Deadguy are a band that — one would hope — needs no
introduction, but here we are, after
the release of the seminal “Fixation on a Coworker”! Deadguy
was a fairly early metalcore band hailing from New
Jersey that formed after the breakup of
fellow New Jerseymetalcorers Rorschach (guitarist
Keith Huckins of Rorschach was a founding member of
Deadguy). Rorschach were a pretty legendary band themselves,
being one of the first (along with Ohio
natives Integrity) to pioneer the genre of metalcore. Deadguy, however, managed to sound remarkably modern (while still
being in the old-school “metallic hardcore” style), and were a key
innovator of the mathcore genre, arguably being the first
mathcore band. Between the breakneck, thrash-inspired
riffs, the abrupt changes of metre, and the use of
dissonant,
screeching chords often formed around
tritones, Deadguy paved the way
for mathcore. Suffice it to say that without
Deadguy, there would be no The Dillinger Escape Plan (also from
New Jersey) and no Botch.
“Fixation on a Coworker” was the last Deadguy release
featuring founding members Keith Huckins and Tim Singer, who
departed from the band to form Kiss It Goodbye (also mathcore/metalcore) with former
Rorschach members Thom Rusnack and Andrew Gormley.