Pandemonium (3)

Pandemonium Was A Hardcore Punk band from Venlo, The Netherlands
Band History written by Rudolf Everts with information from bassist Peter (and taken with permission from the Coalition Records Website)

Pandemonium started around mid-1981 with Danny and Peter in the original line-up. Danny's brother Rowdy joined shortly after as we couldn't find a drummer. They started from scratch, none of them ever played (besides Danny a little) guitar or drums before. All bandmembers were already friends since kindergarten. At the age of 14 they went to see a UK SUBS gig in 1980 which was the final push to really start something. The first rehearsals were in the attic of Peter's parents house. Later in the cellar of the Limbabwe house and the local youthcenter became their practicespace and hangout. Mat joined the band around late '82 as he ran the Limbabwe label and wanted to record some songs for a compilation tape and later the first demo. He started to book all the gigs and did the recordings. After a while he became just another bandmember. After playing around for a while, the De Pandemonium Affaire demo got recorded in 1982 and was released on the band's label Limbabwe Records. The music on the demo was raw and biting and had a strong Scandinavian influence.

After playing in Holland and Germany for quiet a bit and appearing on the now legendary compilation LP Als Je Haar Maar Goed Zit 2 on Vögelspin, Pandemonium recorded their first 7" EP Who The Fuck Are You?. The record was sent to many different countries, which was an adventure in itself since there was no or very little infrastructure for distributing records. The band's name got 'well known' after releasing their Wir Fahren Gegen Dreck LP in 1984. The record was filled with angstdriven hardcore, that was almost a milestone at the time. With a better production and playing the songs with more speed, it gave Pandemonium the opportunity to tour and play many squats (and youthcenters or open fields) all over Europe: Holland, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Yugoslavia, Spain. Playing with countless other bands.



The band also got more and more involved in the squating scene in their hometown. As Peter stated: "After Pandemonium had started we hooked up with a lot of people in our hometown who were just on the same level and wanted action. People started bands, went to concerts or tried to find exciting and unknown music. Remember that about that time everybody was unemployed. Nobody had work or didn't want to. It was boring. Everything that happened was new and self-fulfilling. If there's a spirit in the air it has to come out some way. In this case a very creative one. Being with a lot of people at one point we needed a platform and place to go and do our thing so we squatted for the first time an old police station" and "Squatting is a tool, not a goal in itself. It was an individual choice by the bandmembers back then and not a choice made by the band. It just fitted in. Some did a lot, others less."

In 1986 the band started to break up. It was mainly Peter's decision to quit and Danny and Rowdy agreed. The band had done everything the members dreamed off but they also started to get fed up with going the same way over and over again. It was time to take different routes. Peter went into the political underground for a couple of years and quit music in all. Danny switched to drums and had already started the band GORE with 2 other guys and remained with them for a couple of years, abondening the band to play with Casper Brotzmann and later with Dee Dee Ramone in his ICLC band. Nowadays he's no longer active as a musician. Rowdy took off as a drummer with Negazione for a while, abondening music also after that. Mat already started his own recording studio but did a lot of booking and touring with bands in between. The label Limbabwe died a silent death. Currently he's only doing tourmanaging activities on and off. Abondened the studio a couple of years ago in whole. Pandamonium did a reunion gig a year later with the famous Dutch saxophoneplayer Hans Dulfer in 1987 as a benefit for the local youthcenter and that was it. Pandemonium made a huge impact with the hyperfast hardcore, but also with the lyrics, as the issues they sung about and ranted agains seem to be as relevant (sometimes even more) as 20 years ago.