History & Biography The Nancy-based band was formed as Total Dead in 1988 before becoming a place of death to hold the totally dead a year later. The founders were former Sleuth Eyes singer Patrick Germonville and former Traktor bassist Jean-Noël Verbecq. Demos like Rejected By Death..., Below The Marble and The Mortified Faces followed. A full-length, called Hazards Of Creation, was self-released in 1996.
An album emerged in 1998. However, this was through Pavement Music, which had a bad reputation. European release was through Thunder Productions. The record featured Alexis Baudin who had joined in 1994. Drums-for-hire Dirk Verbeuren was with Mortuary from 2000 to 2003. Cédric Gérard of Depraved played with the band live in 2015 and 2016. Gilles Pincet of Depraved was in Mortuary from 1988 to 1992. Jean-Noël Verbecq was also in Depraved. Bastien Legras joined in 2016. Xenokorp announced the signing of France-based deathrash band in 2019. The act entered Hertz studio in June to record the follow-up to 2016’s studio album, Nothingless Than Nothingness. France-based deathrash veterans Mortuary issued a studio full-length, called The Autophagous Reign, through Xenokorp in September. Following the release of a new album The band embarked on the first leg of The Autophagous Tour that would hit France in January 2020. The act had a new EP entitled The Old Skull Reign featuring three completely re-recorded songs from its early ’90s demos.
Reviews MORTUARY - AGONY IN RED - ANVIL
Not to be confused with the many other Mortuaries located around the world (most notably in Mexico), this French band's album is a barnstorming death metal assault of mega proportions. Loud, huge and bold, the one characteristic that constantly comes in mind when listening to (suffering under?) Agony In Red is the sound's immensity. The band throws everything and the nuclear warhead at the listener. Multi-layered vocals, extensive guitars, blasting drums and a good dose of technology - the drummer after all is also a member of Scarve - all amass to make for quite an experience. If one problem can be assigned to Mortuary though, it would be the music's tendency o be all over the place. The band is so busy thrashing omnidirectionally that the result may occasionally come across as disjointed. It is perhaps irrelevant in the grand scheme of things though. Death metal, after all, grows strong when drinking the syrup of chaos. Cover versions are always considered sad and pathetic wastes of time at Metallian towers, but Mortuary's very own version of Scorpions Dynamite is something else. The French have done it once again! - Ali "The Metallian"
Interviews
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