Axemaster

Contact: axemaster@axemasterofficial.com Although Axemaster formally started in 1985 as a full-time band with a complete line-up consisting of founder/guitarist/bassist Joe Sims , drummer Brian Henderson and frontman Christopher Michael , the name and some material pre-dates this by several years. The first time the Axemaster name was used was with an early incarnation of the project, with Sims on lead vocals, guitar and bass, alongside three different drummers, which included Henderson. Then in 1983, this contraption of a band released their The Heirs to Revolution demo, with Sims also handling the production, layout, artwork, and even sharing engineering duties, meanwhile the trio of drummers played on alternate tracks. It would be two years before the band's membership solidified. This solidification came with the recruitment of Michael as the band's lead vocalist. Even then, an additional year would pass before 1986's Slave to the Blade demo finally materialized, spearheaded with a re-recording of the 1993 demo's kick-off tune "The Power". This early incarnation of the band had additional material written as well, rough originals like "Air Raid", "The Dark Night", "On and On Again", "Romans 6:16", "Blessing in Disguise", "Trial by Jury", and "On Your Feet or On Your Knees", but were never professionally recorded or released. By 1990, and with the release of their Death Before Dishonor LP by Belgian Skullthrasher Productions, they'd already written huge amounts of additional material waiting to be released such as "Reality of the Insane, "Call to the Master", "Scowl on the Face of the King", "R.I P. (Rock in Peace)", "Live by the Sword", "2204 BC", "In My Spotlight", "Lights, Camera, Action", "My Last Day", "Legacy", "Sweet Torment", Changes (Remain the Same)", "The Search", "Free to Rock", "It Awaits", "Feel It", "I'm Not Going Down" and others. They'd also already written the five songs destined to narrate the conceptual tale of 5 Demons.... (Imperative is Their Demise) , an EP promptly recorded and released in 1991. "I'm Not Going Down" was later rewritten, becoming "Flowers for the Dead" before Axemaster's reinvention as The Awakening . Although the new line-up possessed a somewhat different style than Axemaster, they naturally continued playing Axemaster material, notably "Flowers for the Dead", "Full Moon at Dawn", and "Yesterday's Here, Tomorrow's Gone", alongside any newly-written material. Nov. 2008 saw a name change to Inner Terror only to revert back to Axemaster in 2010. Their songs "Axemaster" and "Slave to the Blade" were featured in the 2012 movie Metal Maniac . Compilation appearances: - "Wasted Souls" on Distant Thunder: Sounds of the Cleveland Metal Storm ( Underground Express , 1990) - "Wasted Souls" on Doctor Ginger: Bloodzit #3 (Bloodzit Tapes, early '90s, cassette)