This was the debut album, the result of the transformation from SAM SNOT to TUNGSTEN. The band borrowed alot of it's own riffs and song structure from SAM SNOT but added \"Meat and Hair\" to it. The record deal fell into their lap accidentally as Mark was hired to record the second self titled CROWBAR album for the Chicago based label. The label requested some samples of the the Chalmette studio H/T was capable of, before investing in it. A tape of a demo that TUNGSTEN recorded with the Alesis ADAT system was sent and a contract was offered immediately, it was really just that simple.
This was all made possible by Kirk Windstein of CROWBAR asking to record his band's album in Chalmette and putting a good word for us. We can't thank you enough for helping us get that deal. That will never be forgotten!!!
The stand out tracks are \"Born XY\" and \"I Feel Today\" - The rest have their moments, but again this was the learning phase and the growing phase trying to find our way to The Survival Kit where we really grew our own wings. I'm very proud to have been in this band and there's no better feeling in the world than to walk into a record store as a huge music fan and see your own album in the \"METAL\" section in between TROUBLE and TYPE O NEGATIVE! - That was a big moment in my life that I will never forget! Mark Nawara and his crew at Pavement made that happen.
Track Listing:
01. The Churner
02. Born XY
03. I Feel Today
04. Commitment Crisis
05. After It's Over
06. Indifferent
07. Trying To Find My Smile
08. Just Fades Away
09. Theorem To Failure / I Fall
10. Now That I'm Dry
11. Since The Break
12. Forged In Fire
Al Hodge: Vocals / Guitar / Bass
Mark Talamo: Drums / Vocals
Steve Talamo: Lead Guitar on \"Now\" and \"Forged\"
This is TUNGSTEN! A Metal band originally based out of Chalmette, Louisiana. Formed in 1985 by Mark Talamo and Al Hodge as SAM SNOT. They made a handful of demo tapes during this time and gradually went from their Punk Metal/Sludge beginnings into a more refined metal approach. By 1990 the band changed their name to TUNGSTEN and Steve Talamo joined the band on bass and guitar in 1994. Mark Talamo gained fame by being the engineer for a lot of the heavy hitters of the NOLA scene in the early 1990's through his home and portable studio called H/T. Among his clients were CROWBAR (their second studio album 1993) and DOWN (their first 3 song demo 1992) just to name a few.
Originally formed as a recording band in the beginning, the band were offered record contracts in 1993 through the help of band friend Kirk Windstein of CROWBAR/DOWN and Pavement Music based out of Chicago, Ill. This encouraged the band to add Steve Talamo to the fold to help bring the act to the stage. During TUNGSTEN's gigging years, they shared the stages of New Orleans with the likes of CROWBAR, ACID BATH, SOILENT GREEN, FLOODGATE, CHOKE, and GRAVEYARD RODEO before retiring from the live circuit in 1999.
In 2003 they made national headlines by being the very first band to encourage file sharing of their entire back catalog through sites like soundclick and their own home page.
August 29, 2005 - Hurricane Katrina rips through the Gulf Coast destroying everything in it's path. Mark Talamo and Al Hodge lost their homes, and all of their equipment from the massive floods that came along with the Hurricane that ripped right through Chalmette. Both members have relocated and are settling into their new lives. In September of 2006 the band felt it had runs it's course and had officially disbanded.
