Backstabbers Incorporated
Encyclopedia
Backstabbers Incorporated (sometimes called Backstabbers Inc. or BSI, and previously known as Life Passed On) are an American
hardcore
/metal
band based in Portsmouth, New Hampshire
.
) and Trash Art! Records
in addition to some splits and EPs on smaller DIY
labels.
The band has gone on several US tours, including a short tour in January 2005, and a more extensive East Coast Tour from October to December 2005. In 2006, the band embarked on a European tour during August and September. Since a short tour in March 2008 around Dudefest, the band has largely been inactive.
On August 24, 2010 BSI announced via Facebook that their upcoming full length album would be released on Blackmarket Activities.
, crossover thrash
, post-hardcore
, and death metal
are often present. The use of a variety of vocal styles, from high pitched screaming to deeper growls, often serve to identify the band in both the hardcore and metal genres. On their earlier releases they are typically described as more direct and stripped-down, while their later releases such as Kamikaze Missions
show an expansion of their sound. Brian Serven also cites film composers Michael Nyman
and Yann Tiersen
as influences.
The band is also sometimes tied to straight edge
music culture, partly due to Serven not using drugs or alcohol (he is also a vegan). However, he expressed that these decisions are not tied to any youth-orientated subculture like straight edge, but are personal choices.
EPs
Splits
Demo
Former
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
hardcore
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
/metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band based in Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire in the United States. It is the largest city but only the fourth-largest community in the county, with a population of 21,233 at the 2010 census...
.
History
Backstabber Incorporated was formed as Life Passed On in the late nineties by Matt Serven (guitar) and Ryan McKenney (vocals). In 2000, a lineup changes prompted the band to change their name to Backstabbers Incorporated. Brian Serven joined around this time. They have released albums for Black Market Activities (distributed through Metal BladeMetal Blade Records
Metal Blade Records is a record label which was founded by Brian Slagel in 1982. The U.S. corporate office for Metal Blade is located in Agoura Hills, California. It also has offices in Arizona, Germany, Japan, Canada, and the UK. The label is distributed in the U.S. by Sony BMG Music...
) and Trash Art! Records
Trash Art!
Trash Art! is an independent record label from Providence, Rhode Island, specializing in loud music from punk and metal subgenres. The label was founded in 1997, annds-*Backstabbers Incorporated*Cursed*Disappearer*Forensics*Meltdown*Trap Them*XFilesX...
in addition to some splits and EPs on smaller DIY
Do it yourself
Do it yourself is a term used to describe building, modifying, or repairing of something without the aid of experts or professionals...
labels.
The band has gone on several US tours, including a short tour in January 2005, and a more extensive East Coast Tour from October to December 2005. In 2006, the band embarked on a European tour during August and September. Since a short tour in March 2008 around Dudefest, the band has largely been inactive.
On August 24, 2010 BSI announced via Facebook that their upcoming full length album would be released on Blackmarket Activities.
Musical style
The band is typically described as punk and hardcore as umbrella terms, but state that other influences such as grindcoreGrindcore
Grindcore is an extreme genre of music that started in the early- to mid-1980s. It draws inspiration from some of the most abrasive music genres – including death metal, industrial music, noise and the more extreme varieties of hardcore punk....
, crossover thrash
Crossover thrash
__FORCETOC__Crossover thrash, often abbreviated to crossover, is a form of thrash metal that contains more hardcore punk elements than standard thrash. The genre lies on a continuum between heavy metal and punk rock...
, post-hardcore
Post-hardcore
Post-hardcore is a genre of music that developed from hardcore punk, itself an offshoot of the broader punk rock movement. Like post-punk, post-hardcore is a term for a broad constellation of groups...
