Biohazard is an American heavy metal band formed in Brooklyn, New York in 1987. They are acknowledged as one of the earliest bands to fuse hardcore punk and heavy metal with elements of hip hop. The earliest lineup consisted of bassist/vocalist Evan Seinfeld, guitarist Bobby Hambel, and drummer Anthony Meo. Guitarist/vocalist Billy Graziadei
would join the band soon after, changing the band to a four-piece.
Since January 2012, the lineup has consisted of Billy Graziadei, Bobby
Hambel, Danny Schuler, and Scott Roberts.
| Origin |
Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
|---|
| Genres |
Heavy metal, hardcore punk, crossover thrash, rapcore,[1] alternative metal |
| Years active |
1987–2006, 2008–present |
| Labels |
Mercury, Nuclear Blast, Roadrunner, Sanctuary, Warner Bros. |
| Associated acts |
Damnocracy, Suicide City, A Pale Horse Named Death, Onyx |
| Website |
www.biohazard.com |
|
| Members |
- Billy Graziadei
- Bobby Hambel
- Danny Schuler
- Scott Roberts
|
|
| Past members |
- Evan Seinfeld
- Anthony Meo
- Rob Echeverria
- Leo Curley
- Carmine Vincent
|
Band history
Early years
The band formed in
Brooklyn in 1987. Their first demo, released in 1988, caused a stir with journalists who felt that some of the band's lyrics displayed
fascist and
white supremacist
views, overlooking the fact that both Seinfeld and Schuler were Jewish.
The accusations of racism in their music were something strenuously
denied by the band but in later interviews, Seinfeld and Graziadei
explained that it had been a publicity stunt to win over the band
Carnivore and their fans.
[2]
Additionally, Seinfeld has defended the lyrics of songs such as "Master
Race" and "America" as metaphors meant to shock and get the listener's
attention and maintains that the band was never racist.
[3]
The band has long since preached a message of tolerance and
anti-racism. After the release of the first demo, Anthony Meo left the
band and drummer Danny Schuler replaced him. A second demo tape followed
in 1989.
Although Biohazard never truly considered themselves a hardcore band,
Biohazard often found themselves sharing stages with bands associated
with the
New York hardcore scene, such as the
Cro-Mags and
Agnostic Front. They also shared stages with the New Jersey band,
Mucky Pup and a friendship between the two bands developed.
Maze Records
In 1990, Biohazard signed a recording contract with Maze Records. The band's
self-titled debut album
was poorly promoted by the label and sold approximately 40,000 copies.
The album's subject matter revolved around Brooklyn, gang-wars, drugs,
and violence.
One year after the release of their debut album, Seinfeld and
Graziadei contributed vocals to the song "Three Dead Gophers" from Mucky
Pup's third album,
Now. The album was released on
Roadrunner Records, who would soon release Biohazard's second album.
Roadrunner Records
In 1992, Biohazard signed with Roadrunner Records and released
Urban Discipline,
which gave the band national and worldwide attention in both the heavy
metal and hardcore communities. The video for the song "Punishment"
became the most played video in the history of
MTV's
Headbanger's Ball, and the album sold over one million copies. The band also began opening for larger acts such as
House of Pain,
Sick Of It All,
Fishbone, and
Kyuss.
In 1993, the
hardcore rap group
Onyx recorded an alternate "Bionyx" version of their hit single "
Slam" with Biohazard as their backup band. This led to a collaboration on the title track of the
Judgment Night soundtrack. The soundtrack would go on to sell over two million copies in the United States.
Warner Bros.
Months later, the band left Roadrunner Records and signed with
Warner Bros. Records Inc. who released their third studio LP,
State of the World Address. The album was produced by Ed Stasium in Los Angeles and contained the single "How It Is" featuring
Sen Dog of
Cypress Hill, for which a video was also shot. During their 1994 tour, the band made an appearance on the second stage at the
Monsters of Rock festival held at
Castle Donington.
