Toxic - Rise of Soldiers [1987]

 

Not much info can be found about Toxic out of Newberg, but it appears they were friends and played shows with Vengentz out of the same area. Seven tracks total of hard rock/heavy metal here on this tape from 1987 with a few chunky riffs and the occasional twin guitar harmonies to keep things interesting. 

Toxic - Rise of Soldiers

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Nero's Rome - Labor [1989]

 

A bit of a departure for this blog, but I had a request recently to convert this cassette to digital, so here we are. Nero's Rome picked up some steam in the early 90s with a sound reminiscent of perhaps Mudhoney, but this earlier release has much more of an INXS vibe. A quick Google search will lead you to YouTube videos of their later releases, and brief breakdowns of the band history, including a later period with Thee Slayer Hippy on drums.

Nero's Rome - Labor

[self-released - 1989]

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Sputnik / JonnyX And The Groadies split 7" [unreleased / 1996]

I'm not sure how many copies of this unreleased 7" were actually pressed, or how many found their way out into the wild over the years, but I've managed to acquire two copies over time. One of them actually has the JonnyX And The Grodies song titles written on the dust sleeve, so I did my best to decipher the chicken scratches.

Sputnik & JonnyX And The Groadies

[split 7" / unreleased]

Download

https://www.mediafire.com/file/wlsyqpwy5ys75vb/Sputnik_%26_JonnyX_And_The_Groadies_split_7.zip/file https://www.mediafire.com/file/wlsyqpwy5ys75vb/Sputnik_%26_JonnyX_And_The_Groadies_split_7.zip/file

https://www.mediafire.com/file/wlsyqpwy5ys75vb/Sputnik_%26_JonnyX_And_The_Groadies_split_7.zip/file

Stormtrooper - s/t cassette [1986]

I've been on the hunt for this self titled cassette from Stormtrooper for many years, and I'm STILL on the hunt for it. James Beach was kind enough to let me transfer his copy.

If you have a copy you'd be into letting go of, please get in touch. And in general, if you have demos/tapes/records/zines you'd like to donate or sell, please email me at pdxunderground43@gmail.com

Now onto the tape itself. For those unfamiliar, Stormtrooper straddled a nice line between straight up heavy metal and thrash metal. If they had managed to do some more studio recordings after this one, I think they would have been really stellar.

 

Stormtrooper - self titled 

[1986 cassette]

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The Clever Cadavers - Booze, Broads & Hot Rods [Demo 1991]

Here's a hot dose of cow punk thrashabilly out of 1991 from members of Bludgeon, Fantasmagoria, The Creeps, The Delinquents, Bomb Squad and a bunch more. 

The Clever Cadavers - Booze, Broads & Hot Rods

[Demo 1991]

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Dead Conspiracy - Demo 1987 [instrumental rough mix]

A friend recently gave me most of his old stockpile of cassettes, and amidst the mix tapes, my interest piqued when I saw "Dead Conspiracy - demo rough mix". When I queued the tape up, what I found was a primarily instrumental rough mix of the 1987 demo, but if you listen closely, you can hear a vocal track buried in the mix. Give it a listen to hear how this legendary demo took shape.

Dead Conspiracy - Demo 1987
[Instrumental Rough Mixes]
Download

Savior - Bleeding At The Heart [demo 1993]

Yet another in the now long line of Savior releases here on the blog.This cassette was released via Rainforest Records out of Wilsonville (later based in Portland) in 1993. All six of these tracks would later be re-recorded and released on Savior's proper full length cassette from 1995, Exploitation.

In the liner notes, you may notice that three Dickfinger song titles are listed at the end of the Savior tracks, but they are not actually on this cassette. Those three tracks were released on the split 7" with Naked Violence that also came out on Rainforest Records.

This makes four Savior recordings available here, and there are three more that I'm on the hunt for physical copies of:

Requiem For The Dead [demo 1987]

Contempt Of Life [demo 1988]

Twist Of Fate [demo 1989]

If you have any of these, please get in touch!

Savior - Bleeding At The Heart 

[demo 1993 - Rainforest Records]

Download

Necromantic Press - Issue #2

Here's the follow up and final issue of Necromantic Press zine from the brains of Dead Conspiracy's Eric and Mark. This time featuring cover art by Mike Teal. Full PDF download below.

Download

Necromantic Press - Issue #1

Necromantic Press zine was the brief brainchild of Eric and Mark from Dead Conspiracy that clocked in at two issues. With interviews, demo reviews, scene news and more, below is a full PDF download of issue #1.

