Rorschach Test is an American industrial band from

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

, formed by James Baker.

James Baker

Baker was a young minister based in Denver until being

defrocked Defrocking, unfrocking, degradation, or laicization of clergy is the removal of their rights to exercise the functions of the ordained ministry. It may be grounded on criminal convictions, disciplinary problems, or disagreements over doctrine or ...

in the early 1990s for his allegedly

heretic Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, particularly the accepted beliefs or religious law of a religious organization. A heretic is a proponent of heresy. Heresy in Christianity, Judai ...

al questioning of church doctrine. He began writing music and lyrics after leaving the church. Soon after, he met guitarist Benjamin Anderson, from Yuma,

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

, and the two began writing songs together. Baker and band members began composing "metallic, industrial songs with a definite debt to Ministry and

Skinny Puppy Skinny Puppy was a Canadian electro-industrial band formed in Vancouver in 1982. The group was among the founders of the industrial rock and electro-industrial genres. Initially envisioned as an experimental side-project by cEvin Key (Kevin Crom ...

but including elements of conventional metal."

History

Rorschach Test formed in Denver, Colorado, with Baker joined by Anderson, guitarist Kris Geren, and keyboard player/programmer Troee Kerr.Stone, Doug
''Unclean'' Review
,

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 ...

. Retrieved October 10, 2015 They later relocated to

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

where they were signed to

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

-based label Slip Disc Records. They enjoyed a successful career during Seattle's lively music scene in the 1990s. They toured

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

playing shows with bands including

Korn Korn (stylized as KoЯn) is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, originally formed in 1993 by James Shaffer, James "Munky" Shaffer, Reginald Arvizu, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu and David Silveria, who were members of the band ...

Type O Negative Type O Negative was an American gothic/doom metal band formed in Brooklyn, New York City in 1989 by Peter Steele (bass, lead vocals), Kenny Hickey (guitar, co-lead vocals), Josh Silver (keyboards, backing vocals), and Sal Abruscato (drums ...

Genitorturers The Genitorturers are an American industrial metal band with influences extending into the 1990s hardcore punk and electronic music. They proclaim themselves to be "The World's Sexiest Rock Band". History Originating in Orlando, Florida, the ...

, and

Queensrÿche Queensrÿche () is an American progressive metal band. It formed in 1982 in Bellevue, Washington, out of the local band the Mob. The band has released 16 studio albums, one Extended play, EP, and several DVDs, and continues to tour and record ...

. The band's second album, ''Unclean'', was released in 1998 on Slip Disc. They later signed to E-magine, who reissued the album in 2000. The band's third album, ''Peace Minus One'' (2000), was listed as a "must hear" album by ''

CMJ New Music Report CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events, online media company and a distributor of up and coming music CDs, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music ...

'', who described it as "one part raw metal, one part industrial...sharper than a bag full of razor blades." It also reached the top ten of the CMJ Metal chart. The band, along with

Bile Bile (from Latin ''bilis''), also known as gall, is a yellow-green/misty green fluid produced by the liver of most vertebrates that aids the digestion of lipids in the small intestine. In humans, bile is primarily composed of water, is pro ...

and

Videodrone Cradle of Thorns was an American rock band. Formed in 1988 in Bakersfield, California by singer Ty Elam, the band was initially defined by their gothic rock style. After releasing their debut album, ''Remember It Day'', independently in 1990, t ...

, Snake River Conspiracy, and N17 embarked on the 'Bush And Gore 2000' tour of the US that year. In 2004 former Rorschach Test guitarist Aaron Slip joined

Prong Prong or Prongs may refer to: * Prong, synonym of tine (structural), a branch or spike of various tools and natural objects * Prong (band), an American metal band * Prong (company), an iPhone accessories company in New York City * Prongs, British ...

. After breaking up in 2002, the band reformed after a hiatus of more than ten years, with a new album, ''American EyeDull'', planned.

Discography

*'' The Eleventh'' (1996) *'' Unclean'' (Slipdisc 1998) *'' Peace Minus One'' (E-Magine 2000) *''American EyeDull'' (TBD)

References

External links

*
Rorschach Test - Unclean (credits at Discogs.com)
{{Authority control American industrial metal musical groups American musical quartets Heavy metal musical groups from Colorado