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New York Death Metal Legends
The New York-based INTERNAL BLEEDING have been slugging it out in the underground since 1991. One of the pioneers of the New York death metal sound along with Suffocation and Pyrexia, they helped create the standard by which we judge all things heavy. Onward To Mecca, their new album, cements that legacy.
After the breakup of his original band Autumn Reign, guitarist Chris Pervelis went on to found the first INTERNAL BLEEDING lineup in early 1991. That winter, a case of 300 blank tapes were "found" at a local university and provided the inspiration to set up a 4-track recorder and record the One Dollar Demo. Shortly after that recording, INTERNAL BLEEDING started playing shows and managed to sell out of all of their tapes. In the winter of 1992, INTERNAL BLEEDING released their now classic Invocation of Evil demo, which went on to sell an impressive 5,000 copies through the now defunct Wild Rags Records. Soon, pressure started to come from Wild Rags, fans, and the band themselves, and INTERNAL BLEEDING returned to the studio to record another demo in early 1994. The result of all that pressure was what is considered today to be a masterpiece of underground music: Perpetual Degradation. The band immediately hit the road with a vengeance, promoting themselves and their music shamelessly.
All that self-promotion and tireless dedication was to bear fruit at that year's Milwaukee Metalfest, where the band's captivating performance caught the eyes and ears of Pavement Music. They signed with Pavement and in 1995 released their debut album, Voracious Contempt. INTERNAL BLEEDING hit the road once again, this time around with world-renowned acts Immolation and Six Feet Under. Album sales were impressive, and the group kept busy throughout 1995 and 1996. By the time 1997 rolled around, constant touring and hard work had taken its toll on the band, while financial troubles plagued Pavement Music. It was during this time that the group's second album, The Extinction of Benevolence, was released. No tour followed, and INTERNAL BLEEDING fell into a rut of inactivity. In late 1998, they regrouped, refocused and began writing music that pushed their talents to the limit. Pavement Music picked up their finances, and 1999 saw the band in the studio recording Driven to Conquer with ace producer Brian Griffin.
The band decided to part ways with Pavement Music in 2000 due to lack of support and soon struck a deal with Olympic Recordings. A compilation of their early demos titled Alien Breed soon followed. The disc also included one brand new track that hinted at the future. Now featuring a revamped line-up, the group finally returns with the long-awaited follow-up to Driven To Conquer and expands on their already potent sound. Onward To Mecca sees the band finding even more groove and brutality than showcased on their previous efforts. Indeed, INTERNAL BLEEDING have created an album that is sure to transcend both the death and hardcore genres.
Originally slated for a late fall 2001 release and originally titled Hatefuel, Onward To Mecca was long hindered by contractual red tape. During Century Media's gradual acquisition of Olympic Recordings, the label struggled to release albums in a timely manner. Never content to just sit around and wait, Jerry Lowe (vocals), and Frank Buffalino (guitar) found the time to form the NY-styled hardcore band Punchyourface. It was beginning to be obvious that the next INTERNAL BLEEDING release would see more of a hardcore influence as the band prepared to re-enter the studio. Now, the delay has proven well worth the wait, and it isn't hard to hear why when listening to this album of state-of-the-art New York deathcore.
Armed with nothing more than an abundance of musical talent and a deep commitment to their musical ideals, INTERNAL BLEEDING has survived member changes, lawsuits, letdowns and heartaches. Late 2003, for example, saw the departures of second guitarist Guy Marchais (ex-Pyrexia, now in Suffocation) and founding guitarist Chris Pervelis. But unlike some of their peers, the band has never called it quits. Although Bill Tolley (drums) is the sole original member remaining, the band's unique vision of mixing the extremity of death metal with the groove and rhythm found in other forms of music (hardcore, traditional metal, funk, etc.) is still intact. Onward To Mecca, engineered by Terrance Hobbs (Suffocation) and recorded at Full Force Studios (Suffocation, Catastrophic) in the spring of 2004, is sure to please fans of everything from Suffocation and Dying Fetus to newer deathcore bands like Glass Casket and Between The Buried And Me.
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