The Armed

The Armed (often iconized as ⋈) is an American anonymous hardcore punk collective formed in Detroit, Michigan in 2009.[1] All of the band's albums have been released for free via online download and have been produced by Kurt Ballou. They are also known for including guest drummers on their releases. These guests include Chris Pennie, Nick Yacyshyn, Ben Koller, and Urian Hackney.

The Armed
OriginDetroit, Michigan, United States
GenresMetalcore, hardcore punk, mathcore, experimental
Years active2009–present
Associated actsKurt Ballou
Websitewww.thearmed.com

History

Formation and These Are Lights (2009)

Most of the members of The Armed previously played in another band, Slicer Dicer, which, according to Tony Wolski, became The Armed.[2]

The Armed released their debut album These Are Lights, mixed by Kurt Ballou,[2] for free in 2009.[3] Wolski explained the album's free release in an interview with Thrash Hits: “Wanting people to actually hear the music made us give it away for free. We’ve all played in other bands for a while now, and whether it is good or not, it is undeniable that for the most part young people do not place the same sense of monetary value on recordings as they once did. People can argue about the ethics, but that is the fact. So you might as well try to adapt to that and control the situation on your own terms. Why let someone posting a horribly compressed torrent of your material dictate what most people are going to hear? Releasing it on our own allowed us to exercise some level of quality control. Also, we’re able to reach a lot further this way…for example, I doubt you guys would’ve heard our album if we were just shelling out half a dozen CDs at shows back in the States. And people actually hearing this stuff is by far the most important goal.”[4]

EPs (2010–2013)

The Armed released their first EP Common Enemies, which featured a guest performance by Chris Pennie,[2] on July 16, 2010.[5] The Armed released their second EP Young & Beautiful on October 11, 2011.[6] The EP was mixed by Ballou and featured a guest performance by Pennie.[7] The Armed released their third EP Spreading Joy on December 11, 2012; Pennie performed on all the songs on the EP.[8] The Armed released a split EP with Tharsis They on December 17, 2013.[9]

Untitled (2015–2016)

The Armed released their second album Untitled on June 23, 2015.[10] The Armed went to "great lengths" to disguise who worked on what aspect of the new record with the exception of guest drummer Nick Yacyshyn and engineer Kurt Ballou.[11]

The Armed released their first live album Unanticipated on released June 16, 2016.[12]

Only Love (2018–present)

On April 27, 2018 The Armed released Only Love, with Ben Koller providing drums.[13] Koller explained in an interview with Modern Drummer that he was only sort of familiar with the band and knew they were "mysterious and total weirdos." Koller was informed by Ballou that the band was recording a new album and would love for Koller to track drums for it. Koller has said the request was short notice, and that the recording would take place right in the middle of tracking drums for a new Converge album, which seemed "[like it would be] pretty stressful." However, Koller heard that Rob Trujillo would be playing bass on the album, which was "the selling point" to him. In fact, Trujillo was never involved in any capacity with the album. Koller was also told by fellow Converge bandmate and Only Love's producer Kurt Ballou that the demos he was sent for this album were Converge songs, spurring him to learn them. Koller went on to say ""...essentially, I was conned into playing on this album. I was so taken aback by these weird tactics that I just went with it.”[13]

The Armed contributed the song "Night City Aliens" to Cyberpunk 2077 under the pseudonym "Homeschool Dropouts".[14]

Musical style

The band have primarily been described as a hardcore punk,[13][15] as well as metalcore,[11] post-hardcore[16] and experimental hardcore[1][13] and mathcore.[17]

Members

The Armed has a central core of members while featuring a rotating line-up of collaborators.[11] The band has stated that the line-up is "ever-changing."[1] They have gone to lengths to misdirect, deceive, and toy with their audience when it comes to who is a member of the band.[18] To achieve this, the band has avoided printing names of its members,[1] had actors pretend to be members of the band[19] and toured in secret, often performing at open mic nights under fake names.[19]

Known contributors

Discography

Full lengths
List of studio albums
Title Album details
These Are Lights
  • Released: 2009
  • Label: self-released
  • Formats: Digital download
Untitled
  • Released: June 23, 2015
  • Label: No Rest Until Ruin
  • Formats: Digital download, vinyl
Only Love
  • Released: April 27, 2018
  • Label: No Rest Until Ruin
  • Formats: Digital download, vinyl
ULTRAPOP
  • Released: April 16, 2021
  • Label: Sargent House
  • Formats: Digital download, CD, vinyl

Live albums
Title Album details
Unanticipated
  • Released: June 17, 2016
  • Label: No Rest Until Ruin
  • Formats: Digital download

Compilation albums
Title Album details Additional information
09-11[20]
  • Released: 2011
  • Label: self-released
  • Formats: Vinyl
 09-11 was limited to 100 copies and is a compilation of the band's previously released music from 2009 till 2011, this includes the band's debut These Are Lights and first two EPs Common Enemies and Young & Beautiful.

