| Scott Carlson | |
|---|---|
| Background information | |
| Birth Name | Scott Carlson |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Genres | Grindcore, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Hardcore Punk, Garage Rock |
| Instrument(s) | Bass, Guitar, Vocals |
| Years active | 1984 - Present |
| Labels | Southern Lord Records, Rise Above Records, Necrosis, Earache, Black Lodge, Sound Pollution, Metal Blade Records |
| Associated acts | Cathedral, Church of Misery, Repulsion, Death, Septic Tank, Death Breath, From Beyond, The Superbees, Coffin's Slave |
Scott Carlson is an American musician originating from Flint, Michigan and currently residing in California.
He is most notable as the lead vocalist and bassist of pioneering grindcore band Repulsion. Additionally, he was briefly the bassist and vocalist of pioneering death metal band Death, whom were also seminal in the development of the death metal genres. Beyond that sound he has been involved with a wide range of musical sounds, namely doom metal with Cathedral and Church of Misery, hardcore punk with Death Breath and garage rock with The Superbees.
Biography[]
Repulsion[]
Matt Olivo and Scott Carlson, with bassist Sean MacDonald, formed Tempter in 1984, a metal act covering Bay Area thrash metal bands, such as Slayer and Metallica. The group's sound became increasingly infused with hardcore punk when Phil Hines, of Flint hardcore punk band Dissonance, joined as a drummer. They juggled band names, first renaming themselves Ultraviolence and then Genocide before recording their first demo in 1984. In spite of their growing popularity in the underground Genocide struggled to survive and faced difficulty maintaining a consistent lineup.
In the summer of 1985 Chuck Schuldiner, of pioneering death metal act Death, invited Carlson and Olivo to Florida to complete the Death lineup. The two parties failed to settle on a uniform creative direction and the merger proved short lived. Carlson and Olivo returned to Flint that summer, determined to reform Genocide. Local punk Dave 'Grave' Hollingshead was recruited as drummer, after Carlson and Olivo saw an article about Hollingshead being arrested for grave robbery.
In 1985 the reformed Genocide recorded the Violent Death demo tape, with Carlson assuming bass duties, and resumed playing live locally. In late 1985 Aaron Freeman was invited into the band as a second guitarist. With their line-up fleshed out, Genocide recorded in a studio for the first time to lay down the tracks for what was supposed to be their first album The Stench of Burning Death – it ended up being their third demo. By 1986 Repulsion would officially form and their trademark style had matured; characterised by raspy shouted vocals, extremely distorted down-tuned guitars, overdriven punkish riffs, absurd rambling solos interjected as if only as an afterthought, rumbling bass lines, and machine-gun drumming. Repulsion was experimenting with a hammering, static clouded, lo-fi sound that was on a level of extreme that had been touched on by few bands before. To complement the band's sound they penned gruesome lyrics; focusing on fantastic apocalyptic themes ranging from zombie epidemics to nuclear war.
Finally in 1989 Repulsion's material enjoyed modest, albeit posthumous, exposure when UK grindcore pioneers Carcass distributed a Repulsion compilation titled Horrified on their own Necrosis Records label; a subsidiary of Earache Records. With interest in Repulsion rekindled, the band decided to reform in 1990. They resumed playing live with the (almost) 'classic' Repulsion lineup: Scott Carlson bass and vocals, Aaron Freeman on guitar, and Dave Grave on drums; Matt Olivo, then serving in the army, filled in as a second guitarist when possible. Repulsion recorded two self-financed demos in 1991: Rebirth, and their Final Demo, often criticised as lacking the drive and intensity of the band's earlier material. Later that year they managed to release a single on Relapse entitled Excruciation. In spite of new material the band broke up yet again in 1993. Scott Carlson went on to play in Cathedral briefly, the rest of the band departed for short-lived projects or simply returned to everyday life. Relapse re-released Horrified again in 2003, drawing attention to Repulsion once more, and prompting the band to resume live performance.
In 2008, Repulsion opened for At the Gates on their "Suicidal Final Tour" in California, along with Darkest Hour and Municipal Waste. In the years since Repulsion has occasionally toured and appeared at numerous festivals around the world. Repulsion would appear at numerous festivals over the years such as Roadburn Festival, Psycho Las Vegas, The Power of The Riff, Scion RockFest, Maryland Deathfest and Decibel Magazine's 100th Issue Celebration just to scratch the surface.
Cathedral[]
Carlson initially joined Cathedral in 1994. With Adam Lehan and Mark Wharton both leaving the band that same year, Cathedral recruited various musicians to fill in for an upcoming tour with Black Sabbath. The band would recruit Carlson on bass along with Joe Hasselvander (Pentagram, Raven) on drums and Victor Griffin (Pentagram) as a second guitarist for the tour, though Barry Stern (Trouble) would fill in on some of the dates. Eventually the band would find their new rhythm section in Leo Smee and Brian Dixon as they entered the studio to begin work on their third studio album. Carlson would record a few songs with the band at the time, namely covers for the tribute album Nativity in Black along with a handful of demos which would later appear on The Serpent's Gold. He would ultimately be forced to leave the band when they were dropped from Columbia.
