There’s a tale that likes to be told in Victoria, BC, home of early crossover thrashers Mission of Christ: the band, who was around from 1986 to 1990, was on Metal Blade/Death Records, although not for long enough to have anything released by them. There was, however, a T-shirt made once with the Metal Blade/Death roster on the back of it. There, nestled up alongside Goo Goo Dolls, because this is a very strange planet, was Mission of Christ.
I grew up in Victoria so have heard the tale told to me many times, and I have done my part in telling it to others to ensure that it lives on. Now, Victoria-based archival label Supreme Echo is ensuring an even more important part of MOC’s legacy—their music—is living on, with their upcoming Silence In Grave LP—which has been remixed by Kurt Ballou—which comes with the Realms of Evil 7” flexi. The material, collected from demos for the LP and a rehearsal tape for the flexi, is being released digitally on May 30, and on vinyl in June.
Today, we have the premiere of one of the songs off of Silence In Grave, “Crypts of Darkness.”
“‘Crypts of Darkness’ was an early Mission of Christ riff rager,” says guitarist Steve McBean (who today plays in Black Mountain). “It morphed around the back alleys taking doob hits from COC, Flag, and early Death demos. Heaviosity crush master Kurt Ballou spun the old 1/4 inch Tascam reels and reawakened the beast! The ’80s seem a while back but hearing this again in 2019 beamed my crimped lid back to all those basements and legion halls, where my heart will always belong.”
Pre-order the digital and/or physical versions of the album here, and check out “Crypts of Darkness” right here:
