Society 1

Fronted by Hollywood extremist, Matt "The Lord" Zane, Society 1 are at the forefront of a new breed of LA metal bands. With a pounding industrial pulse, ballistic guitar assault, and The Lord's debaucherous, occult visions, Society 1 have earned comparisons to Marilyn Manson, Nine Inch Nails, and The Doors. Described in the LA Weekly as an embodiment of "Morrisonesque shamanics and Satanic self-determination", Matt "The Lord" Zane is backed by guitarist Sin, bassist Dirt, and drummer Preston Nash (Dope, Primer 55).

Society 1 first rose to notoriety in 1999 with their debut album, "Slacker Jesus", earning massive press coverage through such media outlets as MTV, VH1, Billboard, Details, Rolling Stone, Spin, Revolver, and Kerrang!. Adding to the media frenzy was the fact that Matt Zane was an acclaimed porn director, gaining worldwide infamy for his "Backstage Sluts" series, a series of films which matched porn stars with such real-life rockers as Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst, Korn's Jonathan Davis, and Sugar Ray's Mark McGrath.

Society 1's second album, "Exit Through Fear", was released worldwide in the Spring of 2003 on Earache Records. Society 1's first video, "Nothing", (in which Zane performs the first real "suspension" ever done by a singer in a music video), aired regularly on American Tv station Fuse's Uranium, along with a special episode of Uranium devoted entirely to the making-of the "Nothing" video. By the end of 2003, Society 1 had completed more touring than any other Earache band that year, supporting such acts as Dope, Twiztid, and Pissing Razors on marathon coast-to-coast tours.

In March 2004, Matt "The Lord" Zane took his suspension feat to the next level, making himself the first singer to ever sing live while suspended. Drawing over 700 fans to LA's Key Club, The Lord performed three songs live with Society 1 whilst hanging up to 30 feet above the stage, supported only by six meathooks inserted in his flesh. Orgy frontman Jay Gordon made a special guest appearance on vocals.

The "suspension show" marked Society 1's final U.S. show in support of "Exit Through Fear". In May 2004 Society 1 take their brand of rock n roll debauchery to Europe, in support of Godhead, for their first tour outside of the U.S Following the tour, the band will enter the studio to begin recording their third album (their second for Earache). Meanwhile, Society 1's third video, "Hate", was accepted by MTV2's Headbangers Ball and Fuse's Uranium.


Society 1's current line-up features Matt Zane on vocals, Dirst on bass, Atron on guitar and Berzerk Kirk on drums. They are currently working on their next full length album, Sadist Messiah, scheduled to be released in 2008.