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Dark Order - Biography
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HISTORY
OF THE
ORDER OF DARKNESS
The year was 1992. The date was late December.
After finishing year 12, Raul Ignacio Alvarez immediately
began looking for musicians of the Metal kind to form a band
to hopefully blast it's way into the world. By April 1993, a
full line up was formed. The band was called VANADIUM. This is
where the long and unique partnership between Zoran and Raul
began. The line up consisted of Raul on guitars & vocals, Zoran
on bass & backing vocals, Rick Fensom on lead guitar and
finally Shane Stewart on drums.
 One of the first unique features of the band
began to emerge naturally, due to influences of Zoran and
Raul. The blending of Death Metal (Zoran's main influence at
the time) and Thrash Metal (Raul's main influence of the
time). With Raul's Thrash vocals and Zoran's Death vocals, a
new concept began to emerge out of sheer accident and
co-incidence, not out of design.
This new sound was first unleashed on 16th of
October 1993, at the infamous Lewisham Hotel. The band was
very well accepted, even though at that point in time, pure
Death Metal was the only form of music that was accepted as
the 'in thing' by metalheads in Sydney. Everything else was
considered outmoded.
By February, VANADIUM had released it's first
demo: WARRIOR GOD-KING. It was released upon a packed, crazy,
Lewisham crowd, which was recorded on video! They continued to
play gigs for the rest of the year, guitarist Rick Fensom left
due to musical differences, not being able to accept the
band's widening repertoire in mixing the different styles of
Metal. Drummer Shane also left the band, unable to handle the
pressure of outside criticisms of the band. So a new guitarist
and drummer were recruited. The guitarist was Marius. The
drummer was Raul's very own brother, Marco Augusto Alvarez.
The following year in 1995, a new demo, 'War
of Attrition' was recorded and released to another packed
Lewisham, which also went down very well. The demo was reviewed
by the then Sony A&R rep Clayton Doherty, who titled our
style as 'Jungle Metal' (REBEL RAZOR, issue#I have to find
it!!??). He was the one who made it apparent about the South
American
influence, as Raul was not aware that he was doing so. This 'sound'
is
quite natural to him, since he is Chilean!
Due to an ongoing fight with a Western
Australian band with same name, the band decided to rename
itself to DARK ORDER, after one of the band's own song
titles, 'The Dark Order', a title of which Raul had invented.
 As the year progressed on, the band began to notice the
deceitfulness and ego of Marius, who was not performing up to
the rest of the band's expectations, plus the fact that his
rhythm guitar playing was terrible. So by the end of 1995,
Raul and Zoran found the help of an old friend, by the name of
Leif Gregory. In what has become the most classic 'boot out'
of that year, Marius turned up to play a gig, only to be
refused by the band, and had to sit and watch the 'new'
guitarist play on stage. A most memorable night that was!
By 1996, talks of a debut album were in the
works, but there was one problem: the guitarist Leif had a
severe drug problem. But recording proceeded in June 1996, and
thus began the year long process of recording (at POWERHOUSE
STUDIOS) and mixing (AT GLEBE STUDIO) the album under the
band's own budget, bit by painstaking bit, until it was
finally completed in late 1997. Amidst that time, Leif was
replaced by Joe Olic, who appears as part of the line up on
the album.
Continuing to play gigs at the same time, the
band, now under the management of friend Joseph Jurlina,
continued to set up the release date and tour dates for the
album. A distribution deal (with the the help of Chris Rand of
Segression) was signed with ORACLE RECORDS.
JANUARY 24TH, 1998 was the day of the official release of '5000
YEARS OF VIOLENCE', to which packed crowds at two album
launches gave Dark Order a reputation that they were a band to
be reckoned with. A string of dates were followed during the
year, including the DARK ORDER'S first trip to Melbourne (in
support of BLOODUSTER), in which they performed a killer show,
all captured on video.
