1) Pestilence is a death m… Read Full Bio ↴There are multiple bands using this name.
1) Pestilence is a death metal band from Enschede, The Netherlands founded in 1986. Later they incorporated more jazz and fusion elements into their music. They released four albums before disbanding in order to pursue other musical directions in 1994. Pestilence reformed in 2008 and released their album 'Resurrection Macabre' a year later in March. In late April 2011, the band released 'Doctrine'.
Pestilence started in the Netherlands in mid 1986 as a thrash metal band. The lineup, consisting of Patrick Mameli (guitar, vocals), Randy Meinhard (guitar), and Marco Foddis (drums), recorded two demos before gaining the attention of Roadrunner Records. After the first demo, Martin van Drunen (bass, vocals) joined them. These two demos - Dysentery (1986) and The Penance (1987) - are raw, sounding mostly like a cross between Possessed and Schizophrenia-era Sepultura. After signing to Roadrunner Records, Pestilence released their debut album titled Malleus Maleficarum in 1988, further refining their approach to thrash metal. The new material was tighter and more focused than the demos. Shortly thereafter, guitarist Randy Meinhard left the band to pursue other musical goals in a new band named Sacrosanct.
Meanwhile, Pestilence recruited a new guitar player by the name of Patrick Uterwijk. In 1989, the band released their second album Consuming Impulse, which was a turn toward to death metal. From a musical standpoint, things became heavier and more haunting. Vocally, Martin van Drunen moved away from cleaner vocals in favour of a more acidic growl. With its release, Pestilence gained international attention, highly regarded worldwide by death metal fans. But before a follow-up album was released, the lineup changed once again; vocalist and bassist Martin van Drunen departed to front Asphyx.
Pestilence were faced again with the challenge of replacing a member, being without a vocalist and bassist. So while recording their third album Testimony Of The Ancients (1991), they enlisted bassist Tony Choy, who at the time was playing with the technical death metal band Cynic and Patrick Mameli took over the vocal duties. With this lineup, they released the album Testimony Of The Ancients. The new material was not as abrasive as the previous albums, but the band's musicianship has obviously grown and the album had the best production job of the band's catalogue.
However, Tony Choy was never a permanent member, and ended up going back to Florida to eventually play with Atheist. In the meantime, Pestilence enlisted the talents of Jeroen Paul Thesseling (Obscura).
Over the years, the Pestilence members were getting into other forms of music, primarily jazz fusion which, the band wanted to pair with metal. The band's fourth and final album, Spheres was released in 1993. With every album, Pestilence went through some kind of a change and Spheres was no exception. Pestilence mixed jazz fusion elements into their death metal style, and used guitar synths throughout the album.
Pestilence's popularity had risen with the release of each album, but unfortunately, so did tensions between the members. So after a short period of time, the band unanimously decided to split up, feeling they had reached their creative climax.
In 1994, Roadrunner released one last CD from Pestilence: a best-of titled Mind Reflections, containing tracks from all four albums, plus the rare song "Hatred Within" (originally released on the Teutonic Invasion Part II compilation) and six unreleased live tracks recorded in at the Dynamo Open Air Festival in 1992. In 1998, Displeased Records re-released the debut album Malleus Maleficarum (which was originally never officially released in Europe), and included both demo recordings from 1986 and 1987. In 2006, Metal War Productions, working with Martin van Drunen, released Chronicles of the Scourge, containing two concert recordings and one unreleased bonus track. The two concerts are Live "Kix Festival" - Veghel, Holland (June 24, 1989) and Live Bochum, Germany (November 18, 1988). A bonus "rehearsal disc" was released with the first 1000 copies.
The band reformed in 2008. The new line up: founder Patrick Mameli (vocals, guitar), well known Tony Choy (bass) and drummer Peter Wildoer (Darkane, Non-Human Level and others). Their fifth album 'Resurrection Macabre' was released on the 16th of March 2009.
In October 2009, Jeroen Paul Thesseling re-joined Pestilence after fifteen years of separation from the band, replacing Tony Choy's bass position. However, Thesseling has maintained that he will remain the bassist of Obscura as well.
2) Pestilence was a short lived Death-Thrash band from Las Vegas, Nevada. They released one demo in 1987 called Infected. The band later changed its name to The Horde of Torment.
