SLATED FOR VICTORY

1995's 'Upon The Throne Of Eternity' on the German Silencelike Death label. (Photo - Alan Moses)

Pete Slate is a name that should not be unknown, having taken part in some killer acts from the glorious era of extreme music. Acheron and Incubus being the two most recognized bands from the time period. ANYBODY who has heard the resilient and time tested stand alone album 'Rites Of The Black Mass' by Acheron can hear Slate's DNA stamp all over the guitar work on this amazing debut album.

Ultra-classic Acheron featuring Pete Slate. Photo - courtesy Vincent Crowley.

Incubus featuring Pete Slate & Mark LaVenia, prior to Pete leaving. Taken in the Howard brother's family home in Tampa 1990. Far right is Invincible Force 'zine editor Bryan Daniel who was intrumental to the photographer's life in the USA. This photo, like so many others GT uses, are unseen until now.(Photo - Alan Moses).

Official band bio insert which comes with the very rare 1995 EP. (Photo - Alan Moses)

So what the fuck happened? When Pete left Acheron, he teamed up with drummer Stephen Spillers to form what our friend Jason Kiss (Advent Abortus/Emperial Massacre) termed 'a true hidden Florida gem' in the now long running band EQUINOX. The original core was augmented by the notorious Mark LaVenia on bass and "Darkness" on vocals and we cannot agree with Jason's comment enough - Pete Slate has stood at the helm of what is truly a band that missed the spotlight.

Equinox featured in Peru's TESTAMENT 'ZINE #10. (Photo - Alan Moses)

Amazing when the 2nd wave of signings took up many straight out mediocre bands that were happy, and in one bizarre case,  to leave their posts as Young Republicans and to clone the pioneers of their choice.

What kind of bullshit is this? Factory farmed extreme music spelled the death knell. Out with the original and in with mediocrity - the rallying cry of the new era!

As the commercialism of black metal became,and has remained a solid fact then, this may have forced Equinox further into the shadows, as many folks simply had had enough of the imagery and sound of the black metal style, leaving it to the trend followers - and just never gave Slate's new outfit a chance due to the imagery of the early period.

An early Equinox shot from Spring 1995, Matt in foreground, Pete in background. (Photo - courtesy Pete Slate)

NOT so musically. "Black Fucking Death" is an apt description! So it's a shame this hidden gem laid neglected by many, despite the involvement of key-name figures such as Pete Slate, Mark LaVenia and Tony Blakk.

One of the earliest line up shots to feature Mark Lavenia - here in 1993. Not often seen since other selections from this shoot were used much more frequently. (Photo - courtesy Pete Slate)

STEPHEN SPILLERS (original drummer): "Mark was kind of like the elder, more experienced brother in those days. I always looked up to him because of his integrity both musically and personally. He was a phenomenal bassist and on the early recordings we were a four piece but Matt was only singing and we only had Pete's guitar so it had the sound and feel of a three piece. Mark's bass work carried the music. He made the single guitar sound work."

Some of the classic material you should be trying to locate right now. (Photo - Alan Moses)


THE IMMORTAL KIND CD CAN BE ORDERED HERE:

METABOLIC RECORDS OFFICIAL MYSPACE

OR

THE METABOLIC RECORDS WEBSITE


ABOUT THE CD OF RARE MATERIALS:


MARK LAVENIA: "Interestingly, all of our early recordings, including tracks from these demos, have just been compiled and released through Grim Nocturnal Records (www.grimnocturnalrecords.com), titled, As the Moon Swallows the Sun. It also has some really rough sounding live tracks. In addition to The Oath, it has several other covers that were originally on different tribute albums: Sabbath’s Hole in the Sky, Slayer’s Haunting the Chapel, and Mercyful Fate’s Gypsy. These were all recorded after I left the band. The exception being Hole in the Sky, where Pete asked me to make a cameo appearance and play the acoustic guitar coda, Don’t Start (Too Late). It’s fun too, after 15 years to have some of this stuff released, and the assembly of all of these tracks was really well done."


