Hell (UK) - Hell Demo 1982

In 1982, the NWOBHM was still going strong. No one knew that within the next year, a frightening new force out of America would render them obsolete. While America's young speed/thrash bands were immensely influenced by the British bands before them, the adrenaline fueled yanks would ultimately burn their idols and scald the hand of metal forever. Good thing for us, metal loves scars...and the NWOBHM left one cool ass scar.

Hell was a band out of Nottingham. They're best known for being the precursor to the UK's own thrashers Sabbat. I really like this demo. The band really goes for it and a makes some interesting attempts to be evil. The weird intro banter sounds as if members of Monty Python had a few pints discussing the work of Aleister Crowley. Now that's metal.

The demo is ripped from cassette...it's noisy, boomy, and has a few dropouts. Though not bad for a nearly 30 year old tape.

Hell's s/t Demo from 1982 - HERE

Pendulum (Norway) - Hecate Demo (1992)

Everybody get kvlt tonight!

Here is a horn-raising little gem. Pendulum is fine Norwegian doom from an era when "trve" black metal was the hot new thing. They went on to rename themselves Carpathian Full Moon. Eh, that band is ok, but THIS demo really lays it down. Sludgy riffs and pigeon toed drumming make this a much appreciated addition to the demo tape shelf.

Go wipe your ass with your friend's Enslaved LPs and throw Pendulum's Hecate Demo on the stereo.

HERE

*Obviously the picture has nothing to do with Pendulum, but just in case you didn't hate people enough...

Leprocy - Brutal Occupation / Phase II Demos

Ton histoire est une épopée des plus brillants exploits.

Montreal is a quirky city and the metal it has shat is no different. Leprocy is a prime example of the city's late 80s thrash scene. The riffs are sharp, and are quick to induce rapid headbanging. This is not dull generic thrash for one very important reason...the French-Canadian element. Something about their sense of structure and awkward melody is consistently intriguing. The band only released three demos, two of which I have for you here.

So mourn the loss of the Expos and blast some Leprocy...

Brutal Occupation Demo from 1988 - HERE

Phase II Demo from 1990 - HERE

Dubious Dublin - Killer Watt EP / Trojan LP

Sons of the Gael, men of the pale!

Killer Watt were a midpaced kinda-thrash band that released one demo in 1986. This is it. They wrote a song about Nightmare On Elm Street Part 2. So yeah...you need this. Also, tell me that the intro to "All Hell Breaks Loose" doesn't sound exactly like Megadeth's "Devil's Island".

Now this next Irish band, Trojan, are fucking awesome. Listen to this shit! The music is catchy 80s hard rock/metal, but it's the vocals that really hook you. An Irishman with two first names, Eddy Kenny, is the guilty party. He's one of those strange singers that make you laugh at first, but then it clicks. Unfortunately this isn't my rip, and the high end is a little distorted. Hopefully I'll have some time to rip my copy, but until then...

Throw back a couple of pints and enjoy.

Killer Watt's Death EP - HERE

Trojan's The March Is On - HERE

Juggernaut (TX) - Demos I & II / Baptism Under Fire LP

Admit it, people from Texas are just weird. I had this roommate one time, who was from Texas. We used to drink whiskey out of coffee mugs, ride stolen street signs down flights of stairs, and set abandoned furniture on fire. Can you imagine what our theme song was? Nope, it was "Burn Tonight" by a band from San Antonio, aptly named Juggernaut. Yes, dorkface, they're linked to SA Slayer.

I'll take Lone Star Metal for $400, Trebek. Juggernaut is one of drummer extraordinaire Bobby Jarzombek's early bands. Also, vocalist Harlan Glenn, is somewhat of a historical military guru. I happen to have a copy of this book he penned about old WW2 British airborne uniforms. He also worked extensively with the legendary R. Lee Ermy (insert one-liner from Full Metal Jacket here) on several television shows.

See...Texans are weird, man.

