Best of/Compilation, S.I.N. Music
Playing music in the vein of early Black Sabbath, the bands sound was naturally rather doomy, and the group suitably dubbed themselves "War Cry". After finding vocalist Rich Rozek, the band begun to pen their own compositions. At this time, the NWOBHM movement was in full swing, and War Cry found large amounts of inspiration in other acts from that movement, such as the great Witchfinder General and Angel Witch. Their approach became even more doomy, as a result of listening to those Sabbath-based acts. I have to mention at this point that the Chicago scene really begun to develop into something special around 1983. Emerging power metal acts such as Witchslayer, Slauter Xstroyes, Hammeron, Infra Red and Paradoxx were complimented nicely by the aggression of Zoetrope, or the doom of the godly band Trouble. A totally killer scene for sure, and one that would only get better !
War Cry made the step up to playing live shows in 1983. After calling the local club Haymakers (an infamous club in Prospect Heights, Illinois), gigs became frequent and after a while, better offers were given to War Cry. At this time, War Cry were drawing in many people, and live shows often consisted of covers of Sabbath, Priest, Angel Witch and even Twisted Sister. They soon became a fave among many people involved in the Chicago metal scene. In mid-83, War Cry entered Open Reel Studios in Lynwood, Illinois to record the legendary "Trilogy Of Terror" demo. The recording cost around 500 dollars, and contained four tracks; "The Executoner's March (Intro)", "The Executioner", "Wicked Warlock" and "Forbidden Evil". Needless to say, for the rather expensive price of 500 dollars, the tape was well worth it ! To this day, that demo remains one of the heaviest recordings ever to hit the metal scene, and for many is a totally cult piece of metal ! The demo never had a cover, and although War Cry had no clue how to promote it at the time, copies of it rapidly spread through the tape trading network, and War Cry achieved fame in the metal underground.
By now, War Cry were opening all the big shows, such as Joe Perry Project and Mountain. Nobody was jealous however, as the Chicago scene (like many early scenes) had great camaraderie. As expected, the oppurtunity to appear on vinyl came calling, in the form of Brian Slagel's Metal Blade Records. His prestigious Metal Massacre compilation series featured many promising metal acts, and had helped to launch the careers of Metallica, Ratt and Slayer, among many others. By now, three Metal Massacre's had been released, and War Cry were offered the chance to appear on the fourth, aptly titled Metal Massacre 4. Metal Blade chose the song "Forbidden Evil" from the "Trilogy Of Terror" demo, to appear on the compilation, so War Cry recorded the track specially at Pierced Arrow Studios, in Evansten, a suburb of Chicago. Metal Massacre 4 featured War Cry's fellow Chicago acts Trouble, Witchslayer, Zoetrope and Thrust (Ron Cooke's band). It also included Sceptre, who would go on to become Agent Steel. Apart from Trouble, none of the acts would go on to achieve any major success, although Lizzy Borden and thrash act Abattior both recorded albums (Abattior's was quite good actually, though Lizzy Borden just suck). Despite this, Metal Massacre 4 is really one of the more consistent Massacre discs overall.
(ARTWORK BY MATT LOMBARD)
War Cry recieved good response, and the disc helped them become noticed on the international scene. Future thrash act Forbidden Evil even took their name from the War Cry song (although the "Evil" bit was later dropped, and the band became known as just "Forbidden"). Despite this success, drummer Joe Iaccino had quit War Cry, and the search was on for another drummer. Bill Schmidt, a drummer who had been jamming alone in his basement with no previous experience, was eventually chosen (He had originally auditioned for War Cry the year before, but did not get the gig due to Speckmann being un-impressed with Schmidt's style). Schmidt played his one and only gig with War Cry at the infamous club Haymakers, before recieving marching orders due to an altercation with Marty Fitzgerald. It was clear he was a rather lively personality (from www.master-speckmetal.com).
www.metal-archives.com
Released under the name of War Cry.US.
TRACKS:
1. The Executioner
2. The Blind Leading the Blind
3. R.I.P. You to Shreds
4. Forbidden Evil
5. Wicked Warlock
6. The Church Inc.
7. The Executioner (1983 demo)
8. Wicked Warlock (1983 demo)
9. Forbidden Evil (1983 demo)
10. St. Valentines Day Massacre
11. R.I.P. You to Shreds (radio edit)
12. The Blind Leading the Blind (radio edit)
MP3@320Kbps [MU]
