Enemy Soil was an American

grindcore Grindcore is an extreme metal, extreme fusion genre of heavy metal music, heavy metal and hardcore punk that originated in the mid-1980s, drawing inspiration from abrasive-sounding musical styles, such as thrashcore, crust punk, hardcore punk, e ...

band from

Sterling, Virginia Sterling refers most specifically to a census-designated place (CDP) in Loudoun County, Virginia. The population of the CDP as of the 2020 United States Census was 30,337 The CDP boundaries are confined to a relatively small area between Virginia ...

, first formed in 1991. The band played a style of grindcore that was influenced heavily 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 ...

, and featured many line-up changes throughout its run, with frontman Richard Johnson acting as its core. Because the group initially was unable to find a suitable drummer, earlier Enemy Soil recordings featured a

drum machine A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument that creates percussion sounds, drum beats, and patterns. Drum machines may imitate drum kits or other percussion instruments, or produce unique sounds, such as synthesized electronic tones. A d ...

. The group's music was also politically-motivated early in their career, however later recordings instead featured introspective topics for lyrics. The group eventually broke up in the spring of 1999 after releasing numerous splits and records. Members went on to form or join many bands, including

Pig Destroyer Pig Destroyer is an American grindcore band formed in 1997 in Alexandria, Virginia. The band was formed by vocalist J. R. Hayes, guitarist Scott Hull and drummer John Evans. Pig Destroyer is one of the most well-known grindcore bands due ...

, Pg. 99, and

Agoraphobic Nosebleed Agoraphobic Nosebleed (abbreviated as ANb) is an American grindcore band. Its line-up has changed often over the years, with guitarist and drum programmer Scott Hull being the only continuous member. The current line-up includes vocalist Jay Ra ...

, among others. French label Bones Brigade Records issued the two-disc compilation ''Smashes the State!'' in 2001, containing most of the band's discography, excluding the ''Casualties of Progress'' extended play. The group reformed in 2001 for a special one-off reunion show at

CBGB CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in the East Village, Manhattan, East Village in Manhattan, New York City. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for ''Cou ...

in New York City. Footage from this show, as well as shows dating between 1996 and 1998, was released on the 2009 Selfmadegod live DVD ''Smashes the State Live''. In June 2017, the band announced via the official Enemy Soil website that the group has reformed for a few reunion shows, including an appearance at Maryland Deathfest 2018.

Members

Current

*Richard Johnson – guitar (1991–1999, 2001, 2017–present), bass, vocals (1998–1999) *Adam Perry – drums (1997–1999, 2017–present) *J.R. Hayes – vocals (1996–1997, 2017–present) *Mason – bass, vocals (1991–1992, 1993–1996, 1997–1998, 2017–present)

*Cory Stevenson – bass (1998) *T.L. Smoot – vocals (1998) *Jeff Kane – bass (1997–1998), guitar (2001) *Omid Yamini – bass (1997, 2001) *Brian Harvey – bass (1995–1996), drums (1996–1997, 2001) *Doshu Tokeshi – vocals (1993–1996) *Shane Privette – vocals (1993, 1995) *Tim Caicedo – vocals (1993) *Mark Lee – vocals (1993) *Criag Lenc – bass (1993)

Timeline

Discography

Extended plays

*''Casualties of Progress'' 7-inch (1995,

Relapse In internal medicine, relapse or recidivism is a recurrence of a past (typically medical) condition. For example, multiple sclerosis and malaria often exhibit peaks of activity and sometimes very long periods of dormancy, followed by relapse or r ...

) (reissued on CD with bonus tracks in 2008) *''War Parade'' 7-inch (1996, Slap-a-Ham) *''The Ruins of Eden'' 10-inch (1997, Insolito) (released on CD with bonus tracks in the US through Clean Plate) *''Fractured Theology'' 3" CD (1998, Profane Existence Far East) (reissued on 12-inch vinyl through Drop Out)

Splits

*Split cassette with Parasitic Infestation (1993, Open Eye) *Split 7-inch with Wadge (1994, Break It Out) *Split 7-inch with Desperate Corruption (1996, Bovine) *Split cassette with Abstain (1997, Noise Induced Deafness) *Split 7-inch with Reversal of Man (1997, Fist Held High) *Split 7-inch with

(1997, Bovine) *Split 7-inch with Corrupted (1997, HG Fact) *''Document #2'' split 7-inch with Pg. 99 (1999, Sacapuntas)

Live releases

*''Live at Fiesta Grande #5'' flexi 7-inch (1997, Clean Plate) *''Live in Virginia'' 7-inch (1998, Dwie Strony Medalu/Czarny Kot) *''Smashes the State Live'' DVD (2009, Selfmadegod)

Compilation albums

*''Smashes the State!'' 2xCD (2001, Bones Brigade)

References

{{reflist

External links

Enemy Soil on DiscogsEnemy Soil on MusicBrainz
American grindcore musical groups Musical groups established in 1991 Musical groups from Virginia Musical groups disestablished in 1999