Sadly, in July, Marco decided to leave the
band, as band life was not what he wanted, instead preferring
married life. So many dates were cancelled including the loss
of the support slot with the largest Thrash Metal band in the
world, SLAYER. Thus begun Dark Order's trouble in looking
for a drummer with right credentials. Tragedy also struck the
band's manager Joseph, with passing away of his father in an
accident. Luckily, long time band friend, Graham Goode
(AUTOMATION) filled in for the band's second trip to
Melbourne, which was even better than the first, and
subsequent gigs after that.
1999 was a year of great stagnation for DARK
ORDER as no drummer could be found to play to the standard of
either Graham or Marco (or even better for that matter).
Gigs were still being played with Graham, but not at the
regular rate as the band could of hoped. Hope came in the form
of Peter Hunt, who would have been the perfect choice, but he
had plans to move to England to start up a Metal band all of
his own. Joe Olic's long time friend, Steven Govic joined the band on
the third Melbourne trip, which unfortunately, was not a great
success (organizational problems). Soon after, Steven left for
Croatia.
Due to continuing burden put upon his family,
manager Joseph Jurlina left the band, and Joe Olic soon
followed. This period is known to the band
as 'the great Croatian exodus' (only jokingly, of course).
BUT the persistence of Raul and Zoran pushed
on, with more fire and determination than before. They
enlisted the long time fan of the band, NAWAR DALATI to become
the fifth lead guitarist of DARK ORDER. By this time a new
album of 11 songs was nearly completed, as the band continued
their elusive search for that 'the right' drummer.
The Year 2000 A.D. came. In early February,
fortune of the Gods shined on DARK ORDER, as Chris Flynn (a
great drummer from the band 'WINTERSON') filled in for the
band for six months, where they played many gigs, including,
the most successful, most fucking craziest of all trips to
Melbourne!!! A CO- HEADLINER WITH DUNGEON!!!
Then finally on 1st of August 2000 the gods of mercy shone
upon DARK ORDER. After two long years, they finally found a
Drummer that more than filled the position. Not just any
drummer - THE correct drummer. Hailing from Russia, VLADIMIR
TROUSSOV, a true Metal musician by heart, became the new
skinsman of the DARK ORDER. They then began working on the new
material to prepare for recording.
As progression on the album commenced,
personal problems struck guitarist Nawar Delati. He basically
was incapable of self sustenance. When he missed out 7
rehearsals is a row (without explanation), he was dismissed
from the band. This was done to keep up the discipline of hard
work of DARK ORDER. He now resides in Melbourne.
In January, DARK ORDER played some killer
gigs, most notably, with DESTROYER666,"That happens to
be one of our most favorite gigs"-Zoran-. For the next 4 months, DARK ORDER locked
down in the SOUNDBASEMENT rehearsal studios, to work on
PRE-PRODUCTION for the new album. In January, Raul and Vlad recorded 'Moby Dick Ch:1 OVERTURE'
at Sound Basement Studio's under the engineering helm
of Daniel 'Schfincter' Lia.
It was then time to enter VELVET SOUND studio's, under
the engineering helm of Adrian Gregoriov to capture the rest of the latest DARK ORDER
songs. A Special Guest from Dungeon played the solos!
From MAY 2001, 4.5 months was spent recording, mixing
& mastering (as with '5000 YEARS OF VIOLENCE', the new
album was mastered by RICK O'NEILL at TURTLEROCK
PRODUCTIONS) this new album... That year, DARK ORDER
played METAL FOR THE BRAIN, and despite Raul AND Vlad having the
FLU, the band managed to, according to Adam from Alchemist, pull
the largest crowd for an opening act!
