Divebomb Records has been kicking some serious ass this year, and I just haven't had enough time to gush about all the gold they've been unloading since February, so... today I'm taking a quick moment to hype one of my personal favorites. To my absolute shock (and disappointment), I had never heard of New Jersey progressive thrashers Skitzo until I was asked to conduct a retrospective interview with the band for this very CD reissue compiling their complete eight-song, 47-minute discography.
Above is the title track from their three-song 1990 demo, which acts as a prime example of Skitzo's mind-bendingly excellent material that absolutely should've found the group quickly signed and heralded as a more aggressive successor to the likes of Realm or Toxik, at the very least. They actually went on to track five more compositions with the mighty Steve Evetts in 1992, but—in a true testament to Skitzo's criminally underrated status—those recordings were never officially released. In fact, the DAT fuckin' sat on a shelf at Trax East studio for over 20 years!? Brutal. (You can read more about that in the CD's 20-page booklet—alongside other trivia tidbits such as the fact that Skitzo's guitarist roomed with Dream Theater's Mike Portnoy at Berklee College of Music. Good stuff.)
Stream this masterpiece at Bandcamp to get a taste, then head on over and pick up a CD—limited to a mere 500 copies. Seriously, Skitzo is right up there with Sindrome in terms of bands that could've been all-time greats had they escaped the demo phase...
