Origin is an American

technical death metal Technical death metal (also referred to as tech-death) is a musical subgenre of death metal that began and developed in the early- to mid-1990s, with particular focus on challenging, demanding instrumental skill and complex songwriting. Techni ...

band from

Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ; Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeast Kansas, in the Central U ...

, founded in 1990 under the monikers Necrotomy and Thee Abomination. They have been recognized by music critics and metal fans alike for combining a harsh sound with a high level of technical skill. Origin's music is characterized by almost exclusive use of several specific, difficult playing techniques: blast beats on the drum kit, multiple

death growl A death growl, or simply growl, is an extended vocal technique usually employed in extreme styles of music, particularly in death metal and other extreme subgenres of heavy metal music. Death growl vocals are sometimes criticized for the ...

ed vocals, and arpeggios and

sweep picking Sweep picking is a guitar playing technique. When sweep picking, the guitarist plays single notes on consecutive strings with a 'sweeping' motion of the pick, while using the fretting hand to produce a specific series of notes that are fast a ...

on both the guitars and the bass guitar. Their songs often have uneven, shifting time signatures. 2008 saw the band breakthrough in the United States with the release of their fourth studio album, '' Antithesis'', which was seen as a

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

Biography

Beginnings

In the year 1990 Kansas natives Paul Ryan and Jeremy Turner got together to form a death metal group with the goal of making the music as technically proficient as they wanted it to be. They went through a few names at this time, the first was Necrotomy, which they went under from 1990-1993, then they were Thee Abomination. However, these bands didn't capture the exact sound they were seeking. Some time years later a new band took shape in 1997 in the span of half a year. Bassist Clint Appelhanz and vocalist Mark Manning joined in October 1997, and drummer George Fluke joined in January 1998. The band members then decided to tour under the name Origin. On May 23, 1998, Origin opened for Suffocation. That summer, Origin recorded a four-song, self-financed and self-distributed demo, ''A Coming Into Existence''. In October, the band secured an opening slot on the Death Across America Tour, which also featured

Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest ...

Cryptopsy Cryptopsy is a Canadian technical death metal band from Montreal, formed in 1988. History Necrosis (1988–1992) Necrosis was formed in April 1988 by drummer Mike Atkin, guitarist Steve Thibault and vocalist Dan "Lord Worm" Greening, initially ...

Oppressor Oppressor was a technical death metal band from Chicago, Illinois, which formed in 1991 and disbanded in 1999. They released three albums. Three of the band's members went on to form alternative metal band Soil. History Oppressor was started ...

and

Gorguts Gorguts is a Canadian death metal band from Sherbrooke, Quebec, formed in 1989. The band has been through many personnel changes since its inception; its only constant member has been guitarist and vocalist Luc Lemay, who remains the primary cr ...

. In February 1999, George Fluke was replaced by John Longstreth and Doug Williams replaced Clint Appelhanz. With the new lineup, Origin secured a show with Napalm Death on April 14. Various other regional shows followed, including a spot at the November to Dismember Metalfest in Texas. On December 16, Origin signed to Relapse Records.

Debut album

On July 11, 2000, Origin released its first studio album, ''

Origin Origin(s) or The Origin may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Comics and manga * ''Origin'' (comics), a Wolverine comic book mini-series published by Marvel Comics in 2002 * ''The Origin'' (Buffy comic), a 1999 ''Buffy the Vampire Sl ...

''. Origin played the March Metal Meltdown in New Jersey and was invited to take part in Contaminated 2000. They shared the stage with Exhumed and

Cephalic Carnage Cephalic Carnage is an American death metal band formed in Denver, Colorado in 1992. The band comprises vocalist Lenzig Leal, guitarists Steve Goldberg and Brian Hopp, drummer John Merryman and bassist Nick Schendzielos. Cephalic Carnage has re ...

, and participated in another November to December in California. Origin joined forces with Poland's Vader, along with label mates

and

Dying Fetus Dying Fetus is an American death metal band originally from Greater Upper Marlboro, Maryland. Formed in 1991, the group is known for their consistently hook-laden song structures, characterized by blast beats, complex riffing, slam riffs and ...

