Extreme Metal Videos

The American brutal death metal band Vital Remains released earlier this year their latest album ‘Icons Of Evil’, but now we have a DVD registration of their concert at March, 24th 2007 in Spodek, Katowice, better known as the Metalmania Festival. This is obviously the place to be, considering Poland’s reputation with its preference for extreme metal. The audience lifts the roof indeed.

The last two albums were sung by Deicide frontman Glen Benton, never in want of any rebellious statement. This gig is featured by Damien Boynton taking care of vocal duties, but he does it graceful, long hairs blowing on tight rhythms and quasi-nonchalant walking over the extensive stage. Principally Vital Remains exists of the unshakable duo Tony Lazaro (rhythm guitarist in a live situation) and Dave Suzuki (lead guitarist and fast as his Japanese motorcycle). The rhythm section this evening includes Brian Hobbie (bass) and Antonio Donadeo (drums). They serve you more than one hour mauling at your favourite rhythm. Without fringes, with lashings of inciting guitar skills.

As I said before, the gig at Metalmania is featured on the DVD. Mainly songs coming from the two latest albums ‘Dechristianized’ and ‘Icons Of Evil’ are executed, two albums with similar attitude when listening to it in your living room. As bonus we have some club registrations, an interview with Lazaro and Suzuki (in case you doubt who is in charge), web links, discography and all kinds of everything to guide you through a proper “vitalogy”. I really want to mention that everything is embellished – as usual with Metal Mind Productions – in beautiful artwork with proper information (except the names of the members, that’s a minus). For the rest, fans of brutal death without concessions can put their beers cold.

Human touring line-up: Chuck, Paul Masvidal, Sean Reinert, Skott Carino.




Over the course of more than a decade and seven increasingly accomplished albums, Chuck Schuldiner, the architect behind the ubiquitous


Death, became a bona fide heavy metal icon. Now widely recognized as the father of death metal (if a single candidate must be chosen, his resumé is about as good as it gets), Schuldiner's singular drive and ruthless creative vision guaranteed that Death retain a pole position at the forefront of the style's development. Indeed, while the savagely raw aggression contained in Death's first three albums proved crucial to spearheading the first generation of death, and subsequently grindcore bands, the astounding musicianship and increasingly sophisticated songwriting found on their later-day efforts may have influenced even more groups exploring the limits of extreme metal's progressive outposts. By all accounts a force to be reckoned with on-stage, Death also logged more frequent-flier miles than perhaps any other band of their extreme metal ilk, undertaking numerous far-reaching tours despite suffering from continuous and acrimonious turnover within their ranks. Throughout this long journey and drastic evolutionary curve, Chuck Schuldiner was the only constant, the effective mastermind behind Death's continually groundbreaking career, and his near-canonization at the time of his untimely passing only confirmed his unequaled stature at the top of rock's most uncompromising style.

The story of Death begins in Florida, around 1983, when vocalist/guitarist Chuck Schuldiner formed a band named Mantas with guitarist Rick Rozz and drummer Kam Lee. Although they'd yet to finish High School, the eager teens quickly set about trying to replicate the most excessive heavy metal sounds imaginable, which they often heard on tapes obtained via the bustling underground tape-trading circuit existent at the time. Many of these hailed from the U.K., where bands like Iron Maiden, Angel Witch, and Venom were riding high on the New Wave of British Heavy Metal; others arrived from the West Coast, where young bands like Metallica, Slayer, and Exodus were redefining the genre by injecting it with unprecedented doses of speed and energy, thus giving birth to thrash metal. All of these developments converged to spark the young Floridian's excitement, and the newly rechristened Death spent the next few years refining their chops through endless, arduous rehearsals and sporadic live performances. Their hard work and perseverance finally paid off when a three-song demo tape called Mutilation began drawing rave reviews in the metal underground, soon convincing Bay Area-based thrash specialists Combat Records to sign the group.

Leaving his bandmates behind (they would form a band called Massacre in his absence), Schuldiner relocated to San Francisco and teamed up with drummer Chris Reifert (later of Autopsy infamy) to record Death's now legendary Scream Bloody Gore LP. Released in 1987, the album is considered death metal's first archetypal document. Possessed's proto-death classic Seven Churches may have predated it by almost two years, but the fact of the matter is that both were concurrent works from a demo perspective, and while Seven Churches represented something of a unplanned transition between thrash and death metal, Scream Bloody Gore clearly defined the new offshoot's true essence for the first time. Boiled down to the most basic terms, this transition simply entailed propelling thrash metal's sheer speed and ferocious execution into further inaccessibility with the addition of gore-obsessed lyrics delivered via often indecipherably growled vocals. Needless to say, this unprecedented level of sonic hatred went down a storm with thousands upon thousands of angry teenagers across the world.

