Integrity

Integrity originated in Cleveland during 1989, serving chiefly as an outlet for the philosophical and spiritual reflections of vocalist Dwid, the sole unchanging member who also oversees sampling and electronics, duties he performs as well in his side project Psywarfare, shaped by hardcore techno. The group’s intense approach defies straightforward classification, fusing high-velocity hardcore punk and heavy thrash metal with an industrial and techno shading derived from Dwid’s sampling experiments plus angular, noisy guitar lines typical of the heavier wing of alternative rock or metal. Though nearly every album brought lineup turnover, founding guitarist Aaron Melnick remained with Dwid across most of the band’s history under the Integrity name.

Those Who Fear Tomorrow marked the debut full-length in 1991, after which the group concentrated mainly on singles and compilations for several years. A proper return arrived in 1995 with Systems Overload on the Victory label, which would issue the majority of releases through the rest of the 1990s though not every recording. Albums such as Humanity Is the Devil in 1996 and Seasons in the Size of Days in 1997 placed Dwid’s religious preoccupations at the forefront in near-concept-album fashion, expanding the audience from hardcore loyalists into metal circles. In 1997 the band released the rarities collection Taste of Every Sin on its own Holy Terror label, formerly known as Dark Empire.

After Melnick’s departure in 1999, Dwid renamed the project Integrity 2000 and partnered with guitarist Dave Felton to co-write most material for the self-titled album, which included vocal contributions from In Cold Blood’s Jason Popson. Closure in 2001 and In Contrast of Tomorrow in 2003 returned to core approaches, while the narrative-driven The Blackest Curse appeared in 2010 and Suicide Black Snake followed in 2013. A 2016 deal with Relapse Records yielded the twelfth studio album, Howling for the Nightmare Shall Consume, a concept work addressing the final days of Armageddon.