Interview with Chuck Keller of Order From Chaos

Questions by Sandi Mujanovic & answers by Chuck Keller
(2024/05/04)


Question1:

Acccording to sources Order From Chaos was formed by you yourself, Pete Helmkamp and Mike Miller, was there a bond from the get go in 1987? Immediate friends? and what are the backgrounds of cities of each member? All from Missouri or not? Did you share responsibilities in underground tape trading to spread the name? Namely demos number 1 and 3, how were they received, good reviews? Did this also land you a deal on Wild Rags (great label by the way) for the release of Stillbirth Machine or did that go differently? Later you were released by some more cult labels like Shivadarshana, Osmose and Nuclear War Now! Can you tell a bit of the backstories on those deals and if they came out to your satiafasction? It seems they helped OFC rise to a cult status, agreed? Of course also live shows helped? Any members that got kicked out for making trouble?

We are all from Missouri, same with Ares Kingdom. In the early OFC days, I was the tape trader and zine collector though eventually Pete started doing that too. Our early stuff was pretty well received, yeah.

It's true OFC became quite a cult band - although that happened after we split up in 1995. No, we never had other members in OFC, it was only ever the three of us.

Question 2:
Are you a record collector or you don’t need that material stuff? If yes, what are some of your favourite or prized possessions you wouln’t part with?

I've still got my huge record and CD collection but I've really slowed adding to it over the last 20 years. Supporting a family became priority in the late '90s. Probably most prized things in metal terms is the stuff Quorthon sent me through the years, and later, things of his which his father gave me after he passed.

Question 3:
I see tou like fiahing like my dad, what’s the biggest whopper fish you ever caught, do you eat them sometimes too, or just for the sport snd hobby?

Um no, I'm not a fisherman. Not sure where you saw that? I don't think I've been fishing since the '90s. My main hobbies are astrophotography, radio astronomy and Ham radio.

Question 4:
Can you make a living out of just music or you hav a side job?

No, we all have jobs. I work as an appraiser and auction manager.

Question 5:
About your other band Ares Kingdom, I listened to it, especially uour debut, strong work, any plans for a new album?

Eventually. We've released five original albums - Return to Dust, Incendiary, The Unburiable Dead, By the Light of Their Destruction, and In Darkness at Last, so there's a lot of material out there from us. Plus we did an album of covers called Veneration back in 2013.

Question 6:

Any new talented bands from tour area you can recommend?

I'm not in touch with our local scene at all.

Question 7:
Which bands from the scene are close friends with OFC and AK?

In the OFC days, we were friends with Bathory, Samael, Grave, Varathron and many others. In the AK era, we are good friends with bands like Bulldozer, Watain, Destroyer 666, Adorior, Begrime Exemious, Deceased, Demiser, and countless others.

Final words are yours, feel free to do some promo...

Thanks for the questions!