The challenge in talking about music is that nothing can really describe it. It’s best to just listen and let the music describe itself. If you already know the Dehumanizers, then there’s no need to read on.
The fact that you’re still reading this means you’re the kind of person who needs a description, an explanation, and what not. So then, who the fuck are the Dehumanizers?
The short answer is a Seattle punk band from 1984 that released a controversial 7 inch EP, recorded three albums, received a lot of college airplay, toured consistently for five years, and disbanded.†The long answer is a little more complicated, so you should just stop here.
You see, in the 80’s, Seattle was pre-Microsoft and -microbrew, pre-Starbucks and –grunge. Seattle was still just a large town full of people with blue collar roots tied to timber. You’d expect a rough, salty culture from such a place, but the region’s Scandinavian community tempered any such tendencies, and as a result, Seattle was a place where emotional expressiveness was frowned upon and propriety had to be maintained. Seattle was (and is) probably the only major city in America where people are too fucking polite to jaywalk. Unlike in more gritty, urban environments, the arrival of such a rebellious, countercultural form of music such as punk rock in Seattle was bound to cause trouble. As any Catholic schoolgirl will demonstrate, repress a desire and you’ll only make it stronger. Seattle’s staid mainstream culture sowed the seeds for an amazing explosion of interest in what would be called “fringe musicâ€.
The city’s sons and daughters ignored the FM dial, filling their desires by purchasing vinyl or tromping through the rain to cram into the all ages venues. The music blew their mother-fucking minds. Inevitably, some of those kids picked up guitars and started screaming into microphones, making noise of their own.
During this time (as is always the case), there were bands that did not receive huge commercial success, but contributed in essential ways to the evolution of the music. The Dehumanizers were just such a link in the chain leading from early rock through punk and metal to grunge, alternative, and drug use.
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