Rigor Mortis was an American

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, ...

band that formed in November 1983 in the Dallas–Fort Worth, Texas metroplex.

History

Two schoolmates, Harden Harrison (drums) and Casey Orr (bass), formed the band when they met Mike Scaccia (guitar). The three young men shared an interest in horror/ gore films and very heavy music. With Bruce Corbitt on vocals, they created some of the heaviest thrash metal at the time often flirting with

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 ...

. They were also one of the only major thrash bands from Texas and virtually created the underground metal scene there. The band was signed by

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

in 1987. In 2005, the original lineup reunited and performed at

Ozzfest Ozzfest was an annual music festival tour of the United States and sometimes Europe and later Japan, featuring performances by many heavy metal music, heavy metal and hard rock musical groups. It was founded by Sharon Osbourne and her husband O ...

2008 in Texas. In 2009, Rigor Mortis played in Germany at the Keep It True Festival. Mike Scaccia also played guitar with

industrial metal Industrial metal is the fusion of Heavy metal music, heavy metal and industrial music, typically employing repeating Heavy metal guitar, metal guitar riffs, sampling (music), sampling, synthesizer or music sequencer, sequencer lines, and Distor ...

band Ministry,

Revolting Cocks Revolting Cocks, also known as RevCo, are an American-Belgian industrial rock band, and sometimes supergroup, that began as a musical side project for Richard 23 of Front 242, Luc van Acker, and Al Jourgensen of Ministry. History 1984 ...

Lard Lard is a Quasi-solid, semi-solid white fat product obtained by rendering (animal products), rendering the adipose tissue, fatty tissue of a domestic pig, pig.

, and others. Casey Orr plays bass in the

shock rock Shock rock is the combination of rock music or heavy metal music with highly theatrical live performances emphasizing shock value. Performances may include violent or provocative behavior from the artists, the use of attention-grabbing imagery ...

band

Gwar Gwar, often stylized as GWAR, is an American heavy metal band formed in Richmond, Virginia, in 1984, composed of and operated by a frequently rotating line-up of musicians, artists, and filmmakers collectively known as Slave Pit Inc. Since ...

as the character Beefcake the Mighty. Harden Harrison also plays drums with the metal bands Speedealer and Mitra. Bruce Corbitt also sang for the thrash metal band Warbeast (formerly Texas Metal Alliance). Former Rigor Mortis vocalist/guitarist Doyle Bright also played guitar in the metal band Hallows Eve. He currently performs vocals and guitars in the band SOG. On December 23, 2012, the band's guitarist Mike Scaccia died from a heart attack while performing onstage. On October 6, 2014, Rigor Mortis released their final album ''Slaves to the Grave'', which had been recorded in February 2012 at Ministry's 13th Planet Studios in El Paso. With no label interested in the album, Rigor Mortis successfully crowdfunded the new album by raising $22,838 from fan pre-orders to self-release the final album. After years of battling with cancer, Corbitt died on January 25, 2019, at the age of 56. The remaining members perform Rigor Mortis music under the moniker Wizards of Gore in tribute to Mike Scaccia.

Musical style

The band made the transition from

speed metal Speed metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music that originated in the late 1970s from new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM) roots.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' (Berg Publishers, 2007), , p. 31. It is desc ...

. The music on the self-titled debut album is described as technically demanding and "furiously fast". The lyrics mostly describe horror stories, inspired by films such as ''

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre ''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' is a 1974 American independent horror film produced, co-composed, and directed by Tobe Hooper, who co-wrote it with Kim Henkel. The film stars Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow, ...

'' or ''

A Nightmare on Elm Street ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' is a 1984 American Supernatural horror film, supernatural slasher film written and directed by Wes Craven and produced by Robert Shaye. It is the first installment in the A Nightmare on Elm Street (franchise), ''A ...

''. The band sees their songs as "little tales of death and doom, with the purpose of entertaining people". The EP ''Freaks'' featured Doyle Bright as the new singer, who "sounds exactly like his predecessor".