Having set his metallic dreams (or nightmares, as it were) into motion, Schuldiner returned to Florida, where he reunited with his old chum Rick Rozz and drafted bassist Terry Butler and drummer Bill Andrews to integrate Death's first touring lineup. Between ever-increasing touring commitments, they were soon ensconced in Tampa's soon-to-be famed Morrisound Studios with soon-to-be premier death metal producer Scott Burns (a lot of "firsts" in this story) and working on 1988's Leprosy follow-up, which reprised much of the debut's successful tricks, but was somewhat marred by Rozz's subpar technical skills. He was soon unceremoniously ejected for his shortcomings (the first victim of a Spinal Tap-like game of musical chairs) and replaced by the far more gifted James Murphy, who would barely last a year himself before embarking on a journeyman existence that would take him to Obituary, Testament, and beyond, but nevertheless contributed stellar fretwork to 1990's transitional Spiritual Healing. This album found Death beginning to relinquish some of the unrelenting velocity, mindless ferocity, and often trite blood-and-gore lyrics which characterized death metal's infancy (grindcore's fast-rising legions, led by Napalm Death and Carcass, would take it from here) and diving headlong into its understandably experimental pubescent phase. In practice, this meant introducing slower rhythms, complex dynamic tempo changes, insidious melodies, and more enlightened, if no less dark and cynical subject matter that commented on society's ills and injustices.

All of these exciting developments would come to greater fruition on 1991's pivotal Human LP, but given the various organizational problems and unsatisfactory performances that had plagued the Spiritual Healing tour, it's a wonder Death survived long enough to record it. In his obsessive quest for perfection and constant evolution, Schuldiner had once again pushed his bandmembers as far as their musical abilities could take them, mandating that an entirely new group of players be cast to enact the next chapter in his grand scheme. Sure enough, the sessions for Human convened a supra-technical ensemble for the ages, namely guitarist Paul Masvidal and drummer Sean Reinert of unsigned death/fusion sensations Cynic, and fretless bass wonder Steve DiGiorgio, who was borrowed from Sadus for recording purposes only. This release, along with the even more commercially successful Arise by Brazilians Sepultura, helped ensure that 1991 should go down as the absolute apex of death metal's world domination. At least in its original form, as hordes of gifted new upstarts such as the aforementioned Cynic and the death/jazz experimentalists Atheist, to name but a few, were even then undertaking to rewrite the rule book and challenge elder statesmen like Death for genre supremacy.

Not to be outdone, Schuldiner simply upped the ante, repeatedly reinventing his band time and time again, even as he refused to compromise its brutal core values one iota. As proof, both 1993's Individual Thought Patterns and 1995's Symbolic introduced staggering advancements into the group's sound. The first exploded with the brilliant fretwork of ex-King Diamond guitarist Andy LaRocque, whose six-string duels with Schuldiner rank among the most exciting of Death's long career; while the second benefited from the dense harmonies contributed by the less flashy, but equally effective Bobby Koelble, resulting in Death's most consistently melodic album ever. And perhaps best of all for extreme metal fans, former Dark Angel behemoth Gene Hoglan lent his inimitable percussive talents to both LPs, forging an unlikely pairing with Chuck that remains the stuff of death metal dreams to this day. Not surprisingly, this trio of albums continue to vie for fans and critics' hearts as Death's greatest achievements -- how ironic then that Schuldiner himself was beginning to grow tired of his life's work.

But come 1996, Death's chief architect was hungry for a creative outlet with which to express his more mainstream heavy metal songwriting, and citing his own voice as too limited for what he had in mind, Schuldiner shocked the heavy metal community by disbanding Death and announcing his plans for an entirely new band, to be named Control Denied. But the new project took longer than expected to get off the ground, so Schuldiner decided to backtrack and record one final album under the Death franchise, resulting in 1998's quite stellar The Sound of Perseverance. As was to be expected, he was once again backed up by an entirely new band, this time consisting of relative unknowns like guitarist Shannon Hamm, bassist Scott Clendenin, and drummer Richard Christy. Following this release, Schuldiner finally felt ready to move forward with the Control Denied concept in earnest, and the new quintet (featuring many of Chuck's old accomplices and a full-time lead vocalist in Tim Aymar) unleashed their The Fragile Art of Existence debut in the fall of 1999. Everything seemed to be going according to plan, but then tragic fate intervened.

