Demolition Hammer is an American

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

band from the

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, active from 1986 to 1995 and again since 2016. To date, the band has released three full-length studio albums: ''

Tortured Existence ''Tortured Existence'' is the debut album by American thrash metal band Demolition Hammer. It was released on August 27, 1990, in Europe and on February 12, 1991, in the US by Century Media Records Century Media Records is a heavy metal rec ...

'' (1991), ''

Epidemic of Violence ''Epidemic of Violence'' is the second album by American thrash metal band Demolition Hammer. It was released in early 1992 to critical acclaim and is considered a cult classic in the thrash metal and death metal genres. ''Epidemic of Violence'' ...

'' (1992) and ''

Time Bomb A time bomb (or a timebomb, time-bomb) is a bomb whose detonation is triggered by a timer. The use (or attempted use) of time bombs has been for various purposes including insurance fraud, terrorism, assassination, sabotage and warfare. They ar ...

'' (1994).

History

Formation and first two albums (1986–1992)

Demolition Hammer arrived on the East Coast thrash metal scene circa 1986. The original lineup consisted of Steve Reynolds as the vocalist and on bass, James Reilly on guitar, and John Salerno on drums. Their first demo tape, ''Skull Fracturing Nightmare'', was released in 1988. It gained notice from fans of the genre and independent record labels. Derek Sykes was brought in as a second guitarist and Vincent Civitano (a.k.a. Vinny Daze) replaced Salerno. Their second demo, ''Necrology'', secured the group a recording contract with

Century Media Records Century Media Records is a heavy metal record label with offices in the United States, Germany and London. In August 2015, Century Media was acquired by Sony Music for US$17 million. Background Century Media was founded by Robert Kampf and Oli ...

. Their first album ''

'', produced by Scott Burns with a small budget, was released in early 1991. The songs were composed with fast riffs, chunky breakdowns, and expressive guitar solos. In 1992, the band released their critically acclaimed album ''

''. The production was clearer and included faster and leaner songs. The covers of these first two releases featured horror based artwork and a logo designed by Daze.

''Time Bomb'' and breakup (1993–2015)

Fast-paced thrash metal became less popular in the '90s. Daze and Reilly left the band to form the group Deviate NY. Former

Malevolent Creation Malevolent Creation is an American death metal band formed in Buffalo, New York in 1987 and later based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The band's original members were rhythm guitarist Phil Fasciana, vocalist Brett Hoffmann, lead guitarist Jim Nic ...

drummer Alex Marquez joined Reynolds and Sykes to write material for another project. The label wished to release the songs with the band's original name. The result was the 1994 album ''Time Bomb'' with a new Demolition Hammer logo on the cover. It was slower and lacked guitar solos. The style was similar to that of groups like

Pantera Pantera () is an American heavy metal music, heavy metal band from Arlington, Texas formed in 1981, and currently comprised of vocalist Phil Anselmo, bassist Rex Brown, and touring musicians Zakk Wylde and Charlie Benante. The group's best-kn ...

and

Machine Head A machine head (also referred to as a tuning machine, tuner, or gear head) is a geared apparatus for tuning stringed musical instruments by adjusting string tension. Machine heads are used on mandolins, guitars, double basses and others, and ar ...

. After playing one of their final shows at Milwaukee MetalFest in the summer of 1995, Demolition Hammer broke up. Marquez and Reynolds were offered new gigs with

Solstice A solstice is an event that occurs when the Sun appears to reach its most northerly or southerly excursion relative to the celestial equator on the celestial sphere. Two solstices occur annually, around June 21 and December 21. In many countr ...

. Daze died of globefish poisoning while traveling in Africa on March 11, 1996. With Demolition Hammer's music becoming increasingly hard to come by, Century Media released ''Necrology: A Complete Anthology'' in 2008. It included every title from their first three albums, two pre-production demos from ''Time Bomb'', and one video clip.

Reunion (2016–present)

In March 2016, the band reunited with new drummer Angel Cotte. They played a show in June 2016 in Brooklyn, New York for which it was sold out under 3 minutes. They also played that year's

Maryland Deathfest Maryland Deathfest (often abbreviated to MDF) is an annual American extreme metal festival founded in 2003 by Ryan Taylor and Evan Harting. The festival is held in Baltimore, Maryland during Memorial Day weekend, and it features many bands from ...

. In a January 2017 interview at

70000 Tons of Metal 70000 Tons of Metal (officially stylized as 70000TONS OF METAL) is an annual heavy metal music festival that takes place on board a cruise ship. The event is a five-day festival, including one shore day at a select Caribbean destination. H ...

, the members of Demolition Hammer were asked if the band will record a follow-up to 1994's ''Time Bomb''. Bassist and vocalist Steve Reynolds replied, "We've talked. But we were so busy just trying to work all this in, we haven't really solidified any plans for that. But we're still talking about it." Guitarist James Reilly added, "Now that we see how well this is going, we do have it in our heads to start writing some new material and see where it goes."

Musical style

In reference to a national tour in 1991, it was written that Demolition Hammer played "lightning-fast songs with complex structure and shifting rhythms." Another writer referred to Reynolds and Sykes as "riff machines" while also complimenting the band's songwriting ability. The band's sound is generally considered a fusion of

and

death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, feat ...

. The change of style towards a

groove metal Groove metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music that began in the early 1990s. The genre achieved success in the 1990s and continued having success in the 2000s. Inspired by thrash metal and traditional heavy metal, groove metal features raspy ...

sound heard on ''Time Bomb'' drew ire from some fans of thrash metal.

Members

* Steve Reynolds – bass, vocals (1986–1995, 2016–present) * James Reilly – guitar, backing vocals (1986–1993, 2016–present) * Derek Sykes – guitar, backing vocals (1988–1995, 2016–present) * Angel Cotte – drums (2016–present) ;Former * John Salerno – drums (1986–1988) * Vinny Daze – drums, backing vocals (1988–1993; died 1996) * Alex Marquez – drums (1994–1995) ;Touring Members * Dennis Munoz – guitar (1995) * Mike Usifer – guitar, backing vocals (1992) Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

* ''

'' (Century Media, 1991) * ''

'' (Century Media, 1992) * ''

'' (Century Media, 1994)

Compilations

* ''Necrology: A Complete Anthology'' (Century Media, 2008)

Demos

* ''Skull Fracturing Nightmare'' (1988) * ''Necrology'' (1989)

References

External links

Facebook
* {{Authority control Musical groups established in 1986 Musical groups disestablished in 1995 Musical groups reestablished in 2016 American thrash metal musical groups Death metal musical groups from New York (state) Heavy metal musical groups from New York (state) Musical groups from the Bronx 1986 establishments in New York City