Deceased

Deceased

Deceased is a death/thrash metal band from Virginia, that has attained a dedicated cult following throughout a lengthy recording and live career. Founded in 1984, by drummer and vocalist King Fowley, the first band to sign Relapse Records, they released four full albums through the label, along with a number of EPs, demos and re-releases of early demos. Leaving Relapse Records in 2003 to sign to Thrash Corner, the band continues to release material to this day. Their sound centers around the powerhouse drumming and horror lyrics barked, sometimes narrated vocals of Fowley, telling tales of zombies and classic works of horror from The Twilight Zone to the works of Edgar Allan Poe ("Dark Chilling Heartbeat" retells "The Tell-Tale Heart" on their Supernatural Addiction album), while the twin guitars often move quickly from riff to riff - the band's songs typically work through several time signature and tempo changes. From their fairly primitive origins, while their core sound has always retained an almost punk/hardcore edge to its rawness, Deceased became more and more ambitious in terms of their use of melody in their progressive, lengthy thrash guitar workouts. This transition in their career was marked by the release of a full zombie concept LP, "Fearless Undead Machines", with cover art by painter Wes Benscoter and spoken samples from George A. Romero's "..of the Dead" films, as well as the band's own attempts to stage classic horror monologue and storytelling. In 2006 the band left Thrash Corner Records and started their own label in 2008 called Shrieks from the Hearse. In 2011, the band returned with a new album called 'Surreal Overdose' on this label as well as PATAC Records. King Fowley returned to the drum kit for this record, but live Eric Mayes handled the live drum duties. Eric Mayes took ill in 2012 and old drummer Dave 'Scarface' Castillo came back to the band for live gigs. The band also signed a record deal with Hells Headbangers Records in 2012. Walter White replaced Chris Paolino on live bass in 2012as well. A new record, the first for their new record label, 'Ghostly White' is due out Halloween 2013.

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