Line UP:
Daniel Burger/Dr D/ -Vocal
Alec Surridge-Guitar
Phil Carstens-Bass
Jason Eedes-Drums
Well,friends of Aristocracy!
We talk about our cold newsroom, where in a little while.We'll start following in all their emotions, the sixty-third interview on our page.We spoke with the South African Thrash band Chaos Doctrine.We urgently speak with the lead singer of the band who goes by Daniel Burger or as we will call him in this interview, Dr D.Dr D spoke to us in this interview for a Brazilian media outlet about the second album made last year titled In The Beginning,they lied. However, in addition, we talk about an interesting change of plans. was to make two EPS this year. But, the plan was changed by a complete album that is already in the oven.
As for the EPS? It's for 2023. Let's now go to a song by them and the interview with DR D.
A1:First, please introduce yourself and tell me your role in your band?
DR Daniel Burger:This is Dr D, I am the founding vocalist of South African industrialised thrash metal band Chaos Doctrine.
A2:Talking about the composition work in And In The Beginning,they lied?
Dr D:Composition for Chaos Doctrine starts with what we do and ends in what we want to do! Our primary style is a blend of thrash and death metal with industrial elements. But, important for us is that this does not confine us into a “genre” or a “type of song”. We are always pushing our own creative boundaries to see what we as a band can do and want to do. As examples, we have done covers of Depeche Mode’s “Enjoy the Silence” and Midnight Oil’s “Beds are Burning”,songs that are not at all metal! Why? Because we wanted to do it. Similarly, we recently completed a track for our forthcoming third album which is completely different to anything we have ever done before it is slow, with almost ballad-like elements and primarily clean vocals. Again, because we wanted to. The rule in Chaos Doctrine is if all band members like it, we do it. Regardless of genre restrictions. But, and that is a big but! We are and will always be a metal band first. While our next album will have this slow track I mentioned, we also have multiples of thrasher riffs, blast beats and growl vocals,rounded off with proper dark industrial edges all over the place! So we never sacrifice our identity rather, we broaden its boundaries to make it more diverse and more interesting.To go back to our previous album, “And in the Beginning…. They Lied” it was one with some much critical history for us as a band. We started writing it with our founding band members and they left before it was completed. So three of us myself, Alec (guitar) and Phil {bass and backing vocals) completed it by ourselves. We are really proud of it, there are great tracks on there, and we see it as a definite step up in maturity from our self-titled debut that came out in 2018. More than that, though, for us it is a stepping stone to what will be our third album! We have a few different ways of writing songs. Sometimes, Alec or Phil will come up with a riff or two, and these are moulded into Chaos Doctrine songs by layering industrial elements once the “metal track” is done. Sometimes we do the opposite ,I have created a few tracks like Christ Church Horizon on our most recent album by building the industrial elements first and then we will layer the “metal” (riffs, bass, vocals) over that. We also like to do alternative mixes of our songs, as found on our 2019 EP “The Chaos Chronicles Volume I”.Sometimes, one of us will write a whole song and bring it to the studio for the rest of us to finish off. And finally, sometimes we will deliberately engineer a song from start to finish to sound in a specific way!
A3:Each metal band in their sound, feels heavier with each work they do. But each band has a reason for this feeling. What would be the reason for this feeling for Chaos Doctrine?
Dr D:This is not always the case for us! What I mean is, not everything we do is heavier than before at an album level, perhaps, but not at a song level. Like I mentioned earlier, we like to explore different areas creatively, lyrically, and push our own boundaries. So, when we decide to go heavier,we do and our new single shows that, as will other new songs on the forthcoming album. But, we may also decide to go completely the opposite direction and that you will see soon too, or catch in our last two covers.Overall though, for me, having been in metal bands since 1995, I just love completing a track and going, “Fuuuuuck that is heavy!”.
A4:Is it correct to say that your songs are complex, any reason that can be told?
Dr D:Complexity is quite a relative term! For example, ACDC and Motorhead songs are not complex at all, while Dimmu Borgir tracks can be! So it depends on the song you are looking at and what you are comparing your song to. We never make a song more or less complex on purpose it is more about where our songwriting goes during the process. We have a loose motto,“what does the song need”.So, a track like Harlot or Black Friday Bedlam tends to be more intricate with more components and changes than something like Incubator or The Rite. The new album has two huge compositions with multiple layers and changes galore, but it also has tracks that are more straight forward and aimed at hitting you in the cerebellum, not in your frontal lobes.
