Written by Sam Hughes
Deeds of Flesh is an American technical brutal death metal band from Los Osos, California. They were formed in 1993 by Jacoby Kingston, Erik Lindmark, and Joey Heaslet. Before Deeds of Flesh, all the members were in different bands. Members said “We felt that we were being held back by our previous bands and knew what we could create together, so we formed Deeds of Flesh. Our goal at the time was to push the envelope.” It took the band around three months to write the first EP “Gradually Melted.” They released it through many different labels, and it did very well in the underground metal scene, it got worldwide recognition very fast.
In 1995, the band signed with Repulse Records. The first full-length CD “Trading Pieces” came out in 1996, but they did not tour much because of their drummer Joey having to leave the band because of school. The second album released on Repulse Records was called “Inbreeding the Anthropophagi.” It was released in 1998 and had their new drummer on it, Brad Palmer. The release was very technical and fast and even had guest vocals from Matti Way from the band Disgorge.
In 1999, the band brought in a second guitarist, Jim Tkacz, and got their original drummer Joey back in the band l to record “Path of the Weakening.” This album was written and recorded in two and half months. This was the first release for the band’s own record label, Unique Leader Records. This label would release all following Deeds of Flesh albums. The album had much darker elements to it, and the band said “It has stuck with us ever since, although we still keep the original Deeds of Flesh intensity.”
Mike Hamilton would then join Deeds to take on the drums in the early 2000s. Their second guitarist Jim then left the band to take care of personal family things. Jared Deaver from the band Impaled was hired to replace him. Soon after, Jared had to leave the band due to problems at home. In 2001, Deeds of Flesh released “Mark of the Legion” as a three-piece. Aaron Gustofson joined after on guitar to help with just two tours.
In 2003, they released “Reduced to Ashes.” This was the fifth full-length album. The band also released the DVD “Live in Montreal” around this time. In December of 2004, they recorded “Crown of Souls” which was their 6th full-length album. Before touring for “Crown of Souls”, they hired lead guitarist Sean Southern.
In 2007, Jacoby retired from the band and was replaced by Erlend Caspersen on bass. With the new lineup, the band took a different vocal and lyrical approach. The previous Deeds of Flesh albums all dealt with the dark side of humanity and tragedy. From this album on, the lyrical content was based on the future of human existence, and mankind’s place in the universe.
In 2008 the band released “Of What’s To Come” which brought a lot of different elements to the band, making the sound even more technical, fast, and aggressive. In 2013, the band released its 9th studio album, “Portals to Canaan.” It features 2 new members, Craig Peters and Ivan Munguia. The album had over-the-top musical structures and added new chapters to the band’s lyrical concepts.
On November 29, 2018, frontman Erik Lindmark died from sclerosis at the age of 46. Two years later in 2020, the band released their new album, Nucleus, which was released on December 11. It was the band’s first album without frontman Erik Lindmark, but it features music he wrote and recorded before he died. It was also announced that their old bassist and vocalist Jacoby Kingston had ended his retirement and joined the band again as the new vocalist, while their old drummer Mike Hamilton played on the album as well.
Rest in Peace Erik Lindmark, 1972-2018.
The Claw 