Biografie"Nothing can stop them, they´re headed your way.....driven by vengeance"
So read the lyrics from one of ABATTOIR´s most popular songs. Not too many years ago, Los Angeles was a very different place when thought of as a hotbed for rock music. A time when it was okay to be aggressive, to speak your mind at high volume, and wives of liberal politicians were scared of guitars. At the center of this was a band called ABATTOIR.

ABATTOIR´s beginnings can be traced to 1984, when high school buddies Mel Sanchez and Mark Caro decided to scrap their cover band and start playing a different kind of music, one with Euro-metal and punk roots but driven by a rage that is purely American.

Discovered by Metal Blade Records, ABATTOIR was included on Metal Massacre vol. 4, and overnight went from local status to worldwide phenomenon. Later joined by vocalist Steve Gaines, the band released the classic album "Vicious Attack" on Combat Records in 1985. Still held in high regards around the world, the band toured in support of the album. But then...

The tide shifted. Pressure from the record company to widen the audience and to cash in on the flavor of the month forced the band to change styles. Following Gaines´ departure, the band recruited another vocalist and released "The Only Safe Place" in 1986. With production and mixing of the album done without the approval of ABATTOIR, it sold modestly, but the writing was on the wall. ABATTOIR disbanded, with members going on to different bands such as Evil Dead, Bloodlust, and others. But none of these projects ever eclipsed the mighty ABATTOIR. And the fans knew it as well.

Having a heritage is a double-edged sword. On one hand, people expect greatness, on the other hand, that greatness will always be compared to past glory. Everywhere the members went, and whatever they played, everyone asked "What about ABATTOIR?"

In 1998, the beast began to awaken. A collection of original members got together to record a song for a metal compilation on Dwell Records in tribute to Iron Maiden titled "A Call To Irons". Shortly thereafter, Century Media Records re-released both albums to a tremendous worldwide response. And about this time Sanchez, Caro, and Gaines found themselves together again. All other musical projects were shelved, and the addition of drummer Kevin McShane, the legendary ABATTOIR was back for the new testament.

Still retaining all the rage that made them legendary, this is a band set firmly in the present and future. Objective-simple. After a decade of homogenized, child safe music targeted at AM radio for the mentally unchallenged, to return to a raw emotional anger that is good, wholesome, and healthy.

Quelle: http://www.abattoirmusic.com/biography.htmlDiscografieVicious Attack (1985)

The Only Safe Place (1987)
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