Living Sacrifice is an American

Christian metal Christian metal, also known as white metal, Jesus metal, or heavenly metal, is heavy metal music distinguished by its Christian-themed song lyrics and the dedication of the band-members to Christianity. Christian metal is typically performed by ...

band formed in

Little Rock, Arkansas Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

, in 1989. The band has released eight studio albums, out of which the first three were recorded under

R.E.X. Records R.E.X. Records, also known as R.E.X. Music, was an independent record label founded by Doug Mann and Gavin Morkel, which operated from 1987 until running into financial difficulty in 1995. Operations were based in Chicago until 1990 when the com ...

with their original vocalist Darren Johnson, starting off as

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an Extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, ...

, followed by

death metal Death metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep death growl, growling vocals; aggressive ...

. The band evolved into a

groove metal Groove metal, sometimes also called neo-thrash or post-thrash, is a subgenre of heavy metal music that began in the early 1990s. The genre is primarily derived from thrash metal, but played in slower tempos, and making use of rhythmic guitar pa ...

and

metalcore Metalcore is a broadly defined fusion genre combining elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk, originating in the 1990s United States and becoming popular in the 2000s. Metalcore typically has aggressive verses and melodic choruses, combined ...

style beginning with '' Reborn'' (1997) under

Solid State Records Tooth & Nail Records is a record label founded by Brandon Ebel in California in November 1993. The label later moved to Seattle where it is today. History Brandon Ebel and Michael Knott conceived the label as a joint venture, before Knott backe ...

with the original guitarist

Bruce Fitzhugh Bruce Patrick Fitzhugh is an American musician. He is the second lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and founding member of Arkansas's Christian metal band Living Sacrifice. The lead vocalist role was left to Bruce shortly after the departure of Da ...

on vocals. In 2003, the group disbanded due to other projects and later their label, Solid State, released their best-of album, ''In Memoriam'' (2005). In 2008, Living Sacrifice reformed and released a two-song digital only single called ''Death Machine''. They then began working on '' The Infinite Order'' which was released on January 26, 2010. Lance Garvin and

are the two remaining original members.

History

Living Sacrifice was one of the first

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

bands along with

Sacrament A sacrament is a Christian rite which is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence, number and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments to be a visible symbol ...

and

Mortification Mortification may refer to: *Mortification (theology), theological doctrine *Mortification of the flesh, religious practice of corporal mortification *Mortification in Roman Catholic teaching, Roman Catholic doctrine of mortification *Extreme emb ...

. The band, whose name is derived from , formed in 1989 by Darren "D.J." Johnson (bass, vocals),

(guitar), and Lance Garvin (drums);

Jason Truby Jason Truby (born June 1, 1973) is an American guitarist. He began his career in 1989 with Living Sacrifice as lead guitarist. He was also a member of P.O.D., but has also performed with Phil Keaggy, David Beegle, Ashley Cleveland and her husba ...

later joined in on guitar. The band would perform their debut show on December 1, 1989, in front of a hall of

nurses Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...

. They released a three-song demo in 1990, ''Not Yielding to Ungodly'', which got into the hands of Kurt Bachman and Joey Daub from

Believer Believer(s) or The Believer(s) may refer to: Religion * Believer, a person who holds a particular belief ** Believer, a person who holds a particular religious belief *** Believers, Christians with a religious faith in the divine Christ *** Bel ...

, who signed them to

. In 1991, Living Sacrifice's self-titled debut album was released on R.E.X. Records. The album was recorded at Catamount Recording Studio in Iowa with Kurt Bachman acting as a producer. The album received many comparisons to

groups of the time, especially

Slayer Slayer is an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California, formed in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style made them ...

. On November 17, 1992, Living Sacrifice released their second album, ''

Nonexistent Existence is the state of having being or reality in contrast to nonexistence and nonbeing. Existence is often contrasted with essence: the essence of an entity is its essential features or qualities, which can be understood even if one does ...

