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The Accüsed

 
Artist: The Accused
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The Accused

Group Members:

Steve Nelson, Alex "Maggot Brain" Sibbald, Dana Collins, Chibon "Chewy" Batterman, John Dahlin, Blaine Cook, Josh Sinder, Tom Niemeyer, Mike Peterson

Similar Artists:

Old, Gruntruck, Stormtroopers of Death, Ludichrist, Forced Entry

Influenced By:

D.R.I., Slayer, Motörhead

Followers:

Converge

Performed Songs By:

Blaine Cook
  • Formed: 1981, Seattle, WA
  • Disbanded: 1992
  • Genres: Rock
  • Representative Albums: "More Fun Than an Open Casket Funeral," "Grinning Like an Undertaker," "The Curse of Martha Splatterhead"

Biography

Fusing hardcore punk and heavy metal into a furiously thrashing hybrid, Seattle's the Accused invariably described to their style as "splattercore," a reference to their chief lyrical inspirations -- horror films and comic-book violence. It was a far cry from the political leanings of vocalist/bandleader Blaine Cook's previous band, the Fartz, but it gave them a definite crossover appeal among both punk and metal audiences. With their roots in hardcore, the Accused presaged the rise of the Seattle scene, but never fit into the grunge movement that sprang up around them. Some of their key personnel went on to join the grunge-metal band Gruntruck, but in their own lifespan, the Accused were a different enough beast that they weren't able to capitalize on all the attention afforded the Northwest underground. The Accused were formed in Seattle in 1981, originally consisting of vocalist John Dahlin, guitarist Tom Niemeyer, bassist Chibon "Chewy" Batterman, and drummer Dana Collins. Their first release was a split LP with the Rejectors, at which point they were playing straight-ahead hardcore. However, the other members' taste for metal pushed Dahlin out of the band in 1984, and his place was taken by ex-Fartz vocalist Blaine Cook (reverting to his real name after billing himself as Blaine Fart). Powered by Cook's demented vocals, the band issued its limited-edition debut EP, Martha Splatterhead (named after their monstrous new mascot), on the small Condor Records label. Continuing to hone their sound through touring, the Accused finally completed their first full-length LP in 1986; issued on Subcore Records, The Return of Martha Splatterhead established their hyperspeed approach and earned them a deal with the thrash label Combat. During the supporting tour, bassist Batterman was asked to leave, and the group brought in Alex "Maggot Brain" Sibbald as his replacement. Sibbald made his debut on 1987's More Fun Than an Open Casket Funeral, which significantly expanded the group's cult following. The 1988 follow-up, Martha Splatterhead's Maddest Stories Ever Told, featured a guest appearance by Metal Church guitarist Kurdt Vanderhoof. Combat subsequently dropped the Accused, who signed with a Seattle-area label called Nastymix, which was primarily associated with rap (specifically, launching the career of Sir Mix-a-Lot). There was also a change on the drumming front: Dana Collins departed in 1988, and was replaced by Steve Nelson for the half-studio, half-live Hymns for the Deranged mini-album. Following his exit, the powerhouse Josh Sinder came onboard in 1989, and appeared on the group's Nastymix debut, Grinning Like an Undertaker, the following year. 1991 brought the Straight Razor EP, and also the departure of Sinder, who joined Tad; he was replaced by Devin for the final Accused album, 1992's Splatter Rock. Niemeyer joined Skin Yard vocalist Ben McMillan in the grunge-metal band Gruntruck, a later version of which included Sibbald and Sinder as well; Sibbald and Sinder would later move on to a new project, the Hot Rod Lunatics. Cook sang for a time with a new band called the Black Nasty, whose lone album was released only locally. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide
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Wikipedia: The Accüsed
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Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
The Accüsed
Origin Oak Harbor, Washington, United States
Genres Hardcore punk
Thrash metal
Years active 1981–1992
2003–present
Labels Condar
Associated acts Gruntruck
The Fartz
Tad
Toe Tag
Website splatterrock.com
Members
Tom Niemeyer
Brad Mowen
Dorando Hodous
Mike Peterson
Former members
Blaine Cook

The Accüsed is a thrashcore and crossover thrash band from Seattle, WA.

Contents

History

Formed in 1981 in Oak Harbor, Washington by bassist Chibon 'Chewy' Batterman, Dana Collins and guitarist Tom Niemeyer. John Dahlin was the vocalist from 1982-1984. The addition of Blaine Cook (frontman of Seattle hardcore punk group The Fartz) fit nicely into the group's migration towards a more heavy metal-based sound. In 1984, The band dubbed their style "splatter rock," in homage to their favorite genre of horror films. Their hybrid musical formula was distinguishable by Blaine's unusual choking-sound vocals, Niemeyer's muted, choppy, buzzsaw guitars, dark metallic riffs, and rapid-fire drumming. The band are also responsible for creating the wild, zombie mascot Martha Splatterhead, whose likeness (created by Niemeyer) adorns most of their albums and many of their promotional items. The Accused recorded five albums, three EPs, and over 100 songs between their 1981 inception and 1990s hiatus.

