Janus was an American

alternative metal Alternative metal (also known as alt-metal) is a genre of heavy metal music Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and United States. With r ...

band based in Chicago. They formed in 1992 in North East, Maryland and have released five studio albums, “Orifice” (1994),''Influx'' (1998), ''Armor'' (2004), ''Red Right Return'' (2008), and ''Nox Aeris'' (2012). They mix alternative metal with non-traditional rock instruments, such as auxiliary percussion, and electronic sounds. The band gained popularity on rock radio stations across the US due to their single "

Eyesore An eyesore is something that is largely considered to look unpleasant or ugly. Its technical usage is as an alternative perspective to the notion of landmark. Common examples include dilapidated buildings, graffiti, litter, polluted areas, and ex ...

," and has toured with bands such as All That Remains,

Breaking Benjamin Breaking Benjamin is an American Rock music, rock band from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, formed in 1999 by lead singer and guitarist Benjamin Burnley and drummer Jeremy Hummel. The first lineup of the band also included guitarist Aaron Fink an ...

, Chevelle,

Sevendust Sevendust is an American rock band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 1994 by bassist Vince Hornsby, drummer Morgan Rose and rhythm guitarist John Connolly. After their first demo, lead vocalist Lajon Witherspoon and lead guitarist Clint Lowery ...

, and

Sick Puppies Sick Puppies is an Australian alternative metal band formed in Sydney, New South Wales in 1997. After releasing their debut album '' Welcome to the Real World'' in 2001, the band rose to prominence in 2006 when their song " All the Same" was u ...

. The band is known for wearing custom made red and black 1920s Russian-inspired militaristic uniforms both on stage, and in their

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for "Eyesore."

History

Janus formed in 1998 and that same year released ''Influx'', a 12 track CD issued through Mirror Records with a sound similar to

The Smashing Pumpkins The Smashing Pumpkins (also referred to as simply Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band from Chicago. Formed in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, bassist D'arcy Wretzky, guitarist James Iha and drummer Jimmy Chamb ...

Tool A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many animals use simple tools, only human beings, whose use of stone tools dates ba ...

, and

Soundgarden Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and drummer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil (both of whom are the only members to appear in every incarnation of the band), and bassist Hiro Yamamo ...

. In 2004 Janus released their second album, titled ''Armor'' containing 9 tracks of a more modern

sound. In 2006 Janus released a 5 track demo that contained songs they would later re-record and feature on their 2008 release ''Red Right Return''. 5 songs were recorded for this demo: "If I Were You", "Your Arms", "The Nerve", "Skin Deep", and "100 Years". In 2007, director Noah Shulman shot a music video for their demo version of "If I Were You" in an ink factory in Chicago, Illinois in support of their third upcoming album, ''Red Right Return'', which was released in 2008 through Level It Records/Glass Bottom Boat Music. Johnny Salazar, previously of the bands "Shades of Fiction" and "Relative Ash", joined as the new drummer in 2007. Replacing long time original drummer Richie Betts (Influx/Armor/Red Right Return). Signed to a new label (REALID/ILG Records), Janus re-released ''Red Right Return'' in 2009, and shot another music video with Noah Shulman for their single "Eyesore." The band's fourth album, '' Nox Aeris'', was released on March 27, 2012. The first single is "Stains." According to a Tweet by band member Mike Tyranski in October 2016, the band is no longer together. Frontman David Scotney has since moved out of the Chicago area to start a new pizza restaurant called Oakfire in Lake Geneva, WI David Scotney, re-launched the band and announced via a youtube video on April 22, 2019. On May 3, 2019, the band released their first single since 2012, a cover of the song Drive, by The Cars, and all of the proceeds go to charity for bipolar disorder research.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

References

External links

Official Janus WebsiteOfficial Janus Facebook page
{{Authority control American alternative metal musical groups American post-grunge musical groups Hard rock musical groups from Illinois Heavy metal musical groups from Illinois Musical groups established in 1998 Musical groups from Chicago