Necrophagia was an American (temporarily multinational) Death Metal band. Along with Death, Possessed, and Master, they were one of the very first bands in the genre, with their initial year of formation being 1983. Characterized by their raw production values, slasher horror themed lyrics and aesthetics, and the frantic unhinged shrieks of singer Frank "Killjoy" Pucci, they've been named as an influence by many future acts and had a long storied career involving numerous famous figures in metal.
Following a series of demos, they released their first, and for many years only, album Season of the Dead in February 1987, making it the very first death metal album released following Possessed's initial run, as it predated Scream Bloody Gore by three monthsnote . Its sound was quite primitive even for the time and featured somewhat sloppy performances, but these qualities were greatly overshadowed by catchy songwriting and its charming B-Movie-esque atmosphere, both of which would come to define their signature style in the years to come.
Not long after its release, the band called it quits. Killjoy would continue to make music for a few years through more thrash-oriented side projects, but otherwise remained dormant for most of the 90s. That all changed near the decade's end when Phil Anselmo of Pantera, who was a longtime friend of Killjoy's, wrote some songs that inspired him to resurrect the group, resulting in Phil joining the band on guitar under the alias Anton Crowley along with a few friends of his from his home in New Orleans. This lineup would record their first album in 11 years, Holocausto de la morte, released in 1998.
Naturally, Phil's recruitment led the band to gain far more attention, and he would also work with Killjoy in the band Viking Crown, which featured a lo-fi ambient black metal sound and had Phil on all instruments. However, upon Phil openly admitting to considering the project a joke, he and Killjoy had a falling out and he left Necrophagia as a result.
The band's new lineup saw Killjoy teaming up with brothers Knut "Fug" and Fred "Frediablo" Pyrtz on guitars and bassist Iscariah, all three of whom previously worked with him in the band Wurdulak. Joined by drummer Titta Tani and finally Sigh frontman Mirai Kawashima (who also was in the band Hidden with him) on keyboards, this incarnation of Necrophagia would release the album The Divine Art of Torture in 2003, followed by Harvest Ritual Volume I in 2005.
That same year, Frediablo left the band and Mirai would also depart three years later, which slowed down production of their fifth album. The rest of the band left in 2010, including Fug who along with his brother quit music entirely that year. Damien Matthews would join on bass followed by drummer Shawn Slusarek and guitarist Boris Randall. The album Deathtrip 69 would be released in May 2011, and featured Mick Thomson of Slipknot as a session guitarist.
Boris Randall would depart from the group the same year while Mick would not become an official member and continue focusing on his main band. To fill their spots, Scrimm and Abigail Lee Nero joined on guitars. Mirai rejoined on keyboards and this would create the lineup for their sixth studio album WhiteWorm Cathedral in 2014.
Two years later, another lineup change followed, this time recruiting Jake Arnette on bass and guitarist Serge Streltsov. Under the name Haxxan, they would record the album Loch Ness Rising, which came out in 2017.
While a new album was planned, it was sadly not to be. On March 18, 2018, Killjoy was found deceased at his home at the age of 51note . His cause of death was revealed to be heart failure. Though it hasn't been confirmed what caused this to happen, Mirai stated in an interview that he "saw it coming" and knew that he was a "live fast die young" kind of person, implying that he may not have paid much attention to his health. Necrophagia immediately disbanded following his death.
In an unexpected turn of events, however, the band announced in February 2024 that they would release one final album later in the year, titled Moribundis Grim. It will contain Killjoy's final recordings and also feature John McEntee of Incantation fame performing the remaining vocal tracks as well as the return of Mirai Kawashima. It will also be their only album to feature final guitarist Serge Streltsov, although some of the unfinished songs he did with the band were reworked for his solo project Selfgod.
Not to be confused with the similarly named Necrophobic and/or Necrophagist.
Discography
- Season of the Dead (1987)
- Ready for Death (1990)note
- Holocausto de la morte (1998)
- Black Blood Vomitorium (2000) - EP
- Cannibal Holocaust (2001) - EP
- The Divine Art of Torture (2003)
- Harvest Ritual Volume I (2005)
- Deathtrip 69 (2011)
- WhiteWorm Cathedral (2014)
- Moribundis Grim (2024)
Season of the Tropes:
- Black Metal: They themselves weren't, but Killjoy's vocal style is extremely reminiscent of the genre, and unsurprisingly he dabbled in it in several side projects, including on his very last studio recording released just over a year before his death.
- Concept Album: The Divine Art of Torture is a loose one inspired by the works of Brazilian filmmaker Zé do Caixão.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: While Season of the Dead and Ready for Death are their most recognized and influential albums, they sound almost nothing like anything that came after. Killjoy's voice is a Mille Petrozza-esque snarl as opposed to the ear-piercing screech that would become his signature, and there are far more overt thrash influences (to the point that many people to this day debate over whether they even qualify as death metal).
- I Am the Band: Killjoy was the only original member until his death - none of the other founding members ever did anything music-related again, and only one of their albums, Harvest Ritual Volume I, has the exact same lineup as the previous (though the Phil Anselmo era did give rise to a couple extended plays).
- Metal Scream: Killjoy used a type 1 on the band's first two albums before moving to a type 3 on Holocausto de la morte, though he'd also throw in some type 2s and his thrash metal side projects used type 1.
- Multinational Team: Their longest-running lineup consisted of members from the United States (Killjoy himself), Norway (Frediablo and Fug), Italy (Titta Tani), and Japan (Mirai Kawashima). They would all be based in America following this until Mirai rejoined from 2014-2015. Additionally, their final guitarist Serge is Ukrainian, but he never recorded any material with them under the Necrophagia name before Killjoy's passing, not making his official recording debut until their final record.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Killjoy never publicly called himself Frank nor did anyone affiliated with him.
- Pintsized Powerhouse: Killjoy was one of the shortest frontmen in death metal, only standing at around 5'3', yet he had some of the most deranged and powerful vocals in the scene.
- Rearrange the Song: Moribundis Grim features re-recorded versions of two songs from their first album.
- Stage Names: Phil Anselmo credited himself as Anton Crowley on Holocausto de la morte, presumably because Pantera's label wouldn't take too kindly to seeing his name on other projects.
- Thrash Metal: Their first two albums show a strong thrash influence.
- Trope Maker: Along with Death, Master, and Possessed, they were one of death metal's first ever bands. While Possessed is often considered the Ur-Example and Death the first concrete example, they and Master are often considered to be something of a bridge between the two.
- Vague Age: Killjoy's year of birth has been disputed a lot over the years. Depending on where you look, he was either born in 1969 or 1966, with the amount of sources for each being roughly 50/50. However, it's safe to say the latter is correct as the official lyric video for their final album's first single lists it as 1966.
