredible from the unholy legions of zines, radio, bands and
fans/friends! Hail to the worldwide underground!!
CoC: How did the deal come about to sign with Conquest Music?
BM: We sent Conquest a promo pack containing the demo and a copy of
the rest of our songs pre-produced on [an] 8-track. They
witnessed the impact we've had on the Tampa scene and the
worldwide underground and sent us the contract. It's a brutal
label with Diabolic, Vader, and Monstrosity!! They've scored
major label distribution in Canada (PhD) and Europe (Sony / Metal
Age) and are definitely supportive of Diabolic!!
CoC: You've just released a new album, _Supreme Evil_. Perhaps you
could talk a bit about it, what someone could expect to hear on
it. Favourite tracks?
BM: _Supreme Evil_ was recorded at AudioLab Studios and mastered at
Morrisound Studios. Ten tracks of dynamic death metal at
blasphemous speeds!! Aggressive and creative song arrangements,
cut-throat flesh-tearing guitar work, single-foot hyperblast
drumming with scorching double kicks, thundering basslines,
vocals ranging from demonic lows to soul-ripping highs, chaotic
yet controlled leads, dark and powerful lyrics, and production
that delivers all of the desired intensity!! Fans have written
and told us their favourite tracks and they covered all of them!
"View With Abhorrence" and "Ancient Hatred" seem to get a lot of
notice!
CoC: How has the Florida death metal scene helped shape Diabolic?
After all, you've grown around what's considered a hot bed of
death metal in the U.S. [or North America, for that matter].
BM: Definitely the scene in Tampa demands respect! With so many great
veteran death metal bands here, the standards are high for newer
bands to meet. Diabolic definitely meets those standards and gets
total respect from those bands and the entire scene!! Our shows
are packed and the pits are violent!! It's killer to look out and
see members of Morbid Angel, Monstrosity, Deicide, Cannibal
Corpse, Obituary, Angelcorpse, Acheron, etc. in the crowd!!
CoC: Who would you list as your personal musical influences? Do they
differ from those who influence the band as a whole? I noticed a
bit of Florida death metal influence, particularly Morbid Angel
in some the guitaring and to a smaller extent Obituary as well...
BM: The major influences are basically shared by the band as a whole:
Black Sabbath, Slayer, Mercyful Fate, old Metallica, Judas
Priest, Maiden, Bathory, Venom, Sodom, Destruction, Coroner, and
Kreator. We still listen to Morbid Angel, Cannibal Corpse, Death,
Deicide, Obituary, Malevolent Creation and black metal bands
Emperor, Darkthrone, Satanic Slaughter, Marduk, etc..
CoC: I must admit the drumming aspect of Diabolic is quite
impressive, akin to something that would appear on a Cryptopsy
album or even something parallel to Culross' work on the new
Malevolent Creation album [speed-wise, anyhow]. Tell me about
Aantar Coates' drumming style and how it helps Diabolic...
BM: Aantar's easily ranked among the world's fastest drummers, but
his unique style and creativity definitely should not be
overlooked! He plays with extreme emotion and continues to
improve even more!! The Diabolic sound is the combination and
chemistry between us with an elite level of excellence at all
stations!
CoC: Any upcoming shows or tours you could talk about? Perhaps
another Milwaukee Metal Fest appearance?
BM: We're working on an European tour for the fall and should hit
North America after that. No Milwaukee appearance in '99 for
Diabolic.
CoC: I didn't get a copy of the lyrics of the new album, so perhaps
you could go into some detail on what they're about.
BM: "Sacrament of Fiends" is basically the sacrament of Diabolic and
our plans to destroy limited narrow-minded thinking. "Ancient
Hatred" describes the hypocrisy of religious warfare and
terrorism in the name of an imaginary god. "Treacherous
Scriptures" is a double-edged sword -- to the fools of religion
it is indeed treacherous doctrine, to the free-thinkers a warning
to read deeper into history and reality!!! "Grave Warnings"
foretells the danger of self-fulfilled prophecies of doom. "Rack
of Torment" delves into the mind of a madman and his sadistic
compulsion to torture and maim. "View With Abhorrence" is blatant
disgust for religious dependence, religious pessimism, and
religious limitations. "Dwelling Spirits" is a tale crossing the
supernatural barrier. "Wicked Inclination" defines the instinct
of survival through cannibalism. "Supreme Evil" goes beyond the
duality of eternal battle and the triumph of all that is
Diabolic!!!
CoC: What are your views as far as the death metal scene in North
America? Still thriving?
BM: The underground scene in North America is as strong as it ever
was. There are scenes in all major cities despite mainstream
restrictions and die-hard death metal speed demons will not be
deprived!!
CoC: And finally, Diabolic have really created a powerful death metal
album with _Supreme Evil_. So where does the band go from here?
Is there room for growth?
BM: Diabolic will continue to pulverize the listener while
progressing as musicians!! There's always room to improve and
grow as a band. We are adding new facets to our sound while
maintaining the straightforward demon-invoking death metal that
pours from our dark souls!!! Thanx for the killer interview,
Adam!!!
Contact:
Diabolic, P.O. Box 9689, Tampa, FL, 33674-9689 USA
(t-shirts and merch list)
mailto:blastmasters@hotmail.com
Conquest Music, 4195 S. Tamiami Tr. #180, Venice, FL 34293-5112 USA
(CD orders)
WWW: http://www.conquestmusic.com
Metal Age Recordings, P.O. Box 1147, 73330 Gingen, Germany
(all European inquiries)
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WITH SUMMER'S ENTRANCE, FROST IS BANISHED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CoC interviews Mordecai
by: Alex Cantwell
Following the release of Mordecai's split EP with fellow Finns
Immortal Souls, their half being entitled _Through the Woods, Towards
the Dawn_ [CoC #39], I had the privilege of conversing with lead
vocalist and guitarist Petri Erkkila.
CoC: When did the band get started?
Petri Erkkila: The band was formed with this line-up in '96. We did
play before that with different line-ups, but '96 was
the real "birth" year of Mordecai. And that was also
the point where the musical style started to become
the way it is today.
CoC: Has any of the members of Mordecai been in any other bands?
PE: Our other guitarist, Mika Haara, was in another band which split
up, and then he joined Mordecai. Currently, I play the other
guitar in Immortal Souls for their live shows. Our time is quite
limited and we don't have too much time for any other projects,
and we also like to put our full concentration and inspiration on
Mordecai.
CoC: If you had the time for other projects, what would you be
interested in doing?
PE: I can only speak for myself about this subject. I would like to
do some very dark darkwave/ambient, like Raison d'Etre or Caul.
I'd also like to do some -real- industrial like Mental
Destruction.
CoC: Why the name "Mordecai"?
PE: The name Mordecai came up when a friend of ours just said it as a
joke, because it sounded quite heavy, and it's a name of a man in
the Old Testament. But after a while, we didn't come up with any
good name, so we thought that Mordecai sounded a bit original and
we decided to take it.
CoC: Have you signed a deal with a label?
PE: Just this week, we signed a deal with Little Rose Productions.
They also released our split CD and the Finnish metal compilation
_From Kaamos to Midnight Sun_ [CoC #36]. We will be recording a
full length album at the end of this year or early next year.
CoC: How has the response been to the split CD with Immortal Souls?
PE: The response has been really good. It's been getting some
airplay, too, and more reviews are coming all the time. And
overall, the response has been better than we expected, since
this is the first release from Mordecai.
CoC: What kind of airplay?
PE: It has been played in different stations in the US, here in
Scandinavia and in Singapore. A friend of mine from the US once
told me: "Know what? I just heard your song "Dawn Eternal" on the
radio yesterday", and it was quite a surprise. It was also the
first time that I heard of our CD getting airplay.
CoC: How did you get started in metal?
PE: When we heard Vengeance Rising's _Human Sacrifice_, it hit us
like a hammer. If we hadn't heard that album back then, I guess
we would have never started listening to death metal or other
extreme styles of music.
CoC: You're speaking for the whole band when you say this?
PE: Well, I can speak for the original forming members, including
myself, Miika and Matti. Mika came to our band later, so this
doesn't include him.
CoC: What are your musical influences?
PE: It's really hard to name any specific musical influences. We
listen to quite a lot of classical music, which has influenced us
quite a lot.
