Origin: Montreal, Canada

Canadian thrash outfit Dead Brain Cells begins as a semi-serious side-project with drummer Jeff St. Louis and local personality Dave Javex from Vomit and the Zits. After only a few practices, the "joke" is coming up with some impressive material.

1987
Combat Records releases 'Dead Brain Cells'. Produced by Randy Burns (Nuclear Assault, Megadeth), the 13-song LP establishes DBC as a leading underground force. A solid thrash piece with socially conscious lyrics displaying an interesting hardcore inclination (especially in songs such as "Outburst" and "Lies", Dead Brain Cells elicits favorable reviews from Faces, Metal Hammer, Burn, and others. Several tracks hint at a promising, unconventional approach that bodes well for the future.

1989
Universe, the fruition and sum of these elements, finally arrives. Nothing short of a full-blown concept work (replete with bibliography), Universe is DBC's exploration of the origin of the cosmos and its indigenous life forms, up to and including the future. Bassist/vocalist/lyricist Phil Dakin explains "It starts with 'The Genesis Explosion', which is about the origins of the universe through the formation of the solar system and so on. each song is a chapter in this story, even the instrumental 'Exit the Giants' deals with the extinction of the dinosaurs. 'Rise of Man' is self explanatory, while 'Threshold' is man's confrontation with the future and with what he has to do in order to survive."

In tackling these bold new territories, the members of DBC implemented a surprisingly innovative change of direction. Guitarists Gerry Ouellette and Eddie Shahini have refined their once Slayer-esque attack into a classically oriented approach, while the Dakin/ St. Louis rhythm section oversees these careful orchestrations with painstaking precision. The power of their 1987 debut remains, and is intensified at points by the radical new bent Dakin defines as"brainmetal".

1991b DBC recorded another demo for their third release, when the record company found out how much they wanted for the recording & another video, they backed out of the contract. The recession had just begun and Combat was 'trimming the fat'. They tried to find another record company, but to no avail. They played their last show that year.

2002
Finally, the 2 demos including 6 songs that were to be released as a third album are available for the first time on CD (a limited edition of 100 cassettes had been released in 3 Montreal stores in the early 90s). The 6 tracks have been remastered for the CD in March 2002 to obtain a better sound quality. This compact disc will give a new generation of metal fans the opportunity to discover the legendary Montreal band they heard of so often. Long-time fans will also be satisfied because the 2 first albums of Dead Brain Cells (DBC) have been out of print for many years and are wanted by many people.