| Keelhaul | ||
|---|---|---|
 Practicing. | ||
| Background information | ||
| Origin | Cleveland, Ohio, USA | |
| Genres | Progressive Metal, Sludge Metal, Math Rock, Hardcore | |
| Years active | 1997 - 2004, 2008 - Present (Hiatus since 2015) | |
| Labels | Escape Artist, Conspiracy Records, Hydra Head Records | |
| Associated acts | Abdullah, Meatjack, Sloth, 100000 Leagues Under My Nutsack, Axioma, Escalation Anger, Holy Ghost, The Not So Good Ol' Boys, Craw, Sleazy Jesus and the Splatter Pigs, Groin, La Gritona, Suicide King, False Hope, Terminal Lovers, Asphalt, False Hope, Integrity, Ringworm, Backslider, Chemically Retarded, State of Conviction, Knifedance, Mammoth, Smear The Queer, The Inmates | |
| Website | ||
| Band Logo | ||
| ||
Keelhaul are a four-piece progressive Mathcore/sludge metal band from Cleveland, Ohio. Active since 1997 and comprising of key players in Cleveland's heavy scene the members are Aaron Dallison (bass and vocals), Dana Embrose (guitar), Will Scharf (drums), and Chris Smith (guitar and vocals). The band is known for math-rock inspired time signatures meshed with a busy, sludgy sound. Vocals are sparse but harsh and spontaneous with lyrics based in humor, sarcasm, cynicism and inside jokes.
In their formation the band released three studio albums before taking a four-year hiatus from 2004 to 2008 to release their latest album to date in 2009. Keelhaul has toured the US and Europe as far back as 2000 but has since performed on occasion.
History[]
Keelhaul's formation came in 1997, quickly putting out a demo and putting on frequent shows in the Cleveland area, building a reputation for their angular, complex and sludgy music. The next year the band would release their debut self-titled album on Escape Artist to critical praise.The band would sign with Hydra Head Records and quickly follow up with a second album aptly named Keelhaul II and begin to tour more frequently, sharing the stage with the likes of Eyehategod, Meatjack and Unsane on the road. Following their first venture into Europe the band began work on a third record humorously titled Subject to Change Without Notice, released on 25 November 2003. After the band's second tour of Europe they would go on a hiatus with each member concentrating on other projects.
In 2008, Keelhaul would begin to perform again with a short tour and a string of local shows, citing "we're old and slow" and "we're slackers" as reasons behind the hiatus. [1] The band returned to Hydra Head Records for their fourth album and in an interview with MetalSucks, explained the hiatus and keeping in touch with the label:
| “ | “They don’t go hounding. They were actually pretty surprised to hear that we got back together and doing stuff. I think for some reason I talked to Mark or Aaron randomly, I don’t know why, and mentioned that we were playing. They were like “you guys are playing again? Well shit it’s nice to tell your label when you guys start playing again, you dick.” I was like, Ssorry. I didn’t know it was that important. Didn’t know anybody gave a shit.” Apparently they do. I think the hiatus thing happened sort of on purpose and sort of on accident. We came back from a European tour in ’04, and I was the only one that was really gung ho about putting out another record and touring more. Everyone else was kind of burnt out and frustrated by the tour and everybody else. So we decided to go on hiatus for awhile. That lasted seven or eight months. I think we did that New Year’s show with Unseen in Cleveland. That’s when we got back together to play again. We just needed a break, that’s all it comes down to. Back in the day, you can’t tell by our schedule now, but we used to tour quite a bit. We never really got anywhere at it. We never experienced the level of success that a lot of our contemporaries were beginning to experience at that point. Some of which have gone on to experience awesome levels of success, and I congratulate them on that.” | ” |
— Will Scharf, MetalSucks [2]
|
Triumphant Return To Obscurity was released on 18 August 2009 to positive reviews which followed with the band returning to the live stage in support of the record with a string of shows that year[3] and spend the fall touring Europe with ISIS and Circle. Keelhaul would go into 2010 opening for The Gates of Slumber and Pentagram on 28 January 2010, tour with Russian Circles and Today Is Day throughout the year and even be personally selected along with Double Negative to support Corrosion of Conformity on 10 October 2010.[4]. The band would tour again in 2011 and 2013 before quietly going on a hiatus.
Keelhaul's last live performance to date was on 19 February 2015 and their first show in two years at that time. The performance was at Now That's Class in Cleveland with Nyodene D and Radiation Backbody.[5]
Discography[]
Studio Albums[]
- Keelhaul (1998, Escape Artist)
- Keelhaul II (2000, Hydra Head Records)
- Subject to Change Without Notice (2003, Hydra Head Records)
- Triumphant Return To Obscurity (2009, Hydra Head Records)
Misc. Releases[]
- 1997 Demo (1997, Self-Released)
- Ornamental Iron (EP) (2000, Hydra Head Records)
- Anodyne / Keelhaul (Split with Anodyne) (2002, Chainsaw Safety)
- You Waited Five Years For This? (EP) (2009, Hydra Head Records)
Members[]
- Aaron Dallison - Bass, Vocals
- Chris Smith - Guitar, Vocals
- Will Scharf - Drums
- Dana Embrose - Guitars
Tours[]
- Eyehategod and Keelhaul Tour (With Eyehategod, ISIS) (2001)[6]
- Meatjack and Keelhaul Tour (With Meatjack) (2001)[7]
- Keelhaul II Tour (2001)[8]
- Keelhaul II European Tour (2002)
- Keelhaul 2002 North American Tour (2002)[9]
- Keelhaul and Unsane Mini-Tour (With Unsane) (2002)[10]
- Subject To Change Without Notice European Tour (2004)
- 2008 US Mini-Tour (2008)[11]
- ISIS and Keelhaul European Tour (With ISIS, Circle) (2009)[12]
- Keelhaul and Russian Circles Tour (With Russian Circles, Call Me Lightning) (2010)[13]
- Today Is The Day 2010 Tour (With Today Is The Day, Unsane) (2010)[14][15]
- Bruce Lamont / Keelhaul European Tour (With Bruce Lamont) (2011)[16]
- Today Is The Day 2013 Tour (With Today Is The Day, Ringworm, KEN Mode, Fight Amp) (2013)[17]
External Links[]
- MySpace
- Bandcamp
- Interview via MetalSucks
- BrooklynVegan Article
- Invisible Oranges Article
- Noisecreep
- Supercorrupter
- Lambgoat Helps!
References[]
- ↑ LambgoatAccessed 2 September 2017
- ↑ MetalSucks KEELHAUL’S WILL SCHARF GIVES GOOD INTERVIEW, accessed 2 September 2017
- ↑ LambgoatAccessed 2 September 2017
- ↑ BrooklynVeganAccessed 2 September 2017
- ↑ Hydra Head BlogspotAccessed 2 September 2017
- ↑ Lambgoat
- ↑ Lambgoat
- ↑ Lambgoat
- ↑ Lambgoat
- ↑ Lambgoat
- ↑ Lambgoat
- ↑ Lambgoat
- ↑ Lambgoat
- ↑ Invisible Oranges
- ↑ Noisecreep
- ↑ Lambgoat
- ↑ Keelhaul's Facebook