Macabre

Macabre is a death metal group from Chicago, United States, active since 1985. The band consists of Corporate Death, Dennis the Menace and Nefarious, and keeps the same three-piece line-up throughout its history. Corporate Death is Lance Lencioni, Nefarious is Charles Lescewicz, and Dennis the Menace is Dennis Ritchie.

Style and themes

Their music combines death metal, grindcore and thrash metal, sometimes with nursery rhymes and folk melodies, in a style the band calls murder metal. Their lyrics focus on serial killers, mass murderers and gore humour, and are often based on real people and true-crime events. The band also has a reputation for historical detail in its songs and for a dark comic approach that sets it apart from more conventional metal acts.

History and related projects

Macabre is influenced by U.S. and U.K. hardcore, grindcore and death metal acts including The Accüsed, Cryptic Slaughter, Possessed and Napalm Death. The members have also known and met convicted serial killers such as John Wayne Gacy. Alongside the main band, they run a side project called the Macabre Minstrels, which performs acoustic campfire songs. Their label is Decomposed Records.