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Thought Industry, formerly known as Desacrator, was an American
progressive metal Progressive metal (often shortened to prog metal) is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal music, heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified electric guitar, guitar-driven sound of the former with t ...
band. It was founded in
Kalamazoo, Michigan Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 73,598. It is the principal city of the Kalamazoo–Portage metropolitan are ...
in 1989 by vocalist/bassist Brent Oberlin, drummer
Dustin Donaldson Dustin Thomas Donaldson (born April 11, 1969 in Kalamazoo, Michigan) is an American drummer. He is best known for his work in Thought Industry and I Am Spoonbender. Early life Donaldson was born in Kalamazoo and spent a majority of his childh ...
(who formed I Am Spoonbender in 1997), guitarist Christopher Lee Simmonds (a.k.a. Christopher Lee), and guitarist Steve Spaeth who replaced original Desacrator guitarist, Dan Roe. Spaeth left the band due to internal conflicts with Simmonds and started the band Clockmaker. The position was filled by guitarist Paul Enzio in time for 1992's '' Songs for Insects'', their
Metal Blade Records 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 ...
debut. This was followed up by '' Mods Carve the Pig: Assassins, Toads and God's Flesh''. 1996's '' Outer Space Is Just a Martini Away'' subsequently saw a significant change in the band's sound and lineup when Donaldson was replaced by Jared Bryant. Oberlin switched to guitar and bassist Herb Ledbetter was added. Thought Industry continued to strip down their lineup and sound with 1997's moody '' Black Umbrella'', which saw the departure of Lee. Bryant, Enzio and Ledbetter also left the band in 1999, which prompted Oberlin to assemble an entirely new lineup for 2001's magnum opus '' Short Wave on a Cold Day''. Engineer Mike Roche, who recorded Thought Industry's ''Black Umbrella'' and Fred Thompson Trio's ''Scary Halloween Sound Effects'' and filled in on bass from time to time, was added as a full-time guitarist along with drummer Cameron Taylor, bassist Mark Baldwin and guitarist Jeff Borkowski.


Other projects

Christopher Lee Simmonds continued to perform as a singer/songwriter in the Chicago area through 1996. Simultaneously recording with Filter on 1997's ''Title of Record'' and recording and producing the debut album by local band MiLkBabY for his label Moonquake Mobile. Simmonds also recorded two solo albums, toured the mid-west and east coast through late 2007 and re-located to
Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...
, that September. There Simmonds established himself as a studio engineer and producer of many projects. Most notable would be
Good Charlotte Good Charlotte is an American rock band formed in Waldorf, Maryland, in 1995. Since 2005, the band's lineup has consisted of Joel Madden (lead vocals), Benji Madden (guitar, vocals), Paul Thomas (bass), Billy Martin (guitar, keyboards), and ...
, Jimmie's Chicken Shack,
Marcy Playground Marcy Playground is an American alternative rock band consisting of three members: John Wozniak (lead vocals, guitar), Dylan Keefe (bass), and Shlomi Lavie (drums). The band is best known for their 1997 hit " Sex and Candy". History Early ...
, Underfoot, Filter, Gods & Aliens, Bullhead and many in the local scene. Simmonds continued with his progressive metal nature and created what most consider to be the continuation of Thought Industry, Bullhead. Bullhead is a culmination of the most extreme of Simmonds' work. Simmonds went on to perform with The Static Dynamic, based out of
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
,
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
. The band released a ten-song, self-titled CD distributed by Tunecore through iTunes and Rhapsody. Simmonds continues to perform as a solo singer/songwriter in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Chicago, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia on a regular basis. As a singer for Cosmonaut, Oberlin released ''Pipebomb Full of Nails'' in 2004. Cosmonaut's debut release was released on Swollen Lip Records. On July 18 and 19 2014, a Thought Industry reunion with a line-up of Brent Oberlin, Paul Enzio, Herb Ledbetter, Mike Roche and Jared Bryant took place at Shakespeare's Pub and at Louie's Trophy House Grill respectively, in Kalamazoo, Michigan.


Discography


Studio albums

*'' Songs for Insects'',
Metal Blade Records 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 ...
, 1992 *'' Mods Carve the Pig: Assassins, Toads and God's Flesh'', Metal Blade Records, 1993 *'' Outer Space Is Just a Martini Away'', Metal Blade Records, 1996 *'' Black Umbrella'', Metal Blade Records, 1997 *'' Short Wave on a Cold Day'', Metal Blade Records, 2001


Singles

*"Gelatin 7"", Metal Blade Records, 1993


Compilations

*'' Recruited to Do Good Deeds for the Devil'', Metal Blade Records, 1998


References


External links

* Thought Industryat
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 ...

Thought Industry web4insects fansite
(link to history of archives at Internet Archive) {{Authority control American avant-garde metal musical groups American progressive metal musical groups Heavy metal musical groups from Michigan Musical groups established in 1989 Metal Blade Records artists