Crucifix was an American

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk ...

band from the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

, active from 1980 to 1984. They were among the most popular acts of the San Francisco punk scene of the early 1980s. Fronted by

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

n-born singer Sothira Pheng, Crucifix were distinct among American underground bands for their strong

D-beat D-beat (also known as Discore, kängpunk, Discrust, and crust-beat) is a style of hardcore punk, developed in the early 1980s by imitators of Discharge, after whom the genre is named, as well as a drum beat characteristic of this subgenre. D-be ...

musical characteristics and

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...

lyrical content and graphic design. The band's debut 1983 full-length album ''Dehumanization'' on Crass Records‘ offshoot

Corpus Christi Records Corpus Christi Records is a British independent record label started by some of the members of Crass and their recording engineer and business partner John Loder, to release records by artists who did not perhaps fit in with some of the stric ...

, is considered by many critics and fans to be a cornerstone of political punk music. After their breakup, Crucifix’s members went on to form the bands Loudspeaker and Proudflesh.

Band history

Crucifix was formed by three members of Subsidize Mess, a short-lived band from

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emer ...

comprising vocalist Christopher Douglas, guitarist Matt Borruso, and

n-born bassist Sothira Pheng. His family had fled their homeland when the

Khmer Rouge The Khmer Rouge (; ; km, ខ្មែរក្រហម, ; ) is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) and by extension to the regime through which the CPK ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. ...

seized power. The band reconfigured themselves and changed their name to Crucifix with Pheng switching to vocals, Douglas taking over the drums, and Borruso sticking to guitar for the time being while Bryce Kanights joined on bass guitar. This lineup recorded the band’s eponymous five-song debut 12” EP, released by Berkeley-based label Univrrsal Records in 1981. By the following year, Kanights departed from the band and with the addition of Francis “Jimmy Crucifix” Schmidt on guitar, Borruso moved over to playing bass for the recording of the band’s second EP, a three-song 7” entitled ''Nineteen Eighty-Four,'' released in 1982 on Crucifix’s own label, Freak Records. Schmidt then parted ways with Crucifix to be replaced by guitarist Jake Smith for the recording of what would be the band's only full-length LP, ''Dehumanization'', released by Crass Records imprint

in 1983. This album proved a landmark effort for the band and is widely regarded to be their definitive work as well as a cornerstone of American political punk. After ''Dehumanization’s'' release, Smith left the band and was replaced by former America's Hardcore guitarist

Drew Bernstein Drew Bernstein (1963 – August 18, 2014) was an American punk, goth, fetish fashion designer and musician who founded notable clothing companies Lip Service and Kill City. Music Bernstein played in several punk bands including Crucifix and ...

. After lengthy tours of the United States, Canada, and Europe, Crucifix called it quits on July 13, 1984. A posthumous compilation album of singles and live tracks entitled ''Exhibit A'' would later be released on Kustomized Records in 1997. When Corpus Christi eventually folded, their album ''Dehumanization'' was reissued on CD by

Southern Records Founded 1992 by John Loder, Southern Records is an independent record label (Loder also ran the recording facility Southern Studios). It is based in London and until 2008 had offices in the United States, France and Berlin. The label is closel ...

and later Kustomized on LP, CD, and streaming formats.

Post-Crucifix projects

Matt Borruso and Christopher Douglas (appearing in credits as Christopher Faith) launched an

industrial music Industrial music is a genre of music that draws on harsh, mechanical, transgressive or provocative sounds and themes. AllMusic defines industrial music as the "most abrasive and aggressive fusion of rock and electronic music" that was "initiall ...

project called Loudspeaker and released a 12” single on

Flux of Pink Indians Flux of Pink Indians was an English punk rock band from Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, England, active between 1980 and 1986. Biography The band formed in Hertfordshire, England in 1980 from the remaining members of The Epileptics ( ...

’ One Little Indian record label in the UK. The duo later moved to New York City and reconfigured as a

noise rock Noise rock (sometimes called noise punk) is a noise music, noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimal music, minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, a ...

band with various musicians who had played in

Pussy Galore Pussy Galore is a fictional character in the 1959 Ian Fleming James Bond novel '' Goldfinger'' and the 1964 film of the same name. In the film, she is played by Honor Blackman. The character returns in the 2015 Bond continuation novel ''Trigg ...

), Boss Hog), The Normals, Chrome Cranks, Circle X, Dustdevils, Drunk Tank, and Walldrug. Loudspeaker released several more recordings between 1990 and 1996 through

Sympathy for the Record Industry Sympathy for the Record Industry (also known as Sympathy Records or Sympathy 4 the R.I.) is a mainly independent garage rock and punk label formed in 1988 by Long Gone John. The first Sympathy release was the Lazy Cowgirls' ''Radio Cowgirl'' LP ...

and other labels. Sothira Pheng picked up the bass again and did double-duty as vocalist in San Francisco punk/

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

trio Proudflesh with ex-Crucifix guitarist Francis “Jimmy Crucifix” Schmidt. Proudflesh released the three-song ''Power Broker'' EP in 1988, which would later be included on the compilation ''The Rise and Fall'' along with all of Crucifix’s early material. Two decades later Proudflesh released their sole full-length album, a self-titled 2006 CD on Wired Gnome Records.

Legacy

"Annihilation", the opening track from Crucifix’s ''Dehumanization'' LP, has been adopted by several other musicians in the years since the album’s release. Brazilian death metal band

Sepultura Sepultura (, "grave")Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 17. is a Brazilian heavy metal band from Belo Horizonte. Formed in 1984 by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera,Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 16. the band was a major force in the groove metal, thra ...

covered the song and featured it a bonus track on their album ''Nation'' in 2001. The song was also recorded in 2004 by

A Perfect Circle A Perfect Circle is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1999 by guitarist Billy Howerdel and Tool vocalist Maynard James Keenan. A Perfect Circle has released four studio albums, the first three during the early 2000s: ' ...

for their third LP, '' eMOTIVe'', and the band Orbital used vocal samples from “Annihilation“ for their own song, "Choice".

Members

* Sothira Pheng (Vocals) * Jimmy Crucifix (Guitar) * Bryce Kanights (Bass on Self-titled EP) * Matt Borruso (Bass) * Christopher Douglas (Drums) * Drew Bernstein (Guitar) * Jake Smith (Guitar)

Discography

*1981: ''Crucifix'' (12" EP, Universal Records) *1982: ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' (7" single, Freak Records) *1983: ''

Dehumanization Dehumanization is the denial of full humanness in others and the cruelty and suffering that accompanies it. A practical definition refers to it as the viewing and treatment of other persons as though they lack the mental capacities that are c ...

'' (album,

) **CD released in 1995 by

**LP/CD/streaming reissue in 2021 by Kustomized Records *1997: ''Exhibit A'' (LP/CD compilation album, Kustomized Records)

Compilation appearances

*''Rat Music for Rat People, Vol. 1'' (

CD Presents David Ferguson was an American international outsider-culture impresario, activist, music producer and concert promoter. Over his career, most of which has been spent on the West Coast, he worked with musical acts such as the Avengers, John L ...

, 1982) *'' Not So Quiet On The Western Front'' (

Alternative Tentacles Alternative Tentacles is an independent record label established in 1979 in San Francisco, California. It was used by Dead Kennedys for the self-produced single " California Über Alles". After realizing the potential for an independent label, t ...

, 1982)

References

External links

Suburban Voice Interview
- Crucifix interview from 1983
Proudflesh's MySpace page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crucifix Anarcho-punk groups Hardcore punk groups from California Musical groups established in 1980 Musical groups from Berkeley, California