Meatjack

Often compared to Neurosis, Meatjack is an alternative metal trio that has been around the Baltimore, MD, rock scene since the early '90s. Meatjack can be brutal, ferocious, noisy, and dissonant. They aren't afraid to pound listeners with sensory assault, but they also have a sense of melody and offer melodic passages that tend to be dark and eerie. Meatjack has obviously absorbed a variety of heavy music, and comes across as a band that appreciates everyone from Slayer, Metallica, Saint Vitus, and Black Sabbath to industrial agitators like Godflesh and Skinny Puppy. The trio's aggression has come at different tempos; Meatjack has been influenced by the high-speed, fast-tempo intensity of death metal, thrash, and grindcore, but the band also knows how to slow down the tempo to a doom metal-like crawl. And for Meatjack, looking to different areas of the metal spectrum for inspiration has made for some unpredictable listening.

Meatjack was formed in Baltimore by Jason Daniloski (bass, vocals, guitar) and his brother Brian Daniloski (guitar, vocals); drummer Eric Dixon subsequently came into the fold. In the mid- to late '90s, Meatjack's songs appeared on various compilations — and the Daniloski brothers put out some material on 7" vinyl records. But it wasn't until 1999 — six years after Meatjack's formation — that the band finally recorded a full-length album. That year, Meatjack signed with At a Loss Recordings (a small independent label based in Eastlake, CO) and recorded its debut album, Trust. Then, in 2000, the Prank label released a split CD that was divided between Meatjack and the band Damad. It was also in 2000 that "Upstart" (one of the songs from Trust) was used in the John Waters film Cecil B. Demented; the soundtrack also contained songs by artists ranging from Moby to Liberace. In 2003, At a Loss released Meatjack's second full-length album, Days of Fire; 2003 was also the year that marked Meatjack's tenth anniversary.