Band members

Timeline

ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:20 PlotArea = left:100 bottom:100 top:0 right:25 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1983 till:01/09/2015 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:1984 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1985 Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:2 Colors = id:Vocals value:red legend:Vocals id:Guitar value:green legend:Guitar id:Bass value:blue legend:Bass id:Drums value:orange legend:Drums id:Lines value:black legend:Studio releases LineData = at:19/07/1988 color:Black layer:Back at:08/05/1991 color:Black layer:Back at:06/10/2014 color:Black layer:Back BarData = bar:Bruce text:"Bruce Corbitt" bar:Doyle text:"Doyle Bright" bar:Mike text:"Mike Scaccia" bar:Mike2 text:"Mike Taylor" bar:Casey text:"Casey Orr" bar:Harden text:"Harden Harrison" PlotData = width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(11,-4) bar:Bruce from:01/01/1986 till:01/01/1989 color:Vocals bar:Doyle from:01/01/1989 till:01/01/1992 color:Vocals bar:Bruce from:01/01/2005 till:23/12/2012 color:Vocals bar:Bruce from:14/07/2013 till:14/07/2013 color:Vocals bar:Bruce from:14/07/2015 till:14/07/2015 color:Vocals bar:Doyle from:11/08/2015 till:11/08/2015 color:Vocals bar:Mike from:01/01/1983 till:01/01/1992 color:Guitar bar:Mike from:01/01/1983 till:01/01/1986 color:Vocals width:3 bar:Mike from:01/01/2005 till:23/12/2012 color:Guitar bar:Mike2 from:14/07/2013 till:14/07/2013 color:Guitar bar:Mike2 from:14/07/2015 till:14/07/2015 color:Guitar bar:Mike2 from:11/08/2015 till:11/08/2015 color:Guitar bar:Casey from:01/01/1983 till:01/01/1992 color:Bass bar:Casey from:01/01/1983 till:01/01/1992 color:Vocals width:3 bar:Casey from:01/01/2005 till:23/12/2012 color:Bass bar:Casey from:01/01/2005 till:23/12/2012 color:Vocals width:3 bar:Casey from:14/07/2013 till:14/07/2013 color:Bass bar:Casey from:14/07/2013 till:14/07/2013 color:Vocals width:3 bar:Casey from:14/07/2015 till:14/07/2015 color:Bass bar:Casey from:14/07/2015 till:14/07/2015 color:Vocals width:3 bar:Casey from:11/08/2015 till:11/08/2015 color:Bass bar:Casey from:11/08/2015 till:11/08/2015 color:Vocals width:3 bar:Harden from:01/01/1983 till:01/01/1992 color:Drums bar:Harden from:01/01/1983 till:01/01/1992 color:Vocals width:3 bar:Harden from:01/01/2005 till:23/12/2012 color:Drums bar:Harden from:01/01/2005 till:23/12/2012 color:Vocals width:3 bar:Harden from:14/07/2013 till:14/07/2013 color:Drums bar:Harden from:14/07/2013 till:14/07/2013 color:Vocals width:3 bar:Harden from:14/07/2015 till:14/07/2015 color:Drums bar:Harden from:14/07/2015 till:14/07/2015 color:Vocals width:3 bar:Harden from:11/08/2015 till:11/08/2015 color:Drums bar:Harden from:11/08/2015 till:11/08/2015 color:Vocals width:3

Select discography

* 1986: ''Demo 1986'' * 1988: ''The Decline of the Western Civilization Part 2 (The Metal Years) Soundtrack'' (Capitol) * 1988: ''Demons Demo'' * 1988: ''

Rigor Mortis Rigor mortis (), or postmortem rigidity, is the fourth stage of death. It is one of the recognizable signs of death, characterized by stiffening of the limbs of the corpse caused by chemical changes in the muscles postmortem (mainly calcium ...

'' (Capitol) - Released on July 19, 1988 * 1989: ''Freaks EP'' (Metal Blade) * 1991: ''Rigor Mortis Vs. The Earth'' (Triple X) * 1991: "Psycho Therapy" on '' Gabba Gabba Hey'' ‒

Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band formed in the New York City neighborhood Forest Hills, Queens in 1974. Known for helping establish the punk movement in the United States and elsewhere, the Ramones are often recognized as one of th ...

tribute album (Triple X) * 2014: ''Slaves to the Grave'' * 2018: ''Freaks Demo '89''

References

;Sources
History of Rigor Mortis w/ Bruce Corbitt

The Metal Den interview w/ Bruce Corbitt
* http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/rigor-mortis-slaves-to-the-grave-album-details-revealed/

External links

* {{Authority control 1983 establishments in Texas 2013 disestablishments in Texas American thrash metal musical groups Heavy metal musical groups from Texas Musical groups established in 1983 Musical groups reestablished in 2005 Musical groups disestablished in 2013 American speed metal musical groups Musical quartets from Texas