Repulsion (band)

Repulsion is an American grindcore band from Flint, Michigan, founded in 1984.

Repulsion
Repulsion performing live in 2009. From left to right: Mike Beams, Scott Carlson, Col Jones, Matt Olivo.
Background information
Also known as
  • Tempter (1984)
  • Ultraviolence (1984)
  • Genocide (1984–1986)
OriginFlint, Michigan, United States
GenresGrindcore,[1] hardcore punk,[2] thrash metal (early)[2]
Years active1984–1985,[3][4] 1985–1988, 1990–1993, 2003–present
LabelsRelapse
Associated actsDeath
MembersScott Carlson
Matt Olivo
Chris Moore
Past members
  • James Auten
  • Phill Hines
  • Aaron Freeman
  • Dave 'Grave' Hollingshead
  • Col Jones
  • Tom 'Fish' Perro
  • Matt Harvey
  • Mike Beams
  • Marissa Martinez

History

Matt Olivo and Scott Carlson, with bassist Sean MacDonald, formed Tempter in 1984, a metal act covering Bay Area thrash metal bands, such as Slayer and Metallica. The group's sound became increasingly infused with hardcore punk when Phil Hines, of Flint hardcore punk band Dissonance, joined as a drummer.[5] They juggled band names, first renaming themselves Ultraviolence and then Genocide before recording their first demo in 1984. In spite of their growing popularity in the underground Genocide struggled to survive and faced difficulty maintaining a consistent lineup.

In the summer of 1985 Chuck Schuldiner, of pioneering death metal act Death, invited Carlson and Olivo to Florida to complete the Death lineup. The two parties failed to settle on a uniform creative direction and the merger proved short lived. Carlson and Olivo returned to Flint that summer, determined to reform Genocide. Local punk Dave 'Grave' Hollingshead was recruited as drummer, after Carlson and Olivo saw an article about Hollingshead being arrested for grave robbery.[6]

In 1985 the reformed Genocide recorded the Violent Death demo tape, with Carlson assuming bass duties, and resumed playing live locally. In late 1985 Aaron Freeman was invited into the band as a second guitarist. With their line-up fleshed out, Genocide recorded in a studio for the first time to lay down the tracks for what was supposed to be their first album The Stench of Burning Death – it ended up being their third demo. By 1986 Repulsion's trademark style had matured; characterised by raspy shouted vocals, extremely distorted down-tuned guitars, overdriven punkish riffs, absurd rambling solos interjected as if only as an afterthought, rumbling bass lines, and machine-gun drumming. Repulsion was experimenting with a hammering, static clouded, lo-fi sound that was on a level of extreme that had been touched on by few bands before. To complement the band's sound they penned gruesome lyrics; focusing on fantastic apocalyptic themes ranging from zombie epidemics to nuclear war.

Finally in 1989 Repulsion's material enjoyed modest, albeit posthumous, exposure when UK grindcore pioneers Carcass distributed a Repulsion compilation titled Horrified on their own Necrosis Records label; a subsidiary of Earache Records. With interest in Repulsion rekindled, the band decided to reform in 1990. They resumed playing live with the (almost) 'classic' Repulsion lineup: Scott Carlson bass and vocals, Aaron Freeman on guitar, and Dave Grave on drums; Matt Olivo, then serving in the army, filled in as a second guitarist when possible. Repulsion recorded two self-financed demos in 1991: Rebirth, and their Final Demo, often criticised as lacking the drive and intensity of the band's earlier material. Later that year they managed to release a single on Relapse entitled Excruciation. In spite of new material the band broke up yet again in 1993. Scott Carlson went on to play in Cathedral briefly, the rest of the band departed for short-lived projects or simply returned to everyday life. Relapse re-released Horrified again in 2003, drawing attention to Repulsion once more, and prompting the band to resume live performance. In 2004 Repulsion also released a live DVD.

In 2008, Repulsion opened for At the Gates on their "Suicidal Final Tour" in California, along with Darkest Hour and Municipal Waste.

Venom, Hellhammer, Slayer, Slaughter, Exodus,[7] Crucifix[5], and Discharge have been repeatedly cited in interviews as major influences. Various bands have recorded covers of Repulsion songs, including Napalm Death, Impaled and Entombed.

Members

Current

Source:[8]

  • Scott Carlson - vocals (1984-1985, 1985–1988, 1990-1993, 2003–present), bass (1985–1988, 1990-1993, 2003–present)
  • Matt Olivo - guitar (1984-1985, 1985–1988, 1990-1993, 2003–present)
  • Chris Moore - drums (2014–present)

Former
  • James Auten - drums (1984)[3]
  • Sean MacDonald - bass (1985)
  • Phill Hines - drums (1984)[3]
  • Aaron Freeman - guitar (1986-1988, 1990-1993, 2003–2005)
  • Dave 'Grave' Hollingshead - drums (1986-1988, 1990-1993, 2003–2005)
  • Col Jones - drums (2005-2014)
  • Tom 'Fish' Perro - drums (1986)
  • Matt Harvey - guitar (2005-2008)
  • Mike Beams - guitar (2008-2011)
  • Marissa Martinez - guitar (2011-2013)

Timeline

Discography

Demos
  • Rehearsal Tape (1984)
  • Stench of Burning Death (1984)
  • Violent Death (1985)
  • WFBE (1986)
  • Slaughter of the Innocent (1986)
  • Rebirth (1991)
  • Final Demo (1991)

Single
  • "Excruciation" (Relapse Records, 1991)

Album
  • Horrified (Necrosis Records, 1989; Relapse Records, 1992, 2003; Southern Lord Records, 2006)

DVD
  • Necrothology (2004)

Split
  • Relapse Singles Series Vol. 3 (Relapse Records, 2004)

References
  1. Ramadier, Laurent; Coe, Matt (2016-01-05). "Repulsion and Terrorizer, the Bands That Started Grindcore, Are Back". LA Weekly. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  2. O'Neill, Andrew (13 July 2017). A History of Heavy Metal. Headline. p. 123. ISBN 9781472241467. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  3. Mudrian, Albert. Choosing Death: The Improbable History of Death Metal & Grindcore.
  4. O'Connor, Andy (21 Aug 2012). "Scott Carlson of Repulsion at The Power of The Riff 2010". brooklynvegan.com/category/metal/. Retrieved 6 Jun 2020. The band was ahead of its time -- they were pushing thrash and punk into limits that would become the blueprints for grindcore music. Of course, there wasn't "grindcore" when Repulsion were first around.
  5. ROCHE, JASON. "GENOCIDE / REPULSION". voicesfromthedarkside.de. Archived from the original on 13 Jun 2013. Retrieved 6 Jun 2020. The drummer we had was Phil at the time, it was so easy to communicate and he was a solid drummer, he was a Thrash drummer but he wasn’t like doing blast beats or that kind of shit, he wasn’t doing like double bass shit and stuff like that and he’s lot of fun.
  6. Slave to the Grind, Death by Digital, 2019
  7. ROCHE, JASON. "GENOCIDE / REPULSION". voicesfromthedarkside.de. Archived from the original on 13 Jun 2013. Retrieved 6 Jun 2020. As for Paul Baloff, I didn't know him but I was heavily influenced by the "Bonded By Blood" LP
  8. "Repulsion". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
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