Chaos Inception pour ''The Abrogation''

Mieux vaut tard que jamais! Chaos Inception sortait en 2012 l'un des meilleurs albums de brutal death de l'année, "The Abrogation". Si la chronique n'a pas tardé sur Thrashocore, nous n'avions à l'époque pas pensé à faire une interview avec le groupe américain. Après un échange sur Facebook cet été avec le bassiste Cameron Pinkerton à propos de t-shirt, celui-ci nous a proposé un petit entretien que nous avons accepté volontiers. L'occasion de revenir sur l'excellent "The Abrogation".

Hi Cameron, thanks for doing this interview with us. Last year, Chaos Inception released its sophomore album called "The Abrogation". Such a fine piece of intense death metal that it ranked number 2 on Thrashocore 2012 top album list! And we were not the only one to acknowledge its superiority as I never read a bad review. Did you expect to get such critical acclaim with that album?

I hoped for it but didn’t expect it. We were all very proud of the reviews. I printed a bunch of them out and took them to the practice room and would read some of them to the guys. Some of the foreign language reviews were great, when translated they would say things such as “Chaos Inception is equal of Morbid Angel” or “Gary White is best drummer” [laughs]. It was all very cool. But now we have to follow it up, which is daunting, but motivating. I am always reminded of Dave Chappelle. I don’t know if he was popular in France but basically he was a comedian who had a wildly popular TV show here in the US. After a couple seasons he basically disappeared off the face of the Earth and would later state that the pressure to keep up that level of success drove him mad.


More than a year after its release, what do you think about "The Abrogation" now? Still proud of it? Would you change something today?

I am proud of the album and wouldn’t change anything. The album stands on its own at this point. Same with Collision with Oblivion. The mix is a little rough but it gives it a raw sound. I wouldn’t necessarily want to polish it.

Song-wise, there are a few things I would have liked to be done differently. But again there is no use in driving yourself crazy trying to make an album perfect…. once you start messing with things it can change the entire feel of the album, and not in a good way.


The cover art drawn by Paolo Girardi is absolutely breathtaking (I'm glad you finally made shirts!). Probably the best cover I've seen on a death metal album in years, along with Disma's Towards The Megalith. Did you give the guy carte blanche or did you know exactly what you wanted and just basically told him what to do?


We gave him a couple songs to listen to and told him to have at it. We didn’t see any sketches or different versions or anything. The first time I saw the art was the final version. When he emailed us the art I was blown away, I did not expect something that awesome. Paolo is very cool to work with, a great guy and true friend of the underground.


Not only is the artwork out of this world, it also fits the music perfectly. You know, that overwhelming feeling of being caught in a gigantic storm that leaves nothing but destruction in its path. That's what I feel when I listen to "The Abrogation". And I fucking love it!

I like to think of the ancient gods and how they must have come to be. Then I think about the time when they will return to rule once more, and wipe existence of the stain of humanity. One of our main lyrical themes is the notion that there are things that the human mind cannot comprehend, and how horrifying it must be when forced to confront such things. So basically, Lovecraft [laughs] but I picked up such notions from other bands and books I read when I was younger, before I had been exposed to Lovecraft directly. I remember being 12 and thinking how cool the lyrics to “The Thing that Should not Be” were, little did I know it was straight Lovecraft worship.


"The Abrogation" was definitely an improvement from "Collision with Oblivion" which was pretty cool too. You really upped the ante, being brutality, velocity, intensity, technicality, darkness, etc. Does it came naturally or was it a well-thought-out goal?

This would really be a question more well suited for Matt to answer, but basically everything flows naturally….when we play something at rehersal if something sounds out of place we ditch it. Sometime riffs will be considered too melodic or too noodly… we try to keep it as streamlined as possible.


Matt Barnes' guitar work is impressive. He wrote the whole album besides "Ancient Ways Prevail" that was co-written with you. I think this song really stands out because of its black metal feeling. Do you feel it too?

Thanks, when I wrote that song I was trying to come up with an atmosphere that wasn’t found elsewhere on the album. I just started making up chords that sounded weird. This was kinda before the whole dissonance thing was popular. But my favorite riff from that song is the outro, for sure.


You also did a pretty good job with your bass lines. Most of the time, bass is underused on death metal albums...

I agree, and when bass is well done on a death metal album, it makes all the difference. Now obviously I am never going to be Alex Webster or Erlend Caspersen, but I try to do more than simply hold down the root note. A few licks here and there is really all it takes to make the bass “pop” a little bit. On the next album I plan to do more… I have been working on the Alex Webster style of 3 finger picking, and I employ it in parts. My friend Stefano from Hideous Divinity has influenced me a lot on bass also, he really has a great feel for death metal bass.


