Bravado, words and bloody knuckles
Biohazard disseminates the positive aspect of negative thinking
PREVIEW
BIOHAZARD
Friday, November 30
Mac Hall Ballroom (U of C)
Formed in 1988, Brooklyn's Biohazard has travelled a long and rocky road towards self-determination. Years of listening to Black Sabbath and Public Enemy left their mark on the foursome as they sought to glean the most volatile aspects of their favourite genres of music and integrate them. Their successful hybrid formula of hardcore metal-rap has become a template for countless angry youth bands that were primed to break free of their monogamous musical affiliations.
"We've been doing this for years and our perspective hasn't really changed," explains bassist and lead vocalist Evan Seinfeld. "This is a life thing for me. Labels? We've been on all of them. But we always knew what we really wanted to do with our music. We always went our own direction."
After battling addictions and personality clashes, and bouncing from one label to the next, Biohazard's longevity and record sales are more a testament to the die-hard loyalty of their fans than to the legitimacy of their musical innovation. Still, they have eked out a dark niche in what is now commonly referred to as neu-metal – these days everyone wants to rap with a metal band. But it was Biohazard that initially threw open the lucrative cross-market floodgates.
"So many bands have picked up our sound. I guess it's the highest form of flattery when musicians copy each other, whether it is a blatant ripoff or a heartfelt tribute. We know there are always going to be imitators out there, it just makes us want to get better at what we do. If you read our lyrics, you can see that we've always had something political to say with our songs. The youths of today are our greatest resource, and if we can reach that audience with our message then maybe we can start to make a difference in this world."
Practiced crowd-pleasers, Biohazard repeatedly invokes growled mantras of unity and brotherhood, and their party-hardy group mentality that is rarely absent from their attitude enhances their hardcore sing-along. Many of their fans have the Biohazard logo tattooed on their skin to show their affiliation in the brotherhood. Seinfeld admits that some fans go too far in thier expressions of solidarity, but insists that someone who is going to get really crazy in a mosh pit and try and hurt people is like that before they even get to the show.
"Biohazard may have lots of lyrics about violence and aggression, but we're about unity and brotherhood and getting along and partying and having a good time!"
Some of their fans may be uncivilized, but even Biohazard couldn't have anticipated how appropriate the title of their latest CD would be – Uncivilization was originally scheduled to be released on September 11. Pow! Ripe with lyrics about burning down the White House and the shopping malls, the impact of the day’s events was not lost on Evan.
"We were getting ready for a fun CD release party and instead we spent the day crying.... The terrorists wanted to crush our spirit, but they only made our unity stronger. The fans have been so supportive, and we've gotten so many e-mails because people know that we're from New York. We've recently played some benefit concerts for the victims, including one of the biggest called Locobazooka, and there was a huge turnout. I'm just so thankful this Thanksgiving that I have a home and enough food on the table and can spend time with my friends and family and my seven-year-old son, who is the love of my life." |
