FOOTAGE OF PATHWAY & INDIFFERENCE HITS THE WEB

The internet tells us this show took place at the Murray Armory in '92 or '93. Members of these bands would go on to form Lifeless.





"Vegan Power!"

PHOTO ARCHIVE UPDATE: 01/05/10

Big Late 90s Update: Lifeless, Triphammer, Bloodlet, Trial, Grimlock and some historical Insight pieces.

NEW MUSIC: GLACIAL

Currently-inactive rockers, Glacial (Ex-Lifeless/Pushing Up Daises, Current-Tamerlane/Black Sleep of Kali), have posted five unreleased songs plus "Behind Your Bead" from the GCA Mixtape for download. Get at 'em here!

POLL: FAVORITE TRACK OFF LIFELESS' SELF-TITLED 7"

"No Time"

"Darkness"

or
"Zero"

Vote now over in the right-hand column!

For info on Lifeless visit our Salt Lake Hardcore 101 article on the band.

CUTTING ROOM FLOOR: LIFELESS PT. 1

When I did my interview with Taylor for the SLCHC: Lifeless 101 there were a lot of little gems that I just couldn't fit in the story, but I didn't want them to go to waste.

So, for your reading pleasure over the next few days, I'll be posting his expanded answers and little side stories, because some of them are just too good not to hear.

"We started practicing in Dustin’s parent's basement and we couldn’t decide on a name so we decided that each of us would open a dictionary and just plop our finger down. We said that no matter what we would choose one of the words that we landed on. The only two words I remember were Sludge Door (which I liked more than Lifeless at the time) and Lifeless. I am glad we picked Lifeless."

What do you think? Would Lifeless have had the same effect if they went through the 90s as Sludge Door?

SALT LAKE HARDCORE 101: LIFELESS

• Lifeless on MySpace

In Fall of 1995, Alex Slack, Taylor Williams, Dustin Black and Zach Clough got together in Williams’ parents' basement to start a new band that was darker and heavier than anything Salt Lake had ever seen. Williams and Black each brought half a song—which would, by the end of the night, become “Darkness” and “No Time” respectively—and one of Salt Lake’s most revered bands—Lifeless—was born.

In 1996, Lifeless unleashed their new sound on Salt Lake City in the basement of the now-burned-down Club DV8. “It was an awesome show. Alex and Dustin were pretty prominent members of the local hardcore scene and Pathway (Williams and Clough’s previous band) had gained a decent following as well, so I remember it being pretty packed,” said Williams. “I think we only had like 4 songs and I wasn’t sure what people were going to think of it because it was pretty aggressive and different from other SLC shit at the time. All of our songs were about death, suicide and self-loathing.”

To their surprise, people loved it. The band built a solid following and were soon turning heads with their new, darker approach to hardcore. The Salt Lake scene had been dominated by the likes of Insight, Iceburn and the Flatline Records roster during the early 90s--either traditionally-rooted or bizzarely-experimental. But with the rise of Lifeless, and metallic compatriots Clear, Climb and Triphammer, the modern Salt Lake Hardcore sound was born.

Later that year, Excessive Force came to town for a show at the New Hope Center in North Salt Lake. Lifeless was on the bill and another Salt Lake band that had just formed, XClearX, was set to open. XClearX took the stage for the first time and when their set was over, Dan Gump approached a the band and told them he wanted to put out their record on his label Life Sentence Records.

“Everyone in Lifeless was flabbergasted,” said Williams. “It was [XClearX's] first show and someone already wanted to put out their record? We were a little jealous and a little mad, but said ‘fuck it’ and went up and shredded our little hearts out.” This frustration paid off.

“We got done with our set and Dan approached us saying he wanted to put out a record with us as well," said Williams, "We were stoked." Later that year XClearX's The Sickness Must End and Lifeless' self-titled 7" were released on Life Sentence.

The record made a big splash but was the band's only release. Two more songs, “Stomp A Mudhole In Your Ass” (an homage to the band Bowel) and “Opened Up” (the inspiration for the early 2000s band), were recorded but were never put out in any official capacity.

“We had a period of intense writing where we didn’t play any shows and wrote about 6 or 7 new songs that were a huge step forward,” said Williams. “We were going to debut our new material with Madball at an old venue called Spanky’s, but there was a full-scale riot during the show and we didn’t get to play.”

The band eventually did get the chance to debut their new songs when they opened for Vision of Disorder. Sadly, that would end up being their last show. Slack was a huge hockey fan and shortly after that show, he and his girlfriend took a trip to Denver to see a Colorado Avalanche game. As the two were driving back to Salt Lake, they hit a patch of black ice on that dangerous stretch of I-80 that has plagued nearly every band trying to make it through and the car rolled into a ditch. Slack severed part of his spinal cord and was paralyzed from the neck down.

Without Alex’s presence—a vital part of Lifeless’ energetic live shows—and his attitude, the band was through. Bands replace singers all the time, but Alex was different. He was such an integral part of Lifeless that it seemed silly to even entertain the notion of carrying on without him. Initially, there was talk of having James Hart (singer of Eighteen Visions and a good friend of Slack's) take over, but in the end it just wouldn’t have been the same.

