Backstabbers Incorporated (sometimes called Backstabbers Inc. or BSI, and previously known as Life Passed On) were an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

hardcore Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film * ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott * ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...

band based in

Portsmouth, New Hampshire Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census it had a population of 21,956. A historic seaport and popular summer tourist destination on ...

History

Backstabbers Incorporated was formed as Life Passed On in the late nineties by Matt Serven (guitar) and Ryan McKenney (vocals). In 2000, a lineup changes prompted the band to change their name to Backstabbers Incorporated. Brian Serven joined around this time. They have released albums for

Black Market Activities Black Market Activities (BMA) is an American independent record label that was founded in 2003 by Guy Kozowyk, the frontman of the Boston, Massachusetts-based extreme metal band the Red Chord. History Black Market Activities was started with ...

(distributed through

Metal Blade 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 ...

) and Trash Art! Records in addition to some splits and EPs on smaller DIY labels. The band has gone on several US tours, including a short tour in January 2005, and a more extensive East Coast Tour from October to December 2005. In 2006, the band embarked on a European tour during August and September. Since a short tour in March 2008 around ''Dudefest'', the band has largely been inactive. On August 24, 2010 BSI announced via Facebook that their upcoming full-length album would be released on Blackmarket Activities. January 1, 2014 saw the release of MIA: a raw, stripped down, claustrophobic Hardcore record. In Spring of 2015 the band re-emerged with yet another line-up change and a brief East Coast/Midwestern Tour.

Musical style

The band is typically described as punk and hardcore as umbrella terms, but state that other influences such as

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 ...

crossover thrash Crossover thrash (often abbreviated to crossover) is a fusion genre of thrash metal and hardcore punk. The genre emerged in the mid-1980s, when hardcore punk bands, such as Suicidal Tendencies, Cryptic Slaughter, Corrosion of Conformity and Dir ...

post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. Like the term " post-punk", the term "post-hardcore" has been applied to a broad conste ...

, and

death metal Death metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep death growl, growling vocals; aggressive ...

are often present. The use of a variety of vocal styles, from high pitched screaming to deeper growls, often serve to identify the band in both the hardcore and metal genres. On their earlier releases they are typically described as more direct and stripped-down, while their later releases such as ''Kamikaze Missions'' show an expansion of their sound. Their style that now incorporated a more diverse array of

extreme metal Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. It has been defined as a "cluster of metal subgenres characterized by sonic, verbal, and visual tran ...

and

influences in longer song structures. Brian Serven also cites film composers

Michael Nyman Michael Laurence Nyman, Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 23 March 1944) is an English composer, pianist, libretto, librettist, musicologist, and filmmaker. He is known for numerous film soundtrack, scores (many written during his lengthy ...

and

Yann Tiersen Yann Pierre Tiersen (born 23 June 1970) is a French Breton musician and composer. His musical career is split between studio recordings, music collaborations, and film soundtracks songwriting. His music incorporates a large variety of classical ...

as influences. The band is also sometimes tied to the

straight edge Straight edge (sometimes abbreviated as sXe or signified by XXX or simply X) is a subculture of hardcore punk whose adherents refrain from using alcohol, tobacco, and other recreational drugs in reaction to the punk subculture's excesses. Some ...

music culture, due to the Serven's not using drugs or alcohol and being vegan. However, they expressed that these decisions are not tied to any youth-orientated subculture like straight edge, but are personal choices.

Discography

;

Albums An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

* 2003: ''Bare as Bones'' (

) * 2004: ''Kamikaze Missions'' ( Trash Art!) * 2014: ''Missing In Action'' (

Self Release In philosophy, the self is an individual's own being, knowledge, and values, and the relationship between these attributes. The first-person perspective distinguishes selfhood from personal identity. Whereas "identity" is (literally) samen ...

) ;

EPs An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

* 2000: ''Evolution'' (Cadmium Sick Records) * 2001: ''While You Were Sleeping'' (Trash Art!) * 2002: ''Theory/History'' (Element Records) ;

Splits A split (commonly referred to as splits or the splits) is a physical position in which the legs are in line with each other and extended in opposite directions. Splits are commonly performed in various athletic activities, including dance, figu ...

* 2001: ''Bad Cop, No Cop'' - 7" with Advocate (Black Day Propaganda) * 2003: ''People Don't Take Photographs of Things They Want to Forget'' - with Advocate, Trap Them & Kill Them, Purity's Failure, and Transistor Transistor (Broken Press) ; Demo * ''Backstabbers Incorporated'' (Self-released demo tape)

Members

; Current *Matt Serven – Guitar, vocals (1998–Present) *Mark Richards (Current) *Anthony Ruscio – Bass (Current) *Mark Blanchard – Drums (Current) ; Former * Brian Serven Bass, Guitar, Vocals - (2000-2018) *Sean McAlister-Bass *Nick Reddy – Bass (2004-2014) *Jonah Livingston – Drums (2004-2014) *Ryan McKenney – Vocals (1998-?) *Brian Izzi – Guitar (2001- ?) *Mike Justian – Guitar, Drums *Mike Quinn – Drums *Matt Dunn – Drums

External links

*
BSI
at

BSI
at Trash Art!

References

{{Authority control American hardcore punk groups American grindcore musical groups Heavy metal musical groups from New Hampshire Black Market Activities artists Musical groups established in 2000 Musical groups disestablished in 2008