3) "Diseased Dungeon Noise" https://pestilentsynth.bandcamp.com/
4) Australian grind/crust band, released a demo in 1988
5) An underground trans artist from Tucson, Arizona
Distress
Pestilence Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The aging soul falls into distress
The immense emotion of being bodiless
Pushes your awareness to psycho stress
Left in the cold of the emptiness
Never dying is reality
I call upon the creator with many faces
The great strings of awareness
Create the boundaries of the all
The spheres of consciousness
Keeping out daemons with this wall
Entities familiar and unknown
Speak in tongue to doubt
The earthly now overthrown
To test the soul of it's devout
Distress ultradaemons want my soul
Distress take my astral to control
The nonphysical guides try to protect
From the lower entities
For us to deny and reject
To fulfill our faith and responsibilities
The lyrics to Pestilence's song "Distress" delve into the theme of existential turmoil and the struggle of the soul in the face of various challenges. The opening lines, "After fading into nothing less / The aging soul falls into distress," suggest a sense of loss and despair experienced by an individual as they age and confront the uncertainty of their existence.
The lyrics further explore the overwhelming emotions that come with feeling disconnected from one's physical form, as indicated by the line "The immense emotion of being bodiless / Pushes your awareness to psycho stress." This portrayal reflects the anxiety and mental strain that can accompany a sense of detachment or disassociation.
The lyrics also touch upon the search for meaning and salvation in the face of these distressing circumstances. The plea to the "creator with many faces" for deliverance from insanity portrays a desire for relief from the overwhelming psychological burdens. The mention of "awareness" and "consciousness" alludes to the power of self-reflection and the ability to set boundaries against negative influences or "daemons" that may seek to exploit or disturb the soul.
Additionally, the lyrics touch on the notion of spiritual guidance and protection. The reference to "nonphysical guides" trying to shield one from "lower entities" highlights the presence of unseen forces that may influence and challenge an individual's faith and responsibilities. It suggests the need to resist and overcome these negative forces in order to fulfill one's duties and maintain spiritual integrity.
Overall, "Distress" explores the struggle of the soul in the face of existential uncertainty, the quest for salvation, and the importance of remaining steadfast in the face of spiritual and psychological challenges.
Line by Line Meaning
After fading into nothing less
Once the soul diminishes and loses its essence
The aging soul falls into distress
The soul becomes burdened with anxiety and anguish as it grows older
The immense emotion of being bodiless
The overwhelming feeling of existing without a physical form
Pushes your awareness to psycho stress
Causes your consciousness to experience psychological strain
Left in the cold of the emptiness
Abandoned in the desolation of nothingness
Never dying is reality
Eternal existence is the true nature of existence
I call upon the creator with many faces
I seek salvation from a divine being that manifests in various forms
For salvation from this insanity
In order to be saved from this state of madness
The great strings of awareness
The powerful connections of consciousness
Create the boundaries of the all
Establish the limits and divisions that encompass everything
The spheres of consciousness
The realms of awareness
Keeping out daemons with this wall
Preventing malevolent forces from entering through this barrier
Entities familiar and unknown
Beings, both known and unfamiliar
Speak in tongue to doubt
Communicate in a way that instills uncertainty
The earthly now overthrown
The earthly realm is now being usurped
To test the soul of it's devout
To challenge the loyalty and dedication of the soul
Distress ultradaemons want my soul
Intensely malevolent beings of extraordinary power desire to possess my soul
Distress take my astral to control
Anxiety seizes my nonphysical self to gain dominance over it
The nonphysical guides try to protect
Guiding forces that exist beyond the physical realm attempt to safeguard
From the lower entities
Shielding from inferior beings
For us to deny and reject
In order for us to refuse and dismiss
To fulfill our faith and responsibilities
To fulfill our beliefs and duties
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Patrick Mameli
thanks for your kind comments. we always did it for you guys and the scene🤘
Scott Ashe
Digging the new songs that I've heard. Spheres is stuck in the CD player of the company truck where I work. I'm doing God's work.
Spicy Chin Chin
Yeah man! Keep kicking ass, thanks for the solid music. It's helped me through hardship. 🤘
Blagovest Petrov
killer record!!!
Patrick Mameli
My pleasure bro🤘
Diego Rodríguez
Thank you guys for make my life better
Primož Kovačič
God i love this band!!!
adejal acr
i fucking love pestilence
the artist formally known as craig lastname
It's strange to hear pestilence tuned so low but they do it well.
Martin Møller
+the artist formally known as craig lastname yessir, they do.