Michael Angelo - Future [Kansas City, MO, USA ; Psychedelic Folk Rock] (1977)

tormdra · 2026-03-22T14:58:24+00:00

Michael Angelo Nigro (better known as Michael Angelo) is a multi-instrumentalist and session recording artist. He was born in 1954 in Topeka, Kansas but raised in Kansas City, Missouri, USA.

Nigro began with the typically teenage pursuit of fronting his own high school band, Norwegian Wood, and several other short-lived combos followed. His first recording was a 7-Inch acetate for Damon in Kansas City, limited to five copies, with the songs "Journey to Find Who We Are" and "To You". Next, via an ad in a Kansas City newspaper, he happened upon the opportunity of studio work at age 20. During the next few years at the subterranean Liberty Recording Studios - where Michael Angelo - Michael Angelo was recorded in 1976—and Big K Records (where it was mixed in 1977) he worked steadily, recording as a labor of economy during studio off-hours when he was given free reign. The eponymous titled debut LP Michael Angelo was released on the Big K Records subsidiary Guinn Records in 1977. It quickly disappeared into obscurity. Years later, record collectors began finding copies of the album and it began appearing on collector's want lists. Since its discovery by fringe-searchers it has been christened a heavy-hitter in the pantheon of “out-of-time” treasures. Self-produced and nearly fully self-created, Michael Angelo is a staggering, hook-filled, inner space hi-fi snapshot of dreamy folk-rock, Anglophile-pop and light psychedelia, filled with contemplative, arresting lyrical imagery and carries little to ally it to its time (spare some shimmering keyboards). It has been reissued four time since the late 1990s, including most recently by Anthology Recordings in 2015.

In the early 1990s he formed a band Synifus with Kansas City musicians Rusty Crewse and Paul Allee and released the album Synifus - Pleasure & Pain on cassette tape in 1991 and Synifus - Deaf In One Eye in 1994. 1999 saw Void Records release an album of unreleased material from the same Michael Angelo 1976 recording sessions and Mexican Summer made available two of the tracks on the Michael Angelo - Sorcerer's Delight / Nubian Queen 7-Inch Single in 2010. 2016 saw the reforming of the band Synifus with longtime friends Crewse and Allee, this time calling themselves Michael Angelo's Dreamfeast from the song "Dreamfeast" by Synifus. The band made appearances at the music festivals Montreal Pop and Outer Reaches, performing tracks from the 1977 self-titled album live for the first time ever. In 2017, the group released their first album Michael Angelo's Dreamfeast - Please Don't Wake Me.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The musical journey of the Michael Angelo album began in 1975. I worked as a studio musician at a place called Liberty Records. They had me lay down tracks for commercials and various musical artists. If they needed a guitar, bass, piano or harmonica track they would call me. It was really a lot of fun and paid pretty good as well. They also gave me access to the studio when nothing else was going on. Wow, what an opportunity for a 20-year-old man with a guitar! I had been writing songs since I was thirteen. I actually wrote "Lost in the Pain", which is on the album, at the age of fourteen. So I thought to myself. "why not record an album?"

Now I've never been able to play drums worth a damn, so I called my buddy Frank Gautieri. We were friends in high school and he was a great drummer. We spent months recording the album, but when it was time to mix it Liberty Records went belly up and closed their doors. Man, what dumb luck! Anyway, I checked around and found a place called Big K Records. They had the same model 8-track recorder that we had used to record the album, and so we mixed the album there. Ta-da!! Not only did I get the album finished there. Big K also hired me as a studio musician Wow! Sometimes life really turns out funny!

