Internal Bleeding

Internal Bleeding
OriginLong Island, New York, U.S.
Genres
Years active
  • 1991–2005
  • 2011–present
Labels
  • Pavement
  • Olympia
  • Unique Leader
Members
  • Chris Pervelis
  • Chris McCarthy
  • Kyle Eddy
  • Ryan Giordano
  • Steve Worley
Past members
  • Brian Richards
  • Tom Slobowski
  • John Colucco
  • Eric Wigger
  • Wallace Milton
  • Anthony Miola
  • Frank Rini
  • Ray Lebron
  • Guy Marchais
  • Brian Hobbie
  • Jason Liff
  • Keith DeVito
  • Bill Tolley
  • Joe Marchese
  • Shaun Kennedy
Websiteinternal-bleeding.com

Internal Bleeding is an American death metal band formed on Long Island, New York in 1991. The band is viewed as the pioneer of the slam death metal genre. Prior to their disbandment in 2005, Internal Bleeding released four studio albums and went through extensive lineup changes. Since their 2011 reunion, they have released three additional studio albums.

History

In the early 1990s, guitarist Chris Pervelis was a member of doom metal band Autumn Reign. Autumn Reign's music became heavier until they were playing a style similar to death metal. When this band disbanded, Pervelis sought out musicians to form a new band. Internal Bleeding's founding lineup consisted of Pervelis and Anthony Miola on guitar, vocalist Brian Richards, bassist Tom Slobowski and drummer Bill Tolley. In the same year, Richards and Slobowski departed the group, with bassist John Colucco and Autumn Reign vocalist Eric Wigger taking up their roles. This lineup recorded their debut self-titled demo tape. Soon after, Wigger was replaced with Wallace Milton, and Colucco was replaced with Brian Hobbie. The band recorded their second demo tape, Invocation of Evil. After Milton departed the band, Tolley briefly took on vocals to record their 1994 EP Perpetual Degradation.

Frank Rini was the band's next vocalist, recording their debut album, Voracious Contempt, released nationally through Pavement Records in 1995. The band released their second album, The Extinction of Benevolence, in 1997. Around this time, Pavement Records experienced financial difficulties, leading to the album having little promotion and Internal Bleeding rarely touring. Following this, Rini departed the group and Ryan Schimmenti replaced him. Schimmenti and Miola departed soon after, their roles filled by Ray Lebron and Guy Marchais, respectively. This lineup released the band's 1999 album Driven to Conquer. In 2000, Jason Carbon replaced Brian Hobbie. In December of the same year, Jerry Lowe became the band's vocalist. In mid-2002, Marchais was replaced with guitarist Frank Buffalino. In July 2003, Pervelis briefly departed the group, his role filled by Matt Ferrara. It was announced that the band's fourth album would be titled Hatefuel and released during summer 2003. The album's release was pushed back, and in May 2004, it was announced it would be titled Onward to Mecca. Following a tour opening for Six Feet Under, the album was released on September 7, 2004. A month after the album's release, Pervelis rejoined the band when Ferrara departed. The band toured the United States for two months in mid-2005, with support from Bodies in the Gears of the Apparatus and Strong Intention, before announcing their breakup.

In 2011, Tolley, Pervelis and Hobbie reunited Internal Bleeding, accompanied by bassist Jason Liff and vocalist Keith DeVito. The band's fifth studio album, and their first since reuniting, Imperium, was released on September 30, 2014. On February 9, 2016, the band announced Joe Marchese had replaced DeVito, and Shaun Kennedy had replaced Liff. The band supported Vader on a US tour in the spring of 2017. On April 20, 2017, founding drummer and the band's sole consistent member, Bill Tolley, died in a fire while working as a firefighter in Queens. His role was filled by Kyle Eddy. The following day, the band released a music video for their song "Final Justice". On November 2, 2018, they released their sixth studio album, Corrupting Influence. In 2019, Marchese and Kennedy departed the group with Steve Worley and Ryan Giordano filling their respective roles. On August 3 of the same year, the band released the single "Overthrow Creation".

The band was schedueld to perform at Milwaukee Metal Fest in June 2026. They had played the festival in 2024.

Musical style

Internal Bleeding play a style of death metal which puts an emphasis on stark tempo changes, prominent bass guitar parts and rhythmic, palm-muted guitar riffs. One of the earliest pioneers of the slam death metal subgenre, their music incorporates elements of hardcore punk and hip hop into a death metal template. The band make heavy use of breakdowns, and integrate riffs that are less technical and vocals that are less intelligible than prior death metal bands. Blabbermouth.net writer Jay H. Gorania described the music as "Tough guy guitar chugging... layered atop mid-tempo pummeling, spiced up with occasional bursts of blasting belligerence." Their lyrics often discuss dark, socio-political issues, and some songs reference literature, such as "Anthems for Doomed Youth" referencing Wilfred Owen's "Dulce et Decorum est". They have also been cited by Decibel as pioneers of brutal death metal.

