Angel Dust (stylized as Angel Du$t) is an American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

group formed in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

in 2013, made up of members of

Turnstile A turnstile (also called a gateline, baffle gate, automated gate, turn gate in some regions) is a form of gate which allows one person to pass at a time. A turnstile can be configured to enforce One-way traffic#One-way traffic of people, one-way ...

and

Trapped Under Ice Trapped Under Ice is an American hardcore punk band from Baltimore, Maryland that was formed in 2007. Since then they have released an EP and three full-length albums. Taking influence from New York hardcore, the band has toured all over the wor ...

. They have released five studio albums to date; the most recent, ''Brand New Soul'', was released in September 2023. The band have been signed to

Roadrunner Records Roadrunner Records is a Dutch–American record label focused on Heavy metal music, heavy metal and hard rock music. Founded in the Netherlands in 1980, it is now a division of Warner Music Group and is based in New York City. Formerly seen as ...

since 2018. In 2019,

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

noted them as one of the most important bands in broadening the scope of what

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 ...

is.

Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British music webzine and quarterly magazine that primarily covers rock, punk and heavy metal music. Since 2017, the magazine has been published by Wasted Talent Ltd (the same company that owns electronic music publication ...

included their 2019 album ''Pretty Buff'' as one of their "25 Best Albums of 2019" and ''

Loudwire ''Loudwire'' is an American online media magazine that covers news of hard rock and heavy metal artists. It is owned by media and entertainment business Townsquare Media. Since its launch in August 2011, ''Loudwire'' has secured exclusive i ...

'' named it one of the 50 best metal albums of 2019.

History

2013–2016: early years, ''A.D.'', and ''Rock the Fuck on Forever''

Angel Du$t was formed in 2013 by vocalist/songwriter

Justice Tripp Justice Tripp (born March 11, 1986) is an American musician who is notably the vocalist of hardcore punk band Trapped Under Ice and rock music, rock band Angel Dust (American band), Angel Dust. He additionally performs solo bedroom pop under the st ...

of Trapped Under Ice, guitarist Michael Quick, bassist Nicholas Heitman, drummer Daniel Fang of Turnstile, and guitarist Pat McCrory, who would also later go on to join Turnstile. The band released their demo ''Xtra Raw'' on April 8, 2013 via React! Records. In September/October 2013, the band supported

Twitching Tongues Twitching Tongues is an American heavy metal band from California, founded in 2009. The band has released four albums: ''Sleep Therapy'' in 2012, ''In Love There Is No Law'' in 2013, ''Disharmony'' in 2015, and ''Gaining Purpose Through Passion ...

on their ''On Tour There Is No Law'' US tour alongside Downpresser and select support from Turnstile and Stigmata. In February 2014, the band supported Turnstile on their US headlining tour alongside

Diamond Youth Diamond Youth was an American alternative rock band from Baltimore, Maryland, with members from Chicago, Illinois and Richmond, Virginia. History Diamond Youth began in 2010, under the name Diamond, with the release of a 7" on Photobooth Reco ...

Turnover Turnover or turn over may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Turn Over'', a 1988 live album by Japanese band Show-Ya * Turnover (band), an American rock band * "Turnover", a song on Fugazi's 1990 album ''Repeater'' * ''Turnover'', a Japa ...

, and Blind Justice. On June 10, 2014, the band released their debut album ''A.D.'' via React! and Reaper Records. On May 20, 2016, the band released their second album ''Rock the Fuck on Forever'' via Pop Wig Records, the label owned by Tripp, Fang, and Brendan Yates. In October/November 2016, the band supported Turnstile on their ''Move Thru Me'' tour in the US alongside Big Bite and select support from Krimewatch, Fury, and Lock.

