POST MORTEM - USA

Coroner's Office – 1986 – New Renaissance
Destined For Failure – 1993 –Red Light

Post Mortem image
  
 
Members
Vocals
Solitude, Ointment>>John McCarthy>>Solitude, Ointment

Guitar
Dread, Ernest Borgnine>>JOHN ALEXANDER>>Dread, Ernest Borgnine


Bass
Guaranteed Katch>>Mark Kelley>>Guaranteed Katch

Drum
Fog Wizard>>RICK MCIVER>>Fog Wizard





History & Biography
USA-based thrash metal group Post Mortem came together at high school as early as March 22, 1982 and issued the Run Amok and Punk After Death demos in 1982 and 1984. The band played hardcore/punk and toured up and down the US East Coast. Death To The Masses and The Dead Shall Rise followed and showed a metallic drift. The band was singer John McCarthy, John Alexander (guitar), Mark Kelley (bass) and Rick McIver (drums). New Renaissance signed the band and issued the debut album in 1986. This album was made available with two covers. New Renaissance placed the band on the Speed Metal Hell Vol. II compilation and Thrash Metal Attack in 1987. The album was licensed to Steamhammer in Europe. Nonetheless, the band issued a demo called Turkey On Your Nose... New Renaissance issued the 1987 EP, The Missing Link. The EP featured two new songs, two songs from the Coroner’s Office sessions and was put together to fulfil the band’s obligation to New Renaissance. Michelle Meldrum of Phantom Blue was a guest guitarist. Things went silent until the oddly-named Festival Of Fun demo of 1991 with an idyllic rainbow on the cover. This was meant to be an album for the Zanzibar label, but that concern dropped the band even before the first release! A 1991 tour was meant to have Patareni from Yugoslavia in tow, but that band never made it. Seth Putnam was a member then. McCarthy would occasionally take over the bass as well. It was the heyday of thrash and death metal underground and Red Light Records signed the band and issued a record for the act. The band’s line-up had held steady, but the musical style had not and thrash was complemented with groove and hardcore. The band went silent in 1994, the members became domesticated and also joined other acts and were not heard from until the 2007 compilation, Deterioration Of The Flesh, which featured live and studio tracks. In reality, the band was constantly breaking up and getting back together. Another demo, on the band’s Taboo imprint, was 2009’s Message From The Dead. Jay Scheffler was the second guitarist now. John McCarthy had died in January of 2009 and was not on the album. This one featured multiple vocalists including Seth Putnam of Anal Cunt who was in the band for a couple of years before the Red Light days. Mirai Kawashima of Sigh was also a guest vocalist.

The band members described their best show as an opening set for Cannibal Corpse where they proceeded to perform a semi-acoustic set. The band claims to have attempted to play its music backwards for one show. They were hated. Norman McIver, the brother of Rick, had suggested the monicker to the boys.


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