The Joy Thieves Explained

The Joy Thieves
Origin:Chicago, Illinois, US
Genre:post-industrial
Years Active:2017–present
Label:Armalyte Industries
Website:Official Website

The Joy Thieves is a musical supergroup, consisting of current, former, and touring members of bands such as Ministry, Stabbing Westward, The Rollins Band, Killing Joke, Pigface, Revolting Cocks, , David Bowie, Machines of Loving Grace, Marilyn Manson, Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails, KMFDM, Naked Raygun, Foetus, My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult, Blue October, Pegboy, Nitzer Ebb, Die Krupps, White Zombie, and many more.[1] The band incorporates elements of industrial, industrial rock, hard rock, alternative, and punk into their music.Along with their original releases, The Joy Thieves have also done official remixes for many other artists, including Chris Connelly,[2] , Consolidated, Drownd, I Ya Toyah, Blue Eyed Christ, Machines With Human Skin, DogTablet, A Covenant of Thorns, Death Pop Radio, Sapphira Vee, Stoneburner, and more.

"Joy Thieves Productions” refers to the audio production team of Dan Milligan and James Scott.

History

Formation and This Will Kill That (2017-2019)

The Joy Thieves began in December 2017, when Chicago drummer/musician Dan Milligan began assembling a group of musicians to contribute to a new industrial rock recording project.[3] Word of the new “supergroup” began spreading over the course of the next year, as notable musicians Chris Connelly, David Suycott, Howie Beno, Matt Noveskey, Andy Gerold, and Louis Svitek became involved, and there were over 30 contributors before the band had released any music. In early 2019, The Joy Thieves signed a record deal with London's Armalyte Industries.[4] [5]

On May 31, 2019, the band released a music video for the title track of their debut EP, This Will Kill That.[6] Sung by Chris Connelly, he described the song as “a direct reference to Victor Hugo’s prophecy that the printed word would make the church obsolete.”[7] It was also written in response to a series of nightmares that Dan Milligan was having as he was writing music for the EP.[8] This Will Kill That was officially released on June 28, 2019, and it featured appearances by guitarist Andy Gerold, and drummer David Suycott.[9]

Cities In Dust EP (2019)

On October 4, 2019, The Joy Thieves released their second EP, Cities In Dust, as a free download-only EP on Armalyte Industries.[10] In addition to their remake of the Siouxsie and the Banshees’ song, Cities In Dust, the 6-song EP included remixes of songs from This Will Kill That, with contributions from John Fryer, Howie Beno & Brandt Gassman, and Armalyte Industries label-mates, i! On October 14, 2019, they released the music video for Cities In Dust.[11]

A Blue Girl EP (2020)

On March 6, 2020, the band released a video for the title track for their third EP release, A Blue Girl, and the EP was released by Armalyte Industries on March 13, 2020. Created by a much larger cast of musicians than their previous two releases, A Blue Girl features appearances by Chris Connelly, Howie Beno, Marcus Eliopulos, Andy Gerold, Matt Noveskey, Julian Beeston, Louis Svitek, and more. The band also released a lyric video for The Badlander (feat. Chris Connelly) on March 27, 2020.

Genocide Love Song single (2020)

On May 15, 2020, The Joy Thieves released an unannounced single titled Genocide Love Song, as well as an accompanying video for the title song. The single, the video, and the remix were conceived, recorded, mixed, mastered, and released during a single week of the lockdown during the COVID-19 quarantine. The song was written by Dan Milligan and Chris Connelly as a scathing indictment of the government; specifically how their handling of the COVID-19 situation was leading to unnecessary deaths, including the death of Milligan's uncle.[12])

American Parasite (2021)

On July 23, 2021, the band released their first full-length album, American Parasite, on Armalyte Industries. Stylistically different from their previous releases, American Parasite finds the band embracing a punk rock sound much more than their previous releases. And instead of having a different vocalist on each track, like their previous releases, all of the lead vocals on American Parasite were done by Chris Connelly. Several new members were inducted into the group during the making of the album, including drummer Paul Ferguson (Killing Joke, Murder Inc, Warrior Soul, The Orb), drummer Joe Haggerty (The Effigies, Pegboy), guitarist John Haggerty (Naked Raygun, Pegboy), guitarist Chris Haskett (The Rollins Band, David Bowie, Foetus), and songwriter Scott-David Allen (A Covenant of Thorns, The Burying Kind).

Disaster Film: The Joy Thieves Live at Populist Studio (2021)

After several years of existing as only a recording entity, The Joy Thieves created a live version of the band in June 2021 that consisted of Dan Milligan, James Scott, Marcus Eliopulos, Jeff Harris, Matt Clark, Chris Connelly, and Ania Tarnowska. After one rehearsal, the band brought in a video crew and recorded audio and video of five Joy Thieves songs: American Parasite, Drown By Invitation, A Blue Girl, Cities In Dust and Wonder War. The result is Disaster Film: The Joy Thieves Live at Populist Studio; an addendum to American Parasite that was given away free to anyone who purchased American Parasite from the Armalyte Industries' Bandcamp page.

Nemesis single (2021)

On September 17, 2021, Armalyte Industries released another unannounced single by The Joy Thieves; a free, digital-only cover of the song Nemesis by the band Shriekback. The release included three remixes of the single: Nemesis (Blue Eyed Christ Remix) by John D. Norten, Nemesis (Dark Waters Mix) by Wandering Stars, and Nemesis (Blacklight Mix featuring Carl Marsh) by Sapphira Vee.

