Bands

Giants Lore #3 (Germany) Sept. 1990. Editor: “Eddi Ambrozi” (German) From 1989 to 1991, I had a power metal band of sorts (or what was called ‘power metal’ then, something like half thrash and half metal…sort of like Savatage or Metal Church), and it was called Damnation. Pretty typical name, but it worked and we played numerous shows […]

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The Untouchables #3 (Finland) 1993. Editor: “Timo Isoaho” This zine was printed and stapled, somewhere between a digest size and a regular magazine-size, and covers a nice selection of both Finnish and international bands. A hard read for many, as it is written in Finnish, it is nevertheless a part of what was an explosive number of zines […]

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Metal Forces #27 (UK) 1988. Editor: “Bernard Doe” Okay, so Metal Forces was certainly not a fanzine, yet it still deserves archival status. The importance of the magazine for the development of the global underground and all ‘extreme’ genres can not be understated – they covered many notable bands before any other press did, and were a reliable go-to source for news […]

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Deathvomit Zine #1 (US) 1989. Editor: “Jeff McClelland” I put up the second issue of this DC-area zine a few months ago, now here is the first one…features entertaining interviews with Deceased, Autopsy, and early Grave, a pre-Sorrow interview with Apparition, early Norwegian DEATH metal with Hellhammer’s (and other Arcturus members) early band Mortem. Also, stuff […]

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Word of Mouth Zine (PA, USA) #3 Oct 1995. Editor: “Chris Maycock” This was a brief, digest-sized zine out of Pennsylvania, but the interviews are exceptional and informative. With just four bands in this one, it covered Sentenced and Tiamat as they both grew further away from their death-metal roots (with Wildhoney, and Amok, respectively), an interview with Fred […]

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Clandestine Zine (Santiago, Chile) #1 July 1994. Editor: “Robert P. Zarathustra” Here at SBMS, a noticeable lack of zines from the non-English speaking world compelled me to start digging up the zines I have in other languages, so here is a first from Chile (in Spanish). The main feature of this issue is a lengthy interview […]

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SOD – Sounds of Death (Missouri, USA) #2 Winter 1993. Editor: “David Horn” Sort of in between a zine and magazine, David Horn’s eventually long-running Sounds Of Death started off ambitious right away. Featuring pro-print, color cover, and a nice design from Dan Zimmer, it had an underground feel, without the mainstream nonsense that often polluted […]

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Metal Meltdown Apr/May 1989. Vol 3, No. 1. (Maryland, USA), Editor: Jeff “Kluke” VanderClute. Another issue from “the infernal wastelands” of Maryland -the best local mag we had in my opinion, one that introduced me to heaps of new music at the time. Typed, bound and (pro?) printed, this 1989 issue features a humorous, extensive interview with […]

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Slayer Zine #7 (Norway). 1989. Editor: “Metalion” To again celebrate the release of Metalion’s book, I unearthed the last copy of Slayer Zine in my possession, # 7 from 1989. This issue is an almost complete reflection of everything that was fresh and exciting about the underground at the time, featuring interviews with many ‘future titans’ […]

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Here is a brief update. The following are interviews with Hank Sherman and Timi Grabber from Mercyful Fate, from the Ontario theater show in Washington DC on their tour with Exciter and Motorhead in late 1984. Also is a show review from the Baltimore gig the following night, and an interview with Wurzel from Motorhead (who died last week), […]

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Ripping The Soil #1 (USA) 1993. Editor: “Neil Beckman.” This zine out of Wisconsin was thick, packed with ads and bound with an odd plastic binder that really made it a pain in the ass to scan, (…although it is effective). The interviews are nice, but sparse and brief. Highlights are Epidemic, Mike Browning (ex-Nocturnus/Morbid […]

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Slayer Zine #10 (Norway). 1994. Editor: “Metalion” (highlights) This is a massive issue, 75+ pages of (nearly all) black metal, featuring almost every major name in the scene at the time. Printed on thick paper, with a red cover, it ushered in yet another step in great quality from this long running Norwegian zine. Also check out the […]

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Diabolical Noise #6 (Poland) 1993. Editor: Jaro Szubrycht This zine out of Poland was photocopied and folded together, with no staple, yet still super cool with great outlines, borders, and a nice sense of humor. The obvious drawback is the super small type (but that can be fixed by ‘zooming in’ on the pages/jpegs as needed […]

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Deathvomit Zine #2 (US) 1990. Editor: Jeff McClelland This printed, stapled zine comes from the Virgina side of Washington DC, pressed and edited by Jeff McClelland, who if I am not mistaken was also vocalist in the band Doomstone (featuring members of Deceased). The cover was an original drawing by a guy named Tom Harrison, and […]

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Rot Zine #2 (US) 1990. Eds: Bryan Durren and Rich Bush This stapled, near digest-sized zine out of Michigan featured great pre-signing interviews with the likes of Cynic, Immolation, Deceased, Sadus, Vital Remains and more…plus some cool post-vintage offerings from Possessed (trying to reform!?), Sacrifice (pre-Soldiers of Misfortune) and Sarcofago. Additionally, there are Wild Rags Records cult favs Order From […]

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Deathcheese Zine #1 (USA) 1991. Editor: Brian Hellfarmer This was a stapled, photocopied zine out of Oxnard, California, that also had Richard Johnson (Enemy Soil, Agoraphobic Nosebleed, Drugs of Faith) as a writer/interviewer, and as such features not just my DC-area hometown band Abominog, but also some interviews culled from shows I attended back then, like the incredible ‘some tours were meant to stay underground’ […]

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Vangueness Of Dastardity Zine #1 (Germany) 1989. Editors: Dominik Shulz and Bernd Spring This oddly-titled zine features interviews and write-ups with Sindrome, Agathocles, Abomination, Blood, the South American scene, Immolation, demo reviews and what might be the first ever Nuclear Blast ad.  

