Killing Floor (American band)


Killing Floor were an American electro-industrial group based in San Francisco, California, United States. The original incarnation consisted of keyboardists John Belew and Christian Void before guitarist Marc Phillips, percussionist James Basore and bassist Karl Tellefsen were added to the line-up. They released two albums on Re-Constriction Records, Killing Floor in 1995 and Divide by Zero in 1997. The band ceased activities shortly after the release of their second album.

History

Killing Floor was formed in San Francisco by John Belew and Christian Void, with Void on vocals and both handling keyboard/sampler duties. They took their name from the sonic torture chamber in William Gibson's cyberpunk short-story Johnny Mnemonic. Their music was characterized by heavy use of samples and electronics over dance beats. Guitarist Marc Phillips joined the band in 1991, followed by percussionist James Basore and bassist Karl Tellefsen in early 1994. They caught the interest of the electro-industrial label Re-Constriction and were signed in mid-1994.
The band issued their debut Killing Floor on March 14, 1995. Industrial magazine Sonic Boom gave the album a positive review, saying "Killing Floor has put out some of the best guitar oriented but totally club playable material I've ever heard The stark originality and lack of blatantly obvious music influences is what makes this band so impressive." Their second album Divide by Zero was released on September 23, 1997. Aiding & Abetting credited it with being a musical improvement over their debut, saying "almost punk in attitude and abandon, Killing Floor uses everything to its advantage: riffage, throbbing rhythms, shouted vocals and a wonderful touch in the studio."
The band released their final release, the single "Come Together", in 1998. The band ceased activities shortly thereafter.

Discography

Studio albums