band from Pomona, California, formed in 1989. Lead vocalist Rob
is also co-owner of SOS Records with Ezzat Soliman, owner of the Showcase Theater, having released albums by classic
among others. With help of Jay Lee from the band
and Exist, the band started organizations such as United Valley Punks, Orange County
Punks and Alternative Gathering Collective. Together, they held such social events as
, helped open the Los Angeles Anarchist Center and supported the Big Mountain Indian Reservation. The first
line up consisted of vocalist Rob
Chaos, guitarist Gary
Doom, bassist Joe E.
Bastard and drummer Gearbox. In 1991, the band recorded their first demo titled
Punk Invasion, followed by the 7" EP Nightmares in 1992. In 1993, the band recorded their debut album We Are the Punx, We Are the Future. Shortly after Gary
Doom left the band, being replaced by Ronald McMurder, a tour in
Mexico with the Mexican band Yaps was booked, having most of the venues sold out.
Epitaph Records decided to sign the band to release the 1994 album Pledge of
Defiance. To support the release, a tour was booked with The
Mighty Mighty Bosstones. After the end of the tour, a second album for Epitaph Records was recorded in 1995, Patriotic Shock, adding Germ as second guitarist. Once again, the band toured for the release, this time with Battalion of Saints. Due to the strong message
against racism and socio-political subjects, the band faced
racist and nationalist organizations at the shows and the ban of the album in Japan. In the summer of the same year,
Total Chaos visited
Europe for the first time, with a new lead guitarist, Shawn Smash, playing in
Germany for the
Chaos Days festival, well known for the often violent
environment.
In 1996, Rob
Chaos, Joe E.
Bastard and Shawn Smash recruited Suzy Homewrecker on drums to record a new album titled Anthems From the Alleyway. This album differs from the others because of the 70s
punk rock influenced sound. By 1997, the band lost contact with Epitaph Records while recording demos for the upcoming album, mainly because of the drug rehab of label founder Brett Gurewitz and poor communication with the label
president Andy Kalukin. For these reasons, the band decided to leave Epitaph Records.
By early 1998,
Total Chaos disbanded, although by September the group reformed without Homewrecker, who was (according to the official
Total Chaos website) stealing the band's T-shirts, selling them at a discounted price and keeping the profits herself.
Total Chaos asked Traci Michaels to fill in for one show, which was the reunion show at the Showcase Theatre. They continued to search for drummers and found Danny Boy Virus. The band then signed with Cleopatra Records to release the In
God We Kill in 1999 and the compilation Early Years 89-93 with the early demos and LPs. The band got back to touring with Blanks77 and in 2000 completed its first Japanese tour. Shortly after, the band recorded
Punk Invasion, released on Reject Records in 2001, with Todd Trash playing bass and Danny Boy Virus on drums.
In 2002, the band was invited to the Warped Tour, with
bands like
The Casualties, Pistol Grip,
Mighty Mighty Bosstones,
Anti-Flag and Bad
Religion among others. After the tour, original drummer Gearbox returned with the band, and with the new bassist Charlie, ex-member Life's Halt, the band released
Freedom Kills with SOS Records, and toured with
The Adicts, The Exploited and
Conflict.
On October 14, 2003, the band was scheduled to play in Montreal with The Exploited, but due to legal issues, both
bands were retained at the U.S. border. One of the reasons was because The Exploited lied to the Canadian Customs,
saying it was a road trip, and they were not a band, being caught when an employee showed a photo of Wattie on stage performing with the band.
Total Chaos' entrance was denied due to the criminal records of some members, although Rob
chaos stated: "It should be against the law to pry into someone's past and dig up something they'd done 15 years ago". After the cancellation of the show, some fans decided to cause riots and
disorder, some cars and shops were damaged, as well as a few police officers injured and an undisclosed number of people were arrested. The events were widely covered by the media.