Opiate For The Masses

Opiate for the Masses was an American industrial metal band formed in 1999 in Phoenix, Arizona by vocalist Ron Underwood, guitarist and keyboardist Jim Kaufman, guitarist Dustin Lyon, and drummer Elias Mallin. The band's name is drawn from Karl Marx's famous observation that religion is the opiate of the people, a fitting label for a group whose sound blended heavy guitar riffs, electronic programming, industrial textures, and brooding goth sensibilities. After self-releasing a demo and a series of EPs in the early 2000s, the band relocated to Los Angeles and signed with Warcon Enterprises, releasing their debut full-length The Spore in 2005 with production input from Charlie Clouser of Nine Inch Nails fame. By this point the lineup had evolved to include drummer Chris Seven Antonopoulos and bassist Anna K from Drain STH, and the band toured extensively alongside Avenged Sevenfold, Disturbed, Static-X, and My Chemical Romance. Their profile continued to rise when Chester Bennington of Linkin Park, Synyster Gates of Avenged Sevenfold, and Joey Jordison of Slipknot all publicly praised the band ahead of their second album. In 2008 they signed with Century Media Records and released Manifesto, a heavier and more refined industrial metal record that represented the peak of their recorded output. The band disbanded in 2009 after a decade of relentless touring and recording.