Siege (band)

Siege
Siege at their high school's 'Battle of the Bands' in 1984. Rob Williams, Kevin Mahoney, and Kurt Habelt are shown left to right.
Background information
Origin	Weymouth, Massachusetts, United States
Genres	Hardcore punk, grindcore, powerviolence
Years active	1981–1985, 1991–1992, 2016–present
Labels	Deranged, Deep Six, Relapse, PATAC
Associated acts	Nightstick, Anal Cunt, The Spoils
Members	Kurt Habelt Rob Williams Chris Leamy Mark Fields Paulie Kraynak
Past members	Hank McNamee Kevin Mahoney Seth Putnam

Siege is an American hardcore punk band from Weymouth, Massachusetts. Formed in 1981, they were active in the Boston hardcore scene from 1984 to 1985, and reunited briefly in 1991. Guitarist Kurt Habelt and drummer Rob Williams reformed the band in 2016.

In its original incarnation, Siege paired extremely fast tempos with vocalist Kevin Mahoney's screeches and growls in their intense style of hardcore. Though little known at the time, the band has posthumously become revered by punk and heavy metal fans worldwide and is now regarded as one of the pioneers of the grindcore and powerviolence subgenres. Subsequent musicians have cited the group as a major influence, including the British grindcore band Napalm Death and the American thrashcore band Dropdead, whose band name was the title of Siege's six-song demo tape.

Then teenagers, the members of what would become Siege began playing together in 1981 in Weymouth. Guitarist Kurt Habelt, bassist Hank McNamee, and drummer Rob Williams rehearsed together informally during this time. They completed Siege's original lineup in 1983, recruiting vocalist and occasional saxophonist Kevin Mahoney from nearby Braintree.

Self-described as a "second wave" punk band, they cited hardcore punk and new wave of British heavy metal bands, as well as the desire to play faster than their predecessors, as formative influences on their sound. Siege's first official show was at a Battle of the Bands in early 1984 at Weymouth North High School. They were disqualified for obscenities and McNamee's smashing of his bass onstage.