CoC: What bands do you respect currently? Have you been accepted in
the Finnish metal scene?
PE: Some bands that I have been listening to lately are the great
Savior Machine, Antestor, Veni Domine and Paramaecium. Savior
Machine is one band which I respect greatly. Of course there are
always some "true" metallers who think that we shouldn't be
playing this kind of music. But there has been also a lot of good
feedback also; people have enjoyed our music and live shows.
CoC: With whom have you played shows?
PE: We have played some shows with several bands, such as Immortal
Souls and Deuteronomium. This Summer we're also playing the DP
festival in Norway with Extol, Vaakevandring and others.
CoC: What is the immediate future for the band?
PE: We're now writing new material for our full length album. We're
also playing some shows with Immortal Souls to promote our split
CD. The rest of this year will be spent with writing new stuff
and playing shows.
CoC: Tell me about the new material you are working on, new CD title,
etc..
PE: Our new material is a good progression from our EP material. It's
a bit more technical, and of course it's still melodic
black/death metal. It's more brutal than the previous stuff.
Clean vocals are used a lot better this time. The new material is
turning out to be a great progression from our previous material.
The new CD title will be announced later; sorry, it's too early
to discuss that.
CoC: How has the rise of Sentenced, Amorphis and Stratovarius on the
Finnish charts and also worldwide recognition affected the
growth of metal there?
PE: There has been more and more metal bands on the charts over here
in the last few years, and bigger metal bands are recognized more
and more. There was this trend about four or five years ago that
people "turned" from extreme metal to hardcore or even techno
stuff, but it seems that nowadays people are starting to listen
to more metal again.
CoC: It seems like there are some extremely talented metal musicians
hiding away in Finland that gain instant popularity the minute
they release their music, such as Children of Bodom, for
instance. Do you think that the success of the bigger Finnish
metal bands has brought fresh inspiration to young, hopeful
musicians there?
PE: Yeah, I believe that when bigger metal bands succeed in Finland
and outside Finland, it does encourage and inspire new bands to
start and new people to start making music. Bands like Amorphis
and Children of Bodom have done very well outside Finland, so
they are showing that metal still has a chance.
CoC: Would you consider the social climate in Finland to be
conservative or liberal, and in light of that, how is metal
viewed in the public eye?
PE: Well, lately metal has been viewed very controversially in the
public eye (in media, etc.), because a little while ago, there
was this Satanic ritual killing where four Satanists aged 16 to a
bit over 20 killed a man, then they mutilated him, and even ate
some of the corpse (plus a lot of other really, really sick
stuff). They had been listening to black metal during the killing
and the ritual, so metal music and especially black metal was in
the media for quite some time. Of course this has affected even
innocent people. A lot of metal people, with black clothes, etc.
are often looked upon with a bad eye.
CoC: Final comments...
PE: Once again, thanks a lot for the interview! You also asked me if
I was familiar with CoC at all... well, I have read some of the
past issues, but that's all. I really liked them, and I'm glad we
got featured in it.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
_____ .__ ___.
/ _ \ | |\_ |__ __ __ _____
/ /_\ \| | | __ \| | \/ \
/ | \ |_| \_\ \ | / 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!
Agalloch - _Pale Folklore_ (The End Records, May 1999)
by: Brian Meloon (9 out of 10)
This is Agalloch's debut release. Their music is a dark brand of
gothic rock mixed with metallic elements. The best comparison I can
make is to The Nefilim's _Zoon_. Agalloch are generally lighter, but
are similar in atmosphere, their use of clean and distorted guitars,
and especially the jangly, twangy clean guitar tone. Most of the
music is slow and gloomy, but in a goth rock vein rather than a doom
vein. However, the songs are generally quite long, and go through a
variety of tempo and style changes. The band does an excellent job of
building and maintaining an atmosphere. Keyboards are used
tastefully, and aren't thrown in where they aren't needed. The vocals
are mainly male rasped/growled vocals, with ethereal female vocals
and clean male choir vocals added in a few places. The production is
very good, although some of the lead guitar tones are a little weak
at points, and this really hurts the effect that the band is going
for. The playing is solid, though there isn't much here that is
technically demanding. The guitar leads are tasteful and appropriate,
focusing on melody instead of flash. Overall, this is an impressive
offering. It has a maturity and confidence that one wouldn't expect
from a debut album. This should please fans of heavier gothic rock
and many metal fans as well.
Amsvartner - _Dreams_ (Blackened, May 1999)
by: Paul Schwarz (8.5 out of 10)
Amsvartner have hit a vein of gold with their debut album: it is
musically relatively original and the writing and playing is also of
high quality. _Dreams_ is a challenge to adequately describe, but I
like a challenge and music which is interesting to listen to -is-
often challenging to describe. An influence which is distinct in this
material is the melody-infused riffing style which goes back to such
bands as Iron Maiden and Judas Priest in heavy metal. However, this
is not some heavy metal rehash release (the fact that it isn't is
exactly what makes the above noted stylistic factors so endearing).
It is an album rooted in the more melodic death/black metal tradition
but is not one of the many derivative releases which emerge in these
styles seemingly every minute. Amsvartner additionally combine some
funk-styled jazzy bass/rhythm section work which is blended into
parts of _Dreams_ well, something I doubted was possible if you
weren't Cynic. The vocal delivery of Marcus Johansson is powerful and
distorted, but understandable and emotion-filled. With a number of
different vocal styles used throughout the album and sometimes
layered, it is not only the music which is worthy of note. I have not
described all that comprises _Dreams_, but these are the main
factors. It is not a perfect album and each song does not
individually brand itself in your head from the first, nor is
everything Amsvartner do to my liking, but _Dreams_ is an excellent
debut record and absolutely worthy of your attention.
Anathema - _Judgement_ (Music for Nations, June 1999)
by: Pedro Azevedo (9 out of 10)
"As ye sow, so shall ye weep" is the inscription upon a photo by
former Anathema vocalist Darren White on the back cover of the
_Judgement_ digipak. A promising sign for this lyrically rich album,
as is more than usually the case with Anathema. With the departure of
influential bass player and part-time songwriter and lyricist Duncan
Patterson (replaced by Dave Pybus) and the return of original drummer
John Douglas, Anathema seem to have entered a whole new stage in
their career, having inclusively signed a four record deal with Music
for Nations (therefore leaving Peaceville after about seven years
with them). With all these changes, Anathema reappear with a new and
even more remarkable album just a year after the release of
_Alternative 4_. However, ever since _The Silent Enigma_, Anathema
have progressively been losing their once great ability to create
powerful crescendos that were carefully built and then exploded in
rage and anguish, as in "The Silent Enigma", "A Dying Wish",
"Restless Oblivion" and "Sunset of Age", and that is the one thing
that _Judgement_ really lacks and practically the only reason why I'm
not giving it a 10 out of 10. Only one song comes anywhere close to
achieving this, although in a different way, which is "Emotional
Winter" -- the guitar at the beginning of which reminded me of _Love
Over Gold_-era Dire Straits. Daniel Cavanagh's unique sorrowful
guitar style also continues to drift away from the old _The Silent
Enigma_ days, and some more of what he used to do back then would
have been welcome here (his guitar work is still excellent, but
different). The same can be said about Vincent Cavanagh's voice:
though technically superior, his ability to create powerful contrasts
through the occasional use of a harsher style has been practically
forsaken since _The Silent Enigma_ -- nowadays it would hardly fit in
the music anyway and only much smaller contrasts are created.
_Judgement_ is nevertheless overall superior to both _Alternative 4_
and _Eternity_ -- this hour-long, fourteen-track album (including the
"Transacoustic" digipak bonus track) contains a lot of material that
might deserve a 10 out of 10 rating by itself; songs like "Parisienne
Moonlight", "Emotional Winter", "Anyone, Anywhere", "One Last
Goodbye", "Forgotten Hopes" and "Deep". Vincent Cavanagh's
ever-improving clean vocals join the piano and the increasingly
frequent acoustic guitars to weave a truly impressive and beautiful
album that shows Anathema maturing and perfecting this current style
of theirs once again. To put it simply, this is soft, remarkably
beautiful and heartfelt-sounding, doomy, -excellent- emotional music.
