Repulsion (band)

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American grindcore band

title: "Repulsion (band)" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["american-grindcore-musical-groups", "hardcore-punk-groups-from-michigan", "earache-records-artists", "musical-groups-established-in-1984", "musical-groups-disestablished-in-1988", "musical-groups-reestablished-in-1990", "musical-groups-disestablished-in-1993", "musical-groups-reestablished-in-2003", "musical-groups-from-flint,-michigan"] description: "American grindcore band" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repulsion_(band)" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American grindcore band ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox musical artist"]

FieldValue
nameRepulsion
imageRepulsion.jpg
captionRepulsion performing live in 2009. From left to right: Mike Beams, Scott Carlson, Col Jones, Matt Olivo.
image_size275
backgroundgroup_or_band
alias{{flatlist
originFlint, Michigan, United States
genre
years_active1984–1985, 1985–1988, 1990–1993, 2003–present
label{{flatlist
current_membersScott Carlson
Matt Olivo
Chris Moore
past_members*James Auten
::

| name = Repulsion | image = Repulsion.jpg | caption = Repulsion performing live in 2009. From left to right: Mike Beams, Scott Carlson, Col Jones, Matt Olivo. | image_size = 275 | background = group_or_band | alias = {{flatlist|

  • Tempter (1984)
  • Ultraviolence (1984)
  • Genocide (1984–1986)}} | origin = Flint, Michigan, United States | genre = | years_active = 1984–1985, 1985–1988, 1990–1993, 2003–present | label = {{flatlist|
  • Necrosis
  • Earache
  • Relapse | website = | current_members = Scott Carlson Matt Olivo Chris Moore | past_members = *James Auten
  • Phill Hines
  • Aaron Freeman
  • Dave "Grave" Hollingshead
  • Col Jones
  • Tom "Fish" Perro
  • Matt Harvey
  • Mike Beams
  • Marissa Martinez

Repulsion is an American grindcore band from Flint, Michigan, founded in 1984 by Scott Carlson and Matt Olivo.

The band underwent many name changes before eventually settling on Repulsion after Carlson and Olivo left Death in the mid-1980s, recruiting Dave "Grave" Hollingshead as their drummer. The band subsequently recorded their debut album Horrified in 1986, releasing it three years later.

The band has been cited as an influence on numerous bands since its initial run, including Cannibal Corpse and Napalm Death.

History

In 1984, Matt Olivo and Scott Carlson, with bassist Sean MacDonald, formed Tempter, a metal act covering Bay Area thrash metal bands, such as Slayer and Metallica. The group's sound became increasingly infused with hardcore punk when Phil Hines, of Flint hardcore punk band Dissonance, joined as a drummer. They juggled band names, first renaming themselves Ultraviolence and then Genocide before recording their first demo in 1984. In spite of their growing popularity in the underground Genocide struggled to survive and faced difficulty maintaining a consistent lineup.

In the summer of 1985, Chuck Schuldiner, of pioneering death metal act Death, invited Carlson and Olivo to Florida to complete the Death lineup. The two parties failed to settle on a uniform creative direction and the merger proved short lived. Carlson and Olivo returned to Flint that summer, determined to reform Genocide. Local punk Dave "Grave" Hollingshead was recruited as drummer, after Carlson and Olivo saw an article about Hollingshead being arrested for grave robbery.

In 1985, the reformed Genocide recorded the Violent Death demo tape, with Carlson assuming bass duties, and resumed playing live locally. In late 1985, Aaron Freeman was invited into the band as a second guitarist. With their line-up fleshed out, Genocide recorded in a studio for the first time to lay down the tracks for what was supposed to be their first album The Stench of Burning Death – it ended up being their third demo. By 1986, Repulsion's trademark style had matured; characterised by raspy shouted vocals, extremely distorted down-tuned guitars, overdriven punkish riffs, absurd rambling solos interjected as if only as an afterthought, rumbling bass lines, and machine-gun drumming.