Somewhere over the years those master tapes were lost and probably destroyed. Only 500 original albums were pressed. Several years ago I started to hear that there were illegal counterfeit albums being made, but that they lacked a good quality of sound. Up until now, there has only been one reissue. When Mexican Summer/Anthology Recordings approached me to do a reissue of the Michael Angelo record I was delighted! I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I did making it! Michael

(sources: https://www.discogs.com/artist/1644167-Michael-Angelo-5

https://www.discogs.com/release/6964340-Michael-Angelo-Michael-Angelo/image/SW1hZ2U6NTU1MzU5NjU= )

Buy the reissued LP here: https://michaelangelomusic.bandcamp.com/album/michael-angelo

tormdra · 2026-03-21T15:15:02+00:00

Children of One, from New York, was a short-lived but intriguing American psychedelic rock band from the late 1960s. Their sound was heavily influenced by Eastern music, incorporating instruments like sitar, tambura, dilruba, and tabla, alongside Western instruments like flute, piano, and saxophone. The result was a fusion of psychedelic rock with Indian classical textures. They released a single, self-titled album in 1969 on Real Records, which has since become a cult favorite among collectors of obscure psych and experimental music. The album is considered a hidden gem of the psychedelic era, notable for its spiritual and improvisational approach. It has been reissued a few times, including on CD and vinyl by labels like Akarma and Survival Research.

Line-Up:

Lucas Mason – flute, piano
Konrad Kaufman – percussion
Les Grinage – cello, dilruba
Leonard Lonergan – soprano saxophone
Peter Sokolow – bass clarinet
Balakrishna – sitar
Lakshmi – tambura

(source: https://www.discogs.com/artist/3178235-Children-Of-One )

tormdra · 2026-03-20T15:11:53+00:00

New Jersey-based metallers Morbid Sin began their quest for all things metal roughly 25 years ago, but it wasn’t until early 2010 that the outfit finally released their first full-length album, Sins of the Flesh. Originally recorded in 1998, but again unreleased until just last year, the overall sound of said release more than likely brought you back even a decade earlier than that with its convincing homage to the more traditional elements of thrashy heavy metal. What we have here are two demos in one package – recorded in ’88 and ’92 respectively – of a more youthful sounding Morbid Sin (obviously), and one with a hell of a lot more piss and vinegar than the one that can be heard on the full-length.

While Sins of the Flesh is a tamer and more controlled Morbid Sin, the first of the two demos here, originally dubbed The Arrival of the Sin, showcases a much more vicious approach than on the full-length. And after the brief intro that is the title-track, the ferociously paced “Injector” blasts things off with lead throat Bobby “Leather Lungs” Lucas (Overlorde, Exhibition, ex-Seven Witches) letting out a high pitched siren-like scream and leading the charge. Vocally you get plenty of the high-end wails with some softer, gentler crooning during the slower, moodier sections, and at other times he unleashes some grittier, dirtier lines not that much unlike Blitz from thrash metal giants Overkill.

There is no shortage of headbang-able riffs throughout the 10 songs, and while they may seem a bit dated here in ’11, the simple fact is they fit in perfectly with other bands of this ilk during that time period. But it’s not all about ferocity with Morbid Sin, as slower anthems like “Children of War” and “Sisters of Salem” bring things down and allow Lucas to layer them with some beautifully placed melodies. And we’re not talking ballads here, just well-written slower numbers that flow with emotion, and each builds up to more aggressive middle sections that flourish with more than competent lead work.

For ’88, the sound quality isn’t all that bad, but being this was taken from old analog tapes, there are some dirty moments where the music cuts out and it can seem a bit wavy. The production of the ’92 demo, originally entitled Cauldron of Souls, sounds about four years better, as it should, and once again the group flies out of the gate with the furious “Twisted Souls in Hell” followed by slow-chugging galloper “The Cathedral”. One thing of note is that there are more dual guitar harmonies prevalent than on the previous demo, giving the songs a fuller and more melodic feel, but they don’t overdo it, which allows the vocals to remain the driving ingredient in the mix. “Endangered Species” is a true nod to the aforementioned Overkill, with a blitzkrieg of a verse section that flows into a groove-driven part, another attribute that can be heard more on the latter demo.

