Paria was an American

experimental metal Avant-garde metal (also known as avant-metal, experimental metal, and experimental) is a subgenre of heavy metal music loosely defined by use of experimentation and innovative, avant-garde elements, including non-standard and unconventional soun ...

band formed in 2001 and based in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

. They have released one EP on Imagine It Records and two full length albums for

Black Market Activities Black Market Activities (BMA) is an American independent record label that was founded in 2003 by Guy Kozowyk, the frontman of the Boston, Massachusetts-based extreme metal band the Red Chord. History Black Market Activities was started with ...

. They went on indefinite hiatus in May 2010. As of possibly 2021 or 2022 they have been working on a third album.

History

Formation and ''Misanthropos''

Paria formed in the fall of 2001 in

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

. Initially, the band's style was a lot closer to the

nu metal Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, sometimes called aggro-metal) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop, alternative rock, funk, industrial, and grunge. Nu met ...

genre, but quickly they switched their style to a mixture of

mathcore Mathcore is a subgenre of hardcore punk and metalcore influenced by post-hardcore, extreme metal and math rock that developed during the 1990s. Bands in the genre emphasize complex and fluctuant rhythms through the use of irregular time signatur ...

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 ...

styles. The early stages of the band saw members come and go, but by 2003 a solid lineup materialized and the group began honing their sound. During this time, the band recorded a 2-song EP called '' The Torn Instances'' on Imagine It Records. On the strength of their EP, the band signed to

Guy Kozowyk The Red Chord is an American extreme metal, metal band from Revere, Massachusetts, formed in 1999. The group comprises vocalist Guy Kozowyk, guitarist/vocalist Mike "Gunface" McKenzie, bassist Greg Weeks and drummer Jon Rice. The band gained a f ...

in March 2004 and began writing and recording their first full length album. The summer saw the band continue touring around the country, including a stop at the first annual Texas Murder Fest in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

. ''

Misanthropos ''Misanthropos'' is the first full-length album by the American experimental metal Avant-garde metal (also known as avant-metal, experimental metal, and experimental) is a subgenre of heavy metal music loosely defined by use of experimentation ...

'' was released in November 2004, featuring the band's developed

technical Technical may refer to: * Technical (vehicle), an improvised fighting vehicle * Technical analysis, a discipline for forecasting the future direction of prices through the study of past market data * Technical drawing, showing how something is co ...

and experimental sound.

Instrumental era

In the summer of 2005, vocalist Brian Craig and drummer Corey Barnes both left the band. Barnes was replaced by Eric Schnee from New Jersey's

The Binding ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

but Craig's position was not immediately filled. Various vocalists (including Paul Pettit, and Ben Elliot) filled in on tour, and at one point Elliot was in consideration to join the band. Because Craig had left the band to pursue college, he joined them on tour during the following summer when he was off from school. Additionally, the band began pre-production for their next album with featured Craig on vocals. In early 2007, drummer Eric Schnee left the group to move back to New Jersey and reform his old band

, while the band confirmed that Craig had "left the band for good" to finish college. Original drummer Corey Barnes rejoined the group at this point and they continued performing and writing as an instrumental act, including becoming one of the few metal bands to play the Omaha Entertainment Awards, where they were nominated for Best Metal/Punk/Hardcore band. With much of their second album written and recorded instrumentally, the band felt that it was still missing something. In June 2008, they sent the album to former vocalist Brian to see if he could guest on a few tracks. Having just finished his college degree, Brian decided to return to the band and recording continued with him as a full member.

''The Barnacle Cordious'' and break-up

The band released their second full length album ''

The Barnacle Cordious ''The Barnacle Cordious'' is the second full-length album by the American experimental metal Avant-garde metal (also known as avant-metal, experimental metal, and experimental) is a subgenre of heavy metal music loosely defined by use of experi ...

'' in March 2009. The album was noted for the growth of the band's sound between albums which became even separated from traditional musical forms. Upon its release, they began sporadically touring throughout the

midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

, including a stop at the American Waste Festival in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

. On May 24, 2010, the band announced its "last show for an indefinite period of time" on June 5. They stated that they "did not believe Paria will ever be a finished experiment" but cited "other priorities" as the reason for the indefinite hiatus.

Musical style

Paria combines a lot of mathcore and grindcore styles with a mix of progressive metal to it. The basslines are unique overall, with aggressive vocals and pounding guitar and drum playing.

Discography

;

Albums An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records coll ...

* 2004: ''

'' (

) * 2009: ''

'' (Black Market Activities) ; EP * 2003: '' The Torn Instances'' ( Imagine It Records)

Members

; Current lineup * Brian Craig - Vocals/Guitar (January 2003-July 2005, June 2008-May 2010) * John Claus - Guitar (2001-May 2010) * Dustin Treinen - Bass (2001-May 2010) * Corey Barnes - Drums (2001-August 2005, 2007-May 2010) ; Former members * Eric Schnee - Drums (Nov 2005–Jan 2007) * Andrew Gustafson - Guitar * Aaron Langan - Guitar *Tim Greenup - Bass *Steven E. Athay - Vocals (July 2002 - December 2002) ; Live/tour only members * Ben Elliot - Vocals (January 2006)

External links

Paria
at

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paria (Band) Black Market Activities artists Musical groups established in 2001 Musical groups disestablished in 2010 Heavy metal musical groups from Nebraska