Schuldiner was diagnosed with a malignant brain-stem tumor and immediately underwent emergency surgery in early 2000 to remove it. All musical plans were brought to a standstill as Chuck fought for his life amid ever-mounting medical bills (like most professional musicians, he had no health insurance), only a small portion of which were alleviated by the heavy metal community's outpouring of support by way of numerous benefit concerts. Over the ensuing two years, the true state of his health was often mired in mystery, and even though he was occasionally rumored to be on the path to recovery, all hopes were ultimately and cruelly dashed on December 13, 2001, when Chuck finally succumbed to cancer at the age of 33. Like any headstrong leader, Schuldiner's tyrannical monopoly over Death's brilliant career is forever guaranteed to evoke adverse opinions about his character, ranging from the resentful accusations of disgruntled former employees, to the words of loving praise of willing collaborators. It hardly matters, since whichever reputation people eventually choose to believe in, Schuldiner's recorded legacy will forever remain inextricably linked, synonymous even, with the death metal genre

Mayhem (often called 'The True Mayhem') is a black metal band, formed in 1984[1] in Oslo, Norway. The band name is taken from the Venom song, Mayhem with Mercy.[2] Much controversy has followed the various murders, suicides and other forms of violence that surrounded the band in the early years. Mayhem is considered one of the most controversial bands in modern musical history, especially due to the vast number of urban legends and myths surrounding their early years, and the controversies have often overshadowed the music, especially in recent years due in part to the Internet and magazine articles.

Over time Mayhem has evolved through a variety of black metal styles, delving at times into areas of dark avant-garde industrial and electronica. Highly influential, the group is widely considered to be one of the cornerstones of the black metal movement

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Vader is a Polish death metal band founded in 1986. It stands as one of the best-known European death metal bands. Vader plays a style of death metal different from that of their American counterparts, but their approach is nonetheless firmly based upon the template created by Slayer. For example, many bands of this genre tend to play guitar solos and lead parts which do not adhere strictly to traditional musical principles (such as being in key) and make extensive use of tremolo bar, creating a rather dissonant sound. Vader, on the other hand, whilst often playing in this style, occasionally diverge and play diminished, augmented, and minor scale solos. Vader is also different in that vocalist Piotr Wiwczarek's vocals do not follow the standard sound widely considered acceptable for death metal. While his vocal delivery remains extreme, it is a much throatier approach, giving him the ability to enunciate words more clearly than most death metal vocalists.

Hate Eternal

Hate Eternal is an extreme death metal band from Florida. It was formed in 1999, while founder/frontman Erik Rutan was touring and recording as co-lead guitarist for legends Morbid Angel. The band is one of the most powerful and impressive trios live, consisting of Rutan on lead vocals and guitar, Derek Roddy on drums, and Randy Piro on bass and backing vocals. They have released three albums to date: Conquering the Throne (1999), King of All Kings (2002) and I, Monarch (2005). The last two were also produced by Rutan. The initial lineup, heard on their first album, also included Doug Cerrito from the famous band Suffocation. more...

[via FoxyTunes / Hate Eternal]

Vader is a Polish death metal band founded in 1986.[1] It stands as one of the best-known European death metal bands. Vader plays a style of death metal different from that of their American counterparts, but their approach is nonetheless firmly based upon the template created by Death. For example, many bands of this genre tend to play guitar solos and lead parts which do not adhere strictly to traditional musical principles (such as being in key) and make extensive use of tremolo bar, creating a rather dissonant sound. Vader, on the other hand, whilst often playing in this style, occasionally diverge and play diminished, augmented, and minor scale solos. Vader is also different in that vocalist Piotr Wiwczarek's vocals do not follow the standard sound widely considered acceptable for death metal. While his vocal delivery remains extreme, it is a much throatier approach, giving him the ability to enunciate words more clearly than most death metal vocalists.

The name of the band was inspired by Darth Vader, a Star Wars character

Line-up
Tom Araya - Bass/Vocals
Kerry King - Guitar
Jeff Hanneman - Guitar
Dave Lombardo - Drums

Still Reigning was directed by Dean Karr and filmed on July 11 at the Civic Center in Augusta, Maine. There are multiple camera angles that switch rapidly and sometimes utilize black and white. The camera work is artistic and professional, but can be a bit too much at times. I found myself being far too aware of cinematography at the expense of the energy from the live experience. I would not have complained if the crew would have pointed one camera at the stage and another at drummer Dave Lombardo, and just left them still. The experience of the show is what is key here, and that suffers just a bit from photographic wankery. Camera angles aside, Still Reigning looks good and the sound is excellent.