THE LASTEST CD OF RARE MATERIAL "AS THE MOON SWALLOWS THE SUN" CAN STILL BE PURCHASED HERE:


GRIM NOCTURNAL RECORDS

As rare as the band itself!! (Photo - Alan Moses)

Is it possible to salute the old world extremity, from a metal oriented approach, without losing integrity or personality? Fuck yeah, grab this band's recordings and the fact that it has been done without coming off as a total rip off will smack you right in the face. There's TOO MANY classic songs, but some are 'The Enchantress', 'Wretched and Nameless' and 'De Sacrificio Summo' -which come immediately to mind.

1994's classic 3-trk self titled promo Demo.

Tony Blakk, right from the above demo era, Summer 1994. (Photo - Mark Lavenia)

MARK LAVENIA :" I think we made some cool tunes. I think our daring to be slow—considering what many other bands were doing at the time—made for a fresh sound. Furthermore, I think we were able to capture a mood that was dark and eerie, without resorting to the low-hanging fruit of hateful, sick, and perverse themes. I know, many people probably think, ‘you say “sick and perverse” like it is a bad thing”’; LOL. Truth is, we love many bands that dwell in that realm; however, it just wasn’t the identity we wanted to convey. And for my part, it wasn’t a mentality that I wanted to purvey. I’m not sure if that helped us or hurt us. Nevertheless, I think our authenticity in that regard contributed to a recognizable identity.

In addition, what they’ve gone on to do since I left has sent the intensity of their song writing through the stratosphere. Although I really loved Steve’s drumming, the addition of Gabe to the line up had a transformative effect on the band: his technique gave them a sound that was ready for the world’s stage. Just to be clear, I personally like listening to Steve’s drumming just as well, and found it to be perfectly well suited for the sound we were going for in the early years of the band. However, Gabe’s highly technical playing and phenomenal chops gave them a sound that was less “underground,” if you will; and thus, was appealing to a broader circle of fans.



All that said, I think the secret ingredient to their success has been Pete’s unrelenting perseverance and commitment to the music. I am totally impressed with his ability to hang in there and keep plugging away month after month, year after year. Furthermore, his creative wellspring has not even remotely been depleted. Pete is the real deal."

Much of the band's music should be preferably listened to with headphones on, might we add, for there is yet another hidden layer waiting the more adventurous, who are NOT content with making this sort of music background in nature.

Matt June 19 2006 (Photo - Mark Lavenia)

Being family men and regular job workers, you'd think Pete would have laid his weapons down - not the case, far from it. The man has soldiered on creating some of the most vital and interesting song structures to come from the style worldwide, let alone nationwide or even Florida wide. And you bet the indelible forensic proof comes with Pete's immediate signature guitar work.

Hard Rock Live @ Universal, Citywalk - Orlando, Fl 2006 (Photo - courtesy Pete Slate)

At the end of April 2010 we got up again with Pete, and had a little chat to get his opinion on a couple things:

GT: As Equinox is an active band with material out and history behind it, what is the current status of the band musically and line up wise?

PETE: We are still together. I'm writing some new songs. Since we are looking for a permanent label to help distribute our music, we want to get either a demo cd out or a 7"ep. I'm a huge fan of vinyl and it's very popular again. So maybe that will happen. It's myself on guitar, Tony Blakk on Vocals/Bass, and Gabe Lewandowski on drums.

GT: Is it possible to judge the fan base's responses to the older material compared to the newer material?

PETE: That's a hard question. We still have long time fans but we get a lot of new hits everyday on Myspace of new fans that are just now getting into the band. All our albums have gotten a great response and most of the fans want the whole collection since the cd's are getting harder to come by.

GT: Has the band found more of a following in certain countries?

PETE: Well Europe in general has always been good to us. Germany, Austria, Belgium, France, Spain, Italy, Czech Republic and course Mexico and parts of Central America.

Complimentary Equinox Poster (!) which accompanies Testament 'zine #10 from Peru. (Photo - Alan Moses)

GT: What's your reaction to the statement that Equinox is one of the hidden gems in the Tampa scene's crown?

PETE: That pretty much sums it up. We were always the band that got overlooked. It was because we formed back in late '92. Shit, by that time the scene here in Fl was just over saturated with Death Metal bands and everyone was getting tired of the FL scene. Even though we didn't sound anything like that, we got lumped into the whole FL thing. Had we been formed a few years earlier things would of been a lot different. I believe that whole heartedly.

