Kreachr

Kreachr (typecast as ʞreachr) is the American rock band from Columbus, Ohio. Originally formed in 1995, the current band lineup consists of AJ Reeves on vocals, Criss Garcia on lead guitar and backing vocals, Hiro Tanaka on bass guitar, Ben "Razor" Rizzo on drums. They have maintained the same lineup since 1997.

Kreachr was one of the pioneer bands of the nu metal era from the late ‘90s to early 2000s. They eventually switched to a metalcore sound with In Sickness and in Death (2006), but soon returned to their nu metal roots with Suffering in Stereo (2013). Their most well-known song is “Trouble”, their first single off of their sophomore album, The New Monster (2000).

History
Kreachr was formed in 1995 under the name “Sightread”, as a three-piece band with Jamie Allan “AJ” Reeves on vocals and lead guitar, Nate Hurley on bass guitar, and Ben Rizzo on drums. In 1996, the band recorded a self-titled demo tape (now known as the Sightread EP) and distributed it in small quantities. During this time, Sightread played grunge music imspred by the likes of Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains.

The band continued playing shows for most of 1996 and 1997 under the Sightread moniker until Hurley left the band following a car accident that made him unable to play bass without discomfort. Hurley would take a brief hiatus from music to heal, up until 2000, when he would join the pop punk band Carol.

Following Hurley's departure, the band went through several changes. AJ changed the band's name to “Kreachr”, a name that they got from a crayon drawing of a monster drawn by AJ's then 5-year-old cousin Alex. The band also moved away from their early grunge sound, into a sound inspired by the then-burgeoning Californian nu metal scene, which AJ was a huge fan of at the time.

Around this time, the band hired the half-Japanese Hiro Tanaka to play bass, and later on, was joined by Christine “Criss” Garcia, a childhood friend of AJ’s, who took over guitar duties and added backing vocals onto their music. As a result, the newly-rechristened Kreachr became the 4-piece band that they are today.

That same year, the band released a second independent EP, Flowers are Passive, Sun Isn't, highlighting their brand new nu metal sound. The band distributed the demo to a bunch of major record labels, only to be rejected. They were eventually signed to the Columbus-based indie record label Anyway Records, where they would released their self-titled debut album (1998), which lead to them gaining airplay in Ohio-based rock stations, garnering them recognition in their native area.

In 1999, they were introduced to a friend who worked for the major record label MCA Records, which then led to them signing to the label from 1999 until its demise in 2003. They have recorded two albums under MCA: The New Monster (2000) and Inside (2002).

Kreachr's first release under MCA was their second album and major label debut The New Monster, which propelled them into superstardom. The album spawned 4 singles (“Trouble”, “Of Love and Nightmares”, “Along Came a Spider” and “My Sickness”), three of which charted high on the Billboard Hot 100 and Modern Rock charts. To this day, The New Monster remains Kreachr’s best-selling album. In 2002, the band released Inside, which continued their chain of success, with the hit single “Resentment” taking the #1 spot on the Modern Rock charts for several weeks.

The spring of 2003 saw Kreachr’s record label MCA Records fold into Geffen Records, which they later signed with. The band only released one full-length album under Geffen, Broken Silence (2004), which was marred by various issues during production, including multiple disagreements with the new executives. The end result was a disappointment, with singles that did not chart high, and as a result, Kreachr left the label in early 2005. Shortly after leaving the label, Geffen released a compilation album, The Best of Kreachr, a collection of their recordings under MCA and Geffen, without their consent or knowledge.

Kreachr would eventually sign to Razor & Tie to release their next studio album In Sickness and in Death in 2006, which saw the band move away from their previous nu metal sound into metalcore. While not as big of a success as The New Monster or Inside, In Sickness and in Death proved to be a moderate success, leading to the band recording two more albums under the label: The Gallows Tree (2008) and Imago (2010), before being dropped by the label. In 2011, the band took a short hiatus in order to give AJ Reeves and Criss Garcia time to prepare for their then-forthcoming wedding.

Before the hiatus, the band approved of one last release for the label: the compilation album, Collective (2011), a collection primarily consisting of their recordings under Razor & Tie, save for a few songs from their MCA/Geffen years, which was eventually released late that year.

The band eventually returned from their short hiatus in 2012, this time signed under Prospect Park, to release their second EP, The Resurgence later that same year and their eighth studio album, Suffering in Stereo, the next year, an album that sees the band return to their nu metal roots whilst still retaining their metalcore edge, the following year. They have since released four albums under Prospect Park: Suffering in Stereo (2013), Bloodflow (2015), Div|ide (2017) and K-10 (2019)

After 8 years under the label, it was announced in February 2020 that Kreachr had left Prospect Park. Several weeks later, Kreachr would announce that they have signed with Nuclear Blast Records. In April 2021, they would eventually release their first album under Nuclear Blast, Amerika in Flames: Part 1 (2021).

Musical Style and Motifs
Kreachr’s music has been described as nu metal, alternative metal, rap metal, funk metal, hard rock, rapcore and post-grunge. Their later material sees them delve into the metalcore genre. Currently, the band plays a fusion of the two genres, known as "nu metalcore" to fans ans critics. Their early material, recorded under the Sightread name, showcased a more grunge-inspired sound. The band has cited a wide list of influences, including Korn, Deftones, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Faith No More, Tool, Nine Inch Nails, Helmet, Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Pantera, Fear Factory, Alice in Chains, Ministry, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rage Against the Machine, The Smashing Pumpkins, Sepultura, Anthrax, Public Enemy, Run-DMC, Suicidal Tendencies, Mr. Bungle, Primus, Biohazard, Beastie Boys, Living Colour and Soundgarden.

