Biohazard Urban Discipline

Biohazard 'Urban Discipline' (Roadrunner, 1992)

Wow, this brings back some memories. I had completely forgotten the opening track on this LP, 'Chamber Spins Three', but as soon as Evan Seinfeld barked 'It's a motherf**in' homicide...' I smiled. I smiled about the fact that I always used to sing 'A sledgehammer pointed right where it hurts!' rather than 'shotgun'. I smiled about the three amazing, yes, amazing, times I saw them live. I smiled about the ridiculous macho stance a lot of my friends took up with this album as a soundtrack. I smiled because, as Jamie T would say, Biohazard are risible.

This record is nonsense. It's poorly produced basic hardcore metal with a couple of guys rapping badly over it. It sounds so weak and has aged very badly. However, its influence on the metallic hardcore scene and some particularly horrible nu metal is very apparent. The hardcore scene centred around Rucktion records certainly takes more than a few pointers from Biohazard and I think I saw Special Move covering 'Shades Of Grey' which sent the kids at Nice 'N Sleazys into spasms of joy.

The best thing about this record is the consistent swearing and different vocal styles of Evan, Billy Graziadei and the insane babblings of Bobby Hambel ('Pacino' as we used to call him) which are all strangely compelling despite the hideous pedestrian music, particularly the awful drumming.

Believe it or not, Biohazard are actually brilliant in many ways, but none of it is to do with their recorded output. Evan played Hoyt in Oz , one of my all time favourite TV shows, where he was imprisoned for beating a video shop assistant with a video tape because the assistant ignored him and he eventually goes insane in prison - believe me, you have to watch it! He then went on to enjoy a career in hardcore pornography and marry uber porn star Tera Patrick who he divorced after she demanded that he curtail his scenes with other women. He left Biohazard, played bass in a TV reality band, came back to Biohazard and then promptly left to continue his adult entertainment career as 'Spyder Jonez'. Seriously, you couldn't make it up! Coincidentally, Jamie T met Tera and Evan in London and got her to sign one of her 'films', 'To the Guvnor, love Tera', which was a nice gesture!

Apart from major schisms with Pacino and then the obligatory make up, the best thing about Biohazard was seeing them live; The Venue in 1993 was a brilliant gig with non stop stage diving and moshing for an hour, Dynamo in 1995 was insane with 100,000 people jumping up and down in unison and Donington in 1996 was equally crazy, particularly during their opening track which had the entire crowd chanting 'F**k the World!'.

Despite the great memories of seeing them live I never purchased a single Biohazard record. I knew from hearing them at friends' houses that I wouldn't like them at all and I was right. I only recently acquired this badly scratched and damaged LP from Jon's collection and it's far from a classic!

The absolute best thing about Biohazard is that they coined the phrase 'Peace to Venom always'. They are the sole reason Pringle and I use 'Peace' and 'PTVA' as our sign offs for all communication. Offering tribute to the godfathers of Black Metal as only Brooklyn boys can; genius.

Peace to Venom always.

Peace