State of the World Address went on to sell over one million copies, and
Rolling Stone
magazine selected the Biohazard logo as the best logo of the year. This
was the last Biohazard album with Bobby Hambel, who left due to
differences with the rest of the band. Hambel spent time in White Devil,
also featuring members of the Cro-Mags, before seemingly leaving the
music business entirely. In late 1995, the band, along with
Therapy? and
Gunshot, contributed remixes to the
Pitchshifter album
The Remix War.
The band recorded their fourth studio album,
Mata Leao, as a three piece in 1996. It was produced with the help of Dave Jerden. For the 1996-97 Mata Leao Tour, the band hired former
Helmet guitarist Rob Echeverria. The band also played on the
Ozzfest mainstage alongside
Ozzy Osbourne,
Slayer,
Danzig,
Fear Factory, and
Sepultura.
While touring Europe in support of the Mata Leao album, the band
recorded their Hamburg, Germany, show for their first live album,
No Holds Barred (Live in Europe), which was released in 1997 through their former label, Roadrunner Records.
In 1998, Seinfeld began his acting career playing
Jaz Hoyt on
HBO's award winning series
Oz. The character was introduced in the second season and appeared throughout the series' sixth and final season.
Mercury Records
The band signed to
Mercury Records and released their fifth studio album,
New World Disorder,
in 1999, once again with Ed Stasium as a producer. The relationship
with Mercury Records soured quickly as the band felt betrayed and
misunderstood by the label. They severed their ties with the label
amidst the merger of Mercury Records,
Island Records,
Def Jam Records, and
Polygram into the
Universal Music Group.
In 2000, the band continued to tour Europe and Japan, without the
support of a record label or management. In 2001, the band released a
compilation album titled
Tales From The B-Side.
The album consisted of various B-sides and remixes from various eras in
the band's recording history. The album was released by the Phantom
Sound & Vision label. After the release of
Tales From The B-Side,
Rob Echeverria resigned from the band in order to get married. Leo
Curley, of Outline and All Means Necessary, was hired as his
replacement.
SPV/Sanctuary Records
In the same year, Biohazard signed two new record deals with
SPV/Steamhammer in Europe and
Sanctuary Records
for the remainder of the world. Despite the new record deals, the band
took some personal time in order to work on other projects.
Graziadei briefly formed a
trip hop project with Jenifer Bair of the
Ohio band Hilo. After writing and recording approximately twenty songs for the project named Blu, Bair relocated to
Los Angeles, California to continue an art career and the project dissolved. Graziadei also began work on a book,
Tales From The Hardside. Schuler used his downtime to perform with New York band Among Thieves as a replacement drummer for the departing Will Shepler.
Graziadei and Schuler also collaborated in transforming the band's
rehearsal Brooklyn studio into a digital recording studio, known as Rat
Piss Studios and soon after changed the name to Underground Sound
Studios. Re-investing into the band, Graziadei and Schuler honed their
engineering and productions skills while recording and producing local
acts and new Biohazard demos. The band then undertook the process of
writing, recording, and producing their own music.
Their studio work led to the band's sixth studio album,
Uncivilization, released in September 2001. The album featured several guest appearances by members of bands such as Agnostic Front,
Hatebreed,
Pantera,
Slipknot, Sepultura, Cypress Hill, Skarhead, and
Type O Negative. Shortly after the release of
Uncivilization,
Leo Curley left the band to focus on writing his own music. He was
replaced by former Nucleus member Carmine Vincent, who had previously
toured with Biohazard as part of their road crew.
In 2002, Seinfeld became engaged to
porn star Tera Patrick. Patrick had never heard of Seinfeld prior to seeing one of his nude scenes on
Oz.
After making several phone calls, Patrick was able to contact Seinfeld,
who had never heard of her either, and the two began dating.
The band had to cancel scheduled European festival dates when Carmine
Vincent underwent major surgery. The band did manage to find a
temporary guitarist, Scott Roberts, formerly of the Cro-Mags and the
Spudmonsters, in time to join the Eastpak Resistance Tour with Agnostic
Front, Hatebreed, Discipline, Death Threat, Born From Pain and All Boro
Kings.
Biohazard completed their seventh studio album in seventeen days;
Kill Or Be Killed was released in 2003. While touring North America with
Kittie,
Brand New Sin and
Eighteen Visions,
Biohazard announced that Roberts would remain as their permanent lead
guitarist. The tour was curtailed when it was announced that Seinfeld
had fallen ill.