2017–2020: Yates joining and ''Pretty Buff''

In 2017, the band was joined by Turnstile vocalist Brendan Yates on drums. On March 15, 2019, the band released their third album ''Pretty Buff'' via Roadrunner Records. This album brought a large stylistic change, shifting away from hardcore/punk music and more towards acoustic, power pop ballads. Most of the lyrical content was written about the passing of Tripp's dog, Spike. in June 2019, the band embarked on the second US leg of the ''Pretty Buff'' tour with support from

Gouge Away Gouge Away is an American hardcore punk band based in Florida that formed in 2012. The band is influenced by post-hardcore and noise rock bands such as Pixies, The Jesus Lizard, Fugazi, Unwound, the Plot to Blow Up the Eiffel Tower and Nirvan ...

and Giltterer. In 2020, the band released the EP ''Lil House'' which featured songs that would later appear on the band's fourth album.

2021–present: ''Yak'' and ''Brand New Soul''

In September 2021, the band supported

Mannequin Pussy Mannequin Pussy is an American punk rock, punk and indie rock band from Philadelphia, formed in 2010. The band currently consists of Marisa "Missy" Dabice (vocals, guitar), Kaleen Reading (drums), Colins "Bear" Regisford (bass, vocals) and Maxin ...

on their US tour alongside Pinkshift. The following month, on October 22, the band released their fourth album ''Yak: A Collection of Truck Songs'' via Roadrunner Records. The album included the song "Dancing on the Radio", which featured

Tim Armstrong Timothy Ross Armstrong (born November 25, 1965) is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. Known for his distinctive voice, he is the singer/guitarist for the punk rock band Rancid (band), Rancid and hip hop/punk rock supergroup T ...

of Rancid – marking the band's first ever track to include a listed feature. The band toured extensively throughout 2022. This included support slots for PUP on their ''Thank Fucking God'' US tour and

Movements Movement may refer to: Generic uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Movement (sign language), a hand movement when signing * Motion, commonly referred to as movement * Movement (music), a division of a larger c ...

on their debut US tour, as well as a co-headlining UK tour with

Drug Church Drug Church is an American post-hardcore band from Albany, New York, United States. The band has released five albums, as well as several EPs. History Drug Church started as a side project for singer Patrick Kindlon of Self Defense Family. ...

. The band continued to tour with Drug Church into 2023, with a North American tour alongside

Fiddlehead Fiddleheads or fiddlehead greens are the furled fronds from a fledgling fern, harvested for use as a vegetable. Left on the plant, each fiddlehead would unroll into a new frond ( circinate vernation). As fiddleheads are harvested early in ...

taking place in February. In May 2023, the band shared two new songs: "Very Aggressive", featuring Mat Kerekes of

Citizen Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state. Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English-speaking world, international law does not usually use the term ''citizenship'' to refer to nationality ...

, and "Love Slam". In July, the band shared details of their fifth studio album ''Brand New Soul'', as well as sharing a new single titled "Space Jam". With the album's announcement came Tripp officially launching a new line-up of the band, including several new members that had previously served as touring substitutes while McCrory, Fang and Yates were busy with Turnstile: rhythm guitarist Steve Marino, bassist Zechariah Ghosttribe, drummer Tommy Cantwell and lead guitarist Daniel Star. In a new interview with ''

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several awar ...

'', Tripp confirmed that while both Fang and McCrory had made some contributions to the album and were still involved with the band to a degree, they had largely shifted out of the Angel Dust camp in order to focus full-time on Turnstile.

Musical style

The band have been categorised as

soft rock Soft rock (also known as light rock or mellow rock) is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in the United States and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, mel ...

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...

and

melodic hardcore Melodic hardcore is a broadly defined subgenre of hardcore punk with a strong emphasis on melody in its guitar work. The style often includes guitar harmonies, riffs using octave chords, as well as broken chords. Additionally, lyrics tend towar ...

. Their music often incorporates elements of

surf rock Surf music (also known as surf rock, surf pop, or surf guitar) is a genre of rock music associated with surf culture, particularly as found in Southern California. It was especially popular from 1958 to 1964 in two major forms. The first is inst ...

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock Music genre, genre and subculture that emerged during the in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, particularly in Seattle and Music of Olympia, Washington, O ...

