Order from Chaos
Encyclopedia
Order from Chaos was an extreme metal
band formed in 1987 in Kansas City, Missouri
, USA by Pete Helmkamp, Chuck Keller and Mike Miller. They are recognised as being an extremely influential group in the early US black metal scene, and served as a launching pad for its band members that went on to form such groups as Angelcorpse
, Ares Kingdom, Revenge
, Vulpecula, and Kerasphorus.
), Chuck Keller (guitar
) and Mike Miller (drums), was formed in Kansas City
, Missouri
during 1987, playing a mixture of old school thrash
, black
and death metal
, influenced by the likes of Venom
, Bathory
and Celtic Frost
. The band released a trio of demos in 1988, until a fourth (Crushed Infamy), which sold 1000 copies, attracted the attention of Putrefaction Records who released the Will to Power 7" EP, limited to 1100 copies. The band then signed a record deal with Wild Rags
in 1989, who released cassette versions of the Crushed Infamy demo and Will to Power. A final demo, Alienus Sum, was released in 1992 by the band, featuring three rough mixes from their delayed debut album and a couple of rehearsal tracks; an official cassette version of the demo was released through Chile
an label Hexateuc Torment.
Despite being recorded in April/May 1991, Order from Chaos' debut album, Stillbirth Machine, was finally released in 1993 through Wild Rags, despite the label dropping the band in November 1992. Around the same time, the album was also released by Greek label Decapitated Records (now Unisound Productions). This version, which differs from the Wild Rags in terms of artwork and layout and contains numerous textual errors, is apparently considered a bootleg version by the band. The album was given official re-releases by Osmose Productions in 1998 (including the Crushed Infamy demo) and Nuclear War Now! in 2008 (on both black and clear yellow vinyl). The album has reviewed some critical acclaim; Terrorizer included it in their "top 40 death metal albums you must hear", at number 40. James Hoare commented, "The blasphemous babysteps of Peter Helmkamp, [...] Order from Chaos courted black metal's glass shards of spite and embittered, semi-mystical worldview in an ear when the two genres were defined by their opposition, setting down the foundations for further esoteric and impenetrable coupling.".
A series of further EPs were recorded and released throughout 1994 on various labels (Jericho Trumpet on Gestapo, Live: Into Distant Fears on Eternal Darkness and Plateau of Invincibility on Shivadarshana), followed by a second full-length, Dawn Bringer, on Shivadarshana, before the band decided to call it quits in 1995. After Shivardashana folded, French label Osmose picked up tracks recorded in 1995 for Order from Chaos' third and final album and released An Ending in Fire in 1998, as well as re-releasing their debut.
Pete Helmkamp went on to form death metal act Angelcorpse
, as well as writing a book on occultism, entitled The Conqueror Manifesto: Capricornus Teitan. Chuck Keller and Mike Miller went on to form retro black/thrash band Ares Kingdom and blackened death metal act Vulpecula. With interest in Order from Chaos still prevalent in the extreme metal underground, Merciless records released a compilation of demos, 1994 live tracks and rehearsal sessions, entitled Imperium - The Apocalyptic Visions, in July 2005.
Extreme metal
Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. The term usually refers to a more abrasive, harsher, underground, non-commercialized style or sound nearly always associated with genres like black metal,...
band formed in 1987 in Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
, USA by Pete Helmkamp, Chuck Keller and Mike Miller. They are recognised as being an extremely influential group in the early US black metal scene, and served as a launching pad for its band members that went on to form such groups as Angelcorpse
Angelcorpse
Angelcorpse was a blackened death metal band born on the ashes of Pete Helmkamp's previous band, Order from Chaos, originally from Kansas City, Missouri, and relocated to Tampa, Florida. They formed in 1995, with a line-up of Helmkamp, guitarist Gene Palubicki, and drummer John Longstreth, and...
, Ares Kingdom, Revenge
Revenge (Canadian band)
Revenge is a Canadian black metal band formed in 2000 by James Read following the collapse of his previous outfit Conqueror. Revenge's chaotic black metal sound represents a direct continuation of Read's previous band's direction...
, Vulpecula, and Kerasphorus.
Biography
Order from Chaos, a trio consisting of Pete Helmkamp (vocals/bassBass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
), Chuck Keller (guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
) and Mike Miller (drums), was formed in Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
during 1987, playing a mixture of old school thrash
Thrash metal
Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...
, black
Black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....
and death metal
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
, influenced by the likes of Venom
Venom (band)
Venom are an English heavy metal band that formed in 1979 in Newcastle upon Tyne. Coming to prominence towards the end of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, Venom's first two albums—Welcome to Hell and Black Metal —are considered a major influence on thrash metal and extreme metal in general...
