THE BERSERKERS
The year of 1994... Seattle and Grunge were huge in the music scene, but Seattle band the Berserkers refused to hop aboard the gravy train and instead wowed the crowds in the underground scene with their brand of Motorhead-influenced metallic punk rock. The Berserkers were: Johnny D on vocals, Paul Diamond Blow on guitar, Markass Karkass on bass, Rick Dorgan on the drums. The Berserkers played the Seattle punk rock circuit from 1993 to 1995, briefly reunited in 1998, and played such notable Seattle clubs as the Off Ramp, the Lake Union Pub, the Storeroom Tavern, Moe's Hard Rock Cafe, and the Rock Candy.
The Berserkers big "hit" was the song "Whiskey & Leather," a punk rock anthem which became the unofficial "Eastlake Avenue song" and has been covered by numerous Seattle bands throughout the years. "Whiskey & Leather" was originally released as a 7" slab of vinyl in 1994 with "Never To Die" on the B-side. Now, 17 years later, Killing Pig Records has released the songs digitally as a digital EP along with other songs from the Berserkers 1994 demo tape.
The Berserkers played their last show in 1998 but Paul Diamond Blow and Markass Karkass joined forces again in 2004 in the punk/glam band SPACE CRETINS. Johnny D. and Karkass played together again in punk band Brewtal Thirst in 2010. Paul Diamond Blow currently performs as a solo artist.
BERSERKERS LINKS
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Watch the BERSERKERS videos on Youtube
PRESS REVIEWS:
"BERSERKERS play ballsout punkish rock'n'roll that is catchy, powerful, and flowin'. The singer sounds like the guy from ILL REPUTE, and as a band they kind of sound like a righteous swirl of the 3 "M's"-MISFITS, MUDHONEY, and MOTORHEAD." All the Answers
"Hot rodding fat daddies. This here disc is full-on thick neck. Wang dang sweet thunder of rock. Two total headbangers, a taste of MOTORHEAD/DEEP PURPLE with a dash of Fast & Loud thrown in. I loved this classic butcher shop metal tunage." Maximum Rock'n'roll
"I get a little thrill thinking of how the Berserkers' Motorhead style assault must rub those sensitive grunger-guys all wrong up Seattle way. Great bad boy s**t in a league with Tattooed Corpse, Cocknoose, etc.--the stuff you'll never find in a mall or on t.v.-cuz it would cause little blue-haired ladies to sodomize poodles with a strap-on or at least run a few red lights. Gimme more!" Martin McMartin, Flipside
"So now I have to defend MY home town, and I'm not real happy--just by judging from the cover and title and such--that BERSERKERS "Whiskey & Leather" is first out of the box. "It's rad", she says. "They sound like the Cult in their rock star phase." Oh, I was kind of hoping for Poison Ideas's American Leather, but now she's dancing to the "Motorhead-sounding part", and there's no hope." the Rocket