OLD (band)
Encyclopedia
OLD was a grindcore
/ industrial metal
band from Bergenfield
, New Jersey
, signed to Earache Records
. It featured Alan Dubin
on vocals, and James Plotkin
on guitar
s and programming
, both of whom would later form the experimental doom metal
band Khanate
.
style of grindcore which characterized Regurgitation's material.
After releasing a split EP with Assück
in 1990, Plotkin recruited former Nirvana
guitarist
Jason Everman
for their second album, Lo Flux Tube (1991). This album featured more avant-garde and industrial metal
influences in addition to their basic tongue-in-cheek grindcore, giving them a sound which was compared by some reviewers to a more uptempo Godflesh
. Lo Flux Tube also featured saxophone
work by guest musician John Zorn
.
OLD continued their avant-garde direction with their third album, The Musical Dimensions Of Sleastak (1993). The third track from that album, "Freak Now", appeared on the soundtrack
to the 1994 film Brainscan
.
Also in 1993, the band released Hold On To Your Face, an album of remix
es. At the time, the practice of remixing was virtually unheard of in heavy metal music
. The band's final album, Formula (1995), delved into further experimentation with techno
and industrial music
. OLD broke up shortly after releasing this album. Plotkin went on to pursue a successful career not just as a musician, but also as a record producer
and remix artist, working with many notable musicians across a number of different genres, particularly drone
, noise
, and sludge metal
.
Grindcore
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....
/ industrial metal
Industrial metal
Industrial metal is a musical genre that draws from industrial music and many different types of heavy metal, using repeating metal guitar riffs, sampling, synthesizer or sequencer lines, and distorted vocals. Founding industrial metal acts include Ministry, Godflesh, and KMFDM.Industrial metal's...
band from Bergenfield
Bergenfield, New Jersey
Bergenfield is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 26,764.Bergenfield was formed on the basis of a referendum held on June 25, 1894, from portions of Englewood Township and Palisades Township at the height of the...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, signed to Earache Records
Earache Records
Earache Records is a heavy metal-oriented record label based in Nottingham, UK and New York, USA. It helped to pioneer extreme metal by releasing many of the earliest grindcore and death metal records in the period 1988-1994.-History:...
. It featured Alan Dubin
Alan Dubin
Alan Dubin is an American vocalist/singer most widely known for his role in the now defunct doom metal band Khanate. He is noted for his tortured and distinctive vocal approach...
on vocals, and James Plotkin
James Plotkin
James Plotkin is an American guitarist and producer, famous for his role in bands such as Khanate and OLD, but with an extensive catalogue outside these bands. He has performed guitar duties for bands Phantomsmasher and Scorn and continues to remix tracks for bands such as KK Null, Nadja, Sunn...
on guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s and programming
Programming (music)
Programming is a form of music production and performance using electronic devices, often sequencers or computer programs, to generate music. Programming is used in nearly all forms of electronic music and in most hip hop music since the 1990s. It is also frequently used in modern pop and rock...
, both of whom would later form the experimental doom metal
Doom metal
Doom metal is an extreme form of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other metal genres...
band Khanate
Khanate (band)
Khanate was a drone metal supergroup that brought together James Plotkin and Alan Dubin, two members of the defunct band OLD, as well as Tim Wyskida and Stephen O'Malley )) fame)....
.
History
OLD formed from the remains of Plotkin's previous band, the short-lived grindcore act "Regurgitation". OLD's first album, entitled simply Old Lady Drivers, continued in the humorous, parodicParody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
style of grindcore which characterized Regurgitation's material.
