The Crystal Method originally had two members, Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland. Before The Crystal Method was formed, Jordan and Kirkland started working on music while working at a grocery store. Jordan was also a local DJ in Las Vegas as well as the college radio program director at
UNLV. Jordan taught Kirkland how to DJ, and when Jordan moved to Los Angeles to work for a producer, Kirkland took over his job DJing at the local club. Kirkland also moved out to Los Angeles, and they formed The Crystal Method in 1993. While working as a production duo for a rapper, a person named Crystal would handle transportation needs. The rapper repeatedly referred to her method of transportation as "The Crystal Method." The pair adopted the name based on the layout of the three words and the sound of the name.
Early days (1993–1995) By the early 1990s, Jordan and Kirkland were renting a house together, in La Crescenta,
Glendale, California, which had a small underground shelter beneath the front lawn. Originally intending to turn the shelter into a studio, it proved to be an unrealistic idea and the duo set up a studio in their house which was located near a
Foothill (210) Freeway overpass. They subsequently named their studio The Bomb Shelter. They were interviewed on the front lawn of the house in the documentary
Better Living Through Circuitry. After The Bomb Shelter was built, a tape of The Crystal Method's music found its way to British DJ Justin King. King was interested in starting a record label that would showcase American
electronic dance acts. Together with Steve Melrose, King formed the record label City of Angels. The first official release from the City of Angels label was The Crystal Method's "Now is the Time". The Crystal Method were signed to
Outpost Recordings in 1996.
Vegas (1996–1998) After the band signed with Outpost, they began working on their debut album. The group's final single on the City of Angels Record Label was "
Keep Hope Alive". Their next single was "Come2gether", from the
Mortal Kombat: More Kombat soundtrack. On August 26, 1997, The Crystal Method released their debut studio album,
Vegas.
Vegas peaked at number 92 on the
Billboard 200. It was certified gold by the
RIAA in 1998, then platinum in 2007. The album's release was supported by its four singles ("Keep Hope Alive", "Trip Like I Do", "
Busy Child", and "
Comin' Back") and by the inclusion of eight of its tracks on the soundtrack for the video game
N2O. The game's publisher,
Fox Interactive, sponsored The Crystal Method's 1998 tour. Jordan said that in live performances, "We definitely go for intensity. We're not interested in making our shows look like reality. We're interested in making the most intense and dynamic experience you've ever been through." The track was also part of the soundtrack of the 2003 video game
Need for Speed: Underground, used prominently in its demo. The other single released from
Legion of Boom, "Starting Over", featured vocals from
Rahzel. No other singles were released but other songs, including "Weapons of Mass Distortion", "Bound Too Long" and "Realizer", appeared in various movies and TV shows. "I Know It's You" appeared in the trailer for the film
Resident Evil: Extinction, and includes vocals from
Milla Jovovich. In 2005, the album was nominated for the
Best Electronic/Dance Album Grammy, the first year that category existed. It lost to
Kish Kash by
Basement Jaxx. Around this time, Jordan and Kirkland formed their own record label, called Tiny E Records.—was initially released digitally, in June 2006, with the physical release following a year later.
Drive peaked at number 23 on the Top Electronic Albums chart. including "Drown in the Now" and "Now Is the Time".
The Crystal Method and Ken Jordan's departure (2013–2017) Originally scheduled for a June, 2013, release, their eponymous fifth studio album
The Crystal Method was delayed by a surgery to remove a cyst in Scott Kirkland's brain. The album was released on January 14, 2014. In 2017, Scott as The Crystal Method went on tour with
Tool, and collaborated with Tool bass player
Justin Chancellor on a side project called Bandwidth.
The Trip Home (2018) On July 17, 2018, Scott Kirkland announced the next Crystal Method album was titled
The Trip Home and would be released on September 28, 2018. Kirkland also announced the first single, "Holy Arp", would be released on July 27, 2018. On July 20, 2018, Kirkland announced a North American tour to support the new album. On September 7, 2018, Kirkland announced the second single "There's a Difference" featuring
Franky Perez, which released the same day. On November 26, 2018, Kirkland and
Jean-Michel Jarre announced that they would be collaborating on a track on Jean-Michel Jarre's next electronica album.
The Trip Out (2022) On February 18, 2022, The Crystal Method announced a follow-up album to
The Trip Home titled
The Trip Out while simultaneously releasing their first single "Post Punk" featuring
DJ Hyper and
Iggy Pop. The second single "Watch Me Now" featuring Koda & VAAAL debuted April 11, live on
NBC's
American Song Contest, and would later go on to be featured in the soundtrack for
MLB The Show 23. The album was released on Ultra Records on April 15, 2022. ==Discography==