Dezark - Dezark EP (1986)

A pure heavy metal band with one eye on being radio friendly, Dezark from Houston, Texas sound like the band playing onstage while you drink and play pool. Nothing too special but this EP sounds good and musically proficient for the genre. This was the only recording by the band which is a shame because time and practice might have shown growth after such a solid start.

Track Listing

1. What To Expect

2. Broken Silence

3. Out On The Streets

4. You Made Your Move

Band Members

Jeff Hains

Ronald Philpott

Rick Armstrong

Dan Warren

Download

Thanks to Schmygel of HMR for the rip.

Drive - Characters in Time (1988)

Coming out of Houston before moving to LA, the very talented Drive brought the POWER to power metal. Talented guitarists - check. Pounding headbanging rhythms - check. Razor sharp vocals and screams - double check. It's all there. Packaged up and ready to take over your playlist. Sonically Drive are very much in the same vein as FatesWarning, Queensryche, or Helstar. There first album, Characters in Time, received five K's from Kerang! magazine so they should have been looking at a rosy future in the metal kingdom. 

A second album, Diablero followed but in a much more rock radio friendly format. The riffs slow down to metal ballad speed and David Taylor's screams are replaced with vocal melodies. Sadly a label snafu and grunge killed off most of the metal bands of the time and Drive became parked on Forgotten Road. Luckily, both of Drive's albums are available via Amazon as MP3's; with both albums also being easy to score secondhand for a fair price.

Drive - (New Reign) The Phoenix - From the album Characters in Time (1988)

Follow Drive on FaceBook

Characters in Time MP3s from Amazon

Sweet Nightmares - KPFT Radio Show (4-18-1990)

Another 90+ minutes of Bill and Wes spinning some of the best metal available. Being a big supporter of local music, Wes plays a few local songs by Grimace, dead horse, and Krullur. The Krullur song gets cut off right at the end of the song so I left it in rather than editing it out. Learn more about the radio show in this previous post here.

Track Listing:

1. Kreator - As The World Burns

2. Ratos De Porao - Amazonia Nunca Mais

3. Revenant - Distant Eyes

4. Morbid Angel - Evil Spells

5. Grimace (TX) - Jazz Fuse

6. dead horse (TX) - Mindless Zombies

7. Immolation - Despondent Souls

8. Hexx - Fields of Death (Tape Flip)

9. Pestilence - Out of the Body

10. Shades of Gray - Rage of Insanity (Demo)

11. Atrophy - Puppies & Friends

12. Sadus - Good Riddance (Demo)

13. Rest in Pieces - Five Golden Rings

14. Slayer - Reborn

15. Carcass - Excoriating Abdominal Emanation

16. Death - Altering the Future

17. Krullur - This is Gore (Cut-Off)

Download

Sweet Nightmares - KPFT Radio Show (Early 1989)

I'm guessing on the date for this show but it should be close. Anyway this is a really good set-list of metal from the guys of Sweet Nightmares. Wes Weaver was really showcasing local metal with songs by Nemesis, Metal Force, Sacred Mission, Equinox, and Arctic Helm. These are the only songs by these bands I have ever heard so this is a chance to hear some really rare cuts of Texas metal. Check out my previous Sweet Nightmares post for more info about the show.

Track List

1. Nemesis - My Desire (???)

2. Metal Force - Onslaughter

3. Sacred Mission - Countdown to Doomsday

4. Equinox - Wings of Death

5. Anthrax - Madhouse

6. Anthrax - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath

7. Metal Church - Beyond the Black

8. Metal Church - Metal Church

9. King Diamond - Omens

10. King Diamond - The Possession (tape flip)

11. Arctic Helm - Fallout

12. Infernal Majesty - Skeletons int he Closet

13. Infernal Majesty - Anthology of Death

14. Iron Maiden - Cross Eyed Mary

15. Iron Maiden - Killers (Live)

16. Mercyful Fate - Curse of the Pharoahs

17. Mercyful Fate - Evil

18. Paradox - Paradox

Download the Sweet Nightmares Radio Show

Alyis - Demo (1989)

Today we're listening to Alyis from Houston, Texas. A speedy vocal delivery along with a touch of hardcore thrown into their thrash reminds me of another Houston band, the great Dresden 45. While not a true copy of D45, Alyis writes extremely catchy songs that stick in your head. Rough production values keep this demo from achieving true cult status yet it is a gem of a find for metal vinyl/cassette collectors. Alyis would go on to self-produce one more album, Suffer at Birth,  before calling it quits.

