Deadguy is an American metalcore band from New Brunswick, New Jersey. The band formed in 1994 and disbanded in 1997. Deadguy is considered to have played an important role in the development of the mathcore genre.
History
Deadguy formed in 1994. The band took their name from a line in the
John Candy movie,
Only the Lonely.
The group issued two 7-inch extended plays that year alone:
Work Ethic and
White Meat. Although not as widely known as some of their peers, Deadguy has proven to be very influential on modern hardcore and metal as evidenced by their first studio album,
Fixation On A Co-Worker being inducted into the
Decibel magazine Hall of Fame in July 2006.
The band embarked on a fateful US tour in support of Fixation on a Co-Worker that was plagued by misguided booking and lack of funds. The band splintered during the western leg of the tour as Keith Huckins and Tim Singer left the band and moved to Seattle, Washington to form Kiss It Goodbye.
2021 reunion
On May 25, 2021, Deadguy announced they would reunite the "Fixation on a Co-worker" lineup and play the 2021
Decibel Metal and Beer Fest. It was their first show in 25 years.
This live performance was subsequently released as
Buyer's Remorse: Live from the Decibel Magazine Metal & Beer Fest in June 2022 by Decibel Records, as the label's first release.
Near-Death Travel Services (2025–present)
On April 29, 2025, the band announced their official signing to
Relapse Records. They also announced their second studio album,
Near-Death Travel Services, which was released on June 27 of the same year.
Deadguy will support Napalm Death on select dates of their 2026 North American tour.
Musical style and influences
Deadguy's musical style consists of "screaming vocals ... set to discordant guitars," and is characterized by "extremely personal" lyrical content and an "extremely dark and somber approach." Brian Peterson, in the book
Burning Fight described their sound as a blend of "metal, the caustic
noise rock of groups like Today is the Day and Unsane, the experimental punk of bands like the Cows, and the innovative
Hardcore punk of Black Flag." According to Peterson, "They weren't sure how well their sound that combined hardcore, metal, noise, and
Rock music would be received, but ultimately they didn't care – what mattered was that they were making the music they wanted to play."
Deadguy was influenced by a variety of bands, including Black Flag, Black Sabbath, Unsane, Today is the Day, Misfits, Voivod, and Slayer.
Members
Current members
-
Chris "Crispy" Corvino – guitars, backing vocals (1994–1997, 2021–present)
-
Dave Rosenberg – drums (1994–1997, 2021–present)
-
Tim "Swinger" Singer – lead vocals (1994–1996, 2021–present)
-
Keith Huckins – guitars (1994–1996, 2021–present)
-
Jim Baglino – bass (1996–1997, 2021–present)
Former members
-
Tim "Pops" Naumann – lead vocals (1996–1997), bass (1994–1996)
-
Tom Yak – guitars (1996-1997)
-
“Big” Chris Pierce – guitars (1997)
Timeline
Discography
Studio albums
Live albums
-
I Know Your Tragedy: Live at CBGBs (Hawthorne Street Records, 2000)
-
Buyer's Remorse (Decibel Records, 2022)
EPs and singles
-
White Meat 7" (Dada/Popgun Records, 1994)
-
Work Ethic 7" (Engine/Blackout Records, 1994) (CD edition, featuring White Meat tracks, released in 1995)
-
Screamin' with the Deadguy Quintet (Victory Records, 1996)
-
Body Parts 7" (Man Alive Records, 2022)
Other
-
Driving You Straight To Hell Bootleg (SuperNova Records, 2021)
Documentary
In 2021, a documentary titled
was released by director William Saunders and producer Nathaniel Shannon of Fourth Media.
It is the first authorized documentary on the band's short-lived career and their seminal album,
Fixation on a Co-Worker.
The feature was an official selection at several film festivals
and winner of the 2021 Vesuvius International Film Festival's Documentary Film category.
Through the series of interviews and events in the creation of the film, the band members reconnected. The day after the film's premiere at Underground Arts in Philadelphia, PA, the original band members performed together live for the first time in over 20 years.
Another 2021 performance, at Saint Vitus in Brooklyn, NY, was recorded and included in the on-demand streaming and blu-ray versions of the film.
Shawn Macomber of
Decibel describes
Deadguy: Killing Music as "Wry and stylish on the surface while reveling in primal vitriol and unorthodox approaches to violence just below" and "one of the best documentaries ever, period, on extreme music, the combustible nature of the youth drawn to create it, and the subsequent better-to-have-a-full-core-nuclear-meltdown-than-fade-away art."
External links
