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Sunday Old School: Dying Fetus

One thing that can be found in metal music that doesn’t appear in other genres is gloriously offensive band names. Metal is very good at turning away non listeners with monikers alone, with Septicflesh and Rotting Christ being two names that are always guaranteed to cause some disturbed looks from the uninitiated, with Anal Cunt and Pissing Razors usually gauging a good reaction too. So let’s take a look at another metal’s most repulsive names, Dying Fetus.

The band began life in Upper Marlboro, Maryland in 1991, the brainchild of guitarist John Gallagher, (not to be confused with the Raven frontman,) and bass player Jason Netherton. The two met guitarist and vocalist Nick Speleos a year later and from there, the group really got going, with Gallagher handling the drum duties until a permanent member could be found. The trio recorded a demo, "Bathing in Entrails" in 1993, before they hired drummer Rob Belton, as well as replacing Speleos with Brian Latta, which prompted Gallagher to also take up vocals, which were first heard on the 1994 demo, "Infatuated With Malevolence." The two demos were released together under the title of the latter as a compilation album in 1995 through Wild Rags Records.

Following the release of "Infatuated with Malevolence," the band signed with Pulverized Records for the release of their first full length album, "Purification through Violence." The whole album clocked in at under half an hour and included a cover of the Napalm Death song, "Scum," in addition to seven original tracks. To this day, it polarises opinion amongst fans, with some really enjoying the very raw sound and straight up death metal approach, while others consider it to be something of a mess. It was to be their only album with Belton, who parted company soon after the album’s release, as did the band with their label.

With not much in the way of financial support, Dying Fetus found touring to be sporadic, save for their first full American tour with Kataklysm and Monstrosity. The rare opportunity to tour continued even after the band signed a deal with Morbid Records, a German label who snapped the band up for a one album deal, which came very shortly after in the form of, "Killing on Adrenaline." The album was much better received than their debut, showing the first glimpses of the technicality they would utilise often in the future and featuring the joke song, "Kill Your Mother/Rape Your Dog," as well as their first record with drummer Kevin Talley and their last with Brian Latta, who was replaced by "Sparky" Voyles.

Voyles’ first record with the band was the "Grotesque Impalement" EP, which was released through the band’s own label, Blunt Force in 2000, before they signed a deal with Relapse Records, beginning a long relationship with the company. That same year, Dying Fetus released their third album, "Destroy the Opposition," which was very well received by fans, many claiming it to be the release that finally showed their musical talent and skill, and to some readers chagrin, is often cited as a highly influential album in the deathcore genre.

Despite the praise they received and the stable record deal, Jason Netherton decided to leave the band for personal reasons and shortly after, both Talley and Voyles left, with all three members going on to form Misery Index. In their place, Gallagher brought in guitarist Mike Kimball, bass player Sean Beasley and drummer Eric Seyanga, the last of which had briefly been in Dying Fetus before, as well as a new vocalist named Vince Matthews. The result of this gathering of musicians was the 2003 album, "Stop at Nothing," which received some very good feedback and garnered regular airplay for the song, "One Shot, One Kill."

After touring in support of the album with Gwar, the band once again lost members as Seyanga departed for a second time and Matthews left to form Criminal Element, leading to bassist Sean Beasley taking over the co-vocalist vocal position, while former Broken Hope member Duane Timlin joined on drums. The result of these changes was, "War of Attrition," the group’s fifth full length album released in 2007. The album received some very good reviews but fans were as divided about this as they were with, "Purification through Violence," with critics giving the scathing response that they had become very boring and predictable.

Speaking of predictable, the lineup soon changed once again as Timlin was fired and replaced by Trey Williams, while Mike Kimball quit, leaving the band as a trio, a format they’ve continued with ever since. The first release with this lineup came in 2009 when they released, "Descend into Depravity," which fans almost unanimously praised as at least a step up from "War of Attrition," with some going much further and proclaiming it to be their best work to date, with praise also going to their film Sin City/Max Payne esque cover art work, inspired by film noir and graphic novels.

Almost surprisingly given their history, Dying Fetus retained the same lineup for their next album, "Reign Supreme," which was released in 2012. Gallagher stated that the record was a return to an older Dying Fetus sound, with less technical death metal on show, but in spite of changing direction from that of the successful predecessor, fans were very receptive to the record. The band promoted the album by embarking on a headlining tour with the recently reformed Exhumed amongst other bands and in 2014, Dying Fetus were surprisingly booked for the main stage of the Download Festival in Britain, after a tongue in cheek internet campaign called, "#WhyNotDyingFetus?" spurred on by a forum post criticising the promoters for choosing Avenged Sevenfold to headline the festival. Since then the band has continued to tour, with a European trek this past Summer being their latest but one would assume that the time is drawing near for new music to be unleashed from these brutal, if divisive, veterans of death metal.

Dying Fetus - "Raped on the Altar"

Dying Fetus - "Fornication Terrorists"

Dying Fetus - "Grotesque Impalement"

Dying Fetus - "Praise the Lord"

Dying Fetus - "One Shot, One Kill"

Dying Fetus - "Homicidal Retribution"

Dying Fetus - "Your Treachery Will Die With You"

Dying Fetus - "From Womb to Waste"