Ultraviolence

Earache, a label long associated with abrasive grindcore groups including Godflesh, Carcass and Fudge Tunnel, expanded into hardcore gabber techno by adding Ultraviolence, the project led by Johnny Violent. His earliest independent effort, the self-funded “Shout” single, surfaced in 1991 on his personal imprint. Following a 1992 John Peel session, he joined Food Records, the same roster that housed Jesus Jones. The fit proved uneasy given Food’s house-oriented direction, yielding only the Vengeance EP before he shifted to Earache. Aligning more comfortably with the industrial stance of Scorn, he issued singles under both Ultraviolence (“I, Destructor”) and his own name (“Johnny Is a Bastard”). The first Ultraviolence album, Life of Destructor, arrived in 1994 and was succeeded the next year by Psychodrama. In 1996 Johnny Violent resumed recording under his own name with Shocker, still on Earache, while Ultraviolence returned with Killing God in 1998.