The Beginning Of ChAoS...
After many broken bones, tours and demos over several years as a professional skateboarder, Chaos's life would be changed after fellow skateboarder and friend Duane Peters played him "Police Story" by Black Flag. The very next week Black Flag happened to be playing and Chaos was there, front and center. Captured and photographed for all the world to see, a pre-teen Casey Chaos singing into the mic of the legendary Henry Rollins. The day after Chaos encouraged his fellow skateboarding friends to go to the pawn shop, buy some gear, get a drum set from K-Mart and create the sounds of violence and frustration. Miraculously, this was all captured on tape and several of the titles ended up on the career spanning, 4 CD boxset of Casey Chaos' life called "Pisstory: A Catalogue of Accidents, A Lifetime of Mistakes" (available HERE!). As music became more of a priority, Chaos started working with others to create what would be known as the true incantation that was Disorderly Conduct, one of Florida's first hardcore/punk rock bands. Along with Scot Lade, Oyster Balls and Ken "US" ..er (also of F fame) the band would appear on numerous comps, namely on the "Flipside Vinyl Fanzine Vol. 2" alongside the Misfits, the Germs, the Necros, D.I., T.S.O.L., and many more. This compilation set the band up to release their one and only album entitled, "AMEN". Disorderly Conduct garnished such a reputation as a live band that they practically opened for and shared the stage with every band that came to Florida; like the Circle Jerks, Fear, Dead Boys, Bad Brains, SNFU, Meatmen, the Necros, Nuclear Assault, Toxic Reasons, Subhumans, Government Issue, Scream, Dr. Know, the Melvins, the Exploited, F, Hellwitch, Nasty Savage, Insect Surfers, Rollins Band, Ganggreen, Battalion Of Saints, At War, Straw Dogs/FU's, Corrosion of Conformity, Agnostic Front, Rhythm Pigs, Beyond Possession, Marginal Man, Raw Power, Excel, Hated Youth, Roach Motel, Sector 4, Morbid Opera, X, and numerous others. Garnishing a myriad of interest from labels, Chaos moved to L.A. to pursue his music.
1998-1999
"Amen's more pissed off than we ever were." --Steve Jones (Sex Pistols)
It was when Chaos first arrived in L.A. that he met one of his favorite guitar players out of the hardcore punk rock scene, a one Rikk Agnew (Adolescents/Christian Death). He took Casey under his wing and started working with him immediately, from this they co-wrote an Adolescents song and Rikk then helped Casey land his first paying gig, playing bass in Christian Death in the only reunion tour with the original lineup! This produced several live cd's and dvd's of the tour that spanned America and Canada, and at the end they returned to L.A. with what was to be their final show. Not long after this, Paul Raven (Killing Joke/Prong) discovered Amen and wanted to produce their album since he was so inspired by Casey's vision. They would then work on several projects together, which led to Casey recording the first Amen album at A&M recording studios in L.A. Unfortunately it ended up never getting released, but it did land the band a record deal with Roadrunner Records. They would then release their critically acclaimed self titled album, which topped the charts for weeks and topped lists for Best Singles of all time and The Most Important Albums of all Time.
-Kerrang! gives AMEN's S/T cd 4 out of 5 K!'s, stating, "Quite simply, the debut album of the year. Propelled by the splendidly named Casey Chaos' lacerating vocals, AMEN is a vicious assault on the senses that kicks off with the brutal hate anthem 'Coma America' and doesn't let up for the next 40 or so pulverising minutes. This is the sound of punk being kicked into the future."