Arch Enemy - _Burning Bridges_ (Century Media, June 1999)
by: Paul Schwarz (9.5 out of 10)
With this latest offering, Arch Enemy have at last succeeded in
creating the album I'd always hoped they would. _Black Earth_ stated
the band's commitment to brutality while also displaying their
ability and desire to add melodic, emotional, and ultimately "softer"
elements to their visibly-but-not-derivatively Carcass-influenced,
head-down-riffing style. On _Burning Bridges_ the potential of this
dynamic combination has finally been realised. Where last effort
_Stigmata_ was a little too ponderous and got lost in its own
technicality at times, _BB_ finds the perfect balance between these
two opposing forces. What lets down even albums by great melodic
death bands like In Flames is that they sound a little too happy to
top my list of favourites. Arch Enemy, though, have leads and guitar
harmony parts which could put many of these bands to shame, but they
retain that spark of sheer brutality which is a part of all my
favourite death metal albums: the crushing riffs, the lethal drum
assault and thundering bass and the brutal vocals. _BB_ is dark like
a death metal album should be, but the use of melody in the guitar
work push it limitlessly far above the level of a standard death
metal release like _Gallery of Suicide_ or _Serpents of the Light_.
Incredible blazing leads blister out of songs like "Dead Inside",
while "Demonic Science" showcases an almost prog-rock sounding
breakdown and "Silverwing"'s chorus section is in major chords. What
I love most, though, is the way Arch Enemy slip between the two
different feels. "Pilgrim" begins with a hugely melodic, very heavy
metal, lead/harmony part, but when Johan Liiva's crushing vocals
enter, so does a heavy, percussive, death metal sounding verse riff,
then, when the chorus comes in, the two opposites are expertly
combined together. "Angelclaw" follows a similarly brilliant dynamic
pattern. It took me a while to get into _BB_ and realise how damn
brilliant it is, so give it a chance, because Arch Enemy have gone
out on a limb here and managed to pool their considerable talents and
emerge with one of the year's best albums.
Carpe Tenebrum - _Mirrored Hate Painting_ (Hammerheart, June 1999)
by: Adam Wasylyk (7 out of 10)
Containing Astennu (Dimmu Borgir) on guitars with Nagash (ex-Dimmu
Borgir / Covenant) doing the vocal work and Peter Tagtgren
(Hypocrisy) twiddling the knobs at his Abyss Studio, the elements
came together in an explosive manner resulting in a masterful,
hateful piece of work called _Mirrored Hate Painting_. However,
there's a problem (I think...); more on that later. It's not
difficult to describe the music Carpe Tenebrum plays; picture mid-era
Dimmu and a touch of Covenant and you pretty much have an idea of
where this band's coming from. The musical diversity is appreciated,
from breakneck blast beats to soothing guitar solos. The production
is top notch, which allows everything to be heard. It's hard to nail
down specific influences; the music at times lends itself to
traditional black metal while at the same time having different
influences (ala Covenant) that work off that sound beautifully. And
the problem I was talking about? During track four, "Mirrored in
Scarry Skies" it becomes painfully apparent that there's an odd,
repeating sound behind the wall of sound Carpe Tenebrum produce. It's
hard to describe; the first three tracks sound flawless, but sometime
during the fourth track the sound pops in. I'm guessing that it is
not meant to be there, meaning this CD could very well be flawed,
most likely in the post-Tagtgren period up until the CD found its way
into my mailbox. If this "sound" is meant to be there... well, it
detracts from the overall listen, downgrading this CD from an 8.5 to
a 7. So even though there's some great material here, be forewarned
that this CD may be flawed.
Dark Tranquillity - _Projector_ (Century Media, June 1999)
by: Paul Schwarz (8.5 out of 10)
I usually find reviews of releases which I love almost beyond life
itself, the hardest to write. _Projector_, however, I am finding it
difficult to make a judgement on. I am stuck with two opposing
thoughts: 1) this is a good record and a diverse and different one;
2) I don't like this as much as _The Mind's I_ and it sounds somewhat
disjointed. Reconciling these two factors is difficult. Dark
Tranquillity have changed considerably on their fourth album. The
greatest single difference is the reduction in speed: the band rarely
blaze through songs with the thrash/speed inspired style of old. For
the most part, however, the tone of the album is closer to songs like
"Constant" from _The Mind's I_, in that the guitars chop with
calculation at a mid-paced or slow pace. On songs like "To a Bitter
Halt" the sound this produces reminds strongly of material from
_TMI_. However, the majority of the songs have quite a different
feel. "FreeCard" begins and intersperses itself heavily throughout
with piano, while "UnDo Control" is heavy on female vocals and has a
chorus refrain which follows a sharp, percussive rhythm very unlike
previous Dark Tranquillity material. Keyboard and classic elements
intersperse the album but the real shock comes with "Day to End", a
track which begins with programmed drums and is sung in clean and
almost crooning vocals by Mikael Stanne. It is a bold step, but not
one I enjoy very much. The majority of the changes wrought on
_Projector_ can be described by comparison to the last two Sentenced
records. The guitar work has a similarly hard rock-styled poise and
the clean and crooning vocals definitely bear a strong resemblance.
Basically, I haven't grown with the band. "The Sun Fired Blanks" and
"On Your Time" are among my favourite Dark Tranquillity songs, being
akin to the old style, and the new elements in them are worked in to
great effect. Songs like "FreeCard" or "ThereIn" I am half-way to
loving, and the remainder, culminating in "Day to End", I can respect
for being pretty well written and thought out, but I am not that into
them. I think it is very possible a lot of Dark Tranquillity's
audience will appreciate the direction taken on _Projector_, but for
myself I am not as enamoured with their new direction as I was with
their previous output.
Dawn of Relic - _One Night in Carcosa_
by: Paul Schwarz (6 out of 10) (Wicked World, June 1999)
My central problem with _One Night in Carcosa_ is that it lacks
aggression. I don't mean because the music written is not aggressive,
that wouldn't necessarily be a problem, but that the way it is played
and produced lacks aggression, which would improve the record, at
least to my taste. What DoR play could roughly be described as black
metal, but that -would- be a rough description. Apart from fleeting
moments where the influence of Mayhem or Burzum is evident, the
overall sound only borrows from the black metal style and many
aspects (the drums, especially in their emphasis on double bass, for
example) sway more towards death metal. DoR utilise keyboards and
some melodic progressions which are common to the atmospherically
inclined section of the black metal movement, but this said they are
not even close to being in the league of such greats as Emperor or
Satyricon. The guitar work on here is pretty average and its sound is
passable; the drum work can be pretty good with some impressive
breaks occasionally pulled off. The vocals lack variation, however,
and are somewhat faceless. Overall, DoR isn't anything I have a
passion for disliking, but then again it isn't something which gives
me much pleasure to listen to either.
Various - _Death... Is Just the Beginning 5_
by: Adam Wasylyk (7 out of 10) (Nuclear Blast, June 1999)
One of metal's most popular compilation series, version 5.0 serves to
continue the legacy that prior volumes have established. A two-disk
set (as were the past two), it features an end of the millennium
update on who's on Nuclear Blast. As with every compilation, there's
the good and bad. Disk 1 contains Nuke Blast's more aggressive
artists, which in most cases are either death or black metal.
Covenant, Dismember, Sinister, Hypocrisy, Gorgoroth, In Flames, Dimmu
Borgir, Satyricon and In Flames are but a few bands on disk one. Disk
2 offers the more subtle (and lesser known) bands on the label, and
at the same time is the weaker of the two disks. Where Therion and
Dismal Euphony are cool, the retro metal shit like Primal Fear,
Hollow, HammerFall, Narnia, Sinner, Pegazus just doesn't fly. It's
good to see a fair amount of previously unreleased/rare material
here, as it's another reason to think about picking this up. As per
usual, if you're just getting into metal, this is a great starting
point. If you're already engrossed in the metal scene, there's no
reason to pick this up unless you absolutely need to hear a couple of
unreleased tracks.
Dreams of Sanity - _Masquerade_ (Hall of Sermon, 1999)
by: Alex Cantwell (2 out of 10)
The most important thing that you need to know about this CD is that
Dreams of Sanity has a female singer. Of course, that is not a bad
thing immediately, but this one in particular is in a very chipper
mood and is singing away happily over mid-paced European metal / hard
rock with a lot of keyboards. The music would be enjoyable if not for
this happy little bird singing the happiest of melodies about operas
and masquerades over it. Forget this, man. I am open to a lot of
different music, but this I cannot take. She's like Doro in a very
happy mood, except I imagine this woman to look like your mom rather
than a metal princess like Doro. She's like Anneke from The Gathering
in a better mood than she is already in, but without the running
shoes. One of the songs even has double bass, but even it cannot be
saved from the pit of gayness that this CD descends further into with
every track. Forget this! This one shall go into the circular file
immediately. Oh, look at it fly!