A 1993 promo photo that remained unused until the release of 'As The Moon swallows The Sun'. (Photo - courtesy Pete Slate)

GT: Did you ever think this far down the road you'd still be writing and having your tunes published?

PETE: Well yes, in a way. I always believed in our music and I knew if we found the right label to help us get our music around the world we'd be very popular. Now we just need to find a well respected record label.

GT: How was LaVenia's wedding?

PETE: Great man. Mark has been a long time friend since I was about 19. We've been in countless bands together so to be at his wedding was an honor. He's like a brother to me. The wedding was awesome and his father played jazz guitar at the reception. We even had pictures with the Glorious Times book. THAT BOOK NEVER LEAVES MY SIDE!!!!!

Now we are talking. History WITH History! Mark & Pete were kind enough to have a photo taken with GT at Mark's wedding! We wish you and your wife all the best Mark, thank you both for such a cool gesture!
(Photo - courtesy Pete Slate)

MARK LAVENIA: "It wasn’t until Pete Slate and I became friends that I became acquainted with the darker hues of metal. He introduced me to Slayer, Possessed, Celtic Frost, etc. I immediately loved the intensity and chunky grooves. Like Ride the Lightning before it, my first hearing of Reign in Blood was a game changer and, for me, completely recalibrated what it meant for a tune to be bad ass. Certainly we’d catch shows with Morbid Angel or Amon (now Deicide). However, bands like Kreator, Coroner, even Testament and Anthrax were fair game. Athiest or Obituary was just as likely to be in the tape deck as Destruction or Voivod. Pete was always more of an aficionado on the underground scene than I was. He would always have me check out this or that demo he just traded for; I can’t say that many the real obscure ones ever really stuck with me, though it was cool to hear the new sounds that were emerging."

"We were witness to the birth pangs and formative throes of Tampa’s death metal scene. And that was cool. As I think many people can relate, it is cool as a kid to know about obscure bands that are not on many people’s radar; it’s as if you have special knowledge. Add to that that the given band is more brutal or macabre than they thought musically possible, and it is as if to say, I live in a world unbeknownced to you, and it is not for the faint of heart. In the sage words of Beavis, “The only thing better than getting chicks, is scaring them.” However, that is all pretty much kid stuff, and I resolved to not get stuck in that. Thus, I enjoyed hearing new bands, but had no particular disdain for a band just because they were or became well known (providing they held to the integrity of the music)."

Gabe during 'The Immortal Kind' recording sessions, NEVER SEEN BEFORE! (Photo - courtesy Pete Slate)

"If you couldn’t tell already, Pete was and is one of my very best buds. So, he and I never lost contact. We currently talk infrequently, but the space doesn’t make us at all estranged. Anyway…after Incubus, Pete had met a drummer, Steve Spillers; they were talking about putting together a project that was in the black/death metal vein. Pete invited me in and I was totally into the idea. Although we all loved the vicious riffing and blazing beats of many of the bands of the time, we were all in agreement that something really old-school was what we were wanted to pour our energy into. Pete and Steve were much more familiar with the European black metal bands that they wanted to fashion the sound after, than I was. For me, my influence hailed from more fundamental roots—what I consider to be the pro-genesis to the entire scene: the title track off of Black Sabbath’s debut album. Moreover, we were all after the same construct, though were coming at it from slightly varied angles."

"The first band Pete and I were together in was called Blacke Rose (à la early Mercyful Fate). After a couple years, it was clear that Pete and I wanted to take the band in a direction that the other guys weren’t up for (and, we knew that the name had to go). The drummer stayed with us, but his heart was never really into it. Pete ran into Kam, told him about what we were trying to do; we all met, hit it off, and started writing new materials and rehearsing right away."

Mark LaVenia on Abhorrent Existence

ON THE NEW BAND DRUID LORD...

GT: Druid Lord is the new side project (if you want to call it that) which is focusing on more the doomy side of things - can you give a little reasoning and info behind the band and what you want to achieve with it?

PETE: I've always loved old school Death Metal and Doom Metal. I've had songs and part of songs for years that I really couldn't use for Equinox. So I formed this band keeping the music style to bands like Autopsy, Dream Death, Hellhammer, but having some strange melodies like let's say Candlemass/St.Vitus. Lyrically we are dealing with ideas from old cult horror movies and the occult. I'm having a blast with this and it will fucking crush. Look for the demo soon.

