METALLIAN - Fleshgrind

Destined For Defilement - 1997 - Pulverizer
The Seeds Of Abysmal Torment - 2000 - Olympic
Murder Without End - 2003 - Olympic

Members

Vocals

RICH LIPSCOMB

Guitar

RICH LIPSCOMB - Earthburner>>STEVE MURRAY>>Earthburner

Bass

Agamas, Lagames, Enthrall>>Ray Vazquez>>Masada - Dysphoria, Jungle Rot>>JIMMY GENENZ>>Jungle Rot, Avernus, Dysphoria

Drum

Dave Barbolla - Euphoric Evisceration, Sapphist>>Alan Collado – Headless Christ, Gorgasm, Lividity, Incestuous>>Derek Hoffman>>Worms Inside You, Mass Mutilation

History & Biography

Formed by Barbolla and Lipscomb in 1993, this Chicago-area death/grind band went for the jugular with two vicious demos called Holy Pedophile of 1993 (with some vocals from Joe Ptacek of Broken Hope) and Sorrow Breed Hatred (Bleed On Me) of 1995. Both demos were recorded by Broken Hope's Brian Griffin and made some waves in the underground.

The band appeared on the Repulsive Assault sampler, but didn’t get signed to Repulse. It was Pulverizer Records that bit at this time. Bassist Ray Vazquez was introduced and things seemed to be progressing until Pulverizer went broke.

Dave Barbolla and Vazquez were gone and the band played shows like Michigan Death Fest, Milwaukee Metal Fest and concerts with Broken Hope, Deicide, etc. in Canada and the USA. The band hit Europe with Resurrected and Coercion, played Fuck The Commerce Festival and signed with Pavement in late spring 1999.

Unfortunately, Pavement dropped Fleshgrind and a number of other bands a year later before releasing anything. Olympic Recordings signed the band and licensed the album to Season Of Mist a year later for a European release.

Murray joined two former Broken Hope members in the spring of 2002 to form Earthburner. The band simultaneously lost Collado and replaced him with former Gorgam, Lividity, Incestuous, etc. drummer Derek Hoffman. Fleshgrind signed a new contract with Olympic Recordings and entered the studio in May, 2003 to record an album called Murder Without End. The album was released in August. Chris Djuricic at Studio One produced it. Murder Without End was released in LP format by Restrain Records.

The band was joined by drummer Jesse Kehoe formerly of Screaming Afterbirth and Foetopsy in late 2004. The group disbanded in 2005.

Rich Lipscomb owned and operated United Guttural Records. He later sold his firm to Deathgasm Records.

Reviews

FLESHGRIND - SORROW BREEDS HATRED
True to their name, the Illinois grinders emerge unto this fragile world to pummel and destroy with their new Brian Griffin-produced demo, the follow-up to the Holy Pedophile demo and an appearance on Repulse records’ compilation, Repulsive Assault. Without much ado, the bottom-line on this tape is its pure gargling, crushing, death/grindcore savagery done by a band that is a must for fans of Deranged, Cryptopsy, Broken Hope, etc. Unlike those bands however there is not one guitar solo in sight as the band puts its head down and grinds all the way, Let us hope that (unlike Sarcophagus) they do not wimp out and keep up the ”˜true’ work. Contact: Fleshgrind, PO Box 7142, Grayslake, IL. 60030 USA. - Ali “The Metallian”

FLESHGRIND - DESTINED FOR DEFILEMENT - PULVERIZER
Rarely has a band assaulted the senses like Fleshgrind. This is the band that would have been contracted had Germany's Waffentruppen invited bids for its official blitzkrieg anthem. Fleshgrind is fast, heavy and grinds the enemy with such swiftness that one does not know what has hit him until the ears begin to bleed. Falling in place next to Brutal Truth (though not as schizophrenic), Cryptopsy (not as technical) and its closest comparison Deranged; the American quartet grinds to heaven and hell. Having witnessed the band live, I can attest that this is the real thing; the band is possibly even faster and vocalist Rich "Tunnel Of Wind" Lipscomb even deeper live than in the studio! I occasionally wish the band had a livelier production and would just blast away for lengthier interludes, but as things stand the death/grinders are already too heavy for 99.99% of the population and will only appeal to the elite and those who seek no limits in their metal. Any Hi Fi/Speaker company would be proud to hand the band its endorsement in exchange for Fleshgrind using its equipment - it's Just that the band has yet to come across equipment which doesn't instantly turn to goo at the first sound of this grind. - Ali "The Metallian"

