Rapeman was an American

noise rock Noise rock (sometimes called noise punk) is a noise music, noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimal music, minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, a ...

band founded in 1987 and disbanded in 1989. It consisted of

Steve Albini Steven Frank Albini (; July 22, 1962 – May 7, 2024) was an American musician and audio engineer. He founded and fronted the influential post-hardcore and noise rock bands Big Black (1981–1987), Rapeman (1987–1989) and Shellac (band), ...

(formerly of

Big Black Big Black was an American punk rock band from Evanston, Illinois, active from 1981 to 1987. Founded first as a solo project by singer and guitarist Steve Albini, the band became a trio with an initial lineup that included guitarist Santiago Dur ...

) on

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

and

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

, David Wm. Sims (formerly of Scratch Acid) on

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

and Rey Washam (formerly of Scratch Acid and Big Boys) on

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

. In the years since their brief tenure, Rapeman’s sound has also been described as

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 ...

. Rapeman were formed as a parallel sister project to

the Jesus Lizard The Jesus Lizard is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 1987 in Austin, Texas by vocalist David Yow, guitarist Duane Denison and bassist David Wm. Sims. They relocated to Chicago, Illinois, in 1989, where they found kindred spirits in ...

, although the latter outlasted Rapeman by several years.

History

Rapeman was formed in 1987 when drummer Rey Washam and bassist David Wm. Sims relocated to Chicago from Texas after the breakup of their band Scratch Acid. Steve Albini had just ended his group

, and was looking to switch to a musical project with a live drummer, instead of his

Roland TR-606 The Roland TR-606 Drumatix is a drum machine built by Roland Corporation from 1981 to 1984. Sounds It uses analog synthesis rather than samples to produce sound. It imitates acoustic percussion: the bass drum, snare, toms, cymbal and hi-hat ...

drum machine. Rapeman's initial 1988 releases included the mostly live recorded '' Budd'' EP, the "Hated Chinee" b/w "Marmoset" 7" single, and their sole album, '' Two Nuns and a Pack Mule''. The band recorded in Albini's own home studio, often giving production credit to someone named Fluss, later revealed to be Albini's cat. All of Rapeman’s records were originally released on

Touch and Go Records Touch and Go Records is an American independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois. After its genesis as a handmade fanzine in 1979, it grew into one of the key record labels in the American 1980s underground and alternative rock scenes. To ...

in the US,

Blast First Blast First is a sub label of one-time independent record label Mute Records, founded in approximately 1985. It was named after a phrase taken from the first number of the radical Vorticism, Vorticist journal ''BLAST (magazine), Blast'', publi ...

in the UK, and Au Go Go in Australia. Rapeman left Blast First in 1990 after Albini had an argument with the label over the release of a Big Black record. Touch and Go started distributing in the UK in 1992 and re-released Rapeman's records there. The band's final record before their breakup, the "Inki's Butt Crack" instrumental 7" single, was issued in 1989 as part of the

Sub Pop Sub Pop is an independent record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana (band), Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the gru ...

Singles Club. Albini later played bass in live iterations of Pete Conway’s solo project,

Flour Flour is a powder made by Mill (grinding), grinding raw grains, List of root vegetables, roots, beans, Nut (fruit), nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredie ...

, before going on to form

Shellac Shellac () is a resin secreted by the female Kerria lacca, lac bug on trees in the forests of India and Thailand. Chemically, it is mainly composed of aleuritic acid, jalaric acid, shellolic acid, and other natural waxes. It is processed and s ...

and expanding his work as a recording engineer. Sims reunited with ex- Scratch Acid vocalist

David Yow David Lambeth Yow (; born August 2, 1960) is an American musician and actor born in Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas, Nevada and best known as the vocalist for the noise rock bands Scratch Acid and the Jesus Lizard. Yow's debut solo album, ''Tonight ...

to form

(with Albini recording their albums). Washam went on to drum for former Chrome guitarist

Helios Creed Barry Johnson (born on November 3, 1953), known professionally as Helios Creed, is an American guitarist, singer and bandleader. He first came to prominence in the mid-1970s with the San Francisco band Chrome, who were considered an early influ ...

. Albini died on May 7, 2024.

Name

The name Rapeman was taken from the Japanese manga series '' The Rapeman.'' Albini discovered the manga through a friend who ran an import business, and found its combination of rape fantasies and the

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

genre "simultaneously utterly repellent and fascinating". He described it as "the product of decades of repression and misogyny being expressed through a different cultural tradition". He named the band in a deliberate attempt to repel audiences and do the "opposite" of bands that were desperate to appear on

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

. Rapeman's name drew criticism and protests at several gigs. In a 2020 interview on the ''Conan Neutron's Protonic Reversal'' podcast, Albini called it a "flippant choice" that was unconscionable and indefensible. He likened it to getting a bad tattoo. In a 2021 interview with ''

MEL Magazine ''MEL'' was a men's magazine headquartered in Marina del Rey, California. Originally funded by Dollar Shave Club, ''Mel'' has been described by ''New York Times'' journalist Amanda Hess as "the rare men's magazine that has taken upon itself to i ...

'', Albini said he had been ignorant of women's issues and had falsely assumed that many social problems, such as misogyny and homophobia, were already solved. Sims said the name was his biggest musical regret.

Discography

Studio albums

* '' Two Nuns and a Pack Mule'' (1988,

/ Au Go Go) UK Indie No. 4Lazell, Barry (1997) ''Indie Hits 1980 - 1989'', Cherry Red Books,

Singles and EPs

* '' Budd'' EP (1988, Touch and Go/Blast First/Au Go Go) UK Indie No. 2 * "Hated Chinee" 7" single (1988, Touch and Go/Blast First/Au Go Go) * "Inki's Butt Crack" 7" single (1989,

Singles Club)

Compilation appearances

* ''Nothing Short Of Total War'' (Part One) (Blast First) (1987) - "Dutch Courage" * ''The Devil's Jukebox'' (Blast First) (1989) - "Dutch Courage" * ''Indie Top 20 Vol. VI-Pride Of Independents'' (Beechwood) (1989) - "Bud(d)" * ''Au-Go-Go sampler #1'' cassette (Au Go Go) (1989) - "Hated Chinee"

References

{{Authority control American noise rock music groups American post-hardcore musical groups Musical groups from Chicago Obscenity controversies in music Musical groups established in 1987 Musical groups disestablished in 1989 Touch and Go Records artists Musical trios from Illinois Blast First artists 1987 establishments in Illinois 1989 disestablishments in Illinois Naming controversies