Abattoir

Abattoir came together in Los Angeles during 1983 when guitarist Mark Caro and bassist Mel Sanchez founded the group, placing it among the secondary outfits that joined thrash metal’s opening wave. After placing the song “Screams From the Grave” on the Metal Massacre IV compilation and cycling through several sidemen—including John Cyriis, who would later front Agent Steel—vocalist Steve Gaines teamed with second guitarist Danny Oliverro and drummer Danny Anaya to complete the 1985 debut Vicious Attack. Combat Records, a label devoted to thrash metal, released the album, whose weak sales were soon overshadowed by the still weaker 1986 follow-up The Only Safe Place, which featured yet another vocalist, Mike Towers. The band dissolved soon afterward, Juan Garcia moving on to rejoin his former bandmate Cyriis in the comparably short-lived Agent Steel while Sanchez established Evildead. Remarkably, most of the original members reunited in 1998 to begin work on a new album.