Finally, in 1989, Repulsion's material enjoyed modest, albeit posthumous, exposure when UK grindcore pioneers Carcass distributed a Repulsion compilation titled Horrified on their own Necrosis Records label; a subsidiary of Earache Records. With interest in Repulsion rekindled, the band decided to reform in 1990. They resumed playing live with the (almost) 'classic' Repulsion lineup: Scott Carlson bass and vocals, Aaron Freeman on guitar, and Dave Grave on drums; Matt Olivo, then serving in the army, filled in as a second guitarist when possible. Repulsion recorded two self-financed demos in 1991: Rebirth, and their Final Demo, often criticised as lacking the drive and intensity of the band's earlier material. Later that year they managed to release a single on Relapse entitled Excruciation. In spite of new material the band broke up yet again in 1993. Scott Carlson went on to play in Cathedral briefly, the rest of the band departed for short-lived projects or simply returned to everyday life. Relapse re-released Horrified again in 2003, drawing attention to Repulsion once more, and prompting the band to resume live performance. Their official return to the stage took place at the Maryland Deathfest in 2004. In 2008, Repulsion opened for At the Gates on their "Suicidal Final Tour" in California, along with Darkest Hour and Municipal Waste. Since then, Repulsion has continued to perform sporadically at major extreme metal festivals worldwide, including return appearances at Maryland Deathfest (2011, 2013, 2016), as well as Hellfest (2013) and Damnation Festival (2012). In 2019, the band celebrated the 30th anniversary of Horrified with a special performance at the Decibel Metal & Beer Fest.

Musical style and influences

The band is usually classified as a grindcore and goregrind band. William York of AllMusic wrote, "the band's sound fell somewhere between the earlier proto-grind of Boston hardcore band Siege and the more fully developed grindcore of the early Napalm Death recordings, at least as far as the evolutionary ladder goes. They were also one of the first metal bands to use horror- and gore-oriented lyrics, thereby helping start a tradition that soon would descend to deeper and deeper depths of depravity as successive bands strove harder and harder to outdo one another."****

The band plays fast, short songs usually between 1 and 2 minutes in length, often featuring thrash metal riffs and blast beats.

Lyrical themes explored by the band include torture, mutilation, dismemberment and murder.

Venom, Hellhammer, Celtic Frost, Discharge, Possessed, N.Y.C. Mayhem, Slayer, Slaughter, Exodus, and Crucifix have been repeatedly cited in interviews as major influences.

Legacy

William York of AllMusic describes Repulsion's music as having "held up fairly well over the years" while at the same time calling out the relative simplicity of their songs and the primitive nature of their production.

Others have suggested Horrified as laying the groundwork for other bands, including Cannibal Corpse, Death, and Pestilence.

Embury and Mitch Harris have both cited the album as a massive influence on Napalm Death, while Anders Björler of At the Gates credited the band with exposing him to grindcore and death metal. Mortiis cited Horrified as an influence.

Various bands have recorded covers of Repulsion songs, including Napalm Death, Impaled and Entombed.

Brutal Truth bassist Dan Lilker said he was surprised at the speed of the band when he first heard their demo; vocalist Kevin Sharp considered Carlson's bass tone to be genre-defining for grindcore, comparing it to the influence of the Ramones' "riffing" on punk music and Dave Lombardo's "Reign in Blood beat" on thrash metal.

Soilwork drummer Dirk Verbeuren expressed admiration for the album, which he considered a "grindcore milestone".

In a more lasting tribute than praise alone, Fenriz of Darkthrone, has a tattoo of the cover of Horrified on his arm.

Members

Current

Source:

  • Scott Carlson - vocals (1984-1985, 1985–1988, 1990-1993, 2003–present), bass (1985–1988, 1990-1993, 2003–present)
  • Matt Olivo - guitar (1984-1985, 1985–1988, 1990-1993, 2003–present)
  • Chris Moore - drums (2014–present)

Former

  • James Auten - drums (1984)
  • Sean MacDonald - bass (1985)
  • Phill Hines - drums (1984)
  • Aaron Freeman - guitar (1985-1988, 1990-1993, 2003–2005)
  • Dave "Grave" Hollingshead - drums (1985-1988, 1990-1993, 2003–2005)
  • Col Jones - drums (2005-2014)
  • Thomas Puro- drums (1986)
  • Matt Harvey - guitar (2005-2008)
  • Mike Beams - guitar (2008-2011)
  • Marissa Martinez - guitar (2011-2013)

Timeline

ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:18 PlotArea = left:140 bottom:120 top:10 right:20 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1984 till:01/01/2023 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom ScaleMajor = increment:3 start:1984 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1984

Colors = id:Vocals value:red legend:Lead_vocals id:Guitar value:green legend:Guitars id:Bass value:blue legend:Bass id:Drums value:orange legend:Drums id:studio value:black legend:Studio_Album

LineData = layer:back color:studio at:05/29/1989

BarData = bar:Carlson text:"Scott Carlson" bar:Olivo text:"Matt Olivo" bar:Freeman text:"Aaron Freeman" bar:Harvey text:"Matt Harvey" bar:Beams text:"Mike Beams" bar:Martinez text:"Marissa Martinez" bar:MacDonald text:"Sean MacDonald" bar:Auten text:"James Auten" bar:Hines text:"Phill Hines" bar:Hollingshead text:"Dave Hollingshead" bar:Perro text:"Tom Perro" bar:Jones text:"Col Jones" bar:Moore text:"Chris Moore"