STEVE: "I can't tell you how good it is to be playing music with Pete and Tony again. Nothing's changed and we all work together just the same as we did in Equinox. I've played in other bands just as they have and we will all tell you that what we have is unique. That kind of atmosphere makes it real easy to write good music and I think anybody who was a fan of Equinox will love Druid Lord."

GT: Given, at present, the line up for DL that's currently proposed consists of 3/4 Equinox, will you be attempting to totally divorce this project's feel and sound from the main band?

PETE: We'll that's the hard part. If you look back to the 2nd Equinox demo we were doing almost doom style music. There will be Equinox influence's but the overall songs will just be more darker and heavier. I'm tuning my guitar much lower that Equinox and the drum parts will be more structured with very interesting parts. Some fans of Equinox who have heard the Druid stuff have totally been into what we are doing. The three of us get along so well it's like the old days.

STEVE: "This has been one of my goals for a long time now and to have it come to fruition is great. I think it happened at the right time. When he decided to venture into a different area I was all for it. I personally think this is what he needed to spark that creativity again. Pete and I virtually started Equinox and the two main keys to that were a similarity in musical interests and the fact that we work perfectly together. When he writes the music and brings it to the table for some reason I have the knack of writing drum tracks that are usually exactly what he had in mind when he wrote the music. On top of that-and this is no small factor-our timing is identical. For instance, when a break comes up in a song neither of us have to count to know when to come back in. We've always just clicked. Even Tony was shocked at that-during the first recording of the first DL track he sat back in amazement that after ten years Pete and I are still spot on with our timing."

GT: Is it more of an outlet to get material not suitable to Equinox out, or just an expression of yet another side to the creative will?

PETE: Expression of another creative side. Writing slower heavier music gives me so much more ideas. But we are not all that slow. We will have some mid paced and a few faster parts to enhance the music.

STEVE: "In my opinion Pete is one of the best guitarists ever to play metal and I've always felt fortunate to have been able to play music with him. I've never been a very technical drummer but Pete's always liked my playing and because of that I've had the opportunity to make some kick-ass metal with one of the most creative guitarists I've ever met. The fact that he's been able to write most or all of four full length albums and countless demos with Equinox and then write excellent material for Druid Lord amazes me. When he first started talking about Druid Lord, though, I had no doubts the music would be fresh, heavy and creative. As a matter of fact, I knew when I left Equinox that at some point I wanted to be involved with any band Pete wanted to do and I knew that no matter how much time passed in between that whatever Pete wrote it would be great."

GT: Can we get a bit of a description of some of the weapons in your arsenal.

PETE: I've got a 100W Marshall head, a 50W Marshall Head, a killer old school distortion pedal, BC rich Iron Bird and Warlock both from the early 80's and a 1983 Gibson Explorer. Ton of pedals.

Part of the Equinox arsenal seen here in yet another mega-rare pic during recording of 'The Immortal Kind'. (Photo - courtesy Pete Slate)

GT: It seems to us as Editors of GT that many of the underlying concepts and

love of our mutual past are the same. Can you explain more of what the book

and taking part in it meant to you as a fan and also a musician of the era?

PETE: The book to me is one of a kind. It really captures the essence of what it

was like to be in a Death Metal band of that time. I was actually at a lot

of the FL gigs that were pictured in the book. It brought back so many

memories of hanging out in Tampa FL with our car packed with friends,

Drinking brews, trying to scam on Metal chics, and listening to bands before

they made it big time. I feel lucky and honored to be part of the book.

Since I was involved in the scene it meant that much more to me.

GT: What is it that the new age bands and scene lack the most, when compared to

our old glory days?

PETE: Everything. The attitude that you'd do whatever it takes to make it. The

money didn't matter. We all rehearsed our music all the time. We lived and

breathed metal. Of course the music was just more raw and aggressive. I

don't know even how to really answer that. It was just a different time back

then.

Pete and his two youngest lads in the patch, Halloween 2009. Photo - courtesy Pete Slate.

The first two albums are out of print and difficult to obtain. Pete suggests Ebay as about the best way to find them, and also cited "Hells Headbangers" as a distro that still currently has some Equinox material in stock.

