As Deuce
Throughout the early eighties Deuce played a slew of live shows, opening for many of the big name national acts. They had constructed an elaborate stage show with various props, staircases, pyro, etc. Deuce established a solid name in the underground, and extensive gigging had given them a brutal live show where often bodies lay exhausted in the parking lot, even when the headliner was on.

They also recorded 5 or 6 demos that found their way to the tape trading market in modest numbers. In 1984, Deuce went into the studio to record a demo of the songs “Wrecking Crew, Metal Paranoia, and Reach for Your Sword”.

The demo was a huge step forward, and the tape started to get allot of circulation in the metal underground, and fueled the appetite of metalheads who were already following Deuce from reading various articles in Dutch mags. A small label in New York called Torrid picked up on the demo and Deuce became, along with the mighty Exodus, a Torrid record act. Just before signing the contract, Mike Francis quit as Deuce's bass player, and Tim O'Connor entered.

As Tension

The band flew to LA to record their debut album, “Breaking Point” at Capitol Records. During their recording, it was announced that the name Deuce was taken, so the band switched names to Tension. The band knew something was amiss with the record company when the album took a whole year to come out! When it finally did, a flood of critical acclaim followed, and Tension got killer articles in the large mags of the day like KERRANG, AARDSCHOK and others. Despite incredible reviews, the label refused any support, and the band never toured or gigged off the strength of the album.

By that point it was clear that local gigging could not achieve the goals Tension had for themselves, and there was no outside help coming. Timmy Meadows, the guitarist, and Billy Giddings, the drummer, were becoming more and more immersed in their own business pursuits. In 1987, Tom gave the band an ultimatum: move to an area where metal was more popular like New York, LA, or even Europe, or disband. When the band fell back into the same rut of local gigs and outside distractions, Tom left, and Tension was over. Tom later went on to co-form the band Wardog, and unfortunately, re-step the same problems that plagued Tension.

In the years that followed, Tension grew as a premier thrash metal act. History would show that indeed there was a future for the band if they had wanted it bad enough.

In 1997, Tension's best works, along with liner notes and loads of photos, was released on a CD called Epitaph. The CD received worldwide acclaim as the product that Tension should have done from the beginning.

Source : http://www.gattismetal.com/history/tension/