Formed in 1992 by Laswell with Bryan Mantia and Buckethead, the critically acclaimed album Transmutation (Mutatis Mutandis) also featured P-Funk members Bernie Worrell and Bootsy Collins. The album combined metal, funk and jazz, some cornerstones the future Praxis projects would be evolved from. Sacrifist followed in 1994, bringing Worrell and Collins back to the studio plus new collaborators John Zorn on saxophone, Japanese vocalist Yamatsuka Eye and former Napalm Death drummer Mick Harris. The rather experimental melange of jazz and death metal was echoed by controversial reviews. The band’s reaction, called Metatron, in the same year and with the lineup cut down to the founding trio, had fewer elements of funk and jazz, but brought some new influences from electronic music. The trio toured a lot this time, which resulted in the release of some live albums over the years, such as Live In Poland, Warszawa and Zurich. At some concerts they were supported by underground hip-hop musicians like DJ Disk.
Without Buckethead or Brain, and mainly as a solo project, Laswell worked on 1984 and Mold in 1997-98. Guitarist Pat Thrall and multi-instrumentalist Peter Wetherbee made guest appearances. Afterwards, little was heard about the project for several years, except the releases of the above mentioned live recordings and a compilation called Collection. Brain was playing for Primus at this time before following Buckethead to Guns N’ Roses. Laswell concentrated more on remixing, documented in releases like Bob Marley – Dreams of Freedom (Ambient Translations of Bob Marley in Dub) and Panthalassa (The Music of Miles Davis 1969 – 1974).
Starting around 2000, the reactivated band consisting of only Laswell and Buckethead played some concerts in Japan and America with different guests. The Tennessee concert of 2004 with Bernie Worrell on keyboards was released as a CD in 2007.
New Year’s Day 2008 saw the founding trio releasing the studio album Profanation (Preparation for a Coming Darkness) in Japan. Their most commercial approach so far featured guest vocalists Iggy Pop, Serj Tankian, Mike Patton, Rammellzee, Wu-Tang Clan member Killah Priest and old Buckethead friend Maximum Bob.