Enthroned - _The Apocalypse Manifesto_ (Blackened, May 1999)
by: Paul Schwarz (7 out of 10)
Enthroned's style of black metal on this release is heavily
influenced by the styles of such frenetic and violent performers as
Mayhem and Immortal, although Enthroned are not even close to the
strata which these bands occupy. Previously, Enthroned were somewhat
of a joke to many in the black metal scene, but now I could
justifiably see them being taken seriously, going on the strength of
_The Apocalypse Manifesto_. Having been produced by Peter Tagtgren,
the band do have a clear and powerful sound, though I must say
Tagtgren's productions are starting to sound a mite formulaic when so
many albums have them. Enthroned blast successfully and clearly
enough through fast sections and manage in some cases to use acoustic
or melodic interplay, particularly in less speed-obsessed sections,
to give _TAM_ a bit more depth and create some atmosphere. "Post
Mortem Penetrations" is pretty successful in this respect, though it
is no "Freezing Moon". Overall, a more than adequate third release
for the band, but certainly nothing to worry Emperor, Dawn, Immortal
et al; they are not threatened by Enthroned.
Eternal Tears of Sorrow - _Vilda Mannu_ (Spinefarm, December 1998)
by: David Rocher (8 out of 10)
Now, this is a -damn- good surprise. With a name as feeble as
"Eternal Tears of Sorrow", I was more than readied to valiantly stand
before a deluge of gooey tearful sweetness, in the rather infuriating
ways of Theatre of Tragedy or MacBeth. It rapidly dawned upon me that
I had been truly misled; as soon, in fact, as the swift introductory
riff and massive rhythmic section of "Northern Doom" kicked in --
EToS in fact play a form of melodic, heavy Scandinavian death metal,
and they do it rather well. Their music's sonorities are unusual
enough, sounding like a melodious fusion of heavy metal and old
traditional tunes, and definitely distant enough from the wearing
tones of scene leaders In Flames; and these Finns also unmistakably
know how to pick a catchy and memorable hookline. The sporadic
insertion of keyboards succeeds in adding cold touches of atmosphere,
but EToS are smart enough not to make this an overwhelming habit
which could in have spoiled the goods. _Vilda Mannu_ demonstrates
cool musicianship, and can pride itself in very good, creative metal
music. EToS do indulge in female vocals twice on the album, but once
again in a rather characteristic way: ethereal, soothing and laid
back on one track, these chants almost sound scornful and cynically
cold on the other, proving that this trio know how to keep clear of
the faded paths taken by most nauseatingly bland users of such
artefacts. With a nice, fat sound crafted by Ahti Kortelainen of the
mythical Tico-Tico studios, EToS's second album reveals personality
in their approach to death metal, and that is definitely the vein
they want to delve deeper into -- I don't see that the scene really
needs another In Flames clone out there, and obviously nor do EToS.
Forgive Me Not - _Tearfall_ (Metal Age, December 1998)
by: Paul Schwarz (6.5 out of 10)
It seems that Sentenced's _Down_ and _Frozen_ albums made a big
impact on the musical consciousness of this Russian band. However, I
can forgive (no pun intended) Forgive Me Not for this to a certain
degree, as they are evidently trying to find their feet and, this
being their debut, have not yet quite "discovered" their own style.
As Sentenced-esque stuff goes, though, I have to be honest: this is
mediocre. The vocalist needs to do a lot of work if he wants to get
himself to the level of Ville Laihala or any of -his- contemporaries.
Apart from that, the production is good for what looks like a pretty
independent job and certain parts (like the attitude infused female
vocal tirade which begins "Heaven Island") are at least worthy of
note and could come in handy later. Overall, though, this is pretty
unremarkable and doesn't match up to such bands as Cumdeo (also from
Russia), who have found their own style and are already well on their
way to greatness.
God Dethroned - _Bloody Blasphemy_ (Metal Blade, July 1999)
by: Adrian Bromley (9 out of 10)
If you hate Jesus, religion, priests, churches, the Bible and all
things else related to Christianity, then you'll totally fall in love
with the work of Holland's powerful black/death metal quartet God
Dethroned. Fuck, if you like good fast-paced, well executed numbers
with a lot of speed and crunch to it, God Dethroned is your band.
From the totally powerful opening number of "Serpent King" to
"Boiling Blood", "Under the Golden Wings of Death" and finally the
album closer (and title track) "Bloody Blasphemy", God Dethroned's
crusade to shit on anything religious is loud and clear. Riffs of
breakneck speed and vocals that'll scare the willy out of your
neighbours are abundant here and it's no wonder this band is plagued
by religious groups and government agencies in their hometown and
other European cities. All in the name of God Dethroned, my friends.
This album not only kicks Jesus' ass, but our asses too. May God
Dethroned have mercy on your soul.
Godflesh - _Us and Them_ (Earache, May 1999)
by: Paul Schwarz (8.5 out of 10)
Godflesh have consistently succeeded in creating albums with dark and
oppressive atmospheres. On 1996's _Songs of Love and Hate_ they did
this primarily with a guitar-driven style where the backing rhythms
were rather sombre. This made the guitars the main instrument. By the
time the first 10 or 20 seconds of _Us and Them_'s opener "I, Me,
Mine" have gone by, any listener will realise that Godflesh's sixth
album is quite a different kettle of fish to _SoLaH_. Instead, it is
more akin to _SoLaH_'s remix effort, _Love and Hate in Dub_, in that,
much of the time, it is driven percussively and by thumping drum and
bass and hip-hop rhythms. "I, Me, Mine", "Defiled" and others do not
even throw a riff in under these drum and bass rhythms (as many
amateur bands might feel the need to), but I find myself (not being a
listener to drum and bass and the like) quite getting into them.
These tracks are catchy in their own way and, most importantly, don't
break with what Godflesh have always done: create interesting and
dark music. Tiny notes of guitar jump out of these tracks and
Broadrick's voice is given an inhuman quality by a pitchshifting
distortion. There are also more "traditional" sounding Godflesh
tracks on display, which, with huge, slow and oppressive riffs
repeating and percussion building, see Godflesh creating an
oppressive and depressive storm of sound in the way they more
commonly do. At 64 minutes, _Us and Them_ is a lot to take in,
especially in one sitting, and I find it a little bit of a struggle
as an album, but it does have some great tracks and creates a blanket
of depressive, atmospheric industrial sound which is hard to throw
off.
Hypocrisy - _Hypocrisy_ (Nuclear Blast, June 1999)
by: David Rocher (10 out of 10)
Hypocrisy's sixth album is another fine stepping stone in this trio's
irresistible ascent, that testifies to the immense talent that has
never ceased to ooze from this band since the inception of their
unearthly oppressing _The Fourth Dimension_. After mastermind
Tagtgren had threatened to reduce this band to ash two years ago, due
to the lack of motivation demonstrated by partners in crime Lars
Szoke and Mikael Hedlund, it seems this warning succeeded in sending
boiling new blood gushing through the band's veins, unceasingly
driving them to reach new summits in heaviness, melody and dazzling
inspiration. With the use of synthetics now well and truly integrated
in their sound, one of Sweden's most crucial death metal bands have
composed an album destined to reign among the finest death metal
releases this year, and possibly ever. Akin to a heavier, more
atmospheric heir to the amazing _Abducted_, this eponym masterpiece
boasts fantastic canorous riffing and a pounding, truly devastating
rhythm section enriched with unexpected breaks and shifts. Peter's
leads are better crafted than they ever were and his fantastic use of
changing vocal styles testifies to this band's irrepressible rise to
the pantheon of metal legends. Obviously, a talented producer such as
Tagtgren could only craft the most flawless of sounds for his own
band, and what he has pretty much achieved for this masterpiece is
simply a perfect blend of crushing, roaring heaviness and finely
distorted melody, which is awe-inspiring. _Hypocrisy_, people, is
beyond all doubt one of 1999's major chapters, and basically another
lesson in death metal dealt to the entire scene by past masters in
the art of metal music extremism. Missing out on this release is good
enough a reason for vicious alien life forms to abduct you and
abusively perform crippling proctology on your worthless mortal coil.
