Torture

Torture, from El Paso, TX, was formed in 1986 by high school buddies Tom Hicks (guitar, vocals), Jerry Norland (drums, vocals), Deric Gunter (bass), and J.D. Robins (guitar) — all of whom shared a passion for the European thrash of Kreator and early Celtic Frost, as well as the usual stateside suspects: Slayer, Exodus, and so forth. After constant rehearsals interspersed with the occasional opening slot under visiting thrash acts, Torture recorded 1987's Terror Kingdom EP for an independent Mexican label and, later, 1989's full-length Storm Alert for the poorly distributed Plastic Head Music. Neither managed to spread their name very far from home and the band duly broke up at the start of the 1990s, but Torture's cult status has slowly gained favor among old-school thrash fanatics.