Recording Reviews
Band: Kaos
Album: Kaos Among Us (Self-Release)
Year: 2004
Rating: 9/10
Bay Area Thrashers Kaos have been getting some great reactions lately
and have gained some excellent reviews amongst the press, so the
arrival of their new full-length "Kaos Among Us" was the
ideal time to delve into why?
Kaos successfully blend hardcore with thrash to create a style very
similar to Stampin Ground's "A New Darkness...", great
riffs, technical lead work, blazing percussion and all with a real
energy to create an exceptional album. There is also plenty of variety
during the album which keeps things interesting throughout. There's
not much more to say really other than I can see why they've been
getting some amazing reactions, a heavy, hard working band that
really deserves to be known
You can tell when albums are just thrown together, and you can tell
when albums have been placed together and actually worked on, which
is exactly what we have here. It would be a crime if Kaos didn't
progress onto much bigger things. One of the best self-releases
I've heard in a while.
Metal Mayhem www.metal-mayhem.co.uk
United Kingdom-Review
by Chris Rogers
KAOS "Kaos Among Us" (Self Released 2003)
A few months ago I heard a little from Bay Area rockers Kaos. I
really liked what I heard and was eager to hear more. Recently,
the band's new CD, "Kaos Among Us," fell into my hands
and I was thrilled at the prospect of giving some pixel ink to this
awesome band.
"Kaos Among Us" is thunderous, high voltage metal that
borders on the frantic and honestly left me breathless. The lyrical
content is harsh and yet poetic and effortlessly draws you into
the band's darkly rich world.
This five member band belts out tune after mysterious tune with
nary a beat between explosive ditties. This extremely talented
band and their music pound relentlessly from the opening note and
keeps you entranced for over 45 minutes until they finally let go
of your throat and out of their musical grasp. A classic. This record
will kick your ass.
http://www.kaosamongus.com.
Rough Edge
www.roughedge.com
USA-Reviewed by Snidermann
Kaos - Kaos Among Us (After The End Publishing)
Another band from United States sends to us their work. This is
their second album. This release has twelve power, thrash, brutal
songs. Yes all these together with the signature of Kaos.
When I first hear their album, my though is that why this band isn’t
in a big label. The music of Kaos can’t categorize, they have
elements from thrash metal, elements from death metal and very aggressive
vocals. They have very good drum parts and very heavy guitar riffs.
Last but not least, Kaos also have some modern elements and all
these are the music of Kaos.
Even if, I don’t like the vocal parts, imagine the vocals
of Phil Anselmo, and you can get a small picture, how the vocals
are. So as I said before, even if I don’t like the vocals,
I like their music. Of course Kaos, is a band that you can count
on them. Check them out.
The Temple of Metal www.thetempleofmetal.com
Greece-Review by Antonis Maglaras
KAOS "Kaos Among Us"
Oblivion Entertainment
After reviewing a 3-track promo a few months ago, here is the full
version of KAOS new album. 12 Tunes of raging Thrash Metal the old-school
way, nothing really in common with bands such as THE HAUNTED and
alikes. These tunes have more of an underground touch, which doesn't
mean its unprofessional. No, instead of putting a lot os sweat and
money into a huge and expensive production with sheer heaviness,
the band has concentrated on what made the american Thrash Metal
successful in the mid/late 80's : good riffing, nice accelerations,
lotsa breaks and many guitar parts. But the most noticeable elements
come from vocals, delivered with sheer fury, sometimes almost puked!
Other KAOS trademark come from the shouted choruses.
This excellent release might also be of interest for the Power Groove
lunatics who appreciate accelerations in their music…
A pure underground delight!
