Colossamite was an American

math rock Math rock is a style of progressive and indie rock with roots in bands such as King Crimson and Rush as well as 20th-century minimal music composers such as Steve Reich. It is characterized by complex, atypical rhythmic structures (including ...

band based in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with list of lakes in Minneapolis, thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...

. They were one of the most prominent exponents of the genre. Colossamite's members included Nick Sakes (vocals, electric guitar), Ed Rodriguez (electric guitar),

John Dieterich John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

(electric guitar), and Chad Popple (drum set); the group had no bass player. All except Sakes were transplanted

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

ites. Like similar groups such as Zeni Geva,

Craw Craw may refer to: * Craw (band), a math rock band from Cleveland, Ohio *Craw (surname), a surname (includes list) *Crop (anatomy), or craw, an anatomical structure *CRA-W The Computing Research Association's Committee on Widening Participation i ...

, U.S. Maple, or

Dazzling Killmen Dazzling Killmen was an American math rock band from the St. Louis, Missouri area. Formed in 1990, the group issued four singles and two full-lengths before officially ending in 1995, with a majority of it released through the independent label ...

(this last group for which Sakes sang before relocating to Minnesota) Colossamite's music was almost hyperbolically brutal, chaotic, and rhythmically and formally complex. Rather than relying, as most heavy metal bands, on guitar distortion to produce an intense sound, Colossamite instead often relied on very loud "clean" (undistorted) guitars, played dissonantly, in conjunction with vocals that were screamed rather than sung. Songs featured jarring shifts in tempo and mood, with the overall sound being extremely raw, heavy and often slow. Colossamite released three recordings on the Chicago-based

Skin Graft Records Skin Graft Records (officially capitalized SKiN GRAFT Records) is an independent record label specializing in no wave and noise rock, originally based in Chicago, Illinois. The label is largely responsible for spawning "now wave" genre, an updat ...

and one split CD on Italy's Freeland Records. The group, however, did not last long, perhaps because the extreme and uncompromising nature of its music (as with much contemporary classical music, which incidentally Colossamite's music resembles) was appreciated mainly by a niche audience, thus proving fairly uncommercial. The group disbanded in 1998. Three of the four members now play in the experimental rock band

Gorge Trio Gorge Trio is an American experimental rock band based in Oakland, California. It is composed of three-fourths of the critically acclaimed math rock band Colossamite, which disbanded in 1998, and is survived by three releases on Skin Graft Record ...

, based in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

Discography

*1997 - ''All Lingo's Clamor'' EP (Skin Graft) *1998 - ''Gust's of Lead'' split 7-inch with White Tornado (Skin Graft) *1998 - ''Economy of Motion'' (Skin Graft) *1998 - ''Frisbee'' EP - came with a Colossamite frisbee (aka Camera Within EP, Skin Graft)

References

External links

Colossamite page at Southern Records site
from Skin Graft Records site]
Colossamite page
(2003) *

AllMusic entry for Colossamite AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the datab ...

Listening

Colossamite audio samples
{{Authority control Musical groups disestablished in 1998 Math rock groups Rock music groups from Minnesota