20 years after it was first released on vinyl, Clown Alley's only album is finally available on CD. Clown Alley were a thrash/punk band from San Francisco. They helped originate the punk/metal crossover sound along with groups such as DRI and Cro-Mags. The band consisted of vocalist Dave Duran, guitarist/producer Mark Deutrom, bassist Lori Black and drummer Justin Clayton. Black and Deutrom would each eventually play bass for the Melvins, and Deutrom produced their first two albums.
Two decades later Circus Chaos holds up very well. It has a lot of thrash/speed metal riffs and really fast songs, but also songs that are slower in tempo but still heavy in intensity. The punk influence is especially noticeable on the fast songs and the vocals, which are a combination of singing and spoken/shouted vocals.
In addition to the original LP, there is some bonus material on the CD including four live tracks and a 10 minute radio interview from 1986. Even though they were pretty obscure, it's nice that a band like Clown Alley finally has the chance for fans to hear their material on CD. Fans of early thrash and crossover will especially enjoy this disc.
