Torture

Originating from El Paso, Texas, Torture assembled in 1986 when high school friends Tom Hicks on guitar and vocals, Jerry Norland handling drums and vocals, bassist Deric Gunter, and guitarist J.D. Robins bonded over their shared enthusiasm for the European thrash sound of Kreator and early Celtic Frost plus familiar American acts like Slayer and Exodus. Persistent rehearsals led to scattered support appearances with touring thrash bands, after which the group issued the Terror Kingdom EP in 1987 on an independent Mexican label and followed with the 1989 full-length Storm Alert on the poorly distributed Plastic Head Music. Those efforts left the band’s profile largely confined to the local area, prompting a split at the beginning of the 1990s, though old-school thrash devotees have since conferred growing cult recognition on the group.