After leaving Pestilence in the early 1990s, Martin van Drunen joined Asphyx and the band signed to Century Media Records. After the release of their first album, The Rack, they went on a European tour with Entombed, followed by a tour with Bolt Thrower and Benediction in 1992. Shortly after the recording of the second album, Last One on Earth, van Drunen left the band, to be replaced by Ron van der Pol. Eventually Bagchus left the band as well and was replaced by Sander van Hoof.
In 1994, the band released its third, self-titled album, but broke up shortly afterward. In 1995, Loomans and Bagchus reformed Asphyx and recorded God Cries. Around the same time, the Embrace the Death album, recorded in 1990, was released. Nevertheless, the band split up again after the release. In 1998, Loomans died when a train hit his car. The circumstances suggest it was an act of suicide. Some time later, Soulburn was founded by Bagchus and Daniels and, together with Pentacle singer and bass guitarist Wannes Gubbels, they recorded Feeding on Angels. In 1999, they renamed the project Asphyx and recorded the On the Wings of Inferno album with the same line up. However, Asphyx disbanded again in 2000.
In January 2007, the band re-united with van Drunen, Gubbels, Paul Baayens and Bagchus. They did not intend to record a new album, but focused only on live performances. However, in January 2008, they recorded a cover of a Celtic Frost song and a new song called "Death...The Brutal Way". In July 2008, they announced that new material was being prepared. Death...The Brutal Way was released in June 2009 by Century Media. It was released in North America by Ibex Moon Records on 18 August 2009, quickly becoming the distributor's best seller.
On 30 November 2011 Asphyx finished recording on their eighth studio album entitled Deathhammer which was set to be released on 27 February 2012 in Europe and 28 February 2012 in North America via Century Media Records.
In March 2014, founding member Bob Bagchus parted ways from the band and leaving the band with no original members. He was replaced by Stefan Hüskens as the new drummer.
On 14 October 2015, Asphyx made an announcement they are working on a new album at the end of November for the long-awaited Deathhammer follow up and begin their first tour at Latin America. Their next two albums, Incoming Death and Necroceros, were released in 2016 and 2021, respectively.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asphyx
Studio albums
The Rack (1991)
Last One on Earth (1992)
Asphyx (1994)
God Cries (1996)
Embrace the Death (1996; recorded in 1990)
On the Wings of Inferno (2000)
Death...The Brutal Way (2009)
Deathhammer (2012)
Incoming Death (2016)
Necroceros (2021)
The Rack
Asphyx Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Deep under ground
A morbid fear
Palpitations, unbearable pound
Footstep outside the stairway
Executioners's arrival
A sinister procession
Grim macabre tribunal
Inexorable judge
The sentence is death
By the grace of the church
Inside the torture chamber
The smell of blood and pain
Iron is glowing in pits of fire
Instruments of the insane
The Rack: Altar of blood
The Rack: Altar of pain
Suffocate in blood
Bones pulverized
Mutilated tissue
Eviseration
Sawed off limbs
Emasculation
Human leftovers
A smouldering mess
Atrocious performance
Methods of madness
Inside the torture chamber
Instruments covered with stains
The rack has taken his victim
Beyond the boundaries of pain
The lyrics to Asphyx's song "The Rack" describe a scene of torture and barbaric punishment in a dungeon deep below ground. The person being punished is a heretical pervert and the judges are described as sinister and inexorable. The decision from this grim macabre tribunal is death, which will be carried out with the help of instruments of torture and insanity. The torture chamber is filled with the smell of blood and pain, and the instruments are covered with stains. The lyrics then describe the gruesome effects of the torture, such as suffocating in blood, bones being pulverized, and emasculation. The punishment ends in a smoldering mess, with the victim beyond the boundaries of pain.
The lyrics of "The Rack" depict a scene of horror and violence that is both graphic and disturbing. The use of descriptive language, such as "smelling blood and pain" and "instruments covered with stains," creates a vivid image of the torture that is taking place. The song captures the sense of fear and hopelessness that the victim would be feeling, as well as the brutality and inhumanity of the act itself. The heavy, thunderous music that accompanies the lyrics only heightens the sense of dread and despair, making this a truly unforgettable song.