Pull the Chain www.pullthechain.be
Belgium-Review by Steph
Kaos "Kaos Among Us"
Oblivion Entertainment
Kaos knows metal. With Kaos Among Us, this Bay Area band unleashes
fire-breathing vocals on top of concrete walls of guitar, sustaining
open chord distortion and fast-action lead work. This is one of
the best examples of the current Bay Area thrash sound. Unlike many
groups of this type, Kaos stands out with socially conscious screams
that are actually understandable (rather than the standard mumbled
Cookie Monster variety) and musical arrangements that are complimentary
rather than mush layered in heaps of volume. Even when the double
bass drumming is in all out rapid-fire mode, it doesn’t clutter
the sound of the rhythm guitar and bass—an amazing feat when
dealing with this extreme of a sound.
Most importantly, however, is that this disc is heavy, badass, devil-horn
metal—even if it promotes life-affirming decisions. From the
first brutal riff of “Mass of Fury” to the ambitious
“Paralyzed By Fear” and the anthem-esque title track,
there is no question this is a top tier heavy NorCal band. When
the mood for metal strikes, Kaos is ripe to serve.
Zero Magazine www.zeromag.com
USA-Review by Colin Kutch
Kaos - Kaos Among Us
Kaos, hailing from Hayward, California, has a long history in the
heart of the Bay Area scene. First off, the band has done several
gigs from the early ´90s up to 2003, playing with some more
known Thrash Metal acts as Exodus, Vio-lence, Death Angel, Testament,
Epidemic, etc. to name just a few. Their energetic live sets have
impressed lots of people wherever they have played and I can only
wish I might have a change to witness them playing live some day.
Probably just a wishful thinking from me as I live a wasteland called
Finland...
However, even if Kaos has been around more than a full decade, they
have managed to do only two full-length albums so far. The band´s
debut (titled VISION BEYOND) came out in 2000 which I unfortunately
haven´t heard. Shame on me...
The band approached me with an email a couple of weeks ago, asking
whether I could be interested in reviewing their follow-up album,
KAOS AMONG US, for Metal-Rules.com. I´m glad I responded immediately
back to them because the band´s 2nd album totally kicks butts,
cunts and bones. 12 songs on here that could musically be described
as a mixture of both Thrash Metal – and Hardcore elements,
so let´s call it simply ´Thrashcore´. I think
that term fits well into Kaos to describe how they overall sound
on KAOS AMONG US. They have sucked cleverly influences from both
of these two specific styles, put them together in a very fitting,
tasty and thought-out way in order to sort of create a unique and
unforgettable face for Kaos´ sound. They don´t limit
themselves in some specific mold that much at all, but let their
music wander quite freely between an aggressive and somewhat technical
Thrash Metal parts and some more Hardcorish parts that basically
add an angrier and more straight-up vibe into their sound. Kaos
delivers a pretty damn unique package of a furious and definitely
in-yer-face Thrash (-core) that should wheedle an unnumbered bunch
of Thrash –fans to check them out. They impressed me anyway,
so why not you as well?
They also use quite a lot of certain type of ´shout´
–choruses in their songs that overall add a general feeling
about a Thrash Metal act that isn´t afraid of using a bit
Hardcore –tinged ingredients here and there in the songs.
However, there are a few familiar elements on KAOS AMOMG US that
I just couldn´t leave completely unnoticed. For example, the
opening guitar riff in the very beginning of “Live Forever”
reminded me positively a bit of a mixture of “Guilty of Innocence”
by Death Angel and “Nuclear War” by Nuclear Assault
whereas songs like “Awakened by Death” and “Open
Your Past” have both a cool Slayer -vibe in them both and
a guitar riff for the beginning of “F.O. (Die Young, Die Old)”
brought the mighty Vio-lence to my mind in a somewhat peculiar way.
Now having said that without hesitating a second and comparing them
at least partly to Death Angel, Nuclear Assault and Slayer cannot
be a bad thing by any means, can it?
Hmm... I guess I need to purchase their debut album for myself next.
These guys know how to kick your fuckin´ teeth into the very
back of your throat. Damn awe-fuckin´-some stuff... the glorious
Bay Area way, of course!!
