Opiate for the Masses

This article is about the band. For the Marxist phrase, see opium of the masses.

Opiate for the Masses
Origin	Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Genres	Alternative metal,[1] gothic metal,[1] industrial metal[1]
Years active	1999–2009
Labels	Warcon Enterprises Century Media
Past members	Ron Underwood - vocals Dustin Lyon - Guitars Elias Mallin - Drums Ryan Head - Bass Seven Antonopoulos - drums Anna K. - bass Andy Gerald - Guitars Jim Kaufman - keyboards/guitar

Opiate for the Masses was an American rock band from Los Angeles, California in 1999.

History

Opiate for the Masses was founded in 1999 by singer Ron Underwood, drummer Elias Mallin, guitarist/keyboardist Jim Kaufman, and guitarist Dustin Lyon.[2] The group's name is an alteration of Karl Marx's famous aphorism, "Religion is the opium of the people".[3] Opiate for the Masses self-released a demo album entitled New Machines and the Wasted Life in 2000. In 2005, the band signed with Warcon Enterprises and issued the album The Spore.[4] By this time the group had added Seven Antonopoulos on drums and Anna K. (of Drain STH) on bass.[2] The group played the Taste of Chaos tour and opened for Static-X, Avenged Sevenfold, My Chemical Romance, and Disturbed on tour.[5] In 2008, the group signed with Century Media and released the album Manifesto.[6][7] The group followed the release of Manifesto by touring with Filter.[8] In 2009, the group disbanded.

Original members

• Ron Underwood – vocals
• Elias Mallin – drums
• Dustin Lyon – guitars
• Ryan Head – bass
• Jim Kaufman – keyboards, guitar

Touring members

• Seven Antonopoulos – drums
• Anna K. – bass

Discography

• New Machines and the Wasted Life (Self-released, 2000)
• Seven EP (Self-released, 2001)
• Goodbye EP (Self-released, 2003)
• The Spore (Warcon Enterprises, 2005)
• Manifesto (Century Media, 2008)

Reunion

In 2010, original Opiate for the Masses members Ron Underwood, Elias Mallin, Dustin Lyon, Ryan Head, and guitarist Andy Gerold played a reunion show to a sold-out crowd in Tempe, Arizona.

References

1. Monger, James Christopher. "Opiate for the Masses". AllMusic. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
2. Opiate for the Masses biography, AllMusic
3. The Spore review, Exclaim!, July 1, 2005.
4. Staff Review, Punknews.org, September 27, 2005.
5. OPIATE FOR THE MASSES Signs With CENTURY MEDIA RECORDS. Blabbermouth.net, February 4, 2008.
6. ReviewMelodic.net, July 2008.
7. Review. Pop Matters, September 9, 2008.
8. OPIATE FOR THE MASSES: New Video Interview Available. Blabbermouth.net, July 1, 2008.