, for the high-profile Death Across America 2000 Tour. Soon after, Origin embarked on yet another tour, this time alongside

Candiria Candiria are an American progressive metal band from Brooklyn, New York. Formed in 1992, the band was part of the second wave of New York hardcore, but subsequently expanded its performance to also play jazz, hip hop and progressive rock. The ...

and Poison the Well. They made another Milwaukee Metalfest appearance in 2001, and participated in Summer Slaughter that year (the 1st version of "Summer Slaughter Tour" under a different booking agency Digger). Origin then secured a headline tour before beginning work on another album. The result, '' Informis Infinitas Inhumanitas'', introduced two new members, James Lee on vocals and Mike Flores on bass guitar.

''Informis Infinitas Inhumanitas''

The band's second album '' Informis Infinitas Inhumanitas'' was produced by the band with Colin E. Davis co-producing at Studio One in Racine, Wisconsin. Immediately following its release, Origin hit the road as part of a summer metal tour with

Arch Enemy Arch Enemy is a Swedish melodic death metal band, originally a supergroup from Halmstad, formed in 1995. Its members were in bands such as Carcass, Armageddon, Carnage, Mercyful Fate, Spiritual Beggars, The Agonist, Nevermore, and Eucharis ...

and

Hate Eternal Hate Eternal is a death metal band from St. Petersburg, Florida. The band currently consists of founding guitarist/vocalist Erik Rutan and bassist J. J. Hrubovcak. To date, Hate Eternal has released seven studio albums: ''Conquering the Throne' ...

. Following the tour, Jeremy Turner resigned from the band and Clint Appelhanz (this time playing guitar instead of bass guitar) returned. Origin toured with Immolation, Vader, and

The Berzerker The Berzerker are an extreme metal band from Melbourne and was formed in 1995. The band's music, heavily influenced by older death metal and grindcore, can be characterized as a fusion of these with speedcore, and gabber. The band's founding me ...

, followed by another tour with All That Remains, Scar Culture and Crematorium. Unforeseen problems arose, and Origin had to cancel the tour with

Nuclear Assault Nuclear Assault was an American thrash metal band formed in New York City in 1984. Part of the mid-to-late 1980s thrash metal movement, they were one of the main bands of the genre to emerge from the East Coast along with Overkill, Whiplash, ...

in January 2003. Shortly thereafter John Longstreth resigned from the band; James King was chosen to fill the spot. The band played its first show with the new line-up in September 2003 in

Topeka Topeka ( ; Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeast Kansas, in the Central Uni ...

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

. At the concert, they shot a music video for the song "Portal", from ''Informis Infinitas Inhumanitas''. The band then landed a headlining west coast tour in January 2004 with

Uphill Battle Uphill Battle was an American metalcore band with elements of grindcore, based out of Santa Barbara, California, United States. History Uphill Battle got some recognition releasing their self-titled record on Relapse Records. Combining grind ...

. In the summer, Origin toured the Midwest, playing the Milwaukee Metalfest 2004 and The Texas Death and Grindfest with label mates

Soilent Green Soilent Green is an American extreme metal band formed in 1988 in Chalmette/ Metairie on the suburbs of New Orleans, Louisiana. Described as a sludge metal and grindcore band, the group blends elements of death metal, black metal, hardcor ...

and Kill the Client.

''Echoes of Decimation''

On March 15, 2005,The news post at Relapse Records' website, announcing the release of this album, is dated February 2, 2004. However, Allmusic and

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential econo ...

both state that the album was released on March 15, 2005. The news post itself states that the album was recorded in November 2004. The incorrect date arises from confusing post formatting—the post was created on February 2, 2004 but its ''content'' was not added until much later. Origin released '' Echoes of Decimation'', its third studio album. Fan reaction was mixed. A review of ''Echoes'' in the student newspaper of Metropolitan Community College-Longview in Kansas City called it monotonous, yet nonetheless impressive due to the band members' instrumental prowess. Numerous United States tours immediately followed, including headlining performances at the New England Metal and Hardcore Festival and Ohio Deathfest. The band then joined forces with

Malevolent Creation Malevolent Creation is an American death metal band formed in Buffalo, New York in 1987 and later based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The band's original members were rhythm guitarist Phil Fasciana, vocalist Brett Hoffmann, lead guitarist Jim ...

and

Animosity Animosity may refer to: * ''Animosity'' (comic), an American comic book series published by AfterShock Comics *Animosity (band) Animosity was an American death metal band from San Francisco, California, formed in 2000. The band released three ...

for a summer North American tour that was sold out at many venues. The tour for Origin was 52 days long, and only three shows had to be cancelled. In early 2006, James King and Clint Appelhanz left Origin, and had joined death metal/grindcore group Unmerciful, along with Jeremy Turner and Tony Reust. In April, John Longstreth returned to Origin, and in May, the band played their first European show. They also embarked on another summer headlining tour across North America, with Paul Ryan performing all guitar parts.