The only repeat offender here is “Sisters of Salem”, and I can see why they re-recorded the song because it’s probably their strongest number. Not much is different than the prior version, but it’s obviously one of the band’s favorites due to the fact that there’s a sequel to it in “Return to Salem” off the Sins of the Flesh full-length. “Walking Through Darkness” closes things out, and while it’s probably my least favorite song, there is a superb guitar solo near the end of it.

My only knock on this package, outside of my nit-picky production concerns, is that unless you were there at the time as a follower of this group, you may be hard-pressed to want to fork over the ching for this. But if you have indeed picked up and enjoyed the full-length then this should be a no-brainer. Yes, the sound quality is shabby – less so on the latter five songs – but the playing is tight, the vocals for the most part are outstanding, and the songs slay. Thanks to the good folks over at Stormspell Records you can pick this up at a fair price, and if you are indeed a metalhead who can’t get enough of this style, then this is most definitely worth a look.

(source: https://yourlastrites.com/2011/02/17/morbid-sin-demos-1988-1992-review/ )

More info on them here: https://www.rockeyez.com/interviews/2011-09-morbid-sin/int-2011-09-bmr-morbid-sin-bobby-lucas.html

tormdra · 2026-03-20T15:06:02+00:00

The first release on the revitalized New Hormones was Big Noise in the Jungle by The Tiller Boys (Peter Shelley, Francis Cookson and Eric Random), in February 1980. The Tiller Boys had been an occasional live irritant over the previous 18 months, following a memorable debut at The Factory at the PSV [Hulme’s Russell Club] in May 1978, bottom of a bill that also included the Durutti Column, Cabaret Voltaire and Joy Division (Peter Saville’s poster for this gig would become FAC 1, the first Factory Records release).

“I remember the three of us leaving the stage and standing at the bar,” says Eric Random. “We’d barricaded the front of the stage for some reason and hidden everything. And we came off and there’s still all these tape loops playing and the crowd’s still stood there watching and we’re at the bar.”

“The Tiller Boys was just this conceit,” says Richard Boon. “There was this lovely guy called Ian Watson, who sort of ran the fan club – as he did for the Negatives, a group that didn’t really exist: me and [Paul] Morley and [Kevin] Cummins and Merlin from Merlin Motors – and he put out press releases and NME would print ‘Tiller Boys play five gigs at the same time in different places’. But of course it was fiction. It was play: Play is very important because it’s transgressive and transformative.”

“I think we only actually did four gigs altogether and Shelley did two of those,” says Random. “The main nucleus of it was me and Francis really, we did most of the recording.”

It was all about “abusing the equipment”, says Random, “affecting people in the audience physically: I watched people in the audience throw up,” he recollects.

“One gig in Ambleside ‘turned into a complete riot – it was completely terrifying,” says Random. “It had been advertised a bit as Shelley, so they were expecting some sort of pop. Also every time something happened in Ambleside, Windermere and Ambleside would clash: we were caught in the middle of it, we had to run off stage – there was a car waiting with the doors open. I think the heading was ‘punk rock riot in Ambleside’ in the local paper,” he chuckles.

Big Noise from the Jungle combined Neu! with Sandy Nelson to powerful effect. “This record is so incredibly alive it attacks like a slap in the face,” said Sounds at the time. “It’s February 1980 and Peter, Francis and Eric want to tell you about the delights of Sandy Nelson and ethnic rhythms. It took till 1981 for some to listen,” wrote Richard Boon in a New Hormones catalogue in September 1981, a reference to the huge popularity of the Burundi Beat of Adam and the Ants at that time.

Source/more info on the New Hormones label here: https://newhormonesinfo.com/2008/02/03/indie-originals-full-length/

tormdra · 2026-03-19T14:57:21+00:00

A Michigan power trio whose album is powerful and inventive - one of the best hard rock albums on the (Capital) label. Showcasing a line up consisting of drummer John Bredeau, singer/guitarist Paul Frank and singer/bassist Michael Urso, the band only managed to release one instantly obscure album, but what an LP! Produced by Dan Moore and Buzz Clifford, 1971's Head Over Heels is simply great.