''. On this album, Living Sacrifice switched from thrash metal to down-tuned death metal, and D.J. started experimenting with a

death growl The death growl, or simply growl, is an extended vocal technique usually employed in extreme styles of music, particularly in death metal and other Extreme metal, extreme Heavy metal genres, subgenres of heavy metal music. Sometimes death gro ...

in his vocal approach. The members have said that they were disappointed with the experience of making this album and that the producer was to blame. The producer had no prior experience with working on metal albums and did not know how to work with the band. The band had initially reached out to Scott Burns of

Morrisound Recording Morrisound Recording (also Morrisound Studios) is an audio recording facility in Tampa, Florida, United States, owned and operated by brothers Jim and Tom Morris. Since its opening in 1981, Morrisound has been responsible for the popularizat ...

(

Death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

Atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

Obituary An obituary (wikt:obit#Etymology 2, obit for short) is an Article (publishing), article about a recently death, deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as Article (publishing), news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on p ...

), but the label stated the band had to have the album out before

Cornerstone Festival Cornerstone Festival was a Christian music festival put on by Jesus People USA and held annually around July 4 near Bushnell, Illinois, drawing some 20,000 attendees each year. In a given year, many artists that played at Cornerstone also playe ...

of 1992, which did not work with Burns' schedule. Since the engineer was unaware of the proper techniques, Johnson and Garvin attempted to work on the engineering side themselves. In 1994, the band released a third album, '' Inhabit'', which is considered by some to be the heaviest of all Living Sacrifice albums. On ''Inhabit'', D.J. returned to a more thrash-oriented vocal approach, deeper and lower in tone than his vocals on the band's debut. To support the album, the band embarked on a tour with

Malevolent Creation Malevolent Creation is an American death metal band formed in Buffalo, New York in 1986 and later based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The band's original members were guitarists Phil Fasciana and Jim Nickles and vocalist Bret Hoffmann, who were ...

. After this recording R.E.X. went bankrupt, and Living Sacrifice signed onto

seeking to widen their audience. After this, D.J. left the band to follow non-musical ministry, and Bruce took over vocals. Jason's brother, Chris, also joined on bass. With this new lineup, Living Sacrifice recorded '' Reborn'', their Solid State debut, in 1997. The band started to play a mix of

and

. ''Reborn'' is considered the most influential of all Living Sacrifice records and earned them a larger non-Christian fanbase. After this record, Chris and Jason left the band and close and longtime friend Jay Stacy filled in on bass while

Cory Brandan Putman Cory Brandan Putman (born April 11, 1976) is an American singer who has been the lead vocalist for the metalcore band Norma Jean since 2004. Career Brandan is a former member of bands Eso-Charis, Living Sacrifice, The Handshake Murders, ...

played on guitar. Stacy has lived down the street from Garvin and had known the band for a longtime. The band embarked on a few tours with the line of Fitzhugh, Garvin, Stacy, and Putman, including a tour with

Cannibal Corpse Cannibal Corpse is an American death metal band formed in Buffalo, New York, in 1988, now based in Tampa, Florida. The band has released sixteen studio albums, two box sets, four video albums, and two live albums. The band has had little radio ...

and

Angelcorpse Angelcorpse was a blackened death metal band formed after the demise of Pete Helmkamp's previous band, Order from Chaos. Originally from Kansas City, Missouri, they relocated to Tampa, Florida. History They formed in 1995, with a line-up of He ...

. In 1999, Stacy stepped down from the band to focus on his family and was replaced by

Arthur Green Arthur Green (, born March 21, 1941) is an American scholar of Jewish mysticism and Neo-Hasidic theologian. He was a founding dean of the non-denominational rabbinical program at Hebrew College in Boston. He describes himself as an American Jew ...

, formerly of

Eso-Charis Eso-Charis, originally called Elliot, was a Christian metalcore/mathcore band that formed in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Founding members, brothers Cory Brandan Putman and Matthew Putman, and Arthur Green, eventually went on to join the band Liv ...

. Cory played guitar for a tour through

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

but was then replaced by

Rocky Gray William Caldwell "Rocky" Gray (born July 2, 1974) is an American drummer and guitarist. He is a guitarist for the bands Living Sacrifice, Even Devils Die, and Creepy Carnival, and the drummer for Soul Embraced, Mourningside, Machina, and W ...

