Agents Of Chaos

"Agents of Chaos is quite possibly one of the best bands I've heard out of the Seattle market since Alice In Chains and Soundgarden. Their ability to master timing and stops without interrupting the flow of the tracks sets a new standard for hard rock. Watch for these guys, they're going to be huge!" - Gary Stockton (Producer/Columnist)

US grungers Agents Of Chaos have seen a stupendously large share of activity in their three year existence – surprising then that it has yet to yield a full length cd.

This new five-tracker is still set to please not one bit less, setting plenty aside for both metal and alternative aficionados to sink their teeth into. With Jacob McCoy’s Scott Weiland drive behind the mike moving guitarist/main-man Brien DeChristopher’s drilling rhythms right through the ground to you.

‘Face Down’, Cold War’, ‘Window Pain’ and ‘Damage’ form the foundations, cement and bricks into one solid musical building. Massive chord lines and strong emotive vocal dynamics, similar to Piston (remember them?) in most places stoke up the energy for you to absorb straight away from this outfit.

RECOMMENDED IF YOU LIKE: Stone Temple Pilots, Alice In Chains & Metallica. - Metalville UK - Dave Attrill

(Translated to English from French)
A new player in the Seattle scene, AGENTS OF CHAOS was given an extremely complimentary press release on the part of the journalist Gary Stockton, who said: "AGENTS OF CHAOS is quite possibly one of the best bands I've heard out of the Seattle market since ALICE IN CHAINS and SOUNDGARDEN."… The first EP by the troupe from Mill Creek, a town located a few kilometers from Seattle, Volume One may seem unquestioningly reminiscent of Grunge, and especially those two aforementioned groups.

By its first two titles, the disk unquestionably confirms the above lineage. "Cold War" also recalls the sound of those two giants. The opening track, the superb "Face Down", shows even more similarities with first a shattering riff in the vein of "Dam That River" from the phenomenal album "Dirt" by ALICE IN CHAINS. Moreover, the vocals illustrate an influence of the unforgettable LAYNE STALEY by the singer JAKE McCOY, those influences are detectable in particular by the frequent grunts recalling those of the deceased frontman which was his specialty. Jake eventually plays in more seriously leading to a very attractive performance, the most spectacular being the closing of "Face Down."

Justifiable as it may be to parallel this band with these icons of Grunge (Alice In Chains/Soundgarden), that does not necessarily reflect the complete personality of AGENTS OF CHAOS. In their own way, "Window Pain" and "One Last Look" reveal another facet to the group. The first is a ballad strongly supported by the clear guitar voicing and arpeggios by BRIEN DeCHRISTOPHER. The second borrows from classic Heavy Metal with Brien's energetic guitar playing embellished nicely with harmonics.

Finally, it should be noted there is a real tribute to METALLICA proposed in "Damage" as the performance of Jake resembles a good likeness of JAMES HETFIELD, while Brien's solo could easily be credited as having been played by KIRK HAMMETT.

With interesting results, the different influences contained on Volume One should provide AGENTS OF CHAOS with a very successful entry to the scene. The group is expected to release a full length LP in early 2013 that is to be named simply "Volume Two." - Metal Integral - Chouman

There are many good points to Agents Of Chaos - great name, great vibe, a great vocalist in Jake McCoy Martin and some great songs - BUT I'm betting you've heard it all before.

Opener 'Face Down' has the same riff as Velvet Revolver's 'Slither' (whatever happened to them?) and although it's not a like for like copy, you can't help but start singing Weiland-esque to it as soon as you hear that riff. As soon as 'Cold War' kicks in, you'll hear another band and that band is........Godsmack. Now I was a fan of their first album but the Metallica/AIC rip off can tire very quickly and Martin has gone from a vocalist who has great lungs to a down-tuned, background twisted vocalist of the likes of Sally Erna and that's a waste of his voice quite frankly.

'Window Pain' goes down the Metallica/AIC/Soundgarden melodic route and, again, it's a pretty decent song. 'Damage' starts with a funky bassline and along with last track 'One Last Look', winds up into Metallica circa 'Load' as Martin morphs into Hetfield and DeChristopher kicks out some thrash licks in the background.

Loads of people will enjoy the five tracks on offer because they place a blanket over a whole scene and more and, just like Godsmack, they'll do alright for themselves because they're more than decent. - Uber Rock UK - Ross Welford

Agents Of Chaos come from Seattle, if you weren’t aware of this it would become apparent within the first few minutes of the opening track ‘Face Down’. Alice In Chains were obviously a big influence on the band and their sound is very similar, but they have the ability to put their own spin on the post grunge sound. The 5 tracks on offer here are classy slabs of melodic rock with a grunge edge, the highlights being ‘ Cold War’ and ‘One Last Look’ which contains a low down, dirty riff which underpins the track. This EP is worth searching out, at the moment the band are without a label, but on the evidence here it should only be a matter of time before they are snapped up. - Get Ready To Rock UK-David Wilson