Psychotic Maniacs

Psychotic Maniacs were a relatively young band comprised of Ronnie-vocals, Obby-guitar, Scotty-drums, and Liz-bass. The band formed in the city of Melbourne, on the East coast of Australia. As far as output goes, the band was hardly prolific, releasing but one self titled EP (In some circles it is known as the Tribes of Melbourne EP). The story goes, Depression (2) were recording their self titled LP in 1985. They finished recording a lot earlier than expected, so rather than let the recording time go to waste, Smeer of Depression called the Maniacs up at 2am and told them to get down to the studio. The Maniacs, who at the time were living at the infamous "Hardcore House" with Depression and Gash (7) (Liz from Gash played bass on the Maniacs EP) came down to the studio and kicked down six songs from their old live set. Two years later, Phil Mcdougall of Reactor Records (3) decided to posthumously release the six songs as a 7" EP on his label. Musically the record was very similar to Depression, maybe without the solos though. Lyrically, Ronnie's reverb-laced vocals screamed an anti-war sentiment with "Wanna Die" and "Self Destruct", while songs like "I Need the Weed" really need no explanation. The EP's first track "Meat" appears on the Reactor Records compilation, The Not So Lucky Country.