(who would go on to play drums in

Evanescence Evanescence is an American Rock music, rock band founded in 1994 by singer and keyboardist Amy Lee and guitarist Ben Moody in Little Rock, Arkansas. After releasing independent extended play, EPs and a Origin (Evanescence demo album), demo ...

and

We Are the Fallen We Are the Fallen is an American-Irish hard rock band formed in 2009, comprising Irish singer and former ''American Idol'' contestant Carly Smithson, guitarists Ben Moody and John LeCompt, drummer Rocky Gray, and bassist Marty O'Brien. Moo ...

and guitar in

Soul Embraced Soul Embraced is an American Christian melodic death metal band from Little Rock, Arkansas. It was originally a side project for Rocky Gray and David Sroczynski. History Originally a side project of drummer David Sroczynski and William "Ro ...

.) At the end of 1999, Matthew Putman joined Living Sacrifice as a percussionist. In 2000, Living Sacrifice recorded their fifth full-length album, ''

The Hammering Process ''The Hammering Process'' is the fifth album by the Christian metal band Living Sacrifice. This is the first album to feature percussionist Matthew Putman, guitarist Rocky Gray and bassist Arthur Green. The making of this album was featured in ...

'', with a more rhythmical sound—more oriented towards groove metal. Bruce also sang in one Evanescence song, "Lies". In 2001, ''A Tribute to Living Sacrifice'' was released. The album contains covers of many Living Sacrifice songs by other metal bands and former members, and a Living Sacrifice song from a split EP, ''Metamorphosis'', released in 1993. In 2002, Living Sacrifice entered the studio again, resulting in the album ''

Conceived in Fire ''Conceived in Fire'' is the sixth album by the Christian metalcore band Living Sacrifice. It was the band's final album before 2008 when the band reunited, minus Percussionist Matthew Putman. Critical reception Jason Taylor of AllMusic write ...

''. In June 2003, Living Sacrifice canceled the rest of one of their tours and announced that Living Sacrifice was disbanding. Each of the band members had other commitments, such as Lance Garvin and

, and felt it was time to move on. According to several interviews, it was only supposed to be

's final tour, and after he left,

was supposed to take over Lead Vocals and Rhythm Guitar, and

Bryan Gray Bryan Gray is an American musician that has predominately performed with bands in the punk rock and hardcore punk genre, including and most notably, the Blamed, Blenderhead, Left Out, The Satire, and Rocks in Pink Cement. He also has performed ...

, formerly of

The Blamed The Blamed is an American Christian hardcore punk band currently based out of Chicago. During their tenure they have played primarily hardcore punk, pop punk, punk rock, and emo music with some influences from metal as well. They originally a ...

was to take over Lead Guitar. In March 2005, ''In Memoriam'' was released by Solid State Records. It is a "best of" album, containing three "newly written and recorded songs by Lance Garvin, Rocky Gray and Bruce Fitzhugh", two songs from each Living Sacrifice album, plus "Enthroned", a 1998 cover of a song originally released on 1992's ''Nonexistent''. The three new songs are "In Christ", "Killers", and "The Power of God". In 2007, Bruce Fitzhugh was featured on the song "Sixteen", on

Demon Hunter Demon hunter is a demonology-related historic occupation or folkloric character which specializes in killing demons, monsters, or undead creatures. Demon hunter or variations may also refer to: Characters * Demon Hunter (comics), an Atlas/Seab ...

's fourth album ''

Storm the Gates of Hell ''Storm the Gates of Hell'' is the fourth studio album by American Christian metal band Demon Hunter, released on November 6, 2007. It is the band's last album to feature Don Clark and Ethan Luck. Touring and promotion Demon Hunter embarked ...

