Papsmear- Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas 86 Demo

        Keeping that same theme of stupid fucking band names, aside from Dwarf Bitch can you get any stupider than this?  Summer's Eve? Also pretty stupid.  Once again some good thrash from dudes who know don't know shit about P.R. or maybe they just don't give a shit.  I'm inclined to believe the latter.

        I was a stuck up punk rocker when these guys were at their peak and I specifically remember not liking these guys only because they weren't punk enough in my book.  They're blatant thrash metal.  I couldn't be bothered with that hesher shit.   I wasn't stoner.  I wasn't into breakdancing or hip hop.  I was into something all together different. That's what it is to be young.  And hip. 

        I was standing in front of the club Soundstage and someone had spray painted on the wall facing the club entrance "Papqueers Suck."  I thought that was really funny standing in line wearing my punk clothes with all these other punk nobodys.  Metal was for losers, I thought as I stood united with the "crew" none of whom I really knew.  We sure looked the part standing in line to go see TSOL on their "Revenge" tour!  If you've heard that album then you'd understand how funny that last sentence was.        

        Now that I'm an old man I gotta say Punk sucks.  Metal forever!  Hey now I'm an elitist guy for metal!  That's what it is to be an aging hipster.  Pretty ugly.  And so tonight this album fits my mood.   

        They were a good band.  Maybe they're still around?  You do the research.  I'm not sure if I like them as much as Pestilence but in some ways I like em more.  The reverb drenched 80's production is the best!  I love that shitty sound.  To me it's pure evil!  Drums were recorded in a pit in hell.  Even though Papsmear don't appear to be influenced by his Satanic majesty.  I don't have the lyrics but looking at the song titles you can tell it doesn't make a whole lot of difference.  

       They're definitely in the same league as other cool thrash metal from that era like Prime Evil, Whiplash, Pestilence, or At War. If you know of any other bands that are in this league post them in the comment section.  I'm only discovering all these bands retroactively since the internet got me hooked.

       I'm only including the first demo here because it's been re-released and if you want to hear more you should be a good citizen and buy the whole thing.  You know how these disclaimers go.  Thanks again to Jeff Murphy for hooking us up.  

Download Papsmear "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas 86 Demo"

Love the half shirt dude.

Exhibit A: The Party Vid w/ Dwarf Bitch & Catapult!

       This was a party at Jen/Kate/Andrea's house.  Later on Andrea moved out and Barb moved in.  Andrea had nipple rings.  I'm not sure if she still does but that's beside the point.

       Fun show.  This was among Dwarf Bitch's first few shows.  At the time Ron Constantine was the drummer.  Keep your eyes/ears peeled for the Iron Maiden cover towards the end of their set.  I always liked the three piece.  Nothing beats the power trio!  

        This party got out of hand but remained peaceable.  Hmmm.  Could it be because it was on the East Side?  I don't know I'm just saying.  Also playing this party was the band Catapult and some other band I don't remember.  After the cops came and the bands stopped there was a piñata filled with candy, stickers, and drugs busted open.  It was almost broken by Pesto the rockstar dog which you'll see in the vid.  That dog sure got around.  I was gonna say that bitch sure got around but I'm not trying to piss anyone off. 

         Speaking of pissing people off, I'm including a clip here that I didn't want to put on youtube because it shows the majority of the people at this party smoking reefer getting drunk and acting stupid.  In a good way.  Still, I never wanted to incriminate, or implicate people in the court of internet opinion.  You know what I'm saying.  I used to think this video would be of interest mainly to people who were there but it's entertaining in it's own right.  Good sample of what each band did live.  Much thanks once again to Greg Stokey for smoking so much weed.      

       Hey here's the video I made for Dwarf Bitch!



The song is a live version of "Stumble" my favorite song of theirs.  I probably should have used the studio track for the vid.  Didn't happen.  Instead you get this music video using audio from that practice.  Ain't it a hoot!  I've also included the full practice from which I culled the music vid.  Clever eh?  Well not really.  Let the music do the talkin. 

       Catapult was an awesome band.  This video helps to solidify their place in Las Vegas underground music history along with the two 7" records and at least 2 demo tapes.  A classic song starts the beginning of their set.    

      So yeah.  Party on.  If you were captured doing something stupid in this video and you don't want it to get out for fear of losing your government job as a dog catcher or whatever, please don't ask me to take it off.  Just don't tell anyone about this link.  And they'll never know.  Our secret.   

Catapult PART 1
Catapult PART 2 
Dwarf Bitch at the party
People being drunk


Dwarf Bitch Stumble Music Video
Dwarf Bitch Practice

SPAZZ live at Pabco Road, Las Vegas, Nevada May 1997 VIDEO

       The late 90's gave rise to a subgenre known as PowerViolence!   If you are familiar with that term then you know about SPAZZ.

       To me it's the only band under the PowerViolence banner worth listening to.  I'd describe the style as ridiculously fast hardcore bordering on grind but with more changes.  Grindcore seemed to overplay the novelty of blast beats.  With bands like Spazz they at least threw in an interesting variety of blast beats.  It's still punishing brutality but there are enough changes happening to keep it interesting.  


     Aside from that the standard elements are in place.  Barked, monotone vocals, tough guy pissed off kinda stuff with a hint of straight edge politics.  At least this is Wikipedia's definition.  A definition that sounds like shit.  And for good reason.  Many of these Power Violence bands were crap in my opinion.  Take Infest for example.  I never saw any pictures of Infest but for some reason I picture the singer as a fat guy.  According to legend Man Is the Bastard was the first band to coin the term PV.  Yet another reason to think the genre is crap.  But wasn't Inhumanity considered Power Violence?  How about Charles Bronson?  Palatka?  All good bands.  It's a fruitless endeavor to try and walk through the genre maze.  All I know is that first Spazz record La Revanche is unfucking believable!   
      

