About Me
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Before you read all this stuff underneath, I would like to say it was written by a guy known as jpopson43 so please show him the respect by reading it all. THANK YOU JPOPSON43!!!
Purgatory was one of a handful of 80's bands from Ohio, playing metal the good old fashioned way as did many bands of that time. Tied To The Trax has some good riffs and is far from a bad album, though twenty-odd years later it does sound a bit dated. Certainly not bad for its time.
Jeff Hatrix had been living in New Orleans for awhile during his stint with the band White Heat. He left White Heat, and returned home to Cleveland in 1984. In September of that same year, Jeff got together with his old friend and drummer Kenny Easterly. The two friends used to perform in a band called NI4NI, and now set out to look for a bassist and two guitar players to start jamming again. After countless auditions, October rolled around and the guys finally came across guitarist Greg Perry and bassist Mark Alexander. Soon after, Purgatory was born. They failed to find a suitable second guitarist, so they were forced to operate as a four-piece band. Purgatory then began the long, uphill battle of writing new material, as well as working on a stage show.
In January of 1985, two friends of the band, Ed Evans and Bill Ferraro, decided to invest in Purgatory and give them an opportunity to record an EP. They entered Brittain Square Studios in late January and recorded 4 songs - "Night Crawler Bitch", "Valley Of The Shadow Of Death", "Deep Into The Red", and "Purgatory (Shattered Vision)". In April, Randy Gonce tried out for Purgatory and ended up filling the 2nd guitarist spot. The EP was released soon after, and sold roughly 1,000 copies.
The EP was generating heavy local radio airplay, and Purgatory quickly found themselves in the middle of the Cleveland metal scene. The band heavily prepared for their first live gig, which would be in May at the Old Brooklyn Tavern. The show was a big success, and they began to get a lot of offers to play out. They eventually opened up for bands like Metal Church, Lizzy Borden, and Fates Warning -- as well as doing some headlining shows. In just a few short months, Purgatory was in all the local music press, as well as being one of the top draws on the local metal scene.
During the fall/winter of 1985, Purgatory signed to Bill Peters and Auburn Records and began recording their debut LP "Tied To The Trax". The 9-song album was recorded at Suma Recording Studios and took several months to complete. New versions of the four songs from the EP were included, along with 5 new original tracks. All of the songs contained a strong mixture of speed, melody, and tempo changes -- something that gave Purgatory an identity of their own. Purgatory completed a licensing deal with the German based SPV/Steamhammer Records which would ensure worldwide exposure of the album. With the album completed, all that the guys could do was wait until its release. Everything seemed to be going smoothly, but what lay ahead would be the biggest challenge for the band to face yet.
Prior to the LP's release, Greg Perry decided to leave the band. His departure took place around March of '86, and he cited musical differences as his reason for leaving. Purgatory got a replacement, Ed Whittingler, for a short while, but that didn't work out. By this time, Jeff and Mark were changing the direction of the band to a bit more thrash/speed metal. Randy was not feeling the new direction, and thought that the band lacked what it once had with Greg Perry and him on dueling guitars. So, in May of '86, Randy also left the band due to musical differences. And now, with a new album on its way out, Purgatory was left without any guitarists.
The 3 remaining members frantically searched for new guitar players. They came out of the search with Frank Romano and Dave Felton, two upcoming guitarists from the Cleveland area. Shortly thereafter, Greg Perry worked out his differences and rejoined Purgatory. Perry's return sent Dave Felton out of the bands lineup. Purgatory had survived a major obstacle, and their optimism about the release of the new album had returned.
The band played out often and got a great response from the album. Jeff himself hired Tony Ross long before he left the band. He personally went to Salem to watch his band (Metalourd) perform. They played all through '86 and '87, and then the guys started to drift apart. Jeff started to have musical differences with the band, and ended up leaving the band in 1988. Greg Perry also made his second and final exit in '88. The new lineup sent the bands sound back to the early days of Purgatory. They released an EP titled "Dr. Pain" in early 1989, and played a few live shows before finally disbanding for good.
Despite being together for 5 years, Purgatory seemed to have an even more short-lived career. The band seemed to have such a promising future, and had a unique style in the local Cleveland metal scene. Purgatory only recorded one full-length album, but it had an impact in metal for years to come.Also I would like to bring this to everyone's attention, Purgatory CAN NOT do any gigs or tours as Jeff is very busy at the moment, please check his profile out and Mushroomhead's to see when he is free just incase, and please contact him about any questions. He is number in the Purgatory friends list
