American death metal legends MASSACRE, masterminded by growl forefather Kam Lee & established all the way back in 1984, have finished recording what will become the band’s highly anticipated fifth studio album, and first for Agonia Records, set for release in second half of 2024.
The freshly recorded tracks will travel to Sweden for mixing and mastering at Studio Unbound with former MASSACRE member Jonny Pettersson behind the console.
Frontman/vocalist Kam Lee had this to say on the sound the band has managed to achieve: “Vocal sessions for the new Massacre album are finally completed!! This new album is going to be something else! We really encapsulate the essence of the original sound and aesthetics of the early Death Metal music genre – keeping to the old school vibe and originality of that era between 1984 and 1994. I was really adamant about keeping to that decade specifically and the genre of music that was predominantly popular during that time.”
Kam continues: “I’m very proud of the writing team and the recording team. It’s been awesome to hear what everyone has accomplished in achieving this goal of making the next step of Massacre sound like a perfect evolution. I feel we achieved this by not having another cookie cutter sounding redundant album, but rather something unique with the process of evolving by devolving. Going back to the roots of the genre and creating music that feels like it was plucked directly out of that era.”
The recording personnel for the new album – much of whom have been with MASSACRE since the “Resurgence” era – comprises, aside from Kam Lee, original MASSACRE bassist Mike Borders, returning guitarists Rogga Johansson (Paganizer, Rib Spreader, Megascavanger) & Jonny Pettersson (Wombbath, Heads for The Dead), and new drummer, Jon Rudin (Just Before Dawn, Heads for The Dead, Dehumanaut).
Formed in 1984, MASSACRE started out as a heavy/power metal band, but changed its style to death metal with the joining of Allen West and Kam Lee; the latter is often credited for inventing the “death growl” – first heard on the band’s 1986 demo “Aggressive Tyrant” – and is considered an influential pioneer as far as the death metal genre is concerned. The group went through several personnel shifts and disbandments over the years, with its early line-up toggling between MASSACRE, Mantas (early Death) and Death. Their 1991 debut album “From Beyond” was recorded at the famed Morrisound Studio and featured amongst “The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time” by Rock Hard Magazine in 2005.
MASSACRE recorded three more albums to date, including 1996’s “Promise”, 2014’s “Back From Beyond” and – most recently – their 2021’s triumphant return album, aptly named “Resurgence”. They were released on Earache, Century Media and Nuclear Blast records, respectively. The band continued their comeback with the follow-up “Mythos” EP, their self released collection album “Corpus Umbra” (consisting of previously self released single tracks), and the unavoidable digital-only release of live tracks called “Submergence: Live Beyond 2019”.
The band features a separate session line-up (for live performances only), which consists of Carlos Gonzalez (Grim Reality) on guitars, Elden Santos (Druid Lord) on drums and Tim Wilson on bass. “I refuse to be pigeon holed into what some people may perceive a band to be. As long as the members are productive musicians willing to do their part and perform their duties then I am fine with having revolving door line ups.” – Kam has been noted saying.
Upcoming shows:
13.06 – Cerveny Kostelec @ Czech Death Fest, CZE
14.06 – Vienna @ Escape, AUT
15.06 – Byczyn @ Black Silesia Open Air, PL
05.07 – Emmen @ Pifest, NED
06.07 – London @ The Dome, UK
07.07 – Manchester @ Rebellion, UK
01.08 – Rasnov @ Rockstadt Extreme Festival, ROM
02.08 – Dortmund @ Dortmund Death Fest, GER
03.08 – Leipzig @ Full Rewind Festival, GER
09.08 – Helsinki @ Helsinki Metal Festival, FIN
10.08 – Kortrijk @ Alcatraz Open Air, BEL
Line-up:
Kam Lee – vocals
Mike Borders – bass
Rogga Johansson – guitars
Jonny Pettersson – guitars
Jon Rudin – drums
Follow MASSACRE:
Facebook
Instagram: https://instagram.com/massacre_band_official
Bandcamp: https://massacre3.bandcamp.com
Spotify
Apple Music
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