Playlist
1. Angel of Death
2. Piece By Piece
3. Necrophobic
4. Altar of Sacrifice
5. Jesus Saves
6. Criminally Insane
7. Reborn
8. Epidemic
9. Postmortem
10. Raining Blood
11. War Ensemble
12. Hallowed Point
13. Necrophiliac
14. Mandatory Suicide
15. Spill the Blood
16. South of Heaven

I'm looking for decent live recordings of Belphegor. If you got some just let me know on the cbox or mail me.

Belphegor is an Austrian blackened death metal band named after the demon Belphegor (originally Baal-Peor) and formed in 1993.

Biography

1993: The now legendary demo on Maxi Cd format, BLOODBATH IN PARADISE, is circulated within the underground and earns BELPHEGOR the reputation of an unrepentant, blasting war machine.

1995: The first studio album, THE LAST SUPPER, is released on Lethal Records and is a welcomed collection of infernal hymns for their growing fan base. Following their own path of sin and befitting their ever-evolving anti-religious, anti-life attitude, BELPHEGOR’s logo gets revamped to incorporate two inverted crosses completely surrounded by blood representing the slaughter of Christians and martyrs.

1997: Last Episode Records releases BLUTSABBATH. BELPHEGOR’s sinister reputation continues to gain momentum.

2000: Stagnation means death! The band spreads their disease once again via NECRODAEMON TERRORSATHAN, logging yet another volume of blasphemy added to The Vatican Library.

2002: BELPHEGOR celebrates their 10th anniversary by capturing a live set with songs played even faster than their original studio recordings on INFERNAL LIVE ORGASM (released on their own label, Phallelujah Productions).

2003: Produced by Alex Krull at Mastersound Studios, BELPHEGOR cram their high-speed murderous brutality into the 8-track release of LUCIFER INCESTUS, and then tour throughout Europe.

2005: The band opts to once again to work with Krull at Mastersound to create the morbid GOATREICH - FLESHCULT for Napalm Rec., and later touring Europe with the infamous X-Mass Festival. “We don’t give a fuck about anything and don’t let anyone talk us into doing anything. Only the music counts!”

In February-March 2007 the band will tour North America with Unleashed, Krisiun and Hatesphere, and will play at the famous Wacken Open Air festival in August.

Bluhtsturm Erotika


Hell's Ambassador


Vomit Upon The Cross


Lucifer Incestus


Bleeding Salvation

Vader is a Polish death metal band founded in 1986.[1] It stands as one of the best-known European death metal bands. Vader plays a style of death metal different from that of their American counterparts, but their approach is nonetheless firmly based upon the template created by Death. For example, many bands of this genre tend to play guitar solos and lead parts which do not adhere strictly to traditional musical principles (such as being in key) and make extensive use of tremolo bar, creating a rather dissonant sound. Vader, on the other hand, whilst often playing in this style, occasionally diverge and play diminished, augmented, and minor scale solos. Vader is also different in that vocalist Piotr Wiwczarek's vocals do not follow the standard sound widely considered acceptable for death metal. While his vocal delivery remains extreme, it is a much throatier approach, giving him the ability to enunciate words more clearly than most death metal vocalists.

The name of the band was inspired by Darth Vader, a Star Wars character

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Angel Corpse is a blackened death metal band originally from Kansas City, Missouri and relocated to Tampa, Florida. They formed in 1995, and originally split up in 1999, reforming in 2006. Their lyrical themes are generally those of anti-Christian sentiment and concerning warfare.

Discography

* Goats to Azazael (Demo, 1995)
* Hammer of Gods (1996)
* Nuclear Hell (EP, 1997)
* Wolflust (Single, 1997)
* Exterminate (1998)
* Winds of Desecration - Split w/ Martire (EP, 1999)
* The Inexorable (1999)
* Iron, Blood and Blasphemy (Compilation of Singles, EPs, Live Songs and Original Demo2000)
* Death Dragons of the Apocalypse (Live Album, 2002)
* Of Lucifer and Lightning (2007)

While Angelcorpse's main material was released on 'Osmose Productions', the singles, EPs and Live albums were released on Gene Palubicki's label 'Evil Vengeance Records'.
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Deicide was formed in Tampa, Florida in 1987, first playing under the name Carnage. After Glen Benton joined the name was changed to Amon. During this time they released two demos: Feasting the Beast (1987) and Sacrificial (1989). In 1989 the band's name was changed to Deicide by force of Roadrunner Records, as Amon was the name of the house in the King Diamond album "Them". Deicide then released their self-titled debut album in 1990.

