Sunday, December 27, 2009

Lethal Injection 1st demo


    To keep from seeming like a blog dedicated to Fuck Shit Piss I feel compelled to post this the Lethal Injection demo from 1987.

    I saw Lethal a few times during the late 80's and always liked em.  They were a great hardcore band with slight metal leanings.  They put a lot more metal into their sound as they progressed over time and would later claim full allegiance to death metal at the start of the 90's which was a mixed blessing.  They were still really kick ass and tight even when they became full blown metal heads.  The only person I could name from this band is the singer Paco who always seemed like a real stand up guy.  If you know the names of the other guys on this recording please tell me so I can add it here.


    I was present at what I think was their debut show which was Burgiefest in 1987 out on Losee Road back when that was 10 miles outside of town.  This was before the Tubes became known as a "venue."  I think it was also Substance D's first show.  A serious rager.  I was there when the El Camino pulled into the pit filled with Burgie Beer.  


   I only saw them play once or twice in the early 90's.  At that time they were total Death Metal.  I always preferred the hardcore sound but who can blame em for heading to the dark side?  Death metal seems like a natural progression for these guys anyway.  Hardcore was pretty much dead by the early 90's and somehow that guy Mitch from Righteous Pigs jump started a career in metal by hooking up with Mick from Napalm Death around that time.  

    I never had their demo back then but listening to it now I wonder how I could have missed this?  Pure LVHC.  Just enough guitar squaks and bursts of solos to still get away with being labeled hardcore.    
    
    Las Vegas Hardcore was definitely it's own style and very  few records were put out back then.  Demo tapes were the order of the day.  Some will argue that hardcore is hardcore and it all sounds the same but it's hard to miss the unique sounds at play here.  It has a lot of the trappings of hardcore but there are some surprises that make this demo  memorable.  This would have made a damn fine 7" record but at least we got this as a document.  Recommended for those who like Cryptic Slaughter, Wehrmacht, Attitude Adjustment or that similar kickass crossover hardcore sound.   

    I got no pictures of the demo cover and no pictures of Lethal playing live.  The above flyer is from my collection and it's a good example of the mentality you're dealing with from Lethal.  Hey it ain't rocket science.  I guess they're still around?  If you're curious you can learn more here.  I heard they're still around playing gigs.  Fucking awesome.

Thanks to Jeff Murphy from Sausage Hostages for sending me this demo.


Lethal Injection 1st demo download below

8 comments:

  1. Lethal Injection! I saw them several times in the 90's & never got a chance to hear these songs! Still have a copy of the 7" though... Area 51 I wish I had a digital copy of their Just Say Fuck demo tape!

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  2. The other members are Jim Winters on guitar and Greg Falzone on drums The picture above with Paco on bass and Jims back turned I took along with a bunch more as I am a friend of theirs and was taking pics for them at their gigs The Played last nite at Yayo's Tacos and freaking killed it playing all of their old stuff It was awesome!!!

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  3. Fuck yeah Lethal Injection lives! Hope I get to see them next time I'm in Vegas. One of the best hardcore bands Vegas ever produced.

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  4. Actually Chad these songs were from the 2nd demo...penetrate the skin. rec. in 88. They put out their 1st demo...if it happens. in 87.

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  5. I got this from Jeff Murphy and he said it was their first demo so I have no way of knowing. I never even heard it until he sent it to me.

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    1. I lived close to these guys and used to ask them stupid questions and make them play the older hardcore stuff at practice...I never liked much death metal. Single bass drums only! Three funny ass good natured kick ass type people.

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  6. Thanks for this, man. I heard their name floating around for many years, but never managed to find out anything else... Til now!!! Good speedcore/crossover befitting its times. I'd say that they were more in the vein of bands like early Desecration (AZ) or False Liberty, but with a better sound and a bit more musical skills.

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  7. They are still kicking ass! They even played the Building Temples From Death Fest last year in Houston, TX.

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