- This one isn’t for those with weak stomachs. You’ve been warned.
The world of extreme music can get weird. With an entire scene centered around being as outrageous as possible, the antics of the bands and musicians can get… Well, extreme.
But there are always those artists that are ready to take things to a whole another level. For their art, they will break all boundaries of good taste, decency, and even legality.
It’s kind of hard to rank bands based on extremity, so don’t take this as a top list. Instead, consider it a snapshot of artists that are more or less completely unhinged.
Also, while these bands play various kinds of heavier music, that’s not what we’re talking about. This is about what the artists do besides music.
Anyway, let’s get into it.
6. Rockbitch
Rockbitch, which disbanded in 2003, was a mostly-female British metal band that played, in all honesty, rather bog-standard alternative metal. But what they lacked in musical originality, they made up for with what they did on stage.
And that was sex. And we’re not talking about simulated stunts, either.
The band was infamous for performing practically naked, but that wasn’t enough for them. They’d routinely engage in both male/female and female/female sexual acts during their shows.
But the orgy didn’t stay on the stage.
During concerts, the members would toss the famed Golden Condom into the audience. Whoever caught it got an after-show backstage pass and…
Uh, we’ll leave the rest up to your imagination.
5. A.C.
A.C. (no, we will not spell the name out) was an American grindcore band with a simple mission. They were out to offend you.
A.C. wanted to tell you exactly how much you suck with the most vulgar lyrics possible. Over their 30-year career, A.C. has horrendously insulted, among many others:
- Homosexuals
- African-Americans
- Jewish people
- Rape victims
- Child abuse victims
- Women
- Anyone not American
It’d be easy to call the band a lot of things ending with -ist or -phobe, but it’s not really clear if what they spouted was genuine. They might’ve been serious, but it might just as well have been a form of extremely inappropriate humor.
In one sense, A.C. are true egalitarians. They don’t care who you are — they just want you to get mad.
4. Bad Luck 13 Riot Extravaganza
Like Rockbitch, Bad Luck 13 Riot Extravaganza is more famous for their live shows than their music. But there’s nothing sexual about their performances — unless getting beaten up turns you on.
BL13RE’s live shows are notoriously violent events. During shows, the band members will beat each other, they will beat the audience, the audience will beat them, and so on.
As an infamous example, the band performed at the 2004 Hellfest. The show quickly devolved into a complete riot, with the audience flipping bleachers over, smashing lightbulbs into the crowd, and causing a crowd crush.
3. Mayhem
Mayhem are one of the pioneers of the early Norwegian black metal scene. And while the scene is known for plenty of downright criminal acts, Mayhem inspired a lot of it.
To begin with, their original singer Dead was obsessed with the idea that he was a living corpse. He’d perform in clothes he’d buried in the ground for weeks and regularly mutilate himself on stage.
In 1990, Dead committed suicide by shotgun. When the band’s guitarist Euronymous found the now-dead Dead, he didn’t call the cops — instead, he snapped photos and used one for an album cover.
And then, in 1993, the band’s bassist Varg Vikernes (of Burzum fame), stabbed Euronymous to death. Mayhem and its members are also connected to other murders, church burnings, and many other crimes.
2. Kurt Struebing (NME)
The band NME was among the first thrash metal pioneers, combining heavy metal with hardcore punk. But their singer/guitarist, Kurt Struebing, is known for… Something else.
In 1986, Struebing (who was high as a kite) brutally murdered his adoptive. He became convinced she was a robot, so he chopped her up with a hatchet and scissors to find the electronics.
Naturally, he went to jail. When he got out in 1994, he promptly reformed the band.
However, Struebing had learned nothing. He continued his substance abuse and in 2005 committed a suspected suicide by driving his car off a bridge.
1. GG Allin
Oh boy, where do we start? Maybe with the fact that GG Allin has been dubbed “the most spectacular degenerate in rock ‘n’ roll history?”
The man was a complete mess. A victim of child abuse, he abused alcohol and drugs his entire 36-year life. He’d drink, smoke, inject, and snort anything he could get his hands on.
While performing with his (supposedly) punk band, Allin would perform any offensive stunt he could think of. He’d cut himself, defecate on stage, play with his droppings or throw them into the audience, and attack almost anybody.
Allin died in 1993 from a heroin overdose. Rock music lost a legend — but the man was a legend for all the wrong reasons.
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