New years eve (2001-2002), DARK ORDER played
with the popular Industial Hard Rock band JERK. That night was
real sweaty and hilarious. By the end of January 2002, the
band proceeded to film their FIRST video clip for the song "Slaves
of a Nameless God" from the up coming album. Strange occurrences
happened during the shooting, which was done at a
morgue! SERIOUS! April marked the beginning of the "VIOLENT
ELIMINATION TOUR" with ABORTUS
We are proud to announce that in August, long
time friend of DARK ORDER, Simon Cleary became DARK ORDER's second Manager. He is a man
with vast experience world of Heavy Metal, a braisened METAL WARRIOR!
Just after MAYHEM toured here in Australia,
drummer Vlad Troussov fell ill,
and is in Hospital unable to perform. Thanks to long time
friend of the band,
STEVO from DUNGEON has filled in all shows, including
DESTRUCTION
(where he did a Monsterous TWO sets that night, 1 our's, then
Dungeon!!!).
Due to Stevo's professionalism, he learned a DARK ORDER set in
TWO rehearsals and saved the bands arse! He is THE best drummer ever
to play in DARK ORDER.
 On November 8th 2002, DARK ORDER supported DESTRUCTION
on their
Australian "The Butcher Downunder" Tour. It was a
killer show, for all bands
involved. On this same date, the NEW DARK ORDER ALBUM "THE
VIOLENCE CONTINUUM"
was released for gig and Internet sale!...
DARK ORDER
are:
Raul
Ignacio Alvarez: Guitars/Main Thrash Metal Vocals
Zoran Mrakic: Bass/Backing Death
Metal Vocals & and animal noises!
Vladimir
Troussov: Drums percussion noises
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Interview Introduction By EvilG |
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Dark Order first came to my attention back in 1998
when Raul Alvarez from the band showed up at the Metal-Rules.com
forum promoting his band and then sending me their first album
which I quite liked for it's aggressive thrash metal style. When the time came for selecting
bands for this compilation, Dark Order were one of the very first
bands I contacted hoping they would be interested in being on the
compilation. The song featured here is on their newest CD, but it
wasn't yet released at the time it was submitted to us. Since their CD is not
available just anywhere, I thought their inclusion would still be
beneficial to both the band and to us for making the compilation
all the more better.
The below interview is with Raul I. Alvarez, lead
singer & guitarist for Dark Order.
Reviews: 5000
Years of Violence, The
Violence Continuum
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How did you first learn about Metal-Rules.com?
Well, a couple of years ago, I was on the SLAYER UBB Board, and
friend suggested that I join your forum. That guy was MoonStalker from
the Metal-Rules forum. The rest...is history!
Are you a regular visitor to the Metal-Rules.com webzine?
Whenever I get that chance, I try to visit. I don't have Internet at
home because I spend all my money on DARK ORDER (and all it's various
bills....AAARRRGGGHHH!) and on my musical equipment. So whenever I jump
on the net, I ALWAYS visit. It's the most comprehensive Metal website on
the Earth!
How important is Metal-Rules.com or the Internet in general for
getting your music?
Extremely important. Aside from Australia and New Zealand, where our
albums are available at shops through Something for Now/MGM distribution
(Mid January), the internet is the only way to order our albums direct
from us through our DARK ORDER website or METAL-RULES CD store (which
I'm working on).
In your experience, either as a reader or as a band, what has
Metal-Rules.com meant to you?
It has been the central focal point on which world Metal can gather
unto itself info, music etc. etc. If it's a new band you never have
heard of, or want to find out the gist of Metal around the world, I
always visit Metal-Rules.com as my way of seeing the world of Metal as
it REALLY is. Not what conservative record Company Media/propaganda is
trying to tell you to listen to, cause they are just trying to push the
product that they have. With all this fucking Mallcore going around,
half the time it's really crap bands that DO NOT represent the hearts of
true Metal.
Do you think webzines like Metal-Rules.com are, or maybe someday
could, replace traditional published magazines?
Yes...definitely. This form of media is extremely fast, environmentally
friendly. No need for print. The Net will become more common place, not
just to computers, but through other devices. It's already happening.
