The funk-punk and funk-metal scene(s) rose quickly in the early 90s and then disappeared just as quickly. At one point, it was looking to be the next big thing, but as a genre it never dominated alternative rock as it once looked like it would. In fact, aside from Red Hot Chili Peppers and Jane’s Addiction, few in the general market ever made it big, even though bands like Fishbone and 24-7 Spyz were just as talented. However, the fusion/hybrid genre did help pave the way for other crossover genres to gain steam, particularly third wave ska (with its derivatives ska-punk and ska-core), rap-core, and industrial metal.
The Christian scene had its own small, but thriving scene with bands like Hot Pink Turtle, dodavahu, Scapegoat, scaterd-few, and of course Kansas City’s Dig Hay Zoose. Borrowing equally from their aforementioned secular counterparts, but also from classic hard rock bands like Led Zeppelin, DHZ combined all the best of alternative funk rock, hardcore punk and thrash metal.
The band released two critically-acclaimed full-length albums (Struggle Fish and Magentamantalovetree) and one live album (Ascension 7: Rocketship to Heaven), each featuring a clear Christian message amidst the often silly lyrical rants. Even the band’s name is a nod to both of those commitments in equal measure: “Dig Hay Zoose = someone who digs Jesus.” While the sophomore album showed more diversity and creativity, in the end I always return to the more straight-forwardness of the debut. Here’s the title track.
