Banshee with its original lightning-bolt SFacebook
Banshee / Since 1985

The Banshee story.

Kansas City roots. A sound that traveled. Meet the players and trace the songs through four decades.

Banshee seated together under red and blue lights in an archive promo photo
From the band archiveOpen the photo vault
Kansas City / Since 1985

The songs.
The players.

Four players met in a Kansas City warehouse. Their songs took Banshee from the local stage to Metal Blade, Atlantic and MTV.

The voices and lineups changed. The records kept coming. Follow the band from the first five songs to the heavier sound of Mindslave and The Madness.

1985 to today

Every era.
Still Banshee.

Pick a chapter. Follow the records, the shows and the people who made them.

1985Chapter 01 / 19

Four players. One warehouse.

Banshee takes shape in a Kansas City music store warehouse in the summer of 1985. Singer Tommy Lee Flood and bassist Chuck Hopkins come from Lick. Guitarist Terry Dunn comes from Frodo, and drummer Kent Burnham from Crypt Keeper. Those four players form the first lineup.

  • Band-supplied biography
The early Banshee lineup in a color promo photograph
From the band and release archives
Use the arrow keys on the timeline to move through the years.
Read the full history All 19 chapters
  1. 1985

    Four players. One warehouse.

    Banshee takes shape in a Kansas City music store warehouse in the summer of 1985. Singer Tommy Lee Flood and bassist Chuck Hopkins come from Lick. Guitarist Terry Dunn comes from Frodo, and drummer Kent Burnham from Crypt Keeper. Those four players form the first lineup.

    • Band-supplied biography
  2. 1986

    The first five songs

    The band puts out Cry in the Night through its own Snowblind label. Flood, Dunn, Hopkins and Burnham set down five tracks, including We Want You and Back Your Way. The EP gives their live sound a record of its own and draws interest beyond the Midwest.

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  3. 1988

    Metal Blade picks up the EP

    Metal Blade releases Cry in the Night again in 1988. A record that began as a band release now reaches the label’s wider metal audience. Its mix of high vocals, hard riffs and short, direct songs becomes the first chapter many listeners hear.

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  4. 1988

    We Want You leads the charge

    We Want You opens Metal Massacre IX. The compilation places Banshee alongside bands from across the metal underground. For fans finding new music through the Metal Blade series, it offers a three-minute introduction to the Kansas City band.

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  5. Late 1980s

    Bill Westfall joins on bass

    After Hopkins leaves, Kansas City bassist Bill Westfall joins Flood, Dunn and Burnham. This lineup makes Race Against Time and Take ’Em by Storm. Westfall’s place in the band also appears in the period promo photographs preserved in the archive.

  6. 1989

    Race Against Time

    Banshee signs with Atlantic through A&R man Jason Flom. Race Against Time follows in 1989, with eleven tracks and a broader melodic sound. Flood’s voice and Dunn’s guitar lead the record, backed by Westfall and Burnham. The songs range from Missing You to the fast title track.

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  7. 1989

    On Headbangers Ball

    Shoot Down the Night brings Banshee to MTV’s Headbangers Ball. The video gives the group a national screen as the Atlantic album reaches listeners. The song remains a link between the band’s metal roots and the more melodic side of Race Against Time.

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  8. 1993

    Back on their own label

    After the Atlantic period, Banshee releases Take ’Em by Storm on Snowblind in 1993. Color Me, Fight and Memories form part of a set written during the years around the major-label record. The band parts ways soon after, leaving three releases for fans to seek out.

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  9. 1999–2000

    The songs return to the stage

    Kansas City reunion shows bring Banshee back together around the turn of the century. The band’s history records shows in 1999 and 2000, followed by a small remastered CD run. The early records keep finding listeners while the players work on other projects.

  10. 2008

    Back together at Rocklahoma

    Flood, Dunn and Burnham return for Rocklahoma with Tyson Leslie on bass. The festival puts the old songs in front of a live crowd again. Dunn later credits Leslie with stepping in for the show and helping make the reunion work.

  11. 2008

    Another turn for Take Em by Storm

    A new edition of Take ’Em by Storm adds Live for Music (The Slam). The band’s old website offers the first three releases again on CD and through digital stores. Fans can return to the records while the group starts looking toward new material.

    • Original band website and MySpace archive
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  12. 2011

    George Call steps to the mic

    Dunn begins working with George Call, known for ASKA and Omen. Their partnership changes the voice of Banshee and opens a heavier chapter. In his 2020 interview, Dunn describes hearing Call sing and knowing he wanted him on the next record.

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  13. 2012

    A heavier voice on Mindslave

    Call, Dunn, Hopkins and drummer Marty Schiermann record Mindslave for Snowblind. Songs written between 2007 and 2012 draw on real events and harder subjects. Dunn and Call work on the lyrics together. Hopkins returns to the bass role he held on the first EP.

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  14. 2018

    Mindslave reaches vinyl

    No Life Til Metal gives Mindslave a new vinyl and CD edition on August 31. Rob Colwell handles the remaster, with layout by Scott Waters. The release brings the heavier record back into print after its first limited CD run.

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  15. 2019

    Inside The Madness

    The Madness arrives on July 9 through Visionary Noise. Its three acts move from Crash Landing through Shattered Sanity to Healing. Call and Dunn are joined by Scot Sutherland and Paul Thompson. Steve Susman contributes lyrics and serves as executive producer; Dunn produces the record.

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  16. 2020

    The old records keep moving

    Take ’Em by Storm returns on vinyl and CD through No Life Til Metal on January 17. Rob Colwell remasters the audio, and the CD adds a new booklet with photos and liner notes. The reissue gives another generation a way into the 1993 songs.

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  17. 2021

    Saving the tapes. Adding a new voice.

    Dunn and Hopkins recover the early master tapes and have them transferred to digital. During that work, Call records a new vocal for Cry in the Night. Keith Knight adds backing vocals, and Hopkins takes the recordings to Rainbow Studios in Omaha for the mix.

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  18. 2023

    Storm the Gates

    Storm the Gates follows as a single on September 24, 2023. It adds another song to a catalog that now spans the warehouse days, the Atlantic album, the reunions and the records with George Call. The music carries the story forward.

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  19. 2024

    Cabal CD reissues

    Cabal Records releases new CD editions. Its Mindslave remaster arrives on April 8. The Madness and a CD pairing Race Against Time with Cry in the Night follow on May 20. The label also lists 2024 remasters of Race Against Time and Take ’Em by Storm.

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Voices / Strings / Rhythm

The players.

George CallVocals
Mindslave and beyond

The voice on Mindslave and The Madness. Call brings his work with ASKA and Omen to Banshee, and writes with Dunn.

Terry DunnGuitar · Founder
Founding member

The Kansas City guitarist who started Banshee. From the first EP through The Madness, his riffs and songs form the core of the band.

Chuck HopkinsBass
Founding member

The original bassist. Hopkins played on Cry in the Night and returned for Mindslave. He later worked with Dunn to preserve the early master tapes.

Vinnie E. ParmaDrums
Modern lineup

Banshee’s drummer in the lineup listed on the band’s current site.

From the press

In the reviews.

Three records. Three takes.
Read the full reviews for context.

Race Against Time

“a highly commercial melodically infused rock/metal blend”

Jay RobertsLimelight Magazine October 2020
Mindslave

“George Call is a fantastic vocalist”

Scott WatersNo Life Til Metal Review reprinted by the label
The Madness

“a very cohesive sound”

OlivierSleaze Roxx January 2020
Keep digging

The history has a soundtrack.

Explore the music
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