Heroin 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 formed in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

in 1989 within the underground Californian punk scene. They released 18 songs before breaking up in 1993, pioneering the

screamo Screamo (also referred to as skramz) is an aggressive subgenre of emo that emerged in the early 1990s and emphasizes "willfully experimental dissonance and dynamics".Jason Heller, "Feast of Reason". ''Denver Westword'', June 20, 2002Access date: ...

genre.

History

Heroin was a pioneer of the

genre. They were noted for the psychological intensity of their songs, which tended to be very short and include extraordinarily fast drumming and screamed vocals. Heroin only released a handful of vinyl EPs and singles, primarily on

record label

Gravity Records Gravity is an underground independent record label from San Diego.Trevor Kelley, "California Screaming". ''Alternative Press'' 17 (2003), pp. 84-86. It was formed in 1991 by Matt Anderson, a member of the influential underground band Heroin. It ...

; the group's debut 7" was also Gravity's first release.Paul Kott,

Heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

These releases were typically packaged in enigmatic ways, such as a sleeve silkscreened onto a

Ralphs Ralphs is an American supermarket chain in Southern California. The largest subsidiary of Cincinnati-based Kroger, it is the oldest such chain west of the Mississippi River. Kroger also operates stores under the Food 4 Less and Foods Co. nam ...

paper grocery bag.Aaron Burgess, "Heroin" in "Blood Runs Deep: 23 Bands Who Shaped Punk". ''

Alternative Press Alternative press may refer to: Individual publications * ''Alternative Press'' (magazine), an American music magazine Alternative journalism * Alternative media ** Alternative media (U.S. political left) ** Alternative media (U.S. political ri ...

'' No. 240 (July 2008), p. 126. A complete discography was later compiled on the ''Heroin'' CD in 1997, also issued on Gravity. The band split in 1993 after its members decided amicably to move on to other projects. Members went on to play in groups such as

Antioch Arrow Antioch Arrow was an American punk rock band from San Diego, California, that formed in 1992. Most of their discography was released through the San Diego independent label Gravity Records. The label was responsible raising San Diego's profile ...

, Clikatat Ikatowi, and Second Story Window; vocalist Matt Anderson also worked with A Minor Forest, Mohinder, and Angel Hair. Matt and Scott even played in the legendary San Diego punk/hardcore band,

Battalion of Saints Battalion of Saints was an American hardcore punk band from San Diego, California, that was founded in 1980. The band went through numerous lineup changes before touring the United States and Canada from 1984–1985 with George Anthony, Chris ...

from 2005-2008.

Posthumous legacy

Though the group was active for only four years and received little attention during the band's actual lifespan, the release of the Gravity compilation, as well as later accolades, resulted in their receiving considerable posthumous acclaim.

Geoff Rickly Geoffrey William Rickly (born March 8, 1979) is an American musician, best known as the lead singer and songwriter of rock band Thursday. Rickly is also a member of hardcore punk band United Nations, and the alternative rock group No Devotion w ...

, lead singer of

Thursday Thursday is the Names of the days of the week, day of the week between Wednesday and Friday. According to the ISO 8601 international standard, it is the fourth day of the week. In countries which adopt the "Sunday-first" convention, it is the fi ...

, named Heroin as one of his major influences.

called the group "one of the defining innovators in early '90s hardcore". In 2008, ''

'' named Heroin as a group of significant interest in its profile of "23 Bands who Shaped Punk", writing that "Heroin never received overdue credit for inspiring the aesthetic that

Story of the Year Story of the Year is an American rock band formed in St. Louis, Missouri, Story of the Year at Allmusic.comAccessed May 17, 2007. in 1995 under the name 67 North. The band eventually changed their name to Big Blue Monkey in 1998, and then subseq ...

From First to Last From First to Last is an American post-hardcore band based in the Los Angeles Area and Tampa, Florida. Formed by Matt Good, Scott Oord, and Parker Nelms in November 1999, the current line-up consists of Matt Good (lead guitar, vocals), Sonny M ...

and others eventually took to the bank." Emo subculture and history website Fourfa describes Heroin's self-titled LP as "A wall of furious, chaotic noise, vocal-chord-shredding screaming, lyrics of ultimate disillusionment and pain, and just the right amount of melody to pull things together without interrupting the flow of angst."Fourfa's Hardcore Emo Top Ten
/ref>

Members

* Matt Anderson - vocals. See also:

Rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

, Spacehorse, End of the Line,

Battalion Of Saints Battalion of Saints was an American hardcore punk band from San Diego, California, that was founded in 1980. The band went through numerous lineup changes before touring the United States and Canada from 1984–1985 with George Anthony, Chris ...

. *Scott Bartoloni - guitar. See also: Clikatat Ikatowi, End of the Line,

Statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size; a sculpture t ...

, Forced Down, Spacehorse,

. * Ron Johnson - bass. See also: Second Story Window. * Aaron Montaigne - drums. See also:

, Tarot Bolero, End of the Line, The Chandeliers, Dangerous Boys Club

Discography

* 1991 ''All About Heroin'' 7" - (Vinyl Communications) * 1992 ''Heroin'' 7" - (

) * 1993 ''Heroin'' 12" - (Gravity Records, Vermiform) * 1997 ''Heroin'' CD - (Gravity Records)

References

{{Authority control Hardcore punk groups from California American screamo musical groups American post-hardcore musical groups Musical groups from San Diego Musical groups established in 1989 1989 establishments in California