Psyclon Nine
Encyclopedia
Psyclon Nine is a musical group formed in 2000 in the San Francisco Bay Area
. While their early efforts are generally categorized as aggrotech, their more recent material has incorporated a disparate set of musical and aesthetic influences, notably industrial metal
. The group took a hiatus at the end of 2010 due to Nero Bellum's opiate addiction. According to a Facebook
status on their page, Nero is bringing Psyclon Nine back. On October 30th, 2011, Psyclon Nine played their first show since the hiatus in New York.
and Ministry
. Renamed Psyclon Nine they played a small festival headlined by See Colin Slash, whose frontman, Eric Gottesman, was promptly recruited as the band's third member.
show, and persuaded him to sign the band. The band's first album, Divine Infekt
was recorded shortly thereafter, produced and engineered by Da5id Din of Informatik
and din fiv, a electro-industrial/futurepop band on the local scene. The title track was remixed by Tactical Sekt
, and the album was released in 2003.
Marshall later said in a interview for Vampirefreaks: "Tactical Sekt remix left a bad taste in my mouth", and attributed that to Anthony Mathers of Tactical Sekt
political differences to his own overview on American politics
. He also said the incident made him not to collaborate with anyone out of the band (a belief he held strongly until We the Fallen).
The band toured lightly in the U.S. and Europe in support of the album, playing with bands including Dismantled
, Nocturne
, Feindflug
, Aslan Faction
, Grendel
, and American industrial rock figurehead Martin Atkins
on his spoken word tour.
.
After several months writing at home, the band had produced a complete album's worth of demo material. Most of the songs focused on Christianity, some actively hostile towards it, others discussing its history and influence, and the title track became "INRI
". The demo version of "Lamb of God" appears on the Noitekk compilation United I. Psyclon returned to Da5id Din's studio for mixing, and the completed album was released in April 2005 on Metropolis in the U.S. and Noitekk in Europe.
Psyclon made several major live appearances following the album release, including several dates opening for alternative act Mindless Self Indulgence
and a headlining slot at the German Wave-Gotik-Treffen festival. The MSI shows especially helped solidify the band's younger fanbase, which had been expanding from the traditional rivethead music crowd and out in to the larger alternative music population.
. Taking another step away from their terror EBM
roots, the album features black metal
-styled guitars prominently, and frequently complements them with blast beat
kick drums and high-pitched, shrieking vocals typical of black metal.
The music on Crwn Thy Frnicatr was written almost exclusively by Marshall, with only occasional contributions by Eric Gottesman. Some lyrics were written in conjunction with founding member Josef Heresy, but mainly handled by Marshall.
, scheduled for release on September 9, 2009. On that album and its preceding tours, Jon Siren of Kidneythieves, Mankind Is Obsolete
, and Hate Dept.
became Psyclon Nine's new drummer.
We the Fallen was well received. The album featured guests Brandan Schieppati
from Bleeding Through
, Gary Zon of Dismantled
, Jamison Boaz of Epsilon Zero, Johan van Roy of Suicide Commando
. We the Fallen fused more of a metal-styled influence, but was still clearly in the realm of electro-industrial/aggrotech.
, partly because their name is derived from Zyklon B
, an insecticide
best known for its use by Nazi Germany
during the Holocaust
. In response to the accusations, Nero stated that "people who think we're nazi's are fucking idiots and I don't want them listening to my music". To charges of supposed antisemitism, the band also pointed out that former member Eric Gottesman is Jewish and that their song "Requiem for the Christian Era" features lyrics from a Hebrew prayer
.
From early 2010 onwards, Marshall Goppert (Nero Bellum) has been accused of scamming many fans for money via Western Union
. As of August 2010, over 40 fans have reported personally sending money to Goppert for Psyclon Nine band merchandise via Western Union, and then not receiving what they had ordered. While the other band members/former band members strongly deny any association with these alleged scams, Goppert himself has not affirmed nor denied association with these scams. Since late August 2010, all band members aside from Goppert were removed from the Psyclon Nine Myspace
band page, therefore making Goppert the only member responsible for band merchandise.
