K.A.O.S.

This album rules.

Oh wait, I’m supposed to do more for a review aren’t I? Oh well, I suppose I better tell you WHY this album rules so hard.

Because it’s total fucking chaos.

Oh wait, I’m supposed to explain why it’s total chaos aren’t I? Oh well, I suppose I better tell you WHY this album is total chaos, and thus why it rules so hard.

You see my friends (or not, though if you like Sadistik Exekution you must have at least some degree of excellence in you), extreme metal and chaos is a wonderful blend. From Blasphemy and Bestial Warlust’s “war metal” to Vargr’s hellish mix of noise and black metal, chaos can be used to add a frenzied touch to music in many different ways. Perhaps the most chaotic metal band is Sadistik Exekution, and “K.A.O.S” is where the band started to really get the chaos/kaos going. As a fan of chaos in my metal, this can only mean good things!

Up until this point Sadistik Exekution had been putting out quite brutal blackened death metal (“The Magus”) and morphing into something more mentally deranged with the slightly technical, slightly chaotic all out deathfest of “We are Death… Fukk You!” With “K.A.O.S” the first thing approaching a uniform style for the band has appeared (oh the irony), with more straight-forward, chaotic and really, really fast songs. Integral to this is the greater focus put on drummer Sloth’s blasts and fills in both composition and sound. Certainly Sloth stepped up on “K.A,O.S,” maintaining insanely quick speeds for whole songs at a time, only slowing down in certain sections where slowing down is required, and even then it’s only a short “break.” This is my favourite of Sadistik’s albums in regards to drumming, possibly due to the extremely up-front, aggressive drum tone.

Perhaps the most important part in “K.A.O.S” establishing the precedent for the “Fukk” albums is the riffage on display. “K.A.O.S” is where Dave Slave and the good old Rev. got their act together and started writing the extremely fast riffs that would characterise Sadistik Exekution from this album onwards. Not only do these riffs amaze with their sheer tremolo picked speed, they’re also quite catchy and when off played with the occasional slower chug riff (not shitty chug riffs, slightly thrashy in a “Hell Awaits” kind of way) just sounds plain awesome. “K.A.O.S” also features the real initiation into Rok’s bizarre jibberish, where the words “fukk” and “kunt” (written in SadEx style here to emphasise the kicking of arse going) are interplayed with a combination of “AAAAARGHS” and “EAFDSEKAKLDAWS,” sure to turn off all but the most hardened metal listeners. Oh, and the bass master Dave Slave really starts delivering the arse kicking with his bass solos (a prominent feature of the “Fukk” albums). Really, “K.A.O.S” is where Sadistik Exekution really got it together and finally recorded the mental insanity that characterised their live shows.

“K.A.O.S” has more to it than speed and insanity though; consistency is a virtue on this record. Though all the songs are similar, all are of a high-quality such that one is not likely to be bored throughout the duration of the album, quite the opposite, one is likely to end up with something resembling an absolutely FUKKED neck! 2002’s “Fukk” is the only album to top “K.A.O.S” in that regard, being slightly more varied and overall improved in both riffage, speed (how the hell did they do that?!?!?) and insanity. Really, if you’re looking to get into Sadistik’s nuttier albums, “K.A.O.S” is the place to start, as it’s nothing but forty two and a half minutes of consistent chaos.

Interestingly enough, this album only features one intro/noise track, which is of course the intro, “Ultra Maximizer of Agony.” Despite Sadistik Exekution doing these tracks extremely well, it’s nice to have more metal on the album than they might otherwise put. Also of note is “Sadistik Elektrokution,” a re-recording of “Electrokution” (noticed the extra k) from “We are Death… Fukk You!” Unfortunately, this the only low light on the album. Not because it’s a poor song, but after the original ruled so hard, the version on “K.A.O.S” just can’t compare. It’s a bit faster than the original, which may have something to do it. I’m listening to it now as I type this and it’s changing my mind, the song is just so good, perhaps I should put on “We are Death…” so I can keep my opinion constant…

“K.A.O.S” is Sadistik Exekution’s true metal breakthrough. It’s fast, brutal, insane in a way only this band can be and utterly over-the-top in every way imaginable. It may not be techinically faster than many of today’s tech death bands, but it sounds a hell of a lot quicker. Though it would be topped in everyway by the two albums following it, “K.A.O.S” is still a beacon for the excess of metal, something that will never be done again. It’s repulsive, it’s ugly, it’s stupidly fucking shit, and it’s oh so awesome.

Sadistik Exekution seem to be one of the most misunderstood bands in metal looking at the other reviews found online.

KAOS is possibly their best release, combining a raw yet clear production with a total sonic violence of barely controlled chaos. The playing on this cd is amazing, with unexpected riff changes and technical riffs which almost invert conventional melodic structures. The drummer is absolutely insane, and manages to make his blastbeats sound atmospheric with thunderous fills thrown in every few seconds.
The riffs do slow down sometimes to torturous mid paced dirges with an epic and dark grandeur (never thought I would ever apply that word to Sad Ex!) but the violence soon picks up again.

Even though Rok's vocals are psychotic and harsh most of the words can still be made out with lyrics about satan, evil and insanity. The most amazing thing is the way the band manages to stay on the brink of total noise and chaos while still sounding coherent !

Of course, this is not an album you would want to listen to every day, but if you want your brain cleared by some blistering musical blasphemy this is exactly what you need! Any supposedly extreme band is pop music compared to this!

There are lots of albums full of clinical, well-played grindcore or technical death metal as smooth and flawless as any Miles Davis tune. K.A.O.S. is not one of those albums. All the bad reviews you've read are pretty accurate. Sadistik Exekution plays sloppy, noisy, unfocused metal somewhere between thrash and grind and punk. The song construction makes zero sense and seems to have been established on the fly. Rokk's vocals sound like a train-struck drunk wailing in agony. The lyrics are all nonsensical combinations of "Satan!", "666!", "fuck!" and "kill!". And if none of this sounds appealing to you, then K.A.O.S. is not an album for you, but I find myself listening to it at least occasionally and enjoying its excess of hateful, moronic energy. It's as entertainment that K.A.O.S. works best, since viewing this as a serious artistic effort in the vein of, say, Alchemist will only lead to disappointment. For instance, there are few moments in metal as hilarious as Rokk wailing, "BOLL-kanik RRRRRRRRumble" with some kind of weird Latinate trill. If you can't laugh at that, then you won't appreciate this album. Even people who (like me) enjoy it on some level most likely won't be playing it too far beyond the halfway mark, as Sadistik Ex tends to "write" "songs" with the same kind of structure (initial speedriffs and blastbeats, drum breakdown or guitar lead, more speed) and it gets kind of samey after a while. But K.A.O.S. provides a fun kick while it lasts and since nothing else really sounds this fucked-up, it might be worth your while to hunt down a copy if you think you can take it. Mix with lots of alcohol for best results. Sadistik Ex probably did.