Karl Buechner | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1970-12-23)December 23, 1970 (age 54) Syracuse, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, bass |
| Years active | 1988-present |
Karl Buechner (born December 23, 1970) is an American musician fromSyracuse, New York, best known as the frontman for thehardcore bandEarth Crisis. He is also the singer ofFreya, Path of Resistance, Vehement Serenade, Apocalypse Tribe and 1000 Drops of Venom.
In the mid- to late 1990s, Buechner attained a great popularity within thehardcore music scene as the frontman of Earth Crisis due to their outspoken advocacy for thestraight edge andvegan lifestyles.[1] He has been featured and interviewed byCNN,CBS,The New York Times andFox News, and addressed the Congress about teens and substance abuse.[2][3][4]
Buechner was born on December 23, 1970[5] inSyracuse, New York.[6] He has German and Irish roots.[7] In his early teens, Buechner got intopunk rock through his cousin andskateboarding, becoming a fan of bands such as theDead Kennedys andSubhumans, as well as having traveled to other cities to participate in skate competitions.[5][8] Around the age of fifteen, he saw theCro-Mags' video "We Gotta Know" that "was the spark that set off" his love for hardcore punk music and, years later, he would describeThe Age of Quarrel as "still the greatest hardcore album of all time".[9][10] During that time, Syracuse was going through a lingeringrecession where crime and illegal drug trade began to proliferate. Many of Buechner' skater friends started using drugs and alcohol, one of whom died while others were progressively affected, which motivated him to becomestraight edge.[9][11] His and other Earth Crisis members' families also suffered from tragedies and random acts of violence at the time, including robberies.[12] According to Buechner: "to an extent we were kind of the products of [those] experience[s], but we didn't join with it, we rebelled against it."[7]
Most of Buechner's family isvegetarian. He became apescetarian at the age of sixteen after his sister handed him aPETA magazine with photographs of caged animals in aslaughterhouse. At eighteen, he transitioned into vegetarianism and shortly afterwardsveganism, getting intoanimal liberation issues through conversations with his grandmother.[9][13][14] The first vocalist of Earth Crisis, DJ Rose, states that he and Buechner traveled to Albany where they met Dave Stein andSteve Reddy, who also taught them about animal rights before they established the group in 1989.[15] Subsequently, Buechner became a volunteer at the Syracuse Wildlife Rehabilitation Center where he witnessed animals that were doused with gasoline andtortured in different ways, leaving "quite an impression on" him and which he attributes to the anger expressed in their early records.[16]
Buechner graduated fromHenninger High School in 1989.[11] He attended college to become a history teacher with the intention of supporting a career in music or sports, but left it after two years when Earth Crisis was signed byVictory Records.[17][18]
Karl Buechner started playing bass and formed his first band, Mainforce Patrol, at the age of sixteen. In 1989, he became a member ofEarth Crisis but their initial lineup was short-lived. He kept the idea of the group alive and continued writing songs, restarting them in 1991 as the new vocalist and releasing five further albums.[19][20] In 1995, their drummer Dennis Merrick was seriously injured and, as he recuperated, the rest of the group formed the hardcore-oriented band Path of Resistance, releasing their albumWho Dares Wins in 1996.[21] Earth Crisis disbanded in 2001 and reformed in 2007, releasing three more albums so far.
In early 2001, he began singing forFreya (formatively titled Nemesis and End Begins after EC songs) with two members of Earth Crisis plus two other members. They were named for theNorse goddess of fertility and their lyrics took inspiration from history, mythology and more personal issues, without addressing veganism or straight edge directly because not all members follow the lifestyles.[18][22] They have released five studio albums so far.
In late 2005, Buechner joined Canadian bandA Perfect Murder for a tour, replacing vocalist Kevin Randel.[23]
Since 2008, he is the frontman of the supergroup Vehement Serenade along with Mike Couls (Cro-Mags,Skarhead,Cold as Life), Jamin Hunt (Sworn Enemy), Eddie Ortiz (Subzero) and Pauly Antignani (Sworn Enemy).[24] In 2013, they released their debut albumThe Things That Tear You Apart.[25]
In 2016, he formed the metalcore band 1000 Drops of Venom.[26] Since 2017, he is also the frontman of Apocalypse Tribe and they released a split album withRob Aston's Death March on August 25.[27]
Karl Buechner has been cited as an influence by artists such asJamey Jasta ofHatebreed,[28] Greg Bennick ofTrial[29] andSean Ingram ofCoalesce.[30]
| Year | Song | Artist | Album | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | "No Truce" | A Perfect Murder | Unbroken | [31] |
| 2004 | "Still Here" | Agnostic Front | Another Voice | [32] |
| 2007 | "Addiction" | Damnation A.D. | In This Life or the Next | [33] |
| 2010 | "Pedestals" | Such Gold | Pedestals | [34] |
| 2011 | "The Only Life I Know" | Lionheart | Built on Struggle | [35] |
| 2019 | "Believer of the Truth" | Nueva Ética | La Conquista | [36] |
Nationally, several leaders have emerged over the years, moral entrepreneurs looked up to by the masses of sXe kids. [...] Karl Buechner of Earth Crisis and Rick Rodney of Strife were tremendously popular.
And after attracting national attention for their message through such mediums as MTV, ABC World News with Peter Jennings, CNN, TBS and 48 Hours, lead singer Karl Buechner was invited to speak on a panel in front of the US Congress in Washington DC regarding straight edge and drug and alcohol use among young people.
Q: What are your thoughts on Earth Crisis? Did Karl Buechner influenced you? I've always noted some similarities between his vocal delivery onDestroy the Machines and yours, and also in your lyrical style.
Jamey Jasta: Yes, absolutely. Love Earth Crisis, I even likeSlither, that's how much of a fan I am, I didn't jump ship onSlither. Karl's my man [...] definitely, Earth Crisis is an influence on Hatebreed, musically and in my vocal style.
I was always influenced by artists who did things that were new, different, or intense in ways I'd not heard before: Karl Buechner from Earth Crisis had such a powerful voice, and the way he changed his tone from record to record was always fascinating to me.
Q: Musically and lyrically, who have been your major influences?
Sean Ingram: [...] Musically,Phil Anselmo and Karl Buechner.