On October 10, 2010, Marshall posted a new blog entry on his personal Myspace page that addresses the "scam", his drug addiction and the undetermined hiatus of Psyclon Nine. On October 31, 2011 Marshall posted a Facebook status on the Psyclon Nine page that Psyclon Nine is back again.
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
. While their early efforts are generally categorized as aggrotech, their more recent material has incorporated a disparate set of musical and aesthetic influences, notably industrial metal
Industrial metal
Industrial metal is a musical genre that draws from industrial music and many different types of heavy metal, using repeating metal guitar riffs, sampling, synthesizer or sequencer lines, and distorted vocals. Founding industrial metal acts include Ministry, Godflesh, and KMFDM.Industrial metal's...
. The group took a hiatus at the end of 2010 due to Nero Bellum's opiate addiction. According to a Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
status on their page, Nero is bringing Psyclon Nine back. On October 30th, 2011, Psyclon Nine played their first show since the hiatus in New York.
Early days
Psyclon Nine began in 2000 when Marshall Goppert (then using the name Marshall Carnage) and Josef Heresy began working on a guitar-oriented electronic project called "Defkon Sodomy", influenced by bands like KMFDMKMFDM
KMFDM is an industrial band led by German multi-instrumentalist Sascha Konietzko, who founded the group in 1984 as a performance art project...
and Ministry
Ministry (band)
Ministry is an American industrial metal band founded by lead singer Al Jourgensen in 1981. Originally a synthpop outfit, Ministry changed its style to industrial metal in the late 1980s. Ministry found mainstream success in the early 1990s with its most successful album Psalm 69: The Way to...
. Renamed Psyclon Nine they played a small festival headlined by See Colin Slash, whose frontman, Eric Gottesman, was promptly recruited as the band's third member.
Divine Infekt
Marshall met NoiTekk head Marco Gruhn at a San Francisco GrendelGrendel (band)
Grendel is a Dutch music group formed in 1997. Their music is in the Aggrotech genre. Their name originates from Beowulf.There also exists an unrelated Finnish powermetal band called Grendel, which released three albums so far .-History:Grendel started out with VLRK , and...
show, and persuaded him to sign the band. The band's first album, Divine Infekt
Divine Infekt
Divine Infekt is Psyclon Nine's first studio album, released on September 15, 2003 by NoiTekk.-Track listing:All songs were written by Ner0.# "Divine Infekt" – 4:01# "Tyranny" - 4:35# "Clinik" - 4:01# "Slaughter" - 3:41# "Resurrekt" - 4:31...
was recorded shortly thereafter, produced and engineered by Da5id Din of Informatik
Informatik
Informatik formerly known as Informätik is an electro-industrial/futurepop duo from Boston that was formed in the 1990s and is represented by Metropolis Records in the US and Dependent Records in Europe. Band members currently reside in San Francisco area...
and din fiv, a electro-industrial/futurepop band on the local scene. The title track was remixed by Tactical Sekt
Tactical Sekt
Tactical Sekt is an electro-industrial band formed in 2002. They use distorted vocals, EBM beats, and sampling. -History:Tactical Sekt was conceived by Anthony Mather in 2002 to 2003. Mather had experience with electro-industrial music in his former band, Aslan Faction...
, and the album was released in 2003.
Marshall later said in a interview for Vampirefreaks: "Tactical Sekt remix left a bad taste in my mouth", and attributed that to Anthony Mathers of Tactical Sekt
Tactical Sekt
Tactical Sekt is an electro-industrial band formed in 2002. They use distorted vocals, EBM beats, and sampling. -History:Tactical Sekt was conceived by Anthony Mather in 2002 to 2003. Mather had experience with electro-industrial music in his former band, Aslan Faction...
political differences to his own overview on American politics
American politics
American politics is an area of study within the academic discipline of political science. It is primarily, but not exclusively, studied by researchers in the United States...
