Dying Fetus
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Dying Fetus is an American
death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, feat ...
band originally from
Greater Upper Marlboro, Maryland Greater Upper Marlboro is an area of Prince George's County, Maryland that completely surrounds Upper Marlboro, the county seat. It was formerly a census-designated place (CDP), with a population of 18,720 at the 2000 census. However, the 2010 ...
. Formed in 1991, the group is known for their consistently
hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved or indented, such that it can be used to grab onto, connect, or otherwise attach itself onto another object. In a number of uses, one e ...
-laden song structures, characterized by
blast beats A blast beat is a type of drum beat that originated in hardcore punk and grindcore, and is often associated with certain styles of extreme metal, namely black metal and death metal,Adam MacGregor, '' PCP Torpedo'' by Agoraphobic Nosebleed ...
, complex
riff A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or accompani ...
ing, slam riffs and heavy breakdowns. Additionally, their reality-based lyrics characterized by political/modern themes are notable in death metal. Various line-up changes throughout the years have left John Gallagher as the sole remaining original member, as well as the band's driving force. According to Gallagher, the band name was chosen while the members were of adolescent ages and was intended to be offensive. To date, Dying Fetus has released eight studio albums.


History


Beginnings (1991–1996)

Dying Fetus was founded in 1991 in
Upper Marlboro, Maryland Upper Marlboro, officially the Town of Upper Marlboro, is the seat of Prince George's County, Maryland. Aso of the 2020 census, the population was 652. although Greater Upper Marlboro is many times larger. Etymology Upper Marlboro was establ ...
, by John Gallagher (guitar, vocals) and Jason Netherton (bass, vocals). The band began in earnest when the pair met up with guitarist/vocalist Nick Speleos in 1992. It was decided then that Gallagher would fill in on drums until a proper drummer was found. The writing of this period resulted in the 1993 demo ''Bathe In Entrails'' In late 1993, the band found drummer Rob Belton, as well as guitarist Brian Latta, who replaced the departing Nick Speleos (which also thrust John Gallagher back into the role of guitarist and vocalist). Together the new four-piece lineup recorded the ''
Infatuation with Malevolence Dying Fetus is an American death metal band originally from Greater Upper Marlboro, Maryland. Formed in 1991, the group is known for their consistently Hook (music), hook-laden song structures, characterized by blast beats, complex riffing, slam ...
'' demo in early 1994, later released together with the first demo in 1995 as a compilation on California Indie label
Wild Rags Wild Rags Records was a record label and store in Montebello, California. It was founded in the 1980s by Ricardo Campos. Though Wild Rags started out as a record store in East LA releasing cassette from bands such as Cherry Street, the zine later ...
Records. Songs included all tracks from both demos as one CD. In 1996, the band released their first album, '' Purification through Violence'', on short-lived Illinois label Pulverizer Records. The album marked a further refinement of the band's developing sound of death metal
riffing A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or accomp ...
, combined with heavy slams, over seven original songs, and one
Napalm Death Napalm Death are an English grindcore band formed in 1981 in Meriden, West Midlands. None of the band's original members has been in the group since 1986. But since ''Utopia Banished'' (1992), the lineup of bassist Shane Embury, guitarist Mitch ...
cover, "Scum". Drummer Rob Belton left and the band was joined briefly in 1995 for a year by drummer Casey Buckler, with whom they performed live, yet never recorded with. Casey was asked to leave the band as they agreed he would play drums for a tour they had that year.


