Integrity (band)

Integrity
Integrity
	Integrity in 2017
Background information
Origin	Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Genres	Metalcore; hardcore punk;
Years active	1988–present
Labels	Relapse; A389; Deathwish; Holy Terror; Victory; Magic Bullet; Organized Crime;
Members	Dwid Hellion;
Website	holyterror.com

Integrity is a hardcore punk band originally from Cleveland, Ohio, but based in Belgium since 2003.^[1]^[2] It was formed in 1988 by lead vocalist Dwid Hellion.^[3]

The band has released nearly 50^[quantify] recordings since 1988 as well as playing at hundreds^[quantify] of shows including numerous global festival appearances. Their sound is a mix of hardcore punk and heavy metal, with influences including industrial, noise and experimental music. Lyrical themes include religion, the supernatural, art, philosophy, horror, as well as mental illness and the occult.

Musical style and legacy

Integrity have cited influences including Celtic Frost, Septic Death, Black Sabbath, Samhain, Metallica, Joy Division, Bauhaus and Throbbing Gristle.^[4]

According to its bio on Relapse Records website, Integrity was formed in Cleveland in 1988 and is considered to be one of the first bands to mix metal and hardcore in a way that would later become popular.^{[citation needed]}

In the 2013 Decibel "Hall of Fame", Integrity's Systems Overload (1995, Victory Records) was referred to as "the landmark work in a grand and heretical oeuvre".^[5]

Philip Trapp of Loudwire stated that Integrity "charted the course for metalcore to come", citing Dwid Hellion as one of the genre's most iconic vocalists.^[6]

They have been cited as an influence by bands including All Pigs Must Die,^[7] Clear,^[8] Converge,^[9] Full of Hell,^[10] Hatebreed,^[11] Overcast,^[8] Pulling Teeth,^[12] Rise and Fall^[13] and Unbroken.^[14]

Members

Current members

Dwid Hellion – vocals, keyboards (1988–present)^[15]

Touring members

Alex "The Beast" Henderson – drums (2011–present)
Francis "Darkest Prince" Kano – bass (2017–present)
Justin "Sexminn" Ethem – guitar (2018–present)

Former members

Aaron Melnick – guitar, vocals (1988–1998)^[15]
Frank Cavanaugh – guitar (1991)
Bill Mckinney – guitar (1991)
Chris Smith (II) – guitar (1991–1994)^[16]
Frank "3 Gun" Novineck – guitar (1994–1998)^[17]
Dave "Gravy" Felton – guitar (1998–2000)^[15]
Vee Price – guitar, bass, vocals (2000–2002)
John Comprix – guitar (2003)
Blaze Tishko – guitar, vocals (2003)
Mike Jochum – guitar (2003–2009)
Matt Brewer – guitar (2005–2006)
Rob Orr – guitar, bass, drums (2006–2014)
Domenic Romeo – guitar, bass, organ (2014–2023)
Tom Front – bass (1988–1989)
Leon "Micha" Melnick – bass (1989–1998)^[16]
Craig Martini – bass (1998–2000)
Steve Rauckhorst – bass (2003–2009)
Tiny Pines – drums (1988–1991)^[16]
David Nicholi Araca – drums (1991–1994)
Chris Dora – drums (1996–1998)^[18]
Steve Felton – drums (1998–2000)
Nate Jochum – drums (2005–2009)

Timeline

<timeline>ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:20 PlotArea = left:150 bottom:75 top:0 right:10 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1988 till:05/14/2025 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:1 ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:1988 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1999

Colors =

 id:lvocals value:red                  legend:Lead_vocals
 id:bvocals value:pink                 legend:Backing_vocals
 id:lead    value:teal                 legend:Lead_guitar
 id:rhythm  value:green                legend:Rhythm_guitar
 id:bass    value:blue                 legend:Bass
 id:drums   value:orange               legend:Drums
 id:album   value:black                legend:Studio_album
 id:other   value:gray(0.5)            legend:Other_release
 id:bars    value:gray(0.9)

BackgroundColors = bars:bars

LineData =

layer:back
 color:other
  at:01/01/1990
  at:01/01/1991
  at:01/01/1995
  at:01/01/1996
  at:01/01/2000
  at:01/01/2010
  at:01/01/2011
  at:01/01/2013
  at:01/01/2024
 color:album
  at:01/01/1991
  at:01/01/1995
  at:01/01/1997
  at:01/01/1999
  at:01/01/2001
  at:01/01/2003
  at:01/01/2010
  at:01/01/2013
  at:01/01/2017