. He also said the incident made him not to collaborate with anyone out of the band (a belief he held strongly until We the Fallen).
The band toured lightly in the U.S. and Europe in support of the album, playing with bands including Dismantled
Dismantled
Dismantled is an electronic music artist from the United States.-History:Dismantled is the product of an experiment that began in late 2000 by Gary Zon, who was attempting to create something similar to Front Line Assembly's sound...
, Nocturne
Nocturne
A nocturne is usually a musical composition that is inspired by, or evocative of, the night...
, Feindflug
Feindflug
' , is a controversial German electro-industrial band founded in 1995. Translated, the name means "attack-raid" or literally "foe-flight" ; it corresponds in military use to the French/English word "sortie".- Style and themes :...
, Aslan Faction
Aslan Faction
Aslan Faction is an Electro-industrial/Aggrotech band conceived and formed in mid 1999 by Anthony Mather and Lee Lauer near Oxford in the UK.-History:...
, Grendel
Grendel
Grendel is one of three antagonists, along with Grendel's mother and the dragon, in the Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf . Grendel is usually depicted as a monster, though this is the subject of scholarly debate. In the poem, Grendel is feared by all but Beowulf.-Story:The poem Beowulf is contained in...
, and American industrial rock figurehead Martin Atkins
Martin Atkins
Martin Clive Atkins is an English drummer and session musician, best known for his work in post-punk and industrial groups including Public Image Ltd., Ministry, Pigface, and Killing Joke...
on his spoken word tour.
INRI
Several tracks for the follow-up album had already been in the band's live rotation for some time when writing began in earnest. Those tracks were "Lamb of God", "Nothing Left", "Rape This World", "Faith:Disease", and an early, very different version of "The Feeble Mind". By the time the album began to take shape, the band had signed in the United States with Metropolis RecordsMetropolis Records
Metropolis Records is a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania based record label, distributor, and mail-order store specializing in the post-industrial field such as electro-industrial, synthpop, futurepop, darkwave, and gothic musical genres....
.
After several months writing at home, the band had produced a complete album's worth of demo material. Most of the songs focused on Christianity, some actively hostile towards it, others discussing its history and influence, and the title track became "INRI
INRI (Psyclon Nine album)
INRI is Psyclon Nine's second studio album, released on April 26, 2005 by Metropolis Records in the US, and NoiTekk in Germany. INRI comes from the Latin phrase which, translated into English, means "Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews". The songs are of the dark, aggrotech genre focusing on...
". The demo version of "Lamb of God" appears on the Noitekk compilation United I. Psyclon returned to Da5id Din's studio for mixing, and the completed album was released in April 2005 on Metropolis in the U.S. and Noitekk in Europe.
Psyclon made several major live appearances following the album release, including several dates opening for alternative act Mindless Self Indulgence
Mindless Self Indulgence
Mindless Self Indulgence is an American musical group formed in New York in 1997. Their music has a mixed style including rap, punk rock, alternative rock, electronica, techno and industrial...
and a headlining slot at the German Wave-Gotik-Treffen festival. The MSI shows especially helped solidify the band's younger fanbase, which had been expanding from the traditional rivethead music crowd and out in to the larger alternative music population.
Crwn Thy Frnicatr
In 2006, Psyclon Nine released their third full-length album, entitled Crwn Thy FrnicatrCrwn Thy Frnicatr
Crwn Thy Frnicatr is Psyclon Nine's third studio album, released on October 23, 2006 by US label, Metropolis Records, and on November 10, 2006 by German label, NoiTekk...
. Taking another step away from their terror EBM
EBM
EBM may stand for:* Electron beam melting, a type of additive manufacturing for metal parts* Electronic body music, a music genre* "Epic Beard Man", see AC Transit Bus fight* Espresso Book Machine, a print-on-demand book printing press...
roots, the album features black metal
Black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....
