Death Sentence was ( and IS )one of the most powerful, enigmatic, explosive hardcore bands of the 80's. The quasi legendary group of sh*t disturbers hail from Vancouver British Columbia and were one of the pioneering bands in the mid to late 80's of a type of sound being called "crossover". Their street wise hardcore punk lent itself to a more raucous rock sound, flat out no bullshit songs against authority (often about the underground escapist drug/party world of the Vancouver set) and of coarse a fast delivery and extremely loud live performances.. Influenced by The Damned, Bad Brains, Alex Harvey, ACDC, Guns and Roses, D.O.A., The Stranglers, The Stooges, The Ruts, The Clash, and a whole lot of G.B.H. - Death Sentence are a different kind of tension. Formed in Vancouver B.C. in the early 80's they seriously got their "kit" on with the line-up of Pete "Cleaver,Puke, Nipplehead" Keller, Tim "The Doc" Challenger, and Doug "Donut" Proulx, and Syd "Gimmie Max"" Savage in early 1984. After losing to what would become "The Odds" (nerve tubes) at a local battle of the bands (a riot ensued) they took their second place winnings and recorded/mixed/mastered the classic "Not a Pretty sight" E.P. in an East Van basement (without Syd) in 4 days . That album (not a pretty site) was and still is a benchmark on all that is Canadian punk/hardcore/crossover. After touring with Black Flag, MDC, Bad Brains, D.O.A., G.B.H. and other notables in the punk "royalty" the lineup soon saw Syd "mail order sperm bank" Savage back on guitar after a hiatus in Santa Cruz, (he left during a tour because we spiked his Old English 40 with mescaline) and ex fits drummer Jimmy "Vegas Fistmagnet" Sigmund on Bass. Brad "don't touch my sh*t" Kent of Avengers fame was on second guitar for a spell. Wild touring, bomb making, gunfights, cleavers in heads, staples through scrotums and the second album "Stop Killing me" issued forth in 1987. After Doug left to pursue music in Los Angeles and SanFran, (Pasties,Mr.Pink, Slye, The Kim Band) the band folded awhile after getting Gabe Mantle to fill Doug's boots. There was label interest, a spot on "21 Jump street" lip synching to an Agent Orange tune! Gabe went on to join the world famous "GOB" and is now a multi-millionaire. They reformed with the original line-up for a few shows in the mid 90's the last being an impromptu gig at the infamous 1010 Seymour after hours, and soon after, Pete passed away from a life of debauchery and insurmountable excess. Fast forward to 2001 and Naughty Camp whereupon Donut was contacted (4 days before the show) and the band was back, at least live. (Bernie "the actor b**ch" Coulson on Vox for that show) ... In comes Dan "Jib-tank" Scum on Vox fer sure, and a slew of attendance breaking shows, little tours, and a fizzling out due mainly to everyone's schedules being so hectic...