Massacre released their classic death metal record From Beyond in 1991 and then, after a series of lineup changes, came back with the widely-hated Promise in 1996. Promise dropped all semblance of death metal in favor of awful groove metal, and was so bad that it forced vocalist Kam Lee to quit halfway through its production.
Or as Lee put it in a 2022 interview, "I hated the way [guitarist Rick Rozz] was attempting to turn Massacre into a pseudo-Pantera meets Type O Negative type of band, and I hated the fucking joke of an album, Promise. I thought the entire thing was just shit, and I can’t even believe I went along as far as I did before deciding to walk out and quit during the post-production period."
In fact, Massacre and their current lineup hate Promise so much that they've issued a statement asking everyone not to talk about it. Don't ask them about it, don't talk about it – basically act as if Promise never happened.
"Here is the boundary- DO NOT CROSS IT!!" wrote Massacre on Instagram.
"We don't endorse this album in anyway. It's widely known this is considered a highly loathed mistake by the band at a very low point and time during its inception. It's the main reason for vocalist Kam's departure from the band in 1994 – (and he wouldn't return to actually make and release another album until 2021's Resurgence).
"If you're a fan of this release for whatever reason (although I can't imagine anyone with taste would actually be) best to keep that to yourself. Any posturing in an attempt to bring this album up will be met with the same disrespect given by pushing that boundary. If you attempt passive aggressive behavior by sarcastically supporting it – you will in turn be met with the exact same sarcastic response and tone you're trying to push your boundaries over.
"Basically- don't be a dick!"