BarData =

 bar:DH text:"Dwid Hellion"
 bar:AM text:"Aaron Melnick"
 bar:DF text:"Dave "Gravy" Felton"
 bar:VP text:"Vee Price"
 bar:MJ text:"Mike Jochum"
 bar:JE text:"Justin "Sexminn" Ethem" 
 bar:CS text:"Chris Smith II"
 bar:FN text:"Frank Novenick"
 bar:MB text:"Matt Brewer"
 bar:RO text:"Rob Orr"
 bar:DR text:"Domenic Romeo"
 bar:TF text:"Tom Front"
 bar:LM text:"Leon "Micha" Melnick"
 bar:CM text:"Craig Martini"
 bar:SR text:"Steve Rauckhorst"
 bar:FK text:"Francis "Darkest Prince" Kano"
 bar:TP text:"Tiny Pines"
 bar:DA text:"David Nicholi Araca"
 bar:CD text:"Chris Dora"
 bar:SF text:"Steve Felton"
 bar:NJ text:"Nate Jochum"
 bar:AH text:"Alex "The Beast" Henderson"

PlotData =

width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4)

 bar:DH from:01/01/1988 till:end          color:LVocals

 bar:CS from:01/01/1991 till:01/01/1994   color:Lead
 bar:FN from:01/01/1994 till:01/01/1998   color:Lead
 bar:AM from:01/01/1988 till:01/01/1998   color:Lead
 bar:AM from:01/01/1988 till:01/01/1998   color:BVocals width:3
 bar:DF from:01/01/1998 till:01/01/2000   color:Lead
 bar:VP from:01/01/2000 till:01/01/2002   color:Lead
 bar:MJ from:01/01/2003 till:01/01/2009   color:Lead
 bar:MB from:01/01/2005 till:01/01/2006   color:Lead
 bar:RO from:01/01/2006 till:01/01/2014   color:Lead
 bar:DR from:01/01/2014 till:01/01/2023   color:Lead
 bar:JE from:01/01/2017 till:end          color:Lead

 bar:TF from:01/01/1988 till:01/01/1989   color:Bass
 bar:LM from:01/01/1989 till:01/01/1998   color:Bass
 bar:CM from:01/01/1998 till:01/01/2000   color:Bass
 bar:SR from:01/01/2003 till:01/01/2009   color:Bass
 bar:FK from:01/01/2018 till:end          color:Bass

 bar:TP from:01/01/1988 till:01/01/1991   color:Drums
 bar:DA from:01/01/1991 till:01/01/1994   color:Drums
 bar:CD from:01/01/1996 till:01/01/1998   color:Drums
 bar:SF from:01/01/1998 till:01/01/2000   color:Drums
 bar:NJ from:01/01/2005 till:01/01/2009   color:Drums
 bar:AH from:01/01/2011 till:end          color:Drums

</timeline>

Discography

Studio Albums

Those Who Fear Tomorrow (1991, Overkill)^[19]
Systems Overload (1995, Victory)
Humanity is the Devil (1996, Victory)
Seasons in the Size of Days (1997, Victory)
Integrity 2000 (1999, Victory)
Closure (2001, Victory)
To Die For (2003, Deathwish)
The Blackest Curse (2010, Deathwish)
Suicide Black Snake (2013, A389/Magic Bullet)^[20]
Howling, For the Nightmare Shall Consume (2017, Relapse Records)^[3]^[21]

EPs

Den of Iniquity (EP) (1993)
Hooked, Lung, Stolen Breath Cunt (EP) (1994)
Final Taste of Every Sin (EP) (1999)
In Contrast of Tomorrow (EP) (2001, 2006)

Other

Palm Sunday (Live) (2006, Aurora Borealis)
All Death Is Mine: Total Domination (Compilation) (2024, Relapse Records)

