Secret passage to the rock and roll hall of fame–congratulations to Metallica for pretty much pointing this out in the first place!
Never Heard, No Not a Sound
January 12, 2009
I’ve been listening to a lot of Diamond Head and NWOBHM singles lately, maybe that’s why this molten metal 1985 demo from Connecticut’s Demonax sounds so crisp and nuanced. Demonax play innocent metal for metal’s sake, driven by the joyful guitars of future Fates Warning axeman Frank Aresti, a confident double-bass drum rumble, and killer snotty low-octave singing by one Keith Bycholski. It’s rare to hear American vocalists from this Maiden/Priest/Saxon continuum that didn’t try piercing the stratosphere in honor of Halford and Dickinson, but Bycholski barks it out through bared teeth, sorta like the dude from Razor.
On “Underground,” this well-produced tape speaks for all metal demos everywhere, decrying how nobody gives unknown bands a chance, nobody wants to listen, the bands are kicking ass without a care of being paid, just getting on stage and playing that metal mean, and so on… But behold this prophecy! “There will be a day, all across the land, we’ll be together, hand in hand.” Yes, it’s true, independent labels soon formed in the States, quality bands like Demonax were signed, and the rest is history–but unfortunately not part of their story.
DEMONAX – “Play That Metal Mean” demo 1985 [29.3MB .rar]
A full-length Demonax retrospective was released in 2001 by the sadly-defunct OPM Records, as part of a retrospective campaign that also included likeminded acts Deuce, Tension, and Commandment. There’s one copy on eBay right now if you’re hungry enough!
2009: Keep It All in Perspective
January 7, 2009
Alakazam! Demo cassettes all of a sudden appear futuristic.
Reign in Pap
December 18, 2008
Look who’s gross now! Las Vegas sleazers Papsmear were the go-to local band for crossover acts touring across the desert during the key year of 1986. I don’t think anybody took these guys too seriously, but along the way they played seminal shows opening for Hirax, C.O.C., and Dark Angel, paving the way for more mass mayhemic destruction in Vegas by Goatlord and more importantly Righteous Pigs a year or two later. Papsmear released five demos between 1987-1992 of comically disgusting Slayer/Kreator thrash that showed they were paying attention. Then, because they hailed from Nevada where nobody could figure out how to give them a record deal, they split. Original vocalist Tony Costanza went on to play drums in Machine Head and Crowbar, and more recently the Dave Chandler/Ron Holzner project Debris Inc.
Fortunately, I can move these demos off my short list to post here on BazillionPoints.info because the first two tapes, a pair of 1986 and 1988 live shows, and a historically precious trio of 1986 live camcorder videos have just been released on a CD/DVD set called Music to Kill By. It’s taken a while, for fortunately for the Paps one of their early fans, Marco Barbieri, recently returned to Vegas after a lengthy, and I mean lengthy spell working at Century Media Records.
The tapes are out of the closet, the liner notes by Barbieri are installed, the bonus DVD is authored, and the fold-out collage of LVNV thrasher kids in Wehrmacht and Life Sentence shirts drinking beer in the desert is choice. Here’s what they sounded like:
PAPSMEAR – “Die Killing” from “Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas” demo [6.7MB MP3]
The Music to Kill By CD/DVD is $12 direct from Metal War Productions. Why they don’t have any teaser videos on YouTube yet is beyond me!
Programmed to Kill, Slaughter at Will
December 7, 2008
Here’s a rare treat, the solitary known demo by Noxious, a band that rose from Redwood, MI, and so inhaled the same oily garage stain vapors as Genocide/Repulsion at pretty much the same time. Noxious guitarist Gary Chechak was one of my regular tape-trading pals, and in with the Jag Panzer demos, Megadeth live shows, and Fleer Dubble Bubble wrappers starring “Pud,” he started dubbing me Noxious songs. Finally, the demo was done, and it came packaged with a 28″ fax paper scroll containing a lyrics collage–the scan is included in this download.
As a snapshot of metal in 1986, this demo has it all–except power. With ruefully off-key guitar overdubs and relentless boppy drumming, the band comes off like some incredibly sparse, Romper Room version of Morbid Angel. On the plus side, they’re super-tight, addicted to Bonded by Blood, and possess one of the sickest, scab-pulling vocal treatments this side of Exorcist II. I don’t care how many colored vinyl split single reissues are pressed this year, very few ultra-cult bands have riffs anywhere near as catchy as Noxious’ unheard music.
NOXIOUS – “The Morbid, The Merrier” demo [39MB .rar]
Looking at Chechak’s trading list again for the first time in…let’s say it’s been a while…I hope he’s holding tightly to his Kuda Buxx, Nadsat Rebel, Orions Sword, Shylock, Black Ghost, and Rude Girl tapes. In retrospect, I was super lucky to have him sending me constant recordings and updates from the very earliest formative days of Genocide/Repulsion. Like every non-comatose denizen of Michigan, I’m sure Gary Chechak now plays in rock ‘n’ roll garage bands, but I’m ready for the Noxious reunion. Why the hell not?