Metal-Rules.com
Canada| Rating: 4.2/5
Reviewer: Luxi Lahtinen
KAOS - "Kaos Among Us"
[Oblivion Entertainment, 2003]
Genre: Thrash Metal
Country: U.S.A
Official Website(s): www.kaosamongus.com
The thrash metal genre used to be my favorite one 7 years ago. But
since then my likings on metal music have changed a lot. I still
listen to thrash/death metal groups but I am very selective with
this style. In fact, I haven’t stopped listening to thrash
metal music or like it, but the last few years there is a plague
upon it called "lack of qualitative groups and compositions".
This plague has forced me to double check any new release before
I decide to buy it.
KAOS have found the medicine and cured themselves from the plague.
They call it "Kaos Among Us" and my lab analysis revealed
its secret ingredients. It is consisted of: technicality on all
aspects, powerful guitars by Stacey Murray and Joe Loescher, with
catchy heavy riffs that are producing a massive solid sound, convincing
and leading rhythm section, referring to Jay Figueroa’s and
Burton Ortega’s bass and drums playing respectively, and very
aggressive, always close to hardcore, vocals by Jason Durnell (imagine
something close to Phil Anselmo). The last ingredient is the main
feature of modern thrash groups and I believe it is responsible
for some serious side effects on the genre, so in my opinion they
can replace them with the good old thrash metal vocals, like they
used to be in the 80’s and early 90’s, and a thrash
singer like Jason has the abilities to accomplish this. I have written
before that I am very choosy when it comes to vocalists and I really
believe that a thrash metal band needs more screaming vocals, just
like Mille’s from Kreator or Slayer’s Tom Araya.
Nevertheless the whole project is surely one of the best and most
aggressive thrash metal albums I've heard the last few years. I
must also make a special reference to the layout of the cd, a really
excellent digipak edition, not to mention the promotional package!!!
Professional work indeed!!! That’s the reason why I really
believe this is a group of great potential and they will reach high
levels. They have true bussinesslike attitude. They really like
and believe in what they do and judging by the way they are trying
to spread their music, I make out their will to achieve great things.
They offer to the public something more than an ordinary cd case
and taking into account that they are not on a contract with a big
label, this is a great and attractable thing to do.
I will close this review with the best description I’ve read
about KAOS’ music and it is taken from their biography: "The
music they deliver has a heavy attack, an extremely aggressive vocal
style with a punishing guitar sound, grooving bass and well rounded
drumming". Do you need me to say more?
7,5/10
Metal Perspective www.metalperspective.com
Greece-Review by Alekos Tagmatarhis
KAOS -"Kaos Among Us"
Independant Recording
Let me start of by saying Kaos is not your "run of the mill"
bay area thrash. I see these guys going places and doing big things!!
Their sound is a mix of intense hard-core with an old school feel.
It's like Slayer meets Hatebreed. With frontman Jason Darnell pounding
out aggression in every track. This guy makes you feel just how
pissed off he really is. Stacey Murray and Joe Leoscher compliment
each other throughout the entire album and you can tell these guys
can read each other like a book. Chugging out riff after riff of
"punch you in the gut metal". Burton P. Ortega on drums
reminds us just how important a good drummer has to be in an extreme
metal band, and he does not disappoint. Rounding out the rhthym
section is Jay Figeuroa on bass, keeping a steady groove all the
way through the CD. You can definitely hear how much hard work and
dedication this band puts into their song structure and recording.
It sounds great! The production couldn't be better. It was Produced
by Mark Keaton and Kaos and recorded and mixed by Mark Keaton at
Sharkbite Studios in Oakland, California. Mastered at Stephen Marcussen
Mastering in Hollywood, California. Altogether "Kaos Among
Us" is a very impassioned and fervid album. Songs like "F.O.(Die
Young, Die Old)" "The Rage of War" and "Descent
Into Madness" show you how heavy of an album this is, while
"God As My Witness" shows their multifarious song writing
skills. Look for these guys to be on National tours in the future.
I would definitely recommend you go out and buy this CD. I would
also recommend you go out and support Nor-Cal Metal and go to every
Kaos show and every other local extreme metal show and I just might
see you in the pit!!