PlotData= width:11 bar:Carlson from:start till:01/01/1985 color:Vocals bar:Carlson from:05/01/1985 till:11/01/1988 color:Vocals bar:Carlson from:05/01/1985 till:11/01/1988 color:Bass width:3 bar:Carlson from:05/01/1990 till:10/01/1993 color:Vocals bar:Carlson from:05/01/1990 till:10/01/1993 color:Bass width:3 bar:Carlson from:01/01/2003 till:end color:Vocals bar:Carlson from:01/01/2003 till:end color:Bass width:3 bar:Olivo from:start till:01/01/1985 color:Guitar bar:Olivo from:05/01/1985 till:11/01/1988 color:Guitar bar:Olivo from:05/01/1990 till:10/01/1993 color:Guitar bar:Olivo from:01/01/2003 till:end color:Guitar bar:Freeman from:05/01/1985 till:11/01/1988 color:Guitar bar:Freeman from:05/01/1990 till:10/01/1993 color:Guitar bar:Freeman from:01/01/2003 till:09/01/2005 color:Guitar bar:Harvey from:09/01/2005 till:04/01/2008 color:Guitar bar:Beams from:04/01/2008 till:07/01/2011 color:Guitar bar:Martinez from:07/01/2011 till:04/01/2013 color:Guitar bar:MacDonald from:start till:01/01/1985 color:bass bar:Auten from:start till:06/01/1984 color:Drums bar:Hines from:06/01/1984 till:01/01/1985 color:Drums bar:Hollingshead from:05/01/1985 till:04/01/1986 color:Drums bar:Hollingshead from:10/01/1986 till:11/01/1988 color:Drums bar:Hollingshead from:05/01/1990 till:10/01/1993 color:Drums bar:Hollingshead from:01/01/2003 till:09/01/2005 color:Drums bar:Perro from:04/01/1986 till:10/01/1986 color:Drums bar:Jones from:09/01/2005 till:09/01/2014 color:Drums bar:Moore from:09/01/2014 till:end color:Drums

Discography

Demos

  • Rehearsal Tape (1984)
  • Stench of Burning Death (1984)
  • Violent Death (1985)
  • WFBE (1986)
  • Slaughter of the Innocent (1986)
  • Rebirth (1991)
  • Final Demo (1991)

Single

  • "Excruciation" (Relapse Records, 1991)

Album

  • Horrified (Necrosis Records, 1989; Relapse Records, 1992, 2003; Southern Lord Records, 2006)

Split

  • Relapse Singles Series Vol. 3 (Relapse Records, 2004)

References

Bibliography

References

  1. (2016-01-05). "Repulsion and Terrorizer, the Bands That Started Grindcore, Are Back".
  2. "Choosing Death: The Improbable History of Death Metal & Grindcore".
  3. Brown, Gavin. (2024-08-13). "HEAVY MUSIC HISTORY: Horrified - Repulsion".
  4. "GENOCIDE / REPULSION".
  5. (2019). "Slave to the Grind". Death by Digital.
  6. Blabbermouth. (2016-01-15). "REPULSION Pays Tribute To LEMMY With 'The Hammer' Performance (Video)".
  7. "Maryland Deathfest · May 23-26, 2024 · Baltimore".
  8. "Repulsion Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More {{!}}...".
  9. York, William. "Horrified - Repulsion". [[Allmusic]].
  10. Slessor, Dan. (2020-08-11). "The 22 Most Essential Grindcore Albums".
  11. Wiederhorn, Jon WiederhornJon. (2023-10-06). "The Most Disgusting Metal Lyrics of All Time".
  12. "GENOCIDE / REPULSION".
  13. Roche, Jason. (2012-05-29). "Top 10 Metal Albums for People Who Don't Know Shit About Metal".
  14. Quietus, The. (2023-09-20). "Life In Death: Shane Embury's Baker's Dozen {{!}} Page 14 of 14".
  15. (2024-08-20). "Mortiis Lists 40 Albums that Shaped His Musical Vision".
  16. Blabbermouth. (2016-01-15). "REPULSION Pays Tribute To LEMMY With 'The Hammer' Performance (Video)".
  17. "Repulsion".

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american-grindcore-musical-groupshardcore-punk-groups-from-michiganearache-records-artistsmusical-groups-established-in-1984musical-groups-disestablished-in-1988musical-groups-reestablished-in-1990musical-groups-disestablished-in-1993musical-groups-reestablished-in-2003musical-groups-from-flint,-michigan