Immolation - _Failures for Gods_ (Metal Blade, June 1999)
by: Paul Schwarz (9.5 out of 10)
Once again, Immolation have produced an album which grabs my ears,
eyes and brain and drags me mercilessly into their twisted realm,
where brutal, dark death metal is eternally entwined with engrossing
anti-religious sentiments. The music -is- the initial and most
important part of Immolation, but they are so much more than a band I
merely listen to. Following the lyrics and engrossing yourself in the
themes enhances the listening experience of all Immolation's albums
and _Failures for Gods_ is no exception. While the music assaults
your senses and creates a hugely oppressive, dark atmosphere all by
itself, the lyrical themes enhance this at least twofold. _FfG_ is a
progression for the band in that it is heavier and doesn't
incorporate quite as much of the despair-ridden melody which was so
resonantly part of tracks like "Burn With Jesus" or "Nailed to Gold"
on _Here in After_. Songs such as "Failures for Gods" and "Your Angel
Died" still use this technique, but _FfG_ is far more centred around
being downright heavy and brutal (which is also accentuated by the
wider-ranging production), while capturing an atmosphere at least as
powerful and affecting as _HiA_. Build-ups are somewhat more
important and the band are more calculated with their riffs. The
poundingly simple riff which comes in at the three minute mark on
"Once Ordained" is punishing in itself, but is augmented incalculably
by the raging build-up which lays the foundations for it. Likewise,
the last two minutes of the album, the almighty riff, and its
accompanying melodies, which marks the end of "The Devil I Know", is
atmospheric and affecting in the best senses of the word -- and via
the best medium, basic instruments. I have nothing against keyboards
as such, and they can be used by bands to great effect (Nocturnus,
for example), but often I just want atmosphere the Autopsy way: raw,
creepy and basic. Unless Morbid Angel release a new record this year,
I don't think any death metal album will be able to challenge
Immolation in the extremity or brilliance stakes. This is essential
listening.
Internal Bleeding - _Driven to Conquer_ (Pavement, June 1999)
by: Adrian Bromley (4 out of 10)
By the time their third song comes around, I was already tired of
Internal Bleeding's brutally charged (at times) effort _Driven to
Conquer_. The reason? Too same sounding for the most part, and to be
honest, the music just doesn't live up to what a lot of other death
metal bands are doing these days. While the vocals of singer Ray
Lebron do hit a truly guttural stride at times, in the end not even
some serious guitar riffing and double-kicks could save this from
mediocrity. Only salvageable tracks are "Conditioned" and
"Slavesoul". Fans of the band, go ahead and check 'em out. Not a fan?
You're not missing much.
Killer Khan - _Kill Devil Hills_ (<Independent>, June 1999)
by: Adrian Bromley (8 out of 10)
Holy Ozzy Osbourne?! Holy King Diamond!? What the fuck is going on
here?! With a true nod to such masters of song writing and singing as
Ozzy Osbourne and King Diamond (his solo effort stuff) and the
powerful works of such metal greats as Black Sabbath and Judas
Priest, Killer Khan lead screamer/guitarist/songwriter Killian Khan
goes all out here with an impressive array of ideas that spew forth
from _Kill Devil Hills_. With a great sound (think a modern take on
'80s era Ozzy material for the most part) and impressive pipes from
the vocalist, Killer Khan rock the house and help rejuvenate a lost
form of metal music nowadays. While not groundbreaking, and
definitely not the best of this musical genre (but close!), Killer
Khan's nine-song offering is worthy of cranking. I'm getting
flashbacks of sitting in my basement apartment listening to music
with headphones on and not a care in the world. Wow! This is too
much, people. What a splendid surprise this is in this month's review
batch. Best cuts: title track "Kill Devil Hills", "Evilution" and
"Computer Icon". If you at all still care about metal music circa
1988 (but with a more updated sound quality), then Killer Khan is
your choice this month. Great effort.
Contact: P.O. Box 1466, Mooresville, North Carolina, USA, 28115
mailto:KhanMetal@webtv.net
WWW: http://www.Killerkhan.com
Konkhra - _The Freakshow EP_ (Diehard, June 1999)
by: Paul Schwarz (4 out of 10)
If you bet your bottom dollar on the new Konkhra album being the
be-all-and-end-all of the thrash/death fraternity this year, then God
damn did -you- back the wrong horse. Konkhra have got about as close
to doing a "Metallica" as I think they could've without at least
passing by a mirror, taking a good hard look, and realising what they
were doing. Okay, Anders' vocals are still relatively aggressive,
despite a slight tone change, but the performances, and especially
production, of the guitar "attack" and accompanying drums has about
as much kick as Poison on a bad day. The songs are founded on basic,
rocky groove-laced structures with Anders' now somewhat indistinct
vocals over the top (he hasn't got enough Hetfield, Keenan, or what
have you, in him to stand out sufficiently over such bare music) and
the drums, guitar and bass chugging along rather uninterestingly
below. "This EP is pretty fucking good... If you don't think so
you're probably deaf or just plain stupid!", says the inlay. Well, I
don't feel stupid, but maybe I am a bit deaf, 'cause I keep spinning
this piece of plastic which says "Konkhra" on it, but all that comes
out when I play it is bad B-side songs from the sessions for
Corrosion of Conformity's _Deliverance_ where Pepper must have had a
serious illness. In fact, I think something afflicted the whole band,
because they decided it would be a great idea to churn out bare
sounding and unconvincingly sung versions of Iron Maiden's "Prowler"
and Motorhead's "Orgasmatron". Nope, I was right the first time: it
is the new Konkhra EP, but it isn't very good at all, that's all.
Lacuna Coil - _In a Reverie_ (Century Media, June 1999)
by: Adrian Bromley (7.5 out of 10)
Some are saying that Lacuna Coil's latest effort is far superior to
what The Gathering did with their spacey, lounge-like atmospheric
release _How to Build a Planet?_. I can see (and hear) that in the
band's full-length release for Century Media, as their sound has
strengthened since last year's stunning six-song self-titled debut.
Led by frontgal Cristina Scabbia and male vocalist Andrea Ferro, the
Italian quintet work well off one-another, with Cristina's beautiful
vocal arrangements accompanying the skilled musicianship and
sometimes gothic sound of the band as it plays out. _In a Reverie_
works for two reasons: 1) the band knows that they have a talented
ensemble to work with; and 2) their ideas of beauty and serenity are
carefully executed within each and every song here. It's beautiful
work that is etched here and Lacuna Coil should be praised for that.
On the downside, this does at times sound too much like The Gathering
or even the long gone (I haven't heard a release from them in a
while) Dreamside. But as sounds do sound a bit similar at times,
Lacuna Coil do break away from that and solidify their debut with
numbers like "To Myself I Turned" and "Reverie". This is a good
release and, to tell you the truth, for those of you still skeptical,
Lacuna Coil deserve a listen.
Merauder - _Five Deadly Venoms_ (Century Media, 1999)
by: Matthias Noll (3 out of 10)
In 1995 Merauder released their debut _Master Killer_. This record
was far from being innovative or groundbreaking, but I still consider
_Master Killer_ one of the best hardcore/metal crossover releases in
the last couple of years. Singer Jorge left the band after the debut,
got replaced, is now back in the band and besides these troubles one
would expect four years to be sufficient for a band to unleash two or
even three albums -- wrong. Basically, _Five Deadly Venoms_ sounds as
if Merauder have released leftovers from the recording sessions for
_Master Killer_. I�m talking about leftovers in the true meaning of
the word here -- songs that just wouldn't have been good enough to
make it onto the first record. The Merauder trademarks are still
there -- slow to medium-paced songs with riffing that is somewhat
similar to Bolt Thrower (with a different sound, though), crushing
hardcore/metal breaks, occasional Slayer-esque guitar harmonies and
Jorge's brutal, shouted vocals. Although all these ingredients are
used again, Merauder just didn't manage to utilize them and forge
efficient songs. The incorporation of very slight changes, a couple
less metal and more hardcore tunes, some acoustic guitar sections,
etc. doesn't improve the whole thing. In total they make this record
appear even more pointless and uninspired. This is even worse if you
consider that the CD is only 30 minutes long, including an intro and
a Cro Mags cover version, and I can't help but feel not only highly
disappointed but ripped off too.
