The ALMIGHTY LUMBERJACKS OF DEATH: Legendary patriotic American Oi! from the Motorcity of Detroit - THE SOUL OF THE STORM.

Hey guys and oh boy, yes, trust your eyes, hell yeahr, because oh fuck yes yeah', it's back, yes, the "AMERICAN Oi! HISTORY SERIES" finally and really makes its glorious (and by far too long overdue) return up here and this time it had been really freakin' fuckin' ages since the last article (paying tribute to the almighty STARS & STRIPES from Boston, MA/U.S.A.) came up here sort of damn six years ago in the late summer of 2012. I just read over the mentioned last article recently and oh boy was I wrong back then, because not only took it not only a year before this very one here finally is following it up but more or less six straight years, goddamn it, it almost feels a bit like a different life back then… okay, keeping in mind that I back then just got still a bit recently 31 years old and was just starting to go through some damn tough years to come that's maybe not that wrong after all. But anyhow six years, yes, that's still sort of a statement. (Also incredible that I still or sort of again-still run this very blog here.) How this all came to happen and so on I will here and now spare you and me, anyhow anyway, but by looking at what band this very article here and now will (finally) be paying tribute to this all is even more starting to really feel a bit 'surreal'. Like the headline/name of this article tells you (or at least should have told you already) this time here and now it will all be about no one else and/or no one less than the, yes, (al)mighty ALMIGHTY LUMBERJACKS OF DEATH, the patriotic Motorcity Madmen from the city of Detroit. This was planned already back then in 2010 and 2011 as one of the earlier posts of or in this nowadays (more or less) well aged posting series up here but was then held back by me because it was sort of meant to be published in a german printzine back then at the time but this should then ultimately never came to happen and then it sort of fell overboard… hm... and then right now, yes, it is really so much about time and already again by far too much bla-bla-bla and so now here we are and so enough of my anyhow already by far too long introducing smalltalking rambling(s), yes, and so now finally and ultimately here we go again…!!!

Starting this all now off with the confused questions concerning the "What?" and "Why?" of/about the anyhow/anyway also still today pretty weird and for sure damn unusual (but also damn cool) bandname that there is/was the ALMIGHTY LUMBERJACKS OF DEATH. The bandname came to happen like the underground-fame of the band, too, it developed over time and sort of just 'accidentitally' and so someday the band rampaged under the banner of (the) ALMIGHTY LUMBERJACKS OF DEATH just like the band someday was enthusiastically hailed in/by the underground by Oi! hardknocks and Streetpunk die-hards. They started out in the 1980's as a local Punkrock band jamming and roaring in their hometown and local suburbs with their original line-up consisting out of Danny Mason as their lead singer, the 'Big Dog' at the guitar, Pat 'Scruff' Shaw playing the bass, and Jeff Gordon beating the drums and more and more their weekly to daily practises with the band turning into rampaging parties and little/small concerts with a big bunch of friends and likeminded people/persons attending their practises in ever growing numbers and celebrating a damn good time together with the band. More or less (and again) 'accidentially' the signature sound'n'style of the ALMIGHTY LUMBERJACKS OF DEATH should develop heavily during that certain time period, and it was exactly that specific and back then in their area and maybe also espcially in the U.S.A. in general very unusual or untypical sound'n'style that should cause their ongrowing underground-fame. While back then pretty much anybody and everybody was looking to come up with (more or less) melodic and fast paced Skate Punk/Hardcore/Crossover in the tradition of or like bands like BLACK FLAG and D.R.I. and such stuff the ALMIGHTY LUMBERJACKS OF DEATH took the or a pretty opposite direction. First simply due to the fact that primarly their drummer simply couldn't keep up with the higher fast paced tempo they slowed down and this all 'just' to develop over time their very own sound'n'style of stoic hammering, harsh and heavy, hard stomping mid paced (Street-) Punk that further down the road should finally lead them to develop their damn own and unique interpretation of (American) Oi! musick for which they gained and gathered sort of their very own cult-following over time and their ongrowing underground-fame. To say it with the words of 'Big Dog' of the ALMIGHTY LUMBERJACKS OF DEATH himself: "It was kind of like the invention of pizza. We stumbled upon it by accident and everybody seemed to dig it." The band and their ever-growing circle of friends used to even set up their own club named the "THE WEST SIDE BOOT BOYS". Their first famous signature sing-a-long chants (and anthems) like for example "Drink Beer!" and "West Side!" were brought up by Danny Mason but things really took off'n'up when Jimmy Doom joined the ALMIGHTY LUMBERJACKS OF DEATH. The band went through some to a lot of ('troubled') line-up-changes that all came with some sort of controversy but should maybe finally make the band better or so to say. The clubhouse of (the) "THE WEST SIDE BOOT BOYS" was a 'landmark' in Detroit and for the local Oi!/Punk/Hardcore scene and not only more or less every day some sort of action and/or party used to take place and not only did the ALMIGHTY LUMBERJACKS OF DEATH used to spend a lot of their time exactly there but it was also the place where after the bars closed their doors you could find the ALMIGHTY LUMBERJACKS OF DEATH regulary up on stage playing live every friday and saturday night from 3am on. Chaos and destruction, ramapge and party where all around. And still the ALMIGHTY LUMBERJACKS OF DEATH managed to make it to the big(ger) venues and shared stages with acts like THE EXPLOITED, G.B.H., the CIRCLE JERKS, and also SOCIAL DISTORTION who were all bringing (far) over 500 kids to the shows everytime (we're still to be found in the late 1980's to the early 1990's, keep that in mind) and Punk (and Hardcore and Oi!) was (/were) getting bigger and bigger and the ALMIGHTY LUMBERJACKS OF DEATH were one of the many bands in the middle of it all fueling enthusiastically only even more fuel'n'fire to the flames. Things were looking nice, right, and then…