Track Listing

1. Inject the Master

2. Autopsy

3. Toxic Drop

4. Beer Fart

5. Why Us

6. Termination Insanity

Band Members

Tino Rodriguez - Bass

Cesar Castillo - Drums

Mickey Alaniz - Guitars

Stephen Hernandez - Guitars

Jesse "Be-Be" Guerra - Vocals

Download

Thanks to Klesch of Metalarea.org for the rip.

Aggressor - There's Metal in Texas Demo (1987)

From Houston, Aggressor (not to be confused with Aggressor from Corpus Christi still active today) came out blazing some really great speed metal. Musically this band is in the technical thrash league with bands like Metal Church or Sanctuary but somehow remind me of Dokken. That's if Dokken was a heavy, fast thrash band without the hairspray. They followed up with a second demo in 1990 and later with an independently released full length "By Any Means Necessary" which is now out of print. Pop over to the band's MySpace page for audio samples.

Track Listing

1. There's Metal in Texas

2. No Time To Lose

3. Solo

4. I Survive

5. We Are Burning Hot

Band Members

Spyder Mike - Bass

Ken Pride - Drums

Scary Larry - Guitars (lead)

Stoney Paul - Vocals, Guitars

Download

Thanks to Motorised at Heavymetalrarities.com for the rip.

Sweet Nightmares - KPFT Radio Show (Nov. 1989)

Another 90 minutes of headbanging metal courtesy of the Sweet Nightmares radio show. This is a great set featuring a couple of demo cuts from Texas locals Watchtower and Morbid Scream. Check out my previous Sweet Nightmares post for more info about the show.

Track List

1. Bolt Thrower - Through the Eye of Terror

2. Morbid Angel - Visions from the Dark Side

3. Exhorder - Death in Vain (Demo)

4. Nasty Savage - Powerslam

5. Demolition Hammer - Infectious Hospital Waste (Demo)

6. D.R.I. - You Say I'm Scum

7. Testament - C.O.T.L.O.D.

8. Kreator - Impossible to Cure

9. Watchtower - Instruments of Random Murder (Demo)

10. Atheist - Room With A View (Tape Flip)

11. Intruder - Killing Winds

12. Bathory - Total Destruction

13. Morbid Scream - The Coming of War

14. Evil Dead - Sloe-Death

15. Indestroy - Senseless Theories

16. Tyrranicide - Drink, Drive and Die

17. Slayer - Epidemic

18. Recipients of Death - Flesh Burn

19. Prime Evil - Reality's Complete (Demo)

Download the Sweet Nightmares radio show

Josefus - Not Dead Yet: Unreleased 1978 Studio Sessions & Live

Josefus, formed in the late 60's, could very well be called the Godfather's of Texas metal with their heavy, blues-laden riffs. By anchoring their sound with a booming deep end, Josefus turns standard Texas psychedelic rock into pre-doom metal territory rock. If they had combined their riffs with darker lyrics, we could very well be comparing them to Black Sabbath today. Instead they squeaked in and out of existence in only a year and a half leaving behind one full length and a few live recordings. Later the band reformed and became active members of the Houston music scene throughout the 70's and beyond. Today these pioneers are still active in the music scene and are releasing new and previously unreleased material. Give them a listen.

