Mosh till Vomit

They’ve been called, “the noisiest and shittiest band to come out of the American death thrash metal scene.” They have never had a proper deal, or released an album you could say is considered important or influential. They are known more for puking on audience members than anything else. Were they trying to be hated with their generally tasteless antics and album covers, or do they really just suck?

On the surface, Skitzo seems like an incredibly easy band to write off to all but the most insanely devoted thrash maniacs. As much as I love that style, it’s not really my bread and butter, and if not for this being released by Area Death Productions, it surely never would have entered my grasp. Area Death has a knack for giving due credit to even the most overlooked of metal acts, and if you ask me, their logo should serve as a seal of quality. I decided they must be worth investigating, and wouldn’t you know it, this band RULES!

Skitzo play some of the most extremely visceral, yet creative thrash to ever grace these United States. They went from being a musically illiterate band of miscreants, to one of the most over the top groups to ever grace this most hallowed form of extreme metal. This superb set compiles no less than seven releases from Skitzo, spanning the years 1984-1992. There is a staggering amount of material on display here, so I’ll try to be brief in covering each release.

To get a better idea of how they progressed, I started with Disc 2, as it contains their earlier demo and EP material. Things kick off with their self titled 1985 demo, which certainly falls into that category of demos so bad they are kinda good. The playing is sloppy, the recording sounds terrible, and the demo is over before you can even wonder what you are listening to. However, it’s not without some seriously demented charm, and for all intents and purposes was one of the most extreme metal recordings of it’s time. Ugly screaming vocals, out of time blasts (the drummer is 11!), and riffs that reek like raw sewage would please any fan of sub-basement metal like Hellhammer or demo era Messiah.

Their next two demos, 86’s “Wrathrage”, and 87’s “Mosh Till Mush” find the band upping the ante in every way possible. The unparalleled fury is still there in spades, but with these recordings the band display that they were quickly able to muster the chops they needed to channel their aggression into something genuine, and seem less like a freak novelty act, which in some ways they still are anyway. These recordings are from a time when thrash was evolving into death, but while Skitzo was indeed one of America’s deadliest bands at the time, they never abandon their thrash roots, but instead apply new ideas in extremism to their genre rather than join the emerging death metal hordes.

With the 1989 EP “Derrangous”, Prove that they were a force to be reckoned with. Seemingly overnight, the band has stepped up both technically and creatively. New guitarist Brad Bergeron brings an undeniably professional quality to the band’s music, and while these songs have the trademark Skitzo attitude, they are much more epic in sound and scope. Band leader Lance Ozanix even tries to work in some vibrato, giving his harsh vocals more of a sing/scream dynamic. This lineup would also sadly record the band’s most confusing release, the 1990 single “Haunting Ballads”.

These two songs close the second disc, and are actual love ballads, not metal. Now I love all kinds of music, but this is just weird. Syrupy sweet acoustic guitars are joined by some of the most awkward clean singing I’ve heard. They do play some more melodic rock oriented riffs too, but the vocals just don’t fit, and sometimes the band still sounds too aggressive to play this kind of stuff. After the initial blast of music you hear on this disc, these songs are almost disorienting when they appear, I mean this is supposed to be SKTZO after all. It’s hard to tell if this release was meant as a joke, or if they were trying to get some serious commercial interest.

Disc 1 opens with the bands debut album, the 1992 tape only LP, “Evilution.” It is quite a shame this album didn’t get better distribution, cause they made quite a monster with this one. Overall their tightest, most inspired performance, “Evilution” combines the band’s overly rude sense of attitude, with clear and reverberating production with an excellent drum and bass sound. The song writing has an added sophistication within these ultra brutal tracks, and finds the group experimenting with more rhythmic shifts, 7 string guitars, hardcore punk, clean singing, switching instruments, and even the awesome blues soaked angst rock of opening track “Good Riddance”. The vocals are less abrasive than in the past, with Lance finally able to actually sing, he adds certain power metal flavors to his normal thrash scream. The even re-do the ballad “Lady of the Lake”, and while it is still a bit bizarre, this time around it is well done and doesn’t come off as a serious mistake. The guitar playing of Ron Klinger is exceptional, as he deals out catchy, technical riffs that are well played and pack some serious attitude. His solo piece is one of the most unorthodox and creative I’ve heard on a thrash album, and is a welcome addition to an already amazing album.

Disc 1 closes with “The Skulling” EP from 1991, which at just under a half hour, is basically another album. Featuring only four songs, which are mostly re-arrangements of older tracks, “The Skulling” still manages to be another excellent release. The tracks bare little resemblance to their older counterparts, and overall this EP is their most progressive minded collection. The bass playing is quite nimble, and riff and tempo changes abound frequently, and Skitzo seem like they are on a mission to prove their worth and for me at least, they more than succeed.

And there you have it, 2 discs of mostly awesome, death defying thrash. It’s quite a shame that gross out humor and strange ballads overshadowed some amazing music. As always, this is another superb set from Area Death. “Mosh Till Vomit” is truly a collection that you can’t judge by its cover.