The first incarnation of Drug Honkey arose in 1997 in the form of Chronic Illogic. Paul Gillis (Honkey Head) having come from the death metal outfits Crematorium & Embodied(which had become Gorgasm by this time) & Adam Smith(BH Honkey) emerging from the drum ‘n’ bass & rave scene in Chicago looked to meld various styles into one & create something different & original.
Struggles with members & creative differences led to a relatively quick disintegration of Chronic Illogic. Paul & Adam moved forward in 1999 under the monicker of Drug Honkey. Their S/T full length surfaced in 2002. It was a harsh mixture of electronics & weirdness. It was also mostly a studio album as there was very little live instrumentation. Sample driven & meticulously concocted, it is an important piece of the bands history & definitely has strong points, but not something reflected upon regularly as it didn’t fully represent the direction they were destined to venture.
In 2003 it was determined that a full lineup was needed & Gabe Grosso (Hobbs) was recruited on guitar & Jason Sneed(Black Honkey) on bass. Adam concentrated solely on drums & Paul handled vocals/synths/samples. With a solid lineup the band polished their style & vision, the result being the 2005 full length “Hail Satan”. This album introduced the groups experimental/Doom sound that is still present today. It also spawned one of the bands most sought after tracks/videos, “Heroin”. After the release of “Hail Satan”, problems arose with Jason & it was decided to make a change. Ian Brown(Brown Honkey) was chosen as his replacement.
Throughout 2006 & 2007 Drug Honkey played several shows with the new & improved lineup @ several great venues in Chicago including the legendary -Metro- as well as the -Double Door- where the band recorded what would become their live unreleased EP “Quatro de Mayo”. This EP showed extreme promise for the direction the band was headed in. The track “China Black(Heroin Pt. 2)” from the EP was a massive piece of work & ended up earning a spot on their then upcoming full length “Death Dub”.
In July of 2008 the third full length “Death Dub” was released, and this showcased the band @ their dirtiest, heaviest, & most tripped out level thus far. Many great shows were played in support of the album throughout Chicago and the surrounding states in the midwest, one of the most memorable being with Today is the Day.
“Death Dub” was circulated independently quite well throughout the underground & received several great reviews all the while the band continued to play more notable shows with bands such as Buzzov*en, Indian, & Coffinworm to name a few. Throughout this period they garnered the attention of many indiviuals including Kunal Choksi, owner of Diabolical Conquest Webzine & newly formed Diabolical Conquest Records. A deal was struck between the two entities & Drug Honkey’s fourth full length “Ghost in the Fire” was released on May 15th 2012.
Since it’s release the band has promoted the album themselves, along with distros such as CM Distro & Crucial Blast. The response has been great. Several excellent reviews have surfaced for the album thus far.
With the release of their strongest album to date, things are looking better than ever for the band. Together they are in the beginning stages of writing new material with plans of releasing an EP in 2014…
“The only drug you need is Drug Honkey”
