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New York City's Unsane assisted in pioneering a more aggressive, less studied version of noise rock, one that blended the scum/art industrial sturm und drang of Foetus, the Swans, Einsturzende Neubauten, and Sonic Youth with the decidedly more straightforward hardcore idiom favored by acts like Sick of It All. While developing the blueprint for noise-metal bands to follow, Unsane cut a remarkable swath through underground music, inspiring a devoted, cult-like following around the globe. As a power trio, Unsane relied upon a hammering, power-press rhythm section, a searing Telecaster howl, and distorted vocals that resembled nothing if not the sound of a man trapped in the New York Subway system.
Having met at Sarah Lawrence College in the late '80s, the original incarnation of Unsane -- Chris Spencer (vocals, guitar), Pete Shore (bass), and Charles Ondras (drums) -- crawled larvally out of the practice space in 1989 and began playing New York's seediest haunts. It was these graveyard slots at clubs like CBGB's where the band developed and honed their trademark sound and delivered the goods with due intensity and volume. Unsane piqued the interest of numerous small indie labels and began issuing a series of singles and EPs before recording their self-titled debut with Matador Records. Using the photo of a decapitated man lying across train tracks, Unsane's album cover set the tone for the admixture of seething aggression, naked fear, and barely controlled noise chaos contained within. But the band's devastating maelstrom contained more than enough tunefulness and rock propulsion to quite easily surpass its more affected Lower East Side peers.
During 1992, Unsane's daunting schedule was cut devastatingly short by the untimely drug overdose of drummer Charles Ondras. Former Swans and Foetus drummer Vinny Signorelli climbed aboard the swiftly moving train in the fall of 1992 and the band began composing its next album. In the interim, Matador compiled and issued a collection of Unsane's early singles and compilation tracks, appropriately titled Singles: 89-92. It is perhaps Unsane's defining moment. The following year found the band recording its first for Atlantic Records, Total Destruction, a menacing, dark collection of songs driven by Signorelli's hypnotic drumming and Spencer's man-pushed-to-the-edge vocals. More touring followed and Matador released the Peel Sessions disc almost concurrently with Total Destruction.
After being discharged from Atlantic in 1994, Unsane found both a new bass player in Dave Curran -- who joined on tour while doing sound for the band -- and a home for their next album, Scattered, Smothered, and Covered, on the independent noise rock label, Amphetamine Reptile Records. While maintaining the band's signature sound and volume, 1995's Scattered... showed the band opening their rhythmic approach, with most songs inhabiting a more rock-oriented 4/4 pattern, granting the album a more spacious and controlled feel. Scattered... also contained the unlikely MTV hit video for "Scrape," featuring a series of skateboard accidents intercut with footage of the band performing live. Created for 200 dollars, it was ironically named one of MTV's Ten Funniest Videos. The band toured relentlessly and managed to secure an opening slot with metal behemoths Slayer on one of their North American headlining tours. Shortly after, the trio made another label switch to Relapse Records and began constructing its final album, the ironically titled Occupational Hazard. While on a press tour in Europe only a month prior to the disc's release, Spencer was brutally attacked by street thugs and left for dead on the streets of Vienna, Austria. After emergency surgery, he returned to the touring arena. Though Unsane temporarily disbanded in 2000, they returned a few years later with a compilation (Lambhouse) and an original album, 2005's Blood Run
Wikipedia:
Unsane is an influential noise rock trio that formed in New York City in 1988. Their music also touches on elements of hardcore punk and metal. Writer Patrick Kennedy writes that "while developing the blueprint for noise-metal bands to follow, Unsane cut a remarkable swath through underground music, inspiring a devoted, cult-like following around the globe."
Biography
In 1988, singer/guitarist Chris Spencer, bass guitarist Pete Shore and drummer Charlie Ondras were students at Sarah Lawrence College when they formed as Lawn-Chair-Blisters before changing their name to Unsane. The band signed to Circuit Records and recorded tracks with Wharton Tiers for what was supposed to be their first album Improvised Munitions, but the label ended up never releasing it.
Unsane then became a part of a scene of loud, noisy, like-minded rock groups in New York City's East Village in the early 1990s. They often played gigs with bands like Pussy Galore, Cop Shoot Cop, Surgery, Helmet and the Reverb Motherfuckers. Members of Unsane concurrently played in other bands such as Boss Hog and the Action Swingers.
The band's self-titled debut album was released in 1991 and was known for its harsh music and gruesome cover art which was a photo of a decapitated man on a New York city subway track wearing a Members Only jacket.
In 1992, drummer Ondras died of a heroin overdose, and was replaced temporarily by Anthony DeLuca and then permanently by Vinnie Signorelli (formerly of Foetus and Swans). In 1994, Shore departed from the band for unknown reasons and was replaced by Dave Curran.
The band toured heavily, and released Total Destruction in 1993 on Matador Records/Atlantic Records. Their third album, Scattered, Smothered & Covered was issued by Amphetamine Reptile. The music video for the single "Scrape", made for a mere $200, got significant play on MTV. The video alternates between lo-fi rehearsal footage of Unsane, and a series of serious skateboarding wipeouts.
The band continued touring heavily (including a stint opening for Slayer). Their next album Occupational Hazard was released by Relapse Records in 1998. Later that same year - in seeming fulfillment of the album's title - Spencer was attacked by four people after playing a concert in Vienna, Austria. He ended up in hospital suffering internal bleeding and underwent major surgery. As a result of Spencer's injury, and touring over ten months of the year, the band decided to take a break in 2000.
Unsane regrouped in 2003, and released a greatest hits record, Lambhouse, followed by Blood Run in 2005. Ipecac released the band's sixth studio album Visqueen in 2007.
Their song "Committed" was featured in the Activision/Neversoft video game Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. Another Activision title, True Crime: New York City, features the song "D Train".
Unsane released Wreck on March 20, 2012, and will be touring with The Melvins through April and May.
Activities outside the band
During the band's break between 2000 and 2003, Spencer moved to California where he formed a new band with Dave Curran called The Cutthroats 9 and released an album on Man's Ruin Records. Curran formed J.J. Paradise Players Club and Signorelli opened a tattoo shop in Brooklyn.
Signorelli later formed A Storm of Light with Josh Graham (Neurosis, ex-Red Sparowes, Battle of Mice, Blood and Time) on guitar and vocals, Domenic Seita (ex-Tombs and Asea) on bass, and Pete Angevine (Satanized) on additional drums and percussion. A Storm of Light spent most of the spring touring with Neurosis and they released their debut album in 2008.
In 2008 Spencer formed the band Celan with Ari Benjamin Meyers (Redux Orchestra), Niko Wenner (Oxbow), Roeder (flu-ID), and Xavi (flu-ID), and in 2009 they released the well-reviewed album Halo on the Berlin label Exile on Mainstream Records and toured Europe.
