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Text: Horst
 LWS Inc. – Welcome To The Asylum
From 1987 until 1990 I worked as a volunteer at a local youth centre, and I was a member of something called the hardrock taskforce. We were allowed to book metal bands from time to time, and we selected those bands from all the demo stuff that was send to us. On of the demo tapes that completely blew me away back then was the (now legendary) ‘Death And Die’ demo (1988) from Lunatics Without Skateboards. These youngsters obviously were influenced by the thrash metal wave that flooded the world in those days, and to me they sounded like a fine cross-over between bands like Exodus and Kreator. It goes without saying that we booked this band very quickly, and to spice-up our club a little that night we got hold of some skateboards, saw them in half and hung them on the walls. The band could very much appreciate this joke, but all the little skaters that attended the gig were a lot less pleased hehehe, but that is another story…
Not long after the release of the demo the band got a deal with the German label Aarrg Records. The bandname was changed into LWS Inc. (there was already a German Lunatics Without Skateboards active) and in 1989 the very cool debut album ‘Welcome To The Asylum’ was put out. This record was a logical follow up to the demo and therefore was filled with well-played thrash metal of high quality. The sound obviously is not what we have grown accustomed to nowadays, but I do know enough bands in this day and age who would do bloody murder to write tracks like ‘Crystal Lake’, ‘A Prayer For The Dying’, ‘Pieces Of Human Waste’ and especially the crushing ‘Mental Weakness’. The year after the release the band played numerous live shows, but after bass player Manfred (who chose for the certainty of his day job) and guitarist Dennis (who was drafted for military service - he is nowadays active in the death metal outfit Putrefied) left the band LWS Inc. slowly faded out of existence. The made one more demo (‘The Second Coming’), but that one did not get the band the attention they hoped for. The last thing the band put out was an album entitled ‘Reality’, but that 1996 release - with singer John as only remaining original member - sounded nothing like the old thrash monsters, and not soon after LWS Inc. was definitely put on ice.
Lucky for us this re-release brings back a glimpse of those good old days again. It goes without saying that all the original tracks are present, and as a bonus the complete ‘Death And Die’ demo has been added also. And again I am pretty much pleased with this cool gesture, for just like some Sword stuff (see the Jewel review elsewhere in this issue) my own (original) copy of this demo has been collecting too much dust the last 17 years and is hardly playable anymore. Conclusion: a must-have for the real thrash fanatic.
Tracklist
1. Crystal Lake (Welcome To The Asylum CD)
2. L.W.S. Inc. (Welcome To The Asylum CD)
3. Die A Violent Death (Welcome To The Asylum CD)
4. 1428 Elmstreet (Welcome To The Asylum CD)
5. Count Your Blessings (Welcome To The Asylum CD)
6. Mental Weakness (Welcome To The Asylum CD)
7. Go Song (Welcome To The Asylum CD)
8. A Prayer For The Dying (Welcome To The Asylum CD)
9. Pieces Of Human Waste (Welcome To The Asylum CD)
10. Curse Of The Creeps (Welcome To The Asylum CD)
11. Chop Till Death (Welcome To The Asylum CD)
12. L.W.S. (Death And Die Demo)
13. Chop Till Death (Death And Die Demo)
14. Dead Or Alive (Death And Die Demo)
15. Mental Weakness (Death And Die Demo)
Condemned Property (Death And Die Demo)
What was L.W.S. Inc. all about? Former guitar player Dennis tells the story.
Almost every metal band is started by guys or girls who are metal fans themselves, and I guess you were no exception to that rule. Who or what made you pick up the instruments yourself and why?
When I was sixteen a friend of mine started playing guitar. Another guy in our music class was playing drums and soon the idea of starting a band was formed. Since we were al into Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath, we started playing shit like that. At the time I wasn’t playing guitar yet, so I had to be the singer. It seemed I had an ear for music, since I was the one tuning the guitars, so in decided to start playing myself.
Your first official CD ‘Welcome To The Asylum’ was released in 1989. How did the Dutch metal scene look like in those days? (opmerking: denk dan aan collega bands, optredens, media aandacht voor het genre, etcetera).
The scene was still happening in those days. Every concert was well attended and people still went crazy, so moshing and pits was more regular than not, which isn’t so nowadays. Furthermore were we one of the first Dutch bands playing thrash metal and almost every gig we did was great. People really seemed to dig us.
How did it feel like, holding your first ever record in your hand?
Strange, unreal, but very good. Not like it must be today. Today every band that can play two chord songs releases a CD. It was even better since we scored a ‘real’ record deal with AAARGHH records.
What did you expect from it? Did you secretly hoped for worldwide success, or was selling a couple of hundred already satisfactory?
Couple of hundred??? I was told AAARGHHH records sold about 10.000 copies. Still I hoped (like everybody I guess) for world wide success, hahaha. Maybe we split up to soon after the release or maybe we were too bad.
Did the release of ‘Welcome To The Asylum’ help you to gain more media attention and gigs?
I guess so, we did quite some gigs just after the release, but I assume Manfred and John’s tape trading and band contacts helped a lot too.
What was the final result of the release? Did it open new doors for the band (like in cool record deals), or did it not make a real difference in the end?
