Man Is the Bastard were a pioneering hardcore punk band who contributed the name, and perhaps also the ethos, to the punk subgenre known as power violence. Based in Claremont, California, the band existed from 1991 to 1997, releasing many vinyl records on obscure labels from around the world.
In stark contrast to other punk musicians, Man Is the Bastard made the move of displacing the electric guitar from its long reign as the primary instrument ...
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Man Is the Bastard were a pioneering hardcore punk band who contributed the name, and perhaps also the ethos, to the punk subgenre known as power violence. Based in Claremont, California, the band existed from 1991 to 1997, releasing many vinyl records on obscure labels from around the world.
In stark contrast to other punk musicians, Man Is the Bastard made the move of displacing the electric guitar from its long reign as the primary instrument of punk aggression. In turn, they made room within their revolutionary spirit for progressive bass chords and scales, for industrial noise (field recordings and power electronics), and for member Henry Barnes’ (Amps for Christ) homemade guitar reconfigurations.
The bass-heavy configuration was found in earlier projects by founding members Joel Connell and Eric Wood, who recorded under such monikers as Neanderthal and Cyclops. Their thematic emphasis on the primitive and mythological would continue in Man Is the Bastard records such as “Sum of...
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