       SPAZZ is one of the few bands from that time period who still sound exciting to me.  We were super lucky to have them come through Las Vegas on their first (only?) US tour.  La Revanche in the pinnacle of what that genre could achieve in my book.  But they also put out more split 7" records than Jesus Christ.  Ridiculous speed and menacing power but also the funniest jokes and samples I've ever heard in relation to brutal extreme music.  

       They were among the few bands at the time who found the missing ingredient in the brutal music puzzle.  Humor.  Every band with an ounce of destructive elements in their sound were steadfast in their serious devotion to all things ugly: Satan, murder, gore, serial killers, beheadings, or in the case of PowerViolence bands politics or Veganism or y'know whatever, I could never find it in me to care honestly.   SPAZZ bypassed all that shit by writing songs about random shit grounded in reality and a love for brutal music with funny ass samples and interludes.  Not that I give a shit what SPAZZ had to say either.  Who cares what anyone is saying in extreme music?  I can't understand a goddamned word and I make up my own words anyway because in most cases I'm usually disappointed in what they're trying to say.  The fact that SPAZZ's music was so funny is what made them so great.  I've played it for people who don't care for loud music and they were entertained.  So that says something right?

       Even on my first listen of their LP "La Revanche" I thought it was as good as Carcass "Reek of Putrefaction."  That's how bowled over I was!  I still stand by that first impression.  Unrelenting!     

         Chris Dodge played bass.  An interesting guy, also a former member of STIKKY!  I think guitarist Dan Boleri went on to make hip hop.  Also very cool.  To me the drummer of SPAZZ was the centerpiece of the band and watching him is the most entertaining part of this video.  Back then he was known as Hirax Max Ward because of his love of the band HIRAX.  Bonus point for that.  The way he eviscerates those drums with such precision is mind blowing!  

  

        SPAZZ was one of the bands who were there to pick up the pieces from what was left over from the "hardcore" aesthetic.  It was speed, simplicity, and aggression, with a smiling face ready to pull the rug out from under the serious but laughable tone which had set up shop in this kind of music.  It was a real punk move but I wouldn't call it punk.  It's not as limiting as grindcore, and it has nothing to do with Death Metal.  It was SPAZZ.  And it was the most fun that could be heard in the late 90's underground.  So glad I got to experience them live.  And I'm glad you will be able to do the same now. 


Download this clip or watch it on youtube below.
   

SPAZZ Live Las Vegas, NV May 1997

Pestilence & Horde of Torment demos

       Pestilence was one of the few local bands from the 80's that seemed to make a big splash outside the Las Vegas valley.  I heard talk about their demo making the rounds in tape trading circles at that time and people were really psyched on them all over the world.  Yet again another band that put out a classic demo that never made it to vinyl, but I think this was later released on vinyl.

        Pestilence is such a generic name it was a little surprising that Pestilence would later change their name so as not to be confused with any other Pestilenceses in the world.  I'm sure by now there have been hundreds of bands named Pestilence maybe thousands.  In point of fact there was a band from Holland who had the same name and they later took up the mantle of the one and true Pestilence once this Pestilence relinquished the name.  I heard  the Holland guys and wasn't impressed.  This Pestilence will always be the true Pestilence in my book.  American Metal reigns supreme over those Euro trash posin dirtheads!  Anyway, they later became Horde of Torment.  Which again is a pretty stupid fucking name.   

         It's quality Thrash Metal.  And no, it's not Death Metal, it's not Speed Metal, and it's not Crossover Hardcore.  It's impossible to describe these guys without making mention of Metallica or Exodus maybe even Slayer but they don't have the same brutality that Slayer exhibited.  It's Thrash.  Well put together with lot's of heart.  Great guitar licks and the singer does a good job spouting aggression with a snarl that keeps this squarely in the metal militia.

         I never did see them play live but I was among the throngs who heard this demo and was surprised they were from Vegas.  They later moved to So Cal?

         Since I'm not too schooled on their story I did a search and found a great interview with Horde of Torment conducted by Laurent Ramadier from Snakepit magazine which is full of stories about desert shows they played and other experiences in Sin City.  The pics you see here were taken from that site.

         On a side note I have to say Snakepit magazine is probably the best metal magazine I've ever read.  This guy Laurent from France appears to be completely obsessed with the "TRUE" Metal scene in it's entirety.  I read a review he gave of the recently reissued Papsmear discography and he drops Vegas names like Lethal, Substance D, and 5150, as well as other bands I didn't even know existed like Voluntary Manslaughter and Fallacy.  Pretty cool to think there's a weirdo out there who will still document and celebrate scenes as obscure as those that have remained dormant for as long as these have.   I can only imagine how many hours a day this guy listens to Metal. 

         Listening today these tracks still got power.  I remember how we felt a bit let down by their sound when they changed their name to Horde of Torment.  I'm still feeling that way.  Horde of Torment was more traditional metal sounding with less of the kick in the balls thrash sound that Pestilence had.  It's still good just not as out of control which is what I look for in this style.       

        Thanks again to Jeff Murphy for sending these demos along.  A few live tracks are included with Pestilence thrashing it out at The Club which was located on Valley View and Charleston.


       I'm really bad with names but Jeff Murphy clued me in: Pestilence was: Kevin Leonard: Bass/Vocals, Ahrue Luster: guitar, Scott Savich: guitar, and Joey Capabianco on drums.  Horde of Torment had the same line up with Tim Montijo on drums instead of Capabianco.     

Download Pestilence/Horde of Torment Demos