With more downtime due to Seinfeld's illness, Graziadei and Schuler collaborated to mix
Life of Agony's live comeback album,
River Runs Again: Live 2003. Once Seinfeld was healthy again, the band toured
Japan and North America, headlining over bands such as Hatebreed, Agnostic Front,
Throwdown, and
Full Blown Chaos.
Once home, Seinfeld began recording and circulating demos for his own
trip hop project named Triplesicks. For a brief time, Graziadei and his wife moved to
Brazil
where their daughter was born. While there, Graziadei struck up a
friendship with drummer Fernandao Schafer. After jamming together in the
studio, Schafer formed the band Ink which Graziadei would eventually
produce and later join. It wasn't long before Ink was renamed Endrah and
an EP titled
DEMONstration was released. Once Graziadei returned to
New York, the logistical problems of traveling back and forth caused Graziadei to quit Endrah.
In early 2004, Graziadei teamed up with
gabber
DJ Rob Gee to help write and produce his music. When a few albums were
completed, Graziadei joined Schuler, Roberts, DJ Starscream (aka
Sid Wilson
of Slipknot), Jeff Anthony, and Keith Rooney, both of Gutwrench, to
form Ampt. The band combined gabber music with hardcore and heavy metal.
After writing several songs and putting together a live band, Graziadei
and Schuler left the project in order to continue with Biohazard. Ampt
has gone through several additional lineup changes since.
Also in 2004, Seinfeld, now residing in Los Angeles, California, married his fiancée of two years, Tera Patrick.
By the end of 2004, the band had begun recording its eighth studio album,
Means To An End.
The completed album was lost in a studio disaster, forcing the band to
completely re-record the album, which was finally released in August
2005.
Temporarily disbanded
In the meantime, Graziadei had formed another new band with former
members of Kitte and The Groovenics. Originally named Rodek, the band
eventually changed their name to
Suicide City. In October 2004, Graziadei announced that
Means To An End
had been the final Biohazard album and that he would continue playing
with Suicide City as his main focus. One month later, on the Biohazard
website, it was announced that there would in fact be a 2005 Biohazard
tour.
On December 15, Seinfeld and Graziadei participated in the
Roadrunner United conglomerate event at the Nokia Theater in
New York for an all-star event. The show opened with Biohazard's "Punishment," performed by Seinfeld, Graziadei, Sepultura's
Andreas Kisser, former Fear Factory member
Dino Cazares, and Slipknot's
Joey Jordison.
In 2005, Seinfeld and Patrick formed The Tera Patrick Agency with the
goal of representing talent in both the adult and mainstream
entertainment business. That same year, Suicide City released their
first EP,
Not My Year, and continued to tour as an opening act
for acts such as Danzig, Taking Back Sunday, Mindless Self Indulgence,
Otep and Gwar. The band's full-length album,
Frenzy, followed in 2009.
In January 2006, Danny Schuler announced his resignation from
Biohazard and the formation of Bloodclot with singer Jon Joseph of the
Cro-Mags, guitarist Scott Roberts and bassist Craig Setari of Sick of it
All. Roberts later announced that he would also be leaving the band to
focus on Bloodclot with Schuler. That same month, Graziadei announced
that Biohazard would not go on a farewell tour after all.
[4]
Graziadei and Schuler relocated their recording studio to
South Amboy, New Jersey
and renamed it Underground Sound Studios. The studio was renovated to
include a live room with 20-foot (6.1 m) ceilings and 4,000 square feet
(370 m
2) of studio space. After Schuler's departure from the
studio business, Graziadei relocated the studio to Los Angeles and
changed the name to Firewater Studios.
In February 2006, Seinfeld participated in the filming of
SuperGroup, a
VH-1 reality television series also starring
Ted Nugent,
Scott Ian,
Sebastian Bach and
Jason Bonham as a
supergroup named Damnocracy. The show debuted on May 21, 2006.