UPDATE: I know, my stupid fucking iPhone causes interference during the acoustic intro song “Premonitions.” Well, I’m willing to repair it by popular demand.
Ravishing Breakfast
November 28, 2008
“Darkthrone Logo Found in Female Student’s Hashbrowns”
A Spud in the Homefry Sky!
Panzertoast!
Sunnyside-up Journey!
Bagelwielder!
Aske Browns!
SUNN (((Y side up!
or just
TRANSILVANIAN HUNGARRR!!!!
Thanks, Aaron Cantor, Elsner Nino, Ryan Lipynsky, and Teeth!
Life in a Grave
November 26, 2008
Recently I got the chance to write a quick tribute essay about Grave for a collection covering their Century Media years. I’ve been as guilty as the next man of overlooking and taking Grave for granted, but gazing into the six-foot-deep pit holding their full output, the words of praise came quickly.
Here’s the tribute:
And here’s the collection for eight bucks:
METALION: THE SLAYER MAG DIARIES Anthology Book
November 24, 2008
Jon “Metalion” Kristiansen and Bazillion Points books are proud to announce that work has begun on a compendium of the best material representing twenty-five years of outrage from Metalion’s infamous SLAYER MAG. In addition to rare archival material unseen in decades, the book will include unreleased and exclusive interviews and artwork, historical photographs from Metalion’s personal archive, and never-before-seen portrait photography taken by Metalion himself during the 2000s. More than just reprinting the unattainable ‘zines, the book will explain the true untold story of long-running mag and the man behind it, as revealed by Metalion and longtime Slayer co-editor Ms. T. G. W. The epic METALION: THE SLAYER DIARIES will be available through Bazillion Points books in late 2009/early 2010.
Founded in 1985 in Sarpsborg, Norway, SLAYER MAG quickly rose to underground prominence by championing unsigned death metal pioneers, printing the earliest interviews with MORBID ANGEL, MEFISTO, SEPULTURA, NIHILIST, AUTOPSY, BATHORY, TERRORIZER, NECROVORE, DEATH, and especially local Norwegian act MAYHEM. The pages of SLAYER MAG became a written gospel for the fledgling global extreme metal underground, combining eye-ripping graphics, brutally honest writing, and a relentless and sick sense of humor.
As black metal rose to prominence in Norway in the 1990s, SLAYER MAG’s nearly-confidential interviews with MAYHEM, EMPEROR, IMMORTAL, DARKTHRONE, THORNS, ENSLAVED, and countless others remain the final word on the moods and motivations of those dark times. In recent years, SLAYER MAG has driven further into the heavy metal psyche, bringing overdue acclaim to unsung pioneers like ASSASSIN, NASTY SAVAGE, and HALLOWS EVE, alongside hell-possessed maniacs such as Sweden’s NIFELHEIM and Australia’s SADISTIK EXEKUTION.
Says Metalion: “I always have people contacting me regarding the old SLAYERs and how to get them. Since acquiring them through overpriced Internet auctions currently seems to be the only option, I thought that this would be a better deal for the die hards and uninitiated alike. It is very important to me that this book will be widely available in book stores, it would be pointless to me if it were as as difficult to get as the actual magazines. I remember Bazillion Points publisher Ian Christe trading magazines with me as far back as 1987. When I finally met Ian face to face at Oslo’s Inferno festival a few years back, he told me that he had actually seen SLAYER mascot Arne Babb earlier that day. Thus, when Ian offered me this chance to work with him, I had no doubt that this would be a great thing, an ideal partnership.”
“This is not a simple reprinting of old SLAYERs, but rather a deluxe version of the previous twenty-five years with some new elements. To accomplish that, not only Arne will be with us. I have recently resurrected SLAYER MAG for at least one more issue, bringing in co-editor T. G. W., who will be my biographer for this unique book. She began collaborating with me when I put together SLAYER 19 in 2004, and when both of us contributed to Peter Beste’s “True Norwegian Black Metal” book earlier this year. Her new and different perspective has proven invaluable for me in reflecting on the past two plus decades. After spending the long break since SLAYER 19 on photography education, I feel motivated to do new things now. A fire has been lit!”
Bazillion Points is “America’s smallest but heaviest publishing house,” founded by author Ian Christe (”Sound of the Beast”, “Everybody Wants Some: The Van Halen Saga”, host of the weekly “Bloody Roots” metal history show on SiriusXM). Currently in stores is “Swedish Death Metal” by Daniel Ekeroth, and upcoming releases include titles by Andy McCoy (HANOI ROCKS), Albert Mudrian (”Choosing Death”), and Jeff Wagner (Metal Maniacs).
