TEXASMETALUNDERGROUND.COM - The Internet is hailed for providing many things to the household surfer that were previously inaccessible. Up to the minute news as opposed to just daily papers, tens of thousands of NASA images where previously only a handful were readily available. etc etc

Along similar lines, although slightly tenuous I grant you, is the fact that a gnarly old rocker stuck in the wilds of South Wales and brought up on a diet of MAIDEN, WHITESNAKE and 'nwobhm' can these days chance upon a whole new musical hot bed of some 20 years vintage that pre tcp/ip protocols would most likely have escaped me forever. Texasmetalunderground.com is a superb, and still developing, site that is introducing me to a rake of old school metal bands drawn from a period around the early/mid eighties. A time it seems that Texas,USA had a scene that could potentially challenge my own country's early 80's metal explosion.

Featuring profiles on luminaries such as MILITIA, SYRUS and OBLIVION KNIGHT as well as offering audio from about 20 bands alongside even a few video clips, there's plenty of opportunity to test the water. Add to that galleries of period t-shirts, flyers, concert tickets and even shots of those all important vinyl sleeves and it's clear that someone has a genuine affection for this time, place and sound.

There's also a promise of forthcoming additional material in the shape of articles on venues of the time, record values and a feature on just who Fred Remmart is and why he's important to the subject. All helping to ensure the site's worth revisiting regularly.

In fact the only two downsides to the site are the time you lose immersed in it's many pages and the fact there's now at least 20 'new' bands added to my 'must check out' list.

URL: www.texasmetalunderground.com

- Leslie