To contact Equinox directly, for any reason, Pete suggests the official Equinox myspace page:

EQUINOX

Thanks to Pete, Mark, Vincent and Steve - class acts.

**Steve's comments were gathered after publishing

LEGEND LUCIFARUM

.

Legendary status - what does it mean anyway? Different things to different people for different reasons.

pic: signed Final Conflict CD insert - band shot. Thanks to the lads for the scribblings!

ACHERON, if judged on mere stamina and surving the ages, earns the title of legendary, and is pivotal to the Glorious Times musically and on a personal level for the editors. You'd be hard pressed to find many musicians to continue striving forward despite all obstacles, to keep the will to creativity alive. On the other side of the coin then, rarely has an extreme music style mirrored the philosophical development of it's core membership.

Pictured here from the private collection of Brian Kenyon:

Rites of the Black Mass (original 1992 Turbo Music version)

Rites of the Black Mass (JL America version 1992)
Rites of the Black Mass (Bootlegged 1998 version on Metal Age)
Rites of the Black Mass (2007 Dying Music Reissue)
Rites of the Black Mass (Bootlegged 2009 Metal Fighter Records version limited to 3000 copies)
Satanic Victory (Lethal Records 1994)
Hail Victory (Metal Merchant 1995 - limited to 1000 copies)
Lex Talionis (Lethal Records1994)
Lex Talionis/Satanic Victory (Blackend Records 1997 unauthorized release)
Anti-god; Anti-christ (Factory Test Pressing 1996)
Anti-god; Anti-christ (Moribund Records 1996)
Anti-god; Anti-christ (Demise Records 1999 w/2 bonus tracks)
Those Who Have Risen (Master CD)
Those Who Have Risen (Full Moon Records 1998)
Those Who Have Risen (Dying Music 2004)
Compendium Diablerie: The Demo Days (Full Moon Records 2001)
Xomaly (Warlord Records 2002 limited to 1000 copies)
Tribute to the Devil's Music (Black Lotus Records 2003)
Demo (unreleased from 2001)
Decade Infernus (Rare Promo - Black Lotus Records 2004)
Decade Infernus (Black Lotus Records 2004 - Red Printing error on spine)
Decade Infernus (Black Lotus Records 2004 - Yellow Printing error on spine)
Rebirth: Metamorphosing Into Godhood (Limited Slipcase version - Black Lotus Records 2003)
Rebirth: Metamorphosing Into Godhood (South American Version on Dark Production Records 2004)
The Final Conflict: The Last Days of God (Displeased Records 2009 - European Version)
The Final Conflict: The Last Days of God (Ibex Moon Records 2009 - American Version w/bonus CD/DVD)

pic - 'Decade Infernus' CD back - with respect to BLACK LOTUS RECORDS

Once ordained Reverend of The Church Of Satan, and founding member of ACHERON, Vincent Crowley - jumped at the offer to participate in our book, and ofcourse understood the concept immediately.

Courtesy Vincent Crowley

- "Great fucking job! It brought back alot of awesome memories. The scene was so fucking special back then. We lived for the music and did whatever we needed to do to get it! These new fans are spoiled with the internet and such."

-Vincent Crowley

1992 poster from the private collection of Brian Kenyon. This tour was cancelled at the last possible moment, adding to the poster's exceptionally rare nature!

Vincent dug into the memory hole, his own sentiments and some events that stick with him from the glory days, a couple of which we used in GT backed with some killer unseen photos including a rare photo shoot which were never released to the public. So with his help, GT was able to yet again bring more ultra-rare photos to the table. Things are no different here either - as we bring you images and sentiments we were unable to use in Glorious Times.

2 song tape not many people realise was made. Photo: Brian Pattison

Steve Smith @ The Electric Banana Pittsburgh PA May 18th 1990 Photo: Alan Moses

Taking place at a venue who's stage sat right over the edge of a cliff, the now infamous Electric Banana was host to many killer underground gigs. It was a veritable who's-who of tristate personalities at this particular event. This is the original flyer. The owners even played a recording of Morbid Angel, calling on the phone from jail, announcing they could not make an earlier booking, having had their tour bus boarded by police during their travels.

