State of the World Address [PA]

Performer: Biohazard
Producer: Ed Stasium
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: Biohazard: Billy Graziadei (vocals, guitar, piano); Evan Seinfeld (vocals, bass); Bobby Hambel (acoustic & electric guitars); Danny Schuler (drums, percussion). Additional personnel: Sen-Dog (vocals). Recorded at A&M Studios, Hollywood, California. Biohazard: Silly Graziadei (vocals, guitar, piano); Evan Seinfield (vocals, bass guitar); Bobby Hambel (guitar, acoustic guitar); Danny Schuler (drums, percussion). In the world of metal music, much of the heavy breathing and screaming centers around adolescent rites of passage, often rendered in sci-fi, Saturday-morning cartoon metaphors. To find a group which values the musical intensity of modern metal and thrash, but has something on their mind other than escapism and testosterone, you must journey into the heart of Brooklyn to encounter the power of Biohazard. On the inside flap of the CD tray card, Biohazard is pictured in reflection against the inscription, "Honor the courage, sacrifice, and devotion to duty and country of our Vietnam veterans," a theme close to their heart as depicted on "Remember." Such is the moral tone of STATE OF THE WORLD ADDRESS, in which Biohazard turns their blaring searchlight of rage upon the disturbing day-to-day realities of post-Cold War America. None of which mean squat to your typical headbanger if not for Biohazard's wild, over-the-top musical signature--a speed-metal wall of rage. It's all there on the title tune as drummer Danny Schuler keys the furious rhythm changes, while Bobby Hambel's soaring lead guitar vies with the vocal ravings of Billy Graziadei and Evan Seinfeld for center stage. As a result, STATE OF THE WORLD ADDRESS distances Biohazard from most bands in the heavy metal genre by focusing on issues of urban crime ("Tales From The Hard Side" and "Five Blocks To The Subway"), child abuse ("Love Denied"), and inner city blight ("Failed Territory"). Biohazard is not concerned with entertainment, concentrating instead on the purgative potency of a power chord, feeding off of rejection and ignorance to fashion an emotional response you can't ignore.

Entertainment Weekly (5/27/94, p.87) - "...Biohazard is redefining metal not only by writing what amount to modern day protest songs, but also by creating thrash that grooves rather than lumbers...." - Rating: B+

Although Biohazard's landmark collaboration with rap group Onyx on a remix of that group's hit "Slam" (they also joined forces for the soundtrack to the film JUDGEMENT NIGHT) was far from the first rock/rap collaboration, it remains a commercial and in many ways artistic high point for the Brooklyn-based metal act. That said, Biohazard retained a loyal fanbase over the course of their decades-plus career, and their embrace of rap presaged many of the funk-oriented nu-metal acts that followed in Biohazard's wake, including Korn and Linkin Park. Likewise, their particular fusion of hardcore punk and metal was a direct precursor of the intense metalcore style that arose in the early 2000s.

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