Impetigo - Biography
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Biography
Impetigo was formed in July of 1987 by Stevo (bass/vocals) and Mark (guitar). Soon after that they added Dan on drums and the line-up was complete for the time being.
In November of 1987 they released their live demo titled "All We Need Is Cheez" . This gathered some attention in the underground and showed the band in their earliest days as being a more extreme metallic hardcore band with elements of grindcore in the mix.
For the next year and a half, the band was busy writing new material and playing some local shows. Over this time period the music was progressing to a much heavier style and the band thought it was best to add a second guitarist to help give them a sicker and more brutal sound. So, in February of 1989 they added Scotty as a second guitarist. It was an easy addition as Scotty had been Mark's roommate through most of college.
Next, in May of 1989 the band entered KJ Productions 8 track studio and did their only studio demo to date. This was the infamous "Giallo" demo. The demo presented the band as a much heavier and sicker outfit with a mixture of crude death metal, grindcore and a touch of noisecore. The band increased it's following in the underground and the demo received a good response in most of the underground scene.
This led to the band being offered a deal from Wild Rags Records and the band signed a one LP deal with them. With the deal complete the band entered Creative Spaces studio in Bloomington, IL and began work on their debut LP. The LP was recorded and mixed in February and January of 1990 and was finally ready to go. Then the band ran into some trouble with the cover art for both the LP and cassette, which featured graphic scenes of cannibalism, castration, torture, rape, dismemberment and full frontal nudity.
First the Bloomington/Normal town council saw some of the artwork on flyers and labeled it as pornography and secondly Wild Rags Record's printers refused to print the art fearing they could get into some kind of legal trouble. There were originally two different covers done, one for the LP and one for the cassette, but both were never used.
This left the band with no choice but to come up with a new cover, so again Stevo drew the cover, but this time it was not so extreme as to assure it could be used. The idea for two different covers was scrapped at this point and the cassette and LP were released with the same cover. Finally the debut LP "Ultimo Mondo Cannibale" was released in November of 1990. The LP was pretty well received by the underground and has sold quite well world wide. At one point it even reached number 96 on the CMJ radio chart.
Around that same time period, the band released the now long sold out/ultra rare "Buio Omega" 7 inch EP on the A Whisper In Darkness label. It was made up of remixes from the "Giallo" demo sessions, and included the track "Harbinger of Death" which was not used on the demo. This EP features probably the most extreme artwork ever done by Stevo!
Next the band was invited by their friends from Germany, Blood , to do a split EP which they would release on their own label Iron Records . The Impetigo side, which was titled "Antefatto" featured two new songs, "Boneyard" and "Cannibal Apocalypse" . This split EP was received very well and helped to build the bands following in Europe. The song "Boneyard" later appeared on the "Horror of the Zombies" album in an all-new re-recorded version. Following the release of the split EP, the band again signed with Wild Rags for the release of their second LP.
However, before that the band worked with Wild Rags to release the "Faceless" 7 inch EP and cassette. It was also scheduled to be a 7 inch picture disc but that plan was later scrapped. The "Faceless" EP featured two new songs, "Sinister Urge" and "Faceless" and three re-recorded songs from the "Ultimo Mondo Cannibale" LP. The "Faceless" EP received a great response from the worldwide scene. This EP was recorded in Champaign, IL at the 24 track Pogo Records studio, which the band also used to record the "Horror of the Zombies" album.
"Horror of the Zombies" was recorded and mixed in August and September of 1991 and featured 8 new songs along with a new recording of "Boneyard" and a very sick and weird poem/music piece about...what else...cannibals of course. For "Horror of the Zombies" the cover art was a painting done by the bands long time friend/fiend Cannibal Jim. It features some zombies lumbering out of the fog and coming for your flesh! "Horror of the Zombies" was released in June of 1992 and was the bands best recording to date. It showed the bands sound had progressed to an even heavier, darker and sicker level and that the band was ready to be taken seriously in the underground scene.
The response to "Horror of the Zombies" was great and it sold pretty well considering it really had no official distributor beyond Wild Rags own sales and trades. The band was influenced by bands such as early Carcass , Autopsy , Repulsion and Master , but does not really sound like any of those bands. Impetigo had a sound and style all their own. The lyrics covered sick topics such as gore, necrophilia, sadism, torture, cannibalism, disease, dismemberment, monsters, zombies and other sick topics. Most of the bands lyrics and artwork were inspired by the sickest and most underground horror/gore films around as well as the dark creative depths of Stevo's mind.
The band played around 30 shows during their 6-7 year existence including some big ones like the Rhode Island Death Fest, two Milwaukee Metalfests and a show in Puerto Rico. They played with bands such as Repulsion , Macabre , Deceased , Incantation , Phlegm , Rottrevore , Psycho , Brutal Truth , Nuclear Death , Organic Infest , and more. In 1993 the band decided to call it quits after their final appearance at the Milwaukee Metalfest VII. The band had always wanted to keep things on a personal and underground level and they had grown much bigger than they ever thought they would. They were also disenchanted with what was going on in the scene with all the shit talking and backstabbing. All this coupled with the regular pressures of jobs and family caused the band to call it quits.
