Decrepit Birth

Merging brutal physical power with an unerringly precise attack, Decrepit Birth are a technical death metal band from Santa Cruz, California. The band’s story begins in the mid-’90s, when vocalist Bill Robinson met guitarist Matt Sotelo, and the two discovered they shared an ambition to create truly uncompromising music. In 2001, things got serious when Robinson and Sotelo teamed up with bassist Derek Boyer and began assembling material. By 2003, the band had developed a reputation for their striking live shows, and they released their debut album, … And Time Begins, with the three musicians joined by drummer Tim Yeung. Yeung didn’t last long with the group, and in 2004 K.C. Howard became their new drummer. After extensive touring, Sotelo began writing material that gave Decrepit Birth a more melodic sound without cutting back on their ferocity. The result was their second full-length album, 2008’s Diminishing Between Worlds. While Joel Horner was playing bass with the band by this time, he didn’t appear on the album, with Sotelo playing bass and keyboards as well as guitar. By Decrepit Birth’s standards, their next album was completed quickly, with Polarity released in 2010 by respected metal label Nuclear Blast; the Robinson/Sotelo/Horner/Howard lineup was supplemented in the studio by guitarists Dan Eggers and Ty Oliver and drummer Lee Smith. By the end of 2010, Sam Paulicelli became the group’s new drummer, replacing KC Howard, and Sean Martinez took over from Horner on bass in 2013. While Decrepit Birth toured hard in support of Polarity, the group took a break after Sotelo became a father for the first time and wanted to stay home with his young son. However, he didn’t stop writing new songs while on paternity leave, and with Sotelo and Martinez recording in their respective home studios and Paulicelli cutting drum tracks at a studio in Canada, Decrepit Birth returned in 2017 with the album Axis Mundi. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

PATHOLOGY

PATHOLOGY is epitomized as the ultimate death metal assault to the ears. Since their formation in 2006, the San Diego-based band has managed to release a new album almost every single year since their inception, and have sold over 10,000 albums in the underground scene. The band’s hunger to churn out bludgeoning metal coupled with meaningful themes instantly separates them from the rest.

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UNMERCIFUL

Clinton Appelhanz – Guitars/ Vocals
Jeremy Turner – Bass/ Vocals
Trynt Kelly – Drums
Justin Payne – Guitars/ Vocals
Joshua Riley- Vocals

MISANTHROPY

“Staying away from the traditional constraints of a single genre label, Misanthropy fuses mind dissolving dissonant melodies, twisting hyper speed technicality, foundation-shattering low brutality, and hooks that will worm their way into your brain and take up permanent residence “

ILLUSION OF FATE

Illusion of Fate began as a recording project in the summer of 2019, between vocalist, King Morbid and guitarist, Hayden Crownover. On April 10th, 2020, the band’s debut EP, Emerging Sentience, was released to positive reception. It was in this release, that the foundation for their singular approach to extreme music was firmly laid. Juxtaposing blistering, yet melodic black metal, with the pulsing rhythms of groove metal, unforgettable riffs, all to an atmospheric backdrop taking cues from ambient music and film scores, the band was quick to form a unique identity for themselves. It was this array of influences on their music that caught the appeal of a variety of listeners. In November of that year, bass guitar duties would be assumed by Bryan Bykowski, providing another voice to the band’s already collaborative approach to songwriting. However, it was when their second EP, King of Serpents, released on October 30th of 2021, that Illusion of Fate’s musical scope was further expanded. Along with the traits of their instantly recognizable sound, they explored far more dramatic songwriting, ambitious orchestral arrangements, raw aggression of thrash metal, and the plodding drear of doom metal. This release was met with acclaim in the online metal community, while evolving the band’s sound. Since being tirelessly active on the live circuit since May of 2021, Illusion of Fate has shared the stage with the likes of Gorgatron, Interloper, Vale of Pnath, Obscura, and many others.