Antagony is an American deathgrind and metalcore band from Oakland, California, formed in 1999 and disbanded in 2009. They are known for being the fathers of deathcore.^[1] Antagony has released three albums, each on a different record label. Members of Antagony have gone on to form bands such as Oblivion, All Shall Perish, Suffokate, Oblige, and Hacksaw to the Throat.^[2]

History [edit]

Antagony formed in 1999 amongst the ashes of the crust punk band Y.F.H.^[2] Founding members Nick Vasallo, Carlos Saldana, Ben Orum, and Jody Handy combined elements from disparate forms of extreme music: grindcore, hardcore, death metal, tribal drumming and doom into one sonic experience. They showcased their eclectic mix of styles in their first release, an EP entitled Expect the Worst,^[3] and followed it with their first US tour. With a new drummer (Justin Hughes), their first album, See Through These Eyes,^[4] released in 2001, further refined their style. Soon after, Antagony became one of the premier extreme metal groups in the Bay Area underground^[5] performing with such acts as Malevolent Creation, Incantation, Excruciating Terror, Pig Destroyer, Grimple, Dystopia, Capitalist Casualties, Cephalic Carnage, Brujeria, Vital Remains, Cattle Decapitation, Intronaut, Disgorge, Exhumed, Obituary, As I Lay Dying, and Monstrosity.^[6]

After their Triangle of Hate Tour U.S.A. 2001, with supporting acts End of All and Boof, Antagony fell into a period of inactivity with all of their members directing their energies into other projects.^[7]

By the time Antagony resurfaced with a new lineup (Kyle Anderson, Christian Mitchell and Carlos Saldana replacing Ben Orum, Bray Almini, and Caysen Russo),^[8] Antagony strived to catch up on time away from the evolving metal scene. Antagony finally released the long-awaited Rebirth in 2005, combining material they had wrote since 2001. Although well received by fans and critics,^[9] it was a record that should have been released two years before.^[1]

With their next album, "Days of Night", Antagony wished to shed their previous attempt at appeasing the audience.^[10] This was to be their most eclectic recording to date. The album required use of cellos, broken pianos, choirs, different simultaneous metronome markings, and several layers of overdubbing. Musically, this album was a lot more "classically" structured as well; previously Antagony depended on the use of constant sectional changes to catch listeners off guard.^[11] This proved especially effective when performing live and this variation form they put into their early sound definitely influenced their peers. Justin parted ways with Antagony during the recording of the album, but performs on three of the tracks ("The Truth Will Be Known", "Exhale Her Poison", and "Voyage").

Antagony parted ways in 2009 after 10 years of existence. Founding members Nick Vasallo and Ben Orum joined forces again to form the death metal band Oblivion.

Band members [edit]

Last Lineup

• Nick Vasallo – guitar, vocals (1999-2007, 2008-2009)
• Carlos Saldana – bass, vocals (1999-2001, 2004-2009)
• Ryan Rey – guitar (2007-2009)
• Luis Martinez – drums (2008-2009)

Former members

• Ben Orum – guitar (2001-2003)
• Jody Handy – drums (1999-2000)
• Justin Hughes – drums (2001-2007)
• Bray Almini – bass guitar (2002-2004)
• Caysen Russo – vocals (2003)
• Christian Mitchell – bass guitar (2004-2008)
• Kyle Anderson – guitar (2004-2008)
• Brian Camara – drums (2008)

Discography [edit]

Studio albums

Music videos [edit]

References [edit]

External links [edit]

• Official website