Ipecac was a hardcore band from Richmond, Virginia who were active for a few brief years in the 90s. Their discography is disappointingly small, with only a 7", a split 7" with Opposition and a demo tape ever being released. They did also appear on three compilations in their active years. Despite only releasing a limited number of physical media, the band did upload a discography to Bandcamp which includes a few extra demo tracks and basement recordings.
Ipecac had a noisy, abrasive sound with a mix of spoken and screamed vocals and instrumentals on the more experimental side. They opted for unconventional song structures and rhythms and used long instrumental parts in some songs. They remind me of Hose.Got.Cable at times in their almost math influenced instrumentals, but Ipecac is a touch heavier and has the more chaotic "emo" sound of bands like Loomis Slovak. They manage to sound incredibly intense and aggressive while also playing songs at a fairly slow tempo for most hardcore.
As found on Ipecac's Bandcamp page, in a review Richmond Music Journal once described the band as sounding like "a thrash punk band tuning up". Then go further to say that actually no, they sound worse, they sound like "much meets an automobile accident". If that doesn't sum up the band pretty well I'm not sure what does.
Much like many other promising bands from this time, Ipecac was short-lived and listening to their music only leaves you wishing they had recorded more. They had a really interesting sound where a lot of different influences can be heard mixed into one crazy intense finished product.
The cover of Ipecac's "Tomato" 7" features the images of Ellen Raskin and Alvin Tresset who both wrote an illustrated children's books. When the band posted their discography on Bandcamp, they also shared an "activity" book that included colouring pages, crosswords and mazes which I think is a great touch.
Demo 1994 (Not on label)
Ipecac / Opposition split 7" 1995 (Figure Four)
Tomato 7" unknown release (Fountainhead Records)
Amnesia compilation 12" 1995 (Ebullition)
Activity Book
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