...and then "Operation Desert Storm" happened and 'it all' became 'ugly'. A lot of the scene, the people in it and the bands of it, took an anti-war standpoint and burned their flags, joined communist groups, started protesting the war (sort of without really knowing for what they were or would be protesting anyhow with protesting against the war but that's another story) and this more or less all 'simply' also to show a middle-finger to the establishment and the(ir) 'warmongering politicians'. The ALMIGHTY LUMBERJACKS OF DEATH and their "THE WEST SIDE BOOT BOYS" crew and their fans more or less in general took the exact opposite standpoint, showed that middle-finger(s) right back, waved the american flag with honour and pride, spoke out pro the troops and voiced their opinions through their musick and their lyrics loudly and proudly. Especially Jimmy Doom, who along the way replaced Danny Mason as the lead singer of the ALMIGHTY LUMBERJACKS OF DEATH, wrote fantastic and very outspoken lyrics to voice the patriotic opinion of the band. In that in a 'political-sense' very overheated situation and time the ALMIGHTY LUMBERJACKS OF DEATH further on sharpened their 'musical profile' with 'ongoingly' nothing but getting stronger and better all the time. And also again new band members joined the band and no matter if they stayed long or short in the ranks of the ALMIGHTY LUMBERJACKS OF DEATH they left their marks and helped to develop the sound'n'style of the band further on. One or maybe even the best and most prominent example for that was/is Jiney Jim (who also played in the damn fantastic ROGUES, another great American Oi! legend from Detroit) who joined the band for a short while and took over the drums delivering that precise and harsh stomping Oi! Oi! Oi! beat that should help the band immensely and lead the band to sharpen their unique American Oi! musick even far more, despise the only short while he was with/in the band. And so the band wrote some of their biggest hymns and hits with Jiney Jim at the drums, like for example "GANGLAND" and "WORKING CLASS KIDS". It also helped surely quite a bit that the ALMIGHTY LUMBERJACKS OF DEATH back then were completly into that fantastic classic English Oi! we all still love today and that all the stuff they wrote songs about were authentic, honest, and heartfelt experiences and opinions that they voiced within and throughout their ever stronger gowing musick. Soon after Jiney Jim left the band again sort of ''as soon as he joined'' the band found their new drummer in and with Cliff "born to kill" Hill and after this they step-by-step should finally reach their full prime, even a lot of ''troubled'n'troubling'' line-up-changes really took place on-and-on-again and the band for sure wasn't the band anymore that once started in the basements of Detroit (so to say) with finally "Big Dog" being the final original or founding member at the end of this development. The shows were anyhow all the time and even more'n'more pure enthusiastic mayhem and 'onslaughting' chaos unleashed filled to the absolute max with violent circle pits, ever-retreating bouncers at the shows, audiences regulary taking over the stage, flying stage divers and also flying beer-bottles all the time everywhere, rivers of beer flooding through the halls and venues, open fights, even bloody brawls at/on stage, and the ALMIGHTY LUMBERJACKS OF DEATH over the years became headliners in Detroit having nation-wide far more famous acts opening for them and with having close ties to formidable legendary acts like MURPHY'S LAW. But over the years and maybe to all the madness-energy and the incredible intensity and maybe or surely also due to ever-on-going line-up-troubles the ALMIGHTY LUMBERJACKS OF DEATH should finally 'die-out', (with) maybe having sort of burnt too bright and too intense for a too long while and so they faded away and the bandmembers went seperate ways and founded new bands. The most prominent and best known bands of that "followers" are for sure "Big Dog's" very own 'new' bands COLD AS LIFE and SWORN ENEMY.

