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Originally posted on Prime Directive blog, here's a piece I wrote about Disembodied:

Disembodied began in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1995 and broke up in 2000. They released some EP's, a couple LP's, had a few songs on compilations, and did some touring - with Endeavor, One Eyed God Prophecy, Overcast and Shai Hulud among others.

They also had a monumental effect on the hardcore scene at the time. While they might tell you they wore their influences on their sleeve, most hardcore "kids" were oblivious to what those influences were. Disembodied were borrowing elements from certain metal bands, combining it with a hardcore background, and creating heavy, dark, and - most importantly for the future of metallic hardcore - seriously down-tuned music.

One of their first, if not the first, West Coast appearances was at Goleta Fest on July 19, 1996. Either through mailorder or when Justin [drums] had driven, alone, from Minnesota to California for Unbroken's last show in November 1995, a few copies of their "Existence In Suicide" CDep had reached California by this point - resulting in a palpable excitement for their set. This anticipation was somewhat shared by the band, although in a different form. As their bassist, Tara, told me: "I was fucking scared when we got there and they said we were playing last." My recollection is that she had nothing to be scared of as Disembodied absolutely slayed - even with their fill in singer. Again, according to Tara, "Aaron [regular singer] had either quit or got kicked out or both [so] Jodi from Chicago, the singer for [Everlast]" filled in. "We ended up leaving him in Boston on that tour and Justin finished the tour singing and Joel played drums."

Disembodied at Goleta Fest 1996:


3 days after Goleta Fest they played a church (!) on Orange & Cabrillo in Costa Mesa, CA with Enewetak, Endeavor, and Collapse. (Note: Immediately after this show ended, a group of us went directly to the Huntington Beach Library to see Texas Is The Reason & Gameface -- what a great combination of shows). Disembodied would return to Southern California a number of times over the next 4 years steadily becoming one of the largest out of town draws, especially at venues like the now defunct Showcase Theater in Corona, CA. After their break up in 2000 Joel [guitar], Tara [bass], and Justin [drums] formed Martyr A.D. who I had the honor of touring with a few times.