“Alex just had this energy and brutality to his singing and his performance that just couldn’t be replaced,” said Williams. “It sounds kind of hokey, but he really did have an aura about him. He was a really magnetic sort of person. He was the type of person that people wanted to be around and listen to.”

On June 29, 1999, more than a year after his accident, Alex Slack committed suicide.

Dustin Black tried a few times to get a new version of Lifeless together after his death, but none of them made it past the practice stages. “I didn’t really want anything to do with it anymore,” said Williams. “It ended up being this huge black hole of negative feelings for me, mostly associated with Alex’s death. Without Al there was and is no Lifeless for me.”

It’s been over a decade since the last time Lifeless played live, but the band’s legacy is still very alive in Salt Lake City. “No Time,” “Darkness” and “Zero” have been covered by numerous bands and getting your hands on a copy of everything the band recorded is something of a right of passage in the Salt Lake hardcore scene.

“I think it is pretty fucking sweet that people in SLC still have love for Lifeless,” said Williams. “Jesus, it was 14 years ago when we formed and kids are still into it! That blows my mind!

Williams may have grown as a musician and a songwriter, moving onto more experimental acts Glacial and Black Sleep of Kali, but he’s still got a soft spot for those early, stripped down Lifeless recordings.

“It is kind of funny because when I listen to those early songs they are really simple and kind of crude, but they still work. The recording is so shitty, but I think it helped showcase how raw it was. We set out to create something that hadn’t been done before. We were after a brutal sound and wanted that to come across in the lyrics, the music and the artwork. I think we accomplished that.”

Lifeless performing at the Life Sentence Records Showcase:

SLHC MUSIC BLOG POSTS INDIFFERENCE

Indifference... well, for one this is a band people remember a lot more for what was said in lyric than with the music. The lyrics are a bit goofy but then again, who cares? The music is pretty good though. It's some heavy hardcore, 90s-style, and the recording was really good too. Granted, the lyrics were about sitting on rocks and thinking thoughts, but I'm not going to hold that against this band.

Indifference featured drummer Rob Hill who would go on to play in Lifeless. Check 'em out.

RIPPLExEFFECT FEATURES LIFELESS, TRIPHAMMER

The Ripple Effect blog, run by Mike Turley of XReflectX, has posted downloads of hard-to-find Lifeless and Triphammer recordings. Check 'em out now.

DOGWELDER FRONTMAN STARTS DOWNLOAD BLOG

Spidey, of Dogwelder fame, has established a download blog over at www.saltlakehardcore.blogspot.com that will feature all those rare Salt Lake hardcore releases that you always search for but never find on eBay.

Featured so far are releases from Unbound, Triphammer and Lifeless.

Keep an eye on this site!!!

LIFELESS VIDEOS SURFACE ON YOUTUBE

BEST LATE '90s SALT LAKE ACT

To no surprise, Lifeless took the poll with 38% of the vote. However, to the surprise of some, Clear took second with 29%. Deadfall, Triphammer and Climb followed in that order meaning more people need to listen to these bands! Don't worry though, Grudge City 101 columns on each of these acts are coming very soon.

POLL: BEST LATE 90s SALT LAKE ACT

Lifeless, Climb, Clear, Triphammer and Deadfall played the first shows that many of us attended in Salt Lake.  And whether loved or hated since those days, we can't deny that they had a major impact on what we call Salt Lake Hardcore today.  So who was the best?

And yes we're aware that all but Billy disappeared from the hardcore scene during the late 90s as well.

VOTE >

LIFELESS

Grudge City 101: Lifeless coming soon.

NEW TUNES ADDED TO THE MYSPACE PAGE

Bad Yodelers, Waterfront, Climb, Lifeless and Cherem covering The Smiths' "Meat is Murder."

HERE

LIFELESS TAKES POLL #04

With 14 votes, the Lifeless 7", released in '96 on Life Sentence Records, is officially the "Salt Lake Hardcore E.P. That Got People Most Stoked For A Full-Length That Never Followed." Look out for Grudge City 101: Lifeless coming soon. For now you can wise up on the band here.

The City to City demo nabbed a close 2nd with 12 votes and Skeiff's infamous Jean Claude Van Demo took 3rd with 9 votes.

Lifeless - 7" - 14 (22%)

City to City - Demo - 12 (19%)

Skeiff d'Bargg - "Jean Claude Van Demo" - 9 (14%)

Opened Up - "All Dressed Up And Nowhere to Die" - 7 (11%)

Cool Your Jets - "Saving Grace" - 5 (8%)

78 Days After Death - E.P. - 4 (6%)

Shutout - Demo - 4 (6%)

Dogwelder - Demo - 3 (4%)

Deadfall/Emerge from Darkness - Split - 2 (3%)

Triphammer - Demo - 1 (1%)

Gutshot - Demo - 1 (1%)

Votes so far: 62