After releasing a split EP with Assück
Assück
Assück was an anti-capitalist and anarchist grindcore and deathgrind band from Saint Petersburg Florida, active from 1987 to 1998. The band proved influential, with their album Anticapital voted number 4 in the Terrorizer list of their top 20 US grindcore albums, who described it as a "low-calibre...
in 1990, Plotkin recruited former Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
guitarist
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
Jason Everman
Jason Everman
Jason Mark Everman is an American guitarist/bassist who played with Nirvana and Soundgarden. Everman is currently studying philosophy at Columbia University.-Nirvana:...
for their second album, Lo Flux Tube (1991). This album featured more avant-garde and industrial metal
Industrial metal
Industrial metal is a musical genre that draws from industrial music and many different types of heavy metal, using repeating metal guitar riffs, sampling, synthesizer or sequencer lines, and distorted vocals. Founding industrial metal acts include Ministry, Godflesh, and KMFDM.Industrial metal's...
influences in addition to their basic tongue-in-cheek grindcore, giving them a sound which was compared by some reviewers to a more uptempo Godflesh
Godflesh
Godflesh are an English industrial metal band from Birmingham, England. Originally known as Fall of Because, they formed in 1988 by Justin K. Broadrick and G.C. Green and disbanded in 2002. Godflesh's innovative music is widely regarded as a foundational influence on industrial metal and post-metal...
. Lo Flux Tube also featured saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
work by guest musician John Zorn
John Zorn
John Zorn is an American avant-garde composer, arranger, record producer, saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist. Zorn is a prolific artist: he has hundreds of album credits as performer, composer, or producer...
.
OLD continued their avant-garde direction with their third album, The Musical Dimensions Of Sleastak (1993). The third track from that album, "Freak Now", appeared on the soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
to the 1994 film Brainscan
Brainscan
Brainscan is a 1994 horror film starring Edward Furlong, Frank Langella, Amy Hargreaves, Jamie Marsh and T. Ryder Smith. Music was composed by movie composer George S...
.
Also in 1993, the band released Hold On To Your Face, an album of remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
es. At the time, the practice of remixing was virtually unheard of in heavy metal music
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...
. The band's final album, Formula (1995), delved into further experimentation with techno
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
and industrial music
Industrial music
Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...
. OLD broke up shortly after releasing this album. Plotkin went on to pursue a successful career not just as a musician, but also as a record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
and remix artist, working with many notable musicians across a number of different genres, particularly drone
Drone music
Drone music is a minimalist musical style that emphasizes the use of sustained or repeated sounds, notes, or tone-clusters – called drones. It is typically characterized by lengthy audio programs with relatively slight harmonic variations throughout each piece compared to other musics...
, noise
Noise music
Noise music is a term used to describe varieties of avant-garde music and sound art that may use elements such as cacophony, dissonance, atonality, noise, indeterminacy, and repetition in their realization. Noise music can feature distortion, various types of acoustically or electronically...
, and sludge metal
Sludge metal
Sludge metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that melds elements of doom metal and hardcore punk, and sometimes incorporates influences from southern rock, stoner rock and grunge. Sludge metal is typically abrasive; often featuring shouted vocals, heavily distorted instruments and sharply contrasting...
.
Previous members
- Jason EvermanJason EvermanJason Mark Everman is an American guitarist/bassist who played with Nirvana and Soundgarden. Everman is currently studying philosophy at Columbia University.-Nirvana:...
(bass) - Ralph Pimentel (drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
) - Herschel Gaer (bass)
Discography
All releases were on Earache Records, except where otherwise noted.- Old Lady DriversOld Lady Drivers (album)Old Lady Drivers is the debut album from the band OLD. It was made as a parody of the grindcore acts during the 80's.-Track listing:# "Total Hag" - 2:49# "Corpse Full of Gunk" - 1:31# "Supermarket Monstrosity" - 0:56# "Lepers w/o Feet" 2:04...
(Full-length), 1988 - Colostomy Grab-Bag (Single), 1989
- Assuck/Old Lady Drivers (Split), 1990 (No System Records)
- Demo 1990 (self-produced)
- Lo Flux TubeLo Flux TubeLo Flux Tube is the second album by the band OLD. It marked a drastic change in style for the band, abandoning their previous grindcore parody in favor of a much more industrial and experimental sound...
(Full-length), 1991 - Hold On To Your Face (remixes) (Full-length), 1993
- The Musical Dimension of Sleastak (Full-length), 1993
- FormulaFormula (OLD album)"Formula" is an album by industrial/metal band OLD . It is their last full-length to date, and the group was condensed to a duo, with James Plotkin handling all instruments and Alan Dubin handling all vocals...
(Full-length), 1995