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Crowbar (American band)

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Crowbar
Crowbar at Full Force 2019
Crowbar at Full Force 2019
Background information
OriginNew Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Genres
Years active1990–present
LabelsZoo, E1, Gold Metal, MNRK Heavy
MembersKirk Windstein
Tommy Buckley
Matt Brunson
Shane Wesley
Past membersJeff Golden
Craig Nunenmacher
Steve Gibb
Kevin Noonan
Matt Thomas
Jimmy Bower
Sammy Duet
Tony Costanza
Rex Brown
Todd Strange
Pat Bruders
Websitecrowbarnola.com

Crowbar is an American sludge metal band formed in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1990. The band is fronted by vocalist/guitarist Kirk Windstein, Crowbar's only consistent sole member. Infusing a slow, downtuned, brooding doom metal sound with the aggression of hardcore punk, Crowbar along with other bands in the New Orleans heavy metal scene such as Eyehategod, Soilent Green, Acid Bath, and Down pioneered a style known as sludge metal, though Windstein himself has admitted a slight dislike for the term[2]. The band are also known for their covers of songs from outside of their immediate genre. These include Gary Wright's "Dream Weaver" on Equilibrium, Iron Maiden's "Remember Tomorrow" on Odd Fellows Rest, and Led Zeppelin's "No Quarter" on Crowbar.

History

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Origins (1988–1991)

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Crowbar finds its origin in 1988 when Kirk Windstein joined the New Orleans hardcore punk band ShellShock.[3] Through ShellShock, Windstein met the band's drummer Jimmy Bower, who would go on to play guitars for Eyehategod as well as drums in both Down and En Minor. Though Windstein and Bower quickly became friends, the band collapsed when their guitarist Mike Hatch committed suicide in late 1988[citation needed]. The band replaced Hatch with Kevin Noonan and continued under the new name, Aftershock[citation needed]. As Aftershock, they released a demo in mid-1989 before again renaming themselves as Wrequiem, with their bassist Mike Savoie leaving the band and Todd Strange replacing him[citation needed]. They renamed themselves yet again in 1990 as The Slugs and released a demo in mid-1990, but the band eventually collapsed[citation needed].

Windstein considered becoming the bass player for New Orleans–based groove metal band Exhorder but he and Strange reformed their band, with Craig Nunenmacher as the drummer[citation needed]. Nunenmacher was later replaced by Tommy Buckley from Soilent Green, and Kevin Noonan returned on guitar[citation needed]. The band would finally land on the name Crowbar in mid-1991, after their label warned them that another band called The Slugs already existed, with the name Crowbar borrowed instead from one of Windstein's side-projects.[2] Windstein has listed Celtic Frost as one of the band's early influences in terms of sound.[4]

Career (1991–present)

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Crowbar performing in 2015

Crowbar's debut studio album, Obedience thru Suffering, was released in 1991, but failed to achieve significant sales or airplay. For 1993's self-titled album, personal friend and Pantera lead vocalist Phil Anselmo produced the record, whose level of fame at the time led to widespread promotion on MTV's Headbangers Ball[citation needed]. In addition, the music videos for both "All I Had (I Gave)" and "Existence Is Punishment" were featured on popular animated TV show Beavis and Butt-Head. Following this success, Crowbar would embark on major tours with Pantera [citation needed].

Their stage antics, immortalized in Pantera's third home video and Crowbar's Like Broken Glass home video, became infamous. In 1994, Pantera's music video for the song "I'm Broken" featured Anselmo wearing a Crowbar T-shirt. Original drummer Nunenmacher left the band in 1996 and was replaced by Jimmy Bower, and for their 1996 release, Anselmo sang backup on a few tracks on Broken Glass [citation needed].

In 2000, after the release of Equilibrium with Sid Montz on drums, Nunenmacher rejoined the band for the Penchant for Violence Tour with Black Label Society and Sixty Watt Shaman. Halfway through the tour, Nunenmacher replaced Black Label Society's drummer Phil Ondich, drumming for both bands for the rest of the tour. He would eventually join Black Label Society as a permanent member [citation needed].

