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Sunday Old School: Dutch Horsemen Of Death Metal, Pestilence

Since today marks the first time the Netherlands have appeared in the FIFA World Cup final since 1978, it seemed a good idea to revisit the country's contributions to the realm of metal, and probably one of the best contributions they made, was Pestilence. The band formed in 1986, originally adopted a thrash metal sound and was able to gain the attention of Roadrunner Records after releasing two demos, "Dysentry" and "The Penance." The signing with Roadrunner allowed them to release their first full length album in 1988, "Malleus Maleficarum." Guitarist Randy Meinhard quit the band soon after the album's release, and was replaced by Patrick Uterwijk, with whom the band recorded their next studio album, "Consuming Impulse," which followed a much more death metal orientated sound. The album was well received in the extreme metal crowd and helped the band to achieve an international fanbase.

Although they found some success with "Consuming Impulses," vocalist/bassist Martin Van Drunen left the band to become the frontman of Asphyx, leaving the rest of the group to find new members. They filled the gaps in the band by enlisting Cynic bassist Tony Choy and vocalist Patrick Mameli, and recorded a new album of original material named, "Testimony Of The Ancients" in 1991. Although the album wasn't considered as harsh as previous records, the band demonstrated an obvious growth in musical ability and skill, as well as much better production. They would record one more album in the 1990's, this time with Jeroen Paul Thesseling on bass and incorporating jazz fusion into their sound. The resulting album, "Spheres" was released in 1993 and earned the band an even bigger fanbase, but unfortunately, tensions within Pestilence also grew, and the band decided to call it a day in 1994.

However, after fourteen years of inactivity, vocalist Patrick Marmeli decided to resurrect the band as a three piece, with him performing vocal and guitar duties, bass player Tony Choy and Darkane drummer Peter Wildoer. The new lineup of the band recorded a brand new album entitled, "Resurrection Macabre," which saw a release in 2009 through Mascot Records. That same year, bassist Tony Choy once again left the band, to be replaced by Jeroen Paul Thesseling, who is also the current bass player for Obscura. The reformed band are currently working on their next album, tentatively entitled, "Doctrine" and plan to release it in 2011.

Pestilence - "Out Of The Body"

Pestilence - "Mind Reflections"

Pestilence - "Land of Tears"

Pestilence - "Devouring Frenzy"