After the dissolution of the well-liked Autopsy, metal fans were hoping
for a punk-influenced death metal band that had a similar dark humorous
vibe. Former Autopsy drummer Chris Reifert and guitarist Danny Coralles
decided to take that vision farther and added guitarist/bassist Clint
Bower to the mix for a new band. Taking a tighter, more grindcore
oriented route for their new material, Abscess slowly developed and
started recording demos. Relapse Records was highly impressed by what
they heard, and released the demos as they were in 1995 as Urine
Junkies. The disgusting cover art kept them outside of most record
stores, and Relapse rethought their strategy and released the next
year's Seminal Vampires & Maggotmen with an equally freakish but
less disturbing cover. After putting together one last EP (Throbbing
Black Werebeast) for Relapse, they were dropped and found themselves
without a label. The band spent the next few years rehearsing and
putting together new material, and by 1999 they had labels knocking at
their door again. Listenable Records finally signed the group and put
out Tormented in 2001. A few underground singles kept them busy while
they hit the road, and Peaceville Records signed them away and opted to
release Through the Cracks of Death in 2002. Soon after, bassist Joe
Allen joined the group before they started touring to support the
album. ~ Bradley Torreano, All Music Guide