Dystopia was an American

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 ...

band that formed in

Orange County, California Orange County is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,186,989, making it the third-most-populous county in California, the sixth-most-populous in the United States, a ...

in 1991. They were popular in both the heavy metal and

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

scenes, due in large part to the band's bleak,

misanthropic Misanthropy is the general hatred, dislike, distrust or contempt of the human species, human behavior or human nature. A misanthrope or misanthropist is someone who holds such views or feelings. The word's origin is from the Greek words μῖσ ...

imagery. Dystopia's lyrics often dealt with human emotions and social or political issues such as

environmentalism Environmentalism or environmental rights is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement regarding concerns for environmental protection and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seek ...

racial equality Racial equality is a situation in which people of all races and ethnicities are treated in an egalitarian/equal manner. Racial equality occurs when institutions give individuals legal, moral, and political rights. In present-day Western society, ...

substance abuse Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods which are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder. Differing definitions of drug abuse are used in public health, ...

, and

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the sa ...

. Their music utilized the slow, heavy sound of sludge metal whilst including more up-beat elements drawing from crust punk,

grindcore Grindcore is an extreme fusion genre of heavy metal and hardcore punk that originated in the mid-1980s, drawing inspiration from abrasive-sounding musical styles, such as thrashcore, crust punk, hardcore punk, extreme metal, and industrial. G ...

, and

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 ...

Members

*Todd Kiessling – bass (Confrontation, Mange, Agrimony, Kontraklasse, Sour Vein, Screaming Fetus, Sex Powers) *Matt “Mauz” Parrillo –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

sample Sample or samples may refer to: Base meaning * Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of s ...

s (Cantankerous,

Mindrot Mindrot was an American extreme metal band formed in 1989 by Adrian Leroux and Matt Fisher in Westminster, California. They disbanded in 1998. Biography The band began in 1989 in Westminster, California. After a year of rehearsal and lineup ...

, Medication Time, Nigel Pepper Cock, Drain the Sky, John the Baker and the Malnourished, Kicker) *Anthony "Dino" Sommese –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

, vocals (Carcinogen,

Ghoul A ghoul ( ar, غول, ') is a demon-like being or monstrous humanoid. The concept originated in pre-Islamic Arabian religion, associated with graveyards and the consumption of human flesh. Modern fiction often uses the term to label a cert ...

, Asunder, Lachrymose, Insidious, Noothgrush)

Previous members

*Dan Kaufman – vocals (1991–1993) (Mindrot, Eyes of Fire, Destroy Judas) *Phil Martinez – drums (1991) (Phobia, Apocalypse)

Discography

; Studio Album *'' Human = Garbage'' 12-inch (1994, Life Is Abuse/Misanthropic Records) *'' The Aftermath'' 12-inch (1999, Life Is Abuse/Misanthropic Records) *''

Dystopia A dystopia (from Ancient Greek δυσ- "bad, hard" and τόπος "place"; alternatively cacotopiaCacotopia (from κακός ''kakos'' "bad") was the term used by Jeremy Bentham in his 1818 Plan of Parliamentary Reform (Works, vol. 3, p. 493). ...

'' CD/LP (2008 Life Is Abuse) ; EPs *''Backstabber'' 7-inch (1997, Life Is Abuse/Misanthropic Records/Common Cause ; Live Albums *''Live in the Studio'' demo tape (1992, self-released) ; Splits *''Dystopia/Grief'' 7-inch (1993 Life Is Abuse/Misanthropic Records) *''Dystopia/Embittered'' 12-inch (1993 Life Is Abuse/Misanthropic Records) *''Dystopia/ Suffering Luna'' 7-inch (1995 Life Is Abuse/Misanthropic Records) *''Dystopia/Skaven'' 12-inch (1996 Life Is Abuse/Misanthropic Records) *''Twin Threat to Your Sanity'' ongzilla/Noothgrush/Corrupted/Dystopia2-7"(2001 Bad People Records) ; Compilation appearances *"Anger Brought by Disease" on ''Cry Now Cry Later Vol. 2'' 2×7″ (1995 Pessimiser Records) *"Backstabber" (live) on ''Fiesta Comes Alive'' LP/CD (1997 Slap-A-Ham Records) *"Backstabber" on ''Reality Part Two'' LP/CD (1997 Deep Six Records) *"Cosmetic Plague (Rudimentary Peni)" on ''Whispers'' 2xLP/CD (1997 Skuld Records) *"Anger Brought by Disease" on ''Cry Now Cry Later Vol. 1 & 2'' CD (1998 Pessimiser Records) *"Diary of a Battered Child" on ''Twin Threat to Your Sanity'' 2×7″ (2001 Bad People Records/Riotous Assembly Records)

References

External links

Life Is Abuse Records
* American crust and d-beat groups Political music groups American sludge metal musical groups Musical groups established in 1991 Heavy metal musical groups from California American doom metal musical groups Musical groups disestablished in 2005 Musical groups from Orange County, California 1991 establishments in California American experimental musical groups Hardcore punk groups from California {{US-punk-band-stub