Insania - Possessed by Insania LP

https://nuclearwarnowproductions.bandcamp.com/album/possessed-by-insania

The political and social oppression that characterized life behind the Iron Curtain in the 1980s held its grasp firmly in an attempt to thwart deviation from state-approved ideologies and socialism, in particular. Ironically, it was this Soviet-aligned grip on society that led to an equal and opposite reaction, which, in turn, spawned a countercultural movement that included a unique canon of extreme metal in one of its branches. In Czechoslovakia, which has since split into today's Slovakia and Czechia (aka Czech Republic), this development deeply seeded itself in the historical trajectory of extreme metal. Among enthusiasts of the genre, well known are the likes of bands such as Master's Hammer and Root, who emerged within this place and time and developed a particular niche of black metal that distinguished itself stylistically from similar, concurrent movements in other parts of the world. Less exposed have been other unpolished gems, like Insania, that have largely languished unrecognized by even the most detail-oriented metal fans.

Insania formed in 1987, within a year or so of their compatriots in Master's Hammer and Root, and still a few years prior to the relinquishment of Soviet influence in the Eastern Bloc. Brno, the band's place of origin and the second-largest city in Czechoslovakia, was subject to strict authoritarian measures by the government. Nonetheless, as tends to be the case under repressive regimes, a free-minded segment of the population rejected the edicts under which artistic expression deemed by the state to be subversive was disallowed. Three youths by the names of Petr Pálenský (guitars, vocals), Martin Maleček (drums), and Martin Vrbík (bass) came to know each other through their mutual activity in the fledgling underground Brno metal scene. Petr (aka Poly), who attended a different high school than the other two, had played in a band named Tormentum, and the two Martins had been active in their own band, Ruční Brzda. The dedication of the three to hardcore punk and metal thus led to the formation of Insania.

As one can imagine, in that time and place, finding those with similarly dissident musical tastes involved more dedication than would have been the case in freer societies. Like others of their persuasion throughout the world, the members of Insania were drawn to and heavily influenced by bands like Metallica, Slayer, Venom, Destruction, Kreator, Sodom, and Napalm Death. However, gaining exposure to bands such as these in the Cold War era of Czechoslovakia required an additional degree of dedication as a result of the country's socio-political reality. The process for disseminating such forbidden content involved first obtaining a certain record of this type on the black market, duplicating it manually to cassette, and distributing those copies at a more affordable rate to other fans, given that banned metal and hardcore LPs in this market fetched a premium price. For similar reasons, forming a band of this type presented other challenges in terms of obtaining the necessary musical equipment. The only practical option was to purchase low-quality Czech substitutes for U.S. or British brands at inflated prices.

Considering these obstacles, the eventual formation of Insania was unlikely enough from the outset, but it was the efforts of the government to thwart such an endeavor that made it even more improbable that the band would gain any significant traction with its resulting activity. In the same year of the band's formation, all three members had begun university-level studies, and participation in activities that were openly frowned upon by the government could lead to academic expulsion, among other possible repercussions. That fact notwithstanding, Insania forged ahead in 1988 by playing five live shows and recording a demo during the calendar year.

Krenova Club was the venue for three of Insania's 1988 concerts. Named after Krenova Street in Brno, this location was the only club in the city where underground bands who were not officially approved could play. This allowance was made by the club manager, who faced significant penalties in the case that this act had been discovered.

The other two gigs from that year took place in smaller towns outside of Brno, where government oversight was less focused and officially disfavored forms of expression were more likely to fly under the radar. The most significant of these was at a community center in the town of Bzenec under the banner of the "Attack of Fire" festival. In addition to Insania, this debut year for the fest included performances by other Czech metal bands who have since gained international recognition, such as Root, Debustrol, Krabathor, and Terminator.

In addition to its live performances, 1988 was an important year in Insania's development due to its recording of the "Possessed by Insania" demo. As one would expect under the circumstances, the recording equipment and conditions were rather primitive, a quality which is evident in the finished product. The band was invited by their friends in Root to use a rehearsal space that they had acquired in a nearby village. This same space, and with the very same mixing board that they had borrowed, was where Root would record its "Messengers from Darkness" demo. This was the first time that Insania had ever entered anything that resembled a sound studio, and they recorded the entire 14-song demo live, straight from the mixing board into a tape recorder, in about an hour's time.

Once again due to the nature of the government's control over published media, there was no practical method by which the band could duplicate and distribute copies of the demo. Instead, the band was sent blank cassette tapes by interested fans, the demo was recorded onto these cassettes, and the tapes were then returned by post to the original senders. From that point, the first-generation cassettes would be dubbed by their recipients and distributed to friends and other contacts. Under this underground model of distribution, it didn't take many degrees of separation from the original dub before one would come into possession of an almost unlistenable copy. Poor sound quality notwithstanding, "Possessed by Insania" broke ground as the beginning of recorded metal in Czechoslovakia, and it garnered the band a lot of attention from those who had never heard music as heavy and fast.

Eventually, the threat of consequences from the state caught up with Insania during this second year of the band's existence. Following the fifth live gig, the members of the band were summoned to the headquarters of the STB (state secret police) and threatened with expulsion from the university for performing music that was incompatible with the culture promulgated by the socialist government. The police had raided the apartment of a friend who had clandestinely run the band's fan club, and the band's demo, photos, fanzine and other materials had been confiscated. At only eighteen years old and with the understanding of how expulsion from the university would impact their lives, Insania pretended to disband and dug itself even further into the underground.

The first order of business involved changing the name of the band to Skimmed. Under this new moniker, the band resumed a much more limited degree of activity in the rehearsal room of a group of friends in a punk band named Zemezluc. These rehearsals were attended only by a small group of friends.

In relatively little time, the Velvet Revolution arrived in Czechoslovakia, and before the end of 1989, the communist government relinquished its power. Skimmed continued under its new identity, as its musical direction had changed into a more hardcore-oriented sound with more surreal than occult lyrical content. In 1990, Skimmed released the "New Insanity" album, which received positive reviews and worldwide attention. Skimmed toured Europe following the fall of the Iron Curtain, as Western Europe discovered and showed interest in bands to the east that had been previously unknown.

By 1992, Martin Maleček and Martin Vrbík had lost interest in playing, so Skimmed disbanded and Poly reformed Insania with new musicians, including Black Drum, with whom Poly ended up playing for some time in Root after the first era of Insania had ended. Poly and Black Drum have remained bandmates in Insania since, as they have gone on to record ten full-length albums, along with several EPs, compilations, and splits, as of the writing of this biography. Although their sound has continued to evolve over the course of the intervening decades, the band's roots remain firmly documented in the "Possessed by Insania" demo and the trials and tribulations of cultivating an extreme artform under a repressive societal structure.

- C. Conrad