Paul Chain

The Profile

Paolo Catena, known as Paul Chain, is an Italian musician from Pesaro cited in these reviews as a co-founder of Death SS (formed in 1977) and as a cult figure whose solo output ranges from doom metal to experimental, psychedelic, and cosmic/electronic music, often centered on improvisation and phonetic/invented vocals.

From the provided reviews: co-founded Death SS with Steve Sylvester; left Death SS and formed Violet Theatre; solo career noted for improvisation, eclectic genre-crossing, and a self-devised phonetic language in vocals; “Alkahest” (1995) features Lee Dorrian (Cathedral); “Violet Art of Improvisation” released 1989 and compiles recordings from 1981–1986; “Life and Death” described as first official full-length under the name Paul Chain; “Opera Decima” described as a tribute to 1970s German cosmic/electronic music and dedicated to Johann Sebastian Bach.

Across these reviews, Paul Chain is portrayed as a cult, prolific Italian artist (Paolo Catena) and co-founder of Death SS, central to post-Sabbath doom and beyond. A recurring theme is improvisation: long-form jams, cosmic/psychedelic electronics, and his trademark invented phonetic vocals. Albums like “Alkahest” are framed as genre landmarks, while works such as “Violet Art of Improvisation” and “Opera Decima” push into experimental, krautrock and cosmic-music territory. Even when releases are described as difficult or uneven, reviewers stress his freedom from labels and market logic. Overall, the corpus reads like a guide to an eclectic, uncompromising underground discography.