Skrew is an American industrial metal band. Formed in 1990 and disbanded in 1998, the group announced its return in 2009.
Biography
Skrew was formed in 1990 in Austin, Texas, United States, by Adam Grossman and Danny Lohner. The band rose from the ashes of crossover thrash band Angkor Wat, of which Grossman and Lohner were members. Skrew recruited Al Jourgensen of Ministry, to record and produce its 1991 debut album Burning in Water, Drowning in Flame. The album fared well commercially and received high praise from critics. It was during this period that Lohner left the band initially auditioning for the Red Hot Chili Peppers before being hired by Nine Inch Nails. Skrew proceeded to work on its second release, Dusted, which was released in 1994. This album saw the addition of keyboardist Jim Vollentine, who would remain with the band until 1998. Like its predecessor, Dusted was highly praised by critics and fans, and is still considered a classic in field of industrial metal by many fans of the genre. Commercially, however, it was less successful than Burning. The band's music then underwent significant change, probably due to a head-on automobile collision that Grossman experienced in 1995, the result of which was the 1996 album Shadow of Doubt. The album largely moved away from the band's previous sound, featuring more of a slow, extreme thrash metal sound somewhat similar to other 1990s metal bands such as Machine Head. The band went through several member changes in the next year, but by 1997, Grossman had a stable line-up and released the band's final album, Angel Seed XXIII, which featured a style somewhat reminiscent of the then-emerging nu metal genre. The album received even less attention than its predecessor due to a lack of support from their label. Skrew went on hiatus in 1998. In late 2009, Grossman began putting the pieces of Skrew back together again. The reformed band debuted on February 12, 2011 in Austin, Texas with a follow-up appearance in March 2011 at the SXSW music festival. The new material was much more politically oriented in terms of lyrics and musically might be more comparable to the Scandinavian extreme metal scene, all the while maintaining the roots of what always set Skrew apart from the field, a twisted, sickly bed of electronic discomfort. On July 4, 2014, Skrew digitally released Universal Immolation, their first album in 17 years. Worldwide touring commenced in 2015.
