Guest Article by KT
The New Jersey area has spawned quite a few interesting bands in the past, I’m sure you know most of them, so I won’t bother mentioning any. Damonacy seems to be a somewhat overlooked band from the NJ area. Not a lot of people know the history, or the music for that matter, of this great band. In their brief existence, they released one demo, “From Within” (1991), and a 7”, “Therapeutic Morbidity” (1992), before calling it quits. How they never managed to get a deal is beyond me, as their brand of death metal still holds up to this day! Having tracked down Stan Zielinski (guitar), it was deemed necessary to ask about the band’s past. Read on…
First off, how did you get into playing? Was Sadistic Intent / Damonacy your first band?
I started playing guitar when I was about 14. A couple of friends of mine played and I decided I wanted to as well, so I got a guitar. I always admired metal guitarists like Randy Rhoads, Tony Iommi and others. Once I got the guitar, I was addicted.
Sadistic Intent was the first real band I was ever in. The line-up was me, Brian Worland, Mike Klose, Jason Corr and John Egan. Matt McCluskey was in a band called Insidius Threat at that time. It was funny, the first song we ever wrote was called “Death Bed.” We had no idea what we were doing and the song actually sounded pretty good. A lot of people got into it. I actually think I have the recording reels for a live recording we did for 3 songs as Sadistic Intent. It is totally different from Damonacy’s style. It was more Hardcore.
Did Sadistic Intent ever record anything?
Sadistic made a live recording in the studio, but it is really raw. We had just started playing as a band, so it is really bad.
Were there ever any hassles regarding the name Sadistic Intent?
No. We would have went to where they lived and kicked their asses! lol. No, we didn’t hear anything, because we weren’t that popular yet. We changed the name on our own. We wanted to have our own name.
Could you give an introduction to Damonacy (and possibly Sadistic Intent)?
As mentioned in the previous question, Sadistic Intent’s line-up was me, Brian Worland, Mike Klose, Jason Corr and John Egan. We knew each other from going to shows and one day, I think we were at an Anthrax show, we talked about getting together and before we knew it we were writing songs. We joined forces sometime in 1988.
Damonacy’s line-up changed during the years. At first it was me, Brian Worland, Mike Klose, Jason Corr and Matt McCluskey. We added a 2nd bass player around 1991/92. Mike was incarcerated and Ben Danberger, who was our roadie, jumped right in to help fill in for some upcoming shows. When Mike was released, we decided it wouldn’t be right to drop Ben, after all he did to bail us out. Since he clicked with us, we decided to have 2 bass players. Ben played with a pick and distortion, Mike played clean and without a pick. This added a new depth to our sound.
Matt McCluskey was one of the guitar players from about 1989/90 till about 1992/3. Then John Egan joined us till our demise in 1994.
Recording the “From Within” demo — how did that come about?
I loved the recording sessions! The best was when we added the intro to “Necromancer” and heard it the first time in the studio. It gave us chills! I loved when we were doing the backing vocals part. When we were all together growling into the mic! Loved that part. We had a lot of people hanging out when we recorded. A lot of insanity!
A couple of thousand copies were made. We pushed the shit out of it. There are actually 2 versions of the demo. Brian wasn’t happy with his vocals, so we went back into the studios and he re-recorded them. That demo got a great response. It really helped us get known in the death metal scene.
The sound of Damonacy seems chaotic at first glance, but beneath the surface it feels unique. What were your influences? Did everyone contribute to songwriting?
If you knew Damonacy, you’d know we are a very CHAOTIC bunch off the stage too! I think that creates the chaos in our music. We wrote what we wanted to. We never conformed to anything. Isn’t that what music is all about? An expression of our feelings!
My influences have changed over the years. I started on Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden. Then to Metallica and Slayer. Then the hardcore bands. They all had an influence on me.
Did you play many shows? Any standout stories?
