Opiate for the Masses was an American rock band from

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, California in 1999.

History

Opiate for the Masses was founded in 1999 by singer Ron Underwood, drummer Elias Mallin, guitarist/keyboardist Jim Kaufman, and guitarist Dustin Lyon.Opiate for the Masses biography

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 ...

The group's name is an alteration of

Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

's famous aphorism, "Religion is the

opium of the people The opium of the people (or opium of the masses) (german: Opium des Volkes) is a dictum used in reference to religion, derived from a frequently paraphrased statement of German sociologist and economic theorist Karl Marx: "Religion is the opium o ...

". Opiate for the Masses self-released a demo album entitled ''New Machines and the Wasted Life'' in 2000. In 2005, the band signed with

Warcon Enterprises Warcon Enterprises was a New York City based independent record label focusing on mostly post-hardcore, started by Bob Chiappardi of Concrete Marketing and Kevin Lyman, the founder of Warped Tour, in 2004.Seven Antonopoulos Chris Antonopoulos (born on 7 November 1973 in Dallas, Texas) is an American rock drummer, most notable for his tenure in Opiate for the Masses. Career Antonopoulos joined Phoenix/Los Angeles hard rock band Opiate for the Masses as a drummer in ...

on drums and Anna K. (of

Drain STH Drain STH (STH for Stockholm) was a rock girl band from Sweden. Biography Stockholm quartet Drain STH underwent many changes in both musical style and image. Guitarist Flavia Canel and drummer Martina Axén had been together in many acts start ...

) on bass. The group played the

Taste of Chaos Taste of Chaos (or "TOC") was a live music tour that was started in the winter of 2005 by Kevin Lyman, the creator of the successful Warped Tour along with his friend and business partner, John Reese. The Taste Of Chaos tour catered to fans of ...

tour and opened for

Static-X Static-X is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1994. The line-up has fluctuated over the years, but was long-held constant with band founder, frontman, lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Wayne Static until his ...

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My Chemical Romance My Chemical Romance (commonly abbreviated to MCR or My Chem) is an American rock band from Newark, New Jersey. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist Gerard Way, lead guitarist Ray Toro, rhythm guitarist Frank Iero, and bassist Mi ...

, and

Disturbed Disturbed may refer to: Books * ''Disturbed'', a 2011 novel by Kevin O'Brien (author) Film and TV * ''Disturbed'' (film), a 1990 film starring Malcolm McDowell * "Disturbed" (''Numb3rs''), a 2009 episode of ''Numb3rs'' * "The Disturbed", a 2 ...

on tour.OPIATE FOR THE MASSES Signs With CENTURY MEDIA RECORDS

Blabbermouth.net Blabbermouth.net is a website dedicated to heavy metal and hard rock news, as well as album and music DVD reviews. Blabbermouth.net was founded and is run by Borivoj Krgin. The first version of the website was launched in March 2001; in Octob ...

, February 4, 2008. In 2008, the group signed with

Century Media A century is a period of 100 years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. A centennial or ...

and released the album ''Manifesto''. The group followed the release of ''Manifesto'' by touring with

Filter Filter, filtering or filters may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Filter (higher-order function), in functional programming * Filter (software), a computer program to process a data stream * Filter (video), a software component tha ...

.OPIATE FOR THE MASSES: New Video Interview Available
Blabbermouth.net, July 1, 2008. In 2009, the group disbanded.

Original members

Ron Underwood Ronald Brian Underwood (born November 6, 1953) is an American film and television director, known for directing such films as ''Tremors (1990 film), Tremors'' (1990), ''City Slickers'' (1991), ''Heart and Souls'' (1993),'' and Mighty Joe Young ...

– vocals *Elias Mallin – drums *Dustin Lyon – guitars *Ryan Head – bass *Jim Kaufman – keyboards, guitar

Touring members

Seven Antonopoulos Chris Antonopoulos (born on 7 November 1973 in Dallas, Texas) is an American rock drummer, most notable for his tenure in Opiate for the Masses. Career Antonopoulos joined Phoenix/Los Angeles hard rock band Opiate for the Masses as a drummer in ...

– drums *Anna K. – bass

Discography

*''New Machines and the Wasted Life'' (Self-released, 2000) *''Seven EP'' (Self-released, 2001) *''Goodbye EP'' (Self-released, 2003) *'' The Spore'' (

Warcon Enterprises Warcon Enterprises was a New York City based independent record label focusing on mostly post-hardcore, started by Bob Chiappardi of Concrete Marketing and Kevin Lyman, the founder of Warped Tour, in 2004.Century Media A century is a period of 100 years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. A centennial or ...

, 2008)

Reunion

In 2010, original Opiate for the Masses members Ron Underwood, Elias Mallin, Dustin Lyon, Ryan Head, and guitarist Andy Gerold played a reunion show to a sold-out crowd in Tempe, Arizona.

References

{{Authority control Musical groups from Los Angeles Rock music groups from California