Josefus on Facebook

Official Josefus History

Josefus - Not Dead Yet for sale on Amazon

Josefus - Not Dead Yet Promo Video

Josefus Not Dead Yet CD Review

Be sure to like Shroomangel Records on FaceBook to keep informed on more classic releases by bands like this.

Helstar - Live Bootleg - Houston, Texas (1983)

Today we'll listen to the great Helstar from Houston, Texas. One of the better known metal bands from Texas, Helstar play a great blend of heavy metal, almost speed metal and power metal. Of course power metal has a completely different connotation today from back then. Helstar signed with Combat Records to release their first two albums and then switched to Metal Blade for two more albums. Helstar has been continually active in releasing music throughout the decades and is still releasing kick-ass metal today. This bootleg of one of their very early live shows is a great example of how tight and talented the band was from the very beginning. As a plus we also get Helstar doing their versions of Black Sabbath's Neon Knights and Iron Maiden's Phanton of the Opera.

Helstar on Wikipedia

Larry Barragan Interview

Track Listing

1. Lights Out 

2. Swords and Tequila 

3. Towards the Unknown 

4. Burning Star 

5. He’s a Woman, She’s a Man 

6. Leather and Lust 

7. Neon Knights 

8. The Shadows of Iga 

9. Phantom of the Opera 

10. Run With the Pack

Band Members

James Rivera- Vocals

Larry Barragan - Guitars

Tom Rogers - Guitars

Paul Medina - Bass

Hector Pavon - Drums

Download

Thanks to Strad of Heavymetalrarities.com for the rip.

Sweet Nightmares - KPFT Radio Show (Feb. 10, 1988)

I've been digging deep in my garage to pull out my personally taped cassettes of Sweet Nightmares. This isn't really Texas based music but it does shine a light on what local radio  the bands had access to and how some of them became inspired to create their own metal.

Beginning in the mid-80's, Sweet Nightmares started playing the heaviest, hardest metal of the day for the Houston metro area. Transmitting from 90.1 KPFT (kpft.org), Sweet Nightmares was the only place a true metalhead could hear the good stuff. Wes Weaver (to be joined later by co-host Bill (The Master) Bates) and crew introduced me to some of the classic metal that MTV was afraid to play. While regular radio played Ratt, Motley Crue, and other hair bands, Sweet Nightmares spun real metal from bands like Slayer, Testament, Celtic Frost, etc. This particular set includes songs by Paradox, Sanctuary, Candlemass, Forbidden Evil (pre-Forbidden), Metal Onslaught, Necrophagia, Nasty Savage and more.

Best of all is the fact that Sweet Nightmares is still on the air (Thursdays from 11pm-2am). Check out the KPFT archives for access to the latest shows and follow Sweet Nightmares on Twitter for the latest Houston metal news. (https://twitter.com/nightmareskpft)

A little more history about the show from We Weaver himself...

Sweet nightmares was started in 1987 by a guy named Steve Harrington, he some affiliation to the station and basically he did a metal show one night in march 87 at like 2 in the morning,i missed it but a friend heard it and told ma about it.So I went down the next week with records, Steve played them and asked me back the following week, and i didn't stop going...lol He gave me the show about 6 months later....i had a few people help me and then got Bill Bates sometime in 88 probably mid 88.

Track List

1. Nasty Savage - Abstract Reality

2. Viking - Valhalla

3. Forbidden Evil - Chalice of Blood (Demo Version)

4. Deadly Blessing - Salem's Lot

5. Candlemass - Dark Are The Veils Of Death

6. Vio-Lence - Bodies on Bodies (Demo Version)

7. Sanctuary - Termination Force

8. Paradox - Beyond Space (Tape Flip)

9. Metal Onslaught - Cease to Exist

10. Necrophagia - Bleeding Torment

11. Morbid Angel - Kingdom Come (Demo Version)

12. Gargoyle - Final Victory

13. Nasty Savage - Hypnotic Trance

14. Plasmatics - 12 Noon

15. Exodus - Deranged

16. Nuclear Assault - Justice

17. Judas Priest - Steeler

Download the Sweet Nightmares radio show.

