Hellnation was an
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
Covington, Kentucky
Covington is a list of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in Kenton County, Kentucky, Kenton County, Kentucky, United States, located at the confluence of the Ohio River, Ohio and Licking River (Kentucky), Licking Rivers. Cincinnati, Ohio, ...
. The band was active from 1988 to 2010.
The band's sound has been described as
thrashcore
Thrashcore (also known as fastcore) is a fast-tempo subgenre of hardcore punk that emerged in the early 1980s. Thrashcore is essentially sped-up hardcore, often using blast beats. Songs can be very brief, and thrashcore is in many ways a less d ...
,
powerviolence
Powerviolence (sometimes written as power violence) is an extremely dissonant and fast subgenre of hardcore punk which is closely related to thrashcore and grindcore. In contrast with grindcore, which is a "crossover" idiom containing musical ...
and
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 ...
.
Hellnation's style was composed of quick guitar riffs, large amounts of distortion, and angry, often profane lyrics. Lyrical subjects included
police brutality
Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, but is not limited to, ...
,
consumerism
Consumerism is a social and economic order that encourages the acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing amounts. With the Industrial Revolution, but particularly in the 20th century, mass production led to overproduction—the supp ...
, and the underground punk scene.
They completed numerous tours of the United States, Japan, Brazil and Europe.
Originally, Albert Veith was the band's original bassist, however due to the group being unable to find a drummer he switched to the drums.
Doug Long joined the group soon after as the bassist before leaving in 1999.
Mark Estes was then asked to play bass. After Estes left, Long rejoined. They broke up in January 2010, having released numerous records, most of which were released through guitarist Ken Hansford's label Sound Pollution.
Members of the band have since played in groups such as Erectile Dementia, Brody's Militia, and Jacked Up Zeros.
Band members
*Albert Veith – drums, lead vocals
*Ken Handsford – guitar, vocals
*Doug Long – bass, vocals
*Mark Estes – bass
*Chris Dodge – bass
(live member that filled in during their 1999 European tour)
Discography
Studio albums
*''Colonized'' LP (Sound Pollution, 1993)
*''Control'' LP/CD (Sound Pollution, 1994)
*''Your Chaos Days Are Numbered'' LP/CD (Sound Pollution, 1998)
*''Fucked Up Mess'' LP/CD (Sound Pollution, 1999)
(reissued by Laja in Brazil in 2001)
*''Cheerleaders for Imperialism'' LP/CD (
Slap-A-Ham, 2000)
*''Dynamite Up Your Ass'' LP/CD (Sound Pollution, 2002)
(reissued by Laja in Brazil in 2004)
Extended plays
*''People's Temple'' 7-inch (Sound Pollution, 1990)
*''Suppression'' 7-inch (Sound Pollution, 1991)
*''Aussie'' 7-inch (Spiral Objective, 1994)
(released in Australia, also known as ''Untitled'')
*''At War With Emo'' 5" (Slap A Ham, 1997)
*''Thrash Or Die: Japanese Hardcore Covers EP'' (MCR, 1998)
(released in Japan)
Splits
*Hellnation/Real Reggae split 7-inch (Slightly Fast, 1996)
(released in Japan)
*Hellnation/CFUDL split 7-inch (Sound Pollution, 1996)
*Hellnation/Sink split 7-inch (Sound Pollution, 1997)
*Hellnation/Merda split 7-inch (2+2=5/Luna, 2001)
(released in Brazil)
*Hellnation/Capitalist Casualties Split LP/CD (Sound Pollution/Six Weeks, 2008)
Compilation albums
*''A Sound Like Shit'' CD (Sound Pollution, 1996)
*''Thrashwave'' CD (Sound Pollution/Laja, 2002)
(released through Laja in Brazil)
Compilation appearances
*''Bbblleeaauurrgghh'' 7-inch (Slap-A-Ham, 1991)
*''Bloodless Unreality'' 7-inch (Forfeit, 1992)
*''I Kill What I Eat'' CD (Ecocentric, 1992)
(released in Germany)
*''No Desire To Continue Living'' 10-inch (Farewell, 1993)
(released in Germany)
*''ABC's Of Punk'' LP+7"/CD (Whirled Records, 1997)
*''Tomorrow Will Be Worse'' 4×7″ box set (Sound Pollution, 1998)
*''Fiesta Comes Alive'' LP/CD (Slap-A-Ham, 1998)
*''Homeless Benefit'' 2×7″ (Bad Card, 1999)
(released in France)
*''Reality Vol. 3'' LP/CD (Deep Six, 1999)
*''Tomorrow Will Be Worse'' CD (Sound Pollution, 2001)
*''All Punks Spending Drunk Night'' 7-inch (Backwoods Butcher, 2006)
References
External links
Hellnation on Discogs
Musical groups established in 1989
American musical trios
Powerviolence groups
American grindcore musical groups
Hardcore punk groups from Kentucky
{{US-punk-band-stub