Vio-lence "Eternal Nightmare": Bleeding Priest's Bay Area Metal Spotlight 14

Hello boys and girls, and welcome to another edition of Bleeding Priest’s Bay Area Metal Spotlight. For this one, I'm covering a record that was life-changing for me when I heard it in 1988. It was a very profound moment—I saw them live and they shocked the shit out of me. I got their debut album probably the next day or within a couple of days, and like I said, it was life-changing.

Overnight, I changed my thrash metal drumming style to match what the drummer was doing on this album. The band I was in at the time was Armament, and up to that point I was just doing more punk rock kind of drumming—or just whatever I could do. I was still learning how to play drums, pretty much.

So, you know, I heard this album and just immediately started playing faster, and it changed the sound of our band completely. That bled into Warfare DC, and Warfare DC was trying their damnedest to emulate this band as much as humanly possible.

I'm talking about Vio-lence and their debut Eternal Nightmare. I think this is the greatest Bay Area thrash debut album of all time. Yes, I think it's better than Exodus’ Bonded by Blood and Metallica’s Kill ’Em All.

I know there's probably people out there that want to chop my fucking head off for saying so. And maybe if I was a little bit older and going to shows when Bonded by Blood or Kill ’Em All came out, my opinion would be different. But I was just too young to go to shows when those albums came out. I got them a couple years after the fact.

I got Eternal Nightmare right when it came out—and it just fucking blew me away. And to be honest, I still listen to this album a lot more than Bonded or Kill ’Em All.

Vio-Lence band photos from the inner sleeve of Eternal Nightmare.

I saw them at The Stone and was like, who the fuck is this band? The tempos they were playing at… they were the fastest band I had ever seen at that point. But what really stood out was Sean Killian—his voice. His maniacal wail of a voice. I can't even call it singing—it was like a drill sergeant up there, commanding you to jump in the pit or do a stage dive. His stage presence and his unique voice really struck a chord with me.

So when I got the album, it was exactly what I saw live: ferocious, crazy-fast tempos, unrelenting. His voice sounds amazing on this album. It’s funny, maybe I heard their demo before I got the album. And on the demo, his voice wasn’t as cool. It was lower register, not as upfront or abrasive. I was kind of like, “Yeah, this is pretty cool.” But when I heard the album—he had just kicked it up a notch. His voice got higher and it made a huge difference.

It really sets Vio-lence apart from every other thrash band—not just in the Bay Area, but worldwide. The two things that stood out were Sean Killian’s singing and Perry Strickland’s drumming. He’s been called the Keith Moon of thrash metal, and that's accurate. A non-stop flurry of crazy drum fills. There’s hardly any double bass on the album, which is crazy for thrash. For this to be one of the greatest thrash metal albums of all time with barely any double bass—that says a lot.

Vio-Lence Band Photo

He's just so creative with the fills. Nonstop. It's crazy. And he's the only drummer who could pull off the “chopping steak” style. Robb Flynn once told me they called it “chopping steak.” Whether that was a compliment or not, I’m not sure. But most drummers would do 16th notes on the hi-hat. Perry? Nah. He’d do eighth notes—but at such a fast tempo, it just created this constant wash of cymbals. It works perfectly for Vio-lence. It’s a unique sound.

This album? There's not a weak song or moment. I even love the production. It’s not great, but it fits the music perfectly—it adds character. The album cover? Incredible. Ed Repka killed it. I’ve heard people talk shit about it, even members of the band. But I think it’s great. You can see it a mile away—you know what it is. It’s horrifying. Even the dude’s pajamas are horrifying. I’d be hot as fuck sleeping in that thing. (I’ve been sleeping naked since I was a teenager... you probably didn’t need to know that, huh?)

Anyway, I think this is one of Ed Repka’s better covers. Another reason I had to buy the album? When I flipped it over at Record Vault and saw Robb Flynn wearing a Voivod shirt. That was it. Huge plus in my book. When was the last time that Rob Flynn wore a Voivod shirt? Probably this photo!

Back Cover, Vio-Lence Eternal Nightmare

I still love this record. I listen to it regularly—almost weekly. A few years ago, when Sean Killian was in poor health, there was a benefit show called Killian on Command in San Francisco. I was honored to be a part of it. I drummed on at least five songs—three or four from Eternal Nightmare and one from the follow-up, Oppressing the Masses, which is also awesome.

At rehearsals for that show, Ted Aguilar was like, “What the fuck are you doing, dude?” I was doing 16th notes on the hi-hat. I told him, “It just doesn’t feel right not doing it.” But yeah, I tried to keep it as true to form as possible. There’s even a video of that show on YouTube—sometimes you can catch me sneaking in a 16th note out of habit. I even sang a song at that show—from the second album.

Vio-Lence Band Photo

But yeah, Warfare DC wanted to be Vio-lence so bad. Our first demo was “produced” by Sean Killian. I don’t know if “produced” is the right word—he just hung out in the studio and said, “Yeah, it sounds good.” But he was there. His name was on the demo, and he let us stay the night at his house because Ted and Rob Aguilar got into a car accident on the way to the recording. He even made spaghetti for us.

We used Robb Flynn’s gear because Ted’s gear got fucked up in the crash. We were doing anything we could to sound like Vio-lence.

There were a couple bands back then who were on the Vio-lence tip—like Kaos. Their New Creation demo was also “produced” by Sean Killian, and they definitely sounded like Vio-lence.

So yeah—Vio-lence made a big impression on the young scene in 1988. And as challenging as it’s been over the years to remain a Vio-lence fan—what with all the lineup changes and member turnover—it will never change the fact that Eternal Nightmare is, in my opinion, the greatest Bay Area thrash metal debut of all time.

I love it.

–Bleeding Priest