Slapshot is an American hardcore punk band from Boston, Massachusetts. Formed in 1985, the band released eight studio albums, along with numerous singles and EPs. Despite frequent lineup changes, founding member Jack "Choke" Kelly has remained the band's primary vocalist and only constant band member.
History
Formation, Back on the Map, Step On It (1985-1988) Slapshot was formed in 1985 by Steve Risteen and Mark McKay, formerly of Terminally Ill, Jack "Choke" Kelly, formerly of Negative FX and Last Rights, and Jonathan Anastas, formerly of Decadence and DYS.
Slapshot's first album was a 24-track recording, instead of an 8/16-track album. Slapshot recorded the entire album at night, completing it in just four sessions to reduce the cost of recording. Back on the Map was later released by Taang! Records in 1986.
Slapshot experienced several lineup changes during its early years. Jordan Wood, who had previously played with S.T.P. and would later join Deathwish, initially joined as a second guitarist. After bassist Anastas left the group to pursue his education, Wood moved to bass. This lineup recorded the band's second album, Step On It which was also released through Taang! Records. In 1989, the groups first two albums were later combined and issued as a compilation. During the mid to late 1980s Slapshot began to tour the US and Canada opening for acts such as Bad Brains, Gang Green, Agnostic Front and Circle Jerks.
Sudden Death Overtime (1988–1993) In July 1988, Jamie Sciarappa, former bass player of SS Decontrol, joined the band and Jordan returned to his original slot as a second guitar player. This five-piece released their first 3-song promotional single titled Firewalker in 1989 including "Firewalker" and live recordings of "Chip on My Shoulder" and "Moment of Truth". From April 29, 1989 to May 27, 1989 Slapshot embarked on the "Witness The Hate" tour. The tour's opening night, with support from Full Circle and Scruffy Tearaways, occurred at Blondies in Detroit, Michigan. Their third studio album, Sudden Death Overtime, was then released in 1990, receiving some positive reviews. Stewart Marson of AllMusic wrote about the album, stating "At a time when hardcore itself, never mind straight-edge, was on the ropes, Sudden Death Overtime proved that some bands were still in the game." The band then toured the U.S. in support of the album, the two legs took place in June and October respectively playing shows in both the US and Canada. In February 1991, the band went on their first European tour which was also in support of the album.
Around the time the band began writing for their next album, Wood left, leaving Slapshot a single-guitarist band. Sciarappa would move to Los Angeles soon after Wood’s departure and was replaced with McKay and Chris Lauria. Yet another lineup change occurred when the band decided to fire Risteen later that same year. Darryl Sheppard was picked as his replacement.
This tumultuous period was discussed in the band's documentary "Chip On My Shoulder: The Cautionary Tale of Slapshot". They were then set for a U.S. tour, but Mark McKay told the band that he couldn't participate. Darryl Sheppard got Barry Hite, the drummer from his other band, to fill in for the tour. When Slapshot returned from the tour, McKay decided to officially quit the band. His departure was the result of multiple issues, mainly not having an interest in the material the group was writing for their next release.
Blast Furnace and Unconsciousness (1993–1994) Their next album Blast Furnace, was released in 1993, via We Bite Records. With this release Slapshot evolved their sound still sticking to their hardcore roots while also mixing industrial metal. At this point Kelly was the only original member left in the band, with Darryl Sheppard of Slaughter Shack, Barry Hite and Chris Lauria rounding out the rest of the lineup. The album was written in two weeks and recorded in three days, though the band was unsatisfied with the final result. Slapshot then toured Europe that spring, while on tour they recorded their first live album in Berlin called Live at SO36 which was also released via We Bite Records.
In 1994, Sheppard left the band and was replaced by Mike Bowser. They recorded their next album in Chicago with producer Steve Albini, ex-member of Big Black and producer for Nirvana. During this time, there was a lot of tension among the band, with Lauria not getting along with Hite and Hite not getting along with Kelly. Around the recording process of their third album Unconsciousness being recorded, ex-guitar and bass player Jordan Wood committed suicide. This brought Mark McKay back into the group socially and ultimately back into the band. Unconsciousness was released later that year via We Bite Records.
In August 1994, Slapshot embarked on a lengthy European tour with Ignite the two would release a split 7-inch record was to help promote the tour. The tour began with a performance at the Hultsfred Festival in Sweden on August 11, and concluded in Germany on October 4. Over the course of 54 days, Slapshot performed 50 shows across seven countries. After returning home, Chris Lauria persuaded Jack Kelly to bring Mark McKay back into the band's lineup.
With both Blast Furnace and Unconsciousness, the band ventured away from their hardcore sound into a more hard rock territory. Lead singer Choke later commented on the sound change, stating:
Return to hardcore sound/mini hiatus, 16 Valve Hate and Olde Tyme Hardcore (1995-1999) Upon the return of original drummer Mark McKay, Slapshot returned to the studio to record their album, 16 Valve Hate which was released by Lost & Found Records in Europe and Taang! Records in North America in 1995. The album featured a cover of the Smiths song, "Big Mouth Strikes Again" (1986). Choke later recalled "When we were recording '16 Valve Hate' we kind of suddenly decided to do 'Big Mouth Strikes Again' and throw it together on the spot. A lot of the songs on that record were written in the studio on the day they were recorded. It was just one of those things where everything kind of came together that day." German music review site Visions.de wrote "16 Valve Hate is back to rocking like the old days: 13 songs of straightforward Boston hardcore, devoid of metal ballast and stupid moshing." Following the album’s release Slapshots relationship with Lost & Found Records became sour, with Slapshot accusing the label off not playing them. According to McKay, the band has never received any royalties for the sales of 16 Valve Hate by Lost & Found Records.
