Rigor Mortis was an American

thrash Thrash may refer to: *Thrashing (computer science), where increasing resources are used to do a decreasing amount of work *Thrash (surname) *Thrash, mascot of the Atlanta Thrashers *''Thrash Rally'', a top-down perspective rally racing video game ...

speed metal Speed metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that originated in the late 1970s from new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM) roots.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' (Berg Publishers, 2007), , p. 31. It ...

band that formed in 1983 in the Dallas–Fort Worth, Texas metroplex.

History

Two schoolmates, Harden Harrison (drums) and Casey Orr (bass), formed the band when they met

Mike Scaccia Michael Ralph Scaccia (June 14, 1965 – December 22, 2012) was an American musician, best known as a guitarist for several heavy metal and alternative rock acts, including Rigor Mortis, Ministry and Revolting Cocks. Life and career Scaccia wa ...

(guitar). The three young men shared an interest in horror/

gore films A splatter film is a subgenre of horror films that deliberately focuses on graphic portrayals of gore and graphic violence. These films, usually through the use of special effects, display a fascination with the vulnerability of the human body ...

and very heavy music. With Bruce Corbitt on vocals, they created some of the heaviest thrash metal at the time often flirting with

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 ...

. They were also one of the only major thrash bands from Texas and virtually created the underground metal scene there. The band was signed by

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

in 1987. In 2005, the original lineup reunited and performed at Ozzfest 2008 in Texas. In 2009, Rigor Mortis played in Germany at the Keep It True Festival. Mike Scaccia also played guitar with

industrial metal Industrial metal is the fusion of heavy metal and industrial music, typically employing repeating metal guitar riffs, sampling, synthesizer or sequencer lines, and distorted vocals. Prominent industrial metal acts include Ministry, Nine In ...

band

Ministry Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian ...

Revolting Cocks Revolting Cocks, also known as RevCo, are an American-Belgian industrial rock band, and sometimes supergroup, that began as a musical side project for Richard23 of Front 242, Luc van Acker, and Al Jourgensen of Ministry. History 1984: Or ...

Lard Lard is a semi-solid white fat product obtained by rendering the fatty tissue of a pig.Lard
entry in the o ...

, and others. Casey Orr also plays bass in the

shock rock Shock rock is the combination of rock music or heavy metal music with highly theatrical live performances emphasizing shock value. Performances may include violent or provocative behavior from the artists, the use of attention-grabbing imagery ...

band

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 ...

, as the character

Beefcake the Mighty Beefcake the Mighty is the bassist of the heavy metal band Gwar. He appears as a stout (hence his name) humanoid girded in Roman-style armor. He is usually portrayed wielding either an oversized Gladius sword or a large battle-axe. Background ...

. He also played bass for Dallas punk rock band The Hellions. He currently plays for Warbeast. Harden Harrison also plays drums with the metal bands Speedealer and Mitra. Bruce Corbitt also sang for the

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

band Warbeast (formerly Texas Metal Alliance). The band was signed by

Phil Anselmo Philip Hansen Anselmo (born June 30, 1968) is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal vocalist best known as the lead singer for Pantera, Down (band), Down, and Superjoint, amongst other musical projects. He is the owner of Housecore Records ...

's label

Housecore Records Philip Hansen Anselmo (born June 30, 1968) is an American heavy metal vocalist best known as the lead singer for Pantera, Down, and Superjoint, amongst other musical projects. He is the owner of Housecore Records. Anselmo is regarded as one ...

and their debut album ''Krush the Enemy'' was released on April 27, 2010. Warbeast's next release was a split album with Anselmo's solo material titled ''War of the Gargantuas'' and was released on January 8, 2013. Warbeast's second full-length album ''Destroy'' was released in 2013. Their final album, ''Enter the Arena'', was released on August 4, 2017. Former Rigor Mortis vocalist/guitarist Doyle Bright also played guitar in the metal band Hallows Eve. He currently performs vocals and guitars in the band SOG. Rigor Mortis is featured on the shirt of the creature on the

Toxic Holocaust Toxic Holocaust is an American thrash metal band from Portland, Oregon. History Joel Grind founded Toxic Holocaust in 1999. He originally wrote and recorded all of the band's music himself, and after a couple of demo releases (''Radiation Sick ...

album ''

Evil Never Dies ''Evil Never Dies'' is the debut studio album of thrash metal band Toxic Holocaust Toxic Holocaust is an American thrash metal band from Portland, Oregon. History Joel Grind founded Toxic Holocaust in 1999. He originally wrote and recorded ...

'' from 2003. On December 23, 2012, the band's guitarist Mike Scaccia died from a heart attack while performing onstage. On October 6, 2014, Rigor Mortis released their final album ''Slaves to the Grave'', which had been recorded in February 2012 at

's 13th Planet Studios in El Paso. With no label interested in the album, Rigor Mortis successfully

crowdfunded Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance. In 2015, over was raised worldwide by crow ...

the new album by raising $22,838 from fan pre-orders to self-release the final album. After years of battling with cancer, Corbitt died on January 25, 2019 at the age of 56, making him the second member of Rigor Mortis (following Scaccia) to die. The remaining members perform Rigor Mortis music under the moniker Wizards of Gore in tribute to Mike Scaccia.