A5:Not that a full-length album isn't great news, because it really is. But that wasn't the original plan. Why did this interesting change occur?
Dr D:My original plan for the band for 2022 was to finish another EP. We brought one out in 2019 and it was fun, we did alternative versions of songs on our debut album. So, we have a stack of tracks, like Cult MMXXI that we released last year, as well as the Russian version of Father Grigori from 2020, that is perfect for an EP. But, we reached a stage where we have great songs almost ready to get out there and I just love making albums. And here we are!So, if we manage to get the new album out this year, the EP should follow in 2023!
A6:I can't ask for a deadline because a band needs creativity and pre-production. But, approximately how many songs were or are being prepared for the new album?
Dr D:Right now, we have nine brand new songs, including our new single Lifting the Veil. Some of them are super brutal, some are complex, some are very industrial. We are also contemplating doing a complete revamp of one of our earlier tracks and including that as a 10th track.but, we haven’t decided yet!
A7:What can the listener perceive differently in the band in the sounds and lyrics of Lifting The Veil'?
Dr D:I don’t think Lifting the Veil is fundamentally different to what we did on our previous albums. Rather, it is a more developed and refined, heavier, faster and more complex presentation of what Chaos Doctrine is all about! We blended some very heavy death and thrash metal with some very dark industrial, and topped that off with lyrical themes of a religious fanatic dictator that leads his disciples to genocide. We are very proud of this track and really hope our fans are pleased!
A8:I'm not an internet canceller. But an avid questioner and lover of Russian literature because my work is with it. Tell me, what was the reason for the song to make a Russian version of Father Grigori?
Dr D:I have been absolutely fascinated with Rasputin since I was in school, he is so mystical and dark that I see him as a posterchild for metal! I wrote the original lyrics for a song called “Father Grigori” roughly 15 years ago in a previous band, but we never used it. So when Alec came up with the riffs for this track, I knew I wanted to call it Father Grigori, as an absolute ode to the Mad Monk. The Russian connection came about as a chat between myself and our founding drummer Ralph. We thought, how awesome it would be to do the vocals in Russian? But, I cannot speak the language so I explored a little bit! That took us to Anna Hel, who did Blood Serpent God with us, and she referred me to Demeter Grail, who did a fantastic job translating all the lyrics and delivered brutal vocals! Imagine how weird it is to hear your own song sung by someone else in a language you do not understand at all!
A9:How to balance between a modern and industrial sound?
Dr D:I think this is the magic that makes us Chaos Doctrine. It doesn’t matter what we produce and what it sounds like, it still sounds like us, but no two songs ever sound the same.When we write songs, we are critical, and we are deliberate. We debate different parts, structure quite intentionally, and work on balancing the metal and the industrial very carefully. You will undoubtedly hear our old school influences in our sound, but we also try to ensure that it doesn’t dominate our sound. We want to create music that isn’t tied to a period or a genre.We want to appeal to as wide an audience as possible. Obviously within the confines of extreme metal!
A10:What´s bands influence CD?
Dr D:All of us are over 40 and grew up in the 80s and 90s. We have a couple of bands that tie us together like Sabbath, Pantera, Sepultura, and the bay area thrash scene, At the same time though, we also have diverse tastes as individuals. Alec and I love Pink Floyd and some blues rock, Phil is into the Florida Death Metal Scene, Alec loves technical Swedish metal, and I grew up on W.A.S.P, Mötley Crüe and White Zombie. But somehow all of this becomes Chaos Doctrine! Our new drummer Jason likes all of the above, with a big whack of black metal, so that also helps!What is interesting about our sound is that everyone we talk to, hears something different. We have been told we sound like everything from Testament to Fear Factory to SLAYER to Ministry. That is the magic of our sound – there is something in there for every metalhead, no matter what genre you prefer. We have heavy riffs and nasty drums, but also big symphonies, complex arrangements, techno beats, grinding samples, and vocals that go from death to black metal to thrash to old school! Check out our tracks and find your favourite song, we guarantee there will be one!
A11:What´s the idea behind artwork´s album?
Dr D:We love symbolism. Our self-titled debut album painted Moses in front of a dystopic landscape, hinting at the ultimate result of blind obedience to doctrine. Our subsequent EP, “The Chaos Chronicles Volume I”, continued the theme by placing a modernised Baphomet in front of the Tower of Babel. The cover for ‘And in the Beginning… They Lied’ becomes the prequel to capture the album’s story graphically.At the centre is a tree, a well-known symbol of the original sin, but also of knowledge.Within the tree is the great serpent outcast as the heretic by some, revered as holy and wise by others.The tree and the snake intertwine with the human DNA sequence, placing a spotlight on our contested origins and purpose as a race. Finally, fading behind the tree are mechanised versions of the feathered serpent, widely interpreted as a dragon god to some, demon to others.
