A well-kept secret to all but the most loyal crate-diggers, Morbid Saint helped build a framework in the ‘80s for modern death metal. Thanks to a groundswell of fandom outside the U.S., they have since gained the attention of their peers, and reunited in the 21st century to continue their work.
Founded in Sheboygan, Wisconsin in 1984, Morbid Saint began life as a cover band specializing in Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, and the like. By 1988, the group — founding members Jay Visser (guitar), Jim Fergades (guitar), and Lee Reynolds (drums), plus singer Pat Lind and bassist Tony Paletti — had honed enough original material to put together a demo tape called Lock Up Your Children. Though no major label took the bait, a Mexican label issued it in 1989 under the title Spectrum of Death, where audiences outside the U.S. began to notice similarities to thrash metal acts like Slayer and Kreator.
A second demo, Destruction System, was put together by the band in 1992, with Gary Beimel replacing Paletti on bass. It, too, failed to attract mainstream attention, and Morbid Saint broke up in 1994. But Spectrum of Death’s reputation was starting to become impossible to ignore among metal connoisseurs, leading to a release in Europe in 2006. In 2010, the lineup of Visser, Fergades, Lind, new bassist Bob Zabel, and drummer Chris Jacobs assembled for a series of festival dates. Relapse Records reissued Spectrum of Death in 2012; a live album recorded in Beijing, Beyond the States of Hell, was released in 2014, and an official release of Destruction System followed in 2015.
After years of recording with rotating personnel, the lineup was solidified anew in 2022, featuring Visser, Fergades, Lind, Zabel and drummer DJ Bagemehl. This quintet wrote and recorded Swallowed by Hell, their first proper studio album, which was released in 2024.
