Future User, the new band featuring Rage Against The Machine/Audioslave bassist Tim Commerford, drops their debut album, #SteroidsOrHeroin.

#SteroidsOrHeroin follows the recent release of Future User’s electrifying video for “Mountain Lion.” The video, which features a cameo by Lance Armstrong and ends with Commerford literally setting himself on fire, has amassed more than a quarter-million views in just a few short weeks.

“Mountain Lion” is Future User’s fourth video and the first to reveal Commerford as the band’s frontman/bassist. Previous videos featured Commerford as a mask-wielding character named S.W.I.M., which stands for Someone Who Isn’t Me, an internet acronym often used in online forums.

“I wanted this to be more about music than personality”, says Commerford, who formed Future User with collaborator/composer Jordan Tarlow. “That meant launching this project without letting people know it was me. Fair or not, we knew the songs would immediately draw comparisons to my past work, so it was important to let the music begin with a life of its own. We started releasing songs four months ago, so it feels like a good time to now let the cat out of the bag. Hopefully fans will be intrigued and go back and check out the other songs and videos and give them life all over again.”

The band’s first video was “Clockwork,” a polarizing clip about police militarization in which tennis great John McEnroe was actually waterboarded by Commerford, dressed as the character S.W.I.M.

Two more Future User music videos followed – one, “Supernatural,” about the NSA/mass surveillance and another, “Medication Nation,” about the controversy surrounding genetically modified foods. “Supernatural” featured a cameo by comic book legend Stan Lee, who typically only appears in Marvel film blockbusters.

“We put a lot of time and effort into planning the videos,” says Tarlow. “Tim and I usually approach topics from different angles, pitting left versus right and libertarian ideas versus spiritual messaging, but eventually,” he laughs, “we zero in on a common target.”

Commerford calls the band’s sound prog-tronic, a mix of early prog rock and modern electronics, Says Tarlow, “Listen to it and you hear the late ‘60s prog rock of King Crimson and even Sabbath filtered through the EDM side of the current modular synth resurgence. Fans of Tim’s past work will find familiar elements, but we’ve got a sound all our own.”

Commerford, who handles vocals and bass on the album and Tarlow, who does keys and programming, produced the album themselves. They were joined by drummer John Knox and Commerford enlisted a special guest to play guitar: Grammy-winning producer Brendan O’Brien (Pearl Jam, Bruce Springsteen, and Rage Against The Machine). O’Brien plays guitar on every song on the album, but is not officially in the band. The album was mixed by Tom Syrowski (Pearl Jam, Bruce Springsteen and AC/DC).

Future User
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About The Author

Erik's interest in music began at an early age. In high school, he was the co-host of the underground metal show the Social Mutilation Hour, on 89.5 WAHS, under the name of Neurotik Erik. During this period of his life, he independently promoted shows under the name of Ding Dong Ditch Productions. Erik would rent out local VFW Halls, use space at Oakland Community College Auburn Hills Campus, or simply throw basement parties around the Detroit area. While at college at Ferris State University, he became head of the student run organization, Entertainment Unlimited, and continued to promote shows, but on a larger scale. He also helped start an underground magazine, 'Outpunk', where he interviewed bands and wrote music reviews. Additionally, Erik joined the staff at the Ferris State University Torch and wrote on a larger scale.