-Rock Sound gives the single "Coma America" 4 out 5 stars. "Snottily nihilistic assault on the senses with singer Casey Chaos in a punk-zoid rage. Guaranteed to wake the dead and banish those winter blues." -Bethan Williams
2000-2003
"Angrier than Biafra, Rotten, Manson and Rollins crammed into one straitjacket, Amen frontman Casey Chaos is a former teen pro-skateboarder turned human nailbomb who hurls battery acid at a host of enemies." --Spin Magazine
After ending their deal with Roadrunner, Chaos was signed to Virgin Records soon after. Their 2nd album "We Have Come For Your Parents" along with their intense live performance earned them the title "Best Live Band In The World" among many other honors from a myriad of magazines, such as: 62 Greatest Single Of All Time, Best Overall Band Of The Year, Best Video, 2 Best Album, 2 Best Single, 2 Best Vocalist, 2 Best Live Band, Man Of The Year, Event of The Year, Best International Newcomer, topping the 100 Greatest Riffs Ever list, 6 out of Metal Hammer's 50 bands you must see before you die, critics choose "WHCFYP" as 2 album of the year (beating out AC/DC, Deftones, Disturbed and Offspring), as well as Kerrang! magazine making "WHCFYP" the 5 album of the year (beating out Pantera, Rage Against The Machine and Marilyn Manson). 2 album on the Rock Sound's Writers Top 50 Albums of the year (beating out Radiohead, Queens Of The Stone Age and Primal Scream). AMEN, alongside Iggy Pop and The Cult, makes Reading & Leeds Festival the 3 live event of the year. Kerrang! magazine places Chaos in the top 21 most eccentric and insane rock stars on the planet amongst Sid Vicious, Axl Rose, Iggy Pop and Maynard James Keenan. Metal Hammer presented Amen their Golden God award for Best Live Band in the world. Kerrang readers voted Casey Chaos as one of the coolest stars of all time, placed right between Axl Rose and Sid Vicious. Amen dominated the Ozzfest in England as well as sold out tours in Japan and the rest of the world, proving time and time again that they lived up to all the hype and are continuously noted as one of the best live bands in the world. In 2002, Casey would perform with Camp Freddy (Billy Morrison of The Cult/Matt Sorum of Guns N Roses/Dave Navarro and Chris Chaney of Janes Addiction/Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver) as a guest vocalist amongst Slash, Billy Duffy, Duff McKagan, and Perry Farrell to name a few. Casey would go on to form a side project with Nick Oliveri and Josh Homme (of Queens Of The Stone Age) and Twiggy Ramirez (ex-Marilyn Manson) called Headband, and they would record an album worth of songs. Even Henry Rollins would ask Casey to sing a track for the benefit album "Rise Above: 24 Black Flag songs to benefit the West Memphis 3." Amen then took Australia by storm by playing the mainstage on the Big Day Out festival, their performance was (and to this day still is) televised nationwide garnishing them notoriety and a fanbase that has been loyal since. Even legend Ian Ashbury would compliment Casey and Amen on their outrageous punk rock antics and performance. Following the collapse of Virgin Records, Amen went on to play a sold out tour of the UK, and continued on to play the Reading & Leeds festival in the U.K. for 3 consecutive years, as well as the unprecedented act of becoming the only unsigned band to ever play the main stage!
-"AMEN's songs are belligerent, fucked-off and downright anarchistic, and this debut stands justifiably proud alongside its follow-up, 'We Have Come For Your Parents'. AMEN never intended to play music for the radio or dedicated followers of fashion. Indeed, this is so far removed from nu-metal it's unbelievable, and that's what makes AMEN special - here's an American band who haven't bothered to jump on the bandwagon and create music for the masses. AMEN display integrity, unlike most other bands coming out of America at the minute." -Darren Sadler
-"This is Dead Kennedys, Conflict, Subhumans and yes, Black Flag all picked at like a raw wound until the healing process is just a distant memory. This is a brilliant album - vicious, unrelenting and poisonous. If this ain't the real deal then we may as well all give up. A band who mean it, Amen to that." -Morat
2004
"It's ultimate, bloodcurdling, smash your head against the wall stuff and Casey Chaos is the real deal, and it's gonna kill him one of these days. They're so liberatingly intense and they do what some aspects of music should do." "If I could be in any band with any real talent it would be Amen." --Henry Rollins
While Casey was annihilating Australia on the Big Day Out tour, he met Daron Malakian (System Of A Down) and began a relationship that led them to create a side project called "Scars On Broadway". Because Daron knew the importance of Casey's message/music he made them the first band to be signed to his new label EatUrMusic (through Sony Records). Amen's 3rd album "Death Before Musick" once again topped numerous top 20 albums of the year and received various accolades such as: Kerrang! magazine makes Casey Chaos the 73 reason why '04 will rule, placed right inbetween the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Audioslave; being featured in Kerrang's Legends issue, the Punk Special Edition amongst Bad Religion and Green Day.
-Outburn magazine said of the new album, "Classic punk with modern madness. Amen's 3rd release is a monstrous undertaking of up from the gutter punk fury built to last for generations of discontented followers with a dollar and a dream. This album is a 15 track rallying cry dominated by dangerous dealings, bad feelings and enough pent up energy exhumed to fuel another New York City blackout and Nader campaign."