A memory from Belial Koblak (pictured above May 18 1990 by Alan Moses):

"There were several occasions similar to this but this one was just hilarious at the time. On one of our many trips to the cemetery Vince and I with 3 young lasses and a couple bottles of alcohol (vodka or whisky I think) drove into the place with devious intent in mind. Far off in the back of this severed garden was a rather large semi circle wall of stones with stairs wrapping around both sides built into the side of a hill sort of obscured from the rest of the place, a perfect place for young blasphemers to partake in debauchery if so desired. After I can't remember how long and polishing off most of the booze it was getting rather dark and the little concubines needed to get home (you can fill in with your own ideas of what was going on). Driving back through the winding thin roadway toward the main entrance blasting Satanic Death metal we realized the gate was shut and locked for the evening, amazingly there was no security perusing about. Obviously being illegal to be inside after hours we tried to find other ways out but the entire expanse was surrounded by brick walls and fences, steep hillsides as this is in Pittsburgh PA, not flat like Florida. Taking matters in hand we ended up driving over multitudes of graves downhill on the far side of the place where there was a gap between a fence post and some trees just barely wide enough to squeeze the vehicle through. Being intoxicated trapped in a graveyard after dark with 3 young girls and unholy music playing and rolling over graves was a frantic yet hilarious thing at the time. There are more tales of lunacy we somehow ended up in but I'll save that for another time. That was like 20 years ago, 89/90."

-Belial Koblak

Belial Koblack @ The Electric Banana May 18th 1990 Pittsburgh PA. Photo: Alan Moses

Photo: courtesy Vincent Crowley

METAL IN THE PET CEMETERY - 1990

"ACHERON and BATHYM were asked to play a party in a very unusual place. It was in a Pet Cemetery! I believe it was the last time ACHERON played in Pennsylvania. And to top it off, our old Vocalist Mike Smith sang with us one last time. The person rented a generator and both bands played from Dusk through the night. There was lots of booze and many friends having a great time. Most likely one of the oddest places ACHERON has ever played!"
-Vincent Crowley

From it's inception, the 'satanic' overtones of this band has been along the lines of LaVeyist satanic thought - so much so, that if one considers 'official' religious dogma, then the COS being a US Government accepted religion makes this band about the only REAL Satanic band.

Photo: courtesy Vincent Crowley

GRAVEYARD FUN, NAUGHTY BOYS – 1989

"Back in the later 80’s anyone who had long hair could pick up a slutty Metal chick. When we would do shows, we would flyer anywhere people congregated. Funniest place was the Mall on the weekend. So many groups of people hanging out outside and inside. (Yes, very lame.) So we took advantage of the situation. While doing so we tended to end up with various ladies who wanted to party with us. But most didn’t realize that we liked to party in the nearby graveyard. After awhile, the naughty girls came to us. And oh the things we did to them! (Ha, Ha) Let’s just say that if they didn’t know what true blasphemy was, they sure did get to learn it and live it! I’m sure we scarred a few girls for life. (Ha, Ha)"
-Vincent Crowley

Whether or not the lone wolves torching buildings or bombing batmitzfahs in Turkey, or wandering your local pub wearing make up, or plaguing a city murdering innocents at random is 'satanic' we'll leave it up to you to decide.

pic - Part of the 'Decade Infernus' layout: 'fuck their church', with respect to BLACK LOTUS RECORDS

We are dealing with authorization from the source. And no other band has continued a lucrative career in the extreme music world and made it's stance known to it's own fan base as ACHERON has, before or since Crowley's sociopolitical involvement. If some poprock star is a member of the same church, in general their involvement is kept fairly silent - as not to scare away the fan base. It is not part of the package.

A personally favourite shot of the Editors. They said it all on their own!! Photo: courtesy Vincent Crowley

As the biological evolution of the thought processes of Crowley have occured, and seen him leave said church, so too has the musical output of the band evolved over the years. Yet the will to freedom and a triumph of the personal will - essential elements to satanic thought - have remained integral motivations to continue to promote through a unique musical approach which is maturing with age.

pic - 2 recent limited shirts.  Pic: Alan Moses

You always get extra goodies when you order from these guys! Pic: Alan Moses

VISIT THE OFFICIAL ACHERON MYSPACE PAGE

Without any doubt - the band's debut album 'Rites Of The Black Mass' stands totally alone - with no peers at all, as perhaps the crowning glory of 'True Satanic Metal' oriented music. Concept albums have never been the same before or since either - and seem almost childish when compared ideologically to the seminal debut. Infact, nothing has ever been done like it before or since - so there's no comparable material to it either.

