The Locust was an American hardcore punk band from San Diego, California, known for their mix of grindcore aggression and new wave experimentation. The band has been noted for their use of insect costumes when performing live.

History

Prior to The Locust founding members Justin Pearson and Dylan Scharf were in the hardcore punk band Struggle together, formed in late 1990. The band only lasted three years. Despite this they had opportunities to share musical space with other significant bands with similar ideological perspectives such as Born Against, Downcast, Bikini Kill, and Econochrist. The band disbanded in 1994. The Locust formed in 1994 by Pearson, Scharf, Bobby Bray, Dave Warshaw, and Dave Astor. The band was initially a powerviolence project whose first release was a split with genre pioneers Man Is the Bastard in 1995. Later releases incorporated synthesizers and became increasingly theatrical. The band regularly played shows in all-ages punk clubs in Los Angeles and San Diego, usually donning insect costumes. In September 1998, The Locust released their first full-length album, The Locust, through Gold Standard Laboratories. On June 24, 2003, The Locust released their second full-length album, Plague Soundscapes, through ANTI-. On March 20, 2007, The Locust released their third and ultimately final full-length album, New Erections, through ANTI-. After a lengthy touring schedule following the release of New Erections, The Locust went on hiatus. On May 18, 2010, The Locust released an archive recording of their Peel Session recorded 9 years prior in 2001, simply named The Peel Sessions, released through Radio Surgery. This 16-track recording was the first time Gabe Serbian had started playing drums for The Locust, finalizing the lineup of Bobby Bray, Joey Karam, Justin Pearson and Gabe Serbian that would stay the same for the rest of their time together. On July 31, 2012, The Locust released a compilation album, Molecular Genetics from the Gold Standard Labs, through ANTI-. The album contains all the band's material released on the Gold Standard Laboratories label which is all their material from 1997 to 2002. In 2013, The Locust returned from hiatus and in 2019 they were added to the Desert Daze 2019 festival line up. Bassist Justin Pearson confirmed that the band would add more shows after this, with new material and new costumes. On May 1, 2022, the band announced the death of drummer Gabe Serbian that had occurred the day before. The band have since announced on their Instagram account that they can no longer be active in the wake of Serbian's death, and that no further albums or live performances will occur under the Locust name. The final piece recorded by the group was a remix of the Danny Elfman solo track "Cruel Compensation" which appears on the remix album Bigger. Messier.

Style and influences

The Locust were known for their unique mix of grindcore speed and aggression, complexity, and new wave weirdness. The band's musical genre is typically described as grindcore, hardcore punk, powerviolence, mathcore and noise rock. About the band's aesthetic, vocalist/bassist Justin Pearson has said, "I wanted to change the way people perceive music, or maybe just destroy it in general." The Locust's music is complex, dynamic and fast-paced, often featuring abrupt and inconsistent time-signature changes. These erratic elements are, according to vocalist/guitarist Bobby Bray, "a reflection of perhaps how our brains have to function in order to be able to do anything in the Western societies we live in." Stylus described the band's sound as "Relentless blitzkriegs of high velocity noise, skinny tie keyboards and bloody screaming that often last less than a minute, Locust songs are tightly-wound, dynamic and bizarre expressions of frustration and hatred whose intensity and creativity are currently unparalleled in punk rock." The New York Times stated "If noise-rock had superheroes, the Locust would surely be among them." The band was praised by Dave Lombardo of Slayer, who said "There's a band called The Locust. Their drummer is named Gabe Serbian, and their music hits me now like D.R.I. hit me in the early '80s." The Locust have had a unique stage presence: costumed in skin-tight, full body nylon suits (which the band refer to as uniforms). The last 5 different suits were designed and made by Ben Warwas. Unlike most bands, which normally have the drums set up behind the other members, the four members of The Locust usually all positioned in a line at the front of the stage. The group recommended that in order to get the full impact of the music, one should see them live. The Locust boycotted Clear Channel Communications and refused to play in any Clear Channel-owned venues. This boycott affected a 2005 tour with Fantômas, as well as another tour with Yeah Yeah Yeahs. They also had a policy of only playing all-ages shows.

Equipment

Karam plays an assortment of analog synthesizers, including various Moog models and a patch-panel modular synth. Bray plays a Gibson SG, and Pearson plays a see-through body Dan Armstrong bass made by Ampeg. Serbian played Ludwig drums with Paiste cymbals.

Controversies

Pearson appeared as a "rock-star slut" in an episode of The Jerry Springer Show. It culminated in a French kiss with Scott Beiben, owner of the record label Bloodlink. Pearson wore a T-shirt for The Locust during the appearance. Pearson later stated "I was beat up during a commercial break by one of the 'security guards' pretty bad for blowing snot on the carpet." The Locust have been accused of encouraging the use of drugs because the band sold vanity mirrors as merchandise: fans and others mistook the mirrors as being intended for use as a surface from which one could snort cocaine. In an interview with Scene Point Blank Justin Pearson was asked "You guys make Locust compacts, modeled after cocaine mirrors. Do you feel it's irresponsible to sell these to your younger fans?" Pearson responded "I'm not sure what you are talking about. I have never done cocaine and we never modeled any sort of merchandising product or idea after cocaine mirrors. However we did have vanity mirrors. In case you were not aware, they could be used for a variety of things such as make-up application, picking food out of your teeth, popping zits, fixing your bangs, etc. About the second part of your question, we are not responsible for anyone besides ourselves. We are a band and in no way are we a babysitting service." The Locust organized a number of "gender-baiting incidents", including Pearson and Serbian staging a fake same-sex marriage while on tour in Hawaii.

In media

Members

Final lineup

Previous members

Timeline

Discography

Albums

Compilations

Live albums

EPs

Splits

Compilation appearances