The only complaint I have would be about the drums production, especially the kick drums. Sure they sound powerful but I think they are overmixed and too much triggered and therefore don't sound natural. Not a big deal as I enjoy the album anyway but it's typical of modern extreme metal if you ask me. What's your opinion?

I actually like the drum tone on the album and find them to NOT be too overly-triggered sounding. When I was younger I really liked the clicky triggered sound, but now I much prefer an organic sound. I have actually heard a few albums lately with acoustic bass drums and I really liked it. One thing I can say about the drums on the album is that they are real, what you hear is what Gary played, sure there are some punches here and there, but there is no quantization on the basss drums.


How would you define your musical style? Brutal death metal? Death metal? Or just fucking metal from Hell?

I guess I consider us “death metal.” Many people have called us “Floridian death metal with a Brazilian influence.”


To me, your main influence is still the once almighty Morbid Angel although Trey Azagthoth's band's mark is less obvious on Chaos Inception than it was on Fleshtized, meaning you managed to find your own sound despite the clear influence. Do you agree?


I agree, and I think it is the interjection of Matt’s writing style which has moved us away from the Fleshtized sound. But I in no way deny that MA was/is a huge influence on every member of the band. When I was a teenager (which was back when Covenant and Domination came out) I remember thinking “this is what I want to sound like.” To this day, Covenant is my favorite death metal album of all time and is right behind Reign in Blood as favorite album period. I doubt that will ever change. MA was just magical in the 90s… the feeling and intensity was just off the charts. They were brutal and fast but actually had songs that you could get into.


Speaking of Morbid Angel, what did you think about their "Illud Divinum Insanus" album? I personally think it was a huge pile of shit.

I like the album more than most… Radikult is obviously a terrible song but to be honest I respect Trey’s desire to play whatever comes to his mind or whatever he thinks is cool. It doesn’t necessarily mean I will love it, but I’m not one of the people to denounce my appreciation for the band over one record.


I've drawn a parallel also with Centurian from the Netherlands because just like them, Chaos Inception seems to use relatively high pitched scales, compared with most death metal bands, resulting in an original and pleasant melodic effort. Is this a leitmotiv or am I totally wrong ?

I am a huge fan of the new Centurian album and I certainly appreciate the comparison.


You are signed to Lavadome Productions. I had the opportunity to chat with the owner Jan a couple of times, he seems to be a very nice and dedicated guy. How did you end up on that Czech label?

Working with Jan is the best decision we ever made as a band. He has done everything he said he would do. He communicates well and is generally a pleasure to work with. He corresponded with me after Collision with Oblivion came out and extended an offer at the time that he would be interested in releasing the next album. We had offers from a few other labels but to be honest Jan just seemed to be the most sincere and genuinely interested in the band. He is a true friend of the underground.


I read on your Facebook page that a new album has already been written. When will you record it? Any idea of a release date? Sometimes next year I guess?

The writing is complete for the new album and we had originally hoped to be in the studio this year, but alas as things often go, it has been delayed until early next year.


Did you take a bigger part in the songwriting or did Matt Barnes do most of the job once again?

Just like the last album, I wrote one song and Matt wrote the rest. That’s just sort of the way it worked out. To be honest it is difficult for me to write material on Matt’s level. I wrote probably 5 songs over the past year but they just aren’t good enough for Chaos Inception. Maybe another project down the road or something. My writing style is more straight-forward that Matt’s. Which is not necessarily a good or bad thing, just not the right fit for CI.


What can we expect from the new album? Same intense stuff as on "The Abrogation" or even faster and darker?

The music is very similar to The Abrogation stylistically. There are no major departures. It is still 90% blasting, ancient death metal. There will be a few surprises.

During the time since The Abrogation was released, we have had plenty of time for introspection. We have paid a little more attention to some of the themes, both lyrically and musically. I guess we want the new album to be a little more “over the top” in that regard, but of course not at the expense of being absurd.


Can you give us some hot news like album or song titles so we can boast and beat Blabbermouth?

We have a few song titles… ”One Thousand Dead by Pincer” and “Pandimensional Death Raids” are 2 for sure. Possibly “Xenolich” and “Artillery of Mendes.” No albums titles as of yet.


Will we have the pleasure to see Chaos Inception in Europe and France one day or is it too expensive for an Americain death metal band like yours to travel across the ocean?

We would like nothing more than to tour Europe. Hopefully we can do some fests at least in support of the next album. We were offered several opportunities already but it just did not work out as far as all members of the band being able to commit to it.