Rise to underground prominence (1996–2000)

Relying on self-promotion, the band toured sporadically for 4 years straight starting in summer 1996 with their first full US tour alongside
Kataklysm Kataklysm is a Canadian death metal band. They have released fourteen studio albums, one EP and two DVDs as of 2020. Kataklysm won their first Juno Award (Canadian equivalent of the Grammy) for best album of the year in the "heavy metal" categ ...
and Monstrosity, with the first appearance of future drummer Erik Sayenga as drummer replacing Casey Buckler. However, by spring 1997, Erik Sayenga left the band, and during a short Texas tour in May 1997, drummer Kevin Talley was located and subsequently joined full-time by the summer of 1997. At this point, the band caught the attention of German indie label Morbid Records, who signed them early in 1998 for a one-album deal. Almost immediately afterwards, the band released their second album, ''
Killing on Adrenaline ''Killing on Adrenaline'' is the second album by American technical death metal band Dying Fetus. The technical guitar riffs began on this release, a trait that evolved and progressed even more on later albums. The album was released by Morbid R ...
''. Morbid Records supplied the band with modest promotion in the death metal underground by releasing the album in Europe (while the band released it on their own label 'Blunt Force Records' in North America). Subsequently, they rose to prominence with notable live performances, such as appearances at Milwaukee metalfest (1998-2000) and tours in the US and Canada in 1998 (with Deeds of Flesh) and in Europe (with Deranged). However, guitarist Brian Latta left the band in late 1998, ushering in new guitarist "Sparky" Voyles, and in 1999 the band embarked on their first headlining tour of the US, over three weeks dubbed the "Underground Terrorism" tour. The tour was followed shortly thereafter by the ''
Grotesque Impalement Dying Fetus is an American death metal band originally from Greater Upper Marlboro, Maryland. Formed in 1991, the group is known for their consistently hook-laden song structures, characterized by blast beats, complex riffing, slam riffs and he ...
'' EP, which the band again released on their own Blunt Force Records label imprint.


Relapse Records and new lineup (2000–2003)

By 2000, Dying Fetus caught the attention of another underground metal label, the indie company
Relapse Records Relapse Records is an American independent record label based in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. It was founded by Matthew F. Jacobson in 1990. The label features many grindcore, death metal, metalcore and sludge metal artists. History The label was ...
, who subsequently signed the band. Once more returning to Steve Carr's Hit and Run Studios in Maryland (where each previous Dying Fetus album was recorded), Dying Fetus recorded in the spring of 2000 their Relapse debut (and overall third full-length album), ''
Destroy the Opposition Destroy may refer to: * ''Destroy'' (album), a 2004 album by Ektomorf * Destroy!, a Minneapolis Crust punk band * '' Destroy!!'', a comic book by Scott McCloud See also * Destroyer (disambiguation) * Destruction (disambiguation) Destruction m ...
''. This album featured even stronger political themes, and songwriting that was to highly influence the "
deathcore Deathcore is an extreme metal subgenre that combines death metal with metalcore. The genre consists of death metal guitar riffs, blast beats, and metalcore breakdowns. While there are some precursors to the concept of death metal fused with met ...
" scene in subsequent years. The album was included in ''
Decibel The decibel (symbol: dB) is a relative unit of measurement equal to one tenth of a bel (B). It expresses the ratio of two values of a power or root-power quantity on a logarithmic scale. Two signals whose levels differ by one decibel have a po ...
''s Top 100 Albums of the decade list for the 2000s (Decibel Magazine Special Edition, December 2009), as well as to Decibel's "Hall of Fame" (#89, July 2012). However, following the release of ''Destroy the Opposition'', original member Jason Netherton left the band for personal reasons, and thereafter guitarist Voyles and drummer Talley left the band only months after the album's release (they since went on to form the band Misery Index). Gallagher recruited guitarist Mike Kimball, singer Vince Matthews, bassist/backup vocalist Sean Beasley, and the returning Eric Sayenga on drums. With the new lineup, the band released their 4th album, '' Stop at Nothing'', in 2003, another album featuring Carr's production and strong political themes. A promotional video was shot for the track "One Shot, One Kill".


