History
Formation and early history
Devourment was formed in 1995 on the breakup of Dallas death metal band Necrocide.[3] Necrocide's drummer, Brad Fincher, and guitarist, Braxton Henry, met up with former Meatus vocalist Wayne Knupp to play brutal death metal.[3] However, the newly-formed band achieved little—Knupp moved back to his hometown of Chicago, and Fincher moved to San Antonio for educational reasons. Months later, when the two of them had moved back to Dallas, Henry had formed his own band—Dead Industry. Knupp got in contact with someone he had known years earlier, Brian "Brain" Wynn, and they reformed the band.[3][4] This lineup is often cited as the 'original'.[4][5] The band then developed their first promo, featuring two songs, "Shroud of Encryption" and "Festering Vomitous Mass",[3] which was produced by former and future guitarist Braxton Henry.[5]
Over the next few months, Kevin Clark (formerly of Sintury) joined the band as a secondary guitarist, and Mike Majewski joined on bass.[3] Majewski had previously worked publicizing the band and providing artwork. He had first seen Devourment when their only song was "Shroud of Encryption".[6] The band recorded "Choking on Bile" which they added to their original demo. This was released in 1997 by Corpsegristle Records under the name of Impaled. Knupp later left the band "due to some internal problems".[3] He was replaced by Ruben Rosas, who played guitars and provided vocals in a local band called Detrimental.
[edit] Molesting the Decapitated
In 1999, Devourment signed a record deal with United Guttural and started developing their first album, Molesting the Decapitated, again produced by Braxton.[3] The album was released later that year,[7] and has since been described as "one of the most highly regarded brutal death metal efforts ever recorded" by Teufel, of Teufel's Tomb.[8] Reviews were positive, with Blas, of Global Domination, who praised the album for being so brutal, claiming that "if you look up the word “Brutal” in the dictionary right now, you’d see Devourment’s logo right next to the definition".[9] He praised the vocals, but said that the drums, in places, let the album down due to the fact they were too fast.[9] Dan Staige, of Metal Review, said that the instruments were "remarkably balanced and crisp", and his only criticism was that the "ultra heavy breakdowns" "may sound a little monotonous", but that "you will still bang your head".[10]
The band had a release show for the album in Colarado. Although Majewski claimed that this was in 1998,[1] the album was apparently released in 1999, so he was probably mistaken.[3][7] This show was alongside Macabre and Cephalic Carnage, among others.[3] Shortly afterwards, Rosas was arrested and jailed for two and a half years, meaning the band went their separate ways.[1] Rosas' arrest was described by Majewski as the "last straw",[6][1] as the band was becoming more and more business-like, with Wynn and his wife arranging concerts without consulting the rest of the band.[6]
The band reformed during Rosas' incarceration, with Knupp taking Rosas' place on vocals, and Braxton Henry rejoining the band in the place of Brian Wynn. The band recorded a single song, named "Babykiller", which was featured on a compilation album named Southern Uprising.[3] The song was also featured on the band's own compilation album, 1.3.8, the title of which represents the one song, "Babykiller", with the three songs from Impaled, with the eight songs from Molesting the Decapitated.[10][11] The compilation was released four times—once on Corpse Gristle Records while Rosas was in jail,[11] once on Unmatched Brutality in 2000,[12] once after Rosas' release while the band was working on new material, including the band's first DVD, on Displeased Records,[13] and finally as a limited edition vinyl by label Night of the Vinyl Dead.[14] Upon Rosas's release in 2002, he reformed the band with new members, featuring himself on vocals, guitarists Robert Moore and Kevin Clark, Jeremy Peterson on drums and Joseph Fontenot (later of Jacknife) on bass.[4] Clark was then replaced by Chris Hutto of Ingurgitate.[4] Rosas' new lineup played a few shows, but then split up again.[3] Majewski later referred to the time between the band's two full length albums, explaining that "Ruben and I both made attempts to get the band going again but both failed".[1]
[edit] Butcher the Weak
The cover of Butcher the Weak, designed by Majewski.