After the split, Tom Niemeyer joined the grunge band Gruntruck in 1991 and followed with them until their end in 1997. Josh Sinder played drums for the grunge band Tad and then joined Gruntruck in the final version of the band.

The Accused regrouped in 2003, playing live shows in the Seattle area, then releasing the album "Oh, Martha!" on their own CONDAR Records label. This "comeback record" landed on Revolver magazine's Top Ten albums of the year and "Writer's Lists" from Metal Maniacs magazine. However, that line-up was short-lived. In 2005, three members formed another band, Toe Tag, and left The Accused. Guitarist and founding member Tom Niemeyer continued on with The Accused, recruiting three replacement members in the months following the walk-out by Cook, Alex Sibbald and Steve Nelson.

The current line-up consists of Brad Mowen, Dorando Hodous, Mike Peterson and Niemeyer; they perform and record on a regular basis. The re-vamped line-up released two new songs, 'Scotty Came Back' and 'Fuck Sorry', January 26, 2007, via their Official website, splatterrock.com as free downloadable .MP3 files. The Accused are scheduled to record their next album for a Spring 2008 release.

The out-of-print back-catalog of The Accused's albums is slated for re-issue in 2007. Current collectors are seeing copies of these rare/out-of-print U.S. made CDs fetch hundreds of dollars each on popular auction website eBay.

The Accused is considered to be an important progenitor of the crossover style that bridged the gap between thrashcore and thrash metal, later influencing grindcore and some crust punk bands as an influential band in the Seattle alternative scene.

Members

Current line-up

  • Vocals: Brad Mowen
  • Bass: Dorando Hodous
  • Drums: Mike Peterson
  • Guitar: Tommy Niemeyer

Ex-Members

  • Dana Collins - Drums
  • John Dahlin - Vocals
  • Chibon 'Chewy' Batterman - Bass
  • Josh Sinder - Drums
  • Steve 'O Ring' Nelson - Drums
  • Blaine Cook - Vocals
  • Alex Sibbald - Bass
  • Prof. Iman A. Phid - Bass
  • Devin Karakash - Drums
  • Nick Uttech - Drums
  • Diamond Vincent - Bass


Discography

Demo Tape

  • Brain Damage 1 and 2 (Demo Cassettes, 1981-82)

Splits

  • Accused/Rejectors Split-(or)- Please Pardon Our Noise, It Is The Sound of Freedom -b/w- Through My Mind's Eye (Split LP, Fatal Erection 1983)
  • Accused/Morphius Split (Split 7 inch Single, Empty 1989)

EPs

  • Martha Splatterhead (EP, Condar 1985)
  • Hymns for the Deranged (EP, Musical Tragedies 1988)
  • Straight Razor (EP, Nastymix 1991)
  • Straight Razor (flexi-single inside comic book, Fantagraphix 1992)
  • Murder in Berkeley (Single, Smilin Ear 1993)
  • Paint It Red (Single, Transparent 2002)

LPs

  • The Return of Martha Splatterhead (Full Length, Subcore 1986, Earache 1986)
  • More Fun Than an Open Casket Funeral (Full Length, Combat 1987)
  • Martha Splatterhead’s Maddest Stories Ever Told (Full Length, Combat 1988)
  • Grinning Like an Undertaker (Full Length, Nastymix 1990)
  • Splatter Rock (Full length, Nastymix 1992)
  • Oh Martha! (Full Length, Condar 2003)

Others

  • Criminal Record (3 disc set, 2 CDs, 1 DVD; limited to 200 copies; Condar 2005)
  • Oh Martha! + Baked Tapes CD w/ 19 Bonus tracks (Nuclear Blast GmbH 2006)
  • Oh Martha! + Baked Tapes double LP; 666 pressed (Nucl. Blast, GmbH 2006)
  • 34 Song Archives Tapes 1981-86 CD; (CONDAR 2006; #Cond002)
  • Baked Tapes CD; (CONDAR 2006, #Cond003)
  • The Archives Tapes 1981-1986 double LP, 1000 copies pressed (Unrest 2006)
  • The Baked Tapes, Rare and Unreleased Splatter Rock LP, splatter-coloured vinyl, 1000 copies pressed (Unrest 2006)
  • Oh, Martha! LP 1000 copies; (Unrest 2006)
  • The Curse of Martha Splatterhead (Southern Lord 2009)

External links


This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

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