The Union Underground

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The Union Underground
The band's guitarist Patrick Kennison
The band's guitarist Patrick Kennison
Background information
OriginSan Antonio, Texas, United States
GenresNu metal[1]
Years active
  • 1996–2002
  • 2016
  • 2020–present
Labels
Associated acts
Members

The Union Underground is an American nu metal band based out of San Antonio, Texas, United States. Original band members included Bryan Scott, Patrick Kennison, John Moyer and Josh Memolo. They released one major label album, ...An Education in Rebellion, in July 2000 which featured the hit single "Turn Me on 'Mr. Deadman'."

History[]

1996–2002; ...An Education in Rebellion and break-up[]

The roots of heavy metal band the Union Underground lie in the relationship between singer/guitarist Bryan Scott and guitarist Patrick Kennison, who met in junior high school in San Antonio, TX. After finishing high school, the two launched their own recording studio, Studio Underground, making cassettes of their music. Sales of 5,000 copies of an EP brought interest from major labels, with Portrait, the hard rock imprint of Sony's Columbia label, winning out as Scott and Kennison completed the band's lineup with the addition of drummer Josh Memolo and bassist John Moyer.

The Union Underground released its debut album, ...An Education in Rebellion, on July 18, 2000. The disc spent four months on the charts and the track "Turn Me on 'Mr. Deadman'" was on the mainstream rock charts for six months. After two years, the album's sales reportedly stood at 350,000. The band opened for Marilyn Manson in the fall of 2000 and earned a slot on the 2001 Ozzfest tour.

In March 2002, The Union Underground released the song "Across the Nation" which was used by the World Wrestling Federation, now known as World Wrestling Entertainment as the theme song for their RAW brand until October 2006. Following the song's release, it earned extensive airplay nationwide.

On June 25, 2002, the band released Live...One Nation Underground, a compilation of live performances. This would be their final release before Portrait folded in 2002 and The Union Underground disbanded.

2016-present; Reformation and upcoming second studio album[]

In early 2016, Scott announced via the band's Facebook page that a new lineup and music would be available that summer, with a sample of a track ("False Caterpillars") available for 24 hours only.[2] Later in the year it was announced that an EP would be released in 2017.[3] In 2018, a video announcing that new album details were 'coming soon' appeared on the band's YouTube channel.[4] But no official release has surfaced yet.

On February 4, 2020, the band announced that they would play the entirety of their debut album ...An Education In Rebellion in full, along with songs from the upcoming album, at the Aztec Theatre in San Antonio, Texas, on July 18, but the show was canceled due to Covid-19.

Post-Union Underground projects[]

Patrick Kennison is now working with the band Heaven Below, John Moyer is now playing bass for Disturbed and Adrenaline Mob, Josh Memolo has played drums in different churches and for local bands when he can. He has two children and became a born again Christian, and Bryan Scott started another band, Cult to Follow. In July 2015 it was announced that Bryan Scott (vocals) formed a side project called Into the Fire with Tim King (bass) and Adam Zadel (guitar) from the band SOiL and also features Will Hunt (Evanescence) on drums.[5] Into the Fire released a self-titled EP on September 30, 2016.

Members[]

Discography[]

Albums
Other releases
  • The Union Underground EP (1997, Union Records)
  • Live...One Nation Underground (2002, Portrait Records)
Charting Singles[6]
Year Title US Rock Album
2000 "Turn Me On Mr. Deadman" 11 ...An Education in Rebellion
2001 "Killing the Fly" 17
"Revolution Man" 26
2002 "Across the Nation" 29 WWF Forceable Entry
Radio promotion CDs
  • Rebellion (2000)
  • Killing the Fly (2000)
  • Live - Club Laga, Pittsburgh, PA 2000-07-29 (2000)
  • Turn Me On Mr. Deadman (2001)
  • South Texas Deathride (2001)
  • Revolution Man (2001)
  • Across the Nation (2002)
Soundtrack appearances

References[]

  1. ^ Williams, Gen (6 June 2001). "The Union Underground – ...An Education In Rebellion". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
  2. ^ "THE UNION UNDERGROUND Official added a... - THE UNION UNDERGROUND Official - Facebook".
  3. ^ "The Union Underground announce new music (sample enclosed…) – The Moshville Times".
  4. ^ "Union Underground - New Album details Coming Soon! - YouTube".
  5. ^ "SOIL, Ex-BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, THE UNION UNDERGROUND Members Join Forces In INTO THE FIRE". 25 July 2015.
  6. ^ "The Union Underground Chart History - Billboard". Archived from the original on 2018-05-19. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
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