BLACKTASK 12″

Here’s one of the rarest American metal records, from Philly’s Blacktask. These guys started around ’84 and released a demo, this 4-song 12″, and a later lp. The demo and this self-released 12″ are killer proto-thrash metal, and are extremely raw and underproduced (in the best way possible). They eventually landed a deal with a French label and released a proper LP, which is more of a standard heavy metal fare. Not bad, but nowhere near as great as the demo and 12″.

This 12″ is an extremely DIY affair, housed in just a plain jacket with stickers on the front for the band logo and the back for the track listing. There’s also a version with a red cover with a smaller sticker, supposedly those were used as promo copies (though they seem to turn up more than the black cover). At any rate, I don’t think more than a few hundred of these were pressed total, as they don’t turn up much at all.

Fun facts: The band’s name is a combination of the word BLACK and the initials of each band member’s last initial (Trub/Appleby/Santiago/Kristiansen). The record release party for this 12″ was held at a Chuck E. Cheese in Philly. Not a show, just a metalhead get together at Chuck E. Cheese. How cool is that?

Also: I’ll be reissuing this record and the demo on an LP later this summer!