History
Bassist and vocalist Jonny Santos, guitarists Marlo Gonzalez and Tim Mankowski, and drummer Tommy Decker were in a band called Basic Enigma. They released a demo EP in 1994 named Drunk With Power. [1] [2] According to Decker, they learned "everything not to do" in Basic Enigma, and were inspired by Pantera, Slayer, and White Zombie at the time. Hearing Fear Factory's Demanufacture made them realize they needed to change the way they did things. The band started writing songs and recording them before actually playing them. Around the same time, Mike Sarkisyan replaced Mankowski on guitar. [3] Santos initially played guitar, but left the band for a while when he became a father. When asked back, the band already had two guitar players. He switched to bass, which he wasn't comfortable with. When auditioning singers, he jokingly sang "Seasons in the Abyss", prompting the rest of the band to insist on him being the permanent singer. [4]
Basic Enigma broke up and reformed as Spineshank. They recorded demos and handed them out at several shows in Los Angeles. After the release of a demo in 1996, Gonzalez departed the lineup. Sarkisyan became the band's sole guitarist. [5] Fear Factory guitarist Dino Cazares heard one of their demos and gave them a chance to open for Fear Factory and Coal Chamber in Los Angeles with other notable bands such as Snot, Soulfly, Sepultura, and Danzig. As a result of these shows, Spineshank piqued the interest of A&R director of Roadrunner Records, Kevin Estrada. Estrada liked them but was hesitant to sign them. He didn't like that Santos played the bass and sang because he felt it "inhibited" his singing. After several lineup changes, the band found Robert Garcia, who became their bass player. [2] [6] [7]
Estrada worked with them on a song that became "Detached," and after multiple performances, Estrada was pleased and wanted to do a demo deal. After speaking with Roadrunner, they were so impressed with the demos that they wanted to skip the demo deal and sign the band instead. Spineshank signed a seven-album deal with Roadrunner, guaranteeing $30,000 for their first album plus an extra $10,000 for subsequent records with the label. [8]
Strictly Diesel, The Height of Callousness and Self-Destructive Pattern (1998–2003)
Spineshank released their debut album, Strictly Diesel , on September 22, 1998. Fear Factory vocalist Burton C. Bell provided vocals on "Stain". Spineshank joined Fear Factory and Kilgore on a European tour that year.
Spineshank's second album, The Height of Callousness , was released on October 10, 2000. Unlike their debut album, The Height of Callousness had a strong industrial metal influence. The band was featured at Ozzfest 2001, and toured with Disturbed, Hed PE, Orgy and Mudvayne to promote the album. "Synthetic" and "New Disease" were released as singles in 2000 and 2001, respectively.
The band's third album, Self-Destructive Pattern , was released on September 9, 2003. Lead single "Smothered" was nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Metal Performance (2004). Shortly after the album was released, the band went on a European tour with Ill Niño and Chimaira. A show in the Netherlands was filmed on October 6, and became a DVD entitled Roadrage. However, it was never officially released.
Lineup change and hiatus (2004–2008)
In January 2004, it was reported that Santos had officially left Spineshank. Tommy Decker stated the split was "amicable" and due to "musical differences". Decker later said Santos left because the band wanted "to go heavier" but Santos didn't. [3] [10] [11] Santos later spoke about leaving Spineshank in a 2006 interview, stating: "I think that moment in time we weren't getting along the greatest. I was not happy with the direction of the music anymore, and I also think that the band had kind of just run its course. I think that Spineshank did what it was meant to do. I don't regret ever being in that band. It's some of the best memories of my life, but I think that the day was up." [12]
On January 17, 2004, Spineshank launched a search for a new vocalist, [13] and on November 7, 2005, Spineshank's official website announced they would work with Brandon Espinoza. They also stated they had already been working for five months at the time, and had produced five songs. The band did not intend to continue using the name Spineshank. Santos went on to release two albums with his new band, Silent Civilian.
On July 7, 2006, Espinoza posted an update on the band's message board, and stated that they were still writing material. On February 7, 2008, after almost two years of silence, Espinoza announced the band had broken up due to the lack of chemistry between its members. [14] On February 24, the band (excluding Espinoza) announced open tryouts for a new unnamed project. [15]
Anger Denial Acceptance, reunion with original lineup and disbanding (2008–2025)
The thing is we broke up and the Grammy thing [happened] during the same week. Things were already in motion, and it was already kind of over at the time. I mean, we were burned out. It's weird because it never set in, and we never got to be "Grammy-nominated Spineshank." It was like, okay, we got this nomination and we're done.
—Tommy Decker on the band being nominated for a Grammy
In 2008, Spineshank reunited with Santos, and in August they recorded a demo. Decker said of the reunion, "First of all, you don't have to worry about us abandoning our sound; there will be plenty of electronics/loops/synths on this record. Jonny is also singing better than he ever has, so there will be a ton of singing and melody as well. This will definitely be heavier than our previous albums but it will not be all bashing. I can wholeheartedly promise you that we will not be trying to be anything we are not. This is simply going to be Spineshank five years later. There will be a few new elements but it will be undeniably us (for better or worse!!!). . . " Santos stated in an interview that Anger Denial Acceptance "will be the Spineshank record we always wanted to make, and not what the label wanted us to make" and that it won't be a "commercially-driven record". [16]
On October 3, 2011, Spineshank debuted a new song, "Murder Suicide", via Noisecreep. [17] On June 19, 2012, the band released Anger Denial Acceptance through Century Media.
After several years of silence, on February 16, 2016, Sarkisyan in an online interview said the band had completed what they set out to do and there were no plans to continue. [18]
In July 2020, Spineshank's former label Warner Music Group (who owns Roadrunner Records) released "Infected", a song that was originally a b-side on the Japanese release of their 2003 album Self-Destructive Pattern , to Spotify. [19] The song had leaked to online outlets well over a decade prior.
Third reunion (2025–present)
In January 2025, Spineshank announced a reunion specifically for the September festival Louder Than Life. In addition to Santos, Garcia, and Decker, the lineup featured Tommy Decker, Jr. on guitar and Jason Hager of Chimaira also on guitar. [20] The new lineup has recorded a new song. [21]
Musical style and influences
Spineshank has been described as nu metal, [22] [23] industrial metal, [24] and alternative metal. [25] They have been compared to the likes of Fear Factory, Orgy, Static-X, Coal Chamber, and System of a Down. [26]
Jonny Santos has cited Robb Flynn, James Hetfield, and Tom Araya as his "biggest heroes", but was inspired to start playing guitar by Randy Rhoads, and Eddie Van Halen. Slash also had a big influence on Santos as a kid, stating "That's why most of my playing is all in pretty much, like, pentatonic patterns. I stay in a certain box that I feel really comfortable with, and I use my wah pedal quite a bit. Slash, to me, is just, like, God." Santos has also cited Sepultura, Machine Head, Ministry, and Godflesh as influences for Spineshank. [12]