Line by Line Meaning
In the dungeon
The place where this is happening is a dungeon
Deep under ground
The dungeon is located deep underground
A morbid fear
The people in the dungeon are feeling a very intense fear
Palpitations, unbearable pound
Their hearts are beating very hard and fast and it's very uncomfortable
Footstep outside the stairway
Someone is coming down the stairs to the dungeon
Executioners's arrival
The person coming down the stairs is an executioner
A sinister procession
The executioner is not alone and they are all doing something ominous
Grim macabre tribunal
This is a court's judgment that is both disturbing and deathly
Heretical pervert
The person on trial is seen as a perverted or depraved heretic
Inexorable judge
The judge who gave the death sentence is not changing their mind
The sentence is death
The person on trial has been sentenced to death
By the grace of the church
The church is associated with this judgment and sentence
Inside the torture chamber
The execution is happening inside the torture chamber
The smell of blood and pain
There is a distinct smell of both blood and pain in the room
Iron is glowing in pits of fire
The iron instruments that are being used are glowing from the heat of the fire
Instruments of the insane
The instruments that are being used are seen as something that only a insane person would use
The Rack: Altar of blood
The instrument that they are going to use to torture the person is called 'The Rack' and will cause a lot of blood
The Rack: Altar of pain
The Rack is also called an 'Altar of Pain' because it causes so much suffering
Suffocate in blood
The person being tortured is losing so much blood that they're having trouble breathing
Bones pulverized
The Rack breaks the person's bones into tiny pieces
Mutilated tissue
The person's flesh is being cut or torn apart
Eviseration
The Rack is being used to cut open the person's body and remove their organs
Sawed off limbs
The Rack is also used to saw off the person's limbs
Emasculation
The Rack is also used to remove the person's genitals
Human leftovers
There are body parts left over after the execution
A smouldering mess
The execution room is a complete mess, with blood and body parts everywhere
Atrocious performance
This is being described as an atrocious performance because of how horrific it is
Methods of madness
The methods being used in the execution are seen as completely insane
Instruments covered with stains
The instruments used in the execution are stained with blood
The rack has taken his victim
The Rack has claimed another victim and caused them unfathomable pain and suffering
Beyond the boundaries of pain
The person being tortured has experienced pain that exceeds all limits and reason
Contributed by Alice V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Yog-Sothoth
0:00 The Quest Of Absurdity
1:21 Vermin
5:23 Diabolical Existence
9:18 Evocation
14:50 Wasteland Of Terror
17:07 The Sickening Dwell
21:22 Ode To A Nameless Grave
24:18 Pages In Blood
28:27 The Rack
As much as I love Pestilence's Consuming Impulse, for me, this album captured Martin Van Drunen at the absolute peak of his vocal prowess. Not to mention, he played bass on it as well (and performed double-duties live for the '91 tour). Also, Eric Daniels' guitar tone on this record is one of my favorites ever. It somehow SOUNDS like rotting, decaying flesh. And so did Van Drunen's vocals, making for the perfect combo. Cover art, again, by the legendary Axel Hermann.
Nos Feratu
Just to mention the great 1989 :
Obituary - Slowly We Rot
Pestilence - Consuming Impulse
Repulsion - Horrified
Autopsy - Severed Survival
Bolt Thrower - Realm of Chaos
Morbid Angel - Altars of Madness!!!!
Sepultura - Beneath the Remains
Atheist - Piece of Time
Terrorizer - World Downfall
Yog-Sothoth
0:00 The Quest Of Absurdity
1:21 Vermin
5:23 Diabolical Existence
9:18 Evocation
14:50 Wasteland Of Terror
17:07 The Sickening Dwell
21:22 Ode To A Nameless Grave
24:18 Pages In Blood
28:27 The Rack
As much as I love Pestilence's Consuming Impulse, for me, this album captured Martin Van Drunen at the absolute peak of his vocal prowess. Not to mention, he played bass on it as well (and performed double-duties live for the '91 tour). Also, Eric Daniels' guitar tone on this record is one of my favorites ever. It somehow SOUNDS like rotting, decaying flesh. And so did Van Drunen's vocals, making for the perfect combo. Cover art, again, by the legendary Axel Hermann.
greinaldo
The Rack- last Song....muahahaha
Deimus_AoE
22:38 that riff is so chuck shuldiner
Mister Magulag
I had this on cassette the year it came out. I was only 11. I had Morgoth "Cursed" and Nocturnus "The Key", too. That was my introduction to the death metals. I used to sit in my room blaring this on my boom box reading Uncanny X-Men, Wolverine, Punisher and Metal Maniacs magazine and drawing skulls, demons, blood and hellfire. Some damn good times in my corrupted youth
NXS6 Musique
Yeah metal maniacs had loads of reviews and interviews.
Jack Brown
Great album, the 90s was the best era for death metal in my opinion
Brad Doritty Baker
@Yog-Sothoth here in after is phenomenal
Jack Brown
@Yog-Sothoth great albums
Yog-Sothoth
Going to add to my comment here by mentioning 3 albums off the top of head released in the latter half of the '90s that, to me, are on par with those classic death metal records released before 1995. They are: Immolation - "Here In After" (1996), Morbid Angel - "Formulas Fatal To The Flesh" (1998), and Incantation - "Diabolical Conquest" (1998). There are others, but those 3 particularly stick out in my mind.
Nos Feratu
Just to mention the great 1989 :
Obituary - Slowly We Rot
Pestilence - Consuming Impulse
Repulsion - Horrified
Autopsy - Severed Survival
Bolt Thrower - Realm of Chaos
Morbid Angel - Altars of Madness!!!!
Sepultura - Beneath the Remains
Atheist - Piece of Time
Terrorizer - World Downfall