Salem's Wych

Salem's Wych were of the pioneering bands mixing European metal and punk rock, who along with Metallica, Slayer, Savatage and Anthrax ushered in the thrash metal genre during the early 80's. Salem's Wych orginated from Michigan in 1983. The band, originally a 5 piece, released their critically acclaimed 1st metal album "Betrayer of Kings" in 1986 on Metal War Records - WB. Salem's Wych then recorded a follow up "Crucified For Life" in 1988 (not officially released - was shelved due to split with label Metal War Records). The band then disbanded in late 1988. In 1994 the Salem's Wych song "Betrayer of Kings" was featured in the Movie Tereas's Tattoo - with an all star cast of Lou Diamond Philips, Keifer Sutherland, k.d. Lang, Mellisa Ethredge, Thomas C. Howell and Nancy McKean. The band reformed in 2000. They recorded tracks for an album entitled "Through All Eternity" in 2003 - 2004 (unreleased at this time). In 2005 Bill Neff and Ron Johnson rejoined the band marking the original "Betrayer of Kings" line-up of Mark Gast - Lead Guitar, Bill Neff - Drums and Ron Johnson - Vocals and additional bass player - Paul Lamb (Less ex- bass plaer and guitarist Keith Jann and Tom Bronicki). At the time the Salem's Wych was a 4 peice unit, with Ron Johnson handeling vocals and 2nd guitar duties. In May 2007, lead singer Ron Johnson was killed in a motorcycle accident. At the time of this writing the band is still active and is slated to release several albums from their past recorded catalog, though no replacement singer for Ron Johnson has been confirmed. Salem's Wych music can be defined along the lines of fellow bands of the early 80's, being very similar in sound to early Metallica, Megadeth, Savatage and Slayer. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.