Look at PDA's for example. Magazines, beware...hehehee the shroud of the
dark side has fallen...WAR HAS BEGUN...
Can you please list the members of the band and what they each
person plays?
DARK ORDER Line up is:
Raul Ignacio Alvarez: Guitars & Vocals & the main song
writer/creator of the band's artistic being. And snoring from HELL!
Zoran Mrakic: Bass & Backing Vocals...and crazy rock star
hooliganism! Females, bow down to him...
Vladimir "Houdini" Troussov: Drums & Disappearing acts
that will astound!
How long has the band been together and what goals would you like
to achieve in the coming years with the band?
Well, Zoran and I got together back in 1993, under the name
"Vanadium", and changed in 1995 to DARK ORDER. We now have two
albums out: 5000 Years of
Violence (1998) & The
Violence Continuum (2002). Why such a long time between albums,
you may ask, then please read on...
During that time till now, we have had many line up changes, mainly
because of WOMEN intruding (Yes folks, unfortunate that PUSSY is more
powerful than Music) and stealing our drummers. Added to that fact, we
are not signed, all have full time jobs, so things end up being done at
a snails pace (AAARRRGGHH!). But proudly, we march on like the soldiers
of Metal that we are.
Our current future plans are to release a DVD in mid 2003 and have a
third album out late 2004. We are working on playing shows in Europe
soon, possibly Wacken Open Air, Full Force, Bang Your Head or Summer
Breeze. Nothing is set in stone, but trust me, when I set my sights on a
goal, nothing gets in my way. Just ask Zoran.
Of course the obvious thing is that we want to be signed, but with
the right deal. To many bands get fucked up so easily.
In your opinion, what style of metal would you say best describes
what you play?
We play a modern form of Thrash Metal that is still grounded in its
roots, but we are trying to add a new texture to it. We are not claiming
to be something totally radical, but I am trying to mix classic Bay Area
style Thrash Metal, New York Style Thrash (Anthrax) the mood and sounds
of musical scores of what is being done by the likes of Jerry Goldsmith,
John Williams etc...
So, one would say that we are NOT pure Thrash Metal, like Slayer,
Sodom, or Destruction, but we are 90% at the core Thrash Metal mixed
with certain elements of Death Metal, Power Metal and Movie scores. One
must listen carefully to where I have been influenced in our songs from
Movie scores. I'll give you a hint in one...."Mission to the
Continuum". The opening chords are based on the scene where The
BORG Cube travels towards the Earth in Star Trek: First Contact. Another
hint would be the middle section of "Slaves Of A Nameless God"
there is a chord progression that is from the 'Imperial march' music of
Star Wars.
Who have been some of your main influences?
With me, aside from the Film score composers like Jerry Goldsmith,
John Williams & James Horner, its been mainly S.O.D., Slayer, Iron
Maiden, ANTHRAX (big one), Exodus, Violence, Iced Earth, Testament, Zakk
Wylde, Exhorder, Kiss, Morbid Angel, Death Angel & Manowar. I also
listen to ILLAPU alot, a Chilean folk band. Elements of all those bands
are very prevalent in all our songs. For Zoran, lately its been Sodom,
Destruction, Exodus, Violence, Manowar, W.A.S.P., and then I guess the
same bands I mentioned...(geez I can't think anymore...he'll kill
me.....)
I have been listening to other things ALOT lately, like NightWish,
Blind Guardian, Kamelot, Stratovarius & a bit of Dungeon...sorry...ALOT
of Dungeon (haha), none of those bands, except Dungeon, have influenced
my music. In the case of Dungeon, however, their song "The Legend
Of Huma" is the direct 'godfather' of our song called "Moby
Dick Chapter 2: Blood of the Sea". I think Lord Tim
(guitarist/singer of Dungeon) would be proud of that fact!
Is your band currently signed to a record label?
