Puncture, the notorious industrial metal act from Dallas, teams up with Black Artifact to release a remastered, expanded edition of their 1994 debut CD. This reissue comes as a two-disc set: the original album remastered by Rob Colwell and a second disc loaded with rare demo tracks, unreleased material, and remixes, mastered by Grant Richardson.
Puncture carved a path through the ’90s metal scene when Gammacide guitarist Rick Perry ventured into darker, heavier territories. Partnering with techno DJ Per Nilsson, they crafted a brutal hybrid of thrash guitars, relentless drum machines, and harsh, distorted vocals, all layered with unsettling samples. Their sound was a collision of metal and industrial that pushed boundaries and defied genre norms.
To take their chaos to the stage, Puncture brought in seasoned musicians like John Perez (Solitude Aeturnus), Mike Harmatiuk Trujillo (The Hellions, Killcreeps), Larry Moses (Days of Decision), Mark Brian Powell (Gammacide), and Brad Womack (Caustic Death). Their live performances were notorious for their intensity, with thick fog, strobe lights, and disturbing visuals of animal vivisection and S&M scenes, making the shows feel like an assault on both the senses and the psyche.
While Puncture thrived in the underground scene during the ’90s, the band eventually succumbed to the excesses of the lifestyle, disbanding in 1999. After the breakup, Rick Perry returned to his thrash roots with Warbeast, signing with Phil Anselmo’s Housecore Records. Perry is currently part of the heavy metal band Iron Jaw, which released Chain of Command in 2020, with a new album on the way.
Earlier this year, Black Artifact approached Perry to mark the 30th anniversary of Puncture’s debut. The result is a reissue that not only revives the original but also opens the vault on a collection of rare and unreleased tracks.
This reissue breathes new life into brutal tracks like “Nailed to a Cross” and “Breeding Contempt” with Colwell’s remaster giving them sharper clarity and punch. The second disc dives deeper with original demo versions, unreleased tracks like “Bullet in the Chamber,” and dark, techno-infused remixes. Black Artifact has also reimagined the original cover art, giving the 1994 release a sharp, ominous visual overhaul.
As Kerrang! aptly described upon the album’s initial release, “…with white noise screams of pain grafted onto an irresistible beat, you won’t know whether to start dancing or start killing!”