Jeroen Paul Thesseling (bass)
Patrick Mameli (guitar, vocals)
Yuma Van Eekelen (drums)
Patrick Uterwijk (guitar).
Pestilence erupted in the mid 80’s from the eastern part of Holland as one of the earliest European representatives of a brand new extreme kind of music: death metal. It’s debut Malleus Maleficarum from 1988 had a huge impact on the then current metal scene. Pestilence spread like wildfire during the years that followed. The band managed to bland brute force, morbid imagery and musical perfection into music that was truly groundbreaking and highly influential. Consuming Impulse from 1989 and Testimony Of The Ancients from 1991 were internationally received masterpieces that helped to define an era and a musical genre.
Pestilence developed itself in a spectacular way in a few frantic years, despite relentless touring and promotional obligations. And… Patrick Mameli was never the one to play it safe. So in 1993 he started composing and recording what was to be the Spheres album. A growing fondness of fusion music found it’s way to the new style that Pestilence presented. In recent years the albums had been heralded as a adventurous and daring piece of work that was ahead of it’s time. Way back then it was misunderstood and fell on many deaf ears. It created tension in and around the band.
In 1994 the band came to a crushing halt. For many years Patrick Mameli, who had been such a vocal factor in the international death metal community, seem to have disappeared from the face of the earth. His appetite for musical adventure and stubborn character shaped the music of his new band C-187, that debuted in 2007. Although the album brought him no new successes, it marked his long awaited return to the world of heavy music. It did not take long for fans around the world to voice their desire for a return of the mighty Pestilence.
,,When so many people asked to resurrect Pestilence it got me thinking. For many years it was a closed chapter. I have always been very clear about that. The last couple of years I discovered to my amazement that the band had not been forgotten, but still meant a lot to many fans. So there were a few things that got the ball rolling. First of all the fans. I also noticed that old school death metal was making a come back. It did wet my appetite. I discovered that I felt the urge to get involved again with the great musical tradition that is death metal. I wanted to leave my own mark again.