No, I think it was the main reason for the split. Some guys in the band wanted to quit their jobs and go for it al the way, but some thought we not big enough yet.
What happened to the band after when the buzz of this first release was over? Was it like you felt having to starting from scratch again?
I can’t remember. I my perception we split up quite soon after the tour following the release. I have to say my memory about that era is not so good. Some band mates remember much more. If I talk to Manfred, I realise that I lost quite some details. I was drinking too much, I guess. One example of this is that I was telling Manfred that I was playing with my new band PUTREFIED (http://www.putrefied.nl) in some nice venue and he told me we played there years earlier with L.W.S., only I couldn’t remember anymore.
Your career obviously did not stop after this first release. Can you tell us in a nutshell what happened to the band the years after?
Like I said before the band split up. I had to fulfil my compulsory military service, so I was replaced by another guitar player. Manfred left because he didn’t want to quit his day job. Then Don left. The only one that remained was John and L.W.S. had a new start as a four piece. They even recorded a CD, which was mastered by Alex Periales, but the music changed completely.
What where the absolute highlights in your career?
Recording ‘Welcome to the Asylum’, all Hammerhawk and Putrefied CD’s. Touring Europe with Putrefied. Playing abroad with L.W.S., Hammerhawk and Putrefied. Playing festivals like Ludwighaven Death Fest (GE), Zilina Shit Fest (SK), Trutnov Obscene Extreme, Prague and Studenka Death Fests (CZ), Dynamo Open Air, Stonehenge and Stage Blast Metal Fest (NL). Playing with big bands like Celtic Frost, Holy Moses, Suffocation, Six Feet Under, Exhumed, Dismember, Pungent Stench, Vader, Krisiun, Waco Jesus, Cephalic Carnage, Ancient Rites, Godless Truth, Inveracity, Despondency, Sanatorium, Sinister (both with L.W.S. and with Putrefied) and many more.
And what were the absolute lows in your career?
Nowadays bands have to beg to play gigs and venues expect bands to come and play for one crate of beer. People who play an instrument for two weeks play in a shit band and have an attitude like they are Metal gods.
Do you have any regrets whatsoever, and are there things you would have done differently if you could do it again?
Drink less, so I remember more of my L.W.S. days. Although I had a lot of fun.
If there is one piece of fatherly advice you could give to young dudes who think of starting a metal band, what would that be?
Practice so you can really play your instrument. I have seen to many shit bands with lousy musicians.
I am sure you have seen a lot of weird stuff in the years you were in the band. What is your favourite anecdote from those days?
There are too many to mention, but I remember playing in Gent, Belgium once. We started playing around midnight and we stopped after four hours of playing while our set lasted an hour. We must have played the same set three or four times, but they just didn’t want us to stop. After having played we threw ourselves on drinking Belgian beers and you must know the pubs in Belgium only close when the last customer leaves. We were all shit faced. At one point I saw Joost trying to walk in a straight line. Only the line was about 10 meters wide, hehehe.
Another funny story is when were supposed to play Parkhof in Alkmaar. We made arrangements with some guy and found out that the guy was sacked just before the gig. There was no money to pay our fee and the only thing they could offer us was beer. So we stayed and played. The beer we got was finished before the gig and again we were shit faced out of our asses. We tried to play the gig, but at one time Manfred lost track and didn’t know what to play anymore, so he hang his bass on his back and decided he wanted to be singer for a while. So John and he sang a few songs together while we played without bass.
Okay, only one more. We went to the ‘Weekend of Terror’ Horror movie festival, which basically means you watch horror movies all night long in the Tuschinski theatre in Amsterdam. We were sitting in a box and Manfred and I were farting all the time. The rest of the guys were rather pissed off and at one moment Joost thought he would repay us. So he farted very loud, only to find out that the movie had passed into a very thrilling moment, where the music had died. Half the theatre heard Joost fart and of course Manfred and I blamed Joost immediately, screaming out what a filthy swine he was. Hahaha, still have to laugh if I remember the look on his face.
What are the guys from the band doing nowadays? Are you all still active in the music bizz or are some of you living the normal civilian live?
I have lost track of John and Joost. I heard Joost was living somewhere in the Caribbean and that John repairs and pimps American cars. Further more John continued to play with L.W.S. for a while. Manfred played in a few bands like ‘En Masse’ and ‘Mac 11’, he started Happyface vinyl metal mailorder and now Rusty Cage Records. Donovan played in many bands varying from Dutch rock to metal. We even played together in Xhausted for a while. For myself I have played in a lot of different bands varying from grunge to death metal. To name a few: Putrefied, HammerHawk, Xhausted, Blabb Sackath (yes, a BS tribute in which I play Ozzy), Challenger, Spine and a few more.
Well, this raps it up for now. If you have anything to say or add, the space below is yours…
To all bands I played with thanks for a very good time and for the inspiration. To everybody that reads/read this interview, buys/bought any CD I am on, attend/attended every festival or gig I played: a very big hail to you, a big thanks for all positive reactions and I hope to see and talk to you soon in the near future. Stay brutal and kick ass.
http://www.rustycagerecords.com
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