Within Chaos

Within Chaos Theory, patterns inhabit what looks most random. Order emerges from the blur of the NASDAQ index, or at the edge of thunderstorms; it even traces the cream-spiral in your morning coffee. Within Chaos, the band, finds the structure inside heavy metal-the common DNA of old-school, Slayer-style thrash and new-model monsters like Hatebreed and Lamb of God. Based in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, Within Chaos has been honing its chops since 1998. "There's a lot of really good bands here, says frontman, singer Danny Reid, who joined in 2001. And a lot of people are into sports, so you're always having to compete with a big football game it just makes you work that much harder." We don't subscribe to all the trends out there," Reid says. We're doing metal the way it's supposed to be done-powerful and true to its roots. We still put a modern spin on it, but it's more like the older bands do it." Reid's contenders for the top three metal albums of all time? Metallica's "Black Album," Sepultura's "Chaos A.D." and Hatebreed's "Perseverence." The lineup for the band's KOCH Records debut, “Virulent,” remains the same--minus a guitarist--as “What Does't Kill You,” released in early 2006: Jason Huggett on guitar, Jim Taylor on bass and Travis Denham on drums. Dropping October 23, 2007, “Virulent” was recorded at TLA Studios in Weatherford, Texas. Reid, "We worked on it for probably three months until we got the tracking. This recording was really hard to get, because we wanted it to be really good, and we put a lot of pressure on ourselves. When we got it back, we still weren't really happy with it, so we sent it to Ben Schigel [who runs Spider Studios in Ohio, and is the singer for the band Switched] to get it mixed and mastered, and it turned out perfect. The Within Chaos composition formula is concentrated and effective: "We lock ourselves in a room for hours and hours at a time and just jam," Reid says. It's usually a guitar riff that sparks a composition. Once the fire is lit, there's no stopping that process." Within Chaos has already spawned a passionate fan base. "We have some of the best fans, says Reid. They come to every show that they can; they're really supportive. A lot of them found us from MySpace, a lot of them from playing shows with other national bands that already had a good following." "Immediately,” says Reid, "We'd like to get on tour and just get out to as many people as we can. Long-term would be the same thing-get out there and spread the message. We try to be really positive, help the kids get through some of the things that we went through, with a little more of a clear head. It makes us feel good whenever kids come up to us and say we've helped them in some way-drug addiction, issues with family, issues with rejection, whatever."