Bassist Pat Bruders left Crowbar in September 2013[5], replaced by Jeff Golden, who formerly played with Six Feet Under, Thy Will Be Done, and Goatwhore.[6] Around the same time, drummer Tommy Buckley underwent surgery for prostate cancer[7].

In May 2016, bassist Jeff Golden announced on his Facebook page that he had been fired from the band.[citation needed] Shortly after Golden's departure, Windstein announced that founding bassist Todd Strange would return to the band. In July 2018, it was announced Strange had retired from touring but would remain a member of the band.[8] His final performance was at the Odd Fellows Rest 20th anniversary show on August 4, 2018. Shane Wesley is his live replacement.[9][10]

Crowbar's twelfth studio album Zero and Below was released on March 4, 2022.[11]

Members

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  • Kirk Windstein
    Kirk Windstein
  • Tommy Buckley
    Tommy Buckley
  • Matt Brunson
    Matt Brunson
  • Todd Strange
    Todd Strange

Current members

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  • Kirk Windstein – vocals, guitar (1990–present)
  • Tommy Buckley – drums (2005–present)
  • Matt Brunson – guitar (2009–present)
  • Shane Wesley – bass (2018–present)

Former members

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  • Todd Strange – bass (1990–2000, 2016–2018)
  • Wayne "Doobie" Fabra – drums (1991)
  • Mitchel Leonard – guitar (1991)
  • Craig Nunenmacher – drums (1991–1995, 2000, 2004–2005)
  • Kevin Noonan – guitar (1990, 1991–1993)
  • Matt Thomas – guitar (1993–1997)
  • Jay Abbene – guitar (1996)
  • Steve Gibb – guitar, backing vocals (2004–2009)
  • Jimmy Bower – drums (1990, 1996–1998)
  • Sammy Duet – guitar, backing vocals (1998–2002)
  • Jeremy Young – bass (2000; died 2014)
  • Sid Montz – drums (2000), additional studio percussion (1998–1999)
  • Tony Costanza – drums (2001–2004) (died 2020)
  • Jeff "Okie" Okoneski – bass (2000–2004)
  • Rex Brown – bass, acoustic guitar, keyboards (2004–2005)
  • Pat Bruders – bass (2005–2013)
  • Jeff Golden – bass (2013–2016)

Timeline

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Discography

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Crowbar – Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved August 29, 2013.
  2. ^ a b "Kirk Windstein of CROWBAR: 10 Facts You may Not Know About The Band : Metal Injection". YouTube. April 16, 2020. Archived from the original on December 22, 2021. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
  3. ^ "Encyclopaedia Metallum - Shell Shock (US)". Archived from the original on March 15, 2008.
  4. ^ Schwarz, Paul (May 25, 2000). "CoC chats with Kirk Windstein of Crowbar". Chronicles of Chaos. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  5. ^ Blabbermouth (September 2, 2013). "Bassist PATRICK BRUDERS Quits CROWBAR". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
  6. ^ "Louder Than Hell.net – Crowbar: Announces New Bassist". Louderthanhell.net. Archived from the original on October 20, 2013. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
  7. ^ Kennelty, Greg (August 26, 2013). "CROWBAR And SOILENT GREEN Drummer Undergoes Surgery For Cancer". Metal Injection. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
  8. ^ "Bassist Todd Strange To Step Down From Touring With Crowbar, Hometown "Odd Fellows Rest" Show Announced". Theprp.com. July 6, 2018. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  9. ^ Johnson, Kevin (July 10, 2018). "Todd Strange Leaves Crowbar". Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  10. ^ "Crowbar". Facebook.com. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  11. ^ "CROWBAR Announces 'Zero And Below' Album, Releases 'Chemical Godz' Single". Blabbermouth.net. December 9, 2021. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
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