Monster Voodoo Machine is a Canadian

metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...

band formed in 1991 within

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. They released two studio albums and three studio EPs in the 1990s, followed by a disbandment in 1998. They reformed in 2007 for sporadic live shows.

History

Monster Voodoo Machine was formed in Canada in 1991 by Toronto musician and vocalist Adam Sewell, inspired by bands like

Quicksand Quicksand (also known as sinking sand) is a colloid consisting of fine granular material (such as sand, silt or clay) and water. It forms in saturated loose sand when the sand is suddenly agitated. When water in the sand cannot escape, it crea ...

, Black Flag and Discharge. The original line-up included guitarist Mark Gibson, bassist Terry Landry and drummer Drew Gauley. In their first six months together the band recorded one EP ("Burn" – released on Epidemic Records in 1992) and one full-length album ("Turbine", which was not released) and filmed two promotional videos: "3 Year Plan" and "Bastard Child". The band also collaborated with

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...

group BTK ("Bastard Child – Techno Storm Mix") and begin recording sessions with soul singers. Over the next year the band added second guitarist Dave Rose and keyboardist Stacey Hoskin to the line-up, but the intense pace of touring and writing led to both guitarists Gibson and Rose leaving, replaced by Jason Cuddy (previously of

Mundane In subcultural and fictional uses, a mundane is a person who does not belong to a particular group, according to the members of that group; the implication is that such persons, lacking imagination, are concerned solely with the mundane: the ...

) and Darren Quinn. Drummer Gauley also left after several tours, later himself joining Mundane. At first he was replaced by Dylan Huziak, followed shortly after by Dean Dallas Bentley. In late 1993 the band recorded their second EP and major-label debut "State Voodoo/State Control" (released in 1994 on RCA Records). Produced by Paul Raven (of

Killing Joke Killing Joke were an English rock music, rock band formed in Notting Hill, London, in 1979 by Jaz Coleman (vocals, keyboards), Paul Ferguson (drums), Geordie Walker (guitar) and Youth (musician), Youth (bass). Their first album, ''Killing Joke ...

and Prong) and Walter Sobczak, the EP's title was a reference to the Discharge track "State Violence State Control". Musically, the EP saw the band move in a heavier and darker direction, similar to bands like White Zombie and Ministry. The EP also featured remixes from producers including Danny Saber (U2). In late January 1994 the band relocated to Chicago to record their first full-length album ''Suffersystem'', produced by Critter and Howie Beno at Chicago Trax studios. The album featured several guest appearances including

Roddy Bottum Roswell Christopher Bottum (born July 1, 1963) is an American musician, best known as the keyboardist for the San Francisco alternative metal band Faith No More. He is also guitarist and co-lead vocalist for the pop group Imperial Teen, best know ...

Faith No More Faith No More is an American Rock music, rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1979. Before September 1983, the band performed under the names Sharp Young Men and later Faith No Man. Bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist/rhythm guitarist ...

, Leslie Rankin of

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and

Ruby Ruby is a pinkish-red-to-blood-red-colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum ( aluminium oxide). Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sapph ...

, and

Wesley Willis Wesley Lawrence Willis (May 31, 1963 – August 21, 2003) was an American musician and visual artist. Diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1989, Willis began a career as an underground singer-songwriter in the outsider music tradition. Will ...

. On completing the album in the late spring, the band set out on a tour of around 500 shows, touring with

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Life of Agony Life of Agony is an American alternative metal band from Brooklyn, New York City, formed in 1989 by singer Keith Caputo, bassist Alan Robert and guitarist Joey Z. The band has released six studio albums to date, most notably their 1993 debut '' ...

, Skrew, and

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, before touring with

Marilyn Manson Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969), known professionally as Marilyn Manson, is an American rock musician. He is the lead singer and the only original member remaining of the Marilyn Manson (band), same-titled band he founded in 1989. Th ...

in early 1995, on the two and a half month "Portrait of an American Family Tour". ''Suffersystem'' won the 1995

Juno Award The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...

for "Best Hard Rock Album Of The Year". Around this time, the band also released a number of singles and EPs featuring remixes by artists such as Biohazard,

DJ Muggs Lawrence Muggerud (born January 28, 1968) professionally known as DJ Muggs, is an American DJ, audio engineer and record producer. He has been a member of Cypress Hill, a member of the trip hop band Cross My Heart Hope to Die and the leader of h ...

KMFDM KMFDM (originally Kein Mehrheit Für Die Mitleid, loosely translated by the band as "no pity for the majority") is a multinational industrial rock band from Hamburg led by Sascha Konietzko, who founded the band in 1984 as a performance art proje ...

and

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 ...

