Massacre (metal band)

Last updated
Massacre
Also known as
  • Massacre X (2016–2017)
  • Gods of Death (2017–2019)
Origin Tampa, Florida, U.S.
Genres Death metal
Years active1984–1987, 1989–1992, 1993–1996, 2007–2008, 2011–2014, 2016–present
Labels Earache, Century Media
Members Kam Lee
Michael Borders
Scott Fairfax
Rogga Johansson
Jonny Pettersson
Brynjar Helgeton
Past members Former members

Massacre (briefly known as Massacre X and Gods of Death) [1] is an American death metal band. They were formed in 1984 by Allen West, Bill Andrews, and Mike Borders, soon after vocalist Kam Lee joined. The band has reunited several times with varying line-ups, most recently in late 2016.

Contents

History

Massacre were formed in 1984 by Allen West (guitar), Bill Andrews (drums), Mike Borders (bass) and soon joined by Kam Lee. After their first demo their line-up settled with Rick Rozz (formerly of Mantas, an early incarnation of Death) on guitar, and bassist Terry Butler. They disbanded and re-united again several times. In 1987, Rozz, Andrews and Butler joined Death, [2] . After being fired by Death in 1989, Rick Rozz reformed Massacre with Lee and they managed to get a deal with Earache records, finally managing to release their 1991 debut album From Beyond , followed by an EP a year later (featuring Cronos of Venom). [2] After the release of the EP the band split up again. Rozz reformed the band in 1993 and released a new album Promise in 1996. [2] That same year, Kam Lee left the band during post-production of Promise due to being dissatisfied with the songs and his performance. Kam Lee, Terry Butler and Steve Swanson along with Sam Williams and Curtis Beeson temporarily reunited as Massacre in 2006. Butler, Lee, Beeson and Williams then founded Denial Fiend with Blaine Cook replacing Lee and Rob Rampy replacing Beeson in 2008. In 2011, Butler and Rozz reunited for an anniversary tour of From Beyond beginning January 14 in Tampa, Florida. [3]

Reformation

Butler and Rozz reformed Massacre in late 2011, with Mike Mazzonetto on drums and Ed Webb on vocals, and subsequently played the 70,000 Tons of Metal cruise from Miami, Florida to Grand Cayman in January 2012. In March 2012, under the wing of lawyer Eric Greif - coincidentally Butler and Rozz's manager in Death - the band signed an international recording deal with Century Media Records, announcing a 7" release prior to their August 2012 appearance at the Wacken Festival in Germany and the release of their album in early 2014.

On December 11, 2014 it was announced that bassist Terry Butler and vocalist Ed Webb left the band. As the result, Massacre disbanded. [4]

Massacre reformed once more in December 2016 [5] under the name Massacre X, in reference to it being the band's tenth line-up. [6] However, original drummer Bill Andrews threatened to sue the band over the use of the name, leading to them rebranding themselves as Gods of Death, in reference to their significance in the development of death metal. [1] Michael Grim went on to form the secretive death metal band known as Primordial Jizzum. The band eventually returned to using the original Massacre moniker in July 2019, with former bassist Michael Borders returning to the band. [7]

On September 9, 2019, it was announced that Rick Rozz and Mike Mazzonetto have both quit the band according to founding member Kam Lee. The band announced a new line-up three months later and plans to release a new studio album in 2020. [8] However, less than a year later, it was announced new members Taylor Nordberg and Jeramie Kling had left the band. [9] A week later, the band announced its latest line-up with new guitarists Rogga Johansson, Jonny Pettersson, and Scott Fairfax, as well as new drummer Brynjar Helgetun. [10]

On August 6, 2021, the band announced that their new album, Resurgence, would be released on October 22. [11]

Associated acts

Members and ex-members of Massacre have played in many notable bands, most notably Death, Obituary, Six Feet Under, Metalucifer, Hate Plow, Kreator, Nasty Savage, Primordial Jizzum, Zero Hour and Whiplash.

Band members

Current members

Former members

Timeline

Massacre (metal band)

Discography

Studio albums

EPs

Demos

Compilations

Related Research Articles

Obituary (band) American death metal band

Obituary is an American death metal band formed in Tampa, Florida in 1984. They were a fundamental act in the development of death metal music, and are one of the most successful death metal bands of all time. To date, Obituary has released ten studio albums, and with the exception of their 1997–2003 split, they continue to perform live around the world.