In March 2007, Evan Seinfeld debuted his new band, The Spyderz, as an opening act for a
Buckcherry
performance. The band was originally named White Line Fever, until it
was discovered that a UK band already owned the name. The Spyderz also
featured guitarist
John Monte, formerly of
Ministry and
M.O.D..
In October 2008, Seinfeld also briefly joined Tattooed Millionaires as a
bassist and co-vocalist. Seinfeld and Tera Patrick separated in 2009
and divorced in 2010.
Reunion and departure of Seinfeld
In January 2008, the classic lineup of Evan Seinfeld, Billy
Graziadei, Danny Schuler and Bobby Hambel made the announcement that
rehearsals had begun for a 2008 summer tour to commemorate the band's
20th anniversary.
[5] They toured Australia and New Zealand in April with
Chimaira,
Throwdown,
Bloodsimple and headliners
Korn to celebrate their newly declared reunion.
[6] The band also took part in
Persistence Tour 2009, and announced at one of their shows that they were working on a new record.
[7] It was also noted that the album would be dedicated to Type O Negative frontman
Peter Steele who died in April 2010.
[8]
Biohazard brought in producer Toby Wright to work on the album and
after several months at Graziadei's Firewater Studios in Los Angeles,
the band completed their recording sessions.
In June 2011, Biohazard announced that they had amicably parted ways with Evan Seinfeld.
[9] Scott Roberts returned to replace Seinfeld for two UK dates but no decision regarding a permanent replacement was made.
[10]
In August 2011, the band announced that they were searching for a
full-time singer to replace Seinfeld and opened auditions to the public.
[11]
In September 2011, three months after his departure from Biohazard,
Seinfeld joined Los Angeles-based heavy metal band, Attika 7, which also
featured
Tony Campos, formerly of Soulfly and Static-X, and Rusty Coones.
[12] Attika 7 began recording their debut album for THC Music/Rocket Science in February 2012.
[13] After several lineup changes, including the departure of Campos, the band's debut album,
Blood of my Enemies,
was released in 2013. Seinfeld also continues to work in adult
entertainment as Spyder Jonez, most notably through his production
company, Iron Cross Entertainment and Teravison, the production company
he co-owns with his former wife, Tera Patrick, as well as his own
"Rockstar Pornstar" website.
[14]
In January 2012, the band decided that Scott Roberts would remain with the band as a permanent member. The new album,
Reborn in Defiance,
was released worldwide, with the exception of North America, on January
20, 2012 through the Nuclear Blast label. The band originally planned
to offer a digital edition of the album as a free download for American
fans on the same date but these plans were canceled at the last moment.
[15] A United States label partner and release date has yet to be announced.
[16]
In support of the album, Biohazard embarked on a short co-headlining tour of Europe with
Suicidal Tendencies in the latter half of January 2012.
[17]
The band arrived in Belgium to begin the tour on January 20 where
abruptly, Scott Roberts was rushed to the hospital. After going through
several tests and receiving no answers concerning his ailment, Roberts
checked himself out of the hospital in time to perform with the band.
After their set, Roberts was rushed back to the hospital.
[18]
Roberts was released from the hospital in time to continue on with the
tour at the next stop in Oberhausen, Germany on January 21.
[19] On January 22, Schuler left the tour to in order to return home and be with his wife for the birth of their baby.
Danny Lamagna of
Sworn Enemy and Suicide City stepped in to replace Schuler until he was able to return.
[20] The band continued to perform live in Europe and North America throughout 2013 and into 2014.
In July 2015, Schuler indicated that the band is actively working on a new album to be released "soon".
[21]
Members
- Billy Graziadei – guitar, vocals (1987–2006, 2008–present)
- Bobby Hambel – guitar (1987–1995, 2008–present)
- Danny Schuler – drums (1988–2006, 2008–present)
- Scott Roberts – lead guitar (2002–2005); bass, vocals (2011–present)
|
Former
|
- Anthony Meo – drums (1987–1988)
- Rob Echeverria – lead guitar (1996–2000)
- Leo Curley – lead guitar (2000–2002)
- Carmine Vincent – lead guitar (2002)
- Evan Seinfeld – lead vocals, bass (1987–2006, 2008–2011)
Sumber : https://en.wikipedia.org/