Norther California Headbanger's Allience www.metalalliance.org
USA-Reviewed by NCHA's Own Josh Lyons
KAOS-"Kaos Among Us" by Falber Teles www.sourcewebzine.com.br
Coming of the more important cradle of the Thrash Metal
World, the KAOS already is in the road there is enough time, but
only in 2003 the group obtained record its first work. The
quintet from the Bay Scours sample in "Kaos Among Us"
a work very well produced, based in the vocal insane one of Jason
Darnell and in the good pair of guitarist formed by Stacey Murray
and Joe Loescher. "Burning Scars", "Live Forever"
and "F.O." certain they highlight the quality of the album
that shows perfect the potential of that talented group. Recommendable
hearing. Mass of Fury and Session Demented! To strong
new effort from this Thrash Metal band who possess incredible musicianship
and technicality. Should appeal to all Thrash Bay
Area fans!
(this review was translated with (www.freetranslation.com)
KAOS: 2003 PROMO-CD 3 TRX Review
by Thomas Trakas at Midwest Metal Magazine, USA.
I can’t help but think of Vio-Lence each and every
time I play this three song disc by Bay Area bashers Kaos. From
the menacing up-tempo thrash breakouts to the strange vocal phrasings
to the solid lead work it’s cool to be honest. Vocally this
guy is no Sean Killian and I either made a lot of people happy or
sad but it’s true, this guy has a style all his own and suits
the band to a T. So to wrap this up, Kaos, Bay Area thrash with
gang backing vocals, killer singer cool shit indeed!
KAOS - KAOS Among Us (After The End Publishing)
Review by Pete - www.Heavycore.org
U.S.A
One word I can come up with is WOW. Kaos really outdid
themselves with one hell of a release entitled "Kaos Among
Us" and if I had my way, these guys would be out on tour with
some heavy national - strutting their chops for legions of metal
freaks. This 12-song epic has some of the best packaging I've
ever seen from any band, let alone one that's not signed and put
it together themselves. The artwork and photography is top
notch and really looks great. A very impressive effort!
The guitar work on this cd is simply incredible - with some of the
most intricately woven solos I've heard on a cd in a very long time.
In a world where guitar players have been forgotten, Kaos shows
that metal bands live and die by the skill of their axemen.
The duo of Stacey Murray and Joe Loescher on guitar really blew
me the fuck away. The vocals of Jason Darnell are very strong
and compliment the band very well. He's got a good mid range
growl, along the lines of Phil Anselmo - but unique in his own right.
The bass playing of Jay Figueroa was exceptional and driving at
all times. I also was very impressed with the drumming of
Burton Ortega - who threw the fuck down from the word go and never
let up.
In short, this is a band that needs to be signed in a huge way.
They've got it all in one package and I demand that you go out and
pick up this release if you dig heavy ass tunes that will blow your
mind. Here's a band who knows what metal is about and says
fuck off to those who don't like it.
Check them out online at www.kaosamongus.com if you have the sack.
Kaos – Kaos (After the end publishing, Thrash, U.S.A, 2003)
Review by Carlaont Catalin www.spellofnight.8m.net
Romania
K-A-O-S! God damn it I love this release. The sick vocals
(one of the vocals I’ve ever heard) the catching riffs and
the numerous breaks that are to be found on this MCD. Listening
to “Paralyzed by the fear” I’ve had a new image
of how a thrash metal song should sound. The most extreme song here
is the third “Descent into madness” which has a very
good refrain. This kind of music is not made to be listened at home,
you got to see this live I think that they kick ass! Buy, buy, and
buy!
Contact: kaos@kaosamongus.com
Playing Time: 12:02
100/100
KAOS - KAOS Among Us (Independent)
Review by Scott Alisaglu www.live4metal.com
England & U.S.A.
