Demo 1986

First demo tape
Recorded and mixed at a studio in Orleans, Ontario (Canada) in November 1986

When Annihilator's 'Welcome to Your Death'-era band broke up in 1986, vocalist John Bates and bassist Dave Scott began building a new group. Joining John & Dave were Al Clermont of Black Witch and Graham MacSkimming of Evil Sinner.

Recored in Orleans in November 1986, Ligeia's demo tape got the attention of Roadrunner Records, but never lead to a deal. The opening track "Shroud of Sounds" is exceptional; I can see why a label's ears would twitch. Track 3 will sound familiar: it's their own version of Annihilator's "Alison Hell" (which Bates had co-written).

Drummer Graham MacSkimming has just had this decaying Ligeia demo tape salvaged and remastered. As he says on his YouTube site, "Ligeia's 1986 demo was originally only released to record companies and radio. The owner of the Orleans studio where it was recorded, and the master tapes, were never found after a thorough search several years later. All that remained were a few cassette copies."

There are definitely moments when it's sounds like the mag layer is peeling off on the sound head. But the sound quality of most of this recording is as good as any demo cassette of the era.