HAHA! Yes, Mike was arrested at our 1st or 2nd show and it turned out to be great publicity. We played so many killer shows — festivals in NY, Canada, Milwaukee, Michigan, PA and others. Locally we had a good following, so we were getting the opportunity to play with bigger bands when they came to our area.
The Buffalo area was by far the best place we ever played. So many great bands from there and such a strong loyal scene. We loved going there.
Recording “Therapeutic Morbidity” — any memories there?
Honestly, I can’t remember how we got in touch with Corpse Grinder Records. I think they did a couple pressings, but I can’t remember. We also made another 1000 copies on cassette and that went out as well.
Recording “Therapeutic Morbidity” was great! We had gotten heavier, 2 bass players, and Brian lowered his voice. We were very pleased with the end product.
The artwork was done by Walt Flannigan. How did that happen?
A couple of the guys grew up with Walt. We originally were using Rob Leecock, but everybody was using Rob. We gave Walt a couple of ideas and he started drawing. We were amazed! He got crazier and crazier, once we got him started!
Walt also does all of the artwork for Kevin Smith’s movies. (If you look closely in the movie Chasing Amy, you’ll see Jason Mewes’ character, Jay, sporting a Damonacy shirt.)
Was there any label interest after “Therapeutic Morbidity”?
We had a great buzz going before we broke up. Some smaller labels and one or two mid-sized ones showed interest. But one of them said point blank we were too much of a liability off-stage to take a chance on us. There was a lot of violence and insanity around us.
You were featured on the “Midnight Offerings” compilation. How did that happen?
I don’t remember how we got involved. It was a great compilation with a lot of great bands. Got us a lot of publicity. I think I still have the compilation.
Ronnie Deo of Incantation joined in 1994. What happened with Ben?
Ben moved. So we needed a new bass player. After playing with Incantation a couple of times, we got to know Ronnie. We liked his style and asked him. He said yes. He didn’t play with us for long though — he lived far away, so it didn’t really work out.
What was it like being part of the NJ scene?
Ripping Corpse spawned the death metal scene here. We were still more of a hardcore band as Sadistic Intent, same with the Human Remains guys. Then we saw Ripping Corpse and the whole scene shifted. It was amazing to be a part of that history.
Your final recorded song was “Expectations” for Moribund Records. What happened?
We recorded it for a Seattle-based label called Moribund Records. The owner, Odin Thompson, got sick and the CD compilation never happened. “Expectations” was probably the heaviest and most brutal song we ever recorded.
(This song was later released on a tape alongside the tracks from the “Therapeutic Morbidity” 7″. 1000 copies were made. For collectors: this tape differs slightly from the promo — different inlay text, and no logo on the cover.)
Why did Damonacy disband?
We are a VERY dysfunctional bunch of misfits. Our personalities clashed and we broke up. Things were getting insane, and it wasn’t about the music anymore.
Was there a reunion in 2002?
We did get back together — me, Brian, Matt, and Jason, plus another bassist. We wrote some killer songs but broke up again before recording. Classic us. In 2010, me, Brian and Mike were talking about getting something together. Let’s see what happens. I still have a lot of riffs in my head!
Any chance of a Damonacy reunion?
A lot of people ask that, but for now the answer is no. We’d love to compile our recordings one day. It sucks we didn’t record everything. That was one of our biggest downfalls — saving songs for a deal that never came. Now, most of it is just memories or live footage.
What are the rest of the guys up to these days?
John Egan joined Gutwrench, then Brian did too. They brought a new edge to the band. They were getting big, and there was label interest. Then John died, and the band eventually broke up.
Biohazard actually wrote a song about John Egan called “My Life, My Way”. Brian sings a verse on it too. I think the other guys still practice, but to my knowledge, no one’s in any active bands.
Any final thoughts?
Being part of the 1990s death metal scene was one of the greatest times of my life. We met so many true people along the way. Those memories will burn in my soul for all of eternity!!!!
And that’s it folks. If you haven’t already, check out Damonacy now!