FLESHGRIND - THE SEEDS OF ABYSMAL TORMENT - OLYMPIC
After a longer than ideal wait, no doubt exacerbated by signing and getting dropped by Pavement, America's premiere delivery men for death metal are back with album number two featuring a line up which has seen a complete overhaul in the rhythm section. The band's debut, Destined For Defilement, was a horrific deathgrind attack whose bite was only lessened by the constrained and compressed sound. The band has gone back to the same producer again, however the sound is a little more open with more breathing room given the instruments although with the guitar sound being a little flat the results are shy of perfect I am afraid. Fear not though, the band's brutal and incessant attack on our senses is well and alive. While the musicians crush, the highlight of the Chicago quartet remains the vocals of Rich 'tunnel of wind' Lipscomb. The band has to experiment with different guitar tones and make a more concise drum sound, but overall fans of the debut or all things brutally heavy will want to own this sooner rather than later. - Ali "The Metallian"

FLESHGRIND - MURDER WITHOUT END - OLYMPIC/CENTURY MEDIA
There probably are thousands of people out there who are looking to graduate from Cannibal Corpse. Those people need to hear about Fleshgrind.
Murder Without End is the Chicago death metallers third album - appearing in the band's three-year interval mark - and, lest anyone wondered, shows the band's (yet again) overhauled lineup still tirelessly delivering the brutality. The hair might be gone from the members' heads, but Fleshgrind has not compromised a raucous iota. Instead, the four have tightened the sound even further, gotten a better sound finally and written some of their sickest lyrics yet - and those who know the band know the significance of that statement. Having said that, could that be a melody one detects on Displayed Decay? And what about the commercialism of including the demo track Holy Pedophile in 'commemoration' of the timeliness of the topic?
Murder Without End has a guitar sound akin to a deranged dental drill and the vocals of a dreadful demented demon. Holy hell, enough reading, just buy it! - Ali "The Metallian"

Interviews

In the vast land that is the United States, the Midwest has one of the bigger and heavier metal scenes. In turn, among the Midwest states, Illinois is known to be in possession of one of the heavier scenes and the band Fleshgrind is without a doubt one of the fastest and heaviest of the Illinois bands. Steve Murray, the guitarist of the band that lives up to its name, is calling from his abode in Illinois for a short chat on the history, state and news of the band. - 1996.

“Rich Lipscomb (vocalist/guitarist) came up with the name. He wanted something original,” remembers the calm and pensive guitarist. “We were originally called Burial, but there were a bunch of Burials around back then. In November of ’93 our first demo, Holy Pedophile came out; it was recorded by Brian Griffin of Broken Hope. The next demo was Sorrow Breeds Hatred (Bleed On Me) in November of ’94, it was done by Brian Griffin. We have a new bass player, Ray Vazquez, who used to be in Enthrall.”

It is no secret that death metal is not the hottest commodities right now. That being the case, I wonder why would a band be so adamant in maintaining that style. Murray does not miss a beat. “Musical integrity! Nobody in this business is going to make it too big, so why start playing some shit? We like to be extreme - why be backwards?” I agree, yet why do so many formerly brutal bands decide to go with the flow? Murray thinks he knows the answer: “Because they’re trendies. They are looking for that big break.”

Speaking of the current scene, I ask Murray about the situation of his particular scene. He offers this perspective: “I think (the Illinois scene) is very under-rated. It doesn’t get the respect it deserves. There are not that many places to play, but there are still some good bands left like Broken Hope, Jungle Rot, Deaden, Lividity, Oppressor, Sarcophagus.”

Back on the Fleshgrind front, “We have some new songs, but there are no titles. The music is slightly more technical - more busy with the guitars. It’s faster, more grindy and has more mosh parts; it’s more brutal overall. We are talking to Pulverizer Records (Sarcophagus, Dying Fetus, etc.) right now.”

In the meantime, the band will continue to do shows. “The best show for me,” recalls Murray, “was in Quebec City, Canada with Obscene Crisis and Suffocation. I loved the crowd. It was also great in Rimouski and Montreal. Those people like brutal death metal up there.”

Fleshgrind, PO Box 7142, Grayslake, IL. 60030 USA

This interview initially appeared in Pit Magazine No. 18.

If you enjoyed this, read Belphegor

Fleshgrind