Five members, return to form (2003–present)

Dying Fetus toured extensively for ''Stop at Nothing'', and got airplay for the music video for "One Shot, One Kill" on Headbanger's Ball. Another tool that led to exposure of the band was more mainstream metal attention of Relapse Records (with acts such as
Mastodon A mastodon ( 'breast' + 'tooth') is any proboscidean belonging to the extinct genus ''Mammut'' (family Mammutidae). Mastodons inhabited North and Central America during the late Miocene or late Pliocene up to their extinction at the end of th ...
gaining popularity), as well as a full North American tour with
GWAR Gwar, often stylized as GWAR, is an American heavy metal band formed in Richmond, Virginia in 1984, composed of and operated by a frequently rotating line-up of musicians, artists and filmmakers collectively known as Slave Pit Inc. After th ...
in 2005. However, the ''Stop at Nothing'' lineup dissolved slightly in the years that followed as drummer Erik Sayenga parted yet again, and singer Vince Matthews went on to form Criminal Element. However, Dying Fetus came back yet again, bassist Beasley took over on vocals, and drummer Duane Timlin (ex-Divine Empire/
Broken Hope Broken Hope is an American death metal band from Chicago, Illinois. History Broken Hope was founded in 1988. They were known as an accomplished mid-paced style death metal band with low-pitched growling vocals. As a band, they were active for ...
) joined the ranks in 2006. That lineup then recorded ''
War of Attrition The War of Attrition ( ar, حرب الاستنزاف, Ḥarb al-Istinzāf; he, מלחמת ההתשה, Milhemet haHatashah) involved fighting between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and their allies from ...
'', which was released in March 2007. Themes include attacking reality TV, the war on terrorism, racial ignorance, and the flaws in the criminal justice system. Songs include "Homicidal Retribution", "Raping the System", and "Parasites of Catastrophe". Dying Fetus' second music video was made for "Homicidal Retribution". Yet another lineup change occurred on the Dying Fetus front in July 2007: drummer Duane Timlin was fired due to incompatibilities. The newest drummer for the band is Trey Williams, from the local Baltimore band Severed Head. Mike Kimball also left the band and they've remained a trio since. On September 15, 2009, Dying Fetus released their sixth album, '' Descend into Depravity'' on
Relapse Records Relapse Records is an American independent record label based in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. It was founded by Matthew F. Jacobson in 1990. The label features many grindcore, death metal, metalcore and sludge metal artists. History The label was ...
. Three years later, their follow-up to this record '' Reign Supreme'', would be released on June 19, 2012. The band released the first single from the album, "Subjected to a Beating", on April 2, 2012. Dying Fetus headlined a US tour being supported by Exhumed, Abiotic and
Waking the Cadaver Waking the Cadaver is an American death metal band from Sayreville, New Jersey, formed in 2006. Originally called Death to Honor, the band released one demo in 2004 before changing their name to Waking the Cadaver in 2006. The band has release ...
.
Devourment Devourment is an American death metal band from Dallas, Texas. Formed in 1995, the band has split up and reformed three times leaving Brad Fincher as the only original member. The current lineup is Ruben Rosas, Chris Andrews, Dave Spencer and B ...
was intended to be on the bill to play the tour, but dropped off a month beforehand. Rivers of Nihil appeared in select spots of the tour. On November 4, 2013, after
Avenged Sevenfold Avenged Sevenfold (abbreviated as A7X) is an American heavy metal band from Huntington Beach, California, formed in 1999. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist M. Shadows, rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist Zacky Vengeance, ...
were announced as a headliner for
Download Festival Download Festival is a British-created rock festival created by Terrance Gough, held annually at the Donington Park motorsport circuit in Leicestershire, England (since 2003); in Paris, France (since 2016); at Parramatta Park, Sydney (since 201 ...
2014, a fan of the band claimed that other bands were more deserving of a headline spot at the festival, and said "Everyone is going on about that this is good to give new blood a chance, then why not
Machine Head A machine head (also referred to as a tuning machine, tuner, or gear head) is a geared apparatus for tuning stringed musical instruments by adjusting string tension. Machine heads are used on mandolins, guitars, double basses and others, and ar ...
,
Lamb of God Lamb of God ( el, Ἀμνὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ, Amnòs toû Theoû; la, Agnus Dei, ) is a title for Jesus that appears in the Gospel of John. It appears at John 1:29, where John the Baptist sees Jesus and exclaims, "Behold the Lamb of God wh ...
, Testament, Dying Fetus or
Carcass Carcass or Carcase (both pronounced ) may refer to: *Dressed carcass, the body of a livestock animal ready for butchery, after removal of skin, visceral organs, head, feet etc. *Carrion, the decaying dead body of an animal or human being *The str ...
? Give them a chance". Due to the smaller size of the band's fanbase, this sparked a mock internet campaign with the hashtag "#WhyNotDyingFetus?" trending worldwide. On November 6, 2013, Andy Copping announced on his Twitter feed that due to the internet campaign, Dying Fetus had been confirmed to be playing at the festival. The band were the first to play the main stage on the Saturday. By June 2016, Dying Fetus had been working on their eighth studio album, which was expected to be released in the summer of 2017. By mid-April 2017, both the band and
Relapse Records Relapse Records is an American independent record label based in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. It was founded by Matthew F. Jacobson in 1990. The label features many grindcore, death metal, metalcore and sludge metal artists. History The label was ...
had announced via social media the release of their eighth studio album, entitled ''Wrong One to Fuck With'', which was released on June 23, 2017, and included a promotional video for Gallagher, Williams, Beasley, and Associates – Death Metal Attorney's at Law. In 2019, the band's music was featured on the ''
South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boys Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand th ...
'' episode "
Band in China "Band in China" is the second episode of the twenty-third season of the American animated television series '' South Park''. The 299th episode overall of the series, it premiered on Comedy Central in the United States on October 2, 2019. The epis ...
".


