Fuckshitupism deluxe.
ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT- Dead Serious Demo Tape (selfproduced, USA, 1985)
One of my favourite demo tapes ever! ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT came out of the blue with this one. They sent out the demo tape to a lot of international fanzines and radio stations and got very popular immediately. Everybody was blown away – rarely had there been a genuine blend of the best elements of both Hardcore and Metal, played with such passion. The joy is literally bleeding through within every note, yet all the songs have a fascinating melodramatic atmosphere. Really really intense! “In the Center it was silent” gives me goose bumps. What a song! By the way, this was recorded at the infamous “Turk Street Studios” where EXODUS also had recorded a demo tape. If said EXODUS demo only had the sound this one has ….
The LP that followed (“American Paranoia”) was long in the making (same Pusmort procedere as always). The advance tape found its way into trader circles quickly again and it actually sounded better than the actual vinyl did, with a lot more crunch to it. The LP somehow never impressed me half as much as the demo. I don’t know what it is, but it just lacks something. also, the whole package was so damn shitty looking.
In 1986, I met Rick Strahl (bassist) at a gig in San Francisco. A true gentleman of Crossover. If I remember correctly, he came to me and asked me how a guy from Switzerland hanging around in San Francisco could wear a Attitude Adjustment T-Shirt (the classic one, with the soldier and the peace sign fingers). Might also be that John Scharpen introduced us to each other. Maybe John remembers this little episode.
I suspect that this tape has suffered a bit over the years in terms of sound (that strange wobbling sound you hear, you know). Still, it’s got a clear and crisp sound and I think these rips are definately a lot better than the cheap ass files floating around. At a later time, I might be uploading the LP rough mix and a killer rehearsal tape too.
Download the complete demo here as one .zip file. Encoded in hi-quality 320 kb/sec bit rate.
John Scharpen wrote:
I can’t remember if I introduced you to Rick or not, but I do know he lives in Hawaii now. I actually saw Attitude Adjustment play last weekend, with their original singer (before Andy) and guitarist, plus some newer guys. They were damn good, actually, and played a number of songs from their demo (including “In the Center…”) – after all these years! I must have seen them play 20 to 30 times during the eighties, and never got sick of them. I still remember Andy taping foam padding to the ceiling of one venue so he wouldn’t hit his head when he jumped.
Follow the link to my site for a full show review.
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Posted on 12-Jul-08 at 9:26 am | Permalink
no man's slave wrote:
Wow the sound quality here is by far the best I heard (as always when you post something). You’re so right about the lp. It’s too clean. This tape rules!
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Posted on 12-Jul-08 at 10:04 am | Permalink
Jerry B wrote:
Awesome, I first heard some of these tracks on the End the Warzone EP and was blown away, but never got the demo before. Great stuff! But what horrible metal abomination they turned into after their 1st album I dont know, was that even the same band??
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Posted on 12-Jul-08 at 11:21 am | Permalink
Pär wrote:
This is so great, I´m downlaoding it right now and I long to hear it with your ripping.
I might not be as everybody else hee since I really like eveyting that they have released!
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Posted on 12-Jul-08 at 12:18 pm | Permalink
SwePete wrote:
Thanks for this E!! Got some shitty rips of American P and 9-5 from the demo so I´m eager to hear some good quality. I like the LP though, ´cos I got nothing to compare with. Post the rest, pretty please with sugar on top!!!
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Posted on 12-Jul-08 at 3:37 pm | Permalink
eddie wrote:
when u gonna post some oi polloi? erich is great, I love him. erich is great, I love him. erich is great, I love him. erich is great, I love him. erich is great, I love him. erich is great, I love him. erich is great, I love him. erich is great, I love him. erich is great, I love him. erich is great, I love him. erich is great, I love him. erich is great, I love him. erich is great, I love him. erich is great, I love him. erich is great, I love him. erich is great, I love him. erich is great, I love him. erich is great, I love him. erich is great, I love him. erich is great, I love him. erich is great, I love him. erich is great, I love him. erich is great, I love him. erich is great, I love him. erich is great, I love him. erich is great, I love him. erich is great, I love him. erich is great, I love him. erich is great, I love him. erich is great, I love him.
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Posted on 12-Jul-08 at 8:27 pm | Permalink
gina wrote:
Who cares about that shitty band Oi Polloi!
This demo rules! I onyl have the “american paranoia” LP, which is also great. Unfortunately all the other stuff they put out was pretty mediocre.
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Posted on 13-Jul-08 at 5:24 am | Permalink
chris shary wrote:
Awesome! OK I know of the Condemned Attitude songs from the Thrasher comp, and I’m assuming they were part of a larger demo. Anyone got that floating around? I was listening to the Thrasher songs a few days ago and they slay!
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Posted on 13-Jul-08 at 6:46 am | Permalink
Jerry B wrote:
Hehey people, reading all it seems like this demo is the only one good thing they did, while the first album is by any means a raging monster that I’ve held dear for 2 decades or so.