''Antithesis''

In February and March 2007, Origin played in Europe with label mates Misery Index and

Necrophagist Necrophagist was a German technical death metal band founded and fronted by guitarist and vocalist Muhammed Suiçmez. The band used baroque music-influenced compositions paired with extreme metal drumming. The name originates from the Greek ro ...

, as well as newly signed fellow Topeka locals

Diskreet Ferret Music was an American independent record label turned Warner Music Group subsidiary, founded in 1996. The label is owned by NORA's vocalist, Carl Severson, and based in West Windsor, New Jersey. Ferret recently started an imprint called N ...

. After the end of this tour, Jeremy Turner rejoined Origin and the band began to work on its next album. They finished recording in February 2008, and the resulting album, '' Antithesis'', was released April 1, 2008, and peaked at No. 21 on the '' Billboard''

Top Heatseekers Top Heatseekers are "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new an ...

chart. The band released a music video for the ''Antithesis'' song "Finite" on May 23, 2008. The video began to be shown on television the next day, premiering on MTV2's '' Headbangers Ball''.

''Entity''

The band went to record their fifth album, ''

Entity An entity is something that exists as itself, as a subject or as an object, actually or potentially, concretely or abstractly, physically or not. It need not be of material existence. In particular, abstractions and legal fictions are usually ...

'', as a trio of Paul Ryan, Mike Flores, and John Longstreth. Vocals were done by Ryan and Flores as vocalist James Lee was ejected from the band in late 2010. Lee later went on to join Minnesota based death metal band Face of Oblivion.
blabbermouth.et
In 2010, the band signed to German-based

Nuclear Blast Records Nuclear Blast is a record label and mail order record distributor with subsidiaries in Germany, the United States and Brazil. The label was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Germany. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label mov ...

and recorded their debut for the label in November. After releasing ''Entity'', Origin recruited

Jason Keyser Jason Keyser is an American extreme metal vocalist. Keyser joined death metal band Skinless as their new frontman in November 2004. Jason has released one album with Skinless ('' Trample the Weak, Hurdle the Dead'', 2006) and another album ...

Skinless Skinless is an American death metal band from Glens Falls, New York. The band formed in 1992 and disbanded in 2011, but reformed in 2013. History Skinless was formed by Ryan Wade and Noah Carpenter in the town of South Glens Falls, New York ...

for vocal duties. The band embarked on a tour with

Vital Remains Vital Remains is an American death metal band from Providence, Rhode Island, formed in 1988. History Formation and early years Guitarist Paul Flynn formed Vital Remains in 1988. Vital Remains' first line-up included Paul Flynn on lead guitar, ...

and Abysmal Dawn in North America. Soon after, Origin left to tour Europe with

Psycroptic Psycroptic are an Australian technical death metal band formed in Hobart, Australia in 1999. Mainstay members are Dave Haley on drums and his brother Joe Haley on guitar. Their lead vocalist, Jason Peppiatt, joined in 2004. In 2008 they signe ...

and

Leng Tch'e Leng Tch'e is a Belgian grindcore band. The band describes their style as "razorgrind", a combination of grindcore with death metal, stoner rock and metalcore. The band's name is an alternate romanisation of " língchí", a method of torture an ...

. The band also headlined the American "Occupation Domination" tour along with

Cattle Decapitation Cattle Decapitation is an American deathgrind band from San Diego, California, formed in 1996. The band's current lineup includes vocalist Travis Ryan, guitarists Josh Elmore and Belisario Dimuzio, bassist Olivier Pinard, and drummer David McGr ...

, Decrepit Birth,

Aborted Aborted is a Belgian death metal band formed in 1995 in Waregem. The group currently consists of vocalist, founder and only constant member Sven de Caluwé, guitarist Ian Jekelis, bassist Stefano Franceschini and drummer Ken Bedene. Although t ...

