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San Francisco, California, USA |
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Thrash Metal |
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Last update/review:
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March 7, 2023
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Blind Illusion
Forming in 1979, Blind Illusion was an institution in the SF Bay
Area for years, going through numerous lineups and musical styles
(for example, at one point they were a progressive rock band).
The original formation consisted of
David Godfrey (later of
Heathen),
guitarist Mark Biedermann, bassist Alvin Petty, and drummer
Bret Hern, but by the time they were ready to record in 1987, only
Biedermann remained, along with drummer Mike Miner,
guitarist Larry LaLonde (fresh from
Possessed)
and a budding eccentric bassist in one Les Claypool.
The album they recorded,
The Sane Asylum, was a thrash album,
and a very inventive one at that,
highlighted by interesting riffs and
Claypool's inventive basswork that at times hinted at his future.
Soon enough this lineup broke up, with LaLonde and Claypool finding
fame and fortune with
Primus,
and Blind Illusion faded into obscurity, known as one of those one-hit
wonders (as well as a trivia curiosity given the Primus connection)
and leaving many wondering what might have been.
For years afterward, Biedermann laid low, occasionally doing session
work for bands like the aforementioned
Heathen as well as none other than
Blue Oyster Cult,
but Blind Illusion the band was not heard from.
There was talk of releasing a long-lost second album entitled
The Medicine Show that featured LaLonde and Claypool, but that never
happened.
Finally, in 2010, a new Biedermann-led lineup released Demon Master.
Bearing absolutely no similarity to The Sane Asylum
or thrash in general,
Demon Master features some metal influences,
but only some, as the album draws more from pyschedelic rock,
seventies prog, blues, even some funk.
Again the band quickly disappeared following the album release,
not to heard from unil 2020.
Now armed with a couple of metal veterans in Doug Piercy and Andy Galeon,
Biedermann and crew look set to
release a new album, Wrath Of The Gods, in late 2022.
Current Members
Mark Biedermann
vocals/guitars
Marin LaCour
guitars
Avery Thurman
bass
Phil Cosentini
drums
Discography
The Sane Asylum
1988
Music For Nations
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- The Sane Asylum
- Blood Shower
- Vengeance Is Mine
- Death Noise
- Kamakazi
- Smash The Crystal
- Vicious Visions
- Metamorphosis Of A Monster
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-
Mark Biedermann
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Larry LaLonde
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Les Claypool
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Mike Miner
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Demon Master
2010
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- Merger
- Mahakala
- Heaven's Devils
- Precurser - Demon Master
- Gargantuan
- Midnight in China
- Cajun Fang
- Storm Cloud
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-
Mark Biedermann
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Danny Harcourt
-
Robert Nystrom
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2018
EP
2018
independent
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- Race with the Wizard
- Ice Sage
- Metamorphosis of a Monster
- Vengeance Is Mine
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-
Mark Biedermann
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Doug Piercy
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Tom Gears
-
Erik Cruze
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Ultimate Anthology Vol 1: The Likewise Sessions
COMPILATION
2021
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- Kamakazi
- Nightmare on Secret Town Road
- Freedom Passed Me By
- Who Am I?
- Death Noise
- World That's an Illusion
- Life Goes On
- The Watcher
- Death Is Grey
- Rockers Unite
- The Watcher
- Who Am I?
- Kamakazi
- Death Is Grey
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Wrath Of The Gods
2022
Hammerheart
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- Straight as the Crowbar Flies
- Slow Death
- Protomolecule
- Spaced
- Wrath of the Gods
- Behemoth
- Lucifer's Awakening
- Amazing Maniacal Monolith
- No Rest 'Til Budapest
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-
Mark Biedermann
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Doug Piercy
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Tom Gears
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Andy Galeon
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The Demos 1980/1986 (Ultimate Anthology Vol. 2)
COMPILATION
2023
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- On Death's Bed
- Kamakazi
- Arc the Iron
- Blind Sun
- Race with the Wizard
- Darkness
- Concerto for a Dildo (i. Opus Oedipus, ii. A lesson in Incest, iii. A Bowel Movement in C Minor) 1983 Version
- Death Noise
- Banshee
- Glass Guillotine
- Destroyer
- Blood Shower
- Smash the Crystal
- Slow Death
- Vengeance Is Mine
- Bloodshower
- Kamikaze
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