-styled guitars prominently, and frequently complements them with blast beat
Blast beat
A blast beat is a drum beat often associated with extreme metal and grindcore, although its usage predates the genres, and is utilised by many different styles of metal...
kick drums and high-pitched, shrieking vocals typical of black metal.
The music on Crwn Thy Frnicatr was written almost exclusively by Marshall, with only occasional contributions by Eric Gottesman. Some lyrics were written in conjunction with founding member Josef Heresy, but mainly handled by Marshall.
We the Fallen
Marshall Goppert appeared on internet channel NoisescapeTV in 2008 and said that he was in the studio working on an album entitled We the FallenWe the Fallen
We the Fallen is the fourth studio album by American industrial metal band Psyclon Nine. The album was released on September 8, 2009 through Metropolis Records. This is the first album released by Psyclon Nine with new members Vlixx and Jon Siren....
, scheduled for release on September 9, 2009. On that album and its preceding tours, Jon Siren of Kidneythieves, Mankind Is Obsolete
Mankind Is Obsolete
“Mankind Is Obsolete,” also known as “MKIO,” is a female-fronted industrial rock band, based in Los Angeles, California.-Formation and Metamorph :...
, and Hate Dept.
Hate Dept.
Hate Dept. is a synthesizer-laden post punk band, created in 1991 by Seibold. The group releases albums and performs music in the same vein as Nine Inch Nails, Skinny Puppy and The Prodigy. Seibold is a multi-instrumentalist who manages to write, record and release Hate Dept. albums without the aid...
became Psyclon Nine's new drummer.
We the Fallen was well received. The album featured guests Brandan Schieppati
Brandan Schieppati
Brandan Schieppati is the singer of metalcore band Bleeding Through. He is Straight Edge and lives in Orange County with his wife Nicole. While best known through his musical career, he was also a late-round draft pick for Major League Baseball's Montreal Expos out of high school, around 1998...
from Bleeding Through
Bleeding Through
Bleeding Through is an American metalcore band from Orange County, California. Formed in 1999, the band blends influences stemming from modern hardcore punk, symphonic black metal, and melodic death metal...
, Gary Zon of Dismantled
Dismantled
Dismantled is an electronic music artist from the United States.-History:Dismantled is the product of an experiment that began in late 2000 by Gary Zon, who was attempting to create something similar to Front Line Assembly's sound...
, Jamison Boaz of Epsilon Zero, Johan van Roy of Suicide Commando
Suicide Commando
Suicide Commando is a Belgian electro-industrial act created by Johan van Roy in 1986.- History :Johan van Roy, Suicide Commando's only member, began experimenting with electronic music in 1986. Three years later he released his first tape under the moniker Suicide Commando, and made an appearance...
. We the Fallen fused more of a metal-styled influence, but was still clearly in the realm of electro-industrial/aggrotech.
Controversy
In interviews, the band has stated that they are frequently accused of NazismNazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
, partly because their name is derived from Zyklon B
Zyklon B
Zyklon B was the trade name of a cyanide-based pesticide infamous for its use by Nazi Germany to kill human beings in gas chambers of extermination camps during the Holocaust. The "B" designation indicates one of two types of Zyklon...
, an insecticide
Insecticide
An insecticide is a pesticide used against insects. They include ovicides and larvicides used against the eggs and larvae of insects respectively. Insecticides are used in agriculture, medicine, industry and the household. The use of insecticides is believed to be one of the major factors behind...
best known for its use by Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
during the Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
. In response to the accusations, Nero stated that "people who think we're nazi's are fucking idiots and I don't want them listening to my music". To charges of supposed antisemitism, the band also pointed out that former member Eric Gottesman is Jewish and that their song "Requiem for the Christian Era" features lyrics from a Hebrew prayer
Prayer
Prayer is a form of religious practice that seeks to activate a volitional rapport to a deity through deliberate practice. Prayer may be either individual or communal and take place in public or in private. It may involve the use of words or song. When language is used, prayer may take the form of...