Turbo audio cassette of 'Rites'. Pic: Alan Moses

Various versions of the unchallenged debut 'Rites Of The Black Mass' on CD from the private collection of former manager Brian Kenyon (Hellfire Productions) - thanks Brian!

GT contributor and staunch supporter, Pete Slate, shares some sentiment from back during his tenure with the band:

"Vince and I first formed a band called Mythos. We wrote a whole album worth
of material with a drummer named Rob Orr. We did one live show and recorded
a rehearsal demo. The band was actually was quite good. It seemed at that
time though that the fans wanted Acheron to reform. So, Vince decided we
should start over using the Acheron name. We rehearsed the whole "Rites"
album and re-recorded the album for Turbo records in Germany. There was
supposed to be a tour with Funeral Nation (if I remember correctly) but it
never came to be. Turbo got into some major trouble for backing a "Nazi"
group. We had no idea. Long story short, Vince moved the band to Tampa. Mike
Browning (Nocturnus) joined on drums and Tony Blakk (Apostasy, Equinox) on
guitar. In my opinion this was a great line-up. We were doing all the old
Acheron songs plus some old Nocturnus songs from the mid 80's. We did a lot of gigs back then."
- Pete Slate

pic - A classic ACHERON LINE UP: Browning - Crowley - Blakk - Slate. Photo: courtesy Pete Slate

Vinyl & Misc items from the massive private collection of Brian Kenyon:

Those Who Have Risen (cassette inlay)
Satanic Victory (cassette inlay)
666 Patch
Black & White stickers
Anti-god; Anti-christ (cassette inlay)
Lex Talionis (cassette inlay)
Tribute to the Devil's Music (cassette inlay)
Messe Noir 7" (Reaper Records)
Alla Xul 7" (Gutted Records)
Necromanteion Communion 7" Pic Disc
Rites of the Black Mass (12" LP on Turbo Music)
Anti-god; Anti-christ (12" LP)
Xomaly (12" LP on Warlord Records)
Satanic Victory (Alternate Art work on Orange Vinyl)

BLOOD OATH
(more words from the truest fan)

