Posted on: July 8, 2011 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

EXCRUCIATOR was formed in early 2008 when friends Chris Birkle and Josh Kay, both bored with the overdone nu-core sounds dominating the Portland metal scene, proposed the idea of starting a band that brought back the energy of the earliest days of death metal as it evolved from the ashes of thrash. The two convinced the destroyer of strings, Craig Bridenbeck, to join on bass and were complete shortly thereafter with the addition of thunderous beats care of drummer Marcus Hartford. Within a few months EXCRUCIATOR had built a solid repertoire of original songs hearkening back to the days before blast beats and down-tuning, pioneered by iconic albums such as Scream Bloody Gore by DEATH and Seven Gates by POSSESSED. Confident that they had hit their mark, the band entered the studio during summer 2009 to record their first proper demo entitled By the Gates of Flesh. The eight track demo quickly gained favor amongst the Portland metal crowd and this growing notoriety allowed EXCRUCIATOR to acquire gigs with national acts such as Forbidden, Cauldron, Enforcer, Ensiferum, Witchaven, Powerglove and Last Empire. Opportunity arose for EXCRUCIATOR when the band opened for Vektor during their summer 2010 tour. Thoroughly impressed with EXCRUCIATOR, the news made its way back to to their label, New York-based Heavy Artillery Records. The band was offered a deal and promptly joined the ranks with the release of By the Gates of Flesh as a five-track ep during November 2010, becoming the second installment in the label’s popular “Wax Maniax” series of limited edition vinyl and CD demo releases.

Bolstered by the tremendous response to By the Gates of Flesh, EXCRUCIATOR hit the studio in early 2011 to begin recording their debut full-length album Devouring. With North American tour dates and a video for the track “Devouring the Flesh of My Master” in the works, EXCRUCIATOR are prepared to put their weight behind their debut album and come out swinging. Now scheduled for release on August 2nd 2011 in North America and August 12th in Europe, Devouring promises to galvanize the old-school metal forces in the fight for true metal supremacy!

Catch EXCRUCIATOR at the Devouring record release party:

8/6 – Portland, OR @ The Redroom

Listen to EXCRUCIATOR at http://www.myspace.com/excruciator1

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