Mistigo Varggoth Darkestra - _The Keys to the Gates of Apocalypse_
by: Aaron McKay (8 out of 10) (The End Records 1999)
This is one BASTARD of a release! ONE song -- seventy two minutes
long. I think to call this an "epic" disc is leading you to believe
the song/release has some type of ensuing finality. Couldn't prove it
by me. When you think about it, the prolongation of _TKttGoA_ makes
Iron Butterfly's _In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida_ look like an Anal Cunt track!
Know what I mean? Now seriously, the skinny on Mistigo Varggoth
Darkestra is _TKttGoA_ is the much anticipated second release of MVD
(a side-project of Kniaz Varggoth of Nokturnal Mortum notoriety).
Having given this some thought, by way of constructive advice, don't
go into this release thinking "Killer! Another _Goat Horns_ or _To
the Gates of Blasphemous Fire_." This line of thinking will
disappoint. Rather, consider MVD in its own right. To illustrate my
point, think of Kniaz Varggoth's two bands as you might think of
Danny Lilker's involvement with Nuclear Assault and Brutal Truth.
Similar? Hell yea, but the same? Fuck no! _The Keys to the Gates of
Apocalypse_ is beautiful in -every- excavated, hollow sense of the
word. Black metal in parts pitted harmoniously against icy,
wind-cracked minimalism. So obfuscous and thick is this release that
it almost smothers the soul. In no way is _TKttGoA_ for the weak or
feeble and certainly not for the narrow-minded or mentally bankrupt.
Absorb and digest this Mistigo Varggoth Darkestra release in one
sitting or twelve, but -DO- give _TKttGoA_ seventy-two minutes of
your day, year, or life, for all I care... That much, it is
definitely worthy.
No Innocent Victim - _Flesh and Blood_ (Victory, 1999)
by: Alex Cantwell (9 out of 10)
In a simple explanation, this is straight up new skool hardcore done
right. Victory has done a good thing in signing these guys who began
their recording career with Rescue Records. No Innocent Victim take
the style that Sick of it All pioneered and make it heavier and
punchier. I suppose that the punchiness is due to the production and
engineering of Little Rock, Arkansas' very capable Barry Poynter. The
heaviness is completely due to the band, though -- after several
tours and two previous albums, they are getting more experienced and
mo' betta. The song structures are completely tight, and you had
better believe that they pull it off live, as I have witnessed this
also. Many bands are succeeding at this whole new school hardcore
game, fusing metal with hardcore energy and ideologies, but few can
do it with the conviction that these guys can. _Flesh and Blood_ is
twelve great songs of uncompromising fury and rage -- some of it
aimed confrontationally at themselves, and some of it aimed towards
those who would persecute them and their integrity. Positive energy
ensues with the touch of the play button -- are you going to connect
to it?
Contact: Victory Records, PO Box 146546, Chicago, IL 60614 USA
WWW: http://www.victoryrecords.com
Obtained Enslavement - _Soulblight_ (Napalm Records, 1999)
by: Pedro Azevedo (9 out of 10)
_Soulblight_ is the second release of this gathering of Norwegian
black metal musicians, following 1997's _Witchcraft_ (released
through Wounded Love Records). Neither style nor sound have changed
significantly; Obtained Enslavement are still dedicated to the
creation of fast, intense and heavily classically-influenced black
metal. Like _Witchcraft_, _Soulblight_ has several unusual
characteristics. Something that stands out is the rather unusual use
of piano (handled by Aeternus' bass player Morrigan) on "The Dark
Night of Souls" and "Soulblight"; the result is very good. Complexity
is very high most of the time, with guitars, keyboard, drums and
vocals all being very busy simultaneously at high speeds -- this is
music that you need to really pay attention to in order to enjoy it.
The rather rough Grieghallen production takes away some clarity, but
helps make the band a bit more different from the rest -- which they
certainly are. Complex and inspired songwriting and aggressive and
technical playing make _Soulblight_ a superb album.
October Tide - _Grey Dawn_ (Avantgarde Records, May 1999)
by: Pedro Azevedo (9 out of 10)
I expected the combination of Marten Hanssen's (formerly of A
Canorous Quintet) anguished vocals with October Tide's doom metal to
produce remarkable results. However, it turns out that during the
slower parts of the album I tend to miss Jonas Renske's _Rain Without
End_ vocals; nevertheless, Hanssen's vox suit the rest of the album
very well. _Grey Dawn_ is actually overall somewhat faster than _Rain
Without End_, which consequently helps Hanssen's vocals. October
Tide's music also tends to sound a bit less like Katatonia than
before, as some almost Swedish metal-like guitar work is mixed with
the sorrowful guitar lines and riffs. The guitar work is very good
throughout the album; it is also helped by the excellent production
that gives the album a sombre, but yet remarkably clear, sound. The
digipak's artwork is equally sombre and well done. Two tracks stand
out from the rest: "Floating" and "Lost in the Dark". A few minutes
later, the album comes to an end with a cold acoustic guitar track.
In short, Katatonia's Renske and Norrman, this time helped by
Hanssen, have done it again with October Tide.
Sadistik Exekution - _K.A.O.S._ (Osmose, April 1999)
by: Paul Schwarz (1 out of 10)
I don't get Sadistik Exekution at all. Chaotic music is good, I like
chaotic music, but there's a limit to everything. I can't say I don't
admire the band's technical ability for recording something as fast
and, especially rhythmically, complex as _K.A.O.S_, live in the
studio, but being able to admire how fast a band can play does not
mean I enjoy their music. Sadistik Execution play really fast nearly
all the time and, to be honest, much as they create a whirlwind of
noise, listening to their noise is less interesting than listening to
a recording of a whirlwind, I imagine. Rok's vocals are faceless and
boring, the drums sound totally over-trebled and ridiculously tinny,
the guitars scale the fretboard with uninteresting chords and
progressions, the bass occasionally gets its chance to do some
"breaks", which are just wank, and the production, well, it's like
someone wanted to design the perfect sound to bore people: I wonder
whether -good- music would be listenable with such a sound behind it.
There are five bonus tracks on this release, but they're all on the
album, just in different versions which sound better, even though I
think some of them are originals where _K.A.O.S._ contains
re-recordings. I have found maybe half a dozen decent riffs on this
release which I have awarded the band their "1" for, but, quite
honestly, I find this pretty unlistenable, and because it's shit, not
"so fucking extreme" as I'm sure the band would claim.
Sinergy - _Beware the Heavens_ (Nuclear Blast, May 1999)
by: Paul Schwarz (6 out of 10)
Kimberly Goss (former member of Dimmu Borgir, Ancient and Avernus)
has formed this band with members of Children of Bodom and In Flames.
It is thus not that big a surprise that the music on here is
virtuostically melodic heavy metal stuff very similar to some of
Children of Bodom, and HammerFall particularly. The guitar work can
certainly be technically impressive, it's often catchy and some of
the riffs are good, but "new" is not a word which comes within a
million miles of my brain when I put on _Beware the Heavens_. Well,
the fact that Goss sings could be considered something "new and
different", but to be honest she might as well be any power metal
eunuch, just one with a bit more richness and femininity to her vocal
outpourings. It must be said that though her vocals are acceptable,
the lyrics lie somewhere between bog-standard and appalling and her
delivery of encouraging crowd invigorators, like "come on!" and
"huh!", actually has me cringing. Unoriginal and unnecessary, though
not badly written as heavy metal rehashes go.
Six Feet Under - _Maximum Violence_ (Metal Blade, July 1999)
by: Adrian Bromley (9 out of 10)
Taking a more violent approach this time out (hence the name _Maximum
Violence_), Chris Barnes and co. kick out some serious damage here
with the impressive follow-up to the totally insane and mind-crushing
_Warpath_ (1997). With a new guitarist (Steve Swanson, ex-Massacre)
and a revamped crunch to their sound, Six Feet Under can do no wrong
here. Blistering guitar riffs coated with Barnes' sick 'n' brutal
vocals and lyrics make this recording drop time bombs as it goes
along. Not only has Barnes managed to keep the band's momentum strong
here, but his vocals have never sounded so sick and heavy. Three
records and one EP down, it seems Six Feet Under have no worries
about being put to the wayside. With killer numbers like "Victim of
the Paranoid", "Mass Murder Rampage" and a kickin' death metal
version of KISS' "War Machine" (the digipak of this release also has
them doing Iron Maiden's "Wraithchild" and Thin Lizzy's "Jailbreak"),
you can't go wrong, death metal fans. A crushing release that can't
be ignored.
