K.A.O.S

The music on Kaos is some of the more unhinged, crazed death metal you're likely to come across. It is also Sadistik Exekution's strongest album in terms of the songs, production, and overall performances. This was a band that held nothing back, and its songs are full of frantic blastbeats, spiraling guitar riffs, and deranged vocals. Unlike many other extreme metal bands, you can usually understand what vocalist Rok is saying. His lyrics often sound like they are at least partly improvised, revolving around (often memorable) key phrases but just as often veering off into expletive-filled rants (e.g., "Sadistik exekution/We are death, f*ck you all/Die, die, die!!!" on "The Return of Proxima") or simply wordless exclamations. Just as the musicians in the band have no illusions about being progressive rockers (as some death metal players seemingly do), Rok has no ambitions of being a poet; his delivery is so over the top that sometimes you almost have to laugh. Even so, the entire approach is much more effective and entertaining than 98 percent of the bands in this heavily saturated genre. Highlights on this album include "Volanik Violence," "Voltage by Sadism," and the cult classic "Demon with Wings," present in two versions here (with the original single version found among the hidden bonus tracks toward the end of the disc). However, if you can handle the band's no-holds-barred approach, this album really has no weak tracks, and the performances are inspired throughout. Some metal fans might write Sadistik Exekution off as a mere sideshow or curiosity, but this is really a phenomenal album that fans of original, out-there extreme metal should try to track down.