Slapshot

The group was formed in 1985 when the hardcore scene in Boston was going through hard times. Steve Raistin (an ex-member of Terminally Ill's) suggested that craving to play Jack Kelly (ex-Negative FX and Last Rights) get together in one group. So in October 1985, Steve Raistin, Mark McKay (manager of Terminally Ill's) and Jack Kelly formed the first Slapshot line-up. The three began to write songs, and soon Jonathan Enastas (ex-Decadence and DYS) joined the group. They were good friends with Jack Kelly, and Enastas respected Kelly's new vision of the old school hardcore. Due to the reputation of the members, the group was known even before its debut; In the style of Malcolm McLaren, a certain author of one of the local zines wrote that "Slapshot - smartly chopped live" even before they gave their first concert.

Unlike most of their colleagues in the hardcore scene, Slapshot decided to include 24 records in their first album, as opposed to the usual 8 or 16 tracks. To reduce costs, they recorded at night and completed the album in four sessions. Back on the Map was released by Taang!

The composition of the group underwent many changes in its first few years, although its sound remained the same. In July 1988, Mark Mackay quit and Jamie Skiarapu, former SSD bassist, joined the band. Jamie made his debut with Slapshot at CBGB. He left in 1990 and was replaced by Chris Loria.

After the release of the 1993 album, Slapshot went on a tour of Europe. On the second date of the tour, they recorded a live album in Berlin called Live At SO36. The following year, they recorded Unconsciousness in Chicago with Steve Albini, an ex-member of Big Black and producer Nirvana.

In August 1994, Slapshot went on a 2-month tour with the band Ignite, and the split "7" single album came out on its promotion. The tour started at the Swedish hultsfred festival on August 11th and ended on October 4th in Germany. Slapshot played 50 shows in seven countries in 54 days.

Around the same time, no tracks were recorded. There was a tragedy in this group. Former Slapshot guitarist and bassist Jordan Wood committed suicide. After that, Mark Mackay was brought back to the group and he again returned to the Slapshot group.

With the hardest line-up, Slapshot returned to the studio to record his heaviest album to date, titled "16 Valve Hate" and was released in 1995 (Lost & Found Records / Taang! Records). And less than a year later, Slapshot with the same lineup released a full-length titled "Old Tyme Hardcore" (Taang! Records, 1996).

It was a return to the hardcore path, the group thought that the sound should be on the cover of the classic solid track "Get It Away".

In July 1997, Slapshot was due to have their last concert in the United States for five years, in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

They toured Europe in 1999, including a stop at the Graspop metal meeting in Belgium. In December 1999, a tribute called "Boston Drops the Gloves" was released on Slapshot. The album includes a cover performed by 22 Boston bands.

In 2001, Slapshot released a new album, entitled " Greatest Hits, Slashes And Crosschecks". These are re-recorded classic tracks, which featured recordings of the group with David Link on bass and the last recorded material with guitarist Mike Bowser.

Around the same time, Mike Bowser decided to move to New York for a new job and after searching for a guitarist who became Ed Lally, they returned to the studio to record Digital War (2003 Scream Records) followed by 2005's Tear It Down "(Thorp Records).

In 2012, an EP entitled "I Believe" was released on TAANG! And it was a score of 11 releases released from Taang.

In 2014, a new album was released called "Slapshot" with the labels "Olde Tyme Records" and "Brass City Boss Sounds".

• Back On The Map EP, 1986
• Same Mistake EP, 1988
• Step On It , 1988
• The CD (compilation), 1989
• Firewalker EP, 1990
• Sudden Death Overtime , 1990
• Blast Furnace , 1993
• Live At SO36 , 1993
• Unconsciousness , 1994
• Split w / Ignite , 1994
• 16 Valve Hate , 1995
• Old Tyme Hardcore , 1996
• Greatest Hits, Slashes And Crosschecks , 2001
• Digital Warfare , 2003
• The New England Product Session EP , 2003
• Tear It Down EP, 2005
• Super Pro Hardcore , 2005
• This Is Hardcore , 2013
• Slapshot , 2014
• Bloodbath In Germany , 2016
• Make America Hate Again , 2018

• Official site
• https://www.facebook.com/SlapshotBoston