Death (metal band) American death metal band

Death was an American death metal band formed in Altamonte Springs, Florida in 1984 by guitarist and vocalist Chuck Schuldiner. Death is considered to be among the most influential bands in heavy metal and a pioneering force in the extreme metal subgenre of death metal. The band's debut album, Scream Bloody Gore, has been widely regarded one of the first death metal records, alongside the first records from Possessed and Necrophagia.

Chuck Schuldiner American singer and guitarist (1967–2001)

Charles Michael Schuldiner was an American vocalist and guitarist. He founded the death metal band Death in 1983, in which he was the band's lead vocalist, guitarist and only consistent member until his death in 2001. His obituary in the January 5, 2002, issue of UK's Kerrang! magazine described him as "one of the most significant figures in the history of metal." Schuldiner was ranked No. 10 in Joel McIver's book The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists in 2009 and No. 20 in March 2004 Guitar World's "The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists". In 1987, Schuldiner founded the publishing company Mutilation Music, affiliated with performance rights organization BMI. Schuldiner died in 2001 of a brain tumor.

Possessed (band) American death metal band

Possessed is an American death metal band, originally formed in 1983. Noted for their fast style of playing and Jeff Becerra's growled vocals, they are often called the first band in the death metal genre, and paved the way for the 1980s Bay Area thrash metal scene, along with Metallica, Exodus, Testament and Death Angel. The band is also notable for featuring future Primus guitarist Larry LaLonde, who was the guitarist for Possessed from 1984 to 1987.

Exodus (American band) American thrash metal band

Exodus is an American thrash metal band formed in 1979 in Richmond, California. Their current lineup consists of guitarists Gary Holt and Lee Altus, bassist Jack Gibson, drummer Tom Hunting, and lead vocalist Steve "Zetro" Souza. There are no original members left in Exodus other than Hunting, who has departed from the band twice, in 1989 and 2004, but rejoined in 2007. Exodus is also notable for its inclusion of guitarist Kirk Hammett in its initial lineup; he eventually left the band in 1983 to join Metallica as Dave Mustaine's replacement. Holt, who replaced original guitarist Tim Agnello in 1981, has been most consistent member throughout various lineup changes and break-ups, and is the only member to be present on each Exodus release. Much of the band's career has also been affected by bitter feuds between both band members and record companies, two extended hiatuses, deaths of former band members and internal problems often relating to drugs.

Destruction (band) German thrash metal band

Destruction is a German thrash metal band formed in 1982. They are often credited as one of the "Big Four" of the German thrash metal scene, the others being Kreator, Sodom and Tankard. In addition to helping pioneer black metal by containing several elements of what was to become the genre, Destruction was part of the second wave of thrash metal in the mid-to-late 1980s, along with American bands like Testament, Sacred Reich, Death Angel and Dark Angel. For most of the 1990s, the band was not signed to a record label and was forced to self-produce their albums until they signed a contract with Nuclear Blast in the early 2000s.

<i>Leprosy</i> (album) 1988 studio album by Death

Leprosy is the second studio album by American death metal band Death, released on August 12, 1988, by Combat Records. The album is notable in its different tone and quality from the band's 1987 debut, it is the first example of Scott Burns' work heard on many of the death metal and grindcore albums of that era. The cover is featured in Metal: A Headbanger's Journey. It is the first album to feature drummer Bill Andrews and the only one to feature guitarist Rick Rozz.

<i>Fate: The Best of Death</i> 1992 compilation album by Death

Fate: The Best of Death is a compilation album by Death. It contains songs collected from their first four albums, Scream Bloody Gore (1987), Leprosy (1988), Spiritual Healing (1990) and Human (1991).

Kam Lee American drummer

Barney Kamalani "Kam" Lee is an American death metal vocalist. He is best known for his vocal contributions to an early incarnation of Death from 1983 to 1984, and later joined Massacre in 1985.

Terry Butler American bassist

Terry Butler is an American bassist who currently performs with the death metal band Obituary. He was also a member of Six Feet Under, Massacre and Death. He was credited on the Death album Spiritual Healing, and band leader Chuck Schuldiner stated that on the latter Death album "Terry contributed to the songwriting as well".

Ribspreader is a Swedish death metal band.