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Posted on 13-Jul-08 at 11:57 am | Permalink
Admin wrote:
Just gave the LP another spin today and really, it sounded better than I had remembered it! I also had that second LP in my hands, the one with the xerox cover, but only for a few seconds. I had to put in the back, couldn’t play it. As far as I remember, it’s really weak, kinda power-violency.
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Posted on 13-Jul-08 at 12:01 pm | Permalink
eddie wrote:
I’m not the brightest but I love Erich and I love Peter.
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Posted on 13-Jul-08 at 3:52 pm | Permalink
chano wrote:
An historical piece ! Sounds MUCH better than the lp…
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Posted on 13-Jul-08 at 4:05 pm | Permalink
chano wrote:
The NO MORE MR. NICE GUY 12″ isn’t bad . A bit metallic maybe , but not bad .
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Posted on 13-Jul-08 at 4:07 pm | Permalink
eddie wrote:
how about posting Krondstadt Uprising’s “Unknown Revolution” EP? I think erich and peter are the same person!
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Posted on 13-Jul-08 at 4:26 pm | Permalink
Peter - KBD Records wrote:
I believed the hype and bought their LP. Hated it and got rid of it. This is much better. Especially Electric Shock. A little bit too much of wanking metalythingelingdingdangdong for my taste here and there.
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Posted on 14-Jul-08 at 3:00 am | Permalink
piranha666 wrote:
you made me happy with this one. as always superior sound quality. even sounds much better than the tracks on “end the warzone”. I’d love you forever if you could post some rare exodus material
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Posted on 14-Jul-08 at 9:08 am | Permalink
Admin wrote:
@ Chris Shary: Condemned Attitude? Damn, this rings a bell …. weren’t they a band put together by people of Attitude Adjustment and Condemned (who had a horrible LP in the mid 80s)? And they were on a Thrasher comp??
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Posted on 14-Jul-08 at 9:14 am | Permalink
John Scharpen wrote:
Condemned Attitude were indeed an amalgamation of the two bands – Keith from Condemned joined Rick, Chris K, Chris S, and Andy from Attitude Adjustment. I’m of two minds about the Condemned record – it’s weird, but the sound isn’t that great. Condemned Attitude did some Condemned songs and made them sound much better. I’ve got some live tapes floating around somewhere…
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Posted on 14-Jul-08 at 10:33 pm | Permalink
CHANO wrote:
The CONDEMNED ATTITUDE lp is awful as fuck…
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Posted on 15-Jul-08 at 11:19 am | Permalink
theun_k wrote:
cross over never really worked for me in the 80′s. i’m curious how much i’ll enjoy this demo. remember that i liked ‘end the warzone’ much better than their ‘american’ lp.
suggestions for future posts would be the nyc mayhem / straight ahaed demo’s.
and … for nostalgic reasons: any chance you have the landlords – hous party ripped and waiting for the public domain?
thanks – theunk
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Posted on 18-Jul-08 at 12:52 am | Permalink
Admin wrote:
Theun – use the search function and you’ll find the NYC MAYHEM “unreleased” 7″EP. Straight Ahead? Well, for nostalgic reasons I like the “End the Warzone” songs (or I remember liking them), but that youth crew stuff gives me the creeps.
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Posted on 18-Jul-08 at 1:00 am | Permalink
theun_k wrote:
euro-techno is the shit! – i doubt if my opnion on crossover changed though
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Posted on 18-Jul-08 at 2:20 am | Permalink
fugu wrote:
This demo is FUCKING AMAZING.
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Posted on 03-Nov-08 at 4:32 pm | Permalink
Good bad Music for bad, bad Times! / ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT- Desctruction’s End 7″ Flexi (Thrasher Magazine, USA, 1987) wrote:
[...] can you say? Short and great, in between the incredible “Dead Serious” demo tape and the so-so LP. And a blogger’s dream, really. One song and no cover issued – [...]
Posted on 24-Dec-08 at 6:17 am | Permalink
gg allin wrote:
someone played this for me once and i was blown away. unfortunitly i can’t listen to this but i have heard it. erich you’re cool man.
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Posted on 23-Sep-09 at 1:03 am | Permalink
Smitty wrote:
Wow…magnificent…incredible. Always knew the name but think they were already into the thrash zone by the time I woulda been able to cop an album. Sounds like the Infest and No Comment guys liked this demo a lot. Great thanks.
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Posted on 24-Sep-09 at 12:03 am | Permalink
roswell47 wrote:
this got rereleased in full (and good sound quality) on the bitzcore cd version of “american paranoia” in 93.
killer demo! me, too, i had high anticipations back then about the upcoming lp but was a bit disappointed.
my favorite AA record remains “no more mr. nice guy”, but i may be the only one. chris kontos’ drumming had incredibly improved on that album, he was so tight and to the point while still playful. everything on that record was just powerful.
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Posted on 12-Nov-09 at 1:50 am | Permalink
elliott wrote:
bloody hell! crossover thrash at it’s best. thanks a lot. good sound too.
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Posted on 02-May-10 at 8:41 pm | Permalink