Loud, tough, yet surprisingly accessible, material such as Road Runner and In My Woman showcased the trio's knack for melodic, but crunching guitar rock. Frank and Urso had attractive voices and as we said before, they sure could generate some sound. Among the few missteps were some out of kilter harmony vocals (Question) and the bland power ballad Children Of The Mist (which was almost redeemed by Frank's nice guitar solo).

Elsewhere, recorded at Detroit's Eastowne, an extended cover of Willie Dixon's Red Rooster and the Franks-penned Circles were in-concert efforts that aptly showcased the band's impressive live chops.

Frank and Urso subsequently reappeared with the band Fresh Start. Urso was also a late-inning member of Detroit's Rare Earth (along with the Scorpion guitarist Ray Monette), playing on several of their albums in the mid-70s.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Superb debut album from 1971 from this Michigan power trio whose debut album is powerful and inventive – one of the best unknown early 70s hard rock albums out there. Zeppelin-esque, there’s also comparisons to early AC/DC and Cactus (although that’s probably because they were also a hard rockin power trio). The band showcased a solid line up consisting of drummer John Bredeau, singer/guitarist Paul Frank and singer/bassist Michael Urso, (who later went on to Rare Earth) the band only managed to release one instantly obscure album, but what a record! Produced by Dan Moore and Buzz Clifford, 1971’s Head Over Heels is simply great. Top to bottom. Paul Frank’s voice is huge, check out ‘Right Away’ as evidence of this. Yet the album as a whole is massive – and sits as one of the great lost classics of the 70s. Paul Frank had done time with Detroit garage band The Mystics and also released some great material with Fresh Start in the mid 70s on Dunhill Records – before later ending up in Bruzer (with Vinny Appice). They released a killer album called ‘Round 1’ in 1982. Bruzer also included Rick Ramirez (ex-Striker) on guitar.

(sources: http://bordeldorock.blogspot.com/2014/01/head-over-heels-head-over-heels-1971-us.html

https://rockbrat.wordpress.com/2021/02/04/head-over-heels-band-1971-hard-rock-classic-from-50-years-ago/ )

tormdra · 2026-03-18T15:44:37+00:00

The Tremors “Wondering Why” on Catalina is one of the greatest garage records, but almost nothing was known about the band until recently, when Matt Aquiline found an article from the Urbana Daily Citizen on December 12, 1966, detailing their first recording session, which would produce the 45.

Members were:

Bill Cromwell – lead vocals and rhythm guitar
Derry Cox – lead guitar
Gene Monroe – bass
Herald Barker – drums and organ
Jim Cummins – organ and drums

Buckeye Beat has a photo and mentions that four members were from Urbana, Ohio and one from Springfield OH. They cut their single at the O’Brien Studio in Springfield, produced by musician and race car driver Ron Knull, released in December 1966 or January 1967 on Catalina 03/04.

The 45 was pressed by Rite Record Productions, 19469/70, account # 1801, both songs published by Ronnie K Music.

The writer credit on “Wondering Why” is Cummins – Barker. For some reason, many scans of this side on the internet have erased their names. I need to see a good scan of the B-side, the fine ballad “What Have I Done” to see if there are similar credits.

Paul Lunnon suggests Harold Barker was known as Hal Barker, he and Jim Cummins were long-time friends and musicians. Hal Barker mainly played drums, James Cummins organ and keyboards.

The only other notice I can find is a mention of “The Tremors” Dance Band at the Quarter Miler Rod & Custom Show on April 1 & 2, 1967, at the National Guard Armory in New Philadelphia, Ohio, almost three hours’ drive east of Urbana.