Stevo continued on for awhile with his doom metal band Insomnia (first known as Church of Misery ), they recorded an album but it was never released and eventually it grinded to a halt. Out of the scene for almost 5 years, when in 1998 Mark discovered there still seemed to be a lot of interest and support for the band out there. He initially was working with Wild Rags to release the old stuff on CD but then hooked up with Morbid Records out of Germany. After talking with Wild Rags , they allowed the band to switch to Morbid Records for all re-releases from here on out.
Impetigo really wanted to get a deal in Europe with good distribution as they feel their biggest support has come from Europe, with Germany & the Czech Republic being their strongest areas. The year 1999 saw Morbid Records releasing the "Giallo" demo sessions as a 10 inch picture disc, and "Ultimo Mondo Cannibale" on CD (original cover version) and as a 12 inch picture disc.
Morbid Records' version of "Ultimo Mondo Cannibale" contains all of the LP only and cassette only tracks, combining them onto one release for the first time. In 2000, Morbid Records will re-issue "Ultimo Mondo Cannibale" on CD with new cover art and packaging. Morbid Records will also release the "Faceless" EP as a mini-CD and 7 inch picture disc and "Horror of the Zombies" on CD and a 12" picture disc. "Ultimo Mondo Cannibale" , "Faceless" and "Horror of the Zombies" will be entirely re-packaged with new artwork by horror author and film expert Chas Balun who recently did the cover for the new Necrophagia CD's "Holocausto de la Morte" and "Black Blood Vomitorium" . Also released in 1999 on the Czech label Bizarre Leprous Productions was Impetigo's 1987 Official Live Demo "All We Need Is Cheez" on CD. Coming soon in 2000 will be an Impetigo/Ingrowing split mini-CD co-released by the Czech labels Bizarre Leprous Productions and Shindy Productions. The one Impetigo track is a live version of "I Work For The Streetcleaner" from the Rhode Island Deathfest in 1992.
The Ingrowing side will feature their cover version of Impetigo's "Bitch Death Teenage Mucous Monster From Hell" and a new song as well. And finally, Obscene Productions from the Czech Republic will release the "Buio Omega" EP on a mini-CD (maybe you have this now!) with the live songs from Impetigo's side of the split EP with Transgressor as a bonus. It will also be an enhanced CD-ROM with tons of rare Impetigo photo's, some Impetigo video, a bio, discography and some old gig flyers. So this will be great for all the Lesions of Impetigo maniacs out there! So even though Impetigo will never return, with all the re-issues you should be able to fill in the gaps in your collections or maybe experience the band for the first time!
In November of 1987 they released their live demo titled "All We Need Is Cheez" . This gathered some attention in the underground and showed the band in their earliest days as being a more extreme metallic hardcore band with elements of grindcore in the mix.
For the next year and a half, the band was busy writing new material and playing some local shows. Over this time period the music was progressing to a much heavier style and the band thought it was best to add a second guitarist to help give them a sicker and more brutal sound. So, in February of 1989 they added Scotty as a second guitarist. It was an easy addition as Scotty had been Mark's roommate through most of college.
Next, in May of 1989 the band entered KJ Productions 8 track studio and did their only studio demo to date. This was the infamous "Giallo" demo. The demo presented the band as a much heavier and sicker outfit with a mixture of crude death metal, grindcore and a touch of noisecore. The band increased it's following in the underground and the demo received a good response in most of the underground scene.
This led to the band being offered a deal from Wild Rags Records and the band signed a one LP deal with them. With the deal complete the band entered Creative Spaces studio in Bloomington, IL and began work on their debut LP. The LP was recorded and mixed in February and January of 1990 and was finally ready to go. Then the band ran into some trouble with the cover art for both the LP and cassette, which featured graphic scenes of cannibalism, castration, torture, rape, dismemberment and full frontal nudity.
First the Bloomington/Normal town council saw some of the artwork on flyers and labeled it as pornography and secondly Wild Rags Record's printers refused to print the art fearing they could get into some kind of legal trouble. There were originally two different covers done, one for the LP and one for the cassette, but both were never used.
This left the band with no choice but to come up with a new cover, so again Stevo drew the cover, but this time it was not so extreme as to assure it could be used. The idea for two different covers was scrapped at this point and the cassette and LP were released with the same cover. Finally the debut LP "Ultimo Mondo Cannibale" was released in November of 1990. The LP was pretty well received by the underground and has sold quite well world wide. At one point it even reached number 96 on the CMJ radio chart.
Around that same time period, the band released the now long sold out/ultra rare "Buio Omega" 7 inch EP on the A Whisper In Darkness label. It was made up of remixes from the "Giallo" demo sessions, and included the track "Harbinger of Death" which was not used on the demo. This EP features probably the most extreme artwork ever done by Stevo!
Next the band was invited by their friends from Germany, Blood , to do a split EP which they would release on their own label Iron Records . The Impetigo side, which was titled "Antefatto" featured two new songs, "Boneyard" and "Cannibal Apocalypse" . This split EP was received very well and helped to build the bands following in Europe. The song "Boneyard" later appeared on the "Horror of the Zombies" album in an all-new re-recorded version. Following the release of the split EP, the band again signed with Wild Rags for the release of their second LP.
