Biography
Although the spirit of punk rock centered on defying limits, Big Black distinguished themselves among post-punk outfits through an especially aggressive drive to unsettle listeners. Their guitars alternated between machete-sharp slashes and the grinding whine of a dentist’s drill, forging a stark, monolithic dissonance that broke new ground. A drum machine pushed to maximum volume delivered a relentless pounding that subdued crowds, serving as a vital forerunner to industrial music while yielding a texture more visceral and unpredictable than the comparable efforts of Ministry or Nine Inch Nails. The band’s lyrics confronted mutilation, murder, rape, child molestation, arson, immolation, racism, and misogyny without reservation, establishing Big Black as artists who recognized no boundaries; though they did not appear to endorse the antisocial or criminal acts they described, the intimate familiarity with those subjects unsettled many listeners. The group ventured into territory few acts dared explore—and that many believed should remain off-limits—leaving an indelible mark on indie rock regardless of whether that influence was viewed positively or negatively. At the same time, Big Black upheld strict principles in their operations: they financed their own recordings, arranged their own performances, managed their own affairs and promotion, and stayed resolutely independent during an era when numerous indie acts pursued major-label deals.
Steve Albini conceived Big Black after spending much of his early life in Missoula, Montana. A slender, unassuming adolescent with glasses and a focused intensity, he remained largely solitary during high school. Upon discovering accounts of the emerging punk scene in music publications, Albini sought out recordings and cultivated an affinity for Suicide and the Ramones. During his final year of high school, he taught himself guitar and bass to occupy his time after fracturing his leg in a motorcycle accident. In 1980, following graduation, he relocated to Evanston, Illinois, near Chicago, to pursue studies in journalism and art at Northwestern University. As anticipated, Albini quickly immersed himself in the local punk community and became an ardent supporter of Naked Raygun. Soon afterward he explored forming his own band, briefly performing with a new-wave group called Stations whose primary lasting effect was prompting him to acquire a Roland TR-606 drum machine for percussion duties.
Frustrated in 1981 by repeated setbacks in assembling musicians, Albini chose to launch a project alone. In exchange for a case of beer he borrowed a four-track recorder and, during spring break, captured a six-song EP in his room, performing all guitar, bass, and vocal parts himself while assigning drumming to “Roland.” Released by the Chicago label Ruthless Records near the close of 1982, the EP appeared under the name Big Black and the title Lungs. Albini simultaneously contributed to several fanzines, most prominently Matter, where his combative writings on various subjects—chiefly the ethical and musical shortcomings he perceived within the music world—combined with his lyrical preoccupations to earn him a reputation as rock’s angriest figure.
Although reactions to Lungs varied, the record at least supplied Albini with an introduction for his new entity, and he set about assembling a live version of Big Black. Early in 1983 he recruited Jeff Pezzati of Naked Raygun; during a rehearsal in the basement of Pezzati’s building, fellow Naked Raygun guitarist Santiago Durango descended from upstairs and joined the session. The Colombian-born son of a physician who had come to the United States to attend the University of Illinois, Durango shared Albini’s profile as a perceptive outsider drawn to punk’s abrasive sound; he had joined Silver Abuse in 1979. The pair connected immediately. Durango became a full-time member, his robust guitar style complementing Albini’s angular, metallic approach.
The next release, the 1983 Bulldozer EP, documented the expanded lineup. With access to a 24-track studio and the sympathetic engineer-producer Iain Burgess, Albini achieved a decisive advance over Lungs, delivering the first clear document of Big Black’s signature bruising, ominous sound. Originally issued in a custom steel jacket, Bulldozer attracted considerably more notice in the independent press. The follow-up EP, 1984’s Racer-X, together with expanded touring and improved distribution through a licensing arrangement with Homestead Records, extended the band’s audience beyond the Midwest.