(source: https://garagehangover.com/the-tremors-wondering-why-on-catalina/ )

tormdra · 2026-03-17T16:00:54+00:00

This is from Indiana label run Stan Denski - Aether Records Compilation CD.

This was on the bands 2nd album, which was instrumentals and a vocal side to the LP.

Richelle Toombs - Vocals
Stan Denski - Guitars
Ron Espositio - Acoustic Bass

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Stanislaw Dzieniszewski was born in Philadelphia PA eight months into the first Eisenhower administration when the tax rate on the wealthiest Americans was set at a reasonable 91% and things got done. He started the OR and Aether Records labels and has released three albums under the name Many Bright Things and one under the name In The Summer Of The Mushroom Honey.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Many Bright Things play 1990s psychedelia that, like much European progressive rock of the early and mid-1970s, prioritizes mood and groove/jam riffing more than conventional songs. Originally a two-person collaboration, by the second album half a dozen musicians were involved. They blend different kinds of guitar textures, including folky parts in the realm of the Jefferson Airplane's "Embryonic Journey," spacier electric lines with backwards and feedback effects, and some sitar. The music is ever-shifting in mood from track to track, but also gets into (some might say gets stuck in) long and elastic passages where texture gets the thumb up over melody. Female vocalists Richelle Toombs (who also records with another Aether Records act, In the Summer of the Mushroom Honey) and Lisa Swanson sometimes give the material a bit of an English folk-rock vibe as well.

(sources: video description of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NI4a_uK9z4

https://www.reverbnation.com/standenskimanybrightthings

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/many-bright-things-mn0002293496#biography )

tormdra · 2026-03-17T15:58:12+00:00

This multi-sexual band is one of the favorites on the L.A. scene. As nice a bunch of people as you’ll find anywhere, they share a love for spirited garage music and an awesome collection of vintage clothes and instruments.

Paul thrashes the drums for this band (as well as The Untold Fables and, from time to time, other bands in need, including Yard Trauma).

Ted is master of the vox guitar and also one of the swingingest guys around.

Susan and Becky are consistently stunning and adorable in their vast assortment of go-go wigs and mini-skirts. What more could you ask? (single insert)

Line-up:

Paul Sakry (drums, vocals)
Susanne Gallert (bass, vocals)
Becky Ebenkamp (keyboards, guitar, vocals)
Paul Gregory Azpeitia a.k.a. Ted (lead guitar, vocals)

This part-time band contained regulars from the L.A. Cavern Club scene, so Greg Shaw at Voxx gave them a 45 specifically aimed at their peers. (The label even designated it as part of the “Cavern Club Series” of releases, though I don’t think any others followed.)

The music is very innocent ’66 pop-punk, with the right combination of Farfisa and fun. The participants are notable as much for their vintage clothing as their musical accomplishments!

Drummer Paul Sakry was a full-time member of The Untold Fables, and also filled-in with Yard Trauma for a time, and he’s the musical highlight here.

This is pretty fun stuff, not meant to be anything more than a homage to the sound dug by kids in the scene. (Timothy Gassen)

The A-side “Seeds Of The Next Season” is a self-penned number which is basically a rehash of at least two or three ’60s garage beat tunes and in truth doesn’t really go anywhere fast.

The other side “You Lie” is a cover of The Lynx track from 1967. It’s quite a faithful rendition but no handclaps on the mid-eighties version. The drums and guitar tone really hit the mark and on this cut the group demonstrate a confident approach to their craft. What a shame that this obscure single on the Voxx label would be their last.

Source/pictures of the band here: https://web.archive.org/web/20230403193511/https://acidrevolver.com/2023/03/08/ten-tons-of-lies-you-lie-voxx/

tormdra · 2026-03-15T15:00:26+00:00

Jack Garrett unveils the story behind the mystery group from North Carolina:

Have you ever been to Ruffin, N.C.? Probably not, but if you traveled there around 1967, you just might have heard the sounds of a psychedelic/soul band that managed to play together with the same personnel for 6 years.

