I clearly remember the first time I saw SUBSANITY, nothing short of a complete sensory overload at a club in Norman, Oklahoma. I almost identified with them in the broad context of metal, but there were so many more things going on that I did not understand. In retrospect, SUBSANITY were on the cusp of the heavy hardcore/metal/crust that was infiltrating DIY punk at the time, but of course I knew nothing about that...(I just came to the show because this dude I knew who was into ballet said the band he was in was playing a show). And my mind was blown. Two singers, a bassist who looked like a fucking monster, and an aural assault that was like nothing I had ever seen or heard before. Listening to these tracks years later, these dudes were way ahead of their time (especially considering their geographical handicap), and the shit sounds just as urgent in future decades as they intended at the time. They were always teetering between a trainwreck and total brilliance when I saw them live, and these songs in my ears today help me realize that my initial impression was pretty much spot on. I know that SUBSANITY changed lineups over the years more than a few times, and vocalist Mike can shed more light onto their history than I ever could (he was one of the earliest followers/comment leavers here, so mayhaps he will?), but even today there are songs on this informationless cassette that will melt your fukkn face. Nothing short of pure brutality, and the band was from a place called Pauls Valley. What the fuck were you doing in 1991?
7 comments:
Mike from SUBSANITY here,will write up a nice bit for this tomorrow Wizard!!!
Sorry for the wait but this post slipped my mind..Good news is that Subsanity is playing shows again in the strange world of 2014,still littered with posers and worthless self indulgent sub genres that we had to come out of hiding to bring on the real shit once again. This cassette tap(going for $16 on Ebay)e entitled Subsanity - 1991-95 was a collection of 3 demo tapes and our 1991 7 incher from 1991. It was released on CD by the notorious label WILD RAGS RECORDS right around the time they went belly up and its boss went to prison for whatever. Very few of the CD's made it out to the public and it is the rarest release on from that label. This cassete was dubbed off on a totally crappy Yorx dual tape deck that made copies that were sped up and muffled. The address on the tape is guitarist Dave "Deathlust" Arnett's moms house in Pauls Valley,OK,where all Subsanity mail was sent since we would move or get evicted alot back then. Tracks 1-6 were recorded on 8 track reel to reel in 1995 by a guy named David Hyde ex frontman of a band named ANCIENT CHINESE PENIS who had split up (the guitarist and bass player went on to be involved with FUCKFACE,W.H.N. and TERMINAL ESCAPE blog),we were whacked out of our minds on all of these sessions and were very much about mixing the stuff with tons of reverb or effects "wetting" up the mix thinking we were getting an artsy black metal/no wave sound. Some of the other stuff was to be used for some shitty compilations that never came out - one on KRAZE/Maze RECORDS who went awol about the time we sent the DAT tapes and another label that ripped us off and a few other bands for at least $100. Subsanity was very involved with bringing thru lots of D.I.Y. bands via MRR's "Book Your Own Fucking Life" annual punk resource zine. We had dropped our death metal influences and preffered playing basements and VFW halls with killer bands like Blackfork,El Dopa,Sourvien, 'Sake,Brother Inferior instead of typical metal shows. After this tape we finally got our sound and vison for Subsanity right - recording lots of stuff that blows this crap away,we did lots of killer shows even playing with just about every band that influenced us Sepultura,Napalm Death,Brutal Truth,Morbid Angel, to weird gigs like opening for Saxon or jumpnig on an all pop punk show. We did 3 more 7 inch EPs and a few more unreleased demos before we split in 2002 with most members going off doing other bands ranging from Doom Metal to Hardcore. We decided to get Subsanity back together in March 2014 opening a one off ABSU(we did some shows with 'em 22 years ago) gig and marking our return by delivering a crushing set after a twelve year hiatus and about four rehearsals. We plan to do a new EP and have got shows booked up til the end of the year.....still doing it all these years later. MIKE/SUBSANITY 2014
https://www.facebook.com/SubsanityThrash
You can DL most of our stuff including this tape right here:
www.reverbnation.com/subsanity
Hell yeah, Mike. Cheers for the background, the context and the sounds. Also, I had no clue Dave ever recorded you fools!!! Looking forward to the next wave.....
Digging a little deeper...I find this ebay posting selling this same tape for $40!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/SUBSANITY-USA-91-95-demo-Cassette-/380354960232?pt=Music_Cassettes&hash=item588eec1b68
So, there are 14 tracks here untitled... What are the titles, please?
Hell yeah , great band . Met Mike when I lived in Tulsa for a bit and ran into him years later when I lived in Norman . Subsanity we're a crazy band live and the coolest people subsanity and Brother Inferior are my favorite Okie bands
I figured out the song titles and labelled the mp3's.
49 minutes 18 seconds
1. I Am Not Fit for This World (3:08)
2. Centuries Death (3:12)
3. Opaque Daze (2:39)
4. In Star Mental (3:50)
5. Irreparable Ignorance (3:32)
6. Slave New World (3:28)
7. Embalmed Nation (3:06)
8. Convulsing Discharge of Inanity (2:03)
9. Caustic Antipathy (3:22)
10. Red Christ (4:05)
11. Centuries Death (3:06)
12. A Frigid Gale Confusion Hold (5:57)
13. Bride Of War (3:23)
14. God Is Dead (4:27)
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