History & Biography New Jersey's Hades was associated with the thrash metal scene since the band's inception. In fact, the band was often compared to Anthrax in the mid-'80s. Dan Lorenzo formed Hades in 1978. After studying Greek Mythology in 9th grade, Dan Lorenzo had picked the name Hades for his band. He had actually believed the name related to the Mafia! First order of business was covers of Kiss, Aerosmith, Cheap trick et al. One early drummer was Don Versailles who would end up in Platinum later. He had answered an advertisement in East Coast Rocker and joined the band. Hades rehearsed in Don’s parents’ basement. John Bomma was the early singer between 1978 and 1980. Versailles would leave to join Z-Cobra with Marco Castelluccio who was the bother of Federico Castelluccio who played Hitman Furio on the HBO series The Sopranos.
Hades delivered a 1982 debut 7" EP called Deliver Us From Evil. The line-up read, singer Paul Smith, guitarists Dan Lorenzo and Joe Casili, bassist Anthony Vitti and drummer Tom Coombs. Hades opened for Twisted Sister. This line-up soon changed however. Smith went on to fight for god, country and oil in the US Army. Guitarist/bassist Scott Le Page and bassist Sandy Handsel soon joined the band. A new bassist, Jimmy Schulman, however soon brought some stability to the band. More importantly, Alan Tecchio soon entered Hades.
The band soon spread a number of live demos and rehearsal tapes throughout the underground and began granting interviews to various fanzines. Hades was soon also heard on the Megaforce compilation Born To Metalize and Metal Blade's Metal Massacre VI. Jimmy Schulman was in an auto accident at this time that was deemed serious enough to put his future in the band in doubt.
Hades nevertheless would not cross into the realm of the dead and instead obtained a record contract with Torrid Records, a label which was looking to capitalize on its recent success with Exodus. The debut album Resisting Success was released in 1987. Licensing for Europe was with Roadrunner. The second album was issued in 1988. It was called If At First You Don't Succeed. The members would later report that recording the album was difficult as the producers were high on drugs. The band was celebrated on the thrash metal scene with its two studio albums before things ground to a halt. Essentially, a lack of success coupled with a disappointing European run had killed the band in 1989. Tom Coombs joined Doro and toured Europe and the USA. Dan Lorenzo and Alan Tecchio formed Non-Fiction. Tecchio also joined Watchtower for one year replacing Mike Soliz in 1989. Live: On Location appeared in 1991. It was taped in April of that year at Studio One in New Jersey during a reunion show.
Various members formed other bands until 1996 meant a better climate for heavy metal once again. In the meantime, there was Non Fiction since the late 1980s and Jimmy Schulman had also formed Dreams Of Venus. Schulman had also auditioned for The Ramones. The band reunited for the mid-tempo 1996 album Exist To Resist which featured older and newer tracks alike. Metal Blade Records signed the band and soon released the 1998 album $aviour $elf. Previously the band had threatened the Norwegian Hades with legal action. The Norsemen had consequently altered their name. Dave Lescinsky left with the turn of the century.
In 2000 the band featured drummer Ron Lipinski as well as the returning Jimmy Schulman on bass. The band travelled to Europe to be a part of the Wacken Open Air that year. Hades was recording a new album for Metal Blade entitled DamNation. Claiming it would be their “heaviest CD” some tracks were Bloast, Absorbed and Biocaust. Next up was DamNation released in the summer of 2001. The first 3,000 copies released in Europe were a limited edition double-CD containing the Hades home video Inside The Metal. The band would call for an official halt to all activities though, seemingly dissatisfied with the lack of sales. The act independently issued a compilation called 1982-2002 and Lipnicki would spend time in a cover band. In early 2003 fans would learn that Lipnicki is fighting cancer. Monster Records would announce that it would release a new Hades compilation later in 2003 featuring material from the Paul Smith era, as well as his successor John Calura who sang for the band before Alan Tecchio.
Lipnicki would undergo major operation due to cancer at the beginning of 2003. Dan Lorenzo would busy himself selling advertising for Stepping Out Magazine. It was announced late in 2003 that Monster Records was planning on releasing very early and unreleased Hades material. The material predated the Resisting Success album.
Dan Lorenzo and Jimmy Schulman began working together in Cassius King. Lorenzo also banded together with Overkill’s Bobby Blitz to form The Cursed in 2006. That band signed to Screaming Ferret Wreckords.
