Deicide is an American death metal band formed in Tampa, Florida in 1987 by drummer/composer Steve Asheim and guitarist brothers Eric and Brian Hoffman as "Carnage", then hiring bassist/vocalist/lyricist Glen Benton and becoming "Amon". They would later change the band name to Deicide in 1989. The band rose to mainstream success in 1992 with their second album Legion, and is credited as the second-best-selling death metal band of the Soundscan Era, after Cannibal Corpse. Since their debut album in 1990, Deicide has released twelve studio albums, one live album, two compilation albums and two live DVDs. In November 2003, their first two albums, Deicide and Legion, were ranked second and third place respectively in best-selling death metal albums of the SoundScan era. Deicide is known for their lyrics, which cover topics such as Satanism, anti-Christianity and blasphemy. Their lyrics have resulted in bans, lawsuits and criticism from religious groups and the public.
Cannibal Corpse is an American death metal band formed in Buffalo, New York, in 1988, now based out of Tampa, Florida. The band has released sixteen studio albums, two box sets, four video albums, and two live albums. The band has had little radio or television exposure throughout its existence, although a cult following began to build with the releases of their early albums, including Butchered at Birth (1991) and Tomb of the Mutilated (1992). As of 2015, they achieved worldwide sales of two million units for combined sales of all their albums. In April 2021, Cannibal Corpse received their best "first week" sales of all-time and first Top 10 on the Billboard Top Album Sales Chart as Violence Unimagined entered at No. 6 with 14,000 copies sold.
Morbid Angel is an American death metal band based in Tampa, Florida, formed in 1983 by guitarist, primary composer and sole remaining original member Trey Azagthoth, vocalist and bassist Dallas Ward, and drummer Mike Browning. Widely considered one of the most influential bands in the genre and important in the transition of death metal from its thrash metal roots, they were one of the first bands to incorporate guttural vocals, up-tempo blast beats, multiple tempo changes and a dark atmosphere. They have been described as one of "the most influential and emulated bands in death metal", alongside Obituary, Death, Cynic, Autopsy and Deicide, and have been cited as an influence by many later bands. They were also the first death metal band to experience mainstream success in connection with being signed to Giant Records in 1992, heavy rotation of their music videos on MTV, and having the music video for the song "God of Emptiness" shown on an episode of Beavis and Butt-Head. Their first three albums – Altars of Madness (1989), Blessed Are the Sick (1991), and Covenant (1993) – are considered classics in the death metal genre.
Six Feet Under is an American death metal band from Tampa, Florida, formed in 1993. The band consists of five members: founding vocalist Chris Barnes, guitarists Ray Suhy and Jack Owen, bassist Jeff Hughell and drummer Marco Pitruzzella. It was originally a side project formed by Barnes with guitarist Allen West of Obituary, but became a full-time commitment after Barnes was dismissed from Cannibal Corpse in 1995. Six Feet Under has released 13 albums, and is listed by Nielsen Soundscan as the fourth-best-selling death metal act in the U.S.
Paul Mazurkiewicz Jr. is an American musician best known as the drummer of the death metal band Cannibal Corpse. Mazurkiewicz was originally the drummer for the band, Tirant Sin, alongside two other future Cannibal Corpse members Chris Barnes and Bob Rusay. The trio joined Alex Webster and Jack Owen in 1988, forming Cannibal Corpse. He is also currently the drummer for assorted side projects including Umbilicus and Heaven's Gate. Besides drumming, he also plays the guitar, and is the group's primary lyricist and contributes heavily to composing songs; he penned the songs "Dead Human Collection", "Frantic Disembowelment", "Monolith", "Carrion Sculpted Entity", and "Worm Infested". Mazurkiewicz, along with Webster, is one of the remaining members of the band since its inception.
Chris Barnes is an American death metal vocalist. He is noted for his low guttural vocals and explicitly violent lyrics. He was the co-founder, original lead vocalist and lyricist of Cannibal Corpse from 1988 to 1995, later founding and performing as part of Six Feet Under, and has appeared on Torture Killer's second album Swarm! Barnes designed the original Cannibal Corpse logo, the Six Feet Under logo and also created the artwork for Warpath, released in 1997.
Erik Rutan is an American heavy metal musician and producer from New Jersey. He is the guitarist and lead vocalist of death metal band Hate Eternal and lead guitarist for Cannibal Corpse, who he fully joined in 2021 after acting as a fill-in guitarist during their 2019 tour. Rutan has also spent time with Morbid Angel and Ripping Corpse. When not performing, Rutan operates his own recording studio in Florida called Mana Recording Studios.
