T.H.D. (Total Harmonic Distortion) started life in the early 1990s as a duo between Shawn Rudiman and Ed Vargos. They released their debut album, Mechanical Advantage, in 1993 on Denmark’s Hard Records. Avowed jokingly as a “Front Line Assembly-ripoff”, the album allowed T.H.D. to be signed domestically to Cleopatra Records, then on to Pendragon Records in 1997 and 1998. Rudiman moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and became active in the city’s techno scene as a producer and sought-after live musician, playing in various spots in the U.S. and overseas. In 2009, 10 years after the release of the last T.H.D. album, Rudiman has resurrected the T.H.D. name for two digital releases on Tom Shear’s (Assemblage 23) label 23 db. As the 90s T.H.D. releases moved farther away from their EBM / industrial beginnings, so does the new T.H.D. expand upon the material that came 10 years ago. While The Evolution of Our Decay is available as a paid-download, Subconscious Drip is being offered for free and is a good way to sample T.H.D. material for those who have never heard it before. Considering that the original CDs from back in the day are most likely out-of-print, this would be the best place to start.

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