Download

Berzerk - Demo 1996

Berzerk spent a good amount of the mid - late 90s and into the very early 2000s their brand of Southeast Portland hardcore punk throughout the city. It wasn't unusual to catch them playing with fellow locals like National Guard and Sputnik to national acts like FYP and AFI. 

Over the years, they released a handful of records on Recess Records, but this 1996 demo tape is where it all began before they became Recess darlings. Three of these eleven tracks would be re-recorded for the debut 7" a year later.

Berzerk - Demo 1996

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Vyper - Demo [1988]

I was just clued into Vyper very recently, and this 1988 demo tape graciously fell into my lap today.

This demo finds Vyper playing some traditional heavy metal, as elements of NWOBHM influence sound rather evident. With four tracks (one of which feels more like an interlude), I find myself wishing there were more songs or even another release from the band.

Just a year after this demo, Greg Eisenach (guitar/vocals) and Ryan Dyson (drums) were cranking out a much thrashier sound with the band, Roadkill. 

Vyper - Demo

[1988]

https://www.mediafire.com/?9nnqjq2i79m45r4

Wreck Creation - Steal This Tape! [demo 1991]

Wreck Creation existed from 1990 - 1996, and played what most would describe as thrash/crossover. The band carried members of Wehrmacht, Speed Weenie and Bodybag throughout their time together. 

Steal This Tape! is their first demo from 1991 and contains four tracks clocking in at just over 15 minutes. They went on to release another cassette, a split 7" with 90 proof and finished with a self titled cd in 1995.

Wreck Creation - Steal This Tape!

[demo 1991]

https://www.mediafire.com/?ce1bpltecw2ja4t

Glacier interview from Powerline #1 [1985]

Here's a short Glacier interview from the first issue of Powerline in 1985, which was just shortly after the self titled EP had been released on Axe Killer Records.

National Guard - Unreleased LP [1996]

National Guard's last hurrah came in the form of an unreleased LP in mid 1996.  Intended to come out on a record label that was to be run by Billy Galaxy, the full recording never ended up seeing the light of day.  As things fell through with the CD, the band was also beginning to go through some changes, and with some personnel changes, National Guard ceased to exist by the end of the year.

Recorded at Anonymous Noise in May of 1996 with Karl Brummers, who also engineered recordings by the likes of The Weaklings, Atomic 61, The Automatics and Everclear, there were 21 tracks in total.  Two of those tracks (US Upset and No Way) did get released on the One Big Happy Slam Pit compilation CD.

So here it is, in its full form, the unreleased National Guard LP at 320k and remastered from the master DAT tape.

National Guard - Unreleased LP

[1996]

https://www.mediafire.com/?3u85gk9j1nup94x

Sweaty Nipples - What's Your Funktion? [demo 1989]

As of a few days ago, it has now been 25 years since Sweaty Nipples recorded their What's Your Funktion? demo tape.  Many people called them funk-metal or funk-punk, but I think a big part of the fun with a band like Sweaty Nipples was that they didn't really fit into any sort of a box.  They were able to crossover with lots of people that were into varied sounds, and that's a big part of what made their shows at La Luna in the early 90s so much fun.

Of course, they would later go on to release records through Media Blitz, Tim/Kerr, Megaforce and Element, but this is where they started.

Sweaty Nipples - What's Your Funktion?

[demo 1989]

http://www.mediafire.com/?fdkt16bntkhpfgc

The S.L.A. - Evil Empire [1985]

I had been holding off on posting this one for a little while, because my copy of the S.L.A. - Evil Empire LP didn't have any of the inserts, but just this week, I found another copy with the insert packet still sealed and I consulted some people about the history of the band, so here we are.

The S.L.A. were a somewhat short lived hardcore punk band (1984 - 1986) that was started by Derby O'Donnell on guitar, and Laura O'Donnell on bass who were married.  They were a heavily political band, which of course riled up a certain cross section of individuals, and it's those white power skinheads that did their best to ruin virtually any show that The S.L.A. played.  Eventually, this all led to the break up of the band.

Tracks 1 - 11 were engineered by Greg Sage in December of 1984, while tracks 12 - 15 were engineered by John Lindhal in Marck of 1985.  The last two tracks on the album are live covers that were recorded by Greg Sage and Tom Robinson at Satyricon on 12/8/84.  A couple of the tracks from this album later ended up on compilations, like the Northwest Hardcore tape, and the City Of Thorns LP on Mystic Records.  I've yet to see any evidence of another recording existing from The S.L.A., whether it be a demo, 7" or any other format.