The band's original lineup consisted of Glen Benton on bass and vocals, brothers Eric and Brian Hoffman on guitars, and Steve Asheim on drums. Both Eric and Brian tended to play complex solos at fast speeds and with overlapping riffs, which gave Deicide the definitive heavy sound and complex song structures. This lineup remained intact until November 25, 2004 in the wake of increasing animosity between Glen Benton and the Hoffman brothers - allegedly in regards to royalties and publishing. The guitar roles were then filled by ex-Cannibal Corpse guitarist Jack Owen, and Vital Remains guitarist Dave Suzuki. Following the tour, Suzuki was replaced by Ralph Santolla, formerly of Death, Iced Earth and Sebastian Bach. Santolla stated he is a Catholic and this has received a small amount of shock and ridicule from some metal fans. In spite of this, Deicide's eighth studio album The Stench of Redemption album received rave reviews, and is one of their biggest sellers yet.[citation needed]

On May 24th, 2007, it was announced that Ralph Santolla had left Deicide.[2] He has since joined Florida death metal formation Obituary. Santolla appears on their new album "Xecutioner's Return" - replacing the unavailable Allen West - and will be touring with them in support of this album.

On July 20th, 2007 guitarist Jack Owen (ex-Cannibal Corpse) announced that "Deicide is on hiatus" and he has joined Ohio based death/thrash combo Estuary for touring purposes.[3] The band will head out on a Balkan tour, dubbed "Balkans AssassiNation Tour", in October 2007 alongside Krisiun, Incantation and Inactive Messiah. The tour organised by acclaimed Polish booking agency Massive Music

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Deicide was formed in Tampa, Florida in 1987, first playing under the name Carnage. After Glen Benton joined the name was changed to Amon. During this time they released two demos: Feasting the Beast (1987) and Sacrificial (1989). In 1989 the band's name was changed to Deicide by force of Roadrunner Records, as Amon was the name of the house in the King Diamond album "Them". Deicide then released their self-titled debut album in 1990.

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Mortician is a brutal death metal two piece band from Yonkers, New York founded in 1989. [1] They have released most their albums since the House by the Cemetery EP on Relapse Records but have released their latest album on their own label, Redrum records.[2] They have toured several times through America and Europe. The band is heavily inspired by horror movies, which is expressed in the lyrics, the artwork and the use of samples throughout their discography. They're mainly characterized by their brutally heavy riffs and are widely considered to be the most extreme metal band in existence.

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An huge live video where we can see Derek Roddy the beast of Deathmetal drumming playing during an entire Hate Eternal concert, really good video and obviously, awesome and powerfull drummer!

Biography

Hate Eternal was formed in 1997, while founder/frontman Erik Rutan was touring and recording as co-lead guitarist for extreme metal legends Morbid Angel. The group's original line-up included bassist and co-vocalist Jared Anderson, drummer Tim Yeung, and guitarist Doug Cerrito of the band Suffocation.

In 2002, drummer Derek Roddy (formerly of Nile, Divine Empire and Malevolent Creation) replaced Tim Yeung, and the band set forth to record their second album, King of All Kings as a trio with Erik, Jared and Derek. That summer, Erik Rutan calmly parted ways with Morbid Angel, stating that he wished to devote more time to Hate Eternal.

What followed was a whirlwind of international touring to promote King of All Kings, including a noted video on MTV2's Headbanger's Ball for the single, "Powers That Be". Jared Anderson left the group soon after due to an admitted drug problem. South Florida musician Randy Piro (a friend of Derek's) quickly stepped up to the plate as Jared's replacement in the group, and the band pressed on. After completing their last tour for the album in December of 2003, the group began a brief hiatus.

2004 saw Hate Eternal begin work on the much-anticipated follow-up to King of All Kings, entitled "I, Monarch". Recording begin in the fall, and the album would eventually be released in June of 2005. Hailed by critics and fans alike, the album put forth an innovative new musical approach in extreme metal, while retaining the elements of speed and brutality that dominate the genre. The group's individual and collective talents in musicianship and production shined like never before.

After an internally difficult U.S. tour over the summer of 2005 and with a number of pending business problems, the group cancelled their European tour, scheduled for the fall. After spending much of the winter dealing with internal differences and personal situations, Derek Roddy announced his departure from Hate Eternal in late March of 2006.

With pending tour obligations, Erik Rutan and Randy Piro continued on and recruited former Dying Fetus drummer Kevin Talley for U.S. appearances in the Spring, and Reno Killerich for the group's rescheduled European run. As of the July 26, 2007 Erik Rutan announced Jade Simonetto as the band's new permanent drummer.[1]

To date, Hate Eternal have released three albums: Conquering the Throne (1999), King of All Kings (2002) and I, Monarch (2005). The last two full length albums were produced by Rutan. According to recent news, Hate Eternal has signed a contract with Metal Blade Records and will release an album sometime in 2007.

