Criminal Element

CRIMINAL ELEMENT was established in 2001 with the original lineup consisting of Vince Mathews (Dying Fetus) on Vocals and Drums, Wayne Jones (Mucas Membrane) on guitar, Jake Tatarakis (Sadistic Torment) and Chris Yuastella (Eternal Ruin) on vocals and Sparky Voyles (Misery Index) on bass guitar. The band started out as a live-only project among the members, who were busy with other projects. CRIMINAL ELEMENT managed to play out locally in the Baltimore-Washington DC area in between tours. Although the band began as a part-time project, in the last year a more recent recording lineup was established. This lineup includes Terrance Hobbs on guitar (Suffocation), Derek Boyer on bass (Suffocation), Joe Cincotta on guitar (Catastrophic/Full Force Studios), Rob Maresca on drums (Catastrophic/Pyrexia) with Vince Mathews handling all vocals and Chris Yuastella doing backup. The idea behind CRIMINAL ELEMENT is to break away and enjoy a more straight-ahead approach to metal and grind.The band recorded their first demo "Criminally Contaminated", in January of 2006, which is set for release with Relapse Records by the summer. However, there are other plans in place for the Full Length. In February of 2006 everyone got together and began recording "CAREER CRIMINAL" the 11 song full length which will be complete in October of 2006. The musical style of CRIMINAL ELEMENT incorporates a perfect mixture of death/thrash and grindcore, old and new. Influences range from TERRORIZER and SODOM to NASUM and PSYCROPTIC. Future recording plans will include guest appearances by John Galagher (Dying Fetus) and Jason Netherton (Misery Index) and many others.