Macabre is an American

extreme metal Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. It has been defined as a "cluster of metal subgenres characterized by sonic, verbal, and visual tran ...

band from Chicago, Illinois, United States.Birchmeier, Jason
Macabre Biography
, AllMusic. Retrieved April 1, 2015 Since their formation in 1985, the band has featured the same three members with no lineup changes. The group's style blends thrash metal,

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 ...

, and

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 ...

(sometimes with nursery rhymes and folk melodies). Lyrically Macabre have a strong focus on serial killers,

mass murderer Mass murder is the act of murdering a number of people, typically simultaneously or over a relatively short period of time and in close geographic proximity. The United States Congress defines mass killings as the killings of three or more pe ...

s and humorous elements. The group is currently signed to Nuclear Blast.

Influences

Macabre's music was strongly influenced by US and UK hardcore, grindcore, and death metal acts, ranging from Venom,

The Accüsed The Accüsed is an American crossover thrash band from Seattle founded in 1981. The band was a progenitor of the crossover style that bridged the gap between thrashcore and thrash metal, later influencing grindcore and some crust punk bands; as ...

, Suicidal Tendencies, and Cryptic Slaughter to

Possessed Possessed may refer to: Possession * Possession (disambiguation), having some degree of control over something else ** Spirit possession, whereby gods, demons, animas, or other disincarnate entities may temporarily take control of a human body *** ...

and

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 ...

. Macabre's dark sense of humor alienated casual metal listeners, however it helped to gain a small but strong cult status. Some of the serial killers mentioned in their songs are: * David Berkowitz (''Son of Sam'') * Ted Bundy * Vlad the Impaler * Ed Gein (''The Butcher of Plainfield'') *

Charles Manson Charles Milles Manson (; November 12, 1934November 19, 2017) was an American criminal and musician who led the Manson Family, a cult based in California, in the late 1960s. Some of the members committed a series of nine murders at four loca ...

* Jeffrey Dahmer (''The Milwaukee Cannibal'') *

John Wayne Gacy John Wayne Gacy (March 17, 1942 – May 10, 1994) was an American serial killer and sex offender who raped, tortured, and murdered at least 33 young men and boys. Gacy regularly performed at children's hospitals and charitable events as " ...

(''The Killer Clown)'' * Jack the Ripper * Edmund Kemper (''The Co-ed Killer)'' * Peter Kürten (''The Vampire of Düsseldorf'') * Herman Mudgett (''H.H. Holmes'') * Richard Ramirez (''The Night Stalker)'' * Gary Ridgway (''The Green River Killer)'' * Zodiac

Members

* Nefarious (Charles Lescewicz) – bass, vocals (1984–present) * Dennis the Menace (Dennis Ritchie) – drums (1984–present) * Corporate Death (Lance Lencioni) – guitar, vocals (1984–present)

Discography

* ''Shitlist'' (1987) * '' Grim Reality'' (1987) * "Shitlist" (1988, 7") * '' Gloom'' (1989) * "Nightstalker" (1991, 7") * '' Sinister Slaughter'' (1993) * '' Behind the Wall of Sleep'' (1994, EP) * ''Unabomber'' (1999, EP) * '' Dahmer'' (2000) * ''Capitalist Casualties / Macabre''(2001, split with Capitalist Casualties) * ''Morbid Campfire Songs'' (2002, as the Macabre Minstrels) * ''Drill Bit Lobotomy'' (2002, 7") * ''Murder Metal'' (2003) * ''Macabre Electric & Acoustic Two CD Set'' (2004, 2-CD set including the CDs ''Murder Metal'' and ''Macabre Minstrels'') * '' True Tales of Slaughter and Slaying'' (2006, DVD) * ''Grim Reality'' (2008) _{− re-issue featuring the remastered 1980s version and a Neil Kernon remix version} * ''Human Monsters'' (2010, EP) * ''

Grim Scary Tales ''Grim Scary Tales'' is the fifth album by American extreme metal band Macabre released in 2011. The album cover depicts the notorious Romanian prince Vlad the Impaler holding a goblet filled with blood. The album focuses on historical figures fam ...

'' (2011) * ''Slaughter Thy Poser''(2012, EP) * ''

Carnival of Killers ''Carnival of Killers'' is the sixth album by American extreme metal band Macabre. It was released through Nuclear Blast on November 13, 2020. Reception Angela Davey in ''Kerrang!'' described ''Carnival of Killers'' as "for death metal fans looki ...

'' (2020)

References

External links

* Heavy metal musical groups from Illinois American death metal musical groups Deathgrind musical groups American grindcore musical groups American thrash metal musical groups American musical trios Musical groups from Chicago Musical groups established in 1985 Season of Mist artists 1985 establishments in Illinois {{US-metal-band-stub