Treponem Pal is a French

industrial metal Industrial metal is the fusion of heavy metal and industrial music, typically employing repeating metal guitar riffs, sampling, synthesizer or sequencer lines, and distorted vocals. Prominent industrial metal acts include Ministry, Nine ...

band formed in Paris in 1986. The current line-up of the band consists of Marco Neves (vocals), Polak (guitar), Didier Bréard (sampler), Mathys Dubois (drums) and Syn-Anton (bass). The band went through multiple line-up changes with Neves being the only constant member. The band is named after ''

treponema pallidum ''Treponema pallidum'', formerly known as ''Spirochaeta pallida'', is a spirochaete bacterium with various subspecies that cause the diseases syphilis, bejel (also known as endemic syphilis), and yaws. It is transmitted only among humans. It ...

'', the

bacterium Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were a ...

that causes syphilis. The band's music was described as a mixture of "aggressive

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typi ...

and a hint of industrial" similar to

Godflesh Godflesh are an English industrial metal band from Birmingham. The group formed in 1982 under the title Fall of Because but did not release any complete music until 1988 when Justin Broadrick (guitar, vocals and programming) and G. C. Gree ...

and

The Young Gods The Young Gods are a Swiss industrial rock band from Fribourg, formed in 1985. The original lineup of the band featured singer Franz Treichler, sampler player Cesare Pizzi and drummer Frank Bagnoud. For most of their history, the band maintain ...

History

Treponem Pal formed in France in 1986. Their first (''Treponem Pal'') and third ('' Excess & Overdrive'') albums were produced by

Franz Treichler Francisco José Conceição Leitão Treichler (born 14 November 1961), better known as Franz Treichler, is a Swiss singer, songwriter, musician, composer and record producer. He is best known as the vocalist and sole consistent member of the Swiss ...

(

). Their second, '' Aggravation'' was produced by

Roli Mosimann Roli Mosimann is a drummer, electronic musician and record producer who has worked in genres ranging from industrial to pop. Originally from Switzerland, Mosimann first came to attention with the New York City no wave band Swans and later colla ...

(

Swans Swans are birds of the family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Someti ...

, Wiseblood). It was their third album, however, which was to prove most popular with fans. Live performances were notable due to their policy of employing two bass players which gave them a massive sound. They maintained this style up until fourth album '' Higher'', by which time the focus had shifted towards sampling and electronics, giving that album a more techno feel. ''Higher'' was produced by

Sascha Konietzko Sascha Kegel Konietzko (born 21 June 1961), also known as Sascha K and Käpt'n K, is a German musician and record producer. He is the founder, frontman and "anchor" of the industrial band KMFDM. Konietzko jokingly purports himself to be the fa ...

from

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

. The band then broke up, though vocalist Marco Neves and several other members formed a new band called Elephant System, which released one album produced by On-U Sound's

Adrian Sherwood Adrian Maxwell Sherwood (born 20 January 1958, London, England) is an English record producer specialising in the genre of dub music. He has created a distinctive production style based on the application of dub effects and dub mixing techniqu ...

. This reflected Neves' longstanding interest in Jamaican and European dub as well as his work as a DJ and MC with the Dub Action Sound System and his involvement with the Hammerbass record label. Bass player Goran Juresic went in a more industrial dub direction with the band Lab° while drummer Didier Serbourdin formed the ultra-aggressive band Fast Forward which combined

hardcore techno Hardcore (also known as hardcore techno or hardcore house) is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany in the early 1990s. It is distinguished by faster tempos and a distorte ...

beats with powerful metal guitars. Treponem Pal returned with a new album in March 2008, entitled ''Weird Machine''. The album featured

Ted Parsons Ted Parsons is an American drummer most notable for his membership in bands such as Swans, Prong, Godflesh, Killing Joke, and Jesu. Biography Parsons' early career began in 1985 with Swans, when he contributed to their '' Holy Money'' album. ...

(from

and Prong) on drums and Paul Raven (from

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

, Ministry and Prong) on bass, though tragically Raven suffered heart failure and died while collaborating with the band on the French-Swiss border. The album combined their earlier aggressive sound with more "rock" pieces as well as some "industrial ballads". The album was produced by

David Weber David Mark Weber (born October 24, 1952) is an American science fiction and fantasy author. He has written several science-fiction and fantasy books series, the best known of which is the Honor Harrington science-fiction series. His first nove ...

and mastered by Maor Appelbaum.

Band members

Line-up 2011

* Marco Neves – vocals * Polak – guitar * Mathys Dubois – drums * Didier Bréard – sampler * Syn-Anton – bass

Former members

* Michel Bassin – guitar * Laurent B. – guitars * Alain "Ferguson" Fornasari – guitar, bass * Stéphane Cressend – bass * Amadou Sall – bass * David Lebrun – drums * Didier Serbourdin – drums * Goran Juresic – bass

Discography

Albums

* ''Treponem Pal'' (1989) * '' Aggravation'' (1991) * '' Excess & Overdrive'' (1993) * '' Higher'' (1997) * ''Weird Machine'' (2008) * ''Survival Sounds'' (2012) * ''Rockers Vibes'' (2017)

Singles

* "Pushing You Too Far" (1993) * "Panorama Remixes" (1998) * "Planet Crash" (2008)

References

External links

* {{Authority control French industrial metal musical groups Musical groups from Paris Musical quintets Musical quartets Musical groups established in 1986 Musical groups disestablished in 2001 Musical groups reestablished in 2006 Roadrunner Records artists