, Bathory
Bathory (band)
Bathory was a Swedish heavy metal band, formed by Quorthon in 1983. They are regarded as pioneers of both black metal and viking metal. Quorthon remained the main songwriter and member of Bathory for more than two decades. Bathory was permanently ended after Quorthon's death in 2004...
and Celtic Frost
Celtic Frost
Celtic Frost was a metal band from Zürich, Switzerland. They are known for their heavy influence on the extreme metal genres. The group was first active from 1984 to 1993, and re-formed in 2001. Following Tom Gabriel Fischer's departure in 2008, Celtic Frost decided to break up again...
. The band released a trio of demos in 1988, until a fourth (Crushed Infamy), which sold 1000 copies, attracted the attention of Putrefaction Records who released the Will to Power 7" EP, limited to 1100 copies. The band then signed a record deal with Wild Rags
Wild Rags
Wild Rags Records was a record label and store in Montebello, California. It was founded in the 1980s by Ricardo Campos. Though Wild Rags started out releasing music from bands such as Cherry Street, the label would go on to put out influential releases by the likes of Nuclear Death, Impetigo,...
in 1989, who released cassette versions of the Crushed Infamy demo and Will to Power. A final demo, Alienus Sum, was released in 1992 by the band, featuring three rough mixes from their delayed debut album and a couple of rehearsal tracks; an official cassette version of the demo was released through Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
an label Hexateuc Torment.
Despite being recorded in April/May 1991, Order from Chaos' debut album, Stillbirth Machine, was finally released in 1993 through Wild Rags, despite the label dropping the band in November 1992. Around the same time, the album was also released by Greek label Decapitated Records (now Unisound Productions). This version, which differs from the Wild Rags in terms of artwork and layout and contains numerous textual errors, is apparently considered a bootleg version by the band. The album was given official re-releases by Osmose Productions in 1998 (including the Crushed Infamy demo) and Nuclear War Now! in 2008 (on both black and clear yellow vinyl). The album has reviewed some critical acclaim; Terrorizer included it in their "top 40 death metal albums you must hear", at number 40. James Hoare commented, "The blasphemous babysteps of Peter Helmkamp, [...] Order from Chaos courted black metal's glass shards of spite and embittered, semi-mystical worldview in an ear when the two genres were defined by their opposition, setting down the foundations for further esoteric and impenetrable coupling.".
A series of further EPs were recorded and released throughout 1994 on various labels (Jericho Trumpet on Gestapo, Live: Into Distant Fears on Eternal Darkness and Plateau of Invincibility on Shivadarshana), followed by a second full-length, Dawn Bringer, on Shivadarshana, before the band decided to call it quits in 1995. After Shivardashana folded, French label Osmose picked up tracks recorded in 1995 for Order from Chaos' third and final album and released An Ending in Fire in 1998, as well as re-releasing their debut.
Pete Helmkamp went on to form death metal act Angelcorpse
Angelcorpse
Angelcorpse was a blackened death metal band born on the ashes of Pete Helmkamp's previous band, Order from Chaos, originally from Kansas City, Missouri, and relocated to Tampa, Florida. They formed in 1995, with a line-up of Helmkamp, guitarist Gene Palubicki, and drummer John Longstreth, and...
, as well as writing a book on occultism, entitled The Conqueror Manifesto: Capricornus Teitan. Chuck Keller and Mike Miller went on to form retro black/thrash band Ares Kingdom and blackened death metal act Vulpecula. With interest in Order from Chaos still prevalent in the extreme metal underground, Merciless records released a compilation of demos, 1994 live tracks and rehearsal sessions, entitled Imperium - The Apocalyptic Visions, in July 2005.
Last known line-up
- Pete Helmkamp (vocals, bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
) - Chuck Keller (guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
) - Mike Miller (drums)
Demos
- Demo I (self-released, January 1988)
- Inhumanities (self-released, July 1988)
- Rehearsal (self-released, 1988)
- Crushed Infamy (Wild RagsWild RagsWild Rags Records was a record label and store in Montebello, California. It was founded in the 1980s by Ricardo Campos. Though Wild Rags started out releasing music from bands such as Cherry Street, the label would go on to put out influential releases by the likes of Nuclear Death, Impetigo,...
, July 1989) - Alienus Sum (self-released, 1992; reissued by Hexateuc Torment, 1994)
EPs
- Will to Power (EP, Putrefaction / Wild Rags, 1990)
- Jericho Trumpet (7" EP, Gestapo, 1994)
- Live: Into Distant Fears (7" EP, Eternal Darkness, 1994)
- Plateau of Invincibility (10" EP, Shivadarshana, 1994)
- Pain Lengthens Time (unreleased EP, 1994; included with the Dawnbringer CD)
- And I Saw Eternity (EP, Ground Zero / Shivadarshana, 1996)
Full-length LPs
- Stillbirth Machine (Wild Rags, 1993; reissued by Osmose, 1998; reissued by Nuclear War Now!, 2008)
- Dawn Bringer (Shivadarshana, 1995; reissed by Fifth Division, 2003)
- An Ending in Fire (Osmose, 1998; reissued by Nuclear War Now!, 2008)
- Imperium - The Apocalyptic Visions (compilation, Merciless, 2005)