.
From early 2010 onwards, Marshall Goppert (Nero Bellum) has been accused of scamming many fans for money via Western Union
Western Union
The Western Union Company is a financial services and communications company based in the United States. Its North American headquarters is in Englewood, Colorado. Up until 2006, Western Union was the best-known U.S...
. As of August 2010, over 40 fans have reported personally sending money to Goppert for Psyclon Nine band merchandise via Western Union, and then not receiving what they had ordered. While the other band members/former band members strongly deny any association with these alleged scams, Goppert himself has not affirmed nor denied association with these scams. Since late August 2010, all band members aside from Goppert were removed from the Psyclon Nine Myspace
Myspace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
band page, therefore making Goppert the only member responsible for band merchandise.
On October 10, 2010, Marshall posted a new blog entry on his personal Myspace page that addresses the "scam", his drug addiction and the undetermined hiatus of Psyclon Nine. On October 31, 2011 Marshall posted a Facebook status on the Psyclon Nine page that Psyclon Nine is back again.
...
There were only a very small handful of people who could still stand to be around me. It was during this time in which, I was attempting to live off of merch sales. I'm being honest with you when I tell you that I had NEVER intended to rip anyone off. NEVER. However, I did get way over my head with sales, and my drug habit kept me from ever shipping anything out. I kept telling myself that I would ship it all out on Friday, then Monday, then Friday again. After months of this, I completely lost track of who I even sold to. This has kept me up nights on so many occasions. Eventually, I reached a point where I had decided that I had made too big a mess of my life and that I should just take my own life.
...
Current members
- Nero Bellum (Marshall Goppert) - Lead Vocals (2000–2010, 2011-)
- Abbey Nex - Drums (2005–2006) Bass (2007–2009, 2011-)
- Rotny Ford - Guitar, Synth (2006–2007, 2008–2009, 2011-)
- Vlixx - Synth/keyboard (2009, 2011-)
- Jon Siren - Drums (2009, 2011-)
Former members
- Josef Heresy − synth (2000–2008) guitar (2006–2008)
- Eric Gottesman − synth (2000–2006) bass (2004–2006, 2007)
- Daniel Columbine - Bass (2006)
- Sevin - Synth/keyboard (2006–2008)
- Daniel Fox - Drums (2007–2008)
Discography
- Divine InfektDivine InfektDivine Infekt is Psyclon Nine's first studio album, released on September 15, 2003 by NoiTekk.-Track listing:All songs were written by Ner0.# "Divine Infekt" – 4:01# "Tyranny" - 4:35# "Clinik" - 4:01# "Slaughter" - 3:41# "Resurrekt" - 4:31...
(2003) - INRIINRI (Psyclon Nine album)INRI is Psyclon Nine's second studio album, released on April 26, 2005 by Metropolis Records in the US, and NoiTekk in Germany. INRI comes from the Latin phrase which, translated into English, means "Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews". The songs are of the dark, aggrotech genre focusing on...
(2005) - Crwn Thy FrnicatrCrwn Thy FrnicatrCrwn Thy Frnicatr is Psyclon Nine's third studio album, released on October 23, 2006 by US label, Metropolis Records, and on November 10, 2006 by German label, NoiTekk...
(2006) - We the FallenWe the FallenWe the Fallen is the fourth studio album by American industrial metal band Psyclon Nine. The album was released on September 8, 2009 through Metropolis Records. This is the first album released by Psyclon Nine with new members Vlixx and Jon Siren....
(2009)
External links
- Official website(no longer exists)
- Biography on Metropolis Records (US label)
- NoiTekk (European label)
- http://vampirefreaks.com/psyclon_ninePsyclon Nine on VampireFreaksVampirefreaksVampireFreaks.com is an online community for the Gothic–industrial subcultures. It was created by site owner Jethro Berelson in 1999. It began with a small number of forums dedicated to Gothic–industrial music....
]