Grab a bevvy to keep you cool in this rather warm weather, settle down and learn a little about today’s BotD…
Simple things first – where are you from?
Chaos Doctrine as a band hails from the Western parts of Johannesburg – that is where our studio is located and most of our members stay close by. Our drummer Rory stays in East London, on the South Coast.
How long have you been playing as a solo act?
The band was formed in 2010/ 2011 originally. Alec joined in 2013. After two of our members left in 2019, Rory joined in early 2020.
Before you get sick of being asked … Where does the band name come from?
We were originally called Subhuman Race, but the name did not stick (our first studio later was named Subhuman Studios as a homage to this name!). We needed a name that both sounds like our music and means something to us – Chaos Doctrine does both of those! The name is inherently a contradiction, as there can be no doctrine about chaos, or chaos about doctrine.
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What are your influences?
Our influences are wide! It ranges from old school thrash and death metal to Sepultura, Pantera, Meshuggah, White Zombie and Ministry.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
Our style is exactly what makes us unique! Chaos Doctrine blends old school thrash and death metal with both industrial and newer styles of metal to produce a fresh, yet familiar sound. This has been the vision of the band since its inception and something we work hard to get right from song to song. Some tracks will be heavily laden with industrial, in others we use a bit more symphonics, and others still we stick closer to just very heavy metal!
Do you have any particular lyrical themes?
Yes, we tend to stick to the darker themes – everything from war and genocide to false prophets and mass deception. Our new single, Father Grigori, is our first biographical account. It is about Rasputin – a figure that perhaps embodies all our themes to date!
What’s your live show like?
How many shows have you played? Chaos Doctrine puts a lot of time and effort (and money!) into our live shows. We believe it must be an experience, a visual explosion, rather than just watching us play our songs. Moreover, for us, the total band is that – an experience, with an imagination, a crafted type of music, and live shows that support this.
So we have a stage set with props, visuals on screens, on-stage wardrobe, and so forth. We haven’t played a great number of shows – we have been active since late 2017 but deliberately do not play “too many” shows, to prevent saturating the scene a bit. Our live scene is very small and we like for every show to be an experience!
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
Not too many wild things as Chaos Doctrine! We present a big, well produced and well rehearsed live show! Seen… well… maybe that is a story best told with a drink? Who is reading this?
What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?
- Dr D uses Shure and SE microphones with Boss pedals
- Alec uses Schechter, Cort and Ibanez seven string guitars, Kemper profilers, Marshall cabs, EHX 44 Magnum or Hotone Loudster maps
- Phil uses Ibanez, BC Rich and Epiphone Guitars, Laney and Ampeg amplification
- Rory has a variety of drum kits, but the Chaos Doctrine Kit is a Tama Superstar with Sabian, Zildjian, Paiste, and Meinl cymbals and a Pearl pedals
What, if anything, are you plugging/promoting at the moment?
First and foremost, on 1th July, is our brand new single, “Father Grigori”, which will be available on all digital platforms, including a lyric video on YouTube! We also released a cover of Slayer’s “South of Heaven” a few weeks ago as a homage to this great band that inspired all of us.
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What are your plans for the next 6 months or so?
Our first priority is to finish our new album. It will be our second full length, following from our self-titled debut in 2018 and our alternative mixes EP The Chaos Chronicles Volume I in 2019. The album is mixed and produced by our guitarist Alec Surridge, who is doing a masterful job! In between, we have started writing our next album, planning our 2021 EP, and getting ready for when we can hit the stage again!
If you were second on a three-band bill, which band would you love to be supporting and which band would you choose to open for you? A chance to plug someone you’ve toured with, or a mate’s band we’ve not heard of before!
This is quite difficult as there are so many great bands we like playing with! Bands like State Dependency, Deadline, and Sunken State are always great for us to have shows with, regardless of who is opening for who!
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