Nile is a brutal/technical death metal band from South Carolina, USA assembled in 1993. Their music and lyrics are inspired by Ancient Egyptian mysticism, history, religion and art.
Nile's music is mostly written by founding member and guitarist Karl Sanders. It combines traditional death metal with elements of Middle Eastern music, incorporating traditional Egyptian instruments into some of the songs. Nile's music is also characterized by its extreme complexity and speed, for which the band has received acknowledgement from many music fans and journalists.

The lyrical content is based on Karl Sanders' interest in Egyptology as well as other ancient Middle Eastern cultures such as Mesopotamia. Lengthy sleeve notes are included with the albums Black Seeds of Vengeance, In Their Darkened Shrines, and Annihilation of the Wicked albums, explaining the inspiration or source for the lyrics of each song. Also, some of the songs are based on the works of H. P. Lovecraft, an early 20th-Century author, who has also inspired many other bands from various genres.

Karl Sanders has also released one solo album called Saurian Meditation.

In May 2006, Nile signed a new recording contract with Nuclear Blast Records. A new album is expected in 2007.

Nile is noted under a genre named "technical death metal," which is considered a branch of death metal featuring odd time signatures and complex guitar riffs and solos. The band categorizes their music as "ithyphallic death metal", in reference to their epic Egyptian themes. Egyptian and Middle Eastern instruments are featured in some songs as well to help accent the themes more. They are one of the few bands who use the dropped A tuning.

Some also consider the band to be "brutal death metal," along with bands like Suffocation due to their low-pitched vocals, churning guitar rhythms to melodic leads and relentless drumwork. (Nile - Wikipedia)

We hold the rivers of the Eastern trail
Deep in the land of the Rus'
Following the wind in our sails
And the rhythm of the oars

No shelter in this hostile land
Constantly on guard
Ready to fight and defend
Ours ships 'til the bitter end

We came under attack
I received a deadly wound
A spear was forced into my back
Still I fought on

When I am dead
Lay me in a mound
Raise a stone for all to see
Runes carved to my memory

Now here I lie on the river bank
A long, long way from home
Life is pouring out of me
Soon I will be gone

I tilt my head to the side
And think of those back home
I see the river rushing by
Like blood runs from my wound

Here I lie on wet sand
I will not make it home
I clench my sword in my hand
Say farewell to those I love

When I am dead
Lay me in a mound
Place my weapons by my side
For the journey to Valhall up high

When I am dead
Lay me in a mound
Raise a stone for all to see
Runes carved to my memory

Morbid Angel is a Florida-based death metal band assembled in 1983. They, along with Death, Possessed, Entombed, Obituary and a handful of others were crucial in the development of the death metal genre and its standards. UK music magazine Terrorizer ranked 2 Morbid Angel albums in its 'Top 40 Greatest Death Metal Albums', with Altars of Madness appearing at #1. Its songs are complex in arrangement, owing to the considerable technical skills of guitarist Trey Azagthoth and drummer Pete Sandoval who was formally in the Grindcore/Death Metal band Terrorizer.

History

Morbid Angel was one of the original death metal bands signed to Earache Records, and was also influential in the transition of death metal from its thrash metal roots to its current form by adding up-tempo blast beats, inspired by grindcore, incorporating atonality in guitar soloing, and groove-oriented rhythms.[citation needed] It was also the first death metal band to have a touch of mainstream success, such as being signed to Giant Records in 1993 and having the music video for the song "God of Emptiness" shown on an episode of Beavis and Butthead.

The original lyrical themes focused mostly on Satanism and anti-Christian subject matter, but from second album Blessed Are the Sick onward, the lyrics slowly moved toward the ancient Sumerian gods, though much of this is a nod to the Simon Necronomicon, which was influenced by Sumerian mythology as well as the author H. P. Lovecraft[1]), as well as a fascination with the Roman Empire, though anti-religious elements continue to permeate the lyrics.

Morbid Angel albums have been released with titles descending in alphabetical order. The band is currently writing and recording a new studio album due for release sometime in 2007, and will likely keep the trend with a title beginning with the letter "I".

Line-up

* Trey Azagthoth - lead guitar, guitar synthesizer, keyboards, vocals (1983-present)
* Pete Sandoval - drums (1988-present)
* David Vincent - vocals, bass guitar (1986-1996, 2004-present)

Death was an influential death metal band from the United States that was founded in 1983 and dissolved in 1999. Founder/vocalist/guitarist Chuck Schuldiner is widely credited as one of the international pioneers of the death metal genre and the Death debut Scream Bloody Gore is considered a genre template.

