CanadianWasteland Archives: Honeywell - Discography (1989-1996)

Honeywell was a groundbreaking hardcore band with noise elements from Corona, California who were active from late 1989-1996. During these years they released a 12" album, a few live cassette tapes, two 7"s, a split 7" with Reach Out, a few demo tapes and two compilation tracks. Honeywell's first lineup in the late 1980s was under the name Subterfuge, the lineup would change slightly before they became known as Honeywell and established their sound.

Honeywell has a sound unlike anything else that came out of even the early 1990s never mind the late 1980s. Their chaotic, heavy, very noisy sound would go on to influence countless bands to come, especially in the late 1990s. Their influence can be heard in bands such as Reversal Of Man, Orchid and The Locust to name a few. At one of their rehearsals before Honeywell's distinct sound was entirely developed, someone infamously suggested "Hey Josh, why not try screaming like a dying girl?", which was the beginning of the band's unique sound. Their songs are incredibly heavy, extremely fast paced and so chaotic it's hard to notice everything at once without multiple listens. They also used a lot of samples of dialogue and informational speech to drive their increasingly political messages which became very popular and used by countless bands throughout the 1990s. One that comes to mind is Coleman's self titled 7" and samples of someone explaining how to swear in foreign languages.

Honeywell was one of the first bands, along with Rorschach, that really defined the genre that is often referred to today as "screamo". The style increased in popularity over the 90s and early 2000s, died out for a few years but is still somewhat prevalent today. Hearing a band who had such a unique sound, and influenced so many bands to come who started before the 1990s still blows my mind. I can't imagine how mind-blowing it was back in the day. Honeywell really forged their own path and created a completely new sound that emerged from the classic hardcore and punk of the 1980s.

There seems to be more than two Honeywell demo tapes around, if anyone has any info on these or has a version with an alternate track list than the ones posted here, please contact us. We do not have scans or excellent rips for a few of these releases but will update the post if we come upon them.