Demiricous

by Jason LymangroverPowered by a hyperactive and ultra-aggressive attitude illustrated by home movies on the band's website involving Jackass-style antics -- lighting pubic hair on fire, bicycling down stairs, slapping each other, vomiting -- Demiricous are a band founded on speed and thrash. Frustrated by the lack of new American bands tracing the footsteps of Pantera and Slayer, vocalist/bassist Nate Olp, guitarist Scott Wilson, and drummer Chris Cruz formed the foundation of the group on Halloween of 2001. Former Upheaval guitarist Ben Parrish joined up half a year later, adding skillful solos to the mix and likening them more closely to their icons. In 2005, Metal Blade Records signed Demiricous on the merits of their self-released EP, and the group released its debut record, One (Hellbound), in June of that year. After tightening their live show, which prominently featured Olp's spinning pinwheel of hair, they supported Exodus, King Diamond, and Malevolent Creation and eventually landed a spot on the main stage at The New England Hardcore and Metal Fest. Soon after, they returned to the studio to record their second album, Two (Poverty), released in October of 2007.