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All Music Guide:
Lawnmower Deth's biggest claim to fame was having a sense of humor in the dead-serious world of heavy metal, and, not surprisingly, that same quality also proved their ultimate undoing. Based in Mansfield, England, the band was founded in 1987, at the height of the thrash metal movement, which already seemed to take itself less seriously than most metallic subgenres (most notably, Bermuda shorts-sporting New Yorkers Anthrax). Lawnmower Deth's members decided to adopt silly stage names, to boot: singer Peter Lee became Qualcast "Koffee" Mutilator, guitarists Steve Nesfield and Gavin O'Malley became Concord Face Ripper and Scitzophrenic Rotary Sprintmaster, respectively, bassist Chris Parkes became Mightymo Destructimo, and drummer Chris Flint became Explodin' Dr. Jaggers Flymo. Two demos and two years later, Lawnmower Deth made their official debut via a split release with the equally comical Metal Duck, then signed with Earache Records for 1990's full-length, Ooh Crikey! It's Lawnmower Deth!, featuring a whopping 26, slapstick thrash tunes. These were embraced for their novelty value by many critics and fans, eager for a fresh and fun variety of their favorite musical genre; but Lawnmower Deth barely got a chance to capitalize on tour, before the inevitable backlash began rearing its ugly head. 1991's Kids in America EP was probably their first tactical mistake, but then, covering 80s new wave hits was all the rage among UK metal bands at the time, so maybe it was simply a case of jokes that were only funny the first time, because 92's second full album, The Return of the Fabulous Metal Bozo Clowns, seemed more pathetic than amusing. New guitarist Kevin Papworth (ex-Acid Reign) probably spent more time figuring out his stage name (Baron Kev Von Thresh Meister Silo Stench Chisel Marbels), than ideas for Lawnmower Deth's next album, which this time was sparingly entitled Billy. The band broke up almost immediately after its releases in 1994, with singer Peter Lee subsequently taking a job behind the scenes with Earache. Lawnmower Deth did reunite in order to perform a proper farewell London gig the next year, but even that hardly gave them the last laugh, and the band's name has slipped into obscure footnote status since.
Wikipedia:
Lawnmower Deth are an English thrash metal band who parodied the genre and recorded three-and-a-half albums. Initially active in the late 1980s and early 1990s, they reformed in 2008.
Biography
Main career (1987-1993)
Lawnmower Deth were formed in Ravenshead, Nottinghamshire, England in 1987 by Chris Flint and Joseph Whitaker School mates Pete Lee, Steve Nesfield and Chris Parkes.
Their first official release was a split album with Metal Duck. Lawnmower Deth's side of the record was entitled Mower Liberation Front and positive responses led to their debut studio album, Ooh Crikey, It's... Lawnmower Deth.
The band covered several famous songs in their time, including Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain", Motörhead's self-titled song, Squeeze's "Up the Junction", The Osmonds' "Crazy Horses", and Kim Wilde's "Kids in America" which was released as the band's only single in 1991.
Lawnmower Deth's second studio album, Return of the Fabulous Metal Bozo Clowns, was released in 1992. The band's sense of humour extended into their cheap but enjoyable music videos. Both "Kids in America" and "Lawnmowers for Heroes, Comics for Zeros", the latter from Metal Bozo Clowns, were recorded on home video cameras and edited in an amateur fashion.
The band's third and to date latest studio album, Billy, was released in 1993. The band tried to take a slightly different direction on the album, verging towards the kind of pop punk feel pioneered by the likes of Green Day at the time, with most of the band's thrash metal roots left behind. Poor sales and less popular live dates lead the band to break up later on that year.
Reunion (2008-present)
Lawnmower Deth announced that they would be reuniting to support Welsh metalcore band Bullet for My Valentine for a one off gig on 15 November 2008 at the Alexandra Palace in London.
The band played at the 2009 Download Festival at Donington Park, which was their first appearance at Donington. They played a Download warm up gig at The Pitz In Milton keynes on 5 June 2009 with support from Gama Bomb, Virus and Metal Messiah.
The band were subsequently announced again for the 2010 Download Festival which was their second Donington Park appearance. They played on the Pepsi Max third stage on the Friday.
Lawnmower Deth then went on to play a main stage slot at Damnation Festival 2010 in Leeds and announced a further date at Redemption at Derby on 28 May 2011 where they'll be supported by ska band Addictive pHilosopHy and the thrash band Hellrazor amongst others.
On Friday the 12th of August 2011, Lawnmower Deth will play Bloodstock Open Air festival at Catton Hall in Derbyshire. They are playing on the Sophie Lancaster Stage.
Lawnmower Deth played to a full and enthusiastic crowd at Hammerfest 4, Prestatyn, Wales on 16th March 2012, during which requests were made to Earache to re-release the full back catalogue.
Their first half-album, Mower Liberation Front was re-released on vinyl and CD in April 2012. It came with the associated Metal Duck half-album Quack Em All and a selection of bonus tracks including the 1988 demo Mowdeer. Early purchasers received a DVD of a concert at Nottingham Rock City from 26th November 1990.