Early History (1983-1987)

Founded in 1983 by Chuck Schuldiner under the original name of Mantas in Orlando, Death were among the more widely known, early pioneers of the death metal sound along with fellow Florida band Morbid Angel. In the late 80s, the band was both a part of and integral in defining the death metal scene which gained international recognition with the release of albums by a number of area acts.

Together with Kam Lee (Barney Lee), and Rick Rozz (Frederick DeLillo), Schuldiner started to compose songs that were released on several rehearsal tapes in 1984. These tapes, along with the Death by Metal demo, circulated through the tape trader world, quickly establishing the band's name. In 1984, Schuldiner dissolved Mantas and quickly started a new band under the name Death. Its members included the same Rick Rozz and Kam Lee. Another demo was released, called Reign of Terror.

In 1985, after the Infernal Death tape was recorded and released, Schuldiner fired Lee and Rozz in favour of Repulsion's bassist and guitarist, Scott Carlson and Matt Olivio, respectively. However, a drummer could not be found; consequently the band dissolved again. Schuldiner moved to San Francisco and recruited DRI drummer Eric Brecht, but he was not happy with this incarnation of Death and moved back to Florida without a band. There, in 1986, Schuldiner got an invitation from early Canadian thrash band Slaughter to play on their album, which he accepted, moving to Canada. This only lasted two weeks, however, as he found the situation not to his liking. He returned to Florida, then moved quickly to San Francisco again, where he joined with Chris Reifert. They recorded the Mutilation demo, which led to a deal with Combat Records, owned by Important Distribution (later becoming Relativity), that enabled them to record the first LP.

Scream Bloody Gore was released in 1987. Schuldiner briefly had a second guitar player, John Hand, but Hand did not appear on the album (though his photo did). By this time Schuldiner moved back to Florida, leaving Chris Reifert behind. There, Schuldiner teamed up with former bandmate Rick Rozz and two members of Rozz's band Massacre, Terry Butler and Bill Andrews.

The mid-era (1988-1992)

In 1988, that lineup recorded Leprosy. After much gigging in support of the album, including a quick and ill-planned tour of Europe, Rick Rozz was fired in 1989. After a tour of Mexico featuring guitarist Paul Masvidal (later to re-emerge in the Death camp), a replacement was found in James Murphy, with whom the third album Spiritual Healing was recorded in Tampa in the summer of 1989. Murphy was sacked relatively quickly. By this time Schuldiner abandoned the "gore" lyrical theme for more social critique as Death's musical style progressed from simple brutal death metal to complex, technical death metal. Additional melody was added to the band's sound as well as more varied timings and song structures.

In 1990, on the eve of a European tour, Schuldiner decided against traveling, claiming at the last minute that he felt the tour was not adequately organized (and citing the group's previous disorganized European tour in 1988). Andrews and Butler continued with the tour of Europe as 'Death' regardless and recruited roadies Walter Trachsler (guitar) and Louie Carrisalez (vocals) to replace Schuldiner, much to Schuldiner's shock and disgust. Schuldiner took legal action when the dust settled and Butler and Andrews were expelled from the band.

Schuldiner abandoned the idea of a band set-up altogether and began working with session musicians only. Schuldiner hired Steve DiGiorgio and recruited Sean Reinert and Paul Masvidal from underground Florida band Cynic. 1991's Human was Death's best-selling album yet, receiving many accolades and some MTV play for the group's first video, directed by David Bellino, for the track Lack of Comprehension. Due to obligations with his primary band Sadus, DiGiorgio was forced to depart after the recording of Human and new bassist Skott Carino did Death's extensive world tour, from October 1991 until March 1992, in addition to appearing in the music video for Lack of Comprehension.

During this period of 1988-92, Death was managed by Eric Greif, a rocky relationship that culminated in at least two lawsuits between Greif and Schuldiner. However, when interviewed by Thrash 'n Burn, Schuldiner was characteristically mellow about what the writer referred to as his "gruesome collaboration" with Greif: "We just came to the conclusion that it was stupid just fighting all the time, taking each other to court and all that stupid shit." After his final break from Greif, Schuldiner managed himself for the remainder of his career.

The final years (1993-2001)

In 1993, Reinert and Masvidal left the group to continue with Cynic, Schuldiner being unable to persuade them otherwise. Schuldiner replaced them with Gene Hoglan of the recently dissolved thrash metal band Dark Angel, and worked with guitarist Andy LaRocque from King Diamond for Individual Thought Patterns. LaRocque being obligated to his band, Schuldiner hired a then-unknown Ralph Santolla as touring guitarist. Death was arguably at the peak of their commercial and popular culture success, and the video for the track The Philosopher, a lyrical slam against former guitarist Masvidal,[2] even made it on to a Beavis & Butt-head episode in 1994 (Butt-head also parodies Schuldiner's vocals in a mock 'drive-thru' order of 'tacos, to go!' in death-metal style). Also in 1994, Death abandoned their eight year relationship with Relativity and signed with Roadrunner Records, their European distributor. For 1995's Symbolic, Santolla and DiGiorgio were exchanged for underground Florida musicians Kelly Conlon and Bobby Koelbe.