, and death metal
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
are often present. The use of a variety of vocal styles, from high pitched screaming to deeper growls, often serve to identify the band in both the hardcore and metal genres. On their earlier releases they are typically described as more direct and stripped-down, while their later releases such as Kamikaze Missions
Kamikaze Missions
Kamikaze Missions is an album by American hardcore band Backstabbers Incorporated. It was their second release for Trash Art! and it is their first full-length release made up entirely of new material...
show an expansion of their sound. Brian Serven also cites film composers Michael Nyman
Michael Nyman
Michael Laurence Nyman, CBE is an English composer of minimalist music, pianist, librettist and musicologist, known for the many film scores he wrote during his lengthy collaboration with the filmmaker Peter Greenaway, and his multi-platinum soundtrack album to Jane Campion's The Piano...
and Yann Tiersen
Yann Tiersen
Yann Tiersen is a musician from France. His musical career is split between studio albums, collaborations and film soundtracks with a distinctive sound that is always involved...
as influences.
The band is also sometimes tied to straight edge
Straight edge
Straight edge is a subculture of hardcore punk whose adherents refrain from using alcohol, tobacco, and other recreational drugs. It was a direct reaction to the sexual revolution, hedonism, and excess associated with punk rock. For some, this extends to not engaging in promiscuous sex, following a...
music culture, partly due to Serven not using drugs or alcohol (he is also a vegan). However, he expressed that these decisions are not tied to any youth-orientated subculture like straight edge, but are personal choices.
Discography
AlbumsStudio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
- 2003: Bare As Bones (Black Market ActivitiesBlack Market ActivitiesBlack Market Activities is an independent record label which was founded in 2003 by Guy Kozowyk, the singer of the Boston, Massachusetts, based metal band The Red Chord.-History:...
) - 2004: Kamikaze MissionsKamikaze MissionsKamikaze Missions is an album by American hardcore band Backstabbers Incorporated. It was their second release for Trash Art! and it is their first full-length release made up entirely of new material...
(Trash Art!Trash Art!Trash Art! is an independent record label from Providence, Rhode Island, specializing in loud music from punk and metal subgenres. The label was founded in 1997, annds-*Backstabbers Incorporated*Cursed*Disappearer*Forensics*Meltdown*Trap Them*XFilesX...
)
EPs
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
- 2000: Evolution (Cadmium Sick Records)
- 2001: While You Were Sleeping (Trash Art!)
- 2002: Theory/History (Element Records)
Splits
Split album
A split album is a music album which includes tracks by two or more separate artists. There have been singles and EPs released in the same nature, which can be referred to as split singles and split EPs respectively...
- 2001: Bad Cop, No Cop - 7" with Advocate (Black Day Propaganda)
- 2003: People Don't Take Photographs of Things They Want to Forget - with Advocate, Trap Them & Kill ThemTrap Them- Description :Trap Them's influences include hardcore punk bands, such as Black Flag, Born Against, and Tragedy; metal bands like Dismember and Entombed , and experimental bands like Swans...
, Purity's Failure, and Transistor Transistor (Broken Press)
Demo
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
- Backstabbers Incorporated (Self-released demo tape)
Members
Current- Matt Serven - guitar, vocals (1998–2008)
- Brian Serven - bass (2000–2008)
- Jonah Livingston - drums (2004–2008)
Former
- Ryan McKenney - vocals (1998-?)
- Brian Izzi - guitar (2001- ?)
- Mike Justian - drums
- Mike Quinn
- Matt Dunn
- Nick Yeti - Bass
External links
- BSI at Black Market ActivitiesBlack Market ActivitiesBlack Market Activities is an independent record label which was founded in 2003 by Guy Kozowyk, the singer of the Boston, Massachusetts, based metal band The Red Chord.-History:...
- BSI at Trash Art!Trash Art!Trash Art! is an independent record label from Providence, Rhode Island, specializing in loud music from punk and metal subgenres. The label was founded in 1997, annds-*Backstabbers Incorporated*Cursed*Disappearer*Forensics*Meltdown*Trap Them*XFilesX...