Pandemonium

In 1981 the Resch brothers—Chris on vocals, Eric on bass and David on guitar—launched a heavy metal outfit in Alaska. The following year the group shifted its base to Los Angeles, California, where guitarists Chris Latham and drummer Dave Graybill joined the lineup. Their appearance on the debut Metal Massacre compilation with the track ‘Fighting Backwards’ secured a full deal with Metal Blade Records; across the next five years the band delivered three albums whose sound grew progressively less formularized, even as the strong Van Halen influence persisted, yet none translated into meaningful commercial gains.