Pailhead was a short-lived side project of the 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 Ministry

Ministry (band)

Ministry is an American industrial metal band founded by lead singer Al Jourgensen in 1981. Originally a synthpop outfit, Ministry changed its style to industrial metal in the late 1980s. Ministry found mainstream success in the early 1990s with its most successful album Psalm 69: The Way to...

, which featured Ian MacKaye

Ian MacKaye

Ian Thomas Garner MacKaye is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, musician, label owner, and producer. Active since 1979, MacKaye is best known for being the frontman of the influential hardcore punk bands Minor Threat and The Teen Idles, the post-hardcore bands Embrace and Fugazi, as well...

 on vocals (formerly of The Teen Idles

The Teen Idles

The Teen Idles were an American hardcore punk band formed in Washington, D.C. in August 1979. Teenagers Nathan Strejcek, Geordie Grindle, Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson were the band's continual members. Their recorded output consists of two demo sessions and one EP—1980's Minor Disturbance—released...

, Minor Threat

Minor Threat

Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band formed in Washington, D.C. in 1980 and disbanded in 1983. The band was relatively short-lived, but had a strong influence on the hardcore punk music scene, both stylistically and in establishing a "do it yourself" ethic for music distribution and...

, Skewbald/Grand Union, Embrace, and Fugazi and currently of The Evens

The Evens

The Evens are a Washington, D.C. indie-rock duo, formed in the fall of 2001, comprising partners Ian MacKaye and Amy Farina...

). The band's sound was a dark combination of menacing industrial

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...

 beats and hardcore punk

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...

, predating what Ministry would later do with Jello Biafra

Jello Biafra

Jello Biafra is an American musician, spoken word artist and leading figure of the Green Party of the United States. Biafra first gained attention as the lead singer and songwriter for San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys...

 in Lard

Lard (band)

Lard is a hardcore punk/industrial band founded in 1988 as a side project by Jello Biafra , Al Jourgensen , Paul Barker , and Jeff Ward . Biafra is perhaps best known as the former frontman of the punk rock band Dead Kennedys...

.

Considering MacKaye's inadvertent role in the establishment of the 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...

 community and Al Jourgensen

Al Jourgensen

Alain David Jourgensen , is a Cuban-American musician best known as the founder and frontman of the industrial metal band Ministry. He is sometimes credited as Alain Jourgensen, Alien Jourgensen, Hypo Luxa , Dog, Alien Dog Star and Buck Satan...

's legendary drug use, it was highly unexpected for them to collaborate.

Pailhead released the single "I Will Refuse" / "No Bunny" (released in both 7" and 12" formats) in 1987 and the 4-song EP Trait in 1988, both on the Wax Trax label. The CD edition of Trait also incorporates both sides of the "I Will Refuse" / "No Bunny" single. The drummer for "No Bunny" was Eric Spicer of Naked Raygun

Naked Raygun

Naked Raygun is a Chicago-based punk rock group. Initially active from 1980 to about 1992, Naked Raygun had several short-lived reunions afterwards and a full-time reformation in 2006....

.

These tracks were later re-released on Ministry's odds-and-ends compilation Side Trax

Side Trax

-1000 Homo DJs:-PTP:-Acid Horse:...

.

In popular culture

• Chris Connelly
  Chris Connelly
  Chris Connelly is a Scottish musician who became famous for his industrial music work of the late 1980s and early 1990s, particularly his involvement with the Revolting Cocks and Ministry. He has since established himself as a talented alternative singer-songwriter...
  
  's first work with Al Jourgensen was to record vocals for the track that would later emerge as "I Will Refuse." Connelly released this version, which he called "Stick" and attributed to the Revolting Cocks
  Revolting Cocks
  Revolting Cocks, also known as RevCo, is an American–Belgian industrial rock band and sometime supergroup that began as a musical side-project for Richard 23 of Front 242, Luc Van Acker, and Al Jourgensen of Ministry.-History:...
  
  , on his Initials C.C. album. In his memoirs, he says he was not offended when MacKaye rerecorded the vocals with new lyrics, saying "It was an honor to be erased by Ian."
• The song "I Will Refuse" was used in the Zero Skateboards
  Zero Skateboards
  Zero Skateboards is a skateboard company located in Carlsbad, California. It is part of the Black Box Distribution family. Zero decks are manufactured in Tijuana, Mexico, by Edieth and Osuna, which is owned by Jamie Thomas...
  
   video, Misled Youth.
• In The Game Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX
  Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX
  Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX is a BMX video game developed by Runecraft and published by Activision. It was released in 2001 for various systems, including the Game Boy Color, PlayStation, Dreamcast, and Game Boy Advance. It was also released for Windows. The game was followed by Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX 2...
  
  . Songs were also featured in the Streets on Fire skateboard video (Santa Cruz Skateboards). These songs included "Man Should Surrender", and "Don't Stand in Line".
• The song "I Will Refuse" was used in the premiere episode of Cold Case's fourth season, "Rampage".
• "I Will Refuse" was covered by Soulfly as a Bonus track for the Japanese edition of the album 3
  3 (Soulfly album)
  -Personnel:*Max Cavalera – Guitar, Arranger, Sitar, Vocals, Berimbau, Producer, Mixing, Photography, Cover Art*Marcello D. Rapp – Bass, Group Member*Roy Mayorga – Percussion, Drums, Group Member*Isabel Adelman – Voices...
  
  .
• Spinnerette
  Spinnerette
  Spinnerette is an alternative rock, indie rock solo project of Australian musician Brody Dalle. For this project she has collaborated with Tony Bevilacqua , Jack Irons and Alain Johannes...
  
   did a cover of "I Will Refuse" that was released with their song "All Babes Are Wolves".

Discography

• 1987 - I Will Refuse b/w No Bunny
• 1988 - Trait
  Trait (album)
  Trait is the first and only EP by the industrial rock/metal band Pailhead. The original EP was released in 1988, containing the first four songs in a slightly different order...