Over their time of existence the ALMIGHTY LUMBERJACKS OF DEATH never released that much of records/albums and their discography is rather short/small… very short/small. They only released (for all what I know and if I now not miss out on something) two tapes. In 1989 their tape (I think it was later on also released on vinyl as a 7'') "ALWAYS OUT OF CONTROL BUT NEVER OUT OF BEER" was released and soon becoming an underground-hit, and then in 1991 their "SOUL OF THE STORM" tape was released again causing much havok in the scene. It wasn't until 2005 when the glorious "DISCONNECTED RECORDS" finally released the fantastic "ALWAYS OUT OF CONTROL BUT NEVER OUT OF BEER - THE COMPLETE COLLECTION" CD that the ALMIGHTY LUMBERJACKS OF DEATH released (or) sort of finally a proper full-length-album for their fans. And, yes, if you really still don't have that CD you should try anything to still find somewhere a copy of it for you. The ALMIGHTY LUMBERJACKS OF DEATH played a mid-paced orientated and very heavy and energetic, strong rocking and sort of a despise the anthemic and hymnal character also still pretty dark style of American Oi! filled with dirty, noisy, heavy, and strong rocking guitar work, harsh and yet still melodic delivered and highly charismatic lead vocals (also at the Right moments nicely backed up), an evil and pissed-off roaring bass at work, and forceful and onward pushing pure power drumming, delivering great done verses as well as highly addictive refrains full of huge sing-a-longs and that's still today as fresh as it (so I think) was back then for example in 1989 or 1991. It was really so damn much about time that I finally pay my heartfelt tribute and show them my honest honour and give them my enthusiastic praise up here and so this article/post really was by far too much overdue and I'm glad (and maybe even a bit sort of proud) that it really finally saw the damn light of the day right here and right now (even at minimum six years too late… how-ever, better late then never, I guess). The ALMIGHTY LUMBERJACKS OF DEATH, one of the greatest unforgotten legends in the glorious history of American Oi! and, again, by any means make sure to try your best to do everything to still find a copy of their above mentioned 2005 CD (re)release and then make sure to grab it and never let it loose again. All hail the ALMIGHTY LUMBERJACKS OF DEATH. Cheers & Oi! Oi! Oi!

So, yes, that's it or that was finally the newest and current post/article in/of the "AMERICAN Oi! HISTORY SERIES" up here. (Yes, sometimes the dead really come back.) I hope you enjoyed it, I had much fun writing it, and I especially hope that you got curious because of it for the ALMIGHTY LUMBERJACKS OF DEATH, yes, that would definitely be damn fucking great. Currently I would say that one sooner or later day this very series of articles/posts up here finally really will continue up here again. Don't ask me when but, so much I can say, it won't take again six years (not at least because if you ask me right now I wouldn't say that six years more from now on down the road I will still be doing this blog anyhow anyway, no, I really don't think so), and so just stay tuned for more of this to come in the future one sooner or later day. Until then, yes, maybe check out some of the other stuff up here you may enjoy it (as well) and never forget to always have a laugh and always have a say. Oi! Oi! Oi!

ALMIGHTY LUMBERJACKS OF DEATH - "A.L.D."

ALMIGHTY LUMBERJACKS OF DEATH - "DRINK BEER"

ALMIGHTY LUMBERJACKS OF DEATH - "MOTOR CITY TRICK OR TREAT"

ALMIGHTY LUMBERJACKS OF DEATH - "DRINK BEER" (live, reunited in 2015)