.
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)
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."
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.
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!