Unfortunately, we are NOT signed yet to a record company, though I
know that GREAT potential will come to one that does decide to sign us
up. We want the world...you know full signed, touring till our heads
drop off, the whole package! It's so hard to get noticed when your in
Australia. For music, it's the arse of the planet. There so many great
bands here, but none rarely get noticed, especially the fact that local
labels say to us that there is no market for this sort of music. I say
that they are blind, and that they do not see the whole world of Metal
as it truly is. So YES, we want to get fully signed, work our arses off
touring, writing, putting out albums etc. We have stood the test of
time. So we will NOT fail. Never underestimate the power of the dark
side. We have distribution currently with Somthing for Now/MGM in
Australia & New Zealand only.
Have you contributed work to other compilation CDs?
Yes. We are on 'Metal For The Brain IX', Kerrang! Vol 2 (Australian
Kerrang!) & 2RRR 'UnEarthed" (Local radio compilation).
Where did you hear about this compilation?
From EvilG! He e-mailed me a while ago. I love the fact that he is
letting bands like us, as we say in Australia, 'Have a go, ya mug'.
Why did you choose this compilation to get your music to potential
fans?
It will reach the very HEART of Metal-dom, after all, this is where
all REAL metal-heads come! Best place to spread the sound of DARK ORDER.
Besides your song, what is the best feature of the Metal-Rules
compilation and why?
Ye gods...the best feature...ummmm........I get a chance to hear all
the other kick arse bands from around the world. Maybe DARK ORDER will
end up touring with some! HA! Then all hell & chaos will break
loose...HAHAHAHA! (Especially when Zoran infects them with his Mating
call. This already happened at Wacken Open Air...)
Why did you choose this particular song for the compilation?
It's one of my favorites of late....
Where did you record the song & who wrote it and produced it?
It was recorded at Velvet Sound Studio's, Mixed & produced by
DARK ORDER & Adrian "Protools Fucken" Gregorieff. Recorded
in May 2001.
Would you say that your song on this compilation representative of
all your material?
Yes, about 80%.
What is your song on this compilation about and what was the
inspiration behind it?
The cyclical behavior & stupidity of humanity. Music wise,
Anthrax & Slayer.
What about this song made you select it for this compilation OR if
your band wrote or recorded a new song specifically for this CD, what
things did you have in mind when writing the song for use this
compilation?
It's song that people will Thrash their brains out!!!!
What kind of expectations do you have towards this particular
compilation? What do you hope to gain by being featured?
Definitely. I hope will get people to like us and get our albums!
Fans to our gigs...
Are you hoping this might help you in some way gain the kind of
exposure that may lead to a label picking you up?
HELL YEAH!!!! I want to get signed, and tour the world. Who doesn't?
As you know, most of the bands on this compilation are not
extremely well known. Do you think a compilation CD with a group of
mostly underground bands is a great way to help get your music noticed?
Shit YEAH! Best for people to see NEW bands first hand!
What do you think of compilation CD's overall?
The best way to promote a new band or album. Definitely better than
releasing a single.
What kinds of things should a compilation feature in order to make
it worth purchasing and what makes a compilation worthwhile?
Maybe a Video CD-Rom...
If you had a chance to put together this type of compilation, what
would be some of the unsigned bands you'd like to feature?
'Dungeon', 'Fury' & 'Infernal Method' from Australia!!!!! They
fuckin' rip!!!
Would you be interested in sacrificing another song for
"Metal-Rules.com - Vol. II" if the opportunity presented
itself?
As we say in Australia...FUCKEN OATH!!! (Which means 'yes, of
course')
Where can people order your other recorded material?
At Metal-Rules.com CD store, or at our website dark-order.tripod.com!!!
What are your band's upcoming battle plans?
Tour Europe at all the Metal festivals!!! Release Albums overseas!
Do you have any live dates coming up that you'd like to list here?
Not yet. But check our website for updates!!!!