The Wretched Spawn is the ninth studio album by American death metal band Cannibal Corpse. It was released on February 24, 2004 by Metal Blade Records. The cover art is by Vincent Locke. This is the last studio album to feature guitarist Jack Owen, one of the band's founding members, and up to the 2012 album Torture, the last with an album cover depicting violence and gore. The album was distributed with a making-of DVD produced by Nick Sahakian. The Wretched Spawn is Cannibal Corpse's fourth album to be named after one of the tracks on the album, after Butchered at Birth, The Bleeding and Gallery of Suicide.
The Bleeding is the fourth studio album by American death metal band Cannibal Corpse, released on April 12, 1994 through Metal Blade Records. It is the last album featuring singer and founding member Chris Barnes and is the first album featuring guitarist Rob Barrett. According to SoundScan numbers, The Bleeding is the fifth top-selling death metal LP in the United States, amassing over 98,300 copies sold. The Bleeding is also Cannibal Corpse's most successful album to date.
The Stench of Redemption is the eighth studio album by American death metal band Deicide. It is the first album by the band to feature Jack Owen and Ralph Santolla on guitars. Some editions of the album include a cover of "Black Night" by Deep Purple, with rewritten lyrics by Glen Benton.
Steven Kenneth Asheim is an American drummer and primary songwriter for the death metal band Deicide. Asheim endorses Pearl, Paiste, Vater, Axis and is known to collect guns, which can be seen in Deicide's DVD When London Burns. Asheim also plays guitar on the album Till Death Do Us Part. On November 20, 2007, Asheim joined the St. Petersburg, Florida-based death/black metal band Council of the Fallen as their drummer.
Allen West is an American death metal guitarist, who has been a member of Massacre, Obituary, Six Feet Under, Lowbrow, Corpse Rot, and Southwicked. He is considered to be a pioneering figure of the death metal genre in the 1980s.
Cannibal Corpse is a five-piece American death metal band formed in 1988 in Buffalo, New York. In 1989, their self-titled demo drew the attention of Metal Blade Records, with whom they signed a contract to record their debut album Eaten Back to Life, which was released in 1990, followed by two studio albums, 1991's Butchered at Birth, and 1992's Tomb of the Mutilated. In 1993, lead guitarist Bob Rusay was fired, and was replaced by Rob Barrett, who joined the group in time to appear with the band in Jim Carrey's film Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.
Ralph Santolla was an Italian-American heavy metal guitarist. He played in many bands, most recently Deicide, but also including Eyewitness, Death, Millenium, Iced Earth, and the Sebastian Bach band. In 2007, he replaced Allen West in Obituary for their album Xecutioner's Return. Santolla was very proud of his Italian heritage and he played guitars by Jackson and Ibanez with the Italian flag painted on them. He most recently played Jackson Guitars, though he had also been associated with ESP Guitars, Dean Guitars and many others. He also used Randall Amplifiers. He was well known for his shred guitar playing style.
Robert Joseph Barrett III is the guitarist for death metal band Cannibal Corpse. He played with the band from 1993 to 1997 and rejoined in 2005. He has cited Gary Moore, Malcolm Young, Randy Rhoads, Eddie Van Halen, Tony Iommi and Steve Vai, among others, as his influences. He currently resides in Tampa, Florida.
Pat O'Brien is an American musician best known as the former lead guitarist for death metal band Cannibal Corpse. He is also a former member of heavy metal band Nevermore, a former live guitarist for Slayer, and is currently the lead guitarist for Exhorder.
Adrift is a Tampa, Florida-based American heavy rock band featuring Jack Owen, former guitarist for Deicide and Cannibal Corpse, on guitar. Other members include Kevin Astl on drums, Jen Parker (Animosity) on bass, and vocalist Dean Pskowski (Synapse).
Order of Ennead is an American extreme metal band formed in Tampa, Florida. It includes two members of the death metal band Deicide, and the student of a former guitarist of the band. Order of Ennead have released two albums to date.
Florida death metal is a regional scene and stylistic subdivision of death metal. Some of the most significantly pioneering and best-selling death metal acts emerged in Florida, especially in the Tampa Bay area. As a result, Tampa is unofficially known by many death metal fans as the "capital of death metal." The scene coalesced in the mid-1980s through early 1990s around the output of bands such as Death, Nasty Savage, Deicide, Monstrosity, Morbid Angel, Atheist, Obituary, and others. The producer Scott Burns and the studio Morrisound Recording were also instrumental in developing and popularizing the Florida scene. Some bands which originated outside of Florida, such as Malevolent Creation and Cannibal Corpse, relocated to the state in order to participate in this burgeoning scene. The Florida bands featured a more technical approach to the evolving death metal sound, a style which spread beyond the confines of the state, and some were instrumental in creating the progressive death metal subgenre. The death metal genre as a whole, including the Florida scene, declined in popularity in the second half of the 1990s, but many bands within the Florida scene persisted and the scene resurged in popularity in subsequent decades.
