.Total.Fucking.Slam.

Sup Fellas!

It is with the greatest pride and pleasure that I now create this blog. My name is Lou and I am a native of New York. How should I begin? There was a time... I have dedicated a better part of my life to a form of ear obliterating music known as Brutal Death Metal and after all of my experiences with this horrendous music, I felt that the time has come for me to create a place to preserve an important part of the history of this incredible music. Brutal Death Metal has taken many forms over the decades and one of its originating seedlings known as Slam has captivated me so deeply that it literally changed my life. I can safely say that the creature responsible for the birth of slam is New York's very own Internal Bleeding. These NY natives of a land filled with thugs, light-speed lifestyles, and much "kawfee" consumption have laid out the foundation that remains a major factor in the evolution of modern brutal death metal. They took it upon themselves to create a style of death metal that centralized around the element that would normally be used in a climatic moment of your favorite death metal tune aka Suffocation's Liege of Inveracity. You know what I am talking about. That beastly moment, that part of the song that is so hyped up it literally implodes, that chuggy chug moment that feels like a sawed-off buckshot to the face, or better yet that slammable onslaught moment that sends the savages in the pit into an endless frenzy of annihilation. Yeah, now you know. Internal Bleeding is responsible for taking that element of a death metal tune and making it universal; where every song is a stream of perpetual groove drenched pit riffs. The purpose of this blog is to provide to you, the reader, a place to learn all about this monster known as slam. Its history and the fine gentlemen responsible for creating timeless tunes that to this day remain unmatched. They shadow just about every new modern death metal band while continuing to leave you wanting more. These forefathers have develop something special, something immortal, that all of us avid death metal listeners can still look back on and say to ourselves, "Oh shit! no way!" I will focus on the birth of it all in the East Coast of North America and its critical peripheral influences all around the world. I will bring to light the relationships between these gentlemen and their correspondence that transcended state-lines, coast-lines, and international oceans. I will not forget about that foul monster from Texas known as Devourment, a most digusting beast that it is and the immortality that is Molesting the Decapitated. I hope that you will enjoy this as much as I will enjoy digging up the remnants of slam death metal history straight from the thoughts and memories of these savages responsible. What better way to initiate this blog of slam death metal history than to start by presenting to you an anecdotal recollection straight from the core of slam itself. The man himself, Chris Pervelis. It is an honor to have dissected his memories and the end result will serve as the foundation for the modus operandi of this blog.

Stay tuned for more intensive updates an revisions! Enjoy!



TOTAL FUCKING SLAM
By Chris Pervelis







I must confess that my memory may be a little hazy; time can do that to you. If I have omitted or incorrectly identified certain people, places, bands and time frames, I am truly sorry.


When Internal Bleeding first started in 1991, there were handful of bands out on Long Island and in the New York area and naturally they were a big influence on us. Particularly Bill and Anthony; they were more tuned in to what was going on in NY than I was. I had been more into slow, heavy and groove oriented sounds from bands like Black Sabbath, Obituary and others. Tom (original bassist) and Brian (original vocalist) were more into European and Floridian stuff. At first we struck a pretty good balance with these influences and our first two songs "Invocation of Evil" and "Genocide" reflect that mix.





One night, Bill, Anthony and I were at a diner after practice. We had a long discussion about the direction of the band. I can remember this day like it was yesterday. Anthony and Bill weren't happy with the sound, and I wasn't either. We started talking about what we should sound like and we all pretty much came to the conclusion that we wanted to be a band that concentrated on writing heavy riffs with groove to them and throw a few blast beats in to separate the grooves.





We thought most bands concentrated more on the blasting and grinding, so we decided to go the other way. That's basically how our sound was born. Is it completely original? No. But I think it is an approach that some bands hinted at but no one took to the level we did.





We always hated the word "mosh" so Bill had suggested we use "slam riff" instead of "mosh riff" and so "TOTAL FUCKING SLAM" was born. It became our standing philosophy to write music that would always be centered around slam riffs and we held ourselves to a very high standard. We slaved over every riff we wrote, dumped songs that didn't make the cut and we really worked hard on arranging things for maximum tension and release. On top of that, we marketed ourselves pretty well, defining ourselves as "Total Fucking Slam." That gave use something that other bands didn't have...a marketing slogan (it's the ad man in me. I own an ad business).





Funny story, when Anthony wrote the big breakdown in "Anointed in Servitude," we almost dumped it because it was a little too happy sounding (we used to say riffs like that sounded "bouncy"). I am glad we changed our mind, but it took a lot of internal arguing with each other to keep it in the song. It wasn't originally in the place it is now and with some creative arranging, we got it into a spot that made the riff really powerful and dynamic.





In all fairness, I think Dying Fetus was taking this approach as well and I think that's why we sparked up a great friendship with those guys. We shared such similar values musically. I can remember getting the "Bathe in Entrails" demo in the mail, popping it in, listening to it and saying "Fuck! These guys get it!" I took the tape right to the studio to let the band hear it and we all freaked. I can remember Anthony totally loosing himself and throwing a garbage can against a wall and kicking the couch in our studio when he heard it. Pretty soon after that we went down to Maryland to play with them and Ripping Corpse.





