Dopesick is the genre-hopping Bay Area rock project of guitarist, primary songwriter, and former
Skinlab member
Adam Albright, who mixes elements of punk, metal, rock & roll, and even reggae into his music. The idea for the group first emerged in 1997, when
Albright and vocalist Marcus Payton joined forces as
Dopesick. However, they hit their first stumbling block when
Albright went to prison for a few years. When he was released,
Dopesick hit the tour circuit and recorded their debut, Vendetta, which was produced by
Skinlab's Scott Sargeant.
Things soon disintegrated between
Albright and Payton and the project was put on hiatus for over a decade. Returning in 2016,
Albright entered the studio and began recording with producer Patrick Burkholder, drummer Aaron Rossi (
Ministry,
Prong), and bassist Mandi Martyr (
Ministry). The resulting work was the
Love and Terror Cult EP, which arrived in 2017. The set included the dubby reggae tune "Ride the Night," featuring Jahred Gomes of
(hed) p.e., and the riff-heavy "Release Me," with
Ill Niño's Christian Machado, as well as instrumentals like "Fruitvale," dedicated to the late Oscar Grant. Two years later,
Dopesick returned with their long-awaited debut full-length album, A Violent Happy Place, featuring Jonathan Russell as lead vocalist. ~ Neil Z. Yeung