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Chronological
releases medieval
Cassette Album - demo Although
there were many practice tapes and live performance’s recorded by the band in
the early 80’s, the first published work was the 12 song medieval Cassette
Album recorded in January and February of 1983.
Originally the recorded tracks were to number 13, but as fate would have
it, the song “Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff,” a blazing fast power metal
tune written early on in the bands career, was inadvertently mastered on to a
used piece of tape by the studio engineer, leaving only the last 30 seconds of
the song intact, and unusable. As
was mentioned in the first press release by Kick*Ass Monthly in July of
1983, Elwood was unable to make the recording sessions for the cassette album.
Timmy dubbed the bass on after initial live rhythm tracks of guitar and
drums were recorded. Long time
friends and live performance supporting band The Brain Boys bassist Dave
Dietrich provided his axe for Timmy to use during the recording sessions.
After initial rhythm tracks were recorded, a rhythm/lead guitar track was
cut, and then vocals followed before final mixing began. Understanding
how people write music together can be very complex.
With the case of early medieval,
certain formulas can be detected regarding who developed the initial song
structure or lyrical content. But
the completed song must always be considered collaboration; even as one
individual may have initiated the concept, it was partnership and coalition in
whole that finished each song. This
led the band to give credit only to the initial lyrical contributions, as the
music was by all means flowing through each member. Side
one contained the following songs: "Dreamer"
lyrics & vocals by Willjious Amsbuist "Life
After Death"
lyrics & vocals by Timmy Amsbuist "Warriors"
lyrics by Terror Amsbuist. vocals
by Timmy Amsbuist "Clean
Record (Don’t Got No)"
lyrics
and vocals by Timmy Amsbuist "Plague"
lyrics & vocals by Timmy Amsbuist.
background vocals by Willjious Amsbuist "I Don’t Like You"
lyrics & vocals by Timmy Amsbuist background vocals by Willjious
Amsbuist Side
two contained the following songs: "How
I Feel"
lyrics & vocals by Willjious Amsbuist "Hype"
lyrics and vocals by Timmy Amsbuist "Lords Of
Darkness"
lyrics by Terror Amsbuist. vocals
by Timmy Amsbuist. background vocals by Willjious Amsbuist "Kill Me Now"
lyrics & vocals by Willjious Amsbuist.
background vocals (screams really) by Timmy Amsbuist "Rules Of
Fools"
lyrics by Terror Amsbuist. vocals
by Timmy Amsbuist "medieval"
lyrics by Boyd “Spike” As
should be mentioned here at the beginning, the band utilized outside sources for
lyrical content on occasion. First
and foremost from Terror Amsbuist, brother and live show light man.
Terror’s contributions over the years grew immensely, with his prose
always reaching new heights to match the continual evolution of the bands music,
inspiring the comment from Timmy that “there is not another persons lyrics I
would rather sing.” Long time
friend Boyd “Spike” The
credits on the tape contained thanks to Lord Byron (who was about to become the
bands new manager through his hard work, love and devotion for the music during
the recording of the project), Bobby K. (the bands current manager), Steve Kurtz
(the engineer at Valley Sound Studio’s), Elwood (the current bass player of
the band that was unable to attend the recording sessions) and Magloo (the
original bass player of the band). Thanks
were also given to Dave Dietrich for the use of his bass guitar during the
recording of the project as well as additional mastering through his recording
equipment after the studio sessions, and Terror Amsbuist – brother, live show
light man, and one of the best lyricists of the genre.
And finally a thank you to the devoted fans who stood by during the bands
efforts to bring their music to those who found it enjoyable. Over
the years, many have asked about the obscure reference after the special thanks
of “gabba gabba kitty kitty.” The
first trade mark of the bands humorous side, and a touch that would be included
on every release since. This
particular phrase was a favorite of Timmy’s, from his favorite Yogi Bear
episode – those lucky enough to remember, or to find the episode, enjoy! medieval
All Knobs To The Right demo There
has been much debate over the content of the first release of the medieval
Cassette Album, that 4 maybe 5 songs don’t fit with the rest of the music
contained within the release. As is
seen in many of the reviews and interviews at the time, it is clear that the
early days of the band saw the many influences from the members individual
backgrounds exemplified within specific songs; creating an entire song with a
very definitive lean towards a particular influence.
It is noted in many articles after the first demo tape the bands roots
and influences contained overtones of metal, rock, 70’s punk, and blues; and
some individual songs on the first release had significant overtones of these
influences. One may say that all of
the individual songs on the first release, combined as a whole, projected the
style of the band. As
is seen in the second release, All Knobs To The Right, this disconnection
from song to song is not the case. In
the bands second release, these individual elements of style were somehow able
to be combined within each song, defining and focusing the band’s overall
style and direction. The
All Knobs To The Right demo, also marked the beginning of a trend the
band would follow throughout their career; making their recordings themselves.
medievals “sound” was
dubbed by Bob Muldowney of Kick*Ass Monthly as “sludge metal.”
A term to describe the “loose” style of playing; almost a live,
energetic jam session, requiring a less then perfect studio quality of recording
with all the bells and whistles; a true garage band!
This second release captured this “energy,” and along with the new
focus of the bands material, created one of the heaviest and most sought after
demo tapes ever. Recorded
“betwixt” Mothers Day and Fathers Day of 1984, the 7 track All Knobs To
The Right demo was hailed as the tape to own, and orders from all over the
world ensued. The
demo contained the following songs: "Hell
Is Full"
lyrics Terror Amsbuist, vocals Timmy Amsbuist "All
Knobs To The Right"
lyrics & vocals Willjious Amsbuist "Black
Assassin"
lyrics Terror Amsbuist, vocals Timmy Amsbuist "All
I Got"
lyrics & vocals Timmy Amsbuist "Burnt
Fuck"
instrumental "Blood
And Anger"
lyrics Terror Amsbuist, vocals Timmy Amsbuist "World
War IV"
lyrics Willjious Amsbuist, vocals Timmy Amsbuist Credits
on the tape included production credits to the band, Lord Byron, and Terror
Amsbuist, with engineering credits to Lord Byron.
Additional thanks were given to Terror for lyrical contributions.
As can be noted above, Terror had increased his lyrical contributions
dramatically. Terror was also
thanked for his continued work as the light man for the band.
At this point it should be noted that the metal bands that medieval performed
with at the time in west Michigan were not prone to even having a light show,
and Terror over time developed an extensive light show complimenting the bands
performances with his style and technique as much as with his lyrical
contributions. There are also thanks
given to Terror for “the pipe.” Although
the band has been quick to admit that they were not immune to a wide range of
vices, this reference is actually for the sound of a lighting rig pipe or beam
that was dropped just before the beginning of “Black Assassin,” which can be
heard on the demo. Special
thanks were given to new comer to the road crew and long time friend and
supporter, Stokes, as well as Boyd “Spike” Two
additional “thank you” mentions were given to RWB, the beer of choice at the
time for the band, and Skoal, which powered Elwood (and sometimes the rest of
the band) throughout the long hours of rehearsal and recording in their “smoke
free” environment. And
last but not least, the satirical reference the band continues to hold dear;
“this Jim is the bim’s clem.” Coined
most likely by Lord Byron, this truly was the project that projected medieval
into the vast metal underground as a force to be reckoned with. A
medieval
Christmas card A Day In The Wreck Room fan bonus During
the early winter months of 1986, after the band had purchased some new recording
equipment to help define their sound a bit more, a fan devotion tape was
recorded as a special mailing for Christmas of that year.
This select group of fans had written to the band many times requesting
additional information, more music, etc., and had also displayed a personal and
tireless promotional campaign to boost the band whenever possible through their
interaction with the metal underground. The
tape was titled medieval
- A Day In The Wreck Room and was recorded “live” in the bands practice
space, with no overdubs and no edits. Between
each song can be heard the humor and the camaraderie of the members, and during
each song can be heard the power of the trio as a no-holds-barred unit of metal
mayhem. The
b-side of the tape contained a recorded interview conducted for an independent
metal magazine, recorded on The
track list for the tape is: "All
I Got/Loser "Peter
Gunn Theme" New
songs that were recorded for the first time for the fans to enjoy were, “Face
Of Death,” “Death Is Beauty,” and “Reign Of Terror,” all of which were
recorded again for the New Renaissance Records recordings. Another first
was the use of a cover song (in fact, two cover songs), the first the band had
ever recorded. A cover version of
the Vardis song “Loser” which had long been a staple at “live”
shows, and was always coupled with the medieval
original “All I Got.” This
“live” medley version was performed at an outrageous tempo on this tape, as
each of the band members tried to out-due each other with speed.
The second cover tune recorded by medieval was the “Peter
Gunn Theme” which was a long time favorite of the band The Brainboys.
