24-7 Spyz

New York City group 24-7 Spyz specializes in a merger of funk and heavy metal, with message-filled lyrics and an unstoppable energy. They broke out in the early '90s as part of a wave of alternative rock bands who surfed genres without a second thought, and ended up making a handful of successful albums, like 1992's Strength in Numbers, for a major label. Trouble keeping a steady lineup led to the band breaking up and re-forming many times in the years to follow, but they kept making music that stayed true to their founding spirit, like The Soundtrack to the Innermost Galaxy, released in 2019.

The group initially formed around guitarist <a href="spotify:artist:2WoCimUmjh0Ks639p7uoAg">Jimi Hazel</a> (whose name is derived from two of his favorite guitarists -- <a href="spotify:artist:776Uo845nYHJpNaStv1Ds4">Jimi Hendrix</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:450o9jw6AtiQlQkHCdH6Ru">Funkadelic</a>'s <a href="spotify:artist:3JVF9a4IJrL7sTSdjXxIqJ">Eddie Hazel</a>) and bassist Rick Skatore. Hailing from New York City (the Bronx, to be exact), the group issued its debut full-length, Harder Than You, in 1988 on the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22In-Effect%22">In-Effect</a> label. The album -- which included vocal contributions from singer P. Fluid -- received some MTV attention with a cover of <a href="spotify:artist:3VNITwohbvU5Wuy5PC6dsI">Kool & the Gang</a>'s "Jungle Boogie." Released in 1990, Gumbo Millennium saw the group perfect its multi-genre-encompassing sound even further and amass a larger audience when they opened for <a href="spotify:artist:02NfyD6AlLA12crYzw5YcR">Jane's Addiction</a> on tour in support of Ritual de lo Habitual.

Success aside, Fluid exited the band at the end of the tour (along with drummer Anthony Johnson), but <a href="spotify:artist:2WoCimUmjh0Ks639p7uoAg">Hazel</a> and Skatore regrouped with new singer Jeff Brodnax and drummer Joel Maitoza, resulting in two more successful releases, the 1991 EP This Is...24-7 Spyz! and the 1992 full-length Strength in Numbers -- both of which were issued on major-label <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22East+West%22">East West</a>. In 1995 the Harder Than You lineup reunited for a new album, Temporarily Disconnected, before further lineup hiccups occurred. Eventually, <a href="spotify:artist:2WoCimUmjh0Ks639p7uoAg">Hazel</a> decided to do double duty -- providing lead vocals in addition to guitar -- while drummers came and went. One more album was issued, 1996's Heavy Metal Soul by the Pound (titled simply 6 in Europe), before 24-7 Spyz went into hibernation mode between 1998 and 2003, during which time <a href="spotify:artist:2WoCimUmjh0Ks639p7uoAg">Hazel</a> released a solo album, 2002's 21stCenturySouthBronxRockStar. <a href="spotify:artist:2WoCimUmjh0Ks639p7uoAg">Hazel</a> and Skatore eventually resuscitated the group, issuing their first-ever live album (recorded in 1998), Can You Hear the Sound?, as well as an all-new studio set, Face the Day, in 2006. The band broke up again not long after, and <a href="spotify:artist:2WoCimUmjh0Ks639p7uoAg">Hazel</a> and Skatore formed a new group called A.N.M. They stuck to that path for a few years but the pull of 24-7 Spyz proved too strong and they re-formed once again, with what turned out to be a rotating cast of musicians. They toured and then went on hiatus in 2014, returning in 2016 with the song "Anthem." Three years later, The Soundtrack to the Innermost Galaxy was released. Plans for an accompanying tour were derailed by COVID-19, but the band stayed the course and issued a single, "Angels & Demons," in 2022. ~ Greg Prato & Tim Sendra