Penal Colony were an

electro-industrial Electro-industrial is a music genre that emerged from industrial music in the early 1980s. While EBM (electronic body music) has a minimal structure and clean production, electro-industrial tends to have a grittier, complex and layered sound ...

outfit based in the

Inland Empire The Inland Empire (commonly abbreviated as the IE) is a metropolitan area and region inland of and adjacent to coastal Southern California, centering around the cities of San Bernardino and Riverside, and bordering Los Angeles County and Or ...

section of Southern California, and fronted by Dee Madden. The original incarnation consisted of Madden, Jason Hubbard, Andy Shaw and Chris Shinkus. The touring lineup of the band featured Paris Sadonis of

Premature Ejaculation Premature ejaculation (PE) is a male sexual dysfunction that occurs when a male Ejaculation, expels semen (and most likely experiences orgasm) soon after beginning sexual activity, and with minimal penile stimulation. It has also been called ''e ...

, Shadow Project,

EXP Exp or EXP may stand for: * Exponential function, in mathematics * Expiry date of organic compounds like food or medicines * Experience point An experience point (often abbreviated as exp or XP) is a unit of measurement used in some tabletop r ...

and Involution, William Skye of London After Midnight, and

Justin Bennett Justin Bennett is an American studio and live session musician and producer. He has been working professionally since 1995 since his first project Professional Murder Music featured in the hit Arnold Schwarzenegger film '' End of Days'' and he h ...

Skinny Puppy Skinny Puppy was a Canadian electro-industrial band formed in Vancouver in 1982. The group was among the founders of the industrial rock and electro-industrial genres. Initially envisioned as an experimental side-project by cEvin Key (Kevin Crom ...

My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult (often shortened to Thrill Kill Kult or TKK) is an American electronic industrial rock band originally based in Chicago and founded by Groovie Mann (born Frankie Nardiello) and Buzz McCoy (born Marston Daley). ...

Nivek Ogre Kevin Graham Ogilvie (born December 5, 1962), known professionally as Nivek Ogre, is a Canadian musician, performance artist and actor, best known for his work with the industrial music group Skinny Puppy, which he co-founded with cEvin Key. Si ...

Pigface Pigface is an American industrial rock supergroup formed in 1990 by Martin Atkins and William Rieflin. History Pigface was formed from Ministry's ''The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste'' tour, which produced the '' In Case You Didn't Fee ...

and Bahntier.

History

Penal Colony were formed in the summer of 1992 by Dee Madden, Jason Hubbard, Andy Shaw and Chris Shinkus. Guitarist Andy Shaw, Bassist Chris Shinkus, and Drummer Jason Hubbard had been members of the

goth Goth or Goths may refer to: * Goths, a Germanic people Arts and entertainment * Gothic rock or goth, a style of rock music * Goth subculture, developed by fans of gothic rock * ''Goth'' (2003 film), an American horror film * ''Goth'' (2008 f ...

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was primarily defined by the flamboyant clothing, makeup, and hairstyles of its musicians, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists d ...

outfit The Texas Vamps. Vocalist Dee Madden had been involved in the gothic rock band Ex-VoTo but parted ways with them after the rest of the band relocated to

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. The band made their live performance debut on October 31, 1992. In 1993, the band were discovered by

Cleopatra Records Cleopatra Records is a Los Angeles-based independent record label that has the sub-labels Hypnotic Records, Goldenlane, Stardust, Purple Pyramid, Deadline and X-Ray Records. History Founded in January 1992 by Brian Perera, it specializes in go ...

during a show at The Roxy in Hollywood and were signed to the label. They issued their full-length debut, titled '' Put Your Hands Down'', in 1994. A

remix album A remix album is an album consisting of remixes or rerecorded versions of an artist's earlier released material. The first act who employed the format was American singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson ('' Aerial Pandemonium Ballet'', 1971). As of 200 ...

followed in 1995 and was titled '' 5 Man Job''. The album comprises remixed versions of previously released work, with collaborations by Frontline Assembly's Bill Leeb, Genesis P Orridge, Leather Strip, Spahn Ranch's Matt Green, and T.H.D. ''Aiding & Abetting'' described the album as having "a nice schizophrenic appeal" and as "a fine second by folks who refuse to take the easy road." Hubbard, Shaw and Shinkus all departed from Penal Colony immediately after the album's release and before its supporting national tour, effectively making the band Madden's solo project. The remix compilations ''

Multicoloured Shades ''Multicoloured Shades'' is a remix album by Penal Colony, released on February 13, 1995 by Zoth Ommog Records. Reception AllMusic awarded ''Multicoloured Shades'' two out of five possible stars. Track listing Personnel Adapted from the ...

'' and ''

Shadows in Blue ''Shadows in Blue'' is a remix album by Penal Colony, released on February 27, 1995 by Zoth Ommog Records Track listing Personnel Adapted from the ''Shadows in Blue'' liner notes. ;Penal Colony * Jason Hubbard – sampler, program ...

'' were released in 1995 by

Zoth Ommog Records Zoth Ommog Records was a German record label that focused on Industrial music and was owned by parent label Music Research. The company was established by German music producer Andreas Tomalla (aka Talla 2XLC) in 1989 and later handed over to pro ...

. Activity halted in 1998 when Madden moved to Northwest to re-form his old band Simstim. Nine years after their debut, Penal Colony's follow-up studio album '' Unfinished Business'' was released on May 23, 2003 by DSBP Records.

Discography

Studio albums *'' Put Your Hands Down'' (

Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator (; The name Cleopatra is pronounced , or sometimes in both British and American English, see and respectively. Her name was pronounced in the Greek dialect of Egypt (see Koine Greek phonology). She was ...

, 1994) *'' Unfinished Business'' (DSBP, 2003) Remix albums * '' 5 Man Job'' (

, 1994) * ''

'' (

Zoth Ommog Zoth Ommog Records was a German record label that focused on Industrial music and was owned by parent label Music Research. The company was established by German music producer Andreas Tomalla (aka Talla 2XLC) in 1989 and later handed over to pro ...

, 1995) * ''

'' (Zoth Ommog, 1995)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Penal Colony Musical groups established in 1992 Musical groups disestablished in 2003 1992 establishments in California Musical groups from San Francisco American electro-industrial music groups Zoth Ommog Records artists Cleopatra Records artists