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

Caustic - EP / Malicious

The usual insipid banter has been removed due to budget cuts.

Caustic EP - HERE

Malicious - 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

Ruthless - Recordings from Ruthie's Inn

Unfortunately, I can't claim to have memories of Ruthie's Inn...arguably one of the most important punk/metal venues of a generation. Upon my relocation to Oakland a year ago, I wasted no time visiting the breeding grounds of all the bands I grew up listening to. Ruthie's was top priority. Though it hadn't been "Ruthie's Inn" in some time, the building gave me chills just standing next to it.

I read today that the building was being completely renovated...even the famous stage being removed, piece by piece. So as a little tribute, I decided to throw up a bunch of recordings that took place at Ruthie's during the mid-80s. All of this stuff is live except for the second disc of The Eastern Front 3 comp. That side is a collection of demos from various bands that were involved in the scene at the time (Sacrilege, Legacy. Heathen, etc.) Some real gems in there. During the Cro-Mag's show, they actually poke fun at the Eastern Front comps.

Eastern Front 3 Comp (Disc 1) - HERE

Eastern Front 3 Comp (Disc 2) - HERE

Hirax 3/22/1985 - HERE

Cro-Mags in 1986 - HERE

Verbal Abuse - 4/04/1986 - HERE

H Bomb - Coup de Metal / Sortilege - s/t EP

If you're into underground metal from the 80s, you're familiar with these french fries. So here's an old review from December 1983's Headbanger zine...

Being a connoisseur of French HM, I found both of these EPs to show a great degree of excellence. Although the French display the most unique and original style of HM, they all tend to sound somewhat similar. But as far as musicianship goes, the French offer some of the most talented bands (Voie de Fait, Ocean, Warning, Trust, Satan Jokers...) with the finest vocalists in HM (excluding Vulcain and Century). Both of these records are released on the Dutch HM label Rave-On (the label that brought you the first Mercyful Fate EP) and both are sung in French.

H-Bomb's debut 6-song EP, Coup de Metal, displays a pure and speedy brand of HM. H-Bomb's drummer, Gerard Michel, is awesome. His double bass playing in tracks such as "H-Bomb" and "Chasseur de Frime" is unreal! The self-titled Sortilege EP tends to be a bit more melodic in comparison yet it is still very powerful. Songs such as "Amazone", "Progenture", and "Sortilege" proves that Sortilege are a very professional band who show great song-writing ability.

A gushing review no doubt, but I must say these records do stand up pretty well...even twenty-six years later. Get your French metal groove on.

Thanks to Bob Nalbandian for the Headbanger review. Cheers Bob!

Coup de Metal - HERE

Sortilege EP - 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