Chaos primed to hit NM

by Maria DeBlassie

Daily Lobo

Vocalist Ray Mazzola said Full Blown Chaos is hardcore.

The group's latest release, Unleash the Demons, is its first full-length album. Mazzola said despite the negative connotation of "demon," the CD's title "is just another term for unlocking your subconscious."

He said he got used to people telling him he'd never make it as a musician.

The music is meant to inspire and is about pushing the envelope, Mazzola said.

The band incorporated different genres of music, including metal, to create a unique, brutal sound on the album, he said.

Members also began to integrate their influences, such as Pantera and New York band Irate, into their music, he said.

Their aim is to provide their audience with "absolute release," Mazzola said. Listening to their music, the audience has the ability to get all their stress, anxiety and day-to-day tensions out of their system, he said.

"My lyrics that I write are about overcoming mediocrity," he said.

Full Blown Chaos has a unique creative process.

"We really never stop writing," he said. "If you stop, you become stale, and you've got to re-pump yourself up."

He said anything can inspire them, from images and incidents to lines from a movie.

"You have to keep the flow going," he said.

Band members consider the audience a part of the music. Mazzola said the band loves to entertain and makes a point of making eye contact with people in the audience and talks to them between sets.

He said some of the best concerts in New York were at a venue called Roselands, because it's one of the largest.

"Every big band that I'd ever seen growing up had been there," Mazzola said.

Full Blown Chaos has played there twice.

"It was so intense," he said. "Just being in our hometown, just being able to play on that stage was phenomenal."

Members of Full Blow Chaos are from Brooklyn, but Mazzola said they've got a love for people in Albuquerque. He said they like the laidback, subdued feeling of the city. The guys also have a place in their hearts for the New York Pizza Department.

"It makes us feel like we're home," he said.

He said band members are also looking forward to a break from the East Coast winter and enjoying the mild, sunny weather of New Mexico.

"It's been a great tour so far, and we can't wait to get to Albuquerque," he said.

Coming attraction

Full blown Chaos

The Launchpad

618 Central Ave.

SW corner of Constitution & Carlisle

Friday Feb 8, doors open 7pm; $12