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

and

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

. Their 2013 demo ''Xtra Raw'' was described by

as a "scrappy,

lo-fi Lo-fi (also typeset as lofi or low-fi; short for low fidelity) is a music or production quality in which elements usually regarded as imperfections in the context of a recording or performance are present, sometimes as a deliberate stylistic ch ...

bundle of punk", while their subsequent material was more melodic.

Revolver A revolver is a repeating handgun with at least one barrel and a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold six cartridges before needing to be reloaded, ...

magazine described the band's music as a "curve ball", due to its relationship to the hardcore scene, despite also including "heartfelt saxophone", "strummy acoustic guitar and "an overwhelming amount of positivity", and in another article as "about as catchy and fun as catchy and fun get". In an article for Clash, writer Robin Murray described their music as "between a rough-around-the-edges Lemonheads with

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television host. According to ''Rolling Stone'', Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical ...

vocal melodies". Many of the tracks on the band's 2019 album ''Pretty Buff'' were written about the death of Tripp's dog. They cited influences including

the Lemonheads The Lemonheads are an American alternative rock band formed in Boston in 1986 by Evan Dando, Ben Deily, and Jesse Peretz. Dando has remained the band's only constant member. After their initial punk-influenced releases and tours as an indep ...

, the Replacements,

the Feelies The Feelies are an American rock band from Haledon, New Jersey. They formed in 1976 and disbanded in 1992 after having released four albums. The band reunited in 2008, and released new albums in 2011 and 2017. Although not commercially suc ...

the

Bad Brains Bad Brains are an American punk rock band formed in Washington, D.C., in 1976. They are widely regarded as pioneers of hardcore punk, though the band's members have objected to the use of this term to describe their music. They are also an ade ...

Violent Femmes Violent Femmes are an American folk punk band from Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The band consists of founding members Gordon Gano (guitar, lead vocals) and Brian Ritchie (bass, backing vocals), joined by multi-instrumentalist Blaise Garza ( ...

and

Greg Sage Greg Sage (born October 21, 1951) is an American songwriter, guitarist, and vocalist, regarded as an important influence on many punk rock and post-punk artists. Sage is best known as the principal songwriter and vocalist/guitarist of the influ ...

. Vocalist Justice Tripp has cited his main influences as James Ismean of

Fury of Five Fury of Five (also commonly known as Fury of V) is an American hardcore punk band from Asbury Park, New Jersey. History Fury of Five formed in 1994. Their early creative output limited to tracks on compilations, Fury of Five released two 7" ...

and

Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, actor and radio broadcaster. He was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band the Stooges, who were formed in 1 ...

the Stooges The Stooges or Iggy and the Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, were an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Dave Alexande ...

Members

Current members *

– lead vocals, acoustic guitar (2013–present) * Steve Marino – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2023–present), bass (2021–2023, touring) * Tommy Cantwell – drums (2023–present; touring 2022–2023) * Zechariah Ghostribe – bass (2023–present) * Daniel Star – lead guitar, backing vocals (2023–present) Former members * Nicholas Heitman – bass (2013–2017) * Jeff Caffey – bass (2017–2020) * Michael "Cheddar" Quick – rhythm guitar (2013–2015) *Brendan Yates – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2017–2021) *Pat McCrory – lead guitar, backing vocals (2013–2023) *Daniel Fang – drums, percussion (2013–2023) Former touring musicians * Kora Puckett – guitar (2021) * Allen Trainer – drums (2021) * Matthew Berry – bass (2016) rhythm guitar (2021) * Taylor Madison – rhythm guitar (2022)

Discography

;Studio albums ;EPs *''Lil House'' (2020) *''Bigger House'' (2021) ;Demos *''Xtra Raw'' (2013)

Accolades

References

External links

*{{allMusic Musical groups established in 2013 Musical groups from Baltimore Hardcore punk groups from Maryland American melodic hardcore musical groups American pop rock music groups 2013 establishments in Maryland