Dark Reign - Mayhemic States (1989)

Another dark thrash band, Dark Reign of Houston, Texas.

Dark Reign created heavy death metal with evil, growling vocals. Perfect if you are feeling the blackness creeping in. The band broke up in '91 but some members went on to form Imprecation, furthering their progress towards even more brutal death metal. A few of the songs from this demo, along with their second demo Immolated Slaves and some live material, were re-released on CD as Anthology: A Dark Evolution which seems to be out-of-print.

Track Listing

1. Dissanctifically Deceased

2. Mayhemic States

3. Erebus

4. Regicide

Members

Schaun Drab - Bass

Ruben Elizondo - Drums

Phil Westmoreland - Guitars

Earl Long - Guitars

Rob Taylor - Vocals

Download

Thanks to YouTube user, NocturnalDevastator for the rip.

Malignant Terror - Demo (1989)

On to some heavier thrash courtesy of Malignant Terror of Houston, Texas.

Malignant Terror play crushing dark thrash. A little darker than some of their peers like dead horse and Academy Black, the Terror crew could be counted on to bring the evil to the stage.

Track Listing

1. Born Evil

2. Multiple Stab Wounds

3. Blue Death

4. Malignant Terror

Band Members

Kirk Buck - Bass, Vocals

Bart Brownlee - Drums

Vidal Martínez - Guitars, Vocals

James W. Anderson - Guitars, Vocals

Download

Thanks to YouTube user, Dhandrich for the rip.

Rok Bergade - The Attack Is On (1983)

Closer to standard heavy metal of the time... Rok Bergade from Houston, Texas.

I remember seeing these guys playing at an all-ages club in Pasadena, Texas. My timeline might be off but I think it was before this release. The band was very young so it was teens playing for teens. I vaguely remember them playing a Dokken cover and lots of headbanging.

An interesting review of the album from Metalpage.de: Album Review

Track Listing

1. The Attack Is On

2. Too Far from Yesterday

3. Lost Without You

4. Rock and Roll Will Lift You Up

5. Rok Bergade

6. Your Every Needs

7. Let Me See the Love

8. Just a Dream

9. After the Invasion

10. You Keep Me Hanging On

Band Members

Creg Gilley - Vocals, Guitars

Jason Parker - Guitars

Ronny Rushing - Keyboards

Russle Ray Womble - Bass

Bill Loden - Drums

Download

Thanks to BM-80smetal.blogspot.com.br for the rip.

Academy Black - Demo aka Join the Academy (1988)

Now to include some crossover/thrash from Houston, Texas.

Academy Black was very active in the local music scene but only released two demos. This first demo from 1988 and a second demo, Dead Fun, was released a year later. This demo is known as Join the Academy on Metal-archives  because it was released with three different covers; one of which included the words "Join the Academy" on the cover. As of 2015, the band is still active performing reunion shows but hasn't mentioned any plans on releasing new material.

Track Listing

1. I Murdered Mike 

2. Father of the Future

3. Crush the Monster

4. Evil Hell Part 666

Band Members

Damon Gill - Bass (1987-present)

Greg Main - Drums (1987-present)

Jeff Mikel - Guitars (1987-present)

Dave Yammer -Vocals (1987-present)

Download

First post... Pus - Demo (1990)

First up: PUS. A grungy thrash band from Houston, Texas.

From metal-archives.com:

Started out as a thrash metal band with some punk influences, recording a metal demo in 1990. The band then shifted towards an alternative/punk rock style and recorded an album in 1992 which was never released. Tracks from it were uploaded to the band's ReverbNation page two decades later.

Pus on ReverbNation

Track Listing

1.World of Pus 

2.War

3.The End

4.No Need

5.Wedgie

6.Death Death Death etc.

Band Members

Jonathan Schweizer - Drums

Raymond Granlund  - Vocals

Bradley Collett - Bass (1988-?)

Michael Stern - Guitars (1988-?)

Download