Lockup Bio

There comes a time when enough is enough - enough of the prissy, smug faces, the conveniently packaged angst and the generic chugga-chugga riffs that define the word "monotonous." The irritating popularity of the nu-metal scene was a subject broached over many alcohol-fueled Saturday nights on the town in late '98 by Napalm Death members Shane Embury and Jesse Pintado and Nick Barker (Dimmu Borgir, ex-Cradle of Filth). The three Brits also began reminiscing about the ever-illusive "good ol' days" when bands like Dark Angel, Death, Repulsion and Slayer (at their bulldozing best) ruled the roost, and nu-metal was but an undreamt of seed in the sack of new jack rappers. And so, inspired by a sea of lager, Lock Up was born.

With a miniscule budget and the desire to bash out an album quickly to preserve the rawness, Embury and Pintado set to work. After a few sessions on a ten-watt practice amp, they were ready. No rehearsals…not even with the drummer. Barker walked into the studio without hearing the material, parked his sizable bulk behind the kit and said, "Right, what do I do with this one then?" and proceeded to blur through the entire album in one take. After blasting through the initial recording session, there was still the small matter of finding a singer. Leafing through their little black book of growlers, they happened across Peter Tägtgren, Hypocrisy singer/guitarist and workaholic extraordinaire. He agreed with rabid enthusiasm, and so the band packed up and made the trek to BFE Sweden to Tägtgren's Abyss Studios. In keeping with the spontaneity, the…um…vocals (i.e. inhuman growls) went to tape immediately with all the subtlety of a kick-to-the-face. The album was done. Pleasures Pave Sewers wreaked havoc across the speakers of the underground, and those new to the scene had a new reference point for the term "old-school."

Because of commitments to their other bands, a Lock Up tour wasn't possible. The Wacken Open Air festival (Germany) in 2000 turned out to be the exclusive live performance; 20,000 fans went nuts, much to the band's surprise, because Tägtgren did not perform the show. He was busy with Hypocrisy and Pain; however, his replacement was none other then ex-At the Gates frontman Tomas Lindberg (now with The Crown).

After recruiting Lindberg full-time, the band entered Framework Studio in Birmingham, England to record album number two. Produced by Russ Russels and engineered by Napalm Death guitarist Mitch Harris, Hate Breeds Suffering is set to become yet another old-school grindcore monster. The anger, fury and unrelenting hate of Lock Up remain unparalleled. Lock Up - dirty music for dirty minds.