Chronic Fear was a great crossover band from NJ in the 80’s, and with a re-release of an album of theirs called “Is There A Future”, I got hold of ex-singer Eric McDermott for this interview: (This interview is dedicated to their drummer Tom, who recently passed away)
Fast and Heavy Forever: How a Kiss Record and a Metallica Demo Changed EM’s Life
Have you lived in NJ all your life?
EM: Yes, but in a few areas. I lived in Irvington till I was 15, then moved to Boonton…went from the bricks to the sticks.
So, when did you discover metal?
EM: Well, we have to go all the way back to 1975 to 1976 when I got Kiss Alive. That blew me away as a kid, but as far as metal goes, I would say between 1981 and 1982. I was one of those teenagers who was heavy into tape trading. I heard No Life To Leather on cassette before Kill em All came out, and I knew right then and there what I wanted to listen to the rest of my life…fast and heavy.
So, when did you start to get into tape trading?
EM: You know, I really think it started with those early fan-made fanzines, plus I read Maximum Rock And Roll way back then, and they had demo reviews and you could buy them, and that’s how it began…and the bands I heard then were great.
Now I know back in the 80’s, there were tons of record stores. Did you have a favourite?
EM: Oh yeah. The best one was in Clark, NJ…Rock n Roll Heaven…interviewed Bloodlust before they became Bloodfeast. I also used to hang out with Bobby from Overkill. Then, of course, Vintage Vinyl and Sound Exchange. (loved em all-chris)
Now, was Chronic Fear a band, and then you joined, or did you help put it together?
EM: CF already was a band minus any lyrics or a singer around that time I had done M.O.B and Tom the drummer of CF heard that demo and loved it and he tracked me down for an audition and in the first day I plugged in lyrics for “Created As Equal” and another couple tracks all in 1 practice and I was asked to join all in the same day. The rest is history
Now tell me a bit about your 1st recording.
EM: Discrimination…that was around 1985, and it helped a lot that I had done M.O.B before that with members of Hatred…Corpse…and Planet Dread. The guys in CF heard that demo and tracked me down to join the band. We recorded that demo, I believe at Merlin Studios in NJ, and we were extremely proud of our work on it.
What was your 1st show like?
EM: That particular first show was by total accident. It was, believe it or not, a battle of the bands show, which we actually headlined, being that we were the only original band there. All the other bands played covers, and we played the entire Discrimination demo at the show and knew we were on to something wonderful cause the crowd went nuts for us that evening, and we obviously stole the show, and the irony to that show was our future bass player and guitarist were in attendance John and Pete who eventually became members almost 2 years later.
From the Bricks to the Sticks: EM on Chronic Fear, Dave Grohl Stories, and the Resurrection of NJ Crossover
What were some of the clubs you played?
EM: Let’s see, we played Horror Harbour with Chemical Waste and Lethal Aggression, Tin Pan Alley with the False Prophets, Asbury Lanes with the Undead, Club Pizzaz in Philly with Nuclear Assault and Flag of Democracy, also Lethal Aggression, and in Upstate NY somewhere with Scream and Dave Grohl was behind the skins for them at the time. There are many more shows, but those were among my favorites
Tell me about your next recording.
EM: The next recording was a 12-track recording that was never released to the public, and it’s some of our best material ever put onto a demo. It’s fast, heavy, and the vocals are raw as shit on there. Now few have leaked to the public. But not many, and most of those songs are on our self-released vinyl called “Is There A Future” It sounds amazing, and it’s a total of 14 tracks. My oldest son, Christian, was behind it all. It was a surprise for my 58th birthday, and he is also a guitarist and an excellent one. He knows every CF track and is a fan of the pioneering days of thrash from 1983 to 1989, and that’s it. He is also a huge Nuclear Assault fan and always asks me about what it was like to play with them. CF is also thanked on Nuclear Assault’s Plague album as well.
Now, what led to the breakup of the band?
EM: Now I always hate answering this question because it was my fault the band didn’t move forward. All the work was put in, and our name had leverage, and we were also very respected in both scenes. Now our drummer, Tom, went all born-again Christian on us and threw out all his music, fanzines and anything to do with music. At that time, he wasn’t replaceable. He was the band’s PR guy and had lots of connections in the music business. We were such a great band that really got left in obscurity, and I truly believe that had we auditioned drummers, we would have been signed to a major label. But his departure was a huge void at the time.
Tell us all about this new re-issue that just came out, and who put it out?
EM: As I said, it was a gift from my 17-year-old son Christian, who contacted a record company in England called Elastic Stage Records, which remastered the 14 tracks and put them out themselves. The only problem is it doesn’t have any promotions for the album, and not a lot has been sold, but I have it and played it, and it’s incredible, and you can tell it’s old school right away. I’m very happy with how the production came out. My only complaint is that they didn’t write down the tracks on the vinyl.
What style of music would you say is on the re-issue?
EM: Yes, you can order the album for around $30 bucks online, and I’ve given this a ton of thought. Where does CF fit in music’s archives? Well, I firmly believe we were 1 of the first true crossover bands. I mean, we came out in 1985, so who else was really doing what we did, possibly Cryptic Slaughter, and D.R.I their second release “Dealing With It”, and you can’t forget about C.O.C. “Animosity” either. All pioneering bands of the crossover scene. We had respect in the Hardcore scene as well as the Metal scene.
Where can you order it?
EM: HERE
What do the other members think?
EM: John, our bassist, is all for it and trying his best to promote it. Tom, our drummer, loves it, and Pete, I’m not even sure he knows yet about it. Now I don’t have a relationship with half the band, John and I are CF, and both of us are still staying gold with our involvement with the music, and this is our second or third interview in the last 2 years. Now, unless you’re 50 years old or higher, there’s a chance you never heard of CF. But we were a loved band, and I’ve never read 1 negative article about CF, and I really believe if this generation gets to listen to us, I’m pretty sure they themselves would be fans. I’m very proud of how hard we worked on the band, and we had a few songs that never got recorded that were bangers.
Are there any social media sites for the band out there, or anything on You Tube?
EM: Actually, yes, we do. John, our bassist, put together a site a few years back. It originally was called by the band’s name “Chronic Fear”, but for some reason, you couldn’t keep a band’s name on Facebook, so John changed it to Eric Fear…I believe the page has well over 2 thousand members.
Link to your You Tube channel is?
EM: Chronic Fear- Created As Equal
Eric, any last words to wrap this interview up?
EM: Well of course…much love and respect to you Chris for keeping bands like ours and so many more relevant in today’s world. I enjoy telling the stories of behind the curtain with Chronic Fear and our travels on the east coast meeting great bands and people along the way and what makes a father like myself so proud is the passing of the torch to my son Christian. He plays guitar and is self taught and can handle any CF song to perfection and like father like son. He loves those pioneering days of early thrash. Bands like Metallica, Whiplash, Possessed, Slayer, Metal Church and his favorite Nuclear Assault and everytime he is either playing those bands or he’s playing them on his guitar. It always brings a smile to my face. Thank you Chris for giving the band a voice again after all these decades gone. Keep thrashing on my brother.