On August 25, 1995, the band set off on their most ambitious tour to date in support of 16 Valve Hate. With Doug McKinnon filling in for Mark McKay, Slapshot played over 60 shows in 8 countries with only 4 days off. Just under a year later Slapshot returned to the studio with the same lineup to record Olde Tyme Hardcore which was released via Taang! Records in 1996. The album was a return to the bands roots with an "old-school" hardcore sound and featured a cover of the SSD song "Get It Away".
In early 1996, Century Media Records invited Slapshot to take the headlining spot on the Crossover 2000 European tour. However things went poorly, from the beginning, and only got worse as the tour went on. Around three weeks into the tour, Lauria, became frustrated and worn out, which resulted in him ditching the band to return home. This led to Brian Omer, who was already performing with another group on the tour taking his place, and finishing out the remaining dates with Slapshot. The band quickly returned to Europe just two weeks later, once again embarking on a two-and-a-half-week club tour with John Madden [ex-Doc Hopper] on bass filling in for the absent Lauria. This tour featured Slapshot's first appearance at the Full Force Festival in Germany on June 23, 1996, where they opened for Motörhead and Ministry.
In July 1997, Slapshot played what their last concert in the United States for five years, in Plymouth, Massachusetts. For a long time, it looked as if this show was going to be their last show ever. The concert was videotaped for local TV. During the post show interview, Kelly noted that he didn't know if it was Slapshot's last show or not, adding "every show can be the last, but then again, they might come out a few years later and do another show."
Things then went quiet, leading people to believe the band had disbanded. However, they then returned to tour Europe in 1999, including a stop at the Graspop Metal Meeting in Belgium. Former band members still couldn't get along, so Chris Lauria and Steve Risteen wouldn't participate, leading to David Link coming in as the replacement. In December 1999, a Slapshot tribute album called Boston Drops the Gloves: A Tribute to Slapshot was released by Flat Records and San Francisco-based TKO Records. The album included covers by 22 Boston bands.
Greatest Hits, Slashes and Crosschecks, Digital Warfare and Tear it Down (2001–2008) In 2001, Slapshot released a new album entitled Greatest Hits, Slashes and Crosschecks released via King Fisher and Century Media. The album featured re-recorded and re-mastered versions of classic songs along with two brand new recordings. This would be the last album to feature Mike Bowser on guitar and the only recorded material with David Link on bass.
In 2002, the band went on another European tour, featuring the return of Chris Lauria. Later that same year, Slapshot played a 15-minute surprise set at The Hideaway in Cambridge, Massachusetts as part of a show alongside Poison Idea, Kill Your Idols, Thumbs Up! and others. Despite being a short set, it resulted in the band having a full show booked at The Hideaway for October 13, 2002. However, the club closed days before the show was scheduled to take place. 13 days later on October 26, 2002, they played at the "6th annual Back to School Jam" in Framingham, Massachusetts. The event also featured Blood for Blood, Converge, Reach The Sky, Panic, No Warning, Some Kind of Hate and a set by Kelly’s other band, Stars & Stripes. The event marked the first show Slapshot played in the US in over five years.
Soon after Mike Bowser moved to New York for a new job opportunity. The would end up finding a replacement in Ed Lalli. Ever since the band's 1996 crossover tour, Kelly had been contemplating disbanding the group. However this changed when Lauria called Kelly and suggested working on a new album. So they then returned to the studio for 2003's Digital Warfare released via I Scream Records. This album saw the band return to their more aggressive/intense style. Scott Bolton writing for Rough Edge gave the album a positive review stating "Amazingly, this is the band's first studio album in seven years. You'd never know it. Digital Warfare is a furious, raging ass-kicking disc with nary a low point." In late 2003 Slapshot headlined a European tour with Blood for Blood and The Blues Bloods serving as support.
In 2005 Slapshot released a 7-song EP Tear It Down (Thorp Records), this record was one of Slapshot's more serious and politically minded releases, focusing on wartime paranoia. It also featured one of their more controversial songs "Fuck New York", along with several more European tours, including joining All, 7 Seconds, Walls Of Jericho, and Unearth on the 2004 Eastpak Resistance Tour. In 2005 they embarked on the Pope's Dead, You're Next tour alongside Champion and Some Kind of Hate.
In 2006, an announcement was posted on Slapshot’s official website stating that the group were defunct. Around a year later, on June 30, 2007, they returned to play a set at the Significant Fest 2007 in Clearwater, Florida. They also played with Killing Time, 108 and Uppercut, and in July 2008, they played multiple European dates, along with an appearance at the Full Force festival in Germany. These would be the last shows with Ed Lalli on guitar.