Paragon - Heed The Prophecy 1989

Paragon hailed form Ohio and play pretty straight forward power metal. The first song has a nice pace to it , but overall I found this tape to be a bit mundane, it just lacks that spark or energy that would push the songs over the top. If they had just let loose a little bit and came with some more aggression I think this tape would have been much more enjoyable for me, but what do I know, listen for yourself...Dave G. 

Heed The Prophecy 
My Final Warning 
Under Seige
Witch Hunt 

Violent Wisdom - Demo 1991

Another new find. Violent Wisdom initially existed from 1990 - 1992.  Musically they play a heavy thrash style bordering on Death Metal...Dave G.

Desolation Solitude
World of Hate
The Price on Insanity
Time to Die

Darkness - Shadow of Insanity demo tape 1992

Here's a tape that I picked up at the flea market this past weekend. I found a listing for Darkness on Encyclopedia Metallum but it incorrectly notes that they are from New York and it contains pretty much no information about the band. The band actually hailed from New Jersey.

This demo is very well produced. The bass is thick and heavy and the riffs are solid. I think they may have a bit of  a Metallica or early Meshuggah thing going on.  Anyway, not bad for a fairly obscure band whose tape I found at a flea market 25 years after it was released...Dave G. 

Last Breath
Unholy Sin
Killer 

Smut - Middletown NY 1985

Smut were a ripping thrash band from upstate Middletown NY who formed out of the ashes of Black Witch who hailed from Chester NY. Smut recorded a full length Lp in 1985 that apparently never got properly  mastered, but honestly who gives a shit because the 5 songs that the band have made available for our listening pleasure contain the perfect mixture of filthy nasty thrash metal  that you just can't find on most of the generic overly produced metal acts of today.

I guess what I am trying to say is go to the bands ReverbNation page, give their songs a listen and spread the word about one of NY's best keep metal secrets from the mid 1980's...Dave G.  

Smut

Steele - demo tape 1984

I started to snoop around the net to get some info about Steele and I have noticed that there seems to be some confusion about their 1983 demo and 1984 demo. I have found a few pages with the 1983 demo image listed as the 1984 demo but could not find a single image of the actual 1984 demo online so I figured I would post the demo cover to help archive this fine demo tape.

Musically, Steele play power metal not thrash metal, and they were damn good at it...Dave G.

Steele

Phantasm - Demo 87

I just pulled this demo out of the old demo box for the first time in 25 years, and  I'll be damned if I didn't enjoy listening to this sucker.

As most of you already know Gene Hoglan (Dark Angel etc) played drums and  Katon W. De Pena of Hirax fame sang for Phantasm, and I have to say that Katon  delivers all the vocal acrobatics you would expect and then some. The riffs are sharp, drums are pounding...hell they even throw in  a cover of SSD's Glue....Fun tape to listen to again after all these years...Dave G.

PS: When I got the tape it came without a cover, but the band gave me a bio and a separate lyric sheet.   

 Phantasm

Gargoyle - Violence Is Golden - demo tape 1986

Gargoyle hailed from Elizabeth NJ and released this killer thrash demo in 1986. There is some serious Slayer worship going on on this tape. I also here similarities to fellow NJ thrashers Fantom Warrior mixed in as well.

I do not see any full scans of the demo tape cover on the net so figured I would add a full scan...Dave G. 

Gargoyle

Torture - Enter The Chamber - demo tape 1986

Interesting demo that I can't find much of anything about online except that the band hailed from El Paso TX.

Musically I would compare Torture to Venom, however the riffing on this tape reminds me of the Black Metal band Horna which is odd considering this demo pre-dates Horna by 7 years The music on this demo is by no means Black Metal, but nice thick mid tempo power metal with vocals that sound like growling from a deep dark cave.

If anyone has any information about this band please leave the details in the comment section...Dave G.

enter the chamber
into the darkness
power metal
the vision

Executioner - Metal Up Your Ass 1985

Pre-Obituary from Florida circa 1985. A friend of mine manged to scored two copies of the 7" from one of the band members and he was kind enough to pass one of those copies on to me. There are a few bootlegs of this single floating around but originals are hard to come by, I'm happy to have this one in my collection, it's a great early power / death metal record from a place that would become a hotbed for such things...Dave G.

Metal Up Your Ass
Syco-Pathic Mind 

Macabre - Be Forewarned / Lazy Lady 1972

Macabre (Pre-Pentagram) single from 1972. Initial 500 pressed have the band name spelled incorrectly as Macbre . This is the second edition of 500 from 1972 with the name corrected on the label. I was shocked to find this sitting in a buddy's 7" box at a record show a few weeks back. We did a quick trade and now it's mine. Very please to have this one in my collection for sure. HURRICANE  is the only Pentagram single that is missing from my collection at this point, I'll find one, one of these days, maybe ... Dave G.

Be Forewarned 
Lazy Lady

Jonas Grumby - Cry of The Ripper / Short Engagements 7" 1985 - Private metal

Here's a kick ass power metal 7" straight outta Ohio circa 1985. This one is really solid, both tracks are really good, which is a bit of a rarity when it comes to private metal 7"s. If you see this one I'd highly recommend grabbing it, any true metal head will not be disappointed...Dave G.

Cry Of The Ripper
Short Engagements

Shell Shock 7" Louisiana 1981

Shell Shock formed in 1979 and released this ripping 7" in 1981. I definitely hear a west coast sound, especially Black Flag in Shell Shock's sound, but I still dig it. Overall this is a nice slice of punk rock history that you should be able to find for 60 bucks or less which is a bargain in this day and age of $1,000 + punk rock singles...Dave G.

Your Way
My Brain Is Jelly 
Execution Time  

Knightmare - 7" 1989

Knightmare / MA / 1989 - This 7" is far superior to the demo I posted a couple days ago.  In some respects  Knightmare reminds me a bit of one of my favorite old school metal bands Medieval, both play mostly mid tempo songs that combine rock and metal with an underlying punk rock feel IMO. Anyway, this 7" and their Lp "Mindless Mayhem" are definitely worth grabbing if you should come across them...Dave G.

1) Darkness
2) Begin Again