Slipknot - _Slipknot_ (Roadrunner, June 1999)
by: Adrian Bromley (8 out of 10)
I was a little skeptical about this masked nine-piece (yes!
nine-piece) noise/terrorist outfit from Des Moines, Iowa when I first
started getting word of them. I didn't think such a big outfit could
pull it off. I mean, look at groups like Gwar and Bile, they're jokes
to me and it just seems so silly to have so many people in a band.
But you know what? By the grace of God and some weird alignment with
the Earth and the Sun or something fucked-up like that, this works.
Get drawn in by maniacal numbers like "Spit it Out", "Purity" and
opener "426100027". With producer Ross Robinson (Korn/Soulfly) at the
helm, the nine-piece of freaks sporting surrealistic self-made masks
lash out at us with a bombastic meshing of industrial, death metal
and hip-hop music, a concoction that leaves us with truly horrific
sounds and images to digest. It's not pretty, but when was music
supposed to be pretty? This is reality and no matter how far from it
do members 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 (yes! they go by numerical
digits as names) stray, it still kicks and screams all the way till
the bitter and gruesome end. Fans of Korn, Hanzel Und Gretyl and Bile
(yech!) will surely dig this. I heard this band's live shows kicks
ass too. Check out their awesome website, too.
Contact: WWW: http://www.slipknot1.com
Solus - _Universal Bloodshed_ (Skinmask, April 1998)
by: Paul Schwarz (9 out of 10)
Solus have really hit the jackpot on this second outing put out, once
again on their own label, Skinmask. Finding "your" sound is not
always an easy thing to do, but Solus have found it and have already
jumped the next hurdle with _Universal Bloodshed_: knowing how to
manipulate it to your greatest advantage. _Slave of Mind_ literally
pales in comparison; it had rage for sure, but _Universal Bloodshed_
has poise, melancholy, melody and, most importantly, emotion. This is
not to say this is some touchy-feely goth-tinged album, it is about
as much the antithesis as anything else. No, the emotion here is like
the emotion of Rollins, early Metallica or Morbid Angel; it has fury.
The basis of the music is deathly thrash with Korbut's vocals
displaying a varied and vicious spectrum while also totally crushing
many competitors. This foundation is rock-solid to the extent where
the band now feel able to build onto it unusual structures which
massively enhance its ability to draw the listener in, and satiate
them mercilessly. The soloing on a track like "Wormwood" is far away
from the standard insane widdling of many brutal bands; it has had
thought or emotion put into it and the result is something which
really affects you, instead of just glazing over you. The bands most
worked-in and important aspect, though, which I think may become a
trademark of sorts, is what happens in certain sections of songs like
"Rivers of Red" and "Quilt of Shame". Working undercover of brutal,
heavy and powerful riff-lines, vague and melancholic melodies give
the feel of the music a new dimension to play with, and get me going
like nothing else in the process. There is even success in coming out
with an acoustic and clean sung track which doesn't sound out of
place, a feat on such a brutal album. It is a pity that the excellent
"Magadan", from their taster _Our Frosted Hell_ EP [reviewed as
_Solus_, CoC #32] is not here, backed by the production of Rob Sanzo
(a far superior sound to that of the EP), but this is a small gripe
about what is a very good record and one I fully recommend acquiring
as quickly as possible.
Spitfire - _The Dead Next Door_ (Solidstate, 1999)
by: Alex Cantwell (6 out of 10)
After many listens to this CD, I simply cannot muster up better than
a 6 out of 10 for it. Some of it I like, and some of it is annoying,
but the biggest reason is that I can't tell if these guys are real or
not. It sounds like they have been touring with Zao (which they
have), but also listening to a lot of indie rock (who knows?). I
didn't expect this direction from this band who began as a plain,
semi-talented hardcore band. Which is why I question their sincerity.
So they toured with Zao (Zao drummer Jesse Smith is also listed as an
"additional musician" on three songs) and got all influenced to try
the black metal screams and the over the top, aggressive guitar
parts. Will they move on to another style next year? These questions
can only be answered with time, but I am just skeptical because of
the drastic change in style from their former music. Spitfire use a
lot of harmonics in the songs here, but the most noticeable recurring
theme is the use of a "groove" that is not really a groove, but more
of a drone. The music is without a doubt heavy, but not always
enjoyable. Most of the vocals are of the angrily shouted variety, but
in a couple of songs they have a distinct indie rock edge. "A Glance
at Quintessence" sounds like the new Sepultura line-up doing a
hardcore song at half speed, except for the blast part in the middle,
which, come to think of it, I think every single song has a blast
part in it. Hmm. Anyway, "Good Cop, Bad Cop" is my favourite, because
it is very fast and very cool, with some awesome guitar riffing,
especially towards the end. I believe that Spitfire is on the right
rack with this one. The album as a whole is not on the right track,
though. As I alluded to above, time will tell what this band has in
store for us.
Contact: Spitfire, c/o Chris Raines, 1527 S. Seabreeze Trail,
Virginia Beach, VA 23452, USA
mailto:spitmail@aol.com
WWW: http://welcom.to/spitweb
Stormtroopers of Death - _Bigger Than the Devil_
by: Paul Schwarz (8 out of 10) (Nuclear Blast, June 1999)
Fourteen years ago, SoD's _Speak English or Die_ made a major pile up
of a dent on the thrash metal scene of the time, and helped to lay
the foundations for the crossover style with hardcore. SoD split up
soon after with only a few live shows under their belt. Three odd
years ago SoD reformed to play live, but the word was that things
were soon to end again due to Billy Milano's worsening bone marrow
condition. Then last year the word came that SoD were fully back on
the horse and that a new album and more live play was on the way.
Convincingly following up as spontaneous a classic as _Speak English
or Die_ would have been near impossible three years later; fourteen
seems pretty much out of the realms of possibility. SoD have done OK
considering. The production is perfect for the music, which is a very
good start, and the band thrash hard and endearingly through cool
tracks like "We All Bleed Red", "Moment of Truth" and my personal
favourite, "Shenanigans". Though thrash is still a fair
classification for them, it must be said that SoD have a whole heap
o' punk and hardcore in here too, which shows through when they
aren't purposefully parodying another band's style. The next most
important factor for an SoD album, or maybe the most, is the humour.
This shows itself in virtually all the lyrics and maybe a quarter of
the music. _Bigger Than the Devil_ is funny, tracks like "Celtic
Frosted Flakes" (a kind of tribute to Celtic Frost) and "King at the
King" (which alludes to the idea of King Diamond ordering a Burger
King meal, while at the same time ranting satanically) particularly,
but much of this humour is tantamount to rehashes of the first
album's jokes ("Ballad of Michael H." and "... Phil H" vs. "Ballad of
Jimi Hendrix"?) and it isn't riotous that much of the time in any
case. _BTtD_ does feel a little pieced together, but it does present
you with a good bunch of SoD quality songs to enjoy and, in many
cases, be amused by. Ultimately, this is just another SoD album,
though; it isn't breaking any barriers like _SEoD_ was, but it is 23
more songs in more or less the same style. It's up to you if you want
it, but if you don't have _SEoD_, I suggest you get that classic
first, and then decide.
Vesperian Sorrow - _Beyond the Cursed Eclipse_
by: Adrian Bromley (8.5 out of 10) (June 1999)
Hmm... this is too unreal, my friends. With not even photos or a bio
to accompany the CD, I was a little wary of doing a review, just for
the sheer notion that I wanted to know something about this band
before I got into what was on the disc. But then again, as long as
the music was good, what would be the point of a bio or photo?