A few years later, Knupp, Rosas, and Majewski finally properly reformed Devourment. [6] Rosas and Majewski approached Fincher about returning to the band, but he turned it down due to other priorities in his life. Dallas-based grindcore outfit Kill the Client's drummer "Captain" Chris Andrews was approached, but the band was not willing to share drummers. Kill the Client bassist (and producer of the first recording of Butcher the Weak) James Delgado suggested Eric Park, formerly of Suture, and currently of Wrought of Obsidian, who filled out the lineup which would record the second Devourment album.[3] The band entered the studio in August 2005 to begin recording Butcher the Weak, and the completed album was released in November 2005.[3] For this album, Majewski performed vocals, Rosas provided guitars and bass, and Park was on drums.[15] [3] According to Josh Thorne, of fourteen g, the "production is a lot better" than it was on Molesting the Decapitated, but Majewski explained that both albums had been recorded in the same studio.[1] The album contained artwork by Majewski,[16] who works for a special effects company.[1] Felix Schoonen, of Vampire Magazine, said it was odd that the album was self-released by the band, asking "why should a band like Devourment release their own album... every week countless useless releases are thrown on the market by bands that nobody will ever care for and Devourment is somehow forced to release its own album."[17] Shortly after releasing the recording, Devourment sought a permanent bassist. It was brought to their attention that "Captain" Andrews could play stringed instruments as well as drums, and he was once again asked to join the band, entering into Devourment history via the bass guitar. In 2006, the band signed a two album deal with label Brutal Bands,[18] and proceeded to re-record and re-release Butcher the Weak with new bassist Chris Andrews.[3] The new release's cover was yellow, while the self-released version sported a green cover, though they bore the same design.[15] The album received positive reviews, with Jeremy Garner of MetalReview.com saying that "Devourment is one of the few bands that manages to bridge that gap of the more deathgrind oriented side of things ala Disgorge, while simultaneously having enough variation and groove to keep the Dying Fetus fans happy enough."[19] The album was given five out of five stars by Josh of White Trash Devil, calling Devourment the "undisputed kings" of brutal death metal.[20] Criticism of the album included that it was too repetitive, from Mike Lida, of Diabolical Conquest.[21]
On September 15, 2007, Wayne Knupp died of multiple organ failure due to alcohol abuse.[5] Despite no longer being with Devourment, his links with the band were widely reported, including his guest appearance with Devourment at the Central Illinois Metalfest earlier in the year.[22] Knupp's girlfriend posted a message on his MySpace profile confirming his death and thanking people for their support and messages.[23] In an interview with SMNnews.com, Majewski spoke of the impact of the death on the band, saying;[24]
It had a big impact. He was a founding member and really created the vocal style we are known for. Just felt like part of the band died too. Like when he died, it was just weird to think about doing shows or recording without him around, even if he was no longer in the band. He was a good person and definitely deserves to be remembered.
Since Butcher the Weak, Devourment have recorded new material for compilation albums, as well as continuing to tour.[3] They have appeared at various festivals,[3] including Central Illinois Metalfest,[25] The Goregrowler's Ball[26] and Germany's Fuck the Commerce.[27] Devourment also released their second DVD in January 2008.[28] In an interview with SMNnews.com in October 2007, Majewski said that the band aims to complete a third studio album by mid-2008, performing less in 2008.[24]
[edit] Unleash the Carnivore
Devourment's third full-length studio album, Unleash the Carnivore, was released in 2009 through Brutal Bands. The cover features artwork by acclaimed death metal artists Dan Seagrave and Par Olafsson. Rosas provides guest vocals, as does Captain Piss (who also wrote the music for two of the songs on the album).
[edit] Members
Main article: Devourment band members
Current members
* Mike Majewski- vocals.
* Ruben Rosas- guitars.
* Captain Piss- bass.
* Eric Park- drums.
[edit] Discography
* Impaled (Demo)- Corpsegristle Records, 1997.
* Molesting the Decapitated (LP)- United Guttural, 1999.
* 1.3.8. (Compilation)- Corpse Gristle Records. Unmatched Brutality. Displeased Records. Night of the Vinyl Dead.
* Butcher the Weak (LP)- self released, 2005. Brutal Bands, 2006.
* Unleash the Carnivore (LP)- Brutal Bands, 2009.
[edit] References
