INTEGRITY

Known for being one of the most incendiary and influential bands in hardcore and modern metal history, apocalyptic heavy music icons ​INTEGRITY​ formed in Cleveland in 1988 primarily as an outlet for the philosophical and spiritual musings of vocalist Dwid Hellion.

With an intense sound that melds together high-velocity hardcore punk, heavy metal, thrash, and angular, noisy guitar riffs with lyrical themes that include religion, the supernatural, mental illness, individualism, the occult, and Holy Terrorism, INTEGRITY ​are ​unquestionably one of the pioneering forces that forged the worlds of hardcore and metal together. Their influence on hundreds, if not thousands of bands can still be heard to this day.

The group issued its debut album, ​Those Who Fear Tomorrow​, in 1991 followed by a steady series of splits, singles, and compilations. They returned with their sophomore full-length,​Systems Overload, in 1995 followed by 1996’s ​Humanity Is the Devil​ and 1997’s ​Seasons in the Size of Days​, the latter two being loose concept albums focusing on Dwid’s religious obsessions which ultimately helped broaden INTEGRITY’S​ appeal beyond the hardcore faithful into the punk and metal stratosphere.

In 1997, Dwid started his own Holy Terror label to release a collection of ​INTEGRITY ​rarities entitled Taste of Every Sin​. The next decade-plus saw ​INTEGRITY​ continue their relentless output of acclaimed full-lengths with a variety of the scene’s most respected labels including Deathwish, A389 Recordings, and Magic Bullet. 2003’s ​To Die For ​was particularly heralded as one of the band’s most vicious and powerful albums to date.

Fast forward to 2016 when ​INTEGRITY​ signed to renowned independent label Relapse Records to usher in a new era of the band. After headlining numerous hardcore and metal festivals across the globe, the band recorded their twelveth full-length album ​Howling, For The Nightmare Shall Consume, ​released in July 2017. A conceptual foretelling of the final days of Armageddon, ​Howling…​ is a manifestation of pentecostal nightmares and religious depravities, wrought with fire and brimstone sermons and occult prophecies bathed in waves of destruction. The album, heavily inspired by the Satanic-Panic era of 1980s heavy metal and its effect on culture as a whole, is an extremely moody, diverse and aggressive offering with influences ranging from Motorhead, Slayer, and GISM to ​Shout at the Devil-​era Motley Crue and Randy Rhoades-era Ozzy Osbourne.

Now with almost 30 years of creating dark and terrifying anthems under their belt, ​INTEGRITY​ have honored their past musical legacy while fearlessly moving forward into unchartered territory on what is undoubtedly their most elaborate and ambitious effort to date.