D.R.I.

D.R.I. (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles) are an American band formed in Houston, Texas in 1982 before relocating to San Francisco the following year. Fronted throughout by vocalist Kurt Brecht and guitarist Spike Cassidy, they began as a blisteringly fast hardcore punk act and steadily folded in thrash metal, becoming one of the pioneers of crossover thrash alongside peers such as Suicidal Tendencies and Corrosion of Conformity. Their 1987 album Crossover effectively named the style, following the early Dirty Rotten LP (1983) and Dealing with It! (1985); later records include Thrash Zone (1989) and Full Speed Ahead (1995). Touring almost continuously across the decades, D.R.I. built a devoted global following and a live reputation for relentless, mosh-inducing speed.