Considered Vermont's best extreme musical export, Drowningman burst into the scene with its 1997 debut 7" 'Weighted and Weighed Down' on Hydrahead Records. Combining elements of hardcore, metal, and melody, the band exhibits the ability to compose well-crafted songs of pummeling hardcore with melodic interludes, witty lyrics, and vocals ranging from hate filled screams to emotional singing. The band would release its debut LP, 'Busy Signal at the Suicide Hotline' on Hydra Head Records in 1998, followed by the out-of-print split 7" with New Jersey's Dillinger Escape Plan a year later. To further bolster its career, Drowningman parted ways with Hydra Head, and joined the Revelation Records roster in 2000, releasing a CDEP/7" entitled 'How They Light Cigarettes in Prison,' followed by its second full length, 'Rock & Roll Killing Machine.' In 2001, the band released yet another CDEP/7", 'Still Loves You' on Equal Vision Records, continuing to show that the band is still able to meld chaos with melody, in spite of its numerous line-up changes. Although the band may seem to demonstrate "emo" characteristics, potential listeners should be warned that the band is far from an emo band.