The Austerity Program is a noise rock and alternative metal band that formed in New York City in 1997, founded by guitarist Justin Foley and bassist Thad Calabrese.
[3] The project initially started during the mid-early 1990s after guitarist Justin Foley and bassist Thad Calabrese met in college in New York City.
After sending out multiple, creatively packaged demos, the band was picked up by Hydra Head Records in 2002, and they released their debut extended play, Terra Nova, in 2003.
As a way to market the disc, the band decided to write a humorous press release for it, imitating an irate staff member of Hydra Head complaining about the short run time of the record.
In 2016, the duo re-recorded their early material under the Polonium moniker and issued Seriphim, and album which collects these new recordings, on April 4 of that year.