Starkweather
Formed: 1990
From:
Philadelphia,
PA,
United States
Last Known Status: Active
Latest Starkweather News
Below is our complete Starkweather news coverage, including columns and articles pertaining to the band. Some articles listed may be indirectly related, such as side projects of the band members, etc.
Starkweather/Concealment Debut New Split
Starkweather and Concealment debut the pre-release full-album stream of the bands' upcoming new split release, which will be out in stores tomorrow via Translation Loss.
Check out now the split in its entirety below.
Starkweather Re-Issuing Two Early Albums
The technical metal pioneers from Starkweather will see the reissue of their underground albums "Crossbearer" (1992) and "Into the Wire" (1995) as a deluxe, 2xCD package on April 21st via Translation Loss Records, which comments:
"The groundbreaking records have been remastered and repackaged along with tons of long out-of-print material; the end result is a teeming testament to the Philadelphia band that both pioneered the hardcore punk / heavy metal crossover sound and influenced many of today's top selling hardcore / metal bands, including The Dillinger Escape Plan, ISIS and Converge.
"Starkweather formed in 1989, deriving its name from Charles Starkweather, a late-1950s teenaged spree killer. In the years that followed, the band trail-blazed unexplored musical paths, creating a cerebral, yet visceral, quasi-metal / hardcore hybrid; the perfect blend of post-metal, technical death, hardcore and avant-garde. Equal parts guitar skronk and frenetic fretboard gymnastics, vocal savagery and superhuman drumming, Starkweather's violent, unrelenting marriage of brutality and technicality crossed wires of styles and transcended sound beyond language limitations.
"Starkweather songs never followed traditional verse-chorus-verse structure, the group preferring a 'narrative or cinematic flow,' where compositions emphasized an ongoing development of themes and motifs. Allmusic described the group's music as 'dissonant, jagged, angular, and discordant as well as abrasive, noisy, violent, claustrophobic, and dense' and an 'extreme sensory assault.' More...
Starkweather Issues New Album Update
Philadelphia's Starkweather has issued the following update:
"Deathwish releases are in the pipeline. Looks as if 'This Sheltering Night' will see light of day late April (see artwork here). The Overmars split? Well, that one will be taking a similar approach to its release as Blacklisted - No One Deserves To Be Here More Than Me."
"The splits that are in progress with Little Girl Terrorist and Thousandswilldie will, hopefully, be mixed early April. These things take time and money."
"And, finally, right? Rennie has completed vocal work on tracks by Pulling Teeth ('Generals of Darkened Hymns' which will be on a split with Irons coming out on Deathwish), Pristina ('Th e Drought' - which in addition to their vocalist, Brendan, there are appearances by Bloodlet, Hope and Suicide, Junior Bruce vocalist Scott Angelacos, Steve Austin of Today is the Day and Charles Manson), and Elodea. Other things are in the works for Concealment and a very interesting multi-vocalist project from Caina which is best described by Andy himself at this blog post." More...
Pulling Teeth Announces New Live Dates
Pulling Teeth is flying over to Iceland to play a couple shows in November, and have a couple special shows planned for Baltimore in January; one with Pulling Teeth playing as Thor's backing band, and then the next night a stacked show with Integrity, Ringworm, Starkweather and more.
Dom comments: "Anyone who knows me, knows of my bizarre obsession with 80’s Canadian metal god THOR. The god of thunder. He who bends pure steel on stage, blows up hot water bottles, wields the blade…and well you get the idea. Well hold on to your seats because the legend himself Jon Mikl Thor will be heading to Baltimore to celebrate my 33rd birthday and rock you senseless. He’s recruited Pulling Teeth as his backing band and we’ll be playing a set of all my favorite Thor classics. This is a once in lifetime event, one for the books and something you DON’T want to miss."
"And don't miss Pulling Teeth playing The Fest this weekend in Gainsville either!!!"
Here are the latest Pulling Teeth tour dates:
10/30: Gainesville, FL @ The Fest 09
11/12: Hafnarfjorour, Iceland @ Garnia Bokasafnia
11/13: Reyjavik, Iceland @ Sodoma
01/08: Baltimore, MD @ Talking Head Club Pulling Teeth playing as Thor's backing band
01/09: Baltimore, MD @ Sonar w/ Integrity, Ringworm, Starkweather, Gehenna, Seraphim
Starkweather Signs To Deathwish
Deathwish Inc has announced the signing of Philadelphia's Starkweather. Starkweather comments on the signing:
"It's been a long four years since our last release. In that time we've been to Europe, played some spectacular and not so spectacular shows in the States, and have written over two albums worth of new material in the bunker. After fulfilling a contractual obligation, we're finally ready to announce that we've signed with Jacob Bannon's Deathwish Inc. With a nearly two decade relationship, this union seemed like the next logical step for the sometimes difficult and idiosyncratic guys in Starkweather. Having known us for as long as he has, Jake is well aware of how obstinate, eccentric, and protective we are of what we do." More...
