The Alter Natives were an instrumental

Instrumental rock

Instrumental rock is a type of rock music which emphasizes musical instruments, and which features very little or no singing.Examples of instrumental rock can be found in practically every subgenre of rock, often from musicians who specialize in the style, most notably Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Link...

 band in Richmond, VA in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Their work has been described as a combination of "metal/tropical/surf" and as having "connections to progressive and space rock, albeit an unusually concise, powerful, and disciplined version of those genres", and "hard and fast instrumental fare geared tunefully by a mean, acidic guitar interplay and essential upfront rhythms". Though only four albums were released, material from a fifth unreleased album is available in rough form on the band's MySpace page.

Line-up

• Chris Bopst
  Balsac
  Balsac may refer to:* Balsac the Jaws of Death, a character and guitarist in the rock band Gwar* BalSac, a former Gwar bassist* Balsac, Aveyron, France...
  
   - Bass
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
  
• Greg Ottinger - 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...
  
  
• Jim Thomson
  Hans Orifice
  Hans Orifice is a drummer best known as a member of GWAR. Born Jim Thompson, he first took the name Hans Sphincter, and assumed his current name in 1987. Thompson left due to touring commitments with his main band, the Alter Natives, who released three albums on SST Records...
  
   - drums
  Drum kit
  A 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 ....
  
  
• Eric Ungar - 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...
  
   and Flute
  Flute
  The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
  
  (first two albums)

Discography

• 1985: Friends of The Farm (Self published cassette)
• 1986: Soviet Avant Garde Music
• 1986: Hold Your Tongue
• 1988: Group Therapy
• 1989: Buzz