So here's a brief story on how Vital Wound fanzine came around.

I was hooked on Metal since at the age of 13 when some records through black market network started to come behind Iron Curtain, around 1986. Back then Lithuania was still occupied by USSR, Rock and especially Metal albums were banned, you could only get them if you knew the right people. Before 1986 there was not Metal bands at all here. That year our first Heavy Metal band KATEDRA started and they suddenly became huge among the very first breed of local Heavy Metal maniacs. But of course we craved for more and heavier stuff, so I had penpals (remember those?) from other soviet republics to whom I sent dubbed cassettes with albums that we had and they dubbedd and sent whatever albums they had. That's how we started to get into Thrash and then Death Metal. But information was very scarce and very hard to come by. Still through that network of tape trading with other metalheads from former USSR we had heard most of the main albums and shit went heavier and heavier. In 1989-1990 me with another friend even opened a "dubbing studio" where we would record those albums to other metalheads from Vilnius (for a fee, of course!). That "business" was booming for about 4 months, when we got kicked out of the place. Anyway in 1990 Lithuania has freed itself from soviets and everything became Wild West for a few years. Which was perfect for mad thrashing maniacs! Suddenly some started to form their own bands, underground fire has started! We were right into the middle of it and it was great! But we also craved for more music and wanted so spread the word what is happening among lithuanian Metal maniacs. So why not start the zine? Me and Sėkla already knew about "Deathmare", "Death Indstry" and "Metal 'Em All" zines from other cities, but Vilnius hadn't had one. So after a short consideration we picked "Vital Wound" as it's name, I got an old typewriter, wrote some letters, got two tapes for a review - EDGE OF SANITY "Kur-Nu-Gia" and IMPETIGO "Ultimo Mondo Cannibale" and that was a start. We reviewed some albums that we obtained through our tape trading network, translated a few articles from other magazines and in December 1991 made 30 copies. Half of them went to friends, other half were sent to bands and labels abroad. The journey has started.

Mindaugas "Plikas" Lapinskas

Massacre

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