Crucifix (band)

Crucifix was an American hardcore punk band from the San Francisco Bay Area, active from 1980 to 1984. They were among the most popular acts of the San Francisco punk scene of the early 1980s. Crucifix was fronted by Cambodian-born singer Sothira Pheng, whose family had fled the country when the Khmer Rouge seized power.

Crucifix
OriginBerkeley, California, United States
GenresD-beat, hardcore punk, anarcho-punk,
Years active1980 (1980)–1984 (1984)
LabelsCorpus Christi
Associated actsSubsidize Mess
Past members
  • Sothira Pheng
  • Jimmy Crucifix
  • Bryce Kanights
  • Matt Borruso
  • Christopher Douglas
  • Drew Bernstein
  • Jake Smith

They were distinct among American underground bands for their strong D-beat musical characteristics and anarchist content. The band's debut 1983 full-length album "Dehumanization" on Corpus Christi Records, an offshoot of Crass Records, is often considered to be a cornerstone of political punk.[1]

History

Crucifix was preceded by the short-lived band Subsidize Mess, featuring Sothira on bass, Matt Borruso on guitar, and Christopher Douglas on vocals.

Crucifix was founded in 1980 and fronted by Cambodian-born singer Sothira Pheng, whose family had fled the country when the Khmer Rouge seized power. The band's self-titled EP debuted on Universal Records of Berkeley in '81 and was followed by the "nineteen eighty-four" single on the band's own Freak Records in 1982. This consisted of Sothira Pheng Vocals, Matt Borruso Bass - Chris Douglas Drums & Jimmy Crucifix Guitar. The band's debut full-length "Dehumanization" on Corpus Christi Records (an offshoot of Crass Records) is also widely considered to be their definitive work and a cornerstone of political punk.[2] Jake Smith played guitar on this LP. Later Drew Bernstein (founder of Lip Service clothing) formerly of America's Hardcore replaced Smith on guitar. The band split up after a lengthy tour of US/Canada/Europe on July 13, 1984. A posthumous compilation album of singles and live tracks entitled "Exhibit A" was released on Kustomized Records in 1997. When Corpus Christi folded the album "Dehumanization" was later reissued by Southern Records.

Matt Borruso and Christopher Douglas later reemerged in Loudspeaker, a New York–based noise rock group. The band included guitarist Kurt Wolf (of Pussy Galore), bassist Jens Jürgensen (of Boss Hog), bassist Christian Bongers and later bassist Charles Hanson (of The Normals and Chrome Cranks). Christopher Douglas was later replaced by Martin Köb (Circle X, Dustdevils, Drunk Tank, Walldrug) on drums. They released several recordings between 1990 and 1996.

Sothira Pheng (bass and vocals) Jimmy Crucifix (guitar) and Eric Davis (drums) Proudflesh, is a San Francisco-based "Hard Punk Rock 'n' Roll" band . Proudflesh released their self-titled album in March 2006 on Wired Gnome Records.

Vocal samples from "Annihilation", the opening track of the Dehumanization LP, were used by Orbital on the song "Choice". "Annihilation" was recorded in 2004 by A Perfect Circle for their third LP, eMOTIVe; Sepultura also covered it as a bonus track on the album Nation (2001).

Members

  • Sothira Pheng (Vocals)
  • Jimmy Crucifix (Guitar)
  • Bryce Kanights (Bass on Self-titled EP)
  • Matt Borruso (Bass)
  • Christopher Douglas (Drums)
  • Drew Bernstein (Guitar)
  • Jake Smith (Guitar)

Discography

  • 1981: Crucifix (12" EP, Universal Records)
  • 1982: Nineteen Eighty-Four (7" single, Freak Records)
  • 1983: Dehumanization (album, Corpus Christi Records)
  • 1997: Exhibit A (LP/ CD compilation album, Kustomized Records)
  • 2021: Dehumanization (LP/CD album reissue, Kustomized Records)

Compilation

References

  1. Rettman, Tony (April 2021). "Crucifix: Dehumanization". The Wire. Issue 446: 71.
  2. WHNGR (April 23, 2021). "Crucifix – "Dehumanization" – [Kustomized]". kfjc.org. Archived from the original on 2021-05-17. Retrieved December 19, 2021.
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