Rings of Saturn The rings of Saturn are the most extensive ring system of any planet in the Solar System. They consist of countless small particles, ranging in size from micrometers to meters, that orbit around Saturn. The ring particles are made almost entir ...

and

Battlecross Battlecross was an American heavy metal band from Canton, Michigan. The band has described their sound as "Blue Collar Thrash Metal". To date, they have released three albums through their label, Metal Blade Records. History The band was f ...

in 2012.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''

'' (2000) * '' Informis Infinitas Inhumanitas'' (2002) * '' Echoes of Decimation'' (2005) * '' Antithesis'' (2008) * ''

'' (2011) * ''

Omnipresent Omnipresence or ubiquity is the property of being present anywhere and everywhere. The term omnipresence is most often used in a religious context as an attribute of a deity or supreme being, while the term ubiquity is generally used to descri ...

'' (2014) * '' Unparalleled Universe'' (2017) * ''Chaosmos'' (2022)

EPs

*'' A Coming into Existence ''(1998)

Compilations

* ''Abiogenesis – A Coming into Existence'' (2019)

Members

Current members

* Paul Ryan – guitars, backing vocals (1997–present) * Mike Flores – bass, backing vocals (2001–present) * John Longstreth – drums (1999–2003, 2006–present) *

– lead vocals (2011–present)

Former members

* Mark Manning – lead vocals (1997–2001) * Clint Appelhanz – bass (1997–1999), guitars (2002–2006) * Doug Williams – bass (1999–2001) * George Fluke – drums (1998–1999) * James King – drums (2003–2006) * James Lee – lead vocals (2001–2010) * Mica Meneke – lead vocals (2010–2011) * Jeremy Turner – guitars, backing vocals (1997–2002, 2007–2010)

Timeline

ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20 PlotArea = left:120 bottom:180 top:10 right:20 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1997 till:08/31/2022 ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:1997 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1998 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:1 Colors= id:vocals value:red legend:Lead_vocals id:guitar value:green legend:Guitars id:bass value:blue legend:Bass id:drums value:orange legend:Drums id:studio value:black legend:Studio_albums id:other value:gray(0.6) legend:Others_releases LineData= at:06/16/1998 color:other layer:back at:07/11/2000 color:black layer:back at:06/11/2002 color:black layer:back at:03/15/2005 color:black layer:back at:04/01/2008 color:black layer:back at:06/07/2011 color:black layer:back at:07/04/2014 color:black layer:back at:06/30/2017 color:black layer:back at:05/03/2019 color:other layer:back at:06/03/2022 color:black layer:back BarData= bar:Mark text:"Mark Manning" bar:James text:"James Lee" bar:Mica text:"Mica Meneke" bar:Jason text:"Jason Keyser" bar:Paul text:"Paul Ryan" bar:Jeremy text:"Jeremy Turner" bar:Clint text:"Clint Appelhanz" bar:Doug text:"Doug Williams" bar:Mike text:"Mike Flores" bar:George text:"George Fluke" bar:John text:"John Longstreth" bar:James2 text:"James King" PlotData = width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(11,-4) bar:Mark from:01/01/1997 till:01/01/2001 color:vocals bar:James from:01/01/2001 till:01/01/2010 color:vocals bar:Mica from:01/01/2010 till:01/01/2011 color:vocals bar:Jason from:01/01/2012 till:end color:vocals bar:Paul from:01/01/1997 till:end color:guitar bar:Paul from:01/01/2011 till:01/01/2012 color:vocals width:3 bar:Jeremy from:01/01/1997 till:01/01/2003 color:guitar bar:Jeremy from:01/01/2007 till:01/01/2010 color:guitar bar:Clint from:01/01/1997 till:01/01/1999 color:bass bar:Clint from:01/01/2003 till:01/01/2007 color:guitar bar:Doug from:01/01/1999 till:01/01/2001 color:bass bar:Mike from:01/01/2001 till:end color:bass bar:Mike from:01/01/2011 till:01/01/2012 color:vocals width:3 bar:George from:01/01/1997 till:01/01/1999 color:drums bar:John from:01/01/1999 till:01/01/2003 color:drums bar:James2 from:01/01/2003 till:01/01/2007 color:drums bar:John from:01/01/2007 till:end color:drums

References

External links

*
Origin
on Myspace {{DEFAULTSORT:Origin 1998 establishments in Kansas American technical death metal musical groups Heavy metal musical groups from Kansas Musical groups established in 1998 Musical quartets Musicians from Topeka, Kansas Relapse Records artists