-Metal Edge magazine said, "By contrast with his riotous onstage demeanor, the generational reincarnation of Iggy Pop comes across as thoughtfully articulate and unrepentant." Due to the lack of organization and promotion from the label, Casey parted ways and went on to form a groundbreaking supergroup.
2005
"Without question the most riotous underground punk rock album of the year." -Kerrang Magazine
In Norway, Chaos met with a group of individuals to discuss the possibility of making an album that would be the first album to ever incorporate true Norwegian black metal with a total "fuck you" attitude of '77 punk rock along with musical influence from the genre. The group, named SCUM would include Casey Chaos, Samoth (Emperor/Zyklon), Faust (Emperor/Blood Tsunami), Happy Tom (Turbonegro), Cosmocrater (Mindgrinder) with guest appearances by Euroboy (Turbonegro), Mortiis and the legendary Nocturno Culto (Darkthrone). Kerrang magazine would pick the album as "the most riotous underground punk rock album of the year." The band would be nominated for the top best 5 metal abums of the year for Norway's Alarm Awards, which is the equivalent to America's Grammy's. Soon after the release in Norway the album would be licensed throughout the rest of the world and has just recently been released on limited edition vinyl due to popular demand. (For more about SCUM, go here myspace.com/scumband and here scumband.com ) He would continue on to do an extensive tour (without a label) for the fans across Europe and throughout the UK, wrapping it up by headlining the UK's biggest unsigned band showcase. Chaos would also release his 4 CD limited edition boxset entitled "Pisstory: A Catalogue Of Accidents, A Lifetime Of Mistakes" which includes over 90 songs, ranging from the first time he picked up an instrument to the most recent. There was only 2500 made so get it while you can! Here: cdbaby.com/cd/caseychaos
2006
"Amen is the heaviest thing out of America since The Stooges and the MC5." --Rat Scabies
When Rat Scabies and Brian James of The Damned decided to do a 30th Anniversary show at the 100 Club in London, they immediately wanted Casey to be the frontman. Needless to say, Chaos was completely surprised and beyond honored to be asked to sing for The Damned! The show was such a huge success that the performance is due to be released on both CD and DVD. Later that year Chaos would befriend one DJ $peedranch to talk about working on an album unlike anything anyone has ever heard...GrindhallerXXX was born. An album is done and will be released sometime this year. The best way of describing the band would be to say, Napalm Death meets Aphex Twin meets The Clash. The project also includes Venezuelan mastermind Cardopusher and features drums by Dave Witty of Municipal Waste and numerous others.
2007-Present
Yet another event would be the synchronicity that would forever surround and guide Casey Chaos, when Henry Rollins and Heidi requested if Casey would be interested in performing on the Henry Rollins show (being one of the 6 bands that Henry chose), this left Chaos speechless. This was the same guy that literally changed his life from a pre-teen skateboarding Karate Kid, to destroyer of sound and rock 'n' roll, and all around provocateur of bad taste. After giving Iggy Pop his lifetime achievement award in 2002, and singing with Scum in 2005 with Nocturno Culto and the guys, then having the honor of being able to play for the man that literally changed his life...the mission was complete!
Still inspired by the work ethics of all the Norwegian's involved in the Scum record, he wanted to recreate that work ethic on his own. After tracking the drums with Shannon Larkin in L.A. a month prior, Chaos rented a cabin in the mountains of Norway in a village of a couple 100 people to record the music and vocals. Due to a family emergency Chaos had to be rushed back to the states. Soon after he would re-open shop in the most desolate place possible to try and keep the character of the record the same as it was in Norway, he continued writing in solitude and working on the new album's overdubs. The material reflects the most influential music that affected him predominately as a child, the American hardcore scene, and there is an overwhelming similarity to the sounds that were rummaging through the head of a 11 year old punk rock skateboarder.
In late 2007, Chaos would embark (without the backing of a label or anyone) on a secret and exclusive UK tour for the fans and the online fan club the "Angry Brigade" (here: dieorfollow.com/_brigade ). But after the sudden death of his best friend Paul Raven (R.I.P.) on the first date of the tour and his father passing away the week after, Chaos was urged by bandmates and fans alike to return home. He willed himself on to try and finish the tour for his fans, but after the death of the bass player's (Tumor) grandmother, the tour officially ended. After returning home and taking some time out, he gets back into the studio to finish the highly anticipated new album that (pending finding the proper label) is due for release sometime this year, along with the genre-crushing GrindhallerXXX with $peedranch and Cardopusher.
Stay tuned...there is much more ChAoS to come...
