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Wrekking Machine formed in Santa Cruz, CA during the summer of 1986, and within a year had solidified a stable lineup consisting of Shawn Smith on guitar/vocals, Doug Livingston on guitar, Nick Felczer on bass, and Sam InchBamInch Adato behind the kit. The group recorded the I Am Born demo in June of 1987 at Harbor Records in Santa Cruz, CA-four songs of aggressive thrash that retained a classic heavy metal influence-before Scott Sargeant joined up on second guitar, allowing Shawn to focus solely on fronting the band. An unreleased four-track demo, Fatal Mistake, followed; and in March of 1988, the Shut Your Mouth and Let Us Play!! rehearsal demo was circulated, featuring 14 tracks-including a cover of NUCLEAR ASSAULT's InchHang the Pope.Inch Later that same year, the two-song Merge!! demo was tracked once again at Harbor Records-the material starting to reveal a harder-edged sound with a hint more sarcastic humor.In early-1989, Nick and Doug relocated to San Francisco to be closer to the high-profile Bay Area thrash scene, and it was time for the next Wrekking Machine demo, Somethin' Happened, in July. Recorded at Telluride Studios in Palo Alto, CA, the tunes showcased signs of the more technical direction the band would fully develop in the years to come. Somethin' Happened was heavily promoted with a massive amount of shows alongside such acts as KING DIAMOND, MANOWAR, CANDLEMASS, ANNIHILATOR, SACRED REICH, M.O.D., DARK ANGEL, DEFIANCE, HEATHEN, ATROPHY, and many others.In 1991, Scott Sargeant left to join LÄÄZ ROCKIT, and was eventually replaced by new guitarist Mike Wells as Wrekking Machine began working on a nine-song full-length at Old West Studios in San Francisco. Tentatively titled Hear Me Now, the album was originally due out by the end of 1991 on Resurrection Music in the U.S. and Demolition Records in Europe. Though performing on the bulk of the tracks,