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A
review of KAOS’s 3-song demo appeared in Metal USA 9, my comments
being that it was a solid thrash metal affair with bits of hardcore
that was worth checking out but that didn’t necessarily blow
me away. The band’s 12-song debut, KAOS Among Us, includes
these same three songs and my impression of the album as a whole
is even better than it was on the demo review. No, I’m still
not blown away, but I am fairly impressed with the band’s
metallic attack and heard no songs that I didn’t at least
enjoy to some extent. The highlights are a sound focusing on ripping
guitars, screaming axe leads, and cool, quasi-maniacal, vocals,
especially on some of the shout choruses. It’s thrash at heart,
punctuated with more traditional metal influences, all of which
is rough and tumble. The rhythm section is tight; the drumming has
a tough, hard-hitting, feel to it and Burton P. Ortega’s snaps,
crackles, and pops are more than appealing. All these elements give
the songs a coarse texture and generally fun metallic atmosphere.
The tunes that really make their mark on the listener are ones like
“Descent into Madness,” featuring a thrashing buzz saw
guitar riff, furious pace, and riotous shout-chorus. The title track
is another fine thrasher with an S.O.D. style hardcore- meets- metal
approach. “God as my Witness” succeeds with a clean-picking
intro, lumbering riffs and a building pace that actually reminded
me of vintage Metal Church, Jason Darnell’s vocals being the
only departure from the style. A healthy dose of Testament finds
its way into several tracks as well. In the way of summary, KAOS
Among Us is a solid album with plenty of variety and a spirited
approach that should find a warm welcome in the stereos of most
metalheads.
Kaos
Kaos Among Us
Without even playing this disc it already impresses, the
packaging features a complete fold out heavy cardboard layout with
cool art work and full lyrics inside the cover. Of course, after
the spin, Kaos does nothing but just straight pump it heavy, taking
what they did on their last effort (2000’s “Vision Beyond”)
and times that effort by about twenty in terms of overall production,
aggression and pure metal destruction.
Featuring guitarist Stacey Murrary, bassist Jay Figueroa, guitarist
Joe Loescher, drummer Burton Ortega and the biggest holdover change
from “Vision”, vocalist Jason Darnell, Kaos literally
rips through each track here, pushing their sound to the maximum,
then reaching in and pushing a little bit further.
The specific comparison between this and “Vision…”
is automatically Darnell, as in the past year or so, has stepped
his vocals to this hard edged growling style that has leant so much
pent up aggro feel to this sound. On this disc, it becomes so much
more apparent especially backed by Sharkbite Studios and its talented
lead guy Mark Keaton.
Kaos has continually redefined what they do in their sound over
the past three years, and “Kaos Among Us” is another
definition of thrash meets pure aggro metal.
Hard to say anything bad about this recording, as it pumps pure
metal from the first to the last and leaves little to no room for
error.
Of the tracks the band has included here (which features some back
catalog material), “Burning Scars”, “Paralyzed
By Fear”, and especially “Awakened By Death”,
really pump well.
Kaos landed smack dab in the middle of a total winner recording
here. No question.
Powerslave Live reviews:
Kaos' Descent Into Madness
Mario Perotti - August 2, 2003
Pound - SF -- When Kaos broke back into the NorCal scene in 2000
after a lengthy hiatus, they brought with them a brand new disc
which hastened to put their name back in the top ranks. Now, three
years later, the Kaos machine has punched out another disc, "Kaos
Among Us", which the band celebrated with a strong showing
at the Pound in San Francisco. Joined by Splyt, Beneath the Surface,
Fellatia, and Osmium on August 2nd, 2003, Kaos brought this heavy
night to a head just after the stroke of midnight, slamming through
an extended set and an encore tune. This show had plenty of lead
in hype, and by the time the last song was done, Kaos had cemented
another good one in the books.
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Kaos vocalist Jason Darnell and bassist Jay Figueroa live during
the band's CD Release show at the Pound in San Francisco
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The
final band of the night was the highlight of the show and the reason
why this event was taking place as Kaos took to the stage to perform.
