After many years of silence, the legendary death metal force of Necrophagia, one of the very first death metal acts, has reawakened. The band’s revamped line-up have signed to Time To Kill Records for the release of their final album, “Moribundis Grim”.
Necrophagia return with their first new song in many years. Stream the album’s title-track, “Moribundis Grim”, check it below.
The album is set to be released on May 10th 2024.
Guitarist Serge Streltsov commented:
“‘Moribundis Grim’ is a song I co-wrote with Killjoy and Shawn back in 2017. Shawn had a couple riffs that I ended up adding to and making a whole song. Killjoy took care of the lyrics. Unfortunately, Killjoy passed away in the middle of tracking the vocals for this song; it was never finished vocally until John (McEntee) stepped in to finish it. Killjoy and John were great friends so it made perfect sense to bring him along”.
In the years of 2016-2018, the band’s last line-up – Killjoy, Serge Streltsov, Shawn Slusarek and Jake Arnette – composed and started recording what became their final opus,“Moribundis Grim”.
Unfortunately, in 2018 Killjoy passed away before finishing the album. In 2022 with the help of special guests and former Necrophagia members – John McEntee from Incantation, Titta Tani (ex Goblin) and Mirai Kawashima from Sigh – the album was finally completed.
In a way, it is quite sensational to see another Necrophagia album released at this point in time, meaning 40 years after their first demos were released!
Serge Streltsov adds:
“‘Moribundis Grim’ is Killjoy’s final album. These are his last vocal performances. The album features the last Necrophagia live line up: Killjoy Desade, Serge Streltsov, Shawn Slusarek and Jake Arnette, along with special guest John McEntee and previous members Titta Tani and Mirai Kawashima. These songs are the demos the band and Killjoy worked on up until Killjoy’s passing. Also featuring re-worked versions of songs from the first album and a Samhain cover. Once again the bastard children of horror and gore capture the true essence of what Necrophagia is all about. Killjoy and Fulci Live! Gore Forever!”.
Completed from a remote creative exchange, with ideas being bounced back and forth between all members to create an eight-track barrage of death metal, “Moribundis Grim” is an incredible achievement.
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1. House By The Cemetery (Cover) 2. Moribundis Grim 3. Bleeding Torment 4. Mental Decay 5. Halloween 3 (Samhain cover) 6. The Wicked (Live) 7. Scarecrows 8. Sundown |
Album line-up:
Killjoy Desade – lead vocals
Serge Streltsov – guitars, bass
Shawn Slusarek- drums
Jake Arnette- bass
Titta Tani – drums, backing vocals
Mirai Kawashima- keys
John McEntee – guest vocals
Dee Commisso – keys
Necrophagia are a seminal band of the early 80s and are considered, along with Possessed and Death, one of the founding groups of death metal.
Necrophagia was formed in late 1983 by the Godfather of Gore Metal, Killjoy and their debut recording “Season of the Dead” was unleashed in February 1987. In the same year the Americans split despite their tremendous impact in the underground death metal scene, which they helped founding. In the middle of the 1990’s horror fan Philip Anselmo (Pantera, Down) convinced Killjoy to resurrect Necrophagia and joined for the next three releases including their second album “Holocausto de la Morte” (1998). The band released two more albums including “The Divine Art of Torture” (2003) and several EPs despite undergoing continued line-up changes. Necrophagia’s fourth full length “Harvest Ritual Vol. 1” (2005) saw some experimentation, while their next eerie incarnation “Deathtrip 69” featured more evil movie samples adding to the beloved vintage horror feeling. In 2014, the time came to light the black candles, chant the incantations and watch the “WhiteWorm Cathedral” rise which, without anybody knowing, would be the band’s latest offering, as Killjoy passed away on March 18, 2018.