Jeff Pezzati departed amicably in late 1984, citing conflicts with his employment and Naked Raygun’s growing commitments. Santiago Durango left Naked Raygun to devote himself fully to Big Black. Bassist Dave Riley, previously active in Detroit studios and with the Chicago band Savage Beliefs, joined as the new bassist. Shortly afterward the group began work on its first album. Both musically and lyrically, 1985’s Atomizer intensified the ferocity of earlier material, presenting an unyielding barrage of guitar textures and depictions of violence. The album elevated Big Black to the forefront of indie-rock conversation; reactions split sharply, yet sufficient listeners embraced its sonic attack for the record to register as a notable underground success. Its compact-disc edition, which appended several single and EP tracks under the title The Rich Man’s Eight Track Tape, also allowed Albini to voice his initial criticisms of digital recording. Dissatisfied with the financial returns from Homestead, the band ended that relationship after issuing the “El Duce” single and shifted distribution to Touch & Go Records, whose owner, Corey Rusk, enjoyed Albini’s trust. Years later Touch & Go would reissue the entire Big Black catalog.
The first Touch & Go release, the 1987 Headache EP, gained notoriety when an early limited pressing featured a photograph of an auto-accident victim whose head had been bisected—an image shielded by an opaque black plastic outer sleeve. The music, however, fell short of Atomizer’s standard, a fact the band acknowledged; the wider edition carried a sticker that read, “Not as good as Atomizer, so don’t get your hopes up, cheese!” Internal strains also surfaced: Albini and Durango reportedly found Riley challenging to work with, and all three struggled to reconcile the group’s mounting demands with outside obligations. Durango chose to resume law school in the fall of 1987, prompting the decision to disband.
Big Black disclosed the breakup well ahead of time, completed a final album—recorded partly in London and partly in Albini’s newly established home studio—and undertook favorably received farewell tours of Europe and the United States during the summer of 1987. After the last performance in Seattle on August 11, at which the band destroyed its equipment, Touch & Go issued Songs About Fucking, a caustic masterwork that became the group’s most commercially successful album. Once the catalog returned to Touch & Go, the live album and video Pigpile, captured at the London farewell date, appeared in 1992.
After the split, Albini built a distinguished career as producer and engineer, working with Nirvana, the Breeders, the Pixies, Superchunk, Bush, and Jimmy Page & Robert Plant, as well as, by his own account, a thousand lesser-known acts; he later opened Electrical Audio studios in Chicago. He also performed with the short-lived Rapeman and the longer-running Shellac. Albini died of a heart attack at his recording studio on May 7, 2024, at the age of 61. Dave Riley briefly played in Bull; a 1995 stroke, initially misdiagnosed in some reports as a suicide attempt, left him incapacitated. He was residing in Arizona and engaged in animal rescue when he died of cancer on December 24, 2019. Santiago Durango performed with Arsenal and recorded with Boss Hog, yet his musical activities eventually yielded priority to his legal practice, whose clients have included Touch & Go Records and the artist and groupie Cynthia Plaster Caster.
Steve Albini conceived Big Black after spending much of his early life in Missoula, Montana. A slender, unassuming adolescent with glasses and a focused intensity, he remained largely solitary during high school. Upon discovering accounts of the emerging punk scene in music publications, Albini sought out recordings and cultivated an affinity for Suicide and the Ramones. During his final year of high school, he taught himself guitar and bass to occupy his time after fracturing his leg in a motorcycle accident. In 1980, following graduation, he relocated to Evanston, Illinois, near Chicago, to pursue studies in journalism and art at Northwestern University. As anticipated, Albini quickly immersed himself in the local punk community and became an ardent supporter of Naked Raygun. Soon afterward he explored forming his own band, briefly performing with a new-wave group called Stations whose primary lasting effect was prompting him to acquire a Roland TR-606 drum machine for percussion duties.
Frustrated in 1981 by repeated setbacks in assembling musicians, Albini chose to launch a project alone. In exchange for a case of beer he borrowed a four-track recorder and, during spring break, captured a six-song EP in his room, performing all guitar, bass, and vocal parts himself while assigning drumming to “Roland.” Released by the Chicago label Ruthless Records near the close of 1982, the EP appeared under the name Big Black and the title Lungs. Albini simultaneously contributed to several fanzines, most prominently Matter, where his combative writings on various subjects—chiefly the ethical and musical shortcomings he perceived within the music world—combined with his lyrical preoccupations to earn him a reputation as rock’s angriest figure.
