I’ve been creating and writing about extreme music for three decades. In the early 1990s I co-founded the band Enemy Soil and launched Disposable Underground ‘zine. Since then I’ve appeared as a guest vocalist on numerous recordings, played in different bands, and written for various ‘zines, magazines, and a newspaper.
I’m a big fan of space science, do some photography as a hobby, and live and work in Northern Virginia.
Below is a list of current and old music projects, followed by other activities in which I’ve been involved.
—Richard Johnson
Current music projects
Agoraphobic Nosebleed
I’m one of the vocalists in this drum-machine grindcore band. I’ve been recording with the group on and off since 1997, and along with Enemy Soil, it’s what I’m often known for.
Digital Negative
A two-piece electronic/industrial project I do with the artist Person 918x. He does the sampling and I do the vocals, but we collaborate on the songs. It started out as one of those pandemic lockdown projects, but we keep it going.
Drugs of Faith
A grind ‘n’ roll band I co-founded in 2002. It’s my main music output; I play guitar and yell the lyrics and do regular things with it like have band practice and play gigs. It doesn’t feel like I’ve been at this band for over 20 years, but there you go.
The Neanderverbs
A rock ‘n’ roll/surf project that was outside of my comfort zone. I sang in a style I’m not used to and I played drums, which I had never done on a recording before. I did this project with one of the guys from the band Project: Failing Flesh.
Pilau
The guys in this hardcore band asked me to fill in with them on a recording, and then they asked me to play their first gig with them, and then they asked me to join permanently.
Rot Triad
A one-off instrumental project featuring two ex-members of Brutal Truth. We got together and wrote and recorded it in the practice room in two days. It was a lot of fun. Over time I edited it down and the result is a 16-track album.
Past music projects
Blower
This drum-machine band released a split with the Canadian band Wadge in 2000.
Enemy Soil
A grindcore band from the 1990s that I’m mostly known for.
The Index
I played guitar in this band from 1999-2002, in between Enemy Soil and Drugs of Faith.
Nifties
A two-piece folk group (I’m not known for this kind of music). We recorded a demo in 2012 and played a few gigs.
Triac
I played bass and did some vocals on the band’s demo in 2003. We also played some gigs together.
These bands were gracious enough to have me perform as a guest on their recordings:
Bent Sea, Biovore, Buzzard Dust, Crestfallen, CrusHuman, Early War, Jesus of Nazareth, Karma Payment Plan, Magrudergrind, Misery Index, Neolithic, Non Serviam, Pig Destroyer, Pigeon Down, Reeking Cross, Snipers of Babel, and Wadge.
Other Things
Below are some other activities in which I’ve been involved. Audio, video, and photos are at the links.
Countdown to the Moon
A “man on the street” interview about Humankind’s return to the Moon. (2020)
DCSWA Comedy Night
I did a brief open mic set for the D.C. Science Writers Association (DCSWA)’s science comedy show, which was a lot of fun. (2014)
Flickr
Some of my pics I’ve taken with an iPhone and film camera over the years.
Story Collider
A spoken word event with the theme “outsiders.” I talked about the intersection of science, heavy metal, and one of my favorite bands, Voivod. (2017)
StoryCorps
An interview from the American Geophysical Union’s Fall Meeting 2018.
Photo: Self portrait, Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, December 2019