Skrew

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Skrew

Origin	United States
Years active	1990 – 1998
Genres	Industrial metal, Thrash metal
Labels	Metal Blade

Skrew was an influential industrial metal band, formed in 1990 and disbanded in 1998.

1 Biography
2 Discography
3 Cultural References
4 External links

[edit] Biography

Skrew was formed in 1990 in Austin, Texas, by Adam Grossman (guitars/vocals) and Danny Lohner (guitars/background vocals). The band rose from the ashes of crossover thrash band Angkor Wat, of which Grossman and Lohner were members. Skrew recruited local Austin area musicians, as well as Al Jourgensen of Ministry, to record and produce their 1991 debut album Burning in Water, Drowning in Flame. Though the album fared well commercially (out-selling every debut on the Metal Blade catalog) and received high praise from critics, the band suffered numerous setbacks; conflicts with some of the members prevented the band from touring following the album's release, and Grossman and Lohner were forced to recruit a new line-up. Eventually things calmed down and Skrew proceeded to work on their second release Dusted, which released in 1994. This album saw the addition of keyboardist Jim Vollentine, who would remain with the band for the remainder of its career. Like its predecessor, Dusted was highly praised by critics and fans, and is still considered a classic in field of industrial metal by many fans of the genre. However, shortly after the albums release, Danny Lohner departed for personal reasons, which remain unknown to this day. He later attained much greater fame as a regular touring member of Nine Inch Nails. Many fans of the group have cited his departure as a major turning point in the bands career.

The band's music underwent significant change with the departure of Lohner, the result of which was the 1996 album Shadow of Doubt. The album largely moved away from the band's previous sound, featuring less electronics and sampling and more of a slow, extreme thrash metal sound somewhat similar to other 1990's metal bands such as Machine Head. Unlike the band's previous works, Shadow of Doubt failed to generate any significant interest, despite having the experienced hand of former Overkill guitarist Bobby Gustafson in the line-up. The band went through several member changes in the next year, but by 1997 Grossman had a stable line-up, and released the band's final album Angel Seed XXIII. The album was far different from anything the band had ever recorded, and featured a style somewhat reminiscent of the then-emerging nu-metal genre. Angel Seed XXIII received even less attention than its predecessor, and was heavily bashed by critics. Following the lack of success with their final two albums, Skrew announced their break-up in 1998.

In recent years following Skrew's break up, several of its previous members have become involved in other activities; Adam Grossman joined Ministry as a touring guitarist, and can also be heard playing rhythm guitar on their 2003 album Animositisomina. Lohner continues to be a well-known musician, and frequently contributes to A Perfect Circle and movie soundtracks. There have been several unconfirmed rumors of a possible Skrew reformation in the years since the band's break-up, but none of them have yet to come true.