Select discography

* 1986: ''Demo 1986'' * 1988: ''The Decline of the Western Civilization Part 2 (The Metal Years) Soundtrack'' (Capitol) * 1988: ''Demons Demo'' * 1988: ''

Rigor Mortis Rigor mortis (Latin: ''rigor'' "stiffness", and ''mortis'' "of death"), or postmortem rigidity, is the third stage of death. It is one of the recognizable signs of death, characterized by stiffening of the limbs of the corpse caused by chemic ...

'' (Capitol) - Released on July 19, 1988 * 1989: ''Freaks EP'' (Metal Blade) * 1991: ''Rigor Mortis Vs. The Earth'' (Triple X) * 1991: "Psycho Therapy" on '' Gabba Gabba Hey'' ‒

Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United ...

tribute album (Triple X) * 2014: ''Slaves to the Grave'' * 2018: ''Freaks Demo '89''

Timeline

ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:20 PlotArea = left:100 bottom:100 top:0 right:25 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1983 till:01/09/2015 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:1984 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1985 Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:2 Colors = id:Vocals value:red legend:Vocals id:Guitar value:green legend:Guitar id:Bass value:blue legend:Bass id:Drums value:orange legend:Drums id:Lines value:black legend:Studio releases LineData = at:19/07/1988 color:Black layer:Back at:08/05/1991 color:Black layer:Back at:06/10/2014 color:Black layer:Back BarData = bar:Bruce text:"Bruce Corbitt" bar:Doyle text:"Doyle Bright" bar:Mike text:"Mike Scaccia" bar:Mike2 text:"Mike Taylor" bar:Casey text:"Casey Orr" bar:Harden text:"Harden Harrison" PlotData = width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(11,-4) bar:Bruce from:01/01/1986 till:01/01/1989 color:Vocals bar:Doyle from:01/01/1989 till:01/01/1992 color:Vocals bar:Bruce from:01/01/2005 till:23/12/2012 color:Vocals bar:Bruce from:14/07/2013 till:14/07/2013 color:Vocals bar:Bruce from:14/07/2015 till:14/07/2015 color:Vocals bar:Doyle from:11/08/2015 till:11/08/2015 color:Vocals bar:Mike from:01/01/1983 till:01/01/1992 color:Guitar bar:Mike from:01/01/1983 till:01/01/1986 color:Vocals width:3 bar:Mike from:01/01/2005 till:23/12/2012 color:Guitar bar:Mike2 from:14/07/2013 till:14/07/2013 color:Guitar bar:Mike2 from:14/07/2015 till:14/07/2015 color:Guitar bar:Mike2 from:11/08/2015 till:11/08/2015 color:Guitar bar:Casey from:01/01/1983 till:01/01/1992 color:Bass bar:Casey from:01/01/1983 till:01/01/1992 color:Vocals width:3 bar:Casey from:01/01/2005 till:23/12/2012 color:Bass bar:Casey from:01/01/2005 till:23/12/2012 color:Vocals width:3 bar:Casey from:14/07/2013 till:14/07/2013 color:Bass bar:Casey from:14/07/2013 till:14/07/2013 color:Vocals width:3 bar:Casey from:14/07/2015 till:14/07/2015 color:Bass bar:Casey from:14/07/2015 till:14/07/2015 color:Vocals width:3 bar:Casey from:11/08/2015 till:11/08/2015 color:Bass bar:Casey from:11/08/2015 till:11/08/2015 color:Vocals width:3 bar:Harden from:01/01/1983 till:01/01/1992 color:Drums bar:Harden from:01/01/1983 till:01/01/1992 color:Vocals width:3 bar:Harden from:01/01/2005 till:23/12/2012 color:Drums bar:Harden from:01/01/2005 till:23/12/2012 color:Vocals width:3 bar:Harden from:14/07/2013 till:14/07/2013 color:Drums bar:Harden from:14/07/2013 till:14/07/2013 color:Vocals width:3 bar:Harden from:14/07/2015 till:14/07/2015 color:Drums bar:Harden from:14/07/2015 till:14/07/2015 color:Vocals width:3 bar:Harden from:11/08/2015 till:11/08/2015 color:Drums bar:Harden from:11/08/2015 till:11/08/2015 color:Vocals width:3

References

Sources

History of Rigor Mortis w/ Bruce Corbitt

The Metal Den interview w/ Bruce Corbitt
* http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/rigor-mortis-slaves-to-the-grave-album-details-revealed/ {{Authority control 1983 establishments in Texas 2013 disestablishments in Texas American thrash metal musical groups Heavy metal musical groups from Texas Musical groups established in 1983 Musical groups reestablished in 2005 Musical groups disestablished in 2013 Crossover thrash groups American speed metal musical groups Musical quartets