Last Thrash
Criminally Insane calls it quits after 6 years, 5 CDs, 1 wail of a time.

by Dave Richards
Staff writer

Unlike the characters in "Reservoir Dogs" who may, in fact, be criminally insane, the members of longtime Erie speed-metal band Criminally Insane are decidedly not.

In fact, they took the logical, sensible path after guitarist Andrew DiPanfilo decided he was tired of commuting over two hours from Kent, Ohio. Rather than soldier on, they opted to bow out. After six years together and releasing five studio CDs -- making them one of the area's most productive and ambitious metal bands -- Criminally Insane will play two more shows, then kiss the scene goodbye.

Drummer Chris Tingley concedes it's not easy to let go.
"It's hard to let something end that we have all put so much and time and effort in," Tingley said. "But, on the other hand, it seemed like the appropriate time to let it go. "

Tingley graduates with a master's degree in business in July from Clarion University. But he's not ready to crash the "real" world just yet. First, Criminally Insane plays Saturday at Beer Mug with its buddies Scorch the Sky and Necropolis. The latter band includes CI's Josh Faulkner, who also debuted heavy new band Jormungand at Beer Mug last week.

On April 22, the band plays its last show during a metal fest at Denny's Bar and Banquet in Edinboro.

Tingley was just 17 when guitarist Jay Juniewicz -- later replaced by DiPanfilo -- started CI as a prototypical thrash band.
"We were fed up with the lack of metal in the local scene," said Tingley, who's also a former metal host and general manager at Gannon's Energy FM 90. "We were fed up that a lot of the good, staple thrash-metal bands like Anthrax and Megadeth had slowed down their tempos and changed their music. We wanted to write music that was more in the vein of Metallica's 'Ride the Lightning' or Slayer's "Reign in Blood.'"

When Buddy Smith joined as singer and on-stage crazy man, CI began developing its sound, veering away from a strictly old-school approach.

"We basically kept the speed element," Tingley said, "but we wanted to slicken the sound up and make it not sound dated." He said the band began staking out its own realm with "Nameless Fear," its second CD, which featured the 7-plus minute epic, "Vespers."

"There were slow guitar parts and intricate bridges and more of a diverse, vocal sound," he said. "We said, 'Here's a good example of what our band can do together putting our minds together and trying to move forward.' That was the first time we just did something, instead of trying to do something, and that's what came out. That's when we realized we had our own unique sound and we didn't sound like any one band."

CI recorded all its CDs --including 2005's "Condemned"-- with producer Doug White at Watchmen Studios near Buffalo, N.Y. Tingley said, to motivate themselves, they'd book time nine months ahead, then work on material. They loved recording.
"Anyone who's seen any of our behind-the-scenes video we put on our CDs would know we had the most fun in the world when it was just us in the studio working with Doug," he said.

A close second, though, would be opening twice for Overkill.

"That was an amazing opportunity," Tingley said.

Like Tingley, Smith also relished the thrill of performing.

"Through all the blood, sweat and beers, we have truly shown the tri-state area what it means to thrash," he said, in a release. "I may have thrown the towel in with Criminally Insane but that does not mean I have lost my insane love for performing. It's in the blood, baby."
Their reign in blood ends soon but Tingley has no regrets. He says it's best to depart now.

"Regardless of how crazy and unique we are, we just wanted to do it our way," he said. "That leads us back to why we decided to end the way we did. We're not ending it because we had to. There was a future if we wanted it to be. But we said, no, we want to end it together, the way we started it, in Erie, with our friends."

-----

Criminally Insane, Necropolis, Scorch the Sky will perform Saturday at 10 p.m. at the Beer Mug, 1108 Liberty St. Admission is $3.