If you were kicking around the Toronto music scene back in the late 80s and early 90s, the name Death and Horror Inc., or DHI for short, would've probably rung a bell. These guys—originally just two teenage friends, Vicar and Graf, messing around with a cheap sampler and synths in 1987—became a pioneering force in the city's electronic industrial scene. They even partially got their slightly over-the-top name from an old 70s BBC sound effects record, which is pretty wonderfully weird. Early on, they were pumping out music on cassette tapes like Need And Ability, quickly cementing a reputation as the band to open for touring industrial heavyweights; in 1990, they warmed up the crowd for The Young Gods' debut Toronto gig, which tells you what kind of company they were keeping.
Their sound was a pretty ferocious blend of spiky, aggressive electro-industrial. Think pulsing beats, abrasive feedback guitars, deep layers of effects, and vocals that often sounded hellish and urgent. They were often compared favorably to bands like early Fad Gadget, but firmly placed alongside Canadian industrial peers like Skinny Puppy and Front Line Assembly. When they released their debut CD, Machine Altar Transmission, in 1991, they were already getting profiled on MuchMusic and gaining traction in the US and Europe. A big part of their appeal wasn't just the noise they made, but the full-on multimedia experience they brought to their live shows, which featured "media barrages" with film slides of found imagery, anti-fascist propaganda reels projected onto the stage, and later, elements like oil drums banging and sparks flying from grinders. It wasn't just music; it was a sensory assault with a distinct anti-fascist, anti-war message.
DHI put out four CDs on the Canadian label Fringe Product in the 90s, constantly pushing their sound into more experimental territory, moving well outside typical verse-chorus structures, especially on albums like Pressures Collide. They took a hiatus around 1997, but the story isn't over! In an unexpected return, DHI—now primarily Vicar creating new material—resurfaced around 2019, reissuing their back catalog and dropping new singles that led to The Idiot Parade EP in 2021. The new stuff continues the tradition of politically-charged intensity, with the title track being a "condemnation of grotesque ideologies and their disturbing intertwinement," protesting against conspiracy theories, anti-science activism, and more. It proves that even after a long break, DHI still has plenty of caustic, essential noise left to make. 🤘
