Slaughter

In 1988 Mark Slaughter, an alumnus of Vinnie Vincent Invasion, teamed with bassist Dana Strum, guitarist Tim Kelly, and drummer Blas Elias to launch Slaughter, seeking broader pop appeal. The band’s metal approach centers on memorable hooks and the expansive range of vocalist Mark Slaughter, especially his characteristically nasal falsetto. Their opening pair of studio albums moved briskly until the alternative wave rendered that sound unfashionable. Hard times followed throughout the 1990s, and on February 5, 1998, Kelly perished in a car accident; the last tracks he recorded surfaced a year afterward on Eternal Live. The group nevertheless reassembled without him and delivered Back to Reality in 1999, now featuring guitarist Jeff Blando.