Sunday, November 14, 2010

Sample Review: Aftermath

Just to give a taste of what the reviews in DemoLition will look like, here's a peak at the entry for Aftermath (one of five included bands with that name). Keep in mind that this is a rough draft and can change before publication.


Aftermath (Chicago, IL)
• Demo #1 (1986, aka Sentenced to Death): Sentenced to Death / Revenge / Shotgun / The Aftermath
Charlie Tsiolis (v), Steve Sacco (g), Adam (b), Ray Schmidt (d)
• Killing the Future (June, 1987): When Will You Die / Going No Place / Chaos / Meltdown / War for Freedom
Charlie Tsiolis (v), Steve Sacco (g), Adam (b), Ray Schmidt (d)
• Words That Echo Fear (1989): Words That Echo Fear / A Temptation to Overthrow / Being / Experience
Charlie Tsiolis (v), Steve Sacco (g), John Lovette (g), Dan Vega (b), Ray Schmidt (d)
This well-known band came into being in October, 1986 with Tsiolis, Sacco, and Schmidt, adding Adam (last name unknown) on bass a few months later. Their first demo has a speed/thrash metal sound with vocals typical of the milieu. The songs are frantic, with lots of changes; their theme song is an instrumental that sounds almost like first-album Die Kreuzen. Killing the Future found them evolving into a crossover style that's really more hardcore than metal, with punkier vocals, riffing, and song structures; there aren't many leads, though the songs have more parts to them, like metal. Virtually relentless, there are plenty of ultra-fast parts and some good drumming; a solid tape if you're into this sound, and nicely recorded at Solid Sound Studios. Adam was fired around June of 1988 for pushing an Anthrax "jams" image, and they added Lovette and Vega, going back to a thrash vibe for the their last demo, also well-recorded at Solid Sound. The songs use of a lot change-ups and jerky rhythms, but also add a sense of dynamics missing from the earlier tapes. Probably would appeal more to technical thrash heads. All three tapes received good zine reviews. Their sole LP was partially financed by Big Chief Records in 1991 but not released until 1994. Recording a final demo in 1996, they lost the rights to their name to Dr. Dre (!) before reconfiguring themselves into alt rockers Mother God Moviestar. Also appeared on the Scream Your Brains Out! comp (Chain Reaction, 1988).

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