Following the dissolution of seminal Detroit hardcore band Negative Approach, frontman John Brannon formed the bluesy noisecore ensemble the Laughing Hyenas. Heavily influenced by the shrieking, dirge-y rock of the Birthday Party as well as by the howl and moan of classic blues, Brannon and Company channeled all their personal demons (of which there were, notoriously, quite a few), into some of the most hair-raising sounds in the indie underground of the late 1980s and early '90s. The band called it quits after the release of 1995's HARD TIMES. Brannon would go on to form the band Easy Action in the early 2000s. Sadly, longtime guitarist Larissa Strickland died of an apparent drug overdose in 2006.