''. On February 4, 2008, a newly created official MySpace page was updated to announce the reformation of the band. They also announced their support of Demon Hunter in the "Stronger Than Hell" tour from May 26 through July 5, 2008. On June 10, 2008, Living Sacrifice released a two-song, online-only sampler, ''Death Machine''. On the same day at the Dallas, Texas date of the "Stronger Than Hell" tour, vocalist and rhythm guitarist Bruce Fitzhugh announced that the band was working on a new CD which they hoped to release in 2009. The album release was delayed by Solid State and eventually came out on January 26, 2010. A music video for their lead single off '' The Infinite Order'', "Rules of Engagement", was aired December 22. The band's seventh studio album, ''The Infinite Order'', was released January 26, 2010, via Solid State Records. The album features the voices of David Bunton from The Showdown,

Joe Musten Joseph Stephen Musten is an American musician who started his musical career in 1999. He formed Beloved, Advent, Your Son Is Dead, and Torn. In 2008, he joined the band The Almost after former drummer Kenny Bozich quit the band. Joe was feature ...

from

Advent Advent is a season observed in most Christian denominations as a time of waiting and preparation for both the celebration of Jesus's birth at Christmas and the return of Christ at the Second Coming. It begins on the fourth Sunday before Chri ...

and Beloved, and guitarist Jason Truby. The album was mixed and mastered by

Andy Sneap Andy Sneap (born 18 July 1969) is an English guitarist, record producer, and composer with over 100 albums to his name, most of which have been produced at his Backstage Recording studios in rural Derbyshire. Some of the most critically acclaim ...

Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location or state in the afterlife in which souls are subjected to punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history sometimes depict hells as eternal destinations, such as Christianity and I ...

guitarist. Track three references the phrase " God is dead" by

Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher. He began his career as a classical philology, classical philologist, turning to philosophy early in his academic career. In 1869, aged 24, Nietzsche bec ...

. Released in November, the deluxe edition contained three additional tracks, two live songs and a new track. In 2013, after three years of touring, Living Sacrifice recorded their eighth album, ''

Ghost Thief ''Ghost Thief'' is the eighth studio album by the Christian metal band Living Sacrifice. It is their second album produced by Jeremiah Scott. Writing and recording The band toured in support of their prior album, ''The Infinite Order'', for thre ...

'', released November 12, 2013, on Solid State Records. The first song named "The Reaping" was premiered on October 17, 2013, on the Solid State

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

page. The album features the guest voices of Ryan Clark from

on "Screwtape", and

Dave Peters David Peters is an American musician. He was the original guitarist for the metal band Eighteen Visions, guitarist for Throwdown, and, since 2002, the vocalist for Throwdown. He has also provided guest vocals for the song " Unleash" by Soulfly, ...

from Throwdown on "Despair". The title song, "Ghost Thief", premiered November 6, 2013, on ''

Revolver A revolver is a repeating handgun with at least one barrel and a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold six cartridges before needing to be reloaded, ...

'' magazine website. Living Sacrifice is featured on the '' Killing Floor 2 Soundtrack''. The band performed their first shows of 2017 on the ShipRocked cruise alongside bands such as

Pop Evil Pop Evil is an American rock band that was formed in North Muskegon, Michigan, in 2001 by Leigh Kakaty. The band's roots reside in TenFive, a group formed in the late-1990s by Kakaty and guitarist Jason Reed. Pop Evil has several songs that to ...

Breaking Benjamin Breaking Benjamin is an American Rock music, rock band from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, formed in 1999 by lead singer and guitarist Benjamin Burnley and drummer Jeremy Hummel. The first lineup of the band also included guitarist Aaron Fink an ...

Papa Roach Papa Roach is an American Rock music, rock band from Vacaville, California, formed in 1993. The original lineup consisted of lead vocalist Jacoby Shaddix, drummer Dave Buckner, guitarist Jerry Horton, bassist Will James, and trombonist Ben Luth ...

Sevendust Sevendust is an American Rock music, rock band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 1994 by bassist Vinnie Hornsby, drummer Morgan Rose and guitarist John Connolly (musician), John Connolly. After their first demo, lead vocalist Lajon Witherspoon an ...

and

Lacey Sturm Lacey Nicole Sturm ( Mosley, previously Carder; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer and songwriter, known for being lead vocalist of the alternative rock band Flyleaf (band), Flyleaf. In February 2016, Sturm became the first solo femal ...

