The Cancer Conspiracy was a

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

group from

Burlington, Vermont Burlington is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the seat of Chittenden County. It is located south of the Canada–United States border and south of Montreal. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 44,743. It ...

featuring guitarist Daryl Rabidoux, drummer/keyboardist/saxophonist Greg Beadle, and bassist Brent Frattini. Rabidoux and Beadle were veterans of the local

hardcore Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film * ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott * ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...

scene, and had broken away from their respective bands out of a need to try something new musically. Their initial plans were to find a vocalist and bassist, but after recruiting Frattini, decided to remain an instrumental trio. Their style draws heavily upon 70s

, particularly

King Crimson King Crimson are a progressive rock band formed in 1968 in London, England. The band draws inspiration from a wide variety of music, incorporating elements of classical, jazz, folk, heavy metal, gamelan, industrial, electronic, experime ...

and Yes, as well as

fusion Fusion, or synthesis, is the process of combining two or more distinct entities into a new whole. Fusion may also refer to: Science and technology Physics *Nuclear fusion, multiple atomic nuclei combining to form one or more different atomic nucl ...

, and

math rock Math rock is a style of progressive and indie rock with roots in bands such as King Crimson and Rush as well as 20th-century minimal music composers such as Steve Reich. It is characterized by complex, atypical rhythmic structures (includi ...

. Their first self-titled 3 song EP was released in 2001, consisting of 2 studio tracks and 1 live track. Their 9 song full-length debut '' The Audio Medium'' followed in 2002. The album explored a number of sonic landscapes, and revolved around the concept of the corporate music industry's control of the masses; that people are sheep to what music corporations and radio stations tell them to listen to, unaware of the real music that exists out there. As in the medical world, a
cancer conspiracy
that hides the cure for cancer for the purpose of making money from the sick. The album booklet contained a letter from a doctor by the name of Dr. Travis John, who shared similar views and who warned the band of the trouble they were getting themselves into. The band toured extensively with bandmates on their label Big Wheel Recreation, and also opened for

Oysterhead Oysterhead is an American rock supergroup featuring bassist Les Claypool of Primus, guitarist Trey Anastasio of Phish and drummer Stewart Copeland of The Police, with both Claypool and Anastasio providing vocals. The band's eclectic sound ha ...

's first tour. Their shows were sometimes augmented by video projections. In 2003, while at a show in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, their van was stolen, along with all of their equipment. This was the last and most disastrous in a series of mishaps that had plagued their tours. They decided to call it a day in late 2003. There were reports on the Big Wheel Recreation website that they were working on a second album, and songs have surfaced on P2P filesharing programs. The album is now being released by both Gilead and Radar Recordings, after years of legal issues surrounding the intellectual rights of the music. The album, Omega, was released in January 2008. Rabidoux is now working full-time as an engineer and producer at Strangeways Recording Studio in Providence, Rhode Island. He has also reunited with Frattini to form Deleted Arrows

. Beadle currently plays in a classic rock inspired band called Township in Roslindale, Massachusetts. The Cancer Conspiracy reunited for the Rocketsled reunion show in Burlington, Vermont on January 21, 2017. The original lineup of Daryl Rabidoux, Greg Beadle, and Brent Frattini played two songs, "Broken Heartbeats Gathered and Rebroadcast" and "Summer of Andy." On April 27, 2018 it was announced that the band would perform again, this time as part of a celebration of the life of

Cave In Cave In is an American rock band that formed in 1995 in Methuen, Massachusetts. The band's lineup solidified with the 1998 release of ''Until Your Heart Stops'' through Hydra Head Records, and their early albums were prominent in the metalco ...

bassist Caleb Scofield. The show took place on June 13, 2018, at the Royale in Boston, Massachusetts. Other artists performing include Scofield's own bands

and

Old Man Gloom Old Man Gloom is an extreme metal band originally formed in Santa Fe, New Mexico, but now based in Massachusetts. The group, formed by Aaron Turner of Isis and Santos Montano, expanded to become a sort of supergroup in the Boston hardcore and ...

References

External links

Obnoxious Listeners: The Cancer Conspiracy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cancer Conspiracy, The Musical groups established in 2001 Musical groups disestablished in 2003 Rock music groups from Vermont 2001 establishments in Vermont