Biohazard

Biohazard ranked among the earliest acts to weave hip-hop and hardcore metal together on a consistent basis. Because their words confronted the severity of city existence along with the resulting fury and disillusionment—subjects both styles had long examined—the pairing felt logical, especially after Anthrax and Public Enemy proved its viability with the 1991 single “Bring the Noise.”

Formed in Brooklyn, New York, in 1987, the quartet initially favored a harder-edged approach. Guitarist/vocalist Billy Graziadei, bassist/vocalist Evan Seinfeld, guitarist Bobby Hambel, and drummer Danny Schuler made up the original lineup. They began supporting local hardcore and thrash groups, steadily cultivating a following through their sharp outrage at injustice, political awareness, and nonstop touring. Maze issued the self-titled debut in 1990, yet audience demand soon earned them a contract with Roadrunner Records by 1992.

Urban Discipline, the breakthrough that followed, built directly on the precedent of “Bring the Noise,” layering rhythmically shouted vocals over weighty, hip-hop-inflected beats and guitar riffs that drew from both hardcore and thrash. The hardcore rap outfit Onyx cut an alternate version of its hit single “Slam” with Biohazard providing the backing, and the two acts reunited for the Judgment Night soundtrack to contribute the title track. State of the World Address, released in 1994, reinforced the band’s reputation for intensity and its hybrid sound, but Hambel’s departure reduced Biohazard to a trio for Mata Leao in 1996, an album some regarded as their most cohesive rap-metal blend. Ex-Helmet guitarist Rob Echevarria replaced Hambel, and the live album No Holds Barred appeared in 1997, documenting the onstage ferocity for which the group had become known.

Biohazard next joined Mercury Records and delivered New World Disorder in 1999. Following the label’s merger with Universal, the members left and revisited their independent origins with an unsupported tour of Europe and Japan. The rarities set Tales from the B-Side and the next studio album, Uncivilization, both surfaced in 2001; guitarist Leo Curley departed after the latter. Kill or Be Killed arrived two years later, introducing new guitarist Carmine Vincent, formerly of Nucleus and once a roadie for the band. Means to an End, the eighth and final album, was released in August 2005 on SPV. Graziadei subsequently formed Suicide City with ex-members of Groovenics and Kittie. Seinfeld appeared on the 2006 VH1 reality series Supergroup alongside Ted Nugent, Sebastian Bach, Scott Ian, and Jason Bonham.

A double-disc live CD and DVD titled Live in San Francisco documented one of their final performances as a unit when it arrived in December 2007. The classic lineup of Seinfeld, Graziadei, Schuler, and Hambel reunited in late 2010 to record Reborn in Defiance, their first studio material in six years, issued by Nuclear Blast in September 2011. Seinfeld departed shortly afterward to pursue his career as an actor in pornographic films.