Mordred

Mordred is a US metal group from San Francisco, active from 1986 to the present. It comes out of the Bay Area thrash metal scene and is one of the early bands associated with funk metal, combining thrash metal riffing with funk elements.

History

The group includes vocalist Scott Holderby, guitarists Daniel White and J. Taffer, bassist Art Liboon, and drummer Gannon Hall. Its sound draws on the precision and speed associated with Bay Area thrash bands such as Testament and Forbidden, while Liboon’s bass playing stands out as unusually prominent in the mix. The band also incorporates a more tentative funk influence that has more in common with funk-rock groups such as Faith No More.

Mordred’s debut album, Fools Game, appears in 1989 and includes a cover of Rick James’ “Superfreak”, with scratches by DJ Aaron (Pause) Vaughn. After Taffer leaves and guitarist James Sanguinetti joins, Vaughn becomes a full-time member. The band then leans more fully into its funk interests on In This Life, released in 1991 and often regarded as its strongest record.

After that, Mordred records three more EPs and one final full-length album before splitting up in 1994. It later reforms in 2008.

Style

Mordred is associated with alternative metal, funk metal, metal and thrash metal, and is noted for helping establish the funk metal crossover within the wider US metal scene.