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Hellwitch arose from the depth in October of 1984. Founding members Patrick Ranieri and Harry Tiyler recorded the first demo, a one-track venture, in the living room of their apartment in Gainesville, Florida. The track, "Nosferatu", consisted of Pat on all guitars, and Harry on drums (i.e., a seat cushion and a textbook) and vocals. Pat composed the music and the two of them penned the lyrics. In February of 1985, Dave Silverstein and Andy Adcock joined the Hellwitch ranks; Pat took on vocals and bass (as well as guitar), Andy became the bassist/guitarist and Dave replaced Harry on "drums". The bands first show was in July of 1985, opening for a local punk band, Roach Motel. Over the course of that year, Hellwitch gained a large local following and opened for such bands as Corrosion of Conformity, D.R.I. and Agnostic Front. Over the next 3 years, Hellwitch grew as one of Florida's death metal pioneers, playing with various established bands such as Anthrax, Nuclear Assault, Kreator, Deicide, Morbid Angel, Death, Dark Angel, Coroner, G.B.H., Nasty Savage and Atheist. Hellwitch recorded their first studio demo, "Transgressive Sentience", in January of 1986. The demo featured the tracks "Torture Chamber", "Satan's Wrath", "Nosferatu" and the instrumental epic, "Fate At Pains End". A remixed version of "Torture Chamber" later appeared on the compilation LP, "Thrash Metal Attack", released by New Renaissance Records in July of 1987. The band's second studio demo, "Mordirivial Dissemination", was released in June of 1987, which featured the tracks "Purveyor of Fear", "Pyrophoric Seizure", "Degeneration" and a newer version of "Nosferatu". In July of 1988, Pat relocated to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and began auditioning bassists and drummers. A new line-up consisting of Pat on guitars and vocals, Frank Watkins on bass and Steve Rincon on drums. In March of 1989 Hellwitch released a 3-song rehearsal demo featuring the tracks "Mordirivial Dissemination", "Viral Exogence" and a cover of Death's immortal "Archangel". Soon after, Pat decided that the level of musicianship at that point was lacking, so, out went Frank and Steve and in came Joe "Witch" Schnessel (drums) and Jesse Trevino (bass). In June of 1989 a 7" single featuring 2 tracks from the "Mordirivial Dissemination" demo was released on Flight 19 Records, which very quickly became a collectors item. In August of that year Jesse was replaced by bassist Tommy Mouser. In October of 1989, Hellwitch approached Wild Rags! Records and negotiated for the release of their first full length LP, "Syzigial Miscreancy". The album was recorded at Morrisound Studios with veteran producer Scott Burns, and, was released in December of 1990. The album went on to sell over 10,000 copies internationally. In late 1990, the band added Jim Nickles as a second guitarist and completed successful tours of the East Coast, culminating in an appearance at the 1990 Milwaukee Metal Fest. In February of 1991, Jesse Trevino returned to the band and a very successful 4-date tour of Texas shortly followed. In late 1991 Hellwitch replaced Jim Nickles with Craig Shattuck. A 3 song EP was recorded in August of 1991 at Morrisound for Wild Rags!, entitled "Terraasymmetry". The EP featured the title track, "Dawn Of Apostasy" and a remake of the 1986 demo classic "Satan's Wrath". This work, released in 1992 on Lethal Records (RIP OFFS!), showed just how extreme the level of song composition had become. "Terraasymmetry" sold over 4,000 copies worldwide. In March of 1992, Joe "Witch" Schnessel left the band, but briefly returned in 1993 before finally departing for good. Jesse then moved to Texas and Craig was moved to the bassist position. The band cut all ties with Wild Rags! In September of 1992 after bogus sales figures were reported. After having problems finding a suitable replacement for Joe over the next year, Craig lost interest and Pat was left alone. In early 1994 Pat found drummer Joel Suarez and the "Anthropophagi" demo was soon recorded with Pat playing all instruments with the exception of drums. In November of 1994 the "Anthropophagi" demo was released, and featured the tracks "At Rest", "Days Of Nemesis", "Torture Chamber" and a re-worked, non-instrumental version of the classic '86 demo track, "Fate At Pains End". The demo has sold over 1,500 copies to date. Around the time of this release, J.P. Brown joined as second guitarist and Craig returned. In early 1995 Joel decided he was sick of death metal and made his exit to join a rap act. After many months of searching, in came new drummer Gabe Lewandowski. Hellwitch worked profusely on new material that would secure the band a new record deal. In late 1996 Hellwitch signed with Nazgul's Eyrie Productions for the release of their next CD. Due to the distance between Gabe and the rest of the band (a 3 hour drive!) an enormous strain was place on their relationship. Some of the newest songs were "Final Approach", "Epitome Of Disgrace" and "Mythologicalies (Enlightened Paginus)". Rehearsal versions of these songs were recorded, yet were never properly captured in a studio setting. After a year of writing and rehearsing, and numerous delays concerning the new recording, things reached a point where no one was really happy. The band then split in 1997. On Halloween of 1998 the latter line-up reformed and played a final (?) show with Deicide and Acheron in Hallandale, Florida. Though the future of Hellwitch is uncertain, the truth remains that Hellwitch was in fact a pioneer of the underground death metal scene and shall always be recognized as an innovative and uncompromising force in music. Check out the artist's website: http://www.progressiveartsmusic.com Track List: 1. The Ascent 2. Nosferatu 3. Viral Exogence 4. Sentient Transmography 5. Mordirivial Dissemination 6. Pyrophoric Seizure 7. Purveyor of Fear 8. Terraasymmetry 9. Satan's Wrath 10. Dawn Of Apostasy 11. Nosferatu ('84 demo) 12. Torture Chamber ('86 demo) 13. Days Of Nemesis ('94 demo) 14. At Rest ('94 demo) 15. Anthropophagi ('94 demo) 16. Torture Chamber ('94 demo) 17. Fate At Pains End ('94 demo) 18. Final Approach ('98 rehearsal) 19. Epitome Of Disgrace ('98 rehearsal) Suggested CDs:Other Genres:
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