. Sewell asked RCA to have the Chemical Brothers or Liam Howlett of

The Prodigy The Prodigy are an English electronic music band formed in Braintree, Essex, in 1990 by producer, keyboardist, and songwriter Liam Howlett. The original line-up also featured Rapping, MC and vocalist Maxim (musician), Maxim, dancer and occasi ...

produce the next album, but RCA declined, asking the band instead to consider

Butch Vig Bryan David "Butch" Vig (born August 2, 1955) is an American musician, record producer, and songwriter who is the drummer and co-producer of the rock band Garbage. Producer of the diamond selling Nirvana album ''Nevermind'' (1991), Vig also pro ...

. Disillusioned with

RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...

, Sewell asked to be released from their recording contract. In late 1995, the band was put "on hold" for the next year. The band returned in 1996 joined by Soulstorm members Nick Sagias (keyboards) and bassist Chris Harris. They released 1,000 numbered copies of "Pirate Satellite". However, shortly after that, the band announced that they were breaking up, and on October 4, 1996, they played a farewell show at the Volcano Club in

Kitchener, Ontario Kitchener is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario, about west of Toronto. It is one of three cities that make up the Regional Municipality of Waterloo and is the regional Administrative centre, seat. Kitchener was known as Berlin until a ...

. Less than a year later, while on tour with def.con.sound.system. in 1997, Sewell was offered a record deal by Dr. Dream Records (a subsidiary of Polygram / Mercury) who suggested that the group use the Monster Voodoo Machine name. At the time def.con.sound.system. featured Sewell, Cuddy, Sagias, Harris, and occasionally Quinn and Bentley, so they agreed and began planning a new album. As the group began working on new material, Sewell decided to record the album without the use of samplers, keyboards, or drum loops (Sagias, the band's keyboardist, was still credited for backing vocals however). The resulting album ''Direct Reaction Now!'' featured several def.con.sound.system. songs reworked into a rock format. The album was released in early 1998 just as Dr. Dream Records was shut down due to the Polygram and Universal Records merger, although the band had been invited to play the side stage on the

Ozzfest Ozzfest was an annual music festival tour of the United States and sometimes Europe and later Japan, featuring performances by many heavy metal music, heavy metal and hard rock musical groups. It was founded by Sharon Osbourne and her husband O ...

Tour that year. Around the same time, Jason "Junior" Smith replaced Quinn on guitars and Dan Cornelius replaced Bentley on drums. After a few short tours with

Queens of the Stone Age Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated as QOTSA or QotSA) is an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1996. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme shortly before he returned to his native Palm Desert, California. ...

and

Sevendust Sevendust is an American Rock music, rock band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 1994 by bassist Vinnie Hornsby, drummer Morgan Rose and guitarist John Connolly (musician), John Connolly. After their first demo, lead vocalist Lajon Witherspoon an ...

, the band played their final show in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Quebec. In 2007, Monster Voodoo Machine reunited after a nine-year hiatus. The lineup consisted of Sewell, Landry, Cuddy, Quinn, and Bentley, in addition to Victor Rebelo on keyboards. The band then played various one-off shows afterwards. In October 2013, it was reported that original guitarist Gibson died at the age of 42 in his sleep.

Discography

Albums

* ''Burn'' (1992, Epidemic) * ''State Voodoo/State Control'' (1994, BMG/D-Tribe) * ''Suffersystem'' (1994, BMG/D-Tribe) * ''Pirate Satellite'' (1996, 45 Revolutions) * ''Direct Reaction Now'' (1998, Doctor Dream)

Members

Current members

* Adam "Doom" Sewell – vocals (1991–1998, 2007–present) * Terry Landry – bass (1991–1995, 2007–present) * Jason Cuddy – guitars (1993–1998, 2007–present) * Darren Quinn – guitars (1993–1998, 2007–present) * Dean "Dallas" Bentley – drums (1993–1998, 2007–present) * Victor Rebelo – keyboards (2007–present)

Former members

* Mark "Gibson" Klucznyk – guitars (1991–1993; died 2013) * Drew Gauley – drums (1991–1993) * Stacey Hoskin – keyboards (1992–1995) * Dave Rose – guitars (1992–1993) * Dylan Huziak – drums (1993) * Nick Sagias – keyboards (1995–1998) * Chris Harris – bass (1995–1998) * Jason "Junior" Smith – guitars (1998) * Dan Cornelius – drums (1998)

References

{{Authority control Musical groups established in 1991 Musical groups disestablished in 1998 Musical groups reestablished in 2007 Canadian heavy metal musical groups Musical groups from Toronto Juno Award for Rock Album of the Year winners 1991 establishments in Ontario 1998 disestablishments in Ontario 2007 establishments in Ontario