6 To 3 EP (2022)

On November 25, 2022, The Joy Thieves commemorated The International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women by releasing 6 To 3. The EP was written and recorded as a direct response to the US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022, with the band donating all profits from the album to the National Network of Abortion Funds.. The release featured three new original songs, and remixes by Walter Flakus (Stabbing Westward), Jim Marcus (GoFight / Die Warzau), Steven Archer (Stoneburner / Ego Likeness), and Eva X.

Dissent-ertainment: 6 To 3 Remixed (2023)

On June 24, 2023 The Joy Thieves and Armalyte Industries released Dissent-ertainment: 6 To 3 Remixed to commemorate the one year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade. In 2022, the band had released 6 To 3, and made remix stems of two songs available to any artist who wanted to remix a song, and donate their profits to the National Network of Abortion Funds; Dissent-ertainment: 6 To 3 Remixed was a collection of eleven of those remixes.

The Heart of the Worm EP (2024)

The Joy Thieves released The Heart of the Worm EP on Armalyte Industries on March 22, 2024. This release featured the song Spilt Milk, which was the first single from their upcoming album of the same name. It also included the song Relentless, which featured vocalist Mike Reidy (W.O.R.M: The World Organization of the Righteous Movement, Pigface), and Louis Svitek (Ministry, Pigface, Mindfunk, Zoetrope, Project .44).

Return To Needle Park EP (2024)

May 3, 2024 saw the release of Return To Needle Park on Armalyte Industries. It featured Digging Deeper, which was the second single from the upcoming Spilt Milk album, a cover of the Killing Joke classic Loose Cannon, and two Steven OLaf remixes of the first single, Spilt Milk.

Spilt Milk/You Cannot Steal What’s Already Gone (2024)

The Joy Thieves released their second full-length album, Spilt Milk, on June 28, 2024; the 5-year anniversary of the release of their first EP, This Will Kill That. The album contained seven songs, and three remixes; two done by Joy Thieves Productions, and one by Walter Flakus (Stabbing Westward).

Armalyte Industries released physical copies of the album, that included a limited edition poster, and a bonus CD of remixes of songs from the band’s history, titled You Cannot Steal What’s Already Gone. Remixers included Howie Beno (Ministry, Black Asteroid, Silver Relics, Depeche Mode, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Mary’s Window, Sheep On Drugs, Skrew, 13MG, Blondie) and Brandt Gassman, Mark Pistel (Consolidated, Meat Beat Manifesto), Charlie Bowes (Seething Akira), and Martin King (Test Dept, Pigface, Dogtablet).

Members

The Joy Thieves are an ever-growing, ever-changing collective of musicians. The following is a partial list of members, along with a list of some of the other musical projects in which they have been involved.[13] [14] [15] [16]

Joy Thieves Productions

In addition to all of the releases for the band, Joy Thieves Productions has done recording, mixing, audio production, remixing and mastering projects with recording artists such as:

Discography

Studio recordings

Video releases

Official Remixes

Compilations

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The Joy Thieves reveal new music video, (almost) their entire lineup, and a look behind the scenes. altvenger.com.
  2. Web site: Chris Connelly - Sleeping Partner. regenmag.com.
  3. Web site: RockAllPhotography.com's interview with Dan Milligan of The Joy Thieves. rockallphotography.com.
  4. Web site: Announcement of The Joy Thieves signing with Armalyte Industries in ReGen Magazine. regenmag.com.
  5. Web site: The Joy Thieves sign to Armalyte Records and announce 'This Will Kill That' EP. noisebeneththesnow.com.
  6. Web site: This Will Kill That review by ReGen Magazine. regenmage.com.
  7. Web site: regenmag.com - Chris connelly Interview. regenmag.com.
  8. Web site: regenmag.com - The Joy Thieves Interview. regenmag.com . 10 October 2019 .
  9. Web site: Industrial rock supergroup The Joy Thieves set to release debut EP on June 28. brutalresonance.com.
  10. Web site: Cities In Dust review by ReGen Magazine. regenmag.com. 27 January 2020 .
  11. Web site: The Joy Thieves' new 'Cities In Dust' EP a work born of curiosity. chicagosoundcheck.com. 2 October 2019 .
  12. Web site: The Joy Thieves - Curveballs in the Badlands. regenmag.com. 15 May 2020 .
  13. Web site: The Joy Thieves reveal new music video, (almost) their entire lineup, and a look behind the scenes. altvenger.com.
  14. Web site: Industrial rock supergroup The Joy Thieves set to release debut EP on June 28. brutalresonance.com.
  15. Web site: RockAndRollFables.com: The Joy Thieves Put the 'super' in supergroup with massive lineup and massively impressive debut EP, This Will Kill That. rockandrollfables.com. 26 June 2019 .
  16. Web site: RockAllPhotography.com's interview with Dan Milligan of The Joy Thieves. rockallphotography.com.
  17. Web site: Drownd Interview/music video premiere: Sick Like You. regenmag.com. 12 April 2019 .
  18. Web site: Spill video premiere: I Ya Toyah –Glass Eyes (The Joy Thieves Remix). The Spill Magazine. 15 November 2019 .
  19. Web site: releases second lyric video from tour-only EP. regenmag.com. 2 October 2019 .

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