1981-1986: the beginning
The band's original name was Gangster, until drummer Kelly Smith and guitarists Mark Vasquez and LL Cool Kevin Horton changed the name to Dogz. Bassist Jason Newsted and guitarist Mike Gilbert joined in 1982 and singer Erik A.K. arrived in 1983. The band renamed itself Flotsam and Jetsam after a chapter of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Two Towers.
The band made its live debuts in local clubs which would allow them eventually to play with bands such as Megadeth, Armored Saint, Alcatrazz, Malice, and Autograph. Flotsam and Jetsam released two demo tapes in 1985, Iron Tears and Metal Shock.
[edit] 1986-1988: Doomsday For The Deceiver
After they contributed to the Speed Metal Hell II and Metal Massacre IV compilations, they got a deal with Metal Blade Records. Then they released their first album Doomsday For The Deceiver which was produced by Brian Slagel. Many considered this album as a milestone in the history of thrash metal.
Bassist Jason Newsted, who was also the band's main songwriter on their first album (Mike Gilbert then replaced him as the band's main songwriter), left the band soon after to join Metallica, replacing their late bassist Cliff Burton. Flotsam and Jetsam found Sentinal Beast bassist Mike Spencer to fill in Jason's place for a short time. The band signed with Metallica's label Elektra Records before touring Europe with Megadeth in 1987.
[edit] 1988-1992: No Place For Disgrace and When The Storm Comes Down
Mike Spencer lost his position to Troy Gregory in 1988, and in the same year the band's second album No Place For Disgrace was released. It is considered as a strong metal effort by many metal fans. It includes a cover of Elton John's hit Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting. The band opened for King Diamond in America.
Fifteen months later, they got a deal with MCA and began to work on their third album When The Storm Comes Down, which was released in 1990. The band expected to gain recognition with this album, but it suffered from a poor production a weaker songwriting compared to their first two albums. Many fans lost interest in the band at that time.
[edit] 1992-1995: Cuatro
Troy Gregory left the band shortly after for Prong and the band had to find a new bassist once again, eventually hiring Jason Ward to fill the role. MCA told the band to change their style and explore new grounds, because they thought they would never achieve success with thrash metal. And so their fourth album Cuatro saw the band change their style mixing thrash metal with grunge sound. The album was rather successful, nevertheless. Flotsam and Jetsam made some efforts concerning the promotion: four singles were released and a video was shot for the song Swatting at Flies.
[edit] 1995-1999: Drift and High
Their fifth album Drift was released in 1995, with three singles released off of the record. A long break followed the release of the album.
They returned to their former label Metal Blade Records in order to play thrash metal again. Their 1997 album High (which features a sped-up version of Lard's Fork Boy) made a good impression on fans but did not match their early work.
Mike Gilbert and Kelly Smith left the band after High and were replaced by guitarist Mark T. Simpson and drummer Craig Nielsen.
[edit] 1999-2004: Unnatural Selection and My God
Unnatural Selection was released in 1999 and Mark T. Simpson left the band soon after. He joined the band again in 2000 to record a new album, My God, considered as their most aggressive work. At that time Erik A.K. had founded a country band, the A.K. Corral. He then left the band, unmotivated after spending fifteen years waiting for success. Though Flotsam and Jetsam did not disband, there was a long break at that time. They found a new singer in James Rivera who took over vocal duties live. Later the band felt anyone other than Erik A.K. could be their singer and Rivera left the band soon after.
[edit] 2004-present: Live In Phoenix and Dreams of Death
The live DVD Live In Phoenix was released in 2004, containing thirteen songs with Eric A.K.. Not long after, he joined the band again officially and they planned a come-back album. The lyrics for the album were mostly inspired by Eric A.K.'s nightmares. This resulted into a concept album entitled Dreams of Death like track 2 of No Place For Disgrace. The album was released on the Crash Music label. The live DVD Live In Japan was released in February 2006. Doomsday For The Deceiver was re-released in November 2006, including their two demos, to celebrate the album's twentieth anniversary.
Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flotsam_and_Jetsam_%28band%29
