Seminal hardcore band looking forward to making new memories in Allentown with Halloween night show

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — When seminal hardcore band Biohazard was one its way up, shows at Allentown venues provided "the greatest memories, and some of our wildest memories," its members said.

So when Biohazard, now reunited with all its original member after more than a decade apart, plays Allentown's new Archer Music Hall tonight, Oct. 31 — on Halloween, no less, the band said it expects to make more memories.

"To get to come back there is really an honor and something we’re really looking forward to," rhythm guitarist Billy Graziadei said in a recent phone call from the road in Canada.

"Top that off with Halloween ...it’s going to be a madhouse.”

The band, supporting a brand-new album, "Divided We Fall," its first in 13 years, headlines a bill with Swollen Teeth, Bayway and Onyx that kicks off at 5:30 p.m.

Tickets, at $59.50 for general admission standing, remain available at the Archer website and at the box office at 939 Hamilton St.

“It feels like it’s gonna be ... bananas in Allentown on Halloween," drummer Danny Schuler said.

Referencing some former Allentown venues, he said, “It’s going to be like Airport Music Hall and Crocodile Rock all bound in one. Archer Music Hall, let’s do it.”

‘We talked about life’

That enthusiasm pervades the reunion of Biohazard, which is among the bands credited with starting the hardcore genre.

In the late 1990s it put three albums — "State of the World Address," "Mata Leão" and "New World Disorder" — high on Billboard's Albums chart.

But the passion also may be surprising after vocalist Evan Seinfeld left the band nearly 15 years ago, and it disbanded completely in 2016.

Biohazard's members had moved on to new projects — and were "living in different parts of the world" when Schuler said he got a call from his brother, Rich, who lives in California.

“I was on vacation with my wife in New Jersey, heading down to the Jersey shore, and my brother called" to say he had run into Seinfeld on an airline flight.

"I said, ‘How is he?’ He said, ‘We talked for a while and he said, ‘Evan told me to tell you he said hi.’

“And I hadn’t spoken to Even in 10 or 11 years at that point. My brother was, like, ‘You should call him. He’s cool. It was good to see him.’

“So I hang up the phone and my wife looks at me and said, ‘You should call him.’

“I was, like, ‘Naah. It’s been too long.’ And my wife was, like, ‘Stop being foolish. Time is all we got. Look how quickly people lose each other. It’s worth giving it a shot.’

“So I texted him and said, ‘Hey, you want to talk?’ And he said, ‘Yeah.’ And I called him. And within five minutes we were on the phone laughing, bulls——-ing. It was like no time had passed at all.

“And I called Bobby can said, ‘I just talked to Evan.’ And Bobby was, like, ‘Cool. How’s he doing? Did you talk about the band?’ Actually, we didn’t talk about the band at all. We talked about life.’

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‘Let's get together’

Around the same time, Graziadei said, he had gotten a call from the band's former manager, Scott Koenig, who was in the hospital.

“We spent like an hour on the phone together," Graziadei said. "He kind of always guided me in my career, so we grew close over the years.

"We finished the conversation and the last thing he said to me was, ‘Hey man, listen, bury the hatchet, put the past behind you with Evan and put the band pack together.’

“The next morning, I got a call that Scott had passed. For me, it took a long time, but I bumped into Evan at the memorial. … Told him it was good to see him but didn’t talk to him for a couple of months.

He said Seinfeld called him again and, "in the middle of the conversation, he said, ‘Yo, why don’t we get together and jam?’ My mouth kind of hung open and it was the last thing I ever thought would have happened.

“But it resonated, and I remembered the words of Scott Koenig. And that’s when it turned around and I started to see,’ You know what? Let’s get together and see what it’s like.’”

‘Kind of let it go’

Those occurrences brought Biohazard back together for a run of live shows.

“We weren't really sure what was going to happen and just kept going ‘cause it was fun along the way," Schuler said.

“We had our managers at the time come to us and say, ‘Hey, there’s some interest in you guys doing a record. What do you think? And everybody was kind of, like, ‘OK, let’s see what happens’ kind of deal."

Shuler said they recorded the album, started tracking in New Jersey last year and "we’re really excited about it. We feel like we did our best work here and really came with what Biohazard does best, you know?”

Graziadei said all of the band's members write, but "the thing that sets Biohazard apart from other bands — we all kind of put our flavor into the mix."

"I’ll tell you this," he said. "There were moments where you get pissed off at each other, but out of that energy, the best ... comes out of you.

“And everybody just wants what’s best for the song, the best for the music, the best for the album. And from that moment, you kind of let it go."

‘Do we play more new songs?'

"Divided We Fall" was released Dec. 17, and Graziadei said fan response has been overwhelming.

He said that the first time the band played songs from the new disc, "it was like we were playing [the band's hit] ‘Shades of Grey.’ People tried to sing along with the new song."

"Somehow we tapped into this energy of early Biohazard fans who had always been there for us.

“The first show since the record came out, we played three new songs, and nobody missed a step. People were singing along to it, and it was awesome.

"It was great — we haven’t had that experience together, the four of us, in over, probably 20 years now."

Now, he said, the band is left with a dilemma.

“Especially with the fact that we haven’t played Allentown with all the original members in probably 20 years … do we play more new songs?" he said.

"Or do we just play longer — all the classics and a bunch of new songs?”