| LABRAT |
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| INFO |
YEAR FORMED: 1998
HOMETOWN: London
MEMBERS:
Martin Ives (vocals),
Jamie Farrell (vocals),
Nathan Perrier (drums),
Steve Le Voguer (guitar),
Adam Sagir (bass)
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| BIOGRAPHY |
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The unconventional, genre-defying metal hybrid Labrat incorporates a myriad of influences while pushing the limits of what is sonically imaginable. Labrat’s songwriting process is an experimental procedure similar to a scientist testing different formulas on a mouse, the results of which make even bands as avant-garde as Tool seem conventional by comparison. Make no mistakes: Labrat’s music is brutal, hitting you like a bulldozer and trampling over anything in its path, irrespective of the outcome. This is not for the weak of heart.
The maniacal four-piece formed in London in 1998 and soon began preparing for their debut record. The result was Theme For A Downer And Anthems Of Rejection, released in 1998 on Fear Family Assassins. The press jumped on the record like a pack of starving hyenas, united in their general adoration and appreciation for the harsh, belligerent sounds on display. A short tour of the UK beckoned following its release, and Labrat seemed to leave a trail of destruction everywhere they went.
A flurry of activity took place in March of 1999, the most notable being an appearance alongside Napalm Death, Iron Monkey and Medulla Nocte on “Slayed In Britain,” a Rock Radio Networks feature highlighting the metal scene that was broadcast to over 250,000 listeners worldwide. Over the next year, the band spent much time writing new material, honing their raw skills both in the rehearsal room and on the live circuit, playing anywhere that would have them. Tracks appeared on numerous compilations, including Century Media’s Blitz 2 and the Visible Noise sampler, Visibility, helping spread the word of the band throughout the underground scene.
In February 2000, Labrat participated in a handful of shows in Ireland. After the success of those dates, the band organized a summer DIY co-headline tour of the UK with Subvert. A thousand copies of Homegrown Brutality, a spilt CD of the two bands, was pressed by Noisebox Records and subsequently sold out. More gigs with the likes of Skinlab, Raging Speedhorn and Earthtone9 expanded the band’s growing legion of fans (who are equally, if not more, enamoured with Labrat’s brutal intensity as the press). On Dec. 23rd 2000, the band kicked up a storm at The Final Beatdown, a Christmas hardcore show at London’s Underworld that also featured such acclaimed European acts as Knuckledust and Stampin’ Ground. Another gig at the massive Underworld with Crowbar in 2002 further cemented their reputation as a fierce live act.
Their new offering of insanity, Ruining It For Everyone, shows the band abiding by no rules, further proving their distaste for conventionality. This nine-track shot of brutality hits harder than a spiked bat to the head. This is their first release through Century Media Records and its pure aggression, fierce onslaught of guitar shredding and pummelling double bass will make you cower in fear. Clearly, no one is safe from their wrath and normality is now a thing of the past.
Labrat are as subtle as a neon sign with abrasive guitars, almost primal growling and speedy drums whipped into chaotic frenzy with skull-cracking consequences, and about as delicate as an elephant dancing on a bed of daisies. The word “extreme” doesn’t even come close.
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