1. Grief was founded in 1991 … Read Full Bio ↴There are several bands named 'Grief.
1. Grief was founded in 1991 by Terry Savastano and drummer Randy Odierno of crust band Disrupt. Grief's sludgy doom metal brought extremely slow riffs to the metal underground. The band was heavily influenced by Black Sabbath, Eyehategod and doom warriors Saint Vitus. Grief's music was jagged, noisy, harsh and brutally dissonant. Lead singer Jeff Hayward favored the sort of tortured, throat-shredding, screaming vocals that were quite common in death metal/black metal and grindcore, and that risk-taking combination of torturous vocals and slow, Sabbath-influenced riffs made Grief one of the more influential Sludge/Doom metal bands to emerge in the early ‘90s.
They broke up in 2001 mainly due to drummer problems - something that was an ongoing problem for the band from the start. They also cited what they called a "hostile environment for Doom metal bands". They reunited briefly in July 2005 to play a cluster of reunion shows.
The band had several 7"s including one with Dystopia and Corrupted each. A compilation album called Turbulent Times appeared in 2002 through Southern Lord. The group reunited for one show at the first annual New England Grind And Doom Fest on July 17, 2005 at The Middle East Cafe in Cambridge, MA. They were so excited by the response to this show that they began booking others, and they toured intermittently throughout 2005 and 2006.
In 2005, the band played shows through in venues including The Ace of Clubs and The Knitting Factory in New York, The Khyber in Philadelphia, O'Brien's in Allston/Brighton, MA, The Living Room in Providence, RI, and Cherry St. Station in CT.
In 2006 Southern Lord Records released a full length live album called Alive which featured their performance at the Middle East in November 2005. The album features artwork by Eric C. Harrison, who did much of the band's painted cover artwork.
One of Grief's final appearance was at Emissions from the Monolith 8, a sludge/doom festival that took place in Ohio, May 2006.
The band reformed in 2008 and toured the United States and Europe, but they soon disbanded again in March 2009, giving this announcement via their myspace page;
"I'm sorry to announce that Grief is no longer playing. We have dis-banded or whatever. The last show we played was the Wien Arena in Vienna Austria (i think i spelled those things right)
our reasons for disbanding are our reasons. we have chosen not to get into it but it may or may ot include the following reasons.
- Jeff has finally become Rip Van Winkle and will be asleep for the next 50 years.
- Ray has finally eaten so much that he can not fit out of the door to his house and is unable to leave home
- John has become so death metal that we' d have to actually be ghosts to jam with him and none of us feel like it.
- Eric finally became an actual dog and has not learned how to play bass or do artwork with his paws."
http://www.myspace.com/officialgrief
2. The Swedish Grief has crafted a blackened brand of doom metal, and released it's one and only album (after releasing an EP in 2011) named 'Where the Light Doesn't Shine' in january 2015.
http://griefdoommetal.bandcamp.com/
3. Screamo / Post-hardcore / Black metal from Toulouse, France.
https://grief1.bandcamp.com
Earthworm
Grief Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A lonely future of failure
And I'm growing
Very angry
I slither in the
Dirt and mud
Because that's where
I'm fucking miserable
And worthless
No self-esteem
And it sometimes hurts
I slither in the
Dirt and mud
Because that's where
I belong
Earthworm
Earthworm
Earthworm
I'm a lot like you
I was taught to love
But I learned to hate
Bisect me
I will regenerate
The song 'Earthworm' by Grief is a heartfelt representation of someone's feeling of worthlessness and despair. The opening lines, "I feel dejected, A lonely future of failure, And I'm growing, Very angry," give an insight into the singer's mental state- they feel rejected, lost and angry at their situation. The next set of lines, "I slither in the Dirt and mud, Because that's where I belong" reflects how they view themselves- as insignificant earthworms that have no place outside the dirt and mud. The repetition of the phrase "I slither in the dirt and mud, because that's where I belong" further reinforces their overwhelming sense of belonging to the dirt, rather than being a vital part of the world above.
The chorus "Earthworm, Earthworm, Earthworm, I'm a lot like you" shows the futility of feeling alone- there are many others out there, just like them, that feel the same way. The final verse, "I was taught to love, But I learned to hate, Bisect me, I will regenerate" shows that the singer has gone through pain and rejection, but they continue to heal and live on. They may have been taught to love, but they have been hurt too many times to hold on to that- and yet, they have the strength to regenerate and keep going, just like the earthworm.
Line by Line Meaning
I feel dejected
I am experiencing feelings of sadness and hopelessness
A lonely future of failure
I believe that I will not succeed in life and will be alone
And I'm growing
My feelings are becoming stronger
Very angry
I am experiencing feelings of intense frustration and resentment
I slither in the
I move about by dragging myself across the ground
Dirt and mud
The environment where I live and find sustenance
Because that's where
This is the place that is most comfortable and familiar to me
I belong
This is where I fit in and feel the most at home
I'm fucking miserable
I am profoundly unhappy and dissatisfied with my life
And worthless
I feel that I have no value or worth to offer others or myself
No self-esteem
I lack confidence and have a poor opinion of myself
And it sometimes hurts
My emotions can be painful and difficult to tolerate
Earthworm
I am comparing myself to an earthworm
Earthworm
I am identifying myself as an earthworm
Earthworm
I am reaffirming that I am an earthworm
I'm a lot like you
I am acknowledging that I share similarities with others, including earthworms
I was taught to love
I received instruction on how to give and receive affection
But I learned to hate
I developed negative emotions and feelings of animosity
Bisect me
Cut me in half
I will regenerate
I will grow back and recover from injury
Contributed by Christian R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.