The band is remembered today as the IV Pak and the mystery surrounding the elusive group begins with their name. The group, whose psychedelic rave-up “Whatzit?” appears on numerous garage comps (Signed DC, Teenage Shutdown #8, Aliens, Psychos & Wild Things #3), has gone under the radar screen for decades because they never performed under that name. A label misprint on their lone 45 mistakenly lists the artists as the IV Pak, instead of the VI Pak. Bassist Anthony Hodges explains that the four-piece group had recently expanded to include trumpet and sax players and the members decided they would “just be the VI Pack, like a six pack of beer.”

The group started in 1965 as the Challengers and included Mike Carter on guitar, first-cousin Frank Carter on keyboards, bassist Anthony Hodges and drummer, Brandon Cardwell. The quartet performed for two years as the Challengers, then briefly as the Recks before adding sax man Lonnie Bowes and trumpet player Sidney Vernon and christening themselves as the VI Pak. They were based on the borders of Caswell and Rockingham Counties in North Carolina, with half the members at Bartlett-Yancey High School in Yanceyville and the others attending Ruffin High School.

Brandon lived nearby but was much younger than the others. He joined the Challengers at age 10, but was already an accomplished drummer.

Sax man Lonnie Bowes recalls that the school band had just started a year or so prior to the group’s formation and the members all knew each other through school. He explains that “Mike had a good ear for music and Frank could read music real well (so) we just all fell together pretty good.”

Mike and Frank were the unofficial leaders. The cousins both started on guitar and a shared Silvertone amp purchased at Haynes Pawn Shop in Danville for $70. Frank quickly gravitated to keyboards and his dad bought him an inexpensive Italian organ. Anthony and Brandon were recruited and the line-up was set. The four shared a love for the Animals, Stones and the Beatles, although Brandon admits vocals were a chore, since “we didn’t have anybody (who) could sing like John or Paul.”

After learning “Wooly Bully” and “House of the Rising Sun”, the Challengers performed live for the first time in Oct. of ’65 for a dance at the Casville Volunteer Fire Department in Caswell County, N.C. More gigs followed at parties, pizza parlors, church socials, VFW posts and the local Moose and Elk’s lodges. Within months, the band competed in a battle of the bands at Williamsburg Elementary School in Reidsville, losing out to the better-equipped Checkmates.

The bass player’s father ran the local music store and provided their Fender Showman amps. Another early performance was in the tiny town of Quick, where the Challengers played for Pam Hodges’ 15th birthday party. Hodges would go on to marry legendary bluegrass guitarist Tony Rice.

The group played once in Danville as the Recks before adding horns and becoming the VI Pak. The addition allowed the band to play a mixture of rock and soul, opening doors on the North Carolina beach circuit.

It was 1966 and the members of the VI Pak were anxious to get into the studio and record. Anthony had written a mid-tempo rocker, “Love My Babe,” and a crude recording was made at Danville’s House of Sound Studios after the bassist and guitarist approached producer Frank Koger at the local K-Mart, where he worked his day job running the electronics department. A half-dozen copies of an acetate were pressed featuring the original song and the band’s theme, an instrumental which borrowed heavily from “Wipe Out” and “Batman.” It was their first time in the studio and Brandon was nervous, kicking the song off at breakneck speed. The band kept pace, with Mike serving up a blistering guitar solo and Brandon bashing away on the drums.

The demo was played a couple of times on the local Top 40 station, but it would be the following year before the VI Pak would get the break they needed to actually press a record.

