Breach was a Swedish

post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like post-punk, the term has been ...

band formed in

Luleå Luleå ( , , locally ; smj, Luleju; fi, Luulaja) is a city on the coast of northern Sweden, and the capital of Norrbotten County, the northernmost county in Sweden. Luleå has 48,728 inhabitants in its urban core (2018) and is the seat of Lu ...

in 1993. The band, which included a large line-up near the end of their lifetime as a group, is noted for combining various elements of hardcore with metal music. They issued 4 full-lengths through

Burning Heart Records Burning Heart Records is an independent record label formed in 1993 in Fagersta, Sweden, and currently based in Örebro. It has a close affiliation with Californian label Epitaph Records, who own the rights to distribute Burning Heart's output i ...

and a slew of EPs through a variety of labels before officially breaking up in 2002. Since their split, the group has performed one reunion show in 2007.

History

The band was formed in Luleå in 1993, and released their first full-length album in 1995. Pelle Gunnerfeldt from Fireside recorded and mixed several of the group's albums. Shortly after the release of ''Kollapse'' the band announced that they had decided to split up. Vocalist Tomas Hallbom explained that while there were many factors into the group's break-up, the primary reason for their split was caused by the lack of agreements made within the band's expansive seven-member line-up. The band played a reunion show in Stockholm on 6 December 2007 and ended the show by destroying all their instruments, leading fans to speculate that this would be the band's final show.

Musical style

Breach started as a metal influenced hardcore band. The band's later style features a mixture of

hardcore Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film * ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott * ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...

crust punk Crust punk (also known as crust or stenchcore) is a form of music influenced by English punk rock and extreme metal. The style, which evolved in the early 1980s in England, often has songs with dark and pessimistic lyrics that linger on politic ...

, post-hardcore,

post rock Post Rock may refer to: * Post-rock, a form of experimental rock music * Post Rock (South Georgia) Elsehul (also Paddocks Cove, Else Cove, Elsie Bay, Elsa Bay, Else's Hole, and Else Bay) is a bay along the north coast of South Georgia Island in th ...

and

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

. They combine fast metallic parts with clean, atmospheric guitar lines. Their production is a lot rawer and harsher than that of most modern post-hardcore bands. Critic Steve Huey compared the band's sound to the "difficult-to-classify hardcore/metal hybrids on the

Victory Records Victory Records is a Chicago-based record label founded by Tony Brummel. It operates a music publishing company called "Another Victory, Inc." and is the distributor of several record labels. It has featured many prominent artists including Thur ...

label." Stephen Hill of ''Louder Sound'' described the band's style as "

Unsane ''Unsane'' is a 2018 American psychological horror film directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Jonathan Bernstein and James Greer. The film stars Claire Foy, Joshua Leonard, Jay Pharoah, Matt Damon, Juno Temple, Aimee Mullins, and Amy I ...

Prong Prong or Prongs may refer to: * Prong, synonym of tine (structural), a branch or spike of various tools and natural objects * Prong (band), an American metal band * Prong (company), an iPhone accessories company in New York City * Prongs, British ...

with more expansive flourishes" as well as name their 2000 album ''Venom'' as an underrated release within the European hardcore scene. ''Kollapse'' was named "a masterpiece in the violent birth of

post-metal Post-metal is a music genre rooted in heavy metal but exploring approaches beyond metal conventions. It emerged in the 1990s with bands such as Neurosis and Godflesh, who transformed metal texture through experimental composition. In a way simil ...

" on pinpointmusic.com.

Band members

;Final line-up *Tomas Hallbom (Vocals) *Anders Ekström (Guitar) *Niklas Quintana (Guitar) *Johan Gustafsson (Bass) *Tomas Turunen (Drums) *Per Nordmark (Drums) ;Former members *Magnus Höggren (Bass) *Kalle Nyman (Bass) *Jejo Perkovic (Drums) *Janne Westerberg (Drums) *Erik Carlsson (Guitar) *Kristian Andersson (Bass)

Discography

;Studio albums *''Friction'' (27 October 1995, Burning Heart) *''It's Me God'' (28 April 1997, Burning Heart) *''Venom'' (17 May 1999, Burning Heart) *''Kollapse'' (3 December 2001, Burning Heart) ;Singles and EPs *''Outlines'' CDEP (1 June 1994, Burning Heart) *''Untitled'' 7" (1996, Chapel Hill) *''Old Songs vs. New Beats'' CDEP (1 June 1996, Burning Heart) *''6-Song Split CD'' split CDEP with Regression (17 April 1997, Burning Heart/Good Life) *''Amen/Last Rites'' 7" (1 January 1999, Trust No One) *''Godbox'' 12"/CDEP (2002, Chrome Saint Mangus)

References

External links

Burningheart Breach page Relapse Records Breach Page

Interview with Niklas Quintana after the last show
{{Authority control Post-hardcore groups Musical groups established in 1993 Musical groups disestablished in 2002 Musical groups reestablished in 2007 Musical groups disestablished in 2007 Swedish heavy metal musical groups Burning Heart Records artists Relapse Records artists 1993 establishments in Sweden Good Life Recordings artists