On 6 February 2011, Cathedral would announce they were to make their "retirement" from the scene, with their final shows set for that year and to record their final studio album in 2012.[1] Leo Smee would also depart from the group and be replaced by Scott Carlson as the band's bassist. Cathedral would essentially embark on a worldwide farewell tour, performing two dates in Japan, at Maryland Deathfest in the USA, two dates in Brazil, the Czech Republic, Finland and two days in Greece (One date in Germany at Hammer of Doom was intended but canceled due to conflicts with the festival organizers). This would build up to Cathedral's final show at the CMV Forum in London on 3 December 2011 alongside Gentlemans Pistols, Grand Magus and Comus. Despite being billed in their home country as their final show, the band would perform seven more shows in Australia as part of the Soundwave touring festival. Cathedral's last live performance was on 5 March 2012 at the Claremont Showgrounds in Perth, Western Australia.
Observing this final album as a planned funeral for the band, Cathedral was free to record and finish the album throughout 2012 on their own terms. To further bring things full circle Cathedral opted to release the album on Dorrian's label Rise Above Records, the same label that would reissue the band's first demo. A flexi for album outtake Vengeance of The Blind Dead was released in the February 2013 issue of Decibel. The Last Spire was released on 29 April 2013 to significant praise for the band's return to their doomed roots ala Forest and evoking a dark epitaph for the band, devoid of anything resembling a happy ending.
Other Projects[]
- Septic Tank would originally form in 1994 with the lineup of Lee Dorrian, Gaz Jennings, Carlson and Barry Stern (Trouble) whom were touring with Black Sabbath at the time. However the project would only be a concept and then shelved up to the announcement of Cathedral breaking up. The project would re-form in 2012 with drummer Jaime Gomez Arellano, conceptualizing a mix of hardcore and death metal with social and ecological themes. An eponymous EP would be released on 3 May 2013 to coincide with a gig supporting Repulsion and Necrophagia in London, England. The project would record nineteen songs a few years later, ultimately releasing Rotting Civilisation circa 13 April 2018 via Rise Above Records.
- Upon moving to California, Carlson had been involved with The Superbees since 1998. The Los Angeles foursome the Superbees electrify vintage garage grooves with the energy of Iggy Pop, the swagger of the Rolling Stones, and the raucous attack of Thee Hypnotics. Their debut full-length, High Volume -- a satisfying set of stage-burning rock -- was released on Acetate Records in September of 2002. The Top of the Rocks EP followed in 2010 as the band would perform regularly in California.
- In 2005, Nicke Andersson proposed the idea of working together to Carlson, of which he accepted. This project would end up coming into fruition in the form of Death Breath, of which Carlson originally only did guest vocals on a few tracks on their album Stinking Up the Night and EP Let It Stink, however became an official member after the departure of Mange Hedquist, the band's bassist.
- Carlson would join the Japanese doom metal band Church of Misery as a session vocalist in 2015. In May of 2015, bandleader Tatsu Mikami traveled to Maryland to record Church of Misery's fifth official studio album, with Dave Depraved of Blood Farmers on guitar and Eric Little of Earthride on drums.[2] Eventually, Scott Carlson would be announced as the vocalist for the next album. Church of Misery's fifth (Or sixth if you count Vol. 1) album And Then There Were None... was released on 4 March 2016. Carlson departed not soon after as bassist, Tatsu Mikami, wished to put together a different unit for touring.[3]
- Carlson would form a one-time project known as Coffin's Slave with Jon Siren (Dawn Of Ashes, Early Man, Mankind Is Obsolete, Psyclon Nine, System Syn) to record covers of Celtic Frost and Hellhammer for the 2014 tribute album Morbid Tales! A Tribute To Celtic Frost.
- Carlson would join With The Dead onstage at Psycho Las Vegas on bass to perform a cover of the Cathedral song "Ebony Tears" in 2018.
- Carlson would appear as a guest for Entombed at the 2022 edition of Gefle Metal Festival in Gävle, Sweden. One of several vocalists for this special performance, he would sing "Eyemaster", "Abnormally Deceased", "Serpent Speech", a cover of the Repulsion song "Black Breath" and "Damn Deal Done".[4]
Bands[]
- Tempter - Bass, Vocals (1984)
- Ultraviolence - Bass, Vocals (1984)
- Genocide - Bass, Vocals (1984 - 1986)
- Death - Bass, Vocals (1985)
- Repulsion - Bass, Vocals (1986 - 1987, 1990 - 1993, 2003 - Present)
- Cathedral - Bass (1994, 2011 - 2013)
- Septic Tank - Bass (1994, 2013 - ?)