Anyway, I had luckily received a single from the band at Milwaukee
Metalfest one year, I believe (I think it was them), so I was
familiar with the name and the sound (to a certain degree). They say
they're signed to a label? Which one I don't know. It's still a
mystery. Wrapped within a truly dynamic mixing of atmospheric black
metal and some serious speed metal riffs, the music of Vesperian
Sorrow is a totally blistering package of metalness. From the
haunting keyboards and blasting drum beats to the archaic guitar
overtones and the sinister snarls that stem from the vocal cries on
such numbers as "Twilight of Azreal" and "Shadowlord", this band
really shines more and more as the record goes on. With shades of
Dimmu Borgir and even In Flames at times, Vesperian Sorrow is a
worthy young band that could have a positive and rewarding future if
they keep it up. Good luck, boys, and please send us bio/photo
material. We want to know more about your kick ass band. Stay heavy!
Vinnie Moore - _The Maze_ (Shrapnel, 1999)
by: Brian Meloon (7 out of 10)
Although Vinnie Moore's last couple of albums have been standard hard
rock fare, this album is hailed as Vinnie's return to his mid-'80s
neo-classical style. That assessment is not terribly accurate, but it
does contain a grain of truth. It would be more accurate to say that
this album is his first in many years to contain elements of his
neo-classical style. Certain parts of this album share a lot of
similarities with his 1988 offering, _Time Odyssey_. In fact, I heard
quite a few passages that sounded like they were taken directly from
that album. His phrasing and some of the melodic styles that he
employs are quite similar. However, this album contains more
diversity in style. There are several places where the music takes a
decidedly rockish turn, more in the style of his 1991 offering,
_Meltdown_. A section of the title track sounds more like the
jazz-rock fusion that David Chastain did on _Elegant Seduction_, and
"In the Healing Garden" sounds a little like Dokken. Because of this,
_The Maze_ at times has a schizophrenic and disjointed feel. It falls
into the same trap that many other guitar-oriented albums do: it
tries to do too many styles and please everyone, instead of
concentrating on one style and getting it right. The playing is of
course top-notch. Although Vinnie takes most of the spotlight, the
keyboards (played by Tony MacAlpine), bass, and drums all get their
chance at soloing as well. For the most part, the playing is
restrained, although there are several sections of ultra-fast
shredding. The production is excellent as well. Overall, this is a
good album. In my opinion, it's not as good as _Time Odyssey_, but
it's one of the better neo-classically influenced albums I've heard
from the last few years, and it's much better than his previous two
offerings.
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If you have a band, don't forget to send us your demo with a bio if
you want to be reviewed; our address is included in the zine's
header.
Scoring: ***** -- A flawless demo
**** -- Great piece of work
*** -- Good effort
** -- A major overhaul is in order
* -- A career change is advisable
Blind Slime - _Hating Again..._ (9-track demo)
by: Pedro Azevedo (***--)
This Polish band tries to insert plenty of variety into its standard
death metal sound and, at times, is quite successful -- the best
example is "Sweet Lies". Quality, however, varies a lot throughout
this rather long demo. The sound quality is just about average, like
most of the music itself. The frequent and intense variations in
speed and style (some acoustics, varied vocals, some different kinds
of guitar work) keep things reasonably interesting for a significant
part of the time, enough to ensure an average rating; nothing
special, but not bad, either.
Contact: Ul. Zywiecka 246, 43-300 Bielsko-Biala, Poland
mailto:blindsli@friko6.onet.pl
G.F.P.M. - _Demo 1_ (6-track demo)
by: Adrian Bromley (**---)
If you're into that fucked up noise carnage, outta-control rampage
stuff, then you might actually get something out of the music from
Austrian outfit G.F.P.M.. If not, you might just run for cover. Not
only does the music sound so violently irritating at times, the
production stinks and it's got no real groove to it. I mean, look at
veterans of noise assembly like Brutal Truth or Anal Cunt. It's
fucked to the hilt, but somehow there is a groove weaving its way
through each track. I don't know, I'm just not impressed with what
this six-song demo offers. If noise is what you want to crank on your
boomboxes, then check it out, but I seriously think most people will
not find the work here all that appealing.
Contact: G.F.P.M. c/o Moser Christian,
Stampferau 41, A-5730 Mittersill, Austria
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W H A T W E H A V E C R A N K E D ! ! !
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Gino's Top 5
1. Hypocrisy - _Hypocrisy_
2. Sephiroth - _Cathedron_
3. Autechre - _Incunabula_
4. The Future Sound of London - _Dead Cities_
5. Absu - _The Sun of Tiphareth_
Adrian's Top 5
1. God Dethroned - _Bloody Blasphemy_
2. Six Feet Under - _Maximum Violence_
3. Slipknot - _Slipknot_
4. Cave-in - _Creative Eclipses_
5. Roadsaw - _Nationwide_
Brian's Top 5
1. Nagelfar - _Hunengrab im Herbst_
2. Agalloch - _Pale Folklore_
3. Cradle of Filth - _Cruelty and the Beast_
4. Mistigo Varggoth Darkestra - _The Keys to the Gates of Apocalypse_
5. Magnitude 9 - _Chaos to Control_
Alain's Top 5
1. Dimmu Borgir - _Spiritual Black Dimensions_
2. Human Remains - _Using Sickness as a Hero_
3. Incantation - _Tribute to the Goat_
4. Possessed - _Seven Churches_
5. Nevermore - _Dreaming Neon Black_
Adam's Top 5
1. Samael - _Ceremony of Opposites_
2. Brutal Truth - _Need to Control_
3. Hypocrisy - _Hypocrisy_
4. Dismal Euphony - _All Little Devils_
5. Rammstein - _Sehnsucht_
Pedro's Top 5
1. Evoken - _Embrace the Emptiness_
2. Anathema - _Judgement_
3. Obtained Enslavement - _Soulblight_
4. October Tide - _Grey Dawn_
5. Ashes You Leave - _The Passage Back to Life_
Paul's Top 5
1. Gordian Knot - _Gordian Knot_
2. Necrophagia - _Holocausto de la Morte_
3. Arch Enemy - _Burning Bridges_
4. Rush - _Moving Pictures_
5. Rollins Band - _Weight_
Aaron's Top 5
1. Violence - _Eternal Nightmare_
2. Mistigo Varggoth Darkestra - _The Keys to the Gates of Apocalypse_
3. Desire - _Infinity_ (Thanks again, Pedro!)
4. Disincarnate - Dreams of the Carrion Kind_
5. Jungle Rot - _Slaughter the Weak_
David's Top 5
1. Hypocrisy - _Hypocrisy_
2. Morbid Angel - _Covenant_
3. Nagelfar - _Srontgorrth_
4. Arch Enemy - _Burning Bridges_
5. Demoniac - _The Fire and the Wind_
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Homepage: http://www.interlog.com/~ginof/coc.html
FTP Archive: ftp://ftp.etext.org/pub/Zines/ChroniclesOfChaos
--> Interested in being reviewed? Send us your demo and bio to:
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CHRONICLES OF CHAOS
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Downsview Ont.
M3M-1M6, Canada
Fax: (416) 693-5240 Voice: (416) 693-9517
e-mail: ginof@interlog.com
----
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DESCRIPTION
~~~~~~~~~~~
Chronicles of Chaos is a monthly magazine electronically distributed
worldwide via the Internet. Chronicles of Chaos focuses on all forms
of chaotic music including black, death and doom metal, dark/ambient,
industrial and electronic/noise as well as classic and progressive
metal. Each issue will feature a plethora of album reviews from a
wide range of bands, as well as interviews with some of the
underground's best acts. Also included in each issue are demo reviews
and indie band interviews.
HOW TO SUBSCRIBE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You may subscribe to Chronicles of Chaos at any time by sending a
message with "coc subscribe <your_name_here>" in the SUBJECT of your
message to <mailto:ginof@interlog.com>. Please note that this command
must NOT be sent to the list address <coc-ezine@lists.colorado.edu>.
AUTOMATIC FILESERVER
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All back issues and various other CoC related files are available for
automatic retrieval through our e-mail fileserver. All you have to do
is send a message to us at <mailto:ginof@interlog.com>. The
'Subject:' field of your message must read: "send file X" where 'X'
is the name of the requested file (do not include the quotes). Back
issues are named 'coc-n', where 'n' is the issue number. For a
description of all files available through this fileserver, request
'list'. Remember to use lowercase letters for all file names.
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End Chronicles of Chaos, Issue #41
All contents copyright 1999 by individual creators of included work.
All opinions expressed herein are those of the individuals expressing
them, and do not necessarily reflect the views of anyone else.