The Accüsed

The Accüsed is a hardcore punk and crossover band from Seattle, WA. Formed in 1981 in Oak Harbor, Washington by bassist Chibon 'Chewy' Batterman, Dana Collins and guitarist Tom Niemeyer. John Dahlin was the vocalist from 1983-1984. The addition of Blaine Cook (frontman of Seattle hardcore punk group The Fartz) fit nicely into the group's migration towards a more heavy metal-based sound. In 1984, The band dubbed their style "splatter rock," in homage to their favorite genre of horror films. Their hybrid musical formula was distinguishable by Blaine's unusual choking-sound vocals, Niemeyer's muted, choppy, buzzsaw guitars, dark metallic riffs, and rapid-fire drumming. The band are also responsible for creating the wild, zombie mascot Martha Splatterhead, who's likeness (created by Niemeyer) adorns most of their albums and many of their promotional items. The Accused recorded five albums, three e.p.'s, and over 100 songs between their 1981 inception and 1990s hiatus. The Accused regrouped in 2003, playing live shows in the Seattle area, then releasing the album "Oh, Martha!" on their own CONDAR Records label. This "comeback record" landed on Revolver magazine's Top Ten albums of the year and "Writer's Lists" from Metal Maniacs magazine. However, that line-up was short-lived. In 2005 3 members formed another band, Toe Tag and left The Accused. Guitarist and founding member, Tom Niemeyer continued on with The Accused recruiting 3 replacement members in the months following the walk-out by Cook, Alex Sibbald and Steve Nelson. The current line-up consists of Brad Mowen, "Diamond Vincent" James Davis, Mike Peterson and Niemeyer, they perform and record on a regular basis. The re-vamped line-up released two new songs, 'Scotty Came Back' and 'Fuck Sorry', January 26, 2007 via their Official website, splatterrock.com as free downloadable .MP3 files. The Accused are scheduled to record their next album in Summer 2007. The out-of-print back-catalog of The Accused's albums is slated for re-issue in 2007. Current collectors are seeing copies of these rare/out-of-print U.S. made CDs fetch hundreds of dollars each on popular auction website eBay. The Accused is considered to be an important progenitor of the crossover style that bridged the gap between thrashcore and thrash metal, later influencing grindcore and some crust punk bands.