In ancient Greek mythology, Chaos was a primal, seething, shadowy chasm of mass and energy, that existed prior to the world as we know it. Out of Chaos, the Greek tradition claims, came the gods, and later, man. Out of disorder came forth order, structure, and function.

In the same way, some of that primal disorder and frantic motion has coalesced into one of Anchorage’s newest nü-metal bands, and their name – Mindful Khaos – is a reminder of the high energy and homegrown spirit that’s the backbone of metal as a genre.

I saw Mindful Khaos for the first time at Chilkoot Charlie’s, where front man Magdiel “Mags” Roldan never stood in one spot for more than a second – stage diving into the small but dedicated audience, moshing all over the stage, and even hanging upside down from the rafters like a lizard, all while screaming lyrics into the mic.

Twenty-six year old Roldan, a medical assistant at Orthopedic Physicians Alaska, has been a feature of Anchorage metal since a concert at Koot’s in 2018.

“It was my first local show,” Roldan reminisced, “and [Ryan Hull] from Decepticide was doing a Slipknot cover, and he put the mic to me, and I went for it.”

It was a turning point for the energetic vocalist, and the next year, Roldan started Mara’s Shadow, another local metal group. While recording Shadow’s first song in 2020, Roldan became friends with the studio engineer, Chuck Shumway, who was the drummer for the first iteration of Mindful Khaos. The two hit it off, and Roldan was invited to fill in for Khaos’s missing vocalist at a Halloween party.

“I didn’t know anything was going on, but in the background [after the show] the guys were smoking cigarettes by the fire and saying ‘You gotta get this kid to come back’,” Roldan said. “So I just kinda kept coming back.”

Roldan joined Shumway, guitarists Stan Self and Jamie Liston, and bassist Scott Clasby, and the lineup has remained the same ever since.

The military brought Mags, a former combat medic, from Connecticut to Alaska.

“I was a paratrooper, jumped out of airplanes, all the fun stuff,” Roldan said. “I miss it… if someone were to walk in right now and say ‘Hey, we’re jumping,’ I’d say ‘Let’s go’.”

Roldan’s history of high-adrenaline jobs seems to have served him well in a high-energy music scene, and though you’ll find many who’ve served who bemoan the ruck marches and physical workouts, it’s only helped Mindful Khaos’s vocalist to put on a better show.

The band, close to finishing their first full-length album “Khaos Theory,” takes a fairly unique approach to the process of recording.

“Start to finish, Chuck records drums, gets the basic rhythms down, gives it to Jamie and Stan, they add their stuff, and then Scott will record,” Roldan explained. “Everything gets recorded into an instrumental, Chuck does a slight mix, sends it to me. Then I add my vocals, send my vocal stems to Chuck, and then he masters and mixes everything into the final product.”

This enables the instrumentalists, who live in the Valley, to record at Shumway’s Wasilla studio, while Roldan records at his house in Anchorage, saving time when the band is together exclusively for practice. It’s got the side benefit of allowing Roldan to record as many vocal takes as he wants without holding the rest of the band up.

“I’m really particular about certain things… I’ll record a verse 50, 60, 70 times before I’m like, ‘Alright, that’s perfect’,” Roldan said. “I don’t want to put out garbage. This is what I want to pursue, so whatever I put out, I want it to be perfect.”

This dedication to perfection is apparent in Mindful Khaos’ releases, which Roldan struggles to define by genre.

“Mindful Khaos was very nü-metal, with some electronic elements, but my vocals now are very deathcore heavy vocals,” Roldan explained. “I have a lot of gnarly lows, a lot of pig squeals, a lot of highs… I have this broad range that I pride myself in. My niche is not having a niche, it’s being able to do the lowest low and the highest high.”

Mags pointed to deathcore outfits Chelsea Grin and Angelmaker as modern influences on his vocal style, as well as early favorites like Linkin Park and Slipknot.

Like many other musicians (Decepticide and She among them), Roldan feels that Anchorage’s lack of an all-ages venue limits the ability of bands to play and market to non-drinking audiences.

“It’s kinda sad, man, because the next generation of musicians is missing out,” Roldan said. “I grew up going to all-ages metal shows and watching these dudes and thinking ‘Yeah, this is sick’… It’s hard to thrive in a place that doesn’t support that scene.”

Additionally, while Roldan’s found community among the Anchorage music scene, he lamented the limits that an Alaska band faces.

“Every time I leave the state, I realize how limited we are here,” Roldan said. “I think that’s the biggest drawback, is not being able to tour and reach out to other communities and other people and make a name for ourself. I feel like the local scene is sort of stagnant.”

Despite the admitted insularity of Anchorage music, Mags pointed to a few other local acts as groups he greatly respects – Decepticide (who gave him his start in Anchorage,) Part Time Super Heroes, Distance Defined, and especially local hardcore act She, who Roldan wants to tour with in the future. Roldan also spoke highly of 36 Crazyfists, the defunct Anchorage metalcore outfit that gained nationwide prominence in the 2000s.

Long term, Mags wants to take the band out of Alaska.

“I want to get as many shows as possible, tour as much as we can afford… just get our name out there, man,” Roldan said. “I want to get more records out. We’ve got three albums worth of material, but we gotta be smart with it.”

Roldan’s also taking advantage of the Internet to disperse Mindful Khaos’s music as much as he can, using Instagram and TikTok to post vocal covers and singles in an attempt to grab the attention of a more diverse audience. A West Coast tour is tentatively in the works for next year once their album drops, the specifics of which Roldan is still working out.

Whatever Khaos’ future holds, Roldan and his bandmates have the energy levels and DIY ethos to make it work. Keep an eye out: In the next few years, if Roldan’s plans come together, you may see Mindful Khaos sharing the stage with fellow metal acts Suicide Silence, Chelsea Grin, and even Slipknot. If that happens, the paratrooper from Connecticut will be front and center, windmilling through the crowd and orchestrating a little organized Khaos.

You can find Mindful Khaos on Facebook and Instagram (@mindfulkhaos) and on Spotify. Magdiel Roldan is on Instagram (@freakwhale_). The band’s first album is tentatively scheduled to drop in January of 2023.