Friday, October 21, 2005

Eternal Twilight

That’s right. Eternal Twilight: a costumed Kansas City 80’s style heavy metal band (and I think they played Dungeons & Dragons too much). This is another goodie that I luckily saved from my old computer. I don’t know how, but we discovered their website sometime in 2000 or 2001, and we were simply amazed. Dumbfounded, in fact. There is scant evidence of their existence left on the Internet. You can try if you want to. They used to be on mp3.com way back in the day, but nevermore. Their domain name has even been hijacked by some MMORPG group. Thank God I saved these pictures for posterity. Let’s take a closer look.

A purple triangle is their logo. I’m not sure if there’s some kind of homosexuality reference there, and I don’t want to speculate. But if you look closely, you’ll notice that the banner in the background, which they cleverly cover with their logo, does not say “Eternal Twilight.” I haven’t changed the file name either, and it’s called “APStars”. So it’s questionable whether this was actually a shot of the band. It also covers the drummer, so it’s impossible to tell whether one was actually there (I’ll get back to that). Finally, you can’t see an audience at all, so there’s no evidence that they didn’t just take this picture in their basement (or someone’s mom’s basement). If anyone knows, please let me know about it.

Vocals: Lucifer


Yes, he’s making the triangle sign, but this one’s upside down, and his mask has a little purple triangle. Again, I’m not going into the possible homosexual references, but can you say Tinky Winky?


Yes, his jacket is fringed. And yes, those pants are entirely too tight for him. I can’t even begin to comprehend their obsession with Photoshop, or why they did so much of this dramatic posing.

Guitar: Phynnyx


He has a BC Rich guitar, another testament to their priority of image over music. And his outfit looks like some second-rate Halloween costume, so they weren’t even good with the image thing.

Is that Megadeth’s Marty Friedman behind the mask? Perhaps we will never know . . . .

Look out! Oh, wait, no, it’s just Phynnyx. I think he must have been the Photoshop “expert” here, because there were a lot more pictures of him on the site than the other members. He also seems to be particularly obsessed with the lens flare filter.

Ah, now there’s his orb of power. All should fear Phynnyx! OK, I have one last picture of Eternal Twilight’s shredder:

What an axeman . . . .

Bass: Apollo


OK, now this was definitely taken in someone’s basement. Did you notice the cord lying on the ground? Couldn’t he have unplugged the bass for the picture? He shouldn’t have worn that shirt, and the mustache is just creepy. Actually, it kind of adds to the whole Mexican luchador look. Notice the lens flare again, symbolizing the all-powerful . . . um . . . powers . . . of Eternal Twilight.




Drums: ???

When we discovered them, they were looking for a drummer. Judging by the first picture above, I wonder whether they ever actually had a drummer. In my experience, drummers are in short supply compared with guitar players. They’re even rarer than bass players. So they probably already had a band and were never desperate enough to hook up with these guys.

The Music


I think that’s supposed to be Lucifer there . . . I don’t know. I assume they just burned these on somebody’s computer and printed off the inserts in the same fashion. Now I wish to God I had bought this before they disappeared off the map. I listened to some of it off mp3.com, and there were actually drums, but those could have been added electronically, for all I know. It actually wasn’t that bad. Don’t get me wrong, it was bad. But worse stuff gets played on the radio today. The sad part is that all of it was on my extra hard drive—the one that crashed. If I remember correctly, it was kind of a mix of Dio, Mötley Crüe, and . . . um . . . Firehouse, or something. I really wish I could share it with all of you, but alas, it was not meant to be.

The Fate of Eternal Twilight

Well, apparently they’re not as eternal as they once thought. Their web site became basically a blank page, with a disclaimer that they were trying to get their stuff together, and Lucifer’s e-mail address. I e-mailed him in late 2001 or early 2002, I think, expressing our deepest regards for them and our wish to see them in concert. And we would have gone, too, despite the three hour plus drive, if only for the irony and, perhaps, a signed 8x10 glossy to pass on to my grandchildren some day. I didn’t get a response.
The best theory I can come up with is that they never found a drummer, and they just gave up on it. On the other hand, things could have gone more like this:
“Scott! Quit making so much noise!”
“Mom! I told you, call me Lucifer. And I’m 35 years old, don’t tell me what to do.”
“Lucy? Why do you want a girl’s name? Scott, as long as you’re living in my basement you’re living under my rules. Why can’t you get a job like your nice friend Apollo?”
“Mom! Cut it out!”
It’s anyone’s guess.

If anyone has any information on the whereabouts of Eternal Twilight, let me know!

I hope somebody from KC is reading this. If anyone ever saw this before, or even heard about them, I want to know.

8 comments:

  1. I'm originally from KC. I've never heard of these guys, but I am pretty sure that the "banner" behind them is not a banner but the logo of a place called "America's Pub" which is in KC's Westport district. And there's also a logo back there for 98 FM, which I know was in fact a rock station in KC (may still be). So those other details check out as possibly being true, although the band itself is unbelievable.

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  2. Maybe I should get in contact with America's Pub then. Thanks!

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  3. This was a real band and despite the somewhat cheesy look, they had some really solid music ability. The last I heard (2007) they were still without a drummer and the bass player left the band. The lead guitarist, who I think was the heart and soul of this band, was in talks with a record label in California. I saw Phynnyx play in person at several KC clubs and he is the best guitar player in the midwest bar none. I even heard a rumor that he was a runner up for Ozzy Osbourne's Ozzfest replacement of Zac Wylde a few years back. I will see what new information I can find out about Phynnyx and the band Eternal Twilight.

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  4. I have a hard time believing that someone who plays a BC Rich could even compare to Zakk Wylde, but I have to admit that if I remember correctly, I didn't think there was anything in particular bad about the guitars. It was mostly the vocals and the overall cheesiness which was evident in the music that bothered me.

    Thanks for the heads-up! I'll have to do some more research.

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  5. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10202599701772313&set=pb.1190033981.-2207520000.1393647643.&type=3&theater this who your looking for???? im married to the bass??

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  6. Very cool! Thank you! I haven't thought about this in a long time. Re-reading it 9 years later, I feel it's a little more mean-spirited than I'd like to be.

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  7. The drummer is my brother (as heard on the Sin album, seen wearing the skull mask in photos.) I don't know what the others are up to these days but I think you can safely call this band defunct.

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    1. Thanks for the info. That clears up all my questions, actually.

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