Combining elements of grunge, hardcore punk, funk metal, thrash metal, groove metal, industrial metal and hip-hop, Kreachr shaped their one-of-a-kind sound. In Kreachr's earliest songs, rapping is a common element, alongside clean vocals and screaming, provided by AJ, and Criss' melodic backing vocals. Over the course of time, the band has slowly distanced themselves from rapping in their later records, outright excising it as soon as they went to metalcore. However, as of their return to nu metal with Suffering in Stereo, the rapping elements have returned.

In regards to the nu metal label, the band’s frontman AJ Reeves, while not outright rejecting it, has often spoken his indifference on the matter. In one interview, he quoted: “Kreachr is Kreachr. Nothing more, nothing less. We don’t really see ourselves as part of any trend or anything. We’re just a band who does whatever we like to do. It’s just that. Never really cared what genre we are, whatever bullshit we are lumped on to. It's all meaningless to us.”

On certain songs beginning with "Nina" from The New Monster (2000), Criss Garcia would often take over vocals from AJ. Her songs are noted to be more mellow ballads compared to AJ’s heavier stuff. Kreachr is also known to employ the vocal tag team technique in certain songs, where AJ and Criss take turns in providing vocals, a common element in nu metal, with several bands like Linkin Park, Crazy Town and Mushroomhead utilizing the same technique. Vocalist AJ Reeves is known for his high-pitched screams, which were often compared to that of Deftones vocalist Chino Moreno.

During the band's earliest days, the band had a mascot: Criss' pet tarantula, Rita, who appeared in the cover of their 2000 major label debut album, The New Monster. Despite only appearing in two of the band's releases' (the other one being the US-only Poison Injection EP; though the same cover was used for the "Along Came a Spider" single release), the spider motif has been considered an integral part of Kreachr's image, so much so that after Rita's death in 2002, Kreachr chose to adopt a silhouette of a tarantula as their secondary logo in honor of Rita.

Current

 * AJ Reeves - lead vocals, occasional lead guitar (1995-present); lead guitar (1995-1997)


 * Criss Garcia-Reeves - lead guitar, backing vocals, occasional lead vocals (1997-present)


 * Hiro Tanaka - bass guitar (1997-present)


 * Ben Rizzo - drums (1995-present)

Former

 * Nate Hurley - bass guitar (1995-1997)

Studio Albums

 * Kreachr (1998)

Genre: Alternative Metal, Nu Metal, Rap Metal

Released: August 17, 1998

Label: Anyway


 * The New Monster (2000)

Genre: Alternative Metal, Nu Metal, Rap Metal

Released: July 6, 2000

Label: MCA


 * Inside (2002)

Genre: Alternative Metal, Nu Metal, Rap Metal

Released: May 2, 2002

Label: MCA


 * Broken Silence (2004)

Genre: Alternative Metal, Nu Metal

Released: June 30, 2004

Label: Geffen


 * In Sickness and in Death (2006)

Genre: Alternative Metal, Metalcore

Released: September 23, 2006

Label: Razor & Tie


 * The Gallows Tree (2008)

Genre: Alternative Metal, Metalcore

Released: October 6, 2008

Label: Razor & Tie


 * Imago (2010)

Genre: Alternative Metal, Metalcore

Released: July 6, 2010

Label: Razor & Tie


 * Suffering in Stereo (2013)

Genre: Alternative Metal, Nu Metal, Metalcore

Released: August 3, 2013

Label: Prospect Park


 * Bloodflow (2015)

Genre: Alternative Metal, Nu Metal, Metalcore, Rap Metal

Released: April 25, 2015

Label: Prospect Park


 * Div|ide (2017)

Genre: Alternative Metal, Nu Metal, Metalcore, Rap Metal

Released: February 8, 2017

Label: Prospect Park


 * K-10 (2019)

Genre: Alternative Metal, Nu Metal, Metalcore, Rap Metal

Released: October 18, 2019

Label: Prospect Park


 * Amerika in Flames: Part 1 (2021)

Genre: Alternative Metal, Nu Metal, Metalcore, Rap Metal

Released: April 12, 2021

Label: Nuclear Blast

EPs

 * Sightread EP (1996)

Genre: Grunge

Released: 1996

Label: Independent/Self-released


 * Flowers are Passive, Sun Isn't (1997)

Genre: Alternative Metal, Nu Metal, Rap Metal

Released: 1997

Label: Independent/Self-released


 * Venom Injected (2001)

Genre: Alternative Metal, Nu Metal, Rap Metal, Electronic Rock

Released: January 19, 2001

Label: MCA


 * Resurgence

Genre: Alternative Metal, Nu Metal, Metalcore, Rap Metal

Released: September 26, 2012

Label: Prospect Park

Compilations

 * The Best of Kreachr (2005)

Genre: Alternative Metal, Nu Metal, Rap Metal

Released: August 17, 2005

Label: Geffen

Genre: Alternative Metal, Nu Metal, Metalcore, Rap Metal
 * Collective (2011)

Released: December 1, 2011

Label: Razor & Tie

Live Albums

 * Anarkhy in the U.K. (2003)

Genre: Alternative Metal, Nu Metal, Rap Metal, Rapcore

Released: November 14, 2003

Label: Geffen