Extended plays
List of extended plays
Title Extended play details Additional information
Common Enemies
  • Released: May 11, 2010
  • Label: No Rest Until Ruin
  • Formats: Digital download, vinyl
Young & Beautiful
  • Released: September 25, 2011
  • Label: No Rest Until Ruin
  • Formats: Digital download
Spreading Joy
  • Released: December 11, 2012
  • Label: No Rest Until Ruin
  • Formats: Digital download, vinyl
The Armed / Tharsis They
  • Released: December 17, 2013
  • Label: No Rest Until Ruin
  • Formats: Digital download, vinyl
 Split EP with Tharsis They

Singles

Music videos
List of music videos, showing year released and directors
Title Year Director
"Liar" 2010 Uncredited[23]
"Mujahoudini" N/A[24]
"No Rest Until Ruin" 2012 Dave Graw[25]
"Sterling Results" 2013 Uncredited[26]
"Forever Scum" 2015 The Armed[27]
"Paradise Day" Uncreditied[28]
"Polarizer" N/A[29]
"Future Drugs (Live)" 2016 N/A[30]
"Witness" 2018 Tony Wolski[31][32][33][34]
"Role Models"
"Nowhere to be Found"
"Heavily Lined"
"Ft. Frank Turner" 2019
"All Futures"[35] 2021

References
  1. Rolling Stone (2015-06-25). "10 New Artists You Need to Know Now". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
  2. "MAKE 'ENEMIES' WITH THE ARMED | MetalSucks". MetalSucks. 2010-08-27. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
  3. "The Armed – These Are Lights". Invisible Oranges - The Metal Blog. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
  4. "The Armed: "We want the airwaves back"". Thrash Hits. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
  5. "Common Enemies, by The Armed". The Armed. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
  6. "Young & Beautiful, by The Armed". The Armed. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
  7. Kam, Chee. "THE ARMED Release New EP 'Young & Beautiful' for Free Download Online". puregrainaudio.com. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
  8. "Spreading Joy, by The Armed". The Armed. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
  9. "The Armed / Tharsis They Split, by The Armed". The Armed. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
  10. "Untitled, by The Armed". The Armed. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
  11. Platt, Hugh (2016-01-23). "The Armed's untitled record was the best album of 2015". Medium. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
  12. "Unanticipated, by The Armed". The Armed. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
  13. "Ben Koller on the Armed's Only Love - Modern Drummer Magazine". Modern Drummer Magazine. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
  14. "CONVERGE, TOMB MOLD & THE ARMED Stream New Songs From Cyberpunk 2077". Metal Injection. December 11, 2020. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  15. "The Armed: Untitled Album Review | Pitchfork". pitchfork.com. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
  16. Lavin, Will (2019-06-06). "The Armed troll Frank Turner with new single 'FT. FRANK TURNER', which features Frank Carter on the cover". NME. Retrieved 2019-06-07.
  17. Editorial (2019-06-12). "A Brief History of Mathcore In Ten Albums". Bandcamp Daily. Retrieved 2019-06-16.
  18. "Getting to Know The Armed, the Most Unknowable Band in Hardcore". Noisey. 2018-06-14. Retrieved 2018-11-05.
  19. "America's Most Unpredictable Band, THE ARMED, Are Back With CONVERGE's Ben Koller Smashing The Drums!". Metal Injection. 2018-02-15. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
  20. "The Armed - 09-11". Discogs. Retrieved 2018-12-26.
  21. "THE ARMED Leave The Chaos and Provide "Luxury Themes" For Their Mind Blowing Latest Single". Metal Injection. 2018-03-27. Retrieved 2019-06-07.
  22. Listen to “All Futures” by The Armed, retrieved 2021-02-06
  23. thearmed (2010-08-30), The Armed - "Liar", retrieved 2018-10-04
  24. NoRest UntilRuin (2016-06-28), The Armed - Mujahoudini (Official Music Video), retrieved 2018-10-04
  25. thearmed (2012-12-06), The Armed - "No Rest Until Ruin", retrieved 2018-10-04
  26. thearmed (2013-08-01), The Armed - Sterling Results, retrieved 2018-10-04
  27. thearmed (2015-04-20), The Armed - Forever Scum (4K), retrieved 2018-10-04
  28. thearmed (2015-06-23), The Armed - Paradise Day, retrieved 2018-10-04
  29. NoRest UntilRuin (2015-05-14), The Armed - Polarizer, retrieved 2018-10-04
  30. thearmed (2016-06-06), The Armed - Future Drugs (LIVE), retrieved 2018-10-04
  31. thearmed (2018-02-15), The Armed - Witness, retrieved 2018-10-04
  32. thearmed (2018-05-24), The Armed - Nowhere to be Found, retrieved 2018-10-04
  33. thearmed (2018-11-15), The Armed - Heavily Lined, retrieved 2018-11-15
  34. Sargent House (2019-06-06), The Armed - FT. FRANK TURNER, retrieved 2019-06-07
  35. Minsker, Evan. "The Armed Announce New Album ULTRAPOP, Share Song". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2021-02-06.
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