The ONE DOLLAR DEMO was just a rehearsal tape that we put together because one of our buddies liberated a bunch of blank tapes from a law school. I had a four-track, so I figured lets record something so we can sell at our first show. It came out horrible, but we sold it for a dollar, so the price was fair. I listen to it now and laugh. I can hear our sound developing, but it wasn't quite "there" yet.





I think the sound we were looking for came to fruition on INVOCATION OF EVIL. The production was good, the playing was good, albeit a tad sloppy in places, and the songs I think were excellent. When it came out, people went totally nuts for it. I couldn't believe it. We packed our asses in a van and went anywhere and everywhere to play and sell demos. We met so many great down-to-earth people and bands and their hospitality was amazing. Eventually we put the demo out with Wild Rags and it took off even more. A lot of people didn't like Richard at Wild Rags, but I loved the guy. All business all the time. He taught me a lot and I owe him a lot for his guidance and the boost he gave the band.





The pinnacle of our demo days were reached with PERPETUAL DEGRADATION. We went back to the same recording studio (Legend in Islip NY) and worked hard on making it sound heavier and less thin than Invocation of Evil. I think we achieved that. It was a bit of a panicked time for us because we dumped Wallace, who was a great frontman, but he just wasn't serious enough. Instead of waiting till we got a new vocalist, and cutting off our momentum, Bill stepped up and delivered a great vocal performance. Perfect for that demo.





We found Frank shortly after that and we all just knew we had something really special. We hit the road, played hard and busted our ass. Frank was just unreal as a frontman. He took the band to such an incredible level. Now, not only were we putting out what we thought was good stuff, but we were all working our asses off to give listeners a hell of a stage show too. It all just clicked. Pretty soon Pavement signed us.





We went into the recording of VORACIOUS CONTEMPT confident and ready to put out a great album. We had new songs, plus the demo songs and things felt so right. Unfortunately, poor production obscured the quality of that album. I think we were overwhelmed with being in a big 24 track studio and we lost sight of the production aspect. Scott Burns did what he could to it, but I just think it would have been a great success if it had better production. Our tour for that album with Immolation and Six Feet Under was great though. We couldn't believe how many people knew the material. Some shows were just nuts, with our pits generating blood and broken limbs!





Although it never got the exposure that it deserved, I think THE EXTINCTION OF BENEVOLENCE was our best release as far as all-out heaviness is concerned. It suffered in the production department, but the songs and Frank's vocals were just insanely heavy. I wish more people got to see us perform these songs on tour and that the album got greater exposure.





From a production and songwriting standpoint, DRIVEN TO CONQUER took IB to new heights. The addition of Guy Marchais on guitar really pushed me and the rest of the guys to play harder and better. Guy is the consummate musician. He was a total pro when he joined us and I think we were still really good amateurs. I think the lyrics on that album are my personal best, and I think Bill's drumming on that is his best as well. This release also had a lot of Brian Hobbie's touch on it, which is great. He is a great bass player, and he got to show it on this album and in some of the riffs he put together.





I think we've made a place for ourselves in deathmetal history. I am really proud of that. We weren't the best technically, but we made the most out of our concept of how deathmetal should be and pushed ourselves to the limit on every song. I am glad people recognize our music and our hard work. It's a source of endless pride for me, and I'm sure, my bandmates.







The best part? The fans and friends. I still talk to many today, and all IB fans and bands we've played with are encouraged to contact me. I'd love to hear from you. At one point in the mid-1990s, I think Long Island and NY was the place to be. We had such incredible bands floating around. Suffocation, Afterbirth, Necrosis, Pyrexia, Dehumanized, Baphomet, Immolation and so many others. Places like the Wetlands, Castle Heights and the Roxy were constantly packed for underground bands. National acts did even better, and one of the best shows I ever attended was the Hangman's Ball at the Ritz. The place was packed and all the bands just ruled. Suffo, Grave, Ripping Corpse, etc. Man what a show!


There was always an element of competition amongst underground bands (though many didn't talk about it), but I think that made each band better. Call it friendly competition if you will, but the level that underground bands got to was unreal. Tight, precision playing, excellent vocals and stage presence were the norm, not the exception.








Basically, I think its the level of brutality that sets NYDM apart. It was never all about blasting. NY bands all had riffs you could remember. And in a scene where blinding speed is highly prized, the memorable riffs are a breath of fresh air. I cannot help but think the aura and reputation of NY has something to do with it too. NY is filled with thugs, tough-guys, etc. and I think that helps all the NYDM band's reputations.



I still listen to a lot of deathmetal and the music has progressed greatly. However, call me a child of the 90s, but I still am constantly listening to great releases from that era: "Effigy" from Suffocation, "Sickening Erotic Fanaticism" from Mortal Decay (NJ band, but godly), "Sermon of Mockery" from Pyrexia, "The Dead Shall Inherit" from Baphomet, and so many more. Bands such as Dehumanized, Afterbirth, Malignancy, Damonacy (NJ I know, but they ruled), Mortician, Repudilation, Embryonic Death, Immortal Suffering, Necrosis and so on...I cannot keep up with all the greats from that era!








I wish I could find the time to put a band back together and play some old-school style IB, but with kids and a business to run, my time is so limited. I have about 100 riffs to go, but it's hard to get things together. I know Bill is into doing it, just need to find some others. It'll happen, just will take some time.