Whiplash is an American

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

band formed in 1984 in Passaic, New Jersey. The band has been centered around guitarist and vocalist Tony Portaro, who is the only constant member of the lineup. Despite never achieving major success, Whiplash has been recognized as one of the first East Coast thrash metal bands in the 1980s, and they are also notable for featuring drummer Tony Scaglione, who had been in and out of Whiplash since its inception and was a temporary fill-in for

Dave Lombardo David Lombardo (born February 16, 1965) is a Cuban-American drummer, best known as a co-founding member of American thrash metal band Slayer. He is currently playing drums with Testament, Fantômas, Suicidal Tendencies, Dead Cross, Mr. Bungl ...

in Slayer on the latter's '' Reign in Blood'' tour.

History

The original lineup of Tony Portaro, Tony Scaglione and Tony Bono recorded their debut album ''Power and Pain'' for Roadrunner Records in 1986. Joe Cangelosi replaced Tony Scaglione that same year when the latter left for a seven-week tour with Slayer. Joe Cangelosi recorded ''Ticket to Mayhem'' in 1987 with the two Tonys. In 1989, Glenn Hansen joined the band as the new singer for the album titled ''

Insult to Injury ''Insult to Injury'' is the third full-length studio album by American thrash metal band Whiplash. It follows 1987's ''Ticket to Mayhem''. It was seven years before a largely changed line-up recorded a new album, ''Cult of One ''Cult of On ...

''. The band split up due to business reasons, but reunited in 1995 after Portaro and Scaglione joined forces in a revamped lineup of Billy Milano's

M.O.D. M.O.D. (abbreviation for Method of Destruction) is an American crossover thrash band from New York City, fronted by Stormtroopers of Death vocalist Billy Milano. The band has been around for years (minus one hiatus from 1997 to 2001), and rele ...

for a European tour. Whiplash released two further albums, ''Cult of One'' and ''Sit, Stand, Kneel, Prey'' before the three Tonys recorded a final album together in 1998, ''Thrashback''. Bassist Tony Bono died in 2002 after suffering a heart attack, at the age of 38. In 2009, founding member Tony Portaro and Joe Cangelosi reformed the band, adding bassist Rich Day, and recorded ''Unborn Again'', released in September 2009. Whiplash played many festivals in Europe that year including

Wacken Open Air Wacken Open Air (, abbreviated as W:O:A) is a rock music festival, held annually since 1990 on the first weekend of August in the village of Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Almost all styles and subgenres of hard rock and metal are ...

in Germany, Jalometalli festival in Finland and shows in Italy, Norway, Mexico and Colombia. In 2010, the band took a limited break due to personal legal reasons. In early December 2010, Tony Portaro announced the return of their original drummer, Tony Scaglione, to the band. They recruited New York bassist David DeLong, a Pennsylvania-Dutch native, with music influences from the 1980s New York metal/hardcore/punk scene. However, after two weeks, Tony Scaglione announced personal scheduling issues became his priority. With the help of Ben Ward of

Orange Goblin Orange Goblin is a heavy metal band from London, England. Formed in 1995, the band's lineup currently consists of singer Ben Ward, guitarist Joe Hoare, drummer Chris Turner, and bassist Harry Armstrong. History Orange Goblin was originally f ...

and Nathan Perrier of Alabaster Suns, Labrat and Capricorns, Dan "Loord" Foord ( SikTh) entered into the band. Whiplash launched their Power and Pain 2011 tour with dates in Greece and Italy in April 2011. Following performances at

Hellfest Hellfest (), also called Hellfest Summer Open Air, is a rock festival focusing on heavy metal music, held annually in June in Clisson, France. Its high attendance makes it the French music festival with the largest turnover. It is also one o ...

(France) and Portaro's hometown of

Clifton, New Jersey Clifton is a city in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Criss-crossed by several major highways, the city is a regional commercial hub for North Jersey and is a bedroom suburb of New York City in the New York Metropolitan Area. As ...

, Whiplash headlined at the

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

festival Slaughter by the Water 2. After returning from

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, they began writing new material, and held another

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

performance before finishing their tour with three shows in Chile. In January 2012, Whiplash headlined thrash metal shows in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

and New Jersey before embarking on the heavy metal cruise 70000 Tons of Metal aboard the Royal Caribbean ship Majesty of the Seas. In March and April, Whiplash performed at shows in the Netherlands, and at the Keep It True festival in Germany and the SWR Barroselas Metalfest in Portugal. The band also headlined at the Convivencia Rock festival in Pereira, Colombia in July 2012. On October 10, 2015, Whiplash announced they were reuniting with original drummer Tony Scaglione. However, this reunion did not last for long, and the band replaced him with Tom Tierney, who was later replaced by former Overkill drummer Ron Lipnicki. In July 2018, Whiplash signed with

Metal Blade Records Metal Blade Records is an American independent record label founded by Brian Slagel in 1982. The US office for Metal Blade is located in Agoura Hills, California. It also has offices in Germany, Japan, Canada, and the UK. The label is distr ...

, and their eighth studio album ''Old School American Way'' is expected to be released in 2023.

Band members

Current * Tony Portaro – guitars, lead vocals (1984–1999, 2007–present) * David DeLong – bass, backing vocals (2011–present) * Ron Lipnicki – drums (2018–present) Timeline

Discography

Demos

*''Fire Away'' (1984) *''Thunderstruk'' (1984) *''Looking Death in the Face'' (1985) *Untitled 3-track demo (1985)

Albums

*''

Power and Pain ''Power and Pain'' is the debut album by American thrash metal band Whiplash. It was released in 1986 via Roadrunner Records and was followed up by 1987's ''Ticket to Mayhem''. In 1998, Displeased Records rereleased ''Power and Pain'', which i ...

'' (1986) *''

Ticket to Mayhem ''Ticket to Mayhem'' is the second studio album by American thrash metal band Whiplash. It was released on Roadrunner Records in October 1987 and follows 1986's '' Power and Pain''. In 1989, the band released a follow-up album, '' Insult to Inj ...

'' (1987) *''

'' (1989) *'' Cult of One'' (1996) *''

Sit Stand Kneel Prey ''Sit Stand Kneel Prey'' is the fifth studio album by American thrash metal band Whiplash. It was released in September 1997 via Massacre Records and comes only one year after their previous album, ''Cult of One''. Vocalist Rob Gonzo's stay wa ...

'' (1997) *''

Thrashback ''Thrashback'' is the sixth full-length studio album by American thrash metal band Whiplash (band), Whiplash. It was released via Massacre Records and follows the previous year's offering, ''Sit Stand Kneel Prey''. The album marked a return to ...

'' (1998) *''Unborn Again'' (2009) *''Old School American Way'' (TBA)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Whiplash 1984 establishments in New Jersey American musical trios American thrash metal musical groups Heavy metal musical groups from New Jersey Musical groups established in 1984