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

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

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 

 

Resist - European Tour '92 video

I broke out this Resist - European Tour '92 video that I got at Locals Only around '94/'95, and ripped the VHS to digital for youtube.  Plenty of great footage from all over the map.

90 Proof - Demo 1990

In honor of Fig (Craig Pallay), who passed away on Monday, here's the 90 Proof demo tape from 1990.  Fig was a Portland punk rock legend that I would see around town quite often, and he played bass for 90 Proof.  Aside from this demo, a split 7" with Wreck Creation and a track on a GG Allin tribute compilation, I'm not sure if they released anything else.

90 Proof - Demo 1990

https://www.mediafire.com/?7aotaq1uktrqx4n

RIP - Fig

Northwest Hardcore compilation

As indicated by the name, this compilation encompasses the entire Northwest, as opposed to just Portland, but there are plenty of Portland bands on here, and it was released via the Portland based label, Media Blitz.  Ranging from well known bands to the obscure, there are a total of 28 music tracks from:

Diddly Squat, A.M.Q.A., Wehrmacht, Dehumanizers, Mr. Bungle, Blah, Melvins, Inverted Morals, Brain Dead, Final Warning, God, False Liberty, Obituaries, Skate Death, Stonecrow, Spazztic Blurr, Da Junk, Anathema, N.R.A., Sickboy, The Accused, Death Midget, Beer On Tap, Protest and The S.L.A.

Various Artists - Northwest Hardcore

[Media Blitz - 1987]

https://www.mediafire.com/?4bz4rx0vt9dquue

Cruella - Power Metal [demo 1986]

Cruella was born out of the ashes of Xinr in the mid-80s, and they didn't waste much time chugging out some great power/speed metal.  The interesting thing is that the first three Cruella recordings feature the same songs, and the same sequencing, but different recordings.  There's a demo from March of 1986 that I'm still looking for, this demo from September of 1986, and the Vengeance Is Mine LP from 1988.

I contacted guitarist, Roger Decarlo, to get some clarification as to the differences between this recording, and the future full length.  He said that this version of the songs was recorded in a cheesy 8 track studio in September of 1986 for a mere $300.  Everything was then recorded again at a professional studio for $3,000 in August of 1987 for the Vengeance Is Mine LP that came out of US Metal Records in February of 1988.

Here is the full Power Metal recording from 1986.  I gave it a slight remaster.

Cruella - Power Metal [1986]

https://www.mediafire.com/?q3f4nnilyt7j150

Bile & Demise - Vancouver, WA 1991

A friend gave me a VHS that contained sets from Bile and Demise at a show in Vancouver, WA in early 1991.  The show took place at Vagabonds, which was a record store on 13th St in downtown Vancouver.  There was no date listed on the video, but it's definitely from early 1991.

Wipers - Better Off Dead

This is the first Wipers 7" from 1978 on Greg Sage's own Trap Records.  It has always blown my mind that these tracks weren't included in the Wipers CD box set, or any of the vinyl reissues, but they were instead only re-released on the History Of Portland Punk cd.  Like many contemporary punk and hardcore records of its time, they pressed a certain amount of records, but printed a smaller number of covers.  This resulted in one pressing of the record (although I don't know how may) and two cover variations.

The first version of the cover from 1978 was black, red and yellow, and featured liner notes on the inside.

My copy has the second version of the cover from 1979, which is simply orange and black, and unfortunately doesn't contain any liner notes on the inside.

They recorded this 7" on a 4 track, which gives the record a raw vibe that really puts these tracks over the top for me.  I wanted to completely maintain the integrity of the original recording, so I didn't re-master these tracks at all.

Wipers - Better Off Dead

[1978 - Trap Records]

http://www.mediafire.com/?dbg3escb5u8889a

Savior - Exploitation [1995]

The Exploitation full length, released in 1995 via Fan Records out of Poland was to be the last hurrah for Savior.  Unfortunately, the label only ever sent the band 4 copies and then was never heard from again.  However, I was recently able to track one down and import it, bringing the United States' total copies up to at least 5.

Savior bang out 10 tracks of death/thrash that showcase their consistently heavier progression really well.  Then, much like the Face Of Adversity tape, there are a few tracks from Savior's side punk band, Dickfinger.  At the request of the band, though, one of those Dickfinger tracks has been left out of this download.  But, this is a Savior full length that probably hasn't been heard by many people even in their hometown, so download it and crank it!

Savior - Exploitation

[1995 - Fan Records]

http://www.mediafire.com/download/3vucbouao7i7d3e/Savior_-_Exploitation_%5B1995%5D.zip

Demise - Thrash Fest 3/10/90

Live video of Demise's full set from Thrash Fest 1990 at Starry Night.

Shai Hulud - 8/15/98 @ Stage 4 Theater

In 1998, Florida's Shai Hulud came to Portland for the first time with Overcast and Disembodied, and they all played at the Stage 4 Theater.  The show was originally set to be at 17 Nautical Miles, but it got moved a couple weeks prior, and it's a good thing it did, because there's no way everyone would have fit into that tiny venue.  Unfortunately, video of Overcast and Disembodied from that night are lost forever, as the master copies got destroyed when the original filmer's basement flooded.  But I still had the Shai Hulud set on VHS, and here it is.

The Dead Unknown / Backside Disaster - 4/1/00

April 1st, 2000 served as the first show for my old band, The Dead Unknown, and the final show for Backside Disaster.  Now that I finally have myself setup for transferring VHS tapes, here are full sets of both bands from that night.

>

Thy Infernal - Satan's Wrath [Demo 1997]

Thy Infernal started in 1996, and lasted into the early 2000s playing straight up black metal.  You won't find any keyboard harmonies on this demo.  Just blast beats and Satan.

Notably, Thy Infernal had Armageddon handling the bass and vocal duties.  He has also spent time in such bands as Engorged, Lord Gore, Warhate and is currently in Ritual Necromancy.

All four of these tracks would later be re-recorded for the Satan's Wrath full length in 1999 on Moribund Records, but here they are in their original glory.

Thy Infernal - Satan's Wrath

[Demo 1997]

http://www.mediafire.com/download/jy08ukgehm4ad6z/Thy_Infernal_-_Satan's_Wrath_%5BDemo_1997%5D.zip

Demise - Devious Deception 7" [1992]

This 7" from Demise is the follow up to their Inevitable Exit demo from 1990.  Devious Deception came out on Listenable Records from France in 1992.  Demise were in on the ground floor, being Listenable's second release, but the label is still alive and kicking with releases from the likes of Incantation, Aborted, Exhumed and many more.

For this release, Demise re-recorded two tracks from the Inevitable Exit demo, and one from the Endless Torment demo.  Although the layout lists side 2 as containing the song, "Abnormal Deformity", it's really supposed to be "Abnormal Reality".

Demise - Devious Deception 7"

[Listenable Records - 1992]

http://www.mediafire.com/?cilxb2izj26k83a

As a bonus, Rick hooked me up with a couple original ads for the 7", two band photo outtakes and a review of the Inevitable Exit demo from the Thrashing Rage Fanzine out of France.  All of which can be seen below.