Musical style

Dying Fetus has been described as
death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, feat ...
,
grindcore Grindcore is an extreme fusion genre of heavy metal and hardcore punk that originated in the mid-1980s, drawing inspiration from abrasive-sounding musical styles, such as thrashcore, crust punk, hardcore punk, extreme metal, and industrial. G ...
, and
technical death metal Technical death metal (also referred to as tech-death) is a musical subgenre of death metal that began and developed in the early- to mid-1990s, with particular focus on challenging, demanding instrumental skill and complex songwriting. Techni ...
. Their sound is noted for its "vicious"
blast beats A blast beat is a type of drum beat that originated in hardcore punk and grindcore, and is often associated with certain styles of extreme metal, namely black metal and death metal,Adam MacGregor, '' PCP Torpedo'' by Agoraphobic Nosebleed ...
as well as the guttural vocal style of frontman John Gallagher.


Members

Guitarist and founding member John Gallagher Current members * John Gallagher – guitars, vocals (1991–present), drums (1991–1994) * Sean Beasley – bass (2001–present), vocals (2004–present) * Trey Williams – drums (2007–present) Former members * Nick Speleos – guitars, vocals (1991–1994) * Rob Belton – drums (1994–1997) * Brian Latta – guitars (1994–1999) * Jason Netherton – bass, vocals (1991–2000) *
Kevin Talley Kevin Talley (born May 21, 1979) is an American heavy metal drummer for Sylencer and Feared. He was part of Dying Fetus, Misery Index, Six Feet Under, Nothnegal, Chimaira, Suffocation and Dååth, and toured with Battlecross in 2013. Hist ...
– drums (1997–2001) * John "Sparky" Voyles – guitars (1999–2001) * Bruce Greig – guitars (2001–2002) (died 2022) * Vince Matthews – vocals (2001–2004) * Erik Sayenga – drums (2001–2005) * Duane Timlin – drums (2006–2007) * Mike Kimball – guitars (2003–2008) Live musicians * Casey Buckler – drums (1995–1996) * Erik Sayenga – drums (1996–1997) * John Longstreth – drums (2004) Timeline


Discography


Studio albums


Compilation albums


Video albums


EPs


Demos


Music videos


References


External links


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{{Authority control American death metal musical groups Heavy metal musical groups from Maryland Political music groups Relapse Records artists Musical groups established in 1991 American musical trios 1991 establishments in Maryland Good Life Recordings artists