Jester Beast
Destroy After Use

The Jester Beast, in their own way, have been among the historic bands of the Italian metal scene. Born in 1983, in that Jurassic era made of cassette demos and fanzines, in Turin, the group, with its very first lineup, managed to put something on record, participating in the compilation "Heavy Metal Made in Italy". The tragic passing of guitarist Attilio caused the band to lose their way, but fresh with new members and the determination of drummer Tony, by the end of the decade, they managed to reach their first long-distance trial, the demo "Destroy After Use".

Over time, Jester Beast had become a sort of commune of the Turin scene, with future members of Morgana and Negazione lending a hand to the cause, but the arrival of Steo Zapp on vocals and CC Muz on guitar finally stabilized the four, giving them the lineup necessary to tackle the studio trials. Listening to "Destroy After Use" today is surprising for its violence, aggression, and speed, which one might not have expected, neither yesterday nor today, from an Italian group, knowing well how the Italian scene was, especially at the time, constantly lagging behind what was happening beyond national borders and that genres like death metal and grindcore were yet to be well codified.

They themselves loved to define their proposal as freak-core, today we could comfortably speak of thrash-core, a raw thrash metal with the hardcore component that is not simply a pure influence but plays a predominant role within the musical proposal of the four. Reissued in numbered vinyl some time ago by the always active FOAD Records, the demo lasts no more than fifteen minutes and consists of four tracks and an outro. "Mother", which starts the dance, is a blow, with Steo's voice literally spewed out and the rest of the band committed to creating a wall of sound that betrays, among many influences, Coroner and Voivod. "Destroy After Use" has a more rhythmic and reasoned pace, as does the concluding "Claustrophobic Autogamic", while "Hypnotized", which opens side b, is the usual crazed shard.

The activity of Jester Beast went on for a few more years, reaching, in 1991, the release of an album, so far the first and last, that "Poetical Freakscream" today considered a classic of Italian metal, before, as often happens in these cases, starting to lose pieces along the way and dissolving. For the past few years, the ensemble, led by the historic Steo Zapp and CC Muz, has been active again, both in the studio and live, but for now, it seems that the Turin band is calmly planning their future and there is no news of new concerts or records. Meanwhile, rediscovering their historical catalog might hold a pleasant surprise for those unfamiliar with them.