Retox is an American rock band that formed in 2011. The four-piece was founded by

Justin Pearson Justin Pearson (born August 20, 1975) is a vocalist and bassist known for his music career, playing in a number of San Diego-based noise rock, punk and grindcore bands, as well as his record label Three One G Records. Starting off in the punk ...

and

Gabe Serbian Gabriel Serbian (May 1, 1977 – April 30, 2022) was an American drummer, guitarist and vocalist, most famous for his work in The Locust, Cattle Decapitation, Holy Molar and Zu. He was also a member of Head Wound City, a hardcore/punk rock sup ...

, both of whom had previously performed together in

The Locust The Locust was an American hardcore punk band from San Diego, California, known for their mix of grindcore aggression and new wave experimentation. The band has been noted for their use of insect costumes when performing live. History Prio ...

, Holy Molar and

Head Wound City Head Wound City is an American hardcore punk supergroup consisting of Jordan Blilie and Cody Votolato both of The Blood Brothers, Nick Zinner of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Justin Pearson and Gabe Serbian, both of The Locust. History Formation, d ...

. The two additional members are Thor Dickey and Michael Crain. Serbian was replaced by Brian Evans in 2013. Retox has since been signed to

Ipecac Recordings Ipecac Recordings is an independent record label based in California. It was founded on April 1, 1999 by Greg Werckman (ex-label manager of Alternative Tentacles, ex-lead singer of DUH, ex-employee of Mercury Records) and Mike Patton ( Faith No ...

and

Epitaph Records Epitaph Records is an American independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, most acts signed to the label were punk and pop punk acts, while there are many post-hardcore and em ...

and released three studio albums: ''Ugly Animals'' (2011), ''YPLL'' (2013) and ''Beneath California'' (2015).

History

Formation and ''Ugly Animals'' (2011)

Retox formed in 2011, originally out of founding members Justin Pearson's and Gabe Serbian's disappointment that their previous band Head Wound City was too short-lived and wanted to rehash that sound, though this sound evolved over time and with the addition of Thor Dickey and Michael Crain. The band released a self-titled EP and their debut album ''Ugly Animals'' that year through

, a California-based record label co-founded by

Mike Patton Michael Allan Patton (born January 27, 1968) is an American singer, producer, film composer and voice actor, best known as the lead vocalist of the alternative metal band Faith No More. Noted for his vocal proficiency, diverse singing techn ...

and Greg Werckman. ''Ugly Animals'' was self-funded by the band members and recorded on analog tape to capture the aesthetic of the band that could not be captured digitally, a decision made by engineer

Manny Nieto Manny is a common nickname for people with the given name Manuel, Emanuele, Immanuel, Emmanuel, Herman, or Manfred. People * Manny Acosta (born 1981), Panamanian pitcher in the Mexican Baseball League * Manny Acta (born 1969), Dominican Maj ...

''YPLL'' (2012–2013)

In 2013, Retox announced that they signed to

Brett Gurewitz Brett W. Gurewitz (born May 12, 1962), nicknamed Mr. Brett, is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist of Bad Religion. He is also the owner of the music label Epitaph Records and a number of sister labels. He has produced albums ...

for their second studio album. Pearson previously worked with Epitaph to release two releases from The Locust and ''

Heaven's Pregnant Teens ''Heaven's Pregnant Teens'' is the first and only studio album by Californian punk band Some Girls. It was their last recording as a band before their break-up in 2007. Track listing "Religion II" is a cover of a Public Image Ltd. Public ...

'' in 2006 from his former band

Some Girls ''Some Girls'' is the 14th UK and 16th US album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 9 June 1978 by Rolling Stones Records. It was recorded in sessions held between October 1977 and February 1978 at Pathé Marconi Studios in ...

. Retox released ''YPLL'' through the label on May 7, 2013. Prior to the release of the album, founding drummer Serbian left and was replaced by Brian Evans. For ''YPLL'', Retox focused more on simpler song structures and guitar riffs, and featured a guest appearance from

Nick Zinner Nicholas Joseph Zinner (born December 8, 1974) is an American guitarist for the New York rock band Yeah Yeah Yeahs and a record producer. Zinner is an accomplished photographer. Musical career Before forming the Yeah Yeahs Yeahs with Karen O and ...

on the track "Congratulations, You Are Good Enough".

''Beneath California'' (2014–present)

The band closed out 2014 with a split EP with

Narrows A narrows or narrow (used interchangeably but usually in the plural form), is a restricted land or water passage. Most commonly a narrows is a strait, though it can also be a water gap. A narrows may form where a stream passes through a tilted ...

. The EP was released through Pearson's own

Three One G 31G Records, or Three One G, is a San Diego, California-based independent record label, started by musician Justin Pearson in 1994 and focusing on punk and experimental music. The label has released a number of albums and compilations in what has ...

label and featured two tracks: the exclusive song "Fascination Street" and "This Should Hurt a Little Bit", which would appear on the band's following studio album. Retox released its third studio album titled ''Beneath California'' on February 10, 2015, again through Epitaph. In support of ''Beneath California'', Retox toured North America February–March 2015 with

Whores Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...

Members

Current

– vocals (2011–present) * Michael Crain – guitar (2011–present) * Ryan Bergmann – bass (2015–present) * Kevin Avery - drums (2017–present)

Former

– drums (2011, died 2022) * Brian Evans – drums (2011–2016) * Thor Dickey – bass (2011–?) * Keith Hendriksen – bass (?–2015)

Discography

Studio albums

EPs and splits

Music videos

* "A Bastard on Father's Day" (2011) * "Biological Process of Politics" (2013) * "Let's Not Keep in Touch" (2015) * "Without Money, We'd All Be Rich" (2015) * "Die in Your Own Cathedral" (2015)

References

External links

*
Retox discography
at

Rate Your Music Rate Your Music (often abbreviated to RYM) is an online collaborative database of music releases and films. Users can catalog items from their personal collection, review them, and assign ratings in a five-star rating system. The site also feat ...

Retox discography
at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

{{Authority control Musical groups established in 2011 Epitaph Records artists Hardcore punk groups from California Ipecac Recordings artists 2011 establishments in California