A12:Does Single Black Friday Bedlam have a satirical tone or genuine criticism?
Dr D:We love symbolism. Our self-titled debut album painted Moses in front of a dystopic landscape, hinting at the ultimate result of blind obedience to doctrine. Our subsequent EP, “The Chaos Chronicles Volume I”, continued the theme by placing a modernised Baphomet in front of the Tower of Babel. The cover for ‘And in the Beginning… They Lied’ becomes the prequel to capture the album’s story graphically. At the centre is a tree, a well-known symbol of the original sin, but also of knowledge. Within the tree is the great serpent outcast as the heretic by some, revered as holy and wise by others. The tree and the snake intertwine with the human DNA sequence, placing a spotlight on our contested origins and purpose as a race. Finally, fading behind the tree are mechanised versions of the feathered serpent, widely interpreted as a dragon god to some, demon to others.
A13:Does Single Black Friday Bedlam have a satirical tone or genuine criticism?
Dr D:A bit of both! The satire is clear in the lyrics like “the sound of a shotgun cocked means that today you are fucked” and “when I drive by, people die”. We wanted to have a bit of tongue-in-cheek vibes in creating this monster that ruins people’s lives with a drive-by shooting frenzy. Under all of that, though, crawls the deep hatred we often feel in modern society, and the desire to actually go out there and do it yourself. At the same time, you could find a stab at a broken society that creates these monsters.What is obviously really cool about Black Friday Bedlam is that it features Swedish Metal Legend Jörgen Sandström on vocals. We are very fortunate to have the opportunity to work with him!
A14:When the band claims to sing songs about war. Can we keep in mind, daily human wars, world wars or both together?
DR D:War is a great theme for metal lyrics and we approach it from all sides, The Genocide Number off our debut album, for example, is about a revolutionary that smashes down the government, only to become a worse dictator than his predecessors. Lifting the Veil, in turn, plays on the Holy War theme, from a fanatic’s point of view. When you go explore My Demise I and II, also from our debut, that is all about one’s war with self and the demise into insanity and rage. So the war theme never really leaves our themes its just the colour that changes!
A15:Is there a fancy name for the new album?
Dr D:There will be yes! but, we are not telling you what it is yet! You will have to wait and see!
A16:Of course it was a cover, but having remade the Motorhead anthem, in a word was it?
Dr D:We love doing covers. The Ace of Spades cover featured on our second EP as a bonus track and we wanted to take the song and give it a distinct Chaos Doctrine feel, so we slowed it down, removed some of the Punk-like elements and added in a load of death metal and industrial. Before that, we took Refuse/Resist and made it faster, less groovy, more thrashy. In contrast, when we did South of Heaven, we tried to keep it closer to the original. Most recently, Beds are Burning and Enjoy the Silence got the full Chaos Doctrine treatment .But with a twist, as the vocals were very different from what I usually do! We have some more coming some time when there’s time!
A17:For the band,it is a comprehensive sensory experience and a brand.Can you explain this more,please?
Dr D:We see Chaos Doctrine as an image and a brand indeed. When you watch us live, we want to engage and attack your senses not just be a band on stage. It should be a visual AND an auditory experience. It is about colour and movement. So where possible, we have video on stage that accompany our songs. We take note of our dress and of our physical performance. And, you will also see my mic stand from out photos, which carries its own identity by now.
A18:Based on the songs from your last album, which you are currently putting together, answer this question in your own words: Do you believe that because of the current technocracy we lie much more than our parents?
This is such a deeply philosophical question that can be interpreted in so many ways. And yes, this is indeed the primary theme we explored on our last album. I think the short answer is that the same forces that shaped our parents’ thinking are still very much in control of wider society, be it Western or otherwise. So, whether it is more or less, I don’t know. We can only hope that we have a higher level of awareness of these realities than our predecessors had and perhaps that we see some changes one day!
A Last word: Just a huge thank you for spending the time to get to know Chaos Doctrine and for exposing us to your followers! We hope to hear from them – and we hope they enjoy our music! Check it out on our YouTube Channel!
https://www.youtube.com/c/ChaosDoctrine/videos Subscrite and use the bell for notifications!
It´s Awsome!
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