Heroin (band)
Encyclopedia
Heroin was a short-lived but influential underground post-hardcore
band, originating in San Diego in 1989.
subgenre of hardcore punk. They were noted for the psychological intensity of their songs, which tended to be very short and include extraordinarily fast drumming and screamed vocals
. Heroin only released a handful of vinyl EPs and singles, primarily on San Diego record label Gravity Records
; the group's debut 7" was also Gravity's first release. These releases were typically packaged in enigmatic ways, such as in a sleeve that looked like a grocery bag. A complete discography was later compiled on the Heroin CD in 1997, also issued on Gravity.
The band split in 1993 after its members decided amicably to move on to other projects. Members went on to play in groups such as Antioch Arrow
, Clikatat Ikatowi, and Second Story Window; vocalist Matt Anderson also worked with A Minor Forest
, Mohinder
, and Angel Hair. Matt and Scott even played in the legendary San Diego punk/hardcore band, Battalion of Saints
from 2005-2008.
, lead singer of Thursday
, named Heroin as one of his major influences. Allmusic called the group "one of the defining innovators in early '90s hardcore". In 2008, Alternative Press
named Heroin as a group of significant interest in its profile of "23 Bands who Shaped Punk", writing that "Heroin never received overdue credit for inspiring the aesthetic that Story of the Year
, From First to Last
and others eventually took to the bank."
Emo subculture and history website Fourfa describes Heroin's self-titled LP as "A wall of furious, chaotic noise, vocal-chord-shredding screaming, lyrics of ultimate disillusionment and pain, and just the right amount of melody to pull things together without interrupting the flow of angst."
Post-hardcore
Post-hardcore is a genre of music that developed from hardcore punk, itself an offshoot of the broader punk rock movement. Like post-punk, post-hardcore is a term for a broad constellation of groups...
band, originating in San Diego in 1989.
History
Heroin was a forerunner of the screamoScreamo
Screamo, though used loosely to generally describe music that features screamed vocals, is actually a musical subgenre of hardcore punk which predominantly evolved from emo, among other genres, in the early 1990s...
subgenre of hardcore punk. They were noted for the psychological intensity of their songs, which tended to be very short and include extraordinarily fast drumming and screamed vocals
Screaming (music)
Screaming is a vocal technique that is most popular in subgenres of heavy metal, punk and hard rock, including metalcore, deathcore, post-hardcore, groove metal, black metal, and grindcore...
. Heroin only released a handful of vinyl EPs and singles, primarily on San Diego record label Gravity Records
Gravity Records (US)
Gravity Records is an underground independent record label from San Diego. It was formed in 1991 by Matt Anderson, a member of the influential underground band Heroin. It has been central in developing and promoting the "San Diego sound" - an idiosyncratic form of post-hardcore with loose, chaotic...
; the group's debut 7" was also Gravity's first release. These releases were typically packaged in enigmatic ways, such as in a sleeve that looked like a grocery bag. A complete discography was later compiled on the Heroin CD in 1997, also issued on Gravity.
The band split in 1993 after its members decided amicably to move on to other projects. Members went on to play in groups such as Antioch Arrow
Antioch Arrow
Antioch Arrow, from San Diego, California, was on the seminal post-hardcore label Gravity Records, responsible for putting San Diego on the map in the mid-90's as one of the centers of the movement....
, Clikatat Ikatowi, and Second Story Window; vocalist Matt Anderson also worked with A Minor Forest
A Minor Forest
A Minor Forest was a San Francisco-based math rock band in the 1990s. They were musically related to the Louisville scene of post rock groups like Slint and had personal connections to the San Diego scene of Three Mile Pilot and related bands...
, Mohinder
Mohinder (band)
Mohinder was a four-piece post-hardcore band from Cupertino, California. Despite their brief existence, they were considered an important feature of the California hardcore punk scene, and helped to define the musical genre now known as screamo. Mohinder songs tended to be short in duration, and...
