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Spike Cassidy | |
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| Background information | |
| Born | October 7, 1961 New York [1] |
| Genres | Crossover thrash, thrash metal, hardcore punk |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar |
| Years active | 1980–present |
| Labels | Beer City Records |
| Website | spikecassidy |
Peter "Spike" Cassidy (born October 7, 1961) is an American guitarist who is a member of crossover thrash band D.R.I. (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles).
Cassidy was born in Queens, New York City and grew up in Sound Beach, New York.[ citation needed ]
Cassidy, who played guitar, helped form D.R.I. in 1982 when he was 21 years old, along with his friend Kurt Brecht, Kurt's brother Eric Brecht on drums, and Dennis Johnson on bass. After releasing their first album in 1983, D.R.I. experienced its first lineup change, with Eric and Dennis Johnson leaving the band in 1984. Since then, D.R.I. would go through many lineup changes, although Cassidy has remained constant as the guitarist alongside vocalist Kurt Brecht who also has been an all time permanent member.
With the release of the highly regarded but commercially unsuccessful 1985 album Dealing with It! , D.R.I. abandoned the hardcore punk style of their first album for a crossover thrash style, which would continue on their next four albums, Crossover (1987), 4 of a Kind (1988), their breakthrough Thrash Zone (1989), and Definition (1992). After weak sales of their last studio album date, Full Speed Ahead (1995), D.R.I. had decided they would no longer record any new music. Since then, the band has continued touring almost constantly for years, and until 2016's But Wait... There's More! , they had not released any new material.
Cassidy also served as producer for Acid Bath's first album, When the Kite String Pops . [2]
In March 2006, Cassidy was diagnosed with colon cancer, putting D.R.I. on hiatus until his recovery. As of December 2006, Cassidy completed all radiation and chemotherapy. A one-foot section of his large intestine (colon) was removed through an eight-inch (20 cm) incision in his stomach. The surgery, which took place on March 27, 2006, was said to be successful in removing all traces of the cancer. The official D.R.I website states Cassidy to be cancer-free as of August 2008.
Dirty Rotten Imbeciles is an American crossover thrash band that formed in Houston, Texas in 1982. The band is currently composed of two of its founding members, vocalist Kurt Brecht and guitarist Spike Cassidy, as well as drummer Rob Rampy and bass player Greg Orr.
Acid Bath was an American sludge metal band from Houma, Louisiana, active from 1991 to 1997. Acid Bath combined doom metal roots with influences from hardcore punk, death metal, gothic rock, and blues to create the band's unique sound. In a Pit Magazine interview, vocalist Dax Riggs classified their sound as "death rock". In another interview, guitarist Sammy Duet described their sound as "gothic hardcore". They broke up after the death of bassist Audie Pitre in a traffic collision in January 1997.
Hirax is an American thrash metal band from Cypress, California. Starting in 1984 under the leadership of vocalist Katon W. De Pena, the band played in Los Angeles and San Francisco with several of their thrash metal peers such as Metallica, Exodus, and Slayer. The band was an early example of thrash metal, speed metal and crossover thrash.
When the Kite String Pops is the debut album of American sludge metal band Acid Bath. Released on August 8, 1994, it is considered an underground classic. The album's artwork is a self-portrait made by notorious serial killer John Wayne Gacy while in prison awaiting execution.
Dax David Riggs is an American musician, best known for fronting the sludge metal band Acid Bath in the 1990s. He has been a part of many projects since then, including Agents of Oblivion and Deadboy & the Elephantmen. In 2007 he began releasing material under his own name.
Attitude Adjustment is an American crossover thrash band from the San Francisco Bay Area. Their debut album, American Paranoia, is considered to be an early "crossover" between hardcore punk and thrash metal.
Dirty Rotten EP/LP is the 1983 debut release by the crossover thrash band Dirty Rotten Imbeciles. The album has a very gritty sound, and is considered one of the first thrashcore albums.
Crossover is the third album by the American crossover thrash band D.R.I., originally released in 1987. The genre "crossover" was coined from this release.
4 of a Kind is the fourth album by the American crossover thrash band D.R.I., which was released in 1988. The album features the song "Suit And Tie Guy", which had a music video made for it. It was the first D.R.I. song to get a video.
Thrash Zone is the fifth album by the American crossover thrash band D.R.I., released in 1989. It continues the thrash metal style of the previous album, 4 of a Kind. Thrash Zone was D.R.I.'s most successful album to date, and produced the song "Beneath the Wheel", which was made as a music video and received airplay on MTV. The song also was featured in the video game Skate 2. The album also contained the song "Abduction" which would also have a video made for it.
Definition is the sixth album by American crossover thrash band D.R.I. It was released in 1992.
Full Speed Ahead is an album by the American crossover thrash band D.R.I., released in 1995. It is the band's final studio album. The band's former roadie, Chumly Porter, played bass.
Violent Pacification is an EP by the American crossover thrash band D.R.I., which was released in 1984. The title track on this EP was covered by thrash metal band Slayer on their 1996 album "Undisputed Attitude".
Kurt Preston Brecht is an American vocalist best known for his work as the singer of crossover thrash band D.R.I.. He is also in a thrash band called Pasadena Napalm Division (P.N.D.).
Radio Edits 1, or simply Edits, was a remix album by American sludge metal band Acid Bath, released in September 1994 to radio stations only for promotional purposes. This album was not available to the general public and was an attempt to get the band more exposure. The four songs on this album were the most popular from the band's first full album, When the Kite String Pops, that were remixed and cleaned up to make them suitable for airing on the radio.
This is a discography of D.R.I., an American crossover thrash band formed in 1982 by Kurt Brecht, Spike Cassidy, Dennis Johnson and Eric Brecht. D.R.I. currently consists of Kurt Brecht, Spike Cassidy, Harald Oimoen (bass), and Walter Ryan (drums). The band rose to prominence in the U.S. during the thrash metal era with their albums 4 of a Kind and Thrash Zone. The band has released seven studio albums, two EPs, one compilation album and two live albums.
Live is a live album by the Crossover Thrash, hardcore punk band, Dirty Rotten Imbeciles, recorded at the Hollywood Palladium in November 1994.
Live at CBGB's 1984 is a live album by American crossover thrash band D.R.I., released in 2005. It features a live performance of the band at the famous music venue CBGB in New York City.
The Dirty Rotten Power is a split EP with three songs by the American crossover thrash band D.R.I. and two songs by Italian hardcore punk band Raw Power, and was released in 2001. It was released exclusively on 7" vinyl by Killer Release Records. It was reissued in 2012 on 2x Flexi-disc, 7", 33 ⅓ RPM single-sided vinyl under F.O.A.D. Records containing a bonus track.
But Wait... There's More! is an EP by the American crossover thrash band D.R.I. It was released on June 10, 2016, and is their first studio recording since 1995's Full Speed Ahead, and their first EP since 1984's Violent Pacification. But Wait... There's More! is also D.R.I.'s first release with Harald Oimoen on bass and Brandon Karns on drums, although the latter had left the band before its release. The EP contains three new studio tracks and two re-recorded versions of two songs from their 1985 album Dealing with It!, and marked the first time since 1989's Thrash Zone that the band had worked with producer Bill Metoyer.
Who Am I? I'm Spike, DRI. Here's my story. Born and raised in New York
