- Corrupted (band)
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Corrupted Origin Osaka, Japan Genres Sludge metal, doom metal, ambient Years active 1994–present Labels HG Fact, Nostalgia Blackrain Website dxmxtx.com/corrupted Members Chew Hasegawa
Mark Yokota
Ippei "TEX" Suda
TaikiPast members Hevi
Talbot
Monger
Lowell Isles
Shibata
Jose
Takehito MiyagiCorrupted are a Japanese doom/sludge metal band. They are known for their antipathy towards mainstream acceptance, even in their subgenre, which naturally tends towards obscurity. This is reflected not only in their dark and oppressive musical style but their reclusive nature, avoiding interviews and publicity photo shoots.[1] Despite their lack of media exposure they have recorded prolifically throughout their career, including numerous split albums with many artists and perform regularly in Japan and occasionally abroad, twice to the United States.[2]
Contents
Musical style
The band's sound is characterized by down-tuned guitars and bass playing slow, monotonous riffs under deep layers of feedback. The vocals are harsh, guttural growls, and the music alternates between long instrumental sections and sections with vocals which go for long periods of time without rest. They have been described by one writer as "some of the heaviest, gloomiest doom/sludge around, distinctly cacophonous, layering feedback pulverizing progressions into a distinctly cacophonous rumble."[3] However, they sometimes have long acoustic sections, spoken-word interludes, and other breaks in the style and even other instruments, as on their most recent album El mundo frio, a 72-minute song which contains extensive sections of harp. As another writer notes, "Right when you think you can peg Corrupted as an all Doom band they release a lush acoustic set within their bleak musical landscape."[4] To this effect, they recently added a keyboardist, Takehito Miyagi, to their lineup, which had previously consisted only of guitar, bass, drums and vocals.
Corrupted has a few idiosyncrasies. Though they are from Japan and their members (including lyricist/drummer Chew Hasegawa) on most releases are all Japanese, they sing almost exclusively in Spanish, though some songs contain sections in Japanese or English. In addition, the band has never taken promotional pictures nor do any of the albums contain group photos. The only known existing photographs are taken by fans at concerts. The band also never does interviews. Corrupted's albums typically contain extensive liner notes in the form of bleak black-and-white photographs, often real-life scenes of war-torn areas or other depictions of human suffering.
Much of Corrupted's discography appears on split albums, which they share with other doom metal bands or often with grindcore bands. The band is known for its ability to produce songs of virtually any length; their longest album El mundo frio consists of a single song substantially longer than an hour, while their shortest song, "Reset", recorded for a homeless benefit compilation, lasts less than two minutes.
In 2009, Terrorizer chose Corrupted's 1997 album Paso inferior as the seventeenth-best sludge album. As they put it,
“ Corrupted allow no interviews, no promo photos, and no pretension into their isolated world and rarely bother to play outside their own country, yet their music -- whether it be sludge, or instrumental ambience -- has had an immeasurable impact upon dozens of disciples of the heavy all across the board.[5] ” Interviews
This is a statement from the band in relation to interviews:
“ We've never done an interview and we don't let professional photographers take our picture. This is our policy—more an attitude—that we'd like to keep. Our expression of being Corrupted is in the sound, lyrics and artwork of our records. Of course, we always appreciate the people who buy our records, see us play and support us along with the fanzines, labels, distributors and event planners. We do not reject all media, or bash writers who express themselves through articles or reviews. All are free and it's only through our personal expression of using the media that we exclude interviews. ” —Corrupted[6]
Discography
Albums
- Paso inferior (1997, Frigidity Discos)
- Llenandose de gusanos (1999, HG Fact)
- Se hace por los suenos asesinos (2004, HG Fact)
- El mundo frio (2005, HG Fact)
- Garten der Unbewusstheit (2011, Nostalgia Blackrain)
EPs
- Anciano (1995, Japan Overseas)
- El dios queja (1995, Tag Rag)
- Nadie (1995, Third Culture)
- Dios injusto (1999, Frigidity Discos)
Singles
- "La victima es tu mismo" (2001, View Beyond Records)
- "Vasana" (2007, HG Fact)
- "An Island Insane" (2007, HG Fact)
Splits
- with Grief (1995), HG Fact)
- with Black Army Jacket (1997, Frigidity Discos)
- with Enemy Soil (1997, HG Fact)
- with Noothgrush (1997, Reservoir)
- with Scarver's Calling (1999, Gouge Records)
- with Phobia (1999, Rhetoric Records / Deaf American Recordings)
- with Meat Slave (2000, HG Fact)
- with Machetazo (2000, Frigidity Records)
- with Sloth (2000, self-released)
- with Discordance Axis and 324 (2001, HG Fact)
- with Cripple Bastards (2002, HG Fact)
- with Infaust (2002, Blind Date)
Compilation appearances
- Raggle Taggle (1996, Tag Rag)
- Una de gato cuerno de vaca (1996, Tee Pee Records)
- Painkiller vol. 1 (1996, Devastating Soundworks)
- Reality #3 (1999, Deep Six Records)
- Homeless Benefit EP (1999, Bad Card Records)
- Twin Threat to Your Sanity (2001, Bad People Records)
Members
- Chew Hasegawa – drums
- Mark Yokota – guitar
- Ippei Suda – bass guitar
- Taiki – vocals
Previous members
- Hevi – vocals, bass guitar
- Talbot – guitar
- Anri – harp on El mundo frio
- Takehito Miyagi – keyboards (studio-only)
- Shibata – bass guitar
- Jose – bass guitar
- Lowell Isles – bass guitar
- Katsumi Hiryu – bass guitar
- Monger – bass guitar
References
- ^ [1]: Thirsty and Miserable: Japanese Inspirations the Boredoms, RUINS and Corrupted
- ^ [2]: Corrupted::liveinfo (from band website)
- ^ [3]: "Grooveshark -- Blog Archive >> Japan is Doomed"
- ^ [4]: Thirsty and Miserable: Japanese Inspirations the Boredoms, RUINS and Corrupted
- ^ James Minton, Kim Kelly, and Jenn Selby, "Filth Parade," Terrorizer #188, September 2009, p. 56.
- ^ "Interviews". Corrupted. http://www.dxmxtx.com/corrupted/interview.htm. Retrieved 2007-02-11.
External links
EPs Anciano · El dios queja · Nadie · Dios injustoSingles "La victima es tu mismo" · "An Island Insane" · "Vasana"Splits Corrupted / Grief · Black Army Jacket / Corrupted · Corrupted / Enemy Soil · Noothgrush / Corrupted · Scarver's Calling / Corrupted · Corrupted / Phobia · Meat Slave / Corrupted · Corrupted / Machetazo · Corrupted / Sloth · Discordance Axis / Corrupted / 324 · Corrupted / Cripple Bastards · Corrupted / InfaustCategories:- Japanese doom metal musical groups
- Sludge metal musical groups
- Japanese heavy metal musical groups
- Musical groups established in 1994
- Musical quartets
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