Noxious: Programmed to Kill, Slaughter at Will

Here’s a rare treat, the solitary known demo by Noxious, a band that rose from Redwood, MI, and so inhaled the same oily garage stain vapors as Genocide/Repulsion at pretty much the same time. Noxious guitarist Gary Chechak was one of my regular tape-trading pals, and in with the Jag Panzer demos, Megadeth live shows, and Fleer Dubble Bubble wrappers starring “Pud,” he started dubbing me Noxious songs. Finally, the demo was done, and it came packaged with a 28″ fax paper scroll containing a lyrics collage–the scan is included in this download.

As a snapshot of metal in 1986, this demo has it all–except power. With ruefully off-key guitar overdubs and relentless boppy drumming, the band comes off like some incredibly sparse, Romper Room version of Morbid Angel. On the plus side, they’re super-tight, addicted to Bonded by Blood, and possess one of the sickest, scab-pulling vocal treatments this side of Exorcist II. I don’t care how many colored vinyl split single reissues are pressed this year, very few ultra-cult bands have riffs anywhere near as catchy as Noxious’ unheard music.

NOXIOUS – “The Morbid, The Merrier” demo [39MB .rar]

Looking at Chechak’s trading list again for the first time in…let’s say it’s been a while…I hope he’s holding tightly to his Kuda Buxx, Nadsat Rebel, Orions Sword, Shylock, Black Ghost, and Rude Girl tapes. In retrospect, I was super lucky to have him sending me constant recordings and updates from the very earliest formative days of Genocide/Repulsion. Like every non-comatose denizen of Michigan, I’m sure Gary Chechak now plays in rock ‘n’ roll garage bands, but I’m ready for the Noxious reunion. Why the hell not?

UPDATE: I know, my stupid fucking iPhone causes interference during the acoustic intro song “Premonitions.” Well, I’m willing to repair it by popular demand.