Assück
American grindcore band from St. Petersburg, Florida, known for their anarchist sensibilities and influential sound.
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From 1988 to 1998, a grindcore band called Assück operated out of St. Petersburg, Florida.[1] Two studio albums, multiple EPs, and compilation tracks were produced by the band over its career.[1] Critics have called Assück a key influence in grindcore, and their final album Misery Index is often named among the genre's finest.[2]
Making and release
The trio of Proctor, Pavlovich, and Heritage first played together in mid-to-late 1988, rehearsing at Proctor's parents' house.[3] Assück recorded their 17-song demo cassette Born Backwards in early April 1989 at a small garage studio in Pinellas County, Florida.[4] That same date also marks the release of Terrorizer's World Downfall, recorded in the same room at the same studio.[5] Proctor, Pavlovich, and Heritage were all students at Boca Ciega High School in St. Petersburg, Florida during the latter half of the 1980s.[6]
A preliminary group called Toilet Birth was formed in 1987 by Pavlovich, Heritage, and two other individuals.[6] The band's name, a blend of "ass" and "suck," was a leftover from the Toilet Birth period and was intended to give offense.[3] An umlaut was added to the name as a parody of excessive metal umlaut usage, following the example of bands like Motörhead and The Accüsed.[7] On April 8, 1989, at the "Slamfest 89" event held at Jannus Landing in St. Petersburg, the band sold the first copies of their demo.[4]
What the cited sources add
Pratt also stated that Assück "were an incredible band with probably metal's best drummer, Rob Proctor, although no one ever mentions his name"[8] In a retrospective for Decibel Magazine, Pratt said that despite Anticapital's very short runtime, the album has "changed extreme music history".[8] According to the same source, the band combined "well-written poetic and political lyrics with catchy songs, insane musicianship and a short-fast-loud brutality that no one has topped since."[8]
References
- Wikipedia, "Assück" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Assück biography @ MusicMight"; [ Allmusic.com review of Misery Index] (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Assück" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Beard, "The Defining Guitarists and Gear of '90s Hardcore Punk", Reverb.com, 6 December 2017; Terich, "25 Essential Grindcore Albums", Treblezine, 14 September 2022 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Assück" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Into the Rabbit Hole (interview)" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Assück" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Into the Rabbit Hole (interview)"; "Into the Rabbit Hole (interview)"; "Into the Rabbit Hole (interview)"; "Handbills and Ticket Stubs (flyer repository)" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Assück" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The Soctt Burns Sessions: A Life in Death Metal 1987–1997 by David E. Gehlke"; "Assuck Discography 1989-1998"; "World Downfall by Terrorizer (credits)"; "The Soctt Burns Sessions: A Life in Death Metal 1987–1997 by David E. Gehlke" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Assück" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Perpetual Vomit (interview)" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Assück" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Into the Rabbit Hole (interview)"; "Blogged and Quartered"; "Into the Rabbit Hole (interview)" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Assück" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Stewart-Panko, Kevin (March 2009). "US Grind", Terrorizer 181, p. 43.; Pratt, "Retrospective: Assück's “Anticapital” is 15 minutes of grindcore history", Decibel Magazine, 18 February 2018 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Assück (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
More in American grindcore musical groups
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Assück (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Word definitions: the Codexery glossary, each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
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