Strauss(drums) & Crowley May 18th Pitts, PA. Photo: Alan Moses

"I became a fan of Acheron immediately following the release of "Rites of the Black Mass" which I picked up at the metal haven known as Ace's Records in Tampa, Florida (where I later worked from 1996-2000). I remember spending HOURS in Ace's each trip which led me to meeting former Acheron drummer Mike Browning. He was a cool guy and very down to earth. I remember hanging out at Mike's house one time in 1994 or 1995 when Vince first starting putting Acheron back together following the Lex Talionis release. Vince came over to practice with Mike and their former guitar player Trebor Ladres. Vince walked in and barely said a word to me and went to the practice area. The first song they started to play was "Hekal Tiamat" which would later appear on "Those Who Have Risen" and this was the first time I met Vincent who would later become my best friend. I told him he needed to add more double bass to the song. I remember Vince glared at me like "Who the fuck is this shit telling me what to do with my music?" and they went on to jam "Fuck the Ways of Christ" which sounded much different than what ended up on "Anti-god; Anti-christ". Little did I know that this would be the last time they would jam together. In early 1995 I had sent Vince a letter (this was before e-mail was widely used) asking him if he could get me a copy of "Lex Talionis" as I could not get it anywhere - I included my phone number just in case he had one. Sure enough, Vincent called me to tell me he had a copy and where to mail the money. I recall the first conversation with Vince where I found out he was a constant smart ass as he told me that he was pissed because some rappers in Europe remade the "Rites of the Black Mass" album and retitled it "Rites of my Black Ass" which I fell for. Shortly after this I sold merch for Acheron at a couple local shows in Tampa. Vince and I became good friends which led me to helping put together shirt designs at Kinko's in the middle of the night in Tampa - what a fuckin pain it is to do when you really do things DIY. In the beginning of 1996 Vincent hooked up with what would become one of the classic line ups of the band with Michael Estes and Richard Christy. I remember Vince and I driving from Tampa to Orlando on a weekly basis for them to practice in a smelly and blistering hot warehouse. It was awesome to see how committed Vince was to his vision of Acheron when he had only been ripped off by label after label. Those practice trips were fucking brutal though as we would drive in the blazing heat with no air conditioning. I recall one night on the way back to Tampa at 1am we were driving on I4 and I was starting to doze off when all the sudden I was woken up to the car going off the road because Vince fell asleep at the wheel but he jumped awake and avoided any accident which left us with adrenaline for the rest of the drive back to Tampa. In late spring of 1996 Acheron finally completed the recording of the "Anti-god; Anti-christ" EP which was a blast to be apart of as I recorded some back up vocals for the last song. In summer of 1996 Acheron was asked to play the Milwaukee Metal Fest which at the time was the biggest US festival and this is where my leadership took over and shortly after I started to manage Acheron for a short time. I remember booking the trip for the band and flying with them to the show - one of the best times of my life seeing Carnivore reunite along with many other great bands. After the trip back to Tampa, Vince and I went to Ace's Records to put some stuff on consignment when I walked into the job of a lifetime for a metal head - to work at the legendary Ace's Records. I remember spending countless hours talking to fellow metal heads and talking so many people into buying Acheron cds. Sundays were the laidback day at Ace's where guys like Alan Moses (you all should know who he is) myself and Vince would hang for hours listening to metal and fucking with each other relentlessly. I remember Alan didn't know what to think at first because Vince and I were so brutal with ripping on each other but he joined in with some good jabs soon enough. It has been a decade now since those days but damn were they fun! I remember when I was managing Acheron how they were the "black sheep" of the Tampa scene and I took on booking their shows and promoting their shows to good turnouts. Tampa was a very spoiled scene who after 1994 took everything for granted when the scene imploded and went back underground. I am proud to have been a part of the legendary Tampa Death Metal scene of the '90s and there will never be anything like it again."
-Brian Kenyon (March 2010)


With it's impressive discography under the microscope, pushing the envelope further, comes the current album 'The Final Conflict - The Last Days Of God' which ushers in the most vital necessity of man to forever exterminate from even collective memory - this devious control mechanism which cripples nature's search for the super man.

Indeed, by any means.

McEntee's IBEX MOON ofcourse has sunk it's money into making the release domestically available - and easier to get into the hand of the ones that need the small push over onto the side of the fence that thinks. Such a corageous effort should be supported at all costs - so please follow the links provided to pick up the releases to keep the cogs turning, you won't be disappointed.

Contact IBEXMOON for the latest Acheron merchandise & kickass package deals!

With a prospective US tour and various other dates planned, including an upcoming Finnish festival (other first for this band!), 2010 certainly looks like a most important year for Crowley's relentlessly tenacious vision to expand - which is no bad thing - well, depending on just what side of the fence you happen to be.

photo: Alan Moses

A GIFT FROM THE EDITORS

It's with a great deal of pleasure we present this downloadable package - which consists of your choice of flac or mp3 versions of a very early Acheron gig, from The Upstage, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania June 30th 1990.

The download comes direct from a digitization of a tape which GT editor Brian Pattison recorded of the show, and has had filed away all these years - heard by NOBODY until now!

Included is everything needed to make your own copy, cd tray layout, cover insert and even a cd label scan to complete the package. Plus in true GT fashion, yet more photos and stories unseen and unheard to back up the flashback.

DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE ACHERON LIVE CD RIGHT HERE!

COMPLETE MP3 PACKAGE

PART 1 OF 2 FLAC FILE PACKAGE

PART 2 OF 2 FLAC FILE PACKAGE

Celebrating the new Acheron era, in appreciation of our contributors and supporters, and finally as a gesture from the Glorious Times to YOU, the ones who visit our myspace and facebook pages - or just stumble into this blog - we offer you this amazing peek into time for one of the highly influential bands and personas of extreme music.

FOLLOW THESE LINKS AND PURCHASE SOME ACHERON MERCHANDISE:

OFFICIAL ACHERON MYSPACE

DISPLEASED RECORDS

IBEXMOON RECORDS

courtesy Vincent Crowley

THE LEGEND LIVES ON!