The members of The Brainboys were long standing friends and an
occasional opening act for medieval.
The version of “Peter Gunn” is an arrangement taken from The
Brainboys – Live At Club Sanitor recordings, and this particular
arrangement made its way to the second medieval album medieval
Kills! for New Renaissance Records beginning side two. For
the 30 or so fans who received this recording, it was truly a Christmas
surprise, as medieval
did not divulge that any new recordings were in the making.
As news carried from tape trader to tape trader, the reaction from tape
collectors requesting a copy was intense. But
this tape was never sold or recorded for anyone but those first handful of
supporting fans, helping preserve their status and importance to medieval
for their tireless work in the bands behalf over the early years. medieval
- Reign Of Terror EP– New Renaissance Records Through the promotional efforts of Lord Byron, medieval soon found some of their songs on a few compilation albums. The Speed Metal Hell series from New Renaissance Records (the song "WWIV"), the Metal Massacre series from Metal Blade (the song "medieval"), as well as other European compilations, helped medieval gain additional world wide coverage and helped to finally grab the attention of the underground record labels of the time. The end of 1984 found the band recording new songs and perusing three different record label contracts. As most underground bands at the time will attest, signing a contract with most labels in the early 80’s resulted in the loss of all rights to their music, promotion and image. As these were the most important elements medieval wished to retain, the contract offered from New Renaissance Records was chosen over the others; allowing medieval the freedom of putting a product out that reflected their true essence, not a product that was contrived and controlled by a record company. The 5 song medieval EP was put together using tracks recorded during late 1984 and early 1985. "Lords of Darkness", from the first demo, was rerecorded for the project as well as a new version of the song "Hell is Full" from the 2nd demo appropriately named "Hell is Full (Cruncher)", as the tempo of this speed metal tune was slowed down to create a whole new pounding effect for the song. Three new songs were also recorded for the project; "Death is Beauty", "Face of Death", and "Reign of Terror". The latter was considered by the band to be the tune that most accurately represented where they were headed with their new music, so it was given additional emphasis by including the lyrics (which were written by Terror Amsbuist) on the back of the EP jacket. The front cover artwork was provided by Willjious using his original chalk drawing of the “medieval Warrior.” An interesting note was the red used for the bands name on the front cover was to be blood red, but the original test pressings were made with much more of a magenta red, creating the bands 1st collectable pressing! NRR also ran copies of the EP in a clear vinyl version, creating more demand as a collectible item. As this was the bands first major release, the “Thank You” section on the back of the album became much longer than on their demo’s. Special thanks were given to Terror Amsbuist for lyrics and lights, Timmy Amsbuist for the use of the studio in his home, Willjious Amsbuist for the cover artwork, Lord Byron for management, and Stokes for road crew activities, including moving Elwood’s bass rig, which included an 18 inch speaker housed in a cabinet as large as a refrigerator, and lovingly referred to as “Mort” the Mortician. The thank you list continued with Spike for road crew
duties, Bob Muldowney of Kick Ass Monthly Magazine, Ann and Pat at New
Renaissance Records, Johnny Blood for road crew duties, David Dietrich for
additional mastering, Bob Chasseur at Sledgehammer Press Magazine, and a
list of zealous fans that helped build medieval’s
reputation by pushing promotional activities and supporting the band in
locations that would never have been able to be met by the band.
These people included Scott Melvin, Mike Saljanin, Lars Feldmann, Ffej
Metalhead, John Voila, Carlos Wilkins, Monte Conner, Don Kaye, and Tony Gettig.
