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
Doctrine
Pestilence Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Consuming minds like a tornado
Evolved awareness
Sucked dry to be down
Replaced by the unholy
Reply or die
To bow down and confirm to the world
Overruling all beliefs of the known religion
Evolved awareness
Sucked dry to be down
Replaced by the unholy
Reply or die
DOCTRINE
Evolved awareness
Sucked dry to be down
Replaced by the unholy
Reply or die
Smothered by the irremovable lar
Poisoned by the tongue of the liar
Building bridges to cross the
NEW
Hope of individual freedom is long gone
Tentacles of the DOCTRINE holding strong
The lyrics to Pestilence's song Doctrine describe the danger of blindly following an ideology or doctrine without questioning it. The opening lines suggest that the doctrine is like a "new head rush" or "new mind blow" that takes over people's minds like a tornado, implying that it is powerful and overwhelming. The lyrics then describe how this doctrine replaces people's previous beliefs and "evolved awareness," leaving them "sucked dry to be down." This suggests that the doctrine suppresses critical thinking and replaces it with blind obedience to its teachings. The line "reply or die" emphasizes the idea that there is no room for dissent or questioning within this doctrine and those who do not conform will face consequences. The lyrics also suggest that this doctrine is in opposition to established religion, as it "overrules all beliefs of the known religion."
The second half of the song describes the consequences of being trapped within this doctrine. The lyrics paint a picture of being "smothered by the irremovable lar," or being trapped within the confines of this poisonous ideology. The line "building bridges to cross the NEW" suggests that this doctrine seeks to isolate people from any other perspective or way of thinking. The song ends on a bleak note, with the line "hope of individual freedom is long gone" and the idea that the "tentacles of the DOCTRINE" hold a tight grip on those caught within it. Overall, the lyrics suggest that blindly following any ideology, whether it be a political belief or religious doctrine, comes at a great cost and can have dangerous consequences.
Line by Line Meaning
The new head rush, the new mind blow
A new ideology that is highly intoxicating and overwhelming the minds of the people
Consuming minds like a tornado
This new ideology is spreading and engulfing people's minds much like the devastation caused by a tornado
Evolved awareness
The previous level of understanding has progressed to a higher state of understanding
Sucked dry to be down
The current state of understanding is being drained and withering away, lowering one's ability to comprehend
Replaced by the unholy
This new ideology is replacing the previous belief system and it is diametrically opposed to it
Reply or die
One must either accept this new ideology or face severe consequences
To bow down and confirm to the world
To submit oneself to the societal norms and beliefs
Overruling all beliefs of the known religion
This new ideology negates and challenges the established religious beliefs
Smothered by the irremovable lar
The continuing pervasive effect of this ideology is suffocating and omnipresent
Poisoned by the tongue of the liar
This ideology is spreading deceitful and inaccurate information that is detrimental to the people's well-being
Building bridges to cross the
Creating ways to access the new state of belief
Hope of individual freedom is long gone
The promise of personal freedom has dissipated as this new ideology restricts personal choice
Tentacles of the DOCTRINE holding strong
The new ideology is pervasive in its reach and is gaining strength
Contributed by Grayson K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@jcbacongrease
The vocals are original and sound totally insane. I love this album.
@marcoantoniobastidasalinas715
Esta salvaje !!!
@Vorefolak
Exactly my thoughts! Also, the bass lines and the drumming are insane!
@hobbowizardanimations
Yeah I don't get the hate I listened to this album hundreds of times
@AlexRamosDrTaz
About the vocals... maybe it's not a pure death metal growl that some of you hardcore purists want, but at least it's distinctive! It sounds more like a human within the last few minutes of life.
@gmanthatguy3165
Agreed! Brilliant observation. "Hardcore purists" are actually ignorant people that heard one thing they like, and need to hear something similar or exactly like it again because they are unable to have an open mind and discover and appreciate art for what it is: a person's creative expression. They should just lock themselves in their basement and listen to the same album over and over and not make ignorant comments on the internet.
@Icumblood1
Actually it is called an opinion and it is about time dumb trolls like you to realize that your opinion about something is not the only valid one :) As for the vocals - they sound like someone is having a bad constipation and you have to be a pretty butthurt fanboy not to hear that :)
@baldurmoizisch6905
Love the vocals. Sick and pure death metal like Obituary cause of death, Morgoth cursed or Necrosanct incarnate. I call it the green voice btw. Morbid Angel altars of madness and carcass are grey, early Deicide and some parts of Infant Annihilator are red and theres no colour for the deep ones like early Grave or Incantation.
@hobbowizardanimations
It's original and different and that's why people don't like it I love it I hate listening to the same thing over and over
@igorthomaz5257
This drums line it's insane!