. According to former vocalist DJ Johnson, a friend of the band's is developing a documentary of the band. In 2017, the band released "New Day" on a benefit compilation, ''We Bear the Scars''. The track was originally supposed to be a part of ''The Hammering Process'', but the band and producer

Barry Poynter Barry Poynter is an American record producer. He has produced albums for many bands and musicians, such as Soul Embraced, Society's Finest, Living Sacrifice, and The Juliana Theory. He is also a former member of 2 Minute Hate. Discography * '' A ...

lost the track during the mixing process. The band's documentary, ''30 Years of Sacrifice'', was to debut at the band's 30th anniversary show on March 28, 2020, and feature The Blamed, and former members Darren Johnson, Jason and Chris Truby, as well as

Embodyment Embodyment was a Christian rock band from Arlington, Texas. The group formed in 1992 and were first known by the name Supplication where they originally played death metal. The band changed its style for its debut album '' Embrace the Eternal' ...

and

The Famine The Famine was an American death metal band formed in Arlington, Texas, in 2006. They were signed to Solid State Records. History Formation and three-song EP The band initially formed with three of the original members of Embodyment i ...

drummer Mark Garza on percussion. Due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

, however, the premiere of the documentary was postponed. In 2021, Nordic Mission released a remaster of Living Sacrifice's self-titled debut album for its 30th anniversary. In 2022, Nordic Mission released a remaster of their second album Nonexistent on Vinyl and CD.

Musical style and legacy

The band's style has been described as

, ,

, and

. Bands that have named Living Sacrifice an influence include:

As I Lay Dying ''As I Lay Dying'' is a 1930 Southern Gothic novel by American author William Faulkner. Faulkner's fifth novel, it is consistently ranked among the best novels of the 20th century.The New Lifetime Reading Plan: The Classical Guide to World Lit ...

, Throwdown,

, Underøath,

Haste the Day Haste the Day is an American metalcore band formed in Carmel, Indiana in 2001 and signed to Solid State Records. Their name is derived from a lyric in the hymn "It Is Well with My Soul" by Horatio Spafford. The band released an EP titled '' T ...

, Saving Grace, 7 Horns 7 Eyes and many more.

Band members

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums EPs * ''Metamorphosis'' (

split EP A split album (or split) is a music album that includes tracks by two or more separate artists. There are also singles and EPs of the same variety, which are often called "split singles" and "split EPs" respectively. Split albums differ from "v ...

with

Circle of Dust Circle of Dust is an industrial music project from New York City created by Klayton, who later became known as Celldweller. The project was active as a band from 1988 to 1998 and then re-started in 2015 after Klayton gained back ownership of his ...

, 1993) * ''Subtle Alliance'' (2002,

) * ''Death Machine'' (2008,

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

) Demos * ''Not Yielding to Ungodly'' (1990) * ''Bloodwork & Burn the End'' (2000) Compilation * ''In Memoriam'' (best-of compilation, 2005) DVDs * ''In Finite Live'' (2011) * ''30 Years of Sacrifice: The Story of Living Sacrifice'' (2021) Other songs * "Overkill Exposure" (rough mix) (a single track only given out through the 2009 ''Fuel'' magazine sampler) * "Something More" (a single re-recorded track from ''Reborn'' put on the '' Killing Floor 2 Soundtrack'') * "New Day" (a song that was originally supposed to be a part of ''The Hammering Process'' but was lost during mixing. It was released finally on ''We Bear the Scars'', a benefit compilation for Timothy Henderson of

Warlord Warlords are individuals who exercise military, Economy, economic, and Politics, political control over a region, often one State collapse, without a strong central or national government, typically through informal control over Militia, local ...

) Music videos *
...To Nothing
(1992) *
Reject
(1997) *
Rules of Engagement
(2009) *
Overkill Exposure
(2010)

References

External links

* * Wilson, Gord (2000) .

HM Magazine ''HM Magazine'' is a monthly, digital and print on demand publication focusing on hard music and alternative culture of interest to Christians. It is based in Houston, Texas. Originally published as ''Heaven's Metal'', it was renamed to ''HM'' in ...

. Retrieved on August 25, 2016. * {{Authority control American Christian metal musical groups American death metal musical groups American groove metal musical groups Metalcore musical groups from Arkansas American thrash metal musical groups Musical groups established in 1989 Musical groups disestablished in 2005 Musical groups reestablished in 2008 Solid State Records artists Christian extreme metal groups Christian alternative metal groups Musical groups from Little Rock, Arkansas American musical quartets