Black Death

The origins of this Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. traditional heavy metal band reach back into the late 70s. In the early 80s they have some three demos, in 1981, 1982 and 1983. Something was forming! What was it? It was all leading to the 1984’s full-length album Black Death. That’s the recording that made the band immortal. Immortal because it put them on the map, even though they really had been around for years before that. They are a cult act, to be sure, but the album speaks for itself: it’s a pretty wild work that features some headbanging tunes and some occult-theme energies. The vocals go from high screams to sounds like a possessed individual raging, with a bit of that old 80s black metal vibe going on. For people who love to find forgotten or ignored 80s cult bands, this band should be quite a pleasant surprise.

Regarding the future of the band, there are some unresolved issues that are pending, but the band does say that Black Death as a band with new members is not over and they even have promised a new EP. We’ll have to wait and see what happens. In the meantime, those who have not heard the band can start at the 1984 album.

The following album information is from Metal Archives. Below you can hear the album for yourself. It appears that the recording is a cd-r, but it gives a pretty idea of the album.

Disc 1 (12" 33⅓ RPM)

Side A

1.Night of the Living Dead 04:27

2.The Hunger 05:30

3.When Tears Run Red (From Love Lost Yesterday) 05:41

4.Fear No Evil 06:08

Side B

5.The Scream of the Iron Messiah

6.Streetwalker

7.Black Death 09:18

total time 41:17

Disc 2 (7" 45 RPM)

Side A

1. Here Comes the Wrecking Crew 04:24

Side B

2. Retribution 05:28

total time 09:52

The album line-up is:

Siki Spacek: vocals, guitars

Darrell Harris: bass

Greg Hicks: guitars

Phil Bullard (R.I.P. 2008): drums

Black Death - Black Death (Full Album)

www.facebook.com/BlackDeathBand