The local record store in A thank you was given to Brian Slagel for his support on the Metal Massacre compilation, and then a much appreciated thanks to all the fans that supported the band throughout the years. And finally a thanks that read: Extra special thanks to Lemmy of Motorhead for his unknowing inspiration throughout his long career. The Track Order Ran: Side One "Death is Beauty" "Lords of Darkness" "Face of Death" Side Two "Hell is Full (Cruncher)" "Reign of Terror" The 5 song EP enjoyed favorable reviews and strong demand, and provided the band with much excitement as they began their recording of the full length album project entitled medieval Kills! medieval
- Kills! LP – New Renaissance Records With the completion of the medieval EP, the band soon turned their attention to the recording of the full length album in the later part of 1986 and early 1987. This happened to be a very chaotic time for the band as personal decisions about school, work, marriage, and relocations pulled the members in various directions, making recording sessions increasingly difficult to schedule. As Timmy began moving from house to house, the studio equipment went with him, requiring basic rhythm tracks to be recorded on location and overdubs and final mixing in another. During the onset it was determined that a mix of old and new material should be covered on the full length album, since many of the older songs should have the ability to fall into the hands of new fans that were unable to obtain the old demos. And the band also felt that some of the new songs recorded for the EP should be rerecorded for the full length album. Although the distribution of the EP was strong and easily obtainable by most fans, the band felt better versions of these tunes could be made. Two new songs, "7th Seal", and "Epitaph" were written during the sessions, while a cover tune of "The Peter Gunn Theme" was slated to be included as well. The version of Peter Gunn recorded for the album was an arrangement of the Henry Mancini classic by the band The Brainboys, who opened up for medieval at numerous shows. The track "Somnambulism", which started the album off in fashion, was a recording experiment that Lord Byron and Willjious had come up with a year or two earlier, and often used as the introduction of the band at live shows. New Renaissance Records asked for one additional track from the band, so the cassette version of the recordings would have 1 additional track than the album version. The song "Plague", from the first demo tape was chosen, and is found only on the cassette version of the release. The track listing is as follows: Side One "Somnambulism" "Rules of Fools" "All Knobs to the Right" "Life After Death" "Seventh Seal" "BFH" "Plague" (on the cassette version only) "Reign of Terror" Side Two "Peter Gunn Theme" "Hell is Full (Thrasher)" "Blood and Anger" "WWIV" "Black Assassin" "Death is Beauty" "Epitaph" Thanks were given to Stokes and Spike for road crew support, Ann at New Renaissance, Chuck Sterner for the album cover art work and pictures, Deb Gendron for the back cover art work, brothers Mike, Steve, Scott and Paul, Johnny Blood for road crew support, radio media support by Scott Melvin, Mike Pryson, and Mike Dinvald and the metal show Metal Forte’. Thanks were also given to Pat Gibson, a cousin of Timmy’s, who had at an early age instilled in Timmy the need to play with “reckless abandon.” Thanks were also given to fans that had supported the project, Steve Parker, Mike Scott, David Dietrich, Scott Sweet, and Wes Garman. Sweet Lou at Important Records was thanked for help in getting the project completed. Glen Danzig, who had become inspirational to Terror in his lyrical progressions, was thanked, as well as Ingmar Bergman, for his stirring movie “The Seventh Seal” which the band used for inspiration for their new song of the same name. Boogie Records was again thanked for their support in promotional activities. The Brain Boys and Jose Cuervo “Gold” were also thanked, mostly due to influences in music and vices, and finally a thank you to the fans, which had always supported the band. Before going to print, New Renaissance Records had received record breaking preliminary orders for the medieval full length album, and the excitement in both the record company and the bands' camp seemed almost too good to be true. As history will attest, it was too good to be true, as what happened next provided the fans, the label, and the band with empty dreams. New Renaissance Records was distributed by Important Records when medieval's full length album was released, and the entire stock of the albums including some preliminary orders were warehoused upon pressing for distribution at Important Records. Unfortunately Important Records went out of business, and legal disputes kept product from many bands of the time locked in the warehouse for over two years. Only a few thousand copies of the full length album made it to the fans, and the momentum of the previous year’s efforts came to a screeching halt, providing the beginning of the end for this chapter of medieval’s history …chapter two promises to be even more exciting! 2008 After a short break of almost 20 years, founding members, Willjious and Timmy Amsbuist have continued where they left off, providing thunderous music for a new generation. Welcome to the new renaissance of medieval! In August of 2008, New Renaissance Records released the medieval Kills! LP/medieval EP on CD for the first time ever. The CD contains all five tracks from the original EP, nineteen tracks from medieval Kills! (plus "Plague" which was only previously released on the cassette version of the album), and three new songs. The CD is a limited edition of only 1,000. Here is the entire track list in order: "Death is Beauty" "Lords of Darkness" "Face of Death" "Hell is Full (Cruncher)" "Reign of Terror" "Somnambulism"/"Rules of Fools" "All Knobs to the Right" "Life After Death" "Seventh Seal" "BFH" "Reign of Terror" "Plague" (previously only available on cassette) "Peter Gunn Theme" "Hell is Full (Thrasher)" "Blood and Anger" "World War IV" "Black Assassin" "Death is Beauty" "Epitaph" "Old School" (New track) "Liar's Heart" (New track) "Silver Back" (New track) |