Dope | |
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Background information | |
Origin | Villa Park, Illinois, United States |
Genres | Nu metal, industrial metal, alternative metal |
Years active | 1997–present |
Labels | Sony, Eat Me/Sue Me, Artemis, E1, Flip |
Associated acts | Murderdolls, Drama Club |
Website | dopearmy |
Members |
Edsel Dope Acey Slade Racci "Sketchy" Shay Virus |
Past members | Simon Dope Preston Nash Tripp Eisen Lanson Lang Brix Milner Sloane "Mosey" Jentry Jerms Genske Angel Bartolotta Derrick Tribbett Dan Fox Andy The Kid |
Dope is an American heavy metal band from Villa Park, Illinois, formed in 1997 in Chicago.
To date, the band has released six full-length studio albums. Their most recent studio album, Blood Money Part 1, was released on October 28, 2016.
The band was founded by song writer and lead singer Edsel Dope in 1997. As a child, Edsel and his brother, Simon Dope, were separated when their parents divorced. When the two were adults, they reunited and Simon joined Edsel's band, playing keyboards, samples and percussion. The pair then recruited Tripp Eisen as guitarist, Preston Nash as drummer, and Acey Slade as bassist.
Unlike many of the popular bands from the 1990s, Dope derived their sound from influences taken from heavy metal bands and fused that with the sound of industrial rock acts who had made waves earlier in the decade, such as Ministry and Skinny Puppy.
In their earliest days, the band sold drugs to survive and purchase instruments. Furthermore, the name "Dope" refers to drugs and drug culture, as shown by their early T-shirt designs, which prominently displayed hypodermic needles.
The band also had some early connections with fellow rockers Marilyn Manson; ex drummer Ginger Fish shared an apartment with Edsel Dope in Las Vegas during the earlier 1990s, before either of them were in their respective bands. Also, guitarist Zim Zum allowed the band to claim that they were "currently being produced by Zim Zum" on the cover of their promotional discs to help them gain a record deal. It was originally planned that Zum would produce their debut. However, he was busy recording the album Mechanical Animals at the time. Lead singer Edsel has also maintained a good friendship with ex-Manson guitarist Daisy Berkowitz.