Featuring vocalist Jason Darnell, bassist Jay Figueroa, guitarist
Stacey Murray, drummer Burton Ortega, and guitarist Joe Loescher,
Kaos brought their top flight set for this one, performing much
of the material off their new disc "Kaos Among Us". Kaos'
style these days is much more brutal than really it has ever been,
with the riffs moving more towards the heavy end and Darnell's vocals
moving into the aggressive scratchy end.
For their time, Kaos pretty much tore through their entire new disc
(only dipping into their back catalog for their signature tune "Vivisection")
performing "Paralyzed By Fear", the title track of the
disc, "Awakened By Death", and "F.O. (Die Young,
Die Old)" among others.
What has really brought Kaos into the latest styles and given them
an updated approach is a combination of Darnell's scratchy raw aggressive
vocals and the guitar work that, especially on this new disc's material,
blasts at thrash metal but also slides into some pure brutality.
Kaos has done a nice job here with these latest tunes, and this
Pound - SF showing was the crowning glory for starting their support
process of this new disc. And, as is the case with any Kaos live
show, the ring leader here is Darnell, the small man with the huge
voice and even bigger presence, putting the final touches on a killer
sound with that extra piece of adrenaline that captures what Kaos
has always been live on stage. It's been a long three years since
these guys broke back into the scene, and they are showing absolutely
no signs of slowing down, releasing their killer new disc and continuing
to wave the Bay Area Metal flag.
NorCal Metal CD Comp Show #1
Holiday Bowl -- A few months ago, Miller Genuine Draft, Zero Magazine
and this very site teamed up for a compilation CD featuring nineteen
bands from various regions around Northern California. To coincide
with the disc's release, shows have been set up in each region to
celebrate this new compilation series. The first one on the block
was January 31st, 2003 at the Holiday Bowl in Hayward, CA and featured
four bands from the disc including Brokeneck, Down Factor, Greenhouse
Effect, and Kaos. The show came off extremely well, drawing a large
crowd by show's end, filling most of the floor through the third
band and into the fourth of the night. For the kick off show for
this CD Series Shows, the Holiday Bowl night did quite well, jump
starting this whole new event in Northern California.
The final band of the night was the veteran thrash act Kaos who
actually turned in one of the biggest surprises of the night as
they have moved their sound into a slightly modified, much more
aggressive direction. Featuring vocalist Jason Darnell, bassist
Jay Figueroa, guitarist Stacey Murray, drummer Burton Ortega, and
guitarist Joe Loescher, Kaos was highly impressive from the first
song through to the end, even adding some heavier aggression to
the band's older tunes.
On stage, the band performed a few tunes from their last released
disc "Vision Beyond" (2000) and tunes slated to appear
on their forthcoming new disc "Kaos Among Us". Their set
list included "Awakened By Death" which appears on the
compilation disc and has an impressive, quick main riff, "Rage
of War" which offers a drum led opening with some chopped up
guitar riffs, and older tune "Vivisection" which slams
with a healthy quicker riff. The band also performed "Burning
Scars" which offers a straight chug guitar line and "F.O.
Die Young-Die Old" which works with a gang chant chorus and
has a nice break midway through the song.
This Kaos set was just so much different than their past sound,
with Darnell being the central focal point of change here, moving
his vocals from a sing / bark thrash style to more of a scratchy,
growling type of feel, giving the band a really nice kick on stage.
Behind Darnell, the Kaos style continues to drive at the technically
oriented thrash metal style, but their latest material has a really
cool contemporary feel to it, lending the band's direction well
and opening them up to some new opportunities. There are few bands
in the scene today who have the precision on stage that these guys
do, with killer tempo changes, strong riffing and the occasional
solo to top the entire effort. With their extensive history behind
them, they have a so much to work with and bring it all to the front
with their live show for sure. Kaos is just a killer band with a
pure metal style that is so well developed that it literally speaks
to it's own language. Should be interesting when their new disc
drops.
Mario Perotti - January 31, 2003
www.powerslave.com
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