It was 1991 when the school's out feeling of making something different in those Summer holidays invaded my spirit as a young Punk. We were bored from high school routine, bored with our parents and angry with societies values. The best way to channel our anger and frustration was to form a band. My first bandmates were friends from high school into Punk Rock and surely raising hell! As the band progressed, always with my idea to pervert the Punk underground with the newer British Crust sounds, we recorded our first Demo "Genocidio" in April of 1992. I still remember my pride as i firstly grabbed the first copy of it on my hands and then off to the rehearsal place with more friends to listen to it for 5 times at least and smoke a lot of joints and drink a lot of beers on through the night. That was my first recording after all. And proud i was when we played for the first time in Lisbon for a small open air gig in the center of Lisbon in the afternoon for a crowd of drunken Punks and Metalheads. I was only 16 but i tried to gather forces to conjure one very intense gig, i really dont know still today how it worked so well, but it surelly worked! So much that we were approved to be one of the few bands chosen to repeat the overdose of distortion on the closing day of the festival. The kind of festivals of young Rock bands who dont even have a Demo out sometimes.
That was our beginning. A cruel story with lots of ups and downs. Student bands dont last long but i didnt felt really on a student band so after i had lost the rhythm section i talked to my good friend Libe which i was singing in his Hardcore Punk project C.O.R., and since that project was not going so well with the line ups as well we decided to mix the bands. So the REAL SUBCAOS MACHINE WAS BORN! 1993 and a lot of conviction, gave us an oportunity to Tour Europe for the very first time, to release a split EP with Hiatus from Belgium, being the songs recorded live on different european tour dates that same year. We were glad Ataque Sonoro label from Lisbon also did for us the split CD with Genital Deformities. Unfortunately we were not into the same image as G.D. and they gave a total gore-inspired artwork death metal style which didnt fitted at all with our very poor scum Punk "art"(?) work.
That is a big disappointment for me nowadays, because i believe that GD would deserve their own Cd and us another one in a different context. But why moan about this? Its done and its a quite rare one now, so damn it! Right at the same time the split CD came out, a friend of mine who ran at the time a label called Rage Prod., released our selt titled vinyl ep. Suddenly we had records for sale and we were playing a lot preaching the gospel of Punk within the limitative PC-ness common at the time. 1994 saw us Tour again in Europe but this time we had our records for sale! Before things went downhill with loads of line up changes, we recorded a Demo that was released on cassette. It had on the side B the songs of the Split CD and on side A these newer songs very raw. Theres not much to say for the year of 1995 unless that it was released our Split 7"EP with Japan's Battle of Disarm with songs from the same session of the cassette released in Spain. We were busy with the Crise Total reunion (I was singing and Libe was playing bass), our other Punk project -Porcos Sujos- where i tried to play the drums and Libe was playing some more dirty Punk Rock guitar licks.
Subcaos was changing constantly band members and we were fed up. At the same time we were progressing. Slowly progressing. Till we found out that we were not anymore an "E.N.T." type band. We were now much more influenced by bands like G.I.S.M., Kuro, Amebix, Celtic Frost, Bathory and even Motörhead. Denim, leather and studs all over and better lyrics.
So 1996 had to be the decisive point: "Destroy the system by Fire" was a mini album that was supposed to come out on vinyl on an Austrian label. The man paid us the recording and after a while he had some problems and never went to release anything aborting the label project. With the recording paid, there was a new label here in Lisbon called Fast & Loud, decided to release it. But as if the recording was damned, that label failed to release and closed its doors after two years of succesfull work in the Punk and hardcore scene of our country. As time justified the personal changings of the two main men in Subcaos, that was very obvious a separation from us. So we had our verbal fights and quickly realised we needed a break. That break was a definitive stop. On these years we made other projects different from Subcaos to try out other musical languages within the Punk/Rock scene. Up until 2002. Why reform some Crust/Punk band from the underground after some years, thats something i still cant justify so clearly. Lets say that we really felt the need to play again. Subcaos was a good excuse. Friendship above everything...and if this story is not about friendship and dedication, well i guess i should confess you that what we've won with this band was just an heavy cross in our backs, not money for sure.
From 2004 to 2008 we did stopped again for line-up breaks and lack of time due to our other band (Dawnrider). With the mini album Cd "The last scream of the Chaosmonger" out in 2003, and only a few gigs, everybody thought it was the definitive end. In 2006 we give a special "Christmas" gig and we realise we need to put the band back on track. 2008 sees a new chapter in Subcaos history. We keep on and on, to forge in fire the Metal-Punk tradition in Portugal. Join us!
SUBCAOS Discography:
-"Police Riot" Split 7"Ep Live with Hiatus. Released Dec. 1993 by Slime Records.
-s/t 7"Ep. Released Feb. 1994 by Rage Productions.
-"Fuckin' Raw Hardcore" Split CD with Genital Deformities. Released March 1994 by Ataque Sonoro.
-"Anarchy" Split 7"Ep with Battle of Disarm. Released early 1995 by D.I.Y. Records.
-"Nevermind the CD, here's Subcaos" Cassette of 200 copies. Released Spring 1995 by Anti-Poder.
-"The last scream of the Chaos Monger" Mini CD. Released Feb. 2004 by Monolith Records.
-"Destroy the System by Fire - 1993-96" CD Compilation. CANCELLED RELEASE. Looking for a label to release it.
Compilation tracks:
-"Nazionalist Pigs" ..... Now" Compilation 7"EP released late 1992 by Slime Records.
-"Mete o lixo no lixo" on "An insult to our Freedom" Comp. LP released late 1993 by Gnome/Grinding Madness.
-"Sugadores" and "Farsa Militarista" on "It takes five fingers to make a fist" Comp. 7" Ep released 1994 by Left Wing Records.
-"Protejam os Animais" (Atrofiados cover) on "No Fate vol. 2" Comp. 2xCD released 1996 by H.G. Fact Records.
-Several tracks in compilation cassettes between 1992 and 1995.
BUY SUBCAOS!!
"The last scream of the Chaosmonger" CD (8 songs, released Monolith Rec. 2004) 10 euros postpaid everywhere.
Order here or through: [email protected]
Also for sale on Ebay!
Old records not available. New merchandise (shirts and patches) very soon.
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