Hades signed to Mausoleum Records in 2004 for the re-release of the group's first two albums, Resisting Success and If At First You Don't Succeed. Cruz Del Sur issued a Hades DVD in November of 2008 called Bootlegged In Boston 1988. Hades announced it would reunite for one European concert at the Keep It True XIII festival in April 2010 in Germany. The group was also working on a DVD called Bootlegged In Boston 1988, which was due in January, 2009 through Cruz Del Sur. Autumn Hour was the band of singer Alan Tecchio, guitarist Justin Jurman, bassist Clint Arent and drummer Dave Lescinsky. The band’s Dethroned album was out on May 5th, 2009 through Rock Ridge Music. The album was a concept about technology. Dan Lorenzo also got a weekly Internet radio show in 2009 called F-Bombs For Everyone. It could be heard on Bionic Strigl Radio. Hades members Alan Tecchio, T. Coombs and Dan Lorenzo banded together with DJs from Talking Metal, John Ostronomy and Mark Strigl, to again play a covers' show using the Screaming Metal monicker. The gig was scheduled for Saturday, March 6th of 2010 at Dingbatz in Clifton, New Jersey. The band’s Resisting Success album line-up had also reunited and announced two shows in April, 2010 in New Jersey. Ed Fuhrman was invited but declined to participate. With father’s support Scottie LePage, the 17-year-old son of Hades guitarist Scott LePage, formed a metal band called Palisades in 2010. The group was based in Dallas. Hades itself had reunited the year before. Hades Bassist Jimmy Schulman, however, was recently taken ill and hospitalized. He was promptly replaced by Non-Fiction bassist Kevin Bolembach. Hades would release a new DVD in 2012 entitled Live In Germany featuring footage from the band's 2000 appearance at Wacken Open Air and 2010’s Bang Your Head Festival. Hades would appear as A Night Of Hades Music With Alan Tecchio for 2012’s Headbangers Open Air Festival in Germany. The promoters had asked the band to play music from its first two thrashier albums and guitarist Dan Lorenzo had backed out. Following him were also Tom Coombs and Ed Fuhrman. Alternate current and former Hades members participating were bassist Kevin Bolembach, who had been in the band then, and drummer Ron Lipnicki from Overkill, who played on DamNation. Overkill drummer Ron Lipnicki, Hades guitarist Scott LePage and two musicians from '80s’ band Prowler formed a project called Ministry Of Hate. This band had a 2012 demo called All Your Godz Are Dead. Symphony X bassist Mike LePond rejoined his former band Heathen's Rage for three reunion shows in early 2015. Also in the band were Rob Warner (guitar) and Chris Teresyn (drums). Singer for the shows was Hades’ Alan Tecchio. John Bomma suffered a stroke in 2021 and went into rehabilitation. He had been in the white metal act Rivera/Bomma since 2000. Former drummer Dave Lescinsky died in 2023. Dan Lorenzo was working with the Golden Core label of Germany for his latest project, Patriarchs In Black. This band featured drummer Johnny Kelly of Danzig. Coincidentally, Danzig and Hades had both worked with producer and sound engineer Steve Ett previously. Given the Patriarchs in Black connection, Golden Core also reissued If At First You Don't Succeed on vinyl in 2024.
Reviews HADES - BOOTLEGGED IN BOSTON 1988 (DVD) - CRUZ DEL SUR 
This DVD features 7 songs recorded by a single camera. It acts as a retrospective of sorts for a band who had a shot at being among the more successful thrash bands but for various reasons, some of which the members admit to in the accompanying documentary, although it just didn’t happen. The songs are obviously from the band’s first two albums, Resisting Success and If At First You Don’t Succeed. They show the band being the typical '80s thrash metal band with sometimes speedy riffs and solos and a few slower, 'mature' parts too. The documentary that was shot during one of the bands’ later albums, 2000’s Downside, clearly illustrates that the members and in particular the band leader, Dan Lorenzo, had expectations for success that were perhaps unrealistic or perhaps realistic but not accompanied with enough patience. Another obvious and predictable occurrence in plain view is that the band were clearly headed for a change of style had they remained even more active than they eventually did and could have been accused of wimping out and lost any chance of success any way. This DVD features a video for Groundzero NYC (from the Downside album) and although the concept is one of a nuclear explosion it is nevertheless an interesting coincidence for a song and video released a full year before 9/11. - Anna Tergel
Interviews
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