Members

Current

Former

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

References

  1. ↑ Purcell, Natalie J. (September 17, 2015). Death Metal Music: The Passion and Politics of a Subculture. McFarland & Company. p. 19. ISBN 9780786484065. Slow 'slam' riffs helped bands like Internal Bleeding and Pyrexia, inspired by Suffocation, to become successful in the mid 1990s. Today, New York style bands like Skinless and Dying Fetus dominate the scene with 'crowd-pleasing mosh riffs'
  2. 1 2 PESSARO, FRED. "START A PIT AT THE SELF-HELP SUMMIT WITH SLAM-METAL CREW INTERNAL BLEEDING'S "FOCUS"". Revolver. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  3. ↑ McIver, Joel (2000). Extreme Metal. Omnibus Press. p. 95. ISBN 0-7119-8040-3.
  4. 1 2 Grinder, Soner. "INTERNAL BLEEDING".
  5. 1 2 3 Huey, Steve. "Internal Bleeding Biography by Steve Huey". AllMusic. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 "Biography". rockdetector.com. Archived from the original on December 7, 2015. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  7. ↑ "Loud Rock". CMJ New Music Report (797): 22. January 20, 2003. Long Island death metal act Internal Bleeding plans to release its latest album Hatefuel via Olympic this summer.
  8. ↑ "Unique Leader Records signs Internal Bleeding". April 8, 2014. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  9. ↑ "INTERNAL BLEEDING COMPLETE WORK ON IMPERIUM; VIDEO FOOTAGE INCLUDING GUEST APPEARANCES FROM SUFFOCATION MEMBERS POSTED". Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles. June 19, 2014. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  10. ↑ "Internal Bleeding adds new singer, bassist". Blabbermouth.net. February 9, 2016. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  11. ↑ DiVita, Joe DiVitaJoe (November 12, 2015). "2017 Guide to Rock + Metal Tours". Loudwire. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  12. ↑ Wedge, Dave (May 15, 2017). "Remembering Bill Tolley, New York's Fire-Fighting Death Metal Hero". Vice Media. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  13. ↑ "INTERNAL BLEEDING Releases 'Final Justice' Video In Honor Of Fallen Drummer". Blabbermouth.net. April 21, 2017. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  14. 1 2 Bellino, Emily (October 18, 2018). "Full Album Stream: Internal Bleeding – "Corrupting Influence"". Decibel. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  15. ↑ "Internal Bleeding Announce New Vocalist Steve Worley". October 22, 2019. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  16. ↑ Craig (September 22, 2018). "The Return of the Rini". All About The Rock. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  17. ↑ "Internal Bleeding Premiere "Overthrow Creation"". August 3, 2021. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  18. ↑ Kaufman, Spencer (January 29, 2025). "Milwaukee Metal Fest 2026 Lineup: Acid Bath, Killswitch Engage, Ministry". Consequence. Retrieved March 4, 2026.
  19. ↑ Hatfield, Amanda. "Milwaukee Metal Fest reveals final 2024 lineup & preshow details". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved March 4, 2026.
  20. ↑ Purcell, Natalie J. (September 17, 2015). Death Metal Music: The Passion and Politics of a Subculture. McFarland & Company. p. 9. ISBN 9780786484065. Many New York style bands like Suffocation, Dying Fetus and Internal Bleeding are slam-orientated and bass-based; this sort of music promotes dancing with rapid shifts from low and slow to fast and blast.
  21. ↑ Rosenberg, Axl; Krovatin, Christopher (2017). Hellraisers: A Complete Visual History of Heavy Metal Mayhem. Race Point Publishing. p. 139. ISBN 9781631064302. Bands like Internal Bleeding and Pyrexia sounded as though they'd listened to Suffocation and decided that shit was just too complicated. They piled breakdowns upon breakdowns and somehow managed to make death metal vocals even less intelligible, ostensibly offering gurgles that imitate Montezuma's Revenge. This form of death metal took on the apropos name "slam."
  22. ↑ Gorania, Jay H. (November 14, 2018). "INTERNAL BLEEDING Corrupting Influence Review". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  23. ↑ Popoff, Martin (2007). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal Volume 3: The Nineties. Ontario, Canada: Popoff. p. 2010.
  24. ↑ Mora-Rioja, Arturo (May 6, 2023). Poetry in English and Metal Music: Adaptation and Appropriation Across Media. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 240. ISBN 978-3031291821. In an original homage to Wilfred Owen that also helps contextualise the poet's vision in present times, American brutal death metal band Internal Bleeding wrote "Anthem for a Doomed Youth" (1999), which, although it takes its title from the homonymous poem, is a retelling of "Dulce et Decorum Est". Contrary to most transformations analysed thus far, the most obvious transpositional practice performed in this song is not the- matic, but formal, as the simplicity and crudeness of the new words have the band engaging in a process of destylisation (Genette [1982] 1997, 227).