36 Crazyfists

36 Crazyfists formed in Anchorage, Alaska, in 1994. The name comes from the 1977 Hong Kong martial arts film The 36 Crazy Fists. The founding lineup was vocalist Brock Lindow, guitarists Steve Holt and Ryan Brownell, bassist JD Stuart, and drummer Thomas Noonan; Holt grew up in Kenai, while the other original members were from Anchorage.

The band released its debut album, Bitterness the Star, on Roadrunner Records in 2002, followed by A Snow Capped Romance (2004), Rest Inside the Flames (2006), The Tide and Its Takers (2008), and Collisions and Castaways (2010). Over its run the band's label home moved between Roadrunner, DRT Entertainment, and Ferret Music before returning to Roadrunner and later signing with Spinefarm Records, which released Time and Trauma (2015) and the band's final album, Lanterns (2017).

By the time of Lanterns, the lineup was Lindow, Holt, bassist Mick Whitney, and drummer Kyle Baltus. The band played a 25th-anniversary farewell show in Anchorage in December 2019. Lindow departed in early 2021, and the remaining members' attempt to continue without him did not hold together; the band wound down later that year, and Lindow went on to form Paradise Slaves.