I'm not sure what all the members were up to after The S.L.A., but I've been told that Laura became a professional harp player.  Singer, Peter Nelson, went on to become the singer of Mule / Apt. 3G.  A bass player that had succeeded Laura, by the name of John Bender, would leave the band in '86 to start up Dead Conspiracy as a punk band, but we all know what path they would take a mere year later, as Dead Conspiracy soon became underground progenitors of the death metal scene.

The S.L.A. - Evil Empire

[Eat Me Records - 1985]

https://www.mediafire.com/?9r5y8wfn1y3uhck

Glacier - Rehearsals [1983 - 1985]

Glacier existed in a few different forms between the years of 1979 and roughly 1989, and played some pretty killer heavy/power metal.  If you want to dig deeper into their history, you can read all about it on this site that is a mirror of a Geocities page while they were planning a reunion around 2002.

The era that they are most widely known for is during the time that they recorded a s/t EP in 1985 that was released on French label, Axe Killer Records.  The vinyl is still highly sought after by collectors.  It's from this same era of the band that I have various rehearsal recordings.  I did some remastering work on these, and they sound pretty good given that they are 30 year old practice space recordings.

Two rehearsals are primarily instrumental, and the others have vocals.  You'll get to hear some early practice versions of songs that made it onto the s/t EP, and even some tracks that never got recorded in a studio.

Let's take this in chronological order:

Glacier - Rehearsal 12/26/83

https://www.mediafire.com/?a3xvfk3vcql6si2

Glacier - Rehearsal 1/8/84

https://www.mediafire.com/?vvppf42eoonuo63

Glacier - Babyland Rehearsal 6/85

https://www.mediafire.com/?c1i8zlq2c1arqlu

Glacier - Rehearsals 9/21 & 9/21/85

https://www.mediafire.com/?r3jaykb66yypdh7

 Glacier - Give It Up 12/85

https://www.mediafire.com/?lq1zvmlsdpimy36

This one especially rules, because it's just Tim and Pat doing a KISS parody.

On a final note, if anyone out there has the Ready For Battle demo from 1984, or any of the recordings that pre-date it, please get in touch!  pdxunderground43@gmail.com

Savior - Brutal Tradition [1992 demo]

Brutal Tradition, the 1992 demo from Savior, is the third release out of seven to be converted and featured on this site.  I'm still vigilantly on the hunt for the other four releases: Requiem For The Dead [1987], Contempt Of Life [1988], Twist Of Fate [1989] and Bleeding At The Heart [1993].  If you have any of those tapes, please get in touch via email - pdxunderground43@gmail.com

 Now onto the release itself.  This demo continues where The Face Of Adversity left off two years earlier, as you can hear the death metal influence occupying a slightly larger focus of the sound.  The result is six tracks that showcase a great mix of early 90s death/thrash.  

There are also two versions of the Brutal Tradition demo.  One produced locally by the band, and the version I have, which came out on Asta Records in Poland.  The songs are all the same, and there are only minor changes in font choice with the layout.

Savior - Brutal Tradition

[1992 demo]

https://www.mediafire.com/?m8thr14x5wja3a5

National Guard - Green Berets [demo 1995]

National Guard's second demo, which was also released in 1995.  Twelve tracks that showed a more powerful and slightly faster sound than the previous demo from earlier in the year.

Remastered from the master DAT tape.

National Guard - Green Berets: War Heros, Hard Asses

[demo 1995]

https://www.mediafire.com/?as9gma6aaba6cu9

Demise - Full Discography

 

I was recently able to get my hands on three master DAT tapes of Demise.  After converting them, I spent some time doing some remasters, and given the source, I think these will be the best sounding Demise recordings out there.  The master for the very first demo only exists on a 2" reel, so that's the only one that is still converted from a standard cassette tape.  That being said, here's the full discography for Demise [1989 - 1994]

 

 Demise - Endless Torment

[demo 1989]

 https://www.mediafire.com/?tz3kaj2842703a0

 

 

 Demise - Inevitable Exit

[demo 1990]

https://www.mediafire.com/?76rtdk3sa3vcddc

 

 

 Demise - Devious Deception 7"

[Listenable Records - 1992]

 https://www.mediafire.com/?ms4i5kipsfeq5kd

Unfortunately, I've yet to come across a physical copy of Sadistic Summoning, so I had to roll with the only picture I have.  If someone out there has a copy, please get in touch.

Demise - Sadistic Summoning

[demo 1994]

https://www.mediafire.com/?cam0mzk28q6ua0u