Biography

Conceived in L.A. by Casey Chaos five years ago Amen was a vision of harsh sonic reality, with piercing self introspection and disturbing social insight. Finding musicians capable of understanding and delivering this concept took patience and dedication.

Enter Paul Fig. Through live shows and several studio recordings, Paul realized that Amen embodied musical integrity. The ideal lineup began to form. Shannon Larkin joined Amen on drums, connecting immediately with their visceral, high energy vibe.

Larkin came in about a month before we were scheduled to begin recording. He and I jammed, and immediately I started writing a batch of new songs. Probably half the record was written during that first week with him, said Casey. Larkin who now sports an Amen tattoo on his knuckles, introduced Casey to guitarist Sonny Mayo. Intrigued by the music's unbending attitude, Sonny left Snot to join Amen. Later, (Bassist) Tumor, followed a short time after the death of fellow band mate Lynn Strait and the bands Mascot Dobbs were killed in an auto accident in December '98. - completing the cel.

"One of the most abrasive, in your face, full-on assaults that I've ever witnessed. Casey is a human bomb." - Paul Raven.

With producer Ross Robinson ready to sign the band to his new, Roadrunner-distributed custom imprint, I Am Records, Amen was ready to launch their counterattack on the patterns of rot eating away from within at American culture.

"Amen goes beyond anything I've ever done. Amen taps into that sick, sexual, destructive bleeding with seething disease feeling. I get to feel it without having to suffer it." - Ross Robinson

Amen's 14-song, self-titled debut is a wake-up call for the damned the oblivious, the disenfranchised, and the disenchanted. Produced by Robinson, it's a frenzied, almost unbearably intense journey into the darkest shadows that lurk at the corners of the American dream. From Whores Of Hollywood to TV Womb to When A Man Dies A Woman, the album is the musical equivalent of an open, raw bleeding wound an appropriate metaphor, since Casey literally shed blood during some of his more emotional moments in the vocal booth.

I will usually push myself as far as I can go, and in this case I went even farther, says the singer calmly. It got really, really extreme. We went through so much destruction while making that record, you can hear things breaking at the end of some of the tracks.

It's not a party music album. I think a lot of alienated people are gonna relate to it, but my guess is a lot of people who just want to jump around and have a good time will think this is noisy shit, says Casey. It's noisy shit that's already been embraced by the likes of Iggy Pop (who agreed to mix the album but had to bow out for scheduling reasons) renowned musician/mixer Paul Raven, and porn king Greg Dark.

Amen's live shows have been described as landmines in the façade of Hollywood, triggering anything from a riot at the Roxbury to violence at the Dragonfly.

And no less an authority than former Sex Pistol Steve Jones confesses Amen's more pissed off than we ever were.

Casey and his cohorts are just a little angry at the way the world works. Aren't you?

Amen: Punk/rock in its purest form, wrapped in social angst, feeding claustrophobic paranoia that transcends into an outlet of extremes. Violence. Pain. Obsession.

Now... for your listening revival... we give you... AMEN... this is... an I AM Recording... END TRANSMISSION.