, and Angel Hair. Matt and Scott even played in the legendary San Diego punk/hardcore band, Battalion of Saints
Battalion of Saints
Battalion of Saints is a hardcore punk rock band from San Diego, California that was founded in 1980. They went through numerous lineups until breaking up in 1985. Singer George Anthony reformed the band in 1995 with Terry "Tezz" Roberts Battalion of Saints is a hardcore punk rock band from San...
from 2005-2008.
Posthumous legacy
Though the group was active for only four years and received little attention during the band's actual lifespan, the release of the Gravity compilation, as well as later accolades, resulted in their receiving considerable posthumous acclaim. Geoff RicklyGeoff Rickly
Geoffrey William Rickly Geoffrey William Rickly Geoffrey William Rickly (born March 8, 1979 is the lead singer and songwriter of Thursday, an American rock band from New Brunswick, New Jersey. They have released six studio albums. Rickly grew up in Dumont, New Jersey...
, lead singer of Thursday
Thursday (band)
Thursday were an American rock band from New Brunswick, New Jersey. Formed in 1997, the group has released six full-length albums, their most recent being No Devolución, which was released in April 2011 on Epitaph Records...
, named Heroin as one of his major influences. Allmusic called the group "one of the defining innovators in early '90s hardcore". In 2008, Alternative Press
Alternative Press (music magazine)
Alternative Press is an American music magazine based in Cleveland, Ohio. It generally provides readers with band interviews, photos, information on upcoming releases, and music charts. It was founded in 1985 by Mike Shea, who is the current president....
named Heroin as a group of significant interest in its profile of "23 Bands who Shaped Punk", writing that "Heroin never received overdue credit for inspiring the aesthetic that Story of the Year
Story of the Year
Story of the Year is an American rock band formed in St. Louis, Missouri in 2000. The band was initially named 67 North but was then changed to Big Blue Monkey...
, From First to Last
From First to Last
From First to Last was an American rock band based out of Los Angeles, originally hailing from Valdosta, Georgia and Tampa, Florida. The band released their first EP titled Aesthetic in 2003 with vocalist Phillip Reardon, followed by Dear Diary, My Teen Angst Has a Body Count in 2004 and Heroine in...
and others eventually took to the bank."
Emo subculture and history website Fourfa describes Heroin's self-titled LP as "A wall of furious, chaotic noise, vocal-chord-shredding screaming, lyrics of ultimate disillusionment and pain, and just the right amount of melody to pull things together without interrupting the flow of angst."
Members
- Matt Anderson - vocals. See also: Rice, Spacehorse, End of the Line, Battalion Of SaintsBattalion of SaintsBattalion of Saints is a hardcore punk rock band from San Diego, California that was founded in 1980. They went through numerous lineups until breaking up in 1985. Singer George Anthony reformed the band in 1995 with Terry "Tezz" Roberts Battalion of Saints is a hardcore punk rock band from San...
. - Scott Bartoloni - guitar. See also: Clikatat Ikatowi, End of the Line, Statue, Forced Down, Spacehorse, Battalion of SaintsBattalion of SaintsBattalion of Saints is a hardcore punk rock band from San Diego, California that was founded in 1980. They went through numerous lineups until breaking up in 1985. Singer George Anthony reformed the band in 1995 with Terry "Tezz" Roberts Battalion of Saints is a hardcore punk rock band from San...
. - Ron Johnson - bass. See also: Second Story Window.
- Aaron Montaigne - drums. See also: Antioch ArrowAntioch ArrowAntioch Arrow, from San Diego, California, was on the seminal post-hardcore label Gravity Records, responsible for putting San Diego on the map in the mid-90's as one of the centers of the movement....
, Tarot Bolero, End of the Line, The Chandeliers, Dangerous Boys Club
Discography
- 1991 All About Heroin 7" - (Vinyl Communications)
- 1992 Heroin 7" - (Gravity RecordsGravity Records (US)Gravity Records is an underground independent record label from San Diego. It was formed in 1991 by Matt Anderson, a member of the influential underground band Heroin. It has been central in developing and promoting the "San Diego sound" - an idiosyncratic form of post-hardcore with loose, chaotic...
) - 1993 Heroin 12" - (Gravity Records, Vermiform)
- 1997 Heroin CD - (Gravity Records)