Attention students! Class is in session! For today’s lesson, we’re going back in time to 1987. Death metal had been brewing for a couple years as a violent strain of thrash. The genre became its own thing thanks to the release of Death’s Scream Bloody Gore. And while Death may have solidified the genre, they weren’t alone in their efforts. The debut albums of Blood Feast and Necrophagia, as well as the various demos which popped up via the underground tape trading community, played a major part in this transition. One such demo was Masada’s Til Death. It quickly became a favorite among the tape traders of the day. Thanks to YouTube, its been rediscovered by a whole new generation of death and thrash metal maniacs. We sat down with Masada bassist and founding member, Bill Pitts, to discuss those early days and the lasting impact of the little ol’ band from Waukegan, Illinois.
When did you first get into metal? Who were your favorite bands growing up?
Bill Pitts: My first brush with metal came around 1980. The first bands to make a mark were AC/DC, Black Sabbath, and Judas Priest. My favorite early metal were these bands, as well as Motörhead, Venom, Exciter, and a ton of punk and hardcore.
The core of Masada has always been yourself, singer Nick Travetto, and guitarist Paul Quinn. When did you guys first meet and how soon after did the band form?
BP: Paul and I have known each other since we were little kids. Paul met Nick on the bus to high school, and said, “This is our singer!” We were all in high school when we started Masada.
By the time you released the Til Death demo, the American thrash scene was becoming very refined. In comparison, you guys were playing some very early death metal. Was there a conscious effort to be as brutal as possible?
BP: YES! We formed after area favorites Wrath, Num Skull, Not-Us, Amulance and Metal Reign. We wanted to be the most ferocious, fastest band in the area! We were very fortunate to find Andy Vehnekamp on drums. He blew us away from his audition on. We were influenced by a lot of hardcore too. The speed and attitude of HC sometimes surfaces in our early stuff.
At the end of Til Death, there’s a message encouraging fans to mail the band for lyrics. Did anyone end up mailing you guys?
BP: YES! That was the era of tape trading (no internet yet!). I personally traded hundreds of tapes, and I realized that I liked a ton of bands that I had no idea how to contact. So I came up with the message at the end of our demo so we could tell where people were from. I probably sent out 100 of the 1000 I had printed! I wish I had one now!
I imagine you played some crazy shows back in the day. Is there any one in particular that stands out as the craziest?
BP: To me, our very first show was nuts! Toilets torn off the walls, roughly 600 people, opening for Num Skull and Fatal Violence (Sept.19,’87). The stage was plywood and 2 X 4s. We played first and the 6 foot plus gap between the stage and the back wall became about 10 inches wide. People were chanting our name and we had never played live! Our last song that night, “Rise of an Emperor”, was 2 minutes, 30 seconds. On the video, I count 63 stage divers…..in 2:30!
Despite releasing two impactful demos, Masada never got around to releasing a full length. Was there ever one in the works?
BP: We actually made 4 demos. As far as an LP, the idea was always there. It just never came to be.
After over two decades apart, Masada got back together in 2013. What led to this reunion?
BP: It was Paul Quinn’s idea aimed at me! He didn’t like the fact I wasn’t playing like back in the day, so he proposed putting Masada back together. He has other bands he’s involved with, but not with me & Nick. He wrote some new stuff and we recorded it in 2015. The name of that EP is Old Warnings and New Truths.
Having grown up in the era of fan zines and tape trading, how does it feel to see people interested in the band all these years later via the internet?
BP: My days of tape trading are way over, but the internet has rejuvenated an interest in Masada that is as strong as it was back in the “flyer” days! The internet gives everyone access to our stuff and everybody else’s stuff too! I wish it was around back in the day!
Do you have a favorite Masada song? If so, which one?
BP: I don’t really have a solid favorite.. I love ’em all! If I had to choose, “The Bone Chamber”, all 29 seconds, rocks! Also, “New World” and “Malfunction “, and “Destroyer”, and…
Masada affectionately calls their fanbase the “Trailer Gang”. Why?
BP: When we started, Paul had a trailer in Park City, Illinois. His mom moved away, leaving it in his charge. Meaning “our” charge. A ton of our friends would hang out with us there EVERY night for years! Paul and I would get home from work and there were already 15 people hanging out! Since Paul had the I.D., I’d drive to Wisconsin, he’d buy the beer, and right back to the trailer. Sometimes 10 cases of Old Style, depending on donations! We were at that trailer every day the whole time we were getting Masada together, hence “The Trailer Gang”! There’s so many memories there, we had to honor it. I could tell ya a few stories about that place…
Thank you Joe! YOU ROCK!