Its been almost twenty years since I left All Out War. Out of nowhere, I found out that a small record label called Organized Crime Records re-released AOW's first album "Truth in the Age of Lies." And, to my surprise, our first demo "Sum of All Fears," recorded in the summer of 1992, is included with the re-release as bonus tracks. Also available is a very cool limited 10 inch record of the demo.
All Out War was influenced by both hardcore and thrash bands of the 1980s. Back then, fusing these musical styles was something quite new, which only a hand full bands attempted. My memories of recording "Sum of All Fears" was hot, sweaty, and brutal. A garage converted into a studio in Garfield, NJ, all five us packed inside and everything had to happen in one
shot. No digital machines for us! If you made a mistake, missed a cue...start over. My only regret was that we
did not record the original version of "Witness The End." We had other songs written during that period as well, including an aborted "Sum of All Fears" which we played a few times in the Hudson Valley in 1992. One memorable show was at a pizzeria in a mall in Wappingers Falls that booked local bands at night...that's upstate, NY for ya! I also posted some video clips on YouTube from a show we played in Albany, NY in 1993 - sorry for the sound quality.
"Destined to Burn," "Struggle Within," "Fall From Grace," "Stuck Inside," and "Day of Judgement," these five songs are the roots of All Out War. The only one to go through significant changes was "Stuck Inside." I can only speak to this period of time since I had the left the band at the end of the summer of 1993. And there isn't really much I can add to what Mike already wrote on the sleeve for the 10 inch. One thing I can state is that I believe that our identity was solidified in the extremely slow and grinding riff in "Destined to Burn" that opens the demo. Hardcore bands often started with fast riffs, we took a different road that is still being explored by the band twenty years later....