- Hushdrops - Bass (1998)
- The Superbees - Guitar, Vocals (1998 - Present)
- From Beyond - Bass (Unknown Time Period)
- Death Breath - Bass, Vocals (2006 - Present)
- Coffin's Slave - Bass, Guitar, Vocals (2013)
- Church of Misery - Vocals (2015 - 2016)
- With The Dead - Bass (2018)
- Entombed - Live Vocals (2022)
Discography[]
With Genocide[]
- Toxic Metal (Demo) (1984)
- Violent Death (Demo) (1985)
- The Stench of Burning Death (Demo) (1986)
- Stench of Burning Death (Compilation) (2011, Buried by Time and Dust)
With Death[]
- Rehearsal Tape #7 (Demo) (1985)
- Rehearsal Tape #8 (Demo) (1985)
- Rehearsal Tape #9 (Demo) (1985)
- Rehearsal Tape #10 (Demo) (1985)
- Rehearsal Tape #11 (Demo) (1985)
With Repulsion[]
- Slaughter of the Innocent (Demo) (1986)
- Horrified (Studio Album) (1989, Necrosis)
- 1991 Demo (Demo) (1991)
- Final Demo (Demo) (1991)
- Excruciation / Helga (Lost Her Head) (Single) (1991, Relapse Records)
- Necrothology: Vomitus Visions from the Vault (Live DVD) (2004, Self-Released)
With Cathedral[]
- Nativity in Black (Tribute Album) (1994, Columbia)
- The Carnival Bizarre (Studio Album; Co-wrote "Vampire Sun" & "Night of The Seagulls") (1995, Earache)
- The Serpent's Gold (Compilation; bass on three songs) (2004, Earache)
- A New Ice Age (EP) (2011, Rise Above Records)
- The Last Spire (Studio Album) (2013, Rise Above Records)
With The Superbees[]
- Got This Feeling / Teenage Animal, Las Vegas Shakedown (EP) (2000, Cabeza De Tornado Records)
- High Volume (Studio Album) (2002, Acetate Records)
- The Superbees (EP) (2004, Sonic Fever)
- Top of The Rocks (EP) (2010, Acetate Records)
Other Releases[]
- Hushdrops - Summer People (7" Single) (1998, JSJ)
- Hushdrops - Transmission/Miami Rap b/w Amelia Airhead (7" Single) (1998, JSJ)
- Death Breath - Stinking Up The Night (Studio Album; Vocals on three songs) (2006, Black Lodge)
- Death Breath - Let It Stink (EP; Vocals on two songs) (2007, Black Lodge)
- Septic Tank - Septic Tank (EP) (2013, MCR Company)
- Coffin's Slave - Morbid Tales! A Tribute To Celtic Frost (Tribute Album) (2014, Corpse Flower)
- Church of Misery - And Then There Were None... (Studio Album) (2016, Rise Above Records)
- Septic Tank - Rotting Civilisation (Studio Album) (2018, Rise Above Records)
- Septic Tank - Burning Bridges (Flexi Single) (2018, Decibel Magazine)
- Death Breath - The Old Hag (7" Single; vocals on "Forest of Disgust") (2022, Electric Assault)
External Links[]
References[]
- ↑ Blabbermouth
- ↑ Church of Misery Facebook "The time has come...", accessed 24th June 2015
- ↑ Echoes and Dust
- ↑ Setlist.fm
| V·T·E Cathedral | |
|---|---|
| Final Lineup | Lee Dorrian • Gaz Jennings • Brian Dixon • Scott Carlson |
| Selected Past Members | Mark Griffiths • Adam Lehan • Mike Smail • Mark Ramsey Wharton • Leo Smee • Victor Griffin • Joe Hasselvander • Barry Stern |
| Studio Albums | Forest of Equilibrium • The Ethereal Mirror • The Carnival Bizarre • Supernatural Birth Machine • Caravan Beyond Redemption • Endtyme • The VIIth Coming • The Garden of Unearthly Delights • The Guessing Game • The Last Spire |
| Extended Plays | In Memoriam • Soul Sacrifice • Twylight Songs • Statik Majik • Hopkins (The Witchfinder General) • Gargoylian • A New Ice Age |
| Other Releases | Our God Has Landed • The Serpent's Gold • Anniversary • Happy Fucking Birthday |
| Selected Associated Bands, Etc. | Rise Above Records • Dave Patchett • Teeth of Lions Rule the Divine • Firebird • Penance • Death Penalty • The Skull • Workshed • With The Dead • Septic Tank • Lucifer • Napalm Death • Repulsion • Acid Reign • Chrome Hoof |