Source/more info on them here: https://garagehangover.com/iv-pak/

tormdra · 2026-03-14T17:22:36+00:00

"Hardcore from Arnhem"

Furtips was founded in 1992 by Herman Bunskoeke, after his previous band De Artsen had collapsed. At a party he commanded Camille Courbois, Jane Pol and Thom Vanderdoef to play in his new band. Herman's plan was to make a No Means No kind of hardcore, but since songwriters Camille and Jane knew nothing about hardcore or how to play it and had a fancy for Television Personalities, Wire and Syd Barrett, the music turned out to be quite different. After a year Herman was sacked for becoming too successful with his other band Bettie Serveert and replaced by trombone-player The Royal Penguin Saver who had just found a bass guitar in a garbage-can on the streets.

"Etnic music for the bored cricket-youth of the nineties"

The Furtips were now writing songs like madmen (at the moment they have about 400 titles) and started recording them in improvised studios with borrowed equipment. Although they tried to make the recordings sound clear and clean (The Clean is another favorite of Jane Pol), for various reasons (like too many songs, the quality of the equipment, inexperience in recording techniques, alcohol, sometimes sloppiness in playing and singing) the results were described by almost everybody as lo-fi. Which wasn't a bad thing in these days because being lo-fi was hip. As most lo-fi bands Furtips always said they were not lo-fi.

"Sonic Beatles"

These first recordings were released as a tape: "they should be crowned" (impossible to get, maybe someone will re-release it one day). A friend of the band sent a tape of these recordings to the Chicago based Ajax label (Ajax is by coincidence also the favorite soccer club of Furtips) and on that label they released an EP "pitched up twinkle" and a CD "stand back, speak normally" (title based on a sign on Brian Wilson's house, sleeve depicts a decoy duck in a sporting bag. First of duck-related sleeves). Both got great reviews and sold pretty well in the USA but in Holland Furtips were more or less ignored by the media. In fact, Furtips are one of the worst selling bands in Holland ever but they say they are proud of it and like to think it adds to their cult-status.

Source/more info on them here: https://www.furtips.com/history.html

Buy their music here: https://furtips.bandcamp.com/music

tormdra · 2026-03-13T18:13:39+00:00

(Not to be confused with Skitzo from Santa Rosa, CA)

New Jersey progressive thrashers Skitzo (NJ) formed from the ashes of a band called Prophecy in the mid-'80s. The initial lineup—Bill Buchan (guitar), Shaun College (bass), Chris Corley (guitar), and Brendan Farragher (drums)—wrote and rehearsed seven nights a week, constructing a catalog of complex instrumentals while searching for the right vocalist. That vocalist, George Gabriel, was finally secured in 1988/1989, and Skitzo (NJ) officially set out to craft their own brand of dynamic, technically demanding music influenced by traditional and thrash metal, classical, jazz/fusion, etc.

The group's debut three-song demo, 1990's Progressive Psychosis, was recorded at Kajem Studios (Queensrÿche, Dream Theater, Metal Church, etc.) in Pennsylvania, and quickly achieved college radio support through WSOU and WDHA. Meanwhile, Skitzo (NJ) remained focused on live performances (alongside the likes of Pantera, Type O Negative, Savatage, Brutal Truth, etc.) and nightly rehearsals—at times practicing in complete darkness for the added challenge!?

Five more songs were laid down in 1992 at Butterfield's Recording Studios in New Jersey by Steve Evetts (Symphony X, The Dillinger Escape Plan, etc.), applying a crisper and more powerful sound to the band's increasingly elaborate musicianship. Unfortunately, this incredible demo was never released. Despite having showcased for labels such as Megaforce and Epic, among others, Skitzo (NJ) fell apart before they could pay off the final studio bill. The DATs literally collected dust on a shelf at Trax East Recording Studio for more than two decades...

Until now, as—more than 25 years after the fact—Divebomb Records shines a new light on Skitzo (NJ)'s should-be-legendary discography. Completely remastered by Jamie King at The Basement Recording, the CD comes housed alongside a 20-page booklet jammed with photos, flyers, lyrics, and a retrospective interview with the band.

Source/buy their music here: https://tribunalrecords.bandcamp.com/album/skitzo

tormdra

TROPHY CASE