Slapshot was formed in 1985 by Steve Risteen and Mark McKay, formerly of Terminally Ill; Jack “Choke” Kelly, formerly of Negative FX and Last Rights; and Jonathan Anastas, formerly of Decadence and DYS. Due to the reputations of its members, the band had a relatively high profile even before its debut; the zine writer Mike Gitter (who was also an A&R executive) wrote that “Slapshot is a great live act”, before they had ever played in public.
Diverging from their counterparts in the Boston hardcore scene, Slapshot decided to make the first album a 24 track recording as opposed to the usual 8 or 16-track hardcore album. To reduce costs, they recorded at night and completed the album in four sessions. Back On The Map was released by Taang! Records in 1986.
The band’s lineup underwent a number of changes in its first few years, although its sound remained consistent. Jordan Wood, formerly of S.T.P., joined as an additional guitarist, but took over bass guitar when Anastas left the band to continue his education. In July 1988, Jamie Sciarappa, former bass player of SS Decontrol, joined the band. He left in 1990 and was replaced by Chris Lauria.
Their 1993 album Blast Furnace was a move into sample-based industrial/metal/hardcore and only included one original member, Choke, along with a more metal-based backing band including members of Slaughter Shack. Slapshot toured Europe that spring, and 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, ex-member of Big Black and producer for Nirvana.
In July 1997, Slapshot played what was to be 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 Slapshot tribute album called Boston Drops The Gloves – A Tribute To Slapshot was released by Flat Records (the label owned by Ken Casey of the Dropkick Murphys) and San Francisco-based TKO Records. The album included covers by 22 Boston bands.
In 2001, Slapshot issued a new album entitled Greatest Hits, Slashes and Crosschecks featuring re-recorded versions of classic Slapshot songs. They followed up with 2003’s Digital Warfare (I Scream Records) and 2005’s Tear It Down, along with several more European tours. In 2006, Slapshot released a statement on their website announcing that the band was defunct. However, on June 30, 2007, they played at the Significant Fest 2007 in Clearwater, FLorida. Also on the bill were Killing Time, 108 and Uppercut. In July 2008, they played a couple of dates in Europe, with a stop at the With Full Force festival in Leipzig, Germany.
Slapshot played a show in Haverhill, Massachusetts on November 8th, 2008 with Ten Yard Fight, Step Forward, and Word For Word, and announced an appearance on December 28 in Boston at the Middle East with The Mighty Mighty Bosstones.
The band are due to perform at Hellfest 2009 in France, with new songs and a monkey knife fight rumoured to be a part of the performance.
support tba
