WARGASM Release Album Of '80s Demos
October 8, 2013, 11 years ago
Boston band WARGASM is commemorating the 25th anniversary of its debut album, Why Play Around?, by releasing an album comprised of its mid-'80s demos. The 11 tracks on Satan Stole My Lunch Money (Deluxe Expanded Edition) were taken directly from the original cassettes, and the album includes every track from the band's four demos: Satan Stole My Lunch Money, Your Dog's Teeth, Gasm It and Spirit In Decay.
"Whoever owns the rights to Why Play Around? will probably never re-release it," says Wargasm bassist/vocalist Bob Mayo. "In fact, all three of our albums are currently unavailable. But almost half the songs on Why Play Around? are on this demo’s album, so it's a pretty cool way to celebrate its 25th anniversary."Now considered a thrash classic, Why Play Around? has been out of print for two decades, though original LP, cassette and CD versions of the album sell for hefty prices in the aftermarket.
Mayo continues: "We were amazed that the cassettes still sounded so good. But when you’re dealing with cassettes, remixing them is out of the question. And when the cassettes are 20-25 years old, you’re really limited in what you can do with them sonically. We did what we could, and I think they sound pretty killer."
Wargasm's demos were traded extensively in the '80s metal underground, and the first of them, 1986's legendary Satan Stole My Lunch Money, led to Wargasm's first record deal and the release of Why Play Around?
"Working on this record definitely brought me back to those days," says Mayo. "Thrash was just evolving and the tape-trading underground was a really powerful way to get your band heard all over the world. There is no underground anymore, there’s no more zines; everything’s on the internet for anyone to experience instantly. It was hard work to make an impression back then. Those times were really special to us and so are these tapes. They're part of the metal underground's history and we're psyched to be able to release them all together this way."For more info visit Facebook.