A389 Records Anniversary Show In Baltimore
A389 Records will be celebrating its anniversary at the Ottobar in Baltimore, MD. The show will take place on January 12th and admission is $12. The following bands will perform:
Pulling Teeth
Gehenna
Starkweather
Deathcycle
Steel Nation
Starkweather Prepares New Material
Guitarist Todd Forkin has issued an extensive update regarding recent activity in the STARKWEATHER camp as the band prepares a new album and three-song EP:
"After playing a pretty cool show in Saratoga, NY we decided to bunker down and focus on the next album. Before playing Albany we had about seven brand new songs written and in varying states of cohesion. I've been recording our rehearsals and have been immersed in the details of this new batch of songs. My typical routine is to drive to Philly from Upstate NY on Saturday afternoon, rehearse from about 9 until 2 in the morning, and then drive home listening to Art Bell Coast to Coast while talking to myself. After sleeping a few hours on Sunday morning I'll get up and start sifting through the 2 or 3 hours of recordings, find the best takes/parts and dump them down onto my computer. Our new song count is now at 8 and the ridiculous working titles are Big Mama Jama, BTK, Gorguts Intro, Junkyard Jazz, The Nightmare Factory, Viking, Mr Vinny Swans, and a brand new one, called Drug Holiday, that we've been putting together.
It looks like Drug Holiday may be a Voivod 'Jack Luminous' type song clocking in at about 15 to 20 minutes. The thing draws on our strange mix of influences; everything from the criminally underrated Penn State, PA band T4 to early Prong (think "The Coliseum" from Primitive Origins) to Gorguts/Negativa (of course!) and even Pink Floyd. The Rosa rhythm section is really working overtime these days. If you've ever listened to the drumming of Terry Bozzio on "Black Light Syndrome" or spent time listening to anything by Confessor you'll get some idea of where Harry is at these days. Fucked up beats and tons of bizarre metal percussion shit for him to hammer away on. And if you missed Harry's trademark tom work from Into the Wire and Crossbearer get ready because it's back and it's breathtaking. And then there's Vince...with a new Ampeg bass rig he's a fucking monster. He intuitively knows when to go berserk and when to hold down the bottom end and the new album will be the first time that we backed off some of the guitars so the basswork could shine.
For every recording we think organically; natural drum sounds, minimal to no kick triggers, and a very raw but clean recording. We like to get all of the songs down in single continuous takes and with absolutely NO beat detective, autotuned vocals, or any other bullshit that makes most records sound the same these days. If you want to see what I'm talking about put your index and middle fingers on one your wrist on the side of your thumb and feel for your pulse. Count how many beats there are in a ten second period. After about 5 seconds do the same thing. I will guarantee you that there will be a few beat difference between the two. Music should flow and sway like a human heart. Beat correction is used so frequently now that I'm not sure people even know what a natural drumbeat sounds like anymore. Rant over. When the 3 song Ep finally comes out it will give some idea of where we're going but I already feel like I may finally be satisfied with one of our releases.
About the Ep... we're just waiting on some classical instruments to be added to a few of the songs and then we'll start the colossal undertaking of mixing the 50 or so tracks that make up each song. As soon as we have a decent mix I'll put up a small clip but I can already tell you that in it's completely unmixed state, it's already thicker, meaner, and more layered than anything we've ever done thanks to Oktopus from Dalek and his ridiculous energy, enthusiasm, and creativity."
You can check out some of Starkweather's material on their MySpace page.
Starkweather Sign To Candlelight Records
Candlelight Records have announced the worldwide signing of East Coast-based Starkweather. The band's new album, titled Croatoan, was produced by Pierre Remillard (Cryptopsy), Features artwork by renowned artist Paul Romano (Mastodon, Earth, Godflesh), and is scheduled for a May 2 American release date.
Long regarded as one of the first bands to blend metal and hardcore, Starkweather are still an untapped band for the masses. They have been cited as influence to many of today's top selling bands and remain one of the most passionate and intense bands on stage. Metal Maniacs says on an early listen to Croatoan, "rare is a band who personify, quite accurately, agony and despair through tranquil yet devouring movements. One of underground metal's soon-to-be classics, hail Starkweather!"
Formed in 1990, Starkweather have several out-of-print recordings to their credit including a limited self-titled seven-inch (Inner Rage Records, 1993), Crossbearer (Too Damn Hype, 1994), Into the Wire (Edison Recordings, 1995), the 1996 split seven-inch with Season to Risk (Supermodel Records), and participation on numerous compiliation albums. Croatoan, released in late 2005 on vinyl only (featuring exclusive artwork also from Paul Romano) via Hypertension Records, is the band's first new recording in over five years.
Starkweather toured Europe for the first time in mid-2005, visiting the Netherlands, Germany, England, France and other countries. The band plans to visit again during the year. American dates are expected; details to be announced separately.