hard rock

Dope

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Edsel Dope's industrial nu-metal outfit, hardened on the late-'90s package-tour circuit — sneering electronics and a cover of 'You Spin Me Round' that outlasted its moment.

Dope formed in New York City in 1997, built around vocalist Edsel Dope and his brother Simon, reunited as adults after a childhood spent apart following their parents' divorce. Early recruits included guitarist Sloane Jentry, drummer Preston Nash and bassist Tripp Eisen. The band's name, and its early T-shirts printed with hypodermic needles, referred directly to heroin, which the brothers sold around the city before music paid the bills.

The music combines down-tuned guitar riffs with programmed beats, samples and electronics, topped by a snarling, often deliberately confrontational vocal delivery, drawing as much from industrial acts like Ministry and Skinny Puppy as from straightforward heavy metal.

Their 1999 debut, Felons and Revolutionaries, arrived on Epic Records and included a cover of Dead or Alive's "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)," which reached number 37 on the Mainstream Rock chart and introduced the band well outside the industrial metal audience. Another track, "Debonaire," turned up on the Scream 3 soundtrack and in The Fast and the Furious. Touring alongside acts including Alice Cooper and Kid Rock helped the album sell more than 250,000 copies.

Dope has since released seven studio albums in total, most recently Blood Money Part Zer0 in 2023, and passed one million albums sold worldwide. The group has continued to record and tour across shifting lineups, with Edsel Dope remaining the constant; the current lineup also includes guitarist Virus, bassist Acey Slade and drummer Daniel Fox.

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hard rock