Special feature by Baz Bardoe
When you think of Turkey you may not instantly think of a punk rock scene, but apparently there is one and Chaosdögs are a good example of how strong it must be. One of the joys of life is browsing through You Tube listening to new bands and this was how I stumbled upon Chaosdögs. Their description as ‘blackened metal punk’ caught my attention along with artwork that spoke of raw, punk inspired brutality. I gave it a listen and connected immediately. I had to interview them and found myself pleasantly surprised by some of their answers, most notably how new the band is.
I started by asking founder Nöisebringer a bit about how the band started. “I’m Ahmet, also known as Nöisebringer, the founding member of Chaosdögs. I’m on guitars and vocals. I founded the band by myself in July 2023. After writing two songs on my own, I tried working with a few people, but we couldn’t get along. In November, during the pandemic times, I invited my close friend Jagöff (Doruk), whom I met, to play bass for the band. At that time, I’ve already parted ways with the previous drummers because we weren’t on the same page. So, I needed a drummer and I was asking everyone around me, ‘Do you know any drummers?’ Through Kürşad from “Non-Specific Vaginitis”, I met our current drummer, GG Kush (Tuna), and asked him if he would like to join the band, to which he gladly agreed. Although I’ve only known him for a few months, our energy aligns very well, and he is truly a talented individual. Filth, Blasphemy and Streets!”
I admit to being intrigued by the idea of a punk scene in Istanbul and asked him to tell me a bit about it. “Actually, there are many punk bands of different genres in Turkey and Istanbul, I would estimate around 15 or more (still active in 2024). Yes, perhaps fewer compared to other countries, but it makes these bands much more active. There are plenty of places to play and record; some venues I like include Karga and The Wall bars in Kadıköy. There are also plenty of venues for larger events and bands, especially in 2024, when many mainstream metal bands from various genres are coming to Turkey. Even though I don’t like 85% of these bands, I think they will help to cultivate the audience in Turkey a bit more”.
Jagöff states, “I met with Ahmet by our mutual friend in early 2022 and met with Tuna at his ex-band’s concert in late 2022. Personally, my main influence in Chaosdögs have been the ongoing Islamic rise, absurd restrictions by the government and lack of addressing it loudly and filthy. In the Turkish scene, most groups are located in Istanbul and Ankara and I might say that there were more bands before. Scene is still alive, but with more personal-styled, not raw and loud punk bands. Istanbul has 4-5 places and Ankara has 1-2 places for scene to live. As for the recording studios, there are still some great studios to record. If you would like to get into the Turkish scene more, I suggest you to start with us, Sakatat, Rötbrains, Dethkrüsh, Glabrezu and more!”
One of the big connections between Australia and Turkey is an unpleasant one – the Gallipoli campaign. In this country we remember it on ANZAC Day and although it was a huge defeat for us, it was also an historic moment that helped forge our sense of identity. I asked them about what level of awareness exists about the battle in their country. Jagöff states, “The Battle of Gallipoli is seen as one of the most important battles in our history and many people believe that there would be no Turkey if we had lost. There are lots of memorials for every nation that fought in Gallipoli on the peninsula. We remember everyone fought in Gallipoli on every 18th of March no matter what nation they are”.
Nöisebringer adds, “In war, only the poor children of poor families or people whose minds have been brainwashed for years under a guise (nationalism or religion) die. In my opinion, war results in dreadful consequences, and it is not humanity but states that win. For me, there are no winners in war, because humanity always loses. However, I believe that organizations that kill people for national or religious reasons should be ended, as these are poisonous ideologies. Perhaps that’s why I am not just anti-militarist”.
The band describe themselves as ‘blackened’ which I generally take to mean anti-religious so I broached the subject of pursuing this approach in an Islamic country. I was curious about what kinds of challenges this might present and what their thoughts were on religion. “Even though the Republic of Turkey is constitutionally a secular state, the current government is very close to radical Islamic groups”, stated Nöisebringer. “If there weren’t a Kemalist segment in our country, we would definitely have seen an Islamic coup. As an atheist, religion hardly affects my daily life, but due to the density of Muslims and the empty pressures in Turkey, including my student life, I have been distant from religion since a very young age”.
“It really is not a strict Islamic country like Afghanistan or Iran”, says Jagöff.” But the blokes ruling us trying to make our country like them day by day. Three of us are sickened with religion and they made us have an anti-Islamic point of view, reflecting on our songs substantially”. This led to me to ask about the main sources of inspiration for their lyrics. He says, “Lyrics are inspired a lot of by our anti-religious state, alcoholism and filth. Era of Arrogancy tells about how careless people are going, Gospel of Hell, Middle East Shithole, Bloody Friday and Ahiretin Bedeli are about different views of profanity. Live Fast Die Fast and Whiskey Cult are a tribute to lord GG Allin”. GG Cush adds “When viewed from another country, it is normal that our country looks like a radical Islamic country, but that is not exactly the case here. Although the majority of the country is Muslim, the majority of people who cannot be considered a minority are atheists or deists. For example, because my family was atheist, religion was not discussed properly in our home”.
“I express everything I want to say in its harshest form in our lyrics”, says Nöisebringer. “Again, filth, blasphemy, and streets!”
Profane charge album on You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JPOujIoEHQ
Bandcamp: https://chaosdogs.bandcamp.com/album/profane-charge