Pist.On

Pist.On
Pist.On, 1997. L-R: Jeff McManus, Val Ium, Burton Gans, and Henry Font.
Background information
Origin	Brooklyn, New York, United States
Genres	Heavy metal, gothic metal, alternative metal
Years active	1993–2001, 2015–present
Labels	Mayhem/Fierce, Atlantic
Associated acts	Type O Negative
Website	pistonline.com pistarmy.com
Members	Henry Font Burton Gans Jack Hanley Jeff McManus
Past members	Val Ium Paul Poulos Danny Kavadlo Johnny Kelly

Pist.On (also spelled Pist*On, Pist-On, PistOn, and Piston) is a heavy metal band from Brooklyn, New York. The band released two albums in the 1990s. They split up in 2001, but announced a reunion in 2015.

Formed around the core duo of Henry Font (vocals, guitars) and Val.Ium (bass, backing vocals), the band released two demos in the early 1990s, the second of which, Urine the Money, was produced by Josh Silver of Type O Negative. The band's friendship with Type O Negative (also based out of Brooklyn) brought them both help and scorn in subsequent years.

In 1996 the band, now rounded out by Paul Poulos (guitars, backing vocals) and Danny "Jam" Kavadlo (drums), released their first full-length album, Number One, to critical acclaim in both the United States and Europe. Subsequent tours with Type O Negative and Marilyn Manson helped improve the band's notoriety. Within a year, they moved from the independent Mayhem/Fierce record label to a major label, Atlantic Records. Also around this time, Poulos and Kavadlo both left the band.

New members Burton Gans (guitars) and Jeff McManus (drums) joined in time to see an Atlantic rerelease of Number One with new photos, artwork, and, perhaps most obvious of all, spelling; the band's name shifted from "Pist.On" to the "friendlier" spelling "PistOn". The removal of the "." led to criticism that the band had "sold out". Under the guise of their new name and label, the band again toured exhaustively. During this time, drummer Jeff McManus was forced into a brief respite for medical reasons, with Johnny Kelly of Type O Negative filling in.

Pist.on's debut album, successful on its face, had been picked up and rereleased by a major label, the band had deep friendships and histories with well-known acts such as Type O Negative, Marilyn Manson, the Misfits, and Queensrÿche, and had energetic new blood in the form of two members. However, the promises and possibilities of this era never panned out, and after a handful of tours and negative reviews, the band was unceremoniously dropped by Atlantic.