However, before that the band worked with Wild Rags to release the "Faceless" 7 inch EP and cassette. It was also scheduled to be a 7 inch picture disc but that plan was later scrapped. The "Faceless" EP featured two new songs, "Sinister Urge" and "Faceless" and three re-recorded songs from the "Ultimo Mondo Cannibale" LP. The "Faceless" EP received a great response from the worldwide scene. This EP was recorded in Champaign, IL at the 24 track Pogo Records studio, which the band also used to record the "Horror of the Zombies" album.
"Horror of the Zombies" was recorded and mixed in August and September of 1991 and featured 8 new songs along with a new recording of "Boneyard" and a very sick and weird poem/music piece about...what else...cannibals of course. For "Horror of the Zombies" the cover art was a painting done by the bands long time friend/fiend Cannibal Jim. It features some zombies lumbering out of the fog and coming for your flesh! "Horror of the Zombies" was released in June of 1992 and was the bands best recording to date. It showed the bands sound had progressed to an even heavier, darker and sicker level and that the band was ready to be taken seriously in the underground scene.
The response to "Horror of the Zombies" was great and it sold pretty well considering it really had no official distributor beyond Wild Rags own sales and trades. The band was influenced by bands such as early Carcass , Autopsy , Repulsion and Master , but does not really sound like any of those bands. Impetigo had a sound and style all their own. The lyrics covered sick topics such as gore, necrophilia, sadism, torture, cannibalism, disease, dismemberment, monsters, zombies and other sick topics. Most of the bands lyrics and artwork were inspired by the sickest and most underground horror/gore films around as well as the dark creative depths of Stevo's mind.
The band played around 30 shows during their 6-7 year existence including some big ones like the Rhode Island Death Fest, two Milwaukee Metalfests and a show in Puerto Rico. They played with bands such as Repulsion , Macabre , Deceased , Incantation , Phlegm , Rottrevore , Psycho , Brutal Truth , Nuclear Death , Organic Infest , and more. In 1993 the band decided to call it quits after their final appearance at the Milwaukee Metalfest VII. The band had always wanted to keep things on a personal and underground level and they had grown much bigger than they ever thought they would. They were also disenchanted with what was going on in the scene with all the shit talking and backstabbing. All this coupled with the regular pressures of jobs and family caused the band to call it quits.
Stevo continued on for awhile with his doom metal band Insomnia (first known as Church of Misery ), they recorded an album but it was never released and eventually it grinded to a halt. Out of the scene for almost 5 years, when in 1998 Mark discovered there still seemed to be a lot of interest and support for the band out there. He initially was working with Wild Rags to release the old stuff on CD but then hooked up with Morbid Records out of Germany. After talking with Wild Rags , they allowed the band to switch to Morbid Records for all re-releases from here on out.
Impetigo really wanted to get a deal in Europe with good distribution as they feel their biggest support has come from Europe, with Germany & the Czech Republic being their strongest areas. The year 1999 saw Morbid Records releasing the "Giallo" demo sessions as a 10 inch picture disc, and "Ultimo Mondo Cannibale" on CD (original cover version) and as a 12 inch picture disc.
Morbid Records' version of "Ultimo Mondo Cannibale" contains all of the LP only and cassette only tracks, combining them onto one release for the first time. In 2000, Morbid Records will re-issue "Ultimo Mondo Cannibale" on CD with new cover art and packaging. Morbid Records will also release the "Faceless" EP as a mini-CD and 7 inch picture disc and "Horror of the Zombies" on CD and a 12" picture disc. "Ultimo Mondo Cannibale" , "Faceless" and "Horror of the Zombies" will be entirely re-packaged with new artwork by horror author and film expert Chas Balun who recently did the cover for the new Necrophagia CD's "Holocausto de la Morte" and "Black Blood Vomitorium" . Also released in 1999 on the Czech label Bizarre Leprous Productions was Impetigo's 1987 Official Live Demo "All We Need Is Cheez" on CD. Coming soon in 2000 will be an Impetigo/Ingrowing split mini-CD co-released by the Czech labels Bizarre Leprous Productions and Shindy Productions. The one Impetigo track is a live version of "I Work For The Streetcleaner" from the Rhode Island Deathfest in 1992.
The Ingrowing side will feature their cover version of Impetigo's "Bitch Death Teenage Mucous Monster From Hell" and a new song as well. And finally, Obscene Productions from the Czech Republic will release the "Buio Omega" EP on a mini-CD (maybe you have this now!) with the live songs from Impetigo's side of the split EP with Transgressor as a bonus. It will also be an enhanced CD-ROM with tons of rare Impetigo photo's, some Impetigo video, a bio, discography and some old gig flyers. So this will be great for all the Lesions of Impetigo maniacs out there! So even though Impetigo will never return, with all the re-issues you should be able to fill in the gaps in your collections or maybe experience the band for the first time!