Pissgrave is an American

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 ...

band formed in 2013 in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. The current line-up of the band consists of Tim Mellon (guitar, vocals),

Demian Fenton Demian Fenton (born March 6, 1975) is an American filmmaker and musician from the Pocono Mountains region of Pennsylvania, and currently residing in Philadelphia. Fenton edited the films '' Rock School'' (2005), ''Head Space'' (2006) (which he ...

(guitar, vocals), Matt Mellon (drums) and Brad Dumville (bass). The band is known for its "extreme old-school death metal" sound and

graphic Graphics () are visual images or designs on some surface, such as a wall, canvas, screen, paper, or stone, to inform, illustrate, or entertain. In contemporary usage, it includes a pictorial representation of the data, as in design and manufa ...

album covers, that depict actual gore images.

History

Pissgrave was formed in 2013 by guitarists Tim Mellon and Demian Fenton, drummer Matt Mellon and bassist John Guarracino. The band released its self-titled demo tape in 2014 on Graceless Recordings, which attracted attention for its "primitive production" and extreme sound. Following its release, the band signed to

Profound Lore Records Profound Lore Records is a Canadian independent record label founded in May 2004. The label primarily focuses on releasing extreme metal and experimental albums. It "began as the 'hobby-like venture' of a few friends but, over the past six year ...

, which issued their full-length debut album ''Suicide Euphoria'' in 2015. The record was produced by Arthur Rizk. Following the band's North American tour, founding bassist John Guarracino departed the band to focus on his other project, Hæthen. He was replaced by Brad Dumville. The band collaborated again with Arthur Rizk on its second studio album, 2019's ''Posthumous Humiliation''. The record was described as "one of the best death metal albums of 2019" by

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

and ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...

'' Pitchfork additionally listed ''Posthumous Humiliation'' on its list of "The Best Metal Albums of 2019."

Musical style

Pissgrave's sound has been characterized primarily as

, with

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

's Thom Jurek describing the band as "one of the more outrageous acts to emerge from the barebones ethos of old-school death metal with a

war metal Blackened death metal (also known as black death metal) is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music, heavy metal that fuses elements of black metal and death metal. The genre emerged in early 1990s when black metal bands began in ...

production aesthetic." The band's sound has been compared to that of

Deicide Deicide is the killing (or the killer) of a god. The concept may be used for any act of killing a god, including a life-death-rebirth deity who is killed and then resurrected. Etymology The term deicide was coined in the 17th century from ...

Revenge Revenge is defined as committing a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. Vengeful forms of justice, such as primitive justice or retributive justice, are often differentiated from more fo ...

and

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 ...

. The band's cover arts feature

graphic violence Graphic violence refers to the depiction of especially explicit or detailed acts of violence in mass media. It may be real, simulated live action, or animated. Intended for viewing by mature audiences, ''graphic'' in this context is a synonym ...

. On the band's sound and aesthetic, guitarist Tim Mellon has stated: "The overall aesthetic is reality-based death. Pissgrave are rooted in reality rather than fantasy. Images of violent, offensive death rewhat is necessary to portray us musically and visually."

Members

;Current members *Matt Mellon – drums (2013–present) *Tim Mellon – guitar, vocals (2013–present) *Demian Fenton – guitar, vocals (2013–present) *Brad Dumville – bass (2017–present) ;Former members *John Guarracino – bass (2013–2017)

Discography

;Studio albums * ''Suicide Euphoria'' (2015) * ''Posthumous Humiliation'' (2019) * ''Malignant Worthlessness'' (2025) ;Demos * ''Pissgrave'' (2014)

References

External links

* {{Authority control Musical groups established in 2013 Musical quartets from Pennsylvania American death metal musical groups Heavy metal musical groups from Pennsylvania Profound Lore Records artists 2013 establishments in Pennsylvania