Being American yourself, do you realize the influence of the US death metal scene in the world, that is as wide as its subgenres can get, while most other international scenes shine in one particular subgenre? It seems like there's a death metal band at every corner out there! Do you have the feeling of being part of a very large community or does it remain mostly atomized?


I have had the thought that while America is a very young country with less “culture” than many other places in the world, we have somehow managed to dominate the metal scene in the regard that some of the biggest bands are American. I’m talking about Metallica, Slayer, Cannibal Corpse, Morbid Angel, etc. Having said that, I do take a lot of pride in the recognition that we have gotten around the globe. Death metal is a universal language in that regard… as a matter of fact we have more likes on Facebook from outside the US than from inside it. Italy in particular seems to be exploding with quality metal bands right now.


All Chaos Inception members play in other bands. You are in Spinecast with Gary White and even used to play drums if I'm not mistaken. Is Spinecast still alive? Never heard any song actually, what could you say about Spinecast? And what about Kings of the Killing Field? Never heard one single note either.

Spinecast is of no more, the former members live in 3 different states now. Spinecast was a band myself and another guy started in high school. We put out two albums, the second being released by Crash Music. Listening back now, it was pretty immature and un-developed, but it was a lot of fun at the time. Kings of the Killing field was just a one-time project.


I was a big fan of Flestized. I even regard "Here Among Thorns" as one of the best Morbid Angel worshipping releases. I know you never played in Fleshtized but do you think there is a possibility for a reunion even if Chaos Inception is like the new Fleshtized? Do you play Fleshtized songs live at least?

I would say the possibility of a Fleshtized reunion is very slim. When Chaos Inception was first formed, we did play 2 Fleshtized songs live. As soon as we had a full set of original material, we dropped them and have not played them since.


Your guitarist Matt Barnes is in Monstrosity since 2010. Fortunately, his privileged position in that legendary band doesn't seem to interfere with Chaos Inception's agenda. Does it?

We totally support Matt’s endeavors with Monstrosity.


Speaking of Matt Barnes, what about his Christian bands Lisiya Gori and Temple of Blood I never listened to? It seems totally contradictory to me to play in bands like Chaos Inception and Monstrosity and be in a Christian band at the same time. Do you know what his true beliefs are? What's your position on that matter?

Temple of Blood started off as a thrash cover band with some local guys. Matt joined in just for fun. Regardless, he is no longer associated with either act. Temple of Blood was only a “Christian” band in the context that the singer is Christian. I don’t think anyone else in the band really gave a shit either way, they were just happy to be playing music. They were playing covers by the likes of Slayer, Mercyful Fate, and Megadeth.


Another interesting band with Chaos Inception members is Quinta Essentia. I should rather say member by the way since Matt Barnes is the only one still playing in the band. I really dug "Archetypal Transformation" which was a very classy melodic technical death metal album but it came out in 2008. Do you know if Quinta Essentia will ever put out a new record?

Quinta Essentia is actually in the studio as we speak working on their 3rd album. From what I have heard it is good.


You come from Alabama, a quite deserted area as far as metal is concerned even if Florida is not far away. I don't know many bands from there besides the ones featuring members of Chaos Inception we just mentioned and one or two more like Grave Ritual or Ectovoid. Any comment on the Alabama extreme metal scene?


Alabama is just like anywhere else in the sense that there are dedicated musicians everywhere… Fleshtized, Spinecast, Convergence from Within, Blood Stain Dusk, and a few others were part of the late 90s death metal wave. There are some other cool bands around these days, Ectovoid as you mentioned is great. And honestly it’s easy to say that “The Alabama scene sucks” or whatever, but it’s really lack of appearances from touring bands… when we do have a good show with a bigger band the turnout is there. We opened for Cannibal here and the crowd was great. Origin played a tiny club with 100 people crammed in the place like sardines, same with Angelcorpse, Krisiun, Incantation, Nile and many others. Nile played in a Mexican restaurant. May 5th 1998 I remember it like it was yesterday.


Would you vote for Charles Barkley as Alabama state senator?

I would not. I think he might make an OK mayor or something.


Most of the writers of Thrashocore including myself think 2013 is a weak year for death metal, especially brutal death metal. Do you share that point of view? Any good stuff we might have missed and that you recommend?

My favorites this year have been the new Gorguts, new Carcass which I particularly enjoyed, Scent of Death, and a few others.


This interview has sadly come to an end. Thanks for your time, Cameron. Last words are yours!

I really appreciate the interview and obviously the review of the album. As artists, we strive to create the best music possible and it is always great to be recognized.