UNHOLY CADAVER - DEMO (1998)

Despite their somewhat pedestrian name, Unholy Cadaver were a force to be reckoned with in the Bay Area in the late 90's, a rare traditional metal/black metal/experi-metal hybrid that functioned expertly on all levels without succumbing to the pratfalls of any. Comprised of Mr. John Cobbett (from the legendary Gwar, the legendary Lord Weird Slough Feg, the legendary Ludicra, and later the legendary Hammers of Misfortune), Mr. Mike Scalzi (also from the legendary Slough Feg -- read about Aesop's boner for these guys here), Janis (from the legendary Fireball Ministry and later, the legendary Hammers of Misfortune), and Chewy Marzolo (who also played in the legendary Hammers of Misfortune), Cadaver's sound was, in a word, LEGENDARY.
This was the only release from these guys, a 3-song, 26-minute opus that sprawls from mid-tempo crunch to blasting Nordic insanity to Scalzi-led choral/operatic vocal compositions to weird, backward-masked samples and back. It would be a gross misunderstatement to call this band merely "black metal". They were much more, and refused the confines of any metal subgenre, creating something unique, mystical, and somehow, altogether "San Francisco".
But Unholy Cadaver didn't just fade into obscurity. As you might have guessed, they eventually turned into the politically-leaning and powerful Hammers of Misfortune, who are to this day one of the best live bands in the Bay Area, period. In fact, Hammers derived their name from the third song on this demo, a nearly 16-minute opus that hinted at all the strange things yet to come from these strange people.
Don't miss out on this one. Really.

Download HERE


Hammers of Misfortune on Myspace