Uncle Slam was an American

crossover thrash Crossover thrash (often abbreviated to crossover) is a fusion genre of thrash metal and hardcore punk. The genre lies on a continuum between heavy metal and hardcore punk. Other genres on the same continuum, such as metalcore and grindcore, ma ...

band from

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' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, formed in 1987. They were influenced by punk rock bands of the 1980s like

Suicidal Tendencies Suicidal Tendencies is an American crossover thrash band formed in 1980 in Venice in Los Angeles, California by vocalist Mike Muir. Muir is the only remaining original member of the band. Along with D.R.I., Corrosion of Conformity, and Stormtr ...

(which featured some of the members of Uncle Slam and the Brood), D.R.I.,

Corrosion of Conformity Corrosion of Conformity (also known as COC) is an American heavy metal band from Raleigh, North Carolina, formed in 1982. The band has undergone multiple line-up changes throughout its existence, with guitarist Woody Weatherman as the sole const ...

, Black Flag and the

Circle Jerks Circle Jerks (stylized as Ciʀcle JƎʀᴋs) are an American hardcore punk band, formed in 1979 in Los Angeles, California. The group was founded by former Black Flag vocalist Keith Morris and Redd Kross guitarist Greg Hetson. To date, Circle ...

, as well as heavy metal bands like

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...

Slayer Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California. The band was formed in 1981 by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style ...

and

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by Lemmy (lead vocals, bass), Larry Wallis (guitar) and Lucas Fox (drums). Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a precu ...

. Many of their songs are about politics, rebel themes, death, pain and violence.

History

Uncle Slam was formed in 1987 by vocalists and guitarists Jon Nelson, Todd Moyer, bassist John Flitcraft, and former

drummer Amery Smith. Flitcraft quit the band and was replaced by Louiche Mayorga, who previously played bass alongside Smith in Suicidal Tendencies, but also soon left. He was briefly replaced by Bob Heathcote, who would later join Suicidal Tendencies, before Simon Oliver joined. Their first album, ''Say Uncle'', was released in 1988 through

Caroline Records Caroline Records is a record label originally founded in 1973. Initially founded in the United Kingdom to showcase British progressive rock groups, the label ceased releasing titles in 1976, and then re-emerged in the United States in 1986. ...

. Before the band could work on a follow-up to that album, Oliver left in 1989 and was replaced by Angelo Espino. After Oliver returned in 1991, the band released their second album, ''Will Work for Food'', in 1993 through

Restless Records Restless Records is a record label that was started in El Segundo, California in 1986 by Enigma Records and primarily released alternative, metal, and punk records. Restless also licensed and released records from Bar/None Records, Metal Blade R ...

. Smith departed the band the following year and was replaced by another former Suicidal Tendencies member, R. J. Herrera. With the lineup of Moyer, Oliver, and Herrera, the band recorded and released their third and final album, ''When God Dies'', in 1995, released through Medusa Records. The band broke up that same year.

Members

Last line-up * Todd Moyer – lead guitar and backing vocals (1984–1995) * Simon Oliver – bass (1987–1989, 1991–1995) * R. J. Herrera – drums (1994–1995) Former members * Jon Nelson – lead vocals and lead guitar (1984–1987) † * John Flitcraft – bass, backing vocals (1984–1986) † * Louiche Mayorga – bass (1986–1987) * Bob Heathcote – bass (1987) * Angelo Espino – bass (1989–1991) * Amery Smith – drums and backing vocals (1984–1994) † = Members who were present when Uncle Slam was known as the Brood. Timeline

ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:14 PlotArea = left:100 bottom:90 top:0 right:0 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1984 till:17/01/1995 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Colors = id:Vocals value:red legend:Vocals and guitar id:Guitar value:green legend:Guitar id:Bass value:blue legend:Bass guitar id:Drums value:orange legend:Drums id:studio value:black legend:Studio album id:demo value:gray(0.6) legend:Demo Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:3 ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:1984 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1984 LineData = layer:back at:01/01/1985 color:demo at:01/01/1986 color:studio at:01/07/1987 color:demo at:09/09/1987 color:demo at:01/01/1988 color:demo at:25/02/1988 color:studio at:01/07/1993 color:studio at:17/01/1995 color:studio BarData = bar:todd text:"Todd Moyer" bar:jon text:"Jon Nelson" bar:john text:"John Flitcraft" bar:louiche text:"Louiche Mayorga" bar:bob text:"Bob Heathcote" bar:simon text:"Simon Oliver" bar:angelo text:"Angelo Espino" bar:amery text:"Amery Smith" bar:rj text:"R.J. Herrera" PlotData= width:9 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:todd from:01/01/1984 till:end color:Vocals bar:jon from:01/01/1984 till:01/01/1987 color:Guitar bar:john from:01/01/1984 till:01/01/1986 color:Bass bar:louiche from:01/01/1986 till:01/01/1987 color:Bass bar:bob from:01/01/1987 till:01/01/1987 color:Bass bar:simon from:01/01/1987 till:01/01/1989 color:Bass bar:angelo from:01/01/1989 till:01/01/1991 color:Bass bar:simon from:01/01/1991 till:end color:Bass bar:amery from:01/01/1984 till:01/01/1994 color:Drums bar:rj from:01/01/1994 till:end color:Drums

Discography

Studio albums

Demos

References

External links

Uncle Slam
at BNR Metal Pages {{Authority control Crossover thrash groups Hardcore punk groups from California Political music groups Thrash metal musical groups from California Musical groups from Los Angeles Musical groups established in 1984 Musical groups disestablished in 1995