Dining alone in Minnesota

1995 was not a bad year for hardcore and metal. In the distant reaches of the far north, something was brewing. And, no, I’m not talking about the release of Slaughter of the Soul – while the Swedes were redefining thrash, a quintet in Minneapolis was going the opposite route by slowing things way down and thus doing their part in the evolution of hardcore, at the same time alienating metal purists all over the known universe. They were called Disembodied.

In 1996, after their first EP on Furface Records, Disembodied released another EP, The Confession, on Moo Cow, their first properly distributed record, which I picked up that same year somewhere in Germany, probably because I read somewhere that they were at least partly a straight edge band, yet didn’t feel the need to be preachy, instead opting to go for a much more dismal level of expression. So I was curious, and I instantly got hooked on what they were doing.

Fast forward to the Winter of 2004. My brother and I are driving along an empty road on our way to see friends of ours at their practice space and we’re trying to decide what music to put on in the car. I hadn’t really listened to Disembodied in years, but for some reason the dial stopped at Heretic, their final full-length release on Edison. We turned up the volume and about a minute later we both kind of looked at each other, stunned upon the realization how powerful this band really was. Then we turned up the volume some more.

By then, Disembodied had long broken up, its members having moved on to form Martyr a.d. as well as Pelican. But they left behind a solid number of recordings, from their first EPs as well as Diablerie and its follow-up If God only knew the rest were dead, both out on Ferret, to Heretic and Oxymoron, their split with Brother’s Keeper on Trustkill that also featured a cover of Quicksand’s ‘Dine alone.’ The latter is notable for its faithfulness to the original, yet it retained every bit of Disembodied’s distinct heaviness. But their earlier records certainly don't lack in that regard either. I’ve seen Diablerie compared to Roots-era Sepultura and I can’t entirely disagree with that, although Disembodied whittled down the grooves to their bare elements and ultimately went for a sound that was both more stripped down and more guttural, paired with throaty vocals that represented the most tangible connection to their own roots in the hardcore scene.

To the best of my information, there were a total of 2,200 copies of the Confession 7” and it was never re-released on CD, and although the recording and songwriting is not as tight as on Disembodied’s later releases, the EP’s three songs are well worth a listen. So here ya go.

By the way, while looking for information on both Countdown to Oblivion and Disembodied I repeatedly came across Blood Sisters, a website dedicated to female musicians in hardcore and metal bands. I’m not sure whether it’s still being updated, but it’s still a good resource and a good reminder for how much ass girls in bands have kicked over the years. FYI – your girlfriend is not a coat rack! So check it out and, of course, find and buy all of Disembodied’s records.

Disembodied - Feel
Disembodied - Confession
Disembodied - Expressionless