Grip Inc. was an American

groove metal Groove metal, sometimes also called neo-thrash or post-thrash, is a subgenre of heavy metal music that began in the early 1990s. The genre is primarily derived from thrash metal, but played in slower tempos, and making use of rhythmic guitar pa ...

band and side project of drummer

Dave Lombardo David Lombardo (born February 16, 1965) is a Cuban-American drummer, best known as a co-founding member of the thrash metal band Slayer. He currently plays drums with Fantômas, Dead Cross, Mr. Bungle, Empire State Bastard, and Misfits. Lo ...

. The band was formed in 1993 and was signed to

Steamhammer Records SPV GmbH (short for ''Schallplatten Produktion und Vertrieb GmbH'', "Vinyl Production and Distribution Company") is a German independent record label. Founded on 1 January 1984, it has slowly grown to be one of the largest independent distributors ...

. They released four full-length albums in total.

History

Following the birth of his first child in 1993, Lombardo formed Grip Inc. with

Voodoocult Voodoocult was a multinational thrash metal supergroup formed in 1993 by German Phillip Boa, vocalist of the alternative band Phillip Boa & The Voodooclub. The project was especially notable for the reputation of the participating musicians, ...

guitarist

Waldemar Sorychta Waldemar Sorychta (born 30 October 1967) is a Polish heavy metal record producer and musician who has lived in Germany since 1982. Career He initially worked with German thrash metal band Despair, founded in 1986. In 1994 he took part in the ...

. The pair recruited bassist

Jason VieBrooks Jason VieBrooks (born August 9, 1971) is an American touring bassist and guitarist. He has toured the world with many heavy metal groups, and is an endorsee of Esh Bass. Biography Born on August 9, 1971, in Cincinnati, Ohio, VieBrooks gradu ...

and vocalist Gus Chambers to complete the line-up, releasing their debut record '' Power of Inner Strength'' (1995), distributed via

Metal Blade Records Metal Blade Records (often shortened to Metal Blade) is an American independent record label founded by Brian Slagel in 1982 based in the U.S. state of California. The label primarily focuses on heavy metal. History Metal Blade Records was ...

. Prior to the album's release Lombardo described leaving

Slayer Slayer is an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California, formed in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style made them ...

as a career low, because he did not know what type of music to play.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

reviewer Vincent Jeffries singled out Lombardo for praise on the album, remarking that Slayer fans "will enjoy the drummer's double bass work and overall aggression throughout the disc." Sorychta said critics and music fans always spot mistakes in their music, because of Lombardo's popularity with Slayer – expecting the band to sound like Slayer and complain. However, when Lombardo uses the

double bass drum The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter usually greater than its depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. The hea ...

, Sorychta said people complain "now Grip Inc. sound exactly like Slayer." The band released ''

Nemesis In ancient Greek religion and myth, Nemesis (; ) also called Rhamnousia (or Rhamnusia; ), was the goddess who personified retribution for the sin of hubris: arrogance before the gods. Etymology The name ''Nemesis'' is derived from the Greek ...

'' in 1997. Jeffries praised Lombardo's "crushing drum work" which takes center stage on the album. Bassist VieBrooks left the band and was replaced by Stuart Carruthers in 1997. With a new bassist, the band released '' Solidify'' in 1999, which was described as a step towards "progressive and exotic

rhythm Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular r ...

structures A structure is an arrangement and organization of interrelated elements in a material object or system, or the object or system so organized. Material structures include man-made objects such as buildings and machines and natural objects such as ...

, and instrumentations, while never compromising intensity" by Jeffries.

Members

Final line-up

*Gus Chambers – vocals (1993–2006; died 2008) *

– drums, percussion (1993–2006) *

– guitars (1993–2006), bass (1999–2006)

Former members

*Chaz Grimaldi – bass (1993) *

Bobby Gustafson Robert Wayne Gustafson (born July 15, 1965) is an American musician, best known as the former guitarist of the New Jersey–based thrash metal band Overkill from 1982 until his split with the band in 1990. He was also the rhythm guitarist for t ...

– guitars (1993) *

– bass (1993–1997) *Stuart Carruthers – bass (1997–1999)

Discography

Studio albums

Music videos

References

External links

Grip Inc
at Myspace *
coventrytelegraph.net
{{Authority control Musical groups established in 1993 American groove metal musical groups American progressive metal musical groups Heavy metal musical groups from California 1993 establishments in California Musical groups from Los Angeles