1984 Demo I - HERE

1984 Demo II - HERE

Baptized Under Fire - HERE

Doomwatch - Demos / Rehearsal / Live / LP

What? You're from western Pennsylvania? Pittsburgh you say? I'm sorry.

Unless you were in Doomwatch. Not only did they have a cool name and a classy logo, they forged some of the most pure punk thrash steel ever to hit the head of my tape deck. This is the kind of stuff that makes you want to dropkick an owl. Gimme that tootsie pop, bitch!

A Symphony of Decadence is an underground classic. No home should be without it. You have a disaster kit right?

Bottled water...check.
Flashlight...check.
Matches...check.
Emergency thrashing...CHECK!

I've included The Final Demo, which is really just a comp of all the bands demos. Easy eh? I've also thrown in a rehearsal from 1986, which is a pretty worthwhile document...BUT...the real gem here is the live show from '86 recorded at the City Limits, a bingo hall located in Penn Hills outside of Pittsburgh. Probably the best recording the band ever did...

Relax, have a Jolt cola.

The Final Demo - HERE

Rehearsal 5/27/86 - HERE

Live at City Limits 6/09/86 - HERE

A Symphony of Decadence - HERE

Poison (Germany) - Demos (All of 'em!)

What's more metal than doing the dishes while your ancient cassette stereo blasts rotting demo tapes from decades past? Fuck you!

Germany is pretty synonymous with thrash...even going so far as to having their own house blend. You KNOW that shit is a dark roast too. Of all the kvlt teutonic thrash bands, Poison is probably the dirtiest. I mean it. These blackened deutsches were the filthiest kids in kindergarten. What was that kid that was friends with Charlie Brown? The one with the dirt cloud following him everywhere? Yeah.

So here is a whole panzer full of old thrash demo goodness. Yep...all their demos. Well, that's a lie. There is another live demo from '87 that has alluded me, but hey...dig in.

Sons of Evil Demo 1984 - HERE

Live Terror Demo 1985 - HERE

Bestial Death Demo 1985 - HERE

Awakening of the Dead 1986 - HERE

Rehearsal Demos March & December 1986 - HERE

Into the Abyss Demo 1987 - HERE

MX - Demos / Simoniacal

Did you know that McDonald's in Brazil has a burger called the McCheddar? It's basically a cheeseburger with runny cheese sauce all over it.

If that doesn't make you want to blow bile out your nose, this will! Brazilian thrash vomit!

I love me some southern hemispheric speed freaks, and MX might very well be my favorite. The riffs are quick to sacrifice all the virgins within a three mile radius, but the real highlight are the vocals. Dude sounds like he gargles every morning with a freshly cultured dose of the bubonic plague.

I present to you the band's first two demos...1986's The Carrion of Religion and 1987's Fighting for the Bastards. As well as a dirty copy of the first official LP, Simoniacal from 1988.

All three of these releases sound like they were recorded in one of Sao Paulo's shantytown shacks, so get ready have your eardrums mutilated.

The Carrion of Religion - HERE

Fighting for the Bastards - HERE

Simoniacal - HERE

Gutted - Demo and LP

Is plain old death metal back in style yet?

I grew up in the southeastern portion of the United States. In turn, I was nursed on death metal. Uncle Glenn Benton used to take me squirrel hunting.

I'll always have a soft spot for lumbering midpaced redneck death metal. The brothers Ditch had this shit down with their band Gutted. The Bleed for Us to Live record was always a staple at metal BBQs back in the day. I think it was rereleased not too long ago, but it's still hard to find...so here ya go.

I've also included their 1992 demo, Into the Gates of Insanity. This tape has some killer clipped out distorted death metal.

So get yourself a glass of grandma's sweet tea and kick a corpse.

Into the Gates of Insanity Demo - HERE

Bleed for Us to Live - HERE

Thy Catafalque - Cor Cordium Demo

The experimental black metal tag can be a giant red flag that screams "I make shitty music in my mom's basement!" So it is always good to take these things with a grain of salt...or sometimes a whole ocean of salt.

