Painkiller (band)

Painkiller (also officially known as Pain Killer) was a band originally formed in 1991. Their style might be described as a mix of avant-garde jazz and grindcore. Later albums also incorporated elements of ambient and dub.

Contents

• Discography
• Compilations
• Songs
• References

The three primary members of Painkiller were: John Zorn on saxophone, Bill Laswell on electric bass and Mick Harris (formerly of Napalm Death and founding member of Scorn) on drums. The band has also had several musicians make guest appearances both live and in the studio, including Yamatsuka Eye, Buckethead, Mike Patton, Makigami Koichi, Justin Broadrick and G. C. Green of Godflesh, and Keiji Haino of Fushitsusha.

Harris left the band in 1995 to dedicate himself solely to computer music. Following his departure, many assumed that Painkiller was defunct. However, Zorn and Laswell resurrected the project and played some live dates with Yoshida Tatsuya of Ruins (Japanese band) playing drums. Hamid Drake also sat in for Zorn's 50th Birthday shows at Tonic in NYC. That show (which also featured Mike Patton as a guest) was released as a live album by Tzadik.

In 2008, Painkiller performed a one-off show in France featuring the original line-up of Zorn, Laswell and Harris, along with an appearance by both Fred Frith and Mike Patton.