Osmosis

Osmosis is a five-piece American metal band hailing from Sacramento, California. They were formed circa-1993 by childhood friends Marco Simmer and Ash Beale; these two have been on all Osmosis releases since the formation of the band. Having been signed to the record label Season of Mist, since the release of their eighth studio album, the band is currently on hiatus.

As of Winter 2014, the band has issued a total of eight studio albums, three extended plays, a greatest hits album, and a cover album. Osmosis released their latest full-length album, Yunoverse, on February 18, 2014.

Background information

 * Origin: Sacramento, California, United States
 * Genres: Various rock and metal subgenres
 * Years active: 1993-2014 (on hiatus)
 * Labels: Season of Mist, Sony Music (Japan; distribution-only), Lifeforce (Europe; distribution-only) , Serjical Strike, Century Media, Epitaph
 * Associated arts: Gaghiel, Khaos, Adam and Pals, Rough Ice, Sandalphon, Daisystepper

Musical style
With their first two extended plays and debut studio album, I'll Have You Know, Osmosis pretty much began their career as just an alternative metal band with the occasional elements of funk rock and post-hardcore. Ever since Phoenix was recruited into the group, replacing the now-deceased Jeremy Delson, the California-based quintet went through an incredibly drastic change in sound. Osmosis became more eclectic starting with their second release, The Dragon Ball's the Most Important Body Part; stylistically speaking, they abandoned any traces of post-hardcore (hints of this sound are said to return on Yunoverse, however) in order to settle on a variety of genres, while keeping bits of their alternative metal roots. These are the genres that are featured, but not limited to: ska, bluegrass, tango, jazz, death metal, pop, industrial, math rock, grindcore, rap, metalcore, black metal, swing, contemporary, hardcore punk, deathcore, video game music, disco, and anison.

Although both Marco Simmer and Ash Beale are the founding members of Osmosis, it happens to be the former who is considered the driving force. His vocals have a versatile and overly weird range, for Marco is able to perform the styles of: shrieking, spoken word, scatting, rapping, baritone, screaming, gurgling, falsetto, and even shouting.

The band has an abundance of musical inspirations, yet the artists/outfits commonly mentioned include: Mr. Bungle, Primus, Gwar, Bad Brains, Meshuggah, Radiohead, and Beck.

Lyrical themes
Osmosis tends to tackle any subject. Among the themes the band specialize in are: absurdity, post-apocalypticism, personal struggles, rapture, behavior issues, helping out the defenseless, and Egyptian culture.

A majority of their song titles are references to Japanese animation and comic franchises, seeing as how the members are enthusiastic fans of anime in general; case in point, the song "I Got NERV" from the first studio album refers to the fictional organization of the same name in Neon Genesis Evangelion, while the title of their third full-length, Kenshiro Hates Company, references the character, Kenshiro, from Fist of the North Star. Break the Stars has been the only studio album in the band's career not to have any hilarious song titles that refer to anime or manga, due to bearing a much more darker and edgier direction.

Current members

 * Marco Simmer - lead vocals, keyboards, samples, turntables (1996-present) ; rhythm guitar (1993-1995)
 * Adam Guerilla - lead guitar (1996-1999; 2013-present) ; lap steel, programming, vocals (since 2013)
 * Ash Beale - bass guitar (1993-present)
 * Phoenix Riviera - rhythm guitar, alto saxophone, backing vocals (1997-present)
 * Corey Farrell - drums, percussion (1994-1997; 2009-present)

Session-only

 * Tom Schmitz - electronics, turntables (Kenshiro Hates Company); also the keyboardist for Mushroomhead
 * Jose Pasillas - drums (Soul Society; track 1 only); also plays drums for Incubus
 * Blake Richardson - drums (Soul Society; tracks 2 through 7); also in Between the Buried and Me.

Former members

 * Ron Wilkes - lead vocals (1993-1996)
 * Kevin Milstein - lead guitar (1994-1996)
 * Shawn Lorelei - lead guitar (2000-2013)
 * Jeremy Delson - rhythm guitar (1995-1996)
 * Chris Nevadin - drums (1997-2009)

Discography

 * 1996: I'll Have You Know; Epitaph Records
 * 1998: The Dragon Ball's the Most Important Body Part; Epitaph Records
 * 2001: Kenshiro Hates Company; Epitaph Records
 * 2003: Break the Stars; Epitaph Records
 * 2007: Where's Konata When We Need Her?; Century Media Records
 * 2010: Ruin and Salvation Are Two Different Things; Century Media Records
 * 2013: Soul Society; Serjical Strike Records
 * 2014: Yunoverse; Season of Mist (United States), Lifeforce Records (Europe) , Sony Music Records (Japan)