Slave Unit is an American

industrial rock Industrial rock is a fusion genre that fuses industrial music and rock music. It initially originated in the 1970s, and drew influence from early experimental and industrial acts such as Throbbing Gristle, Einstürzende Neubauten and Chrom ...

group based in

Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...

, California, United States. The original incarnation consisted of Torsten Hartwell, Mike Paikos, Alan Sartirana and Mike Welch before becoming Welch's solo endeavor in 1995. Their sound is influenced by

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (commonly abbreviated to hardcore or hXc) is a punk rock music genre#subtypes, subgenre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots ...

, industrial and

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

music with lyrics pertaining to observations and reflections of human behavior and error. The band released their debut '' Slave Unit'' on

COP International COP International, also shortened to ''COP Int'l.'', is a music label based in Oakland, California. Initially, the label was founded in 1991 by Christian Petke (a.k.a. Count Zero of Deathline Int'l.) in Frankfurt, Germany. A few months later, ...

in 1996.

History

Slave Unit was formed in

, California by Torsten Hartwell, Mike Paikos, Alan Sartirana and Mike Welch.

signed the band with the intention of expanding the label's musical diversity and released their eponymously-titled debut album in 1996. The album featured the participation of

Battery Battery or batterie most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source * Battery indicator, a device whic ...

vocalist

Maria Azevedo Maria Azevedo is an American musician based in San Francisco, best recognized as the lead vocalist of the 1990s electro-industrial outfits Battery and Ivoux. She also collaborated with Deathline Int'l., Razor Skyline and Vampire Rodents. Bio ...

and Reyka Osburn of

Tinfed Tinfed was an American alternative rock group started in Sacramento, California. The final line-up consisted of vocalist and instrumentalist Rey Osburn, guitarist Eric Stenman, drummer Matt McCord, and bassist Rick Verrett. They released three ...

, who performed on live drums for the tour and recording of the album. After a twelve-year hiatus, the band self-released the album '' The Battle for Last Place'' in 2007 and followed it up with the 2009 remix album '' Certificate of Participation''. In 2014 Slave Unit released their fourth album '' Through With You'' for

WTII Records WTII Records is an independent record label created in 2001 by former Wax Trax! Records employee Bart Pfanenstiel, and David Schock. History WTII established The concept behind WTII began in 1999, while Bart Pfanenstiel was employed at Wax ...

on April 8 and participated in Stiff Valentine's "Goodbye" tour shortly after.

Discography

;Studio albums *'' Slave Unit'' (1996,

) *'' The Battle for Last Place'' (2007) *'' Certificate of Participation'' (2009) *'' Through With You'' (2014,

WTII WTII Records is an independent record label created in 2001 by former Wax Trax! Records employee Bart Pfanenstiel, and David Schock. History WTII established The concept behind WTII began in 1999, while Bart Pfanenstiel was employed at Wax ...

)

References

External links

* *
Slave Unit
at

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online music distribution platform founded in 2008 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with an office and record store in Oakland, California. Acquired by Epic ...

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Slave Unit Musical groups established in 1992 1992 establishments in California American industrial rock musical groups COP International artists