Thy Catafalque have been around for over 10 years now, so I suppose they have a bit of underground cred. They're a couple of moody Hungarians that go in and out of cold black metal and weird soundscapes. Unfortunately what I have for you here is not their strongest effort. Truth be told, this might be my least favorite Thy Catafalque release. I'm posting Cor Cordium because it's their demo from 1998 and it is a little harder to find than the other stuff.

Not as black as the coffee that sits in front of me, but...

HERE

Deathwish - Sword of Justice Demo

Updating blogs whilst hungover is lame. Ya know what else is lame? Deathwish's lyrics. At least their music is cool.

I like this demo. The guitars are pretty damn heavy for 1986 and the vocals reek of british dental work. The singer, Jon Van Doom (yes), goes from drunken Paul DiAnno to falsetto shrieks without being annoying.

Cool band.

HERE

Antaeus - Supremacist Dawn Demo

Cut your flesh and worship satan. This tape is muffled, raw, and French. Don't get me wrong, I like Antaeus a lot, but I always imagine them in corpse paint with little black berets. Black metal mimes! Only these guys make quite a bit of noise.

This is their first demo, Supremacist Dawn. The drums are buried so deep they need a tombstone in order to be located. The vocals sound like this dream I have, where I choke the life out of the raccoon that digs into my trash cans at night. Ghhhhrraaahrreeeeraaaaghrrrraarffgh...

I've also thrown in their 1995 rehearsal tape entitled Y.A.T.B.O.T.M.. Listen to that atrocious drumming! Trve.

HERE

Demo Bringer - Order From Chaos Demos

Upon hearing P. Helmkamp's new band, Kerasphorus, I was inspired to dig up an old Order From Chaos demo I have called Crushed Infamy. That sick piece of magnetic tape nearly killed me. The riffs contained therein unleashed an unholy assault on my conformist reality.

With the help of a friend, I was able to track down the first two demos from 1988, Demo 1 and Inhumanities. While raw as fuck, the intensity on these tapes is frightening. That's why I've uploaded them for you here...to fucking scare you! This is metal at its most furious. No gay cabaret glossy production and no mickey mouse breakdowns. This is the sound of a mortar round going off in your brain.

This is pretty much everything the band released up until the official Will to Power EP. So...to complete this collection, there is also a bootleg rehearsal from 1988 that is honestly pretty damn good. The date is listed as December 25th, 1988. Nice.

Demo 1 / Inhumanities / Crushed Infamy - HERE

Rehearsal 12/25/88 - HERE

W.A.S.P. - We Are So Punk! (Demos)

Not really. WASP was never punk nor were they true metal. They were, however, a fucking kickass rock band. Nevermind how douchy Blackie Lawless can be or how silly the band got in later incarnations. The first album and the demos leading up to it are still completely relevant to landing elbow-drops on small children. So wipe that spunk off your hands and get ready to download these rarities.

The first demo is the "Face the Attack" tape from 1982. There are apparently 3 tracks missing, all of which were from sessions for a different band, Circus Circus, that never got off the ground. I've only heard these in an extremely degraded version that was barely audible. Maybe they'll pop up one day. Check out the slick Rik Fox (of Steeler fame) artwork. Wonder if he had the 64 pack of crayons...you know the one with the sharpener on the back.

Demo number two is a collection of demos that sound like they were done around the same time of the "Animal (Fuck Like a Beast)" single. They're probably from the same sessions. The production on these is pretty good...almost as good as the finished record that came out the following year.

I've also thrown in an old Sister demo featuring 'ole Wackie Walrus in his pre-W.A.S.P. band. It's actually a pretty good song, entitled "I Don't Know What I Am". Pay attention to the last section where you get a hint of the Crimson Idol record that Blackie would record a decade later.

HERE