Chaos Doctrine came down on the metal world like the hammer of Thor in February this year with a shredding track called Black Friday Bedlam, featuring Swedish Metal Legend Jörgen Sandström (Entombed, Grave, Torture Division, Krux, The Project Hate) on vocals. If you watched the lyric video, you would have caught a peek at the title and artwork of the band’s much anticipated second album now out called ‘And In The Beginning … They Lied’
Three years in the making since the band’s monstrous self-titled debut in 2018, ‘And In The Beginning … They Lied’ brings us nine new tracks (including Black Friday Bedlam and 2020’s Father Grigori) and a new level of maturity for the band. As is the case with Chaos Doctrine’s products to date, the new album is rife with symbolism. While ‘And In The Beginning … They Lied’ is by no means a concept album, its title and cover, together with its first two and last two tracks, line up perfectly to tell the album’s story.
Throughout history, the human race has been fed much destructive doctrine and had the truth deliberately hidden from it – all in the names of politics, of religion, of wealth and power. Ancient knowledge was burned at grand scale and relegated to mythology, and its proponents persecuted to near extinction. The result is that humanity is a species scarred with amnesia. We have giant gaps and anomalies in our conscious history caused by the suppression of the actual truth, which has severely stunted the progress of civilization in general.
Chaos Doctrine’s debut album painted Moses in front of a dystopic landscape, hinting at the ultimate result of blind obedience to doctrine. The band’s subsequent EP, “The Chaos Chronicles Volume I”, continued the theme by placing a modernized Baphomet in front of the Tower of Babel. The cover for ‘And In The Beginning … They Lied’ becomes the prequel to these tales to capture the album’s story graphically. At the center 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 but revered by others as holy and wise. 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 mechanized versions of the feathered serpent, widely interpreted as a dragon – god to some, demon to others.
The band also gives us four tracks to explore these themes.
Intro “And In the Beginning” kicks off the madness with monologues clearly set to interrogate. “Blood Serpent God” explores both familiar stories of human sacrifice in pre-Columbian South America, and the less familiar tale of how documented history was rendered myth. “Christ Church Horizon” spits hate at lie mongers abound, while outro “…They Lied” wraps up the album with the same rage that the intro started.
The remaining five tracks deviates charmingly from the album’s overall theme, without losing its aggressive edge. ‘And In The Beginning … They Lied’ and the new single “Blood Serpent God” will bring an evolution in Chaos Doctrine!
TRACK LISTING
1. And In The Beginning…
2. Blood Serpent God (feat. Anna Hel)
3. Black Friday Bedlam (feat. Jörgen Sandström)
4. Harlot
5. Nocturna Mors
6. Father Grigori
7. The Rite
8. Christ Church Horizon
9. …They Lied
10. South of Heaven (CD Bonus SLAYER Cover)
Blood Serpent God (feat. Anna Hel)
Blood Serpent God is the third single from Chaos Doctrine‘s new album “And In The Beginning … They Lied” and features Russian female Extreme Metal Vocalist extraordinaire Anna Hel, best known for her work with Moscow’s industrial band CONFLICT and also from Theory Exx
Music & Lyrics by Chaos Doctrine
Performed by Chaos Doctrine
Guest Performer Anna Hel (Blood Serpent God)
Guest Performer Jörgen Sandström (Black Friday Bedlam)
Recorded, Mixed & Mastered by Alec Surridge (Gemini AD Studios)
Album Cover by Phil Carstens
PR by Devographic Agency South Africa
ABOUT CHAOS DOCTRINE
Chaos Doctrine brings a unique and modern metal assault by blending old school thrash and death with aggressive industrial metal. Originally formed in 2011 in Johannesburg, South Africa by vocalist Dr D (Bedlam, Malachi, DedX), the band line up is completed by veteran guitarist and band producer Alec Surridge (Sacraphyx, The Warinsane), bass guitarist, backing vocalist and band visual artist Phil Carstens (DedX), and explosive drummer Rory Townes (Forsaking Fate).
For its members, Chaos Doctrine is more than a band: it is a comprehensive sensory experience and a brand. Everything the band produces conveys this – the band name itself, their aggressive sonic releases, explosive live shows, dystopic visual products, and stabbing lyrical content. Chaos Doctrine explores the shadow of the human condition; hatred, brutality, decay. Their approach is unrelenting, fueled by rage and void of apology.
This is aggression. This is Chaos Doctrine!
Web: https://www.devographic.com/chaos-doctrine
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ChaosDoctrine
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chaosdoctrine/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCY8QGZKgiZhljhTf6pcxkAQ
Bandcamp: https://chaosdoctrine.bandcamp.com/