Rick Rozz American guitarist (born 1967)

Rick Rozz is an American guitarist. He grew up in Brooklyn, New York and spent his formative years in Altamonte Springs, Florida, attending Lake Brantley High School. He is best known for his work with the death metal bands Death and Massacre. He still resides in Florida.

<i>From Beyond</i> (Massacre album) 1991 studio album by Massacre

From Beyond is the debut album by Massacre released in 1991 on Earache Records. The album was re-released with a different cover and the Inhuman Condition EP as bonus tracks.

The Absence (band) American melodic death metal band

The Absence is an American melodic death metal band from Tampa, Florida. Their style has been described as aggressive thrash metal with Scandinavian metal influences. They were previously signed to Metal Blade Records and are now signed to M-Theory Audio.

Jeffrey Dunn British guitarist

Jeffrey "Mantas" Dunn is a British guitarist best known as one of the founding members of thrash/speed metal band Venom, with which he played as a guitarist from 1979 to 1985 and 1989 to 2002. He currently plays in Venom Inc., alongside fellow former Venom member bassist/vocalist Tony Dolan and drummer Jeramie Kling.

<i>Inhuman Condition</i> 1992 EP by Massacre

Inhuman Condition is an EP by the American death metal band Massacre. It was released in 1992 by Earache Records.

<i>Reign of Terror</i> (demo) 1984 demo album by Death

Reign of Terror is a demo album by American death metal band Death, released in 1984. An interview of the band's lead vocalist and guitarist Chuck Schuldiner was later re-released in 1985 as “Reign of Terror II” which includes a set from October 1984.

<i>Inked in Blood</i> 2014 studio album by Obituary

Inked in Blood is the ninth studio album by American death metal band Obituary. It was crowdfunded via Kickstarter and then released on October 28, 2014 through Gibtown Music/Relapse Records. It is the first studio album with bassist Terry Butler and lead guitarist Kenny Andrews, making this the first Obituary album not to feature Frank Watkins on bass since 1989's Slowly We Rot. A deluxe edition of the album was also released containing two bonus tracks. It is their first album to appear on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 5,200 copies in its first week and peaking at 75.

Jeramie Kling is an American drummer, recording engineer, producer, and live sound engineer best known for his work with extreme metal bands The Absence and Venom, Inc. He is also a member of Ribspreader (drums), Goregäng, and Metal Blade act Necromancing the Stone. Kling was a member of death metal band Massacre from 2019 to 2020. In 2021, he formed the band Inhuman Condition with Massacre and Obituary bassist Terry Butler (ex-Death) and Taylor Nordberg.

References

  1. 1 2 "RICK ROZZ And KAM LEE's New Band Changes Name From MASSACRE X To GODS OF DEATH". Blabbermouth . 25 April 2017. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 Colin Larkin, ed. (1999). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Heavy Rock (First ed.). Virgin Books. p. 284. ISBN   0-7535-0257-7.
  3. ↑ "BLABBERMOUTH.NET - MASSACRE To Play One-Off Show In Tampa Prior To European Tour". Roadrunnerrecords.com. Archived from the original on 2012-09-13. Retrieved 2013-08-07.
  4. ↑ "MASSACRE Disbands Following Split With Bassist TERRY BUTLER And Vocalist ED WEBB". Blabbermouth.net. December 11, 2014. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
  5. ↑ "MASSACRE Is Back! RICK ROZZ And KAM LEE Rejoin Forces". Blabbermouth.net. December 12, 2016. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
  6. ↑ "MASSACRE X Feat. RICK ROZZ, KAM LEE: Live Debut Set For Germany's PROTZEN OPEN AIR Festival". Blabbermouth.net. March 17, 2017. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
  7. ↑ "Reunited MASSACRE Signs With U.K.'s UNITED TALENT AGENCY". Blabbermouth.net. July 16, 2019. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  8. ↑ "MASSACRE Announces New Lineup, Begins Work On Fourth Album". Blabbermouth.net. December 16, 2019. Retrieved December 16, 2019.
  9. ↑ "JERAMIE KLING And TAYLOR NORDBERG Exit MASSACRE After Less Than A Year". Blabbermouth.net. September 13, 2020. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  10. ↑ "MASSACRE Announce New Line-Up". Metal Addicts. September 21, 2020. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  11. ↑ "Resurrected Florida Death Metallers MASSACRE To Release New Album 'Resurgence' In October". Blabbermouth.net. August 6, 2020. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.