Although reactions to Lungs varied, the record at least supplied Albini with an introduction for his new entity, and he set about assembling a live version of Big Black. Early in 1983 he recruited Jeff Pezzati of Naked Raygun; during a rehearsal in the basement of Pezzati’s building, fellow Naked Raygun guitarist Santiago Durango descended from upstairs and joined the session. The Colombian-born son of a physician who had come to the United States to attend the University of Illinois, Durango shared Albini’s profile as a perceptive outsider drawn to punk’s abrasive sound; he had joined Silver Abuse in 1979. The pair connected immediately. Durango became a full-time member, his robust guitar style complementing Albini’s angular, metallic approach.
The next release, the 1983 Bulldozer EP, documented the expanded lineup. With access to a 24-track studio and the sympathetic engineer-producer Iain Burgess, Albini achieved a decisive advance over Lungs, delivering the first clear document of Big Black’s signature bruising, ominous sound. Originally issued in a custom steel jacket, Bulldozer attracted considerably more notice in the independent press. The follow-up EP, 1984’s Racer-X, together with expanded touring and improved distribution through a licensing arrangement with Homestead Records, extended the band’s audience beyond the Midwest.
Jeff Pezzati departed amicably in late 1984, citing conflicts with his employment and Naked Raygun’s growing commitments. Santiago Durango left Naked Raygun to devote himself fully to Big Black. Bassist Dave Riley, previously active in Detroit studios and with the Chicago band Savage Beliefs, joined as the new bassist. Shortly afterward the group began work on its first album. Both musically and lyrically, 1985’s Atomizer intensified the ferocity of earlier material, presenting an unyielding barrage of guitar textures and depictions of violence. The album elevated Big Black to the forefront of indie-rock conversation; reactions split sharply, yet sufficient listeners embraced its sonic attack for the record to register as a notable underground success. Its compact-disc edition, which appended several single and EP tracks under the title The Rich Man’s Eight Track Tape, also allowed Albini to voice his initial criticisms of digital recording. Dissatisfied with the financial returns from Homestead, the band ended that relationship after issuing the “El Duce” single and shifted distribution to Touch & Go Records, whose owner, Corey Rusk, enjoyed Albini’s trust. Years later Touch & Go would reissue the entire Big Black catalog.
The first Touch & Go release, the 1987 Headache EP, gained notoriety when an early limited pressing featured a photograph of an auto-accident victim whose head had been bisected—an image shielded by an opaque black plastic outer sleeve. The music, however, fell short of Atomizer’s standard, a fact the band acknowledged; the wider edition carried a sticker that read, “Not as good as Atomizer, so don’t get your hopes up, cheese!” Internal strains also surfaced: Albini and Durango reportedly found Riley challenging to work with, and all three struggled to reconcile the group’s mounting demands with outside obligations. Durango chose to resume law school in the fall of 1987, prompting the decision to disband.
Big Black disclosed the breakup well ahead of time, completed a final album—recorded partly in London and partly in Albini’s newly established home studio—and undertook favorably received farewell tours of Europe and the United States during the summer of 1987. After the last performance in Seattle on August 11, at which the band destroyed its equipment, Touch & Go issued Songs About Fucking, a caustic masterwork that became the group’s most commercially successful album. Once the catalog returned to Touch & Go, the live album and video Pigpile, captured at the London farewell date, appeared in 1992.
After the split, Albini built a distinguished career as producer and engineer, working with Nirvana, the Breeders, the Pixies, Superchunk, Bush, and Jimmy Page & Robert Plant, as well as, by his own account, a thousand lesser-known acts; he later opened Electrical Audio studios in Chicago. He also performed with the short-lived Rapeman and the longer-running Shellac. Albini died of a heart attack at his recording studio on May 7, 2024, at the age of 61. Dave Riley briefly played in Bull; a 1995 stroke, initially misdiagnosed in some reports as a suicide attempt, left him incapacitated. He was residing in Arizona and engaged in animal rescue when he died of cancer on December 24, 2019. Santiago Durango performed with Arsenal and recorded with Boss Hog, yet his musical activities eventually yielded priority to his legal practice, whose clients have included Touch & Go Records and the artist and groupie Cynthia Plaster Caster.
Albums
Back Street Babe
2022
Pig Pile
1992
Songs About Fucking (Remastered)
1987
Songs About Fucking
1987
Headache (Remastered)
1987
Atomizer (Remastered)
1985
Racer-X (Remastered)
1984
Bulldozer (Remastered)
1983
Lungs (Remastered)
1982
Singles
