Pandemonium was an American

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

/ heavy metal band from

Fairbanks Fairbanks is a home rule city and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska and the second largest in the state. The 2020 Census put the po ...

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

, United States, that moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, in the early 1980s. The band released three albums on

Metal Blade Records Metal Blade Records is an American independent record label founded by Brian Slagel in 1982. The US office for Metal Blade is located in Agoura Hills, California. It also has offices in Germany, Japan, Canada, and the UK. The label is distrib ...

, and was featured on the first ''

Metal Massacre ''Metal Massacre'' is a series of compilation albums released through Metal Blade Records. It is famous for "shedding light" on bands such as The Obsessed, Trouble, Overkill, Metal Church, Metallica, Slayer, Virgin Steele, Hellhammer, Voivod, ...

'' record with

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

Ratt Ratt is an American glam metal band formed in San Diego, California, in the 1970s, that had significant commercial success in the 1980s, with their albums having been certified as gold, platinum, and multi-platinum by the RIAA. The group is bes ...

, and Steeler. Lead singer Chris Resch died of a heart attack in 2007.

History

1980s

Arriving in Los Angeles in late 1980 with original drummer Kevin Fitzgerald, Pandemonium began playing the local club circuit, along the way playing shows with

, W.A.S.P.,

Great White Great White is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1977. The band peaked with several albums during the mid-to-late 1980s, including the platinum-selling records '' Once Bitten'' (1987) and '' ...Twice Shy'' (1989), and those albums ...

, Malice,

, and other groups. After a couple of years the band had risen to weekend headlining status at famous clubs such as the

Troubadour A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a ''trobairit ...

, the

Whisky a Go Go The Whisky a Go Go (informally nicknamed "the Whisky") is a historic nightclub in West Hollywood, California, United States. It is located at 8901 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip, corner North Clark Street, opposite North San Vicente Boul ...

and the Roxy. After appearing on the first ''Metal Massacre'' album with Ratt, Bitch, Steeler and Metallica, Pandemonium signed a three-album deal with Metal Blade Records. 1983 saw the release of their first album ''Heavy Metal Soldiers'', increasing press coverage, good reviews, and the arrival of new drummer Glen Holland. During this time Pandemonium shared stages with bands such as Ratt, Metallica, Slayer,

Quiet Riot Quiet Riot is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band founded in Los Angeles in 1973 by guitarist Randy Rhoads and bassist Kelly Garni. The original lineup featured Rhoads and Garni with lead vocalist Kevin DuBrow and drummer Drew F ...

, Black and Blue,

Rough Cutt Rough Cutt is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles who released two studio albums on Warner Bros. Records in the mid-1980s. Rough Cutt never achieved the commercial success enjoyed by many other Los Angeles bands of that time but vari ...

, White Sister,

Girlschool Girlschool are a British rock band that formed in the new wave of British heavy metal scene in 1978. Frequently associated with contemporaries Motörhead, they are the longest-running all-female rock band, still active after more than 40 yea ...

, and W.A.S.P. In mid-1984 the band played a sold-out show back in their home state of Alaska, opening for the

Scorpions Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always end ...

in Anchorage, on their Blackout tour. Second album, ''Hole In The Sky'' was release late in 1985, on Metal Blade Records, and featured new drummer Dave Basch. Engineered and co-produced by well known producer Bill Metoyer, this album had much better, heavier sound and received great reviews. During the next year, Pandemonium had moved up to headlining status at all of the major venues in the Los Angeles area, and also toured some, including shows all over California and in Las Vegas. Their third album, ''The Kill'', also co-produced by Bill Metoyer, was released in early 1988, and featured new drummer Dave Graybill. The band shed their glam image to go along with the much heavier, Black Sabbath influenced sound of the new record. Many shows were played in the Los Angeles area to support it, including big LA shows headlined by Savatage, Kings X, Sanctuary, and Killer Dwarves among others. After the departure of drummer Graybill in 1989, sensing the changing of the music scene, Pandemonium broke up in late 1989.

1990–present

David and Eric Resch moved to

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

in 1990 and recorded a seven-song unreleased demo for a fourth album, playing clubs and recording as a trio, with new drummer Shane Wacaster. Ironically, the grunge movement of their new city, Seattle, made it clear that times had changed, so they chose to put together a cover/bar band that became popular, and played all over the North West for years. Singer Chris Resch moved back to hometown of Fairbanks, Alaska, in the 1990s and lived a happy, productive life working as a painter/drywaller, and riding dirtbikes and snowmobiles all over Alaska and the family "homestead" until he died in 2007, of a heart attack, at the age of 48. Eric Resch still lives in Seattle, owns a Karaoke business, and plays in a couple of cover/bar bands to this day. David Resch moved back to home town of Fairbanks in 2015, and also plays in a popular cover band, as well as working at a large musical instrument store, where he bought his first guitar in the late 1970s. In 2012, expanded versions of all three albums, on CD, with extensive liner notes, new photos, and unreleased bonus tracks were released on Retrospect Records. The label is now defunct, but copies are available on the internet and in record stores around the world. Negotiations are underway for another re-issue on a new label as of 2021.

Members

*Chris Resch – Lead vocals / Live rhythm guitar *David Resch – Lead and rhythm guitar / back up vocals *Eric Resch – bass / second lead and backup vocals *Dave Basch – drums (1984-1986) (drummer on ''Hole in the Sky'') Past members *Kevin Fitzgerald – drums (1978-1982); played on ''Heavy Metal Soldiers'' *Glenn "Tripp" Holland – drums (1983-1984); joined after recording of first album, but played on two tracks of ''Hole in The Sky'' *Dave Graybill – drums (1986-1989); played on third album, ''The Kill'' *Billy D'Vette – guitar (moved from guitar tech to second guitarist for three months in 1985)

Discography

* ''Heavy Metal Soldiers'' (1983) * ''Hole in the Sky'' (1985) * ''The Kill'' (1988) As featured artist * ''

'' (1982)

References

Metal Blade Records artists Heavy metal musical groups from Alaska Heavy metal musical groups from California Musical groups from Los Angeles Year of establishment missing {{US-metal-band-stub