The heavy metal scene in the early to mid-1980s was vastly different from what we know today. Metal was not accepted by mainstream popular culture due to its rebellious and challenging nature. It seemed to be the antithesis of mediocrity. Ironically this would somewhat change in later years; back then, heavy metal was not used in commercials to sell everything from fast-food to cars, there were no toys of metal heroes, and it was not the soundtrack to tv shows and cartoons. In those days heavy metal came up from the underground. The underground was a global meeting place for metal fans to discover and share, via black-and-white fanzines and tape trading, the latest, heaviest bands; new bands that defined the fringe of powerful music that would eventually inspire the metal of today. A young band from San Frisco called Metallica and Slayer, who had just released "Show No Mercy" alongside Venom from across the Atlantic and others, helped fuel the fire that would soon burn out of control. This underground movement would inspire four teenagers in the quiet suburbs of Hartford, Connecticut to come together for what would become the band DEMONAX. Like most high school bands, guitarist Frank Aresti, bassist Brian Reagan, drummer John Gardiner and vocalist Keith Bycholski would begin as a cover band playing songs by their favourite artists; Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Ozzy, and Dio, to name a few. However, it would not be long after that the foursome would discover a new fledging style called "thrash" which was a blend of hardcore punk and heavy metal that resonated with their teenage angst and frustration. "What was it about this music that was so special to us? Perhaps it was rebellious. Perhaps it reflected our teen frustrations and anger. Maybe we just identified with its raw power and tremendous energy. One thing is for sure: we embraced it and had our own ideas of what we wanted to be." - Frank Aresti. Inspired by this new aggressive style the band began to compose songs that they would mix into their setlist for live gigs along with the cover tunes. It would not be long until the band would record their first demo and begin spreading it throughout the underground network by tape trading. They would also submit the demo to several zines and record labels. Reviews and several more gigs would follow and eventually DEMONAX would return to the studio to record a full-length album. "Everything that the underground metal scene meant to us translated into our lyrics. "Evil's Cast Aside" denounced the Satanism that bands clung to for the sake of the media's attention. "No More Rats" challenged the anemic, homogenized state of commercial metal. "Underground" was our anthem: the flag that we staked stating our message and intentions." - Frank Aresti. Like their 13th Century namesake, the band DEMONAX with its unspoken philosophy of cynicism would also slip into obscurity,