After Symbolic, Schuldiner dissolved the band and all ties with Roadrunner and began writing songs for Control Denied. It was during this time that Schuldiner briefly worked with Florida studio guitarist James Hogan. Schuldiner was still contractually obligated to record an album under Nuclear Blast with Death, and so he used several songs that were intended to be used for Control Denied, as several song titles on The Sound of Perseverance were originally Control Denied song titles. He re-formed Death with Florida musicians Richard Christy, Shannon Hamm and Scott Clendenin to record 1998's The Sound of Perseverance with his new label Nuclear Blast.

After the album and two supporting tours, Schuldiner dissolved Death to pursue Control Denied with Christy and Hamm. Clendenin was dropped in favor of Steve DiGiorgio, who was once again available, and an underground power metal singer named Tim Aymar. As Schuldiner finished Control Denied's debut album, he was diagnosed with brain cancer, forcing the band to scrap plans for a US and Canadian tour. As he worked on the second release, the disease overcame him, and he died on December 13, 2001. (Death - Wikipedia)

Line-Up:

Muhammed Suicmez - Vocals, Guitar
Sami Raatikainen - Guitar
Stephan Fimmers - Bass
Marco Minnemann - Drums


NECROPHAGIST was founded in early 1992 to integrate the fury of grinding, fast death metal with progressive music. Shortly after the band formed they entered the studio and recorded their first demo tape entitled 'Requiems of Festered Gore.' 'Requiems of Festered Gore' was never released to the masses as it was sent out solely for promotional reasons in an attempt to help the band secure gigs.


In 1995, NECROPHAGIST re-entered the studio and recorded a self-titled, follow-up demo. The demo’s impact sent shock waves through the European underground death metal scene, which helped NECROPHAGIST not only establish their gruesome name, but allowed the band to play numerous shows all over Europe. Soon NECROPHAGIST was recognized as one of the leading bands in the growing underground progressive/technical death metal scene.


In 1999, NECROPHAGIST recorded their self-released, full-length debut 'Onset of Putrefaction.' Despite the limited number of copies that were made, 'Onset of Putrefaction' only solidified the growing reputation that NECROPHAGIST had started with their self-titled demo. Soon, NECROPHAGIST became the standard for progressive death metal. Uniting influences from different styles, including classical music, 'Onset of Putrefaction' showcased NECROPHAGIST’s demanding dexterity, inhuman brutality and fury.


With 'Onset of Putrefaction' NECROPHAGIST reanimated the brutal death metal genre that many had left for dead. 'Onset of Putrefaction' actually became an influence for hordes of young musicians and fledgling European death metal bands. The overwhelming response to 'Onset of Putrefaction' helped NECROPHAGIST secure highly sought after support slots with such extreme music luminaries as CANNIBAL CORPSE, NAPALM DEATH and SINISTER. This attention further blossomed into NECROPHAGIST’s appearance at numerous festivals, including the Fuck The Commerce in Germany, the legendary Brutal Assault in the Czech Republic and the Maryland Deathfest in the United States.


Now in 2004, NECROPHAGIST have signed to Relapse Records and are prepared to unleash the crushing 'Epitaph' on a pitiful and unsuspecting world. Once again NECROPHAGIST have pushed the boundaries of technical and progressive Death Metal to new heights, setting an extreme standard by which others will follow. NECROPHAGIST have quite literally gone where no band has gone before...

Obituary is one of the pioneering bands of the death metal genre. The band hailed from Tampa, Florida, founded as Xecutioner in 1985. Shortly before the release of their debut album, they changed their name to Obituary. They still remain an influential band of the Florida death metal movement that arose in the late 1980s. Their 1990 release Cause of Death is hailed as a seminal album in the genre, and vocalist John Tardy is recognized as one of the first vocalists to use an abnormally low growl (compared to the screechy growls used by predecessors Death and Possessed).

The band disbanded in 1997, and reformed in 2003. During the hiatus, Donald Tardy played in Andrew W.K.'s touring band, going as far as to wear an Obituary shirt during W.K.'s appearance on Saturday Night Live, Allen West focused on his two projects, Lowbrow and Six Feet Under. Trevor Peres formed Catastrophic in 2001, which will continue to exist concurrently with the reformed Obituary. (Obituary - Wikipedia)

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