Painkiller
Painkiller is an American avant-garde power trio formed in 1991 by composer and alto saxophonist John Zorn, bassist and producer Bill Laswell, and former Napalm Death drummer Mick Harris, creating a radical and largely unprecedented fusion of free jazz improvisation and grindcore extremity. Zorn's convulsive saxophone lines, Laswell's dub-inflected bass grooves, and Harris's blastbeat-driven percussion produced a genuinely confrontational body of work that expanded into ambient and dub territories on later releases. The group reunited in 2024 and released the album Samsara later that year, with Harris performing on electronics rather than drums.
Painkiller Shows
No shows found for this date range.
Frequently asked questions
Painkiller is a Avant-Garde Jazz band from NY, US. They play Avant-Garde Jazz, Experimental, Grindcore. Browse more Avant-Garde Jazz bands on our index to discover similar heavy metal bands.
Browse our index of heavy metal bands filtered by genre. Painkiller plays Avant-Garde Jazz — use the Avant-Garde Jazz filter to find similar bands. We index death metal, black metal, thrash metal, doom metal, metalcore, hardcore punk, and hundreds more heavy metal bands.
Painkiller plays Avant-Garde Jazz, Experimental, Grindcore. They combine elements of Avant-Garde Jazz and Experimental. Explore more Experimental bands and Avant-Garde Jazz bands in our genre-filtered index.
Painkiller is from NY, US. They are part of the NY, US Avant-Garde Jazz scene. Discover more Avant-Garde Jazz bands from this region by filtering by location.
No upcoming shows listed for Painkiller. Check our metal concerts page for other Avant-Garde Jazz shows and heavy metal concerts near you — updated daily.
Painkiller is a notable Avant-Garde Jazz band from NY, US. Browse our full Avant-Garde Jazz index to discover the best Avant-Garde Jazz bands and explore related genres like death metal, black metal, and thrash metal.
Stream Painkiller on Spotify and Bandcamp via the links on this page. Discover more Avant-Garde Jazz bands and heavy metal bands through our genre-filtered index.
Avant-Garde Jazz is a subgenre of heavy metal. Painkiller is a Avant-Garde Jazz band from NY, US. Browse all Avant-Garde Jazz bands in our index, or explore other heavy metal subgenres like death metal, black metal, and thrash metal.