Thessalonian Dope Gods

Edward Shimborske III (aka ES3), and Randy "RK" Wilson comprise the Thessalonian Dope Gods, a Toledo, OH-based, industrial-friendly duo whose influences have included Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, and Nitzer Ebb (among others). The Thessalonian Dope Gods aren't a huge name in the industrial field; they aren't as well-known as Skinny Puppy, KMFDM, Einstürzende Neubauten, or Front Line Assembly. Nonetheless, they have made some interesting and noteworthy contributions to the style -- especially if one fancies an expansive, broad-minded, eclectic approach to industrial music. While the Dope Gods have been industrial-minded, they aren't industrial purists by any means; Shimborske and Wilson obviously appreciate a wide variety of music, and their in-your-face, darkly aggressively work has combined industrial with everything from punk, hardcore, and heavy metal, to techno and hip-hop. The Dope Gods' recordings have included a fair amount of rapping, and one can easily see their appreciation of '80s MCs like the Beastie Boys and Run-D.M.C. (who were the first groups to combine hip-hop and rock -- the Beasties actually started out as a punk band before they hooked up with Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons). The '80s, in fact, was the decade that gave birth to the Dope Gods. Shimborske and Wilson started working together in Warren, OH around 1986, and they recorded some demos in the late '80s. It was around that time that Shimborske met Michael A. Seday, who ended up playing an important role in his life. When Shimborske met Seday, the latter was the music director for WXUT-FM (the campus radio station at Toledo University in Toledo). Both were students at that college -- Seday was majoring in communications, while Shimborske was an English major -- and Shimborske approached Seday about playing some of the Dope Gods' demos. The two of them formed an alliance, and Seday hired Shimborske as the station's assistant music director. In 1991, Seday and Shimborske heard a demo by Environmental Hazzard, an unsigned thrash metal band from Cleveland, OH; their excitement for Environmental Hazzard inspired them to start their own label, Sin Klub Entertainment, in order to put out the band's CD. And it wasn't long before the Thessalonian Dope Gods ended up recording for Sin Klub themselves. Shimborske and Wilson recorded Urban Witchcraft, the Dope Gods' first official full-length album, in 1992, and it was released by Sin Klub in 1994. As the '90s progressed, Sin Klub developed an entire roster of metal, punk, hardcore, and alternative rock artists -- one that included not only the Dope Gods, but also, Evolotto, the Porn Flakes, Chicken Dog, Five Horse Johnson, and the False Face Society. Other signings followed in the early 2000s, including the PB Army (a stoner rock/alternative metal band from Toledo), and the industrial-oriented Geminus Sect. Serving as Sin Klub's president and director of A&R proved to be very time-consuming for Shimborske, which meant that he was unable to devote 100 percent of his time to the Dope Gods. Nonetheless, the duo maintained a small cult following, and in 2003, the Thessalonian Dope Gods re-emerged with their Sin Klub release High Idol Pulsation. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide