Discordance Axis

Formed in New Jersey during 1991, grindcore band Discordance Axis has sustained an aura of mystery by shunning live performances, steering clear of photos and promotional imagery, and embedding cryptic allusions throughout their catalog. The trio comprises vocalist Jon Chang, guitarist Rob Marton, and drummer Dave Witte, whose résumé includes earlier involvement with Atomsmasher, Human Remains, Black Army Jacket, and Burnt by the Sun. Their initial full-length LP, Ulterior, surfaced in 1995 on the Devour label and was succeeded by Jouhou in 1997. Scattered 7-inch releases, many difficult to locate and including splits with Melt-Banana, Def Master, Plutocracy, and Capitalist Casualties, also appeared across their tenure. The 1998 compilation Original Sound Version 1992-1995 gathers every official early recording plus several unreleased cuts, while Jouhou 2.0 from the same year combines post-1995 non-LP material with the original Jouhou contents. Hydrahead Records released the band’s third album, The Inalienable Dreamless, whose inventive packaging drew strong approval from grindcore and noise listeners. Infamous Japanese noise artist Merzbow constructed a 17-minute remix of the record, offered by the band as a free MP3 download at www.studio-grey.com/da/.