Damien Thorne

Emerging from Chicago in the midst of a thriving 1980s heavy metal scene alongside other thrash outfits such as Master, Znowhite, and Zoetrope, Damien Thorne coalesced in 1983 around vocalist Justin Fate, guitarists Ken Starr (also credited as Mandat) and George Shelton, bassist Sanders Pate, and drummer Brian Horak. Two demos appeared the following year, after which Virgin Steele guitarist Jack Starr steered the band toward Cobra Records, a Roadrunner affiliate. With Pete Pagonis now handling drums and Michael Monroe—not the similarly named star—filling Shelton’s guitar slot, the group tracked its 1986 debut, The Sign of the Jackal. Its power-thrash sound failed to register commercially, and legal entanglements soon buried the already finished follow-up, Wrath of Darkness, in unreleased limbo. Part of the lineup subsequently headed to Los Angeles hoping to regroup, yet the move yielded nothing. Only in 1998 did Fate and Mandat, back in Chicago, recruit bassist Matt Heuser and drummer Tommy Krez for a fresh EP, Former Life. In an unexpected development, Wrath of Darkness finally surfaced in 2001. Content with their underground standing, Damien Thorne still appear live on occasion.