References

^ "Integrity's Dwid Hellion on 'Suicide Black Snake,' Humanity and Charles Manson". MTV. Archived from the original on August 5, 2016. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
^ "Hardcore metal band Integrity returns to Cleveland for first gig since 2005". cleveland.com. October 31, 2012. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
^ ^3.0 ^3.1 Hardt-Valenzuela, Bruce (August 27, 2018). "30 years of Integrity: an interview with Dwid Hellion on his vast career". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
^ "Integrity Interview". Thrasher. Retrieved February 20, 2022.
^ "Integrity - "Systems Overload"". Decibel Magazine. Retrieved June 21, 2017.
^ https://loudwire.com/who-invented-metalcore/
^ "10 Albums That Inspired All Pigs Must Die's "Hostage Animal"". Retrieved June 12, 2024.
^ ^8.0 ^8.1 Wiederhorn, Jon; Turman, Katherine (2013). Louder Than Hell: The Definitive Oral History of Metal. It Books.
^ Breihan, Tom. "5-10-15-20: Converge's Kurt Ballou". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 12, 2024.
^ Hill, Mike. "Exploring Complexity With Full of Hell".
^ Thompson, Josh. "Hatebreed Brings Brutality and Wrath to Columbus". Retrieved June 12, 2024.
^ Yoe, Adam. "Former Pulling Teeth Singer Mike Riley on His Hardcore Archival Projects". Retrieved June 12, 2024.
^ "5 Albums That Influenced Rise and Fall, by Vocalist Bjorn Dossche". Retrieved June 12, 2024.
^ Bowden, Scott. "(((O))) : INTERVIEW: ROB MORAN FROM UNBROKEN". Retrieved June 12, 2024.
^ ^15.0 ^15.1 ^15.2 "Integrity biography". AllMusic. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
^ ^16.0 ^16.1 ^16.2 Those Who Fear Tomorrow (Booklet). Integrity. Overkill. 1991. p. 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^ Systems Overload (Booklet). Integrity. Victory. 1995. p. 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^ Humanity is the Devil (Booklet). Integrity. Victory. 1996. p. 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^ https://loudwire.com/who-invented-metalcore/
^ Adams, Gregory (March 21, 2013). "Integrity Announce 'Suicide Black Snake'". Exclaim!. Retrieved March 21, 2013.
^ Punknews.org (July 25, 2018). "Interviews: Dwid Hellion on Integrity's New Record, G.I.S.M., and Annihilation". punknews.org. Retrieved December 30, 2020.

External links

Integrity on Bandcamp

[mtv-1] "Integrity's Dwid Hellion on 'Suicide Black Snake,' Humanity and Charles Manson". MTV. Archived from the original on August 5, 2016. Retrieved December 16, 2020.

[cleveland.com-2] "Hardcore metal band Integrity returns to Cleveland for first gig since 2005". cleveland.com. October 31, 2012. Retrieved December 16, 2020.

[:0-3] 3.0 ^3.1 Hardt-Valenzuela, Bruce (August 27, 2018). "30 years of Integrity: an interview with Dwid Hellion on his vast career". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved December 30, 2020.

[4] "Integrity Interview". Thrasher. Retrieved February 20, 2022.

[decibelmagazine_2-5] "Integrity - "Systems Overload"". Decibel Magazine. Retrieved June 21, 2017.

[6] ttps://loudwire.com/who-invented-metalcore/

[7] "10 Albums That Inspired All Pigs Must Die's "Hostage Animal"". Retrieved June 12, 2024.

[Turman_and_Wiederhorn,_2013-8] 8.0 ^8.1 Wiederhorn, Jon; Turman, Katherine (2013). Louder Than Hell: The Definitive Oral History of Metal. It Books.

[9] Breihan, Tom. "5-10-15-20: Converge's Kurt Ballou". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 12, 2024.

[10] Hill, Mike. "Exploring Complexity With Full of Hell".

[11] Thompson, Josh. "Hatebreed Brings Brutality and Wrath to Columbus". Retrieved June 12, 2024.

[12] Yoe, Adam. "Former Pulling Teeth Singer Mike Riley on His Hardcore Archival Projects". Retrieved June 12, 2024.

[13] "5 Albums That Influenced Rise and Fall, by Vocalist Bjorn Dossche". Retrieved June 12, 2024.

[14] Bowden, Scott. "(((O))) : INTERVIEW: ROB MORAN FROM UNBROKEN". Retrieved June 12, 2024.

[Allmusic_Biography-15] 15.0 ^15.1 ^15.2 "Integrity biography". AllMusic. Retrieved May 8, 2021.

[Those_Who_Fear_Tomorrow-16] 16.0 ^16.1 ^16.2 Those Who Fear Tomorrow (Booklet). Integrity. Overkill. 1991. p. 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)

[Systems_Overload-17] Systems Overload (Booklet). Integrity. Victory. 1995. p. 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)

[Humanity_is_the_Devil-18] Humanity is the Devil (Booklet). Integrity. Victory. 1996. p. 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)

[19] ttps://loudwire.com/who-invented-metalcore/

[exclaim-20] Adams, Gregory (March 21, 2013). "Integrity Announce 'Suicide Black Snake'". Exclaim!. Retrieved March 21, 2013.

[21] Punknews.org (July 25, 2018). "Interviews: Dwid Hellion on Integrity's New Record, G.I.S.M., and Annihilation". punknews.org. Retrieved December 30, 2020.

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v t e Integrity
Studio albums	Hatebreed / Integrity Integrity 2000 Closure To Die For The Blackest Curse Howling, For the Nightmare Shall Consume
Related	The Kids of Widney High