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Slayer Zine #9 (Norway), 1991. Editor: Metalion (highlights) This is the second copy of several Slayer zines I have laying around (thanks to Grindfather Richard Johnson). From 1991, #9 is dedicated to the then recently deceased ‘Dead‘ of Mayhem (he is on the cover from 1987, with Morbid), and it features an obituary/rant of sorts in the back […]

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Sinistrari Zine #1 (USA), 1993. Editor: ZAID I picked this zine up somewhere around 1992/93, and it quickly became a favorite. Well written, in multiple languages (in some interviews), with well thought-out questions revealing an international vibe that reflected the multi-national unity of the nascent death/black underground. First issue, top notch-not sure if he put any […]

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Adversity Zine #5, November, 1990. Editor: “John Krupa” Stapled and photocopied from Connecticut. Nice “BUSH VERSUS SADDAM” cover, and an overall punk vibe. Features include live reviews, Houston and NZ Scene Reports, as well as interviews with Disrupt (!), Mortician, Ripping Corpse, Carcass, Skeletal Earth, Unleashed, and more.

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Uni-Force #7 (USA) 1990. Editor: “Mark Sawickis” This zine was put out by Impetigo guitarist Mark Sawickis, and although the print is small, there are some cool interviews with demo-era Grave, and a nice one with Carcass right around the time “Symphonies…” dropped. Also, there is a cool photo gallery featuring original live shots of […]

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Curious Goods #5 (USA) 1991. Editor: Jerry Rutherford From Oxnard, California, featuring cool early interviews with Godflesh and Cannibal Corpse, plus a long interview with Sanctuary featuring a pre-Nevermore Warrel Dane, Napalm Death, Nuclear Assault (Dan Lilker) and more (hopefully soon)

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Slayer #8 (Norway) 1991. Editor: Jon “Metalion” Kristiansen (highlights) Present at the creation, this is perhaps the most famous death/black metal zine ever out of Europe. This long-running example of underground gold was seemingly always packed with the best and most notable interviews, surrounded by top-notch DIY art and layout, on great pro-print. It really speaks for itself, and […]

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Diarium Autopsia # 2 (Finland) 1992. Editors: Heidi Lipsanen and Sonja Kangas This fantastic, yet short lived zine was stapled and photocopied, but read and felt like a professional. From Finland, yet written in great English, it focused on the Finnish scene extensively (with fun pre-Rotten Sound interview with Vomiturition, and other stuff like Mordicus […]

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Chainletter #12 (MD, USA) 1993. Editor ” Mark Gonce” This photocopied zine out of Baltimore was a reliable effort from editor Mark Gonce, also known for his band “Corpsegrinder” which was the original home of Cannibal Corpse/Monstrosity vocalist and Maryland native George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher. Features Leukemia, Sorrow, Invocator, Eternal Torment, Fear Factory, Disembowelment, Damonacy, and […]

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Disposable Underground #6 (VA, USA) 1993, Editor: “Richard Johnson” This zine was almost hometown for me, coming out of the Virginia suburbs of Washington DC. At the time Rich was in grind pathfinders ENEMY SOIL, prior to going on to playing in the likes of AGORAPHOBIC NOSEBLEED and DRUGS OF FAITH.  He is called the […]

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Thrashikus #5 (CA, USA) 1992: Editor “Victor Hsieh” This was a cool digest sized zine, packed with excellent interviews, again with many of the bands at the top of their game. Out of San Diego, it included live reviews, an interesting intie with France’s Osmose Productions, and a cover story on underrated death thrashers of […]

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NGF (No Glam Fags) # 6 (CA, USA) 1992: Editor “Marco Barbieri” Printed and stapled. Featuring Morbid Angel, Death, Sacrifice, Cathedral, Carcass, Grave, Unleashed, a long one with Epidemic (underrated!), Suffocation, Massacre, Confessor and many more…

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Enigmatic Delusions #4 (NY, USA) 1993: Editor “Fawn” Stapled on Xerox copies. Featuring Enemy Soil, Internal Bleeding, Sigh, Astaroth (notable for VERY early Tony Laureno), Impetigo, Acheron, Sigh and more…

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Subcide Zine #1 (Christchurch, NZ) 1994. Hand Numbered Issue #66 – Editor: Chris Rigby This debut issue of the New Zealand Fanzine was killer, focusing on the visiting Carcass’ shows and subsequent interview in NZ. Also features Internal Bleeding, Dying Fetus, Haemorrhage, Pungent Stench, Sigh, Angelkill, and Blood Duster:

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